Pink (s)lip service and a true conch: The Queen Conch (Lobatus gigas). WWF maximum cards/ maxicards/ dorincards about Nevis.

What exactly is "a true conch"?

That's NOT a good question.

Why?

Because "The term true conchs, being a common name, does not have an exact meaning. It may refer generally to any of the Strombidae^[1] but sometimes is used more specifically to include onlyStrombus and Lambis^[2] or just Strombus itself.^[3]"

^?

^Anyway.

"Lobatus gigas, commonly known as the queen conch, is a species of edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family of true conchs, the Strombidae. This species is one of the largest mollusks native to the Tropical Northwestern Atlantic, from Bermuda to Brazil, reaching up to 35.2 cm (13.9 in) in shell length.

The queen conch is herbivorous and lives in seagrass beds, although the exact habitat varies during the different stages of its development. The adult animal has a very large, solid and heavy shell, with knob-like spines on the shoulder, a flared thick outer lip and a characteristic pink-colored aperture (opening). The flared lip is completely absent in younger specimens. The external anatomy of the soft parts of L. gigas is similar to that of other snails in the same family: it has a long snout, two eyestalks with well-developed eyes and additional sensory tentacles, a strong foot and a corneous sickle-shaped operculum."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eustrombus_gigas_01.jpg

What you see above it's just a shell "corporation".

Wanna see the corpore/corpus/soft body?

Here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Strombus_gigas_Duclos_in_Chenu_1844_pl_1.jpg

A legitimate question is: what the...hell are those?

Can you handle the truth? Jack Nicholson said you can't!

Here:

"A drawing of an adult male Lobatus gigas (from Duclos in Chenu, 1844) showing the external soft parts including the spade-shaped penis on the left. Separate details show the mouth, and both sides of the claw-like operculum."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobatus_gigas

"Nevis (pronounced /ˈniːvɪs/) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 km west ofAntigua. The 93 km² island is part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. The capital of Nevis is Charlestown.

Nevis, along with Saint Kitts, forms the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The two islands are separated by a shallow two-mile (3.22 km) channel, known as "The Narrows". Nevis is conical in shape, with a volcanic peak, Nevis Peak, at its centre. The island is fringed on its western and northern quadrants by sandy beaches that are composed of a mixture of white coral sand with brown and black sand, eroded and washed down from the volcanic rocks that make up the island. The gently-sloping coastal plain (0.6 miles/1 km wide) has natural fresh-water springs, as well as non-potable volcanic hot springs, especially along the western coast."

"Alexander Hamilton, the statesman and one of the founding fathers of the United States, was born on Nevis around 1755, and spent a significant part of his childhood there. His father was a trader from Scotland, his mother was from Nevis. The place of his birth currently holds the Nevis Island Assembly Chambers and the Museum of Nevis History."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Hamilton

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Happy Pink Saturday!

^{Please visit "Pretty in pink"/ "Show us your pink" [objects, that is :)] meme here:}

^{http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/}

Live BBC coverage of Japan earthquake. Tsunami hits Japan after massive 8.9 quake. Also, I show you here a maximum card about the best possible safeguard against tsunami: natural, geographic high elevation. The highest sea cliffs in the world - Moloka'i, Hawai'i, USA.

Go to BBC for live coverage of Japan earthquake.
"Tsunami hits Japan after massive [8.9] quake".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12709791
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12307698

I hope that the world community will contribute quickly and efficiently to the rescue and recovery effort.

You are not a shopaholic (are you?), so it's OK for you to simply SEE items that are available for purchase, by the interested conoisseurs:

http://www.delcampe.net/page/item/id,0037988464,language,E.html

No, Google, this is NOT spam, because my readers here are responsible adults who are able to just LOOK, without buying compulsively. Sheesh! :)

The best possible safeguard against tsunami: natural, geographic high elevation. The highest sea cliffs in the world, dropping about 3,315 feet (1,010 m) into the Pacific Ocean. - Moloka'i, Hawai'i, USA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KalaupapaVillageCliffs.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalaupapa,_Hawaii

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprosy

If earthquakes are "acts of God", is God acting up?

"The 1960 Valdivia earthquake or Great Chilean earthquake (Spanish: Gran terremoto de Chile/Valdivia) of 22 May 1960 is to date the most powerful earthquake ever recorded, rating 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale. It occurred in the afternoon (19:11 GMT, 14:11 local time) and its resulting tsunami affected southern Chile, Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, eastern New Zealand, southeast Australia, and the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.

The initial epicenter was near Cañete (see map) some 900 km (435 miles) south of Santiago, with Temuco being the closest large city, while Valdivia was the most affected city. It caused localised tsunamis that severely battered the Chilean coast, with waves up to 25 metres (82 ft). The main tsunami raced across the Pacific Ocean and devastated Hilo, Hawaii. Waves as high as 10.7 metres (35 ft) were recorded 10,000 kilometres (6,000 miles) from the epicenter, and as far away as Japan and the Philippines."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Valdivia_earthquake

"Consequences and response [of 1960 Valdivia earthquake]

Human sacrifice

In the coastal village Collileufu, Lafkenches carried out a ritual human sacrifice during the days following the main earthquake. Collileufu, located in the Budi Lake area, south of Puerto Saavedra, was by 1960 highly isolated and inhabitants there spoke mainly Mapudungun. 

The community had gathered in Cerro La Mesa, while the lowlands were struck by successive tsunamis. 

