[PennySerenade]

Matthews scores 40th goal of the season, Leafs use early barrage to down Habs 5-2


Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews (34) celebrates his 40th goal of the season with teammates Joe Thornton (97) and Justin Holl (3) during third period NHL action against the Montreal Canadiens in Toronto on Thursday, May 6, 2021.

TORONTO -- Sheldon Keefe saw a different Auston Matthews back in January.

Creating offence had never been a problem for the Maple Leafs' star sniper. It was everything else about the 23-year-old's game during a tough training camp that stood out to Toronto's head coach.

“He's come in, I think, on a mission,” Keefe said. “He's put in such great work defensively away from the puck that you want to see him reach the goals he has for himself.

“And they're lofty goals, but clearly he keeps setting the bar even higher.”

That continued on a milestone Thursday night.

Matthews scored for a league-leading 40th time in just his 49th game as the North Division-topping Leafs jump on Montreal early in a 5-2 victory over the Canadiens.

“It means a lot,” Matthews said of reaching 40 goals for the third time in his five NHL seasons. “It's a team sport, so there's a lot that goes into it.”

Frank Mahovlich is the only player in franchise history to score 40 goals in fewer games, hitting the mark in 48 contests in 1960-61. Matthews, who tallied 47 in 70 games before the 2019-20 campaign was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, required the fewest games to hit 40 goals since Pavel Bure reached the number in 48 outings back in 1999-00 with the Florida Panthers.

“It's incredible,” Toronto captain John Tavares said. “He makes it look so easy. It's unreal to watch. It's a testament to him and his work ethic.”

With the Leafs leading 4-2 in the third period, Matthews took a feed from Mitch Marner and wired a shot past Jake Allen to extend his goal streak to five games. The No. 1 pick at the 2016 NHL draft also has a personal five-game goal run against Montreal.

“At this level, in this league, it's extremely hard to score,” Tavares added. “To do it as often as he does, as consistent as he is, and as dominant as he is, it's extremely impressive.”

Marner and Tavares, with a goal and an assist each, Alex Galchenyuk and Pierre Engvall also scored for Toronto (34-13-6). Jack Campbell made 20 saves, while Jake Muzzin added two assists.

Campbell improved to 16-2-2 in 2021, giving him the most wins ever by a Leafs netminder through 20 games.

“It's pretty cool,” he said. “It just speaks volumes of how well our team's playing.”

Cole Caufield and Artturi Lehkonen replied for Montreal (24-20-9). Cayden Primeau allowed four goals on 15 shots in the opening 20 minutes before being replaced by Allen, who finished with 19 saves.

The Leafs improved to 6-2-1 against the Canadiens in 2021 after falling 3-2 in overtime at the Bell Centre on Monday.

They just jumped all over us,” Montreal defenceman Ben Chiarot said. “We were slow out of the gate.”

Likely first-round playoff opponents, the Original Six teams conclude their 10-game regular-season series Saturday back at Scotiabank Arena.

Montreal had a chance to clinch a post-season spot Thursday, and still trails Winnipeg by two points for third in the division with three games left on its schedule. The Jets, who secured a post-season berth Wednesday, have four home dates left on the docket.

Toronto was minus injured forwards Zach Hyman (knee) and Nick Foligno (upper-body), as well as defenceman Zach Bogosian (shoulder), but got blue-liner Justin Holl (face) back after he missed Monday's loss.

Tomas Tatar (lower-body) returned to the Montreal lineup following a five-game absence, but the Canadiens were still without starting goalie Carey Price (concussion), captain Shea Weber (upper-body), forward Paul Byron (lower-body) and winger Jonathan Drouin (personal).

The Leafs opened the scoring just 16 seconds into Thursday when Galchenyuk whipped a backhand from the slot past Primeau for his fifth goal of the season - and first against the team that drafted him third overall in 2012.

Playing the second of a back-to-back following a 5-1 loss in Ottawa, Montreal went down 2-0 at 3:24 when Tavares picked up a rebound to bury his 18th.

Engvall then got in on the action at 10:38 with his fifth as Toronto scored on three of its first eight shots against Montreal's rookie third-string goalie.

“We were flat in front of him,” Chiarot said. “Didn't give him any help.”

Marner continued the onslaught with 2:39 left in the period when the seas parted and he deked around a helpless Primeau before smoothly backhanding home his 19th from below the goal line.

“That's just the guys buzzing,” Campbell said of Toronto's barrage. “Love seeing that ... it gives the team a ton of confidence.”

Allen replaced Primeau to start the second, and the visitors came close to getting one back on an early power play, but Holl cleared a loose puck off Campbell's line.

Toronto appeared to go up 5-0 midway through the period only to have Ilya Mikheyev's one-timer waved off because Stefan Noesen, who was making his Leafs debut, was in Allen's crease.

