Garden guru Chris Beardshaw is recommending a new technique for bigger blooms – blast your plants with heavy metal.

The broadcaster and gardening expert reveals on Radio 4's Gardeners' Question Time on Friday that a constant diet of Black Sabbath worked wonders on a greenhouse full of plants, but exposure to Sir Cliff Richard killed every plant in a horticultural experiment.

Black Sabbath, led by singer Ozzy Osbourne, are seen as pioneers of heavy metal with tracks such as Iron Man and Paranoid. Beardshaw says using rock music as a nutrient appears to create larger flowers and they are more disease-resistant.

The test came about because one of his horticultural students wanted to write a dissertation based on the effects of music on plants.

"We set up four glasshouses with different sorts of music in to see what happened to the plants.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/apr/19/black-sabbath-radio-gardener-chris-beardshaw

ORMOND BEACH, Fla., April 21 (UPI) -- Florida police said a 37-year-old woman stole nearly $170,000 from her employer, a camper sales business, spending $7,000 of it on breast implants.

Police arrested Steffani Lariscy in Iredell County, N.C., Thursday, the Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel reported Saturday. She was charged with grand theft after a yearlong investigation of financial records for Robbins Camper Sales in Ormond Beach, Fla.

The owner of the camper business filed a complaint with police against Lariscy in March 2012 after discovering $1,000 was missing connected to the sale of a camper, the Sentinel reported.

Lariscy had told her employer she took the money to help pay for her divorce proceedings and planned to pay it back. When the owner said he was calling authorities, she ran off, the newspaper said.

Police confiscated bank records and other financial documents from Lariscy's home.


Read more: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2013/04/21/Woman-allegedly-steals-170K-from-work-partly-for-boob-job/UPI-38971366565363/#ixzz2RAT1Rgtt

ATWOOD -- The town's little league program has people fired up over a new fundraiser. It's raffling off a rifle to help more than a dozen teams play ball.

Organizers tried the traditional fundraisers in the past including a hog roast and raffling off donated gift cards. But after only generating only $10 last year, they felt they had to try something new.

"It's got a full rail system, comes with a 30 round magazine," said Bryan Butcher, co-owner of Atwood Armory.

He's talking about the AR-15. It's the prized possession on the shelf at his gun shop. And it's on the brink of taking the town's little league program to new heights.

http://illinoishomepage.net/fulltext?nxd_id=471102

Zooey Deschanel had nothing to do with the Boston Marathon bombings.

Not exactly breaking news, right?

Tell that to Peter Ogburn's television set, which, while the radio show producer and writer was watching the manhunt for a second suspect unfold on his local Fox station, misidentified the 19-year-old man police were looking for as...

"Marathon bombing, he is 19-year-old Zooey Deschanel," read the errant caption, which flubbed the name of Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, who was ultimately arrested Friday night after he was found hiding in a boat behind a home in Watertown, Mass.

http://www.eonline.com/news/410190/boston-manhunt-boo-boo-zooey-deschanel-called-a-suspect-in-quot-epic-closed-captioning-fail-quot

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - As the debate on marriage equality continues, the Saguaro Hotel in Scottsdale decided to celebrate equal rights for all by holding the country's first ever same-sex canine wedding Thursday night.

According to a press release, the wedding was conducted by a licensed Science of Mind Practitioner, and featured a male couple and female couple dogs.

Clark and Bailey, both wired hair dachshund-Pekingese mixes, have been longtime friends. Isabel, a female Chihuahua, and Chunk, a female English Bulldog, met on a blind date set up by friends.

The couples had a dog-friendly wedding cake, marital wardrobes for both brides and grooms and treats for the two-legged attendees.


Read more: http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_northeast_valley/scottsdale/Scottsdale-hotel-The-Saguaro-hosts-same-sex-canine-wedding#ixzz2R52M7Rqj

MEET the man who cooked and ate his own finger after it had to be amputated.

Dave Playpenz, in his 30s, lost the digit after a motorbike accident.

Surgeons had to remove the finger and part of Dave’s hand after it turned black.

But rather than throw the finger away, the bondage furniture maker asked to take it home after his op.

Dave, from Colchester, Essex, said: “It had been kept in the same fridge where the nurses stored the milk for their tea.”

Dave, who admits being curious about cannibalism, said he then thought of eating his own finger and keeping the bones.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/real_life/4893362/meet-man-who-ate-his-own-finger.html

When President Obama went on a Miami-based radio show on Tuesday and name-dropped two prominent rappers, Pit Bull and Flo Rida, it showed his eagerness to win over the young, urban demographic -- particularly blacks and Latinos in Florida, a crucial swing state.

It wasn't the first time Obama has made hip-hop references during a public appearance. On the stump in 2008, Obama famously brushed "dirt" from his shoulders; he also mentioned Young Jeezy during his speech at the White House Press Correspondents' Dinner earlier this year.

In the past, however, politicians in general haven't shown quite the same coziness with rappers as Obama.

Some have lamely attempted to connect with young people by randomly quoting overplayed rap songs during awkward photo ops. Others have used rap songs in campaign ads and at campaign rallies.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/14/politicians-and-rap-music_n_1711924.html

Indiana Sorority Girls Attend Totally Cute Homeless-Themed Party

A bunch of classy sorority girls from Indiana University's Kappa Delta chapter carefully smudged dirt on their faces and fake-begged for food, money and prayers during a homeless-themed party this week.

We thought we'd seen it all after Penn State's Chi Omegas donned sombreros, fake mustaches and signs proclaiming "Will Mow Lawn For Weed + Beer" and "I Don't Cut Grass I Smoke It." How much lower could spoiled sorority girls go?

A few rungs lower, judging from these photos of blonde girls wearing cutoff shorts and plaid shirts with expertly-applied "dirt" smudges on their cheeks (it's very middle school production of Oliver!) holding signs including: "Why lie? It's for BOOZE. Homeless need $ and prayers." "Will Twerk…" and "Give me a nickel and I'll tickle your pickle."

http://jezebel.com/indiana-sorority-throws-spirited-homeless-themed-party-476310795

DECEMBER 12--Hall told cops that he was bitten by Oates during a bloody confrontation Sunday night, according to a police report.

Your “Maneater” jokes go here.

Deputies with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the home of Scott Hall, who reported that he had been bitten over the eye by Roger Oates. Hall “suffered a significant injury above his left eye,” noted investigators, who added that it appeared a “chunk of skin had almost been completely bit off.”

Hall, 40, said that he was in his garage watching football on TV when Oates (seen at right) arrived and charged at him in a “‘bull rush’ fashion.” Hall said that Oates and a cohort knocked him to the ground and began assaulting him.

During the altercation, Hall told deputies, Oates “bit him above the left eye causing the injury to his head.” Hall said that Oates, 48, was angry with him because he would not testify on his behalf in a court case

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/hall-and-oates-biting-assault-687451

When CBS News broke into programming on Thursday morning to air live coverage of an interfaith service in honor of Boston Marathon bombing victims, many took to Twitter to voice their frustration that "The Price is Right" was interrupted.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/18/obama-the-price-is-right_n_3110053.html