Sophie's World
Strange tales from around the globe
Happy Wagga Christmas
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 13 November 2009 16:58
It really is that time of year
He's coming to town! Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Ah Wagga Wagga. Why have I not visited you before?
In fact, Santa pipped me to the proverbial post. I love the fact that Santa makes it all the way to Wagga Wagga. You'd think it might be an Australian outpost too far, but no, there he is with his reindeer and his sleigh. But look closely at the photo - is ...
Quote of the Week!
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 06 November 2009 17:28
Coming all the way from Idaho
Watch out! It's blending with the road! Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Thank you to the Idaho Press-Tribune for publishing this story of a night-time encounter between a car and an elephant. It's pretty wonderful.
Bill Carpenter, driving with his wife through the darkness, nearly hit an elephant:
"Didn't have time to hit the brakes. The elephant blended in with the road," driver Bill Carpenter said Thursday. "At the very last second I said ...
Headline of the week!
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 30 October 2009 18:06
Pravda. You are the best.
No Mickey! There's a curse! Credit: AFP/Getty Images
I don't know if I need to say anything about this at all.
All Cartoonists Seem To Be Cursed Forever Globally
Where to begin? I'm not even going to go into the article.
a) ALL of them?
b) FOREVER?
c) GLOBALLY?
I mean, if I was a cartoonist right now I'd think my luck really had run out once and for all. Nowhere to go, no hope ...
Not so spooky
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 26 October 2009 17:09
All the way from Transylvania . . .
Pumpkin fun. Credit: AFP/Getty Images
So, you're going to have to bear with a few slightly wayward leaps of logic here . . .
I was thinking Hallowe'en, then vampires, then Transylvania, and ended up in North Carolina reading the Transylvania Times. Which, all things considered, is not very haunted or frightening or ghoulish at all. It does, however, have a picture of pumpkins on a lawn ...
The leech that saved the day!
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 21 October 2009 17:01
Who says invertebrates can't be heroic?
The common leech. My hero. Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Not me! I say invertebrates CAN be brave, as this story shows (sent in by my Greek correspondent -- thank you to The Greek).
I mean, this leech is a hero! Little did it know in its little leechy life that it would actually solve a crime, put a criminal away, rescue a poor old man, help the police, and generally be ...
Stop the press! Save the cottage!
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 19 October 2009 17:51
What really matters in life
Thatching. Don't let it end! Credit: Getty Images
A bold subheading. Especially when you see the article I'm about to link to. It seems I'm arguing that "what really matters in life" is small abandoned thatched cottages in Galway, which is a strange position to adopt, given everything else that's going on in the world at the moment.
But I am not one to be deterred once a campaign has ...
Article of the week!
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 16 October 2009 16:55
Short, but perfectly formed
I hope you're not using adhesive! Credit: AFP/Getty Images
So I might have overblown it slightly. But still, this is great. And for a Friday afternoon, it's PERFECT.
From the UB Post in Mongolia: "City Championship for Barbers and Beauticians".
It's a short piece. So I'm going to copy it out here in full:
A city's championship of hairdressers and beauticians will be held on October 9.Participators (barbers and beauticians) will ...
Plastic fantastic
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 14 October 2009 15:52
Just what the world needs: a plastic surgery competition
Give the lady a prize! Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Yes it's true. Pravda, that bastion of extraordinary news, reports this week on the Miss Plastic Surgery competition in Hungary.
Quote of the week?
Contestants showed off breast implants, nose jobs and facelifts as Miss Plastic Hungary 2009 strove to promote the benefits of plastic surgery in a country where artificial enhancements are viewed mostly with a wary eye.
Oh, and:
The pageant also ...
Schnappy schnapps
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 12 October 2009 16:04
Forget the Nobel Prize. What about the Swedish drinking song championship?
Drinking (responsibly). Credit: AFP/Getty Images
And so to Sweden, for news of another kind of prize: the Swedish drinking song championship. This year the great trophy has been awarded to Peter Roadson from Skurup for his offering: "The Waiting Song". But, says Roadson, after questioning about his alcohol intake, he managed to do the whole thing without getting even remotely inebriated. (In the article, there seems ...
This can't be right
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 09 October 2009 16:34
Is it a toilet? Is it a sink?
A man carrying loo paper. This loosely relates to the story. Credit: AFP/Getty Images
It's both, is apparently the answer.
Oh, let us celebrate these wonders of modern design.
Although there's something about it that makes me feel distinctly uncomfortable, I have to admit. I mean, what if something goes in the wrong direction? I'm just not sure these two things should be so intricately connected.
Quote of the day, though:
It's a much trendier and elegant solution to ...
Zombie time
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 08 October 2009 17:51
And why the University of Florida really should get a sense of humour
Shaun of the dead? Credit: Getty Images
So this is the week of the underdog. Yesterday we had the Robin Hood lady. Today we have the unnamed hero of Florida University (reported, for some reason, in the Ottawa Sun -- I never claimed this blog would have editorial, or geographical, logic) who, beside the university's advice for swine flu and hurricanes, made some helpful suggestions for those on ...
Fine young criminals
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 07 October 2009 14:27
And a strong contender for Quote of the Week
A literal picture. Robin Hood! Credit: Getty Images
Now, let's get one thing straight. I do not advocate, or defend, criminality. But every now and then, you read about a crime that really makes your heart sing a bit. This time, we're in Michigan, where a 53-year-old banker, Patricia Keezer, has been sentenced for embezzling funds at her bank and giving them away to needy customers to help them ...
Headline of the Week!
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 01 October 2009 15:11
And a brilliant boy called Boris
Watch out, the aliens are coming! Credit: AFP/Getty Images
This needs very little introduction.
Aliens Live Among Us
Thank you, Pravda, for lightening my days. Especially with this massive find in the form of 13-year-old Boris.
At the same time the boy's parents noticed that he knew about things nobody told him about. For example, he would sit in the lotus position and tell people unbelievable details about space, planets and other intelligent ...
Stop the press!
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 29 September 2009 15:01
Forget party conferences, the real stories are in Fuerteventura
Is that 40? The plot thickens. Credit: AFP/Getty Images
You know something's up when the name of the newspaper starts with "Sunny".
As in, Sunny Fuerteventura. What if it's not sunny? I can't believe it's sunny every single day in Fuerteventura. On the rainy days the newspaper's name will just seem like a jaded, cynical barb. "Oh yeah, sunny Fuerteventura. Because it's so sunny here."
I probably didn't need to spell that ...
Headline of the Week!
Posted by Sophie Elmhirst - 23 September 2009 13:48
And this is actually quite topical/important
Pizza anyone? Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Never let it be said that this blog does not charge headlong into the domains of current affairs/global politics/climate change. This article from Xinhua has ALL THREE, but it also has a marvellous headline:
Quoteable Quotes from Chinese President's Tour in US
"Quoteable quotes". As opposed to unquotable quotes. Or quotable unquotes. Or unquotable unquotes. But somehow seeing a whole list of ...
