Wednesday, April 29, 2015

"Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good" by Don Williams

Don Williams

Nepal earthquake triggers Everest avalanche

[link]

Nepal earthquake: Moment of Everest avalanche 

Related: Eyewitness to disaster on top of the world

'It doesn't even smell': a ride on the Bristol bus powered by human poo

by Ajit Niranjan:
The soft West Country burr belongs to Maisie, a 30-year-old nurse travelling with her toddler, Josh, and three bags of shopping. Squirming out of his mother’s grasp, Josh presses his face to the window as we pass rows of Georgian terraces and graffiti-speckled tower blocks.
This is Bristol, and while the surroundings are typical of many British cities, our 41-seater bus is unique. Not due to its sleek design or humorous exterior – though it’s certainly turning heads as we drive past the harbourside – but because the aptly named No 2 bus doesn’t use electricity or oil: it runs entirely on human faeces.
The Bio-Bus, to use its official name, is powered by, well, gas – extracted from the sewerage works at nearby Avonmouth, then purified and enriched to form a super-clean source of fuel. It’s just one of many sustainable initiatives happening in Bristol ahead of the city’s turn as European Green Capital 2015.
“I’ve always used the No 2, so the poo bus makes the trip a whole lot more exciting,” says Maisie. “And it’s good for the environment on top of that.” Most importantly for her and other Bristol residents, tickets to the Bio-Bus are the same as a normal bus fare. “It doesn’t even smell!”...Continue reading...

Help Bruce Almighty Recover - update

There’s big news for Bruce Almighty as he’s down to just one leg bandaged! During his bandage change yesterday, RHS Veterinarians felt his wounds were well healed on his front right leg and that he could begin walking on it without the bandage. You’ll see that this newly unwrapped paw has stitches in it. These were done to close the larger wounds on his paw. You’ll also see that Bruce Almighty has a large toe remaining. That’s because he is a polydactyl and has an extra toe on his two front paws. Luckily the extra toe was able to be saved and may prove useful in helping him balance. It is our hope that his last remaining bandage will be removed on Friday and he’ll spend the weekend with his foster family. Depending on how he is able to walk, he may be returning to the Veterinary College in Saskatoon for paw pad grafts if needed. But for now he’s happy, chatty and spends his days resting with staff...Continue reading...

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Emmylou Harris & The Band "The Last Waltz"

The Band. Photo by David Gahr.http://theband.hiof.no/                                                                   The Weight by The Band on Groovesharkhttp://grooveshark.com/#!/search?q=the+band

Baltimore police officers hurt, state of emergency called as riot erupts after Freddie Gray funeral

 :


BALTIMORE — Rioters plunged part of Baltimore into chaos Monday, torching a pharmacy, setting police cars ablaze and throwing bricks at officers hours after thousands mourned the man who died from a severe spinal injury he suffered in police custody.
The governor declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard to restore order. A weeklong, daily curfew was imposed beginning Tuesday from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., the mayor said. At least 15 officers were hurt, and some two dozen people were arrested. Two officers remained hospitalized, police said.
Officers wearing helmets and wielding shields occasionally used pepper spray to keep the rioters back. For the most part, though, they relied on line formations to keep protesters at bay.
Monday’s riot was the latest flare-up over the mysterious death of Freddie Gray, whose fatal encounter with officers came amid the national debate over police use of force, especially when black suspects are involved. Gray was African-American. Police have declined to specify the races of the six officers involved in his arrest, all of whom have been suspended with pay while they are under investigation...Continue reading, photos and video...
"Baltimore"   Nina Simone:[link]

Calbuco Volcano Erupts in Chile 2015

[link]

Monday, April 27, 2015

Tamara Podemski 'Giving Thanks'


Tamara Podemski | Official Website | home                                                                           Related: Ojibwe Language Primer

Nepal earthquake and Everest avalanche kill more than 3,300 people with 'violent' aftershock causing more chaos

By , Barney Henderson and Josie Ensor:
Members of the Chinese International Search and Rescue Team arrive at Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu (Rex)

Foreign Secretary says some British nationals "almost certainly" caught up in Nepal's earthquake, but no reports yet of any Britons killed or injured - follow latest updates...updates here...

