Monday, February 28, 2011

Video of the week

While looking for the music theme from Schindler's list, I found that the miniseries Holocaust is available on youtube.



try explaining such evil to a ten year old...

Cat item of the day

From Finestkind Clinic and fish market

Lost in the cosmos due to TB

On my Xanga blog one of the headlines discussed was that the CDC just redicovered medical folks catch TB from their patients. Well, duh. Been there, done that (although I didn't catch it, I merely got a very postive skin test).

That brought me to the cockeyed logic of Walker Percy, who retired from medicine after he caught TB as a pathology resident.

The first book of his that I read was "the Moviegoer", which I wasn't sure I liked but it haunted me in a way that only classics usually do.

But his satires are better known: Essay at Chronicles of Higher Ed here.

Peter Kreeft podcast on Percy here.

Ironically, I enjoyed the Thantos Syndrome, not for it's antieuthanasia satires,(which is too close to reality nowadays to be funny) but for the zany characters, and the completely not political correct satire on what would happen if you put chemicals in the water supply of New Orleans to make the folks there smart, happy, hard working, and obedient...

Isn't it ironic that the best "Catholic" writers (Percy and Flannery O'Connor) are from the South of the US (where Catholics are rare) and whose "religious" themes are often interpreted by the overly pious as anti Christian?

of course, if I had read Lancelot first, I'd probably agree with them.

Factoid: His daughter was deaf, but since he supported lip reading not ASL, he is disliked by much of the American Deaf community.

Guns, gals, and gender bending...with music



on the other hand:


Yes, that's Mary Martin, best known for her Broadway role as Maria in the Sound of Music and Nellie in South Pacific..

But for kids, this was her most famous role:



ah, for the good old days before political correctness....when a grandmother could play a 12 year old boy, and no one bothered to wonder about the sexual implications of Tinkerbelle...

Stuff below the fold, complete with rants

Right now I'm into ancient history.

So All the shenanigans in the US, where Democrats are trying to ignore the elections and overturn the social contract implied in the procedural agreement of democracy to get their own way, reminds me of how the Gracchi brothers, trying to get land reform against a greedy upper class Senate in Rome, twisted traditions of the Republic to get their own way, were killed for their bullying tactics.

Usually they are portrayed as heroes, which they were, but the bad news is that their actions destroyed the balance between the classes, so in the long run they destroyed the republic in order to save "the people".

The Marxist interpretation of Julius Caesar is the same, that he was killed for trying to help "the people".

The irony: The landless masses got used to living off the dole, so when they got farms, they sold them back, preferring to live off the dole in the city rather than live poor on a farm where crops might fail. Cheap grain from Egypt undercut their ability to make a profit, and slave labor was cheaper to use to cultivate crops for export, while soil erosion/deterioration made the land in Italy less productive...

which is why I argued that the unions resemble the Luddites: many of the gov't jobs have been or will be computerized or outsourced to save money no matter how much they strike, but the damage to democracy will outlast their jobs.

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Yesterday was the feast day of Saint Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother. Typical saintly biography HERE, where I got the picture of the effeminate saint so beloved by the pious.

So why is he so popular? Well, maybe it's because of the parts not usually noted in the pious biographies, such as he was a playboy once engaged to two ladies at the same time, and not the milksop of the pious books.

But the reason that the common people embraced him as one of their own can be found in this story:


"In 1860, a band of soldiers from the army of Garibaldi entered the mountain village of Isola, Italy. They began to burn and pillage the town, terrorizing its inhabitants.

Possenti, with his seminary rector's permission, walked into the center of town, unarmed, to face the terrorists. One of the soldiers was dragging off a young woman he intended to rape when he saw Possenti and made a snickering remark about such a young monk being all alone. Possenti quickly grabbed the soldier's revolver from his belt and ordered the marauder to release the woman. The startled soldier complied, as Possenti grabbed the revolver of another soldier who came by. Hearing the commotion, the rest of the soldiers came running in Possenti's direction, determined to overcome the rebellious monk.

