On a Lighter Note

A few years back I posted about Paul Potts on Britain's Got Talent, and how he blew away the judges. Well, there's another one now. Susan Boyle appeared on the 2009 edition of the show. Susan is 47, overweight and under attractive, to say the least. She came out to a chorus of snickers as she announced her intention to try and make a living singing. Then she started to sing. Here's the link to the video, as embedding has been disabled for every copy I could find:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY


Watch the look on the judges faces. I believe the word "gobsmacked" is appropriate here.

Way Too Cool

This is possibly the most awesomely awesome news story I have seen in some time: Spider -man Saves a Student. No, really.

Thai 'Spider-Man' to the rescue


An unusual disguise has helped a Bangkok fireman rescue an eight-year-old boy who had climbed on to a third-floor window ledge, Thai police say.

The firefighter dressed up as the comic book superhero Spider-Man in order to coax the boy, who is autistic, from his dangerous perch.

Police said teachers had alerted the fire station after the boy began crying and climbed out of a classroom window.

It was reportedly his first day at the special needs school.

Efforts by the teachers to persuade the pupil to come back inside had failed.

But a remark by his mother about his passion for comic superheroes prompted fireman Somchai Yoosabai to rush back to the station, where he kept a Spider-Man costume in his locker.

The sight of Mr Somchai dressed as Spider-Man and holding a glass of juice for him, brought a big smile to the boy's face, and he promptly threw himself into the arms of his "superhero", police said.

Mr Somchai normally uses the costume to liven up fire drills in schools.

From Puff: On the Mean Streets, Some Kindness

On the way home today, riding the TTC bus I witnessed traffic on a five lane street come to a standstill while a Mamma Canada Goose lead her three goslings with Papa Goose bringing up the rear across the road. It was absolutely beautiful. Everyone while rushing to get home stopping and giving this safe passage. Even when they reached the other side, the last lane waited while papa Goose helped a gosling hop the curb (When the gosling first tried, he flipped backward and fell into the road again. So Papa nudged him back up and stoop guard while the little one tried again.) All of a sudden getting home so quickly didn't seem so important any more. The cars waited patiently until all were off the road.

The sad thing is, that if traffic had been stopped because of an accident which had resulted in a human fatality, how many would have been as sympathetic?

British Choir Boy Makes People Cry

Britain's Got Talent, the show that brought us Paul Potts is back for another season. Big hit on the Internet so far is Andrew Johnston:





His story tugs a little on the heart strings. He wants to make something of himself and he's got a fair amount of talent. What will happen when his voice changes is anyone's guess, but for now I wish him well.

As I've said before in regard to other boy singers: Back in the good ol' days they would have castrated the lucky kid in order to keep his voice pure forever.

The Softer Side of B16

M/N to Curt Jester. You may have to scroll down. In fact I am very sure you'll have to scroll down. He is having a caption contest for this picture.

Read Curt's Comments. I like Roz's line. "Saint Anthony comes through again. I've been looking for him since I was eight."