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Time flies like mad these days! I really thought this week would be calmer than the ones ahead. I even said it outloud. With a satisfactory smile on my face and a head full of light hearted things to do. So you can guess what happened. It got a wee bit crazy. One night that I was trying to sort it all out, my dear B. sat next to me with mugs of tea and a couple of tartelettes. I knew we were simultaneously feeling how wonderful it is to be able to rely on the simplicity of seasonal baking when there's combobulation around.
As my family back home was gathering around my grandfather to celebrate Epiphany, we were virtually sharing the moment with individual "Galette des Rois", the traditional frangipane filled puff pastry tarts served for the occasion. B. is well aware of my family's "must dos" and how they translate into my baking and cooking as definite advantages for him even this far away, like truffles at Christmas and galette or brioche for Epiphany.
Like in many a French person, galettes des rois are a big deal. A lot of families take this opportunity to gather together one last time towards the end of the holidays, have a glass of Champagne and wish one another a Happy New Year before things go back to their usual "metro-boulout-dodo" (commute-work-sleep). Since most years we were visiting my grandparents in Paris for the holidays, we would have "galette des rois" there and, once back home in Provence, we would have "brioche des rois". And sometimes both which was perfect for the gourmande in me!
When I mentioned the possibility of not baking any galette this year, you should have seen the look on my husband's face. As if I was taking his favorite toy away. My symptoms have been so greatly improved by removing gluten entirely from our diet that I did not really want to make a full batch of puff pastry and galettes. I can't stand being that selfish either but from the previous results I'd had turning puff pastry gluten free, a complete gf galette des rois was not going to happen. So I made them anyway, the regular way. I only had one bite too many to know I shouldn't have but he was happy and that makes up for a lot of things.
Back in September, I tried a couple of times to come up with a gluten free puff pastry for a Daring Bakers challenge but none of the attempts left me satisfied. I came up with a ratio for the flours I wanted to use, ran it by Shauna for confirmation and was elated to see my dough was flexible enough to roll and to fold and bake into beautiful crispy layers. Each time though I had the same problem: too much butter if I followed traditional ratios and, as Shauna pointed out, not enough protein. Shauna, Danny and I are actively working on that project again and more decided than ever to come up with a gluten free puff pastry so good and fluffy you will be proud to point out it is gluten free.
The most traditional filling for these tarts is almond frangipane (almond cream) but it's never a bad thing to change things up so this time around I replaced half the almonds with pistachios and it could well be my favorite flavor so far for these. I used tart rings to form and bake them so the filling would stay neatly encased but you can most definitely make these free form as long as you keep careful to seal the edges tight.
I prepared and baked the tarts, set the tray to cool on the countertop and just starting giggling like a child. It came to absolutely no surprise to my dear husband that I completely forgot to sneak inside that little ceramic trinket designating the King or Queen of the day. I declared him King anyway and we happily cut into a warm frangipane galette right away.
Twitter people might already know this but I must tell you of an awesome event planned by Jen, event planner extraordinaire and writer of the blog Devour The World, Rachael of La Fuji Mama and Gaby, personal chef and author of What's Gaby Cooking. They have arranged to fly me out to Los Angeles and secure enough space and time for me to teach two macarons classes at the Academy of Culinary Education on Friday March 5th and Saturday March 6th. Zoink!
So, if you live in the area and have always wanted to know how to bake the perfect macaron here is your chance to do so in a professional but relaxed atmosphere. I just can't wait to be there and be able to help 1 on 1. Come join us! Please email Rachael rachael{at}lafujimama {dot}com for all the details as I hear both classes are filling up rather fast. Working also on another surprise for that trip…
Thanks for the positive feedback on giving out the recipes in both English and French. Starting with a salad was quite easy and I almost said "forget it" when I realized I would have to translate a recipe for puff pastry on this post but there it is after the jump!
Have a great weekend!
Galette Des Rois:
Makes four or eight 4-inch tarts
Notes: I hope you'll try your hand at puff pastry soon. It sounds harder than it is. Really. But I understand and you can get very close by using a simpler Rough Puff Pastry.
For the puff pastry:
3 cups (420gr) all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
3/4 cup (105gr) cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (7 gr)
4 tablespoons (60gr) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, well chilled
1 1/4 cups (300ml) icy cold water
1 tablespoon (14gr) all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks)(405gr) unsalted butter, well-chilled
Make the dough package:
In a large mixing bowl, combine both flours with the salt. Scatter butter pieces over the flour mixture; using your fingers or a pastry cutter, incorporate butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Form a well in center of mixture, and pour the water into well. Using your hands, gradually draw flour mixture over the water, covering and gathering until mixture is well blended and begins to come together. Gently knead mixture in the bowl just until it comes together to form a dough, about 15 seconds. Pat dough into a rough ball, and turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap tightly, and place in refrigerator to chill 1 hour.
Make the butter package:
Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon flour on a sheet of waxed or parchment paper. Place uncut sticks of butter on top, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tablespoon flour. Top with another sheet of paper; using a rolling pin, pound butter to soften and flatten to about 1/2 inch. Remove top sheet of paper, and fold butter package in half onto itself. Replace top sheet of paper, and pound again until butter is about A inch thick. Repeat process two or three times, or until butter becomes quite pliable. Using your hands, shape butter package into a 6-inch square. Wrap well in plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator until it is chilled but not hardened, no more than 10 minutes.
Assemble and roll the dough:
Remove dough package from refrigerator, and place on a lightly floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, gently roll dough into a 9-inch round. Remove butter package from refrigerator, and place it in the center of the dough round. Using a paring knife or bench scraper, lightly score the dough to outline the butter square; remove butter, and set it aside. Starting from each side of the center square, gently roll out dough with the rolling pin, forming four flaps, each 4 to 5 inches long; do not touch the raised square in the center of the dough. Replace butter package on the center square. Fold flaps of dough over the butter package so that it is completely enclosed. Press with your hands to seal.
Using the rolling pin, press down on the dough at regular intervals, repeating and covering the entire surface area, until it is about 1 inch thick. Gently roll out the dough into a large rectangle, about 9 by 20 inches, with one of the short sides closest to you. Be careful not to press too hard around the edges, and keep the corners even as you roll out the dough by squaring them with the side of the rolling pin or your hands. Brush off any excess flour. Starting at the near end, fold the rectangle in thirds as you would a business letter; this completes the first single turn.Wrap in plastic wrap; place in refrigerator 45 to 60 minutes.
6/ Remove dough from refrigerator, and repeat process in step 5, giving it five more single turns.Always start with the flap opening on the right as if it were a book. Mark the dough with your knuckle each time you complete a turn to help you keep track. Chill 1 hour between each turn. After the sixth and final turn, wrap dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight before using.
For the frangipane filling:
1 stick (110 gr) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 gr) sugar
1/2 cup (50 gr) ground almond
1/2 cup (50 gr) ground pistachios
2 eggs
1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream
Place the butter, sugar, almond powder and the eggs in a large bowl and whisk until smooth (can also be done in a food processor). Add the cream but stir in it instead of whisking so as not to emulsify it or it will rise while baking. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
To assemble the tarts (4 at a time).
Divide the dough in half and keep one half refrigerated.
Preheat the oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper or a silpat.
Roll the puff pastry to about 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured countertop. Using a 4 inch tart rings, cut out 8 rings into the dough. Place four dough circles into 4 tart rings. Top with about 2 tablespoons of the frangipane filling. Top with 4 dough circles and seal the edges well by pressing your fingertips inside the rings onto the dough edges.
If you wish to use the rest of dough and filling right away, just repeat those steps or you can refirgerate both for a week or freeze for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the fridge.
Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the tarts are golden brown.
Le P'tit Coin Francais:
Pour 4 a 8 tartes.
Pour la pate feuilletee:
420gr de farine
105gr de farine a gateau (fine)
7gr de sel
60gr de beurre non sale, tres froid et coupe en petits des
300ml d'eau tres froide (glaciale a la limite)
405 gr de beurre non sale bien froid
Faire le paton:
Dans un grand bol. melangez les deux farine et le sel. Ajouter le beurre et servez vous de vos doigts ou de deux fourchettes pour incorporer le beurre au farines jusqu'a ce que le melange ressemble a de gros grains de sable.
Formez un puit au milieu et ajoutez l'eau. A l'aide de vos mains, commencer a ramener la farine vers l'eau jusqu'a ce que la masse devienne homogene. Ramassez la masse en boule assez vite de facon a petrir le moin possible. Couvrez d'un linge ou de film plastique. Refrigerez la pate pendant une heure.
Faire le bloc de beurre:
Saupoudrez une feuille de papier sulfurise avec la moitie de la farine restante. Deposez-y le beurre et saupoudrez du reste de farine. Placez une 2eme feuille de papier sulfurise au dessus du beurre et avec votre rouleau a patisserie, frappez le beurre de facon a le ramollir et l'aplatir sur une epaisseur de 1.5cm environ. Levez la feuille de papier du dessus, et a l'aide de celle du dessous, rabattez le beurre sur lui meme. Remettez la feuille de papier au dessu et recommencez l'operation 2 a 3 fois jusqu'a ce que le beurre soit bien maleable. A l'aide de vos mains et en vous aidant des feuilles de papier, formez un carre de beurre d'environ 15cm. Refrigerez le pendant 10 minutes (pas plus).
Assembler la pate:
A l'aide de votre rouleau a patisserie, etalez la pate en un cercle de 23cm de diametre. Placez le beurre au centre du cercle et a l'aide d'un couteau fin, deligner l'emplacement du beurre sur la pate, sans faire de coupure directement dans celle-ci. Enlevez le beurre et mettez le de cote. Demarrez de chaque cote du carre et roulez la pate pour obtenir 4 grandes oreilles d'au moins 10 a 12 cm de long. Vous devez obtenir un petit carre plus epais au centre de cette facon. Placez y le beurre et rabattre les oreilles dessus. Pressez du bout des doigts pour bien enfermer le paquet de beurre.
