Saskatchewan vultures attract diligent birdwatching fan base

A turkey vulture hatchling and its sibling are being monitored as they grow on a farm north of Saskatoon.

Photograph by: Submitted , The StarPhoenix

By Bob Florence, The StarPhoenix.  Deanna and Alex Kiepen have four guests on their farm near Langham this summer: Big, bald, meat-eating vultures. "I wouldn't believe they'd be here," Alex said. "I thought they were a hot-country bird, the ones you see in movies from Africa and old Westerns." Two of the turkey vultures at Kiepen's hay farm are adults. The other two were born last month. They are dusted with white down as fluffy as candy floss. The two hatchlings live on their own on Kiepens' farm while the adults roost in trees near the North Saskatchewan River. During the day the adult vultures ride the thermals. Instead of flapping their wings that are almost as wide as a Mazda sedan, they soar in warm columns of air. They look for dead animals. They can smell them. Around 10 a.m. every day, one of the adults arrives at the nesting site to feed the young. The young put their beak deep into the adult's gullet for a piece of skunk or deer or whatever else is found in the field. They eat fast. In a couple of minutes the parent leaves. The other adult delivers supper around 5 p.m. If it is cool or windy, with the thermals flat and weak, the adult vultures might not see their nestlings all day. Dr. Stuart Houston of Saskatoon calls this absentia parenting. This is the way vultures do things, he said...Continue reading...

Carly Simon - You're So Vain

Carly Simon Official Website

Welcome to Burrard-Lucas Wildlife Photography

Bull Moose

Great photos from all over the globe. http://www.burrard-lucas.com/

Monday Morning Blues - BB King

 The two dancers do not  have the Monday Morning blues.BB King - Official Site

Invasive carp could threaten B.C. salmon

GIFSoup         CTV British Columbia Kent Molgat
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans warns that an invasive species of Asian carp has made its way into the Fraser River near Lillooet and Lytton after several fish were caught during the Aboriginal fishing season.
The silver carp poses a threat because of its tendency to push out local species, including salmon, and are known to jump directly at people when they are disturbed. Many residents along the river worry the fish are travelling into the B.C. Interior where the salmon they rely on for food gather.
John Charlie, a worker on the Lytton cable ferry, spotted a fish while making a crossing.
"I saw one jumping out of the river about 50 feet up the land there. (It) looked like a catfish,” he said.
“But people have been catching them and they've been fairly big, too."
The local First Nations have also issued a warning for people to keep an eye out for carp in the Fraser River.
But Eric Taylor, a leading expert on the topic from the University of British Columbia’s zoology department, told CTV News the sightings may simply be a large example of a common carp.
“The common carp’s been in the Fraser River area, the Lower Fraser, the Thompson-Nicola area for decades,” Taylor said.
“Usually, in more sort of lake type environments or slow backwater, so if they were caught in the main stem Fraser River near Lillooet or Lytton, that’s a bit unusual.”
Although the fish may not be the invasive silver carp, its presence so far up the Fraser River remains a concern and potential threat for salmon...Read here...

Facts don't back western fears about Muslim immigration (?)

Reviewed by: Greg Lockert:
In a western world scarred by memories of 9/11 and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, fears of Muslim immigration may seem rational.
Will Muslim immigration to North America and Europe create a Muslim-dominated western world, bidding goodbye to its Judeo-Christian heritage?
Canadian journalist Doug Saunders says no, and he packs The Myth of the Muslim Tide with statistics to support his point...Read here....1.Muslims In Canada Call For Stoning People.

2.Number of Muslims in Canada predicted to triple over next 20 years: study.Charles Lewis. 3.The Arab Spring is moving West. Caller to the Lowell Green show Ottawa.        3.Muslims in Europe.

Alaska grizzly bear kills Calif. man in first fatal bear attack at Denali National Park

photo

By Associated Press: ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A hiker in Alaska’s Denali National Park photographed a grizzly bear for at least eight minutes before the bear mauled and killed him in the first fatal attack in the park’s history, officials said Saturday.
Investigators have recovered the camera and looked at the photographs, which show the bear grazing and not acting aggressively before the attack, Denali Park Superintendent Paul Anderson said. The hiker was identified late Saturday as Richard White, 49, of San Diego. He was backpacking alone along the Toklat River on Friday afternoon when he came within 50 yards of the bear, far closer than the quarter-mile of separation required by park rules, officials said...Continue reading, comments are interesting....

Bear Attacks Truck!

Bear videos here.

Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah

 Bathsheba was 

• the beautiful grand-daughter of Ahitophel, shrewd military and political counselor of David

• the daughter of Eliam, a member of the elite warrior group called The Thirty

• the wife of Uriah, who was also one of The Thirty and a high-ranking professional soldier. 

  Her father and husband were stationed at Jerusalem, directly under the control of the king. They were David's personal bodyguards, his champions, renowned for their bravery. 

  She was thus a member of an elite warrior family, something like the wife of a high-ranking samurai. Since her grandfather, father and husband were close allies of David's, it is safe to assume that she and David had already met before the famous scene where David sees her bathing.

  It happened late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king' house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported 'This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite'. So David sent messengers to get her, and she came to him, and he lay with her.'

   Read here...

Hallelujah meaning

Astronaut Neil Armstrong dies at age 82

 First man to walk on moon passes away  http://video.foxnews.com/

Animal rescue group Save Our Street Dogs’ video show’s ‘Ol Boy’ finding first love in last days of life.

By Christine Roberts / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
A heartbreaking video tells the story of how an animal rights group found a stray dog barely able to move in his final days of life - and gave him "his dying wish."
Save Our Street Dogs found Ol Boy, covered in ticks and sores on the streets of Singapore, surviving only on water dripping from air conditioners and scraps of food from local shopkeepers.
The touching tape shows the stray struggling to stand and wincing from incredible pain, completely run down after years of malnourishment and neglect...Read here...

Save Our Street Dogs. The group’s members scattered rose petals on Ol Boy’s body and placed a single sunflower next to his paw. 

Police point speed gun at cyclists.

By Jason Warick, The StarPhoenix

 

The Saskatoon Police took readings on the speed of bikes cruising along the Meewasin trail on August 23, 2012.

Photograph by: Michelle Berg, The StarPhoenix

City police Sgt. Chad Nolan pointed a radar gun at cyclists as they passed him on the Meewasin Trail.
"Was I speeding?" said one confused-looking elderly woman.
"No, not at all," Nolan, who clocked the woman's cruiser-style bike at 17 km/h, replied with a laugh.
Nolan and his partner, Sgt. Mark Koch, recorded bikes travelling between 2 km/h and 30 on Thursday along the paved multiuse trail behind the Delta Bessborough.
They didn't hand out any speeding tickets. It's all part of a research project to determine safe speeds on the trail. Police, civic planners and others are trying to find ways to make Saskatoon safer for the growing numbers of vehicles, bikes and pedestrians...Continue reading...

Mac Davis - It's Hard To Be Humble

photoMac Davis - bio

U.S. baseball star Youkilis planning to join Israel team in World Classic

Chicago White Sox's Kevin Youkilis hits a grand slam off a pitch by New York Yankees' Ivan Novaת, August 21. Photo by AP. By JTA. Haaretz.com.

Former MLB player Brad Ausmus has signed on as coach and retired players Shawn Green and Gabe Kapler have agreed to assist as coaches and players for the Israeli team.

Chicago White Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis said he will play for Israel at the World Baseball Classic.

Youkilis told Israel Sports Radio Wednesday that he would play for Team Israel if he is healthy. This season, the three-time All Star is hitting .241 with 15 home runs and 47 runs batted in. He has been hampered by injuries for much of the past three seasons.

Israel is one of 16 countries invited to play in next month’s qualifying round, and the top four teams advance to the 2013 classic.

Youkilis also said there are other Jewish Major League Baseball players who want to play, the station said.
Diaspora Jews are eligible to play on behalf of Israel...Read here...

Bucket List: 225 Things to Do Before You Die

I'm not a fan of the Rubik's Cube or doing something that terrifies me.  Enjoying a freshly rolled cigar from Cuba sounds good, but not to smoke it in Cuba, probably would not be fresh by the time it got to Saskatoon. Flying down picking up the cigar, flying back and smoking it at home works for me. You will have to edit Bucket List for yourself.

  By Michael Bock...Here you’ll find 225 things to do before you die... http://www.lifed.com/bucket-list-225-things-to-do-before-you-die

The Most Astounding Fact on Vimeo.

The Most Astounding Fact from Max Schlickenmeyer on Vimeo.

Homemade flytrap for fruit flys

http://www.bourque.com/
How to make fruit fly traps at home.

Lion love: Father meets his cub for the first time

Suzi Eszterhas

Hello, Dad! Father and son bond during their first encounter.

