Thursday, May 26, 2011

Astronaut eager for 1st look at wife from orbit

  • In this image provided by NASA astronauts Andrew Feustel (right) and Michael Fincke wave to astronaut Ron Garan in the International Space Stationb's cupola window during third space walk, on May 25, 2011. Photo: NASA - Ron Garan / AP
By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press:CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Shuttle Endeavour's' commander, Mark Kelly, can't wait to see his congresswoman wife for the first time from orbit and show her some cosmic views of his spaceship and the planet Earth.
Kelly last saw Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on May 15, the day before he rocketed into space on the next-to-last shuttle flight. She underwent surgery a few days later to repair her skull in the wake of the shooting that almost killed her in January...Continue Reading   
Gabrielle Giffords Begins to Learn Details of Deadly January Day:
Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has reportedly started to learn the details of the deadly shooting in January that left her among the 13 injured victims. Giffords has reacted by saying "so many people" and "no, no, no," according to the Arizona Republic, but is still unaware that staffer Gabe Zimmerman, federal Judge John Roll and Christina-Taylor Green, 9, died in the shooting, along with three others.
Arizona Rep. Giffords shot, 6 killed Giffords has been undergoing rehabilitation for a gunshot wound to her head at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. Doctors said the Democratic congresswoman from Tucson can stand on her own and is trying to improve her walking, the Arizona Republic said. Read Here
Astronaut Mark Kelly

Boogaard’s death shines light on painkiller addiction

By Rob Vanstone, Postmedia News ...“Say you took one pill of hydrocodone (another painkiller) and you had two drinks. It’s really like having four drinks,” she says. “If you take someone who has a tolerance to oxycodone and they’re taking four pills and then they take four drinks, you double the amount of alcohol that you have in your system, and you have two depressants mixed together. People don’t realize, essentially, how quickly those effects can occur in the body.”...Read Here


'Alcohol and Pills'- Freddy Eaglesmith

Gary Moore » Midnight Blues

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Free Photo: Migrant Man Traveling

Relief in a bottle: Medical marijuana use


Lalanya Blue McGraw believes cannabis is slowing her cancer while easing her pain. She's not alone:   By Pamela Fayerman, Postmedia News May 25, 2011 8:19 PM

Living with incurable cancer, after a third relapse of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, 39-year-old Lalanya Blue McGraw credits the daily use of medical marijuana for allowing her to make the most of what may be borrowed time.
"I’ve been considered terminal for a long time. The cancer is still there, even after all the chemo and two bone marrow transplants. When it gets worse, I can go into a clinical trial with a chemo drug that has not yet been approved in Canada. But until then, I have defied the odds," says the Vancouver resident, a former jazz singer whose voice has been affected by the disease...Continue Reading

The Facts (and Fiction) of Tornadoes

A funnel cloud touching down in Orchard, Iowa, on June 10, 2008. Lori Mehmen took the photo from outside her front door before seeking shelter.

Marty Robbins - Ballad of the Alamo

Netanyahu Urges U.S. Return to 1845 Borders

Battle of the Alamo, a paintingThe Alamo
Israeli PM calls for “just solution” to end the conflict.

Aboard Air Force Aleph (Reuters)
– Speaking to reporters accompanying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his long flight to the United States tonight, Netanyahu spoke of the injustice and hardship Mexicans have endured since American forces annexed Texas in 1845. “Tens of thousands of ordinary Mexicans were driven out of their homes – the only homes they had known for centuries - and forced to live in poverty and squalor south of the border imposed by American aggression,” Netanyahu said. “The Israeli and Mexican people agree on this: This festering wound will never heal until America takes bold steps to return to the internationally accepted lines of 1845. Clearly the settlement activity that’s taken place in occupied Mexico since then is illegal. When I meet the President tomorrow I will tell him to halt all building activity in Texas immediately. Two lands for two peoples, yes, but not on land taken by force from Mexico,” the Prime Minister said.

Asked if his hard-line stance could hurt the U.S.-Israel relationship, Netanyahu reiterated Israel’s commitment to America’s security and the unshakeable friendship shared by the two countries, then added, “But who was it who said, part of friendship is being able to tell your friend the truth. The ball is now in Obama’s court.”Read Here
         Ottawa won’t back Obama’s Mideast peace proposal:
OTTAWA— Globe and Mail Update The Harper government is refusing to join the United States in calling for a return to 1967 borders as a starting point for Mideast peace, a position that has drawn sharp criticism from Canada’s staunch ally Israel.Read Here

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Old, Old Song - Charles Kingsley

Old man hugging his old dog.


