Two steers taking part the opening Western Rodeo Parade and Cattle drive wandered off course when they saw a break in the crowds lining the parade route and detoured into a local Food Mart convenience store.
A brave pair of cowboys entered the store on horseback to retrieve the cattle as this security video from the AP shows:
Watch the event unfold with aerial footage of the sedate stampede on the KING5 News website. Witnesses reported that the cattle were impeccably behaved and declined to act like bulls in a china shop…
The CCTV footage shows a brave meat counter man (with food hygiene hat) who plays matador with a supermarket trolley. Get that man a medal now!
Good on John Cummins, owner of the store, to see the funny side and make a joke about ‘fresh meat’. He should get the bull stuffed and mounted outside the front of the shop for posterity.
The comedian and all round brainiac arrived at the Old Tucson Studios to take in the spirit of the True West and ended up in a mock show down with the local Marshals.
Fry managed to out monologue your average Bond villain and distract the deputies long enough to take out two of the lawmen. But when it came to fastest on the draw he failed and took a slug to the chest.
What followed was one of the most underplayed death scenes I’ve ever witnessed, but a career in westerns surely beckons. In fact, if Alan Rickman isn’t reprising his uber villain role for Die Hard 5 then I’d suggest Fry audition for the next stereotypical Hollywood Brit baddie.
I’m going to watch the first half now on the marvellous BBCiPlayer - it’s free to watch the 5th episode online until 23 November which includes New Mexico, Los Alamos, staying with the Navajo in Monument Valley and visiting the Tucson plane boneyard.
You can buy the book Stephen Fry in America at Amazon.co.uk where it’s currently number 25 in the Christmas shopping charts and read an excerpt on his website which is impressively Web 2.0 with podcasts and Twitterings too!
It seems Mel Brooks got it right all those years ago in that classic comedy campfire scene from the 1974 hit Blazing Saddles - farting is funny and may also be good for you!
At least that’s what I take from this science story on the BBC website: ‘Fart gas’ link to blood pressure. According to scientists at Johns Hopkins University, smelly hydrogen sulphide is “produced by an enzyme in blood vessels where it relaxes them and lowers blood pressure.”
Researcher Dr Solomon Snyder said: “Now we know hydrogen sulphide’s role in regulating blood pressure, it may be possible to design drug therapies that enhance its formation as an alternative to the current methods of treatment for hypertension.”
The image that comes to my mind is the Vicks ’stick’ nasal inhaler:
If in future you find yourself in a high stress situation and feel your chest tightening simply reach for your handy ‘fart pen’, take a quick whiff and feel the tension within melt away. I can see the marketing ad on TV now!
A cheaper alternative would be to watch again one of the greatest American comedies of all time - coming in at number six in the AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Laughs list. And so, without any apologies, I offer you the YouTube video Blazing Saddles - Farting Cowboys. It’s less than a minute long and just think of the health benefits!
Taking the fart gag too far? “How ’bout some more beans Mr Taggart?”
I’m learning Flash right now to build websites with more bells and whistles and this tribute to Sarah Palin is just superb. Explore the Oval Office to discover every hidden nugget based on the potential VP’s media profile: www.palinaspresident.com. Updated daily until November 4th!
