Trini Tuesday-Ah no wuk fuh Carnival!!

Fastnacht Day where I grew up, Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Carnival in Trinidad!!!

This is one time where I will follow Susie's philosophy of fewer words and more pictures.

Carnival officially opens on Monday, though the partying starts well before that. In the wee hours, J'ouvert (Zhoo-VAY) takes place. Festivities are opened with a parade of mud or oil covered revellers. They cut eerie figures in the first rays of morning light as they evoke thoughts of primal beginnings. Mud is free and allows anyone, poor or rich to engage in the bacchanal before the day gives way to the brightly colored mas bands in their expensive and ornate finery.



Monday and Tuesday give way to parades of mas (masquerade) bands. Months have been spent preparing costumes for the hordes of people who will join marching and dancing along the street to the biggest calypso and soca hits of the season.


Stilted moka jumbies walk along.


Tuesday will be the final competitions to crown the Queens...


And the Kings.


Happy Carnival all yuh!

100th Post!

I can't believe I have come up with 100 different posts already. So let's have some fun. Instead of 100 things about me, here are 100 things I have done. Kinda lame maybe, but oh well. I tried not to overlap from my 100 things about me post, which I'd link if I could since Snavy and BS were kind enough to try to show me how. But I am either too dumb to make it work or my Mac browser and Blogger just don't like each other.

1. Exited a uterus.
2. Learned to crawl.
3. Learned to walk.
4. Learned to read before starting kindergarten.
5. Learned to swim long after all my peers.
6. Entered school.
7. Drove teachers nuts.
8. Served detention.
9. Graduated high school.
10. Went to college.
11. Convinced people I was a foreign student.
12. Cracked up the real foreign students in the process.
13. Traveled across the USA with 9 people on bicycles and 2 driving a support vehicle.
14. Drove the support vehicle.
15. Cooked, laundered, and set up camp for everyone on the trip.
16. Packed the belongings of 11 people into a Chevette each day and could still see out the rearview window.
17. Rode a bicycle for 70 miles with the group one day.
18. Said very naughty words about all the hills.
19. Swam in the Atlantic.
20. Swam in Lake Ontario in May. (anyone for a Limesicle?)
21. Swam in the Pacific.
22. Swam in the Caribbean.
23. Swam in hot springs in Yellowstone.
24. Swam in various lakes and rivers.
25. Learned to waterski.
26. Got dragged behind a boat in the process because I was too dumb to let go the first time I fell over.
27. Rode a horse.
28. Rode a camel.
29. Rode an elephant.
30. Rode a motorcycle.
31. Rode a car.
32. Rode a lover.
33. Rode a lover in a car.
34. Learned to fence.
35. Dueled a Paraguayan named Gus.
36. Sorta kinda learned to play cricket.
37. Played cricket with a bunch of Indians and Pakistanis.
38. Let a Sikh friend put his turban on me.
39. Took a karate class.
40. Sparred a kid who thought he was a ninja.
41. Went to carnivals.
42. Picked winning numbers for a prize drawing.
43. Picked my nose.
44. Picked lice out of my kids’ hair.
45. Picked fruit.
46. Picked a pickled pepper.
47. Chucked wood.
48. Chopped wood.
49. Whittled wood.
50. Caused wood.
51. Visited 35 states.
52. Watched the dawn light up the South Dakota Badlands.
53. Saw a sunrise on top of a volcano.
54. Drove down US1 in California.
55. Saw nothing but truck grill in my rearview mirror.
56. Said very naughty words about drivers of logging trucks.
57. Drove from CA to NC in three days, in august, on I-40, with no air conditioning.
58. Met my future mother-in-law after said drive but before having a chance to shower. (Hhmm…..maybe part of why she doesn’t much like me?)
59. Watched nervously as a bison walked through my campsite, knowing I only had a nylon tent to sleep in.
60. Touched a live black bear in the wild. (OK, he was tranquilized, but still pretty friggin cool when you are 13)
61. Got married the day after finals in my junior year of college.
62. Graduated pregnant, but on time and with honors.
63. Spent 5 weeks on bedrest while pregnant.
64. Gave birth 3 times.
65. Marveled over perfect, healthy babies.
66. Cried over my children’s sorrows.
67. Delighted in their growth and accomplishments.
68. Laughed over their antics.
69. Prayed over them constantly.
70. Taught a 6th grade special education class.
71. Volunteered with the Special Olympics.
72. Taught in a maximum secure facility for juvenile delinquents.
73. Taught sex ed to the delinquents.
74. Decided they were easier than 6th graders.
75. Met a Pearl Harbor survivor when I was in Hawaii.
76. Cried at the sadness he still carried over his mother waiting 3 months to find out if he had survived.
77. Met the US ambassador to Trinidad & Tobago.
78. Told her off.
79. Met the first lady of Trinidad & Tobago.
80. Respectfully disagreed with her husband’s policies regarding the squatters we worked with.
81. Laughed in church.
82. Laughed at a funeral.
83. Laughed during my own wedding.
84. Laughed until things came out my nose.
85. Blushed.
86. Made a sailor blush.
87. Cried at sad movies.
88. Cried at the beauty of simple things.
89. Cried when my heart was broken.
90. Put on a happy face when I was anything but happy.
91. Acted on stage.
92. Acted in a radio drama.
93. Acted like I knew what I was doing, when I clearly didn’t.
94. Acted up.
95. Made silly faces.
96. Made an afghan.
97. Made pottery.
98. Made dinner.
99. Made water.
100. Made this silly list and hoped you got a chuckle out of it.

