Real-Life Weirdness

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

Done for murdering a dead guy

25 years in the iso-cubes

The specifics of the case really make that initial blurb very disengenous. He "struggled" for the gun when the most likely lethal wound occured. Then he admited to firing a second while the victim was prone to "put him out of his miser".
I think we all know what really happened, but charging him for attempted murder of someone already dead is the best that can be definitively proven.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by Dr. Beckenstein

A man killed himself when blowing up a condom vending machine:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/german-m...ondom-machine/

I guess condoms really do prevent unwanted pregnancies, in that we're all glad that dumb criminal won't reproduce now.

[simply Nathan]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

I guess condoms really do prevent unwanted pregnancies, in that we're all glad that dumb criminal won't reproduce now.

No telling how many times he did before pulling that.

Abstinence is still the best contraceptive.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by simply Nathan

No telling how many times he did before pulling that.

Abstinence is still the best contraceptive.

I did say, "now" to indicate the sad possibility he had already procreated.

Castrations/oophorectomies are even more effective.

[vicky_molokh]

My friend took a photo at the Reichstag recently, and the implications are interesting. So apparently Nazis and Fascists are alive and well in Germany, and His Godwin'ness' 'colony' was merely privatised, and Germany (which is not really Germany) still wages war against 54 states, while also being in a state of default monetarily. And it's up to the Russkies to end WWII once and for all!

Infinite World, Parallel Realities?

[Johnny1A.2]

This is not exactly weird, but definitely odd, and certainly has gameable possibilities. Not necessarily nice ones, but I've used weaponized cancers in my own world before.

Second Contagious Cancer in Tasmanian Devils Discovered

[Flyndaran]

I'd call it weird that of the three known forms of infectious cancers, two are in tasmanian devils.
It's like their god really ticked off the god of plagues enough to make him get creative in his response.

[(E)]

Not weird exactly but certainly incongruous, off to the Highland games (kilts and cabers) in a tropical cyclone.

[William]

Another fascinating entry in the New York Times' "Outlaw Ocean" series, this one on men paid to recover stolen ships. Excellent source of naval scams and shady characters on both sides of a dubiously useful legal system.

This is an adventure for rogues: force isn't the preferred option, because these aren't typically pirates they're dealing with.

Originally Posted by nytimes

Buccaneers in business suits hijack ships in port through opportunistic ruses rather than at sea with surprise shows of force. ...

Port scams are as old as shipping itself ... “Unexpected complications”: a shipyard makes repairs without permission, then sends the owner an astronomical bill, often for more than the value of the ship, hoping to force its forfeiture. “Barratry”: buying off crews, sometimes paying more than a year’s wages to leave a ship’s keys and walk away. “A docking play”: a shipowner defaults on his mortgage, but is in cahoots with a marina, which charges the repossessor hyperinflated docking fees.

So you frequently have corrupt local officials, and need someone willing to skirt local law in the name of getting the ship to a jurisdiction that will recognize an owner's (or another owner's) legal rights. Instead of force, our erstwhile modern rogues might:

* talk their way on board with a fake uniform and a business card saying "Port Inspector."

* "negotiate" the fee being demanded to a more reasonable bribe.

* charter the ship, get on board with enough friends to convince any hired hands that it isn't worth the trouble, and put the captain on a lifeboat back to land.

* approach at night, place a GPS tracker on the boat, then call police once the ship is in international waters.

* bring a blowtorch at night, cut through the anchor chain, and get gone before being seen.

[William]

The Bicycle Brotherhood of Kuala Lumpur

Originally Posted by nytimes

My problem was that there were three other comic-book freaks in the neighborhood and just that one news agent. Each of us would try to make under-the-counter deals with him.... And we would mess with one another’s brakes.

The Bloody Bicycle Incident of 1989 led to a truce, the Great Summit on the Hill, then to the realization that we’d be better off pooling resources, and finally to the formation of the Bicycle Brotherhood — Kuala Lumpur’s first and only superhero team. We didn’t have special names that I can recall, but we had electric blue bedsheets we’d knot around our necks, and costumed in those second skins, we’d ride around dreaming up worlds, righting wrongs, saving lives.

Fantasy twist: the Bicycle Brotherhood attracts the attention of a few local mystics, who decide that the boys have spirit. A little gentle guidance toward sticky situations, a few blessings from afar, and presto -- a bildungsroman starting from childhood innocence and reaching into the heights of comic book heroics.

Non-fantasy twist: a sweaty summer, a cool abandoned building, a stack of money, a body, corrupt cops and conflicted parents, and ultimately a showdown inspiring the neighborhood to kick out the drug runners/human traffickers/villain of choice.