Friday, May 30, 2008

Homeless in Japan...

Here is a story of a 58 year old woman found living in a closet in a man's house in Japan. She went undetected for 1 year. He became suspicious when noticing food going missing and installed security cameras.

I just can't imagine how it would feel to live with desperation like that... I have such abundance in my life...

later man, jan

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Phoenix Lander Arrives at Mars ...



"Phoenix has landed on Mars. After traveling for 10 months on a 422-million-mile route, the spacecraft landed right on time in the northern arctic plains of Mars, at 68 degrees north, near the polar cap, just before 5 pm Pacific Daylight Time (PDT). And the first images are already in."
...quoted from Planetary News

Yay - it made it...check out this artistic animation from NASA.

later man, jan

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

My Dad Needs a New Belt...


I came across this man in Nicaragua who makes leather belts - and remembered that I need to shop for a new belt for my dad - he has split the hole on the one he wears every day. I wonder if I can find one made in Central America - how cool that would be.

check him out at Kiva.org...
it says he also makes orthopedic footwear. Carlos fully supports and cares for his one son who is studying in the city. Carlos is requesting this loan to purchase additional materials for his business, specifically various types of leather. Carlos hopes that you accept his request so that he can continue his business and continue to provide for his wife and son. I loaned him $25 - how about you?

later man, jan

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Bloggers Unite for Human Rights May 15th...


2008 is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations.

The Every Human has Rights campaign has been initiated by The Gobal Elders (a.o. Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan, Muhammad Yunus, Mary Robinson and Aung San Suu Kyi) and partners to empower global citizens to protect the first-ever comprehensive agreement on human rights among nations. Please read and sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Make your personal pledge to live your life by its principles.

Our world never need your help more than it does right now!

later man, jan

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander...



NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander is ready to end its long journey and begin a three-month mission to taste and sniff fistfuls of Martian soil and buried ice. The lander is scheduled to touch down on the Red Planet May 25.

later man, jan

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Hope to the Hopeless...



There is a new children's book on the market. One Hen is based on the true story of Kwabena Darko - a fatherless child living in Ghana in West Africa who starts on the road to success with a microloan. See the full story here

Here is an excerpt from 'One Hen'
by Katie Smith Milway

"Kojo's idea is to buy a hen. He and his mother will eat some of the eggs it lays and sell the rest at the market. There is a farmer in a neighboring village with many hens, and Kojo will ask to buy one.

It takes Kojo two hours to walk to the chicken farm. By the time he arrives, he is hot and dusty. He wonders how he will know which hen to choose. There are so many!

Kojo tries to look over all the chickens. A white one pecks the ground near his foot. Should he choose this hen? A speckled one flaps her wings and clucks. Perhaps she is the one? All at once Kojo spies a plump brown hen with a bright red comb sitting in her nest and puffing out her feathers. She looks as if she would enjoy laying eggs. Now he doesn't have to think: he knows in his heart that she is the one.

Kojo pays for the brown hen and puts her in a wicker basket. He gently covers the hen with a cloth and lifts the basket onto his head. As he walks home, he dreams about the future and he sees a lot of eggs in it — eggs to eat and, if he is lucky, eggs that he can sell to buy more hens."

Selection from One Hen by Katie Smith Milway and illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes reprinted by permission of Kids Can Press Ltd., Toronto. Text copyright (c) 2008 Katie Smith Milway. Illustrations copyright (c) 2008 Eugenie Fernandes.

You could be one of the lenders to someone like Kojo... check out Kiva

later man, jan

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Going to Peru???


Anyone travelling to Peru should look up this lady... SeƱora Bertha Paredes Tandaypan...She decided to prepare stuffed potatoes in the afternoons, at the beginning selling them from house to house. As time passed and she became better known, people started to come to her house to buy the prepared food.

A blog search for recipes found this "Papa rellena with aji verde and pickled onions. This potato fritter is filled with picadillo (garlic and onion spiked ground beef) with one or two raisins, an olive or two, and half of a hard boiled egg."

later man, jan

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Trees For the Future will Plant a Tree - or 2 - or more...

Here's an interesting site - the more you play - the more trees they plant. For every 10 questions you answer correctly, Trees For The Future will plant a tree.

How much do you know about caring for the environment...

How many questions can you answer correctly... go to JogoGreen.com and give it a try!

later man, jan

Friday, May 02, 2008

Send your Name to the Moon...

Got this from the Planetary Society website I follow...

"NASA invites people of all ages to join the lunar exploration journey with an opportunity to send their names to the Moon aboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft.

The Send Your Name to the Moon website enables everyone to participate in the lunar adventure and place their names in orbit around the Moon for years to come. At the site, participants can submit their information and print a certificate. The database of names will be placed on a microchip that will be integrated onto the spacecraft. The deadline for submitting names is June 27, 2008.

"Everyone who sends their name to the Moon, like I'm doing, becomes part of the next wave of lunar explorers," said Cathy Peddie, deputy project manager for LRO at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "The LRO mission is the first step in NASA's plans to return humans to the moon by 2020, and your name can reach there first. How cool is that?"

well - I think this is 'way cool :) and I have already submitted for Peter and Morgan and printed certificates for them...

later man, jan

Baby Dropping Ritual...

There is a YouTube video going the rounds with no explanations and with comments turned off. We saw this on the news, and while I don't think we should go around dropping our babies, we also need a lot more information to claim wrongdoing. You can find the video with news commentary here.

I think we have enough Muslim bashing going on without adding one more reason... what do you think?

later man, jan

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Aww Dave - get better soon...

Las Vegas...


How could I resist...
She's wearing a t-shirt that says Las Vegas and runs a flea market business selling used shoes in the City of Apia in Samoa (an island in the South Pacific). Elisapeta has 5 grown up children, with two of them working now, and three still in school. She is requesting a loan of $1000 which she will use to purchase 3-dozen shoes for her business and also iron roofing for her house. I can add my $25 to the pool - she still needs $775.
later man, jan