WeeWeeChu

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One beautiful December evening Pedro and his girlfriend Rosita were sitting by the side of the ocean. It was a romantic full moon, when Pedro said,
"Hey babes, let's do Weeweechu."
"Not now sweety, we just did it. Lets look at the moon" said Rosita.
"Oh, c'mon baby, let's you and I play Weeweechu. I love you and it's the perfect time," Pedro begged.
"But I wanna just hold your hand and watch the moon."
"Please, honey, just once, play Weeweechu with me."
Rosita looked at Pedro and said, "OK, one last time, lets play Weeweechu."

Pedro grabbed his guitar and they both sang.....
"Weeweechu a Merry Christmas,
Weeweechu a Happy Hanukkah,
Weeweechu a Happy Eid-ul-Adha,
and a Happy New Year."

Also extending my wishes to my brothers and sisters across the world...
Happy Hari Raya Haji, Kwanzaa, Shogatsu, Las Posadas, Hogmanay, Winter Solstice and everything else that brings you peace, joy and happiness at this festive occasion.

Happy Holidays!!!!!

The Pelican Brief

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"Oh, a wondrous bird is the pelican!
His bill holds more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Enough food for a week.
But I'm darned if I know how the helican."

Dixon Lanier Merritt
(1879-1972)


There are eight species of pelicans in the world, all of which are similar in shape and are primarily white in colour (with the exception of the Brown Pelican). The pelicans featured in this post are the only white pelicans in North America and are called the American White Pelicans.

Pelicans are among the larger and heavier birds in the world, so they are very impressive in flight. Their bodies are mostly white, with black primaries and outer secondaries, which are hidden until the bird outstretches it's enormous wings.

Lord of the Lorikeets

Lorikeets are small, brightly coloured, highly arboreal parrots, a native of Australia. This most striking colored and noisy bird is one of 328 species of parrots found and 1 of 21 subspecies of Lorikeets called the Rainbow Lorikeet. Their distribution is mainly throughout New Zealand and coastal lowlands of northern and eastern Australia. Elsewhere, it is widespread from Indonesia to Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

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Rainbow Lorikeets exhibit a dazzling color combination, ranging from emerald green, orange, midnight blue, dull blue, ruby red, lemon yellow, purple, violet greenish grey. Surprisingly enough this colourful bird can be hard sometimes to pick out in its natural habitat. They are a small bird generally 11 to 12 inches long, weighing 120 to 140 grams on average; females are generally a bit smaller and adolescents have duller markings

East African Crowned Crane

The East African Crowned Crane is a very striking bird and gets its name from the distinctive golden "crown" of feathers on its head. They are found in the marshes, cultivated lands and grassy flatlands near rivers and lakes in eastern Congo, Uganda, and Kenya to central Tanzania.

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The Real Macaw

Macaws are the most colorful and strikingly beautiful members of the parrot family and have the typical parrot features. They have large, strong, curved beaks designed to crush nuts and seeds. Strong, agile toes are used like hands to grasp things. Loud, screeching and squawking voices help make their presence known in dense rain forests and that is how they communicate with their group. Their native habitats are the forests, especially rain forests, of Mexico, Central and South America and sometimes the Caribbean Islands.

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The Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are small birds in the family Trochilidae. They are known for their ability to hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings, 15 to 80 times per second. Capable of sustained hovering, the hummingbird has the ability to fly deliberately backwards or vertically, and to maintain position while drinking from flower blossoms. They are named for the characteristic hum made by their wings.

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Hummingbirds are attracted to many flowering plants—shrimp plants, Heliconia, bromeliads, verbenas, fuchsias, many penstemons—especially those with red flowers. They feed on the nectar of these plants and are important pollinators, especially of deep-throated flowers. Most species of hummingbird also eat insects, especially when feeding young.

A Time To Reflect

“There are three methods to gaining wisdom. The first is reflection, which is the highest. The second is Imitation, which is the easiest. The third is experience, which is the bitterest.”

