Why do pigeons make pigeon noises? I’m sure if you’re an orthinologist or you know how to google, you can figure that out.

An easy answer would be because they’re pigeons, and that’s what pigeons do.

I could google that now and give you the a clever answer too. However, I want to know why pigeons make those “koer” noises at night.In the middle of the night – like last night 12:30?? 

(Koer is an Afrikaans pigeon noise – by the way, do they make the same noise in the US? ) . 

Do they have a bad dream & talk in their sleep? It doesn’t sound as if they’re alarmed, so I doubt if it was to alarm fellow pigeons of a cat or something.

I’m really suspecting that pigeons, like humans, talk in their sleep.

Who are the people who think up television commercials. Yeah I know they’re from advertising agencies. But what I’m wondering is who are they really. What type of people are they? Some adverts are really good. Personally I love the new MTN adverts – I know a lot of people despise them, because they don’t advertise the products or services offered, but I think they’re pretty creative.

There are a couple of ads which I can think of now which are pretty lame. They don’t hold any connection with the products or services, and neither are they creative. They just don’t make sense. Help me out if you know the meaning of the Peroni (beer) advertisement? It has a kinda catchy tune, but that’s all. It doesn’t make much sense to me.

I’m just wondering where these advertisers get their ideas from. I seriously think some of them smoke pot before starting to work on a new project. Others are just so bland that I doubt a professional agency would want to admit to even working on it.

The worst of all this is that even the nonsensical bland adverts have to get approval from the board of directors. Television commercial are bloody expensive, so I’m guessing that when they review these adverts, they actually think they’re good. That its a good sales pitch, and obviously there sales are going to improve. If I was on a board like that, I’d want the general public, or at least the people who have been buying my products in the past, to understand the advert. And if they wouldn’t, at it should make them curious enough to try and find out what the big ‘hoo-ha’ is all about…

Makes sense? To me it makes perfect sense, but maybe I’m weird.

On this freezing cold day I am thinking back to when I was in Mauritius. Nice WARM memories.
Something which immediately came to mind was the star fruit. When I was young I heard about it, but not many shops (if at all) in South Africa stock this fruit. The first time I saw it in REAL LIFE was in Mauritius. That which I had was pretty sour, but apparently there are some nice sweet variants!?

A popular fruit of wealthy Europeans in the late 1700’s, Star Fruit or Carambola was introduced to America only 75 years ago. A native fruit of South-east Asia and India, Star Fruit became an established fruit in Hawaii by way of Chinese immigrant traders. Arriving in Florida, Star Fruit has since made the state the largest producer of all American-consumed Star Fruit. Named for the 5 pointed star shaped slices it yields, Star Fruit’s pale yellow, juicy flesh contains a few, small, flat seeds and a distinctly tropical flavour. The thin, edible, lime green skin ripens to a bright yellow, with a waxy sheen. Usually sliced fresh as an elegant addition to salads, buffet platters and desserts.

This is one of the most productive fruit trees. If you only know the sour fruit from backyard seedling trees, be sure to try the sweet grafted varieties! Fruit from grafted trees is one of the fastest growing new exports from Florida. Cross sections of the fruit make attractive yellow stars, giving rise to its alternate name of star fruit. Carambola has a thin skin and crisp, juicy, non-fibrous flesh. The fruit can be eaten fresh, juiced, canned or dried.

Sources: Melissa’s & Echonet

Such pretty fruit hey? Stunning for garnishing

A driver who was high on cocaine destroyed an entire cornfield in an attempt to escape from the police.
Four police cars were destroyed before the 35-year-old crashed into a ditch and was arrested, near the village of Dussen in the south of the Netherlands.

And all along they thought it was aliens!!!

Source: Daily Mail

Tonight when I went shopping after work I found rosewater. For those who don’t know, its the flavouring of the pink Turkish delight. Needless to say I couldn’t stop myself from buying the stuff – and two bottles of it! (Just in case Pick ‘n Pay runs out any time soon) So here I am Googling for Turkish Delight recipes. Trying first to find people who reviewed a recipe, and see that they say its good. On my way through all the “Turkish Delight” blogs and sites I found some pretty neat people – or blogs, and I would like to share them with you. Apparently the one lady (who mentions a Turkish Delight recipe on her blog) got A LOT of traffic when the Narnia movie first came out. I remember how I was also intrigued by the Turkish Delight in that movie. It was icky, and gooey, but still so tempting. I must admit I feel somewhat like that White Witch myself tonight; wearing a white jersey, and flippin’ freezzzing!!! Damn, this winter thing is just NOT FOR ME!!!

