Why do parrots make such great news? We just don't expect them to make the headlines with a desperate cry to help. But wait, today I again saw the "Help Me" headline - so let's see what it's about.
CNN recently carried a story of concerned drivers who called police in California after seeing a child hold up a sign with a plea for help - "Help me, she's not my mom!! Help!!"
Poor mother got stopped by police in Sacramento, who found out it was "a hoax" and "a joke". The police quote: "This is a reminder that parents need to keep an eagle eye on their children."
That was it for children hoax news. There weren't any other articles like this. What I did find, though, was the "Momo Challenge Hoax" which was covered widely in the press.
The 'Momo Challenge" - the stories about 'momo' were that she would appear on children's phones unexpectedly and set dangerous challenges to harm themselves. She's a zombie looking doll figure with bulging black eyes and the body of a chicken. (The original figure has been traced to a Japanese special-effects company Link Factory).
It turns out to have been images that has been found edited into unofficial copies of children's cartoons on YouTube. Snopes investigated it and identified it as "far more hype or hoax than reality", but warned the images could cause distress to children. Here's the BBC Story on it.
On our immediate horizon is the call for a 5 to 10 centimetre snowfall, followed by rain today. It has dropped from the earlier warning level of 15 cm.
In comparison, Newfoundland experienced 51 cm of snow yesterday and today is getting more - up to a total of 75 cm is expected. This will include gusts of wind as high as 120 km per hour. They are in a state of emergency.
So to bring things around to calmness, I found a wonderful image of Notre Dame Cathedral that I'd taken 15 years ago - of course with a new sky.
I hadn't realized that parrots make great news headlines and stories. Here are a few:
"Let Me Out" Neighbours call cops after hearing a woman scream "Let Me Out" from man's house, turns out it's his pet parrot. According to the man, the bird, who is now 40 years old, has been with him since he was a kid. He also revealed that he taught his pet to scream like that just to annoy his mom and dad. Little did he know that it would get him in trouble years later
Freddy the parrot makes it back to zoo after being stolen, shot and bitten by snake An Amazonian parrot called Freddy Krueger has made headlines in Brazil after managing to find its way back to the zoo from which it was stolen while recovering from a four-year nightmare that saw it shot in a gun battle, abducted by armed thieves and bitten by a snake.
Freddy was first brought to the zoo about four years ago, having been severely injured in a shootout between police and gangsters during a raid on the drug den where he had lived with his villain owner.
Freddy’s ordeal was far from over. Earlier this month, the parrot was reportedly bitten on the leg by a snake – thankfully of a non-venomous variety.
Freddy bled profusely but survived, only to be stolen days later when three armed raiders burst into Cascavel’s zoo, overpowered its security guard and made off with two parrots and a cylinder of gas.
Two days later, however, Freddy returned, discovered by zoo staff at the foot of a pine tree beside his cage. The details of Freddy’s comeback remain murky, although drops of blood found near his former abode have fuelled speculation that the notoriously aggressive parrot bit his way out.
Police seize 'super obedient' lookout parrot trained by Brazilian drug dealers
According to reports in the Brazilian press, the bird had been taught to alert criminals to police operations in Vila Irmã Dulce, a low-income community in the sun-scorched capital of Piauí state, by shouting: “Mum, the police!”
London parrot makes online purchase by mimicking owner A pet parrot managed to place an online shopping order by mimicking its owner on a voice-controlled smart speaker, a British newspaper reported Wednesday. Buddy the parrot ordered a £10 ($16.67) set of gift boxes via Amazon's Alexa voice-controlled system, The Sun reported.
Addicted parrots raid poppy farms Poppy farmers in India are saying their crops are being damaged by parrots that have become addicted to the opium in their plants.
Our sky replacement continues today. These images are from Charles Daly Park a few years ago. Willow trees show their best colours in late November. We had a hard frost before the middle of November this year, so missed out on this show. The moisture-laden sky in November brings out the beautiful colour of the tree.
