As if fans of the cellar-dwelling Boston Red Sox aren't downtrodden enough, for a spell on Friday the costume of Wally the Green Monster, the team's popular mascot, was missing. Fearing it was swiped, the team alerted the police.
A security guard at Fenway Park thought he saw a thief in the emerald green outfit getting away. On the Red Sox' website, Wally is described as "pretty big" - no matter who is wearing the outfit.
The timing of the incident inspired recurring mid-summer conspiracy theories. Some fans feared that Wally's disappearance was just another way to unsettle the Red Sox as they head into a crucial series against arch-rivals the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium that begins Friday night.
But shortly before 4 p.m. the Boston Police Department, which had tweeted Wally's disappearance, again tweeted that "Wally the Green Monster has been found."
"It was later revealed to officers that an employee took the costume and neglected to inform the proper supervisor. There is no one under arrest and Wally the Green Monster is safe," police said in a statement.
One fan, momentarily relieved, tweeted: "They found Wally the Green Monster. Maybe the Sawx could have the police look for pitching too."
Friday, August 3, 2012
Opticians see advertising gold in Korean flag flap
A British chain of opticians saw publicity gold on Friday after Olympic officials blundered by showing the South Korean flag instead of North Korea's at a women's soccer match.
Opticians Specsavers took out adverts in national newspapers with the North Korean flag above the South Korean one and, written in Korean, a message suggesting the officials should have visited them for an eye test.
The company's regular tagline, used in commercials featuring embarrassing cases of mistaken identity, is 'Should have gone to Specsavers'.
The gaffe in Glasgow on Wednesday caused a diplomatic incident, with the North Koreans walking off the field and delaying the kick off by more than an hour.
Organizers LOCOG apologized and promised the mistake would not happen again.
Opticians Specsavers took out adverts in national newspapers with the North Korean flag above the South Korean one and, written in Korean, a message suggesting the officials should have visited them for an eye test.
The company's regular tagline, used in commercials featuring embarrassing cases of mistaken identity, is 'Should have gone to Specsavers'.
The gaffe in Glasgow on Wednesday caused a diplomatic incident, with the North Koreans walking off the field and delaying the kick off by more than an hour.
Organizers LOCOG apologized and promised the mistake would not happen again.
Man charged with manslaughter in Florida butt-injection case
A man who injected a woman in the buttocks with unknown substances during an illegal cosmetic surgery was arrested on Thursday and charged with manslaughter in the woman's death, authorities said.
Oneal Ron Morris, 31, of Hollywood, Florida, is known to have injected other women with substances such as bathroom caulk, cement, Super Glue and the tire product Fix-A-Flat, officials with the Broward County Sheriff's Office said.
Authorities described Morris as a transvestite who went by the nickname "The Dutchess."
According to his arrest affidavit, 31-year-old Shatarka Nuby died in March in Tallahassee from what an assistant medical examiner called "massive systemic silicone migration" due to "cosmetic silicone injections of the buttocks and hips," according to the arrest affidavit.
She died months after her last injection by Morris. Before her death, Nuby told a Florida Department of Health investigator that she paid Morris at least $2,000 for about 10 treatments between 2007 and 2011 to enhance her buttocks, hips, thighs and breasts, according to the affidavit and a sheriff's report.
Morris once told Nuby's aunt that he was injecting her with silicone from Home Depot, the affidavit said. Morris made house calls for the injections and would seal the injection sites with cotton balls and Super Glue, Nuby's aunt told investigators.
Neither Morris, who remained in custody in Broward County Jail, nor a representative for him could be reached for comment on Thursday evening. He is awaiting trial on previous charges of practicing medicine without a license and causing injury.
Nuby's death in March occurred at Tallahassee Federal Correctional Institute where, according to CBS Miami, she was serving a 2-1/2 year sentence for identity theft, which she resorted to in order to pay for breast implants and liposuction.
Oneal Ron Morris, 31, of Hollywood, Florida, is known to have injected other women with substances such as bathroom caulk, cement, Super Glue and the tire product Fix-A-Flat, officials with the Broward County Sheriff's Office said.
Authorities described Morris as a transvestite who went by the nickname "The Dutchess."
