The railway children

Jpr: gratuitous goodness and joy...life without murder and mayhem...have a bit.

Soweto gospel choir and zulu dancing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6fXr4xDCt0

enjoy some traditional  zulu dancing (frontal nudity included ):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HUJcBQG3iE

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qhSLKQeltrY

A Favorite

Nighthawks is a 1942 painting by American artist Edward Hopper.  Frequently found in various representations of American culture, it has a mystery about it.  Hopper posed for the men at the counter and his wife for the woman.  Hopper's biographer believes the work was inspired by Van Gogh's 'Night Cafe', and/or by a scene from Hemmingway's short story 'the killers.'

Data Sniffing Dog

,

The Subway spokesman done for child sex crimes was caught, in part, by a dog trained to sniff out electronic data storage devices.  In this case,he found a thumb drive load with illegal images that his human colleagues missed.

Nazi Treasure Legend TRUE

A Polish official says ground-penetrating radar images have left him "99% convinced" that a World War Two German military train filled with gold, gems and art work is buried near the south-western city of Walbrzych. Deputy Culture Minister Piotr Zuchowski said images appeared to show a train equipped with gun turrets.  Local legend says a Nazi treasure train went missing near the city in 1945 just ahead of Russian troops.  Mr Zuchowski said information about the train had apparently come in a deathbed confession from a person involved in concealing it.

Appalachian mountain children

That ole homestead be worth the same today!

Benefits of Garlic and Water

Garlic has medicinal properties for cardiovascular health; lowering cholesterol, reducing hypertension and high blood pressure. It also helps against common colds and has healing properties.


jpr: an old timer friend places a garlic bulb (after skinning and cutting cloves) into a large container of water. he consumes a small glass each day

Is there any innocence left to be lost

vester flanagan

Jpr: if this is not evil  and the work of a demon then we have no right to expect goodness in our society

Heroes, sort of.

I have never been a big fan of Donald Trump.  But he gets kudos from me for putting the arrogant, elitist, 'journalist' population in their correct place.  Kelly and now Jorge Ramos intentionally intimidate everyone they interview because of the power granted them by their TV audience.  'Do what I want or I'll turn them against you' has long distorted the role of journalism and journalists from reporting the news to making news --- truth be damned.  Thanks Trump, refreshing, keep it up. 

lots of time on a rainy day

great blue heron

One of these guys works the creek of my favorite trial. She is extremely shy, always sees me first then immediately flies off.

Vera Farmiga

A Ukrainian born american actress. English was not her first language.

Stars with Andy Garcia in movie Middelton. A most excellent work; no death, murder, mayhem, explosions, bad language, gratuitous bad behavior. Just wonderful acting, marvelous dialogue and soothing scenery.

Apple-Raisin Pandowdy by Martha Stewart

If this is made with Ida Reds...I'll kill for a piece!@!

civil war casualties

In total deaths the American Civil War was the deadliest war in American history (although in combat related deaths, World War II remains the deadliest conflict with 292,000 combat deaths.

Union Casualties : 110,000 killed in action
360,000 total dead
275,200 wounded
Confederate Casualties :93,000 killed in action
260,000 total dead
137,000 wounded

Gettysburg

Two (2} out of every three deaths was from disease.

Abou Ben Adhem

Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw, within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
An angel writing in a book of gold:—
Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,
And to the Presence in the room he said
"What writest thou?"—The vision raised its head,
And with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered "The names of those who love the Lord."
"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still, and said "I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men."

The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And showed the names whom love of God had blessed,
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.


by James Henry Leigh Hunt

Raju

Monkeys are considered holy because they are believed to be the descendants of the deity Hanuman – the giant ape who helped Rama fight off his first evil – who is worshiped by Indians.

The news spread swiftly among the villagers in the deep forests of Rajhasthan, when the couple’s wedding was announced.

Raju, the “groom,” was famous in Banetha village, about 55 km from Talwas, attracting crowds whenever he went outside.  He was known for eating, sleeping and smoking cigarettes with his owner, Ramesh Saini, who treated him like a son, reports the news.

“I want to enjoy the feelings of a son’s marriage through Raju’s wedding,” said Rajesh, a 38-year-old married but childless auto rickshaw driver who nursed Raju back to health after finding him unconscious three years ago.

Hyperloop transportation

The Hyperloop concept is proposed to operate by sending specially designed "capsules" or "pods" through a continuous steel tube maintained at a partial vacuum. It is to be wind, solar powered.

jpr: the concept was first proposed in 1910 by Goddard.

How Do You Spell STUPID?

According to court documents, Jared Fogle, who turned his obesity into a million dollar Subway ad gig, paid a 17-year-old girl who he had found online to engage in sex acts while he was staying at the Plaza Hotel in New York in 2012.  He also offered to pay adult prostitutes a finder's fee for putting him in touch with minors for sex acts, including some as young as 14. The documents also allege the ex-Subway spokesman received sexually explicit material produced by Russell Taylor, the executive director of a  charity set up to combat childhood obesity - the Jared Foundation. Some of the images he obtained featured children as young as six. He plead guilty.