Who Knew?

I've seen this a few places. It appealed not only to my love of trivia but to my slightly skewed sense of humor.

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Lime!

1. The first domain name ever registered was lime.com!
2. Lime will become gaseous if her temperature rises above -42°C!
3. The canonical hours of the Christian church are matins, lauds, prime, terce, sext, none, lime and compline.
4. Lime, from the movie of the same name, had green blood!
5. In the Great Seal of the United States the eagle grasps 13 arrows and lime.
6. During the reign of Peter the Great, any Russian nobleman who chose to wear lime had to pay a special lime tax.
7. Until the 1960s, lime was not allowed to enter Disneyland.
8. The smelly fluid secreted by skunks is colloquially known as lime.
9. Duelling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are lime.
10. Lime does not have toes.

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

1. And yet I am not making any money off this!
2. I hear Beano helps remedy this.
3. And the correct posture for prayer is kneeling.
4. It's true, I'm part vulcan.
5. And let me tell ya, the talons do not feel good!
6. Russian euphemisms...ha!
7. It's a little know fact that equality for lime was a part of the civil rights movement.
8. Only because of that little problem I had before I discovered Beano......sheesh, they never let you forget, do they?
9. Oddly enough, I have actually dueled a Paraguayan. His name was Gus. I swear I am not making this up.
10. Well, no worries about excessive toe jams that way.




What the heck, that was fun enough to try again....

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Michelle!

1. Four-fifths of the surface of michelle is covered in water.
2. According to the story, Pinocchio was made of michelle.
3. The air around michelle is superheated to about five times the temperature of the sun.
4. More than one million stray dogs and half a million stray cats live in michelle.
5. Duelling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are michelle!
6. US gold coins used to say 'In michelle we trust'.
7. Michelle is the smallest of Jupiter's many moons!
8. There is actually no danger in swimming right after you eat michelle, though it may feel uncomfortable!
9. Michelle can run sixty-five kilometres an hour - that's really fast!
10. It is impossible to fold michelle more than seven times!

I am interested in - do tell me aboutherhimitthem

1. It SHOULD say '4/5 of Michelle is covered by chocolate!'
2. Um, are they saying I gave him wood? That just seems wrong.
3. When yer hot yer hot!
4. And all the voices are making me crazy!!!!!
5. I already told you, the other guy's name was Gus. I swear it's true.
6. Until they found I was hoarding them all. I guess I wasn't so trustworthy.
7. I'm just glad I'm not orbitting Uranus.
8. I will be purring contentedly, however. (Like all of you didn't have similar thoughts...)
9. Only when that rocket pack is strapped to my back.
10. I used to be much more flexible but age is catching up to me.

What amazing trivial facts can you tell me about yourself?

Happy weekend all!

Music Tag

Gloria Jean tagged me because she said she wanted to know what her more sophisticated blog favorites were into musically. I'm not sure I've ever been described as sophisticated before so how can I refuse her?

I am to list seven songs that I am currently into regardless of genre or even if they have lyrics. Judging by her list they don't even have to be all that current. Just whatever I'm digging at the moment.

Since she called me sophisticated I could say...
Agnus Dei by John Michael Talbot and the Monks of Little Portion Hermitage
Sonata for Piano No. 14 in C sharp minor by Beethoven
Scheherezade by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Toccata and Fugue in D minor by J.S. Bach.......

Well, I dig all that but I'd be putting on airs if I listed that.

