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To the above may be added the final speech put into the mouth of Peter, in the romance of his Travels, or Circuits (Tours). It is found in the fragment of the Linus-collection, called The Martyrdom of Peter. The legend says that Peter insisted on being crucified head downwards, and the reasons for this strange proceeding are given as follows in the faulty Latin translation.
The Descent of Man."Fitly wert Thou alone stretched on the cross with head on high, O Lord, who hast redeemed all of the world from sin. I have desired to imitate Thee in Thy passion too; yet would I not take on myself to be hanged upright. For we, pure men and sinners, are born from Adam, but Thou art God of God, Light of true Light, before all æons and after them; thought worthy to become for men Man without stain of man, Thou hast stood forth man's glorious Saviour. Thou ever upright, ever raised on high, eternally above! We, men according to the flesh, are sons of the first man (Adam), who sunk his being in the earth, whose fall in human generation is shown forth. For we are brought to birth in such a way, that we do seem to be poured into earth, so that the right is left, the left doth right become; in that our state is changed in those who are the authors of this life. For this world down below doth think the right what is the left; this world in which Thou, Lord, hast found us like the Ninevites, and by Thy holy preaching hast Thou rescued those about to die."
"The authors of this life" presumably refer to the powers that bring the man to birth. The Jonah-myth was a type of the initiate, who, after being three days and three nights in the "belly of Sheol" or Hades, preached to those in Nineveh, the Jerusalem Below, that is to say, this world.
But for the brethren there was a still further instruction as to the meaning of the Mystic Cross.
"But ye, my brothers, who have the right to hear, lend me the ears of your heart, and understand what The Mystic Redemption of the Cross.now must be revealed to you--the hidden mystery of every nature and the secret spring. of every thing composed. For the first man, whose race I represent by my position, with head reversed, doth symbolize his birth into destruction; for that his birth was death and lacked the life-stream. But of His own compassion the Power Above came down into the world, by means of corporal substance, to him who by a just decree had been cast down into the earth, and hanged upon the Cross, and by the means of this most holy calling [the Cross], He did restore us and did make for us these present things (which had till then remained unchanged by men's unrighteous error) into the Left, and those that men had taken for the Left into eternal things. In exaltation of the Right He hath changed all the signs into their proper nature, considering as good those thought not good, and those men thought malefic most benign. Whence in a mystery the Lord hath said: 'If ye make not the Right like as the Left, the Left like as the Right, Above as the Below, Before as the Behind, ye shall not know God's kingdom.' This saying have I made manifest in me, my brothers; this is the way in which your eyes of flesh behold me hanging. It figures forth the way of the first man.
"But ye, beloved, hearing these words and by conversion of your nature and changing of your life perfecting them, even as ye have turned you from that way of error where ye trod, unto the most sure state of faith, so keep ye running and strive towards the peace of that which calls you from above, living the holy life. For that the way on which ye travel there is Christ. Therefore with Jesus, Christ, true God, ascend the Cross; He hath been made for us the one and only Word. Whence also doth the Spirit say: 'Christ is the Word and Voice of God.' The Word in truth is symbolized by that straight stem on which I hang. [As for the Voice--] since that voice is a thing of flesh, with features not to be ascribed unto God's nature, the cross-piece of the cross is thought to figure forth that human nature which suffered the fault of change in the first man, but by the help of God-and-man, received again its real mind. Right in the centre, joining twain in one, is set the nail of discipline, conversion and repentance."
The Latin translation is very faulty and often obscures the Greek original, but enough of the meaning has been preserved to show the general drift of the thought. The first quotation is one of the sayings from The Gospel according to the Egyptians; the source of the second is not known. Compare also the changing of the Right and Left with the conversion of the spheres in the opening pages of the Pistis Sophia treatise.
Other speeches and innumerable isolated phrases, which still preserve traces of the Gnosis, could be Afterword.cited from the existing remains of the uncanonical Acts, but sufficient has been written to give the reader an idea of the extensive popular literature of this kind which emanated from Gnostic circles in the early years, and to show him that very different ideas prevailed among those who were in touch with the inner tradition, from those of that exclusively historical view which eventually gained the upper hand.
Whether or not these ideas throw light on the Christ's teaching, each must decide for himself. That, however, they were ideas put forward by men vastly nearer the time of the origins than ourselves--by men whose whole lives were devoted to the Christ, striving by every means to purify themselves, and to experience in themselves the truths of the unseen world and realize the teachings of the Master--is amply manifest.
Larkspur CO 80118
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Tofu Quiche with Spinach and Broccoli
1 pre-made pie crust
1 pound broccoli or spinach
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil, as needed
1 pound firm tofu, drained
1/2 cup nondairy milk (I use soy)
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 tablespoons vegan parmesan cheese
1. Preheat oven to temperature directed on crust package. Pre-cook crust for 12 minutes. Cook your veggie of choice until just soft.
2. Cook onion and garlic in olive oil until golden, and add veggie and heat through. In blender, puree tofu, milk, mustard, salt, nutmeg, pepper, and vegan cheese, until smooth.
3. Pour pureed mixture into large bowl, and add the onion and veggie mixture. Combine well.
4. Pour into pre-cooked pie shell, and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 35-40 minutes or until quiche is set. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before cutting.
Just tried this for the first time tonight! Turned out amazing! Used everything except broccoli, added mushrooms, no cheese just nutritional yeast. Used almond milk(cause that's all I had), regular mustard (cause that's all I had), added extra garlic and added flax meal.
** Wondering what the best way to freeze and re-heat is?? THIS WAS SO GOOD!
This was soo good! I used brocolli and kale for my veg. Next time to my liking; I will cut the nutmeg in half and add more garlic. I was a little worried it would turn out to have too soft of a texture like some of the reviewers images have, so I squeezed the tofu out well in a baking towel. It set perfectly! I will be keeping this recipe! Oh, and I used nutritional yeast for the cheese since vegan parmasan stinks!
Mmmm....this was so good. I added mushrooms to my sauteed mixture and I added tumeric and nutritional yeast to my tofu and mustard mix, very yummy this way. I'll be making this every weekend :)
I have made this several times and it's always awesome. If you don't have veggie parmasean then you can substitute nutritional yeast. I make it most often for my omni family. They love it!
So good! Broccoli and sweet potatoes for the veg, nooch instead of parmesan, added turmeric to give it more of a yellow colour. Also sprinkled some nooch on top and it crisped up really nicely after baking. A really nice light meal!
Awesome recipe!! I will be making this on a regular basis!! Next time I'll add mushrooms...Thanks for the great recipe!!
My husband and I thought this was ok, but as a vegan of one year, I have to say this does not really taste like quiche, of course. So, I would not serve it to omnivores. As a vegan, I now place greater value on nutrition and compassion, so it was ok for me, although not great. I will not put it on my blog, but we will have a couple more meals of it. Mine set very well and this is possibly because I pressed firm tofu very well, and also used less spinach and squeezed every drop of moisture from it. I did add some nutritional yeast and 1/4 Cup of Tofutti cream cheese. Either way, it set up just fine, and I used the pate brisee crust from my blog, which is excellent.
I have made this a few times. It is really good. I think the spinach was better then the broccoli. I think I am going to make it again but use a few of shaston's suggestions.
This was sooo delicious, thank you for sharing! Everyone who ate it sed 'how did you mke this without eggs?' or 'and theres no eggs OR cheese in this?' or 'omg this is soooooo good!' everyone had seconds! However, like every recipe I had to make it my own, as I suspect all the other did as well! HA HA! So, while I lightly steamed my fresh broccoli n frozen spinach I sauteed in olive oil the onions, garlic, and mushrooms and zucchinis that I added all chopped in small pieces, and added curry powder, sea salt, oregano, n red pepper flakes. Then in with the food processor mixture I added oh about a 1/4 cup of ground flaxseeds, a little more curry powder, turmeric, a tad bit of potato starch instead of corn starch, sum roasted garlic cloves, and a tad more salt and pepper, omitting the dijon and substituting the parm cheese 4 jus reg shredded veg cheese. I then used zucchini sisters rice crust w brown rice n a smidge of extra seasoning and some more flax meal and let just the very edges of the crust brown a bit before I pulled it out of the oven. So then I combined the vegetables (I sauteed some and steamed some) and then mixed them w the tofu mixture and filled my 8x8 square dish with the rice crust to the very top! I cooked it according to the directions except I also brushed the top w/olive oil about half way through and when I pulled that masterpiece out of the oven the whole house smelled like some kind of deliciousness I cant even describe! The taste was just as lovely and I DEFINITELY will make this again. Even my picky 2 year old told me she liked it.

