The name Pittsburgh Pirates refers to both the athletic club and the alumni of Pirate University (Pittsburgh)—a major league academic institution dedicated to the furtherance of piracy arts and sciences, and the preservation of pirate heritage into the 21st century. A second campus, Pirate University Tampa Bay, opened in 1976—on the 100th Anniversary of the [...]

It beats shivering on a cold bedpan watching Lawrence Welk, doesn’t it? ~ Rogério Budasz RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — The yearly surge of elderly tourists attending Rio’s world renowned carnival began a week early this year, with the arrival of Rolling Stones, who were on hand to provide a free concert before a crowd [...]

OCD or Omniscient Concept of Design is a paranormal ability whereby an individual possesses total knowledge of the intrinsic principles, processes, and design of the order of the known universe. Fear and misunderstanding of this special power has led to it being mislabeled in public society as obsessive-compulsive disorder. Origin Because it has been largely [...]

R. L. Stine is another pseudonym of author Stephen King. Pseudonyms Considered by many as an adequate peddler of pedestrian prose, King’s main criticism by readers and publishers alike has not been his writing (though that does warrant strong objection), but his woefully slow novel output. In fact, King has published less than 70 books [...]

Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (May 25, 1803–January 18, 1873) was a dark and stormy English playwright, novelist, poet, and author of most-high renown, widely honoured and much acclaimed by contemporaries of his age, but also by the adoration of the common man—not simply in celebration of the rare and exceptional nature of [...]

Too stupid to learn Klingon? Relax! Have you been rejected by the Über-nerds at Star Trek Conventions? Rejoice! Tamarian is the language spoken by the Children of Tamar, first heard in the episode “Darmok” from the fifth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Unlike traditional earth speech, it relies on metaphor and allegory to [...]

Richard Malodorous Stallman (also known as “rms” or  “GNU/Stallman“) is the author and most prominent proponent of the Grand Unified Theory of Free & Accessible Technology (GUTFAT), and the founder of the GNU. GNU is a clever and descriptive but decidedly non-recursive acronym standing for Generally Not Used. Essentially, rms’s theory states that it is [...]

I thought that cheesy Dracula outfit was just camp. ~ Lon Chaney NEW YORK (UNN) — Al Lewis, washed-up ex-television star of the 1964-66 program “The Munsters” died on Friday, for approximately 3 minutes. He was 95. Lewis, a frequent diner and the proprietor of the Greenwich Village restaurant, Grandpa’s, was attacked by an irrate diner [...]

Mr. Conklin was able to live a lifestyle that only the top Wal-Mart performers are able to attain… ~ Yosh Shmenge FORT SMITH, Arkansas, USA (UNN) — A “valued, part-time Associate” employee of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. admitted on Tuesday to stealing an estimated $5,000 in cheap Chinese-made merchandise from the world’s largest retailer. Tim Conklin, 67, [...]