Here’s some seasonal fishes, pulled from that most excellent of resources for all things fishy: Fishbase There isn’t a Santa Claus fish that I could find, but there is Raia Santa, Atlantoraja cyclophora If there were a Santa fish I’m pretty sure that his sleigh would be pulled by Reindeer Wrasse, Novaculichthys taeniourus: Santa has elves of … . . . → Read More: TGIF – A cavalcade of Christmas critters

Deep Sea News

Tree in a Winter Sky_bw


Image by haemengine
A monochrome version of "Tree in a Winter Sky" for comparison of a winter atmosphere.

A little sentimental, but hey its Christmas time. The Tank Bangers donates proceeds of buying this song to the various groups shown at 5:40 in the video. While I do not support all those groups personally, I would like to add Oceana and The Coral Reef Alliance as conservation groups who have a high … . . . → Read More: TGIF – Our Blue (The Tank Bangers)

Deep Sea News

It’s a New Day


Image by Alex Abian (Also on flickr.com/alexabian)
London Set
Part of : Urban Photography

5 minutes of tunicate facts courtesy of the Bocas Research Station in Panama! . . . → Read More: TGIF – All About Sea Squirts!

Deep Sea News

MASSAGENERD: MassageNerd.com FACEBOOK FaceBook.com TWITTER: Twitter.com MYSPACE: MySpace.com ISTARDOM: iStardom.com YOUTUBE: YouTube.com FACEBOOK GROUP: tinyurl.com Always ask for a doctor’s permission before massaging any person with an aliment, pain or disease that you have questions about.

Just a silly bit of quickly produced nonsense when I came across my motorcycle in my inventory.

Indeed I am able to drive it…. well, sort of lol
www.flickr.com/photos/alexandraxubersnak/4374885349/in/se…

If you want to see a really well-made machinima, playing very talented with the stereotypes of SL, go here:
vimeo.com/25531972
(I’m not in that one, I just think it’s brilliant)

Top book critics and reviewers are praising several high-impact fiction thrillers written by best-selling author Peter Thomas Senese that are now available for the Christmas Holiday Season in E-book…

(PRWeb December 25, 2011)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/12/prweb9063996.htm

Arts & Entertainment

Last day in San Francisco (Explore)


Image by Kalexanderson
The 232/365

Follow my project with CClones 365-2011 on Twitter | Facebook

Busch Systems, a leading manufacturer of recycling, waste and compost containers, is a long time supporter of United Way of Greater Simcoe County and has topped their previous contributions with a…

(PRWeb December 25, 2011)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/12/prweb9063017.htm

Arts & Entertainment

The Sheffield Cheesegrater


Image by Evil Yoda
It’s a car park! It’s equally funky inside.

Week 6
Photo 7

University of Houston Economics graduate Richard Norwood built a website that allows users to search recipes by ingredients, launching a career in Internet Marketing, saying now he is ready to sell…

(PRWeb December 25, 2011)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/12/prweb9063783.htm

Arts & Entertainment
The Unspeakable: A Canadiens Coach Not Knowing French
Beyond their more than 100 years of tradition and their 24 Stanley Cups, the Canadiens are the standard-bearers of a people, a culture and a certain idea about Quebec. Anything involving le club de hockey Canadien can easily end up being about French …
Read more on New York Times (blog)

Stolen (The Madame X School of Sex)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another kinky tale from the author of The Madame X School of Sex series
(SHORT STORY)

SUMMARY

The first time I stole something was on a dare.

I was fifteen and reckless, determined to prove I could be a bad ass. My best friend Jody dared me to take a pack of gum from the Handy-Mart. In retrospect, I’m surprised my bumbling effort didn’t land me in jail. It was hardly a covert mission but I did it.

I did it, I loved it and I’ve been stealing ever since.

Usually it’s something small, just enough to give me the rush. Over the years, I’ve graduated up to pickpocketing which requires a bit more daring and a lot more finesse. I’ve never gotten caught and I suppose that’s part of the thrill.

