Lunatic articles travel in packs

Here are two articles that could have been in the Onion but are meant to be serious.

First we have "The Danger of Celebrating Halloween".
http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/prophetic-insight/23723-the-danger-of-celebrating-halloween

This was posted on the CBN web site but was removed so I guess it was even too loony for Pat Robertson. My favorite part?

"During this period demons are assigned against those who participate in the rituals and festivities. These demons are automatically drawn to the fetishes that open doors for them to come into the lives of human beings. For example, most of the candy sold during this season has been dedicated and prayed over by witches."

Next we have this wonderful gem and title pretty much sums the article up:

"The Golden Girls: How One TV Show Turned A Generation Of American Boys Into Homosexuals"

http://christwire.org/2009/10/the-golden-girls-how-one-tv-show-turned-a-generation-of-american-boys-into-homosexuals/

My favorite part of this article:

"The 1980s was an epoch of President Reagan’s manly wisdom and the terrifying threat of Cold War annihilation. America had sobered up from the flashy lights of 1970s disco. We were skipping all night cocaine and sex parties to focus on our careers. Spiritual leaders like Jerry Falwell were telling us that Christianity was in the majority again. On the other side, there was a subculture of homosexuality creeping up on our youths. It gave them an excuse to wear tight jeans and to sneak off to public parks for quick releases with hairy men of different ethnicities."

For the record I was not a fan and am not a fan of Golden Girls.

Tip of the Antennae to an anonymous blogger friend with whiskers for calling my attention to the first article.

File these under humor(I think).

Hedge Apple

Hedge Apple

And darkness falls as happens each year when the planets
Turn their eyes from the sun and clouds lid the earth
Wind whip drives the rains raw, what leaves are left
Excoriated by its sharp tongue

And darkness falls even when the sun bleeds
Through the dawn’s fog and slowly melts the frost
Geese honk fading in the air as if no one is around
To hear them in the orange light

And darkness falls even in mid-day through the branches
Now stilled and fires banked smolder in your buds
I feel in vain amongst the thorns on your rough trunk
Until I feel the littlest promise of light
For me to cling

Click Fox Off?

I am no fan of FOX News but I think MoveOn.org's latest campaign to get Democratic Party leaders to stay off that network maybe counter productive. MoveOn.org's e-mail to its members including yours truly says in part:

"All year, FOX has worked 24/7 to block President Obama's agenda—repeating lies about "death panels," promoting Tea Party protests, and whipping up fake political scandals.1

Now, President Obama is fighting back. The White House communications director said FOX is a "wing of the Republican Party...let's not pretend they're a news network."2 To draw attention to its biased coverage, President Obama will not appear on FOX for the rest of this year.3


It's about time Democrats stood up to FOX! Can you sign this petition asking Democrats to support President Obama's stance by staying off FOX as long as he does? "

Sometimes a boycott can be effective but this one seems likely to promote more FOX network distortions and maybe further unmoore FOX and its supporters from reality. I suggest a two pronged approach if people really feel the urge to boycott FOX. First get MORE Democrats on FOX news and make sure that they are schooled in how to defuse FOX commentator rhetorical tricks.

Second Democrats should boycott FOX and let their cable companies know what they think about FOX. Viewers are after all is what FOX needs to survive. Democrats might also consider avoiding other FOX assets such as Myspace. Here is a list for instance internet assets:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_Corporation#Internet

The MoveOne.org petition link is at http://www.civic.moveon.org/foxobama/

I know, herding liberals and Democrats is like herding cats, but using the channel changer, and your mouse to Click FOX off is probably the best thing to do here. Liberals and moderates are a big enough group that clicking FOX off ought to be a more effective mass strategy.

In amber light

In amber light
Originally uploaded by pdecell

My kind of fall leaf shot. From Mary's Lake in Lawrence Kansas. Th ant is Camponotus and is presumably collecting honey dew from the aphids.

Thorns

thorns
Originally uploaded by pdecell

Fall sneaks up
in a robe of thorns
the herald of winter
playing her windy bones.

A lesson from my plants

Here are three plants from my collection:

Plant number 1














Plant number 2



















and finally...

Plant number 3















Which are cacti?

A little more information. At least one is a cactus.

The first plant grows in warm semi arid regions in South America. Some members of this group of plants get to be mid sized trees but most are shrubby.

The second plant has reduced leaves that function as thorns and it is found in deserts in the SW United States and Mexico.

The third plant lives in the jungles of Southern Mexico and into Central America.

All three plants have very similar looking and distinctive complex flowers, all organized in the same basic way.

So which are cacti? How do you know?

Orchid at Sunset

orchid at sunset
Originally uploaded by pdecell

You always have to be ready whenever a good picture strikes. I was prepping some steaks to grill and caught the red light of sunset reflecting from some common Dendrobium in bloom. So I dashed upstairs to get my camera to film the luscious colors before the light could fade.

Yet another odd plant

Readers of my blog know I love odd plants. So here is my latest:



This is Cissus and I am thinking C. quadrangularis. Got this wonderful plant today at the Lawrence farmer's market. Has these great segmented stems. The plant is in the grape family and apparently has medicinal properties.

This article from Lipid World (Julius Oben , Dieudonne Kuate , Gabriel Agbor , Claudia Momo and Xavio Talla, Lipids in Health and Disease 2006, 5:24doi:10.1186/1476-511X-5-24 )claims:

"Cissus quadrangularis, for example, is used by common folk in India to hasten the fracture healing process. In Cameroon, the whole plant is used in oral re-hydration, while in Africa and Asia the leaf, stem, and root extracts are utilized in the management of various ailments. Phytochemical analyses of Cissus quadrangularis reveal a high content of ascorbic acid, carotene, phytosterol substances and calcium, and there have also been reports of the presence of β-sitosterol, δ-amyrin and δ-amyrone . All these components have potentially different metabolic and physiologic effects. "

The article further concludes that extracts of this plant are effective for weight loss and metabolic syndrome in a randomized double blind placebo experiment. Now don't all go rushing out to buy extracts from this plant because the long term effects of the extract are not known.

Also from reading the materials and methods it really isn't clear whether the effects were do to this plant or other materials in the extract:

"The Cissus quadrangularis formula, Cylaris™, contains a Cissus quadrangularis extract (supplied by Gateway Health Alliances, Inc, Fairfield, California, USA), standardized to contain a minimum of 2.5% phytosterols and a minimum of 15% soluble plant fiber. The formula also consists of a soy albumin extract (supplied by Gateway Health Alliances, Inc, Fairfield, California, ... All active and placebo capsules were manufactured and bottled by Protein Research, Inc."

No where does the article state what was in the placebo beyond that the placebo capsule was identical in shape color and appearance. So maybe the experiment needs a little tighter control to be convincing.