UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Italian city celebrates Batman's 70th

PERUGIA, Italy, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The 70th anniversary of Batman's creation is being celebrated in Perugia, Italy, with a five-day festival packed with discussions and movie screenings.

The Bat-festival, which began Thursday night, includes an exhibition on Batman and other comic book and movie super heroes. There also are question-and-answer sessions with Italian artists Simone Bianchi, Claudio Castellini and Gabriele dell'Otto, who have drawn super heroes for Batman publisher DC Comics and Marvel Comics, home of Spider-Man, ANSA reported Friday.

A movie marathon is also planned, screening Christopher Nolan's recent blockbusters "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight;" Tim Burton's "Batman" and "Batman Returns;" and Joel Shumaker's "Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin."

The exhibition at Palazzo della Penna's Contemporary Art Museum, which opened along with the Batman celebration but will stay open until Jan. 9, is titled "Super Hero Art: The mythology of the American comic book" and features exhibits on the development of super heroes through several mediums, including comic books, movies and video games.

Man denied entry to China lives in airport

TOKYO, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A Chinese citizen denied entry into China eight times says he will live in Tokyo's Narita Airport until his country allows him to go home.

Feng Zhenghu, 55, said Chinese immigration officials forced him to fly back to Japan four times when he caught flights to Shanghai and Japanese officials prevented him from flying the other four times because he would have been refused entry into China, CNN reported Friday.

Feng said he was never given a reason for not being allowed into China, but he believes it may be related to previous work as a human rights activist in China.

Feng, who openly supported China's pro-democracy movement in the 1980s, said he was pressured to leave China in April, ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, CBS News reported.

The traveler, who has now spent more than a month at the international arrival concourse, said he will not leave the airport until China allows him back in, despite an offer of asylum from Japan.

He said he now spends his time walking the airport in homemade T-shirts detailing his plight in Chinese and English. Feng also keeps a blog and a Twitter account to detail his experiences.

18-foot totem pole stolen in Seattle

SEATTLE, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The Seattle Parks Department said someone stole an 18-foot-tall totem pole from the spot where it has stood since 1976.

Parks spokeswoman Dewey Potter said officials investigated after being tipped off about the pole's absence by West Seattle Blog and determined it was not in the possession of any local government departments, Seattlepi.com reported Friday.

"We checked all our systems to see if it had been taken out for a capital project or for repairs -- and we don't have it," Potter said.

Potter said the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, which manages a number of art installations around the city, and the Rotary Club of West Seattle, which commissioned the carving in 1976, were clueless as to the fate of the totem pole.

Authorities said they believe the totem pole was stolen sometime Monday night.

Job creation won't have legalized sins

ALLENTOWN, Pa., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama may be looking for new job-creation opportunities, but legalizing illegal pursuits isn't an option.

During a jobs creation listening tour visit in Allentown, Pa. Friday, Obama fielded a question by a Lehigh Carbon Community College student about stimulating the economy. Specifically, the student asked, would Obama consider legalizing prostitution, gambling, some drugs and some non-violent criminal acts to jump-start the economy?

"I appreciate the boldness of your question," Obama said. "That will not be part of my job strategy."

Instead, he'll go the more conventional route of seeking out new job-creation opportunities, providing small businesses tools to compete and improving the nation's education system.

"Part of what you're supposed to do in college is question conventional wisdom," Obama told the second-year student. "You're doing what you're supposed to be doing."