Take a baby Mushrooming! Take a class on taking your bebeh mushrooming!

What have I been doing you ask? Well, getting out and mushrooming as often as I can. Since I'm home with the Bebeh 3 days a week, we just take her along.

Some very helpful, patient and kind friends and I have made two trips up into the Oregon Cascades for mushrooms in the last two weeks. The first trip was dry and sunny and provided us with those lovely, early-season tan chanterelles. Dry and clean and perfect for pasta.

The second trip was much colder (in the low 40's) and wet, and we really had to bushwhack to get in. The baby was an absolute trooper, got swaddled up and conked out for an hour once we got into good mushrooming territory. Thanks to Canukistani Kate not only for the pictures but for being on Nap Duty both trips.

As for the class, here is the info from Arctos School of Herbal and Botanical Studies:

Mama/Papa and Babe Mushroom Outing with Missy Rohs
Tuesday, October 6, 10am-4pm

By special request, this excursion is geared towards parents with little ones. The day is a little shorter, and we won't be away from the car for more than an hour and a half at a time. This parent- and baby-friendly hunt will focus on delicious edible mushrooms like Chanterelles and Matsutake. Our hope is that we'll not only find an array of beautiful fungi, but score a basketful to take home and savor! Bring sturdy hiking shoes, water, and lunch.

Carpool will meet in SE Portland. Register by Oct. 3rd by emailing missy@arctosschool.org.
Cost: $35 per adult (sliding scale available) -- kids under 10 are free!







Enjoy sharing your life with little ones,

Bp

[huge thanks to Canukistani Kate for not only the pictures, but all the baby holding]

Protect Insurance Companies PSA

Protect Insurance Companies PSA from Will Ferrell

Enjoy irony,

Bp

[via my faithful Canukistani operative Yuri]

Saturday Morning Awesome: Antelope Win

The title says it all:



Enjoy watching nature in all its glory,

Bp

[via Blame it on the Voices]

Boy dancing to "Low"

This video is so awesome it couldn't wait til Saturday to be posted. It's beyond awesome -- for those of you who read this blog for info on "what the kids are saying these days," this video is 'full of win.' Or beyond that -- Epic Win.

Prepare to smile.



Enjoy smiling so much it hurts,

Bp

[thanks to Tito of Dynamic Balancing bodywork for turning me on to this]

Mark Twain Quotes

Ran across these at Refspace, and picked out a few choice numbers that caught my attention. Click the linked text to see the whole collection. There are 3 pages, and its worth the scroll. Folks who know me will recognize some of these as I use them often -- see further, the Wagner comment:

History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.

If voting made any difference they wouldn't let us do it.

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain.

Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it.

In religion and politics, people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination.

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.

Wagner's music is better than it sounds.

In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man; brave, hated, and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.

Enjoy wisdom from the past,

Bp

[image via Wiki Commons]

The 6 Most Frequently Quoted Bullshit Animal Facts

Normally, I avoid cussing in the title of a post, but I figured it best to represent the title of this cracked.com article in its entirety.

Many myths challenged in one article. I have to say, I think a little contest for readers of this blog to provide counter information to this article would be fun. See if you can dig up some info to call BS on some of these assertions and post in the comments.

Some examples: Bumble bees violate the laws of aerodynamics, and chameleons change color to camouflage themselves.

Now I'm not taking this comedy website's word as the final, end-all-be-all comment on these subjects, especially considering they didn't take the time to get a picture of an actual Bumble bee as opposed to honey bees for their graphics. I am, however, willing to peruse their research for entertainment purposes.

Enjoy yet more intartube obfuscation,

Bp

Hunting, pre-history-style, in the Kalahari

I ran across this video and wanted to share it.

Sir David Attenborough is the narrator, which immediately makes it interesting and watchable in our world. It shows probably the oldest form of hunting that humans have engaged in -- "persistence" hunting. Meaning, an animal is tracked and eventually run down by one or more hunters, on foot. They literally tire the animal out until it succumbs.

