July 1, 2010

Note To Self: Stay Off The Floatie When Intoxicated

Belleair Beach, FL (AP) A man who apparently passed out on a pool float at a Tampa area beach ended up drifting about a mile from Florida’s shore in the Gulf of Mexico.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the man on Wednesday afternoon.

Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class Mariana O’Leary told the St. Petersburg Times they suspect the man was very drunk.

The Coast Guard says a boater reported seeing an unconscious man floating well offshore.

The Coast Guard and a Clearwater Fire Rescue unit responded and found the man, still unconscious and wearing a life jacket.

He eventually woke up and was checked by paramedics at a Coast Guard station.

O’Leary said the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office will investigate the incident.

New Ohio Greeting Cards Are Tasty & Low In Fat

Cleveland (AP) Move over, greeting cards with sounds or smells. A new entry from an Ohio company plays to the sense of taste.

American Greetings Corp. on Monday announced the launch of Tasties, a line of cards that come with dissolvable flavor strips meant to be eaten by the recipients.

The Cleveland-based company says each sealed strip offers a “tasty surprise” that corresponds to the message on the card. For example, a card that features the image of a cupcake and a line about birthdays providing an excuse to eat cake comes with an insert made to taste like a cupcake.

Other cards in the series come with the flavors that include a doughnut and a margarita.

Camo-Wearing Bowhunters Marry In Tree In Iowa

Anamosa, Iowa (AP) -- An Iowa couple whose passion for bowhunting encouraged Cupid’s arrow to strike wore camouflage to blend in with the wooded backdrop at their treetop wedding.

Forty-two year-old Kim Silver dressed in a silk gown made by camouflage specialists Mossy Oak, and her 61-year-old groom, Marvin Hunter, was dressed in camo shirt and pants at the Saturday nuptials.

They said their vows atop a tree stand hunting platform at the Anamosa Bowhunters Archery Club in the state’s northeast. The bride and groom occasionally punctuated the ceremony by firing arrows at targets.

Hunter said the couple had always joked about getting married on a tree stand.
Silver said the pair they hunt together so much that the camo wedding “just seemed like the right thing to do.”

Lion Decides To Play A Round At Montana Golf Course

Bozeman, MT (AP) Golfers at a western Montana golf course faced a hazard with real teeth - and claws - when a mountain lion decided to play through. Golfers said they spotted the elusive predator while teeing off at Valley View Golf Club Friday morning in Bozeman.

Bozeman animal control officer Kathy Middleton said the lion was first sighted near Aspen Pointe senior living center before other callers later saw it at the golf course.

Joe Knarr with Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said the agency has been receiving calls about lions all through the south of town.

He said mountain lions sightings are common in the area, though there have been more reports this year than previous years.

Middleton said the lion spotted Friday most likely was just passing through.

City Official Plans To Tame Porn Fans With Shame

Quincy, MA (AP) A city councilor in Massachusetts thinks he’s come up with a way to stop people looking at pornography on public library computers - name them and shame them.

Quincy Councilor Daniel Raymondi has asked Mayor Thomas Koch to make public a list of people who have viewed pornography on library computers within the past year.

The council unanimously approved a resolution on the idea last week.

Library director Ann McLaughlin tells The Patriot Ledger that using library computers to access porn is against policy, and violators are given two warnings before they are banned. She says she’s not sure publicly naming violators would work.

A spokesman for the mayor says the city’s legal department is reviewing Raymondi’s request.

Marilyn Monroe Chest X-Rays Auctioned For $45,000

Los Angeles (AP) The apparently endless market for images of Marilyn Monroe now extends to inside the bombshell’s body.

A set of three Monroe Chest X-rays from a 1954 hospital visit sold Sunday for $45,000 at the Hollywood Legends auction at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Julien’s Auctions, which sold the X-rays, estmated that they would only fetch a total of about $3,000.

Other Monroe-abilia that sold included a chair from her last photo shoot that went for $35,000.

The auction included items from other actresses, including a pair of earrings worn by Kate Winslet in “Titanic” that sold for $25,000 and a dress Audrey Hepburn wore when she starred opposite Fred Astaire in the musical “Funny Face” that fetched $56,250.

Rare White Elephant Captured In Myanmar Jungle

Yangon, Myanmar (AP) A rare white elephant has been captured in the jungles of northwestern Myanmar, a mostly Buddhist country where the animals are considered good omens, state media reported Tuesday.

Forestry officials found the animal Saturday, acting on a tip, in the jungles of Maungdaw township in northwestern Rakhine state, the New Light of Myanmar reported, describing the elephant as about 38 years old and 7 feet and 4 inches (2.2 meters) tall.

White elephants, actually albinos, have for centuries been revered in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and other Asian nations. They were normally kept and pampered by monarchs and considered a symbol of royal power and prosperity.

The elephants are not necessarily white. They can look similar to other elephants except for certain features like fair eyelashes and toenails, light-colored hair or a reddish hue to the skin.

The newspaper did not say where the elephant would be housed. It will be the fourth white elephant held in captivity in Myanmar. The three others are at the Mindhamma Hill park, in suburban Yangon, where they live in an enclosure with spiraled pavilions, a manmade waterfall, ponds, trees and vegetation.

Soraida Salwala, of the Thailand-based Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation, said the group normally objects to placing elephants in captivity but stopped short of criticizing the capture of white elephants. In Thailand, all white elephants are traditionally handed over to the country’s revered king.

``The white elephant is a sign of great blessings and fortune for the land,’’ she said, adding that traditional Myanmar and Thai beliefs are similar on the subject.

Previous white elephants transported from the jungles have been heralded in lavish ceremonies where the Myanmar’s military leaders sprinkle them with scented water laced with gold, silver and precious gems.

A war was fought in the 16th century between Thailand and Myanmar, then Siam and Burma respectively, over disputed ownership of four white elephants.