Every time I take something I have to wonder if this is the day my luck will run out.

This is the story of the day I stole from the wrong man.

READER ADVISORY:
Story contains content some readers may find objectionable, including voyeurism, exhibitionism, anal play, sex with strangers and extended orgasms. If you have a problem with orgasms, do not purchase this book.

Length: 4k words, 15 pages  – SHORT STORY

ALSO INCLUDED: Short excerpts from Seducing Sarah V.1 and Teasing Trent by Minx Malone~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Another kinky tale from the author of The Madame X School of Sex series
(SHORT STORY)

SUMMARY

The first time I stole something was on a dare.

I was fifteen and reckless, determined to prove I could be a bad ass. My best friend Jody dared me to take a pack of gum from the Handy-Mart. In retrospect, I’m surprised my bumbling effort didn’t land me in jail. It was hardly a covert mission but I did it.

I did it, I loved it and I’ve been stealing ever since.

Usually it’s something small, just enough to give me the rush. Over the years, I’ve graduated up to pickpocketing which requires a bit more daring and a lot more finesse. I’ve never gotten caught and I suppose that’s part of the thrill.

Every time I take something I have to wonder if this is the day my luck will run out.

This is the story of the day I stole from the wrong man.

READER ADVISORY:
Story contains content some readers may find objectionable, including voyeurism, exhibitionism, anal play, sex with strangers and extended orgasms. If you have a problem with orgasms, do not purchase this book.

Length: 4k words, 15 pages  – SHORT STORY

ALSO INCLUDED: Short excerpts from Seducing Sarah V.1 and Teasing Trent by Minx Malone

List Price: $ 0.99

Price:

Sam’s gonna write the next bit.

An exceptional circumstance. An adoration of one human being which transcends the ever flux of knowledge, as the momentary delights of wax melts down through flames; leaking into your soul. Idealised? Permissible in this moment, but what about the next? Behaviour as we know it (the nature of all things) defines who we are. But what if language were to construct our very essence? If my language towards her were any different, would she love me any less?

In the second of three extracts from the 3rd edition of Magazine Editing, published by Routledge, I talk about dealing with the large amount of information that magazine editors receive.  Managing information overload A magazine editor now has little problem finding information on a range of topics. It is likely that you will have subscribed to [...]
Online Journalism Blog

I like waking up after a bad dream


Image by ℍmoong
• Camera: Nikon FM
• Film: Fuji Superia 200
• Popular interesting | Blog | Tumblr

GST Road on a cloudy day


Image by seeveeaar
As seen from the newly opened Pallavaram bridge
Must view large

Chiefs end Packers' bid for perfection 19-14
On a blitz, Green Bay safety Morgan Burnett bore down from the left. He was maybe a half-step from delivering a hit when Kansas City's quarterback flicked the ball over his head, finding receiver Terrance Copper for a 10-yard gain. …
Read more on USA TODAY

P.S.: Not my dog; ours always tries to nose-butt the lens… never got a shot as good so far out of Luigi

As the cold wave intensifies, there seems to be no relief in sight for Delhiites with the weather office predicting another spell of fog tomorrow morning. The minimum temperature is likely to stay in …

NDTV News – Latest News

The power of the sea


Image by mind the goat
This hole had been carved by action of the sea washing in and spinning the other rocks around, making it a little bigger each time a wave came in. I wonder how long it had taken to get it this big, 10′s, 100′s or 1000s of years, maybe much less?
The hole was about 400mm accross and 700mm deep.

Sonam Kapoor gets candid about her paunch, her patch-ups and the changing times in Bollywood.

