February 01, 2009
A day of an American in India
This following is a guest post, authored by Dave Prager, a New Yorker who lives Delhi with Jenny and who blogs at Our Delhi Struggle. Thank you, Dave! (All previous co-bloggers archived here.) If other creative types are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details
The noise of the morning gets us up at eight: the cars honking and the Muslim call to prayer and the guys biking by, shouting in Hindi that they’ll take your garbage or sharpen your knives.
We look across the street - an orange-clad sadhu has parked his painted sacred cow in front of the house across the street, and won’t leave until he gets some money. He does this every day. I get into my taxi. Jenny gets into her autorickshaw. And off we go to work, fighting traffic and pollution (ha!) and, in my case, construction of Delhi’s above-ground metro as I pass the ruins of former shopping malls.
At work, we don’t make our own photocopies or get our own water; there are guys who are hired to do that for us. They’re called "peons". Seriously.
After lunch, me and Dipankar get tea from a sidewalk chai wallah. He crunches spices and ginger with a rock, and throws it in the boiling milk. Then it’s back to work. When I get frustrated, I rely on the magic phrase: “Do one thing.” It works - try it!
Then I fight the traffic and the tollbooth back home. If our maid has come, I eat food like you could only dream. If she hasn’t, then we’re off for south Indian food, or heading to our market , or just patronizing the sidewalk omelette maker.
As the night cools off, we switch on our electric heaters - Delhi is cold this time of year. The horns stop honking, replaced by the comforting sound of the night: the chowkidar blowing his whistle, letting you know that everything’s OK.
Wonderful! Thanks again, Dave.
A Huge Depository of Unusual Links about India And About Japan Here
February 1, 2009 in Co-blogged with, Traveling Places - India | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 12, 2008
Pride and Sensibility…
The Republic of Pemberley is the largest Jane Austen site on the web. The Jane Austen Information Page has everything you ever wanted to know about the girl
My favorite part is this page, The Jane Austen top ten song list, listing songs like "Material Girl" for Lucy Steele.
For the seriously demented fans, it also includes answering machine messages from an assortment of characters:
Mary Musgrove: "I am very ill today and quite unable to answer the phone. If I had a visitor, I suppose that person could have spoken with you, but it does not suit the Miss Musgroves to visit the ill, and I dare not rise from my bed for fear that I may be seized in some dreadful way!"
How have we lived this long without a Captain Wentworth or Edward paper doll? Gallery of Paper Dolls has them, plus Heathcliff
I Want My Jane Austen at “Emphasis Mine”
Longbourn, a Jane Austen fan site featuring screencaps from Pride and Prejudice (both the 1995 and 2005 adaptations), Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and Persuasion. The caps are large, unaltered, and high quality. They're available for download in zip files. (With links!)
Sense & Sensibility (Ang Lee 1995 version) on YouTube. Jane Austen on Film
To continue the age-old debate, Colin Firth or Matthew MacFayden, which is the real (better) Mr. Darcy? The Jane Austen Movie Club provides the answer
Daily wit and inspiration at Jane Austen Quote of the Day
Pride and Prejudice, The Musical (2007) Music and Lyrics by Rita Abrams. Book by Josie Brown
Jane Austen, the font. An Austen blog
Photo above is the table where Jane Austen wrote all of her books. No Mac, no spell check or Dictionary.com, just this table and her imagination…
This is another “co-blogged” post, this time with local Irvine writer Suzanne Broughton, who blogs at Emphasis Mine, and at the Orange County Register's Mommy's Mind is Not a Toy and Alive in Wonderland. Thank you, Suzanne! (All previous co-bloggers archived here.) If other creative types are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details.
May 12, 2008 in Books & Literature, Co-blogged with | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 04, 2008
How to Stay Married & Love It
Perhaps from the beginning of time, a “good” marriage was defined as one that created or cemented alliances—in other words, benefiting the community as a whole—rather than pleasing the individuals. In the past, a “successful” marriage might be seen as one that brought financial benefits to one of the partners, or one in which either partner was strong enough to endure heavy work or the woman capable of bearing healthy children. The goal was survival. .
