Catching up on the scandals of the week

After a week of internet instability I'm trying to keep up on the news: most of it seems to be trivia and scandal. well, I know that: We have to watch BBC because CNN has been full of Michael Jackson's doctor's trial etc.

so what is going on?

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According to Oryza:

*The U.S. investigation into the $633 million shortfall at MF Global is widening as officials seek to question executives involved in the aborted sale of the trading firm to Interactive Brokers, people familiar with the matter say.

Forbes gives background: it's a shell game, and the money is gone (poof with European market collapse). Why is half a billion not in the news? Maybe because a former NJ governor (and democrat) is the fall guy.

Make a pass at a girl after a party, 699 stories. Lose half a billion bucks, bottom of the page.

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They also report financial problems with Greece, Spain and Italy, and that German industrial production is falling.

Uh oh...

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The good news: remember that socialist financial report "issued by the Vatican"?

Well, it wasn't "issued by the Vatican", only released by minor officials working there, and the big shot in charge of the curia is clamping down on future "reports".

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The big news here in the Philippines is that PNoy is trying to get rid of and punish crooked politicians.

Our lovely exPresident Gloria needs neck surgery after botched surgery here, and wants to go to the US to get it, but he suspects she might run and hide, so he is offering to have the US docs flown here for surgery. This has resulted in her supporters crying that this goes against her "human rights", and of course brings up the memory that Marcos allowed PNoy's father, Ninoy, being allowed to go to the US for surgery years ago...and Ninoy was in jail at the time.

There are rumors that Gloria did normal politician things, such as take a cut in the gov't contracts and steal votes, but she has not been formally charged (and who is going to testify? Her supporters will just point out they too took gifts etc too).

My guess is that they'll cut a deal.

I mean, they can't even get the killers of the Maguindanao massacre prosecuted yet.

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and the big story of the day: Smuggled onions seized.

actually this is a big deal for our area, which grows onions only to find them underpriced by foreign (subsidized) onion imports from China and Europe.

no, we don't grow onions. We started to give classes and to grow organic veggies, but the profit margin was negative so we are concentrating on organic rice.

Welcome to Oklahoma

one of the docs who worked with me in Oklahoma sent me this email:




Subject: Wednesday in Oklahoma.




This pretty much says it all.

Tomorrow's weather report has a number of safety precautions you should take note of:

*Tornados are coming: seek shelter in the interior of your house.

*Earthquakes are coming:avoid the interior of your home. Go out side if possible.



*There's lightning outside avoid high ground...


*There's a flash flood warning: avoid low ground...
*Hail is present: avoid open areas.

*Parts of the state have received over 5" of rain in three hours.

*However we have a burn ban.


Welcome to Wednesday in Oklahoma.
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which is why I retired to a tropical paradise, where I only have to worry about typhoons, floods, terrorism, and dengue fever....









NOTICE: This email and any attachments are for the exclusive and confidential use of the intended recipient(s). If you are not an intended recipient, please do not read, distribute, or take action in reliance upon this message. If you have received this in error, please notify me immediately by return email and promptly delete this message and its attachments from your computer.

The "WAGD" headlines of the day

Coyotes in the US are migrating east (or as one comment claims, deliberately relocated there by the government) and now are interbreeding with wolves... so they are now big enough to kill a deer (and it's only a matter of time til they kill a human).

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Big volcano erupting in the Congo.


and war continues in the Sudan, in case anyone is bothering to worry about it.

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Is a strike to destroy Iran's almost ready nukes the best case scenerio?


and what about the poor security for Pakistan's nukes?

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ah but there is good news:

That asteroid hasn't hit us. It missed us by 200 thousand miles or so.

Celebrities vs Homeland security

Presumably, Lady Gaga doesn't stand in line with the hoi polloi to get through airport security, but in the last week, there have been quite a few articulate people bashing the way government screen tired airline travelers to make sure they aren't terrorists.

ZDNet wishes Jesse Ventura had won his case against body scanners.

The problem is that Ventura has a titanium implant in his hip, which sets off the security scanners. Whenever he flies commercial, he’s been subject to invasive pat-downs, which also seem to drift towards his fiddly bits. To say Ventura was peeved would be an extreme understatement.

But now, after taking his argument to the courts, he’s been smacked down by the weird legislation that prevents him from taking his case to a jury.

