Kulning

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Okra oil

Bast fiber from the stem of the plant has industrial uses such as the reinforcement of polymer composites. The mucilage produced by the okra plant can be used for the removal of turbidity from wastewater by virtue of its flocculant properties. Having composition similar to a thick polysaccharide film, okra mucilage is under development as a biodegradable food packaging, as of 2018. A 2009 study found okra oil suitable for use as a biofuel.

Cross-section of an okra pod

The depletion of world petroleum reserves due to rapidly growing energy demands coupled with environmental concerns has prompted the efforts to explore some alternative sources of petroleum-based fuels. In this context, biodiesel has gained considerable ground in the public world-over. Currently, biodiesel is mainly prepared from conventionally grown edible oils such as sunflower, soybean and palm oils thus leading to alleviate food versus fuel issue.

The seeds of mature okra pods, sometimes used for poultry feed are also consumed after roasting and as a coffee substitute. These are considered to be a stomachic stimulant, antispasmodic, and nervine. The okra seeds have been used on a small scale for oil production.

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Old Friends Equine

Old Friends is a nonprofit equine retirement facility in Georgetown, Kentucky, accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA). The organization started with one leased paddock and two horses, but now owns 136 acres, Dreamchase Farm, with additional leased pasturage. It is the only Thoroughbred retirement facility in the United States that accepts stallions on a regular basis. Old Friends is currently home to over 150 retired Thoroughbred athletes.

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Frederik the Great

Frederik the Great is a Friesian stallion that lives in Arkansas's Ozark Mountains. He was imported to this farm from the Netherlands when he was six years old. In May 2016, he became known for unofficially being the "world's most handsome horse."

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Living sculpture

"Sleeping Mud Maid" ia a living sculpture created by UK artist Sue Hill (and collaborative partner Pete) at The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall, UK.

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Bread art

Teri Culletto, aka the Vineyard Baker, creates art with focaccia bread as her canvas, this example was inspired by Van Gogh.

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Frida Kahlo (age 11)

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At that age...

--Unknown

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Mystery solved!

Like me, Eric Scott is a GoCreator, which is why you will see Eric commenting on BITD and on the comic strips of other creators. I love that Eric was able to solve this mystery. I also enjoyed seeing the shadows and hearing the story behind them. No one else could have solved this mystery except Eric!

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Updated member list at: https://lamefrogapplause.blogspot.com/2023/09/gocreator-members-updated.html

Candavaig

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Please call Stella

The first words of a nonsense paragraph invented to try to capture all of the possible vowels that any speaker might use in different accents. It's not perfect, but it's the standard and we have a lot of recordings that use it:  https://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=145

Full paragraph: Please call Stella. Ask her to bring these things with her from the store: Six spoons of fresh snow peas, five thick slabs of blue cheese, and maybe a snack for her brother Bob. We also need a small plastic snake and a big toy frog for the kids. She can scoop these things into three red bags, and we will go meet her Wednesday at the train station.

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Mick and Ick

Something I can answer! Mick and Ick are original, recurring characters in FA. They are not a parody pair, part of a crossover, or referring to any other comic strip characters.

There was some concern in the beginning that Mick and Ick were porno characters, which they most certainly are not. I can't recall just now, but I believe that Mick and Ick are mold spores. 

Hope this helps, Mitch4.

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Food art

Ida Frosk, aka Ida Skivenes, food artist from Norway.

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Searching for Maura

Washington Post graphic novel, free to read in its entirety.

Maura came to St. Louis from the Philippines to be put on display at the 1904 World’s Fair. It would have been her first time seeing snow. Nearly one month before, Maura had arrived in St. Louis, Missouri. She had come for the World's Fair, a historic exhibition of U.S. expansionism and innovation. But Maura wasn't attending the Fair. And when Maura died, a Smithsonian curator likely took part of her brain.

Read more here.


In a first-of-its-kind series, The Washington Post investigates the Smithsonian’s “Racial Brain Collection,” assembling and making public the most extensive analysis and accounting of the collection to date.

The Post’s year-long investigation found that the Smithsonian possesses 255 brains, most of which were removed upon death from Black, Indigenous people and other people of color in the early 20th century, and were used to further now-debunked theories about anatomical differences between races. The Post found the brains were likely taken without consent from individuals or their families. The museum’s “Racial Brain Collection” is part of a larger collection that is one of the largest in the world, containing at least 30,700 human bones and body parts from more than 80 countries.

The Post spent a year examining the collection, reviewing thousands of documents including studies, field notes and personal correspondence, and interviewed experts, Smithsonian officials, and descendants and members of communities whose remains were targeted for collection.