-Confucius

“Study without reflection is a waste of time; reflection without study is dangerous” -Confucius

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“It is usually a surprise to discover that most ugliness we see in others is but a reflection of our own nature”
-Anonymous

“The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind.”
-Wayne Dyer

“A soul without reflection, like a pile Without inhabitant, to ruin runs.”
-Edward Young

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
-Mark Twain

“Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some”
-Charles Dickens

“The outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to reflect their inner beliefs”
-James Allen

Samoan Fire Knife Dancers

The Samoan fire knife dance (or Siva Afi as it is called in Samoa) is more than a popular spectacle that adds sizzle to a Hawaiian luau*. It’s a tradition that has been passed from generation to generation, with each adding a new layer of style, boldness and skill.


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In 1946, Letuli Olo Misilagi was the first man to add fire to the traditional Samoan ailao, or knife dance after he was inspired by a fire eater and a baton twirler in San Francisco. The ailao, a fierce traditional dance that involves the twirling of the nifo oti (war knife), was a pre-war ritual in Samoa used to psyche up warriors.

Today, of course, the Samoan fire knife dance is a power packed performance in Polynesian revues or luaus. There are fire knife dance competitions held throughout the Pacific, including the annual World Fire Knife Dance Competition at the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) in Oahu. Each May, competitors from around the world gather on the island’s North Shore to display their fire knife skills. There’s even a Junior World Fire Knife Competition, which spotlights youngsters ranging in ages from 12 to 17.

A Bug's Life

It's a bug-eat-bug world out there, princess. This is the way things are supposed to work: The sun grows the food, the ants pick the food, the grasshoppers eat the food...
- Hopper ~~ "A Bug's Life"


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God in His wisdom made the fly
And then forgot to tell us why.
- Ogden Nash ~~~"The Fly"

Some days you're the bug,
Some days you're the windshield.
- Price Cobb

I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico. Hahahaha... what did you expect, a quote on the Gecko?. To those who still did not get the joke, GEICO is an auto insurance company here in the US and that statement is the butt of all their funny commercials. The green gecko is their official mascot.

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.
- Richard Bach

A Tahitian Wedding

[...] [EDIT]: This is not a real wedding as some of you might think. This was a show at the Polynesian Cultural Center that depicts a Tahitian Wedding. More information on this show here
Horizons: Where the Sea Meets the Sky
[...]


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The sound of drums could be heard from a distance. The lights gradually dimmed out and the tempo and volume of the drums picks up to a deafening blast. In a few moment, the music and everything stopped, it was pitch dark and dead quiet. The only sounds that could be heard were the whispers... "Tahiti".

Floral Fantasy III

Apologies to all my blogger pals for not visiting your blog. I have been very busy and will be for the next couple of days. I will try to catch up with your posts as and when i find time.
Have a great week ahead. I missed you lots.

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Pot of Gold... Anyone?

A room with a view...
How often does this come true?

It did, for us. We were in Waikiki, staying at the Hawaii Prince Hotel; lucky enough to get a room on the 8th floor with a view of the ocean. I woke up to a lovely morning, warm and sunny; a perfect day for the beach. Very soon, all my hopes were dashed by the rain which caught me by surprise. There goes my perfect day, i thought to myself and started sulking. I had been warned of these spells of rain which could dampen spirits and everything around.


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But what i saw after five minutes made me go wide-eye and drop-jaw. The sun creeped out of the clouds slowly to unveil the most brilliant rainbow i had ever seen this close. The rain had stopped, making me wonder if the only reason for its existence was to let the sun paint this exotic rainbow. One end of this rainbow was on a boat docked in the marina, so is that where my pot of gold would have been?

Last night I dreamt a rainbow,
I ran towards it like a child.
I paced and raced in it's direction,
Oh, how long and hard I tried.

I fought every living foe,
just to reach my colourful crescent.
When I'd defeated every enemy,
my goal was twice as distant.

