By J.D. Mullane
We inherited the grandfather clock from my sister, Mary Beth, who was 47 when she died of cancer 10 years ago.
It's a handsome piece, about 6 feet tall, cherry wood, with a moon phase dial and a pleasant chime, when it works. And that's the odd thing. The clock hasn't worked since we've had it. Yet, it still chimes, striking 12, always at peculiar times, usually when there's trouble.
It has been this way for years. In the past two weeks the clock has chimed twice. In one incident it drew our attention to a matter that required a call to Middletown police.
My wife believes the chiming is no coincidence. When a person loves something, traces of that person ---- their spirit or energy, call it what you will ----- are left behind.
My sister loved that clock, which she kept polished and prominent wherever she lived.
She was a school teacher. For 25 years she taught first-, second- and third-graders in special ed. She never had children of her own, and I was always impressed with the bond she had with the kids in her classsroom. I saw this each time she invited me to speak to her classes about what it's like to be a reporter.
The first time I recall seeing the grandfather clock was at her house in Lenox, Mass., in the late 1980s. I vaguely recall her saying it had been given to her by a friend who was moving away.
Whenever she moved ----from Philadelphia or Montgomery County or Baltimore-----she'd sell or give away her furinture, but she always kept the clock.
When we got it, we put it in our foyer. It's a handsome piece, with a gleaming face and dark hands. But, as I said, as long as we've had it, it has never worked properly.
We launch the pendulum, and the clock keeps perfect time. But several hours or days later, it stops. I've rebalanced it and had it cleaned and serviced, but it makes no difference. It always stops. Clocksmiths have told us that all aging mechanical timepieces develop quirks, and that ours is no different.
We had the clock about a year when I first heard its brass chime. I came out to the living room to see it. I did a double-take when I spotted my son, Danny, who was 4-years old, climbing on top of our large, bulky television. It was about to topple over on top of him. I grabbed him just as it went over with a crash.
It chimed again when my son Jamie, who was 18 months old, crawled out the back door and made it to a neighbor's yard.
The chimes went off when Danny, who was a dedicated climber as a toddler, teetered atop a wobbly old metal high chair in the kitchen, reaching for a box of cookies.
My wife reminded me that for 10 years the clock has chimed every April, the same month my sister died and my daughter Maria was born.
Three weeks ago the chimes rattled to life on a chilly afternoon, near dusk. I was standing in a hallway with Danny when the sound interrupted our conversation. Then my daughter said, "Dad ---- a baby in a diaper just ran through our yard!"
I went outside and checked around the house and there, on our back deck, was a child we did not recognize. He was lost but he wasn't old enough to tell me where he lived.
I took him by the hand and bought him inside. My wife gave him strawberries and my kids kept him entertained. I called Middletown police.
An officer arrived and as he was about to take the unknown child away, a woman came running. The boy had slipped out of her house while she wasn't looking. She was near panic, searching. Had we not spotted him, he would have wandered to the next street, and to who knows where.
"That clock again. I'll be damned," I said.
"It's weird," Danny said.
My wife said it wasn't weird at all, but my son and I quietly agreed that it was.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
POP QUIZ (The man of five easy Chinatown details)
Jack Nicholson, winner of three Academy Awards, turns 75 on April 22.
Match some of his famous roles with the appropriate film.
1. Garrett Breedlove a) Chinatown
2. Billy Buddusky b) The Departed
3. Francis "Frank" Costello c) Easy Rider
4. Robert Eroica Dupea d) A Few Good Men
5. J.J. "Jake" Gittes e) Five Easy Pieces
6. George Hanson f) As Good as It Gets
7. Nathan R. Jessup g) The Last Detail
8. Randle Patrick McMurphy h) One Flew Over the
9. Jack Torrance Cuckoo's Nest
10. Melvin Udall i) The Shining
j) Terms of Endearment
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. j ; 2. g ; 3. b ; 4. e ; 5. a ; 6. c ; 7. d ; 8. h ; 9. i ; 10. f
Match some of his famous roles with the appropriate film.
1. Garrett Breedlove a) Chinatown
2. Billy Buddusky b) The Departed
3. Francis "Frank" Costello c) Easy Rider
4. Robert Eroica Dupea d) A Few Good Men
5. J.J. "Jake" Gittes e) Five Easy Pieces
6. George Hanson f) As Good as It Gets
7. Nathan R. Jessup g) The Last Detail
8. Randle Patrick McMurphy h) One Flew Over the
9. Jack Torrance Cuckoo's Nest
10. Melvin Udall i) The Shining
j) Terms of Endearment
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. j ; 2. g ; 3. b ; 4. e ; 5. a ; 6. c ; 7. d ; 8. h ; 9. i ; 10. f
Saturday, April 28, 2012
POP QUIZ (The tax man cometh)
In honor of the looming deadline for tax filings, a look at taxes and tax laws, and accountants and bookkeepers.
1. Which of the 12 apostles was once a tax collector?
a) Matthew
b) Mark
c) Luke
d) John
2. This Renaissance man is known as the "Father of Accounting."
a) Leonardo da Vinci
b) Umberto Eco
c) Luca Pacioli
d) Luca Brasi
3. Which of the following tax acts was not on the list of grievances that sparked the American Revolution?
a) Stamp Act
b) Sugar Act
c) Class Act
d) Townshend Act
4. Taxes played a role in this uprising in Massachusetts in 1786-87.
a) The Whiskey Rebellion
b) Bacon's Rebellion
c) The Stono Rebellion
d) Shays' Rebellion
5. He was a potter, an abolitionist, and an accounting pioneer.
a) Benjamin Franklin
b) Josiah Wedgwood
c) John Woolman
d) Cornelius Fudge
6. The Revenue Act was the first federal income tax in U.S. history. Which president signed it into law?
a) Thomas Jefferson
b) Andrew Jackson
c) Abraham Lincoln
d) Woodrow Wilson
7. In what year did the Supreme Court rule, in Pollock v.Farmers' Loan and Trust Co., that a federal income tax was unconstitutional?
a) 1863
b) 1895
c) 1921
d) 1934
8. What amendment to the Constitution granted Congress the "power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived ....".
a) 12th
b) 14th
c) 16th
d) 20th
9. What president said: "Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the Democrats believe every day is April 15."
a) Teddy Roosevelt
b) Calvin Coolidge
c) Ronald Reagan
d) George W. Bush
10. Name the three accountants on the TV series The Office.
a) Creed, Phyllis, and Oscar
b) Ryan, Darryl, and Angela
c) Pam, Kevin, and Stanley
d) Oscar, Angela, and Kevin
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. a ; 2. c ; 3. c ; 4. d ; 5. b ; 6. c ; 7. b ; 8. c ; 9. c ; 10. d
1. Which of the 12 apostles was once a tax collector?
a) Matthew
b) Mark
c) Luke
d) John
2. This Renaissance man is known as the "Father of Accounting."
a) Leonardo da Vinci
b) Umberto Eco
c) Luca Pacioli
d) Luca Brasi
3. Which of the following tax acts was not on the list of grievances that sparked the American Revolution?
a) Stamp Act
b) Sugar Act
c) Class Act
d) Townshend Act
4. Taxes played a role in this uprising in Massachusetts in 1786-87.
a) The Whiskey Rebellion
b) Bacon's Rebellion
c) The Stono Rebellion
d) Shays' Rebellion
5. He was a potter, an abolitionist, and an accounting pioneer.
a) Benjamin Franklin
b) Josiah Wedgwood
c) John Woolman
d) Cornelius Fudge
6. The Revenue Act was the first federal income tax in U.S. history. Which president signed it into law?
a) Thomas Jefferson
b) Andrew Jackson
c) Abraham Lincoln
d) Woodrow Wilson
7. In what year did the Supreme Court rule, in Pollock v.Farmers' Loan and Trust Co., that a federal income tax was unconstitutional?
a) 1863
b) 1895
c) 1921
d) 1934
8. What amendment to the Constitution granted Congress the "power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived ....".
a) 12th
b) 14th
c) 16th
d) 20th
9. What president said: "Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the Democrats believe every day is April 15."
a) Teddy Roosevelt
b) Calvin Coolidge
c) Ronald Reagan
d) George W. Bush
10. Name the three accountants on the TV series The Office.
a) Creed, Phyllis, and Oscar
b) Ryan, Darryl, and Angela
c) Pam, Kevin, and Stanley
d) Oscar, Angela, and Kevin
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. a ; 2. c ; 3. c ; 4. d ; 5. b ; 6. c ; 7. b ; 8. c ; 9. c ; 10. d
F. Y. I.
Famous Firsts
The world's first installed parking meter was in Oklahoma City on July 16, 1935. It was invented by Carl C. Magee.
Of Note
One in 5,000 North Atlantic lobsters are born bright blue.
Actually Said
by Vanna White, "Wheel of Fortune" hostess
"Sure, it's not the most intellectually challenging job in the world ---- few jobs are."
Back Then
When it was first introduced in 1873, Colgate toothpaste was sold in jars.
Still on the Books
In France, it's illegal to name a pig Napoleon.
The Nose Knows
The average dog has 200 to 250 million scent receptors in its nose. Humans have about 5 million.
The world's first installed parking meter was in Oklahoma City on July 16, 1935. It was invented by Carl C. Magee.
Of Note
One in 5,000 North Atlantic lobsters are born bright blue.
Actually Said
by Vanna White, "Wheel of Fortune" hostess
"Sure, it's not the most intellectually challenging job in the world ---- few jobs are."
Back Then
When it was first introduced in 1873, Colgate toothpaste was sold in jars.
Still on the Books
In France, it's illegal to name a pig Napoleon.
The Nose Knows
The average dog has 200 to 250 million scent receptors in its nose. Humans have about 5 million.
F. Y. I.
Actually Said
by Britney Spears, when asked about taking a Broadway role
"I would rather start out somewhere small, like London or England."
Still on the Books
In Blythe, Calif., you are not permitted to wear cowboy boots unless you already own at least two cows.
Did You Know?
Alligators can live up to 100 years.
Back Then
The great blue heron was once hunted for its plumes, which would be used to decorate women's hats.
Table Tidbits
In its first season, each pineapple plant produces only one pineapple.
by Britney Spears, when asked about taking a Broadway role
"I would rather start out somewhere small, like London or England."
Still on the Books
In Blythe, Calif., you are not permitted to wear cowboy boots unless you already own at least two cows.
Did You Know?
Alligators can live up to 100 years.
Back Then
The great blue heron was once hunted for its plumes, which would be used to decorate women's hats.
Table Tidbits
In its first season, each pineapple plant produces only one pineapple.
Hold the chives: giant spud travels to plug Idaho potatoes
A six-ton replica potato, strapped to the trailer of a semi-truck, is on a coast-to-coast U.S. tour to promote the tuber that is Idaho's claim to fame but has fallen out of favor with diet gurus for its carbohydrate content. The towering model, built of metal and cement, is the Idaho Potato Commission's way of heralding 75 years of marketing the potassium-rich product that has put Idaho on the map and the state's spuds on the table.
The "Famous Idaho Potato Tour" peeled out of Boise on Monday equipped with an entourage that includes a publicist. The supersized spud is to make stops in major cities, including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago and New York.
The outsized ambassador has also been tasked with a special diplomatic mission to the U.S. agriculture department in Washington, D.C., in hopes federal officials will eye the humble potato in a new light, said Frank Muir, president of the commission.
Idaho's 12-billion-pound (5.4-billion-kg) output accounts for a third of annual U.S. potato production. The top market for Idaho russets is New York, where chefs prize the trademarked potato for its light texture,
Yet the agriculture department last year eyed - but ultimately shelved - a plan to cut the number of potato servings in school lunches to lower the amount of starchy vegetables served to students. Low-carb, high-protein diets like Atkins have also sprouted anti-potato talk.
Muir said he has been battling potato propaganda for nine years. He said the 32-state, seven-month tour of the oversized tuber will root out any misconceptions about an Idaho product that last year was certified "heart healthy" by the American Heart Association.
"Look at the potato: It's oblong, it's brown . . . it's not as pretty as cauliflower or broccoli or even carrots. But it's less about how the food looks compared to how it makes you look," Muir said.
Calling its latest campaign to boost the profile of the produce "huge," the commission hopes the 12,000-pound (5.4 ton) potato will take its place alongside other larger-than-life foodstuff replicas like the Oscar Mayer wiener.
The "Famous Idaho Potato Tour" peeled out of Boise on Monday equipped with an entourage that includes a publicist. The supersized spud is to make stops in major cities, including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago and New York.
The outsized ambassador has also been tasked with a special diplomatic mission to the U.S. agriculture department in Washington, D.C., in hopes federal officials will eye the humble potato in a new light, said Frank Muir, president of the commission.
Idaho's 12-billion-pound (5.4-billion-kg) output accounts for a third of annual U.S. potato production. The top market for Idaho russets is New York, where chefs prize the trademarked potato for its light texture,
Yet the agriculture department last year eyed - but ultimately shelved - a plan to cut the number of potato servings in school lunches to lower the amount of starchy vegetables served to students. Low-carb, high-protein diets like Atkins have also sprouted anti-potato talk.
Muir said he has been battling potato propaganda for nine years. He said the 32-state, seven-month tour of the oversized tuber will root out any misconceptions about an Idaho product that last year was certified "heart healthy" by the American Heart Association.
"Look at the potato: It's oblong, it's brown . . . it's not as pretty as cauliflower or broccoli or even carrots. But it's less about how the food looks compared to how it makes you look," Muir said.
Calling its latest campaign to boost the profile of the produce "huge," the commission hopes the 12,000-pound (5.4 ton) potato will take its place alongside other larger-than-life foodstuff replicas like the Oscar Mayer wiener.
Sleepy Air Canada pilot thought Venus was a plane
A sleepy Air Canada pilot first mistook the planet Venus for an aircraft, and then sent his airliner diving toward the Atlantic to prevent an imaginary collision with another plane, an official report said on Monday.
Sixteen passengers and crew were hurt in the January 2011 incident, when the first officer rammed the control stick forward to avoid a U.S. plane he wrongly thought was heading straight toward him.
"Under the effects of significant sleep inertia (when performance and situational awareness are degraded immediately after waking up), the first officer perceived the oncoming aircraft as being on a collision course and began a descent to avoid it," Canada's Transportation Safety Board said.
"This occurrence underscores the challenge of managing fatigue on the flight deck," said chief investigator Jon Lee.
The incident occurred at night on board a Boeing 767 twin engine passenger plane flying from Toronto to Zurich in Switzerland with 95 passengers and eight crew.
The report said the first officer had just woken up, disoriented, from a long nap, when he learned from the pilot that a U.S. cargo plane was flying toward them.
"The FO (First Officer) initially mistook the planet Venus for an aircraft but the captain advised again that the target was at the 12 o'clock position (straight ahead) and 1,000 feet below," said the report.
"When the FO saw the oncoming aircraft, the FO interpreted its position as being above and descending towards them. The FO reacted to the perceived imminent collision by pushing forward on the control column," the report continued.
The airliner dropped about 400 feet before the captain pulled back on the control column. Fourteen passengers and two crew were hurt, and seven needed hospital treatment. None were wearing seat belts, even though the seat-belt sign was on.
The safety board said the crew did not fully understand the risks of tiredness during night flights.
The first officer, whose young children often interrupted his sleep at home, had napped for 75 minutes rather than the 40-minute maximum laid down by airline regulations. This meant he fell into a deep sleep and was disoriented when he woke up.
The report is yet another problem for Canada's largest airline, which has faced prolonged labor unrest.
Air Canada, expressing regret that passengers were injured, said it had taken steps to prevent a recurrence, reminding pilots to follow the rules for napping during flights and increasing efforts to heighten crews' awareness of fatigue and its effects.