Reporting, editing, production and support on “The Collection” involved a team of more than 80 people, including 74 Post journalists and staffers, two independent contributors and four students from the American University-Washington Post practicum program.

The Post’s investigation found the brains were collected from countries including the Philippines, Germany, the Czech Republic and South Africa. Many were also taken from Black residents in the Washington D.C. area. The scope of the brains collection has not previously been publicly disclosed.

In approaching the work, The Post sought to accurately represent affected Indigenous communities and respect the sensitivities of the investigation's findings amongst relatives of those whose remains were taken. Post reporters traveled across the country and to the Philippines, tracking down relatives and affected communities to inform them of the collection and to ensure their perspectives and stories were relayed throughout the series. Many told The Post they were not aware of the Smithsonian’s collections before Post reporters informed them.

“The Post is proud to produce such revelatory investigative reporting, in this case illuminating century-old, racially based injustices that have plagued communities in our backyard and around the world,” said Sally Buzbee, executive editor. “'The Collection’ is an example of how The Post can continue to empower and deepen our engagement with local and international communities as we expand the scope of our investigative reporting.”

While The Post’s investigation was underway, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III in April issued a statement apologizing on behalf of the institution for the collection of bodies and body parts, and announced the creation of a task force to determine what to do with the remains. Bunch told The Post, “I think it’s important for me as a historian to say that all the remains, all the brains, need to be returned if possible, [and] treated in the best possible way.” The Smithsonian has since contacted the Philippines Embassy with information on the human remains in the museum’s possession, and institution officials have met with embassy officials.

Through investigative reporting and alternate mediums, readers can expect to learn about the collection and its curator, Ales Hrdlicka, who was long revered by the Smithsonian despite his well-documented racist theories and support of eugenics. Readers can also expect to learn about the life and death of an 18-year-old Igorot woman, Maura, whose cerebellum was likely taken by Hrdlicka after she traveled in 1904 from the Philippines to the World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri and died of pneumonia.

“Revealing such crucial information for our audience is at the core of what we do,” said David Fallis, deputy investigations editor. “Above all, it is our public service mission.”

In addition to preeminent reporting on the collection and on Hrdlicka, The Post tells the story of Maura’s life and death through illustrated reporting, which will be available in English and Filipino, and in digital, print and video formats. The English version will be titled “Searching for Maura” and the Filipino version “Paghahanap kay Maura.” The Post worked with Ren Galeno, a Filipino visual artist based in Davao City, Philippines, to illustrate the story and with Christian Benitez, a translator largely based in the Philippines, to translate the story into Filipino.

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GoCreator pin

https://lamefrogapplause.blogspot.com/2023/08/gocreator-pin.html

I got my pin, too. The pin above belongs to Pat Sandy. All the members of our GoCreators group receive these pins. So proud to be a GoCreator. Only a handful of GoComics creators get them so we're part of a very exclusive group. If you're a creator on GoComics and want to find out how to get your pin, contact me! Leave a message on my FA page to start or email me at teresaburritt at gmail dot com.

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Johnny Cash visits Folsom Prison

In the midst of depression and a steep decline in his musical career, legendary country singer Johnny Cash arrives to play for inmates at California's Folsom Prison on January 13, 1968. The concert and the subsequent live album launched him back into the charts and re-defined his career. Read more here.

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Thanks, Luke.

DON'T WALK

Wow. Such law-abiding citizens.

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Thanks, Luke.

Tree roots

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Thanks, Luke.

Rule-breaking 101

I committed a crime on Samuli Lintula's "Dark Side of the Horse," today. In order to bypass GoComics's "no links" rule, I figured out that if you create a tinyurl then add the code in the comment ... success!

Go to:  https://tinyurl.com/app.

Add the full link. Click to get your tinyurl code.

Once you get your code, include it somewhere in your comment.

Good to know. FA readers have skillsets of envy! Just trying to keep one step ahead of the overlords.

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Chuff

Prusten is a form of communicative behaviour exhibited by some members of the family Felidae. Prusten is also referred to as chuffing or chuffle (verb and noun). It is described as a short, low intensity, non-threatening vocalization. In order to vocalize a chuff, the animal's mouth is closed and air is blown through the nostrils, producing a breathy snort. It is typically accompanied by a head bobbing movement. It is often used between two cats as a greeting, during courting, or by a mother comforting her cubs. The vocalization is produced by tigers, jaguars, snow leopards, clouded leopards and even polar bears. Prusten has significance in both the fields of evolution and conservation.

