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The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Hi everyone! I am back home now after a week in the hospital. More about that later perhaps, but for now I am trying to catch up around here. My usual monthly article for The Japan Times appeared last week, and it was all about Japanese style curry. If you've ever wondered how curry got to be so popular in Japan, and why Japanese curry is so, well, different from curry you get elsewhere - head on over there and take a look. (I especially loved finding out about the Great Curry Scandal of 1931.) It has a recipe for a proper, rich beef curry using curry mix (curry roux), which is the easy way to do things of course. (If you're interested in a from-scratch curry recipe, check out the Beef Curry recipe right here on this site, as well as my Dry Curry recipe. And if you have leftover curry and are feeling ambitious, I have a recipe for Curry Bread (kareh-pan) too!
As I delved into the history of curry in Japan while doing research for the article, I ran across the answer to a question that's been nagging me mildly forever. Why is House Vermont Curry called Vermont Curry? If you're unfamiliar with Vermont Curry, it's the most popular brand of curry roux in Japan (according to the manufacturer, House Foods). Here's the Japanese packaging:
And here's the English packaging, which is the one you see more often when Vermont Curry is for sale outside of Japan. I've also seen packaging in Chinese and Korean. Have you seen it in other languages?
As I stated in the Japan Times article, Vermont Curry was introduced in 1963 as a "sweet" or mild version of curry, suitable for kids to eat. It really achieved its purpose and then some, as it really helped "curry rice" to become one of the most popular kids' foods in Japan, rather like hot dogs and pizza are for American kids. The popularity of Vermont Curry was really solidified in the 1970s, when singer Hideki Saijo (still often just known as Hideki) became the face of the brand - a role he was to continue in for 12 years. Here's a typical Hideki TV commercial from the '70s. It contains the image of runny honey being poured over a sliced apple with Hideki singing ringo to hachimitsu toro-ri toketeru ("Apple and honey smoooothly melted in") which came to really symbolize the brand. The guy in the inset is an older Hideki looking at his 18 year old self. (Click here if you can't see the embedded video.)
And in this version (which I can't embed at all unfortunately), Hideki even lives in a cute little apple house in a snow-covered landscape - presumably, Vermont.
Looking at the list of ingredients in Vermont Curry, honey and apple are indeed listed - along with tons of other recognizable and unrecognizable stuff. This is an industrially produced food product after all.
So, why Vermont? The Green Mountain state is certainly not known for their curries I don't believe. The key, as you have probably guessed, is the apple and honey part - but why specifically Vermont, a relatively obscure (for non-Americans anyway) state? Even most Americans in 2011 don't think "Vermont" first and foremost when apples are mentioned. Well, it's all because of a health fad of sorts that was very popular back then. In 1958, D. C. Jarvis, a country doctor in Vermont, published a book called "Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor's Guide to Good Health", which stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for 2 years, and was (according to the good doctor's Wikipedia page still in print up until 2002. You can still get a used copy now. One folk remedy that particularly captured the imagination of people was the use of a mixture of apple cider vinegar and honey, called honegar, for anything that ailed you. The popularity of this magical mixture eventually spread to Japan and was known as the "Vermont Health System (バーモント健康法)". So when House Foods introduced their special, sweet and smooth curry in 1963 (even though the mix includes other sweetening agents besides honey and apple), they latched onto this "healthy" combination, blithely changed the apple cider vinegar to plain apples, and voila! Vermont Curry was born. Isn't marketing just grand?
Nowadays of course, barely anyone remembers just how widely popular "honegar" was, though the popularity of using apple cider vinegar, or other vinegars for that matter, as home health tonics lingers on. (Readers have pointed out that honegar is still available in some areas.) The most recent 'healthy' vinegar fad in Japan was for kurosu or "black vinegar", an aged rice vinegar. This stuff was wildly popular as a weight-loss aid until around 6-7 years ago, and they still advertise "40 year-aged" kurosu and kurosu supplements on Japanese TV. (My favorite happens to be kurosu flavored candy, which probably defeats the 'healthy' purpose.) Thankfully perhaps, no black-vinegar flavored curry mix emerged from the fad.
Vermont Curry is now available in three degrees of spiciness - amakuchi (Mild or Sweet), chuukara (Medium Hot) and karakuchi (Hot), but to me the one real Vermont Curry is the Mild one, which can be served to a small child or an excessivly timid-about-spiciness adult without compunction.
Incidentally, manga and anime fans may know Hideki Saijo via the Chibi Maruko-chan series, which is set in the mid-'70s when his popularity was as its peak. Hideki is still in showbiz, though he's transitioned into becoming a TV presenter and occasional actor (he's not too bad either) rather than a pop singer.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider becoming my patron via Patreon. ^_^
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Welcome Back Maki! Glad to see you better :)
What a fascinating story! I prefer the S&B curry, but I have seen the Vermont Curry here in Australia.
Honegar is still around - a popular version here uses cider vinegar and Manuka honey from New Zealand, which is supposed to have antibiotic properties and therefore very therapeutic.
If you have dark hair, cider vinegar makes an excellent rinse to make your hair smooth and shiny - try 1 tbsp of cider vinegar (or honegar) in 1 pint of warm water - it really works!
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Good to hear you're feeling better!
I have to say, though, as someone often made fun of in the States for having a weak tolerance for spicy, it feels good to be in Japan, where I can most things (especially curry) as spicy as they come and only enjoy it.
The video you couldn't embed is truly exquisite, too.
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
How interesting! Here in the States if you add "Brazilian" to anything it sounds exotic and thereby worth $40.00 more (like waxes and blow-outs). I'm going to have to look into curry with honey and vinegar, since that's nothing I'm seen. My family isn't much for curried dishes, but perhaps I haven't found something that plays to their tastes.
Welcome back, by the way.
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Thanks for all the information!
Glad to hear you're doing better :)
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
glad you are back on your feet maki! best wishes that your recovery continues smoothly.
this is so interesting re: vermont curry! i almost never buy the mild version, but after reading about the origin i want to try it. what a clever marketing ploy, and so strange that such a random, folksy american remedy would persist so resiliently in a dish around the world!
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
"three degrees of spiciness - amakuchi (Mild or Sweet), chuukara (Medium Hot) and karakuchi (Hot)"
I'd live to see the Japanese written out so I could more easily buy the Japanese curries I see in the shops here (SF bay area). We even have a box of Vermont Curry in the cupboard that we got at Berkeley Bowl as an "experiment" which we'll definitely partake of after your informative essays!
Also, it's good to see you back online. I follow you but my twitter is set to private so I couldn't send you get well tweets. Wishing you good health (without the honegar - which is still popular here. Check out the brand Bragg's they have a crazy amount of claims!)
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
amakuchi/sweet: 甘口 (あまくち)
chuukara/mild: 中辛 (ちゅうから)
karakuchi/hot: 辛口 (からくち)
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
It's great to hear that you are recovering so "soon". I think many of your fans agree with me that we get really worried. Since you truly are an greatwriter/journalist and sharing so much of your personality on this site it almost feels like knowing you a little. I really enjoy reading your articles in the Japan times.
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Glad you're feeling better!
You could write a novel (or several) on Japanese fads and random cultural obsessions they have. When I was there in the 80s, coffee was a huge fad and everything from jello to chewing gum came coffee-flavored. Australian frilled lizards were also everywhere at the time - stuffed ones, on cartoons, childrens' clothes, etc. I think the Tokyo zoo had acquired one.
A newer food fad is the rise of Japanese mayonnaise consumption. It seems like even in the States, Japanese restaurants are serving more and more mayo-laced food. As someone that grew up hating mayo, every time i see that kewpie I want to barf.
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Hi Maki, I'm glad you are feeling better!!!