At that moment a small lizard ran across the road between Possenti and the soldiers. When the lizard briefly paused, Possenti took careful aim and struck the lizard with one shot. Turning his two handguns on the approaching soldiers, Possenti commanded them to drop their weapons. Having seen his handiwork with a pistol, the soldiers complied. Possenti ordered them to put out the fires they had set, and upon finishing, marched the whole lot out of town, ordering them never to return. The grateful townspeople escorted Possenti in triumphant procession back to the seminary, thereafter referring to him as "the Savior of Isola"."

So he is now the patron saint of gunowners.

He's not the only saint whose popularity is obscured by pious retelling: It wasn't until I saw this movie on Saint Rita that I realized she was popular among my Italian classmates' moms, not for her visions as much as she was a sexy housewife and loving mother who not only managed to forgive her husband's murderers but who managed to stop a Mafia type feud between the families that were terrorizing the town by inspiring them to stop the feud.

Imagine that type of plot in the Sopranos...

Indeed, imagine such a peacemaker in Libya or the middle East, or even in Madison Wisconsin, saying we need to respect and love each other and stop the hatred and work together for the common good.
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another playboy/reporter made good. More here.
It would make a great movie if they left the jokes and religion in...
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Quick, before the copyright cops find out:

The Ginger Tree miniseries
is on youtube.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Libyan evacuations

The Hindustani Times has a list and numbers of those leaving Libya.

Stuff below the fold

TORN reports on test filming of barrel riding.
includes photos.


=======================

most atheistic screeds attacking religion as murderous seem unaware of this rebellion:

"...Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Taiping Rebellion, the momentous 19th century Chinese revolt led by a disillusioned young man who imagined himself the brother of Jesus Christ, come to save his Chinese brothers and sisters from the clutches of the Imperial Qing dynasty. Almost fourteen years later with over twenty million people dead, the Taiping Rebellion was quashed. But what did the rebels truly believe in and what did it achieve? "

InOurTimePodcast HERE.

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The country's broke, but never mind:

10 thousand gather to celebrate Mugabe's birthday.


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The Irish are again leaving that land to find jobs.
Not good news for a country that put it's faith in the EU...

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The IronDog race was held this weekend, despite storms and weather problems causing delays, and
and KTUU reports Tyler Huntington and Chris Olds Won
......photos HERE.

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The "Don't mess with Mama" image of the day:


image by Francisco Gascó

ThunderThighs, the Dinosaur...

Factoid of the day

Philippine headlines below the fold


Friday and Saturday were big days to celebrate the EDSA revolution.

The news here has been full of the celebrations and interviews of those who participated.

PNoy even cited the roll of music in the revolution...."Aquino said though songs like “Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo” and “Bayan Ko” may now sound too old to the new generation, these songs are part of the country’s history because it helped topple a 20-year dictatorship,,"

Of course, Banyan Ko was written in the 1930's to protest of the US occupation, but never mind...

------------------------------------
But the headlines are full of stories of OFW coming home, or worries about those still missing in the New Zealand earthquakes. Our OFW are all over the world... Not only do the locals, remembering our own "People power" revolutions, identify with those trying to get rid of dictators in Tunisia and Egypt, but there are a lot of our OFW there who might be in danger.

Headlines in today's Manila Bulletin:

Escape from Libya
1,491 OFWs evacuated;

the real problem: The Gov't estimates we have 26,000 to 30 000 OFW working there.

"...Of the total 26,200 Filipinos, about 13,000 are due to be taken out under the government's evacuation program and the rest are expected to leave with their multinational employers..."

and other countries are scrambling to evacuate their people: The UK used their own transport planes, China has 16000 working there who will leave on planes,

The MB says most are working for oil companies, transportation, in telecoms, as medical personnel...

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Related items
the papers also note the demonstrations against corruption in Iraq.

PJTatler reports that the Iranians have jailed the opposition leaders:
"... both opposition leaders, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi have been transferred to a secret prison in Tehran..."

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Orange Marmalade

Ironically, in a country with lots of fresh citrus fruits, a decent Orange Marmalde is hard to find.

