Author Archives: DCG

DWTS’s Maksim Chmerkovskiy was the only man on train fleeing Ukraine

Dancing With The Stars’ pro-dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy was born in Ukraine yet now has US citizenship. His parents emigrated to the US in 1994 and the 42-year-old lives in the US with his wife and son. His dancing skills have earned him a net worth of $8 million.

The money didn’t save him from feeling embarrassment and guilt in fleeing his home country. From Daily Mail:

“Days after returning safely to the United States from war-torn Ukraine, Maksim Chmerkovskiy is dealing with survivors guilt, he told GMA on Friday.

The 42-year-old DWTS pro revealed that the trauma he experienced after Vladimir Putin laid siege on the sovereign nation is ‘very difficult to process.‘ 

Maks was in Kyiv working on a television show when Russian forces invaded and he fled the country on a packed train of ‘only women and children’ refugees. He admitted to feeling guilt and shame for being able to escape the violence. 

I get into these crying moments. I can’t control it. I cried on the way from the airport,’ he said. 

Read the whole story here.

If I had guilt and shame, I’d be speaking with a close friend instead of advertising it on social media and giving a national TV show interview. But I’m not an entertainer.

DCG

Wheel of Fortune fail…

Sigh…

So many tries, so many fails.

How can one get through life without knowing basic phrases so common in our society?

DCG

Father saves his son from charging bull at Texas rodeo

Landis Hooks, 40, is being praised as a hero for coming to the rescue to protect his son (Cody, 18) as he lay unconscious after being thrown from a bull. The Daily Mail reports:

“A cowboy who was seen on video lying on top of his unconscious son to protect him from a raging bull says his mind went blank before he sprung into action, adding that it’s all just ‘part of the everyday cowboy life where I come from.’

The 40-year-old father formed a human shield over his son and even took a hit from the bull’s head as it charged toward the pair. The crowd roared in shock, but Landis kept his body pressed firmly down while the bull rampaged about.”

Read the whole story here.

Great job, dad!

DCG

An engineering feat: The Øresund Bridge

Have you ever seen/heard of the Øresund Bridge? It’s a five-mile-long bridge (and underwater tunnel!) that connects Sweden and Denmark. It opened in 2000 and combines both motorway and railway travel. 

The underwater highway is 2.52 miles long and is named the Drogden Tunnel.  Two tubes in the tunnel carry railway tracks, two carry roads, and a fifth tube is provided for emergencies.

You can read all the details about this bridge here. Here’s a video that highlights the engineering feats of this bridge.

If anyone has travelled across this bridge, let us know!

DCG

Gentle Giant Horse Teaches A Neglected Horse How To Play

Happy Friday!

DCG

Skilled pilots land Boeing Dreamliner at Heathrow during Storm Eunice

This landing of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner happened last Friday at Heathrow during Storm Eunice. According to the Daily Mail, Storm Eunice was throwing crosswinds of over 80 mph, making a landing very tricky.

Even though many pilots were forced to abort their landings, Captain Ruth Karauri and Copilot Clive Nyachieo of Kenyan Airways, was successful with their landing. ‘The flight conditions were strong gusting winds and it was quite a bumpy ride,’ she said.

Read the whole Daily Mail article here.

These are the kinds of pilots I’d like to have on all my flights!

DCG

The rats in DC attract a rare snowy owl

It’s not the rat politicians that have attracted this rare snowy bird to Union Station, it’s the rodents (starts at 2:10 mark).

DCG

Dog Reunites With Owner After Surviving a Wildfire and Blizzard

Luvs a happy ending!

DCG

They all seem pretty calm at this wedding…

This wedding in Kansas, from 2012, had a surprise guest: a tornado! Watch as the wedding party and guests remain pretty calm, at least much calmer than I would have:

You can read all about the couple (who are still married) and see their wedding photo (with the tornado in the background) here.

Guess that’s how they roll with the tornadoes in Kansas!

DCG

Friday funny: Prince Harry and Meghan’s Montecito mansion is engulfed by foul smell

This gave me a good chuckle!

From the Daily Mail:

Harry and Meghan’s £11million California mansion is apparently engulfed by a foul smell leaving neighbours ‘disgusted’, it has emerged.

The duke and duchess’ headache is said to have been caused by the nearby Andrée Clark Bird Refuge, a 42-acre saltwater marsh. The area is one of the largest wildlife refuges in Santa Barbara and the water can become ‘stagnant’ leading to an odour.

The foul stink is said to have hit the area in Montecito, which is also home to Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry.

A local resident told the Mirror: ‘It smells like offal that has been rotting in the sun. It makes my stomach churn. I’ve seen lots of homeowners closing their windows when it wafts over.’

Local officials say the stench could last as long as the autumn, when improvements are in the pipeline. Cameron Benson, clean water manager for the City of Santa Barbara, said: ‘Water can become stagnant there. The odour issues are sporadic and sometimes they are worse in some conditions.’

Harry and Meghan have had to contend with odour issues in the past. Last year, it was reported the royals were living near a legal cannabis factory base in Santa Barbara.

The couple’s mansion is just up the road from the 20 large greenhouses full of the plants — leaving the luxury suburb reeking. Neighbours made a string of complaints, sparking the company to install new ‘odour control systems’.

Gregory Gandrud told the Sunday Mirror: ‘The stink was getting stronger and heading their way. I was driving along the freeway and was hit hard by the smell. It doesn’t make you high but it’s not what you want driving at 70mph.

‘I had to pull over. It made me completely lose my train of thought. Lots of people here are suffering.’

Read the whole story here.

DCG