text:
This FAQ is based on actual frequently-asked questions from #haskell IRC. The goal is simply to collect and edit some common answers. Beginner questions are still welcome on IRC, as always.
This is a wiki, so please edit the text with any improvements you have. And feel free to add new questions, if they are frequently asked.
See also
- Other FAQs
- The introduction to Haskell, and the FAQ at the end of that document.
The real world
Should I learn Haskell?
That depends on your goals. In general, Haskellers will tell you that you should learn Haskell. :)
Learning Haskell is fun. It will expand your mind and make you a better programmer in other languages. These are the immediate benefits.
Haskell is also a great tool for solving real-world problems, but it can take many months of study to get to that point.
Is Haskell hard to learn?
Any competent programmer can learn Haskell, but it will take more time and motivation than you may expect.
Haskell requires learning a new way to think, not just new syntax for old concepts. This can be incredibly frustrating, as simple tasks seem impossibly difficult.
Those with no prior programming experience may actually have an easier time learning Haskell, because they have less to un-learn.
How can I get started with Haskell right now?
Check out Try Haskell.
Also: FP Complete's free online IDE
What should I read for learning Haskell?
The most popular resources are Learn You a Haskell and Real World Haskell. Each is available online for free, or can be purchased in hardcopy.
Many other tutorials, books, and other resources are available.
There's also the School of Haskell which has a set of free online tutorials with runnable examples.
How can I get help with learning Haskell?
Your options include:
- #haskell on Freenode IRC
- Stack Overflow
- The Haskell-Cafe mailing list
Will Haskell get me a job?
There are plenty of companies using Haskell, but it's still a tiny number compared to the software industry as a whole.
There are also many companies which do not use Haskell, but prefer to hire people who know Haskell. It indicates that you learned something hard and obscure just for fun, which employers take as a sign of intelligence.
Is Haskell similar to Language X?
Probably not. It's best if you approach Haskell with a clean slate. Most analogies to another language will break down somewhere, often in a subtle and misleading way. If you first learn the Haskell concepts for what they are, you can then draw useful connections to other languages.
What's the relationship between Haskell and GHC?
Haskell is not a piece of software; it is a specification for a standardized programming language. The latest version of the spec is the Haskell 2010 Report.
GHC is the Glorious Glasgow Haskell Compiler. It is by far the most popular and "production-ready" implementation of the standard Haskell language. It also implements many extension features that go above and beyond standard Haskell. Many programs use these features and so aren't "written in Haskell" in the strictest sense.
You can use the term "Haskell" to refer to the standard language, and "GHC Haskell" when including GHC extensions.
Besides GHC, several other implementations of Haskell are available. Each one provides its own extensions, some of which don't exist in GHC.
What is the Haskell Platform?
The Haskell Platform is a copy of GHC bundled with a "blessed" set of useful libraries. It is the easiest way to get started with Haskell. It's not essential to start with the Platform, because you can install the same libraries as needed.
What is Haskell Prime (Haskell')?
Haskell Prime is a process which produces new versions of the Haskell language spec. It does not refer to a particular present or future version of Haskell.
My textbook uses Haskell 98. Is it very different from Haskell 2010?
No. Haskell 2010 is a very conservative change to Haskell 98. It fixes small syntactic flaws, and standardizes several well-behaved extensions which GHC has supported for years.
The standardization process is very slow because standardizing a flawed language can be a costly mistake. Extensions are accepted only once they are considered mature and well-understood.
How do I get libraries for Haskell?
You can find libraries on Hackage, and install them with cabal-install.
Is Haskell compiled?
Usually. GHC, the most popular Haskell implementation, has an optimizing ahead-of-time native-code compiler, as well as a bytecode compiler and interpreter for interactive use.
Haskell itself is not a "compiled language" because nothing in the Haskell spec requires implementations to be compilers.
Does Haskell have an interpreter?
Yes, but maybe you instead mean "Is there a program where I can type Haskell code and see it run immediately?". GHCi provides such a "read-evaluate-print loop".
Which project can I join?
See Haskell projects needing help.
Is learning Haskell the best way to learn functional programming?
Not necessarily! Haskell is not a typical functional language. It can be overwhelming to learn the basic concepts of functional programming alongside static types, algebraic data, laziness, type classes, first-class IO, etc. For an introduction to FP by itself you might want to learn Scheme, or play with the FP features in your current favorite language.
That said, many people choose Haskell as an introduction to FP and have success with that approach. Haskell has an extremely active community of people teaching, doing research, writing libraries, etc. Haskell is where interesting things happen in the FP space, so it's an exciting place to jump in.
I heard Haskell is pure functional. Does that mean it doesn't have mutable state?
No; see STRef for an example. A more advanced example is software transactional memory, which provides concurrent state more sophisticated than you'll find in most other imperative languages.
I heard Haskell is pure functional. Does that mean I can't do imperative / OOP / aspect-oriented / logic programming in Haskell?
No, "pure functional" has a specific technical meaning. It doesn't mean that functional is the only supported paradigm.
Paradigms describe the techniques used in a particular program. For example, the Linux kernel is written in C, with pervasive use of functional, object-oriented, and aspect-oriented programming. The most we can say about a language is that it encourages or discourages a particular paradigm. Haskell is very flexible and can comfortably accommodate most paradigms, even when there is no built-in support.
Wait, is Haskell imperative or is it functional?
Both - and it's also referentially transparent. In Haskell, functions are first class, and so are imperative actions.
There is no reason to consider "imperative language" and "functional language" as mutually exclusive. It's only a historical accident that a few of the most popular imperative languages are unusually bad at functional programming. Functional imperative programming is extremely powerful and is supported by many languages.
If Haskell is a pure functional language, does that mean it can't do I/O?
No; I/O in Haskell is straightforward.
Do I need to understand monads in order to do I/O?
Not really. "Monad" is the name of a generic API that applies to many different types, including the abstract type IO a
. If you're only thinking about I/O, you don't need to worry about how this API generalizes.
See the Introduction to IO.
How do I convert IO Int
to Int
IO Int
to Int
?Assuming the type mismatch is occurring in an Haskell definition which already relies on I/O:
g :: IO Int
g = do ...
f x y = do ...
n = g
v <- h n
then you have two options:
- the simplest option is to use some extra
f x y = do ...
n <- g
v <- h n
- but occasionally a monadic-binding operator such as
can also be used:
f x y = do ...
n = g
v <- h =<< n
How do I convert IO Int
to Int
inside a pure definition?
You can't; if you could then the definition would stop being pure no matter what its type is. More importantly, if you could do that then so could others! Now imagine you're the one trying to find an error in a library full of pure
definitions; an error that only occurs when the library is used in parallel programs (because pure definitions ought to work in parallel). As libraries can depend on other libraries, which can depend on yet more libraries...where would you even begin to look?
So much trouble, and all because someone could convert an IO Int
to Int
inside a pure
definition...perhaps no-one should be allowed to do that.
Now please read the Introduction to IO.
I have another question regarding I/O...
It could be in Stack Overflow's list of questions about I/O in Haskell.
Was Haskell designed by mathematicians?
Haskell was designed by people studying programming language design. Perhaps programmers would consider them to be mathematicians, while mathematicians would consider them to be programmers.
Designing a programming language is a hard thing to do. There are many non-obvious tradeoffs, and many lessons to be learned from past failures and successes. Yet many of today's most popular languages were designed by people who hadn't done their homework.
Haskell was designed by people who knew what they were doing. It's not perfect, but the contrast to an amateur's design is striking.
Do I need to know advanced math in order to use Haskell?
No. Certain concepts in Haskell are named after concepts in advanced math. But other languages also appropriate math terminology: consider "singleton", not to mention "function" and "variable". The way these programming concepts relate to actual mathematics is not necessarily important or relevant.
In addition, some people write articles about advanced math, using Haskell syntax as their notation. These articles are interesting, but the connection to everyday programming work is usually remote.
Knowing advanced math will enrich your experience using Haskell, but is by no means a prerequisite.
Doesn't a static type system just make it harder to write programs?
Yes. In particular, it makes it much harder to write incorrect programs.
The tradeoff is that correct programs also become somewhat harder to write. In Haskell, features like type inference mitigate this burden to a large extent.
How do I make a list with elements of different types?
Are you sure that's what you want? Consider instead creating a single data type to encompass the alternatives:
data Identifier
= ByNumber Int
| ByName String
doStuff :: [Identifier] -> Whatever
In many dynamically-typed languages you aren't allowed to create "variant types" like this. The type system itself is used as a single ad-hoc global variant type. Keep this in mind if you're translating designs from a dynamically-typed language to Haskell.
No really, how do I make a list of elements of different types?
Well, you can't avoid putting all your values into one type. But sometimes the "variant type" approach above is too restrictive. Maybe you need to let other people add to the set of allowed types, the way Control.Exception allows users to define new exception types.
