October 2012 Archives

Tourists are flocking to Bojira, a small town in Spain, to see a botched restoration of a painting.

The Ecce Homo , located in the Sanctuary of Mary Church, received international attention this summer after amateur painter Cecilia Gimenez unsuccessfully attempted to restore it.

However, the failed attempt may be doing more good than harm. Tourism has increased by a significant rate in Bojira.

"Usually in mid October we get about 20 visitors a day during the week," Jose Maria Aznar, custodian for the church, said. "Now, its 150. And on the weekends, we're getting up to 1500 visitors. Everyone is really happy with what's going on."

The fresco has found popularity on the internet as well.

The second presidential debate Tuesday night gave plenty of insight on the two candidates for voters, but it also gave ammunition to internet farce from an unlikely source.

The debate was held in a town hall style, allowing audience members to ask questions to candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. The final, "tough," question of the night from Barry Green spawned a flurry of activity on social media sites.

"What do you believe is the biggest misperception (sic) that the American people have about you as a man and a candidate?" Green asked. "Using specific examples, can you take this opportunity to debunk that misperception and set us straight?"

Debate watchers jumped to Twitter to offer mock-tough questions for the two candidates, causing the hashtag "#ToughQuestionsFromBarry" to trend.

Actor Wil Wheaton got in on the fun with several of his own parody Barry Green-esque questions, including this one about Transformers.

A basejumper broke the sound barrier last Sunday,falling to Earth from over 24 miles above it.

Felix Baumgartner, 43, is from Salzburg, Austria. He jumped from a hot air balloon as part of the Red Bull Stratos project.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4nJF9JFleI

The sound barrier is described as the speed at which objects move from transonic to supersonic speeds. Baumgartner surpassed it, falling at a maximum speed of 833.9 miles/hour.

Baumgartner now holds the world records for highest parachute jump and greatest free fall velocity.

Vice President Joe Biden and Representative Paul Ryan met in Louisville, Kentucky Thursday night for the first and only Vice Presidential debate of the 2012 campaign.

Martha Raddatz moderated for CNN. She held a strong command of the debate and kept both parties on topic despite their starkly differing views.

Biden and Ryan differed on just about every issue presented Thursday night, including abortion, the Afghanistan War and the economy.

"The choice is clear: a stagnant economy that promotes more government dependency or a dynamic, growing economy that promotes opportunity and jobs," Ryan said. "Mitt Romney and I will not duck the tough issues, and we will not blame others for the next four years."

Biden focused in on Romney's 47% comment. The Vice president said, "He's talking about the people that have built this country. All they're looking for is an even shot."

Both parties held their own, and the debate was much closer than the first Presidential Debate. No clear winner emerged from Thursday's debate.

The Vikings fell to 4-2 and second place in the NFC North after a 38-26 loss to the Washington Redskins.

After three consecutive field goals, the Vikings held a 9-0 lead going into the second quarter, but Washington responded with 24 unanswered points and never looked back.

All eyes were on Robert Griffin III Sunday afternoon after Washington's sensational rookie quarterback attempted to lead his team to victory just one week after sustaining a concussion. RG3 looked impressive with two rushing touchdowns, including a 76-yard run in the fourth quarter that all but sealed the win for Washington.

The Vikings will look to rebound next week when they host the 4-2 Arizona Cardinals.

When there's no room left in hell, the dead will walk the Earth. Or the pubs.

Thousands of Twin Cities residents gathered Saturday night for the eighth annual Zombie Pub Crawl. Long gone are the days of just 80 to 100 participants. The Zombie Pub Crawl is an officially recognized holiday in Minneapolis after its organizers tweeted at Mayor RT Rybak.

But the event is far from spontaneous. It takes coordination between the organizers, police and local businesses to ensure safety and supplies are readily available.

"Every day I get up and it's Zombie Pub Crawl until I either have to go to bed, or I can't sleep because I'm trying to go to bed and I'm stressed about it," Co-founder Jonathan Ackerman said in a City Pages interview. "We have nightmares about zombies, but just that we're not entertaining them."