A Borzoi Picture, the Subject of Many Strange Tales, by Anne Bowen

The innocents, a local play finally opened and introduced some local actors. There have been many strange tales told about the portrait which hangs in the set of this show. Anonymity is maintained by the person that has owned this for a very long time. She was traveling down the street when the picture in a shop window caught her eye and for some reason, still unknown to the owner she parked her car, went into the shop, and bought the picture.

Thinking what exactly she was doing, she asked herself how she can possibly afford that portrait as she stood there while the clerk took it from the window. She remembered that her kids needed to buy clothes, schools and supplies for school time was around the corner. Thinking to herself, she will not buy this for even if it was so beautiful she could not afford it and she will tell that to the clerk. I just can't afford it, but as the clerk in the antique shop turned to put the picture back in the window she said in a very loud voice, I do want the picture, I can't afford it, but I'm going to buy it.

The lady, after paying and walking out of the antique store wondered how exactly she allowed herself to buy it when she could not even afford it, and how she was possibly going to explain to her husband as soon as he finds out about her ridiculous compulsion that made her buy that painting. Its subject was a Russian wolfhound known as a Borzoi, painted using oil as medium, and it was done in the 1800's or the early 1900's, perhaps. It would be a wonder to someone trained to be familiar with this Russian wolfhound's features, why the artist chose to depict the dog in almost a straight on pose, where only its head and shoulders are painted but nevertheless it was a beautiful picture. There is not even proper proportion between the chest and shoulders.

The fact that her eyes are trained to know what a Borzoi should look like exactly makes it seem weird as she bought this picture. When her husband arrived home that evening to find the picture hanging on the wall there was not the blow up of overspending the needed money for a portrait of a dog, instead there was the same strange attraction that she had felt.

There has been quite so many photographers, both experts and newbies taking photos of this painting but there was never an instance that two similar shots of it came out. It was a wonder for the befuddled owners how there would be times that on the Borzoi painting's right side, a silhouette, like a face would appear, then there would be stranger moments when the dog would seem flat then three dimensional all of a sudden, and then strange lights would appear, making it black and white at times, then color at other times.

One time, husband and wife were discussing about whether there was an entity that came along with the picture they had of the Borzoi hound, but then the husband insisted that there was nothing weird about it and they simply imagined too much and it was just light reflections playing with their minds. It was creepy how a large ceramic plate which hung on the wall fell to the ground but as they saw it, it was not broken and neither did it have a crack.

The couple readily agreed to have their portrait loaned to the producer director of the playhouse for his play, the innocents, which was about the supernatural after he heard so much about the portrait and thought that it would be s great add on to his production. We never truly found out who or what it is that moved into our home the day we got the portrait and perhaps you can help us with this as we lend this to you for your production, the Innocents, the couple told the producer. At least this their hope.

Jenifer Ringer Called Fat by Critic

Jenifer Ringer Called “Fat” by Critic
Published by altpferd on December 13, 2010 in Opinions
Tags: Alastair Macaulay, anorexia, ballet, ballet dancer too fat, binge eating, critic, dance, fat ballet dancer, Jenifer Ringer, sugar plum
Jenifer Ringer responds to Alastair Macaulay.
Alastair Macaulay chose not to focus on the performance in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, poor though it might be.  Instead, he chose to criticise the weight of the leading dancers.
As Alastair Macaulay said, and I quote: “This didn’t feel, however, like an opening night. Jenifer Ringer, as the Sugar Plum Fairy, looked as if she’d eaten one sugar plum too many; and Jared Angle, as the Cavalier, seems to have been sampling half the Sweet realm.”
Jenifer Ringer had previously left ballet years ago due to her battle with weight.
She responded by saying “It made me feel bad, it was embarrassing,” and since then there has been a deluge of emails and criticism online of Alastair Macaulay.
Alastair chose to respond by saying ” This has caused a certain brouhaha online, and a minor deluge of reader e-mails, in many cases obscene and abusive. The general feeling was that my characterizations went beyond the pale of civilized discourse. One reader wrote that the review was ‘appalling’, ‘heartbreaking’, ‘childish’, ‘hurtful’ and ‘incompetent’.”
Alastair believes that entering the world of dance means that one must allow criticism of personal physique.
Jenifer Ringer has always been open about her binge eating and anorexia disorder.

