US univ introduces selfie class
Los Angeles: An American university has offered a new course on the art of selfies, giving a chance to students to critically examine society’s influence on self-identity in the 21st century. Los Angeles-based University of South Carolina is offering “Writing 150: Writing and Critical Reasoning: Identity and Diversity,” known among students as #SelfieClass. The new course will teach freshers to critically examine society’s influence on self-identity and how selfies reflect and affect the global culture in which we live, the university said in a statement. “When we look at selfies, we’re also looking at the beginning of the 21st century,” said Associate professor Mark Marino, who teaches the course. “The cultural moment of the selfies will pass and become something that’s iconic of our age, the same way that photographic self-portraits or painting self-portraits or religious journals were the selfies of their moment,” Marino added. As part of the course, students have to take five selfies and analyse the background, their clothes, their gestures and any objects in the image. “My students are learning that we live in a moment where selfies have become a part of the communication process and there are parts of our identity that are being read regardless of how we try to portray ourselves,” he said. Throughout the course, they will be asked to compare their selfies with other students and well-known celebrities. The course will run through next semester as part of a broader project to study the selfie culture beyond the celebrity world. Dismissing the notion that selfie is a narcissistic expression reflecting a self-absorbed society, Marino views it as something that has been present through the ages. (PTI)
Goldfish in UK undergoes surgery to remove tumour
London: A team of vets in the UK has successfully performed a 45-minute life-saving surgery on a pet goldfish to remove multiple tumours from behind its eye. Five-year-old Monty, from Bristol, was placed in water soluble anaesthetic during the procedure on his left eye, which cost its owners 200 pounds.
The cancerous cells had spread throughout its back, rendering the surgery necessary. Although the goldfish lost an eye to the surgery, it is recovering well, ‘metro.co.uk’ reported. “He was a brilliant patient and the surgery went very smoothly from start to finish,” said Sonya Miles, exotics veterinary surgeon at Highcroft Veterinary Group, who assisted Bristol Zoo vet, Michelle Barrows in the surgery. “His owners are extremely dedicated and they paid to make sure he had a better quality of life. “We don’t perform surgery on goldfish very often but we are seeing a definite increase in veterinary treatment in fish generally. “Monty is doing exceptionally well at home and is acting as if nothing has even happened,” Miles said. (PTI)
Chinese fugitive arrested after posting holiday selfies
Beijing: Chinese police have captured a fugitive who revealed his whereabouts by posting holiday selfies on social media.The 27-year-old man, surnamed Qin, went into hiding last year after reputedly being hired as a hitman and seriously injuring his target, a villager in central China’s Henan province.
But on May 3, the last day of the May Day holiday, Qin emerged on the popular messaging and photo-sharing service WeChat with selfies taken on Wudang Mountain in Hubei province, which neighbours Henan to the south. The photos were forwarded by an unwitting friend of Qin and drew the attention of the police.Wudang Mountain police said on Monday that they quickly located Qin by identifying the photos’ backdrops and made the arrest on May 5, Xinhua news agency reported.According to the police, Qin told them that he had joined a group of friends on the mountain tour and, believing that “the most dangerous place is the safest”, even registered in a luxury hotel right beside the police station.He posted the selfies as the relaxing trip made him complacent about his fugitive status, he said. (IANS)
Air smiles: Canadian woman gives birth on Japan flight
Tokyo: A Canadian woman gave birth aboard a plane to Tokyo after going into labour over the Pacific Ocean, a spokesman for Air Canada said on Monday, an event the baby’s father described as “completely unexpected”. The 23-year-old woman delivered a baby girl mid-air with the help of a doctor who volunteered after crew asked passengers for medical help. The plane was given priority to land at Narita Airport, just outside the Japanese capital, but by the time it taxied to a halt, it had one more passenger than it had started with. “I couldn’t imagine. This happened completely unexpectedly,” the father, whose name was not revealed, told Japanese television. “It turned out to be a beautiful baby girl,” he added, showing a snap of the little bundle taken on his smartphone. The Air Canada plane from Calgary bound for Narita landed 30 minutes ahead of schedule after being bumped up the queue by air traffic controllers.
The new mum was seen emerging from the plane in a wheelchair, while her partner carried his daughter in his arms. Mother and baby were taken to hospital, where they remained overnight, but where both are said to be doing well, the Air Canada spokesman said. The flight crew smiled and waved at press as they got off the plane. “Everyone was clapping their hands,” a woman passenger told one television programme. “She’s such a cute baby with big eyes.” “This is a happy thing,” a male passenger said. (AFP)
