Saturday, July 18, 2009

World's oldest man, WWI vet, dies aged 113

I had no idea that there were any WW I veterans still alive. The last one died this morning.

This stately gentleman Allingham, has seen it all in his long lifetime.

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Henry Allingham, the world's oldest man and the oldest surviving British veteran from World War I, has died at the age of 113, his care home said Saturday.

Allingham died in his sleep at St. Dunstan's care home in Ovingdean, England, the home said in a statement.

Born on June 6, 1896, Allingham was active until his final days, having celebrated his 113th birthday last month on the HMS President with his family, the care home said.

The Guinness Book of World Records Certified Allingham as the world's oldest man last month, St. Dunstan's said.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Gordon Brown both paid their respects to Allingham on Saturday.

"The queen was saddened to hear of the death of Henry Allingham. He was one of the unique generation who sacrificed so much for us all. Our thoughts are with his family at this time,"

Click here to read what else CNN has on Allingham's history.

image via CNN

ORPHANED BABY OWLS FIND CUDDLY TOY MOM!

by Jill Fehrenbacher

An adorable group of orphaned baby owls have been adopted by a silly-looking toy owl, after they were found on the brink of death in the wild. The tiny tawny owl chicks burrow in under the fluffy toy’s wings to keep warm after they were separated from their own mothers. The chicks, all aged between just four and eight weeks, faced certain death as they fended for themselves alone in the wild but are now recovering in an animal hospital.

This dose of owly cuteness provided by The Daily Mail

Friday, July 17, 2009

Just for the love of writing...

 I Stumbled across this site and thought it would be nice to share with readers who write. Hemingway was one of my favorite authors growing up. I've never tried to emulate his style because it's so unique. So straight forward. Short and brutal. So descriptive. So...

Welcome to "A Bad Hemingway Story", The Website.
This website is the story and the story is written in the "style" of Ernest Hemingway, the greatest American writer that ever lived according to at least a few.
It is written with gusto. It is written for laughs and the joy that comes from bad writing.

The writers of "A Bad Hemingway Story" struggle with the short sentences and the runon sentences and the pointless but rich descriptions for that is what writers of Bad Hemingway must do.

They write. They use email lists to write. They use the keyboard and the mouse. But most of all they write.

Join them, for if you have gotten this far, you are already on your way to being one of them. You long to run with the bulls and fight the mighty marlin and to make love to a woman with a mustache.

Welcome.

~Yulek Hemingway, Curator

FAKE TERROR - THE ROAD TO WAR AND DICTATORSHIP

 This article details how terror has been used to control people through the years. From Marcus Licinius Crassus to the Bush regime, we get a long look at how patriotism has been used to no good ends.

By Michael Rivero

It's the oldest trick in the book, dating back to Roman times; creating the enemies you need. In 70 BC, an ambitious minor politician and extremely wealthy man, Marcus Licinius Crassus, wanted to rule Rome. Just to give you an idea of what sort of man Crassus really was, he is credited with invention of the fire brigade. But in Crassus' version, his fire-fighting slaves would race to the scene of a burning building whereupon Crassus would offer to buy it on the spot for a tiny fraction of it's worth. If the owner sold, Crassus' slaves would put out the fire. If the owner refused to sell, Crassus allowed the building to burn to the ground. By means of this device, Crassus eventually came to be the largest single private land holder in Rome, and used some of his wealth to help back Julius Caesar against Cicero.

Click here to read the rest of this excellent article from WhatReallyHappened

A boon to campers leaves bears unable to 'get inside the box' for a treat!

If you've ever gone camping where bears are you know how important it is to put your food in a safe place. Now, thanks to a Florida company, you can leave your food in a "bear-proof" container that will hold up to 100 pounds, anywhere you want. The bear community isn't going to like this invention, but in the long run it'll be safer for them.Less encounters with humans equals safer conditions for the bears.

New grizzly-tested coolers help bears, campers coexist

By Susan Gallagher, AP Writer

HELENA, Mont. — Keeping cold ones cold when camping in grizzly bear country may be getting a bit easier.