The definition of a “good” marriage has drastically changed. Marriage still provides an effective institution for meeting practical financial needs and the opportunity for begetting and rearing children with the optimum emotional support of a father and mother. Increasingly, however, it must also be a relationship in which both partners feel loved and experience emotional and spiritual communion as well as sexual gratification.
And with these new expectations came greater chances of disappointment. With few exceptions, marriage had never before been asked to provide emotional safety, deep spiritual communion or equal partnership. The new demands for these qualities strained to the breaking point the old model of marriage as an exchange of practical services.
Never before in the history of mankind had marriage been asked to meet more than the most basic of needs. In the mid-19th century, marriage as an institution began to flounder. From today’s perspective, the enormity of the problem was that we didn’t know how to re-create marriage to meet these greater requirements. The resulting upheaval—the avalanche of open dissatisfaction with the quality of many marriages—was seen by many to be a failure of marriage itself or a mistake in an individual’s choice of partner. These failures were not recognized as a crisis of growth brought about by inadequate understanding or knowledge.
The naïve belief that we should automatically, without investment of effort, just know how to create a satisfying marriage is left over from the dark ages of a simple exchange of survival needs met. It doesn’t require very much training to exchange basic needs. It’s time to admit that, as a whole, we don’t know how to “do marriage”…not in a way that allows us to give and receive the depth of love and respect that is now the universal expectation.
Fortunately, tucked away in quiet corners of our nation, individual researchers and inquisitive think tanks (those blessed souls who have done their best to just be observers, learners, and evaluators), began to ask the questions: “Have we outgrown our need for marriage? Is marriage still a viable institution? Can it be adjusted to meet the increased demands for emotional and spiritual intimacy? What makes a “good marriage” good?”
All the questions are distilled in this one: “Can the qualities observed in good marriages be replicated? Taught? Learned?”
Throughout my book, “How to Stay Married & Love It! Solving the Puzzle of a SoulMate Marriage,” I share the very personal experience of Jim and me with our own marriage struggles and the practical skills we learned in order to have the marriage of our dreams. I also draw on my extensive experience teaching and personally coaching couples who wanted more from their marriages.
The qualities that make a “good marriage” good have been identified and can be learned and duplicated by those whose marriages are falling short of their ideal…or, better yet, learned in anticipation of creating a successful marriage! Great marriages are no longer a serendipitous accident of Fate! There is no secret. The mystery is solved! Those of us who do not naturally bring the qualities into marriage that would produce its success, can learn them. The answers are here and easily accessible to all of us. They are not hard to learn, although humbling ourselves to learn new skills and changing ingrained relationship habits that predictably produce hurt and failure does require a healthy amount vision, desire, determination and, usually, short-term support.
© 2008 Nancy Landrum. all rights reserved.
This is another “co-blogged” post, this time composed by Nancy Landrum, author of “How to Stay Married and Love It”. Thank you, Nancy! (All previous co-bloggers archived here.) If other creative types are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details.
May 4, 2008 in Co-blogged with | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 21, 2008
Ten Classically "Neato" Things
Getting raised aloft by a kite.
"The wind gusted a bit stronger now, and I soared up a scary five feet before settling back on the hilltop. 'Neato!' I yelled, remembering for the first time in two minutes to take a breath." —Patrick McManus, The Good Samaritan Strikes Again, 1993, p. 208.
The wings on a pilot's flight jacket.
I say, 'Neato!' It's all I can think of." —Sterling Watson, Sweet Dream Baby, 2004, p. 27.
The leather seats in a police chief's Lamborghini.
"'Heck! This is neato!' Jerry Randy said, stroking the leather seats. 'Real Neato!'" —Louis Serra, The Curator's Orb, 2007, p. 161.
Pureed fruit soups with exotic garnishes.
"You can get all sorts of neato-sounding soups . . . like melon soup or jute soup, all served with some sort of neato-sounding 'dumpling' material, like fufu or pounded yam." —Dan Leone, Eat This, San Francisco, 1999, p. 111.
A vintage camper trailer.
"The interior is positively neato, with miniature everything—a real icebox that uses a real block of ice, bunk beds and shelves that fold into walls." —Ann-Marie MacDonald, The Way the Crow Flies, 2004, p. 557.