I slumped down against an oak tree,
and held my face within my hands.
Then like a flash as bright as the rainbow,
I thought up a masterplan.

Standing up from the tree stump,
without a whimper or a groan,
I let a tear fall from my eyes
and made a rainbow of my own

-2much2love
My Rainbow

A Ray of Light

Steve Irwin's death has me disturbed ever since i heard about it. It was a tragic and a freak accident that has every one shocked and shaken. He was a person the world admired for his guts, courage and fearlessness. He lived the life he wanted, the way he wanted and pushed it to extreme boundaries that no ordinary human could even think of. He always lived life on the edge and enjoyed doing what he did.


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The tragic accident resulting in his death was caused by a Stingray which is the most docile and timid of the sea creatures. What is ironic is that the Stingray is not on Steve Irwin's list of the most dangerous creatures in the world. In the last one decade, it has been estimated that there have been less than 30 deaths caused by Stingrays worldwide and Steve Irwin's is the thrid known death in Australia.

I'm sure you all know by now how he died from the Stingray barb, so i wont talk much about it. Besides his death, there was something else in the news that was bothering me for the last couple of days. I heard it on radio, saw it on tv and read it online yesterday. It is about people retaliating and attacking Stingrays probably in order to take revenge for his death. Here are the links
ABC News
MSNBC

I wanted to take this opportunity to share some information about Stingrays and let people know that Stingrays are harmless and very docile creatures.

Rest in Peace Steve Irwin. You were our "Ray of Light" and we will miss you.

Beaches of Paradise

Hawaii (also known as the Aloha State) is atleast 2000 miles away from anywhere and is considered a paradise known for its crystal clear, blue pristine clean beaches and tropical weather. Hawaii consists of 6 islands; Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Lanai, Molokai and the big island of Hawaii. Our trip this time was to the islands of Oahu and Maui.

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Footprints in the Sand

One night I had a dream-
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with God.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there was only one.



I noticed that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints,
so I said to God,

“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most difficult times of my life,
there has only been one set of footprints in the sand.

Why,
when I needed you most,
you were not there for me?”



God replied,
“My precious child,
I love you,
and would never leave you.
The times when you saw only one set of footprints,
was when I was carrying you.”

Mary Stevenson, 1936

Calaveras Reservoir

Here is another picture from my panoramic series. I had posted the earlier one here

Seen below is the Calaveras Reservoir, located in the Santa Clara County. The reservoir has a capacity of 100,000 acre-feet (123,000,000 m³). Calaveras Dam, which creates the reservoir, used to be the largest earth fill dam in the world. It is 210 feet (64 m) tall and was completed in 1925. The city and county of San Francisco owns the dam and reservoir. This region is a geologically active area with the Calaveras Fault running below it. A lot of mini quakes are reported everyday in and around this area.

Click picture to open in panoramic mode.

The Calaveras Valley is rich and diverse in wildlife. Some of the most common animals include deer, coyotes, squirrels, turkeys, vultures, red-winged blackbirds, yellow-billed magpies, red-tailed hawks, brewer's blackbirds, purple martins, barn swallows, bullock's orioles, and warblers. It is also abundant with farms having horses and cows.

I will post more of this series later.

Dolphins

Margie had posted a Mechanical Contrivium on her blog. I tried it and the result predicted that my intelligence is a little more than that of a porpoise. So i decided that i will post some pictures and information concerning Dolphins, the superior cousins of the Porpoise. Featured in this blog are Bottle Nosed Dolphins i took pictures of in Six Flags Marine World and Sea World in San Diego.

Dolphins are some of the most highly intelligent creatures on earth. These warm-blooded mammals belong to a group of mammals called Cetaceans which also encompass all whales. They have lungs and breath through a single blowhole on the top of their head and can hold their breath for about 10 minutes under water.


