CATS & DOGS PARTY @ T.R.A.C.S

The last outside party on River Island and this time at the Greenhouse and Cattery parcel of the sim.

Cattery and Greenhouse at River Island

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/River%20Island/151/216/23

CATS & DOGS chapter III

Cat

The domestic cat (Felis catus or Felis silvestris catus) is a small, usually furry, domesticated, and carnivorous mammal. It is often called the housecat when kept as an indoor pet or simply the cat when there is no need to distinguish it from other felids and felines. Cats are often valued by humans for companionship and their ability to hunt vermin and household pests.

Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with strong, flexible bodies, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. Cat senses fit a crepuscular and predatory ecological niche. Cats can hear sounds too faint or too high in frequency for human ears, such as those made by mice and other small game. They can see in near darkness. Like most other mammals, cats have poorer color vision and a better sense of smell than humans.

Despite being solitary hunters, cats are a social species, and cat communication includes the use of a variety of vocalizations (meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling and grunting) as well as cat pheromones and types of cat-specific body language.

Cats have a rapid breeding rate. Under controlled breeding, they can be bred and shown as registered pedigree pets, a hobby known as cat fancy. Failure to control the breeding of pet cats by spaying and neutering, and the abandonment of former household pets, has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, requiring population control.

Since cats were cult animals in ancient Egypt, they were commonly believed to have been domesticated there, but there may have been instances of domestication as early as the Neolithic.

A genetic study in 2007 revealed that domestic cats are descended from African wildcats (Felis silvestris lybica) c. 8000 BCE, in the Middle East. According to Scientific American, cats are the most popular pet in the world, and are now found almost every place where people live.

Dog

The domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a subspecies of the gray wolf (Canis lupus), a member of the Canidae family of the mammalian order Carnivora. The term "domestic dog" is generally used for both domesticated and feral varieties. The dog was the first domesticated animal and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and pet animal in human history. The word "dog" can also refer to the male of a canine species, as opposed to the word "bitch" which refers to the female of the species.

MtDNA * evidence shows an evolutionary split between the modern dog's lineage and the modern wolf's lineage around 100,000 years ago but, as of 2013, the oldest fossil specimens genetically linked to the modern dog's lineage date to approximately 33,000–36,000 years ago. Dogs' value to early human hunter-gatherers led to them quickly becoming ubiquitous across world cultures. Dogs perform many roles for people, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and military, companionship, and, more recently, aiding handicapped individuals. This impact on human society has given them the nickname "man's best friend" in the Western world. In some cultures, however, dogs are also a source of meat. In 2001, there were estimated to be 400 million dogs in the world.

Most breeds of dogs are at most a few hundred years old, having been artificially selected for particular morphologies and behaviors by people for specific functional roles. Through this selective breeding, the dog has developed into hundreds of varied breeds, and shows more behavioral and morphological variation than any other land mammal. For example, height measured to the withers ranges from 15.2 centimetres (6.0 in) in the Chihuahua to about 76 cm (30 in) in the Irish Wolfhound; color varies from white through grays (usually called "blue") to black, and browns from light (tan) to dark ("red" or "chocolate") in a wide variation of patterns; coats can be short or long, coarse-haired to wool-like, straight, curly, or smooth. It is common for most breeds to shed this coat.

* (Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Most of the rest of the DNA present in eukaryotic cells can be found in the cell nucleus, and in plants, the chloroplast as well.)

I Have a Dream (Martin Luther King)

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King ended his landmark 
“I have a dream” speech 50 years ago. 

"I Have a Dream" is a public speech delivered by American clergyman and activist Martin Luther King, Jr. on August 28, 1963, in which he called for an end to racism in the United States. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington, the speech was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement.

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today."