Outdoor glass elevators.
"We go up the tall, tall Dune casino in a glass elevator, climbing soundlessly up the side of the skyscraper, higher and higher above the blimming lights in grids. I stand close to my dad and we star at the daylight light. 'Wow! Neato!' he says, hands patting my shoulders." —Mike Albo, Hornito: My Lie Life, 2000, p. 63.
A Ouija Board (séance game).
"We would probably never have heard of Peter Wagschal, or of his neato Ouija Board Studies Program, if it hadn't been for one Larry Zenke, a pretty neato guy." —Sara Tulloch, The Oxford Dictionary of New Words, 1991, p. 209.
Three weeks of Christmas vacation.
"'Neato!' My life was definitely looking up. . . . I [had] just been sprung from seventh grade for three whole weeks of Christmas vacation." —Patrick McManus, The Bear in the Attic, 2002, p. 28.
Thin vodka glasses.
"Vodka in those really neato thin glasses in a bucked of ice." —Barbara D'Amato, White Male Infant, 2003, p. 187.
Mombian, a lesbian mom.
"When I was in fourth grade . . . I just thought it was neato. I would just go around like, 'My mom's gay.'" —Janet Wright, Lesbian Step Families, 1998, p. 148.
And a bonus link: Great Wall 360 degree panorama at Jinshanling
(Graphic above by designer Harvey Rayner)
“Neato” as it is known in the “blogosphere” is probably mostly connected in readers’ mind with Neatorama, Alex S’s hugely popular blog. I could have replaced Craig Conley’s suggested moniker with "Swell" or "Awesome", but eventually decided to keep this post as it was written.
This is another post that was composed by on-going contributor Craig Conley of the Abecedarian blog fame. Craig's new book is A Field Guide to Identifying Unicorns By Sound, available in an eco-friendly low-wattage palette. Thank you again, Craig! (All previous co-blogger's posts archived here.) If other bloggers are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details
Please show Craig some love by leaving lots of comments below!
April 21, 2008 in Co-blogged with | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 26, 2008
Ten Little Known Facts
March 26 update: Welcome, 'Street' readers. Explore over 100 rich categories, (For example Money & Finance) that Grow-a-brain has to offer!
"Did you know that sometimes baby sharks will devour one another while they're still in the womb? Fighting to their death before they're even born?" —Janet Tashjian, Tru Confessions, 1999, p. 81.
(Outside the womb is no picnic, either. Here's a sea lion devouring a baby shark. And here's a fossilized shark egg and baby shark)
"There is a curious and little-known fact about the name 'penguin.' Although this name is now used exclusively to indicate the well-known birds of the southern seas, it was not originally applied to them at all. In fact, the 'original' penguin was the great auk. The actual origins of the word are fairly obscure, but one school of thought favors the idea that is made up from two Welsh words—pen, meaning 'head,' and gwyn, meaning 'white'—a possible reference to the large patches behind the great auk's eyes." —Errol Fuller, The Great Auk: The Extinction of the Original Penguin, 2003, p. 17.
"It's a little-known fact that America's first millionaire [and later first multimillionaire] was a real estate investor. A German immigrant and the son of a butcher, he was named John Jacob Astor." — Gary Keller, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, 2005, p. 123.
"Even as debate continues on the role of female soldiers in combat, it is a little-known fact that hundreds of women already have fought, and many have died, in our nation's wars. In fact, women fought in America's wars even before the existence of the United States." — Thomas Ayres, That's Not in My American History Book, 2000, p. 67. (Indeed, women have been warriors throughout world history.)
"The U.S. Congress has the authority to order the U.S. military to shoot the President's plane out of the sky, if the U.S. President becomes a rogue President." —Keith N. Ferreira, Simpletism, 2004, p. 28.
"It's a little-known fact that it rains more in Rome than it does in London." —Duncan Garwood, Rome, 2006, p. 288.
"It wasn't an iceberg that sank James Cameron's Titanic; it was UNIX." — Bill Wagner, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Unix, 1998, p. 10.
