Archive for September 1st, 2016

Important safety tip (#19 in a series)

Thursday, September 1st, 2016

I understand the desire to Instagram your travels. Especially if you are on an long cruise going to exotic places. And especially if you are a decently attractive woman.

But you might want to think twice about drawing attention to yourself.

Especially if you are carrying nearly 210 pounds of cocaine in your luggage.

“Traveling is one thing,” Roberge wrote on Instagram. “But traveling with an open mind, ready to taste everything, see everything, learn everything and get yourself out of your comfort zone … is probably the best therapy and lesson ever. I used to be afraid to get out of my little town and now I feel like I don’t want to see that little town anymore cause it’s beautiful out there and it’s sooo worth it.”

Yeah, she’s probably going to be spending a long time out of her comfort zone.

On Monday, the trio appeared in court in Sydney, charged with importing a commercial quantity of cocaine, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, authorities said.

I don’t know if Australian law is anything like US law, and that “maximum penalty” is more public relations than reality, especially for a first offense with no previous criminal record. I’m also guessing, though, that only one of them is going to get to play “Let’s Make A Deal”, and that the other two will be spending at least some time making new friends.

The cocaine was packed into suitcases so tightly, agents said in a Facebook post, that “these three Canadian nationals did not have much room for clean underwear or spare toothbrushes.”

Ewwwww. Then again, this was a cruise ship, right? I’ve never been on one, but I assume they have a little store where you can at least get a spare toothbrush and perhaps some clean underwear? I actually checked the Princess cruise lines website, and while they claim the ship has “boutiques”, there aren’t many specifics beyond that. Maybe you have to pick up clean undies and a toothbrush when you go ashore?

Posted in Boats, Law, Safety | Comments Closed

Obit watch: September 1, 2016.

Thursday, September 1st, 2016

There’s a nice obituary in today’s Statesman for Tom Anderson, who passed away a few weeks ago.

Mr. Anderson was the carillon player at the University of Texas since…well, since Jesus was a private:

He played from 1952 until 1956 while a graduate student. In 1967, a year after he returned to UT to work in the international office, where he was assistant director, UT President Harry Ransom asked him to serve as carillonneur, and he continued to play until about three years ago.

I never met Mr. Anderson, but I remember when we toured the Tower some years back, he came up in conversation: the tour guide told us that he always said he was going to keep playing until he could no longer physically make the climb.

He was 93 when he died.

Marvin Kaplan has also passed away. He is perhaps best remembered as Henry Beesmeyer on “Alice”. though he was also in “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” and “The Great Race”.

Finally, I intended to note this one earlier in the week, but the past few days have been hard. Jeremiah J. O’Keefe passed away on Tuesday. He was 93.

Mr. O’Keefe was a Corsair pilot with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323, the “Death Rattlers”. During the course of his first combat mission, on April 22, 1945, he shot down six enemy planes.

The squadron claimed 23 of the 54 Japanese planes downed that day. Two other Death Rattlers also scored five or more kills. Maj. Jefferson D. Dorroh Jr., the squadron’s executive officer, downed six planes. Maj. George C. Axtell Jr., the commanding officer, scored five. An article on the battle in Time magazine carried the headline “One Deal, Three Aces.”

Posted in 1970s, Heroism, History, Movies, Music, Obits, Planes, TV | Comments Closed

Headline of the day.

Thursday, September 1st, 2016

Everyone was loving Montreal’s family-friendly puppet festival until the prison rape part

Posted in Media, Theatre | 1 Comment »