The Darwin Awards salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who, uh, remove themselves from it…
Out of the 8 nominees for the Darwin Award, half of them I felt were worth mentioning because of how dumb people can be. I really hope that this is one award I never get.
Star Wars
Like two people, 17 and 20, who imitated Darth Vader and made light sabres from fluorescent light tubes. That’s right, they opened up fluoresceent tubes, poured gasoline inside, and lit the end… As one can imagine, a Star Wars sized explosion was not far behind. One died, the other survived to ‘fess up to their creative, but stupid, reenactment.
Darwin says: “Some moderators say 17 is too young, but I disagree. This one passes the “minors rule” because 17 is legal driving age. Old enough to pump gas is old enough to know not to light it.”
High on Life
Take a deep breath…
Two more candidates have thrown themselves into the running for a Darwin Award. The feet of Jason and Sara, both 21, were found protruding from a deflated, huge helium advertising balloon. Jason was a college student, and Sara attended community college, but apparently their education had glossed over the importance of oxygen.
When one breathes helium, the lack of oxygen in the bloodstream causes a rapid loss of consciousness. Some euthanasia experts advocate the use of helium to painlessly end one’s life.
The pair pulled down the 8′ balloon, and climbed inside. Their last words consisted of high-pitched, incoherent giggling as they slowly passed out and passed into the hereafter.
Sheriff’s deputies said the two were not victims of foul play. No drugs or alcohol were found. The medical examiner reported that helium inhalation was a significant factor in their deaths. A family member said “Sara was mischievous, to be honest. She liked fun and it cost her.”
Copper Kite
Benjamin Franklin reputedly flew his kite in a lightning storm, going on to discover that lightning equals electricity. However, certain precautions must be taken, as Ben Franklin took, to avoid sudden electrocution.
Kennon, 26, replicated the conditions of Ben Franklin’s experiment, but sans safety precautions. He was flying a kite with a short string that he had extended with a length of thin copper wire.
The copper made contact with a high tension line, sending a bolt of artificial lightning down the wire towards the man. To cap the story off, Kennon’s father told listeners, his son was an electrician and “should have known better.” Kennon is survived by his parents, six sisters, and five brothers.
Missed Stop
I am 14, and I know for a fact this story is true.
My father works as an investigator for an insurance company, a job he frequently reminds me of how much he hates. One of his major clients is a train station in a nearby city. On a day not unlike any other, a man awoke on a train to find that he had missed his stop. Instead of looking out the window or asking another passenger to find out where the train was, he ripped open the doors of the train and threw himself from the train, much to the astonishment of onlooking passengers.
However, had the ill-fated passenger taken the time to look out the window before leaping from the train, he would have noticed that the train was not only moving in excess of 50 MPH, but that it was also moving over a bridge. He died at the scene in the Hudson River.
My dad covered this case for the insurance company. The family of the deceased was suing because “you should not be able to open doors on a moving train.” My dad’s defense was “you should not open doors on a moving train.” I imagine the case was either dropped or settled.
darwin, charles darwin, darwin award, dumb people, people, evolution, killed
The fact that George Bush ranks number one on the Top Villains is very sad considering he is the “President of the United States”. However, 71% of the country feels that he is not doing a good job as president and that the war in Iraq should end.
Biggest Heroes
George W. Bush, 13 percent
Soldiers/troops in Iraq, 6 percent
Oprah Winfrey, 3 percent
Barack Obama, 3 percent
Jesus Christ, 3 percent
Bono, 2 percent
Angelina Jolie, 1 percent
Al Gore, 1 percent
Arnold Schwarzenegger, 1 percent
Colin Powell, 1 percent
The only reason that President Bush tops the heroes list is because of the troops in Iraq. If there were no troops risking their lives in Iraq, President Bush would rank just above Britney Spears and OJ Simpson.
biggest heroes, biggest villains, bush, george w. bush, heroes, president, villains
While home for Christmas, I got to spend time with my nephew and he keeps on growing bigger every time I see him. He was dressed in a reindeer outfit and it was very cute.
It has been 1 year since I first started blogging under the name Armenian Eagle. My first blog article was actually using the the Plymouth State University Blogs, but I was redirecting it from armenianeagle.com. Once I realized that I would enjoy blogging, I setup my blog on my own server so that I would have more control over the theme and the plugins.
This post is my 228th post and it was very surprising to have that many considering that I didn’t even think blogging would last a month. Last year one of my new years resolutions was to post more often than a few times a month. This year’s resolution is to blog every day and to increase my traffic and online presence.