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When all the world is young, lad,
  And all the trees are green;
And every goose a swan, lad,
  And every lass a queen,—
Then hey for boot and horse, lad,
  And round the world away;
Young blood must have its course, lad,
  And every dog his day.

When all the world is old, lad,
  And all the trees are brown;
And all the sport is stale, lad,
  And all the wheels run down,—
Creep home, and take your place there,
  The spent and maimed among:
God grant you find one face there
  You loved when all was young.Charles Kingsley

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Angry Muslims: Women wearing veils display placards against Obama and democracy outside Downing Street



Muslim activists descended on Downing Street today in protest at Barack Obama's state visit to London.
As the president met David Cameron in Whitehall, an angry crowd of burka clad women as well as protesters from Muslims Against Crusades gathered on the streets outside.
They were joined by a number of prominent campaigners, including Anjem Choudary.The radical cleric said that President Obama has made himself a 'legitimate target' for Muslim extremists after the killing of Osama bin Laden.
He called for Mr Obama to be dragged before a sharia court over his role in the war in Afghanistan.

Speaking before the march on Downing Street Choudary said Mr Obama was enemy number one for Muslims. 
Choudary said Obama was an 'even greater killer of Muslims' than his predecessor George Bush. 
He said: 'Just like Osama Bin Laden is the number one enemy for the west, Obama is for Muslims. 
'He is a war criminal, it goes without saying. He has slain more Muslims than even his predecessor George Bush and has overseen the escalation of the war on Islam.
'He must be arrested and face a sharia court for his crimes.'...Read Here
I wonder how many of the girls are men?

This Is My Year For Mexico (Crystal Gayle)

tumblr llg53a5h721qbw4dpo1 500 Good advice:

Whites Believe They Are Victims of Racism More Often Than Blacks

Black and White WolvesBlack and White Wolves
"Whites believe that they have replaced blacks as the primary victims of racial discrimination in contemporary America, according to a new study from researchers at Tufts University’s School of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Business School. The findings, say the authors, show that America has not achieved the “post-racial” society that some predicted in the wake of Barack Obama’s election.
Both whites and blacks agree that anti-black racism has decreased over the last 60 years, according to the study. However, whites believe that anti-white racism has increased and is now a bigger problem than anti-black racism..."Read Here

Is This Cat a Great Photographer? The Seattle Art Scene's Feline Phenomenon

"Listen, I'm kinda busy," a certain in-demand Facebook all-star and global celeb breathlessly states on his profile, which was liked by 56,963 people as of Monday night. "My name is Cooper and my humans thought it would be fun to send me out once a week with a small digital camera on my collar to find out what I'm up to. So now I'm not only the neighborhood patrol, it seems I'm a documentary photographer, too." Behold Cooper, the five-year-old American Shorthair photographer-puss of Seattle who's single-paw-edly proving that it is, indeed, possible for a cool cat to rise to the top in the dog-eat-dog art world..." Read Here


2011-05-18-1sidepromo.jpgVisit Cooper's Photo Gallery at ARTINFO.com
Cooper's You Tube Channel:http://www.youtube.com/user/photographercat

Monday, May 23, 2011

Tornado Damage in Joplin, Missouri - Photos

Photos from the Disaster Zone: Nearly 100 Killed by Missouri Twister

See tornadoes tear across the country.

This Year Victoria Day is May 23, 2011

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§Victoria Day was established to celebrate the birthday of Queen Victoria (1837-1901).  Victoria Day became an official holiday in Canada by a declaration of the Canadian legislature in 1845.
§Victoria Day was always celebrated on the 24th of May unless that day fell on a Sunday.  In which case, it was celebrated on the Monday.  In 1952, an amendment to the Statutes of Canada was passed by Parliament that established Victoria Day as always being the first Monday after the 24th of May.
Victoria became the sovereign ruler of Britain and all her domains on
June 20, 1837 upon the death of her uncle King William IV.  §She was only 18 years of age.  Her reign lasted until her death in 1901, making Victoria the longest ruling monarch in British history...Read Here

Crystal Swing - Total Eclipse of the Heart

Total Eclipse Of The Heart: Total eclipse of the heart


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Photo of the Day - May 22, 2011- Sun News

This photo of Ruby makes me smile. That tongue must be a mile long. Credits: (VERONICA HENRI/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency)Photo of the Day - May 22, 2011Ruby cools out on the boardwalk in TorontoPhoto 

The Depression Forums - A Depression & Mental Health Social Community Support Group

   

 This site has 12 psychiatrists  Online.   "Our mission is to create an atmosphere that is both supportive and informative in a caring, safe environment for our members to talk to their peers about depression, anxiety, mood disorders, medications, therapy and recovery.