I used to love Japanese instant curry but I found out all the brands carried by my local store have MSG, and that gives my wife migraines (and I'm also starting to tolerate it less and less I believe). Is there a MSG-free instant curry?
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
So glad that you are back! Now take care and stay well.
As it happens, over the last few days I've been reading your curry articles and have been wondering about the Vermont curry. Thanks for clearing up the mystery. I may give it a try.
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
I've always wondered why it was called "Vermont" curry!
Wow-- that commercial totally brings back memories. I remember that as a kid, I wanted curry to taste like honey and apples, but it didn't. My mom never bought the mild version-- we always had medium hot.
Hope you're feeling better, Maki.
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Welcome back Maki! You were sorely missed.
I lived in Japan as a child and remember fondly the Saijo Hideki House Vermont Curry commercials. Prior to the Hideki commercials, my mother always bought S&B curry. Hideki was such an adorable and effective pitch man that he even converted my brand loyal mother:)
Thank you for the fun trip down memory lane. Incidentally, my mother always combined the amakuchi and chuukara curry bricks.
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
I've just found your website and really enjoy it. Thank you very much.
I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better and send many wishes for a speedy and total recovery.
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
So glad to know you are back up and at it.
Thank you for demystifying House Vermont Curry. As a child I spent a lot of time in Vermont and my parents chose it as their place of retirement. There are indeed a lot of apples but that never seemed enough to merit the name. It's been a mystery to me since arriving here in Japan in 1985. Thanks for clearing that up. Whew! Once less thing.
(Not intending to be a downer but....the beautiful state of VT, was hit very hard by Hurricane Irene recently. Should anyone be inclined to want to volunteer or offer assistance of one sort or another, here's a good list of resources). http://7d.blogs.com/blurt/2011/08/after-irene-how-you-can-help-vermont.html
Kurosu? Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Happy to hear you feel better and are home, far away from hospital food.
A question, is this kurosu or aged "black vinegar" you mention even remotely similar to balsamic vinegar (aceto balsamico)?
I come from the "centre of origin" of aceto balsamico and I'm curious.
In its best (and authentic) incarnations it is a black and fragrant thick liquid, and it is aged for many years: 40 years old balsamic vinegar is not unknown, 20 is almost normal, 12 years is the minimum for the real stuff "Aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena o Reggio Emilia". A very different beast from the sweet&sour stuff that is sold in many shops around the world... It can cost you a lot of money too.
Nobody has (yet) attached any health giving property to it, to my knowledge.
Aceto balsamico making used to be a posh hobby for land-owners, as you need a very productive vineyard and a rather big house, with a large and clean attic for aging the vinegar. You also need a lot of free time to spend pottering about with barrels, measures, and so on.
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Glad to hear that you're home, hopefully you're feeling back to normal. Hope there won't be anymore trips to the hospital, heaven knows you're already spent too much time there!
It was Japanese curry that got me into liking curry. Before I went and lived over there, I didn't like curry of any kind, though I hadn't tried the Japanese style yet. It was probably Vermont Curry - or something similarly mild and "sweet" (to my palette, not even the mild is truly sweet) - that I first tried and liked. From there it was on to curry pan and Indian curries, and I've never looked back.
If you ever get the chance to visit Kawagoe, in Saitama-ken, there's an excellent curry restaurant there. All of their curries are house-made, and you can get it from mild to insanely hot. I'll have to see if I can find the name of it; my husband and I always just navigated there from memory.
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
OMG.. I just bought a pack of Vermont medium curry on a whim yesterday... Get out of my mind Maki!
Anyway good to hear you're out of hospital! Hope you're on the way to a complete recovery.
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Great article Maki! During my first visit to Japan our guide would eat twice every night. First some local specialty with our group, and then later in the evening he had to have his curry. This really confused us :) but now I realise it must be his childhood comfort food or something.
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
I have a non-food related query.
I understand that ringo is usually written in kana, but why has it been written in katakana and not hiragana on the packet. Is it a Gairaigo?
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Hi bv, Scientific/botanical/zoological etc. nouns are also katakanized, even if it's just the common name.
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
I'm glad you're feeling better. <3
Thank you for posting an explanation about Vermont curry! I've been curious for a while about it; I was born and raised in Vermont. I'd never heard of "honegar". XD We really do have beautiful apples, though~. Vermont clover honey is too musky for my tastes, however.
The next time I'm out shopping, I'm definitely going to find some Vermont curry because I've never tried it before~.
To elaborate on Lisa Cooper's comment, we really did get hit hard and have sustained a lot of damage, some of it permanent. I hope that this disaster allows people outside of Vermont to see the straightforward, hardworking, no-complaints attitude of Vermonters. <3
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
When I was visiting Japan as a kid, I heard the jingle on tv and could not for the life of me figure out what that middle word was: "Ha-oo-soo BAA-mon-toe Ka-ray"
Barmont? Bamonto? Was that some special variety of apple? A Northern Indian cooking style? So. Baffled.
A decade and a half later, I finally saw an English package and all the seemingly inconguous images of bouncing apples, rolling hills and honey dripping off everything fell into place, my personal HVC Mystery was solved!
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Maki san,
I'm really glad that you are back!
I love today's topic because I grew up on eating Vermont curry! My mother makes real good one, and as I growing up, I started liking hotter flavor. Currently, when I make curry, I mix Amakuchi Vermont & karakuchi Java curry, and it will taste better than ever! I usually put some Surioroshi garlic and apples as secret ingredients.
It's so funny to watch the old TV CM of the curry...Hideki looks so hot! lol
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Cool. What a fun bit of history. Mixing honey or maple syrup with vinegar is a traditional drink, like lemonade is in other places.
Sugar Mountain Farm
in Vermont
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Wow! I have been wondering about the name every time I buy my usual blocks of curry mix. Is it actually a sweeter taste than S&B or Java curry (my mom used S&B, I switched to Java because I liked the flavor better)? I have been eating kare since I was young but never tried Vermont since I was confused about the apples and honey (thought it was something odd like apple-flavoured curry).
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Maki glad to see you home!
I have been wondering about this for quit a while thanks for clearing it up! For anyone who hasn't tried this curry it is much sweeter than the S&B. I tried the S&B first sense you can get it in any regular grocery store (at least here in San Diego) and found it ok. When I started going to one of the Japanese grocery stores here I found the Vermont curry and decided to try it. Even my husband who doesn't care for curry at all likes this one
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Thank you for sharing the mystery. I saw this curry in one of the oriental grocery stores I shop at and thought -- well, that can't be authentic! Now I'm trying to remember which one so I can go back and pick some up!
Take care, Maki.
Ellen, from Canada
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
I recently came across your website and have been scanning along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading what you all have to say…
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
Thanks for explaing the mystery! As a young child I had visited Vermont, then moving to Japan I thougth that everyone in Vermont ate curry. The crazy kid's mind!
I personally blend the S&B and Vermont brands. I think it's a good combination.
Re: The House Vermont Curry Mystery
I once bought an apple cider vinegar and honey drink. It was clearly a "health food" but I didn't realize it had a specific history. It was actually pretty tasty on a really hot day.
Thank you. I ran across VT
Thank you. I ran across VT curry on Amazon and I've been trying to figure out why VT ever since. Our best guess was that they tried to figure out what state was associated with apples, peanuts, bananas, cheddar and gouda, gave up and threw a dart at a map. This also explains why honey and not maple syrup.
I feel so much better.


