REMEMBER THE ANIMATED MOVIE “UP”?

...when Carl tied a bunch of helium balloons to his house and sailed away?

”Jonathan Trappe does that in real life,” the YouTube page tells us. "He attaches helium balloons to office chairs, gondolas, boats, even little houses, and he goes flying. Trappe has crossed the English Channel and soared over the Alps. He’s witnessed spectacular sunsets and glorious moonrises.

“Here’s how a guy who is an IT consultant by day made his wildest childhood dream a reality.”

A TGB READER'S UKELELE BAND

Last Monday, we talked about pandemic loneliness and how we try to mitigate it. TGB reader Rosemary Woodel explained in a comment what she does:

”I started a ukulele band. We have zoom lessons weekly. We also meet once/wk with folks who sing or play weird instruments (kazoo, washboard, washtub bass). We record funny songs (or inspirational songs) using Acapella so we can maintain 6 ft distances apart but apparently be together.”

She posted this one to YouTube:

AFTER 600 YEAR ABSENCE WHITE STORKS RETURN TO THE U.K.

You read that right - 600 years. Take a look:

Since the video was made, three chicks have been born. You can read more at The Guardian and see a still photo of them.

WHAT THE HECK IS A DERECHO?

Have you ever heard of this weather phenomenon? I hadn't. But it happened in the midwest of the U.S. last Monday. According to Wikipedia, a derecho is

”...a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is associated with a fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms known as a mesoscale convective system.

“Derechos can cause hurricane-force winds, tornadoes, heavy rains, and flash floods...the wind remains sustained for a greater period of time (often increasing in strength after onset), and may exceed hurricane-force. A derecho-producing convective system may remain active for many hours and, occasionally, over multiple days.”

In addition to toppled trees, damaged homes, power outages, flooding and even an overturned semi-trailer on a highway, there is major crop damage:

A CLEVER HUMPBACK'S $13 MILLION DOLLAR MEAL

The headline is all you need to know. Take a look.

69-INCH TALL ANIMATRONIC DRAGON FOR HALLOWEEN

Home Depot is selling a 69-inch-high (that seven inches taller than I am) dragon suitable to leave out on the lawn to scare the kiddoes on Halloween. It sells for $399 and if you spring for an extra $70, you can get a fog machine so that it spits smoke.

Here's the best (not very good) video I could find:

This still photo is much better:

Wow. I love it. If I had one, I'd plunk it down right in my living room. Maybe it would scare away the grim reaper.

FROM THE RIDICULOUS ABOVE TO THE SUBLIME

Take a look at this cute little guy. Hardly dramatic – just a hamster eating carrot sticks from its purse. Betcha can't watch it only once.

A hamster dressed up as a panda eating carrot sticks from its purse. pic.twitter.com/VXoLpKiUgK

— Travis Akers (@travisakers) August 8, 2020

THE ELEPHANT WHISPERER

A lovely story of connection and understanding between a man and herd of elephants.

The Youtube page tells us,

“The Elephant Whisperer, wrote a book about them, a book that appealed to animal lovers worldwide. The original herd of 7 Elephants has now increased to 29 Elephants, the maximum sustainable capacity of Thula Thula...”

More at the youtube page.

THE POTATO, THE EGG AND THE COFFEE BEAN

A tale for our time. Meir Kay writes on the YouTube page,

”What We Can Learn About Life From A Potato, Eggs, And Coffee is a story I read a couple months back and thought how good it would be bring this story to the 'big' screen. I had the pleasure to team up with my good friend, Jay Shetty to bring this powerful lesson to life.”

Interesting Stuff is a weekly listing of short takes and links to web items that have caught my attention; some related to aging and some not, some useful and others just for fun.

You are all encouraged to submit items for inclusion. Just click “Contact” at the top of any Time Goes By page to send them. I'm sorry that I won't have time to acknowledge receipt and there is no guarantee of publication. But when I do include them, you will be credited and I will link to your blog.