Our vision is to advance the public awareness of mental health issues so as to eliminate the stigma that surrounds depression and mood disorders through education and advocacy, as well as striving to obtain quality medical care for mental health patients, as it is no different from any other medical illness."http://www.depressionforums.org/

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Gene Simmons Slams President Obama’s Israel Policy

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San Francisco to put circumcision ban on the ballot



"When the good folks of San Francisco hit the polls this fall, they'll be asked to vote on a new mayor, the pension system and penises.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports a circumcision ban has made the November ballot -- ahem -- cut, after Department of Elections officials officially certified that a group called "intactivists" managed to round up 7,743 signatures (they needed 7,168) to take the measure to a vote.

The ban would make circumcision on any person younger than 18 a misdemeanor. And, no, your religion would not get you out of it, the newspaper reports. Wanna a little snip, snip anyway? The Chronicle says you would face a $1,000 fine and could spend up to a year in the pokey..."Read Here

Jump Into a Universe of Infinite Possibilities.- Quantum Jumping

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"Since the 1920’s, quantum physicists have been trying to make sense of an uncomfortable and startling possibility—that an infinite number of alternate universes exist..."

"...In these alternateuniverses, alternate versions of YOU could be living out their lives.

And with an infinite number of them, it means that anything that can happen, does happen—in another universe. If this hypothesis is true, there is a universe where Obama never won the election and another where Princess Diana is still alive. There is a universe where you are the King of Scotland and a universe where you are a tea farmer in China. A universe where you are a celebrity musician, and one where you busk on a pavement for spare change..."Read Here

Rapture 2011: Apocalypse Now... No, Now! (LIVE BLOG)

Fourhorsemen Apocalypse"It's the moment we've all been waiting for: "Doomsday."
Harold Camping, a radio host and leader of an obscure Christian movement, has proclaimed that the world will end on May 21 based on his interpretation of the Bible -- and millions of people have taken notice.
For Camping and his followers, Judgment Day is serious business, even though past predictions by Camping about the Apocalypse haven't paid off.
For many others, it's a sideshow that's impossible to take seriously.
Here at HuffPost Comedy, we're closely monitoring the day's events for signs of the Rapture -- or signs this predicted end of the world will pass like the ones before it. Either way, we'll keep you posted up to the very last minute with updates on this live blog..."Read Here
Today 9:37 AM No Sign Of Rapture in Abbottabad, Pakistan

Alison Krauss-Gillian Welch - I'll Fly Away

  Inquirer Editorial: Left behind?:If you're reading this on Saturday, one of two things is true: Either you're not among the spiritually righteous chosen to head to eternal glory, or the Rapture didn't actually occur today as "guaranteed" by radio minister Harold Camping. His prediction was believed by a small segment of Christians, who spent weeks preparing.

Assuming the latter is true and we're not all among those left behind to await the apocalypse - which, according to Camping's calculations, won't happen until October, so plan your vacation time accordingly - consider this the first day of the rest of your life.

After all, the world will end sooner or later (preferably later).

So, rather than make lists of self-indulgent, sinful deeds you'll do when the End Times bear down, think of ways to better the life you have now. If you're among the roughly 175,000 Facebookers who planned to attend what they're calling "Post-Rapture Looting," take a minute instead to take stock of yourself.

Look inward for ways to improve, rather than outward for ways to indulge. It can't hurt.

Just don't get too comfortable - at least not until after Dec. 21, 2012, when the Mayan calendar runs out.http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/122378969.html

Friday, May 20, 2011

Steve Earle - Copperhead Road

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, Sally and Sam are playing chess with the astronauts Greg Chamitoff and Gregory Johnson.  Game Here.

Can a mosquito bite twice?


