Urban Asshole Notification Cards

Now why didn't I think of this? It would bankrupt me, though.

Taiwan Hybrid Adenium

The Thais have become famous in recent years for their spectacular hybrid creations of many genera. A couple of years ago I was given some seeds of Thai hybrid adeniums. Being seeds of hybrids they would never look exactly like the parent plant, and interesting variations are always possible. This is the first one of my seedlings that bloomed. The bright red flowers with a black edge are similar to some pictures I've seen, but are more dramatic. The only way to get an exact duplicate of this plant would be to graft pieces of it onto other plants. I'm trying to think of a name.

Poetic Justice

In the recent Kelo et al v. City of New London case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities may seize people's homes and bulldoze them to make way for shopping malls or other private development. This gives local governments broad power to seize private property to generate tax revenue.

One of the majority judges, David H. Souter, has a home in New Hampshire. In a brilliant move, a private developer has contacted the local government there, asking that the property of the judge be seized to make room for a new hotel. This Land Was Your Land. Genius!

The Girl In Red

This is one of those shots I could look at and wonder about forever. I don't know why I like it so much. There she is, standing there, a well-groomed island of color, isolated from the drab, colorless, sloppy people sitting on the curb. Why is she there? Why is she alone? What's going through her mind? What are they all waiting for? Thanks to Verbose Coma for the image.

Hermaphrodude

"mirl" or "hermaphrodude"

When I saw this picture I burst out laughing. My mouth flew open and stayed that way the whole time I was reading the article. I blame it all on Queer Eye For A Straight Guy. On second thought, they'd never approve of this look!

Where Was the Due Diligence?

The scale of the task facing Tony Blair in his drive to help Africa was laid bare yesterday when it emerged that Nigeria's past rulers stole or misused £220 billion.

That is as much as all the western aid given to Africa in almost four decades. The looting of Africa's most populous country amounted to a sum equivalent to 300 years of British aid for the continent.

The mind boggles....

What Is Your World View?

I have to admit; this really describes me. My results:

You scored as Cultural Creative. Cultural Creatives are probably the newest group to enter this realm. You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational. Cultural Creative 100% Idealist 94% Postmodernist 69% Fundamentalist 50% Romanticist 44% Existentialist 44% Modernist 44% Materialist 6% What is Your World View? created with QuizFarm.com

Smear For Profit

John Podhoretz is a conservative writer and contributor to the Washington Times, New York Post, U.S. News & World Report, American Spectator, and television's Insight, and speechwriter for Ronald Reagan and George Bush. In 1994 and 1995, with the backing of telecommunications mogul Rupert Murdoch, Podhoretz helped to launch a conservative Washington magazine, Standard.

In a column entitled "Smear For Profit" this is what he wrote about Ed Klein's book, The Truth About Hillary:

This is one of the most sordid volumes I've ever waded through. Thirty pages into it, I wanted to take a shower. Sixty pages into it, I wanted to be decontaminated. And 200 pages into it, I wanted someone to drive stakes through my eyes so I wouldn't have to suffer through another word.

I don't think he liked it.

Begonia of the Week #5

Begonia 'Lady Prado', a Brad Thompson hybrid. I love the bright orange flowers contrasting with the silver-patterned leaves. Brad is a prolific hybridizer in California with many mouth-watering creations. His Web site is the most complete reference on begonia cultivation that I've found.

Puppy On The Keys

I'm unfamiliar with the politics of the Identity Card issue. It's obviously more poignant for the British. But this animation is very well done, and the puppy pianist is adorable!

Nature's Call

This is really a fully functioning urinal. San Francisco artist, Clark Sorensen, has created a number of these one-of-a-kind porcelain works of art. "Nature's Call" was a recent exhibit of his work.

I'm really impressed that someone could turn such a gross and unpleasant fixture into something so beautiful.

Attack of the Killer Comb-over

I've mentioneded Gallery of the Absurd before, and it's on my list of Favorites, but this one is just too funny. For a larger pic with comments, click here. It may interest you to know that The Donald was number 1 on the list of the 50 Worst Hairstyles of all Time. Then again, maybe it wouldn't.

John O'Groats

In the past week I've seen two separate references to a place called John O'Groats, which was unknown to me, and since the name has a ring to it, I had to look it up. Turns out it's argueably the northernmost point of Britain's four corners. Anyone looking to make the long trek to prove a point goes from Land's End, the southernmost part of England, to John O'Groats, in Scotland.

