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Tuesday, 22 July 2008

How Christian the lion became a YouTube sensation
Surprising story behind the video that tugs heartstrings after 34 years

By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 11:27 a.m. ET, Tues., July. 22, 2008 function UpdateTimeStamp(pdt) { var n = document.getElementById("udtD"); if(pdt != '' && n && window.DateTime) { var dt = new DateTime(); pdt = dt.T2D(pdt); if(dt.GetTZ(pdt)) {n.innerHTML = dt.D2S(pdt,((''.toLowerCase()=='false')?false:true));} } } UpdateTimeStamp('633523372204470000');
The decades-old footage of a full-grown lion joyously embracing two young men like an affectionate house cat has made myriad eyes misty since it recently landed on YouTube. What is it about the old, grainy images of Christian the lion that has attracted some 3 million hits and counting?
Is it simply that a lion remembered the two men who raised it and then released it into the wild? Is it nostalgia for a simpler time 39 years ago, when you could walk into Harrods department store in London, stroll through the “exotic animals” section, and buy a live lion cub? Is it a longing for the swinging Austin Powers-era London of 1969, when you could take the animal home to a basement flat, play with it in a nearby churchyard, and even take it to dinner in swanky restaurants?
The answer may be all of the above. After all, people love animals, and there are few things as enthralling as a lion that could kill a person with one swipe of its paw acting like a pussycat with people who obviously love it. Top it off with Whitney Houston’s sentimental love song “I Will Always Love You” as background music, and you have keyboards shorting out all over America from the tears dripping on them.
TODAY played part of the video Tuesday with little comment or introduction, and when the grainy footage, originally shot on 16-mm film, was finished, Meredith Vieira was among the many in the studio wiping away tears.
Two hip Australians
The video is the work of Anthony “Ace” Bourke and John Rendall, two Australians living in the hip Chelsea section of London in 1969. According to published reports, a friend came back from a trip to Harrods and told them that you could buy exotic animals there.
The two friends went there out of curiosity and spotted a 35-pound lion cub in a small cage. The cub had been born in a zoo and sold to the department store, which wasn’t considered that unusual back then.
Bourke and Rendall felt sorry for the cub and bought it for 250 guineas. The store was glad to be rid of it, as the cub had broken out of its cage one night and wreaked havoc on a display of imported goatskin rugs.
Inspired by the Bible and a sense of irony, Rendall and Bourke named the lion “Christian,” a name that became even more appropriate when the Vicar of the St. John’s Church, which called itself the “Church at the World’s End,” gave the young men permission to exercise Christian in the churchyard.
The opening segments of the video show Rendall and Bourke romping with Christian and playing soccer with the lion. A lengthy story published by The Daily Mail newspaper last year said that the pair lived in a flat under the furniture store where they worked and ferried Christian about town in the back of a Bentley. Mick Jagger lived on the same street, and Christian became a local celebrity, even accompanying Rendall and Bourke into restaurants.
Growing pains
But after a year, the 35-pound cub had grown to 185 pounds. Feeding him was costing the friends 30 pounds a week, and in 1970, that was real money. They knew they couldn’t keep Christian, but didn’t know what to do with him.

As luck would have it, actors Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna dropped into the furniture store one day looking for a writing desk. The married couple had just finished filming “Born Free,” the inspirational story of Elsa, the lioness who is reintroduced to the wild, in which they played real-life naturalists George and Joy Adamson (Joy Adamson wrote the book on which the hit film was based). They suggested that Rendall and Bourke contact George Adamson in Kenya.
Rendall and Bourke flew with Christian to Kenya, where they and George Adamson introduced the lion to his natural habitat. When they felt sure he had a new family and a safe territory, the two friends went back to their lives in London. But they kept in touch with Adamson and made a few visits to Kenya to see Christian from afar.
But in 1974, Adamson lost touch with Christian for three months. When he told Rendall and Bourke, they decided to make one last trip to Kenya to attempt to say goodbye to Christian. The night before they landed, Adamson said, Christian suddenly reappeared and sat on a rock outside the naturalist’s camp — as if waiting for his pals.
Emotional reunion
The main part of the film shown on YouTube was shot the following day, when Bourke and Rendall went into the bush to attempt to see their old friend.
The color film has no sound. Subtitles tell the story, but they’re hardly needed. There are two
TODAY
Christian's former owners had been told the lion wouldn't recognize them. But the video shows the lion's obvious joy at being reunited with the two men.
men in flared jeans and shaggy hair, and there is a lion. The huge carnivore approaches from a distance, slowly at first. Then recognition sets in, and soon everyone — men and beast — are hugging and crying.
Christian even brings one of the lionesses in his pride over to meet his former roommates. The Daily Mail story reports that the lioness was clearly not happy with Christian’s two-legged friends, and Adamson told Rendall and Bourke that it was time to leave. They went back to the camp, and Christian went with them, staying up late into the night as the humans partied with their friend.
The next day Christian walked back into the bush, where his lionesses were waiting. He was never seen again — but the power of the Internet guarantees that he will never be forgotten.

