Odd news

Every day we read odd news in the daily newspaper, or hear weird stuff sprouted by our concientious newsreaders and presenters on television and radio. When I say “odd” and “weird” I mean stuff that doesn’t make much sense, news items that will have little or no effect on our daily lives, or news that has no intelligent outcome.

A Courier-Mail newspaper article last week announced that “wallpaper is back!” Who said wallpaper is back? Who makes a startling decision like this, and would it make you immediately jump up and race out to the paint and decorator shop store to buy paintscrapers and rolls of wallpaper?  Not from where I’m standing it won’t. I’d sooner have a frontal lobotomy than wallpaper my house.

Hey, what about all the verandahs decks collapsing lately? It wouldn’t be because thirty or forty people were dancing and jumping around on them, would it? Newspaper reports blame bad workmanship or building inspectors not doing their job. For a verandah deck to hold thirty or so women engaging in some sort of frenzied frivolity, as one article stated, the supporting beams would need to be built from 390mm x 75mm hardwood placed at one metre spans.

Then you have the newspaper ad proudly claiming that a particular item can be purchased for under $10. A little further on you see the price, $9.99. Well, it is under $10, isn’t it?

An eatery in Brisbane charges $10 for a plate of chips. When questioned, the proprietor explained that they are served by the best waiter in Brisbane and you enjoy them while looking at some of the best real estate views in Queensland. Is that so, well I can savour fish and chips on Bulcock Beach at Caloundra overlooking the prettiest stretch of water in Australia, Pumistone Passage, for $7.50.

From the Courier-Mail again, an article tells us that “the biggest trend coming out of Europe is large family-friendly kitchens that double as a living area akin to a country kitchen”. Okay, even if we did want to live like Europeans we don’t need to be shown how to build and enjoy a country kitchen. Our older homes and Queenslander style houses have them in abundance, and plenty of our modern Australian-built homes adopt the open-plan style eating areas.

Here’s a piece of news without an intelligent outcome. A thief stole a shipping container load of premium Belgian beer, 1500 cartons of the stuff. The thief escaped jail and received a two-year suspended sentence and a $1500 fine. Here’s the odd part. He refuses to tell police where he stashed the beer. Wouldn’t you think the courts would jail him, and stipulate that he’s not to be released until he discloses where the beer is?

This is just crazy! An article from The Sunday Mail says that tonnes of bottled water, costing thousands of dollars, are being airlifted to Christmas Island for dehydrated illegal immigrants asylum seekers as they step onto the arrivals wharf - despite a tap being just metres away. The Federal Government won’t splash out (pun intended) a couple of thousand dollars to move a tap from 20 metres away closer to the arrival point. Instead, they would sooner pay $24,000 for a four-tonne delivery of bottled water to the island each time it’s needed. This wins the stupidity award of the year!