You can use an existential type, possibly with a type class. Or you can use Data.Dynamic.
I'm making an RPG. Should I define a type for each kind of monster, and a type class for them?
Probably not. Some languages require a new type for each new behavior. In Haskell, behaviors are functions or IO actions, which are first-class values. So you can store behaviors in an ordinary data type:
data MonsterOps = MonsterOps
{ new :: Monster
, move :: Monster -> Monster
, attack :: Monster -> Player -> Player }
data Monster = Monster
{ position :: (Int, Int)
, hitpoints :: Double }
beholder :: MonsterOps
beholder = MonsterOps new move attack where
new = Monster (0,0) 9000
move self = ...
attack self player = ...
This approach is especially nice if you want to generate or transform behaviors on the fly. See the article "Haskell Antipattern: Existential Typeclass" for a longer discussion.
What's the difference between Integer
and Int
and Int
can represent arbitrarily large integers, up to using all of the storage on your machine.
can only represent integers in a finite range. The language standard only guarantees a range of -229 to (229 - 1). Most implementations will provide a full machine-size signed integer, i.e. 32 or 64 bits.
Operations on Int
can be much faster than operations on Integer
, but overflow and underflow can cause weird bugs. Using Int
in an initial design could be considered premature optimization. Unfortunately, many standard library functions (e.g. length
, take
) use Int
. There are also generic variants of those.
How do I convert type A to type B?
This is just another way of asking for a function of type A -> B
. For example, you can convert Double
to Int
with round
, ceiling
, or floor
. Haskell does not privilege one of these as the conversion.
Does Haskell have type casts?
The word "cast" can mean a lot of different things.
- You want to convert a value from one type to another, preserving some idea of what it means. For example, you might convert an
to aDouble
which represents the same integer. In this case you'd just use a function of typeInt -> Double
, such asfromIntegral
. Haskell doesn't provide special rules or syntax for these functions. See also the previous question. - You want to pass a value of more specific type to a function expecting a less specific type. There's no syntax for this in Haskell; you just do it. For example you can pass
x :: Int
toshow :: (Show a) => a -> String
, which automatically specializes the type ofshow
toInt -> String
. Note that Haskell does not have subtyping, so this only happens in the context of instantiating type variables. - You want to use a value of less specific type under the assumption of a more specific type, with a checkable runtime error if they do not match. This is rarely the right way to do things in Haskell, and probably indicates a conceptual / design problem instead. If you really do need such a cast, you can use cast from Data.Typeable. In this case the "checkable runtime error" is
. Note that Haskell does not have subtyping, so this only happens in the context of instantiating type variables. - You want to use a value of less specific type under the assumption of a more specific type, and if the assumption is incorrect, the program is allowed to segfault / silently corrupt data / give the attacker a root shell / send illicit photos to your boss. Also known as a "reinterpret cast". GHC Haskell has a way to do this, but I dare not speak its name. It's so dangerous and so unlikely to be what you want that it has no place in a general FAQ. You can ask on IRC or read the docs if you have the right kind of morbid curiosity.
How do I convert from one numeric type to another?
Probably using one of these:
fromIntegral :: (Integral a, Num b ) => a -> b
realToFrac :: (Real a, Fractional b) => a -> b
converts to a wider range of types, but realToFrac
converts from types which aren't integers.
How do I convert Maybe Int
to Int
Maybe Int
to Int
?Use pattern-matching. If mx :: Maybe Int
case mx of
Just x -> ...
Nothing -> ...
This forces you to consider the Nothing
case, and is the main advantage of Maybe
, compared to adding a null value to every type.
See also the functions maybe and fromMaybe in the module Data.Maybe.
Do not use fromJust
, because passing Nothing
will crash your program with a supremely unhelpful error message. Even when you want to assume the value is not Nothing
, you can provide a better error message:
let x = fromMaybe (error "custom error message") mx in ...
If you pattern-match without a Nothing
let Just x = mx in ...
you'll at least get a line number in the error message:
*** Exception: foo.hs:2:9-24: Irrefutable pattern failed for pattern Data.Maybe.Just x
How do I convert between String
(or Text
) and ByteString
(or Text
) and ByteString
represents a sequence of Unicode characters. ByteString
represents a sequence of bytes. There are many different, incompatible ways to represent Unicode characters as bytes. See this article if you're fuzzy on the character / byte distinction.
The module Data.Text.Encoding from the text package provides functions for common Unicode encodings. For more obscure / legacy encodings, see the text-icu package.
How do I catch the error thrown by read
on a parse failure?
on a parse failure?Don't. Instead use
import Text.Read (readMaybe)
readMaybe :: Read a => String -> Maybe a
which returns a Nothing in the case of parse failure.
What's the difference between type
, data
, and newtype
, data
, and newtype
introduces a synonym, which is fully interchangeable with the original type:
type Foo = Int
main = print ((2 :: Int) + (3 :: Foo))
So it provides convenience and documentation, but no additional type checking.
is used to define new data types, distinct from any existing type.
can mostly be understood as a restricted form of data
. You can use newtype
when you have exactly one constructor with exactly one field. In those cases, newtype
can give better performance than data
There is, however, a subtle difference between data
and newtype
semantics, which is why the newtype
optimization is not applied automatically.
Making it work
How can I find type errors?
There's no silver bullet, but here are a few useful techniques:
- Comment out type signatures and see what GHC infers, using :t in GHCi.
- Add more type signatures, for example inside
. This makes your assumptions clearer, so GHC's error message may better explain how your assumptions are inconsistent. - Replace some subexpressions with
, which can assume any type. In more recent versions of GHC, you should insert a "type hole", written_
(a single underscore) instead ofundefined
for this purpose. GHC's error message will then indicate the type it's expecting for the expression in the hole.
How can I find bugs that occur at runtime?
With pure functions, correctness is a matter of getting the right output for a given input. If one function gives incorrect results, you test the functions it calls, and so on until the bad code is located. You can perform these tests directly in GHCi, or with the help of a tool like QuickCheck.
You can trace evaluation using Debug.Trace. You'll get a printout when the expression is evaluated. Due to lazy evaluation, this might be at an unexpected time. But this property is useful when debugging problems related to excessive laziness.
GHCi also implements a "simple imperative-style debugger".
Haskell is a natural fit for novel "declarative debugging" tools but to our knowledge, no such tool is production-ready.
Why do I get an "undefined symbol" linker error when compiling?
If you're using GHC 6, you should pass --make so that GHC will automatically link the appropriate Haskell libraries.
How can I get a stack backtrace when my program throws an exception?
The standard stack in GHC Haskell doesn't represent nested function calls. The more informative stack is the profiling cost-center stack, which only exists if your code is built for profiling.
With GHC 7 you can do something like this:
$ ghc -fforce-recomp -prof -auto-all -rtsopts foo.hs
For GHC 6 you should leave off -rtsopts, and you'll probably want --make.
You can then run your program with the -xc RTS option`:
$ ./foo +RTS -xc
How can I do automated unit testing?
See the testing chapter in Real World Haskell.
How can I find and fix performance problems?
See the profiling and optimization chapter in Real World Haskell.
How do I deal with name clashes between modules?
You can disambiguate by prefixing a module name:
import Data.List
import Data.Map
f = Data.List.lookup 7
g = Data.Map.lookup 7
The import syntax gives you additional control:
- With
import qualified Foo
the names fromFoo
can only be used qualified, and won't clash with unqualified names.
- With
import Foo as M
you'd writeM.x
instead ofFoo.x
You can combine these two features. A more common way to write the above example is:
import qualified Data.Map as M
f = lookup 7 -- unqualified, from Prelude
g = M.lookup 7
In general, most combinations of import
features are allowed. You
can combine as
and qualified
with import and
lists. You can import two modules as
the same
name, or one module as
two names, with different import and
lists, qualified
or unqualified, etc.
How do I control the Prelude
import?Haskell modules implicitly import Prelude
, unless an explicit import is given. So you can write
import Prelude as P hiding (length, head)
How do I qualify the name of an infix operator?
You prefix the module name, as usual:
x = 2 + 3
y = 2 Prelude.+ 3
f = (+) 7
g = (Prelude.+) 7
This looks weird but works fine. The syntax does clash a bit:
xs = [False..True] -- wrong, parses as qualified name
xs = [False .. True] -- ok
How do I mention an infix operator in an export / import / hiding
list?The same way as elsewhere: enclose it in parentheses.
import Prelude ( succ, (+), length, (*) )
I listed a data type in my import list but its data constructors aren't in scope. How do I fix it?
You have to import data constructors explicitly:
import Prelude ( Maybe ) -- the type only
import Prelude ( Maybe(Nothing) ) -- type and specific constructor(s)
import Prelude ( Maybe(..) ) -- type and all its constructors
How can I import and re-export a whole module?
module Bar ( module Foo ) where
import Foo
How can I export another module and everything defined in this module?
module Bar ( module Bar, module Foo ) where
import Foo
The M-word
See also "What a Monad is not".
