Colton Harris Moore

Colton Harris-Moore, at 18 years old, has already made his mark. The 6 feet 3 inches, 205 pound-teen has T-shirts. He has a ballad written for him. He is in the news. His escapades are the topic of numerous commentaries. He even has a Facebook fan page. In short he is a celebrity. In six short years he has risen from the virtual obscurity of Camano Island in Washington state to national and international fame. He has been compared to Huckleberry Finn, James Bond, Robin Hood and even Jesse James. His nickname is the Barefoot Burglar.

For some he embodies the free spirit of a bygone era, for others he is nothing but a petty criminal. However one thing for sure is that he has an uncanny ability to evade capture. He has been the subject of a massive manhunt in Washington state for the past two years, ever since escaping from a halfway house in 2008 where he was serving a 3-year sentence for theft and burglary.

“Somehow people like to live vicariously through people like this,” said Michael Allen, a history professor at the University of Washington's Tacoma campus. “It has elements of the frontier, lawlessness and anti-authoritarianism, and a lot of Americans love that.”

One of Harris-Moore's more spectacular acts involved the alleged stealing of small aircraft. Local radio personality Bob Rivers said his Cessna 182, worth about $150,000, was stolen from a locked hangar on Orcas Island in November. It was later found crashed on the Yakama Indian Reservation. Rivers decided to go public and participated in a FOX News interview broadcast nationally with Harris-Moore's mother, Pam Kohler, hoping that it would help capture the teenager.

“I'm not a fan of the media frenzy because I don't like the whole cult hero thing, but if keeping it alive helps solve it, then I think it's worth it.”

Adin Stevens, who owns Good Times Printing in Seattle, says orders for Harris-Moore T-shirts are coming in from all around the country.

“I sold a couple hundred bucks worth this morning,” Stevens said. “With all the interest, I was forced to think about why I wanted to make the shirts. I really don't know, to be honest. I just think it's an extraordinary story. I can relate to Colton in a number of ways. It's a good outlaw story. ... I had my share of trouble growing up.”

Law enforcement, naturally, has a different perspective on the escapades of Colton Harris-Moore. Officials in Island and San Juan counties said they have evidence linking him to the many alleged crimes in the form of DNA, fingerprints, eyewitnesses and surveillance videos.

"I scratch my head and ask, 'Why can't we catch this kid?'" Island County Undersheriff Kelly Mauck said. "Colton Harris-Moore, in my opinion, is a horrible criminal," Mauck said of the alleged activity. "He's very good at evading capture, but he's a horrible criminal."

Besides commandeering small aircraft and even boats, the teen has allegedly broken into hardware stores, homes, restaurants and ATMs. San Juan County Sheriff Bill Cumming said the teen doesn't always steal money but, rather, tools and other items that might sustain his life on the run. It was in San Juan County that authorities allege Harris-Moore stole two boats and two planes simply for the purpose of island hopping around the rural communities that are dotted with summer houses for vacationers.

Frustrating to officers, Mauck said, is that even when they get a tip that Harris-Moore is squatting somewhere, they can't just bust in and arrest him. By the time officers go through the proper channels of obtaining search warrants and otherwise abiding by the legal process, he's gone.

"We're forced to play by the rules and he doesn't play by the rules," Mauck said.

According to authorities, the teen has never shown violent behavior and is not known to be a drug user. 

Colton Harris-Moore had a rough upbringing. His abusive father walked out after choking him during an argument at a family barbecue. His mother raised him in a mobile home in the woods on the island's South End. His home is a tarp-covered, single-wide trailer surrounded by tall cedar trees and decommissioned pickup trucks.

Pam Kohler said her son's father left when he was about 2, his stepfather died when he was about 7, and from the time Harris-Moore was in first grade, she knew there was something off about him - "sort of a disconnection."

He wouldn't listen to his teachers, started altercations at school and sometimes deliberately broke things around the house, Kohler said. And sheriff's deputies sometimes accused him of stealing things even when he hadn't, she added - such as a $300 bicycle she said she bought him for his birthday one year.

"Every time he had anything any good, everyone thought he stole it," she said. "What does that do to a kid?"

The criminal history of Colton Harris-Moore began on Oct. 8, 2003 when at 12 years old he was convicted of: Third-degree possession of stolen property. Case filed in Snohomish County. Sentenced to 11 days confinement, 16 hours of community service and six months community supervision. 

Between Nov. 2003 and Feb. 2007 he managed to accumulate 8 more convictions. He was ordered to live at a group home in Renton, as part of a 3-year sentence but he escaped in April 2008. He has been on the run ever since.

Colton Harris-Moore will eventually be caught, ending his 15 minutes of fame but in the meantime the media will continue to report on his activities. The real question is what kind of person will this wayward teen turn out to be, assuming he is captured alive.

 

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Oblation Run 2009

The members of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) fraternity held their annual Oblation Run on December 11, 2009. Students from the University of the Philippines run naked around campus in a tradition that began in 1977. Each year the students run for a "cause". The theme of this year's run is Climate Change.

The Oblation Run was started as a protest against the banning of the play, ‘Hubad na Bayani’ (Naked Hero); a political satire on the late President Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorial rule. The APO said that more than a form of protest, their running bare-naked was more like a reminder to the UP students of the symbolism of the Oblation statue – a selfless offering of the Filipinos to their country.

Below are some scenes from Oblation Run 2009: Warning the following scenes portray full frontal male nudity.

 For more on the Oblation Run click here

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Another Horse Lover

71-Year-Old David Chamberlin of Middlesbrough in England loved horses, I mean he really loved horses. Since he didn't own one himself, he decided to visit a horse in a nearby field. While there, he was discovered in a compromising position by the owner. The following facts were presented at court:

‘The witness was shaken and disgusted by what he saw,’ prosecutor Noelle Brockbank told Teesside Magistrates’ Court.

