text:
Last year I tried tomatillos for the first time and I really enjoyed them. I have been keeping my eyes open for them and when I came across them at the farmers market on the weekend I picked some up right away. Of course the first thing that I made was some salsa verde and while I was enjoying it I remembered seeing this recipe for salsa verde turkey burgers on Prudence Pennywise . I liked the sound of pretty much everything about these burgers from the turkey to the salsa verde to the pepperjack cheese to the avocado to the way that it used the cilantro and I would even get to use some more green tomatoes! The salsa verde burgers did not hold together too well but they were super moist and they tasted great! I have been enjoying avocados lately and I would not have thought to combine them with mayonnaise but it was a fabulous combination that went well in this burger. Normally I would have just chopped up the cilantro and mixed it in with the burger but I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was as a fresh garish in the burger. The tartness of the green tomatoes complimented the other flavours of the burgers nicely. These burgers may have been a bit messy but they were oh so tasty!
Salsa Verde Turkey Burger
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 egg (lightly beaten)
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup salsa verde
- 4 slices pepperjack cheese
- 1 avocado (pitted and scooped)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic (grated)
- 4 buns/rolls
- green tomatoes (sliced) or pickled green tomatoes (sliced)
- cilantro (optional)
- Mix the turkey, egg, breadcrumbs and salsa verde in a bowl.
- Form 4 patties and place them on a broiling pan.
- Broil until cooked, about 10-15 minutes.
- Place the cheese slices on the patties and broil until melted, about 1 minute.
- Mix the avocado, mayonnaise and garlic and mash the avocado to the desired consistency.
- Serve the burger in a bun with the avocado mayonnaise, cilantro and sliced green tomatoes.
Green Goddess Zucchini Turkey Burgers
Salsa Verde Pulled Chicken Sandwich
Thai Peanut Turkey Burger
Salsa Verde Lasagna
Jamaican Jerk Burgers with Pineapple and Banana Relish
Cuban Burgers
Fajita Burgers
Taco Burgers
Salsa Verde Chicken Enchilada Skillet


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Another change is that the videos from your feed take up a lot more space because the thumbnails are bigger. The new interface lets you hide videos from the feed, a feature that used to be available in the previous YouTube UIs. YouTube also shows a small "watched" label over the thumbnail after playing a video.
Here's the experimental UI:
... and the existing homepage:
Here's how you can try the latest Google experiment. If you use Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari or Internet Explorer 8+, open youtube.com in a new tab, load:
* Chrome's JavaScript console (Ctrl+Shift+J for Windows/Linux/ChromeOS or Command-Option-J for Mac)
* Firefox's Web Console (Ctrl+Shift+K for Windows/Linux or Command-Option-K for Mac)
* Opera's Dragonfly (Ctrl+Shift+I for Windows/Linux or Command-Option-I for Mac)
* Safari's Web Inspector (how to do that?)
* Internet Explorer's Developer Tools (press F12 and select the "console" tab)
and paste the following code which changes a YouTube cookie:
document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=pfnTZqEKHEE; path=/; domain=.youtube.com";window.location.reload();
Then press Enter and close the console. To go back to the standard UI, follow the same steps, but use the following code:
document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=; path=/; domain=.youtube.com";window.location.reload();
There are many improvements in Google's experiment, but the information density is pretty low and you have to keep scrolling down to see more videos.
Update (December 7, 2012): The new interface is available for everyone and you can no longer go back to the old layout.
{ via TechnoNet. }

subset: commoncrawl


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LUBBOCK, Texas — The highest beef prices in almost three decades have arrived just before the start of grilling season, causing sticker shock for both consumers and restaurant owners — and relief isn't likely anytime soon.
A dwindling number of cattle and growing export demand from countries such as China and Japan have caused the average retail cost of fresh beef to climb to $5.28 a pound in February, up almost a quarter from January and the highest price since 1987.
Everything that's produced is being consumed, said Kevin Good, an analyst at CattleFax, a Colorado-based information group. And prices likely will stay high for a couple of years as cattle producers start to rebuild their herds amid big questions about whether the Southwest and parts of the Midwest will see enough rain to replenish pastures.
Meanwhile, quick trips to the grocery store could drag on a little longer as shoppers search for cuts that won't break the budgets. Patrons at one market in Lubbock seemed resigned to the high prices, but not happy.
"I quit buying steaks a while ago when the price went up," said 59-year-old Lubbock resident Len Markham, who works at Texas Tech. She says she limits red meat purchases to hamburger, opting for chicken, pork and fish instead.
Fellow Lubbock resident Terry Olson says she buys chicken and eggs now.
"I don't buy (red) meat, period," the 67-year-old said, admitting there's an occasional hamburger purchase. "Not like I used to because of the price."
Restaurant owners, too, must deal with the high prices. Mark Hutchens, owner of the 50 Yard Line Steakhouse in Lubbock, raised his menu prices for beef items by about 5 percent in November. Since then, the owner of the eatery has tried to make cuts elsewhere to avoid passing it on to customers.
"It really squeezes the small guys more," he said of non-chain restaurants. "You just can't keep going up on people forever. I just think you have to stay competitive and keep your costs low."
White-tablecloth restaurants have adjusted the size of their steaks, making them thinner to offset the price increases, says Jim Robb, director of the Colorado-based Livestock Marketing Information Center. Some places now serve a 6-ounce sirloin, compared to 8- or 10-ounce portions offered years ago, he said.
And fast-food restaurants are trimming costs by reducing the number of menu items and are offering other meat options, including turkey burgers, Robb said. Chain restaurants also try to buy in volume as much as they can, which essentially gives them a discount, Iowa State University assistant economics professor Lee Schulz said.
"That can help them when they're seeing these higher prices," he said. "They can't do anything with the high prices."
The high prices are welcome news for at least one group: ranchers, especially those in Texas who for years have struggled amid drought and high feed prices. Despite the most recent numbers that show the fewest head of cattle in the U.S. since 1951, prices for beef haven't declined along with the herd size as demand has remained strong.
But even as ranchers breathe a sigh of relief, some worry lasting high prices will prompt consumers to permanently change their buying habits — switching to chicken or pork. Pete Bonds, a 62-year-old Texas rancher and president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, said that's a big concern, especially as younger consumers start to establish themselves.
But such fears may be unfounded, Robb said. Three years ago, economists thought consumers would start finding substitutions for beef as the drought spread. "We're surprised we haven't seen more of that," he said.
South Dakota rancher Chuck O'Connor is optimistic that consumers won't abandon beef for good.
"I'm sure some are maybe going to cut back some, but to say that people aren't going to buy it anymore, I don't think that's going to happen," he said, adding, "I hope not."
Beef isn't the only meat with higher price tags. The price of pork also has climbed, largely due to a virus that has killed millions of young pigs. And composite retail prices for chicken in February were $1.95 per pound, the highest since October.
"I think these higher food prices are here to stay, including beef," said Dale Spencer, a rancher in central Nebraska and the former president of the Nebraska Cattle Association. "As we grow the herd, we'll have more supplies and prices should drop some at the market. I would not say a drastic drop."
The long-term trend, Good said, is that more shoppers will choose cheaper hamburger over higher-priced steaks and roasts.
"There's concern for the future but what's the consumer to do?" he said. "Pay the price or do without."
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The Obelisk Presents: THE TOP 30 ALBUMS OF 2017
Posted in Features on December 28th, 2017 by JJ KoczanPlease note: This post is not culled in any way from the Year-End Poll, which is ongoing. If you haven't yet contributed your favorites of 2017 to that, please do.
We're almost at the finish line for 2017, and if I'm honest, it's not a minute too soon. I think if one more record comes out this year my head is going to explode.
A perpetual onslaught of cool music is, of course, nothing to complain about. It just seemed like every time I thought I had a handle on where the year was going, some other announcement came through and knocked me on my ass. What's that? The Obsessed are putting out their first album in more than two decades? Oh and Monolord have a new one coming? Radio Moscow just signed to Century Media? Arc of Ascent are back? Samsara Blues Experiment are back? Causa Sui are putting out a live album and a studio album? Sasquatch are going to Europe and sneaking a record along with them? All of a sudden I'm out of breath feeling like I just ran a lap.
It's been madness this year. Between an emergent neo-psych movement in the wake of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and others, and the ongoing and constant reshaping of doom and heavy rock from practitioners new and old, I don't know how anyone could ever claim to keep up with any of it.
You know I do the best I can, so when you look through this list, please keep in mind that these are my picks and the result of applying my own standard, which if you've ever seen a list on this site before you probably already know is a combination of things like what I view as being important on a critical level and things like what kept me coming back as a listener. What were the year's biggest releases and what couldn't I get enough of? Sometimes those two things come together around one record and it's beautiful. That's usually your album of the year, or close to, anyhow.
No sense in delaying further. I hope if you haven't heard some of this stuff you'll give it a shot, and if you have something you felt strongly about it, you'll let me know in the comments. Thanks in advance for keeping it civil, and of course for reading.
Here goes:
30. Geezer, Psychoriffadelia
Released by Kozmik Artifactz and STB Records. Reviewed May 16.
Coming off of what was their strongest album to-date in their 2016 self-titled (review here), New York heavy psych blues trio Geezer decided it was time to take the groove for a walk. And so they did. Psychoriffadelia is the result — a looser collection of jams and willfully unrefined heavy blues, reveling in the politically incorrect on "Dirty Penny" only after basking in the post-Monster Magnet hypnosis of "Red Hook" and the earlier roll of the more straightforward "Hair of the Dog" and "Stressknots." Everything Geezer has done to this point has pushed their sound to new places. Psychoriffadelia is no exception.
29. Orango, The Mules of Nana
Released by Stickman Records. Reviewed March 27.
More than a touch of twang on opener "Heartland" sets a tone of Americana-infusion for Orango's sixth LP, The Mules of Nana, but the 10-tracker is ultimately much more about harmony-laced classic heavy smoothness than playing to prairie-minded sensibilities, though roots spread wide through a natural, dirty blues just the same. However they get there, "Hazy Chain of Mountains," the softshoe-ready funk of "Head on Down" and the peacefully progressive finish of "Ghost Rider" bring '70s-style thrills in songwriting and their precise, gorgeous execution. Underrated record from an underappreciated band.
