Myrtus

Awesome video, but don't watch it...

if you're afraid of heights...

Imagine these beauties coming at ya!

Photos of the day -- -- OrlandoSentinel.com

British judges get makeover

Judges abandon wigs for 'Star Trek' look | NEWS.com.au

BRITISH judges have abandoned a 300-year-old tradition of wearing horsehair wigs to a chorus of mockery from fashion critics and traditionalists, who say the new robes have turned them into Star Trek look-a-likes.

Well, I kinda like them.  At least they're not nearly as scary looking as those new Peruvian anti-riot police uniforms.

And on the other hand, the new Chinese army uniforms look adorable, don't you think? ;D

For Andy

I found the perfect place for you to house your precious toys...

Only problem.....getting your hands on one could possibly land you in jail.

This one of a kind jewelry box is brought to you by Los Carpenteros via FRONTLINE/World . Video | PBS. 

Move over Myspace, FashionSpace is here!

Good news for fashion lovers and designers. 

You can now get your fashion fix and connect with others at FashionSpace.com, your very own social network.

Fashionspace - showcase, swap, sell designer and vintage clothes, footwear, jewellery, bags and accessories

Sahar Al-Kathib - The Voice & Passion of Lebanon

God bless this woman for taking on a whole army of religious nutjobs!

No news is good news!

I found this cool video via AllanThinks.  <~~ Click on the link and you'll find an even better version with the same concept.

 

I've received a bunch of emails from our regular readers, friends and family recently, wondering why I haven't been in touch or updating the blog in the last couple of months. 

Fact is, I've been deliberately trying to detox from my usual online activities, which were gradually becoming a major source of negative energy in my life, especially because of the negative news and politics that's currently dominating the global mindset. I thought this video kind of explains my current state of mind in a way without having to go into too much detail.

Just to give you an idea what I'm talking about, here's an exchange I had with my friend A via email a couple of weeks ago.

You know, to be honest with you, at first I just got tired of the news and I guess I just got tired of same old routine.  Oh it's probably a combination of a whole bunch of things.

I guess when I really think about it, I got tired of politics, I got tired of religion, I got tired of political blogs, I got burnt out on the US elections, I got burnt out on hearing about Islam this, that and the other thing, I got tired of a lot of things.  Altogether everything seemed to be coming at me like one big giant heap of monotonous ugliness that kept on growing bigger by the minute, with the only occasional variable perhaps the increasing level of hatred tightening the noose on reason, understanding and overall human compassion left and right, and everywhere else I looked.  So instead of bitching about it, not knowing where I'd be headed, I decided to dig deeper elsewhere and try to find better, more positive ways to express myself.  And before I knew it I got busy doing other things and almost forgot about blogging altogether.

A responds:

I know how you feel, I get up early in the morning, feed the animals, make a cup of coffee and then sit down to read the news and the blogs.  You're right, there seems to be nothing that makes sense anymore.  The world seems to be spiraling downward into insanity. My brother and I often discuss this very situation.  Right is wrong, left is right, good is evil.  Nothing computes in our minds.  There is no reasoning anymore, the whole world seems as if it is running on emotion and "feelings" alone.  No one uses any common sense in any area of their lives.  And the complete destruction of morals in society almost makes you want to sit down and cry sometimes.   Here the world is on the brink of destruction, in the credit crunch, nuclear war, religious fanaticism and all we can focus on is Brittany Spears flashing her crotch, Miley Cyrus and her faux nude photos, and Amy Winehouse and her drunken and drugged life, who is screwing who and who is getting married for the uncounted time.  WTF.  Don't let it get you down, kid.  You know that anytime that you start to get snowed under and are feeling a little (or a lot) blue, you can always come here and vent to me.  We'll try to keep each other on an even keel and give each other a boost whenever needed.  That's why we have loads of animals, whenever things start to get me down, I just sit or lay down and they come and snuggle around me and then there is peace in the world, at least my small part of it.

It's so true, when all else fails, I think house pets are a perfect remedy to feeling blue.  I wish I had one...they have very strict pet rules and added fees to the rent here at the apartment where I live. 

My goal is to own a home by next year around this time (if the real estate market remains favorable), preferably one with a big enough yard where I can keep a donkey.

Hey why not?  I love dogs and cats, horses and camels scare me, but I think donkeys are awfully cute! 

Here's a donkey song for my Moroccan friends/donkey lovers.

First billion dollar home in the world

No wait, make that 2 billion....

Hah!  Not too bizarre huh?

Inside The World's First Billion-Dollar Home - Forbes.com

Like many families with the means to do so, the Ambanis wanted to build a custom home. They consulted with architecture firms Perkins + Will and Hirsch Bedner Associates, the designers behind the Mandarin Oriental, based in Dallas and Los Angeles, respectively. Plans were then drawn up for what will be the world's largest and most expensive home: a 27-story skyscraper in downtown Mumbai with a cost nearing $2 billion, says Thomas Johnson, director of marketing at Hirsch Bedner Associates. The architects and designers are creating as they go, altering floor plans, design elements and concepts as the building is constructed.

