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McLaren's astounding 986 horsepower P1 GTR
Toyota FT-1 Concept at Pebble Beach
Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR with 550HP
Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo
Merceds S65 AMG Coupe with a 6.5L V12 Twin Turbo and 621 horsepower
Maserati Alfieri Concept with a 4.7 V8 and 410 horsepower
BMWs next-generation flagship sedan, BMW Vision Concept
Bentley Continental GT3-R with 572 HP and 0-60 in just 3.6 seconds
Alfa Romeo 4C, 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and 237 horsepower
Breaking Records with New Supercharged Hemi, 707HP, 200 MPH and high 10's in the 1/4 mile
Porsche's all new GT3 with a 3.8L normally aspirated flat 6 with 475HP and a top speed of 195 MPH.
McLaren's 650S, and updated version of the MP4-12C with 650HP and an estimated 1/4 mile of 10.5 @ 139 MPH.
Lamborghi's Huracan LP610-4 with a 610 HP 5.2L V10 and a top speed of 200+ MPH.
Lamborghi's race car for the street, the Gallardo LP570-4 Squadra Corse coming in at under 3,000 pounds.
Aston Martin DBC Conept by Sadikhov
Ferrari's 458 Speciale with a 596 HP 4.5L V8 and just 2,844 pounds
Nissan's 370Z Nismo with 350HP and a SynchroRev Match transmission.
Audi's TTS Compeition with 272HP and only 500 being made.
BMW's i8, a hybrid super car?
BMW's M4 Concept with a Twin Turbo Inline 6 and 450HP
Galpin's attempt at updating the Ford GT with new styling and 1200HP.
Bugatti's first Legends Edition name after Jean-Pierre Wimille
Mercedes-Benz over the top G63 6X6 AMG with 6 wheel drive and 544 horsepower
Audi's all powerful S8 sedan with a 4.0L V8 Twin Turbo and 520 horsepower
2014 Nissan GT-R Track Edition, more for less?
SRT Viper GT3-R Racecar with 680HP and 640 ft-lbs of torque
Aston Martin V12 Vantage S with a 6.0L V12 and 565 HP
Tesla Model S Performance running 0-60 MPH in just 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 133 MPH. Tesla offers free supercharging and other incentives if you buy a new Tesla using a referral code.
Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV Twin Turbo by UGR with over 1000HP
The new Mercedes E63 AMG 4Matic with 577 HP and 0-60 MPH in just 3.5 seconds
The all new Mercedes CLA 45 AMG with 360HP and a top speed of 155 MPH
Chevrolet's returns to the track reviving the Z/28 with a 7.0 L V8 and 500HP
Jaguar's XKR-S GT with 542 HP and 0-60 in 3.9 seconds.
The Lamborghini Egoista one seat concept car with a 5.2 liter V-10 pumping out 600HP.
The all new 911 Turbo S with 560HP and a top speed of 198 MPH, can it take down the Nissan GT-R?
Koenigsegg Agera S Hundra with a 1,040 horsepower 5.0L Twin Turbo V8 motor and 2,800 pounds.
The Ferrari LaFerrari with a 6.3L V12 and electric motor for a combined 949 horsepower.
Lambirghini Veneno, 740HP and 220 MPH for $4.6 million.
McLaren P1 with an electric motor and a V8 Twin Turbo producing 900 combined horsepower.
DragTimes.com - The place for all things drag racing and fast cars


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Mangoes have to be my favorite fruit! Mango season 2009 has just started and I have already been cooking up a mango storm. I have been enjoying experimenting with mangoes and I have made some really tasty mango dishes. With my growing collection mango recipes I thought that it was about time to go over them all and collect my favorites and here they are:
Mango Shrikhand – Thick and creamy strained yogurt with sugar, cardamom and saffron mixed in and either topped with fresh (or caramelized) mango or with mango puree mixed in as well.
Mango on Coconut Sticky Rice – Sweet aromatic sticky rice made with coconut milk and topped with fresh mangoes is a great way to finish almost any meal.
Mango Crisp with Macadamia Nut Crust – If you like crisps and crumble like I do then you'll really enjoy this mango crisp with a touch of the tropics in the form of cardamom and a coconut and macadamia nut topping. Serve with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream for even greater enjoyment.
Mango Coconut Rice Pudding – Mango and coconut rice team up again but this time in rice pudding spiced with cardamom and topped with macadamia nuts.
Mango and Nutella Crepes – Nutella goes great with many fruits and the mango and nutella combo is definitely one to try. The fresh mango and nutella spread are wrapped by a warm just made crepe in this recipe for some breakfast magic.
Mango and Rhubarb Crumble – Mango season starts in the Spring which means that rhubarb is out at the same time and a mango and rhubarb crumble is a must try indeed!
Mango Lassi – When it starts to get hotter out a mango lassi made with either ice of frozen yogurt is a great way to keep cool.
Curried Mango Bread – Mangoes can be used to make some nice quick breads and this one has the added surprise of curry that gives it a nice hint of spices and warmth. What a great way to start the day!
Mango and Banana Pancakes – If it is the weekend and you have a bit more time for breakfast then these mango and banana pancakes with a hint of cardamom and coconut make a great treat.
Mango Chutney – Mango chutney is one of my favorite things. The mango flavour along with the spices and the sweet and sour combo with just a touch of heat is just so amazing. Use it in grilled cheese sandwiches or on grilled sword fish etc.
Mango and Cardamom Jam – The mango and cardamom flavour combination really shines in this mango and cardamom jam. This mango and cardamom jam also works really well in a grilled cheese sandwich
Mango Guacamole – Sweet and juicy mango pairs surprisingly well with the cool and creamy avocado to make this guacamole a special treat. Serve it with something hot and spicy and it will balance out the heat in addition to adding a ton of flavour.
Mango Caprese Salad – If you get your hands on some really nice mangoes like some alphonso mangoes, this mango caprese salad is a great way to enjoy them. The simple flavours of a caprese salad with mangoes substituted in for tomatoes works surprisingly well.
Curried Chicken and Mango Salad – If you like chicken salads, mangoes and curry the this is the salad for you. It also makes a great sandwich filling.
Chicken, Red Pepper and Mango Curry – If savoury is more your style then this mango and chicken curry with red peppers is right up your alley. The sweet juicy mangoes provide a nice balance to the heat and spices in the curry.
Thai Mango Chicken – I really enjoy Thai flavours which is what originally drew me to this dish which consists of chicken in a Thai flavoured mango sauce which is really tasty!
If you enjoyed this collection of mango recipes and are still looking for more you can find them all here:
Mango Recipes
If you have any other must try mango ideas, please let me know about them! I am always looking for more.

subset: commoncrawl


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The idea can be expressed as follows:
"A very small group of humans left Africa 60 thousand years ago; they were on the brink of extinction, but they managed to follow the coastline of Asia, eventually reaching Australia, and subsequently expanding to colonize the interior of the Eurasian landmass"I have recently become aware of several new papers that directly challenge this view. Instead of writing a new post about each of them, I've decided to combine them all in one post.
The first one by Delagnes et al. in the Journal of Human Evolution describes Shi'bat Dihya 1 and 2, a couple of ~55,000-year old inland human settlements in the Wadi Surdud basin (Yemen).
From the paper:
Our fieldwork at the Wadi Surdud in Yemen demonstrates that during the period of the supposed expansion of modern humans out of Africa ca. 60-50 ka, and their rapid dispersal toward southeastern Asia along the western and southern Arabian coastlines, the interior of this region was, in fact, occupied by well-adapted human groups who developed their own local technological tradition, deeply rooted in the Middle Paleolithic. Future research will likely reveal whether the archaeological assemblages recovered from the Wadi Surdud can be associated with the descendents of anatomically modern human groups who occupied the Arabian Peninsula during MIS 5 or the southernmost expansion of the Neanderthals.There is a paucity of old human remains from Arabia due to local conditions, so we cannot know for sure what morphology was associated with these archaeological cultures. If we take the finds that we do have at face value, we would conclude that the Neandertal range did not reach much to the south of Israel, since (i) no Neandertal remains have been found there, while (ii) modern human remains have.
This is further reinforced by the discovery of the Nubian Complex in southern Arabia with its clear African links; it is extremely difficult to assign that to Neandertals, because that would strongly imply presence of Neandertals in Africa for which there is also no evidence.
But, I think we can infer at least three things:
- People thrived inland during the supposed Out of Africa; if there were any Out-of-Africans around this time did not have to "follow the coast".
- It is becoming increasingly difficult to discount the pre-100ka Mt. Carmel (Qafzeh/Skhul) modern humans as the Out-of-Africa that failed: together with Jebel Faya, and the Nubian Complex we are now getting a picture of thriving populations in the Near East and Arabia prior to 60ka. There is every reason to believe that pre-100ka modern humans in the Levant and probably elsewhere did not disappear to make way for the hypothesized second 60ka Out-of-Africa wave.
- If people without a modern technological package were living in the Wadi Surdud, the idea that they are descended from recent Out-of-Africans with all the technological bells and whistles of modernity disappears: these are people rooted in the local traditions, without any signs of recent African descent.
