Parramatta Road is a highway in Sydney, Australia, and it is considered as “the longest stretch of ugliness in the world” for its conditions that are very unfriendly, especially towards pedestrians. Now, the Inner West Council approved a plan to build new parks, create public art and cycleways, as well as plant new trees. The plan costs $13 million.

The council's master plan is designed to transform streetscapes around Parramatta Road, such as Pyrmont Bridge Road in Camperdown, Crystal Street in Petersham and Catherine Street in Leichhardt.

[...]

But the plan does not address basic problems – such as damaged footpaths – on the busy road, said Vera Nadile, a director of Euroespresso on Parramatta Road in Annandale.

“They’re spending money on locations other than Parramatta Road,” she said. “They’re thinking of putting really nice plants in all the other streets and that’s going to look great. But each one of those trees is going to cost a fortune.”

Ms Nadile also said business owners were concerned that new cycleways would result in a loss of parking and loading areas in front of their shops.

“I think what they want to do is good for the area but I don’t agree with removing everybody’s parking to put bike paths in,” she said.

More details over at The Sydney Morning Herald.

What are your thoughts on this one?

(Image Credit: Inner West Council)

The “Tetris Challenge” is a meme which involves emergency responders around the world posing like action figures lined up along with the tools and equipment that they use. The police of northern Thailand just tried this challenge, which attracted considerable attention.

In a photo posted by the Region 5 Police’s official Facebook account, a squad of police patrol are shown lying flat on the pavement, their equipment scattered all around them – from motorcycles and checkpoint signs to first aid kits and tridents.

The tridents, by the way, are described by one policeman as a vital tool for fighting “knife-wielding madmen” (oddly specific?).

A police officer, who refused to be named as his station does not allow policemen to talk to the media, states that the photoshoot took place at Lampang Police Station on Oct. 8. All instruments seen in the photo are always carried by every patrol car.

“We want to show the equipment we carry all the time,” ... “It’s the policy of Region 5 Police. We must be prepared at all times.”

He said one of his colleagues came up with the idea after seeing emergency responders in other countries participating in the meme.

What are your thoughts on this one?

(Image Credit: Region 5 Police/ Facebook)

As the virus exploits dangerous gaps in vaccination coverage, the World Health Organization (WHO) experts stated on Friday that measles may be staging a comeback that will surely be destructive.

The WHO department director Kate O’Brien states that the entire world “is facing an alarming upsurge in measles cases in all regions”.

“The impact of these outbreaks is really devastating,” she said, “causing not only widespread loss of life, but also preventable disability that is affecting family livelihoods and national economies, and straining healthcare systems.”

Latest WHO global data show that reported cases of measles - which is one of the world’s most contagious diseases - rose by 300 percent globally in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2018. This follows consecutive increases over the past two years.

There is no specific antiviral treatment for measles, but it can be prevented with two doses of vaccine. The vast majority of cases of infection are in unvaccinated or under-vaccinated people.

Learn more about the disease over at Reuters.

(Image Credit: Tumisu/ Pixabay)

Schools in Kobe, Japan still persist to stack up their students in the name of athletics.

As the country celebrates “Sports Day” in the month of October, which is the anniversary of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, it is a holiday that inspires everyone to exercise.

Around this time, schools all over the country hold Sports Festivals where they take part in a variety of physical activities from dancing to relay races.

Amidst these many physical activities is a controversial act. Known as gymnastic formation (kumi taiso), the controversial act involves students climbing on top of each other and they balance to create pleasing geometric patterns, the common type of which is the standard human pyramid.

For years now these activities have ignited a firestorm of debate in Japan where the practice is often mandatory, with opponents arguing that it puts children at a great risk of injury for little gain. Supporters, on the other hand, counter those claims with arguments of “Come on,” and “Human pyramids!!!”

In the city of Kobe alone, 51 gymnastic formation-related injuries occurred between January to August of this year, and in the past three years 123 related fractures have been reported. This may lead you to believe that the entire city is being run by the mayor from Jaws who is going to ignore the particular problem until it swims up and bites him in the butt, but actually he has been an active opponent of the sport.

More details of this news over at SoraNews24.

(Video Credit: YouTube)

When you stage a robbery, make sure you keep an eye to your belongings, or else you’ll be like this guy who was so busy snatching the cash that the brave hotel clerk managed to snatch out his gun from the counter, which caused him to run for the door.

Now that’s an embarrassing way to end the robbery.

In the end, the robber was arrested.

See the video over at the Daily Mail.

(Image Credit: Paducah Police Department)

A man named Darren Hickey has died after sampling a fishcake so hot it burned his throat and caused him to be unable to breathe, an inquest has heard. His voice box swelled up over the following 12 hours, which eventually caused him to choke.

The 51-year-old wedding planner was given the small fishcake to try by a chef at a wedding venue on 4 April.

It burnt the back of his throat and as the pain grew worse during the afternoon, Mr Hickey visited the urgent care ward at Chorley Hospital, Lancashire.

The inquest into his death heard how he would have had difficulty breathing and swallowing because of the pain and swelling.

Patrick Waugh, a pathologist who performed a post-mortem examination, said the case was very rare, only seen normally in people who have breathed in smoke in house fires, which burns the airways.

“The patient can appear well, they will be talking to you, but then the swelling starts,” he said.

Find out more about this over at the Independent.

I guess this is a reminder for us to make sure that our food is not that hot before putting it in our mouth. What do you think?

(Image Credit: Neil Parkinson /SWNS.COM)

HONK HONK! Want to inhabit the body of a goose and wreak havoc in a village and taunt its people with your mighty honk? Well, look no further, for here is a game for you.

Welcome to “Untitled Goose Game,” the video game in which you are a goose and the worst nightmare of the people who live in a once-peaceful village.

As a goose, you can walk, run, pick up objects, flap your wings and honk. We’d say it’s improbable that such a simple game would go as viral as it has in recent days…

… but it did become viral, and, as a marketplace for memes, the game has also become a meme.

Find out more about the game and see the memes over at The Washington Post.

(Image Credit: House House)

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Both Prince Harry and Ed Sheeran want to ensure that not just today but every day, you look after yourself, your friends and those around you. There’s no need to suffer in silence - share how you’re feeling, ask how someone is doing and listen for the answer. Be willing to ask for help when you need it and know that we are all in this together. #WMHD Check out the accounts below for more resources and support: @Heads_Together @Calmzone @MentalHealthFoundation @CharityNoPanic @SamaritansCharity @YoungMindsUK @GiveUsAShoutInsta @Childline_official @LetsTalkAboutMentalHealth @Jedfoundation @Pandas_UK @Charitysane @MindCharity @TimeToChangeCampaign @RethinkMentalIllness @MentalHealthMates @ActionHappiness @MHFAEngland @DitchTheLabel @TheBlurtFoundation

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on Oct 9, 2019 at 11:57pm PDT

"Well, you know, with the jokes and snide comments, I just think it's time we stood up and said, we're not going to take this anymore,'' Ed Sheeran states in the video, as he came over Prince Harry’s house. Sheeran, however, was not on the same page with the prince. "We are ginger and we're gonna fight."

"Slightly awkward,'' Harry replies, realizing that his fellow redhead might not be talking about the same thing. "Maybe a miscommunication, but this is about World Mental Health Day."

"I definitely knew that,'' as Sheeran erases the title of his presentation, which was “Gingers Unite”.

Jokes aside, Harry then turns to the issue that has been a focus for him and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

"Guys, this World Mental Health Day, reach out, make sure that your friends, strangers look out for anybody that might be suffering in silence," he says. "We're all in this together."

[...]

His focus on removing the stigma around mental health issues stems from the loss of his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash when he was 12.

He revealed in 2017 that he began suffering panic attacks following her death and that he eventually sought counseling 20 years later to deal with his grief.

