The dangers of sparrows near dominoes

[misscam]

The flu has struck. Sigh. No energy or will to do much of anything while at the same time being bored, not a good combo.

Sparrow disrupts world record attempt in Domino felling, gets shot. Activists enraged

The bird's detour into the exhibition centre in the northern city of Leeuwarden earlier this week proved disastrous. Staff had spent weeks setting up
four million dominoes.

The bird's fate was sealed when it knocked over 23,000 and organisers feared it could knock down more. An exterminator cornered the sparrow and shot it.

The backlash followed as soon as the news got out - especially as the common house sparrow was put on the endangered list in the Netherlands last year.

I'm torn between a general WTF response and 'you shot an endangered bird over dominoes and didn't think this would be bad PR?', with a side of urge to make tasteless Monty Python jokes about ex-sparrows.

In other, slightly less weird news:
Nordic states probe 'CIA flights'
Germany marks Nuremberg trials
Evans to have ex-wife Billie Piper as first guest on new TV show
Group wants smoke warnings on DVDs
Supreme Dalek sold at auction

Comments

[sinneahtes.livejournal.com]

I saw that about the sparrow last night... and kept thinking it would have been really funny if the vibrations from the gun blast had knocked down the rest of the dominoes. (They couldn't have just caught it with a net? Sheesh, catching bad little birds in nets was part of my job description when I was 16, and if I can do it without causing too much damage on the side, I imagine someone in the Netherlands could. :P)

[elvea-aure.livejournal.com]

Lots of people here could, it's just the people who hired the people who shot the bird were too stupid to think of it.

[sinneahtes.livejournal.com]

Yeah, sounds like it... (and hopefully my comment came off as "those people over there were stupid!" rather than "WTF, Netherlands?!")

But I didn't know exterminators carried guns (or crossbows, or whatever s/he shot with), for little birds or for anything... not that I know much about the pest control industries in any country...

[elvea-aure.livejournal.com]

it didn't come across wrong, don't worry- I hold no grudges against you. ;)

Me neither, really. I guess it would depend on the company. At least, I hope it does...

[sinneahtes.livejournal.com]

Ah, phew. sleep deprivation + over-caffeination = Pulsarkat

Interesting imaginary scenarios coming to mind now...

"Got 'im cornered! Hand me a net, will ya?"
"New company policy: no nets! But here's a gun!"

...I'll shut up, now. ^_^;

[elvea-aure.livejournal.com]

[sniggers]

Maybe it was an abroad company?

Maybe the Americans got 51% of the stocks? Would explain the policy...

[misscam.livejournal.com]

That'd be some odd twisted poetic justice, heh.

Poor sparrow. It only wanted to play.

[sinneahtes.livejournal.com]

Yeah... my siblings would have done the same thing the bird did when they were little kids... though Mom would have had an absolute fit if I shot *them* whenever they knocked over my dominoes...

(*snickers at that icon*)

[elvea-aure.livejournal.com]

Only it wasn't a sparrow. Geez, whoever translated the name f the bird oughta be shot as well.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

What was it, then?

[elvea-aure.livejournal.com]

A titmouse, actually. It's probably because they messed up 'mus' and 'mees' in Dutch. [le eyeroll]

[b2wm.livejournal.com]

I was thinking, "If you're out of house sparrows, we've got plenty nesting in the dryer vent to loan you..."

[elvea-aure.livejournal.com]

[sniggers]

"Now two for the price of one, bullets and gun included."

[the-grokster.livejournal.com]

I dunno, the article about the smoking labels seems almost as surreal. Perhaps we could stop giving in to the Big Tobacco lobby...it might have the unheard-of effect of reducing smoking.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Hey, you never know.

Big Tobacco are a rather slime-ball-y, but these labels things are getting a bit ridiculous. And I say this as a non-smoker, even.

[git-the-goddess.livejournal.com]

I wonder how long it'll be before they're putting warning labels on about people going to the beach in movies...

[git-the-goddess.livejournal.com]

"Warning! Sand might be hazardous to your health!"

[the-grokster.livejournal.com]

Exactly. It's simply that at some point we have to be willing to be responsible for ourselves.
...of course, we should continue to kick Big Tobacco in its collective balls, but I can't help but think we wouldn't have to if society didn't treat us all like children but then if we insist on acting like them when we should be at a more mature level as citizens/consmers.

/le sigh/

[highwindpav.livejournal.com]

Poor little birdy. I'd imagine someone who put up those dominoes would want the thing shot, though. Just out of frustration. Still dumb.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Knocking down 23,000? Yeah, I'd probably feel an urge to throttle the bird myself. But sometimes it helps not acting on one's first instinct, really.

[aervir.livejournal.com]

I think any Monty Python jokes about late sparrows and ex-sparrows are entirely appropriate for this situation...

Hopefully, you'll recover soon from that bout of flu!

*hands you a mug of hot tea*

[misscam.livejournal.com]

He was pinin' for the dominoes?

Thanks. Love the icon, heh.

[git-the-goddess.livejournal.com]

"pinin' for the dominoes"
Permission to be very disturbed that I thought of the exact same line?

[melliemel411.livejournal.com]

The ones trying to break the record are already the current record holders? They shot a bird because they wanted to beat their own record? o_O

They couldn't catch it and take it outside? There's been plenty of times a birds gotten inside and I've caught it and let it go. It's not hard to do. Idiots.

[misscam.livejournal.com]

Seems so. Maybe it was a particulary crafty evading bird, or something.

[chunkylimes.livejournal.com]

WORD.

Jesus. Yeah, four million dominoes is one hell of a lot, but it's not the end of the world. Fucktards.