Ok so I’m a little behind on this story and stumbled across it while researching the “weird leprechaun of Boulder” a story I’ll be posting soon.
Apparently, a simulacra in a Mobile tree branch lead many to believe a Leprechaun was on the loose in Alabama. A news cast video about the spotting went viral, based mainly on the enthusiasm of a gap toothed guy you can’t miss when you watch it.
Good clean fun that ended up on South Park and got it’s own web site www.wheredagoldat.com.
Smuggling may not be the oldest profession but its surely in the top 5.
Click an image to view larger. Photographs courtesy TRAFFIC
Tiger Cub: Freed, Fuzzy Headed
National Geographic | August 26, 2010
The cat’s out of the bag—at least for a woman caught smuggling a live, two-month-old, drugged tiger cub in a suitcase full of toys (pictured) at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport on Sunday.
The 31-year-old Thai national, whose identity has not been revealed by Thai authorities, was scheduled to board a Mahan Air flight to Iran. But when she was seen struggling with a large bag at check-in, airport officials decided to x-ray her luggage.
The x-rays revealed the tranquilized tiger cub among stuffed-tiger toys, according to a statement released Thursday by TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network. (Related video: “Tiger Trade Slashes Big Cats’ Numbers.”)
Officials are investigating whether the cub was wild caught or captive-bred, as well as where the woman intended to bring the tiger.
All Asian tigers are listed as endangered or worse by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), mostly due to the illegal trade in tiger parts. (Read about how to save tigers with National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative.)
Hernando man run over by own truck after his dog puts it in gear
Joel Anderson, Times Staff Writer | Wednesday, June 23, 2010 | www.tampabay.com
RIDGE MANOR — Searching for oil leaks underneath his pickup truck, Christopher Bishop placed his Ford F-150 in neutral and left the driver’s door open.
Unwittingly, Bishop also left himself vulnerable to his rambunctious bulldog, Tassey.
According to a Hernando County Sheriff’s Office report, Tassey hopped into the truck and jumped around in the front seat, knocking it into gear and causing it to roll over the left side of Bishop’s body.
Bishop, 43, was transported to Pasco Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
William Blake etching with his handwritten caption, 'Everything is an attempt/To be human,' at Tate Britain in London. Photograph: Ray Tang/Rex Features
'Everything is an attempt to be human.' One of the lost etchings by William Blake, now on display at Tate Britain
Tate Britain makes room for William Blake art found in railway timetable
Mark Brown | August 11, 2010 | www.guardian.co.uk
Curator says of eight tiny, hand-coloured works tackling big themes: ‘It’s probably best not to get into too much detail’
When viewing the tiny, hand-coloured etchings of figures being burned alive and hair being washed in blood it is fine, the curators say, to be bemused and baffled. “They are strange,” said Philippa Simpson. “Impenetrable, really, even for scholars.”
The eight hand-coloured works by William Blake, an artist as bizarrely eccentric as he was visionary, are also remarkable. Today they went on display at Tate Britain in London as part of a rehang which sees nine rooms and 170 works devoted to the Romantics.
The Blakes are being displayed as part of the national collection for the first time after being acquired for the nation last year, and their history is almost as eye-catching as their content. For years their whereabouts were unknown until someone bought a box of secondhand books at a north London sale and discovered the etchings in the leaves of an old railway timetable.
Poor Mr. Svenden thought he had cancer and was very uncomfortable. He must be so relieved. I wish him a speedy recovery. Last year a Russian man had a similar experience with a fir tree sprouting in his lung.
Some have argued “how can seeds sprout without sun?” I reply, planting a seed for most plants usually means putting them deep into the dirt, where they don’t get sun.
Pea sprouting in man’s lung
Beth Alteri, Producer | August 12, 2010 | /www.wcsh6.com
BREWSTER, Massachusetts (NBC)– A man that thought his coughing was caused by emphysema got quite a shock. Turns out, Ron Sveden had a different problem sprouting in his lungs.
For months, the 75 year old had been coughing and his health was deteriorating. When he went to the doctor’s they were unable to find anything wrong, other than Sveden’s emphysema. An x-ray finally revealed the real problem wasn’t a tumor growing in his lung, but rather a pea sprouting.
Sveden says, “I was told that I had a pea seed in my lung that had split and had sprouted.”
Emma Joan and Taylor Nalani Bailey were born conjoined from waist to sternum and sharing one heart. Their prognosis was so grim they spent their first 18 months in hospice. But they lived, so their parents took them home.
They had 3 brothers and a sister and lived a life that was normal to them. Wanting the best for their daughters their parents consulted with medical specialist all over the world on the girls unique condition and surgical options.
Unlike the original “Siamese twins” Chang an Eng, who merely shared some tough fibrous tissue and a small part of their liver and could have been easily separated, the Bailey sisters had a shared heart and would have been difficult to separate. The enormous strain of one heart working for two people made heart troubles seem inevitable so preparatory surgeries were made for an eventual separation. During the surgery for separation each girl was to get her own heart from a donor.
Alas, there were complications during one of the preparatory surgeries which was performed on Friday August 13. The girls passed away. You may visit their blog at Emma Joan and Taylor Nalani Bailey to see pictures of the girls and their family. Condolences to the Bailey family and their friends and community who have supported them thru the sister’s short life.
