treveskyn: odd news, strange news with attitude

http://web.archive.org/web/20070618004020/www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/15/buried.classic.ap/index.html

TULSA, Oklahoma (AP) — Calling it “our King Tut’s tomb,” thousands of people watched as a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere was pulled from the ground where it had been buried for 50 years as a time capsule of American Midwest culture.

The concrete vault encasing the car may have been built to withstand a nuclear attack, but it couldn’t keep away water.

At Friday’s ceremony, protective wrapping was removed to show the mud-caked vintage vehicle covered in rust. Shiny chrome was still visible around the doors and front fender, and workers were able to put air in the tires.

“I’ll tell you what, she’s a mess. Look at her,” said legendary car builder Boyd Coddington, who was unable to start the car as planned.

From the trunk, organizers pulled out some of the objects buried to celebrate Oklahoma’s 50 years of statehood — a 5-gallon can of leaded gasoline, which went for 24 cents a gallon in those days, and rusted cans of Schlitz beer.

The contents of a “typical” woman’s handbag, including 14 bobby pins, lipstick and a bottle of tranquilizers, were supposed to be in the glove box, but all that was found looked like a lump of rotted leather.

Workers also searched for a spool of microfilm that recorded the entries of a contest to determine who would win the car. The person who guessed the closest of what Tulsa’s population would be in 2007 — 382,457 — would win. So far, all they found were guesses of the population written on postcards.

That person, or his or her heirs, will get the car by June 22, along with a $100 savings account, which is worth about $1,200 today with interest.

A separate time capsule buried with the car was opened, and organizers removed and unfolded an unfaded American flag. Other historical documents, aerial maps of the city and postcards were in good condition.

“We don’t care what condition it’s in,” said Bob Petri. “It’s just the whole idea somebody thought of it in 1957 and here we are living it.”

KEY LARGO, Florida (AP) — A stranded, deaf dolphin delivered her calf Monday at a marine mammal rehabilitation center, and officials hope a dolphin “chat line” they’ve installed will teach the baby dolphin to vocalize normally.

The Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, named Castaway, has been vocalizing to her unnamed calf, but officials at the Marine Mammal Conservancy say that’s not enough for it to learn proper dolphin-speak.

“Castaway’s vocalizations are not normal,” conservancy president Robert Lingenfelser said. “She speaks in a monotone, similar to the way that people who cannot hear speak.”

So officials have electronically linked Castaway’s habitat with a lagoon at Dolphins Plus, a research and interactive educational facility a few miles away. Underwater speakers and microphones have been installed at both locations so the calf can communicate with hearing dolphins. (Watch the baby dolphin swim next to its mother )

The 42-inch-long, 30-pound calf is swimming well and breathing normally, Lingenfelser said. Officials don’t plan to release it, because the first few months of a dolphin’s development are a critical time for it to learn self-preservation.

Castaway became stranded in November but was initially deemed healthy enough for release after convalescing at a marine lab in Sarasota. But instead of swimming offshore, she returned to the beach three times before she was taken to the Keys

TOKYO, Japan (AP) — Japan will get its first nursing home for dogs with round-the-clock monitoring by doctors and a team of puppies to help aging pooches feel younger, a pet products company said Wednesday.

Owners pay 98,000 yen ($800) a month to keep their dogs at the Soladi Care Home for pets, which opens Friday, according to a joint release by Soladi Co. and the Endo Veterinary clinic in Tochigi, eastern Japan.

Veterinarians at the home will offer round-the-clock monitoring, and residents will be fed specially fortified food, the release said.

The home, which can accept 20 dogs at one time, will also employ puppies to play with the aging dogs to help them keep fit and feel younger, the release said.

Analysts say that a boom in pet ownership in Japan, coupled with better health care and a more balanced diet, has led to a surge in elderly pets in Japan.

That has spurred doting owners to turn to vitamins, aromatherapy and even acupuncture to help their companions through their old age.

YUMA, Arizona (AP) — An 81-year-old man has set off on a 2,000-mile bicycle ride around Arizona’s perimeter.

Bill Anderson of Yuma plans to complete the trip in 14 to 16 days. He is riding to raise money for Yuma’s Crossroads Mission, which provides shelter, meals, showers and clothing to the homeless.

