It’s Raining Drunk Parrots
Parrots that seem to be drunk have been falling from the sky and acting erratically in Darwin , Australia.
Experts have not found out the real reason of why red collar lorikeets have been acting this way. Some believe they may have digested something that make them feel intoxicated, but there has also been a theory that it may be a caused by a virus. The phenomenon appears to be seasonal, and happens every year.
Aside from dropping from flight, some birds have been observed to lose their coordination while perched, and some hide under covers inside their cages, akin to a person with a hangover.
An average of eight birds a day are being taken in and cared for in animal hospitals. They are given a combination of porridge and fruit to eat before they return to normal and then eventually re-released.
Photo: GERLY
Porn Stars Protest Piracy
In what was described as an all-star cast, 13 adult entertainment performers and production people have come out in a video to decry how piracy has been affecting their lives.
In the public address, they not only relate how much video sales have been affected, but how their livelihood has also been sabotaged by pirates and those behind internet ‘tube’ sites who infect subscribers with malware and spyware.
The cast are all part of the Adult Film Association of America, the first American group of porn film producers.
House MD Finale Shot Fully On DSLR
The director of the hit series House recently revealed that this season six’s finale was shot entirely with a Canon 5D Mark II. Director Greg Yaitanes made the announcement on twitter, where he also had a discussion with twitterers about the quality and experience. He says, “I loved it and feel it’s the future.”
Yaitanes says they used prime lenses along with the 24-70 and 70-200 zoom. No image stabilization equipment was used for the tight, odd-angled shots that didn’t need tripods.
With that episode, the Canon 5D Mark II has become the first video-capable DSLR to film a whole episode of a US primetime series. The episode air May 17 in the US.
But, hey, ABS-CBN has done something to that effect too just recently, with the shoot and production of its Summer Station ID. They did use three cameras for that one: the Canon’s 7D and 550D, and the Nikon D300s. Watch the video of that here.
sources: Gizmodo, Engadget, Petapixel, Digital Photography Review
photo: Art Streiber
Moon Landing Flight Plan, Marilyn’s X-ray Under The Hammer
A number of ‘historical’ items have been put on the auction block recently, including a page of Apollo 11’s flight plan, and a chest x-ray of Marilyn Monroe.
The piece of the flight plan of the first manned-landing on the moon is inscribed with the actual words uttered by Neil Armstrong after stepping out of the craft: ” One small step for A man — one giant leap for mankind.” (It has often been quoted with “That’s” at the beginning, and the article “a” omitted.)
The page sold for $152,000 at the auction, which also sold an emergency checklist of the Apollo 13 aborted moon landing in 1970.
About to be auctioned off in June is an x-ray film showing Marilyn Monroe’s chest. It was taken in 1954 when she was admitted for endometriosis, a condition of the womb which caused her a lot of physical pain.
The slide is labeled Marilyn DiMaggio, her married name when she was still with baseball legend Joe DiMaggio.
The x-ray is expected to fetch up to $1,200
. Other items that belong to Marilyn that will be auctioned off include personal photos, scripts and a chair used in her final photo shoot.
Vatican ‘Gives Peace A Chance,’ forgives The Beatles
The souls of the late John Lennon and George Harrison may now rest in peace totally, as the Vatican has forgiven The Beatles for their “immoral” behavior, “blasphemous” statements and the alleged satanic messages contained in some of their songs.
And if the fab four, or the remaining two: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, are not still satisfied with that, the Vatican, with the approval of Pope Benedict XVI, has praised the groups works and their “beautiful melodies.”
The absolution came in the form of an article on the Vatican’s newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.
In it, it says:
“Its true they took drugs, lived life to excess because of their success, even said they were bigger than Jesus and put out mysterious messages, that were possibly even Satanic.
“They may not have been the best example for the youth of the day but they were by no means the worst. Their beautiful melodies changed music and continue to give pleasure.”
news sources: Yahoo!, Telegraph.co.uk
photo courtesy of: oddsock
update: Ringo’s reaction to the Vatican’s forgiveness is somewhere in this CNN interview
The Seed That Cost The Lead
Different reports say it was a seed, a twig or some other small bit from a tree, but whatever it is, it stopped Phil Mickelson from taking over the lead from Lee Westwood at the second hole of the final round.
It was just exactly before he makes the putt. That’s the point of no return already!
He did take home the green jacket eventually, but that incident even got those covering the event say “unbelievable” more than once.
The 20 Most Dangerous Jobs
Being a journalist has been considered as one of the deadliest jobs in the world most recently, but it still does not come close to the death tolls of these professions.
Interestingly, #20 is being a security guard. And just because they’re in the list, I think those guys should have proper representation, at least!
Later In The Program 