Etalez la pate a intervals reguliers de facon a bien distribuer le beurre jussqu'a ce que la pate soit de 2cm d'epaisseur environ. Farinez votre plan de travail si necessaire au fur et a mesure. Etalez la pate en un rectangle de 23 cm de large et 50cm de long, en gardant le cote de plus court pres de vous. En partant a peu pres du milieu, pliez la pate en trois de facon porte-feuille. (1er tour) Refrigerez la pate pendant 45min a 1 heure.
Apres ce premier temps de repos, repetez l'operation 5 fois de plus pour un total de 6 tours. Refrigerez entre chaque tours au moins une demi heure. Une fois le dernier tour effectue, refrigerez la pate pendant au moins 4 heure, toute la nuit si voud pouvez.
Pour la frangipane:
100 gr de beurre non sale, et a temperature ambiante
100 gr de sucre
50 gr d'amamde en poudre
50gr de pistache en poudre
2 oeufs
60ml de creme entiere liquide
Dans un bol, melangez au fouet le beurre et le sucre jusqu'a ce que le beurre soit pale et aere. Ajoutez les amandes et melangez. Ajoutez les oeufs un a un et bien melangez au fouet. Ajoutez la creme et donnez quelques coups de fouet ou de spatule pour rendre le melange homogene.
Assembler les galettes:
En supposant que l'on se sert de 4 cercles a tarte individuels a la fois.
Prechauffez le four a 350F/175C. Preparez une plaque de cuisson avec une feuille de papier sulfurise.
Quand la pate feuilletee est prete a etre utilisee, divisez la en deux, gardez une moitie au refrigerateur et etale l'autre moitie sur un plan de travail legerement farine. Servez vous de 4 cercles a tartelette de cm de diametre et decouper 8 cercles. Deposez un cercle dans chacun des cercles. Deposez une grosse cuilliere de frangipane. Ajoutez un cercle de pate et du bout des doigts fermer bien les bords. Laissez les tartes dans les cercle, et les placez delicatement sur votre plaque de cuisson. Repetez l'operation avec le reste de pate et de frangipane.
Faites cuires les tartes pendant 20 a 30 minutes jusqu'a ce que le dessus soit bien dorer.


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It has been a while since the last time I did a Jamaican jerk dish and I had been craving one for the last few days. Since I have been trying to keep things on the lighter side I figured that a jerked fish dish would be perfect. I kept things pretty and simple and I went with my favourite homemade jerk marinade recipe which I marinated the fish in for several hours ahead of time. I often like to serve jerk dishes with a fruity salsa and this time I went with a banana and pineapple salsa whose sweetness and juiciness would nicely balance the heat from the spicy jerk marinade. I served the fish over some jasmine rice that I cooked in coconut milk to keep the fruity theme going. Overall this is a really amazing light, quick and tasty dish that certainly satisfied my cravings for a Jamaican jerk dish!
Jerk Fish on Coconut Rice Topped with Banana and Pineapple Salsa
Baked white fish marinated in Jamaican jerk sauce served over coconut rice and topped with a banana an pineapple salsa.
- 1 pound white fish fillets (I used tilapia)
- 1 batch jerk marinade
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 1 cup coconut milk, unsweetened
- 1 cup water
- 1 batch banana and pineapple salsa
- Marinate the fish fillets for at least two hours in a ziplock bag in the fridge.
- Bring the rice, coconut milk and water to a boil, reduce the temperature to medium low, cover and let simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the fish and the marinade in a baking dish and bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until cooked, about 15-20 minutes.
- Serve the jerk fish on the coconut rice and top with the banana and pineapple salsa.
Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Jerked Pulled Pork Wraps with Mango and Banana Relish
Jerked Chicken with Mango and Avocado Salad
Jamaican Jerk Burgers with Pineapple and Banana Relish
Blackened Swordfish
Grilled Pineapple Salsa
Grilled Jerk Shrimp and Pineapple Skewers
Cilantro Lime Grilled Chicken with Strawberry Salsa
Teriyaki Grilled Pineapple Salsa with Candied Jalapenos and Bacon
Grilled Pineapple and Banana Sundays with Caramel Sauce and Cashews
Jerk Chicken and Pineapple Sandwiches with Coconut Slaw

subset: commoncrawl


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Researcher Irina Pugach and colleagues now analysed genetic variation from across the genome from aboriginal Australians, New Guineans, island Southeast Asians, and Indians. Their findings suggest substantial gene flow from India to Australia 4,230 years ago. i.e. during the Holocene and well before European contact. "Interestingly," says Pugach, "this date also coincides with many changes in the archaeological record of Australia, which include a sudden change in plant processing and stone tool technologies, with microliths appearing for the first time, and the first appearance of the dingo in the fossil record. Since we detect inflow of genes from India into Australia at around the same time, it is likely that these changes were related to this migration."
Their analyses also reveal a common origin for populations from Australia, New Guinea and the Mamanwa – a Negrito group from the Philippines – and they estimated that these groups split from each other about 36,000 years ago. Mark Stoneking says: "This finding supports the view that these populations represent the descendants of an early 'southern route' migration out of Africa, while other populations in the region arrived later by a separate dispersal." This also indicates that Australians and New Guineans diverged early in the history of Sahul, and not when the lands were separated by rising sea waters around 8,000 years ago.A relationship between Indian and Australasian populations has long been suspected on various grounds (e.g., HGDP Papuans often show membership in a "South Asian" ancestral component at low levels of resolution). It will be interesting to see the model proposed in the new paper about the admixture event leading to modern Australasians.
UPDATE: Ed Yong covers the story in Nature News:
Some aboriginal Australians can trace as much as 11% of their genomes to migrants who reached the island around 4,000 years ago from India, a study suggests. Along with their genes, the migrants brought different tool-making techniques and the ancestors of the dingo, researchers say1.From World News Australia:
The study suggests that in addition to an earlier northern route of migration out of Africa, into Asia, and then South East Asia about 60,000 to 70,000 years ago, the second wave occurred much later, arriving during the Holocene period about 4,230 years ago.
"About that point in the archaeological record, there were significant changes in the use of stone tools, in hunting techniques and significantly, the introduction of the dingo," Professor Cooper said.
There are other theories that may support the evidence of a more recent influx of migrants from India, including that they brought with them a disease of epidemic proportions that wiped out earlier Aboriginal populations.
UPDATE II: I added the abstract.
PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.1211927110
Genome-wide data substantiate Holocene gene flow from India to Australia
Irina Pugach et al.
The Australian continent holds some of the earliest archaeological evidence for the expansion of modern humans out of Africa, with initial occupation at least 40,000 y ago. It is commonly assumed that Australia remained largely isolated following initial colonization, but the genetic history of Australians has not been explored in detail to address this issue. Here, we analyze large-scale genotyping data from aboriginal Australians, New Guineans, island Southeast Asians and Indians. We find an ancient association between Australia, New Guinea, and the Mamanwa (a Negrito group from the Philippines), with divergence times for these groups estimated at 36,000 y ago, and supporting the view that these populations represent the descendants of an early "southern route" migration out of Africa, whereas other populations in the region arrived later by a separate dispersal. We also detect a signal indicative of substantial gene flow between the Indian populations and Australia well before European contact, contrary to the prevailing view that there was no contact between Australia and the rest of the world. We estimate this gene flow to have occurred during the Holocene, 4,230 y ago. This is also approximately when changes in tool technology, food processing, and the dingo appear in the Australian archaeological record, suggesting that these may be related to the migration from India.


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Merlin's weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.
Merlin's weekly podcast with Dan Benjamin. We talk about creativity, independence, and making things you love.
"What's 43 Folders?"
43Folders.com is Merlin Mann's website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.
David Allen on GTD's future (and why it just works, as is)
Merlin Mann | Nov 21 2006
43 Folders and The David Allen Company present the eighth in a series of conversations that David and Merlin recently had about Getting Things Done. Summary Grab the MP3, learn more at Odeo.com, or just listen here (after the cut). Merlin's commentsIf you bend David Allen's ear for more than 30 seconds about GTD, you'll hear some variation of a phrase that I heard a lot over the couple days we hung out in Ojai: "It's all in the book!" Say what you will about The David, but he is not a man who suffers from The George Lucas Complex. Much to the consternation of his publishers, his fans, and -- one suspects -- even some of his colleagues, David feels like he has already written the complete and definitive work on the Getting Things Done system. And he very clearly has no desire to futz with that basic system without a good reason; it's sound and complete, as is, and there you go. Next subject. And, I have to say, in a lot of ways, I've come to really admire this. For one thing, it was immediately clear to me that, although David heads up a smart and growing company that enjoys a ravenous fanbase, his interest in the strictly pecuniary aspects of his work sometimes seems hilariously modest. While he long ago could have flipped DavidCo into a Shake-and-Bake franchise of ghost-written paperbacks (an idea I apparently once thought was a pretty great idea myself), David and his staff usually have more interesting things in mind. And while I can't say that I think every idea is a guaranteed winner from my own perspective, I really respect the fact that DavidCo seems unwilling to sacrifice the quality of their product and their message for a fast buck. Not something you see every day. I'll admit that there's still a part of me that thinks both David, the fans, and the system itself could benefit greatly from more examples of and options for sane GTD implementation and maintenance (and how to narrow the options to what's best for my particular hang-up). Funny thing, though: in talking to David, it became clear to me that, on some level, that dearth of "official" material on implementation options was an undeniable factor in the early success of 43 Folders. So, in retrospect, I probably shouldn't complain too much. In many ways, though, David's right; it is all in the book, even if you aren't yet at a place to understand how it potentially fits together in your world. So, in this episode, I really like how he highlights the way repeated readings and exposures to GTD inevitably lead to "getting" some part of the system that used to seem corny, pointless, or hand-wavey (God knows that's been true for me). So, I guess I do see part of the challenge from David's point of view; how do you get somebody quickly ramped-up into a system that may not reveal its best stuff to you for two or more years? Definitely tricky business. But for those of you out there already doing GTD and feeling like you sometimes miss the "there," I think this particular ep provides some very sound insight into how these pieces down on "the runway" are inextricably and necessarily tied to "the higher altitudes." Last planned episode....but wait...Although this eighth episode of Productive Talk is our last in this series (yep, we're already talking about doing it again), I do encourage you to stop back by next week. In addition to offering my own thoughts on the series and what I learned from it (hint: a lot), I'll also be sharing the (very very highly requested) single file download of all 8 episodes. Yes, it will have iTunes chapters. No, it won't have bonus footage or director's commentary. But it will make it a bit easier to take Productive Talk with you and listen to the whole series at a sitting. Subscribe via iTunes to receive the last last episode as soon as it goes live. Listen to Episode #08 of Productive TalkGrab the MP3, learn more at Odeo.com, or just listen from here: POSTED IN:
Loving this audio series! By...Submitted by Regular Reader (not verified) on November 21, 2006 - 10:55am.
