The way AONORI Sees Ittag:aonori.net,2007:/english/72007-03-10T16:22:46ZMovable Type 3.32-jaPrisoners escape during Champions League clashtag:aonori.net,2007:/english//7.28992007-03-10T16:19:11Z2007-03-10T16:22:46ZFive young Romanian prisoners escaped wh...
Five young Romanian prisoners escaped while guards were watching Champions League football.
Ananova - Prisoners escape during Champions League clash
Five Romanian prisoners managed to escape while guards were watching Champions League football.
They cut the bars of their first floor cell window with a hacksaw blade during the match between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
To cover the noise, they turned the TV up loud before the match started then began the escape operation when the match started. They escaped immediately after half-time.
All five men, who were aged 17 to 19, were caught half an hour after leaving the prison in Craiova, Dolj county.
They now face supplementary sentences of up to four years while the guards are being investigated by their superiors.
(Unquote)
I can not help feeling how generous the Romanian prison is.
According to the article, the prisoners were able to touch the TV to turn it up loud. I believed that prisoners can not watch TV in any prisons in the world.
Also, why could the prisoners have a hacksaw blade?
I hope the guards will get punished.]]>
Obese woman unaware of pregnancy until near birthtag:aonori.net,2007:/english//7.28932007-03-06T14:55:16Z2007-03-06T15:00:30ZI once weighed more than 100 pounds. (Th...
I once weighed more than 100 pounds. (The weight is not so different even now...)
But this news is unbelievable…
Obese woman unaware of pregnancy until near birth | Oddly Enough | Reuters
Mon Mar 5, 2007 3:47PM GMT
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A woman who weighs more than 400 pounds (180 kg) said on Sunday she did not know she was pregnant until two days before giving birth this week to a healthy baby boy.
April Branum, 39, of Garden Grove, just south of Los Angeles, went to a local emergency room on February 26 with stomach pain only to discover she was pregnant with a full-term fetus.
Doctors discovered the baby as they took X-rays of Branum's abdominal area and referred her to UCI Medical Center in the nearby city of Orange, California, for prenatal testing, said Susan Mancia, a spokeswoman for UCI Medical Center.
No defects were detected and two days later on February 28, Branum gave birth by caesarean section to a healthy, 7-lb 7-oz (3.4 kg) boy named Walter Scott Edwards III.
"I'm tired but happy. The happy cancels out the tired part," Branum told Reuters, adding that she had struggled with unsuccessful gastric bypass surgery performed seven years ago when she weighed about 500 pounds (225 kgs). She said it did not help her lose as much weight as hoped and left her with a lot of sagging skin.
"That's exactly where the baby was hanging out. He was in the skin and that is why I didn't feel him," she said.
Branum lives with her fiance, Walter Edwards II, in Garden Grove. She said she gave up hope years ago of having children.
"I thought I was hitting early menopause," she said. "I never had morning sickness or anything that came with pregnancy."
(Unquote)
I do not doubt the fact that the baby hid in her skin.
I do not doubt the fact that she did not know she was pregnant until two days before giving birth.
However, the fact that she has a fiancé despite that she is almost as old as I and weighs 400 pounds is unacceptable for me.
How come haven’t I had a fiancé with just 200 pounds of fat? ]]>
Girl stops car after mom faints at wheeltag:aonori.net,2007:/english//7.28882007-03-04T18:02:05Z2007-03-04T18:06:01ZSome kids drive a car every year....
Some kids drive a car every year.
8-Year-Old Steals Modesto Teacher's Keys, Takes Joyride”, “Boy, 8, drives teacher's car home”)
However, the story, of course, is very heroic.
(Quote)
Girl stops car after mom faints at wheel - Yahoo! News
Sat Mar 3, 7:31 AM ET
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Emily Lineberger missed her gymnastics class this week, but thanks to the 11-year-old's heroics, she and her mother survived what could have been a tragic car wreck.
Emily was riding in the back seat of the family car Tuesday when her mother, Dayna Lineberger, started feeling lightheaded. Ulcerative colitis had caused Lineberger to feel faint before, so she decided to get food at a nearby restaurant.
"Then it just hit me," said Lineberger, 40. "The last thing I remember is screaming to her, `Tell me where to turn,' because I couldn't see. ..."
While heading into the restaurant parking lot, Lineberger's head rolled back and she passed out, Emily said.
"I just screamed like crazy," Emily said.
She leaned forward and grabbed the wheel. Her mother's foot was still on the gas pedal, but Emily steered to avoid a car before their car hit a telephone pole and stopped — unharmed.
Doctors later said Lineberger was dehydrated from the colitis.
"It was just her instinct and God riding on her shoulders," Lineberger said.
