New Blog Mascot?

Hat tip to Jessie for alerting me to Hello Kitty's new friend, an egg named Gudetama, who can be described thusly:

He's whiny, always has a face of despair, and according to the Sanrio release on the little guy, is "unmotivated." His attitude is related to the fact that he only exists to be eaten.

I wish I could read japanese. From what I have gathered, Gudetama is probably saying something like "please leave me alone."

I think I know what I'm going to be for Halloween this year...

Sadly not an April Fool's Day joke

Bags of Mountain Air Offered in Smog-Addled Chinese City

20 bright blue bags of air were shipped to Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan province, as a special treat for residents. The air originated from Laojun Mountain, some 120 miles away from the city, and was brought as part of a promotional gimmick to show oxygen-deprived city residents what they’re missing.

China’s environmental ministry announced last week that Zhengzhou was among the country’s top 10 most-polluted cities. Its AQI on Monday was an unhealthy 158. By contrast, the Monday AQI forecast for Bakersfield, CA, the most polluted city in the U.S., was 45.

More here.

This is kind of getting to dystopian levels of crazy, don't you think? Add this to the report on climate change just released by the UN, and it's hard to escape the conclusion that we're all gonna die. Maybe sooner rather than later!

P.S. Hi, Anonymous!