Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Religious headline for the day

The Brits might be crowing about the 100thousand people who asked to be "Unbaptised", but the UKTimes report that there are now 100 million Christians in China...

well, we do have a channel here on our cable TV here in the Philippines that has Christian preachers preaching in Chinese.

For equal times, we also have EWTN, IglesiaNaKristo, two US evangelical channels, and the India channel frequently shows gurus preaching their stuff...
EWTN is on the channel next to Fashion TV...in case you aren't sure why you want to praise God, just turn the channel and see the beauty God made...

Musical interlude for today



enjoy!

Headlines below the fold

Did NYTimes ignore ACORN bombshell because it would have been an "October surprise" against their candidate?
Well, when the Catholic bishops stop funding ACORN because their lawyers said something was funny about their use of funds, you know something is wrong with that organization...

-----------------------
Kidnappings on the rise in the Philippines...mostly in Mindanao...It's the money, stupid..

The "insurgents" change hats and become kidnappers --or hitmen for politicians--- to pay the bills...
----------------------
Google et al launch legal download service to stop Chinese pirating of music.
well, I don't know about music but the movie pirates are efficient...we can buy the latest hit movie at the Palenke often before the film opens in Manila...

------------------
Maurice Jarre has died.
He composed the soundtracks for Dr. Zvivago and Lawrence of Arabia...

Young officer stopped Nursing home shootings

"...Master Officer Justin Garner was being hailed as a hero a day after he forged into the Pinelake Health and Rehab Center in Carthage without waiting for backup to stop a man who shot and killed eight people inside...."

despite being hit by pellets in the leg, he shot the enraged killer, probably saving many lives.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Chano at our trade fair booth

 
Posted by Picasa

Family photos...rice harvest time

 
Posted by Picasa

Blame PuffPuff


According to the CDC, 86,000 people fell last year because of their dogs or cats
...
Twenty-six percent of falls involving dogs occurred while persons were walking them, and the most frequent circumstances were falling or tripping over a dog (31.3%) and being pushed or pulled by a dog (21.2%)....yup...tripping over tiny PuffPuff is a major problem here.

of course, another danger is tripping over a cat (66.4%.of cat related injuries)

Poutry news take three

World Poultry's chicken joke of the week:

Q: Why did the rubber chicken cross the road?

A: She wanted to stretch her legs.

Sent in by: Ryan Bukinair

Poultry related news take two



We raised chickens before my husband had his stroke, and then his son took the farm over until about 7 years ago, when he decided to concentrate on organic rice. Alas, I don't have photos (only old fashioned paper photos).

But if you want to see how poultry farming is done, here is Eng.Ziyaee. He
always sends me his newsletters on chicken raising hints, and photos of his operation in Iran.
Eng. Ziyaee also sent photos of the Afghan orphans his father is raising.
They are growing fast, like all kids.

Chicken news of the day take one

from WorldPoultry.net:

At least 62% of chickens indigenous to Indonesia are resistant to bird flu, thanks to a "Mx" gene in their body, the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI) revealed.

longer discussion moved to Bloggernews.net

Reason I'm glad I'm retired

another email from tiamaria

Obituary for Common Sense

From the London Times:


Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
Why the early bird gets the worm;
Life isn't always fair;
and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame
I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

your email of the day from TiaMaria

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Pussycat photo of the day


Don't bother to shoot...
Pussy wears Kevlar

Musical interlude for today

The three Stooges

Dane wrote to Lolo and included photos.
This is Dane, John, and Luke

Jaunty jackalope

If posts have been slow, it's because I spent half of yesterday downloading the Alpha update of Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope, and half of this morning redownloading packages that didn't download correctly.

So far, it seems great: Faster at least.
But I'll have to play with it awhile.
It contains a new version of Firefox...hope this one doesn't crash every time I try to watch YouTube.

