Crocodile Bike

Tiger Woods Seriously Hurt In Car Accident

Golfer Tiger Woods was seriously injured today in a car accident. Woods was alone in his car about 2:30 this morning driving near his home in Windermere Florida.

Last reports indicate he has already been released from the hospital after being treated for cuts on his face.

The golfer reportedly hit a fire hydrant and a tree on a neighbor's property less then one hundred feet from his own drive.

Police have not yet spoke to Tiger but alcohol was not being considered as a cause.

It is not yet known if the accident will affect his next appearance scheduled for December 3 in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
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Marcus Samuelsson on Thanks Giving

(NPR) – Marcus Samuelsson was born in Ethiopia, raised in Sweden and now is a world-renowned chef in New York City. His cooking style is as international as his life story.

He sat down with NPR’s Steve Inskeep to discuss his multicultural Thanksgiving traditions.

“Like most immigrants, we roast turkey — we have turkey on the table,” said Samuelsson. “But our table is filled with people from all over the world that are Americans like us, new Americans … [So] there’s also the dishes from our [home] country.”

“I have Swedish potatoes au gratin,” said Samuelsson. “I have gravlax on the table. Then my wife makes a mean doro wat, which is this chicken stew from Ethiopia. She will always have some injera bread there.

“I think Thanksgiving is this incredible, great example where we as immigrants, we as Americans, bring in the culture or the history of where we come from,” said Samuelsson. “And then we serve it to our family, and I just think it’s a perfect marriage where you can show your identity, and you’re really proud to be an American.”

“Cooking for me is also a way of looking back,” said Samuelsson. “When I make the apple cake, I see my mother.

“So much of cooking and eating is about, ‘Where do we want to go in our memories?’ ” said Samuelsson. “We want to revisit the vacation. We want to revisit our college years. We want to revisit our childhood years.”

Growing up, he’d help his mother make her classic apple cake. “My job was always to sort of make the clock,” Samuelsson said, in describing the way the apples were arranged on top of the dessert. “My mom always cut 12 pieces.

“I always wanted to mess it up — I wanted to put apples all over,” he said. But his mother made sure the apples were adorned properly, because each person should get a slice of apple on their slice of cake.

Samuelsson feels everyone has a food story like his apple cake one.

“We all have food stories,” he said. “We all come from incredible backgrounds. And we can … share those memories … through food. And that’s the reason I love living in this country.”

Marcus Samuelsson’s Apple Cake Recipe

“I always joke about how bad my mom’s cooking was, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that a lot of what I know about cooking came from her. I can’t even count how many times she made this honest, simple apple cake — it seems as if we always had one in the refrigerator and another in the freezer, just in case we had unexpected company. Even now, when we are all out of the house, she always has apples on hand, just in case she needs to whip up a quick dessert for visitors.”

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 Granny Smith apples

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan

1 large egg

1-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2/3 cup half-and-half

2 teaspoons confectioners’ sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and coat with the bread crumbs.

2. Toss together the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Set aside.

3. Peel and core the apples, then slice one apple into 16 wedges. Combine the cinnamon and 1/3 cup of the sugar mixture in a medium bowl. Add the apple wedges and toss to coat. Roughly dice the remaining apple.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and the remaining sugar mixture on medium speed until light, fluffy, and lemon colored, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and mix until combined. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour and baking powder. Slowly add the half-and-half, and mix until combined. Fold the diced apple into the batter.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Arrange 14 of the apple wedges fanned along the outer edge of the pan and place the 2 remaining wedges in the center. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the center is golden brown.

6. Remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool completely. Run a small offset spatula around the edges to release the cake from the pan and remove the springform. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, then cut into 12 wedges.

Rotary Telephone Sheep Sculptures

Famous Ethiopian singer Manalemosh Dibo passed away

One of Ethiopia’s most popular singers, Manalemosh Dibo, passed away today from natural causes, according to news sources in Ethiopia.

