Bjork's Swan Dress

Internet shoppers will get a chance to add an unusual item to their wardrobe: the flamboyant swan dress worn by Icelandic singer Bjork, which will be auctioned for charity next month.

International aid agency Oxfam said Thursday the quirky dress, which the unconventional songstress wore to the 2001 Oscars ceremony, was among more than 150 celebrity fashion items that will be up for grabs on the Internet auction site eBay. The proceeds will go to Oxfam.

Bjork turned heads as she graced the Oscar's red carpet in the white dress. It features a ruffled feather skirt and an imitation swan's neck that Bjork draped around her own neck, with the bird's head resting on her breast.

Other celebrity garments and accessories in the charity auction include a screenprint shirt donated by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Yoko Ono's sunglasses, a pair of fashion designer Stella McCartney's thigh-high fake leather boots and a mo-ped helmet used by Britpop band Blur's Damon Albarn.

The auction is being organized, in conjunction with Oxfam, by an online fashion website and an art magazine that asked celebrities to donate belongings with a story behind them. The successful bidder for each of the pieces will receive the item, as well as a copy of its accompanying story.

"We wanted people to give things that were personal and had a story behind them because bidders will then know they are getting something particularly special to the person concerned and all in aid of a good cause," said Rose Marsh, an Oxfam spokeswoman.

Marsh said she expected the swan dress to draw interest from collectors or "fashion types."

"It's the sort of thing that's kind of priceless," she said. "We don't know yet how much these items could raise but if people get involved in a bidding war over Bjork's dress then it could be quite a substantial amount."

Online bidding will be open from Sept. 18-25, coinciding with London Fashion Week.

All the money raised will assist Oxfam's general program of aid work, Marsh said.

Tiki Trailer

This is kind of cool, so I'll just take the description...

Take a look at this 100% handbuilt teardrop built last year by my wife and I, so any questions about construction just ask. It started out on an all steel custom built frame with a treated lumber sub frame with underbed storage ,three leaf springs, HD axle and 16" 1935 Ford wheels and bias ply whitewall tires. Floor and walls are birch plywood fully insulated and roof is 1/4" birch with 2x3 oak beam construction. There are doors on both sides for easy exit ( no climbing over your partner ) each with opening jealousy windows and locking handles. The kitchen has upper and lower cabinets. Large deep drawers. The counter is butcherblock formica for easy cleanup. The right lower cabinet door houses an ice chest on rollers for easy access. There is a stainless steel sink with hand pump and a 5 gallon water tank. It is wired for 12 volt with a light inside and light in the galley plus there is a fuse panel with plenty of openings for whatever else you might want to add. There is an invertor for plugging into 110, so everything will continue to operate. There are 12V and 110 outlets located inside and in kitchen. Battery in front storage for dry camping. There are 4 coats of hand laid exterior polyurithane on outside. It is 10'x4' with a sleeping lenght of 8'. Cushions are 4" foam for comfort. Interior has spacious cabinets and a pull out tray for eating, DVD or a laptop. The front of the tear opens up for ventilation. The top interior has bamboo and a playful Tiki theme paint job. The exterior roof is aluminum with rivits. This can be polished to a shiny finish if you'd like! This trailer looks vintage with its 1930 Ford fenders(steel) and model A tailights. There is a hitch in the back for a bike rack too! Built with stainless or coated screws and bolts as well as waterproof construction glue, it is not coming apart. This is a great teardrop, you won't be dissappointed. You would have a hard time finding or building a teardrop for this price. Tows like a dream!! The pictures don't truly do it justice, there are so many nice details unable to see in photos.

Price includes all Tiki kitchenware, ice chest and decorations. Does not include cookstove, tent, chairs or Ford wagon...sorry ")- Please ask all questions before bidding.

50% of purchase price due within 24hrs of purchase. Paypal preferred. Balance due upon pick up, if shipped full amount due before shipping. Buyer responsible for all shipping costs and arrangements.

Good luck and thank you for looking!!!! Please note I will be out of town until August 21st so any emails will be answered the following day.

Laughing Mannequin

This is just a freaky looking mannequin if you ask me...

GoldenPalaceCasino.com Buying More Crap

Looks like Golden Palace Casino bought more crap (specifically the M&M Wrapper and the Bandage.

What's kind of funny is I bet that they are using the costs of buying all this crap as expenses for tax write-offs.

NorgArt - Painting With Breasts

Uhm, I'll just borrow the description for this auction, because it about says it all...

The artist of the world's first piece of NorgArt is an Australian university student in her early twenties. NorgArt is created by smearing the breast with paint and shifting the canvas around the torso to create unique textures and patterns, finer detail is applied using only the nipples. The result of this sensual foray into the world of contemporary impressionism is a beautiful arrangement of flowers in hot pink, sun-kissed yellow and sultry red, and is a unique and true celebration of female beauty.

