New posting schedule

Now that I've got this new full-time job, I'll be posting in this blog twice a week - on Monday's and Wednesdays.

So the next post for this blog will be on Monday.

Thanks for your patience.

Posts resume this Wednesday

I'm a freelance writer and I am way behind on a job I have to do, so I won't be posting here until Wednesday..

Thanks for your patience!

Pope's fish pond inspires Vatican children's book

From the Hindustan Times: Pope's fish pond inspires Vatican children's book

A pond where Pope Benedict XVI likes to pray and feed the fish has inspired a new children's book published by the Vatican on Wednesday that his closest aide described as a window into the pope's soul.
"The Mystery of the Little Pond" tells the story of a young goldfish and his fondness for "the man in white" who feeds him bread during the summer months when Benedict stays at his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo near Rome.
The pond, which is set in some ancient Roman ruins on the grounds of the palace, also features a statue of the Virgin Mary -- described by the goldfish in the book as "a very important woman" when he sees her reflection.
"You can discover the Holy Father's soul in this pond," Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, the head of the papal household and personal secretary to the nature-loving pope, said at a presentation of the book near St Peter's Square.
"The message is between the lines. I recommend parents read this book aloud to their children and they will discover the mystery of the pope," he said.
The 24-page book is by Russian-born Natalia Tsarkova, the official portrait artist of the Vatican, who wrote the text and painted the illustrations.
The back cover of the book, which is only available in Italian for the moment, features a photograph of the pope feeding the fish at the pond.
The book also won endorsements from Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums, and Saverio Petrillo, the manager of Castel Gandolfo, who said the peaceful pond had been a place of prayer for several past popes.
Petrillo said John Paul II in particular was fond of the place but not all of Benedict's predecessors showed the same love for animals as Benedict -- Paul VI (1963-1978) had to be persuaded not to eat the frogs from the pond.

Valuable WWII Gun at Police Buy-Back

From ABC News:  Valuable WWII Gun at Police Buy-Back

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(Image credit: NECN) 

Just like a scene out of "Antiques Roadshow," a woman in Hartford, Conn., turned in an old rifle to her local police station's gun buy-back, only to discover the gun was worth anywhere from $20,000 to $25,000. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, inherited the gun from her father who had brought it home with him from Europe as a memento from World War II.

The two officers conducting the gun buy-back, who are resident gun experts for the Hartford Police Department, informed the owner she was in possession of a Nazi Assault Rifle, the first of its kind, that dates back to 1944.

The gun is called a Sturmgewehr 44, literally meaning "storm rifle," and is the first "modern assault rifle ever made, eventually replaced by the AK 47 in 1947 by Russia, who copied the German design of the Sturmgewehr 44," Officer Lewis Crabtree, one of the two officers who discovered the gun, told ABC News.

"It's like finding the Babe Ruth of baseball cards," said Officer John Cavanna. "The rarity, it was made for such a very short period."

Most people, however, who aren't avid gun fans would have no idea what role this gun played in history.

"If you were to look at the gun and didn't know anything about guns, you would think it was garbage," Crabtree said.

That is essentially what the owner thought the gun was, bringing it to the station knowing full well it would be put into a smelter, melting the gun down into an iron brick.

"People turn in guns for a variety of reasons," Cavanna told ABC. "They don't have a good way to secure it, they have kids around their home, or they don't know how to use it. This is an anonymous way for someone to take an unwanted firearm and get it off the streets. We then give them a $50 or $100 gift card to Wal-Mart."

Crabtree attributes gun accidents to ignorance and carelessness. The anonymous gun buy-back program is aimed at preventing people from running into potentially dangerous situations with a gun they don't know how to use or work.

This seems to be the reason the woman who dropped off the historic rifle.

"Her father passed away. The gun was in her closet," Cavanna said. "She did not know it was a machine gun.

"If the gun had been in the closet loaded, any second you could hit the wrong level and discharge a fatal round," he said of the Sturmgewehr 44.

This German-made machine gun can fire 500 rounds in minutes, according to Cavanna, who is also a gun range master.

At the time the officers received the gun, it was in such disrepair that it was inoperable, unable to shoot a bullet even if the gun had been loaded. Cavanna said ammunition would have to be especially made for this gun.

The unnamed owner of the gun has left the valuable artifact at the police station for safe keeping.

"We did not take the gun in for the gun buy-back program," Crabtree said. "If we took it as part of the buy-back, we would have no choice but to destroy the gun. We don't want to destroy that gun."

The owner intends to sell the Sturmgewehr 44.

"It sounds like her family could use the money," Cavanna said.