Loving this audio series! By the by, on an unrelated note... have you heard of this: http://www.stikkit.com/ ? I'm wondering at how it could be used for GTD implementation. It's just a beta at the moment, but it looks like something to watch. » POSTED IN:
EXPLORE 43Folders | THE GOOD STUFF |


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Garden synthetic grass golf putting greens in Ashby St Mary NR14 7 for gardens are becoming very popular especially to the keen golfer and installing a practice area in the backyard lawn is a great way to have the ability to practice all year round as the synthetic surfaces are all weather surfacing finishes.
We can install synthetic pitch and put greens for gardens in a vairiety of specifications and we are able to offer you information on the installation of this surfacing if required. Please fill in our contact form for more information regarding the golfing greens which we can install for your domestic household.
The cost of an artificial putting green can vary depending on a number of different factors. One of the biggest factors which can alter the price of your recreational golf course is the size of the area you wish to install. Obviously if you're looking to install a bigger golfing green the cost to install the course will be more expensive than if you were to install a smaller golfing course. You should be aware that the cost per meter of synthetic pitch and put green carpet will be cheaper if you've got a bigger area due to the economies of scale. Another factor which can alter the price of construction is the existing surface in your surrounding area. If you've already prepared the nearby surface ready for the installation, you will find the overall cost to be cheaper than if groundworks are necessary.
The installation of the recreational garden golf practice areas in Ashby St Mary take approximately 2-3 days to complete dependent obviously on sizes and specifications. You can find out more about this here http://artificialgrass-syntheticturf.co.uk/garden-grass/backyard-putting-greens/norfolk/ashby-st-mary/ about the putting greens available closest to you. We have an array of coloured synthetic grass options available closest to you but in general the most common is a standard green coloured artificial turf. Making certain a specialist contractor is employed to carry out these installations is vital because many local suppliers, fitters, installers within the UK need to be based on best value and not solely on price because cheaper materials may be used and many customers ask 'how much is a garden putting course' but the real answer to that is how much are you willing to spend because designs can be tailor fit to meet your budget with regards to sizes, dimensions and also product used.
The construction of garden artificial golfing greens near me is to remove the existing natural grass and provide a suitable sub base for the fake turf to be installed. The fake turf looks like real grass and is fully porous so providing the sub strata is well draining the golfing course should be suitable in all weather conditions. UV stabilised astroturf artificial grass should always be used because outdoor external carpets under sunlight needs to be able to cope with the coloured grass and this is where the suppliers and specialists contractors should advise you on the colours as certain bright astroturf colours can fade and this is where the generic light green and dark green coloured synthetic grass is advised. Be sure to contact us if you've got any questions about the costs to install synthetic putting greens or any other hybrid surfaces http://artificialgrass-syntheticturf.co.uk/natural/hybrid-reinforced-natural-grass/norfolk/ashby-st-mary/ and we'll get back to you with some advice.
Synthetic turf garden practice putting golf greens are designed to customers liking and can be any size or shape to meet the sizes, dimensions and measurements of lawn. The artificial astro turf putting greens are designed generally to have between 4-6 holes with flags within the surfacing area but this again is the choice of the client and some prefer the flooring to be perfectly flat greens where other like the undulation on the surfacing in helping them practice golfing in harder conditions. Previous garden putting course astro turf installations have all been different:
Plastic astro turf has evolved over the years and now is a luxurious soft underfoot grass that is not only ideal for golf playing characteristics but also pet friendly and an attractive view from the house window. Ca you get a 'hole in one in your own garden' or do you have the ability to 'control ball speeds in real match play'? Well what better way than to practice in your own backyard garden. As well as installation of synthetic surfaces we can also offer maintenance services for outdoor flooring in Ashby St Mary http://artificialgrass-syntheticturf.co.uk/all-weather/all-weather-pitch-maintenance/norfolk/ashby-st-mary/ to help you keep the area in top condition.
For further costs, prices and quotes for the installation and construction of these artificial putting greens please fill in the contact form and we will be able to assist with the specifications, sizes and costs to help you. We will get back to you as soon as possible with all the information you need to know about the installation of Garden Synthetic Grass Golf Putting Greens in Ashby St Mary NR14 7 for domestic gardens.


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In case you missed the previous installment, I'm setting out to knit myself a pair of late nineteenth-century gentlemen's bathing drawers whether you like it or not.
It's a bit of advance fun for this: a Nautical Knitting Caribbean cruise with Melissa Leapman. Melissa has caught the fever and is pelting me with illustrations and photographs of vintage knitted suits, though none quite so old as my intended.
We're having such a good time that we've decided to make this a challenge for all the cruisers. (If you're not yet on the passenger list, the link above will tell you how to become one.)
If you're one of the happy souls who will be sailing with us in December, knit or crochet yourself a piece of cruise wear. It can be any sort of cruise wear–not necessarily a bathing suit.
We're easy–it can be a cover-up for over your bathing suit, something to lounge in on deck, something to wear that's got a nautical theme to it. And we're going to award prizes.
Here in the workroom, I have been puzzling over what level of historical accuracy is called for with this piece. Chief among my concerns is the choice of fiber, which at the time would have been wool. Period. Until the arrival of springy, waterproof artificial fibers, most bathing costumes were made of wool–knitted or not.
It was the best choice–but that doesn't mean it worked perfectly.
Since I announced this project, I've been deluged with tragic tales of wool bathing suits. They sag. They itch. They fill up with sand. They refuse to dry out. They were replaced by synthetic suits quickly, completely, and for good reason.
In 2013, wool's not my only option. I could, for example, choose a yarn like Cascade Fixation that blends cotton and elastic. With elastic, I might create a suit that won't sag to my knees and expose my goodies the minute it hits the pool.
But it won't be a Victorian suit. It won't even be close.
The point of this, and there is one, is that I want to experience an original suit as nearly as possible, and that means wool. Furthermore: unlined wool. If I find the knitting of this suit is enjoyable, and decide to knit another, I'll see about trying something more modern next time.
With that question settled, I had to determine what weight of yarn to use. Nobody carries the "Baldwin and Walker's super fingering" the pattern specifies. Ain't it always the way? You pick out the pattern and find the yarn is discontinued.
I thought I'd write here about how I've determined what yarn to use, but with a caveat: mine is not a nice, tidy, organized brain. I seldom go from Point A to Point Z in a line of reasoning without detours and switchbacks. I thought about trying to make it seem otherwise, for pedagogical purposes, but I realized very quickly that worrying too much lately about making these entries polished and pretty is the number one reason you haven't heard from me.
So if you want more, and you seem too, I'm afraid you'll have to put up with the eccentric paths my projects always take.
I didn't know much about the yarn, but I did have a needle size: seven. Remember, of course, that we're talking about a British publication from before the turn of the twentieth century–so their seven is unlikely to be anything like a modern US seven.
However, I own three English needle gauges contemporary with the pattern. I checked out what a seven meant at the time–roughly, a modern 5 or 6. Roughly, because when an old size corresponds exactly to a modern size you may count yourself fortunate.
With a five or six, what sort of yarn would I need to produce a fabric that looks akin to what's shown in the engraving?
Also, with a five or six, what yarn would give me a garment of approximately the correct size?
We can only guess at the size the Weldon's suit came out, because the editors only tell us this:
For a medium, cast on 96 stitches.
That cast on is at the waist. How far around do those 96 stitches have to go? Halfway. I know this because I sat down and worked the pattern in my head, start to finish, scribbling an annotated schematic as I went. Here it is.
Not exactly complicated shaping, which I appreciate.
So for a men's medium, we need 192 stitches to wrap around the medium waist. We don't know how big the waist is, as there's no measurement given for that designation. Anywhere. Ever. Nor do they give us a desired gauge–they never do. The earliest mention of specific gauge I've ever run across was from the 1930s.
Let's say, for the sake of argument, that a medium waist was considered 32 inches. You have to start somewhere. That's a medium waist in modern men's clothing construction, though more often than not it'll be vanity sized as a 30 or even a 29 waist. (Men: If you haven't actually measured your waist lately and think the number on your Levi's tag is your true measure, you're in for a nasty shock.)
And yes, yes, yes, "people were smaller in those days." Smaller, yes. What they were not, in general, is miniature. The amount of growth from then to now is often greatly exaggerated. Judging from extant examples of men's fitted garments and tailor's drafts, a waist of 32 inches would not have been either very large or very small. It would have been sorta average. You know, medium.
192 stitches divided by 32 inches equals...six stitches per inch.
Six stitches per inch is a little large for a yarn designated as "fingering," but this yarn was called "fingering" more than a century ago. Definitions change. And as you know if you've been knitting longer than a week, even now they frequently mean nothing.
A quick check of my trusty 1882 Dictionary of Needlework reveals an entry about "fingering" that confirms this was a stocking-weight yarn. Okay, fine. We recall that our particular defunct yarn was actually called "super fingering." Super, at the time, was often a designation meaning "more" or "larger." It's not out of the question, in fact it seems likely, that Baldwin and Walker were producing a yarn that was kinda like fingering, but fatter. I would have called it Baldwin and Walker's Fat Fingering, but they didn't consult me.
Here's where things get confusing. I have been able to establish with reasonable certainty the size of the needle–at smallest, a size five. A modern heavy fingering knit with a size five, even in the hands of knitter so uptight that he bends steel needles like marzipan, is going to produce loose fabric.
Loose fabric is not what is shown in the engraving, loose fabric is not theoretically desirable unless one is a late-Victorian flasher (and one is not), loose fabric is certainly not advisable in a garment that we know is going to stretch like mad anyhow.