As genetic studies of Arabian populations have increased in scale, they reveal a complex pattern.22–25 Such studies show that modern Arabian populations are mostly derived from Western Asia, reflecting dispersals since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). In some areas, however, there are relatively high levels of ''African'' lineages, which have generally been attributed to historical processes such as slavery.26,27 Genetic evidence, then, is poorly placed to elucidate the position of Arabia in the dispersal of hominin populations. Likewise, the extinction of regional populations means they will not be represented in contemporary genetic structure. In this situation, archeology, in the context of paleoenvironmental fluctuation, offers a key way to elucidate the dispersal of hominin populations into Arabia and their subsequent evolutionary and cultural trajectories.In Europe where we have the best ancient DNA record, there is substantial evidence for major genetic change over the span of a few thousand years. We have evidence of substantial gene flow into East Africa over the last few thousand years. And, of course, in Africa itself we have substantial evidence for gene flow whether it is related to Bantu farmers or Nilo-Saharan pastoralists.
The authors' overall conclusion:
In general, indications of possible population connections to surrounding regions remain rather speculative, and this is compounded by the absence of fossil evidence. We suggest, however, that the emerging picture suggests a general lack of connections between Africa and Arabia after MIS 5, the last interglacial. Instead, there are perhaps indications that Arabia sometimes saw connections to the Levant.The third paper is a book chapter by Petraglia, Groucutt, and Blinkhorn. There is plenty of interest here, but what caught my attention is this map of paleorivers in the Arabian and Thar deserts. We so often think of deserts as eternal entitities, and looking at the present-day landscape one would of course conclude that migrating humans would be stark mad to venture far from the coast.
An interesting bit from the paper:
Upper Palaeolithic stone tool industries (typified by the production of long,thin 'blades' as well as, often, evidence of 'art' and symbolism), appear in the Levant at about 47–45 ka but seem to be rare to absent in Arabia. Maher (2009) comprehensively discusses potentially later Pleistocene sites in Arabia, most of which she identifies as being located in the north-west and south-west of the peninsula. The Qaryat al-Faw site is a possible Late Pleistocene locality, containing laminar technology reminiscent of Levantine Upper and Epi-Palaeolithic assemblages (Edens 2001). The overall lack of Upper Palaeolithic technologies either suggests that human populations were not presentin MIS 3, or that Middle Palaeolithic technologies were used until more sophisticatedtechnologies were developed in the Holocene (Crassardet al.2006, Crassard 2007). Ineither case, the nature of environmental conditions is a critical factor in determining the character of human occupations and material culture.and:
Upper Palaeolithic industries are present in the Thar but the ages of many of these sites remain unknown. An assemblage dated to ca. 26 ka has been identified as UpperPalaeolithic at 16R Dune, although the sample size is too low for easy technological comparisons to be made (Achyuthanet al.2007). It can be reasonably hypothesised thatmany Upper Palaeolithic assemblages, containing blade and microblade technologies,date to ca. 35 ka and after (Petraglia et al.2009). Microblade innovations have beentied to more efficient hunting strategies in the face of environmental deterioration andpopulation increase at ca. 35 ka (Petraglia et al.2009).There is a widespread belief in the simultaneous spread of Upper Paleolithic technology and modern human populations in Eurasia. But, this is not what the actual evidence shows us. However, the evidence for an earlier appearance of UP industries in the Levant than either Arabia or India makes this hypothesis problematic. It renders the coastal migration hypothesis doubly so, because if modern humans with new technology followed the coast all the way to Australia then it is troublesome that the MP stone tools persist in the regions most adjacent to this migration route. A better explanation may be that the UP revolution should be decoupled from the migration paths of modern humans, and that it was a cultural phenomenon which originated probably in the Levant, rather than being part and parcel of the early migrating humans wherever they were found.
The final article by Dennell and Petraglia argues that the modern humans appear in South Asia long before the conventional 60-40ky time frame. A quote from the paper is useful to remember, and echoes the above discussion:
In the Levant, both Neanderthals and H.sapiens used Mousterian stone-tool assemblages, and in East and North Africa, early H. sapiens used the same lithic tool-kits as their predecessors. This indicates that stone tools are a poor indicator of the species of the hominin that made them: changes in hominin type did not necessarily result in changes in lithic technology. Conversely, unchanging lithic traditions need not imply that the type of hom-inin that used them remained the same. As example, in mainland and island Southeast Asia, there is no equivalent of the Upper Palaeolithic, and"Mode 1", technologically-simpleflake and core assemblages persist into the late Pleistocene and even inplaces the Holocene, even though the species of hominin that made them changed from H. erectus to H. sapiens. This is in sharp contrast to a region such as western Europe, where the shift from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic was associated with the replacement of Neanderthals by H. sapiens, leaving aside a much-contested debate over the status of so-called "transitional industries" that could have been made by either. Changes in lithic technology in southern Asia are likely to have been more subtle, and discernible only through more rigorous quantitative analysis than merely noting the size andfrequency of a few common elementsI would say that "Mode 4-5 => Modern human" is quite probably true, but "Mode 1-3 => Not modern human" is not. In a sense, this is a little sad, because the more advanced modes appear much later than the hypothesized appearance of modern humans in most places of the world, so they are not of actually much use in determining when they arrived. The paleoanthropological record is a better guide, but, it is also quite sparse or hotly contested in many areas of Eurasia.
To conclude a long post: the evidence for 60,000 year old Out-of-Africa is weak:
- No specific ties with Africa at this or later times
- Clearest evidence of ties between Arabia and Africa during MIS5
- Evidence for strong populations in Asia at this time, inconsistent with the failure of the modern humans sampled at Mt. Carmel in the Levant prior to 100,000 years
- Presence of primitive stone tools does not necessarily indicate absence of modern humans
- Genetic studies of modern populations should not be used as if these populations are direct descendants of first modern humans in same locales
All in all, I'd say that my "two deserts" theory whereby a Green Sahara pumped early modern humans to Asia prior to 100,000 years ago and then a deteriorating Arabian desert pumped them out post-70,000 years ago is not obviously wrong. Perhaps the pre-100ky wave went much further to the east, to India and Southeast Asia.
But, early modern humans may not have been as dominant as we often think, irrespective of when they dispersed: evidence of archaic humans persists in parts of the world down to the Holocene, and so do the simple stone tools of the Middle Paleolithic. Plus the fact that 2/2 of archaic hominins sampled so far show differential relationships to modern human groups, some of them quite unexpected (Denisova with Melanesians) ought to clue us in to the very real possibility that our distant past was quite more complex than we could ever imagine.
Journal of Human Evolution http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.03.008
Inland human settlement in southern Arabia 55,000 years ago. New evidence from the Wadi Surdud Middle Paleolithic site complex, western Yemen
Anne Delagnes et al.
The recovery at Shi'bat Dihya 1 (SD1) of a dense Middle Paleolithic human occupation dated to 55 ka BP sheds new light on the role of the Arabian Peninsula at the time of the alleged expansion of modern humans out of Africa. SD1 is part of a complex of Middle Paleolithic sites cut by the Wadi Surdud and interstratified within an alluvial sedimentary basin in the foothills that connect the Yemeni highlands with the Tihama coastal plain. A number of environmental proxies indicate arid conditions throughout a sequence that extends between 63 and 42 ka BP. The lithic industry is geared toward the production of a variety of end products: blades, pointed blades, pointed flakes and Levallois-like flakes with long unmodified cutting edges, made from locally available rhyolite. The occasional exploitation of other local raw materials, that fulfill distinct complementary needs, highlights the multi-functional nature of the occupation. The slightly younger Shi'bat Dihya 2 (SD2) site is characterized by a less elaborate production of flakes, together with some elements (blades and pointed flakes) similar to those found at SD1, and may indicate a cultural continuity between the two sites. The technological behaviors of the SD1 toolmakers present similarities with those documented from a number of nearly contemporaneous assemblages from southern Arabia, the Levant, the Horn of Africa and North Africa. However, they do not directly conform to any of the techno-complexes typical of the late Middle Paleolithic or late Middle Stone Age from these regions. This period would have witnessed the development of local Middle Paleolithic traditions in the Arabian Peninsula, which suggests more complex settlement dynamics and possible population interactions than commonly inferred by the current models of modern human expansion out of Africa.
Evolutionary Anthropology DOI: 10.1002/evan.21308
The prehistory of the Arabian peninsula: Deserts, dispersals, and demography
Huw S. Groucutt, Michael D. Petraglia
As a geographic connection between Africa and the rest of Eurasia, the Arabian Peninsula occupies a central position in elucidating hominin evolution and dispersals. Arabia has been characterized by extreme environmental fluctuation in the Quaternary, with profound evolutionary and demographic consequences. Despite the importance of the region, Arabia remains understudied. Recent years, however, have seen major developments in environmental studies and archeology, revealing that the region contains important records that should play a significant role in future paleoanthropological narratives.1–3 The emerging picture of Arabia suggests that numerous dispersals of hominin populations into the region occurred. Populations subsequently followed autochthonous trajectories, creating a distinctive regional archeological record. Debates continue on the respective roles of regional hominin extinctions and population continuity, with the latter suggesting adaptation to arid conditions.
Michael D. Petraglia, Huw Groucutt and James Blinkhorn
Quaternary Science Reviews Volume 47, 30 July 2012, Pages 15–22
The dispersal of Homo sapiens across southern Asia: how early, how often, how complex?
