Some amazing photos one finds on the internet never get explained or get attribution. Sometimes, however, a back story emerges. Apparently Iceland has a state religion and Darth Vader joined/crashed one of their processions. Your editor enjoys a funny image as much as the next fool but cherishes first hand accounts, attributions and information that make things REAL.
Thanks to Mr Karl Gunnarsson for posting info about the event with his flickr set of photos. I’m kicking myself for not publishing these Good Friday.
Photo by Karl Gunnarsson.
Photo by Karl Gunnarsson.
Photo by Karl Gunnarsson.
Text below from Karl Gunnarsson’s Flickr setDarth Vader seems to want to join the priests of the State Church of Iceland as they marched in procession to the cathedral for their annual congress.
Unfortunately, the priests didn’t want to play with Darth. Fortunately, I was there to capture it in photographs with a friend’s Nikkor 18-200VR lens. Unfortunately, the more a lens does the less I seem to remember to keep tabs on it (I’m supposed to zoom this thing as well?) and the photos suffer.
I didn’t notice that the light was a lot worse by the cathedral (it sucks in light, I swear) and the photos from there, on top of everything else, are shot at a much too low shutter speed. Fortunately (sorry!) the VR saved me from my own shakes.
Nice crime blotter. The last item involves a “flashing.” Maybe they thought the cop was gonna give them some beads? And the slander sounds like a love arrangement gone bad.
Random lap dance image.
Crime Blotter
April 9, 2010
Civil | On April 5, a California man, 25, was at a Myrtle Beach club. He called Horry County police and reported that a woman did not give him the lap dance she promised. According to the report, he told the responding officer that he and the woman negotiated a $30 lap dance fee earlier, and after that, he told her he wanted a VIP lap dance and she said it would be $300. He said he had $200 in his hand and they walked together to the ATM machine inside the business where he got $200 more. He said the woman took that $200 and the $200 from his hand and led him to the VIP area, but before giving him the dance, she ran out of the room and onstage to dance, refusing to give his money back. She told the officer that she did not have any of the man’s money. There were no witnesses. The officer advised the man to obtain a courtesy warrant in order to have the matter resolved before a judge.
Slander | On April 5 in Myrtle Beach, a man, 66, said another man, 62, delivered several papers to his mailbox asking for $20,000 for past services. The older man said that they had an agreement from May 2007 to November 2009 that he would provide the younger man with a place to live and a salary to work for him. He said the younger man never stayed within the parameters of the agreement and he had paid him what he thought he owed him. The younger man had made copies of the older man’s driving license and business card, and had them on a piece of paper with: “This man is a thief” written on it. He threatened to distribute them all over town. The officer planned to present the case to a magistrate.
Verbal threats | On April 7 in the Loris area, a man and his wife told Horry County police that someone was knocking on their door but when they got to the door, the person was gone. They then got a call from their daughter who said that an intoxicated woman who thought the daughter was having an affair with her husband had called the daughter and told her that she was just at her parents’ house and no one came to the door. According to the report, the daughter said the woman fired a shotgun while on the phone with her and told her that she was going to harm her with the gun, and that she was going back to her parents’ house to kick the door in and kill everyone inside. The officer spoke with the woman, who lives less than a mile from the family. She said she did call the daughter, but had not made any threats to anyone. The parents were referred to a magistrate.
Criminal domestic violence | On April 3 in the Carolina Forest area, Horry County police responded to a call from an intoxicated woman, 32. According to the report, she said that she and her live-in boyfriend were arguing and he threatened to call the police. She said he always tries to get her in trouble because she is on probation and if she has one more infraction, she will have to serve three years. She said she was tired of her boyfriend beating her and pointed to a bruise on her elbow. She was unable to tell the officer how she got the bruise. Her statements were not consistent. Her boyfriend said she came home intoxicated and was angry because he had the door locked, so she kicked it in and told him she was going to call the police and get him in trouble. While the officer talked to the boyfriend outside, she repeatedly came out yelling. The officer asked her several times to go back in. The officer left, but parked nearby. The boyfriend took the dog for a walk. The woman came out yelling at an upstairs neighbor and asking where he was, and she kicked his mo-ped over. The officer arrested her and took her to the Myrtle Beach jail. During a secondary search, she lifted her shirt, displaying her breasts to four officers, and began yelling, “Look at the [breasts], that’s what you want anyway.”
In defense of the bus company, a Nite Owl bus probably picks up many drunks who visually “present” the same way.
Man Dies on SEPTA Bus, Driver Finishes Route
Bus driver directed to continue route with unresponsive man on board.
