Zebra Finches SHOW SENSITIVITY TO HUMAN SPEECH

A study by scientists has found that Song Birds can be trained to understand non-language aspects of Human Speech.Zebra Finches are sensitive   to Prosodic variations-changes in pitch,volume,duration of spoken syllables.Prosodic features may have pre-dated evolution of structure of language .In a study loudspeakers played patterns of human speech and when responded the birds pecked a specific key or no action-correct reponse access to food,wrong one led to 15 seconds of darkness. 2 differrent sequences of 4 naturally spoken syllables played male and female speakers and also pitch was altered ,volume,stress of duration of first and last syllable.The finches seemed to learn sequences of new syllables but not changing patterns-Proceedings of Royal Society B Journal-Western Morning News - page 14-29/05/2014

WHY DID STUDENTS BBQ A DEAD BADGER?-ANIMAL WELLFARE

Read this horrible article in the paper about Animal Cruelty.The so called students -Birmingham University-tried to cook a dead Badger then flung the charred carcass at the window of  accomodation  block.The University is investigating the incident ,I hope their get thrown out as all  Animal Cruelty is wrong in my opinion.

-YOU,RE NOT A LOCAL

Years ago i watched a programme on the t.v called League  of Gentleman and on this was a regular stetch-YOU,RE NOT A LOCAL.Anyway i thought this was just comedy affect well i was surpised from that .When I first came to a village in devon  I was treated like a leaper.It got better as time went on from that experience I always when moved tried to be part of village/town by getting involved with local events and clubs.Well the last village i move too i am sad to say still don,t like outsiders offering help at local events -example -catering think childish.

TAWNY OWLS-1 PER DAY AT WEST HATCH

West Hatch Wildlife Centre ,Taunton,Somerset during a period of 4 weeks had a average of 1 owlet admission per day. The owls fed on a diet of mice and will stay untill ready to be released back in the wild in summer. Tawny Owls  are the most common owls admitted due to the fact after 25 days leave the nest and move around trees and tend to fall from branches.

GUNS-NO

We hear of people being killed in America and we get the familiar chant the right to  bear arms.Now  I am no angel but if i was angry or disturbed person with a gun and would not have to be a great shot to cause damage.Its about time the people of America  stand up to the bullys of the gun/rifle leagues and make a change.

DEMENTIA

I am writing this as part of my blog in hope it will help at least one person or family who are coping with dementia. This is a personal subject for me as my dad had early dementia before he died. Here is some info:

Dementia does not technically describe an illness. Its symptoms are from various illnesses which affect the brain. These symptoms vary from short term memory loss, disorientation, mood swings and is progressive. There is no cure at present. 

Alzheimer’s Disease: Physical Disease of Brain -described by Alois Alzheimer

Plaques and tangles develop in structure of brain leading to death of cells

Progressive and over time more cells are damaged and symptoms become severe

Vascular dementia:

The brain cells need supply of blood, and if the vascular system becomes damaged this leads to brain cells to eventually die.

Some conditions that can damage the vascular system are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes.  

Dementia with Lewy bodies: like both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease

Memory loss, spatial disorientation, slowness, muscle stiffness, trembling of limbs, shuffle when walking, loss of facial expression

Abilities fluctuate daily even hourly

Fainting, falling, funny turns, detailed and convincing visual hallucinations, fall asleep very easily

Restless disturbed nights with confusion

But there are things that can help:

Book of Life:

Life experiences, relationships preferences of cared for person - ie date of birth, schools attended, employment history, likes and dislikes, dietary needs, weekly routine, habits, interests, hobbies or even a photograph album of now and past.

Memory Box:

Items can show who the person cared for, or what they have achieved in life

Family heirlooms, household /personal items with sentimental value, photographs.