This is where I decided to stop thinking and start knitting. With a size six needle, what would I get if started knitting with, say, a light worsted-weight wool? As luck would have it, I had some in stash.
I got a loose fabric of five stitches to the inch. Too big for the medium-sized suit, and positively transparent with even a little stretching.
So I went down a needle size, to our other possibility, a size five. I got a noticeably firmer fabric, and a gauge of five-and-a-half stitches to the inch.
I am a loose knitter. When looking to achieve the suggested gauge for a pattern, I usually go down a needle size. So I did.
I got six stitches to the inch and a very, very firm fabric. Still supple enough to wear comfortably (comfort being relative, of course) but not droopy.
If I go by needle size, the yarn I need ought to be worsted or perhaps sport weight. Any lighter, and I'll have to significantly reduce the needle size or face the possibility of indecent exposure the minute I put the drawers on. I can only assume that the super fingering was fat enough to qualify, in our time, as a sport weight. Either that, or
- the Weldon's sample knitter had the tightest tension ever recorded;
- the pattern gives an incorrect needle size;
- or all three of my needle gauges, one of which is identical to the model printed in an earlier issue of Weldon's, are incredibly wrong.
And Finally (For Now)
Some of you were rather insistent that these could not have been meant as drawers for swimming. They're too revealing, you said. They must have been made to wear under a swimsuit or to wear while you were being bathed (as in, given a bath) by a servant, for reasons of modesty. No Victorian would ever have worn these alone to swim, it was suggested, because they didn't cover the swimmer from neck to knee.
Well, no. These were meant for swimming. I was planning to post this link to the Brighton Swim Club by way of illustration,* and was amused to see that commenter "Backyard Notes" beat me to it. We have some peculiar, popular misconceptions about "the Victorians" these days, often quickly dispelled by a look at the historic record.
These may not have been intended for mixed sea or pool bathing (you don't see any women in the Brighton group photo), but they certainly weren't for the bathroom.
Weldon's was a magazine for the middle class, not for the upper crust. It may seem in our servantless era that having a live-in maid must have made you superfancy; but it didn't. It made you solidly middle class. To retain a valet or gentleman's gentleman, you'd have needed a level of income above that. Your wife and daughters might have knit, but they probably didn't look to Weldon's for practical knitting patterns.
Only an odd and anomalous nineteenth-century man who would have put on knitted drawers so his valet could wash him.
That level of attendance would, in the first place, have been unusual. A servant (most likely not the valet, but a scullery maid or housemaid with access to the boiling water) might have filled the bath, if the house were not equipped with running water or fitted bathtubs. He might have attended the bath, in the sense of being ready, nearby, with a towel and dressing gown.
The valet might well have shaved the gentleman. Not uncommon.
But, if everything I've read is true, the valet would not have flung around the soap and cloth unless his employer were very young, very elderly, or very infirm.
Moreover, by definition a personal servant saw you at your worst and at your most naked/vulnerable. They laid out your clothes. They got you into and out of them. They packed and unpacked your cases, handled your jewels and watches, and in some instances assisted in your extra-marital (or pre-marital) philandering. You would not knit and wear special underwear to keep your valet from seeing your winkie unless you were a decidedly odd fellow indeed.
And listen, I know from odd. I'm knitting a damned pair of bathing drawers.
*Note to self: Must buy top hat.


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Friday, August 27, 2010
Buttermilk Buns, Barbecue Sauce and the Remains of the Day
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Try though I might, I can't ignore the siren's song that screams, "Eat me!", each time the refrigerator door is opened. My leftovers are demanding attention. Given the number of meals that have been made lately, the status of the remains is really not too bad. The problem is that I'm not fond of leftovers and dislike repetition in my meals. Like it or not, those remains must be dealt with or tossed and I don't toss food. I had a goodly sized piece of roast pork that was sliced and warmed in a thick, but quick barbecue sauce. I made this everyday sauce from a few simple ingredients and served some of the warmed pork on homemade sandwich buns. The unused portion of the sauced pork and sandwich buns have been frozen to use for lunch on other days. Neither the sauce nor the buns are fancy and aren't meant for those seeking designer fare, but if you're looking for a fast and easy way to deal with leftover pork or beef, stay right where you are. This quick homemade barbecue sauce is my way of waging war on the condiments that clutter my refrigerator shelves. Bottles of sauce and salad dressings tend to gang up on me - much as cereal boxes do in the pantry - and to prevent that from happening I prefer to make as many of my own condiments and dressings as I can. While it sounds very dramatic, I also make my own sandwich buns. This is not a big deal. I can't find decent ones, so I prefer to make and freeze my own. I usually make three dozen at a time and that one-time effort holds us for several months. The recipe is super-simple but produces delicious rolls that you can shape as you please. Today's feature is a twofer that I think you'll enjoy. Here are the recipes for buttermilk buns and barbecue sauce.
Buttermilk Sandwich Buns...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite
1 cup warm water
2-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large egg
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup buttermilk powder
1 teaspoon salt
1) Combine water, yeast and sugar in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Whisk in canola oil and egg. Add flour, buttermilk powder and salt. Mix on low-speed until dough forms a ball and pulls away from side of bowl, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place until doubles in size, about 1 hour.
2) Grease one or two large baking sheets. Turn dough onto a floured surface. Divide dough into 8 portions. Slap or roll each piece into desired shape and place on prepared pan leaving enough space between them to allow them to rise. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to double in size, about 30 to 40 minutes.
3) While dough rises preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake rolls until golden, about 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack for cooling. Yield: 8 sandwich buns.
Everyday Barbecue Sauce...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite
1 cup ketchup
1 cup water
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1) Combine ketchup, water, vinegar,Worcestershire sauce, sugar, paprika, chili powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, salt and minced garlic in a saucepan.
2) Place saucepan over medium heat and bring contents of pan to a simmer. Cook until sauce thickens and is reduced by 1/4 in volume, about 5 minutes. Use immediately or allow to cool and refrigerate. Yield: 2 cups.
You might also enjoy these recipes:
Ellen's Famous Hamburger Buns - Home Cookin' from Ellen's Kitchen
Honey-Oatmeal Dinner Rolls - Salad in a Jar
Buttermilk Dinner Rolls - Michael Ruhlman
Honey Yeast Rolls - Plain Chicken
Kaiser Rolls - One Perfect Bite
Torpedo Rolls - One Perfect Bite
41 comments :
- pam said...
Great post! Homemade barbeque sauce and homemade buns simply do not even begin to compare to storebought!
- August 27, 2010 at 12:23 PM
- From the Kitchen said...
I'm very happy to have the bun recipe. We like the small hamburgers (sometimes with different toppings) that restaurants now serve but cannot find the small buns. How nice to be able to make buns any size. And, to be honest, I've gotten away from bread making having so many delicious choices here. It's a relaxing time in the kitchen. The barbecue sauce sounds delicious as well. Thanks!
Bonnie - August 27, 2010 at 12:53 PM
- Ginny Hartzler said...
Oh, this all looks so good, the bums look absolutly perfect. I have just printed out the barbeque sauce and am going to make it, but I have a question. If I keep it in a covered jar or bowl in the fridge, how long will it keep?
- August 27, 2010 at 1:08 PM
- Rita said...
I love reading you; always so interesting. Those buns as well as that BBQ sauce spell:
UmmmGood - August 27, 2010 at 1:13 PM
- We Are Not Martha said...
Wow, I really really want to try making my own homemade buns now! And I love homemade BBQ sauce. YUM!
Happy Friday :)
Sues - August 27, 2010 at 1:19 PM
- Jeannie said...
Your buns look so lovely and so does the sauce... I love the last photo the most:D have a lovely weekend.
- August 27, 2010 at 1:31 PM
- Kim @ Two Good Cookies said...
I've been looking for a great sandwich bun recipe. I can't wait to try these.
- August 27, 2010 at 1:50 PM
- Mary | Deep South Dish said...
Wonderful meal in my book - I've been craving some barbecue too, lucky you. I had some leftover chicken intended for another recipe and then The Cajun ate it!! For a "snack!" Why does he never eat the leftovers that are just, well... leftovers not intended for anything else?
- August 27, 2010 at 1:52 PM
- Joanne said...
why how did you know that I have a container of buttermilk sitting in my fridge! How thoughtful of you to post these rolls :P Great makeover for the leftovers!
- August 27, 2010 at 1:57 PM
- Susi's Kochen und Backen said...
I'm so making the sandwich buns this weekend. Thanks so much for sharing. I have a hard time finding decent buns at the store and are always looking for a great recipe :o)
- August 27, 2010 at 2:00 PM
- Unknown said...
I also hear the content of my fridge and pantry constantly calling 'eat me'... and it's hard to resist the temptation.
the bun looks perfect and I like the use of the leftover pork.
Have a great day. Michael - August 27, 2010 at 2:58 PM
- GLENDA CHILDERS said...
Isn't it fun how different we all are. I so love leftovers.
Thanks for the great practical recipes today.
Have your recovered, Mary, from all your company?
Glenda - August 27, 2010 at 3:20 PM
- Valérie said...
Un burger maison qui me plait complètement un véritable régal
Je te souhaite une belle soirée
Valérie - August 27, 2010 at 3:21 PM
- Allie and Pattie said...
Mary, I couldn't help but crack up. Just this morning my husband was insisting that my mother's stash of dressings and condiments attacked him when he opened the fridge. Some people collect teacups- she collects salad dressing!
We love to serve barbecue on buns- a lovely Southern tradition that we've happily taken to since living here
xoxo Pattie - August 27, 2010 at 3:46 PM
- Mary Bergfeld said...
Valarie, I tried to respond at your website. I'm not sure I was successful. I want to welcome you here and hope you'll visit with us often. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary
- August 27, 2010 at 4:05 PM
- Hayley said...
well I always try to finish off my leftovers...so these sort of recipes handy..buns looks so tempting..looks so perfect !
- August 27, 2010 at 4:28 PM
- Kelly said...
I love making homemade BBQ sauce, so much easier to layer in flavor and no worrying that you're going to get all the HFCS of the store bought varieties. Yum!
- August 27, 2010 at 4:30 PM
- The Red Umbrella said...
