Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Owl-O-Ween

Sweet Owl-O-Ween party for a little girl, Madison. Michelle from Maddy Cakes came up with this darling owl themed Halloween party for her daughter.



Michelle says, "Chocolate dipped pretzels are really easy to do. I found this great basket at Saver's ~local thrift store. I always check out the great deals at local thrift stores. You can find such amazing and inexpensive items you can use for your entertaining and parties.

I simply typed the names of food onto cardstock then used a lighter to burn the edges and completed by stamping owls and branches. I used the pine cones to hold food labels keeping with the whole "woodland" theme." More photos at MaddyCakes



Sedang Merajinkan Diri....

.....untuk membaca blog-blog yang dipromotekan oleh Step (blog yang Step perkenalkan ni biasanya blog yang suci dan berilmiah ahem) dan juga updates yang Hawa mention pasal blog kengkawan yang cool sekalian (ini bukan bodek). Serius aku alpa dalam mengupdatekan diri dengan membaca blog kerana sibuk berfacebook. Dan juga sibuk untuk tidur petang. Dan sibuk untuk menyibuk benda yang tak patut aku sibukkan. Blog sendiri pun update once in a bluemoon. Ok tiada alasan untuk justify kealpaan aku. Aku bersalah sebab malas. Noktah.

Ok, sori sebab ini bukan post yang ilmiah walaupun exam dah dekat. Good luck everyone in your exam.

Erm by the way, happy Halloween? :S

Sedang Merajinkan Diri....

.....untuk membaca blog-blog yang dipromotekan oleh Step (blog yang Step perkenalkan ni biasanya blog yang suci dan berilmiah ahem) dan juga updates yang Hawa mention pasal blog kengkawan yang cool sekalian (ini bukan bodek). Serius aku alpa dalam mengupdatekan diri dengan membaca blog kerana sibuk berfacebook. Dan juga sibuk untuk tidur petang. Dan sibuk untuk menyibuk benda yang tak patut aku sibukkan. Blog sendiri pun update once in a bluemoon. Ok tiada alasan untuk justify kealpaan aku. Aku bersalah sebab malas. Noktah.

Ok, sori sebab ini bukan post yang ilmiah walaupun exam dah dekat. Good luck everyone in your exam.

Erm by the way, happy Halloween? :S

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Strange World – “Goddess English”

A NEW language deity is about to appear in a tiny, impoverished Indian village, where a temple is being built to the "Goddess English".

A black granite shrine in Bankar, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, will soon house a bronze idol of the new goddess. Locals, most of whom speak Hindi, hope she will bring them prosperity and fresh opportunities.

Laying of the foundation stone for the Dalit Goddess English Temple
 (left) and Sir Thomas Babington Macaulay
The temple has been paid for by members of the Dalit, or "Untouchable", community. Dalits are India's most persecuted caste and its members suffer violence and discrimination throughout the country. There are regular reports of Dalit boys being murdered for illicit relationships with higher caste girls.

The idol in the shrine will depict a female figure inspired by the Statue of Liberty, standing astride a computer, clutching a copy of the Indian constitution. A foundation stone was laid in April and a 30 inch brass statue of the 'goddess' was dispatched from New Delhi to Lakimpuri Kheri village in Uttar Pradesh where campaigners are hoping to open the temple formally in honour of Lord Macauley, the 19th Century colonial official who sought to create an English-speaking Indian middle-class elite.

Goddess English :-)
The symbolism is hard to miss: if India's Dalits want to live the new Indian dream and join the burgeoning middle classes, they must first learn the language of Shakespeare and Milton.
"Tell me, how are you going to get to Oxford knowing only Hindi?" asked Chandra Bhan Prasad, a Dalit newspaper columnist and one of the driving forces behind the new goddess. "If Dalits are going to make a foray into the international economy, if they are going to take any of the new professional jobs being created in India . . . they're going to need to speak English. And when you make it a matter of faith, how can you refuse to learn your ABCs?"