28. Radio Moscow, New Beginnings
Released by Century Media. Reviewed Oct. 6.
Cali boogie kingpins and all-around marvelous frenetic bastards Radio Moscow were in top form on their Century Media debut, and if it was a new beginning they were searching for, they met it head on with a sound as classic and organic as ever. Arguably the most powerful power trio in their game, they tore through cuts like "No One Knows Where They've Been" and "Deceiver" while offering flourish in the trip-out "Woodrose Morning" and subdued blues-psych on the penultimate "Pick up the Pieces." Very much to form, but cast of a form that still manages to outclass all challengers.
27. Spaceslug, Time Travel Dilemma
Released by Southcave Records, BSFD Records and Oak Island Records. Reviewed Feb. 10.
And so here we have the first of what will no doubt be several records about which I'm going to say they should be higher on the list. Poland's Spaceslug have emerged from the moist ground created by their own tonality and on their sophomore full-length, they proffered warm depth of fuzz and a corresponding melodic and psychedelic reach that was resonant even before they brought in ex-Sungrazer bassist Sander Haagmans for a guest spot on the title-track. It's been out for 10 months and still delivers every time I put it on, which is often.
26. Mothership, High Strangeness
Released by Ripple Music and Heavy Psych Sounds. Reviewed March 7.
Three albums into a tenure marked by hard-driving riffs, scorching solos and relentless road work, there's little Texas trio Mothership need to do at this point to prove themselves to their audience. At the same time, High Strangeness brought considerable expansion to their range overall, whether it was the exploratory "Eternal Trip" or the semi-metallic insistence behind "Midnight Express," while staying tied together with lyrical and instrumental hooks. High Strangeness set a new standard for Mothership, plain and simple, and easily surpassed the considerable accomplishments of their 2012 self-titled debut (review here) and 2014's Mothership II (review here).
25. Eternal Black, Bleed the Days
Released by Obsidian Sky Records. Reviewed Aug. 1.
There was a lot about Eternal Black's Bleed the Days that chugged its way into the post-Wino oeuvre of US-style trad doom, but the gruff, lumbering and impeccably riffed outing was nonetheless one of 2017's best debut full-lengths, and it was the songwriting that got it there. Already sounding sure in the vibe captured, cuts like the plodding brooder "Sea of Graves" and "Stained Eyes on a Setting Sun" showed potential in mood and atmosphere as much as sheer sonic heft — though of course there was plenty of that to go around as well. Doomers missed it at their peril.
24. Kadavar, Rough Times
Released by Nuclear Blast. Reviewed Sept. 6.
It kind of feels like a slight to have Berlin trio Kadavar appear anywhere outside of at least a top 10 on any kind of list whatsoever, ever, but that's not my intention at all. Rather, their fourth album and third for Nuclear Blast found them at an important stage in their progression — past the novelty of the vintage feel in their early work, after having proven their songwriting could translate to a modern context, and embarking on a process of expanding their sound. Rough Times, which was as current as current could be, met that goal and beat it easily with a barrage of memorable choruses and a dark streak one could only consider suitable for our age.
23. Shroud Eater, Strike the Sun
Released by STB Records. Reviewed June 28.
The biggest surprise about Shroud Eater's long-awaited sophomore long-player was also its most encouraging aspect — namely how it found the Miami trio bringing together various impulses shown on a number of shorter releases over the course of the six years since their debut, ThunderNoise (review here), came out in 2011, and still managed to utterly crush when it so chose. With a swath from sludge to drone and back again, this was no minor feat, and that the songs they brought to bear were so memorable at their heart as well makes me hope all the more it's not 2023 before their third album arrives.
22. Enslaved, E
Released by Nuclear Blast. Reviewed Oct. 4.
What's left to say about Norwegian progressive black metal innovators Enslaved 14 records into their career? Plenty as it turns out. The introduction of new keyboardist/vocalist Håkon Vinje in place of Herbrand Larsen brought a new twist on a signature element of Enslaved's approach. Vinje utterly owned his role, and his performance alongside guitarist Ivar Bjørnson, bassist/vocalist Grutle Kjellson, guitarist Arve "Ice Dale" Isdal and drummer Cato Bekkevold resulted in a fresh urgency that made the band's sound even more potent and set their ongoing creative evolution on a new branch of its self-directed path.
21. Arc of Ascent, Realms of the Metaphysical
Released by Astral Projection and Clostridium Records. Reviewed April 6.
Some five years on from 2012's The Higher Key (review here) and seven out from their debut, Circle of the Sun (review here), and with bassist/vocalist Craig Williamson firmly entrenched in his always excellent Lamp of the Universe psych-drone-folk solo-project, I wasn't sure there would be another offering from New Zealand heavy psych-rock trio Arc of Ascent, but Realms of the Metaphysical took shape from an ether of riffs and echoes atop resilient underlying structures and revitalized the group with new drummer Mark McGeady in the lineup with Williamson and guitarist Matt Cole-Baker. Remains to be seen if this marks a priority shift for Williamson or it's a one-off, but its arrival was welcome either way.
20. Causa Sui, Vibraciones Doradas
Released by El Paraiso Records. Reviewed Oct. 20.
With the various glories already offered in 2017 on the Live in Copenhagen (review here) 3LP, one didn't necessarily expect a new studio outing from Danish instrumental psych masters Causa Sui, but Vibraciones Doradas found them as vibrant as ever, bringing forth a surprising amount of tonal weight on songs like "El Fuego," warm fuzz for the basking on opener "The Drop" and spaciousness on the closing title-track. Somewhat more straight-ahead in its rocking groove than 2016's Return to Sky (review here), the five-track/38-minute long-player showed yet again why Causa Sui are always welcome and that any news of a new release from them, live, studio, whatever, is good news. This was the kind of record that could make your day if you let it.
19. Telekinetic Yeti, Abominable
Released by Sump Pump Records. Reviewed April 10.
The Iowa-based duo of guitarist/vocalist Alex Baumann and drummer Anthony Dreyer, operating as Telekinetic Yeti, released what I considered to be the debut of the year, both for the fullness of its tonality and the accomplishment in songcraft it already showed. Powered by cuts like its lumbering title-track and the gloriously fuzzed runner "Stoned and Feathered," it could've been another band's second or third record for the level of cohesion on display and the obvious awareness on the part of the band of what they wanted to do with their sound and the just-as-obvious result of their bringing it to life.
18. Cloud Catcher, Trails of Kozmic Dust
Released by Totem Cat Records. Reviewed Dec. 9, 2016.
While I admit I'm still not 100 percent certain on whether to spell "kozmic" in the title with a 'k' or with a 'c' on the end, that question did nothing ultimately to diminish enjoyment of Denver emergents Cloud Catcher's sophomore outing. Topped off by one of the best album covers of the year, the follow-up to their 2015 debut, Enlightened Beyond Existence (discussed here), took the progressive casting of that record to a place entirely more raw and rock-driven, willfully roughing up the edges even as it showed marked creative growth on a relatively quick turnaround. The must-hear bass tone of "Beyond the Electric Sun" and "Super Acid Magick" was icing on a cake of choice riffing and Hendrixian lead swirl, and the shuffle they elicited was enough to make even the most stubborn of asses (i.e. mine) think about moving.
17. Ruby the Hatchet, Planetary Space Child
Released by Tee Pee Records. Reviewed Aug. 29.
After the neo-garage manifestations of their 2015 sophomore outing, Valley of the Snake (review here), it was clear Philly psych rockers Ruby the Hatchet were a force when it came to songwriting. What was less obvious was what they'd do with that going forward. On Planetary Space Child, at least, the answer is they'll take it to Freaktown. The melody-happy, organ-laced swirlmasters conjured presence kosmiche enough to justify the album's title, and around the cast-in-moon-rock structures of the swinging "Pagan Ritual" and the playfully doomed "Symphony of the Night," Ruby the Hatchet built a multifaceted weirdoist triumph the likes of which simply doesn't come along every year, establishing themselves as more reliable and less predictable than ever: an absolute win.
16. Alunah, Solennial
Released by Svart Records. Reviewed March 1.
It's been the case more or less all along with UK forest rockers Alunah that their nature-minded material and heavy rolling grooves have had their haunting aspects, but with the production of Conan's Chris Fielding behind it, Solennial — their fourth LP and first on Svart — brought this to new levels entirely. The songs, memorable like footprints in the woods, are somewhat bittersweet in context now, since founding guitarist/vocalist Sophie Day announced in September she was leaving the band, but as the group will move forward led by guitarist Dave Day and recently acquired new singer Siân Greenaway, intrigue remains high at what the future might bring and the impact of Solennial is undiminished.
15. Mindkult, Lucifer's Dream
Released by Transcending Obscurity Records and Caligari Records.
Virginia-based doomgazing garage cult solo-project Mindkult has thus far managed to keep some of the mystique around its sole inhabitant, Fowst, which is admirable in a way. As the multi-instrmentalist, vocalist and producer this year answered the promise of last year's Witch's Oath (review here) debut, he did so around a swath of purposeful miseries, loose devil worship and other dark thematics, casting an atmospheric darkness matched head-on by the tonal murk of his riffs. Through this, however, the songwriting was no less memorable than on the first offering, and as the project moves forward, one can only hope that Fowst will continue to use that as the core aspect buried six feet under his other, formidable stylistic achievements. That certainly was how it worked out on Lucifer's Dream.
14. Argus, From Fields of Fire
Released by Cruz del Sur Music. Reviewed Sept. 1.
Behold ye perhaps the most underrated band in heavy metal. Regardless of subgenre, style, strata, whatever, it's hard to listen to From Fields of Fire and think of Pittsburgh's Argus as anything else. The five-piece's fourth album continued to owe part of its sound to doom, but was much more encompassing than simply that, touching on aspects of classic metal with a command that left one wondering how they hadn't yet been tapped to open for Judas Priest on that band's next tour. Victory abounds on a per-song basis throughout the nine-tracker, and whether it was the emotional crux of "Hour of Longing" or the catchy fistpump righteousness of "Devils of Your Time" or the 11-minute progressive reach of "Infinite Lives/Infinite Doors," Argus once again crafted a work nigh-unmatched in poise and class.