Montreal finally got on the board with 6:30 left in the period when Caufield scored his third - the rookie bagged the OT winner against Campbell in Montreal on Monday for the second extra-time goal of his young career - after Rasmus Sandin had his pocket picked.

Lehkonen added his sixth on a rebound to make it 4-2 just 3:04 into the third, but Toronto held firm from there before Matthews put things to bed at 15:41.

“We had a real challenging training camp,” Keefe recalled. “When a player of Auston's calibre comes in and is first of all prepared for it, but secondly goes out on the ice and is leading the charge for our group in terms of work ethic and competitiveness, attention to detail, it was very clear he was ready to bring his game to another level.

“He's not going to slow down ... he's just going to keep pushing himself and our team.”

[HogwartsExpress]

Hologram experts can now create real-life images that move in the air



They may be tiny weapons, but Brigham Young University's holography research group has figured out how to create lightsabers—green for Yoda and red for Darth Vader, naturally—with actual luminous beams rising from them.

Inspired by the displays of science fiction, the researchers have also engineered battles between equally small versions of the Starship Enterprise and a Klingon Battle Cruiser that incorporate photon torpedoes launching and striking the enemy vessel that you can see with the naked eye.

"What you're seeing in the scenes we create is real; there is nothing computer generated about them," said lead researcher Dan Smalley, a professor of electrical engineering at BYU. "This is not like the movies, where the lightsabers or the photon torpedoes never really existed in physical space. These are real, and if you look at them from any angle, you will see them existing in that space."

It's the latest work from Smalley and his team of researchers who garnered national and international attention three years ago when they figured out how to draw screenless, free-floating objects in space. Called optical trap displays, they're created by trapping a single particle in the air with a laser beam and then moving that particle around, leaving behind a laser-illuminated path that floats in midair; like a 3D printer for light.

watch the video: https://youtu.be/N12i_FaHvOU

The research group's new project, funded by a National Science Foundation CAREER grant, goes to the next level and produces simple animations in thin air. The development paves the way for an immersive experience where people can interact with holographic-like virtual objects that co-exist in their immediate space.

"Most 3D displays require you to look at a screen, but our technology allows us to create images floating in space—and they're physical; not some mirage," Smalley said. "This technology can make it possible to create vibrant animated content that orbits around or crawls on or explodes out of every day physical objects."

To demonstrate that principle, the team has created virtual stick figures that walk in thin air. They were able to demonstrate the interaction between their virtual images and humans by having a student place a finger in the middle of the volumetric display and then film the same stick finger walking along and jumping off that finger.

Smalley and Rogers detail these and other recent breakthroughs in a new paper published in Nature's Scientific Reports this month. The work overcomes a limiting factor to optical trap displays: wherein this technology lacks the ability to show virtual images, Smalley and Rogers show it is possible to simulate virtual images by employing a time-varying perspective projection backdrop.

"We can play some fancy tricks with motion parallax and we can make the display look a lot bigger than it physically is," Rogers said. "This methodology would allow us to create the illusion of a much deeper display up to theoretically an infinite size display."

source: https://phys.org/news/2021-05-hologram-experts-real-life-images-air.html

[lush]

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence has reopened -- with a major change
1 day ago *

When Florence's Uffizi gallery reopened this week after another government-imposed lockdown, it was with a fanfare.


© Julia Buckley Artemisia Gentileschi's "Judith and Holofernes" shares a room with works by Caravaggio.

After a six-month closure for renovations, the second floor of the gallery -- home to 15th- to 17th-century works of art by the likes of Titian, Caravaggio and Tintoretto -- has finally reopened. The area -- which makes up half the museum -- has been under steady renovation since 2018.

But there was a surprise in store for the 1,516 visitors who visited on reopening day, May 4. Not only are there 14 new rooms and 129 works of art newly on display, but the "new" Uffizi is allocating space to artists who have historically been excluded from the canon: women and people of color.

The new route around the gallery sees visitors entering the second floor via the "Plautilla Nelli Corridor" -- named after the 16th-century artist and nun, who set up a studio in her convent, and taught fellow nuns her trade.

An "Annunciation" by Nelli -- never before put on permanent display -- sits above the doorway into the new rooms.

Elsewhere, Artemisia Gentileschi's visceral "Judith Slaying Holofernes" -- a subject which Gentileschi, a rape survivor, painted twice -- takes pride of place in a scarlet-painted room which also includes works by Caravaggio.

One of the first to be renovated, the room puts the artists on an equal footing with its name: "Caravaggio and Artemisia."

In a room dominated by the Caracci brothers sits a work by 16th-century artist Lavinia Fontana, renowned for her portraits. Gentileschi and Fontana both have other works on display.

And a brand new room of self-portraits -- which will soon expand to a larger area -- displays works by five women alongside nine men.

On dusky pink walls, a self-portrait of acclaimed Renaissance sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini takes second place below one of little-known 16th-century painter, Sofonisba Anguissola, displaying her palette of colors.