Under British rule, English was the language of the elite. After six decades of independence - and despite Hindi being made the official language in 1965 - little has changed.
The Untouchables, millions of whom are still forced to carry out the most disgusting and dangerous jobs, have long regarded English as the key to emancipation.

In Bankar, the village where the temple is being built, locals have long celebrated English Day on October 25, the anniversary of the birth of Thomas Macaulay, the British administrator credited with choosing English as the language of Raj bureaucracy.

"English is neutral, it is more secular than India's own languages, which carry the legacy of caste," Mr Prasad said.
"And everybody knows it is a global language without a rival - even the French recognise that."
J Incredible India


Friday, October 29, 2010

ARTEMIS / A BOOT IN THE HEAD


ARTEMIS. Here is a remarkable story about a pair of NASA spacecraft being reassigned from one decaying mission, to another that is yielding a gold mine of information about the moon. Check out the wild and crazy lunar orbits !!

A BOOT TO THE HEAD. Earlier this week, several Republican thugs beat an Obama supporter to the ground, and proceeded (like the Nazis they are) to kick her into unconsciousness and concussion. Michael Moore relates the incident, with commentary on the state of electoral civility, and the depths to which extremists will go to drown out the voices of opposition in our alleged democracy. What are conservatives really afraid of, that they are willing to descend to such barbarity? They surely will NOT be getting my vote.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

THE SPILL / ANNIVERSARIES




THE SPILL. Amazing to realize that it has been over six months since the Deepwater Horizon oil well explosion, and the subsequent oil spill which has been characterized as the single most catastrophic human-caused natural disaster in our nation's history. Its effects will be with us for decades to come. This writer devoted a number of posts to the political and economic causes of the spill, and to the harm done to the natural world.

The most recent episode of the acclaimed PBS series Frontline takes a hard look at the corporate culture of BP. Titled simply The Spill, the show documents BP's long record of accidents, with harm to both the environment and to human life, which presaged the Gulf of Mexico debacle. The Spill is a frightening and infuriating indictment of BP, the oil industry, and (implicitly) the mentality of greed-trumping-responsibility which has characterized such a huge portion of capitalism for the past thirty years -- which is saying something, given our excesses ever since the Industrial Revolution. The BP spill is a symptom of a much larger cancer, one which we allow to flourish every time we spend money and look the other way.

ANNIVERSARIES. Here is a versatile resource provided by Wikipedia -- a list of historical anniversaries. You can click on the name of a month and learn where that name originated, or click on a specific date (your birthday?) and learn the important events that took place on that date, throughout recorded history. Links lead to more links, and soon you will be having as much fun as Alice in Wonderland. Well, almost.









Modern Farm Birthday Party

Anneliese created this super sweet modern farm party for her little girl Scarlett. Anneliese says, "We celebrated Scarlett's second birthday with a "Modern Farm" party--a cleaner, updated take on the farm theme with a little of the apple harvest season mixed in. Scarlett, not uniquely, made all the barnyard animal noises before she started articulating words, and "Big Red Barn" is her favorite bedtime read, so if she could have named the theme for her second birthday party I think "farm" really would have been it."



Simply illustrated farm invites.


Buttonhole napkin ties = adorable!!





Loving the animal silhouette table cloth. Farm style brunch is a great idea for a food spread.
Anneliese: The table was set with child-sized bamboo plates, individual bottles of milk (repurposed Frappuccino bottles) with Modern Farm labels (see below), and favor baskets at each place. I used wood pint-sized baskets (what happened to these? they are so great!) and filled them with a plastic farm animal, an old-fashioned lollipop in green apple or cherry, and an apple tagged with a thank you card (see below for printables).



 For more info, free printables and photos visit Aestheticnest.com


Big Red Barn Big Book


45'' Wide Oil Cloth Gingham Kiwi Green Fabric By The Yard


One Dozen Peck or Apple Baskets With Wooden Spool Handle


OLD FASHIONED MILK JAR


Polybag Farm Collection (pig, ram, horse, cow, goat)


Advanced Wish

Woo hoo~! Come on guys.. Let us play a guessing game~!