I heard Haskell is about monads. I heard that the core feature of Haskell is monads. Is that true?
Absolutely not.
What should I know before trying to understand monads?
Let's look at part of the definition of Monad
class Monad m where
(>>=) :: m a -> (a -> m b) -> m b
This uses a lot of features:
- first-class functions: the second argument to
is a function
- type constructors (here
- type class polymorphism
- type class polymorphism over type constructors (which few other languages have)
- parametric (not type class) polymorphism, over
Each of these features is more fundamental than the specific idea of monads. If you understand each feature, then Monad
is a small example of how they fit together. Functor
is a slightly simpler example, and you can start there instead (see Typeclassopedia).
Aren't monads just a hack for handling impure things in a pure language?
No. This is wrong in several ways.
First, Monad
isn't special.Monad
is an ordinary Haskell type class. You can define it yourself in a few lines of pure Haskell code, so it's definitely not adding magical new capabilities to the language. Besides that, Monad
is an API, not an implementation.
(The do
syntax is special, but it's only syntactic sugar. There's a straightforward translation to ordinary function calls, lambdas, etc.)
Second, most monads have nothing to do with effects or "impurity". The Monad
API is implemented by many different type constructors, including Maybe
and []
. Lists and Maybe
values are straightforward, familiar data values. There's nothing "impure" about them.
Third, IO
is not an exception to purity.
In short, Haskell programs are pure-functional programs which compute imperative programs.
It's true that IO
implements the Monad
API, but that's not fundamental. You could instead use non-overloaded functions like
returnIO :: a -> IO a
bindIO :: IO a -> (a -> IO b) -> IO b
to glue together IO actions, and it would all work out basically the same. We use the generic Monad
API for IO
not because we have to, but because it lets us reuse convenient syntax and libraries. Indeed, you can introduce IO without mentioning Monad
at all.
I heard monads are like burritos or space suits full of nuclear waste. Is that true?
These analogies are not helpful. See "Abstraction, intuition, and the 'monad tutorial fallacy"'.
I can use monads but I feel like I still don't "get" them. What am I missing?
You're not necessarily missing anything. "Monad" is just the name of a generic API that applies to many different types. The types implementing the Monad API don't have a lot in common.
You might want to read "Typeclassopedia" to see how Monad fits in with other similar APIs.
What's the difference between State s
and ST s
State s
and ST s
monads?State s a is just a wrapper for the function type s -> (a, s)
: a function that takes an "old state" and returns a "new state" along with its result. You can implement State
in a few lines of standard Haskell, without any special help from the compiler.
gives you true mutable variables with in-place update. You can't implement it yourself in standard Haskell. In GHC, STRef
and IORef
will behave the same way at runtime. The difference is the extra compile-time safety checking associated with runST
Concurrency and parallelism
See also notes on parallel and concurrent programming.
How can I do X without resorting to threads?
That's usually the wrong attitude. Threads are useful for solving problems. The attitude comes from other languages where some combination of the following holds:
- Per-thread overhead consumes a lot of memory or CPU
- Thread APIs are cumbersome, sometimes due to lacking first-class functions or IO actions
- The thread implementation is fundamentally broken, e.g. a global interpreter lock
- Threads break easily because programs constantly mutate implicitly-shared state
None of these is true in GHC Haskell. Threads have disadvantages and are not always the right tool. But avoiding them at all costs is counterproductive.
What's the difference between concurrency and parallelism?
Briefly: concurrency describes semantics; parallelism describes an implementation property.
Concurrent programs are written with explicit threads of control. Concurrent semantics fit naturally with certain real-world problems, like a network server talking to many simultaneous clients. This is still a nice model for writing a network server, even if you only intend to run it on one CPU core — concurrency without parallelism.
Parallel programs are those which run on multiple CPU cores simultaneously, regardless of how they were implemented.
Concurrency is a popular way to obtain parallel performance, but converting a pure computation to use concurrent semantics is difficult and error-prone. GHC Haskell provides "semi-implicit parallelism" as an alternative. Adding these "annotations" to a program cannot change its behavior.
There's a longer discussion on the GHC blog.
How do par
, pseq
, and seq
, pseq
, and seq
relate?The expression par x y
is semantically equivalent to y
, but suggests to the runtime system that evaluating x
in parallel might be a good idea. Usually x
would be a variable referring to a thunk (unevaluated expression) that will later be needed.
Now consider par x (x+y)
. Evaluating this expression suggests evaluating x
in parallel. But before the runtime system can act on that suggestion, we evaluate (x+y)
, which will evaluate both x
and y
in sequence. It would be better to work on y
for a while, and only demand x
later, after perhaps some parallel work has occurred. We can use pseq
to force this evaluation order, as in par x (pseq y (x+y))
The Strategies module provides a nicer interface to these par
/ pseq
is similar to pseq
but provides a weaker guarantee. The details are subtle; suffice to say that if you're controlling evaluation order, you want pseq
How do I do event-based IO in GHC Haskell? Should I call select, epoll, etc?
No; just do blocking IO from multiple threads, and GHC's runtime system will make these calls for you. GHC Haskell gives you the performance benefits of event-based IO without making you turn your code inside-out.
Threads in GHC are lightweight — both in performance and in the mental effort of using them. You can handle ten thousand concurrent requests at high throughput with a naive "one thread per client" model.
What's the difference between forkIO
and forkOS
and forkOS
?It only matters if you're calling into a C library that cares about thread-local state. In that case, forkOS
guarantees that the C library will see the same OS thread each time. Any difference beyond that is an implementation detail and subject to change.
How can I wait for a thread to finish and produce a result?
There's a few libraries for this on Hackage, like async, spawn, and threads.
It's not hard to implement this yourself using MVar, though it's harder to get the exception handling right.
What does lambdabot's "info" command do?
At first, it seems like it just echoes whatever you type:
<user> ?info foo bar baz <lambdabot> foo bar baz
What is actually happening is that it autocorrects to the "undo" command, which desugars do blocks according to the Report's rules. So, a more interesting example might look like this:
<user> ?info do { foo; x <- bar; baz } <lambdabot> foo >> bar >>= \ x -> baz
Error messages and warnings
Not in scope: `catch'
The function "catch" is removed from Prelude, add the line:
import Control.Exception
(Note, that this might lead to an error if you compile the same code with an older GHC.)


text:
Update at 1:55 p.m. ET. The House Passes JOBS Act:
Saying that it shows the federal legislature can work in a bipartisan fashion, the Republican-controlled House passed the JOBS Act, which was supported by President Obama.
"It is a welcome sign that we can put our differences aside and work together to produce results to help boost the economy and get people back to work," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said, according to the AP.
The bill was passed with a vote of 390-23.
Our Original Post Continues:
All those anxious to see some bipartisanship on Capitol Hill should be interested in this news:
"The House is expected to vote Thursday on a jobs bill that would mark rare agreement between the Obama administration and House Republicans." (CNN.com)
As The Hill explains, the "Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act ... is broadly aimed at making capital formation easier for new companies. Among other things, it creates a new class of companies that would enjoy relaxed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules, allowing small companies to go public sooner."
The White House has given the measure "its blessing," MSNBC adds, but the bill does have "an uncertain fate in the Senate, where a number of the bills included in the package have been waiting for a vote for — at times — months. Incorporated into the JOBS Act are six bills, four of which have already passed through the House with over 400 votes each, but have failed to be introduced in the Democratic-held Senate."
Still, as The Washington Post's 2chambers blog puts it: "Wake the kids and alert the neighbors: The White House, House Democrats and House Republicans actually agree on something." And, it reports, "Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday that the Senate probably would take up legislation 'in the same framework' in the coming days."
You can read the JOBS Act here.
(H/T to NPR's Jean Cochran.)
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Perfectly portioned individual lasagnas. This is one of those family friendly recipes everyone in your home will love. A great way to get your kids to eat spinach too. I personally find one to be filling for me, served with a garden salad on the side. My husband can easily eat three.
Spinach Lasagna Rolls
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 9 • Serving Size: 1 roll • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 6 ww pts
Calories: 224.9 • Fat: 5.1 g • Fiber: 3.4 g • Protein: 13.0 g • Carbs: 31.5
- 9 lasagna noodles, cooked
- 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained
- 15 oz fat free ricotta cheese (I like Polly-o)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- salt and fresh pepper
- 32 oz tomato sauce
- 9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles. Make sure noodles are dry. Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle. Rollcarefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese. Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until cheese melts. Makes 9 rolls.
To serve, ladle a little sauce on the plate and top with lasagna roll.


text:
You can be involved in the work of a committee by lodging a submission with a committee on the subject of an inquiry. Committees also hold public inquiries to clarify evidence already provided and to examine other points of view with a witness.
Parliamentary committees investigate specific matters of policy or government administration or performance.