13. Uffe Lorenzen, Galmandsværk
Released by Bad Afro Records. Reviewed Nov. 6.
For the first outing ever to be issued under his real name, Denmark's Uffe Lorenzen — aka Lorenzo Woodrose of garage-psych pioneers Baby Woodrose — danced between acid folk singer-songwriterisms like "Flippertøs" and more expansive jamming on "På Kanten Af Verden," all the while retaining his distinct structural and arrangement sensibilities and creating a flowing vibe that was nothing less than a pure joy of classic-form psychedelia. The most serene and pastoral freakout one was likely to witness in 2017, easily, Galmandsværk resounded in the Mellotron-laced "Høj Som Et Højhus" and was no less at home in the acoustic spaciousness of the earlier "Remits Tyranni," able to wander where it pleased and find steady ground in molten surroundings.
12. The Flying Eyes, Burning of the Season
Released by Ripple Music. Reviewed Oct. 11.
A welcome return from a viciously underappreciated band, The Flying Eyes' Burning of the Season marked the Baltimore four-piece's first offering for Ripple Music and first since 2013's Lowlands (review here), a four-year stretch during which the band kept busy touring Europe and South America, the latter also being where they recorded these songs with Gabriel Zander at Estudio Superfuzz in Brazil. The tonal depth resulting from that process was enough to make the collection a highlight, but it was the songs themselves that most stood out, benefiting from the band's expanded reach and legitimate, hard-won maturity. Especially for a group who've done so much work on the road over their years — to be fair, the US has been pretty low priority in that regard — they remain a secret kept too well.
11. Bell Witch, Mirror Reaper
Released by Profound Lore. Reviewed Dec. 27.
Doomed extremity simply unmatched in its scope. The song of the year for 2017. An accomplishment the likes of which is prone to happen maybe once or twice in a generation. None of this seems to really speak to the entirety of the achievement that is Bell Witch's Mirror Reaper — the single-song, 83-minute full-length issued by the Seattle duo like a challenge in the face of mortality itself. Beautiful, devastating and weighted like the grave, its sprawl utterly consumed the listener, and I firmly believe it will be years before its depths are fully processed. Some offerings are bigger than the year in which they're released. Mirror Reaper would seem to function on a scale of its own, and though it could easily be read as a litmus test for audience punishment, the truth of the listening experience is both more emotionally complex and more fulfilling than simple hyperbole can capture.
10. Monolord, Rust
Released by RidingEasy Records. Reviewed Oct. 26.
The story all along with Gothenburg's Monolord has been tone. Tone tone tone. Crush crush crush. Riffs riffs riffs. Nothing wrong with any of that, but their third album, Rust, proves once and for all that there's more to the trio than "cool riffs bro" and post-Electric Wizard nod. Catchy cuts like "Dear Lucifer" and rolling opener "Where Death Meets the Sea" brought a sense of space leading to the later sprawl of "Forgotten Lands" and "At Niceae," and the band settled into an individualized, lumbering psychedelia that moved forward from 2015's Vænir (review here), not leaving behind the heft that earned them their reputation, but not at all being limited by it either in scope or overall approach. Three records in, Rust brought forth Monolord's greatest sonic expansion yet and gave rise to the feeling that their true potential was just starting to come to fruition. Also, crush crush crush. Cool riffs, bro.
9. Vokonis, The Sunken Djinn
Released by Ripple Music. Reviewed June 5.
The Sunken Djinn is Vokonis' second full-length in as many years, and in addition to serving as their Ripple debut where 2016's Olde One Ascending (review here) landed via Ozium Records, it was a feast for hungry riff hounds. In defiance of its quick turnaround, it showed a firm evolution taking place within the upstart Swedish trio of guitarist/vocalist Simona Ohlsson, bassist/backing vocalist Jonte Johansson and drummer Emil Larsson, whose range overall was greater in tracks like "Rapturous" and the torrential "Blood Vortex" while nonetheless controlled in its delivery. Their Sleep-y origins still a factor sound-wise, Vokonis were able just the same to push themselves ahead into new sonic ground in fittingly lumbering fashion, and the character they brought to "The Sunken Djinn," "Calling from the Core" and the noise-caked "Maelstroem" seemed to speak to a burgeoning sense of atmospheric focus taking hold as well. Still so much potential here.
8. Electric Moon, Stardust Rituals
Released by Sulatron Records. Reviewed April 7.
Do I even need to remotely justify having Electric Moon's first studio album in six years on this list? Was it not just like a love-letter issued by the cosmos itself? What more explanation could possibly be necessary? Not that the German trio haven't dropped copious, glorious live outings all the while, but to have Dave "Sula Bassana" Schmidt, "Komet Lulu" Neudeck and Marcus Schnitzler follow-up 2011's The Doomsday Machine (review here) with four cuts culminating in the 22-minute sprawl of "(You Will) Live Forever Now" was high on the list of the year's most satisfying psychedelic journeys. Constantly exploring, their methods always seem geared toward finding the molten essence of space rock itself, and though the songs on Stardust Rituals were a little more crafted than some of their straight-up improv jams, they nonetheless showed there are many avenues one might take to get to the heart of the sun.
7. Sun Blood Stories, It Runs Around the Room with Us
Self-released. Reviewed May 1.
This one is personal, and by that I mean I love this fucking band. Similar to my experience with their 2015 sophomore outing, Twilight Midnight Morning (review here), the third record by Boise-based trio of Ben Kirby (vocals, guitar, synth, percussion), Amber Pollard (vocals, guitar, theremin, percussion) and Jon Fust (drums, keys, percussion, noise) was one that I simply could not put down. Even now, seeing the name of the record is all I need to have songs like "The Great Destroyer" and the immersive midsection in "Come Like Rain" and "Time Like Smoke" stuck in my head, let alone the ultra-brazen, searingly-pissed "Burn" noise assault that finished the album and in the span of 90 seconds turned all the psychedelic warmth and serenity on its face with a visceral anger completely unforeseen and jarring, turning it from a depth-laden execution of adventurous neo-psych and indie into a project of conceptual artistry with all the efficiency of the chemical reaction it sought to portray. If you missed it, your loss.
6. The Atomic Bitchwax, Force Field
Released by Tee Pee Records. Reviewed Dec. 7.
Songs like "Alaskan Thunder Fuck," "Humble Brag" and "Earth Shaker (Which Doobie U Be?)" assured that the defining character of Force Field, the sixth album from New Jersey's The Atomic Bitchwax, was pure scorch. That made the 12-cut outing a more than worthy follow-up for 2015's Gravitron (review here), which introduced this more speed-rock-minded, aggressive delivery from the tight-as-nails trio, and while they proved they could still lock in a slower groove on the organ-topped finisher "Liv a Little," head-spinners like the instrumental "Fried, Dyed and Layin' to the Side" and "Houndstooth" came across like the fruit of the band pushing themselves to the limits of their physical ability in terms of tempo, and their ride along the edge of that line brought thrills at every turn. And make no mistake, there were a lot of turns. Fortunately, bassist/vocalist Chris Kosnik, guitarist/vocalist Finn Ryan and drummer Bob Pantella seemingly had a corresponding hook in their pocket for each one of them. This band is a national treasure.
5. Atavismo, Inerte
Released by Temple of Torturous. Reviewed Feb. 21.
Warm, fuzzy tones, rhythmic shifts right out of classic progressive rock, melodic intricacy and periodic excursions into glorious psychedelic drift: I'm not sure what wasn't to like about Inerte, Atavismo's second full-length behind 2014's Desintegración (review here). Comprising five tracks of unmistakable flow and jam-laden fluidity, it was immersive with landmarks along the way to keep the listener from getting too lost, and whether or not one spoke Spanish, the three-piece of Jose "Poti" Moreno (ex-Viaje a 800, Mind!), bassist/vocalist Mateo and drummer/vocalist Sandri Pow (also ex-Mind!) made it easy to follow along their purposefully meandering path, offering guidance no less skillful on the 11-minute fuzz-freaker "El Sueño" than the dream-toned linear build of "Belleza Cuatro." There were very, very few albums I listened to more this year than this one, which is precisely why it is where it is on this list.
4. Samsara Blues Experiment, One with the Universe
Released by Electric Magic Records and Abraxas Records. Reviewed May 4.
Four years between records isn't at all an unheard of stretch. It's not the longest on this list by any means. But with Berlin heavy psych rockers Samsara Blues Experiment, it really seemed like the band was done, so to have them come back with such force on One with the Universe was, as I know I said at several points throughout the last 12 months, one of the year's total highlights. Tracked by former bassist Richard Behrens, the group's fourth album answered the extended-track spread of 2013's Waiting for the Flood (review here) with a deeper sense of sonic variety, and while the 15-minute title-cut and opener "Vispassana" still had plenty of room for jamming out and even six-minute centerpiece "Glorious Daze" found room for some flourish of organ and sitar, guitarist/vocalist Christian Peters, drummer Thomas Vedder and bassist Hans Eiselt rightly featured the chemistry they've built as a trio live and brought to the songs a renewed sense of vigor, sounding — and hopefully being — truly inspired. Waiting for the Flood capped a period of marked productivity across several years. Fingers crossed One with the Universe begins that cycle anew.
3. Elder, Reflections of a Floating World
Released by Armageddon Shop and Stickman Records. Reviewed May 23.