(Unquote)]]>
Hotels with no condoms get finedtag:aonori.net,2007:/english//7.28872007-03-04T09:49:44Z2007-03-04T09:52:35ZAccording to a newspaper, a Chinese prov...
According to a newspaper, a Chinese province has taken the unusual step of fining hotels and bars if they do not provide condoms.
Hotels with no condoms get fined - Yahoo! News
Fri Mar 2, 9:26 AM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese province has taken the unusual step of fining hotels and bars more than $600 if they do not provide condoms, part of efforts to fight the spread of AIDS, a newspaper said on Friday. The booming eastern province of Zhejiang, with 1,859 recorded infections by the end of last year, started enforcing the rules on Thursday, the Beijing News said.
"Condoms or condom-vending machines must be placed in hotels, bars and designated public places, or the managers will be fined 5,000 yuan ($650)," the report said.
The Chinese government originally stigmatized AIDS as a disease of the decadent, capitalist West -- a problem of gays, sex workers and drug users. Traditionally, none of these officially existed in communist China.
It has belatedly woken up to the problem, and health experts have warned the virus is now moving into the general population.
But a lack of sex education and unwillingness to talk about sex still hampers the fight, health experts say.
($1=7.743 Yuan)
(Unquote)]]>
When in Rome... lock your love on a lampposttag:aonori.net,2007:/english//7.28822007-03-02T20:05:46Z2007-03-02T20:14:36ZI was surprised to know that fact that p...
I was surprised to know that fact that people cover the lamppost with padlocks and chains in Italy.
Frankly speaking, I have no objection to what kind of actions loves take for their eternal love.
The reason why I was surprised is that such "Legend of Padlock" has been very popular in Japan. However, I have thought the legend had come from the Western World...
Judging from the article such custom has been spread recently by the Federico Moccia's book published recently. That is, the history of the legend is not so long.
However, Japanese, having full of spirit of modesty and never claiming anything loud, may lose the chance that the legend is originally from Japan...
As the legend gets popular in the world, it will be mentioned that it is from Italy...
(Quote)
When in Rome... lock your love on a lamppost | News | Telegraph
Last Updated: 1:41am BST 10/08/2006
Rome's lovers are covering the city's oldest bridge with padlocks and chains to declare their passion.
The Ponte Milvio, by the Olympic stadium, was built in 109BC and stands on a main route into the city. Couples testify to their everlasting love by writing their names on a padlock and then clipping it to one of the chains that are wrapped around two of the bridge's lamp-posts.
They then throw the keys into the Tiber.
In the recent balmy summer nights, as many as 5,000 people have gathered on the bridge and in the piazzas on either side.
"They think the lock and chain means they will stay together forever," said Giorgio Canicarro, a local fruit-seller. "Thousands of them come every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, always at around midnight. They meet here because this was the first bridge into Rome and so it is full of significance."
In recent days the fame of the bridge has swept through the city.
According to the newspaper Il Giornale, a 60-year-old Australian couple performed the ritual. "They were so sweet, even though I could not explain the ritual in English," said a café worker named Lucia.
A similar craze took hold in Florence last summer.
A team of metal cutters spent a week removing more than 5,000 locks from railings around a statue on the city's Ponte Vecchio.
Ponte Milvio: the bridge of love by Michelle Pellegrino Wanted in Rome
Once upon a time, on one of Rome’s oldest bridges, Ponte Mulvius, valiant soldiers fought fiercely to their death for the love of their emperor, their religion, their country. Nowadays, hopeful young lovers lay down their hearts and pledge their undying devotion to each other on this very same bridge.
Ponte Milvio – also affectionately known as Ponte Mollo (soaked bridge) – has played a crucial role in Rome’s history as the ancient consular roads of Flaminia, Cassia, Clodia and Veientana all led to it. Ponte Milvio is one of only three bridges still existent in the city which dates back to the Roman empire. It was the scene of many decisive battles, such as that between Constantine (the first Christian emperor) and Maxentius in 312 AD. Giuseppe Garibaldi blew up part of Ponte Milvio while attempting to hold back the advance of the French in 1849; Pope Pius IX had it lovingly restored to its former glory the following year.
Today, the bridge has become an important symbol for modern-day Romeos and Juliets living in Rome, who make their pilgrimage to Ponte Milvio and seal their love by placing a lock on the third lamp post from the Corso Francia side and throwing the key into the Tiber (the key should be thrown over the shoulders so as not to see where it falls), in a modern-day spell invoking eternal love.
This lamp post is certainly attention-grabbing. It is decorated with hundreds upon hundreds of locks, featuring the names and initials of the sweethearts. In the sunlight, these locks are an impressive sight; they shine like layers of tinsel on an over-decorated Christmas tree. You can’t help but wonder how many keys must be lying in the Tiber’s watery depths, guarding the secrets of so many lovers. The original lamp post is now so full that locks have begun appearing on other ones. This bridge is remembered in Romanesco songs and poetry as a meeting place for lovers and it continues to live up to its reputation.