The strength and tenacity this would take is staggering to consider, really. Also, their tracking ability is pretty unfathomable.

Watching these guys run, with their silence and their hand signals, really makes me think there is more going on than the commentary would suggest. I suspect there are more skills on display here than we may be able to imagine.

The end of the video shows the level of respect these people have for their prey. It's amazing to watch and worth the time to hang til the end.



Enjoy catching a glimpse of a different time,

Bp

A shot from the Blogosphere -- Dooce and Adorability

There was a period, somewhat brief and before I had blogged much, when I thought Dooce was a lucky stiff. She was a lady who wrote a few witty posts at a time when folks were just getting turned on to blogging and then she was a celebrity. Poof. Like that. She captured the mommy audience -- bored moms at home with infants and an internet connection, just looking for people to make enormously powerful, like Oprah.

But, as I've mentioned before on this blog, this is no accident. She's talented, funny as hell, AND well positioned as a writer.

Today's post, called The House of Adorable, is a great example of her writing. She can take the most mundane events and make them the jumping off point for a scads of interesting tangents and side shows. As well as simply having a great sense of comedic timing.

And the subject matter today is the kind of thing that fills my life lately. So it's extra poignant.

My hat is off to you Mrs. Armstrong, you go.

Bp

Polish Yeti caught on film

I think it's been too long since we've had a good sighting of a Yeti, or Sasquatch in the news. It seemed they were popping up all the time in my childhood (when I was planning to be a Cryptozoologist for a 'living'), I miss them. Hell, it was enough in the public consciousness that the 6-million dollar man fought him.

I thought I'd remedy the situation by posting this video filmed recently in Poland. Here is an excerpt from the Austrian times article.

Piotr Kowalski, 27, from Warsaw was on a walking holiday in the Tatra mountains in Poland when he saw a mountain goat on one of the slopes. As he started filming, his attention was suddenly grabbed by the Yeti creature emerging from behind some rocks.

"I saw this huge ape-like form hiding behind the rocks. When I saw it it was like being struck by a thunderbolt," he told the daily Superexpress.

"Coming from Warsaw, I never really believed the local stories of a wild mountain ape-man roaming the slopes. But, now I do."

Enjoy childhood nostalgia,

Bp

[photo via Austrian Times, article via Blame it on the Voices, and Nothing to do with Arborath]

Wild Kingdom in our back yard: Katydid about to get eaten by Miranda

I have a thing with Carnivorous plants. They're just too cool.

Last Mother's Day I sent The Wife to the local Orchid show with some money and said "get something that makes you happy." It was her first Mother's Day after all. She came home with the most amazing plant -- a Nepenthes Miranda Asiatic cobra plant. It's gorgeous.

I must plug Sarracenia Northwest here. They are a local Portland Oregon plant nursery that specializes in carnivorous plants. I'm happy they had a display at the Orchid show so the wife could run into this impressive plant. If you ever had an itch to get a carnivorous plant, click that link and see just how much variety and information they provide.

So -- on to the video.

Today when I came home for lunch I saw a bright green leaf on one of the pitchers. Then I saw it move. I got closer and saw that it was a Katydid. I've never seen one in our area so Miranda did quite a job of luring him in from who-knows-where. Amateur video to follow.



And the video in which I find out my flip camera software has no "rotate left" option in its edit options. Sorry 'bout that, but I'm posting it anyway.



Enjoy beautiful plants eating bugs,

Bp


[photograph via Petflytrap]

Saturday Night Awesome: Craig Ferguson (the Late Late Show) on the Deification of Youth

The fact that this rant sounds like a perfectly sound hypothesis to me proves that I'm an old geezer.

But I challenge you to provide sound counter-argument. Seriously.



