Dulse = purple seaweed

Dulse ona string
Originally uploaded by Dulsechick

Following another word I didn't know in Scramble... I've learned about this very interesting seaweed.


Firstly a definition search told me dulse is "a reddish-purple seaweed. Used in soups, salads, and vegetable dishes. Very high in iron."

Quite aside from some a lovely variety of photos of dulse fresh-picked, dried and packaged, google image search also led to Laurie Murison's informative page (kwouted below) where I was interested to learn how dulse is picked:

every two weeks--corresponding to the new and full moons. The pickers clamber over slippery rocks, tearing off only a portion of the dulse leaving the holdfasts and part of the fronds. ... Dulse pickers often travel along the shores in dories, wooden, flat-bottomed boats that can be safely landed on the rocky shores. Traditionally rowed, most dories now have small out-board motors. They may use headlamps (similar to the ones miners use) when the low tide occurs at night.

I was also fascinated to read how many different ways it is eaten. Read for yourself:

The Best Dulse! via kwout

Syce = groom

Via google, Reverse Dictionary gave me:

syce , sice, saice n
1 (formerly, in India) a servant employed to look after horses, drive carriages, etc.
2 (in Malaysia) a driver or chauffeur
(C17: from Urdu sa'is, from Arabic, from sasa to administer)

Again I thought an image might help, though only one appeared relevant this time:

The Tibet Album. "Syce with horse and mule on the Kambala Pass" 05 Dec. 2006. The Pitt Rivers Museum. Accessed 15 May. 2008 .

Syce with horse and mule on the Kambala Pass via kwout

Notes from The Tibet Album "A syce leading a mule and a pony across the Kamba La Pass. He is dressed in a knee-length, striped robe, a hat and a scarf wound around his head. The animals have leather saddles which suggests the syce is in the service of the Mission."

The Froe - antique splitter

Scramble has been presenting me with bundles of words that I've not come across before, or at least not enough for them to have sunk in. One tonight was froe. Now a definition search told me what it was but I thought I might remember this more easily if I had an image in mind - google image & its sources, like: Antique Tools helped out wonderfully.

Antique Tools via kwout

Philanthropy

Reading Empathy today (which I discovered via Have Fun Do Good via EducateDeviate), I was particularly struck by Matt's story about Combatants for Peace and determined to share it with the boys when they get home from their weekend away.

The boys and I have had a few discussions about social activism, social justice, community action and individual actions in essential social concerns and I guess they'll also be interested in two other links Tiara mentioned recently:

Act Now


and

How I changed the world today via kwout

Victoria Fossil Cave

Rock formations inside the caves
Originally uploaded by riana_dzasta

Touring Victoria Fossil Cave at Naracoorte (on the way back from Woodchester near Adelaide). We were told a lot about how the different rocks are formed, how the fossils came to be there and the history of the caves. I wish I could recall it all more precisely, perhaps a virtual tour would strengthen the memory cells.

Halfway into the cave I realised I'd left the camera in the car - lucky me other Flickrers are better prepared.

If only the holiday at coincided with OzAct's appearance at the cave for a performance of MacBeth - I envy everyone who goes there for it, we're not up for another long drive so soon.


View Larger Map

YouTube - Sort Of Dunno Nothin' - not so unusual

Ah ha. Thanks Cool Cat Teacher.

YouTube - Sort Of Dunno Nothin' - Peter Denahy



Funnily though my boys are not typically like this, at least not unless:

• they don't know you or


• they know you but


• they don't trust you or


• you're being nosy or


• it's none of your business or


• they suspect you won't like the answer and it's none of your business anyway or


• they're thinking about something else (or nothing in particular) right now.

High speed photography

This looks like a lot of fun, I wonder if one of us might give it a go one day?

