Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" Photographs in the Farm Security Administration Collection: An Overview



"I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction. I did not ask her name or her history. She told me her age, that she was thirty-two. She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding fields, and birds that the children killed. She had just sold the tires from her car to buy food. There she sat in that lean- to tent with her children huddled around her, and seemed to know that my pictures might help her, and so she helped me. There was a sort of equality about it. (From: Popular Photography, Feb. 1960)."http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/128_migm.html

Mother duck's 'bird brain' saves ducklings


She grabs police officer by pant leg to lead him to her brood trapped under grate.
Nicholas Read Vancouver Sun


Ray Peterson, Special to the Sun / Mother duck shows police officer where her ducklings fell through a grate into a sewer underneath the Granville Street Bridge.


Don't mention "bird brains" to Ray Petersen, because after what happened this week, he won't hear a word of it.

Petersen, a community police officer for Granville Downtown South, was walking in the 1500-block Granville Street (directly under the Granville Bridge) Wednesday morning when a duck came up and grabbed him by the pant leg. Then it started waddling around him and quacking.

"I thought it was a bit goofy, so I shoved it away," Petersen said in an interview.

But the duck, a female (he thinks it was a mallard), wasn't about to give up that easily. Making sure she still had Petersen's eye, she waddled up the road about 20 metres and lay on a storm sewer grate.

Petersen watched and thought nothing of it.

"But when I started walking again, she did the same thing. She ran around and grabbed me again."

It became obvious to him then that something was up.

So when she waddled off to the sewer grate a second time, Petersen decided to follow.

"I went up to where the duck was lying and saw eight little babies in the water below. They had fallen down between the grates."

So Petersen took action. He phoned police Sergeant Randy Kellens, who arrived at the scene and, in turn, got in touch with two more constables.

"When they came down, the duck ran around them as well, quacking. Then she lay down on the grate," Petersen said.

While Kellens looked over into the grate, the duck sat on the curb and watched.

Then the two constables, John Schilling and Allison Hill, marshalled a tow truck that lifted the grate out of position, allowing the eight ducklings to be rescued one by one with a vegetable strainer.

"While we were doing this, the mother duck just lay there and watched," Petersen says.

Once the ducklings were safe, however, she set about marching them down to False Creek, where they jumped into the water.

Kellens followed them to make sure they were all right, but elected to remain on shore.

The experience has changed Petersen's mind about ducks. He thinks they're a lot smarter than he used to.

And while he never ate duck before, he says he wouldn't dream of it now.
http://uhoh.org/vancouver_sun_ducks.htm

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Blue Bayou/Linda Ronstadt


Blue Bayou/Linda Ronstadt - The best home videos are here

Father of the internet: 'web is running out of addresses'


"The world is about to run out of the internet addresses that allow computers to identify each other and communicate, the man who invented the system has told The Times." http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article4819803.ece

SUDDENLY SENIOR'S


An old woman was arrested for shoplifting at a grocery store. When she appeared before the judge, the judge asked what she had taken. The lady replied, "A can of peaches." The judge then asked why she had done it. She replied, "I was hungry and forgot to bring any cash to the store." The judge asked how many peaches were in the can. She replied, "Nine." The judge said, "Well then, I'm going to give you nine days in jail--one day for each peach." As the judge was about to drop his gavel, the lady's husband raised his hand and asked if he might speak. The judge said, "Yes, what do you have to add?" The husband said, "Your honor, she also stole a can of peas." http://www.suddenlysenior.com/jokeslatest.html

Peter Tosh : The Day the Dollar Die





I see Johnny with his head hanging down
Wondering how many schillings left in that pound
Cost of living it is rising so high
Dollar see that have heart attack and die


Bills and budgets are waiting
Finance ministers anticipating
Unemployment is rising
And I hear my people, they’re crying

The day the dollar die
Things are gonna be better
The day the dollar die
No more corruption
The day the dollar die
People will respect eachother
The day the dollar die