Parliamentary sitting calendar
Go to the full calendar of events
House of Representatives
Get informed
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I did not intend to post about macarons again this soon until Carol planted an idea in my head. I have come to accept and oh so happily surrender to her gentle "hey Tarty! Ever thought of doing xyz?" or "what about a little of this on a little of that, eh Tarty?!". Carol perfectly fits the Parisian shoe and a visit to her blog always makes me feel a little closer to home, not to mention nostalgic of all the pastries and atmospheres of home.
The Gingerbread Men Macarons came to life because of one innocent conversation between Carol and I. Although, how innocent can conversations be when foodies are involved, hmmm…?!
Carol : "Will you do anything as mundane as gingerbread persons?Gingerbread macarons probably doesn't work…"
Me: "Argghhhhhhhhhhhh !! YOU!!! Guess what I am scketching in my head right now?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You might have gingerbread macs before you know it!!"
Carol: "While you're sketching, can you put teeth on the mac upper and lower and place a mini gingerperson in between?
Crunch crunch :)"
Yes, phase one is complete…Gingerbread Men macarons. Phase two with mini gingerbread men escaping the clutching teeth (or feet) of macarons is going to required some logistics and lots of tiny little drawings…and time…a precious commodity to all of us this holiday season whether you are baking, wrapping, crafting, etc… I don't think the oven has had much of a break this weekend and I am looking forward to trying some new ice cream recipes! [Before I forget: I have taken into account those who so generously volunteered their time and feedback to test some recipes and you will find email requests soon in your mailboxes. I also want to thank those who have already started and gave me very valuable information.]
I am still on the fence about those Gingerbread Men Macs. Aesthetics wise, I wish I'd taken a smaller tip to pipe the macaron batter to give them nicer feet and arms but I was afraid of it deflating too much if I did so. I drew templates with a cookie cutter and then filled in the space with a medium tip. After piping 10 gingerbread men, I wondered how well they would come out and decided to switch the batter to a bag fitted with a larger tip and pipe regular ones. In doing so I deflated the batter a little too much to get the proper "feet" on the shells while keeping the overall look intact.
Taste wise, we fell head over heels for those and B. declared them his favorites ever and got a little upset when I admitted finishing them up earlier today. I added the spices found in gingerbread men cookies to both the shells and the buttercream and sprinkled some crushed gingersnaps on top of the round shells. The smell in the house was absolutely wonderful! Wish I had a way to bottle that up into "Eau de Gingerbread Macarons".
Gingerbread Men Macarons:
For the shells:
90 gr egg whites (about 3)
30 gr granulated sugar
200 gr powdered sugar
110 gr almonds
1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
For the whites: the day before (24hrs), separate your eggs and store the whites at room temperature in a covered container. If you want to use 48hrs (or more) egg whites, you can store them in the fridge. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry. Combine the almonds, powdered sugar and spices in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper lined baking sheets. Preheat the oven to 280F. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 20-22 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. If you have trouble removing the shells, pour a couple of drops of water under the parchment paper while the sheet is still a bit warm and the macarons will lift up more easily do to the moisture. Don't let them sit there in it too long or they will become soggy. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer. To fill: pipe or spoon about 1 big tablespoon in the center of one shell and top with another one.
For the spiced mousseline buttercream:
3 sticks butter at room temperature
5 egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
In the bowl of stand mixer, whip 5 egg whites until they have soft peaks. In the meantime, combine 1/4 cup water with the sugar to a boil in a heavy saucepan and bring the syrup to 250F. Slowly add the sugar syrup to the egg whites. If you use hand beaters, this is even easier and there is less hot syrup splatter on the side of your bowl and in the whisk attachment of the stand mixer. Continue to whip until the meringue is completely cooled. Slowly add the butter, one tablespoon at a time. The mass might curddle but no panic, continue to whip until it all comes together. Add the spices and fold them in with a spatula.


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Beloit's downtown continues evolution
Beloit's downtown continues evolution
January 19, 2014
BELOIT—Rod Gottfredsen vividly recalls the day in 1986 when he and seven other people met in his one-chair barbershop in downtown Beloit.
The topic at hand was the state of downtown.
"Not only were some of the buildings without upstairs windows that pigeons were flying in and out of, but many of the lower windows were boarded up as well," Gottfredsen said. "Things were looking pretty shabby."
Gottfredsen, owner of Austin's Barber Shop at 316 State St., helped form a Business Improvement District that launched downtown Beloit on its road to recovery.
Surveying the downtown landscape nearly three decades later, Gottfredsen is simple with his assessment: "I'm elated."
Much of Gottfredson's excitement can be traced to several ongoing and recent projects in downtown Beloit.
It would be an overstatement to say Beloit is rejuvenating or revitalizing its downtown. It started that process more than 25 years ago when it was one of the first communities in Wisconsin accepted into the state's Main Street program.
What's happening instead in Beloit is a continuing evolution that observers say is necessary to keep the downtown relevant.
"It's an ongoing process," said Shauna El-Amin, executive director of the Downtown Beloit Association, a collaboration of property owners, business people and community volunteers committed to Beloit's central business district.
The organization oversees a Business Improvement District that includes 160 members in a designated downtown area.
"Were constantly trying to build on what we have in our downtown because it's so important to our community," she said. "Our work is never done."
What downtown Beloit has is an eclectic mix of retail stores, services and restaurants. It has housing. A grant program last year helped redevelop 15 upper-floor apartments, most of which were rented before they were ready, El-Amin said.
What downtown Beloit doesn't have is many vacant storefronts.
The last of the most significant vacancies—a stretch of East Grand Avenue that was once home to Wagner's Office Supply and other businesses—was demolished last year.
Under construction in its place is the Phoenix Building, a four-story retail and apartment project of nearly 40,000 square feet. The first floor will be a mix of offices, retail and restaurants. The top three floors will include 27 market-rate apartments.
While it's one building, façade work on both the front and back makes it look as though it's five buildings constructed side-by-side in a bygone era.
The Phoenix Building is a project of Hendricks Commercial Properties, a Beloit-based company that manages and owns more than 15 million square feet of real estate properties in 39 states. Diane Hendricks, co-founder of ABC Supply, owns the company.
"This is a very enjoyable project in our own backyard," said Rob Gerbitz, the real estate company's president and chief operating officer. "A lot of times, us building a Wal-Mart somewhere is about making money.
"A project like this is a long-term investment in the community, and Diane has been adamant that we think long-term when it comes to Beloit."
That was the company's approach when it rebranded and remodeled the nearby Beloit Inn and Café Belwah, which are now respectively known as the Ironworks Hotel and Merrill & Houston's Steak Joint.
It's also the approach as the company continues a $40 million transformation of its Ironworks campus—the former Beloit Corp. just across the Rock River—into a state-of-the-art manufacturing and office facility that is home to more than 15 different businesses, with more knocking on the door.
The $7 million Phoenix Building will do more than fill a significant chunk of East Grand Avenue that's been a vacant eyesore for more than a decade, El-Amin said.
It will offer a nice mix of businesses and restaurants and take the downtown's housing inventory to a new level, she said.
El-Amin said the downtown association is aggressive in filling vacancies with the right types of businesses.
"When we see a void or something we don't have downtown, we try to go after it," she said. "Anyone who has a business that's unique to the area thrives downtown, and it creates a cluster so you can walk from one to the next."
With the surge in housing, downtown Beloit has become a place where people can live, work and play, she said.
Gerbitz said he's confident his company will be able to rent all 27 units in the Phoenix Building, which should be finished this spring.
Monthly rent for the one- and two-bedroom Phoenix apartments likely will start at about $1,100, Gerbitz said. The target market is likely young executives or couples new to the area or in Beloit for extended training. Beloit College also offers potential with faculty or older students.
"People have responded very well so far, but it's tough to show them what it will be when all they can see is studs," Gerbitz said. "We think the market is there.
"We've got ABC Supply, Kerry, Regal-Beloit, Fairbanks and Taylor to our south–all very large companies. We think this will work for people who want to live downtown and walk to the restaurants and stores."
Gerbitz said the Phoenix Building should serve as a catalyst for other projects.
He's quick to point out that Hendricks is not the only downtown investor. Other property owners are heavily involved and continually investing in their properties.
"Good, strong businesses are the heart and soul of the downtown," he said. "When we see a small business go out of business, we're disappointed, but the amazing thing about this community is that, when that happens, people are immediately thinking of what's next that will work.
"Downtowns that rest on their laurels are downtowns that are destined to die."
Gottfredsen the barber agrees, saying he hopes downtown Beloit will look different in five years than it does today. He also believes that while the commitment from Hendricks Commercial Properties has helped, the evolving downtown is the result of many committed players.
"Thank God for all they've done, but when we started the BID, they weren't on the train," he said. "I do think the Phoenix Building will be a wonderful catalyst.
"If they fill those 27 apartments with either one or two people, those are people who will be spending money downtown."