Fire Rainbow

It's one of the rarest meteorological phenomenon -a 'fire rainbow' floated in the air over South Carolina on Sunday. The phenomenon is actually a cloud formation, formally referred to as a circumhorizontal arc. 

worry...nah

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear.
...
Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.
...
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

~scripture

Maria Grazia Cucinotta

jpr: I actually recommended her earrings.

STONE-WORSHIP

IN many lands shapeless stones have been adored. Among several ancient nations the idea of Divinity was symbolized by a rough stone. That aërolites should be revered is not surprising, since they, as the idol stone of Ephesus, came down from heaven. A single pillar stone might well, in rude times, typify generative force. Jupiter, Apollo, Venus, Mercury, and Diana Patroa were adored as stone columns. A circle of upright stones has been reverenced from the Pacific, across the Old World, to the Atlantic.

Ireland was no exception to this lithic faith.

heroin history

In the mid to late 1800’s, opium was a fairly popular drug. Opium dens were scattered throughout what we know today as the Wild West. The opium influx during this period was due in large part to the drug being brought into the country via Chinese immigrants who came here to work on the railroads.

Accurate American history tells us that famous names of the period like Wild Bill Hickock and Kit Carson actually frequented opium dens more often than saloons. The stereotyped picture we have of the cowhand belly up to the bar drinking whiskey straight after a long hard ride on the dusty trail is only part of the story of the old west. Oftentimes times the cowhand was not belly up to a bar at all. He was in a prone position in a dim candle-lit room smoking opium in the company of an oriental prostitute.

At the end of the civil war 400,000 ex-soldiers were addicted to heroin.

Men of Harlech

Men of Harlech, march to glory,
Victory is hov'ring o'er ye,
Bright-eyed freedom stands before ye,
Hear ye not her call?
At your sloth she seems to wonder;
Rend the sluggish bonds asunder,
Let the war-cry's deaf'ning thunder
Every foe appall.
Echoes loudly waking,
Hill and valley shaking;
'Till the sound spreads wide around,
The Saxon's courage breaking;
Your foes on every side assailing,
Forward press with heart unfailing,
'Till invaders learn with quailing,
Cambria ne'er can yield!

TADITIONAL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUHCkVBJgVk

song used in movie about welsh regiment in zulu wars

Ben Whishaw

Where the bee sucks, there lurk I;
In a cowslip's bell I lie;
There I couch when owls do cry.
On the bat's back I do fly
After summer merrily.
Merrily, merrily, shall I live now,
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.

• Ariel (Ben), act II scene i, "The tempest"

jor: A man of extreme talent

Strange' priorities

Carli Norris

See er in the series as Tilly Trotter from Catherine Cookson's book.

orchard in appalachia

As a child we'd play among the cherry, peach, and apple trees all day. Climbing, eating, making a tree house, and playing various games. Apples that fell upon the ground to be heated by the sun served a delicious apple sauce. I'd go back in a heart beat!

Gee Whiz

I hope this guy doesn't sue me for plagiarism cause he speaks the same things I've been saying and he is a scientist!  I am just a humble peasant.

Its getting warm in here.  I hope that's not a sign of Climate Change!!! - chicken little - Y2K - the slender man - leftover wine - yellow brick road - great american beer - etc. -

 this guy stole my ideas so maybe I'm gonna sue him! (click to read about it)

The Lady of Shalott

painting by John William Waterhouse


A longdrawn carol, mournful, holy,
She chanted loudly, chanted lowly,
Till her eyes were darken'd wholly,
And her smooth face sharpen'd slowly,
Turn'd to tower'd Camelot:
For ere she reach'd upon the tide
The first house by the water-side,
Singing in her song she died,
The Lady of Shalott.

Tennyson, 1832

midnight in paris

Marion Cotillard with Owen Wilson.... Escapism at its best! Well done!

poetry and the physican

There's a growing interest in poetry among physicians.
Today, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Lancet and Annals of Internal Medicine are among the prestigious clinical journals that regularly publish poetry.

Canadian physician who served  in WWI

Published last year was a book of poems containing items that had been published in the Journal of Medical Association.

where is your mustache?

Have you ever been out and forgot your mustache at home??? Haven't we all!
Now thanks to the Sharpie a selection of a mustache is as available as your own fingers.

Téa Leoni

jpr: A captivating actress.

I dont use twitter so i have to tweet here. EDITORIAL.

Seems to me that the MEDIA is fanning the flames of civil unrest and disrespect for law enforcement.  I am as anti-authority as anyone and I believe that the POLICE in general are too armed and not enough trained to "police" (vb) as opposed to Police! (noun).  The abuse of power crap has been going on across the country since forever.  I've listened to lawyers and judges and elected officials privately admit that the main difference (and in some cases only difference) between the crime committer and the crime-stopper is a badge and a gun.  I've seen it time and again; had it happen to me more than once but this is not representative of well-trained, dedicated law enforcement.  And keep in mind that their job is to enforce the codified will of the Powers That Be, and are limited to the extent that the will of the Authorities has kept the un-enfranchised (esp. blacks) victims.