The myth of the “love locks” all started with a very romantic book written by Federico Moccia (published in 1992) entitled Tre metri sopra il cielo (Three metres above the sky). Moccia was born in Rome in 1963, the son of a film scriptwriter. Initially he had trouble finding someone to accept his novel, so in the end he had it published privately, printing a limited number of copies. Moccia’s book had such an impact among Rome’s youth (particularly the 12-20 age group) that, being short of copies, they began to photocopy it. In 2004, Feltrinelli seized the opportunity to publish a new edition and the book has since sold over 800,000 copies across Europe, Japan and Brazil.
The story is about two teenagers from very different backgrounds, Babi and Step, who despite all odds fall in love with each other. The two protagonists were the first to perform the ritual of placing a lock on the now-famous third lamp post and throwing the key into the Tiber.
The book was made into a movie in 2004 and enjoyed a huge success. An urban legend was born. Although it is predominantly Italian teenagers who follow this romantic creed, the strong symbolism of eternal love on such a historic bridge in Rome has attracted some mature lovers from foreign lands as well. “A 60-year-old couple from Australia came and placed a lock too,” grins a local pub owner.
Sadly, there are some broken-hearted lovers who haunt the old bridge. A man at a local hardware store – who does a thriving business selling locks to the many lovesick couples that flock to this area – recounts: “This poor guy came in here one day. His girlfriend had left him and he wanted to break the lock. The first pair of pliers didn’t work, so he walked up and down several times, trying different things.” He laughs. “He was determined to break that lock! It took him a while but in the end he succeeded.”
Among its many suitors, Ponte Milvio can now also boast the attentions of the Rome city council, which is holding a Valentine’s day competition and has aptly decided to centre it around Ponte Milvio. Simply send an unashamedly romantic sms or e-mail and “the fairest of all” messages will win a shining gold lock to attach to the lamp post.
(Unquote)]]>
Mass pillow fighttag:aonori.net,2007:/english//7.28782007-02-27T07:55:33Z2007-02-27T07:57:11ZNew Yorkers enjoyed a massive public pil...
New Yorkers enjoyed a massive public pillow fight…
Mass pillow fight
Feb. 26 - New Yorkers brought forth their inner child with vengeance in a massive public pillow fight in the heart of the city.
Hundreds gathered to take part, pounding each other with soft pillows, amid clouds of fluffy feathers shining in the sun.
The rules for the Union Square pillow fight were simple - swing lightly and don't go for people without pillows and or holding cameras. But at the dead center of the pillow fight maelstrom, the swing lightly rule seemed to fly away with the feathers emerging from the spent pillows, as New Yorkers beat away their winter blues.
(Unquote)]]>
Man aged 107 forsakes sex for longevitytag:aonori.net,2007:/english//7.28762007-02-26T15:06:32Z2007-02-26T15:11:42ZIt is reported that A 107-year-old Hong ...
It is reported that A 107-year-old Hong Kong man told the reason of his longevity to the local paper.
Man aged 107 forsakes sex for longevity | Oddly Enough | Reuters
Sun Feb 25, 2007 5:59AM GMT
HONG KONG (Reuters) - A 107-year-old Hong Kong villager, who still enjoys an occasional smoke, has attributed his longevity in part to decades of sexual abstinence, a newspaper said on Sunday.
"I don't know why I have lived this long," Chan Chi -- one of Hong Kong's oldest people -- was quoted as saying in the South China Morning Post during an annual feast for the city's elders.
"Maybe it has to do with the fact that I have lived a sex-less life for many years -- since I was 30," said Chan, a widower whose youthful bride perished during the Japanese invasion in World War Two.
Chan, from Hong Kong's less built-up New Territories hinterland, was pictured looking sprightly and eating heartily at the banquet.
A former chef, he said a low-fat diet and regular dawn exercises had helped him fight off the ravages of old age.
But the centenarian, who's had no difficulty living a monastic existence for nearly 80 years, admits the pleasures of tobacco have been harder to resist.
"Now I want to quit," he was quoted as saying of his decades-long cigarette addiction. "Maybe the government should ban cigarette sales so I can give it up," he added.
(Quote)]]>
Don't invite us to your weddingtag:aonori.net,2007:/english//7.28722007-02-23T08:33:55Z2007-02-26T15:12:17ZIt is reported that an Argentine couple ...
It is reported that an Argentine couple took out a paid announcement on the social pages of a major newspaper expressing their desire for some social neglect.