Another victim is Professor Mary Beard, who has to put up with even closer scanning when she goes from the UK to the US to give lectures. She wonders why the obviously innocent (i.e. parents with kids) aren't left through and then wonders:

And I would like to know more about how effective the computer technology really is. Each time I go to the USA and have my prints taken, my iris photographed, my passport swiped.. and I say, in response, to the routine question "I am here to give a lecture at the University of....".. I wonder how border safety is being enhanced.

Perhaps universal biometric checks aren't the best answer.

Well, at least she didn't have to get her family jewels checked like Jesse Ventura.

and then there is writer Brian Sibley, who wonders why everyone on a flight from New Zealand to London has to go through additional screening during transit at LAX (Los Angeles).

I smiled wryly at the notice assuring me that the US welcomed me and promised to treat me with dignity and respect as we "tired, poor, huddled masses" were herded along like recalcitrant cattle, scrutinised like potential terrorists, had our bodies x-rayed and searched and our carry-on luggage gone through item by item before we were allowed to, finally, re-board our plane for London.

well, presumably the US didn't trust the screening from New Zealand.

Checking passengers in transit is not unusual: We get checked routinely again in Japan for example, and even the flight from Bemidji to Minneapolis requires another layer of screening.

The reason, of course, is that if you have links to terrorists, and act suspiciously, they can't stop you from boarding or you will get sued by CAIR....

Internet on and off

I think I'm on the same wire as another computer....guess they didn't get the wires straight after the typhoon blew the modem.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

They Call Me Mr Chubb

Quint, of Ain't It Cool News visits the hobbit set and spends a day with fishguts playing a hobbit.

And here is the link for finding your hobbit name.

Musical interlude of the day (take two)

Rudy!

For football fans:
The movie Rudy is not on line, but the real Rudy story is:



and for those of you who don't care about football: Here is the music from the score that is a delight to hear.



correction: A poor quality version can be found on line HERE.
Don't know if the US streaming sites have it (they don't stream to the Philippines).

Sigh. Four more abadoned kitties

I rescued 4 more abandoned kittens from outside our door. Mama probably is a stray who left them in the vacant lot across the street...I found two in the driveway and one in the ditch and another in the flowers who fell into the ditch trying to get away from me.

We don't need cats we have plenty.

The bad news is that we end up losing most of the rescued kittens from illness or to the dogs when they get old enough to wander. We only have one left of the last 3 I rescued.

No, I am not a cat lover, but they are so sweet, even the one that tried to bite me (and I had to use a towel to grab it).

Earthquakes in Oklahoma? and other stuff

We have small earthquakes here in the Philippines all the time, but in Oklahoma?
more HERE

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An increase in cervical cancer? yeah, we docs know all about that, but no one cared to publicize the problem until now, when they are telling you this to encourage you to get a shot to protect yourself.

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A new drug for cystic fibrosis?
alas, not all of them, only the minority with a certain gene mutation: more HERE

Ivacaftor, also known as VX-770, was developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals with financial support from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The oral medicine targets the defective protein produced by the gene mutation called G551D that causes CF. Researchers found that patients carrying G551D - approximately four per cent of all CF patients - who were treated with VX-770 showed a 17 per cent relative improvement in lung function that was sustained over the course of 48 weeks.

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The Jatinga Triangle: Where birds go to die.

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Remember this scene?



well, now the Nails on chalkboard noise mystery solved

headsup DaveBarry
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Gift item of the day

a Sharky Tea Infuser by Pablo Matteoda

the bad news? it's
"conceptual", not on sale anywhere I can find.


more interesting tea infusers are shown at Hometone

Andy Rooney, RIP

TV commentator Andy Rooney has passed away.



His family is in our prayers.

Philippine News below the fold

How to stay cool and keep electric bills down?

NasaSpaceBlog has an article on foam insulation for your home.

actually, here in our ceilings we use one inch foam insulation with aluminum to reflect the sun that comes in our sunroof (the sun reflecter part is because we have an aluminum roof with a sunlight so we don't have to use electric lights during the day...we also have an air flow double roof that lets the air flows up and out).

We still use airconditioning in the afternoon for the offices, but usually the house is cool enough with just fans or our evaporative cooler.

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Archbishop Cruz remembers Father Tentorio

Yeah, looks scruffy like the Priests I used to work with in Africa.

more HERE.
Photo from AsiaNews.
Tabang Mindanao is a local church NGO.
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Cojoined twins from the Philippines have successfully been separated at a California hospital.








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Sunday is the Feasts of the Sacrifice, a Muslim festival to celebrate that Abraham was willing to give everything to God, but also that he learned human sacrifice is no longer a part of God's wishes.

It is a "non working" holiday here in the Philippines.

