Potato Of The Day Episode 88

pineapplemonster

Piercing sky, the monster rises, decorated in spiked skin and thorny crown.
In between buildings, we run, weaving in and out, avoiding crumbling debris.
Near the end of the street, she trips, falling over forgotten looted score.
Enter the monster, looming above, spraying sweet citric acid in dripped arch.
Armed with nothing, I jump forward, shielding her from sight and spray.
Pressed close behind, she stays, muttering hushed prayers in the sticky rain.
Peering down, the monster sheds, sharp shoots flying from its flowered crown.
Leaf spears flutter our direction, razor-edged, threatening decapitation.
Enough wind, or luck, pushes danger away, shoots colliding into nearby walls.

All goes quiet in my ears as dust erupts, smothering us in cloud, a dirt shield.
The monster stays, standing in ominous stillness, stretched up like tropical air.
Then, sans warning, a jet appears, flying fast, low, targeting the giant’s head.
At once, the jet fires, unleashing a barrage of thin, pointed wooden missiles.
Chunks of monster plummet, landing in spongy splashes, rods still attached.
Kneeling no more, we collect and rise, biting monster meat, our victory feast.

Watch The Massive Explosion That Rocked Tianjin

Wednesday, #Tianjin was trending on twitter. The ensuing timeline of activity was led by the obligatory Kate Upton tweets encouraging me to play “Game of War”. Following that, however was a flood of fiery images that might as well have been the real life version of that game app.
Take a look, and mind the graphic language:

The Chinese government is routinely tight-lipped about any details surrounding what appears to be a disaster at the reported TNT depot.  The only “real reporting” thus far comes from CCTV and Central Government controlled stations in Beijing. CNN Reporters, and even local Tianjin news outlets were forbidden from interviewing any personnel on site, or even approaching the hospital where victims and witnesses were being treated:

Our source on the ground (ACTUALLY) tells us the “official response” is somewhere in the murky waters of a chemical/industrial stockpile being compromised and catching ablaze. There have also been reports of toxic materials being exposed, which the Chinese government claims were blown to see in the port city of Tianjin where there are a reported 70 dead and 500 injured more by some estimates at this time.  Prayers out to those affected, and the generous citizens donating blood on the ground.