Fifteen men on a deadman's chest

1. Fifteen men on a dead man's chest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Drink and the devil had done for the rest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.
The mate was fixed by the bosun's pike
The bosun brained with a marlinspike
And cookey's throat was marked belike
It had been gripped by fingers ten;
And there they lay, all good dead men
Like break o'day in a boozing ken
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

2. Fifteen men of the whole ship's list
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Dead and be damned and the rest gone whist!
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
The skipper lay with his nob in gore
Where the scullion's axe his cheek had shore
And the scullion he was stabbed times four
And there they lay, and the soggy skies
Dripped down in up-staring eyes
In murk sunset and foul sunrise
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

3. Fifteen men of 'em stiff and stark
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Ten of the crew had the murder mark!
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead
Or a yawing hole in a battered head
And the scuppers' glut with a rotting red
And there they lay, aye, damn my eyes
Looking up at paradise
All souls bound just contrawise
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

4. Fifteen men of 'em good and true
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Ev'ry man jack could ha' sailed with Old Pew,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
There was chest on chest of Spanish gold
With a ton of plate in the middle hold
And the cabins riot of stuff untold,
And they lay there that took the plum
With sightless glare and their lips struck dumb
While we shared all by the rule of thumb,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

5. More was seen through a sternlight screen
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Chartings undoubt where a woman had been
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.
'Twas a flimsy shift on a bunker cot
With a dirk slit sheer through the bosom spot
And the lace stiff dry in a purplish blot
Oh was she wench or some shudderin' maid
That dared the knife and took the blade
By God! she had stuff for a plucky jade
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

6. Fifteen men on a dead man's chest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Drink and the devil had done for the rest
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.
We wrapped 'em all in a mains'l tight
With twice ten turns of a hawser's bight
And we heaved 'em over and out of sight,
With a Yo-Heave-Ho! and a fare-you-well
And a sudden plunge in the sullen swell
Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Whatever happened to the riots

Was just driving by the Parliament last night and saw a few people crammed together, holding national flags and looking very serious. Apparently, this was the small group of demonstrators who did not give up standing outside the Parliament. Remember, a month or so ago there was a lot more people swearing that they would die there rather than go home, unless Ferenc Gyurcsany, the Hungarian Prime Minister, resigns. Where were those people last night? Watching Desperate Housewives on TV2, I reckon.

Sic transit gloria mundi. This whole thing demonstrates that it really takes a lot of dedication and will power to stand by the things you believe in for more than a week. Still, the demonstrators last night gave me the impression of simply being fanatics, rather than devoted patriots. But who knows, perhaps all revolutionaries are like that from up close and only distance in time makes them look graceful and brave.

Growing cactus - Why and how?

Growing cactus

"Cacti are a group of plants that are not only easy to grow, but offer a variety of shapes, color and form. They can be grown in any sunny, well-drained area. They require little maintenance. They make excellent houseplants and many hardy varieties may be grown outside.

"If you want small specimens (less than one inch above the ground), you will want to grow lithops, which is Greek for "living rocks". Other cacti which mimic the appearance of rocks include titanopsis, lapidaria, penestraria and gibbaeum.

"Some cactus and succulent types can be used as pot plants. These include Aloe Vera, crassulas, Echeverias, peperomias and kalanchoe.

"Larger-growing cactus and succulent plants make dramatic floor plants with heights from 3 to 10 feet or more. These include Cereus peruvianus, Yucca elephantipes, Euphorbias, ponytail palm or bottle palm."

The Gyurcsany speech that has angered the nation

The Gyurcsany speech that has angered the nation

Here is a partial translation of Ferenc Gyurcsany's speech which caused such a sensation. This is only a paragraph and half but the best part.

"We don't have much choice. We don't because we f*cked up. Not just a little bit -- big time. No other country in Europe has done such a stupid thing before. We could try to explain it. Obviously, we have lied our way through the past couple of years. It was evident that the things we were saying were not true. We have gone way beyond our possibilities; we could not have imagined in the past that a joint government of the Hungarian Socialist Party and the liberals would ever end up here. Meanwhile, we have not done a thing in four years. Nothing. I cannot name any significant government decision we could be proud of, except the fact that we were able to get the governance out of the sh*t. Not a thing. If we were held accountable before the nation for our actions over the past four years, what would we say? Obviously, the whole thing is not being done in a nice, calm and meticulous manner. No, no. Everything is being done in a terrible rush because for a while we could not do anything, lest the people find out. And now we are in such a tight spot that we are about do die. And then we fall. Because we cannot keep a faster pace. This is where we are. Meanwhile we still have to come to an understanding with the liberal democrats, there are still ministerial issues -- you know.

"Look, the fact is that we do not have a choice in the short run. Janos Veres is right. We can still fuss around a bit but not for too long. The moment of truth is coming. Divine providence, the overflow of cash in the world economy, hundreds of tricks you obviously need not to know about, all these things helped us to survive so far. But this is the end of it. We cannot go any further. Of course, we can discuss this endlessly, prepare a huge f*cking number of analyses to see which social group will end up with what. This is what I can tell you. We cannot analyze things for weeks, folks, we cannot."

Practical Midwifery

Practical Midwifery

It is the author's intention, in the succeeding pages, to present to the Student of Midwifery, in a condensed form, those rules which are particularly applicable to the practical department of the science.

The frequent inquiries amongst his own pupils for a book of this kind will, he trusts, be a sufficient apology for the present undertaking; which is intended as a remembrancer in the lying-in room, and consequently will by no means supersede the necessity of consulting the more voluminous treatises on this interesting and important department of medical science.

To the gentlemen attending the author's lectures it cannot fail to be acceptable, as it will form a Syllabus of that part of the Course in which the varieties of parturition are described; and, should the sphere of its usefulness extend no further, he will be amply rewarded for the time he has devoted in thus condensing and revising, for their instruction, the practical rules of the art and science of Midwifery.

Practical Midwifery

The Pelvis

Diameters Of The Pelvis

Presentation And Situation

Labour

Natural Labour

Passage Of The Child During Labour

Duties Of The Accoucheur

Management Of The Placenta

Causes Which Impede Labour

Preternatural Labour

Labours With Plurality Of Children

Instrumental Labour

Labour With Hemorrhage From The Uterus

Hemorrhage Before The Birth Of The Child

Hemorrhage After The Birth Of The Child

Caterpillar: The Larval Stage of a Butterfly

Caterpillar: The Larval Stage of a Butterfly

"A caterpillar is the larval stage of butterflies and moths. The caterpillar hatches from a tiny egg and will eventually pupate and turn into an adult butterfly or moth.
This larval stage usually lasts from two weeks to about a month. This is the main feeding stage of the butterfly. Caterpillars eat almost constantly and grow very quickly, at an astonishing rate.

...

When the caterpillar has reached the right size, it is time for it to pupate. It finds a suitable place to attach itself (a twig, a leaf, undergroud, or another place). It attaches itself with a silken girdle around its middle and a silken pad and cremaster (at the end of the abdomen). It then splits open and loses its exoskeleton and pupates (becomes a pupa)."

Who is the Hoochie Coochie Man?

Who is the Hoochie Coochie Man?

"Back in the late 19th century, hoochie coochie was a muscle dance which became very popular after the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, where it was introduced to the public. A decade later, the hoochie coochie shows were immensely popular and, judging from contemporary accounts, these were clearly not something approved by law enforcement and the high society. At the same time, the dance seemed to have been one of the high points of the Chicago World's Fair.

One news report from 1903, for example, talks of J.S. Starr who "proceeded to organize a crusade against the carnival selecting, out of the whole unlawful bunch of things, the hoochie coochie and gambling devices." Or elsewhere they talk about going "into the disreputable hoochie coochie shows to see what vile things were on exhibition; some of them went themselves and some of them became so interested in the vile shows that they went several times, perhaps to refresh their memories."

HYDRA LERNAIA

HYDRA LERNAIA

"HYDRA LERNAIA was a gigantic, nine-headed water-serpent, which haunted the swamps of Lerna. Herakles was sent to destroy her as one of his twelve labours, but for each of her heads that he decapitated, two more sprang forth. So with the help of Iolaos, he applied burning brands to the severed stumps, cauterizing the wounds and preventing regeneration. In the battle he also crushed a giant crab beneath his heel which had come to assist Hydra.The Hydra and her crab ally were placed amongst the stars as the Constellations Hydra and Cancer."