These look great! Oh, those buns!
- August 27, 2010 at 4:54 PM
- Cooking Gallery said...
Beautiful looking buns and the BBQ sauce looks delicious!
- August 27, 2010 at 5:34 PM
- Unknown said...
The frist snap is awesome..loved the recipe....happy weekend...
- August 27, 2010 at 5:51 PM
- Unknown said...
I'm not much for leftovers either. I have finally learned how to cook for just two without a lot, if any left over food. When you have company that's harder to do though. You did wonderful on using it up.... I love homemade barbecue sauces, plus they are so simple!! Your remains look delicious!
- August 27, 2010 at 6:17 PM
- The Words Crafter said...
My mom made her own barbecue sauce and it was wonderful. She would have loved trying this one out....
- August 27, 2010 at 6:27 PM
- CaSaundraLeigh said...
Ooo those buns look absolutely perfect--I bet they smell amazing as well!
- August 27, 2010 at 7:32 PM
Love your buns! I happen to have buttermilk, so do I omit the water & buttermilk powder & use 1 cup of buttermilk? Can't wait to try these!
Martha in KS - August 27, 2010 at 7:37 PM
- Mary Bergfeld said...
Martha, you should be able to do that. Warm the milk in the microwave and let cool until tepid. Let me know if this works. I've never tried it the way you suggested. Hugs and stuff... Mary
- August 27, 2010 at 8:01 PM
- Jane said...
Wow, that sandwich bun recipe sure looks like a keeper! I've been thinking for months that I should do what you do--make a bunch of buns and freeze them--but I was kind of waiting for the right recipe to come along. I think I've just found it! The barbecue sauce looks delicious as well. Your blog is wonderful, usual!
- August 27, 2010 at 8:22 PM
- Kath said...
You've done it again, Mary! What beautiful buns, and the BBQ sauce sounds great. Cooking for 2 means I'm often dealing with leftovers. Will definitely keep this in mind.
I just love your blog! - August 27, 2010 at 9:25 PM
- Lana said...
Mary, another recipe that looks like a winner. I have tried several recipes for sandwich rolls, and they all came out hard and too dense. I am not a novice bread-maker, but these seem to elude me! I am excited to try your recipe.
I have the same philosophy regarding leftovers - they have to be recycled, use in a different way, otherwise it is too dull and repetitious.
I make my own mayo and BBQ sauce. So easy and so much tastier than store-bought.
Greetings from oh-so-hot Southern California. - August 27, 2010 at 9:55 PM
- Pondside said...
I cooked an enormous Costco-sized pork loin yesterday and no one wanted leftovers today. Guess what they'll have tomorrow, our last night here....and I know it will be a hit.
- August 27, 2010 at 9:58 PM
- scrambledhenfruit said...
Pork was on sale this week and I got a roast. I was going to make barbecue with it anyway, so this is perfect timing! Thanks!
- August 27, 2010 at 10:03 PM
- Keeley said...
I love pulled pork sandwiches, particularly with the vinegar-based Carolina-style sauce. I've never considered making my own buns. I tend to just buy potato rolls at the store. I'll file this away for a possible future project.
- August 27, 2010 at 10:13 PM
- Monet said...
Could this look any better? Thick buns with juicy barbecue. I'm drooling. I wish you could come and cook for me and Ryan...we would love it! Thank you for sharing. I love your commitment to homemade food...your family is blessed, for many reasons!
- August 27, 2010 at 10:46 PM
- cocoa and coconut said...
buttermilk is the best ingredient! the buns looks great
- August 28, 2010 at 4:13 AM
- tata | bonitafood said...
It simply makes me drool :D~~~~
- August 28, 2010 at 4:24 AM
- Chele said...
Those buttermilk buns look amazing. I'll be keeping this recipe in mind for sure.
- August 28, 2010 at 8:42 AM
- My Little Space said...
Oh The buns look perfect! It's a plus with the homemade BBQ sauce and burger. Yummm... Truly mouthwatering! Thanks & enjoy your day.
Cheers, kristy - August 28, 2010 at 9:09 AM
- Melinda said...
Ooooooo yummy!
Melinda - August 28, 2010 at 11:45 PM
- Thas said...
You have a lovely website with delicious recipes and stunning pics. Love those buttermilk buns they look much better than the store bought ones, of course they would be as they are homemade. Looking forward to sharing recipes.
Thas - August 29, 2010 at 1:53 AM
- Natalie said...
homemade buns are one thing i have yet to try---this looks like a great recipe!
- August 29, 2010 at 10:10 AM
- Hanaâ said...
I can just tell from your wonderful pictures that those buns are super soft. Wow! Gotta try that.
- September 1, 2010 at 8:05 PM
- Mother said...
Questo tuo BBQ fatto in casa é fantastico.
Ciao, Mother. - August 27, 2012 at 4:36 PM


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In same district, Muslim land-grabbers murder defender of tribal villagers.
12/26/08 DHAKA, Bangladesh (Compass Direct News) – Buddhist villagers in southeastern Bangladesh's Rangamati district last week beat a young father and drove him from his house for converting to Christianity.
The Buddhists in Asambosti, in the Tabalchari area some 300 kilometers (186 miles) southeast of Dhaka, warned Sujan Chakma, 27, not to return to his home after beating him on Dec. 18. Chakma, who converted to Christianity about four months ago, has come back to his home but some nights the likelihood of attacks forces him to remain outside.
He is often unable to provide for his 26-year-old wife, Shefali Chakma, and their 6-year-old son, as area residents opposed to his faith refuse to give him work as a day laborer. Chakma, his wife and son do not eat on days he does not work, he said.
"I am ostracized by my neighbors since I became Christian," Chakma said. "They put pressure on me to give up my faith, saying otherwise I cannot live in this society. Nothing daunted me, I held firm to my faith in Jesus. On Dec. 18, four of my neighbors came to my home and beat me. They slapped and punched on me. Later they forced me to leave my house. They threatened me that if I come back to my home, I will be in great trouble."
Neighbors have threatened to beat him again and to send him to jail, he said, and they have pressured him to divorce to his wife.
"At first she did not like my conversion, but she liked my change after accepting Jesus," he said. "My wife told openly to those neighbors, 'My husband is a Christian, so I will be a Christian along with my son.'"
A spokesman for Chakma's church, Parbatta Adivasi Christian Church, said church leaders met with some of the new convert's neighbors and urged them to accept him.
"We told them that our constitution supports that anyone can accept any religion," the church spokesman said. "Hindering their practice is unlawful."
Church leaders said they fear that taking the case to local officials and police would only further anger local Buddhists and harm evangelical activities.
"We do not want to enrage anyone over this incident," said the spokesman. "But Chakma does not feel secure to stay here. He does not spend the night in his house for security reasons."
Rights Advocate Murdered
Earlier this year in Rangamati district, Bengali Muslim settlers killed a tribal Christian for defending indigenous peoples from illegal land-grabs.
On Aug. 19 Ladu Moni Chakma, 55, was stabbed repeatedly and his throat was cut at Sajek in Baghaichuri sub-district in Rangamati district after he reported to the Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission how a military commander helped settle Bengali Muslims on area lands.
A pastor of the Bangladesh Baptist Church in the district told Compass that Chakma was killed because he was a Christian who was an outspoken defender of minorities in the area.
"They do not want any Christian to live here," the pastor said. "They hate Christians more than any other minority religions – it is one of the main reasons to evict and kill Ladu Moni. If people become Christian, many NGOs [Non-Governmental Organizations] will be set up here, and various local and international missionaries will look after them, so that Bengali settlers cannot grab lands illegally."
Chakma often interceded with the Chittagong Hill Tract Commission on behalf of the indigenous people about their rights and the cruel manner in which Bengali settlers illegally took lands from indigenous people, the pastor added.
Chakma's widow, Cikonpudi Chakma, also known as Minti Chakma, told reporters in Dhaka on Aug. 28 how the Bengali settlers attacked her family around 10:30 p.m. in Aug. 19.
"Some people were shouting, 'Open the door! Open the door!'" she said. "Without realizing anything what was going on, three Bengali people broke in our shanty hut."
She saw knives in their hand and recognized a local man named Mohammed Ali, who earlier in the year had helped settlers seize lands from villagers.
The attackers blindfolded her and dragged her husband out of their home into the rain. They also tried to take her 13-year old daughter, Minu, she said.
"I resisted them taking out my daughter, and I was injured during the tussle with them," she said. "They hit my forehead with a knife."
She and her children fled through a backdoor and escaped certain rape and death by jumping down a ravine and rolling to the bottom. Drenched, they took shelter at a nearby home.
"I could not contact my husband that night," she said. "The next morning, we were returning [to] our home. On the way near Baghaihat, we saw a blood-stained, stock-still body. It was my husband. His body was mutilated and stabbed with sharp knife and machete."
Police sub-inspector Azizur Rahman Aziz of Baghaichari police station told Compass that his department had arrested three persons in connection with the killing of Chakma.
"We are investigating the case, and after the national election [to be] held on Jan. 29, we will submit the charge sheet," he said.
Chakma's widow urged the army-backed interim caretaker government to withdraw settlers from Sajek in Baghaichari and punish the murderers of her husband.
House Burnings
In April, mainly Muslim Bengali settlers aided by the army and a local businessman burned 77 homes in four villages of the tribal people in Sajek, Cikonpudi Chakma told reporters in August.
"In that arson attack, all of our wealth and assets were destroyed," she said. "Just a week after, we again built a new house. At that time, Mohammad Ali tried to stop us making a new house and demanded that our land was his. The problem started when the Baghaihat zone army commander brought settlers from different areas and took initiative to settle them on our lands."
Survival International director Stephen Corry said in a statement that the attacks were a "criminal human rights violation." According to the Survival International, abuses have escalated since the army-backed emergency government came to power in January 2007.
In the Baghaichari area, at least 13 Christian families lived among 77 tribal Buddhist families until the Christians' homes were burned down in April.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts region comprises three districts: Bandarban, Khagrachuri and Rangamati. The region is surrounded by the Indian states of Tripura on the north and Mizoram on the east, Myanmar on the south and east.