Let us guess which girl among these people who made 30th October every year significant?


TA DAA~!

Let me mark her face with love...


Hmmm..


jeng jeng jeng


ta daa~


here she is~


na...


Yeah, so we did spotted the girl who made 30th October a significant date.

And she's our bestie - Stephanie Hermon.

She's going to turn 22 this 30th October (Saturday)

A double number age~!

To Stephanie a.k.a Deng Deng hihi:

Girl, I wish I will be there during your birthday just like in the pictures above, to share the joy during your birthday with your beloved girls (Ada, Sally, Pam, and the rest whom I couldn't list down all the names) :


Since I can't be there to witness you blowing your candles on your cake LIVE during your birthday unless through pics posted on facebook by one of the lovely girls [ you girls know who you are ;)]

And I can't try your cake ahahaha (takde kerja lain kan?) or I can't even be the photographer during your birthday (macam la skill camwhore aku best sangat wahahaha)


so I guess thanks to internet I am gonna do it online... hehe

So dear Step,

(picture grabbed from Pamela's facebook album)

I invite you to blow these candles on this cake which I prepared a.k.a googled
for you...




HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL~!

ALL THE BEST~

BEST WISHES TO YOU FROM PENANG TO KUCHING...

Have fun with your girls yea... ;)


So happy birthday Deng~

:)

May God bless u always..

And see you this year-end...

;)


(Gotta post this birthday post a day earlier cause I'm gonna have a sleepover at a wireless-LESS place this weekend so can't online to wish you on your birthday itself huhu)



Advanced Wish

Woo hoo~! Come on guys.. Let us play a guessing game~!


Let us guess which girl among these people who made 30th October every year significant?


TA DAA~!

Let me mark her face with love...


Hmmm..


jeng jeng jeng


ta daa~


here she is~


na...


Yeah, so we did spotted the girl who made 30th October a significant date.

And she's our bestie - Stephanie Hermon.

She's going to turn 22 this 30th October (Saturday)

A double number age~!

To Stephanie a.k.a Deng Deng hihi:

Girl, I wish I will be there during your birthday just like in the pictures above, to share the joy during your birthday with your beloved girls (Ada, Sally, Pam, and the rest whom I couldn't list down all the names) :


Since I can't be there to witness you blowing your candles on your cake LIVE during your birthday unless through pics posted on facebook by one of the lovely girls [ you girls know who you are ;)]

And I can't try your cake ahahaha (takde kerja lain kan?) or I can't even be the photographer during your birthday (macam la skill camwhore aku best sangat wahahaha)


so I guess thanks to internet I am gonna do it online... hehe

So dear Step,

(picture grabbed from Pamela's facebook album)

I invite you to blow these candles on this cake which I prepared a.k.a googled
for you...




HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL~!

ALL THE BEST~

BEST WISHES TO YOU FROM PENANG TO KUCHING...

Have fun with your girls yea... ;)


So happy birthday Deng~

:)

May God bless u always..

And see you this year-end...

;)


(Gotta post this birthday post a day earlier cause I'm gonna have a sleepover at a wireless-LESS place this weekend so can't online to wish you on your birthday itself huhu)



Pikachu Dog Costume


Pikachu-3, originally uploaded by sleepyshelti.

What ever dog wants to be for Halloween-- PIkachu.


Keywords: pokemon costumes for animals, dogs, pets

Leafeon Costume -Turnaround


Leafeon Costume -Turnaround, originally uploaded by CanineHybrid.

Photo note:

The completed fursuit costume of my Pokemon character, Avery the Leafeon.

Pokemon costume: Eevee evolution

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

CARTER / SUPERSTITION




CARTER. A dear friend and I were discussing politics a few days ago, specifically how election campaigns have become exercises in slander and mean-spiritedness. My view at the time was that there is no single U.S. president who, if all the secrets in his closet were revealed, would be immune from scandal. This includes those regarded as great presidents, e.g. Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, or John F. Kennedy. Further reflection has led me to amend my cynicism. Our thirty-ninth president has led his life according to high ideals, both in and out of office. Jimmy Carter might not be the first name to pop into the minds of many as one of our great leaders, but this decent and humble man has achieved much.