When editorial writers dance on the head of a pin


You know that someone's been sending out talking points when an editorial in the LATimes uses every cliche in the book and personal ridicule.
But saying that although 70% of alumni oppose, 92% of students support the Obama trip is not quite true. This percentage is taken from letters to the editor, not from a scientific poll...


Rutten's screed (for that it what it is) is almost identical to Father L's satire.

uh, Mr. Rutten, it's about babies, not politics....

when the President is using my tax dollars to pressure the Philippines to legalize abortion, and he is taking away the job protection of docs who won't do abortions or give out euthanasia pills, I say he's not a centrist, he's the radical...

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Music interlude of the day



turn up your speakers and dance!

and for you young kids under age 50, go HERE to learn to jitterbug properly...

Craft item of the day

There is just time enough for you to make

an amigurumi chocolate bunny for your easter basket...

...they also have amigurumi Easter egg patterns....

free registration required....

I am Simon Jester



First John Galt signs appeared at all those tea parties


Now Simon Jester

Well, I guess that proves republicans can read.

But if they start dressing as Guy Fawkes you will know that the US is in trouble...

Ah, the wonderful smell of space

Fact for the day: Space smells.

"When you repressurize the airlock and get out of your suit, there is a distinct odor of ozone, a faint acrid smell," Jones told SPACE.com, adding that the smell is also similar to burnt gunpowder or the ozone smell of electrical equipment..."

Friday, March 27, 2009

Weird headline of the day

Hungry Crustaceans Eat Climate Change Experiment


Copepods one, scientists zero...
so much for stopping global warming with iron powder

Recipe link of the day


CrispyWaffle
has the recipe on how to make Shrimp in coconut milk, one of Lolo's favorite recipes.

The recipe is "westernized" so you use coconut milk and clean the shrimp before eating.
(headsup Tastespotting)


Usually here in the Philippines we put rice on our plates, and spoon the liquid over the rice. Since we cook the shrimp whole, you put the shrimp on the side of the plate, and pick it up then suck the juice before removing the head and shell to eat it.

Of course, here in the Philippines, we pick a coconut and grate the meat to make the coconut milk.
But EHOW has instructions for making it if you prefer to use a blender.

Musical interlude for today



Turn up speakers and try not to laugh...

It's Easter Egg time


Martha Stewart has all sorts of links and hints on how to decorate Easter eggs...
We just started to get a local channel that carries her show....she was making these eggs-->

by tieing lace on the eggs then dying them...


If you aren't going to eat the eggs soon, try blowing them out first...and if you don't have a Dremel tool, your husband can use a delicate drill bit on his Black and decker power drill...

Sammler Osterei, a German site
has how to make beautiful eggs by pasting lace etc. on them...
(headsup TattingGoddess)


The reason for eggs at Easter is because the egg contains a new life that suddenly appears, and reminds us of Christ coming out of the tomb.

Gift Item of the day


"...The set is composed of a "Fork Lift" Fork, "Bulldozer" Pusher and our personal favorite, the "Front Loader" Spoon..."

Ah, but I bet the kid still won't eat his peas...

Insomnia download of the day

For those who can't get to sleep and don't want to count sheep, try a nice audiobook, like
The Summa Theologica, part one...
or if you aren't theologically inclined, try
The Insect Folk, a science book for kids

or, if you are really desperate, try the collected speeches of the UK House of Commons...
Hmm...did Gladstone really propose a channel tunnel in 1888?

Note that speech number 16 is Churchill's famous speech "We shall fight on the beaches" at the start of WWII....

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Prayers for Fargo


another flood coming to the Red River of the North...

"...The city of Fargo is racing to fill 1.5 million sandbags to prepare for record flooding as a nearby river is expected to crest more than 20 feet above flood stage. Volunteers were being bused to a city utility building the size of a football field where they will fill sandbags, officials said....


lots of colleges are sending students to help

Photos HERE...

Fargo is across the river from Morehead, so both the ND and MN National guard are there...

Did I ever tell you the only time I actually saw a tornado was while doing medical backup for the NDNG?