And unlike the women in many of the gallery's best-known works, such as Titian's "Venus of Urbino" and Botticelli's "Birth of Venus," these ones are all fully clothed.

In what gallery director Eike Schmidt describes as "the most diverse room" of paintings in the Uffizi, self-portraits by contemporary artists Yayoi Kusama and Tesfaye Urgessa -- from Japan and Ethiopia respectively -- sit above works by Marc Chagall and Renato Guttuso.


© Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images The Uffizi Gallery is full of Renaissance masterworks including "The Birth of Venus" by Sandro Botticelli, whose room was refurbished in 2016.

They are the first paintings by artists of color to go on permanent display in the Uffizi itself. Other works -- mainly in other materials -- are displayed in Palazzo Pitti, the former palace of the Medici family which is now another outpost of the Uffizi complex.

"As we get closer to the contemporary age, it's very important that paradigms have shifted, and so have our paradigms shifted," Schmidt told CNN.

"The Medici [the Renaissance family who founded the collection] were very much interested in works of art from other cultures. We have sculptures and work in different materials made on other continents, but very few paintings from non-European origins.


© Julia Buckley The new self-portraits room is the "most diverse" in the gallery, according to its director.

"Oil-on-canvas painting wasn't limited to Western Europe and the Americas but it flourished here. So the works we have by people of color and from different countries and continents are works in other materials, that are mostly at the Pitti Palace."

And he vowed that the gallery will increase its collection of artists of color, promising that "more will be collected as we go forward."

Under-represented artists will play a major part in the 10 new rooms of self-portraits which will open within the next year.

The suppressed female legacy

Re-evaluating the legacy of female artists has been one of Schmidt's priorities since joining the gallery in 2015. He has run annual exhibitions on individual female artists, as well as artists of color -- from Giovanna Garzoni to Cai Guo-Qiang -- since his arrival.

But rather than displaying them to tick 21st-century boxes, he says that female artists used to be part of the canon -- and were only excluded by cultural changes in the 19th century.

"There were a number of highly esteemed women artists, and these works were all commissioned and collected by the Medici family, so the vetting has been done already," he told CNN.

The Uffizi has the largest collection of pre-19th century works by women in the world -- Schmidt estimates there to be around 100-150 works in storage, having been relegated there in the 1800s -- and he promises that more will go on display in the future.


© Julia Buckley Sofonisba Anguissola's self-portrait (top right) sits above Gian Lorenzo Bernini's own work.

"Female artists were in the minority until the 19th century, so we would never reach a 50:50 split, but showing their work is absolutely necessary -- not least because the quality of their work is just as high, and in some cases higher, than their male contemporaries," he said.


© Julia Buckley The "Plautilla Nelli Corridor," named after the 16th-century painter and nun, leads visitors into the new rooms.

Schmidt's drive to feature more under-represented artists tallies with his bid to draw in new visitors, investing heavily in the use of social media to appeal to those who might not otherwise be drawn to Renaissance art.


© Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images The gallery has long been notorious for its long lines to get in.

Last year, he raised eyebrows by inviting influencer Chiara Ferragni to the gallery, saying afterward that visits by young people rose 27% the week after her Instagram posts.

And in February, he acquired a work by British street artist Endless for the collection. The self-portrait features Endless covering his face with copies of Mark Wahlberg's infamous 1990s Calvin Klein underwear adverts.


© Julia Buckley The gallery renovation has added 14 new rooms to the collection.

At the time, Schmidt compared Wahlberg's "crotch grab" to the stance of Botticelli's "Birth of Venus," one of the gallery's most famous works -- only with Endless inverting the traditional male gaze.

"The Medici, always ahead of their time, would be happy to see Endless's work entering into their collection today," he added.


© Tiziana FABITiziana Fabi/AFP via Getty Images Eike Schmidt is pushing for works by women and artists of color to be given the space they deserve amid the Renaissance masterpieces.

The new-look Uffizi also include a new entrance route to the gallery, designed to disperse the notoriously long lines.

Instead of the entrance to the gallery being attached to the ticket office, creating bottlenecks as visitors navigate airline-style security just feet from the ticket booth, the two have been separated.

Visitors will now buy their tickets on one side of the U-shaped building, by the Arno river. They'll then go through security on the other side of the courtyard, before being diverted into the basement to re-cross the courtyard and re-enter the museum. The move adds two flights of stairs to an already daunting number for those with mobility issues, although there is an elevator for those who need it.


© Gallerie degli Uffizi [/b]In 2021 the gallery acquired its first work by a street artist, a self-portrait by British artist Endless.

Schmidt's other big hope for crowd dispersal is the launch of his "Uffizi Diffusi" project, which will see local outposts of the gallery opened around the region of Tuscany.

The first regional gallery will be on the island of Elba, it was announced this week. An exhibition of Napoleonic art, to commemorate the French emperor who spent 11 months in exile there, will run from June to October.