Bit by a duck? The government has a code to bill for that

I used to tell my patients I could either know billing or know medicine, but under the new "reforms" of medicine you have to do it right or not be paid.

So the new codebook coming soon has this:

November 1, 2011 — Physicians have gotten a few laughs from the new and voluminous set of diagnostic codes known as ICD-10, which distinguishes between being struck by a duck (W6162XA) and being bitten by a duck (W6161XA)...

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) decreed the switch to ICD-10 in 2009 as part of implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)...

With ICD-10, physicians will be able to document what ails a patient with far more specificity. ICD-9, for example, has a code for a malignant neoplasm of an arm, but ICD-10 offers 3 options: upper right arm, upper left arm, or unspecified arm.

Finally, a Code for Walking Into a Lamppost

Such multiple choices help explain why the new code set is almost 5 times larger than the old one. However, some may wonder whether the authors of ICD-10 got carried away in covering every base.

ICD-9, for example, recognizes that patients may seek treatment because they were bitten, and gives clinicians a few choices, such as dog, rat, snake, arthropod, unspecified animal, or human.

ICD-10, in contrast, is a veritable zoo of bite codes — horse, cow, cat, pig, shark, dolphin, sea lion, alligator, macaw, parrot, and duck, to name just a few new kinds of jaws. And for each kind of bite, physicians can pick a code for an initial encounter, subsequent encounter, or sequela.

ICD-10 also describes the world of bumps and bruises in excruciating detail, with codes for walking into a wall versus a lamppost versus a piece of furniture. Ever been crushed between a sailboat and another kind of water craft? There's a code for that, too — V9114XA.

Some accident codes, however, defy the imagination, such as the famous V9107XA: burn due to water-skis on fire, initial encounter...

Memories

Older photos of my family in the USA.

From Old Family Photos

From Old Family Photos

From Old Family Photos

The Hobbit is 3D?

The Happy news of the day

Making kids smile.

.

Dr. Bill and Kathy Magee, co-founders of “Operation Smile,” a non-profit medical service organization that provides cleft lip and palate repair surgeries to children worldwide, arrived yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport from Los Angeles, California, USA, on Philippine Airlines flight PR103...

Magee said it was back in 1982 when he and his wife joined a group of American doctors and nurses on a mission to provide free surgery to Filipino children with facial deformities in a small village in Naga, Camarines Sur.

Magee said he and his wife felt very bad when the mission was only able to operate on 40 children out of the 200 who came to the site. He promised to himself he will return to Naga to work on more children.

And return he did. The very next year, Magee and Kathy assembled a new team of surgeons and went back to Naga.

They were surprised to find 500 children waiting for them. The Magees said they were overwhelmed by the number but the team tried their best to do as many operations as they can.

“The operation kept on growing and snowballed, requiring us to come back year after year and bring with us more and more volunteers,” Kathy said.

“We are just too happy that the support from other people keeps pouring in so we can continue provide these surgeries to children in need. It’s so heartwarming to see the smile on the children that we operate on and in a way, give them their lives back,” she said.

more about the organization HERE and HERE

More here (scroll down to story) about how coordination with the AFP, JTOTF-P, the local government and a local charity enabled the NGO to work in the dangerous south to help the kids last Spring.

Photo of the week

The Giant Nebula, NGC 3603

Thousands of sparkling young stars nestled within the giant nebula NGC 3603. This stellar "jewel box" is one of the most massive young star clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy. NGC 3603 is a prominent star-forming region in the Carina spiral arm of the Milky Way, about 20,000 light-years away. This image shows a young star cluster surrounded by a vast region of dust and gas. The image reveals stages in the life cycle of stars. The nebula was first discovered by Sir John Herschel in 1834. The image spans roughly 17 light-years.

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage

Only Yesterday

The UKTelegraph discusses the changes seen by a man born in 1902.

But a better comparison could be found in Fredrick Allen's classic book "Only Yesterday" (on line HERE) which compares the world of 1919 with that of the early 1930's.

One more word about Mr. and Mrs. Smith and we may dismiss them for the night. Not only have they never heard of radio broadcasting; they have never heard of Coue, the Dayton Trial, cross-word puzzles, bathing-beauty contests, John J. Raskob, racketeers, Teapot Dome, Coral Gables, the American Mercury, Sacco and Vanzetti, companionate marriage, brokers' loan statistics, Michael Arlen, the Wall Street explosion, confession magazines, the Hall-Mills case, radio stock, speakeasies, Al Capone, automatic traffic lights, or Charles A. Lindbergh.

and it's narration on the start of the great depression seems to be hauntingly similar to that of today.

