You can now catch my writings in a new location. I'm proud to say I've joined the crew at the Onion AV Club's new TV Club. For now, I'll be covering "Beauty and the Geek," so if you enjoy the show, check out my thoughts.
In other news, I read this story in Reuters:
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Officials at Nepal's state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said Tuesday.Nepal Airlines, which has two Boeing aircraft, has had to suspend some services in recent weeks due the problem.
The goats were sacrificed in front of the troublesome aircraft Sunday at Nepal's only international airport in Kathmandu in accordance with Hindu traditions, an official said.
"The snag in the plane has now been fixed and the aircraft has resumed its flights," said Raju K.C., a senior airline official, without explaining what the problem had been.
Local media last week blamed the company's woes on an electrical fault. The carrier runs international flights to five cities in Asia.
It is common in Nepal to sacrifice animals like goats and buffaloes to appease different Hindu deities.
Along with this photo:
I'm not really a relaxed plane passenger so I have a few follow-up questions to this story:
1. How do we know that two goats was the appropriate amount to be sacrificed? I don't want the gods thinking we cheaped out on them.
2. I don't mean to be a stickler by why is the sky god causing technical difficulties in the plane? Shouldn't the plane god be in charge of that?
3. Were people on board the plane during the sacrifice?
4. What was done with the goats afterwards? Sky gyros? (Commonly knowns as Skyros.) Yum.
5. Raju K.C.'s vagueness concerns me as well as the vagueness of his last name.
6. Was that particular goat sacrificed or is that just a stock photo? I just want to know.
7. Do the requirements of Akash Bhairab still apply when Nepal Airlines flies into the airspace of non-Hindu countries? I hope they were prepared.
8. Other countries and religions are crazy, right?