Paint Box Vandal

In the UK post office boxes are red ......

Sir Chris Hoy's 2nd Gold Post Box

.... except when they aren't.

Random Shorts From Everywhere

While much of the world fought Coronavirus with vaccines, others tried other remedies ....

Ting Mong's Scare Covid Aware

In Cambodia, farmers put up effigies known as 'Ting Mongs' along their fences to ward off coronavirus. The idea is that they drive the evil illnesses away and have been used on other occasions to avert Dengue fever and other diseases from the farmers.

As Cambodia has had fewer pandemic deaths than one might suppose, maybe the Ting Mongs have been doing their jobs ... or maybe its just that rural Cambodia is not a good place for the virus to transmit from person to person. 

What An Irony

Now when a person admits that they have a drinking problem, and decides that they will go on the wagon and start attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, then you naturally wish them the best of luck. But sometimes lady fate has other ideas.

Ray Galindo, a resident of Modesto, California had just attended an AA meeting in May 2021, and was walking back to his car, when he was struck by a car driven by Brandon Howe, a drunk driver and killed. The irony of this was not lost on his fellow AA members and one told the press "What an irony of life to come here and try and be sober, try to be a better person, and then you go out by one of us, technically."

 Vegan Crap

The Liberal Democrats and Greens on the Oxfordshire County Council had forced through a resolution to say that only vegan food be offered for refreshments at council events .... definitely no meat, and dairy products. But it went dramatically wrong when all 16 of the opposition council members decided to go to a local pub for lunch, instead of eating the new food offerings. Ironically it was the 'Slug and Lettuce' pub.

Naughty But Nice?

Women who have extra marital affairs have reported that it boosts their confidence and self esteem. This was the finding of a poll carried out by the 'married' dating site Ashley Madison (of which more in a moment). They apparently surveyed 4,000 women members, and 64 per cent reported that having a secret lover had boosted their femininity. 

While 45 per cent said that cheating on their partner gave them a sense of empowerment, and 54 per cent said that they felt "more desirable than ever". Lucy Beresford, a relationship expert commented that "Cheating can be the chance for people to feel seen and heard again." 

But, and those of you who religiously read this blogs post, will remember that there was something of a scandal a few years ago, when it was found that the Ashley Madison website was found to have only 12,000 women members (compared with 36 million male members). So frankly this could be a lot of nonsense, with just 4 women, not 4,000 ....

Rich And Spoilt

When toasted sandwich 'chef,' and model, and  photographer, Brooklyn Beckham got married to an older minor actress Nicola Peltz, it was a meeting of money, as well as presumably minds.

Beckham's father David is of course very famous and rich (approx £345m), while Peltz's father Nelson is even more wealthy at approx £1.3bn .... so Brooklyn and Nicola never have to worry about ending up stacking shelves, which I suspect is lucky for at least one of them. I wonder if they ever dwell upon how lucky they are to be born into such wealth and privilege, and ever think about doing something that gives something back to the world .... I might be wrong, but probably not.

Woke World

The cancel history brigade are now in full flow, and apparently the symbolic genocide of white males from history is continuing apace. 

Livingstone And Stanley Facing Cancellation

.... A statue of Sir Henry Morton Stanley, the 19th century explorer is next in line to be toppled.

World Takes A Short Pause ...

A short lead post this week ...  

World Takes A Short Pause ...

... Trump's US still hasn't extracted itself from Iran, so the real world is kind of on a short pause.

There Goes Anyone

I saw something odd early last year, and decided to write about it, as it stuck in my mind .....

A Life Spilt On To The Concrete?

....... It was the moment when a woman's life possibly changed.

Bodily Functions And Perceptions

A 10 year old boy has proved that humans actually do have some remarkable powers of recovery if given a chance. He developed a brain tumour and surgeons were forced to remove a great part of his brain in order to remove the tumour.

 

Human Mega Brains Are Possible

 

In all he lost a third of the right hemisphere (the side which deals with visual processing, sights and sounds). His prognosis was for a restricted recovery.

Between A Rock And A Hard Price?

Donald Trump claimed once again last Friday ......

Trump Between A Rock And A Hard Price?

.... that the U.S. has "already won" the war.  However its now week ten of the war and counting, and he's now saying in his inimitable way that he wants to "win by a bigger margin," and ensure Iran can never attain a nuclear weapon.

A Fishy Explanation

Power Transformers worldwide have suffered some strange animal sabotages over the years .....

Electrocuted Vervet Monkey

.... from Racoon's causing power supply problems in both Germany and the USA, to rats in Japan and monkeys in Kenya.

Oh What A Lucky Man And Other Crime Stories

Sometimes fate just takes a hand. Police in Bochum Germany spotted a man playing a one armed bandit in a arcade, and realised that he was wanted with a warrant out for his arrest, because of €710 in unpaid fines. He faced a 71 day prison term if he failed to pay up, so they moved in to handcuff him. 

Oh What A Lucky Win

But as they detained him, the fruit machine paid out the jackpot of €1,000 so the man paid his outstanding fine in full on the spot and was released.

Time For A New US Political Party?

The US is becoming ever more divided politically .....

USA Politically Divided

 .... with the current two major parties both prone to being hijacked by and led by extremists of the left and the right, and assassinations and assassination attempts, now seemingly a real factor in political life.