I am in the process of redesigning my blog theme and hoping to launch a generic release of it. I have also written two wordpress plugins that are almost finished. I hope to be releasing them in the next month once I fix the minor glitches. One plugin is a Category Converter where you can move the posts in your categories to another easily. The other is a plugin that produces a customizable RSS Feed of Casey Bisson’s “bsuite” which is a blog stats plugin. Check back in January for updates to see if they are complete.
Thank you very much to all of those who read my blog and enjoy the variety of topics. I look forward to writing more to keep everyone who visits my blog frequently interested. I hope to continue on the following topics: Technology, Web, Sports, Armenia, Boy Scouts and Entertainment. I hope to expand to more topics to bring in a different set of readers. Enjoy the next year of my blog because I am ecstatic about it and I hope you will be too.
Gerald Rudolph Ford (July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the 38th President (1974–1977) and 40th Vice President (1973–1974) of the United States. He was the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment, and upon succession to the presidency, became the only person to hold that office without having been elected either president or vice president. Prior to becoming vice president, he served for over eight years as the Republican Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. Ford was the longest-lived president.
Ford died of heart failure at the age of 93 on December 26, 2006 at 6:45 p.m Pacific Standard Time at his home in Rancho Mirage, California. Mrs. Ford and their three sons, who had celebrated Christmas the day before at the home, were at Ford’s bedside when he died. No local clergy were present, but one of Ford’s sons is a minister and performed last rites. At 8:49 p.m., Ford’s wife, Betty, issued a statement that confirmed his death.
Mrs. Ford said in a brief statement issued from her husband’s office in Rancho Mirage:
“My family joins me in sharing the difficult news that Gerald Ford, our beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather has passed away at 93 years of age. His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country.”
ford, former president, gerald ford, president, president ford
I was watching a christmas episode of the show “Scrubs” when I heard one of the greatest versions of the “12 days of christmas”. Enjoy!
On the first day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
A drunk who drove into a tree
On the second day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Two shattered skulls
And a drunk who drove into a tree….
On the third day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Three O.D.’s
Two shattered skulls
And a drunk who drove into a tree
On the fourth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Four beaten wives
Three O.D.’s
Two shattered skulls
And a drunk who drove into a tree
On the fifth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Five suicides
Four beaten wives
Three O.D.’s
Two shattered skulls
And a drunk who drove into a tree
On the sixth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Six random knifings
Five suicides
Four beaten wives
Three O.D.’s
Two shattered skulls
And a drunk who drove into a tree
On the seventh day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Seven strangled shoppers
Six random knifings
Five suicides
Four beaten wives
Three O.D.’s
Two shattered skulls
And a drunk who drove into a tree
On the eighth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Eight burn victims
Seven strangled shoppers
Six random knifings
Five suicides
Four beaten wives
Three O.D.’s
Two shattered skulls
And a drunk who drove into a tree
On the ninth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Nine amputations
Eight burn victims
Seven strangled shoppers
Six random knifings
Five suicides
Four beaten wives
Three O.D.’s
Two shattered skulls
And a drunk who drove into a tree
On the tenth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Ten frozen homeless
Nine amputations
Eight burn victims
Seven strangled shoppers
Six random knifings
Five suicides
Four beaten wives
Three O.D.’s
Two shattered skulls
And a drunk who drove into a tree
On the eleventh day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Eleven drive-by shootings
Ten frozen homeless
Nine amputations
Eight burn victims
Seven strangled shoppers
Six random knifings
Five suicides
Four beaten wives
Three O.D.’s
Two shattered skulls
And a drunk who drove into a tree
On the twelfth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Twelve beaten children
Eleven drive-by shootings
Ten frozen homeless
Nine amputations
Eight burn victims
Seven strangled shoppers
Six random knifings
Five suicides
Four beaten wives
Three O.D.’s
Two shattered skulls
And a drunk who drove into a tree
Our society has forgotten what Christmas is all about. It has turned into a time to receive gifts and eat food. For little children it is about gifts, time off from school, Santa Claus and his Reindeer. What about the true spirit of Christmas? Celebrating the birth of Christ and the magic that occurred. Spending time with your family and the ones who love you?
The Nativity refers to the birth of Jesus. According to biblical accounts, Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary, assisted by her husband Joseph, in the city of Bethlehem. The birth took place in a stable, surrounded by farm animals, and the infant Jesus was laid in a manger. Shepherds from the fields surrounding Bethlehem were told of the birth by an angel, and were the first to see the child. Christians believe that the birth of Jesus fulfilled many prophecies made hundreds of years before his birth. This is one of my favorite Christmas Songs:
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the new-born King;
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations, rise.
Join the triumph of the skies.
With th’angelic hosts proclaim
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the new-born King!