Enjoy settling into your golden years,

Bp

[via yesbutnobutyes]

Backwards Beekeeper shows how he harvests honey

I just stumbled across this video on Boing Boing, and am now intrigued. The video is a nice watch about how the "Backwards Beekeepers" harvest their honey. One gets the sense that they do much of their beekeeping in an unconventional, bee-friendly fashion.

Here is a link to the Backwards Beekeepers blog -- I've only just started researching their methods and philosophy and I do like it, and their attitude. Biologically, their philosophy of maximizing and propagating already-naturalized populations of bees makes perfect sense. I strongly suspect I'll have more to report after I've spent some more time with their information.



Enjoy folks using their heads, and making awesome local honey in the process,

Bp

The Pretenders -- L.A. punk meets 80's guitar rock

Driving with a friend tonight, the musical conversation somehow turned to good punk. He's younger than me by at least 10 years, so I asked if he was familiar with The Pretenders first album, or any of the harder songs off of it. He was not, and this post was born.

The first album (self titled) by The Pretenders has something like 6 or 7 hits on it. Their hard-driving, punk-inspired songs really caught my attention at the time, more so than the good but over-played hits. Their drummer had a fast, syncopated style that I really enjoyed.

Here is one example of these "harder" songs from their early years, The Wait, caught live in 1984. Surprisingly good concert footage for Youtube:



Chrissie Hynde is an absolute phenomenon if you really look at the span of her career, her stage presence, her lyrics, and the range of styles she successfully mastered.


I can't let this post go by without sharing another song that exemplifies the qualities of my favorite early Pretenders songs.
Tattooed Love Boys at first listen simply sounds like a raunchy song about rough sex, but on closer examination is much darker than that (as her announcement in the beginning of this performance exposes).



Although there is much much more to explore with this band, Chrissie, and their various styles and rebirths -- I'll leave this to these early songs that my younger friends may not have been aware of.

Enjoy being introduced to new/old music,

Bp

German Biological Illustrations from 1904 --- Gorgeous Stuff

The book is Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformed der Natur (Artforms of Nature). The prints are fantastic, classy, beautiful, etc. Check out the wiki commons page here for more. [I must admit, it also makes one wonder just how many tattoos out there in the world are based on this work, I'm just sayin']









Enjoy awesome art inspired by science,

Bp

[via the always-classy Dani of Dani Boynton Photography, Canukistan]

Haha, a horrible joke of a video

Right?

... RIGHT?

Le Taser iRobot PackBot Explorer
Uploaded by npesblog. - Watch the latest news videos.

Sighing with you,

Bp

[via Blogtown]

Blackwater/Xe -- just sitting here with my mouth open

I never knew this angle on the infamous mercenary outfit Blackwater (now known as Xe) -- specifically the religious angle.

Take it away Keith.



Holy crap,

Bp

[via the Cynical C blog]

How to carve steel with saltwater and a cheap tin earring

This fascinated me, check it out.



Enjoy posts when they happen,

Bp

[via Boing Boing]

Saturday Morning Awesome: Sheep conspiracy theorist

[fixed image, sorry bout that]




Enjoy your day,

Bp

[totally unattributed photo, sorry]

Master Pickler Alex Hozven

Occasionally, my past rises up and startles me.

I knew Alex back in The Day, when I was a free-range bohemian living in a VW bus in Bezerkeley.

Now, she's a master pickler, her shop is called the Cultured Pickle Shop. I wish she had her shop in Portland because I love real cultured veggies. I'll let the video speak for itself, great stuff.



Enjoy your blasts from the past,

Bp

[via the Good Reverend John Nathan B.]

Movits! -- Swedish jangly groove/swing dance pop

You know, it's hard to describe music without just making a list of other music.

This is a video by Movits! A Swedish dance band (see Aurgasm's note on them here). Check these guys out, catchy as all get out, fun band.

Got to love Swedes in vests playing banjos anyhow, right?



Enjoy groovy pop when you can stomach it, I'm sure it's good for you,

Bp

[via my faithful Canukistani operative "Yuri"]