Bus Stops - February 28

Claims of UFO sighting on Baildon Moor after picture taken of gold disc (The Telegraph Handargus) 

(This photograph - showing a gold object of some kind above Baildon Moor - was sent in to the Telegraph & Argus today. To some, it might appear it is a frisbee or some such object, but James Hobbs, who took the picture, is convinced it was flying saucer. Mr Hobbs, who works in Shipley and whose office overlooks the moor, said he heard a "loud vibrating noise" while walking there at about 7am today.)

Probe after Judge pulls out a gun in court and tells sex attack VICTIM she's 'killing her case' (Daily Mail) 

(A North Georgia judge stunned a courtroom after he pulled out a gun during a rape case to criticise a witness for not being cooperative. Judge David Barrett told the female witness she was ‘killing her case’ and that she might as well shoot her lawyer. As he made the statement he pretended to offer her his handgun before prosecutor Jeff Langley told him the gesture was inappropriate.)

Stephen Hawking Over the Moon About Sex Club? (Newser) 

(Famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking doesn't only have his head in the stars. He's also a sex club fan, reports Radar. And now even Cambridge University is admitting it, notes the Daily Mail. The 70-year-old astro-philosopher has visited a Southern California swingers and sex club with his assistants and nurses. He paid for private shows with naked dancers at the Freedom Acres Club in Devore, a spot he has visited "more than a handful of times" in the last few years, says a source. "I've spoken to him on several occasions, and have shared drinks with people in his group," says the insider. Cambridge officials deny the wheelchair-bound Hawking is a "regular" at the high-flying club. The report is "greatly exaggerated. He visited once a few years ago with friends while on a visit to California," reads a university statement.)

Weird 'dog-headed pig monster' terrorizes Africa (MSNBC) 

(Residents in northern Namibia, on the southwest coast of Africa, have reported being terrorized by a bizarre dog-pig hybrid creature. The animal is said to be mostly white and unlike anything the villagers have ever seen, with a doglike head and the broad, round, nearly hairless back and shoulders of a giant pig. The beast was spotted chasing and attacking dogs, goats and other domestic animals in this arid region not far from the Kalahari desert.)

Man Tricks Police to Find Lost Jacket (Rian) 

(Three years behind bars is a high price to return a missing jacket, but it all depends on how you look for it. A resident of Bryansk region alerted police about a bomb in a Moscow subway station, but what he really wanted was for them to find his jacket, the capital’s police said on Tuesday. The unnamed 18-year-old left the jacket put in a bag with his passport in a pocket at a station, police said on their website, without specifying the station.)

Giant Prehistoric Penguins Stood Nearly 5 Feet Tall (Wired) 

(Paleontologists have constructed a model of a prehistoric penguin that stood almost 4 feet 6 inches tall when it lived in what is now New Zealand, approximately 25 million years ago. Named Kairuku, a Maori word that means “diver who returns with food,” the penguin was reconstructed from fossilised bones that were collected in 1977 by Dr Ewan Fordyce, a paleontologist from the University of Otago.)

Getting kicked off a plane led to new AMC series for Kevin Smith (Boston Herald) 

(When filmmaker-writer-producer Kevin Smith was kicked off an airplane three years ago for being too fat, little did he know it would incite a series of events that would change his life. At the time, it was a tragedy, he says, seated in a noisy restaurant at a hotel here, dressed in his usual orange-and-blue hockey jersey. “That was the worst,” he says. “For a dude who was at that point so sensitive about his (expletive) weight, that was my Achilles heel. There were 5,000 Google articles. It stayed at the top of Google for the next three days. That was beyond trying. That was the worst.”)

Comic Book Men invites (Elpaisono Newspaper) 

("Comic Book Men" is a one hour unscripted television series created by director Kevin Smith. Smith is most famously known for directing and starring in the hilarious comedies ‘Clerks', and ‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'. "Comic Book Men" is set in a New Jersey comic store named Jay and Silent Bobs Secret Stash, where Smith and friends have discussions about comics, memorabilia, and business revolving around their store. The friends; Walt, Michael, Brian, and Ming are store employees. Everyone in the show brings their own character and flavor of comedy to the show.)

