If you were a rat with bad karma due to spreading bubonic plague in medieval times, how would you clear your karma? Simple... be reborn as the hero rat who sniffs out land mines, such as those that still litter countries like Cambodia and Angola. These giant rats with powerful noses can sniff out a land mine much faster than a dog or a human with a metal detector. It can cover an area in 20 minutes that would take a human four days. And for those animal lovers out there, no they don't die in the process. They are too light to set off the mines. Even though it takes about nine months to train the large rodent, these unlikely heroes have made a big impact in countries that suffer thousands of casualties and injuries each year due to land mines. Rats in heaven? These rats might just reach nirvana.
It's all about hair awareness. But to what end I wondered. Since cancer patients often lose their hair, no-shave.org encourages you to grow yours and forgo the razor for one month, donating the amount you might have spent on grooming to fund cancer research. Many salons are starting to give a discount in November, so why not grow a beard, try a new style, and help to raise awareness when they ask you "why the whiskers?"
One of the first pieces of classical music that I heard and liked was the Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi. Almost everyone has heard the Four Seasons. But did you know that after his death in 1741, his music was not listened to, and it fell into obscurity. His music was brought back into the public eye (or ear) in 1939, and has been popular ever since. Spring, summer, fall or winter... any time of year is a good time to listen to Vivaldi.
It is purported that the first magician to pull a rabbit out of his hat on stage was John Henry Anderson, otherwise known as The Wizard of the North. No one is able to actually validate this little tidbit, but he is famous for it nonetheless. You might say he managed to "pull a rabbit out of a hat" when it comes to the old history books! But that was back in the early 19th century when rabbits were apparently rather expendable. Today if you want to pull a rabbit out of a hat in the US, your required to have a license and apparently, magicians must also provide the USDA with a detailed disaster plan for protecting the rabbit in case of dangerous weather. Which now begs the question...why?
Hans Island belongs to Canada ...or is it Denmark. Well no one really knows, nor can they agree. They agree to disagree. And it is a rather friendly disagreement. One that involves Whiskey and Schnapps. When the Canadians visit, they leave their flag and a bottle of Canadian Whiskey, and when the Danish visit they change the flag to one of their own and leave Schnapps. I think everyone is hoping the dispute goes on for a long time.
As I was selling some of my plants today, a discussion about aloe started. The fellow said there was over 900 species. Of course I googled it. More than 500 species is more accurate, of which Aloe Vera is only one. So the next time you run outside to cut off a stem to put on a kitchen burn or apply a little of its soothing gel to your hemorrhoids (yes it works), then you might want to question whether or not the plant you have has the last name Vera. Very few of the over 500 species are medicinal. Some grow as big as trees and others are small and sweet. One of the best places to see a variety of aloes is at a garden in Santa Barbara called Lotus Land. You can see my pictures of it here.