Manalemosh died in South Africa where she went to receive medical treatment after suffering from intestinal cancer for over a year.

Before going to South Africa Manalemosh was receiving treatment at Tikur Anbessa (Black Lion) Hospital in Addis Ababa. When her condition deteriorated, Tikur Anbessa doctors recommended that she gets treatment abroad. Ethiopian billionaire Al Amoudi covered her expenses to travel to South Africa.

Manalemosh was a young singer who's popularity grew with each song she released. She is particularly well-known for her traditional songs such as Asabelew, Awdamet, and Minjar.

Poe the Clydesdale World's tallest Horse

It’s lucky he’s such a good-natured beast. Because if this horse turned grumpy, there’s no way a petite woman armed with a rope could hold him back. Standing 20.2 hands - that’s 6ft 10in - at the shoulder and weighing 200 stone, Poe is the tallest horse in the world, according to owner Shereen Thompson.

Mane attraction: Clydesdale Poe with 5ft 3in tall owner Shereen Thompson in Tupperville, Ontario in Canada

Inching above his rivals: Poe, shown here with another horse on the Canadian farm, stands at 20.2 hands. The Clydesdale is 2in bigger than the horse from Texas currently listed in the Guinness Book of Records, she believes - and dwarfs her own 5ft 3in frame. He lives on Miss Thompson’s farm in Tupperville, Ontario, in Canada. Poe - who is 10ft tall with his head held high - needs two bales of hay a day, 10lb of grain and 75 gallons of water. Miss Thompson rescued Poe - named after her favourite writer, Edgar Allen Poe - in February 2008.

Ms Thompson, who is just 5ft3, is dwarfed by the gentle giant Neigh high: Ms Thompson, who is just 5ft 3in, is dwarfed by the gentle giant He used to work in the city of London, Ontario, hauling crates of Budweiser - ‘rather like the horses of Youngs Brewery used to in London, England,' Miss Thompson explained. The ten-year-old has since become a firm favourite at local fairs - where she said he behaves like ‘a real puppy’. ‘But he does sometimes forget his strength and drags me along if he wants to play or go chasing something,’ she added.Giddy up... and up and up: Poe, eats two bales of hay a day, gallops through the fields.

Giddy up... and up and up: Poe, eats two bales of hay a day, gallops through the fields Clydesdale horses were first bred in what was then Clydesdale, now Lanarkshire, in the mid-18th century. They usually stand at around 5ft 4in at the shoulder.

World Smalest Horse : My little Pony

Via : Link

World's 12 Longest

World's longest living marriage (85 years)

Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher, of North Carolina, have been married for 85 years as of May 13, 2009. Zelmyra is 101 years old and Herbert turned 104 on June 10th, 2009. They have shared the same home in the Brownsville community of New Bern for 50 years. (Link)

World's longest serving bartender (77 years)

Angelo Cammarata is, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world's longest-serving bartender. He's been pouring for most of his 77 years at Cammarata's Café, the West View watering hole. But now, the place he still helps his sons John and Frank run, has been sold, and the Cammaratas will be out of there within weeks, when the new owners are approved by the state. "Camm," as people call him, started serving beer at his father's North Side grocery the moment Prohibition ended, at midnight on April 7, 1933. The memory is as clear to him as the strike of the library clock that signaled it was time to start opening bottles of Fort Pitt. His immigrant father built a bar on that site in 1935, and Angelo kept working there, taking a break to serve in the Navy in World War II. In 1971 he sold the bar to his sons. In September 2009, the Café was sold and Camm, 95, decided it was time to retire. (Link)

World's longest point in professional tennis (29 minutes)

