Latest news with #Bat
Time of India
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Tales that undo othering
Take the much-loved Charlotte's Web by EB White, in which unlikely yet touching relationship between Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider teaches valuable life lessons about empathy, kindness, and bonds that connect us, beautifully depicting how precious friendships of those not like us can make a profound impact in someone's life. In a world increasingly divided for a host of reasons into various us/not us categories, it would go a long way to awaken our true nature of goodness and compassion – though deeply buried – by turning to some children's books and stories. Many of these books reveal how relationships – good ones or bad – work, and how to understand and accept, include others not like us, and maybe embrace differences. A story from Africa, that a wonderful storyteller friend shared, goes like this: One day, birds challenged four-footed animals to a ball game. Those with wings on one side, and animals with teeth on the opposing team. When Bat arrived, he was sent to the team whose players had teeth. But animals with teeth claimed Bat did not belong on their team because he had wings! They sent him off to birds' team, but feathered and winged birds refused to accept Bat; he couldn't join their team because he had teeth. Finally, four-footed animals somewhat reluctantly accepted Bat because he had teeth. The game began and birds were leading because they could fly with the ball above where animals couldn't reach. Eventually, Bat, playing for animals, managed to take the ball away from birds again and again, and finally animals won. We notice there seem to be as many books about animals and birds acting like humans as there are books about actual children, and there may be a good case for this. Animal fiction goes to places that other stories can't. Our world is different when viewed through non-human eyes. Adventures feel more exciting because characters – and you, in your imagination – can be hunted by a predator, swept away by giant waves or abandoned in a difficult place. But stories also have built in safety-valves because characters aren't human, so there is a kind of 'distancing'. And so, authors can – carefully – go to more difficult places, handle more difficult themes. It's not just modern writers who think so – we have, after all, the wonderful Panchatantra treasury, which contains fables usually involving animals, with so much to teach us through incisive insight into human behaviour. Animal stories of Buddhist Jataka tales teach followers to avoid hurting people or tell of meritorious acts of kindness and compassion performed by animals, inspiring us to emulate these. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Miami Herald
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Busch Gardens Williamsburg brings back the Big Bad Wolf with a new coaster
The sounds of guttural growls and bone-chilling howls will once again echo throughout the pitch-black forest outside a Bavarian village when a new roller coaster with a familiar name and glowing red eyes returns to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Busch Gardens has announced Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge will debut in May without setting a specific date, but the new coaster is expected to open in time for the park's 50th anniversary on May 16. Big Bad Wolf will pay tribute to the Arrow Dynamics suspended coaster of the same name that operated at the Virginia theme park from 1984 to 2009. The new Bolliger & Mabillard family inverted coaster will reach a top speed of 40 mph over 2,583 feet of track while bolting through an abandoned Bavarian village. Busch Gardens' 11th coaster will take over the station house of the former Drachen Fire coaster in the Oktoberfest area of the park. The 2012 Verbolten coaster reused the original Big Bad Wolf station house and some of the track layout. The backstory of the new Big Bad Wolf takes riders into a bustling Bavarian village during the eerily quiet Festival of the Silent Bells, the annual event that honors the haunting history of a terrifying wolf attack 41 years ago when the original coaster opened. As fate would have it, the past repeats itself when the wolf returns. The coaster riders are transformed into werewolves as the steel beast sweeps through the town amid screams and chaos. The townsfolk run for cover as the glowing red eyes and bone-chilling howls signal the return of the terrifying creature. Busch Gardens initially planned to pay tribute to the Big Bad Wolf without reusing the ride's original name. The park asked fans to pick from three names for the new ride: WolfsReign, GeisterWolf or WolfSturm. More than 30,000 voters responded with an overwhelming choice: none of the above. Fans told the park "loud and clear" that only one name would work: Big Bad Wolf. The park relented and chose a twist on the original - Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge. The Wolf's Revenge is not meant to be a copy of the original ride, but rather a reminiscent tribute and a new chapter in the story. The original Big Bad Wolf was a little longer (2,800 feet), a little faster (48 mph) and had swinging seats. The Wolf's Revenge will be similar to Phoenix Rising at Busch Garden Tampa - a much shorter and slightly faster B&M family inverted coaster that opened last summer. The original 1984 Big Bad Wolf was created by Arrow Development, a legendary ridemaker that helped build Disneyland and shaped the modern theme park landscape of roller coasters, dark rides and water rides. Arrow ushered in a period of gimmicky coaster configurations that came to define the ride wars of the 1980s and '90s with the world's first suspended coaster in 1981 at Ohio's Kings Island. The prototype Bat flipped the traditional coaster concept on its head - with the trains swinging from side to side while hanging below the track. The Bat prototype never really worked very well and was retired after only a few years, but a reworked version of Arrow's suspended coaster eventually evolved into the Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The success of the original Big Bad Wolf led to the installation of Arrow suspended coasters around the world, including the 1988 Ninja at Six Flags Magic Mountain. _________ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fans All Had the Same Reaction to Warriors' Game 5 Announcement