And they aren't just doing sandbags: The helicopters are doing rescues of people...mainly at farmhouses cut off by flooded streams near Linton....and the Missouri at Bismark is backing up from ice jams...

I remember the last one that devestating GrandForks...we had to evacuate our less than critical patients home from Fargo and GF, and later, when the GF sandbags were overwhelmed, we had refugees in Bemidji and lots of our students and Objibwe loggers/firemen went down to help with the sandbags and later with the cleanup...
.... thanks to a multimillion dollar project, Grand Forks is considered safe...and so is Winnepeg, which is downstream...


headsup Father Z...

Fashion advice of the day

Photo credit: North Light Books

Dianne Eng has a new book "Fashion Geek". Some hints at above link.

Her creations range from an inflatable gown fitted with a hacked hand vacuum and a series of valves to garments designed using biomimetics, the science of applying the laws of nature to technology. The model on the book's cover is sporting a "Monster Music Hat," which is an aviator cap with headphones built in.

Or you can just buy one of these...

The WAGD report of the day

(Image: SOHO Consortium / ESA / NASA)

the "we're all gonna die" item of the day: Solar storms...and superflares...
will knock out the internet, power grids etc.
"...From time to time, that wind carries a billion-tonne glob of plasma, a fireball known as a coronal mass ejection (see "When hell comes to Earth"). If one should hit the Earth's magnetic shield, the result could be truly devastating.
.."

of course, as one comment notes, on the other hand if you just turn off the grid for an hour or two, it won't blow.
The trick is to estimate when the flare will hit.

Science Stuff below the fold

Regrowing limbs? First experiments growing muscles from skin stem cells is being done.

-------------------------


The production of electricity from waves using a "snakelike unit" made headlines.
too bad it didn't work
-----------------------

Remember the Trouble with Tribbles?

Well, China has the Trouble with Gerbils...and is using the pill to stop them.

-------------------
Metallic glass...not a new idea, but now without the cracks...

OK, Trekkies, altogether now:
Transparent Aluminum?
actually, as one comment on the original article noted,
Transparent Aluminum was invented nearly 4 years ago, and is currently being used as for windows in armoured military vehicles in place of bulletproof glass.....LINK LINK2
a PDF on the minerality of StarTrek here.

Tia Maria's Bible Lesson for today

A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning. The wife said, 'You should do it because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee. The husband said, 'You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee.' Wife replies, 'No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee.' Husband replies, 'I can't believe that, show me.' So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says

'HEBREWS'

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

That Obama video

the "happy Nowruz" video from President Obama to Iran might affect their next elections....

And his belated phone call to Gloria probably saved the "Visiting armed forces agreement" by getting Nicole a visa and dropping the charges against Cprl Smith...

Photos from the trip

On Sunday, the family went to Pangasinan to the beaches, taking the farmers with them on our truck as a "post harvest" holiday.

After spending the day on the beach and on a boat trip, those on the truck went to Baguio to pick up the tradefair booth and supplies, and the car brought Lolo directly home.
From joy


Click on photo album for pictures.
joy

Dyspeptic quotes of the day

News you can skip:
---------------------
Robert Reich on AIG:

Bottom line: Before it can clean up Wall Street or do much of anything else, the Administration has to clean up the way it's been trying to clean up Wall Street
.
(Hint: Hillary would have done it better)
--------------------------------------

StrategyPage on Iran:
For thousands of years, "the Persians" have been the most powerful force in the region. The Arabs were on top for a few centuries over a thousand years ago, but that was seen, by Iranians and Arabs alike, as the exception, not the rule, to the way things work in this neighborhood.
Hint: Cyrus did it so why not us?...
-----------------------
The next terror worry: The smart grid:

IOActive issued a report that someone with EE and software know-how and $500 in equipment could:

“take command and control of the [advanced meter infrastructure] allowing for the en masse manipulation of service to homes and businesses.”