Andrew Janke is now Beloit's economic development director. Back in the late 1980s, he held El-Amin's position with the downtown association.
"Back when we started this and became one of the five inaugural Main Street communities, we understood it would be long-term process," Janke said. "We weren't expecting a home run with one or two projects.
"We understood that to be successful it would take time and be something that needs continual attention, and that's proven to be the case. That's a testament to the support of downtown business owners, volunteers, board and committee members, as well as the support of the city."
– See more at: http://gazettextra.com/article/20140119/ARTICLES/140119873#sthash.MzHBfOvn.dpuf


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Federal officials in New York City have charged SAC Capital Advisors with insider trading, the culmination of a protracted investigation into the hedge fund founded by embattled billionaire Steven Cohen.
SAC is charged with one count of wire fraud and four counts of securities fraud in connection with alleged insider trading by "numerous employees" at "various times between in or about 1999 through at least in or about 2010," according to the indictment.
According to NPR's Yuki Noguchi, "The Department of Justice's 41-page indictment details a culture at SAC that it says encouraged trading based on inside information. At its peak, the firm controlled $15 billion in assets, and for more than a decade, prosecutors say, SAC employees solicited nonpublic information and used it to trade stock in publicly traded companies."
The charges come less than a week after the Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges against Cohen, accusing him of failing to prevent insider trading at the firm.
The New York Times' Dealbook writes that the charges filed Thursday are underpinned by "the theory of corporate criminal liability, which allows the government to attribute certain criminal acts of employees to a company itself."
Going after SAC could devastate the Stamford, Conn.-based hedge fund "because the banks that trade with the hedge fund and finance its operations could abandon it," it says.
Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the matter, writes: "Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) are among firms weighing the reputational and financial consequences of continuing to provide trading, lending and prime brokerage services to SAC, one of Wall Street's largest trading clients."
The fund, which employs about 1,000 people globally, issued a memo to employees on Wednesday after a grand jury voted to go ahead with the charges saying the firm "will operate normally and we have every expectation that will be the case going forward."
Dealbook describes the latest indictment as part of "an unrelenting crackdown against insider trading" by federal authorities, saying that while Cohen may escape being criminally charged, he is "inextricably tied" to SAC and: "Not only are his initials on the door, but Mr. Cohen also owns 100 percent of the firm he founded in 1992."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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With the big football game quickly approaching I have been getting some snack recipes together for the party. The burger dip that I made last week got me thinking about hot cheesy dips and one my favourites has to be this taco dip! Since I last made this dip I have learned a few things and I was just itching to make it again and apply what I had learned. The first thing that I wanted to change was to make it in a wider dish since I had discovered that it works really well for hot cheesy dips when I made the pizza dip . The burger dip that I made last week taught me that topping a hot dip with fresh ingredients makes it even better, as hard as that is to believe! If any dip deserves to be topped with fresh ingredients it is this taco dip as tacos are commonly filled with fresh ingredients!
This dip starts out with some ground beef cooked in a tasty taco seasoning and then it moves on to your standard hot cheese base of cream cheese, mayo and sour cream and then it finishes with salsa and both jack and cheddar cheese. Next, the dip is thrown into the oven and baked until the cheese has melted, the top has turned golden brown and the sides are bubbling. After the dip is pulled out it is topped with your favourite taco filling ingredients such as fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, sliced olives, avocado, sour cream, etc.
Just look at all of that melted cheesy goodness!
You still can't loose if you make it the old fashioned way without any toppings.
Of course you certainly do not need to wait for the big football game to make a batch or two of this! It is amazing no matter when you serve it and it works great for any kind of social gatherings.
Taco Dip
A hot melted cheese dip inspired by the flavours of tacos! Serve topped with lettuce, tomatoes and avocados along with some tortilla chips for dipping.
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 2 tablespoons water
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup salsa
- 1/2 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup lettuce, shredded (optional)
- 1 tomato, diced (optional)
- 1 avocado, diced (optional)
- 2 tablespoons sliced black olives (optional)
- 1 handful cilantro (optional)
- Brown the ground beef in a pan, drain the grease add the taco seasoning and water, mix and simmer until the water evaporates.
- Mix the beef, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, salsa and cheeses in a large bowl, reserving some of the cheese.
- Pour the mixture into a baking dish and top with the reserved cheese, bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until it is bubbling on the sides and golden brown on top, about 20-30 minutes.
- Serve topped with fresh shredded lettuce, tomato, avocado, olives and cilantro!
Pizza Dip
Bacon Double Cheese Burger Dip
Jalapeno Popper Dip
Taco Pizza
Taco Burger
Chorizo Queso Fundido
Taco Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Chipotle Lime Shrimp and Guacamole Dip with Tomatoes and Charred Corn
Lasagna Dip
Chicken Enchilada Dip
Roasted Corn Queso Fundido
Roast Beef Philly Cheese Steak Dip
Stuffed Crust Pizza Dip
Meatball Parmesan Dip
Chicken Parmesan Dip
Cajun Chicken Alfredo Dip
Cajun Shrimp and Andouille Cheese Dip
Cheesy Taco Pasta
Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Taco Egg Casserole
BBQ Chicken Dip
Chicken Taco Tortilla Roll Ups


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After every vacation it's great to have pictures and small souvenirs that bring back memories of your trip. One fabulous way to create these memories is by making a scrapbook of your family vacation. While eliminating, "Honey, where were we again when this was taken?", it also gives your children (toddlers and up) something to do on a rainy day.
To start out with, get your children in the habit of saving one thing from each place you visit. It can be anything from a restaurant napkin to a postcard from a national park, or your children's drawings of the theme park your family has just visited. Another great tip is to bring along a disposable camera for your children. It's a great inexpensive way to allow your children to feel included, and at the same time get their point of view of the trip.
On a rainy day (hopefully you won't have any of those) or a night where you and your family want to take it easy, start putting your scrapbook together. The essential elements that are needed can easily be brought with you: photo-album or scrapbook, scissors, glue, construction paper, stickers and markers. If you feel really ambitious, take the film that has already been used to a 1-hour film-developing center.
Now that you have all the materials ready, it's time to begin. Here are a few suggestions that can help make the craft session run smoothly:
Enjoy your new scrapbook! The memories will last a lifetime.
(Copyright 2002 World Choice Travel. All Rights Reserved)


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ANKARA, Turkey – Turkish jets on Wednesday forced a Syrian passenger plane to land at Ankara airport on suspicion that it might be carrying weapons or other military equipment, amid heightened tensions between Turkey and Syria that have sparked fears of a wider regional conflict.
The Syrian Air jetliner was traveling from Moscow when it was intercepted by F16 jets as it entered Turkish airspace and was escorted to the capital's Esenboga Airport, the state-run TRT television reported.
Hours later, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the Airbus A320 with 37 passengers and crew would be allowed to leave, but its cargo had been confiscated.
"There are elements ... that are not legitimate in civilian flights," the state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Davutoglu as saying. He did not provide details but said authorities continued to examine the cargo.
Davutoglu earlier told Turkey's TGRT television that the plane was intercepted on suspicion it was carrying illicit cargo to Damascus.
"If equipment is being carried under the guise of civilian flights or if they are not being declared, then of course we'll inspect it," he said.
"We are determined to stop the flow of weapons to a regime that carries out such ruthless massacres," Davutoglu added. "We cannot accept that our air space be used for such aims."
Hurriyet newspaper's website, citing unidentified intelligence officials, said communications equipment, wireless sets and jammers were found on board. NTV television reported that authorities found "missile parts."
Syrian Information Minister Omran Zuabi declined comment.
Davutoglu said Turkish authorities had also declared Syria's airspace to be unsafe and were stopping Turkish aircraft from flying over the civil war-torn country.
The move comes as tensions between Turkey and Syria are running high. The countries, which were once close allies, have been exchanging artillery fire across the volatile border for days.
Earlier Wednesday, Turkey's military chief vowed to respond with more force to any further shelling from Syria, keeping up the pressure on its southern neighbor a day after NATO said it stood ready to defend Turkey.
Gen. Necdet Ozel was inspecting troops who have been put on alert along the 565-mile (910-kilometer) border after shelling from Syria killed five Turkish civilians in a border town last week. Turkey has reinforced the border with artillery and also deployed more fighter jets to an air base close to the border region.
"We responded and if (the shelling) continues, we will respond with more force," the private Dogan news agency quoted Ozel as saying during a visit to the town of Akcakale.
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday that Washington has sent troops to the Jordan-Syria border to help build a headquarters in Jordan and bolster that country's military capabilities in the event that violence escalates along its border with Syria.
The revelation raises the possibility of an escalation in the U.S. military involvement in the conflict, even as Washington pushes back on any suggestion of a direct intervention in Syria.
In Syria's largest city, Aleppo, regime troops and rebel fighters exchanged fire for several hours in and around the historic 13th-century Umayyad Mosque, said local activist Mohammed Saeed.