Lisa Granshaw writes

This priceless moment captured by wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas on Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve had us all "awwing" in the office. After following a pride of lions for three months, Eszterhas snapped these shots of a male lion meeting his son for the first time.
According to Eszterhas, the curious 7-week-old cub and his siblings had never met their dad before, having been kept in a den under the watchful eye of their mom since birth. Only when the cubs became too big and rowdy for Mom to handle alone does she cautiously let them out and introduce them to the rest of the pride, including their father.
"What's cool about this is, because they've been tucked away in the den, taking them out is this dramatic moment," Eszterhas told TODAY.com... Continue reading, photos...

Understanding someone from the South can be difficult at times.

video hereBill Cosby - bio

John Denver - Fly Away

Look right, Look Left by Keven Law . Fantastic pictures of birds flying

John Denver

Saving India's Tigers

photo

Frequently Asked Questions About West Nile Virus and Mosquito Management

photo from ShutterstockCrop duster   
Frank B. Peairs, Professor of Entomology and Extension Specialist:     Questions on West Nile Virus
Questions on Mosquito Biology
Questions on West Nile Virus and Human Health
Questions on West Nile Virus and Children
Questions on West Nile Virus and Horses
Questions on West Nile Virus and Pets
Questions on West Nile Virus and Birds
Questions on Personal Protection from Mosquito Bites
Questions on Mosquito Repellents
Questions on Devices used to Repel or Trap Mosquitoes
Questions on Mosquito Control Programs
Questions on Mosquito Larvicides
Questions on Mosquito Adulticides. Questions About West Nile Virus. What is West Nile virus? Questions and answers here....

West Nile outbreak in U.S., rise in Ontario cases, alarm officials ctvnews.ca

Which Way for Syria? Listen to the Sermons

The rebels say they are fighting Assad and his Iranian allies. (Adem Altan, AFP / Getty Images) photo

By Barry Rubin:

A friend of mine listened to the sermon given at the Ramadan evening prayer in a village near the north Syria town of Idleeb August 7. The closer one gets to ground level in the Middle East the crazier things become. Sure by the time the Western-educated, suit and tie wearing leader sits down with the Western reporter everything sounds calm and cool. But the earth is boiling. Just as the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood blames Israel for a jihadist attack on an Egyptian military base in Sinai--the Egyptian military, more pragmatically, attacked the jihadist camps--the grassroots leaders and rank and file are easily incited into murderous frenzy.

So here are the main points in the Idleeb sermon:

-- The preacher never used the word "Syria" or "as-Suriya" but only as "Bilad ash-Sham." That's a jihadist Salafist designation rejecting the existence of nation-states. In other words, "Syria" is merely a province of a future Islamic caliphate. Note: some people dispute this and suggest that Bilad ash-Sham is standard usage nowadays.

--The upheavals in Syria are not to be defined as a just revolution against a local dictatorship but rather as a conspiracy of Iranian Zoroastrians [the pre-Muslim religion of many Iranians], Zionists, France, and America. Here we have hatred not only for Jews and Christians but also Iranians. Yes, a revolutionary Islamist Syria would be anti-Iranian but also anti-everyone else. And by denying that Iranians are even Muslims, the preacher is strongly suggesting that it is right to murder them as apostates. Conspiracy theories lead to further wars. Enemies are not just those with whom you have a territorial or other dispute but are enemies of God who must be wiped out to the last man, woman, and child. Such people are not going to accept U.S. mediation or patronage, and nothing the Obama Administration could do would ever win them over.

--The closest allies are the Zoroastrians and the Zionists. In contrast with our objective view that Iran sees Israel as an enemy and wants to wipe it out, this Sunni Islamist view is that all of God's enemies--Jews and Shia Muslims--are aligned against the true religion. They both should be hated and wiped out...Continue reading...

Little Big Town performing Bring It On Home.

Little White Church

Little Big Town. myspace

In Vietnam, Rhino Horn is the Drug of Choice at both Parties and Hospitals

Photo: TRAFFIC

Posted By: Rachel Nuwer: A new report issued by TRAFFIC, a non-governmental organization dedicated to monitoring wildlife trade, describes the latest depressing statistics surrounding the epidemic-proportion illegal rhino horn trade between South Africa and Asia.
Rhinos and many other animals around the world are currently being poached largely to satiate demand in countries like China and Vietnam, where certain animal body parts can fetch the equivalent price of their weight in gold. In those countries, many people use wildlife and animal body parts for traditional Chinese medicine, as delicacies at restaurants, as exotic pets or as trophies or clothing accessories.Read complete article here...