NDTV News – Latest News

The Gate of the Kiss


Image by CameliaTWU
Constantin Brancuşi, a native of Targu Jiu, was commissioned to contribute to a memorial monument to the fighters of World War I which was finished in 1938. His large sculptures, The Table of Silence, The Gate of the Kiss, The Alley of the Chairs and The Endless Column are main touristic attractions in Targu Jiu, Romania.
More details at www.argophilia.com/news/brancusi/21519/

Indian batting stuttered on a rain-marred opening day before Virat Kohli’s half century took the visitors to 162 for four against Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI in a three-day practice match, here …

NDTV News – Latest News
'Homeland' finale interview: Behind that tense closer, season 2 plans
Carrie Mathison successfully prevented Nicholas Brody from unleashing a devastating suicide bomb attack against the vice president and senior White House officials. Yet there was little about the 90-minute closer that actually felt cathartic. …
Read more on Entertainment Weekly (blog)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has died, state television says.
The Age News Headlines

Narrow-winged grey (study)


Image by davidshort
UK1342 Eudonia angustea – šedovníček ‘úzkokřídlý’, resting on the collected works of Josef Kajetan Tyl.

The sudden death by ‘exhaustion’ of North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il leaves the region scrambling for clues on how the regime will maintain stability.
The Age News Headlines

Light-brown apple moth (FG)


Image by davidshort
UK0998 Epiphyas postvittana.

North Korea will move into a shadowy period of effective control by its army generals and would-be dynastic regents after the death of its dictator Kim Jong-il, possibly making it less adventurous. His nominated heir is 27-year-old younger son Kim Jong-un, who has had barely two years to prepare for the succession
The Age News Headlines

Music video by Mariah Carey performing I Want To Know What Love Is. (C) 2009 The Island Def Jam Music Group and Mariah Carey
Video Rating: 4 / 5

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has died, state television says.
The Age News Headlines

Narrow-winged grey (study)


Image by davidshort
UK1342 Eudonia angustea – šedovníček ‘úzkokřídlý’, resting on the collected works of Josef Kajetan Tyl.

The sudden death by ‘exhaustion’ of North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il leaves the region scrambling for clues on how the regime will maintain stability.
The Age News Headlines

Light-brown apple moth (FG)


Image by davidshort
UK0998 Epiphyas postvittana.

North Korea will move into a shadowy period of effective control by its army generals and would-be dynastic regents after the death of its dictator Kim Jong-il, possibly making it less adventurous. His nominated heir is 27-year-old younger son Kim Jong-un, who has had barely two years to prepare for the succession
The Age News Headlines

Music video by Mariah Carey performing I Want To Know What Love Is. (C) 2009 The Island Def Jam Music Group and Mariah Carey

The Lok Sabha was adjourned this morning over protests against the demand for a ban on the Bhagvad Gita in a Russian court. In a Siberian court, state prosecutors have petitioned that the Gita, distri…

NDTV News – Top Stories

Nedre Bakklandet 75 – 79 (1970)


Image by Trondheim Byarkiv
Fotograf: Asgeir Bell, november 1970.

Byantikvarens negativsamling: Film 134, negativ 11

As the cold wave intensifies, there seems to be no relief in sight for Delhiites with the weather office predicting another spell of fog tomorrow morning. The minimum temperature is likely to stay in …

NDTV News – Top Stories

Mark di Suvero: “Racine du Naos”, 1996


Image by wwwuppertal
Steel with red [orange] paint. Seen in the Cologne Sculpture Garden / Skulpturenpark Köln.

A baby, just a month old, has died at a hospital in Kolkata, allegedly because his oxygen mask was removed by a drunk worker at the hospital. The Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, which is run by…

NDTV News – Top Stories
The mixed messages of Metta World Peace
Lakers forward comes off as a loose cannon (and a bad dancer), but the former Ron Artest is also a very giving person who does a lot of charity work. Lakers forward Metta World Peace, formerly Ron Artest, may say some strange things from time to time, …
Read more on Los Angeles Times

