Corpse Flower

Shortly after the election, the hype in the area turned from politics and to the butterfly garden at Milwaukee Public Museum. In 2002 a Titan Arum was planted, and it was expected to bloom any day. A Titan Arum is also known as the Corpse Flower for the rotting flesh smell given off when the plant blooms.

Saturday evening brought news of the plant collapsing and most had given up hope that it would bloom. However, it did today & you can see it here live. Thankfully, they don't have it hooked up to smell cam...LOL!! I don't know that the refresh is necessary anymore, but before it bloomed the plant grew at a rate of an inch an hour.

There is another Titan Arum in the butterfly garden that could bloom next year. See we aren't all about beer & the bronze Fonz...ROFL!!

Only In Milwaukee

We have some great things in Milwaukee, but we also have some things that are let's just say WEIRD! Well, this goes into the weird category! Love Happy Days and want to see The Fonz in Bronze? Well, you will be able to do that starting Labor Day weekend in Milwaukee. You can read all about it here.

Poor Puppy

This story ran on our local news this evening. Poor little Bella!

Italian Greyhound Needs New Home After Christmas Injury

MILWAUKEE -- A puppy injured over the holidays is looking for a new home to start the new year.

Bella, an Italian greyhound, broke her right front leg during the commotion of opening presents on Christmas morning.

Her owners could not afford the surgery to fix the leg, so they gave her to the Wisconsin Humane Society.

Bella will have the surgery Thursday and will start looking for a new home shortly after that.

The Humane Society is trying to raise the $4,500 it costs for the surgery.

You can get more information about Bella and the fundraising efforts by visiting http://wihumane.org.

from: themilwaukeechannel.com

Brittany the Elephant Gets New Friend

She has been alone at the Milwaukee County Zoo since Lucy died in September. She now has a new friend!

Milwaukee County Zoo Elephant Gets New Friend
December 15, 2006

A 26-year old African elephant named Ruth just arrived at the zoo from her former home in Brownsville, Texas.

Ruth will be company for Brittany, who has been alone since her companion Lucy died at the Milwaukee County Zoo in September.

"We wanted a good companion for Brittany, and Ruth met all that criteria, and more. It turns out that Ruth's companion had died, and so Ruth needed a companion also. So it was a perfect match," a zookeeper told 12 News.

Ruth will be kept in quarantine for 30 days while she gets used to things.

The two elephants can already see and hear each other from their separate enclosures, and they are starting to get acquainted.

source: TheMilwaukeeChannel.com

Chocolate Milk After Exercise?

It sounds good to me! I HATE those sports drinks and always need something more than water after a workout. My body always seems to want something in the dairy family. Could this be the answer for me?

Fitness News
From the: Journal Sentinel
Posted: Sept. 17, 2006
Chocolate milk may speed your recovery

For a lot of people who do endurance activities, the longer they are out exercising, the more they think about the food and drink they want to consume when they get done.

How about chocolate milk?

A new study suggests that chocolate milk is an effective post-exercise recovery drink and an inexpensive alternative to traditional fluid replacement and carbohydrate replacement drinks.

The study involved nine endurance cyclists who exercised to exhaustion and drank either low-fat chocolate milk; Gatorade (a fluid replacement drink) or Endurox (a carbohydrate replacement drink).

The cyclists who drank chocolate milk during a rest period were able to bike nearly twice as long than those who drank the Endurox and as long as those who drank the Gatorade. The researchers speculated that chocolate milk had a beneficial combination of carbohydrate and protein.

"Our study indicates that chocolate milk is a strong alternative to some commercial recovery aids in helping athletes recover from strenuous, energy-depleting exercise," co-author, Joel Stager, a professor of kinesiology at Indiana University, said in a statement. "Chocolate contains an optimal carbohydrate to protein ratio."

A 154-pound male would need to drink 17 to 27 ounces of chocolate milk to meet recommendations for post-exercise carbohydrate. A 132-pound female would need to drink 14.5 to 23 ounces.

The study, which appeared in the International of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, was funded, in part, by the Dairy and Nutrition Council.

Milwaukee County Zoo's Lucy

Earlier today, I heard some news that made me a bit sad. Lucy the Elephant had to be put to be put down this morning.