You just can't consider Elder's Reflections of a Floating World outside the context of the progressive achievement that was their prior outing, 2015's Lore (review here). Where the trio — based now between Massachusetts and Berlin, Germany — took their first two outings, 2008's self-titled debut (discussed here) and 2011's Dead Roots Stirring (review here), to find their sound, which they began to showcase on the 2012 Spires Burn/Release EP (review here), it was Lore that brought to fruition the potential that had always been waiting to be unleashed by the trio of guitarist/vocalist Nick DiSalvo, bassist Jack Donovan and drummer Matt Couto, and Reflections of a Floating World had the daunting task of being the next further step from that landmark moment. To say the band rose to the occasion is perhaps to undersell the cohesion at work in consuming-but-cohesive pieces like opener "Sanctuary" or "Blind" or "Staving off the Truth," which brought together clear-headed psychedelia around a wash that seemed to stem as much from rhythm as melody. As they've matured stylistically and become a major touring presence, Elder have made themselves perhaps the most pivotal American heavy rock act going, and Reflections of a Floating World brings them to the discovery of yet another apex while at the same time giving zero indication it will be the last one they find.
2. Colour Haze, In Her Garden
Released by Elektrohasch Schallplatten. Reviewed March 9.
Of course, the bonus of writing about Colour Haze in just about any context is that you get to put Colour Haze on while you're doing it, and in the case of the 12th LP from these Munich heavy psych forebears, that's an even more appealing prospect. After stripping down some of the arrangement flourish with 2014's To the Highest Gods We Know (review here), the 13-track/73-minute 2LP In Her Garden brought a revitalized sonic expansion, but as ever, it wasn't just the horns or the strings or the blend of keys and acoustics that made In Her Garden the unbridled joy that it was and continues to be — it was the underlying performance from guitarist/vocalist Stefan Koglek, bassist Philipp Rasthofer and drummer Manfred Merwald that gave the album the stem on which its garden grew. That's not to say Jan Faszbender's work on modular synth, Rhodes, and Hammond or the arrangements of strings, tuba, bass-clarinet and trombone throughout hurt anything, just that as Colour Haze have grown into incorporating these elements into their groundbreaking aesthetic, they haven't left behind the organic chemistry and necessary live feel that has helped them influence a generation of followers over their more than 20-year career. One came through as much as the other on In Her Garden, and that balance gave the overarching warmth of their self-recorded tonality yet another level on which to engage their audience. I'll be a sucker for Colour Haze for as long as I live, and I have absolutely no problem admitting to and owning that.
1. All Them Witches, Sleeping Through the War
Released by New West Records. Reviewed Jan. 27.
It was clear early on that Nashville four-piece All Them Witches were contending hard for Album of the Year with Sleeping Through the War, their fourth long-player and second for New West following the mellow vibes of 2015's Dying Surfer Meets His Maker (review here). What finally sealed it? The songs. Working with producer Dave Cobb, the each-member-essential lineup of bassist/vocalist Michael Parks, Jr., guitarist Ben McLeod, key-specialist Allan van Cleave (Rhodes, Mellotron, piano, organ, etc.) and drummer/graphic artist Robby Staebler solidified their approach in exciting new ways on early cuts like the grunge-crunching "Don't Bring Me Coffee" and the shuffling "Bruce Lee," which hit in succession following the fluid lead-in of opener "Bulls," an introduction of the organic psychedelia and heavy blues that the loose-swinging of "3-5-7″'s nigh-on-gospel chorus and subsequent, almost maddeningly catchy "Am I Going Up?" would continue to push outward, thereby setting a linear course into a consciousness-capturing side B with "Alabaster" and the jammier "Cowboy Kirk" and "Internet" playing between melodic nuance and mindful, go-with-it drift. The unflinching strength of the material was matched perhaps only by the understatement of its delivery, which was the more staggering considering how easily the arrangements of background vocals on "Am I Going Up?" or "3-5-7" could have come through as overblown or self-indulgent, and by the time they got down to the light weirdo-bluesy stomp of "Internet" — the key lyric and hook being, "Guess I'll go live on the internet" — there was no doubting the genuine nature of the realization Sleeping Through the War represented for All Them Witches. Coupling that feeling of achievement with the sheer repeatability of the listening experience itself left no doubt that 2017 belonged to these tracks and the marvelous way the band wove between them, and that whatever other sounds All Them Witches may go on to explore and whatever else they may accomplish as a result, Sleeping Through the War was a truly special moment in their evolution that, as with the best of offerings in any year, will continue to resonate long after the calendar page has turned.
The Next 20
You know, I used to feel like once you got past a top 20, the numbers were arbitrary. Then I felt that way about the top 30. This year, I think I agonized more about what to include in numbers 31-50 than I did between 30 and the album of the year. Put that in your "go figure" file while you chew on these picks:
31. Cities of Mars, Temporal Rifts
32. The Midnight Ghost Train, Cypress Ave.
33. Snowy Dunes, Atlantis
34. Rozamov, This Mortal Road
35. PH, Eternal Hayden
36. Sasquatch, Maneuvers
37. Young Hunter, Dayhiker
38. The Devil and the Almighty Blues, II
39. Ufomammut, 8
40. John Garcia, The Coyote Who Spoke in Tongues
41. Paradise Lost, Medusa
42. Beastmaker, Inside the Skull
43. Arduini / Balich, Dawn of Ages
44. Primitive Man, Caustic
45. Motorpsycho, The Tower
46. Arbouretum, Song of the Rose
47. Hymn, Perish
48. Youngblood Supercult, The Great American Death Rattle
49. Pallbearer, Heartless
50. Dool, Here Now There Then
There's so, so much good stuff here. So much. The Cities of Mars debut was a treasure and the only reason it wasn't on my top debuts list was because I haven't had the chance to go back in and put it on. The Young Hunter record? Some of their best work yet. Hell, that Arduini / Balich album alone! Then you've got huge releases by Pallbearer, Ufomammut, Paradise Lost, Primitive Man, on and on. Like I said at the outset, one more album and my head was gonna explode this year. Way too much to ever hope to keep up with. One thing though I felt like I really wanted to emphasize including was Dool. They're in the last spot, but make no mistake, in atmosphere and songwriting that album was something really special and loaded with potential. It's not there because it came in last. It's there to highlight the point of how much it should be on this list.
What's that? More records? Okay…
Honorable Mentions
In case you also weren't completely overwhelmed this year, maybe another batch of records will do the trick. Here's some presented alphabetically:
Anathema, The Optimist
Blackfinger, When Colors Fade Away
Child, Blueside
Cortez, The Depths Below
Demon Eye, Prophecies and Lies
Elbrus, Elbrus
Electric Wizard, Wizard Bloody Wizard
Ecstatic Vision, Raw Rock Fury
Five Horse Johnson, Jake Leg Boogie
Mirror Queen, Verdigris
The Obsessed, Sacred
T.G. Olson, Foothills Before the Mountain
Outsideinside, Sniff a Hot Rock
Queens of the Stone Age, Villains
Siena Root, A Dream of Lasting Peace
Six Organs of Admittance, Burning the Threshold
Steak, No God to Save
Summoner, Beyond the Realm of Light
Valborg, Endstrand
With the Dead, Love from With the Dead
Plus: Abronia, Lewis and the Strange Magics, Iron Monkey, Band of Spice, Puta Volcano, Galley Beggar, Heavy Traffic, Coltsblood, REZN, Green Meteor, Demon Head, Lord, Grigax, The Raynbow, Carpet, Norska, Les Lekin, Slow, Ixion, and I'm sure more that I'll add as the names continue to pop into my head.
I did this back in June as well, but I also want to draw attention to a swath of quality live albums that came out this year. The top pick should be no surprise if you've been hanging around the site of late:
Live Albums:
1. SubRosa, Subdued Live at Roadburn
2. Causa Sui, Live in Copenhagen
3. Slomatics, Futurians Live at Roadburn
4. My Sleeping Karma, Mela Ananda – Live
5. Wight, Fusion Rock Invasion
5. Death Alley, Live at Roadburn
Thank You
It's been a hell of a year, obviously. Musically and otherwise. As always, I cannot possibly come close to thanking you enough for your incredible and ongoing support of The Obelisk, of what this site is, what it's become over its nearly nine-year run, what it will continue to become going forward from here. It is astounding to me and deeply humbling that you would possibly take time out of your busy day and your busy life to check out what's going on here, and words fail me continually when it comes to feeling like I can properly convey my appreciation for that. Thank you for reading. Thank you for reading. Thank you for reading. Tattoo it on my forehead.
Thank you to The Patient Mrs. for understanding how much I need to be doing this, to Slevin for keeping the site running on the technical end, to Behrang Alavi for taking over hosting earlier this year, to my family for their ongoing support, to The Pecan for sleeping late some mornings and giving me time to write, and to everyone who ever shared a link on social media or made a comment on a post or anything like that. To long-time readers and to newcomers alike — thank you so much. This year has seen a fair share of ups and downs, but the support this site gets sustains me in ways I never expected it could, and that would be impossible without you. Please know how crucial that is to me.
Well, that should do it. I know there are probably disagreements about where things landed on the list, what was included, what was left out, etc., as there always are. All comments are of course welcome — only thing I'd ask is you please keep it civil and respectful of the opinions of others. Otherwise, have at it. Please.
And one more time, thank you for reading.


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Thomas Gerbasi, UFC - Everybody loves a good knockout – everybody. And for those aficionados of the sudden finish, 2009 was a better year than most. It was tough to narrow all of the UFC's great knockouts this year down to a list of just ten, but hey, who wants to read a 3,000 word epic on the 30 best KOs of the year?
Everybody loves a good knockout – everybody. And for those aficionados of the sudden finish, 2009 was a better year than most. It was tough to narrow all of the UFC's great knockouts this year down to a list of just ten, but hey, who wants to read a 3,000 word epic on the 30 best KOs of the year?
10 – UFC 91 – November 15 – Jeremy Stephens TKO3 Rafael Dos Anjos
Lightweight Jeremy Stephens was engaged in a back and forth bout with Brazilian newcomer Rafael Dos Anjos, and as the fight entered the third and final round, Stephens was looking to make something happen against the jiu-jitsu ace. Sometimes, that takes a little bit of risk, and for the Iowan, that meant swinging a couple of uppercuts that began on the floor towards his opponent's chin. Neither uppercut had any business landing, but the second one did, and Dos Anjos fell like he got shot. Game over – Stephens wins.