By TERESA MASTERSON | nbcphiladelphia.com | April, 13, 2010
A SEPTA supervisor directed one of its bus drivers to continue her route after she reported an unresponsive elderly passenger who had urinated on himself early Sunday.
By the time the bus reached the end of its route, the man was dead.
The driver of the Market-Frankford Line Nite Owl bus, Natika Manfra, told Metro–which first broke the story–that she is outraged about what her supervisor directed her to do.
“It just boggles me that I was riding around and he was deceased and other passengers were getting on,” Manfra told Metro. “Could I have done anything to save him?”
Leonard Sedden, 68, was pronounced dead from heart failure and a drug overdose at the Frankford Transportation Center 40 minutes after Manfra notified SEPTA of his state, according to Metro. SEPTA authorities confirmed the incident to NBC Philadelphia.
Some weeks there are no obits, sadly this week there are many.
Designing Women’ actress Dixie Carter dies at 70
By Anthony Venutolo | The Star-Ledger | April 11, 2010, 12:21A
Dixie Carter, best known for her role on the popular ’80s sitcom “Designing Women,” died Saturday at 70.
Publicist Steve Rohr, who represented Carter as well as her husband actor Hal Halbrook, would not disclose where she died or the cause of death.
“This has been a terrible blow to our family,” Holbrook said in a written statement. “We would appreciate everyone understanding that this is a private family tragedy.”
She had been married to Holbrook since 1984.
Carter made her professional stage debut in 1960 in a Memphis production of “Carousel.” In 1963, she moved to New York City and won the part in a production of Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale.”
Love him or hate him, one must admire and respect Malcolm McLaren’s marketing savvy. Fashion designer, music impresario, visual artist and personality, he shaped contemporary culture and had a talent for spotting trends from a distance.
Although he treated some of the lads in the Sex Pistols abysmally (see the flick Filth and the Fury) he was so much more than a punk rock Col. Tom Parker. (I’ve never heard if other artists most notably Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow suffered as much as say, John Lydon did while under his management.)
I’ve read elsewhere his rare fatal cancer may have been caused by the D.I.Y. decorating he did at his shop SEX. The ripped up walls and literally “blasted” look probably exposed him to the asbestos that would eventually take his life.
It wasn’t until researching his obituary that I knew he had a son. Condolences to all his friends and family.
Look elsewhere for a nuts and bolts this and that obit. The following is taken from an interview with his son, Joe Corre and Julien Temple
A safety pin memento mori for the rest of us.
Undated photo of McLaren (far left) and the members of the Sex Pistols
Designed by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood. Destroy' T-shirt This picture shows Vivienne Westwood in 1977 wearing a 'Destroy' muslin T-shirt. It is formed from two squares of fabric with elongated, straitjacket-like sleeves caught back with D-rings, evoking a straitjacket and printed with the word 'destroy' and a swastika. Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren used highly charged slogans and provocative images in a deliberate attempt to provoke the establishment. The muslins quickly became tattered, only adding to their appeal.
1977 photo of the Sex Pistols signing their new contract with AM Records outside of Buckingham Palace. McLaren is far right.
Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, 1981. Photograph: Richard Young/Rex Features
Malcolm McLaren, my revolutionary, chaotic, brilliant, messed-up father
The legacy of Malcolm McLaren, by his son, Agent Provocateur founder Joe Corre, and Julien Temple, director of The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle
Joe Corre, in conversation with Sean O’Hagan, and Julien Temple | The Observer, Sunday 11 April 2010
Corre on McLaren
People have so many stories to tell about my dad, and some of them are not the nicest, but even his detractors would have to admit that he changed their lives. He changed the world, man. He shook it all up with punk, not just musically but socially and politically.
If you look back at the reaction to the Sex Pistols at the time, you can see that. People were threatened by what they stood for. It’s the last time music had that power. He was a revolutionary really. People say: “Oh, it was all about the music, the band.” No it wasn’t. It was about a revolutionary idea.
I know John Lydon was pissed off with the notion that Malcolm somehow created him, and that’s fair enough; no one created John but John. But Malcolm did create the name, the look and the big adventure that was the Sex Pistols. He was the catalyst. His real good fortune was finding my mum (Vivienne Westwood) as a partner-in-crime, someone who believed in him and his ideas. She would have done anything for him, and him for her. Together, they were unstoppable: his ideas, her designs. I know they had problems, but I spoke to her last night and she only had good things to say.
We had a difficult relationship, but it was all right in the end. I went to Switzerland and we said what we had to say and we made our peace. I’m really glad I did that. It was such a release – for both of us.
