FIVE BENEFITS OF PET OWNERSHIP

There are hundreds, thousands, if not millions of reasons to love your pet. In honor of reaching one million Facebook “pet fans”, Petco conducted a survey on how pets make life one million times better. Listed in order of most popular sentiment, nearly 5,000 pet parents responded by saying:
1)    He/She Loves Me No Matter What: No matter whom you are, where you’re from or what you do, a pet’s love is unconditional. According to a survey conducted by Petfinder.com, almost half of the pet owners surveyed admit they sometimes talk to their pet. And 80% of those people stated that on those occasions, the animal seemed to respond by means of sounds, facial expressions, or body language. In other words, your pet is always there when you need them to provide a comforting hug or a big, wet kiss!
2)    He/She’s My Best Friend: Pets are constant companions that make us laugh, keep us company and provide an outlet for pet parents to voice any problems without judgment. Pets can offer companionship, acceptance, feelings of safety and being needed. In fact, according to the Economist, dogs have been know as “man’s best friend” for over 20,000 years! Cats, hamsters, turtles, fish or whatever your pet preference may be, they provide a friendship all its own. Pets are loyal and offer a friendship that differs from any other.
3)    He/She Makes Me Laugh: According to an article in the New York Times, the familiar feeling of laughter triggers an increase of feel-good chemicals in the brain. No matter what kind of pet, our furry friends have quirks that provide constant comedy. Whether it’s a bird that mimics funny sayings, a cat chasing his tail, a dog in a pet fashion show, or a hamster running his ball all over the house, our pets’ curious nature keep the laughs coming.
4)    He/She’s The Perfect Stress-Reducer: Sometimes nothing beats cuddling up next to your dog or cat, or taking care of your pet to help provide a positive outlet for stress. According to the National Help Call Center, pets reduce stress, help pet parents deal with loss or grief, make depression less likely and can be especially encouraging for the elderly. Just petting a dog for 15 minutes releases the feel-good hormones serotonin, prolactin and oxytocin, and lowers the stress hormone cortisol, a University of Missouri-Columbia study says. So it’s not only your pet that finds solace in a belly rub; interacting with pets is proven to provide tranquility for you as well.
5)    He Gets Me Off The Sofa: Just like humans, pets of all ages and activity levels need regular exercise to stay healthy. It’s not a bad thing that our four-legged buddies stare at us with their pouty eyes, begging us to get off the couch and take them for a walk. Exercising with your pet can lead to a lifetime of good health and good times. According to Michigan State University, not only are dog owners more likely to take regular walks, but new research shows that people who walk their dog are more active overall than people who don’t have dogs.

Biggest full moon of the year is due tonight as 'supermoon' set to fill sky over weekend

By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 06:54, 5 May 2012 | UPDATED: 07:25, 5 May 2012
The moon is set to get a lot bigger tonight - at least from our perspective on Earth.
And the 'Supermoon' - the nickname for a perigee full moon, closer to the Earth than usual - could cause tides to rise around the world as the moon's close 'fly past' exerts 42 per cent more tidal force.
The moon will appear bigger and brighter - sky-watchers promise this 'supermoon' will be 16 per cent brighter than most when it begins today at 3.35pm GMT, 11.35am EDT.

Supermoon: Tonight's bigger moon with look similar to the one lighting the sky above the U.S. Capitol on February 7

Spectacular: New Jersey will be able to watch the incredible view as the supermoon rises up behind New York's Empire State Building tonight

At 11.34pm, the moon will be about 221,802 miles from Earth - about 15,300 miles closer than average.
Full Moons vary in size because of the oval shape of the Moon's orbit. It is an ellipse with one side (perigee) about 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other (apogee).
Nearby perigee moons are about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser moons that occur on the apogee side of the Moon's orbit.

Another 'super moon' is due on Saturday. The perigee full Moon in May will be as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons of 2012

Super moon rise over Warfield Church, Warfield, Bracknell, Berkshire, UK

A perigee full Moon brings with it extra-high ‘perigean tides,’  but this is nothing to worry about, according to America's NOAA space-weather predicting agency.
In most places, lunar gravity at perigee pulls tide waters only a few centimeters (an inch or so) higher than usual. 
'To view this weekend's supermoon to best effect, look for it just after it rises or before it sets, when it is close to the horizon. There, you can catch a view of the moon behind buildings or trees, an effect which produces an optical illusion, making the moon seem even larger than it really is,' said Space.com, which reported the phenomenon.

The elliptical orbit of the moon means some full moons are bigger than others

And the 'Supermoon' - the term for a perigee full moon, closer to the Earth than usual - could cause tides to rise around the world as the moon's close 'fly past' exerts 42% more tidal force than usual And the 'Supermoon' - the term for a perigee full moon, closer to the Earth than usual - could cause tides to rise around the world as the moon's close 'fly past' exerts 42% more tidal force than usual

Local geography can amplify the effect to about 15 centimeters (six inches)--not exactly a great flood.
The Moon looks extra-big when it is beaming through foreground objects--a.k.a. ‘the Moon illusion.’
Indeed, contrary to some reports circulating the Internet, perigee Moons do not trigger natural disasters. The ‘super moon’ of March 1983, for instance, passed without incident. And an almost-super Moon in Dec. 2008 also proved harmless.

The 'super moon' will slightly amplify tides around the world

Okay, the Moon is 14% bigger than usual, but can you really tell the difference? It's tricky. There are no rulers floating in the sky to measure lunar diameters. Hanging high overhead with no reference points to provide a sense of scale, one full Moon can seem much like any other.

The best time to look is when the Moon is near the horizon. That is when illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view.
For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2139861/Biggest-Full-Moon-year-tonight-supermoon-raises-tides-planet.html#ixzz1u1qJ0bUf

Smoky cheese & onion tart 

Tea tonight, being a veggie I leave out the bacon but you can choose.

Ingredients

• small knob of butter
• 6 rashers smoked bacon , chopped into pieces
• 3 onions , thinly sliced
• 200ml double cream
• 500g block shortcrust pastry (all-butter has the best flavour)
• plain flour , for duting
• 140g hard farmhouse cheese , such as cheddar, half grated, half crumbled
• 1 egg , beaten
• 140g cherry tomatoes , halved 

1. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Heat the butter in a frying pan until sizzling, then add the bacon and cook for 6 mins until just starting to crisp. Add the onions and sweat for 10 mins until soft, sticky and golden. Pour in the cream, take off the heat and leave to cool a little.
2. Meanwhile, roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle a little larger than this magazine and transfer to a baking tray. Roll the edges up and press down to create a raised border.
3. Tip the creamy onions into a bowl. Mix in the grated cheese and most of the beaten egg. Spread the mixture over the pastry, then scatter over the tomatoes and crumbled cheese. Brush the borders with the remaining beaten egg, then bake for 20 mins until golden. Leave to cool, then cut into squares. Enjoy warm with salad or cold on a picnic.
4. 

Father of Fantasy - George MacDonald

by Julie Oreskovich

The Princess and the Goblin (1872)
George MacDonald

MacDonald's second full length fairy tale.

George MacDonald (1824-1905) - a Scottish Victorian novelist - was well-read and revered by an impressive selection of literary figures. CS Lewis, CK Chesterton, JRR Tolkien, Madeleine L'Engle and Mark Twain (who apparently initially disliked MacDonald but ultimately became his friend) have all cited MacDonald as being a large influence on their own work. His lecturing and views brought him wide recognition and respect. MacDonald wrote over 50 books, including, poetry, novels, short stories, fantasy, sermons and essays. Many of his novels were part autobiographical and focused on his upbringing and life in Scotland.
The prolific author started his career as a clergyman but that was short-lived as some of his views preached from the pulpit were ill received. It was at this time that he switched focus and began to write full time. MacDonald is most famously known for his fantasy novels: The Princess and the Goblin, Lilith, Phantastes and At the Back of the North Wind and his fairy tales such as The Wise Woman, The Light Princess and The Golden Key. MacDonald famously stated that "I write, not for children, but for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five." MacDonald can be credited for convincing Lewis Carroll to submit his Alice's Adventures in Wonderland manuscript for publication after sharing the story with MacDonald's children. In return, Carroll - a noted photographer of his time - took pictures of MacDonald's children. The influence MacDonald had on the literary world is immeasurable.
MacDonald passed away in 1905 and interest in his work started to wane and many of his books went out-of-print. At the centenary of his birth in 1924, a brief uptake in interest in his work resulted in some new titles including the first major biography of his life, George MacDonald and His Wife, written by his son, Greville MacDonald.
AbeBooks offers an immense selection of highly collectable copies of George MacDonald's best work.

A Selection of George MacDonald's Work

Phantastes
(1858)

A fantasy novel that focuses on a young man who is pulled into a dreamlike world and hunts for his ideal of female beauty.

David Elginbrod
(1863)

MacDonald's first real success, a novel of Scottish country life which effectively challenged 19th-century materialism.

The Portent
(1864)

One of MacDonald's tales of the supernatural - set in England and Scotland.

Alec Forbes of Howglen
(1865)

First published in 1865 and is primarily concerned with Scottish country life.

Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood
(1867)

Autobiographical hints of MacDonald's outlook as a young pastor.

Dealings with the Fairies
(1867)

Includes five fairy tales about a princess, brothers and sisters, and the Queen of Fairyland.

Unspoken Sermons
(1867)

MacDonald's first collection of spiritual essays and sermons.

Guild Court - A London Story
(1868)

First published in 3 volumes - serialised in Good Words the previous year - with 12 illustrations by G.J. Pinwell.

Seaboard Parish
(1868)

Sequel to Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood, written in the first person during the Victorian Era.

At the Back of the North Wind
(1871)

A fantasy adventure about a young boy named Diamond who flies to another country on the back of the lady North Wind.

Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood
(1871)

A story of a young motherless boy growing up with his brothers in a Scottish manse - largely autobiographical.

Paul Faber, Surgeon
(1879)

A journey of faith that two men take - some refer to this book as the "Wingfold Trilogy".

Sir Gibbie
(1879)

A story set in the highlands of Scotland about a mute boy with an angel's heart.

Warlock O' Glenwarlock
(1881)

One of the most thoroughly Scottish of all his novels, and is a favorite for its spiritual, relational, and natural splendor.

Weighed and Wanting
(1882)

Features a female protagonist, who chooses a single life of ministry among London's downtrodden.

The Princess and Curdie
(1882)

Although considered a fairy tale, this story was not considered for children and has been compared to the Narnia books.

Donal Grant
(1883)

MacDonald's longest book with a little bit of everything - romance, gothic castle scenes and mad scientists.

What's Mine's Mine
(1886)

Story revolves around the Highland clearances and the disappearance in Scotland of the old clan way of life.

The Elect Lady
(1888)

Stands out for the memorable relationship of godliness, trust, honest, humility, and friendship between three children.

A Rough Shaking
(1891)

A youth level book in which MacDonald describes a major earthquake in 1887 on the Italian Mediterranean coast.

Life Essential: The Hope of the Gospel
(1892)

The fifth and final installment of written sermons which MacDonald produced.

Heather and Snow
(1893)

Another Scottish tale that is poignant and melancholy.

Lilith: A Romance
(1895)

Similiar to Phantastes and shows the influence of Carroll, but is considered one of the strangest products of Victorian fantasy.

Salted With Fire
(1896)

MacDonald's final full length, realistic Scottish novel, replete with dense Scottish dialect and spiritual themes.

Far Above Rubies
(1898)

MacDonald's final book which never appeared in book form in the U.K., only in the U.S.

Most Expensive George MacDonald Books Sold on AbeBooks

1. The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke A Study of the Text of the Folio of 1623 - £1,340
First edition in dark green morocco and gilt title. Considered to be one of the scarcest of MacDonald's titles.
2. At the Back of the North Wind - £1,260
First edition, bound in full dark green calf, ribbed gilt decorated spine. Illustrated by Arthur Hughes.
3. Adela Cathcart - £1,110
First edition in original dark brown cloth lettered in gilt. A creative attempt on MacDonald's part to package a collection of short stories in the guise of a novel.
4. The Seaboard Parish in Three Volumes - £945
Very good copies in original black cloth, yellow endpapers and gold lettering on spines.
5. Works of Fancy and Imagination - £910
Published in London in 1884. In decorative box with gilt title on lid. Complete set of 10 volumes.

