ओबामा इ लव यू

Washington - Sejak hari Jum'at malam, 16 Januari 2009, suhu udara di ibukota AS terasa dingin menggigit, sekitar 17 derajat Fahrenheit (setara -8.3 derajat Celsius). Sungai Potomac yang membelah kota ini dengan state terdekatnya, Virginia, terlihat membeku.

Meski demikian, kondisi itu tidak menghalangi masyarakat Washington DC untuk melangkahkan kakinya menuju The Mall, lapangan luas yang membentang dari depan Capitol Hill memanjang hinggga DC National Monumen (tugu yang menyerupai pensil). Dengan mengenakan pakaian hangat yang membungkus seluruh tubuh, mereka terlihat sibuk dan antusias, menunjukkan akan adanya hajatan besar di area ini.Sementara di sisi Jalan Pensylvania Avenue, barisan motor polisi terlihat berjajar rapi menutup jalan, membentuk barikade menyambut kedatangan Obama. Terlihat banner raksasa bertuliskan 'Change We Believe In' di sudut Jalan D, jalan yang menghadap tepat ke Union Station.ementara di sisi Jalan Pensylvania Avenue, barisan motor polisi terlihat berjajar rapi menutup jalan, membentuk barikade menyambut kedatangan Obama. Terlihat banner raksasa bertuliskan 'CBeberapa turis masih sempat mengambil gambar dari depan gedung DPR AS ini. Sementara dari dalam mobil yang dikendarai secara perlahan, detikcom sempat mengabadikan gambar polisi yang juga berhenti tepat di depan Capitol Hill hanya untuk mengambil gambar dari jarak dekat.eberapa turis masih sempat mengambil gambar dari depan gedung DPR AS ini. Sementara dari dalam mobil yang dikendarai secara perlahan, detikcom sempat mengabadikan gambar polisi yang juga berhenti tepat di depan Capitol Hill hanya untuk mengambil gambar dari jarak dekat.

mekong

More Than 1,000 New Species Found in Mekong
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Pitviper | Discovery News Video



Dec. 15, 2008 -- Scientists have discovered more than 1,000 species in Southeast Asia's Greater Mekong region in the past decade, including a spider as big as a dinner plate, the World Wildlife Fund said Monday.

A rat thought to have become extinct 11 million years ago and a cyanide-laced, shocking pink millipede were among creatures found in what the group called a "biological treasure trove."

The species were all found in the rainforests and wetlands along the Mekong River, which flows through Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern Chinese province of Yunnan.

"It doesn't get any better than this," Stuart Chapman, director of World Wildlife Fund: Greater Mekong PrgroamWWF's Greater Mekong Program, was quoted as saying in a statement by the group.

"We thought discoveries of this scale were confined to the history books."

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The Spark: Taking a Gander at the Goose

By Liz Gill
Fri, November 21, 2008, 12:01 am PST

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, 2006
(Photo by Ellie)

Next Thursday, millions of televisions will be tuned to the 82nd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Between helpings of yams and stuffing, folks will glance up to see an unnaturally large frog or other frightening figure float across their screens. As much as I enjoy the homely traditions of the holiday season, I must say that this whole phenomenon of watching a parade on television, rather than in person, is a supreme copout.

A parade isn't meant to be viewed on a screen, but experienced! The parade attendee is a hearty breed, braving the blistering sun of summer or the punishing cold of winter with a smile on her face or a march in his heart.

Some of paradedom's most enthusiastic fans are those who attend the annual Mother Goose Parade in El Cajon, California, which will mark its 62nd celebration on Sunday. Its debut in 1947 attracted over 25,000 people to a town with a population of less than 1,500. In its fourth year, even though the parade was delayed until Thanksgiving night due to rains that were so heavy a float crashed, over 100,000 people still attended. Even in the "sophisticated" 21st century, Mother Goose and her parade hold their own against such better-known events as the Macy’s parade by including community programs and celebrity hosts.

Sure, the parade will be televised on a local broadcast, but if you're yearning to park a folding chair on a curb among thousands of your friends and neighbors to watch decorated pickups and marching bands, poke around the Yahoo! Directory's Events category a bit and find a parade, event, or festival that will get you out into the elements.

And if you can't find anything local, and your town is just starving for some organized (or disorganized) revelry, as El Cajon was before 1947, go out and make some of your own!