"So-called empty space is actually a cauldron of seething energies—the Zero Point Field." —Lynne McTaggart, The Field, 2003, p. 33.
"A little- known fact is that one could live without fruits, but not without vegetables." — Meredith McCarty, American Macrobiotic Cuisine, 1996, p. 6.
"Unlike a computer's hard drive, our brains have no known limits for memory storage." —Gene D. Cohen, The Mature Mind, 2005, p. 106.
This is another post that was composed by on-going contributor Craig Conley of the Abecedarian blog fame. Craig's new book is A Field Guide to Identifying Unicorns By Sound, available in an eco-friendly low-wattage palette. Thank you again, Craig! (All previous co-blogger's posts archived here.) If other bloggers are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details
Please show Craig some love by leaving lots of comments below!
March 26, 2008 in Co-blogged with, Information | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 06, 2008
celebrate 4705 - eat a RAT !
HAPPY NEW YEAR of the RAT !!
RATS made of chocolate cake and whipped cream are eminently edible and a great way to celebrate chinese new year. the rat in chinese astrology is considered an alert, cunning and sharp minded animal, winning him first position in the celestial zodiac race. rats do very well here in new york city, home of the urban legend 10 lb. new york city rat. a couple of years ago, these hefty rodents were filmed eating out of the trash at gracie mansion, where our mayor resides.
happy rat decorations are sold on the streets of chinatown. of course, chinese people prefer the cute disneyfied version of rat, who bear no resemblance to the urban, all too real hairy rat population. an urban myth is that there is one rat for every human in nyc.
this is rex the rat. people born in the year of the rat 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984 are clever and like to be pioneers. rat people love a good challenge, whether in sports or pursuing a mate. they are loyal to friends, family members, and cherish those close to them. rats are best known for their charm, and have excellent taste for quality.
the rat year begins a new cycle. it is a time for new beginnings and fresh starts. the state of israel was founded in a rat year, 1948. if you would like to write a new chapter in the book of your life, this is the year to do it.
a nose of pure gold - and so is the rest of this 24k golden rat. 4705 is an earth rat year, and is a symbol of money to the earth industry. raymond lo, a feng shui master in hong kong, who does readings for corporations, is suggesting investors put their money into property, mining and gold. *note to hanan - buy gold heehee................
hedge fund rats. in china, it is said that there are few poor rats. an earth rat is considered to be very auspicious. in hong kong, singapore and southeast asia, chinese feng shui masters foresee a lot of correction in the stock market this year, while industries linked to earth and metal signs are expected to flourish. another feng shui master is optimistic that the southeast asian markets will be stable after a tumultuous start, like a seed sprouting from the ground.
"it's chinese new year, babies...... we're eating at TACO BELL !!"
we wish you a happy and prosperous new year !
This is a second “co-blogged” post composed by food writer/photographer jo jo, of eat2love blog. Thank you, jojo! (All previous co-bloggers archived here.) If other creative types are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details.
copyright 2008 eat2love.wordpress.com. all rights reserved.
February 6, 2008 in Co-blogged with, Holidays | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 04, 2008
A co-blog post with foodtographer jo jo
hello everyone!
my name is jo jo and i write a food blog called eat 2 love. it's about food, restaurants and my life in manhattan. i shuttered my blog on friday because my work was being poached for creative feature ideas, and photography style by mainstream food media people in n.y. at newspaper, magazine and food websites over the past year. as a publisher friend said "if you keep posting, they'll keep poaching." i've decided not to give them any more ideas.
and so here i am, a blog refugee seeking asylum at grow a brain, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. this signals a change for grow a brain as well - this is blog evolution. change is good. change is your friend.
my thanks to hanan for his generosity. let us know what you think (and make hanan happy).
asian cuisine is delicious to be sure, however, the one weak spot in chinese, japanese, thai, korean, vietnamese food is dessert. since asian culture was traditionally dairy free, desserts are made from rice, beans and sugar - rather boring and bland compared with the creamy, buttery, chocolate-y, espresso-ed and fruity european pastries.
