Bond humor doesn't translate

As is apparent from Paramount's epic effort to woo Chinese filmgoers and sponsors with Beijing scenes and product placement in Transformers, the world's most populous nation has become vital to the fortunes of Hollywood studios. This, however, does not please some of the older members of the film industry, who pine for the days when their words didn't risk being lost in translation. Count Monty Python star John Cleese among them, as he recently told the UK's Radio Times that he thinks that the James Bond movies have lost their trademark humor. "The big money was coming from Asia, from the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, where the audiences go to watch the action sequences, and that's why in my opinion the action sequences go on for too long, and it's a fundamental flaw," says Cleese.

Cyclist survives goose attack

A cyclist in Ottawa, Canada, is speaking out after surviving a serious attack by a Canada goose. As reported by CBC News, Kerry Surman was riding her bike on the Trans Canada Trail on June 10 and saw a gaggle of geese crossing the trail. Two adult Canada geese crossed with goslings and then another adult goose crossed shortly after. Surman thought that the coast was clear. "I think, 'They're going to be protective but I'm just going to zip by because they've all gone by,'" she recounted. "But I misjudged how quickly I was going. They thought that I was threatening them and the goose attacked me as I was riding my bike." Surman spent five days in the hospital healing from a concussion, facial lacerations, a fractured cheekbone, severe vertigo, and loose teeth. She also walked away with "a very healthy respect for mother nature."

Which way to Granada?

A District of Columbia couple has sued British Airways, saying the airline ruined their vacation by booking them tickets to the Caribbean island of Grenada instead of Granada, Spain. Edward Gamson and Lowell Canaday said in their lawsuit they wanted to travel from Washington to London and then to Granada, Spain. Gamson, a dentist who has an office in Maryland, said he explained his travel plans to a British Airways agent who made the reservation. The lawsuit said the couple received an electronic ticket that referred to "Grenada" but didn't list the country, airport code or flight duration. The couple made it to London, but their connecting flight went to the Caribbean, not Spain. They didn't realize the mistake until they were airborne, the lawsuit said.

Diploma flunks spell check

An Illinois university's typo is getting national attention. Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communication recently gave 30 diplomas to graduates on which the word "integrated" was spelled without the 'n.' Kit Fox, who was one of 250 students who graduated from the school Saturday, tweeted a photo of a friend's diploma that showed the error. The diploma would have been tagged with a "Medill F" - a stamp earned by students who commit factual or spelling errors. Fox said graduates greeted the error with humor.

Stick shift thwarts thieves

Three teenagers in Seattle, Washington, attempted to steal a car in broad daylight last Sunday afternoon, but they were stymied by something they didn't anticipate: a manual transmission. As reported by KCPQ Fox 13, Nancy Fredrickson, 70, was pulling garage sale items she just bought out of her trunk, when three teenage boys approached her and demanded her keys. She dropped them on the ground, and the carjackers jumped in her car. However, they couldn't drive the vehicle. Fredrickson said, "I got a 5-speed in there, and they couldn't figure out how to get it going." The three suspects took off on foot through a nearby parking lot, leaving Nancy's keys in the ignition. Surveillance cameras caught images of the would-be thieves, but police are still searching for them.

Ticket fraudster going to jail

A jailed ticket fraudster was sentenced to another six years on Tuesday after ignoring a British court order to pay 1.25 million pounds ($2.13 million) for failing to deliver tickets to events such as the 2008 Beijing Olympics. London-based Terence Shepherd, the director behind online tickets operation Xclusive, was sentenced to eight years in July 2011 for fraudulent trading, money laundering and acting as a company director whilst disqualified. Xclusive "sold" but failed to supply thousands of tickets worth millions of pounds for major events. Xclusive then collapsed, leaving more than 10,000 people without tickets.

Yahoo News-Associated Press-Reuters

(China Daily 06/29/2014 page4)