I know this is overkill but I have been absent from the web since before Christmas. Now it is March so the only two things I can think of for this month are flying kites and St Patrick's day.



So in honor of the green I am posting a bunch of pictures where you have to find the four leaf Clover or Shamrock. When I research the difference between the two I'll be sure to post all the useless information about the descrepancy. Anyway, HAVE FUN!!!!!
this post was from last year but I thought since it has been almost a year since I have been back on line I would re post it. I am trying to get things going again after a lot of major stuff that has happened in the past year but, I will not complain. Just happy to be back!
Meow for now,
Catraven =<..>=
Four Leaf Clover

New bat species discovered in Philippines
Sep 16, 2007

MANILA (AFP) — A new species of flying fox or fruit bat has been discovered on an island south of Manila, it was reported Monday.

The orange-coloured bat with a distinctive white-stripped face was discovered in a protected wildlife area on Mindoro Island, the Philippine Star newspaper said quoting the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The discovery was a result of joint research between the University of Kansas' Biodiversity Research Center and a team from the Comparative Biogeography and Conservation of Philippine Vertebrates (CBCPV), the paper said.

Known as the Mindoro Stripe-Faced Fruitbat for its striking facial features the bat was discovered by accident when it was caught in a net set by the researchers.

One of the Filipino researchers, Jake Esselstyn, told the paper that the bat was found during a survey of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians in Sablayan region on the west coast of the island.
From associated press

I am re publishing this because a bat has been named one of the newest species discovered and in the top ten. Which means in all animal. plant, and marine life. It is very significant to find a previously unknown mammal species. For us nature geeks this is HUGE!!!! But I LOVE bats and this is a little triumph for the naturalist and photog exposure for the new Bat on the Block. Let's hope she doesn't get a big head and start carrying on past dawn!!! Especially just to be seen flying out of those low life bat caves and having to fly home in the middle of the AFTERNOON!!!!!!!!! Shame shame! But I guess, when you are young, gorgeous and just recently discovered you go a little wild!

Bublebee bat
Bublebee Bat pups
Albino Microbat
World's largest bat The Golden Crowned Fruit Bat in Malaysia. Avg weight 2-3lbs Wing span 5-6 feet

Being it's Halloween time I thought i'd share this picture of the world's smallest mammal! It just so happens to be a bat which makes it perfect for this time of year!
The bumblebee bat roosts in colonies, but as an individual is solitary.Bumblebee Bats roost in the hot upper chambers of caves in limestone hills, just about as far away from the entrance as possible so that the small colony — up to 15 individuals — can fit without the bats being too close to each other.
This little bat weighs 2grams which is the weight of a dime!
Though close to others in its group, it hangs alone, rather than clustering tightly. Due to its tiny size, it has to keep separation from the rest.
If you really think about it, which I do because I have a way to over active imagination, this poor little thing has to go through pregnancy, labor(upsidedown no less!) breast feeding. She has to eat 3/4 of her weight to feed herself and her "pup"
The nursing cave is safe and warm, comfortable at about 100 degrees because of the decaying feces and dripping ammonia-saturated urine. It lies still, comforted by the steady but raucous melee of clicking sounds vibrating through its nervous system.
Sadly, the bats are small both in size and in number. The species was unknown prior to 1974 and is found only in the Karmhanaburi Province in Western Thailand. Their habitat has been highly affected by deforestation and unsustainable levels of teak logging. In 1982, the Royal Forest Department of the Thailand Government could only found 160 of them living in 3 caves, despite extensive surveys.
Bumblebee bats are are now considered one of the twelve most endangered species on the planet

Meow for now,
Catraven =^..^=

World's smallest mammal is a BAT!!!!!







Bublebee bat
Bublebee Bat pups
Albino Microbat
World's largest bat The Golden Crowned Fruit Bat in Malaysia. Avg weight 2-3lbs Wing span 5-6 feet

