Another No Agenda Zone Enhanced News Story

Mirror test suggests elephant self-aware
Tue, October 31, 2006
By AP WASHINGTON -- If you're Happy and you know it, pat your head.
That, in a peanut shell, is how a 34-year-old female Asian elephant in the Bronx Zoo showed researchers that pachyderms can recognize themselves in a mirror. It's complex behaviour observed in only a few other species.
In a 2005 experiment, Happy faced her reflection in an 2 1/2 -by-2 1/2 -metre mirror and repeatedly used her trunk to touch an "X" painted above her eye. The elephant could not
have seen the mark except in her reflection. Furthermore, Happy ignored a similar mark, made on the opposite side of her head in paint of an identical smell and texture, that was invisible unless seen under black light
The test results suggest elephants are self-aware, or at least that Happy is. The ability to distinguish oneself from others had previously been shown only in humans, chimpanzees and, to a limited extent, dolphins.


Weeks later Happy seems to be really getting the hang of the mirror and its importance much to the chagrin of her mate.

Thanks a lot Krazy George

The Wave Celebrates 25 years

Oakland, Calif. (AP) Krazy George, now 62, says he spent three years perfecting the Wave. He first pulled off the move — in which fans take turns, by section, standing up and waving their arms — on Oct. 15, 1981, at the Yankees-A's AL championship series game in the Coliseum. Washington, meanwhile, did it two weeks later, on Oct. 31.


I hate to sound like a party pooper but I think the wave is kind of a distraction when you are at a game. Of course if you don’t stand up with everybody else you are considered a stick in the mud. I also was wondering why it would take someone 3 years to perfect this thing.

Krazy George: “OK everybody NOW!! NO,NO,NO, NO, way too early lets try it again. NO, NO, NO way too late. OK everybody that’s all for today. I want everybody here bright and early tomorrow"

No Agenda Zone Enhanced News Story

US casino magnate gives Picasso's 'Dream' the elbow

Picasso's famed "Dream" painting turned into a nightmare for Las Vegas casino magnate Steve Wynn when he accidentally gave the multi-million dollar canvas an elbow.
Mr Wynn had just finalised a $US139 million ($A184 million) sale to another collector of his painting, called "Le Reve" (The Dream), when he poked a finger-sized hole in the artwork while showing it to friends at his Las Vegas office a couple of weeks ago.
Director and screenwriter Nora Ephron, who witnessed and related the incident in her blog on the Huffington Post website, said Mr Wynn had raised his hand to show the group something about Picasso's 1932 portrait of his mistress Marie-Therese Walter.
"At that moment, his elbow crashed backward right through the canvas. There was a terrible noise," Ms Ephron wrote, noting that Mr Wynn has retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease that damages peripheral vision.
"Smack in the middle ... was a black hole the size of a silver dollar. 'Oh s...,' he said. 'Look what I've done. Thank goodness it was me.'"
-Reuters

6 Months Later

Restoration complete on Picasso’s “Dream” Painting

Picasso’s “Dream” Painting has now been restored thanks to Pierre de Pointe. “This little lady was in really bad shape as you can see” said the famous restorator “ I just couldn’t let her stay like that and I was honored to do it”

Those Crazy Census Bureau People

It’s official: U.S. now at 300 million

Associated Press
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
WASHINGTON — America's official population passed the 300 million mark yesterday, fueled by a growing number of immigrants and their children. There were no fireworks or presidential proclamations. Census Bureau employees had cake and punch.


OK I don’t have the most exciting job in the world either but the way this article was worded kind of cracked me up. I mean can you imagine working for the Census Bureau
and you come home every day for 30 years and your spouse asks “did anything exciting happen at work today honey?” Then finally the day comes when the population reaches 300,000,000. I pictured the conversation going something like : “Yyou better believe it baby can’t you tell by the punch & cake stains all over me?” ”Man oh man what a crazy day!” “I can’t wait till 2043 when we hit 400,000,000”

This prompted another No Agenda Zone illustration showing the Census Bureau when this country hit 300,000,001

ROSIE FALLOUT

I used to kind of like Rosie O'Donnell a while back when she first started her TV show but now I’m sorry but she is just so loud and irritating. So she is the latest subject of a No Agenda Zone illustration.