Tell me brother
Is there something I can do
Don’t you let frustrations make you blue

Time is hard
And I know that is true
But if you pick yourself up
That’s all you’ve got to do

Things can be much better
If we can come together
Long time we been divided
And it’s time we be inited

The day the dollar die
Gonna be better
The day the dollar die
I won’t need no pockets
The day the dollar die
Don’t have to be frettin’
The day the dollar die

Now I see you standing on your feet
And you can also make two ends meet
Never you let life problems get you down
There is always a solution to be found

Bills and budgets are mourning
Finance ministers groaning
Unemployment is rising
And I hear my people crying from the ghetto

The day the dollar die
It’s gonna be nice
The day the dollar die
Just you wait and see
The day this here dollar die
There be no more inflation
The day the dollar die

I say the day Danny dollar die
The day Sammy dollar die
We will love each other
I said the day this a dollar die
Fight some inflation

- Peter Tosh


Weborites-The favorites of the web


The Twenty Most Brilliantly Colored Birds in the World


http://www.scienceray.com/Biology/Zoology/The-Twenty-Most-Brilliantly-Colored-Birds-in-the-World.184707

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Odd Pet Pairs

Foods and Arthritis





"Millions of people suffer from painful and swollen joints associated with arthritis. In the past, many doctors told arthritis patients that dietary changes would not help them. However, this conclusion was based on older research with diets that included dairy products, oil, poultry, or meat.1,2 New research shows that foods may be a more frequent contributor to arthritis than is commonly recognized. It is clear that, at least for some people, a healthier menu is the answer."

Gene Autry Tribute

National Geographic Channel: A Man Among Wolves Trailer

Pets and animals-Digg


The cat and bear best friends who simply can't bear to be apart


Happiness Quotes


Saving A Chipmunk

" Here was Chip as I found him: curled up, cold, appearing to be dead, in the middle of a trail in the Olympics."

Photos from neighboring parts of the Highlands & Islands of Scotland


http://www.stevecarter.com/highlandpics/highlandpics.htm

Monday, September 22, 2008

Spectacular 'Night-shining' Clouds Could Be A Harbinger Of Climate Change


All the Money's Gone, Nowhere to Go

Monday music:

Dear Walter




An old man about 80 years old lived alone in Winnipeg. He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard.

His only son, Walter, who used to help him, was in prison in Prince Albert,Saskatchewan.

The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:

Dear Walter,
I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won't be able
to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be
digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my
troubles would be over.
I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days.
Love,
Papa


A few days later he received a letter from his son.


Dear Papa,
Don't dig up that garden. That's where the bodies are buried.
Love,
Walter

At 4 a.m. the next morning, RCMP and local Winnipeg police arrived
and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They
apologized to the old man and left.

That same day the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Papa,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do
under the circumstances.

Love you,
Walter

Friday, September 19, 2008

Waylon Jennings - Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line

Earthlings

Elvis Presley - Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues




The Walrus and The Carpenter-Lewis Carroll

The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright--
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.


The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done--
"It's very rude of him," she said,
"To come and spoil the fun!"


The sea was wet as wet could be,
The sands were dry as dry.
You could not see a cloud, because
No cloud was in the sky:
No birds were flying overhead--
There were no birds to fly.


The Walrus and the Carpenter
Were walking close at hand;
They wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand:
"If this were only cleared away,"
They said, "it would be grand!"


"If seven maids with seven mops
Swept it for half a year.
Do you suppose," the Walrus said,
"That they could get it clear?"
"I doubt it," said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.


"O Oysters, come and walk with us!"
The Walrus did beseech.
"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four,
To give a hand to each."


The eldest Oyster looked at him,
But never a word he said:
The eldest Oyster winked his eye,
And shook his heavy head--
Meaning to say he did not choose
To leave the oyster-bed.


But four young Oysters hurried up,
All eager for the treat:
Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat--
And this was odd, because, you know,
They hadn't any feet.