I thought i'd share this picture of the world's smallest mammal! It just so happens to be a bat which makes it perfect for this time of year!
The bumblebee bat roosts in colonies, but as an individual is solitary.Bumblebee Bats roost in the hot upper chambers of caves in limestone hills, just about as far away from the entrance as possible so that the small colony — up to 15 individuals — can fit without the bats being too close to each other.
This little bat weighs 2grams which is the weight of a dime!
Though close to others in its group, it hangs alone, rather than clustering tightly. Due to its tiny size, it has to keep separation from the rest.
If you really think about it, which I do because I have a way to over active imagination, this poor little thing has to go through pregnancy, labor(upsidedown no less!) breast feeding. She has to eat 3/4 of her weight to feed herself and her "pup"
The nursing cave is safe and warm, comfortable at about 100 degrees because of the decaying feces and dripping ammonia-saturated urine. It lies still, comforted by the steady but raucous melee of clicking sounds vibrating through its nervous system.
Sadly, the bats are small both in size and in number. The species was unknown prior to 1974 and is found only in the Karmhanaburi Province in Western Thailand. Their habitat has been highly affected by deforestation and unsustainable levels of teak logging. In 1982, the Royal Forest Department of the Thailand Government could only found 160 of them living in 3 caves, despite extensive surveys.
Bumblebee bats are are now considered one of the twelve most endangered species on the planet

Meow for now,
Catraven =^..^=

Meaning and History of the Wreath

The earliest Christmas wreaths were made from holly during Roman times. Holly was looked on as having magical powers to the ancient Celts as it was one of the few plants to survive and look beautiful in the winter. The Celts picked holly boughs and put them in their houses to ward off the evils they believed lurked about in the darker months. Roman soldiers are believed to have brought the idea of decorating with holly back from Britain.
Holly was used by the Romans during their winter solstice celebrations and became sacred to Saturn, the sun god the Romans worshipped. The week long winter solstice celebrations of the Romans honored Saturn. Holly wreaths with their bright red berries were given as gifts. Holly was everywhere during these celebrations – on the public buildings, in the streets and shops, inside and outside of homes. The tradition of giving wreaths as gifts started here. Holly was thought to be lucky so the more you had the better off you were.
Early Christians in Rome would decorate their homes with holly to avoid persecution during the winter solstice festivals even though they didn’t worship Saturn. Over time the meaning behind the tradition of holly Christmas wreaths blurred and it eventually became a symbol of Christian faith. It was used to explain the life and death of Christ. The leaves represented the crown of thorns that was placed on Jesus at his Crucifixion, when he was mockingly crowned "King of the Jews". The Romans usually placed wreaths of Laurel leaves on those who won a battle, excelled and won a tournament or they were just normally worn by Caesars as a "crown " to represent their position. A wreath placed on some one's head let everyone know they were exceptional, the best, God-like or Ruler. The wreath of thorns that was forced into Christ's scalp, was to add insult to injury and done with such cruel brutality. The red berries were interpreted by Christians to represent Jesus’ blood as it appeared on the crown of thorns. This was incredibly sacred because it represented the sacrifice Christ made for all mankind to redeem, save and forgive all from sin, with his own blood in pure torture. The holly bush was one of the few evergreen plants in Northeast Africa. The undying green came to represent everlasting life and hope and the shape of the circle represented eternity and everlasting life in heaven granted by God because of Jesus' sacrifice. The round shape also symbolized eternity. A circle has no beginning or end. For all these reasons one would think the wreath would be the main decoration for Easter. BUT.....

The Roman Emperor Constantine gave official status to Christianity and forced all the pagans to be baptized into the Roman church. He needed to join the Christians and pagans and so pagan rituals and idols took on Christian names and pagan holidays like winter solstice festival became Christian holidays. December 25th was the birthday of the Gods to the pagans. And the Winter Solstice was the most "holy" time and the most important religious time for the pagans. Eventually many pagan symbols and traditions were melded into Christian symbols and traditions. Including the Christmas tree. (that is for next post)
Now the Wreath, no matter how religious you are, symbolizes the celebration of the holiday, on your front door welcoming people into your home, showing your spirit of Christmas and is the most simple decoration, used as a sign of love, care and respect in cemeteries, not over commercialized with mandatory "Keeping up with the Jones' "variety of new yearly trend decorations and
a the second biggest universal symbol for Christmas.

Meow for now,
Catraven =^..^=

Christmas funny pages

MOre Magic Eye Pictures for Christmas

Get your aspirin ready

Warped Square? No, there are no curved lines in this figure

ALL OF THESE WORK MUCH BETTER IF YOU CLICK ON IMAGE AND OPEN IT. MY SNOWFLAKE BACKGROUND SEEMS TO DIMINISH THE EFFECT BECAUSE TOO MUCH GOING ON IN THE Peripheral.