Or maybe it's not ironic, since making jams and jellies is traditionally how northern cold climates preserve fruits for the long winter.

And of course, thanks to modern transportation, you can buy oranges in northern parts of the world all year long.

But if you want to make your own organg marmalade, Design sponge has a recipe HERE for Orange vanilla marmalade.

Musical Interlude of the day

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Musical interlude of the day



a popular patriotic song here in the Philippines: History HERE.

It's The 25th anniversary of the EDSA revolution.

big celebration in Manila to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the popular revolt that overthrew Marcos.




And of course they built a shrine to commemorate it.

Medical news you can use

Elephant-to-Human Transmission of Tuberculosis, 2009

Abstract
In 2009, the Tennessee Department of Health received reports of 5 tuberculin skin test (TST) conversions among employees of an elephant refuge and isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from a resident elephant.,,,

Ran across that article while writing about the recent increase in drug resistant tuberculosis..

essay is on my Xangablog.

News you can use

The "every cloud has a silver lining" headline of the day:

Small Nuclear War Could Reverse Global Warming for Years


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Podcast: Everything you wanted to know about chocolate (and why it's good for you)

not only does it lower your blood pressure, help your asthma, are high in healthy anti oxidants, but it makes you happy...

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Snow white playing cards

remember the "good old days" when people still played cards?



of course, nowadays, kids are into more interactive play













such as:
the Snow White Video game:
"...Help Snow White avoid the evil clutches of the jealous queen and seek refuge in the dwarfs' forest home. Beware of strangers peddling apples, and find Prince Charming, your true love, to live happily ever after..."


Sigh. My granddaughter is now getting too old for Snow White, and into Farmville and Plants vs Zombies.




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Factoid of the day from Epilog:

A New Zealand university student conducted a study to see how many more French fries he'd get if he upgraded at McDonald's. Not much according to his research--he averaged only 14 more fries by choosing the 70-cent upgrade from a medium to a large.

more information From Answers.com: there are 32 fries in a small order of fries.
Related answers:


How many calories are in a small fries at McDonalds?
230 for small, 380 for medium and 500 for large.



and, of course, Happy meals are forever...
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Toyota gives you a Latin lesson:

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Musical Interlude of the day

Insomnia downloads of the day

Don't feel like counting sheep? Try listening to this instead:

Sophistical Elenchi

by Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC)
Translated by W.A. Pickard-Cambridge (1873-1952)

De Sophisticis Elenchis is the sixth of Aristotle's six texts on logic which are collectively known as the Organon ("Instrument"). In De Sophisticis Elenchis Aristotle identifies 13 falacies. Verbal Fallacies are: Accent or Emphasis; Amphibology; Equivocation; Composition; Division and Figure of Speech. Material Fallacies are: Accident; Affirming the Consequent; Converse Accident; Irrelevant Conclusion; Begging the Question; False Cause and Fallacy of Many Questions. (Adapted from Wikipedia)

No ArtBell in your area? Never fear:

Unidentified Flying Objects by United States Federal Bureau of Investigation is on line.

OR you could listen to other "good for your soul" type downloads that make Oprah's advice look wimpy, such as:

Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman

or you might want to listen to the R rated version:

The Curtezan Unmasked

by Anonymous

"The Curtezan unmasked or, the Whoredomes of Jezebel Painted to the Life: With Antidotes against them, or Heavenly Julips to cool Men in the Fever of Lust" is a fire-and-brimstone polemic by "A Spiritual Physician" to persuade young men not to succumb to harlotry and its accompanying perils. (Introduction by Denny Sayers)

Gandalf is blogging again


During the LOTR filming, Ian McKellan posted ongoing reports on his webpage, where he posts and links about his numerous projects on stage and screen.

His new blog about the Hobbit is HERE.

headsup TORN

Are the teachers out on Strike? No Problem

RoboTeacher to the Rescue!



Developed by the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) at a cost of some $1.39 million, Engkey is a telepresence bot, controlled by teachers in the Philippines. It has two-way video and audio for interaction with students, and can move its arms around to make a point. The LED shows the teacher's face or an animated CG face.

