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WASHINGTON (CNNMoney) — The Senate is expected to pass a bill to extend federal jobless benefits for more than 2 million unemployed workers through May 31.
The bill, expected to pass Monday, would retroactively help the unemployed, who have been without benefits.
If the deal passes Congress, it would throw a financial lifeline to those who have been scrambling to get by since federal jobless benefits lapsed the week of December 28. The recession-era program took away a safety net for long-term unemployed Americans who have been unable to find new work.
However, its fate in the House is uncertain, especially since Speaker John Boehner has said he has concerns about the bill. Top Republicans have yet to say whether the chamber will consider the bill.
In the Senate, six Republicans signed on to the $9 billion measure last Friday, which ensures its passage.
The Senate deal would fund federal jobless benefits through the end of May. It includes back payments of missed unemployment checks since December.
The long-term unemployed now total about 2.3 million, including those who have run out of state unemployment benefits in the past few months, according to the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group.
Top Republicans want any deal for the jobless to include a revamp of the federal workforce training programs. Last month, Boehner called the bill "essentially unworkable," because state administrators complained it would be tough to carry it out in such a short period of time.
If the bill were passed, it could take weeks to get programs up and running again, said Judith Conti, federal advocacy coordinator for the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group for the unemployed in Washington. Still the group cheered the move.
"At long last we're within sight of one chamber working across party lines to provide this critical relief; there's already been too much delay, with too many families suffering unneeded hardship," said Christine Owens, NELP executive director of the National Employment Law Project in a statement.
Unemployment insurance benefits are generally administered by the states.
However, back in June 2008, when the jobless rate started ticking up from under 5% to 5.6%, President George W. Bush signed the federal benefits program to help those whose state benefits had run out.
The unemployment rate climbed to more than 10% at the height of the Great Recession in 2009, and the government extended or expanded the federal benefits 11 times since then, most recently in January 2013.


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New to the forum here but I'm looking to get into kiting and have been drooling over videos for awhile now. A buddy of mine just offered to sell me his kite, lines, and bar for $800. Kite being the 2012 Liquid Force Envy 9m.
I just wanted to ask if that seems like a reasonable price for that setup and whether or not you think the envy would be good to learn on? Thanks for the advice!
- Peter

subset: commoncrawl


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Police: MU student athlete accused of assaulting campus officers was high on acid
Prosecutors are considering felony charges against a Marquette University athlete.
Milwaukee police said Marquette Public Safety officers spotted the student arguing with others at 11th Street and Wisconsin Avenue. When they intervened, the student hit two of the campus officers.
Police arrested a 20-year-old sophomore and athlete.
Police told WISN 12 News the student told them at the time he was high on acid he bought as he headed into a concert at the Rave.
"Said he bought four hits of acid here," WISN 12 News reporter Colleen Henry asked a Rave employee.
"I know nothing about that," a Rave employee said.
Rave management would only say it has security in place in the theater but can't control what goes on outside. The student's roommates said they haven't seen him since his arrest.
Marquette University said student privacy laws prevent it from commenting on specific incidents, but in such cases, it conducts its own disciplinary process, and "in serious cases involving student athletes, the student will not be allowed to participate in athletic and team activities indefinitely, pending the outcome of the university process."
The campus officers were transported to the hospital. That could make the attack a felony, which could carry prison time.
The district attorney is still reviewing the case.
WISN 12 News was told the officers are OK.


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Magnitude-6.6 Quake Strikes North-Central Chile
- November, 01, 2013 - 14:57
- Other Media
- Comments
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked north-central Chile on Thursday, causing buildings to sway in the capital and nervous people to run out into the streets.
But Chile's emergency services office said no damages to infrastructure were reported and Chile's Navy discarded the possibility of a tsunami.
The US Geological Survey said the quake's epicenter was located about 54 kilometers (33 miles) southwest of the city of Coquimbo or about 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Santiago. Its depth was 10 kilometers (6 miles).
Chile is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. A magnitude-8.8 quake and the tsunami it unleashed in 2010 killed more than 500 people, destroyed 220,000 homes, and washed away docks, riverfronts and seaside resorts.
That quake was so strong it shortened the Earth's day slightly by changing the planet's rotation. The strongest earthquake ever recorded also happened in Chile, a magnitude-9.5 in 1960 that killed more than 5,000 people.


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Archive for the 'Indexing' Category
Cassandra: RandomPartitioner vs OrderPreservingPartitioner
When building a Cassandra cluster, the "key" question (sorry, that's weak) is whether to use the RandomPartitioner (RP), or the OrderPreservingPartitioner (OPP). These control how your data is distributed over your nodes. Once you have chosen your partitioner, you cannot change without wiping your data, so think carefully!
For Cassandra newbies, like me and my team of HBasers wanting to try a quick port of our project (more on why in another post) nailing the exact issues is quite daunting. So here is a quick summary.
What OPP gives you
Using OPP provides you with two obvious advantages over RP:
1. You can perform range slices. That is you can scan over ranges of your rows as though you were moving a cursor through a traditional index. For example, if you are using user ids as your keys, you could scan over the rows for users whose names begin with J e.g. jake, james, jamie etc
2. You can store real time full text indexes inside Cassandra, which are built using the aforementioned feature e.g. see Lucandra
3. If you screw up, you can scan over your data to recover/delete orphaned keys
***UPDATE*** Since v6 you *can* now scan your keys when using RP, although obviously not in any particular order. Typically you request a page of rows starting with the empty/"" key, and then use the apparently random end key from the page as the start key when you request another page. At the time of writing, this method only seems to work with KeyRange not TokenRing. If you are using Java to access Cassandra read the change log for v0.804 of Pelops.
Given that Web applications typically need/benefit from the above, the question is why would you *not* use OPP. The answer is a nuanced one about load balancing.
The problem with OPP
With both RP and OPP, by default Cassandra will tend to evenly distribute individual keys and their corresponding rows over the nodes in the cluster. The default algorithm is nice and simple: every time you add a new node, it will assign a range of keys to that node such that it takes responsibility for half the keys stored on the node that currently stores the most keys (more on options for overriding the default behaviour later).
The nuance is, that this simple default algorithm will tend to lead to good load balancing when RP is used, but not necessarily when OPP is used.
The reason is that although the algorithm succeeds in assigning key ranges such that as your cluster scales nodes receive roughly similar numbers of keys, with OPP on any given node those keys are unlikely to be drawn equally from the different column families present within your database…
If the distribution of keys used by individual column families is different, their sets of keys will not fall evenly across the ranges assigned to nodes. Thus nodes will end up storing preponderances of keys (and the associated data) corresponding to one column family or another. If as is likely column families store differing quantities of data with their keys, or store data accessed according to differing usage patterns, then some nodes will end up with disproportionately more data than others, or serving more "hot" data than others. <yikes!>
By contrast, when using RP the distribution of the keys occuring within individual column families does not matter. This is because an MD5 hash of keys is used as the "real" key by the system for the purposes of locating the key and data on nodes (the MD5 hashes randomly map any input key to a point in the 0..2**127 range). The result is that the keys from each individual column family are spread evenly across the ranges/nodes, meaning that data and access corresponding to those column families is evenly distributed across the cluster.
If you must have OPP
You may quite reasonably feel that you must have the range scan features that come with OPP, for example because you want to use Lucandra. The question then becomes how you can you ameliorate the aforementioned problems with load balancing.
The best you can do, is to identify the data upon which you do not need to perform range scans. This data can then be randomly distributed across your cluster using a simple idiom where the key is actually written as <MD5(ROWKEY)>.<ROWKEY>
But be clear, the items whose keys must be undecorated (because you wish to perform range scans over them), may still not map evenly onto the key ranges held by the nodes. The only recourse you have then, is to consider manually specifying the key ranges assigned to nodes. This is typically done when you bootstrap a new node, but you can also rebalance an existing cluster by simply decomissioning nodes, deleting their data, and then bootstrapping them back in. To do this safely, you obviously have to do this one at a time, but then I'm sure I didn't have to tell you that…
You can see where this is going now right? You've just made a whole load of work for yourself, and anyway, even if you have the time, if you have lots of different column families with widely differing key distributions then getting load balancing right is going to be a nightmare.
This is the basic reason that fully seasoned Cassandra heads, in my experience, seem to prefer RD *unless* a mono use setup is proposed, for example where a cluster is used simply to store a full-text index with Lucandra.
If you have a database with a seriously heterogeneous set of column families, and need range scans, you might now be thinking you should actually be using HBase, which is designed for this. That would not be a bad choice (!), but there are good reasons for hanging with Cassandra if you can, which I will cover in a future post. Read on…
If you must use RP (very likely)
So having delved a little more deeply into the implications of OPP, you decide you really should go with RP. But, what to do with those indexes you need?
Well, first of all there is a really simple if brutal solution: simply store your index inside a single column family row as a series of columns. Since Cassandra can in principle cope with millions of columns, this is perfectly possible. Although it is true each index won't be distributed across your whole cluster, the load will at the least be distributed across the nodes holding the replicas. If you use a typical replication factor (RF) of 3 the load associated with each index will be shared by 3 nodes etc.
In the vast majority of cases, this will be enough, and it will be sufficient that the rest of your data is properly balanced across your cluster.
But, I hear you saying, this is too brutal. Your index is too massive to fit on 3 nodes, is extremely hot and this just won't work. You moved to Cassandra because you want your load distributed across your entire cluster. Period.
This is a perfectly reasonably point of view.
The only solution in this case is to build an index system over the top of the simple hashmap provided. We are taking this approach, and it will be elaborated with some sample code in a later post.
Basic indexing strategy for RP
For those that need to know the basic strategy now, here it is: you need to start off with the simple approach where you store your entire index using columns under a single key. As the number of columns grows past some threshold you define, the columns should be split such that half the entries are migrated to a new key/row. Thus the index is split across the cluster evenly.
Each range can be stored under a key named in a predictable way, for example <INDEX>.<SPLIT NO.> The start and end index entries stored in each split should themselves be stored in a dedicated column family that is used to record index meta information using the same key name, ensuring that the meta information is also distributed.
You can then progressively test the existence of splits simply by attempting to open the key for the meta that would be used to describe the split. If you can retrieve the meta information, you know that the split also exists. It won't be necessary to cache this information to make the process reasonably performant – Cassandra already caches data in memory, and also uses Bloom filters to determine whether or not a requested row exists (Bloom filters enable a Cassandra node to rapidly determine whether it holds a key without traversing its list of keys).
There you have it, an index offering range scans fully distributed over your cluster!
Full text search sanity check
Implementing a full text index will of course involve more work than a simple left-side/ISAM style index, although the principles are the same. Given the existence of Lucandra though, I would suggest that before proceeding to create your full text index using the described approach, you first examine another possibility: running your full text searches off a dedicated cluster.
If you are running in the cloud, for example on EC2 or Rackspace Cloud, you can start your dedicated full text search cluster at low cost on small instances that can be scaled up if necessary later. Otherwise, consider virtualization or configuring Cassandra to run two clusters in parallel on the same nodes (more on this possibility in a later post).
The beauty of open source is that many problems have already been solved for you, and Lucandra is too good an opportunity to miss is you need full text search on Cassandra.