wagashi are japanese sweets. They are made of rice flour and can be filled with red bean paste, mung bean, sesame, chestnut, mugwort - basically grains & beans. who wants dessert made of starches? another characteristic of wagashi is that they are not very sweet, so these wagashi look much better than they taste. they make a stylish gift though. you can get these at mitsuwa.
french nougatine
these hand made nougatine from pierre herme are very intensely flavored and fantastic. they're from pastry god pierre herme in paris. after you eat these, all other nougatine will be dead to you.
cocktail grapefruits
last week in nyc it was 24 degrees cold. i wish that i lived in san francisco because i have fruit envy. our farmer's market here in union square carries fruits that can grow near the big apple - basically ..... apples. and a few pears. i know that in california you have an amazing cornucopia of produce. witness these cocktail grapefruits which i found at my local trader joe. they are a mutant... i mean hybrid - a cross between a mandarin orange and a pomelo. tasting very mild with zero acidity, it's extremely juicy.
heart of a macaron
this is a cherry and pistachio macaron from pierre herme. french macarons are made of ground almond flour, egg white and sugar, with a layer of flavored ganache filling. no one makes french macarons better than the french. believe me, in new york bakeries, a good macaron is harder to find than a good man.
eggs or edible art ?
chinese tea eggs - pretty and protein-acious. very easy to make, i made these by gently cooking eggs in their shell. then you pull them out of the water and crack the shells with a spoon, taking out your aggressions for the day. make a soaking liquid of black tea bags, soy sauce, water, star anise and dunk the eggs back in, simmer and soak for an hour and a half. when you remove the shells - you have beautiful tea eggs. impress your friends.
urban gourmande kitchen
my kitchen is so tiny that i stuck all my kitchen appliances up on my fridge to save space. the dishwasher door opens and those two dish racks slide out. the unidentified object in the microwave is either a loaf of challah bread or a turd, i'm not sure which. in a smart move to discourage litigation, the coffee maker is named ms. coffee. the mini vac comes in handy cause i vacuum my apartment twice a year, whether it needs it or not.
copyright 2008 eat2love.wordpress.com. all rights reserved.
Here is another “co-blogged” post, this time composed with “jo jo”, a foodtographer in NYC, who (until yesterday) used to blog at eat2love. Thank you, jojo! (All previous co-bloggers archived here.) If other creative types are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details.
February 4, 2008 in Co-blogged with, Food | Permalink | Comments (14) | TrackBack
January 29, 2008
A-OK
Every day, more people are making more things "okay." Consider the following examples:
The television character Adrian Monk made it okay to have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
The film Bonnie and Clyde made it okay to sympathize with murderers
The Cold War and space race made it "okay to be smart" in America
The actress and glamor model Pamela Anderson made it okay for a chick to be "wild, adventurous, reckless, kittenish"
The film Deliverance made it okay to make fun of rednecks, backwoodsmen, and simpletons. However, comedian Jeff Foxworthy made it "okay to be a redneck" (source is in PDF format)
"In his humble, brilliant simplicity, Dave [Thomas, the founder of the Wendy's restaurant chain] made it okay to be, well, just okay"
Arquitectonica's Atlantis, a "tropical modernist" condominium in Miami, made it okay to "color outside of the box"
The HBO show “Six Feet Under" made it "okay to laugh at, think about and talk about death and your dysfunctional family"
The film Superman (1978) made it okay for Hollywood to adapt comic books
The character Tracy Turnblad from John Waters' Hairspray (1988) "made it okay to be fat"
Children's television icon Mister Rogers made it okay to be curious
The famous collie Lassie "made it as much as many of us have always loved dogs”
Prozac "made it okay to take a psychotropic drug"
The HBO series Sex and the City "made the world safe for sluts, and Paris Hilton made it okay to hate them again"
Balloon delivery man Don F. Cheeseman made it okay for a guy to drive a pink van (and don lingerie after a night of drinking)
New York City "is so hip to walking, they've made it okay to eat en route"
J. Mascis, of the band Dinosaur Jr., is the man who made it okay to rip a guitar solo in underground rock
(O.K. Corral sign image above by RileyOne)
This post was composed by on-going contributor Craig Conley of the Abecedarian blog fame. Craig's new book is A Field Guide to Identifying Unicorns By Sound, available in an eco-friendly low-wattage palette. Thank you again, Craig! (All previous co-blogger's posts archived here.) If other bloggers are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details
Show Craig some love by leaving lots of comments below, please!