Here are some really fun optical illusions but don't do more than one without a break or you WILL need aspirin. I am not kidding! Pace yourself.
Try one and then get up , stretch, walk to the water cooler, warm up your coffee or just close your eyes for a minute two. If you don't believe me now, you will! After trying to do them without a break, you will be glad you got the aspirin and mad because I told you so and you didn't listen. So be good and have fun!


This first one is very obvious . White or black dots appear in the corners and alternated depending on where your main focus is. They will flash and change even though the image is not animated in any way. It is impossible to see all the same color dots in all corners.


TAKE A BREAK

More "moving" images without animation.



TAKE A BREAK

TAKE A BREAK

In this one you will see immediately that green dots appear and if you watch long enough the pink dots will disappear and the green dots will replace them.




TAKE A BREAK

More self explanatory optical illusions.

TAKE A BREAK

Stare at the black dot in the middle and all the colours will disappear.

TAKE A BREAK

TAKE A BREAK

TAKE A BREAK

Black and white photo you will see in color. This one is really fun!

Meow for now,

Catraven =^..^=

Mary's Christmas Gifs

Mary's Christmas Gifs

Myspace Layouts - Myspace Editor - Image Hosting

Myspace Layouts - Myspace Editor - Image Hosting

My Fairies

These are my fairies from last year (and a little older).
I am drawing again and will have more fairies but a little more on the darker side as life reflects.

Faires

Christmas Tree Facts

The use of evergreen trees to celebrate the winter season occurred before the birth of Christ.
Other types of trees such as cherry and hawthorns were used as Christmas trees in the past.

1: Christmas trees have been sold commercially in the United States since about 1850.
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2:The first Christmas tree retail lot in the United States was started in 1851 in New York by Mark Carr. The best selling trees are Scotch pine, Douglas fir, Noble fir, Fraser fir, Virginia pine, Balsam fir and white pine.

3:The first decorated Christmas tree was in Riga, Latvia in 1510.

The first printed reference to Christmas trees appeared in Germany in 1531.

4:Growing Christmas trees provides a habitat for wildlife.

98 percent of all Christmas trees are grown on farms. 73 million new Christmas trees will be planted this year.
***Artificial trees will last for six years in your home, but for centuries in a landfill.***

5:Christmas trees remove dust and pollen from the air.An acre of Christmas trees provides for the daily oxygen requirements of 18 people.2-3 seedlings are planted for every harvested Christmas tree.

6:Christmas trees take an average of 7-10 years to mature.

Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states including Hawaii and Alaska.
100,000 people are employed in the Christmas tree industry
Helicopters help to lift harvested Christmas trees from farms.
5: In 1856 Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States, was the first President to place a Christmas tree in the White House.
President Coolidge started the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the White House lawn in 1923.
Teddy Roosevelt banned the Christmas tree from the White House for environmental reasons.

In 1963, the National Christmas Tree was not lighted until December 22nd because of a national 30-day period of mourning following the assassination of President Kennedy.
A Christmas tree decoration was banned by the government. Tinsel contained lead at one time, now it’s made of plastic.

6:Thomas Edison’s assistant, Edward Johnson, came up with the idea of electric lights for Christmas trees in 1882.
Christmas tree lights were first mass produced in 1890.

7:)In the first week, a tree in your home will consume as much as a quart of water per day.Nineteenth century Americans cut their trees in nearby forests.93% of real Christmas tree consumers recycle their tree in community recycling programs, their garden or backyard.

8:Every year since 1947, the people of Oslo, Norway have given a Christmas tree to the city of Westminster, England. The gift is an expression of good will and gratitude for Britain's help to Norway during World War II.

After the aspirin pictures here are the best MAGIC EYE

These are the top drawer "Magic Eye" pics that are really the best viewed on a computer screen. You get a depth that is impossible from a print. But, still feel free to print these they will work. I suggest framing the under glass or stick them in between a glass top table and the wood. The glass helps achieving the illusion tremendously.

A VERY UNIQUE WINTER EXPERIENCE:The Ice Hotel

A hotel built of ice and snow
ICEHOTEL is situated in the village Jukkasjärvi, 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle in Sweden. The heart and backbone is the River Torne flowing freely through the unspoilt wilderness. Covered with a meter thick ice layer winter time the river is the source of all our art, architecture and design. The pure water and the steady movement of the river creates the clearest ice possible.

