As well-wishing zombies and witches looked on, a couple got married at a haunted house where they work in Berea, Ohio, USA.
Tina Milhoane, 22, and Robert Seifer III, 24, exchanged vows on October 24th at the entrance to the haunted house's outdoor cemetery.
The groom made his entry in a hearse, emerging from a coffin borne by six pallbearers.
"It's weird watching your son get out of a coffin," said his father, Robert Seifer II. "Usually when you see someone in a coffin, they're going the other way - in, not out."
The minister, clad as the Grim Reaper, read The Lord's Prayer from a scroll clutched in bony-gloved hand.
"This is the sweetest wedding that I've ever been to," said co-worker Tim Perrien, his face caked in make-up. His date, Jessica Repas, was dripping with blood as the lead character in the horror move "Carrie".
The last word on the subject (see comment) has come in from the bride: "This was a very 'typical' wedding in a very 'unique' location"...Here's wishing the the newly weds a very long and happy married life!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
New York seeks help of 720,000 ladybugs to kill pests
Ladybugs, 720,000 of them, have been released in the middle of New York City to help protect one of the city's biggest apartment complexes from pests. In the next days and weeks, they will crawl into plants, flowers and shrubs in the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village complex in search of insects whose smell attracts them - soft-bodied, leaf-sucking aphids and mites. Buying the bugs - at $16.50 (euro11.5) for 2,000 - means the complex's owner, Tishman Speyer, can avoid using chemical insecticides.
``In most cases, we reach for a can of pesticide - and we kill not only the 'bad guys,' but the 'good guys,''' said Eric Vinje, owner of Planet Natural, which supplied the pest-killers.
``All we're doing here is putting more of the 'good guys' to tip the scale, to get some kind of pest population control.''
He said a ladybug can eat up to 50 pests a day, plus insect eggs.
A church on the move in Germany
A 660-tonne stone church was lifted lock stock and barrel on to a giant rolling platform in eastern Germany on October 22nd to make the 12-kilometre journey to its new home. The church in the village of Heuersdorf had to be moved because it was sitting on extensive deposits of lignite, or brown coal.
Mining work to extract the lignite, a fuel used in power generation plants, is expected to start soon. Packed tightly into a cradle of wooden supports, the 750-year-old church complete with tiled bell tower was separated from its foundations and lifted 1.5 metres to be placed on the rolling platforms.
It started its painstakingly slow journey to the village of Borna on October 24th and is expected to arrive by October 31st, said Regina Messinger of the Mibrag mining company that is moving the church in a project costing $4.2 million.
After 27 years, US couple gets wedding photos...
Karen and Mark Cline of Mansfield, USA, were teenagers when they got married and didn't have $150 to pay a photographer for their wedding photos.
But now they have the pictures, just in time for their 27th anniversary on Thursday.
Their photographer located Karen Cline last week at the diner where she works and surprised her with a photo album.
"About a month ago, I was just cleaning out some of my old things and I found it," said photographer Jim Wagner, who is now 80. "I knew she didn't have any money back then, and I just thought she might like to have it."
It was too much for Karen Cline. "I just stood there and cried and cried and hugged him," she said.
She said she was 18 at the time, and felt heartsick because she and her husband, who was 19, could not afford to pay Wagner. All they had was a single photo that someone else took.
Wagner said he was able to track down Karen Cline after running into her stepfather a few weeks ago. He said she immediately wrote him a check for $150 (euro 105.41).
But now they have the pictures, just in time for their 27th anniversary on Thursday.
Their photographer located Karen Cline last week at the diner where she works and surprised her with a photo album.
"About a month ago, I was just cleaning out some of my old things and I found it," said photographer Jim Wagner, who is now 80. "I knew she didn't have any money back then, and I just thought she might like to have it."
It was too much for Karen Cline. "I just stood there and cried and cried and hugged him," she said.
She said she was 18 at the time, and felt heartsick because she and her husband, who was 19, could not afford to pay Wagner. All they had was a single photo that someone else took.
Wagner said he was able to track down Karen Cline after running into her stepfather a few weeks ago. He said she immediately wrote him a check for $150 (euro 105.41).
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
With less dentists, Britons get desperate; extract own teeth themselves...
Falling numbers of state dentists in England has led to some people taking extreme measures, including extracting their own teeth, according to a new study released recently.
Others have used superglue to stick crowns back on, rather than stumping up for private treatment, said the study. One person spoke of carrying out 14 extractions on himself with pliers.
More typically, a lack of publicly-funded dentists means that growing numbers go private: 78% of private patients said they were there because they could not find a National Health Service dentist, and only 15% because of better treatment. “This is an uncomfortable read for all of us, and poses serious questions to politicians from patients," said Sharon Grant of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health.
Overall, 6% of patients had resorted to self-treatment, according to the poll of 5,000 people, which found that one in five had decided against dental work because of the cost. One expert involved in compiling the study — carried out by England's Patient and Public Involvement Forums — came across three people in one morning who had pulled out teeth themselves.
Others have used superglue to stick crowns back on, rather than stumping up for private treatment, said the study. One person spoke of carrying out 14 extractions on himself with pliers.
More typically, a lack of publicly-funded dentists means that growing numbers go private: 78% of private patients said they were there because they could not find a National Health Service dentist, and only 15% because of better treatment. “This is an uncomfortable read for all of us, and poses serious questions to politicians from patients," said Sharon Grant of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health.
Overall, 6% of patients had resorted to self-treatment, according to the poll of 5,000 people, which found that one in five had decided against dental work because of the cost. One expert involved in compiling the study — carried out by England's Patient and Public Involvement Forums — came across three people in one morning who had pulled out teeth themselves.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
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