Robin Dennell, Michael D. Petraglia
The timing and the paths of colonization of southern Asia by Homo sapiens are poorly known, though many population geneticists, paleoanthropologists, and archaeologists have contended that this process began with dispersal from East Africa, and occurred between 60,000 and 40,000 years ago. However, the evidence for this scenario is very weak, particularly the lack of human skeletal evidence between the Levant and Borneo before 40 ka, and other explanations are possible. Here we argue that environmental and archaeological information is increasingly indicating the likelihood that H. sapiens exited Africa much earlier than commonly thought, and may have colonized much of southern Asia well before 60,000 years ago. Additionally, we cannot exclude the possibility that several dispersal events occurred, from both North and East Africa, nor the likelihood that early populations of H. sapiens in southern Asia interbred with indigenous populations of Neanderthals, Denisovans and Homoerectus. The population history of southern Asia during the Upper Pleistocene is likely far more complex than currently envisaged.


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Saturday, September 5, 2009
Help Me Name My New Sewing Machine
I have a habit of naming my sewing equipment. It makes me feel like we're all a team, working together to make beautiful dresses. My Brother machine is named Betty, and my dress form is Veronica, for instance. And now I have this beautiful 1952 Singer Featherweight that is, as of yet, nameless.
At first I thought she was a Doris, after the fictional lady who first owned several of my VoNBBS patterns. But this morning, she looked so proper and stately, and I thought Mrs. Exeter.
Anyway, they're both quite sentimental names, which is perhaps why I can't choose between the two. In the short time that I've owned Mrs. Exeter/Doris, I've quite fallen for her. She brings such an air of serentity to my sewing room - plus she's a dream to use.
What do you think? Also, does your sewing machine have a name?
28 comments:
Well, I like both Doris and Mrs. Exeter, although isn't Mrs. Exeter on the opposite end of the spectrum of a "Featherweight"? ;) According to Wikipedia, the Social Security Administration lists the most popular female names from 1952 as:
1. Linda
2. Mary
3. Patricia
4. Deborah
5. Barbara
6. Susan
7. Maria
8. Nancy
9. Debra
10. Kathleen
I don't name my machines, personally, but I like the idea. Maybe one of those will inspire you--or not!
P. (as in Patricia)- AnonymousSeptember 5, 2009 at 2:43 PM
Sounds like it's Mrs. Doris Exter to me. That way you're not having to choose.
But this is coming from a woman who has a "Mike", "Hank" and "Biggum" short for Big Green ugly machine. I'd not know how to act if mine became female in personality. Name her Agnes, for my mother. Agnes Marie. I swear she sewed that full-skirted dress, in a red something patterned in black and white things. White buttons.
I have my mother's Singer from the mid-fifties, built like a battleship in a mahogany stand.
Did you realize when you started this that you'd be stirring up so much cultural stuff? Or was that part of the plan?I just decided to name my vintage Singer 15-91 "Henrietta". My 1950s dressform is named "Ruby". I wish I could take credit for them, but my husband suggested both of them when I requested old school names.
I also looked up names on the Social Security Administration site, but nothing really caught my eye.
I'd go with Doris of the two, but I think a Featherweight deserves a more exciting name than Doris. What about something like Virigina? Or Genevieve?- Kathi GSeptember 5, 2009 at 5:39 PM
My sewing machine doesn't have a name. It hasn't come to me. My dress from is named Dressy Louise and my serger is Sergio. Sad since my sewing machine does most of the work around here while the other 2 plan romantic evenings together when the sewing room lights go out.
You machine's name will come to you. - JanelleSeptember 6, 2009 at 2:45 AM
I liked P's idea of looking at the top names from 1952... but I think she should be named after a woman who began sewing in the fifties, not a child.
So my favorite names from babies born in the 30s:
Florence - AnonymousSeptember 6, 2009 at 7:24 AM
This machine looks too classy for a common name, how about Miss Letitia?
ReplyDelete - CarlottaSeptember 6, 2009 at 11:24 AM
I like 'mrs Exeter', because to my ears the name sounds like a mecanism working well! But both Doris and Mrs Exeter are two distincts characters that you already met, so I think the machine should have an entirely different name! (but wouldn't it be a bit strange to call the machine Gretchen like you?)
My dress form is called Matelotte, because when I bouhght it second hand last spring I immediately thought she would have a stripey jersey bodice to cover her ('un matelot' is both the cutest and simplest equivalent of 'sailor' in french), plus we're the exact same measurements, which makes her a sort of alter ego, and my first name is actually Charlotte.
Sadly I still haven't found a name that works for my machine: at first I had thought of Brigitte, because there's pink gingham on it à la Brigitte Bardot, but it didn't work well, because my gran is called Brigitte, so it sounded too weird, and because Bardot, as iconic as she was, didn't turn well (politically) to me.
You make me think that I might give her a true name, now there's Matelotte: I could call her Margotte or Louiselotte, Camelote, Gibelotte...
Why did you name your modern machine and your dressform this way? that might be a clue.
(Oh my, I feel so talkative!) Carlotta, I'm glad you pointed out the problem with naming it Gretchen, I was just about to! It was probably subconsciously sticking out in their minds!
I think she looks sturdy yet feminine, like, maybe an Elsa.
My car and bikes have names. I'm not sure why my machines and dress form don't.- AnonymousSeptember 6, 2009 at 1:15 PM
No real relation to 1952, 'cept the names are for actresses who were alive at the time. Bearing in mind your machine is an extremely shapely little number:
Ginger (Rodgers) obviously
Esther (Williams)
But by far, my favourites are Magarita (or Rita) after Mlle Hayworth and Norma-Jeane. - elizabetheSeptember 6, 2009 at 10:41 PM
I'd name her Victoria Exeter. That's Mrs. Exeter to you, sir. I'm not quite a "woman of a certain age" yet but I think about Mrs. Exeter and her style choices all the time. I'm glad you introduced us.
ReplyDelete I like Mrs. Exeter. And some days, when you have been sewing together for a long time in a row, when you exchange some personal stories, you could call her Doris. And maybe she'd allow you to. Ofcourse, the next day she would be all formal again (but still lovely, ofcourse) and you'd be back at calling her Mrs. Exeter.
Yes, I think that would feel just right with a beautiful machine like that :-)Thanks, everyone! There are so many good names here that I'll have ideas for the rest of my life!
In the meantime, I've decided firmly on Mrs. Exeter for this one. As I've been using her these past couple days, it just seems fitting. Sure, she's diminutive in stature, but she's aged so gracefully. It just seems right.
Kathi G, I've stolen your serger's name. It's pure brilliance.Although I didn't name my five, I do speak to them. Generally, during unpleasant situations. Then it's, "You miserable, misbegotten chunk of slag." or "All right, beast, knock it off." These comments have the additional consequence of clearing out family members from my immediate area. I am not a temperate sewer. Nehmah-who is unhappy with the embroidery machine which ate a monogram last night!
ReplyDeleteGertie- I just found your blog yesterday, and I have been reading it through from beginning to now! I love your concept and your work!!!
I thought this would be a fun post to chime in on... my machine is named Eula, after my great-grandmother. I never met her, but her sewing creations still inspire me daily.- FlamingoGalNovember 20, 2009 at 9:21 PM
Just found your blog as well, luv it! My machines are all named as well...Helga the Viking, Sergio the serger, a small portable Singer model 354 Genie (she came named already). My Singer Featherweight was made in 1955, when I was born, so she has my middle name, Louise. Another , 70's-80's vintage Singer is called Cinco because it was my fifth machine. I recently bought 2 Janome refurbs and a used Kenmore for teaching, so I think they are going to be Abby, Betty, and Carly.
ReplyDelete - email@example.com 17, 2010 at 2:17 AM
I want you to know all my children have the names of my grandparents or their siblings. Once you start using family names it is hard to settle for anything less meaningful. I love it that they have names used in the 20's. For the record, they are Irvin, Magdalena, Marilyn, and Mae.


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Operation Pedro Pan shaped the lives of a generation of Cuban-Americans. Between 1960 and 1962, the program airlifted more than 14,000 Cuban children from Havana to the U.S. Fifty years later, those children are recalling how that flight changed their lives.
In Miami this weekend, a group of Cuban-Americans — now in their 50s and 60s — are gathering to commemorate the flights that took them from their homeland to America.
The journey began in early January 1959, after Dictator Fulgencio Batista fled the country. Fidel Castro arrived in Havana soon after and took control.
Back then, Jose Azel was an 11-year-old living in Havana. Today, he's a research associate at the University of Miami.
"It was clear very early on that the regime was moving in a totalitarian direction, with confiscations, expropriations of properties and that sort of thing," he says.
Azel was soon involved in underground activities. By 1961, his mother had died and his father decided to send him out of Cuba to America. Azel says the Castro regime had started separating children from their families as part of its literacy campaign.
He recalls having just a short conversation in which his father told him he was sending him away for his safety.
"So in the minds, I suspect, of most of the parents of the Pedro Pan children, this was going to be a short-term, temporary separation," he says.
As it turned out, Azel never saw his father again. His father died in the mid-1970s without being able to leave Cuba.
The Paper That Led Thousands To Flight
It wasn't until much later that Azel learned he was one of some 14,000 Cuban children who fled the island in similar circumstances. It was made possible because of a deal a priest in the Miami diocese — Father Bryan Walsh — worked out with the U.S. State Department. The agreement allowed him to sign visa waivers for children 16 or under.
Historian Victor Triay has written about Operation Pedro Pan in his book, Fleeing Castro. In 1961, Triay says, the failed Bay of Pigs operation ended hopes that Castro might soon be ousted. Castro also clearly announced that he was turning Cuba toward communism.
