Shocked and Amazed Net Freak Alert

Carny Loses Thumb in Weekend Fight

2008-04-25T11:55:00.000-07:00

Man loses thumb in weekend fight
April 21, 2008

A carnival worker had part of his thumb bitten off in a midnight fight, then he was beaten with a stick hours later Sunday morning in a continuing clash, Medford police said.

The string of fights landed five men in jail on assault, harassment and disorderly conduct charges.

Police were called to a fight near Target on Crater Lake Avenue moments after midnight Sunday, Medford police Lt. Tim Doney said.

Several groups of workers from the Davis Shows Northwest carnival set up in the parking lot of the Rogue Valley Mall told police that there had been a fight between intoxicated, off-duty workers arguing about taking breaks.

A 49-year-old man from Santa Cruz, Calif., had the tip of his left thumb bitten off when he punched another man in the mouth, Doney said. He was taken to Rogue Valley Medical Center and police dog Tiko was sent out to search for the missing digit, which was found in a clump of grass near the bridge that carries Crater Lake Avenue over Bear Creek. Surgeons couldn't reattach the flesh and had to remove the exposed bone of the thumb, leaving the victim with a permanent disfigurement, Doney said.

As police tried to piece together what had happened in the drunken melee, one intoxicated carnival worker, Elias French, 53, of Milwaukie, confronted police and was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was lodged in the Jackson County Jail, but has since been released.

At about 10 a.m. Sunday, police were called to another fight near Target and found that the victim with the missing thumb and his brother were preparing to leave the carnival when they were attacked by four other carnival workers. One assailant hit the victim in the face with a tree branch, knocking him down. Then, the others kicked and punched him until a woman driving by saw the fight and scared the attackers off by honking her horn and calling 9-1-1 on her cell phone, Doney said.

When police arrived, the victim pointed out three of his co-workers who had assaulted him and they were arrested. Bryan Andrew Sayward, 21; Joseph Ellion Polach, 37; and James Richard Neal, 24, were each arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, harassment and third-degree assault. The three, who have no permanent addresses listed, all remained in jail Monday on $35,000 bail each.

After searching the carnival grounds, police found Donald Wayne Johnson, 35, hiding under a semi-trailer, perched near the wheels. He was arrested and lodged in jail on charges of disorderly conduct, harassment and second-degree assault, stemming from his suspected role in swinging the branch to strike the victim. He remained in jail Monday on $1,010,000 bail.

� Anita Burke

Shocked & Amazed at Asbury Lanes

2007-11-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

Editor Kathleen Kotcher and Zamora the Torture King.

Visit Prof. Jas. Mundie's Flickr page for more photos from the Shocked and Amazed! publication party at Asbury Lanes

Lo-Fi Social Club

2007-11-11T11:12:00.000-08:00

Lo-Fi Social Club Photo Gallery from Shocked & Amazed! Publication Party.

Lo-Fi Social Club Youtube Videos from the same night!

Shocked & Amazed! Volume 9 Release Tour

2007-11-08T11:17:00.000-08:00

Thursday, Nov. 8, Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ

Friday, Nov. 9, Lo-Fi Social Club, Baltimore, MD $10

Coming to the Lo-Fi the evening of Nov.9 - for one stunning night only - the "Shocked and Amazed!" Tour featuring Guinness World Record & Ripley's Believe It or Not! star Zamora the Torture King direct from Las Vegas AND Coney Island's own Tyler Fyre with Wild Snake Enchantress Thrill Kill Jill, both in town from their Lucky Devil Thrillshow.

A night too extreme for the squeamish or the faint of heart but a night never to be forgotten by those who want the most amazing variety entertainment ever witnessed. The "Shocked and Amazed! Tour celebrates the publication of vol.9 of Baltimore's own "Shocked and Amazed!" magazine, the world's only journal devoted to sideshow, burlesque and the new vaudeville.

With a featured appearance by publisher (and frequent national media entertainment pundit) James Taylor, co-founder of the American Dime Museum and DC's Palace of Wonders. If this show don't burn the ol' town down, then we don't know what hot is.