January 29, 2008 in Co-blogged with | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
December 26, 2007
Mersey Beat - full of beat, melody and close harmonies
Here is another “co-blogged” post, this time composed with Avi Abrams, of the popular Dark Roasted Blend blog, who provided most of today’s links. Thank you, Avi! (All previous co-bloggers archived here.) If other creative types are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details.
The late great Freddie and the Dreamers: "Funny over you" (YT) - full of infectious joy
Milkman by The Merseybeats (YT)
Billy J. Kramer Official website
Justin Hayward (before he joined The Moody Blues) I Can't Face The World Without You
The Iveys "Maybe tomorrow"
Joe Meek, Britain's first independent record producer
'Across the universe', performed by the Slovenian experimental music group, Laibach
The Beatles come to town - Rare Pathe News clip from 1963 (in color). Also, Beatles on "Thank Your Lucky Stars", Dec 15th 1963
More from Liverpool, the Super Lamb Banana sculpture
Piggies (YT) is sandwiched between two other songs with animals in their titles ("Blackbird" and "Rocky Raccoon")…
John, Yoko & baby. More there
A rare video for “Something”
Many other rare bands from this era - across the world. Even Russia joined the fun: The Singing Guitars. The last echo of Merseybeat in the 70s - Ten O'Clock Postman by the Swedish group "Secret Service"
A Huge Depository of Unusual Beatles Links Here
December 26, 2007 in Co-blogged with, Music - Beatles | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 12, 2007
The Biggest Part Of My Life Are Random Images
Here is another “co-blogged” post, this time composed with the anonymous webmaster of Biggest Part Of My Life Is Me from Amsterdam, who’s been compiling in this & in his previous blogs some of the most interesting “Found Art” photos on the web, and who provided most of today’s pix. Thank you, F.! (All previous co-bloggers archived here.) If other creative types are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details. 
(Click on any pix to biggify)
Some sources: Found photos and Solar Tower
A Huge Depository of All-Graphic Posts and Other Crazy Linkage Here
November 12, 2007 in Co-blogged with, Gifs and pix | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 05, 2007
World’s Smallest Things
World’s smallest teddy bear, the 3.5-mm tall Micro Ted and 5-mm tall Mini-the-Pooh, were made by German sculptor Bettina Kaminski - she had to weave the thread, stitch the bears’ bodies, arms, and legs, turn them inside out, stuff them, and stitch them all together before embroidering the details
Meet the World smallest man and his pretty wife
The world’s smallest school, an elementary school in China, has just one teacher and one student
Smallest baby ever to survive birth weighed only 244 grams (8.6 ounces) - less than a can of soda - when she was delivered by caesarean section after just 26 weeks of pregnancy
The world's smallest and most wondrous works of art created by Willard Wigan, including “Cassius Clay V Sonny Liston” (Scroll down)
smallest Linux Computer in the World. Also, Quimp, the world's smallest website only 18 by 18 pixels
The Shakers produced oval boxes with uniformly slender sides, symmetrical joints, and neat, tight-fitting lids. Smallest Shaker Oval Box. Click for a comparison to the size of a coffee mug
World's Smallest Pancake. (From Andrea Harner’s blog of world’s smallest things. Another blog about small things)
Eric Meissner made not just one, but two of the world's smallest violins (the smallest one is 1 5/8" or 4.1 cm long). (With photo)
World's smallest fish only 7.9mm long. Also, World Smallest Fishing Rod Pen Reel Pole ($18). It’s 8 inches long when closed and fully extends to 37 inches
Worlds smallest Camera Chip from OmniVision. (Or is it the world’s Largest pencil?)