"The monthly veterinary report of July 31, 2023 assessed that the pulmonary lesion was smaller. Bloodwork and chuff (blowhole exhalation samples) were unremarkable, with a very low white blood cell count in Lolita's chuff samples. In summary, the veterinarians were seeing incremental improvements in her health. Nonetheless, she was still fighting the chronic infection in her lung, and continued to receive daily Faropenem and antifungal medications

Chuff:

--a short, low intensity, non-threatening vocalization made by a snow leopard.

--blowhole exhalation samples (such as from an orca.)

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"Frog Applause" really annoys me...

Others are able to explain FA in intriguing ways that I cannot.  

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Shizu Okino

'Tied rocks' by artist Shizu Okino, using traditional Japanese knotting techniques. #WomensArt

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Frida Kahlo

1933 newspaper article on Frida Kahlo in which the heading, added by an editor, reflects the way women in the arts were often presented.

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Medieval art

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List of shoe-throwing incidents

Replica of shoe thrown at George W. Bush

359
Constantius II, Roman Emperor, was giving a speech from a small hill to a group of Limigantes to ask for their loyalty, when he was hit by a shoe thrown by one of them. The thrower shouted 'Marha, marha!' in a "signal of war."

2008
7 April: Arbab Ghulam Rahim, the former Chief Minister of Sindh, Pakistan, was leaving the back door of the Sindh assembly building after taking oath as a newly elected member when he was hit by a shoe thrown by Agha Javed Pathan, a worker from the Pakistan Peoples Party.

14 December: During a press conference at the Prime Minister's Palace in Baghdad, Iraq, journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw his shoes at then United States President George W. Bush. "This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog!" yelled al-Zaidi in Arabic as he threw his first shoe towards the U.S. president. "This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq!" he shouted as he threw his second shoe.  President Bush ducked twice, avoiding being hit by the shoes.

17 December: Queens resident and Amtrak employee Stephen Millies, a protestor at a meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), tried to throw his shoe at the CEO of the MTA with the statement, "This shoe is for you!" Millies managed to shake off his left shoe before being stopped and detained by MTA Police.

17 December: The anti-war group Code Pink pelted shoes at an effigy of then-U.S. President George W. Bush outside the White House. Protesters presented their shoes at U.S. embassies around the world to show their support for al-Zaidi.

19 December: Ukrainian reporter Ihor Dmitriv pelted a Ukrainian politician with a shoe when Dmitriv became angered by the politician's sexist remarks. Speaking about Ukraine's possible accession to NATO, Oleh Soskin said NATO membership was more favored by the Ukrainian women, as they were "the more intelligent" part of the body politic. Dmitriv said his attack was motivated by the Ukrainian leadership's "craziness" and said "a shoe is going to become a leading means (for common people) to influence their leaders."

20 December: Protesters in Montreal and Toronto threw shoes at posters of then-U.S. President George W. Bush in front of their respective U.S. consulates to support Muntadhar al-Zaidi, to demand his immediate release, and to celebrate his gesture. The shoe tosses took place in −24 °C weather during protests against the U.S. military occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan and against Canada's involvement in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. At the shoe toss event in Toronto, Ahmed Habib, a refugee from Baghdad, said, "We don't think of Muntadhar al-Zaidi as a criminal but, in fact, we think of him as a hero. The only war criminal is George Bush and his buddy Stephen Harper, so shame on the both of them." At the shoe toss event in Montreal, Québec solidaire leader and MNA Amir Khadir threw his shoes at a picture of President Bush and was later criticized and accused of betraying the "dignity and responsibilities of a[n] MNA."

More shoe-throwing incidents here.

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You are not funny!!! I'm done...

Oldies, but goodies. If you find any similar comments in the FA archives, I'd love to have a link where you found one/them. 

I see our old friend SackofRabidWeasels was active back then, too. As all my readers know (and we all know your identity and that you are the co-creator of a comic still appearing on GoComics; what a jerk you are. I wonder if your creative partner knows all the appalling crap you've been up to for all these years. My guess is "no". He'd probably be too humiliated if he found out all the shady stuff you've been up to in order to boost your inflated ego.)

I love that the late and much-loved margueritum is still with us, if only via my archives. She was an amazing and lovely person. Marguerite once sent me some petrified dinosaur dung. That was the wonderful kind of person she was! I still miss her.

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Headless

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Bear-hunting garb (1800s)

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Duck

Only 3% of male birds have a penis… and they are all ducks. (Not sure how accurate this info is.)

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Stern mother figure

I love words, but this one does nothing for me. I do appreciate the explanation, however.

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Antenna

Old ham radio antenna

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Religion and sports

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