These days it's hard to focus on anything other than our twin trials and their offshoots. If it's not about the virus, its effect on people and the economy, it's about racial justice and the actions and reactions to that ongoing struggle. Throw in the political ramifications of each, and you have a plate that is more than full, leaving little room for anything else. We're not just talking an elephant in the room, but an elephant, a gorilla and a tyrannosaurus rex all at the same time. Is it any wonder that that cute puppy over the in the corner is going to get squished like a bug?
But in terms of news, the rest of the world hasn't stopped spinning. The big stories still get through: NASA's launch of a new rocket, the further clampdown on Hong Kong by Beijing, Russia pushing legislation to let Putin extend his term in office. COVID or not, these narratives are just too impactful not to make the front page, even if they wind up below the fold.
But what about all the other stuff? What's happening away from the center of the action? After all, while we may say the only thing we care about is the latest use rate of intensive care beds, deep in our heart of hearts we are also wondering how Harry and Meghan are faring as private citizens. To that end, following is a a selection of what you may have been missing of late.
In Utah, a cop pulled over a car he observed weaving in the left lane. The driver turned out to be a 5-year-old kid, who left his house in a huff after arguing with his mother when she told him she would not buy him a Lamborghini. The cop tweeted "He decided to take the car and go to California to buy one himself. He might have been short on the purchase amount as he only had $3 in his wallet."
An Idaho man has set a new record for slicing Kiwi fruit with a sword while standing on a balance board. David Rush has broken more than 150 other Guinness records, including drinking a liter of lemon juice in 17.29 seconds and, with his wife, putting on the most tee shirts in one minute (32). For his newest achievement, his friend Jonathan Hannon threw the fruit up in the air as Rush cleaved each with a samurai sword. His new record of 65 easily bested the previous mark of 35.
While the markets may be going up and down, if you want a growth property you might want to consider NBA trading cards. A 2003-04 Topps Chrome card, which featured then-rookie LeBron James mid-jump while taking a shot with the Cleveland Cavaliers sold for $7,150 four years ago. This week it fetched nearly 8 times that, going for $57,100. Even before its current whipsawing, the Dow was up merely one and half times in a similar period.
Scientists near Sacheon City in South Korea have unearthed evidence of a crocodile that walked upright on 2 legs. Standing thirteen feet tall and weighting half a ton, it lived 120 million years ago and had legs as long as a human's. Named Batrachopus grandis, it was identified from almost a hundred ten-inch footprints unearthed during excavations. Professor Martin Lockley, of the University of Colorado Denver, had this appraisal: "I would not want to meet one these animals. It probably had no sense of humor."
And in what is either a power play, a bit of international cooperation, a defensive maneuver, or all three, there are reports that China is working on plans to assist Pakistan along their common border. Seems the Pakistanis have a locust problem, and China is reportedly studying the possibility of reprising a technique they used in 2000 to combat a similar infestation in Xinjiang. Then the Chinese deployed thousands of ducks and chickens to combat the pests. Based on their observations then that while chickens eat just 70 locusts a day and ducks 200, any future deployment should be of just the one species. With that in mind researcher Lu Lizhi of the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences suggested that an army of 100,000 ducks should be sent to quell the uprising. Discussions are continuing.
And now you can't say you're not up on current events.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford likes to read all the news. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
But in terms of news, the rest of the world hasn't stopped spinning. The big stories still get through: NASA's launch of a new rocket, the further clampdown on Hong Kong by Beijing, Russia pushing legislation to let Putin extend his term in office. COVID or not, these narratives are just too impactful not to make the front page, even if they wind up below the fold.
But what about all the other stuff? What's happening away from the center of the action? After all, while we may say the only thing we care about is the latest use rate of intensive care beds, deep in our heart of hearts we are also wondering how Harry and Meghan are faring as private citizens. To that end, following is a a selection of what you may have been missing of late.
In Utah, a cop pulled over a car he observed weaving in the left lane. The driver turned out to be a 5-year-old kid, who left his house in a huff after arguing with his mother when she told him she would not buy him a Lamborghini. The cop tweeted "He decided to take the car and go to California to buy one himself. He might have been short on the purchase amount as he only had $3 in his wallet."
An Idaho man has set a new record for slicing Kiwi fruit with a sword while standing on a balance board. David Rush has broken more than 150 other Guinness records, including drinking a liter of lemon juice in 17.29 seconds and, with his wife, putting on the most tee shirts in one minute (32). For his newest achievement, his friend Jonathan Hannon threw the fruit up in the air as Rush cleaved each with a samurai sword. His new record of 65 easily bested the previous mark of 35.
While the markets may be going up and down, if you want a growth property you might want to consider NBA trading cards. A 2003-04 Topps Chrome card, which featured then-rookie LeBron James mid-jump while taking a shot with the Cleveland Cavaliers sold for $7,150 four years ago. This week it fetched nearly 8 times that, going for $57,100. Even before its current whipsawing, the Dow was up merely one and half times in a similar period.
Scientists near Sacheon City in South Korea have unearthed evidence of a crocodile that walked upright on 2 legs. Standing thirteen feet tall and weighting half a ton, it lived 120 million years ago and had legs as long as a human's. Named Batrachopus grandis, it was identified from almost a hundred ten-inch footprints unearthed during excavations. Professor Martin Lockley, of the University of Colorado Denver, had this appraisal: "I would not want to meet one these animals. It probably had no sense of humor."
And in what is either a power play, a bit of international cooperation, a defensive maneuver, or all three, there are reports that China is working on plans to assist Pakistan along their common border. Seems the Pakistanis have a locust problem, and China is reportedly studying the possibility of reprising a technique they used in 2000 to combat a similar infestation in Xinjiang. Then the Chinese deployed thousands of ducks and chickens to combat the pests. Based on their observations then that while chickens eat just 70 locusts a day and ducks 200, any future deployment should be of just the one species. With that in mind researcher Lu Lizhi of the Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences suggested that an army of 100,000 ducks should be sent to quell the uprising. Discussions are continuing.
And now you can't say you're not up on current events.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford likes to read all the news. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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