Watch Me Perform a MegaMix of David Guetta’s Hits with David Guetta. NEW CLOTHING LINE: www.justloveapparel.com FOLLOW ME ON KEEK (NEW VIDEO MESSAGING SITE) www.keek.com NEW IPHONE LIP-SYNC BATTLE APP: itunes.apple.com NEW ALBUM: Download David’s New Album “Nothing But the Beat” Featuring “Little Bad Girl” and “Where Them Girls At” bit.ly FAVORITE YOUTUBE VIDEOS: www.youtube.com ONE MORE LOVE ALBUM DOWNLOAD: bit.ly ONE MORE LOVE ALBUMD DOWNLOAD (OUTSIDE US): bit.ly TWITTER: www.twitter.com www.twitter.com FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com WEB: www.keenansroom.com http www.davidguetta.com SPECIAL THANKS TO SCANDAL MUSIC IN CHICAGO FOR LETTING US RECORD THERE www.scandalmusic.com KEENAN CAHILL MANAGEMENT www.twitter.com www.facebook.com www.twitter.com www.twitter.com

A Lancaster woman died after she was ejected from an SUV that slid on an icy bridge Saturday evening in Fairfield County.
The Columbus Dispatch National News Feed

Otosan needs a Diet.


Image by Mijonju
Softbank needs a diet plan.

shot with e-p2

not my friend’s dog

A Lancaster woman died after she was ejected from an SUV that slid on an icy bridge Saturday evening in Fairfield County.
The Columbus Dispatch National News Feed

Just because you own a camera…


Image by ℍmoong
You Are NOT a Photographer.

Mình sẽ có mặt tại Hà Nội vào ngày 27/9 tới đây, ace nào quan tâm làm 1 chầu cà phê gì ghé vào đây nhé: www.flickr.com/groups/chupfilmdao/discuss/72157627718174616/

• Camera: Nikon FM
• Film: UXi Super 200
• Popular interesting | Blog | Tumblr

A man who told police he acted in self-defense when he fatally stabbed another man Saturday has been released from Grant Medical Center.
The Columbus Dispatch National News Feed

Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey Season 2 DVD (Original U.K. Unedited Edition) (2012)

Season 2 of the Emmy® Award-winning Downton Abbey returns as The Great War rages across Europe, and not even the serene Yorkshire countryside is free from its effects. The men and women of Downton are doing their part both on the front lines and the home front, but the intensity of war only serves to inflame the more familiar passions love, loss, blackmail, and betrayal.

List Price: $ 44.99

Price: $ 21.99

The Congress is ending the year much as it began — playing politics with our nation’s future and putting American families at risk to score partisan points.

In the closing act to a shameful year of paralysis and indecision on the issues that matter most, House Republicans held common-sense tax relief for American families hostage to a holiday gift to Big Oil.

After the GOP-led House welded the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline rider onto the tax-relief bill, the Democratic-led Senate went along for the ride, passing a bad piece of legislation rather than being accused of blocking a needed tax cut.

When the United State Congress intentionally ties these two things together, though, it’s not a joke: it’s a national disgrace.

Let’s be clear about the purpose of this move. It’s a naked political stunt designed to hurt the president in an election year. Excuse the sarcasm, but you can see the connection here: tax relief worth about $ 1,000 a year for the typical working family, and a misguided plan to goose the fortunes of an industry that has already hauled in profits topping $ 100 billion this year.

With needed tax relief for working families set to expire at year’s end, Congress should be sending President Obama a clean bill that asks a simple question: should we extend middle class tax relief and unemployment benefits at a time when our workers are struggling with hard times? For anyone who cares about fairness and families, that’s an easy one.

Instead, House Republicans tacked onto that bill a contentious and unrelated question: should we allow Big Oil to build the Keystone XL pipeline, to take the dirtiest oil on the planet from the tar sands of Canada, through the heartland of America, to refineries and ports on the Gulf of Mexico?

Tar sands crude is not only the dirtiest oil on the planet, but it is produced through some of the most destructive industrial processes ever devised.

In requiring the administration to make up its mind within 60 days, this bill ensures that the State Department will not have been able to establish that the pipeline is in the national interest. It would require a decision that pre-approves the safety of an unknown, mystery route, through Nebraska meant to avoid the precious Ogallala Acquifer. There will be no choice but to deny the pipeline permit.