I could go the opposite end and say...
Louie, Louie by the Kingsmen
Randy Scouse Git by the Monkees
Excitable Boy by Warren Zevon
Peach Blossom Special by Charlie Daniels

I could get all folksy on you...
Dream a Little Dream of Me by Cass Elliot (How can anyone help but having sweet dreams after this song?)
Lemon Tree by Peter, Paul, and Mary
Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel

I could go 80s on you...
Kiss by Prince (Oh yeah, I don't care what any net quiz says, this is my 'stripper song,' hehehe)
Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top
Wrapped Around Your finger by the Police

I could get all worldly...
Rain Rain Beautiful Rain by Ladysmith Black Mambazo
I Will Find You by Clannad
Caribbean Party by David Rudder (Heck, I could list a boatload of Trini artists and steelbands....)

Ok Ok......you're getting sick of all this and there are a number of genres I haven't even covered.........but this is hard and I really do listen to all that stuff!

In no particular order, here's the current 7 that are running through my head or playing on my iPod...
Easy to Ignore by Sixpence None the Richer
Turn Me On by Norah Jones
She's Only Happy in the Sun by Ben Harper
Snakecharmer by Ottmar Liebert
I Know a Little by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Beautiful by James Blunt
Short Skirt, Long Jacket by Cake
Good is Good by Sheryl Crow
Musicology by Prince
(Yeah, I know that's more than 7, did I follow the rules anyway?)

I won't officially tag anyone, especially since I drove you all nuts by listing way more than 7 tunes. If you want to play along in the comments I'm always up for some new musical suggestions! What are you all listening to?

Trini Tuesday-Buljol

I learned to make many local dishes when I lived in Trinidad and several of them are favorites for my kids. Many times the ingredients have not been available in local grocery stores but a year ago a specifically Trinidadian grocery store opened up in the middle of the Poconos. Yay!!!! My son asked for buljol for dinner the other day so I thought I'd share it with you all.



Buljol:
From the French patois, "Brûlê Gueule," or "burn mouth," a mixture of shredded, de-salted codfish, oil, onion, tomatoes, black, hot and/or sweet peppers, etc. Apparently the original recipe called for really hot peppers -- hence the name "burn mouth."
-- From Cote Ci, Cote La: Trinidad & Tobago Dictionary, by John Mendes, © 1986.

This is a recipe that everyone makes but everyone makes a little differently. I did some searching for authentic recipes and came up with such variations. They all had the same ingredients for the most part but how they readied them was different. I will simply give you my variation. Since it is more or less a salad sort of thing you can play around with the amount of the ingredients to suit yourself. It's most commonly eaten for breakfast in Trinidad but we generally eat if for dinner or lunch. It's great in the hot weather.

BULJOL a la Lime
8-12 oz. pack of saltcod or other salt preserved mild fish
1 large onion
1 bell pepper
1 hot pepper, (jalapena, habanero, whatever floats your boat, this is optional if you don't like it hot)
1 large or two medium tomatoes
2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
Black pepper to taste

-Soak the saltcod overnight in about 8 cups of water. Change the water in the morning and a couple times during the day. Boil it in fresh water, drain, and boil again. It smells really fishy and gross during this process but it will taste fine if you've soaked it and rinsed it. Honest, I promise.
-Drain again and gently squeeze out excess water. Flake finely with two forks or your fingers.
-Finely dice all the veggies.
-Mix veggies, fish, lemon juice, and pepper.
-Serve it cold on hard rolls with sliced, hardboiled eggs, or avocado (called 'zaboca' in Trinidad).

By the way, this is very low calorie food.


Enjoy! Happy Trini Tuesday!

A Thank You and a Confession

First, I want to thank all of those who shared about special books over the weekend. I really loved hearing about all the difference stories that impacted each of you. Some of the books were ones I loved as a kid (Robert, I used to feel sad for the poor saggy, baggy elephant too until he found other elephants who called him beautiful). Some were new to me (Logo, I may need to check outt the Wheedle on the Needle. And Seamus, the passion you had for Morgan and Me is going to compel me to check it out.) I'm just tickled that Gloria Jean was motivated to search one more time for books that sustained her through a sad childhood AND that after 20 years she found them! I just knew there were more reasons why I liked Brian, and his reading and rereading of The Little Prince tells me one of them. Although Breazy didn't discover joy in reading until an adult I applaud her for not giving up and for the way she has encouraged reading for her kids. That's a happy story, my friend! I also promise to Moosekahl, I never have and never will make talent any part of a kid getting an extra RIF book. I've also got to thank BS for instructions on linkage.



Now I have a confession to make. As much as I love books, I've been a book burner too. There is one book so heinous, so dark, so atrocious in every way that I felt I had to. It was the cause of such suffering and needless heartache there was no other recourse. And even though that dark chapter in my life was over so many years ago, I am remorseless enough about it that I'd do it again given the chance.