Underwater Dog Photographer Helping Shelter Pets

By Eve Becker, TAILS.
Pet photographer Seth Casteel enjoys the unexpected. And that’s a good thing, since his photos of dogs—taken as he plays underwater with them—have become a viral overnight success.
Casteel’s underwater photos reveal surprising emotions: a Labrador Retriever menacingly bares his teeth, a Bulldog looks wide-eyed in astonishment, and a Border Collie appears slightly goofy as she dives after a tennis ball. “I’m drawn to the emotions of dogs because they have a similar range of

Photos: Courtesy of Seth Casteel

emotions as we do. It’s fun to see the exaggerated expressions from these dogs,” says Casteel, who splits his time between Chicago and Los Angeles.
“My whole thing is that I do what the pets like to do. I don’t put them in the studio. I do it on their terms and embrace what they like to do,” Casteel says.
Casteel first dove into a pool with a dog when he was taking photos of Buster, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Buster jumped into the water and Casteel wanted a better vantage point. So he excused himself from the photo shoot, bought a point-and-shoot underwater camera, and plunged into the pool with Buster.
Casteel started shooting more underwater photos of dogs and eventually splurged to buy an underwater housing for his camera. His friends thought he was crazy.
Fast forward to this past February when his underwater dog photos suddenly exploded online. Fans posted his photos to Reddit.com and Google+ and they literally took off overnight. The next morning, Casteel’s website hits jumped from 200 to 30,000, causing his site to crash...Continue reading.Seth Casteel (Little Friends Photo)

California man captures dramatic images of huge humpback whales just off shore

By Charlie Wells / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Amateur photographer Bill Bouton caught dramatic photos of an enormous humpback while driving near Port San Luis, Calif. His Flick collection of the photos has received nearly a quarter million views.

These humpback whales were ready for their closeup.
No sooner did amateur photographer Bill Bouton pull out his camera the attention-craving cetaceans were out of the water and putting on a show.
Bouton was driving towards Port San Luis when he spotted a cloud of birds circling over the ocean.
The retired biology teacher, who specializes in bird pictures, got out of his car and set up his Canon 7D camera.
Within minutes, at least two huge whales burst out of the Pacific, creating an incredible photo op for Bouton.
He also managed to capture some of the human animals who happened to be on hand when the whales appeared out of the blue...Read here...

Bill Bouton

Another of Bill Bouton’s photos of a humpback whales close to shore. Note the woman in a black dress taking pictures from a paddle board.

Bill Bouton's photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/billbouton/

Awesome work by someone who cares: Suamico woman rehabilitates wildlife

Suamico woman rehabilitates wildlife

SUAMICO - The R-PAWS program at the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary in Green Bay helps to rehabilitate thousands of orphaned and injured animals every year.
In 2011, the program took in nearly 5,000 wild animals in need of care.
"These are all animals that are needing help where most of the problems they run into were caused by humans -- either by being hit by cars, flying into windows or some other habitat loss due to human activity," said Mike Reed, director of the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary.
Volunteers like Lynn Peters are crucial to the R-PAWS program. Peters is one of about 60 volunteers who are licensed to care for some of the animals at their very own homes....Continue reading, photos...

Reflections on Jerusalem Cats

by Shifra .
Looking at the pictures of the sand kittens born in Tel Aviv that Tammy had posted last week, I had to agree: Yes, they were quite adorable.
But then, I started thinking about Jerusalem.
What’s the connection? I will tell you.
You probably know that Jerusalem has some very holy sites. You may know that Jerusalem has many names, such as the City of Peace, The City of (King) David. But unless you have lived in Jerusalem, as I did, you would not know that Jerusalem is also…Cat City.
How this came to be is in some dispute. Some say it started in the 1890’s, under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Some say it began under the British Mandate of 1922-1948, in which the British ruled the area (called Palestine, until the founding of the State of Israel, in ’48.) But one thing is certain: Jerusalem had been overrun with mice, until someone had a great idea. Bring in some cats. And so, today, Jerusalem is totally overrun… with cats.
Jerusalem cats are brazen. They have a lot of chutzpah. They run in packs. They are everywhere. In alleyways. In gardens. They strut down sidewalks, as though they own the city. (Well, in a way, they do.)...Continue reading...

Canadian Man Arrested After Walking His Dog Near Muslim Rally

                                                                                                                                                                                 
More proof that freedom is incompatible with the totalitarian ideology of Islam.
Via Blazing Cat Fur

 . "I was arrested at the rally for, "offending Islam" by walking in a PUBLIC park with my dog. Apparently, Muslims do not like dogs. I was warned by a few demonstrators not to go near them. Of course I ignored them and reminded them this is Canada, not Pakistan. Well I was assaulted and returned the favor in kind.