Indeed, Katie Fehrenbacher notes on GigaOM that last year National Journal reported that China had a hand in two blackouts of the U.S. power grid.

------------------



Obama being honored by NotreDame
?
Professor and mystery writer McInerny comments:
By inviting Barack Obama as commencement speaker, Notre Dame is telling the nation that the teaching of the Catholic church on this fundamental matter can be ignored. Lip service may be paid to the teaching on abortion, but it is no impediment to upward mobility, to the truly vulgar lust to be welcomed into secular society
....
------------------------

Another "embryonic stem cell" triumph...well, maybe, one of these days.As Josephine Quintavalle comments:
"Like so many of the claims associated with embryonic stem cells, this is first steps research rather than a cure around the corner, and just as hypothetical as the rest of the claims which try to justify destroying the human embryo for the benefit of mankind.

----------------------------
Benedict says: It's the joy, stupid:
Someone may object: “Why not leave them in peace? They have their truth, and we have ours....But if we are convinced and have come to experience that without Christ life lacks something, that something real – indeed, the most real thing of all – is missing, we...grant them the opportunity of finding their truest and most authentic selves, the joy of finding life.

------------------
and the really important headlines of the day:

Walking catfish spotted in the Thames by angler

Sunday, March 22, 2009

The Italian secret to a long marriage

At Saint Rocco's Catholic Church they have a weekly husband's marriage seminar. At the session last week, the Priest asked Luigi, who was approaching his 50th wedding anniversary, to take a few minutes & share some insight into how he had managed to stay married to the same woman all these years.

Luigi replied to the assembled husbands, "Wella, I've a-tried to treat-a her nicea, spenda da money on her, but besta of alla is that I tooka her to Italy for our 25th anniversary!"

The Priest responded, "Luigi, you are an amazing inspiration to all the husbands here! Please tell us what you are planning for your wife for your 50th anniversary."

Luigi proudly replied, "I'm agonna go get her!"

your email of the day from very Italian TiaMaria

FAMILY NEWS

Lolo, Chano and Family went to the beach for the day.

I stayed home because I'm achy in the heat, and I didn't feel like a four hour plus ride each way in the heat.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Happy Nowruz!


Happy Nuroz!
It's Persian New Year....a celebration that goes back 3000 years...

Check out the celebrations at The Tehran Photo blog
and forRecipes, check HERE...

Trivia fact for today: 600,000 Iranians live in the Los Angeles area...

Stuff below the fold

Want to read a short history of modern Iraq? LINK
short excerpt: Iraqis know they have problems with religion, tribalism and corruption. Iraqis know what they are up against. Do you?


--------------------------
Webecoist has photos of where airplanes and other modern marvels go to die...
alas, a lot get dumped here in Asia...link2...link3

-------------------------

Father Z notes a recent letter by the pope, complaining:

At times one gets the impression that our society needs to have at least one group to which no tolerance may be shown; which one can easily attack and hate. And should someone dare to approach them – in this case the Pope – he too loses any right to tolerance; he too can be treated hatefully, without misgiving or restraint.

one sees the same pope-bashing about condoms in Africa...BBC article almost gets it right...
it's not the condoms per se, it's the promiscuity approval that goes along with "condom promotion" that is the real danger.

words of wisdom from Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou said this:
'I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.'!


'I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.'

'I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.'

'I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life.'

'I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.'

'I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back..'

'I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.'

'I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.'

'I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.'

'I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.'

====your email of the day from tiamaria


'I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'

Hey, big guy


how'd ya get so big?


(Image: Christian Darkin / SPL)

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Day of the Swallows

Today is St. Joseph's day, the day the swallows return to Capistrano

Romanticized in Leon Rene’s famous song "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano," the return of the little birds to Capistrano every Spring has captured the imaginations of millions and provides a major media event every year. The Old Spanish Mission has become world famous as the haven of the swallows, those romantic symbols for nature’s migration with the seasons.


headsup fromBuildingTheArk blog
,
,
,
,

Craft item of the day


Nezumiworld, who gave us croched roses, now has step by step instructions on how to make a blue aster flower at her blog.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Musical interlude for today

Beauty in art and Music...lecture at American Digest...via the anchoress.

