January 31, 2005

Bury Me In A Chicken?

I stumbled across the National Museum of Funeral History, by way of a glance at a BBC slide show of "Fantasy Coffins" in Ghana.


The chicken, a frequent subject of proverbs
in Akan culture, often represents a
mother who is protective of her chicks
Posted by Hello

Do check it all out.

January 30, 2005

1st MISS HMONG MICHIGAN

Mailee Chang, 21, was crowned as the first Miss Hmong Michigan 2005 on Friday, November 26, 2004. Ms. Chang is currently a senior at Michigan State University Majoring in Family Communication Services.


Welcome to America! Posted by Hello

January 28, 2005

Shroud of Turin: Old as Jesus?
A new study reignites the argument that the
Shroud of Turin is really the burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth. New tests show that the piece that was tested is of a different material from the rest of the shroud, says chemist Raymond Rogers.
Rogers is a retired physical chemist and former leader of the explosives research and development group at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

Read more here

January 25, 2005

Here's Something I Know Something About

From NeMO


Our Earth is a warm planet sailing through cold space. Much of the rocky interior (the mantle) of our planet is hot enough to flow, like a candy bar kept too long in one's pocket. The surface of the Earth, however, is chilled by the cold of space, and so the familiar rocks of the Earth's surface are hard and brittle. The cold outer layer of our planet, which holds together as a rigid shell, is not made of one solid piece. Instead this shell is broken into many separate pieces, or tectonic plates, that slide around atop the mobile interior.

From the NOAA web site

January 23, 2005

So Ends An Era



Johnny Carson: 1925-2005
Related Stories

Johnny Carson Dies at 79
January 23, 2005

Remembrance by Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Johnny Carson, who died Sunday at his home in Malibu, Calif., didn't invent the late-night talk show -- he inherited "The Tonight Show" from Jack Paar, who inherited it from Steve Allen -- but he made it an institution, and with three decades at its helm, became one himself in the bargain. So bound up was the host with his show that it was (informally) "The Johnny Carson Show," even when Carson wasn't hosting it... (cont'd)

Here's the Tonight Show web site

January 19, 2005

Shrieking Frogs Unnerve Hawaiian Island Residents
{I bet that caught your eye!}
Jan 18 2005

HONOLULU - A tiny frog with a huge shriek has invaded the Big Island and won't shut up. Big Island Mayor Harry Kim is looking for $2 million to begin controlling the spread of the nocturnal coqui frog, a beloved native in Puerto Rico but considered an annoying pest in Hawaii since hitching a ride over in shipments of tropical plants around 1990.

The frogs have been mating easily - and shattering quiet island nights - ever since. Aside from the noise, the frogs have a voracious appetite for spiders and insects, competing with native birds and fauna. And coqui frogs are adaptable to many ecosystems and breed heavily in Hawaii, experts said.

* * *


The coqui, smaller than his scientific name,
Eleutherodactylus, is menancing
the people of Honolulu
Posted by Hello

More than 150 communities on the Big Island are now infested with the coin-sized frogs, named after their high-decibel "ko-KEE, ko-KEE" chirp.


Story from REDNOVA NEWS
© Rednova 2004
The Web Research Group has a really cool web site. Most of the info is about the US Pacific Northwest, but it's all beautiful.
Do check it out

January 18, 2005

"I do solemnly swear..."

It's Inauguration Day on Thursday, and, of course, the US Dep't of Education has quite a package of information and resources. It's a collection of 400 items from 62 inaugurations. It includes diaries and letters, handwritten drafts of inaugural addresses, inaugural tickets and programs, and photos, from the Library of Congress.

President Lincoln delivering his inaugural address on the
east portico of the U.S. Capitol, March 4, 1865.
Photographer: Alexander Gardner (courtesy Library of Congress) Posted by Hello


Update:
Interesting fact: Which President wore a ring to his inauguration that contained a lock of hair cut from Lincoln's head after he was shot?
The answer is here, along with hundreds of other speeches, photographs, and other documents related to this year's Inauguration, and Inaugurations past. All at Federal Resources For Educational Excellence, of course

January 08, 2005

Warning Label on Children's Scooter: "This product moves when used"

Associated Press
David N. Goodman
Jan 7 2005

The Wacky Warning Label Contest, now in it's eighth year, is conducted by Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch, M-LAW, to reveal how lawsuits, and concern about lawsuits, have created a need for common sense warnings [like the one above] on products.
Another winner was a label on an electric hand blender promoted for use in "blending, whipping, chopping and dicing," that warns: "Never remove food or other items from the blades while the product is operating."
America -- what a country!

January 06, 2005

Über, "You're fired!", ... and More!


Tired of hearing about Carbs, 'Izzle' - Speak, Wardrobe malfunctions,
and Erectile Dysfunction? I know I am. And the people at Lake
Superior State University have made up another list of
banished words for 2005.

LSSU has been compiling the list since 1976, choosing from nominations sent
from around the world. This year, words and phrases were pulled from more than
2,000 nominations.
LSSU accepts nominations for the List of Banished Words throughout the year. To submit your nomination for the 2006 list, go to www.lssu.edu/banished.

January 03, 2005

Check out The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami Blog at


http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/

for information about the Indian Ocean disaster, and what you might do to help.

I just heard about a new product from the SearchMeister, Gary Price, called DocuTicker, and focuses on newly released reports and documents, from governments, think tanks, universities, and other organizations.

Rock on Rock on: Not at all what you think!

Have you heard about the Proposed New C & T Calendar? Well, hurry up, or you might miss a "Newton Week."

And while we're on the subject,
Anthony Aveni has written a new book: "The Book of the Year - A History of Our Holidays," Aveni explores the myths and customs of New Year's Day as well as the various dates on which the holiday has been celebrated through the millenniums. Some highlights:

* The Celts divided their year in two, the first half for cattle herding, the other for sedentary winter activity. The half-New Year's Days became May 1 and Nov. 1, days that live on as May Day and Halloween (All Souls' Day).

* New Year's Day came on the shortest day of the year for the Inca of Peru (June 21 in the Southern Hemisphere).

* In France, Sept. 22, the autumnal equinox, became New Year's Day following the French Revolution of 1789. That date lasted only 14 years and was abolished by Napoleon.

* In 153 B.C., a Roman emperor established January as the beginning of the year. It was determined by the first sighting of the crescent moon in the west after sunset following the winter solstice. Citizens reveled in the return of the "Unconquered Sun" by eating and drinking to excess.

* Because the Romans had initiated the custom of eating and drinking to excess on this date in January, England and her colonies continued to designate New Year's Day as March 25, refusing to adopt Jan. 1 until 1752.

More details and ordering info here