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Hall Calendar
This month we are hosting the following events at the Westmeath Recreation Centre's Community Hall. Please come join us. Click on a date that is BOLD and you will see full event details.
Click here for full Community Hall information including How to Make a Booking.
Review the Rental Rates Brochure and the Banquet Hall Rental Agreement and Contact Us to finalize your booking.


text:
It's been really cold across much of the nation this week, and the winter weather's expected to continue through the weekend across much of the Midwest and East.
But right now, we just want to pass along this video from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which shows how the cold air spread from last Saturday (Jan. 19) through Thursday. See if you agree with Discovery.com that it's mesmerizing.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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The Roof on Wilshire: New Year's Day Brunch Is Never a Good Deal
One of my pet peeves is when I sit down at a bar for the first time and the bartender asks what they can get for me without giving me the menu. "Uh, the menu, please" is typically my response. This one takes it a bit further. As he handed me the menu, he says that they have specialty cocktails but they can make me whatever I wanted, like Jack n Coke ... Right. Either he thinks I'm a Jack kind of girl or that's all he knows how to make, but either way it did not seem promising.
I had chosen The Roof on Wilshire for New Year's Day brunch partly because I remembered reading good things about their hot cocktail menu. Granted, Caroline's review was from winter the year before, but I was hoping maybe they'd kept at least some of them - or the quality - for a year. I didn't see any hot drinks listed, though, so I asked the bartender. Apparently the page with the hot drinks list was missing from the menu I had, so he said he'd get me one. Ten minutes later he asked what I wanted to order. "Um, the hot drinks list?"
"Oh, yeah!"
This happened two more times. Luckily I had plenty of time waiting for my party of ten friends who are always late.
Finally my table is ready and my friends arrived. The New Year's brunch deal here was a "3-course" meal for around $25 if I remember correctly.
The first course listed some bread and pastry selection, but as I tried placing an order for a croissant, they said they're just bringing a "bread basket" to the table. The "basket" turned out to be this plate. Not bad, but ... the same plate that they brought for the 10 of us they brought to tables of 4. There's also only one croissant and one bacon cheddar biscuit. Which meant I didn't get any. I asked them for more croissant about half a dozen times, which were always answered with "I'll bring them right out" but never appeared.
Thankfully, the main course was good. I got the Chef Eric Greenspan's famous pancake lasagna and it did not disappoint. It's interesting and very satisfying. Stacks of pancakes with egg, cheese, bacon and sausage in between, with maple syrup, of course.
The other entrees like the blueberry waffles and eggs were also good.
The Roof on Wilshire
6317 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90035
(323) 852-6002


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The campaign for GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney and the Republican Party together raised $40.1 million in April, just shy of the $43.6 million that President Obama and the Democratic Party took in.
This is the first monthly report since Romney effectively wrapped up the Republican presidential nomination. And because money is one way to keep score during a presidential campaign, the news is getting a great deal of attention from the political media this morning.
Politico points out that "it's a strong showing for Romney and his allies as they move into the general election. The clearer test of the Obama-Romney fundraising match-up will come with the May money reports, since that'll be the first time both candidates will be raising campaign and victory money for the entire month."
TheLos Angeles Times says the April figures signal that Romney is beginning to "chip away" at Obama's fundraising advantage.
According to ABC News' The Note, Romney's haul "should give the Obama campaign and the Democrats something to sweat about."
The Hill adds that, "Romney and the RNC have a fundraising total of $800 million combined, according to a campaign memo obtained by the press." And it writes that "the president's team expects to have a strong May, in part thanks to Obama's endorsement of same-sex marriage. Obama raised $15 million last week at a Los Angeles fundraiser hosted by actor George Clooney."
For more coverage of the 2012 presidential campaign, check It's All Politics.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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text:
For the second straight year, one of the NBA's greatest players is leaving the playoff party early. Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers are out. Last night, they lost their second round series against the young and explosive Oklahoma City Thunder, four games to one. The Thunder's big three - Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden - combined for 70 points in Oklahoma City's 106-90 win. NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman joins us now on the line.
Good morning.
TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE: Hi.
MONTAGNE: So the Lakers, of course, are a storied franchise, but I take it this loss to the Thunder wasn't actually a surprise?
GOLDMAN: Not at all. No. The Thunder are so good. They're seven and one in this postseason, and even Kobe Bryant acknowledged after the Lakers one victory in the series, how scary Oklahoma City is on offense, how the Thunder can reel off seven or eight points in 45 seconds or a minute, you know. And that's what happens when you have so much talent and a staring lineup that averages 24 and a half years old.
But, Renee, this also wasn't a surprise because the Lakers, who were repeat NBA champions as recently as two seasons ago, they've been a discombobulated bunch. Their offense breaks down at critical times. The two big men - Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum - can be great but have played inconsistently.
The Lakers had wanted to get faster this season, but really didn't. And Oklahoma City pretty much blew by them.
MONTAGNE: Well, what does that mean? Are big changes coming to the Lakers?
GOLDMAN: There's a lot of talk about that. Bryant can still let it rip on offense. He had 42 last night, but he's on the downslide of his career. He'll be 34 next season. The big question is what to do with Gasol and Bynum. The Lakers have to get younger and faster and those two are the trade bait that can bring in the desired players.
You would assume, also, that Kobe Bryant, who measures his success in championship rings, will be pushing for change as well.
MONTAGNE: And the Thunder advance to the Western Conference finals for the second straight year now. This time against one of the NBA's most experienced and successful teams for more than a decade, and that's the San Antonio Spurs. So what's the talk about that match up?
GOLDMAN: Oh, basketball fans are salivating. The Thunder and the Spurs are the best in the NBA right now. Analysts are running out of superlatives to describe the basketball that the Spurs are playing. They've won 18 straight games, including eight in the playoffs. They have this beautiful offensive system filled with movement and cutting to the basket and passing.
And you have to give credit to San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich as well. During the regular season he rested two of his best players - 36-year-old Tim Duncan and 34-year-old Manu Ginobili. So they're running around like kids right now.
And he lit a fire under point guard Tony Parker, who's having his best season. Parker played great for his native France in last summer's EuroBasket tournament. And Popovich challenged Parker to play that way for the Spurs. And he has done that with a vengeance.
MONTAGNE: And, Tom, let's turn just briefly to the Eastern Conference, and a very big game tonight between the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers. Now, their series is tied at two games apiece. Are you surprised that it's so close?
GOLDMAN: Well, let's just say for those who thought that crowning the Heat champions was a formality after their near miss last season, yeah, it's a surprise to them. But, you know, without big man Chris Bosh, who's been lost to injury, Miami is struggling against a talented and confident Indiana team.
It took 70 points between LeBron James and Dwayne Wade to win and tie the series two days ago. They're going to need to do something similar in order to win two of the remaining three games. And that's a tall order, even as great as they are.
MONTAGNE: NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman, thanks very much.
GOLDMAN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
George Zimmerman trial and aftermath
The pistol former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman used in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin is going up for auction online.
In an interview with Orlando, Florida, TV station WOFL, Zimmerman said he had just gotten the pistol back from the U.S. Justice Department, which took it after he was acquitted in Martin's 2012 shooting death.
"And I thought it's time to move past the firearm," Zimmerman told the station. "And if I sell it and it sells, I move past it. Otherwise, it's going in a safe for my grandkids and never to be used or seen again."
The auction listing on GunBroker.com lists the gun as a 9 mm Kel-Tec PF-9 pistol. The auction begins Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 11 a.m. EDT and the bidding starts at $5,000.
Zimmerman has said he was defending himself when he shot and killed Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old. The shooting sparked protests and a national debate about race relations. (AP)
Find more news-related pictures in our photo galleries and follow us on Tumblr.


text:
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
By request – Debunking Acceptable Blackness through the second coming of the Rev. Wright drama…
Fuck a duck, where's a large bar of chocolate when you need one?
Anyhoo, a certain Peterr sent this bitch an e-mail asking for my take on the second coming of the Rev. Wright drama and was specifically interested in whether this has anything to do with Acceptable Blackness.
Well Peterr, this bitch thinks it does.
Shall we?
A bitch has blogged about Acceptable Blackness before and how the concept pisses me the fuck off. Basically, acceptable blackness is the grown up version of the bullshit some white students used to toss at this bitch when we were in Junior High and they were feeling threatened by the black students being bused in from the city.
"Why can't they be black like you, Shark-Fu? They sound so mad and I don't understand them and they dress weird and blah blah followed by blah."
I realized rather quickly that my fellow students mistook my "proper" speech and my adoration of preppified pastel fashion (shit, it was a phase…mercy) as some other kind of less threatening and more acceptable blackness.
But they were wrong.
A bitch was just as angry…just as tired of their materialistic greed based vacant judgment of others…just as black and therefore just as unacceptable as my bused in brothers and sisters.
Acceptable blackness is defined as the absence of overt culture and of difference. It is a level of conformity that requires absolute perfection. One break…one mistake…and the illusion is shattered, once broken never to be repaired again.
And the perfection isn't limited to not indulging in public displays of blackness. Oh no, acceptably black requires perfection in your appearance, manners, speech, family, friends and associates.
I'm not talking about not having unacceptable black friends. I'm talking about not having unacceptable friends…or family…or associates…or pets...or hair...or neighborhood...or car...or musical tastes.
Achieve that perfection and your black ass is acceptable…to a bunch of trigger happy assholes that soothe their privileged guilt by letting you tag along, all the while prepared to lay down harsh and rigid judgment should your perfect mask crack.
That brings me to the second coming of the Rev. Wright drama…
..and the over the top and artificially disturbed reaction some people are having to the Revs self.
Is this a political story?
Is it really?
Do people honestly believe that Senator Obama believes/supports/embraces everything that comes out of Rev. Wright's mouth?
Or is this about that faux perfect acceptably black mask that Senator Obama never put on himself being removed through unfortunate circumstance to display a real person…with real and totally normal Pastor drama…who fumble a bit in dealing with it because it was real and personal and he is human and so, duh, flawed…and what that lack of absolute perfection does to some people's ability to maintain…oh Gawd, there's that word again…tolerance?
Can I get an amen?
Lawd, have mercy now...
