Something for Everyone
A jealous dog takes centre stage in this year’s Sinterklaas spot for Dutch online store Bol.com.
Posts
Misadventures of a British Tourist
As politely summed up in the headline of a report on the Pattaya Mail website:
British tourist survives fall from hotel balcony into internet café after heavy drinking in Pattaya
As clarified in the headline of the report on the Daily Express website:
Brit tourist covered in poo falls through ceiling in Thailand red light district
And here’s how the latter report detailed what exactly happened:
An incredibly unfortunate British tourist had to be rescued after falling through a ceiling whilst covered in poo in a red light district in Thailand. Paul Hadfield, 51, from Blackburn, Lancashire, was allegedly 'extremely drunk' when he returned to his room in the early hours of Monday morning, November 4.
Staff said they heard groans and banging in the room but thought nothing of it - until Paul's legs came crashing through the ceiling of an adjacent internet cafe packed with gamers. Shocked locals called police as the naked holidaymaker cried for help with his legs dangling through the floorboards.
The balcony from which he fell was directly above the roof of the cafe.
However the drama wasn't over there. Officers were horrified when they checked the Brit's room at The Freelancer Hotel in Pattya, Thailand, and found excrement smeared across the floor.
Also from that report, this is what the police spokesperson was quoted as saying:
We have some ideas about what he was doing in the room to make it so dirty but there was nothing illegal.
It is his private life, so he will have to speak with the hotel to negotiate the bill.
Dump Trump Garbage Bags
I’ll let this report explain:
Creative studio Bear Meets Eagle On Fire has partnered with independent artists in the New York City area, on an anti-Trump design protest project.
The result is a series of orange ‘DUMP TRUMP’ garbage bags emblazoned with the contentious political figure’s face. The swollen orange bags, strewn across the city streets in Manhattan and Brooklyn just days before the election, are a visceral metaphor for a candidate who has run one of the most divisive and contentious campaigns for President, in US history.
Brian Cox Goes to College
In a new spot for Uber One, the veteran actor plays a version of himself, enticed by student discounts.
Court protection against room being cleaned
Pretty much that, with a bit more. Let me start with the headlines on a report out of Singapore:
Brother granted court orders against sister who repeatedly entered his room to clean it over 8 years
And this is the subheading:
The sister was also granted a personal protection order against her brother, who had assaulted her over her actions.
HR, as you may have never imagined
A new spot for traveltech company WeRoad takes its inspiration from slasher horror movies and presents a uniquely visualised portrayal of HR, befitting the genre.
Not stray, but destitute
To quote from a news report out of India:
Cows and other bovines will not be referred to as 'strays' in Rajasthan, as the term is 'insulting' and 'inappropriate', according to a new order passed by the state government. As per the new order, from now on, the use of words like 'helpless' or 'destitute would be encouraged for cows and other bovines that are roaming on their own.
RIP Teri Garr
Unmatched sparkle, and smart and witty to boot.
Tootsie (1982)
- Sandy freaks out
From her Letterman appearances: Academy Awards dilemma
On Conan: Nudity differences
On Multiple Sclerosis, and living with it (from her autobiography):
MS is a sneaky disease. Like some of my boyfriends, it has a tendency to show up at the most awkward times and then to disappear entirely.
I like to say MS is to disease what Enron is to accounting. No rules. It’s a big fat cheater.
I really do count my blessings. At least I used to; now I get so tired, I have a woman come in once a week and count them for me.
Goodbye Mr. Pig
From France: meat alternative brand La Vie has released its first television commercial.
‘Man found dancing and urinating inside minivan’
That’s from the headline of a news report out of Ontario, Canada. The same news was captioned in another paper with this headline:
'Dancing' suspect charged with impaired driving
Here’s what the latter report tells us about what really happened:
An Elliot Lake man is facing multiple charges after an early morning complaint Thursday on Highland Place.
At around 5:30 a.m., Ontario Provincial Police were told a man was slumped over the steering wheel of a blue minivan while the motor was running.