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Dolphins come in many colors and there are a total of 67 species known. Their senses are very highly developed, with acute hearing superior to that of humans, acute eyesight and sense of touch but have a limited sense of smell. Little is known about a dolphin's sense of taste, although they do have taste buds and show strong preferences for certain types of food fishes.

Dolphins are social animals, living in "pods" of up to a dozen. In places with a high abundance of food, pods can join temporarily, forming an aggregation called a superpod; such groupings may exceed 1000 dolphins. They demonstrate extraordinary team work when they go hunting. The pods surround schools of fish preventing them from escaping. The dolphins then take turns jumping into the trapped schools grabbing a mouthful and thus starts the feeding frenzy. Sharks often get excited when dolphins are around and join the food party too. Now who would pass a free meal?

More than just being a fascinating sea creature and fellow mammals, dolphins and humans have a history of positive interaction with one another. Dolphins routinely interact with swimmers and divers in a very playful fashion, swimming closely, nosing around and even offering a lift when a person gently grabs onto the dorsal fin.

Because of their high capacity for learning, dolphins have been employed by humans for any number of purposes. Dolphins trained to perform in front of an audience have become a favorite attraction all over the world. Their intelligence combined with their ability to travel at speeds of ~20 MPH and dive deep, they are used by the US Navy Marines to perform tasks such as ship and harbour protection, mine detection and clearance, and equipment recovery. They are also used as sentries to protect harbor installations against unauthorized human swimmers.

A quick fact before i end this post. Did you know that Dolphins are the only mammals besides human beings that mate for pleasure?? ;)

Take care and thanks for reading.

Floral Fantasy II

Flowers, everyone's favorite subject. Used in every occasion. It is so amazing that color, fragrance, shape and beauty comes bundled in one package. Here are some from my collection for you to enjoy...

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Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend :-) Adios

Wilson Pickett

Margie, This post is dedicated to you.

You asked for one song, i give you the whole album :)
Dance away... :)

A Tale of Two Pigeons - Week 7 - Grand Finale

Week 7 : 14 Aug - 20 Aug 2006

14 Aug 2006
Feeding frenzies still go on. Parents still fly in with food. Notice how Elvira digs into the parent's beak for food. Carlos watches by.


Food fight! May the strongest bird win...


15 Aug 2006
"Mom look... i can fly!".
Elvira showing off her newly acquired talent and long feathers. They are still not confident of flying. They practice one small flight at a time not lasting for over 2 seconds.


16 Aug 2006
Week 7 and they already look like adults. Notice their feet, claws and their feathers.


See the baby fuzz on Carlos's feathers? Elvira doesnt have any, Carlos might lose them in the next two days.


17 Aug 2006
Standing tall in their new house. Their flight duration has increased a bit. They can flap up to a height of 6 feet and fly back down. This means they could fly to the balcony ledge and see a new whole world from there. (And no. They dont start singing "A whole new world" from Aladdin)


No more baby fuzz.. woohoo!!


Aww.. I love you too, little fella :)


18 Aug 2006
This was the best part. The mom and kiddos were lined up on the balcony. It was interesting to watch the parent give flight lessons to juniors. Mom shoots out instructions and Elvira repeats. Carlos seems disinterested and distracted. He is not paying attention to the class.


After explaining a couple of flight tips and tricks, mom flies over to the neigbour's balcony to give them a demo. Elvira follows, screws up with the landing, panics and returns back to our balcony. She succeeds the second time she tries. After a successful landing, she hops over to the mother and delivers a kiss on her cheek as if telling her.. "I made it mom, I made it!! mwwaahh... i love you!!!"


Carlos on the other side has still not made up his mind. He looks down from the third floor balcony; he is not afraid of heights. He just doesnt remember the take-off instructions, because he wasnt paying attention when mom was giving a demo. After a couple of pondering moments, he decides to take the plunge and surprisingly, he makes it to the other side on the first attempt! They go back and forth, back and forth for a couple of times before they retire for the night.


Carlos tired from all the flying and flapping calls it a day and goes to sleep.

