07/12/2009 by admin.

Our story tells how Sarah likes to play with our hamster, Dixie; putting him inside his plastic ball whilst she tried in vain to win at cards! There’s a lot of symbolism behind this event. The hamster running in his ball is meant to illustrate how human society is organised - we toil in the hope of improving our lives cocooned by modern comforts to protect us and enhance our existence, when all the while we are gambling with our future, living in an unsustainable consumerist way that is exhausting the world’s finite resources and polluting the planet in the process.

How amusing then that this year’s must have toy for Christmas is the ‘G0-Go Hamster’ and that smart electronic hamster is now subject to a toxic warning from an independent consumer group.  The manufacturers refute the claims arguing that the toy has passed themost rigourous testing for health and safety. All the same, another curious oddity linked to The Haymakers Survey.  As the video below explains we have a message for those in Copenhagen, ‘Change the world its no big deal’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeNHzCbKeNY&feature=related

Posted in Q77 Do you get bored easily?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q48 Have you ever played solitaire?, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q29 Could you live without machines?, Q.8 Do you crave a better life? | No Comments »

09/09/2009 by admin.

Usain Bolt recently set a new sprint record for the 100 and 200 metres, but Sarah the Cheetah has knocked spots of his time. She ran the 100m in 6.13 seconds, breaking the previous record set by a captive mammal in 2001 - and a good 3 seconds faster than the world’s fastest man.  Chasing a toy the cheetah hit 60mph. Cathryn Hilker, set up the trial at Cincinnati Zoo in the US said, “She made three attempts and smashed the record on the second run, so there’s one big cat we should be proud of.” 

Cathryn believes that Sarah’s feat has helped draw attention to the species’ endangered numbers, with the population falling from 100,000 in 1900 to one-tenth that number today, due to lack of habitat.  What can we say: Sarah was fascinated by the recordbreaking cheetah, especially as when playing Solitaire the challenging way - by suit and turning ever third card, but try as she might she couldn’t win.  Still she perserved (page 104) since Julia preached, ”If you succeed against the odds its much more fun.” So, Sarah refused to CHEAT! She believed in herself that she would win. 

May we politely suggest that united we hold the Ace - as Sarah the Cheetah demonstrated - against the odds we need to Rush Save Her Earth!

This is a must Watch…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-za0uk158FE

Posted in Q75 Have you ever put on a show?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q72 Are you a good time keeper?, Q48 Have you ever played solitaire?, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q.4 Have you ever wanted to stop the clock? | No Comments »

11/08/2009 by admin.

At Maize Maze in Easingwold, North Yorkshire, a pig named Ginger has swallowed a diamond from a solitaire ring on the hand of Ann Moon. Farmer Paul Caygill runs the attraction believes Nature will take its course and the ring will turn up in the pig’s sty. Mrs Moon, from Sowerby near Thirsk, had put her hand into the enclosure to pet the animal but it put its mouth to her hand and nibbled at the ring.

Ok an amusing story but so what, you might reasonably ask? Well, our readers will know of Ben Whittenbury’s wish to restore the pig stys at ‘NoBling’ Green, whilst Malachi complains that, ‘It’s gone to pigs and whistles’ implying that we need to rediscover the right working relationship with Mother Nature.  Perhaps the pig is unwittingly reminding humanity to loose our obsession with wealth and other false riches! Go Ginger!

Posted in Q80 Have you ever searched for buried treasure?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q71 Is there something missing in your life?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q34 Have you ever restored something?, Q48 Have you ever played solitaire?, Q22 Do you love our Earth? | No Comments »

07/05/2009 by admin.

The opening senes of our novel record how Ben Whittingbury seemingly witnessed an imaginary arrow as if fired by Cupid’s bow.  In a cruel twist of fate we have no pleasure in recording how a hunter became the first woman to kill an elephant with a bow and arrow.  The hunter apparently slayed the animal for a bet. She had spent some 8 months building the strength to fire the hi-tech bow before travelling to Zimbabwe to hunt down an elephant from 12 yards. 

No photo of this from us since our project is very much anti-poaching, but we include the story in our watch because we believe the Cupid link is a reminder to love our Earth and the animals we share our planet with.  

Posted in Q71 Is there something missing in your life?, Q48 Have you ever played solitaire?, Q44 Is there anything worse than a fly at night?, Q22 Do you love our Earth? | No Comments »

03/07/2008 by admin.

Columbia pictures has announced plans to direct a new film about the great detective, Sherlock Holmes.  In a comic remake, the film will star Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen.  Sarah will be pleased as she’s a fan of both actors - pity none will be Earth Detectives though…

New research suggests that the risk of extinction for many species has been seriously underestimated - by up to a hundred times greater in some cases.  Key factors have simply been ignored, including the ratio of the number of males to females.  Professor Alan Hastings from the University of California, Davis, said, ”There may be many species - and some will not be the large, charismatic ones, but things like insects and other smaller ones that are still very important - where we may be underestimating the risk by quite a bit.”The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has identified more than 16,000 species threatened with extinction. One in three amphibians, one in four mammals, one in eight birds and 70% of plants so far assessed for its Red Lists of Threatened Species are believed to be at risk.