Couple says please don't invite us to your wedding | Oddly Enough | Reuters
Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:09PM GMT
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Fed up with spending too many weekends going to weddings, an Argentine couple took out a paid announcement on the social pages of a major newspaper expressing their desire for some social neglect.
"We thank you ahead of time for understanding this petition, which is due to our saturated social calendar," read the ad in La Nacion.
Adolfo Caballero, 66, told a La Nacion reporter the flood of invitations came from the children of his dozens of cousins, friends from his club, and clients of his law firm.
Argentine weddings are typically drawn-out affairs and Caballero said they take 12 hours out of most of his weekends, including long drives to and from the countryside, where it is currently fashionable to get married.
"It's fun for youngsters who want to dance until 5 a.m. ... but the next day I'm tired and I can't move when I want to go play tennis," Caballero said.
(Unquote)
In fact, I was fed up with spending many weekends going to weddings when I was at 20's and early 30's.
It was tough to show my smile to newly wed couples despite that I thought it was troublesome at heart.
On top of that, it was fine when those who got married were classmates or colleagues around the same age, however, as I grew older, those who got married got to be younger couples, to whom I had to pay considerable amount of money while I had gotten any…
Now that I became 40, most friends whether they were around the same age or younger, the marriage rush was over. And I am not invited to any weddings these days.
Some invitation is for their 2nd (or more) marriage, though I got never done.
I want to say to the Argentine couple not to break loose.
I have been left alone while I have never taken out a paid announcement on the social pages of a major newspaper…]]>
Sex in fast lane halts traffictag:aonori.net,2007:/english//7.28642007-02-20T00:44:32Z2007-02-26T15:12:34ZAs an Israeli couple had sex inside the ...
As an Israeli couple had sex inside the car in the middle of highway, it is reported that severe congestion was made.
Sex in fast lane halts traffic on Israeli road - Yahoo! News
Sun Feb 18, 10:54 AM ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli police investigating why a car was blocking traffic in the fast lane of a major highway on Sunday found a couple inside having sex.
A police spokesman said the female driver and her male passenger gave in to their passions without pulling over to the side of the road, causing congestion and leaving other motorists having to swerve to dodge their stationary vehicle.
A patrolman gave the woman a ticket for holding up traffic.
(Unquote)]]>
Speeding fine? Just switch the road signtag:aonori.net,2006:/english//7.12692006-07-05T20:53:51Z2007-01-31T12:52:37ZThis is an epoch-making way to avoid pay...
This is an epoch-making way to avoid payment when given a speeding fine.
(Quote)
Speeding fine? Just switch the road sign?|?Oddly Enough?|?Reuters.co.uk
LONDON (Reuters) - Motorist John Hopwood concocted a novel scheme to avoid payment when he was given a speeding fine -- simply switch the road signs.
Hopwood, 44, had been snapped by a speed camera breaking the 30 miles per hour limit.
So he went to a 40 mph area, removed a red "40" warning sign, drove back to the 30 mph area, attached it to a lamp post and took a photo as "proof" that his offence of driving at 48 mph had not been so bad.
However, suspicion soon arose when other drivers started querying the sign.
"This was a stupid act, bound to fail," Judge Anthony Ensor at Manchester Crown Court was quoted by media as telling Hopwood, who admitted trying to pervert justice.
He was ordered on Tuesday to serve an intermittent custodial sentence of 28 weeks which requires him to spend his weekends behind bars and told to pay 2,763 pounds in legal costs.
(Unquote)]]>
Japanese look to export octopus dumplingstag:aonori.net,2006:/english//7.12682006-07-05T20:00:13Z2007-01-31T12:55:31ZTakoyaki, or octopus dumplings, is going...
Takoyaki, or octopus dumplings, is going abroad.
Although I have visited many countries around the world, I have not had much trouble in eating Japanese foods. Big cities in the world have many Japanese restaurants. However, most of those restaurants offer expensive cuisines like sushi, tempura, or others. So, people in the world think that Japanese foods are expensive and they and we have to pay lots of money to have Japanese food outside Japan. If we, Japanese pay such money for food, we should be naked as we can not afford to buy cloths just to eat.
Now, takoyaki or other lowbrow Japanese chows are going abroad.
I hope that they will be successful. And I like to eat cheaper Japanese foods outside Japan.
(Quote)
Japanese look to export octopus dumplings - Yahoo! News
Sun Jun 25, 3:49 PM ET
TOKYO - If Morio Sase has his way, hungry teenagers around the world will soon be snacking on something more exotic than McDonald's hamburgers: takoyaki, or octopus dumplings.
With more than 350 takeout stores in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan already, Sase's Gindaco chain is one of a barrage of fast-food companies bringing lowbrow Japanese chow to overseas markets. Its first U.S. store is scheduled to open in Los Angeles in 2007, and it hopes to open 20 stores in California by 2010.