"I can assure you that mosquitoes can bite more than once, as most will lay multiple egg masses (each one requiring a blood meal) if they live long enough - see the last paragraph at http://www.wordsources.info/words-mod-mosquitoesPt2.html Also, a female mosquito that is interrupted before obtaining a full blood meal usually will return (often to a different host) to attempt another feeding. See:http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/content/full/72/2/198 for an article on multiple host feeding" ... http://en.allexperts.com/q/Entomology-Study-Bugs-665/mosquito-bite-twice.htm

Close-Up View of Mosquito Bite 2.http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060621192949AAksMbT 3.http://www.wisegeek.com/why-do-mosquito-bites-itch.htm 4.Read editorial:http://aborigin.sasktelwebhosting.com/Resources/June_2009.pdf

51 Post-Apocalypse Wallpapers

View Here

What We've Done to the Mississippi River: An Explainer

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Alexis Madrigal - Alexis Madrigal is a senior editor at The Atlantic: "The lower reaches of the Mississippi River are being hit by record floods, as detailed on our In Focus photography blog. While there are thousands of news stories about what's happening, I found myself wanting basic knowledge about how the Mississippi works now. It's such a complex hybrid human-natural system with a deep and complex history that it's hard to know where to start.

While Humans vs. The Mississippi was most elegantly laid out in John McPhee's stunning story "Atchafalaya," we found ourselves wishing for a simpler tech explainer (or companion piece). How is a levee built? What's a revetment? What does the crucial Old River Control Structure look like? This explainer is intended to delve into these issues.

What is the Mississippi River? It's not actually a silly question. The Mississippi no longer fits the definition a river as "a natural watercourse flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river." Rather, the waterway has been shaped in many ways, big and small, to suit human needs. While it maybe not be tamed, it's far from wild -- and understanding the floods that are expected to crest in Louisiana soon means understanding dams, levees, and control structures as much as rain, climate, and geography. From almost the moment in the early 18th century when the French started to build New Orleans, settlers built levees, and in so doing, entered into a complex geoclimactic relationship with about 41 percent of the United States..."Read More

The End of the World As We Know It? Prediction of Saturday 'Rapture' is Fuel for Faithful, Doubters

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Published May 19, 2011
| Associated Press
RALEIGH, North Carolina -- For some, it's Judgment Day. For others, it's party time.
A loosely organized Christian movement has spread the word around the globe that Jesus Christ will return to earth on Saturday to gather the faithful into heaven. While the Christian mainstream isn't buying it, many other skeptics are milking it.
A Facebook page titled "Post rapture looting" offers this invitation: "When everyone is gone and god's not looking, we need to pick up some sweet stereo equipment and maybe some new furniture for the mansion we're going to squat in." By Wednesday afternoon, more than 175,000 people indicated they would be "attending" the "public event."...Read Here

Photos: 21 things to do before the apocalypse

Worried about the coming of Judgment Day this weekend (as one group predicts)? Here are 21 things to do before you go into the dark.View Here

The Doors - The End

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Amazing Bird Nest Construction


"The man in Alargeoai filmed moments to build a house for the old couple in the window of the house, which lives in it and a couple of species of birds and who took them to 600 pictures to follow the changes in the home or the nest from time to time ..


After that, the sort the images even provided an appropriate set describes the change in construction with the days, the young man says he was watching the construction process and Tairan working from 8 to 10 hours a day and take one day of rest per week and construction took almost a month ..."Pictures of birds building nest.


Rescued Dog Rescues Baby Raccoon

"The circle of life takes a beautiful turn after a dog loses a puppy, only to adopt an orphaned baby raccoon.

Dumped at a Missouri shelter, Sasha was facing possible euthanization until local rescue group SNUGGLE stepped in and rescued her. A large lump in her abdomen raised concerns about a possible tumor until an ultrasound revealed that she was pregnant with two puppies. Sadly, when the big day arrived, one of them was stillborn..."Read Here 

The Bulletproof Dog That Stormed Bin Laden's Lair

BY Elbert ChuMon May 16, 2011: If you see this dog coming for you, run. Thanks to his extensive training--and customized body armor that can cost upwards of $30,000--he's bulletproof, can hear through concrete, and can record high-def video of missions, even in the dead of night.

K9 Storm dog Since the moment it was revealed that the "nation's most courageous dog" [Update: named "Cairo"] served alongside the 80 Navy SEALs who took out Osama bin Laden, America's fascination with war dogs has hit a fevered pitch. And while the heart-tugging photos of these four-legged heroes are worth a look, so is the high-tech gear that helps them do their job...Read Here

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Is Coach’s Corner altering national identity?

