So this is the end. The last post for this blog.

It’s a good thing we’ve said our farewells, because this is also the last day for new comments.

Today, this site freezes in time. You can always revisit it for a little nostalgia, like that old amusement park in the creepy part of town, with all the chains and cobwebs.

Former presidential candidate Herman Cain was fond of telling his supporters, “Stupid people are ruining America!”

Well, maybe that’s true, Herman, but stupid people also provide cheap entertainment, which is a useful service. We should thank them for it, without using any big words.

My readers, my commenters, my friends, you are the best. You can find me on Facebook. Some of you have even found me in person, so please remember I know how to get restraining orders.

A new chapter begins today for the Oddly Enough Blog crew.

Lamar, my very popular sidekick, has been secretive about his plans, but I know he is up to something big. He’s so incredibly inept, how can he fail?

As for the old Blog Guy, I’m off to pursue my dream of running a third-rate Tiki Bar, Foot-Wash and Elephant Proctology Lab on the beach at Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, a spot my readers know well. You’ll recognize my place from the Basler BT-67 parked nose-down, out in back.

If you’re in the neighborhood, feel free to ask my advice on fashion, travel, careers, language, gadgets or whatever. As you’ve come to find out, I’m equally misinformed about everything.

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Top: Dr Thomas Hildebrandt of Berlin’s Institute for Biology and Wildlife Research cleans the rectum of Jamilah, a 29-year-old female elephant, before conducting a four-dimensional ultrasound examination on her at the Night Safari in Singapore April 11, 2007. REUTERS/Tim Chong

Right: Enthusiasts gather to drink medovukha, an alcholic honey based drink similar to mead, during a meeting of the Honey Club in Russia’s Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, August 13, 2011. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

Right: LaMar’s Donuts, Aurora, Colorado, photo submitted by Matt Wedemeier

Bottom right: A soldier washes his feet at a military barracks in Russia’s Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, November 3, 2010. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin

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As I said recently in a post which began a countdown to tomorrow’s final entry in this blog, one of the things I have enjoyed most is presenting stories that are goofy but true.

Sure, it’s fun to make up funny stuff and riff on news photos, but real life often finds a way to top me.

Here are my seven favorite TRUE stories featured in my blog this year.

7. Come over to my yard for a fling?

We’ve had fun with an epidemic of consumer product recalls this year, but I still break out laughing over this one, a hammock that was recalled because its wooden stand may break ““if left outdoors.”

6. Wouldn’t hanging them be more humane?

What can I say? A prison program designed to rehabilitate prisoners by teaching them to play the bagpipes.

5. What year is it again?

An item in which we learned that in Peru, shops, banks and buses don’t allow blind people to enter with their guide dogs. Really.

4. I hope you’re proud of yourself

We met a lawyer who has appealed his client’s conviction of raping and impregnating a 15-year-old girl on the grounds that a dog was used to comfort her during her testimony at trial.

3. Creepy gets a whole lot creepier?

We all remember this one, about a city in Turkey that has equipped the local morgue with the latest motion detector gadgetry in case any of the bodies stored there have been declared dead by mistake.

2. Stilettos making a comeback?

The year saw more than its fair share of bizarre legislation passed, but first prize probably goes to the Maine lawmakers who approved legalizing switchblade knives, but only for people with one arm.

1. Maybe the worst idea EVER?

Yeah, still my favorite. A plan to have prison inmates respond to emergencies, including residential fires, to work alongside “traditional” firefighters. What could possibly go wrong?

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Top: Inmates play bagpipes as part of their routine training inside Kotbhalwal central jail in Jammu May 20, 2011. REUTERS/Mukesh Gupta

Jane Cosar and her guide dog walk in front of the conductor of a bus who refused to let her board the bus in Lima September 29, 2011. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo

Right: Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush walk past a hammock as they exit their summit meeting and head to a joint news availability at the Bush family home on Walker’s Point in Kennebunkport, Maine, July 2, 2007. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

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Blog Guy, I know you’re following the New Hampshire primary closely for your readers. All state primaries follow pretty much the same format, right?

Not at all. The New Hampshire race mainly involves a series of physical challenges between hopefuls and local voters. The one who wins the most fights wins the primary.

Wait just a minute, Blog Guy. Is that really true?

Sure. Here you can see former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney arm-wrestling a barber in Manchester. Romney beat the guy.

And here on the right is a photo of almost-candidate Donald Trump, picking a fight with a New Hampshire resident a few months ago. It’s a very brutal system.

Why don’t you have photos of the other front-runner, Newt Gingrich, in one of these fights.

As you can see here, Newt tends to hide and then jump out at the last minute.

This is very stupid, Blog Guy. Hey, in that other shot, why does the guy Romney just beat look so upset, like he’s gonna cry?

Oh, Romney just explained they had a $10,000 bet on the match.

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Top and right: Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) talks to barber Willie Babeau at Chez Vachon Restaurant in Manchester, New Hampshire December 12, 2011. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Right: Real estate magnate Donald Trump jokes with Robert La Mattina, owner of Tokyo Joe’s School of Self Defense in Nashua, New Hampshire while touring a Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce business expo at the Radisson Hotel in Nashua, New Hampshire, May 11 2011. REUTERS/Don Himsel/Pool

Left: U.S. Republican presidential candidate former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich covers his face with his hands during his Lincoln-Douglas style debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire December 12, 2011. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

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Hey, Blog Guy, I’m here! Do  you recognize me?

I am in the presence of the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come?

No, you dimwit. This isn’t “A Christmas Carol.” I’m the guy who sets up all those great fantasy photos for your readers, so I’m sorry to see it’s going away.

Well, thanks for all your good work. You’ve pulled off pictures I would have thought impossible, especially the ones involving world leaders.

You’re much too kind, Blog Guy. With the huge budget you gave me, let’s just say miracles could be performed.

I loved that time you got Nicolas Sarkozy to grab…

Yeah, I know the one you mean. You’ve used it over and over in your blog.

And getting Muammar Gaddafi and Hugo Chavez to drive around together. I’ve used that one a lot, too.

So there’s still some money left, Blog Guy. Any fantasy photos of your own before this all ends?

Could you have Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi dress up like shaggy dogs and eat pickles and radishes?

That’s easy. Here you go, Blog Guy.

Wow! Okay, one more. Can you photograph German Chancellor Angela Merkel doing dishes?

Hmmmmm. Not in a sink with suds, but I think I can get her to use a dishwasher. Is that good enough?

That sure works for me!

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Top: Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi smile during their informal supper at the Zavidovo residence outside Moscow, February 3, 2003. REUTERS/ITAR-TASS/KREMLIN PRESS SERVICE

Right: German Chancellor Angela Merkel looks at a dishwasher during the presentation of the first fully functional “Energy Surplus House” in Berlin, December 7, 2011.REUTERS/Bernd Settnik/Pool

Left: French yachtswoman Maud Fontenoy poses with France’s president Nicolas Sarkozy after she was awarded Chevalier of the French order of Merit during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris, July 12, 2007. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

Bottom right: Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez (R) drives Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s limousine as they arrive at an event in Margarita Island September 28, 2009. REUTERS/Miraflores Palace/Handout

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