No. Bullshit.

Editor's note -- Apparently, The Holy Roman Empire asked the village of Castrillo de Murcia to think up the dumbest idea it could as an alternative to baptism on June 26, 1620.

Israel Lopez / AP

    A man dressed up as the devil jumps over babies lying on a mattress in the street during 'El Colacho', the 'baby jumping festival' on June 26, in the village of Castrillo de Murcia, near Burgos, Spain.  Baby jumping is a traditional Spanish practice dating back to 1620 that takes place annually to celebrate the Catholic feast of Corpus Christi.

    During the act - known as El Salto del Colacho (the devil's jump) or simply "El Colacho" men dressed as the Devil (known as the Colacho) jump the babies to take the evil from those born the last twelve months of the year as they lie on mattresses in the street.

KarenAGardner k. a. gardner 

"Man dressed as the Devil" !?! RT @pourmecoffee WTF? "Spanish celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi with baby jumping"bit.ly/k1YA52

.......................................................

UPDATE:  The Editor is grateful to Mr James Hovendick of Houston, Texas for his expertise on El Salto del Colacho:

"The Pope 'frowns' on the Baby Jumping festival now, since 2009," he says.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Mr Jim, and, I assume Mrs Jim, live in  Montgomery, Texas, NOT Houston. As a personal anecdote, I'll add that I have relatives (on my father's side) who used to live in Katy, Texas but now live in an assisted living community in Houston. 


FOR THE RECORD: Mr Hovendick would also add that, "Google had more about the festival than I could read in the time I had. I just wanted to share a bit."

~8~

Israel Lopez / AP

"Victim's plight"

Editor's note -- The Onion ~ American's Finest News Source announced on Wednesday it was ignored by the Pulitzer Committee.

TheOnion The Onion 

 by KarenAGardner

Infographic: Onion Ignored By Pulitzer Committee #Onion1000 http://onion.com/jTFYMV

The Editor disagrees with reason #8. The board is not a "Bunch of babies pooping in their baby diapers." 

SAN FERNANDO, MEXICO—In an effort to better connect with the men and women murdered by the Zetas drug cartel, Josh Sullivan, an investigative reporter for The Onion, eschewed modern conveniences and the comforts of home for a month, going undercover and posing as a corpse in a mass grave to gain an intimate understanding of the victims’ plight.

Editor's note -- It's widely acknowledged by the news industry that Mr Sullivan of The Onion was snubbed for a Pulitzer Prize in the category of:

                                                     Specialized Investigative Reporting on Deadline.

KarenAGardner k. a. gardner 

via @TheOnion - Reporter Spends Month Undercover In Mass Grave onion.com/iK2fRo #OnionPulitzer

~8~

Cheeky grin

Editor's note -- Thanks to @pourmecoffee for sending the Editor her own picture of the day that he found in the Telegraph's Animal Pictures of the week: 17 June 2011

"Flying mammal's cheeky grin," said the Telegraph. 

Robertus Sudiatmoko, who took the photo near his home in Jakarta, Indonesia, said: 

"I was so happy when I realised one of them showed the bat smiling."

pourmecoffee pourmecoffee 

 by KarenAGardner

Your photo of the day. http://bit.ly/maErjT

~8~

Backyard invasion

Editor's note --  A Georgia resident remains unconvinced by WSJ's ode to weeds. Kevin Brown will never love Poison ivy or Kudzo. 


"I'll defend my backyard from their advances," Brown avowed. "By any means!" 

KarenAGardner k. a. gardner 

WSJ.com - Why We Must Learn to Love Weeds on.wsj.com/iV0QOB -- their cussedness and refusal to play by our rules makes them subversive?

Dunwoody resident Kevin Brown's backyard?  (photo Grant Heilman)
Editor's note -- (AP) Herd of sheep eat invasive Kudzo in Mr Brown's backyard, but only after they finish off the poison ivy, said local Shepard.

KarenAGardner k. a. gardner 

Kudzu-loving sheep deployed in Georgia | jacksonville.com -bit.ly/mNldvq via @jaxdotcom --


~8~ 

Isaac's manuscript

Editor's note -- Ptak Science Books announced several days ago that Isaac Newton confessed to 47 sins in the "extraordinary work known as the Fitzwilliam Manuscript"

Editor's note -- The Storer family was not well-liked by Isaac. In addition to stealing cherry cobs from Eduard, he admits to "Beating Arthur Storer."

......................

KarenAGardner k. a. gardner 

"Stealing cherry cobs from Eduard Storer" RT @ptak The 47 sins of Isaac Newton recorded by himself, 1662. #hist #physics http://ow.ly/56gOo

KarenAGardner k. a. gardner 

"Denying that I did so" RT @ptak The 47 sins of Isaac Newton recorded by himself, 1662. #hist #physics http://ow.ly/56gOo

~8~