Drumming

No, none of us are drumming. Tonight after Monarchy and My Architect, I channel surfed into Session 3 : Slave to the Rhythm (about the rhythm that holds music together - be it the beats in today's urban music or percussion in orchestras) of Pop[b]session ("a series of documentaries about rock and pop's greatest instruments and instrumentalists - about passion and virtuosity, about the seduction of musician and audience alike.").

It has been fascinating, and I've noticed Cricket tuning in every now and then. I'm enjoying the journey through percussion history, culture and styles. I think I was probably able to follow along because of the frequent glimpses of the people - the percussionists and their individual stories.

I'm not sure how much I will retain - we're all suffering colds at the moment - stuffy and sneezy and coughy - I'm afraid I'll drown when I go to sleep tonight.

L'Alouette

Big sister rang this evening to ask for translation of the song we know as Alouette. I couldn't bring it immediately to mind, so quickly found my (now catalogued, classified and shelved) Form 1 French text book - A new french course - Part 1.

The lyrics were there, but aside from remembering that it was about plucking a bird, precise translation still eluded me. Babel Fish identified the bird as a lark but le bec as a nozzle instead of a beak. But not all the body parts were in my textbook so google helped me find the answer at Answers.com : Alouette

Slightly different lyrics on YouTube.


Naturally in the process I've been singing the song to my boys.

..you live, you learn...

Looking for uplifting or happy songs - songs that express celebration without being about romantic love (I'm finding such quite difficult to find)... this one happened along - the boys and I think it seems celebratory of our kind of learning.

Reflecting on Late Night Learning

Sandra Dodd recently enhanced a few of her pages, including: Late Night Learning.

I've noticed the article before, and often reflected that a lot of our learning happens late at night.

Last night Fish requested a bout of Dance chasey - the night before I had tried to teach the boys the basic modern waltz steps... they weren't really interested and for some reason I began to chase them with a constant forward waltz step - the next second they began laughing and encouraging me to continue chasing them... I got a work out and we all had a laugh.

Tonight we watched At Five in the Afternoon; last night it was A Rake's Progress. I wish I'd made note of all the other movies that have caught our curiosity at different times - but who thinks about making a note when one is enjoying the movie?

Ramadan

Apparently Ramadan (the ninth Muslim month, featuring daily Fajr, fasting, Iftar and culminating in 'Eid-Ul-Fitr) begins today. Langwitches' links for 2007-09-10 caught Mum's bloglining curiosity and we were all reminded about a program we watched recently: 30 days as a Muslim. Cricket was interested in the program's occasional exploration of blind blaming attitudes towards *all* Muslims based upon terrorist acts by a few.

Subsequently we discussed use and misuse of the thought process: generalising.

Lunar eclipse 28 August 2007

IMG_0135
Originally uploaded by Niroshana Fernando

Cricket did suggest I get my camera, but I still don't have a tripod. So for colour and recollection I have to rely on others (eg thanks Niroshana Fernando). I love the photogallery at Backyard.

Graham phoned while we were watching Numbers, sending us running out the front to catch the blood moon. I think we may have missed the reddest (was that before the full eclipse? - or maybe clouds drifted over).

Still it was exciting just to watch an eclipse even if we didn't see the colour that others did.

How is capsicum spray made?

How is capsicum spray made?  Annotated

• this answered Mr14's question: how is capsicum spray made? - post by moonflowerdragon

Compass - The Fundamentalist

Tonight we caught a portion of The Fundamentalist series on Compass - ABC TV Religion. We caught up with Mark Dowd when "He travels to Gaza and meets the mother of a suicide bomber and also visits Jewish settlers committed to living on disputed land no matter the cost."

I haven't tracked many of the things we've been doing because I'd hoped we might make posts here a little more thoughtful and contemplative or reflective, but then I don't have much record at all. So, as our principal reason for blogging is actually for a fun way to record-keep; while it being a forum to communicate our thoughts and benefit readers is more of a potentiality... we just might merely post more items like this (ie this is what we watched).

