This whole dream was bright and colourful, like a kid’s cartoon show. I was an animal of some kind (I don’t think I’d been turned into one, it was more like this was my natural state) and I lived with all the other animals in a forest/jungle. The start of the dream is quite hazy but I remember a feeling of peace and happiness. This harmony was shattered though because the dragons and the wolves were going to have a war.

The dragons had always been outcasts who kept to themselves. I don’t know how they had fallen out with the wolves but the rest of us were not involved at all. These dragons weren’t huge like the dragons in cartoons, they were more like big lizards who stood on their back feet. They were probably about the size of a person, maybe smaller.

Everyone was apprehensive about the war because we were afraid we’d get dragged into it or our homes would be destroyed. For this reason, on the day of the first battle, we were all hiding underground. We were hiding under some wooden floorboards and we could look through the slits. We saw the armies of the dragons and the wolves approaching each other (the wolves also stood on their hind legs). At this point it all kicked off and we ran further away from the battle.

At some stage during the battle, an army of humans arrived. I don’t think they had any idea that there was already a war going on between the animals. I’m pretty sure they were just trying to invade whatever country we lived in. This caused everyone, wolves and dragons included, to run as far away as they could and as fast as they could from the humans. The smallest animals were the most scared as they knew the humans would trample on them without even noticing.

I think I was an animal that could swim because I was suddenly swimming in an underground lake with a frog I knew. We surfaced to find ourselves right under a wooden bridge the humans were running across. We had to keep ourselves perfectly still and not disturb the water in case they saw us. We could hear them shouting to each other and I saw them load their guns before running across the bridge.

That’s the last bit I remember but I know the dream was much longer and much more detailed than that.

Dreamer xxx

“The implied message of Tiana, that black American girls can be as elegant as Snow White herself, is a milestone in the national imagery, according to a range of scholars and cultural historians.” Neely Tucker, Washington Post

First hand-drawn Disney film since 2004’s Home on the Range: Disney reverts back to classic 2-D animation

First black Disney princess. Nuff said. (Ok well not really but I don’t think I’m the only one wondering how Disney goes from Arabic to Native American and then to China without considering a black princess? 2009? Really?! Ah well: no better time than the present.)

Read the quoted Washington Post article in its entirety

I’m a huge fan of the Muppets ever since I watched the Muppet Show on T.V. – Yes, I know I’m dating myself.

So as I perused throught the net as the day’s meal continued to digest I found this wonderful little treat courtesy of Ain’t It Cool News.

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Varied terrain? Check!

By Judy Oldmeadow, Owner & Master Horsewoman, Samaria Creek Morgan Horses

As promised, here’s my take on Andrew Bowe’s www.barehoofcare.com site.

Brumbies and American Mustangs have amazing feet. They don’t get trimmed, but they do travel many kilometres each day over varied terrain to graze and find water.

So why question thousands of years of evolution?

Historically, horseshoes let soft-footed domestic horses be used in any terrain. They helped mankind conquer the world in war, agriculture and transport.

Yet shoes come with a host of problems. If you’re not out conquering the world, these problems come to the fore.

Shoes protect the soft inner structures of a horse’s feet. But in so doing, they impede all other foot functions.

Absorption

The equine foot is a complex, three-dimensional shock absorber.

It’s designed to absorb nearly all the concussion from ground impact before it reaches the lower leg joints (which can only handle a very small amount).

Shoes blow this function out of the water. Not only is the frog unable to act as the initial and primary weight-bearing structure, the impact of the rigid shoe goes straight through the hoof wall into bones and joints.

Circulation

Proper function lets blood and lymph freely access every living cell in the foot, providing nourishment and removing waste. This is called perfusion.

Shoes seem to significantly compromise circulation. This is most evident on cold mornings, when healthy bare feet are warm to the touch, but shod feet are cold. There’s even a temperature difference between shod feet and bare feet on the same horse.

Shod feet grow much slower than bare feet because healthy tissue can’t thrive with poor circulation.

Weight Bearing

The equine foot is designed to share the weight bearing responsibilities across most of the ground surface (the inner wall, some sole and most of the frog). Notable exceptions are the outer wall and quarters, which aren’t designed for weight bearing.

The foot even adapts over time to the ground it’s living on to optimise this sharing of the load.

A shod foot, however, carries the weight of the horse entirely on the wall (including the outer wall and quarter, which should NOT be weight bearing).

This change in weight bearing may squeeze the coronary artery, causing blood to be shunted to the vein above the hoof. It may also cause a failure of the valve system that would otherwise lock the required blood into the foot at each stride for cushioning and perfusion.