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The Filibuster
Do you agree with Jim Leyland that interleague play has run its course?
Somerville, NJ
Jim Leyland is a smart guy. He's been in baseball since back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and he's not afraid to speak his mind. So when Jim Leyland says "I think it's had its purpose, and it's probably, in some case, served its purpose. But it's run its course," me, I take notice.
And Leyland has a point. Interleague has gone beyond its original intent and occasionally constitutes more than 10% of a team's schedule. This means that a team might end up playing 18 games against interleague opponents to the detriment of of the divisional schedule. Sure, this might be nice for the occasional fan who only comes out once or twice a year but it's bad for the teams and for the division.
I don't necessarily think that baseball should abolish interleague play but I do think they need to rethink how it is scheduled. Most importantly, it should be limited to a home and home series every year. It's worth seeing the Mets and Yankees play. It's fun putting the Cubs and White Sox up against each other. San Francisco and Oakland deserve the chance to earn bragging rights each year. But beyond that, enough is enough.
This presents a separate problem because the NL and AL don't have the same number of teams. To that I propose two possible solutions. First, rotate two NL teams who won't play interleague in a season. Or second, move an NL team to the AL. It's been done before and wouldn't be so bad.
Interleague play has helped revitalize baseball and there's no denying that the parks are packed for rivalry series like the Cubs and White Sox. But in all the focus on Leyland's interleague comments, a more important point may have been missed. Leyland also said, "at some point, we have to get baseball back to the same set of rules, and I don't know why more people don't talk about it. … I don't care what they do. I just think that they should synchronize it. Whichever way they decide to go is fine with me."
Here Leyland is specifically referring to the DH and the problems it creates during interleague play. And again, the man has a point. For an AL team playing two consecutive road series against an NL team, the regular DH is either going to sit for a week or be forced to platoon with one of the regular starters to get some at-bats. Either way, it's not an ideal situation and baseball needs to address it. Granted, limiting interleague play to one home and one away series a year would help solve the problem but it would be nice to see some consistency between the two leagues.
I can't say that I agree one hundred percent with Leyland but I do think there's merit to what he says and it bears consideration. As entertaining as interleague may be, when it affects divisional matchups and a team's ability to compete, some reconsideration may be in order. Has interleague play run its course? Not necessarily. Does it need to be reconsidered? Definitely.


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Research at MOLA
We develop partnerships with commercial, academic and community groups to produce truly innovative archaeological research.
These pages provide information on events that MOLA is hosting and those we are contributing to, ranging from walks and talks to community digs, conferences and exhibitions.
Your gift, large or small, can support one of our many charitable initiatives.
MOLA team
MOLA team


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A year ago, Shared Account arrived at Churchill Downs for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf as an outsider. Oddsmakers made her a 46-1 long shot, and her response was to win.
This year, she's back to defend her title in the $2 million Grade I race. Do the oddsmakers love her?
Not exactly. They've given her 30-1 morning-line odds, a fact that has Sagamore Farm general manager Tom Mulligan sending out a warning.
"The field is deep, and it's another tough ask of her," Mulligan said. "Everyone knows it's harder to repeat than to win the first one. But I think people should look at the history. She was 46-to-1 last year and she won. We'll forever remember last year, and anything more will be icing. But I think some folks shouldn't discount [trainer] Graham Motion or Shared Account. She seems to be back to her old self going in to this race."
Last year, Shared Account became the biggest underdog to win in race history. It was also the biggest win for the restored Sagamore Farm in the modern era, thrilling owner Kevin Plank.
The Under Armour CEO bought Sagamore, once owned by the Vanderbilt family, in 2007 and set out to restore the farm and its reputation. Sagamore had been built on the legs and bloodlines of Native Dancer, Discovery and Bed o' Roses.
Shared Account was Sagamore's first Breeders' Cup starter.
When the horse won, Plank said he hoped it would inspire Maryland horsemen at a time when thoroughbred racing in the state was struggling. And, in some ways, Shared Account's victory might have done that.
At least it seemed to start a run of success among Maryland horsemen that has carried beyond the state.
Graham Motion's Animal Kingdom won the Kentucky Derby, and King Leatherbury's Ben's Cat won a Breeders' Cup qualifying race, though the trainer has chosen not to go. Towson native Robert Cole Jr. owns Rapid Redux, who recently tied the North American record for consecutive victories at 19 in a race at Laurel Park. And trainer Michael Matz, who became known for training ill-fated Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, has two young horses in the Breeders' Cup, taking him on his first trip there since Round Pond won the Ladies' Classic in 2006.
Motion believes the win drew positive attention to the state and "makes other trainers hopeful" they can have success in big races and produce strong horses in Maryland.
"Any success within Maryland has to have a positive impact, if for no other reason than it brings attention to the state's horsemen," Motion said. "Shared Account belongs to Sagamore. He's trained at Fair Hill. There are a lot of positive implications for Maryland in Shared Account."
But at Churchill Downs, Shared Account will evidently need to turn in a repeat performance if she wants her share of that respect.
She'll start from the No. 9 post with jockey Edgar Prado back in the saddle.
Shared Account entered last year's Breeders' Cup race off a fifth-place finish in the Flower Bowl at Belmont Park. This time, the 5-year-old Pleasantly Perfect mare has arrived off a sixth-place finish in the Grade II Canadian at Woodbine, a result that has Motion feeling confident.
"There will be skeptics," said Motion, who also sent 27-1 long shot Better Talk Now to victory in the 2004 Breeders' Cup Turf. "I wouldn't blame them. But I see her every day. She gives me every indication of being ready."
Shared Account has come a long way since running in the Gallorette on Preakness weekend last May, when she carried 125 pounds — a minimum of 10 pounds more than her seven competitors — and finished fourth.
"There's not a kinder, gentler horse, and that's an unusual trait for a real competitive race horse," Motion said as he watched Shared Account work at Fair Hill one morning last week. "After the year she's had, she'll be at a price. But the year she's had is not her fault."
Motion points to the weight she carried in the Gallorette. It was just 1 pound more than she carried at last year's Breeders' Cup, but it was the difference that mattered, forcing her to work much harder than the others in the field to cover the same ground. He and Mulligan both also mentioned the "rough" Pimlico turf course.
"There were a lot of humps and waves in the turf course," Mulligan said. "She bobbled twice and at the head of the lane she almost went down."
It was no easy chore for the light-boned bay.
"After the Gallorette, we had to start over with her," Motion said. "She got all jammed up, which means she was moving very stiffly for no particular, obvious reason — like an athlete playing football gets excessively jarred sometimes. The only way to get her over it was to regroup.
"To be giving away 10 pounds in her first race back after the Breeders' Cup. I'm not blaming anyone. I believe handicapping should be done away with all together. But I chose the race. I wish, in hindsight, I had had a Plan B. You need to leave yourself a window to change your mind."
Plan A since the day after Shared Account won at the Breeders' Cup has been to get back to it.
Now that she's there, all she has to do is pull off another major upset.
Breeders' Cup World Championships
Where: Churchill Downs, Louisville, Ky.
When: Friday and Saturday
TV: Friday — 4 p.m.-8 p.m. on ESPN2 (Shared Account will run in the Filly & Mare Turf at 6:50 p.m.)
Saturday — 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m. on chs. 2, 7 and 3:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. on ESPN
Outlook: Marylanders will have much to root for in this weekend's Breeders' Cup races, as four trainers with local ties will take nine horses to the event and another two Maryland breds will also compete.
Fair Hill Training Center-based Michael Matz, who caught the public's attention as the trainer of Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, has two young horses in competition who are receiving favorable attention.
Matz's entries are Union Rags, the morning-line favorite in the Grade I Juvenile for 2-year-olds, and Somali Lemonade, the second favorite in the Grade II Juvenile Fillies (Turf).
"I'm very excited about the Breeders' Cup," said Matz, who was last there in 2006 with Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Round Pond. "They've both done everything we've asked. Neither one has lost yet."
Maryland native Tony Dutrow sends Grace Hall to post in the Grade I Juvenile Fillies (Dirt) as the second favorite.
Graham Motion has five entries: Shared Account, the defending champ in the Grade I Filly and Mare Turf; Aruna, also in the Filly and Mare Turf; Lucky Chappy and State of Play in the Grade I Juvenile Turf; and Hoofit in the Grade ll Turf Sprint.
And Mike Pino, who also trains at Fair Hill, has Perfect Officer going in the Grade II Turf Sprint (Turf).
Maryland-bred Ask the Moon will run in the Grade l Ladies Classic. The 6-year-old was sired by Malibu Moon, who stood at Country Life Farm at the time, and she won the Maryland Juvenile Championship at Laurel Park as a 2-year old.
And Havelock, another horse bred in the state, will race in the Turf Sprint. He is a son of Great Notion, who was stands at Northview Stallion Station in Chesapeake.