I Have a Dream that one day we all will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. 
Christo

CATS & DOGS chapter II

Classic Rock & Pop Songs about Dogs and Cats

A small selection

How Much Is That Doggie In The Window? by Patti Page

"How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?" is a popular novelty song published as having been written by Bob Merrill in 1952 and very loosely based on the folk tune, Carnival of Venice. The best-known version of the song was the original, recorded by Patti Page on December 18, 1952 and released in January 1953 by Mercury

Year Of The Cat, by Al Stewart

"Year of the Cat" is the seventh studio album by Al Stewart, released in 1976 and engineered by Alan Parsons; it is considered his masterpiece, its sales helped by the hit single "Year of the Cat", "one of those 'mysterious woman' songs," co-written by Peter Wood. The other single from the album was "On the Border". Stewart wrote "Lord Grenville" about the Elizabethan sailor and explorer Sir Richard Grenville (1542–1591).

Cat Scratch Fever, by Ted Nugent

"Cat Scratch Fever" (1977) is the third studio album by American guitarist Ted Nugent and his band, as well as the name of the album's title song. Vocalist Derek St. Holmes, who had left the band during the recording of the album Free-for-All, had come back for touring in 1976 and was again the lead singer on this album.

Black Dog, by Led Zeppelin

"Black Dog" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, the opening track on their fourth album (1971). It was released as a single in the U.S.A and in Australia with "Misty Mountain Hop" as the B-side, reaching #15 on Billboard and #11 in Australia.

In 2010, the song was ranked #300 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Music sociologist Deena Weinstein calls "Black Dog" "one of the most instantly recognisable Led Zeppelin tracks".

Cat's In The Cradle, by Harry Chapin

"Cat's in the Cradle" is a 1974 folk rock song by Harry Chapin from the album Verities & Balderdash. The single topped the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1974 and also peaked at number six on the Easy Listening chart. As Chapin's only #1 hit song, it became the best known of his work and a staple for folk rock music.

The Love Cats, by The Cure

"The Love Cats" is a 1983 single by The Cure. It was the band's first Top 10 hit in the UK, peaking at number seven, and also hit number six in Australia. It later appeared on the compilation album Japanese Whispers. The original UK-only single appears to list the title as "The Lovecats", as do various compilations.

I love my dog. by Cat Stevens

"I Love My Dog" is a song written by Cat Stevens, and it was his first single (b/w "Portobello Road"), showing up on his debut album, Matthew and Son. Stevens later acknowledged that the song has been inspired by Yusef Lateef's "The Plum Blossom" (from Eastern Sounds) with which it shares a melody.

CATS & DOGS chapter I

Raining Cats and Dogs

Meaning

Raining very heavily

Origin

Although there's no definitive origin, there is a likely derivation.

The phrase isn't related to the well-known antipathy between dogs and cats, which is exemplified in the phrase 'fight like cat and dog'. Nor is the phrase in any sense literal, that is, it doesn't record an incident where cats and dogs fell from the sky. Small creatures, of the size of frogs or fish, do occasionally get carried skywards in freak weather. 

Rain of flightless animals and objects has been reported throughout history. In first Century AD, Roman naturalist Pliny The Elder has documented storms of frogs and fishes. In 1794, French soldiers witnessed fall of toads from the Sky during heavy rain at Lalain, near French city of Lille. In 1857, people from Lake County in California reported fall of Sugar crystals from the Sky.

Impromptu involuntary flight must also happen to dogs or cats from time to time, but there's no record of groups of them being scooped up in that way and causing this phrase to be coined. Not that we need to study English meteorological records for that - it's plainly implausible.

One supposed origin is that the phrase derives from mythology. Dogs and wolves were attendants to Odin, the god of storms, and sailors associated them with rain. Witches, who often took the form of their familiars - cats, are supposed to have ridden the wind. Well, some evidence would be nice. There doesn't appear to be any to support this notion.

 It has also been suggested that cats and dogs were washed from roofs during heavy weather. This is a widely repeated tale. It got a new lease of life with the e-mail message "Life in the 1500s", which began circulating on the Internet in 1999. Here's the relevant part of that:

I'll describe their houses a little. You've heard of thatch roofs, well that's all they were. Thick straw, piled high, with no wood underneath. They were the only place for the little animals to get warm. So all the pets; dogs, cats and other small animals, mice, rats, bugs, all lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery so sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Thus the saying, "it's raining cats and dogs."

