Monday, December 31, 2012

Music Auld Lang Syne ~ Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.


Robert Burns, Auld Lang Syne
Robert Burns, Auld Lang Syne image
                                        Auld Lang Syne, lyrics

Northeast Snowstorm Hits Canada as Blizzard

Intersection of Peter Dugas Rd & Second Division, St. Martin, Nova Scotia on Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012. (Photo by Twitter user DanRobichaud) By , Expert Senior Meteorologist: The snowstorm that moved through the Northeast on Saturday was slamming part of Atlantic Canada as a blizzard Sunday. The storm has the potential to bring 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18 inches) of snow to northwestern Nova Scotia, much of Prince Edward Island and southeastern New Brunswick and central Newfoundland. Winds will increase over the region, causing extensive blowing and drifting of the snow on the ground and creating rough seas. According to Canada Weather Expert Brett Anderson, "This will easily be the worst storm of the season so far for much of the Maritimes."...Continue reading...

New Years 2013: The 10 Most Common New Year's Resolutions

2. Drink less.
by Katherine Costello:10 Resolutions here...

Animal Camouflage Pictures - 31 pictures

This well-camouflaged lion hides in African tall grasses, ready for the hunt. The next animal is camouflaged so well that you might not even see it. Image Credit: Kim Wolhuter/National Geographic/Getty Images http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/animal-camouflage-pictures.htm
More invisible animals here.

Snowy owl photo gallery by Martin Gregus Jr.

A snowy owl swoops low over the foreshore of Boundary Bay in south  Delta. 
 Martin Gregus Jr. photo                                A snowy owl swoops low over the foreshore of Boundary Bay in south  Delta. Martin Gregus Jr. photo Photograph by: Martin Gregus Jr photo
More Martin Gregus Jr. photos here.

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Merle Haggard -- Are The Good Times Really Over

http://merlehaggard.com/ Merle Haggard - biography

Pet Chicken Saves Couple From Fire


Cluck Cluck' repays a favor
By the Associated Press
(AP) – Hero chicken: A Wisconsin couple says a pet chicken named Cluck Cluck saved them from a fire. Dennis Murawska, 59, said Cluck Cluck woke his wife with loud clucking from its cage in the basement two floors below about 6:15am yesterday. They got out in time, and firefighters later saved the chicken. "We are used to hearing about a dog or cat or something, but we never heard of a chicken waking up a resident for a fire," says the fire chief in Alama Center. "That's pretty amazing."...Continue reading...

Friday, December 28, 2012

Look East by Eekwol

My Photos by
Eekwol, aka Lindsay Knight

John Duncan tries again to meet with hunger-striking Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence

photo By ,Parliamentary Bureau: OTTAWA - Since she agreed to meet with Liberal leadership hopeful Justin Trudeau, Indian Affairs Minister John Duncan is hoping hunger-striking Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence will reconsider his offer to meet with him.
Duncan's first offer on Christmas was instead met with silence. A day later, Spence welcomed Trudeau to her Victoria Island teepee for a 45-minute meeting.
This prompted Duncan to write another letter to Spence.
"It is my understanding that you met today with a member of Parliament,” he wrote. “Given your willingness to accept meetings now I am hoping that you will reconsider my offer, as minister of the Crown, to meet or speak with you by phone to discuss the issues you have raised publicly."
Spence is now in the third week of her protest, which includes restricting her food intake to tea and fish broth. On Christmas Eve, Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau, himself an Aboriginal, tried to pay a visit to Chief Spence but was turned down.
Asked why she'd agree to meet with Trudeau but not with Duncan or Brazeau, Chief Spence said: "Trudeau is a person who's there for the youth, and he's seen by the youth as a leader today." She said she was not asking for a private meeting with the prime minister. "I want the [First Nations] leaders to sit at a table with the prime minister, and the Crown, both levels of government," she told QMI Agency in an exclusive interview after her meeting with Trudeau. Read here   Attawapiskat chief wants more cash from feds  By
OTTAWA - The chief of the Attawapiskat First Nation is threatening to call a state of emergency again at her reserve unless the federal government coughs up $50,000 a month with no strings attached for the band to use for housing.
Chief Theresa Spence has told federal government officials some trailers on her Northern Ontario that house about 90 people are no longer suitable and she wants to move the people into the community's healing lodge...A group of Attawapiskat elders sent a letter to Duncan's office last December complaining about the band council and urging the federal government to do a full audit of the band's finances. Attawapiskat has received $90 million from the federal government since 2006.
In the memo, obtained by QMI Agency through access to information laws, the elders said band members "support a forensic audit as they want to know where the funds were spent."
The federal government has spent $3 million since November providing emergency shelter for band members who were living in housing with no heat or running water.
Earlier this year, Spence asked the federal government to repair and modify the DeBeers trailers and, on Feb. 15, she indicated in writing those trailers had been fixed.
Now, though, she appears to have changed her mind. Read article here, video