REUTERS/Mark Blinch
  May 17, 2011 – 5:53 PM ET
By Bradley Bouzane:
The televised forum given to Don Cherry to explore hockey issues — and often topics outside Canada’s favourite game — may be working to shape a “tougher” Canadian identity, but perhaps at the cost of multiculturalism, a new study suggests.
The study from two political science PhD candidates from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont., looked at whether Cherry’s Coach’s Corner segments, which often focus on Canada’s military as much as hockey, could carve “an understanding of Canadian identity through the lens of hockey analysis.”
Co-author John Nater says the view of Canada often espoused by Cherry in his broadcasts seems to be restrictive in some aspects and essentially offers a one-sided view to millions of people each week.
“His view of Canadian identity would appear to be a limited one, focused very much on traditional Canadian immigration from western Europe and the United Kingdom,” Nater said Tuesday. “The concern is it does exclude a large segment of the population … from non-traditional ethnicities. He is entitled to represent these views and put out his understanding of (national) identity, but the challenge with his position is they are not challenged. He is presented as a hockey commentator and there’s no challenge function to what he says on non-hockey related issues.”...Read Here

Top Ten Don Cherry Quotes: http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2009/10/top-ten-don-cherry-quotes.html

Big City Indians - Fire Spirit

What is Mental Illness? A Peek Through the Murk

picNicholson One Flew Over Cukoo's Nest
By David Dobbs: This guest post — a book review of Richard J. McNally’s What is Mental Illness — is by Jason Goldman, a University of Southern California graduate student in developmental psychology who blogs on behavior and psychology at The Thoughtful Animal. Goldman is also the psychology and neuroscience editor at ResearchBlogging.org and edited the science-writing anthology Open Lab 2010.
When most of us think about psychopathology, or abnormal psychology, we think of mental illness. We think of disability. We think of something perhaps maladaptive, at least in the everyday sense of psychosocial functioning, if not in the larger evolutionary sense. We tend to think that something is fundamentally broken. This seems reasonable, but if you dive deeper, the waters get murky...Continue Reading

Many Slave Lake families won't be heading back

A helicopter water bomber drops a load of water on a spot fire near Slave Lake, Alberta May 17, 2011. Wildfires whipped by high winds destroyed more than a third of the sizable town in northern Alberta on Monday and forced oil companies in Canada's largest energy-producing province to shut off tens of thousands of barrels of output. About 100 wildfires are burning in Alberta, spurred by warm temperatures and gusting winds, with 23 considered out of control in a fire season unlike any seen before.

EDMONTON — The Alberta town of Slave Lake will be much smaller when it rebuilds, say the Roblins, one of many families who have decided that life will be more stable if they put down roots elsewhere.

"It's going to be years before it is rebuilt," Dwayne Roblin said Tuesday. "It was just wiped off the map. We might go back to take a picture of the house, but it will be just ashes.

"We've all had a pretty good life up there, and to have to come to a place like this is pretty humiliating," he said, sitting at a picnic table outside the Edmonton Expo evacuation centre. "We're not going back up there. There's nothing there for us."...Read Here

More Than 1 Million Feral Camels are Taking Over the Australian Outback

camels photoby Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada : Not Your Typical Invasive Species
Single-humped dromedary camels were brought to Australia mainly from India in the 19th century. They transported people and equipment in the outback, but when rail and roads came, the camels were let loose, "creating the world's only population of wild camels". It is now estimated that more than 1 million camels are spread over 3.3 million square kilometers (±1.3 million square miles), and they are causing a lot of damage to the local ecosystems...Read Here

Space Shuttle Astronauts Challenge Earth to Chess Match

Checkmate: Astronaut Battles Earth in Chess

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

May, a toy poodle, is recovering on the grounds of the Sechelt SPCA Sunshine coast near Vancouver May 15, 2011 after being dropped from the sky by a bird of prey.

Poodle caught by bird of prey survives drop from skyKAREN JOUHAL | QMI AGENCY
VANCOUVER - A group of nurses at an old folks home north of Vancouver were shocked last week when a tiny white toy poodle dropped from the sky.
The miracle dog was named May because she was turned in to the SPCA on May 2, after she fell from the sky, released from the talons of a bird of prey.
Officials said the dog was likely a stray before her unlikely "rescue."
"In addition to the claw marks on her back and the broken ribs she sustained from the fall, all of her nails were so long they had grown into her paw pads and her teeth were badly decayed," said SPCA Sunshine Coast branch manager Shannon Broderick in a news release.
"We don't know how long she had been wandering without care, but she was obviously very neglected. It's ironic, but this bird may have saved her life."
May, dubbed the "little dog with a big heart" by SPCA staff, did not have any identification tags and no one has come forward to claim her.
Veterinarians at Eagle Ridge Veterinary Hospital treated May's torn footpads and broken ribs, but she still needs immediate, extensive dental work.
The SPCA shelter where May is recovering is trying to raise $4,000 to cover the medical costs. Anyone wishing to make a donation can call 604-740-0301, or visit spca.bc.ca/sunshinecoast. Read Here