Sunday, 27 April 2008

The 12 most outrageous fees
Would you pay $5 to stand in line at the DMV? Or $10 to $20 to get on your plane first? Companies are nickel-and-diming consumers to death. But you can fight back.
By Karen Aho
In the age of Web commerce, shoppers can find the lowest price with a click. The grim reality for businesses is that the lowest price tag usually wins.
How can a business raise prices and still compete? Isolate a cost, tack it on to the bill and call it a fee. The price tag is intact, and "fee" and "surcharge" sound almost inevitable, even downright governmental.
"Increasing the price creates challenges for companies," said Tim Calkins, a clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. "But creating fees is a little out of sight and out of mind."
At hotels, cable companies, banks, airlines, stores -- nearly everywhere -- the fees are mounting.
"I call it the death of the price tag," said Bob Sullivan, who writes MSNBC's Red Tape Chronicles blog and is the author of "Gotcha Capitalism: How Hidden Fees Rip You off Every Day and What You Can Do About It." In his survey of 2,000-plus consumers, charges added to everyday bills averaged $950 per year.
Here's a sampling of our "favorites" (you can share yours here):
The careful-what-you-ask-for fee. If your Air Canada flight is delayed due to weather or heavy traffic, agents will be happy to help you find a hotel, restaurant or flight -- as long as you've paid a $25-to-$35 "On My Way" fee. Once this was something airline agents did, you know, just to help out. But in this age of fees in flight, the travel experience has been deconstructed.
For example, check out this list of fees from Delta Air Lines, which will now charge a $3-per-bag "administrative fee" for curbside check-in and a $25 "handling charge" for awards tickets that use another airline.
What do the airlines say? Basically, you asked for it. You wanted cheap flights, and you still demand cheap flights. But with already slim profit margins and rising fuel prices, fees are the only way airlines can remain competitive.

The convenient-for-whom fee. Companies love it when you order a ticket or register online yourself. It saves labor costs. So how do they thank you? By charging you a convenience fee, of course.
Ticketmaster, the behemoth provider of event tickets, generates its revenue from fees. The company says convenience fees, which vary, are in exchange for the convenience of 24/7 ticket buying without having to drive to a box office.
Convenience fees don't cover order processing or ticket delivery. Those costs are paid through . . . other fees.
The inconvenience fee. Of course, you can choose to drive to a location to make a transaction, as in the old days. But beware of the growing number of face-to-face fees.
Virginia legislators passed a $5 fee for drivers who renew their licenses at the Department of Motor Vehicles instead of online or through the mail, saying the fee replaced a proposed $5 increase for all licenses. Legislative aide Anne Korman says it costs the state $7 to renew a license in person, $2 by mail and $1 online.
A bonus, its sponsor says: cutting down wait times that can stretch for hours.
The you-snooze-you-lose fee. Wachovia doesn't charge its new banking customers a fee for speaking to human tellers. But it used to, and if you didn't know enough to switch accounts, you could still find a surprise in the mail. One customer noticed an $8 teller "transaction fee" and, after writing the company, learned he'd been billed $2 for each of four teller services in one month. His account allowed for two a month, but once customers go over they're charged for each.
Wachovia says original policies remain in effect until customers request a change and that they don't have the resources to contact millions of people.
What to do? Smile and fight right
Last year a Chicago consultant faked his death in an attempt to escape his cell-phone cancellation fee. (He got caught and paid the $175.) Later, a 75-year-old woman with heart trouble used a hammer to take out her frustration with Comcast. (She paid $2,500 in damages for the office equipment.)
Sadly, these strategies leave the fee machine unmoved.
Michael Shames, the executive director of the California nonprofit Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN), where he's dubbed the "World's Greatest Consumer," does know what works. He's gotten his own fees removed and launched lawsuits to change company practices. Even Dr. Phil calls on him for advice. (See Shames' Web site for resources.)
The problem, Shames says, is that no government agency really oversees these fees. As long as a company tells you about it, it can try to add any fee and call it what it likes.
"Often these things are large enough to rankle you but small enough not to justify spending an afternoon dealing with it," Shames said.

Thursday, 17 April 2008

Sharpie has 32 days left to live!
Euthanasia date: 2008-05-19 Reason for euthanasia: Space

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Sharpie

Breed: Shar Pei (mix breed)
Age: Young adult
Gender: Male
Size: Medium

Shelter: Valley Humane Society
15699 West Aniceto Road P.O. Box 10480
Casa Grande, AZ
Shelter dog ID: D 7-286
Contact tel: 520-836-0904
Contact name: Lillian or Linda
Contact email: vhs@cgmailbox.com

About Sharpie I need a family that will take me home with them. I've been here since September 7, 2007. Six month and I didn't do anything wrong to be here. I get so lonely and tired of waiting. I walk on a leash well and I get along with other dogs. I wish someone would give me a chance to be their friend. The people here are nice but a home is what I need and it has to be soon. Please help me!! I'm cute really! Heartbreak again: I went out to a foster home and came back becasue I was too shy to play with the other dog in the household. I wan't mean or aggresive, I didn't bark; it's just been so long since I was happy go lucky enough to play. Won't you give me another chance, I just need some time to get used to living in the real world.
Don't adopt just because you feel sorry for Sharpie!
Adoption should be a well thought out decision, it's a lifetime commitment.

Wednesday, 16 April 2008

New Logo for Starbucks

This is the old logo This is the new logo

I personally like the old logo better. The new two tailed mermaid scares me a little. Also green is a lot prettier than brown!

Monday, 14 April 2008

Looking for love or lust? Your face gives it away

Facial features tell if someone wants commitment or casual sex, study says

Recognizing the look of love
April 11: Is it the look of love — or lust? A psychologist and an anthropologist talk about a new study that suggests that facial features show whether someone is more interested in a “fling” or a long-term relationship.

It’s no use being coy. If you’re looking for a fling, it might just be written all over your face.

A new study by U.K. researchers found that you can tell just by looking at someone’s face whether they’re interested in casual sex or long-term commitment. And, not surprisingly, women tend to be more attracted to the guys who look like true boyfriend material, while men are drawn to faces that seem to say “one-night stand,” found the study, published Tuesday in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior.

Researchers created composite images of college students who identified themselves as either looking for a fling or true love and asked 700 participants to separate the hussies from the prudes. And most of the time, their instincts were accurate – 72 percent of the participants were right more than half the time, although they couldn’t exactly explain their guesses.

“They had the gut instinct, but they didn’t understand it,” says Lynda Boothroyd, a psychology professor at Durham University in Durham, England, and lead author of the study.

For guys, a face like Clive Owen’s — a square jaw, prominent eyebrows and nose and smaller eyes — tends to belong to the sluttier of the sex. Men with softer features were more likely to be looking for a long-term relationship. (In other words, Matthew Fox really would make a good boyfriend.)

As for women, it’s the hotties who are more likely to have flings. Both men and women who participated in the study thought that the more attractive women would be interested in something short-term, and they were right — although Boothroyd and her colleagues couldn’t pinpoint a specific facial detail about the images, just that they were slightly more classically attractive.

Boothroyd’s theory sounds a little like common sense: If you’re better-looking, you simply have more opportunities to get some action, especially when you’re 18, she says.

Most participants in a new study correctly identified the woman on the right as someone who's looking for a fling. While researchers couldn't identify a particular facial feature that means a woman may be looking for a casual hook-up, they found it was generally those who were more attractive.

It could also be something of a self-fulfilling prophecy, says Caroline Keating, a psychology professor at Colgate University. Keating wasn’t involved in the Durham University study, but she has done her own research involving the psychology of facial features.

If you’re more attractive, people might expect you to have more partners. And more often than not, we fulfill those expectations people have of us.

“The way we think of ourselves is a reflection in part of how others see us,” Keating says. “So when we go out in the world, we’re looking at ourselves through a reflection of other people’s views.”

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Because of the effect those expectations have on our behavior, our first impressions about people turn out to be right, says Keating.

“Physical appearance cues tell us more about people than we’re even consciously aware of,” Keating says. “So in fact, we do judge a book by its cover. And the funny thing is, it often works for us.”