And here's a very lovely and rather melancholy song (you can weep into your Guinness).
Sorry this is a little late.... (It's obvious that leprechaun above has indulged in way too many Irish Potatoes!!!) Yeh, made soooooo many 'potatoes' they slowly got larger and larger. Those above are only a few. I wanted to just make them actual potato size, but was told that is not traditional. They may not look it, but they are yummilicious! And here's a very lovely and rather melancholy song (you can weep into your Guinness). K, so put on some lipstick/gloss/balm and pucker those babies up! (Though I would not kiss a stranger as is suggested in the above link. Especially if they are unaware it is National Lips Day, as it could become Punched In The Eye Day for you. Hmm, I wonder if sassing someone back, like when you're told 'don't give me any of your lip young lady' is a viable activity for the day? How about lip-syncing, to your favourite song instead, which would be much safer.) Look! Even Sally Snail is throwing kisses to you! At least I think it's her lips... Whaaaaa? Yep, apparently it is, because the internet says so. It even has it's own website (see below)! I dunno who makes up these special days. Can I make up my own? Where does one submit it to make it an official National Day? Gotta admit, they are fun and offer suggestions for things to do if you are in a quandary over how to spend some/all of your spare time that day. Which is so much better than just a boring regular appreciate nothing day that you don't know what to do with, except, perhaps, complain about everything and how unappreciated stuff and things are? Maybe I should choose one day each month and create something unique to celebrate! Yes, I think I will, but as for today, lips are already taken- LIPS APPRECIATION DAY Yes, I find that a little disturbing, too.
K, so I haven't read all the requirements, but it does say 'free' and 'online' and 'Stan Lee' The Rise of Superheroes and Their Impact On Pop Culture Thought it might be of interest to some up and coming future comic creators, as well as anyone simply interested in comics.
(and I've posted this before, but not sure if it was here or at The DWM but regardless, it's worth posting again- The Digital Comic Museum Yes, it is World Kidney Day. A day of kidney awareness. I did not know of this until I heard it on the news this morning, I'm not even sure what one does on WKD? Eat a kidney, are they even edible? I spose you can eat kidney beans instead. And drink a lot of water. Oh, wait, yes, I guess you can eat kidneys since I think there is a steak and kidney pie. 'Pie', not 'Pi' which isn't until this Saturday, and a special Pi Day it is, what with it being 3/14/15. Dunno if that has any super cosmic significance? Like will the universe be undone or something? Maybe it's the date in which the time line goes in reverse and we start living backwards again until the big bang and it starts all over again? Yeh, that's even too deep for me to think about ....or just plain redonkulous. Back to WKD. HERE are some tips to help keep your kidneys healthy (but beware, you could wake up some morning to find stitches where your healthy kidney was! Especially if you are in Mexico- Kidney Thieves) Yes, here, I found this recipe for Steak & Kidney Pie (^pictured above^) It just doesn't seem very tantalizing. I'd rather the beans. Here are some recipes using kidney beans instead. And here are some kidney jokes. I like the 'Hello Kidney'. Yeh, I know some are in poor taste. But seriously, it's no joke, take care of not only your kidneys but all of you, k?
See, i'm not the only one who appreciates worms and their importance. Bees are another little creature of major importance. I love bees. K, so here's the thing, Iv'e read some conflicting information about the number of 'hearts' a worm has. Some say 6 pairs, others, 5. In biology (dissection) class, I'm pretty sure it was 5, maybe it depends on the type of worm? No matter, they still have more heart than some humans I know.... And I failed to mention, back when speaking of superheroes, this- Yeh, footfalls...tremors....giant worms...it all adds up. Radiation &/or evolution=.....KAIJU!!!! Hey, Mothra? Insect. Giant. Bet it could really do a number on woolens! And don't try to worm your way out of this! (^_^) and you can play the game, too, at SSEGA (Controls are A=shoot, S=whip arrow key=direction movement, sorry, couldn't find one to embed.) There was also a Earthworm Jim 2, Earthworm Jim3D and Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy, There was talk of making an Earthworm Jim 4 but it never happened. ^The Anatomy of an Earthworm^ Hmm, I wonder if Mars worms would still be called Earthworms or if they would be called Marsworms? Like does the 'earth' part just signify their habitat, not the planet, and why do we call dirt/soil, earth?
