WhiteBoard News for Friday, November 21, 2003

Modesto, California (Modesto Bee):

A bank robber in Modesto, California, forgot to cut holes in his mask.

Witnesses said he held up the bottom of it so he could see but even then he had to walk with a shuffle.

Police say he still managed to escape with cash and was last seen driving away with an accomplice.

He is described as wearing a pink shirt, large white gardening gloves and tight jeans, reports the Modesto Bee.

Detective Thomas Blake said: "As he rushed to leave the building he forgot which side the door hinges were on, walked into the steel door frame, banged his head and knocked his hat off."
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Prilep, Macedonia (Ananova):

A man who says he mistook a sex line for a marriage agency is to make an official complaint to his local phone company after running up a $15,322 bill.

Kire Iliovski, 25, from Prilep in Macedonia spent more than 135 hours on the phone to a woman he thought could be his future wife.

But he said he found out that he had been calling a sex line rather than an agency that puts people in touch with potential spouses when he got the huge bill.

He told local media: "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the bill. I thought I was calling an agency for possible marriage connections, not a sex line."

He said that he would make an official complaint to Macedonian Telecommunications.
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Sarasota, Florida (Sarasota Herald Tribune):

A Florida woman who suffered a stroke found she had a British accent when she recovered the power of speech.

Experts have diagnosed Judi Roberts as suffering from "foreign accent syndrome".

Roberts' case is one of fewer than 20 reported worldwide since 1919, says the Sarasota Herald Tribune.

The 57-year-old suffered the stroke while doing a crossword puzzle. She lost the strength to write with her right hand. Her right side was temporarily paralysed and she was left unable to talk.

After months of therapy, she recovered physically and could make guttural sounds. But when her speaking voice finally returned, it wasn't her normal accent.

Instead she spoke with what sounded like a higher-pitched, British accent. She had no idea where the voice came from.

"I thought I was losing my mind," Ms Roberts said.

Experts say the condition, which usually results from a stroke or head injury, causes patients to change their pronunciation to sound like non-native speakers.
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Madrid, Spain (Reuters):

It would be a dream come true for many: a prize of 6,000 euros ($7,118) to spend on a three-hour shopping spree. 

But one Spanish woman turned down just that on Friday, saying she was too busy. 

The woman had entered a Chamber of Commerce competition to win the spree, part of a promotion backed by 600 shops in the southeastern city of Murcia. 

But when she was told she had won, she said she would have to think about it and then failed to show up to claim her prize. 

She said she had "diary problems" and was "too busy to waste the morning," a spokesman for the organizers said. 

The money went instead to the runner-up, 28-year-old Piedad Lopez. 
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Bangkok, Thailand (Ananova):

A Briton serving 25 years in a Thai prison for drug offences has been allowed to enter Bangkok's annual marathon.

But, unlike other competitors, he will have to run behind bars.

While participants run through the streets of the Thai capital on Sunday, Trevor Lund will run for 124 laps- 26 miles - around his prison's running track.

"The corrections department has permitted the convict Trevor to participate in the 2003 Bangkok Marathon as he wishes to raise funds for charity," the Department said.

Lund, 38, has served more than seven years of a 25 year sentence at Klongprem prison on unspecified drug convictions.

He is raising money for Bangkok's poor.

Klongprem prison is on the northern outskirts of Bangkok and houses 6,876 prisoners, most of them Thai.
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Prague, Czech Republic (Ananova):

A British tourist accidentally ordered a $1,702 bottle of wine in a Prague restaurant.

Andy Freegard was dining with girlfriend Helen Kelly when he picked a Chateau Margaux 1987 Premier Grand Cru Classe which he thought was $34.

Mr Freegard, an estate agent from Sandhurst, Berkshire, misread the price on the wine list.

He got worried when waiters started flocking to his table to sniff the cork, says The Sun.

Miss Kelly then asked the head waiter for the price in sterling, she said: "He just coolly replied '£1,000'. We were both completely shell-shocked."

Mr Freegard added: "We realised something was not right when the standard of service improved dramatically. And when they brought out the decanter I was very concerned.

"After we learned the truth we knew we couldn't send it back. Taking each sip was heartbreaking, knowing it was $85 worth a gulp. In my defence, I was tired and it was dark in the restaurant."

Wine expert Alex Britton said: "The Margaux is undeniably one of the best wines in the world."
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Chow
SuperChef
www.joeha.com