[johngriffen]

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days.
It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it,
protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters,
or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
SUNDAY MAY 9
What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You may post One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can enter only once a day
Each news day will start when I post announcing it
OR at:
9:00 AM CHICAGO TIME (UTC -5)
2:00 PM GMT (UTC -0)
on those days I space out and forget to post or can't due to Real Life
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them to under a minute, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
All payments will be made at THE END of the weekly news cycle.
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS

[BigGlen]

Mother’s Day: Celebrating during the COVID-19 pandemic and beating burnout

Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 9, but celebrations might look a bit different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.



“This is our first Mother’s Day after years of waiting for a Mother’s Day,” said new mom, Nell Corrigan. “We are really excited for it.”

But she said it isn’t exactly how she pictured the day going. Unable to see extended family, she has opted for a low-key day at home.

“It is definitely not how I imagined it so it will be bittersweet for sure,” she said. “The pandemic definitely makes things more difficult.”

Parenting book author Ann Douglas said many parents are feeling run down due to the pandemic, now more than ever.

“I think during the early months it was more about anxiety, back-to-school time was about making tough decisions and right now it is about burnout,” said Douglas. “(Parents are) feeling like they have been doing this an incredibly long time and they are sinking just because of the layers and layers of responsibilities.”

She said to recognize if you’re feeling this way, accept it and reach out for support.

“I think a big thing is just to be honest with how you’re feeling and not try to talk yourself out of those feelings. It makes total sense that you’re exhausted,” she said.

“Validating your emotions for yourself and looking for ways to stay connected to other people who can provide you with support and encouragement.”

Shelby Leonard-Watt owns women’s clothing, shoe and accessory store, S.O.S., in Peterborough, Ont. As a mother of three herself, she said it can be tough to juggle work, retail shutdowns, online school and the stress of the pandemic.

“It’s just trying to figure out how, what and when to make it all work and not to mention maybe taking time to care for ourselves in there as well,” said Leonard-Watt.

She said that sharing her story online has been helpful.

“We are all in the same boat and sometimes if you’re willing to share your story, even if it isn’t pretty and glossy, it might reach somebody else and they are like, ‘Ok, I’ve got this, too,'” she said.

Some of her gift ideas for Mother’s Day included mom mugs, wine glasses, comfy matching sets or even more simple ideas.

“Sleep,” she said. “Mimosas in bed, that’s all I want.”

[prokroustis]

Cursed cooking pot locked away for 50 years after 'killing three people who touched it'
The 'killer' kitchen utensil, rumoured to contain the ashes of a dead dwarf, was placed in a "specially-made steel cage" and confined to a bricked up cellar after at least three people who touched it died


The perilous pot has been sealed in a farm cellar since the mid-1970s

A cursed cooking pot blamed for several violent deaths has been sealed and entombed for 50 years.

The 'killer' kitchen utensil was placed in a "specially-made steel cage" in the mid-1970s after at least three people who had touched it died.

Legend says it contains “the ashes of a dwarf who was killed in Thornton Abbey", GrimsbyLive reports.

The perilous pot had been locked away at Manor Farm in East Halton, North Lincolnshire, until it was found by builders in the 70s during construction work.

But its rediscovery was met with fear from locals, who claimed the pot was cursed and deadly, according to Alf Barwood, the builder in charge who examined it.


Locals fear the legendary pot has caused several deaths

One of its alleged victims, Charles Atkin, six, had lived at Manor Farm. He was tragically killed by a hay wagon the day after brushing against the pot.

At the time, his brother John Atkin said: “The cooking pot was in our cellar and I remember our father always telling us never to go near it.

“But we were playing in the cellar one day and Charles accidentally bumped into it.

“The next day, we were out in a field near the Humber and Charles was playing around one of the hay wagons when it went right over him, killing him.

“I was always scared of the pot.

“There was a lot of superstition in the village about it in those days.

“We were told that it contained the ashes of a dwarf who was killed at Thornton Abbey.

“There was a story of a tunnel between the abbey and the cellar and that after the dwarf was killed, his remains were taken through the tunnel by the monks and disposed of in secret.

“The family that lived in the house before us moved out after a baby died there.”

John spoke about another boy who was said to have removed the pot from the cellar and threw it into the village pond.

Within an hour, he also dead after being run over by a wagon - just like his brother.

Sometime later, the pot was recovered from the pond and returned to the cellar by an unknown man.

He, too, was dead by the end of the day.

The cellar was bricked up following Charles’ death – with the cursed cooking pot sealed inside.

A newspaper report at the time states: “John had heard about the legend and had an open mind but the workmen hired to sort out the cellar were reluctant to approach the battered object lurking in the corner.

“John called in the then local minister, the Rev Bob Kenyon, a firm believer in the legend, who offered to move the pot, convinced that, as a man of the church, he would be immune to the curse.

