An unforgettable story

... that might make you laugh, be outraged, and wince all at the same time.

Andrea is funny

Before Xmas, Andrea was trying to order something online for her sister in the U.S. The problem? All of the places she tried refused to take an order from anyone without an American address, and Andrea lives in Toronto. At one point she wrote to me:

it just sucks and is depressing - some woman at kohl's help desk phone centre thingy said, "is there anything else I can help you with?" And I said, "yeah, can you tell everyone in the US of A that there are other countries out there?"

LOL

Funny

For the sports fans ...

What it's all about

Aaron tells the story of a friend in the Peace Corps (in Togo):

A couple weeks ago she was sitting at the market .... A little girl (probably 5 or 6 years old) and her mother were there as well, sitting a few feet away. My friend saw the girl point to her and ask a question to the mother. We are all very used to being talked about and she thought nothing of it.

Again the little girl asked something of the mother and pointed at my friend. This time the mother got up, and slightly sheepishly walked over to where my friend was sitting and asked, “I’m so sorry to bother you, but, my daughter has never touched white skin before. Would you mind if she touched you?” My friend being the good sport she is thought for a second and said, “Sure.”

The mother motioned to the girl who timidly approached my friend, slowly put out her hand and touched the white arm. Her eyes went large and she quickly pulled away. She stood there, staring at my friends arm, and finally reached out to touch it again.

This time she gave it a few strokes then looked up and said to her mother, “It’s the same as black skin!”

Read PostSecret every week

Hong the model

Hong the model
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

Taken with my new flash equipment. Not bad. It helps that the "model" is so pretty! :)

Balls Falls (Lower)

Balls Falls (Lower)
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

We went to Balls Falls in Vineland today. Nice relaxing walk. The layers of rock in this picture have distinct colours - click on the photo to view in larger sizes.

Male Muscovy Duck

Male Muscovy Duck
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

I saw this duck today at a park in Unionville. Its mate was all white but with the same redness around the beak and eyes. There was a stupid younger couple who were trying to take pictures with their cell phone at the same time I was and they literally chased the birds into the stream. (What do you say to such people???)

Anyway, these ducks seemed fairly docile and came back onland after the idiot couple left and I got some shots at a distance that they seemed to be comfortable with. I wanted to be able to identify them when I got home to my Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Birds!

However, much to my consternation, there was NOTHING remotely like these ducks in my field guide. But after a few minutes of searching on the Internet, I learned that this is a Muscovy duck that is considered "domestic". They are often bred for their white colour, which does not occur often in the wild. See the Cayuga Bird Club newsletter at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/cayugabirdclub/pdf/March2006.pdf.

What in the world did we do before there was Google????

Toogood Pond, Unionville

Toogood Pond, Unionville
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

I was there tonight. Drove past it and circled back. Pretty. I'd like to go back when there's more light.

Two trees at sunset

Two trees at sunset
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

This week's lesson

Happiness
Originally uploaded by aaronwtong.

... is that sometimes being unhappy requires far too much energy to sustain.

Life's too short - and I am far too privileged as a middle-class North American - to be unhappy for very long.

I don't have all the answers, but I have a couple more than I did a few days ago.

Eine kleine Nacht Fotografie I

Eine kleine Nacht Fotografie I
Originally uploaded by Noisypond.

Taken last night.

Turkish officials fire airport chief mechanic over camel sacrifice

Yes ...

ANKARA, Turkey — A crew of mechanics at Istanbul's airport were so glad to be rid of some trouble-prone British-made airplanes that they sacrificed a camel on the tarmac in celebration — prompting the firing Wednesday of their supervisor.

The photo of a worker raising a large piece of bloodied camel meat on the tarmac of Ataturk International Airport was published on the front page of at least two newspapers, drawing the wrath of transportation authorities.

Tuesday's sacrifice of a camel with small Turkish carpets over its humps at the busy airport was regarded as a disgrace and an embarrassment for the country at a time when it is seeking to join the European Union.

Random Question

Why not "Peace in"????

Eclecta

Ever encounter this poem in school?

"The written word
Should be clean as bone,
Clear as light,
Firm as stone.
Two words are not
As good as one."

-Anonymous

P.E.I.: 'Pesticides are what is killing our kids'

Anyone who has known me long has heard me say: "I never met a potato I didn't like." I love potatoes - boiled, baked, fried, scalloped, stuffed ... But after reading this article, I might have second thoughts about eating potatoes.

Rural PEI is an unlikely hotbed of rare cancers, and one doctor has made it his mission to raise awareness about the potential health hazard posed by pesticides used on the region's potato farms ...

It is perhaps because of the province's appearance as a bucolic rural idyll that Ron Matsusaki had the biggest shock of his professional career when he moved to the island three years ago. The affable 57-year-old doctor was taken aback by all the rare cancers he began noticing. The illnesses seemed more like what might be expected near a hazardous waste site.

"Nowhere, nowhere did I see cancer that in any way resembles the cancers that I saw when I came to PEI," Dr. Matsusaki said. "I was totally dumbfounded."

... Perhaps because he arrived with the fresh eyes of a newcomer, Dr. Matsusaki was sufficiently alarmed that he started to speak out publicly about this rash of unusual cancers and his suspicion that the blame for them lies with one of the island's economic mainstays, potato farming, and its promiscuous use of pesticides.

... Some of those who are living in the area where Dr. Matsusaki practices and have experienced cancer in their families are convinced that pest sprays are the only plausible explanation because there is little in the way of industrial releases of cancer-causing chemicals ...

Here in Kensington, a PEI community surrounded by potato fields, one of the studies found the second-highest pesticide readings in the country. The area had extremely high levels of chlorothalonil, a fungicide widely used on the island, along with 16 other pesticides.

Potatoes are a heavy user of chemicals, needing up to 19 sprays in a single growing season. Farmers often spray potatoes on a weekly basis, or even more frequently to try to prevent blight, the crop-ruining fungus that caused the Irish potato famine, as well as herbicides to kill the tops of the plants at the end of the growing season to make the underground tubers easier to harvest.

There is likely to be more pesticide exposure on the Island in recent years than there once was because potato acreage has expanded dramatically -- doubling since 1980 and up about 40 per cent since 1990, to meet the booming demand from French-fry makers.

Courtyard somewhere in San Gimignano

Courtyard somewhere in San Gimignano
Originally uploaded by Miss_M.

I'm dreaming of travel ...

Welcome in africa

Welcome in africa
Originally uploaded by jipol.

Looking at this photo by jipol almost made me cry.

Jipol writes: "In Senegal. Smiles everywhere"

Incredible light: wallhouses

wallhouses
Originally uploaded by mym.

Incredible Tuscan view

narnia
Originally uploaded by mym.

According to mym, this is the view from the wall houses in the above post.