Anyway, everything has a purpose for being. Still haven't figured out what mine is, though. I'm not food, well, not until the whole soylent green thing comes about...or if I'm eaten by a bear while camping...or a shark while swimming...or a lion if I ever went safari-ing or one escaped a zoo, or I'm caught be a cannibal. Actually, I don't serve any really important service in general. Maybe I'm just a glitch in the whole circle of life thing? Or, maybe, along with the rest of humankind, just a destructive force, like a volcano, causing things to transform into something new? An organic cataclysm...organiclysm? K, I think I've covered the whole worm thing pretty well, so I'll stop now. 'It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organized creatures.' -Charles Darwin Worms 101
Worms are actually amazing creatures. There are good, beneficial ones, and nasty harmful ones but I guess they all have their reason for existence, just as everything does, even if only a link in the food chain. It's all about balance. I’m gonna speak here about earthworms, though. They are annelids (segmented or ringed worms....one ring to rule them al.....sorry [and no, I'm not explaining it to someone name Al *sigh*], it’s what springs to mind when I hear the word ‘ring’, and, oh, ‘ringworm’ is not caused by a worm at all, it’s a fungus, but there are worms that do burrow into the skin and invade digestive tracts and worse! Those aren’t very nice at all.) Leeches are also an annelid and can be beneficial as well as being a painful temporary parasite, like a tick, which is not an annelid but a arachnid or a rather lame but funny superhero. He sucks more than Aquaman. Geddit? Sucks? :) Anyway, I guess that makes him related to spider-man in a way, too....arachnids. 'THE Tick' (as opposed to 'A tick') fights crime, and does not suck blood. At least that I am aware of. Wait, would that put them in some category with vampires? Guess not. If a tick bites you, you do not turn into a tickpire. You may get Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, though, or Lyme disease. Back to worms. They are interesting creatures living in all sorts of environments- both marine and freshwater varieties, as well as the terrestrial ones, some even live in really inhospitable places like hydro-thermal vents, but I'm digressing again, so let us return to earthworms. Here are their 'schematics', which you may or may not find boring depending on your interest and/or attention span (I'll make it brief and basic)- Earthworms (among others) are the generally unappreciated by most, invertebrates, though they do have fluid filled chambers that function as a hydrostatic skeleton. They generally grow to approximately 14 inches, but some can reach the length of nine feet! Wow, that's a big arse worm! Umm, Tremors? Dune? They generally live in soil and feed on live and dead organic matter, and have a life expectancy of anywhere from four to eight years. Their digestion system runs through their entire body, from mouth to periproct (anus), having a pharynx, esophagus, crop, gizzard and intestines in between. They have a central and peripheous nervous system and breathe through their skin (having no special respiratory organs.) In six segments of their bodies there are a pair of aortic arches which act as hearts in their circulatory system, which pumps blood to a ventral vessel that acts somewhat like an aorta. Hmm, multiple hearts, like The Doctor (Who), though he has only two, but that is not the only thing they have in common. Read on. They are hermaphrodites (which is not the other thing they have in common with The Doctor. Actually, I'm not quite sure what 'equipment' The Doctor has???), but do not self replicate...well, they can, but not in a sexual sense. Kinda. Anyhow, they have one or two pairs of testes and release sperm through 'male pores', as well as having ovaries and oviducts and release eggs through female pores. They mate, generally at night on the surface,by exchanging sperm with each other. It then injects it's own eggs with the other worms sperm. Pretty interesting, huh? Some do have the ability (this is where the other similarity to The Doctor enters the picture) to regenerate lost segments, dependent on the extent of damage. I cite- G.F. Gates report after 20 years of study- 'Eisenia Fetida (Savigny, 1826) with head regeneration, in an anterior direction, possible at each intersegmental level back to and including 23/24, while tails were regenerated at any levels behind 20\21, i.e., TWO WORMS MAY GROW FROM ONE. Lumbricus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758 