subset: commoncrawl


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Umbrella Fella…
While I've enjoyed nearly everything about the Gotham television series' first fall season, especially Robin Lord Taylor's scenery chewing portrayal of the young Penguin, there will always be a special spot in my heart for Burgess Meredith's version. His emotive squawking got many an imitative 6th grader, myself included, in hot water at school but it was irresistible to mimic.
Color My World…
In 1966 my family was the first on our block to have a color TV which automatically designated our living room ground zero for every friend on Wednesday & Thursday evenings at 7:30. Along with the pop art biffs, bangs and pows, Penguin's psychedelic purple top hat and tie were the most eye popping things to behold on that fresh CRT.
Keeping "Boomer" generation collectors enthralled (we waited ages for this franchise to license goodies)Diamond Select Toys has announced a late spring 2015 release for their latest Batman related mini-bust. It's a spot on sculpt of the Burgess Meredith Penguin right down to the monocle. It will join the already released Adam West Batman, Burt Ward Robin, Ceasar Romero Joker, and soon to be available Frank Gorshin Riddler (January 2015).
At NY Comic Con back October, DST was also showing yet to be authorized prototypes of Julie Newmar as Catwoman and Otto Preminger, the blue skinned Mr. Freeze. Yvonne Craig in Batgirl guise would clearly be a welcome addition to the mix.
The mini-busts average six inches tall and share a base that features bat-signal/city-scape artwork from the classic show's opening credits.
If you are expecting Santa to slide down your chimney with the 1966 Batman DVD box set, you could do worse than add DST's Batarang bottle opener to your stocking stuffer wish-list. It's gonna take a raft of six-packs to get you through 120 episodes.


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Single Stage Hydro Pump-KM310 2.2Kw (Foras)
Single Stage Centrifugal Hydro Pump-KM310 2.2Kw 56m max Head 7800L/H 220V. Cast Iron Finish Ideal Compact Pump Solution to increase water pressure from Tanks & Low Municipal Water Supply. Suitable for Pressure Boosting of Water and Non-Aggressive Liquids. Uses: Domestic, Irrigation, Agricultural. Installed in Enclosed places or at least protected against inclement weather conditions. |
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Posts Tagged 'Online Streaming'
Netflix Brand Triage: Qwikster Enough?
If it ain't broke don't fix it. Well they have, several times, and now we are witnessing how quickly and publicly you can damage a brand and how hard, and embarrassing, it can be to repair it.
For years, consumers and business pundits alike have singled out Netflix for being innovative, popular and customer-focused. Their attention shifted inward and they rapidly became the poster child for business school case studies on how to both piss off a rabidly loyal customer base and to taint your brand.
In less than three months there have been over a million customer defections and the stock price has lost almost two thirds of its value. All of this has been self-inflicted.
For those of you who do not know: This all started with a 60% price increase this summer. Netflix said it needed to have separate prices for DVD's by mail and online streaming. The current business model did not make "great financial sense" for them. Customers exited.
This early adopter of Netflix was undeterred by the price increase itself, but I found the "explanation" to be confounding, both personally and professionally. This was the crack revealing that Netflix had lost its customer-centric culture.
That crack grew into a fissure on September 18 as Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, emailed an "apology" to its subscribers on how the price increase was handled. However, to make matters much worse, he went on to announce the company's intention to spin off its DVD business into a new entity.
The plan called for Netflix to be the moniker for streaming and Qwikster would be the new brand name for DVD's by mail. Qwikster? Really? Doesn't Qwikster sound more like a convenience store, a kitchen mop or a start up company? This was all about them again. Furious customers left in droves.
I thought this was a dangerous strategy with a terrible name to boot. There would be two brand names, two websites, two logins, two credit card bills and two movie queues to manage.
Just this morning, I received a rather tepid and unapologetic email from "The Netflix Team" saying, in part: "This means no change: one website, one account, one password…in other words, no Qwikster."
Shame on me for not posting sooner. Good for Netflix for pulling the plug on the whole Qwikster idea. Deconstructing their two services, increasing prices and moving to create two entities has been bad for the brand, bad for customers and bad for business.
This is no simple marketing gaffe unfolding in private corporate corridors with a few heads rolling and an agency loosing an account. (BTW: Doesn't the word "agency" sound quaint?) This drama is playing on screens of all sizes around the world.
Today's low-key email announcement to delete Qwikster from the queue is necessary but insufficient. Inexplicably, it did not come from their now beleaguered CEO, Reed Hastings. Nor did it offer customers much in the way of reward, respect and recognition for sticking with them.
Netflix needs to do just that if it hopes to retain customers, avoid more comparisons to New Coke and to side step induction into the Bad Branding Hall of Shame.
After all, all hope is not lost when you have a brand name that gets used as a verb. Make a gesture to your customers today so tomorrow they will still be asking people this: "Hey, do you Netflix?"