What an individual piece to add to your art collection! Will the keen eye of an admirer detect the delicate brushstrokes? Don't delay, own the world's first example of NorgArt today!

Painted in acrylic on canvas, measuring approximately 41x41cm. Will ship anywhere in the world.

M&M Wrapper

Someone has put an empty M&M wrapper (you don't even get the candy with this one). Bidding on this rare collector's item is up to $1,431 (with 42 bids).

Uhm, can I just ask *why*???

Check out the auction here.

Ariel Sharon's Bandage

The bloodstained bandage that wrapped Ariel Sharon's head after he was injured in fighting during the 1973 Middle East War has been offered on eBay, with offers invited from $10,000.

The Israeli Prime Minister, a top general on the Egyptian front, was wounded when his armoured vehicle was damaged at the Suez Canal.

You can check out the auction over here.

Medical Supplies

What I want to know is who in the hell looks on eBay for a spinal care kit or replacement knees? Does it come with a "do it yourself" book also? hehe

A hospital worker stole medical supplies such as replacement knees and a $116,000 kit for spinal care and sold many of the items on eBay, authorities said.

Those items and boxes full of forceps and other equipment were found in the home of Brian Pickens, police said.

Pickens, 31, took at least $200,000 in medical equipment from St. Mary's Medical Center and pocketed more than $12,000 from up to 200 sales on eBay since early last year, police Detective Kirk Pritchett said. The stolen goods were sold to people in the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Great Britain and Mexico, he added.

Pickens, a nurse's aide for three years, was charged Wednesday with one felony count of theft, but police said more charges were possible. Pickens' lawyer, Scott Danks, said Thursday his client acknowledged wrongdoing, but the value of the equipment was "hugely exaggerated."

Danks said Pickens bought some of the medical equipment from yard sales and online, hoping to resell it for a profit. Most items taken from St. Mary's have been returned, he said.

The $200,000 estimate on how much was stolen "will go higher," Pritchett said.

Pickens was fired Wednesday, hospital spokesman Jeff Jones said.

IRA Merchandise

Dozens of pieces of IRA memorabilia have appeared on internet auction site eBay since the terror group announced the end of its armed campaign last week.

More than 150 items have been put up for sale, including original 1981 hunger strike posters and a gun-shaped badge posted just two hours after the July 28, 4pm deadline for volunteers to dump weapons.

Second-hand books, CDs, DVDs and bumper stickers also feature in the mass sell-off by anonymous vendors in Belfast, Derry and London determined to profit from the IRA's decision to go out of business.

A May 1981 copy of Republican newspaper, An Phoblacht, which was shrunk down to be smuggled into Republican prisoners on hunger strike in the H-blocks, has been bid up to 65 euro (£40) by 13 potential buyers.

The Belfast-based seller of the item said on the site: "In this edition, there is an exclusive interview with the IRA and pictures on two pages of an IRA training camp."

A 1981 hunger strike poster featuring prisoners Bobby Sands, Francis Hughes, Raymond McCreesh and Patsy O'Hara is currently fetching bids of 59.53 euro (£37).

The vendor says: "Please no timewasters. You will get this for a bargain as I should be keeping it for next year for the 25th anniversary but it's on sale now."

The highest bid item in the IRA category is an Irish Easter Rising 1916 medal currently priced at 827 euro (£524) by 27 bidders.

A copy of Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams' memoir, Hope and History, signed by the author, has so far failed to attract any bidders.

A biography of the party's chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness entitled: IRA: From Guns To Government was put on the eBay site just five hours after the armed campaign officially ended.

Tim Pat Coogan's book, The IRA, is being offered for 10.89 euro (£6.70) by a Co Down reader.

Mr Coogan, a former Irish Press editor, said: "I'd have thought it would go for a bit more, but there you are."

Elvis' Mercedes

Gene Epstein of Wrightstown, PA, has filed a lawsuit against a man who allegedly reneged on an eBay bid for a 1969 Mercedes-Benz that was once owned by the rockabilly-country-gospel balladeer. According to a report from The Associated Press, Epstein's suit claims that Jason Shepherd of Ballston Lake, N.Y., entered a "Buy It Now" bid of $245,000 for the posh limo.

But the suit maintains that when it came time to pay, Shepherd claimed that the bid was erroneous—the result of his daughter accidentally striking a key on his computer. The lawsuit is seeking for Shepherd to pay the original bid, along with $150,000 in damages. The suit justified its raison d'etre by saying, "Once an item is removed from the active sale list on eBay and listed as sold, its reappearance on the active auction listings creates the impression that the item being sold is in some way unsaleable or unmarketable," according to the AP report.

Epstein said, however, that he would settle the case if Shepherd issues a specifically worded apology he drew up—and pays an unspecified "token" amount. The AP says that attempts to reach Shepherd and representatives from eBay for comments were unsuccessful.