Juana Namuncura Añen, a local machi, demanded the sacrifice of the grandson of Juan Painecur, a neighbor, in order to calm the earth and the ocean.^[10][11] 

The victim, 5 year old José Luis Painecur,

 had his arms and legs removed by Juan

 Pañán and Juan José Painecur (the

 victim's grandfather), and was stuck into

 the sand of the beach like a stake. 

The waters of the Pacific Ocean then 

carried the body out to sea. 

The sacrifice came to be known after a boy in the commune of Nueva Imperial denounced to local leaders the theft of two horses that were allegedly eaten during the sacrifice ritual.^[10]

The 2 men were charged with the crime of murder and confessed, but later recanted. 

They were released after 2 years. A judge ruled that those involved had "acted without free will, driven by an irresistible natural force of ancestral tradition." 

The story was mentioned in a Time magazine article, although with little detail.^[12]"

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Valdivia_earthquake}

===========

If I were God, I would say:

"I don't need any human sacrifice, you stupid people!

Don't I sacrifice you all, so to speak, in due time?

Am I not killing each of you, as I see fit?

Don't I decide upfront the fate of each human, with all the decisions big and small, including the most trivial (now I decide that next you will drink water, now I decide that next you will drop your keys, etc.)?

Alternatively, should you believe that I decide only the big stuff in your life, then why would you attempt, by your prayers, to "twist my arm", to make me change my mind about any catastrophe that I have set aside for you, and others like you?

What if I created mankind indeed, then I stepped back, either watching or not watching the show? [Exogenesis is the hypothesis that life originated elsewhere in the universe and was spread to Earth]

What if I exist in a VERY different way than any person/religion claims that I do?

Here's the kicker: what if I don't exist at all?

Maybe I'm just a figment...:)

Either way, human sacrifices are a tragic and stupid thing to do, so...

===========

Tragedies happen every day in the world, but we have to avoid descending into total depression...

Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ (wait until Beth posts the today's Linky tool for the meme, then make your entry, if you want to join).

REPUB[L]ICANS "in the Wisconsin state senate have approved a plan to strip public-sector unions of most of their collective bargaining rights." - BBC. "Starve the beast" Reaganomics. "The richest 1% of the American population, who were paying an income tax rate of 70% had that rate chopped down to 50% and then to 28% under the Reagan administration." "Between 1978 and 1990 the government lost $840 billion in tax revenue whilst 1% of Americans accumulated $1 trillion. When Reagan first entered the White House the national debt was at around $700 billion, by the time he left the debt had exceeded $3 trillion." - read from Living in Philistia.

I'll say it again, coz you may have missed it in the fog of media wars and spin-mastering:

REPUB[L]ICANS "in the Wisconsin state senate have approved a plan to strip public-sector unions of most of their collective bargaining rights." - BBC. 

"But Democratic senate minority leader Mark Miller said the Republicans had shown disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights.

"Tonight, 18 senate Republicans conspired to take government away from the people," he is quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.

"Tomorrow we will join the people of Wisconsin in taking back their government."

State unions had said they would agree to Mr Walker's proposed changes to their benefits - which would amount to an 8% pay cut - as long as they retained collective bargaining rights."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12695313

"Starve the beast" Reaganomics. 

"The richest 1% of the American population, who were paying an income tax rate of 70% had that rate chopped down to 50% and then to 28% under the Reagan administration." 

"Between 1978 and 1990 the government lost $840 billion in tax revenue [DORIN'S NOTE: that's "starve the beast"] whilst 1% of Americans accumulated $1 trillion." 

"When Reagan first entered the White House the national debt was at around $700 billion, by the time he left the debt had exceeded $3 trillion." - read from Living in Philistia.

http://livinginphilistia.blogspot.com/2011/02/reaganomics-review.html

===================

Please visit and join The Guest Heart Thursday meme!

http://clytie-randomhearts.blogspot.com/

Welcome to Guest Heart Thursday -
A place to share YOUR hearts!

My entry for today would have been a [Republican] politician's "heart for the American people".

I haven't found one in the Wisconsin Senate.

I'm still looking...

If this symbolizes "the heart of the American people", then it looks already chewed up by the greedy profiteers at the top:

It's nice to nurture a hobby, and find beauty even where it isn't, except thru the lens of our mind.
It's even more important to be acutely aware of what's going on in the world around us.
On-the-scenes, and especially behind-the-scenes.
Have a heart for the people, you greedy millionaires! :)

I am not against rich people, in principle.

Who wants to be a millionaire? Everybody, including me and including you, I guess. :)

The point is that while you are getting rich, you shouldn't take an assholistic approach towards your fellow countrymen.

Don't drive your fellows out of their jobs...

out of business...

out of their homes...

out of their hopes...

out of their mind!

Coz if you do, then all hell might break loose, eventually.

And you might lose big, or...everything! [oh, your God!]

"Beware the fury of a patient man."

"Be afraid of a man who has nothing left to lose."

Get rich, and help others get prosperous, too, at least at a reasonable level.

Live, and let live.

What! You prefer to "not let live"?

The Khmer Rouge regime has exterminated 1/4 of the population of Cambodia/Kampuchea.

Are records meant to be broken?

"A politician  does not see the light until he feels the heat."

Politicians from around the world: 

do you entertain the idea of finding out, first-hand, the euphemistic weight of

 "a ton of bricks"?