At first it seemed as if the Administration would succeed not only in preventing drastic and immediate wage cuts, but in restoring economic health by applying the formula of Doctor Coue. After sinking to a low level at the end of 1929 and throwing something like three million men upon the streets, the industrial indices showed measurable signs of improvement. .... For a time it seemed as if perhaps the hopeful prophets at Washington were right and prosperity was coming once more...

But in April this brief illusion began to sicken and die. Business reaction had set in again. ... The Coue formula was failing; for the economic disease was more than a temporary case of nervous prostration, it was organic and deep- seated.

sigh

The invisible Asian

Developer with shotgun scared off Oakland rioters
This photo in the San Francisco Chronicle bring in mind one story that is not noticed in the press:

Anti Asian bigotry.

photo credit:Beck Diefenbach / Special to The Chronicle

In this case, it is an American with a Japanese name, but one suspects many other Asian storekeepers in Oakland were targeted and resented being asked if they "support" the rioters (what does the white liberal blogger think they would say to one of the protesters: get a bath and go to work? Actually, one of the shopkeepers, an Iranian American, does comment on the odor then apologizes to the blogger and says she supports the movement...and if you believe this, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I want to sell).

I remember a news program on the Korean station on our cable TV here in the Philippines that was a discussion of Anti Asian bigotry in the US, and most of the discussion was about how the cops didn't bother to protect Korean stores from thugs.

Another little noticed story: That Asians, not gays, are the group who report the highest amount of bullying in public schools.

No, it's not PC to see east Asians being bullied, so the article morphs the bullying into Anti Islamic bullying by interviewing only one parent, identified only as a "housewife", yet one who has the same Jordanian name as the a lady listed on this Rutgers University Near Eastern center.

The real victims, of course, are East and South Asians who dare to study hard and succeed.

And stories, such as the 2009 attack on Asian students, one, where 26 Asian students were beaten badly by gangs at a high school where anti Asian violence is common. No, no "racial" motivation behind that attack, says the principal. And a follow up quotes non Asians who run the school as saying things were improving. even though attacks continued.

In contrast, this 2011 story at Asianweek tells their side of the story.

The solution of the authorities? The attackers were transferred to other schools, and they held meetings to instruct Asian students to understand and be sympathetic to "cultural differences"...

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In the Philippines, the "invisible Asian" is the Christian victims of the MILF.
most news stories report victims or villagers fleeing but not identifying their religion or why they flee. So outsiders use the left's mime that it is evil government troops killing innocent Muslim civilians and making innocent Muslims flee.

From StrategyPage.

So far, president Aquino has resisted calls for a major offensive against MILF, but this is becoming more difficult with each MILF renegade group attacking Christians in the south.

Factoid of the day

Otzie the iceman had evidence he had been infected with Lyme disease.





more HERE.




and HERE.

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factoid two: Achilles did not drag Hector's body around the walls of Troy but in front of the walls of Troy, i.e. probably back and forth.

Why is this important? because the newest investigations of the site suggest the lower city was a bit large for him to do this

A good article summarizing this is found

HERE

the main citadel on the hill is red, and the lower city is in yellow...which also was surrounded by walls (pink in photo).


.

.

Musical interlude of the day

For all you Homer fans: Penelope's song



lyrics here.

Just in time for Christmas shopping

the Nieman Marcus Christmas catelogue. or view the 2011 Fantasy Gift video.

everything for the one you love, from a brand new Ferrari ($395,000) to a delux yurt (only $75,000), to your very own "dancing fountain".(Dancing Fountains, $1,000,000.00; page 57; Guest Choreographer package, $500,000;)

and for style tips, check out their blog.


headsup TYWKIWDBI

Ever have one of those days?

Globalization stories below the fold

LINK Link2

It's the Ottoman empire vs the Turkish Empire...

one factoid I learned from these articles: Turkey now is allowing US anti missiles to be placed there, as protection against Iran's missiles.

and a historical note of how some have used Islam to justify violence HERE.
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Thailand's floods are affecting others: not only will you be paying more for your hard drive, but the Honda plant here in the Philippines has had to shut down for lack of parts.

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Solar flares are going to get worse.

There goes the internet.

and an asteroid will do a near miss on Tuesday.

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air pollution nitrogen is fertilizing tropical forests.

but carbon dioxide is going up faster than predicted.

Stuff below the fold

Psychology research fraud.

Who wudda thot? Reminds me of a study on using amphetamines for add in the retarded, who was caught because his data was too clean.

