Good Morning and Welcome To MOT-Morning Open Thread
Casual Friday is a collection of odd, strange or weird news stories from the week along with some jokes, tweets, and other assorted funnies. Keep an eye out however, because not
all the news stories are entirely on the up and up.
Creators of Golden Gate Park "Elf Door" Come Forward
You guys might recall a couple of months back when I brought you the story of an "elf door" embedded in the base of a tree in the Golden Gate Park. Well, now the mystery of how it came to be there is solved.
It wasn't an elf at all, but a father and son team who live on a boat in San Francisco Bay.
Tony Powell and his six-year-old son Rio have taken credit for creating the whimsical tiny front door affixed to a tree in Golden Gate Park, according to the RichmondSF blog.
Tony is a skilled craftsman with the chops necessary to shape and carve wood, the blog reported.
~snip~
He said he and his son installed the door around Valentine's Day, after which time the door became an international media darling. Because they live on a boat, they did not see the media coverage.
~snip~
The door's creators said they were touched by the offerings people left inside the door. Tony said he even answered one of the questions left on a note left inside the door.
He said "one of the notes asked whether fairies were real, I had to scrawl upon it in green crayon, “Yes we are.'"
Sadly, the door will have to go soon as the park officials say fixtures such as hinges can cause damage to the tree.
Mark Sandford's Comeback Gives Hope To Liars
"In America, liars are always made to feel bad about ourselves, as if what we’re doing is wrong,” said Harland Dorrinson, fifty-seven, a liar from suburban Charleston. “Mark Sanford’s victory tonight is a victory for the lying lifestyle.”
Carol Foyler, thirty-six, a liar from Myrtle Beach, echoed those sentiments: “For the millions of dishonest children across America, tonight Mark Sanford has given them hope that someday, they can be somebody.”
At his victory rally in Charleston, the former governor acknowledged the liars in the audience and said that his victory sent an important message: “Every lie, no matter how big or small, has value.”
“As your Governor, I abused your trust. And as God is my witness, as your congressman, I will abuse it again,” he said, to thunderous applause.
9-inch helicopter retrieved from Ohio courthouse statue
Video producer Terry Cline was using a remote control helicopter equipped with a camera to film a promotional video for the city when an unexpected breeze caught up the aircraft and landed it in the arms of Lady Justice. Lady Justice is the statue atop the Marion County Courthouse in Marion, Ohio.
Although Terry asked the firefighters and the sheriff to help him retrieve the $1500.00 aircraft, the answer was "no".
County commissioners said they certainly weren't going to for or risk having someone lowered from a real helicopter to retrieve it, and the courthouse roof was too unstable for anyone to walk on it. It would have to stay where it was, they said.
Cline even resorted to asking Sheriff Tim Bailey, a licensed pilot, if he would retrieve the helicopter and use the situation as a training exercise.
Bailey disagreed.
"Look," the sheriff told The Columbus Dispatch. "Let's put this in perspective. He ran a helicopter into county property. It's no different than if someone hit the courthouse with their car. We took a report. We're done."
In the end, after a week of arguing about who was responsible for the retrieval and how it could be accomplished, it took nothing more high-tech than a man hanging out a window with a long pole to fetch it.
Whole Foods Introduces $35 Loaf of Bread with "Cruelty-Free Yeast"
Natural grocer Whole Foods introduced a $35 loaf of bread today.
The 100% Organic Sprouted Grain Kalamata Caciocavallo Pain de Campagne with White Truffle Oil began selling this morning in select locations in New York and Los Angeles, and is believed to be the most expensive loaf of bread ever sold by a mainstream food retailer.
Whole Foods' latest offering is made with a blend of quinoa and brown rice flours mixed with sprouted lentils. It adds kalamata olives and a non-dairy vegan version of Caciocavallo cheese, an expensive delicacy from Southern Italy. It is baked with cruelty-free yeast, topped with white truffle oil, and then layered with vark - an edible Indian foil made from pure silver.
Jason Wright, a former vintage clothing store owner and current CEO of Rusty Daughter, says he's thrilled by the response the Kalamata Caciovavallo has gotten so far.
"You know this bread's not for everybody," Wright admits, "Like if you're the kind of person who just like doesn't care where your yeast comes from and are totally okay with corporations mistreating them - then yeah I guess our bread isn't for you.
"But if you're someone who cares about like the environment and nature and your body and the ozone layer and stuff - then you want to get all your bread from Rusty Daughter.
Woman survives after husband accidentally shoorts her in the mouth with harpoon
A 28-year-old woman miraculously survived after her husband accidentally shot her in the mouth with a harpoon, Brazilian officials said Wednesday.
The Rio de Janeiro State Health Department said in a statement that the woman's husband was cleaning his spear gun when it went off, firing a harpoon that hit her cervical spine.
Elisangela Borborema Rosa was rushed to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery after Monday's incident in the coastal city of Arraial do Cabo.
The statement quotes neurosurgeon Allan da Costa as saying that the harpoon came within 1 centimeter (less than half an inch) of killing the woman. He said he expects a full recovery.
X-ray photo at the link.