Was gonna just post this on my del.icio.us feed but its too damn good to get overlooked there. According to this article at metro.co.uk, thousands of people in Japan have been (ahem) ‘fleeced’ into buying neatly coiffured lambs they thought were poodles. Entire flocks of lambs were shipped over from the UK and Australia to Japan by an internet company and marketed as the latest ‘must have’ accessory. But the scam was only spotted after a leading Japanese actress said her ‘poodle’ didn’t bark and refused to eat dog food.

So, carefully study the images above and see if can spot which is lamb, and which is poodle. And, please, no ‘sheepdog’ jokes.

The article is too long to put on this page so you’ll have to read it after the jump.

5 FEET OF CONCRETE: Staying awake for football

By ERIC GALVAN, Staff Writer

Friday, January 5, 2007 11:13 AM PST
I hate singling out any one person or group of people for things they say because sometimes, people just don’t know any better.

Recently an individual wrote into our PROBE section and mentioned how he liked the type of football where players wear helmets and pads and there are no riots.

Another individual responded with a letter in our Voice of the People section saying: “… that the reason no riots occur in American football is that the crowd is fast asleep long before the game is finished.”

I’m not going to name names, I’m just going to say the writer of that comment has a name that rhymes with Paul Sanders and he lives in a local city that sounds something like Brawley.

To read a statement such as that is to fill my eyes with acid rain.

What the hell is this person talking about?

Football is not only the most exciting sport in the country, but it’s the most popular sport in the world. Just because a bunch of people in Third World countries play soccer doesn’t mean they like it. They just have no other choice.

Kenya is awesome at running and winning marathons, but do you think Kenyans run because they like it? No. They run because they don’t want to walk away from a charging pack of lions.

I’ve watched a lot of football in my day and I have never fallen asleep while watching or have seen anyone fall asleep.

The statement is ridiculous. To suggest people fall asleep while watching football games is to suggest there is no action worth watching.

There is a reason stadiums that hold 70,000 screaming fans sell out on a regular basis. There’s a reason people will go to any lengths to watch football on Saturdays and Sundays.

Narcoleptics can stay awake during an entire football game. Hibernating woodland creatures, if at all possible, could break their winter slumber for a three-hour period to mix in some football.

Obviously the individual who wrote the response knows little about the game and/or dislikes it enough to try to insult it.

But making a statement as bold as he did just shows the utter naiveté and idiocy of some people.

Not only is he claiming real football fans are asleep during games, but he’s also, without saying it, admitting that riots occur before, during and after fútbol “friendlies.”

It’s quite the statement to make, no matter how wrong and nonsensical it may be.

Surely the writer of the statement had someone else to pick on other than a phenomenon that has captivated audiences for decades upon decades.

Even casual Joe football fan will take time to stop while flipping through channels to find out the score and watch a few plays, all while remaining awake.

Children of all ages stay up at night just to either go watch high school football games Friday nights or watch whatever Sunday or Monday night contests are on the airwaves. The children also remain awake.

Maybe this is just a sad commentary on our writer friend. Maybe our writer friend is unfortunately afflicted with a sleep disorder that has yet to allow him the privilege of watching a football game from start to finish.

It saddens me that one of the holders of one of the greatest of joys in this world has so callously come under attack with such fighting words.

We can only hope that the statements are not true.

I tend to believe they are not, as I’m sure billions of people around the planet would agree that the real football does not put them to sleep. Oh no, it does not.

It just saddens me to think that there may be one lost soul out there who is put to sleep by football. For if this is true, I can only offer my pity for this man whose name sounds like Paul Sanders.

(c)2007 Imperial Valley Press, reproduced without permission.

In other news, I was supposed to have someone come and install Dish TV today, they called last night to make sure we would be home. We got up early and then they called to say that they had been shipped the wrong receivers and they were “fighting” with Dish to get the right items sent out. Bottom line: no one coming today. My brother in law had the same trouble, except that the guys turned up with the wrong box so we’ll see when, or if, I get to kick Time Warner to the kerb.

Commander: we’re marines and one thing we do better than the aliens is salute so if you’re not sure who to shoot, get them to salute
Me: but Sir some of us are British and our salutes are weak
Commander: then you are going to die

And earlier this week our spa needed more chlorine and some pH lessening agent. Rather than make two trips outside I put the liquid chlorine into a cup and then poured the pH-down powder. Boom, instant reaction, much frothing chemicals and release of toxic gases. The smell was terrible and I inhaled enough of it to encourage some vomiting and difficulty breathing for about two hours. I don’t do doctors but I almost caved into the wife’s demands that we go to the ER. On the plus side, my cold seems to have disappeared.

And a Merry Christmas to you all.