Consider: "In his one term, his administration oversaw the creation of the Energy and Education Departments, the Israel-Egypt Camp David Accords, the Soviet Union Salt II Treaty and U.S. diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. After leaving office, he founded the Carter Center and has been tirelessly active in Habitat For Humanity and international public policy. He's a Nobel laureate, a "Best Spoken Word" Grammy winner, and best-selling author who has written more books than any other president."

The above quote appears as a brief bio for Carter on Tavis Smiley's website. Smiley interviews public figures for his programs on both PBS and NPR. I chanced to see Smiley's most recent interview with Jimmy Carter earlier this week, and was reminded that Carter never ceases to amaze me. At age 86, he is a deep and profound thinker and an articulate speaker. His self-deprecating sense of humor and his insights into the motivations of human behavior are a model of decorum and wisdom. This elder statesman has been asked to act as a peace broker between warring nations on numerous occasions, with good reason.

Here is a link to Smiley's complete interview with Carter. Click on the third "play" arrow down, labeled "Full Interview." Carter discusses his newest book, a candid memoir based on notes he took while president, and he also offers pointed observations on today's squalid politics. The man is a national treasure.

SUPERSTITION. Virtually all myths and superstitions (including religious beliefs) are based upon limited anecdotal evidence, often taking the word of one or a few individuals on faith. The facts may be further distorted by repeated inaccurate translations from one language to the next, or by the personal agendas of those in power. In reality, events which may seem remarkable or even miraculous lose their power when considered in a wider context. This is where the lens of statistics comes in handy, as colorfully described by Tarik Moosa in his essay Statistics - Destroyer of Superstitious Pretension. Using examples both ancient and modern, Moosa demonstrates how certain popularly-held beliefs do not hold up to the scrutiny of mathematical common sense. For those who dismiss statistics as a tool capable of proving or disproving anything, please note that it is the interpretation which is at fault, not the tool itself. This is why it behooves each of us to learn as much as we can about the world -- science, the arts, math, language, economics, human psychology -- so that we may intelligently grasp when we are witnessing truth, and when we are being led down the garden path. In today's world, there is no excuse for willful, intentional ignorance.









Tuesday, October 26, 2010

RATTLESNAKES




I highly recommend the story posted by Matt Miller at his blog on the Nature Conservancy website. Matt reflects on a hike he took through Idaho's Hell's Canyon, and on the atavistic fears which surfaced in him when he nearly stepped on a western diamondback rattlesnake. His thoughts about the remainder of the hike, about rattlesnakes and the role they play in nature, and about their position among our myths regarding predators in general and reptiles in particular, are evocative and worth reflecting upon.

I especially like his suggestion that "scary creatures offer another benefit we don't usually consider -- humility ... that prickly fear we feel in the presence of a large spider, or a poisonous snake, transports us to a time when nature was not something 'out there,' but rather a series of real, complicated relationships with living creatures. The rattle jolts us back to a reality where nature was not just an idyllic walk in the park. It reminds us that humans are a species profoundly shaped, not by cities and technology, but by other animals and our relationships with them. Lose the rattlesnake, and we lose a part of what makes us human."

I grew up in the farming country of northern Montana, and my youth included many Boy Scout camping trips into the nearby Rocky Mountains. Living among wildlife was as natural to me as breathing. In my mid-twenties, during a solo three-day hike into the Tortolita Mountains north of Tucson, Arizona, I had a moment of epiphany similar to Matt's. I carried a six-foot long walking staff intended to give rattlers something to strike at besides my leg. As a backup measure, my holstered .22 magnum revolver was belted handily to the side of my backpack.

