Bizarre News – Giles Lennox
Corona Virus. A pandemic that threatens to shut down society, travel and, more importantly, RHS’ inevitable triumph at that ESU Debating School’s Mace National Finals. Yet, one positive I have taken from the whole situation is that everyone has completely forgotten the dreaded word ‘Brexit’ and all that it means. Whilst this is a blessing, it is also a curse as these days, this is the only thing people talk about. So, I thought that in this article, I’d highlight a few more humorous stories in the news to shed a little light in this seeming era of doom and gloom.,
Unfortunately, the first story has a connection to Corona. Fashion Retailer Louis Vuitton has recently announced that it will start to make hand sanitiser and will be giving it, free of charge, to the French government to help tackle the virus. A very touching sentiment that really encompasses the human spirit in times of adversity. My only concern is that when this blows over, Vuitton, who are known for their extraordinary prices for what are essentially T-shirts, will continue to peddle these for an outrageous sum just because they have the converted logo on them. Ali Ng, resident school hypebeast, commented, when questioned about this in a recent interview, that he fully endorses the product and would happily queue to ‘cop’ it. This really does show how in times of crisis, Capitalism never ceases to find new ways of making money.
Minecraft. We’ve all seen, heard or played it at some point in our lives. In 2020, what is usually a simple game about mining cubes to survive, has metamorphosised into a tool of political activists. Non-profit organisation Reporters Without Borders has recently created a server to act as a virtual library that publishes material by authors that is censored online by their respective governments. This appears to be a great way of using the internet as a means of combatting oppressive censorship seen in many countries. Again, I worry about how impactful this really will be. The people behind this scheme claim they chose Minecraft as the forum because of its wide reach; however, this is a game designed and peddled towards the younger generation. Imagine a group of kids loading up a sever, ready to embark on an epic quest to then find themselves in a virtual library reading about concerns over the policies of the king of Saudi Arabia. A fantastic idea but, in reality, it is likely to be destroyed soon by some random 10-year-old -maybe one of the Y7s as they all seem to be obsessed currently- with a few basic hacks and a ton of TNT.
Former Oasis member, Liam Gallagher was in Spain over the weekend doing a festival. Sounds pretty normal. Things took a turn, however, when he was about to start another song and had a fish launched at him by a member of the audience. Gallagher was understandably upset by the event and proceeded to go on a rant. Whilst I would like to report on some of his comments, I want my article to be taken down my Mr Hodson. The general gist was a barrage on the individual for his act, the ‘smelly’ fish itself and claiming he had seen a lot worse. The rest is up to your imagination. He has since apologized on twitter, ending with the phrase ‘drinks are on me’.
The final story I would like to bring your attention to involves North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un. Now I realise the obvious contradiction here because most of the time, we do not associate him with humour, apart from the lucky person who gets DPRK in MUN and therefore is responsible for making the entire committee a complete joke. A few months ago, the Telegraph published a collection of some of the greatest photoshoots he has taken part in, including majestically riding a horse (bearing striking similarity to the meme of a topless Vladimir Putin riding a bear) and cheerfully driving a tractor. Personal favourites range from him intently assessing a woman’s shoe, desperately clutching what seems to be a ‘My Little Pony’ backpack and testing the firmness of a mattress inside a new apartment block. Most are probably propaganda, but they are sure to bring a smile to your face. To see all 129 photos (yes, I looked at them all), go to https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/kim-jong-un-in-pictures-bizarre-photoshoots-of-north-koreas-lead/north-korean-leader-kim-jong-un-visits-shoe-factory-wonsan-north/
The world currently is a pretty macabre place. People are understandably worried about the future for themselves and their loved ones. In the face of adversity, however, I encourage us to keep our sense of humor. If you read the news each day, as I would encourage you to do, try and find a more light-hearted or heart-warming story and share it with your friends and family. This virus will inevitably pass and I hope that we come out the other side with our humanity intact.
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