I read the book cover to cover. I did not come to my decision lightly or merely as a result of secondhand information. I did seek others to join me in casting copies of the book into the bonfire. I actively encouraged others to gather whatever copies of this horrendous volume they could find in order to offer them to the flames. You may be happy to know that I failed in my endeavor to gain partners in this destruction. I was undaunted in my determination to rid myself and others of this scourge of a book.

Alone in my fury, I prepared the altar upon which this wretched text should be offered. My hatred for the book grew as the flames lept higher. I cackled in maniacal pleasure as I fed the fire a leaf at a time. I was going to enjoy every second of this book burning. I slowly ripped each page from the book, dropped it into the blaze and watched in glee as the flames consumed it. I savored each moment until finally I had only the cover left. I stoked the fire and finally tossed in the cover. I felt a burden lift from my shoulders and sighed deeply in relief....




Never again would I suffer through my college statistics textbook! Hehehe

Books, books, books

Next week is the second Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) distribution of the year at my son's school. It will be a crazy but good week. I wrote about the first one back on October 26. I can't figure out how to do those nifty links back to specific posts even though I have post pages enabled but I'd encourage any new readers to go back there and dig that one up. And If you can tell me how to do those links I'd be obliged.

The short story is, every kid in the school gets a free book three times a year. I love books. I love seeing kids excited about books. I love when they realize they get to keep a book forever and their face lights up. I love this program. I've run it for 6 years. This will be my last year though since my youngest child moves on to a new school next year.

I had my own little RIF moment this week when a very good friend sent me some books. Among them was a copy of The Little Prince by Antoine de St. Exupery. We both share it as our all-time favorite book. I had mentioned my horror at being unable to find my English copy of it recently (this book and the Bible are the only ones I own in more than one language). What a wonderful surprise to then receive a copy.



The Little Prince leaves his home, Asteroid B-612, in search of a true friend. He has left behind his beloved but vain rose as he travels other planets and finally comes to earth. He encounters many different people along the way but finds no friends. Everyone is too busy being serious and important. On earth he encounters a fox who teaches him the importance of being tamed. The fox and the Little Prince are like 1000 other foxes and boys to each other until they are tamed. Then they are unique in all the world to each other. But taming takes time. And once one is tamed, parting is a great sadness. The Little Prince wonders if taming is worth it if it brings such grief. The fox tells him it is because now the wheat fields will remind him of the Little Prince since they are the color of his hair. Before, the wheat fields meant nothing to the fox. The fox's teachings are distilled to 'That which you tame you are forever resonsible for' and 'That which is essential is invisible to the eye. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly.'

I can't really do justice to this book with a synopsis. You can accuse me of being overly sentimental, that's ok (I cry every single time I read the chapter with the fox and every time I read the end). It's just a beautiful book. Go read this book.

In the meantime, tell me......What book do you go back to time and again that contains a life lesson you'd like to share?

HNT-Nakedness of Soul

In memory of a beloved friend (11/14/61-2/16/05)



Butterfly Soul

Clouds obscure the sun
as I sit alone.
A flicker of orange
dances before me
and rests on my hand.
The tickle of your footsteps
brings a dawning smile.
I marvel over your grace,
your beauty,
your joy.
I reach to caress your paper wing.
You rise to the sun.
I watch the rays receive you,
feel their warmth
on my face.
-MKRB

Wednesday Wow

No weird news, although there is always a surfeit of stupidity. In cruising for weirdness I came across 'wow-ness' instead. So no jokes today, only awe.

Still in Love After 77 Valentine's Days

SALEM, Ore. - Fred Landis has a Valentine's Day ritual. Sometime, somewhere, he'll lean over to his wife, Gwen, and say, "I love you." They say he's been doing that on Valentine's Days since 1928, when they were married. In October, Fred, 102, and Gwen, 101, celebrated their 77th wedding anniversary, and they are not far shy of a record. The longest current marriage, according to the 2006 edition of Guinness World Records, is 78 years, 296 days.

On Valentine's Day 2006, Fred will say "I love you" a bit louder than he used to because Gwen is hard of hearing. Fred has macular degeneration, which has kept him from writing poetry for her. Gwen says Fred wrote poems to her during their courtship, a gesture that may have won her heart. "I think that had something to do with it," she said with a shy smile.

They met in 1924 as college students, he at Albany College and she at Simpson Bible College in Seattle. Fred attended a church where Gwen's father was the pastor. When they were married, Gwen's father performed the ceremony. Gwen remembers receiving $800 for a wedding gift, then losing it all in the stock-market crash the following year.