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Why is the innate immune system so important? The human immune defence consists of an innate and an adaptive branch. The innate immune system works through a series of redundant and unspecific mechanism to inhibit viral replication, whereas the adaptive immune system can recognize and destroy specific pathogens. It does so through production of specific antibody's and cytotoxic T-cells. Once fully operational the adaptive immune system will remove all virus particle and destroy infected cells and thus cure the infection. However, the establishment of an adaptive immune response takes 5 to 7 days, during this critical period it is the innate immune system that protect us.
Interferon's control innate immunity. Interferon's are cytokines (small hormone like proteins) which control the innate immune response to viral infections. They are popularly speaking the body's own "alarm system". If a cell is infected by a virus, the cell will start to produce interferon within one to two hours. The newly produced interferon will bind to receptor complexes found on the cell surface of neighbouring cells and activate this receptor. The activation of the receptor leads to activation of transcription factors which induce the synthesis of a number of antiviral genes. Thus in effect IFN is warning the cell of the coming virus and starting the defensive mechanism. There exist 3 groups of interferon's, Type 1 (IFN a/b), type 2 (IFN g) and type 3 (IFN-lambda); type 1 interferon's provide the direct antiviral effect and type 2 is responsible for mobilization of the adaptive immune system. Type 3 or IFN-lambda is a newly discovered type of interferon and their precise role in the antiviral defence is not yet clear.
Structure and antiviral activity of the OAS family of proteins. The OAS protein family is a classical antiviral protein. It recognizes viral RNA structures and initiates an antiviral response. We are studying both the structure and the function of this protein. We have developed methods to assay the effect of the OAS proteins upon viral replication and are currently investigating the mechanism behind the antiviral effect. We are also interested in how OAS recognizes specific viral RNA structures and avoid cellular RNA.
Interferon lambda signalling. We are investigating how Interferon Lambda binds to it cognate receptor and initiate signalling. We have recently solved the crystal structure of interferon lambda and are now mapping the interaction of interferon lambda with the receptor. Interferon Lambda target specific tissues in the body (as opposed to type I Interferon which targets all cells), we are currently investigating the specificity of interferon lambda and the advantages this can have in clinical use.
Designing new interferon lambda mutants with improved therapeutic potential. We will use our knowledge of the interferon lambda structure and how it signals to design new versions of interferon lambda with increased antiviral activities.
Our laboratory applies a number of state of the art techniques from "hard core" structural biology to growing viruses in cell culture. Students will have the unique opportunity to work in a highly interdisciplinary environment and to lean a number of useful techniques. In addition to the techniques mentioned below we are also using most standard molecular biology and biochemistry techniques.
Structural biology. We are primarily using X-ray crystallography for the study of macromolecular structure, particularly structures of proteins from the innate immune system.
Viral replication. We have a fully equipped Biosafty level II laboratory. Interested students can learn basic techniques in growing viruses and measuring viral replication rates. Furthermore we have established assays to measure antiviral activities that we use to test potential antiviral compounds.


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Sports fans, get ready for a spectacular new experience – recently revealed their design for China's new Dalian Shide Stadium and it's like nothing we've ever seen before. Built as though the stadium literally opened up from underground, two exterior walls of the structure are covered in grass and plants and the other two are open to connect the games with the city and allow glimpses of the intense action inside. Sustainability is a top priority and the design includes water recycling, daylighting, renewable energy and the beautiful and original living walls on the exterior.
Los Angeles-based NBBJ Architects, who have a good handle on green roof design, are responsible for this innovative stadium concept. A far cry from traditional bowls, the design focuses more on the spectators' view and the fan's experience. Visitors to this Chinese stadium will have excellent views to the playing field below, but also have views of the mountains in one direction and in other, the ocean. Opening up the stadium to the city allows a stronger connection and allows people outside the stadium to be part of the event as well.
The design for the stadium was envisioned as though someone cut the ground in two and pulled up either side to form the exterior garden walls. These walls then contain the the structure for the roof, the VIP suites, the toilets and concessions stands, the mechanical spaces, and the ticket booths. A concourse circles the stadium with continuous 360 views of the field and large screen LED panels on the interior walls broadcast the game. The exterior of the structure is completely clad in living plants that change with the seasons. The stadium roof is made up of lightweight fabric strung out on flexible cables that will protect fans from the elements, but still provide natural light.
Power is generated on site from integrated wind turbines and solar panels built into the walls and roof. Water will be collected and recycled for irrigation, toilet flushing, air conditioning and fire suppression. Paving around the stadium will be porous to allow for storm water infiltration and much of the stadium will be pre-fabricated in a temporary on-site factory.


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Our goal is to support our client's processes by dint of technologically advanced solutions, providing integrated systems, specialized products and services covering the whole life cycle. These range from consultancy and engineering services up to the development of software and hardware, the integration of turnkey systems and operational backup.
GMV is a privately owned technological business group with an international presence. Founded in 1984, GMV offers its solutions, services and products in very diverse sectors: Aeronautics, Banking and Finances, Space, Defense, Health, Security, Transportation, Telecommunications, and Information Technology for Public Administration and large corporations.
In the global world we live in, the individual and complex needs of our clients are usually met with technological products, solutions and services that are constantly evolving and that were not originally designed with the clients' specific needs in mind, but rather to cater to the common denominator in a global market.
The leadership position that GMV has attained in these sectors is based on an in-depth knowledge of client needs, which allows us to deliver solutions specifically tailored to their individual requirements. GMV offers clients the best solution, fully adapted to their own requirements and including all the support necessary to achieve optimum results at a suitable price. At GMV, our employees, operating model and cultural values focus on meeting the very needs of each individual client.


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Website Terms and Conditions
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Unless otherwise stated, all materials on this website are protected by copyright. They may only be used with the prior written permission of Pyrotek, as set forth in these Terms and Conditions, or in the text on this website. Pyrotek does not warrant that your use of information or graphics displayed on this website will not infringe the rights of third parties who are not related to Pyrotek.
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General Appearance
The Norwich Terrier, spirited and stocky with sensitive prick ears and a slightly foxy expression, is one of the smallest working terriers. This sturdy descendent of ratting companions, eager to dispatch small vermin alone or in a pack, has good bone and substance and an almost weatherproof coat. A hardy hunt terrier-honorable scars from fair wear and tear are acceptable.
Size, Proportion, Substance
One of the smallest of the terriers, the ideal height should not exceed 10 inches at the withers. Distance from the top of the withers to the ground and from the withers to base of tail are approximately equal. Good bone and substance. Weight approximately 12 pounds. It should be in proportion to the individual dog's structure and balance. Fit working condition is a prime consideration.
A slightly foxy expression. Eyes small, dark and oval shaped with black rims. Placed well apart with a bright and keen expression. Ears medium size and erect. Set well apart with pointed tips. Upright when alert. The skull is broad and slightly rounded with good width between the ears. Themuzzle is wedge shaped and strong. Its length is about one-third less than the measurement from the occiput to the well-defined stop. The jaw is clean and strong. Nose and lip pigment black. Tight-lipped with large teeth. A scissor bite.
Neck, Topline, Body
Neck of medium length, strong and blending into well laid back shoulders. Level topline. Bodymoderately short. Compact and deep. Good width of chest. Well-sprung ribs and short loins. Tailmedium docked. The terrier's working origin requires that the tail be of sufficient length to grasp. Base level with topline; carried erect.
Well laid back shoulders. Elbows close to ribs. Short, powerful legs, as straight as is consistent with the digging terrier. Pasterns firm. Feet round with thick pads. Nails black. The feet point forward when standing or moving.
Broad, strong and muscular with well-turned stifles. Hocks low set and straight when viewed from the rear. Feet as in front.
Hard, wiry and straight, lying close to the body with a definite undercoat. The coat on neck and shoulders forms a protective mane. The hair on head, ears and muzzle, except for slight eyebrows and whiskers, is short and smooth. This breed should be shown with as natural a coat as possible. A minimum of tidying is permissible but shaping should be heavily penalized.
All shades of red, wheaten, black and tan or grizzle. White marks are not desirable.
The legs moving parallel, extending forward, showing great powers of propulsion. Good rear angulation with a true, yet driving movement. The forelegs move freely with feet and elbows the same distance apart, converging slightly with increased pace. Hind legs follow in the track of the forelegs, flexing well at the stifle and hock. The topline remains level.
Gay, fearless, loyal and affectionate. Adaptable and sporting, they make ideal companions.
Approved October 13, 1981
Reformatted March 23, 1990


