Sideswipe: March 22: Ducks in a row

Ducks crossing the road in Green Bay. Snapped by Aaron Jackson.

Kyiv Calling

The surviving members of The Clash have given permission to the Ukrainian punk band Beton to raise support funds with a new version of the 1979 ballad "London Calling." Beton's version has new lyrics about Ukraine's resistance against Putin's invasion. For example, the original Strummer/Jones lyrics said: "London calling, yes, I was there, too. And you know what they said? Well, some of it was true." The new version says, "Kyiv calling, yes, I was there, too. And you know what Moscow said? Well, none of it was true." The guitarist and vocalist for Beton also works as an orthopaedic doctor, and is treating war victims and soldiers, while the other members of the band are normally an architect and a lighting and sound supplies guy and both are part of the territorial defence and are ready to join the resistance when called upon.

Where's the remote gone?

Arguing with the Pub Quizmaster

Quizmaster: Tallest mountain in Africa?
Me: Kilimanjaro!

QM: No..I have to take the answer on the card ... It's MOUNT Kilimanjaro!
ME: Fair enough, eh? I could have meant Kilimanjaro underpants I suppose?

We lost the quiz by one point after the Quizmaster refused to accept "Budgie the Helicopter" as the answer to the children's book written by Sarah Ferguson. Because it's "Budgie the LITTLE Helicopter".

QM: So, how many murders are there in the film Se7en? It's six, because Sloth is still alive
Me: By that logic, Pride is a suicide...

QM: No...
Me: Gluttony is ASSISTED suicide...

The great crane robbery

An Alabama man who called a wrecker service asking to have a 70-ton crane pulled out of the woods is now charged with stealing the heavy machinery, sheriff's officials said. The owner of a towing service contacted the Chilton County Sheriff's Office last week, saying the man had called claiming someone gave him the crane, and he wanted it removed so he could sell it for scrap, the agency said in a statement. The wrecker service owner recalled moving the same crane a few years before and contacted its owner, who denied having given it away. The towing operator then called law enforcement. The man who wanted the crane moved fled before officers arrived, driving the rig into a ditch where it became stuck. The 26-year-old Clanton man was arrested a day later on a probation violation and first-degree theft charges.