It's hard to measure behavior changes, and in this case, the subtle findings were too clean to believe.

(when I did a study of stopping anti psychotic medicines, only one third of the informants agreed is a patient was "very aggressive", as defined as a severe injury that resulted in ER treatment, so I ended up not publishing the data).

but the real problem is that statistical errors were found in half of psychology papers being published. That should have been caught by the editors.

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Nigerian solar project goes kaput.

Main problem is not that it was solar: The problem is it was a gift from a benevolent government, so when it developed problems, no one in the village wanted to take care of it or fix it. Instead they called the gov't to fix it over and over again.

And the price is probably a lot higher than giving a loan to a local entrepreneur to buy a generator and sell power to those who want it.

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Internet goes kaput.

If you like the great Firewall of China, get a load of the US equivalent to stop P2P sharing.

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you are now free to brush your teeth:

'Exploding' electric toothbrushes recalled

Musical interlude of the day

Stuff below the fold

The Reuters article that started the deluge of articles on depopulation HERE.

NPR map on global fertility...but since some countries with high birth rates have high mortality, that too is not completely accurate. NPR video.

Longer rant moved to my Xanga blog.

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Doctor Livingstone, I presume?

Dr. L was one of the pioneers fighting slavery in Africa, and his diary, including the account of an Arab slave raid, is now on line.

and a scandal:
So did locals he paid to help him travel join in with the murders?
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Sounds like the Death Star: A super laser is being designes that will tear apart the vacuum of space for research.

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for those who couldn't make it home for Nov 1: Undas on line.

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More evidence that Homo sapiens had relationships with other homonoid species.

more HERE.

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The Vikings didn't have a compass, but they did have a magic "sunstone": more HERE.

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via Dave Barry: headline of the week:

New York Corduroy Appreciation Club searching for 11-year-olds born on 11/11

Musical interlude of the day

stuff below the fold

Popular mechanics discusses: Rome vs US Marines.

my only objection: They suggest the Marines would run out of fuel, but Humvees use Diesel and biodiesel could be made out of olive oil, and of course Rome had plenty of ethanol to distill.

headsup Instapundit. more HERE. and HERE.

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BBC Podcast of the day: the History of the world in 100 objects.

If you pull the RSS feed, you can download the past episodes to listen to at your leisure.





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The Eagles are Coming!

Eagles one, paragliders zero

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when the PC NGO's and biased press coverage stops governments from defending people, the result will be an outbreak of vigilante warfare, argues Belmont club

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We see this in the Philippines...

the church blames all "extrajudicial killings" on the government, not those who ordered them.

Translation: Leftists good, corrupt politicians who steal millions but give big gifts to the church and oppose family planning good.

Big business bad, honest government officials that supports reproductive rights of women very very bad.

Sorry for the rant: I'm in a bad mood.

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the next asteroid collision alert is due in 25 years


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another under reported story: China's Lost Generation, when hundreds of thousands of students were sent to work on the land instead of going to school.


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Bad weather will cause inflation in the price of rice, and economic problems for ASEAN.

Great.

Happy Birthday Hello Kitty

according to HelloKittyHell, Kitty was born on November 1, 1974

Philippine news

Charice was brought up by her single mom, but now the news reports her dad was killed in Laguna.
Our prayers for the extended family.

Musical Interlude of the day

Today is the day we remember our departed loved ones.

stuff below the fold

despite the on off internet, I have been ranting about stuff elsewhere. Not ready for Prime Time Links for your reading pleasure:

Where are the 99%?

Summary: good news for Hillary.

IPad clones in Asia

Summary:Make the tablets cheaper, and eliminate expensive textbooks.

President Obama's excellent African Adventure.

Summary: Team America: World Police:America F*** Yeah!

Bioterrorism

Summary: Don't fear the Reaper.

Sarah, Hagar and IVF risks

Summry: are we ignoring the ethical problems of IVF and outsourcing motherhood to India?

Insomnia downloads of the week

Homeschooling your preschool child?

Maria Montessori's Handbook is on line at Librivox.

and some short childrens' stories are there too.