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In the early days - back when Search Console was still called Webmaster Tools - the content keywords feature was the only way to see what Googlebot found when it crawled a website. It was useful to see that Google was able to crawl your pages at all, or if your site was hacked.
In the meantime, you can easily check any page on your website and see how Googlebot fetches it immediately, Search Analytics shows you which keywords we've shown your site in search for, and Google informs you of many kinds of hacks automatically. Additionally, users were often confused about the keywords listed in content keywords. And so, the time has come to retire the Content Keywords feature in Search Console.
The words on your pages, the keywords if you will, are still important for Google's (and your users') understanding of your pages. While our systems have gotten better, they can't read your mind: be clear about what your site is about, and what you'd like to be found for. Tell visitors what makes your site, your products and services, special!
What was your most surprising, or favorite, keyword shown? Let us know in the comments!
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Tocharian Online
Series Introduction
Todd B. Krause and Jonathan Slocum
Tocharian denotes two closely related languages of the Indo-European family, denoted simply Tocharian A and Tocharian B. Though quite similar, Tocharian A and B are now considered by most scholars to be two distinct languages, and not merely two dialects of one common language. It is still common practice, however, to use the term Tocharian to refer to both languages when no particular distinction needs to be made. The phrase "the Tocharian language" should be understood in this sense, not as implying any dialectal status of either A or B, but rather as a common euphemism for the two languages considered in terms where their differences are irrelevant.
Geographic Location
The Tocharian languages were first discovered in documents unearthed in expeditions to Chinese Turkestan (East Turkestan, or Xinjiang); the sites are located along what was once the Silk Road. One primary site of Tocharian remains is Turfan. Turfan lies to the north of the Tarim Basin, a depression situated to the northeast of the Takla Makan Desert. A second major source of Tocharian documents is Kučā, a city to the west of Turfan, in the center of the northern boundary of the Takla Makan Desert. A third major site, Tumšuq, forms the extreme western boundary of Tocharian finds. This lies along the northern rim of the desert, between Kučā and Kašgʰar, a city at the desert's western extreme.
Tocharian A is found only in the region of Turfan and Qārāšahr (Karashahr), a nearby oasis located to the west roughly midway between Turfan and Kučā. Tocharian B, by contrast, is found throughout the entirety of this branch of the Silk Road, from Turfan in the east to Tumšuq in the west. Some sources therefore refer to Tocharian A as East Tocharian or Turfanian, since Turfan is at the easternmost extent of the Tocharian sites. Occasionally it is termed Agnean, referring to the Sanskrit designation Agni for Qārāšahr. In this context, Tocharian B is referred to as West Tocharian (though it is found in the east, too) or Kuchean.
Tocharian Texts
The Tocharian documents all date to a period roughly between the sixth and eighth centuries AD. The materials are predominantly translations of Buddhist texts which were in common circulation in Central Asia. This of course is a double-edged sword: on the one hand, the well-known content assists in the process of decipherment; on the other hand, it provides very little information about the people who spoke the language. There are, however, some texts that are not translations of Buddhist progenitors, including monastic and business letters, caravan passes, and graffiti. These secular documents are all written in Tocharian B, leading some scholars to conclude that Tocharian A, by the time the surviving documents were written, may already have been an extinct language, preserved only as the liturgical language -- much as Latin was, in Europe. The relative paucity of such secular documents, however, necessarily makes such conclusions tentative.
Most of the Tocharian texts were in origin parts of monastic library collections, or left in monasteries as votive offerings. Often, parts of these documents were picked up by the wind and swept out into the desert, making the number of complete Tocharian documents quite small and making the manner of recovery at times haphazard. The Tocharian documents are not found in isolation. Tocharian manuscripts from monastery libraries naturally lie side by side with Sanskrit manuscripts of the same era. At times texts in other languages, such as Old Persian and Uyghur, are found alongside the Tocharian texts. Occasionally documents in gāndʰārī, a Middle Indic language, are found in the same areas, but they date to an earlier era. The texts themselves were predominantly written in a variant of the north Indian Brāhmī script, which was also used for the nearby Middle Iranian language Tumshuqese. There are however some Tocharian B documents that employ Manichean script (used to spread writings of the Manichean religion, which originated in the Mesopotamian region).
The Name "Tocharian"
The name "Tocharian" (German Tocharisch) was proposed first by F. W. K. Müller in 1907, and a year later by the renowned pair of Tocharianists Sieg and Siegling. This name is now thought to be a misnomer, but nevertheless remains due to sheer inertia and the lack of a definitive replacement.
The origin of the name goes back to the discovery of an Old Turkic (Uyghur) text Maitrisimit nom bitig, a translation of the Buddhist Sanskrit Maitreyasamiti-Nāṭaka. The colophon of the work states (Adams, pp. 2-3):
"The sacred book Maitreya-samiti which the Bodhisattva guru ācārya Āryacandra, who was born in the country of Nagaradeśa, had composed in the Twγry languages out of the Indian language, and which the guru ācārya Prajñarakṣita, who was born in Il-bliq, translated from the Twγry language into the Turkish language."
Thus a certain Āryacandra composed the original work here referred to as Maitrisimit nom bitig. This is the same name as the composer of the Indic Maitreyasamiti-Nāṭaka, so that the identification of the original text appears to be solid. Apparently this work was then translated into toxrï (Twγry), and from that translated by the present author, Prajñarakṣita, into Old Turkic (Uyghur).
Sieg and Siegling assumed that the intermediary language, toxrï, was the language which is the subject of these lessons, and that this language toxrï is identical to Greek To'kʰaroi and Sanskrit Tukʰāra, denoting inhabitants of Bactria. In some scholarly accounts, the inhabitants of this area were known as the Indo-Scythians, and so Sieg and Siegling proposed the name Tocharisch for the language of the Indo-Scythians.
Research and newly discovered documents have proven this identification to be untenable. The language of the Indo-Scythians is now termed Bactrian, and this language has left a number of loanwords in the languages now termed Tocharian. Tocharian, however, seems not to have left any linguistic traces in Bactrian, so these two cultures were likely never in direct contact.
What is clear is that toxrï is the name of Tocharian from the point of view of the Turkic people. This term, however, does not appear in the Tocharian languages themselves. In Tocharian A we find ārśi as a term likely denoting the Tocharians themselves. In Tocharian B we find the adjective kuśiññe, derived from kuśi (also kuci), the name of a dynasty and state also known from Chinese documents. The Turkic people also mention a language küšän (also küsän) from the Tarim Basin. One bilingual document listing first Sanskrit and then Tocharian B has the pair tokʰarikaḥ : kucaññe iṣṭʰake, but this is not as helpful as one would hope, since tokʰarika (Gk. To'kʰaroi ?) is not the name of any known people.
The Position of Tocharian in Indo-European
In terms of geography, Tocharian is the easternmost of all the ancient Indo-European languages. Tocharian also appears to be a so-called centum language, meaning that the Proto-Indo-European palatovelars became true velars. This, coupled with its geographical location, came as a shock to the historical linguistics community. The other centum languages included the Celtic, Germanic, Italic, and Hellenic branches of Indo-European -- all located to the west of the ancient Indo-European speech community. Tocharian thus broke down the geographical interpretation of the centum-satem dialectal division, which held that the centum speakers formed a western dialect group in the original Indo-European community, and the satem speakers, an eastern group.
Though certainly Indo-European in heritage, Tocharian shows a number of departures from its historical source. In particular, it is notable for having a reduced phonetic inventory in comparison to other Indo-European languages, the Tocharian stop consonants (e.g. p, t, k) being all voiceless (e.g. no equivalents to English b, d, g). Tocharian likewise seems to have lost a number of original cases of the Indo-European noun, and then developed a new and enlarged system. These cases tend to have what linguists call an agglutinative structure similar to that found in Japanese or in Turkic languages (among others), and this combined with the reduced inventory of stop consonants leads many scholars to believe that Tocharian went through a long period of extended contact with western and central Asian language groups such as Uralic, Turkic, and Mongolian. (The above technical terms will be explained in the course of the lessons, but the reader may at any time use the Table of Contents to locate discussion of a particular topic.)
These lessons have benefitted from the assistance of a number of first-rate scholars, in particular Professor Douglas Q. Adams of the University of Idaho and Professor Georges-Jean Pinault of the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris. These scholars have graciously offered their assistance in various ways, including the selection and translation of texts and answering the author's many questions on points of Tocharian grammar. They have shown great support and enthusiasm for the project, and the lessons are far better for their generous input. No less important have been the many suggestions for improvement made by Dr. Stephie Nikoloudis. The author extends to all of them his sincerest thanks. For various reasons, however, the author has occasionally not been able to follow their advice, much to his own peril; he is of course solely responsible for any errors of omission or commission that remain in these lessons.
Related Language Courses at UT
Online language courses for college credit are offered through University Extension (link opens in a new browser window).
Tocharian Resources Elsewhere
Our Links page includes pointers to Tocharian resources elsewhere.
The Tocharian Lessons
- Exerpt from the Buddhist Puṇyavanta-Jātaka
- Buddhist Puṇyavanta-Jātaka (cont'd)
- Exerpt from the Maitreyasamiti-nāṭaka (A255/THT888)
- Maitreyasamiti-nāṭaka (cont'd)
- Maitreyasamiti-nāṭaka (cont'd)
- Exerpt from The "Last Supper" of the Buddha (B107/THT107)
- The "Last Supper" of the Buddha (cont'd)
- The "Last Supper" of the Buddha (cont'd)
- The "Last Supper" of the Buddha (cont'd)
- The "Last Supper" of the Buddha (cont'd)
- Appendix 1: A Clinic on Looking Up Tocharian Words
- Selected Annotated Bibliography
- Show full Table of Contents with Grammar Points index
- Open a Master Glossary window for these Tocharian A texts
- Open a Master Glossary window for these Tocharian B texts
- Open a Base Form Dictionary window for these Tocharian A texts
- Open a Base Form Dictionary window for these Tocharian B texts
- Open an English Meaning Index window for these Tocharian A texts
- Open an English Meaning Index window for these Tocharian B texts
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Camels become prime suspects in deadly Saudi virus outbreak
People infected with a deadly virus that emerged in Saudi Arabia last year may have caught it from one-humped camels, used in the region for meat, milk, transport and racing.
In a study into what kind of animal "reservoir" may be fuelling the outbreak in humans, scientists said they had found strong evidence it is widespread among dromedary camels in the Middle East.
The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV),which can cause coughing, fever and pneumonia, has been reported in people in the Gulf, France, Germany, Italy, Tunisia and Britain.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says 46 people have died out of a total 94 confirmed cases, the majority in Saudi Arabia.
"As new human cases of MERS-CoV continue to emerge, without any clues about the sources of infection except for people who caught it from other patients, these new results suggest that dromedary camels may be one reservoir," said Chantal Reusken of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven, the Netherlands, who led the study.
"There are different types of contact of humans with these animals that could lead to transmission of a virus."
Experts not involved in the study hailed its findings as a major step towards solving the mystery of, and ultimately controlling, the MERS virus.
Days after identifying the new virus in September in a Qatari patient at a London hospital, British scientists had sequenced part of its genome, mapped out its "phylogenetic tree" and found it was related to a virus found in bats.
Further work by scientists at Germany's University of Bonn suggested it may have come through an intermediary animal after they conducted a detailed case study of a male patient from Qatar who said he owned a camel and a goat farm.
"This looks like the big break that public health workers needed in the fight against the spread of MERS," said Benjamin Neuman, a microbiologist at Britain's University of Reading.
"The biggest mysteries ... have been how people are becoming infected with a virus of bats, and why it is happening in the Middle East. By showing that one-humped camels have a history of MERS-like infections, these scientists may have helped answer both questions at once."
The Dutch-led team, whose study was published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, gathered 349 blood serum samples from a variety of livestock animals, including dromedary camels, cows, sheep, goats, and some animals related to dromedaries.
The animals were from several different countries, including Oman, the Netherlands, Spain and Chile.
While no MERS-CoV antibodies were found in blood serum taken from 160 cattle, sheep, and goats from the Netherlands and Spain, they were found in all 50 samples from camels in Oman.
The Oman samples came from different areas, suggesting that MERS-CoV, or a very similar virus, is circulating widely in dromedary camels in the region, the researchers said.
Neuman said the antibodies showed that the camels from the Middle East had probably caught a MERS-like coronavirus, but could not tell scientists when that happened or whether it was exactly the same as the virus that has spread to people.
"There was some anecdotal evidence of people who came down with MERS after contact with sick camels, but this is the first hard evidence that camels may be a missing link in the chain of transmission," he said.
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Ramadan 2013