I also read that Americans are not very familiar with Turkish Delight? Can’t believe there is something we have in South Africa that they don’t really have over there. Aparently it goes stale really quickly, but somehow South African manages to, either produce Turkish Delight ourselves, or to import really quick, and it is sold fairly quickly. I will let you know when I made Turkish Delight, and what it came out like. And if it was any good I’ll share the recipe!

For now, have a look at these really cool blogs, I loved reading them!

Lulu Loves Manhattan | Candy Blog | Becks & Posh

Visit them, and if you’re also interested in making your own Turkish Delight, search their blogs – they seem to have it all figured out

“Don’t be surprised if very soon your toiletry kit contains not only shaving cream, deodorant and toothpaste, but concealer, oil-absorbing face powder and brow gel.

That’s because guys are relying on an increasing number of made-for-men products like these to put their best face forward.

“I think men are much more receptive to the whole grooming concept from start to finish. Makeup is sort of the final frontier,” says Wendy Lewis, a beauty consultant and author of The Beauty Battle: An Insider’s Guide to Wrinkle Rescue and Cosmetic Perfection from Head to Toe. “They’re certainly concerned about camouflaging imperfections. The idea of a little light dusting of powder is no longer an extreme measure.”

In Pictures: Makeup For… Men?

Experts say it’s only natural that men would turn to makeup to look their best. Grooming, after all, has never been more acceptable. Last year, $4.8 million was spent on male grooming products in the U.S., a 7% increase over the year before and a whopping 42% increase from 2001, according to Euromonitor, a London-based marketing and research company.

And while still not the norm, makeup–including products from Clinique, Clarins and Jean Paul Gaultier–has become a more common part of the male beauty routine. Walk into megastores like Sephora or Macy’s and you’ll find a variety of masculine beauty products including bronzer and face masks. Clarin’s Self-Tanning Gel for Men, for example, amps up skin color while evening out skin tone.

Buff And Bronzed
KenMen, a Montreal-based cosmetics line founded in 2004 by Lee Gilbert, includes skin tints, body and face highlighter, and skin correcting sticks (otherwise known as concealer).

“My makeup artist friends were looking for a product for men that didn’t scream, ‘Look, I’m wearing makeup,’ ” she says. In the past year, she has seen a nearly 30% increase in online sales at www.kenmen.net, which also serves as an anonymous forum where men can ask about cosmetics without having to approach a salesperson at the beauty counter. Gilbert says makeup, not skin care products, account for a greater chunk of those sales.

“Men don’t want a ton of choices,” she says. “What they’re really, really interested in is education.”

That includes learning more about the beard and eyebrow corrector–filler that disguises sparse patches of hair–or learning how to apply KenMen’s best-selling bronzer.

Can You Keep A Secret?
Holly Doss, a Los Angeles-based makeup artist with an eponymous cosmetics brand, also believes discretion is the key to introducing men to makeup.

“Most of the feedback I’ve gotten,” she says, “is that they want to buy makeup without ever having to leave their home. They don’t want to go and try anything out in ‘real life.’ “

Doss, who has worked in the entertainment industry under the tutelage of celebrity makeup artist Trish McEvoy, primarily sells foundation and concealer from her unisex line to men who want to look polished, but not pretty. She says they like that they can use their fingers for a fuss-free application.

Polished and Powerful
OK, it does the job. But is manly makeup here to stay? Gilbert thinks so.

“In order to get that competitive edge, they have to look better,” she says. “They’re going to do whatever it takes–and there are products out there that can help them achieve this.”

Source: MSN

Have you got any idea how cold it is in Pretoria at the moment? Apparently its the lowest recorded temperature in 52 years! On Monday morning 5am, they said over the radio, that the temperature, taking into account the wind factor, was nearly -10°C!!!

Here are some photo’s which were taken close to my office. The sprinklers were left on over night, and we thought it a novelty at first, but it happens every day now. In the morning on my way to work I see these poor plants covered in ice. Such a waste of water if you ask me! Anyhow. I’ve been fluish – spent the whole of yesterday in bed with lots of medicine and sleep. I feel much better today, but not a 100% just yet.

But even though its flippin’ freezing, and I have a headache, and a scratchy throat, there is one good thing about today: ITS FRIDAY!!!