“Between them, however, they decided to let sleeping legends lie and, after an exorcism ceremony carried out by Mr Kenyon in the cellar, the pot was placed into a cask and encased in a steel cage fixed into the wall.”

'DWI Dude' attorney sentenced to federal prison for scamming Colombian drug traffickers
Jamie Balagia, known as the "DWI Dude," was sentenced to almost 16 years in prison for his involvement in a scam that ripped off Colombian drug traffickers of $1.5 million





SAN ANTONIO (KABB) — The Texas attorney, known as the "DWI Dude," has been sentenced to federal prison.

Jamie Balagia, 65, will serve almost 16 years for his involvement in an international fraud scheme that scammed Colombian drug traffickers out of $1.5 million dollars.

He was also ordered to forfeit his law office building in Manor, Texas, and a money judgment of $1.5 million.
According to information shared in court, Balagia conspired with a Florida private investigator and Colombian attorney in 2014, to swindle Colombian drug traffickers under the guise of bribing officials in the United States.

During meetings in Colombia and in Collin County, Texas, the group represented that in exchange for inflated “attorney fees,” they were in contact with government officials in the United States who would accept bribes resulting in either the dismissal of their criminal charges or significant reductions in their U.S. federal prison sentences. In reality, there were no bribes or government officials.

“We live in a country with the greatest system of justice in the world,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei.
“That system, however, cannot function when officers of the court are corrupt. The evidence in this case demonstrated that Balagia had been shaking down his clients for years by claiming that he was able to purchase favorable deals from prosecutors and judges alike. The Department of Justice will defend our Justice system vigorously and will prosecute predatory lawyers like Balagia every single time they are discovered.”

The other co-defendants had pleaded guilty earlier and also serving federal prison sentenced.

https://wpde.com/news/nation-world/dwi- ... raffickers

[Fatima99]

Strange Sea Beast Discovered With Hundreds Of Anuses



The Ramisyllis multicaudata was found within the sponges off the the coast of Australia.

The strange marine worm was discovered near Darwin way back in 2006, but a detailed study of the creature has only recently been completed.

Scientists have now revealed that when its body divides, so do its organs. As a result, its branching digestive tract leads to hundreds of different anuses.

Speaking about the incredible discovery, Dr Maite Aguado, from the University of Göttingen, who co-authored the new study in the Journal of Morphology, said it could develop more than 1,000 branches.

"The animal is a marine worm, but instead of having a body like a tube or a cylinder with an anterior part and a posterior end, it has one head, but multiple posterior branches," she said.



"That's why it is called 'the tree syllid-worm' or 'the animal that looks like a tree'.

"We were able to count more than 500 branches in one specimen, but we think that they can easily reach 1000.

"This animal has one mouth - one head - but hundreds of anuses!"

The head, Dr Aguado says, is usually kept safe inside the sponge while the branches of its body spread out, emerging at the external pores.

She explained: "We think that this body is perfectly adapted to live within sponges.

"If the worm lived outside, having one head but multiple branches would be fatal for moving and escaping predators, for instance.

"However, living inside the sponge, the animal is protected, explores the canals and easily moves inside."

The creature is also incredibly fragile, breaking apart very easily.

During the lengthy research, scientists also discovered how it reproduces.

Dr Aguado explained: "The posterior segments get full of gametes (sperm or ovules), they develop swimming paddles, and a new 'head' with eyes and nervous ganglia arises.



"When this 'stolon' is ready, it detaches from the anterior end and swims to find other stolons of the opposite sex.

"What makes this animal special is that - since it has thousands of posterior ends - it is able to produce thousands of stolons."

Despite the in-depth research, however, some questions about the creature still remain a mystery, at least for now.

She added: "There is still a long way to go to fully understand how these fascinating animals live in the wild.

"For example, this study has concluded that the intestines of these animals could be functional, yet no trace of food has ever been seen inside them.

"So it is still a mystery how they can feed their huge branched bodies.

"Other questions raised in this study are how blood circulation and nerve impulses are affected by the branches of the body."

Huntsman Spider And Babies Takes Over Car In Stomach-Churning Video

Huntsman spiders are also called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTN1P5u0G6U


A woman in Australia found her car dashboard overrun with spiders.

Australia has a reputation for being abundant in creepy crawlies, but nothing could have prepared one Sydney resident for the sight that confronted her when she opened her car recently - and found it overrun with spiders. Dannielle Glasgow returned to her parked car and was shocked to find it crawling with a number of baby spiders and their mom.
It turned out that a Huntsman spider and her babies had taken over the car - and mama spider wasn't too happy about being disturbed. Footage filmed by Ms Glasgow shows the huge adult spider scuttling across the dashboard and even rearing its legs up protectively at one point.

Huntsman spiders are also called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance. These large, long-legged spiders are widely distributed throughout Australia.

According to the Australian Museum, they are notorious for entering cars and being found hiding behind sun visors or running across the dashboard - just like in Ms Glasgow's video.