This is the other of my favorite Christmas songs:
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir, and folks dressed up like Eskimos
Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe (will) help to make the season bright
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow will find it hard to sleep tonight
They know that Santa’s on his way, He’s loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh
And every mother’s child is gonna spy to see if reindeer really know how to fly
And so I’m offering this simple phrase, to kids from one to ninety-two
Although it’s been said, many times, many ways: “Merry Christmas to you.”
Merry Christmas Everyone! Bethlehem, birth, Christ, Christmas, December 25, Jesus, manager, merry Christmas, Santa, Santa Claus, tree, xmas
Posted at: 11:45 pm by Timothy Haroutunian Categories: Sports and Leisure
The Patriots are going to the NFL Playoffs again as the AFC East Division Champions after beating the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-21 in a very close game. This is their fourth straight AFC East Division Win and fifth in the past six years.
While the Patriots looked the better team throughout most of this contest, a desperate Jaguars team made things close in the end. It took a fumble recovery by Rodney Harrison, who returned to action from his injury earlier this season, to seal the win late in the fourth quarter.
Tom Brady spread the ball all over the field and to 10 different receivers en route to 249 yards passing on 39 attempts and 28 completions. His main target was Dave Thomas who had a career day with 5 catches for 83 yards and a touchdown.
The Patriots take on Vince Young and the Tennessee Titans next week for the final regular season game.
AFC, football, NE, new england, NFC, nfl, patriots, pats, playoffs, super bowl
Up to 1982, many former Presidents have made statements saying that the Armenian Genocide happened, but then the US government was afraid that the Turkish Government would get upset over the use of the word “Genocide”. The US Government is worried about citizens of another country getting upset, but what about the almost 400,000 Armenian-Americans indicated in the 2000 US Census. What about their families and what they went through. It seems that the US needs to focus more on our own citizens than upsetting the Turks who are in “Absolut Denial” about what happened.
armenia, armenian genocide, genocide, massacre, recognize, turks
Posted at: 8:55 am by Timothy Haroutunian Categories: Armenia
The word “dram” translates into English as “money”, and is cognate with the Greek drachma. The Central Bank of Armenia has the exclusive right of issuing the national currency according to Armenian Law.
**BANKNOTES**
500 Dram
(Above) Armenian great architect Alexander Tamanyan (1878-1936)
(Below) The House of the Government of the Republic of Armenia
1,000 Dram
(Above) Armenian famous writer Yeghishe Charents (1897-1937)
(Below) A picture of old Yerevan – a two-storeyed building and a carriage harnessed by two horses
5,000 Dram
(Above) Armenian great writer Hovhannes Tumanyan (1869-1923)
(Below) M.Saryan’s picture depicting nature of Lory.
10,000 Dram
(Above) Armenian great writer Avetik Isahakyan (1875-1957)
(Below) Depiction of Gyumri of the beginning of the 20 th century
20,000 Dram
(Above) Armenian famous painter Martiros Saryan (1880-1972)
(Below) A fragment from Saryan’s landscape “Armenia”
50,000 Dram
(Above) Depiction of Mother Cathedral of Holy Echmiadzin
(Below) Armenian Church in the hands of Saint Gregory the illuminator and the king Tiridat the Great
***Circulation Coins***
10 Dram Coin went into Circulation December 1, 2004
20 Dram Coin went into Circulation January 01, 2003
50 Dram Coin went into Circulation March 31, 2003
100 Dram Coin went into Circulation March 31, 2003
200 Dram Coin went into Circulation March 31, 2003
500 Dram Coin went into Circulation March 31, 2003
On 21 September 1991 a national referendum proclaimed Armenia as an independent republic from the Soviet Union. The Central Bank of Armenia was adopted on 27 March 1993, under the governorship of Isahak Isahakyan. However the old Soviet bank notes were standard tender until November 1993. The modern dram came into effect on 22 November 1993, at a rate of 200 rubles = 1 dram (1 USD : 14.5 AMD). Banknotes of 10, 25, 50, 100, 200 and, 500 dram were issued, whilst, on 21 January 1994, the Central Bank of Armenia began minting 10, 20, 50 luma and 1, 3, 5, 10 dram coins. The banknotes in nominal value 1000 and 5000 dram were put into circulation since October 24, 1994 and September 1995, respectively. Later a 20000 dram note was issued and a commemorative 50000 dram note was issued to observe the 1700-th anniversary of adoption of Christianity in Armenia. It should be noted that the Dram is not pegged to any other currency, unlike the currencies of many other nations.
Currency Converter
Armenian, banknotes, coins, currency, dollar, dram, us dollar