Hunger strike gains support. PM urged to meet

Hunger strike gains support
 Saskatchewan First Nations people and chiefs are supporting the hunger strike of Attawapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Spence Photograph by: Supplied photo , courtesy FSIN vice-chief Simon Bird
Theresa Spence gained an unexpected and passionately outspoken ally as a former lieutenant-governor of Ontario called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to "show that he's a leader" and meet with the Attawapiskat chief as she enters the third week of her hunger strike.
About 10 women are also standing "in solidarity" with Spence in Regina, beginning a four-day fast set to end Sunday.
Harper need not fear meeting with Spence to negotiate better living conditions for aboriginals would show any weakness, said James Bartleman, who served as Ontario's lieutenant-governor from 2002 to 2007 and is a member of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation.
"If he was to do something like that, he would be doing something that he could be proud of for the rest of his life, but if he doesn't do that, I would say shame on him," Bartleman told Postmedia News on Thursday.
"If she carries on like this, I would think she would die."...Continue reading...

15 Amazing Animal Photos from 2012

 Photos here.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Blind dog Abby finds her way home in depths of Alaskan winter

Tim Walker  AP Blind Dog-Home
In this undated photo provided by McKenzie Grapengeter, the Grapengeter children, from left, Ava, 6, Greg, 10, and Shane, 9, pose for a photo with their dog, Abby, who is blind and went missing more than a week ago during heavy snow storms, at their Fairbanks, Alaska home. After walking 10 miles to the edge of a local musher's dog yard, Abby the brown-and-white mixed breed was found and returned to her owners on Sunday, just in time for Christmas... Read here...

40 Cats Who Could Be Having A Better Time

  Matt Bellassai BuzzFeed Staff 40 Cats Who Could Be Having A Better Time

A Frog Sitting on a Bench Like a Human

It is cold in Saskatoon. This old frog is a cool dude, he is watching the girls walk by.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

The End of the World by Brenda Lee

  Brenda Lee - biography

Doomsday 2012: Watch the 'End of the World' Live Online


image 
 by Mike Wall, SPACE.com Senior Writer:
Anyone worried that the world will come to an end Friday (Dec. 21) can scan the heavens online this week for any signs of death from above.
The online Slooh Space Camera will broadcast a series of live cosmic views all week, beginning today (Dec. 17). The free webcasts will help the public keep watch for any monster solar storms, impending asteroid strikes or other potential agents of the so-called "Mayan apocalypse" that doomsayers claim is set for Friday.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Golden eagle tries to steal toddler in Montreal - VIDEO

Incredible amateur footage appears to show the moment a golden eagle attempted to snatch a small child in a Montreal park.
Golden eagle
The short video, posted to YouTube by MrNuclearCat, is claimed to show a golden eagle swooping down and lifting a toddler off the ground in Montreal. It has quickly become a viral hit.
However, there was much skepticism on social media websites such as Twitter as to whether the clip was genuine.
At the beginning, the clip shows the massive eagle – with a roughly six-foot (two-metre) wing span, circling a public park – said to be the city’s Mount Royal.
Suddenly the eagle then swoops down and appears to lift an unsuspecting toddler off the ground by its coat and carry it a few feet before dropping it on the grass.
After cursing in English, the French-speaking man filming the incident drops the camera so it is pointing downwards and races over to comfort the bewildered child, who starts crying but does not appear to have been seriously hurt. Read here.