46 comments:
- Jonzee said...
I hope to be more like you when I grow up.
'Cause this shit added to the debate I had about value of an HBCU education, had this other bitch hot as hell yesterday. Every time I tried to be my "fact-using to break your argument apart" self, I became an angry ranting person who needed a drink and a cigaretter (and I don't even smoke)
Here are two looks at this Wright mess. Quite thoughtful and balanced compared to the haranguing going on amongst the "appalled and dismayed" screamers. I thought I would share with you. One is from Melissa Harris-Lacewell and the other one from Tyrone on the Southside - 3:49 PM
- Aby said...
Thank you! I've been lurking a long time and just had to say THANK YOU for laying this shit out in no uncertain terms.
As a white insider, I totally agree, ABB. Most of my people are absolutely vigilant about slip-ups from the blacks they've allowed to be around them. "Acceptable blackness" is the perfect concept to express this, and it's really a wonder to me how the black professionals I know hold up under the stress.
Also, of course, new black professionals, those seeking a job in almost-all-white workplaces, get scrutinized with this big ol' microscope that suddenly appears (I think its kept in the janitor's closet). When a seriously possible black job applicant comes in, all the white professionals suddenly get really concerned in a dozen new ways about whether this person is really right for the job.
"Professionals." Huh. - 5:42 PM
- Unknown said...
Amen to your blessedly unacceptably black self, Shark-fu!
Ah, tolerance . . .
A wise friend of mine once called it a dirty word, because it implies that the "I" of "I tolerate you" is putting him/herself in the place of God, granting the "you" the right to exist, despite the "you's" obvious failings. - 6:53 PM
- Go Go Jo Jo said...
I lurk here sometimes. And I just want to say thank you for this post. I'm going to go look up the other posts you have on acceptable blackness.
This speaks to my entire experience in college. And the more I rip away that outer layer of acceptability the more *cough* interesting my relationships become with my "white allies."
But it makes me happier so I'm just gonna keep it moving. - 8:03 PM
Thank you for writing this. From an extremely liberal opinionated white woman(another tolerated concept) who agreed with many of the Rev.'s comments, I thought this mess was ridiculous and proves that this country is not nearly where we think we are. I respect him for speaking what many people are even afraid to think.
On "acceptable blackness" - I know tons of people who treat their "tolerated" black friends that way. One passionate or angry word out their mouths, and they're suddenly "ghetto" or "bitter." My own personal favorite on being a white feminist - I'm a "bitch" or "on the rag."
And Peterr - I do agree about the word "tolerance." I think it needs to be replaced fully with the word "acceptance" - although that word has some issues as well.
Maybe "embrace" or something to that effect would be better. - 8:48 PM
- MC said...
I just have to say that "blah blah followed by blah" + a pastel shirt = awesome.
Peep the ABB store for Acceptably Black gear! Yours for only pennies a day. A keepsake you'll treasure for years to come. Just click the ABB Bear Banner and get your shop on.
- C-Money, Boutique Manager
p.s. Special requests for artwork/merch combos will be granted. If you don't see the art you want on the gear you want, just send an e-mail to ABB and I'll get it done!
p.p.s. ABB Acceptably Black gear is the perfect gift!!! Don't wait. Act now! - 12:01 AM
- Rodentia said...
I haven't bothered with the details of the latest nonsense, but from what I've heard summarizing what Wright and Obama have said, it seems to me like, duh: I agree with them both. It just goes to show that different people can have different ideas about how to talk about race (or other "difficult" subjects in public).
Anyhoo. It's annoying me that the Obama supporters are saying shit like Wright's being self-serving (oh noes) or politically unwise (whatever). The man's criticized in public, he has an opportunity to defend himself--and lay out his view of the world to a large audience--he takes it. So?
Obama disagrees with some of the stuff his pastor says: you don't say. He feels compelled (by people making it An Issue) to distance himself explicity from the things he doesn't agree with, whatever, jeez, can we please move the fuck on now?
Sorry. It bugs me. Thanks for letting me rant. - 1:22 AM
- M Groesbeck said...
I still catch myself pulling the "acceptable" garbage. The Obama/Wright/(every "no, really, I'm not racist" white commentator in the country) bit is just painfully obvious on this, though...embarrassingly blatant.
Righter words have never been spoken to my ears. I've avoided adding you to my blogroll, because, well, I'm a respectable Evangelical Christian woman for goodness' sake! And my peeps like their opinions tenderized and prepared by professionals, definitely not raw. But what's the point of me writing you a comment and saying I'm liking your blog a lot, if I don't take to heart what you've written? Later for being an acceptable Black Evangelical. I'm going with being real. Consider yourself blogrolled.
- E. Bunny said...
Amen! Amen!
How does grown up me deal with the whole "why can't 'the others' be like you" question/unmitgated gall?
I smile like Professor Umbridge (Harry Potter) and tell them "don't let my Huxtabilian facade fool you."
(Aw man, this bunny just wanted to lurk.) - 5:50 AM
Shark-Fu; While I agree with your comments, what of the argument that some of your peers are pandering that Obama is not playing nice with his fellow black brothers and sisters. Since Obama has been critical Sharpton's actions in NYC this week, some have said that the black power brokers are saying that they are becoming agitated by Obama's views. These same black leaders are afraid that if people buy into this that they will loose a certain amount of power. If Obama looses they will have years and years of sunday morning sermons how the white constintuency keeps the brothers and sisters down, thus gaining more popularity and becoming even wealthier by everyone's weekly donations.
Consipiracy theory?? Maybe, but also a real possibility with White and Black American's constant hunger for greed and fear of loosing that endless spicket of intolerance. - 8:49 AM
- Shark-Fu said...
a.anjeanette - Oh my and thank you! I suspect you are not the only Evangelical visiting here (wink). Welcome!
Power corrupts and I didn't need the Obama candidacy to know that there are several so-called black leaders who resent the hell out of anyone who dares to actually stand up and lead.
But Senator Obama's run is a challenge not to those so-called leaders but to black people who will need to decide between the show (which has gotten us no where fast and has been tired as hell for over a decade) and a candidate for President who is making the case that our concerns and needs are American concerns and needs, that our empowerment is American empowerment.
The same old power hungry, damn the people and "oooh look! a camera!!" bullshit?
Yes. - 9:42 AM
This 'acceptable' this and that applies to all minorities in different ways -- women, gays, lesbian, trannies, asians, etc. etc.
Majority white people want a reality that fits how they think, not a reality where someone doesn't think or act the way they want/expect.
Thank you, Tom - 10:42 AM
- BOSSY said...
A-men. With an Ah-men thrown in for good measure.
- R. Bittar said...
Interesting that you bring up middle school. I'm white, and I have a white friend who is openly prejudiced against black people. As far as I can tell his prejudice is based almost solely on his personal experience of having been picked on by some of the black kids in high school. I've tried to explain to him how ridiculous and illogical his prejudice is, but to no avail. He's a good guy in almost every other way. Which raises an interesting parallel to me. Should I disavow his friendship because of this one, albeit serious, flaw? Does that negate everything else about him that I like and respect? Or is it okay to see people as complex and flawed and accept them while not condoning their less than admirable qualities?
- Blue Girl, Red State said...
Well fuckin' put! I was the only Jewish kid in the entire highschool I attended in one of the northern tier counties of this red state, where my grandparents were kosher farmers. When shit happened in the middle east, I heard the same damned words...'cept uglier because I look like the slack-jawed, bigoted cretins.
Rev. Wright is a poor speaker and a contentious person who is not interested in supporting Barack. Why are people not seeing that this is the point. It's not his crap about Liberation Theology or the black church it's that he went at Obama and attempted to undercut him by saying he secretly believes all that crap and is into political posturing. Why are the "black blogs" trying to turn this reverend looser into some kind of hero????
- Shark-Fu said...
Ummm, by "black blogs" I assume you mean to include this blog...which is odd since I'm not calling anyone a hero.
If some black bloggers are then I suggest you take that question to them. - 12:19 PM
- Shark-Fu said...
Oh my, that's not an easy one. I can only quote from personal experience. I have family members who are openly anti-something or another and I struggled with how to address that shit. I can't live their life or change what is in the heart, but i can tell them that I think they are wrong and why. I also try to explain how that kind of thinking damages them far more than it impacts the other they fear and therefore are biased towards.
It sounds like your friend is manifesting the most typical type of bigotry that is really all about fear and the wounds of past experience. Help him, if you are so moved to, by leading through example and living a life that is whole and respectful of others. - 12:26 PM
- Unknown said...
Thank you Shark Fu for your take on this mess/issue/bullshit. Your eloquence is stunning to me. How I wish I could verbalize my feelings as well as you do.. but I just get worked up and let my emotions get the best of this ol brown bitch.
- Unknown said...
I will try to verbalize what I feel about this mess/issue/bullshit:
I believe Rev.Wright has the right to say whatever he believes to be true. As long as he isn't screaming fire in a crowded theater, he can say whatever trips his egotistical trigger.
When I watched him last Friday on Bill Moyers, I was still behind him..but when I saw the show he put on in Detroit and then the Press Club, I was struck by carnie-like atmosphere he seemed to be enjoying.
But I still support his right to say what he feels is right..regardless of whether I agree with him or not.
That the media and the population at large draw a direct correlation between what Rev Wright believes/espouses and what Mr. Obama believes/espouses is so fuckwitted, I am floored at their ignorance.
Being your brothers keeper has taken on a whole new meaning it seems. And that is doing a horrible disservice to Mr. Obama and what he is trying to accomplish.
And its wrong on every level for anyone to hold Mr. Obama accountable for the thoughts and actions of his brother Rev. Wright. I am appalled at what has transpired in our nation within the these last few weeks...but then I remember..we are talking about a man of color..and the rules are still fucking different for we people of color. Equality...where for art thou? - 1:07 PM
Barack was pretty Pd-Off at a certain back-stabbing Preacher yesterday. Barack would be fully jusitfied to apply for honorary membership in the Ku Klux Klan for this occasion. If I were Barack, I'd lead a Torchlight Procession of the Klan to Wright's new $10 Million residence, burn a Cross, and do what needs to be done to that Judas of a Preacher. The "Reverend" Jerry Judas Iscariot Wright hung Barack out to dry. Barak should repay this DIRTY ROTTEN TRAITOR back in kind for trampling upon the hopes of any Black who ever aspires to the Presidency.