Local Memory Cafes near Woolsery, Devon:

Barnstaple-01271-311630

Bideford-01237-420136

Great Torrington- 01237-420136/01237-459337

WWW.AGE.ORG.UK

WWW.CITIZENSADVICE.ORG.UK

I hope someone somewhere is helped by just reading this

Done in memory of  Paul Tony Raines, my dad

Source - Caring For Dementia

Dementia Carers Pathways, Devon By David Light And Jim Delves

INTERVIEW WITH JON DOWNES by mark antony raines-ghostman

jon downes is the main dude of cfz and to me the holy gail to get for a interview -amazing what youcan get for doing a bit of gardening a-hope you enjoy sorry about sound but mirophone on vidcam crap-filmed by me and i have to puta disclaime about weirdweekend reference as was asked to edit out but did not know how-mark-ghostman

Flies pause while 200 neurons help with tough decisions

Just like us, fruit flies dwell on difficult decisions, according to a study published in the journal Science.

They spend more time choosing between a strong and a weak smell if the difference is small.

The research links this deliberation to a particular gene, FoxP, and the activity of fewer than 200 neurons.

Mutations in FoxP, also associated with cognition and language in humans, made flies' decisions even slower without affecting which choice they made.

Gathering information before committing to a decision is a hallmark of intelligence. If the information is unclear, the choice is trickier and the decision takes more time.

We do it, other primates do it, even rats and mice do it - but now it seems that flies do too.

Confident choices

"This is the clearest evidence yet of a cognitive process running in a very simple brain," said Prof Gero Miesenböck, whose team did the work at the University of Oxford's Centre for Circuits and Behaviour.read more

A Point of View: Is it better to be religious than spiritual?

More and more people are rejecting religion but embracing spirituality. But have they got things the wrong way around, asks Tom Shakespeare.

After a relationship break up a few years ago, I signed on to a dating website. Filling in my online profile, I was interested to discover that the question on religious belief included an option that was new to me. You could tick boxes for the major religions, or for atheist, or for SBNR, which I discovered stands for "Spiritual But Not Religious".

Whereas the word "religion" generally refers to organised forms of worship and a wider faith community, "spiritual" often describes people's private individual beliefs.

A few minutes on Google revealed that SBNR is more than just an acronym. One in three Americans defined themselves as spiritual but not religious. Millions of people now think of themselves as on their own personal spiritual path, but not affiliated to any specific religion. American sociologists Robert Putnam and David Campbell talk about "Nones" - people who belong to no religion but still believe in God. Others have used the term "moralistic therapeutic deism" to refer to how young people are turning towards a vague belief that God exists and the point of life is to be happy. You could also call it "pseudo-religion".read more

Andrew Ferguson-INTERVIEWED BY MARK ANTONY RAINES-GHOSTMAN

Hello firstly what got me into wrestling is I think my dad watched it back along &my friends also seem to like it in our school days when wwe used to be good still! , I don't watch wwe anymore because cannot stand the pg rubbish & I still think that wrestling isn't for kids as they copy everything they see at that age ...not good! , tna is the bomb& I'm so glad I'm able to watch it regularly now in the UK ...my only regret is that I didn't have chance to watch it & follow it since the beginning but tna always makes me smile & the company deserves lot more praise & respect of course, I'm not sure about the direction of British wrestling at the moment but yes I would love to see more British wrestling & for it to be emphasized more like they are doing as regards to Mexico & Japanese wrestling etc, my plans for the future are to try to stop dissin wwe -even if they deserve it ! ....but other than that it's just as normal... TNA.....CROSS THE LINE! Very many thanks. ...from a true wrestling fan

weirdweekend-15-17th august 2014 promo

Some truely fantastic lectures this year and of course the one and only Ronan Coghlan will be there, get your tickets while stocks last!

Weird Weekend 2014 - August 15 to 17th 2014
The Weird Weekend is the largest gathering of mystery animal investigators in the English-speaking world. Now in its fifteenth year, and going strong!
Community: 209 like this

Anthony Wallis-interviewed by mark antony raines-ghostman

Hi Mark, here are some answers mate, hope they're ok. "what inspires your art?" Seeing the creativity and skill of my favourite wildlife and paleontological artists always spurs me on to try new things and improve. I've always been fascinated with the natural world and have been drawing animals, both real and imagined, since I was a tiny child. Seemingly bizarre creatures of the past, and the fact that some MIGHT still exist today is a constant fascination for me. "What are your plans for the future?" Finish off my new website! www.antwallisillustration.com . Produce more artwork depicting paleontological subjects! "what advice would you give to anyone wishing to learn to draw?" draw constantly, carry a sketchbook around and draw things you see. Copy your favourite artists too (yeah, you heard that right), your own style will develop out of this. Cheers. Ant