Take off, eh: Canada's Hadfield blasts off for 5-month space station visit

Take off, eh: Canada's Hadfield blasts off for 5-month space station visit
 U.S. astronaut Thomas Marshburn, left, Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, center, and Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, members of the next mission to the International Space Station, pose for the media after a news conference in the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012. Hadfield is set to blast off today from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a mission that is to see him become the first Canadian to command the International Space Station. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP,Dmitry Lovetsky
BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan - Chris Hadfield has successfully blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on a mission that is to see him become the first Canadian to command the International Space Station. Hadfield is travelling to the space station on board a Russian Soyuz capsule for a five-month visit to the giant orbiting space lab. He is sharing the trip to the space station with NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko. During his stay, the 53-year-old space veteran, an avid guitar player, plans to do some strumming to help him deal with homesickness... Continue reading...

The Corrs - Dreams

photo Click to view full size image The Corrs, songs

Pet Photography – Eddie and his Human

Golden retriever service dog pet photography south africa
Best friends
South africa pet photography
No one will love you more than your dog does…
"I have a post crammed full of images for you this week as during my shoot I ended up photographing not 1 but 5 pets!
Last week I had the privilege of doing a photo shoot with Eddie (the service dog) and Pieter (his human).  Eddie and Pieter have been together since August this year and as you can see from the images that follow, they are a match made in heaven.  Eddie has changed his human’s life in so many ways, in Pieter’s own words, “Eddie has opened a new door in my life and I cannot put into words what he means to me..." Photos of Eddie and his friends.

Google meets Qumran: Thousands of Dead Sea Scrolls fragments go online

A new website makes the ‘ultimate puzzle’ of biblical scholarship accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.

An Israel Antiquities Authority worker points to a spectral image photograph of fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem on Wednesday, December 18 (photo credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90)
An Israel Antiquities Authority worker points to a spectral image photograph of fragments of the Dead Sea scrolls, at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem on Wednesday, December 18 (photo credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90). 
Thousands of fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls went online Tuesday with the launch of a new website by Google and the Israel Antiquities Authority, part of a move to make the famed manuscripts easily available to scholars and casual web surfers.
The website provides access to high-resolution images of the famous scrolls, which were written 2,000 years ago and first discovered at Qumran, on the Dead Sea shore, in the 1940s.
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) is in the process of photographing the thousands of fragments in its possession — pieces of an estimated 900 different manuscripts — using special imaging equipment first developed for NASA. The hi-tech cameras have rendered visible sections of parchment that were previously indecipherable.
A team at Tel Aviv University is using the new images to try to piece together fragments into larger sections which might yield new information about the content of some of the scrolls. For scholars, the fragments are “the ultimate puzzle,” Pnina Shor, head of the IAA’s Dead Sea Scrolls project, said Tuesday.
The scrolls, thought to have been written or collected by Jews who left Jerusalem for the desert in the time of the Second Temple two millennia ago, were one of the great archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. They shed important light on ancient Judaism, the birth of Christianity, and the evolution of the Bible...Continue reading...

Spectacular video Road trains in the Australian Outback

photo

  

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Beautiful Moments - Scenes from YouTube

 Scenes in video OK, worth a look. This old computer is on it's last legs, takes an hr. to post a link, "oh well',  keeps the brain working and 'Sally and Sam' happy. image
dog_surfing_web.jpg

US sending 20 more F-16s to Egypt, despite turmoil in Cairo


Turmoil in Egypt isn't stopping a shipment of 20 F-16 fighter jets, including this one - already emblazoned with Egypt's flag. (Courtesy: Carl Richards)
Instability in Egypt, where a newly-elected Islamic government teeters over an angry population, isn't enough to stop the U.S. from sending more than 20 F-16 fighter jets, as part of a $1 billion foreign aid package. The first four jets are to be delivered to Egypt beginning Jan. 22, a source at the naval air base in Fort Worth, where the planes have been undergoing testing, told FoxNews.com. The North African nation already has a fleet of more than 200 of the planes and the latest shipment merely fulfills an order placed two years ago. But given the uncertainty in Cairo, some critics wonder if it is wise to be sending more top gun planes...Continue reading...

