Shadow Flutter

You all know what I’m talking about.  You’ve all stepped in it.  You find it on your lawn or on the sidewalk and often on popular walking and biking trails.  That’s right, dog poop, the scourge of city and suburban living.  HOA’s raise fees to strategically place on grounds dog poop bags and dog poop receptacles.  But many dog owners refuse to use them, preferring instead to leave their pet’s gift where it lies for others to admire.  And who can blame them.  Who want’s to stick his hand in a plastic bag and reach down and dispose of poop with only a sliver of plastic separating hand and poop.  All of this drives HOA management mad.  So now one HOA is striking back.  Beginning immediately the management of one Chicago apartment complex is requiring their residents to take cheek swabs — no, not that cheek — of their dogs.  Management will set up a DNA database, and whenever an offending poop is found on the grounds a sample will ...

The Camel Library of Kenya serves the Nomads of the desert.  Nomads are poor and can't afford their own books, and there is an 85.3% illiteracy rate among the people the library servers.  There are 3,500 members, and the books match the syllabus of the national education system. Story books are available for children.  A book can be borrowed for two weeks, the time it takes the camel library for a return visit. A camel library serves the nomadic people of the Gobi Desert too.  Above a little girl is mesmerized by the colorful covers of several children's books.

Myths attempt to answer questions that are eternal to all civilizations: Where did I come from? How much control do I have over my life? What must I do to survive? How should I live?  They often reflect the political, economic, social, and religious foundations of the culture, and are ensconced in the mystery and mysticism of nature.  Ancient civilizations were so dependent upon the forces of nature for success or failure that these forces were often personified as gods. Fertility Myths Fertility myths respond to a need for economic security in a world dependent upon nature for stability.  Lives in ancient cultures revolved around the agricultural year.  Because a good harvest was central to survival, fertility --  reproduction, birth, growth, abundance -- came to be personified as a powerful fertility god, and the seasons came to reflect the cycle of life.  Spring is the season of birth and summer is the season of growth. ...