No, they won't really replace teachers, but alternative teaching using new technology could allow individual student learning at their own pace, decreasing the need for the number or trained teachers.

So your kids could learn at youtube's Khan academy, or start a curriculum taught by the best as shown in the program Jamie Oliver's Dream school...

Cat item of the day

and the most important news of the day is....

Smokey the cat wins the prize for having the world's loudest purr.


Crime, Libel and hype Headlines below the fold

One author writing an "ain't she awful" book on Sarah Palin is threatening to sue another "ain't she awful" book author.

Why buy either one? as Salon puts it:

New book about Sarah Palin confirms what you know about Sarah Palin

"Ain't it awful" books are easy to write and sell: nuanced insightful books are such a bore...

As I wrote in 2009 it's the "Heathers factor"...

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Even Mordor can trash Aragorn and Frodo. download HERE.

Yeah, but this film already did it:



---------------------------------

Illegal small mining opersions contributed to the flooding and landslides in Samar.

I'm ambivalent about this: getting mining companies to invest will produce jobs and you can regulate them if they pollute, but corruption encourages regulators to look the other way and whistleblowers are easily "eliminated", so you have a problem:
because the alternative may not be no mining and pristine environment, but "do it yourself" mining that endangers both the miners and the environment.

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Who are the worst polluters in the UK? Old people, who take cars and taxis instead of walking, who keep the thermostat up in their large houses instead of living in a cold one room flat, and who eat at restaurants instead of cooking at home.

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USAToday has a post on the Jack Wheeler murder mystery.

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and Orange County remembers the good guys killed by Somali pirates ...

Another newspaper derided them as "Bible Thumpers", but a closer look shows they attended the same parish church as Martin Sheen and Brooke Shields (according toGetReligion)


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Hamas, for the second time, tries to eliminate male hair stylists from cutting ladies hair in Gaza.

Guess Pinoy hairdressers can cross Gaza off their list for jobs.


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Hackers one, hatemongers zero

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Craft item of the day

How to draw a kitten


Earthquakes hit NZ

Big earthquake in Christchurch New Zealand.

in our prayers

Everyday heroes: NYPD


from the NYDailyNews:


"...The NYPD pulled off a dangerous and dramatic rescue on Sunday, dangling a detective from a helicopter in ferocious winds to rescue two West Point cadets who were freezing to death on a mountain ledge..."


USATODAY story HERE.



Summary: The two got stuck on a ledge, and called for help from a cellphone. After figuring out where the cellphone call came from, local rescuers arrived but couldn't get them...so finally they had to call for air rescue. By the time they arrived, it was 2 am, and they had to do two rescues to get off the young men.


photos from NYDailyNews.
NYPD pilot Steve Browning (top) and ESU Detective Christopher Condon (below) were among the heroes.



apparantly, the NYPD has helicopters 24/7 and the mountain was 60 miles north of the city, so they were called in to help.

Philippine headlines below the fold


Another day, another volcano.

No, not in our area. But the headline made Drudge.

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CNN conspires with rich Americans to keep our local eggplant high protein.

Better to find slugs in half your eggplant and for farmers to lost their crops than to let the Philippines get away with a trial of GM eggplant.

Why: Scinews points out:

Bruce Chassy, associate director of the Biotechnology Center at the University of Illinois, United States, said he believes that anti-GM advocates may have poured their resources into the Philippines "because they fear the model the Philippines has set up may spread like a cancer and infect countries that now reject or are uncertain about GM crops.

"The Philippines has been a beacon of scientific enlightenment in a vast sea of darkness with regards to sound, science-based policies about agricultural biotechnology and GM crops. This poses an enormous threat to the movement against GM," he said.


Reality check, please.
we grow "organic rice" which we are looking to export. We sell it for three times that of the rice imported from elsewhere that is used to feed poor people here. The dirty little secret is that outsiders from the first world pressure our elites to be "organic" because it's easy to do....
The same type who are stopping GM foods are the ones opposing fertilizer and pesticides...

Information about eggplant borers and why prevention means multiple sprays of insecticide, or maybe buying an expensive "sticky net" to cover one's crops could help if you really insist on organic.