The Landises spent the next four decades working in ministry and raising four children. Fred was the pastor at several small churches in the Northwest. Gwen played the piano and organ and taught Sunday school. He retired in 1970, and they have lived in Salem since then. They moved to a retirement center in 1994.

"They're just wonderful people. You couldn't find any better," says a friend, Dorothea McAuley. "They're setting an example for everybody. They're always happy. I've never seen one of them angry. They're God's example." Commitment is the word Gwen uses to describe their marriage success. Fred agrees. "Sure, we've had squabbles and disagreements galore," he said. "But there's a commitment to marriage because we have a reverence to it."

They have eight grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. Son John, 67, says he continues to be amazed by his parents, their relationship and their lives. "I think — I know — they would not have lived this long singly," John says. "They keep each other going."


I personally knew a couple married 72 years before the husband died. This amazes and challenges me. What did they do right? Luck simply doesn't hold out for 7 decades. Mere tolerance would wear thin long before then. Passion must have cooled. What binds one soul to another so strongly for so long? Mutual respect? Shared faith? Tenderness? Consideration? That sort of success is carefully cultivated. What fallow ground must be broken, what seeds sown, what nourishes the plant that such strong roots hold fast and such lovely fruit ripens?

Trini Tuesday-Happy Valentine's Day

When we moved to Trinidad we pretty much hit the soil and I got pregnant with Calypso. Anyone who has ever lived with a pregnant woman can attest to how insane we can become with food cravings. My cravings were enhanced by the fact that many things I craved were simply not available in Trinidad. I LOVED a lot of Trinidadian dishes and quickly learned how to make many of them, but it did not satisfy my urges for the things I missed.

I would have given an arm and a leg for lasagna. I could make my own sauce. I could even get lasagna noodles. The cheeses were problematic. No mozzarella, ricotta, or parmesan were to be had on the island. Oregano and basil were also unheard of. My dad came to visit and I told him not to even get off the plane unless he had those cheeses and spices. He would not be welcome. I also begged him to bring Doritos and peanut butter Tastycakes. Dad came through. He carried the Doritos in his briefcase and the bag exploded leaving crumbs in every corner. No matter. I collected the big chips and then very carefully licked my fingertips to retrieve each tiny crumb from the corners of the briefcase. OK, I KNOW this is gross. I KNOW this is really bad manners. But I was DYING for Doritos! The baby NEEDED Doritos!!!! My father watched in stunned disgust, 'Damn, haven't you eaten since you've been here?'

My lasagna, Doritos, and Tastycakes urges having been fulfilled, there was only one hunger yet to satisfy. Broccoli! I wanted fresh , green, crispy, delicious broccoli. I wanted it bad. Dad was unwilling to try to carry broccoli through customs. It likely would have been confiscated and destroyed by the Ministry of Agriculture due to the possibility of it harboring an invasive pest. BUT WHERE DID THAT LEAVE ME, a poor pregnant woman fantasizing about cruciferous delights???? The only thing available was some nasty imported frozen broccoli that had been thawed and frozen more times that you can imagine and was 95% stems. Dissapointingly vile.

Valentine's Day was just around the corner and I didn't really have any expectations. I figured we'd simply exchange cards and I would make a special dinner of Mr. Lime's favorite foods. The day came and he was later than usual getting home. When he walked through the door with a silly grin and hiding his hand behind his back, I figured he had a bouquet. As it turned out he did.......a great big bouquet of fresh broccoli, complete with a bow! AND he said I did not have to share it. Woohoo!!! There is no bouquet of roses or even fine chocolates (and you KNOW how I love chocolate) that could have come close to being as delightful and satisfying as that bunch of broccoli. Heck, it was 13 years ago and it still stands out as the best Valentine I ever got.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Muse of Blogging

Migraina and Pathogena are the twin muses for blogging apparently. Lesser known than their nine sisters above, they visited me in my time of need, bestowing upon me the idea for 'True Confessions.' As they whispered in my ear and I struggled to discern their voices through the incessant thumping in my skull I wondered, 'be this the voice of a demon or of an angel?'

They were summoned by the sounds of rib-shattering coughs and unearthly wretching, and they appeared in a pulsing strobe of blinding lights that seared through my eyeballs. And yet, for all this pain, they granted such inspiration as to lead me to admit an early affinity for Barry Manilow. Thus, many of you, spoken to by the same muses, were inclined to admit similarly shocking predispositions, and not hesitantly, I hasten to add.

I saw comments from people I had no idea even read this blog. I was quite intrigued at how such a seemingly lame idea for a post brought such a hearty response. So I am curious to know.....

1. What posts of yours have you been shocked to get a really good response to?
2. What posts have you been shocked to get a poor response to?
3. What inspires you as you generate ideas for posts? Who is your blogging muse?