9 – UFC Fight Night – July 19 - Rory Markham KO1 Brodie Farber
Entering the UFC with a reputation as a pretty solid striker, Rory Markham nonetheless was having his head handed to him early on by the accurate strikes of Brodie Farber. But when you can punch and kick as effectively as Markham can, a turnaround is always one shot away, and as Farber pursued his foe a little too aggressively, Markham suddenly stopped backpedaling, planted his feet, and let loose with a hellacious kick to the head. Farber was out before he hit the mat, and Rory Markham had won his UFC debut.
8 – UFC Fight for The Troops – December 10 – Josh Koscheck KO1 Yoshiyuki Yoshida
When I spoke to Josh Koscheck before his December bout with Yoshiyuki Yoshida, I asked him about his right hand and why it had become so effective when – from the outside – it looked like a shot that would be pretty easy to get out of the way of. He simply told me that he was going to keep throwing it until it landed. Pretty simple strategy, and a profound one – one that paid off handsomely against Yoshida, who was lit up twice by Koscheck's not so secret weapon. The first right stood Yoshida up and pretty much set him up for the finishing one a split second later. That's all it took for Koscheck to score the most impressive victory of his career.
7 – UFC 84 – May 24 – Wanderlei Silva KO1 Keith Jardine
Given the intricate strategies and sporting aspect of mixed martial arts, it's easy to forget sometimes that what we're watching is a fight. The legendary Wanderlei Silva, aptly nicknamed 'The Axe Murderer', reminded us at UFC 84 with a ferocious assault that left Keith Jardine staring up at the lights and Silva sitting on top of the Octagon with his arms raised in victory. If you ever imagined what would happen if the Brazilian bomber ever got into a street fight, it would probably resemble something like what happened in Vegas on May 24th.
6 - UFC Fight Night – April 2 – James Irvin KO1 Houston Alexander
Eight seconds. How can you argue with what has to be considered the perfect fight? Look – you come out, throw one punch and win without getting hit. That's perfection. Plus, James Irvin performed this feat on Houston Alexander with a Superman punch, adding to the aesthetic value of the whole sequence, which tied Don Frye's KO of Thomas Ramirez at UFC 8 for fastest knockout in UFC history.
5 – UFC 92 – December 27 – Quinton Jackson KO1 Wanderlei Silva
As cathartic a knockout as you'll find in this game, Quinton Jackson finished off a rough 2008 on a high note, not only with a victory, but with a victory over the man who knocked him out twice in PRIDE, Wanderlei Silva. The fact that he knocked out his heated rival with a single left hook made the win even sweeter.
4 –Thiago Alves KO's Karo Parisyan (UFC Fight Night - April 2) and Matt Hughes (UFC 85 - June 7)
Gotta go two for one when it comes to slot number three because of the similarities of Thiago Alves' two biggest wins to date. In both cases, Alves walked in as an underdog against seasoned and durable vets, and when both fights were over, he had taken out his opponent with vicious knees that shook up the welterweight division in the process. Previously, Parisyan had only been TKO'ed once (by Sean Sherk on a towel throw) in 30 pro fights; Hughes, twice in 49 fights. Alves took them both out. And while his close range knee on Parisyan was impressive, his flying knee KO of Hughes - in which he led with the right before switching and landing with the left in mid-air – was a thing of beauty.
3 – TUF8 Finale – December 13 – Anthony Johnson KO3 Kevin Burns
One of the more underrated series of recent years, the two fights between up and comers Anthony Johnson and Kevin Burns, have consisted of hard fought battles that have seen both men have their moments. But while the first bout ended controversially, there were no questions in the December rematch, as Johnson swung a left kick to the head that put Burns down and out in the third round and sent shockwaves through The Palms that night.
2 - UFC 90 – October 25 – Junior Dos Santos KO1 Fabricio Werdum
Brazil's Junior Dos Santos literally came out of nowhere with his UFC 90 upset win over Fabricio Werdum, drilling the highly-regarded contender with a right uppercut that planted his countryman face-first on the canvas and announced his arrival on the world scene. If you didn't know Dos Santos before October 25th, you know him now.
1 - UFC 88 – September 6 – Rashad Evans KO2 Chuck Liddell
In the first round, Rashad Evans fought the perfect fight against Chuck Liddell, using movement and quick flurries to frustrate 'The Iceman'. So when Liddell came out recklessly and aggressively in the second stanza, Evans ended the perfect fight with the perfect punch, a right on the button that put the former light heavyweight king down and out, earning himself a UFC light heavyweight title shot (and subsequently a title) in the process.
Honorable mention – Melvin Guillard over Dennis Siver, Jorge Rivera over Kendall Grove, Wilson Gouveia over Jason Lambert, Marcus Davis over Jess Liaudin, Chris Lytle over Kyle Bradley, Matt Wiman over Thiago Tavares, Alessio Sakara over Joe Vedepo, Anderson Silva over James Irvin, Brock Lesnar over Randy Couture, Ben Saunders over Brandon Wolff, Anthony Johnson over Tommy Speer, Tim Boetsch over David Heath, Frank Mir over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mike Swick over Jonathan Goulet.


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After a tremendous response from learners on Coursera, Berklee Online has created a Developing Your Musicianship specialization, and this course is the third course in the series. If you have a general understanding of music theory or if you have completed Developing Your Musicianship I and II, this course will continue to help you understand musical concepts, enabling you to create and perform contemporary music. Taught by Berklee College of Music professor George W. Russell, Jr., the course includes four lessons that delve into an intermediate level of harmony and ear training.
The course will introduce you to new key signatures, and explore how they are constructed. You will continue to train your ear, learning to differentiate between the various intervals and chords that were explored in Developing Your Musicianship I and II. You will learn how to borrow chords from parallel tonalities (modal interchange), and how to write more common chord progressions.
The course culminates with an assignment that asks you to compose and perform a composition using popular chord progressions. As with Developing Your Musicianship I and II, this course is designed to share the joy of creating music.


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Barcelona to host 4th International
Urban Sketching Symposium
Mark your calendars for July 11-13
Subscribe to mailing list to receive updates
Workshops to be announced in January
Registration to open in March
The 4th International Urban Sketching Symposium will take place in Barcelona, July 11-13, 2013. Urban Sketchers is excited to be collaborating with a city rich in culture and design for this three-day sketching event, and to have the support of Barcelona's city hall, Ajuntament de Barcelona.Barcelona will be a big attraction for local and international sketching enthusiasts to gather for workshops, panels and lectures. Over 100 sketchers and instructors will gather for the three-day conference to sketch the sites and people of Barcelona. The sketchers will assemble daily at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), before heading out into the city for hand-on workshops.
"It was a tough decision to pick the host city of our 4th international symposium, but Barcelona stood out among the running candidates. We have a great local community of urban sketchers ready to make this a fantastic event in a city that is pure eye-candy for anyone who loves to draw," said Urban Sketchers founder Gabriel Campanario, a Spanish journalist and illustrator based in Seattle, WA.
Sketching workshops will be led by a group of local and international instructors that is sure to include architects, illustrators, artists, and educators. A full list of workshops and instructors will be announced in January 2013.
An established group of sketchers currently gathers regularly to sketch, and posts their work to Urban Sketchers Spain. This group is a meeting point for people who share a passion for drawing, and they will bring that passion to this endeavor.
"We are excited to be hosting this year's Symposium because it is going to be like introduce to your beloved friends your city and I love Barcelona and I want to show it to them. On the other hand, the Symposium has become as the social side of Urban Sketchers, the online drawing movement. It is once a year, we share, we learn, we draw and we show and all this is going to happen on July in my city and you all are welcome," said Barcelona sketcher, local Symposium organizer, and Urban Sketchers board member Victor Martínez Escámez (Swasky).Other Barcelona Symposium organizers include local urban sketchers Antonio Baza (Shiem), Daniel Castro, Marta Castro, Isaac Duenyas, Eclectic Box, Sagar Fornies, Miguel Herranz (Freekhand), Lapin, Aleix Mataró, Yadira Reyes, Eduardo de Vicente, David Ramírez and Sílvia Xicola.The Barcelona Symposium logo was designed by Sagar, Freekhand, Eclectic Box and Yadira Reyes.The Ajuntament is also promoting drawing events (Barcelona dibuixa - Barcelona draws) in Barcelona in conjunction with the Symposium. Drawing workshops will be held every month leading up to the July Symposium, giving the general public a chance to participate.
Previous Symposium host cities include Portland, Oregon US (2010); Lisbon, Portugal (2011); and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (2012). Websites for the Symposiums in these cities can be accessed from the Symposium Portal.
Urban Sketchers is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to raising the artistic, storytelling and educational value of location drawing; promoting its practice and connecting people around the world who draw on location where they live and travel. We show the world, one drawing at a time.To receive updates about the 2013 Symposium and to be notified when registration opens, subscribe to the BCN Symposium 2013 Mailing List.CONTACT
International media requests and sponsorship opportunities
Elizabeth Alley
Local media requests and sponsorship opportunities
General questions
Urban Sketchers site:
Previous Symposium Websites:


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I'll unveil the new "buttercrust" dough next week, but this particular video is not about the pastry, or the filling, it's about the fairly basic method for folding and crimping one of these up.
1 or 2 tsp of water if needed
Any chance you will post the buttercrust recipe before Easter? I'd love to try it out in my strawberry mascarpone tart that I'm making for Easter.
At the 4:20 min. mark you could have said, "For you viewers who are not afraid to die and prefer a little "spice of danger", you can plunge the crimped pie into hot (350F) grease (preferably lard made from big fat pigs or Crisco made from big fat vegetables) until golden brown. You then have a classic fried pie."
Will any apples work, or only certain ones? I'm fairly enamored with New Zealand Jazz apples!
any will work for this, but crisp tart apples work best.
That looks so good! Handling pie crust is just one of those things I thought I might never master. Definitely going to give this a try. I wonder if the leftover Guinness Beef stew I have in the freezer would be a good savoury filling...?
You are an evil butter dough tease and I love you for it! Can not wait until next week.
I was waiting for, "You are the pimp, of your crimp".
Hand pies! Brings tears to the eyes. Goes straight to thighs. Gotta exercise...