According to his arrest affidavit, 31-year-old Shatarka Nuby died in March in Tallahassee from what an assistant medical examiner called "massive systemic silicone migration" due to "cosmetic silicone injections of the buttocks and hips," according to the arrest affidavit.
She died months after her last injection by Morris. Before her death, Nuby told a Florida Department of Health investigator that she paid Morris at least $2,000 for about 10 treatments between 2007 and 2011 to enhance her buttocks, hips, thighs and breasts, according to the affidavit and a sheriff's report.
Morris once told Nuby's aunt that he was injecting her with silicone from Home Depot, the affidavit said. Morris made house calls for the injections and would seal the injection sites with cotton balls and Super Glue, Nuby's aunt told investigators.
Neither Morris, who remained in custody in Broward County Jail, nor a representative for him could be reached for comment on Thursday evening. He is awaiting trial on previous charges of practicing medicine without a license and causing injury.
Nuby's death in March occurred at Tallahassee Federal Correctional Institute where, according to CBS Miami, she was serving a 2-1/2 year sentence for identity theft, which she resorted to in order to pay for breast implants and liposuction.
U.S. Olympic swimming team show off dancing skills in spoof video
It's not all hard work and no play for the U.S. swimming team at the London Olympics.
A light-hearted, spoof video filmed by the team during training has gone viral on the internet with tens of thousands of viewers clicking to watch top names such as Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin dancing and lip-syncing to hit "Call me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen.
The video, billed by the team as an attempt to "blow off steam" in the run up to the Games, features swimmers dancing down the aisle of a plane, waving arms around on a bus and even strutting their stuff under water.
Lochte, a favorite with female swimming fans, smooches at the camera.
"This is one of the best teams I've had the opportunity to be a part of! We are having so much fun!" Franklin tweeted as she sent out a link to the video (http://bit.ly/Mac9yW).
USA Swimming said the project was led by swimmers Alyssa Anderson, Kathleen Hersey and Caitlin Leverenz and later finished off by a member of the U.S. team's staff, Russell Mark.
"USA Swimming's "Call Me Maybe" proves two things: 1. Swimmers are funny. 2. Taper makes you stir crazy," tweeted swimming journalist Mike Gustafson, referring to the reduction of swimmers' workloads just before a competition.
Other parodies of the much spoofed song include one from Harvard's baseball team, a women's college rowing team and even Sesame Street's Cookie Monster.
A light-hearted, spoof video filmed by the team during training has gone viral on the internet with tens of thousands of viewers clicking to watch top names such as Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin dancing and lip-syncing to hit "Call me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen.
The video, billed by the team as an attempt to "blow off steam" in the run up to the Games, features swimmers dancing down the aisle of a plane, waving arms around on a bus and even strutting their stuff under water.
Lochte, a favorite with female swimming fans, smooches at the camera.
"This is one of the best teams I've had the opportunity to be a part of! We are having so much fun!" Franklin tweeted as she sent out a link to the video (http://bit.ly/Mac9yW).
USA Swimming said the project was led by swimmers Alyssa Anderson, Kathleen Hersey and Caitlin Leverenz and later finished off by a member of the U.S. team's staff, Russell Mark.
"USA Swimming's "Call Me Maybe" proves two things: 1. Swimmers are funny. 2. Taper makes you stir crazy," tweeted swimming journalist Mike Gustafson, referring to the reduction of swimmers' workloads just before a competition.
Other parodies of the much spoofed song include one from Harvard's baseball team, a women's college rowing team and even Sesame Street's Cookie Monster.
Austrian admits making up story to get rid of snake
An Austrian applauded for capturing a 2.3-metre (7.5-foot) boa constrictor he said he discovered on a riverbank has admitted he made up the story to get rid of a pet snake he found too big to handle, an animal rescue group said on Thursday.
"It turns out he could not get to grips with the snake and wanted to get rid of it this way," said Susanne Hemetsberger, head of the Austrian Animal Protection Association. The owner handed over the reptile to an animal shelter.
She said in hindsight the tale originally told by the Salzburg man, who has not been identified, that he had happened upon and bagged the 7-kg (15.5-pound) boa last week, seemed suspicious.
"No passer-by who isn't familiar with snakes would ever grab a boa constrictor. On the contrary, they would scream, run away and call the police," she said.
The man has two other two-meter snakes that he wants to give away as well, Hemetsberger said.
