DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
The baseball field used in the 1989 film, Field of Dreams. PICTURE: IowaPolitics.com (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)
• Fictional Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella’s dream of seeing Major League Baseballers play on his rural farm – depicted in the 1989 Kevin Costner film Field of Dreams – became a reality last week when the Iowa property featured in the film hosted a real-life game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox. Before what was the first Major League Baseball game to ever be played in the state, Costner himself made an appearance, leading the players through a cornfield onto the field – in a nod to one of the most famous scenes in the film – before the players then went into a stadium constructed next to it their game. A second ‘Field of Dreams’ game is scheduled to be held at the location, just outside the town of Dyersville, next year.
• A German animal shelter is posting profiles of abandoned pets on dating app Tinder in the hope that people looking for love might also take-up the company of a cat or a dog. The Munich Animal Shelter reportedly enlisted an advertising agency to shoot portraits and set up profiles for 15 animals – including a black and white cat called ‘Captain Kirk’ – who are now hoping to meet that special someone. “Quite simply, it’s a lot of fun and better than boring newspaper ads,” shelter worker Jillian Moss was quoted as saying. The shelter has reportedly deliberately avoiding the cute and fluffy and instead profiled older animals who are typically harder to find new homes for.
• A gold medal was being replaced last week following an outcry after a Japanese mayor chomped down on the Olympic prize won by a member of Japan’s softball team. Takashi Kawamura, mayor of the central city of Nagoya, pulled down his mask and put Miu Goto’s gold medal between his teeth at an event to celebrate the win. The mayor was roundly criticised on social media for his lack of respect (and lack of maintaining coronavirus etiquette) and Games organisers subsequently announced they would be replacing Goto’s medal with a new one. – With reporting by KIYOSHI TAKENAKA, Reuters.