Saturday, Nov 10, Palace of Wonders, Washington DC $10

James Taylor - famed carnival historian and museum owner houses his collection of carnival curiosities in countless cabinets throughout the Palace of Wonders. Now he's bringing the LIVE collection - an all-star sideshow featuring Shocked & Amazed Volume 9 coverboy - Zamora the Torture King: Direct from Las Vegas, where he hosts his long running show - Zamora performs the pinnacle of painproof acts and amazements - in astonishing displays of mind over matter. Tyler Fyre & Thrill Kill Jill - in their welcome home show after the Arizona State Fair - bring back the biggest and best stunts from their Lucky Daredevil Thrillshow.

Where can you be SHOCKED AND AMAZED! this weekend?

2007-06-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

Dad'll love it!

Make a point of packing up dear old Dad and taking him to see our very own James Taylor this Sunday, June 17 at The Coney Island Museum. In this afternoon lecture, James will discuss all manner of sideshow fakery in what he is calling a "prop heavy lecture and explication."

Don't forget the Mermaid Parade is Saturday, June 23. Adam Savage from MythBusters is King Neptune this year!

But what about me?

Sadly, I will have to miss James' amazing lecture. I will be spreading the SHOCKED AND AMAZED! sunshine in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. at the 6th Annual Hukilau.

Lucky me! In addition to all of the exotica goodness and many many drinks with little umbrellas in them...I won't feel too far from home as Trixie Little and The Evil Hate Monkey are going to be there.

And this guy is going to be there, too. I cannot wait to meet him! C'mon Cannibal card magic is AWESOME.

Plus there will be mermaids and burlesque. Really, it looks like too much fun.

Aloha!

Your concern is touching...

2007-06-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

Really, truly it is. Upon reading this article about a skeleton found surrounded by 80s porn many, many people were worried it was a particular pal of mine. The good news is, he emailed me the article hisself...mainly to let the world know it was not him.

Especially because 80s porn is not his favorite.

The Agony of DeFeet

2007-06-05T08:12:00.000-07:00

O my footness gracious. This is so vile. And gross and barfy, too. Why oh why does this exist?

(Link does not go to any story about Paris Hilton)

It Ain't Me Babe.

2007-04-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

By now you have heard the news. I am not the father of Anna Nicole�s million dollar baby. I am planning on traveling the same moral highroad as lawyer Howard K Stern: I will not contest the paternity results which seem to imply that Larry Birkhead is the father of that little sack of cash.

Which brings me to three points about the whole Anna Nicole thing:

1. Doesn�t it seem like this whole thing is right out of a John Waters film?

2. IF Larry Birkhead is indeed the father that means Anna Nicole was cheating on alleged paramour Howard K. Stern. Do you think that news crushed him? I mean now he doesn�t have his beloved nor the little bankroll baby nor does he have his fond memories of his love with Anna. Chin up, Howard K. Stern, she always really loved you most of all.

3. What is wrong with the youth of America? Was a time when disaffected youths from around the country would have read the autopsy report, fixated on the phrase �the anus was unremarkable,� and BAM! Faster than you could say �Garage band� there would be fourteen awful punk bands whose name was some variant of �Anna Nicole�s Unremarkable Anus.� I want the tshirt.

Clearly, I have been doing some heavy thinking regarding this whole Anna Nicole thing.

How am I going to get through life with this tragic revelation weighing so heavily on my shoulders? Well, it appears I am going to be spending ALL WEEKEND at the Palace of Wonders. Check it out.

Friday the 13^th is the Cheeky Monkey Sideshow starring supercool Swami Yomahmi. I have it on excellent authority that there may be a bona fide celebrity in the audience? Who? Well, you will have to attend the show to find out.

Saturday the 14^th is Jollyship the Whiz-Bang. �Jollyship the Whiz-Bang is dedicated to exploring the nautical relationship between puppetry and rock music, including but not limiting itself to all things danceable, piratey, and grog related.� I love all of these things. I have never seen them all together in one place myself�so I don�t know how it is going to play out. But I sure am interested. Oh, they also get bonus style point from me for putting a �how to correctly spell the name of this troupe� bit on the end of their main page.

Sunday the 15^th I am going to hear James Taylor speak in the Palace of Wonders Museum Series about �Outing the Sideshow.�

Somehow I will get by.

(And now we should all take a moment to remember a truly great man. And we should be just a little bit sad he is gone.)

The Branding of America

2007-03-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

I bet you were expecting some sort of anti-consumerism screed about the branding of America, the dumbing down of the public because of excessive tv-watching. You know, some kind of smarty mcsmartypants kind of attitude like that. And, usually, you would be right. But I have to tell you, I LOVE this idea as well as this one.