"Air Canada has developed a special fatigue report form for use in its safety reporting system ... this enhanced system should be in place in summer of 2012," said spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick.
The Air Canada Pilots Association has long pressured authorities to take the stresses of night flying into account when setting the maximum hours a pilot can work. Canada's regulations were last changed in 1996, when the longest duty day was cut to 14 hours from 15 hours.
"The current regulations are not sensitive at all to the time of day ... (North Atlantic flights) are certainly fatiguing in comparison to most other flying," said association president Paul Strachan.
He also said Air Canada operated trans-Atlantic flights with two pilots whereas U.S. carriers used three to share the load.
"The regulator will have done a risk assessment and obviously is satisfied ... that the risk was acceptable, but obviously it is an increase, there is no two ways about it," he said.
The full TSB report is at http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2011/a11f0012/a11f0012.asp
Sixteen passengers and crew were hurt in the January 2011 incident, when the first officer rammed the control stick forward to avoid a U.S. plane he wrongly thought was heading straight toward him.
"Under the effects of significant sleep inertia (when performance and situational awareness are degraded immediately after waking up), the first officer perceived the oncoming aircraft as being on a collision course and began a descent to avoid it," Canada's Transportation Safety Board said.
"This occurrence underscores the challenge of managing fatigue on the flight deck," said chief investigator Jon Lee.
The incident occurred at night on board a Boeing 767 twin engine passenger plane flying from Toronto to Zurich in Switzerland with 95 passengers and eight crew.
The report said the first officer had just woken up, disoriented, from a long nap, when he learned from the pilot that a U.S. cargo plane was flying toward them.
"The FO (First Officer) initially mistook the planet Venus for an aircraft but the captain advised again that the target was at the 12 o'clock position (straight ahead) and 1,000 feet below," said the report.
"When the FO saw the oncoming aircraft, the FO interpreted its position as being above and descending towards them. The FO reacted to the perceived imminent collision by pushing forward on the control column," the report continued.
The airliner dropped about 400 feet before the captain pulled back on the control column. Fourteen passengers and two crew were hurt, and seven needed hospital treatment. None were wearing seat belts, even though the seat-belt sign was on.
The safety board said the crew did not fully understand the risks of tiredness during night flights.
The first officer, whose young children often interrupted his sleep at home, had napped for 75 minutes rather than the 40-minute maximum laid down by airline regulations. This meant he fell into a deep sleep and was disoriented when he woke up.
The report is yet another problem for Canada's largest airline, which has faced prolonged labor unrest.
Air Canada, expressing regret that passengers were injured, said it had taken steps to prevent a recurrence, reminding pilots to follow the rules for napping during flights and increasing efforts to heighten crews' awareness of fatigue and its effects.
"Air Canada has developed a special fatigue report form for use in its safety reporting system ... this enhanced system should be in place in summer of 2012," said spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick.
The Air Canada Pilots Association has long pressured authorities to take the stresses of night flying into account when setting the maximum hours a pilot can work. Canada's regulations were last changed in 1996, when the longest duty day was cut to 14 hours from 15 hours.
"The current regulations are not sensitive at all to the time of day ... (North Atlantic flights) are certainly fatiguing in comparison to most other flying," said association president Paul Strachan.
He also said Air Canada operated trans-Atlantic flights with two pilots whereas U.S. carriers used three to share the load.
"The regulator will have done a risk assessment and obviously is satisfied ... that the risk was acceptable, but obviously it is an increase, there is no two ways about it," he said.
The full TSB report is at http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2011/a11f0012/a11f0012.asp
Faith motivates tongue piercing in Nepal village
Pressing his palms together, Jujubhai Basan Shrestha raises his hands, acknowledging greetings from the cheering crowd of devotees and onlookers. Sporting a white turban, the 31-year-old sits on a chair as a man inserts a 13 inch metal skewer through his tongue in a centuries-old ritual in this poor settlement, 12 km (8 miles) east of Kathmandu.
The scene at the weekend, on the second day of Nepal's New Year, was unique to Bode, a sleepy village of 8,000 people from the devout Newar community, who are thought to have been the early settlers of the saucer-like Kathmandu valley.
A crowd of thousands jostled for a glimpse as young dancers twirled in the dust of vermillion powder, beating cymbals and banging drums in a frenzied performance.
"This is to keep our culture alive," said Shrestha, who teaches fine arts in a local school and spoke to Reuters before the ritual started. Behind him, his wife sat on a bed and painted the eyes of their three-month-old son with kohl paste.
"Performance of this ritual saves the inhabitants of Bode from disasters like earthquake, severe drought and famine."
Some medical experts say tongue piercing may result in big gaps between front teeth or complications like infections.
But Shrestha, who had his tongue pierced for the fourth time on Saturday, said his motivation came from his faith and he had not experienced any problems so far.
"I always wanted to marry before I started piercing my tongue," Shrestha said. "Now I have a wife as well as a son. The god fulfils your wishes."
MYTH AND FAITH
The origin of the ritual lies with tales of a devil that harassed the residents of Bode more than 1,600 years ago.
Legend has it that a religious scholar captured the evil spirit through his tantra, or the knowledge of ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts, keeping him in custody for several days.
The spirit was freed after he had his tongue pierced in punishment and swore to protect the villagers from disasters. The ritual is believed to have been repeated every year since.
In preparation, Shrestha abstained from sex for two days and fasted for 48 hours. On Saturday, he shaved his head.
The ritual was performed in front of a small temple of the elephant god, Ganesh, worshipped for good luck.
"There is no pain, no scar and no bleeding, although it looks chilling," said Krishna Chandra Baga, the man who inserted the metal rod through Shrestha's tongue.
"This is due to the divine power. Otherwise how can this be possible," said Baga, who had his own tongue pierced 12 times.
In Bode, women in red saris with thin streaks of crimson red powder in their hairlines threw auspicious offerings of rice and flowers at Shrestha, who went round the village for over two hours before the metal rod was pulled out.
The scene wowed tourists.
"It is scary but very impressive," said Sophie, a 31-year-old French tourist from Paris. "You have to be very strong in your mind to do this. I would be really scared."
The scene at the weekend, on the second day of Nepal's New Year, was unique to Bode, a sleepy village of 8,000 people from the devout Newar community, who are thought to have been the early settlers of the saucer-like Kathmandu valley.
A crowd of thousands jostled for a glimpse as young dancers twirled in the dust of vermillion powder, beating cymbals and banging drums in a frenzied performance.
"This is to keep our culture alive," said Shrestha, who teaches fine arts in a local school and spoke to Reuters before the ritual started. Behind him, his wife sat on a bed and painted the eyes of their three-month-old son with kohl paste.
"Performance of this ritual saves the inhabitants of Bode from disasters like earthquake, severe drought and famine."
Some medical experts say tongue piercing may result in big gaps between front teeth or complications like infections.
But Shrestha, who had his tongue pierced for the fourth time on Saturday, said his motivation came from his faith and he had not experienced any problems so far.
"I always wanted to marry before I started piercing my tongue," Shrestha said. "Now I have a wife as well as a son. The god fulfils your wishes."
MYTH AND FAITH
The origin of the ritual lies with tales of a devil that harassed the residents of Bode more than 1,600 years ago.
Legend has it that a religious scholar captured the evil spirit through his tantra, or the knowledge of ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts, keeping him in custody for several days.
The spirit was freed after he had his tongue pierced in punishment and swore to protect the villagers from disasters. The ritual is believed to have been repeated every year since.
In preparation, Shrestha abstained from sex for two days and fasted for 48 hours. On Saturday, he shaved his head.
The ritual was performed in front of a small temple of the elephant god, Ganesh, worshipped for good luck.
"There is no pain, no scar and no bleeding, although it looks chilling," said Krishna Chandra Baga, the man who inserted the metal rod through Shrestha's tongue.
"This is due to the divine power. Otherwise how can this be possible," said Baga, who had his own tongue pierced 12 times.
In Bode, women in red saris with thin streaks of crimson red powder in their hairlines threw auspicious offerings of rice and flowers at Shrestha, who went round the village for over two hours before the metal rod was pulled out.
The scene wowed tourists.
"It is scary but very impressive," said Sophie, a 31-year-old French tourist from Paris. "You have to be very strong in your mind to do this. I would be really scared."
Newt nipped by zoo penguin, gets Band-Aid
Things have not been going all that well for Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich lately, even at one of his favorite places - the zoo. Newt was nipped on the finger by a penguin during a private tour of the famous St. Louis zoo on Friday before he spoke to the National Rifle Association convention, zoo officials confirmed on Monday.
Gingrich, who is trailing in the Republican race for the White House and is under pressure to withdraw, passed unscathed through Big Cat Country and avoided contact with the crocodiles in the Herpetarium. But his visit took a turn when a Magellanic penguin pecked at the candidate's hand.
"He was nipped on the finger by a penguin," zoo public relations director Susan Gallagher said. "A Band-Aid took care of the injury."
Gingrich vowed he would not shun zoos. "Newt is a zoo fan. He will be back," spokesman R. C. Hammond said.
The zoo allows people on private tours to get "up close and personal" with the birds.
Gingrich has made a habit of visiting zoos while running for president and wrote the forward for "America's Best Zoos: A Travel Guide for Fans & Families."
Gingrich, who is trailing in the Republican race for the White House and is under pressure to withdraw, passed unscathed through Big Cat Country and avoided contact with the crocodiles in the Herpetarium. But his visit took a turn when a Magellanic penguin pecked at the candidate's hand.
"He was nipped on the finger by a penguin," zoo public relations director Susan Gallagher said. "A Band-Aid took care of the injury."
Gingrich vowed he would not shun zoos. "Newt is a zoo fan. He will be back," spokesman R. C. Hammond said.
The zoo allows people on private tours to get "up close and personal" with the birds.
Gingrich has made a habit of visiting zoos while running for president and wrote the forward for "America's Best Zoos: A Travel Guide for Fans & Families."
No need for kangaroo harvest reports: California governor
California lawmakers won't be briefed any longer on kangaroo harvests in Australia under a plan to scrap more than 700 reports required by state law that Governor Jerry Brown unveiled on Tuesday. Australia's annual kangaroo harvest report, which California's Department of Fish and Game is required to track and provide to lawmakers, is one of 718 "unnecessary bureaucratic" reports discovered in audits of state agencies and departments ordered by Brown in December, according to a statement from his office.
Eliminating the reports would help make California's government more efficient, the Democratic governor of the most populous U.S. state said in the statement.
"It wastes a lot of time and money to write, track and file these reports," Brown said. "Government should be focused on providing information that is actually helpful to taxpayers, not on checking boxes to meet outdated bureaucratic requirements."
Eliminating the reports would help make California's government more efficient, the Democratic governor of the most populous U.S. state said in the statement.
"It wastes a lot of time and money to write, track and file these reports," Brown said. "Government should be focused on providing information that is actually helpful to taxpayers, not on checking boxes to meet outdated bureaucratic requirements."
Player's dad breaks Alabama's championship crystal football
The championship dream is intact, but the $30,000 crystal football trophy has been shattered at the University of Alabama. A player's father accidentally broke on Saturday the Waterford crystal football awarded to the Crimson Tide after the team defeated Louisiana State University in January for the national collegiate title, an athletics official said.
The team was celebrating A-Day, an intra-squad scrimmage that marks the end of spring training, and trophies were on special display to allow people to take photographs with them.
The player's father, who is not being named, bumped the table holding the trophy, said Jeff Purinton, spokesman for the university's football program. The motion yanked the tablecloth, sending the crystal piece to the floor.
"He feels really bad about it," Purinton said.
The university has contacted the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), which owns the pricey crystal ball. A new one will be made for permanent display at the school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, according to AFCA spokesman Vince Thompson.
This isn't the first crystal football mishap. The University of Florida's 2006 championship ball was accidentally shattered in 2008, and two were stolen from Florida State University in 2004, Thompson said.
"One little slip and it can bust. You have to keep two hands on it," he said.
Before going on permanent display at the winning schools, the championship crystal footballs travel around the country for events at shopping centers, fan rallies and games. Thompson said a crystal ball has never been broken at a public stop.
The team was celebrating A-Day, an intra-squad scrimmage that marks the end of spring training, and trophies were on special display to allow people to take photographs with them.
The player's father, who is not being named, bumped the table holding the trophy, said Jeff Purinton, spokesman for the university's football program. The motion yanked the tablecloth, sending the crystal piece to the floor.
"He feels really bad about it," Purinton said.
The university has contacted the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), which owns the pricey crystal ball. A new one will be made for permanent display at the school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, according to AFCA spokesman Vince Thompson.
This isn't the first crystal football mishap. The University of Florida's 2006 championship ball was accidentally shattered in 2008, and two were stolen from Florida State University in 2004, Thompson said.
"One little slip and it can bust. You have to keep two hands on it," he said.
Before going on permanent display at the winning schools, the championship crystal footballs travel around the country for events at shopping centers, fan rallies and games. Thompson said a crystal ball has never been broken at a public stop.
Human-made earthquakes reported in central U.S
The number of earthquakes in the central United States rose "spectacularly" near where oil and gas drillers disposed of wastewater underground, a process that may have caused geologic faults to slip, U.S. government geologists report. The average number of earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater in the U.S. midcontinent - an area that includes Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas - increased to six times the 20th century average last year, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey said in an abstract of their research.
The abstract does not explicitly link rising earthquake activity to fracking - known formally as hydraulic fracturing - that involves pumping water and chemicals into underground rock formations to extract natural gas and oil.
But the wastewater generated by fracking and other extraction processes may play a role in causing geologic faults to slip, causing earthquakes, the report suggests.
"A remarkable increase in the rate of (magnitude 3) and greater earthquakes is currently in progress," the authors wrote in a brief work summary to be discussed Wednesday at a San Diego meeting of the Seismological Society of America.
"While the seismicity rate changes described here are almost certainly manmade, it remains to be determined how they are related to either changes in extraction methodologies or the rate of oil and gas production," the abstract said.
From 1970 through 2000, the rate of magnitude 3 or greater quakes was 21 plus or minus 7.6 each year, according to USGS figures. Between 2001 and 2008, that increased to 29 plus or minus 3.5.
But the next three years saw the numbers increase "much more spectacularly," said Arthur McGarr, of the geologic survey's Earthquake Science Center in California: 2009 had 50, 2010 had 87 and 2011 had 134 such events.
"We don't know why, but we doubt that it's a natural process, because in nature, the only time you see such a big increase is during an aftershock sequence (with a series of quakes) or in a volcanic setting where you often get swarms of earthquakes due to magmatic activity," McGarr said by telephone.
EXPLORING THE LINK
When swarms of quakes occurred in Colorado and Oklahoma last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked the geologic survey to investigate possible links to energy extraction in the area.
Among other sites, they examined an August 2011 earthquake centered around Trinidad, Colorado, near the New Mexico border, that registered a magnitude of 5.3, said McGarr, a co-author of the abstract.
That quake "turned out to be really close to two of the highest injection volume waste water disposal wells in the field," McGarr said. "So that gives us quite a strong hint that these earthquakes are being triggered by these wastewater disposal facilities."
There were different responses on either side of the Colorado-New Mexico line, he said. New Mexico, where the policy was to inject all wastewater underground, experienced more earthquakes than Colorado, where some wastewater is disposed at the surface.
America's Natural Gas Alliance, which represents major energy companies involved in natural gas fracking, said it was difficult to conclude anything based on an unpublished abstract.
"We are committed to monitoring the issue and working with authorities where there are concerns, but it should be noted that currently there is no scientific data associating hydraulic fracturing with earthquakes that would cause damage," ANGA spokesman Dan Whitten said in an email.
The disposal of wastewater underground, called injection, has long been known to have the potential to cause earthquakes, the Interior Department said in a blog post at http://www.doi.gov/news/doinews/Is-the-Recent-Increase-in-Felt-Earthquakes-in-the-Central-US-Natural-or-Manmade.cfm .