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subset: commoncrawl


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(a) Redacted Filings. Unless the court orders otherwise, in an electronic or paper filing with the court that contains an individual's social-security number, taxpayer-identification number, or birth date, the name of an individual known to be a minor, or a financial-account number, a party or nonparty making the filing may include only:
(1) the last four digits of the social-security number and taxpayer-identification number;
(2) the year of the individual's birth;
(3) the minor's initials; and
(4) the last four digits of the financial-account number.
(b) Exemptions from the Redaction Requirement. The redaction requirement does not apply to the following:
(1) a financial-account number that identifies the property allegedly subject to forfeiture in a forfeiture proceeding;
(2) the record of an administrative or agency proceeding;
(3) the official record of a state-court proceeding;
(4) the record of a court or tribunal, if that record was not subject to the redaction requirement when originally filed;
(5) a filing covered by Rule 5.2(c) or (d); and
(6) a pro se filing in an action brought under 28 U.S.C. §§2241, 2254, or 2255.
(c) Limitations on Remote Access to Electronic Files; Social-Security Appeals and Immigration Cases. Unless the court orders otherwise, in an action for benefits under the Social Security Act, and in an action or proceeding relating to an order of removal, to relief from removal, or to immigration benefits or detention, access to an electronic file is authorized as follows:
(1) the parties and their attorneys may have remote electronic access to any part of the case file, including the administrative record;
(2) any other person may have electronic access to the full record at the courthouse, but may have remote electronic access only to:
(A) the docket maintained by the court; and
(B) an opinion, order, judgment, or other disposition of the court, but not any other part of the case file or the administrative record.
(d) Filings Made Under Seal. The court may order that a filing be made under seal without redaction. The court may later unseal the filing or order the person who made the filing to file a redacted version for the public record.
(e) Protective Orders. For good cause, the court may by order in a case:
(1) require redaction of additional information; or
(2) limit or prohibit a nonparty's remote electronic access to a document filed with the court.
(f) Option for Additional Unredacted Filing Under Seal. A person making a redacted filing may also file an unredacted copy under seal. The court must retain the unredacted copy as part of the record.
(g) Option for Filing a Reference List. A filing that contains redacted information may be filed together with a reference list that identifies each item of redacted information and specifies an appropriate identifier that uniquely corresponds to each item listed. The list must be filed under seal and may be amended as of right. Any reference in the case to a listed identifier will be construed to refer to the corresponding item of information.
(h) Waiver of Protection of Identifiers. A person waives the protection of Rule 5.2(a) as to the person's own information by filing it without redaction and not under seal.
(As added Apr. 30, 2007, eff. Dec. 1, 2007.)
Committee Notes on Rules—2007
The rule is adopted in compliance with section 205(c)(3) of the E-Government Act of 2002, Public Law 107–347. Section 205(c)(3) requires the Supreme Court to prescribe rules "to protect privacy and security concerns relating to electronic filing of documents and the public availability . . . of documents filed electronically." The rule goes further than the E-Government Act in regulating paper filings even when they are not converted to electronic form. But the number of filings that remain in paper form is certain to diminish over time. Most districts scan paper filings into the electronic case file, where they become available to the public in the same way as documents initially filed in electronic form. It is electronic availability, not the form of the initial filing, that raises the privacy and security concerns addressed in the E-Government Act.
The rule is derived from and implements the policy adopted by the Judicial Conference in September 2001 to address the privacy concerns resulting from public access to electronic case files. See http://www.privacy.uscourts.gov/Policy.htm. The Judicial Conference policy is that documents in case files generally should be made available electronically to the same extent they are available at the courthouse, provided that certain "personal data identifiers" are not included in the public file.
While providing for the public filing of some information, such as the last four digits of an account number, the rule does not intend to establish a presumption that this information never could or should be protected. For example, it may well be necessary in individual cases to prevent remote access by nonparties to any part of an account number or social security number. It may also be necessary to protect information not covered by the redaction requirement—such as driver's license numbers and alien registration numbers—in a particular case. In such cases, protection may be sought under subdivision (d) or (e). Moreover, the Rule does not affect the protection available under other rules, such as Civil Rules 16 and 26(c), or under other sources of protective authority.
Parties must remember that any personal information not otherwise protected by sealing or redaction will be made available over the internet. Counsel should notify clients of this fact so that an informed decision may be made on what information is to be included in a document filed with the court.
The clerk is not required to review documents filed with the court for compliance with this rule. The responsibility to redact filings rests with counsel and the party or nonparty making the filing.
Subdivision (c) provides for limited public access in Social Security cases and immigration cases. Those actions are entitled to special treatment due to the prevalence of sensitive information and the volume of filings. Remote electronic access by nonparties is limited to the docket and the written dispositions of the court unless the court orders otherwise. The rule contemplates, however, that nonparties can obtain full access to the case file at the courthouse, including access through the court's public computer terminal.
Subdivision (d) reflects the interplay between redaction and filing under seal. It does not limit or expand the judicially developed rules that govern sealing. But it does reflect the possibility that redaction may provide an alternative to sealing.
Subdivision (e) provides that the court can by order in a particular case for good cause require more extensive redaction than otherwise required by the Rule. Nothing in this subdivision is intended to affect the limitations on sealing that are otherwise applicable to the court.
Subdivision (f) allows a person who makes a redacted filing to file an unredacted document under seal. This provision is derived from section 205(c)(3)(iv) of the E-Government Act.
Subdivision (g) allows the option to file a register of redacted information. This provision is derived from section 205(c)(3)(v) of the E-Government Act, as amended in 2004. In accordance with the E-Government Act, subdivision (g) refers to "redacted" information. The term "redacted" is intended to govern a filing that is prepared with abbreviated identifiers in the first instance, as well as a filing in which a personal identifier is edited after its preparation.
Subdivision (h) allows a person to waive the protections of the rule as to that person's own personal information by filing it unsealed and in unredacted form. One may wish to waive the protection if it is determined that the costs of redaction outweigh the benefits to privacy. If a person files an unredacted identifier by mistake, that person may seek relief from the court.
Trial exhibits are subject to the redaction requirements of Rule 5.2 to the extent they are filed with the court. Trial exhibits that are not initially filed with the court must be redacted in accordance with the rule if and when they are filed as part of an appeal or for other reasons.
Changes Made After Publication and Comment. The changes made after publication were made in conjunction with the E-Government Act Subcommittee and the other Advisory Committees.
Subdivision (a) was amended to incorporate a suggestion from the Federal Magistrate Judges Association that the rule text state that the responsibility to redact filings rests on the filer, not the court clerk.
As published, subdivision (b)(6) exempted from redaction all filings in habeas corpus proceedings under 28 U.S.C. §§2241, 2254, or 2255. The exemption is revised to apply only to pro se filings. A petitioner represented by counsel, and respondents represented by counsel, must redact under Rule 5.2(a).
Subdivision (e) was published with a standard for protective orders, referring to a need to protect private or sensitive information not otherwise protected by Rule 5.2(a). This standard has been replaced by a general reference to "good cause."


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Apple Preps Jumbo iPad
iPad-maker will pitch the tablet to businesses as a potential laptop replacement.
iPhone 6: 8 Ideas Ripped From Rivals?
iPhone 6: 8 Ideas Ripped From Rivals? (Click image for larger view and slideshow.)
Apple is preparing a larger version of its iPad for release in 2015. The company remains bullish on the tablet market, despite a dip in shipments in recent quarters. The bigger iPad, with a screen as big as those of laptops, could help Apple stir up fresh interest in its tablets.
The new iPad will feature a screen measuring 12.9 inches across the diagonal, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. Apple's suppliers are preparing to manufacture the device, with production expected to kick off during the first quarter. Bloomberg reports that Apple has been working with its suppliers for at least a year on the product.
Apple's current tablet lineup includes the 7.9-inch iPad Mini and 9.7-inch iPad Air. Much of the tablet market's softness this year has been in the smaller segment, with consumers opting for big phones and big tablets. Apple could be looking to capitalize on this trend, but the timing is probably coincidental. Bloomberg said Apple CEO Tim Cook is "working to shake up the iPad line." Speaking to Re/Code, Apple's Cook said, "We couldn't be happier with how we've done with the first four years of the iPad. I'd call what's going on recently a speed bump, and I've seen that in every category."
Apple's iPad business is second only to the iPhone. The iPhone is Apple's chief revenue generator. Apple is also preparing its standard once-yearly refresh to the smaller two tablets, which are expected to arrive before the holidays.
[Reports say the larger iPhone display may be delayed. See Will iPhone 6 Production Problems Hurt Availability?]
Apple sees the larger iPad as a business-class productivity machine. Earlier this year Apple partnered with IBM, a move it said could "be a catalyst for future iPad growth." The larger tablet could replace laptops in some instances, though some mobile pros may prefer to have a device with a real keyboard. It wouldn't be surprising at all for Apple to sell a Bluetooth keyboard as an accessory to the larger tablet. A large-screen tablet with a full-sized keyboard certainly blurs the line between tablets and laptops, at least as far as the pros and cons of their form factors are concerned.
Apple is looking to refresh its laptop lineup, as well. The company has long been expected to debut a smaller, 12-inch MacBook Air, possibly with a Retina display. This device may arrive by the end of the year, as could a refreshed version of the MacBook. A new report suggests Apple will do away with the non-Retina version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro and replace it with a slimmer device. Apple likes to have clear lines classifying its devices, though, and it is hard to see the company offering a 12-inch Retina MacBook Air alongside a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro.
Apple is holding an event September 9, but it will be reserved for the new iPhones. Don't expect to see the new tablets until October.
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Camellias- 'Winter Roses' in my garden….
I've always been amazed with the delicate beauty of camellias. Their flowers, in my opinion, often resemble those of a rose. Of course, everyone knows I love roses, so during the winter months my camellias become my 'winter roses'.
My camellia collection consists of a dozen- 9 Camellia japonicas and 3 Camellia sasanquas. Of course, by choosing both species I can have the best of both worlds with blooms in the fall, winter and spring.
Presently, I am enjoying the glorious splendor of the Camellia japonica's in my garden…
Nuccio's bella rosa is one of my favorites. I planted two medium sized bushes a few years ago and it never disappoints. Beautiful formal, 4 inch red blooms almost all winter. Gorgeous!
Another favorite that I've grown for years is 'Nuccio's Gem'. I must say what a gem it is with its sparkling white formal winter blooms. Mine is 6 feet tall and situated in a protected area in my garden.
This X williamsii hybrid grows well in my Zone 7b hot and humid climate. 'Delores Edwards' has beautiful large semi double orchid pink flowers. Lovely.
Please click this link for a previous post on my fall blooming Camellia sasanquas .


