Todd from Taiwan took this photo at the Dengshan Trail in Jhongsing Village. Got to be the cutest bug that I’ve ever seen, bizarrely reminded me of a milk-cow…
Tom cats in Sichuan Province in southern China have sprouted wing-like growths on their backs, which locals are attributing to the hot summer weather and the romantic attentions of females [more on Telegraph]
Scientist however said that the hairy growths are probably developed because of unusual grooming habits, a genetic defect or a hereditary skin condition.
The price of rat meat has quadrupled in Cambodia as inflation has put other meat beyond the reach of poor people, according to Reuters.
A kilogramme of rat meat increased to around 5,000 riel (USD1.28) from 1,200 riel last year. It’s still cheaper than other meat though… beef for example costs about 20,000 riel a kilogramme.
Some communities in Asian and South American countries have long history of eating rats or other rodents, but food shortages and inflations have pushed others to try rat meat in recent years.
Earlier this month, a state government in eastern India encouraged its people to eat rats in an effort to battle soaring food prices and save grain stocks.
Sometimes it’s hard to relate to poverty around the world. Here we are, using high tech gadgets and surfing the web while at other corners on earth people are eating rats because they can’t afford other meat… and it’s far from being the worse scenario yet. It’s kinda sad actually.
An Italian priest was planning to organise an online beauty pageant for nuns to fight the stereotype that they are all old and dour.
Father Antonio Rungi, a theologian and schoolteacher from Naples, was planning to run the “Miss Sister” (or “Sister Italia”) contest via online voting in hope to give the nuns a chance to show off their work and image [via News and ABC]
Update - the plan is suspended.
A topless parade was held on Wednesday (Aug 20) in Auckland, New Zealand, despite various protests. The Boobs on Bike parade on Queens Street featured some semi-nude porn stars and was part of the Erotica Expo organised by Steve Crow.
The Auckland City Council had sought a court injunction to stop the parade but the judge has ruled in the the parade’s favour. I’ll leave the moral issue for your own interpretation; but some of the folks were obviously enjoying the show…
American shooter Matthew Emmons is going to be one of the most memorable characters in Olympic history…
Matthew and Katerina Emmons
In Athens 2004, Matthew was just a shot away from winning a gold in the three positions competition… but he shot on the wrong target, a mistake that sounds almost impossible in professional shooting. He finished eighth.
It’s not all bad for Matthew though… later that night, he went to a pub and met Czech shooter Kateřina Kůrková who offered him consolation. The couple fell in love and got married in 2007.
If the name Kateřina Emmons sounds familiar to you, that’s because she is the winner of the first gold medal in Beijing Olympics 2008.
Matthew was trying to emulate his wife’s success, and he was pretty close at the three positions competition, again needing just an average score at his final shot to secure the gold.
Somehow, it’s deja vu… he didn’t fire the wrong target this time, but pulled the trigger at a wrong timing and got a bad score. He finished fourth.
Make no mistake though, Matthew is an excellent shooter. He won a gold in Athens in other shooting event and also a silver in Beijing. It’s just the bizarreness of how he missed those two golds that is going to make him a folklore of the Games.
Matthew has already expressed his ambition for London 2012… wish him luck.
It’s official, the concert is on. The Malaysian authority have changed their mind with the earlier decision to bar Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne to perform on August 29 in Kuala Lumpur.
Avril told MTV on Thursday that the concert will go ahead as planned; and there were other sources indicating that Galaxy Group, the concert promoter, has successfully appeal to the initial ban. It has been officially confirmed on Friday evening that the show will go on.
Canadian singer Avril Lavigne
Earlier this week, Malaysian authority had made the call to bar Avril from performing at the scheduled KL concert, stating that the concert is unsuitable for Malaysian culture, particularly not when the country is celebrating independence day on August 31.
The decision echoed the call from an Islamic opposition party for the show to be scrapped, that the show is considered too sexy for Malaysians and would promote the wrong values as Malaysia’s independence day is looming near.
The spokesman for the Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry Ministry said that the concert promoter can request a new date for the concert… but it is becoming apparent that Galaxy has managed to appeal to hold the concert as scheduled instead.
It’s deja vu for Malaysians… the authority had barred Indonesian singer Inul Daratista from performing in late July 2008 following similar protest that her performance was ‘too erotic’.
Do mind that Malaysians in general are not that conservative; in fact lots of the Muslims are quite liberal in these kind of matters. Unfortunately the men that make the initial decision were not quite as open minded… glad that the final decision makers are showing more sense.
A sushi wedding cake, some hot chillies, a few bulls running, a knighted penguin and a crime fighting turtle…
Sushi wedding cake
