PSoTD

Even Milton does.

Strange concept.

Restaurants are not only places to enjoy a good meal, but they can also be places to entertain yourself and blow off steam from the pressures of daily life.

In China, various themed restaurants and bars are booming in major cities. The Whale Inside is one of several "dark" themed restaurants - aimed at stress reduction and anger release.

The restaurant's original concept was to provide a dining experience in total darkness, thus allowing customers to relax. But the restaurant also offers a number of anger-releasing options. These include punching a sandbag and the restaurant's star attraction - smashing porcelain against the wall. The restaurant's manager says that the sensation and smashing noise help people let go of their aggression and prevent depression.

This makes as much sense as any other form of gambling... From Belize

With an increase in celebrity sightings and television reviews, San Pedro is fast becoming a hot spot for film crews. This time around, a film crew from the PBS Channel was on our island jewel filming a segment about San Pedro and its world famous Chicken Drop at the Pier Lounge Bar.

PBS, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, is a non-profit media enterprise owned and operated by the nation's 355 public television stations. A trusted community resource, PBS uses the power of noncommercial television, the Internet and other media to enrich the lives of all Americans through quality programs and education services that inform inspire and delight. PBS features television's best children's, cultural, educational, history, nature, news, public affairs and science programming. The film crew was on hand to catch footage of the Pier Lounge's local cultural event, the Chicken Drop.

How the game works? The proprietor sells you a numbered square for $1.00. At the announced moment, an assistant appears with a large wicker basket containing one or more live chickens. The basket is opened up, and one of the participants is assigned the task of grabbing a chicken, gently shaking it, blowing on its rear end, and tossing the jostled bird onto the numbered squares. Herein begins much shouting and verbal encouragement in hopes that said chicken, after strutting about, will eventually elect to "drop" upon the numbered square that you have previously purchased. The winner receives a $100, but has the task of cleaning up after the chicken. With the Travel Channel having a segment and the PBS channel filming the Chicken Drop it is without a doubt the most popular filmed event in San Pedro.

Some things can still surprise me on the web, such as "Joe Mathlete Explains Today's Marmaduke".

I'm a sucker for a good backscratch, and I suppose there's many, many of us out there like that. Not a backrub, mind you - but the actual use of nails, gently, to scratch my back. Of course, finding volunteers to do such a thing is pretty near impossible, since you really can't ask but those who are the very closest to you in today's society. I guess it's like personal grooming in other primates - there's a familiarity and a personal ranking requirement involved at some level.

Earlier this year I thought (and I still do) that a series of "backscratching" tee-shirts could sell well on CafePress. And maybe, just maybe, it would bring the practice of backscratching into a more publicly appreciated thinking. I even talked to a local artist about designing the shirts, but she ended up working some other gig and kind of dropped off the radar. Design, and language, are the keys to making a t-shirt actually sell. Here were some of my lame word ideas at that time:

Help.
I Need My Back Scratched.

I'm Ready For My Back To Be Scratched Now.

I've Got Back Scratch Fever.
(nuh nuh nuh)

Clearly, I don't have the words yet, and I've realized that I'm really never going to get this done. Plus, somebody's thinking along the same lines - and more power to them. Hell, I'm probably going to buy this one.

They sure love the film, "The Blob".

I'm amazed that there will actually be the first annual "A Christmas Story" convention this year.

I really didn't know that such a device was the key to my happiness until I saw this web site.

Farmer gets lost in own corn maze

A British farmer who became lost in his own five-acre "maize maze" said he decided to cut his way out because he had to take his daughter to a party.

Paul Barkes said he was mowing the paths of the Chicken Run corn maze at his Thorpe Farm Country Park and Falconry Center when he became disoriented, The Daily Telegraph reported Monday.

Confused in Carlisle ...

Two Virginia men have been cited for a fight in a motel parking lot over an issue of geography.

Middlesex Twp. police said that about 11:45 Thursday night, John L. Snyder Jr., 26, of Lake Ridge, Va., and Jermaine R. Graham, 24 of Stafford, Va., who both work for a moving company, got into an argument over whether Virginia was north or south of Pennsylvania. The fight was broken up by co-workers.

Snyder suffered minor injuries from the fight and from falling down because of his level of intoxication, police said. He was taken to Carlisle Medical Center and was cited for public intoxication. Graham, who had no injuries, was cited for disorderly conduct.

Hopefully the drunk guy was the one who thought Virginia was north.

Genius.

I could see this being a big hit in ballpark parking lots as well.

While zoning out at the gas pump at Turkey Hill, our local convenience store chain, I took a good look at their odd corporate logo for the first time. What the heck is that misshapen blob in the middle is supposed to represent? Is it a stylized turkey head? I can't figure it out.

Maybe you better pay attention as the tide comes in.