"When I was a small boy, it was street food that made me feel good and warm inside," Sase said at a recent interview at the Tokyo headquarters of HotLand Corp., which runs Gindaco.
Hand-grilled in iron molds by cooks behind a large display window, the octopus dumplings are made from wheat flour paste mixed with fish stock, spring onions and boiled octopus chunks, and drizzled with a sweet sauce, dried bonito flakes and seaweed.
"Foods like takoyaki are closer to Japanese hearts than sushi or sashimi," Sase said. "They're delicious, healthy and warm — the perfect snack."
Faced with uncertain demand for fast food as Japan's population ages, an increasing number of the nation's chains are looking overseas for new markets.
Government figures show nearly one in five Japanese were aged 65 or older in 2004, and the domestic food restaurant market has declined for seven straight years since 1998, according to the Food Service Industry Research Center.
One of the first Japanese fast food chains to head overseas was the beef bowl chain Yoshinoya D&C Co. Since its first U.S. store in Denver in 1975, Yoshinoya's American network has grown to 82 eateries in California and New York.
Last year, those eateries raked in about $77.3 million in sales for a profit of $2.5 million — still a fraction of its overall earnings. It expects sales to grow to $78.9 million in 2006.
"We initially had to tackle a preconception of Japanese food as haute cuisine, especially in America," said Yasunori Yoshimura, a spokesman for Yoshinoya in Tokyo.
A far cry from pricey, elegant sushi, a regular bowl of the grilled beef over rice sells for $3.18 at U.S. stores.
"We're convinced whatever people find tasty in Japan, people anywhere would find tasty," he said.
Both Gindaco and Yoshinoya hope to emulate the success of other Asian fast food chains like Panda Restaurant Group Inc.'s Panda Express chain, which serves Chinese food at over 800 eateries in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Japan.
And they have a good chance, analysts say.
"There's definitely an Asian food boom in the U.S. at the moment" which Gindaco could use to its advantage, said Maria Caranfa, a food industry analyst at the Chicago-based consumer research company, Mintel Group.
A study by research company MarketResearch.com found that total Asian and Indian food retail sales across all sectors — from ethnic markets to convenience stores — jumped 27.3 percent to $3.3 billion between 2000 and 2004.
The U.S. fast food industry as a whole continues to expand, which means plenty of opportunities for newcomers, Caranfa said. The National Restaurant Association forecasts that quick-service restaurants in the U.S. will reach $142 billion in sales in 2006, up 5 percent from the previous year.
Moreover, Caranfa says younger age groups — major fast food consumers — are especially keen to try new flavors.
"We're finding that American teenagers and younger consumers are more adventurous with their food choices than their parents might be," Caranfa said. "I do think even octopus could catch on."
Part of the fun of the octopus dumplings is watching them being cooked. It takes the chefs months to learn to grill the takoyaki to a crisp golden brown on the outside, while keeping the inside soft and fluffy, according to Makoto Takasu, who heads Gindaco's operations in Hong Kong.
"Everybody who tries them loves them, even those who feel squeamish about octopus," Takasu said of takoyaki. "And our customers love watching the cooks. They know their food is fresh off the grill."
Other Japanese chains going global include Shigemitsu Industry Co.'s noodles-in-soup restaurant, Ajisen Ramen — whose network now includes stores in China, Southeast Asia, Australia, the U.S. and Canada — and the Japanese beef-and-vegetable dumplings giant Osho Food Service Corp., which opened its first overseas store in China in 2005.
Another is the Tokyo-based Koots Green Tea chain, which opened its first overseas store in Seattle in May, hoping to tap the U.S. cafe market with a lineup that includes green tea lattes and smoothies.
"Koots translates traditional Japanese green tea culture into an everyday experience for U.S. consumers," said Tomoko Takahashi, a spokesman for Koots in Tokyo. The company intends to open four more stores in Washington state this year.
And Beard Papa, a cream puff store chain run by Japan's Muginoho Corp., has opened popular outlets in New York and San Francisco.
Sase and his staff at Gindaco say they've struck a winning formula with their octopus balls and don't intend to change a single ingredient for their overseas customers. And if overseas expansion goes as planned, HotLand expects its overseas sales to reach $89 million by 2010, about the same as its current domestic sales.
To woo octopus skeptics, U.S. stores may feature additional entertainment, says Yohei Miki, who heads the company's overseas operations.
"We're thinking of getting our cooks to chop the spring onions using Japanese swords," Miki chuckled. "You know the Americans, they love attractions."
(Unquote)]]>
Estonians reign at wife-carrying championshipstag:panchodeaonori.sakura.ne.jp,2006:/aonori/english//7.12672006-07-03T12:05:24Z2007-01-31T13:46:45ZAn Estonian couple won the gold medal of...