It was hard for me because he never wanted to do the emotional stuff that comes with being a parent. He ran away from it and I found that hard to take. But, you know, he had a messed-up upbringing and he just didn’t know how to do it. His mother rejected him so he was brought up by his grandmother, who was a lunatic really. She shaped his whole world view. She had him reading Jane Eyre by the time he was five or six. He told us he only went to school for one day in his entire childhood. They gave him a Peter & Jane book to read and he thought they were imbeciles. That was that. So he never learned the social and survival skills you learn in the playground. He made up his own rules, his own way of doing things.
He had a huge issue with his mother’s rejection. He once ended up in a home for a few days because he’d been sick in hospital and no one had come to claim him. Mad stuff like that. He told me that he had got on the tube once and ended up sitting opposite his mother. He got off without saying a word to her. Sad, really.
I think he was damaged and I’m a bit damaged in turn, but it makes you strong. It’s like your weakness and your force. You drive yourself on to prove yourself. If he hadn’t been messed up as a child, would he have created punk?
My best memories of my dad are all chaotic but brilliant. The best thing was when he made up these wonderful adventure stories for Ben (Corre’s half-brother) and me. I used to hate it when they ended.
I remember when, after the Sex Pistols swore on the Bill Grundy TV show, we were barricaded in our flat with the National Front trying to smash our windows. I don’t remember being terrified. We were together as a family and it was exciting in a way.
I’m going to miss him. He went through some bad stuff at the end, but he was tough. And he kept his spirits up. My brother had this T-shirt on that said “Free Leonard Peltier” – he’s that Native American political prisoner of conscience. Malcolm looked at the T-shirt and said, “Yeah – Free Leonard Peltier”. It was one of the last things he said. Just great.
He wanted to be buried in Highgate cemetery. Quite right too. I’m organising that. I’m going to have to think about the farewell party too. Maybe a boat trip down the Thames in memory of the Pistols’ Jubilee bash. We’ll need a fleet this time, though.
Joe Corre was talking to Sean O’Hagan
Temple on McLaren
It takes a lot these days to stay up all night listening to Never Mind the Bollocks, but that’s what I, and many others, needed to do on Thursday night when we learned that Malcolm had died. It’s strange, but when something that sad and unexpected happens, all the good memories of someone seem to rush to the surface and the not so good ones fade.
Dumbo the Elephant performs tricks in the ring during the Irem Shrine Circus at the 109th Field Artillery Armory on Monday. On Friday, the elephant became startled and killed his groomer, police said. The incident occurred inside the building and out of sight of witnesses, a spokesman said. Image PETE G. WILCOX/THE TIMES LEADER
Circus fatal blamed on wire sparks
The worker killed by a Shrine Circus elephant on Friday is identified as Andrew Anderton, of Florida.
By Sherry Long | timesleader.com | 4/11/10
WILKES-BARRE – More details regarding the Friday afternoon death of an elephant handler were coming to light Saturday, but the exact details may never be known.
The death of Andrew Anderton, a handler for Dumbo, the elephant which performed at the Irem Shrine Circus held at the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 109th Field Artillery Armory most of this week – was ruled accidental by Luzerne County Coroner John Corcoran.
An autopsy performed Saturday morning by Dr. Mary Pascucci determined the handler, Anderton, 48, of Florida, died from multiple traumatic injuries, Corcoran said.
Anderton was pronounced dead at 4:50 p.m. Friday at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital after he was found lying on the floor in the back of the armory roughly 20 minutes earlier, Corcoran said.
This story is plain old COLD and not even hardly right.
Random image of a 17th birthday cake.
Breach of peace
www.thesunnews.com | Crime blotter | Horry County, Conway, Carolina Forest
On March 20, a Conway teenager was charged as an adult and taken to jail on her 17th birthday.
Horry County police were called to the residence where the girl was arguing with her father and screaming at him. The responding officer heard her ask her father who he was and what he was going to do. The officer could not calm her, and when the officer asked her how old she was, her father said, “She just turned 17 years old 28 minutes ago.”
The voice of Mikey Wild saying “Oh, that’s terrible” keeps ringing in my ears.
Floor caves under Weight Watchers weigh-in
No one injured — but dieters might have extra motivation to shed pounds
msnbc.com | Jan. 15, 2010
As a Weight Watchers group gathered for a routine weigh-in, the dieters got an idea of how far they still had to go: The floor underneath them collapsed, a Swedish newspaper reports.
“We suddenly heard a huge thud; we almost thought it was an earthquake and everything flew up in the air,” one of about 20 group members said to the Smalandsposten newspaper. “The floor collapsed in one corner of the room and along the walls.”
After the initial collapse on Wednesday evening, the floor started to cave in other parts of the room, and the stench of sewage crept into the clinic, which is in Vaxjo, a city in south central Sweden. The group is looking for an alternate location for future meetings, Weight Watchers consultant Therese Levin told the Swedish paper.
