Cathartidae / Cathartes aura / Turkey Vulture

This seemed a apt way to start the series.

In lieu of posting anything major (I’m grading at the moment and will be doing so for the foreseeable future), I’d like to draw your attention to St George Mivart’s first published critique of Darwinism, which appeared in the Jesuit journal, The Month in 1869. This – and two subsequent pieces – would form the basis for Mivart’s Genesis of Species of 1871. At the same site, Louis Caruana asks “Is Mivart still relevant?” I certainly hope so!

]]> http://callumstone.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/swings-and-roundabouts/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:56:23 +0000 rustysubmarine http://callumstone.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/swings-and-roundabouts/

My eyes take a while to focus on the spinning room, trying my hardest to gain some balance even though I’m still lying down. My fingers reach towards the button that silences that hideous urgent bleeping noise. After hitting the button for what must be the fourth time, I swing my legs over the edge of my bed and haul my heavy and tender body into an upright position.

I can’t remember licking dog shit, nor licking a carpet, but for some reason that’s all I can taste in my mouth as I chew on nothing, trying to somehow get rid of the foul taste. As I stand up and stumble around trying to find something to cover a very broken feeling torso, it hits me. Not like a brick wall, or a train like most people said. But more like a copy of War and Peace, wrapped in a towel slowly but firmly being thumped into my head, sure to hit every square inch of my tender noggin. I finally manage to drag myself upstairs into the shower. Standing under the hot water, all I can think about is how much it hurts and what on earth did I do to deserve this? I know this feeling only too well, except with my brain working at its very slowest, I’m not quite sure what it is. After a few minutes of just standing not only being showered with hot water, but also wallowing in my own self pity, it comes to me. “God I hate hangovers”

With the Thanksgiving holiday descending upon us, I wanted to broach a lighter subject than usually found here.

On Friday, we will celebrate the first anniversary of the gray ScottyHendo twitter avatar. It has been a constant presence on Twitter (aside from the brief Dunkin Donut head escapade) for an entire year.

As we celebrate this auspicious occasion, I am opening the Grand Avatar Debate.  The debate centers on one simple two-part question:

Which image should I use as my avatar on Twitter and why? Being the mindless follower that I am, I challenge you to convince me why your answer is the best answer.

Choice A: Personal Brand Logo

or

Choice B: Real Photo

Archive of Bart chalkboards (currently up to season 6) online. I’m waiting for this one.

Just putting up decorations is not enough!!!

A little effort before starting to put up decorations goes a long way in making your decorations look better, and your geusts feel more comfortable. Here are a few tips to help you start.

Clean Up:

• Decorations get people to look at parts of your house that usually don’t get noticed- fans, corners, ceilings, window panes and railings. So make sure that you clean up everything well before you start decorating.
• Always start cleaning from the top – ceiling to furniture and then the floor, or if you live in a duplex the second level before you do the first level. This helps to make sure that you’re not cleaning the same thing again and again.
• Never dust vigorously – if you stir up dust, it will land on the stuff you had dusted earlier. To avoid this use a slightly damp cloth to wipe dust off objects and furniture.

Rearrange your furniture

Christmas is a time when there’s a lot of activity in the house. Visitors and families come over, so make sure you’re ready for it.

• Make extra rugs, cushions and chairs available in your living room for people to sit
• When you plan decorations, keep in mind the part of the room a person gets to see as soon as they enter the room. This should be the focal point of the decorations in the room.
• Push unnecessary furniture against the walls to give more space for moving around and sitting.

Set the mood:

• Fill some small cloth bags with cinnamon and other spices and leave them around the house, to give a Christmas feel to the house.
• Bring out all your Christmas music and start playing it.

These are just a few tips to get you to start thinking- do you have great ideas too? Do share it with us!!

Tim

A Filipino is again in the news, as Efren Peñaflorida was named one of CNN’s Top Heroes  for 2009.  Yahoo!     

Teaching is hard, as I personally experience it with Butchoboy.   I find it difficult doing it for a loved one, imagine teaching a total stranger, and no fee at that.  My hat’s off to you  Mr. Efren. Its a calling that not everyone can do.   I hope with the US$100,000 he won, his project will flourish and help more street children.  Here’s to more kariton full of books. 

Efren Peñaflorida started the pushcart classroom with his co-volunteers in Dynamic Teen Company in Cavite.   It is nice that one is actually doing something to uplift the state of  the street children in our country.  Hooray for the other nationalites who also voted for him online.    (I think we Filipinos really have a knack for this).   

Such great news, not your everyday serving of news.   But the hoorah is such shortlived when another, more alarming news came up.  The Maguindanao massacre. 

I listen to the news and opinions, but I have not personally read on the topic.  I won’t even put a link as I refuse to learn the gory details.   Its such a sad and real reminder that powerful clans still lord over some provinces.  And they will do anything to stay in power.

Wasn’t there a saying? No news is good news?   I often tell “stories” to Butchoboy on current events.  I will gladly share the first one, especially since he tends to disregard some of his books after reading.  But totally keep mum on the next. 