He said rebels were trying to drive out regime troops holed up in the downtown place of worship, and that by nightfall the shooting had stopped. The mosque is one of the landmarks of Aleppo, along with its medieval covered market, or souk, which was largely gutted last month in a huge fire sparked by the fighting.
Rami Abdul-Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said local activists told him fighting was restricted to the area near the mosque, but that no fighters entered the site itself. The Observatory relies on reports from a network of activists in Syria.
Aleppo has been the scene of intense fighting, particularly since rebels launched a new offensive two weeks ago to try to dislodge regime troops. The fighting has devastated large areas of the city of 3 million, Syria's former business capital.
Earlier, Syrian activists also said the rebel units of the Free Syrian Army took control of Maaret al-Numan, a strategic city along the main highway in Idlib province that connects the central city of Homs with Aleppo to the north and the capital Damascus.
Abdul-Rahman said the rebels took control of the city late Tuesday. He said the rebels control the western entry into the city, while the military is massing troops along the eastern outskirts for a possible counter offensive.
Fadi Yassin, an activist in Maarat al-Numan, told The Associated Press on Skype that rebels were in control of the city, although fierce fighting continued around the military barracks on Wednesday, three days after the opposition launched a "liberation battle."
"The city has been liberated," Yassin said. "All liberation battles start with small cities and then move on to the major cities."
Holding onto Maaret al-Numan would be a significant achievement for the rebels, enabling them to cut the army's main supply route to Aleppo and Homs, both of which came under bombardment from the regime's helicopters and artillery on Wednesday, according to activists.
The Anadolu news agency reported fighting between Syrian rebels and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime around the town of Azmarin, in Idlib province, across from the Turkish border. It said Syrians were fleeing homes in the Azmarin region, some crossing into Turkey by boat over the Orontes River, which runs along the border.
Footage from Anadolu showed women, children and elderly men being transported from Syria to Turkey on makeshift rafts and boats.
Private NTV television reported that explosions and automatic weapon fire could be heard in Turkey's Hatay province, coming from Azmarin. It said rebels were clashing with some 500 Syrian government soldiers, and that at least 100 rebels had been injured, some of whom had been brought to Turkey for treatment.
Some 99,000 Syrians, mostly women and children, have sought refuge in Turkey since the start of the conflict.
Also on Wednesday, state-run news agency SANA said Assad appointed Sattam Jadaan al-Dandah as Syria's new ambassador to Iraq. The report did not say when al-Dandah would travel to Baghdad. His predecessor, Nawaf Fares, defected in July, becoming the most senior diplomat to abandon Assad's regime during a bloody 18-month uprising that has morphed into a bloody civil war.
Meanwhile, the U.N. envoy on Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday on the first stop of his diplomatic tour of the Middle East. His spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said Brahimi would "hold wide-ranging talks on the prolonged crisis in Syria."
Barbara Surk and Zeina Karam in Beirut and Frank Jordans in Istanbul contributed to this report.


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Friday, December 12, 2008
Keith and What's-Her-Name
Friday, December 12, 2008
But really, shouldn't (Bride) be in quotation marks?
71 comments | Post a Comment
Wow. There are so many ways to take this that I hope for Keith's sake the bride, assuming she existed and/or knew about her upcoming nuptials, didn't show up at the party.
At least the bouquet is pretty (although not to my taste)...
Word verification = trocut, which sounds like a part of a tuxedo - December 12, 2008 at 9:43 AM
The other day they ran a thing in Dear Abby about a lady whose fiancee backed out on her so she asked a friend to marry her instead and "since he wasn't doing anything he said sure." (hence all the wedding guests thought they'd gotten the groom's name wrong).
And somehow I feel like that might be what inspired this cake. Maybe the decorator wanted to have all the bases covered just in case the bride got cold feet. - December 12, 2008 at 9:44 AM
- Bibi said...
Oh dear, oh dear . . . If the groom's name were different I'd say that baker had just met my new sister-in-law and thought she was as replaceable as we do.
- December 12, 2008 at 9:45 AM
- An Apron Straitjacket said...
Maybe he placed a want ads in the paper and wanted to cover his bases....
"Wanted: Bride. Just show up at the 1st Church of the Desperate at 2pm Saturday. Cake included". - December 12, 2008 at 9:46 AM
- Christina said...
i can only hope that a) this party was for keith and the bride will not be attending and b) keith is the typical guy and will forget to mention this to his bride.
why would you host if a wedding show if you don't even know half the couple's name? just so beyond rude. x_X - December 12, 2008 at 9:50 AM
- Eternal Lizdom said...
Parentheses are the new quotation marks! Didn't you see it during NYC and Paris Grammar Week??
- December 12, 2008 at 9:50 AM
- Vashti said...
Hahaha thats great!!!!
I saw a perfect cake wreck today, and wouldnt you know i didnt have my camera on me! - December 12, 2008 at 9:56 AM
- Angie McCullagh said...
Perhaps she was mail order and they hadn't met yet?
Angie (from over at www.HalfAssedKitchen.com) - December 12, 2008 at 10:07 AM
- Shannon said...
Keith was just waiting for the 'yes' or 'no' unfortunately the cake decorator could not wait any longer.
- December 12, 2008 at 10:09 AM
What bothers me most are the little pink things! Does this cake have a rash?
- December 12, 2008 at 10:11 AM
- Marie said...
One of my all-time favourites. Thank you for a genuine lol.
Maybe he ordered it before he'd decided on that particular detail? - December 12, 2008 at 10:17 AM
@Bibi: Did you really just type that comment into a popular blog on the Internet and not only use your real name but include a link to your own blog? Like, for real? Most of me is hoping you're just kidding, but it really seems genuine every time I read it.
- December 12, 2008 at 10:22 AM
- Unknown said...
That is too funny.
Amy B. - December 12, 2008 at 10:27 AM
They should have put "Spouse," just in case Keith is gay. They obviously don't know him very well!
- December 12, 2008 at 10:36 AM
- Kelli W said...
I'm guessing that whoever ordered the cake knew Keith but not (Bride) and was planning on calling back with the correct name. Still, oh so sad that any decorator would put that on a cake. Why not just write Congratulations and be done with it!!
- December 12, 2008 at 10:37 AM
- Unknown said...
ok, that's good stuff. What I find curious is that the cake is clearly for Keith (bride is on her own, it seems). If the cake was for a man, why does it look SO feminine. Come on co-workers, just PRETEND to care about Keith and bride.
Just goes to show that every office has a Milton... "now, Milton, don't be greedy'
name that movie! - December 12, 2008 at 10:38 AM
Maybe he's a bigamist, or a polygamist...and has a whole bunch of these in the freezer.
- December 12, 2008 at 10:41 AM
- Cara said...
...unless Barron IS the bride...and whoever ordered the cake thought it necessary to tastelessly specify.
- December 12, 2008 at 10:42 AM
- Unknown said...
The cake is actually really cute (to me) with that small exception...poor Mrs. Barron.
I have to disagree with Christina on this one because in my world, typical guys ALWAYS tell you the things you absolutely do not need to hear. My boyfriend (and some of those of my friends) has no edit button. - December 12, 2008 at 10:42 AM
- Melissa Hale said...
Paige - I'm with you on the pink things, I'm not quite sure what they're supposed to be and they just look sort of icky!
- December 12, 2008 at 10:43 AM
Perhaps that cake is from her mother in law. After all, we wouldn't want to acknowledge the name of the person who is taking away her baaaaaaaaaby. :)
- December 12, 2008 at 10:50 AM
BAHAHAHA The poor Mrs-to-be. Hope she didn't see that or subscribes to this blog.
- December 12, 2008 at 10:54 AM
- Boozy Tooth said...
Could perhaps Barron be a he and therefore the need to identify him as the Bride?
Word verification: "perspac" as in that's my perspactive on this anyway. - December 12, 2008 at 10:54 AM
- queenb said...
I thought the cake was at least pretty, until Paige said, "...does the cake have a rash?" That's hilarious!
You know, with all the odd names these days...Cocoa, Apple, Police Inspecktor...maybe that's really her name...Bride...
Happy Friday!
~Bonnie B - December 12, 2008 at 10:55 AM
It could have been worse. The decorator could have misspelled the bride's name as "Barren"...
- December 12, 2008 at 10:56 AM
- JJ said...
This is seriously one of the more hideous cakes I've seen. Obviously the name error just makes me sad, but on what planet does that dark blue border go with a pink rash?
- December 12, 2008 at 11:04 AM
- Kate said...
It would be funnier if this cake was ordered by the groom's mother.
- December 12, 2008 at 11:06 AM
- Start To Finish Supplies said...
Wow! Why didn't they just leave the names off?? Looks like a bad omen.
- December 12, 2008 at 11:12 AM
- smarmygal said...
I think we are missing the positive here, people. They spelled CONGRATULATIONS correctly! Soooooo close to not being Wrecktastic, and yet so very, very far...