At that point I was jumped by four COPS, dragged off and hand cuffed. Oh my the police were so angry! They said I was, "insensitive" and "inciting a riot". 30 minutes later they cut me a big deal. No charges if I left. So I left. Imagine this happening in Canada? Walking a licensed dog on a leash at the park in front of our Provincial Legislature and being arrested for that simple act!"

NB: This is a therapy dog. Works at hospitals. Continue reading...

Orphaned bear cubs get some much needed help (16 Photos)

Former hunter and biologist Valentin Pazhetnov organized a Rescue and Rehabilitation Center for bear cubs in the village of Bubonitsy, Russia. The center shelters the cubs whose parents were killed by hunters during the hibernation and who could otherwise freeze or starve to death. As soon as little bears grow up enough they are returned to their natural environment.Photos here.

MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT ~ Monday Morning Blues

imagehttp://www.msjohnhurtmuseum.com/

Dieppe raid: Canadian veterans honoured at 70th anniversary services in France

Charly Triballeau / AFP / Getty Images Canadian veterans take part in the 70th anniversary ceremony of the Dieppe Raid Sunday, in northwestern France, in memory of the Second World War Allied attack on the German-occupied port. Over 6,000 infantrymen, predominantly Canadian, were supported by limited Royal Navy and large Royal Air Force contingents, and 900 Canadians perished.

Ray Zinck, Canadian Press.
DIEPPE, France — A handful of Canadian veterans were treated to a heroes’ welcome Sunday when they returned to the French coastal town of Dieppe to mark the 70th anniversary of one of the bloodiest and most disastrous raids of the Second World War.
Thousands of people lined the streets to greet the seven veterans, now all in their 90s, who are in northwest France to attend the commemorative ceremonies.
The veterans, many who are now using wheelchairs or walking canes, proudly wore red poppies to pay their respects to the 900 fallen comrades killed within hours after 5,000 Canadian troops stormed the pebbled beaches of German-occupied Dieppe on Aug. 19, 1942.
Nearly 2,500 others were either wounded or taken prisoner....Continue reading...

Many ages compete in Special Olympics

• photo

By BRETT A. SOMMERS H&N Sports Reporter:
‘Training for Life’ isn’t just an expression, it’s exactly what the Special Olympics is providing for developmentally disabled people in Klamath County and across the country.
Local athletes and volunteers are preparing for a fall season that will include bowling and swimming, but are more importantly going beyond the pure athletics and forming the building blocks of life that will benefit the athletes long after the season is over.

“[The Special Olympics] gives them an arena or a venue where they can make other friends,” Darcie Turner, a program coordinator in Klamath County said. “It helps these folks with their athletic skills and their social skills, which in turn helps them become more integrated with the rest of the community.”...Continue reading...

Aurora Borealis - 250 Miles Above the Earth

Aurora Borealis - 250 Miles Above the Earth from Randy Smith on Vimeo.
The Aurora Borealis as seen from the International Space Station, 250 miles above the Earth.
I created this time-lapse from over 6000 4256x2832 high-resolution images.
Images and astronaut audio files used in this film were provided courtesy of NASA at the following website:
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos/
Thanks NASA for making this possible!
I used Quicktime Pro to create the image sequences at full resolution and then rendered the final .mp4 file in Sony Vegas Pro 11, 1920x1080 24p.

I had seen several versions of the ISS time-lapse done by others on Vimeo which provided all the inspiration I needed to create this version with an Aurora Borealis theme. The point-of-view is from around the world. I put the image sequences together moving from the Pacific Ocean heading East across the United States and Canada, over the Atlantic and then over Europe and the Middle East.
Thanks to the many who provided tutorials and encouragement. In the process of looking for audio files I found an interesting site about sounds created by the Aurora Borealis interacting with the Earth's atmosphere. They can be heard by monitoring VLF radio signals near the Aurora Borealis
Recordings of these sounds can be heard in the beginning and end of the film.
Learn more about this natural phenomenon at: http://www.auroralchorus.com/

Music: TIme Stream by Steve Kornicki
Creative Commons license
Downloaded from: vimeo.com/musicstore

.