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Alina Navy Velvet and Metal Armless Chair, 33.5"
Alternative names | Meridian Furniture Alina Navy Velvet Armless Chair |
Color | Blue, Gold |
Alternative names | Meridian Furniture Alina Navy Velvet Armless Chair |
Color | Blue, Gold |
Store | |
Walmart Meridian Furniture Alina Navy Velvet Armless Chair | $368.20 |
Cymax | $388.99 |
Houzz | $424.00 |
The Classy Home | $498.21 |
Soho Mod | $610.00 |
English Elm | $610.00 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose the right size accent chair for my space?
Ensure there's at least 18 inches of walking space around the chair. For small spaces, consider chairs with slim frames and open arms.
Can accent chairs be a focal point in room design?
Yes, using bold colors, unique designs, or striking fabrics can make accent chairs a centerpiece of room decor.
Is it necessary for accent chairs to match other furniture?
Not necessarily. Accent chairs can complement or contrast with other furnishings to add interest and depth to a room.
What seating arrangements work well for watching TV and conversing?
An L-shaped arrangement or facing sofas with a TV or fireplace as a focal point allow for both viewing and interaction. U-shaped or H-shaped arrangements can also provide good sightlines and conversation flow.
How can I protect my furniture and rugs from spills and wear?
Invest in furniture with removable, machine-washable covers and choose rugs that hide stains. For areas prone to spills, use a transparent floor protector under the table.
What is the 60/30/10 color rule in interior design?
This rule helps in creating a balanced color scheme. It suggests using 60% of a dominant color, 30% secondary color, and 10% accent color in a room's palette.
What are some effective ways to mix multiple interior design styles?
To blend different styles, focus on a dominant style and add accents from others. This approach maintains cohesion while adding interest and personality to the space.
What ergonomic principles should I follow when setting up my home?
Furniture should match the user's body type, with work surfaces at a comfortable height (usually 36 inches for kitchen counters) and seating that supports a relaxed posture.
How do I arrange furniture to encourage socializing?
Position seating so that people can easily make eye contact. Consider a maximum distance of 10 feet (3 meters) between seats to facilitate conversation without shouting.


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Jonas Brothers surprise young fan after she misses their concert to undergo chemotherapy
By CNN|
(CNN) — If you're a sucker for a heartwarming surprise, you'll love this.
Before their concert in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the Jonas Brothers made a pit stop on Saturday to reward a special fan.
Lily Jordan, 16, had jokingly invited the band to come visit her at Penn State Children's Hospital, where she's receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
"I was supposed to be at your Hershey concert tomorrow but instead I'm across the street doing chemo," Lily wrote with a selfie on Instagram. "If y'all wanted to pop in I'll give you my room number."
Sure enough, her followers began sharing the post and tagging the Jonas Brothers. Soon it went viral.
Pennsylvania rep Scott Perry was one of the many people who shared Lily's story in hopes of capturing the Jonas Brothers' attention.
"PRAYERS NEEDED! Our good friend Lily is fighting for her life in Hershey tonight, and so badly wanted to see the Jonas Brothers tomorrow night at Hersheypark, but can't because of her urgent treatment," Perry said on Facebook. "If there is anyway for them to visit her, we are lifting up her hopes and our prayers for help."
The Jonas Brothers saw the posts and stopped by the hospital to surprise Lily shortly before the show. Nick Jonas even brought along his wife, actress Priyanka Chopra.
"Thank you for inviting us to come see you," Kevin Jonas told Lily in a video posted on the hospital's Facebook page. He said his entire feed was filled with requests to visit the teen.
Despite missing the concert, Lily said she had the time of her life meeting the brothers, who signed autographs and posed for photos with her.
Lily later posted about the surprise visit on Instagram.
"Wow. The power of social media you guys. YOU did this. YOU made my crappy chemo session into something incredibly special and unforgettable," She wrote.
"Literally made my life," she added.
The Jonas Brothers are currently on their Happiness Begins tour. Their next stop is Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
By Alaa Elassar, CNN


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8 Most Shocking Country Music Moments of 2017
2017 had its share of memorable moments, but some of them were downright shocking.
Sam Hunt started the year by breaking hearts everywhere, announcing his engagement and then walking down the aisle shortly thereafter. The girl that inspired him to write his triple-platinum album Montevallo is now his wife!
Thomas Rhett also gained two children in three months, a country music power couple broke up and Garth Brooks lip synced and won Entertainer of the Year at the same award show. Within minutes.
Before we fast forward to 2018, scroll through to relive the biggest shocks to shake in country music in 2017:


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Leaving Singapore |
We've left the "Far East" part of this Oceania cruise called the "Far East Odyssey" and are heading for India following an amazing three-day stop in Yangon, Myanmar (aka Rangoon, Burma - its old name). It was an amazing, yet-unspoiled-by-mass-tourism destination that deserves several blog posts when time and internet allow.
Yangon, Myanmar |
Saturday morning |
But for safety's sake we've been notified that we are going to be entering an area known as High Risk Area (HRA) for Piracy as we travel from India to the Gulf of Aden (yes, it is the one by Yemen, but we aren't talking about war - just pirates). We also will have a pirate attack safety drill tomorrow and have been given certain instructions for on board while we sail the area.
"While sailing through the HRA we will be in permanent contact with an International Task Force, including U.S. and U.K. naval forces that are assigned to protect merchant vessels from pirate attack by a United Nations mandate," says the letter from our Captain.
Off Phuket Island Thailand |
This ship kept watch over us while we were anchored off Phuket Island - another example of safety on our route. So we are not worried. It is rather interesting and adds a bit of adventure to the trip. For now we sail the sea and sip morning coffee with nothing more off our port side than bands of dolphins and flying fish. Thanks for your time - safe travels to you!
Saturday Morning in the Baby of Bengal |
Weekend Travel Inspirations


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text: Do you have a downsizing plan for your house in Birmingham? Lifestyles change and along with them, the requirements you have for a home change as well. In addition to finding your new smaller home and the hassles of listing and selling your current larger home, the task of downsizing can seem overwhelming. Going through a lifetime of memories and belongings can be emotionally stressful as well. We have broken it down into easy to manage steps to help make the process easier for you! Read on to learn more about our four-step downsizing plan for Birmingham. Just pack what you want to keep and leave the rest to us. We make the process easy, walking you through every step. Mark Buys Houses uses simple and straightforward contracts and we close quickly, usually in 30 days or less. Working with Mark Buys Houses also means none of the headaches of getting ready to list your home. You won't even have to worry about painting, repairs, cleaning constantly for showings, and constant interruptions. Mark Buys Houses will buy your home just as it is and will even handle clearing out your unwanted items for you! To learn more, send us a message or call Mark Buys Houses today! (205) 478-3284


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Showing the single result
Napoleon PRO Heat Resistant Side Shelf Mat
Keep your side shelves clean and safe with this perfectly sized, heat resistant, silicone Protective Mat. Featuring the iconic Napoleon WAVE™ pattern and flame, this nonslip silicone is ideal for placing hot pots and tools upon. When things get deliciously messy, like when you're making your famous ribs, easily remove the Side Shelf Mat and toss it into the dishwasher to clean.