Further, Keystone XL would cross more than 1,500 waterways, threatening them with the kind of accident that dumped 42,000 gallons of oil in the Yellowstone River last summer and put 20 times that much tar sands in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River in 2010, in a spill that hasn’t been cleaned up yet.

For Congressional Republicans, though, that doesn’t really matter.

What they care about is trying to somehow embarrass the president, to force his hand with an arbitrary deadline and cause a rush to judgment on a matter of serious national concern.

The misinformation spouting from GOP Congressional leadership on the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is stunning. Just this morning on NBC’s Meet the Press, Speaker Boehner lied repeatedly about every aspect of this project. And it sat there, as truth.

Never mind that the majority of the contracts for the processed oil are already cut and most of it will likely be exported to foreign countries. Speaker Boehner sat there and said it’s a matter of national security. It’s not. It’s a matter of a big payday for his friends in the oil and gas industry.

Never mind that every independent study on how many American jobs will actually be created says, at most, 6,500 temporary construction jobs, very few of which would be local hires, according to the State Department. And never mind that Cornell University concludes it would kill more than it would create, by reducing investment in the clean energy economy. Speaker Boehner can pop off with more misinformation saying hundreds of thousands of jobs will be created. And it sits there, as truth.

Here’s the simple truth, they’re all willing to put our people and resources at growing risk to help boost oil company profits.

For the millions of Americans who care about clean air and water for their families, national security and a re-energized economy, all GOP Congressional leadership can come back with is a personal slap down. That somehow Americans who feel public health and safety are priority concerns, are crazy and irrational.

Newt Gingrich, the Republican’s leading candidate for President of the United States portrayed these American citizens, living in a democracy as “… left-wing environmental extremists in San Francisco.” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called for the president to not “… let a few radical environmentalists stand in the way… ” All of this feels more like middle school than political leadership.

The American people are a lot smarter than these so-called leaders give them credit for. They can tell when they’re being played. They know that this is a Congress that’s more concerned with scoring political points than it is with doing the country’s business.

The Blog

Nando (and Rafa’s sister) cheer


Image by mirsasha
2011 Davis Cup Finals: First Rubber between Rafael Nadal and Juan Monaco.

By Mark Green

It’s been a challenging week for the GOP: Independents by 53% to 33% believe Republicans to be more extreme than Democrats (Pew); and Americans by 64% to 33% don’t think the Iraq War worth it (CBS). Hooked on Fox and obsessed with Obama, there is no clear story line: while conservative candidates flip-flop, conservative commentators condemn Gingrich, with Buckley’s National Review warning against “a hasty marriage… they’ll regret.” Newt, regretting marriage?
That one’s gotta hurt.

Mary Matalin and Ron Reagan debate Iowa and Iraq as Republican voters like Newt’s brashness more than Republican poohbahs. Will Mitt-Newt go through the spring and become one of the great rivalries — Yankees-Red Sox, Barack-Clinton — or fizzle out as someone else rises up the middle? (To listen to the radio show, click below.)

*On Romney vs Gingrich. Like Winter Olympics speed skating when rivals stay in a pack until there’s a frantic burst at the end, Romney and Gingrich have been throwing elbows as they approach the Iowa finish line.

Ron thinks that Mitt’s assault on Newt as a “unreliable… bomb-thrower” — e.g., Palestinians as an “invented people”, child labor instead of janitors, subpoenaing “dictatorial” judges — has been adept and successful. Mary believes that the opposition of both Gingrich’s former Hill colleagues and conservative pundits (Will, Podhoretz, Gerson, Noonan, Brooks, Washington Examiner, American Spectator… ) is telling. His outspokenness “was a strength in the past [but] he doesn’t always know how to calibrate it now.” She also concurs that ads attacking Gingrich as a K Street buck-raking from the villainous Freddie Mac money have hit an Achilles Heel.