Funny outtakes from Bill Dance 'Outdoors'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Np-mKB2_7A

Arab Spring run amok: 'Brotherhood' starts crucifixions

image
by Michael Carl.
The Arab Spring takeover of Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood has run amok, with reports from several different media agencies that the radical Muslims have begun crucifying opponents of newly installed President Mohammed Morsi.
Middle East media confirm that during a recent rampage, Muslim Brotherhood operatives “crucified those opposing Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi naked on trees in front of the presidential palace while abusing others.”...
...Author Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs, an analyst of the Middle East and Islam, fully agrees and also cites the Quran.
“The Christians are in serious trouble, because the Quran in Sura 9:29 commands Muslims to wage war against them and subjugate them, and they’re also identified with the hated West and the U.S.,” Geller said.
Geller also turned to Sura 5:33...
...Lopez added to Rubin’s explanation, but points to the White House as the main cheerleader for Morsi and the Brotherhood.
“This is exactly what many of us expected him to do (consolidate power) and I think the White House knew, too, and not only expected but wanted Morsi and the Brotherhood to take over Egypt,” Lopez said.
“As far as I know, the White House invitation for Morsi in September still stands – nor have I heard the slightest hint of criticism from any top U.S. government leadership figure about Morsi’s coup. He knows he’s on solid ground with this administration,” Lopez said.Read complete article here.

Nat King Cole - Smile

biographyThe Unforgetable Nat King Cole

U.S. struggles with spike in cases of West Nile virus

CTVNews.ca Staff
Officials across the United States on Thursday launched a spraying campaign to kill mosquitoes, as the country faces the biggest spike in West Nile Virus in years.
The virus has led to some 700 cases of the disease so far this year, 26 of which resulted in death. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this is the highest number of cases reported through the end of July since 2004.
Almost 80 per cent of the cases have been reported in Texas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, CDC says.
In Texas alone, 10 people have died, prompting the mayor of Dallas to declare a state of emergency. The city will be sprayed with a fine coating of insecticides.
Officials blame the hot, dry summer for allowing more mosquitoes, which transmit the virus, to breed. In the United States, most people are infected from June through September, and the number of infections usually peaks in mid-August, according to CDC.
Four in five infected adults will show no symptoms, but the virus can cause fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and rashes...Continue reading...

Mosquito Bite. Humour, family keep us going (repost)

Written by John Lagimodiere-Eagle Feather News

"Every June when preparations
begin for National Aboriginal
Day, we at Eagle Feather
News like to reflect on the people and
the spirit that have kept us going,
through all kinds of hardships, for the
past centuries. They say the Aboriginal
people of this territory have
survived through their hard work,
family and, when times are really
tough, their sense of humour.
I recently had the pleasure of
meeting a gentleman who encompassed all of those characteristics.
Stan
Delorme is a member of Cowessess
First Nation and is their land manager
and also runs a successful outfitting
company. What sets him apart is that
for the past two years, Stan has been
relearning how to live and how to run
his company from a wheelchair.
In the summer of 2007 Stan was
bitten by a tiny mosquito. He does not
even remember when he was bit, but
he figures it was around the time he
saw his farmer neighbour while he was
out chasing horses and fixing fence.
Stan checked into the hospital several
days later because he lost his balance
and had massive chills and fever.
He had brushed it off as heat
stroke. He was wrong. A diagnosis
came ten days later. It was West Nile
virus, and his neighbour checked into
the same hospital two days later with
the same affliction.
By that time, Stan could not walk.
The virus attacked his muscle tissue
and nerve endings, severely affecting
his left side. He was hospitalized for a
month and then was transferred to the
Wascana Centre for another month and
a half of rehab. The doctors gave the
busy and motivated outdoorsman a not
so good prognosis.
“To this day, they tell me I might
not walk,” says Delorme. “Four
months ago,I sat on the bed, something
told me to get up…so I did and walked
out of the bedroom. I have gone from
being completely dependant on my
power chair to now, with a walker, I
can go 150 paces or so and by fall I
should be able to be away from the
walker for a half hour or so.
But if this is it, this is it. I am
happy where I am at. Compared to
lying on your back and not knowing
what is going on. I can live with this.”
Till then, he is having trouble
mastering wheel chairs.
“The power chair is something
that you have to learn to operate.”
He learned the hard way by
rolling his six wheeler.
“It is not as easy as people think.
I rolled a manual chair, my power chair.
I’m the kind of guy who has to do
things. I fell off my quad last Monday
and bruised some ribs. But I am not
going to let a mosquito bite slow me
down.”
Delorme admits that the hardest
part has been adjusting to his lack of
mobility and other normal activities.
“Not doing the regular functions
for yourself on a day to day basis…
there are a lot of things that a man takes
for granted. It is a real mind game to
stay positive. I stayed positive and had
lots of support. Jennifer was great. She
went through everything with me.”
Through the entire ordeal, Stan
had his wife, Jennifer Pelletier, beside
him and a big group of family and
friends that helped with the adjustment.
Jennifer quit her job, the guides in the
outfitting business did more work, and
Stan ran the business from his chair.
It has been difficult to adjust and
there have been many tears, but there
have also been lots of laughs.
“We have learned to count on
each other,” said Stan of Jennifer.
“When I rolled the chairs, I laughed,
she cried.”
“But I had to pull the chairs off
him,” laughed Jennifer.
And Stan has learned some life
lessons.
“I don’t panic anymore. My
buddy saw me fall off my quad and he
panicked so bad he could not dial his
phone. I rolled around, pulled out my
phone and dialed for help. I have way
more patience. I used to be rammy.
Now I count on help.”
Jennifer remarked that they have
a whole new perspective on life around
what people say is wheelchair accessible, and that there is a big difference
between accessible and friendly.
“Stan needs a different kind of
hotel room and we need a shower
bench. The one at the hotel had four tiny
slats across and Stan is a big man, so it
would not work,” added Jennifer. “We
had lots of stumbles, but we made it.”
To this day Stan is open and very
pragmatic about his situation. You can
tell he loves his family and they love
him and he knows it could be worse.
“I saw lots of people in the hospital
when I shared a room that did not have
the support I did,” said Delorme.“With
that support, I am good. And I still get
to do what I love and I am not lying on
my back in a hospital bed. Once I was
at that point, I figured it could only get
better from here.”
Family, hard work and humour
are certainly crucial elements in the life
of Stan Delorme.There is a lesson to
be learned from him and his family."http://aborigin.sasktelwebhosting.com/Resources/June_2009.pdf