True Confessions

Maybe this is lame, but having a kid with bronchitis, fighting a headache that really wants to turn into a migraine for 3 days, and having procrastinated on a mountain of schoolwork all week does not make me the most creative person. So I'm just going to toss out some true confessions. I'm not talking about the skeletons in the closet that we all have. I'm not about to haul those out for all the world to read. Nor am I inclined to ask about yours. I'm just talking about the silly things that when you admit them to people they either arch an eyebrow, gently question your sanity, remark on your bad taste, or doubt your refinement. These are the things that are harmless but make you wince inwardly expecting a bad reaction. Here are a few of my true confessions. Give me a giggle and share some of yours.

1. When I was a teenager I owned several Barry Manilow albums.

2. I actually enjoy watching 'American Idol' with my kids.

3. I've always wanted to paint a combine (the big piece of farm equipment) with giraffe spots, so it looks like a puking giraffe when it is being used.

4. I like all the cheesy line dances at wedding receptions.

5. I love a gigantic bowl of Count Chocula and Frankenberry mixed together and soaking in milk until it's a big soggy mess.


No tags on this. You can either give me some answers in the comment section or you can grab it for your own blog. Just let me know if you do it at your place so I can come check it out.

Valentine HNT

Blowing kisses to all of you who were so very generous with your praise of last week's post. Thank you. You made my day.
Happy Valentine's Day!





If you need to find out who to kiss up to so you can play along click the link in the sidebar.

Happy HNT!

Weird News Wednesday-I'm Going Batty

I almost had to post on llamas as a Valentine's day gift and llamas as the new Israeli soldier. Just when I had given up hope of finding a suitably humorous news item to make fun of this little gem was dropped in my lap. Well, read on, maybe it's not a little gem. Maybe it's a massive set of family jewels.


SYRACUSE, New York (AP) -- For some male bats, sexual prowess comes with a price -- smaller brains.
(The joke is just toooooo easy here.)

A research team led by Syracuse University biologist Scott Pitnick found that in bat species where the females are promiscuous, the males boasting the largest testicles also had the smallest brains. Conversely, where the females were faithful, the males had smaller testes and larger brains. "It turns out size does matter," said Pitnick, whose findings were published in December in "Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Science," an online journal.

"Bats invest an enormous amount in testis, and the investment has to come from somewhere. There are no free lunches," said Hoskens, who did not participate in the study. The relationship between the breeding system and relative brain size has received little investigation, said Pitnick, who teaches evolution and population biology and researches topics such as sexual selection and sexual conflict.
(The real scientists, the ones with big brains, were probably busy looking for a cure for cancer or something else productive. I wonder if Scott has very large testicles. Maybe I could get a government grant to study the correlation between testicle size and the propensity towards bizarre research projects. Wait, if I do that does it indicate I am hiding a set of cajones? Gads! The research potential here is as massive as a set of bat's nuts!)

"If female bats mate with more than one male, a sperm competition begins," Pitnick said. "The male who ejaculates the greatest number of sperm wins the game, and hence many bats have evolved outrageously big testes."
(I've heard of competitions like this. I think they usually occur at frat parties.)

Promiscuity is known to make a difference in testicle size in some other mammals. For example, chimpanzees are promiscuous and have testicles that are many times larger than those of gorillas, in which a single dominant male has exclusive access to a harem of females. Large brains, meanwhile, are metabolically costly to develop and maintain.
(Has anyone examined llama testicles? I really think this is an overlooked area of research. We really need to get right on this! It could answer the burning question of why they make a good Valentine's day gift or an excellent soldier.)

Trini Tuesday-We Ting

I was wondering what to post this week for Trini Tuesday and found this fabulous explanation of the Trini mindset. It made me want to hop the next plane!

A brief glossary for the non-Trinis out there.

Ting-thing
Brong-brown
Maco-busybody
Lara-Brian Lara, a world famous cricket player from Trinidad.
Tief-theif, steal
Mout-mouth
Savannah-a large grassy area in Port of Spain functioning as a park of sorts and around which parades march
Wine-a very sensual hip gyration that is de rigeur when you dance.


WE KIND OF TING !
courtesy: Harts Carnival Website ( I actually located it here

If yuh see meh in a red top and a brong pants.. yuh know? Wit meh blue shoes….is Me…ah trini! Ah eh dress bad… Ah jus dress up to go out. When ah laugh… anywhere in de world yuh could tell is me cause ah go laugh out loud…and hard…and long! Is just how ah is. Wit meh brown paper bag full of tings for meh family in de cole… LUK MEH.. goin’ through the airport in Foreign. Das me! Five suitcase and tree bag full of peppersauce, mango, a bottle of rum and a piece of Auntie Ellie Pone!