Traditional Southern filling for hand pies are reconstituted dried apples slices. Using dried fruit gives the filling a nice concentrated sweetness.
Chef John, I made those today and, well, I only have one thing to tell you: OH MY GOD! just oh my God. I think you know what that means :D
Can i use a regular blender for the dough ??
Added Calvados (apple brandy) to my filling. Spruces it up!
Made these yesterday for a couple of friends of mine and it was a big hit! Used your new dough recipe and almost followed this easy pie filling.
Thank you. This is not the last time I make Apple Hand Pies. :)
Hey there Chef John!
Love your videos to death. Wondering it's possible to omit or replace the butter in this recipe. And if so, for what?
I want to make them for my sister who just had a C-section and she simply cannot stand butter.
No, butter is mandatory here. I'd use another pie crust recipe!
Thanks! Made the hand pies and they're wonderful!
Hey Chef!
I'll have ya' know 'dat I done made me 'sum apple hand pies and 'dat dey' be delicious served along wit' sum' Pistachio Almond icecream!
Yippers! I now be a fine pastry chef thanks to you!
Chef John, this is great! I love all your videos. I will definitely try this one! Thank you :)
Hello Chef John,
How much acv and how much ice water for the buttery pie crust, I need to know exactly so I can get it right the first time? Thanks
Here is the link for the buttercrust dough. It doesn't have any acv. http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2013/03/buttercrust-pastry-dough-good-friday-or.html
Here is our basic pie crust which uses water and acv http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2010/03/easy-homemade-pie-crust-now-with-50.html
I have a ton of apples and would love to make these hand pies and freeze them. Will it work, and if so how long should I cook them from frozen?
I have a ton of apples...could I make these hand pies up until the egg wash stage & freeze them? If so, how long would I cook them from frozen? Thanks.
I'm sure you could, but no idea how long they'd take to bake. You'll know when they are done.
Yesterday I tried this recipe and for sure is the best, the taste is fantastic, the dough wasn't easy to make, but maybe was for my procesor. But once I have it everything was easy.
Definitely I will repeat. Thanks a lot !!!
I just tried this, and it was amazing. It was flaky and moist at the same time! I did a small pie just to myself, to test it out. But it ended up with me going around the house and forcing everyone to try a bit of the "awesome crust, its like magic", my gran made me promise to do a pie in the weekend aftwe trying the crust.
I have always been complimented on my pies and my crust. I have made these twice now and I am in disbelief! This crust is the absolute BEST! The pies are so much fun to make. It was suggested that I make smaller ones so will try that next. THANK YOU!!!
I made these again, only I made 8 instead of 4. They turned out absolutely great.
Again, Chef john, you are simply the best.
I made these today and they turned out great! Thanks for the awesome recipe, especially for the pie crust recipe. Gonna share them with some friends later today. Love from Germany!
If I choose not to cook the apples first, does the recipe change?
Yes, it will change! Cook the Apple's first.
Unfortunately, I don't have a food processor, so I can't make your buttercrust pastry dough. Do you think this filling would work well in puff pastry?
You have "Chef" in your name! You don't need a FP! Just cut in the butter with a wire pastry blender, a fork, or your finger tips! But yes, filling good in anything.
Thanks for the delicious recipe for your butter crust. I made it and it was delicious and crispy, but my dough wasn't round enough so the crimped edges were a little too thick in the middle. Therefore, it wasn't consistently crusty. But it was my first time!
Yes I prefer that apple, but it could be you need to cook longer!
Can you fry these instead of baking? What would the result be?
I didn't wait, I fried a few. The results were about the same as baking, strangely enough.
Made the buttercrust today and used it to make cherry handpies.
Tasted scrumptious!
Most difficult crust I've ever worked with. Getting the water right is a screamer. I actually ended up with abt. 10 tbs. of ice water and it was still too dry to work. It was a very low humidity day, and I realize this affected the flour
Will definitly do this again.
My mind is spinning...three levels of crust security, that's genius! Why have a never heard of this all my life?! I apprenticed with my grandma in the kitchen, I've watched every conceivable cooking show, and that has never come up. That should be in kitchen hacks 101. (If you've got any other good ones, please consider creating a remix video.)
Hello Chef John, first of all Happy New Year, second, but not last, :-), thank you so much for this recipe, i'm not really good at cooking, but you made it so simple that….. it came out great :-) I just made a little mistake because i rolled the dough a little too thin cause i had made too much filling, but anyway, my turnovers were still delicious. Thanks again, and keep up the great work.
Hello Chef John, it's me again, i have one question. As you say, crimping is easy, to be honest when i finish working on my turnover it's really pretty, even more beautiful than yours :-) (please don't be jealous) but then…. something nasty happens in the oven, and when i take it out there's no crimping anymore. :-( Do you have any idea what do i do wrong? Can it be the type of flour? I live in Italy, and here the all purpose can have a protein content that ranges from 8,5 to 10,5. What % of proteins do you suggest? By the way, even without the crimping, they are delicious, thanks
It's not the flour, it's you! ;)
You probably need to make larger, deeper crimps so they stay visible after baking.
We'll see. :-) Thank you again
why oh why don't you post a real recipe? I can't watch videos in my kitchen and need to print a recipe. It's quite frustrating to try and extrapolate a written recipe from a video. Help a girl out Chef John!!
I have made these more than 20 times. EVERYONE loves them. I've also used the dough to make empanadas and other meat pies. Never once has the dough not come out perfectly. Having the little chunks of butter is key, having everything cold is key, the ice water is key, and more than anything, not overmixing it but ending up with a crumbly mix that comes together when gathered up. Over processing and over handling of the day will kill it. Just follow the videos or recipes exactly and you'll end up with a product exactly as Chef Johns. By the way, every recipe that I've made of Chef Johns has come out exactly perfect every time. He is the absolute best and my go-to Chef for answers and recipes.
Love your videos! There's something so great and easy to follow about them. Also you're hilarious! I just made and froze 40 (yes 40!!!!) Hand pies made with your crust and filled with cheese and pepperoni to make little pizza pockets. Thanks!!
Dear Chef John, YOU ROCK MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thoroughly enjoy watching all your videos. You make "the impossible" seem "possible." God bless and I will be watching for new stuff. Again, Many, many thanks!
Hi Chef John! I made these today and my crust wasn't right. I used your recipe but it came out crumbly. I poured it and squeezed it together but they kept falling apart. It eventually came together but then when I rolled them out, they were breaking up around the sides. What did I do wrong?
it was simply too dry! Measurements are never going to be exact with doughs, so you need to be able to add a few more drops of water, until it stays together. Good luck!
These turned out wonderfully, thank you!
Hello Chef John,
My husband and I are in love with your food vids. He made these hand pies last week. Sooo goood! We want to can the filling and sent to loved ones for Christmas. Any idea if the filling is cannable? Thanks.
As expected, another amazing recipe by Chef John. You never let me down. Although, mine were not perfect looking, they tasted amazing.
This is not a comment so much as a question, but is it possible to double the recipe? And if so, how?
I have made these a couple of times using my favirite pie crust recipe (jyst about the same as yours) and they are beautiful and delicious!


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April 22, 2013 8:44 AM
BOSTON (AP) — Seven days after the Boston Marathon bombings, the city planned to mark the traumatic week with mournful silence and a return to its bustling commute.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has asked residents to observe a moment of silence at 2:50 p.m. Monday, the time the first of the two bombs exploded near the finish line. Bells will ring across the city and state after the minute-long tribute to the victims.
Many Boston residents were heading back to workplaces and schools for the first time since a dramatic week came to an even more dramatic end. Traffic was building on major arteries into the city Monday morning.
Authorities on Friday had made the unprecedented request that residents stay at home during the manhunt for suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He was discovered that evening hiding in a boat covered by a tarp in suburban Watertown. His older brother Tamerlan was earlier killed during a furious getaway attempt.
"It's surreal," said Barbara Alton, as she walked her dog along Newbury Street. "But I feel like things are starting to get back to normal."
In another sign of progress, city officials said they are beginning the process of reopening to the public the six-block site around the bombing that killed three people and wounded more than 180. The announcement came Sunday, a day when people could still watch investigators at the crime scene work in white jumpsuits.
Tsarnaev remained hospitalized and unable to speak, with a gunshot wound to the throat. He was expected to be charged by federal authorities. The 19-year-old also is likely to face state charges in connection with the fatal shooting of MIT police officer Sean Collier in Cambridge, said Stephanie Guyotte, a spokeswoman for the Middlesex District Attorney's office.
A private funeral was scheduled Monday for Krystle Campbell, a 29-year-old restaurant worker killed in the blasts. A memorial service will be held that night at Boston University for 23-year-old Lu Lingzi, a graduate student from China.
City churches on Sunday paused to mourn the dead as the city's police commissioner said the two suspects had such a large cache of weapons that they were probably planning other attacks.
After the two brothers engaged in a gun battle with police early Friday, authorities found many unexploded homemade bombs at the scene, along with more than 250 rounds of ammunition.
Police Commissioner Ed Davis said the stockpile was "as dangerous as it gets in urban policing."
"We have reason to believe, based upon the evidence that was found at that scene — the explosions, the explosive ordnance that was unexploded and the firepower that they had — that they were going to attack other individuals. That's my belief at this point." Davis told CBS's "Face the Nation."
On "Fox News Sunday," he said authorities cannot be positive there are not more explosives somewhere that have not been found. But the people of Boston are safe, he insisted.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan, the suspects in the twin bombings that killed three people and wounded more than 180, are ethnic Chechens from southern Russia. The motive for the bombings remained unclear.
Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the surviving brother's throat wound raised questions about when he will be able to talk again, if ever.
The wound "doesn't mean he can't communicate, but right now I think he's in a condition where we can't get any information from him at all," Coats told ABC's "This Week."
It was not clear whether Tsarnaev was shot by police or inflicted the wound himself.
In the final standoff with police, shots were fired from the boat, but investigators have not determined where the gunfire was aimed, Davis said.
In an interview with The Associated Press, the parents of Tamerlan Tsarnaev insisted Sunday that he came to Dagestan and Chechnya last year to visit relatives and had nothing to do with the militants operating in the volatile part of Russia. His father said he slept much of the time.
A lawyer for Tamerlan Tsarnaev's wife told the AP Sunday night that federal authorities have asked to speak with her, and that he is discussing with them how to proceed.
Attorney Amato DeLuca said Katherine Russell Tsarnaev did not suspect her husband of anything, and that there was no reason for her to have suspected him. He said she had been working 70 to 80 hours, seven days a week, as a home health care aide. While she was at work, her husband cared for their toddler daughter, he said.
The younger Tsarnaev could be charged any day. The most serious charge available to federal prosecutors would be the use of a weapon of mass destruction to kill people, which carries a possible death sentence. Massachusetts does not have the death penalty.
Across the rattled streets of Boston, churches opened their doors to remember the dead and ease the grief of the living.
At the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in South Boston, photographs of the three people killed in the attack and a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer slain Thursday were displayed on the altar, each face illuminated by a glowing white pillar candle.
"I hope we can all heal and move forward," said Kelly McKernan, who was crying as she left the service. "And obviously, the Mass today was a first step for us in that direction."
A six-block segment of Boylston Street, where the bombs were detonated, remained closed Sunday. But Mayor Thomas Menino said Sunday that once the scene is released by the FBI, the city will follow a five-step process, including environmental testing and a safety assessment of buildings. The exact timetable was uncertain.
Boston's historic Trinity Church could not host services Sunday because it was within the crime scene, but the congregation was invited to worship at the Temple Israel synagogue instead. The FBI allowed church officials a half-hour Saturday to go inside to gather the priests' robes, the wine and bread for Sunday's service.
Trinity's Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III offered a prayer for those who were slain "and for those who must rebuild their lives without the legs that they ran and walked on last week."
"So where is God when the terrorists do their work?" Lloyd asked. "God is there, holding us and sustaining us. God is in the pain the victims are suffering, and the healing that will go on. God is with us as we try still to build a just world, a world where there will not be terrorists doing their terrible damage."
Near the crime scene, Dan and Keri Arone were pushing their 11-week-old daughter in a stroller when they stopped along Newbury Street, a block from the bombing site. Wearing his bright blue marathon jacket, Dan Arone said he had crossed the finish line 40 minutes before the explosions.
The Waltham, Mass., couple visited the area to leave behind pairs of their running shoes among the bouquets of flowers, hand-written signs and other gifts at a makeshift memorial on Boylston Street, near the police barriers.
"I thought maybe we'd somehow get some closure," Dan Arone said of leaving behind the sneakers. "But I don't feel any closure yet."
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was tracing the suspects' weapons to try to determine how they were obtained.
Neither of the brothers had permission to carry a gun. Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas said it was unclear whether either of them ever applied for a gun permit, and the applications are not considered public records.
But the younger brother would have been denied a permit based on his age alone. Only people 21 or older are allowed gun licenses in Massachusetts.
Meanwhile, surgeons at a Cambridge hospital said the Boston transit police officer wounded in a shootout with the suspects had lost nearly all his blood, and his heart had stopped from a single gunshot wound that severed three major blood vessels in his right thigh.
Richard Donohue, 33, was in critical but stable condition. He is sedated and on a breathing machine but opened his eyes, moved his hands and feet and squeezed his wife's hand Sunday.
Associated Press writer Meghan Barr and national reporter Allen G. Breed in Boston, and writer Michelle R. Smith in Providence, R.I., contributed to this report.
Copied from http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/04/22/moment-of-silence-at-250-pm-to-mark-boston-marathon-bombings/


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Monday, November 29, 2010
Patient quote of the day
30 comments:
- bobbie said...
Such a talent!!!
- November 29, 2010 at 4:20 PM
- terri c said...
Oh my. This patient and her husband sure know how to have fun, don't they?
- November 29, 2010 at 4:41 PM
Brilliant. She should join the K-9 unit.
- November 29, 2010 at 4:44 PM
- Grumpy, M.D. said...
"Yeah, this is Officer Stevens. The missing lady was last seen carrying an open bottle of vanilla. Can you call the vanilla tracker in?"
- November 29, 2010 at 4:47 PM
- OMDG said...
That's quite a talent. Are you sure you're not a veterinarian?
- November 29, 2010 at 4:59 PM
- Diana said...
The blood hounds will be jealous.
- November 29, 2010 at 5:21 PM
- VinceD said...
I'm always shocked that these patients almost always have a spouse. I guess there really is someone out there for everyone...
- November 29, 2010 at 5:31 PM
Sugar Cookies! Yumm...
Bwhahahaha - November 29, 2010 at 5:51 PM
- Maha said...
Wow - boredom really can reveal many hidden talents!
- November 29, 2010 at 6:19 PM
To further expound upon the vanilla comment. My spouse is a law enforcement officer. They once got dispatched to a SuperMarket, specifically the dumpster out back, where an unresponsive man lay passed out. Surrounding him were 20 bottles ( 118mL each)of Vanilla extract -35% alcohol in each bottle. My spouse gave him a hard sternum rub. Nothing. Rubbed his sternum hard again. Still nothing. Pulled him up and his head whacked the dumpster... nothing. Nothing was stirring him. He was out of it! Medics took him away, he was fine when he came to. But I remember my spouse saying, "That was the best smelling drunk I have EVERY encountered."
- November 29, 2010 at 7:14 PM
- Julie said...
VinceD for the win ....
- November 29, 2010 at 8:34 PM
- Unknown said...
Makes me wonder just how scientific their test was. Did they knock on every single door in the area to make sure their test bottle was the only one open? Or did the drive to the middle of nowhere and walk away from each other with him holding the open bottle until she couldn't smell it anymore? Is there a tape measure that would work for that, or what?!
- November 29, 2010 at 8:42 PM
Um, lady, that would be the vanilla you spilt on your hand while opening the bottle.
- November 29, 2010 at 8:55 PM
- The Mother said...
Sure she can.
- November 29, 2010 at 10:05 PM
- C said...
other possibilities:
1. woman's concept of "mile" is shaky and/or intuitive
2. spouse likes to maintain a certain distance, say 8-9 miles away, for own purposes - November 30, 2010 at 12:13 AM
- The Nice Lady said...
Dr. Grumpy... you have cheated us of the details as to how exactly they conducted the experiment! I mean, I know you don't want to encourage them all. But sometimes don't you just HAVE to ask?!
- November 30, 2010 at 12:16 AM
- Crazed Nitwit said...
Some people really need to find lives, ya know?
- November 30, 2010 at 12:39 AM
I just can't believe the essence of this story.....
Anyway, that's nothing...I can smell a twinkie in my car with all the doors and windows locked! - November 30, 2010 at 4:43 AM
- L said...
I smell...bullshit?
- November 30, 2010 at 8:35 AM
- Richard said...
What a rubbish super power!
- November 30, 2010 at 9:13 AM
- Grumpy, M.D. said...
Yeah, definitely sidekick material.
- November 30, 2010 at 9:15 AM
Might be a new world record.
- November 30, 2010 at 12:03 PM
- Mark In Mayenne said...
8 1/2 miles away and I was upwind of it at the time
- November 30, 2010 at 12:50 PM
- Chris said...
The correct reply:
"And I can smell a bullshit artist from, well, back up a couple steps." - November 30, 2010 at 6:23 PM
the who ca. 1972- i can smell for miles and miles and....
- November 30, 2010 at 6:27 PM
- The Observer said...
I think they have too much time on their hands is what I think!
- November 30, 2010 at 8:26 PM
- Julie said...
Perhaps she confuses miles and feet. Then again, last year I smelled someone's vegetable dip from across the room and thought "That's weird. I normally can't smell that well unless I'm preg...
That baby just turned 5 months old. - December 1, 2010 at 2:22 AM
Ohh Julie, you just reminded me of when I was pregnant with my first baby and rode a bus to work each day. Come the start of the winter, other passengers would get their winter woollies out and start wearing them, and I would smell the mothballs as they got on the bus. Cedar...nice. Naphthalene...ugh. Worst were the people wearing garments made from wool that still had the lanolin in it---uurrrgghhhh.
- December 1, 2010 at 3:51 PM
- lovinmyjob said...
WOW!! And it was only vanilla. Just think, she would still be walking in the other direction if it was peppermint. I would love to know how that conversation started in the first place. What was your response to this revelation? Were the Guiness people involved in some way? Its not official unless they are you know. I was once part of a five mile leep-frog line, but they didn't show up so it didn't count. Oh well!
- December 7, 2010 at 6:14 PM
- Dragonfly said...
It always annoys me when people claim "cranial nerves 1-12 NAD" in their admission notes, when in reality the 1st nerve is almost never tested. In this lady however....
- December 11, 2010 at 6:22 AM


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This past year was uncertain and tumultuous for many Alexandria businesses and it was no exception for us at the Chamber of Commerce. We had our share of challenges ranging from selecting a new CEO to re-establishing our value proposition to our members in the face of a recessionary economy and declining membership.
The incredible news is that despite these challenges, we were able to accomplish a number of great things in 2009 to advance the Chamber, provide exceptional benefits to our members and improve the business climate in Alexandria.
After a comprehensive search, we hired new leadership to re-energize our membership and confidently carry out the mission of the Chamber to provide valuable, high quality programs, events and services to our members and to advocate on their behalf.
We further solidified our role as the voice for business in Alexandria, weighing in on relevant matters, such as the Old Town waterfront, Potomac Yard, Landmark, and BRAC developments. We also joined our economic development partners at Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association and the Small Business Development Center as the business authority for issues such as the citys strategic plan, its budget and various text amendments. Finally, we appointed representatives from our membership to serve as effective participants on, and keep us apprised of, the work being done by more than 10 city boards and commissions.
We worked with the citys staff to reform policies and procedures and advocated for their implementation, making it a little easier to open and operate a business. This included matters such as opening a one-stop permitting center, reducing signage fees and allowing more signs to be administratively approved in the historic districts, as well as improving small business zoning regulations.
We enhanced communication between the Chamber and the local and specialty business associations throughout the city. As a result, we have banded together to support each others interests and to speak with a single voice on matters of mutual interest that provide advantages for our members and the community as a whole.
You will soon hear more about our efforts to institute change and improve the business climate in Alexandria in 2010 so that our city is poised to benefit during the next economic growth cycle.
The valuable services we provide and the strong, public efforts weve made to improve Alexandrias business environment have shown in our membership numbers: We are up 25 percent over the last four months.
We will continue to provide excellent opportunities to network and develop relationships to enable members to grow and expand their businesses. We will also launch several industry-focused programs to better serve the specific needs of restaurants, retailers, associations and government contractors, as well as other groups.
We will further advance our role as the voice for business in Alexandria by advocating for businesses on relevant national, state, regional and local issues that affect our community. We will continue to work closely with the city on improving the policies, procedures and the overall atmosphere for business in Alexandria.
And finally, we will develop a long-term strategy for the Chambers future to ensure that our members and supporters will continue to receive an outstanding return on investment for their time and money expended to support Chamber programs and events.
Last year has been a turn-around year for us and the outcome is very exciting. Alexandria has a stronger Chamber of Commerce, and we look forward to a bright future in 2010 and beyond.
-Tina Leone is president and CEO of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce


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Each Friday we round up the big conversations in tech and culture during the week that was. We also revisit the work that appeared on this blog, and highlight what we're reading from our fellow technology writers and observers at other organizations.
In case you missed it ... here on All Tech, we talked with Bryan Goldberg, a man who "mansplained" his way into Internet furor when he launched his new "feminist" site, Bustle.com. Steve Henn profiled a kids' hacking camp that teaches pre-teens how to both break technology and break into it. And national security correspondent Tom Gjelten wrote about the next big threat to our power grid — cyberattacks that could undermine critical infrastructure. Our weekly innovation pick was Tile, which you can attach to items like your keys and wallet and locate them with an app so you never have to fumble around for them again.
On our airwaves, All Things Considered featured a chat with Laura Sydell about the two-hour outage of The New York Times, already playfully dubbed the Great Website Outage of 2013. The Times said it was an internal technical error and not a cyberattack, but on Thursday, in a separate incident, The Washington Post announced it was targeted and hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army. I reported for both our morning and afternoon programs on Elon Musk's proposed Hyperloop, which he claims could take passengers from L.A. to San Francisco in 30 minutes. And Youth Radio's Bianca Brooks reported on how teens are turning to social media to arrange car rides.
The Big Conversations
Hyperloop dominated the headlines this August week, and so did anticipation of the coming announcement from Apple on Sept. 10, likely about the latest iPhone. Bloomberg Businessweek got the scoop from its inventor, Elon Musk, before Musk himself shared the 57-page white paper on the design. The Hyperloop isn't even close to a prototype, but writers are excited about its promises, while some publications spoke with dubious scientists who say the engineering won't work. NPR's Krishnadev Calamur explained that the Hyperloop captured our attention because of the unusual cachet Musk, the visionary inventor, carries in the fields of science and technology.
What's Catching Our Eye
In no particular order:
The Atlantic Wire: Autogrammar Is Coming To Autocorrect
If this means the end of the non-word "irregardless," I'm all for it.
Foreign Policy: Irony Alert: Pentagon Now Sees Big Data As 'National Security Threat'
"The irony is delicious," Foreign Policy writes. "At the time government officials are assuring Americans they have nothing to fear from the National Security Agency poring through their personal records, the military is worried that Russia or al Qaeda is going to wreak nationwide havoc after combing through people's personal records."
New Scientist: Robot comedian stands up well against human rivals
"I find the robot funniest when he plays on our assumption that robots should be overly literal. 'You know what really pushes my buttons?' says Robothespian. 'That guy that's in control of me,' pointing to a man sitting with a laptop at the back of the stage."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Spina Bifida
Andrea is 12 years old and in the 6th grade. She likes to go swimming, play with her dog, and have friends over. She's been in three dance recitals, and she even received a standing ovation once. She's traveled to Canada and many places in the United States, and next summer she hopes to go to Scotland. When she's older, Andrea wants to be a chef.
Like you, Andrea is interested in many things and can do a lot of stuff. What might be different from you, though, is the fact that Andrea can't walk. Andrea has spina bifida (say: SPY-nuh BIH-fuh-duh) and uses a wheelchair to get around.
What Is Spina Bifida?
Someone born with spina bifida has an opening in the spine. A healthy spine is closed to protect the spinal cord, a bundle of nerves that sends messages back and forth between your brain and the rest of your body. The messages tell your muscles to move so you can kick a soccer ball or pick up a pencil. The messages also tell you about sensations on your skin, so you know to pull your hand away from a hot pot.
When a baby is growing inside its mother, the spine and spinal cord are developing. But sometimes part of the spinal cord and spine don't grow the way they should, leaving an opening where the spinal cord may stick out of the body. When this happens, a baby is born with spina bifida, a term that means "split or open spine."
Because of the opening in the spine, the nerves of the spinal cord may be damaged. A spinal cord that's damaged may not be able to do the important job of getting messages to and from the brain. Usually when your brain says "kick the ball," the nerves of your spinal cord carry that message that tells your leg to kick.
These messages may not be able to get through if a person has spina bifida. The person may have weakness or may not be able to move their muscles the way other people do. This is called paralysis (say: puh-RAL-uh-sis), which means a person can't move some muscles or feel things on some parts of the body.
What Are the Different Types of Spina Bifida?
One kind of spina bifida can go unnoticed. With spina bifida occulta (say: uh-KUL-tuh), the opening in the person's back is covered by muscle and skin and the spinal cord is usually normal. There may be some problems with the spine, or there may be no problems at all.
Another type of spina bifida is called meningocele (say: meh-NIN-guh-seel). This involves the meninges, the membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord. Meningocele is the name used when just the meninges — no nerves — push through the opening in the vertebrae (the bones of the spine). The meninges form a fluid-filled sac that is usually covered with skin. The brain and the spinal cord are normal and a person with a meningocele usually has no problems. Sometimes surgery is needed to repair the meningocele and prevent an infection called meningitis.
When most people talk about spina bifida, though, they mean myelomeningocele (say: my-uh-low-meh-NIN-guh-seel), from words meaning "spine" and "swelling." In this type, the baby is born with a sac sticking out from the opening in the spine. This sac contains nerves and part of the spinal cord. About 1 in 1,000 babies born in the United States has this type of spina bifida.
Because the spinal cord hasn't developed normally and some nerves may have been damaged, a person with myelomeningocele will have some paralysis, as well as a loss of feeling in their legs.
The amount of paralysis will vary, depending on where the opening is on the back. The lower down the back the opening is, the fewer nerves are affected and the less paralysis there is. This is why some kids with spina bifida can walk and some can't. To help them get around, kids might use crutches, leg braces, or wheelchairs.
Andrea, our dancer, was born with an opening in her lower back, just below her waist. She can move her legs but not her feet and ankles. Her skin has feeling only down to her knees. When Andrea was younger she walked with braces and crutches, but now she uses a wheelchair.
Like many other kids with myelomeningocele, Andrea also has hydrocephalus (say: hi-dro-SEF-uh-lus). This happens when there's too much fluid in the brain. Some people with spina bifida may have learning problems, but most have normal intelligence.
Most kids with spina bifida have some problems with their bowels and bladder. The nerves that send and receive messages from the brain can't do their job, so it's hard for kids to know when they need to go to the bathroom.
Why Do Kids Have Spina Bifida?
No one is really sure why some kids are born with spina bifida, but doctors and scientists have found some possible reasons.
They've learned that folic (say: FOLE-ik) acid is very important, especially when a baby is growing inside its mother. Folic acid is one of the B vitamins found in foods like broccoli, spinach, egg yolks, and oranges.
If a woman doesn't have enough folic acid in her diet while she's pregnant, she may be more likely to have a baby with spina bifida. Luckily, special vitamins containing folic acid are available for pregnant women.
A woman who has a high fever early in her pregnancy also may be at higher risk of having a baby who has spina bifida. Scientists are also studying the roles that genes, certain chemicals, and medicines might play in causing spina bifida.
What Do Doctors Do?
From the moment Andrea was born, doctors have been an important part of her life. When she was just a few hours old, she had her first surgery. Doctors gently pushed her spinal cord back inside her body through the opening on her back, and then closed the opening.
When she was 2 days old, the doctors put in a shunt, a device that drains the extra fluid in the brain. Since then, Andrea has had several operations, mostly to replace her shunt. In addition to surgery to keep her shunt working, a kid with spina bifida might need surgery on the feet, hips, or spine.
Kids like Andrea also need checkups a couple of times a year and may see a team of medical people. This team may include pediatricians, orthopedists, surgeons, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. They want to help the person to be healthy and as independent as possible.
What Is Life Like for Kids With Spina Bifida?
Living with spina bifida isn't exactly the same for each kid who has it. But for most kids, it means taking extra care of their bodies and paying attention if something seems wrong. It can mean taking longer to do things, because braces, crutches, and wheelchairs just aren't as fast as walking and running.
But as Andrea has shown, that doesn't mean she can't do exactly what she wants to do!
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
© 1995-2024 KidsHealth ® All rights reserved. Images provided by iStock, Getty Images, Corbis, Veer, Science Photo Library, Science Source Images, Shutterstock, and Clipart.com


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Clayton Kershaw (4-5, 4.28) vs. Shawn Estes (2-3, 4.73).
COMMENTS: Five regular-season games left! Estes knows the Dodgers, having pitched for every other NL West team over his career. However, that doesn't mean Estes knows how to beat the Dodgers, as he's 6-9 with a 5.27 ERA lifetime against them.
Last time the Dodgers faced Estes, they beat him by scoring five earned runs in five innings. They'll need some more of that bat magic tonight, especially since Kershaw figures to be on a short leash and the bullpen, already used in yesterday's game, will probably work tonight too.
As for the Diamondbacks, seeing them lose early yesterday was inspiring, but the only way for the Dodgers to make the post-season (and prepare to play actual winning teams) is to win win win themselves. The magic number is three. Pray we alter it even further.