"They started closing down all the schools, including and especially the private and Catholic schools. So that caused a mass panic," he says. "And, of course, these visa waivers were photocopied in Cuba with Walsh's signature. They were accepted by the Cuban government, and so these visa waivers just started to spread around the island."
There were two direct Pan Am flights every day from Havana to Miami. Soon, they were full of children — some with families, many without.
Carmen Valdivia came with just her sister. At her home in a Miami suburb, she still has a yellowed letter, her visa waiver. The paper reads, "WAIVER APPROVED By Department of State and Immigration Services."
Valdivia says she and her sister arrived in Miami with almost nothing. Security personnel at the airport in Havana took their suitcases, leaving them just what they carried in their purses.
Valdivia still has the last gift her parents gave her in Cuba: an autographed book that they both signed.
In it, she wrote: "This autograph I bought at the last moment that I was in my Cuba, the beautiful. My parents got to sign it, and I am glad that they did because this is the only thing that I have from them, and they are what I love the most in this world."
Scattered Around America
About half of the children airlifted to Miami were, like Valdivia, reunited with family members within a few years.
Others went to foster families and boarding schools around the country. That was Carlos Eire's experience. Eire has written about those years in his book, Learning to Die in Miami.
He left Cuba with his brother in 1962. They shuttled from camp to a series of group homes and foster families until his mother rejoined them three years later. For him and most other Pedro Pan children, he says it was an overwhelmingly positive experience, but one that came with a sense of loss.
"Not having your parents there, you kind of feel a sense of betrayal, that you're betraying your parents if you're too happy," he says. "Even after my mom came, even at the best moments, it was always this feeling that, 'Gee, you know, my dad's not here.' You feel this sense that you should never or can never be really happy."
As adults, many of the Pedro Pan kids have done well. Eire went on to become a professor at Yale and a National Book Award-winning author. Other Pedro Pan kids include former U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez and salsa star Willy Chirino.
There's something else, Eire says, that most of the Pedro Pan kids still share, 50 years later. They're firmly opposed to any normalization of relations with the Castro regime, the regime that was responsible for breaking up their families and forcing them from their homeland.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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5 Insanely Easy Halloween Cookie Ideas [PICTURES]
If you're planning a Halloween party, don't get lazy with the treats and snacks. Just setting out big bowls of candy is not going to cut it.
Instead, how about Mummy Cookie Pops? Or Frankenstein Marshmallows? Or even Mis-Fortune Cookies?
Talented foodie Meaghan Mountford, author of the book 'Cookie Sensations' and owner of a site called 'The Decorated Cookie Blog,' has created these spooky treats and more. Best of all, she tells you how to make each one.
Here's a look at five of our favorites. (Click the "instructions" link to get the lowdown on how to make these spooky goodies at home.)
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Mummy Cookie Pops
These cookie pops have a face only a "mummy" could love. But they sure taste good. All it takes is some store-bought candy eyeballs and fondant to make your taste buds rise from the grave.
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Mini Witch Leg Cookies
Instructions'Wizard of Oz' fans will enjoy these cookies that are both tasty and a little disturbing. (Try not to think about the crushed Wicked Witch attached to those by ruby slippers and striped socks.) They take a little elbow grease to make, so get some help from a trusty scarecrow (or your kids).
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Frankenstein Marshmallow Pops
Marshmallows, with their cylindrical shape and flat tops, make perfect Frankensteins. To creatively display these at your Halloween party, prop them in a shallow bucket filled with bolts. Rise, my delicious creation! Rise!
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Sparkly Spider Cookies
InstructionsThese colorful spider cookies are the perfect starter cookie for rookie Halloween decorators. If you mess up, you can always cover the imperfections with more sprinkles. Spooky and idiot-proof!
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Mis-Fortune Cookies
InstructionsThis twist on the traditional fortune cookie recipe adds black frosting for some Halloween edge. While the cookies are still warm, fold them and insert slips of paper with silly "mis-fortunes" written on them like "You will meet a boo-tiful stranger" or "You will get candy corn stuck in your teeth...forever." (Meghan has supplied a handy set of misfortunes that you can easily print and use.)


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Michael DiSanto, UFC - It's the UFC's glamour division. More combat superstars compete in the 205-lb division than any other, though the division is in the midst of a massive overhaul over the past 12 months.
At this time last year, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was the reigning champion and Forrest Griffin was next in line as the pair waited for the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter to air, hyping their eventual showdown at UFC 86 in July.
It's the UFC's glamour division. More combat superstars compete in the 205-lb division than any other, though the division is in the midst of a massive overhaul over the past 12 months.
At this time last year, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was the reigning champion and Forrest Griffin was next in line as the pair waited for the seventh season of The Ultimate Fighter to air, hyping their eventual showdown at UFC 86 in July.
Lyoto Machida was flying under the radar, quietly dominating somewhat nondescript competition, while an announced bout against former champion Tito Ortiz—Machida's first true marquee test—was but a few months away.
Some undefeated guy named Rashad Evans was in the midst of the longest layoff of his brief UFC career. And former middleweight ruler Rich Franklin was trying to figure out his place in a division 20 pounds to the south after suffering his second loss at the hands of the sport's greatest warrior, pound for pound, Anderson Silva.
Fast-forward 12 months and each of those fighters now stand in very different positions. Let's take a look at the land of the light heavies.
"Sugar" Rashad Evans: It took awhile before Evans truly believed in himself. That is obvious from the split decision, split decision, majority decision start to his UFC career. In those early days, Evans fought not to lose. He hesitated inside the Octagon. You could see him thinking, rather than reacting. Nothing could be further from the truth these days. Evans now believes that he is the best in the division, and his confidence is paying dividends—big time. 2008 saw Evans score a dramatic knockout victory over Liddell to earn a shot at the title. Then, when his moment in the spotlight arrived, he stopped then-champion Griffin with equal brutality. With the belt around his waist, Evans likely believes that he is unstoppable. Yet, his grueling training and sparring sessions with Keith Jardine and Nate Marquardt keep him hungry. I'm a firm believer of the notion that a fighter isn't truly a champion until he successfully defends his belt once. Evans will face Machida at UFC 98 on May 23 in what may be his toughest test to date. A win over Machida will leave no doubt that Evans is a true champion.
Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida: It is not uncommon for an undefeated fighter to enter the mix in the UFC. It is very uncommon, however, for that fighter to remain undefeated after six trips to the Octagon. But it is not just Machida's undefeated record that is impressive. It is the way that he wins—without ever suffering so much as a bloody lip during his six-fight UFC run. Sure, his counter striking, defense-first style causes some critics to call him boring. That is an unfair assessment. It takes two individuals working together to tango beautifully, and Machida was a virtuoso when faced with aggressive, attacking opponents Ortiz, Remeau Sokoudjou and Thiago Silva. He dominated each of those men in entertaining fashion. Can he continue his run of success against Evans? That remains to be seen. Suffice to say, Machida may be Evans' toughest test to date, but that is definitely a two-way street. Machida has never before faced someone with the same blend of explosive punching power, high-level wrestling and elite overall athleticism as Evans. This is going to be a great fight. Granted, there may be moments of inaction, as both men prefer to counter. Regardless, there will be memorable fireworks before it is all over—count on it.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson: But for a damaged ligament in his jaw, Rampage would be the one challenging Evans for his title at UFC 98, not Machida. A surgeon's knife and just over a month of rest will cure Rampage's ailment. Then, he will presumably take his rightful place as the next in line for the winner of Evans-Machida. No fighter is more deserving, despite needing a last-second knockdown to guarantee victory against an awkward Jardine. In his last five bouts, the former 205-lb champion defeated three all-time greats—Liddell, Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva. The last of those bouts was without a doubt the greatest win of his career because he finally found a way to defeat his arch nemesis. Rampage stands at the top of the 205-lb food chain in terms of knockout power (and he possesses it in both hands) and physical strength. Mix in excellent wrestling skills and tremendous submission defense, and it is easy to see why Rampage was able to rise to the top of the division so quickly. Now, if he would only start checking leg kicks…
Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell: There was a time, not too long ago, when Liddell was the most feared striker in the sport, bar none. Those days are over after suffering losses in three of his last four fights, including two knockouts. Nine months shy of his 40th birthday, Liddell is starting to show the wear and tear of more than a decade competing inside the Octagon. He isn't nearly as spry as he was during his championship reign. He doesn't have the same bounce in his step. And he doesn't appear to have the same sharp reflexes needed to sit back and counter strike, something Liddell loves to do. Nonetheless, the last thing to leave a fighter is his punching power. George Foreman is living proof of that fact. Thus, Liddell remains ultra dangerous each time he steps into the cage. On April 18, he will return to action against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a long-overdue matchup of two of the game's most thrilling strikers. This bout should be a firefight for as long as it lasts. If Rua isn't at top form, he may very well end up like Michael Moorer—unconscious on his back after getting clipped by a guy who many thought was well past his prime. If Liddell really is too long in the tooth, then he will likely end up on lullaby lane. Does Liddell have one last run at a championship left in the gas tank? Does he have a handful of great performances still in him? Whatever the answer, Liddell is a surefire UFC Hall of Fame inductee the minute he is eligible.