Four other Oysters followed them,
And yet another four;
And thick and fast they came at last,
And more, and more, and more--
All hopping through the frothy waves,
And scrambling to the shore.


The Walrus and the Carpenter
Walked on a mile or so,
And then they rested on a rock
Conveniently low:
And all the little Oysters stood
And waited in a row.


"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."


"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,
"Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!"
"No hurry!" said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that.


"A loaf of bread," the Walrus said,
"Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed--
Now if you're ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed."


"But not on us!" the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
"After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!"
"The night is fine," the Walrus said.
"Do you admire the view?


"It was so kind of you to come!
And you are very nice!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"Cut us another slice:
I wish you were not quite so deaf--
I've had to ask you twice!"


"It seems a shame," the Walrus said,
"To play them such a trick,
After we've brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"The butter's spread too thick!"


"I weep for you," the Walrus said:
"I deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.


"O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none--
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one. (from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872) http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/walrus.html

Mad tea party-Alice in Wonderland

Thursday, September 18, 2008

What happens when old people go online.


Elvis Presley OLD SHEP

Crows make monkeys out of chimps in mental test




00:01 17 September 2008
NewScientist.com news service
Emma Young-Crows seem to be able to use causal reasoning to solve a problem, a feat previously undocumented in any other non-human animal, including chimps.
Alex Taylor at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and his team presented six New Caledonian crows with a series of "trap-tube" tests.
A choice morsel of food was placed in a horizontal Perspex tube, which also featured two round holes in the underside, with Perspex traps below.
For most of the tests, one of the holes was sealed, so the food could be dragged across it with a stick and out of the tube to be eaten. The other hole was left open, trapping the food if the crows moved it the wrong way.
Three of the crows solved the task consistently, even after the team modified the appearance of the equipment. This suggested that these crows weren't using arbitrary features – such as the colour of the rim of a hole – to guide their behaviour. Instead they seemed to understand that if they dragged food across a hole, they would lose it.
Not-so great apes
To investigate further, the team presented the crows with a wooden table, divided into two compartments. A treat was at the end of each compartment, but in one, it was positioned behind a rectangular trap hole. To get the snack, the crow had to consistently choose to retrieve food from the compartment without the hole.
A recent study of great apes found they could not transfer success at the trap-tube to success at the trap-table. The three crows could, however.
"They seem to have some kind of concept of a hole that isn't tied to purely visual features, and they can use this concept to figure out the novel problem," Taylor says. "This is the most conclusive evidence to date for causal reasoning in an animal."
Three of the crows did fail at both tasks, however. The team plans further work to investigate why.
Journal reference: Proceedings of the Royal Society B (DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2008.1107) http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14745-crows-make-monkeys-out-of-chimps-in-mental-test.html?DCMP=ILC-hmts&nsref=news7_head_dn14745

What Do You Want to Do before You Die?: The Buried Life

The Good Red Road... as seen in:



Woman in the Moon magazine
Las Casas Newsletter
Ohio Magazine

"The phrase - 'The Good Red Road' is a term used by many different Native American tribals communities to represent one who is walking the road of balance, living right and following the rules of the Creator. Many of us at The Good Red Road (press) hope that you will walk the path with us - or you will share in our journey." http://www.angelfire.com/biz2/turquoisebutterfly/roadintro.html

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Chris Isaak - Let Me Down Easy

Here she comes
Don't say anything

At first you smile, then turn away
I've been thinking of what I should say
All last night I stayed up dreaming,
I'm still dreaming
I look at you, I'm just a guy
I know my place but still I'll try
You must be tired of people asking,
But I'm still asking
Please. Oh, please let me down easy
Please, just let me down easy

Don't you hear my heart is calling
You don't know how hard I've fallen for you

Another day, you're passing by
Today's the day I'm gonna try
You don't know how much I'm hoping, how I'm hoping
Please. Oh, please let me down easy
Please just let me down easy