After being dropped off at the trailhead shortly after sunrise, I entered Wild Burro Canyon, thoroughly enjoying the morning light and the symphony of desert bird calls. My oblivious delight was shocked back to reality when I realized that the stick lying across the trail a few feet ahead was actually a motionless rattler sunning itself. Instant pulse elevation and adrenaline flow. I decided to simply leave the trail and circle around the snake, being careful where I placed my boots among the creosote, bursage and brittlebush which could easily hide other rattlers.

But it soon became apparent that the Tortolitas were literally crawling with rattlesnakes that day. Only a few minutes later I heard that unmistakeable dry buzzing. I froze, and looked down to see a rattlesnake two feet away from my foot, in the shade of a low bush which brushed my leg. I slowly reached up to grasp my .22, took careful aim .... and did not fire. I knew I had the power to take this life, but I also realized that I was the intruder in his world. After a long pause, I slowly placed my staff between my leg and the snake, and even more slowly stepped away. The standoff ended peaceably.

For the rest of that day I was jumpy. By the time I found a suitable campsite (a tiny platform of rock formed where a stream forked, then reconverged), I'd seen or heard a score of rattlers. My thought was that being surrounded by flowing water would hopefully discourage any reptilian visitors from seeking my body warmth during the night. None did (although on subsequent camping trips in Arizona and New Mexico, I did awaken to feel a reptilian body stirring against mine. Another story for another time.).

I learned to relax, and for the next two days throughly enjoyed scouting the canyons and central basin of the Tortolitas. As described in a previous post, I was privileged to sight the resident herd of wild horses. In a moment of high (or low) comedy, at one point I was sunbathing nude at my campsite when I suddenly heard nearby voices. In a flash I covered my nether parts with a shirt, just before a hat, then a face bobbed above the edge of the ledge nearby. Embarrassed, I pretended to nap as thirty members of the Southern Arizona Hiking Club walked past in single file, and they pretended I wasn't there. Later in the day I encountered the group resting in the meager shade of a palo verde tree, and we chatted as though nothing unusual had transpired.

That hike marked a turning point in my attitude toward reptiles in particular, and predators in general. By the time I became caretaker of Canelo Hills Cienega, one of the Nature Conservancy's southern Arizona preserves (which was home to four species of rattlesnakes), I was also the proud father of a preschool son. During our walks we talked about snakes and bats and deer and birds and coyotes and trees and frogs and people. When out driving, if we happened upon a snake sunning itself on a road, we would stop and shepherd it into the weeds and out of danger from passing cars and trucks. To this day, we both have fond memories of those years, even dreaming about them. Our time in Eden.

So thank you, Matt, for both your own reflections and for the trip down memory lane. As you proposed regarding rattlesnakes, "Long may they slither through our reality, reminding us of the connections to nature that still remain deeply embedded in our genes, in our being."







Halloween: Whimsical Witch Legs

Striped stocking witch legs hang from the ceiling to make a whimsical centerpiece for my Witches Tea Party.  The black umbrella creates the look of the bottom of a witches dress with "crinoline" (fluffy underskirt) added to complete the look of a dress! It's impossible to make witch legs without adding the iconic black boots.  I love the look of the skinny, bumpy legs and large witches feet! Tutorial: how to make whimsical witch legs....



Stuff a pair of black and orange striped stockings with batting (it will be lumpy).


Simplicity Traditional Loft Quilt Batting-Full Size 81 Inch X96 Inch


Draw the outline of witches boots onto black fabric (chalk is easy to draw on dark fabrics). Make sure to make the boots large - when stuffing and sewing they shrink in size.



To create the look of crinoline - I used black tulle. I cut pieces approximately 20 inches long.


I snapped off the umbrella handle - easy to do considering this is a dollar store umbrella. Tie the stockings onto the spokes of the umbrella.


Tie the tulle onto the umbrella spoke.


 This is the umbrella turned upside down with all the tulle tied onto the umbrella.












Adult Orange and Black Striped Panty Hose


Halloween Adult Costume Accessories Polka Dot Petticoat Short Skirt Slip Fluffy Underskirt Crinoline Leg Avenue One Size, Black


Tulle Bolt (54"x50yd-Black 




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