Forrest Griffin: Griffin's win over Rampage at UFC 86 was one of the sport's real "feel good" moments. It was one of those times when hard work overcame raw talent—a moment that supported the notion that anything is possible if you are willing to put in the effort. Of course, Griffin's reign over the division was short lived. One fight later, Evans knocked him out. But that doesn't diminish the significance of Griffin's win. It proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is more than just a lovable, self-deprecating competitor. Forrest Griffin is a world class fighter. Wins over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Rampage established that fact. Losing to Evans doesn't change anything. But the affable former champion certainly wants to get rid of the sour taste of defeat by scoring a win in his next bout. When and against whom remain an open question at this point, though sometime late this summer seems likely. Nevertheless, Griffin's determination, amazing work ethic and tremendous heart once the fight begins makes it more likely than not that he will be back in the title picture sooner rather than later.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua: When Shogun knocked out Ricardo Arona in the finals of the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix, many pundits anointed him as the best light heavy in the world. It was difficult to disagree with that notion because Shogun, who has as much raw fighting talent as anyone in the division, was in the midst of an eight-fight winning streak that included dominant knockout victories over Rampage, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Alistair Overeem. Aside from a loss to Mark Coleman due to a freak injury, Shogun continued his run of dominance for two years, building to a mighty crescendo for his UFC debut against Griffin. The fight itself was anticlimactic for Shogun as Griffin beat him from pillar to post before slapping on a rear naked choke to bring the fight to a merciful end. Words like "exposed" and "overrated" were bandied about before the world learned that Shogun had suffered a torn ACL. Did that affect the outcome of his fight with Griffin? It certainly didn't help matters. Nor did tearing it a second time when training for a proposed bout with Liddell. Shogun is finally healthy. He proved that with a hard-fought knockout win over Mark Coleman back in January. Now, it's time for the former PRIDE tournament champion to finally face Liddell in their long-awaited matchup. The winner of Shogun-Iceman will reestablish himself as a force to be reckoned with in the division.
Rich "Ace" Franklin: Franklin's four-year run as a middleweight was time well spent, culminating in a three-fight, 16-month championship reign. The only problem was the arrival of Anderson Silva, who is arguably the sport's most devastating fighter. With Franklin unable to defeat Silva after two attempts, the Cincinnati native decided to move back to the division where he first made his mark inside the Octagon—light heavyweight. He dominated former training partner and The Ultimate Fighter standout Matt Hamill in his first fight back last September. But his success was short lived, as Franklin suffered a razor-thin split decision loss to Dan Henderson in January. Franklin is looking to rebound from that loss in what might be the most intriguing matchup of his six-year UFC career as he faces former PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva in a 195-lb catch-weight bout at UFC 99.
Brandon "The Truth" Vera: It's scary how talented this guy really is. Vera mixes collegiate-caliber wrestling and vastly underrated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with the division's best Muay Thai skills. His well roundedness is reminiscent of Shogun Rua, though there are very distinct differences in their respective arsenals (i.e., Vera is the better wrestler and more technically sound with his strikes, whereas Rua is more aggressive on the feet and a better submission artist). In fact, one doesn't have to rewind his or her memory bank too far to recall a time when experts like Joe Rogan were questioning whether Vera could win both the heavyweight and light heavyweight crown. Vera ran into a bit of a rough patch at heavyweight, prompting his migration south to the land of the light heavies. Now that he properly reshaped his body and mastered the cut down to 205 lbs, Vera looks downright scary. The leg kick clinic he put on at UFC 96 against Michael Patt was a virtuoso performance, certainly the best display of a lower body attack inside the Octagon since the height of Pedro Rizzo's heavyweight run. If Vera remains committed to such an aggressive, focused game plan for future fights, the sky is the limit. Actually, I'll head off the reservation for a moment and predict that Vera wins UFC gold at some point in the next 24 months.
Thiago Silva: At this time last year, Thiago Silva was a red hot prospect knocking on the door of contender status. Though he only fought once in 2008, he continued his run of dominant wins, submitting Antonio Mendes to improve his professional record to a spotless 13-0 and cementing himself as a legitimate top contender. But this is the UFC, so the inevitable was around the corner. Let's face it: there is tremendous parity across the elite fighters in the UFC, so everyone loses sooner or later. Of course, Silva suffered his first career loss in his last bout, suffering a vicious knockout at the hands of Lyoto Machida. Just like with Griffin's loss to Evans, Silva's loss does nothing to drop him from the fraternity of the elite. It will, however, test his character and resolve. All fighters react to a loss a little differently, particularly a knockout loss. Some become hesitant. Others become chinny. A few others completely shed their aura of invincibility. Yet, the great ones pick themselves back up and grow from the loss. They use it as a source of motivation. They return with a vengeance. If anyone has the DNA to return from a brutal knockout loss with a crazed vengeance, it's Thiago Silva.
In Part II of the 205-lb survey, we will take a look at the next generation of superstars, a few guys trying to figure out whether they are gatekeepers or contenders and also a quick run through a deep pool of relative unknowns looking to make their mark in the UFC's glamour division.


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From Arab Spring to Coptic Winter: Sectarian Violence and the Struggle for Democratic Transition in Egypt
Michael H. Posner
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Helsinki Commission Hearing
Washington, DC
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for conducting this important hearing on the situation faced by Coptic Christian community in Egypt, and for inviting me to testify.
As you know, this is a time of substantial transition in Egypt as Egyptians strive to move their country towards democracy. This is not an easy process and it will not happen overnight. Egypt is only starting on a path from the temporary stewardship of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), through parliamentary elections that will begin in two weeks, then the process of drafting of a new constitution and finally presidential elections. As they move toward these milestones, millions of Egyptians hope to see the emergence of a democratic civilian government that respects the universal rights of all of its citizens.
As part of this vision, it is vital that there be a place in the new Egypt for all citizens, including all religious minorities, of which the Coptic Christian community is the largest. President Obama and Secretary Clinton have made clear their deep concern about violence against Coptic Christians, most recently during the October 9 tragedy in front of the Egyptian radio and television building in the Maspiro area of Cairo. At least 25 people died and more than 300 were injured. We have urged the Egyptian government to investigate this violence, including allegations that the military and police used excessive force that was the cause of most of the demonstrator deaths. We also have urged that those responsible for these deaths and injuries be held accountable.
While the focus of my testimony is on the situation of the Copts, I would like to point out that other religious minorities also suffer official discrimination. While non-Muslim religious minorities officially recognized by the government – namely Christians and the tiny Jewish community – generally worship without harassment, members of the Bahai Faith, which the government does not recognize, face personal and collective discrimination. The government also sometimes arrests, detains, and harasses Muslims such as Shia, Ahmadiya, and Quranist, converts from Islam to Christianity, and members of other religious groups, such as Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons. The Government continues to refuse to recognize conversions of Muslims to Christianity or other religions, which constitutes a prohibition in practice.
I would like to set this testimony on the Copts in a broader context. Last week Secretary Clinton gave an important policy address in which she outlined our overall policy on democratization in the Middle East and beyond. She described the US government's principled engagement in the Middle East. We support the aspirations of citizens to live in societies that guarantee freedom, including freedom of expression, assembly and religion. We also believe strongly in systems that allow citizens a say in how they are governed and that will provide economic opportunities for all. These are the demands that we heard in Tahrir Square, where Copts and Muslims joined hands to protest and to pray in the weeks leading up to the downfall of the Mubarak regime. We have heard similar demands echoing throughout the Middle East and even far beyond that region in the ensuing months.
Secretary Clinton also has spoken out consistently about the importance of religious freedom and religious tolerance, both of which are fundamental to human dignity and peaceful transitions to democracy. Religious freedom is a human right, guaranteed by international human rights law. At the release of the State Department's report on International Religious Freedom in September, Secretary Clinton emphasized the role that religious freedom and tolerance play in building stable and harmonious societies. She said:
"Hatred and intolerance are destabilizing. When governments crack down on religious expression, when politicians or public figures try to use religion as a wedge issue, or when societies fail to take steps to denounce religious bigotry and curb discrimination based on religious identity, they embolden extremists and fuel sectarian strife. And the reverse is also true: When governments respect religious freedom, when they work with civil society to promote mutual respect, or when they prosecute acts of violence against members of religious minorities, they can help turn down the temperature. They can foster a public aversion to hateful speech without compromising the right to free expression. And in doing so, they create a climate of tolerance that helps make a country more stable, more secure, and more prosperous."
This is the basis for our belief that in order to succeed and prosper, Egypt, and its neighbors, must protect the rights of all citizens and all minorities, including its Coptic population. The corollary is also true: successful democratic transitions are the best way to safeguard those rights.
Mr. Chairman, the Copts in Egypt have faced discrimination for many years. Christians face personal and collective discrimination, especially in government employment and the ability to build, renovate, and repair places of worship.
Although they represent about 10% of the population and play an important role in Egypt's economy, Copts have suffered from widespread discrimination and remain underrepresented in prominent positions in Egyptian politics and society.
The headlines – and the trend lines – continue to tell a disturbing story.
I was in Egypt just days after the January 2010 attack on the Nag Hammadi Church in Upper Egypt, when gunmen shot and killed seven people as worshippers were leaving a midnight Christmas mass. At that time, I called for an end to impunity for such crimes and full accountability for those who attacked this holy place. One suspect, Hamam al-Kamouny was tried under the emergency law in a state security court, convicted on January 16 and executed on October 10. The other two defendants, Qoraishi Abul Haggag and Hendawi El-Sayyed, were acquitted by the court, angering many Coptic activists. Yesterday, November 14, Egypt's official news agency announced that Abol-Haggag and El-Sayyed are to be retried on December 19 under the Higher Emergency State Security Court, for crimes including premeditated murder and terrorism with the use of force and violence. We applaud the pursuit of accountability in this case, although we would prefer that these types of crimes be dealt with in civilian courts with full due process of law.