So, let's recap. I hate the branding of America. Except when it is from the parts of popular culture that I like.

Which one is the dummy?

2007-03-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

Madame Tussauds invites you to find the dummy and let me tell you some of these are pretty hard. I don't know what it says about their real appearance, but the Jessica Simpson and the J Lo ones are nigh on impossible.

NOTE: They are not asking you which of the two photos is smarter.

Think About the Bumps on Your Head While Planning your Weekend!

2007-03-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend at The Museum at Palace of Wonders

will be the kick off for the Sunday lecture series.

What can you learn about this weekend? Well, Charon Henning, who is also the most dangerous beauty alive, would like you to know:

This is not an April Fool�s Joke!

PHRENOLOGY!
Mistake of the Past & Doom of the Future!
By Professor Otto Knowbetter
Doors open @: 12pm
Lecture begins @: 1pm

Featured Speaker and noted Lecturer Alexander Kensington explains the 19th century science of Phrenology, The Original Scientific Biometric of Morality. The historic assumptions and findings of almost 10 years of empirical research in the early 19th century led medical men of the day to the conclusion that anatomy and �moral science� were connected enough to be observable and manifested on the surface of the subject�s skull.

The theories of Gall, Spurzheim and Combe will be explained and extrapolated to our present practice of profiling and its implications for the future. An authentic interpretation of character reading from examination of a living cranium will be demonstrated.

Food and drink available.

See you there!

Mad as a March Hare!

2007-03-17T06:24:00.000-07:00

This are easily some of the most fascinating pictures I have seen in ages. Make sure you poke around on the links particularly the one about the "poor fellow with the unusual skin condition".

Maybe a disease did make people think of a jackalope. Heck, sailors thought a manatee was a mermaid. I personally don't believe there is enough rum in the world for that one.

Boing Boing: Origins of the jackalope?

Preserved chicked? Extra leg meat!

2007-03-16T13:15:00.000-07:00

This is straight out of the Colonel's Dream Factory.

Hebron museum to preserve four-legged chicken - Yahoo! News

Lucky Devil on the Road and in the News

2007-02-26T12:28:00.000-08:00

Here is an article about newlywed sideshow couple Tyler Fyre and Thrill Kill Jill.

Courier-Life Publications - Sideshow couple are freaks for traditional family values

In addition to this article be astoundingly fascinating and something I really, truly wanted to share with each and every one of you this is also a test. It seems the new "improved" blogger I am using thinks that some of my older pearls of wisdom need revisiting.

It used its powerful robotcomputerbrain to send out a bunch of old Net Freak Alerts and it seems to be sending out every single thing I have written in the last twelve months or so.

Hopefully all of the bugs have been worked out. If not, I am sorry in advance. Oh, and because you have been kind enough to read to the bottom of this. Make sure you go see Lucky Devil in DC at the Palace of Wonders on March 10. You will not believe the guest list

Wedding of the Sideshow Century.

2007-02-23T15:25:00.000-08:00

On Valentine's Day, the Amazin' Blazin' Tyler Fyre married Thrill Kill Jill Fisher in Las Vegas, NV.

Zamora, the Torture King, was the best man.

You can watch the wedding here. It is performed by Elvis. You need Real Player to view it.

February 2007 | Viva Las Vegas Weddings| Las Vegas Weddings Video Archives

What's missing here? ME! I was supposed to be the maid of honor but I got iced into crappy crappy dc.

Come to the show!

2007-02-23T15:21:00.000-08:00

Let me just establish how cool I truly am up front. I am going to shamelessly name drop here.

I am REALLY good friends with Jeff "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" Krulik. He even made a movie called "Shocked and Amazed" but that is another story entirely.

Now that you are all impressed by my starstudded sparkle-filled life I will tell you how you can be just like me.

You can go see Jeff's new movie The Legend of Merv Conn
which is playing a hold-over engagement on Sunday at the American Film Institute Silver Theatre in Silver Spring Maryland.

See where it says "Sellout! Crowds Turned Away!" on his intro page? That would be me last weekend. DENIED! However, this weekend I have planned ahead. I have already bought tickets for this weekend.

Because Jeff and I are such close personal friends and all.

I just hope there is another 21 accordian salute!

Oh, and after the show you should go to this pirate bar down the street. I love pirates. And accordians. Really, Sunday is shaping up to be one of the most perfect days ever.

