the new lucy

last night the history channel premiered a documentary on an incredible new discovery, a missing link in human evolution. they announced the discovery of a 47 million year old almost perfectly preserved fossil of a creature that may be the species that represents the branching of primate evolution into the human and non-human lines... basically it was a monkey-lemur, having features of both. i wish i could show a picture of Ida (the fossil's given name) here, but you'll have to click the link above - as the history channel owns every image of it and is enforcing. this is the best i can do.

this discovery is fascinating for several reasons - not the least of which being how this discovery was announced; there was a carefully calculated media campaign coordinated by the history channel. the view is that the announcement of groundbreaking discoveries needs to be managed like a teen pop star.

*non-nerd-note: lucy is the name of the fossil which proved beyond a doubt that we evolved from apes. she lived about 3.5 million years ago and was the first ape-like species to walk upright.

as the lilacs bloom

one of my favorite moments each spring hit this week - the blooming of the lilacs. their flowers do not last very long, but delightfully fondle the senses. strange to me that i cannot stand the scent of lilac in anything else - neither lotions nor old ladies wear it well.

i miss him

diarrhea of the crooked mouth

american tradition says that when an administration is out of office, they refrain from criticizing the new administration. dubya is (surprisingly) bright enough to keep with this tradition, but...

dick cheney will not shut up. he is constantly appearing on shows and stages continuing the spread of his BS psychology of fear. this week he spoke for 30 minutes and mentioned 9/11 twenty-five times. he again alluded to his lie that saddam hussein was connected to al-queda, albeit in a slimier way. he is betting on a new terrorist attack (which will always be possible, but why go around hoping for it?) so then he can say obama caused it by making us less safe by restoring civil liberties and actually having human values. he likes to think his gigantic balls kept us safe. what about the anthrax attack? a war of choice based on his own delusion that has killed more soldiers than we lost on 9.11.01? yes dick, thank you for the safety

americans are happy with their current president yet uncertain about the huge pile of crap left for him to shovel by the previous administration. dick don't like him no happy. he shoots happy in the face.

waterboarding is too easy for him.  someone needs to take him hunting and shoot him in the face. 

twice.

perspective (a debt of)

this isn't new, but with all the bitching about Obama turning us into a socialist country (98% of the idiots who say that don't even know that that phrase means) and slamming us into debt. look who got us here...

bang a tangle

here is a photographic journal of my current (very 70's) kitchen and my day of cleaning yesterday. a new refrigerator and stove were being delivered today, so i thought i'd better clean behind those mothers. six plus years of shit under the stove was far less nasty than i expected. a surprise was discovering how cheap the paint on my kitchen walls is; light scrubbing of stove crack grease removed paint with ease, faintly revealing the previous color... under the fridge was by far the nastier mess.

before

after

the delivery guys arrived on time and did a fine job. are you supposed to tip delivery people when you've already paid to have them deliver?

the tight crack above my fridge. will create a problem if/when i have my floors done...

get to lark

a plug for my peeps --

not long ago, two of the most amazing people in my world took a huge leap by buying lark toys near kellogg, minnesota. if you have kids, nieces/nephews, or just immature friends, you NEED to bring them to lark. kellogg is about 2 hours southeast of minneapolis; a beautiful drive down Hwy 61.  lark is enormous - one of the largest independently owned toy stores in the US. one of the most amazing sights is the carousel - all of the characters are big hand carved wooden sculptures. you have to see it, the details are incredible; it took 9 years to complete.

the lark t-shirt made its way to torrey pines state preserve near san diego, ca and to a field of flowers in the middle of france.  where will the lil wound bird noisily hop to next?

future of spaceflight

the obama administration is reviewing the future of NASA's spaceflight. the shuttles are to be retired in 2010 after 8 more missions to complete the international space station (ISS). NASA plans to return humans to the moon by 2020. but will the recession and fear of the risks bring an end to humans in space? fantastic animation showing how the Ares rockets would work if we do continue to use ISS after 2015.

currently, the shuttle and its crew are servicing the Hubble 350 miles above Earth. a MUST see unbelievable picture of Atlantis next to Hubble with the sun as the pulldown Walmart backdrop here

good parenting/my week has been filled with

'nuff said.

brandon got me addicted to a wide array of crappy reality shows like those on bravo.  make me a supermodel is the most recent show i'm ashamed to say i watch.  this week had an especially entertaining moment -- this incredibly annoying woman, amanda, who is always crying about how much she misses her baby (she had to give up SO MUCH by leaving her one year old son to become a model).  poor retarded thing.

this week the models had to be nude for a photo shoot and this stupid cow says, "i mean, it's no big deal.  i mean, no offense, but i don't want my son to be gay, so i am totally open and naked around him all the time."  sorry bitch, but flashing your titties at your son isn't going to make him want to eat at the Y

ugh... she's the kind of mother who will say, "i don't want you to think i'm one of those mothers, but ____"  other blogs are not pleased either

had to share this horrible forwarded photo.  i mean i love bacon, but

death from afar

ok, way WAY afar

i have to credit my friend's dad for pointing me to the nerdglee in this discovery.  using the Swift satellite, a tremendous gamma ray burst was detected. it was the farthest and oldest object we have ever witnessed dying. it exploded on the other side of the visible universe around 13 billion years ago when the universe was only a baby. it is believed that it will now evolve into a black hole.

the picture above is the faint infrared afterglow of the boom.  that afterglow has been zooming thru space for 13,000,000 years. 

(perspective: our solar system is only 4.6 billion years old)

wonder if any of my afterglow is still flying out there...

the green deepening

spring has had a hard time grabbing hold in minnesota.  but today it feels like it might be here to stay.  i have my first attempt at split pea soup simmering on the stove - very excited to get it in my mouth. i combined two recipes i found online so it has all the lovely veggies you could want and chorizo. mmMMmm today's errands included going to two banks to discuss refi and shopping for appliances.  i'm doing my part to stimulate this economy, dammit.  giddy at the thought of a "new" kitchen

also giddy about tori's new album coming out may 19th.  the video for the first single is worth watching just for her american flag sequined jumpsuit.  a favorite tori moment here - her ranting about brittney spears and her twat.