More grows in the garden than the gardener sows.
~ Old Spanish Proverb
Resources to bite into
1. It’s Wildflower WeekThe current Brain Aerobics Weekly celebrates wild growing things,
noting that 80 percent of all medicinal drugs originate from wild plants.
Most, however, remain unstudied. Consider the pink Madagascar
periwinkle, (shown here) from which vincristine is derived.
Vincristine has increased the survival rate of children with leukemia
from 20 percent to 80 percent. What else remains to be
discovered? The beauty of flowers is more than skin deep. (Learn more at
http://www.nps.gov/plants/cw/variety.htm.)
2. Today is International Respect for Chickens Day
The slogan is "Give a Cluck! Stick Up For Chickens!" May 4th is
International Respect for Chickens Day in a month of activities
sponsored by United Poultry Concerns (UPC). The organization
promotes a vegan diet and compassionate treatment of chickens.
I am unlikely to become a vegan soon, but I certainly support the
humane treatment of poultry and all things edible. And I like their
sense of humor. They have put 100 king-size posters on
Washington, D.C. Metro buses with their slogan. Learn more at http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/20064/campaigners-to-honourrespect- for-chickens-day
3. Celebrate gnomes, too
The current Brain Aerobics Weekly also celebrates garden gnomes which are, sad to say, not fully appreciated by all, but dearly loved by many. Here is a sample paragraph from the discussion page:
The small town of Strasburg in southern Illinois, adopted garden gnomes as its mascot two years ago, and since then they have been arriving in increasing numbers. They even have their own newspaper with the motto, “Gnome News is Good News.” As this is a census year in the U.S., the town council did not want the gnomes to feel neglected and conducted a gnome census, with volunteers going door to door among the town’s 600
residents to ask for the number of bearded figures per household, plus their sex, age and place of origin. Source: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/207003-Gnome-Census-Illinoistown- plans-first-garden-gnome-count
Tips/ideas/insights to savor
A few people have been known to have the same phobia toward gnomes that some people have toward clowns, but the current Brain Aerobics Weekly features a trivia quiz on
movie monsters
that are more universally feared. Here is a sampling:
1. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes ___
2. The Blob ___
3. The Mummy ___
4. The Fly ___
5. Wolfman ___
a. The 1941 version of this classic starred Lon Chaney Jr. in the tragic tale of an ordinary man who unwillingly turns into a feared animal when the moon is full.
b. An eccentric scientist experimenting with teleportation accidentally turns
himself into an oversized insect in a love story gone horribly wrong.
c. In the original 1932 version, Boris Karloff starred as an Egyptian creature returning to
life to stalk the reincarnation of his lost love.
d. This spoof of monster movies featured vegetables that revolted against humanity.
e. A meteorite crashes to earth, leaving a crater in the ground and a gelatinous substance. An
old farmer picks it up with a stick to get a closer look and is eaten; with each victim devoured the substance grows larger. . .
periwinkle, (shown here) from which vincristine is derived.
Vincristine has increased the survival rate of children with leukemia
from 20 percent to 80 percent. What else remains to be
discovered? The beauty of flowers is more than skin deep. (Learn more at
http://www.nps.gov/plants/cw/variety.htm.)
2. Today is International Respect for Chickens Day
The slogan is "Give a Cluck! Stick Up For Chickens!" May 4th is
International Respect for Chickens Day in a month of activities
sponsored by United Poultry Concerns (UPC). The organization
promotes a vegan diet and compassionate treatment of chickens.
I am unlikely to become a vegan soon, but I certainly support the
humane treatment of poultry and all things edible. And I like their
sense of humor. They have put 100 king-size posters on
Washington, D.C. Metro buses with their slogan. Learn more at http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/20064/campaigners-to-honourrespect- for-chickens-day
3. Celebrate gnomes, too
The current Brain Aerobics Weekly also celebrates garden gnomes which are, sad to say, not fully appreciated by all, but dearly loved by many. Here is a sample paragraph from the discussion page:The small town of Strasburg in southern Illinois, adopted garden gnomes as its mascot two years ago, and since then they have been arriving in increasing numbers. They even have their own newspaper with the motto, “Gnome News is Good News.” As this is a census year in the U.S., the town council did not want the gnomes to feel neglected and conducted a gnome census, with volunteers going door to door among the town’s 600
residents to ask for the number of bearded figures per household, plus their sex, age and place of origin. Source: http://www.sott.net/articles/show/207003-Gnome-Census-Illinoistown- plans-first-garden-gnome-count
Tips/ideas/insights to savor
A few people have been known to have the same phobia toward gnomes that some people have toward clowns, but the current Brain Aerobics Weekly features a trivia quiz on
movie monstersthat are more universally feared. Here is a sampling:
1. Attack of the Killer Tomatoes ___
2. The Blob ___
3. The Mummy ___
4. The Fly ___
5. Wolfman ___
a. The 1941 version of this classic starred Lon Chaney Jr. in the tragic tale of an ordinary man who unwillingly turns into a feared animal when the moon is full.
b. An eccentric scientist experimenting with teleportation accidentally turns
himself into an oversized insect in a love story gone horribly wrong.
c. In the original 1932 version, Boris Karloff starred as an Egyptian creature returning to
life to stalk the reincarnation of his lost love.
d. This spoof of monster movies featured vegetables that revolted against humanity.
e. A meteorite crashes to earth, leaving a crater in the ground and a gelatinous substance. An
old farmer picks it up with a stick to get a closer look and is eaten; with each victim devoured the substance grows larger. . .
Answers: 1. d 2. e 3. c 4. b 5. a
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