UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

YouTube Starbucks song gets worker fired

CHOWCHILLA, Calif., Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A California man said he lost his job as a Starbucks barista over a YouTube video he made singing about the coffee business.

Christopher Cristwell, 25, a former employee at the Chowchilla Starbucks, said his YouTube video, in which he sings about Starbucks while wearing nothing but his underwear and green apron, was meant as satire, but was taken seriously by Starbucks officials, McClatchy Newspapers reported Friday.

"They were really cool about it. The regional manager complimented me on my creative ability -- not on that specific song -- and then asked me why I did it. They were really trying to find out about my intent behind the videos," Cristwell said.

"It's just a cup of coffee / Give me a break / I shouldn't have to put up with this, making minimum wage," Cristwell sings in the video.

Starbucks spokesman Alan Hilowitz addressed the issue in a Wednesday statement.

"While Christopher was expressing his own views in the video, the disparaging remarks about our customers and company are unacceptable and out of line with our commitment to our customers and partners (employees)," Hilowitz said.

Rescuers fetch dog from tight spot

ALPINE, Calif., Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Rescuers in California said they doused a dog in vegetable oil to free it from a tight spot in the narrow crack of a boulder.

The Alpine Fire Protection District in eastern San Diego County said initially an extraction tool was used to try to pry the boulder apart when the dog was discovered trapped about 15 feet down Tuesday, but the rock refused to budge, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

Firefighters said they then attempted to use air bags to widen the crack enough for the canine to crawl out, but they were again unsuccessful.

The rescuers said they finally covered the dog in vegetable oil and pulled it out by lassoing its hind legs.

Firefighters said the dog was unharmed and was returned to its owner.

Japanese mourners get lookalike dolls

SAITAMA CITY, Japan, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A Japanese non-profit is giving away lookalike dolls to families who lost loved ones in the March 11 earthquake and subsequent disasters.

Tamezou Club of Saitama City said it is donating 1,000 of the custom-made dolls, which have hairstyles, expressions and other characteristics designed to resemble lost loved ones, to families in northeastern Japan where thousands were killed in the March disaster, which included the earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

Mika Sato of Ishinomaki City said she was grateful for the two dolls made to look like her daughter, Airi, 6, who was killed in the tsunami.

"It was like my daughter came back to me," Sato said.

"The big, round eyes look exactly like Airi's," Sato said. "I've been given these dolls that look like you, Airi. I have to take good care of them, don't I?"

'Ferris Bueller' to be shown at Wrigley

CHICAGO, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The Chicago Cubs, who are out of playoff contention, announced they will follow up their season with a Wrigley Field screening of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

Groupon, the sponsor of the Oct. 1 event, said the event will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film, which includes scenes shot at Wrigley Field, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Tickets can be purchased at the Wrigley Field box office, Cubs.com and Groupon.com beginning Tuesday.

The gates will open at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 1 and the movie will be preceded by a coordinated group singing of "Danke Schoen," which Matthew Broderick lip-synchs in one of the film's famous scenes.

The Cubs won their final home game of the season Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Chicago team is 22 games behind the Milwaukee players in the National League Central Division.