Last year, Anderson rode from the Mexican border to the Canadian line and back again to raise money. In 2004, he made two trips for the mission: one from Canada to Mexico and another from San Diego to Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

Anderson left Yuma on Tuesday in his most recent ride. He planned to arrive in Page on Saturday before continuing the trip to Eagar, Safford and then along the Mexican border.

“It’s so awesome. I’m having a blast,” Anderson said over the phone on a stopover. “I’m seeing a lot of new country and taking lots of scenic photographs.”

Pic @ http://web.archive.org/web/20070618004041/www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/06/09/cyclists.naked.reut/index.htmlLONDON, England (Reuters) — Hundreds of naked cyclists, some sporting strategically-placed body paint, toured the streets of London and other cities around the world Saturday to protest oil dependency and the car culture.

Traffic came to a standstill and onlookers gaped or took photographs as the bare cyclists streamed past London’s landmarks, blowing whistles and waving flags saying “Rights for Bikes”.

Cyclists in Paris, France; Madrid, Spain; and Vancouver, British Columbia, among other cities, joined in what was the fourth annual world naked bike ride.

More modest cyclists wore shorts, bikinis or strips of tape.

“We shouldn’t be so dependent on oil,” said Bogdan Potrowski, a 36-year-old Polish electrician, wearing just a baseball cap.

“We also want to show everyone how defenseless we are on the roads,” he added after completing the route past London’s prime tourist sites including the Houses of Parliament and Downing Street.

Tom Whelehan, 40, said the protest had numerous objectives: to urge more people to ride bikes, to highlight the vulnerability of cyclists and to celebrate the human body — in all its shapes and sizes.

“We’re trying to find the simplest, safest and most natural way to make our point,” said Whelehan, a teacher.

He said cycling naked was reasonably comfortable but added that some of London’s cobbled streets had proved a challenge.

Others were just there for fun or to bemoan the difficulties of being a bike owner in big cities.

Rebecca Craig, 20, a student midwife with red hand prints painted on her breasts, said she had been motivated to join the ride after the front tire of her bicycle was stolen.

“Everyone does it for different reasons,” she said, pointing to the message drawn on her bare back: “Give me my wheel back”.

Organizers of the London ride said about 850 people had taken part last year and they had hoped for more than 1,000 on Saturday, helped by sunny weather.

French television said around 400 cyclists attended the ride in Paris. Police arrived quickly on the scene, putting an end to the rally and telling riders to put their clothes on.

Police said five people were arrested for “sexual exhibition” after the rally, which ended near the Opera building in central Paris.

ROSEMONT, Illinois (AP) — Donald Stephens spent more than half a century at the helm of this Chicago suburb.

Now, less than two months after his death, some say an eerie likeness of the late mayor’s face has appeared in the peeling bark of a 50-foot sycamore.

The image is fueling speculation and wonder in the village of 4,200 residents — the town Stephens is credited with transforming from a tiny enclave of just a few dozen people to a bustling community with one of the nation’s largest convention centers.

“He told me, you screw things up, I’m gonna haunt you,” said Bradley Stephens, the mayor’s 44-year-old son who was appointed to complete his father’s term. “When it starts talking, we’re all in trouble.”

The tree, outside a health club, was twice slated to be torn down. It was saved each time because Stephens intervened.

Now, it is guarded by a barricade, and a single candle placed by well-wishers stands nearby.

But not everyone is convinced it looks like Stephens.

“I see Jesus,” said Cathy Sansone, the membership director at the health club who says any resemblance to the late mayor is simply the “power of suggestion.”

KANSAS CITY, Kansas (AP) — More than 1,680 guitar players turned out, tuned up and took part in what organizers say was a world record rendition of Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” — a song that was the first many of them ever learned.

Some came from as far away as California and Germany on Sunday to take part in a Kansas City radio station’s effort to break a Guinness world record for the most people playing the same song simultaneously. The record had been 1,323 people playing the same song in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1994.

“It was cool to see little kids playing, people who had been playing for their whole lives, like older people, and then I’m sure there were people like me who just picked up the song a couple days before,” said Autumn McPherson, of Winfield, a senior at the University of Kansas. (Watch guitarists attempt smokin’ world record )

Preliminary numbers show 1,683 people played the popular early ’70s guitar riff on Sunday at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.