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The U.N. Security Council is condemningthe Syrian government for the massacre of scores of people, including children, in the town of Houla, a day after images of the mass killings shocked the world.
"The Security Council condemned in the strongest possible terms the killings, confirmed by United Nations observers, of dozens of men, women and children and the wounding of hundreds more in the village of (Houla), near Homs, in attacks that involved a series of government artillery and tank shellings on a residential neighborhood," the Security Council said in a nonbinding statement read out at the end of a three-hour meeting on Sunday.
The U.N. says at least 108 people, including 49 children and 34 women, died in Houla.
The New York Times reportsthat the Security Council action is the strongest allowed by Russia, a permanent, veto-wielding member of the body, which has blocked past attempted to condemn President Bashar Assad's regime.
Images of the killings shocked the world when they were released on Saturday. As the Two-Way's Eyder Peralta reportedyesterday, "it's hard to look at" them.
"They show the bloodied bodies of dozens of children strewn on the floors of morgues. Some of them are just babies, their gazes frozen, still wearing the outfits they had on when they were killed by government forces," he wrote. "In one image, there are so many dead children on a single rug, their limbs are overlapping. One of them is a little girl covered in blood. She's wearing a pink shirt dress with a yellow duckling."
Syria is denying it is behind the killings.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said Sunday that Syrian security forces were in their bases when they were attacked Friday by gunmen armed with mortars, machine guns and anti-tank missiles. He said that in the nine-hour battle that followed, three soldiers were killed and 16 wounded.
"No Syrian tank or artillery entered this place where the massacres were committed," he said, according to The Associated Press. "The security forces did not leave their places because they were in a state of self-defense."
According to the AP:
"He blamed the gunmen for what he called a 'terrorist massacre' in Houla and accused the media, Western officials and others of spinning a 'tsunami of lies' to justify foreign intervention in Syria."
But NPR's Kelly McEvers, who is reporting from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, had this to say on Sunday's weekends on All Things Considered:
"After midday prayers, residents of Houla went to the streets to protest. They say the army began shelling the protest from afar, and several people were killed. A group of rebels in the town who are known loosely as the Free Syrian Army fought back. They reportedly attacked Syrian army soldiers."
Sunday's nonbinding Security Council statement came after divisions among the body's members on how to proceed.
The AP reported:
"Britain and France had proposed issuing a press statement condemning the attack and pointing a finger at the Syrian government, but Russia told Security Council members it could not agree and wanted a briefing first by Norwegian Maj. Gen. Robert Mood, the head of the U.N. observer team in the country."
Britain, China, France, Russia and the U.S. make up the five permanent, veto-wielding members of the Security Council. Russia and China oppose strong international action against Assad's regime.
As McEvers' reporting says, the violence continued Saturday:
"In [a] ... video posted online by Syrian activists, a woman says the shelling resumed around two in the morning," she reported. "Many people were killed when their houses collapsed on them."
A second woman says the attack became worse, McEvers reported. Pro-government militias known as shabiha, derived from the word ghost, began going house to house, the second woman said.
"They knocked and asked who is in the house," she said. "I said there are no men here. Then they started shooting. I lost seven grandchildren. Then they burned our houses."
McEvers notes that the videos could not be independently verified.
The area of Houla is comprised of Sunni villages and Allawtie villages. Allawites support Assad's regime, which is made up of members of the community. Sunnis oppose the regime. The villages are near the city of Homs, scene of the worst sectarian fighting since the Syrian uprising began last year.
McEvers says:
"Some activists suggested to NPR the house-to-house massacres of Sunni families was revenge for the killing of Allawites. But this could not be independently confirmed. Either way, what happened in Houla was the largest number of killings in one single incident since the Syrian uprising began."
Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.


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Date(s) - 04/05/2018
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Long Jetty CWA Hall
The Long Jetty Produce Swap is a monthly meet to share backyard produce, knowledge and skills locally. We meet on the first Sat of every month 10 – 11am at CWA Hall, 1 Pacific St, Long Jetty. Long Jetty Produce Swap is a way to make sure your garden surplus doesn't go to waste – find a good home for it, and take home something different. Swap produce from your garden, plants, seeds, and cuttings. Make some friends, be a locavore and build community.


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Joined: Apr 13, 2016 Last Active: Jul 24, 2024 iNaturalist
A lifelong interest in animals led to a birdwatching hobby at the age of 12 (thanks in large part to the Smithsonian). 2 college degrees in biology led to a career teaching the subject. For the last 10 years I've been a member of the Illinois Ornithological Records Committee, and with the classes I teach and the cameras I've owned, my interests have broadened to include anything that grows or moves, and can actually be identified without dissections!


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Lobster Consommé en Gelée
One of the most frequently asked questions I get about this project is, "What's the most expensive dish you've had to make?"
I hem and I haw because it's hard to know for sure. For some dishes, I already have a lot of the ingredients on hand, for others, I need to buy most of the ingredients from the outset. Some dishes require me to run the dishwasher three times a day, and others require me to power the oven and stove for hours at a time; those are costs that are hard to estimate, but they're costs nonetheless.
I think it's fair to say that anything involving foie gras tends to be on the pricey side, as would anything involving ingredients that need to be shipped overnight, or that I have to drive more than 5 miles through stop-and-go city traffic to pick up.
I am sensitive to the fact that food prices continue to rise, and I do understand what I cook for this blog may seem extravagant to some. However, I need to be honest here and tell you that I really don't spend time thinking a whole lot about what these dishes cost to make, because a) I love doing it, and 2) I don't mind spending money on food.
The way I see it, everybody has different passions and hobbies -- arts and crafts projects, decorating, working on cars, restoring furniture, buying lots of clothes and shoes, collecting novelty items, etc. It just so happens that food is a major hobby and passion of mine, so when I do my monthly budget, this blog becomes its own line item. I definitely plan ahead financially to make sure I can make these dishes with the best ingredients available. I'm also lucky in that I'm child-free and work from home, so money that might for others go to cover expenses related to raising kids and commuting, for me goes toward food instead.
Now, with all that said, I did do some back-of-the-napkin math on this dish and figured out that it probably is the most expensive one in the book, because it requires the use of 12 lobster bodies. That means, I had to buy and use 12 lobsters, then save their bodies (legs and trunk) to use in this dish. There's no lobster meat in this dish, so I had to make the lobsters, use the meat in other dishes (or eat it plain) and then save the bodies in the freezer (a seafood mafioso move, methinks) until it was time to make this dish.
When I was a few months out from making this dish, I had four lobster bodies already in the freezer. I had eight more to buy and make over the next little while until I could be ready to go with this dish. Luckily, my parents gave me a gift certificate to BlackSalt for Christmas to help defray the costs of this project -- which was such a generous thing for them to do (thanks again, Mom and Dad!). So, that helped cover the cost of some of the additional eight lobsters, but if you wanna do the math of 12 lobster bodies, each lobster weighing 1.25-1.5 pounds apiece, and whatever the going rate is per pound for fresh, live lobster, factoring in mileage to go get the lobsters.... then there you go.
So, knowing the costs involved, my mind turned to return on investment, or ROI as we businessfolk like to call it. I counsel my clients to think about ROI when they're making decisions related to marketing, advertising and PR, and so naturally, I hoped that by spending this much moolah on a dish, I would get a significant bang for the buck when it came to the end result. Would spending my hard-earned money then working for three days with 12 lobster bodies, some vegetables, and gelatin yield a near-orgasmic culinary experience? Would hilarity ensue when the neighbor's dog got ahold of the lobster bodies and dragged them to all four corners of my house? Or, would it be a huge catastrophe and require the assistance of the local fire brigade?
Let's just say: none of the above. However, because you crazy people love it when one of my dishes goes haywire or I nearly puke while eating it, I'll tell you now -- you're in for a hell of a read.
Now, where was I? Oh yes: I had four lobster bodies and needed eight more. Eight? Eight. If you've been a longtime reader of this fair blog, you know I kind of like to name my shellfish. I couldn't name all eight lobsters Celine (although I wanted to), so I had to think of a group of eight I'd be willing to sacrifice the lives of in the name of cuisine. I didn't need my lobster-naming strategy team for this one at all because, really, when you think of the number eight, you naturally think of The Bradfords!
So, meet:
Mary, Joanie, and Susan...
Nancy, Elizabeth, and Tommy (aw, Tommy is karate-chopping Elizabeth over the head; oh, those crazy kids!)...
And, little Nicholas...
Eight is enough to fill our lives with love, indeed!
Now that you've met my eight new lobsters -- all of which were lovely and delicious in their various preparations -- AND we've gotten the obligatory 80s sitcom reference out of the way, let's take a look at what the 12 lobster bodies looked like at the start of this dish:
Kinda creepy-crawly, huh.
I put the lobster bodies in a large stockpot in which I'd already heated some canola oil. I forgot to quarter them, as the book suggested, but didn't realize it until I was done with the first day's work. Doy. Aaaaaaaanyway, I sautéed them for 2 - 3 minutes, then added chopped carrots, fennel, shallots and mushrooms:
I continued cooking this over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables had started to soften. I then added vermouth, water, garlic, tarragon, and tomatoes, brought it to a boil, then simmered it for two hours. The smell of this pot of lobstery goodness made me incredibly happy. I kept finding reasons to go outside and come back in so I could marvel in the wonder of how amazing my house smelled while this was cooking. Mmmmmmmmmm.......
I strained the stock into a separate pot, pressing down onto the lobster shells to make sure I got as much liquid out of there as I could:
I threw away the lobster shells and the vegetables that were in the strainer. I poured the stock (about 4 quarts) through a chinois into yet another stock pot, and didn't force anything through this time so that it would remain as solid-free as possible. I let the stock cool to room temperature, then skimmed off the fat that had risen to the top.
I refrigerated the stock overnight and before I went to bed, I cooked some lobster roe so that it became lobster coral (which I needed for the clarification raft as well as the final plating) by putting it in a plastic bag, squeezing out all the air, then holding the bag in boiling water for a few seconds -- look at me, bein' all cool and doing something sort of sous vide:
I kept the coral in the bag until I needed it the next day.
So, now we're on Day Two of the Lobster Consommé en Gelée. Things had, so far, gone well and I was really looking forward to tasting what I thought was going to be a truly outstanding dish. The thought of the saltiness of lobster really concentrated in a consommé along with some whipped crème fraîche to complement the lobster... I was getting excited about how great this was going to be and what a freakin' superstar I would be among my friends and neighbors because they were going to fall all over themselves eating this and begging for me to make more. Sometimes, I can be a real idiot.
On Day Two, I prepared the clarification raft. You can't make consommé without clarifying it and removing all the impurities and other gunk, otherwise, it won't be clear, as all good consommés are. So, you make what is called a clarification raft, which, when it cooks, traps all the impurities and brings them to the top and out of your stock. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me show you the steps. First, I ground some carrot, fennel and onion in the food processor:
In a small bowl, I whisked some egg whites and lobster coral until frothy:
Then, I mixed the vegetables with the egg whites and lobster coral together in the same bowl:
I took the stock out of the refrigerator and put it on the stovetop. Before turning on the heat, I added the ground vegetables and whisked eggs to the stock, whisking it in to make sure there were no clumps. I turned the heat on low, and continued stirring with a wooden spoon until the liquid reached 128 degrees.
When the temperature reached 128 degrees, I stopped stirring and brought the stock up to a simmer. As the stock simmered, the solids rose to the top, began cooking, and formed a raft. so far, so good.