What is new is the ability to precisely locate earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater (magnitude 3 is recognized as the threshhold for detection) and a signature shape of the waves on a seismogram indicating a shallow quake, McGarr said.
Human-induced quakes are typically quite shallow, he said.
The abstract does not explicitly link rising earthquake activity to fracking - known formally as hydraulic fracturing - that involves pumping water and chemicals into underground rock formations to extract natural gas and oil.
But the wastewater generated by fracking and other extraction processes may play a role in causing geologic faults to slip, causing earthquakes, the report suggests.
"A remarkable increase in the rate of (magnitude 3) and greater earthquakes is currently in progress," the authors wrote in a brief work summary to be discussed Wednesday at a San Diego meeting of the Seismological Society of America.
"While the seismicity rate changes described here are almost certainly manmade, it remains to be determined how they are related to either changes in extraction methodologies or the rate of oil and gas production," the abstract said.
From 1970 through 2000, the rate of magnitude 3 or greater quakes was 21 plus or minus 7.6 each year, according to USGS figures. Between 2001 and 2008, that increased to 29 plus or minus 3.5.
But the next three years saw the numbers increase "much more spectacularly," said Arthur McGarr, of the geologic survey's Earthquake Science Center in California: 2009 had 50, 2010 had 87 and 2011 had 134 such events.
"We don't know why, but we doubt that it's a natural process, because in nature, the only time you see such a big increase is during an aftershock sequence (with a series of quakes) or in a volcanic setting where you often get swarms of earthquakes due to magmatic activity," McGarr said by telephone.
EXPLORING THE LINK
When swarms of quakes occurred in Colorado and Oklahoma last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked the geologic survey to investigate possible links to energy extraction in the area.
Among other sites, they examined an August 2011 earthquake centered around Trinidad, Colorado, near the New Mexico border, that registered a magnitude of 5.3, said McGarr, a co-author of the abstract.
That quake "turned out to be really close to two of the highest injection volume waste water disposal wells in the field," McGarr said. "So that gives us quite a strong hint that these earthquakes are being triggered by these wastewater disposal facilities."
There were different responses on either side of the Colorado-New Mexico line, he said. New Mexico, where the policy was to inject all wastewater underground, experienced more earthquakes than Colorado, where some wastewater is disposed at the surface.
America's Natural Gas Alliance, which represents major energy companies involved in natural gas fracking, said it was difficult to conclude anything based on an unpublished abstract.
"We are committed to monitoring the issue and working with authorities where there are concerns, but it should be noted that currently there is no scientific data associating hydraulic fracturing with earthquakes that would cause damage," ANGA spokesman Dan Whitten said in an email.
The disposal of wastewater underground, called injection, has long been known to have the potential to cause earthquakes, the Interior Department said in a blog post at http://www.doi.gov/news/doinews/Is-the-Recent-Increase-in-Felt-Earthquakes-in-the-Central-US-Natural-or-Manmade.cfm .
What is new is the ability to precisely locate earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater (magnitude 3 is recognized as the threshhold for detection) and a signature shape of the waves on a seismogram indicating a shallow quake, McGarr said.
Human-induced quakes are typically quite shallow, he said.
Four-legged US viewers wag tails for DogTV channel
Two months after its San Diego debut, canine cable channel DogTV is keeping tails wagging at a local animal shelter, is available on the Internet and is headed for national distribution, an executive for the enterprise said on Tuesday. The advertising-free programming is aimed at stay-at-home pooches whose work-a-day masters fret about the separation anxiety their pets suffer, and the trouble they get into, when left unattended for long stretches of time.
Billed as the first channel of its kind, DogTV made its premiere on February 13 as a free, around-the-clock offering carried by Cox Cable and Time Warner's on-demand services in San Diego, reaching some 483,000 homes in California's second-largest city.
The content is specifically tailored for four-legged audiences, with even the sound, colors and camera angles adjusted to make them more appealing to canines.
The dogs' favorite TV stars, not surprisingly, turn out to be other dogs.
"They love watching other dogs being active on the screen, and other animals," said Beke Lubeach, head of marketing for DogTV, adding that birds, monkeys and zebras have proven popular as well.
The Nielsen television ratings service does not measure viewership on the channel and Lubeach declined to disclose details of the company's own marketing research. But she said that 80 percent of its viewers - or at least the humans who turn on the channel for their pets - are repeat visitors.
Last week, the channel began offering online streaming from its website, dogtv.com, for $9.99 a month. On-demand viewing over Cox and Time Warner cable systems in San Diego remains free for the duration of test-marketing, which is expected to run another two months at least, she said.
HOPING TO GO NATIONWIDE
Lubeach said DogTV hopes to have a national distribution deal in place in the next couple of months, at which point the channel would charge subscribers about $5 a month.
In the meantime, DogTV has become a big hit at the Humane Society animal shelter in suburban Escondido, which began airing the channel on several televisions mounted throughout the facility last month.
The shelter "has seen a marked improvement in all the dogs who have been exposed to DogTV," said Sally Costello, executive director of the Escondido Humane Society, which cares for more than 5,000 animals a year and currently houses 115 dogs.
In a press release last week, she said that "higher-energy dogs, which were once showing signs of anxiety, are now exhibiting positive development and calmer behavior, including vocalizing less and resting more."
Programming, developed by a team of Israeli television entrepreneurs, was based on hundreds of hours of research into what TV-watching dogs like to see and hear and how content for pooches should appear. Researchers found that dogs favored such things as harp music and the cartoon series "SpongeBob SquarePants."
While DogTV is a cable television first, the concept of making couch potatoes out of canines is not new.
More than 60 percent of U.S. dog owners already heed the national Humane Society's recommendation to keep a radio or television on in the house when their pets are left alone so the animals hear comforting voices rather than just silence, according to Dr. Nicholas Dodman, a member of DogTV's scientific advisory board and a professor of veterinary medicine and behavior at Tufts University in Massachusetts.
Billed as the first channel of its kind, DogTV made its premiere on February 13 as a free, around-the-clock offering carried by Cox Cable and Time Warner's on-demand services in San Diego, reaching some 483,000 homes in California's second-largest city.
The content is specifically tailored for four-legged audiences, with even the sound, colors and camera angles adjusted to make them more appealing to canines.
The dogs' favorite TV stars, not surprisingly, turn out to be other dogs.
"They love watching other dogs being active on the screen, and other animals," said Beke Lubeach, head of marketing for DogTV, adding that birds, monkeys and zebras have proven popular as well.
The Nielsen television ratings service does not measure viewership on the channel and Lubeach declined to disclose details of the company's own marketing research. But she said that 80 percent of its viewers - or at least the humans who turn on the channel for their pets - are repeat visitors.
Last week, the channel began offering online streaming from its website, dogtv.com, for $9.99 a month. On-demand viewing over Cox and Time Warner cable systems in San Diego remains free for the duration of test-marketing, which is expected to run another two months at least, she said.
HOPING TO GO NATIONWIDE
Lubeach said DogTV hopes to have a national distribution deal in place in the next couple of months, at which point the channel would charge subscribers about $5 a month.
In the meantime, DogTV has become a big hit at the Humane Society animal shelter in suburban Escondido, which began airing the channel on several televisions mounted throughout the facility last month.
The shelter "has seen a marked improvement in all the dogs who have been exposed to DogTV," said Sally Costello, executive director of the Escondido Humane Society, which cares for more than 5,000 animals a year and currently houses 115 dogs.
In a press release last week, she said that "higher-energy dogs, which were once showing signs of anxiety, are now exhibiting positive development and calmer behavior, including vocalizing less and resting more."
Programming, developed by a team of Israeli television entrepreneurs, was based on hundreds of hours of research into what TV-watching dogs like to see and hear and how content for pooches should appear. Researchers found that dogs favored such things as harp music and the cartoon series "SpongeBob SquarePants."
While DogTV is a cable television first, the concept of making couch potatoes out of canines is not new.
More than 60 percent of U.S. dog owners already heed the national Humane Society's recommendation to keep a radio or television on in the house when their pets are left alone so the animals hear comforting voices rather than just silence, according to Dr. Nicholas Dodman, a member of DogTV's scientific advisory board and a professor of veterinary medicine and behavior at Tufts University in Massachusetts.
Dutch bug cookbook launched to stir taste for insects
Need more protein in your diet? Try adding worms to your chocolate muffin recipe mix, or spice up a mushroom risotto with a sprinkling of grasshoppers. "The Insect Cookbook", which comes out on Tuesday and is written in Dutch, contains these and other unusual recipes and is intended to promote insects as a source of protein.
"I see this as the next step towards the introduction of insects on restaurant menus in the Netherlands. I also expect people to buy the book and start cooking with insects at home," said Marcel Dicke, a professor at Wageningen University which specializes in food and food production.
To mark the book launch in Wageningen, specialist insect chef Henk van Gurp will try to set a record for cooking the world's biggest grasshopper pie.
Research by scientists at the university showed that insects could provide the best source of protein to meet the needs of a rising population. Currently, 70 percent of agricultural land is used for livestock production.
Dicke said that with the world population expected to hit 9 billion by 2050, it will be difficult to provide enough protein for everyone because there will not be enough land for raising livestock.
The nutritional value of insects is similar to those of meat, and the emission of greenhouse gases from insect production is a hundred times lower than in pig production, the university said.
Dicke said that the biggest resistance to the use of insects as the source of proteins is likely to be in countries where people are used to eating big portions of meat.
Those who can't be bothered to shop, prepare and cook the bugs for themselves can sample them at a handful of restaurants in the Netherlands.
Specktakel restaurant in the town of Haarlem, just west of Amsterdam, served customers a five-course menu of insect dishes last month, while this month's special is meat pie sprinkled with nuts, seeds and worms.
But Mark Van Kimmenaede, a chef at Specktakel, does not expect insects to become hugely popular because of their particular taste.
"It does not go well with fish, for example," he said.
"It is nice to have one or two dishes with insects on the menu, but it has to stay fun."
"I see this as the next step towards the introduction of insects on restaurant menus in the Netherlands. I also expect people to buy the book and start cooking with insects at home," said Marcel Dicke, a professor at Wageningen University which specializes in food and food production.
To mark the book launch in Wageningen, specialist insect chef Henk van Gurp will try to set a record for cooking the world's biggest grasshopper pie.
Research by scientists at the university showed that insects could provide the best source of protein to meet the needs of a rising population. Currently, 70 percent of agricultural land is used for livestock production.
Dicke said that with the world population expected to hit 9 billion by 2050, it will be difficult to provide enough protein for everyone because there will not be enough land for raising livestock.
The nutritional value of insects is similar to those of meat, and the emission of greenhouse gases from insect production is a hundred times lower than in pig production, the university said.
Dicke said that the biggest resistance to the use of insects as the source of proteins is likely to be in countries where people are used to eating big portions of meat.
Those who can't be bothered to shop, prepare and cook the bugs for themselves can sample them at a handful of restaurants in the Netherlands.
Specktakel restaurant in the town of Haarlem, just west of Amsterdam, served customers a five-course menu of insect dishes last month, while this month's special is meat pie sprinkled with nuts, seeds and worms.
But Mark Van Kimmenaede, a chef at Specktakel, does not expect insects to become hugely popular because of their particular taste.
"It does not go well with fish, for example," he said.
"It is nice to have one or two dishes with insects on the menu, but it has to stay fun."
No monkeying around for Japan man, fastest on four legs
In the suburbs of Tokyo lives Kenichi Ito, the world's fastest man on four legs. For nearly a decade, the 29-year-old Ito, long a fan of simians, has been perfecting a running style based on the wiry Patas monkey of Africa, winning himself a Guinness World Record in the process.
"You know, my face and body kind of look like a monkey, so from a young age everybody used to tease me, saying 'monkey, monkey,'" Ito said in his neat apartment, sitting in front of a large poster of a chimpanzee.
"But I wasn't really bothered because I really liked them, and somewhere inside of me I had this ambition to adopt one of their traits. When I saw a monkey that could run fast, I knew I'd found it - and from that point on I practiced running like a monkey every day."
For eight-and-a-half years the slender Ito has walked around his neighborhood on his hands and feet, wearing gloves and cleated shoes. He has turned his household chores into challenges on all fours and squats like a monkey while talking.
Constantly honing his style, he looks for inspiration from across the animal world by using the Internet and a season ticket to the local zoo.
So far he's developed six distinct forms of all-fours movement, from his top-speed "gallop" to a more leisurely walking pace. His speed at running 100 meters on all fours, just under 20 seconds, won him a Guinness record.
Occasionally Ito, who survives on money earned through his running as well as part-time jobs, gets together with fellow four-legged running fanatics to race each other. Sometimes, they bring cats and dogs to join in the fun - though a well-trained dog will usually win.
Ito believes so fervently in his form of "sport" that he is convinced athletes of the future will eventually come around to his point of view.
"Certainly four-legged running isn't an Olympic sport yet, but my prediction is that in 500 years' time all track athletes will be running on all fours," he said.
But his passion for simians has not been without setbacks.
"In the streets around here I get stopped by the police, so I went up into the mountains for about a month for a kind of four-legged training camp," Ito said.
"But on the first day, a hunter mistook me for a wild boar, and he tried to shoot me."
"You know, my face and body kind of look like a monkey, so from a young age everybody used to tease me, saying 'monkey, monkey,'" Ito said in his neat apartment, sitting in front of a large poster of a chimpanzee.
"But I wasn't really bothered because I really liked them, and somewhere inside of me I had this ambition to adopt one of their traits. When I saw a monkey that could run fast, I knew I'd found it - and from that point on I practiced running like a monkey every day."
For eight-and-a-half years the slender Ito has walked around his neighborhood on his hands and feet, wearing gloves and cleated shoes. He has turned his household chores into challenges on all fours and squats like a monkey while talking.
Constantly honing his style, he looks for inspiration from across the animal world by using the Internet and a season ticket to the local zoo.
So far he's developed six distinct forms of all-fours movement, from his top-speed "gallop" to a more leisurely walking pace. His speed at running 100 meters on all fours, just under 20 seconds, won him a Guinness record.
Occasionally Ito, who survives on money earned through his running as well as part-time jobs, gets together with fellow four-legged running fanatics to race each other. Sometimes, they bring cats and dogs to join in the fun - though a well-trained dog will usually win.
Ito believes so fervently in his form of "sport" that he is convinced athletes of the future will eventually come around to his point of view.
"Certainly four-legged running isn't an Olympic sport yet, but my prediction is that in 500 years' time all track athletes will be running on all fours," he said.
But his passion for simians has not been without setbacks.
"In the streets around here I get stopped by the police, so I went up into the mountains for about a month for a kind of four-legged training camp," Ito said.
"But on the first day, a hunter mistook me for a wild boar, and he tried to shoot me."
El Salvador heralds 1st murder-free day in nearly three years
No one was murdered in El Salvador on Saturday, officials said, in what was the first homicide-free day in nearly three years for the Central American country plagued by violent drug gangs. "After years when the number of murders reached alarming levels of up to 18 per day, we saw not one homicide in the country," President Mauricio Funes said in a statement released on Sunday. The murder-free day was the first recorded since leftist Funes took office in June 2009.
At the beginning of Funes' term, the country had an average of 12 murders a day, but that tally climbed closer to 18 per day in early 2012.
Rival gangs operating in El Salvador called a truce last month and bloodshed between the country's two most powerful gangs, Mara Salvatrucha and gang Mara 18, has abated.
According to United Nations data, El Salvador has recently tallied a homicide rate of 66 per 100,000 people, one of the highest in the world.
Much of that violence is blamed on Mexican drug cartels that use the country as a transit point.
Funes, who attended this weekend's Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, credited his government's security measures for the drop in violence.