Stuff below the fold

Making Veterans' private insurane ce pay for service related injuries? Yes we can....
my rant about the Obama plan here...

-----------------------------
....yes, even "saint" patrick gets the shove of the PC, who are now saying "happy shamrock day"

--------------------
Fashion robots hit the Japan runways...
something tells me that they won't be a hit on Fashion TV.
----------------

Chicken news you can use:
Not only are LED bulbs non toxic, but they adjust the color to make chickens happier, less aggressive, and able to produce more eggs.
ah, but does it make them nearsighted?

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day


have a green beer for me...
.
.
.
.
.

Podcasts on storytelling

Screenwriter Barb Nicolosi links to speeches given at a conference on storytelling.

Her talk, on Flannery O'Connor is HERE

Peter Kreeft's talk is here, and other links are at the right..

Bikers Mark your Calanders


Kup=Karmel has scheduled their annual “Run to Our Lady” Marathon in April, which complete its course in Medjugorje.

For those who are tired of going to Sturgis or Pawhuska...

Monday, March 16, 2009

Irish music take two



This is the version from "Waking Ned Divine"...turn up speakers and try not to cry.

How to do the Irish jig

ExpertVillage channel at Youtube has lessons on how to do the Irish jig.

alas, they won't let you embed the video, so you'll have to check the link.

But this video is from Riverdance, so turn up speakers and enjoy...

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Craft item of the day

Yamaha has a papercraft item to print out so you can have your own Hinamatsuri festival.

March 3 was the annual Hinamatsuri festival for girls in Japan.

"Most families with girls display "hina-ningyo" (special dolls for Hinamatsuri, see the photo below) and dedicate peach blossoms to them. They are usually arranged on a five or seven-tiered stand covered with a red carpet. At the top are the Emperor and Empress. The next step contains three court ladies (sannin-kanjo), followed by five musicians (gonin-bayashi), two ministers (udaijin and sadaijin), and three servants ending the bottom row in a five-tiered display. There are also small pieces of furniture, small meal dishes, and other things.

Click here to learn about the origin of Hinamatsuri and Hinamatusri song."


more here.


Gift item of the day


a Baby tree cellphone strap.

This is Japanese, but perhaps I should explain. People don't carry large handbags here (too easy to steal).

Here, everyone (even the maids) have cellphones, which they carry around their neck on a strap...the phones are constantly going off, usually with a text, which is cheap (you can buy a "load" at many small stores for a few pesos).

A lot of people carry charms on their cellphone straps...

Colombia volcano erupting


the nighttime photos is amazing...but this photo shows how close it is to town...


Say a prayer for my son and family who live in the city a few miles away...

Old radio plays

Internet archive has some old radio plays on line at above link

come on, you know you always wanted to listen to " 3.9 MB
361128 History of the American Patent System"

actually most of them are classic books made into radio plays.
(headsup Maria Lectrix)

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Dad's birthday party

dad tradefair 309


click photo or above link to see photos.

Cosmic Chocolate



how to measure the speed of light with chocolate and a microwave oven.

Science headlines below the fold



Chocolate
should be taxed because it's making us fat and it's addictive, says one UK busy body...

what is it with these guys? everything nowadays is "addicting"?

And now, another scientist says salt is "addicting" and is nature's anti depressant...
then read down to where it says in the world the average salt intake is 10 gms/d but Amerricans only average 8 gm/day, (scientists say we should eat only 4 gm/d.)
Yup...soy sauce makes you happy.


-----------------------------------
It's known that the "spanish flu" in 1918-19 killed more people than world war II, but I just heard in a lecture that one million Germans starved due to the British blockade in 1916-1918...how many deaths from the flu/secondary bacterial pneumonia were from malnutrition?

