This is definitely bizarre. In the Philippines, Easter is celebrated by nailing several poor souls to crosses and reenacting the crucifixion of Christ. No one is actually killed, but their hands and feet are nailed to wooden crosses. This is, please note, by their own volition. Click here for more.
I’ve been super busy lately, so that’s why postings are sparse. Anyway, I saw this story from ABC News and just had to share it. Want your appendix removed? Doctors can now take it from your mouth. Click here for more.
The sound and video quality in parts of this film are not the best. Music you hear in several scenes is coming from the St. Patrick’s Day celebration going on across the street from the theater. Please leave feedback.
**NOTE** Make sure your monitor’s brightness is turned up. The film seems to play a little dark on some monitors. Also, the film is best viewed with headphones.
If you’re looking for something to do tonight, check out the St. Patrick’s Day Celebration on the empty parking lot behind the Corner Cafe, also known as Oil Heritage Park, at Jefferson and Cedar streets downtown.
According to a news release, “There will be activities for kids of all ages throughout the day including an authentic bagpipe player who will be performing downtown all afternoon. Visitors are welcome to check out all of the unique shops and restaurants located downtown for special St. Patrick’s Day surprises.”
The Rock-Paper-Scissors Championship will begin at 5 p.m. El Dorado resident Charley Hankins won last year’s event.
The winner Saturday will take home $200 plus other gifts.
At 7 p.m. you can catch a free concert with Dave Almond with his unique blend of Americana music. The trio Pail was scheduled to play after that, but the group’s drummer, Chad Morris, had pneumonia so the band had to cancel. Fortunately, the group Hamilton Stone has agreed to step in and play Saturday night. If you have any energy left after the St. Patrick’s Day party, the Corner Cafe will host a St. Patrick’s Day Jam starting around 9 p.m. tonight.
And don’t forget the green beer. Happy St. Patty’s Day!
I’ll be over at the Rialto Theater with the paranormal group looking for spooks. — John Worthen.
**UPDATE** The Union County Sheriff’s Office is reporting today that no significant damage occurred during Friday night’s storms — just downed trees and some hail damage.
By JOHN WORTHEN
For Between Editions
Two rounds of powerful thunderstorms raked through Union County Friday evening, producing golfball-sized hail, heavy rain and high winds.
Officials with the National Weather Service in Shreveport, La., issued a tornado warning for Union County at approximately 10:08 p.m. after Doppler radar indicated a possible tornado moving into the Smackover area from Ouachita County.
Earlier in the night, a separate storm caused hail and wind damage to parts of the county, according to a spokesman for the Union County Sheriff’s Office. Large hail reportedly pierced the roof of Amercable’s headquarters on Industrial Road, and numerous trees were also down throughout parts of the county.
A clerk who answered the phone at the SUMAC Mart in Smackover said that many buildings and residences in that city were without power as of 10 p.m. Friday.
By John Worthen
For Between Editions
Debris is strewn through the streets of Atlanta tonight after a possible tornado rolled through the downtown area. Damaged buildings include the Georgia Dome, the CNN Center, dozens of downtown hotels and other buildings. The storm interrupted an SEC basketball game in progress inside the dome after that structure began shaking violently in high winds. Numerous injuries are being reported throughout Atlanta.
Click here for more from CNN.
If you see a long-haired guy around town with a video camera, he’s with the Arkansas Educational Television Network. They’re filming a documentary on the SPARTA Aquifer. Look for it sometime later this year on AETN.
By John Worthen
For Between Editions
Sorry for the slow posting today. I’ve been working a story on the economy, gas prices, etc., for our print edition. What I’ve found so far is that we are actually lucky in El Dorado, in that our housing market isn’t as bad as in some areas of the country, where foreclosures are rampant and people are becoming homeless because they can no longer afford to pay their banks.
Still, food prices are continuing to rise here and everywhere else, and we all know that gas prices are rocketing upward. Look for more on this story in the coming days.