It’s good to raise awareness about mental health issues, and, in my opinion, it’s even better that influential people are bringing this matter and matters like this one on the table.

(Video Credit: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex/ Instagram)

One of the most productive agricultural regions in the United States is California’s Central Valley. It is the world’s largest supplier of canned tomatoes, and a third of the country’s produce is grown here. When a seven-year drought hit the land, however, it has threatened the viability of the valley’s farmland, leaving many local communities to suffer greatly as a result.

Joris Debeij’s short documentary When a Town Runs Dry offers a window into the front lines of the water crisis. In the film, which is based on Diana Marcum’s Pulitzer Prize–winning reporting, we hear from several residents of Stratford, a farming community in which much of the land was decimated by the drought.

“Being able to work with the ground and with nature has been very satisfying,” says one farmer, “but of late, when the water becomes scarce, we don’t get a lot of help from the people who want the food that we grow.” The man, who inherited the farm from his father, has been forced to sell land as a result of the aridity. “This year, half of the farm has not been put into cultivation, because of a lack of water,” he says. “Without food production, there’s no jobs out in the rural communities.”

See The Atlantic for more details.

(Video Credit: The Atlantic/ YouTube)

Around 1 AM on Oct. 7, Curly the dog nudged and pushed his owner, Vietnam veteran Brian Rand, until Brian woke up from his slumber. Upon waking up, Brian was shocked to see heavy smoke in his home at Beaufort.

Though the blaze destroyed half of the house, firefighters were able to save the man’s medals from his military service – but more importantly, the man credits the pup for saving his life.

"Got up and started walking, but when I got up, the house was overly smoky. Saw the flames through the side window," Rand told WJCL 22 News.

Rand, who lives alone, quickly grabbed Curly as he ran outside and called 911.

[...]

In a larger sense, Rand said that his wise dog’s actions ultimately saved his life, as he suspects the roof would've collapsed on him if Curly hadn't awakened him.

(Image Credit: City of Beaufort and Town of Port Royal Fire Department)

The social housing estates of East London have been a great subject matter for the many writers and artists who explored the human stories that intertwine with their communities. However, in the paintings of this East Londoner artist, Frank Laws, there does not seem to be a human being in sight.

The only signs of life are curtains flapping at open windows and the luminescent glow emanating from inside a home. Blocks of flats that teem with life in, say, Plan B’s film and album Ill Manors, stand eerily quiet and vacant in Laws’s images.

Laws was born in a village in Norfolk but hated the rural quiet. “I was always scared of the dark in the countryside,” says the 37-year-old. “I’m still scared of it.” It’s this fear, and Laws’ love of film noir, that informs the dramatic, Edward Hopperesque lighting in Laws’ meticulously detailed watercolour and acrylic paintings.

But more than these being beautiful paintings, Laws wants to raise awareness to the people of what has happened, and what is happening to these estates.

Find out more over at The Guardian.

(Image Credit: Lucid Plane/ The Guardian)

Compared to those of over 30 years ago, the young classical musicians of today now play at a higher standard, says one of the greatest pianists of Hong Kong, Gabriel Kwok. This, he says, is all thanks to the internet.

Kwok, a professor and head of keyboard studies at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, states that today’s youngsters can easily get hold of music recordings, either on YouTube or via downloading, compared to when he was young, where the youngsters back then had to buy long-playing vinyl records (LPs) and then CDs.

“It’s now much easier for them to get to know the great masters and understand more about how they play.

“This has improved the standard of classical music in general, especially at the technical level. Today’s youngsters have an amazing technical ability – particularly in China,” adds Kwok, who was awarded the Medal of Honour by Hong Kong’s government in 2014 for his contribution to piano education in the city.

Yet music is not only about technique, he says. “Music must also have a message and reach people’s hearts. So, while their technical side is very good and you could say they have more ability, one’s musical side develops with age.