View more pictures & video here.

You can now grow body parts with "pixie dust"

God forbid it happens to anyone of us, but if you lose a limb, a recent scientific breakthrough now makes it possible to regrow body parts. 

Scientists hope that within 10 years we'll be able to regrow arms and legs.  And the US military is all ears, recognizing the tremendous potential for restoring body parts of injured soldiers. 

The miracle powder, or "pixie dust" that does the trick, is made by scraping the cells from the inside of a pig's bladder. 

BBC NEWS | Health | The man who grew a finger (watch the video)

"I put my finger in," Mr Spievak says, pointing towards the propeller of a model airplane, "and that's when I sliced my finger off."

It took the end right off, down to the bone, about half an inch.

"We don't know where the piece went."

The photos of his severed finger tip are pretty graphic. You can understand why doctors said he'd lost it for good.

Today though, you wouldn't know it. Mr Spievak, who is 69 years old, shows off his finger, and it's all there, tissue, nerves, nail, skin, even his finger print.

'Pixie dust'

How? Well that's the truly remarkable part. It wasn't a transplant. Mr Spievak re-grew his finger tip. He used a powder - or pixie dust as he sometimes refers to it while telling his story.

Mr Speivak's brother Alan - who was working in the field of regenerative medicine - sent him the powder.

For ten days Mr Spievak put a little on his finger.

"The second time I put it on I already could see growth. Each day it was up further. Finally it closed up and was a finger.

"It took about four weeks before it was sealed."

Now he says he has "complete feeling, complete movement."

The "pixie dust" comes from the University of Pittsburgh, though in the lab Dr Stephen Badylak prefers to call it extra cellular matrix.

You're gonna love this ad....

because it's clever.

No?

Take a look at the next pic and you'll see why.

Telquel going National Enquirer on the King

That's hottt!

TelQuel : Le Maroc tel qu'il est

Note:

For our readers from other regions of the world who are not familiar with The National Enquirer - it's that American publication most known for dishing out dirt on celebrities (with real stories and fabricated ones) among other things.  It seems obvious Telquel is headed in the same direction, desperately seeking readership as of late.

The story that never ends

I'll give you a line, you finish. 

Here it goes:

Mr. Wright, the man who married Obama in his church, has gone drastically wrong....

[AndyJ].....he has become the Man of Steel's Kryptonite.

[Larwyn].....by going WRIGHT BRAINED which is not "crazy uncle" bird brained, but rather, planned devious & cunning left-brained manipulation of his "flock" for his own aggrandizement and profit.

Morocco To Pay Parents To Send Their Kids To School

This MUST become a primary issue for Moroccans everywhere! Please don't make me state the obvious again ... why this has to rise to the forefront of Moroccan outreach.

Morocco is to pay parents to send children to schools in a system so bad that there is no drinking water in three quarters of rural establishments, the country's education minister said Saturday.

Ahmed Akhchichine told the newspaper Journal Hebdomadaire that a new government programme would tackle neglect of the education of poor children especially in rural areas, saying a similar scheme had already proved effective in Mexico.

"We are going to pay parents to send their children to school," said Akhchichine.

"At present, 75 percent of countryside schools have no drinking water and 80 percent have no toilets," he revealed.

Girls can give up going to school entirely because of the absence of toilet facilities, the minister admitted.

Moroccan school education did not meet the hopes of society, he said.

Bahrain's Ambassador to the USA Will Be Jewish

It's always great to see minorities elevate their status -- in this case a Jewish woman from the Persian Gulf. From the JTA via the Jerusalem Post:

Bahrain will name a Jewish ambassador to the United States, a report said.

Huda Azar Nunu, a Jewish woman who is a lawmaker in Bahrain's upper house, will be named to the Washington position, according to a report this week in A Sharq al-Awsat, a Saudi-owned pan-Arab daily published in London.

"The sources denied that the appointment of Nunu as a woman and a Jew is a public relations campaign by Bahrain in the West, emphasizing that Huda Nunu has proven her qualifications, whether through her membership in the Consultative Council or through her work in human rights associations, of which she is an active participant in Bahrain," the newspaper said.

Bahrain, a Persian Gulf state sandwiched between Iran and Saudi Arabia, has a tiny Jewish population dating back to Talmudic times. Nunu is descended from Iraqi Jews who migrated to the port of Manama in the late 19th century. Jews in Bahrain have kept a low profile but generally have been treated well.

Islamic Fashion Show in Istanbul

Balkan Travellers reports:

A fashion show of a women’s collection of clothes made in accordance with Islamic traditions took place in Istanbul, international and local media reported.

The collection for the spring/summer 2008 season was presented by Tekbir, one of Turkey's leading religious dress labels, and contained more than 100 models.

The event took place a few days ago. Here are some photos from Yahoo: