[FRKJ]

Plane landing delayed by wayward bear on the runway


An S7 airline flight preparing to land at a Russian airport was delayed for about 20 minutes when a bear wandered onto the runway.

A plane attempting to land at a Russian airport was delayed for about 20 minutes due to an unusual hazard on the runway -- a wandering bear.

The S7 Airlines flight from Novosibirsk was coming in for a landing Monday at the airport in Magadan when the flight crew spotted a bear on the tarmac.

The crew spotted the bear while at about 500 feet, allowing for the flight to adjust and circle around the airport.

The plane made a second landing attempt about 20 minutes later, and the plane safely touched down after the crew verified that the bear had moved on from its dangerous position.

[PennySerenade]

Don't Sweat(pants) It. The House Dress Is Here To Rescue 2020



For Lynette Gabriel, it started with a dressed-up Zoom brunch with girlfriends. She called in from her home in Oakland, Calif., in a leopard-print long-sleeve gown from the back of her closet. Snacking on smoked-salmon potato hash and sipping on a glass of rosé, Gabriel found her new house fashion.

"We actually now call ourselves 'The Real Housewives of Quarantine' in our house dresses," Gabriel says and chuckles.

Wearing this dress for a virtual brunch with friends, e-commerce merchandiser Lynette Gabriel declared it a house dress on Instagram.



Billowing linen. Cozy cotton. Floating silk. The house dress is having a 2020 renaissance. Flowy tunics, chic kimonos and muumuus, and ankle-length T-shirts are floating into more and more shopping carts — a sartorial coping mechanism for the modern pandemic age.

Clothes and mood are intertwined, argues fashion psychologist Dawnn Karen, author of Dress Your Best Life. And so, the house dress is a perfect fit for this moment: a small expression of control during the uncontrollable, a taste of free-flowing freedom in a time rife with restrictions, a sense of structure and style on the days that feel hazy and dull.

"I've actually gotten rid of some fancier dresses to make room for more house dresses because ... I would say I'm wearing a house dress at least three times a week," says Preeti Chaulk, a data manager from Cincinnati. House dresses followed her around Instagram — worn by influencers, advertised by brands — soon leaving a trail of striking floral designs on her own feed.

For decades, the house dress got a bad rep — a throwback to the times when women's sway was confined to housework. Its origin is said to trace to a Victorian gown that freed women of corsets but clad them instead in a baggy matronly smock named after "Mother Hubbard" from old nursery rhymes.

Even as the house dress got more shapely and stylish, its focus was chicness during chores — some in the 1940s and '50s even came with matching oven mitts. Then, the house dress loosened up, made most famous by the flamboyant caftans of Helen Roper on the '70s sitcom Three's Company. Still, a stigma trailed the garment: an artifact that's dowdy, dated and perhaps involves "laying on your couch eating bonbons," Chaulk jokes.

"We're all busy women, we're doing things [in house dresses]," she exclaims. And OK, that might still involve some errands or a nap on the couch. Is it so wrong to crave an occasional bonbon? The 2020 house dress is not here to judge or cast expectations.

Preeti Chaulk has worked from home for many years but says she's never owned more house dresses than now. "I kind of always wanted to have that approach of like, I'm not wearing pajamas, but I'm still very comfortable — enter the house dress," she says.



"I have to say — linen, comfortable clothes — it's actually very contagious. ... It's addictive," says Malgosia Archer, a Polish and British designer who sells lounge dresses through her Etsy shop, GoshYaga.

"Ghost" is how her teenage daughters have dubbed her most popular item: a billowing cloud of white linen, with pockets. Back before the pandemic, Archer had worried her airy fabrics wouldn't be in demand until the summer. Now, even her daughters are sporting versions of the "ghost" dress.

Across the world in Arizona, Jade Banner can relate. Her online store Dwell & Slumber — known especially for its caftans — is having difficulty keeping up with demand. Most notably, Banner's designs have finally won over her most elusive customer: her mother.

"She would not wear my dresses," Banner says. "She likes clothes to be more fitted, more tailored. She just didn't get it."

But on Banner's recent visits to her parents, there was her mother, lounging in a spacious Dwell & Slumber special — converted into a house-dress believer during the pandemic.