I did not know that there was such a thing as acceptable blackness until I started pointing out "racial problems" and attitudes of co-workers at my first place of employment when I was a wee lass. It was amazing to me how they immediately saw me as some angry person I was not. I never even raised my voice when I spoke about these issues it was bizarre and these were people who had known me for years. So they knew I was not angry by nature but it was easier to tag me as angy than to look at their own attitudes. DISTURBING!!!
- Shark-Fu said...
Senator Obama should resort to cross burning? Yeah...ummm, how about no.
I think you have invested too much importance in Rev. Wright and too little responsibility in the media and public who are giving too much importance to Rev. Wright.
And this bitch thinks Rev. Wright has done enough damage to his own reputation.
And when did calling someone Judas become the new it diss? - 3:02 PM
What concerns me here, and I sat and watched CNN live when Pastor Wright was speaking this week. And I have to say it downright scared me. SCARED ME, I dare say!
I would be naive to say that the pastor doesn't speak for others; because he does. Otherwise he wouldn't have a following.
This is not to say that he speaks for Obama per se, or that he speaks for all Black Americans. But he is a controversial, provocative orator.
It would be naive to think that there are no Black Americans who think and have the same type of prejudices and rage that Pastor Wright has. Because there are. Otherwise he wouldn't have a following.
I am not sure what scares me more:
1. Pastor Wright's blatant media whoring (at the expense of his association of Mr. Obama); OR
2. His intentional "stoking of the fire," his instigating and perpetuating the inherent/multi-generational HATE-ON certain (and certainly NOT ALL) Black Americans have for past injustices, and his OUTRIGHT NEGLECT of his pastoral committment to teach the Gospel of Jesus, which I might want to remind Pastor Wright, is about LOVE.
When you couple up the fact that there is nothing LOVING in Pastor Wright's words, and there is nothing inherently Christian about his VITRIOL, the only conclusion I can come to is he's a HACK, and it's downright insulting, black OR white, to think that this man speaks for anyone BUT HIMSELF.
He should lay off the Jesus Juice before speaking in public. - 4:07 PM
Halp! What's "an acceptably Black" pet?
(C-Money, here's your cue for ABB dog sweaters...)
NancyP - 7:04 PM
- jsb16 said...
Anyone who thinks racism is dead in the US of A needs to contemplate why it is that Rev. Wright's anger merits so much public handwringing, but Rev. Hagee's merits none. If it's no racism, why are Rev. Wright's paranoias (the US gov't, having perpetrated Tuskegee, wouldn't've had an ethical problem spreading AIDS to blacks) so much worse than Rev. Hagee's paranoias (Katrina was God's punishment on NOLA for daring to allow homosexuals to party)?
Personally, I just wish the two Dems (and the media) would quit beating on each other and compete to see who can come up with the best attack ad on McCain. I'll give money to any candidate who can convince McCain supporters that McCain's not a maverick, not honest and true to his 'principles', but a crank who's worse than Dubya in ever so many ways. - 7:38 PM
- Shark-Fu said...
Nancy P...
I think we've got dog shirts, but I'll have C-Money check on that.
Hmmm, I fear that I may have two Acceptably Black pets! Clearly they should be small to medium of size non-threatening dawgs that are not pure bred (Lawd knows an Acceptable Black person can't have elitist dawgs).
Sounds like a sorta-beagle to me.
Who knew? - 8:46 PM
Anyone who thinks racism is dead in the US of A needs to contemplate why it is that Rev. Wright's anger merits so much public handwringing
Who is denying that racism or any other type of "-ism" is dead?
Perhaps it is naive of me to think this, but I think once we start thinking of each other in terms of WE ARE ALL HUMAN BEINGS, and focus on those things that unite us as humans, rather than pointing out our differences and past injustices, we, as a society are doing nothing but spinning our wheels.
As Dr. King said:
[...] In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline.[...]
"Content of character." That's ultimately what we all should be concerned with, black, white, whatever.
There's nothing disciplined in Wright's speech. Nothing. - 12:19 AM
- Faith at Acts of Faith Blog said...
But I have to wonder if Obama is soooo interested in building bridges that he's the car that will bypass all the black people to get to the whites. Why did he come out swinging against Wright to defend himself but give Hillary and McCain a pass? Why didn't he publicly come out swinging for his wife when she was attacked? I was willing to brush these things aside before but you know that's a dangerous thing to. I see Michelle as an authentic person...a real 'sister' so to speak. She was a BIG part of why I support him. I wonder if I've misplaced my support? When we project what we want to see in a person we set ourselves up for a BIG letdown after the fact. I was reading dailykos and Kos posted why he was upset at Obama for going on Fox and that he made an unnecessary compromise. Well it got like 700+ comments and most people vehemently disagreed with him. But...I wonder? Are those of us who support an Obama candidacy in for a rude awakening? I'm not going to support Clinton regardless, but I think I ought to look into the Green party and Cynthia McKinney's run.
- macon d said...
jsb16: "If it's no racism, why are Rev. Wright's paranoias (the US gov't, having perpetrated Tuskegee, wouldn't've had an ethical problem spreading AIDS to blacks) so much worse than Rev. Hagee's paranoias (Katrina was God's punishment on NOLA for daring to allow homosexuals to party)?"
After writing my own post on the topic, having been inspired by this one of Shark-fu's yesterday, I can say that this is another case of how whites are allowed to be individuals, but non-whites are not. Thank you big time, Shark-fu, for getting me going with that useful concept of acceptable blackness.
http://stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.com/2008/05/hold-black-people-to-higher-standards.html - 6:46 AM
- jsb16 said...
Where did you get the idea that Obama has given Clinton a pass? I'm pretty sure Obama's campaign was a source of the idea that Hillary's tears before NH were staged. Obama has made comments about Clinton being "periodically mood" (as if other people[men] aren't). And Clinton hasn't come out and said that Obama's faking his commitment to peaceful justice, which Wright did, so I'm not sure I see why Obama should be swinging at Clinton in exactly the same manner as he swung at Wright. Clinton, and even McCain, are Obama's competition for the White House. Wright, by making the claim that Obama really agrees with Wright no matter what Obama says, put himself into the category of Men-Who-Won't-Take-No-For-An-Answer.
As for rude awakenings... Obama's human. And he's drawn to power. I'm cynical enough to believe that anyone in his situation got there by being acceptable to those who already have power in some way. - 6:02 PM
- Undercover Black Man said...
Well... Barack did choose a church with a black-nationalist mission and a pastor steeped in the hard-left ideology of "liberation theology."
Perhaps he should've foreseen that such an association mightn't play well in Peoria.
Or perhaps, being a biracial out-of-towner, he needed to buck up his "black man" credentials to get elected in Chicago in the first place.
Shit... it's tricky to rock a rhyme that's right on time... - 2:24 PM
- rikyrah said...
Just trying to spread the word:
Operation Anti-Chaos: The Narrative on 'White Voters' is FICTION
A Blacklash? - 2:40 PM
- RainaWeather said...
Amen sister.
I think this is an adjunct to this blog. I love this site, I'm Irish, Mexican and Native and I hear you.
I think Bill is trying to explain it to the white audience - 7:28 PM
Great post! You nailed it. I am still laughing.
There has been so much said and so much not. I am trying to undertand my own thoughts about this. I do think bill Moyers has said something that speaks to this latest entry.
It spoke to me. Thanks for this site. - 12:33 AM
I'm a black female and I do not agree with Rev Wright's philosophy nor do I care for his histrionics/antics. As far as I'm concerned, the man is a 'buffoon.' Okay... I'm going to call a spade a spade.... Rev Wright and his cronies are jealous of this young man's, Barack Obama, run for president of the USA. Rev Wright was compelled to 'strut his stuff.' He had to show everyone how intelligent he is with that 'history lesson' he gave at the Detroit Chapter of the NAACP and continued at the National Press Club. Nobody denies some of the stuff he says is true, but to add other stuff that has not be proven is a 'miscarriage of justice' on his part, not on the "former slave masters or descendants of slave masters" to put it in his vernacular.
Rev Wright needs to go somewhere, anywhere, and sit his butt down and shut up. Since he "cusses" in the pulpit I'll just add that he needs to 'STFU.' - 7:49 AM
- rrp said...
thank you ABB!
Only last week a coworker came into my office (after a staff discussion on race and gender) to moan about how "unproductve" the anger of POC is.
I guess I passed her Acceptable test.
We're caught coming and going, slotted into some narrative that has nothing to do with the reality of complex human beings. We're Acceptable or we're Angry.
I think in need to cultivate Angry. - 2:28 PM
Watched Meet the Press today and it is indeed time for an anti-chaos or reality lives campaign. All the White Media wants to talk about in Rev. Write. I see white people everyday with their Obama campaign buttons on and still can't believe I am seeing white people in America proudly supporting a black man. So they see the reality Obama's time has come, he is the right person at the right time. And through it all, he sticks to what he believes.
- Yankee, Transferred said...
Yet another in a continuing series of your posts printed and handed to my daughters. Acceptable blackness is a constant source of conversation in our house.
I love you, Shark-fu, I truly do. - 5:00 PM
- jsb16 said...
IMHonestO, part of the problem with the USA is that liberation theology is seen as "hard-left".
Great post ABB! I agree with Maven, Wright has never gotten this much attention in his life and is doing so at the expense of Obama. He could wait until November. There's much more at stake than just the history of electing a Black man President. Thought about the Supreme Court lately? Went to see Lawrence Fishburne in Thurgood in NYC this weekend and in the play it was said that Nixon appointed four justices and hoped Thurgood would retire (which he didn't), but let's think about who will appoint the next batch of Justices who will make the law for life, after Bush, Hillary, Barack, etc. Wright's woeful lack of foresight on a very large implication of Barack's loss in an effort to showboat, do his constituents and the Lord a disservice. If his actions lead to another four years of domination by the right, and lifetime appointments of Justices who think the same, then he is guilty of doing wrong to God's people.
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