I'll See Your Dowry and Raise You Five Pigs

A Kenyan politican recently announced that he offered then-U.S. President Bill Clinton a dowry of 40 goats and 20 cows for his only daughter's, Chelsea, hand in marriage. He made the offer to the Clintons through the Kenyan government.

See the full story here.

If The Shadow were this Kenyan, he would not hold his breath waiting for an answer!

$10,000 Bounty on the Mayor of Chicago

The Shadow has seen the best and the worst of politics. But what he is about to tell you is a new low.

Chicago City Hall and the administration of Mayor Richard Daley has been rocked by allegations of patronage hiring and corruption in the past few months. Several members of Daley's administration have been forced to resign because of it.

Earlier this week, the Cook County Republican Party announced a $10,000 reward for anyone (basically a whistle-blower) who could provide information leading to the conviction of the mayor of these charges. The mayor, as of this writing, has never been implicated nor charged.

The funny thing about this. The county republican party only has $3,854 in cash in its bank account at present. But the party chairman, Gary Skoien, has said that they will acquire the additional funds needed to pay the reward if necessary.

Stay tuned -- this is one that will not end.

Singing "Oh Girl" for the Final Time

The Shadow is sorry to report to you that on July 22, 2002, Eugene Record, the founder and lead singer of the soul group, the Chi-Lites, died after a long battle with cancer. He was 64 years old.

Many of us from the '60s remember the such classic Chi-Lites hits as "Oh Girl" and "Have You Seen Her?" They were real crooners with quite the stage appearance. Their songs had tunes that stayed with you long after you heard them.

In fact, Beyonce's 2003 hit song "Crazy in Love" was based on the Chi-Lites hit song "Are You My Woman?"

Eugene Record and his smooth voice will definitely be missed by the music world.

Peek-a-Boo, I See You!!

You have heard The Shadow mention that he knows the evil that lurks in the hearts of men. A woman can now easily find this out as well in a San Francisco restaurant.

There is a restaurant in San Francisco known as Blupointe. If you would like more information on this place, check out El Greco's excellent review on Critical Cloud.

The Shadow has learned that women can now find out if their men are cheating on them. To quote the San Francisco Examiner's Christopher Caen:

"Another feature I have to appreciate is the downstairs women's bathroom. Now, not many people will talk to you about bathrooms, but this one contains a little secret. The wall separating the bathroom from the bar area is a one-way mirror, which means that people inside can see the bar without the people at the bar seeing them. Now, this didn't seem especially interesting until the implication was explained to me.

"Imagine, if you will, the average dude out with a date. She excuses herself to go powder her nose. You think to yourself that although the night seems to be going well, the waitress seems to be interested in you also. So you strike up a conversation with her while your date is in the bathroom — the one from which she can see you flirting with another woman."

Naturally, The Shadow does not know about this firsthand, but he offers this advice for men: If you are a player and know that you will flirt with other women when your lady is powdering her nose in the restroom -- stay out of Blupointe! You have been warned.

The Ghost of Sundarbans

As I told you in my earlier entries, I am a practitioner of the mystic arts. It enables me to embrace the darkness and deal with entities, real or imagined, that come to my attention.

I received the following email a little while ago:


"The guy in the photo went to the Sundarbans with his friends and he
asked 1 of his friends to take his picture in that very place. While
his friend was taking the picture he screamed and fainted, 2 days later
he died in the medical college. Doctors said he died because of heart
attack. When the photos were exposed, in the last photo there was a lady
standing right beside him though friends claim that he was standing
alone many people said it is a rumor and the picture is the result of
the blessings of latest technology. However, the photo itself is very
scary and I'm sure you'll also feel the same way I've felt. Here you go
with the photo!!! A navy officer sent this letter to 13 people and he
was promoted... A business man received this letter and threw it away.
Not believing in it... And he lost everything he had within 13 days...
It reached a laborer and he distributed it to 13 people... He was
promoted and all his problems were solved within 13 days.
So you must send this e mail to 13 people for something good to happen
to you so people. Get sending!! :) don't be lazy.
PS: Do not send back to the person who sends this to you!!!"


This is the photo that was attached:

The Shadow is posting this to let you know that if you receive this photo -- DO NOT FORWARD IT. It is a total hoax. The picture has been doctored.

This email has been going around since late 2003 and it surprises me that it is still active. But it is playing on the fears of others.

For more info on this hoax, you can click here and here.

The Evil That Hit London

First of all, The Shadow wishes to offer his condolences to the families of those who died in the senseless bombing of London's subway system on Thursday.

I am a man of darkness. I travel the darkness. I welcome the darkness. But The Shadow is not evil.

However, there are certain others who also travel the darkness who are evil. It is these people that caused the massacre in London yesterday.

The Shadow is not a supporter of terrorism, in any form. While I have never been in favor of the current war in Iraq, The Shadow is convinced that there are more peaceful ways to protest the way. The killing of innocent people does not work.

These terrorists are cowards. A group has supposedly claimed responsibility, but local officials do not know as of yet if this was actually the group that did this. But it does not matter to The Shadow. I call upon you to come out now, and show yourselves. The fact that you do this "in the name of God" does not sit well with me. If that is the case, you are worshipping the wrong god.

While I am on the subject, let me point out that this entry is not an attack on Islam, nor of those who are followers of this religion. The Shadow knows personally many followers of this religion and does not blame them for what happened. The Shadow urges all to show restraint against those of the Islamic faith -- it is only a very small percentage who are doing this. The majority of Muslims do not support this type of terrorism.

And to the governments of the world -- The Shadow says to not bow to nor negotiate with terrorists. Do not give them the upper hand.

As for the rest of us -- go on with your lives. Once we have stopped, the terrorists have won.