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Weird Tales

Friday Catblogging: Not Dead Ted

In Britain, a Nicci Knight was on vacation when she was told erroneously that her cat Ted had died. She arranged to have the cat cremated while she was away. Four days later, Knight learned from her cat sitter that Ted was alive, and it was another cat that had drowned in Knight’s pond. Jamie…

Daily Bread for 7.6.24: The town with the LONGEST name in Europe

Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 78. Sunrise is 5:24 and sunset 8:35 for 15h 11m 19s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 0.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1885, Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.

Whitewater’s Independence Holiday celebration continues today at the Cravath Lakefront:

Christman Family Amusements Wrist Band Special: 12 to 4 PM, $25 each
Civic Food Vendors: 11 AM to 11 PM
4th of July Car Show 2 PM to 6 PM, 301 W Whitewater Street
Live Music at Frawley Ampitheater:
Jerry Armstrong & Blast to the Past 3 PM to 5 PM
Cead Mile Failte (Irish Music) 5 to 7 PM
Phil (a tribute to Phil Collins, Genesis, and Peter Gabriel) 8 PM to after Fireworks
Fireworks 10 PM 


The town with the LONGEST name in Europe:

We stopped by Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyllllantysiliogogogoch. We’re not joking, this is actually the name of a town in Wales. Despite its 58 letters, people in the town can pronounce this place name easily. But, did you know that this wasn’t always the town’s name? In the 1860s, the name was developed as a way to entice tourists to make the town a stop on their travels.

Shark bites two swimmers near Texas beach:

A single shark is believed to be responsible for biting two people and making contact with two others during Fourth of July celebrations at South Padre Island in Texas. Two people were taken to the hospital with bites, at least one of them severe, authorities said. The last reported shark attack in the area was five years ago, according to authorities.

Daily Bread for 6.24.24: The Latest Strange, Bad Idea is Harvesting Cicadas

Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 83. Sunrise is 5:17 and sunset 8:37 for 15h 19m 42s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 92.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Urban Forestry Commission meets at 4:30 PM. The Whitewater School Board goes into closed session shortly after 5:15 PM, and returns to open session at 7 PM.

On this day in 1948, the Berlin Blockade begins as the Soviet Union makes overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin impossible.


It wouldn’t occur to a sensible person to remove large numbers of periodic cicadas from a Wisconsin state park, thereby interrupting their natural lifecycle. The report seems too odd to be accurate, and yet, these are odd times. On Sunday, the Wisconsin DNR issued a press release warning against cicada harvesting:

MADISON, Wis. – Following multiple reports of people harvesting cicadas at Big Foot Beach State Park in Walworth County, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds the public that state law prohibits the capture and removal of animals, including insects, from state park properties.

There are exceptions for hunting and fishing activities that are otherwise authorized by law, but these exceptions do not provide for the collection and removal of cicadas.

DNR park staff and wardens have been instructed to make efforts to first educate the public on cicadas in state parks, and wardens may take enforcement action in response to violations.

If you are aware of cicada harvesting happening at any other state park locations in Wisconsin, please report it to the DNR’s Violation Hotline online or by calling or texting 1-800-847-9367.

Please note that no further information is available and we are not accepting interview requests on this topic at this time.

Honest to goodness, anyone so implicated is ignorantly destructive.


Bear snacks inside concession stand and scares worker:

Daily Bread for 3.2.24: A Scottish Village In Italy

 Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 60. Sunrise is 6:26 and sunset 5:47 for 11h 20m 46s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 61 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1983, compact discs and players are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had previously been available only in Japan.


Why Is There a Scottish Village In Italy?:


What’s in the Night Sky (March 2024):

Daily Bread for 12.28.23: UW-La Crosse Chancellor Fired for Side Gig in Pornography Videos

 Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 38. Sunrise is 7:24 and sunset 4:28 for 9h 03m 39s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 97.5% of its visible disk illuminated. 

On this day in 1943, Soviet authorities launch Operation Ulussy, beginning the forcible deportation in cattle wagons of the Kalmyk nation of 93,000 people to Siberia and Central Asia.


  The Universities of Wisconsin Regents unanimously voted yesterday evening to fire UW-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow over Gow’s appearance with his wife, Carmen Wilson, in several pornography videos. The story, understandably, has attracted national attention. Never a dull moment in the Badger State. 

From the Journal Sentinel, one learns the cause of Gow’s dismissal

Gow, 63, and his wife, Carmen Wilson, appear in videos on several porn websites using “Sexy Happy Couple” as the account name, a moniker also used on at least two social media accounts.