- December 12, 2008 at 11:18 AM
- *James* said...
At least they spelt congratulations right...
- December 12, 2008 at 11:26 AM
- Brianna T said...
Maybe the bride's name is Barron and they felt the need to designate it as such to the decorator?
- December 12, 2008 at 11:26 AM
- Larisa said...
I think the frosting bag got a little warm because it's not defined in the white diamond, bottom right.
- December 12, 2008 at 11:39 AM
- Bailey's Leaf said...
Paige, I'm glad that the pink zits in the corners bothered someone else besides me!
UGH! - December 12, 2008 at 11:40 AM
Of course, with some very traditional arranged marriages the bride and the groom do not meet until the wedding day. But, I think they do know each other's names.
- December 12, 2008 at 11:53 AM
Maybe Keith's mother ordered it. My M-I-L would do something like that.
- December 12, 2008 at 12:01 PM
- Mari said...
I thought it was odd that they put the last name on a wedding cake. I haven't seen that before. Wouldn't want any confusion, what with the (Bride) and all...Lol
- December 12, 2008 at 12:07 PM
- Eve said...
Seriously? Not one person in the office knew her name or could have descretely found out? That's just soooo sad! I would have been insulted if I was even a tiny bit friends with ANYONE in that office!
- December 12, 2008 at 12:23 PM
- Chelle said...
Perhaps they wanted to clarify that Barron was the bride??
- December 12, 2008 at 12:40 PM
- tim h said...
I think this is just an example of poor scripting, someone should've used brackets.
- December 12, 2008 at 12:53 PM
Looks like a hint from bachelor Keith's mom who wants grandchildren.
Lea - December 12, 2008 at 1:24 PM
- relllii said...
I can't believe that nobody has mentioned the horrible color choices here.... Baby Pink and Prince Purple. Blech!
- December 12, 2008 at 1:42 PM
- fading in the sun said...
obviously he married Uma Thurman's character in "Kill Bill".
- December 12, 2008 at 2:11 PM
- Pearl said...
- December 12, 2008 at 2:16 PM
You would think that is someone went to all that trouble to make and decorate the cake, and then realized "Oh dear, I don't know the bride's name." that they would just say "Congratulations!" and leave it at that.
Chellie (from www.ilovemyself.com) - December 12, 2008 at 2:21 PM
- Ros said...
Keith Barron? Hmm. That rings a bell...
Hold on a minute while I google.
Ah! Keith Barron. I think I saw him in panto once. - December 12, 2008 at 2:22 PM
Perhaps Keith has gotten married so many times his coworkers are tired of learning the brides' names??
- December 12, 2008 at 2:24 PM
Hmm.. I guess Keith was a little indecisive
- December 12, 2008 at 2:31 PM
- Unknown said...
Not that logic played any part in the design or execution of this cake, but why not just put "Congratulations Keith". He's obviously (hopefully) the honoree at the party.
- December 12, 2008 at 2:57 PM
The first cake reflects another one of my pet peeves. Whenever you are casually listing a married couple's name (versus a formal listing), the woman's name should always come first. Not the man's. This drives me crazy. (The reasoning is that their shared last name (if they have one) belongs to him and this way it keeps his name together. I also think it is a nice balance to women's names totally disappearing in the formal form). Sorry for the hijack, this just drives me insane!
- December 12, 2008 at 3:02 PM
- Tatersmama said...
Hey maybe the the brides name was "Bridey" and the decorator just got confused? "Bride" must have been less than pleased though.
But with the decorative bits in the corners? I don't know which is worse...
Thinking those pink dotty things are heat rash or thinking that they're pimples. URP! - December 12, 2008 at 3:23 PM
- megryphon said...
Either Bride is the female partner's name and the parentheses are unecessary, or Bride is parenthetical because the person who took the order wanted the person who decorated the cake to know that Barron is the bride (in either case, someone needs to explain grammar to the decorator.)
Aside from all that the color combo is just too MUCH!
and what kind of a word verification is nonpoker?
;^) Jan the Gryphon
aka Jan Combs - December 12, 2008 at 4:02 PM
I love the uneven trim in the upright corner.
- December 12, 2008 at 4:02 PM
- Dawn Cox said...
Too funny!
- December 12, 2008 at 4:23 PM
- Missy said...
Jan, "nonpoker" is what Keith will be doing to (Bride) when she finds out about this cake!
- December 12, 2008 at 5:32 PM
- Lindsay said...
i'm reading it as Barron is the bride's name. and whomever placed the order found it necessary to specify...but, they placed the (Bride) in front of Barron instead of after, so to the decorator--who was only trying to do their job by copying EXACTLY the order form, the (Bride) part was necessary...and the Barron part looked like a last name, so therefore it was an afterthought.
you know like "i was going to leave Barron off, but the cake just looks silly with 'Keith & (Bride)'. i'll throw the Barron down here to specify which Keith and (Bride)" - December 12, 2008 at 5:54 PM
Congratulations on your wedding! would have sufficed here. What was the decorator thinking? Or maybe they weren't and that was the problem :)
(from www.cakesandkids.com) - December 12, 2008 at 6:42 PM
Oh my! I went to high school with a Keith Barron. Seriously! I wonder who (Bride) is? Too funny.
- December 12, 2008 at 7:11 PM
- evil cake lady said...
you mean no one is bothered by the plastic flowers? i mean, the rash is bad, the colors are bad, and obviously the wording is awesome...but the plastic flowers! kill me now!
- December 12, 2008 at 8:22 PM
Hehehe, I can see how this one happened...
"Hi, I'd like to order a cake for an office party, it needs to say 'Congratulations Keith and...' blast, I don't know his fiance's name! I'll get it and call you back later. Their last name is Barron."
So the order taker writes down "Congratulations Keith and (Bride) Barron", with a mental note to fill it in later.
But then the orderer never calls back, and it's down to the last fifteen minutes before pickup, and the decorator is a new hire who doesn't have the guts to violate their VERY STRICT policy on delivering EXACTLY what the customer ordered... And so a wreck is born. - December 12, 2008 at 9:55 PM
I think just Keith would have been fine, since it was his co-workers who were feting him. Ugh.
And quotations would have made it look smarmy like "Bride" (as in so-called), so if I had to pick, I'd take parentheses.
Glad I'm not Keith's (bride) wife.
SJ - December 13, 2008 at 2:11 AM
- December 13, 2008 at 6:26 AM
Might have been more polite for (Bride) to put "what's her name". heh
- December 13, 2008 at 6:30 AM
- Minerva said...
When in doubt, there are 4 words to save you from this....
TO THE HAPPY COUPLE !!!! - December 13, 2008 at 9:28 AM
- Kristi said...
Let me guess. Brian's mom ordered the cake and doesn't like his fiance.
- December 13, 2008 at 11:58 PM
- tarajackson said...
Ya know, my husband's grandmother (who, bless her heart, isn't all there really) wrote something similar on the first Christmas card to us after we were married. It said, "To Kyle & His Beautiful Bride".
- December 14, 2008 at 8:31 AM
Thanks for the lol!
Perhaps the the bride's first name is Barron and the coworker who called in the order didn't know how to spell that. She called back with the information but the order taker added it to the end of the phrase, rather than replacing the word "bride". - December 14, 2008 at 8:57 AM
- Unknown said...
Who would request a cake and not know the names of the individuals you are putting on the cake. If I was Keith I would be a little peeved that my co-workers or whoever felt like they needed to throw me a party but didn't even know the name of his fiance.
- December 15, 2008 at 8:24 AM
- Scritzy said...
Well, since my Jerkoid Nephew just got engaged to his fifth fiancée (before the divorce from fourth fiancée/first wife is final), I'd say this cake is for him.
Except that his name isn't Keith. - December 18, 2008 at 12:08 AM
- Unknown said...
I am a faithful cake wrecks viewer and you know the scariest thing about this? My very recent ex (we broke up tonight, the 18th) is named Keith Barron...and he works at a place with a bakery so I could be "Bride." I'm scarred.
- December 18, 2008 at 12:23 AM
- Unknown said...
Oh my word. The cakes are funny in and of themselves, but your comments are just, well...icing on the...
Old joke.
Your comment for this one reminds me of Jim Gaffigan's cake routine, which I've seen 873 times. Laugh every time, too. "Well, I should at least say 'hello.'" - December 21, 2008 at 3:06 AM
"An Apron Straitjacket said...
Maybe he placed a want ads in the paper and wanted to cover his bases....
"Wanted: Bride. Just show up at the 1st Church of the Desperate at 2pm Saturday. Cake included".
THE CAKE IS A LIE! - December 21, 2009 at 11:39 AM
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What is the Cricut Craft Room?