replacing anterior segments from as far back as 13/14 and 16/17 but tail regeneration was never found. Perionyx excavatur Perrier, 1872 readily regenerated lost parts of the body, in an anterior direction from as far back as 17/18, and in a posterior direction as far forward as 20/21. Lampito mauritii Kinbert, 1867 with regeneration in anterior direction at all levels back to 25/26 and tail regeneration from 30/31; head regeneration was sometimes believed to be caused by internal amputation resulting from the Sarcophaga sp. larval infestation. Criodrilus lacuum Hoffmeister, 1845 also has prodigious regenerative capacity with 'head' regeneration from as far back as 40/41. So it is theoretically possible to grow two whole worms from a bisected one in certain species. Hmm, but are they both still the same worm? Do they share the same personality or is it split, like good worm, bad worm? Would it be considered a clone? Do their souls split, too? And then can those two be split into two more in time? Can/would they mate with themselves? This brings about a plethora of questions. Could the government create some hybrid super human worm soldiers that can regenerate into two (and or more) if wounded? A self replicating army! Whatever, worms do play a very significant beneficial role in improving soil by not only depositing casts (their form of poo) which contain humus, as well as providing drainage and aerating soil when creating their tunnels, and are a food source for many other species including birds, fish, snakes, mammals and other invertebrates. They ARE edible and are sold as food for human consumption though I don't imagine them being very tasty, but what do I know? They don't smell very nice (yes, I've handled worms) and they're rather wetish and gooey. Poor little blind things. they must be very loving creatures, though. Twelve times as loving what with having all those hearts! They are probably poets, too, writing sonnets of love and such *sigh* K, that's a little much. They are also a valuable asset, as seen below- Doug Collicut- 'In 1980, 370 million worms were exported from Canada, with Canadian export value of $13 million and an American retail value of $54 million.' Wowzers, that’s a lot of millions! I wonder if their market value has increased or decreased since then? And think about it, back to the regeneration thing, for every one worm you can split them and double your $$$$, become a worm farmer....or would that be worm rancher? Eh. I think I'm done now. Well, almost. '....long, thin, slimy ones; Short, fat, juicy ones, Itsy, bitsy, fuzzy wuzzy worms. Down goes the first one, Down goes the second one, Oh, how they wiggle and squirm. Up comes the first one, Up comes the second one, Oh how they wiggle and squirm.' Now I'm done. (actual information was from, where else, Wikipedia) The following is not for the faint of hart....er...heart- Those mild mannered peace loving herbivores have a hideously horrendous horrible hidden heinous secret! (yeh, I like alliteration.) All I can say is, PARENTS, PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN! DON'T LET THEM OUT OF THE HOUSE! THESE FALSE VEGANS COULD BE ANYWHERE! KEEP YOUR YOUNG ONES SAFE, MAKE THEM STAY INDOORS AND PLAY VIDEO GAMES WHERE THEY ARE PROTECTED FROM....*DUM DUM DUMMMM*..... NATURE! See, I told you! It's happening everywhere! Nature IS EVERYWHERE! Escape is futile. Nature will get you in the end, it's only a matter of time *seriously nodding* Thumper, you don't understand you are befriending a virtual ticking time bomb!!! AND IT'S EVERYWHERE! ALL OVER THE WORLD! AND THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO AVOID IT EXCEPT BY NOT GOING OUTSIDE! Deer (yeh, not so 'dear' now, huh?) and cow chowing down on bunnies! Yes, I said cute adorable bunnies....but now I wonder what secrets they might be hiding!) OMG! I just thought of this!- REMEMBER, IT COULD BE YOUR CHILD SUPPLEMENTING THEIR DIET!!!
Seriously, though, is it simply a matter of never having been see or filmed before, or is it a new step in evolution due to dwindling natural habitat? Eventually the hunted may become the hunters? while I work on something. You can watch this in the meantime (yes, time can be very mean, and stingy, too!)- (and yes, I'm trying to stop the 'tap' music below from continual loopation <(tech term) as well as working on other stuff, too.) (Oh, and about that 'musical' performance in the previous post, you should hear me play my violin, which sounds quite similar :) K, so here's a sneak preview. Finished putting it together and it actually works! So proud of my electrical accomplishment.