This year, 2009, marks the 25th anniversary of a historic tennis match. At a Virginia Slims tournament in 1984, Vicki Nelson and Jean Hepner exchanged 643 shots. It remains the longest single rally in the history of professional tennis. The 6-hour-31-minute marathon was itself the longest match in tennis history for nearly 20 years and remains the longest match completed on a single day. The rally that put Nelson-Dunbar and Hepner in the record books came at set point for Hepner, who was ahead in the second-set tie breaker, which lasted 1:47 on its own. The 13-11 tiebreaker lasted 1 hour 47 minutes - the longest in the history of professional tennis - and had one point that lasted 29 minutes, with the ball crossing the net 643 times. Nelson finally won the game. (Link)

World's longest speech (124 hours)

Frenchman Lluis Colet broke the world record for the longest speech after rambling nonstop for 124 hours about Spanish painter Salvador Dali, Catalan culture and other topics. The 62-year-old Catalan and local government worker spoke for five straight days and four nights to set the record in the southern French town of Perpignan. Three notaries were on hand to recognize the feat which allowed Colet to enter in the Guinness Book of Records. The previous record was held by an Indian man who delivered a 120-hour speech. (Link)

World's longest burning lightbulb (107 years)

The world's longest lightbulb, a low-watt firehouse bulb, has been burning continuously since 1901. Long after his retirement, ex-firefighter Tom Bramell still likes to visit Station No. 6 for old times' sake, whistling in amazement at all the changes. But one thing remains exactly the same. The sturdy little object hangs from the ceiling in the firehouse's engine bay, emitting its familiar faint orange glow. At 107 years and counting, the low-watt wonder with the curlicue carbon filament has been named the planet's longest continuously burning bulb by both Guinness World Records and Ripley's Believe It Or Not.The Livermore lightbulb has never been turned off, which many suspect is the secret to its longevity. Livermore's bulb has burned for nearly a million hours. ( Link)

World's longest movie (87 hours)

Directed by John Henry Timmis IV, "The Cure for Insomnia" is officially the world's longest movie, according to Guinness World Records, as of its release in 1987. Running 5220 minutes (87 hours) in length, the movie has no plot, instead consisting of artist L. D. Groban reading his lengthy poem of the same name over the course of three and a half days, spliced with occasional clips from heavy metal and pornographic videos. (Link Photo)

World's longest running soap opera (72 years)

The world's longest running soap opera, Guiding Light, has been on for 72 years following the lives of four families in America. Starting out as a radio play in 1937 before graduating to CBS daytime TV in 1952, it was funded by Procter & Gamble, which employed Irna Phillips, the "mother of the genre", to write it. In the mid-60s, it was one of the first soaps to feature African-American actors in regular roles. Its fictional "anywhere America" location moved around until 1966, when it settled in a town called Springfield. Kevin Bacon, Calista Flockhart and Mickey Rourke all started out on the show. The show won dozens of awards in its seven-decade span and ran up more than 15,700 episodes, each ending in a cliffhanger. (Link)

World's longest reigning monarch (63 years)

Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 81, is the world's longest-reigning monarch. He ascended to the throne following the death of his brother, King Ananda Mahidol, on June 9, 1946, and was formally crowned on May 5, 1950. Thailand abolished absolute monarchy in the 1930s, so the king wields little power although he recently appealed for unity amid Thailand's four-year-long political crisis. He remains a deeply revered figure and enjoys immense popularity. (Link 1 Link 2)

World's longest blackout (66 days)

In 1998 Auckland had a blackout power crisis for five weeks. Almost all of downtown Auckland in New Zealand was supplied electricity by Mercury Energy via four power cables, two of them 40-year-old oil-filled cables that were past their replacement date. One of the cables failed on January 20, possibly due to the unusually hot and dry conditions, another on February 9. Due to the increased load from the failure of the first cables, the remaining two failed on February 19 and 20, leaving about 20 city blocks (except parts of a few streets) without power during 66 days. 7500 businesses and residents were affected. Estimated loss due to the power failure was $156 million USD. ( Link)

World's longest engagement (67 years)