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Latest News
James Bond Quantum of Solace Raffle (2008-11-11)
Redwolf is excited about the release of the latest installment in the 007 series: Qunatum of Solace. Daniel Craig is back as the somewhat grittier interpretation of the classic Bond character, which proved to be a winning formula in the previous film, Casino Royale, that had movie-goers thoroughly excited with the action-packed sequences and a more "physical" Bond.
Quantum of Solace is a continuation of the storyline, with James fresh from the death of his lover in Casino Royale, Vesper Lynd (played by the delectable Eva Green). The film promises to be packed full of slick action sequences with plenty of guns for all of us gun geeks to salivate over. This outing sees 007 picking up the venerable PPK that was made famous by the classic Bond's, while mixing it up with some more modern guns like the Heckler & Koch UMP, Sig P210, Sig P226 and CZ-75.
So, we have decided to celebrate this latest James Bond movie by raffling-off a very special prize. We will be giving away one of these:
No, not the real thing, silly. We will be giving away 5x James Bond 007 Aston Martin DBS 1:43 model cars. All you need to do is to buy any of the guns below and you will be automatically issued a raffle ticket. Winners will be sent an email from our team. Raffle closes on the 19th November 2008.


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Drink Better Beaujolais Nouveau
Our hunt for great-tasting affordable wine.
We've tasted some pretty terrible Beaujolais Nouveau wines, released each fall reeking of Banana Runts and bubblegum. (The weird banana aroma is the result of a certain yeast that is commonly used to kick off fermentation, and the bubblegum can come from the covered-tank carbonic maceration process used to ferment these wines.)
But we understand the urge to celebrate the harvest with wines that were just harvested. It just seems right for Thanksgiving. So while we'll always recommend Cru Beaujolais over the Nouveau stuff based on flavor alone, we dove back in to try this year's options in freshly-available Beaujolais Nouveau.
Here are the best of the bunch:
Maison PUR Beaujolais-Nouveau ($18) is an old vine single vineyard Gamay, destemmed and fermented in cement tanks, with no sulfur added at fermentation or bottling. It has a beautiful vivid freshness: piercing tart cranberry and ripe berry core, focus and texture—but most importantly, it's tasty to drink on its own or with a giant plate of turkey and stuffing. If you're going to seek out one Beaujolais Nouveau this year, this should be the one—it's also available in big bottles, which are guaranteed to improve everyone's mood.
You might have a slightly easier time tracking down Jean Foillard 2013 Beaujolais Nouveau ($20), our runner-up for best Beaujolais Nouveau this year. It's made from 40 to 60 year old gamay vines not far from Morgon. The wine is bright (think soft cranberries), juicy (think black cherries), and super easy to drink, with a crack of black pepper flavor that will make it go seamlessly with the Thanksgiving meal. It has a little more dark fruit flavor than the PUR, but it's not as serious or earthy as Foillard's amazing (but pricier) wines.
Domaine Dupeuble has been making wine since 1512, so Domaine Dupeuble 2013 Beaujolais Nouveau ($17.50) is a way to taste the present and the past all at once. The vines for this wine range from fifty to a hundred years old, but the flavor here is all about youth: fresh strawberries just beginning to cook into jam, a squeeze of lemon, and maybe a hint of cherry chapstick.
Or Celebrate the Local Harvest Instead!
If you're looking for a spin on tradition, see if your favorite local winery is releasing its own small-batch harvest celebration wine. Poe Wines from the Anderson Valley in California made a pretty darn delicious Pinot Nouveau. In Oregon, you'll find freshly bottled 2013 gamay from Division and Bow & Arrow. In New York, Macari Vineyards releases an 'Early Wine' made with Chardonnay (you can read more about it in Edible Manhattan.)
Do you drink Beaujolais Nouveau each fall?
More Thanksgiving Wine
Recommended Red Wines
Recommended White Wines
Recommended Sparkling Wines
Wine Tips for Thanksgiving
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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TAP Personalised Assistance guarantees assistance for departures, arrivals and transfers. This support service available to all passengers who want to benefit from this assistance at all the stages of their flight.
This service is available only at Lisbon, Porto, and Funchal airports.
Services available (according to selected level):
- Assistance during check-in;
- Transport of hold baggage;
- Accompaniment to the lounge is included, provided it is included in the tariff or defined in the customer profile;
- Boarding and disembarkation in exclusive vehicles.