What the owner saw was his horse's head in David Chamberlin's groin, in the process of committing a sex act. That was when all hell broke loose.

‘He picked up a stick and struck the defendant. That startled the horse, causing it to run off, dragging the defendant with it.’

Unable to offer an excuse for his actions, Chamberlin’s solicitor, Alex Bousfield, said:

‘Mr Chamberlin cannot explain what happened. He didn’t know how to account for that behaviour.’

Chamberlin admitted outraging public decency by committing a lewd act and was handed a 24-month community order. He was also given a sexual offences prevention order – which means he cannot have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 and is banned from owning or being around animals unsupervised.

Chairman of the bench John Meredith said Chamberlin caused stress to the ‘owner and the animal itself’.

This case also brings to mind another horse-lover, Rodell Vereen from Longs, S.C. who carried on a love affair with a 21-year-old horse named Sugar. He was caught twice having sex with the same horse, by the owner, Barbara Kenley. The first time he received probation and had to register as a sex offender.

The second time he was given 3 years in jail and 2 years probation. He apologized to the woman and to himself after admitting to buggery at the Horry County courthouse.

"I'm sorry about what I've done. I didn't mean to do it. It's my fault. I'm sorry for what I've done to myself," Vereen said during the court hearing.

The judge sentenced Vereen to five years in prison, but he will only have to serve three years behind bars as long as he successfully completes two years of probation. Vereen also was ordered to undergo additional mental treatment after he gets out of prison and was told to stay away from Kenley's stable.

Kenley said she was mostly happy with the verdict, but wished Vereen had got more prison time.

"I've been through hell for the last year and it's caused a lot of hardship," Kenley told the newspaper. "There's a lot of ridicule and jokes going around about this thing. And a person can only take so much."

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Racist or Innocent Vanity Tag

Richard Macaulay of Muskegon, Michigan is a Harley-Davidson lover. He takes pride in his Harley-Davidson Dyna Wide Glide motorcycle, which he keeps in immaculate condition. His other love is the Harley-Davidson Soft Tail Springer.

7 years ago he ordered vanity plates which combined the names of his two favorite bikes: DYNGR.

Macaulay said he was  shocked to receive a letter from the Michigan Secretary of State’s office recently, stating that his personalized license plate of seven years had been revoked. The letter went on to say that a complaint had been received claiming the personalized tag was racially insensitive.

That complaint came from Tiffany Gilmore, who is black. According to Tiffany she was in the Walmart parking lot on Sherman Avenue when she came across a motorcycle with a personalized license plate that sent chills down her spine. She said the license plate included an abbreviation for a racial slur that encourages hatred toward blacks.

Gilmore, of Muskegon Heights, said that at the time she saw the license plate, she “went from awe to disbelief to sadness and then anger because I had my 11-year-old son with me and I had to explain it to him.”

She said she called the Secretary of State’s office in Lansing when she got home. After Gilmore spelled the license plate, the employee responded: “Excuse me? You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Kelly Chesney, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State, said her agency conducts extensive screening of applications for personalized license plates. She said a committee reviews the proposed text to avoid offensive language and objectionable content.

The committee includes representatives from ethnic groups and students who know texting lingo. With the evolution of a texting generation that uses abbreviations for almost everything, a license plate with objectionable content occasionally slips through, Chesney said.

After an investigation of Gilmore’s complaint, the Secretary of State’s office decided to pull the license plate, Chesney said. She would not elaborate on whether state officials agreed that the plate was racially insensitive. The plate’s owner has been notified of the decision. The owner has the right to appeal, she said.

After he received the complaint letter, Macaulay said it took him several minutes to figure out what the fuss was about.

“I don’t think that way,” he said. “It took me awhile to figure it out.”

Macaulay's brother-in-law thought it was an abbreviation for “danger.” But, he said, no one ever thought it was racially motivated....Until last month.

“I agree with the lady in one respect, and that is that I don’t know what it’s like to be picked on racially,” Macaulay said. “But she immediately took umbrage without accepting that it could mean something else.”

Upon hearing Macaulay’s explanation Gilmore said she still believes it’s racially motivated.

“When you look at the abbreviation and try to put it together, it doesn’t make sense,” she said. “I’m sorry, it just doesn’t.”

Macaulay said he can’t believe the controversy his license plate has kicked off.

“There are so many other things going on, like the war,” he said. “People have nothing better to do than spend their lives being pissed off.”

Macaulay said he has applied for a new personalized license plate similar to the one that has been recalled. But it lacks the letter “N” so nobody gets confused.

“I would like to apologize to this lady for offending her, but that was not my intention,” Macaulay said of Gilmore. “People who know me know that I’m not a racist. But she didn’t really know what the plate meant. I didn’t ask for any of this, and I wish it would all just go away.”

 

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Where Did That Remote Control Go?

Chinese student, Huang Chen, 19, turned up drunk at Hunan Hangtian Hospital in Changsha, complaining of unexplained pain from his rear end. He had been out drinking with his roommates and had collapsed.

During the examination the drunk Chen turned over on his side and the TV in the room changed channels. This was somewhat of a mystery until the X-rays of Chen came back. They revealed that the teenager had a remote control lodged up his rear end.

According to police, Chen's friends admitted they had played a prank on him while he was unconscious. They somehow managed to get the remote control up his ass.

"We didn't know what it was to start with. There was a little bit of blood but he didn't say anything about a remote control. We couldn't quite believe it when we saw the X-ray," said medic Dr Wei Lung Zhi. "He will be fine in time but the remote was a write off," he added.

I have some personal advice for Huang Chen.....Stop drinking or find some new roommates or both!! It just makes you wonder what else they were doing with him while he was asleep.

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