"I put [the new house dress] on and immediately felt like I could transform into a different place and have a different feeling," says Lauren Niimi from Chicago.



"My dad says, 'She won't wear anything else — what have you done?' " Banner says with a laugh. "I do finally feel victorious."

Fashion psychologist Karen says an outfit can serve a higher purpose if it helps you express your mood, lift your spirits or save you the need for extra decisions. In the hamster wheel of housebound life — with all the mask-wearing and hand sanitizing and social distancing — maybe the house dress is a triple promise:

It might comfort you if you're down, hold you up if you're content and ease choice with a single look that can take you from a nap to a business call, to the backyard, to a nice dinner.

"I put it on and ... had some work to do, and I sat outside on a screened-in porch and just felt like finally some peace had rolled over me after many months of not being at peace," says Lauren Niimi, a school administrator, baker, artist and mom to three boys from Chicago.

She'd bought her embroidered house dress on a whim, pining for a missed summer trip to wine country, looking at outfits she might have worn there: easy, effortless, relaxed. Thirty dollars, she says, was a small price to pay for a little bit of happiness.

[peaceableone]

Batman Is Delivering Hot Meals To Homeless People In Santiago Every Night


A man dressed as Batman is prowling the streets of Santiago, Chile, at night delivering warm meals to the city's homeless.
The man, who prefers not to be identified, cooks around 100 food rations a day which he self-finances.
He then dresses up as Batman and delivers the dinners to homeless people throughout the South American capital.
The man did reveal what inspired him for the mission.
"Look around you, see if you can dedicate a little time, a little food, a little shelter, a word sometimes of encouragement to those who need it", he said to Reuters.
As for the disguise of Batman? He said it is meant to bring "good cheer and unity" to the community.

[sherlockx]

Sex is BANNED at two-day swingers club festival given the go-ahead despite Covid fears

The Swing Fest event will be going ahead at the HU9 club in Hull, East Yorkshire
Locals said they were 'appalled' by the event which could breach Covid rules
Tickets for the event on the weekend of August 30 sold out and cost up to £40
Swingers booking tickets for an annual two-day festival have been told the event is still going ahead despite Covid-19 fears - but sex will be banned.

The Swing Fest will be held at the HU9 club in Hull, East Yorkshire, after the city council gave it the green light despite fears over coronavirus restrictions.

The sold out event is planned for the weekend of August 30 with tickets costing £40 for a couples or single ticket and £20 for a single female ticket.
Council chiefs have given the green light to the controversial event, but have insisted there will be 'no sexual activity involved in the event'.
An event summary on a ticket website describes the festival as 'a very discrete and a fun, safe environment for like minded adults to take swinging to the next level'.

It adds: 'We have a great mix of swingers coming from all round the country to our festival.

'We have a lot of experience in organising large events and club nights and when you come to swing fest you will see that.'

[WordDiva]

Apple, Google Pull ‘Fortnite’ From App Stores Over Epic Games Circumventing In-App Payments Rule



Both Apple and Google, just hours after Epic Games announced a new direct-payment option for “Fortnite” to bypass the Apple App Store and Google Play store 30% “tax” on in-app purchases, have removed the game from its app store.

In a statement, Apple said, “Today, Epic Games took the unfortunate step of violating the App Store guidelines that are applied equally to every developer and designed to keep the store safe for our users. As a result their ‘Fortnite’ app has been removed from the store.”

Apple said that Epic had “enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services.”

[Epic Games sued Apple over the removal of “Fortnite” from the App Store, alleging anticompetitive conduct.]

A Google rep confirmed that the internet company removed “Fortnite” from Google Play.

https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/a ... 234734404/

[hija]

Dogs Show a Nose for Archaeology



The scent-tracking ability of dogs has helped archaeologists discover Iron Age tombs in Croatia dating back nearly 3,000 years.

Vedrana Glavaš, an archaeologist at the University of Zadar, used Belgian malinois (above) and German shepherd dogs that had previously been taught to sniff out graves in criminal investigations. The dogs were able to locate several burial chests containing human bones and artefacts in a hilltop fort in the Velebit mountains on the Adriatic coast.

