The A'cat'emy

Meow Mix, a cat-food manufacturer, is starting the world's first feline-centred school (above) dedicated to teaching pet parents how to think like a cat. Based in New York, the school will feature a wide range of guest speakers and interactive courses that promise to cover everything from reading a cat's mind to studying the fine art of catnap. There is even a cat-cuisine segment!

Among the visiting faculty are "experts on walking the catwalk; authorities on singing like a cat" and other catty personalities. The fees? Mum... I mean, meow is the word. » Continue reading

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Women on stage? Nothing big

But Guinness book of records says it's a feat, especially when 1,200 of them are on stage together. The performance was at Kochi (Cochin) on November 28, 2006 at Art of Living Foundation's silver jubilee celebrations. The women, all Mohiniyattam dancers, enchanted not just the over 1,00,000 crowd with the Dance of the Enchantress that Kerala's own art-form is, but the Guinness team, too. » Continue reading

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Poetic pill

Prisoners in Kerala can cheer. They will soon get a 'release' -- into the world of poems, music and literature. Bringing it all to them will be poets, playwrights, novelists and musicians, who will present reading sessions and live concerts in prisons across the state. The first of these 'reform pills' will be 'administered' in the next few months. Poetic justice, indeed! » Continue reading

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Stealthy death

Russian roulette is passé; it is the Rangoon version that is becoming shocking. Thieves here are taking advantage of power-cuts, often lasting more than 20 hours a day, to steal the copper power cables. Sometimes they get unlucky as it is impossible to know exactly when the power is going to be restored. And the end is, predictably, macabre. » Continue reading

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Cheers to the cup of tears

For those who believe in drowning their sorrows, a bar in the Chinese town of Nanjing is just the place. Broken-hearted patrons are provided tissues and menthol drops along with their drink. Friendly bartenders also provide onions and red peppers for those who have some difficulty in letting out the tears.

The mood is decidedly downbeat with sad music in the background and dolls available for customers to throw around or beat to vent their anger. Customers must pay the equivalent of US$6 an hour, in addition to their drinks' bill, to weep and wail. But it would seem that drinking to forget is a favoured option.

Interestingly, the drinking habit in China has marked a rise in the past couple of years. The country, boosted by increasing incomes and a rising number of women drinkers, has replaced the United States as the world's largest beer brewer since 2002. » Continue reading

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Tears of stone

Photos fade, but memories in granite do not vanish. For the sculptors of Barre, Vermont, immortality is a perk of their job.

The 85-acre Hope Cemetery, opened in 1895, is an example of their classic art. Every one of the 10,000 plus monuments here is made of Barre Gray granite.

One carving has a couple sitting up in bed wearing pajamas and holding hands. A stone race-car celebrate local driver Joey Laguerre. Ace sculptor Brusa's grave has his statue of 'The Dying Man,' slipping away, held by his wife.

» Continue reading

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Hitching a ride

When a ship carrier aircraft, you call it an aircraft carrier; and when an aircraft carries space shuttles? Yes, a shuttle carrier aircraft (SCA). In picture is the Atlantis riding piggyback on the NASA 911. The NASA's SCAs are two modified Boeing 747 jets. The SCAs are used to ferry shuttles back to the Kennedy Space Center from landing sites too distant for ground transport. The SCA-shuttle combo burns 100 litres of fuel per kilometre and can fly non-stop for 1,900 km. Each transcontinental trip costs about $1.7 million and its ground handling crew alone is 170-strong! » Continue reading

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