I cut a small hole on the right-hand side of the raft as a "breather hole" for the stock. The book tells you, and I know from having made consommé before, that you have to be really careful about the heat and not let the stock come to a boil, because you don't want the raft to break apart because it will cloud the consommé and not really do the job it's supposed to do. It's acceptable to have one or two spots where the stock simmers up through the raft, but no more than that. That's where I think I made a mistake in making this dish. I kept the heat so carefully moderated and watched that pot like a hawk for the hour it needed to simmer, but there was one point at which the stock got too hot and it bubbled up through and really broke the raft. You'll be able to see what I mean in the photo below, I think:
See how on the right hand side (at two o'clock on the diameter) it broke and the cooked egg white part of the raft bubbled up back onto the top of it? Grrrrr.....
After the hour-long simmer, I lined a strainer with some cheesecloth and began gently ladling the stock through it -- careful not to further break the raft, or get any big chunks of it in the ladle. I placed the strainer over a large saucepan, and ended up being able to strain a good amount of it (I had to tilt the pot on the stovetop to be able to get as much out of it as I could.
At this point, I had close to 2 quarts of consommé left. There was a little bit of fat floating on the top, so I did as The French Laundry Cookbook suggested and laid a paper towel on the surface, gently gliding it off to bring the fat with it. After three paper towels, I'd gotten it all.
I lined another strainer with fresh cheesecloth and placed it over another large saucepan, then slowly and gently poured the liquid through it to further clean it. I put the saucepan of consommé on the stovetop over medium heat and brought it to a simmer. I let it simmer for about 40 minutes, when it had reduced by half.
While reducing the liquid, I soaked some gelatin sheets in cold water:
I poured the reduced consommé into a bowl set inside a bowl of ice. I squeezed out the water from the gelatin sheets and stirred them into the hot consommé until they had fully dissolved. I let the consommé cool in the bowl set inside the bowl of ice, stirring every now and then, for about an hour. I covered the bowl with foil and put it in the fridge to set overnight so I could finish the dish the next afternoon.
We're now on Day Three of the Lobster Consommé en Gelée. Two semi-screwups: forgot to quarter the lobster bodies, and my raft broke. I fully expected to wake up, rub the sleep from my eyes, plod downstairs to make coffee and while the grinder was having its way with my coffee beans I'd check the lobster consommé and find it hadn't set. Then, I would cry, because there was no way I could start all over again. I'd end up just writing a post that said: Lobster Consommé en Gelée = STUPID and contribute a photo of it to FailBlog.
But, as you will see, the planets aligned and when I removed the consommé from the refrigerator, it was set and was full-on jelly. Lobster jelly. Just think about those two words together for a few minutes. Lobster jelly. Then, think of other kinds of jellies that you like and how you like to eat them. Then, think of lobster jelly in that way and try not to get squicked out.
The final steps before plating were really easy. I grated the rest of the lobster coral so that they would appear as tiny, individual eggs. Then, I whipped some crème fraîche by hand with my trusty whisk, and I defrosted some of the brunoise I had in the freezer and brought it to room temperature.
To plate, I put some of the lobster consommé which was now "en gelée" (pronounced zhel-AY) in a little custard dish, then topped it with the crème fraîche, the lobster coral and some brunoise. If you have The French Laundry Cookbook nearby, please turn to page 33, where you will see what this was supposed to look like.
The rest of you can suffer by seeing what my version ended up looking like:
Hmmmmm. I'm hearing crickets out there as you try to come up with something semi-positive to say. It's no use. Really. I'm fine. I'm at peace with the fact that not only is this pretty unattractive, it was also perhaps the most expensive dish I've made probably ever in my whole life in terms of ingredient costs, AND one of the most disgusting things I have ever spooned into my mouth.
The gelée was not perfectly clear (it was close, though), but the lobster taste was so concentrated it was almost overwhelming, and not in a good way. Texturally, I had huge issues with it, which should come as no surprise. Textures are always my Achilles' Heel. I don't normally have problems with gelled things, but savory jellies and I will not be found sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I... you know the rest of the song.
It absolutely kills me to type these words, but this dish was awful. I've been wracking my brains to come up with some redeeming quality about it, and the only thing I can say is that I probably would've enjoyed the lobster consommé not en gelée and still hot, like soup, before it was reduced during the final stage before becoming gelatinized. The way it smelled when it was warm and cooking was an absolute pleasure, and I think I would have been fine with a hot lobster consommé. No, I KNOW I would have been fine with that. Because I tasted it, and it was good. Cold and jellied? Not so much. Not at all, actually.
I'd planned to have my friends in the neighborhood over to taste it but after ten years of friendship, I know their likes and dislikes really, really well, and I honestly couldn't put myself through us all sitting around the dining room table trying to choke down a single bite while trying to be polite about it. I just couldn't. Talk about adding insult to injury. Wasn't gonna happen.
So instead, I made up another serving of it and took it across the street to my friend, Linda's, house because I knew her eleven-year old son, Grant, would want to at least taste it. He's really adventurous when it comes to food and is so great about trying anything once. Of course (and go figure), I walked into their house just as Grant burned the hell out of his hand on a cookie sheet while making snickerdoodles (yum!). As he ran his hand under cold, cold water and then wrapped it in an ice pack with a dish towel, I tried to be cheerful when I said, "Here's something that will take your mind off your BURNED HAND -- some lobster jelly! Woo-hoo!!!"
He grimaced but for a second, then said he'd try it. As I held the little custard dish for him BECAUSE HE HAD A BURNED HAND AND COULDN'T HOLD ANYTHING IN IT, he took a small spoonful of it along with some of the crème fraîche, squooshed it around in his mouth (since you can't really chew jelly), and spit it out into the sink. He asked me to get him a glass of water because HE HAD A BURNED HAND AND NOW MAJOR GAG-REFLEX SALIVARY ACTION GOING ON, and I did. He swished and spit and then drank the rest of the water without saying a word to me, but definitely giving me the stink eye which I more than deserved because I am such a good friend and role model that I forced a CHILD with a BURNED HAND to eat something I wouldn't take a second bite of. Does Dick Cheney know about me and my awesome torture skillz?
I called Grant the next day not only to check on his BURNED HAND but also see if, upon reflection, he had a different opinion about this particular dish and his response was "You know, this was worse than the oyster jelly because at least the oyster jelly didn't really taste like anything, but the lobster jelly taste just wouldn't go away for, like, hours and it kept reminding me how bad it was. FOR HOURS." He said the pain in his hand went away before the lobster jelly taste went away -- even after multiple teeth brushings and tongue scrapings.
If we remove the tripe from the equation (since technically it's not one of the official 100 dishes in The French Laundry Cookbook), this dish was my biggest disappointment. It really bummed me out. In fact, it's taken me a really long time to write this post, and I've been putting it off for awhile now because I was just so gobsmacked at how f-ing badly this turned out.
And now, I feel like an even bigger jerk because not only am I the ass who apparently tortures very young burn victims with my shiteous food, I've now made you sit through 33 photos and a kabillion words about my making a dish that I honestly can't recommend and suggest you not even think about wasting your money on. Unless, of course, you think you might like it, in which case, enjoy, and ew. I think I'd rather go burn my hand on a cookie sheet instead.
Up Next: French Laundry at Home Extra -- Q&A with Carol, Part One (totally gelatin-free!)
Lobsters from BlackSalt
Sheet gelatin from King Arthur Flour's web site
365 canola oil
Produce and aromatics from Whole Foods
Tarragon from my garden
Noilly-Pratt dry vermouth
Eggs from Smith Meadows Farm
Vermont Butter and Cheese Co. crème fraîche
Music to Cook By: Styx; Paradise Theatre. Say what you will, this is a classic album. Yes, I can hear you snickering and rolling your eyes picturing me channeling my inner Dennis DeYoung while gelatinizing lobsters, but dude. Have you listened to this album lately? It doesn't suck. I know I'm maybe a little biased because I once spent a long car ride memorizing the album and can now sing the whole thing start to finish, including all the background vocals and fills, but I don't care. I love this album and you should, too. It should be mandatory for renewing your driver's license and, um, being able to vote that you master the hand claps in "Too Much (clap, clap) Time on My Hands." Right? Agree with me people, or I'm sending you my leftover lobster jelly in the mail. I mean it.
Read My Previous Post: French Laundry at Home Extra -- Q&A with Susie Heller