“Dogs’ noses don’t make mistakes,” she says. “Many archaeologists are looking for burial sites of settlements. I think dogs can solve their problems.” [Source: The Guardian]

[Fivetide]

Man discovers wife’s affair on Google Maps



(A short bit of strange news theweek.co.uk)

A man found out that his wife was having an affair after catching her in the act on Google Maps. An image on the web mapping service shows a row of benches on a path in Lima, the capital of Peru, with a woman wearing a black top and white shirt and a man in a white jumper with his head laid in her lap. After the husband confronted his wife about the image the couple divorced.

(Two extra, short weird pieces from the same page)

And other stories from the stranger side of life

Crash at roundabout before opening ceremony:
A £2.3m roundabout has been forced to close after a car crashed into it the day before its opening ceremony. A driver collided with a beacon next to one of the roundabout’s zebra crossings. Cambridgeshire Council insists the roundabout’s Dutch-style design played no part in the crash but the RAC said it “may well be an unusual junction to navigate in the first instance”.

Man wins lottery while waiting for mother:
An American man who was waiting for his mother to finish her shopping at a grocery store won a $200,000 scratch-card lottery jackpot. Herbert Scruggs said he passed the time while waiting for his mother at the Food Lion store in Virginia by purchasing a Winning Hand scratch-off lottery ticket. “It feels sort of surreal,” he said of his win. “It still hasn't hit me yet.”

[goldie0608]

Generous Americans Are Actually Giving More To Charities Through The Pandemic, Surveys Say



A statement from Lending Tree reported that about two-thirds of respondents said they had not changed their charitable giving habits from previous years—they had made a charitable donation within the last year, with 34% doing so more than once.

The same survey reported that 56% said they make recurring donations, meaning they donate to the same charity or organization once a month or more often.

Additionally, the Lending Tree survey recorded increases in forms of giving which aren’t usually recorded due to the inability to write them off on one’s taxes. These included donating to a local relief fund (13%) and sending money to a loved one who was laid off (12%).

“Plus, some consumers (30%) continue to pay for services they can’t use due to social distancing guidelines, like housekeeping and babysitting,” said the survey.

There was a lot of public debate before the first U.S. stimulus package was passed about whether people who had monetary means or property would—upon recognizing the gravity of the financial blow the country was about to receive—continue to support people who relied on them for their livelihoods.

The survey shows that many did indeed chose to make sure person-to-person service providers did not fall on hard times.

While personal charity is a great marker to judge how charitable a society is, it’s equally amazing to note that large-scale corporate giving actually increased during 2020.

In June, Fidelity Charitable, the largest organizer of donor-advised funds (DAFs)—a kind of charitable savings account—reported that these funds have donated $3.4 billion in 2020, a 28% increase in giving from the same period over the previous year.

Together the donors advised a 667% increase in grants to food banks and other food assistance programs across the States. The CARES Act, the first COVID-19 stimulus package, encouraged donations by allowing the owners of these funds or regular household earners to write anything larger than $300 off their taxes without requiring them to go through the process of itemizing their deductions.

In June, Good News Network reported that Charles Schwab alone saw a 46% increase in DAF grants, totaling $1.7 billion across 330,000 separate grants, it was the most generous period of giving recorded in the history of one of America’s largest philanthropic funds.

“The last six months have been incredibly challenging, and I am truly inspired to see donors utilize their donor-advised funds to help communities and nonprofits impacted by health, economic, and social crises,” says Kim Laughton, President of Schwab Charitable.

Washington Examiner also reported on a statistic that found DAFs managed in 32 different community foundations in 21 different states “reported an 80 percent increase in donations… from March to May, compared with the same period last year.”

This is a heartening reminder once again that the United States has some very generous citizens, COVID-19 or otherwise.

[angellove0810]

Aquarium Is Washing Old Wishes To Pay Bills During Pandemic

North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores —which is soon to enter its sixth month of mandated closure because of the coronavirus — has come up with a pandemic project that can pass the time and help pay the bills.

They've drained a large waterfall at the facility and dredged up all the coins thrown in by wishful visitors.

"About 100 gallons of coins were cleaned and sorted and will go toward the general care of the aquarium and animals during this time," the aquarium said in a Facebook post last week.