Almost exactly a year after the Nag Hammadi attack, on January 1, 2011, a bomb exploded at the Coptic Orthodox Church of the Two Saints in Alexandria, killing 23 people and wounding around 100. There are no suspects in custody for that crime, although the Government of Egypt reports that its investigation is ongoing.
These two incidents, and others like them, took place before the fall of President Mubarak on February 11. We have since received reports of an increase in sectarian violence and tensions, including at least 67 people killed in religious clashes – most of them Coptic Christians. This brings the total number of reported deaths this year to more than 90. There have been at least six recent major incidents of violence against Copts:
o On February 23, the Army used live ammunition, including rocket propelled grenades, against unarmed Copts during a land dispute at a monastery. A monk, one of the six shot, later died. To our knowledge, no one has been held accountable for these attacks.
o On March 4, in the village of Sol, a large group of Muslim villagers destroyed the Church of Saint Mina and St. George after the army failed to stop them. To our knowledge, there has been no investigation and no one has been charged despite videos of the perpetrators.
o On March 8, 13 people were killed when Muslims and Copts clashed in the Mukkatum area of Cairo. Some of the Copts had been protesting the slow government response to the destruction of the church in Sol. One Coptic bishop claimed that though news reports listed seven Christians and six Muslims. To our knowledge, there has been no investigation and no one has been charged in the deaths.
o On May 8 in Imbaba, a poor neighborhood of Cairo, two churches were attacked and one burned during sectarian riots. The clashes resulted in 23 deaths and 232 injuries. That month, the official media reported that the government referred 48 suspects to trial. Approximately half of these suspects have been arrested, including a prominent Salafist leader, while half remain at large. The High State Security Court in Giza has adjourned the trial until December 4, when it expects to hear testimony from the remaining witnesses.
o On September 30, in Merinab village in Edfu, Aswan governorate, an estimated crowd of 3,000 Muslims looted and burned the St. George Coptic Orthodox Church, in addition to some Copt-owned homes and businesses, following reported incitement by village imams. Local media reported that a Ministry of Justice fact-finding committee traveled to Aswan on October 12, in the aftermath of the Maspiro violence, to investigate the church burning. The status of this investigation is unclear.
o And finally, on October 9 in Cairo, violence erupted in front of the Egyptian television building known as Maspiro, at a demonstration by Copts protesting the government's failure to investigate the burning of the church in Merinab in Aswan governorate. At least twenty-five people were killed and more than 300 injured.
On October 11, Secretary Clinton addressed the October 9 violence at Maspiro and called for an immediate, credible, and transparent investigation of all who were responsible for the violence, with full due process of law. The White House issued a statement urging Egyptians to move forward together to forge a strong and united Egypt and reaffirming our belief that the rights of minorities - including Copts - must be respected, and that all people have the universal rights of peaceful protest and religious freedom.
The government of Egypt has stated publicly that they are conducting two investigations. The Egyptian Armed Forces are reviewing the conduct of Military Police, who eyewitnesses and video evidence suggest ran over and shot at demonstrators. The Ministry of Justice has been tasked by the Egyptian Cabinet with a full investigation of the incident. Separately, military prosecutors are investigating about 30 demonstrators, including one prominent blogger, who were detained during the violence. They are accused of inciting violence, stealing firearms, and attacking security forces. They will be tried in military courts.
On November 2, a fact-finding committee established by the National Council for Human Rights issued an initial report on the Maspiro violence. (NCHR is a quasi-governmental watchdog body, but the committee was led by respected human rights advocates). The report found that the march by Copts and their Muslim allies began peacefully at Shubra and moved toward Maspiro in downtown Cairo. According to the report and several corroborating accounts, as the marchers approached Maspiro, they were attacked by civilians throwing rocks and chanting Muslim extremist slogans. According to the same sources, military police then confronted the marchers and attempted to keep them from reaching the building. The MPs used shields and batons, and fired blanks. Marchers began fighting back against the violent civilians and military police. The NCHR report acknowledged that 12 or more civilians were killed when they were run over by military vehicles. The committee said it could not determine who fired the bullets that killed at least seven demonstrators.
During the height of the clashes, state TV anchor Rasha Magdy called on "honorable Egyptians" to defend the Army against "attacks by violent demonstrators." Twenty-one prominent Egyptian human right organizations criticized the "inflammatory role played by the official state media," charging that a "direct link can be traced between the outright incitement against demonstrators by state media and the events at Maspiro."
On October 13, the head of Egypt's military justice system, Adel al-Morsi, said that the military would lead the official investigation into the events. According to Human Rights Watch and local media, the military has arrested approximately 30 individuals. The government has said it will try suspects in military courts, since the crimes involved attacks on military personnel and equipment.
The Coptic community is concerned, as we are, about the severity and frequency of sectarian attacks against their community, and while they recognize that the government has nothing to do with most of these attacks, they are greatly concerned about the need to hold perpetrators accountable. I want to make clear that most of these clashes have involved both Copts and Muslims, and members of both communities have been the perpetrators and victims of the violence. It also is important to emphasize that many Muslims have stood up to defend members of the Coptic community against extremist violence.
The United States Government condemns this sectarian violence and continues to urge the Government of Egypt to take all necessary and available measures to reduce these tensions.
In raising our concerns about the Coptic community, we are also aware and very supportive of the positive steps the Egyptian government has taken on behalf of the Copts. On March 8, by order of the Prime Minister, Coptic priest Mitaus Wahba was released from prison where he was serving a five year sentence for officiating at a wedding of a Christian convert from Islam. On April 14, the SCAF fulfilled its commitment to rebuild a church in Sol that had been destroyed on March 4 by mob violence. And as I noted earlier, the government also took steps in response to the May 8 Imbaba violence; in addition to re-opening dozens of churches, the government is prosecuting 48 individuals charged with murder, attempted murder, and a variety of other crimes. The trial is scheduled to resume on December 4.
The government also has pledged to adopt a Unified Places of Worship Law, which would guarantee all faiths the ability to construct and maintain places of worship. The Cabinet sent the draft law to the military council in October. We urge the SCAF to endorse this provision as soon as possible. The Government of Egypt has promised to consider this measure for several years, including twice in the last five months. Numerous cases of sectarian violence in recent years have stemmed from disputes over church construction. The prompt adoption of this provision now would send a very strong signal of the government's commitment to protect religious freedom. It would recognize the right of all Egyptians to freely build places of worship they need to conduct religious activities. As the government reviews this proposal it should take into account the concerns expressed over earlier drafts that the suggested multi-stage process of applying for permits to construct and repair churches is too convoluted, cedes too much authority to governors to grant permits, and imposes onerous restrictions on the number and location of houses of worship.
Finally, in the aftermath of the Maspiro violence, we welcome steps that are being taken by the Government of Egypt to reduce discrimination in the penal codes. On October 15, the SCAF issued a decree amending Egypt's penal code to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion, gender, language, faith, or race. The decree also delineated prison sentences and specific fines for acts of discrimination, as well as failure to prevent discrimination. These included more severe penalties for government officials found to be complicit in discrimination.
The new penal code provisions bolster the Egyptian constitution's ban on discrimination. Article 7 of the March 31, 2011, constitutional declaration states that "all citizens are equal before the law. They have equal public rights and duties without discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnic origin, language, religion, or creed." We urge the government to enforce these and other anti-discrimination laws and hold violators accountable so that all minorities, including Copts, can enjoy equal protection.
Like Egyptian Muslims, Egyptian Copts are concerned about their country's future and their own place in it. In addition to security from sectarian violence and equal treatment under the law, they want equal representation in parliament and a proportional voice on the committee that will draft Egypt's new constitution. Like moderate Egyptian Muslims, the vast majority of whom support religious freedom, Copts and other religious minorities consider themselves full partners in a new Egypt.
As Secretary Clinton said last week, "If – over time – the most powerful political force in Egypt remains a roomful of unelected officials, they will have planted the seeds for future unrest, and Egyptians will have missed a historic opportunity." The door to real democratic change is only beginning to open. We hope Egyptians will walk through it together to a more peaceful and prosperous future.
Thank you.


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Does anyone actually ever use the word "pilfer" in normal conversation? I doubt it (unless you are taking a pilfer your headache). But we hear those words on baseball broadcasts and some of us grow up to be announcers and we simply keep using them. Some phrases are now offered with a wink; the "guy-who-makes-a-great-catch-to-end-an-inning-leads-off-the-next-inning" is pretty much used only ironically.
Here are a few phrases I jotted down last season. I'm sure you can think of others.
induce* From the Donnybrook Fair, an apparently rowdy festival held in Ireland as far back as 1204. In that respect, it is like "bedlam".
brouhaha / donnybrook* / rhubarb
speed merchant
camps underneath
calling card
Punch & Judy
Here are two words for errors you don't really hear anymore: muff and boner.Back in 2007, in a Baseball Fever thread entitled "Most Cliched Baseball Phrases", someone noted what John Sterling says every time the New York nine complete a victory:
I get the concept of homerism and the fact that announcers are not merely objective observers devoid of partisan emotion, but yech. This call is horrific. Imagine if the famous call of Russ Hodges had been repeated by him after every Giants victory. Wouldn't you be a bit embarrassed as a fan to hear, "The Giants win the game! The Giants win the game! The Giants win the Game!" every time they won?This is a brilliant example of why Sterling (and many others, to a lesser degree) is such a dismal announcer. Every play in baseball, every situation, is unique -- and deserves to be treated as such. When he uses the same catchphrase over and over, he demeans the game and, as a radio announcer, describing what is happening for people who cannot see it, he lays bare his arrogance and laziness.


