Elephant Dung Paper (April 25, 2007) *with video

Mr. Wanchai lives in Thailand.  He loves nature and he is worried about the future.  Too many trees are being cut down so that people can use wood to make paper.  He tells his friends and family not to waste paper.  Mr. Wanchai also loves elephants.  He thinks that they are strong, gentle, and very smart.

A few years ago, he noticed that there was something special about elephant dung.  He didn’t know what it was but he wanted to see if he could turn it into something else.  So he put some elephant dung in a pot of hot water.  He boiled it for 5 hours.  Then he added bleach to the dung and boiled it for another 5 hours.  He made some dung balls and let them dry under the sun.  He took a roller and made the dung balls flat and thin.  He put the dung under the sun to dry some more. 

He soon realized that the thin and flat elephant dung could be used as paper.  He could write on it and it was just like paper made from wood.  He even added colors to the dung so that he could make colored paper.

In 2006, he started his own Elephant Dung Paper Company.  You can buy notebooks, colored paper, boxes, and picture frames made from elephant dung.  He is so successful that some smart people in China are thinking about making paper out of panda dung.  When Hong Kong receives two new pandas this year, maybe some smart people in Hong Kong can try to make paper out of panda dung too. 

Mr. Wanchai should get an award for being so creative.  Mrs. Wanchai should get an award for being so patient.

Just in case you wanted to make some elephant dung paper...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHl01IQDUWM

An Honest Taxi Driver

Crying Kid On A Plane

A Jealous Astronaut

Perky The Duck

Deadly Scream

UFO in Nanjing *with video

The UFO in the video is so quiet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbSSTqlanS8

Spelling Mistake

Daddy's Big Mistake

Snow Machine

Kidnapped By Parents

AJ Hackett Loves To Jump

I Am A Thief

Alain is Spiderman

A Perfect Friend

An android is a robot that looks like a human being.  It can be a man, woman, or child.  Most androids have artificial intelligence (A.I.), which means they can learn things.  You can search YouTube and find videos of different androids. 

Mr. Lee lives in Ontario, Canada.  He is a very smart and hardworking man.  He is always busy at work and he does not have time for his friends.  He spends most of his free time on his hobby.  His hobby is building androids.

Last year, he finished building his first android.  She can speak English and Japanese.  She knows math and she can spell words.  She also has artificial intelligence so she can learn things.  She does not need a holiday and she never gets sick.  She will not lie to you or steal from you.  She does not complain and she never gets angry.  Mr. Lee thinks she is almost perfect.  All his friends have names so he decided to call his android Aiko.

Mr. Lee wants Aiko to be perfect so he is working very hard because he has a list of things that will make Aiko even better.  He wants her to make him coffee and tea, feed him sushi, cook breakfast, clean his ears, massage his neck and shoulders, clean the windows, dust the shelves, and clean his toilet. 

If you had an android, what would you want him or her to do?  Would you want your android to help you with your homework?  Wash your clothes?  Clean the dishes?  Walk your dog?

There are many interesting movies with androids.  Have you seen Alien, The Terminator, Bicentennial Man, A.I., or Blade Runner?  Some of these movies are scary so read the reviews first. 

Here is a video of Aiko in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHFZVwQ53bk

The Italian Job (January 9, 2009)

Mark is 18 years old and he lives in Bristol, England.  He loves this old movie called The Italian Job.  The movie is about some really smart thieves who like to drive these small but fast cars called Mini Coopers.  In the movie, they do something to the engines to make them even faster.  They drive through parks and on sidewalks.  The best scene is when they drive down these stairs to reach the subway station platform.  Then they drive off the platform and onto the tracks.  Mark watches this movie once a month and he loves Mini Coopers.

On September 29th, Mark’s parents gave him a birthday gift.  It was a Mini Cooper!  He was so excited that he couldn’t sleep that night.  He woke up the next day and called his friends.  Some of them told him to meet at a pub to celebrate his new car.  They met and drank many bottles of beer.  They talked about The Italian Job.  One of his friends told him that he should pretend that he was in the movie.

Mark was quite drunk so he thought that was a good idea.  He got into his new car and drove off.  He drove through parks and on sidewalks.  Then he saw a subway station entrance.  He drove down the stairs and when he hit the platform, his Mini Cooper flipped over.  Someone called the police and Mark is in big trouble.  His parents were furious because Mark had crashed a one-day-old Mini Cooper.

The police have charged him with drunk driving and damaging public property.  He should not have met at the pub because driving after drinking beer is very dangerous.  People should not copy dangerous scenes from movies.