Golden Retrievers Sent to Ease Pain in Newtown

(Newser) – With the first funerals underway in Newtown, Conn., a special source of comfort has come to visit: golden retrievers. A team of about 10 comfort dogs traveled 800 miles from the Lutheran Church Charities in Illinois to help console anyone who is grieving, the AP reports. Handlers are encouraging people to pet the dogs while praying or simply saying what's on their mind. "Dogs are nonjudgmental. They are loving. They are accepting of anyone," says the charity's president. "It creates an atmosphere for people to share." "You could tell which ones ... were really struggling with their grief because they were quiet," says a dog handler. "They would pet the dog, and they would just be quiet." The charity began using dogs to comfort the bereaved after the 2008 Northern Illinois University attack that killed five students. The visit proved so successful that students asked weeks later for the comfort dogs to come back to campus.Read here.

City councillors agree to keep 'Merry Christmas' message on Saskatoon buses

City councillors agree to keep 'Merry Christmas' message on Saskatoon buses
 A number of city councillors are asking to debate whether to remove a “Merry Christmas” message displayed on the programmable signs on Saskatoon Transit buses. Photograph by: Gord Waldner , The StarPhoenix.
By Charles Hamilton: Merry Christmas greetings are here to stay on Saskatoon Transit buses. Following a brief debate during executive committee on Monday, city councilors decided Saskatoon Transit buses will continue to carry the ‘Merry Christmas’ holiday greeting. The city is also planning to explore the idea of allowing on buses in the future messages that reflect other religions. “Quite frankly I don’t see Merry Christmas leaving our signage at all,” Mayor Don Atchison told the city’s executive committee. The debate about displaying ‘Merry Christmas’ on the city’s electronic scrollers flared up after a local activist declared the signs “inappropriate” and “discriminatory.”... Read here...

John Baldry - Don't try to lay no Boogie Woogie on the King of Rock 'n Roll

 http://www.johnbaldry.com/index1.asp Long John Baldry. last.fm

Monday, December 17, 2012

The Raveonettes - The Christmas Song


charlie-brown-christmas-treeCharlie Brown Christmas Tree
The Raveonettes Interview

Syria: a scathingly beautiful photograph of the edge of starvation

Syrian food crisisDisplaced Syrians wait for the daily distribution of food outside the northern city of Azaz, on the border between Syria and Turkey. Photograph: Maysun/EPA.      By : This eloquent picture tells of the terrifying hunger crisis now unfolding in war-battered Syria. The children's faces as they reach out their empty pots for food distributed by a Turkish NGO at a camp for internal refugees near the north Syrian city of Azaz are beams of pain and desperation that cut through the fog of news to tell the direct human truth: Syrians are on the edge of starving...Continue reading...

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Lila Downs 'I Would Never'

Lila Downs

 last.fm. Lila Downs

Cross eyed virgin - WiseQuacks


By wisequack Cross eyed virgin
“What’s a cross-eyed virgin?” my eight-year-old niece asked upon hearing the Mexican tour guide at Chichen Itza explain how the ancient Mayans sacrificed assorted cross-eyed virgins to assorted ill-tempered Gods.
“Well,” I replied physicianly, “It’s when one eye comes across like this and the other…”
“I know that. What’s a virgin?”
“And then usually one eye doesn’t work as well as the…”
“Becky said that Madonna was like a virgin once. What’s that mean?”
“Wow, look at the teeth on that huge iguana behind you! Where’s your mother?”...Continue reading...

The Poor Little Rich Girls of Mexico

  The narrative of Mexico as our impoverished and drug cartel–ridden neighbor dominates most news coverage in America, but that’s only one part of a large and diverse country. Photographer Daniela Rossell brings us tales of the polar opposite segment of Mexican society with her series Ricas y Famosas, which depicts the children of Mexico’s most privileged class of society...Continue reading, photos...
Daniela Rossell, Ricas y Famosas, Rich and Famous
Untitled from Ricas y Famosas, 1999. Daniela Rossell/Greene Naftali, New York.

Saturday, December 15, 2012

'I Would' Fred Eaglesmith

photo
  http://www.fredeaglesmith.com/

Best friends. Dog walking little boy.

