Shaken, Not Stirred

San Francisco, Calif., a bit envious of New York City’s giant dropping “ball” to signal the arrival of the new year, is hoping to steal some attention by dropping a 10-foot “olive” into a seven-storey-tall martini on Union Square at midnight on December 31. “This is going to put San Francisco on the map as the Big Olive’, just as New York is the Big Apple’,” said a spokeswoman for the St. Francis Hotel, which is behind the stunt. But the Rev. Cecil Williams, who has plans for an open-air prayer vigil on Union Square, is aghast. “Is this the kind of message to be sending on the new millennium?” he asked, adding the spectacle will be a “distraction” from his services. But the St. Francis defends its plans. “We are entirely respectful of the interfaith community, but we feel that the martini is an icon of today’s world,” their spokeswoman said. (Reuters) ...In a brilliant publicity stunt, at dawn Alka Seltzer will drop in two giant tablets.