“I thought it was going to be kind of cheesy,” said Hannah Koch, of Prairie Village, who came clad in an elf costume. “But after I got here, I got caught up in the excitement of it.”

Tanna Guthrie, a morning show host for KYYS (99.7 FM), came up with the idea for the record attempt. She said her station will send participant sign-up lists, photos, videos and copies of media coverage to Guinness seeking official recognition of a record.

Guthrie said she chose “Smoke on the Water,” a track off Deep Purple’s “Machine Head” album, because it’s one of the first songs many guitarists learn.

“You never know if you can pull something like this off,” she said.

One of the participants, John Cardona of Hanford, California, said he brought felt-tip pens so he could get others to sign his guitar.

“It was the guitar I learned on,” the 41-year-old said. “It was very dispensable on the way here, but very valuable to me now.”

http://web.archive.org/web/20070618004031/www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/05/31/lego.artist/index.html

NEW YORK (CNN) — Nathan Sawaya’s workspace is an explosion of color.

Clear plastic crates stuffed with LEGO bricks in every hue are stacked high against the walls. A computer sits on the floor, but it’s not functional. The red, yellow and blue replica is made entirely of LEGO.

In fact, everything in the room is made of LEGO; a cash register, a monkey, a bowl of fruit, a vase of flowers.

Here in Sawaya’s Manhattan studio, the 33-year-old artist snaps bricks together to create sculptures, big and small. His medium may be a beloved kid’s toy, but some of his signature pieces are incredibly grown-up. (Gallery: A sampling of Sawaya’s LEGO art)

Now people can get an even closer look. Sawaya’s national touring exhibit, “The Art of the Brick,” is making the rounds. The collection was viewed by tens of thousands at the Lancaster Museum of Art in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Its next stop is the Discovery Center Museum in Rockford, Illinois, on June 15; it will stay there until September 3. (Watch Sawaya hit the bricks )

Sawaya, who abandoned a career as an attorney in 2004 to take on LEGO sculpting fulltime, spoke to CNN about his quirky craft.

CNN: How is a LEGO artist different from a LEGO hobbyist?

SAWAYA: I get paid! In all seriousness, I’ve tried to take LEGO in a direction it’s never been before. I’ve tried to put it in a museum setting, and I’ve created very large-scale sculptures that are on tour for the next couple of years. And that’s something that I think is a little different from your average hobbyist who’s really just building for fun.

CNN: What does LEGO capture that other media do not?

SAWAYA: LEGO is something that almost everyone has played with at some point in their lives. I notice a lot of times when people go to my shows they want to touch the sculptures.

I receive many e-mails from people who have seen my work and are then inspired to get down on the floor with their kids and build. In fact, the museum show also has a building area for kids who are inspired to build their own artwork after seeing my pieces.

CNN: Does LEGO (the company) give you a discount on the bricks?

SAWAYA: They allow me to buy it in bulk, but I have to pay for my LEGO like everybody else.

CNN: How difficult was it to make the decision to switch from full-time attorney to fulltime LEGO artist?

SAWAYA: It wasn’t very tough. I worked with great people at the law firm, but my passion was always for my art. As more and more people were commissioning pieces and collecting my artwork, it became clear to me that I should focus on my art full time.

New York corporate attorneys are known for working the long hours. I find myself working long hours now as well, but I’m doing something I love. … The worst day in the art studio is still better than the best day in the law firm.

CNN: Has it been a challenge to make ends meet?

SAWAYA: I have had some great large-scale commissions that have kept me financially secure for the most part. Currently my pieces are selling for up to tens of thousands of dollars, so the future looks bright.

CNN: Which piece are you most proud of?

SAWAYA: All of my pieces have special meaning to me, but I am particularly happy with a sculpture I did for the New Orleans Public Library. After the Katrina devastation, I was commissioned to build a permanent work of art for the library that would focus on the rebuilding of New Orleans. As part of the project, thousands of drawings by children from across the country were collected in which the children were asked to draw what they thought would be important for the rebuilding of the city. I then interpreted these drawings to create the sculpture.

CNN: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever been asked to build?

SAWAYA: I’ve built monkeys for both the talk show host Craig Ferguson, and the magician David Copperfield. I’ve also built a functioning industrial air conditioner.

CNN: You mean it actually churned out cold air?

SAWAYA: Well, it produced a slight breeze.