ATLANTA – Everyone knows that sticks and stones may break one’s bones, but it seems that words can hurt one miffed Georgia teacher just as bad.
A 15-year-old high school student is facing criminal charges after posting comments about his teacher, Robert Muzzillo, on MySpace.com, WSB-TV Action News in Atlanta reports.
“Coffee and Diet Coke — that was the name of the Web site,” said Alex Davis, who (along with another student) is the target of the teacher’s legal action.
“He used to drink a lot of coffee and Diet Coke.”
The teen’s father, Andy Davis, characterizes the whole ordeal as “kinda bizarre.”
But don’t tell that to Muzzillo.
It seems he was seriously un-amused when he discovered the phony profile on the popular social networking site, which says that the teacher lost an eye while wrestling alligators and midgets, that he likes Michael Jackson and that he enjoys “having a gay old time.”
When the school discovered who was responsible for the posting, they gave Davis three days of in-school suspension. Later he learned of the charges levied against him.
“I have finals coming up and I have to study and instead I have to go to court,” Davis said.
Lee Sexton, the attorney hired for the young defendant, says that no crime has been committed.
“It’s just silly stuff about a teacher they were just joking about. It’s gotten way out of hand,” Sexton said. He claims the defamation of character charge is unconstitutional.
But Davis says he has since apologized, but insists he was just kidding around and never threatened anyone.
“You can say whatever you want but it can get you in trouble.”
Paint Thinner + Flaming Stick = Pricey Smoke Break
DENVER, N.C. (AP) — A man taking a break from painting burned down his house after trying to snuff out a cigarette in a bowl of paint thinner.
Stevie Spencer had put the bowl on his coffee table before taking a smoke break about 10 p.m. Saturday.
''I forgot paint thinner was in the bowl,'' Spencer said. ''I thought it was water.''
The fire from the paint thinner ignited some papers, Spencer said. He got his wife out of the house, then tried to extinguish the flames with a hose. Spencer suffered minor injuries.
Fire Chief Jay Flynn said the house was too far gone to save it when firefighters arrived.
Thanks to Out There readers Joe J. and Katie M.
Don't Be That Guy
LONDON (AP) — The BBC interviewed the wrong Guy.
The network has apologized to its viewers for a studio mix up that resulted in a man mistakenly appearing on live television as Guy Kewney — an expert on Internet music downloads.
In fact the man was Guy Goma, a Congolese man applying for a technology-related job with the British Broadcasting Corp. Goma followed an employee to the studio after a mistake at a reception desk, the corporation said late Monday.
The BBC said it apologized to viewers for any confusion.
The case of mistaken identity occurred on May 8 — the day Britain's High Court awarded Apple Computer a victory in a lawsuit against Apple Corps, The Beatles' commercial arm.
In a reaction piece following the verdict, the BBC News 24 consumer affairs correspondent Karen Bowerman ostensibly welcomed computer expert Kewney.
After she introduced the apparent expert, there was a moment when Goma winced. He scrunched his face in panic and tried to open his mouth as if to explain.
"Were you surprised by this verdict today?" Bowerman asked.
"I'm very surprised to see the verdict come on me because I was not expecting that," he said in a heavy French accent, blinking in the studio lights. "When I came, they told me something else."
Nonplussed, he pressed on, growing more confident in his punditry as the interview progressed. He gamely delivered his opinion on the future of music downloads and cyber cafes following the landmark verdict.
Meanwhile, the real Kewney, who was waiting to be taken to the studio, looked up on a monitor and found another man in the interviewee's chair.
"What would you feel, if while you were sitting in that rather chilly reception area, you suddenly saw yourself not sitting in reception, but live, on TV? A bit surprised?" Kewney wrote on his Web log.
Make Like a Tree and Stay There
LONDON (AP ) — He was, quite literally, out on a limb. And so on Tuesday, a drunken student who spent the night in a tree had to be rescued by British firefighters.
"Alcohol and climbing trees don't really mix," said Nigel Limbrick, of the Gloucestershire fire department. "In all seriousness, he could've killed himself if he had fallen.
"He had had a skinful and in his inebriated state he climbed 100 feet up a pine tree, without his shoes on. He then fell asleep," Limbrick said. "I'm not quite sure how he managed it, but he woke up wrapped around a branch."
The man, whose name has not been released, is a student at the Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology in Cheltenham, about 100 miles west of London. He used his cell phone to call firefighters after waking up around dawn, chilly and confused, in the tree.
Eight firefighters needed 90 minutes and ropes and pulleys to get him down from his precarious perch. Paramedics at the scene treated him for some scratches, but he was otherwise uninjured.
"He was a bit quiet when he came down and a bit embarrassed," Limbrick said. "I think he got a bit cold up there. He only had his jeans and T-shirt on and he must have had quite a hangover."
Why Would a Girl Want to Marry a Jelly Bean?
PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. (AP) — Even the giant jelly bean went formal for a wedding at the Jelly Belly Store.
The bride, Lori Woolery, was walked down the aisle by a big, bright red candy — or at least a costumed candy impersonator — in top hat and gold bow tie.
That sight was enough to amaze 6-year-old Jack Downey from Elk River, Minn., visiting the store with his aunt.
"Why would a girl want to marry a jelly bean?" he asked.
She was actually was marrying Daymon Tracy, a truck driver, and they chose the unique location for whimsical reasons. "We were looking for something different," Woolery said.
The Rev. Larry Schneekloth performed the ceremony Wednesday in a corner of the store known as Jelly Belly Junction.
After the ceremony, the couple and the wedding party took a ride on the Jelly Belly train that carries visitors on a tour of the premises.
"We put a 'just married' sign on it," store manager Mary Plebanek said.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Taylor Timmins.
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