Global warming NASA style anyone?   I’m just saying…

Where are the protesters?   Do you think you could recycle enough to offset this much pollution?  How many human beings would it take to leave a carbon footprint to match the size of one left by these fuel burning monsters?   While your government picks your pocket to pay for this, they blame you for polluting the environment and then ask you to use less.  Are we or are we not running out of fossil fuels?  If we are, then how about the waste of this precious commodity on sending up one of these ‘toys’.   Do you think they recycle their waste at NASA?  You know, shred their paper,  perhaps bring lunch in a reusable container, carpool with their fellow employess, turn the lights out in the offices not being used etc.  I bet they don’t.

I have decided to make some changes to my blogging habits – hopefully for the better! This blog is going to be for things related primarily to my Italian research and all things Italian genealogy related. I have started another blog Valentino’s  Wife that I hope you will all visit and subscribe to. I also hope it will be a place to generate more discussion between all of us! It will have similar limits to use such as this blog – everyone is welcome and invited to comment but I want everyone to be respectful of everyone else. Although I prefer to keep it open, please remember sometimes children come along possibly unsupervised so no outright obscenities please!!! We are supposed to be the adults! Ha!

Valentino’s Wife will be a bit more loosley organized in certain ways. We will take a more open approach to discussing events, politics, religion, family, recipes, travel — whatever strikes our fancy – and by ‘our’ I mean all of us. I want your input too! If there is sometihing of interest you want to talk about – tell me! We won’t quite be an open forum but similar in that I will make a post and hopefully all of you will join the conversation! In any event – the posts there will not be rehashes of what is here so visit both – and feel free to join in!

As of this writing,  Twilight is being shown over at Star Movies.  For some reason I refused to watch it.. I was hoping I could get to sleep earlier.   The movie is halfway finished I guess.   But I couldn’t sleep.  The TV is off and the remote is beside me.

I just finished  The Black Circle, book 5 of the 39 Clues  and book 6 is also beside me. I don’t want to start now or I will be sleeping later.

With my boys asleep, I decided to enjoy the tranquility around me.   I really love the weekends but as my friend Jek would put it, weekends also give way to Mondays.   I was again stuck infront of the PC this weekend and wasn’t able to do anything else.   And I just realized I have a busy 2 weeks ahead and December coming in.

At least, we have a long weekend coming up…in the meantime, I’ll just enjoy this quietness and lull myself to sleep.

The World Pyro Olypmics 2009 opened tonight, this time at Bonifacio Global City for five (5) remaining Saturdays; 28 November and December 5, 12 and 19.  This would be the first time BGC is hosting the event has it had been in MOA for the past few years.

Participated by 8 countries, with Canada firing off next Saturday to defend its crown.   We decided to catch today’s show;

with beer country going up against the people who invented fireworks … the Butchoboy was excited!  He’s been taking up Chinese lessons since July.

Arriving at 5pm, the event organizers had everything down to pat.  Traffic was re-routed and the whole 32nd street was cordoned off.  There were enough entrances and security people, a ticket booth for those last minute purchasers, there were food and water kiosks abound and there were monoblock chairs for rent (limited only).  People will initially get into the general viewing area.  There are separate entrances for those in special viewing and VIP.

What the organizers weren’t prepared for was the rain!  It was drizzling bad that we had to stay at Market Market first. The fireworks show was supposed to start 7pm but was delayed for an hour due to rain.   Goody the skies cleared by 8pm and the  Germany kicked off the event.   Nearing the end of  Germany’s show, the rains fell again  We were comfy seated in the banig we bought so Daddy had to bring Butchoboy to the nearest tent.  Bummer! The program was delayed enough as it is and the organizers pushed thru with China’s performance.

Germany’s performance was great.  They used a variety of music from soundtracks of Superman, The Rock and Indiana Jones.  (see video link)  They had 2 great fireworks, one was like it was coming towards you and the other were explosions slowly leaving a gold trail.  Best of all, performance wasn’t mired by rain.

I don’t know if its biased, but Butchoboy and I loved China’s performance better.  Too bad the rains were making the smoke difficult to disperse but I loved the traditional music more. Especially when they used Mulan’s and Crouching Tiger music.

There were fewer people now than what I’ve seen in previous WPO attendances. Maybe because it was the first day?  Butchoboy wants to catch all remaining shows but we decided to go back on the last day. When all 8 countries will be having a performance, plus the host country.

I hope next week the weather will be better. Everything else was just great.

Try to catch a show with your family.  We had a great time strolling at High Street after the show, when the rains were all gone

(videos from You Tube)

I owe some apologies for the lack of content in recent days. Illness has left me missing in action for almost four days and has also prevented me from achieving any mode of productivity beyond watching DVDs from my couch. I am hoping to get back into the groove as soon as possible.

In the meantime…check out one of my favorite acts, Australian band The McClymonts performing “My Life Again” live at the 2008 CMAA Awards.

…And I’m singing like a mountain
’cause I won’t be here for long.
And even my broken piano
plays a broken song.

Thought I’d show you a little illustration I did earlier today at uni. 

Its part of our Martino Gamper project, but I’m not sure if it’ll all stay in this style.

I’ll post the finals once their done next week…

Well in theory they should be done by next week!

My dad napping in his chair

“. . . the more naps you take, the more awakenings you experience.”
     –  Melanie Karr

This made me laugh:

My name is Mrs Jane Kanu . I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, I am married to Mr.Jeff kanu. director J.C Industries Cote d’Ivoire.We were married for 36 years without a child. He died after a Cardiac Arteries Operation.

And Recently, My Doctor told me that I would not last for the next six months due to my cancer problem (cancer of the lever and stroke).

Apparently cancer of the lever and stroke is a very common disease. As those nice folks at Landover Baptist note:

While I’m not familiar with cancer of the “lever,” it sounds just dreadful. One can only wonder what horrible deed you committed to tick off the Lord so badly that he gave you cancer of an organ that doesn’t even exist.

I take a lot of photograph with point & shoot camera, especially my awesome Rollei 35 my buddy Nicolas Heron offered me for Xmas last year ( Yes I got good friends!). I usually organize them in dytpiques and…… and….. and then don’t do anything with them. Which actually makes them a perfect match for my brand new “bit & pieces” category. Enjoy!

a lot more in the full post

More in 2010!

Coming from a field work today with Analyn, Ms. May and  driver Nic,  I was dropped off at Jenny’s since our last stop was the Cerritos East project along Mercedes Ave. in Pasig.    I had to take a jeep ride home.  It wasn’t a long ride but once on board, I realized its been ages since I last rode a jeep.

Back in Comm II in college,  I once wrote a paper on the various types of passengers you can see and interact with inside the jeepney.   My college years was the height of my jeep escapades since its what I ride to and from school (if I couldn’t join Papa).   When I began working, the FX and shuttle services and cabs were what I began to ride then eventually, I was driving my own.

Riding a jeep is very equalizing.  Depending on how long the jeep is, all of you have to share the loud music, the hot breeze and you all have to bear with the occasional stops.   It was not rush hour when I got home so the jeep was not packed.  It was instinct that had me clinging to the handle bar on the jeep’s ceiling

Without further ado, here are some of the jeepney’s  characters that I can still remember…

a) The Mother Hen – moms who have more than two (2) children in tow.  They are the last ones to board, and the first ones to get off.  To make sure that none of her brood gets left behind.  At most the 2 elder kids sit beside the mom and all the other siblings just pile one on top of the other.

b) The Maria Clara- these were the ladies who would sit sideways, almost occupying 2 seats.  Sometimes you have to ask them to pausog nga sans you getting caught up still bent in the middle aisle.

c) The Link –  the passenger who is conveniently seated in a place where he can reach for your fare and give to the driver and vise versa for your change.   Some people collect the fares and give it to the driver once but most, they just reach out and over, until they finally get off.

d) The Rapunzel – these are the girls who either forgot that there are others in the jeep with them or, would want a free blow dry of their long locks.  Good if it smells good but still, hair strands can really sting the eyes and whip our cheeks.

e) The Student – obvious if in uniform and those who are high school and below. But some, take advantage of the discount… Bayad po, student po even if he looks like he’s in grad school.

f) The Show Off - these are the ladies who either wear too short a skirt and keeps on tugging them lower or wears tops with too low a neckline and keeps tugging them higher.   More attention is then attracted due to the continuous movement of pulling lower or higher.

g) The Balikbayan – simply because they carry too much. Too much for them to handle.  Usually those that went to the grocery or participated in the latest midnight sale.

h) The Lovers – ahhh.. need I explain? They can’t wait.. they think they’re alone. Get a room, people!

i) The Bookworm-   self explanatory.  Though I believe this is a vanishing breed.  When I used to commute, I still see a lot of these.  But now, I believe they are endangered and rapidly being replaced by those wearing headsets, earphones with an Ipod attached.

j) The Juan Tamad – those who haven’t been onboard for two minutes…mama bayad, para na po, sukli ko po?  Haven’t you heard, walking is good for the heart?

l) The  Bukaka King – ever encountered those men who’s legs are wide open and refuse to budge an inch?  Wonder what’s keeping them from closing up?  Daddy explained to me that they do it for balance.. I don’t know. Its very irritating.  Makes me want to do a Maria Clara then.

m) The Hangman – yup,those acrobatic, strong gripped men, who even with a space available, would rather stay outside and hang on for dear life.  Those men whose knuckles are the only things you see.

Green Park!  That’s my stop, and turn to alight.  Maybe if the jeep ride was longer, I would have thought of more colorful characters.   My car will be okay soon and it’ll be a while again before I take another jeep ride… Thinking about my old paper helped me while the time away.

Any additions?

if i pull this off, i will be ever so proud of myself.

Take away my walnut eyes and sorrows, and i’d give you all that im left with.