Indeed, there are arguments that it was NGO's that stopped the "Green revolution" from reaching Africa. Here's a typical left wing explanation hailing Africa's failure to embrace evil crops.

Africa is characterised by its cultural diversity, which makes up its wealth. By ignoring the first Green Revolution, Africans have demonstrated to the world that they have understood that this revolution would kill their cultural diversity and their agriculture.

Actually, Africa is not that diverse. The majority of people south of the Sahara, and outside of the Ethiopia/Somali tribes are Bantu tribes that are very similar to one another culturally. Like the Han in China, they introduced cattle and agriculture into the areas of hunter gatherers, and diplaced or intermarried with the non Bantu population...

And Africans, who embraced maize that originated in the Americas, to expand their crops, would probably welcome new crops to expand their income and diet.

And the reason they "ignored" the green revolution is that development was shoved into fancy programs in cities to show off, and agriculture was ignored.

The typical African farmer in our area was a woman with a hoe, since the men (who traditionally used cattle to plow) were forced by economic pressures to work in the cities or to emigrate to the mines in South Africa to support their families. With the population increase, the "slash and burn" and moving around methods no longer worked, and the fields were being ruined for lack of fertilizer and modern farming techniques.

Hopefully, Bill Gates is rich enough to counter the rich greens who want to keep people living the simple life eating organic food and suffering from malnutrition, B vitamin deficiency from eating only maize or chronic cyanide neuropathy from eating cassava.

if not, well, China is willing and eager to do the job in Africa.

------------------------
Another story that has implications for the US: China is holding 70 Filipinos for drug charges (mainly drug mules). They are threatening to execute three this week, and the VP is there beggin them not to, and to go after the bigshots instead.

Now, when the Chinese dissadent got the Nobel prize, the Chinese pressured the Philippines successfully to stay home. They used the bus massacre to pressure us. Now I suspect they will use these drug mules to pressure more concessions.

Watch the Spratlys...
------------------
Finally, Butz remembers EDSA.


_______________________-

Update: Small earthquake in Manila area this morning...didn't feel it here.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Jasmine revolution: Aljezeerah has lots of links:

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Oh well, here in the Philippines, everyone still loves PNoy, so all we have to worry about are Volcanoes, earthquakes and Dengue Fever...
and the headline?

Donaire wins 2 titles

Stuff below the fold

the Jack Wheeler case gets stranger: Wife claims a hit job, but it looks like someone was using his credit card after he died, suggesting he was a victim of a robbery.
more HERE.
And one wonders if his confusion was due to a stroke.
Freepers have a long thread with discussion here.


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Who's behind the "Jasmine" tweets in China?

StrategyPage had a column last August on their hidden problems.


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a new movie being made about what happened to the lost Roman Ninth Legion...sort of Braveheart prequel... Were they lost, disbanded, or both? More HERE.

Yet if they were massacred, there should be bodies somewhere...even Cambyses lost Persian army and the massacre of the Romans in the Teutoburg forest in Germany have finally been found.

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and what is it with Hollywood ignoring helmets? Compare and contrast



heck, even in 300 they had helmets. Not a lot of clothing, but they did wear helmets.
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Heh. A governor with a New Jersey Attitude.

---------------------------------------------
My take on the Wisconsin Kerfuffle: Luddite redux.

the Luddite movement:

… the conventional picture of the Luddism of these years as a blind opposition to machinery as such becomes less and less tenable. What was at issue was the `freedom’ of the capitalist to destroy the custom of the trade, whether by new machinery, by the factory system or by unrestricted competition, beating down wages, undercutting his ‘rivals and undermining standards of craftsmanship.


Yeah, but they lost anyway...not a lot of hand loomed cloth in the clothing at Walmart nowadays...

and remember: If they want to save money in Wisconsin, there are a lot of Pinoy teachers who would love to work for $25000 a year, and a lot of the paperpushing state jobs could be outsourced to Makati
.

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Polish priest killed in Tunesia...

New film about if one should stay in danger or leave when Islamicists threaten...

it's the radicalism, not the religion per se: we had the same choice when the communists took over the rebellion in some parts of Zimbabwe, and went out of their way to kill (black and white) pastors/nuns. Our area had the less radical, but not all my friends were so lucky.


and of course, radicals of both sides killed clergy in Colombia, who often were silenced because they witnessed atrocities.

Sunday School lesson for today

Sunday school lesson for today from Col Updraft:Greetings,

Adam and Eve said, 'Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us every day. Now we do not see you anymore. We are lonesome here, and it is difficult for us to remember how much you love us.'

And God said, I will create a companion for you that will be with you and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me.
Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves.'

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve. And it was a good animal and God was pleased.





And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged his tail.



And Adam said, 'Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and I cannot think of a name for this new animal.'

And God said, 'I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG.'




And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them. And they were comforted.

And God was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged his tail.



After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, 'Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well.'

And God said, I will create for them a companion who will be with them and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration.'

And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve.



[]

And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat's eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings they thought they were.

And Adam and Eve learned humility.
And they were greatly improved


And God was pleased...

And Dog was happy.

And Cat .. .




didn't care one way or the other.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Juanita Banana



Juanita Banana is a new SoapOpera/drama series on one of our local stations ABS CBN.

A young woman tries to catch a teardrop from a banana tree’s heart believing that it gives her magical powers but she gets the fascination of a dwarf prince who uses his own magic to grant her every wish.

Factoid of the day


Is that a banana in your pants, or are you smuggling a dirty bomb?

from Wikipedia: the Banana equivalent dose

Many foods are naturally radioactive, and bananas are particularly so, due to the radioactive potassium-40 they contain. The banana equivalent dose is the radiation exposure received by eating a single banana. ....

Bananas are radioactive enough to regularly cause false alarms on radiation sensors used to detect possible illegal smuggling of nuclear material at US ports.[4]


headsup Via Joe Carter

however, Snopes points out they have fiber, the tryptophan in them helps seasonal affective disorder, depression and PMS, and a banana milkshake is a great cure for hangovers.

so enjoy!


The UK Telegraph views the demonstrations in Wisconsin.

My take? I'd rather have my social security cut than have my savings lose their value with the trick Carter did: let inflation lower the debt.

I came back from Africa and found my savings could buy half of what I could buy four years earlier.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Video of the week


Quick: Before the copyright cops find out:



The TV miniseries "A Town Like Alice" is on youtube. LINK.

I have the novel by Nevil Shute here with me...found it at the used book kiosk, so I guess it's still in print.

How to travel when the roads are shut


alice's team came in third at the skating competition at lakeplacid.

Some people enjoy winter but I'll stick with the heat.

Musical interlude of the day

Stuff below the fold


Good news of the day: Akhenaten statue returned to Cairo museum.



but alas other items still missing and some other sites have been vandalized.

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Hobbit weekly news:



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In an earlier rant about "undiscovered tribes"
I mentioned that if the development people, the oil companies and others were kept out, the drug lords would take over.

Well, Nat Geo now has an article that admits that drug lords are behind a lot of the deforestation in Colombia.

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Will Amelia Earhart be identified by her...spit?


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mixing ebook and movie in a Made-for-ipad thriller.

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Podcast of the week: When your dictator leaves, what do you do next? mp3link

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and the really important question of the day: Will Firefly return?





they even have a "Help Nathan buy Firefly" page at facebook....

Map of the imagination

The Fantasy World Map
see more Lol Celebs

Friday, February 18, 2011

Photo of the day



from NASA:

Arp 147 contains the remnant of a spiral galaxy (right) that collided with the elliptical galaxy on the left. This collision has produced an expanding wave of star formation that shows up as a blue ring containing in abundance of massive young stars. These stars race through their evolution in a few million years or less and explode as supernovas, leaving behind neutron stars and black holes.

Musical interlude of the day


the story of Miles Standish is, of course, a G rated retelling of the R rated story of Tristan and Isolde, whose story is best known in the opera by Wagner. although this photo from Wikipedia of the duo who sang the original opera suggests that Isolde must have been out of her mind to fall in love.