One of the great quotes from the first four games of the first-round series between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets came courtesy of star forward Jimmy Butler, and it actually came via Instagram. On Saturday night in San Francisco, Butler had to sit out Golden State's Game 3 showdown against the Rockets, after he suffered a pelvic bruise in Game 2. Wtthout Butler, the Warriors needed to rely on Stephen Curry for an epic 36-point performance, and also got big games from Buddy Hield (17 points) and Gary Payton II (16 points). Advertisement Butler took to Instagram to express his admiration of Curry's performance, posting a graphic that featured a Bat signal going up, complete with the "Batman" theme song and Curry's brand logo. Butler wrote, "Thanks batman and team excluding buddy." Since coming to the Warriors in February, Butler and Hield have developed a tight friendship, mostly based on Butler's repeated zinging of Hield, who has taken the flak with a good nature. Thus, the "excluding Buddy" appendix fit perfectly. As if to show how easily he welcomes the Butler jibes, Buddy Hield wore a specially made T-shirt for the team flight from Golden State to Houston for Game 5. The Warriors announced the team's departure on Twitter/X, with Hield prominently wearing the shirt. Advertisement "Ready for takeoff," the team wrote. Replies to the post were almost universally the same: We want that shirt. One fan wrote: "Where can I buy that shirt?" Another added, "I need an excluding buddy shirt in 4xt." Said another, "I'd wear that shirt." Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield (7) celebrates with forward Jimmy Butler III (10) as he speaks to TNT after the game four of the 2025 NBA Playoffs first round against the Houston Rockets at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images Butler returned for Game 4 and scored 27 points in the win. Hield was important, too, making key shots late and playing better-than-usual defense. Butler was still dragging him after the game, though. "To see my guys go out there and get a Dub, it doesn't surprise me. I see how everybody works on their game every single day," Butler said. "Doing the right things, putting the same winning stuff into, like, this bucket. When it's time to tip that bucket over, all that winning comes out. Advertisement "I hate to give Buddy a compliment, so I'm not going to (smiling). But No. 7 on our team really brought the defensive mentality tonight, made some big shots. He stinks. I just got to add that." Game 5 will be played in Houston beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Oklahoma State football adds Jenks RB Kaydin Jones, an OU legacy, to 2026 recruiting class
Oklahoma State crossed Bedlam battle lines and brought back an OU legacy. Jenks running back Kaydin Jones, the son of former Sooner Kejuan Jones, announced his commitment to OSU on Wednesday afternoon. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound back has been highly productive in his first three high school seasons. He surpassed the 1,200-yard mark in each of his freshman and sophomore seasons, then went for 1,483 and 17 touchdowns as a junior last fall. Advertisement OSU coaches publicly put on a full-court press in recruiting Jones over the last several weeks. On multiple occasions, OSU coaches posted an image on social media simply showing Batman staring up at the Bat signal shining in the sky — a play on Jones' nickname, Batman. More: Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy proposes Bedlam spring game with Sooners A bright orange Batman logo was shown on the Boone Pickens Stadium big screen recently when Jones was on campus for a visit. The state's top running back recruit, listed at No. 3 overall on The Oklahoman's Super 30 prospect rankings for the 2026 class. He chose the Cowboys from a finalist list of OU, Kansas, Vanderbilt and Louisville. He also had offers from the likes of Alabama, Oregon, Arizona State, Tennessee, Kansas State, Colorado and many more. Advertisement Rated as a four-star prospect on the 247Sports composite rankings, Jones is the top commitment among the five in OSU's 2026 class. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football adds Kaydin Jones to 2026 recruiting class
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Masked Singer': Bat revealed; here's who was under the costume
The Brief On "The Masked Singer" on Wednesday night, the five Group B contestants performed. Bat was unmasked and revealed as Scheana Shay, known as a cast member on "Vanderpump Rules." Next week's episode will feature "Ghostbuster's Night" with iconic performances and a special appearance by actor and original Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson. LOS ANGELES - On Wednesday's new episode of "The Masked Singer," five new faces battled it out during "Voices of Olympus Night." The Group B contestants include: Boogie Woogie, Space Ranger, The Griffin, Bat and Pearl. The masked celebrities serenaded the crowd with some showstopping renditions of "I Believe In A Thing Called Love," "Bad Blood," "Rewrite The Stars," "Espresso" and "Saving All My Love For You." While four celebrities were able to move forward in the competition, Bat was ultimately chosen to be unmasked and sent home. "The Masked Singer" unveiled television personality Scheana Shay, known for being a cast member of the Bravo series "Vanderpump Rules." "Bats are one of my favorite animals ever," Shay told the audience following her reveal. "This has been so fun. I'm just proud of myself for doing it." Next week, there's something strange in "The Masked Singer" neighborhood. It's "Ghostbuster's Night," when the panelists will transform into ghost-busting detectives along with an iconic visit from an actor and original Ghostbuster, Ernie Hudson. The show will be celebrating one of the most successful movie franchises of all time. Group B will return with performances including "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," "Disturbia," "Cleanin' Up The Town" and "Radioactive." RELATED: 'The Masked Singer' reveals identity of Ant: Here's who was under the costume Another celebrity will reveal themselves in the all-new "Ghostbuster's Night" episode of The Masked Singer airing Wednesday, March 12 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