(Image Credit: cocoparisienne/ Pixabay)

Two new studies by the American Heart Association have been recently published. The studies suggest that dog ownership is linked with an increased likelihood of a longer life, especially to people who have previously had a heart attack or stroke. This makes dog-owning even better!

In a study of dog-owning and non-dog owning survivors of heart attacks or strokes, researchers determined that dog owners across the board experienced lower rates of death from heart attacks or strokes. The study was conducted in Sweden between 2001 and 2012 using the country's National Patient Register.

Dog owners in the study tended to have a "better outcome after a major cardiovascular event," the researchers found, although the study did not prove cause and effect. The reason could be due to an increase in physical activity and decrease in depression and loneliness among dog owners, which previous studies have confirmed.

More details of this study over at CBS News.

(Image Credit: Mylene2401/ Pixabay)

Every day, from the months of June to October, Héctor Campanur Sánchez goes out of his home in Cherán, in the central Mexican state of Michoacán, to hunt for wild mushrooms on the steep slope of an extinct volcano.

During the rainy season, the said mushrooms are laid up in geometric piles, among the wild greens and the varying colors of the stalks of blue and pink corn, and fills up the indigenous town of Purhépecha’s Saturday and Tuesday markets.

First come the yuntas, or yokes, which grow in pairs like hitched oxen, and the ghostly white lobes of ahuachikuas, the perfect filling for corn-husk-wrapped nacatamales. Later come pale gray ox stomachs, grilled on clay comals like slabs of beef; yellow tiripitis as rich and unctuous as egg yolks; coral-like birds feet to sweat into blood-red stews called atapakuas, thickened with masa and scented with yerba buena; and bright orange trumpet mushrooms, known here as pig snouts, which, ground to a mince and fried with garlic, onion and lard, bear an uncanny resemblance to a good pastor.

“In mushroom season,” Campanur, 32, says, “you can suffer a little less.”

Campanur’s family has collected and sold mushrooms for generations, yet as recently as a decade ago, the tradition was at risk of disappearing. Illegal logging began around the edges of Cherán’s expansive municipal territory, which covers nearly 52,000 acres, in the early 2000s. In 2008, loggers from a neighboring village formed an alliance with a local cell of the Knights Templar Cartel, which was eager to clear the land for lucrative avocado farms.

Over the next four years, the loggers poured over the volcanoes like termites as they cleared over 124 acres in just a week. According to the current president of the Council for Community Property, Miguel Macías Sánchez, trucks loaded with wood go through the town as many as 250 times a day. The trucks were also guarded with armed men who pointed their AK-47s at anyone who dared question them.

According to a study from the Universidad Michoacana, some 19,800 acres of woodlands were cleared by 2011, about 70% of Cherán’s total forested territory. Some in town call that number modest, saying the destruction came closer to 30,000 acres or more. Murders, disappearances, extortion and kidnapping became commonplace. Mushrooms couldn’t grow without the detritus of falling leaves, and families such as the Campanurs stopped going to collect them for fear they might not come back.

On April 15, 2011, the people of Cherán would rise up against these loggers.

Find out what happened next over at the Los Angeles Times.

(Image Credit: Felipe Luna / For The Times)

Sealed in millenniums is the Qesem Cave in Central Israel, and it has become a time capsule of the lives and diets of Paleolithic people 420,000 to 200,000 years ago. Inside this cave, early humans butchered fresh kills by using their stone blades, and cooked the meat on campfires.

“It was believed that early hominins were consuming everything they could put their hands on immediately, without storing or preserving or keeping things for later,” said Ran Barkai, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University in Israel.

Not every meal, however, was scarfed down immediately after the hunt. Dr. Barkai and his team found out that the earliest inhabitants of the cave may have also stored animal bones. These animal bones had tasty marrow, which the inhabitants feasted on up to nine weeks after the kill, which can be likened to a Stone Age canned soup. This may be the earliest example of prehistoric humans storing food for later consumption.

Find out more about the story over at The New York Times.

(Image Credit: Dr. Ruth Blasco)