Intro
Week 15. It seems the festive season has begun. It's just under a month until Christmas now, and to mark the start of yule time, I went to the light switch on. It was pretty fun, I met Santa.
Culture
The leaning tower of Pisa isn't leaning as much as it used to.
Over the past 20 years, engineers have been trying straighten the iconic structure, and recently they have stated that the tower has recovered 4 centimetres of tilt and that it's structural health is better than it was.
The tower was opened back up to the public in 2001 after being closed for a decade so that engineers could reduce it's slant. The workers managed to recover a substantial 17 inches of tilt during that time, using thousands of lead counterweights and extracting soil from the base of the tower.
It seems all those photos of people pushing the tower have finally paid off.
(Source: USA Today)
Christmas things?
A shopping centre in the Isle of Man has sparked some controversy this week after people saw their Christmas display for the first time.
The display at Tynwald Mills mall shows two polar bears getting particularly "cozy", much to the shock or amusement of many shoppers. A number of people took to twitter, tweeting their bemusement at seeing the gentle giants and noting how the pair looked... stylised.
The centre has since apologized and thanked shoppers for 'getting a little too much into Christmas" and said that the "interactive display" has since been tweaked.
I suppose it's going to get colder so it's one way to keep warm.
(Source: Mirror Online)
TV
One of Netflix's new original shows has caused some legal conflict recently with a pretty obscure claimant.
The Satanic Temple attempted to sue Netflix and Warner Bros after they included footage of a statue depicting Baphomet, in the new Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina. However, the two groups have since reached an amicable settlement, which means that every episode must now cite the statue's 'unique characteristics' in the credits.
Although, during the lawsuit, the Satanic Temple stated that they had received hate-mail from angry fans, accusing the group of trying to ruin the show, and they asked that people not put their entertainment above religious freedom.
(Source: Hollywood Reporter)
Crime
A New Orleans man has been arrested after he made a bomb threat, but it seems as though that may not have been his intent.
Apparently, Arthur Posey walked into Willie's Chicken Shack and asked what time the restaurant was to close. He then said "Y'all about to close up right now because I'm about to get a bomb and blow this place up".
That seems pretty explicit, however Mr Posey claims that by 'this place' he meant the toilet as he really needed to go... I imagine the employees did too after that.
(Source: Huffpost)
More Crime
A British academic has been pardoned by the United Arab Emirates after he was sentenced to life in prison for spying.
Matthew Hedges has said he was there to research the country's security strategies for his PhD and has completely denied spying. He was pardoned as part of the country's National Day anniversary, but a spokesman said he was "100% a secret service operative."
He was apparently forced to sign a confession stating that he worked for MI6, without a lawyer present. the document was also in Arabic, which Mr Hedges cannot read. He is now en route to the British embassy in the country.
(Source: BBC News)
TV
One of Netflix's new original shows has caused some legal conflict recently with a pretty obscure claimant.
The Satanic Temple attempted to sue Netflix and Warner Bros after they included footage of a statue depicting Baphomet, in the new Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina. However, the two groups have since reached an amicable settlement, which means that every episode must now cite the statue's 'unique characteristics' in the credits.
Although, during the lawsuit, the Satanic Temple stated that they had received hate-mail from angry fans, accusing the group of trying to ruin the show, and they asked that people not put their entertainment above religious freedom.
(Source: Hollywood Reporter)
Crime
A New Orleans man has been arrested after he made a bomb threat, but it seems as though that may not have been his intent.
Apparently, Arthur Posey walked into Willie's Chicken Shack and asked what time the restaurant was to close. He then said "Y'all about to close up right now because I'm about to get a bomb and blow this place up".
That seems pretty explicit, however Mr Posey claims that by 'this place' he meant the toilet as he really needed to go... I imagine the employees did too after that.
(Source: Huffpost)
More Crime
A British academic has been pardoned by the United Arab Emirates after he was sentenced to life in prison for spying.
Matthew Hedges has said he was there to research the country's security strategies for his PhD and has completely denied spying. He was pardoned as part of the country's National Day anniversary, but a spokesman said he was "100% a secret service operative."
He was apparently forced to sign a confession stating that he worked for MI6, without a lawyer present. the document was also in Arabic, which Mr Hedges cannot read. He is now en route to the British embassy in the country.
(Source: BBC News)