Little Tombstone on Vimeo.

LITTLE TOMBSTONE - ESMA 2011 from Little Tombstone on Vimeo.
http://little-tombstone.com/

Dans une petite ville du Far-West deux cowboys, le Bon et la Brute, se défient en duel. Le Croque-mort va suivre l'affrontement avec intérêt...

In a small town in the Far-West, the Good and the Bad, challenge each other to show-down. The Undertaker takes some interest in the show-down between the opponants...

Directed by :
- AZAIS Frédéric
- DI MALTA Théo
- LEYMONERIE Benjamin
- QUILLET Adrien

Music by :
SCURI Alexandre

Mixed by :
Jose VICENTE and Yoann PONCET, Studio des Aviateurs.

Voice : WANGERMEZ Reuno

Guitarist : DI MALTA Serge
Harmonica : LEYMONERIE Benjamin
Trumpets : DISLA Fabrice et VAROT Frédéric

ESMA Ecole Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques 2011 TOULOUSE

SHARING IS WELCOME!!! HELP YOURSELF TO POST IT ANYWHERE YOU LIKE! THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT!

Wild Wonders of Europe - What its all about! featuring Irya Gmeyner

Irya Gmeyner                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          1.Wild Wonders of Europe. 2.Popular songs by Irya's Playground

Robbie Robertson - Broken Arrow

http://theband.hiof.no/albums/robbie_robertson.htmlhttp://www.robbie-robertson.com/

Humans of New York - By photographer Brandon

About Humans of New York

My name is Brandon and I began Humans of New York in the summer of 2010.  HONY resulted from an idea that I had to construct a photographic census of New York City.  I thought it would be really cool to create an exhaustive catalogue of the city’s inhabitants, so I set out to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers and plot their photos on a map.  I worked for several months with this goal in mind.  But somewhere along the way, HONY began to take on a much different character.  I started collecting quotes and short stories from the people I met, and began including these snippets alongside the photographs.  Taken together, these portraits and captions became the subject of a vibrant blog, which over the past two years has gained hundreds of thousands of followers.  With over 180,000 followers on Facebook and 80,000 followers on Tumblr, HONY now provides a worldwide audience with daily glimpses into the lives of strangers on the streets of New York City. http://www.humansofnewyork.com/photographer/

Missing by A. A. Milne

mouse.                       

Has anybody seen my mouse?

I opened his box for half a minute,
Just to make sure he was really in it,
And while I was looking, he jumped outside!
I tried to catch him, I tried, I tried....
I think he's somewhere about the house.
Has anyone seen my mouse?

Uncle John, have you seen my mouse?

Just a small sort of mouse, a dear little brown one,
He came from the country, he wasn't a town one,
So he'll feel all lonely in a London street;
Why, what could he possibly find to eat?
He must be somewhere. I'll ask Aunt Rose:
Have you seen a mouse with a woffelly nose?
He's just got out...