I was hoping to find out who this John fella was and if he really did eat a lot of oatmeal, but reality didn't quite live up to my imagination. John O'Groats was named after a Dutchman, Jan de Groot, who came to the area in 1476 and operated a ferry to the Orkney islands.

The nearby Stacks of Duncansby look cool.

You can see puffins there. I would go just for that!

More info here, here and here.

Do They Even Have A Clue?

Slate has an article about incongruous song choices that advertisers use for TV ads. Several of the ones that bug me are listed, although I don't have cable and don't watch much TV, so I'm unfamiliar with most of them.

"I've always wondered about Janis Joplin's 'Mercedes Benz,' which I always interpreted as a song critical of capitalism and materialism through the tragedy of poor people asking God in despair for the ultimate upper class status symbol which somehow will erase the pain of poverty. When Daimler started using it to sell Benzes, I felt awful. I still do. Joplin did drive a Porsche (which makes the next lyric—'My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends'—a possible self-criticism). Then again, she probably vomited in it."

There's also an audio link for an NPR broadcast on the subject.

Begonia of the Week #4

There are several rex begonia hybrids that look very similar, but I think this one is B. 'Harmony's Red Robin 2'. Impossible to capture in a photo is the sparkle that you find in begonia leaves, especially in rexes. Up close, this looks like the metallic red paint used on cars. Botanists speculate that it may be a device to reflect more light to the plant, since begonias are shade lovers and often grow on the jungle floor. It's magical, whatever it is.

Don't Mess With Big Mama

This is one of the funniest things I've read in a long time. I laughed 'til my stomach hurt!

Cops say Jared Gipson, 24, entered Blalock's Beauty College in Shreveport at noon Tuesday and announced a robbery.

"I thought it was someone just playing, but then I saw that big old gun," manager Dianne Mitchell told The Times of Shreveport. "He said, 'Get down, big mama.'"

The masked robber ordered the people in the room — 18 to 20 students and teachers — to lie on the floor, leading some to think they were going to be killed….

After collecting everyone's money, the gunman pushed the school's sole male employee, Abram Bishop, toward the back of the room — but then turned and began to run out the door.

That's when Mitchell stuck out her leg. The robber tripped over it, dropped the gun and slammed into a wall…

"Get that sucker!" yelled Mitchell, and the dozen and a half women present grabbed whatever they could get their hands on — curling irons, chairs, a table leg — and piled on.

"They just whooped the hell out of him," said school owner Sharon Blalock.

Picture of the victim and video of Big Mama here.

Reflejo Medieval

I'm mesmerized by medieval Spanish music, so I was excited to find One Soul Records Medieval Music Mixer. All the sounds, voice and instruments, are extracted from Alexandra Montana's recording of medieval Spanish cantigas, called Reflejo Medieval.

Click on the stones to bring up sounds. Click again to silence them. Make your own combinations of voice, percussion, flute, nature sounds and other instruments.

A quick search of Amazon.com and Tower Records did not find this CD, but it can be ordered from One Soul Records. You can also hear samples from the 15 tracks on the CD there. Haunting!

Follow the Money

The Toledo Blade is doing an excellent job with in-depth coverage of the coin and worker's comp scandal in Ohio, which is having a ripple effect all the way to Washington, D.C.

Update:
The Nation has a good summary of Coingate.

Begonia of the Week #3

B. 'Sierra Mountain King' is a rather small cane-like begonia (up to three feet in height) displaying enormous, pendulous bloom clusters with very fuschia-like flowers in pink and white. As you can see, each bloom is almost as long as my finger.

This is a very showy cane that doesn't get huge, so it's great as a patio plant in summer and a houseplant in winter for the northern growers. It's a Cynthia Bishop hybrid (maculata x lubbersii).

This is what's known as a primary cross, which is a hybrid formed by crossing two species, in this case, the two Brazilian species, maculata and lubbersii, both discovered in the 1800's. Every spotted cane begonia that you see can be traced back to B. maculata. You will always get very similar plants by crossing two species, whereas species-hybrid crosses, or hybrid-hybrid crosses, can produce an almost endless number of different results from the same seed pod, depending upon the genetic variation contained in the hybrid. Some are better parents than others, and some are sterile.

This was one of my favorite canes, but the hurricanes blew it away. I'll find another one some day.

Big Honkin' Infructescence

Today's post on the The Human Flower Project site talks about the importance of Amorphophallus titanum, with its spectacular smelly inflorescence, in bringing droves of people to quiet conservatories to gape in wonder at this freak of nature. This is the time of year in the Northern Hemisphere when these huge aroids bloom, and there always seem to be several botanical gardens that set up live Webcams to view the spectacle. There's a link on the HFP site to see the one at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. This will only last for a few days, so be sure to check it out now.

They also show a photo of Mr. Stinky from Fairchild Tropical Garden in Miami, which had a Webcam last year.

This is the infructescence that came from Mr. Stinky.

This is a seed pod collected from the wild in Sumatra. If the amorphophallus at Fairchild was taller than a man, imagine how tall this one must have been!

Much more info on the fascinating and bizarre Aroid Family can be found on the International Aroid Society Web site.

The Holy Grail For Botanists

Eriogonom truncatum, Mount Diablo buckwheat, a plant botanists believed was extinct, has turned up east of San Francisco after disappearing for 69 years.

Go Mother Nature!

On the same site, some unbelievable watermelon carvings, apparently by a Chinese master of the art. There's a link to more pictures.

These, and an endless supply of plant-related delights are to be found at The Human Flower Project.

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

Quotes from the American Taliban:

Gary North(Institute for Christian Economics)-
"The long-term goal of Christians in politics should be to gain exclusive control over the franchise. Those who refuse to submit publicly to the eternal sanctions of God by submitting to His Church's public marks of the covenant–baptism and holy communion–must be denied citizenship."

Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin -
“George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the United States, he was appointed by God.”

Pat Robertson (Christian Coalition) -
"The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians."

Randall Terry (Operation Rescue) -
"I want you to just let a wave of intolerance wash over. I want you to let a wave of hatred wash over you. Yes, hate is good...Our goal is a Christian nation. We have a biblical duty, we are called by God to conquer this country. We don't want equal time. We don't want pluralism."

Unfortunately there are more.

A Fun Google Image Meme

Stolen from attheheartofit

Search Google Images for: Place you grew up. Place you live now. Your name. Your Grandmother’s name. Your favorite food. Your favorite drink. Your favorite song. Your favorite smell. Then post the first or your favorite result for each.

I learned some things doing this.

Place where I grew up: Danville, IL. My mother always told me we'd send her to the poorhouse. I never knew until just now that it really existed!

Where I live now: West Palm Beach, FL

My name: Elizabeth. My nickname is Apple. Now I find out that Annie Elizabeth is a variety of apple. And my middle name is Ann!

My grandmother's name: Gertrude

My favorite food: Fettucine Alfredo with shrimp

My favorite drink: Beck's beer

My favorite song: Meet Me At Midnight, sung by Maria Muldaur

Favorite smell: vanilla

Now, if only I could figure out how to make the thumbnails enlargeable...and the last one scratch and sniff.

Begonia of the Week #2

I'm fascinated by black leaves, and there are a number of begonia hybrids to choose from. This one was labeled B. 'Mimi' when I got it, but there doesn't seem to be any record of a hybrid by that name. In any case, I love it! The velvety leaves are enhanced with white eyelashes and a double helix and are about as black as begonia leaves can get. This photo illustrates a phenomenon that I've noticed with dark begonia leaves. In the right light, an iridescent blue color shows through.

A Right Weirdo

Well now I love her!

If you have the stomach for it, here are more Bushisms.

The Horrors of Darfur

"The impact on people of the two-year conflict in Sudan's western region of Darfur has been described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis by the United Nations.

Some two million people are estimated to now live in camps, having fled their homes and at least 180,000 are thought to have died during the crisis. Sudan's government and the pro-government Arab militias are accused of war crimes against the region's black African population, although the UN has stopped short of terming it a genocide."

Q&A: Sudan's Darfur conflict
Sudan arrests aid agency head after rapes report
Save Darfur.org
Darfur: A Genocide We Can Stop
Crisis in Darfur

Thanks to Brooklynvegan for the links. Even more links at cityrag.

Fascism in Florida Parks

Two anti-war protesters distributing fliers at Oakland Park's Easterlin Park were kicked out, sparking backlash from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Snakes Everywhere!

What's happening in England? They're finding snakes in cut flowers, in a cereal box, in a jukebox, in trash bags, in a field in Kent and stuck in a wedding ring. Happily, Clarice, a 6' boa constrictor, has been found, but another boa was sadly abandoned on a bus.