Handbag? He's an alpha male
"[T]e designer handbag, long a fashion staple for stylish women worldwide, has become a status symbol for upwardly mobile men in China," the Los Angeles Times reports. "At business meetings and social events across China these days, many of the Prada, Louis Vuitton and Burberry bags are being toted by the fellows in the crowd. … Designed for men, many of these guy purses, often known as shou bao in Mandarin, would be right at home in the women's handbag section of an upscale department store. … 'For Chinese, it's a show of masculinity,' said Zhang Lianhai, a 33-year-old marketing strategist gripping a plain, black, leather Prada handbag outside a Gucci store in Beijing. 'We need luxury brands. You won't be taken seriously if you look too casual.' "
A new low in sports
"With sumo in crisis over allegations of rigged bouts, a new national sport might just be emerging in Japan: competitive hole-digging," The Daily Telegraph reports. "More than 1,000 avid fans descended on a camping site on the outskirts of Tokyo on Sunday, with more than 200 teams competing in the Japan All-National Hole Digging Competition. At stake was the much-coveted Golden Shovel award. The majority of the teams taking part in the 11th annual event were made up of professional hole-diggers. … Competitors were given 30 minutes to dig as deep a hole as possible, although extra points were also awarded for 'the most creative hole' and the most original costume worn by the diggers. All shovels were measured to make sure they met width regulations, while the other rules of the sport included the penalty of disqualification for any team that tried to put earth back into a competitor's hole." The winning hole was 3.26 metres deep.
Jail the witches?
"There's more bad news in the cards for Romania's beleaguered witches," Associated Press says. "A month after Romanian authorities began taxing them for their trade, the country's soothsayers and fortune-tellers are cursing a new bill that threatens fines or even prison if their predictions don't come true. Superstition is a serious matter in the land of Dracula, and officials have turned to witches to help the recession-hit country collect more money and crack down on tax evasion. Witches argue they shouldn't be blamed for the failure of their tools." The new bill would also require a witch to have a permit and provide customers with receipts.
A better class of robber
"The owner of a south Seattle convenience store says a man pulled a gun and asked him for a favour - empty the till," Associated Press reports. "White Center Shell station owner John Henry told KING-TV he asked the man, who was in his 50s, what he meant. The man replied, 'I'm robbing you, sir.' Henry offered him $40 [U.S.] but the man took all the money, about $300, apologizing and saying he had bills to pay and children to feed. As he left, he said if he ever got back on his feet, he'd pay the money back."
Smart cars
"More than a million people die around the world in car accidents each year but experts in the industry now believe fatal smashes could be eliminated. Some hope there could be an end to car crashes altogether," BBC News Magazine reports, citing examples that include:
- "Volvo [scientists]believe in the future they can stop cars from ever crashing. They are developing auto-braking technology to ensure cars come to a stop when they sense another car coming close to them - both from the front and the side."
- "At General Motors's research lab in Detroit, scientists are investigating how the car itself can make up for our shortcomings - by enhancing the driver's senses. They are developing a prototype [windshield] which they hope will give drivers a kind of 'superhuman' vision - the Advanced Vision System."
Vox populi, vox wiseguys
"The city of Austin, Tex., may have bitten off more than it can chew, swallow and - well, you know what comes next," NPR.org says. "Austin's Solid Waste Services Department decided it needed a new name. Something with a bit more panache. So they put it to the people of Austin in an online vote - and so far, their overwhelming choice seems to be 'The Fred Durst Society of the Humanities and Arts.' Fred Durst is the front man for the hard-rock band Limp Bizkit. And while folks in Austin might think their music shares much in common with solid waste, the city may have trouble following the will of the people on this one."
Like working with people?
"Forget the oshiya, the white-gloved 'pushers' who cram people into Japan's subways," The Christian Science Monitor says. "Car loaders [in Monrovia]could give them a run for their money. Working with the shared taxis that ply the streets of Monrovia, car loaders shout destinations to potential passengers then help squeeze into the car more people than would seem possible. … In a maelstrom of people and cars, the service can be useful but a fee is expected for the unrequested help. Loaders will bounce on the trunk until they are paid. In a country where formal employment is estimated at only 15 per cent, creating new ways of making money is necessary. 'Not good money, but it's work,' says one loader."
Thought du jour
"Everything that happens, happens as it should, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so."
Marcus Aurelius (121-180), Roman emperor