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[unartig]

Shark's life saved in amazing operation

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Let off the hook: The grey nurse shark is noosed, above, turned upside-down, far left, and has a hook removed from its insides by a very brave biologist
In a delicate and dangerous operation, an Australian vet has saved the life of a shark by sticking his arm down the throat of a Grey Nurse to dislodge a steel hook.
The species is listed as critically endangered.
For the past two weeks the three metre (9.8 feet) shark has had a steel and aluminium gaffe hook stuck in its stomach

The shark - a rare adult female - was found off Julian Rocks near Byron Bay in northern New South Wales, Australia.
Sea World diver and director of marine sciences Trevor Long was given the job of lassoing the shark.
After it was caught, the shark was guided into a perspex tube and lifted to the surface. Veterinarian David Blyde then took on the difficult task of removing the pipe.
"As a veterinarian you often putting your hands in places that people find somewhat unattractive," he said

Using a PVC pipe for protection, he stuck his hand in the shark's jaws to remove the long hook.
The delicate operation took 45 minutes, and caused some nervous moments when the shark panicked and twisted its body.
The procedure worked, and the shark was safely returned to the water
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hook
a curved or angular piece of metal or other hard substance for catching, pulling, holding, or suspending something
delicate
fragile; easily damaged; frail: delicate porcelain; a delicate child
perspex
a transparent thermoplastic acrylic resin

[unartig]

Up, up and away for festival

Thursday, July 17, 2008

A dancer from the Italian Studio Festi performs as she hangs from a hot air balloon to preview the first Night Festival – which features theatre, dance and music – in Singapore

[unartig]

Chambers fails to overturn Olympic ban

Friday, July 18, 2008

Dwain Chambers today lost his High Court bid to be allowed to compete at next month's Olympic Games in Beijing.
Mr Justice Mackay refused to grant an injunction to temporarily suspend a lifetime ban on the sprinter competing at the Olympics.
The ban was imposed by the British Olympic Association (BOA) because of his self-confessed past use of performance-enhancing drugs

The judge issued his ruling this morning after spending yesterday listening to the conflicting arguments over the athlete's attempt to win an injunction suspending the bylaw before a full trial of the issues in March next year.
Chambers refused to comment after leaving the court but has since admitted he won't be appealling against the decision
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sprinter
a short race at full speed
injunction
a. Law. a judicial process or order requiring the person or persons to whom it is directed to do a particular act or to refrain from doing a particular act
b. a command; order; admonition: the injunctions of the Lord
bylaw
a. a standing rule governing the regulation of a corporation's or society's internal affairs
b. a subsidiary law
c. British. an ordinance of a municipality or community

[unartig]

'Upside-down' crow saved in epic rescue operation

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Healing: Clinton nurses an injured leg after his three-day ordeal
It is on a par with saving a seal from the sea or a mole from a hole.
Poor Clinton the crow has been rescued from his own nest after getting his leg caught in a piece of string and being left hanging upside down.
The luckless bird was eventually lifted to safety after an hour-long operation inv­olving seven firefighters, RSPCA officers and a crane
'He was in a very precarious position ten metres up in the tree and it wasn't safe to use a ladder, so we had to call for the aerial platform,' said crew manager Shaun O'Neill, of Mereway fire station in Northampton.
Clinton's ordeal began when he became tangled in string used to line his nest. After three days, residents of Clinton Road, after which he is named, called the fire brigade for help.
'It's a bit ironic that a bird had to be rescued from a tree,' said resident Danny Coles, 39. 'Quite a crowd gathered to watch.'
The exhausted bird is now being cared for in St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Haddenham, Buckinghamshire.
Clinton Road residents have asked for him to be returned to his nest when he is better.
...How Clinton feels about that remains to be seen
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ordeal
a. any extremely severe or trying test, experience, or trial
b. a primitive form of trial to determine guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused person to fire, poison, or other serious danger, the result being regarded as a divine or preternatural judgment
precarious
exposed to or involving danger; dangerous; perilous; risky: the precarious life of an underseas diver

[unartig]

Moss: Modelling is brain-damaging

Thursday, July 17, 2008

It may have turned her into an international superstar, but Kate Moss has admitted that she isn't too keen on the modelling industry.
"It's a bit brain-damaging. (But) they are such good jobs that you don't want to say no," she says in the August issue of Vogue.
"I still enjoy modelling, and it inspires me for the other things as well. All that dressing up makes me say, what do I want to wear? and, what do I want to do with Topshop? It all kind of leads into the other things

Kate denies that she's still in it for the money.
"I like making money," she admits.
"But I don't call people up every day to see how much I've made. As long as I have what I need at the time - I mean, I can buy the house that I want. I am not completely money-oriented."
The 34-year-old is preparing to expand in the US with her Topshop line, Kate Moss Topshop, from this autumn. And while she's a full-time mum to five-year-old daughter Lila Rose, her child with magazine editor Jefferson ----, Kate admits she likes not acting her age.
"I am still acting like a 17-year-old," she says.
"I definitely haven't become middle-aged. I've got a house and a daughter and all that, but I still like to have fun. Even in my business we still have fun
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keen on
very enthusiastic about, interested in or fond of
Example: She's keen on sailing; She's been keen on that boy for years
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I changed its real pic here in this news

[unartig]

Little Britain USA reveals new characters

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

David Williams and Matt Lucas reveal their new characters, here they pose as buff Tom and Mark

Britain's favourite comedy duo, David Williams and Matt Lucas, have revealed the new characters who will take on America with an all new Little Britain USA.
The six-part series will introduce a new cast, acted of course by the two stars, as well as keeping some old goodies such as Vicky Pollard