On YouTube, the video has inspired a number of comments, ranging from repulsed to intrigued.

"Just burn the whole car at that point," wrote one person. "Time to have a bonfire asap. The car isn't worth it," another agreed, while a third countered by saying that the Glasgows should feel honoured that their car was chosen by the spider.

Some also remarked on the spider's behaviour. "Mama ready to attack camera man to protect her babies," a viewer said.

Huntsman spiders are known to aggressively defend their young ones against threats. They have been known to bite and attack humans. Although painful, getting bit by a Huntsman is not dangerous.

https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/huntsman-s ... eo-2436436

[goldie0608]

In Learning to Use Her Left Hand Following a Stroke 60-Year Old Chen Lie Discovers She’s an Expert Painter



At the age of 60, Chen Lie suffered a hemorrhagic stroke which arrived “without my invitation or permission.” But the temporary paralysis of her entire right side gave her an opportunity to blossom on her left side.

Without invitation or expectation, a startling new skill would change her life.

As part of her recovery she had to re-learn how to do everything—from brushing her teeth to using a fork or pen—with her left hand, resulting in much frustration.

One day in a fit of boredom, and for the first time in her life, she picked up one of her grandchild’s paint brushes and just started putting color on the canvass. Happiness dawned on Chen as she suddenly could paint lovely natural scenery, despite having never painted or practiced a day in her life.

“I never picked up the paint brush before,” Chen told Good News Network. “I had nothing else to do so I just picked up the paint brush, and I just tried to put the color on the paper.”

The brush stroke

After her 2017 stroke, Chen completed in-patient therapy in Texas before moving to New York to enroll in an experimental robotic-assisted therapy program at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research on Long Island in late 2018.

The robotic arm essentially allowed Chen to complete far more repetitions in physical therapy then would be possible without it, allowing her to regain movement faster.

“Every time we recovered something [during rehab] we would tell them the good news,” Chen said. “They thought it was a wonder I could do something like painting.”

Chen—whose favorite painters include America’s beloved Bob Ross—has completed a whopping 500 paintings to date. During the month of May, which is National Stroke Awareness Month, she is painting one every day and posting a picture of it on her professional artist/advocacy Facebook page, Stroke of Hope, to help raise awareness.

“Actually, at the beginning I just put the colors on the canvass and then the more and more I did it, I read about how to paint, I read about color; it’s a lot of research for me to do,” says Chen, who considers it something like an occupation at this point.

“I’ve gained a lot of knowledge, so besides the hand painting, the brain keeps thinking; that’s good for stroke [victims] to not let the brain rest; keep thinking; keep searching for the knowledge.”

A stroke of hope

The influence of Bob Ross is there to see in a professional video her family made telling her story, while she uses “the ole’ fan brush,” as the gentle man himself used to say, to effortlessly paint evergreen trees covered in snow.



The first post she made on Facebook was of an image of Cabo San Lucas in Mexico City, which she described as “top of my travel list.”

“I’ve never seen her paint,” says Chen’s daughter Liana. “Growing up she was always busy working, I never even saw her have a minute to do any of her hobbies. And now after the stroke it’s nice to see her doing something she loves.”

“It’s like a job for her! She’ll sit early in the morning, five days a week, the dedication is that real and that strong that she’ll sit in the morning, take a [lunch] break, rest a little bit, and go back into it,” she told GNN.

Stroke Awareness Oregon had contacted the family to see if it were possible to include in an auction some of her paintings to raise money for awareness and rapid response programs for stroke victims in the state.

“It goes to a good cause, which is what mom’s dream really is with the Stroke of Hope, really putting the word out there that it’s not over once you have the stroke.” said Liana.

WATCH her inspiring stories and see some paintings…

https://youtu.be/FHMDTXpovvk

[PennySerenade]

Shiitake Diapers: Toronto Teens win $30,000 in North American STEM competition



TORONTO -- The average baby goes through thousands of diapers before it is toilet trained. That translates to tens of billions of diapers in North American landfills every year.

“My neighbour had a young baby and I saw how many diapers she was using,” Alexandra Miller told CTV News Toronto.

That’s why the North York teen pitched the idea of creating an “eco-friendly” diaper to her classmates when they entered ExploraVision, a STEM competition in which thousands of North American teens participate in every year.

At the time, Harriet Lerman, Miller’s classmate, says her mother was reading a book about mushrooms.

“And I knew that mushrooms were super good at carbon capturing, so I brought it up with my group members.”

“And then we found out how absorbent the roots were and then we decided to implement that and mix the two together,” said Alexandria Yau.



And thus, the concept for “Shiitake Diapers” was born. The girls proposed growing highly absorbent mycelium — the root-system of mushrooms — by harnessing harmful carbon dioxide. The mycelium would then be used as the basis of a bio-degradable diaper.

“Mushroom diapers — shiitake diapers, taking C02 out of the environment, using that to grow mycelium, and then to make a diaper that would reduce land waste, that is truly amazing, it’s so creative,” said their science teacher, Cindy Law.