This is nonsense of course. It hardly needs debunking but, lest there be any doubt, let's do that anyway. In order to believe this tale we would have to accept that dogs lived in thatched roofs, which, of course, they didn't. Even accepting that bizarre idea, for dogs to have slipped off when it rained they would have needed to be sitting on the outside of the thatch - hardly the place an animal would head for as shelter in bad weather.

Another suggestion is that 'raining cats and dogs' comes from a version of the French word 'catadoupe', meaning waterfall. Again, no evidence. If the phrase were just 'raining cats', or even if there also existed a French word 'dogadoupe', we might be going somewhere with this one. As there isn't, let's pass this by.

There's a similar phrase originating from the North of England - 'raining stair-rods'. No one has gone to the effort of speculating that this is from mythic reports of stairs being carried into the air in storms and falling on gullible peasants. It's just a rather expressive phrase giving a graphic impression of heavy rain - as is 'raining cats and dogs'.

The much more probable source of 'raining cats and dogs' is the prosaic fact that, in the filthy streets of 17th/18th century England, heavy rain would occasionally carry along dead animals and other debris. The animals didn't fall from the sky, but the sight of dead cats and dogs floating by in storms could well have caused the coining of this colourful phrase. Jonathan Swift described such an event in his satirical poem 'A Description of a City Shower', first published in the 1710 collection of the Tatler magazine. The poem was a denunciation of contemporary London society and its meaning has been much debated. While the poem is metaphorical and doesn't describe a specific flood, it seems that, in describing water-borne animal corpses, Swift was referring to an occurrence that his readers would have been well familiar with:

Now in contiguous Drops the Flood comes down,

 Threat'ning with Deluge this devoted Town.

 ...

 Now from all Parts the swelling Kennels flow,

 And bear their Trophies with them as they go:

 Filth of all Hues and Odours seem to tell

 What Street they sail'd from, by their Sight and Smell.

 They, as each Torrent drives, with rapid Force,

 From Smithfield or St. Pulchre's shape their Course,

 And in huge Confluent join'd at Snow-Hill Ridge,

 Fall from the Conduit, prone to Holbourn-Bridge.

 Sweeping from Butchers Stalls, Dung, Guts, and Blood,

 Drown'd Puppies, stinking Sprats, all drench'd in Mud,

 Dead Cats and Turnip-Tops come tumbling down the Flood.

We do know that the phrase was in use in a modified form in 1653, when Richard Brome's comedy The City Wit or The Woman Wears the Breeches referred to stormy weather with the line:

"It shall raine... Dogs and Polecats".

Polecats aren't cats as such but the jump between them in linguistic rather than veterinary terms isn't large and it seems clear that Broome's version was essentially the same phrase. The first appearance of the currently used version is in Jonathan Swift’s A Complete Collection of Polite and Ingenious Conversation in 1738:

"I know Sir John will go, though he was sure it would rain cats and dogs".

The fact that Swift had alluded to the streets flowing with dead cats and dogs some years earlier and now used 'rain cats and dogs' explicitly is good evidence that poor sanitation was the source of the phrase as we now use it.

Why “cats and dogs”?

Again, we don’t know for certain. Etymologists—people who study the origins of words—have suggested a variety of mythological and literal explanations for why people say “it’s raining cats and dogs” to describe a heavy downpour. Here are some of the popular theories:

• Odin, the Norse god of storms, was often pictured with dogs and wolves, which were symbols of wind. Witches, who supposedly rode their brooms during storms, were often pictured with black cats, which became signs of heavy rain for sailors. Therefore, “raining cats and dogs” may refer to a storm with wind (dogs) and heavy rain (cats).
•  “Cats and dogs” may come from the Greek expression cata doxa, which means “contrary to experience or belief.” If it is raining cats and dogs, it is raining unusually or unbelievably hard.
• “Cats and dogs” may be a perversion of the now obsolete word catadupe. In old English, catadupe meant a cataract or waterfall. A version of catadupe existed in many old languages.In Latin, for example, catadupa. was borrowed from the classical Greek κατάδουποι, which referred to the cataracts of the Nile River. So, to say it’s raining “cats and dogs” might be to say it’s raining waterfalls.
• A false theory stated that cats and dogs used to cuddle into thatch roofs during storms and then be washed out during heavy rains. However, a properly maintained thatch roof is naturally water resistant and slanted to allow water to run off. In order to slip off the roof, the animals would have to be lying on the outside—an unlikely place for an animal to seek shelter during a storm.

source: The Phrase Finder

           Everyday Mysteries

           WikiPedia

To rez or not to rez: that is the question 17

Yesterday at Sweetgrass 

 ▲▼ a not, in my view, totally rezzed Aitalas.