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A hand-out photo released by Interpol Headquarters |
Lyon: All INTERPOL member countries have been asked by Bulgarian authorities to make public a driving licence photo and computer-generated images of a suspected accomplice to the man responsible for the bomb attack in July on an Israeli tour bus outside Burgas airport in Bulgaria, as part of a public appeal to identify the man.
The suspected accomplice is thought to speak English with an accent and to be between 1.7 to 1.75 meters tall, possibly of Middle Eastern origin, and with dark brown hair and eyes.
This latest public appeal via INTERPOL by the Bulgarian authorities follows the publication by the world police body on 2 August of a computer-generated image of the alleged terrorist himself whose remains were recovered from the scene of the fatal attack on 18 July. Five Israelis and the Bulgarian bus driver were killed and more than 30 injured in the bombing.
Immediately following the fatal bombing, INTERPOL deployed an Incident Response Team (IRT) to Bulgaria from its General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon consisting of officers from its Public Safety and Terrorism unit and other specialist and technical investigative support.
At the request of Bulgarian police, INTERPOL also issued a Black Notice – used to seek information about unidentified corpses – to each of its 190 member countries in all four official languages (Arabic, English, French and Spanish) in a bid to identify the man thought to be the terrorist. It is now publishing the driving licence photo and these latest reconstructed images to engage the public's help in identifying the alleged accomplice.
"INTERPOL and its member countries continue to assist Bulgaria in its investigation by facilitating the exchange of intelligence, carrying out checks against its global databases and prioritizing all requests for information linked to this investigation," said INTERPOL Executive Director of Police Services Jean-Michel Louboutin. "By working with INTERPOL's global police network Bulgarian authorities are clearly doing all they can to identify those responsible for this appalling crime."
Anyone with information on the identity of the alleged accomplice or of the bomber himself can contact their local police, the Bulgarian authorities or the INTERPOL Command and Coordination Centre at its General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon, France.


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When U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Burma on Nov. 19, locals lined the streets, waving American flags that a couple years ago could have landed them in jail. "For many years, the U.S. flag meant defiance against the regime," says Thiha Saw, a newspaper editor in Rangoon, the country's largest city, where Obama spent six hours. "It meant democracy, freedom, all those good things."
Two years ago, when China's Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in the country known officially as Myanmar, there was no such spontaneous outpouring of goodwill from the Burmese people. After all, China may be one of Burma's top foreign investors, but it was also one of the few nations to support an isolated military government as it brutalized its people. Even as Burmese rely on cheap Chinese imports, there is little love for their giant neighbor to the north.
China's global outreach has been spurred by its search for natural resources needed to power its economy. Chinese state-owned companies have descended across the globe, from Africa to the farthest reaches of the South Pacific, bringing the kind of foreign investment that had dried up after the Cold War, when the U.S. and the Soviet Union vied to woo governments to their sides. But even as the Chinese have signed contracts with some of the world's more unsavory governments, the benefits from this foreign investment boom have tended not to trickle down to locals. Chinese usually bring their own work crews to staff foreign projects, and the tapped natural resources, of course, are for Chinese consumption.
(PHOTOS: Obama Abroad: Scenes of a U.S. President in Burma)
Burma is a case in point. The country boasts a treasury of natural resources that the Chinese crave, from hydropower and timber to natural gas and jade. The military junta that ruled Burma for nearly five decades inked major investment deals with the Chinese, then among the few players in town because Western nations had slapped sanctions on the regime for its human-rights abuses. Under the reign of junta chief Than Shwe, Burmese generals and their business cronies grew rich from these Chinese contracts, even as one-third of Burmese lived under the poverty line—this in a country that used to be Asia's rice basket. "The Myanmar people's mindset is that Than Shwe was selling Myanmar to China," says Hla Maung Shwe, vice-president of the Myanmar Chamber of Commerce. "The Chinese come here, even their cooks, their drivers, they are all Chinese. This is not the right way. Resentment against China is growing in Myanmar."
Complicating matters is the fact that much of Burma's natural bounty is located in its borderlands, where ethnic minorities already feel marginalized by the central government. Take the Shwe pipeline, which will dispatch energy from Burma's far west to the interior of China, even though the resident ethnic Arakanese enjoy little electricity despite proximity to major natural-gas fields. (Burma is one of the least electrified countries in the world, particularly in ethnic areas.) "How can we send all this gas to China when the Arakanese almost have no electricity?" asks Phyo Phyo, an ethnic Arakanese who works for Shwe Gas Movement civic group, which monitors the country's largest foreign investment project to date. "Our people are not getting the benefits. Instead, the project leaves fishermen with no livelihood and farmers with no land."
(MORE: Obama in Burma: U.S. President's Landmark Visit Brings Hope, Criticism)
Now, with the country led by a hybrid military-civilian government that has introduced various democratic reforms since assuming power in March 2011, China is finding it must compete with other countries eager to capitalize on an emerging investment destination. Last year, in a warning signal to the Chinese, President Thein Sein, a retired general who has helmed the country's surprising opening, suspended construction on the Myitsone dam in the country's north, a mega-project that would have sent nearly all the generated electricity to China, leaving locals literally in the dark. (There are, however, reports that some building is quietly going on at the Myitsone site in Kachin state, where the Burmese army has been clashing for months with ethnic Kachin rebels.)
With the increasingly liberal environment in Burma, locals are speaking out more forcefully against Chinese projects. Not far from the city of Monywa, thousands of Burmese have rallied against what they say are illegally seized or inadequately compensated land that will be used for a copper mine partly owned by a subsidiary of a Chinese weapons-maker. Protests broke out most recently while Obama was in Burma. Some of the country's most high-profile former political prisoners have joined the cause, which includes worries about the mine's environmental impact.
One of the winners in Burma's populist push against China? The U.S., which has eased its sanctions against the new government. Despite the former junta's xenophobia against the West, the U.S. generally enjoys respect from the Burmese people, who associate the country with democratic ideals. That affection aligns nicely with Obama's recent foreign-policy pivot toward Asia. Throughout the continent's Southeast Asian flank, regional governments are struggling to balance a hunger for Chinese investment with concerns over Beijing's increasingly aggressive territorial ambitions in various maritime disputes.
(MORE: Why China Could Be Obama's Second-Term Foreign Policy Headache)
At the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which President Obama attended after his Burma stop, interference by the host, Cambodia's long-ruling strongman Hun Sen, helped guarantee that the gathered Southeast Asian nations did not confront China on the South China Sea tensions. Cambodia's No. 1 investor and donor? China, which has allowed Hun Sen to flout the human-rights concerns to which Western donors would tie their aid. (China says its foreign policy and aid program is based on non-interference in other nations' internal affairs.)
The Summit brought together the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with a host of other countries including China and the U.S. Yet even those ASEAN members with a territorial beef with China are wary of angering Beijing by encouraging Washington. At the Summit, President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines, a close American ally, pointedly noted that his country had "the inherent right to defend its national interests" and to go "international." That meant involving organizations such as the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Indeed, in contrast with Beijing, which wants to deal bilaterally with the other claimants, the U.S. has urged precisely such a multilateral approach. Aquino got little traction, however. For one thing, not every ASEAN government has a stake in the South China Sea disputes. For another, not just Cambodia owes China. Immediately after the Summit, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao dropped by Bangkok, where Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra asked for Beijing's help in building a deep-sea port. As David Kang, a professor of international relations and business at the University of Southern California, recently wrote, "East Asian countries are seeking a pathway that avoids taking sides."
In Burma, too, the reformist leadership has taken pains not to alienate China. After all, Beijing was a key ally of the junta—some of whose retired members still rule the nation—when few other nations were willing to stand by the army leaders. Before Thein Sein visited the U.S. in September for the opening of the U.N. General Assembly, he made sure to pop by China for a visit to a trade fair. "Myanmar is at present in a transitional phase, but it pays great attention to developing relations with China," Thein Sein said while in southern China, according to state Chinese news agency Xinhua. "Its policy of seeing China as a true friend has not changed."
Similarly, shortly before Obama began his much lauded Burma tour, Soe Win, the deputy commander of the Burmese military was in Beijing reaffirming military ties between the two nations. But the news galvanizing the international military community had nothing to do with Burma and China. Next year, Burma may well observe U.S. military exercises in Asia, a stunning turnaround for an armed forces schooled for so long on hatred of America. China, which considers the U.S. exercise to be taking place practically in its backyard, won't be invited.


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Just yesterday, I came across a post from Jamie's Weblog Things I learnt during and about my PhD. Written by a computer scientists who didn't finish the PhD I find it somewhat overly cynical, but sadly enough there's lots of truths in it as well. So, since I guess some of our readers are struggling through these dark times while others are wondering whether to get into them in the first place, I want to add some thoughts from my perspective.
What is it good for?
A PhD is in the first line a degree that certifies you are qualified to conduct research. It's a necessary step if you want to stay in academia. It isn't impossible, but extremely unlikely that you will actually work on something groundbreaking. What you are supposed to do is to show yourself, your supervisor, and the rest of the world that you can study a topic in depth, acquire the necessary technical skills, formulate new questions, answer them, document them, and finish your examination.