 Yuh know meh by de way ah walk… ah takin every ting in as ah go…lookin up… sideways an ting. Yuh know? Ah have dis need to maco well an get every ting stick in meh brain so dat when ah get back ah could expouse on what ah did see an ting!

 When ah doin meh wuk…lef meh alone…ah wukin! An ah eh leavin de ting till I done wuk. When cricket come and Lara battin’ doh even sit next to meh… cause you could end up hurt when yuh see meh hand start flyin’ as de runs begin. When yuh see de umpire tief one ah we…move yes… because if yuh thought it was bad, when tings was good, pardner…is now meh whole body movin’…especially meh mout.

 Carnival time is meh real ting…by October ah round de Savannah tryin’ to lose weight So ah lookin’ good for dem two days when ah start to wine. Ah want meh music loud and meh head bad… But ah startin’ to party since Christmas yuh know?… After all we Trinis does take we tings real serious!

What I Have to Offer

Well, I have outlined what I want in the perfect partner. It is said to find the perfect partner one must BE the perfect partner. I would not want to assess myself. I could be accused of being biased, hiding flaws, inflating positive traits, etc. I found some highly scientific and I am sure quite valid and reliable tests to determine my level of perfection as a partner.

First,

You're an Expert Kisser

You're a kissing pro, but it's all about quality and not quantity You've perfected your kissing technique and can knock anyone's socks off And you're adaptable, giving each partner what they crave When it comes down to it, your kisses are truly unforgettable

What Kind of Kisser Are You?

(Hey, that sounds pretty good! I may need independant verification of results. Volunteers?)


Next,

You Are Sensual Sexy

You exude a luxiourous sensuality in your everyday life Turning heads everywhere you go, it's all about your sexy attitude. You're naturally hot - gorgeous in both sweats and stilettos. Your biggest problem is that your ultra sexy self sometimes scares men away.

What Kind of Sexy Are You?

(OK, this one is cracking me up. Exuding sensuality in everyday life.....yeah, I'll drive a man wild with the way I scrub a toilet. Puh-leeeze. How about stilettos WITH sweats?? New fashion trend. Any takers?)


Am I intelligent?,

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convincing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

(Well, it's at least what interests me. I have a nerdy love of etymology. I used to read the dictionary, thesaurus and encyclopedia for fun as a kid. I am aware this is not normal. I'm cool with that.)


Let's see if I am mentally balanced.

Freudian Inventory Results

Oral (50%) you appear to have a good balance of independence and interdependence knowing when to accept help and when to do things on your own. Anal (26%) you appear to be overly lacking in self control and organization, and possibly have a compulsive need to defy authority. If you are too scatterbrained, you will not develop much as a person as you will habitually switch paths before you ever learn anything. Phallic (56%) you appear to have a good balance of sexual awareness and sexual composure. Latency (53%) you appear to have a good balance of abstract knowledge seeking and practicality, dealing with real world responsibilities while still cultivating your abstract and creative faculties and interests. Genital (30%) you appear to have a conventional, closeminded, and regressive outlook on life. Change is an inevitable and positive part of life, learn to contribute to it, not fear it or oppose it

Take Free Freudian Inventory Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

(What idiotic authorities think I am closeminded and regressive?? I challenge them to defend this bogus assessment. I am betting some half-witted psychology student came up with this test when they should have been studying. I defy these authorities!!)


And finally, someone had some compatibility test and determined...
I'm a generally unfuckwitted, liberal, disgustingly generous, pathetically simple-minded, dribbling child!
See how compatible you are with me!
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey
(I think that monkey has had enough rum, if you ask me.)


So there ya have it. Apparently I am a linguistically intelligent, regressive challenger of authority, who is pathetically simple-minded but very sensual and a fabulous kisser. I promise not to dribble when I kiss. Takers? Anyone?

The Perfect Partner

I got tagged both by Snavy and Shyrocket to list the 8 attributes of the perfect partner so here goes.

MALE

1. Honest, trustworthy, ethical. Don't be filling my head with lies or telling me what you think I want to hear. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Don't be a scammer always trying to work the system.

2. Good communicator. Your are not the amazing Kreskin and neither am I. No mind readers need apply. TALK to me. LISTEN to me. It's pretty efficient.

3. Demonstrably affectionate. Touch me. I don't mean you need to be crawling all over me in public. But certainly don't be afraid to give me a hug or a kiss. I actually don't even mind if you try to sneak a feel in when you think others aren't watching. But even alone, curl up with me, give me lots of hugs and kisses.

