Weird and Wacky Wednesdays: Volume 160

Alcohol, proclivity and thrill seeking are common reasons people commit crimes. As these are all natural human failings, sometimes I wonder why we are so bothered by them. Sure, we have plenty of sympathy for the person who steals a loaf of bread to feed their family. But there is more than hunger that drives human behaviour.

This week we will review alcohol-fueled pasta shenanigans, developments in the thrill-seeking jetpack community and we have an update on an Elmo-based story that, well, is worthy of bothering us.

“Let’s get to the booze.”

That might have been what Stephanie Lannas and her boyfriend, Adolfo Rivera said to each other earlier one evening. Later in the evening or in the early morning hours the police arrived to find Mr. Rivera with stab wounds and both covered with pasta and tomato sauce. It appears they got drunk and got in a pasta fight.

I like to think they started eating spaghetti from the same plate and their lips touched… Or not.

In any event, “alcohol was a factor,” which we have noted is common in pasta fights.

FBI’s 11th Most Wanted: Jetpack Guy

One of the early Sean Connery James Bond films featured a jet pack. One can imagine that an entire generation of thrill-seeking males persuaded themselves that this would be the best thing ever. And certainly, jet packs are exciting technology. It seems they are actually something now of note – no longer an obscure dream of future technology, jetpacks, in all their dangerous glory are here now. Apparently flying high enough to disrupt aircraft traffic.

The FBI is currently investigating someone referred to as “Jetpack Guy” who has been seen on a few occasions now, flying in the airspace of LAX at 3000 feet, and at 5000 feet and 6000 feet. Wow.

Imagine trusting in the technology enough to take yourself to 6000 feet in the air in the potential path of an airplane. I’m sure it’s exciting. Not my type of excitement but it seems men are more inclined to this sort of thrill-seeking activity.

If it turns out I’m wrong and the FBI determines that it is actually “Jetpack Gal,” I’ll eat my hat. I’ll probably just eat a bag of chips. Which is a simple, wholesome activity. For which I have a proclivity

Don’t Tickle Me Elmo

Which brings us to an update to a story we brought you a while back. We told the story of a home inspector who did something very bad with a child’s Elmo stuffed toy. We have more details, and they are disturbing, but one cannot look away.

At least, the homeowners couldn’t look away when they observed on a nanny cam Mr. Kevin VanLuven, 59, doing something awful with their child’s Tickle Me Elmo doll when he was in their house for the purpose of a pre-sale home inspection.

They watched in horror. And apparently he confessed. But now that the matter is in court, it appears during what’s called a suppression hearing in the US, Mr. VanLuven’s lawyers are trying to have the confession thrown out.

You would think the other evidence and the toy itself would be sufficient to convict him even if the confession is thrown out. I would imagine that many people would like the doll to be thrown out. Yuk.  

Proclivity is sometimes not worthy of particular sympathy.

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