Dad: Tor (old) Mom: Mandy (not as old) Paige: age 11 Drew: age 9 Cole: age 8 Emma: age 3 Taylor: age 3 Blake: age 2
Rare conjoined twins die at Seattle hospital
By TIM HAECK | Aug 13, 2010 | KIRO Radio | www.mynorthwest.com
When Emma and Taylor Bailey were born almost four years ago, doctors didn’t give them much of a chance. “We were told when they were born they’d live a few minutes, maybe a few hours,” says their grandfather Don Lybbert of Lynnwood.
The conjoined twins were linked from waist to sternum and shared a heart. The girls survived in hospice for 18 months so their parents had to decide what to do. They consulted with specialists. “Their file literally went to doctors all over the world,” says Libbert. He says there was no consensus on the best treatment for the conjoined twins.
The twins grew up and Lybbert says the almost four year old girls had unique personalities but were definitely in tune. “On the way to the hospital the other morning, they were humming a song in unison in perfect pitch, it was just amazing,” says Lybbert.
Baby’s Boffo Birthday: 8/9/10 11:12
Story posted 2010.08.12 | 6abc.com
Talk about perfect timing!
A newborn in Ohio is making headlines because she was born at a very cool time.
Little Ella Rose Heis was born a couple days ago on August 9 at 11:12 p.m.
That makes her birth stats read like this “8 for the month of August, 9 for the day, 10 for the year 2010, and 11:12pm for the time of night. That’s 8/9/10 11:12!
The little girl clearly wants to be unforgettable.
Kings Of Leon Concert Cut By Pigeon Poop
www.billboard.com | by Jessica Letkemann | July 24, 2010 6:21 EDT
Hold the Hitchcock jokes. Kings Of Leon had to cut short its concert at St. Louis’ Verizon Amphitheater last night (July 23) after a flock of pigeons living in the venue’s rafters unmercilessly divebombed the band with poop.
In an attempt to avoid dissapointing fans, the Followill guys had decided to go on with the show even after openers The Postelles and the Stills returned from the stage covered in pigeon excrement.
“We couldn’t believe what The Postelles and The Stills looked like after their sets,” said Jared Followill in a statement released by the band. “We didn’t want to cancel the show, so we went for it. We tried to play. It was ridiculous.” Kings of Leon made it through three songs before some of the poop landed near the bassist’s mouth and the band decided the pigeon hazard had grown too extreme to finish the show.
Live Nation has already announced that St. Louis Kings of Leon concertgoers may get the price of their tickets refunded at the point of purchase beginning on July 26.
The band continues its tour tonight in Chicago as planned, pigeons permitting.
David Waters holds the baby sister of his heart donor, inset Kaden Delaney.
Donor’s heart goes on with Burger Rings craving
Richard Noone | The Daily Telegraph | December 23, 2009 | www.news.com.au
IT seemed too real to be mere coincidence – and it brought joy to Kaden Delaney’s family.
Kaden’s parents Greg and Shelley spent two years finding David Waters, whose life was saved when he received their son’s heart after he died in a car crash. But in an exchange of emails they learned Mr Waters amazingly had developed a taste for Burger Rings – which was Kaden’s favourite snack treat.
The Delaney’s second eldest son was left brain dead after rolling his brother’s car into an embankment near their home in Orange, in central west NSW, in April 2006. In line with his wishes, they donated the 17-year-old’s heart, lungs, liver, pancreas and kidneys.
This is an important story that says much about the society in which it happened.
It shows that the Vietnamese don’t hold women in high regard or respect the criminal nature of rape. It says even their communist government believes in traditional medicine over the rule of law and objective evidence. Then again, hiring an expert and paying for expert testimony has become standard procedure in court cases and their culture considers healers experts.
Surely Pham Thi Hong must have been compensated, perhaps VERY well compensated for her expert testimony and threat to immolate herself.
Currently Pham Thi Hong is the only traditional medicine practitioner in Vietnam who can give a virginity test by examining ones' ear. (AP Photo)
‘Virginity test’ helps free 3 in Vietnam rape case
TRAN VAN MINH | Jul 1, 2010 | AP
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) – An acupuncturist who claims she can detect a man’s virginity based on a small dot on the ear has become a minor celebrity in Vietnam, where she is credited with helping to free three convicted rapists from prison.
Traditional medicine practitioner Pham Thi Hong started lobbying for the men’s release, pleading their case all the way to the president, because she believes all three men are virgins and therefore could not be guilty of rape.
“They all had small red spots on the back of their ears,” said Hong, 54. “The spots should have disappeared if they had had sex. My many years of experience told me that these men did not have sex before.”
With record heat across America this summer, this kind of injury could be on the rise. Careful out there cats and kittens. Humans didn’t evolve walking on blacktop and most people have sweet, soft, white feet from wearing shoes all the time not the tough callouses that would offer some protection from extreme temps.
We wish this guy the best.
Arizona man suffers second degree burns on both feet from extremely hot pavement
by Mike Murasarz, ABC News | WHAS11.com | July 19, 2010 at 2:27 PM
(ABC News) The extreme heat sent an Arizona man to the hospital with severe burns on his feet.
Seventy-eight-year-old James Wankul suffered second degree burns on his feet, just for walking on the sidewalk with no shoes on. He had gone outside to run after the mailman. Wankul said the pain brought him to his knees. A neighbor ran after him, after seeing him fall in the street.
Terri Cyran, the neighbor, said “By the time he turned around, he couldn’t run back to the grass. So he fell down and then he was burning his knees and his hands so we had to, both of us, had to pick him up by his arms and then run him to the grass.”