The couple also published two books under pseudonyms detailing their experiences in the adult film industry. Both books and the social media accounts feature photos clearly showing Gow and Wilson.

….

The couple’s account on X, formerly Twitter, hinted at their hobby: “The Passionate plant-powered couple cooking, conversing, and shooting with top adult video stars. Visit our LoyalFans and OnlyFans sites for fully explicit scenes!”

Gow and Wilson have six videos on OnlyFans that feature adult film stars, according to descriptions of the videos. They also appear on at least two other porn websites, PornHub and XHamster. Some videos have more than 200,000 views. All videos were posted in the last two months.

Liam Beran of the Daily Cardinal offers more detail:

The couple has posted nine videos on their Youtube channel Sexy Healthy Couple — described as “a plant-powered couple [making] delicious vegan food with top adult stars,” per a channel description — with the first posted on Dec. 9, 2023, as first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The videos feature Gow and Wilson making recipes alongside adult film entertainers and small segments of suggestive material.

The channel’s Twitter account advertises “fully explicit scenes” on their OnlyFans account.

In one video, Gow shows a book entitled “Monogamy with Benefits: How Porn Enriches Our Relationship,” which he says he wrote with Wilson. The book is listed under pen names Geri and Jay Hart, which are described on Amazon as “pen names of a married woman and man who serve in executive positions at two well-known organizations in the U.S.”

“Not our real names, because we’re still forced to kinda lay low on that, but someday,” Gow said in the Dec. 13 video.

Properly speaking, if Gow wanted to describe ongoing concealment in the present, he would use lie low, not lay low (past tense).  Lay low would correctly describe prior concealment, but then again Gow might have been using lay low as wordplay to describe the particulars of his lifestyle. Perhaps chancellors in La Crosse are crafty that way. 

The Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman stated after Gow’s dismissal that

“Upon my recommendation, the UW Board of Regents today terminated Dr. Joe Gow from his position as chancellor of UW-La Crosse effective immediately. In recent days, we learned of specific conduct by Dr. Gow that has subjected the university to significant reputational harm. His actions were abhorrent.

“As a tenured faculty member, Dr. Gow will be placed on paid administrative leave as he transitions into his faculty role at UW-La Crosse. However, I have filed a complaint this evening with interim Chancellor Betsy Morgan regarding Dr. Gow’s status as a tenured faculty member, asking that such status be reviewed. In addition, an outside law firm has been engaged to undertake a fulsome investigation of the matter. We anticipate the complaint will be considered in the normal course as dictated by Wis. Admin. Code Ch. 4.”

While one can understand that Gow’s behavior is embarrassing to the Regents, Rothman’s use of abhorrent (lit., inspiring disgust and loathing; repugnant) seems a bit much for a public university system that has over many years tolerated far worse than anything Gow has done. (All Gow’s actions were, after all, apparently weird-but-consensual.) 

Gow, himself, has few regrets, as Kelly Meyerhofer reports:

Joe Gow has just one regret about the recent sex videos that ended his 17-year career as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

He wishes he hadn’t self-censored that part of his life for so long, fearing his secret would lead to his being shunned by the higher education community.

After years of hearing UW leaders profess the importance of free speech, Gow decided to test that commitment. He felt the timing was apt, with months left in his chancellorship and plans to return next fall as a faculty member.

“I felt a little bit more open about ‘let’s raise these free speech issues and see how the board responds,’ and now we know,” he said.

The national Daily Beast picks up on how Gow might describe himself and Wilson in a story entitled College Chancellor Canned for Secret Life as Vegan Porn Star.

A Hulu series can’t be far away.


Roofs blown off houses as Storm Gerrit brings high winds and floods to UK:

Daily Bread for 2.13.23: Madison-Based Jets Shoot Down Mysterious Object over Lake Huron

Good morning. Monday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 45. Sunrise is 6:53 AM and sunset 5:24 PM for 10h 30m 54s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 51.5% of its visible disk illuminated. The Whitewater Unified School Board holds a legislative breakfast at 8 AM, and Whitewater’s Planning…

Friday Catblogging: Acoustic Kitty

Andrew Daniels writes in Popular Mechanics about the Acoustic Kitty project, a Failed Government Feline Mission:  In the 1960s, the CIA allegedly spent $20 million to implant microphones in cats’ ear canals so the animals could inconspicuously eavesdrop on the Soviets. The disastrous first mission, in which a cat would mosey around the Soviet embassy…