San Diego homeless man gets 14 years for beating, burning Aussie tourist

Damian Maple, a homeless man in San Diego, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for beating an Australian tourist, Robert Schneider, with a skateboard and dragging him into a fire pit. Maple went down for attempted murder for attacking the 26-year-old Adelaide resident in 2008.

Maple’s accomplice, Francisco Montoya, was sentenced to two years in prison for assault with a deadly weapon. Montoya is also homeless.

According to a witness, Schneider threw sand in Montoya’s face, prompting the latter to attack the former. Maple encouraged Montoya and then dragged the unconscious Australian tourist into a smoldering fire pit. Schneider’s injuries – including burns and a skull fracture – put him in the hospital for several weeks.

TripAdvisor readers pick their favorite beaches

More than 1,800 readers have spoken their minds on TripAdvisor and picked their favorite beaches. This summer, 58 percent of vacationers will be headed for sun, sand and surf – making the spot where ocean meets turf the most popular destination. The only challenge now is picking one. There are thousands of miles of coast in the United States alone … how do you choose one spot?

Well, the best bet is to go to Hawaii or Florida – each of which takes four spots on the TripAdvisor list of top 10 beaches. California and South Carolina round out the list.

The top 10 are after the jump.

1. Fort De Soto Park, Tierra Verde, Florida

2. Bahia Honda State Park and Beach, Big Pine Key, Florida

3. St. Andrews State Park, Panama City, Florida

4. Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, Oahu, Hawaii

5. Kailua Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii

6. La Jolla Cove, La Jolla, California

7. Green Sand Beach, Hawi, Hawaii

8. Tunnels Beach, Kauai, Hawaii

9. Honeymoon Island State Park, Dunedin, Florida

10. Edisto Beach State Park, Edisto Island, South Carolina

Helo pilot grounded because of in-flight porn star tryst

Definition of good sex: you’re willing to come back for more
Definition of great sex: you’re willing to piss away your pilot’s license
Definition of unforgettable sex: “great” sex with a porn star

David Martz is stupid enough to make receiving oral sex unpleasant. How? He was videotaped(!) on the receiving end of a passenger’s lips while flying a helicopter around San Diego. If this is some flyboy version of “put out or get out,” it may have made more sense not to let the camera roll.

What the LA Times doesn’t tell you is that Martz is Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee‘s helicopter pilot … and his passenger was none other than porn star Puma Swede (link to Wikipedia, safe for work).

The National Transportation Safety Board is out for satisfaction – much like Martz, ironically – and pushed to have his license revoked. Going down over San Diego (the helicopter, not the passenger) could have led to lost lives and plenty of property damage.

According to the NTSB, the blowjob itself wasn’t the problem. Pilot and passenger were busted because the video showed both unfastening their seatbelts … apparently much more dangerous than unfastening buttons. The giver’s body blocked the receiver’s access to the controls. Puma Swede, however, says that the whole incident didn’t take long (sorry, Martz). So, maybe the safety folks are being a bit tough on the fast-shooter.

The ruling handed down deprives Martz of his license for one year, though he can appeal the NTSB decision in federal court. Before the 2005 BJ, this pilot’s license was suspended twice and revoked once. But, he stayed out of trouble until being thanked for the spin four years ago.

Believe it or not, Martz almost got away with hit. He received the aerial bliss on May 29, 2005. This year, though, the video popped up on the internet, arousing suspicion and ultimately leading to action.

After the jump, check out a YouTube-friendly version of the video that grounded Martz, and an interview with the lovely Puma Suede.

Cincinnati crime-fighter becomes local attraction

Watch the streets of Cincinnati carefully: you may see a man clad in a mask and cape scouring the city in search of evil deeds and damsels in distress. Shadowhare, who (obviously) prefers to conceal his true identity has volunteered his services to the city’s citizens and civil servants … free of charge.

This is bigger than voting and jury duty combined.

