The McBournie Minute: In defense of Christopher Columbus

This is one of those weird holidays. Some people have it off, some don’t. Some people think it’s a terrible day to celebrate, some don’t. I believe Christopher Columbus was the original American. Here’s why. (Originally published Oct. 8, 2012)

Years ago, Columbus Day was a major holiday for the Italian community. Think St. Patrick’s Day, but with less puke, more mustaches and the same amount of Catholics. It’s probably still celebrated that way in some areas of the U.S., but it’s just not the big deal it once was, in part because we figured out that Columbus wasn’t the first European to find the New World, that honor belongs to the Vikings, most likely.

It’s a strange quasi-holiday. Some people have it off, most people don’t, and no one is sure how to celebrate it. I never had it off as a kid, but I heard tell of a time, also known as When My Parents Were Kids, when Columbus Day meant a long weekend, even for students. Since then, a lot of people have said, “Hey, this Columbus guy didn’t really ‘discover’ America, because there were civilizations living here long before he showed up.”

Well, hippies, here’s why it’s an important holiday, particularly in the U.S. Continue reading The McBournie Minute: In defense of Christopher Columbus

Snails keep radio off the air

The latte-swilling intellectuals of Hawaii have to find something else to listen to now, because Hawaii Public Radio is off the air in some places, because of snails.

Some nasty storms knocked out HPR’s main relay facility last month, the signal has been hard to come by for part of Oahu. Repairs can’t happen because an endangered species of tree snail is mating there right now. That means crews can’t go into the forest without supervision, and coordinating that takes time.

Even snails are a threat to our way of life.

Spiders now moving into nightmare house strategies

It’s October, which means it’s time for Halloween, and boy oh boy, do we have a terrifying story for you. Who’s seen The Shining? How did you feel about the flood of blood? Have you ever seen The House That Dripped Blood?

Try, instead, The House That Oozed Spiders.

At a civil trial in St. Charles County in October 2011, University of Kansas biology professor Jamel Sandidge — considered one of the nation’s leading brown recluse researchers — estimated there were between 4,500 and 6,000 spiders in the home. Making matters worse, he said, those calculations were made in the winter when the spiders are least active.

Luckily, the house is now being tented and fumigated. It’s theorized that should kill everything that may remain in the house, but just in case it doesn’t, a tactical nuke from space couldn’t hurt.