It took a month of hard work for the grade 10 girls at William Lyon MacKenzie Collegiate Institute to develop the diaper.

“Like seven-hour zoom calls after class just to get our ideas organized or researched,” says Yau.

But the hard work came with a big payoff. The 15-year-old students won first prize in the ExploraVision contest that came with a $10,000 payout, for each of the teens.



“$10,000, I mean, that’s like a lot of money,” says Yau. “And I think I can really invest in my future.”

The award has extra meaning for these youngsters, given studies indicate women make up less than 30 per cent of the workforce in fields involving science, technology, engineering and math.

“I feel like the field definitely needs to be widened, especially for girls in STEM,” says Miller.

Of course, the grand prize usually involves an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., and a visit with Bill Nye, the Science Guy. Unfortunately, that all had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.

“I’ve been bummed out,” says Lerman. “I mean Bill Nye is honestly my idol.”

“I’m a little upset about it but I’m so glad that they decided to accommodate and make a virtual ceremony for us. I’m excited to attend that,” Miller added,

[hija]

A long-distance cycle route was announced for Cornwall



Expect to see more lycra in Cornwall from September – the English county is to get a new 150-mile cycle route at the end of the summer.

Joining the dots between bronze age monuments, old industrial sites and celebrated coastal scenery, the West Kernow Way will begin and end in Penzance, and is designed to be ridden over three to four days.

The route was plotted by the charity Cycling UK, in collaboration with local landowners, and will take riders along bridleways, byways and quiet stretches of country roads.

UK’s Cycling Sophie Gordon touted its potential for reducing congestion in a destination that has boomed in popularity during the pandemic. “The benefit of cycling off-road along the West Kernow Way is that you will steer clear of the crowds, and be able to visit the sites and find the hidden gems of Cornwall, all without filling the lanes with another car.”

[Fivetide]

Last wild macaw in Rio is lonely and looking for love


A blue-and-yellow macaw that zookeepers named Juliet flies outside the enclosure where macaws are kept at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Juliet is believed to be the only wild specimen left in the Brazilian city where the birds once flew far and wide. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Some have claimed she’s indulging a forbidden romance. More likely, loneliness compels her to seek company at Rio de Janeiro’s zoo.

Either way, a blue-and-yellow macaw that zookeepers named Juliet is believed to be the only wild bird of its kind left in the Brazilian city where the birds once flew far and wide.

Almost every morning for the last two decades, Juliet has appeared. She swoops onto the zoo enclosure where macaws are kept and, through its fence, engages in grooming behavior that looks like conjugal canoodling. Sometimes she just sits, relishing the presence of others. She is quieter — shier? more coy? — than her squawking chums.


A blue-and-yellow macaw that zookeepers have named Juliet perches on the outside of an enclosure where captive macaws are kept at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Every morning for the last two decades, Juliet has appeared where macaws are kept. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Blue-and-yellow macaws live to be about 35 years old and Juliet — no spring chicken — should have found a lifelong mate years ago, according to Neiva Guedes, president of the Hyacinth Macaw Institute, an environmental group. But Juliet hasn’t coupled, built a nest or had chicks, so at most she’s “still just dating.”

“They’re social birds, and that means they don’t like to live alone, whether in nature or captivity. They need company,” said Guedes, who also coordinates a project that researches macaws in urban settings. Juliet “very probably feels lonely, and for that reason goes to the enclosure to communicate and interact.”

Aside from Juliet, the last sighting of a blue-and-yellow macaw flying free in Rio was in 1818 by an Austrian naturalist, according to Marcelo Rheingantz, a biologist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and there are no other types of macaws in the city. The lovebirds featured in the 2011 film “Rio″ are Spix’s macaws, which are native to a different region of Brazil and possibly extinct in the wild.


A blue-and-yellow macaw that zookeepers have named Juliet, left, grooms with a captive macaw at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Every morning for the last two decades, Juliet swoops onto the enclosure and through its fence, engages in grooming behavior that looks like conjugal canoodling. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Being boisterous with brilliant plumage helps macaws find each other in dense forest, but also makes them easier targets for hunters and animal traffickers. They’re often seen in other Brazilian states and across the Amazon, and it is suspected Juliet escaped from captivity.

Biologists at BioParque aren’t sure if Juliet’s nuzzling is limited to one caged Romeo, or a few of them. They’re not even certain Juliet is female; macaw gender is near impossible to determine by sight, and requires either genetic testing of feathers or blood, or examination of the gonads.

Either would be interference merely to satisfy human curiosity with no scientific end, biologist Angelita Capobianco said inside the enclosure. Nor would they consider confining Juliet, who often soars overhead and appears well-nourished.

“We don’t want to project human feelings. I look at the animal, and see an animal at ease,” Capobianco said, noting Juliet has never exhibited behavior to indicate disturbance, such as insistently pecking at the fence.


