Turkey here I come!

Today I will be heading for Turkey.
Enjoying the sunshine, country and culture. And probably visiting some remains of old civilisations. And shooting photo's of course.
I'll be off for a week, so don't expect much posts the upcoming week...
If there is an Internet café, I'll try to give you an update of my whereabouts.
Can't promise anything.

Oh jolly. Excitement :-D

Turkish Sheep

Are there any sheep in Turkey? Well, it is not New-Zealand, Wales or Texel. But they do have sheep. For the wool (the famous Turkish carpets) and the meat (makes great kebab according to some people). And even sheepish artefacts.

For instance, my friend Sheep (that's its name) brought a little stone ram from Turkey when he was there some years ago. In the picture you can see me with that ram.

Take care and love your sheep!

MKZ - The Game

MKZ - The Game is a game developed by a couple of Dutch students of the Utrecht School of the Arts (HKU) for some design course (for virtual theatre and games).
In 2001 there was a Foot and Mouth Disease crisis in The Netherlands. Thousands of sheep had to be annihilated.
Quote from the makers of the game:
It's a tribute to all the animals killed during the recent Foot-and-Mouth-Disease crisis.

MKZ is the abreviation of Mond en Klauwzeer, which is Dutch for Foot and Mouth disease, thus the game is called MKZ - The Game.

What is the game about? Let's cite:
The Story

A farm. All the sheep there have to be killed to prevent Foot and Mouth disease to spread. But these sheep aren't sick. They need to be killed to PREVENT them from getting sick.

These sheep however, are not put down so easily. One of them, Mehetthew, hijacked the crane which is used to get rid of the bodies. However, now this crane can be used to prevent the sheep from getting killed!

It's up to you to pick up the vets who are killing your friends! You take control of the the crane, and grab those evil vets, and prevent them from killing your flock!

You can download a 6MB or 3MB version of the game for pc or mac at MKZ - The Game. It is fun, so enjoy. Save the Sheep!

Pink Sheep

By the way, on the website you can find a small discussion (authors section) on whether or not using pink sheep. Judge for yourself. Pink sheep below...

Where is Youssouf?

Where am I? Since I travel a lot around the world, it can be interesting to know where I am currently.
Another photo shoot diving in the Red Sea?
Chasing wombats in Australia?

In the left column of this weblog you can see where I am right away.
From now on you never have to wonder :-)
Click on the map for a bigger picture.

You can also see it on my home page. In the future you will find there more maps of all countries I have visited. And photo's of all that visits as well...

Mentos the FreshSheeper

No, Youssouf is not commercializing.


But sometimes a commercial on tv just happened to be really cool.
Especially when they have cool sheep in it.
Sheep riding mower-bikes.

You can view the commercial by going to the Mentos site, clicking Mentos Commercial on the right and click the Play Movie button, right next to the sheep on mower-bike thumbnail.


And there are some cool sheep wallpapers from the commercial as well.
You can go to the Mentos site, clicking Mentos Wallpapers. There are two sheep wallpapers, as you can see here. You can also go directly to the wallpapers page. Pick the wallpaper for your screen size.
Or.
Of course, click right below for the wallpapers:
Mentos Biker Sheep: 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, 1280 x 1024.
Mentos Mowing Sheep: 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, 1280 x 1024.

We Say Sheep

Always wanted to know the official definition of sheep according to the leading English dictionary? The entry Sheep in Merriam-Webster Online will tell you more.

Especially interesting is, of course, the official pronunciation of sheep. Click the speaker image on the page or the previous link to hear it :-)

More Traveling Sheep?

Saturday I am leaving town and fly to Turkey.
Another holiday / photoshoot.

But I seem to be not the only traveling sheep around.

Thanks to Peanut-Bear I know that some sheep like to travel through the desert on a motorcycle.
Must be comfortable...

Private Message

Private message for Flapser:
Baaaah baa baaaha baaaah babaah bèèèèh.
Baah. Baahaa ba babaaba aaabaah baah.
Baaa baaaaah. Bèh, baah: baah baah.

And to come to conclusions:
Baaah!


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This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.

Sheep News: Experts to Breed Sheep to Study Disease

Today's sheep news.
In addition to the sheep brain dissection tutorial in my previous post, some news about sheep bred with a brain desease:
"New Zealand researchers said Tuesday they will breed a flock of sheep in Australia that is genetically engineered to suffer Huntingdon's disease, so scientists can study the onset of the debilitating brain disease."

"We'll do very careful chemical studies to see if there is any evidence (of brain cell death in the sheep) before there are any symptoms," he said.

Will those sheep be dumber or more intellegent than mainly assumed?

Read more at My Way News.

Sheep Brain Dissection Tutorial

Warning! Pictures may be gruesome for weak-stomached people!

If you always had an interest in neuroscience or are wondering if sheep have really have just a small brain, because (for some ignorant people) sheep are dumb, you can do an online Sheep Brain Tutorial. A good dissecting guide.

For people with nerves (or people who like them in a sheep form).

The Sheep Dance

Difficulties starting up on a Monday morning?
Still sleeping?
Watch The Sheep Dance and you will be fully awake!
A whole page of dancing sheep (animated gif images) that will blur your sight. Even sheep can become a little irritating...
Have fun, wake up and dance along!

SheepShopping: Sheepworld

Sheepworld offers great sheep products.
It is a German company. A few years ago you only saw a single sheep somewhere, but the last two years Sheepworld really seem to have exploded. Everywhere I see their products. If you like the style and design, you'll be a fan! (like me)
The design is very recognizable: black and white sheep with funny ears.
The plush sheep are made by NICI.

Online:

Homepage:
Sheepworld

Online Shop:
Sheepworld E-shop, the shop will come in a popup window. The base text is in German, but the pictures do speak for itself.

Bricks and Mortar shops:

You can find Sheepworld products in all kind of shops in Europe (also outside Europe? If you know, leave a comment). I have seen them in The Netherlands, France, Germany and England. The best places:

• Gadget and design stores (like Expo in The Netherlands)
• Department stores (like Vroom & Dreesmann, Bijenkorf in The Netherlands)
• Bookstores / stores with officesupplies (kantoorboekhandels like Bruna in The Netherlands) for the booklets and writing gear

Products:

A selection of the products of Sheepworld that exist:

• Plush: toys, key-chains, etc.
• Pencil cases, bags, CD cases, phone cases, etc.
• Reading and writing supplies: notebooks, pencils, writing blocks, bookmarks, pensetc.
• Photo frames, photo holding statues and other gadgets (Wackelschaf is very cool!)
• Mobile phone logo's
• postcards
• Textile (for making your bed a sheepish bed)
• more...

This post is part of Youssouf's Guide to SheepShopping

Sheep Game: Sheep at War.

This game is not for the light-hearted people.
You will have to kill sheep (!!distress) in this game.
It is war. Airborne sheep are being launched towards you at high frequency and velocity. Shoot them to gain points.
Prepare for Sheep at war.