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While some of the area's top chefs are laboring over ambitious presentations like saffron-poached sea scallops and red-wine-braised veal cheeks, they often experience pangs for more familiar foods from their youth-basic dishes that mom cooked. And every now and then, they're happy to put aside the duck confit and black truffles and go home to mac and cheese or pot roast-and reconnect with mom all over again.
Michel Tersiguel, Tersiguel's
With parents like Fernand and Odette Tersiguel, who are longtime restaurateurs, it was inevitable that their only son, Michel, would land in a professional kitchen one day. From the time he was a small child in New York playing with pots and pans and, later at age 10, making lunch on Saturdays, Michel was surrounded by a family who loved to cook and garden.
"I'd make exotic stuff," he recalls. "Well, Thousand Island dressing was exotic to me."
But he grew up with fare that might seem a little strange to many American children: periwinkles, frog legs, crêpes, radish sandwiches, and dandelion salad. He moved to Maryland with his parents when he was 8 and got his first job as a dishwasher at 11.
"For me, it was always fun," says Michel, now 43, who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1984.
Now, he heads up the kitchen at Tersiguel's in Ellicott City, taking over most of the cooking duties from his semiretired dad. And while his father may have been the professional chef in the kitchen, his mother also cooked.
In addition to dandelion salad, Michel also enjoys eating her buckwheat crêpes and apple fritters. He remembers living in New York and his mother making and selling crêpes to other transplants from her hometown, Brittany, France. She met her future husband Fernand, also a Brittany native, while both were picking green beans in a field there.
Now, his mother has other ideas about what she likes to eat, Michel says. "She wants to go out for Chinese food and an action movie," he says with a laugh.
Dandelion salad
- 4 ounces apple-wood bacon, cut into small dice
- 3 tablespoons chopped shallots
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 3 handfuls of freshly picked
- dandelion greens (before they have flowered), washed 3 times
- 1 cup freshly made croutons (see recipe)
- 2 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and roughly chopped
- Cook bacon in sauté pan slowly until slightly crisp. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and reserve on paper towel. Use bacon fat to sauté shallots and garlic until they color slightly. Add vinegar and salt and pepper. Add dandelions and toss.
- Place greens on plates and garnish with croutons, crispy bacon and hard-boiled eggs. Serves 4.
Fresh croutons
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 stale baguette, 1/4-inch diced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- In medium-size sauté pan over medium heat, add olive oil. When pan sizzles, add all croutons. Sauté gently until croutons are browned evenly, stirring every few minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove croutons from pan and reserve until needed. Season with salt and pepper.
- Croutons will keep for one week in an airtight container after cooling. Makes 4 cups.
Christian DeLutis, The Wine Market
Executive chef Christian DeLutis turns out sophisticated fare at The Wine Market in Locust Point, but his interest in all things culinary began much earlier. He grew up in central Pennsylvania surrounded by an extended family-Italian on his father's side, German on his mother's.
One of the biggest influences in his cooking was his Italian grandmother, Jeanet. "She was a pretty good cook," he says. "She would make a traditional Sunday supper. There was always pasta-that wasn't the main dish-but other things, too."
It wasn't until he was in college studying English and took a job as a cook at a small Italian restaurant that he realized his destiny was food. "I just went nuts. I thought, 'This is awesome,'" says the 29-year-old chef, who went to the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute in Pittsburgh.
It was at the Culinary Institute that DeLutis developed a taste for more rarified fare. But make no mistake. DeLutis still very much craves his mother Maria's home cooking, especially her cookies and braised meats like goulash and pot roast. His mother's food is simple, he says, but he savors it when he heads home to Hummelstown, Pennsylvania, not far from Hershey. "It's food I like to eat, like tomato soup," he says.
His mother says there were no early indications that her son would become interested in food. "He was the pickiest eater you can imagine," she says with a laugh. "I can remember him in his high chair screaming because he didn't want to eat."
Obviously, that's not the case now.
The chef especially likes his mom's kiffel, a family recipe for a sugar cookie filled with ground walnuts and cinnamon that's been passed down for generations. "I always look forward to them," DeLutis says.
- 3 sticks margarine (Blue Bonnet recommended), softened
- 4 cups flour
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 lemon, grated zest and juice
- 2 egg yolks Filling:
- 8 ounces brown sugar
- 1 pound ground walnuts
- 1 stick margarine, melted
- Small can evaporated milk, enough to moisten mixture
- Powdered sugar, to dust cookies
- For dough, mix together all ingredients in a large bowl until blended. Form into ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
- For filling, mix together all ingredients. Filling can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out chilled dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Use a glass or cookie cutter with a 2-inch diameter to cut circles. Place 1 teaspoon nut filling in each circle. Pinch edges to seal.
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden. Cool on rack. Dust with powdered sugar.
Bill Crouse, Sotto Sopra
As an executive chef, Bill Crouse is responsible for the fine Italian cuisine at Sotto Sopra. Turns out it's a job he's been prepping for since he was a little kid watching his mom, Lois, in the kitchen at their Aberdeen home.
At 13, he began working at a sub/ice cream shop in Churchville and was hooked. "I realized I wasn't an artist, but I could be creative in other ways," he says about his discovery of the world of food.
When he made his first beurre blanc sauce, he gained an appreciation of the skill and passion it takes to be a chef, he says. He earned three associate degrees from the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute in Pittsburgh and worked at several high-end Baltimore restaurants before landing at Sotto Sopra.
His mother said she loves that her son became a chef, adding in true mom fashion, "He's so enthusiastic. I couldn't be more proud of him."
And while you may be able to put the boy in a fancy restaurant, you can't take him too far away from the kitchen that weaned him. "You can't beat mom's pot roast and meatloaf," says the 28-year-old chef. "She always had good food on the table."
His favorite dish, though, is his mom's creamed chicken and rice. "It's hearty and soulful," he says, with sudden longing in his voice.
Creamed Chicken
- 4 large chicken breasts
- 1 (14 ounce) can chicken broth plus additional broth, divided use
- 2 (10 ounce) cans cream of chicken soup
- 1/4 pound mild cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon chopped onion
- 1 cup sliced, fresh mushrooms, optional
- 1 cup cooked peas
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
- Place chicken in large pot, and add can of chicken broth and enough water to cover chicken. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and continue to cook chicken until it is tender and falling off the bone. Let cool. Cut into chunks and set aside.
- In another pan, combine cream of chicken soup, cheese, onion, mushrooms (if using), peas, salt, pepper, and dried rosemary. Cook until heated through. Thin with chicken broth, if needed. Add cooled chicken and heat through.
- Serve over cooked rice, slices of toasted, buttered Italian bread, or biscuits.
Jesse Sandlin, Abacrombie
After honing her cooking skills in California and Australia, Jesse Sandlin came back to her home state and is now wowing diners with creative cuisine at Abacrombie in Mt. Vernon. At a recent Baltimore Foodies dinner at the restaurant, appropriately titled "A Celebration of Female Chefs," Sandlin was joined by the ladies in her kitchen, sous chef Jackie Torres and pastry chef Sarah Acconcia, and other local women chefs to turn out a stellar dinner, which included a hefty, red-wine braised lamb shank.
It's a bit of a culinary jump from the Steak 'Em sandwiches she used to eat as a kid. "My mom didn't cook," Sandlin explains. "She baked." The plus side was that Sandlin got in the kitchen at early age to make dinner for her working parents. "I made a lot of roast chicken," she says with a laugh.
But then after the family dinner, Sandlin, now 29, would watch her mom, Kathy Caverly, bake cookies and cakes. She treasures a Christmas Eve ritual where she and her mom would bake 12 different kinds of cookies in a marathon baking session. The tradition changed when she became a chef and worked long hours, though she recalls getting home at 11 p.m. one Christmas Eve and baking cookies until 4 a.m. with her mother.
Now, mother and daughter are split by geography-her mom lives in California. Sandlin stays connected by baking her favorite mom recipes at home-carrot cake and chocolate chip cookies.
Carrot Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups canola oil
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups finely grated carrots (the finer, the better; use the smallest hole on the grater; see note)
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients. Add oil and sugar, mixing with an electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. Fold in carrots by hand.
- Pour equal amounts of batter into three eight-inch cake pans, and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until tester inserted in center is clean. (You can also use a 13-by-9-inch pan. Bake for about one hour, checking for doneness with tester.)
Note: The secret to this carrot cake is to grate the carrots really finely, so they retain their moisture, and the cake doesn't dry out.
Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 box powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- Blend cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla.
- Add chopped nuts, and mix well by hand.
- Spread evenly over top and sides of cake layers.
If using a 13-by-9-inch pan, make only half the recipe.
Jenkins, Darker Than Blue
Casey Jenkins, chef/owner of Darker Than Blue in Waverly, owes some of the restaurant's menu items to his stepmother, Sandra Jenkins. "We have salmon cakes on the menu because of her," he says. He speaks fondly of the woman who raised him in White Plains, New York, with his dad, Sammie Jenkins, and encouraged him to go to the Culinary Institute of America after he got out of the U.S. Marine Corps and tried his hand at odd jobs.
"He really enjoyed cooking," his stepmom recalls. "When your child has a dream, never kill it. You should push them along."
Casey found the CIA experience humbling, he says. "I thought, 'This is great. I cooked for 4,000 Marines. This will be the easiest degree I ever got.'" What he wasn't expecting was the level of cooking sophistication. "I never made velouté in the Marine Corps. I thought, 'What's a velouté?'" he says, with a laugh, about the white stock and roux mix that is the foundation for many classic sauces.
Still, even with a prized diploma from the CIA, Jenkins, 39, found some gaps in his cooking knowledge. "I didn't know how to properly fry chicken," he says, incredulously. "My stepmother had to show me how to fry chicken the proper way."
Sandra Jenkins is a casual cook-a dash of this, a splash of that (see recipe). She doesn't have exact measurements, but the finished dish is to drool for, according to her chef son.
The results of her hands-on tutelage can be found in the Southern fare at Darker Than Blue. "It's amazing," his stepmom says of the modest storefront restaurant. "Casey has an eye for decorating. I was so impressed. It reminds me of places in Greenwich Village."
But the chef always looks forward to going home to New York to visit his family and savor his stepmom's cooking, especially her fried fish, spaghetti, and those amazing salmon cakes. "She always has them waiting for me," he says.
Salmon cakes
As mentioned, Sandra Jenkins adapts her recipes as she goes along. "Everything is to taste," she says. Here is her recipe for salmon cakes: Mix together a little mayonnaise, a little mustard, seasoned salt, pepper, onion powder, chopped onion (which has been sautéed), egg (if needed to bind ingredients), some flour, seasoned bread crumbs, hot sauce, and two or three cans salmon. Shape mixture into patties and coat with flour. Heat oil in frying pan and cook salmon cakes until golden brown, turning once. Makes six patties per can of salmon.


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Yet again we arrive to a game on paper before the season began that we'd expect to win, at this point, as bad as Boston is, they're better than us right now. Even with that, we'll stand by this team through it all!! So get ready for another battle of wills!!
Game Preview
via ESPN--Despite Rajon Rondo nursing a sprained right wrist, the Boston Celtics have moved back above .500.
With the struggling New York Knicks coming to town, the Celtics could continue their climb even if their All-Star point guard can't go.
Boston continues its five-game stretch at TD Garden on Friday night when it tries to beat the Knicks at home for a 12th consecutive time including postseason.
Rondo has been sidelined for the last eight games, but the Celtics (11-10) have won six of them. Boston began its five-game homestand Wednesday with a 100-64 rout of Toronto -- a contest lopsided enough that coach Doc Rivers rested all five of his starters for the entire fourth quarter.
The Celtics moved above .500 for the first time since Jan. 4, when they were 4-3.
"We've gone through a lot. So has everyone else in the league," Rivers said. "To start out slow like we did and get over that number, it's good for us. We've just gotta keep doing it."
Rondo would obviously be an upgrade from Avery Bradley and rookie E'Twaun Moore, but those two young guards have more than held their own. Bradley is averaging 6.8 points and 2.6 assists while starting in Rondo's place, while Moore is averaging 7.2 points in his last six contests.
"Maybe it's a blessing in disguise, because you never know down the road if anybody else gets hurt, you need guys to come in and step in and fill that role," said Celtics forward Paul Pierce, who missed the first three games this season -- including a 106-104 season-opening loss at New York on Dec. 25 -- with a bruised right heel.
Rondo led the Celtics with 31 points, 13 assists and five steals in the Christmas Day matchup, but Carmelo Anthony's 37 points helped the Knicks (8-14) snap an eight-game overall skid in the series, including a first-round sweep in last year's playoffs.
The last time these teams met in Boston, Anthony equaled a playoff career high with 42 points and grabbed 17 rebounds -- a postseason best -- but the Knicks fell 96-93 loss in Game 2 on April 19.
Anthony sat out a 112-102 loss in Boston six days earlier to conclude the regular season, so this will be his first regular season appearance at TD Garden in a Knicks uniform.
New York could definitely use a big game from Anthony as it continues its first back-to-back-to-back series of games since 1999. The Knicks began the stretch of three games in as many nights Thursday with a 105-102 home loss to Chicago.
Amare Stoudemire had 34 points and 11 rebounds. Anthony chipped in 26 points, but he missed a desperation 3-pointer as time expired in New York's 10th loss in 12 games.
"For the most part, we played extremely hard (Thursday)," Anthony said. "We've got to pat ourselves on the back for something."
The Knicks, who host the New Jersey Nets on Saturday, are trying to avoid their first four-game road losing streak since an 0-5 stretch March 10-26.
New York has not won in Boston since a 101-77 victory Nov. 24, 2006.
whenever someone mentions:
-Amare beasting last night
-'Antoni's offense
-Baron Davis not saving Knicks
-Losing players in the trade for Melo
-New York Giants having more wins than the Knicks THROUGH 22 GAMES(smh)