The Scorpion Queen *with video

This is quite creepy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYCilOCjNCE

The Attic

A Bad Tattoo (February 13, 2009)

Darnell Frazier is 25 years old.  He lives in a state called Minnesota.  He loves tattoos.  He doesn’t mind the pain so he has many different tattoos on his body.  People always ask him about the tattoos on his arms.

A few years ago, he decided to tattoo his name on his neck.  He wanted people to remember him.  His friends thought it was a good idea too.  So he tattooed Darnell on one side of his neck and Frazier on the other side. 

Unfortunately, Darnell is a really dangerous driver.  He likes to drive fast so he has received many speeding tickets.  When you get a speeding ticket, you have to pay a fine.  If you get many speeding tickets, the police will take away your driver’s license.  If you don’t have a driver’s license, then you can’t drive. 

Last month, Darnell borrowed his friend’s car and was speeding down a highway.  A police officer caught him speeding and when the police officer asked Darnell for his driver’s license, Darnell told him that he had left it at home.  So the police officer asked, “What is your name?”  Darnell lied and told him, “My name is Darnell Fray.” 

The police officer checked his computer and realized that Darnell Fray was a 75 year old man.  He walked back to Darnell and looked at him closely.  He realized that Darnell had his name tattooed on his neck.   The officer checked his computer and found out that Darnell did not have a driver’s license.  Darnell was arrested and he will not be able to drive for a long time.

Tattoos cannot be removed easily so if you are thinking about getting a tattoo, please talk to your parents first!

Like A Baby

Just in case you have not seen this video, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbVw7entkxg

Octo-Mom

A Young Dad

A Very Heavy Man

A Spider Bite

Where's The Ring? (April 3, 2009)

Reed is 22 years old and he has a girlfriend called Kaitlin.  They love each other very much. They live in New Mexico.  New Mexico is a state in America.  It is not a part of Mexico, the country. 

In March, 2009, Reed decided to propose to Kaitlin.  He talked to his friends about how to propose.   They discussed many ideas and finally Reed decided to take Kaitlin to a nice restaurant, get down on one knee, and ask Kaitlin to marry him.  Then his friends would rush out from their hiding places and surprise her.  He had bought the ring already but it had to be re-sized.  So the plan was to wait for the ring and propose on Friday.

However, the ring was ready sooner than expected.  Reed picked up the ring on Tuesday and he was too excited to wait.  He called his friends up and told them that he couldn’t wait any longer.  So, they decided to meet at Wendy’s, a fast food restaurant, at 6 pm.

When they all got there, they decided to have a milkshake competition.  Before they started, Reed put the ring in Kaitlin’s milkshake.  As soon as they started the competition, Kaitlin drank her milkshake very quickly.  She won easily and she was very happy.  However, everyone was shocked because there was no ring in her empty cup.

They checked each cup and it was clear that she had swallowed the ring.  Kaitlin thought they were joking because she didn’t feel a thing while she was drinking.  They went to the hospital and the doctor took an x-ray.  The ring was in her tummy and she was shocked.  She had to wait until Thursday before her ring came out. 

Grandpa Ted

Where Is Emma?

Super Susan (May 8, 2009)

Susan Boyle is 48 years old.  She lives in Scotland.  She isn’t a very pretty lady and she hasn’t been very lucky.  She doesn’t have a job.  She doesn’t have a boyfriend and she doesn’t have a husband.  She doesn’t have any children and she lives with her cat.  She is quite lonely but she is happy because she likes to help others.  She helps people at her church every day.

A few months ago, she decided to do something fun.  She entered a competition on television called “Britain’s Got Talent.”  She did not do anything special to her hair and she didn’t put much make-up on.  She wore a simple dress and slipped on an old pair of shoes.  She didn’t care about how she looked.  She just wanted to sing in front of an audience. 

When she got on stage, the three judges were laughing at her.  The audience members were also laughing at her.  They could not imagine a middle-aged lady singing well.  They were waiting for the chance to boo her off the stage.  The judges were worried that Susan would embarrass herself in front of the audience and the thousands of people watching the show on TV.  But when Susan sang, her voice was so beautiful and pure that the judges were in awe and the audience gave her a standing ovation. 

The judges had to apologize after she sang because they didn’t think Susan could sing that beautifully.  Someone put Susan's audition on YouTube and she has become an internet superstar.  She hasn’t won the competition but she has won the hearts of millions.

Susan is a great example of how we should not judge people based on the way they look. 