4. Creativity and intelligence. I don't care what form it takes....music, art, writing, even carpentry, anything. Be a creator of things beautiful or useful and foster and appreciate my creativity as well. You cannot be a moron. You have to have a mind and use it. It doesn't require formal education necessarily. I've met PhDs who are idiots and high school drop-outs I thought were brilliant.

5. Shoulder to shoulder. Life is hard so I want to be with someone who is going to work well together with me. We are not enemies. It's you and me against the world. I got your back, you got mine and we are going to get through whatever diffiulties come our way....TOGETHER.

6. Family oriented. I've learned that someone who is not good to their own parents is not going to be good to me. Even if you came from an awful background, there has to be evidence that as far as it depended on you, you did what was necessary to be at peace. If, like most of us, you had a pretty average background I want to see that you love yoru family and that you will love mine too.

7. Laugh. If you don't have a sense of humor, forget it. Life is too short to go around with a long face. And even when life sucks, find a way to laugh and make me laugh. It makes it suck less. When it is good, laugh often, laugh loud. Laugh at/with me, laugh at yourself.

8. Rock my world and let me rock yours. Be a great lover. Be skilled, tender, and passionate. Have a hearty appetite. Know the difference between making love, having sex, and fucking wildly and know when the time is right for each. See #1,2,3,4,7 above....they should all be incorporated in this. Be open to new things. Unleash me, baby and you'll be glad you did.



No tags on this one since I think I am the last person in the blogosphere to do this, but if you haven't and you decide to play along, let me know.

Happy HNT

Earlier this week I posted about a song that had a special memory, Leader of the Band by Dan Fogelberg. It was released shortly after my artist/musician grandfather died. I later inherited his Gibson guitar. When I did the earlier post I got to thinking how much he would love HNT. No, not because he was a dirty old man, but because he was an artist and had an appreciation for self expression and the human form. My musical skill will never equal his, but I thought I'd give an attempt at an artistic HNT submission.





If you need to know how to submit your own exhibit click on the HNT link in the sidebar.

Happy HNT everyone!




Oddly enough, today is my other grandfather's birthday. He'd probably turn in his grave to know I was participating in HNT..........Sorry, Pop!

Weird News Wednesday

Here's another little gem to file under 'What the hell were these researchers smoking and who on earth funds this crap?'

Dry earwax? It's genetic

By Dan Vergano, USA TODAY
Mon Jan 30, 7:23 AM ET

Genetics researchers have uncovered the key gene behind the mystery of human earwax. Finally. The report in Monday's Nature Genetics journal solves a long-running anthropologist's riddle - why many people in China and Korea, as well as elsewhere in Asia, have dry earwax while the rest of humanity enjoys the sticky variety.
(first of all, I have been accused of having some weird questions about things, but I have NEVER wondered about this. and besides....who went around comparing Asian earwax to other varieties in the first place??)


Geneticists had known the neighborhood of the earwax gene from previous work and decided to pin it down. The gene comes in two types, or alleles, corresponding to wet or dry earwax.
(Yes, I am sure it's much more productive to isolate this gene as opposed to the one that causes cancer perhaps.)


By examining 126 Japanese volunteers, the team determined that the dry-earwax gene is recessive, meaning both parents must pass a copy to their children for it to work. To chart a global earwax gene map, the team next looked at volunteers from 33 populations worldwide, from Native Americans to Ashkenazi Jews to Polynesian islanders. The dry-earwax allele probably arose "in northeast Asia and thereafter spread throughout the world," the team concludes.
(A map of the distribution of folks with dry earwax. Now isn't that a nifty little thing you'd like on your living room wall!)


"We're all curious what makes people different," she says. Mountain suggests the dry-earwax allele probably originated within the past 30,000 years, "or even much more recently." Intriguingly, the dry-earwax gene turns up fairly often in Native Americans, in about 30% of a sample of that population.
(Theories of the ancient origin or dry earwax were first considered when archeologists unearthed, along with arrowheads and potsherds, some fossilized matchsticks and q-tips that were covered with the stuff. Cave paintings in the southwest USA also seemed to depict a tribal chief excavating his own ear canal and bestowing it upon those of lesser status by smearing it on their buckskins. This is possibly indicative of a little known earwax cult among indigenous peoples.)


That suggests the emigrants from Asia who first populated North and South America brought the gene with them, the Japanese team says. Dry earwax may have given people in northeast Asia some advantage during past periods of cold climate, not freezing as readily, the researchers suspect, But "this is still pretty speculative," Mountain says.
(Well by all means, we MUST fund further research into this riveting question!)