Q&A - Bryan Johnson (AMCTV) 

(Bryan Johnson is not an employee at Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, but he's as much a part of the store as anyone else. In this exclusives interview with AMCtv.com, he talks about the drawbacks of having a potty mouth on reality TV and his love of busting Ming's chops.)

Did bus drivers leave Duval students stranded because of Daytona race? (Jacksonville.com) 

(A school bus service that missed pickups for dozens of Duval County elementary students Monday, leaving many in the rain at bus stops, faces a fine by the school district. Meanwhile, officials with the bus company, Student Transportation America, wouldn’t answer questions Tuesday about whether their charter service to the Daytona 500 race disrupted school bus routes.)

Local teens' creative juices fuel new Lady Gaga tour bus (Chicago Tribune) 

(There are many ways for teenagers to wind up at Harvard. The way it's working for six Chicago-area kids who'll be featured in a celebrity philanthropic event there Wednesday has to be among the most extraordinary, involving a superstar singer, a Chicago charity and hangout time spent willingly at the library. Working out of the YOUmedia teen space at Chicago's Harold Washington Library Center, the 16- and 17-year-olds have been helping to design a tour bus forLady Gaga, a specialized vehicle that will join the pop star's caravan when she goes out on the road again next year.)

One Million Moms attempt Toys ‘R’ Us boycott over gay Archie comic book sales (Wired) 

(Despite their failed attempt to dethrone Ellen DeGeneres from her post at JCPenney, the group One Million Moms is at is again — only this time, the group has set their eyes on attacking a cartoon character and its affiliates. Archie Comics and Toys ‘R’ Us are the latest nemeses to make the hit list at the anti-gay organization following an announcement that One Million Moms will boycott the kids’ superstore if they refuse to remove the gay comic book from its shelves.)

Vincent Price to get spine-tingling comic book series (Coventry Telegraph) 

(MASTER OF HORROR Vincent Price may be gone but he will live on in a new series of comic books. Bluewater Comics is launching Vincent Price's House of Horrors, a four-issue miniseries spinning off from its previous title Vincent Price Presents. "This new series will focus on one-shot stories that will have you at the edge of your seat," said Bluewater president Darren G. Davis. "The stories are all new and have a certain horror element about them that hasn't been seen before.")

Comic book content causes concerns for some (WNYT) 

(When you think of comic books, you might think Archie, Batman or Richie Rich. Those comics are still around, but the content has changed. Some say it's a sign of the times. Sex and violence is everywhere. TV, video games, music and yes, even comic books. To keep our kids safe, we don't need super powers, but we do need to be vigilant.)

Cosplayers Run in 2012 Tokyo Marathon (Ani.me) 

(I saw this last night and for a brief moment was actually surprised that people would actually get into cosplay just to run a marathon. Then I remembered that it’s Tokyo and that surprise quickly faded into 'OF COURSE there are cosplayers in the Tokyo marathon!’ Yes, recently there was a marathon run in Tokyo and cosplayers were out in full force to join in the athletic event that I couldn’t do if my life depended on it (I don’t even like running to the store to get coffee and smokes). For those who do care about these things, the winner of the race was a Michael Kipyego from Kenya who ran the race in 2:07:37 (again, not if my life depended on it) while Japan’s Arata Fujiwara finished second with a time of 2:07:48.)

One Fanboy’s Quest to Sneak Aboard Comic Book Panels Far and Wide (Wired) 

(Superhero fanboys lead vicarious lives. Some trudge through conventions with knives made of spray-painted cardboard taped to their knuckles. Others, like masked crusader Phoenix Jones, bust Seattle carjackers. But sometimes wearing orange foam bricks and growling, “It’s clobberin’ time!” just doesn’t scratch the itch. Enter Jeff Johnson. Popping up in nearly 30 comic books, he has become the industry’s Waldo—a lurking stowaway who has managed to hijack the unlikeliest panels.)

Batman named greatest comic hero (Guardian UK) 

(Batman's utility belt doesn't really compare to the superpowers of Spider-Man and Superman, but Gotham City's caped crusader has nonetheless been named the greatest comic hero of all time. The readers of Comic Heroes magazine voted for Batman, the alias of billionaire Bruce Wayne, as their top comic hero, ahead of the second-placed Spider-Man and the third-placed Superman. The magazine is not the first to rank heroes from the world of comics: in 2008 Empire magazine put Superman top, followed by Batman and John Constantine, the exorcist created by Alan Moore, while the Man of Steel also topped a list from IGN.)

