Few things are worse than being accused of having sex with a horse. One of them is being accused for a second time.

Rondell Vereen joined the Weird Crime Mug Shot Hall of Shame after a stable owner in South Carolina found him having sex with a 21-year-old horse named "Sugar" . . . and this wasn't the first time.

This week, Vereen, 50, was sentenced to three years in prison for pleading guilty to buggery. He was also ordered to stay away from the horse's stable and to get mental help when he's paroled.

"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 hearing at the Horry County courthouse, according the the Myrtle Beache Sun News.
Photo Courtesy Horry County Detention Center
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If you notice a little dirt on my upper lip today, it's just me solving another world problem.

I'm joining my friends at Asylum.com who are letting their facial follicles run free this month as part of Australia's Movember  annual drive to raise awareness for prostate and testicular cancer.

Like a lot of other great ideas, the idea for Movember came after a few friends had a few too many beers.

"The guys behind it joked about 80s fashion and decided it was time to bring the mustache back," the website says.

"In order to justify their Mos (Australian slang for moustache), they used their new looks to raise money for prostate cancer research... never dreaming that facial hair would ultimately lead to a global movement that would get men talking about a taboo subject - their health. "


OK, so maybe Movember's beginnings are a little questionable. But to date, the organization has raised $47 million, making it the world's largest annual charity event for men's health.

Just this week, we find that 73-year old Dennis Hopper is among the estimated 27,000 Americans who are facing prostate cancer this year.

We all know someone who has battled cancer, and now, in Movember, we're growing some facial hair for a very good reason. So, join the battle. Be a Mo' Bro.

And, now, for your viewing pleasure, some of the world's most unusual mustaches and beards.

Photo © Buck Wolf (Top), Getty Images (Bottom)
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Even if you're in your late early 40s, you can still suffer a good old Halloween hangover.

I got mine by forgetting to give Lawrence, Elee, Jacob, Michael and Nathan the pumpkin cookies I got them. So, like a good uncle, I spent the weekend watching baseball and fattening up on undelivered gifts.

I woke up Sunday, remembering a piece I did on Tom Nardon, otherwise known as "The Picasso of Pumpkin Carving. This year, he was especially proud of serving guacamole and chips through the orange mouth of a puking pumpkin.

That basically sums up how I feel right now. I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon reflecting on Hideki Matsui's pinch hit home run. Matsui might spend some of his private time bragging about his extensive collection of porn, but he hasn't yet entered our Heros to Zeros baseball baddies.

PS: By "late early 40s" I mean 44ish, and thoroughly stuffed with orange frosting.

Photo © Tom Nardon, ExtremeHalloween (Perigree Books)
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Every time the cameras at the World Series show fans holding their beers, I shudder at the thought of how much they're paying for those drinks. Phillies fans and Yankees fans might not have much in common right now... but they could probably unite on the issue of overpriced booze at ballparks.

But you don't need to take out a loan to buy drinks at a sports event if you hide your suds inside a fake "beer belly."

I found it online at Baron Bob, a site specializing in unique and oddball gifts... but it's made by a firm called Cooler Fun. They're equal-opportunity inventors... they also have a product called "The Wine Rack," which allows women to sneak booze in an area more commonly associated with milk.

But one note of caution: If you think men had their eyes on your chest before, wait until they see you in this.

While we're on the topic of the World Series, be sure to take a look a the World Series edition of the Weird Crime Mug Shot Hall of Shame.

And if you're REALLY interested in ballparks, beer and breasts, check out this interview I did with a Yankee Stadium beer man, who describes his job as being like "a big-breasted woman."

Photo © Cooler Fun, LLC.
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As the 2009 World Series between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies heads to the City of Brotherly Love this weekend, it's already the second time the brand-new Citizens Bank Park has hosted the Fall Classic.

But did you realize that this is actually the city's FOURTH ballpark to host World Series games? The others:

• The Baker Bowl, which stood at Broad Street and Lehigh Avenue (1887-1950)
• Shibe Park, which stood at 21st St. and Lehigh Avenue (1909-1976)
• Veterans Stadium, which stood at Broad St. and Pattison Avenue (1971-2004)

Is it just me, or do old stadiums always seem to last longer than "new" ones? Anyway, for more on these forgotten ballparks and historic baseball sites in every state, take a look at Chris Epting's book, "Roadside Baseball."

It's a great road-trip planner, whether you're headed to a World Series game or making the trek across the country for spring training.

Other World Series Notes

• Take a look at some images you definitely won't find on baseball cards in the World Series edition of the Weird Crime Mug Shot Hall of Shame.
• And if you think you're a die-hard fan, take a look at this woman. Police say she offered sex for World Series tickets... and now she's in the Weird Crime Mug Shot Hall of Shame. How far would you go? Tell me in the comments.

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When Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies struck out four times in Game 2 of the World Series against the New York Yankees last night, he earned one of baseball's most unwanted honors: The Golden Sombrero.

Striking out three times is a hat trick... which is bad enough (for the hitter, anyway)... but the Golden Sombrero is often considered a career lowlight. But don't worry, Ryan -- there are worse feats. Striking out five times in a game is called the "Platinum Sombrero."

