Just Ducky

Abandoned ducklings raised in a teacup!

Baby ducks, washed out to sea, rescued by a passing canoeist and nursed back to health IN A TEACUP.

Sweet Christmas, look at that! That is the cutest thing I have ever seen, ever. Those of you with too many teacups (like me) should clearly consider alternate uses. Like baby duck-raising.

(via Cute Overload)

Australians love teabagging

An op-ed in the Sydney Morning Herald decries the state of Australian tea culture. Apparently Australia is full of foodies, but few carry their standards through to tea. The author seems particularly horrified by the prevalence of tea bags over loose tea:

The tea inside the bag has been pulverised so it instantly colours the hot water. You jiggle a little, using much the same motion as a gentleman rearranging his testicles, and then sup the bland result. There's not much flavour, and hardly any of the deeply restorative aroma that comes with properly brewed tea.

Australia, you may not have access to a wide variety of fresh leaf teas in the grocery stores, but at least you have teabagging jokes in your mainstream media.

Any Australians have thoughts on the matter?

Splash! Sip! Tea Isn't Just for Grandmas Anymore!

So, I enjoy comic books. And there's sort of a running joke in the comic book community about how every six months or so a newspaper will write an article called "Bang! Pow! Comics Aren't Just for Kids Anymore!" Now, since the grim-and-gritty era of superhero comics is generally accepted to have begun in 1986 (with Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore's Watchmen), this really should not count as news.

That's kind of how I felt when I saw this article on the popularity of tea.

Tea, trendy? Aaram Millones, owner of the Earth and Tea Café on Main Street, thinks so.

"They say tea is the new wine," he said.

It’s hard to argue with his claim about your grandma’s favorite beverage: In the past 18 months, Harrisonburg has gotten two tea shops within a block of each other.

Tea is gaining popularity? Stop the presses!

Jackie Chan sez: Green tea = awesome!

First, go read the article. Finished? Okay, what did you think?

a. Wow, I'm going to buy that product right now!
b. Wow, celebrity endorsements are good, but celebrity endorsements by Chinese people are even better!
c. Wow, that guy must get a kickback from the company, because no one can be that enthusiastic about a powdered drink without financial gain!

Jesus, why don't they just call it "JACKIE CHAN'S MAGICAL ANTI-CANCER JUICE" and be done with it? Let's break this down:

1. Antioxidants may have some positive health effects. This does not mean that more of them makes you healthier.
2. Are people still doing the low-carb thing? I thought whole grains were the new black in diet-land.
3. Seriously? Jackie Chan is qualified to tell us what makes good green tea because he's from China? I just. Gaah.

Forget it. Here, check out Sir Thomas Lipton's MySpace Page instead. I think we have reached the logical extreme of fake celebrities on MySpace, you guys.

Airplane safety goes to pot

Aircraft crew uses teapot to fix malfunction

An RAF Kinloss spokeswoman said there was a malfunction with a hatch from which sonar buoys are thrown during search and rescue missions.

The spokeswoman said: "There was a minor malfunction with the hatch cover and the teapot would have been used to make it more comfortable for the crew."

The article focuses on safety concerns, but I think they're missing the real story. They repaired an airplane with a teapot. That is totally awesome.

Lipton: not evil!

Lipton to partner with the Kenya Tea Development Agency to improve local tea production standards.

Jack Newnham, Seniour[sic] manger, Emerging Market Group (EMG), the group managing BLCF funds said that the funds are aimed at projects that develop new or existing business linkages, there by improving business opportunities and incomes of small holder farming communities.

"The funds will finance practical programmes for education, training and piloting of Sustainable Agriculture practices within the small holder tea segment in Kenya," said Newnham.

The project will see farmers adopt a code of practice that delivers ethically, socially, and environmentally produced tea to KTDA customers.

Okay, I pretty much never drink Lipton (they give it to us free at my office, which is why I bring in my own tea), but how fabulous is this? As much as I like buying fair trade organic tea from locally owned small businesses, it's the giant multinational companies who can really make a difference when they decide to support sustainable practices.

What do you think, Celine Dion?



Two thumbs up for Lipton and its parent company Unilever!