Unique Carving
A previous generation might have forged images of communist leaders, but three brothers in an Albanian village have carved six tonnes of red stone in a tribute to the speed and power of a Formula One racing car.
What the three Gjini brothers --- hardworking and humble stone masons --- started as a gift to a cousin has already turned into a sensation in one of Europe's poorest countries where F1 races have many fans.
The car body is of red marble, called Rosso Albania (Red Albania). The mirrors, exhaust and fuel pipe are made of white stone while the tires are mud-green stone. The wheel, also of stone, moves around. The car does not.
The attention of the rather less lofty Formula One car has helped drum up new business.
Renaming The Mountain
The "Southern Sky Column" in Zhangjiajie in southern Hunan province has been renamed "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain" after floating mountains featured in Hollywood blockbuster "Avatar," with the province hoping to cash in on the movie's massive success. The government said the floating "Hallelujah Mountains" in the movie were inspired by the "Southern Sky Column," as a Hollywood photographer spent time shooting there in 2008.
"Many pictures he took then became prototypes for various elements in the 'Avatar' movie, including the 'Hallelujah Mountains'," said an official website.
"Avatar," directed by James Cameron, has so far sold $1.841 billion (1.138 billion pounds) worth of tickets worldwide, making it the biggest international release of all time. Tourists can now join a "Magical tour to Avatar-Pandora" or a "Miracle tour to Avatar's floating mountain.
When A Game Became Deadly...
An Italian man, who argued with his son over PlayStation tactics was stabbed by him with a 15-inch (40 cm) kitchen knife. The man, identified as Fabrizio R., suffered a deep cut to the throat after his 16-year-old son, Mario, attacked him during an argument over the soccer video game FIFA 2009. Police said the argument broke out when the 46-year-old storekeeper offered his son advice on PlayStation tactics and then turned the television off in response to his son's behaviour. Fetching a knife from the kitchen, Mario stabbed his father in the neck before returning to clean the weapon at the kitchen sink in front of his mother and leaving it to dry on the draining-board. "I saw Mario come back into the room, he seemed calm, he went to the sink and I noticed him washing a knife," said Mario’s 46-year-old mother Monica. "Then my husband came into the room with a hand around his neck, dripping blood."
The Artistic President
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, suffering from falling domestic popularity despite winning plaudits from investors, has found time to release his third album of pop songs in Jakarta. The president's album, entitled "I'm Certain I'll Make It," comes as his government's popularity has declined over the expensive bailout of a local bank in 2008.
Andi Mallarangeng, the Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs and a former presidential spokesman, told media that the president found singing and composing songs meditative. "He has been doing this since high school, and while he was in the military," Mallarangeng said. The president, who in the past has crooned onstage during election rallies, chose not to sing on the latest album but collaborated with popular local artists, including a former winner of Indonesian Idol and the 2009 winner of favourite male artist at MTV Indonesia Music Awards. Mallarangeng said the songs traversed various genres from R&B to country music, while the newspaper reported track titles include "My Soul was Enlightened that Night," "For You Sweet Child" and "Save Our Planet."
Life’s Like That...
• Three women sit in a beauty parlour talking about their husbands. The first woman says, "Last night my husband said he was going to his office, but when I called they said he wasn't there!"
"I know!" the next woman says, "Last night my husband said he was going to his brother's house, but when I called he wasn't there."
The third woman says, "I always know where my husband is."
"Impossible!" both women exclaim, "He has you completely fooled!"
"Oh no," says the woman. "I'm a widow.”
• Walking down the street, a man hears a voice: "Stop! If you take one more step, a brick will fall down and kill you."
The man stopped; a big brick fell in front of him. The astonished man continued walking to the cross walk.
The voice shouted, "Stop! If you take one more step, a car will run over you and you will die."
The man stood still; a car came careening around the corner, barely missing him.
"Where are you?" the man asked. "Who are you?"
"I am your guardian angel," the voice answered.
"Oh yeah?" the man asked. "Where the hell were you when I got married last week.”
‘Lack Of Talent’ On Britain’s Got Talent
Simon Cowell is worried because the next Britain’s Got Talent series has a severe dearth of talent. A disappointed Cowell dubbed the latest auditions as the “worst ever”.
Cowell and fellow judges Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan apologised to the 1,600-strong audience at the Cardiff leg of the auditions for the poor show they had witnessed. “You have just witnessed one of the worst days in Got Talent history,” a news daily quoted Cowell as saying.
Among the performers were a dancing dog, which refused to dance, a teen whose talent was chopping wood with an axe and a 71-year-old belly dancer. Simon told one dance troupe they were “appalling, awful and looked like a bunch of penguins.” “This afternoon there have been no potential winners and no talent. It was one of the worst shows we’ve ever had,” Amanda said.
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