I imagine dozens of journalists assigned to pouring over reports and arrests and incidents across the country, any possible instance, that will  feed the flames of their skewed agenda.  The worst part of this is that they are perverting the truth to fit their story and just incidentally screwing with basic structures needed to maintain a mostly free and civil society.  They are making news fit what they (the media) want to promote, regardless of its truth.  The media has turned a blind eye to institutional racism, profiling, and mistreatment of minorities (esp blacks) for so long but now when it's "hot news" they showcase it (incompletely and inaccurately).  One of the things that this selective reporting does is dilute the real true stories of individuals who have been mistreated, mis-classified, profiled, and otherwise had their rights denied them.

I'm Irish and tend to strongly resent and resist any and all types of authority but the media is actively corroding one of the first requirements for a free and healthy society - rule of law and by extension,  respect for law officers.  I have always admired the professionalism of correction officers, deputies, police, and others that accept the sacred duty of respecting the rights of both sides of law.

a wild Appalachian creek

If i were a blue heron I'd dine here!

Unbelievable.

A man was arrested in Dubai after he fought off lifeguards trying to save his drowning daughter, telling them that he would rather she die than be “dishonoured” by having unknown men touch her. The father, identified only as a “tall and strong” Asian expatriate, wrestled with the lifeguards even as his daughter, 20, screamed for help before slipping beneath the waves for the last time.  Ever wonder why we have such ' difficulty ' dealing with elements of the Islamic world?

Shakespeare's Inspiration?

Researchers examined fragments of 24 clay pipes that were recovered from the garden of Shakespeare's home in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, as well as from surrounding houses. After examining the fragments using a gas chromatography technique, the scientists found that eight of the pipes contained traces of cannabis, one contained nicotine, and two contained traces of cocaine derived from Peruvian coca leaves. Four of the pipes containing cannabis came from Shakespeare's property.

Most catholic countries by #

1.  Brazil
2.  Italy
3.  USA
4.  Unganda
5.  Nigeria
6.  Republic of the Congo

Jpr: surprise... The world (7 billion) souls is 16% catholic, 20%  Christian

back to school

$63,640 is the verage annual salary paid to public school teachers in California - the highest of any state in the nation. Teachers in South Dakota received the lowest -- $35,378. The national average was $50,758.

back to school

$83,144 is the average annual earnings of workers age 18 and older with an advanced degree. This compares with $58,613 a year for those with bachelor’s degrees, $31,283 for those with a high school diploma only and $21,023 for those without a high school diploma

Guardian Angels

Many angels are believed to be guardians over children through out their lives. Angels are also regarded as the conductors of the souls of the dead to the next world.

jpr: My guardian angel's name is Nicodema. Did you know the angel must tell its name  if properly asked?

Forgiveness

“Do as the heavens have done, forget your evil;
With them forgive yourself.”
-- WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”
-- Mark Twain


http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=WLPKY7NX

The smell off a dog

Jpr: if love and loyalty hath scent then it be found in the sweet musky warm smell off a dog. Me loves it I do!

Family (food) reunion

My favorite cousin in rhubarb pie!

stolen car recovered after 35 years

While investigating stolen birds eggs, COI discovered a car reported stolen in 1976... coincidentally the same age as the bird on the nest.

Because We are the product of our experience ...

Spleen has come up with a plan to improve Education.

What are you listening to?

What I'm listening to:

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/28/134056035/damien-jurado-tiny-desk-concert

giants in the bible

1. Anakim (Hebrew: עֲנָקִים‎ 'Ǎnāqîm ) are a race of giants descended from Anak mentioned in the Tanakh. They dwelt in the south of the land of Canaan, near Hebron (Gen. 23:2; Josh. 15:13).

 King Og was from the time of moses also a biblical figure.

Manna

The size of coriander seed, but resin in color. It was collected, ground, and baked into bread.

Coriander seeds

jpr: still only available through heaven.

Ancient Irish Wedding Tradition

Handfasting goes back to ancient times in Ireland, as do the Irish Brehon laws, which are the oldest, and most extensive of medieval European legal systems. Since priests weren't always available to perform wedding ceremonies and it wasn't a requirement for the marriage to be witnessed for it to be legally binding, many couples handfasted.

In handfasting, the wrists of the couple are bound together with a strip of leather or ribbon. The man and the woman holds the hands of the other, right hand to right hand, left hand to left, and their wrists crossed. Then the ribbon is wound around the wrists, over the top of one and under, and around the other, creating the infinity symbol. This practice is thought to be the origin of the term, ‘tying the knot.’ When this was accomplished, the couple recited their vows and the celebration commenced.

Polaris 3 wheel car

It is belt driven, 4 cylinder, 5 speed  vehicle for $20,000 eac.

Jpr: the future in automotives begins to take shape!

Aphorisms Of Famous People

Love is a serious mental disease.
``Plato

Love is being stupid together.
``Paul Valery

Each time that one loves is the only time one has ever loved.
``Oscar Wilde

Where there is love there is no question.
``Albert Einstein

dawn in appalacha

It is 65F early with a high of 90F later in the day.