the largest flower-enormous sunflower

This enormous sunflower has been nicknamed the ‘Eiffel Flower’ after growing to a whopping 23ft - and is on course to break a world record.
The huge plant has grown from a humble seed planted in the garden of the home of Eve Fielding, in Margate, Kent.

Eve said: ‘It's enormous - I really can't believe it's grown this tall.  ugg boots 5815
‘I planted a few seeds with my granddaughter so we could have a race to grow the biggest one.
‘This was one of the leftover ones so I thought I might as well sow it and see what happened.
‘I watered it every day, but I didn't put anything special in the soil or anything daft. And it just carried on growing.
‘This is by far the biggest sunflower I've ever had - usually they're around 12ft     
‘My neighbours and visitors have all been quite surprised and shocked at the size - they think it's a beast.
　　‘I've heard of people talking to their plants to make them grow and I've never done that, but I have started telling it how well it is doing since it got really big.’

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world's tallest sunflower was an incredible 26ft 4in (8.03m).
It belonged to Hans-Peter Schiffer and was measured in Kaarst-Voorst, Germany, on August 17, 2009 
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Eve, 48, had sown a handful of seeds as part of a light-hearted competition with her four-year-old granddaughter, and planted this one as a spare.
　　She watered it every day but didn't give it any special attention and says she expected it to grow to around 12ft, just like the dozens of other flowers
　　she's planted over the years.
　But to her amazement it soon shot past the height of her other blooms - and shows no sign of stopping.
It now towers well above the mother-of-two, who is 5ft 2in, and could even break the world record of 26ft 4in 

bird's gay relationships

Birds can have gay relationships that last for life, say researchers.
　　
　　They found that if isolated from the opposite sex, same sex birds will pair off with each other.
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　　The scientists studied young zebra finches, which are known for forming lifelong relationships.
　
　　When raised in same-sex groups, more than half the birds paired up together. When females were then brought into the male group, five out of eight pairs of males ignored them and stuck with their male partner.
　　
　　As in their relationships with the opposite sex, they were found to be as 'attached and faithful', perching side by side, nesting together and greeting each other by nuzzling each other's beaks.
　
　　Lead author Dr Julie Elie, from the University of California, Berkeley, said:
　　
　　'Relationships in animals can be more complicated than just a male and a female who meet and reproduce.
　　
　　'My observations of [them] led me to this surprising result: same-sex individuals would also interact... like male-female pairs.'
　
　　Her team, whose study is published in the journal Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, believes the same-sex pairings could be a strategy for survival, the birds teaming up to defend resources and fight predators.
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　　'A pair-bond in socially monogamous species represents a cooperative partnership that may give advantages for survival,' Dr Elie continued.
　　
　　'Finding a social partner, whatever its sex, could be a priority.'
　　
　　Dr Elie said there were several examples of same-sex pairing in the avian world.
　　
　　In monogamous gulls and albatrosses, it gave females the chance to breed without a male partner.
　
　　'Female partners copulate with a paired male then rear the young together,' Dr Elie explained.
　　
　　In captivity, there have been at least two cases of male penguins choosing each other over a females companion.
　　
　　Two male chinstrap penguins in Manhattan's Central Park Zoo, named Roy and Silo, bonded and paid no attention to females in their enclosure for at least a year.
　
　　They built a nest together, incubated and hatched a fertilised egg donated to them by one of the keepers.
　　

A Perfect Heart

Suddenly, an old man appeared and said, "Why, your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine!"
The crowd and the young man looked at the old man's heart. It was full of scars. It had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn't fit quite right, and there were several jagged  edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.
The young man laughed. "Comparing your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars."
"Yes," said the old man, "Yours looks perfect but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love. I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart that fits into the empty place in my heart.
"But because the pieces aren't exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared.
"Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn't returned a piece of his or her heart to me. These are the empty gouges - giving love is taking a chance.
"Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for those people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I've been waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?"
The young man walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man .air max 95 men
The old man placed it in his heart, then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man's heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges 
The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart flowed into his.
They embraced and walked away side by side.
How sad it must be to go through life with a whole untouched heart!

Michael Jackson's epitaph , if

If — Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
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Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them:"Hold on";
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