▲▼ Aita next to his bf Gay

Safe Sex Party in SWEETGRASS

My lower part of the trunk was surgically removed to protect me for any Sexually transmitted diseases (STD). Sure I had to keep my mouth shut and that was the toughest job, Sunday at the safe sex party in Sweetgrass. But all these sacrificing made me a winner.

Picture made by Ganymede.

more pictures of the party on the sweetgrass blog at:

http://sweetgrassparties.weebly.com/index.html

TATTOO PARTY at T.R.A.C.S

Almost I had to annul the party when the hired deejay had to cancel his gig at the last minute because of real life issues. None of our regular deejays, which been online, could substitute.

So I asked DJ Spike. Spike was never DJ at T.R.A.C.S but after a short some time to think it through, he agreed.

To my surprise and what make it even more a great day, our Polish guest did return.

I thanked a few for her or his return and they said that they were happy to be back.

So it was no problem to bring up the 
"mister T.R.A.C.S" statue for the photo shoot at the end of the party.

Here are the pictures I made.

▲ on the left DJ Spike

▲▼ overview

 ▲▼ photo shoot with "Mister T.R.A.C.S"

TATTOO PARTY at T.R.A.C.S

TATTOO 

My first tattoo

 a number on my inner arm,

 removed

 as soon as I was able.

 The scar remained,

 covered up.

The next tattoo

 My lover's name

 Embedded in a rose.

 He died in my arms.

 I added words............

........"I Love You"

The third tattoo

 A dragon coiled

 Around my thigh,

 Caressed

 By loving hands -

 My husband's choice.

My last tattoo

 My name and number

 To help you

 To return me -

 If I'm found.

© Diana Grant      13 March 2008

TATTOO chapter III

Tattoo failures

Then you decide to take a tattoo but forgot to check if the tattoo artist not has dyslexia.

Is that not Jimi Hendrix?

 Regrets seems to be a word that is often be misspelled. I think they did regret......

TATTOO chapter II

A tattoo is a form of body modification, made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment.

History of the word

The Oxford English Dictionary gives the etymology of tattoo as, 

"In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. From Polynesian tatau. In Tahitian, tatu." The word tatau was introduced as a loan word into English; its pronunciation was changed to conform to English phonology as "tattoo". Sailors on later voyages both introduced the word and reintroduced the concept of tattooing to Europe.

The first written reference to the word, "tattoo" (or Samoan "Tatau") appears in the journal of Joseph Banks (24 February 1743 – 19 June 1820), the naturalist aboard Captain Cook's ship the HMS Endeavour: "I shall now mention the way they mark themselves indelibly, each of them is so marked by their humor or disposition".

The word "tattoo" was brought to Europe by the explorer James Cook, when he returned in 1771 from his first voyage to Tahiti and New Zealand. In his narrative of the voyage, he refers to an operation called "tattaw". Before this it had been described as scarring, painting, or staining.

Tattoo enthusiasts may refer to tattoos as "ink", "pieces", "skin art", "tattoo art", "tats", or "work"; to the creators as "tattoo artists", "tattooers", or "tattooists"; and to places where they work as "tattoo shops", "tattoo studios", or "tattoo parlours".

Usage of the terms "skin art", "tattoo art", "pieces", and work" is gaining greater support, with mainstream art galleries holding exhibitions of both conventional and custom tattoo designs. Beyond Skin, at the Museum of Croydon, is an example of this as it challenges the stereotypical view of tattoos and who has them. Copyrighted tattoo designs that are mass-produced and sent to tattoo artists are known as "flash", a notable instance of industrial design. Flash sheets are prominently displayed in many tattoo parlors for the purpose of providing both inspiration and ready-made tattoo images to customers.

The Japanese word irezumi means "insertion of ink" and can mean tattoos using tebori, the traditional Japanese hand method, a Western-style machine, or for that matter, any method of tattooing using insertion of ink. The most common word used for traditional Japanese tattoo designs is Horimono. Japanese may use the word "tattoo" to mean non-Japanese styles of tattooing.

Anthropologist Ling Roth in 1900 described four methods of skin marking and suggested they be differentiated under the names "tatu", "moko", "cicatrix", and "keloid".

History

Tattooing has been practiced for centuries in many cultures, particularly in Asia, and spread throughout the world. The Ainu, an indigenous people of Japan, traditionally had facial tattoos, as did the Austroasians whose language spread from Taiwan into southern China and southeast Asia. Today, one can find Atayal, Seediq, Truku, and Saisiyat of Taiwan, Berbers of Tamazgha (North Africa), Yoruba, Fulani and Hausa people of Nigeria, and Māori of New Zealand with facial tattoos.

Tattooing was popular in southern China and among the Polynesians, as well asamong certain tribal groups in Africa, Borneo, Cambodia, Europe, Japan, the Mentawai Islands, MesoAmerica, New Zealand, North America and South America, the Philippines, and Taiwan. The modern revival in tattooing stems from the voyage of Captain James Cook in the late 1700s. Cook's Science Officer and Expedition Botanist, Sir Joseph Banks, returned to England with a tattoo. Banks was a highly regarded member of the English aristocracy and had acquired his position with Cook by putting up what was at the time the princely sum of some ten thousand pounds in the expedition. In turn, Cook brought back with him a tattooed Raiatean man, Omai, whom he presented to King George and the English Court. Many of Cook's men, ordinary seamen and sailors, came back with tattoos, a tradition that would soon become associated with men of the sea in the public's mind and the press of the day. In the process sailors and seamen re-introduced the practice of tattooing in Europe and it spread rapidly to seaports around the globe.

As many tattoos were stimulated by Polynesian and Japanese examples, amateur tattoo artists were in great demand in port cities all over the world, especially by European and American sailors. The first documented professional tattoo artist in the USA was Martin Hildebrandt, a German immigrant who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1846. Between 1861 and 1865, he tattooed soldiers on both sides in the American Civil War. The first documented professional tattooist in Britain was established in Liverpool in the 1870s. Tattooing was an expensive and painful process, and by the 1870s had become a mark of wealth for the crowned heads of Europe.

Since the 1970s, tattoos have become a mainstream part of Western fashion, common among both sexes, to all economic classes, and to age groups from the later teen years to middle age. For many young Americans, the tattoo has taken on a decidedly different meaning than for previous generations. The tattoo has "undergone dramatic redefinition" and has shifted from a form of deviance to an acceptable form of expression. In 2010, 25% of Australians under age 30 had tattoos.

TATTOO chapter I

"Tattoo" is a song by American recording artist Jordin Sparks, taken from her self-titled debut album. Written by Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench and Stargate, with the latter also producing the song, "Tattoo" was released on August 27, 2007 as the lead single from the album.

"Tattoo" received mixed to positive reviews from critics, who noted its similarities to Beyoncé's 2006 hit, "Irreplaceable". The song peaked inside the top ten in the United States, Australia and Canada, and reached the top twenty in New Zealand and Germany. It has since been certified platinum in Australia and the United States. The song's music video premiered on Yahoo! Music on November 2, 2007. It was directed by Matthew Rolston and features a cameo appearance from sixth season American Idol runner-up, Blake Lewis. A second music video for "Tattoo" was directed by Scott Speer and released only in European countries in September 2008, due to the song failing to make an impact on the singles charts there.

Jordin Sparks

Jordin Brianna Sparks (born December 22, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. In 2007, she came to prominence after winning the sixth season of American Idol; at age 17, she became the youngest winner in the series' history. Her self-titled debut album was released later that year; it was certified platinum by the RIAA and has sold over two million copies worldwide. The album spawned US Billboard Hot 100 top ten singles "Tattoo" and "No Air"; the latter is currently the third highest-selling single by any American Idol contestant, selling over three million digital copies in the US. The song earned Sparks her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

"Tattoo" was written by Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench and Norwegian production team StarGate, with the latter also producing the track. According to Sparks, she loved the song the first time she heard it and immediately wanted to record it. In an interview with Digital Spy, she spoke of the song saying:

"Tattoo's a song that can go so many different ways. Some people think of it as a break-up song, but, for me, it's about somebody who comes into your life and really touches you - be they a friend, a family member or someone you're in a relationship with. You know, with that kind of person, you can't just erase them from your memory if things go wrong. They're stuck there like a tattoo."