Top 10 Most Expensive Sales on AbeBooks in April 2012

Die Verwandlung or The Metamorphosis
by Franz Kafka

Die Verwandlung, or The Metamorphosis, was published by Franz Kafka in 1915 and it is considered one of the 20th century’s key works of fiction.  Kafka’s novella sees a travelling salesman, Gregor Samsa, wake one morning to find he has been changed into a giant insect.
The work was completed by Kafka in 1912 and published by Kurt Wolff Verlag in November 1915. Die Verwandlung first appeared in German in the Berlin journal, Die Weissen Blatter, and a second edition was published by Wolff in 1918. This German edition is quite scarce according to Joachim Unseld in Kafka: A Writer’s Life, it is estimated that no more than a thousand copies were originally published, all of which sold quickly. It should also be noted that an English language edition didn't appear until 1937.
Born in Prague to German-speaking Jewish parents, Kafka is an intriguing literary figure. He died in 1924 and most of his work was published posthumously. Kafka wrote in German and translators have struggled with his work as he used very long sentences.
The Americans is a historic collection of photographs taken by Robert Frank, beginning in 1955, during several road trips across the United States.  He visited numerous cities with the intention of capturing all levels of society. Frank took more than 28,000 photographs but only used 83 for the book. Frank met Jack Kerouac at a party and, after seeing the photos, Kerouac agreed to write the book’s introduction.  The book was not an immediate success; Frank’s unusual focus and low lighting techniques were contrary to popular styles of the time.  Frank struggled to find an American publisher so the book was first published in France in 1958, before Grove Press printed the first US edition a year later. The Americans is one of the most collectable of all photography books.

April's Top 10 Most Expensive Sales

1. Die Verwandlung by Franz Kafka - £18,488
First edition, published 1915 by Kurt Wolff, this famous novella contains 73 pages plus five additional pages of advertisements at the rear.

Breakfast at Tiffany's
by Truman Capote

2. The Americans by Robert Frank - £7,237
First American edition, 1959, signed by Frank to a fellow photographer on the half-title page.

3. Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote - £4,621
First edition, price clipped but in near fine condition and signed by Capote.

4. The Works of Shakespeare by William Shakespeare - £3,829
Sir Thomas Hanmer (1677 - 1746), Speaker of the House of Commons, produced this edition of Shakespeare in his retirement in 1744.  This edition contains six volumes in total, with 36 full-page engraved plates (one for each play) plus an engraved portrait of Shakespeare as frontispiece.

5. De West-Indische Gids by H.D. Benjamins - £3,244
33 volumes of the West Indian Guide series (lacks volumes 35, 36, 38 and 39) written by Surinamese mathematician and physicist Herman Daniël Benjamins.

6. The History of the Rise, Progress, and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade by the British Parliament by Thomas Clarkson - £3,122
First edition, in two volumes, published in 1808 complete with plates, two folding, including the famous illustration of the layout of human cargo on a slave ship.

7. The Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard - £3,050
The story of the 1910-1913 Antarctic expedition – a first edition in two volumes, including 73 panoramas, maps and illustrations, including the 10 original folding plates issued only in the first edition, by Dr. Edward A. Wilson and other members of the expedition.

Nineteen Eighty-Four
by George Orwell

8. Memoirs of the Life of John Constable, Esq. R.A. composed chiefly of his letters by C.R. Leslie, et al - £3,011
First edition of the first book printed on the English romantic painter, one of 186 copies. The work set a new standard for an artist biography written in English, demonstrating Constable's neglected genius to a previously uninterested public through his own words.

9. View of the Hebrews by Ethan Smith - £2,587
This first edition, published in 1823, argues that native Americans were descended from the Hebrews. Numerous commentators on Mormon doctrine, from LDS Church general authority B. H. Roberts to biographer Fawn M. Brodie, have discussed the possibility that View of the Hebrews may have provided source material for the Book of Mormon, although it should be noted that Ethan is of no relation to Joseph Smith.

10. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell - £2,449
A signed first edition, first printing of this dystopian classic, with a maroon dust wrapper, published by Secker and Warburgh in 1949, and twice signed by Sir John Hurt (the actor who starred in the film adaptation with Richard Burton) on the title page as himself, as well as his character ‘Winston Smith’.

Your daily meditation



http://haroldsplanet.com/dailies/hp2138/

Cheetahs of the Kalahari

Sibling Squash

Photograph by Gus Mills

National Geographic Big Cats explorer Gus Mills is examining cheetahs in the arid environment of the Kalahari. The cheetahs are tracked using San trackers, radios, and DNA analyses. This data helps park managers ensure the continued existence of the cheetahs and future monitoring. It also serves as an example for the conservation of the species in other arid regions. With National Geographic's support, Mills was able to complete his fieldwork and research.
Pictured: A three-week-old cub squashes one of its two litter mates during a brief visit by Mills to the den while the mother was out hunting. Mills and his team need to count the cubs and collect DNA from fur samples in order to establish paternity. Such brief interactions do not disturb the cheetahs, and they have never observed any adverse reaction by the mother or cubs.