Aye-Ayes... ugly but charming!

Daubentonia madagascariensis

Aye-ayes are the largest nocturnal primate in the world, and they live in eastern Madagáscar. They are also the only primate thought to use echolocation, which they use to find grubs up to 2cm deep in a tree.Their lifespam in the wild is unknown, but in captivity they can live for up to 23 years. Their habitat are rainforests, dryforests, mangrooves and bamboo thickets. Head and body length: 40cm, Tail length: 40cm, Weight: 2kg.

Aye-ayes are particularly adept at finding wood-boring larvae. They tap on wood with their middle finger, listening for hollow spaces. They then extract the larvae with their specially-adapted thin finger. They also feed on seeds, fruit, nectar and fungi. Aye-ayes live alone or in pairs. Males have much larger ranges than females, and they overlap those of the females. They are nocturnal, and construct elaborate sleeping nests to sleep in during the day. Aye-ayes are arboreal and move quadrupedally.

The Aye-aye is an endangered species not only because its habitat is being destroyed, but also due to native superstition. Besides being a general nuisance in villages, ancient Malagasy legend said that the Aye-aye was a symbol of death. It is viewed as a good omen in some areas, however, but these areas are a minority.

Researchers in Madagascar report remarkable fearlessness in the Aye-aye; some accounts tell of individual animals strolling nonchalantly in village streets or even walking right up to naturalists in the rainforest and sniffing their shoes. Therefore, it is no wonder that displaced animals often raid coconut plantations or steal food in villages.

However, public contempt goes beyond this. The Aye-aye is often viewed as a harbinger of evil and killed on sight. Others believe that should one point its long middle finger at you, you were condemned to death. Some say the appearance of an Aye-aye in a village predicts the death of a villager, and the only way to prevent this is to kill the Aye-aye. The Sakalava people go so far as to claim Aye-ayes sneak into houses through the thatched roofs and murder the sleeping occupants by using their middle finger to puncture the victim's aorta.

Incidents of Aye-aye killings increase every year as its forest habitats are destroyed and it is forced to raid plantations and villages. Because of the superstition surrounding it, this often ends in death. On the other hand, the superstition can prevent people from hunting them for food.

Evian Roller Babies

What "Cristina" means

You Are Original and Innovative

You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are a seeker. You often find yourself restless - and you have a lot of questions about life. You tend to travel often, to fairly random locations. You're most comfortable when you're far away from home. You are quite passionate and easily tempted. Your impulses sometimes get you into trouble. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Dream and Poetry

It's all ordinary experience,
All ordinary images.

By chance they emerge in a dream,
Turning out infinite new patterns.

It's all ordinary feelings,
All ordinary words.

By chance they encounter a poet,
Turning out infinite new verses.

Once intoxicated,

One learns the strength of wine,

Once smitten,

One learns the power of love:

You cannot write my poems
Just as I cannot dream your dreams.

Hu Shih (1891-1962)

High Tech Kids

Teenagers Media Habits, by 15 years old Matthew Robson

The thoughts of a London schoolboy, Matthew Robson, on how he and friends consume media has become a sensation among City analysts and media executives desperate to discover the habits of younger generations. Mr Robson,15, was asked by analysts at investment bank Morgan Stanley to detail how he and his friends consume media.

Edward Hill-Wood, the head of the European media team at Morgan Stanley, told the Financial Times that the report by Mr Robson, who was interning at the bank, was "one of the clearest and most thought-provoking insights we have seen. So we published it."

Mr Hill-Wood added that "we've had dozens and dozens of fund managers, and several CEOs, e-mailing and calling all day." The report generated almost six times the amount of feedback that one of the bank's usual reports does, he told the FT.

Mr Robson's findings are likely to stir the interest of media companies seeking to expand, and make profitable, their digital operations. Mr Robson said that he and his peer group struggle to make time to watch regular TV and prefer to listen to music on websites such as Last.fm rather than traditional radio.

Few of Mr Robson's friends have any time for newspapers as most cannot be "bothered to read pages and pages of text." Mr Robson also said that Twitter was not popular among his friends as updating the service from their mobile phones uses credit and few follow their tweets.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

Click here to read Matthew Robson's report in full.