Music video

The European version of the music video was directed by Scott Speer and was filmed to coincide with the song's re-release in Europe, due to the lack of interest of the original. The video was released in September 2008. It features Sparks in a room with several other people, at what appears to be a college gathering. As she begins to sing, Sparks is shown with a "love" tattoo on her upper arm, as vines draw themselves down her arm. Following this, the ink begins to appear on the others and the floors of the room, creating tattoos in the process. Some of the people in the room are couples, and the tattoos seem to bring them closer. The created tattoos depict images and words, such as a heart or the words "free" and "peace." Sparks is also shown by herself in an empty room, with a mirror covering the wall throughout. During one point, Sparks self-consciously looks in the mirror, coinciding with the song lyric "when I looked in the mirror, didn't deliver." There are also recurring shots of Sparks in another room against a green wall.

Tattoo Lyrics

Oh, oh, oh

No matter what you say about love

 I keep coming back for more

 Keep my hand in the fire

 Sooner or later, I'll get what I'm asking for

No matter what you say about life

 I learn every time I bleed

 That truth is a stranger

 Soul is in danger, I gotta let my spirit be free

To admit that I'm wrong

 And then change my mind

 Sorry but I have to move on

 And leave you behind

[Chorus]

 I can't waste time so give it a moment

 I realize, nothing's broken

 No need to worry 'bout everything I've done

 Live every second like it was my last one

 Don't look back got a new direction

 I loved you once, needed protection

 You're still a part of everything I do

 You're on my heart just like a tattoo

(Just like a tattoo, I'll always have you

 I'll always have you, I'll always have you)

I'm sick of playing all of these games

 It's not about taking sides

 When I looked in the mirror, didn't deliver

 It hurt enough to think that I could

Stop, admit that I'm wrong

 And then change my mind

 Sorry but I gotta be strong

 And leave you behind

[Chorus]

(Just like a tattoo, I'll always have you

 I'll always have you)

[Bridge]

 If I live every moment

 Won't change any moment

 Still a part of me and you

 I will never regret you

 Still the memory of you

 Marks everything i do

[Chorus X2]

Just like a tattoo

 I'll always have you

Swiss Party in Sweetgrass

Same as Saturday at our party, there were also at Sweetgrass fewer guests than normally.

Is it the theme, the deejay or just a coincidence? It is difficult to explain in any case.

For the second week in row I was one of the winners.

On 17 November 1825, the Swiss chocolatier Philippe Suchard (1797–1884) established a pâtisserie in Neuchâtel, where he sold a hand-made dessert named chocolat fin de sa fabrique and began manufacturing chocolates the next year. In 1901 the Suchard company had the Milka trademark registered. According to the official site www.milka.co.uk, the name is derived from combining Milch and Kakao, which are the German terms for milk and cocoa, chocolate's primary ingredients. However, Croatian sources claim it to be a tribute to Carl Russ-Suchard's admiration of Richard Wagner interpretations by Milka Ternina (1863–1941), a famous soprano of the time. The chocolates are distinctively packaged in purple.

The brand has a well-known symbol, a Purple Cow, which is a lilac coloured Simmental cattle (Fleckvieh) which are normally brown-white, with a completely white face. A cow was already depicted on the early chocolate packing in 1901 and appeared in billboard advertising from the 1950s onwards. A first ad campaign displaying a dyed living cow was launched by Young & Rubicam in 1972. Today the Milka Cow sports a bell around her neck, and is usually shown in an Alpine meadow surrounding.

 ▲▼ Tim and me.

 ▼ Picture of the winners made by Norbie.

More pictures, for one week, at: http://sweetgrassparties.weebly.com/index.html