It asked commenters to guess how much money 100 gallons of coins adds up to and will reveal the answer this week.



While it's closed to visitors, the aquarium has been offering virtual events, behind-the-scenes tours and animal encounters. And, of course, the normal work of maintaining the facilities and caring for the animals continues.

[eradicator2]

Homeless man reunited with family after 20 years when stranger overhears desperate plea.




Randi Emmans-Bailyn was walking her dog a short distance from home when she came across a homeless man.

The man, Franklin, was mumbling to himself when she noticed him - and what she overheard was heartbreaking, reported Daily Star.

He was confused as to why people who walk past him, mock him and look down on him.

Talking aloud, Franklin said: "Why do people just stand and look at me or laugh at me?

"I'm an extremely educated man. Say hello to me. Do not ignore me and give me these looks."

Saddened by his words, she contacted her boyfriend John Suazo to work out how they could help - and what they did changed his life
Since Randi started a charity in 2014 called Project Backpack which helps the homeless in LA, they knew what to do.


The couple gave Franklin a backpack full of necessities

When Franklin said he hadn't seen his family in years they got in contact with them.
The pair supplied him one of the backpacks they offer to homeless people in the city, which is full of food, water, socks and other necessities.

And during conversation with Franklin, Randi and John learned more about his life - which is how they discovered that he hadn't seen his family for 20 years.

Once they heard this, they immediately got to work, making calls, in a bid to reunite him with the family.
Eventually, the couple got in touch with Franklin's uncle who later flew to LA to bring him home.

Sharing the story on Instagram, Randi said: "Franklin was a homeless man outside of our building who we got to know in the past couple of weeks.

"He is so smart and kind and all he wanted was to be reunited with his family.

"John and I searched the internet and John was able to find a phone number for a family member."
She continued: "He and his family hadn't spoken in over 20 years. As soon as we told them we had found him, they said they would get on a plane because they too had been searching for him for the last 20 years.

"We raised money and got him into a hotel, got him fresh clothes and shoes, food and other essentials."

After the couple's efforts to reunite the family, Randi urged others to not make homeless people feel invisible.

Trunk and disorderly: Elephants chase off hippos to claim the prime spot at South African watering hole




This is the moment a herd of elephants charged a bloat of hippos to claim the prime spot at a watering hole.

The spectacular clash of nature's giants was caught on camera on Sunday, August 9 in the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve, South Africa.

Wildlife photographer Corlette Wessels, 47, was just yards from the action when a large elephant cow began to take exception at the presence of nearby hippos.

Seeing one of their herd in distress several tonnes of elephant herd joined the chase which saw the hippos race for safety.

Both the female elephant and some of members of the herd managed to catch the hippos hitting them with their massive trunks.

But thankfully a pachyderm peace descended once the hippos moved to a muddier section of the watering hole.

Corlette, who lives on Crocodile Nature Reserve, just north of Johannesburg, said this was the first time she had seen anything like this.

She said: 'I am no expert in animal behaviour, but I think this elephant cow was irritated with the two hippos being near where she was busy drinking.

'The hippo she chased after is known as 'Harry' as you can ID him with his deformed teeth.

'She at first mock charged him and then quickly this turned to a full on chase where she chased him through the water, hitting him with her trunk and pushing him.

Corlette said the other hippo also appeared later with some blood on its side but otherwise unharmed.

She said: 'I know both hippos and elephants are extremely dangerous and fast when they run, but seeing both elephant and hippo run like this through muddy water and on land was insane and makes one even more aware how dangerous they are and how quickly these big animals can go from standing to full speed charge. It's a reminder to respect animals.

'I have seen elephants being irritated before with hippos but often just a blow of water or swing of the trunk towards them but never like this, this was a full-on charge to kill the hippo.'

Corlette, who works as a business development manager for a solar energy business she runs with her husband, used a Nikon D750 with Nikkor 70-200 lens to take the photos.