Batman helps rescue UK developers (China Daily) 

(Hollywood is helping London developers weather the financial crisis by turning empty offices into film sets, providing cash and publicity for landlords struggling to fill buildings with tenants because of the uncertain economic outlook. In addition to films and television shows, a growing number of developers are also opening their doors to events like London Fashion Week or temporary retail sites for online companies such as Amazon, eBay and Google.)

Batman helps rescue UK developers (China Daily) 

(Dark Knight’ spoof skits help Albany filmmaker attract paying clients for Neumann Films From his perch at the top of The Wheelhouse office building in downtown Albany, Luke Neumann, 28, looked down at the Albany police officer. The police officer returned the stare, his gaze sweeping over Neumann’s Batman suit. Then he shook his head and burst out laughing.)

Dogs' feet give Japan scientists paws for thought (Reuters) 

(Ever wonder how dogs can walk barefoot in the snow? Now a Japanese scientist may have the answer -- an internal central heating system. The secret lies in how dogs circulate their blood to prevent cold surfaces from chilling the rest of their bodies, according to Hiroyoshi Ninomiya, a professor at Yamazaki Gakuen University, just west of Tokyo.)

Jeremy Lin’s Triumph Over Stereotype Threat (Time) 

(One of my favorite parts of the Jeremy Lin story is his victory over stereotype threat. Stereotype threat is the idea that we are all aware of the stereotypes that exist about our demographic group and we try to avoid fulfilling those pre-existing notions. We prefer to think of ourselves as individuals and feeling trapped within the limited expectations of our demo is demoralizing. We struggle to define ourselves apart from the expectations for our group, but as we fight to resist falling prey to fulfilling stereotypes our attention is split and thus performance can decline, which can increase anxiety about living down to the expectations we want to destroy. This potentially paralyzing fear is stereotype threat.)

Occupy London Camp Is Evicted (Time) 

(Members of Occupy London stand by a barricade they constructed of packing crates as they resist eviction outside St Paul's Cathedral on Feb. 28, 2012. After 137 days and the resignation of two senior clerics. Bailiffs, backed by riot police, cleared the encampment and arrested 20 activists.)

Pentagon: Some 9/11 remains went to landfill (CBS) 

(The Pentagon revealed Tuesday that partial, incinerated remains of some 9/11 victims that could not be identified were sent to a landfill. The number of victims involved was unclear according to a Pentagon report, but it involved some of those killed when a terrorist-hijacked airplane struck the Pentagon, killing 184, and another crashed in Shanksville, Pa., killing 40, in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.)

Ohio school suspect confesses as death toll climbs (Montreal Gazette) 

(The 17-year-old boy held in a shooting rampage at an Ohio high school has confessed to opening fire on fellow students he picked at random, prosecutors said on Tuesday, as two more teenagers died, bringing the death toll to three. Prosecutors identified the suspect as T.J. Lane and said he has admitted to taking a knife and a .22-caliber pistol into the cafeteria at Chardon High School in a town 35 miles (56 km) east of Cleveland on Monday and firing 10 rounds.)

Tenn. nightclub shooting leaves 1 dead, 19 injured (AJC) 

(Police in West Tennessee say one man was killed and 19 other people were injured early Sunday when gunmen opened fire in a nightclub. Jackson Police Lt. Tyreece Miller said officers were called to the Karma Lounge in downtown Jackson at about 2 a.m. Sunday. They arrived to find one man dead, 17 people with gunshot wounds and two who were trampled.)

Murdoch’s ‘Sun’ newspaper found to be illegally paying sources (Raw Story) 

(Journalists at Britain’s Sun newspaper paid large sums of cash to corrupt public officials, aware the practice was criminal, an inquiry into press ethics heard on Monday, revelations that could prove damaging to Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. The police officer heading three criminal inquires centered on Murdoch’s British newspaper arm, News International, said the Sun had operated a “culture … of illegal payments.”)