Buffed up muscle men Tom and Mark are just a taste of the fresh new faces – and bodies, to grace the show and Williams has said it is perhaps the 'most outrages' they have ever done.
Other new characters will be Ellie-Grace, played by Lucas, and is a “misguided child beauty pageant hopeful who is spurred on by her pushy mother”, The Daily Mail reported.
An American southern boy, Conor, and his grandmother will also accompany the eighth man on the moon, Bing Gordyn, who is Lucas's favourite character.
The comedic actors said they had diversified for America's taste in humour but still have kept their individuality for the HBO series which will air in September in the States and later in the year on BBC.
For some help Stateside they enlisted Friends star David Schwimmer to direct some episodes and Rosie O'Donnell will make an appearance.
Lucas described American comedy being based on 'coolness' rather that the sad type of humour in Britain.
David Williams said: “I think we make ourselves look maybe stupid in Britain a little bit more than being cool.
“But also we're not afraid to dress as women which is a little bit rarer in American comedy
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duo
two persons commonly associated with each other; couple
pageant
a show or exhibition, esp. one consisting of a succession of participants or events: a beauty pageant

[unartig]

1,800 year-old relic of Elvis Presley

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The King is back, long live the King

Those with suspicious minds may scoff – but this 1,800-year-old relic is the spitting image of Elvis Presley.
Complete with quiff and strong jaw, the likeness to the singer in his Las ­Vegas years is uncanny

It has been verified by experts, who say it is a decoration found on the corners of a Roman coffin.
'Fans seeing this face from the distant past will be forgiven for thinking that their idol may well have lived a previous life in Rome,' said a spokesman for Bonhams, which is auctioning the item in October.
This Elvis probably dates back to about 200 AD – about 1,750 years before the birth of rock'n'roll.
But it could even date to 400 BC, experts claim.
The bust is an authentic acroter­ion – an ornament often found on the corners of sarcophagi, stone burial chambers where the most important people were laid to rest.
It is part of one of the world's most stunning private collections of ancient art, which will go under the hammer in London.
The 150 lots, once owned by Australian collector Graham Geddes, ­include Greek and Roman vases and r­eliefs showing battle scenes.
Many of these will go for up to £90,000 each although Elvis is unlikely to make even a fraction of that, unless the resemblance sparks a bidding war between fans.
The figure could fetch as much as £25,000 when it is sold.
'It is perhaps the strangest item in the sale, certainly to modern eyes.
'The likeness is so great that the collector himself calls the carving Elvis,' added the spokesman for the auctioneer.
'Looking at this face with its quiff, jaw and nose, one is led to the thought that the human face, for all is diversity and subtlety, has an ability to repeat itself.'
It is not just auction house staff who are taken aback by the bust – others are all shook up too.
'It bears an uncanny likeness. It's the quiff that does it,' said Greek and ­Roman art expert Georgiana Aitken.
'You do get some weird and wacky things at the corners of sarcophagi. The quiff was not a hairstyle of the day as far as I know
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suspicious
tending to cause or excite suspicion; questionable: suspicious behavior
Synonyms 1. suspect, dubious, doubtful. 2. mistrustful, wary, disbelieving
relic
a. a surviving memorial of something past
b. an object having interest by reason of its age or its association with the past: a museum of historic relics
c.a surviving trace of something: a custom that is a relic of paganism
uncanny
a. having or seeming to have a supernatural or inexplicable basis; beyond the ordinary or normal; extraordinary: uncanny accuracy; an uncanny knack of foreseeing trouble

b. mysterious; arousing superstitious fear or dread; uncomfortably strange: Uncanny sounds filled the house
Synonyms b. preternatural, odd
Antonyms b. ordinary, natural

[unartig]

Paper, scissors match to decide who donates kidney

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Playground: Nathan smiles as Matthew and Naomi have a rematch

Sisters and brothers often resort to paper, scissors, stone to resolve arguments.
But as a way to decide who donates a kidney?
Matthew and Naomi Gardner decided that was the way to go when they could not pick who would help brother Nathan, 30
'I don't know why she bothered, because I cheat and always win,' ­admitted Matthew, 34.
'I saw her pull out scissors, so I did a stone to blunt them and won.'
But his victory was short-lived. Matthew soon found out he would have to go under the knife as Naomi, 25, could later face problems in any later pregnancy if she donated.
'I was sitting there looking smug, when another doctor told me I would have to donate,' he said.
Nathan collapsed with chronic ­renal failure and would have had to be hooked up to a dialysis machine unless he got a new organ.
So his siblings played a match of the playground game to settle the ­argument.
'We were both willing to do whatever we could. He only won because he cheats,' said Naomi.
But Matthew finally agreed and had the operation last week.
The brothers, both from near Oldham, are recovering at home.
Matthew added: 'I will be off work until October – but I had to do it, he's my brother.'
Nathan said: 'He was a hero. He's given me back my life. I feel so much better already
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smug
a. contentedly confident of one's ability, superiority, or correctness; complacent
b. trim; spruce; smooth; sleek
­renal
of or pertaining to the kidneys or the surrounding regions

[unartig]

Models dress as lamps for exhibition

Thursday, July 24, 2008

French artwork, lady in a lamp dress
If you don't like this artwork, there's an easy thing to do – switch it off.
Artist Marianne Maric has dressed up models in lamps and switches for her display in Nancy, France

[karin]

Created by Daniel Rozen this incredible wooden mirror is made up of 830 tiny wood each controlled by a small motor. A camera gathers light and shape data and sends it to a computer which then shifts the panels to create the image in front of the device. The can’t provide a detailed image but still it’s pretty cool to see and hear those little wooden pieces move and mimic everything you do