Here’s a site to get the heart rate up on a lazy Saturday morning. It’s GlobalIncidentMap.com, which compiles “terrorism events and other suspicious activity” on a graphic map with live streaming headlines. All the details are combined with Google Maps to show exactly where the incidents have happened.

Meanwhile, my friend Gene Stoltzfus has some thoughtful observations on the talks between the U.S. and Iran as well as the problems that will emerge at the inevitable point when our war in Iraq ends.

While musing about Gene’s comments, I ran into Iraqi Bloggers Central, a blog that tracks Iraqi bloggers. It offers a quick overview of the blogging landscape.

This was the scene yesterday afternoon here at home when Ms. Harry (a.k.a. Harriet) woke from a cat nap to discover the wandering peacock sitting on the railing of our front deck. This is not the kind of bird that she is used to confronting. Turns out that this peacock is people friendly. It didn’t flinch when I went out with camera and waiting while I set down a dish of leftover cat food, which it then politely devoured. I wonder if the peacock’s presence will roust the roosters from parts of the yard? If so, I would encourage this critter to hang around. Unfortunately, he did not display his plumage while here, although he unfurled it later in the afternoon at another home just up the hill.

Oh, the downside. That piercing peacock call can be heard echoing through the Kaaawa silence beginning not long after 3 a.m.

Yesterday was also Multicultural Day at Kaaawa Elementary School, where students put on a program of dance ranging from hula through western line dancing to the twist. Each grade had their own mini-production, all of which evidenced a lot of work. I threw together a collection of photos. Just click on the preview for more.