PHOTO GALLERY: 2015 FNUniv Annual Spring Powwow Celebration (75 pics and story)

FNUniv Pow Wow (Photo by Ryan Peterman)
Regina, SK – Thousands of people from all corners of Turtle Island converged at the Brandt Centre in Regina for the 37th Annual First Nations University of Canada Spring Powwow Celebration on April 11 & 12. With over 700 dancers competing in the various competitions, Powwow Committee Chairperson Richard Missens remarked this year’s celebration as being one of the University’s biggest powwow yet.
In addition, Missens said he and the committee are pleased not only with the overall turnout, but also the number of non-First Nations who are able to learn more about First Nations culture and traditions.
“This celebration isn’t just for First Nations people, we want to celebrate with Saskatchewan and the rest of the world. We’re so happy to see a lot of non-Aboriginal attending,” said Missens.
Cadmus Delorme celebrated his one-year anniversary of powwow dancing by holding a special for his fellow Prairie Chicken dancers. Delorme also expressed the emotion of dancing for those in attendance during a powwow.
“It’s such a strong feeling when you’re out there, everybody is supporting you and looking out for you so you never have to feel afraid to be out there on the dance floor,” said Delorme.
Story by Jarrett Crowe / Photos by Ryan Peterman for Leftboot Photography. ...(75 pics and story)

No beast is a burden to animal rescuer Carolyn Press-McKenzie

Carolyn Press-McKenzie set up HUHA, Helping You Helping Animals. She has a menagerie of animals at her Kaitoke property, including a pack of 12 dogs.
by BESS MANSON:
"Do you mind dogs?" Carolyn Press-McKenzie asks quite innocently. "I've got rather a large pack at the moment," she adds, in something of an understatement, as it turns out.
I don't mind them at all. Love them.

So she opens the door to her house at the top of a hill on her Kaoitoke Kaitoke farm, near Wellington, and what can only be described as a hairy wall of canine comes barrelling towards me. One of them has three legs, another has only  one eye. One, with no amount of exaggeration, is as big as a small horse.
The peaceful, bucolic scene becomes one of slobbering, leaping, moulting dogness. Covered in hair and drool, I'm already picturing a bath. A hot one.

"They need a good walk," Carolyn bellows over the barking pack, so up into the hills we go.

There are 14 dogs in all at her animal sanctuary, if you count the two tiny puppies rescued the night before. But that's just the dogs. There are five monkeys, an emu, a few goats who think they're cats, several cats, including one with muscular dystrophy, horses, donkeys, two basking kune kune pigs, a cow and a flock of pigeons which do a circuit over her house every few minutes. I'm leaving out some, I'm sure, because Carolyn says she has about 50 creatures on the property...Continue reading, photos and video...

This Photographer Spent 1,021 Days Traveling the World. Here’s What He Saw.

Larung Gar Gompa, East Tibet. A dense collection of monk quarters sprawled out over a hill.*                                                                                                                                                                                         Uruma Takezawa was in his 10th year as a professional marine photographer when he started to yearn for a change of scenery. In 2010, he decided to come ashore for a journey.
Takezawa thought it would take 18 months, but his travels ended up lasting 1,021 days, taking him to 103 countries on four continents. Photos from those travels are on display in the exhibition, “Land,” at Foto-Care Gallery in Manhattan until May 5.
“I realized that one year was not nearly long enough to complete my project. What I wanted to see and experience were places and people that I had never witnessed before and that moved me in some way emotionally or spiritually,” he said by email...Read more, photos...

Friday, April 24, 2015

Native Actors Walk off Set of Adam Sandler Movie After Insults to Women, Elders


 Actor Loren Anthony gears up for a fight scene with Nick Nolte, who is visible over his shoulder, on the set of 'Ridiculous Six.' Photo source: Image source: instagram.com/lorenanthony


Approximately a dozen Native actors and actresses, as well as the Native cultural advisor, left the set of Adam Sandler’s newest film production, The Ridiculous Six, on Wednesday. The actors, who were primarily from the Navajo nation, left the set after the satirical western’s script repeatedly insulted native women and elders and grossly misrepresented Apache culture.
The examples of disrespect included Native women’s names such as Beaver’s Breath and No Bra, an actress portraying an Apache woman squatting and urinating while smoking a peace pipe, and feathers inappropriately positioned on a teepee...Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/04/23/native-actors-walk-set-adam-sandler-movie-after-insults-women-elders-160110