This is the "Club" where you come to drink very cold syrupy vodka, which serves the purpose of warming you up(and also is a major sponsor of the project) and you forget you are sitting on a block of ice!

This is the church with fur covered pews. The altar is adorned with motif of the national flower of Sweden'Linnaea Borealis'.
This is one of the very few guest rooms which are all designed by various famous artists and cost between 1200 to 4700 euros per night, depending on which type of room you request. The hotel can accommodate 100 guest per night and they have rooms that are not the high end "suites" which are the features. Even the "regular rooms" ,if you could call them that, are all designer created. And if you want breakfast in the morning, which I think you would after using up all your calories freezing, it will cost you a "cool", again sorry I could help it it was there, 750 Euros!Per person!!!!!!!!
This is a view of the entrance
This is the Check -in desk.
Unless you are a penguin or polar bear most people do not opt for more than a one night stay. Surely the novelty wears off really fast, no matter how much vodka you drink, and huddling around a trash can with burning newspapers probably sounds like heaven!

All in all, my sarcastic comments aside, this is an amazing feat of architecture, design, art ,science and incredible fantasy come true!

This marvel has been erected every year since 1990. It takes the whole year to plan for the next one and many months to harvest and fabricate the ice and snow.The hotel is open from December to April. Being that it is above the arctic circle the sun does not really appear until May. So , no melting!

The only way to get to the hotel after landing at the airport is by either dog sled or snowmobile! This is a true adventure and worth every cent for a night stay in a real fairy tale you will never forget!!!!

Meow for now,

Catraven <<<=^..^=>>>

Thanksgiving. Is it really a day to be thankful for?

May they live the rest of their lives in blissful gobbling, and may all Americans enjoy a holiday full of love and peace. God bless you all," Bush said.
Well Thanksgiving is just around the corner and begins the "Holiday Season " which lasts until New Year's Day. (unless you count the super bowl which comes more than a month later but as far as almost every man in the US that can draw breath,is concerned is their High Holy Day. this is another story for after New Year's)



So in my tradition of explaining our American holidays I will cut this holiday down to size out of my sheer amazement at the ignorance that supports the icons, customs and misguided beliefs for this holiday. (just wait for my rant about the destruction of Christmas!)

No one ever really cares about what the actual holiday is marking and why we are celebrating it.

Thanksgiving's number one feature is the meal.

The turkey, the traditional pies, relatives coming over that you feel you would rather have bamboo picks shoved under your finger nails than see,people freezing outside overcrowded and up from 3am for the Macy's parade with giant balloons (still don't get that one) and marching bands ,that no one wants to listen to ,not even the TV stations, the football games, Mom and all the other women in the family cooking since dawn to feed a bunch of usually ungrateful people that stuff themselves, drink too much and pass out in the living room while Mom and all the other women slave away doing the dishes, cleaning up and getting ready for round 2, desert.
In 1621, after a hard and devastating first year in the New World the Pilgrim's fall harvest was very successful and plentiful. There was corn, fruits, vegetables, along with fish which was packed in salt, and meat that was smoke cured over fires. They found they had enough food to put away for the winter.
The Pilgrims had beaten the odds. They built homes in the wilderness, they raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter, and they were at peace with their Indian neighbors. Their Governor, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of thanksgiving that was to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native American Indians.
The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years. During the American Revolution (late 1770's) a day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress.

THEY BEAT THE ODDS BECAUSE.......

1621 Thanksgiving, The Pilgrims in Massachusetts
The early settlers of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts were particularly grateful to Squanto, the Native American and former British slave who taught them how to both catch eel and grow corn and also served as their native interpreter. Without Squanto's assistance, the settlers might not have survived in the New World.
This one Thursday in November is supposed to signify the kindness of the Pilgrims (a bunch of puritanical idiots that were beyond racist )to the Indians providing the harvest feast thanking them for feeding and teaching them how to survive in the "New World" But the supreme kindness and generosity of the Native Americans was not appreciated to long after. This gesture they forgot about 5 minutes after their stomachs were full and then proceeded to take everything away from these good people . The true example of "no good deed goes unpunished!"
They proceeded for the next 100 years to take their land, food, faith and their very lives.Using the most despicable weapons to prey upon their innocence. Subduing and corrupting them with vices they never would have known.

Whatever the reason we celebrate Thanksgiving, misguided or otherwise, the bottom line is to take one day to be Thankful you have a family,a friend or even a total stranger that shows they care .

