Archive for June, 2009
So who cares, right? I mean, despite the fact that he is the leader of the arguably greatest nation on Earth, he still is a private individual to a certain extent. Yes, he has made the lives of tobacco and cigarette companies hell lately, but he admits to smoking every now and then.
Barack Obama has never made it a secret that he is struggling with his smoking habit. Perhaps just like very other smoker who has been wanting to quit, the president is finding it quite hard to totally kick the habit. He says that he is about 95% cured but he finds himself slipping a lot. He goes on to say, however, that he does not do it in front of the children – just like many smoker parents that I know.
So why is this significant? I don’t think it is really – except for the President perhaps. He wants to quit smoking but is finding it hard – big deal! Of course, critics are quick to point fingers and highlight the fact that he is putting a lot of pressure on the tobacco industry while at the same time, patronizing their goods.
What does the President have to say about this?
“Once you go down this path it’s something you continually struggle with, which is precisely why the legislation we signed is so important because what we don’t want is kids going down that path in the first place.”
Yeah, I have to agree with him a hundred percent on this one. And yes, I am trying to kick the habit myself.
…and gets 56 stars for it. The story is that Kimberley Vlaeminck, an 18-year-old Belgian, went to a tattoo parlor to get stars on her face. According to her, she asked the tattoo artist, Rouslan Toumaniantz, to put three stars near her eyes. As the procedure progressed, she said that she fell asleep. She only woke up when she felt a pain in her nose as the tattoo artist started adding stars there. BBC quotes her as saying: “I woke up when he was starting to tattoo my nose… I counted 56 stars, it is frightening.”
However, according to the tattoo artist, she knew exactly what was going on. He said that she ordered stars – and lots of them, it seems – all over her face and that she got exactly what she asked for. He also disputes the teenager’s claim that he probably misunderstood her instructions. Toumaniantz says ‘She was awake and looked in the mirror several times as the procedure was being done. She agreed, but when her father saw it, the trouble started.”
The question is, who is telling the truth and who is lying? Two totally contradicting stories – one of them is surely lying. My thoughts on this piece of news…it is one thing to fall asleep while getting a massage or while at the spa, but I don’t really think it’s possible to fall asleep while getting a tattoo. And to fall asleep through 56 stars? I don’t know. What do you think?
Everyone dreams of winning the Powerball. I even know some people who actually believe that they WILL win the Powerball one day, but I haven’t met a single person who has actually won. But check this out, a 23-year-old rancher from Todd County in South Dakota has won the most recent Powerball draw; and his winnings? A mere $232 million. He will be taking home a whopping $88.5 million (after taxes) as a lump sum.
Neal Wanless’s story is something like a modern day fairy tale. He is 23-years-old, a young rancher trying to make a decent living. His father has been buying and selling scrap metal in the recent years in order to survive. Neal bought $15 worth of lottery tickets at a town called Winner, and guess what? He became one himself! Big time.
What’s he going to do with the money? In an interview Neal said that he would expand their 320-acre ranch, repay the townspeople who have shown him and his family kindness over the years, and not squander his money.
That sounds really good. It cannot be denied, however, that lottery winners have encountered problems when dealing with their newfound wealth. While I am not saying that Neal will burn his money away like many other lottery winners, I really am hoping that this young man and his parents, with whom he lives, will be able to handle the rollercoaster ride that is life after winning the lottery.
It looks as if he has a level head on his shoulders, though, doesn’t he?
And I thought that we only had to fear alligators in the Everglades. Apparently, the population of Burmese pythons has reached an unprecedented high. According to wildlife biologists, the population of the pythons has now reached about 150,000!
Where do these pythons come from (as it is highly unlikely that they traveled all the way from Burma)? Apparently, pet owners dump them in the glades once they get tired of them. And since the conditions in the area are conducive to breeding, the snakes have multiplied over the years.
Aside from the fact that pythons are ungainly (at least to the average person), they pose a danger to the natural balance in the Everglades. Pythons eat just about anything and endangered species like the wood stork and Key Largo woodrat are in extreme danger. More so, the bigger snakes can eat larger animals like bobcats and deer and in fact, scientists have already found these animals inside the bellies of captured snakes.
If you think that no one is doing anything about the problem, think again. The Obama administration has already allotted $200 million so far to projects aimed at restoring the glades. While naturalists and environmentalists are rejoicing over this, there are those who think that the money should be spent on other more practical things. On the other hand, the glades and its preservation cannot be given a price, don’t you think?
The next time that you get tired of your pet python, you should think twice about throwing it out in the glades.
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