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Fun Stuff News of the Weird

News of the Weird: Week of 07/06/23

Awesome!

Ethan Brown, 16, a junior at Jericho High School on Long Island, New York, is a hero among his classmates, the New York Post reported. Brown argued before the school board in March that his highly ranked school had 186 days in session — six more than the state’s required 180 — and that summer vacation ought to begin on Friday, May 26. “I was nervous, especially at first,” Brown said. “I almost sat back down before speaking but I’m glad I didn’t.” He noted that on a stormy day in February, the school did not close, and not a single snow day was used during the year. Superintendent Hank Grisham said Brown “did an absolutely incredible job. There is no requirement to give … snow days back to staff or the kids.” But the board was moved, and a day off was granted — dubbed the Ethan Brown Snow Day. “I’m getting a lot of thank-yous,” Brown said. In his upcoming senior year, he’s in line to take over the editor-in-chief position at the school newspaper. [NY Post, 5/25/2023]

Thong and Cheek

Protesters at the Massachusetts Statehouse bared more than their souls as they demonstrated against climate change on June 15, according to an NBC-10 Boston report. Shouts began to rain down from the public gallery just after 1 p.m. from eight members of Extinction Rebellion, an international environmental movement, followed by a warning: “We are going to be mooning you. … You can look away if you wish.” At that point, the octet turned their backs on the senators and dropped trou, revealing pink thongs and bare buttocks emblazoned with the words “stop passing gas.” The protesters continued with chants of “You’re a senator, not an ass, why are you still passing gas,” and “Butts out for climate” for about an hour before they were arrested and escorted out of the chamber. [NBC 10 Boston, 6/15/2023]

Reunited and It Feels So Good

• A first edition of George Orwell’s 1984 has been returned to the library … 65 years late. UPI reported that the Multnomah County Library in Portland recently received the return from an 86-year-old patron. The patron attached a note to the book, explaining that they meant to return it in 1958 after checking it out as a Portland State University student — they just “never got around to it.” But talk about excellent timing: The library just went fine-free. [UPI, 6/14/2023]

• Sheriff’s detectives in Kanawha County, West Virginia, made an odd discovery while executing a search warrant on an impounded vehicle in February: a 1965 class ring from Needham B. Broughton High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, bearing the initials “M.P.” Their investigation determined the owner was one Michael Pedneau, who told the Charleston (West Virginia) Gazette-Mail that he only vaguely recalls losing the bling some 50 years ago, perhaps on a trip to Princeton, West Virginia. “There’s probably 40 or 50 of us [classmates] who get together monthly for lunch,” Pedneau said. “We’re all old, so we enjoy swapping stories, and this is one I’ll share with them. I’ll show them the ring and we’ll have some fun around it.” [Charleston Gazette-Mail, 6/13/2023]

Up in Smoke

A dispensary in Baltimore faces fines for blowing smoke … literally. WMAR-2 in Baltimore reported that the Cookies dispensary opened May 27, only to be shut down less than a week later after a surprise inspection revealed a laundry list of violations, including “large plumes of medical cannabis smoke being blown from a large gun apparatus into the mouths of persons outside the dispensary,” according to the suspension notice. Cookies is part of a franchise, and Cookies San Francisco was the first to utilize a “Flame Thrower” smoke blower, created by Jeff Dick of Colorado. The blower has since become part of the Cookies brand. [WMAR-2, 6/15/2023]

Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.

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NEWS OF THE WEIRD
© 2023 Andrews McMeel Syndication.
Reprinted with permission.
All rights reserved.

Categories
Music Music Blog

Weekend Roundup Part Eight

Amurica.com

The Zigadoo Money Clips play Sunday night at Lafayette’s Music Room.

After several helpings of ice, slush, freezing rain and everything in between, we finally got the snow we deserved. Enjoy your day off and rest up because there are plenty of local rock and roll concerts in town this weekend. Remember, you can always visit our event calendar for a more comprehensive list of everything that’s happening this month and beyond.

FRIDAY, MARCH 6TH

Will Kimbrough and Jason Middlekauff, 8:00 p.m. at Otherlands, $7.00.