Most of you have read the scare-mail about the person whose kidneys were stolen while he was passed out. Well, read on. While the kidney story was an urban legend, this one is not. It’s happening every day.

My thighs were stolen from me during the night a few years ago. It was just
that quick. I went to sleep in my body and woke up with someone else’s thighs. The new ones had the texture of cooked oatmeal. Who would have done such a cruel thing to legs that had been mine for years? Whose thighs were these and what happened to mine? Hurt and angry, I resigned myself to living out my life in jeans and Sheer Energy pantyhose. Then, just when my guard was down, the thieves struck again.

My butt was next. I knew it was the same gang, because they took pains to match my new rear end to the thighs they stuck me with earlier. I couldn’t believe that my new butt was attached at least three inches lower than my
original. Now, my rear complemented my legs, lump for lump. Frantic, I prayed that long skirts would stay in fashion It was two years ago when I realized my arms had been switched. One morning I was fixing my hair and I watched horrified but fascinated as the flesh of my upper arms swung to and fro with the motion of the hairbrush. This was really getting scary. My body was being replaced one section at a time. How clever and fiendish.

Age? Age had nothing to do with it. Age is supposed to creep up, unnoticed, something like maturity. NO, I was being attacked repeatedly and without warning. In despair, I gave up my T-shirts.

What could they do to me next?

My poor neck suddenly disappeared faster than the Thanksgiving turkey it now resembled. That’s why I decided to tell my story. I can’t take on the medical profession by myself. Women of the world, wake up and smell the
coffee. That really isn’t plastic that those surgeons are using.

You KNOW where they are getting those replacement parts, don’t you? The next time you suspect someone has had a face “lifted,” look again. Was it lifted from you? I think I finally found my thighs – and I hope that Cindy Crawford paid a really good price for them!

This is not a hoax. This is happening to women in every town every night. WARN YOUR FRIENDS!

P.S. I must say that last year I thought someone had stolen my breasts. I was lying in bed and they were gone! As I jumped out of bed, I was relieved to see that they had just been hiding in my armpits as I slept.

Now I keep them hidden in my waistband.

Today someone mentioned the fact that all of us buy some sort of junk. Not always things that we can’t use. Just things that we don’t use. Those things that you think look interesting, and in the 5 minutes you spend looking at it on the shelf you’re convinced that you cannot live without this item for another day. Its really weird how we lie to ourselves like that! In a desperate attempt to quiet our conscience about the money we’re about the spend.

When you get home (or sometimes even in the car), you open this newly found treasure. You sniff it, try it on, and love it to bits for those first few minutes, and sometimes even days! But there comes a time when you wonder to yourself, “what the hell was I thinking when I bought this?”.

For me those things that go in a drawer is any cosmetic thing. Whether it be a new sort of loofah, sponge, cute make up brushes, make up remover, facial scrub, mousse foundation – you name it – I buy it. I love new fragrances and texture, and feeling what it does to my skin.

The person I mentioned previously collects gadgets like that. Anything which sounds as if it could save you time. Whether it be juicers, popcorn makers, and heaven alone know what else.

It was then that I realized that most of us has a “fetish” like that. The inconsolable urge to buy something we don’t really need. What is it that you buy and end up putting away in a drawer, cupboard, or even the garage?

I’ve decided to share with you things that blew my mind today.

There’s a guy on e-bay who’s got his imaginary friend (and the imaginary friend’s dog) up for auction – actually there are a couple of those doing the rounds at the moment. Seems to be a new trend, but I won’t join in – I’ve never had an imaginary friend. I just wonder how much of a friend they were to their “owners” if they’re getting sold. WTH, I sound crazy now too.

Then there’s a guy who murdered his mother by cutting her head off with a circular saw. (So much for the upcoming Mother’s day!). After he murdered his mom he tried to saw off his own head as well, but when he was only half way through he died from blood loss. See the Orange County Register for the full story.

In Bankok, Brahman offer food to an oxen during the Royal Ploughing ceremony. Sacred Thai oxen nibbled on rice, maize and grass in an ancient fortunetelling ceremony which royal soothsayers said predicted a bountiful harvest. See Yahoo!for the full story.

Lastly, China is marketing electronic cigarettes. Like their advert says it “No tar. No flame. No pollution. No carbon monoxide” See Weird Asia News for more information.

That’s it for now. Have a nice Thursday