What about Gingrich’s OWS-like rebuttal that Romney is a Wall Street guy? Both think that Romney’s business success is a plus among Republicans. Mary adds that his personal frugality strikes a positive chord, while Ron jokes that “he’s frugal in a very, very rich kind of way… Nobody really likes Mitt Romney.” Mary concedes that “he’s something of a dork but he should embrace his dorkiness as an endearing trait.”

*On a ‘Right-wing and a Prayer’. We listen to President Obama on 60 Minutes observe that it doesn’t really matter who he runs against since the nominee will have an ideology sharply at odds with his. Is he right to seem to be eager to run against a party more extreme than mainstream, as argued by ex-Bush speechwriter David Frum in his controversial New York Magazine article.

No consensus here. Mr. Reagan forcefully argues that the GOP since the 1960s has pursued a divisive “race-based Southern Strategy, which has now expanded into an ignorance-based strategy”, citing the influence of Fox for dumbing down listeners and voters. Ms. Matalin as robustly counters that “Frum is no conservative and Republicans are the party not of ignorance but of success,” noting that Democratic members of Congress are the ones making dumb comments.

What about the two recent examples of Rick Santorum saying that Obamacare reminds him of “Mussolini’s Italy” and Perry’s ad asserting that Obama is anti-religion? Mary explains that neither comment will affect the nominee next fall, that Perry is appealing to Caucus evangelicals rather than general election swing voters and Democrats also “preach to their choir.” Ron hits hard: it may have political appeal in Iowa “but it’s simply not true” that Obama is anti-religion or anti-prayer since “anyone can pray anytime they want, just not in an organized fashion in public schools.”

(Ed. Note: since the show’s taping, Obama has chided the Republican “lurch into extremes”; Ann Coulter, whose last book had the title Demonic, has attacked Gingrich’s comments about judges as “outrageous… bellicose”; Gingrich said that the police could arrest “activist judges”.)

*A Cost-Benefit Analysis on Iraq. We listen to Bush declaring war in March of 2003, Obama welcoming troops home in December 2011 — and McCain and Cheney reproaching the president for pulling all combat troops out now. But was nine years not enough? How do we fight for a democracy and then ignore that sovereign government when it asks us to leave? Since we do cost-benefit analyses of proposed regs, why not a cost-benefit after-report on war?

In a role reversal, Ron is asked only about the benefits of that war — and Mary about only the costs. There’s agreement that it’s good Hussein is gone, that there’s a nascent democracy there, that Iraq is not in a position to restart its WMD programs. But: while the cost of the war in lives and treasure is “incalculable” (Mary), it is measureable: 4,500 American lives; over 32,000 military casualties; over 150,000 Iraqi civilians killed, 300,000 Americans with PTSD, and a trillion dollars spent. Then there’s also the rise of Iran in Iraq and, Mary laments, the loss of “an honest dialogue on foreign affairs [in America].”

But there’s sharp disagreement about whether Abu Ghraib/Guantanamo/torture spurred more Islamic jihadists and diminished America’s moral around the world. Mary agues that many in the Muslim world already hated America (see 9/11) while Ron concludes that it’s hard for America to regain its reputation after violating our tradition against torture.

Also: of the Romney-Obama exchange — “appeasement”… “ask bin Laden” — Ron thinks that Obama easily got the best of his critic although Mary says it shows how “thin-skinned” Obama can be.

And: Reagan shares the previously unheard story that “I called the president in late 1988 suggesting that America go to the UN to establish a coalition to remove Hussein since he had committed genocide on his people in the north… but it was explained to me that Hussein was a bulwark against Iran.”

*Quick Takes: Phoning, Marrying, Junk-fooding, Debating: First, with over 3,000 deaths attributed to texting/calling while driving, there’s a split decision on the proposed NTSB ban: Ron says yes though it’s probably unenforceable; May says no because of unenforceability, though hopes that a 10-fold increase in penalties might work.