BUGFEST

http://www.bugfest.co.uk/about.html AND https://www.facebook.com/groups/21723204479/

NEW DOG RULES

New rules to the Dangerous Dogs Act mean owners could be prosecuted for pets jumping up at visitors or deemed to be dangerously out of control,designed to help protect postmen or woman.If you allow  a dog to injure a person its 5 years in prison  and possible the dog being destroyed.A dog does not have to bite to be dangerous a person can simply feel dog may injure them. I myself as a dog owner  believe most dogs behave well its other owners who do not seem to wish to  control thier dogs that cause the problem and the headlines and can be blamed for this new ruling-are have been informed. READ MORE-          https://www.gov.uk/control-dog-public/overview

THE GREAT YOKAI ENCYLOPAEDIA -THE A-Z OF JAPANESE MONSTERS BY RICHARD FREEMAN WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY ANTHONY WALLIS -

ISBN-978-1-905723-54-6- £ 14.99 -CFZ PRESS                                                                                                                                                From the Introduction-Yokai  is a term for odd ,un-natural  being-the influence in Art,Stage,Literature,Screen,Origin pages 5-37. We begin to read about the Yokai  from A -Abumi-kuchi-one of the Tsukumo-Gami -Inanimate objects that take life of their own to Z-Zentatsu -Dragon God.As  you  read the book you become informed in a fun and informative way and you also get brillant   illustrations by Anthony Wallis .The fun part comes from the authors well known humour among CFZ  members,i enjoyed reading this and would recommend to anyone who likes Monsters or even info on Godzilla films.

ANARCHY IN ANT COLONY

Anarchy erupted when the Queen  ant was killed by  electrocution.The worker Leafcutter ants began to kill themselves  or starve to death within weeks.This happened at Butterfly World ,St.Albans,Herts.Leafcutter ants  can grow up to 1.6 cm ,carry 20 times their body weight in jaws.The park are hoping that an expert hired by them  will find a new Queen in Jungles of Trinidad.

CAN CANNABIS CURE Epilepsy

Unsure about article  about Epilepsy. Expert  Dr.Edward Maa,Denver,Colorado give a youngster via her mother Medical  Marijuana to help  reduce  her 50 seizures a day ,reduced to 2-3 a month.This is due to an active substance in Cannabis called Cannabiol or CBD. Further research is called for by fellow scientists.

PORBEAGLE SHARK CAUGHT OFF NORTH DEVON COAST.

A 32 Stone -480 lb -8 ft -Porbeagle Shark-related closely to Great White-one was caught by a fisherman less than a mile off North Devon Coast.

MOSQUITOES IN U.K CITIES

Warmer ambient temperatures ,more water containers are all reasons that Mosquitoes are moving into U .K cities.At the moment U.K Mosquitoes are Human Disease free but their is always the chance of the insect breeding in urban areas increasing  possible outbreak of Malaria or West Vile Virus.

Arsenal vs Hull-A FANS VIEW

Well the Saturday kick-off  had finally come-Arsenal vs Hull- after a 2 hour build up of talking on I.T.V.The whistle blows and Arsenal are very slow to start ,Hull coming at them at full attack.Then the worst happens Hull score-Chester 4 mins-i swear and shout thinking its early days but then Hull score again-Davies 8 mins -its all over  and thoughts of losing another trophy appear in my head .After a time Arsenal start to get back into the game a little bit at a time then a foul a free kick is given -Arsenal score-Cazorla 17 mins-its 2-1 game is back on.Second half comes and goes and Arsenal score again-Koscielny 71 mins.-2-2.Into extra time -15 minutes each way-first part of extra time still 2-2.Second part of extra time tension is building as thoughts  of  possible   penaltys   then Arsenal score -Rambsy   -we have won -yes a trophy after 9 years of waiting -bragging rights again and possible more in new season.