If a horse can’t stand comfortably with vertical cannon bones, it must brace its neck and shoulders to engage its stay apparatus.

This causes fatigue and these poor animals can’t even get a good night’s sleep! Over time, this bracing manifests in the overdevelopment of certain muscle groups.

Deterioration

Horse feet deteriorate with domestication. The situation doesn’t improve with each successive shoeing. Rather, the more times feet are shod, the more they rely on shoes.

Chronic lameness is a degeneration that develops in a dysfunctional body over a long period of time and manifests into such problems as: laminitis, navicular, ringbone, side bone, degenerative joints – all of which are huge problems in the equine industry.

Horses are much better not shod in the first place.

Why Barefoot?

With barefooting, we maintain a horse’s feet in a physiologically correct framework, so they can move correctly, rest comfortably and remain functional at all times.

Rather than prop up dodgy foundations with shoes, barefooting develops strong, healthy foundations beneath a horse.

This leads to better long-term soundness.

Happy feet = happy horsie!

United Republic of TANZANIA

stamp: 300 shillings

year: 1996

amphibian: frog – Hyperolius cinctiventrus

One of my favorite songs of all time is Peace Frog, by Jim Morrison and The Doors. It is a very dark song, talking about blood, death, and loss, however, it is so poetic and I have always been touched by it. I am thinking of getting a tattoo of some kind of “psychedelic” version of a cartoon frog on my foot. I saw it on someone and thought it was beautiful. Of course I need to look around for an artist I think will capture the feeling and essence of the piece so I can show it to my tattoo guy. I have to find a tattoo artist that will put their own spin on the artwork.

Who knows, maybe I will end up using one of the doodles I’ve done, and have the tattoo artist spice it up a bit. I am going to try to get it by the end of the year before I go to college.

यो न निर्गत्य निःशेषां विलोकयति मेदिनीं |
अनेकाद्भुतवृत्तांतां स नरः कूपदर्दुरः ||

- उपमितिभवप्रपंच

If a person never gets out of his home (home town) and sees the world full of surprises, then he is to be considered as a frog in a well.

- Upamitibhavaprapancha

Thanks so much Colleen from San Jose, CA for purchasing these products!

Christmas Frog and Address Stickers by HolidayFun
Create a personalized sticker at zazzle.com

Christmas Frog and Gift Stickers by HolidayFun
Make cheap stickers using zazzle

Christmas Frog and Gifts Postage by HolidayFun
Shop other stamps available on zazzle.com

I shall play wonderful music for you, Mademoiselle!

Great music always works like magic!

…to a hitchhiking frog?

Hop In!

The Grand Ayatollah

—Douglas Gilbert

Poetry by Douglas Gilbert

 It’s that time of year.  Another year older and wiser.  I’m taking this time to tell family and friends that they have been a wonderful blessing to me.  I am so thankful that I get to speak to them all the time.  Thank you to the many that have emailed me from cyberspace.  This is the time of year I love for many reasons. One thing I have learned is if you trust a fool you are a bigger fool than them. Read God’s letter and you will be able to deal with anything that comes up in life.  I  can not believe how the  world is ever-changing.  Thank You Lord for protecting me.  I know you take care of your own. Wishing I could do more for the helpless families there are so many. I serve a living God. Trust him he will provide. Where there is a will there is a way. Remember God is not a seasonal God. God is always there, yesterday, today, tomorrow. God’s gives us victory. I’m going to read St. John Ch. 8   We are judged by God’s Law. “Be Free” 

Deuteronomy means:  these words.

This little dude looks like he’s eyeing a big fat fly on the wall … he probably would look pretty dapper sporting some fashionable glasses too …

Frig

3144611    การจัดการฟาร์มกบ    Frog Farm Management

สายพันธุ์กบที่เลี้ยงในประเทศไทย การเพาะพันธุ์ วิธีการเลี้ยง อาหารและการให้อาหาร การจัดการคุณภาพน้ำ การควบคุมโรค การจัดการฟาร์มการแก้ไขปัญหาที่เกิดจากการจัดการฟาร์ม ยาและสารเคมีที่ใช้ในฟาร์ม ผลกระทบด้านสิ่งแวดล้อม มาตรฐานฟาร์ม การควบคุมคุณภาพการผลิต และการตลาด

(Frog breed in Thailand, breeding and culture techniques, feed and feeding, water quality management, disease prevention and control, farm management and problem solving, drugs and chemicals for aquatic animals, environmental impact, farm standard, quality control of production, and marketing.)

(3144611 จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย)

Frog and toe
leaf
another stretch
a spark
red oliver
dangles
the ogles.

New York City
autumn
another year
a diamond
gold moon
seduces
the eyes.

por Guilherme Zocchio

Até hoje, a História que foi contada é a história dos vencedores. Daqueles que perderam restam as ruínas e um ou outro conto ou lenda. Por mais que se tente voltar no tempo em busca do que se foi, nunca será possível fazê-lo, pois há um vento que sopra numa única direção: o futuro.

E pelo menos na realidade, ainda que se tente, voltar ao passado é uma tentadora utopia. Diz-se muito sobre o fim dos tempos em 2012, que talvez seja de fato o rumo da humanidade, se esta, porém, já não tivesse fadada ao desastre em 1999 – quando Lavos finalmente despertou. Antes mesmo disso, cada disparo do gatilho da História, então controlado por ele desde sua vinda à Terra, construiu o final a que se chegaria em Chrono Trigger. No entanto, apenas caso ninguém fizesse algo.

Se, no ano 1000 do Reino de Guardia, Crono não tivesse sem querer encontrado Marle na Feira do Milênio, a viagem através do tempo protagonizada pelos dois nunca teria acontecido, e assim alterado este trágico destino que fora traçado. Isso porque, só após o acidente envolvendo a máquina teletransporte construída para a feira por Lucca – excêntrica inventora e amiga de infância de Crono -, estes três dão conta do poder de viajar no tempo contido num misterioso amuleto carregado por Marle.

Uma vez cientes disso após duas viagens acidentais – uma ao passado na Idade Média, e outra ao Futuro apocalíptico -, eles então descobrem sobre a existência de Lavos, e juntos a outros companheiros – Frog, Robo e Ayla – conhecidos nas idas e vindas pelo tempo, partem numa jornada a fim de destruir Lavos. Mas alguns dilemas surgem entre eles ao longo da aventura, pois, fazendo o que fariam – mesmo que para salvar o mundo -, alterariam o rumo da História e, com isso, talvez eles próprios deixassem de existir.

Eis uma trama atraente…

Trata-se, sobretudo, de um clássico dos games. Lançado originalmente para Super Nintendo em 1995 e com direito a dois remakes posteriormente, Chrono Trigger já surpreendera pelo enredo, profundidade dos personagens, trilha sonora e, além disso, por ser o primeiro RPG a poder alternar entre 13 finais diferentes para a estória.

Então, no fim, o que os protagonistas farão? Alterarem a História e se arriscarem a não mais existirem, ou se entregarem simplesmente ao vento que sopra ao futuro. Resta jogar para saber quem serão os vencedores.

[Este post é a primeira parte de uma série de três, cujos temas serãos os três jogos da série Chrono: Chrono Trigger, Radical Dreamers e Chrono Cross]

After watching a Thanksgiving episode of Fox News the animaltrash puppets decide to try eating one of their friends

Socialist Republic of VIETNAM

stamp: 3000 đong

year: 1991

amphibian: frog – Hyla aurea

My Characters

These were inspired by my daughter and I during a bedtime story.  They are my first characters drawn by Jessica Cinque.  They are very dear to my heart.

The Margay is a rare, endangered cat that closely resembles an ocelot.  These beautiful cats can be seen in rain forests in Mexico, and South and Central America east of the Andes Mountains.  The Margay’s fur can be grayish to cinnamon in color with dark brown spots. They have large eyes and short, round heads.  Adult Margays can be range from 18.2 to 31 inches in length and weigh between 6 and 20 pounds. The tail can grow to be 20 inches long.

The Margay is a very skilled climber and jumper as is often called the “tree ocelot.” The scientific name of this cat is the “Leopardus Wiedii”. Named for Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied. Other names and subspecies of the Margay are Felis Wiedii, Long-tailed Spotted Cat, Tree Ocelot.

The Margay is the only cat species that is known to be able to climb down a tree head first, they are able to rotate their ankles 180 degrees while heading down the tree.  They are also known to hang from tree branches with one hind foot, like a monkey does with its tail.

Preferring to spend most of it’s time in the trees the Margay is a solitary and nocturnal animal that prefers remote sections of the rain forest.  This cats diet consists of rodents, monkeys, lizards, birds, tree frogs and fruit.  They may also eat grass and vegetation, but mainly to help with digestion.  Margays do hunt on the ground but are able to hunt prey entirely in trees.

Mating can occur year-round and this species is solitary until ready to mate.  Females give birth to one or two kittens after a gestation period of 70 days.  The nest for the kittens is made in a hollow tree hole.

The main threat to the Margay is hunting for it’s fur, pet trade and habitat loss due to deforestation.  They do not adapt well to human interference and are nearly extinct in the northern parts of it’s range.