(and if you have an interest in the subject, check Professor Anderson's excellent podcast lectures at Berkeley)


The Black Plague epidemic may have been exacerbated by the "little ice age"...

and how many deaths of American Indians were also partly due to the detrioration in their urban societies due to climate change in the two centuries before Columbus?

maybe they should have eaten more chocolate. It not only makes you happy, but it's antibacterial...

------------------

The little ice age was from 1150 and 1460 but later the climate was cold between 1560 and 1850... the BBC claims that some scientists say the second phase was due to depopulation from the black plague...fewer people meant more forests.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Flowers



Cousin Kathy and Gil at the Philadelphia Flower show...

Article on the Flower show HERE.

Traditional Irish clothing


TeaAtTrianonBlog has an article about traditional Irish clothing...


"...Irish women wore a sort of linen headdress like a turban; they did not wear corsets, and so the English described them as being immodest. ...

"....Men and women wore voluminous linen shirts or tunics called leine, often dyed yellow in saffron. The linen shirts had full, flowing, often pleated sleeves. Men wore wool trousers called trews. Women wore long gowns over the leines. Both genders wore mantles or cloaks called brats. The color and quality of the fabric often depended upon the individual's wealth and/or social standing. .."

more HERE.
and HERE.

why is it that I think if a guy wears a yellow saffron dyed skirt on ST. Patrick's day , he'll be thrown out of the parade?

Stuff below the fold

From TipNut: Ten tips to make a shiny bathroom...

and if nothing else works on that dirty tub, try oven cleaner...
-------------------

The remains of the last two children of the Russian Tsar have been identified by DNA...the family was found earlier, but two of the children were buried elsewhere...
-------------------------------------

Remember the movie "COMA"?
ABS-CBN reports:

The ambassador added that the embassy has recorded five cases of organ donation...The middleman, Endaya said, often gets a big chunk of the amount from the sale of the vital organ. It was learned that harvesting a vital organ from a comatose patient could fetch around 20,000 Kuwaiti Dinars.(1 Kuwaiti dinar = 3.38983 U.S. dollars).
..
--------------------------
The House of Representatives takes some time off to honor Pi....

Rounded off, pi equates to 3.14, hence the designation of March 14 as Pi Day under the resolution. Informal celebrations have been held around the country for at least 20 years, but Thursday’s 391-10 vote is the first time Congress has joined the party.

---------------------------
The "It's nice to be king" story of the day:LINK

Poetry alert

Audio version of the early poems of WilliamCarlosWilliams poems at Librivox

and don't forget Writer's Almanac podcast with Garrison Kiellor...

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Headlines below the fold

What do Europeans have to do with the economic crash? Belmont club has questions.

---------------------

The coming Evangelical collapse will be because of the culture wars...article is from the usually left/center CSMonitor...

The Anchoress
sees the same thing for Catholics...and notes some disturbing trends...
---------------------------------

WaPost editorial on "science alone" making policy....
"Science is a glorious thing, but it is no substitute for wisdom, prudence or democracy."
--------------
and the NYTimes finally notices that the embryonic stem cell cure-all hype was hype...
"...Embryonic stem cells have their drawbacks. They cause tumors, and the adult cells derived from them may be rejected by the patient’s immune system..."

--------------------------------

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Gift item of the day


Jewellery company Genki Wear is about to launch a trio of scents (Tiberius, Red Shirt and Ponn Far) inspired by the original 1960s series of Star Trek.

Tiberius, as all Trekkies know, is James T Kirk's middle name.

And Ponn Far is the Vulcan mating ritual.

But Red Shirt?
No, it has nothing to do with communism...
It's the colour of the tunic for the minor characters that all ended up dead in the show.

Things bears love

click on link and laugh

Justice ?

GMAnews:
GAPAN CITY, Nueva Ecija – Three-term Mayor Ernesto Natividad of this city was identified as the brains behind the killing of five persons, including the two sons of a political rival, in an attack inside a cockpit arena here three years ago.