An Estonian couple won the gold medal of the world wife-carrying championships.
This seems a very funny event held every year in Finland.
The winner is 26 years old and this is his 5th world-championship.
His wife, who was carried on his back, is 19.
How can it be his 5th world-championship? Did she get married at 14?
Now my question is how many wives he had changed during these 5 wins? He may try to have less weighted wife to continue winning the championship, I wonder…
(Related Entry)
The Way AONORI Sees It: Bride is married in weight
(Quote)
Estonians reign at wife-carrying championships?|?Reuters.com
SONKAJARVI, Finland (Reuters) - Finishing upside down clinging to a man's back may not be the most graceful way of winning gold, but it sure helped Sandra Kullas and Margo Uusorg to the world wife-carrying crown on Saturday.
The Estonians were among 40 pairs from eight countries who competed in the annual event in Sonkajarvi, in central Finland.
They raced along a 250-meter track, complete with pools and hurdles, with the men running or walking and carrying the women on their backs.
The championship, being held for the 11th time, evokes the legend of robber Rosvo-Ronkainen who made people trying to join his gang run through a forest carrying heavy sacks.
Uusorg, 26, finished in 56.9 seconds, a world record, while Kullas, 19, clung to his back upside down with her legs around his neck. They beat Uusorg's bother Madis by 3 seconds.
"I was a bit nervous before the start, but when I started running it felt fine," Margo Uusorg said after the race. "I wanted to jump over the hurdles, but I was afraid I might fall and get penalty seconds."
It was Uusorg's fifth world-championship and he said it might be his last.
The winning Estonians received laptop computers and Kullas' weight, 49 kg, in beer.
(Unquote)]]>
Dell laptop explodes at Japanese conferencetag:aonori.net,2006:/english//7.12662006-06-30T16:06:48Z2007-01-31T13:45:16ZAccording to INQUIRER, a laptop computer...
According to INQUIRER, a laptop computer suddenly exploded into flames at a conference in Osaka, Japan.
It is quite funny as this news has not been reported within Japan, even though the accident happened in Japan… Only the news I found in Japanese is the translation of Dell’s announcement from New York by Reuters to investigate into the very computer.
Anyway, I will avoid using any laptop computer on my lap…
(Quote)
Dell laptop explodes at Japanese conference
INQ reader's amazing snaps
By INQUIRER newsdesk:
AN INQUIRER READER attending a conference in Japan was sat just feet away from a laptop computer that suddenly exploded into flames, in what could have been a deadly accident.
Gaston, our astonished reader reports: "The damn thing was on fire and produced several explosions for more than five minutes".
Should you witness such an event, his advice is, "Don't try anything courageous/stupid, stay away, away, away!"
"For the record, this is a Dell machine," notes Gaston. "It is only a matter of time until such an incident breaks out on a plane," he suggests.
Our witness managed to catch all the action in these amazing pictures.
"Fire extinguishers leave a mess on your suit and belongings; pack your stuff (if you can) and leave, leave, leave!" he advises.
We don't have any further details of the model of the computer in question. In light of the evidence, however, we'd suggest you avoid actually using a laptop on your lap. Ouch.
(Unquote)]]>
Naked protest in Braziltag:aonori.net,2006:/english//7.12652006-06-29T18:31:52Z2007-01-31T13:37:15ZThree Brazilian men walked around the ci...
Three Brazilian men walked around the city naked to protest against football.
They tried to protest against the situation that the whole country stops when Brazil plays at the World Cup.
As a result, nobody cared as they were busy watching the game…
I am not sure whether this country is happy or not…
(Quote)
Ananova - Naked protest in Brazil
Three men have staged a naked protest in Brazil - against football.
They walked round the city naked while locals watched Brazil's match against Ghana.
The men staged their protest as they disagree with how "the whole country stops to watch the football matches at the World Cup but meanwhile the enourmous problems Brazil has in lack of education and health keep getting stronger."
A local police spokesperson said: "Someone called us to check this out but it was not a violent crime and we were watching the match so we decided not to do anything about it.
"They only wanted to get attention, but they couldn't even get this as everyone was watching the match."
(Unquote)]]>
Roofer mistaken for jumpertag:panchodeaonori.sakura.ne.jp,2006:/aonori/english//7.12642006-06-29T12:08:12Z2007-01-31T13:35:21ZA German roofer was mistaken as a potent...
A German roofer was mistaken as a potential suicide jumper.
Ananova - Roofer mistaken for jumper
A German roofer is facing a big bill after emergency services mistook him for a potential suicide jumper.
Police sealed off a busy main road and called out the fire brigade and negotiators to talk to Dieter Holmblutter, 30, who was on the roof of a five storey building in Saarbruecken.