My cyber love

I have frequented the same chat line for more than three years now and have made some wonderful online friendships. However I have become bored with the typical chat and Internet all together. So, I decided to take a break.
After about a week of being off line, I returned late one night to check mail. There, in my box was an emai1 from a lady friend I had met in a chat room. She was going on and on about a man that had recently entered the room and how he was supposedly the "male incarnate" of myself. Anyone who knows me also knows that I am a bit of a "character." My sense of humor is one of a warped and demented nature. The thought of finding anyone who doesn't become annoyed instantly is a chore. Much less a man that shared the same. I completely discredited the email and went about my business 
Later that night, I found myself wandering the net. It was then I ran across a photo gallery that proved to be quite entertaining. As I clicked from one picture to the next, I ran across one gentleman's photo. I was stunned by his presence. Approximately 10 minuets had gone by when I finally tore myself away from the photo and decided to venture into chat. There, I found the woman who had sent me the email earlier that week. She proceeded to tell me all about this man. "You just have to meet him," she said, ranting on and on about how much alike we were. I laughed at her thinking it was amusing. "No, I am serious! You have got to talk to him." I finally agreed that I would make effort to do so later on and left the chat quickly. Again, finding myself staring at this anonymous photo I had found earlier. air max 2009 men
Approximately 4 hours later, I ventured back into the chat. Only to find a few friends talking about daily events. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere, a new name entered, rambling on and on about being the presentment of madness. I quickly spoke up and told the stranger that title had already been taken by myself as I laughed. He was silent for a few moments. It was then I received a "whisper" from him. "So you are the woman I have heard so very much about." I replied by saying, "I see my reputation precedes me.” It was then I noticed his side bar photo (this particular room has a side bar option for those wishing to post photos of themselves). I almost fell from my chair when I realized I was talking to the man in the photo. The photo I had found earlier that day while surfing. After several hours in "whisper" mode, we opted to enter my personal chat room. We found one another to be interesting. Not to mention, we thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.
Since then, our relationship has grown tremendously. Even going so far as to admit our love to one another. We both agree this seems crazy. The sort of thing you read about in a book. It hardly seems real. Neither of us was looking when fate let us to one another. Neither of us was in need of love. Hell, neither of us believed in love, especially online love prior to our finding one another. We both want so badly to be together. To 1earn, to love, and to experience what this has to offer. It is simply amazing. So much for not seeking love, eh?
It was as if we had been two long lost lovers being reunited after a long trip. I think he put it best when he said… "Life is full of shit…lots of it. And there are many a time when you may feel stuck/bored and it seems that there's nothing left to hold your interest or anything that doesn't piss you off. Well, there is such a thing as true love. It's there, it's indescribable and few are blessed with it. We are one of lucky couples."
Truly, the luckiest man and woman ever.

Twenty Rules for Happy Life

1. Compliment three people every day.
2. Watch a sunrise.  
3. Be the first to say "Hello."
4. Live beneath your means. air max 2009 men
5. Treat everyone as you want to be treated.
6. Never give up on anybody; miracles happen.
7. Remember someone's name.
8. Pray not for things, but for wisdom and courage.
9. Be tough-minded, but tender hearted.
10. Be kinder than you have to be.
11. Don't forget that a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
12. Keep your promises.
13. Show cheerfulness even when you don't feel it.
14. Remember that overnight success usually takes 15 years.
15. Leave everything better than you found it.
16. Remember that winners do what losers don't want to do. 
17. When you arrive at your job in the morning, let the first thing you say brighten everyone's day.
18. Don't rain on other people's parades.
19. Don't waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them. air max 95 men
20. Keep some things to yourself and don't promote havoc by hurting people you love.
We all laugh. We all hurt. We all make mistakes. We all dream. That's life. It's a journey. Please follow these rules to make the journey of your life a journey of joy!

A goodbye kiss

The Board Meeting had come to an end. Bob started to stand up and jostled the table, spilling his coffee over his notes. "How embarrassing.I am getting so clumsy in my old age."
air jordan 13 menEveryone had a good laugh, and soon we were all telling stories of our most embarrassing moments. It came around to Frank who sat quietly listening to the others. Someone said, "Come on, Frank. Tell us your most embarrassing moment."
Frank laughed and began to tell us of his childhood. "I grew up in San Pedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his own boat, but it was hard making a living on the sea.He worked hard and would stay out until he caught enough to feed the family. Not just enough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the other kids that were still at home air jordan 13 men ."
He looked at us and said, "I wish you could have met my Dad. He was a big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his catch. When you got close to him, he smelled like the ocean. He would wear his old canvas, foul-weather coat and his bibbed overalls. His rain hat would be pulled down over his brow. No matter how much my Mother washed them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish discount air jordan 13 men ."
Frank's voice dropped a bit. "When the weather was bad he would drive me to school. He had this old truck that he used in his fishing business. That truck was older than he was. It would wheeze and rattle down the road. You could hear it coming for blocks. As he would drive toward the school,I would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear. Half the time, he would slam to a stop and the old truck would belch a cloud of smoke. He would pull right up in front, and it seemed like everybody would be standing around and watching. Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here, I was 12 years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me goodbye!"
He paused and then went on, "I remember the day I decided I was too old for a goodbye kiss. When we got to the school and came to a stop, he had his usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put my hand up and said, 'No, Dad.'
It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had this surprised look on his face.
I said, 'Dad, I'm too old for a goodbye kiss. I'm too old for any kind of kiss cheap air jordan 13 .'
My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up. I had never seen him cry. He turned and looked out the windshield. 'You're right,' he said. 'You are a big boy....a man. I won't kiss you anymore.'"
Frank got a funny look on his face, and the tears began to well up in his eyes, as he spoke. "It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back. It was a day when most of the fleet stayed in, but not Dad. He had a big family to feed. They found his boat adrift with its nets half in and half out. He must have gotten into a gale and was trying to save the nets and the floats."
I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks. Frank spoke again. "Guys, you don't know what I would give to have my Dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek....to feel his rough old face....to smell the ocean on him....to feel his arm around my neck. I wish I had been a man then. If I had been a man, I would never have told my Dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss