(courtesy US Geological Service)

It’s not the ‘big’ 20 or 30 year anniversary, but May 18th will always loom large in the minds of Northwest residents.

It was May 18th 1980 when Mt. St. Helens blew up, becoming the largest eruption of a volcano in the continental US since, well, Mt. Ranier blew smoke and ash back in 1842.   The mountain had, for months, been showing signs of definite activity.  It had been classified as dormant for sometime, but then became ‘active’. 

  May 18th, the skies over the Northwest became as dark as dusk,  in the Tri-Cities you could hear the hiss of volcanic ash coming down from the skies.   Ritzville, 80 miles north, was choked with a foot of fine volcanic dust,  cars became undrivable due to the filters being clogged.  We at Newstalk recall family members being ‘trapped’ in Spokane, as the streets were closed.  They finally were able to come home 3 days later, but had to go east, down through Idaho, and back up through Lewiston-Clarkston to get back.

   Somewhere in our shed out back, is a glass coffee jar full of ash.   Later, many Northwesterners made money from collecting and selling the ash, turning it with clay into sculpture, or just putting it in tiny jars and spinning off for 2-3 bucks a pop.  Imagine if St. Helens erupted today in the internet age…oh my!

  And finally who could forget Harry Truman? The salty old retired ‘mountain man’ who refused to leave his cabin at the base of the 12,000 plus foot tall peak.  He is forever entombed beneath the acres of ash, dust, rock and debris that forever changed the landscape of the entire Pacific Northwest.

Watch these remarkable videos, including a Seattle television station reporter caught in the ash cloud as he tried to get out of the blast zone.  He survived.  St. Helens still steams and rumbles to this day.

(Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

(Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images)

(courtesy Gibbons Racing-gibbonsracing.com)

You may have seen NASCAR races on TV, and maybe have been lucky enough to see stock car races in person, but you’ve NEVER seen this!

Coming this Saturday to Columbia Motor Speedway in Hermiston are the Rolling Thunder Big Rigs! The only U.S.-based semi-truck racing association Rolling Thunder will present at least 8-10 of the diesel monsters racing around the 3/8-mile just north of Hermiston. Two of the trucks put on a mini demonstration last weekend at the track, and were clocked at amazing speeds of over 65 mph average lap speed on the track!

These trucks race all over the Pacific Northwest, and will be making their first trip ever to the Mid-Columbia.  Time Trials are at 5 p.m. with racing to follow. Click here for ticket information for Columbia Motor Speedway.

(Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Often called the “Queen” of Disco, Donna Summer has died Thursday at 63.

TMZ and other sources are reporting she lost her long time battle with lung cancer.  She had long believed she contracted the illness after inhaling some toxic particles after 911.  She had largely kept the cancer under wraps, and was continuing to work on new material.  She was finishing up an album of new work very recently.

 ”Last Dance”,  “Hot Stuff”, and “Bad Girls” were among her huge disco-ear hits, and she continued into the 80′s with such hits as “She Works Hard For The Money.”  Unlike many disco era performers, Summer was able to continue making hit music well after the craze faded, and she remained a musical icon who still toured and performed frequently.  She won 5 Grammy awards during her musical career.

(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Hail, sleet, rain, snow and ice.  The most common reasons roads are closed.  But yogurt?

A semi-truck driver has been cited for driving too fast around a corner and improper lane use after he dumped his truckload of yogurt all over an on-ramp leading to Interstate 88 in New York.  The driver, 24 year old Oleksandr Brychka of Nebraska, was entering the freeway near the town of  Chanango NY when his speed caused his load of over 96,000 cups of Chobani Yogurt to spill onto the road, most of the containers rupturing and creating a slick mess.

  Much of the load, which weighed 18 tons, slid down an embankment, but a significant amount was left on the shoulder, and some on the road.Into the early hours Tuesday morning, the on-ramp and a portion of the interstate were still being worked on to clean up the mess .   Somewhere a bunch of cows are mooing their displeasure with the driver destroying their hard work!

(Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

This just in–for all of you hoarding, preparing, and panicking over the predictions of the Mayan Calendar, whoops!

The Journal Science is now reporting experts have discovered additional writings and calculations done by the Mayan calendar writers that clearly indicate a future that extends well beyond 2012.

 The Mayans used the calendars filled with astronomy data to track movements of the stars and planets that could be seen, to help keep track of their religious ceremonies and events.  Experts call it “astronomy driven by religion.”  The new findings indicate extension of the calendar that certainly suggest earlier predictions the world would end in 2012 were not accurate.

  Much has been made of the initial discovery of the calendar, that indicated the world as we know it would end this December.  Whether it was done for fun, humor or sincere belief, the Mayan calendar has been the subject of much discussion,  the theme of tv commercials, and even a movie.  Now, it appears a lot of people are looking rather silly.

(Photo by Roger Kisby/Getty Images)

On their first album, Van Halen did a song called “Ice Cream Man”.  One of the lines was “stop me when I’m passin’ by.”  A Waldorf, Maryland man was apparently taking their advice.

A 20 year old man was arrested by authorities for alledgedly selling packets of marijuana along with chocolate, vanilla and rocky road ice cream!   Charles Hoskins was pulled over on a traffic stop after officers received a tip through the area Crime Solvers program that he was dealing more than just fudge bars.  A police dog helped uncover a number of packets of the drug.  Police also found two separate registers of money, one for the ice cream, and one for the pot.  News reports did not indicate wether Hoskins worked for a company, or was an independent distributor–of the ice cream, that is.

Flickr, Don Graham

A Skamania County WA deputy is being credited with saving a man’s life by tackling him before he could jump from the Bridge Of The Gods that separates WA and OR near Cascade Locks.

The officer’s dashcam caught the remarkable footage as he and another officer tackled the man, who had parked his car on the bridge, and had was going to jump.   The bridge is high enough and the water rough in that area, officials say it was unlikely he would have survived the plunge into the Columbia River.

Later, during a psychological evaluation, the man was found to be ‘normal’, but had just been going through some very tough times, and the man (whose name was not released) actually thanked the officer for stopping him!

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“Self Drive, on!”  If you remember the Stallone movie “Demolition Man”, then you remember the self-driving cars. Now, they’re a reality.

Years ago when the Stallone vs. Snipes futuristic movie came out about a policeman and notorious criminal who were cryogenically frozen, then brought back to life in the future to continue their war, the film included “driverless” cars that took you from A to B without having to touch the wheel.  

  Now,  Nevada has issued the first ever license for Google’s new driverless car.   Actually, it’s not technically driverless as you’re still behind the wheel, but the car takes you where you want to go without you having to steer!  State regulations require a person behind the wheel, as well as one in the passenger seat.  The new Google technology works the steering wheel, gas pedal, and brakes.  According to a DMV spokesman, it is still “a work in progress.”  Oh that’s comforting!  Don’t tell that to the person behind the wheel!    We just hope the car doesn’t take on the personality of the computer in 2001 Space Odyssey, Hal.    “Hal, take me to the grocery store…” (computer) “I’m sorry Dave, I can’t do that…”  (door locks click shut)…

At first glimpse this ride appears to be a straight forward thrill park adventure, but nearly fifty seconds into this video, it becomes painfully obvious that the ride is more the equivalent to mechanical ipecac than anything else.

The ride appears to last close to three-minutes twisting, contorting, flipping and shaking all of those brave enough to climb aboard. But hey, if you think there’s a scarier attraction out there, by all means share it.

Source: TheFW.com

ANE Productions

Meow, the 39-pound cat whose weight struggles made national headlines, died Saturday afternoon at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society. He was about 2 years old.

His considerable size and sweet demeanor warmed the hearts of television-audiences everywhere as he made appearances on both ‘Today’ and the ‘Anderson’ show, whose host was particularly taken with the feline.

On Monday, shelter executive director Mary Martin posted the following statement on Facebook,

I am devastated to share with you that the respiratory distress that Meow was experiencing last week (the reason we did not do his weigh-in) took his life at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 5… As many of you are aware, Meow began wheezing last Thursday in his foster home, Dr. Jen began trying to sort out the problem… Although four different veterinarians worked with Meow, we were unable to stop the progression of what turned out to be pulmonary failure. Meow had been doing so well in his foster home; walking up stairs and seeking affection – that it is so very hard to believe he is gone. We will forever be grateful for the attention Meow’s size brought to pet obesity and to animal shelters across the country. We are especially grateful to all of you who fell in love with this charming cat – as we did – and were so very interested in his progress and success.

Meow was initially brought into a smaller shelter in Roswell, New Mexico, when his 87-year-old owner decided that she could no longer properly care for him. He was then relocated to the Santa Fe shelter where his health could be more closely tended. The goal was to get him to lose about 10 pounds before placing him into a new family, and he was making progress in losing weight at the time that he died.

[via BuzzFeed]

Source: TheFW.com

(newstalk 870 file image)

Little kids are funny, and dont’ worry about getting embarrassed.

Such is the case for self-taught dancer Harley.  This little four year old girl has actually beaten her older sisters in the dance video games, and has the moves down pretty good.  She’s having a ball!  Don’t we all wish we had her energy?

(Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

If you’ve seen the popular Discovery Channel Show “Curiousity”,  it would explain why the TV show arrainged for a Boeing 727 airliner to ‘crash’ on purpose in the Sonoran desert in Mexico!

The show explores a variety of topics, from what if you could live forever, to what would happen if aliens actually attacker earth?   For an upcoming episode, Discovery “Curious” producers wanted to attempt to get  a definite answer to the question, ‘could passengers feasibly survive a plane crash?’ 

 No details on how the study went, but here is a clip of the unmanned plane coming down to earth.  The pilot safety ejected moments before the crash.

(newstalk 870 image )

If you didn’t check out the season opener at Columbia Motor Speedway in Hermiston Saturday, here’ s a little bit of what you missed.

The hornets, late models, and legend cars tore it up Saturday night, and reknowned stunt man Mr. Dizzy literally blew himself up inside a van!   Check out the videos for a piece of the action!

(columbia motor speedway)

Roundy Round is back! Saturday is the season opener for Columbia Motor SpeedwayPark  in Hermiston.

Newstalk Newsmembers, find LOTS of tickets up for grabs.  Be watching our facebook page-if you like us you could win all this week.    Featured this Saturday at CMSP will be the Late Models (look like Cup Cars on TV)  the Legends, and always crazy and unpredictable Hornets.  Gates open at 4, time trials at 5 and racing to follow.   Tickets are just $9 for adults, special prices for students, seniors and military, and the very popular family pass is just $20!

  AND, saturday, Mr. Dizzy will show what he does with lots of gasoline, black powder, and a car…hmmm!  Don’t miss the season opener at Columbia Motor Speedway Park, this Saturday.

(track is just north of Hermiston, on the right as you climb the hill before entering town)

Here’s a little taste of Mr. Dizzy, coming to CMSP

YouTube

A cat who goes by the descriptive name of “Meow” needs a new home. And it better be a big one because the two-year-old feline weighs 39-lbs. That’s three times what an adult cat should weigh or the equivalent to a 600-lb human.

‘Meow’ was recently brought to a Sante Fe, NM, animal shelter because his 87-year-old owner could no longer care for the colossal feline. Learn more about Meow below.

In case you’re wondering, the Guinness Record for fattest housecat is 47 pounds. So if you’re thinking of adopting Meow just for the glory of Guinness, you’d have to fatten him up some more. And that would be cruel considering he is already in poor health because of his weight.

Meow is actually on the path to a slimmer self, having dropped two pounds since being brought to the shelter. But any prospective owner should probably still be ready to put the king-sized cat on a serious diet.

Source: TheFW.com

Fantasy Films/The Cannon Group/Warner Bros.

The 1978 ‘Superman’ film made a bold move. During the closing credits, four words appear on screen “NEXT YEAR: SUPERMAN II.” Over the next three decades, this gimmick was used time and time again. More often than not, when a movie boasts a sequel, it never happens.

Here are 10 examples of sequels we were promised, but never got to see. 

10. ‘The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension’ (1984)

Right before the film’s famous closing credits sequence (which was copied by Wes Anderson for ‘The Life Aquatic’) there’s an announcement for the next installment: ‘Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League.’ Sadly, this sequel was never made.  But acclaimed geek author Ernie Cline (who wrote the movie ‘Fanboys‘ and the novel ‘Ready Player One’) started his career by writing a script. More recently, Moonstone Books published a series of Buckaroo comic books written by creator Earl Mac Rauch. So there’s still hope we’ll see Buckaroo, New Jersey, Rawhide and the rest on the big screen again.

9. ‘Making the Grade’ (1984)

This Prince-and-the-Pauper movie follows a prep school snob (Palmer Woodrow the III) trading places with a street kid (Eddie, played by Judd Nelson). Hilarity ensues with plenty of belching, breakdancing and a standout performance by then-unknown Andrew “Dice” Clay. During the closing credits, viewers are informed that Palmer and Eddie will be back in ‘Tourista.’  But the poor box office killed the sequel and the closest we’ve come to ‘Tourista’ is the 2008 backpacker horror film ‘Turistas.’

8. ‘Doctor Detroit’ (1983)

Another fish-out-of-water comedy was 1983’s ‘Doctor Detroit,’ in which Dan Aykroyd plays a nerdy college professor who assumes the role of a freaky urban pimp with a metal hand. At the film’s end, after Dr. Detroit defeats his rival pimp (an older woman named “Mom”) the closing credits warn us that there’s to be a sequel titled ‘Doctor Detroit II: The Wrath of Mom.’  (A play upon the Star Trek sequel ‘The Wrath of Khan.’) While this was probably a gag, we’re still waiting for the return of Howard Hesseman’s “Smooth Walker.”

7. ‘Airplane II: The Sequel’ (1982)

After the credits roll, an advertisement appears for ‘Airplane III’ and William Shatner (who had a cameo in ‘Airplane II: The Sequel’) says, “that’s exactly what they’ll be expecting us to do.”  For all the gags in ‘Airplane II: The Sequel,’ one thing was serious– Paramount wanted to make a third film, to be directed by David Zucker, who co-wrote and co-directed the first movie. But lead actor Robert Hays turned down the project, because he didn’t want to be typecast. Instead, Hays went on to play the title character in ABC’s sci-fi drama ‘Starman’ (based on the Jeff Bridges movie of the same name).

6. ‘History of the World: Part I’ (1981)

Okay, Mel Brooks was probably kidding about making a follow-up to ‘History of the World,’ but we’d still love to see more of “Jews in Space.”

5. ‘Lord of the Rings’ (1978)

The original title of Ralph Bakshi’s animated epic was ‘The Lord of the Rings: Part One.’  The ‘Fritz the Cat’ director had negotiated to produce all three of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books into two films. But the studio believed no one would pay to see half of a movie (unless that movie was ‘Harry Potter 7′). Consequently, the film ends without a satisfying resolution and there was no sequel. Years later, Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass (makers of the 1977 ‘Hobbit’ movie) delivered a made-for-TV version of ‘Return of the King.’ Despite its eventual live-action adaption, ‘The Two Towers’ just couldn’t catch a break in animation.

4. ‘Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins’ (1985)

When MGM adapted the ‘Destroyer’ book series, they must’ve been confident that the 140+ books would create the next James Bond. In fact, they were so confident they titled their film ‘Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.’ But a lukewarm performance at the box office ended the movie series. Surprisingly the adventure continued on television. In 1988, ABC aired the pilot for a ‘Remo Williams’ TV series, featuring an unrecognizable Roddy McDowell as Korean martial arts guru Chiun. (Watch a clip above.)

3. ‘Masters of the Universe’ (1987)

Spoiler Alert: The live-action ‘Masters of the Universe’ movie ends with Dolph Lundgren’s He-Man defeating the evil Skeletor (Frank Langella) by throwing him into a pit of doom. The credits roll and all’s right with the world. But then, Skeletor pops his ugly skull out of the boiling waters and he tells viewers “I’ll be back!” (Watch him say it in German above. You can watch the actual scene here.) There was never another feature film, so presumably bone-brain was referring to the 1990 cartoon ‘The New Adventures of He-Man.’

2. ‘Bubba Ho-Tep’ (2002)

‘Bubba Ho-Tep’ is a horror-comedy that pits an elderly Elvis Presley against a soul-sucking Mummy in a West Texas nursing home. Director Don Coscarelli added a gag at the end of the film, claiming that there’d be a prequel: “Elvis returns in ‘Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires.’” Fans took it seriously, including actor Paul Giamatti who volunteered to play Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Giamatti continues to champion the film, and has since teamed-up with director Coscarelli in the upcoming ’John Dies in the End.’ (Watch Giamatti discuss the potential sequel in the video above.)

1. ‘Mac & Me’ (1988)

At the end of the ‘E.T.’ rip-off, er, homage ‘Mac & Me ,’ a family of Coke-lovin’ space-aliens drive along the highway in a pink convertible while young Mac blows a bubble which reads, “We’ll be back.” Once again, there was no sequel. You’d think that after the failure of ‘Mac & Me,’ Ronald McDonald (who appeared in the film as himself) would keep his distance from comedic/heart-warming alien-adventures. But you’d be wrong.  In 1999, Ronald and friends starred in ‘The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald: Visitors from Outer Space.’

Source: TheFW.com

(Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

You may have seen the stunning surveillance video from the Portland convenience store where several dozen individual swarmed into the facility, grabbed various items from the shelves, and ran out.

Authorities say it’s not necessarily new,  but such incidents are quickly spreading across the country.  The Gill Mart Chevron in Portland was the scene of a “ganglike” group of young people who swarmed the store, and while leaving, threatened the employees–even throwing a milk crate.   Police say that at least one in 10 retailers report being the victim of such a robbery.

  Authorities say video cameras, if properly installed and placed, can help significantly in identifying the criminals.  They also say that these youth are using social media to coordinate their attacks.  They say it’s the ‘gang’ mentality applied to flash and dash robberies.   Usually, store personell are so overwhelmed they have no choice but to look out for their safety and cannot attempt to stop the attacks. Store owners often schedule as many as 3 employees in larger cities during evening and late night shifts, but even this added employee presence is ill-equipped to stop such an incident. This is video of the Portland, Oregon incident.

(Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

The web is full of videos of people getting in mishaps while walking and texting–falling into fountains, tripping on curbs. But running into a bear?

Forget texting and driving!  This Los Angeles man was strolling through the suburb of  La Crescenta CA, and came face to face with a black bear, who had somehow wandered into the city.   The startled man was later interviewed by KTLA-TV.   Wildlife officials say the 400 pound bear has visited the neighborhood several times before, and has been seen foraging through garbage cans in the area.

  He was anesthitized by Fish And Wildlife Officials, who then transported him back into the wilderness.   Authorities said they will keep returning him to the wild if he comes back, and as long as he does not threaten anyone, they will not put him down.  He’s smarter than the average beeearrr!

YouTube

Have you seen ‘Titanic 3D’ yet?  If you haven’t, you might just want to wait until the film is re-released again, this time in Super 3D. We were able to obtain some footage of what ‘Titanic’ looks like when treated with this new technology, and let’s just say you’ll never see the movie in the same way again.

What ‘Titanic’ fan hasn’t always dreamed of being spit on by Kate Winslet? But beyond the interactive experience Super 3D provides, there are other flourishes that make this latest iteration of James Cameron’s epic the best version yet.

Amazingly, legendary control freak Cameron has allowed directors George Lucas, J.J. Abrams and Michael Bay to collaborate with him on the digital upgrade. Which means that Storm Troopers now roam the ship’s deck and in true Michael Bay form, the explosions are big and wholly inappropriate. But perhaps the best feature of the re-release is its all-techno soundtrack. Finally, no more Celine Dion.

What do you think? Is ‘Titanic Super 3D’ the greatest ‘Titanic’ yet?

Source: TheFW.com

YouTube

On April 15th, it will be exactly 100 years since the sinking of the “unsinkable” RMS Titanic ocean liner. To mark the occasion, you can go to your local IMAX and watch James Cameron’s 3D re-release of his 1997 smash hit ‘Titanic, which opens today. Or, if you want to pay tribute while avoiding Celine Dion, you can check out this brand new CGI rendering of the notorious iceberg-induced disaster.

Alas, James Cameron is directing this sinking, too. Just call him “king of the Titanic.” (No, don’t call him that.) It’s all part of a National Geographic special, featuring Cameron, which will air on Sunday.

What this new examination really drives home is that the Titanic sunk. It goes down hard and fast and then smacks the ocean floor. It’s actually somewhat terrifying to watch, even though it’s clearly a simulation.

We know there has been 100 years of advances in ship safety since the disaster, but it’s still going to be a while before we can think about taking a cruise.

Source: TheFW.com