But the roofer was so busy talking on the phone to his girlfriend he failed to notice the commotion below until she asked him what the sirens were for.
Once the mistake was realised, emergency services left the roofer to finish preparing his estimate.
But officials say he will be presented with the bill for wasting their time - reported to be several thousand pounds.
(Unquote)]]>
Frankly speaking, I have no objection to what kind of actions loves take for their eternal love.
The reason why I was surprised is that such "Legend of Padlock" has been very popular in Japan. However, I have thought the legend had come from the Western World...
Judging from the article such custom has been spread recently by the Federico Moccia's book published recently. That is, the history of the legend is not so long.
However, Japanese, having full of spirit of modesty and never claiming anything loud, may lose the chance that the legend is originally from Japan...
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Speeding fine? Just switch the road sign?|?Oddly Enough?|?Reuters.co.uk
LONDON (Reuters) - Motorist John Hopwood concocted a novel scheme to avoid payment when he was given a speeding fine -- simply switch the road signs.
Hopwood, 44, had been snapped by a speed camera breaking the 30 miles per hour limit.
So he went to a 40 mph area, removed a red "40" warning sign, drove back to the 30 mph area, attached it to a lamp post and took a photo as "proof" that his offence of driving at 48 mph had not been so bad.
However, suspicion soon arose when other drivers started querying the sign.
"This was a stupid act, bound to fail," Judge Anthony Ensor at Manchester Crown Court was quoted by media as telling Hopwood, who admitted trying to pervert justice.
He was ordered on Tuesday to serve an intermittent custodial sentence of 28 weeks which requires him to spend his weekends behind bars and told to pay 2,763 pounds in legal costs.
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Although I have visited many countries around the world, I have not had much trouble in eating Japanese foods. Big cities in the world have many Japanese restaurants. However, most of those restaurants offer expensive cuisines like sushi, tempura, or others. So, people in the world think that Japanese foods are expensive and they and we have to pay lots of money to have Japanese food outside Japan. If we, Japanese pay such money for food, we should be naked as we can not afford to buy cloths just to eat.
Now, takoyaki or other lowbrow Japanese chows are going abroad.
I hope that they will be successful. And I like to eat cheaper Japanese foods outside Japan.
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Japanese look to export octopus dumplings - Yahoo! News
Sun Jun 25, 3:49 PM ET
TOKYO - If Morio Sase has his way, hungry teenagers around the world will soon be snacking on something more exotic than McDonald's hamburgers: takoyaki, or octopus dumplings.
With more than 350 takeout stores in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan already, Sase's Gindaco chain is one of a barrage of fast-food companies bringing lowbrow Japanese chow to overseas markets. Its first U.S. store is scheduled to open in Los Angeles in 2007, and it hopes to open 20 stores in California by 2010.
"When I was a small boy, it was street food that made me feel good and warm inside," Sase said at a recent interview at the Tokyo headquarters of HotLand Corp., which runs Gindaco.
Hand-grilled in iron molds by cooks behind a large display window, the octopus dumplings are made from wheat flour paste mixed with fish stock, spring onions and boiled octopus chunks, and drizzled with a sweet sauce, dried bonito flakes and seaweed.
"Foods like takoyaki are closer to Japanese hearts than sushi or sashimi," Sase said. "They're delicious, healthy and warm — the perfect snack."
Faced with uncertain demand for fast food as Japan's population ages, an increasing number of the nation's chains are looking overseas for new markets.
Government figures show nearly one in five Japanese were aged 65 or older in 2004, and the domestic food restaurant market has declined for seven straight years since 1998, according to the Food Service Industry Research Center.
One of the first Japanese fast food chains to head overseas was the beef bowl chain Yoshinoya D&C Co. Since its first U.S. store in Denver in 1975, Yoshinoya's American network has grown to 82 eateries in California and New York.
Last year, those eateries raked in about $77.3 million in sales for a profit of $2.5 million — still a fraction of its overall earnings. It expects sales to grow to $78.9 million in 2006.
"We initially had to tackle a preconception of Japanese food as haute cuisine, especially in America," said Yasunori Yoshimura, a spokesman for Yoshinoya in Tokyo.
A far cry from pricey, elegant sushi, a regular bowl of the grilled beef over rice sells for $3.18 at U.S. stores.
"We're convinced whatever people find tasty in Japan, people anywhere would find tasty," he said.
Both Gindaco and Yoshinoya hope to emulate the success of other Asian fast food chains like Panda Restaurant Group Inc.'s Panda Express chain, which serves Chinese food at over 800 eateries in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Japan.
And they have a good chance, analysts say.
"There's definitely an Asian food boom in the U.S. at the moment" which Gindaco could use to its advantage, said Maria Caranfa, a food industry analyst at the Chicago-based consumer research company, Mintel Group.