Arriving officers tried to speak with the man, but they say he ignored them while dancing to music inside the vehicle.
“He then proceeded to urinate all over the steering wheel and driver's seat area,” OPP said in a news release.
The man continued to be uncooperative, the OPP said, but eventually entry was gained and the man safely arrested.
“In his possession was suspected fentanyl, crack cocaine, and crack pipes,” police said. “There was also an open bottle of rum and cans of beer, both empty and full, inside the van.”
The minivan was subsequently towed and impounded.
Kevin Mikkelsen, 49, from Elliot Lake was charged with impaired driving over 80 mgs, driving with pot readily available, and possession of hard drugs.
The Tale of Mr. Tight Ass
A hilarious spot for the latest edition of Getty Museum’s Southern California arts event, PST Art.
Turd statue ‘honours’ Jan 6 rioters
As explained in a news report on the HuffPost website:
A mysterious bronze-colored monument was installed Thursday morning across the street from the U.S. Capitol grounds “honoring” the people behind the Jan. 6 insurrection with a massive turd.
The monument depicts an emoji-style pile of poop sitting on a desk with then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) nameplate next to it and a plaque underneath that reads:
This memorial honors the brave men and women who broke into the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 to loot, urinate and defecate throughout those hallowed halls in order to overturn an election.
President Trump celebrates these heroes of January 6th as “unbelievable patriots” and “warriors.” This monument stands as testament to their daring sacrifice and lasting legacy.
And for those who need more context:
The installation is taking aim at the mob of Donald Trump’s supporters who, egged on by the then-president’s lies, broke into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in a failed effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Some people in this mob reportedly spread their feces throughout several hallways and offices in the U.S. Capitol.
A Trump supporter named Francis Connor claimed in an Instagram message with other rioters that he had defecated on Pelosi’s desk. It’s not clear whether he actually did.
KFC’s Sleep-inducing Sizzle
I’ll let the press release explain:
Did you ever think you'd use the expression, "I could just cozy up to the sound of fried chicken?" Well, from ASMR social media channels to film and television production set rumors, the internet has recently unearthed the humorous phenomenon that the sound of cooking fried chicken sounds almost identical to the soothing, sleep-inducing sound of rain falling.
To further investigate, Hatch, a sleep wellness company that creates premium sleep audio content, and KFC®, the "OG" of fried chicken, have come together to release a new "Kentucky Fried Chicken Rain" content channel that can help lull you to sleep. The custom sound is available on Restore 2 smart sleep devices with a Hatch+ premium content subscription beginning today. Fried chicken and ASMR lovers will also be able to access the new "Kentucky Fried Chicken Rain" sound on the Hatch for Sleep and KFC YouTube channels as well as the Hatch for Sleep Spotify page.
The inspiration for the content channel came straight from Louisville, KY, where Hatch visited KFC's headquarters and test kitchen to learn more about and capture the real sound of fried chicken. Hatch employees worked alongside KFC's food innovation team to record the soothing sounds of frying KFC's new Original Recipe® Tenders.
‘Hide & Seek with a Cop’
Last week a local police department in Oregon put out a Facebook post with this announcement:
Hide & Seek with a Cop!
We have created a new community event this year and we would love to have you join us. It’s basically your only chance to run from the cops without consequences!
As elaborated in a news report, the event would involve “armed and uniformed police officers” who would “try to tag teenagers and adults as they run through a wooded park at night”. The report extensively quoted the department’s public information officer Paul Mattson III, explaining the rationale for some of those choices.
If the officers are not uniformed or armed, it defeats the goal of helping community members overcome fear of interacting with officers as they are, Mattson said.
Also according to the report:
Participants will have to sign a liability waiver, Mattson said. Asked about whether it was a safety risk to have officers armed during the event, Mattson said that officers’ guns are “going to be in their holsters like they normally would, just like if we were chasing a suspect.”
And these are some of the comments that came up on Facebook:
I call it hide and seek they call it resisting arrest
Just asking for a friend. Can criminals play this game and if so do they get to run away Scott free
Nawww, I've seen this episode of cops before.... After a while, you bring in helicopters, dogs, and someone gets maced or shot at the end.... Not playing that game...