19 Aug 2006
Carlos and Elvira flew away for a couple of hours and came back in the night to sleep. I think it was their day out which included flying lessons, socializing and introduction to other pigeon families, making friends, food hunting and learning to stay away from their predators.


20 Aug 2006
They are gone. They did not return for the night. We felt so lonely once we realized that they were gone for good and we might not see them again. We miss those flappy buggers. They were the center of our attraction for the last 7 weeks and kept us busy and occupied. We let them stay, fed them, gave them cute names, provided them protection and shelter, cleaned up their mess, took pictures, made them a celebrity on this blog, avoided using the a/c as long as they were around.... and now they fly away without a word of thanks. Well, actually Sal said that they came to the big balcony glass door and knocked on it with their beaks and tried to look inside. Maybe they wanted to thank us, i dont know, i wasnt there.

This brings an end to the wonderful learning experience up close and personal. Got some nice pictures. Thank you all for your support, encouragement and nice words; I wouldnt have completed it without you. I hope you enjoyed the series as much as we did.

Though the series has officially concluded, i might post a random picture or two if i see them again. I have a lot of cleaning to do in the balcony.

Adios...

A Tale of Two Pigeons - Week 6

I know this story is getting boring with each post. Nothing interesting happening and i'm sure y'all are losing interest. If you feel like yawning, please go ahead, I understand :). To those interested, one more week left and i am done with this story :)

Week 6 : 7 Aug - 13 Aug 2006

8 Aug 2006
More development. They have shed most of their baby fuzz and are constantly gaining weight. Their feathers are looking prettier and fuller each day. They are still pampered by the parent who comes in with food.


9 Aug 2006
Parent keeps a watchful eye. Elvira and Carlos have grown almost as big as their parents.The only way i can differentiate the parent from the kids is by the color of their eyes.


10 Aug 2006
I come home from work and peep into the balcony from behind the blinds. Oh my goodness. It looks like a poop yard. The "Little Explorers" have ventured out fearlessly and have pooped all over the place as if they were celebrating their new found freedom. They dont sit on their poop filled tick infested nest anymore which by the way is all dried up and hardened like a cement block. It has grown small for the two of them and they need their own space. They now use the chairs in the balcony as their house.


They still hang around together. Thats what i like about them. Whenever i go close to them, Elvira starts screaming, starts to panic and hyperventilate. Carlos sits where he is, calmly looks at me in the eye and doesnt move a bit. He thinks he is Don Corleone, but when i reach out my hand to see if they get scared, they both dart for the nearest hiding spot. I find that really cute and funny.


11 Aug 2006
Receding hairlines, hair loss, bald heads, they dont seem to care.



12 Aug 2006
This was taken before i cleaned the balcony and wrecked their nest. It was such a mess. I covered my hair, put on my face mask, gloves, armed myself with a broom and a scrubber and started cleaning. Took me over an hour to clean while Elvira and Carlos sat in a corner and watched me do the dirty work. I will hose down the balcony and disinfect it once they fly away.


Watch this space for updates...
Week 7 Coming soon...

A Tale of Two Pigeons - Week 5

Week 5 : 31 July - 6 Aug 2006

31 July 2006
The squabs now look for alternate places and stay away from the nest when they can. I found this one hiding under the hose that connects the compressor with the air flow unit.


3 Aug 2006
Finally. They have started looking a bit presentable and less gross. Elvira on the right and Carlos on the left. Being elder by only two days, she is bigger than Carlos. The white patch in their feathers means absence of pigmentation and nothing else. It is not a design or pattern significance.


4 Aug 2006
Nothing much to write here. They go about their business, lay there and chill as if they are on the beach, scream like a banshee when the parent comes in with food and then merrily poop all over the place. I am losing interest in taking pictures because of their living standards and horrible conditions in the balcony, but still go ahead and click a couple because i want to get over with this story.