1. "Children's Short Works Collection Vol. 013" · (readers)
2. Belloc, Hilaire. "Cautionary Tales for Children" (in "Children's Short Works, Vol. 006") · (readers)
3. Lear, Edward. "Story of the Four Little Children who went round the World, The" (in "Children's Short Works, Vol. 005") · (readers)
4. Various. "Children's Short Works, Vol. 001" · (readers)
5. Various. "Children's Short Works, Vol. 002" · (readers)
6. Various. "Children's Short Works, Vol. 003" · (readers)
7. Various. "Children's Short Works, Vol. 004" · (readers)
8. Various. "Children's Short Works, Vol. 005" · (readers)
9. Various. "Children's Short Works, Vol. 006" · (readers)
10. Various. "Children's Short Works, Vol. 007" · (readers)
11. Various. "Children's Short Works, Vol. 008" · (readers)
12. Various. "Children's Short Works, Vol. 009" · (readers)
13. Various. "Children's Short Works, Vol. 010" · (readers)
14. Various. "Children's Short Works, Vol. 011" · (readers)
15. Various. "Children's Short Works, Vol. 012" · (readers)

if you want to bore the kids, just download the story of Beowulf for Children.

Family photos

dad's family

Tomorrow is the day of the dead

we're headed off to the cemetary to clean the place up and put flowers and candles there.

Presumably the minute we leave, the kids nearby will steal them and resell them to other folks, but never mind.

We're going today, because tomorrow it will be crowded with a million folks, and we wouldn't be able to drive all the way into the cemetery to the grave due to crowds.
Everyone will visit, clean up the gravesites, decorate the graves with candles and flowers. There will also be plenty of vendors selling candles, food, beer and toys for the bored kids to play with.

From 2010-11-01

From ito's anniversary

Heck, why not? The dead we are honoring know and love us, and are watching down from heaven. And it's not the staid harp playing heaven but Catholic heaven:

Musical interlude of the day

Stuff below the fold

Why do sanddunes sing? MJ has an article why:

Some researchers now theorise that the sound is caused by the reverberation between dry sand at the surface and a band of wet sand within the dune, hence it changes seasonally.

and MJ links to the green BBC page. which has this and other interesting video clips.

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Headline of the day:

Liverpool Coastguard in more Ribble estuary cockler rescues

it seems that cockles are a gourmet item and lots of clueless amateurs want to cash in on the harvest.

You know, cockles: As in this song:



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NOTCOT, the design/food/etc. blog now has a "NOTVENTURES" site with suggestions and information about vacation spots.

for example, today they link to where to go to visit the real sites of 13 horror stories.

not included in the list: The hotel behind The Shining and the cemetery where George Romero filmed the original Night of the Living Dead, or the mall where he filmed the Dawn of the Dead.

Musical interlude of the day (take Two)

Musical interlude of the day

Droid O Lanterns

see more

Making a flashlight into a lamp

Awhile back, I posted the story of how they invented a way for shacks to get light inside without a lot of money, by making a hole in the roof and putting a bottle of water inside LINK



but HomeTone has instructions how to use a water bottle and a flashlight to make a similar diffuse light.

the Thirteen Clocks

Thurber's the 13 clocks, narrated by Lauren Bacall...

quick watch/listen before the copyright cops find out it's there

Important news you might have overlooked

The "Don't mess with granny" headline of the week:

Granny fends off croc attack with a mean punch


via DaveBarry

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Here in the Philippines, folks are busy traveling home for November 1, the day to remember their deceased family members.

we will probably clean up and visit the grave Sunday and say a prayer(which Lolo does almost every week). But we'll probably see other relatives who come up to visit early next week.

Reason Two hundred and eleven on why I retired to a tropical paradise

Col. Updraft reported seeing his first snowman of the season.

Musical interlude of the day

Glowing punch for Haloween

from Chow.com, a recipe for punch that will glow in the dark under a UV light.

This punch recipe gets its luminescence from the quinine in the tonic water, which naturally glows blue when exposed to UV light. But the quinine’s not just for show: It also gives the drink a slightly bitter flavor that balances the sweeter pineapple juice, pisco, and lime juice. Make sure to place the punch bowl right underneath a couple of black lights to get the maximum glow.

headsup CutOutAndKeep blog

Haloween costume ideas

need a nice costume for Haloween?

Just go and buy an official LadyGaga Costume HERE.



or you can make your very own LadyGaga Ducttape dress...



See Lady Gaga Inspired Duct Tape Dress and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep

Globalism

Thomas Barnett has a talk on international stuff including globalization in five parts.

on his site or you can watch it on youtube in five parts. This is part 2, about the flow of people:



which explains why there are 40 thousand Pinoys in Israel (and a million in Saudi).

his TED Talk is HERE.
he is a good teacher so it's worth checking.

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what will be the result of sex selection abortions in Asia? Freakonomics's latest podcast discusses LINK

well, some will probably find brides here in the Philippines.
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And what's wrong with this quote?