Next time your fiancée starts to bug you about the wedding date you can comfort her by telling her about Octavio Guillen and Adriana Martinez, who hold the record for the world's longest engagemant and quite possibly, the world's coldest feet. Octavio Guillen and Adriana Martinez were engaged in Mexico in 1902 ,but kept putting the wedding off over and over again. After 67 years, in June 1969, Octavio Guillen must have run out of excuses and the world's longest engagement ended with their vows. They were both 15 years old when they were engaged and 82 years old on their wedding day. (Link)

World's longest movie kiss (3min 5sec)

In 1941, a kiss made movie history. Jayne Wyman and Regis Toomey kissed for three minutes and five seconds during the film You're In The Army Now. This actually took up 1/25th of the film's total running time. This comedy film is about two vacuum-cleaner salesmen who are accidentally inducted into the army and the hijinks that follow. (Link)

World's longest solar eclipse of the century (6min 32sec)

The solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 was the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting as much as 6 minutes and 39 seconds in some places. It caused tourist interest in eastern China, Nepal and India. In some parts of the continent, the moon completely blocked out the sun for more than six-and-a-half minutes. The eclipse - the longest since July 1991 - was visible in India, Nepal, Burma, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China. There won't be a longer eclipse than that day for another 123 years (June 13, 2132).(Link)

Liya Kebede on challenges facing mothers in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, 94 percent of women deliver their babies at home, without the aid of a trained birth attendant.

Follow Liya Kebede, the World Health Organization’s Global Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health and a native of Ethiopia, as she learns firsthand the challenges facing mothers and newborns and how new U.S.-funded programs are helping to shift the odds in their favor. Watch the video below:

Fashion designer Gelila Assefa to build computer lab in Ethiopia

Ethiopian-born international fashion designer and philanthropist Gelila Assefa Puck (gelilastyle.com) has announced a partnership with the Orphaned Starfish Foundation to fund a new computer lab for a school run by the Ethiopian Children's Fund (ECF) in rural Aleltu, Ethiopia.

The Orphaned Starfish Foundation grant will support the Gelila Assefa Puck Skill Training Center, the newest addition to the celebrated ECF children's village in Aleltu. The grant will provide hardware, software, materials and trainers for ECF's first computer skills training lab. ECF plans to offer other vocational skills as additional funds are raised and the new Center expands.

More than a decade ago, Ms. Puck, who was born and raised in Addis Ababa, joined the board of ECF. There were then only 21 children in the program but today this pioneering set of children's boarding schools serves more than 400 orphaned and disadvantaged children in Ethiopia.

Said Ms. Puck: "The partnership with ECF is the first entry of the Orphaned Starfish Foundation into Africa and it will provide disadvantaged Ethiopian children with critically-needed skills. This vocational training is absolutely vital to preparing the children for the jobs they will need to support themselves and to raise healthy, independent families – which has always been the ultimate goal of the Ethiopian Children's Fund."

Added Ms. Puck: "I am delighted at this new development and will be excited to watch how the new computers and this new program will transform the lives of these incredible children."

Gelila Assefa Puck is an internationally known designer of fine couture gowns and handbags, and philanthropist who was born and schooled in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Gelila's couture fashion brand, Gelila Style, is rooted in her East African heritage and today is principally focused on a distinctive handbag line, which includes simple, classic clutches and bags made from crocodile, ostrich and African springbok.

Gelila and her husband, superchef Wolfgang Puck, support numerous other charities worldwide, and were both honored in March of 2009 by the Children's Institute in Southern California with the prestigious Champion of Children Award.

Lou Dobbs Quits CNN - Watch Video

Lou Dobbs of CNN fame announced yesterday on his television program that he was leaving the network effective immediately.

Nobody really knows yet if he was pushed out, or if he left on his own accord. His contract was not set to expire until next year.

Recently, CNN has dropped to last place among all cable news networks, and some insiders feel that Lou was alienating the younger viewers.

Lou's rants about immigration, healthcare, war and politics seem to come across to younger viewers as if they were listening to their own fathers rant at the dinner table after a hard day at work.