Robin Hoods (September 26, 2008)

Athens is a city in Greece.  Four years ago, the Olympic Games were held in Athens. 
Unfortunately, Athens has a big problem.  Everything is expensive in Athens.  Meat is expensive.  Vegetables are expensive.  The people in Athens are not happy because they have to spend a lot of money to buy food.
A few months ago, someone decided to steal food from a supermarket.  He or she stole a lot of food from the supermarket but this person did not take the food home.  He or she took the stolen food, went to a park, and gave the food to the poor.

The Chief of Police was very angry.  He was on TV and he told the people of Athens that stealing is not right.  Most of the people in Athens felt that the mysterious thief was doing a good thing.  They started to call the thief "Robin Hood." 

A few days later, another thief went into another supermarket and stole lots of food.  The thief took the food to a park and gave it to the poor.  The Chief of Police was furious and promised the people of Athens that he would catch the two thieves.  A week later, another thief went into another supermarket to steal food.  The thief went to a park and gave the food to the poor.  The Chief of Police doesn't know what to do.  More and more thieves are stealing from different supermarkets and giving the food to the poor.  It's a big problem because there are about 20 "Robin Hoods" in Athens. 

It is not good to steal things and if the thieves are caught, they should go to jail.  However, they are not selfish thieves because they are helping others

Fish Pedicure (September 19, 2008)

John Ho was born in China and his parents taught him how to fish since he was a young boy.

When he reached the age of 25, he fell in love with a young woman called Yvonne. They decided to get married.  They were very happy because they both had the same dream. They wanted to immigrate to the United States. 

A few years ago, their wish came true.  They immigrated to Alexandria, a city in Virginia.  Unfortunately, they could not find good jobs.  They thought long and hard and they finally decided to start their own business.

Earlier this year, they opened Yvonne's Hair and Nails Salon.  Business was not that good so John searched the internet for new ideas.  He read about a special kind of fish that sucked and nibbled dead skin away.  He was very interested in this idea so he went to China to learn more about this special fish.  He decided to buy the fish and start a fish pedicure at his salon.

After he introduced his fish pedicure, more than 5,000 people have tried it.  Most people love the fish pedicure and they keep coming back. 

This is a really good idea.  The fish will never stop working because they did not get enough sleep.  They will not be tired because friends are visiting.  They will not leave the salon and go to another salon and work.  They will never stop working.  They can work 24 hours a day.  

You can see how the fish work by clicking this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOXUpttdLMc

In 2009, a fish pedicure spa opened in Hong Kong. It is in Tsim Sha Tsui. If it is still open, you may want to check it out.

Sorry Daddy! (September 4, 2008)

Stephanie is 24 years old. She lives in Texas. Texas is a big state in America. She is a waitress at a Pizza Hut.  She works very hard but she does not make a lot of money.  She is married but she does not have any children.

On July 16th, she was at work when a robber walked in holding a sharp knife. He was wearing a Batman mask.  He told the customers to put their money on the table. All the customers were scared except for Stephanie.  She was not scared because she had a black belt in Taekwondo. 

She slowly got closer and closer to the robber and when he turned around to get the money, she kicked his knee and hit his neck. He fell to the floor and dropped his knife.

Stephanie hit him many times and his mask fell off. She was shocked to see his face.  She could not believe that the robber was her father! He had a black eye and a bloody nose. She was so sorry because she beat up her own father.

Her father had lost his job as a taxi driver and he needed some money to help his family. He decided to rob a Pizza Hut but he didn't know which Pizza Hut his daughter worked at so he just picked one randomly. 

Unfortunately, he picked the wrong Pizza Hut. The manager called the police and Stephanie's father was arrested. Stephanie is very sad because she knows her father is a good man.  He did not want to hurt anyone but she also knows that he made a very big mistake.

It is always better to work hard than to steal from others. 

A Haunted Hotel (October 31, 2008)

Do you believe in ghosts?  Are you afraid of ghosts?  Maybe you love ghosts.  Ocean Park is very busy in October because people like to visit its haunted house.  Disneyland also has a haunted house to scare everyone.  People have fun because they know that the ghosts at Ocean Park and Disneyland aren’t real. 

There are some adults who want to meet “real” ghosts.  There are many haunted hotels around the world and they are popular because some adults really want to see a ghost.  In San Diego, a city in California, there is a very beautiful hotel called Del Coronado.  Many guests have stayed there because they want to see Kate.

More than 100 years ago, Kate Morgan went to the hotel alone.  She did not have any bags.  She stayed in room 3502.  She told the hotel staff that she was waiting for her husband.  She waited for 5 days and her husband did not show up.  Kate and her husband had a big fight and she asked her husband to meet her at the Del Coronado if he wanted to save their marriage.  When he didn’t show up, she knew that he did not want to get back together.  That night, Kate killed herself.