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Art Spiegelman is a contributor for the following Houghton Mifflin Company Title: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006Groening, Matt is the author of 'Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006 ', published 2006 under ISBN 9780618570515 and ISBN 0618570519.[read more]
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Wicked Zombies
Send me you address...Who knows when we will see each other!
Welcome toWicked Zombies
Sign Upor Sign In
View more gifts at Zazzle.
The WICKED member who has unyielding Dedication and Loyalty to the KOMRADZ:
Komrad Scarlet Zombie☭
The WICKED member who has Outstanding Constancy:
Jessie W. Garrett III
The WICKED member who Contributed the most Original Zombie Discussions and Replies:
They will receive a WICKED ZOMBIES Goody Box with Wicked Treats.
In all actuality, when the time comes where we would have to defend ourselves against any sort of undead creature, I truly believe that our best bet would be to post on this page as often as we can so as to find any and all survivors. As well I will be posted on an island (we haven't been shown that zombies can in fact swim) with a way back to the mainland, plenty of food and water, and internet to boot. If there is anyone interested in joining me message me for the coordinates within the…
Posted by SkarekRow Of Man on December 2, 2019 at 5:49pm — 3 Comments
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Huawei Ascend II
Info Photos News Forum 12 Reviews
Average Ratings
you get what you pay for
This phone is from a pre paid carrier so you cant expect to much. Dont get me wrong its a great start out smart phone for a young teenager. But for someone advanced it wouldnt be too good. I got frustrated with this phone after about 3 months and also with crickets customer service. Cricket by far has the worst employees and customer care. I will never go back to cricket again... anywho back to the phone.
*good not great camera.
*looks sexy, the white back gives it an iphone type look.
* pretty responsive screen
*after about downloading 4 or 5 apps it becomes slow and sluggish. The phone is only 600 mhz.
*the screen is way to small, about the size of an iphone or maybe a little bit smaller. its good for small girlish hands.
*the bottom home keys are TOO responsive and sensitive i often get frustrated because i'll be typing something and i'll press the home button lightly accidentally erasing everything and i have to go back and type everything again.
*the internal memory is very limited. You'll definately need atleast a 8gb sd card if you want atleast a decent amount of apps and a substantial music library with some videos.
*no flash...tisk tisk. Huawei needs to step up with that.
*no front facing camera..remember you get what you pay for.
*call quality is subpar
*after 3 months your lucky if your battery lasts 4 hours. Your phones is going to spend more time on the charger than off of it.
*sometimes the ringtones will change on their own. You never know what tone is goin to ring when someone texts you.
All in all.. this phone after a while sux. Like i said this phone is for someone simple with no high demands for phones. Id say good for a 13 year olds first smart phone. the only way to make this phone bearable is to root it. Makes it worthwhile and actually fun. But you can do that with any android phone. I would definitely would NOT recommend this phone.
I wanted an upgrade not downgrade
I saved up for a year to upgrade and I am highly disappointed I now realize this was a downgrade. Even my daughter who is the person who gets all the latest, says this is one confusing phone. Issues I have had with my 2.3 android. Battery life at 2 months is next to nothing, it's always on the charger. camera...would be real niuce if there was a flash. No real frills or anything (no fun frames) the BIGGEST con with the camera..location of the snap button....It is nearly impossible to snap a picture without hitting the home buttons...I have so much trouble taking a picture...it drives me insane. It has thousands of apps available for free...but looking at the list is all I can expect to do...it slows down the phone after 4-5 apps, it's unreal! DTS mode for music sound when you plug in headphones is cool....however, it would be nice if I could listen to music without it stopping, couldn't load my music or contacts from my old phone...had to go to cricket for that. it constantly wants to force close apps...even if i am not using them. It drops calls in Phoenix metro area (cricket),After trying to get my old music downloaded from my old phone....after 7 weeks it randomly started to download my old music. can't listen to music while messaging or browsing..It comes with alot of apps I don't use nor can I get rid of. no internal memory. If I watch a you tube video...it streams in slower than dial up. Save your money and look for a better phone with a company thats been building cells for a while. I am so unhappy with almost every feature this phone has
AD reviews continues below...
I must say: this phone is great. Love the sleekness of it all. Great as far as signal. Most 16 year olds are ungrateful for thier phones. Not this one. This phone is sweet, but every phone has its pros and cons. Allow me to name some. CONS: It can sometimes be a bit laggy. On the occasion it freezes. (could be the signal.) Sorta slow on downloads. again could be signal. Now for the pros. It is very decent with calls and messaging. Runs major apps such as Angry Birds. Facebook. Twitter. My personal favorite, Ifunny :) It also boats a 5MP (Mega Pixel) camera. No auto focus or flash. It offers access to over 200,00 apps. I love this phone. unfortunately, I dropped my in the toilet this morning. I'm sure it'll turn out fine. This phone is also pretty durable. That's all I have to say. This phone is definitely worth the money.
One of cricKet's best phones.
Why I gave this up for the ZTE Score, I'll never know.
No flash for the camera.
Battery life.
Never lost a call (minus the areas where EVERYONE loses calls).
Decent Camera/video.
Hotspot capable.
Cool looking.
This is a good phone for the price. If you can't get a Mercury, but want a decent Android for cricKet, you can't lose with this.
merry xmas to me!!!
well thats just a preliminary review, as I just got the phone a few minutes ago, and have not even activated it yet. Just judging this book by its cover...it looks awesome except I dont like that the back of it is white. I want a standard black phone. Or maybe a nice warm coffee brown color:-)
**Great Smart Phone**
This works well on the Internet
Touch screen is good, but just like any other phone, you have to be still when texting.
Cool white back side.
Like the others, no flash, but GREAT pics & videos.
Some dropped calls but thats due to the service provider.
I'm used to an Ipod touch and never using a "touch screen smart phone" before, I thoroughly enjoy it & recommend it.
Perfect first android
Cricket: lightning fast, cheap, light, midsized..my only concern is the lack of a ff.camera and flash, but hey this is only the start of a better future for cricket.
Awesome phone
Probably the best Cricket phone yet. If it only had a flash and a front camera it would be awesome if your a Cricket customer its definitely worth buying.
Best Cricket Android Phone Yet
This one really rocks.
Probably the BEST phone Cricket has ever offered.
Android Market is very cool. 1000's of apps.
Nice clean modern design. I love the white back.
You will love it. I do.
Attractive, easy interface, customizable, light... but the camera/picture quality is WORTHLESS. No way it's 5MP.
The phone is sleek, user friendly, customizable and fun. But the biggest factor in deciding to purchase the Huawei Ascend II for me was the 5.0MP camera (I am a graphic designer and I use the heck out of a phone camera for all sorts of reasons). Imagine my surprise when my first photo, on the highest quality settings in broad daylight, looked like a watercolor painting. It's a flat-out falsehood. There is no flash, but it's irrelevant. The picture quality is completely worthless. I am mislead and have to purchase another new phone with money I don't have because the phone provider blocks service that would allow me to use my perfectly functional Blackberry Storm II. It's angering.


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Sunday, September 11, 2011
Adele with Some of the Guys in Tompkins Square Park
Not too long ago Adele was a regular in TSP ,spending much of her time sitting at one of the chesstables, in violation of park rules , not playing chess but handing out socks , underware and inviting folks at the tables who were hungry to visit Graffiti Church for a free dinner . She was seen by many to be a saint .No one messed with Adele in TSP.
Adele hasn't been around TSP much for the last year or so . Saturday she returned to TSP , welcomed by some of her old frends ,
<< Home
Lindsay I was very surprised to see Adele yesterday.I tried to link some posts from the past but nothing worked .Post a Comment
Eddie and his mother Adele
L.E.S. Jewels and Eddies mom Adele
Eddie and his mother Adele
L.E.S. Jewels and Eddies mom Adele
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I start most of my days by playing BBO and tread milling at the same time. Often I've got Steve Beatty or Mark Lair as my early am partner, so it's a joy and I don't even notice that I am actually working out.
But this morning, I got a lesser partner and on board one he led MUD (the 8 from 983). What a terrible way to start the day! And of course I could not count out the hand early enough to find the killing defense.
From an information theoretic point of view, MUD is a disaster. At trick one, the time of maximal uncertainty, one needs a lead that cuts down uncertainty, which either the 9 from 983 will do (honor unlikely) or the lead of the 3 will do (third from odd). The 8, however....
So my nomination for the worst convention still played (strong two's have thankfully disappeared from the planet) is MUD.
What do you think the worst convention still played is and why?
How does this violate our Community Guidelines?
Benefits include:
Plus... it's free!


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The Home of Affordable Style
If you are looking for contemporary design and high-quality homeware products at an affordable price, look no further. With products for all occasions – whether you need LSA barware or champagne glasses, kitchen accessories, stylish vases, bowls and more – stocked from top-of-the-range brands like LSA International and Brabantia, you can give your home a contemporary and tasteful makeover with ease.
Update your home with sophistication at every turn with our easy, hassle-free online shopping experience; IdealForever are here to help create the space around you.


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President Trump's former top economic adviser warned Thursday that a developing trade war could wipe out the benefits of the GOP tax cuts.
Speaking at an event hosted by The Washington Post, Gary Cohen, who stepped down as the chair of the National Economic Council in April, said that an escalating series of retaliatory tariffs between countries could spark higher inflation and force American consumers to take on more debt, potentially pushing the economy into a slowdown and erasing whatever additional growth the tax cuts are creating.
Cohn reportedly resigned from the White House due to his opposition to Trump's tariff policies. "I have always said the trade deficit doesn't matter. In many respects, it's helpful for our economy," Cohn said Thursday. And the current saber-rattling by the Trump administration and various trading partners is already having a dampening effect on businesses in the U.S., Cohn said, as companies take higher materials costs into consideration in their investment forecasts.
On the tax bill itself, Cohn said that he wasn't sure if the tax cuts would pay for themselves. "It won't be revenue-neutral. It may be revenue positive. It may be revenue negative. We don't know," Cohn told the Post's Damian Paletta. Cohn stuck to White House script on wage growth, saying that the new tax rules would encourage more capital expenditures by businesses, which would result, eventually, in higher wages for American workers: "I am pretty confident that we wrote a tax law that gives companies enormous incentive to build new factories, to hire new people, and to really invest in the U.S. economy."