No Heaven? Why Stephen Hawking's Comment Doesn't Matter

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Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer: Even though famed physicist Stephen Hawking announced he doesn't believe in an afterlife and that heaven is a "fairy story for people afraid of the dark," that doesn't mean we'll stop believing, psychologists say.
The statement by Hawking to the Guardian newspaper reflects the beliefs of plenty of nonreligious people, but will likely get more attention, coming as it does from Hawking, who is famous for his work in theoretical physics. Hawking has already drawn fire from some religious leaders with his assertion in his book "The Grand Design" (Bantam 2010) that the universe did not need God to get started. [8 Shocking Things We Learned from Hawking's Book]
"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail," Hawking said Sunday in The Guardian. "There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark."...Read Here

Tell Me Bout the Good Old Days by The Judds.

photofun 500x400 These two are having SO much fun:)

Neighbors upset after gator eats cat in Palm Bay

photoPALM BAY, Fla. (AP) — A Palm Bay neighborhood is on high alert after a large alligator ate a cat.
Seventy-year-old Robert Geraci was browsing the Internet and sipping coffee Tuesday morning when he heard loud splashing in the canal behind his mobile home park. Geraci looked out and saw the cat in the gator's mouth.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials went to the scene Tuesday and agreed to send a trapper to catch the alligator. Gators larger than 4-feet are destroyed and the trapper gets to keep the meat and hide.
Meantime, Geraci is warning neighbors to be careful with pets around the water...Read Here


Mother Cougar vs Grizzly Bear

Slave Lake - One-third of Slave Lake has been lost to fire.

Photograph by: Shane O'Brien, Reader Photo, edmontonjournal.com-

Shannon DoS Santos: "The Slave Lake fire devastated my family there. These pictures should not have been taken just an hour after the fire wiped out my brother's home on 6th Ave. He snuck down the hill from the evacuation spot and took these pictures. He lost everything and is still trying to find out what to as they have been evacuated from several other areas."


ATHABASCA, Alta. — As hundreds of firefighters converged with their equipment from across Western Canada on Slave Lake, the northern Alberta town's mayor toured her community Monday afternoon and saw what could have been some blasted corner of a battlefield: homes and businesses reduced to hot ash, twisted steel and rubble.

Mayor Karina Pillay-Kinnee sounded heartbroken as she told journalists fully a third of the town of 7,000 souls had been reduced to ashes after a violent wildfire aided by 100 kilometre-per-hour winds ripped past the fire barriers and breached the town's boundaries on Sunday evening.

So far there have been no deaths attributed to the inferno, which began as a forest fire 15 kilometres outside town on the weekend. But as of Monday night one thing was painfully obvious: Slave Lake will be rebuilding for a long time...Read Here Wildfires devastate Canadian town and threaten oil supplies (VIDEO)http://ht.ly/4WIO3

Monday, May 16, 2011

The Draw of Doomsday: Why People Look Forward to the End

barren playground

Scientists have caught on film the moment that thousands of tiny octopi emerged from their eggs and floated into the world.

By Jane Bunce Scientists have caught on film the moment that thousands of tiny octopi emerged from their eggs and floated into the world...Read Here



O. vulgaris hatchlings hatching from Richard Ross on Vimeo.

Jose Bautista hits three homers as Jays sweep Twins

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Even by Jose Bautista's recent standards, this a remarkable stretch of hitting.
Since the beginning of the 2010 season, the Toronto outfielder has led the majors in home runs and he has become a threat to go deep at any moment. But a performance that included three home runs in Sunday's 11-3 victory over Minnesota and a total of five during a series sweep of the Twins even left Bautista a little bit dumbfounded."It's ridiculous, it feels like a dream right now," Bautista said. "Sometimes I can't really believe it myself, but I keep seeing the good pitches."Read Here

Black cat and barn owl playing together

(CBS) - Normally when a black cat encounters a barn owl, one would expect the barn owl to wind up dinner or gone (if the owl is lucky).
But like all things in nature there are sometimes special exceptions, and this video is definitely one of them - for your viewing pleasure, a video of black cat and barn owl playing together.
The black cat is named Fum and the barn owl Gebra. Per the poster of the YouTube video "megaxibeca":

"This bird of prey [flies] far away but lands everytime near Fum, its faithful friend."...Read Here