Ever since Kate died at the hotel, guests at the Del Coronado believe that they have seen her.  Some guests say that they have seen a beautiful woman floating around.  Some guests say that while they were sleeping, a woman pulled their blanket away.  Some guests say that they have heard someone crying in the toilet. 

Do you want to stay at a haunted hotel?  Before you decide, you need to think about this question: What if you meet an unfriendly ghost?

I Can Fly (October 24, 2008)

Switzerland is famous for many things.  It makes some of the world’s best cheese, chocolate, and watches.  Have you heard of Swiss cheese?  The funny thing about Swiss cheese is that it is not made in Switzerland. Have you heard of Rolex or Omega watches?  These watches are made in Switzerland. 

Mr. Rossy is 49 years old.  He lives in Switzerland.  He is a pilot for Swissair.  He has been a pilot for many years. When he has time, he likes to invent things.  Two years ago, he invented wings with jet engines.  He added a parachute to help him land.  He tested these jet wings many times and after many hours of practice, he can now fly.

Last month, Mr. Rossy went to France with his jet wings.  He got on a small plane and the plane took him up to the clouds.  Then he put on his jet wings and jumped.  As he was falling to earth, he turned on his jet wings and began to fly.  He flew from France to England in 10 minutes.  After 9 minutes, he popped open his parachute and he landed safely.  His friends were following him from the plane and videotaped his successful trip.  You can watch Mr. Rossy fly on YouTube. 

It is too bad that his jet wings can’t take off from the ground.  That would be great.  It is still amazing to see him fly like an airplane.  He is so fast.  Maybe Mr. Rossy will make more of these wings and sell them to people who would like to try his jet wings.

Do you want to fly like him?  Mr. Rossy makes flying look easy but it is not easy at all.

Skateboarding (October 10, 2008)

Germany is famous for many things.  Germans like football very much.  Two years ago, the World Cup was held in Germany.  Germans also like to drink beer.  There are more than 1,300 breweries in Germany.  Germany also makes some of the best cars in the world.  Mercedes Benzes and BMWs are made in Germany.  However, the coolest thing about Germany, for people who like to drive fast, is that there are freeways without speed limits.  There are very few countries that have freeways without speed limits.  These freeways are called autobahns.

Paul is 25 years old and he lives in Germany.  He loves anything that’s fast.  He likes speedboats, airplanes, cars, and motorcycles.  A few weeks ago, Paul asked his friends to go to one of the autobahns.  He took out his skateboard and used his left arm to hold on to a motorcycle.  He told his friend to speed up.  When he got up to speed, he let go and skateboarded down the autobahn.

One of his friends recorded Paul skateboarding down the autobahn.  He put it up on YouTube and many people have watched it.  Unfortunately, a police officer in Germany also watched the video and the German police are looking for him now.  They want to arrest Paul because you cannot skateboard on the autobahns.  When Paul found out the police were looking for him, he disappeared.

Skateboarding on a freeway is very dangerous.  You should not even think about trying this because if you hit a small stone or even a bump on the freeway, you could be seriously hurt.  The police are worried about copycats.  Copycats are people who try to copy what others have done.  Copycat skateboarders could get hurt.

Bad News and Good News (October 3, 2008)

Andy Lees is 72 years old and he lives in Scotland.  He has a son, a daughter, a grandson and a granddaughter.  He is retired and spends most of his time playing golf, visiting his family and friends, and watching TV. 

A few months ago, Andy did not feel well.  He went to a hospital and asked a doctor to help him.  The doctor checked everything and he told Andy he had some bad news.  The doctor said that Andy had about six weeks to live because of liver cancer.

Andy was shocked.  He didn’t know what to do.  He had saved a lot of money for his retirement and he thought about what he should do with his money.  He could travel around the world and eat at the most expensive restaurants.  He could play golf at the best golf courses in the world.  He thought about it and decided not to be selfish.  So he gave some money to his son and  b  daughter, his good friends, and the church.  He bought a tombstone and a nice coffin for himself.  He paid for his own funeral.

After six weeks, he was ready to die.  He was happy because helped a lot of people.  He was sitting on his sofa when suddenly, the phone rang.  His doctor said “Andy, I’ve got some good news.  I made a mistake.  You don’t have cancer.  You are quite healthy.”  Andy was happy and angry at the same time.  He was happy that he wasn’t going to die.  He was angry because now he has no money.