Second, the decline of Americans married from ¾ to ½ since 1960 traces to how hard it is to stay married and delays in the age of marriage. The result, worries Mary, is that the kids won’t be alright.

Third, when the Seattle School District replaced junk food with healthier fare, revenues needed for after-school programs and clubs fell 80%. Should the school district reverse itself? Mary thinks so, preferring individual choice to nannyism. Ron wants to maintain the policy of “favoring granola over potato chips” because everything in a school should be educational.

Last, think of the ratings of an Obama-Gingrich presidential debate! We now know that, in the debates, JFK beat Nixon, Reagan beat Carter, and Kerry beat Bush. With expectations for two smart and fluent politicians, who would win an Obama-Gingrich Thrilla-in-Manila? Mary thinks it would be an entertaining tie, unless there’s an unlikely huge gaffe. Ron agrees that it’d be a sumo wrestling clinch on arguments but, on style, Obama would help himself more because Gingrich comes off as “arrogant and condescending.” Mary retorts: you don’t but that’s how many Americans regard Obama.

Believing is seeing. Hence the show title.

Mark Green is the creator and host of Both Sides Now, which is powered by the American Federation of Teachers.

Send all comments to Bothsidesradio.com, where you can also listen to prior shows.

Both Sides Now is available
Sat. 5-6 PM EST From Lifestyle TalkRadio Network
& Sun. 8-9 AM EST from Business RadioTalk Network.

The Blog

Today and tomorrow..


Image by HappyHorizons
Jo hua, achha hua.
Jo ho rahahai, achha ho raha hai.
Jo hoga, voh bhi achha hoga.

Tumhara kya gaya ki tum rote ho?
Tum kya laaye the jo tumne kho diya?
Tumne kya paida kiya tha jo nasht ho gaya?

Jo liya, yahin se liya.
Jo diya, yahin par diya.

Jo aaj tumhara hai, kal kisi aur ka tha, aur parso kisi aur ka ho jaayega.

Parivartan sansaar ka niyam hai.

Essence of the Bhagavad Gita.

Translation to above :
Whatever happened,
happened for the good.
Whatever is happening, is happening for the good.
Whatever happens will happen for the good.

What have you lost that you are crying?
What did you bring that you lost?
What did u give birth to, that got destroyed?

Whatever you took, You took from here.
Whatever you gave, You gave it here.

What’s yours today, was someone else’s yesterday and will become someone else’s tomorrow.

Change is rule of this cosmos.

Friday was a heavy day.

I was saddened to learn in the morning that Christopher Hitchens died last night. Hitch was my first interview at Al Jazeera for a pilot show that never aired. I was nervous, he was buzzed. I was earnest, overly so; he was generous, predictably so. I was naive, but trying to hide it; he was erudite, and couldn’t hide it if he tried. Thankfully, he didn’t. The interview went swimmingly and became the launch point for my career at Al Jazeera. Over time I was lucky enough to get to know Hitch socially — mid-day drinks, visits to his apartment, discussions of Jefferson and God. History and civilization were his passion and what he loved to write about — but provoking people with the denial of God paid the bills, he told me, and allowed him to write the more important stuff.

Adding to the literary hole left in Hitchens’ wake is the passing of George Whitman. Whitman owned Shakepeare & Company on the Left Bank in Paris. The American lived in the small apartment above his iconic book store for nearly 60 years. Writers from Henry Miller to Samuel Beckett have spent time in the shop. A previous iteration of the store, owned by Sylvia Beach, acted as a literary center for the expat writers of the 1920s like Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald. Whitman’s Shakespeare & Co. was more than a book store; it was a beacon, the north star for romantic literary artists. Whitman would allow sojourning writers to sleep in the store while they worked on their would-be masterpieces. A sign posted inside reads, “Give what you can. Take what you need. George”.