But anyway, the music is nice.
Turn up speakers and try not to cry:

Insomnia download of the day

If you ever wondered where the phrase "speak for yourself, John" came from, download this long boring poem from Librivox.

The Courtship of Miles Standish.


But as he warmed and glowed, in his simple and eloquent language,
Quite forgetful of self, and full of the praise of his rival,
Archly the maiden smiled, and, with eyes over-running with laughter,
Said, in a tremulous voice, "Why don't you speak for yourself, John?"

Craft item of the day


Does your home sometimes resemble the Mos Eisley spaceport?
check out this pattern at Geekysweetheart.

headsup Geekcrafts.

Confessional IPhone?



Sister Mary Martha comments on the Iphone(aka Swiss Army phone) confession app.


"...It lists the Ten Commandments, for example, and asks questions about ways in which you may have broken them so you can figure out how you've sinned. To which some people might respond, "I don't want my phone to tell me how I've sinned." And to which we must reply, "As long as someone or something does, we're okay with it."
...

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Gift item of the day



ROBOChick

Musical interlude of the day



first part is music, then an interview.

Bedtime stories for Bonzo



and remember, Flopsie Mopsie and Cottontale are backing him up:

PETER RABBIT TANK KILLER

Headsup DaveBarry
although StrategyPage wrote about it a couple years ago.

Food link of the day

YUM: Dayglow pink popcorn. The family kitchen at babble has the recipe on how to cover it with jello to make it glow.


cute kawaii stuff - Epicute: Dayglo Pink Popcorn
see more Must Have Cute

Death and Destruction headlines below the fold

Instapundit noted the increased emphasis of civil defense authorities in the US about a bomb attack.

Yes, we had a similar "headsup" about smallpox shortly after 911 (I had to read and lecture our clinic staff on the plans on how to vaccinate the population and isolate the cases).

Dark winter scenerio was the worry; but with modern transportation, it would spread back to the Middle East. Yetnext to smallpox, "dirty bombs" seem more like weapons of propaganda. The real worry is a nuke that works.

But this is the real worry:

3) Obama’s statement that if we are hit with a WMD strike, we would go to the UN first, and not retaliate.

I suspect if we said coldbloodedly that we'd take out Mecca and Qom that might stop such an attack. but the problem is that no one would really believe that Obama had the guts to do it.

Hillary, yes. Palin, yes. Obama, no.

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Sarcastic Christopher Hitchens also notes that the "human rights" folks finally are noticing that most of the deaths are from terrorists, not those trying to fight them.

And one of these days, they may notice the schools that recruit and propagandize children to become suicide bombers, and the charities that fund them. Or maybe not.

From Strategypage, who are more sardonic that even Hitchens:

February 16, 2011: While the UN, and the international community, has vigorously sought bans on the recruiting of children (usually boys in their early teens) by rebel groups, and some armies, there has much less outcry over the use of Islamic schools for training and recruiting children as suicide bombers. This is largely the result of the Islamic nations vigorously opposing any such action in the UN. In general, Islamic nations do not want any criticism of their internal affairs, especially if it involves terrorism, or other unsavory practices (pedophilia, violent misogyny, slavery, religious bigotry, corruption in general). This is one thing the Islamic nations can unite on, and the UN has learned to back off.


From Instapundit:

BUT OF COURSE: Human Rights Watch Appoints Terrorist (and “Human Rights Activist”) to Middle East Advisory Board.

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Remember those propaganda "medical" articles printed in a timely matter to condemn Bush's reelection campaign?

Well, a Plos study now notes:

We analyzed the Iraq Body Count database of 92,614 Iraqi civilian direct deaths from armed violence occurring from March 20, 2003 through March 19, 2008, of which Unknown perpetrators caused 74% of deaths (n = 68,396), Coalition forces 12% (n = 11,516), and Anti-Coalition forces 11% (n = 9,954). We analyzed the subset of 60,481 civilian deaths from 14,196 short-duration events of lethal violence to link individual civilian deaths to events involving perpetrators and their methods. One-third of civilian violent death was from extrajudicial executions by Unknown perpetrators...

Yes, those nasty "unknown perpetrators" are to blame.

What is it that Harry Potter calls them? He Who Cannot Be Named?

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Wikileak WTF headline of the day:

In Durham there has long been concern among students that followers of Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, an extremist religious authority, were getting publicity and legitimacy for their views because of the prestigious association with the university. Now there is unhappiness, but little surprise, that secret US funding was involved.

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Over 70 protesters against the Iranian gov't from last year's protest have been executed, and now bloggers are in danger.

And moderates behind Monday's demonstrations may be the next casualties.

Foreign policy analysis HERE.

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Just like the communists always saw the socialists as the enemy (since the socialists could implement the good ideas without a full "revolution", so too are moderates who want a conservative Islamic influence in government with democracy the real danger to the Mullahs and their theocratic plutocracy).

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The enemy isn't Islam, but a rabid form of fascism that uses Islam as a front. Think Nazis who used both the churches and scientific theories of eugenics to justify their murderous ideology, and you can see how easily good ideas can be twisted.

The most dangerous "enemy" is one who twists the truth to do evil, not one who is openly evil.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Headlines below the fold

While the Middle East is imploding, here are some headlines you might have missed:

Maureen Dowd not allowed in CPAC.
Probably a good idea, since probably Anne Coulter would have eaten her alive.
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ViaDaveBarry:

TERROR STALKS WIKIPEDIA

Revenge of the Bieber People

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Stained glass windows of church, now with solar panels.

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StrategyPage has an article on using robots to find roadside bombs and more.
and they are strangely optimistic about Israel

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and the important science breakthrough of the day:

They have discovered how fleas jump.

Fleas' movements on camera were completely consistent with the idea of fleas jumping from their toes, the experts say.

more HERE.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Recipe of the day


YUM

from Instructables:

Chocolate covered squid.

Musical interlude of the day

LINK

Craft item of the day



origamirose.

Factoid of the day


the first Christians in Korea were locals who converted to Catholicism in China and brought the religion back with them in 1784, but Dr. Allen was the one who introduced Protestant Christianity into Korea a century later.

So what, you say.

What I didn't know was that he is also credited for introducing modern western medicine into that country.

and yes, the story of the first modern hospital is being made into a Korean Soap Opera, seen through the eyes of a butcher who becomes a doctor.
more HERE.



I'm a big fan of Korean soap operas, when I can watch them...

Stuff below the fold

Huh? WMD found in San Diego, but you have to read the UKtabloids or local press to learn this after wikileaks blew the whistle...(via Instapundit)

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I love Professor Bob's description of this week's podcast on souvenirs:

This show is about Alexander the Great who was a great collector and of course ends up being the ultimate souvenir of the ancient world .(he has a podcast on where in the world is Alexander's body at this website).
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and then we have "where in the world is King Tut"....
of course, Egyptian theives have been doing this for about 4 millenium...

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How to make friends and influence people...not.

UKGuardian summary of the spread of protests HERE.
and HERE.

Persian Paradox is conservative and Antiamerican, but notes the demonstrations mean the end of US backed dictatorships, and hopes they learn from Iran's mistakes.

SENSEOFEVENTSblog agrees and says a lot of folks noticed the failure to support the dictators (for better or for worse)

On the otherhand, Hillary makes it clear that the US supports democracy.

HILLARY IN 2012!

headup PJTatler.

WHY GOD MADE MOTHERS

WHY GOD MADE MOMS

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:


Why did God make mothers?

1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.

2. Mostly to clean the house.

3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?

1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.

2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.

3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?

1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.

2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?

1. We're related.

2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.

What kind of a little girl was your mom?

1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.

2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.

3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?

1. His last name.

2.. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?

3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?

1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.

2. She got too old to do anything else with him.

3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?

1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.

2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.

3. I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?

1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.

2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.

3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.

4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?

1. Mothers don't do spare time.

2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?

1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.

2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?

1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.

2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it not me..

3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

your email of the day from TiaMaria