Next I shall learn to play it and astound you all with some sensational musical rend(as in 'to tear your ears out')itions :) Prepare to have your ears bleed! A few posts ago ('To Wee or not to Wee') I mentioned how our bath tub knobs made squealy noises and I attempted to play them like a musical instrument, much to the disdain of all other family members. The washers, or whatever, have still not been replaced and since I was home alone *palms pressed to cheeks with a surprised expression* yesterday, I got to try again. This time I only tried playing the scale. Here is the result- You can hear the water running in the background (yeh, I was in the tub, so no video. Loopation problem solved with the simplicity of YouTub...I mean, Tube!) Not too shabby, it does sort of sound like tonal scale, doesn't it? Oh come on! Use your imagination! It's not like there are keys or frets or anything at all, it's all by ear! Notice the little vibrato there at the end :) Yes, I'm proud of myself! This is interesting stuff concerning scales. Sort of.- Solmization, or the practice of assigning syllables to the different 'steps' of the scale, originated in ancient India. Fast forward a few thousand years, when Isidore, the Archbishop of Seville during the sixth century, lamented that 'Unless sounds are remembered, they perish, for they cannot be written down'. A Benedictine monk who was also a master of music named Guido d'Arezzo set to work to prevent so many sacred tunes from being lost. Brother Guido was familiar with solmization, and noted that most of the Gregorian chants popular at that time could easily be learned by singers if they could see the tone progression up and down the scale, and associate it with the sound. He assigned the notes of the scale—C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C—a syllable: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do. (We know what you're thinking: Yes, it actually is SOL—it's traditionally written that way when the tonic notes are spelled out, and often referred to as the 'sol-fa scale' colloquially—but that final L is hard to hear thanks to the LA that follows.) Those weren’t just random sounds he chose; they came from 'Ut Queant Laxis', a well-known hymn of the Middle Ages that was chanted for vespers. Each succeeding line of the song started one note higher than the previous one, so Guido used the first letters of each word of each line: UT queant laxis, REsonare fibris: MIre gestorum , FAmuli tuorum: SOLve, etc. 'Ut' was eventually deemed too difficult pronounce and was changed to “Do' (Mental Floss) 'In Medieval music, the Guidonian hand was a mnemonic device used to assist singers in learning to sight-sing. Some form of the device may have been used by Guido of Arezzo, a medieval music theorist who wrote a number of treatises, including one instructing singers in sightreading. The hand occurs in some manuscripts before Guido's time as a tool to find the semitone; it does not have the depicted form until the 12th century. Sigebertus Gemblacensis (c1105–10) did describe Guido using the joints of the hand to aid in teaching his hexachord. The Guidonian hand is closely linked with Guido's new ideas about how to learn music, including the use of hexachords, and the first western known use of solfege. The idea of the Guidonian hand is that each portion of the hand represents a specific note within the hexachord system, which spans nearly three octaves from "G ut" (that is, "Gamma ut") (the contraction of which is "Gamut", which can refer to the entire span) to "E la" (in other words, from the G at the bottom of the modern bass clef to the E at the top of the treble clef). In teaching, an instructor would indicate a series of notes by pointing to them on their hand, and the students would sing them. This is similar to the system of hand signals sometimes used in conjunction with solfege. There have been a number of variations in the position of the notes on the hand, and no one variation is definitive but, as in the example below the notes of the gamut were mentally superimposed onto the joints and tips of the fingers of the left hand. Thus "gamma ut" (two Gs below middle C) was the tip of the thumb, A ("A re") was the inside of the thumb knuckle, B ("B mi") was the joint at the base of the thumb, C ("C fa ut") was the joint at the base of the index finger, and so on, spiraling around the hand counterclockwise past middle C ("C sol fa ut") until the D a ninth above middle C ("D la sol") (the middle joint of the middle finger) and the E above that ("E la") (the back of that joint, the only note on the back of the hand) were reached. This device allowed people to visualize where the half steps of the gamut were, and to visualize the interlocking positions of the hexachords (the names of which—ut re mi fa sol la—were taken from the hymn Ut queant laxis). The Guidonian hand was reproduced in numerous medieval treatises.' (Wikipedia) |
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January 2018
AuthorAh, where to begin... |