Natividad faces multiple murder charges at the Sandiganbayan, the Office of the Ombudsman having found probable cause against him based on testimonies of Cristina Pascual of Barangay Pambuan.

-----------------
more HERE and HERE

Monday, March 09, 2009

Happy Birthday Lolo!

We're all busy getting ready for Lolo's birthday party tonite.

Paranoia alert

As Gateway pundit said:
It's Friday... Time for President Obama to sign some more abortion legislation.

This time it's stem cells, coached in the propaganda of "saving lives"....just ignore that adult stem cells could do it cheaper and easier... my take here.

Which is why THIS wprediction of world wide riots worries me...

when right wing preachers agree with Salon, you know it's time to worry.
Sigh.

Ukelele!


yes, that's Gracie Allen and Eleanor Powell. In 1939...

Gift item of the day


Head Chef
kitchen tools

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Knitting pattern audiobook

Librivox has an audiobook Exercizes in knitting, with lots of patterns for your pleasure...alternate page HERE.

The ebook is HERE...

Wiki is here
to help with the British/19th century terms.

knitting tutorials HERE.

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Susan Tsvangirai RIP


The new PM of Zimbabwe, Morgan Tsvangirai, was in a car accident.
While traveling in a convoy 30 miles from Harare, a truck in the other land suddenly swerved and hit his car, rolling it three times. Mrs. Tsvangirai was killed, and the Prime Minister is in the hospital with unknown injuries.

Our condolences to the family, and to all freedom loving Zimbabweans.

Movies that guys love

Friday, March 06, 2009

We just finished our income tax



Geither didn't pay his either, right?

photo from Cousin Maddie

quantum weirdness

Science LOL cat of the day

funny pictures of cats with captions
more animals

Green Question of the day

Whatever happened to $4 a gallon gas?

my buddies in Oklahoma mention it's now $1.60 a gallon...

Religion stuff below the fold

Tea at Trianon has a post on the St. Malachy prophacies...
including discussing the Jesuit librarian/choreographer who debunked them.

;-)

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Yes, Virginia, Evil does exist...
Ah, says GetReligionBlog, but what does religion have to do with it?
Immaculee's talk on her survival in Rwanda asks the same question...but her survival is because someone risked his life to save her...film LINK

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The Catholic response to such evil this is not just activism but prayer and examination of one's own life...
Rosary Army has some traditional Catholic prayers HERE.

Their new every cheerful radio show is on Sirius and their podcasts moved HERE...


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Women who care for relatives with Alzheimer's disease find solace in religion and families...
And those who attend more services use less government help, presumably because the church neighbors help.

Science headline of the day

Burping Worms May Contribute to Climate Change

Obama's book hits UK Top Ten list

UK poll has the top ten bloated boring books that people claim to have read but didn't...



1. 1984 - George Orwell (42 percent)

2. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (31)

3. Ulysses - James Joyce (25)

4. The Bible (24)

5. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (16)

6. A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking (15)

7. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie (14)

8. In Remembrance of Things Past - Marcel Proust (9)

9. Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama (6)

10. The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins (6)

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Well, it ain't Rogers and Hammerstein


Dustbury reports that the Oklahoma state Rock song is from Flaming Lips..."Do you realize?" and comments:
Yeah, there were nominees I might have preferred, but you know, there’s something inordinately cool about having a state song included on an album titled Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.


Not quite my cup of tea.

For the geriatric set, here's the original state song...

Mark your calenders!




* April 17 is Velociraptor Awareness Day

Stuff below the fold

Mugabe's secret political prisons....

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HistoryNet has an article on the Pax Americana...
It's Bush's fault (Bush the father, that is)...

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Obama is making an enemies list with the usual suspects: Rush, Hannity, David Brooks, David Gergen and... Maureen Dowd?...

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Don't like your name?...just imagine if you had the name Daisy Pickens or Rose Bush...

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Attention second lifers: You can now get an MA on the Anthropology of Facebook.