Really Big Squid

2007-02-23T15:13:00.000-08:00

Best line of the article?

"One expert said calamari rings made from it would be like tractor tyres." I know some folks who claim that all calamari is like eating a tire.

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | NZ fishermen land colossal squid

China is crazy, cool and carnivorous!

2007-02-23T14:59:00.000-08:00

A little girl was eaten by a tiger at a Chinese zoo.

She was having her picture taken with the full-grown tiger at the time.

That may seem strange to you, but whilst in China my hubby and I participated in some sort of demonstration where we had to lie on the ground in front of a whole lot of people and a bunch of elephants.

Then, it was explained to us later because we speak no Chinese, the elephants would demonstrate the difference between girls and boys. It proceeded to tap on my chest, and then my stomach with it's big elephant foot. An elephant may be tapping, but it still hurts like hell. I got off lucky.

The elephant did pretty much the same thing to the hubby. The exception being that is was basically stepping on his, ahem, jewels. Then the elephant proceeded to beat him about the head with it's trunk.

The crowd thought it was hilarious. Moreso because we had no idea what was going on. We don't speak Chinese. Evidently that was part of the humor, too.

Oh, wait then there was the time...not to far from where this tiger ate the girl...when the hubby decided to have his picture taken with a "trained" monkey. It was a little kind of monkey like a capuchin or something similar. That monkey freaked out and attacked the hubby and the "trainer" had to beat it off of my husbands head where it was trying to rip off his ears. Nice.

Of course, nothing beats the safari park where they take you on a bus into a tiger enclosure. The windows on the bus only open up about 6 inches. Why?

Because for about $5 you can buy a live chicken from a pen on the bus floor. Then you shove the squawking chicken out of the window to feed the tigers. Of couse, the tigers know what is going on...so when the bus stops they jump on top of it and try and ram their paws into the bus windows to get whatever they can to eat. Chicken. Little girls.

They aren' t too picky those tigers.

Ah, China. Where "survival of the fittest" is actually some sort of tourist destination.

How bad are these clowns?

2007-02-23T14:58:00.000-08:00

Everybody knows I'm not the world's biggest clown fan. But, sheesh, I've never seen a clown so bad I've had to shoot them dead during a performance.

Javno - World

This Kid is

2007-02-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

a big baby.

I thought I liked it spicy....

2007-02-04T14:04:00.000-08:00

I guess I really don't.

Don't worry! Evel Still Lives

2007-01-08T13:13:00.000-08:00

Like so many "lifetime achievement" awards, headlines featuring a little-thought-about cultural icon can leave one in a bit of panic. "OH NO! Not him! That's a shame!"

Fret not, Evel Knievel is still alive. Although all of the "let's show him some appreciation when he is alive career-retrospective" stuff makes it obvious to any obit lover that he is not long for this world.

Show Evel some love.

News- Long-Retired Knievel Still Cheating Death - AOL Sports

I didn't know a cow could be dishonest....

2007-01-08T05:04:00.000-08:00

OHHHHHHHH....that's not what they meant when they said it was "two-faced." Silly me.

Calf Born With Two Faces on Virginia Farm - AOL News

Best lines of the article:

"Heldreth expects many more people will be curious enough to stop by.

"I'll just have to tie the dogs extra tight," he said."

Just Add Boiling Water...He'll be back!

2007-01-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

This man has contributed so much to so many. It's actually very sad that he died...but his legacy lives on in crappy post-collegiate jobs, amazonian explorations (no lie), and even in space.

Mr. Instant Noodle Ramen man, I mourn your passing!

Japan's Instant Noodle King Dies at 96 - AOL News

Let the Name Dropping Begin!

2007-01-08T04:53:00.000-08:00

So, we are currently in production on volume 9 of James Taylor's SHOCKED AND AMAZED! On & Off the Midway...more about the volume in the upcoming weeks to be sure.

But what I really need to tell you is that one of our contributors is none other than Grammy-nominated Marshall Wyatt. How cool is that?

He was nominated for both Best Historical Album and Best Album Notes (which is actually how we got into contact with Marshall. I bought Good For What Ails You...Music of the Medicine Shows and thought the music was incredible. But the liner notes....ah, rhapsody.)

So Marshall is officially the first person I know who has been nominated for a Grammy. It's almost like I am famous and talented, too. Right?

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