Dobbs is a legacy CNN personality, starting under Ted Turner and riding the wave since the inception of the network. With the exception of a brief absence to start Space.com, Dobbs has had a show in some fashion or another since the early days.

I won't miss him. Lou was one of the reasons I stopped watching CNN. Another reason was Wolf Blitzer. I finally grew tired of his monotone voice and personality. When they paired him with Jack Cafferty I felt like I was watching two curmudgeons complaining about everything in the world. There was not one positive, happy, hopeful word from them - ever.

A decision on who will replace Dobbs is expected to be announced Thursday.

The video below is Dobbs exit speech. I suspect we will see him again someday, and then I will stop watching him there also.

Watch Video Of Lou's Exit Speach



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Yoko Ono Sucks…

I don't know if any of you happened to see the Jimmy Fallon Show last night. The musical guest was Yoko Ono and The Plastic Ono Band with guitar lead by her son Sean Lennon.

Wow, all I can say is this woman sucks as a musician. I have never really liked her, but last night was beyond bad - I was actually embarrassed for her, the band and Jimmy Fallon.

Ono grunted out "Waiting For The D Train". Any really, grunt is giving her too much credit. The song basically consisted of grunts, wails, yells and rhythmic groans.

She seemed to always be singing flat - if you can grunt flat, and I could not understand one word.

I suppose she thinks it is some kind of interpretative singing, but really - it sucked. While the video below is not from the Jimmy Fallon Show, it is a live performance of the same song.

You be the judge.

Watch Yoko Ono Grunt "Waiting For The D Train"

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World's Oddest Couples

World's Youngest Couple

Every little girl dreams about her wedding day, complete with visions of a big beautiful white dress and, of course, the perfect man. But 9-year-old Jayla Cooper didn't have a lifetime to wait for Mr. Right. The Southlake, TX, girl had been battling leukemia for two years, a battle that would end in just a matter of weeks. But what Jayla did have was a groom. He's her best friend, Jose Griggs, 7, a fellow patient at Children's Medical Center in Dallas. Jayla and Jose tied the knot in February 2009 to fulfill her final wish: Getting married in a beautiful wedding, surrounded by family and friends. From the flowers to the banquet hall, donations poured in to give a North Texas bride the wedding of her dreams. (Link) more images after the break...

Couple with Largest Difference in Height

Fabien Pretou, born on June 15, 1968, in France, measuring 188.5 cm (6 ft 2 in) in height, married Natalie Lucius, born on January 19, 1966, 94 cm (3 ft 1 in) tall, at Seyssinet-Pariset, France on 14 April 1990. The height difference is of 94.5 cm (37 in). Their home is custom built for Natalie's convenience. (Link)

Couple with the Greatest Age Difference

A 112 year-old Somalian man got married for the sixth time, to a 17-year-old girl. The wedding between Ahmed Muhamed Dore and Safia Abdulleh took place in Guriceel, in the Galguduud region of Somalia. Mr Dore and his teenage bride are from the same village, and he said that he had waited for her to grow up before proposing. At 95 years older than her – if his claimed age is accurate – he is old enough to be her great-great-great-grandfather. (Link)

The only couple to have won the lottery twice… with the same numbers.

The Angelo couple is in the money…again. The family, made up of Eugene, Sr. (81) and his wife Adeline (74) and the couple's three sons, Eugene, Jr. (48), Steven (47) and Michael (42), is no stranger to money, having won a $2,500,000 share of a $10,000,000 Lotto jackpot in December 1996 as well. The win marks only the third time, in the 29-year history of the New York Lottery's Lotto game, that a player has become a jackpot winner twice. Originally from the Bronx, the Angelo's, who resettled in Mahopac and nearby Brookfield, CT., recalled memories of their first win as they claimed their latest Lottery prize – a $5,000,000 Lotto jackpot from the drawing held on August 18, 2007. The odds of anyone matching all six Lotto numbers from a field of 59 are 1:22,528,737 on a minimum $1 play. Lotto players receive two games for every $1 played. Overall, the odds of winning a Lotto prize are 1:46.02. What a lucky couple! (Link)