So you didn't think about how traumatizing interactions with cops with guns have been? You set this up as a game? Have you actually tried community outreach and sensitivity training?
Intriguing idea, but I don’t think that citizens being more afraid of being killed by cops than by zombies or serial killers is the flex you think it is.
Every time I try to play this game I get nailed with extra charges like “fleeing” or “resisting”
Are you using the dogs?
I have never had a formal invitation before...
On Airport Hugging
From New Zealand: as the pic of a Dunedin airport signboard, with a 3-minute ‘time limit’ on hugging, went viral, it seems that a number of people took it seriously, with some even expressing outrage over it. So I thought it worth posting excerpts of what the airport’s CEO said, two weeks ago, in a radio interview (as accurately as I could transcribe).
We thought we’d have a bit of fun with this because often in the airport drop-off locations, the messaging can be quite intense. You know, you're going to get fined, you're going to get clamped, you need to move your car, go and park in the car park. Where's your time to have fun with it? And actually as an airport, those drop-off locations are common locations for those farewells. But actually, let's have a bit of fun with it. Let's talk about a time limit for your hugs. Three minutes. If you want a more fonder farewell, go to the car park. You know, park there, you get 15 minutes free in the car park anyway.
In fact, the whole ‘interview’ between RNZ’s Lisa Owen and the airport CEO Dan De Bono was largely like cheerful banter. Consider this exchange;
Q: Right, so they get up to three minutes. I mean, what happens? Does someone come along and flash a badge and say, I'm with the hug police?
A: That would actually be quite fun. No, all our team do are ask them to politely move on to car park to create some space for others. So it's nothing more than that. We're not going to call the hug police. Yeah, that would be bonkers.
Q: I'm just wondering, Dan, this is like a confessional. Have some people been getting a bit amorous?
A: Sometimes, yeah. I don't want to confess on any of this, but I've certainly, you know, our team has seen interesting things go on in the car park over many years. And airports are those kind of hotbeds of emotion of people arriving and departing. But, you know, if you want a fonder farewell, feel free to use the car park.
Police ‘grieving’ loss of doughnuts
To quote from a post on the Facebook page of a local police department in Michigan:
While investigating a traffic hazard, it was found a delivery truck lost its load. The road was cleared but most of the Krispy Kreme donuts were lost. Our officers are still grieving but will press on.
CPR Bra
St John Ambulance has released what it describes as “the world’s first educational bra” — part of a campaign intended to help people shed inhibitions about giving chest compressions to a woman in cardiac arrest in public. To quote from the charity’s website:
Our research shows one in three people are afraid to give CPR to a woman in public because they are worried about touching breasts.
This has got to change!
We've created the world’s first educational bra - the CPR Bra - which is designed to close the gender survival gap and reassure people that taking fast action is the right thing to do to save a life regardless of gender. It features the message ‘It’s OK to Save My Life’ on the front, along with a reminder of the steps needed to respond to a cardiac arrest, as every second counts.
PS: The news of the campaign was reported on the Marketing Beat website with this headline:
St John Ambulance campaign says touch a boob, save a life
McDonald’s prints receipts on T-shirts
The term ‘made to order’ took on a very literal meaning in a recent promotion by McDonald’s in Sweden. To quote from one report:
McDonald’s Sweden just found a new way to let fans wear their love for fast food on their sleeves—literally. The fast-food giant allowed festivalgoers to turn their regular McDonald’s orders into custom merch.
The design was as personal as it gets—a receipt featuring each person’s unique McDonald’s favorites, printed right onto a minimalist, “Made to Order” paper white T-shirt.
This playful stunt took place during a summer festival tour, where McDonald’s installed ordering kiosks that did more than just print out receipts. After selecting their meals, fans could watch as their proof of order was printed in real-time onto a T-shirt, creating a one-of-a-kind piece of McDonald’s memorabilia akin to band tees.