This superhero is 21 years old – and clearly mature beyond his years. After all, who would take on such a daunting task? He leads a group called the “Allegiance of Heroes,” which includes Aclyptico in Pennsylvania, Wall Creeper in Colorado and Master Legend in Florida. “I’ve even teamed up with Mr. Extreme in California – San Diego – and we were trying to track down a rapist,” he says.

Shadowhare (and the Allegiance of Heroes) operates with “legal weapons,” such as handcuffs and pepper spray. When necessary, this crew conducts citizen’s arrests to bring justice to the community.

Here’s the shock: sometimes, Shadowhare and his fellow crime-fighters aren’t taken seriously by the folks in uniform. Imagine that! The Allegiance of Heroes, however, proceeds undeterred.

So, if a trip to Cincinnati is in your future, book your flights knowing that you have nothing to fear.

[Thanks, Dad]

Chattanooga, Portsmouth among top art destinations in the U.S.

Who thought that Tennessee and New Hampshire would be some of the top towns in the country for art lovers. AmericanStyle magazine just issued the results of its twelfth annual arts destinations poll. Some spots are predictable. Others, like Chattanooga, will just blow your mind.

This is the first year Chattanooga made the list, shooting all the way up to second in the mid-sized city category. If you’ve been there, some of the surprise wears off. I hit Chattanooga back in 1999, and it was turning into a pretty cool small city. The past decade, obviously, has treated the city well. More shocking is the top mid-sized city: Buffalo, NY.

At the top of the small city list, Santa Fe is an utterly predictable #1 – like New York in the big city category. Portsmouth, NH, toward the bottom of the small city list, is a sentimental favorite. I had my first real job in Portsmouth and drank away many a Friday and Saturday (and Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday) night on its sidewalks.

See the full lists after the jump.Big Cities (population of 500,000 or more)

  1. New York, NY
  2. Chicago, IL
  3. Washington, DC
  4. San Francisco, CA
  5. Albuquerque, NM
  6. Boston, MA
  7. Seattle, WA
  8. Atlanta, GA
  9. Philadelphia, PA
  10. Los Angeles, CA
  11. Portland, OR
  12. Baltimore, MD
  13. Denver, CO
  14. Phoenix, AZ
  15. Austin, TX
  16. Charlotte, NC
  17. Columbus, OH
  18. Nashville, TN
  19. San Diego, CA
  20. Tucson, AZ
  21. San Antonio, TX
  22. Las Vegas, NV
  23. Milwaukee, WI
  24. Dallas, TX
  25. Houston, TX

Mid-Sized Cities (population of 100,000 to 499,000)

  1. Buffalo, NY
  2. Chattanooga, TN
  3. Pittsburgh, PA
  4. Scottsdale, AZ
  5. New Orleans, LA
  6. Charleston, SC
  7. Savannah, GA
  8. Cleveland, OH
  9. Ann Arbor, MI
  10. Minneapolis, MN
  11. Alexandria, VA
  12. Miami, FL
  13. Tacoma, WA
  14. St. Louis, MO
  15. Athens, GA
  16. Kansas City, MO
  17. Colorado Springs, MO
  18. Providence, RI
  19. Salt Lake City, UT
  20. Honolulu, HI
  21. Rochester, NY
  22. St. Petersburg, FL
  23. Cincinnati, OH
  24. Raleigh, NC
  25. Tampa, FL

Small Cities (population of below 100,000)

  1. Santa Fe, NM
  2. Asheville, NC
  3. Sedona, AZ
  4. Taos, NM
  5. Saugatuck, MI
  6. Key West, FL
  7. Berkeley Springs, WV
  8. Boulder, CO
  9. Carmel, CA
  10. Corning, NY
  11. Sarasota, FL
  12. Beaufort, SC
  13. Chapel Hill, NC
  14. Burlington, VT
  15. Annapolis, MD
  16. Aspen, CO
  17. Laguna Beach, CA
  18. Northampton, MA
  19. Eureka Springs, AR
  20. Brattleboro, VT
  21. New Hope, PA
  22. Naples, FL
  23. Cumberland, MD
  24. Berea, KY
  25. Portsmouth, NH