Re-posts: world’s smallest political quiz
iPod Flea, the world's smallest MP3 player
Biologists Jill Banfield and Brett Baker discovered what could be the world’s smallest living organism, enigmatic Archaea microbes found in a slime pool in a deep underground mine
A mid Wales brewery which claims to be the smallest in the world has re-opened. Less than 5ft square and formerly an outside toilet, Bragdy Gwynant brews ale for just one customer - the Tynllidiart Arms next door. Also, Smallest Movie Theater (63 seats. Site is in Italian), and smallest church (sits 2 people)
At 0.000000000000000000000000000000000016 m, (1.6x 10^-35 m), Planck length is the World’s Smallest Distance Unit in Physics
Nano creations: Smallest car created (4 nanometers across) and Nano-Guitar (10 micrometers long). Most bizarre, world’s smallest toilet
World’s Smallest Flowering Plant and Seed
Here are the World’s smallest cat, smallest dog (1.4 lb.), Thumbelina, smallest horse and smallest cattle, a rare breed of an Indian zebu called the Vechur cow
This is another post that I am “co-blogging”, and again with Alex S., the webmaster of Neatorama, and who provided most of today’s links. Thank you, Alex! (All previous co-blogged posts archived here.) If other bloggers are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details.
September 5, 2007 in Co-blogged with | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack
July 31, 2007
Blues compendium with madamjujujive
The Roots Music Listening Room. (Out of consideration for others, please only download/listen to about 35-40 songs in one day)
Flip the Frog in Killing Floor. A mashup of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor" with Ub Iwerk's "Fiddlesticks". Also, Moosin' Around with Skip James
Everyday I have the Blues, hosted by Paul Fields. Daily shows are four hours and feature diverse blends of blues: Chicago, Texas, Memphis, St Louis, West Coast, and Acoustic, with knowledgeable, insightful commentary and critiques. Shows start at 8 AM Central and loop for 24 hours
You're about to take a trip inside the places where the blues began. I'm not talking about white people blues bars filled with college students. I'm talking about edge-of-a-cotton-field juke joints filled with real Delta folks. Junior's Juke Joint
Shack Up Inn - Shotgun shacks in Clarksdale Mississippi
Surreal Kid Koala in Basin Street Blues
Sold my soul, sold it to the Devil and my heart done turned to stone
I sold my soul, sold it to the Devil, he won't let me alone:
Blues Lyrics and Hoodoo. (From Lucky Mojo)
Take the free tour at the Sun Studio for some blues and early rock & roll music clips & lore
The men who invented the Blues Harp Sound, Blues Harp Legends
The Wah-wah foot fashion show. Also, a gallery of Hottie Amps
George Bush Blues and The Talkin George W Bush Paranoid Blues
Honky Tonks, Hymns and the Blues
A Virtual Tour of the Final Resting Places of Blues Musicians
Learn the blues lingo
Trail of the Hellhound - Delta Blues in the Lower Mississippi Valley
Photographs by Terry Cryer. Also, Dragan Tasic’s Jazz and Blues Photogallery
Stones in my Pathway, photographs of the North Mississippi areas by Bill Steber
Bunnie Bass - Amusing bass guitars gallery
Some YouTube Clips:
Billie Holiday - Fine and Mellow, 1944
Sonny Boy Willimiamson - Keep it to yourself
Lightnin Hopkins - Mojo hand
Big Mama Thornton w/Buddy Guy - You Ain't Nothing But a Hound Dog
Howlin Wolf - Shake It for Me
Muddy Waters - Long Distance Call
The trailer to The Blues Brothers
Etta James & Dr John - I'd Rather Go Blind
John Lee Hooker - I'm Bad Like Jesse James
Miles Davis - Red China Blues. (The music and image doesn't have direct relation)
Eric Clapton - Driftin' Blues
Booker White - Aberdeen Mississippi Blues
B.B. King & Shemekia Copeland - Everyday I Have The Blues
Stevie Ray Vaughn - Texas Flood
This is another post that I am “co-blogging”, this time with madamjujujive who blogs at Everlasting Blort and MetaFilter, and who provided (just about all) of today’s links. Thank you, Madam! (All previous co-bloggers archived here.) If other creative types are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details.
