Chickens have a special place in their chicken hearts for common people.

There are really no words that can express how happy I was to have stumbled upon this.

Flight of the Conchords is my new favorite show ever.

I am so not the first person to post this video from Flight of the Conchords, but I can't help it. They're that good...(oh, if any of my cousins are looking at this with their kids, I have a sneaking suspicion that you will want to provide whatever your level of censorship you desire for the rather creative lyrics.)

BIG NEWS.

This is the 100th post on Chicken Diction and that is BIG NEWS. Big like this...

So it calls for some BIG celebration. Like this...

Oh Groundhog Day...

Chickens in the News! #3

I'm not sure exactly how this is news, but it was in the news.

Blessed chick: Hen that lays green eggs
Associated Press
Wednesday, January,30 2008 (Mexico city):

Ordinary-looking hen with brown feathers has become a celebrity in Cuautitlan, a small village north of Mexico City, because every day she lays an egg with a green shell.

At first glance, Rabanita looks no different from the other chickens in the yard.

"Since the December 5 she has been laying green eggs," said her owner, Elvira Romero.

Romero is a housewife who got the hen as part of a government aid package to help villagers.

"Well, my children say 'Oh Mummy, God looks favourably on you so that you were given as a prize a chicken that lays green eggs'," said Romero with a smile.

So far, there is no explanation for the colour of the eggs.

Romero says that Rabanita does not have a special diet different from the rest of the chickens, just the usual corn, tortillas and chicken feed.

Scientists believe that shell colour - which does not affect the colour or flavour of the yolk or white - is determined by the genes, and say blue or green shells are frequently found in the Araucana chicken strain.

Green egg layers attract a premium in some parts of South America, where poultry breeders aim to produce chickens, which lay nothing else.

Honestly, this is ridiculous. As if this is some sort of new discovery...Reuters obviously is not reading Chicken Diction!

Oh Golden Lanes oh!

Life isn't all about chickens, so we celebrated this past rainy Sunday evening as all rainy Sunday evenings should be celebrated: we went BOWLING. And we dressed up. Because if you can't bowl well, at least you can look good. And drink beer.

Tell us what your gonna do Debbie...

Freja selects a ball.

Riley "Stetson" Merline and Chris "Five-O" Lowen.

Changing bowling names is sometimes more fun than actually bowling.

We were just glad Marie made it out from the black hole of James E. Rodgers Law School.

It's hard to look this good.

Megan "I am sporty" Bartel.

Riley demonstrates his style and skills.

Rock star bowling.

Dear Golden Lanes, we'll see you again soon.

"The sweet sounds of New Zealand sheep," by Chris Lowen.

My brother is a man of many talents, some seen, and some hidden below layers of skin and bones. Here, while on a recent trip down under, he unmasks his innate talent of impersonations, by mimicking the confused sheep of New Zealand. For those long time readers of Chicken Diction, you will remember his partner in crime and life, Megan and her natural abilities in the area of animal sounds as well. This time it was the lonesome cry of the North American buffalo. If you haven't witnessed her great display of animal mimicry, you should really see both the video of Chris below, and Megan's together, so here is the link. May you all enjoy the wonderful sounds of nature!

Local food you should eat.

For all of you in Tucson and looking for a little incentive to visit a local farmer's market, here is a fabulous little clip that aired on Channel 12 about the Santa Cruz River Farmer's Market about five blocks north of my house and the University Farmer's Market. They are just some of the many gems here in the downtown area of Tucson. Hopefully you can find the chance to make it to one or the other of these places. Oh yeah, Mari and I happen to be on a few of the clips at the Santa Cruz Farmer's Market...

If you're not absolutely-totally-demoralized- and-angry, then you're certianly not paying attention.

Famous chickens.

Though it is hard to believe, some chickens are more popular than mine. But only for now, just you wait...

I'm in love with this scene...

It is no surprise to anyone that I am a helpless/hopeless romantic, but this is one of my most favorite new films (somehow Will Ferrel is endearing), and this scene and song has been stuck in my head for days. Now it will be stuck in yours. Enjoy.

Megan does buffalo sounds...

Megan has many talents that you might not have known about. This is one.

A-huevo...

For all you nay-sayers and skeptics out there who thought my short-term love affair with chicken herding was as last year as the atkins diet and democracy, well here I am, and this time with huevos...

It has been a full summer with many technological challenges including a non-functioning camera that mysteriously healed itself like Benny Hinn himself touched it, a burned-out computer hard-drive that crashed after Tshilo touched it, and then the lack of appropriate technology to properly contain the small platoon of hens armed with their very own fertilizer IEDs. Finally, everything is back up and running, and the chickens are on indeterminate large group lock-down thanks the wonders of a petroleum based shade cloth that currently encapsulates the entirety of the fenced-in chicken area. Not only are the chickens eagerly rummaging through the compost as they were always meant to do, they have after only one week of confinement began producing eggs. That's right, all it took was some penal incarceration in order to properly exploit these hens reproductive powers for our nutritional enjoyment.

And though we already had the official "coming out" party (interpret that as you wish) for these illustrious hens of ours back in July, I would like to dedicate the following youtube video to the loss of their egg-laying virginity...

Make a difference...

As everyone (but me it seems) is getting ready to go back to school soon, I wanted to give props to all the amazing teachers out there who work day after day to create opportunities for learning for all of us. This is Taylor Mali, renown slam poet and teacher with some of his own powerful thoughts...

Tucson monsoons.

The last week or so we have gotten heaps of rain in Tucson - some days with over one inch in a single downpour - and the river one block from my house gets pretty large and in charge when that happens. Here you can see the giant wave that was just at the end of my street in the wash.

The other thing that happens when it rains this much is all the garbage of the last few months that has ended up in the washes from roads, drainage, and other foul unspeakable places, is flushed down the river - or sometimes as we see here accumulated together as a wondeful reminder what a dirty wasteful society we are (brought you to by Burger King and Furr's Family Dining). Mmmm....

And here is a mediocre 22 second video of what it looked like last evening after a pretty intense downpour. Remember, for those of you not from Tucson, there is usually only a trickle to no water at all in this wash. It is probably at least 12 feet deep in this video. The quality is only so-so as it was taken with just a regular camera, but you get the idea. (This is my first Youtube video ever. I know it is not that great, but do you think that my brother will become famous now? Man he owes me big time...)

Cray-zee.

So good...even chickens can get down to this - so why can't the rest of our country? For more info go here.

Swamp coolers are great - Exxon Mobile is not.

While the heat index is on its way to 109 this week in Tucson and the collective groans rise from all the shaded spots far and wide, I am becoming increasingly thankful for the magical and refreshing powers of my swamp cooler. And while the the indications of climate change are everywhere, this unfortunately is just southern Arizona at its best in the summertime.

However that has not kept Exxon Mobile (or at least some pseudo-famos folks posing as them) from capitalizing on the negative outcomes of global climate change with their newest alternative to the growing energy crisis. So imagine this: You are one of about 300 oil industry representatives in Calgary, Alberta just last Friday, expecting to hear from Exxon Mobile execs regarding their new product, Vivoleum. The speaker begins to describe the process of utilizing the remains of all the vicitims of climate change as a source of energy, and among other things he says this:

"Vivoleum works in perfect synergy with the continued expansion of fossil fuel production. With more fossil fuels comes a greater chance of disaster, but that means more feedstock for Vivoleum. Fuel will continue to flow for those of us left."

As this big oil executive is speaking, candles are being handed out and you are asked to light yours and pass it along. After all the candles are passed out they play this video...

The Angry Chicken

If we aren't careful, we will one day all be chased by chickens...