Reasons #219 and #305
"A man in New Zealand has been charged with using a hedgehog as a weapon, the New Zealand Herald has reported. Police said William Singalargh, 27, had hurled the hedgehog about 5m (16ft) at a 15-year-old boy. ...It was unclear whether the hedgehog was still alive when it was thrown, though it was dead when collected as evidence." - BBC News, April 7, 2008 (courtesy of Lesley)
Go to the article to get the full story.
"A family court judge in New Zealand has had enough with parents giving their children bizarre names. So he did something about it. Just ask Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii. He had her renamed. Judge Rob Murfitt made the 9-year-old girl a ward of the court so that her name could be changed. The new name was not made public to protect the girl's privacy. 'The court is profoundly concerned about the very poor judgment which this child's parents have shown in choosing this name,' he wrote. 'It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily.' " - Express, July 25, 2008
Who needs an imagination when you have the Express reporting gems like this?
Thank you, Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii, for bringing joy to my Friday.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Friday, July 04, 2008
On the Road
While millions of Americans are performing their patriotic duty of firing up their grills and throwing back a beer (or six) in their backyards, I am sitting on a New York-bound Bolt Bus, eating a bag of Sun chips and blogging with free wi-fi.
For $5.50 more than a round-trip Chinatown bus ticket, I get internet, an electrical outlet, pleather seats that actually recline, and a two-seater all to myself. Moreover, the bus left on time, there are no stops in Baltimore, and I didn't have to break out my nun-chucks to battle for a seat. (The typical Chinatown bus experience, especially over holiday weekends, is that no seat is guaranteed even if you book online in advance. Sometimes I have no choice but to get all Chuck Norris on people just so I don't get left behind.)
This past week I started running for the first time since I injured by ankle on June 1st. The swelling hasn't fully gone away and it still feels sore and achy, but I felt that it was time to start working out again. I am miserably out of shape. While jogging on the treadmill yesterday, I could hear my ankle crackle and pop like a bowl of rice krispies.
To add insult to injury, I also had to deal with a bout of illness a couple of weeks ago. Ever since I moved back to DC and have been living with my family, I've been getting sick - a lot. And whom do I hold responsible for these ailments? A young, active, germ magnet of smurf-like stature named Ella. When Ella comes home from school, she brings back with her more than just some arts & crafts project she made that day. I managed to escape the last round of pink eye and strep throat, but I didn't get so lucky with the hand, foot, and mouth disease. It sounds a little repulsive, I know, but it mostly felt like I had the flu with the added bonus of a light rash on my hands and feet and one or two canker-like sores in my mouth that disappeared after a few days.
I have developed this theory that there is a negative correlation between the size of a potential carrier of disease and the deadliness of the disease to humans. In other words, the smaller the carrier, the more lethal the disease it carries and vice-versa. In support of this theory, I have the following examples as evidence:
1. When have you heard of a very large animal such as a polar bear or humpback whale causing pandemics? Being eaten by a shark doesn't count.
2. Some medium sized animals can transmit disease to humans but cases are rare and not widespread (so far). Example: Cows and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad-cow disease. Maybe the next time you're at the grocery store, instead of asking, "Where the beef?" you may want to inquire about tofu instead.
3. Animals that fall in the "small" category can pose relatively medium to high risk to humans. Example: birds and avian flu. You can also put small human children in this category.
4. Super small beasts = super deadly. Example: mosquitoes that spread malaria and itching. Those little buzzards can raise a lot of hell for humans.
I think I have just made a very compelling argument for my theory, don't you think?
Judging by the content of the last dozen or so entries, I should just rename this blog "A Chronicle of Boo's Afflictions, Dysfunctions, and Postulations." Actually I just did.
For $5.50 more than a round-trip Chinatown bus ticket, I get internet, an electrical outlet, pleather seats that actually recline, and a two-seater all to myself. Moreover, the bus left on time, there are no stops in Baltimore, and I didn't have to break out my nun-chucks to battle for a seat. (The typical Chinatown bus experience, especially over holiday weekends, is that no seat is guaranteed even if you book online in advance. Sometimes I have no choice but to get all Chuck Norris on people just so I don't get left behind.)
This past week I started running for the first time since I injured by ankle on June 1st. The swelling hasn't fully gone away and it still feels sore and achy, but I felt that it was time to start working out again. I am miserably out of shape. While jogging on the treadmill yesterday, I could hear my ankle crackle and pop like a bowl of rice krispies.
To add insult to injury, I also had to deal with a bout of illness a couple of weeks ago. Ever since I moved back to DC and have been living with my family, I've been getting sick - a lot. And whom do I hold responsible for these ailments? A young, active, germ magnet of smurf-like stature named Ella. When Ella comes home from school, she brings back with her more than just some arts & crafts project she made that day. I managed to escape the last round of pink eye and strep throat, but I didn't get so lucky with the hand, foot, and mouth disease. It sounds a little repulsive, I know, but it mostly felt like I had the flu with the added bonus of a light rash on my hands and feet and one or two canker-like sores in my mouth that disappeared after a few days.
I have developed this theory that there is a negative correlation between the size of a potential carrier of disease and the deadliness of the disease to humans. In other words, the smaller the carrier, the more lethal the disease it carries and vice-versa. In support of this theory, I have the following examples as evidence:
1. When have you heard of a very large animal such as a polar bear or humpback whale causing pandemics? Being eaten by a shark doesn't count.
2. Some medium sized animals can transmit disease to humans but cases are rare and not widespread (so far). Example: Cows and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad-cow disease. Maybe the next time you're at the grocery store, instead of asking, "Where the beef?" you may want to inquire about tofu instead.
3. Animals that fall in the "small" category can pose relatively medium to high risk to humans. Example: birds and avian flu. You can also put small human children in this category.
4. Super small beasts = super deadly. Example: mosquitoes that spread malaria and itching. Those little buzzards can raise a lot of hell for humans.
I think I have just made a very compelling argument for my theory, don't you think?
Judging by the content of the last dozen or so entries, I should just rename this blog "A Chronicle of Boo's Afflictions, Dysfunctions, and Postulations." Actually I just did.
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