The Melbourne city council learned the hard way that one man's art is another man's crap on a wall that needs to be painted over. The council hired a cleanup crew to get rid of graffiti on Hosier Lane, a street renowned for its street art. While there, the crew got rid of the graffiti, as well as a piece by Banksy, who is regarded as one of the world's greatest street artists. From the article: "The reclusive Banksy ... painted several stencils in Melbourne during a 2003 visit. His satirical and distinctive art is often directed at anti-war, cultural, and anti-capitalist themes. Banksy in 2005 painted nine images on Israel's West Bank barrier, including a ladder going over the wall and an image of children breaking through to a tropical island. In 2008, a London wall bearing one of his stencils was said to have sold on eBay for almost $500,000."

If you like to pass the time playing minesweeper, or checking your Facebook updates while piloting a 900,000-pound aircraft 400 mph, you won't like the latest FAA decision. The agency has asked airlines to create policies to minimize cockpit distractions, including pilots' use of personal electronic devices. "There is no room for distraction when your job is to get people safely to their destinations," said DOT Secretary Ray LaHood. "The traveling public expects professional pilots to focus on flying and on safety at all times."

A futile search for self in an ocean of indifference.

An anonymous reader writes "Purdue Senior Jennifer McCreight asked 30 of her friends to dress immodestly Monday to test a claim by an Iranian cleric that immodest women cause earthquakes. Now, over 200,000 women have joined the cause."

ISoldat53 writes "The Consumerist has awarded Comcast the Golden Poo award for the worst company in America. From the article: 'After four rounds of bloody battle against some of the most publicly reviled businesses in America, Comcast can now run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and hold its hands high in victory — it has bested everyone else to earn the title of Worst Company In America for 2010.'"

Geoffrey.landis writes "Terry Southgate discovered that his wife Wendy appears on the Google Street View of his neighborhood not once or twice but a whopping 43 times. From the article: 'It seems as if the Street View car simply followed the same route as Wendy and Trixie. However, Wendy was a little suspicious that the car was doing something on the "tricksie" side. Several of the Street View shots show Wendy looking with some concern towards the car that was, well, to put it politely, crawling along the curb. "I didn't know what it was doing. It was just driving round very, very slowly," Wendy told the Sun.' The next best thing to being a movie star — a Street View star!"

Do you love to hear crying babies but wish you could somehow mix in some Sumo wrestler with each wail? Then the annual Naki Sumo (crying baby contest) in Japan might be for you. From the article: "Eager mothers bring the babies to the event where Sumo wrestlers and high priests are on hand to coax babies into a maddened state of wailing. The event, which marks the high point of spring, is held each year at the Sensoji Temple in Tokyo. The baby to cry loudest and longest wins the contest. The competition is also intended to generate good health for the babies. This year Sumo wrestlers coaxed 80 babies, all less than a year old, to cry.

What happens when a staff member of your restaurant thinks that a "guide dog" is a "gay dog" and refuses service to a blind man because of his dog's sexual preference? You give the man a written apology, attend an Equal Opportunity education course, pay him $1,500, and end up in the Idle section. From the article: "A statement given by restaurant owners Hong Hoa Thi To and Anh Hoang Le said one of the waiters had understood Mr. Jolly's partner Chris Lawrence 'to be saying she wanted to bring a gay dog into the restaurant. The staff genuinely believed that Nudge was an ordinary pet dog which had been desexed to become a gay dog,' the statement said. Mr. Jolly and Ms. Lawrence were refused entry to the restaurant — which displays a 'guide dogs welcome' sign — even after providing staff with a guide dogs fact card."

Police found Amanda Pogany's stolen 1996 Honda in a chop shop and were able to return it to her. While in the custody of the thieves, the car got a few upgrades, including a new V-8 engine, manual transmission, leather interior, tinted windows, and oversize tires. Unfortunately Amanda won't be able to play The Fast and the Furious around the neighborhood with her new souped up car. She doesn't know how to drive a stick.

harrymcc writes "In 1981, tiny Nintendo of America was getting ready to release Donkey Kong. When the company's landlord, Mario Segale, demanded back rent, Nintendo staffers named the game's barrel-jumping protagonist after him. Almost thirty years later, neither Nintendo — which continues to crank out Mario games — nor Segale — now a wealthy, secretive Washington State real estate developer — like to talk about how one of video games' iconic characters got his name and Italian heritage. Technologizer's Benj Edwards has researched the story for years and provides the most detailed account to date."