Andy has decided to sue the doctor because of his mistake.  The doctor should pay for his mistake and Andy should get a lot of money.

A Chinese Sleeping Beauty (November 28, 2008)

Mr. and Mrs. Zhou love each other very much.  They are not wealthy and they work very hard.  Every morning, they ride their bicycles to work.  Mr. Zhou works at a shoe factory and Mrs. Zhou works at a department store.  They do not have any children so they spend a lot of time together.

One morning, Mrs. Zhou was riding her bicycle to work.  A bus driver accidentally bumped her.  She fell off from her bike and her head hit the ground.  Unfortunately, she was not wearing a helmet.  The ambulance came and took her to the hospital.  The doctors saved her life but they couldn’t wake her up.  She was in a coma.  The doctors told Mr. Zhou that she may never wake up.

Mr. Zhou told the doctors that he believed his wife would wake up one day.  He went to the hospital every day to sing and talk to Mrs. Zhou.  He visited his wife every day for thirty years.  On Nov. 6th, 2008, Mr. Zhou was talking to her when suddenly she woke up.  Her eyes started to blink and she tried to speak.  Mr. Zhou was so happy.  It was like sleeping beauty waking up after one hundred years.  Mrs. Zhou woke up a few days before her 77th birthday. 

Mrs. Zhou is getting stronger each day.  She can speak slowly but she still cannot move very well.  Since she has not moved for thirty years, her muscles have atrophied.  She needs to exercise every day to get stronger.  She told Mr. Zhou that although she was sleeping for so long, she heard his voice.  Love can be so powerful.  By the way, you should always wear a helmet while riding a bike.

A Monster Burger (November 21, 2008)

Brad is 21 years old and he lives in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.  Uniontown is a city and Pennsylvania is a state in America.  Brad likes to cook for his friends and family and when he graduated from college, he looked for a job as a chef.  After many weeks of interviews, he finally found a job as a chef at a restaurant called LUX.

A few months ago, Brad and his friends were talking about another restaurant called Denny’s Beer and Barrel Pub.  There is a monster burger at Denny’s Pub and it weighs 20 pounds.  Actually, the meat weighs 15 pounds but the buns, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions weigh another 5 pounds.  It is a huge burger and no one has finished the burger.  Many people have tried but the burger is just too big.  If you finish the burger in 5 hours, Denny’s Pub will give you US $400, three T-shirts, and a certificate to prove you are the master of the monster burger.

Last month, Brad and his friends decided to go to Denny’s Pub.  Brad ordered the monster burger and when the three waiters put the burger on the table, one of the waiters started the timer.  Brad ate slowly.  After 4 hours and 39 minutes, Brad finished the burger.  He felt sick afterwards but he received his prizes.  He is the first and only person to have finished the burger.

Although Brad is happy that he finished the monster burger, he is sick of hamburgers now.  When he walks by a McDonald’s, he feels sick.  He believes that he will never eat a hamburger again.  He has been eating vegetables for weeks.  Hamburgers may be tasty but they are not good for your health.

Baby Amelia (October 24, 2008)

Essex is a county in Eastern England.  It is in the news because of a special baby called Amelia.  Amelia is 11 months old and her mother’s name is Elizabeth.  They live together in a small house and Elizabeth loves Amelia very much.  Unfortunately, Elizabeth is a single mother and she has a health problem.  Sometimes she faints for no reason.  When she faints, Amelia is in danger because she can only crawl.  If there is a fire, Amelia may not be able to escape.

On August 9th, Elizabeth and Amelia were watching TV.  Suddenly, Elizabeth fainted.  Amelia did not understand why her mother was not moving.  She started to cry.  A few minutes later, Amelia’s grandmother called.  The phone kept ringing and ringing.  Amelia stopped crying and crawled to the phone.  She pressed the right button and her grandmother could hear Amelia crying.  Then Amelia said, “Mama.  Mama.” 

Grandma knew that something was wrong.  Why didn’t Elizabeth answer the phone?  Why was Amelia crying?  She knew that Elizabeth sometimes fainted and she immediately called the police.  The police and ambulance went to Elizabeth’s house and knocked down the door.  They saw Elizabeth on the floor.  The paramedics took care of Elizabeth and took her and Amelia to the hospital.

Luckily, Elizabeth and Amelia are doing well.  Everyone in Essex knows Amelia because she is the baby who saved her mother.  Elizabeth is so lucky because her mother called at the right time.  She is super lucky because her baby answered the phone.  Elizabeth’s mother is moving in with Elizabeth and Amelia because she does not want anything to happen to her daughter and granddaughter.