The Couple Separated for the Longest Time (60 years)

Sixty years ago, Boris and Anna Kozlov were married for only three days before he had to ship out with his Red Army unit. When he returned, Anna and her family were gone – exiled to Siberia by Stalin's purges. Then one day, on a chance encounter, they found each other again!
“I thought my eyes were playing games on me,” Anna said. “I saw this familiar looking man approaching me, his eyes gazing at me. My heart jumped. I knew it was him. I was crying with joy.” 80 years-old Boris had returned to visit his parents' grave. As he stepped out of the car, he looked up to see Anna standing by her old house, where they had lived for the few days after the wedding. “I ran up to her and said: ‘My darling, I've been waiting for you for so long. My wife, my life…'” (Link)

World's Shortest Couple

Douglas Maistre Breger da Silva, born on September 21, 1969, and Claudia Pereira Rocha, born on Septermber 6, 1972, both Brazilian, when married on October 27, 1998, in Curitiba, Brazil, measured 90cm (35 in) and 93cm (36 in) respectively, becoming the world's shortest couple. Together they measure 183cm, less than 6 feet. (Link)

Same $ex Penguin Couple

Harry and Pepper are a pair of adorable male Magellan penguins at the San Francisco Zoo. The couple's relationship began in 2003, and they were together for the last 6 years. The two black-and-white birds paired off when outgoing Harry befriended Pepper, an introvert who sticks mostly to his burrow. At the time, the two were adolescents and everyone assumed they were just friends. But soon they were nesting together. Harry would gather grass and bring it home to Pepper, who would arrange it tidily in their burrow. Single females would come around, but both birds never seemed interested. They even adopted an egg together in 2008, as the pair was allowed to incubate and hatch an egg another penguin had laid. “Of all of the parents that year, they were the best,” Brown said. “They took very good care of their chick. He ended up being the largest chick on the island.” Sadly the happy couple broke up in 2009. (Link)

World's Largest Couple

Anna Haining Swan was born on August 06, 1846 at Mill Brook, Nova Scotia and weighed 18 pounds. At age 5, Anna Swan was 4 feet 8 inches tall, and full grown she reached a dizzying height of 7 feet 5 1/2 inches (about 228cm). Martin Van Buren Bates was born November 9, 1837 and was known as the 'Kentucky Giant', reportedly reaching a height of 7 feet 11 inches, but more accurately it was about 7 feet 2 1/2 inches (219cm).
When visiting a circus in Halifax with which Martin Van Buren Bates — another enormously tall person — was travelling, Anna was spotted by the promoter and was hired on the spot. The giant couple became a touring sensation and eventually fell in love, and on June 17, 1871, in St Martin-in-the-fields in London, they got married. Rev. Rupert Cochrane, a friend of Anna's family, who happened to be preaching in London at the time, agreed to conduct the ceremony. Despite his 6-feet-3-inch (1.91 m) stature, the Reverend looked small when standing next to the giant bride and groom. Their combined height was an astonishing 14 feet 8 inches (over 4,5 m). (Link 1 Link 2)

World's Longest Married Couple (85 years)

Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher, of North Carolina, have been married for 85 years as of May 13, 2009. Zelmyra is 101 years old and Herbert turned 104 on June 10th, 2009. They have shared the same home in the Brownsville community of New Bern for 50 years. The two of them can still give their reasons for marrying on May 13, 1924. (Link)

