Wal-Mart announced yesterday that they were pulling the entire line of Miley Cyrus brand necklaces and bracelets from its shelves after tests performed for The Associated Press found the jewelry contained high levels of the toxic metal cadmium.
Cadmium exposure can lead to bone softening and kidney failure. It is also a known carcinogen, and research suggests that it can, like lead, hinder brain development in children. The same children that are wearing this crappy jewelry. It’s not dangerous if simply worn, but can be incredibly dangerous if chewed or sucked on.
Which is what children do to their jewelry.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has known about the cadmium since February, and chose to keep selling items. They state that the necklaces and bracelets are not intended for children, but that “it is possible that a few younger consumers may seek it out in stores.”
Yeah. It’s possible.
Source: Wal-Mart pulls jewelry over cadmium [Yahoo News]
When the set piece came down on Bret Michaels at the Tony Awards, it hit him like a ton of bricks. And now, he’s released a photo of the damage.
Representatives for the Tony Awards said that Bret was “fine” and that he “missed his mark”. They made no effort to release an apology or anything. His rep released a statement, subsequently, stating that if it had been Liza Minelli or Elton John getting hit in the head, that the Tony’s people would have made more of an effort and would’ve at least issued a letter of concern.
Bret has just released his official statement (after the jump, it’s long):
I am trying to remain very positive and somewhat humorous about the whole situation. I apologize that I did not make a statement earlier as I have been feeling pretty beat up over the last few days. The fact is I was honored to be asked to perform at the event. The entire “Rock of Ages†production were awesome and even though I was completely out of my element I was really enjoying myself prior to my injury. In fact all involved at the awards show treated me good.
I had a great time at the Tonys right up until I got blindsided, I must admit it was a little blurry after that. In hindsight, there is no doubt I got my bell rung, unfortunately it has been posted and perhaps funny to watch, but I can assure you it has been painful to experience. In all honesty I had absolutely no idea what struck my head. Upon impact I thought a piece of the lighting rig had fallen out of the ceiling and as I fell back it seemed like my head struck the stage and I blacked out for a second. When I opened my eyes I noticed a large set prop coming down straight for me. I immediately pushed myself out of the way and amidst the chaos I laid on the floor and asked “what the hell just happened?â€
My nose, mouth and the back of my head felt numb. I vaguely remember asking Big John, ‘do I have any teeth left in my mouth?’ I knew I could move my arms and legs and that was an instant relief. Somebody handed me a towel to wipe the blood from my face and in my dazed state I recall staring at what seemed to be Shrek, a talking goat head and several monkey like creatures.
Over the last few days a lot of speculation as to what happened and who is to blame have surfaced. I need to make clear at no point since the incident occurred do I feel like the accident was malicious in any way and I feel this will all work itself out. However I must state I found it a little strange that the only statement released by the Tony organization was that I missed my mark and that I was completely fine. First, I thought, ‘what mark?’ as there was no official mark, just a retracting drum riser and an overhead prop being rapidly lowered which was out of my view. Second, I think it was slightly irresponsible for them to report that I was fine without full knowledge of my condition, when a doctor hadn’t even looked at me yet and I surely don’t remember any X-Ray machines backstage. I am not looking for an apology, I only hoped that on a human level that the Tony organizations’ representative would have expressed some concern for injury in their statement or at the very least claim they would be looking into the matter.
Whether it was a miscommunication, missed cue or missed mark no matter what the situation was the prop should have been stopped or at least slowed for a few more seconds until I cleared the stage. I apparently had less than two seconds to avoid being hit. It was evident I was backing up and moving in the direction to exit the stage for at least 30 to 40 feet and it is plain to see I had no clue this prop was descending. For God sake, they have at least a five second delay to prevent the airing of unapproved expletives and nudity!
For the record never at any point during my Sunday morning rehearsal was I ever instructed that the piece was coming down and that I had very little time to get off the stage, otherwise believe me I would have stopped or at least ducked so as not to be knocked out at the Tonys. Trust me I never wanted any of this to happen. I was simply doing as I was told which was to exit the stage as Poison’s song “Nothin’ but a Good Time†came to a close.
I feel for the actors and actresses who put in so much time and hard work on or off Broadway to get to the Tonys. This is their moment and I am sorry that some of it may have gotten overshadowed by my thick rocker cranium being struck by a stage prop. On a high note I hear it was the highest rated Tonys they have had in years. However, I was bummed that I did not get to see any of the acts perform during the Tonys as I have never seen a play on Broadway before, probably would have enjoyed it, and even more bummed that I did not get to attend the after parties, cuz rumor has it Anne Hathaway was going to be there and she is hot.
I would like to personally thank Bobby and C.C., Mark Hogue, Larry Morand and my crew along with Liza Minnelli, Mark Indelicato and Carole Propp for rushing to my dressing room to check on my condition. In closing I truly appreciate everyone’s concern. I thank the Good Lord I have a thick skull and I have a feeling this may have been my first and final curtain call at the Tonys.
Sincerely,
Broadway Bret Michaels
You can see the video here:
Maybe he’ll stop with the “Rock Of Love” shows already? It was a sign from God, I tell ya!
According to canada.com, it seems that a simple typo in a Swedish magazine led to four people being poisoned.
See, a recipe for apple cake was posted, and “Instead of calling for two pinches of nutmeg, it said 20 nutmeg nuts were needed.” The error was spotted after printing, letters were sent to subscribers, and inserts were added to store issues. But these warnings didn’t reach everyone. One group of people still tried out this horrifically over-nutmegged recipe, and the four suffered poisoning symptoms like dizziness and headaches.
How can anyone choose to make that recipe and not question that amount, or not be turned off by it? One sniff of nutmeg is hint enough that it’s way too strong to imagine 20 nuts in one cake.
So, even if you don’t come to the conclusion that there was a typo, one would think that the recipe would just seem, well, gross. I can only imagine that those who ate it have taste buds that don’t measure sickening amounts of nutmeg.