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That's right, I'm back on some kind of food again! Because this variation of the Shu (not unlike Shu of Borg) seeks to assimilate the fine things of the world and become a perfect being. Well…I'm not quite there yet, but this minty dark chocolate from Green and Black certainly does help. Okay, that's also a bit of a fib as well. But I promise it's really good!
There's a number of things I like about this bar in comparison to the other minty bars of chocolate I've had in the past. Only a few things I don't. The taste certainly does have the mint you'd be looking for, but it doesn't hide the chocolate as some chocolate will. Andes mints tend to do that to me a lot, but those are still good too in their own way. How the mint is put into the chocolate is even stated on the freaking wrapper. It's "infused with peppermint oil" and it certainly does work for the better. Instead of trying to make a layer of mint that undoubtedly take over.
Another thing is that this particular 3.5 oz bar had going for it is the way it was solidified. You know those old Hershey bars that had those big bars inside the even bigger bars? Well, imagine that, except those really big bars are now small bars part of a big bar. Unless you're the kind to just bite the chocolate without breaking off a piece with your hands, that alone will make this bar last for what seems like forever. Casually eating this, it's been about 9 hours since I've started to nibble away at it. Still not done. Oh, also this bar is "suitable for vegetarians". The label even told me so.
Which leads me to the two things I do not like about this. Or…maybe I do like one of these two, but it's in a negative tone. The first being the fat content of the bar. 37.5 grams of fat per full bar make me glad that I have a high metabolism, or I'd be feeling guilty about touching this bar. More saturated fat than a king size Snickers bar, I'd probably have more because I never watch my weight, but depending on who you are, you might want to.
The other thing I believe is just for luls. lol I get how this can happen, but really, cmon. The wrapper says "Made in Italy" and I'm thinkin' that this means that it must be fancy. Then I open the wrapper and on the inside it says "USA". Stop lying to me wrapper! You just told me Italy! If you're going to make the chocolate in Italy, at least make the wrapper in Italy too. I want 100% fancy instead of just 80%! So help me, if the next thing that I buy to eat does this, I will smite it so bad. It'll wish I didn't smite it so bad.
All in all, I give this fancy chocolate an 8.5 explosion rating! If only good tasting food didn't have to be so bad.


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I saw a message on Facebook asking how to print a specific Plan Name report. There is a Place Name Usage Report, but that prints everyone one in every place in the file.
This short video will who how you can print a report for a specific Place of everyone who had an event or fact associated to a specific place.
In this example, it will be at the County Level and will show not only that county place, but any expanded places within that county.
For example: Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, but also, Saint Annes Churchyard, Annapolis, Anne Arundel County. You can be as specific as you want, like just Saint Annes, or back up to the County.
Copyright © 2014 by H R Worthington


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Lil Farnum (14-Years-Old) (Yongest Battle Rapper!) Vs. Sean Kush Rap Battle [Grind Time]
Drect reports "Grind Time presents the youngest battler in our circuit, Lil Farnum. He's only 14 years old. See how he does in his debut battle against Sean Kush. "
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


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- Europe
- Belgium
- Switzerland
- Ireland
- Denmark
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Spain
- Sweden
- Norway
- United Kingdom
- Portugal
- Africa
- Sudan
- South Africa
- Ghana
- Botswana
- Kenya
- Nigeria
- Somalia
- Egypt
- Uganda
- Cameroon
- Asia
- India
- Philippines
- Singapore
- Taiwan
- Russia
- Japan
- Malaysia
- South Korea
- Lebanon
- Thailand
- United Arab Emirates
- Indonesia
- Caribbean
- Jamaica
- Puerto Rico
- North America
- United States
- Canada
- Mexico
- Cayman Islands
- Central America
- Costa Rica
- Guatemala
- Oceania
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Latin America
- Argentina
- Venezuela
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Guyana
- Ecuador
- Global
Brandon – Weep
Consider yourself introduced to Brandon, a singer/songwriter from Riverside, California who merges airy guitar melodies with soulful musings on new single 'Weep'. There's an enchanting quality to Brandon's falsetto-laden vocals which traipse across those lush guitar lines – drawing you in with each of his love-lorn words. Check out the breathtaking single and it's wonderful music video directed by Justin Segura here and be sure to keep an eye out for more from this rising artist.
Naaz – Mute Love
Kurdian-Dutch artist Naaz follows up last year's 'the beautiful struggle' with hypnotic and utterly captivating new single 'Mute Love'. Opening with delicate piano chord progressions, the slow-burning single intensifies in parallel with Naaz's almost whispered, haunting vocals which slide atop the glitchy electronics that are welcomed along with the chorus. Intimate and emotive, 'Mute Love' is Naaz at her very best – check out the track and it's gorgeous music video here.
MODEL 86 – So We're Here Then
London based producer MODEL 86 returns with 'So We're Here Then', a crisp, electronic-led single that serves as a taste of his forthcoming debut album. A striking combination of sounds, the single brings to mind the glittering atmospherics of SOPHIE, the powerful orchestration of Hudson Mohawke and the intricacies of Jamie xx's concoctions and blends them together to create a sound that further pushes the boundaries of experimental pop. Check out the dazzling single here and be sure to keep an eye out for MODEL 86's album which is set to be released later this year.
DJDS – Simple Things (ft. Rema & Tory Lanez)
Los Angeles based production duo DJDS (Sam Griesemer and Jerome Potter) team up with Toronto based Tory Lanez and Lagos' Rema on uplifting new single 'Simple Things'. Encompassing DJDS' signature sample-driven instrumentation, the track is heightened further by the charismatic tones of Tory Lanez and Rema who revel about the simple things in life. Check out the brilliant new single and it's playful lyric video here.
Consider yourself introduced to rising rap collective VIBE WORLD ORDER who share their exhilarating new single 'CASH TALK'. Accompanied by an equally high octane music video which is directed and edited by stijhl, the track serves as the follow up to last year's exceptional EP 'What If We Kissed… At The Vibe World Show?' which features standout single '004'. On 'CASH TALK', VIBE WORLD ORDER offer up another hard-hitting number that showcases their vibrant and versatile verses over a pounding beat and cement themselves as one of the most exciting groups around.
Haich Ber Na – By Floras
London based producer Haich Ber Na follows up last year's exceptional project 'Everywhere's Home' with striking new single 'By Floras'. Laced by intricate electronics that skip and squeeze their way through the soundscape to create an ordered chaos, Haich Ber Na's delicate, falsetto-laden tones offer a warmth to juxtapose the cool instrumentation as he sings about the growing distance between a friend. Check out the cinematic and otherworldly single here.
c. racha – Too Many Sunsets.
London based singer and multi-instrumentalist c. racha follows up his debut single 'i fell in love with you, so i can fall out' with another delectable cut in the form of 'Too Many Sunsets.'. Lifted from his forthcoming debut EP titled 'EP1', the track sees the enigmatic singer's soulful tones glide over a refreshing, rhythmic beat. Check out the single and it's fuzzy visualiser here and look out for c. racha's 'EP1' (and debut album) both of which are out later this year via South London based label Cotch International.
thrills – ROSHAMBO
Consider yourself introduced to Inglewood, CA based rapper thrills who shares the visuals for his powerful debut single 'ROSHAMBO'. Embodying a satirical commentary on pop culture, politics and our obsession with technology and social media, 'ROSHAMBO' is accompanied by an equally gripping and intense self-directed music video. Check it out here and be sure to keep an eye out for more from thrills.
p-rallel & Greentea Peng – Soulboy
London based producer and DJ p-rallel links up with COLORS alumni Greentea Peng on the vibrant and atmospheric new single 'Soulboy'. Taken from his forthcoming EP titled 'Soundboy', the single serves as the follow up to previously released cut 'Packed Bags', a collaboration with Louis Culture and wonderfully showcases p-rallel's versatility as a producer. Greentea Peng's distinct vocals are just as dreamy and hypnotic as the song's reggae-inspired instrumentation which is the pure embodiment of those warm summer days we long for. Check out 'Soulboy' here and keep an eye out for 'Soundboy' which is out July 31st.
Joya Mooi – Bitter Parts
Amsterdam based singer/songwriter Joya Mooi shares soulful and hazy new single 'Bitter Parts' which is produced by Sim Fane. The single follows last year's impeccable 'The Ease of Others' as well as 'Hold You Tight' which dropped earlier this year and captures the singer's stunning voice wrapped around the stark, trap-inspired beat penned by Fane. Check out 'Bitter Parts' and it's wonderful music video (directed by Michael Middelkoop) here and keep an eye out for Joya Mooi's forthcoming EP which is out later this year.
Lorenzo_BITW – Basta / Timbao
Italian producer Lorenzo_BITW releases explosive cuts in the form of 'Basta' (ft. Mc Yallah & Swordman Kitala) and 'Timbao'. Released as part of Future Bounce's club release compilation and the follow up to last year's 'Aurelia' EP, both singles are spearheaded by Lorenzo's powerful production which boasts vibrant drums and electronics to allow the vocalists to work their magic. Check out 'Basta' and 'Timbao' here.
Rachel Huggins – Keep Dreaming
London based singer/songwriter Rachel Huggins shines on 'Keep Dreaming', her stunning and uplifting jazz-infused debut EP. Featuring previously released singles 'Take Control' and 'Feels So Good', the seven-track EP is one of the most captivating and authentic pieces of music you'll hear all year. Huggins' impeccably soulful voice shines throughout the project which boasts a sense of timelessness in its detailed production and inspiring songwriting. Tuck into the gorgeous EP here, it's an absolute stunner!
Christinna O – Hot Head
Philly based singer, songwriter and spoken poet Christinna O shares 'Hot Head', a deeply honest and self-reflective single produced by Daniel Lynas (Kanye West, A$AP Rocky). A song about living with bipolar disorder, 'Hot Head' is a personal expression of "how hard it is to speak and be heard for your truths, especially as a Black woman, as a queer Black woman". Christinna's words paint a picture that is only heightened and more vivid with Lynas' powerful and driving beat. Listen to the single above and if you haven't already done so, be sure to listen to Christinna's 'Girl In Passing' EP which was released last year.
lennixx – Bold Me
Swedish duo lennixx (aka Hanna Larsson and Andrea Kallström) return with another dazzling slice of silky R&B with 'Bold Me'. Having already impressed with their stunning debut EP 'Split By' last year, the rising duo take things to another level with latest offering 'Bold Me' which encompasses a dreamy, luscious soundscape with the pair's heavenly vocals magically blending together. Tuck into 'Bold Me' here and be sure to keep an eye out for more from lennixx this year.
Prateek Kuhad – Kasoor
Indian singer/songwriter and COLORS alumni Prateek Kuhad shares a breathtakingly beautiful new single in the form of 'Kasoor'. Kuhad's soft vocals wash over the spirited piano-led instrumentation that boasts hopeful handclaps and gorgeous guitars to create a consoling and heartwarming atmosphere. Enjoy the song here and be sure to check out Prateek's performance of 'did you/fall apart' for COLORS if you haven't already.
Blle – Under Pressure
Consider yourself introduced to Nottingham, UK based alternative pop artist Blle who captivates with her new single 'Under Pressure'. Having already impressed with the likes of 'Calling Me' and 'Don't Be Surprised' last year, Blle makes it three out of three with 'Under Pressure', a dazzling and vibrant pop song that boasts a slick beat laden with crisp electronics and handclaps to serve as the perfect backdrop for those infectious melodies. Check out 'Under Pressure' here, it's an absolute bop.
Matilda Mann – As It Is
Having performed for our HOME/BRED series earlier this year, London based singer/songwriter Matilda Mann shares gorgeous new single 'As It Is'. The single serves as the lead single to her forthcoming new EP and follows up 'If That Makes Sense', her stunning EP which features a collaboration with COLORS alumni Lucy Lu. On 'As It Is', Matilda Mann's consoling, heartwarming tones wash over gentle guitars that create an entirely immersive and intimate atmosphere. Check out the single here and be sure to keep an eye out for her new EP which is out later this year.
Shay Lia – All Up To You
Montreal based songstress Shay Lia serves up the summery vibes with another delectable cut in the form of 'All Up To You'. Serving as the follow up to last year's superb 'Dangerous' LP, the rising singer/songwriter continues to showcase her irresistible vocals over a tropical beat that encompasses an ever so smooth and relaxing atmosphere. Dive into the lush soundscapes of 'All Up To You' here, it's a stunner!
Tora – Cavalier
London based singer/songwriter Tora releases her powerful debut EP 'Cavalier' which features previously released singles 'Vein' and 'Call Your Name'. The five-track EP captures Tora's brilliant songwriting and unquestionably soothing tones on new tracks 'Below' and 'Escape Room'. With 'Cavalier', Tora has cemented herself as one of the most exciting voices around, see for yourself by streaming the gorgeous EP here.
Moonchild Sanelly – Bashiri
South African artist Moonchild Sanelly shines on latest single "Bashiri', an explosive and psychedelic extravaganza from start to finish. Accompanied by an equally vibrant and atmospheric music video, the track encompasses Moonchild's infectious melodies and unique vocal delivery which weaves its way through the rhythmic instrumentation with ease. Check out the single (which is out via Transgressive Records) and visual here.
Brevin Kim – i need water / he doesn't love her
Boston based duo Brevin Kim (aka Cal and Bren Paulhus) unveil explosive, genre-bending double single 'i need water / he doesn't love her'. Serving as a taster for their forthcoming debut album, 'i need water' and 'he doesn't love her' encompass the pair's shape-shifting sound which incorporates elements of Hip-Hop and Rap with Alternative Rock to create a truly original sound. Check out both singles here and keep an eye out for Brevin Kim's record which is out later this year.