A study by research company MarketResearch.com found that total Asian and Indian food retail sales across all sectors — from ethnic markets to convenience stores — jumped 27.3 percent to $3.3 billion between 2000 and 2004.
The U.S. fast food industry as a whole continues to expand, which means plenty of opportunities for newcomers, Caranfa said. The National Restaurant Association forecasts that quick-service restaurants in the U.S. will reach $142 billion in sales in 2006, up 5 percent from the previous year.
Moreover, Caranfa says younger age groups — major fast food consumers — are especially keen to try new flavors.
"We're finding that American teenagers and younger consumers are more adventurous with their food choices than their parents might be," Caranfa said. "I do think even octopus could catch on."
Part of the fun of the octopus dumplings is watching them being cooked. It takes the chefs months to learn to grill the takoyaki to a crisp golden brown on the outside, while keeping the inside soft and fluffy, according to Makoto Takasu, who heads Gindaco's operations in Hong Kong.
"Everybody who tries them loves them, even those who feel squeamish about octopus," Takasu said of takoyaki. "And our customers love watching the cooks. They know their food is fresh off the grill."
Other Japanese chains going global include Shigemitsu Industry Co.'s noodles-in-soup restaurant, Ajisen Ramen — whose network now includes stores in China, Southeast Asia, Australia, the U.S. and Canada — and the Japanese beef-and-vegetable dumplings giant Osho Food Service Corp., which opened its first overseas store in China in 2005.
Another is the Tokyo-based Koots Green Tea chain, which opened its first overseas store in Seattle in May, hoping to tap the U.S. cafe market with a lineup that includes green tea lattes and smoothies.
"Koots translates traditional Japanese green tea culture into an everyday experience for U.S. consumers," said Tomoko Takahashi, a spokesman for Koots in Tokyo. The company intends to open four more stores in Washington state this year.
And Beard Papa, a cream puff store chain run by Japan's Muginoho Corp., has opened popular outlets in New York and San Francisco.
Sase and his staff at Gindaco say they've struck a winning formula with their octopus balls and don't intend to change a single ingredient for their overseas customers. And if overseas expansion goes as planned, HotLand expects its overseas sales to reach $89 million by 2010, about the same as its current domestic sales.
To woo octopus skeptics, U.S. stores may feature additional entertainment, says Yohei Miki, who heads the company's overseas operations.
"We're thinking of getting our cooks to chop the spring onions using Japanese swords," Miki chuckled. "You know the Americans, they love attractions."
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The winner is 26 years old and this is his 5th world-championship.
His wife, who was carried on his back, is 19.
How can it be his 5th world-championship? Did she get married at 14?
Now my question is how many wives he had changed during these 5 wins? He may try to have less weighted wife to continue winning the championship, I wonder…
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The Way AONORI Sees It: Bride is married in weight
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Estonians reign at wife-carrying championships?|?Reuters.com
SONKAJARVI, Finland (Reuters) - Finishing upside down clinging to a man's back may not be the most graceful way of winning gold, but it sure helped Sandra Kullas and Margo Uusorg to the world wife-carrying crown on Saturday.
The Estonians were among 40 pairs from eight countries who competed in the annual event in Sonkajarvi, in central Finland.
They raced along a 250-meter track, complete with pools and hurdles, with the men running or walking and carrying the women on their backs.
The championship, being held for the 11th time, evokes the legend of robber Rosvo-Ronkainen who made people trying to join his gang run through a forest carrying heavy sacks.
Uusorg, 26, finished in 56.9 seconds, a world record, while Kullas, 19, clung to his back upside down with her legs around his neck. They beat Uusorg's bother Madis by 3 seconds.
"I was a bit nervous before the start, but when I started running it felt fine," Margo Uusorg said after the race. "I wanted to jump over the hurdles, but I was afraid I might fall and get penalty seconds."
It was Uusorg's fifth world-championship and he said it might be his last.
The winning Estonians received laptop computers and Kullas' weight, 49 kg, in beer.
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They tried to protest against the situation that the whole country stops when Brazil plays at the World Cup.
As a result, nobody cared as they were busy watching the game…
I am not sure whether this country is happy or not…
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Ananova - Naked protest in Brazil
Three men have staged a naked protest in Brazil - against football.
They walked round the city naked while locals watched Brazil's match against Ghana.
The men staged their protest as they disagree with how "the whole country stops to watch the football matches at the World Cup but meanwhile the enourmous problems Brazil has in lack of education and health keep getting stronger."
A local police spokesperson said: "Someone called us to check this out but it was not a violent crime and we were watching the match so we decided not to do anything about it.
"They only wanted to get attention, but they couldn't even get this as everyone was watching the match."
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