She said: 'I have been doing wildlife photography since my late 20s and it is a big part of my life and passion of mine, I try to get into the bush as often as I can.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -hole.html

[johngriffen]

IN OTHER NEWS
FRIDAY AUGUST 21

A new "news cycle" has begun.
Time for our Ace Reporters to file another story

As a reminder...
How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You may post One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can enter only once a day
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them to under a minute, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

[Governor3]

Celebrity cat called Mittens in the running to be New Zealander of the year

Also making the cut are PM Jacinda Ardern and the director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield



A celebrity cat, a hardworking civil servant and the prime minister have all been nominated for this year’s New Zealander of the year award.

“In this extraordinary year, we know that everyone has a hero,” Miriama Kamo, the patron of the awards, said.

For some, that hero has been a Turkish Angora cat named Mittens who roams tattoo parlours, office towers and churches, posing for social media snapshots along the way. Earlier this year Mittens, of Wellington, was given the key to the city, and his adventurous spirit has won him tens of thousands of local and international fans.

Mittens first won attention in 2018 after repeatedly wandering inner-city dwellings, including the university, the post office, and a Catholic church. Mittens was also reportedly taken to the police station by concerned locals.

After repeated encounters with Mittens, an SPCA employee started a Facebook page to reassure locals that the cat wasn’t lost and didn’t need to be “rescued” – he was just adventurous.

Also making the cut are the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, her figurative “team of five million” for their adherence to lockdown rules, and the director-general of health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield.

Bloomfield has a devoted following of fans thanks to his unflappable demeanour and quick recall of coronavirus facts during his daily 1 pm media briefings during the crisis, with tea towels, face masks and shopping bags bearing his face printed in his honour.

Dropping a heavy hint, a press release from the awards states: “There have been a significant number of nominations for Dr Ashley Bloomfield.”

Previous winners include the actor and director Taika Waititi, comedian and mental health advocate Mike King, and former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.

A feline has never won.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... f-the-year

Rare BLACK leopard is spotted drinking from a pond and stalking its prey at an Indian reserve



Abhishek Pangis, from Pune in western Maharashtra state, spent 40 minutes watching a rare black leopard
The 23-year-old was on a two-day safari trip at Tadoba Reserve last month when he took the photographs
He watched the black leopard drinking water from a pond, marking its territory and stalking monkeys

An engineering student has captured stunning photographs of a rare black leopard during his first safari trip in India.

Abhishek Pangis, from Pune in western Maharashtra state, spent 40 minutes watching the majestic big cat at Tadoba Reserve last month.

The 23-year-old said he 'went blank' when he first saw the leopard on the second day of the two-day trip, reported LadBible.

After ten minutes Mr Pangis realized he was the only person on the trip with a camera and started taking photographs.

He said: 'I hadn't seen anything so beautiful, I was completely stunned. Usually people have seen it around for two or three minutes but I was very lucky as I could see it for 40 minutes.'

He watched the cat 'drinking water from a pond, marking its territory and stalking langurs and monkeys'.

Mr Pangis and his parents saw the leopard in June when it was 113F (45C) and the cat needed to leave the undergrowth for water.

The animal's dark coat is caused by melanism - when extra black pigment develops in the skin or hair because of a recessive genetic mutation.


The 23-year-old said he 'went blank' when he first saw the leopard on the second day of the two-day trip, reported LadBible. After ten minutes Mr Pangis realized he was the only person on the trip with a camera and started taking photographs of the rare animal

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... serve.html

[Fatima99]

This isn't a news story - it's a my story

25th July at the charity shop I saw a guy (we'll call him Steve) with the most gorgeous husky, he looked like a puff ball (the dog not Steve). So we got into conversation about dogs, huskies in particular, and I mentioned that we had a gorgeous girl husky at the pound that no one seemed interested in called Perle.

Perle is gorgeous, smart, walks beautifully on the lead, has good manners and is a great with other dogs. Steve's ears pricked up and he said, "I'm looking for a girl husky" - so I told him to contact the rescue association direct and left it at that.

Week later, she's still with us so I decided to track down Steve to see if he'd done anything about Perle. He hadn't, I gave him a little nudge in the right direction, he came dog walking with us and met her. He loved her, rang up the association on Saturday and, unfortunately, someone else had pipped him to her. Steve was gutted, absolutely gutted.

Five days later he had a call from the association the interested party had pulled out (we get a lot of time wasters) was he still interested. Hell YES! And our lovely Perle was adopted last Monday.

And look, the happy couple