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Dallas County Sheriff
Citizens Academy
What Classes are included?
Students are instructed in the areas of patrol, field enforcement procedures and 9-1-1, criminal courts and jail procedures, felony warrant service, criminal investigations are among the many classes taught. Instructors include deputies as well as civilian law enforcement personnel.
Citizens Academy Mission:
The Dallas County sheriff's goal is to educate citizens on the operations of the department through a series of lectures and hands-on activities. Through the program we hope to increase public awareness, open line of communication and increase rapport between Dallas County communities and the sheriff's department.
Who can attend?
Q: What are the registration requirements?
A: There are three main items:
A: There is no fee to attend.
Q: When do the classes meet?
A: The academy class meets on Tuesday evenings at 6:00pm and end by 10:00 p.m. There are two Saturdays scheduled for K9, sheriff's posse, tactical and firearms demonstrations.
Q: Can we bring something to eat and drink?
A: Dinner and refreshments are provided before each Tuesday night class at no cost!
Q: What can I wear to class?
A: Each student will be provided with an academy shirt at no cost and the proper dress and protocol for the academy class will be explained.


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Items where Author is "Vital, Pedro"
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Maras, Pamela F., Brosnan, Mark, Faulkner, Nathan, Montgomery, Tony and Vital, Pedro (2006) 'They are out of control': self-perceptions, risk-taking and cognitive attributional style of adolescents with and without social emotional and behavioural difficulties. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 11 (4). pp. 281-298. ISSN 1363-2752 1741-2692 (online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13632750601043861)


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Dare we dream that Michel Gondry's Green Hornet could beat the bad buzz? Today's new trailer and a handful of positive of reviews from a recent test screening might just raise your hopes for this comedic action movie.
Looks like they're riding harder on Seth Rogen's comedic skills, as well they should. Couple this new trailer with the reports that earlier this month, Sony screened the Green Hornet and the film received unusually high ranks from the audience. According to the LA Times the movie got a 93 rating, " with 83% of the moviegoers saying they would "definitely recommend" the film to their friends." Perhaps there might be hope for the Green Hornet yet?


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LEBANON, Ohio (AP) -- Sheriff's deputies say an 18-year-old southwest Ohio man was killed by two other teens who then dumped his body several counties away.
Warren County Sheriff Larry Sims said Justin Back was an "innocent victim" of a plot by two 19-year-old men to burglarize the home Back shared with his parents near Waynesville, south of Dayton.
An autopsy is pending, but investigators believe the men choked, stabbed and shot Back before dumping his body in Preble County, north of Dayton, where it was found around noon Wednesday.
Sims called it "a very brutal murder."
Sims said Back knew one of the men from high school. They visited Back at his house Monday, and investigators believe they returned Tuesday to burglarize it.
The suspects are expected to be formally charged Thursday.


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The 'Buncee Your Holidays' Contest is in full swing and if you haven't checked out our buncee user's fabulous creations, you can see all the entries by clicking here!
We currently have 3 great buncees leading the competition, maybe you will find them inspiring enough to create your own entry…it's not too late to win that Apple iPad mini!!
Click on the image to see the buncee, or click on the user's name to see all their buncees!
#3 on the leaderboard is Fariyal Qureshi's 'Merry Christmas!' with 11 buncee likes!
#2 Entry is Brandon Wightman's 'Christmas Soldier' with 12 buncee likes!
Our #1 spot is currently held by 'Diane Hular' for 'Merry Christmas World!' with 17 buncee likes!!
Stay tuned for our next blog post where we give you tips on how to get more 'likes' for your 'Buncee Your Holidays' entry.
Remember, any holiday greeting can be a winner – make sure you share with your friends on email & social networks to get more likes!!


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SAN FRANCISCO, June 28 (UPI) -- Google interrupted its I/O developer conference in San Francisco so four skydivers with wingsuits and parachutes could show off the "Project Glass" eyewear.
The "augmented reality" eyewear, which was announced last winter, took center stage when Google co-founder Sergey Brin interrupted Vice President Vic Gundotra's Google+ social network demonstration Wednesday at the Moscone West conference center to announce an event was taking place that "could go wrong in about 500 different ways," Discovery News reported Thursday.
Brin said the stunt was designed to show off the capabilities of the "Project Glass" eyewear, which can capture and stream photos and videos.
The Google+ video cut to live footage of a zeppelin in the sky and quickly moved on to footage straight from the glasses of the skydivers as they made their way from the aircraft to the roof of the convention center.
A company representative said the stunt was planned about six weeks ago and required the cooperation of the Federal Aviation Administration, the mayor's office, police, the Fire Department and NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif.


