Boo boo hoo

If everything goes well today, Lisa Panensky and Jim Nieves will become Mr. and Mrs. in a Halloween wedding ceremony. But they won't be tying the knot at the Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., Old Dutch Church made famous by Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

They booked the church 13 months ago, but when church officials learned that the bride and groom, as well as the wedding party and guests, would be wearing costumes, they blew out the candles on the jack-o'-lantern.

The Rev. Jeff Gargano offered to perform the ceremony in the adjacent 17th century cemetery, but the couple said no, apparently fearing that might demean the sanctity of the ceremony.

Modern crime

If there was a contest for the least successful bank robber, it would be a tie between these two guys.

A St. Paul, Minn., robber ran away empty-handed when the bank teller did something completely unexpected: She said no.

Then there is the guy in Warsaw, Poland, who said he had a knife and pressed it against the throat of a teller, demanding money.

Too bad for him it was a spoon. He also ran away without a penny.

But at least they are getting their exercise.

Holiday death wish

We know that it's just now Halloween and who wants to be reminded that the gift-giving holidays are bearing down on us like

It's a rubber ball for your dog from Moody Pets Inc., a Philadelphia, Penn.-based company. But oh, it's much more than just a simple toy to amuse Bowser and delight Fifi. No, this rubber ball also has a rubber mustache attached to it.

So when our beloved and loyal companions pop the Humunga Stache in their mouths, it will give them the appearance of having a handlebar mustache. We'll be laughing all the way to the emergency room after the humiliated mutt goes for the jugular.

Spin Cycle takes a quirky view of the daily news. Reach Joan Morris at jmorris@bayareanewsgroup.com.