There are many instances of idiots, cretins, criminals and jerks hiding behind and abusing Diplomatic Immunity. Mohammed Al-Madadi is the latest in this parade of dipwads.
Qatar Official Released After Plane Scare
By EVAN PEREZ | WSJ | April 8, 2010
WASHINGTON—Qatar’s U.S. ambassador cautioned against a rush to judgment after a Qatari embassy official allegedly was found smoking in a U.S. jetliner’s bathroom, causing a scare and sending two F-16 fighter jets scrambling to intercept the plane.
No explosives were found on the United Airlines flight Wednesday from Washington to Denver. U.S. officials said Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and Transportation Security Administration investigators interviewed and released the man, identified as Mohammed Al-Madadi.
Confusion surrounded Mr. Madadi’s initial detention on the flight, which landed safely with 157 passengers and six crew at Denver International Airport. Mr. Madadi appeared to be smoking a pipe in the bathroom and putting it out on his shoe, which triggered a series of misunderstandings, U.S. officials said. The air marshal on the flight detained Mr. Madadi out of fear that he may have been trying to light his shoe on fire, these officials said.
The name may not be familiar but his work sure is.
Click on a pic to see it bigger.
Jim Marshall, Rock ’n’ Roll Photographer, Dies at 74
By BEN SISARIO | March 25, 2010 | New York Times
Jim Marshall, a photographer whose images of Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash and others in the 1960s and ’70s helped define their subjects as well as rock ’n’ roll photography itself, was found dead on Wednesday morning in a Manhattan hotel. He was 74.
He had been found unconscious in his room by security personnel at the W Hotel on Lexington Avenue and was pronounced dead at the scene, the police said. The cause was not immediately known. An autopsy by the medical examiner was inconclusive, and results of toxicology and other tests were not expected for at least a week, a spokeswoman said.
Mr. Marshall, a longtime resident of San Francisco, was in New York to promote “Match Prints,” a new book on which he collaborated with his friend and fellow photographer Timothy White. An exhibition of photographs from the book is to open on Friday at the Staley-Wise Gallery in SoHo.
This is why people are warned to avoid running with scissors.
Horrific: An x-ray of the scissors embedded in the face of four-year-old Xiao Yu
All smiles: Xiao is able to look on the bright side eight days after undergoing emergency surgery
He’s lucky he can still smile! Boy, 4, accidentally impales his face on scissors
dailymail.co.uk | By Mail Foreign Service | 24th March 2010
A four-year-old boy is recovering after accidentally falling over and impaling his face on a pair of scissors.
Xiao Yu was helping his parents cut sticky tape for fixing Chinese festival scrolls to the door of the family home in Qinglong, Qinghuangdao.
But he slipped and, to the horror of his mother and father, landed on a large pair of scissors.
After ten hours of being transferred from hospital to hospital, Xiao was finally admitted to Xiehe hospital in Beijing where he was treated by specialists.
Doctors found the blades had pierced through the boy’s upper jaw and were pointing to the inside of his skull at a dangerous angle.
After a group discussion they decided to remove the scissors surgically.
Dr Zhao Jizhi and his team cut an opening inside Xiao’s mouth to make the blades visible, and then surgically removed the scissors before sewing up the wounds.
Following eight days of recovery, the swelling has gone down and no facial nerve damage or infections were found.
Some people need helper monkeys the same way other people need seeing eye dogs. But what if you have to travel by airplane with your helper monkey? What can you expect as far as a security screening. The amazing and empathetic JoLo fwd’d me this helpful information from the TSA website. Visit the page here to read more about TSA service animal policies.
"The inspection process may require that the handler to take off the monkey’s diaper as part of the visual inspection." Image from the TSA site.
Monkey Helpers
* When a service monkey is being transported in a carrier, the monkey must be removed from the carrier by the handler prior to screening,
* The service monkey must be controlled by the handler throughout the screening process.
* The service monkey handler should carry the monkey through the walk through metal detector while the monkey remains on a leash.
* When the handler and service monkey go through the walk through metal detector and the detector alarms, both the handler and the monkey must undergo additional screening.
* Since service monkeys may likely draw attention, the handler will be escorted to the physical inspection area where a table is available for the monkey to sit on. Only the handler will touch or interact with the service monkey.
* Security Officers have been trained to not touch the service monkey during the screening process.
* Security Officers will conduct a visual inspection on the service monkey and will coach the handler on how to hold the monkey during the visual inspection.
* The inspection process may require that the handler to take off the monkey’s diaper as part of the visual inspection.
