Latest news with #Milburn
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
3 hours? How about 25 minutes. Meet Freddy, the robot painting Byron's athletic fields
BYRON, Ill. (WTVO) — Long before a touchdown pass or a pitcher's perfect curveball, the athletic fields at the Joe Parks Athletic Complex must be ready to go. Athletic director Jeff Milburn said he had a high-tech helper for the last two years: Freddy, the turf tank, a line-marking, number-painting automated robot. 'For keeping these grounds up. We got a lot of land here in Byron, a lot of ball fields and a lot of grass area,' Milburn said. 'Basically, when our guys let this thing go, they set it up and let it go paint it the fields and they can be doing something else while it's painting the fields.' The turf tank, named after a retired custodian, is about the size of a medium-sized suitcase, and is satellite guided by the global positioning system (GPS). 'It is going to cut down labor and most importantly, time,' said grounds manager Nick Sapoznik. The turf tank can paint the lines on a soccer field in about 25 minutes, much faster than the 3 hours it would take a 3 person human team. Milburn says the machine has been a game changer, and has been in use now for two full seasons. However, it's not inexpensive, but Milburn said it is worth every penny. 'It's about $10,000 a year take keep the license. It does more than just our fields. It does the logos and that sort of thing, too,' he said. Other northern Illinois schools, including Rockford, Belvidere, and South Beloit, also use the automated paint robot for their athletic fields. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
How the mischievous blue alien Stitch became one of Disney's most popular properties
Breea Milburn has been a Stitch fan since the beginning. As a child, she got hooked after seeing the mischievous blue alien crash the fourth wall and disrupt scenes from classic Disney films such as 'The Lion King' and 'Aladdin' in the trailers for the original 2002 animated movie, 'Lilo & Stitch.' Now at 32 years old, the South Carolina resident has amassed a collection of Stitch merchandise — including pins, plush dolls and a purse that makes it look like he's attached to her hip — largely given to her by family and friends. Although Milburn loves Stitch's troublemaking ways, she said she also appreciates the serious themes the movie tackles by following a young girl's adventures and struggles in Hawaii with her sister after their parents' death. Stitch is thrown in as the 'humor element in what's really a dark story, but also a more realistic story that I think can resonate more with people,' she said. 'This is more than just a character that's pure chaos.' Milburn, and the legions of Stitch aficionados like her, are why Walt Disney Co. may be about to have its next $1-billion blockbuster movie. The new live-action remake, out this weekend, is expected to haul in $120 million to $150 million through Monday at the domestic box office, according to analysts' estimates. That would be an extraordinary success, especially coming after Disney's latest redo of an animated classic, 'Snow White,' flopped badly. It's all the more surprising because the 2002 'Lilo & Stitch' was only a modest box-office performer, grossing a total of $273 million worldwide. That movie came during a fallow period after the so-called Disney renaissance that created acclaimed animated films such as 'The Little Mermaid,' 'Beauty and the Beast' and 'Tarzan.' There are no permanent rides in Disney's theme parks focused on Stitch to keep him constantly in the public eye. The audience for the new movie, which cost an estimated $100 million to produce, is expected to be multi-generational, with children well-represented alongside millennials who were kids when the 2002 film came out, said Alan Bergman, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment. Although the character has its strongest appeal among girls, Disney is banking on boys showing up too. 'We do believe with this movie, we have the opportunity to get everybody,' he said. 'To do the kind of box office that I think we're going to do, you need to get everybody, and I do believe we will.' Stitch has become an unlikely star among Disney's characters. The blue alien is so popular that he ranks in the top 10 best-selling Disney franchises, alongside stalwarts such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, the princesses, Star Wars and Marvel, the company said. The 'Lilo & Stitch' franchise, which includes some animated series, TV films and direct-to-video movies, has driven 546 million hours of global viewership on Disney+, with the original 2002 movie accounting for more than half of that. Viewership of the 'Lilo & Stitch' catalog also has gone up significantly every year, based on the hours streamed, Disney said. On the retail side, sales of Stitch-themed merchandise totaled about $2.6 billion last year. Some current highlights are collectible Spam cans, a more than 4-foot-tall remote controlled inflatable, Stitch dog costumes and 'Lilo & Stitch'-inspired makeup sets. Bergman said Stitch's enduring popularity 'definitely' played a role in green-lighting the live-action film. And there could be more to come. 'This property lends itself to more, and we're figuring out exactly what that is,' Bergman said. 'Clearly, the characters have stood the test of time, and this [film] is going to reinvigorate the franchise yet again.' So what is it about this koala-esque alien who picks his nose with his own tongue that has resonated with consumers for more than two decades? Although Stitch is often described as a fun-loving agent of chaos, his deeper characteristics make him not so different from other Disney heroes, said Lindsay Hahn, an assistant professor of communication at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York. As a media psychologist who focuses on morality and has researched more than 730 Disney movies, Hahn found that the Disney hero prototype is often willing to break the rules if that's what's necessary to help others. (Think of Mulan, who flouts authority and enlists in the army to save her father.) Stitch's dedication to family and care for others — in addition to his commotion-making ways — puts him squarely in that mold, she said. 'In many ways, he checks all of those boxes quite perfectly,' Hahn said. 'He just tends to do it in a way that seems maybe a little more outside the typical Disney hero because he's seemingly unpredictable and cute.' Stitch's emphasis on finding his place in the world also may be a factor in his oddly relatable appeal, said Tamar Rimmon, vice president of research and analytics strategy at Fandom, which hosts information pages on entertainment topics. 'There's this emotional connection. The whole theme of finding your own family, I think, is something that really resonates in our current culture, especially with millennials and Gen Z,' she said. Out of nearly 2,000 Disney franchise communities, 'Lilo & Stitch' has ranked in the top 20 for the last five years, according to data from Fandom. Stitch, in particular, was the 11th most popular Disney character on Fandom in the last year, and the 21st most popular character over the last five years, the company said. (Rankings are based on page views on Fandom's site.) In 2024, Stitch was largely surpassed only by characters who were featured in recent movies, including the emotions from Disney-Pixar's 'Inside Out 2,' Scar and Mufasa from 'The Lion King' and Moana. The only three older characters that beat Stitch were Mickey Mouse, Stitch's female counterpart Angel, and Elsa from the animated hit 'Frozen.' 'There are constantly new [intellectual properties] that will come and unseat characters who come from older movies,' Rimmon said. 'But that's what I think speaks even more strongly to the staying power of Stitch.' That sort of lasting popularity reminds Milburn, the Stitch fan, of another prominent and highly merchandiseable character who isn't tied to current film or TV — Hello Kitty. 'It's that familiar face,' she said. 'Just by his name and his cuteness alone, he has been able to capture generations and generations.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Part of something that could be huge': NC dog part of clinical trial testing experimental canine cancer vaccine
NASH COUNTY, N.C. (WNCN) — One in four dogs will get cancer at some point during their lifetime, and sometimes there aren't a lot of options for treatment. An experimental vaccine is showing promise treating some types of canine cancer, and a Nash County dog is part of a clinical trial testing that vaccine. Even after hours at the vet, Bernie's tail keeps wagging. 'He's like the happiest boy. He's always happy to see you,' said Shelley Milburn. Milburn, who runs nonprofit Promoting Animal Welfare in North Carolina (PAWNC), took Bernie in after he was left behind at a home. Bernie has 3 legs, but he doesn't let that slow him down. 'He quickly became part of our family,' Milburn noted. But recently, she noticed something concerning. 'I was petting him, and I just felt a knot,' she said. A biopsy of the mass in the area near his tail revealed cancer, and not just any cancer — a rare cancer called extraskeletal osteosarcoma. 'Dr. Doka was like, 'This is the worst case scenario,'' Milburn recalled. Dr. Rhiannon Doka is a veterinary medical oncologist with Wake Veterinary Medical Center. She described Bernie's cancer as, 'Unfortunately, an aggressive tumor type … with a survival of usually only a couple months.' Wing, DoorDash launch first-ever drone delivery service in Charlotte In addition to getting surgery and chemotherapy, Bernie is part of a clinical trial testing a vaccine to treat canine cancer. Dr. Mark Mamula, a professor of medicine at Yale University, and cofounder of the company Therajan, developed it. 'This is what's called an immunotherapy. This is a strategy that has truly changed the landscape of treating human cancers,' Mamula explained, adding that human and canine cancers share a lot of similarities. 'The great thing about developing new strategies for treating tumors, either in dogs or in humans, is that the cancers that exist in dogs are virtually identical to those that exist in humans. The same types of metastases occur, the same mutations. 'Our therapy that we've developed is similar to those strategies used in humans,' Mamula continued. 'It's designed to target and attack EGFR and HER2 family of tumor proteins on the dog cancer.' Mamula and his team are testing the treatment in three types of canine cancer: bladder cancer, osteosarcoma (bone cancer), and hemangiosarcoma, which affects the spleen. After several years of clinical trials in about 400 dogs, he says the results look promising. 'Survival for some of these types of cancer can be upwards of twice the survival rate of conventional therapy,' he noted. The vaccine is used in combination with other therapies — in Bernie's case, surgery and chemotherapy. 'What we've learned in treating human cancers will probably be the most effective way to treat both human and canine cancers,' Mamula explained. 'Throw as many different strategies and therapies at a type of cancer as possible, and they collaborate and they overlap in helping to rid tumors or prevent tumor growth.' Milburn takes Bernie to a vet in Richmond, Va. — the closest clinical trial site. There are about a dozen sites across the country. Dogs receive two vaccines, spaced about three weeks apart. 'It's like a 10-15 minute process,' Milburn noted. 'No side effects.' Bernie's quality of life is especially important to Milburn, who is a cancer survivor herself. 'I've had breast cancer, and the same mechanism of the HER2, which is responsive to the vaccine for him, can also benefit breast cancer patients that have the HER2 expression in their tumors, so I think it's amazing,' she explained. About two months after diagnosis, Bernie has a nodule on his lung but has not experienced regrowth of the original tumor. 'He's already two-plus months since surgery, so he's doing, all things considered, pretty well,' said Doka. While they don't yet know whether the vaccine will slow the progression of Bernie's cancer, Milburn says she has no regrets, and she knows she did everything she could for him. She hopes knowledge gained from the study will help other dogs, or perhaps even people. 'Even if it isn't hugely successful or extends his life, he was part of something that could be huge,' she said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
RNZ News
14-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Plans for biggest inland port in Milburn
Construction company Calder Stewart has announced plans to build the country's biggest inland port in the small Otago town of Milburn. It is part of a $3 billion development that will span 200 hectares - with the inland port making up about a quarter of that. The site is zoned for heavy industrial use. Calder Stewart says freight volumes to the area are expected to grow by as much as 40 per cent in the next decade thanks to seasonal peaks in forestry and dairy exports. The company says Port Chalmers is facing storage limits and Milburn was ready to go. Calder Stewart says an inland port there could take as many as 10,000 truck movements off the road a year. Calder Stewart is building the site, which it says will get underway in 24 months. Clutha mayor Bryan Cadogan says the plans are magnificent, especially because the private sector is paying for it. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Famous Sheffield Wednesday fan shines a light on Alzheimer's disease
We're taking a slight diversion with today's newsletter to highlight a stunning new musical written by one of Sheffield Wednesday's most famous fans. Joe Carnall Jnr is most commonly known as the frontman for Milburn, who are widely recognised as one of the finest bands to come out of Sheffield. He is also famed for spinning several other plates at the same time – music side projects, hosting legendary Christmas parties and teaching history amongst them. His latest innovative project inevitably has its roots in Sheffield and is the most inspirational piece of work he has ever produced. How Could I Forget? is an emotional love letter to grandparents which delves into the intergenerational impact of Alzheimer's disease. I've written a musical! Give @hcifmusical a follow and head over to the website to find out more/sign up for early access. Your support would mean the world (*bricking it*) — Joe Carnall (@JoeCarnallJnr) March 31, 2025 While the characters are presented under different names, the musical is a personal peek behind the curtains at Carnall Jnr's family. Music and its power to shape memory play a significant part in a story which expertly tackles the impact dementia can have on everyday life. Although the subject matter is heartbreaking, the script's underlying humour elevates the musical beyond what the audience may expect. Without giving away too many spoilers, the emotional moment where the grandad passes away is handled with tenderness and compassion. The end of the performance triggered a startling reaction on the opening night, with the audience collectively taking a moment to ponder what they had witnessed. The brief silence was quickly shattered as everyone stood to applaud what had been a truly memorable occasion. Iconic basketball coach Jim Valvano once famously delivered a speech imploring people to laugh, spend time in thought and have their emotions moved to tears every day. How Could I Forget? ticks every one of those boxes and deserves to be showcased to a much wider audience. Shocking Taiwo Awoniyi injury shows flawed offside rule has to change Sevilla: From serial Europa League winners to fans breaking into the training ground Riots, royals and legends: Goodison Park firsts and memorable moments Appointing Gerrard makes no sense for Rangers, Ancelotti is their man Mount still has time to prove the doubters wrong at Manchester United Leeds, Wrexham, Bradford & more: Storylines abound as EFL delivers another memorable season Leyton Orient and Stockport produced a cracker in the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final. The return fixture should generate more fireworks this evening.