Read more: http://newsflavor.com/opinions/jenifer-ringer-called-fat-by-critic/#ixzz1DcHf3Wos

Facts on Shark Attacks - the Truth About Sharks

Useful facts and advice about shark attacks.
The majority of shark attacks appear to be initiated by three species; Tiger, Bull and Great White sharks.  However it is difficult to say with absolute certainity which species might have attacked at any one time.  There are over 450 species of sharks and most can attack when they feel threatened.  Few sharks are deliberate man eaters.  Often the species can only be determined by the shape and size of the shark bite, and even then, this is only an approximate science at this time.
Most shark attacks occur in murky water such as that near river outlets and off beach beyond the surf.  In most cases the water is over 12 degrees Celsius, making more than 80% of shark attacks occuring in tropical and subtropical zones.
There are, on average, 47 shark attacks per year, about 8 of which are fatal, all around the world, according to The International Shark Attack file.  People are much more likely to die from a dog bite than to be attacked by a shark.
How to avoid shark attacks and swim safely:
Don’t swim in river mouths, especially after heavy rain.  This washes freshwater fish into the ocean, which are very attractive to sharks.
Don’t swim near fishing boats or fishermen. Their bait and burley attracts sharks.
Don’t swim if you have a bleeding cut or are menstruating - the blood attracts sharks.
Don’t swim near large schools of fish, seals or sea lions. Sharks love these tidbits.
Dolphins and seabirds indicate a plentiful supply of food that might attract sharks. Don’t swim in those areas.
Remember that sharks can smell food or blood from about 1.6 kilometres away.  Don’t make yourself an easy item on their menu!
And remember, every time you drive your car, you run a much larger risk of having a car accident than you do of experiencing a shark attack whenever you swim.
http://quazen.com/recreation/outdoors/fifth-shark-attack-in-a-week-in-egypt/

Truman Show Disorder - Truman Show Psychiatric Disorder

An emerging psychiatric disorder.
The Truman Show Disorder is the signature disorder of the YouTube age, say two Canadian psychiatrists, Joel and Ian Gold.
They’ve treated at least five patients, aged between 25 and 34. Intelligent, male, white and mostly college educated, these five believe cameras are following their every move in their daily lives.
“Typically, the Truman Show Delusion is a combination of paranoia, grandiosity and ideas of reference, which means that patients believe they are receiving signals specifically meant for them from a newscast or something like that.” as Dr. Joel Gold told Canada’s National Post.
“The Truman Show” was a 1998 movie starring Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, a suburbanite who eventually learns that his every move is televised to viewers all around the world.
The growth of reality television seems to have come with its own set of new mental problems.

Read more: http://telewatcher.com/telewatching/truman-show-disorder/#ixzz1DcAhzfpY

Fifth Shark Attack in A Week In Egypt

Fifth Shark Attack in a Week in Egypt
Published on December 5, 2010 by altpferd in Outdoors
Fifth Shark Attack in a Week in Egypt

Shark attacks continue after officials capture and kill two sharks.

There has been a fifth shark attack at Sharm el-Sheikh, the popular Red Sea resort in Egypt, resulting in a fatality.

A female German tourist has been mauled to death by a shark shortly after the beach was reopened following four other attacks which closed the beach while officials hunted the mankiller shark.

Government officials had captured and killed two sharks, a mako and an oceanic whitetip, but they believe they were not the only sharks behind the attacks.

There are varying opinions on why the sharks may have started attacking humans. South Sinai governor Mohammed Sinai believes the sharks could have been pushed into a feeding frenzy by a livestock ship dumping dead livestock into the ocean, while marine experts believe overfishing may have forced the sharks closer to shore in search of prey.

The International Shark Attack File data says there were 61 shark attacks recorded worldwide in 2009. Five of them were fatal.

http://quazen.com/recreation/outdoors/facts-on-shark-attacks/