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Editor's note: This is the first in a series of CNN Opinion pieces on people who are finding new ways to help solve the world's biggest problems. The founding president of eBay, Jeff Skoll is a philanthropist and founder and chairman of the Skoll Foundation, Participant Media and the Skoll Global Threats Fund, organizations aiming to help build a sustainable world of peace and prosperity. Sally Osberg is President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation, which produces the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.
(CNN) -- Motorcycle racer Andrea Coleman and her journalist husband, Barry Coleman, couldn't forget what they saw during a trip to Somalia in 1986: hemorrhaging patients being carted to clinics in wheelbarrows, rusting vehicles abandoned by the side of the road, community health workers making their rounds by foot.
What all this signaled to the Colemans was a delivery system in deep disarray. It wasn't simply the medical supplies that were lacking -- vaccines, for example, or bed nets -- but more mundane basics such as oil filters and lug nuts, along with the mechanics and maintenance protocols required to ensure transport that was fully functional.
As racers, the Colemans knew what it would take to build such a system. Upon returning to England, they got cracking, eventually mortgaging their house to found Riders for Health.
From food insecurity to lack of access to health care to growing environmental threats -- if we're going to solve the world's most pressing problems, we need social entrepreneurs like the Colemans every bit as much as we need great institutions and great global leaders.
As European Union architect Jean Monnet put it, "Nothing changes without men; nothing lasts without institutions." Working on the front lines, social entrepreneurs fight disease, poverty and injustice with their innovative approaches, proving that health care can be delivered efficiently and equitably, that sustainability trumps depletion, and that we're in this together.
We need these change-makers; we need their agency -- the creativity, discipline and drive they bring to challenges confronting humanity and the planet. But what is it more specifically that makes them so distinctive and so indispensable?
First of all, social entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs. Like business pioneers, social entrepreneurs are utterly determined to drive change with their innovative ideas.
Both aim, in effect, to disrupt a status quo they see as sub-optimal. To the business entrepreneur, this might be a product or service that doesn't work terribly well, but offers customers their only choice.
Consider, for example, the limited, inefficient and unreliable options available for document or parcel delivery before Fred Smith's FedEx came on to the scene.
To the social entrepreneur, the challenge at hand doesn't only cause inconvenience or inefficiency; it causes outright harm, with that burden falling most heavily on poor and marginalized populations. Think of the millions who die miserable deaths from contaminated water in developing world countries, the victims of non-existent or dysfunctional sanitation systems.
Now consider what's required to address misery at this scale, with 2.5 billion of the world's population lacking access to a secure, safe supply of clean water.
What may come most readily to mind are thousands of social service provider organizations dispensing bottled water or boring new wells. Such nongovernmental or civil society entities play a vital role in ameliorating suffering; their interventions save countless lives.
Focusing as they do on meeting critical needs, their frame for action is the near to immediate term.
In contrast, social entrepreneurs working on this issue aim at permanent change, seeking to put in place a new system that will secure communities' safe drinking water for the long-term.
For example, in 2003, Gary White developed WaterCredit, offering the poor a market-based alternative from the charity-driven water and sanitation solutions they were accustomed to.
Water.org's innovative approach was to make small loans available to households via microfinance institutions, empowering residents to take control of their water supply and vastly reducing the time required to fetch water from a local well. Now, $28 million in loans have now been made, with 840,000 people benefitting directly from WaterCredit.
Disruption of an existing status quo, replacing what exists with an entirely new system, demands scale. For business entrepreneurs, this translates to market dominance, with sufficient profits to fuel their ventures' growth through steadily expanding customer uptake.
Social entrepreneurs, too, must get to scale, but it's scale of impact they're after, with little to no chance of generating financial profit from the impoverished or marginalized populations they serve. And yet, they're every bit as driven as business entrepreneurs.
While the successful commercial entrepreneur will compete fiercely in order to establish and maintain market dominance, the successful social entrepreneur will collaborate just as intensely, engaging those with the greatest stake in the change as essential partners -- citizens, governments, and business.
In other words, social entrepreneurs are defined not only by their determination to effect social change, but by the way they work: in common cause with those they serve and through high-leverage partnerships with enlightened governments and businesses. Their ultimate objective is social transformation, and their modus operandi is social as well.
The great social entrepreneur Muhammad Yunus didn't simply build an entirely new system of credit -- called microfinance, which provides financial services to those who haven't traditionally had access to banks -- to serve the poor; he structured Grameen Bank so that its poor borrowers were its owners, fully enfranchised in every dimension of the model.
Over more than two decades, social entrepreneurs Andrea and Barry Coleman have dedicated their lives to building a completely reliable, scalable healthcare delivery transportation system on the African continent. Operating nationally and regionally in seven African countries, Riders helps health care reach more than 12 million people. In Zimbabwe, malarial mortality rates in districts served by Riders' program dropped by more than 60%. In Gambia, its work has been the key to a comprehensive national health-care coverage.
Structured as a nonprofit social enterprise, Riders for Health secures its operating capital from African government ministries and from private philanthropy, with the latter source subsidizing the gap between what governments are able to pay and the system's costs.
In building networks of trust that enroll and support citizens, bolster local institutions and engage global partners, social entrepreneurs strengthen social networks for social good. To address the growing crisis of overfishing, Rupert Howes recognized that the Marine Stewardship Council faced a formidable task.
Over the past several years, he's succeeded in bringing 10% of the world's fisheries into the organization's certification program, not simply by arguing the case for sustainability, but by creating demand. With mega-retailers like Walmart and consumer-facing brands like McDonald's committing to source 100% of their fish from MSC-certified suppliers, his organization has begun to tip the market for wild-caught fish.
Howes understands what's on the line: millions of livelihoods that depend on sustainable fish stocks, food security for a world that looks to fish as its primary source of protein, and biodiversity for the planet's oceans. But to get from a reality presaged by the collapse of the cod fishing industry in the early 1990s to sustainable practice, he understood the need to engage everyone who was part of the system in its transformation: fishermen and consumers, fisheries and processors, suppliers and buyers.
Within every social entrepreneur is an unwavering belief that big, seemingly intractable problems offer unsurpassed opportunities for change. Instead of cursing the darkness, social entrepreneurs choose to ignite the flames of possibility and prove that even our toughest problems can be solved. The Skoll Foundation provides support for many of these change makers, and we're proud to count ourselves as their partners.
Their stories, their approaches and their results deserve to be better known so that business, government, and citizens the world over can join them in creating a future that works for everyone.
Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.
Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the authors.


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Horse power requires fuel.
A century ago, thousands of tons of prairie hay were sold out of wild meadows each year. Railroads carried the hay to distant markets.
Hay was an important income source for homesteaders who were trying to get ahead. A 1908 New York Times article (pdf) states that hay was the second most important cash crop of Nebraska.
The 1919 Encyclopedia Americana reported that Nebraska was the biggest producer of prairie hay in the nation (2,544,000 tons in 1917). It also notes that the largest hay-shipping station in the world was located at Newport, Nebraska.
The following short description of the best of Nebraska's fine hay prairies was written in the late 1930, after the hay-shipping market had begun to decline:
West of O'Neill, the highway [Highway 20] passes through the great hay-producing country, which extends as far as Valentine in an almost unbroken stretch of prairie, dotted in the fall with large haystacks.
Source: Nebraska, a Guide to the Cornhusker State (page 310), by The Federal Writers Project, Nebraska. Published in 1939 by US History Publishers.
And where did the railroads carry all this hay? Some of it went to the horses of the U.S. Army, but much of it went to cities, to feed the millions of horses that labored in the streets.
If one assumes an urban horse population of approximately 3 million in 1900, then 7,200,000 tons of hay and 4,200,000 tons of oats were consumed by city horses per year. To grow this amount of fodder may have required as many as 15,000,000 acres.
Source: The Making of Urban America (page 120) by Raymond Mohl. Published by Rowman & Littlefield in 1997.
The production of hay for the urban horses was an important part of the economy. In the early 1930s, the Horse Association of America (HAA) issued several statements that blamed the depression in the agricultural sector on the automobile. They claimed that the ag depression would never have happened if automobiles, etc., had not largely replaced horses in city streets, and they provided a set of figures to prove it.
The authors of The Horse in the City think that the HAA may have underestimated the amount of hay needed, had horses and mules still been powering all city vehicles in 1930. However,
[t]here can be little dispute that the amount of land needed to feed urban horses and mules was vast. In short, horses had to eat in order to produce energy, and the food they consumed absorbed the output of large amounts of agricultural land, required massive capital and labor inputs for production and transportation, and necessitated an extensive regional and urban distribution system.
Source: The Horse in the City (p. 129) by Clay McShane and Joel Arthur Tarr. Published by JHU Press in 2007
The importance of hay in the economy helps to explain why the New York Times archives from the era of horses contain many reports of prairie fires. An example is the article, A Disastrous Prairie Fire (pdf), which burned a portion of the hay crop in the Newport, Nebraska area.
Besides the interest that the public always has in disasters, such fires were matters of concern to business people. Just as we watch the price of gasoline today, people watched the price of hay then.


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Sergei Kukharenko, a visiting professor to Bemidji State University from Russia, will deliver an Honors Council Lecture on "soft power," a Chinese policy of creating a positive image of China in order to attract more people to admire Chinese language and culture and want to visit China.
Kukharenko's presentation, "Chinese Soft Power Policy," will be held Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. in Hagg-Sauer 112 on the Bemidji State campus. Honors Council Lectures are open to the public free of charge.
Kukharenko wrote his doctoral thesis on Chinese migration to western Europe and interaction with the host community.
Between 2004-07, he worked as an instructor in Russia under the Stanford University Initiative of distance learning. From 2008-11, he worked as a head of the regional department of a Russian right-wing liberal party and from 2006 until present as the head of international programs and project department at Balgoveschensk State Pedagogical University in Russia.
Kukharenko is an author of a number of articles including some on Chinese foreign policy and Chinese "soft power," a term introduced by an American political scientist Joseph Nye to indicate a nation taking a foreign policy position of attraction rather than coercion.
The Honors Council Lecture Series is hosted by the Bemidji State University Honors Council. The council is the advisory group to the honors program comprised of 12 faculty members from each of the University's colleges. Student representatives are also elected to the council by their cohorts for one-year terms.
• BSU honors program; (218) 755-3984
• Sergei Kukharenko on Wikipedia
• Sergei Kukharenko on Twitter: @kukharenko