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Creating more parks and other green spaces could have prevented tens of thousands of deaths in dozens of large U.S. cities over the past two decades, a new study says.
"We've known that living in greener areas can have a positive impact on our physical and mental health, but there is a lack of data on how changes in greenness distribution can affect death rates across the country," said lead study author Paige Brochu. She is a PhD student at Boston University School of Public Health.
"Our study quantifies the impact of greenness expansion in urban areas and shows how increasing green vegetation could potentially add to a person's life expectancy. Policymakers and urban planners can use this information to support local climate action plans and ensure that those plans include greening initiatives," Brochu said in a university news release.
For the study, the researchers used U.S. Census data, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention death data and greenness data from NASA satellites. They assessed how the amount of green space in 35 large U.S. cities affected all-cause death among adults aged 65 and older.
Across all 35 cities, the investigators concluded that between roughly 34,000 and 38,000 deaths — or about 15 to 20 deaths per 10,000 seniors — could have been prevented between 2000 and 2019 with a 0.1 increase in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index — a measurement of green space.
On a positive note, the researchers also estimated that overall greenness in the cities increased by almost 3% between 2000 and 2010, and by around 11% from 2010 to 2019. The largest regional increase was in the South, from 0.40% in 2000 to 0.47% in 2019, according to the report published recently in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.
So-called urban forests help mitigate flooding, improve air and regulate temperatures, among other benefits.
Greening may not be feasible in all cities due to differences in climate, water sources, urbanization and landscape, but these findings can be used by city planners to assess local changes in greenness over time and develop suitable climate action plans in their cities, according to Brochu.
"Increasing greenness in an arid climate in the Southwest is different from increasing greenness in an urban area in the Pacific Northwest," Brochu said. "If an area's climate makes it difficult to plant lush trees, urban planners can use this greenness data as a starting point and consider other types of vegetation that may be more realistic for their local climate."
More information
The National Recreation and Park Association outlines the health benefits of green spaces.
SOURCE: Boston University School of Public Health, news release, May 19, 2022
Source: HealthDay
Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.


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The EB-LOGAN-19 Evaluation Board provides an evaluation platform for the PES24NT24G2 switch and for other members of this switch family including PES16NT16G2 and PES12NT12G2.
The evaluation board, along with additional adapters and daughter boards provide by Renesas, can be configured to test every possible combination of the number of lanes and ports offered by the switch. Advanced capabilities such as switch partitioning, NTB, DMA, and local port clocking can be evaluated with the evaluation board.
The EB-LOGAN-23 brings out all 32 lanes of the device to 4 Mezzanine connectors located close to the device — one connector per stack of 8 lanes. Various types of daughter cards (provided by Renesas) can then be plugged into these connectors to facilitate connectivity to one x8 or two x4 or four x2 or eight x1 link partners. Link partners may be plugged directly into these daughter cards, or they can be connected to these daughter cards via SAS or SATA cables and a different board with PCIe slots known as the 12-PACK board (provided by Renesas). Given that the majority of the hosts/servers offer PCIe standard slots, Renesas provides the necessary adapter cards that may be plugged into these host/server slots as well as the cables that connect such adapters to the daughter cards, which in turn are plugged into the main evaluation board on which the Renesas PCIe switch device is populated.
- Hardware
- 24NT24G2 PCIe 24-port switch
- Upstream, Downstream Ports
- Numerous user selectable configurations set using onboard jumpers and DIP-switches
- SMBUS Slave Interface (4 pin header)
- SMBUS Master Interface connected to the Serial EEPROMs and I/O Expanders
- Push button for Warm Reset
- Many LEDs to display status, reset, power, hot-plug, etc.
- JTAG connector to the 24NT24G2 JTAG pins
- Software
- GUI based application for Windows and Linux
- Other
- SMBUS cable/dongle may be required for certain evaluation exercises.
- SMA/SATA connectors are provided on the EB-LOGAN-23 board for clock outputs.
Type | Title | Date |
Manual - Hardware | PDF 6.02 MB | |
Manual - Development Tools | PDF 2.56 MB | |
Schematic | PDF 4.82 MB | |
Schematic | PDF 4.24 MB | |
4 items


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A 27-year-old woman has filed a civil suit against the B.C. government for emotional, physical and sexual abuse she alleges occurred while she was in foster care in Smithers.
In a claim filed at B.C. Supreme Court in Penticton on Oct. 7, the woman named the Ministry of Children and Family Development and Director of Child Welfare as defendants, claiming she was sexually assaulted repeatedly by her foster parent.
"The plaintiff was age 12 and entirely at the mercy of the foster parent," court documents obtained by the Interior News read.
The foster parent is not named in the lawsuit.
The woman claims she reported the assaults to social workers, but that the workers did not undertake any meaningful investigation nor take any steps to protect the girl.
"The plaintiff was admitted to the Children's Hospital for psychological assessment where the foster parent was observed touching the plaintiff inappropriately," the claim continues. "The plaintiff was shamed and disbelieved by the defendants and the delegated social workers."
The woman says she has suffered emotional distress, humiliation, shame and embarrassment, psychological and emotional trauma from the alleged incidents.
The woman is being represented by Penticton lawyer Michael Patterson, who has filed similar claims against the province in the past.
READ MORE: Three more Indigenous youth sue B.C. social worker for exploitation
The suit is seeking an undisclosed sum including aggravated and punitive damages and to cover loss of past and future earnings. The claim is calling on the defendants to provide "financial, safety, health, therapeutic and educational support" to the woman.
The RCMP were not able to confirm nor deny whether any criminal charges were ever laid related to the case.
Neither defendant has filed a response to the claim. None of the allegations have been proven in court.
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The REALTOR® Difference is a Marketing Campaign to promote the difference between a REALTOR® and a non-member licensee to buyers and sellers.
The Campaign is designed to provide REALTOR® members with marketing materials that can be used in presentations with buyers and sellers to help differentiate between a REALTOR® and a non-member. The campaign is focused on three separate advantages: 1) Advocacy – protecting the investment of home ownership, 2) Professionalism, and 3) Production. In these three distinct areas, the marketing efforts easily identify the differences and include the main question for a buyer or seller; "Are you represented by a REALTOR®?" Initially, marketing flyers have been generated for each category and are linked to the right for your use.
Action for Agents
Use the marketing materials that have been provided in presentations with buyers and sellers and promote the fact you are a REALTOR® and that you are making a difference.
Action for Brokers
Encourage your agents to use the marketing materials in their presentations and promote the REALTOR® brand as much as possible. Include the REALTOR® trademark and term in all of your marketing efforts with your company.
If you prefer to use the content and embed into your marketing materials so it is consistent with your company information, please click here to access the text from the flyers.