Hubble Space Telescope Celebrates 25 Years of Unveiling the Universe

A Hubble Heritage Release: April 23, 2015: NASA and ESA are celebrating the Hubble Space Telescope's silver anniversary of 25 years in space by unveiling some of nature's own fireworks — a giant cluster of about 3,000 stars called Westerlund 2. The cluster resides inside a vibrant stellar breeding ground known as Gum 29, located 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina. The comparatively young, 2-million-year-old star cluster contains some of our galaxy's hottest, brightest, and most massive stars. The largest stars are unleashing a torrent of ultraviolet light and hurricane-force winds that etch away the enveloping hydrogen gas cloud. This creates a fantasy celestial landscape of pillars, ridges, and valleys...HubbleDite-NewsCenter

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

"Mr. Spaceman" by The Byrds

http://www.last.fm/music/The+Byrds

UFOs Are Real Says Canada’s Ex-Defense Minister Paul Hellyer: Alien Ships As Common As Airplanes

Jonathan Vankin:

UFOs are not only the real deal, says a top former Canadian member of parliament, but alien spaceships fly through the skies over Planet Earth at least as frequently as our own commercial airliners. And now Paul Hellyer, who served as one of Canada’s most important defense ministers in the early 1960s, has called once again for his own government, as well as other governments, to reveal what they know about UFOs and extraterrestrial visitors.
Hellyer, seemingly tireless at the age of 91, has embarked on a speaking tour of Canada known as the “Disclosure Canada Tour,” calling for release of UFO files...Continue reading...

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

"Gun Street Girl" Tom Waits

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Renfield @ Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
portrayed by Tom Waits.                                                                                                                                     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaVZmo8CsGQ

US Headed Toward Military Confrontation With Iran Over Yemen

The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt is steaming towards the Yemeni coast to intercept Iranian ships believed to be supplying the Houthi rebels. April 20, 2015. Photo Credit: Wikimedia
By:
The U.S.S. carrier Theodore Roosevelt is heading towards the Yemeni shore to join with other American ships preparing to intercept Iranian vessels, Fox News reported on Monday, April 20.
It is believed that Iranian ships are carryng weapons to the Houthi rebels who overthrew the U.S.-backed Yemeni government last month. The Iranian-backed Houthis are attempting to gain control over Yemen.
There are currently approximately nine U.S. warships in the waters near Yemen, including cruisers and destroyers...Continue reading...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v24TJkyW7-Y.

Full coverage here.

The Pool without water, Chernobyl, Ukraine. 360cities.net

Created by Deema.
The gas-masks on the floor
https://www.360cities.net/image/the-gas-masks-on-the-floor

5 things you need to know about Palcohol

By Amanda Kelly, Global News: MONTREAL – Like many Canadians, Phoenix-based inventor and oenophile Mark Phillips loved the outdoors, and after a long hike, relished a “refreshing adult beverage.”
But he faced what he considered a serious dilemma. When hiking, camping or kayaking, he didn’t want to lug around bottles of alcohol to enjoy later.
So Phillips came up with an ingenious solution: powdered alcohol.
“One package weighs about an ounce and is small enough to fit into any pocket,” Palcohol’s official website notes.
“In any situation where weight and breakage is an issue, Palcohol provides the answer. That’s why we say, ‘Take your Pal wherever you go!'”
Recently approved by the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), the powdered alcohol hit a hiccough on its way to American shelves...Continue reading...

Monday, April 20, 2015

The Giant Rats That Save Lives

A Gambian pouched rat clears a minefield in northern Angola. Credit / Nicholas Kristof/The New York Times.