Dog Waiting for Little Kid Playing in Puddleimage 


 

'Merry Christmas' bus message up for debate

'Merry Christmas' bus message up for debate
 A number of city councillors are asking to debate whether to remove a “Merry Christmas” message displayed on the programmable signs on Saskatoon Transit buses. Photograph by: Gord Waldner , The StarPhoenix
By Drew Fossum, The StarPhoenix: Saskatoon’s buses will retain a “Merry Christmas” message while the City of Saskatoon reviews a complaint from a local activist that the signs are “inappropriate” and “discriminatory.” But a number of city councillors said Friday the message should stay. “I don’t think it’s going to be much of a debate and the ‘Merry Christmas’ signs are going to stay,” said Coun. Tiffany Paulsen. “Based on my discussions with my colleagues, it’s fairly clear to me that nothing is going to change.” The issue flared up after an email from city manager Murray Totland mentioned using a “more generic message” on Saskatoon Transit’s buses while a city lawyer reviews the complaint...Continue reading...

‘Farmer Style’ Viral Video Puts Kansas Agriculture on the Map

By:
Source: Facebook.com   In the latest parody of the popular "Gangnam Style" video, a version featuring three brothers from a Kansas family farm has gone viral—9.5 million views and counting—and has put small family farms and the agriculture industry on the digital map...  http://www.cnbc.com/id/100310964

Friday, December 14, 2012

27 dead, including gunman, at Conn. school - Twitter & Watch live coverage of shootings @ PIX 11 news

sandyhook
State police personnel led children from the school, following the shooting. (Courtesy of Shannon Hicks, NewtownBee.com / December 14, 2012 via Hartford Courant)Live coverage of shooting.
 

Justin Trudeau’s decision to address Islamic Revival Conference hurts Canada

image

 By Beryl Wajsman:
"Allah is our objective; the Quran is our law, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations."
 ~ credo of the Muslim Brotherhoocd
Liberal leadership candidate and Papineau MP Justin Trudeau’s decision to give a keynote address at the “Reviving the Islamic Spirit” conference taking place in Toronto Dec.20-23rd  . is a disappointing one and potentially disastrous for liberalism. His mere presence will be used to validate some of the most retrograde elements on the political landscape that are associated with this Conference. In that he hurts Canada. Trudeau’s address is scheduled for December 22nd. The Conference’s lead, or “platinum” sponsor (website description), is an organization named Islamic Relief, and  other featured speakers include Tariq Ramadan, Jamal Badawi and Mustafa Ceric. All have significant ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. The Brotherhood’s first elected head of government, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, has recently introduced constitutional changes that would give him unprecedented power answerable to no authority not even the judiciary. The past two weeks have seen large-scale demonstrations in Cairo between the secular liberals who drove the Arab Spring and the supporters of Morsi and the Brotherhood who back a system based on adherence to Sharia (Islamic religious law). Sources close to the Conference expect up to 20,000 participants. The Conference website features a video trailer with martial music playing as background to slogans such as “This is our time, this is our moment.”...Continue reading...

Israel Is Set To Receive 5,000 US Bunker Buster Bombs After Delaying Its Attack On Iran


The B2-bomber (Photo:AP) US reveals its new bunker buster bomb
by Michael Kelley: In March President Barack Obama reportedly offered Israel bunker-buster bombs and other advanced weapons in exchange for a postponing an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities until 2013.
At the time the White House denied that any such agreement was proposed or reached.

Bunker-busters are essential for an attack on Iran's underground nuclear facilities since they can penetrate Tehran's world renowned reinforced concrete...Continue reading...

Norah Jones - Chasing Pirates

http://www.socwall.com/images/wallpapers/2109-1280x1024.jpgNorah Jones.last.fm

A GIGGLE with the GOATS

Ozark Jewels General Martok
Martok wants to wish you Happy Holidays  photo http://www.gigglewiththegoats.com/

{Photographers Giving Back} Scruffy Dog Photography

Illona Haus for I Heart Faces, LLC
"Illona Haus is the head scruffy at Scruffy Dog Photography, based in Waterloo, Ontario, sharing the studio with her own two rescue dogs. SDP’s clientele spans the province and beyond, with clients travelling from as far away as Chicago, NYC and California, as well as an international client base for commercial and stock photography. For a fun and furry time, “like” the Scruffy Dog Photography Facebook page and follow the Scruffy Dog blog." http://www.iheartfaces.comScruffy Dog Photography Charity via iHeartFaces.com

Wildlife on the PAWS campus(29 photos)

Kevin Mack / PAWS Photos here.
PAWS - People Helping Animals http://www.paws.org/