One other momentous event occurred Friday: the Iraq War officially came to a close. The night before I left for the war in early 2003, as a young U.S. Marine, I remember lying awake in bed, unable to sleep, wondering how war would change me. I can’t say those thoughts were untouched by all the Hemingway I had read over the years — the idea that a man is irrevocably created and shaped by certain events in history — and I wondered if Iraq would be my Spanish Civil War.

I’ve been back to Iraq many times now and each time I’ve charted the changes in the war with the changes in my own life. Since the invasion I have three more children, a stronger relationship with my wife, a less naive view of the world, a more focused moral and ethical structure, and a very rewarding job — all the result in some way or other of events that were set in motion during the war. Yet for all of my blessings, if I’m honest, I have to admit the journey hasn’t been all rose gardens. I feel the years that have passed; I feel much older. My beard (which could be added to the list of what’s new since the start of the war) is greying at a disproportionate rate to the wisdom gained, which it’s supposed to represent. The pain of friends buried over these years accumulates in a well of sorrow somewhere in the back forty of my psyche.

With the foggy notion of these thoughts lingering on my mind in the morning, I awoke to learn of the loss of these two stars in my literary universe. It seems like the confluence of these events should mean something, even if only a subtle shift in the intellectual tectonic plates that buttress my worldview. Trying to find meaning in the stream of events that shapes one’s life is certainly a precipitous path. Is there significance in the fact that Hitchens died on the last day of the war he was so vilified for supporting? Is there a metaphorical link between two people, who loved and valued writing as much as anyone on the planet, dying on the same day? Both certainly represented something to the aging romantic in my soul. Even if no greater connections can be made, I can say for certain, the world is a different place today than it was yesterday and one thing these years have taught me is that the change alone is worth noting.

The Blog
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15min subs X 8. Extremely poor seeing, possibly some of the worst I’ve seen. Decent transparency and surprisingly low amount of dew for this area (Rattlesnake lake near Seattle). Very bright waning gibbous moon. I shot more data but Orion descended into the murk and I wasn’t able to use several of the subs. Atleast we got one night of clear skies in over a month considering where I live.

MANILA, Philippines – Queen of All Media Kris Aquino, actress Angel Locsin and comedian Vice Ganda are set to distribute relief goods to families affected by tropical storm “Sendong” in Cagayan de Oro today.
Entertainment

Two ducks captured while fising in Alaska 5-7-11


Image by sandrasalaskaphotographs
sandrasalaskaphotos.blogspot.com/

These ducks often travel in pairs, and are pretty happy with all the herring present today in Tee Harbor in Juneau, Alaska!

MANILA, Philippines – Boxing champ and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao celebrated his 33rd birthday with over a thousand guests in his hometown of General Santos City over the weekend.
Entertainment

The White House in White Chocolate


Image by Princess Stand in the Rain
Check out the 400-pound Gingerbread White House! The white chocolate windows are attached with, you guessed it, melted white chocolate. And this might make you feel extra lame about your kit gingerbread shack, but some of the windows are even transparent, so you can peek into tiny versions of the State Dining Room, Red Room, Green Room and East Room. What???!!! Eat your heart out, Martha Stewart. www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/ginger-bread-wh…

The recreation of the White House in gingerbread form was initiated by Chef Roland Mesnier in the Carter administration. The current White House Pastry Chef Bill Yosses has covered the house in white chocolate during his tenure and this year, at the request of the White House Social Office, the house has been expanded to include four rooms. The 2011 model weighs 200 pounds and is 41 inches wide and 22 inches deep. It is more than an inch thick. Chef Yosses actually reviewed copies of Irish architect Hoban’s original sketches of the White House to make sure the structures on the gingerbread like the columns and stairways are correct. The gingerbread confection actually has interior lighting which shines forth through the clear-sugar pane windows. The First Lady’s Kitchen Garden is also included beside the gingerbread White House along with the White House beehive and, of course, First Dog Bo stands sentry outside the structure.

MANILA, Philippines – Veteran broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez will be back on radio early next year.
Entertainment
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