Neddy's Palaver

If you go out on this Saturday night,
you'’re sure of a big surprise.
If you go out on this Saturday night,
You better not close your eyes.
For every wacko and robber and crook,
Will gather about for certain because,
Tonight’s the night everyone sees the Big Moon Rising.

Yes, we are getting closer and closer to that mysterious and ancient ritual known as The Winter Solstice. Be prepared. We know not what awaits us in that long night when vampires vamp and werewolves weir and howl at the Big Moon Rising. Take your flashlight along for the chilly wind of a fleeing specter may extinguish any candles and lanterns you be carrying.

If you stay away form Hampstead Heath, you may be fortunate enough to make it through the Night of the Big Moon without being gobbled alive by hobgoblins or lose your blood to blood-thirsty British vampires. However, you will not be totally safe. Because the gravitational pull of both the sun and the moon are at their strongest, there is a high probability that the earth will tremble, move and shake right under your feet. Earthquakes on a Saturday night! Nothing could be worse if you are watching the Big Moon Rising from The California coast.

Look Up Tonight! You will not see this again for another eight years, …. if ever.

YES! They’ve found the cure, and it is “oh, so easy“! Kimchee - as in “you are in deep kimchee“. According to “Sauerkraut.com”

SUPERFOOD STRIKES AGAIN:
Scientists Find Kimchi Sauerkraut May Cure Avian Flu - A cure in a meal: U.S. Sauerkraut sales expected to skyrocket

Fremont, OH—October 18, 2005—In yet another indication that Sauerkraut is the super food of the 21st century, scientists at Seoul National University have successfully used Kimchi Sauerkraut to treat chickens infected with avian flu. Kimchi is a seasoned variety of sauerkraut that shares Lactobacillus bacteria with traditional Sauerkraut, which may be the critical element in preventing Avian Flu. Both Kimchi and traditional Sauerkraut are made by fermenting sliced cabbage, producing a high level of lactic acid.

According to an October 2005 BBC report, Kimchi was fed to 13 infected chickens and 11 of them started recovering within a week. South Korean Kimchi consumption is up as a result of this report and U.S. sales of Sauerkraut are also expected to spike up.

Well, here’s hoping that whatever miracle cure is contained in kimchee, is also contained in German-style sauerkraut, as the German dish is a simpler and more palatable food than the Korean kimchee. In fact, if kimchee is the cure for bird flu - most people would prefer to take their chances with the disease. I wonder about the birds too - would they really eat kimchee?

The results of a recent study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry concluded that sauerkraut is a cancer inhibitor. The study discovered that the fermentation of cabbage (how sauerkraut is made) produced a substance called isothiocynates, which prevents cancer growth, particularly in the breast, colon, lung and liver. Packed with vitamins, iron, and fiber, sauerkraut is also rich in cruciferous phytochemicals, which have long been proven to have disease fighting powers. (Sauerkraut.com)

If kimchee does work, it is most probably a preventative, rather than a cure, as one serving of the garlicy kimchee will keep everyone, even including chickens, far, far away.

Ruffles & Flourishes to Sahmwhere Ntranzishn.

Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee. ~~Numbers 24:9

“Oetzi the Iceman”, the almost perfectly preserved 5,300-year-old corpse that was found in Europe on the Austrian-Italian border, is now the star attraction at a museum in Italy where he resides in an ice display chest. His ancient frozen remains are the subject of what is known as “The Curse of the Mummy”.

Death renews iceman ‘curse’ claim
Should working with Oetzi carry a health warning? The death of a molecular biologist has fuelled renewed speculation about a “curse” connected to an ancient corpse. Tom Loy, 63, had analysed DNA found on “Oetzi”, the Stone Age hunter whose remains were discovered in 1991. Dr Loy died in unclear circumstances in Australia two weeks ago, it has been announced, making him the seventh person connected with Oetzi to die.

* Helmut Simon, the amateur mountaineer who found Oetzi in 1991, died during an unexpected blizzard in the Alps last year, not far from his original find.

* Within hours of Mr Simon’s funeral, the head of the mountain rescue team sent to find him died of a heart attack, aged 45 and apparently in good health.

* Rainer Henn, 64, a forensic pathologist who handled the body was killed in a car crash the following year

* Kurt Fritz, the mountaineer who led Dr. Henn to the body was killed in an avalanche shortly after Dr. Henn died.

* Rainer Holz, 47, a filmmaker who made a documentary about removing the body from its block of ice died of a brain tumour soon afterwards

* Konrad Spindler, 66, an archaeologist and a leading expert on the body, died of complications related to multiple sclerosis.

These are incredible and beautiful images of the Discovery launch by William G. Hartenstein. Don’t miss the second page.

Here is basically a free Myers-Briggs kind of test. Apparently you can save $65. If you like taking tests or you have already taken the actual MBTI test, you may enjoy this one. It is based on the Jung-Myers-Briggs typological approach and is the shortest test (72 questions). Here is a slightly longer one (102 questions). Feel free to post your results in my comments. I’m curious to see what kind of of personalities are attracted to my blog.

Other Personality Tests

Ruffles & Flourishes to Reverse_Vampyre.

On 10 August 2005, NASA will be launching the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) on a 6+ months journey to Mars. MRO will arrive in March 2006, enter orbit, and begin a 2-year mission to map the red planet. High-resolution cameras will be able to discern objects, such as rocks and rovers and crashed Mars landers, less than three feet across. Someday, NASA plan to send humans to Mars. (For details, see the Vision for Space Exploration.)

This summer, earthlings have seen the planet Mars swell and brighten. Now, amateur astronomers with backyard telescopes can spot polar ice caps and dust storms and strange dark markings. By fall, even the least attentive earthling will be noticing “that bright red thing in the sky.”

October 30th will be the most spectacular day of all: Mars will rise at sunset, hang overhead at midnight. When the astronomer Percival Lowell experienced a similar close encounter in the 19th century he wrote that he saw Mars “blaze forth against the dark background of space with a splendor that outshines Sirius and rivals the giant Jupiter himself.” Until fall, you can watch Mars any clear morning. Look for Mars and the moon to rise in the east around. (Approaching Mars from NASA)

Close Encounters with Mars — (Science@NASA) Read about the last time Mars was so close to Earth.