"The snake owner dished up one lie after another and I hope he gets the proper punishment for this. He can't just release a snake and then pose as its finder," she said, calling for curbs on the sale of exotic pets that inexperienced owners often find overwhelming.
"It turns out he could not get to grips with the snake and wanted to get rid of it this way," said Susanne Hemetsberger, head of the Austrian Animal Protection Association. The owner handed over the reptile to an animal shelter.
She said in hindsight the tale originally told by the Salzburg man, who has not been identified, that he had happened upon and bagged the 7-kg (15.5-pound) boa last week, seemed suspicious.
"No passer-by who isn't familiar with snakes would ever grab a boa constrictor. On the contrary, they would scream, run away and call the police," she said.
The man has two other two-meter snakes that he wants to give away as well, Hemetsberger said.
"The snake owner dished up one lie after another and I hope he gets the proper punishment for this. He can't just release a snake and then pose as its finder," she said, calling for curbs on the sale of exotic pets that inexperienced owners often find overwhelming.
Taiwanese vegetable vendor among Asia's Nobel winners
A Taiwanese vegetable vendor, who has personally given away over 7 million Taiwanese dollars ($231,800) to several charities for children, was among six winners of Asia's equivalent of the Nobel prize this year, its foundation said on Thursday.
The Manila-based Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation named Chen Shu-chu as one of six winners, citing her for "personal giving, which reflects a deep, consistent, quiet compassion, and has transformed the lives of the numerous Taiwanese she has helped".
From her daily earnings as a vegetable vendor, Chen, who reached only the sixth grade and sleeps on the floor, was able to help build library and feed and shelter children-at-risk as well as families displaced by disasters.
"Money serves its purpose only when it is used for those who need it," she said. "I feel happy whenever I could help other people."
The awards also honored Filipino Romulo Davide, who helped farmers fight pest infestation on rice, bananas and other crops; Indian Kulandei Francis, head of a village self-help group; Syeda Rizwana Hasan, an environmental lawyer from Bangladesh; Cambodian agronomist Yang Saing Koma who helps farmers' improve rice production; and Indonesian Ambrosius Ruwindrijarto who is fighting to stop illegal logging.
The winners will receive a prize of $50,000 with a ceremony set for late August.
"The Magsaysay awardees of 2012 are six remarkable individuals, all deeply involved in creating sustainable solutions to poverty and its accompanying disempowerment -- whether in the forests or on farmlands, in exploitative industries or in inadequate education," Carmencita Abella, foundation president, said in a statement.
The awards, named for a popular president of the Philippines who was killed in a plane crash, were set up in 1957 by the trustees of the New York-based Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Nearly 300 people and groups, including the U.S. Peace Corps and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, have been recognized since 1958.
($1 = 30.1955 Taiwan dollars)
The Manila-based Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation named Chen Shu-chu as one of six winners, citing her for "personal giving, which reflects a deep, consistent, quiet compassion, and has transformed the lives of the numerous Taiwanese she has helped".
From her daily earnings as a vegetable vendor, Chen, who reached only the sixth grade and sleeps on the floor, was able to help build library and feed and shelter children-at-risk as well as families displaced by disasters.
"Money serves its purpose only when it is used for those who need it," she said. "I feel happy whenever I could help other people."
The awards also honored Filipino Romulo Davide, who helped farmers fight pest infestation on rice, bananas and other crops; Indian Kulandei Francis, head of a village self-help group; Syeda Rizwana Hasan, an environmental lawyer from Bangladesh; Cambodian agronomist Yang Saing Koma who helps farmers' improve rice production; and Indonesian Ambrosius Ruwindrijarto who is fighting to stop illegal logging.
The winners will receive a prize of $50,000 with a ceremony set for late August.
"The Magsaysay awardees of 2012 are six remarkable individuals, all deeply involved in creating sustainable solutions to poverty and its accompanying disempowerment -- whether in the forests or on farmlands, in exploitative industries or in inadequate education," Carmencita Abella, foundation president, said in a statement.
The awards, named for a popular president of the Philippines who was killed in a plane crash, were set up in 1957 by the trustees of the New York-based Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
Nearly 300 people and groups, including the U.S. Peace Corps and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, have been recognized since 1958.
($1 = 30.1955 Taiwan dollars)
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