: MALANJE, Angola — I’M walking in a minefield here in rural Angola, tailing a monster rat.
This is a Gambian pouched rat, a breed almost 3 feet from nose to tail, the kind of rat that gives cats nightmares. Yet this rat is a genius as well as a giant, for it has learned how to detect land mines by scent — and it’s doing its best to save humans like me from blowing up.
These rodent mine detectors have been dubbed HeroRats, and when you’re in a minefield with one that seems about right. You’re very respectful, and you just hope this HeroRat doesn’t have a stuffed nose.
I’m here because five years ago, my kids gave me a HeroRat for a Father’s Day present through GlobalGiving.org. I didn’t actually take physical possession (fortunately!) but the gift helped pay to train the rat to sniff out explosives. And now I’ve come to minefields of rural Angola to hunt for my rat.
There are 39 HeroRats here, and they underscore the way the aid world is increasingly embracing innovative approaches to old challenges...Continue reading...                                                                                                                                                                      
              Ben [From the Motion Picture "Ben"] by Michael Jackson on Groovesharkhttp://grooveshark.com/#!/search?q=Ben%20-%20Michael%20Jackson

Watch stunning deep-sea video of a giant sperm whale putting on a show for shocked researchers [VIDEO]

By Dan Taylor, National Monitor:
A curious sperm whale interrupted an underwater video stream off the coast of Louisiana, giving researchers aboard a ship who were watching it quite the shock.
The huge whale circled an underwater robot that researchers had sent on April 15 to monitor methane bubbles and collect samples of seawater for what is known as the Nautilus Live expedition, which aims to explore the ocean floor off the coast of Louisiana, according to a USA Today report.
Using a remotely operated vehicle called Hercules, researchers spotted a large gray object on the video monitors, with one person being heard saying, "The heck is that?"
Minutes later, the crew realizes that they are watching a sperm whale, which initially caused some concerns that it would damage the 11-foot-long vehicle or come in contact with its cables, but the whale managed to avoid bumping it, said Susan Poulton, a Nautilus Live spokeswoman, according to the report...Continue reading...

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Bruce Almighty the Saskatchewan cat recovering after electrical tape ordeal

Postmedia Network
A young cat named Bruce Almighty, who was found in the freezing cold earlier this year with electrical tape tightly wrapped around its legs, is recovering nicely, the Regina Humane Society says.
"The healing of his wounds on his front paws is going incredibly well and his newly unwrapped back leg is looking near normal," the society said on its Facebook page.
"Bruce Almighty is feeling much stronger and is happiest when he is near people. He's able to walk short distances with his front bandages and now spends his weekdays in staff offices and the weekends at home with his foster family."...Continue reading, video...

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Russian infiltration of Ukrainian military complicates Canadian training mission - National Post

Ukrainian soldiers guard their position in the village of Berdyanske, eastern Ukraine, Tuesday, April 14, 2015. Pro-Russian operatives are believed to have infiltrated throughout the Ukrainian military.
AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka [photo]

Analysis
Training Ukrainians to fight pro-Russian separatists may turn out to be a far more complicated business for the 200 Canadian soldiers Ottawa announced Tuesday it is sending to Ukraine than it is for the nearly 70 Canadian trainers now on a similar mission in Iraq.
The reason is that Russian intelligence operatives of every kind have so deeply compromised the Ukrainian military that almost nothing they say or do remains secret for long, according to a recent paper for the U.S. Army’s Foreign Military Studies Office at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Citing unclassified, mostly Russian sources in his essay, “Brothers Disunited: Russia’s Use of Military Power in Ukraine,” Roger McDermott warned of the “penetration of the Ukrainian state intelligence apparatus, the SBU or Security Service of Ukraine by Russian intelligence agencies including GRU (Russian Military Intelligence), the FSB (Federal Security Service and the SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service).”
The infiltration of the Ukrainian military does not only involve formal intelligence operatives. Ukrainians sympathetic to Moscow are believed to be working inside or close to almost all Ukrainian military units, making all aspects of the conflict — including training for war — that much harder for those assisting the Ukrainian side...Continue reading, video...