Couple with the Same Full Name, Meet Mr and Ms Kelly Hildebrandt

It's not too unusual to hear stories of married couples who met online. But it IS unusual when that couple that meets online and marries also has the same name. In this case, it's a guy from Texas named Kelly Hildebrandt and a gal from Florida named Kelly Hildebrandt. They are about to get married. Kelly Hildebrandt met Kelly Hildebrandt when Kelly, the girl, looked up her own name on Facebook. “I was like, ‘I wonder if there's any other Kelly Hildebrandts on Facebook',” she explained. “So, I searched my own name and he's the only one that came up. And actually, in the picture, he didn't have his shirt on, and I'm like, ‘oh, he's cute!'” And the Kelly in Texas was also intrigued. “She started off, ‘Hey, I see we have the same name, and I thought it was kinda cool, so I wanted to say hi, I guess'. Lots of laughs,” he said… Eight months after that innocent Facebook message, Kelly proposed to Kelly, and pretty soon they'll become Kelly Hildebrandt squared. (Link)

Glenn Beck Rushed To Hospital For Emergency Surgery

Fox News correspondent and national troublemaker Glenn Beck had a close call today.

While on air during a live broadcast on Wednesday, Beck suffered and acute appendix problem and was rushed to an unknown hospital.

Glenn was rushed into emergency surgery where his appendix was removed. Few details have emerged from Fox or other news sources.

Judge Andrew Napolitano took over Beck's hosting duties at the last minute. Glenn is expected back as soon as he recovers from his appendicitis, and we're sure we will hear all about his experience with our broken health care system.
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Teddy Donates $87,107 to Elshadai Relief & Development Association

Addis Ababa (November 2, 2009) – Ethiopian singer/songwriter Tewodros Kassahun, a.k.a Teddy Afro, donated 1.1 million Br ($87,107) to a local NGO, Elshadai Relief & Development Association this past Friday. The money was raised from the singer’s concert at Addis Ababa Stadium on October 11, 2009 to help people with a life of begging.

In his first performance after being released early from his two-year sentence for good behavior, the 31-year-old singer performed 25 songs for his fans who packed the stadium. The association’s Executive Director, Yemane Woldemariam, received the check at a brief press conference held at the Intercontinental Addis Hotel.

Saba Anglana, Ethiopian-Italian actress & singer

November 1, 2009 -She was raised in Italy by her Italian father and Ethiopian mother. But the actress and musician Saba Anglana, who records under the name Saba, sings in Somali.

Saba was born in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, to an Ethiopian mother (born in Somalia) and Italian father during the years of General Muhammad Siyad Barre’s corrupt and repressive regime. The perennially suspicious attitude towards Italians ,and the conflict with Ethiopia over the Ogaden region, forced her family to leave the country when she was just 5 years old. Saba recalls, ‘We were a mixed-marriage family: inconvenient, perhaps a threat. I still remember nights at Bolimog (Cape Guardafui, near Alula — the extreme east point of Africa, where my father was working) when policemen came to interrogate my father, as they thought he was a US spy. In reality, he was there because he loved Africa, and my sister and I were born there.’

Saba’s father originally went to Africa to forget the extreme suffering he experienced during World War II, when he was a colonel of the Italian Forces. As a prisoner during the colonial battles in Ethiopia, Saba’s grandfather had been deported to Mogadishu, and it was there that her mother was born.. When Saba’s parents married, their close friends and family considered their union as a symbol of reconciliation and peace — finally forgetting the past conflict of Ethiopia, Somalia and Italy.

At the height of the crisis for Saba and her family, the Somali government gave them forty-eight hours to leave the country, forcing them to migrate to Italy. Since that time, a deep homesickness has always been present. ‘I wanted to learn as much of the Somali language from my mother as possible, particularly the dialect of Xamar Weyne — the quarter were she was born with my uncles and aunts.’

After doing much of her growing up in Italy, Saba studied to become a mosaicist, completing a degree in Art History at the University of Rome La Sapienza, and also became known throughout Italy for her acting roles in some well—known television programmes (La Squadra in particular, in which she played a half-Italian, half-Somali policewoman). However, music was by far her greatest and most constant passion. She recalls, ‘at the age of 8, in Addis Ababa — where we went sometimes to visit my grandmother — I remember my sister and I performing songs and dances to entertain the neighbours’. Growing up, music became her main expression and African music allowed her to mend the broken thread with her homeland.