Funes has recently ordered the military to pick up routine security duties.
At the beginning of Funes' term, the country had an average of 12 murders a day, but that tally climbed closer to 18 per day in early 2012.
Rival gangs operating in El Salvador called a truce last month and bloodshed between the country's two most powerful gangs, Mara Salvatrucha and gang Mara 18, has abated.
According to United Nations data, El Salvador has recently tallied a homicide rate of 66 per 100,000 people, one of the highest in the world.
Much of that violence is blamed on Mexican drug cartels that use the country as a transit point.
Funes, who attended this weekend's Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, credited his government's security measures for the drop in violence.
Funes has recently ordered the military to pick up routine security duties.
Shooting zombies is the fad among gun enthusiasts
One of Patrick Flanagan's favorite movies as a kid was "Night of the Living Dead," a 1968 horror film about a family trapped in a rural Pennsylvania house and attacked by zombies. "I really dug zombie stuff since then," said Flanagan, 23, an unemployed concrete worker from Alton, in southern Illinois.
So Flanagan combined his interest in zombies with another hobby - guns.
He was one of many gun owners crowded around a display of lifelike zombie paper shooting targets at the National Rifle Association's Guns and Gear exhibition on Saturday during the NRA annual conference in St. Louis.
The Hollywood-inspired zombie craze - featuring blood-soaked ghouls rising from the dead to attack the living - has extended to gun enthusiasts. At the huge NRA exhibition, vendors displayed zombie targets, zombie bullets, zombie paint coating for guns and zombie patches for a shooting jacket.
Firing ranges across the country are offering zombie-themed shooting events, some held as daylight fades for atmosphere, said Brad Ross, a division manager for Law Enforcement Targets, Inc, a maker of zombie targets.
Flanagan, who said he owns 19 guns, likes to drive out into rural areas to practice shooting. He is bored with shooting cans or simple bullseye targets and the zombie targets will be more fun, he said, clutching his roll of 40 poster-sized images.
Sales of zombie targets are booming and are expected to grow about 30 percent to a million targets this year, Ross said.
"It is absolutely dumbfounding," said Addison Sovine, a salesman hustling on Saturday to keep up with the demand for the shooting accessory at the Law Enforcement Targets booth.
For the truly zombie-obsessed, Sovine demonstrated small packets of blood-colored liquid that can be purchased to attach to the back of the zombie target so that it bleeds when shot. If an explosion is desired, a grainy mixture is for sale that will blast like a firecracker when hit.
TAKING AIM ON "ZOMBILADIN" TARGET
Among the most popular of the 18 zombie target designs offered in its catalog are "Becky," an image of a wounded, pale and dark-eyed female, and "ZombiLadin" a bearded and bloody likeness of the late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, company officials said.
Ammunition maker Hornady introduced a zombie bullet last fall with a green painted tip and it was one of their most successful product launches ever, according to marketing communications manager Everett Deger. The bullets come in a bright green box saying "20 rounds certified Zombie ammunition" with a warning that it is not a toy.
Zombie-themed paint coatings for guns are among the 10 most popular camouflage designs offered by DuraCoat Firearm Finishes, which paints guns, said Operations Manager Amy Lauer-Potaczek.
Much of the interest in zombies has been fed by popular culture, such as the movie "Zombieland," starring Woody Harrelson, and the "Walking Dead" television series about a group of people trying to survive in a world overrun by zombies. But Sovine said the obsession has gained momentum from "preppers" - people who are preparing for doomsday - and the belief by some that, according to the Mayan calendar, the world as we know it will end in December.
"As soon as we pass December if we are not all dead, we live on, and it is really not the end of the world ... I think you will see it (zombie target sales) start to come back down the other side," Sovine said.
So Flanagan combined his interest in zombies with another hobby - guns.
He was one of many gun owners crowded around a display of lifelike zombie paper shooting targets at the National Rifle Association's Guns and Gear exhibition on Saturday during the NRA annual conference in St. Louis.
The Hollywood-inspired zombie craze - featuring blood-soaked ghouls rising from the dead to attack the living - has extended to gun enthusiasts. At the huge NRA exhibition, vendors displayed zombie targets, zombie bullets, zombie paint coating for guns and zombie patches for a shooting jacket.
Firing ranges across the country are offering zombie-themed shooting events, some held as daylight fades for atmosphere, said Brad Ross, a division manager for Law Enforcement Targets, Inc, a maker of zombie targets.
Flanagan, who said he owns 19 guns, likes to drive out into rural areas to practice shooting. He is bored with shooting cans or simple bullseye targets and the zombie targets will be more fun, he said, clutching his roll of 40 poster-sized images.
Sales of zombie targets are booming and are expected to grow about 30 percent to a million targets this year, Ross said.
"It is absolutely dumbfounding," said Addison Sovine, a salesman hustling on Saturday to keep up with the demand for the shooting accessory at the Law Enforcement Targets booth.
For the truly zombie-obsessed, Sovine demonstrated small packets of blood-colored liquid that can be purchased to attach to the back of the zombie target so that it bleeds when shot. If an explosion is desired, a grainy mixture is for sale that will blast like a firecracker when hit.
TAKING AIM ON "ZOMBILADIN" TARGET
Among the most popular of the 18 zombie target designs offered in its catalog are "Becky," an image of a wounded, pale and dark-eyed female, and "ZombiLadin" a bearded and bloody likeness of the late al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, company officials said.
Ammunition maker Hornady introduced a zombie bullet last fall with a green painted tip and it was one of their most successful product launches ever, according to marketing communications manager Everett Deger. The bullets come in a bright green box saying "20 rounds certified Zombie ammunition" with a warning that it is not a toy.
Zombie-themed paint coatings for guns are among the 10 most popular camouflage designs offered by DuraCoat Firearm Finishes, which paints guns, said Operations Manager Amy Lauer-Potaczek.
Much of the interest in zombies has been fed by popular culture, such as the movie "Zombieland," starring Woody Harrelson, and the "Walking Dead" television series about a group of people trying to survive in a world overrun by zombies. But Sovine said the obsession has gained momentum from "preppers" - people who are preparing for doomsday - and the belief by some that, according to the Mayan calendar, the world as we know it will end in December.
"As soon as we pass December if we are not all dead, we live on, and it is really not the end of the world ... I think you will see it (zombie target sales) start to come back down the other side," Sovine said.
Miniature royal fairy tale to grow and grow
In its current form, the matchbook-sized children's book "J. Smith" can only be enjoyed by the most diligent of readers, armed with deft fingers, a magnifying glass and an abundance of patience. But all that will change next month when the tiny fairy tale, created originally in 1922 for the library of Queen Mary's dolls' house, will be published in full, human size.
The project is being undertaken by children's publisher Walker Books, in collaboration with the Royal Collection. Its publication in early May will coincide with this year's celebration of the Diamond Jubilee, the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's accession to the throne.
The idea to recreate one of the dolls' house books took shape when staff at the Royal Collection were examining the house, in Windsor Castle just west of London, several years ago for a separate book project. The dolls' house, arguably the world's most famous, includes a fully stocked wine cellar, electricity, and working lifts.
"The publishing department had a look at the library and were really inspired to recreate this particular book, because it's really known as one of the gems of the dolls' house library," said a spokeswoman for the Royal Collection.
"This is one of the loveliest to recreate."
"J. Smith," by cartoonist Fougasse - the pen name of Cyril Kenneth Bird - tells the story of a fairy who finds himself blown out of Fairyland and into 1920s London, trying to convince those around him that he really is a magical being. The original book measures about 4 cm by 3 cm.
Bird, a former editor of Punch magazine, was best known for his World War Two-era propaganda posters including the "Careless Talk Costs Lives" series.
He wrote the book by hand and in verse, with lines like, "'But they do exist,' said the fairy/'And the proof of it is me/For if I'm not a fairy/Whatever can I be?'"
Royal Collection photographers made images of the book's pages, and Walker then created a special font designed to imitate Bird's handwriting as closely as possible.
The book will be published in hardcover and sold for 10 pounds ($16) in bookstores and through the Royal Collection website.
The project is being undertaken by children's publisher Walker Books, in collaboration with the Royal Collection. Its publication in early May will coincide with this year's celebration of the Diamond Jubilee, the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's accession to the throne.
The idea to recreate one of the dolls' house books took shape when staff at the Royal Collection were examining the house, in Windsor Castle just west of London, several years ago for a separate book project. The dolls' house, arguably the world's most famous, includes a fully stocked wine cellar, electricity, and working lifts.
"The publishing department had a look at the library and were really inspired to recreate this particular book, because it's really known as one of the gems of the dolls' house library," said a spokeswoman for the Royal Collection.
"This is one of the loveliest to recreate."
"J. Smith," by cartoonist Fougasse - the pen name of Cyril Kenneth Bird - tells the story of a fairy who finds himself blown out of Fairyland and into 1920s London, trying to convince those around him that he really is a magical being. The original book measures about 4 cm by 3 cm.
Bird, a former editor of Punch magazine, was best known for his World War Two-era propaganda posters including the "Careless Talk Costs Lives" series.
He wrote the book by hand and in verse, with lines like, "'But they do exist,' said the fairy/'And the proof of it is me/For if I'm not a fairy/Whatever can I be?'"
Royal Collection photographers made images of the book's pages, and Walker then created a special font designed to imitate Bird's handwriting as closely as possible.
The book will be published in hardcover and sold for 10 pounds ($16) in bookstores and through the Royal Collection website.
Philippine runners race to survive zombie horde
Natural and man-made obstacles studded the course of a Philippine race, but the real danger to the thousands of runners came from the hordes of "zombies". About five thousand people dashed along the five km (three mile) course of the survival-themed race in Laguna Province, about 38 km south of Manila, dodging an assortment of the walking undead in the contest based on a popular U.S. race.
Two hundred actors dressed as post-apocalyptic zombies hid behind trees, bushes and rocky uphill climbs along the five km (three mile) course to surprise the unsuspecting runners and symbolically feast on their brains by stealing flags attached to the runners' waists.
Once all three flags were stolen, runners were "dead." But they could gain additional flags by carrying out optional tasks that often involved zombies guarding the various prizes.
Organizers said the races helped both amateur and professional runners stay focused without the boredom that can kill some runs.
"We like watching zombie shows and it really tickles our imagination," said Angelo Cruz, organizer of Outbreak Manila, which seeks to promote fitness through the races and plans to hold similar events in the coming months.
"Right now, to have it in reality, it's making everyone's summer - I hope."
There were two different routes available, trading difficulty with length to the finish according to the runner's skills and preference.
To keep both runners and zombies safe from injuries, organizers imposed a rule that forbade the zombies from any physical contact with the runners aside from taking their flags and scaring them witless.
Not all of the zombies, many well known from popular television shows, movies or music videos, used crude fright techniques.
One, from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, danced to trick runners into letting down their guard, at which point it snatched their flags.
At the end, runners were awarded prizes for their struggle and tried to express their feelings about surviving a global zombie takeover and what might be needed.
"The well-trained surely have higher endurance," said Rodson Santos, a university student who wore a robot costume as his way of surviving the zombie hordes.
"If you can outrun the zombies, then you'll probably survive. But if you're just a regular person without any exercise, chances are you will be easily caught."
Others drew even harsher lessons from the experience.
"In a zombie apocalypse, I guess it's all about thinking about yourself and your survival," said runner Carlos Cang.
"I mean, even if you're with friends, it's all about you. Because, you know, once you die it's all over."
Two hundred actors dressed as post-apocalyptic zombies hid behind trees, bushes and rocky uphill climbs along the five km (three mile) course to surprise the unsuspecting runners and symbolically feast on their brains by stealing flags attached to the runners' waists.
Once all three flags were stolen, runners were "dead." But they could gain additional flags by carrying out optional tasks that often involved zombies guarding the various prizes.
Organizers said the races helped both amateur and professional runners stay focused without the boredom that can kill some runs.
"We like watching zombie shows and it really tickles our imagination," said Angelo Cruz, organizer of Outbreak Manila, which seeks to promote fitness through the races and plans to hold similar events in the coming months.
"Right now, to have it in reality, it's making everyone's summer - I hope."
There were two different routes available, trading difficulty with length to the finish according to the runner's skills and preference.
To keep both runners and zombies safe from injuries, organizers imposed a rule that forbade the zombies from any physical contact with the runners aside from taking their flags and scaring them witless.
Not all of the zombies, many well known from popular television shows, movies or music videos, used crude fright techniques.
One, from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video, danced to trick runners into letting down their guard, at which point it snatched their flags.
At the end, runners were awarded prizes for their struggle and tried to express their feelings about surviving a global zombie takeover and what might be needed.
"The well-trained surely have higher endurance," said Rodson Santos, a university student who wore a robot costume as his way of surviving the zombie hordes.
"If you can outrun the zombies, then you'll probably survive. But if you're just a regular person without any exercise, chances are you will be easily caught."
Others drew even harsher lessons from the experience.
"In a zombie apocalypse, I guess it's all about thinking about yourself and your survival," said runner Carlos Cang.
"I mean, even if you're with friends, it's all about you. Because, you know, once you die it's all over."
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Origins of April Fool's Day
April Fool's Day is a 24 hour of devoted to innocuous, good-natured pranks, jokes and tom-foolery. Since at least 536 B.C. when Persians "punk'd" each other on Sizdah Bedar, the 13th day of their ancient new year (April 1 or 2), this day has been reserved for such jollity.
Religious, secular, or seasonal influence?
However, the specific origin of April Fool's Day cannot be unequivocally attributed to ancient Persians. In fact, so many sacred and secular observances mass around the vernal equinox (e.g., Christianity's Easter, Judaism's Purim, and Hinduism's Holi and, late in March, the ancient Romans celebrated Hilaria, to honor the resurrection of the god, Attis) that the founding of April Fool's Day remains cloaked in mystery, perplexity and supposition. But isn't this as it should be?
While Christians solemnly commemorate Christ's arrival in Jerusalem, his trial, crucifixion and resurrection during Easter week, Judaism's Purim mimics Mardi Gras in its carnival-like atmosphere. Celebrating the Jews victory over the genocidal mandate of Persian King Ahasuerus's chief advisor, Haman, through the intercession of Esther and her cousin Mordicai, Purim lends itself to unbridled good times.
One of the most important ancient Roman festivals, Hilaria, was a celebration devoted to the resurrection of Attis, a god of vegetation, by Cybele, or the "great mother" deity. The weeklong festival in late March began with mourning and finished with rejoicing and feasting, where no one was allowed to show any grief or sorrow.
Hindus have long celebrated Holi at the advent of spring and as a commemoration of god Krishna's twice protecting King Prahlad from death, and of the annual wheat harvest. During this merry and colorful observance, Hindus douse each other with powders of vivid colors and encourage their children to get uncharacteristically filthy.
After the Middle Ages
Geoffrey Chaucer first mentions April Fool's Day to western civilization in 1392.
The "Nun's Priest's Tale" in his Canterbury Tales tells of the fox fooling prideful rooster, Chanticleer, nearly leading to the latter's demise. Ultimately, both the rooster and the fox fall prey to separate high jinks.
By 1508, French poet Eloy d'Amerval mentioned poisson d'avril ("April fish"), a likely reference to the day, in his most famous verse, Le livre de la deablerie, a robust dialogue between Satan and Lucifer about their malevolent and mischievous plans. Three decades later, Flemish poet Eduard deDene put to verse a story about a nobleman who dispatched his servants on foolish errands every April 1.
Another possible factor in the day's founding might be that classical Roman and Hindu civilizations, as well as much of western civilization observed April 1 as New Year's Day until the 16th century. With the establishment of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, the arriving new year moved to January. Some historians suggest that because most of Europe observed New Year Day on April 1, those citizens that failed to observe the January new year were subsequently ridiculed on April 1 by those who did. The "traditionalists" were sent on fool's errands or tricked into believing dubious claims.