You will likely not have a very good time. I don't want to discourage you, but I don't know anybody who was particularly happy during his PhD. As far as I am concerned it was possibly the worst time of my life. You will be mostly on your own, probably underpaid, overworked, be stuck on stuff you're not interested in while being subject to increasing pressure of getting done.
You will ask yourself repeatedly what is it good for. You will need a large capability for self-motivation. If you are not one of these persons who can not live without doing physics, a PhD is not for you. If you are stuck in the details of your thesis that nobody including you is or will ever be interested in, you will have to remind yourself endlessly: It isn't about changing the world or winning the Nobel-prize, it is a degree that certifies you are qualified to conduct research. Period. Read that reference. Make that figure. Finish that paragraph.
The Topic
It is not that the topic of your PhD thesis is completely irrelevant. If you apply for a new job, people will look at the title. But there is the general sense that if it's rather dull that's not your fault so you'll be excused. The number of people who will actually read your thesis is tiny. As far as my thesis is concerned there's exactly one person I am sure read it. That's my mother. She corrected all typos and grammatical bugs.
What is far more important than the topic of the thesis is how you pursue it. The important information will be in the letters accompanying your first application. And that letters will either say you haven't managed to make one single step on your own, and were neither able to find the library nor to understand the wise words of your supervisor. Or it will say you're destined to be a future leader. Translate into: you haven't bothered your supervisor with questions he indeed had to think about. (Like, where is the library?)
You can increase the visibility of your thesis by putting it on the arxiv. You can decrease it by writing in any language other than English. My thesis is in German, but I put an introduction and a summary in English on the arxiv which by now has 42 citations - that is mostly because it contains a large collection of references and an overview on the field that at this time was pretty much up to date. Also, if you are working in a group, there is the chance that your thesis will be handed over to the next students as an introduction to the topic. I know various examples for that.
Your Supervisor
I want to quote a particularly amusing paragraph from Jamie's post
Supervisors: a curious species, rarely sighted in their expected habitat
Supervisors are strange creatures. Some are like ghosts, appearing occasionally for a fleeting moment, and you're more likely to meet them at a conference than at the University. Others are always around but they're too busy running around like demented hamsters on a wheel – all motion and no progress. They're disorganised. All of them will, at some point, forget what your project is about – and some will even forget who you are.
I made an interesting discovery half way through my PhD: the number of good/useful/interesting/brilliant things that your supervisor will say to you is not proportional to the amount of contact you have with them – it's constant. Yep, that right. You can have weekly meetings with your supervisor but you'll only get three good suggestions a year out of them [...]
Supervisors also participate in a little-known game which can catch out the naïve student: Hunt the Supervisor. This involves the PhD student attempting to locate their supervisor during the agreed meeting slot. And, no, they are definitely not going to be in their office. You'll be lucky if they're in the right country.
This description is to my impression very accurate. I am relieved to hear actually it isn't much different in computer science than in physics.
There is something to learn from that: If you pick your supervisor, pay attention to his reputation in taking care of students and to his reliability, *not* to his professional reputation and his likability. Most obvious thing to do is chose somebody who doesn't already have more students than he can cope with, who isn't traveling 11 months of the year and who isn't glued to his BlackBerry. People who write books, speak on every conference, and are known for their public appearance typically aren't recommendable either. Problem is, these are the people you are most likely to have heard of. (And also the ones whose letters are likely to have the highest impact...)
You will find out these things rather easily: ask previous students. They will tell you more than you want to know. In some cases that information has already been collected somewhere and you can look it up. Nowadays probably online, in my days we had folders for every prof that were being passed around. What your found there was pretty accurate.
What helps?
What helps if you're stuck in the dark times are friends, your office mates who are stuck in similar situations, and online group therapy. If things get really tough I recommend you get professional advice. Most universities offer a counseling service, anonymous and free of charge, where they will help you to move on. Whatever problem you have, you are very likely not the first to have it.
One possibility to relieve loneliness is to chose a topic that is close to something another student is working on. However, this is recommendable only if you will not be finishing around the same time. Reason is that you will for some years be referred to as "Soandso's student who worked on maggot growth" (or whatever) - "Which one?"
Besides this, if you are stuck on a supervisor who is essentially useless, do not focus on that person. Just face that he isn't going to help you and look for help elsewhere. This is easier today thanks to online connectivity. If you are smart and not lazy you will have no problem finding somebody who is willing to work with you. Typically these will be postdocs or young profs who do not have many postdocs and students, and are looking for people to work out details of some projects they have in mind. Both for my master's thesis as well as for my PhD I have been unofficially supervised by postdocs while the actual supervisors where constantly absent or kept forgetting my name.
In any case you should preferably look for somebody who will not be searching for a new job and be moving elsewhere in the soon future. That very often limits the usefulness of postdocs.
5 years after my PhD I am still amazed I ever managed to finish what looked like a complete mess only 6 months before my defense. If you are currently working on your PhD, I wish you good luck and don't lose your dreams out of sight.


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Ginsburg - who enticed viewers for decades with a can-do focus on easy weeknight cooking and the tagline "Ooh! It's so good!" - was diagnosed just over a year ago. The cancer had gone into remission following early treatments and surgery, but returned earlier this month.
Ginsburg had an unlikely formula for success in this era of reality cooking shows, flashy chefs and artisanal foods. With a pleasantly goofy, grandfatherly manner and a willingness to embrace processed foods, Ginsburg endeared himself to millions of home cooks via 90-second segments syndicated to 125 local television stations around the country.
And though he published 52 Mr. Food-related cookbooks, selling more than 8 million copies, he was little known to the nation's foodies and mostly ignored by the glossy magazines. That was the way he liked it.
"They're on the Food Network. They're getting a lot of national publicity. And they're getting big money," he said of fellow food celebrities during a 2010 interview with The Associated Press. "I was always the hometown guy. I don't want to be the super celebrity. When you need bodyguards, that's not my deal."
Ginsburg grew up in the meat business, and eventually started his own catering company. He made his television debut in 1975 in upstate New York on a local morning program. His Mr. Food vignettes were syndicated in nine television markets by 1980. His popularity peaked in 2007, when he was appearing on 168 stations.
He also was generous with the enviably broad reach of his culinary pulpit, frequently inviting up-and-coming celebrities to do guest appearances with him.
"Art Ginsberg was a warm, gregarious man who knew food is more about love and sharing than a fancy ingredient list," said Rachael Ray, who Ginsburg invited on air long before she was a huge celebrity. "He was a supportive and loyal friend and I'll miss his smile and warm hugs. This Thanksgiving I'm thankful I knew him."
In recent years, Ginsburg eased his involvement in the day-to-day operations of the company he founded, Ginsburg Enterprises Incorporated, which produces the television segments and oversees his many other ventures, including a line of housewares. The company also produced television segments that did not star Ginsburg, billing them as the "Mr. Food Test Kitchen." It plans to continue producing and syndicating those segments.


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New Cat was huddled in a dark corner of the cat cabin crying. Something was very wrong.
My guess is that he was bitten by a snake. The farm is thick with copperheads, and a bite to a small animal is deadly.
"He's not gonna make it, honey," Joe said softly.
"That's what I'm afraid of."
"He had a good run."
"Yes he did."
"He left a place where he obviously wasn't happy and came to live with us. That was what, five years ago?"
New Cat appeared one day out beyond the hayfield, but it was nearly a week before he made his way up to the house, having apparently decided that life here looked pretty good.
He moved into the cat cabin with J2, who had shown up years ago at Windridge Farm in much the same way, and the two quickly became inseparable. I've never known two cats who were better friends.
In the 17 years that Joe has lived on this farm, which is miles from the nearest neighbor, he is the only cat to have simply turned up. New cat.
He wore a gorgeous superfluff suit each winter and shed it for a sleek look in summer. New cat.
He was terrified of Bear and Robin and spent most of his life above dog level. He seldom allowed me to pet him, and I can't remember ever picking him up.
"He may not have been all that friendly," said Joe, "but it sure was nice to look around the farm and see him."
My most recent memory of New Cat is from a week or so ago. It was early evening and he was in the garden, presiding over a large rabbit he had obviously just caught.
My favorite memory of New Cat took place one morning a few years ago. He and J2 were hanging out in the sunshine next to the cat cabin on a little table that Joe had once slapped together from scraps of wood. J2 was grooming himself, and New Cat wanted to play. He kept rolling around on the table, batting at J2 and trying to get his attention, but J2 ignored him. New Cat wouldn't give up, though, and after a couple minutes J2 stopped what he was doing, lifted his two front paws high in the air, and tackled New Cat with a massive hug.
New Cat died very early this morning while I slept fitfully next to him, my hand resting on the side of his curled-up body. I wanted to comfort him. I wanted him to know he wasn't alone. And this cat who rarely liked to be touched would start to cry if I took my hand away.
I buried New Cat in the garden next to Hansel cat and Lindy The Chicken, not far from the spot where he caught that rabbit. In early spring I planted a small clump of spiderwort there, and it has flourished. Today I addded some more.
He was a magnificent creature who was a joy to watch and photograph. He was our New Cat. He left us in his prime, but he had a good run. He is already missed.
More about Whitey and her new brood soon. The circle of farm life always continues.
© 2007 FarmgirlFare.com, the full on, fur loving foodie farm blog where Farmgirl Susan shares recipes, stories, and photos from her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres.