Jackasselope Spotted At Rural Residence!

My husband discovered this creature by the woodshed and shot it with my camera today. Until seeing the photo I had never seen a jackasselope, and will no doubt have nightmares after viewing it.

It's so ugly that it's almost cute. But, hey, it splits wood! And it attracts black flies, drawing them away from other living creatures.

Who couldn't use one of these?

Itipini Community Project & Mthatha Mission

clipped from www.youtube.com Itipini Community Project clipped from mthathamission.blogspot.com There are several people I see regularly around Itipini who are about my age. It is impossible to look at them and not think about the wildly divergent paths our lives have taken since 1982. Often they have a child (or children), many have HIV, virtually none has a high school diploma, none has a formal job, and all live in tumbling-down shanties that barely deserve the word. As I’ve gotten to know them over the months, I’ve realized many of them are also quite talented, funny, intelligent, and hard-working, and, really, not all that different from me. What’s been different, of course, is the opportunities available to us by virtue of where we were born and where and how we were raised I had access to supportive parents, good schools, and an economy that produced opportunities like this one, among a whole host of other advantages. My peers in Itipini had almost none of that clipped from mthathamission.blogspot.com My high-school English students clipped from mthathamission.blogspot.com Noncedo Mthunsikazi Nonzuzo Luleka Nonhlazo Ayabonga Lindiwe

I've been following Jesse Zink's blog Mthatha Mission for many months. When I ran across the video today, which incorporates some of his photos, I put the the video and Jesse's excellent blog together to share both with others who may not know of the work being done to help the people who, by accident of birth, live in the Itipini community outside Mthatha, South Africa.

Travel Alberta To See These Unique Attractions!

TravellingAlberta.com offers one-of-a-kind oil sands vacation packages

Edmonton, Canada — As the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) embarks on a synchronized propaganda campaign aligned with the Province's "rebranding" of the tar sands, Greenpeace has launched its own website to counter the greenwashing.

TravellingAlberta.com is a tongue-in-cheek travel site that uses humour to communicate a very serious issue to Canadian and international audiences about the destructive nature of the world's largest industrial development. The website showcases showcases some of the unique attractions that await travelers to Alberta: Black sand beaches, toxic lakes and clearcut forests. Until now, this kind of vacation destination was merely the stuff of science fiction; but now, it can be experienced first-hand.

"We thought we'd help the province and CAPP with their "rebranding" campaign by bringing Alberta's newest tourist attractions to the world's doorstep. Any visitor to the Alberta tar sands can see the pollution, smell the sulfur, taste the toxins and hear the air cannons — we're saving them the trip," says Mike Hudema, a tar sands campaigner with Greenpeace.

"Premier Ed Stelmach and CAPP can spend 25 million dollars of tax payers' money trying to cleanup the image of the tar sands, but this development is still dirty, ugly and foul. That money would be much better spent cleaning up the tar sands themselves, rather than just the global image."

But while a real cleanup of the area is still a way off, the current state of northern Alberta offers a rare treat for the seasoned globetrotter who's craving something new. A seemingly endless expanse of bitumen-laden sands — coupled with the powerful scent of oil from refineries wafting through the hazy air — makes Northern Alberta a truly one-of-a-kind destination. As the long weekend approaches and families make their summer vacation plans, TravellingAlberta.com offers these adventure tips:

* Diversion surfing: Catch a wave, Alberta-style, and join Big Oil in taking advantage of the nearly 92 billion gallons of water diverted from provincial rivers each year!
* Animal sightings: Moose playing in tailings ponds, loons drenched in tar and ducks sinking in oil: it's not everywhere that you can see some of Canada's most prized wildlife in these unique settings. Hurry though! They're going fast!
* Tailings sailing: Come enjoy the vast lakes of toxic water, so big they're visible to the naked eye from space! Chase that horizon, but be careful not to capsize!
* Fun in the sun: Forget Cancun, Alberta is sizzling! Boasting more greenhouse gas emissions than Canada's three other most populous provinces combined, it's really heating up out here!

Greenpeace will promote the website internationally, calling on visitors to share the site with friends and to write Premier Ed Stelmach, Travel Minister Cindy Ady and Prime Minister Stephen Harper to demand they put the brakes on tar sand development.
TravellingAlberta.com

Memorable Merriment From The Divine Miss M

The 1985 appearance of the Bette Midler on the Johnny Carson Show is one of my all-time television favorites. Over the years I've often thought about her hilarious rendition of "Fit or Fat (Fat As I Am)" and wished to see it again. Through the combined miracles of the Internet and YouTube my wish came true this evening, when I found this gem:



Fit or Fat (Fat As I Am)

Fat as I am.
Who wants to see a diva fat as I am?
I get mistaken now for Lainie Kazan.
How is it that I'm fat as I am?

Fat as I am.
The camera's gonna add a ton to my can.
This is the way they say Godzilla began.
How did I get as fat as I am?

"Try it again."
All of my friends say I should diet again;
That all my fans are gonna riot again.
"Look what happened to Liz."

All of my sins
are not as numerous as . . . all of my chins!
I could audition for the Doublemint twins.
No one in the biz is as fat as I is.

Ah, but what's a career
when you put it next to knackwurst and beer?
They could park a DC10 on my rear.
God knows I got the gas!

There goes the chair.
But to tell the truth, I'm too fat to care!
I ate a meatball off the floor right over there.
Ah, you don't give a damn
when you're fat as I am!

--Bette Midler, from Mud Will Be Flung Tonight!

Priceless!

Release Our Activists

Open Season on Canadian Water

clipped from www.cbc.ca Lakes across Canada face being turned into mine dump sites Lakes are in B.C., Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, NWT and Nunavut Bush pilot Doug Beaumont and environmentalist Jim Bourquin fish on Kluela Lake, downstream from the planned dump site for the Red Chris gold and copper mining project in northwestern B.C. 16 Canadian lakes are slated to be officially but quietly "reclassified" as toxic dump sites for mines. The lakes include prime wilderness fishing lakes from B.C. to Newfoundland Environmentalists say the process amounts to a "hidden subsidy" to mining companies, allowing them to get around laws against the destruction of fish habitat. Under the Fisheries Act, it's illegal to put harmful substances into fish-bearing waters. But, under a little-known subsection known as Schedule Two of the mining effluent regulations, federal bureaucrats can redefine lakes as "tailings impoundment areas." That means mining companies don't need to build containment ponds for toxic mine tailings.

"What Canadians need to know is that this year, from March 2008 to March of 2009, eight lakes are going to be subject to being put on Schedule Two, which is just about every mine that is going ahead this year is looking around, looking for the nearest lake to dump its waste into.”

Un. Frickin. Believable!

Time for this government to fall! C'mon, Dion, DO SOMETHING!

I'm Voting Republican

Brilliant!

Jokes To Offend Nearly Everyone...

What do you call two Mexicans playing basketball?
Juan on Juan


What is a Yankee?
The same as a quickie, but a guy can do it alone


What is the difference between a Harley and a Hoover ?
The position of the dirt bag


Why is divorce so expensive?
Because it's worth it


What do you see when the Pillsbury Dough Boy bends over?
Doughnuts


What do you call a smart blonde?
A golden retriever


What do attorneys use for birth control?
Their personalities


What's the difference between a girlfriend and wife?
10 years and 45 lbs


What's the difference between a boyfriend and husband?
45 minutes


What's the fastest way to a man's heart?
Through his chest with a sharp knife


Why do men want to marry virgins?
They can't stand criticism


Why is it so hard for women to find men that are sensitive, caring, and good-looking?
Because those men already have boyfriends


What's the difference between a new husband and a new dog?
After a year, the dog is still excited to see you


Why do men chase women they have no intention of marrying?
The same urge that makes dogs chase cars they have no intention of driving


What's the difference between a porcupine and BMW?
A porcupine has the pricks on the outside


What did the blonde say when she found out she was pregnant?
'Are you sure it's mine?'


Why do men find it difficult to make eye contact?
Breasts don't have eyes


Why do drivers' education classes in Redneck schools use the car only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays?
Because on Tuesday and Thursday, the Sex Ed class uses it


Where does an Irish family go on vacation?
A different bar


Did you hear about the Chinese couple that had a blonde baby?
They named him 'Sum Ting Wong'


What would you call it when an Italian has one arm shorter than the other?
A speech impediment


What's the difference between a southern zoo and a northern zoo?
A southern zoo has a description of the animal on the front of the cage
along with... a recipe


How do you get a sweet 80-year-old lady to say the F word?
Get another sweet little 80-year-old lady to yell *BINGO*!


What's the difference between a northern fairytale and a southern fairytale?
A northern fairytale begins with 'Once upon a time ...' -A southern fairytale
begins with 'Y'all ain't gonna believe this s**t....


Why is there no Disneyland in Japan?
No one is tall enough to go on the good rides

I just HAD to try this....and am I ever glad that I did!

Two weeks ago my friend Lynda in Tanzania posted Malva Pudding Recipe (You just HAVE to try this one!), tempting readers with a photo captioned "Such a simple looking pudding - but don't be fooled ! It's spongy, almost honeycomb like texture & sweet, syrupy sauce is out of this world delicious ....." My sweet tooth has yearned for this dessert since the moment I read those words.

Well, this afternoon I made my first Malva Pudding and I have to say that it is just as delicious as Lynda claimed it would be! Here is my Malva Pudding, before and after the sauce was added--I had to get the before photo quickly as the sauce is poured on as soon as the pudding comes out of the oven.

Before Sauce
After Sauce(Note bubbling as the hot, sweet sauce percolates down through the cake to create a pudding)

Of course I had to get the after photo quickly, too, as the desire to cut into the warm pudding was overwhelming. We ate our Malva Pudding warm, mmmmmoaning with delight at its rich, sweet taste and light texture.

This Malva Pudding recipe is easy to follow. The only difficulty I had was making the conversion from metric to American units. It helps to know that 5ml = 1 teaspoon, 15 ml = 1 tablespoon, 100 ml liquid = roughly 1/2 cup, 200 gm sugar = 1 cup, 150 gm sugar = 3/4 cup, and 150 gm flour = 1 & 1/4 cups. I mixed all the ingredients in my food processor and the batter was very, very smooth, and a little pink due to the strawberry jam. Yum! I baked it in a large casserole dish with a glass lid.

So Lynda, as usual, was right: Malva Pudding is so delicious that you just HAVE to try it! Anyone with a sweet tooth will love it. Check out Lynda's blog for recipes for many other tasty dishes.