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Curious Times No. 249
June 17, 2004

A FILM TO MAKE JOHN WATERS PROUD
Just a warning to all you naive parents planning on taking your kids to see Shrek II. A group called the Traditional Values Coalition has issued a warning that the film furthers the “transgender agenda” in an “effort to deconstruct the biological reality of male and female.” The group’s main problem with the film is that it includes a male-to-female transgender as an evil bartender, a character who sports a five o’clock shadow, wears a dress and has breasts. The advisory also points to several scenes in the film which glorify perverted behaviour, including a dance scene where the transgendered man tries to dry hump Prince Charming, a scene in which Shrek and Donkey are chained to a dungeon wall, and a scene in which Pinocchio seems to admit to wearing women’s underwear. Frank York, editorial director of the Traditional Values coalition, claims that “what they showed in the film was supposed to be humorous, but if you look at the transgender agenda ... there are more serious things going on here.” You’ve been warned! (York Daily Record)

ATLANTIS FOUND, AGAIN
Yet another scientist has claimed to have found the location of the mythical island of Atlantis. Dr. Rainer Kuehne of the University of Wuppertal has analyzed satellite photographs of an area of the southern Spanish coast which was destroyed by a flood over 3000 years ago and which seems to fit the description of Atlantis given by Plato. The photos are of a salt marsh region near the city of Cadiz and show two rectangular structures in the mud and parts of concentric rings surrounding them. “Plato wrote of an island of five stades (925m) diameter that was surrounded by several circular structures - concentric rings - some consisting of Earth and the others of water. We have in the photos concentric rings just as Plato described,” Dr Kuehne told the BBC. Although the site lies within a national park, Kuehne is hoping find the funding and the archaeologists necessary to excavate the site in order to unearth more evidence of his claim. (BBC)

DON’T LEAVE EARTH WITHOUT IT
The chairmen of the Bulgarian Foundation on Cosmic Intelligence Research has unveiled a new unit of currency to be used between extra-terrestrials and Earthlings. The "Galactos", a three gram coin made out of chrome and nickel, was unveiled last week at a conference on UFOs in Sofia, Bulgaria. "We are offering the galactos as a means of payment between planets. It will represent the Earth in financial relations in the Cosmos," Kiril Kanev told the conference. He now awaits an official response to his proposal from the Bulgarian Prime Minister. (Yahoo News)

GOT PUKE?
A high school chemistry teacher in North Carolina has lost his job after creating an experiment in which he had his students drink milk until they puked. The school board voted against rehiring the teacher claiming that the teacher should have notified the students’ parents about the potentially “dangerous” experiment. In his defense, Jeff Ferguson said that “we do labs that are way more dangerous, and I’ve never had to ask.” (wral.com)

IF THIS TOWN IS ROCKING, DON’T BOTHER KNOCKING
The residents of Fucking, Austria have voted against a petition which suggested changing the name of their town. Apparently, Fucking, Austria was named over 100 years ago by a settler named Mr. Fuck, who added the suffix “ing” (village) to his surname for the town’s name. In recent years Fucking has lost most of its street signs to tourists who like to take them home as souvenirs. But the villagers like their town and their name and will stick with it for now, putting them in good company with the residents of Dildo, Canada and Faggot Hill, U.S.A. (Ananova)

WHO SAYS THERE’S NOTHING GOOD ON TV?
A Norwegian porn star named Rocco is set to begin auditions for “Porn Idol,” a TV show which will try to find the next big Scandinavian porn star from hundreds of wannabes. Instead of singing, contestants will get in front of the camera and belt out fake orgasms. Those lucky enough to make it to the final rounds will have sex with a couple of porn stars in order to show off their talents. The winner of “Porn Idol” will be cast in a big budget Norwegian porn flick. (Nettavisen)

IS IT REALLY THAT DIFFICULT TO JUMP IN FRONT OF A TRAIN?
The author of the controversial 1991 book about euthanasia, "Final Exit," is back in the spotlight with his latest, the “Good Euthanasia Guide”. According to the author, Derek Humphry, his latest is "a book of information for intelligent people who want to make an informed decision about their death." To this end, the guidebook lists organizations around the world which help people end their lives and the different laws various countries have passed around the subject of euthanasia. "I was in a pub and I was eating dinner and they had a bookshelf full of guides - the 'Good Hotel Guide', the 'Good Restaurant Guide' and so on - and I thought, that's what we need," said Humphry. (Reuters)

ONE LESS HOT-HEADED LUNATIC TO AVOID
And now, from the Instant Bad Karma department comes the tale of a woman in Milwaukee who died while trying to set her boyfriend on fire. Apparently, this nut accidently doused herself while trying to pour lighter fluid on her boyfriend, and then set herself on fire, killing herself, burning down the house she was living in and leaving eight people homeless. (Milwaukee Channel)