 

WWII era plane found at bottom of lake

From WZZM31: WWII era plane found at bottom of lake

CHICAGO (WFLD/CNN) -- On this 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, a World War II-era plane has been brought back to the surface of Lake Michigan on Friday.
The plane has been lying on the bottom of the lake for nearly 70 years. The Naval Aviation Museum Foundation is sponsoring the recovery.
The aircraft crashed during training near Waukegan, IL in December 1944.

World War II-era plan found at the bottom of Lake Michigan. (Courtesy: WFLD/CNN)

 

Belize archeologist sues over Indiana Jones skull

This is just another example of why you'll never see a poor lawyer. This lawsuit against a movie using a REPLICA of a skull has no merit, yet there's actually a lawyer who is taking the case - and you may be sure he's being paid big bucks  - and a judge somewhere who said, "Ah, sure, we'll let you take this to court. You might be able to get a settlement from the movie folk (because settling is cheaper than fighting this ridiculous thing, because they still ahve to pay *their* lawyers)  and it's just ridiculous!

From Google News: Belize archeologist sues over Indiana Jones skull

LOS ANGELES — A Belize archeologist is suing the makers of a blockbuster "Indiana Jones" film for using a likeness of a so-called Crystal Skull, which he says is a stolen national treasure.
Dr. Jaime Awe claims the skull was stolen from Belize 88 years ago, and that filmmakers had no right to use a model of it in 2008's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," according to the Hollywood Reporter.
In a lawsuit filed in Illinois this week, Awe is demanding the return of the Crystal Skull, which he says is a national treasure, from a treasure-hunting family who allegedly stole it, said the industry journal Friday.
But the legal action also targets Lucasfilm, its new owner the Walt Disney Co. and Paramount Pictures which released the film by Steven Spielberg, for allegedly using a replica "likeness" of the skull.
Awe, head of the Institute of Archeology of Belize, claims that the skull was found by the daughter of an adventurer named F.A. Mitchell-Hedges under a collapsed altar in temple ruins in Belize, and taken to the US in 1930.
The family is said to have made money exhibiting the skull, described as 5 inches high, 7 inches long and 5 inches wide, which Awe says was used as a model for the Indiana Jones movie.
"LucasFilm never sought, nor was given permission to utilize the Mitchell-Hedges Skull or its likeness in the film," says the lawsuit, a copy of which was published by the Hollywood Reporter.
"To date, Belize has not participated in any of the profits derived from the sale of the film or the rights thereto," it added. The movie grossed about $786 million worldwide.
The skull is one of four valuable Crystal skulls seized from Belize -- the others are on display in London, Paris and Washington.
"Belize was .. an epicenter for nineteenth and early twentieth-century treasure hunters plundering the nation's Maya ruins under the guise of 'archaeology'," said the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is seeking the return of the original skull, which it describes as the "most notable" of the four. It added that Belize has a "right, title and interest in and to the Mitchell-Hedges Skull and its likeness."
The Hollywood Reporter described Awe as a "real-life Indiana Jones," and his legal action as "one of the most entertaining lawsuits of the year."
Neither Lucasfilm -- which its founder and "Star Wars" creator George Lucas sold to Disney in October for over $4 billion -- nor Paramount reacted immediately to news of the lawsuit.

Australia: Diving sickness rises after naval ship sinks

From ABC News:  Diving sickness rises after naval ship sinks

 

  Photo: The former HMAS Adelaide was scuttled in April last year and quickly became a diving draw card. (Robbert Westerdyk: User submitted)

 

 

Medical experts expect the number of scuba divers suffering the bends to reach a record high in New South Wales this year, because of a new diving site on the state's central coast.

The ex-naval frigate HMAS Adelaide was sunk off Terrigal and Avoca beaches last year to become an artificial reef and dive site.
Since then, doctors are reporting significant increases in the number of divers with decompression sickness.
The wreck lies about 32 metres below the surface, which is around the depth limit for many recreational divers.
Figures from the hyperbaric medicine unit at Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital show 27 patients were treated for the bends up until August this year.
In comparison there were 19 cases in total in 2011 and 28 in 2010.
Glen Hawkins from the University of New South Wales, who is also the medical director of private firm Hyperbaric Health, says the dive season has only just begun.
"By August this year, we've already reached the annual normal number and haven't hit the main diving season yet," Dr Hawkins said.
"I would expect there's actually going to be a few more cases and we'll actually get a record number of divers being treated this year."
He says there are several contributing factors to the condition, including the depth of the wreck, the time between dives and relative diver inexperience.
Dr Hawkins says local diving operators need to ensure measures are in place to help address the problem.
"It's important that they get feedback that there is a problem," he said.
"The reality is they may not actually be aware that something like this is happening because the people come in, do their dive, then disappear."