Sister Rosetta Tharpe "Didn't It Rain"


Her music runs like a thread through rock’n’roll … Sister Rosetta Tharpe in 1959. Photograph: Harry Hammond/Getty Images/V&A Images/Hulton Archive http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/18/sister-rosetta-tharpe-gospel-singer-100th-birthday-tribute

Saskatchewan Aurora Hunters capture northern lights


CBC News: The Saskatchewan Aurora Hunters haunt the highways and back roads of the province, seeking the best shots of the northern lights...Continue reading... http://article.wn.com/view/2015/04/14/Saskatchewan_Aurora_Hunters_capture_northern_lights/

Canaan Dog - The National Dog Of Israel

http://www.natural-dogs.org.uk/canaan-dog.html: The Canaan dog, known in Israel as (Kelev Kna'ani, lit. "Canaanite dog") and other Levantine countries as (Kaleb Kana'an) is a breed of pariah dog recognized as Israel’s national breed.

It may have existed in the eastern Mediterranean seaboard for millennia, as referenced in ancient carvings and drawings.
The Canaan dog began in ancient times as a street dog in ancient Canaan, where the Canaanites lived, roughly corresponding to the region encompassing modern-day Israel, Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan.
This dog is one of the oldest, dating back to biblical times. The caves of Einan and Hayonim are sites in which the oldest remains of dogs have been found (more than 10,000 years ago). In the Bible there are a number of references to roaming dogs and dogs that worked for man...Continue reading...    More links: The Canaan Dog. The National Dog of Israel.

Best of Foghorn Leghorn



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8TQZBHszI4

Protests as Turkey builds first nuclear power plant

The Akkuyu plant has become a bete noire for environmentalists who have raised alarm about safety issues and the building of the power station in an area rich in wildlife (AFP Photo/Veli Gurgah) [link]

Ankara (AFP) - Turkey on Tuesday launched construction of its first nuclear power plant which Ankara hopes will open a new era of greater energy self-sufficiency, but the ceremony was marred by angry protests against the controversial $20 billion project.
After the launch ceremony, dozens of environmental protesters converged on the iron gates of the site in Akkuyu in Mersin province on the shores of the Mediterranean.
They managed to lock in the official delegations, security forces and journalists inside the site and were only dispersed when a water cannon truck was used against them, video footage showed.
The power station -- which will have four power units with a capacity of 1200 MW each -- is being built like Iran's first nuclear power plant by Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom...Continue reading...

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Arcade Fire's "Afterlife"

                      http://www.emilykaibock.com/arcade-fire
                         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcKinnMXuKg
last.fm/music/Arcade+Fire

Ignorance has no color.

Tom Tillison:

A video of a young black man recounting an encounter with a police officer is gaining attention for the improbable pro-cop message it sends.
In the footage, the man explained that he had just been pulled over for a traffic violation, stressing that he was compliant throughout the stop and that the cop eventually allowed him to go with just a warning.
“The point of this is to say that I am an African-American male, [and] this gentleman was Caucasian,” he said. “There was no problem. He did his job; I did what I was supposed to do.”
The man then offered a refreshing perspective on those who believe all cops are bad.
“People need to understand that not all officers are crooked, not all officers are racist, bad people,” he said. “And not all people who get shot or tased or arrested by officers are innocent victims. Just because you’re black doesn’t mean you’re a victim. Just because you’re white doesn’t mean you’re a racist. Just because you’re a cop doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.”
He ended the video by delivering a bit of advice that would serve us all well in today’s overly sensitive, reactionary world.
“This world really needs to stop putting labels on people and see them for who they are — people,” he said. “Ignorance has no color.” http://www.bizpacreview.com/2015/04/11/mans-honest-lesson-about-race-and-traffic-stops-goes-viral-ignorance-has-no-color-194662#ixzz3XF7y7SUo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqI-gCZ2xOA

Using the global warming hoax to destroy America

By Alan Caruba:
When President Obama announced on March 31 that he intends to ensure that the U.S. will slash its "greenhouse gas emissions" 26% below 2005 emissions levels by 2025 in order to keep pledges made to fulfill the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, he failed to mention that such levels would be comparable to what they were in our Civil War era, 150 years ago.
He also failed to mention that the U.S. has made no such pledges as regards the 1992 "Kyoto Treaty" which was resoundingly rejected by the U.S. Senate when then Vice President Al Gore brought it back from the U.N. conference.
There is no need, globally or nationally, to reduce such emissions. It would be a crime against humanity, especially for the millions that would be denied electrical power or would see its cost rise exponentially. "The President has no credible evidence to back up his claims," said H. Sterling Burnett, a Research Fellow with the free market think tank, The Heartland Institute. "Obama's climate actions are likely to cause far more harm to people, especially the poor, than any purported threats from global warming."
"Global warming" and "climate change" are attributed to the use of fossil fuels to manufacture and transport ourselves and our goods, and to create electrical energy, despite the fact that the Earth, its oceans and land areas naturally generate such gases. There are, for example, more than 1500 potentially active volcanoes and countless others under the oceans. They produce billions of tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other gases that are identified as "greenhouse gas emissions." The human contribution pales in comparison to natural sources such as the warming ocean surface which releases CO2.
Even so, CO2 constitutes a mere 0.04% of the atmosphere. There is no evidence CO2 plays any role in the Earth's global temperature...Continue reading...                                                                                                                                                                                          Related: Volcanoes and climate

Folk singer uses songwriting to help tame her mental illness

Scott Eisen/Bloomberg News

Singer-songwriter Meg Hutchinson struggled for years with mental illness; now she is open about her experience to remove the stigma.
Months before mental illness took over and steered her toward suicide, American folk singer and songwriter Meg Hutchinson was in line at her favourite coffee shop to order a latte. A man approached. He was serious and official-looking in a suit.
"I'm a fan," he said.
The stranger had seen her in concert. He loved her music and he said he worked for the FBI.
She was flattered. Her songs are emotional, personal. They draw a loyal audience. But an FBI agent? That was surprising.
There was something else. Hutchinson had been reading a biography of Ernest Hemingway that outlined his paranoia with law enforcement, the FBI included.
The coffee-shop encounter in Somerville, Massachusetts, lasted minutes; her anxiety about whether the moment was real or imagined would linger for years. She'd soon leave to tour Europe and her illness would worsen. She had shifted through big highs and lows before, never really acknowledging what was going on in her head. This was a whole new level.
Making a living as a folk singer is difficult enough. Mental illness makes everything that much harder.
People with bipolar disorder can control their condition with medication and often work at very high levels, said D.J. Jaffe, who runs the website mentalillnesspolicy.org... Continue reading...

Monday, April 13, 2015

Ray Stevens "Taylor Swift is Stalkin' Me"

http://www.justjared.com/2014/10/15/taylor-swifts-diet-coke-commercial-features-new-1989-song-cute-cats-watch-now/

Nano-bullet tech shoots down brain cancer in Tel Aviv U study

Illustrative photo of an operating theater (photo credit: Nati Shohat/Flash90)
Israeli researchers may have discovered a way to beat the worst form of malignant glial tumor                                                                                                                                                                                                                                by David Shamah: The worst form of brain cancer, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is considered largely incurable by doctors. Victims generally die within a year and a half of being diagnosed with the tumors. It’s such a devastating disease that the National Academy of Sciences calls it “the Terminator.” But an innovative nanotech-based “end-run” around cancer cells by Tel Aviv University researchers could provide doctors with a new way to treat – or even cure – GBM and other malignant killer cancers...Read more: Nano-bullet tech shoots down brain cancer in Tel Aviv U study | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/nano-bullet-tech-shoots-down-brain-cancer-in-tel-aviv-u-study/#ixzz3X8zn8II

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Researchers Discover Fossils Of A New Species Of Terror Bird