Lee suggested reaching back into the past to seek lessons from ancient man.

“Our ancestors lived for thousands of years in harmony with nature. There are surely profound wisdoms in their ways of life that we can learn from,” he said.

Ah yes those wonderful days when life was "nasty, brutish and short". From wikipedia:

Between 108 BC and 1911 AD, there were no fewer than 1,828 major famines in China, or one nearly every year in one province or another.

(I removed a nasty criticism of his talk that I had posted here earlier: because he wasn't talking to the rising middle class who struggle and often have to work overseas to try to get improvements in their life, but to the rich families, and believe me, the excess spending on junk in the upper crust malls etc. is enough to make one agree that a simpler life for some is needed)...

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People aren't the only ones emigrating to the US without proper papers:

The Lego Man has just washed up in Florida.



Image Credit: Sarasota Sheriff's Office. from LATIMES

heh. He even has a website.
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Religious "news"

In the (conservative NatReview) The Corner, they quoted a poll saying that 75 percent of Catholics felt they didn't have to follow the church teachings.

They thought that was terrible, except then the "Vatican" (actually a small office in the Vatican that doesn't speak for the church) released an economic statement that came out of the left wing of politics. Well, duh. The "church" as John Allen keeps reminding folks, is not a monolith, and a lot of the stuff that comes out of the Vatican is opinion, not dogma. Actually, there is only a small core of doctrines that we need to obey, the rest is optional.

So you have the professional Vatican pressuring Israel to make concessions because of the persecution of Christian Arab in various Arab countries. The pope is worried that the "holy land" will soon have no more Christians left.

Except, they are still there, but they are the "invisible man";

From the SeattlePI:

In the Holy Land, a changed Christian world
MATTI FRIEDMAN, Associated Press

The two Masses in Arabic for the town's native Arab Christian population are outnumbered by four in English, attended mainly by Filipina caregivers. Then there are others in Spanish, for South Americans; French, for African migrants; three South Asian languages, including Konkani, spoken in the Indian district of Goa; and, for a generation of Christians raised among Israel's Jewish majority, Hebrew...If one counts all of the people in Israel who are neither Jewish nor Muslim, these newcomers outnumber Arab Christians by more than five to one. The number of newcomers who are practicing believers is far smaller, but by some estimates they equal or outnumber the members of local churches.

"This creates concern for some that in the long term there could be a change in who the Christians of the Holy Land are, and concern about what will happen to the historic churches," said Amnon Ramon, who has researched these demographic changes as an expert on Christianity in Israel at the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies.

There are enough newcomers now for a Catholic cathedral in every major Israeli city, said Rev. David Neuhaus, who heads the Church's vicariate for Hebrew-speakers.

the article says there are 40 000 Pinoys in Israel: but I suspect if you include those there without proper papers and their children, it is even higher.

Cute photo of the day

Picture: Richardbarryphotography.com/solent

comes from the UK Telegraph:

An eight-day-old baby snuggles down for a sleep with a five-week-old puppy. Photographer Richard Barry captured the endearing image at the home of newborn Matilda's family.

warm fuzzy cavemen

below I linked to a Univ Penn museum lecture about Neanderthal burials.

More about the controversy HERE.

smithsonian article HERE

and in a related item, for Jean Auel fans, lots of links.

I enjoyed the first one, but got bored in the second and haven't read the rest. The people seemed to think like modern American folks think they should think (indeed, like modern upper class American feminists think the heroine should think), and after living for years with non Western Europeans, it just didn't ring true.

As someone once said: The past is another country...but Auel's lands were but her people weren't....

The Hobbit is 75 years old

and the Guardian has pictures and the story.

more at Cheezburgers


see more

and long before Jackson took over the franchise there was the Hobbit cartoon:

Cat story of the day

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

From American Airlines’ Facebook page:

American Airlines is happy to announce that Jack the Cat has been found safe and well at JFK airport. American’s team of airport employees have been focused on the search effort since Jack escaped on August 25, 2011. Jack was found in the customs room and was immediately taken by team members to a local veterinarian. The vet has advised that Jack is doing well at present.

Birthday photos

cellphone photos of last night's party.

Chano Joy and Ruby are celebrating it today in Manila.

Happy Deepavali

Story of the Hindu feast of light HERE.

and some recipes to celebrate the holiday can be found HERE.

No, we don't celebrate it in the rural Philippines, but the Growingteenagerblog says they celebrate it in Singapore where he lives.