Her Album – Jidka (The Line)

On Jidka (The Line), her musical debut, she explores the divide between Somalia and Italy with a rare sensitivity and gentle humour; mixing acoustic guitars and koras with traditional African beats and contemporary percussion. The result reflects both one woman’s search for her identity and what it means to be alive in the 21 st century, when so many people live in more than one culture.

Jidka is Saba’s way of telling her story. The word ‘Jidka’, which is the title track, means line – the line that runs on her belly and divides it into two parts – a darker side and a lighter one. This for her represents the union of diversities and the harmony that her parents found when they fell in love. Her story focuses on her identity as multilayered and with many different influences. She sings in her mother tongue – a type of Somali that is spoken in Reer Xamar, a quarter of Mogadishu, and has real expression and rhythm in itself. The result is an album which is a real mix of contemporary and traditional.

Many of the songs on the album describe the struggles of life in Somalia. ‘I Sogni’ is the story of a woman who leaves her village for the big city in search of a better life; ‘Melissa’, sung partly in English, is about the plight of many women who escaped the civil war and crossed the desert in search of freedom. ‘Je Suis Petite’ is dedicated to Africa – a continent full of suffering (’The world is cruel, and I am so little’). Other songs are more romantic, describing love and the importance of living in the moment (’Manta’). ‘Hanfarkaan’ describes how the wind is linked to the spirit – when it blows strongly it brings us into contact with the spirit of someone we have lost.

Saba is joined on djembe, guitar and percussion by long-term friend and collaborator, Taté Nsongan, from Cameroon, on kora Senegalese Lao Kouyate and on vocals Felix Moungara. The album is produced by well-known musician/composer Fabio Barovero, founder of Mau Mau and the Banda Ionica project. As Saba says, ‘we worked to realise a sound which combines past and present, tradition and modernity, with our minds open to a future of increasing cultural mixes.’

A Half Ton man has died

A half-ton man has died of heart failure despite a rescue attempt that saw his bedroom wall demolished so he could be taken to hospital on the back of a lorry. The 47-year-old from Juarez, northern Mexico, was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital. An enormous coffin had to be constructed and José Luis Garza's burial was delayed as cemetery workers enlarged the grave.

Gargantuan: Jose Luis Garza's specially dug grave dwarfs nieghbouring plots

Mr Garza, who weighed 70stone 10lb, had appealed on television for help tackling his weight problem - following the example of the world's fattest man, fellow Mexican Manuel Uribe of nearby Monterrey. Mr Garza said he had always struggled with his weight but fell into a cycle of depression and overeating nine months ago after his parents died within two weeks of each other. He had been bedridden for four months.

Terminally obese Garza had appealed for help on TV

Mr Garza's condition deteriorated over the weekend as he struggled to breathe and eat. Relatives criticised officials for failing to move him to a hospital before he became critically ill. 'If he had received support at the time he asked for it, he would still be with us,' said his brother Pedro. State officials argued there was little they could do.

Mr Garza's gigantic coffin is lowered into his grave

'The attention he would have received at a hospital would have been the same he received at home,' said a spokesman for the state health department. 'Moving a patient of that magnitude is very difficult.' About 150 friends and family waited for more than four hours at a cemetery while carpenters built a special coffin for Mr Garza's burial. 'The family wanted to cremate him but there wasn't an adequate oven for someone his size,' funeral home worker Maribel Cantu said. 'He is the biggest man we have buried.' Mr Garza's coffin arrived at the cemetery in a white van and 20 relatives and workers lowered it to the ground. Mr Uribe, whose record weight of 87stone 12lb earned him a place in the 2008 Guinness Book of Records, had tried to help Garza by sending him kiwis, grapefruit, pears and a protein supplement. Mr Uribe's fiancée, Claudia Solis, delivered the food on Friday evening.

Via :Link