Can't you hear my heart is calling
You don't know how hard I've fallen for you

If you told me to follow you know I'd fly to you,
Here I go, I may fall but I will try
So please, let me down easy
Please, just let me down easy
Please, just let me down easy

If you want me to follow, you know I'll fly

Lion, Tiger Spotted Among Wreckage After Ike




GALVESTON — Texas authorities busy trying to clean up after Hurricane Ike have a new problem on their hands: There's a tiger on the loose.
A county official said Tuesday that the animal somehow left its enclosure at an exotic pets center in Crystal Beach. Animal experts are coming in to try and catch the tiger.
Click here for photos Click here for uReport photos
Galveston County Judge Jim Yarbrough put it this way: "Turns out there's a tiger, and I understand he's hungry ... so we're staying away from him."
Crystal Beach is on Bolivar Peninsula. The area is one of the hardest-hit by Ike.
The news follows reports of a lion holed up in a Baptist church with its owner on Bolivar Peninsula as well as livestock and other animals roaming amid Hurricane Ike's wreckage.http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,423504,00.html

Biggest helicopter in the world




These are photographs of the worlds largest helicopter which happened to be on the tarmac in Dease Lake , B.C. this week. It is to be used for taking mining equipment and cargo out to a new mine called Galore Creek. It is owned by a Russian company. It is called the Utsky. The chopper couldn’t land at the air strip at Bob Quinn Lake because it wasn’t a paved area so it had to land in Dease Lake until the landing site north of Bob Quinn could be inspected. Apparently this chopper’s wash will pick up and fling rocks, up to 12 inches in diameter, around like leaves.
Stats supposedly: Russian crew of 6, 2 Pilots, 1 Navigator, 2 Engineers (mechanics), 1 cargo person- you can put 1 dump truck, 1 SUV in it a semi-trailer will fit in it.- carries 75 troops- uses 2000 litres of fuel per hour- 580 km range- costs $30,000/hr to rent - 40 metres long - 8 blades about 2 feet wide - probably bigger than ANYTHING seen at the Dease Lake Airport , including the terminal building.http://hitslot.com/?p=171

World's shortest man, leggiest woman meet







Sep 16 04:26 PM US/Eastern
By NANCY ZUCKERBROD LONDON (AP) - Trafalgar Square routinely serves as a stage for mimes, jugglers and other acts, but the tourist attraction drew an exceptionally curious crowd Tuesday when the shortest man who can walk met the woman with the longest legs.
He Pingping, of China, was born with a type of dwarfism. He, 20, stands precisely 2 feet 5.37 inches tall.
The pair met to publicize the release of "Guinness World Records 2009." This year's version of the popular book is due out Wednesday.
He called Svetlana Pankratova's legs "very beautiful."
Pankratova, 36, who is Russian but lives in Spain, has legs that are nearly 52 inches long, or more than 4 feet long. Her upper body has nearly typical proportions, giving her a giraffe-like appearance.
Dressed in a bright-blue mini-dress and low-heeled pumps, Pankratova, 36, said she liked her legs, though they can complicate things. "It's hard to find clothes, especially pants," she said.
At just over 6-foot-4, Pankratova isn't the tallest woman on record. Sandy Allen, of Shelbyville, Indiana, who died recently, held that title at 7 feet, 7 inches, according to the book. The book said He is the shortest man who can walk.
The latest edition of the book lists pop star Britney Spears as the most-searched person on the Internet and the television show "Lost" as the most-downloaded show of all time.
The book has been around for half a century. About 3.5 million copies are sold each year, according to editor-in-chief Craig Glenday.
___
On the Net:
Guinness World Records:
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/ Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=2008-09-16_D9381EE82&show_article=1&cat=breaking

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

New Age Weapons


http://8in.org/new-age-weapons/#more-358

Strange 'Ant From Mars' Discovered in Amazon Rainforest



Christian Rabeling, University of Texas, Austin
Martialis heureka, or 'ant from Mars,' discovered deep in the Amazon rainforest.
A newly discovered species of a blind, subterranean predator — dubbed the "Ant from Mars" — is likely a descendant of one of the very first ants to evolve on Earth, a new study finds.
Christian Rabeling, an evolutionary biology graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, found the only known specimen of the new ant species in dead plant material on the ground in the Amazon rainforest at the Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria in Manaus, Brazil, in 2003.
Rabeling and his colleagues named the ant Martialis heureka ("ant from Mars") because they'd never seen an ant like it before.
• Click here to visit FOXNews.com's Natural Science Center.
The ant is well-adapted for its underground home, with a long, pale body and no eyes. It also has long, slender forceps-like mandibles that researchers suspect the ant uses to capture prey.
M. heureka not only constitutes a new species, but a new genus and subfamily of ants as well. The new subfamily, one of 21 ant subfamilies, is the first new one to be named by scientists since 1967.
Related
Stories
Why Female Spiders Eat Their Mates: Because They Can
Tiny Water Bug Able to Survive in Space
Study Finds Flies Can Anticipate, Elude Swats
Rabeling says the discovery, detailed in the Sept. 15 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, will help biologists better understand the biodiversity and evolution of ants.
Ants evolved more than 120 million years ago from wasp ancestors. Scientists think that ants evolved quickly into many different lineages, specializing to live in the soil, leaf-litter or trees, or in multiple habitats.
DNA taken from the M. heureka specimen's leg indicates that it belongs at the base of the ant evolutionary tree.
"This discovery lends support to the idea that blind, subterranean predator ants arose at the dawn of ant evolution," Rabeling said.
This doesn't mean that the ancestor to all ants was blind and lived underground, but that these features evolved early in ant history and persisted in the environmentally stable soils of the tropics.
The finding of M. heureka "hints at a wealth of species, possibly of great evolutionary importance, still hidden in the soils of the remaining rainforests," the authors of the study wrote. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,423117,00.html

Modern art portfolio featurig inspirational, contemporary art


Technology Can Be 'Berry, 'Berry Addictive Study Finds That 35 Percent Of BlackBerry And PDA Users Would Choose Their Device Over Their Spouse



NEW YORK (CBS) ― Of all the possible things that can come between spouses, you can now add BlackBerrys -- or more precisely -- BlackBerry addiction to the list.

A new study reveals BlackBerry's are becoming -- among other things -- the 800-pound gorilla in the bedroom.

'Berry, 'Berry, addictive?

"I live with it. I can't live without it," one New York City resident told CBS 2 HD.

Yeah ... there's a reason some call 'em ... CrackBerrys.

But are you having a love affair with yours?

"I am on my BlackBerry more than I see my boyfriend," one woman said.

The study of 6,500 traveling executives says 35 percent of them would choose their PDA over their spouse.

"That's a tough call," one said.

"Oh you don't want to go there," another added.

And apparently that attitude is being seen in the sack. Of those polled, 87 percent said they bring their devices into the bedroom.

Another 84 percent check their e-mails just before they go to sleep. Another 80 percent check them in the morning as soon as they get up.

"It can actually ruin relationships," said Dr. Susan Bartell, a psychologist and relationship expert. Bartell said couples should be interfacing more, but with each other.

"People are so focused on their PDAs, they're not focusing on what might be going wrong in their relationships," Bartell said.

Of those polled, 62 percent said they love their blackberry or PDA, and most of them said it makes their life more productive. However, experts suggest, for the sake of your relationship, you might occasionally …

"Turn it off, spend some time with your partner. Have a real relationship with a living human being," Bartell said.

The study was done by Sheraton hotels. Among its other findings: More than three quarters of those polled say their gadgets give them more quality time with friends and family... and help them enjoy life more.

Go figure. http://wcbstv.com/technology/blackberry.pda.sheraton.2.818223.html