New coolers from a Florida company and a business in Texas that have passed federal and state tests for resistance to grizzlies are the first to be mass-produced. So, local officials willing, adventurers with a boat or a pack animal hefty enough to carry a cooler no longer must hang it 10 feet off the ground to comply with food-storage rules in the back country that grizzlies inhabit.

Click here to read the rest of this article in USA Today

Bears at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone, Mont., failed to break into the boxes, made of the same tough plastic used in kayaks.

photo via Living With Wildlife Foundation

Here's an idea that might make a difference...

Jeff Parker, copyright 2009 Cagle Cartoons

Thursday, July 16, 2009

NASA Images Find 1,750,000 Year Old Man-Made Bridge between India and Sri Lanka

(@PTI) Space images taken by NASA reveal a mysterious ancient bridge in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka.

The recently discovered bridge currently named as Adam´s Bridge is made of chain of shoals, c.18 mi (30 km) long.
The bridge´s unique curvature and composition by age reveals that it is man made. The legends as well as Archeological studies reveal that the first signs of human inhabitants in Sri Lanka date back to the a primitive age, about 1,750,000 years ago and the bridge's age is also almost equivalent.
This information is a crucial aspect for an insight into the mysterious legend called Ramayana, which was supposed to have taken place in tredha yuga (more than 1,700,000 years ago).
In this epic, there is a mentioning about a bridge, which was built between Rameshwaram (India) and Srilankan coast under the supervision of a dynamic and invincible figure called Rama who is supposed to be the incarnation of the supreme.

This information may not be of much importance to the archeologists who are interested in exploring the origins of man, but it is sure to open the spiritual gates of the people of the world to have come to know an ancient history linked to the Indian mythology.

"In the eighteenth incarnation (of Lord Krishna), the Lord appeared as King Rama. In order to perform some pleasing work for the demigods, He exhibited superhuman powers by controlling the Indian Ocean and then killing the atheist King Ravana, who was on the other side of the sea" - Srimad Bhagavatam

text and photo via Lankilibrary

 

Libertarians take aim at Sotomayor’s anti-gun stance

July 16, 2009 by Libertarian Party

WASHINGTON — America’s third largest party reiterated its opposition Wednesday to the Supreme Court nomination of federal judge Sonia Sotomayor after the nominee refused to give a firm answer on whether individuals have the right of self-defense.

Is there a constitutional right to self-defense?” Sotomayor asked when questioned by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) whether or not the Constitution guaranteed him the right of self-defense. “ I can’t think of one. I could be wrong.”

“Whether you agree with her position or not, Judge Sotomayor has had no problem stating that things not directly found in the Constitution are ‘settled law.’  That’s why it’s troubling that when confronted with a constitutionally-enshrined principle she disagrees with, the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of one’s rights, things are suddenly muddled and up for debate,” said Donny Ferguson, Libertarian National Committee Communications Director.

To read the rest of this article from SmallGovTimes click here.

Chihuahua called Smokey gets barbecue fork stuck in head!

X-rays show the three-inch long prongs embedded in the dog's brain after an accident at a garden party in the US.

The 12-week-old puppy was playing at the family party when a fork snapped in half on the grill, flew through the air and stuck into its head.

Before his owners could get to him, he ran into nearby woods.

Luckily two days later its owner Hughie Wagers found Smokey cowering in the undergrowth and immediately rushed to the vet's.

Michelle Duncum, 30, was on duty at the Cumberland Valley Animal Hospital, in London, Kentucky, when Smokey's owner arrived.

Photo By: SWNS

To read the rest of this article from The Telegraph click here.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Here's some Creepy Vintage Ads...

Demonic Little Girl                                          Demonic Ginger Kid

 

What were companies in the 50s and 60s thinking when they created these ads? These are so creepy and disturbing that there could be no other explanation than the involvement of drugs, evil or insanity when they were created. If these ads actually managed to make products sell, the world 40-50 years ago was a messed up place.

To see a whole lot more creepy vintage ads click here to go to Guidespot

Photos via Vintage Advertising (Pool) and the following...

Trump's Lowest Grift Ever Saved for Holy Week

This is a story about how the devil's puppet, aka Donald Trump, mocked Christianity by selling a book combining the Bible, the Constitu...