Kyoto Imperial Palace

Kyoto Imperial Palace

Kyoto Imperial Palace (Kyoto Gosho) used to be the residence of Japan's Imperial Family until 1868, when the emperor and capital were moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. It is located in the spacious Kyoto Imperial Park.

The palace burnt down and was moved around the city several times over the centuries. The present reconstruction dates from 1855. The palace complex is enclosed by a long wall and consists of several gates, halls and gardens. The enthronement ceremonies of Emperors Taisho and Showa were still held in the palace's main hall, but the present Emperor's ceremony took place at the Tokyo Imperial Palace.

Fa-hien (Fa Xian, Faxian, Fa Hsien)

Fa-hien, also commonly written as Fa Xian, Faxian, Fa Hsien, was the first Chinese Buddhist pilgrim to leave an account of his travels to Central Asia, India, and Sri Lanka. The name of this monk may correctly be pronounced as Faxian but is also written as Fa-hsien. A native of Shanxi (Shansi), he left home at the tender age of three to join the Buddhist Sangha. After his novitiate, Fa-hien wanted to go to India to search for the treatises of the Vinaya Pitaka, the monastic rules of buddhism. He was perhaps sixty-four when, in 399 AD, he departed for India.

Travelling through Central Asia and Northwest India, Fa-hien reached northern India and then visited the holy Buddhist sites located in the Ganges valley: Kapilavastu, the birthplace of Buddha; Bodhgaya, the site of Buddha's enlightenment; Sarnath, where Buddha preached his first sermon, and Kushinagara, the place of Buddha's nirvana. He spent much of his time visiting and describing mid-India or Magadha. Fa-hien did not visit peninsular India, and left India by sea to return to China after visiting Sri Lanka. His is the only firsthand account of that island from a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim. Fa-hien returned to China in 414 AD after enduring many hardships at sea.

It took Fa-hien six years to reach Central India from Changan (then the capital of China); his itinerary there extended over another six years; and on his return it took him three years to reach Qingzhou (Ch'ingchou) in modern Shandong, a coastal province in east China.

Sigmund Freud: The Interpretation of Dreams (1900)

Sigmund Freud: The Interpretation of Dreams (1900)

"Dreams are not comparable to the spontaneous sounds made by a musical instrument struck rather by some external force than by the hand of a performer; they are not meaningless, not absurd, they do not imply that one portion of our stockpile of ideas sleeps while another begins to awaken. They are a completely valid psychological phenomenon, specifically the fulfillment of wishes; they can be classified in the continuity of comprehensible waking mental states; they are constructed through highly complicated intellectual activity.
But as soon as we delight in this discovery, a flood of questions assails us. If, according to dream analysis, the dream represents a fulfilled wish, what creates the astonishing and strange form in which this wish-fullfillment is expressed? What transformation have the dream thoughts undergone to shape the manifest dream which we remember when awake? Through what means has this transformation taken place? What is the source of the material which has been reworked into the dream? Where do the many peculiarities which we notice in dream thoughts come from, for instance that they may be mutually contradictory? Can a dream tell us so mething new about our inner psychological processes? Can its content correct the opinions that we have held during our waking hours?
I suggest that we set these questions aside for the moment and follow one particular path further. We have learned that a dream represents a fulfilled wish. Our next concern will be to discover whether this is a universal characteristic of dreams. . . We must leave open the possibility that the meaning may not be the same in every dream. Our first dream was a wish fulfillment; but perhaps another will prove to be a fulfilled fear; a third might contain a reflex; a fourth may simply reproduce a memory. Are there other wish-dreams? Or perhaps nothing but wish-dreams exist.
It is easy to demonstrate that dreams often have the character of blatant wish-fullfillments; so much so that one wonders why the language of dreams was not understood long ago. For instance, there is a dream that I can experience at will, experimentally, as it were. When I eat sardines, olives, or other strongly salted foods in the evening, I am awakened in the night by thirst. But the awaking is always preceded by a dream with the same content: I gulp the water down; and it tastes delicious to me as only a cool drink can when one is dying of thirst; and then I wake up and really have to drink. The cause of this simple dream is the thirst which I feel when I awaken. This feeling causes the desire to drink, and the dream shows me this desire fulfilled. It thereby serves a function which I can easily guess. I am a good sleeper, unaccustomed to being awakened by any need. If I can slake my thirst by dreaming that I am drinking, I don't need to wake up in order to be satisfied. Thus this is a convenience dream. The dream is substituted for action, as so often in life.
Recently this same dream occurred in a somewhat modified form. I had become thirsty even before sleeping and drained the glass of water which was standing on the nightstand next to my bed. A few hours later during the night I had a new attack of thirst which was more inconvenient. In order to get some water I would have had to get up and take the glass standing on my wife's nightstand. I dreamed therefore that my wife gave me a drink out of a vessel. This vessel was an Etruscan funerary urn which I had brought back from a trip to Italy and had since given away. However, the water in it tasted so salty (plainly because of the ashes) that I had to wake up. It is easy to see how neatly this dream arranged matters; since it its only aim was wish-fulfillment, it could be completely egotistical. A love of convenience is not really compatible with consideration for others. The introduction of the funerary urn is probably another wish-fulfillment; I was sorry that I didn't own the vessel any more--just as the water glass beside my wife was inaccessible. The urn also fit the growing salty taste which I knew would force me to wake up.
I very commonly had such dreams of convenience in my youth. Always used to working deep into the night, it was always difficult for me to wake up early. I used to dream then that I was out of bed and standing in front of the washstand. Eventually I had to recognize that I was not up, but meanwhile I had slept some more. The same lazy dream in a particularly witty form was told to me by one of my colleagues who evidently shared my sleepyheadedness. The landlady he rented rooms near the hospitals from had strong instructions to wake him up at the right time every morning; but she had a difficult time carrying out these orders. One morning he was sleeping especially sweetly. The woman called into the room, "Mr. Pepi, get up. You have to go to the hospital. " At that point the sleeper dreamed that he was lying in a bed in a room in the hospital, on which was a placard which read "Pepi H., medical student, age 22." Dreaming, he said to himself, "Since I am already in the hospital, I don't have to go there," so he turned over and slept on. Thus he openly confessed the cause of his dream.
It is just as easy to discover wish-fulfillment in some other dreams that I have collected from normal people. A friend who knows my dream theory and had shared it with his wife said to me one day, "I must tell you that my wife dreamed yesterday that she had her period. You know what that means." Certainly I knew; since the young woman had dreamed that she had her period, it meant that her period had not come. I could well believe that she would liked to have enjoyed her freedom a little longer before beginning the burdens of motherhood. It was a clever way of announcing the onset of her pregnancy. Another friend writes me that his wife recently dreamed that she noticed drops of milk on her blouse front. This is always a sign of pregnancy, but not a first pregnancy; the young mother wanted to have more milk for the second child than she had had for the first. . . .
These examples will perhaps be enough to show that dreams which can only be understood as wish-fullfillments, and which clearly reveal their content, occur often and under manifold circumstances. These mostly short and simple dreams stand out pleasantly in contrast with the confused and overly complex dream compositions which have mostly absorbed the attention of writers. . . .
We recognize that we might have gotten at the understanding of the concealed meaning of dreams by the shortest path if we had simply followed common ways of speaking. Proverbs indeed sometimes speak dismissively of dreams; people think they are being properly scientific when they say, "Dreams are froth." But in common usage dreams are predominantly the fulfillers of dreams. We cry out, delighted, "I would never have imagined such a thing even in my wildest dreams" when we find that reality has surpassed our expectations. . . .
There still remain anxiety dreams (1) as a special subdivision of dreams with a painful content whose interpretation as wish-fulfillment dreams will be most unwillingly accepted by the unenlightened. However, I can deal briefly with anxiety dreams here; they do not represent another aspect of the problems posed by dreams; rather it is a matter of understanding above all neurotic anxiety. The anxiety that we feel in dreams is only apparently explained by the dream's content. When we try to discover the meaning of a dream's content, we note that the anxiety felt in a dream is no better explained by its content than the anxiety felt in a phobia (2) is explained by the mental image which induces the phobia. For instance, is it quite true that one may fall out of a window, and therefore one may reasonably exert a certain amount of caution around a window; but this does not explain why in its phobic form the fear is so powerful and the sufferer pursued by the fear far beyond its cause. The same explanation is valid for phobias as for anxiety dreams. The anxiety is in both cases only loose ly linked to the association, and actually derives from another source.
Since dream anxiety is intimately related to neurotic anxiety is must explain the first by reference to the second. In a short publication on anxiety neurosis . . . I argued that neurotic anxiety derives from sexual life, and is the expression of unsatisfied desire which has been diverted from its goal. This formula has since then been proven valid. It enables us now to say that the sexual content of anxiety dreams is the result of transformation of sexual desire."

Muddy Waters: Mannish Boy

Muddy Waters: Mannish Boy

Ooooooh, yeah, ooh, yeah

Everythin', everythin', everytin's gonna be alright this mornin'
Ooh yeah, whoaw
Now when I was a young boy, at the age of five
My mother said I was, gonna be the greatest man alive
But now I'm a man, way past 21
Want you to believe me baby,
I had lot's of fun
I'm a man
I spell mmm, aaa child, nnn
That represents man
No B, O child, Y
That mean mannish boy
I'm a man
I'm a full grown man
I'm a man
I'm a natural born lovers man
I'm a man
I'm a rollin' stone
I'm a man
I'm a hoochie coochie man

Sittin' on the outside, just me and my mate
You know I'm made to move you honey,
come up two hours late
Wasn't that a man
I spell mmm, aaa child, nnn
That represents man
No B, O child, Y
That mean mannish boy
I'm a man
I'm a full grown man
Man
I'm a natural born lovers man
Man
I'm a rolllin' stone
Man-child
I'm a hoochie coochie man

The line I shoot will never miss
When I make love to a woman,
she can't resist
I think I go down,
to old Kansas Stew
I'm gonna bring back my second cousin,
that little Johnny Cocheroo
All you little girls,
sittin'out at that line
I can make love to you woman,
in five minutes time
Ain't that a man
I spell mmm, aaa child, nnn
That represents man
No B, O child, Y
That mean mannish boy
Man
I'm a full grown man
Man
I'm a natural born lovers man
Man
I'm a rollin' stone
I'm a man-child
I'm a hoochie coochie man
well, well, well, well
hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry
Don't hurt me, don't hurt me child
don't hurt me, don't hurt, don't hurt me child
well, well, well, well

Yeah

Streamlined Woman

Streamlined Woman

"While Streamlined Woman offers us a glorious historic glimpse at a young McKinley Morganfield, the solos can border on repetitive in casual listening. But attention to the subtle differences in each song will be rewarding. Songs like “Down South Blues” and “Rollin' and Tumblin'” have the same distinctive shuffles and beats, but we are interested in the attitudes to each respective take. That attitude is called a sound, and listening to the sound of Muddy Waters is to listen to the sound of the blues."

Animal Fighting Laws

Animal Fighting Laws

"One animal fighting law that can make an enormous difference in cracking down on this illegal activity is a prohibition on the possession of animals for fighting purposes. In states that do not ban keeping or selling fighting animals, police must catch animal fighters in the act of fighting. Infiltrating animal fighting circles can be a difficult task, as they are often highly clandestine, held in remote locations, and involve closed circles of participants. But animal fighters are often easily identifiable by the way they keep their animals, the fact that they possess training equipment, and have animals with multiple scars."

Minamoto Yoshitsune

Minamoto Yoshitsune

"Japanese military leader and tragic hero, brother of Minamoto Yoritomo. Yoshitsune was placed in a monastery after his father's death in an unsuccessful rising against the dictatorship of Taira Kiyomori, but he escaped and in 1180 joined a rebellion against the Taira clan launched by Yoritomo. His first, spectacularly successful campaign (1184) was against his unruly cousin Yoshinaka; later that year he led a surprise assault on the Taira forces camped at Ichinotani, demoralizing and dispersing them. In 1185 he finally annihilated the Taira in the naval battle of Dannoura, but Yoritomo's suspicions, already aroused, were exacerbated by the retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa's attempts to use Yoshitsune against him. Yoshitsune was forced into rebellion against Yoritomo late in 1185, but most of his few followers died at sea as he fled north. Betrayed and attacked by his allies, he finally committed suicide after killing his wife and daughter. His story has been retold in many chronicles and plays, establishing him as the archetype of doomed valour."

Monsters & Demons

Monsters & Demons

"Going to the movies may not seem like a novel way for little kids to spend an afternoon. But have you ever brought your child to see a Disney flick and ended up viewing trailers for Jeepers Creepers 2 or Freddie vs. Jason?

When this happened in a Birmingham, Alabama cinema last year, parents became concerned about what the main attraction would be. But before the managers at the cinema could turn off the previews, the main attraction came on, and it wasn't Piglet. Instead they were presented with the gruesome opening of Wrong Turn, an 18-rated slasher flick in much the same vein as the previews."

Toads and frogs

http://allaboutfrogs.org/weird/general/frogtoad.html

"Generally speaking, though, when we think of frogs, we generally picture what are called "True Frogs"....members of the family Ranidae, containing more than 400 species.

The term toads tends to refer to "True Toads"....members of the family Bufonidae, containing more than 300 species.

The physical distinctions, however, can easily get blurred because sometimes the features appear mixed or less obvious, and certain species even legitimately fall into both categories. It is not uncommon, for example, to find a warty skinned frog that isn't a toad, or even a slimy toad! Even the more invisible stuff like cartilage structure has been found to sometimes fit both categories!"

Cats-n-Dogs

Cats-n-Dogs

"Air travel with pets falls into two categories, in-cabin and cargo. In-cabin pets must be small enough to fit into a carrier that will slide under the seat in front of you. Pets too large to fit comfortably in a carrier must travel in cargo. Cargo holds are heated, cooled and pressurized, just like the passenger compartment.

Before you make a reservation, be sure the airline will accommodate your pet. Some airlines do not take pets in-cabin; some discount airlines don't accept pets at all. So if you purchase your airline tickets through the Internet, make sure your pet will be able to travel with you.

Pet passengers require a reservation, whether traveling in-cabin or cargo. Airlines have restrictions on the number of pets they will carry in order to provide safe travel for all. So making your pet's reservation at the same time you purchase your ticket is a good idea. Extra charges for both in-cabin and cargo pets will be assessed."

Squirrel search tips

Squirrel search tips

"As of June 2006, Google shows 27.6 million hits for the word "squirrel". Many of these links, on the other hand, don't have much to do with actual squirrels, but with things like SQL clients and programming languages. The Latin name Sciurus returns 787,000 hits, but not even all of these are squirrel links. The name of the squirrel family, Sciuridae, gets 258,000 hits. Even doing a Google image search for large full-color JPG files gets 13,500 hits, which is a lot of squirrel pictures (with a lot of non-squirrel pictures mixed in). When I started this page, a search for "squirrel" turned up a few hundred pages at most, but these days, there are far too many pages to check out even a tiny portion of them.

"There are two ways to sift through this vast sea of links. One is to narrow down the search: from "squirrel" (27.6M) to "red squirrel" (856,000) to "red squirrel" +michigan (35,200). Another is to look up the word for "squirrel" in a random dictionary, such as Italian (scoiattolo, 510,000 hits) or Portuguese (esquilo, 562,000 hits). The problem with that is that not enough dictionaries have a word for "squirrel" listed. One way to find words for "squirrel" is to use Google Advanced Search, type a Latin name in the search box, and select a language from the language box. For instance, Google returns 900 pages in Polish for the word Sciurus, from which you can find that "wiewiórka" seems to be a Polish word for a kind of squirrel. (It also is apparently a Polish surname.) Another is to visit the English Wikipedia "Squirrel" page and click one of the links in the box marked "in other languages".

Stinging Caterpillars

Stinging Caterpillars

"Most people know that bees, wasps, hornets and some ants can sting to defend themselves or their nests. Only a few people realize, usually from first hand experience, that handling some caterpillars can produce some painful results. Recognizing the few stinging caterpillar species may prevent irritating encounters.

"Caterpillar stages of moths often have spines and barbed hooks. Generally, these are for show and are quite harmless. But there are a few Stinging caterpillars of various shapes, sizes and colors. Stinging caterpillars possess hollow quill-like hairs, connected to poison sacs, that are used as defensive weapons. When these hairs are touched they break through the skin releasing the poison. Reactions can range from a mild itching to the more severe pain, dermatitis, and even intestinal disturbances. "

Caterpillars

Caterpillars

"Caterpillars are voracious feeders. When large numbers occur together, they can completely strip the leaves from a tree. Several colonies of the eastern tent caterpillar helped themselves to this wild cherry. Their silk tents can be seen in the branch forks."

"Full-grown caterpillars are 2-1/2 inches long with a white stripe down the back and blue spots on either side. After completing their development, eastern tent caterpillars leave their host tree and wander in search of suitable places in which to spin their cocoons. Inside the cocoons, they transform into moths which mate and lay eggs once again on cherry, apple, and other suitable host trees."

Search for El Dorado The Lost City of Gold

Search for El Dorado The Lost City of Gold

"CLUES FOR THE HUNT: In 1502, Columbus-on his 4th and last expedition to America-reached Venezuela, so named because its coast looked to him like "an odd little Venice." He had been told that there was "a gold city 10 days from the Ganges." Since he still thought he was in India, he mistook the Orinoco River for the Ganges. Earlier, he momentarily thought he had found El Dorado in Haiti, where nuggets were the size of hen's eggs. In 1510 Balboa, already at the Pacific Ocean and not impossibly far from Cundinamarca, was contemptuously told by an Indian as he knocked a handful of ornaments out of Balboa's hand, "I can tell you of a land where they eat and drink out of golden vessels and gold is as cheap as iron is with you." Cortes, too, had been informed of this land by an Indian slave girl whom he baptized-and then used for 6 years as both translator and mistress. She had merely pointed in the direction of Bogota. "

History of The Simpsons

History of The Simpsons
"The Simpsons are the brainchild of Matt Groening. He started out as a cartoonist by drawing a weekly comic strip for a set of regional newspapers, called "Life In Hell." They featured a rabbit called Blinky (yes, that's the name of the three-eyed fish in The Simpsons) and detailed the dark side of life. Books of these early cartoons are sold in bookstores."

Bottlenose Dolphins

Bottlenose Dolphins

Scientific Classification
Habitat and Distribution
Physical Characteristics
Senses
Adaptations for an Aquatic Environment
Behavior
Diet and Eating Habits
Reproduction
Birth and Care of Young
Communication and Echolocation
Longevity and Causes of Death
Conservation
Books for Young Readers
Bibliography

Megiddo and Armageddon

Megiddo and Armageddon

Megiddo (me·GID·o), or Tel Megiddo (TEL-me·GID·o), an ancient fortified city, is one of the most famous battlegrounds in the world. Historians believe that more battles were fought at this location than anywhere else on earth. "When Edwin Robinson stood on the imposing hill known as Tell el-Mutesellim in 1838, he jotted down in his diary the words, 'I wonder where Megiddo could have been.' Ironically, the mound on which he was standing, rising seventy feet above the surrounding plain and occupying an area of ten acres on its summit (with lower levels even larger) soon proved to be the site of Megiddo"

MILITARY VEHICLES

MILITARY VEHICLES

"Military Vehicles from Jeeps to Tanks of all ages and types for private collectors, museums and commercial users. Military Vehicle, Militaria and Ex Military Equipment dealers and private advertisers - updated every 12 hours. Military Vehicle, Militaria and Re-enactor events. "

Andromeda Galaxy

Andromeda Galaxy

"Wider and possibly brighter than our own Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy was once thought to be the dominant member of the Local Group of galaxies. Although it is Milky Way's nearest large galactic neighbor, this large spiral galaxy (type Sb with two arms) lies around 2.52 ± 0.14 million light-years (ly) from the Solar System (Ribas et al, 2005). It can be found in (0:40:27+40:40:12, J2000; and 0:42:44.3+41:16:9.4, ICRS 2000) Constellation Andromeda, the Chained Maiden. It is located northwest of Mu and Beta Andromedae (Mirach); west of Nu Andromedae; northeast of Theta and Sigma Andromedae; north of Pi, Delta, and Epsilon Andromedae; and south of Theta and Omega Cassiopeiae. Andromeda can be seen by Human eyes from Earth without a telescope as a "little cloud" (see Akira Fujii's photo to better relate the galaxy's location to the brightest stars of Constellation Andromeda)."

The Dolphinarium

The Dolphinarium

"The dolphins have a six days “working” week, Monday being their relaxation day. This schedule has never been changed. They receive their daily food at 5 or 6 portions, only during training and performances. Their menu contains of 8-10 kg perch pike, sprat, sardines, and their favorite delicates – the herring. The trainings include old elements of the performances, as well as new techniques. The visitors enjoy most of all when dolphins walk on their tails over the water, catch fish from the coach’s mouth, sing. In the moment they are practicing human participation in the pool. Soon new trainees are expected in the dolphinarium – sea lions."

The Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins

"Mariners, Marauders, Mustangs, Missiles, Moons, Sharks, Suns none of those other names suggested to the American Football League expansion franchise in 1965 could raise a fin to the runaway winner.
"Dolphins" was submitted by 622 entrants in a contest which attracted 19,843 entries and more than a thousand different names. The dozen finalists were delivered to a seven-member screening committee of local media.
The bottlenose dolphin, an intelligent creature with an irresistible built-in grin, has inspired wonder for centuries. Plutarch observed 1,900 years ago that the dolphin "is the only creature who loves man for his own sake." Every trainer will have a tale of the dolphin's cleverness and ingenuity, and scientists are fascinated by a dolphin's natural equipment which far surpasses the range of Navy sonar equipment.
"The dolphin is one of the fastest and smartest creatures of the sea," Joe Robbie said in announcing the team name on October 8, 1965. "Dolphins can attack and kill a shark or a whale. Sailors say bad luck will come to anyone who harms one of them."
Mrs. Robert Swanson of West Miami won two lifetime passes to Dolphin games with her nickname entry. The tiebreaker was picking the winner and score of the 1965 game between the University of Miami and Notre Dame. It ended in a scoreless tie. "

American Lamb Board

American Lamb Board

"The American Lamb Board (ALB) was created by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to administer the Lamb Promotion, Research and Information Order. The ALB works to strengthen the domestic lamb industry’s position in the marketplace through advertising, public relations, culinary education, and retail promotions. The 13 member volunteer Board represents all sectors including six producers, three feeders, one seedstock producer and three first handlers."

Computer crash

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/crash.html

"If your computer crashes, it is not your fault. If the program is good and your hardware is functioning properly, there is nothing you can do to make your system crash."

Why Does My Computer Crash, Freeze or Hang All The Time?

Why Does My Computer Crash, Freeze or Hang All The Time?

"Do you see a lot of messages like, "This program performed an illegal operation and will be shut down" ? Or do you find that your mouse often freezes and you have to reset your computer to regain control?

"This is a very common complaint for many computer users. Why this happens can be due to a number of things. "

Armageddon

http://www.armageddon.org/

"Armageddon is a highly modified DIKU MUD, a form of multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORG), designed to provide a roleplaying experience in the harsh desert world of Zalanthas. Armageddon is as focused on serious roleplay as any MUSH; but it combines that roleplaying focus with the hard-coded realism of a DIKU MUD. Players are required to maintain a high level of roleplay at all times. "

Armageddon

And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (Revelations 16)

The Frog and the Princess

The Frog and the Princess (A tale by the Grimm Brothers)

"In olden times when wishing still helped one, there lived a king whose daughters were all beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful hat the sun itself, which has seen so much, was astonished whenever it shone in her face. Close by the king's castle lay a great dark forest, and under an old lime-tree in the forest was a well, and when the day was very warm, the king's child went out into the forest and sat down by the side of the cool fountain, and when she was bored she took a golden ball, and threw it up on high and caught it, and this ball was her favorite plaything. Now it so happened that on one occasion the princess's golden ball did not fall into the little hand which she was holding up for it, but on to the ground beyond, and rolled straight into the water. The king's daughter followed it with her eyes, but it vanished, and the well was deep, so deep that the bottom could not be seen. At this she began to cry, and cried louder and louder, and could not be comforted. And as she thus lamented someone said to her, "What ails you, king's daughter? You weep so that even a stone would show pity."

Australian Leader Testifies at Oil Hearing

Australian Leader Testifies at Oil Hearing

"Prime Minister John Howard said Thursday his senior advisers did not alert him to warnings that Australia's monopoly wheat exporter was allegedly paying kickbacks to Saddam Hussein in the discredited U.N. oil-for-food program."

From Korean history

Preamble: Approaching the 19th Century - East Meets West

"1868 - Tokugawa shogunate in Japan ends with the restoration of the emperor (“Meiji Restoration”). Japan begins to implement internal political and economic reforms, partly designed to strengthen Japan against foreign incursions. Legal class distinctions abolished (1869). Universal male military conscription established (1873).

"Japan becomes increasingly militaristic towards Korea for numerous reasons, including (a) the “political necessity of finding an outlet for the energies” of the samurais affected by the Meiji Restoration, (b) to acquire a captive market for Japanese consumer goods, (c) to preempt Russian encroachment in Korea, and (d) chauvinistic impulse of the Restoration leaders to expand the Japanese Empire."

NAVAJO WAR AGAINST WHITE SETTLERS

NAVAJO WAR AGAINST WHITE SETTLERS

"Adjutant General Kennedy was inclined to regard the situation with a good deal of concern, although expressing the belief that the trouble would not extend very far north. He did not know whether or not Governor Waite would order the national guard to the front, but thought that he would do so. He declined to give copies of the telegrams received by him and sent, or to allow any one to see them, stating that it was contrary to orders. In speaking of the affair he said that there are 250 bucks who are raising the disturbance. "They are all mounted and equipped," said he, "with the best repeating rifles and have ample supplied for a long war. They are a bad lot and revel in plunder and murder. There has been ill-feeling among them for a long time and it has at last come to a head. "

Who Was Socrates?

Who Was Socrates?

"Socrates himself was born in Athens around 470 B.C. He was the son of Sophroniscus, a sculptor, and Phaenarete, a midwife. During the early part of his life, he seems to have followed in his father's footsteps, working as a sculptor. He was married to Xanthippe (who is often depicted as something of a shrew) and she bore him three sons, Lamprocles, Sophroniscus and Menexenus. Socrates was hardly an ideal husband or father; he was so preoccupied with his search for wisdom that he often neglected his family and was not overly concerned with supporting them financially.

"As for his education, it is said that he was a student of Anaxagoras, one of the famous early philosophers of Greece. At first he spent his time studying cosmology (or the study of the nature of reality) but later abandoned this field in order to devote himself almost exclusively to ethics. He came to believe that it was his mission to act as a kind of "gadfly" to the Athenian people, provoking them into recognizing their moral ignorance. Needless to say, his constant interrogation did not endear him to all of the citizens of Athens. While Socrates developed a following among many of the more idealistic young men of Athens--Plato, for example, was a devoted disciple of his--he soon incurred the wrath of some of the most powerful men in the city."

Greek Philosophy Plato

Greek Philosophy Plato

"Plato (speaking through Socrates) divides human beings up based on their innate intelligence, strength, and courage. Those who are not overly bright, or strong, or brave, are suited to various productive professions: farming, smithing, building, etc. Those who are somewhat bright, strong, and especially courageous are suited to defensive and policing professions. Those who are extraordinarily intelligent, virtuous, and brave, are suited to run the state itself; that is, Plato's ideal state is an aristocracy, a Greek word which means "rule by the best." The lower end of human society, which, as far as Plato is concerned, consists of an overwhelming majority of people in a state, he calls the "producers," since they are most suited for productive work. The middle section of society, a smaller but still large number of people, make up the army and the police and are called "Auxiliaries." The best and the brightest, a very small and rarefied group, are those who are in complete control of the state permanently; Plato calls these people "Guardians." In the ideal state, "courage" characterizes the Auxiliaries; "wisdom" displays itself in the lives and government of the Guardians. A state may be said to have "temperance" if the Auxiliaries obey the Guardians in all things and the Producers obey the Auxiliaries and Guardians in all things. A state may be said to be intemperate if any of the lower groups do not obey one of the higher groups. A state may be said to be just if the Auxiliaries do not simply obey the Guardians, but enjoy doing so, that is, they don't grumble about the authority being exercised over them; a just state would require that the Producers not only obey the Auxiliaries and Guardians, but that they do so willingly."

Snails & Slugs

Snails & Slugs

"If you're reading this where it's warm and rainy, you shouldn't have problems finding snails and slugs. They're found at the base of your house's foundation on the shady northern side, or maybe nibbling lettuce in the garden. If you're reading this during a drought, however, you may need to snoop around. Look for them early in the morning when dew wets everything. If it's really dry, you may just have to wait, for your backyard's snails and slugs may well be underground or beneath rocks or fallen trees, in suspended animation, waiting for rain. I found the one in the picture above resting on a slender bunch of grass flowers. In real life this snail's shell is less than half an inch long. In the picture the two long appendages atop the head are tentacles, used to feel the snail's environment. If you look hard you can see two stalked eyes projecting forward and downward from below the tentacles."

Snails and Slugs Management Guidelines

Snails and Slugs Management Guidelines

"Snails and slugs are among the most bothersome pests in many garden and landscape situations. The brown garden snail (Helix aspersa) is the most common snail causing problems in California gardens; it was introduced from France during the 1850s for use as food.
Several species of slugs are frequently damaging, including the gray garden slug (Agriolimax reticulatus), the banded slug (Limax marginatusi), the tawny slug (Limax flavus), and the greenhouse slug (Milax gagates). Both snails and slugs are members of the mollusk phylum and are similar in structure and biology, except slugs lack the snail’s external spiral shell."

London bridge

London bridge

"The 'London Bridge is falling down' Nursery Rhyme is based on the one of the most famous landmarks in London. It's history can be traced to the Roman occupation of England in the first century. The first London Bridge was made of wood and clay and was fortified or re-built with the various materials mentioned in the children's nursery rhyme. Many disasters struck the bridges - Viking invaders destroyed the bridge in the 1000's which led to a fortified design, complete with a drawbridge. Building materials changed due to the many fires that broke out on the bridge."

Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty

"Humpty Dumpty was a colloquial term used in fifteenth century England describing someone who was obese. This has given rise to various, but inaccurate, theories surrounding the identity of Humpty Dumpty. The image of Humpty Dumpty was made famous by the illustrations included in the 'Alice through the looking glass' novel by Lewis Carroll. However, Humpty Dumpty was not a person pilloried in the famous rhyme!"

Dragons in Ancient China

Dragons in Ancient China

"Dragon occupies a very important postion in Chinese mythology. It shows up in arts, literature, poetry, architecture, songs, and many aspects of the Chinese conscience. The origin of Chinese dragons is unknown, but centainly pre-dates the written history. "

Varanus.nl

Varanus.nl

"At this point all monitor lizards are worldwide protected by law. Taking them from the wild is for most species no longer allowed. In order to be able to keep these extremely interesting and beautiful lizards in captive collections in the near future we need to bundle our knowledge and put all our effort in succesfully breeding these species in captivity."

Interesting facts about Koalas

Interesting facts about Koalas

"Koalas have 5 digits on each front paw, two of which are opposed to the others, much like our thumbs are able to be moved differently from the fingers. This helps them to hold firmly onto the branches and to grip their food. The 2nd and 3rd digits on their hind paws are fused together to form a grooming claw."

Australian Koala Foundation

Australian Koala Foundation

"Koalas mean so much to the world. Even the hardest human heart melts when it comes into close contact with them - especially in the wild. In conservation terms, the koala is a 'flagship' species for other lesser-known parts of the ecosystem. The koala's struggle tells us that the bush is in trouble.

"Koalas do not harm anyone. They live in our backyards. It's up to us to keep them alive and healthy in the bush. The koala is Australia’s living icon."

Demons and angels

"They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish." Isaiah 26:14

"That was also regarded as the land of the giants; giants formerly dwelt there, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummin, a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place." Deuteronomy 2:20 - 21.

"But the angels that did not keep their proper domain, but left their abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day..." Jude 6.

witch

witch

"A witch is a female shaman, typically including divination (astrology, palmistry, Tarot, I Ching, etc.), healing (herbal medications, aromatherapy, massage, sacred sexuality, etc.), and magick. (see note below about male witches)."

Witches

Witches

"The Renaissance has a darker side, one you do not see in the great works of art, scientific progress, or refined court life. We are warring often and pestilence ridden death and violence is frequent. Many people believe in the occult, magic, and astrology. One of the most common fears of this time is the fear of witches and it has become officially sanctioned to ferret them out. Everyone accepts the theory that supernatural forces roam the Earth. Since most people cannot read, the Bible, Christianity, and the Church are considered the good magic."

Animal language and cognition projects

Animal language and cognition projects

"Some of the Great Apes, in some situations, have achieved the use of rudimentary symbols. This ability can be used to support symbolic forms of communication, especially requests, between apes and their human 'carers'. This symbolic communication ability does not show the multiplicity of functions that humans employ."

The Language of Animals

The Language of Animals

"Once upon a time when a king named Senaka was reigning in Benares, the Bodhisatta was Sakka. The king Senaka was friendly with a certain naga king. This naga king, they say, left the naga world and ranged the earth seeking food. The village boys seeing him said, "This is a snake," and struck him with clods and other things."

Animal Language Article

Animal Language Article

"PANBANISHA, a Bonobo chimpanzee who has become something of a star among animal language researchers, was strolling through the Georgia woods with a group of her fellow primates -- scientists at the Language Research Center at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Suddenly, the chimp pulled one of them aside. Grabbing a special keyboard of the kind used to teach severely retarded children to communicate, she repeatedly pressed three symbols -- "Fight," "Mad," "Austin" -- in various combinations."

Coeur d'Alene's Old Mission State Park

Coeur d'Alene's Old Mission State Park

"Old Mission State Park features the oldest standing building in Idaho, The Mission of the Sacred Heart, which became a state park in 1975. Also known as Cataldo Mission, it was built between 1848 and 1853 by members of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe and Catholic missionaries. This unique building has walls one-foot thick and was built entirely without nails. The park also has a restored parish house next door to the mission, and an historic cemetary. The visitor center includes an interpretive exhibit on the area and the Coeur d'Alene Indians. A walking audio tour tape is available."

Institute for Chinese Studies at Heidelberg

Institute for Chinese Studies at Heidelberg

"The Institute for Chinese Studies as part of the Faculty for Oriental and Classical Studies at the University of Heidelberg was established in 1962. Prof. Bauer was then the first chair until he took up his new position at Munich. In 1968 Prof. Debon was appointed to the vacant chair and acted as the head of the department until his retirement in 1986. In 1987 Prof. Wagner and in 1989 Prof. Weigelin-Schwiedrzik came to Heidelberg to fill the vacant positions. A third professor, Dr. Barend ter Haar, arrived in 1994. The institute is actively engaged in various academic projects. It is located in the heart of the pictoresque city of Heidelberg in a not so pictoresque building (albeit with lots of space). "

The Dungans -- Cultural Emissaries in Central Asia

The Dungans -- Cultural Emissaries in Central Asia

"The Dungan people, living in Kirghizstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan today, are descendants of Chinese Muslims. Since the creation of the Dungan written language -- a unique phonetic language -- in the early years of the 20th century, mainly under the influence of the social environment of the former Soviet Union, the Dungans developed their own written literature. Over 70 years of experiments have turned the initially humble Dungan literature into a significant branch of Chinese literature. In fact, the rise of Dungan literature has not only enriched the diversity of Chinese literature but borne testimony to Chinese culture taking root elsewhere in Central Asia."

The Kyrgyz Bible

The Kyrgyz Bible is available online at http://kutbilim.narod.ru .

Bible translation issues

American Bible Society Research Center for Scripture and Media: Publications/Archives Key Articles and Papers
An Analytical Study of Words, by Louis Abbott
Bible comes in politically correct form
The Bible... a Dinosaur?
Bible Translations Information Center
Bible Translation Issues website
"The English Used in Our Country": Bible Translations for U.S. Catholics
Ernst-August Gutt webpage (on Relevance Theory and Translation)
"Forever and Ever" -- A Poor Translation
"Greek Meaning Versus English Translation" OR "What is the Best English Translation?"
The Hidden Meaning of Jesus' Words
Interpreting the Word
Issues Surrounding the Translation of the Bible

St. John the Baptist

St. John the Baptist

"The principal sources of information concerning the life and ministry of St. John the Baptist are the canonical Gospels. Of these St. Luke is the most complete, giving as he does the wonderful circumstances accompanying the birth of the Precursor and items on his ministry and death. St. Matthew's Gospel stands in close relation with that of St. Luke, as far as John's public ministry is concerned, but contains nothing in reference to his early life. From St. Mark, whose account of the Precursor's life is very meagre, no new detail can be gathered. Finally, the fourth Gospel has this special feature, that it gives the testimony of St. John after the Saviour's baptism."

Algonquian Indian Tribes

Algonquian Indian Tribes

"Hardly a week goes by that we don't get email from at least one kid looking for information on the "Algonquian tribe." Adults, too, write to us trying to do genealogical research on their "Algonkian" ancestors or learn the "Algonquian" heritage of their state. There's just one problem with this: THERE IS NO ALGONQUIAN TRIBE! There is an Algonquin (or Algonkin) tribe, who live in Canada. But the word Algonquian (or Algonkian) is a more general linguistic/anthropological term used to refer to not only the small Algonquin tribe but dozens of distinct Native American tribes who speak languages that are related to each other."

Algonquian tribes

http://www.greatdreams.com/native.htm

"Algonquian" is not the name of a native tribe or nation; it is a language family, like "romance" or "indo-euoropean". There are no "Algonquian Indians". There are dozens of North American Nations that speak Algonquian languages all across the United States, but the languages and their speakers are as different from each other as French and Spanish and Italian are. Most of the New England tribes spoke Algonquian languages, and many of the "Indian" words common in English today - such as raccoon, succotash, Massachusetts, moccasin, etc. - are from one or another of the Algonquian languages, such as Abenaki, Wampanoag, Nipmuc, Penboscot, Shawnee, Delaware, etc."

Pocahontas

Pocahontas

"In 1610 she married an Indian named Kocoum. In 1613 she was kidnapped by Englishmen, and eventually was baptized into Christianity. In 1614 she married the Englishman John Rolfe; the couple had a child, Thomas.

"In the spring of 1616 the three Rolfes departed for England, where Pocahontas met King James I. Pocahontas and Rolfe were awarded funds to return to the colony to establish a college to Christianize the Powhatan Indians, but on beginning the trip home she died "unexpectedly," in March 1617, at Gravesend, England, where she is buried."

Little Red Riding Hood

Little Red Riding Hood

They also tell how Little Red Cap was taking some baked things to her grandmother another time, when another wolf spoke to her and wanted her to leave the path. But Little Red Cap took care and went straight to grandmother's. She told her that she had seen the wolf, and that he had wished her a good day, but had stared at her in a wicked manner. "If we hadn't been on a public road, he would have eaten me up," she said.

"Come," said the grandmother. "Let's lock the door, so he can't get in."

Soon afterward the wolf knocked on the door and called out, "Open up, grandmother. It's Little Red Cap, and I'm bringing you some baked things."

They remained silent, and did not open the door. The wicked one walked around the house several times, and finally jumped onto the roof. He wanted to wait until Little Red Cap went home that evening, then follow her and eat her up in the darkness. But the grandmother saw what he was up to. There was a large stone trough in front of the house.

"Fetch a bucket, Little Red Cap," she said. "Yesterday I cooked some sausage. Carry the water that I boiled them with to the trough." Little Red Cap carried water until the large, large trough was clear full. The smell of sausage arose into the wolf's nose. He sniffed and looked down, stretching his neck so long that he could no longer hold himself, and he began to slide. He slid off the roof, fell into the trough, and drowned. And Little Red Cap returned home happily and safely.

Belgian Chocolate

http://www.passionchocolat.be/

Nice pictures of chocolate, although the text is in French.

The name "Elephant and Castle"

Wikipedia: Elephant and Castle

"Apocryphally, it is a corruption of the Spanish Infanta de Castile, meaning the eldest daughter of a monarch, who had supposedly landed by Royal Barge in Newington (renamed Elephant and Castle in honour of Catherine) sometime during 1501, as the betrothed to Arthur, Henry VIII's elder brother who died leaving Catherine a widow."

Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (ECAI)

Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (ECAI)

"Scholarly initiative to create a comprehensive interactive electronic historical world atlas combining mapping, imagery, and texts."

A Sasanian Seal Collection in Context - ECAI Publication

"This Internet publication highlights a collection of Sasanian sealstones and presents them in the context of the Sasanian Empire. The sealstone collection is documented in "Sasanian Seals from the Collection of the Late Edward Gans, at the University of California, Berkeley" by Guitty Azarpay, Et. al.

"The publication includes two methods of navigation. The first is a website that includes a method of searching the seal collection and seeing the related resources from a text based browser. The second is using the TimeMap time and place viewers to access the resources from within a visual map based environment. These multiple access methods are included in order to provide a wide audience with the type of access best suited to their technical and network access capabilities and information needs."

American Indian Education

Aboriginal Languages and Cultures Website Includes Curriculum Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Cultures
Alaska Native Knowledge Network
Alaska Native Education Study
American Indian Content Standards developed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Goals 2000
American Indian Education Foundation
American Indian Science & Engineering Society Supports getting more American Indians into science & mathematics careers. Holds annual conferences & publishes Winds of Change magazine.
American Indian Higher Education Consortium
Indigenous Peoples of the Americas Special Interest Group American Educational Research Association
National Indian Education Association (NIEA)
National Policy Roundtable on Aboriginal Education K-12 Papers from 2005 Montreal Conference
Native Teachers Circle Discussion Group for K-12 Teachers hosted by ASU's
Center for Indian Education Indianeducation.org Resources, information, and connections to other organizations involved with Indian education.
Office of Indian Education Programs Bureau of Indian Affairs
Tribal Education Departments National Assembly Serves education departments in Indian Country.

Communication: Body Language

Communication: Body Language

"When two people are talking, more is being exchanged than just words. Facial expressions convey meaning in people of all ages around the world. In fact, researchers have shown that there are six facial expressions that are universally recognized and understood: joy, sorrow, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust. No matter where you are in the world, people will recognize a smile and understand that it expresses joy."

Native American Legends

Native American Legends

"Sequoyah of the Cherokee developed an alphabet for his people so that the written word could become part of his people's legacy, but beyond that much of what is known by Indians and about Indians has passed from mouth to mouth - generation to generation. Stories that originated in the lodges and camp fires of days long gone still are told today, and without that effort the past would be lost."

Laurent's World Broom Collection

Laurent's World Broom Collection - "In 2003, the Museum of Anthropology accepted a collection of brooms compiled by Laurent Jean Pierre and Heather Butcher. The collection consists of 25 brooms from various locations around the world and are examples of traditional technology and manufacture."

Native Californian Cultures

Native Californian Cultures

"Over thousands of years, the Native peoples of the present state of California developed many complex cultures, with differing customs related to varied environments and histories. Native Californian Cultures is dedicated exclusively to displays drawn from the Museum's permanent collections from California, the world's largest and most comprehensive devoted to this region. In a "visible storage" style of display, about 500 objects illustrate the great diversity of the Californian peoples who live within the boundaries of the present state. By grouping objects according to common usage or object type, the similarities and differences among California peoples are made readily apparent."

Portraits of India: Markets, Merchants, and Artisans

Portraits of India: Markets, Merchants, and Artisans

"January 26- December 23, 2006This exhibit explores how people relate to objects through their occupations of producing, selling, and repairing them. The 48 images on display were chosen from a collection of about 1700 photographs taken by anthropologist Dr. Richard Lerner in 1968–70 and 1988–89. The three sections focus on artisans, merchants and service-providers. Supplementing these are a case of objects documented in the photos, and two video programs: an edited version of film footage shot by Lerner, and a series of still photographs of the Indian-American community in Berkeley, taken by Aditya Dhawan, an Indian architect, designer, and visual documentarian. Curated by Dr. Ira Jacknis with assistance from Amanda Maples."

Melvyl

Melvyl

"Melvyl is the catalog of materials available from the libraries of the ten UC campuses, and other research collections in the state. Most of the UC Berkeley affiliated libraries' collections are included in this catalog. Current UC Berkeley students, faculty, and staff may request materials not owned by UC Berkeley through the online Request feature in Melvyl."

The origins of kanji in Japan

The origins of kanji in Japan

"The word kanji literally means "Chinese characters," showing that the kanji used in Japanese writing are of Chinese origin. Japanese people, who originally had no writing system, borrowed the Chinese script to write their own language around the 5th century via Korea. Originally, writing was limited to writing not only using the Chinese characters but also using the Chinese language."

Chinese Symbols - Pictures or Letters?

Chinese Symbols - Pictures or Letters?

"The earliest symbols in the development of Chinese writing were pictographic, that is they graphically depicted certain objects. The symbol for the word "dog" was a picture of a dog, the symbol for the word "tiger" was a picture of a tiger, etc. It is important to emphasize, however, that despite their graphic resemblance, these symbols were secondary to the sound value of words in spoken language. Later on, additional symbols were developed mainly on the basis of phonetic similarities between words."

Walborg Ndzki -- A Hungarian lady

Walborg Ndzki -- A Hungarian lady



"Students of human nature assure us -- and all must agree with them -- that the three controlling influences in the formation of character are heredity, environment and education. The story of Walborg Ndzki's life goes to prove this belief.

"To the Anglo-Saxon ear the name Walborg has rather a masculine sound, yet it is one of the most favored names for the gentler sex in Norway. This is how it came to be given to one of the most beautiful Hungarian women of modern times.

"Early in the century Adolph Lassen, a young architect, left his native Christiania to seek his fortune at Budapest, where great public works were being undertaken. With the clear brain, strong fame and thoroughness of his race Adolph Lassen soon found a place and prospered greatly. He became a great builder, a daring speculator along productive lines and finally a very rich man.

"In the midst of Lassen's success there came to Budapest, ever famous for its beautiful and winsome women, a certain Mena Ndzki, the daughter of a morganatic marriage between Prince Louis Ndzki of Hungary and a young gypsy singer and dancer, whose grace, beauty and varied accomplishments made her admirers willing to die for her and to kill each other."

Budapest nightlife in 1916

Budapest nightlife in 1916



As war takes its daily toll of thousands and the black mourning on the doors of the houses spreads slowly but surely over the town like a hideous tide the psychology of the cities becomes more and more apparent. Each capital of Europe has its individual, unique method of bolstering up its courage.

London hangs doggedly and grimly to its motto, "Business as usual."

Paris prostrates itself, deep in grief, in a prolonged heroic spasm of self-denial and emotional but contained patriotism.

Berlin is silent, solemn, sober in the transports of religious devotion. Petrograd, calm, practical, is curtailing its wastrel tendencies.

Vienna is chastened and quiet.

Budapest sings on, covering its heartaches with laughter, music and melody.

French cultural icons

French cultural icons

"Who is this woman with the red Phrygian bonnet who has come to be the symbol of France? Supermodels and actresses have posed for sculptures in her likeness. What is it about this woman that makes her a cultural icon? This module introduces the student to the figure of Marianne and reflects on her historical significance. It is the beginning of a larger discussion of what constitutes the importance of cultural icons in determining the evolving identity of a people."

Barbie as Cultural Icon

Barbie as Cultural Icon

"Doll makers came to realize the enormous cultural force embodied in Barbie. She was instrumental in illustrating the complex indentification process through which children become involved with and attached to a toy and demonstrated the power of a doll as an idol. Marketers were quick to see how critical personality was in promoting loyalty. However, Barbie was not just another personality in the age of mass marketing. She still persists today as a cultural icon - offering a shared point of reference for members of American
society while adapting to the cultural differences of each individual. Barbie's identity is ambiguous, or maybe rather open-ended."

Ulysses by James Joyce

"You know Manningham's story of the burgher's wife who bade Dick Burbage to her bed after she had seen him in Richard III and how Shakespeare, overhearing, without more ado about nothing, took the cow by the horns and, when Burbage came knocking at the gate, answered from the capon's blankets: William the Conqueror came before Richard III." (Ulysses by James Joyce)

Library of Congress: Prints & Photographs Online Catalog

Library of Congress: Prints & Photographs Online Catalog

"The Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) provides access through group or item records to about 65% of the Division's holdings, as well as to some images found in other units of the Library of Congress. Many of the catalog records are accompanied by digital images--about one million digital images in all."

The Database of Intentions

John Battelle, The Search: Business and Culture in the Age of Google

John Battelle's Searchblog: The Database of Intentions

"The Database of Intentions is simply this: The aggregate results of every search ever entered, every result list ever tendered, and every path taken as a result. It lives in many places, but three or four places in particular hold a massive amount of this data (ie MSN, Google, and Yahoo). This information represents, in aggregate form, a place holder for the intentions of humankind - a massive database of desires, needs, wants, and likes that can be discovered, supoenaed, archived, tracked, and exploited to all sorts of ends. Such a beast has never before existed in the history of culture, but is almost guaranteed to grow exponentially from this day forward. This artifact can tell us extraordinary things about who we are and what we want as a culture. And it has the potential to be abused in equally extraordinary fashion."

First Armageddon Battle

First Armageddon Battle

"Although the Lord has been pleased usually to use men in connection with His work, not only as typical characters, but also as evangels of the Gospel, nevertheless the Scriptures give us pictures of noble women who, because of the delinquency of men, have been used and almost forced into public service by God's providence. Notable amongst the instances of such in the Bible is the case of Mrs. Deborah. She perceived how neglect of the Divine Law had borne fruit in the subjugation of her people. She perceived that this was spreading throughout the land of Canaan, and that what was needed was a guide to point the people to the right way--back to God. The Canaanites, whom they had not conquered, had conquered them."

Armageddon

Revelation 16:16: "And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."

http://www.gotquestions.org/battle-Armageddon.html
"Armageddon, which means “mountain of Megiddo,” is a valley which will be the site of the final battle in the end times. Armageddon has become known as the battle in which God will intervene and destroy the armies of the antichrist (Revelation 16:16; 20:1-3, 7-10)."

Copyright Basics

Copyright Basics

"Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of 'original works of authorship,' including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works."

How things work

How things work
Can a Candle Burn in Zero Gravity?
Can You Drink Too Much Water?

Why Are Babies Born with Blue Eyes?

Why Are Babies Born with Blue Eyes?

"You inherit your eye color from your parents, but no matter what the color is now, it was probably blue when you were born. Why? Melanin, the brown pigment molecule that colors your skin, hair, and eyes, hasn't been deposited in the irises of your eyes. The iris is the colored part of the eye that controls the amount of light that is allowed to enter. Some other animals are born with blue eyes, too, such as kittens."

The IRS saving you money: Do You Need to File a Federal Income Tax Return?

Do You Need to File a Federal Income Tax Return?

"Many people will file a 2005 Federal income tax return even though the income on the return was below the filing requirement. The questions below will help you determine if you need to file a Federal Income Tax return or if you need to stop your withholding so you will not have to file an unnecessary return in the future.

"The Internal Revenue Service is providing this information as a part of our customer service and outreach efforts to Reduce Taxpayer Burden and Processing Costs. Changing your withholding and/or not filing Unnecessary Returns will save both you and the government time and money."

The Diamond Sutra - Holy Book of the Buddhist

The Diamond Sutra - Holy Book of the Buddhist

"Subhuti, this is how the Boddhisattva should think in his heart. All sentient beings of whichever kind, those born from the egg, those born from the womb, those born from moisture, those born by means of transformation, whether they have a physical form or not, whether they possess a capacity to think or not, whether they exempt from possessing a thinking capacity or not, I will help all these beings to enter Infinite Nirvana and will liberate them. Yet when I liberate these immesurable, incalculable, boundless numbers of sentient beings, in reality no sentient being attains liberation. Why is this, Subhuti? Because if the Bodhisattva cherishes the idea of Ego, the idea of Man, the idea of sentient being, or the idea of life, he is not a Boddhisattva anymore."

Avatamsaka Sutra 2

"Thus have I heard:

"At one the time the Buddha was in the land of Magadha, in a state of purity, at the site of enlightenment, having just realized true awareness. The ground was solid and firm, made of diamond, adorned with exquisite jewel discs and myriad precious flowers, with pure clear crystals. The Ocean of Characteristics of the various colors appeared over an infinite extent. There were banners of precious stones, constantly emitting shining light and producing beautiful sounds. Nets of myriad gems and garlands of exquisitely scented flowers hung all around. The finest jewels appeared spontaneously, raining inexhaustible quantities of gems and beautiful flowers all over the Earth. There were rows of jewel trees, their branches and foliage lustrous and luxuriant. By the Buddha’s spiritual power, he caused all the adornments of this enlightenment sight to be reflected therein."

Avatamsaka Sutra

Avatamsaka Sutra


"Moreover, good man, to transfer all merits and virtues universally is explained like this: all merits and virtues, from the first vow, to pay homage and respect up to and including the vow to accommodate and benefit all living beings throughout out the Dharma realm (cosmos) and to the limits of empty space. I vow all living beings will be constantly happy without sickness or suffering. I vow that no one will succeed in doing any evil, but that all will quickly perfect their cultivation of good karma. I vow to shut the door to evil destinies and open the right paths of humans, gods and that of Nirvana. I will stand in for living beings and receive all the extremely severe fruits of suffering which they bring around with their evil karma. I will liberate all these beings and ultimately bring them to accomplish unsurpassed Bodhi (Buddhahood). The Bodhisattva cultivates transference’s in this way.

"Even when the realms of empty space are exhausted, the realms f living beings are exhausted, the karma’s of living beings are exhausted, and the afflictions of living beings are exhausted, I will transfer all merits and virtues endlessly, continuously, in thought after thought without cease. My body, speech and mind never weary of these deeds."

Wanbu Huayanjing Pagoda: Hohhot Tourist Attractions

Wanbu Huayanjing Pagoda: Hohhot Tourist Attractions

"Wanbu Huayanjing Pagoda stands eleven miles east of the city. It used to be a place where nearly ten thousand volumes of Huayan Scripture were preserved and so got its name. Wanbu means ten thousand volumes and Huayanjing means Huayan Scripture. The pagoda is white all through thus has another name White Pagoda (Bai Ta)."

John Kennedy

John Kennedy

"Shortly after his inauguration, Kennedy permitted a band of Cuban exiles, already armed and trained, to invade their homeland. The attempt to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro was a failure. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union renewed its campaign against West Berlin. Kennedy replied by reinforcing the Berlin garrison and increasing the Nation's military strength, including new efforts in outer space. Confronted by this reaction, Moscow, after the erection of the Berlin Wall, relaxed its pressure in central Europe."

Buddha Images

Buddha Images

"Buddha images provide a serene and reassuring reminder of the basic tenets of Buddhist religion. Just as Buddhist religion is practiced in many different ways, Buddhist imagery also serves a wide variety of ritual purposes and has different meanings for different people."

The International Dunhuang Project

The International Dunhuang Project

"IDP is a ground-breaking international collaboration based at the British Library to make information and images of more than 100,000 manuscripts, paintings, textiles and artefacts from Dunhuang and other Silk Road sites freely available on the Internet.

"The high quality colour images and historically accurate information are searchable on the IDP DATABASE. Items are shown in context, with bibliographies, maps, photographs, site plans and other information relating to their provenance, history and present condition. This gives the scholar, the student and the layman a unique insight into Silk Road life during the first millennium AD."

Front Page: Celebrating 100 Years of the British Newspaper 1906-2006

Forthcoming exhibition at the British Library

"Newspaper front pages grab our attention on a daily basis. How many of these headlines do you recognise and do you know the stories behind them? This new exhibition looks at the growth and development of the last 100 years of the British Newspaper through a selection of front pages. You will discover how the stories which make the front page are reported, and how and why they are selected by editors and journalists. You will also appreciate why newspapers, throwaway items by day, are a treasure-trove of social history."

Welcome to the blog

This blog is about cultural icons and images, that is, graphic images that determine how we perceive the world around us. Althougn most of these icons vary from culture to culture, some of them appear to be universal. These are the ones Jung would call "archetypes" or Plato "ideas."

Here we would like to gather these images together. But not just images. We also want to collect textual information that is iconic in nature.