Hasn't anybody seen my mouse? ( woffelly = wobbly)    photohttp://allpoetry.com/A.A._Milne

Julia Child sings and cooks in 100th birthday video created by PBS

Jesse Kinos-Goodin |

Postmedia News files Julia Child's books and TV show, The French Chef, changed the face of cooking in North America. photo

.   http://www.tulsaworld.com/blogs/post.aspx?Autotuned_Julia_Child_sings_and_cooks_in_100th_birthday_video_created_by_PBS/52-16519

Obama Administration's War on Persecuted Christians - Middle East Forum

“The attacks on Christians continue and the world remains totally silent. It’s as if we’ve been swallowed up by the night.”—Iraqi source image                                                               by Raymond Ibrahim
Investigative Project on Terrorism
The Obama administration's support for its Islamist allies means lack of U.S. support for their enemies, or, more properly, victims—the Christian and other non-Muslim minorities of the Muslim world. Consider the many recent proofs:
According to Pete Winn of CNS:

The U.S. State Department removed the sections covering religious freedom from the Country Reports on Human Rights that it released on May 24, three months past the statutory deadline Congress set for the release of these reports. The new human rights reports—purged of the sections that discuss the status of religious freedom in each of the countries covered—are also the human rights reports that include the period that covered the Arab Spring and its aftermath. Thus, the reports do not provide in-depth coverage of what has happened to Christians and other religious minorities in predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East that saw the rise of revolutionary movements in 2011 in which Islamist forces played an instrumental role. For the first time ever, the State Department simply eliminated the section of religious freedom in its reports covering 2011… (emphasis added).

The CNS report goes on to quote several U.S. officials questioning the motives of the Obama administration. Former U.S. diplomat Thomas Farr said that he has "observed during the three-and-a-half years of the Obama administration that the issue of religious freedom has been distinctly downplayed." Leonard Leo, former chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said "to have pulled religious freedom out of it [the report] means that fewer people will obtain information," so that "you don't have the whole picture."
Of course, censoring information is a regular theme under Obama: if the administration is suppressing knowledge concerning the sufferings of religious minorities under Islam, earlier it suppressed knowledge concerning Islam itself (see here for a surreal example of the effects of such censorship).
In "Obama Overlooks Christian Persecution," James Walsh gives more examples of State Department indifference "regarding the New Years' murders of Coptic Christians in Egypt and the ravaging of a cathedral," including how the State Department "refused to list Egypt as 'a country of particular concern,' even as Christians and others were being murdered, churches destroyed, and girls kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam. "...Continue reading...

The Grateful Dead - Ripple

"People that hate cats, will come back as mice in their next life..." Author Unknown
Misty...aka "Metro", the cat

photo

Grateful Dead - last.fm

Something Sick is Happening in Jerusalem

by Jonathan Feldstein

Israelis pick up their gas masks in one of Jerusalem's malls. The big ones are for the Iranian weapons, the mid sized ones for the Syrian weapons, and the small ones are for the Hezbollah and Hamas weapons.

by Jonathan Feldstein
Something sick is happening in Jerusalem. It’s so sick that it makes my heart race in fear, and my blood boil in anger. Making matters worse, it’s not just happening in Jerusalem, but throughout Israel.
Since the 1990s, when Iraq threatened Israel with chemical weapons, Israel has undertaken, at no little expense, to distribute gas masks to all its citizens. Over the years, old gas masks have been replaced by new ones and, as more modern threats have arisen, and new efforts made to be sure that all Israelis are protected.
The latest threat involves Syria. It’s a well known fact that Syria possesses numerous long range rockets that can strike most parts of Israel, placing 4/5 or more of Israel’s population in range. It’s also known that Syria possesses chemical and/or biological weapons that can be loaded onto these rockets and inflict immediate death of many, and mass casualties of countless others, some who would die eventually of exposure to these weapons of mass destruction. Anyone not living in a cave the past year knows that Syria is unraveling at the seams and engaged in a bloody internal war that could risk these weapons getting into the hands of someone who wouldn’t hesitate to use them.
Living under the threat of such a disaster is indeed sick. Not because we live here, but because we face the daily threat of any of our neighbors unleashing a rocket attack, suicide bomb, border infiltration, or any other way to kill and maim as many Israelis as possible...Continue reading...

"Funny Talking Animals - The Wild Site of Life" by BBC

Stuart Little

Jeanne Newman - photographer

Photographer Jenne Newman's photo's caught my attention. Her photo galleries are worth an attentive examination. "Great is Baseball" is my favorite gallery.                                                                  The Well Dressed Snapshot                                        
Jeanne Newman