5 Aug 2006
Looking at their funky hairstyles, dyed hair color and jazzy colors on their body, you can pretty much tell that they are in their adolescence stages. They havent started gelling or spiking their hair, but i guess that will come soon. You think they'd go gothic?


Here is an interesting tidbit. Pigeon population and breeding depends on how much food and shelter is available. More food means more pigeons. They rely on garbage, insects, food thrown by passersby and visitors. If you want to reduce the pigeon population, DONT eradicate them. Instead, reduce the food available to them and they would automatically control their population and breeding. Decreasing pigeon population by eliminating them would mean the increase in the quantity of food available. This would in turn promote more breeding and the vicious cycle would never end.


6 Aug 2006
The squabs are rapidly gaining body mass, growing out feathers, developing iridiscence and losing the yellow baby fuzz. They dont venture out too far from the nest, but going by the traces of where i find their poop, i can tell that each day, they venture out a little more than the previous day. They love playing "Little Explorers".


Compare their progess now to the begininning of this week. It is amazing that they can grow so rapidly and look like two totally different birds. I wish humans could grow up this fast. The average growth cycle of a pigeon from the time they hatch out to the time they start flying out and look like adult pigeons is approximately 6-7 weeks. Pigeons can attain sexual maturity when they are 8 months old. They dont have the concept of family planning and breed like crazy depending on availability of food and shelter as i explained a little while ago.


Watch this space for updates
Week 6 Coming soon....

A Tale of Two Pigeons - Week 4

Week 3 24 July - 30 July 2006

24 July 2006
It is still frickin hot, but we stop ourselves from flicking the switch of the air conditioner. Nights seem to be a bit better. Energy Alert and rolling blackouts happening in California, thankfully we weren't affected by the blackouts. Meanwhile, the nest gets dirtier and filthier and the chicks are getting chubbier. Have to keep the balcony door closed all times to prevent bugs from the nest from getting inside the house. The chicks seem to love the heat and the parents dont sit on them any longer. The pins have started growing out tiny feathers and they have increased in size a bit.


25 July 2006
Elvira makes an attempt to stand up. Today, she took her first steps and moved around a bit. Carlos just looked on for a while and went back to continue his noon nap. He obviously wasnt as excited as i was that his sister could walk. Parents dont roost in the nest anymore and the chicks are left unattended. I dont think that is a felony according to bird law, but if it was, im sure there would have been a nanny-bird looking after the chicks while the parents were away :)


26 July 2006
Okay, Elvira (sitting on the left side) has started growing out her feathers. The parents still come around to feed the chicks regularly (I dont know how many times, but the chicks are well fed everytime i go see them). The chicks are left alone and the parents are busy elsewhere. Are they trying to setup another nest and lay eggs? hmm.. i wonder


27 July 2006
The wings start growing out. More feathers start covering their bodies. They still continue to live in the filth they created. The nest looks and smells horrible. I have to use a face mask to go near them and hold my breath to take pictures.


30 July 2006
Juvenile pigeons are called squabs. They have started growing out full feathers and the yellow fuzz is shedding away. Not a lot of those ugly pins on their body though. They have started to speak (or must i say scream). They don't sound like a pigeon at all. They sound more like loud squeaking sparrows. They remain quiet most of the time, except when the parent brings in food. They create so much noise to attract the parent's attention and fight with their sibling to get more food. Sibling rivalry is very common with pigeons and the stronger squab always wins. For the unlucky and weaker squab, death by hunger or an "accidental fall" from the balcony is imminent. Thankfully, Elvira and Carlos stick together and take care of each other.


The parents still keep a watchful eye on the nest from a distance. The nest has become small for three birds. The parents dont come often and the squabs have outgrown the nest. They have started venturing areas out of the nest. They find a new place everyday and spend the night there.


Dont get any ideas here. They are just birds and are probably sharing their stir-fried worms with spicy garlic bug sauce ;)


Watch this space for updates...
Week 5 coming Soon...