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Changing the Incentives
Since kidnapping 23 Korean Christian missionaries, mostly young women, in Afghanistan 12 days ago, the Taleban has killed two of the men and are threatening to kill the rest if they are not traded for Taleban prisoners. SeeDubya at JunkYardBlog writes: "I don't know what is to be done to save these people if we don't know where the Taliban is keeping them."
I can think of one thing that might work. The Korean government should offer a different sort of trade. They should immediately send 200 of their best soldiers (commandos, paratroopers, or marines) to Afghanistan to help the allies hunt down the Taleban kidnappers and killers. At the same time, the prime minister of Korea, preferably backed by opposition leaders, should publicly announce that for every hostage killed, he will send another 100 troops, that the ratio of soldiers sent to captives killed will increase if the surviving hostages are not released very soon, and that the soldiers will stay until every Talebani involved in the kidnappings and murders is either dead or in Guantánamo.
The Taleban would then have to weigh the propaganda benefits of killing 21 more Christians against the damage likely to be done by 2300 or more highly-motivated Korean soldiers. Since killing hostages is not an unalloyed benefit, the balance should be clear. Whether the Taleban are rational enough to realize that is a good question. Korea has quite a large army, so taking even more hostages would not necessarily help: even sending 3,000 or 4,000 troops would only marginally weaken Korea's defences against Kim Jong Il's slave army.


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David Pallmann, one of our Windows Azure MVPs, has just published a great new book, "The Windows Azure Handbook, Volume 1: Strategy & Planning". According to David's post, this book has a two-fold mission: to make a case that cloud computing is worth exploring, and also that they should make Windows Azure their cloud-computing platform of choice. Designed to help business and technical decision makers evaluate and plan, the book is split in two parts: Understanding Windows Azure and Planning for Windows Azure.
According to David, this is the first of a series of books covering the Windows Azure platform across the full lifecycle, from both business and technical perspectives. Subsequent volumes will focus on architecture, development, and management. Learn more about David's plans for the series in this post.


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Ever notice how frequently the word "addict" is used? Just do a Google News search on the word and you'll be shocked at just how often it's used in a headline. Articles are plastered with mentions of drug addicts, sex addicts, gambling addicts, food addicts, shopping addicts, work addicts and internet addicts. "These people" are painted as out-of-control and often menaces to society who need to be stopped, jailed, medicated or otherwise cut off.
But what if those diseased people weren't sick at all? What if you suddenly realized you were one of them? Well, that's what happened to me. In preparation for this podcast, I realized I'm an addict. I'm an addict who comes from other addicts, who has passed it onto my kids, too. I'm constantly looking for a way to not be with myself, a way to avoid the pain that I have, of not having meaningful bonds.
A Different Way of Looking at Addiction
Physician and best-selling author, Gabor Maté, shares the shocking truth about what causes addiction and the things we can do to address the problem. What's cool about Gabor is that he avoids quick-fix thinking when he tackles things like addiction, ADHD, sickness and the human spirit overall. Rather, he shines lights on the often uncomfortable truths that live at the root of these things.
Born in Hungary, Gabor survived the Holocaust, became a doctor and worked for over 20 years with patients with hard-core drug addictions, mental illness and HIV before writing In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, When the Body Says No, Scattered Minds, and Hold on to Your Kids (you can learn more on his website drgabormate.com).
Our brief but information-packed conversation even helped me understand why I love podcasting. These conversations are sort of accelerated intimacy that create quick bonds with each person I talk to and anything that helps me bond, lessens the painful void I have from having that very thing growing up.
I remember hearing somewhere that the purpose of life is to create meaningful connections with others. After this conversation with Gabor, I know you'll have a new point of view of exactly why that's so important and how and why we as individuals, families and cultures have strayed so far from it.


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ORIENTAL, N.C. – A Navy veteran says his Chihuahua mix saved his life.
Rudy Armstrong was on his houseboat in Oriental, North Carolina, when he suffered a stroke, according to CarolinaEast Health System.
Luckily, Armstrong's dog, Bubu, was there and sprang into action.
"He and Bubu have a special bond and when Rudy couldn't get to his phone to call for help, he looked his little friend in the eyes and said 'I need help. Go get Kim,'" wrote the hospital in a Facebook post.
Immediately, the hospital says Bubu ran off to get Kim, the area dockmaster, who called 911. They ultimately saved Armstrong's life, with the help of paramedics and the staff at the hospital.
On Aug. 7, the hospital says it was able to orchestrate a reunion between the veteran and "his best girl." It was an emotional moment for everyone there.
Armstrong, who has reportedly sailed all over the world and "has stories for days," said he was very appreciative of the care he received at the hospital.