It is a design tool that lets you design with images from the Cricut cartridges (including Imagine ones) and images on the Craft Room itself. Currently, there is a free font and shape set of images, called Cricut Craft Room Basics and that's available for everyone. You will still need to own the cartridges to cut out your design, though. There is a linking feature so you can cut more easily. You need an internet connection to use the Craft Room. But there is an application that downloads to your computer and once that happens, you will always want to launch using your application on your computer, rather than the website.
Features of the Cricut Craft Room:
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For more details, head over to the Cricut Craft Room website HERE! There are videos, frequently asked questions, info on how to install the Craft Room, etc.
Now for some questions I have gotten:
Can I link my cartridges to the Craft Room if I already linked them to the Gypsy?
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Can I create a design in the Craft Room and then transfer it to the Gypsy?
Yes, you can! Save it in the Craft Room. Then click "Open" while in the Craft Room. Find the file you want to save in the Gypsy format. Highlight it. Then, click "Export". A box will come up that lets you choose a format ("Gypsy" or "Cricut Project"). Choose "Gypsy" and then a box comes up saying "Your project is being exported". Then a final box comes up that says "Finished exporting. Click save to save your file." Then, a box comes up asking where to file it. You are done. When you use your Gypsy, you can then import this file into it. Similarly, you can import a Gypsy file also.
Do I have to link my cartridges?
No. You can use the Craft Room without linking. Just put in your cartridges as needed.
How do I use cartridges to cut?
You can either link them in OR have the actual cartridge on hand to insert in the machine as prompted (if more than one).
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Verdict in Florida again raises self-defense issue
Published 12:00 am Monday, February 17, 2014
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A verdict in the city of Jacksonville is again raising the issue of self-defense and race in Florida, just seven months after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting of a black teenager, Trayvon Martin.
Michael Dunn, a white 47-year-old software developer, could face 60 years in prison following his conviction Saturday on multiple counts of attempted murder for shooting into a carful of teenagers outside a Jacksonville convenience store in 2012. Jordan Davis, a black 17 year old, was killed in the shooting, but the jury couldn't reach a verdict on the first-degree murder charge against Dunn. A mistrial was declared on that count.
The verdict is a far cry from one delivered in the Zimmerman case, when he was acquitted in July in the shooting death of 17-year-old Martin in Sanford, about 125 miles south of Jacksonville.
Like Zimmerman, Dunn said he felt his life was in danger when he fired the shots. But the verdict suggested the jury struggled to see it that way.
Following an argument over loud music coming from the car that Davis was in, Dunn said he shot at the car with his 9mm handgun — he said he was afraid and thought he saw a shotgun in the car.
Legal experts say it's likely that at least one member of the jury believed Dunn's story — about being scared, pulling a gun in self-defense and firing the first few shots, which killed Davis. After more than 30 hours of deliberations over four days, the jury couldn't agree on the first-degree murder charge.
"Although I don't think the evidence supports this, it is possible that the jury felt that Dunn was proper to stand his ground as to Davis, but his shooting of the others in the car was excessive," said Kenneth Nunn, a law professor at the University of Florida.
Nunn and other experts said Sunday that it's possible the jury was confused regarding first-degree murder and the concept that it must be "premeditated."
Another area of confusion for the general public is Florida's stand your ground defense law, which was a flashpoint during the Zimmerman case and, to a lesser degree, in this case.
Zimmerman told police he shot Martin only after the African-American teenager physically attacked him; Martin's family and supporters say Zimmerman, who identifies himself as Hispanic, marked Martin as a potential criminal because he was black.
In both the Dunn and Zimmerman trials, lawyers decided not to pursue a pretrial immunity hearing allowed by Florida's stand-your-ground law. But in each case, jurors were told by the judges that they should acquit if they found the defendant had no duty to retreat and had the right to "stand his ground."
That phrase is part of standard instructions given jurors when they weigh a case involving a claim of self-defense.
But the state's stand your ground law was technically not part of either trial.
"Dunn's attorney argued self-defense, which has been around forever," said Miami defense lawyer and former assistant U.S. Attorney David Weinstein. "I think people will say that because some of the language from the stand your ground statute gets embedded into the jury instructions, that stand your ground has an effect."
Judge Russell L. Healey could impose a 60-year sentence — state statutes call for a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years on each second-degree attempted murder conviction.
But the Florida Supreme Court could reduce the total sentence to 20 years if it decides that consecutive sentences are not appropriate when the sentences arise from one criminal episode, said Weinstein.
"This will make the decision to retry Dunn on the murder charge a little more complicated," Weinstein said. "Agreeing on a sentence of less than 60 years and forgoing an appeal might be something that Dunn would be willing to do and it would provide finality for the Davis family."
Dunn could also face 15 years in prison for shooting into the car. A sentencing date won't be set until a hearing next month.
Meanwhile, Dunn's attorney vowed to appeal.
"I basically told him to stay strong," Strolla said Saturday night, "and we're still going to fight."


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What about the word Toilet? From correspondence and discussions with American friends, I am given to understand that this is very much a no-no word in AmE.In AmE, toilet is used to refer to the porcelain receptacle for human waste, but not usually to the room in which it's situated. It can refer to either in BrE. So, toilet is a perfectly usable word in AmE when one wants to refer to the fixture, as in I stood on the toilet in order to change the lightbulb. But one wouldn't usually hear it in AmE in contexts in which is refers to the room, as in They were smoking in the girls' toilet(s). For someone who associates that word only with the porcelain object, it seems a bit too personal to say Where's the toilet?, since there's no doubt that bodily functions will be involved if you're asking for that porcelain object. On the other hand, asking for the room in which the toilet sits seems less personal, since there are lots of reasons to go to that room (e.g. to brush your teeth, get some toilet paper for blowing your nose, adjust your toupee...). So, one asks for the room, and no one is forced to contemplate bodily functions.
In AmE, bathroom has been used to euphemi{s/z}e 'toilet' for so long that go to the bathroom means 'evacuate one's bladder/bowels'. So, an unfortunate person might say to the doctor I have pain when I go to the bathroom. They don't mean that they knock their head on the door frame. Because bathroom = bodily functions, that word has become tainted as taboo, and thus other euphemisms like restroom and powder room have been invented for the room.
BrE has different reasons for having many names for the room with a toilet. One is that bathroom only indicates a room with a (BrE) bath/(AmE) bathtub, whereas in AmE it refers to a room with a toilet (and usually a sink, and possibly a bath(tub) or shower). I heard the following exchange a couple of years ago in the National Gallery (London) between a couple of American tourists and a cruel (and probably bored) security guard:
Tourist: Could you tell us where the restroom is?Since bathroom refers only to rooms with baths, toilet or loo is used for a room with a toilet/sink, and sometimes shower room is used for a room with a toilet, sink and shower. (To my AmE ears, that sounds like a room with just showers--such as one finds in a gym.) I remember as a child learning that the British say water closet or W.C., but it's not a very popular phrase today, at least not in the circles in which I travel. I've seen W.C. on public facilities far more often in France than in England. A term I wasn't prepared for but do hear a lot is en suite (bath/toilet) which refers to a room with a toilet (etc.) that is adjacent and private to a bedroom. This comes from French (bien sûr). En suite accommodation is a hotel (or bed-and-breakfast) room that has its own toilet/bathing facilities.
Guard: Do you need a rest?
Tourist: Oh no--I mean the bathroom.
Guard: Why? Do you want to have a bath (=AmE take a bath)?
Tourists: *gasping for another word*
Guard: I can direct you to the ladies' toilets.
While/Whilst toilet is less taboo in BrE than in AmE, some people avoid it because it is déclassé* (or non-U, in BrE terms). The U (i.e. upper class) terms are lavatory (or lav for short) or loo. At school in the US, I was taught to ask to visit the lavatory. I can still recall my classmates' and my confusion as to why the bathroom was called the laboratory. I can also recall Sister Helen's exasperation with our insistence on saying labatory or labratory (the usual AmE pronunciation of laboratory).
When I first moved to South Africa, and was faced with not being understood when using AmE euphemisms for the room with the toilet in it, it caused me considerable discomfort to ask Where are the toilets? Loo came to the rescue, since it was clear to me that that referred to the room. But by the time I left SA, I'd got(ten) used to saying toilet when I needed one. You should've seen the looks on faces when I asked for the toilet on my first day at my new job in Texas. It was at a reception for faculty wives and female faculty. Yes, this university was so conservative that it was considered improper for faculty husbands and faculty wives to have luncheons on their own, so they avoided the problem by inviting the female faculty instead of their husbands. So there I was in a reception full of big-haired, proper Texan ladies (one of whom actually said to me 'It must be so good to be back in civili{s/z}ation'!) and I asked for the toilet. It was priceless.
*Déclassé can be used in AmE to mean 'reduced in social standing' (i.e. formerly higher status) or 'of low social status' (i.e. not originally at a higher status). The OED has only the former meaning, so I am unsure at the moment whether my use of déclassé here is AmE, or if the OED is just a bit out-of-date on that one. Better Half is away, so you'll have to be my guide.