If you have had your penis enlarged, don't try to join the Papua police force. Papua police chief Bekto says an applicant "will be asked whether or not his vital organ has been enlarged. If he has, he will be considered unfit to join the police or the military." A police spokesperson says that an enlarged organ causes a "hindrance during training." The best part of this story is the method Indonesians have been using to enhance themselves. From the article: "Papuans use a local technique to achieve the enlargement, according to a sexologist quoted by local newspaper Jakarta Globe, wrapping the penis with leaves from the 'gatal-gatal' (itchy) tree so that it swells up 'like it has been stung by a bee,' the expert said." Apparently the force has all the dicks it can handle already.

An unnamed man flying from Nigeria to New York City found out he was added to a no-fly list somewhere above the Atlantic Ocean, when the plane stopped to refuel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Officials won't say what he did or why he was added to the list after he had already boarded a flight. He was not immediately charged with a crime and Customs and Border Protection will only say that he is a "potential person of interest." From the article: "The man, a citizen of Gambia, was not on the no-fly list when he boarded the aircraft in Dakar, Senegal, said a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly."

crimeandpunishment writes "You can get a lot of good deals on Craigslist, apparently including children. A New York State man has been arrested for allegedly trying to sell his children on the online marketplace. From the article: 'State Police Investigator Bryan Blum said Joshua A. Stagnitto, 24, was charged with one count of third-degree falsely reporting an incident, a misdemeanor, after a report was made to Monroe County Child Protective Services advising them of the posting on the online marketplace. The posting indicated a person was selling their children. Police said an investigation revealed Stagnitto was the source of the posting.'"

Aaron Jamison, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, has come up with a novel way of raising the $800 to pay for his cremation. He plans on selling ad space on two urns that will hold his ashes. From the article: "Jamison said he is collecting disability, but it does not cover his monthly medical bills. He has a small life insurance policy, but said it's not much to leave to his wife. "He had so much concern for his wife and how she was going to be able to handle this," said Dustin Remington, Jamison's longtime friend and owner of Terese's Place. "It was just an opportunity I was happy to be a part of." Remington handed over a 100 dollar check and signed a contract Monday."

eldavojohn writes "You may recall the hapless engineer who left a fairly sensitive iPhone at a bar recently. Well, in a PR stunt, Lufthansa has invited him to visit Germany on their dime after citing his latest Facebook status, 'I underestimated how good German beer is' as well as his obvious passion for German beer and culture. It's not clear if Gray Powell has decided to 'pick up where he last left off' (as the letter puts it). I know what my decision would be."

The Georgia House Judiciary Committee took up a bill that would "prohibit requiring a person to be implanted with a microchip," and would make violating the ban a misdemeanor. Things started to get weird at the hearing when a woman who described herself as a resident of DeKalb County told the committee, "I'm also one of the people in Georgia who has a microchip." Not sure of what she was trying to say, she was allowed to continue and added, "Microchips are like little beepers. Just imagine, if you will, having a beeper in your rectum or genital area, the most sensitive area of your body. And your beeper numbers displayed on billboards throughout the city. All done without your permission." Further prodding revealed that the woman's co-workers would torture her by activating the chips with their cell phones and that the chips were implanted by "researchers with the federal government." The committee thanked the woman for her input, and later approved the bill.

lee1 writes "The Texas Attorney General is determined to help protect the traditional definition of divorce, which is the dissolution of the union between a man and a woman. Therefore any gay married couples who find their way into his state had better stay married. From the article: 'Gay and lesbian couples who turn to the courts when they break up are getting mixed results across the nation. A Pennsylvania judge last month refused to divorce two women who married in Massachusetts, while New York grants such divorces even though the state doesn't allow same-sex marriage.'"

snkiz writes "As if MacBooks weren't expensive enough — now we have this. 'This is the most expensive laptop in the world, fitted with 25.5 carats of flawless diamonds. A total of 53 diamants individually set in a solid 24ct gold apple logo.' Although eBay iPads aren't much cheaper."

SocietyoftheFist writes "William R. Jordan was robbed of his iPad right after he bought it and worse yet he lost part of his finger in the process. He was holding on to the bag so tightly that when the thief ripped the bag free he took the skin off the tip of his pinky finger. Doctors had to amputate more than half the finger because he had lost so much tissue."

A new kind of speed camera that uses satellites to measure average speed over long distances is being tested in Britain. The "Speedspike" system combines plate reading technology with a global positioning satellite receiver to calculate average speed between any two points in the area being monitored. From the article: "Details of the trials are contained in a House of Commons report. The company said in its evidence that the cameras enabled 'number plate capture in all weather conditions, 24 hours a day.' It also referred to the system's 'low cost' and ease of installation." I can't wait to see the episode of MythBusters where they try to avoid getting a speeding ticket from a satellite.