Murder must advertise

I probably shouldn't find this article hilarious:

Mexico probes online 'hitmen ads'
"Mexican police are investigating a number of classified ads on the internet which purport to be from hitmen offering their services."

One can't help wondering what kind of hitman advertises his or her services publically. Quite an incompetent one, surely? Or similarly, what kind of person advertises for an assassin in the Wanted section...? (Except perhaps one with an over-developed sense of irony*.)

But actually, it does make a lot of sense. There must be many of us who would like to get the odd person bumped off, but don't have the necessary murky underworld contacts to get in touch with a hitman in the normal fashion. How else to tap into this market? And in Mexico, the police and legal system being what they are, much can be done with impunity.

In that light, it shouldn't be so funny. But it sort of is.

Human activity doesn't fit on any kind of simple spectrums, but if it did, I'm pretty sure this story would be at the other end:

Suburban comfort for massive ram
"A huge ram has made himself at home in his rescuer's house after resisting all attempts to return him to farm life."

Another of those stories that fills me with fondness for my native land; I love everything about this article.

Possibly my favourite sentence:
Even though he now has his own bungalow in the garden with carpet and windows, he still likes to watch TV in the family living room, and take car trips.

To elaborate:
Mr Palmer said he had tried leaving Nick with farmers on two occasions, but the animal had refused to go near other sheep and would not settle.

Nick has become a hit with the neighbours in the Rhiwbina area, and Mr Palmer said the sheep knew which gardens he was allowed into.

"He's more intelligent than your average sheep that's stuck in a field. He's in the house and in the car and meeting people over the park and around the village.

"He's part of the family. He comes in every evening, head-butts the cushions off the settee and watches TV.

"If the biscuit barrel is out he'll butt it on the floor because he knows the lid will come off. Come 11pm he'll have a swede or an apple and then he's out for the night.

"It probably smells in here, but I'm used to it."

Sometimes it's the little things, as much that a family might have a biscuit barrel as that they might have an enormous pet sheep called Nick.

*Goes away, reads about irony to make sure isn't using it wrong, ends up even more confused.