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Acute and overuse injuries are common in jumping sports like basketball and volleyball. Acute injuries include bruises (contusions); cuts and scrapes (lacerations); ankle, knee, or finger sprains or fractures; shoulder dislocations; eye injuries; and concussions. Overuse injuries include patellar tendonitis (also called jumper's knee) or Osgood-Schlatter disease, spondylolysis (stress fracture of the spine), rotator cuff tendinopathy, stress fractures, and shin splints.
The following is information from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) about how to prevent basketball and volleyball injuries. Also included is an overview of common basketball and volleyball injuries.
Ankle sprains, one of the most common injuries in jumping sports, can prevent athletes from being able to play. They often happen when a player lands from a jump onto another player's foot, causing the ankle to roll in (invert). They are more likely to happen if a player had a previous sprain, especially a recent one.
Treatment begins with rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE). Athletes should see a doctor as soon as possible if they cannot walk on the injured ankle or have severe pain. X-rays are often needed to look for a fracture.
Regular icing (20 minutes) helps with pain and swelling. Weight bearing and exercises to regain range of motion, strength, and balance are key factors to getting back to sports. Tape and ankle braces can prevent or reduce the frequency of ankle sprains. Tape and an ankle brace can also support the ankle, enabling an athlete to return to activity more quickly.
Finger injuries occur when the finger is struck by the ball or an opponent's hand or body. The "jammed finger" is often overlooked because of the myth that nothing needs to be done, even if it is broken. If fractures that involve a joint or tendon are not properly treated, permanent damage can occur.
Any injury that is associated with a dislocation, deformity, inability to straighten or bend the finger, or significant pain should be examined by a doctor. X-rays are often needed to look for a fracture. Buddy tape may be all that is needed to return to sports; however, this cannot be assumed without an exam and x-ray. Swelling often persists for weeks to months after a finger joint sprain. Ice, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and range of motion exercises are important for treatment.
Knee injuries commonly occur from cutting, pivoting, landing from a jump, or contact with another athlete. If the athlete feels a pop or shift in the knee, then it's most likely a ligament injury or knee cap dislocation. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are more common in females than males.
Treatment begins with RICE. Athletes should see a doctor as soon as possible if they cannot walk on the injured knee. Athletes should also see a doctor if the knee is swollen, a pop is felt at the time of injury, or the knee feels loose or like it will give way.
Athletes who return to play with a torn ACL risk further joint damage. Athletes with an ACL tear are usually unable to return to their sport until after reconstruction and rehabilitation.
Patellar tendonitis (jumper's knee) is a common overuse injury seen from repetitive jumping and landing from jumps. It causes pain in the front of the knee with jumping, sometimes associated with a bump, and can be severe. It is treated with ice, stretching, NSAIDs, and relative rest.
Shoulder injuries in volleyball can occur from repetitive hitting (spiking) or serving. Shoulder injuries in basketball can occur from diving or rebounding.
Athletes usually feel the shoulder pop out of joint when their shoulders are dislocated. Most of the time the shoulder goes back into the joint on its own; this is called a subluxation (partial dislocation). If the athlete requires help to get it back in, it is called a dislocation. Risk of dislocation recurrence is high for youth participating in these sports. Shoulder strengthening exercises, braces and, in some cases, surgery may be recommended to prevent recurrence.
Pain from repetitive use is common in volleyball, usually due to weak muscles of the shoulder blade and trunk. Often rehabilitation exercises and rest from excessive hitting or serving are all that is needed.
Eye injuries commonly occur in sports that involve balls but can also result from a finger or another object in the eye. Any injury that affects vision or is associated with swelling or blood inside the eye should be evaluated by an ophthalmologist. The AAP recommends that children involved in organized sports wear appropriate protective eyewear.
Concussions can occur after an injury to the head or neck contacting the ground, equipment, or another athlete. A concussion is any injury to the brain that disrupts normal brain function on a temporary or permanent basis.
The signs and symptoms of a concussion range from subtle to obvious and usually happen right after the injury but may take hours to days to show up. Athletes who have had concussions may report feeling normal before their brain has fully recovered. With most concussions, the player is not knocked out or unconscious.
Prematurely returning to play after a concussion can lead to another concussion or even death. An athlete with a history of concussion may be more susceptible to another injury than an athlete with no history of concussion.
All concussions are serious, and all athletes with suspected concussions should not return to play until they see a doctor.
Basketball and volleyball injuries can be prevented when fair play is encouraged and the rules of the game are enforced. Also, athletes should use the appropriate equipment and safety guidelines should always be followed.


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Questions to Ask When Choosing a Real Estate Practitioner
How long have you been in residential real estate sales? Is it your full-time job? (While experience is no guarantee of skill, real estate, like many other professions, is mostly learned on the job.)
Are you a REALTOR® ? (Members of the National Association of REALTORS® , a trade organization of more than 000,000 members nationwide, subscribe to a stringent code of ethics that helps guarantee the highest level of service and integrity.)
What designations do you hold? (Designations such as GRI and CRS, which require that agents take additional, specialized real estate training, are held by only about one-quarter of real estate practitioners.)
How many homes did you and your company sell last year?
How many days did it take you to sell the average home? How did that compare to the overall market?
How close to the initial asking prices of the homes you sold were the final sale prices?
What types of specific marketing systems and approaches will you use to sell my home? (Look for someone who has aggressive, innovative approaches, not just someone who's going to put a sign in the yard and hope for the best.)
Will you represent me exclusively, or will you represent both the buyer and the seller in the transaction? (While it's usually legal to represent both parties in a transaction, it's important to understand where the agent's obligations lie. A good agent will explain the agency relationship to you and describe the rights of each party. It's also possible to insist that the agent represent you exclusively.)
Can you recommend service providers who can assist me in obtaining a mortgage, making repairs on my home, and other things I need done? (Keep in mind here that agents should generally recommend more than one provider and should tell you if they receive any compensation from any provider.)
What type of support and supervision does your brokerage office provide to you? (Having resources such as in-house support staff, access to a real estate attorney, or assistance with technology can help an agent sell your home.)
What's your business philosophy? (While there's no right answer to this question, the response will help you assess what's important to the agent—fast sales, service, etc.—and determine how closely the agent's goals and business emphasis mesh with your own.)
How will you keep me informed about the progress of my transaction? How frequently? Using what media? (Again, this is not a question with a correct answer, but that one reflects your desires. Do you want updates twice a week or don't want to be bothered unless there's a hot prospect? Do you prefer phone, e-mail, or a personal visit?)
Could you please give me the names and phone numbers of your three most recent clients?
Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine Online by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright / All rights reserved.
Click here for printer-friendly format


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OCEANSIDE, Calif. — A Great Dane named Mia is recovering at her Oceanside home after playing the role of hero during an encounter with a rattlesnake.
Two weeks ago, during her lunch break, Megan Montano stopped back at her home and let out her two dogs onto her backyard patio.
Montano knelt down to put the leash on her chihuahua, Rebel, when she felt Mia race to her left.
"Then all of a sudden, (I) kind of felt her bump into my side and rear back while making a noise," Montano said. "I threw my head to the left and I saw the snake."
A mere foot from Montano was a foot-and-a-half long rattlesnake.
"I think she thought it was an intruder and was going to probably push it out," Montano said. "I should have been bit. I don't know how I wasn't bit."
Mia wasn't so lucky.
"She kept trying to hit her mouth with her paw. Instantly, I knew it had bit her," Montano said.
As Mia's mouth swelled up, Montano rushed her to the vet. Mia received one dose of antivenin, before being released that night. While additional symptoms later sent Mia back to the vet a few days later, Montano reports that the dog is now feeling much better.
"I would say Mia is definitely my hero dog," Montano said.
A few months into rattlesnake season, Montano is hoping to prevent the need for future heroics.
"They now wait inside until I clear patio, before I let them out," Montano said.
She has a message for other pet owners.
"Be aware of your surroundings, and just be smart. Have your head on a swivel at all times," Montano said.
The rattlesnake, believed to be a juvenile, was found the day after the bite, then captured and relocated.
This story was originally published by Michael Chen on Scripps station KGTV in San Diego.


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Living Vegan For Dummies
by Alexandra Jamieson, CHHC, AADP
Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2009, ISBN: 978-0-470-52214-1
The fun and easy way® to live a vegan lifestyle
Are you thinking about becoming a vegan? Already a practicing vegan? More than 3 million Americans currently live a vegan lifestyle, and that number is growing. Living Vegan For Dummies is your one-stop resource for understanding vegan practices, sharing them with your friends and loved ones, and maintaining a vegan way of life.
This friendly, practical guide explains the types of products that vegans abstain from eating and consuming, and provides healthy and animal-free options. You'll see how to create a balanced, nutritious vegan diet; read food and product labels to determine animal-derived product content; and stock a vegan pantry. You'll also get 40 great-tasting recipes to expand your cooking repertoire.
- Features expert guidance in living a vegan lifestyle and explaining it to friends and family
- Includes proper dietary guidelines so you can get the nutrition you need
- Gives you several action plans for making the switch to veganism
- Provides parents with everything they need to understand and support their children's choices
With the tips and advice in Living Vegan For Dummies, you can truly live and enjoy a vegan way of life!
Alexandra Jamieson, CHHC, AADP, is a professionaly trained vegan chef and board-certified holistic health counselor. She has appeared on Oprah, The Final Word, 30 Days, and The National Health Test with Bryant Gumbel. She was also featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary Super Size Me.


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The news is not good. If you are concerned about the possibility that antibiotic residues in the environment create another setting in which resistance can develop, it is worth reading. It is long (10 pages in pdf) but has a comprehensive bibliography. Also, it's open-access.
Where do these antibiotic residues come from? From us, in some cases: We urinate out up to 90% of some drugs, wash off topical formulations, flush old prescriptions down the toilet. Sometimes from industrial residues, or from leaky hospital sewage, or from sewage treatment plants, or — of course — from industrial-scale agriculture administration and run-off.
And where do they go? According to the paper, over more than 20 years of research, 126 different antibiotics and anti-infectives have been identified in processed waste water, natural surface water and groundwater, and drinking water supplies. Among them are all the antibiotics that we are concerned about here: the drugs that MRSA is already resistant to (beta-lactams, lincosamides, macrolides) and the drugs that still work, for community MRSA at least (sulfonamides, trimethoprim, tetracycline).
Moreover, the trend is expected to get worse, the authors warn: because of increased urbanization; because many urban areas are consciously setting water-saving policies, reducing the volume of wastewater and therefore increasing the concentration of drugs in the water that remains; and because, well, CAFOs aren't exactly going away right now, are they? As they say:
...even if our results show that high concentrations ... of anti-infectives in these waters are more the exception than the rule, the existence of a few locations where these concentrations can be reached are enough to contribute to the global spreading of anti-infective resistance. Given that large populations of bacteria are being exposed to a selective pressure, environmental waters and especially wastewaters become ideal settings for the assembly and exchange of mobile genetic agents encoding for resistance in bacteria. ... Anti-infectives, the miracle drugs of the 20th century, have become environmental contaminants of emerging concern in the 21st.The cite is: Segura PA et al. Review of the Occurrence of Anti-infectives in Contaminated Wastewaters and Natural and Drinking Waters. Environmental Health Perspectives, 117 (5) May 2009.


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Not every company has an Iron Man, but many have a Tony Stark – a highly powerful, intensely-focused individual who often ignores risk in order to achieve his or her goals.
That's usually a good thing – as long as companies make sure to also hire a Pepper Potts to keep their powerful leaders grounded, according to new research co-authored by a BYU business professor.
"Organizations need to anticipate the tendency of their most powerful members to leap without looking," said study co-author Katie Liljenquist, a professor of organizational leadership at BYU's Marriott School of Management. "The remedy is to surround them with people who can see other angles, or can play a devil's advocate role to point out risk. Interestingly, it is the low-power members of the organization who are best equipped to do this."
The study, appearing online ahead of print in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, found that powerful people are less likely to see constraints in pursuing their goals. Meanwhile, their low-power counterparts are more aware of the risks around them.
Liljenquist says the phenomenon mirrors the animal kingdom: Predators have evolved to have an extremely narrow eye focus for tracking prey, but this compromises their peripheral vision.. Meanwhile, prey animals sacrifice such visual focus for more sensitive peripheral vision that tracks movement and potential threats in the surrounding environment.
"In business settings you need both," Liljenquist said. "You need the people with that unfettered confidence and optimism and the willingness to take big risks, but you need those low-power individuals who say, 'Hey wait a second. Let's identify the pitfalls.'"
The study included two experiments, the first of which measured how power affects memory for goal-facilitating or goal-constraining information.
In that experiment, participants were given a goal, such as traveling to the Amazon, and were then primed with a set of statements about the new venture. Half the statements were goal-constraining ("You are afraid of some of the native animals") and half were goal-facilitating ("You have prior experience visiting jungles").
Researchers found that high-power participants recalled less goal-constraining information than low-power participants.
The second experiment asked participants to finish a fairy tale about a king and his princess daughter. The results showed that powerful people don't even conceive of threats when they create imaginary narratives.
Donald Trump is a perfect example of a leader whose confidence guides business decisions. During the first season of his reality show, The Apprentice, Trump offered the winner a chance to manage the construction of the Trump Tower in Chicago – even though the tower hadn't been fully approved yet.
"Trump didn't even have clearance to build that tower yet," says study lead author Jennifer Whitson. "It was that incredible confidence. He didn't have all his ducks in a row yet, but he acted – and it worked out for him."
Liljenquist said that failure to consider constraints can carry weighty repercussions – such as the housing market crises and bank failures of 2008 that caused the worst economic recession since the 1920s.
"Although blindness to constraints may make the powerful more willing to pursue their goals, their willingness to leap before they look may also sow the seeds of their own fall and the fall of those who depend on them," she said. "Power often perpetuates itself and can lead to great things, but when powerful people are blind-sided by unexpected challenges, they may crash and burn."
The 1986 Challenger Space Shuttle disaster is a classic example of how power can be blinding. On that fateful day, powerful individuals doggedly pursued launch while ignoring the low-power employees who tried to be a voice of warning about the possibility of mechanical failures.
The study was led by Whitson, an assistant professor of business at the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business. Other contributing researchers are from Columbia University, New York University, Stanford University and the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Liljenquist's business research, which includes this study on how people are unconsciously more fair and generous when they are in clean-smelling environments, has been featured multiple times by Time and other national outlets.
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology


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There is a long way to go in the impeachment process, and there are some very important issues still to be resolved. But as the process marches on, a growing number of myths and falsehoods are being spread by partisans and their allies in the news media.
The early pattern of misinformation about Ukraine, Joe Biden and election interference mirrors closely the tactics used in late 2016 and early 2017 to build the false and now-debunked narrative that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin colluded to hijack the 2016 election.
Facts do matter. And they prove to be stubborn evidence, even in the midst of a political firestorm. So here are the facts (complete with links to the original materials) debunking some of the bigger fables in the Ukraine scandal.
Myth: There is no evidence the Democratic National Committee sought Ukraine's assistance during the 2016 election.
The Facts: The Ukrainian embassy in Washington confirmed to me this past April that a Democratic National Committee contractor named Alexandra Chalupa did, in fact, solicit dirt on Donald Trump and Paul Manafort during the spring of 2016 in hopes of spurring a pre-election congressional hearing into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia. The embassy also stated Chalupa tried to get Ukraine's president at the time, Petro Poroshenko, to do an interview on Manafort with an American investigative reporter working on the issue. The embassy said it turned down both requests.
You can read the Ukraine embassy's statement here. The statement essentially confirmed a January 2017 investigative article in Politico that first raised concerns about Chalupa's contacts with the embassy.
Chalupa's activities involving Ukraine were further detailed in a May 2016 email published by WikiLeaks in which she reported to DNC officials on her efforts to dig up dirt on Manafort and Trump. You can read that email here. Myth: There is no evidence that Ukrainian government officials tried to influence the American presidential election in 2016.
The Facts: There are two documented episodes involving Ukrainian government officials' efforts to influence the 2016 American presidential election. The first occurred in Ukraine, where a court last December ruled that a Parliamentary member and a senior Ukrainian law enforcement official improperly tried to influence the U.S. election by releasing financial records in spring and summer 2016 from an investigation into Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's lobbying activities. The publicity from the release of the so-called Black Ledger documents forced Manafort to resign. You can read that ruling here. While that court ruling since has been set aside on a jurisdiction technicality, the facts of the released information are not in dispute.
The second episode occurred on U.S. soil back in August 2016 when Ukraine's then-ambassador to Washington, Valeriy Chaly, took the extraordinary step of writing an OpEd in The Hill criticizing GOP nominee Donald Trump and his views on Russia just three months before Election Day. You can read that OpEd here.
Chaly later told me through his spokeswoman that he wasn't writing the OpEd for political purposes but rather to address his country's geopolitical interests. But his article, nonetheless, was viewed by many in career diplomatic circles as running contrary to the Geneva Convention's rules barring diplomats from becoming embroiled in the host country's political affairs. And it clearly adds to the public perception that Ukraine's government at the time preferred Hillary Clinton over Trump in the 2016 election.
Myth: The allegation that Joe Biden tried to fire the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating his son Hunter Biden's Ukrainian gas firm employer has been debunked, and there is no evidence the ex-vice president did anything improper.
The Facts: Joe Biden is captured on videotape bragging about his effort to strong-arm Ukraine's president into firing Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. Biden told a foreign policy group in early 2018 that he used the threat of withholding $1 billion in U.S. aid to Kiev to successfully force Shokin's firing. You can watch Biden's statement here.
It also is not in dispute that at the time he forced the firing, the vice president's office knew Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, the company where Hunter Biden worked as a board member and consultant. Team Biden was alerted to the investigation in a December 2015 New York Times article. You can read that article here.
The unresolved question is what motivated Joe Biden to seek Shokin's ouster. Biden says he took the action solely because the U.S. and Western allies believed Shokin was ineffective in fighting corruption. Shokin told me, ABC News and others that he was fired because Joe Biden was unhappy that the Burisma investigation was not shut down. He made similar statements in an affidavit prepared to be filed in an European court. You can read that affidavit here.
In the end, though, whether Joe Biden had good or bad intentions in getting Shokin fired is somewhat irrelevant to the question of the vice president's ethical obligation.
U.S. ethics rules require all government officials to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest in taking official actions. Ethics experts I talked with say Biden should have recused himself from the Shokin matter once he learned about the Burisma investigation to avoid the appearance issue.
And a senior U.S. diplomat was quoted in testimony reported by The Washington Post earlier this month that he tried to raise warnings with Biden's VP office in 2015 that Hunter Biden's role at the Ukrainian firm raised the potential issue of conflicts of interest.
Myth: Ukraine's investigation into Burisma Holdings was no longer active when Joe Biden forced Shokin's firing in March 2016.
The Facts: This is one of the most egregiously false statements spread by the media. Ukraine's official case file for Burisma Holdings, provided to me by prosecutors, shows there were two active investigations into the gas firm and its founder Mykola Zlochevsky in early 2016, one involving corruption allegations and the other involving unpaid taxes.
In fact, Shokin told me in an interview he was making plans to interview Burisma board members, including Hunter Biden, at the time he was fired. And it was publicly reported that in February 2016, a month before Shokin was fired, that Ukrainian prosecutors raided one of Zlochevsky's homes and seized expensive items like a luxury car as part of the corruption probe. You can read a contemporaneous news report about the seizure here.
Burisma's own legal activities also clearly show the investigations were active at the time Shokin was fired. Internal emails I obtained from the American legal team representing Burisma show that on March 29, 2016 – the very day Shokin was fired – Burisma lawyer John Buretta was seeking a meeting with Shokin's temporary replacement in hopes of settling the open cases.
In May 2016 when new Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko was appointed, Buretta then sent a letter to the new prosecutor seeking to resolve the investigations of Burisma and Zlochevsky. You can read that letter here.
Buretta eventually gave a February 2017 interview to the Kiev Post in which he divulged that the corruption probe was resolved in fall 2016 and the tax case by early January 2017. You can read Buretta's interview here.
In another words, the Burisma investigations were active at the time Vice President Biden forced Shokin's firing, and any suggestion to the contrary is pure misinformation.
Myth: There is no evidence Vice President Joe Biden did anything to encourage Burisma's hiring of his son Hunter.
The Facts: This is another area where the public facts cry out for more investigation and raise a question in some minds about another appearance of a conflict of interest.
Hunter Biden's business partner, Devon Archer, was appointed to Burisma's board in mid-April 2014 and the firm Rosemont Seneca Bohai — jointly owned by Hunter Biden and Devon Archer — received its first payments from the Ukrainian gas company on April 15, 2014, according to the company's ledgers. That very same day as the first Burisma payment, Devon Archer met with Joe Biden at the White House, according to White House visitor logs. It is not known what the two discussed.
A week later, Joe Biden traveled to Ukraine and met with then-Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. During that meeting, the American vice president urged Ukraine to ramp up energy production to free itself from its Russian natural gas dependence. Biden even boasted that "an American team is currently in the region working with Ukraine and its neighbors to increase Ukraine's short-term energy supply." Yatsenyuk welcomed the help from American "investors" in modernizing natural gas supply lines in Ukraine. You can read the Biden-Yatsenyuk transcript here.
Less than three weeks later, Burisma added Hunter Biden to its board to join Archer. To some, the sequence of events creates the appearance that Joe Biden's pressure to increase Ukrainian gas supply and to urge Kiev to rely on Americans might have led Burisma to hire his son. More investigation needs to be done to determine exactly what happened. And until that occurs, the appearance issue will likely linger over this episode.
Myth: Hunter Biden's firm only received $50,000 a month for his work as a board member and consultant for Burisma Holdings.
The Facts: This figure frequently cited by Biden defenders and the media significantly understates what Burisma was paying Hunter Biden's Rosemont Seneca Bohai firm for his and Devon Archer's services. Bank records obtained by the FBI in an unrelated case show that between May 2014 and the end of 2015, Hunter Biden's and Archer's firm received monthly consulting payments totaling $166,666, or three times the amount cited by the media. In some months, there was even more money than that paid. You can review those bank records here.
The monthly payments figures are confirmed by the accounting ledger that Burisma turned over to Ukrainian prosecutors. That ledger, which you can read here, also shows that in spring and summer of 2014 Burisma paid more than $283,000 to the American law firm of Boies Schiller, where Hunter Biden also worked as an attorney.
Myth: President Trump was trying to force Ukraine to reopen a probe into Burisma Holdings and its founder Mykola Zlochevsky when he talked to Ukraine's new president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in July of this year.
The Facts: Trump could not have forced the Ukrainians into opening a new Burisma investigation in July because the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's office had already done so on March 28, 2019, or three months before the call.
The prosecutors filed this notice of suspicion in Ukraine announcing the re-opening of the investigation. The revival of the case was even widely reported in the Ukrainian press, something U.S. intelligence and diplomats who are now testifying to Congress behind closed doors should have known. Here's an example of one such Ukrainian media report at the time.
Myth: Former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko retracted or recanted his claim that U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch in 2016 identified people and entities she did not what to see prosecuted in Ukraine.
The Facts: In a March interview with me at Hill.TV captured on videotape, Lutsenko stated that during his first meeting with Yovanovitch in summer 2016, the American diplomat rattled off a list of names of Ukrainian individuals and entities she did not want to see investigated or prosecuted. Lutsenko called it a "do not prosecute" list. You can watch that video here. The State Department disputed his characterization as a fabrication, which Hill.TV reported in its original report.
A few weeks later, a Ukrainian news outlet claimed it interviewed Lutsenko and he backed off his assertion about the list. Several American outlets have since picked up that same language.
There is just one problem. I re-interviewed Lutsenko after the Ukrainian report suggesting he recanted. He adamantly denied recanting, retracting or changing his story, and said the Ukrainian newspaper simply misunderstood that the list of names were conveyed orally during the meeting and not in writing, just like he said in the original Hill.TV interview.
Here is Lutsenko's full explanation to me back last spring: "At no time since our interview have I ever retracted the statement I made about the U.S. ambassador providing me a list of names of people and organizations she did not want my office to prosecute. Shortly after my televised interview with your news organization I was asked by a Ukraine reporter if I had a copy of the letter that Ambassador Yovanovitch provided me with the names of those she did not want prosecuted. The reporter misunderstood how the names were transmitted to me. I explained to the reporter that the Ambassador did not hand me a written list but rather provided the list of names orally over the course of a meeting." Lutsenko reaffirmed he stood by his statements again in September.
It is important to note Lutsenko's story was also backed up by State Department officials and contemporaneous memos before his interview was ever aired. For instance, a senior U.S. official I interviewed for the Lutsenko story reviewed the list of names that Lutsenko recalled being on the so-called do-not-prosecute list.
That official stated during the interview: ""I can confirm to you that at least some of those names are names that U.S. embassy Kiev raised with the Prosecutor General's office because we were concerned about retribution and unfair treatment of Ukrainians viewed as favorable to the United States."
Separately, both U.S. and Ukrainian official confirmed to me a letter written by then-U.S. embassy official George Kent in April 2016 in which U.S. officials pointedly (and in writing) demanded that Ukrainian prosecutors stand down an investigation into several Ukrainian nonprofit groups suspected of misspending U.S. foreign aid. The letter even named one of the groups, the AntiCorruption Action Centre, a nonprofit funded jointly by the State Department and liberal megadonor George Soros.
"We are gravely concerned about this investigation, for which we see no basis," Kent wrote the Ukrainian prosecutor's office in April 2016. You can read the letter here.
So even without Lutsenko's claim, there is substantial evidence that the U.S. embassy in Kiev applied pressure on Ukrainian prosecutors not to pursue certain investigations in 2016.
Myth: The narratives about Biden, the U.S. embassy and Ukrainian election interference are conspiracy theories invented by Donald Trump's personal lawyer, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, to impact the 2020 election.
The Facts: Giuliani began investigating matters in Ukraine in late fall 2018 as a personal lawyer to the president. But months before his quest began, Ukrainian prosecutors believed they possessed evidence about Burisma, the Bidens and 2016 election interference that might interest the U.S. Justice Department. It is the same evidence that came to light this spring and summer and that is now a focus of the impeachment proceedings.
Originally, one of Ukraine's senior prosecutors tried to secure a visa to come to the United States to deliver that evidence. But when the U.S. embassy in Kiev did not fulfill his travel request, the group of Ukrainian prosecutors used an intermediary to hire a former U.S. attorney in America to reach out to the U.S. attorney office in New York and try to arrange a transfer of the evidence. The Ukrainian prosecutors' story about making the overture to the DOJ was independently verified by the American lawyer they hired.
So the activities and allegation now at the heart of impeachment actually pre-date Giuliani starting work on Ukraine. You can read the prosecutors' account of their 2018 effort to get this information to Americans here.