Odds & Ends

Odds & Ends

Devin D. O'Leary
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4 min read
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Dateline: Turkey

A contestant on a television dating show was booted after he admitted to killing his two previous lovers. Sefer Calinak, 62, confessed on Flash TV’s “Luck of the Draw” to having served prison terms for each of the murders. “I’m an honest person looking for a new wife,” Calinak told the host before saying he murdered his first wife because he was “irritated” by her behavior and offed a subsequent girlfriend because he thought she was after his money. The live studio audience reportedly applauded when Calinak was asked to leave the show by the host.

Dateline: Russia

Russia now has a state-sanctioned swear jar. Thanks to new legislation, pushed forward by President Vladimir Putin, it is now illegal to curse in public. The law, which goes into effect on July 1, would ban curse words at artistic, cultural and entertainment events. Individuals can face a 2,500 ruble ($70) fine, while organizations would be forced to pay upwards of 50,000 rubles ($1,418). Any new film containing obscene language will not be granted a distribution certificate, keeping it out of public cinemas. Books and CDs containing dirty words must be sealed and labelled. Moscow demanded the legislation which “bans the use of obscene language when ensuring the rights of Russian citizens to the use of the state language, and protecting and developing language culture.” According to the
Moscow Times, “the law has been met with both criticism and shock, as swearing has been a vital part component of Russian art.” A list of objectionable words has not been issued, but legislators say a panel of independent experts will determine the “words and phrases not meeting the norms of modern Russian literary language.”

Dateline: Colorado

In what is being called a “one-in-a-million” coincidence, the pilot of a single-engine plane crashed into a suburban Denver home—where he used to live. The pilot, 52-year-old Brian Veatch, lost power to his Piper Pawnee crop-duster while towing an advertising banner over a residential neighborhood in the town of Northglenn. The crash sparked a fire and left a gaping hole in the back of the ranch-style dwelling. Veatch, who was uninjured in the crash, helped fight back the flames with a garden hose until firefighters arrived. No one was home at the time of the accident. Property records from the Adams County Assessor’s Office prove that Veatch bought the home in the fall of 2000 and sold it in May 2003. Police spokesperson Ron Haralson said the coincidental crash is being called an accident. “Until we know otherwise, that’s what we’ll look at it as,” he told reporters. Tom Mace, owner of the aerial banner company that Veatch works for, said the pilot was completely unaware it was his former home at the time of the crash.

Dateline: Florida

A judge has shot down a suspended lawyer’s petition to marry his laptop full of pornography. Mark “Chris” Sevier had filed a motion in Florida “on behalf of other minority sexual orientation groups” that would allow him to marry his “porn-filled Apple computer.” In the 24-page document, obtained by the
Broward Palm Beach Times, Sevier said that if gay couples “have the right to marry their object of sexual desire, even if they lack the corresponding sexual parts, then I should have the right to marry my preferred sexual object.” Just last year Sevier brought a failed suit against Apple computers after he purchased a MacBook and “accidentally” discovered pornography on the internet. Sevier said he “was not provided with any warning by Apple that pornography was highly addictive and could alter my reward cycle by the manufacturer.” Sevier said he “began preferring sex with my computer over sex with real women.” On April 24 federal Judge Robert Hinkle overturned Sevier’s newest motion, suggesting the filing was “satirical” or “perhaps it is only removed from reality. Either way the motion has no place in this lawsuit.” According to the Times, Sevier’s earned a law degree but has been barred from practicing law due to “mental infirmity or illness.” The same month he filed his original suit against Apple, a warrant for his arrest was issued, accusing him of stalking country music star John Rich.

Compiled by Devin D. O'Leary. Email your weird news to devin@alibi.com.

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