A blue-and-yellow macaw grooms a red-and-green macaw, inside an enclosure at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Last year, BioParque gave its macaws more space: a new 1,000-square-meter (10,700-square-foot) aviary. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

“Who am I to decide it should only stay here? I won’t. It comes and goes, and its feathers are beautiful.”

After more than a year of COVID-19 quarantine and travel bans, the appeal of roaming without restriction is evident to humankind. Macaws are used to flying great distances of more than 30 kilometers (20 miles) a day, Guedes said.

Last year, BioParque g ave its macaws more space: a 1,000-square-meter (10,700-square-foot) aviary where they fly beside green parrots and golden parakeets to compose an aerial, technicolor swirl. It’s a massive upgrade from prior enclosures that were roughly 100 square feet. BioParque reopened to the public in March, after privatization of Rio’s dilapidated zoo and almost 17 months of renovations.


A pair of macaws perch on a rope inside an enclosure at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Macaw gender is near impossible to determine by sight, and requires either genetic testing of feathers or blood, or laparoscopy of the gonads. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

BioParque aims to feature species associated with research programs at universities and institutes. One such initiative is Refauna, which reintroduces species into protected areas with an eye on rebuilding ecosystems, and is participating with BioParque to start breeding blue-and-yellow macaws.

The plan is for parents to raise some 20 chicks that will receive training on forest food sources, the peril of predators and avoidance of power lines. Then the youngsters will be released into Rio’s immense Tijuca Forest National Park, where Juliet has been sighted and is thought to sleep each night.

“Their role could be important in terms of ecosystem and reforestation. It’s a big animal with big beak that can crack the biggest seeds, and not all birds can,” said Rheingantz, the university biologist, who is also Refauna’s technical coordinator. “The idea is for it to start dispersing those seeds, complementing forest animals that can’t.”

After some pandemic-induced delays, the project has slowly restarted and Rheingantz expects to release blue-and-yellow macaws into Tijuca park toward the end of 2022.

After two decades of relative solitude, Juliet will then have the chance to fly with friends. Neves said Juliet could teach them how to navigate the forest, or even find a love of her own.


A macaw flies inside an enclosure at BioParque, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Macaws are used to flying great distances, more than 30 kilometers or about 18 miles a day. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

[lush]

Dear Abby: My new girlfriend reeks, and I think I know why
How can I tell her I’m disgusted without hurting her feelings?
PUBLISHED: May 9, 2021 at 1:00 a.m. | UPDATED: May 9, 2021 at 4:34 a.m.*

DEAR ABBY: I recently have been dating a neighbor woman who is a cat lover. I assume she owns many of them. (I haven’t yet been inside her apartment.)

My problem is, when she comes over to my place, the odor of cat urine is overpowering. How do I disclose that I’m disgusted by this cat smell without hurting her feelings or offending her?

HOLDING MY NOSE IN OKLAHOMA

DEAR HOLDING: You have to say something. While the odor of cat urine may be attractive to other cats, it has also been known to act as people repellant.

Start slow. Lead into the subject by asking her how many felines she owns. When she answers, ask if they are all OK. Regardless of her response, explain that you are asking because one (or more) of her pets may be spraying her furniture or her clothing, and it has left an odor. This will give her the opportunity to rectify the problem.

However, if she finds the truth offensive, so be it, because the relationship would not have worked out anyway.

DEAR ABBY: After a bad breakup, a good friend and her husband offered me a room in their home. They have two wonderful teenagers. Then the pandemic came, and we all became infected.

What started out as a few months’ plan for me to get back on my feet has lasted 14 months. I have offered to pay them some money, but they will accept only $200 to help with the groceries.

My problem is I have noticed that the husband is not very happy with my presence. I told my friend I’m ready to start looking for my own apartment, but she insists that I stay just a little longer so that I will be really stable on my own. She tells me how “I am family,” and I’m not bothering anyone, and they have no complaints about me. I did not tell her what is really driving me out.

I’m really uncomfortable with his attitude toward me, and I understand that perhaps I have overstayed my welcome.

My question: Should I leave and tell her I felt that I was no longer welcomed by her husband? Or should I just leave without telling her? Thanks for your input.

UNCOMFORTABLE IN MIAMI

DEAR UNCOMFORTABLE: Do not sneak away. Do find a place of your own. Express to your friend that she has been a saint to allow you to live with them during this extended period, but it is clear the time has come for you to go. Tell her you will not only be fine but forever in their debt for their kindness to you.

P.S. As soon as it is feasible — not before — give them a nice gift for their home.


Jeanne Phillips

DEAR READERS: I wish a very happy Mother’s Day to mothers everywhere — birth mothers, adoptive and foster mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers who are raising their grandchildren and dual-role dads. Orchids to all of you for the love you give not only today, but each and every day.

LOVE, ABBY

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at http://www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

[johngriffen]

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