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Escape From New York… Because Bedbugs Have Invaded!

They attack while their victims innocently sleep and leave itchy, massive welts that make life very uncomfortable. And much to the chagrin of New Yorkers, bedbugs have invaded the Big Apple. They’ve taken hostage office buildings, movie theaters, apartments and even a Victoria’s Secret outlet store in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Literally, these little monsters are all over the city.

City officials are asking for half a million dollars in order to take measures to end the problem of these little bugs.  City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said that the city has one message for the bedbugs, said in typical New Yorker fashion: “Drop dead. Your days are over.”

Over the last year, there have been 31,719 bedbug reported injuries; last year there were 26,000. This large difference has raised concerns for New Yorkers.

Reports have been filed by major clothing stores like Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister. And the CEO of Abercrombie and Hollister wrote a letter of complaint to NYC’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg, to help come up with some resolution for both stores and shoppers. People on both ends of this spectrum feel gross and uncomfortable that bedbugs are everywhere, including women’s delicates.

While the reason for the large increase in bedbug problems is unclear, one thing is for certain: New Yorkers are mad. Hopefully, there can be some solution to get rid of those little suckers before the epidemic spreads.

[Img: Geeky Pete]

Paul the Psychic Octopus Gets an Agent, Soon to be Millionaire

Entrepreneurs the world over are educated on one key element to successful self-employment: self-branding. Bloggers especially know the struggle of trying to stand out among the hoards, via social media, guest blogging, freelancing, online communities, and more. However, sometimes all you need is something to define your talents or one incredibly large stand-out factor…like being a psychic octopus.

Paul the psychic German octopus, the creature who successfully predicted eight winning teams in a row during the 2010 World Cup (including Spain’s victory), now has an agent by the name of Chris Davies. According to him, Paul is worth millions: Davies sometimes receives 200 queries a day, often from organizations wanting book deals, toy deals, etc.

Upcoming on Paul’s agenda is a swim with David Beckham as a promotion for bringing the 2018 World Cup to England. He’s even got a record deal for an album: Paul the Octopus Sings Elvis. Yes, he’s an Elvis Impersonator…although I’m not sure how.

Of course, we all want to know, what’s in it for Paul? Surely PETA must have a protest arranged for the gangly sea creature who is unable to express his consent to the whole deal. Is this a new, undefined violation of animal rights? The wrongful exploitation of sea creatures?

Davies, however, assures that Paul is well taken care with plenty of treats, and a sea life sanctuary in Greece named the Purple Sanctuary has been established in his honor.

[Image: roland]

Moldovan Wines Not Welcome in Russia

For the second time in the past five years, Russia has banned imports of wines from Moldova because of health risks, with reports of more than 90 batches not meeting hygiene standards. One health official said, “It should be used to paint fences.”

This is bad news for Moldova, considering Russia purchases 80% of their wine production and about one-quarter of the Moldovan population work in the wine industry. Coincidentally, this new ban also comes just weeks after Moldova’s president met some backlash from Moscow after denouncing Soviet rule as occupation. Is Russia fighting back?

However, this isn’t the first time wine from Moldova has been banned in Russia: in 2006, Moldova lost over $180 million in sales due to a Russian halting all imports for the same health reasons. The rest of the world grew suspicious, assuming Russia purposely made the move because of Moldova’s increased relations with the West. After all, the United States, which have stricter regulations on the import of wines, did not ban the Moldova wines.

When the ban was finally lifted, Moldova’s trade deficit with Russia was $193 million, and wine production dropped drastically.

Does Moldova face the same fate as it did in 2006? How will the country’s economy fare when the world is already in recession?

[Photo: akk_rus]

MTV Launches Adventure Gear for Youth in India

MTV and Wildcraft have teamed up together to bring funky, fresh travel gear to the youth of India.

Their new collection of duffel bags, adventure luggage, laptop-carrying cases and totes come in a wide variety of crazy designs and vibrant colors. There is also a collection called “Roadies” for avid hikers, bikers, and campers. If you think about any outdoor quest you could go on, MTV has created fun travel accessories for your trip in color schemes ranging from plain and neutral to bright and crazy.

The designs of this adventure line are meant to recall the awe-inspiring and breath-taking views of one’s natural surroundings. Considering these are marketed at the booming generation of young Indian jetsetters, hopefully some of these products will inspire them to pack up their bags and explore the world around them.

Wildcraft has an established reputation in the travel gear world of providing luggage and bags, with a 25 year guarantee. Based upon this reputation, MTV and Wildcraft are hoping their new line will be just as successful.

With awesome luggage to inspire outdoor activities, why wouldn’t kids get outside and explore their surroundings? I sure would, especially if I lived in a place like India. If only American luggage companies would follow suit, then I could spend all my money on traveling.

[Img: Khairil Zhafri]

Longest Human Chain Falls Like Dominoes

With well over a billion people living there, China — the most populous country in the world — certainly has the manpower to pull off record-breaking stunts. A group of 10,000 Chinese recently broke the world record for the longest chain of human dominoes.

The group of 10,267 people were arranged in lines and started their fall sitting cross-legged. The result was when they toppled backwards, it looked like a line of dominoes crashing into each other. All of the participants matched in white and orange clothes with the city’s name, Ordos, written in Chinese and English so as not to forget where this world record took place.

The last record that was established for human dominoes took place over ten years ago in Singapore.

And lucky for you, there’s video footage of this impressive feat of coordinating so many people to move swiftly and in conjunction with everyone else around them.

[Img: NZ Herald]