A Huge Depository of Unusual Musicians and their Music Here
July 31, 2007 in Co-blogged with, Music_ | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
July 06, 2007
Living Chess
Another blog about Emigrating to New Zealand by a British couple, Jonathan and Rebecca
Volcano Camera - White Island crater
Stamps of Antarctic research centers for glaciology, meteorology, geology, and biology, on Kiwi philately
A proposed new New Zealand Flag
Bed & Breakfast & Four-Wheel Drive combos: Kiwi Housetrucks
“Southern lights" aurora on APOD. New Zealand from space (Click to biggify. Another angle)
Maori liquor made from Ti-Toki berries
Walking upside down on the Southern Hemisphere
Bic Runga sings Listening For The Weather. (From Bioneural’s Great New Zealand music. Thank you, Bruce)
This is another post that I am “co-blogging”, and again with on-going contributor Craig Conley who blogs at Abecedarian and who provided most all of today’s links. Craig’s new book is “Heard the herd”, a field guide to identifying unicorns by sound, available in an eco-friendly low-wattage palette. Thank you again, Craig! (All previous co-blogged posts archived here.) If other bloggers are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details.
/// You’ll find a copy of this post on my Moving to New Zealand blog
July 6, 2007 in Co-blogged with, Music from New Zealand | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 21, 2007
Fringe candidates
Chuck Norris campaign promises, should he run for president
The mighty General Zod 2008
Who Is The Scariest GOP Presidential Candidate? and GOP Hopefuls Clash Over Who is the Whitest
Which bumper sticker would you most likely put on your car?
1. I’m Already Against the Next War
2. Nice Hummer—Sorry About Your Penis
3. America: One Nation Under Surveillance
4. Of Course It Hurts, You’re Getting Screwed by an Elephant
5. Evolution Is Just a Theory . . . Kind of Like Gravity
6. May the Fetus You Save Be Gay
(From Daniel Kurtzman’s What Breed of Liberal Are You?)
Mike Gravel’s surreal campaign commercials
Purple America. How Americans voted from 1960-2004
The Revolution Will Need Warm Underwear
Is America ready for a Mormon president?
What really happened to Bush’s watches. Also, George Bush: General Contractor
Unimpeachable! by Steve Bates
This is another post that I am “co-blogging”, this time with Madeleine Begun Kane, famed humorist & song parodist who blogs at Mad Kane and who provided most all of today’s links. Thank you Madeleine! (All previous co-blogged posts archived here.) If other bloggers are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details.
/// A Huge Depository of Political Posts, specifically the 2004 and 2008 Election Here
June 21, 2007 in Co-blogged with, Politics | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 11, 2007
Chasing unicorns
A giant unicorn sculpted from sand and one sculpted from ice. Several lovely paper unicorns by Origami artists
Polar bears are the main predators of sea unicorns. Here's proof that polar bears love unicorn ice sculptures as well
The horn on this unicorn topiary needs regular pruning
The sea unicorn is called a narwhal. YouTube on Unicorn vs. Narwhal
Can you find the constellation Monoceros in the night sky?
A big icicle can turn anyone into a unicorn
This tacky pink unicorn pinata practically begs to be beaten with a stick
A unicorn flipbook by Jens Lekman (Youtube)
The big-horned male unicorn tang fish changes the color of his horn during courtship
The H.M. Frigate Unicorn is the oldest British-built warship still afloat, and it sports a beautiful unicorn figurehead
Yosemite's Unicorn Peak isn't always snowy-white
Re-post: The "Avenging Unicorn Play Set" (and Narwhal) for smiting your enemies
The truth about Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids
Proof that a unicorn brings out the inner child
Speaking of pink unicorns, "Planet Unicorn" is an animated cartoon about a world imagined into existence by an eight-year-old gay boy named Shannon
"Unicorn Chaser", a Virgin America plane named by BoingBoing editors. (Background)
(Crochet image above by Patricia Waller)
This is another post that I am “co-blogging”, and again with on-going contributor Craig Conley who blogs at Abecedarian and who provided most all of today’s links. Craig’s new book is “Heard the herd”, a field guide to identifying unicorns by sound, available in an eco-friendly low-wattage palette. Thank you again, Craig! (All previous co-blogged posts archived here.) If other bloggers are interested to share the forum here on any other topic, please contact me for details.
June 11, 2007 in Co-blogged with | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