Posted in Q54 Do you enjoy a bit of a mystery?, Q57 Have you ever spied on anyone?, Q48 Have you ever played solitaire?, Q36 Should a good life cost the Earth?, Q11 Do you believe in justice?, Q20 Have your eyes ever deceived you?, Q.1 Does your life have a purpose? | No Comments »

04/06/2008 by admin.

As we mark the 41st anniversary of the celebrated The Beatles, Sgt Pepper album, an endangered elephant beetle named Billy has become a member of the lonely hearts club band.  Billy, who is about the size of a hamster, was discovered by fruit importers in London after a 3,000 mile stowaway journey from Costa Rica.  The beetle is being cared for by Linton Zoo in Cambridgeshire, but is now exhibiting mating signals. The zoo has issued an SOS for a mate - but time is running our for our fine specimen, as the endangered breed normally lives just 4 months. All he needs is love!

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_home/DisplayArticle.asp?id=319776

Meanwhile, there’s been a heated debate on the BBC’s Apprentice programme about the use of the apostrophe.  In a challenge centred on greetings cards, the contestents on Sir Alan Sugar’s show struggled on where the apostrophe should go in National Singles’ Day.  There was a three hour debate on the subject, which led to a phone call to the British Library.  See the video clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L9J2B4y4Fg

Interesting all this given Caleb’s views [footnote 15] about triviality and how it can stand in the way of genuine progress.

Posted in Q59 Do you like surprises?, Q58 Do things happen for a reason?, Q48 Have you ever played solitaire?, Q46 Do you value a good education? | No Comments »

09/03/2008 by admin.

Sadly, no; for  the WWF estimated there are now only 3,500 tigers left in the world, as populations have halved during the last 25 years.  There are vaious causes, but one thing is clear - the tiger stands at the crossroads and its future is entirely in our hands - so says Sujoy Banerjee from WWF India.

Posted in Q48 Have you ever played solitaire?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst? | No Comments »

13/02/2008 by admin.

A striking 3o feet fibreglass sculpture of a rearing mustang has been installed at Denver airport in Colorado, USA.

Tragically, the artist, Luis Jimenez died in June 2006 when a prototype of the work fell on him.  The sculpture will look out over the incredible purple moutains. You can view the story below…

http://cbs4denver.com/video/?id=38937@kcnc.dayport.com

We find this piece curious, as it was Albert Thorvaldsen’s intention to shape the ‘Goblin Tree’ in the shape of a horse, ‘Odin’s Steed.’   The Danish sculptor would surely have been impressed by Juis’ work.  Perhaps the mustang can serve as a warning about the need to be reasonable about our love-affair with flying?

Dark, rose coloured magnolia plants are flowering in Britain earlier than ones in their native India, due to the unseasonally warm weather.  Botanists are surprised as the flower - magnolia campbellii - normally blooms in April. Jonathon Jones, of the Tregnothnan Botanical Garden in Truro, Cornwall says, “We here about strange events in nature every day, but these magnolia are among the best I’ve ever seen.”

THE wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC issued a wake-up call to the Indonesian authorities this week: stop the illegal trade in Sumatran tiger body parts or the species will be hunted to extinction.

TRAFFIC claims to have found tiger body parts on sale in 10 per cent of Sumatran shops surveyed in 2006. It estimates that at least 23 tigers were killed that year to supply the trade. That’s down from 52 kills per year in 1999 and 2000, but TRAFFIC fears the decline is the result of the tiger’s increased scarcity, not improved law enforcement. Trade is just one factor contributing to the tiger’s decline, says Tonny Soehartono of Indonesia’s ministry of forestry. They are also being driven into conflict with humans through “land use changes and habitat fragmentation”.

Posted in Q52 Do you believe in miracles?, Q76 Are you going to take action now to save our world?, Haymakers: Watch Wonders, Q48 Have you ever played solitaire?, Q27 Do you like gardening?, Q.2 Are you an art lover?, Q15 Do you sometimes fear the worst?, Q21 Have you ever hugged a tree?, Q.1 Does your life have a purpose? | No Comments »

26/12/2007 by admin.

A rare Siberian Tiger named Titainia has baffled zoo officials by escaping from its enclosure at San Francisco Zoo, attacking three visitors and killing one.  The animal escaped around closing time on Christmas Day. The animal appears to have climbed or otherwise leaped out of its enclosure. Sadly, Police had to shoot dead the 300lb animal, fearing further injury and death.  

Posted in Q48 Have you ever played solitaire? | No Comments »