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Oddball
Babbling baby bats in the belfry
Jul 28, 2006
Babbling bouts of barks by baby bats. It's not a tongue-twister; it's the first example of infant vocalisation in non-primate mammals.
In human infants, babbling has an important role in language acquisition, developing the vocal tract and associated musculature. Similar behaviour is seen in other primates and some songbirds.
Now a team led by Otto von Helversen at the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, has recorded infant babbling in sac-winged bat pups (Saccopteryx bilineata), a species with an unusually large vocal repertoire.
The pups, aged 4 to 8 weeks, uttered renditions of all known adult vocalisations, including barks, chatters and screeches (Naturwissenschaften, DOI: 10.1007/s00114-006-0127-9).
A lack of social context implies the pups babble for vocal training rather than communication.
Full story: New Scientist
Crop circle shows location of alien maize
Jul 27, 2006
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| A crop circle X marks location of commercial GE maize fields in France. French courts want the locations kept secret. Photo: Greenpeace / Pierre Gleizes |
If you fly over the south of France you might be tempted to believe that aliens have landed with a huge crop circle appearing in a field of maize. But the aliens aren't from a distant galaxy; it is GE maize from the laboratory of Monsanto -- that the French government says you have no right to know about.
A French court has ordered Greenpeace France to remove a webpage featuring a Google Map showing the location of commercial GE maize fields in France -- despite an EU law which says the government should make the information available to the public.
So today we have responded by carving a giant 'X' crop circle into one of the GE maize fields in question, marking the spot of the GE maize field that is now censored from Greenpeace Frances' webpage.
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Artist afraid of women presidents who are able to have sex
Jul 27, 2006
The Museum of Sex in New York will be exhibiting a sculpture of Hillary Clinton to spark dialog about female sexuality and power in American culture.
Artist Daniel Edwards describes this new sculpture as capturing Clinton "with her head held high, a youthful spirit and a face matured by wisdom. Presented in a low cut gown, her cleavage is on display prominently portraying sexual power which some people still consider too threatening."
Edwards' inspiration for the piece was derived from actress Sharon Stone's controversial quote earlier in the year about challenges that would most likely be encountered should the Junior Senator from New York run on the '08 ticket. "I think Hillary Clinton is fantastic," Stone said. "But I think it is too soon for her to run. This may sound odd but a woman should be past her sexuality when she runs. Hillary still has sexual power and I don't think people will accept that. It's too threatening."
Full story: Wired.com
Venician gondoliers reminded they are not in Las Vegas
Jul 27, 2006
THE gondoliers of Venice have been told to strip their craft of "kitsch and glitz" and restore their original elegantly austere and predominantly black 16th-century look.
The Venetian Gondoliers' Association, backed by the city council, has issued guidelines telling its members to remove plush multicoloured cushions, garish rugs, phosphorescent paint, fairy lights and other "tacky and tasteless" decoration and ornamentation.
Roberto Luppi, the head of the association, said that most of his members agreed that efforts to attract tourists had gone too far.
"I'm glad tradition has prevailed," he said. "It shows that gondoliers are serious about keeping up the high standards of our calling. Clients often prefer a flamboyant craft but the gondola has a history and characteristics that must be upheld."
He added: "At one time it would not have been necessary to issue such rules; they were implicitly obeyed. It was a question of culture. But times change.
"We have to remind everyone that this is Venice, not Las Vegas."
Full story: The Times UK
It's a sin to buy cars in Rhode Island on Sundays
Jul 27, 2006
A judge has upheld a decades-old Rhode Island law banning the sale of automobiles on Sundays.
Five auto dealerships had challenged the ban, considered a vestige of Rhode Island's so-called "blue laws." The dealers argued that a 2005 law lifting Sunday sales restrictions for other retailers should apply to them as well.
They also said Sunday was no longer universally considered a day of rest.
But Superior Court Judge Susan McGuirl rejected their arguments Tuesday, saying the 1950 Motor Vehicle Law -- which contained the prohibition -- trumped the law passed last year by the General Assembly.
Full story: Boston.com
Miss Indonesia under fire over 'insulting' swimsuit parade
Jul 26, 2006
A militant Islamic group has filed a police report against Indonesia's Miss Universe candidate, accusing her of indecency.
Nadine Chandrawinata's participation in the contest and display of her body in a swimsuit "is actually insulting for Indonesian dignity and women", Islamic Defenders Front lawyer Sugito said yesterday.
Ms Chandrawinata did not make it to the competition's final in Los Angeles on Sunday, which was won by Miss Puerto Rico, but she had drawn heavy media coverage in Indonesia.
Mr Sugito said the Islamic Defenders Front had also filed complaints against four people involved in sponsoring and organising Ms Chandrawinata's participation.
Under Indonesian law, police would have to investigate whether there was sufficient evidence for a case under the complaint, and if so, turn their findings over to prosecutors for a decision on whether it merited going to court.
The offences carried potential sentences ranging from two to six years in jail, Mr Sugito said. The posing requirements of the competition offended the standards not just of Islam but of other religions, he said.
A government decree against participation in beauty contests issued when strongman Suharto was president is still technically in effect in Indonesia, although in practice it has been disregarded since he lost power in 1998.
Full story: The Age Australia
Flower police raids garden
Jul 26, 2006
Residents of a Newton County subdivision are reading the fine print of their homeowners association agreements these days. One woman says a neighbor tore up her front yard by pulling out all of her silk flowers!
Carolyn Freeman planted silk flowers in her front yard to save water and money. She also thought they made her house look nice. But Freeman said apparently her neighbor and the homeowners association didn't think so - so she says her neighbor came over and pulled them out.
She says her neighbor, Penny Boker, who is also co-captain of the Ellington Homeowners Association, ripped them out and tore up her front yard because the flowers were detrimental to the property's value.
The president of the community management company tells Channel 2 that although nothing about silk flowers is written in the covenant, the homeowners association has aesthetic rights which are implied rights to maintain their property value.
Ms. Boker was arrested for criminal trespass in this incident but was released on bond.
Full story: WSBTV
Moron mails python in package labelled "glass"
Jul 26, 2006
A woman caused panic in a German post office when a 1.5m (5ft) albino python snake she was trying to send through the mail broke free of its packaging.
The 28-year-old woman had sold the snake over the internet and was mailing it to its new owner labelled "glass".
"Staff accepted the package and put it in the back of the office - they had no idea what it was," police said.
"All of a sudden, they noticed that it started moving around and then saw a big snake wriggling out of it."
It is not illegal for people to send snakes via mail, but the woman will be investigated by police over a mistreatment of animals charge.
Full story: BBC News
Scotty ready to be beamed up
Jul 26, 2006
The cremated remains of James Doohan, who played Scotty, the chief engineer on the Starship Enterprise, in Star Trek, will be sent to space in October. The actor died a year ago at the age of 85. Space Services, the Houston-based organiser of the flight, will offer the service in China. "With the growth of its space programme, people here . . . will find space an appropriate venue for memorial services," Charles Chafer, head of the company, said in Beijing.
Full story: The Times UK
Tiresome toilet
Jul 26, 2006
A tire flew off a eastbound big rig Monday afternoon on Interstate 80 rolled and bounced for a quarter-mile before smashing through the glass door of a vacant office and ending up in a toilet, the California Highway Patrol reported.
No one was injured, the CHP said.
Full story: Sacramento Bee
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