More beautiful places

Atlas Obscura has posts on several beautiful and interesting mosques.

The Kota Kinabalu city mosque, built in 2000, is in Malaysia


The Crystal Mosque includes a Heratage theme area that has miniatures of other famous mosques.

and the Shiek Zayed Grand mosque.,..more HERE

Yes, beauty still exists

I spent yesterday catching up on the news after a week of no internet, (and you know, things are still bad).

So today I decided to check on the blogs that see beauty.


Orwell's Picnic is visiting the city of Florence, and posts this photo:




When I was young, I visited that city (you could still see the high water marks after they had a terrible flood) and loved it. I'd love to go back and visit...

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Florence isn't the only lovely city in Italy:

BrianSibley has an entire blog of Venice Photos for your delight.


this one was taken by his friend David Weeks via Flickr.

Mr. Sibley, however, is back from vacation and is in Wellington working, and includes photos of that lovely city.

And if you aren't familiar with Mr. Sibley and why he is in Wellington, you aren't a Hobbit fan

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You can find Venice recipes that sound yummie at the NatGeo site, but for me, I'll have to just look and imagine, since the ingredients aren't found in our local Palenke.

However,The Cottage Smallholder has a recipe for eggy Cheese toasties, if you are in the mood for a British breakfast.

Looks great...but somehow using Eden cheese, Gardenia bread and coconut oil for the ingredients doesn't seem quite as appetizing, but at least we do have the ingredients...or we can fake them.

For example, here's one of the GardeniaBread recipes for a grilled chicken wrap sandwich...no, they don't sell pita bread: you flatten their bread with a rolling pin to make it...


I miss my breadmaker and oven...the good news is that we have a "Pan De Manila" shop at the nearby mall, and their bread is passing good.

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Just for cute: Bear bread in a cup. Alas, the recipe is in Japanese, but the cuteness factor makes you want to go out and bake a couple. (via Tastespotting)



presumably you could make these in a Dutch oven if you don't have a regular oven...Dutch oven bread instructions here.


(hmmm...wonder if you could bake bread in a covered wok?)
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Of course, the ingredients for all types of gourmet food can be found in Manila... and so when Chano has time to travel and shop there, we eat gourmet food...the rest of the time we eat local food cooked in traditional recipes.

We usually go to fast food restaurants in the mall, but there are several nice restaurants here that serve traditional food. For example, yesterday we celebrated two birthdays at Luz' Restaurant. Their specialty is Caldaeta Gambing. Recipe here.

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We are also blessed with various tropical fruit, albeit mainly when they are in season. So we would be able to make this recipe from La recette du Jour for Avocado orange salad ...
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Cannele et Vanille blog usually has recipes, but this week has lovely photos of autumn in Vermont...another sight that delights the eye.



Locals have to drive carefully because all the tourists are busy looking at trees instead of where they go.

I spent a few years nearby so the photos bring back memories...

Factoid of the day

actually I learned three fact today

One: The US gets almost half their petroleum needs from domestic consumption, and over half of what they import is from the western Hemisphere.

and EvansPritchard of the UKTelegraph says local oil percentage of the US is even higher and going up.


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Two: Bayer settled a multimillion dollar lawsuit with rice growers in the US.

Did bad pesticide spoil the crops? No, but tiny cross pollination from nearby pesticide resistant GM crops made it impossible to sell rice to Europe and parts of Asia.

Yes, fear of the franken food boogeyman might get you.

yeah, I remember two years ago when we desperately needed rice in the Philippines, the Green lobby of the Catholic church stopped the church from giving out US donated rice because it might be contaminated with GM crops...and Zimbabwe used that excuse to stop South African donations for it's starving too.

Ironically, China found benefits from a similar rice, (fewer health problems due to less pesticide use) and of course although China only recently "approved" it's use, it's been grown there for years.

They figure theoretical "health" problems aren't as bad as massive starvation...

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Three: Pakistan has people supposedly descended from Alexander the Great's soldiers, who still practice polytheism.

the bad news: Wikipedia says the experts have argues yes and no, but the latest analysis suggests they probably are not.

you might be familiar with them (or actually their sister tribe in Afghanistan) from this movie

The Kalash people's reputed connection to Alexander the Great is the basis of the famous Rudyard Kipling story "The Man Who Would Be King", however it takes place among the Kalasha of Nuristan, then known as Kafiristan, in nearby Afghanistan. The story was made into a film in 1975 starring Sean Connery and Michael Caine.

The bad news is that, like other minority religions there, they are being forcibly converted to Islam