Elephant Poachers Are Fair Game And Should Be Shot On Sight Says Tanzanian Official...

Wonderful sentiments indeed and the wildlife population will heartily endorse the comments by the Tanzanian Minister for National Resources and Tourism Khamis Kagasheki.
There's more here.
'Elephant poachers are fair game and should be shot on sight'. said Mr Kagasheki. 'They must be harshly punished because they are merciless people who wantonly kill our wildlife and sometimes our game wardens. I'm very aware that human rights activists will make an uproar at my comment but shooting these culprits on the spot would go a long way towards stopping the killing of our wildlife. Remember, the poachers are killing our elephants at a rate of one every fifteen minutes'.
I'm sure the elephants that are left won't forget Mr Kagasheki...

The Eagle Has Landed...

Flying Eagle aka Graeme Nicholson has recently landed in a field at Uretiti not far from The Flying Tortoise.
It didn't take long to establish that while we had different mothers and not the same fathers, we are brothers who until now had never met.
It's good to catch up with family.
A follower of the North American Red Indian culture from where he received his name, Flying Eagle is an aged hippie, gypsy, an independent free spirit, muso, singer and interesting man who's been there, done that and isn't afraid to wear purple...

HEALTH WARNING: It's Possible That Living In A Tiny House Will Cause You To Live Longer...

It's quite possible that the health benefits that come with living in a tiny house could cause you to live longer.
I have no scientific or medical evidence to back up that claim. There are no statistics that I'm aware of to back up my theory but I believe it's true and here's why.
You'll spend less of your precious time working to pay for it, the insurance, the rates, the maintenance. Hence less stress.
And then there's material possessions. You simply won't need as many so you won't have to earn money to buy them. You can go window shopping which is fun and it won't cost a penny. 
You'll spend less of your precious time commuting to and from work in rush hour traffic. Hence less stress. You might be able to live without an automobile, wow, no parking problems, no costly repairs and on-road costs. You might ride a bicycle or take public transport. That's radical. That's also less money you have to earn. That's good, that's less stressful.
You'll spend less on medical bills.
You'll have fewer outgoings and less or no debt and being in debt is very stressful.
You'll have more of your precious time to spend doing the things that really matter like spending quality time with family and friends.
You'll have more time for leisure activities. More time in the outdoors, more time in the garden growing your own food.
More time for healthy living.  
As you know, stress is a huge contributing factor to heart disease. And stress is a huge contributing factor to a range of cancers.
So surely making your life stress free will cause you to live longer.
That's my theory and I subscribe to it.
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Anyone For Tennis...

Fancy a game at the Mile High Tennis Club?
Wimbledon's center court was never this exciting...

Meet Inspiring Adventurer Bernie Harberts And His Mules Buddy And Polly...

My friend Bernie Harberts of River Earth is another wonderful individual who, like John Sears and his three mules, journeys the road least travelled. Bernies constant companions are Buddy and Polly.
You may have read about Bernie, he also features in Lloyd Kahn's Tiny Home book.
There's lots to know about this lovely man and his enviable lifestyle. You can go here, over here, or here to find out what he's up to now or planning for the future.
After spending twenty years sailing his yacht alone around the world and then crisscrossing the US with Polly towing his twenty one square foot camper, there's always something...

Congratulations New Zealand's Eleanor Catton On Winning The Prestigious Man Booker Literary Prize With The Luminaries...

Congratulations to Canadian born New Zealander Elle Catton on winning the most prestigious Man Booker Literary Prize with her novel The Luminaries.
At twenty eight, she's the youngest author ever to win this, one of the world's most highly prized literary awards and the second New Zealand author to claim the Booker with Keri Hulme winning with The Bone People in 1985.
Elle's 832 page novel The Luminaries is set in 1866 at Hokitika on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island during the Gold Rush days, with its main characters being twelve men aligned to each of the twelve signs of the Zodiac.
The Luminaries is Elle's second novel.
Her first, The Rehearsal, was published in 2008 when she was twenty two.
Congratulations Elle for writing all those words and getting them in the right order...

Last House Standing. Strange Urban Images By Photographer Ben Marcin...

Self taught photographer Ben Marcin was born in Augsbury Germany twenty seven or so years ago. He now lives in Baltimore.
There's more about him here.
My intent he says, in photographing these solitary buildings was not only for their ghostly beauty but for their odd placement on the urban landscape. They were not designed to stand alone like this.
There may have been ten or twenty similar buildings on either side but these have been torn down, demolished for a variety of reasons, many financial. And one day as I was photographing a seemingly abandoned dwelling, the front door swung open and an older man wearing a bathrobe and jeans walked out and confronted me. What was I doing and why was I doing it. He was definitely ready to defend not only his home.
And at that moment I understood why his house was still standing...