Newsweek magazine has a fascinating article this week about Barack Obama. It examines the woman known only as “his mother from Kansas.” The piece describes how free spirited Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro was and how that wanderlust rubbed off on her young son. Click here for more. The above photo shows Barack with his mother in Hawaii.
This video shows just how dangerous reporting the news can be. CBS affiliate WSPA-TV reporter Charmayne Brown was attacked outside a South Carolina home after filing her story on the arrest of a murder suspect. She had just finished a “live shot” outside of the home when family members of the suspect attacked her.
The all-white family also yelled racial slurs at Brown, who is black. Brown received only minor injuries and was able to tell her story to CBS News. Click here for that interview. Below is the actual video of the attack.
Warning, the video contains violent content.
By John Worthen
For Between Editions
In the news business, people sometimes think that we write or photograph things just to offend them. In reality, all we do is report what we hear and see. We don’t make news, we report it. But this photo, which appeared in the News-Times Tuesday on page 6A, offended many.
Shortly after the day began, calls and e-mails poured into the newsroom from people who thought the picture was inappropriate. Other callers thought it was humorous or ironic. Here’s an account from the man who took the photo, Larry Singer, who describes his journalistic reasons for taking it:
“When I took the picture, which shows a crude hand painted sign warning that people could go to Heaven or Hell, and which ironically was located across the street from the Hillsboro Street Church of Christ, I thought the irony of the proximity of the hand-painted sign and church just had to be documented.
“After all, on one corner was a sign telling people they had to make a choice between the burning pit of Hades or an eternity with the angels, and right across the street was an institution whose primary responsibility is helping people make the moral decisions so that they wind up in the right place. I did not imply in the caption below the picture that the church put up the sign.
“My only goal was to show it was ironic that here was a sign telling people they have to make an important decision, and all they had to do was go across the street and the church would help guide them on the proper path.
“Little did I know, or even suspect, that the hand painted sign had been a sore spot for many of the church’s members for a long time. And taking a picture that showed the two signs near each other might give some of our readers the incorrect impression that the church was in some way responsible for the hand painted sign.
“When the picture was published, I was surprised at the controversy, which was generated mainly by people who belonged to the church.
“Now, people as far away as California have seen the picture, heard the controversy and added their comments. If nothing else, this proves that in this computer-generated digital age, a wide variety of ideas and opinions can travel faster and farther than ever before.” — Larry Singer, News-Times photographer.
By John Worthen
For Between Editions
A recently commissioned poll by the University of Central Arkansas in Conway says that the majority of Arkansans support the proposed lottery amendment to fund education.
From UCA: “A random sample of 500 statewide respondents was interviewed by telephone from March 6 through March 11, and the sample was equally distributed among the state’s four congressional districts, with a margin of error of ±4.5 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. A more detailed explanation of the methodology is included in the survey report.
“Asked if they would vote for a state constitutional amendment that would establish a lottery to fund college scholarships for Arkansas citizens, 64 percent said they would vote to approve it, 29 percent would vote against it, and 7 percent were undecided.”
What do you think? Is this a good idea for Arkansas?
Built in 1929, the Rialto is said to have numerous ghosts or spirits within.
Richard Mason, who owns the building, brought in a psychic last month to search for spirits. The News-Times covered that event on March 1. Carol Pate said she saw numerous spirits during her tour of the theater, including a heavyset man upstairs.
“I get the feeling that maybe he owned the place. He sort of takes care of things, like a caretaker,” she said, describing the man as wearing a vest and pocket watch. “Maybe he’ll contact us later.”
Pate proceeded on her tour to the stage of the main theater, where she saw a second spirit, a young lady dressed in 1920s attire, near the stage. Another, a little boy named Charlie, was seen by Pate in the lobby.
“There’s been an explosion,” she said, leaning against her companion for support. “He lost his daddy. This is where he came to be happy. He wanders through here.”
Pate sat in the main lobby for a moment to rest — she gets “woozy” when she uses her gift, she said — before making her way back to the sidewalk where she proclaimed the Rialto “a very interesting place.”
“There is absolutely no truth to it, we will remain proudly Applebee’s,” the owner said.
Hurrah!
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