And people will buy it...

Chalk this up under the category of "And people will buy it..."

Reader Ken drew my attention to a post on the Knuckledraggin blog profiling a photo of three small birch logs decoratively tied up with string and selling for ... drum roll, please ... $19.95. Oh, and these logs were photographed at a Crate and Barrel store.

I didn't want to reproduce the photo without permission, so I went to the Crate and Barrel website and sure enough, it's selling three "slender" birch logs for $19.95.

The item description reads: "Trio of slender birch logs lends a rustic, woodsy touch to the hearth or porch. Natural jute cord keeps logs tidy and loops to form a carrying handle."

Reader Ken wrote: "I did a quick calculation, on a scrap of paper since I don’t have a calculator, which this time of the morning may be slightly in error, using the price as marked for this what I estimate to be 3 pieces of 2”X 12” birch and it comes out to about $25,536.00 per cord. Delivery is probably extra. Now this is a market I would try to find if I had a logging operation."

$25,536.00 per cord ... !!!

Oh, and in case anyone's interested, Crate and Barrel is also selling additional items.

Set of three "tall birch branches" for $29.95. Item description: "The warm white color and papery bark of natural birch branches adds a rustic, outdoorsy look to wintertime décor, blending equally well with classic and contemporary interiors. Bunch of three branches, gathered in the U.S., comes wrapped in jute and can be used for years to come."

Set of three "short birch branches" with a "clearance price" of $12.97 (item description is the same as for Tall Birch Branches).

You can also purchase moss-covered birch branches ("Kissed with moss, our natural birch branches bring a bit of the forest to a large vase or botanical arrangement") for a clearance price of $9.97.

And people will buy it. To be fair, Crate and Barrel presumably wouldn't carry these products if no one was buying them (hence the "clearance prices"). It just astounds me that anyone has that kind of money to waste.

Eewwww, yuck!

Warning: shocking and graphic photo below.

I'm serious, if you have a weak stomach about human deformities, this isn't the post for you.

Ever think your kids are a pain in the patookus? Especially teens who insist on texting all hours of the day and night, or who are putting you through the wringer with their teen rebellion? Ever have a fleeting thought about pushing your kids off a bridge or something?

Well count your blessings after considering what your kids could be like, but aren't. Take a look at this gem of a human (or subhuman, I haven't decided yet) who just can't seem to leave his body alone. This guy is on the run at the moment for allegedly trying to run down his landlady or whatever. But one thing's for sure - he'll be easy to spot in a police lineup.


So whenever you feel a moment's despair over your kid's bad grade in school, just think what what he's NOT.

Warning: revolting photo (ewww, yuck)

My apologies to the photographer - this is reprinted without permission....it was one of those forwarded emails...

Remember when mom said, "Never take candy from strangers?" Well, this is the type she meant.




See what we're missing by raising our children in the boondocks?

They're baaaAAAAaaack......

I tell ya, I thought we were rid of these jerks forever. They have tainted the image of north Idaho like nothing else. Who are they?

White supremacists. Possibly the single most hated group in these regions - except, evidently, by the handful of idiots who join them.

Sigh. Shortly after we moved here (almost six years ago), I remember hearing about a parade or demonstration the Aryan Nation put on. Apparently they had news cameras on them like mad - and hundreds of protesters. Naturally the news cameras focused on the marchers, not the protesters, thus igniting the idea that northern Idaho is chock-ful of white supremacists.

Lovely.