Speaking of Ryan Howard, many people believe he has Ruthian potential. He's a big man who hits the ball hard and far... but I don't know if he'll ever top Babe Ruth's distance record. Ruth once hit a home run that traveled more than 200 miles -- because it landed on top of a moving train.

That bit of Ruth trivia and a lot of other great facts can be found in Ripley's Believe It or Not! Baseball Oddities & Trivia by Tim O'Brien. It's a fun book to have by your side during the World Series and into the winter.

But while fans may consider it a crime to lose a post-season game, Ryan Howard is not a criminal. You'll find the ballplayers who have an arrest record -- including a member of each team here in the 2009 World Series -- in our special World Series edition of the Weird Crime Mug Shot Hall of Shame.

Related:
• Photos: Great Ripley Oddities and Attractions
• New World Records Photo Gallery
• Ripley's Oddcast Radio

Photo © Getty Images
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That's Joba Chamberlain, in police custody almost exactly a year ago. As the baseball playoffs unfolded, Chamberlain and his Yankees were sitting home -- missing out on the post-season altogether.

In his home state of Nebraska, Chamberlain was arrested for drinking and driving.

Joba's not alone in mug-shot shamedom. In fact, one man in the opposing dugout has also been on the wrong side of a police camera: Brett Myers, who was arrested and accused of beating his wife (the charges were later dropped).

In fact, there's been plenty of World Series stars and role players alike who've been arrested for crimes ranging from the silly (fishing) to the serious (vehicular homicide). See them all in our new World Series edition of the Weird Crime Mug Shot Hall of Shame.

And here's an unusual piece of trivia: A Philadelphia Phillies ballplayer named Cliff Lee was also arrested once... in 1921! That Cliff Lee was a utility infielder who played from 1919-1926, never reaching the World Series (and clearly unrelated to the current Phillies ace).

Other World Series Crime News

• Sex for Tix: The regular Weird Crime Mug Shot Hall of Shame is also abuzz with World Series news today. Pennsylvania police say a woman offered sex in exchange for World Series tickets. Authorities say 43-year-old Susan Finkelstein took out an ad on Craig's List seeking tickets and wrote: "I'm the creative type! Maybe we can help each other!" Police say when an undercover cop called, she offered sex for the tix... and arrested her on prostitution charges. See her mug shot. (Dumb Crime du Jour)

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Maybe it's a little early for your holiday shopping... but I already know what the "Star Wars" fan in your life wants: to sleep inside the warm, plush guts of his very own tauntaun sleeping bag.

The tauntaun, as everyone knows, is the creature from "Empire Strikes Back" used to get around on the icy planet of Hoth. When Han Solo rescued Luke Skywalker from the Bumble-like wampa, he slashed open the tauntaun and let the wampa-weary Luke sleep inside the creature's oozing innards.

ThinkGeek posted this product as an April Fool's Day joke, but went about working on the real thing when their site was overwhelmed by Star Wars fans trying to order it. (Weird Products)

Photo © Think Geek
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You'd think losing the White House would be bad enough... but a new study finds that young men who voted for John McCain last November lost some testosterone, too.

Duke University researchers had voters chew gum several times on election night and spit into test tubes to get a read on their hormone levels. And as I wrote on AOL's new Sphere Web site, men who voted for Obama kept their testosterone roaring, while McCain voters saw drops of more than 25 percent. (Political Sideshow)

Weird News Highlights

• Meat Loaf Impostor Denied Paradise by the Dashboard Light Police say a drunk man dressed as a vampire who tried to seize control of a moving taxi claimed to be the singer Meat Loaf. You've got to see this new inductee in the Weird Crime Mug Shot Hall of Shame. (Hollyweird)
• The Ultimate in Self-Punishment:An Indian man who really, really, REALLY wanted to be a eunuch cut off the only thing in his way of that goal, according to The Telegraph. In India, eunuchs make a living by begging... and police say the 22-year-old had befriended some of them. (Economic Blues)
• Accused Drunk Driver Picked Up By Accused Drunk Driver: New York State police say the woman who came to pick up a man accused of drunk driving was actually drunker than the man she came to get, according to WPIX. See them both in the Weird Crime Mug Shot Hall of Shame. (Drinking Tales)

Photo © Getty Images
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If you've ever wandered your own home nude, take a good look at this mug shot -- because it could be you.

Eric Williamson was arrested for the crime of drinking a cup of coffee in the nude in his own home... because a woman and a child cutting through his front yard happened to see him in the window.

I'm drinking a cup of coffee in the nude right now... and it's a lot easier to see me, especially if you live in a certain high-priced piece of Trump real estate that was placed between me and my view of the Hudson River.

I call on all decent people out there to take a pledge to drink coffee in the nude every day until Williamson is cleared. Drop your pants until the charges are dropped... just do it in your own home (and watch out for potential burns). Write a message in the comments so that I know who's with me.

We're here, we're nude... and we're in our own homes, so leave us alone.

In other nude news, here's a man who's truly earned his position in the Weird Crime Mug Shot Hall of Shame.

If the point of cross-dressing is to make people think you're a member of the opposite sex, Phillip Ortega didn't seem to get the message.

Police say Ortega -- who probably wasn't fooling anyone in his woman's swimsuit, pantyhose and makeup -- removed all doubt when he exposed his genitals to a woman in Oklahoma City, according to the The Oklahoman.

Photos Courtesy Police Booking Photos
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