Weekend Roundup Part Eight

Black Cadillacs, SLO, 9:00 p.m. at The Hi-Tone Cafe, $10.00.

Weekend Roundup Part Eight (2)

James and the Ultrasounds, 9:00 p.m. at The Buccaneer Lounge, $5.00.

Weekend Roundup Part Eight (3)

Big Barton, 10:00 p.m. at The Cove.  

Richard James, 10:00 p.m. at Bar DKDC.

SATURDAY, MARCH 7TH

The Passport, Mason Jar Fireflies, Mary Owens, Sink In, Fight the Fade, Memfizz, Elder, 6:00 p.m. at the New Daisy, $10.00.

Weekend Roundup Part Eight (4)

Andrew Cabigao, 8:00 p.m. at the Green Beetle.

Grabber Grass All Stars and Elizabeth Wise, 8:00 p.m. at Otherlands, $7.00.

Jimbo Mathus and Cedell Davis,  9:00 p.m. at The Hi-Tone Cafe, $10.00.

Weekend Roundup Part Eight (5)

Aquarian Blood and Mouse Rocket, 9:00 p.m. at the Hi-Tone Cafe Small Room, $5.00.

Weekend Roundup Part Eight (6)

Tyler Keith Record Release Show, 10:00 p.m. at Bar DKDC, $5.00.

Weekend Roundup Part Eight (7)

SUNDAY, MARCH 8TH

Hanna Star and the Teenage Teenagers, 1:30 at Java Cabana.

Weekend Roundup Part Eight (8)

Zigadoo Moneyclips, 7:30 p.m. at Lafayette’s Music Room.

Faux Killas and Wing Dam, 9:00 p.m. at Murphy’s, $5.00.

Weekend Roundup Part Eight (9)

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

Letter From the Editor: Make the First Snow Day an Official Holiday

On Monday, I did what most of you probably did: I skipped work because of the snow. Oh, there’s little doubt I could have made it in to the office. I would have had to drive slower, but a little dusting of snow and sleet doesn’t stop the rest of the civilized world from going about its business. But no one would have been in the office, so why bother?

Don’t get me wrong. As I sat by a blazing fire, book on my lap, coffee at my side, I was grateful for the gift of a day off. But it felt like more than that. It felt like a holiday.

And in fact, a snow day in Memphis has all the trappings of a traditional holiday. It begins, like Christmas, with a shopping frenzy, as we scurry to grocery stores to stock up on our traditional Snow Day foods: bread and milk. The Snow Day spirit abounds as we wait in long lines, smiling and laughing in anticipation of the excitement to come. “They’re saying we might get six inches,” the cashier says. “Oooh, goody,” we say, shivering in anticipation.

And when Snow Day comes, as with all holidays, we get a day off to spend with friends and family. We make Snow Day lawn decorations — creative snow creatures and forts. We have snowball fights. And we somehow manage to overcome our deathly fear of driving in the snow to drive all over town to our few meager hills, where we spend hours sliding on homely little sleds of cardboard and plastic. It’s so cheery!

The streets are mostly clear, but the sidewalks are filled with pedestrians enjoying the snow-dusted magnolias and monkey grass and watching their dogs make yellow snow. Another tradition!

I say it’s high time we recognize that we in the South do snow differently. Up North, they see it as weather, as extra work — shoveling, scraping, etc. In the South, the snow melts before we have to deal with any of that tedious stuff, so we see the snow as a rare gift, a welcome change in our routine. And, let’s be honest. We see it as a paid holiday.

So why not formalize it? The mayor and city council could strike a blow for the city’s often-beleaguered image by declaring the first significant snowfall of the year an official Memphis holiday. Imagine the happy PR we’d get from all over. We’d be seen as a quirky and fun town. Forbes magazine would be hard-pressed to call us “miserable,” for sure. It’s just crazy enough to work.

So, come on, Mayor Wharton. Run with it. A grateful citizenry awaits. Oh, and happy belated Snow Day.

Editor’s note: This column first appeared in the January 13, 2011, issue, but I thought it might be time to rerun it. Especially, since we were all off Monday, due to the … snow.