In 1686, English philosopher and writer John Aubrey called the first day of April, "Fooles holy day" and on April 1, 1698, somebody convinced several Londoners to visit the Tower of London to "see the Lions washed." However, neither of these incidents can be attributed to the transferred new year. Great Britain didn't adopt the Gregorian calendar and its Jan. 1 new year until 1752.
By the time the 13 colonies had gained their liberty from Great Britain, April Fool's Day was indelibly etched on the calendar and in every jokester's mind.
It remains there. So today, pull that prank mysteriously, savor the perplexity on your stooge's face, and have fun keeping your April's fools guessing.
Religious, secular, or seasonal influence?
However, the specific origin of April Fool's Day cannot be unequivocally attributed to ancient Persians. In fact, so many sacred and secular observances mass around the vernal equinox (e.g., Christianity's Easter, Judaism's Purim, and Hinduism's Holi and, late in March, the ancient Romans celebrated Hilaria, to honor the resurrection of the god, Attis) that the founding of April Fool's Day remains cloaked in mystery, perplexity and supposition. But isn't this as it should be?
While Christians solemnly commemorate Christ's arrival in Jerusalem, his trial, crucifixion and resurrection during Easter week, Judaism's Purim mimics Mardi Gras in its carnival-like atmosphere. Celebrating the Jews victory over the genocidal mandate of Persian King Ahasuerus's chief advisor, Haman, through the intercession of Esther and her cousin Mordicai, Purim lends itself to unbridled good times.
One of the most important ancient Roman festivals, Hilaria, was a celebration devoted to the resurrection of Attis, a god of vegetation, by Cybele, or the "great mother" deity. The weeklong festival in late March began with mourning and finished with rejoicing and feasting, where no one was allowed to show any grief or sorrow.
Hindus have long celebrated Holi at the advent of spring and as a commemoration of god Krishna's twice protecting King Prahlad from death, and of the annual wheat harvest. During this merry and colorful observance, Hindus douse each other with powders of vivid colors and encourage their children to get uncharacteristically filthy.
After the Middle Ages
Geoffrey Chaucer first mentions April Fool's Day to western civilization in 1392.
The "Nun's Priest's Tale" in his Canterbury Tales tells of the fox fooling prideful rooster, Chanticleer, nearly leading to the latter's demise. Ultimately, both the rooster and the fox fall prey to separate high jinks.
By 1508, French poet Eloy d'Amerval mentioned poisson d'avril ("April fish"), a likely reference to the day, in his most famous verse, Le livre de la deablerie, a robust dialogue between Satan and Lucifer about their malevolent and mischievous plans. Three decades later, Flemish poet Eduard deDene put to verse a story about a nobleman who dispatched his servants on foolish errands every April 1.
Another possible factor in the day's founding might be that classical Roman and Hindu civilizations, as well as much of western civilization observed April 1 as New Year's Day until the 16th century. With the establishment of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, the arriving new year moved to January. Some historians suggest that because most of Europe observed New Year Day on April 1, those citizens that failed to observe the January new year were subsequently ridiculed on April 1 by those who did. The "traditionalists" were sent on fool's errands or tricked into believing dubious claims.
In 1686, English philosopher and writer John Aubrey called the first day of April, "Fooles holy day" and on April 1, 1698, somebody convinced several Londoners to visit the Tower of London to "see the Lions washed." However, neither of these incidents can be attributed to the transferred new year. Great Britain didn't adopt the Gregorian calendar and its Jan. 1 new year until 1752.
By the time the 13 colonies had gained their liberty from Great Britain, April Fool's Day was indelibly etched on the calendar and in every jokester's mind.
It remains there. So today, pull that prank mysteriously, savor the perplexity on your stooge's face, and have fun keeping your April's fools guessing.
POP QUIZ (Eh, what's up, bunny?)
Match the famous or infamous rabbit or hare with his or her work of literature, film, or televison.
1. Benny Rabbit A) Alice's Adventures in
2. Br'er Rabbit Wonderland by Lewis
3. Bugs Bunny Carroll
4. Buster Baxter B) Arthur series by Marc
5. Camillo Brown
6. Honourable Rosemary C) Bambi (movie)
7. March Hare D) The Chronicles of
8. Peter Rabbit Narnia
9. Rabbit of Caerbannog Prince Caspian by C.S.
10. Thumper Lewis
E) Mariel of Redwall by Brian
Jacques
F) Monty Python and the
Holy Grail (movie)
G) Sesame Street (TV show)
H) Space Jam (movie)
I) The Tale of Benjamin
Bunny by Beatrix
Potter
J) Uncle Remus stories by Joel
Chandler Harris
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. G ; 2. J ; 3. H ; 4. B ; 5. D ; 6. E ; 7. A ; 8. I ; 9. F ; 10. C
1. Benny Rabbit A) Alice's Adventures in
2. Br'er Rabbit Wonderland by Lewis
3. Bugs Bunny Carroll
4. Buster Baxter B) Arthur series by Marc
5. Camillo Brown
6. Honourable Rosemary C) Bambi (movie)
7. March Hare D) The Chronicles of
8. Peter Rabbit Narnia
9. Rabbit of Caerbannog Prince Caspian by C.S.
10. Thumper Lewis
E) Mariel of Redwall by Brian
Jacques
F) Monty Python and the
Holy Grail (movie)
G) Sesame Street (TV show)
H) Space Jam (movie)
I) The Tale of Benjamin
Bunny by Beatrix
Potter
J) Uncle Remus stories by Joel
Chandler Harris
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. G ; 2. J ; 3. H ; 4. B ; 5. D ; 6. E ; 7. A ; 8. I ; 9. F ; 10. C
F. Y. I.
Did You Know?
A worker bee only makes 1/10 of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.
Shape Shift
The Japanese have square watermelons for easier stacking in their refrigerators.
Dual Identity
Gangster Al Capone's business card said he was a used-furniture dealer.
Still on the Books
In Natchez, Mo., it is unlawful to provide beer or other intoxicants to elephants.
Celebrate This
Tuesday is National Siblings Day, which was started by New Yorker Claudia A. Evart after she lost her two siblings to tragic accidents early in life.
A worker bee only makes 1/10 of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.
Shape Shift
The Japanese have square watermelons for easier stacking in their refrigerators.
Dual Identity
Gangster Al Capone's business card said he was a used-furniture dealer.
Still on the Books
In Natchez, Mo., it is unlawful to provide beer or other intoxicants to elephants.
Celebrate This
Tuesday is National Siblings Day, which was started by New Yorker Claudia A. Evart after she lost her two siblings to tragic accidents early in life.
More Americans freezing than sleeping on assets: poll
Forget the mattress, a quarter of Americans who keep money in their homes are hiding it in their freezers, according to a new survey. The Marist poll showed that 27 percent of Americans preferred to literally freeze their assets, compared to 11 percent who chose to sleep on their savings.
"One in ten -- 10 percent -- buries their dough in the cookie jar while nine percent leave their loot in some other household location," Marist said in a statement.
Nineteen percent "sock" their cash away and 17 percent said there was no good location in the home to safely hide their saving.
But in every region of the country and among both sexes and all age groups the freezer was the top hiding place.
Marist questioned 1,080 adults across the country in the telephone poll.
"One in ten -- 10 percent -- buries their dough in the cookie jar while nine percent leave their loot in some other household location," Marist said in a statement.
Nineteen percent "sock" their cash away and 17 percent said there was no good location in the home to safely hide their saving.
But in every region of the country and among both sexes and all age groups the freezer was the top hiding place.
Marist questioned 1,080 adults across the country in the telephone poll.
German runaway Yvonne the cow nets moo-vie deal
Yvonne the German cow evaded helicopter searches, dodged the hunter's gun and even eschewed her calf and best friend for a life on the run. Now the tale of the runaway cow, who captivated the nation last year when she bolted from her farm to escape slaughter and roamed free in the Bavarian countryside for three months, will provide fodder for a Hollywood animated film.
"Cow on the Run," based on the daring dairy cow's escapades in the wild, will be produced by Munich-based film company Papa Loewe and American film producer Max Howard, whose previous credits include Walt Disney's "The Lion King."
Michael Aufhauser, founder of the Gut Aiderbichl animal sanctuary in southern Germany, which now looks after Yvonne, said the film was going to be "very romantic."
"Yvonne even falls in love with a buck," he said of the film which is set to hit the silver screen in 2014.
The farmyard fugitive broke through an electric fence on a farm near the Bavarian town of Muehldorf in May last year.
Yvonne lived happily off the land for three months until she landed on a "most wanted" list after bolting in front of a police car. Authorities deemed the runaway a security risk and gave hunters the go ahead to gun her down.
But Yvonne foiled numerous attempts to capture her, and thwarted plans by animal activists to lure her back to the farmyard using her own calf, her friend and a breeding bull named Ernst.
The canny cow was eventually captured in September after receiving a double dose of tranquilizers and was taken to the animal sanctuary after more than 90 days in the wild.
"People thought she was a dumb cow and would not know what to do in the wild," Aufhauser said.
"But she was so clever, nobody could catch her and that amazed people."
"Cow on the Run," based on the daring dairy cow's escapades in the wild, will be produced by Munich-based film company Papa Loewe and American film producer Max Howard, whose previous credits include Walt Disney's "The Lion King."
Michael Aufhauser, founder of the Gut Aiderbichl animal sanctuary in southern Germany, which now looks after Yvonne, said the film was going to be "very romantic."
"Yvonne even falls in love with a buck," he said of the film which is set to hit the silver screen in 2014.
The farmyard fugitive broke through an electric fence on a farm near the Bavarian town of Muehldorf in May last year.
Yvonne lived happily off the land for three months until she landed on a "most wanted" list after bolting in front of a police car. Authorities deemed the runaway a security risk and gave hunters the go ahead to gun her down.
But Yvonne foiled numerous attempts to capture her, and thwarted plans by animal activists to lure her back to the farmyard using her own calf, her friend and a breeding bull named Ernst.
The canny cow was eventually captured in September after receiving a double dose of tranquilizers and was taken to the animal sanctuary after more than 90 days in the wild.
"People thought she was a dumb cow and would not know what to do in the wild," Aufhauser said.
"But she was so clever, nobody could catch her and that amazed people."
Mayor of Newark, N.J., carries woman from burning home
The mayor of the struggling New Jersey city of Newark said on Friday he was no super hero, only a good neighbor when he broke free from his security detail in a burning house and rescued a woman. Cory Booker arrived at his Newark home on Thursday night to find his next-door neighbor's house ablaze. His neighbor said her middle-aged daughter was trapped upstairs and begged for help.
He and his bodyguard, Police Detective Alex Rodriguez, tread up the stairs into the home's kitchen, and when the mayor tried to go deeper, the bodyguard grabbed him by the belt to prevent him, Booker 42, recalled at a news conference outside the home on Friday.
The mayor said he "whipped around and we had some words ... I'm his commanding officer."
The mayor broke free and moved further into the home to search for the woman, who is "like a big sister to me" and has been his neighbor for the past six years.
"I felt terror. I couldn't breathe. I finally heard her and found her," Booker recalled.
He hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her to safety. Both were rushed to the hospital for treatment, and the woman remained hospitalized in stable condition on Friday, a spokeswoman for the mayor said.
"It went from bad to worse. I was terrified in that blackened sooted room without an exit," said Booker, whose clothes caught fire.
His security detail rescued three other people in the home.
At the morning news conference, Booker shrugged off a reporter's question about being a super hero.
"I think that's way over the top. I'm a neighbor who did what most neighbors would do, jump into action to help a friend," he said.
Booker has become something of a celebrity since the movie "Brick City" about Newark became a series on the Sundance Channel.
He and his bodyguard, Police Detective Alex Rodriguez, tread up the stairs into the home's kitchen, and when the mayor tried to go deeper, the bodyguard grabbed him by the belt to prevent him, Booker 42, recalled at a news conference outside the home on Friday.
The mayor said he "whipped around and we had some words ... I'm his commanding officer."
The mayor broke free and moved further into the home to search for the woman, who is "like a big sister to me" and has been his neighbor for the past six years.
"I felt terror. I couldn't breathe. I finally heard her and found her," Booker recalled.
He hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her to safety. Both were rushed to the hospital for treatment, and the woman remained hospitalized in stable condition on Friday, a spokeswoman for the mayor said.
"It went from bad to worse. I was terrified in that blackened sooted room without an exit," said Booker, whose clothes caught fire.
His security detail rescued three other people in the home.
At the morning news conference, Booker shrugged off a reporter's question about being a super hero.
"I think that's way over the top. I'm a neighbor who did what most neighbors would do, jump into action to help a friend," he said.
Booker has become something of a celebrity since the movie "Brick City" about Newark became a series on the Sundance Channel.
Argentina's "Miracle Baby" takes turn for the worse
A baby declared stillborn and then later found alive by her parents at a morgue in Argentina was in critical condition on Friday after taking a turn for the worse overnight, a hospital official said. Doctors told Analia Bouter that her baby was stillborn when she gave birth in Argentina's northern Chaco province at the start of the month.
But 12 hours after her birth, when Bouter and her husband pried open the wooden coffin inside the refrigerated morgue to see her one last time, they found the baby not only breathing but yawning and stretching her arms.
The couple named her Luz Milagros - her middle name meaning miracles in Spanish - because of her unlikely start to life. But the newborn gave her parents another scare late on Thursday when she stopped breathing and had to be revived by doctors.
"She's an extremely premature baby, 13 days old and weighing 708 grams (1 pound, 5 ounces). She's in a critical state, quite a bit worse than yesterday and at risk of dying," said Diana Vesco, the head of infant care at the Perrando Hospital, where the baby was born.
"Yesterday she had an episode with a hemorrhage in the lungs, which required us to increase artificial respiration. Her heart and breathing stopped. She required advanced CPR," Vesco told Reuters.
Five hospital workers involved in the case have been suspended.
Argentina has been captivated by Luz Milagros' plight since it came to light on Tuesday.
"We believe that if our daughter has gotten this far, despite everything, it's because she's here to stay," Luz Milagros' father, Fabian Veron, told reporters.
The child's mother spoke by telephone on Wednesday with President Cristina Fernandez. "She told me this shows that miracles do happen," Bouter told Clarin newspaper.
But 12 hours after her birth, when Bouter and her husband pried open the wooden coffin inside the refrigerated morgue to see her one last time, they found the baby not only breathing but yawning and stretching her arms.
The couple named her Luz Milagros - her middle name meaning miracles in Spanish - because of her unlikely start to life. But the newborn gave her parents another scare late on Thursday when she stopped breathing and had to be revived by doctors.
"She's an extremely premature baby, 13 days old and weighing 708 grams (1 pound, 5 ounces). She's in a critical state, quite a bit worse than yesterday and at risk of dying," said Diana Vesco, the head of infant care at the Perrando Hospital, where the baby was born.
"Yesterday she had an episode with a hemorrhage in the lungs, which required us to increase artificial respiration. Her heart and breathing stopped. She required advanced CPR," Vesco told Reuters.
Five hospital workers involved in the case have been suspended.
Argentina has been captivated by Luz Milagros' plight since it came to light on Tuesday.
"We believe that if our daughter has gotten this far, despite everything, it's because she's here to stay," Luz Milagros' father, Fabian Veron, told reporters.
The child's mother spoke by telephone on Wednesday with President Cristina Fernandez. "She told me this shows that miracles do happen," Bouter told Clarin newspaper.
Ohio man charged after six puppies found in suitcase
An Ohio man has been charged with animal abandonment after a litter of six English bulldog puppies was found in a suitcase with a tag bearing his name, according to Humane Society authorities. Cyndi Condit, spokeswoman for the Toledo Area Humane Society told Reuters Wednesday that the man, identified as Howard Davis of Toledo, lived only two blocks from where the suitcase was found.