Zoo Euthanizes Lucy the Elephant
The Associated Press

Published: September 1, 2006

Lucy the elephant, believed to be the world's fourth-oldest African elephant in captivity, was euthanized Friday morning after staffers found her lying down in her stall, the Milwaukee County Zoo said.

The medical staff had recently decided that if the 46-year-old elephant were found lying down again, she would be euthanized, spokeswoman Jennifer Diliberti said.

In June, Lucy became ill and was unable to stand up in the African exhibit yard. A crane was brought in to lift the 9,000-pound (4,050-kilogram) animal to her feet; she struggled for a few days after that but improved.

Diliberti said Lucy was found lying down in late July but was able to get up on her own.

Brittany, Lucy's companion and the only other elephant at the zoo, was allowed in Lucy's stall after she was euthanized so she could grieve, Diliberti said.

She said the zoo hopes to get another elephant soon as a companion for Brittany, who is in her late 20s. Lucy spent 44 years at the zoo.

"It's just so sad but she had a good, long life here so that's good," Diliberti said.

Needless to say, she has been there longer than I can remember. Her yard was one of my favorite stops at the zoo.

source: iht.com

Very Vera

I was excited to hear this. I like her style...

KOHL'S AND VERA WANG ANNOUNCE EXCLUSIVE NEW COLLECTION
Introducing Very Vera by Vera Wang

MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis., August 24, 2006 — Kohl's Corporation (NYSE:KSS) is teaming up with Vera Wang to create Very Vera by Vera Wang - as a premium fashion and lifestyle brand. The exclusive brand will be available in all Kohl's stores and on Kohls.com starting Fall 2007.

The Very Vera by Vera Wang brand is licensed by a subsidiary of Vera Wang Group to Kohl's under a long-term agreement. Kohl's will be the exclusive provider and marketer in the United States of all Very Vera by Vera Wang merchandise such as sportswear, intimate apparel, handbags, leather accessories, jewelry, footwear, linens and towels.

"The Very Vera by Vera Wang brand will retain my personal design sensibility of a relaxed effortless approach to fashion," Vera Wang states. "I am thrilled to create a collection of creative lifestyle and apparel products for Kohl's. This new partnership with Kohl's, a company with incredible integrity and trust in the marketplace, is a true honor."

source: kohl's.com

Race Fan Fashion for A Cause

I ran across the article below on jsonline.com today.
Track Couture, a Memphis company, usually produces clothing inspired by NASCAR and racing. But this time the inspiration is personal. Kathleen Smith, co-founder of the company, has unveiled a new T-shirt in memory of her late sister, Wendy Smith Rice, who died unexpectedly last year.

Smith Rice died from Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) Type 2, which causes more than 3,000 sudden, unexplained deaths in the United States every year.

The shirt, a white, long-sleeve tee with black sleeves and a checkered pink and black heart in the front, was designed to raise awareness about the disease and raise money for related medical research.

The shirts sell for $29.99, of which $19.99 will be donated to the Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes (SADS) Foundation. For more information, visit www.trackcouture.com/charity.aspx. - Vikki Ortiz


It may be because I am living a rock (lol), but this is the first time I have heard of Track Couture! Fashion for race fans? I think I am in love!!!

The list of drivers they have merchandise for is limited, but my guy (Tony Stewart) is available. I am going to have to take a long look at the site and pick out some new race day gear.

How about Race Royalty or Pit Lizard? :)

JTRS Lovers: Remember Karner Blue?

The 2002 Event Shoe that was inspired by the endangered Karner blue butterfly. Well, here's a bit from a story that was in our paper today...



A Nudge for Nature
Wisconsin program nurtures the flowers that feed the endangered Karner blue butterfly
By MEG JONES

Willard - The pale blue butterfly - hardly bigger than a nickel - fluttered and flitted at the side of the Clark County road dotted with lupine and other wildflowers.

It's no wonder the Karner blue butterfly was sticking close to the lupines, because the purple flower is breakfast, lunch and dinner for the endangered species during its larval stage. As a small caterpillar, the creature eats only wild lupine, snacking on the flower's leaves and leaving behind tiny marks like miniature window panes.

You can read the complete story here.