Chromesthesia.

Because everytime I hear my boss, I see red.

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Alright, so this morning I was all about "streamlining" and "eliminating virtual and real clutter from my life". That included shutting down my facebook account, deleting thousands of e-mails, pulling my blog off the net, and packing half my room off to the Salvation Army. I'll still do most of that, but now I think I'll keep the blog - because it's my way of sharing with the world wonderful finds such as this.

I LOVE IT. And I want someone to come up with a "Crap Men" version. Pretty please? With cream and chocolate sprinkles and a cherry on the top???

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Stop eating seafood, switch off that light and walk that last mile instead! SAVE PINGU!!!

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This just made me want to go diving again, soon...

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/06/nudibranchs/holland-text

Uroplatus (Flat or Leaf-tailed gecko)

In addition to cats and goats, I have a certain fondness for lizards. (I have often thought that they behave a whole lot like cats.) Check out this little bastard, a uroplatus fimbriatus (giant leaf-tailed gecko), taken from from a BBC news article on wildlife hotspots:






According to Wikipedia, all of the species of the Uroplatus genus are found in primary and secondary forests on the island of Madagascar, and some on islands off Madagascar, such as Nosy Be. They are endemic to Madagascar, and found nowhere else on earth.

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Another country to add to the list (including the island of Nosy Be). Given that its first human settlers came from this part of the world, it would almost be like visiting the house of a long (loooong) lost great great great (greeeaaat) grand uncle.

But does it make oral sex any better?

Some time ago I was accused of having a forked tongue. About 10 minutes ago I found out that if it were true, it would not only have made me pretty damn "cool" in the bod mod circuits, but also some kind of yogameister.

Yes. Tongue forking (or splitting or bifurcation) is a cosmetic body modification procedure that's been around for yonks. Now banned in some U.S. states, tongue forking as a medical procedure is achieved using a surgical laser but can also be achieved by one's self using the fishing line method (use your imagination for that one). With practice, it is even possible to move the resulting halves of the tongue independently of each other.

Tongue forking also has a historical background in the practice of yoga. To some it is the pinnacle of "Khechari Mudra", a part of Hatha and Kumbhaka yoga where the tongue is split and then "milked" until it is long enough to be turned back inside the mouth and flipped up to the epiglottis. It then is used in breathing exercises, the goal being to seal the body's energy leaks and become aware of only the internal thus entering a catatonic state, crossing back and forth between death and life.

Loads more info on the web. And in case you're wondering, no, I'd never get it done.

Random Cool Thing:

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As of today, I will try to post a new random cool thing that I've come across on the internet, each day. If not because each item's inherent Coolness deserves special mention, then just to prove to the world that I'm not all about gloomy introspection and whinging about Life :)

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Today's Random Cool Thing:

The Chinese Giant Salamander (Andrias davidianus)

"Fucking ugly bastard!" you say. And I agree. It's like a giant flatworm with legs (remember that X-Files giant tapeworm episode?) But tell me that you don't secretly want to have one as a pet and I'd call you A Liar.

According to ARKive,

"The Chinese giant salamander is the largest salamander in the world, and is fully aquatic, with many adaptations for this lifestyle. It grows up to 1.8 metres in length, though most individuals found today are considerably smaller. The skin is dark brown, black or greenish in colour and irregularly blotched. It is also rough, wrinkled and porous which facilitates respiration through the skin as this large amphibian lacks gills. This species has an elongated body, and two pairs of legs which are roughly similar in size. The snout is less rounded than that of the related Japanese giant salamander and the tail is a little longer and broader. Both species have tubercles on the head and throat, though their arrangement is different. The Chinese species has small, paired tubercles arranged in rows parallel with the lower jaw, while the Japanese species' tubercles are mostly single and irregularly scattered. The eyes are tiny, with no eyelids, and positioned on top of the broad, flat head, providing the salamander with poor vision."

Ooh sexy. Speaking of which,

"Reproduction appears to take place from late August to September, when hundreds of individuals congregate at nest sites..."

Picture that. Or maybe, don't. An orgy of giant tapeworms with legs. Yuck. Apparently people also eat these things. Super yuck.