The mother of the puppies was found pacing around the suitcase, which attracted the attention of a passerby.
"Howard's name was on the tag of the suitcase and the mother was licensed to him," Condit said.
After the dogs were found April 4 in a Toledo alley, Davis was charged with a second degree misdemeanor, which carries with it a maximum $750 fine and 90 days in jail, according to John Dinon, the Toledo Area Humane Society's executive director.
Davis told investigators that he had given the dogs to a friend in Michigan and that the suitcase had in fact been stolen earlier. There was no explanation as to how the adopted dogs got back from Michigan in the stolen suitcase.
The puppies, three male and three female, are estimated to be four weeks old, too young to be separated from their mother, so they will spend at least another four weeks in foster care before they are eligible for adoption.
Dinon said the shelter has received an overwhelming number of calls about adopting the puppies but that for now they are "evidence" in the case against Davis.
He also added that Davis could have easily brought the dogs to the Humane Society and if he had, he would not be facing charges. "Anyone who can't take care of any animal can come here and we will work with you," Dinon said.
The mother of the puppies was found pacing around the suitcase, which attracted the attention of a passerby.
"Howard's name was on the tag of the suitcase and the mother was licensed to him," Condit said.
After the dogs were found April 4 in a Toledo alley, Davis was charged with a second degree misdemeanor, which carries with it a maximum $750 fine and 90 days in jail, according to John Dinon, the Toledo Area Humane Society's executive director.
Davis told investigators that he had given the dogs to a friend in Michigan and that the suitcase had in fact been stolen earlier. There was no explanation as to how the adopted dogs got back from Michigan in the stolen suitcase.
The puppies, three male and three female, are estimated to be four weeks old, too young to be separated from their mother, so they will spend at least another four weeks in foster care before they are eligible for adoption.
Dinon said the shelter has received an overwhelming number of calls about adopting the puppies but that for now they are "evidence" in the case against Davis.
He also added that Davis could have easily brought the dogs to the Humane Society and if he had, he would not be facing charges. "Anyone who can't take care of any animal can come here and we will work with you," Dinon said.
Unwelcome visitor leaves teeth wounds on Louisiana motel guest
A six-foot alligator which showed up at the front door of a Baton Rouge-area motel on Wednesday might have departed without incident had it not been for an overly helpful guest, who later checked out of the motel with puncture wounds. A housekeeper at the Super 8 Motel just off Interstate 10 in Port Allen, Louisiana, spotted the gator as it crossed the driveway toward the motel at about 3 p.m. She called a maintenance worker, who called the hotel manager to come take a look.
"He came up right by our front door to the lobby," Assistant Manager Tiffany Dunnam said. "He was just hanging out there."
Dunnam said guests were more interested than frightened as they gathered around.
"If it had been a 10- or 11-foot gator, it might have been a different story," she said.
A front-desk clerk called the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office and the animal control authorities, but before help arrived a motel guest from Mississippi decided to take matters into his own hands.
"He said he had experience with gators and would try to immobilize it," Dunnam said.
The guest may have exaggerated his expertise.
"The gator snapped at him and caught his arm," Dunnam said.
Bleeding from stab-like wounds from the alligator's teeth, the guest drove himself to a nearby hospital, Dunnam said. The guest checked out of the hotel on Thursday morning.
The gator was released Wednesday into a large canal in the northwestern part of West Baton Rouge Parish, said Richard Summers, animal control director for the parish.
When Summers arrived at the scene at the motel, a bit of a crowd had gathered, and the alligator was not in a good mood, he said.
"Apparently people had been fooling with him for 45 minutes before we got there, and he wasn't happy," Summers said.
He said he had no difficulty getting control of the alligator and maneuvering it into his truck. At this time of year, he said, gators sometimes wander away from their habitat and "they just get lost."
"He came up right by our front door to the lobby," Assistant Manager Tiffany Dunnam said. "He was just hanging out there."
Dunnam said guests were more interested than frightened as they gathered around.
"If it had been a 10- or 11-foot gator, it might have been a different story," she said.
A front-desk clerk called the West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office and the animal control authorities, but before help arrived a motel guest from Mississippi decided to take matters into his own hands.
"He said he had experience with gators and would try to immobilize it," Dunnam said.
The guest may have exaggerated his expertise.
"The gator snapped at him and caught his arm," Dunnam said.
Bleeding from stab-like wounds from the alligator's teeth, the guest drove himself to a nearby hospital, Dunnam said. The guest checked out of the hotel on Thursday morning.
The gator was released Wednesday into a large canal in the northwestern part of West Baton Rouge Parish, said Richard Summers, animal control director for the parish.
When Summers arrived at the scene at the motel, a bit of a crowd had gathered, and the alligator was not in a good mood, he said.
"Apparently people had been fooling with him for 45 minutes before we got there, and he wasn't happy," Summers said.
He said he had no difficulty getting control of the alligator and maneuvering it into his truck. At this time of year, he said, gators sometimes wander away from their habitat and "they just get lost."
UCLA apologizes for erroneous admissions notice snafu
As if college application season was not stressful enough for high school seniors, nearly 900 students seeking admission to UCLA were briefly led to believe they had been accepted to the highly competitive school, only to have their hopes dashed. The University of California, Los Angeles, has apologized for the confusion, which stemmed from an email notice sent to both newly admitted and wait-listed students saying their provisional scholarship aid had been increased and congratulating them on their admission to the campus.
The notice, received over the weekend, included a link to a revised financial aid letter informing the wait-listed students, to their consternation, that they were, in fact, still waiting.
School officials acknowledged that the mixed messages added an element of confusion and angst to a process already fraught with considerable nail-biting.
On Monday, after catching their mistake, campus administrators sent out another email to the wait-listed students to clarify the error.
"We realize this is a particularly stressful time for students and parents as they try to make decisions about where they go to college," spokesman Ricardo Vazquez told Reuters on Wednesday. "We were aware of that and we apologize."
This year marks the first that UCLA, one of the flagship campuses of the University of California system with a student body of some 38,000, has offered a waiting list for applicants who do not gain admission right away, Vazquez said.
He said some 2,900 high school seniors opted to go on the list, from which the admissions office will draw additional applicants if the campus fails to meet its enrollment target.
But it was not the first time that University of California applicants were told "yes" before being told "no." In 2009, UC San Diego accidentally sent admissions notices to about 28,000 high school seniors who actually had been rejected. In that case, an apology was sent within hours.
The notice, received over the weekend, included a link to a revised financial aid letter informing the wait-listed students, to their consternation, that they were, in fact, still waiting.
School officials acknowledged that the mixed messages added an element of confusion and angst to a process already fraught with considerable nail-biting.
On Monday, after catching their mistake, campus administrators sent out another email to the wait-listed students to clarify the error.
"We realize this is a particularly stressful time for students and parents as they try to make decisions about where they go to college," spokesman Ricardo Vazquez told Reuters on Wednesday. "We were aware of that and we apologize."
This year marks the first that UCLA, one of the flagship campuses of the University of California system with a student body of some 38,000, has offered a waiting list for applicants who do not gain admission right away, Vazquez said.
He said some 2,900 high school seniors opted to go on the list, from which the admissions office will draw additional applicants if the campus fails to meet its enrollment target.
But it was not the first time that University of California applicants were told "yes" before being told "no." In 2009, UC San Diego accidentally sent admissions notices to about 28,000 high school seniors who actually had been rejected. In that case, an apology was sent within hours.
Centurions clash with police at Colosseum
Tourists in Rome on Thursday would have been forgiven if they had thought for a moment that they had stepped back in time. Roman centurions, complete with red skirts, tunics, armor, swords and feathered helmets, fought in front of the Colosseum. But this time it was with a modern enemy - Rome's city police.
The police arrived at the ancient amphitheatre to enforce an eviction notice for the men, who ask for money to have their picture taken by tourists.
Italy's culture ministry says the men have no permits, often harass and stalk tourists, ask for exorbitant amounts and disfigure the historic image of the centurion by wearing jeans under their skirts and running shoes instead of the classic Roman "caliga" leather sandals.
The clashes broke out when city police in modern uniforms arrived to remove two centurions who had occupied part of an arcade on the first floor of the Colosseum.
Some 25 centurions tried to stop the police from taking the two away. In the scuffle one of the centurions fell to the ground and was slightly injured.
"All of a sudden, after 17 years, they want to kick us out. It's absurd," said one irate centurion who identified himself only as Davide.
"I have been making my living like this, I have supported my wife, my children ... and now they tell me: 'You are out'. This is not possible. We want to be regularized and we want our bread," he said. "In Venice they have the gondoliers and in Rome we have the centurions. That's it."
And, as in ancient Roman clashes in the same amphitheatre, the crowd of onlookers took sides and gave an unequivocal thumbs down to those wearing the modern uniforms.
"Leave them alone. We are all centurions," the crowd chanted in Italian.
But Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno, a member of Italy's largest right-wing party, was having none of it.
He said the men had to abide by rules that would be imposed by the city, including permits and rules of conduct.
"We will not let ourselves be blackmailed. Either the centurions accept the rules or they will have to go," he said in a statement.
Caesar could not have been more resolute.
The police arrived at the ancient amphitheatre to enforce an eviction notice for the men, who ask for money to have their picture taken by tourists.
Italy's culture ministry says the men have no permits, often harass and stalk tourists, ask for exorbitant amounts and disfigure the historic image of the centurion by wearing jeans under their skirts and running shoes instead of the classic Roman "caliga" leather sandals.
The clashes broke out when city police in modern uniforms arrived to remove two centurions who had occupied part of an arcade on the first floor of the Colosseum.
Some 25 centurions tried to stop the police from taking the two away. In the scuffle one of the centurions fell to the ground and was slightly injured.
"All of a sudden, after 17 years, they want to kick us out. It's absurd," said one irate centurion who identified himself only as Davide.
"I have been making my living like this, I have supported my wife, my children ... and now they tell me: 'You are out'. This is not possible. We want to be regularized and we want our bread," he said. "In Venice they have the gondoliers and in Rome we have the centurions. That's it."
And, as in ancient Roman clashes in the same amphitheatre, the crowd of onlookers took sides and gave an unequivocal thumbs down to those wearing the modern uniforms.
"Leave them alone. We are all centurions," the crowd chanted in Italian.
But Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno, a member of Italy's largest right-wing party, was having none of it.
He said the men had to abide by rules that would be imposed by the city, including permits and rules of conduct.
"We will not let ourselves be blackmailed. Either the centurions accept the rules or they will have to go," he said in a statement.
Caesar could not have been more resolute.
Kindergarten boy brings heroin to show and tell
A five-year-old boy brought packets of heroin to a show and tell at his Connecticut kindergarten, leading to the arrest of his stepfather, police said on Tuesday. The child was proudly displaying packets of a powdery substance to his kindergarten classmates in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on Monday when his teacher noticed what he was holding, Detective Keith Bryant of the Bridgeport Police Department said.
"He was waving it around," Bryant said, adding that the teacher collected the packets and immediately notified her supervisors.
Authorities were called and a field test determined the substance was heroin, he said. Later, the child's stepfather, Santos Roman, 35, showed up at the school and was arrested.
"He went to retrieve it (the heroin), and it wasn't there so he came back for his stepson," Bryant said.
Roman was arraigned on Tuesday on three drug-possession charges, including intent to sell within 1,500 feet of a school and risk of injury to a minor, police said. Roman was held on $100,000 bail.
"He was waving it around," Bryant said, adding that the teacher collected the packets and immediately notified her supervisors.
Authorities were called and a field test determined the substance was heroin, he said. Later, the child's stepfather, Santos Roman, 35, showed up at the school and was arrested.
"He went to retrieve it (the heroin), and it wasn't there so he came back for his stepson," Bryant said.
Roman was arraigned on Tuesday on three drug-possession charges, including intent to sell within 1,500 feet of a school and risk of injury to a minor, police said. Roman was held on $100,000 bail.
When it comes to war, beer beats silver and gold
The Dutch drank their way to victory and independence from Spain in 1648 through the taxes they paid on beer, according to a report in the April issue of the Journal of American Association of Wine Economists. Economists Koen Deconinck of the University of Leuven and Johann Swinnen of Stanford University wrote that taxes on beer "played a crucial role in financing the revolt ... (and) were the single largest revenue source" for the outnumbered and outgunned Dutch, who were facing "the mightiest empire on earth."
Since beer was safer to drink than water, cheaper to buy than wine, and not as easily spoiled as milk, it was the drink of choice for many Dutchmen.
In his book, "Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance," Robert Unger estimated that by the year 1600 per capita consumption of beer in Holland ranged from 400 liters to 600 liters (106 gallons-159 gallons).
As the Dutch revolt dragged on for 80 years, taxes on beer were increased until they became Holland's largest source of income. The levies were collected through a method "resembling the VAT system in use in many European countries ... (and it) allowed them to outlast the Spanish," Deconinck and Swinnen said.
At their peak, they estimated, war costs represented 11 percent of Dutch gross domestic product.
The Congressional Research Service estimated that at its peak, the Iraq war represented 1 percent of U.S. GDP.
Spain, financing its war with Holland largely with taxes on gold and silver mined at colonies in the New World, spent roughly 6 percent of its GDP, Deconinck estimated.
Unable to pay its troops for months at a time and facing almost annual mutinies, Spain signed the Treaty of Munster in 1648, officially recognizing the Dutch Republic and ceding the land north of Flanders to the rebels. The Dutch were also allowed to keep their overseas possessions and their monopoly over the East Indies trade, which they acquired during the revolt.
The treaty set the boundaries that still divide Belgium from the Netherlands.
The full report is available at: http://wine-economics.org/workingpapers/AAWE_WP104.pdf
Since beer was safer to drink than water, cheaper to buy than wine, and not as easily spoiled as milk, it was the drink of choice for many Dutchmen.
In his book, "Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance," Robert Unger estimated that by the year 1600 per capita consumption of beer in Holland ranged from 400 liters to 600 liters (106 gallons-159 gallons).
As the Dutch revolt dragged on for 80 years, taxes on beer were increased until they became Holland's largest source of income. The levies were collected through a method "resembling the VAT system in use in many European countries ... (and it) allowed them to outlast the Spanish," Deconinck and Swinnen said.
At their peak, they estimated, war costs represented 11 percent of Dutch gross domestic product.
The Congressional Research Service estimated that at its peak, the Iraq war represented 1 percent of U.S. GDP.
Spain, financing its war with Holland largely with taxes on gold and silver mined at colonies in the New World, spent roughly 6 percent of its GDP, Deconinck estimated.
Unable to pay its troops for months at a time and facing almost annual mutinies, Spain signed the Treaty of Munster in 1648, officially recognizing the Dutch Republic and ceding the land north of Flanders to the rebels. The Dutch were also allowed to keep their overseas possessions and their monopoly over the East Indies trade, which they acquired during the revolt.
The treaty set the boundaries that still divide Belgium from the Netherlands.
The full report is available at: http://wine-economics.org/workingpapers/AAWE_WP104.pdf
Hold the chives: giant spud travels to plug Idaho potatoes
A six-ton replica potato, strapped to the trailer of a semi-truck, is on a coast-to-coast U.S. tour to promote the tuber that is Idaho's claim to fame but has fallen out of favor with diet gurus for its carbohydrate content. The towering model, built of metal and cement, is the Idaho Potato Commission's way of heralding 75 years of marketing the potassium-rich product that has put Idaho on the map and the state's spuds on the table.
The "Famous Idaho Potato Tour" peeled out of Boise on Monday equipped with an entourage that includes a publicist. The supersized spud is to make stops in major cities, including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago and New York.
The outsized ambassador has also been tasked with a special diplomatic mission to the U.S. agriculture department in Washington, D.C., in hopes federal officials will eye the humble potato in a new light, said Frank Muir, president of the commission.
Idaho's 12-billion-pound (5.4-billion-kg) output accounts for a third of annual U.S. potato production. The top market for Idaho russets is New York, where chefs prize the trademarked potato for its light texture,
Yet the agriculture department last year eyed - but ultimately shelved - a plan to cut the number of potato servings in school lunches to lower the amount of starchy vegetables served to students. Low-carb, high-protein diets like Atkins have also sprouted anti-potato talk.
Muir said he has been battling potato propaganda for nine years. He said the 32-state, seven-month tour of the oversized tuber will root out any misconceptions about an Idaho product that last year was certified "heart healthy" by the American Heart Association.
"Look at the potato: It's oblong, it's brown . . . it's not as pretty as cauliflower or broccoli or even carrots. But it's less about how the food looks compared to how it makes you look," Muir said.
Calling its latest campaign to boost the profile of the produce "huge," the commission hopes the 12,000-pound (5.4 ton) potato will take its place alongside other larger-than-life foodstuff replicas like the Oscar Mayer wiener.
The "Famous Idaho Potato Tour" peeled out of Boise on Monday equipped with an entourage that includes a publicist. The supersized spud is to make stops in major cities, including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago and New York.
The outsized ambassador has also been tasked with a special diplomatic mission to the U.S. agriculture department in Washington, D.C., in hopes federal officials will eye the humble potato in a new light, said Frank Muir, president of the commission.
Idaho's 12-billion-pound (5.4-billion-kg) output accounts for a third of annual U.S. potato production. The top market for Idaho russets is New York, where chefs prize the trademarked potato for its light texture,
Yet the agriculture department last year eyed - but ultimately shelved - a plan to cut the number of potato servings in school lunches to lower the amount of starchy vegetables served to students. Low-carb, high-protein diets like Atkins have also sprouted anti-potato talk.
Muir said he has been battling potato propaganda for nine years. He said the 32-state, seven-month tour of the oversized tuber will root out any misconceptions about an Idaho product that last year was certified "heart healthy" by the American Heart Association.
"Look at the potato: It's oblong, it's brown . . . it's not as pretty as cauliflower or broccoli or even carrots. But it's less about how the food looks compared to how it makes you look," Muir said.
Calling its latest campaign to boost the profile of the produce "huge," the commission hopes the 12,000-pound (5.4 ton) potato will take its place alongside other larger-than-life foodstuff replicas like the Oscar Mayer wiener.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Batter Up
Think you're ready for Opening Day? Prove it.
Name the person or persons who:
1. Hit the most home runs in the 1960s.
2. In 2011, joined Hank Aaron, Brooks Robinson and Pete Rose as the only players to appear in at least 140 games for 16 consecutive seasons.
3. Had the most hits in the 1950s.
4. Played for the Boston Braves, Milwaukee Braves and Atlanta Braves.
5. Had the most hits in the 1990s.
6. Had the most hits in the 1940s.
7. Holds the career record for grounding into double plays.
8. Hit .322 with 42 homers and 129 RBIs in 1970 and .333 with 37 homers and 122 RBIs in 1972, but finished second to Jonny Bench in MVP voting both years.
9. Pitched the most wins in the 1960s.
10. Has the most career hits without winning a batting title.
11. Led the majors in total bases in the 1980s, ahead of Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt, Eddie Murray, Robin Yount and Andre Dawson.
12. Is the only pitcher to hurl a shutout in four decades.
13. Only once in a 22-year career ---- in his last season, when he was 42 --- struck out three times in a game.
14. Allowed the fewest hits per nine innings in a career.
15. Started more World Series games than any other pitcher.
16. Is the only catcher to lead a league in triples.
17. Turned an unassisted triple play in a World Series.
18. Played more than 500 games each at catcher, first and third base.
19. Has the highest single season batting average since 1901.
20. Led American League pitchers in wins in the 1960s.
21. Has 283 wins (more than 40 Hall of Fame pitchers) and 16 Gold Gloves but is not in Cooperstown.
22. Played the most games of anyone whose entire career was with one team.
23. Was the only player to win the Cy Young Award after being traded in midseason.
24. Led their three respective teams in career singles, doubles, triples and home runs.
25. Was the only lefthander since 1900 to win at least 350 games.
26. Won an American League batting title without hitting a home run.
27. Had the best career pitching record against the Yankees.
28. Leads all third basemen in combined hits and walks.
29. Is the last pitcher to win at least 20 games in four consecutive seasons.
30. Pitched three Braves wins over the Yankees in the 1957 seven-game World Series.
31. Pitched three Tigers wins over the Cardinals in the 1968 seven-game Series.
32. Pitched three Giants wins over the Athletics in the five-game 1905 Series.
33. Pitched a record 24 consecutive wins.
34. Holds the National League career record for grand slam home runs.
35. Has appeared in more games than any other pitcher.
36. Had a career batting average of .356 but never won a batting title.
37. Got at least 100 extra-base hits in two consecutive seasons.
38. Won Rookie of the Year, MVP and Cy Young awards (not in the same season).
39. Pitched the most consecutive strikeouts in one game.
40. Hit his last three home runs in one game.
41. Before David Freese did it in Game 6 of last year's World Series, were the only two players to hit an extra-inning walk-off home run when facing elimination.
42. Was hitting .394 when the players' strike ended the 1994 season on Aug. 12.
43. Said, "It beats rooming with Joe Page."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. Harmon Killebrew ; 2. Johnny Damon ; 3. Richie Ashburn ; 4. Eddie Mathews ; 5. Mark Grace ; 6. Lou Boudreau ; 7. Cal Ripken ; 8. Billy Williams ; 9. Juan Marichal ; 10. Paul Molitor ; 11. Dale Murphy ; 12. Jamie Moyer ; 13. Stan Musial ; 14. Nolan Ryan ; 15. Whitey Ford ; 16. Tim McCarver ; 17. Bill Wambsganss, Indians ; 18. Joe Torre ; 19. Napoleon Lajoie, .426 in 1901 ; 20. Jim Kaat ; 21. Kaat ; 22. Carl Yastrzemski ; 23. Rick Sutcliffe ; 24. Musial (Cardinals), George Brett (Royals), Robin Yount (Brewers) ; 25. Warren Spahn ; 26. Rod Carew ; 27. Babe Ruth, 17-5, .773 ; 28. Wade Boggs ; 29. Dave Stewart ; 30. Lew Burdette ; 31. Mickey Lolich ; 32. Christy Mathewson ; 33. Carl Hubbell ; 34. Willie McCovey, 18 ; 35. Jesse Orosco ; 36. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson ; 37. Todd Helton ; 38. Don Newcombe and Justin Verlander ; 39. Tom Seaver, 10 ; 40. Ruth ; 41. Carlton Fisk, 1975, Red Sox, and Kirby Puckett, 1991, Twins ; 42. Tony Gwynn ; 43. Joe DiMaggio, about being married to Marilyn Monroe.
Name the person or persons who:
1. Hit the most home runs in the 1960s.
2. In 2011, joined Hank Aaron, Brooks Robinson and Pete Rose as the only players to appear in at least 140 games for 16 consecutive seasons.
3. Had the most hits in the 1950s.
4. Played for the Boston Braves, Milwaukee Braves and Atlanta Braves.
5. Had the most hits in the 1990s.
6. Had the most hits in the 1940s.
7. Holds the career record for grounding into double plays.
8. Hit .322 with 42 homers and 129 RBIs in 1970 and .333 with 37 homers and 122 RBIs in 1972, but finished second to Jonny Bench in MVP voting both years.
9. Pitched the most wins in the 1960s.
10. Has the most career hits without winning a batting title.
11. Led the majors in total bases in the 1980s, ahead of Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt, Eddie Murray, Robin Yount and Andre Dawson.
12. Is the only pitcher to hurl a shutout in four decades.
13. Only once in a 22-year career ---- in his last season, when he was 42 --- struck out three times in a game.
14. Allowed the fewest hits per nine innings in a career.
15. Started more World Series games than any other pitcher.
16. Is the only catcher to lead a league in triples.
17. Turned an unassisted triple play in a World Series.
18. Played more than 500 games each at catcher, first and third base.
19. Has the highest single season batting average since 1901.
20. Led American League pitchers in wins in the 1960s.
21. Has 283 wins (more than 40 Hall of Fame pitchers) and 16 Gold Gloves but is not in Cooperstown.
22. Played the most games of anyone whose entire career was with one team.
23. Was the only player to win the Cy Young Award after being traded in midseason.
24. Led their three respective teams in career singles, doubles, triples and home runs.
25. Was the only lefthander since 1900 to win at least 350 games.
26. Won an American League batting title without hitting a home run.
27. Had the best career pitching record against the Yankees.
28. Leads all third basemen in combined hits and walks.
29. Is the last pitcher to win at least 20 games in four consecutive seasons.
30. Pitched three Braves wins over the Yankees in the 1957 seven-game World Series.
31. Pitched three Tigers wins over the Cardinals in the 1968 seven-game Series.
32. Pitched three Giants wins over the Athletics in the five-game 1905 Series.
33. Pitched a record 24 consecutive wins.
34. Holds the National League career record for grand slam home runs.
35. Has appeared in more games than any other pitcher.
36. Had a career batting average of .356 but never won a batting title.
37. Got at least 100 extra-base hits in two consecutive seasons.
38. Won Rookie of the Year, MVP and Cy Young awards (not in the same season).
39. Pitched the most consecutive strikeouts in one game.
40. Hit his last three home runs in one game.
41. Before David Freese did it in Game 6 of last year's World Series, were the only two players to hit an extra-inning walk-off home run when facing elimination.
42. Was hitting .394 when the players' strike ended the 1994 season on Aug. 12.
43. Said, "It beats rooming with Joe Page."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Answers : 1. Harmon Killebrew ; 2. Johnny Damon ; 3. Richie Ashburn ; 4. Eddie Mathews ; 5. Mark Grace ; 6. Lou Boudreau ; 7. Cal Ripken ; 8. Billy Williams ; 9. Juan Marichal ; 10. Paul Molitor ; 11. Dale Murphy ; 12. Jamie Moyer ; 13. Stan Musial ; 14. Nolan Ryan ; 15. Whitey Ford ; 16. Tim McCarver ; 17. Bill Wambsganss, Indians ; 18. Joe Torre ; 19. Napoleon Lajoie, .426 in 1901 ; 20. Jim Kaat ; 21. Kaat ; 22. Carl Yastrzemski ; 23. Rick Sutcliffe ; 24. Musial (Cardinals), George Brett (Royals), Robin Yount (Brewers) ; 25. Warren Spahn ; 26. Rod Carew ; 27. Babe Ruth, 17-5, .773 ; 28. Wade Boggs ; 29. Dave Stewart ; 30. Lew Burdette ; 31. Mickey Lolich ; 32. Christy Mathewson ; 33. Carl Hubbell ; 34. Willie McCovey, 18 ; 35. Jesse Orosco ; 36. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson ; 37. Todd Helton ; 38. Don Newcombe and Justin Verlander ; 39. Tom Seaver, 10 ; 40. Ruth ; 41. Carlton Fisk, 1975, Red Sox, and Kirby Puckett, 1991, Twins ; 42. Tony Gwynn ; 43. Joe DiMaggio, about being married to Marilyn Monroe.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
F. Y. I.
Royal Distinction
Wales has 641 castles, more per square mile than any other country.
Behind the Name
Twinkies creator Jimmy Dewar got the name for his snack cake from a billboard advertisement for the "Twinkle Toe Shoe Company" while on a trip to St. Louis.
Actually Said
by Joe Theismann, former NFL quarterback
"The word 'genius' isn't applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein."
So Called
A group of skunks is called a surfeit.
Bite This
Sharks always have a row of smaller teeth developing behind their front teeth that move forward as the front teeth fall out.
Did You Know?
The U.S. has more tornadoes than any other country in the world, averaging about 1,200 a year.
Wales has 641 castles, more per square mile than any other country.
Behind the Name
Twinkies creator Jimmy Dewar got the name for his snack cake from a billboard advertisement for the "Twinkle Toe Shoe Company" while on a trip to St. Louis.
Actually Said
by Joe Theismann, former NFL quarterback
"The word 'genius' isn't applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein."
So Called
A group of skunks is called a surfeit.
Bite This
Sharks always have a row of smaller teeth developing behind their front teeth that move forward as the front teeth fall out.
Did You Know?
The U.S. has more tornadoes than any other country in the world, averaging about 1,200 a year.
All residents safe after U.S. Navy jet levels Virginia apartments
All residents of an apartment complex for the elderly in Virginia that was destroyed when a U.S. Navy fighter jet crashed into it on Friday, have been accounted for, with only one resident still hospitalized with minor injuries, a rescue crew chief said on Saturday. The person not yet discharged is in good condition though believed to have broken bones, Virginia Beach Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Tim Riley.
"Everyone has been accounted for" at the Mayfair Mews complex in Virginia Beach, Riley told Reuters. "We are not actively looking for anyone."
The U.S. Navy F/A-18 jet fighter suffered what a Pentagon official described as "a catastrophic mechanical malfunction" during a training flight before it crashed shortly after take-off, sending fireballs into the sky, damaging six buildings and injuring seven people, including both crew members.
Both crew members ejected and one was found still strapped into his ejection seat.
Thick black clouds of smoke billowed into the air as fire reduced the apartment buildings to a blackened shell. The Mayfair Mews complex was less than two miles from Naval Air Station Oceana, where the F-18D was based.
Crews had searched into the night for any injured residents in five of the buildings, several of which have collapsed.
Riley said officials are now attending to the needs of the up to 63 residents whose apartment units were destroyed, including finding long-term housing for them.
"Everyone has been accounted for" at the Mayfair Mews complex in Virginia Beach, Riley told Reuters. "We are not actively looking for anyone."
The U.S. Navy F/A-18 jet fighter suffered what a Pentagon official described as "a catastrophic mechanical malfunction" during a training flight before it crashed shortly after take-off, sending fireballs into the sky, damaging six buildings and injuring seven people, including both crew members.
Both crew members ejected and one was found still strapped into his ejection seat.
Thick black clouds of smoke billowed into the air as fire reduced the apartment buildings to a blackened shell. The Mayfair Mews complex was less than two miles from Naval Air Station Oceana, where the F-18D was based.
Crews had searched into the night for any injured residents in five of the buildings, several of which have collapsed.
Riley said officials are now attending to the needs of the up to 63 residents whose apartment units were destroyed, including finding long-term housing for them.
Filipino Catholics observe Lent with gory rituals
Hundreds of barefoot Filipinos marched on roads, carrying heavy wooden crosses and whipping their backs until they bled on Thursday in an annual gory religious ritual as the mainly Catholic Philippines observed near the end of the Lenten season. Many Filipino devotees perform religious penance during the week leading up to Easter Sunday as a form of worship and supplication, a practice discouraged by Catholic bishops, but widely believed by devotees to cleanse sins, cure illness and even grant wishes.
"I do this penance out of my free will because I believe that God will help relieve my sickness," Corazon Cabigting, a domestic helper and the only woman in a group of about 50 men carrying wooden crosses on their backs.
Like the men, Cabigting wore a maroon robe and covered her face with a veil, held on her head by a crown of stainless wire, dragging a 30-kg (66-lb) wooden cross and stopping every 500 meters (546 yards) in makeshift roadside chapels.
Elderly women chant the passion of Jesus Christ at some of the chapels, while the penitents, with their hands tied to the cross, are beaten by sticks and hemp.
"Priests often tell us that we should not be doing this," Melvin Pangilinan, an organizer of the annual Lenten ritual who carried cross in his younger days, told Reuters. "But, it has been our tradition for decades and we have to honor it."
In nearby Angeles City, bloody gashes from repeated strikes of whips could be seen on the backs of devotees as they walked barefoot along the streets, believing that their sacrifice would somehow grant salvation for their sins.
Devotees, begin the ritual by tying a rope around their arms and legs and inflicting wounds on their backs with a blade marching for about four to five hours under a scorching sun.
Carlito Santos, a pastor at a local Methodist Church, said the practice cannot be easily relinquished as it has already been embedded in the local culture.
"It is easy to change these religious practices by asking these devotees to refrain from practicing it, but, because of culture and tradition, it does not always work," he said.
Monsignor Pedro Quitorio, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said the Church has discouraged the practices, describing them as "inappropriate".
"What happens here is that we want God to grant us what we wish for," Quitorio told Reuters, saying it is enough for true Catholics to pray, fast and give alms during the Lenten season.
Over 80 percent of Filipinos practice the Catholic religion.
"I do this penance out of my free will because I believe that God will help relieve my sickness," Corazon Cabigting, a domestic helper and the only woman in a group of about 50 men carrying wooden crosses on their backs.
Like the men, Cabigting wore a maroon robe and covered her face with a veil, held on her head by a crown of stainless wire, dragging a 30-kg (66-lb) wooden cross and stopping every 500 meters (546 yards) in makeshift roadside chapels.
Elderly women chant the passion of Jesus Christ at some of the chapels, while the penitents, with their hands tied to the cross, are beaten by sticks and hemp.
"Priests often tell us that we should not be doing this," Melvin Pangilinan, an organizer of the annual Lenten ritual who carried cross in his younger days, told Reuters. "But, it has been our tradition for decades and we have to honor it."
In nearby Angeles City, bloody gashes from repeated strikes of whips could be seen on the backs of devotees as they walked barefoot along the streets, believing that their sacrifice would somehow grant salvation for their sins.
Devotees, begin the ritual by tying a rope around their arms and legs and inflicting wounds on their backs with a blade marching for about four to five hours under a scorching sun.
Carlito Santos, a pastor at a local Methodist Church, said the practice cannot be easily relinquished as it has already been embedded in the local culture.
"It is easy to change these religious practices by asking these devotees to refrain from practicing it, but, because of culture and tradition, it does not always work," he said.
Monsignor Pedro Quitorio, spokesman for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said the Church has discouraged the practices, describing them as "inappropriate".
"What happens here is that we want God to grant us what we wish for," Quitorio told Reuters, saying it is enough for true Catholics to pray, fast and give alms during the Lenten season.
Over 80 percent of Filipinos practice the Catholic religion.
Five charged after Chinese teen sells kidney to buy iPhone
Five people in southern China have been charged with intentional injury in the case of a Chinese teenager who sold a kidney so he could buy an iPhone and an iPad, the government-run Xinhua News Agency said on Friday. The five included a surgeon who removed a kidney from a 17-year-old boy in April last year. The boy, identified only by his surname Wang, now suffers from renal deficiency, Xinhua quoted prosecutors in Chenzhou city, Hunan province as saying.
According to the Xinhua account, one of the defendants received about 220,000 yuan (about $35,000) to arrange the transplant. He paid Wang 22,000 yuan and split the rest with the surgeon, the three other defendants and other medical staff.
The report did not say who received and paid for the kidney.
The teen was from Anhui, one of China's poorest provinces, where inhabitants frequently leave to find work and a better life elsewhere. He bought an iPhone and iPad, and when asked by his mother where he got the money, admitted selling a kidney.
Apple products are hugely popular in China, but are priced beyond the reach of many Chinese. IPhones start at 3,988 yuan ($633), and iPads begin at 2,988 yuan ($474).
Wang's renal deficiency is deteriorating, Xinhua quoted prosecutors as saying.
Only a fraction of the people who need organ transplants in China are able to get them, leading to "transplant tourism" where patients travel overseas for such operations, and to a black market for human organs.
China banned the trading of human organs in 2007, Xinhua said. Several other suspects involved in the case are still being investigated.
According to the Xinhua account, one of the defendants received about 220,000 yuan (about $35,000) to arrange the transplant. He paid Wang 22,000 yuan and split the rest with the surgeon, the three other defendants and other medical staff.
The report did not say who received and paid for the kidney.
The teen was from Anhui, one of China's poorest provinces, where inhabitants frequently leave to find work and a better life elsewhere. He bought an iPhone and iPad, and when asked by his mother where he got the money, admitted selling a kidney.
Apple products are hugely popular in China, but are priced beyond the reach of many Chinese. IPhones start at 3,988 yuan ($633), and iPads begin at 2,988 yuan ($474).
Wang's renal deficiency is deteriorating, Xinhua quoted prosecutors as saying.
Only a fraction of the people who need organ transplants in China are able to get them, leading to "transplant tourism" where patients travel overseas for such operations, and to a black market for human organs.
China banned the trading of human organs in 2007, Xinhua said. Several other suspects involved in the case are still being investigated.
New Jersey man survives 4-inch nail in heart
A New Jersey man who survived accidentally shooting a 4-inch ( 10-cm) nail into his heart while trying to clear a jammed nail gun said on Friday he feels like he won the lottery. Dennis Hennis, 52, who was revived from cardiac arrest before being airlifted for surgery to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, laughed off Dr. Michael Rosenbloom's suggestion that he buy a lottery ticket.
"I've already won the lottery," said Hennis of Vineland, New Jersey, in an interview.
"I got a new grandson on my birthday on March 23 and a week later I'm almost dead. Now we can celebrate birthdays together," he said.
Hennis, a self-employed builder, was working with his son, age 28, on a neighbor's roof on Saturday when his nail gun jammed and he tried to clear it, mistakenly pointing it toward him.
The powerful tool was built to fire 4-inch nails at 120 pounds per square inch (8.4 kg per square cm), said hospital spokeswoman Lori Shaffer.
"It was about a foot away and it went right into my chest, right into my heart," Hennis recalled.
The nail pierced his right ventricle, which supplies blood to the lungs, and Hennis soon went into cardiac arrest.
Hennis, whose son called an ambulance, was rushed to a local hospital and revived but clearly needed immediate surgery at a trauma center like Cooper, nearly an hour's drive away, Rosenbloom said.
"Imagine there is a nail in the heart and they have to do CPR. It turns a little puncture wound into a laceration," the surgeon said.
Fog had grounded the medical helicopter but it suddenly lifted and Hennis was flown to Cooper and rushed into the operating room.
Hennis' recovery from surgery has been remarkable and he was expected to be discharged in time to celebrate Easter with his family, including his third and newest grandchild.
"We closed the hole and his heart is strong," Rosenbloom said by telephone.
Hennis lucked out with knowing to not remove the nail himself, prompt medical attention and suddenly cooperative weather, Rosenbloom said.
"I told him he should go play the lottery," the surgeon said.
"I've already won the lottery," said Hennis of Vineland, New Jersey, in an interview.
"I got a new grandson on my birthday on March 23 and a week later I'm almost dead. Now we can celebrate birthdays together," he said.
Hennis, a self-employed builder, was working with his son, age 28, on a neighbor's roof on Saturday when his nail gun jammed and he tried to clear it, mistakenly pointing it toward him.
The powerful tool was built to fire 4-inch nails at 120 pounds per square inch (8.4 kg per square cm), said hospital spokeswoman Lori Shaffer.
"It was about a foot away and it went right into my chest, right into my heart," Hennis recalled.
The nail pierced his right ventricle, which supplies blood to the lungs, and Hennis soon went into cardiac arrest.
Hennis, whose son called an ambulance, was rushed to a local hospital and revived but clearly needed immediate surgery at a trauma center like Cooper, nearly an hour's drive away, Rosenbloom said.
"Imagine there is a nail in the heart and they have to do CPR. It turns a little puncture wound into a laceration," the surgeon said.
Fog had grounded the medical helicopter but it suddenly lifted and Hennis was flown to Cooper and rushed into the operating room.
Hennis' recovery from surgery has been remarkable and he was expected to be discharged in time to celebrate Easter with his family, including his third and newest grandchild.
"We closed the hole and his heart is strong," Rosenbloom said by telephone.
Hennis lucked out with knowing to not remove the nail himself, prompt medical attention and suddenly cooperative weather, Rosenbloom said.
"I told him he should go play the lottery," the surgeon said.
In Australia, the Easter...Bilby?
The Easter Bunny's days as a furry seasonal icon may be numbered in Australia, as conservationists Down Under move to replace it with the Easter Bilby. The bilby is a rare marsupial that has long ears, a long muzzle, silky fur and a pouch like a kangaroo. Males grow to about the same size as a rabbit.
But the animal is in trouble. Only some 600 are estimated to remain in the wild, and its habitat is being steadily eaten away by rabbits, which were introduced to Australia.
As a result, Mike Drinkwater, who looks after bilbies at a Sydney wildlife park, would like to make the Easter Bunny a thing of the past.
"Number one, rabbits are a pest in Australia. Secondly, the bilby has these lovely, endearing rabbit-like qualities," he said.
"Thirdly, the bilby is a beautiful, iconic native animal that is struggling. It is endangered, so it's important that we do all we can to support that."
Chocolate stores around Australia are displaying Easter Bilbies in their windows. The largest Australian-owned chocolate factory, Darrell Lea - which sponsors bilby breeding programs - questioned why anybody would want to buy an Easter Bunny when they could have an Easter Bilby instead.
The campaign appears to be catching on. Some schools have replaced their Easter bunnies with bilbies for annual egg hunts.
"Given that the bilbies have suffered so greatly due to the introduction of rabbits, it's directly linked to a very important conservation and education message," Drinkwater said.
But the animal is in trouble. Only some 600 are estimated to remain in the wild, and its habitat is being steadily eaten away by rabbits, which were introduced to Australia.
As a result, Mike Drinkwater, who looks after bilbies at a Sydney wildlife park, would like to make the Easter Bunny a thing of the past.
"Number one, rabbits are a pest in Australia. Secondly, the bilby has these lovely, endearing rabbit-like qualities," he said.
"Thirdly, the bilby is a beautiful, iconic native animal that is struggling. It is endangered, so it's important that we do all we can to support that."
Chocolate stores around Australia are displaying Easter Bilbies in their windows. The largest Australian-owned chocolate factory, Darrell Lea - which sponsors bilby breeding programs - questioned why anybody would want to buy an Easter Bunny when they could have an Easter Bilby instead.
The campaign appears to be catching on. Some schools have replaced their Easter bunnies with bilbies for annual egg hunts.
"Given that the bilbies have suffered so greatly due to the introduction of rabbits, it's directly linked to a very important conservation and education message," Drinkwater said.
Tokyo chefs swell with anger over new blowfish laws
With a scoop of a net Tokyo chef Naohito Hashimoto selects a poisonous blowfish, considered a delicacy in Japan, and with a few deft strokes of his gleaming knife starts the delicate process of preparing it for a customer. In moments, Hashimoto has separated the edible parts of the fish from organs filled with a poison more deadly than cyanide.
For more than six decades, dicing blowfish in Tokyo has been the preserve of a small band of strictly regulated and licensed chefs, usually in exclusive restaurants.
But new laws coming into effect from October are opening the lucrative trade to restaurants without a license, making chefs like Hashimoto see red.
"We have spent time and money in order to obtain and use the blowfish license, but with these new rules anybody can handle blowfish even without a license," said Hashimoto, a blowfish chef for some 30 years.
"They're saying it's now okay to serve blowfish. We licensed chefs feel this way of thinking is a bit strange."
The poison known as tetrododoxin is found in parts of the blowfish, including the liver, heart, intestines and eyes, and is so intense that a tiny amount will kill. Every year there are reports of people dying after preparing blowfish at home.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says city laws covering the serving of blowfish should be changed to reflect changing times and hope that relaxing the rules will cut prices and bring Tokyo in line with the rest of the nation.
"Outside of Tokyo, the regulations for blowfish are even more relaxed and yet there are hardly any poison-related accidents," said Hironobu Kondo, an official at the city's Food Control Department.
"There is the hope that the number of restaurants with unlicensed chefs serving blowfish will rise, and that blowfish as an ingredient will be used not only for traditional Japanese foods but also others such as Chinese and Western foods."
A full course meal of blowfish, known as fugu in Japanese, features delicacies such as blowfish tempura, slices of raw fish thin enough to see through fanned out across a plate like chrysanthemum petals, and toasted fins in cups of hot sake.
But the meal is far from cheap, as diners pay for the safety of a licensed chef. At Hashimoto's restaurant, a meal costs at least 10,000 yen ($120) a person.
Though thrill seeking diners are reputed to seek out chefs who leave just enough of the poison to make the lips tingle, blowfish professionals scoff at this as urban legend, noting that ingesting even that much of the poison would be hazardous.
Apprentice blowfish chefs must train with a veteran for a minimum of two years before they can take rigorous written and practical exams. In Tokyo, the exam fee runs to 17,900 yen.
Customers outside a Tokyo sushi restaurant, one of the places where blowfish could be served under the new rules, said there was no substitute for the skill of a trained chef.
"Cooking blowfish is an art form that requires technique and skills," said screenwriter Shoji Imai. "That's why we pay good money for blowfish."
Hashimoto's years of training means it takes him just two minutes to gut a blowfish, and he says there is no substitute for this kind of experience.
"I don't want people to forget that you can actually die from eating blowfish," he said. "I feel the government's awareness of this has diminished." ($1 = 82.0400 Japanese yen)
For more than six decades, dicing blowfish in Tokyo has been the preserve of a small band of strictly regulated and licensed chefs, usually in exclusive restaurants.
But new laws coming into effect from October are opening the lucrative trade to restaurants without a license, making chefs like Hashimoto see red.
"We have spent time and money in order to obtain and use the blowfish license, but with these new rules anybody can handle blowfish even without a license," said Hashimoto, a blowfish chef for some 30 years.
"They're saying it's now okay to serve blowfish. We licensed chefs feel this way of thinking is a bit strange."
The poison known as tetrododoxin is found in parts of the blowfish, including the liver, heart, intestines and eyes, and is so intense that a tiny amount will kill. Every year there are reports of people dying after preparing blowfish at home.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government says city laws covering the serving of blowfish should be changed to reflect changing times and hope that relaxing the rules will cut prices and bring Tokyo in line with the rest of the nation.
"Outside of Tokyo, the regulations for blowfish are even more relaxed and yet there are hardly any poison-related accidents," said Hironobu Kondo, an official at the city's Food Control Department.
"There is the hope that the number of restaurants with unlicensed chefs serving blowfish will rise, and that blowfish as an ingredient will be used not only for traditional Japanese foods but also others such as Chinese and Western foods."
A full course meal of blowfish, known as fugu in Japanese, features delicacies such as blowfish tempura, slices of raw fish thin enough to see through fanned out across a plate like chrysanthemum petals, and toasted fins in cups of hot sake.
But the meal is far from cheap, as diners pay for the safety of a licensed chef. At Hashimoto's restaurant, a meal costs at least 10,000 yen ($120) a person.
Though thrill seeking diners are reputed to seek out chefs who leave just enough of the poison to make the lips tingle, blowfish professionals scoff at this as urban legend, noting that ingesting even that much of the poison would be hazardous.
Apprentice blowfish chefs must train with a veteran for a minimum of two years before they can take rigorous written and practical exams. In Tokyo, the exam fee runs to 17,900 yen.
Customers outside a Tokyo sushi restaurant, one of the places where blowfish could be served under the new rules, said there was no substitute for the skill of a trained chef.
"Cooking blowfish is an art form that requires technique and skills," said screenwriter Shoji Imai. "That's why we pay good money for blowfish."
Hashimoto's years of training means it takes him just two minutes to gut a blowfish, and he says there is no substitute for this kind of experience.
"I don't want people to forget that you can actually die from eating blowfish," he said. "I feel the government's awareness of this has diminished." ($1 = 82.0400 Japanese yen)
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