When I was a Lad

How curious... I keep up with Sandra Dodd's updates to her webpages, she recently mentioned this one: When I was a Lad and I played the mp3. The boys loved it - which surprised me. Then "Cricket" recounted a Simpson's episode in which Sideshow Bob sang the whole HMS Pinafore musical to fulfil Bart's last request.

I will *not* be torturing the boys with a bunch of comprehension questions, it will be absorbed into other experiences and we'll discuss our thoughts from time to time. Like: we find it funny as I believe we're supposed to, that 'the rule of the Queen's Navee' would not have naval experience - but really how much of what type of experience would such an authority require to do the job well?

Lots to think about...

Bloglines (via Mum's RSS Subscription to) mentioned a post from Cool Cat Teacher Blog

Mum went to see what the World's Best Presentation at Slideshare was all about, and ended up with concepts very worth all of us discussing. How will these interesting snippets affect our lives in 10-20 years?



Mum is thinking it is important that we learn effective thinking, intrapersonal and interpersonal skills; adaptability, flexibility, creativity.

Current Events: Britney's Hair

Mum peruses The Current Events in Education blog, and although we pay extremely little attention to 'celebrities', today mum decided that Britney's Hair was a nifty short little thought activity we could do together.

So after checking out the article: Britney's Mane Event: Day 2 Hair for sale? we're considering the suggested questions:

1. Why would Britney have done this?

Cricket: annoyance, frustration, separation, any reason.
Fish: maybe one of her songs went wrong, if she was married maybe she got divorced, depression,

Who knows, any reasons that anyone else might have could be equally valid for Britney. Wanting a change or celebrating a change, expressing 'letting go' after a relationship separation (cutting them out of your hair eh Ceccy?), or letting go of a previous image or attachment to appearance.

2. What can we learn about the nature of fame from Britney's behavior?

Cricket: Nothing.
Fish: Nothing.
Nothing, even non-famous people shave their head.

3. What is hair? Check out Wikipedia?

"a filamentous outgrowth of dead cells from the skin, found only on mammals. "

4. Is it actually fair to call Britney's behavior absurd? Why/why not?
Definition of absurd: inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense;
Cricket: No, because deciding to change one's hairstyle is not illogical, or unreasonable or uncommon.
Fish: No, because.
No: If she wants to shave her head it is up to her, it is not absurd. Just shaving your head is not absurd.

Painted Swift spider

supunna picta 9mm
Originally uploaded by moonflowerdragon.

As I blogged over at moonflowerdragon, Cricket spotted this spider running very fast up the fridge. While he and Fish wanted me to just squash it, I was curious - not knowing what kind it is.

We know now, thanks to my new digital camera, and the entymology department at the Melbourne Museum.

We might have identified it ourselves at the University of Queensland Find-A-Spider Guide, but I was looking at medium-sized spiders, not small ones because I measured it at 9mm rather than 8mm or less. The boys didn't want to look at the photos at all. I must admit I didn't enjoy it either.

From Cassowary to India

Cassowary
Originally uploaded by chatallot.

Today, upon reading of the Tarzali home-edding family's cassowary spotting, I asked the boys whether they knew of the Cassowary. "Yeah" said Cricket, launching into his associations " a flightless bird... lives in the rainforest ... related to the emu". Fish didn't know.

...Wikipedia or Google? ... okay Google's first suggestion is Wikipedia anyway...

From there we learned that the Tarzali Tales would have been referring to the Southern Cassowary. But first we explored what 'ratite' meant ("any of a diverse group of large, flightless birds of Gondwanan origin ... hav[ing] no keel on their sternum and, lacking a strong anchor for their wing muscles, could not fly even were they to develop suitable wings); then checked that Gondwanan did indeed mean that the cassowary is supposed to have descended from beasts particular to the Gondwana supercontinent.

In the process I learned (I think for my first time) that the name of the supercontinent Gondwana is "derived from the Gondwana region of India", "because some of the earliest rock formations of this continent were first investigated in part of the region"