Odd News #7 :: Summer Makes Me Lazy

I admit it. Summer makes me a lazy procrastinator. Not that I am never lazy or that I never procrastinate [I do enough of that for three people, trust me]. Summer just multiplies my sluggish sentiments by approximately 250%. 

Anyway, now that I had admitted my innermost secret to all on the interweb, I will reveal to you, my dear readers [you do exist, don't you, dear readers? If not, I think I qualify as slightly psychotic, considering that I must be having conversations with myself], exactly what struck me as being so odd, I had to share. And that, my dear potentially-non-existent/in-my-head-readers, is a 70 year old Indian woman giving birth to twins.  

Yes, your eyes do not deceive you. A seventy year old woman successfully gave birth to twins. This news, courtesy of the Daily Mail , was rather shocking to me. However, with IVF gaining in success and popularity, it should be no surprise that even women with children conceived the natural way still want to have children past their prime. Apparently way past their prime. 

To clarify, I am not condemning IVF as I am an in-vitro baby myself. Nor am I condemning women who chose to have children well into their 50's and even 60's. However, I am questioning the morality of bringing a child into the world whose parents may not live to see his or her first birthday.

Considering that the average life expectancy of a woman in India is 71.9 years, the new mother in question may not indeed see her twins take their first steps or babble their first words. In addition to that, she is doing good to even be alive at the moment. According to the CIA World Fact Book, the average lifespan of the entire Indian population is 69.25 years. 

When making the decision to bring new life into the world, I believe that you should consider the quality of life the child will have. According to the Daily Mail, all the Indian family wanted was a son. A son to inherit the wealth, the farm and get a dowry from his future bride. What happens if both his parents die within the next few years, his adult sisters are not willing or able to take on another child and he ends up in an orphanage? How is that productive, let alone moral? It is possible that the family will surprise us all, but I do have my doubts.

More power to her for taking on such a laborious task at such an advanced age [no pun intended]. I just hope that other aged women will consider their potential unborn child before spending thousands on IVF treatment. 

Odd News #6 :: Yet Another Plane Mishap

I mentioned in a previous post that the number of aircraft accidents seems to be on the rise as of late. Typically, small crafts go down and have accidents more often than the large commercial airliners because of size and the experience level of the pilots. But it seems that more and more commercial grade planes are having accidents these days. Earlier this month, a Boeing 777 crash landed just a few yards short of a Heathrow landing strip, destroying the underbelly of the aircraft. Luckily, there were no serious injuries and everyone was able to evacuate the plane safely. 

The most recent 'wreck' occurred in Washington state when a Southwest aircraft slid off the taxiway. Supposedly, the cause was about a half an inch of wet snow. But since the plane was flying in from Portland, Oregon, one would assume that snow would be old hat for the pilots and the aircraft alike. [You know, since the planes can navigate snow by themselves and everything.] 

Once again, no one was injured but it seems like the incidents themselves would raise an alarm. Will someone have to be seriously injured before an explanation is found? Is there a Bermuda Triangle of sorts affecting aircrafts? I certainly don't know, but I would like to find out.

Odd News #5

I have noticed an alarming number of reported plane crashes in the recent months. I am not sure if this is because I am reading more news or if it is because more planes are, in fact, crashing. Either way, this news story brought to you by CNN takes the cake for me.

(CNN) -- At least seven people were killed Wednesday when a Polish military transport aircraft carrying passengers who had attended a flight-safety conference crashed in northwest Poland, military officials said.

This tragic and ironic bit of news baffles me.

Leana is a Culinary Odity

[Note: I have had a very busy and stressful week and have not felt like Blogging. I am now in New York City, which has made me want to blog more. Maybe.]

I have very strange eating habits. As an example, I don't like for my food to touch on the plate. However, some of my favourite foods are interesting mixes. I recently discovered that I love avocado, rice and soy sauce together. I don't know of anyone else who likes this, nor have I even heard of anyone doing this before. I am weird, I know. 

Earlier today, made another interesting discovery about myself. I like avocado and goat cheese together. Yes, you read that right. Avocado and goat cheese. 

Anyway, hope I didn't make anyone vomit! Cheers!

Odd News #4

Seriously? That is all I have to say.

LONDON, England (CNN) -- British twins who had been separated at birth learned they were related only after they had become husband and wife, a senior British lawmaker said. The marriage has been annulled.

You would think that they would have noticed that they looked alike. Or maybe had the same birthday. Maybe? This is really just beyond weird to me that adoption agencies could allow something like this. First to separate the twins then not inform them that they actually have a twin somewhere out there. Not to mention warning them not to marry said twin.

The rest of the article doesn't talk much at all about this interesting situation but you can go here to read it.

Odd News #3

This is a very strange and somewhat random piece of news from Fox.

An 11-year-old girl was hit by a stray bullet while horseback riding at a rural farm in Tennessee, WSMV-TV reported.

Allie Nadeau was in an enclosed area with her riding instructor when she was shot in the buttocks, according to the station.

"Another inch higher, she could have been paralyzed," horse trainer Wren Fraser told WSMV-TV. "Another few inches higher, she could have been down on the spot."

Doctors said Nadeau will survive and have decided not to remove the bullet because it will cause more pain for the young girl.

I assume by "enclosed area" they mean and indoor arena. And by indoor arena I assume they mean the bullet had to travel through some sort of wall before it reached the girl's so-called buttocks. It irks me that they don't followup on the story by saying that it was something like a stray hunter's bullet or they just flat out don't know where it came from

Hmm, I hope I don't get hit by a stray bullet while riding any time soon. I don't think that would be too much fun

Odd News #2

Once again I came across an interesting report from Fox News. Apparently Taser has come out with a more consumer friendly shocking device, trying to target [no pun intended?] a market outside of law enforcement. They even come in pink!

A single woman from Arizona is going to great lengths to bring these non-lethal personal protection devices to the public. She is hosting Taser parties. Yes, Taser parties. Not unlike the tupperware parties of yesteryear. You can read more about Dana Shafman and her parties here. 

This could be a good thing... or it could be bad. Imagine walking down the street in New York or some other crowded city and ZAP! Now you are mysteriously on the sidewalk. You have been Tased. It was most likely someone with nothing to do but, run around zapping people but it could also be someone with more malicious intentions. But, no one assaults you. Good, right? For the most part. The only down side to that is that now you have no idea who the Taser wielding prankster is. 

I will let you decide for yourself, but I personally think this new phenomenon could potentially end quite badly.

Odd News #1

I read various news sites daily and often run across strange and random articles that could only be fabricated. However this is not the case. In the odd news posts, I will share some of the most... interesting news reports. 

This... interesting... news of the day comes from none other than Fox News. Enjoy!

CLEAR LAKE, Iowa -- An artificial arm and leg stolen last summer from a prosthetic limb maker in Clear Lake have been found -- sticking out of a snow bank.

The limbs, valued together at about $30,000, were found last Saturday, police said. They were in good condition and returned to Tom Leisure.

The limbs were stolen from Leisure's business in July. There [sic] were designed for individuals, and have no value to the general public.

Police speculate that local teenagers stole the limbs to use as props for a prank.

 

At least they weren't stolen from the unfortunate individual who was to receive the limbs. That would have been just sick. However, the fact that the limbs were stolen in July and found in a snow bank six months later either implies some serious prank planning or... some strange reason that I can not fathom.