Make it a real Thanksgiving. Give Mom a break, and sit her on the couch after dinner, put her feet up, put on Lifetime and go do the dishes and cleaning yourself!

Try to put petty bitterness and stupid grudges away and enjoy your family on that day. If everyone treated each other for who they are at that moment without preemptive malice for past actions, enjoyed a wonderful meal and ,God Forbid,relaxed ,smiled and were truly thankful for just being alive, it really would be Thanksgiving!

Meow for now,

Catraven =^..^=

World's largest Spider Web and other spider related useless information

O.K. I have some time to kill before my rant on the hypocrisy of Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd share some amazing info and pictures about spiders and their webs. I was looking for reference pictures for ideas for spider webs for my next fairy drawing I am working on (a dark forest fairy) and , as usual, I got distracted. You have to understand that I have the attention span of a knat. Anyway here goes nothing..........

Every thing's bigger in Texas

Besides George Bush's ego and the Huston Astrodome (now vacant costing 1 million $ a year to maintain and to be turned into a luxury hotel) this is the third biggest thing in Texas!

This web was first found by park staff on August 6, 2007, after an approximate two week absence of walking the trail.This web and two other smaller versions are on the park's large northeastern peninsula jutting out into the lake. PHOTO TAKEN BY TOM PENNINGTON AP

Discovered by park rangers at Lake Tawakoni State Park in Texas, the football-field sized web is actually the result of millions of spiders working together. Strangely enough, spiders don't normally organize themselves in large social units, though so far their efforts have been incredibly successful.
Described as 'fairy-tale white' by the rangers who first arrived on the scene, the web is now a few shades darker as it is completely blanketed by ill-fated mosquitoes. The smorgasbord will likely continue until the autumn when the spiders short lives will come to an end. source

Here are examples of the same type of spider making it's web after being given different drugs. Don't feel bad for the spider because they were treated well. They were given drugs, yes, but at least they were not ending up on the business end of a rolled up magazine! I would venture to guess they might even enjoyed their experience. Their art work was amazing. Most of the famous painters, sculptors, writers, musicians, actors and so called "great minds" were alcoholics and drug addicts. Sigmund Freud was a severe Cocaine addict and Sherlock Holmes aka Sir Arthur Conan Doyle also! Adolf Hitler and Stalin did not drink or do drugs. So draw your own conclusion. I am by NO MEANS promoting drinking or drugs this is just my sick sense of humor and these pictures were actually used for an anti-drug campaign. Similar to the egg frying in the pan with the caption "This is Your brain On Drugs" I just made up the parody rhyme

New rhyme for counting your child's toes?
This little spider drank too much coffee

This little spider stayed home
This little spider took acid
This little spider got stoned
And this little spider cried wEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
because he was on speed. Then ,after he helped everyone else finish their webs, he had a heart attack and died.
The End.

Other strange webs:

This was made by a spider on the space shuttle.

World's first Arachnid Astronaut!!!!

arabella in space


I love this one. After the dew formed it froze! Must have been a drastic sudden change in temperature because there is no way a web could stand up to an ice storm. Really beautiful and sad because the spider that made this could not have survived this severe cold. But she left a masterpiece!!!

Meow for now,

Catraven =^..^=

This is almost exactly what Luna will look like as a big wolf right down to the white spot on the chest. As soon as I get someone to take a new picture of her I'll show how she is heading in this direction.

Now my, soon to be enormous, puppy has turned 13 weeks old. She was weighed and measured and the results are:

23 1/2 lbs.

19" from collar to base of tail

19" tall ( when on all fours)

This means that my little monster has gained 8 1/2lbs. and grew 3 inches in both directions in less than 2 weeks! If this keeps up I may have to warn Tokyo in a month. She'll give Godzilla a run for his Yen! I know, a pathetic joke but it was right there to use. forgive me.

She is getting her real doggie fur now and she looks less and less like her baby self. I am not complaining because she is more beautiful than I ever could have imagined!
Her coat is so shiny and she has a collar of tan on her neck and another right before her shoulders. The white streak down her nose is almost disappeared and her tail is getting very bushy.
Her ears are trying to stand up and every morning are in very weird positions.I think I am giving her a complex because I can't stop laughing.

Her new favorite game is "torture the cat". It's not really torture for Obie because he is enjoying chasing her too! Meow for now,
Catraven =^..^=