By

Researchers have discovered fossils of a new species of terror bird that was 10 feet tall and lived in Argentina 3.5 million years ago.
Researchers from the Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra and the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba in Argentina have discovered fossils of carnivorous birds with hooked beaks standing 10 feet (3 meters) tall and who roamed parts of South America in search of prey. They added that it is the most complete terror bird fossil ever discovered, with over 90% of the skeleton preserved, meaning it can shed light on the predatory group of birds.
The researchers have named the new species Llallawavis scagliai. ‘Llallawa’ means magnificent in Quechua. It is the language that is native to the people of the central Andes. Also ‘avis’ means bird in Latin. The species name honors the famed Argentine naturalist Galileo Juan Scaglia.
The researchers have stated that the specimen has revealed new details of anatomy that are rarely preserved in the fossil record. This includes the auditory region of the skull, the voice box, trachea, eye bones and palate. This helped the researchers to build an unprecedented understanding of the sensory capabilities of terror birds, helping to explain behavior and ecology of this group of extinct birds.
According to the researchers, the Llallawavis scagliai could hear very low frequency sounds compared to other birds. They also found it communicated with low-frequency noises, suggesting it hunted its prey by listening out for footsteps.
Federico Degrange, an assistant researcher of vertebrate paleontology at the Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra and the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, and the lead author of the study, said, “Our estimations of hearing sensitivity in Cariamiformes places Llallawavis below the average for living species. Because the vocalization range of most birds falls within the lower half of their hearing sensitivity range, Llallawavis may have had a narrow, low vocalization frequency range. At the lower frequency end of the range of hearing, the ear becomes less sensitive to soft sounds. It seems plausible to hypothesize that Llallawavis had enhanced acoustic abilities at lower frequency registers.”
The findings were published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. http://dailysciencejournal.com/researchers-discover-fossils-of-a-new-species-of-terror-bird/22240/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WNrx2jq184

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Kendel Carson & Band "Ribbons and Bows"

Anjaaaaaaah!https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Kental+carson
http://www.last.fm/music/Kendel+Carson

25 Funny Fan Signs That Will Make You a Fan of These Fans

By                                                                                                    25 funny fan signs here.

Lemmings jumping of cliffs.


complience

Lemmings Do Not Explode Or Throw Themselves Off Cliffs

smithsonian.com
Lemmings, the small burrowing rodents that live in the Arctic regions, are an odd bunch. They look a bit like hamsters, but they are notoriously fierce. (Case in point: a lemming attacking a sled dog.) Like many rodents, they are prodigious reproducers, but the Norway lemming and the brown lemming have particularly dramatic population booms. Their population can fluctuate so chaotically that, for centuries, people have been coming up with wild explanations for the overwhelming abundance of little lemmings, followed by a seemingly sudden disappearance.
Locals "came to see the lemming as a crazed creature, and a swarm as 'the forerunner of war and disaster,'" writes Henry Nicholls for BBC. Karl S. Kruszelnicki at ABC Science recounts:
Back in the 1530s, the geographer Zeigler of Strasbourg, tried to explain these variations in populations by saying that lemmings fell out of the sky in stormy weather, and then suffered mass extinctions with the sprouting of the grasses of spring.
The strangest myth—and the one that makes calling another person "lemming" an insult — is the idea that lemmings will mindlessly commit suicide by jumping off a cliff. It probably has a basis in reality: When "lemming years" happen, some areas will grow so densely populated that groups of lemmings will set off en masse to find better fields. While these migrations may have inspired the suicide myth, one person may be largely responsible for perpetuating it: Walt Disney...Continue reading...

A giant bat is greeting children at this year’s White House Easter Egg Roll

Kamilah, a Malayan Flying Fox, is helping educate kids about bats’ role as pollinators. (Organization for Bat Conservation)
   What has big ears and soft fur and will be greeting children at the White House Easter Egg Roll today?
   A giant bat, of course.
   Instead of the petting zoos of years past, Kamilah, a Malayan flying fox, will be hanging out — or, rather, hanging upside-down — off Rob Mies. As Kamilah’s spokesman and the executive director of the Organization for Bat Conservation, Mies will explain bats’ role in the ecosystem.
   “Bats are important pollinators of bananas and avocados, the cacao plant, which we make chocolate from, and even the agave plant, which we make tequila from,” Mies says...Continue reading...

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Meet Philip Sayce – Canada's newest home-grown guitar hero


By Darryl Sterdan 
After 20 years in the music business, Philip Sayce is finally getting started.
“I’m just in first gear,” quips the 38-year-old Canadian singer-guitarist down the line from L.A. “Now it’s time to burn rubber.”
And high time for classic-rock fans, blues freaks and guitar heads to get up to speed. The best way to do that: Score Sayce’s Canadian major-label album debut Influence, available April 7. As coming-out parties go, it’s a barnburner — and a superb showcase for Sayce to display his blistering guitar heroics, soulful vocals and earthy songwriting, while paying tribute to some of his own musical icons. Another way to get to know Sayce: This list of things you need to know about Canada’s newest home-grown guitar hero...Continue reading...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvuZup6lAkM