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Thursday, October 14, 2010
Barbie's Had It Up To HERE
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Good luck explaining that to the 6-year-olds, Roz W.
Note: That's a "Make Me Pretty Barbie Styling Head" on top there. Seriously. The jokes almost write themselves, don't they?
59 comments | Post a Comment
- Daisy said...
Barbie's never looked better!
- October 14, 2010 at 9:39 AM
I just keep thinking that the synthetic hair must be in the frosting! BLECH! [hairball]
~Maribeth - October 14, 2010 at 9:56 AM
- Jules AF said...
For my 5th birthday, my mom's friend made me a Barbie cake. It looked SO much better than that. And they call themselves professionals....
- October 14, 2010 at 9:57 AM
- Karen said...
Are you making fun of amputee Barbie? I suppose she's sort of the ruffly Jabba the Hut of the Barbie cake world.
- October 14, 2010 at 10:01 AM
Wow if we had to wear dresses that looked like that.. I think I would never wear dresses again...! What a travesty :{
Seriously though, could've at least made some arms with a fondant colored the same color as her skin, or some chocolate arms..
Maybe I expect too much from the wreckerators. - October 14, 2010 at 10:01 AM
- Danger Boy said...
I think this almost belongs in the Halloween cake post...
- October 14, 2010 at 10:01 AM
- Trevor said...
I love it. I think someone could write an entire research paper on this cake.
- October 14, 2010 at 10:02 AM
*opens mouth to speak*
*closes mouth and quietly leaves the room* - October 14, 2010 at 10:12 AM
- Kristine said...
My 4yo daughter: "Oh, that's a pretty pony cake" "That's not a pony" "Oh, what is it?"
- October 14, 2010 at 10:15 AM
- Caroline B said...
Did you ever have the toilet roll covers that were basically a doll's head on a tulle 'dress'? They were popular in the UK in the '60's......that's what this looks like to me, somewhere under that frosting is a loo roll.....
- October 14, 2010 at 10:26 AM
- StefanMuc said...
"See - if a man and a woman love each other very much, and they are really into kinky bondage ... "
- October 14, 2010 at 10:28 AM
i think i saw this on the sci-fi channel...
this is the part where the girl gets swallowed alive by the weird alien goo, right? - October 14, 2010 at 10:29 AM
- A Paperback Writer said...
Some of those roses are rather nicely done, but, even without the head, it's definitely overkill.
And what little girl wants a Barbie styling head with frosting in its hair? Ick. - October 14, 2010 at 10:34 AM
Some people are never satisfied. First people complain about Barbie's body and how it it effecting our daughters' body images. So, now, they come up with a Barbie with a different body image and people still complain! I like to think of this as the new Mumu Barbie, a Barbie all girls can aspire to be.
- October 14, 2010 at 10:35 AM
My teeth hurt just looking at that mountain of icing...the decapitated Barbie is on her own.
- October 14, 2010 at 10:53 AM
I was laughing the moment the page loaded. Just barely managed to keep from spewing my coffee all over my computer.
I don't know whether to laugh or gag.
WV: refeens; Wrecks like this make us hope the wreckerator refeens her technique before her next attempt. - October 14, 2010 at 11:07 AM
Naughty girl - look at the guilt on her face - she's eaten her own legs!
- October 14, 2010 at 11:22 AM
- H.J.D said...
I think it should be a rule that if you can't tell where the cake is in a cake then you should probably stay away.
- October 14, 2010 at 11:29 AM
- booturtle said...
Whoa! What would possess someone to use the large styling Barbie head? Yikes. Only way it could be worse if they snapped off a couple of arms from the creepy 3ft tall dolls and poked them in the side as if Barbie were jumping out.
- October 14, 2010 at 11:46 AM
- Eugenie said...
Is it the Ice Truck Killer's birthday already???
- October 14, 2010 at 11:46 AM
I remember a comedian talking about a decapitated Barbie head that you were supposed to practice your makeup skills on - I think it was referred to as "John The Baptist Barbie." Wonder if they served Salome sandwiches at that party?
- October 14, 2010 at 11:47 AM
- LeslieG said...
When I first saw this, I thought it was a commentary on Samuel Beckett's play Happy Days, which features a woman trapped in a mound of earth that gradually consumes her. Do you think the decorator was somehow making a commentary on Beckett's view of existential bleakness? Naahhh ...
- October 14, 2010 at 12:03 PM
- MamaBaer said...
see...the frosting dress was just so heavy she couldn't get her little arms and legs out of there. Poor Barbie. :(
- October 14, 2010 at 12:07 PM
Wow -- Wash Day Barbie! Now that has to be a collector's item.
I'll have a slice of frosting without so much synthetic hair in it.
Wreckerator #1: "We don't seem to get many orders for boy's or men's cakes here at Ruffles & Flourishes."
Wreck #2: "Yes, that is strange -- could you hand me that extra large ruffle tip? I gotta finish this cake for the Army recruitment center's grand opening." - October 14, 2010 at 12:11 PM
- Nancy said...
Oh, look, it's Bondage Barbie. Her arms have been subdued by all the ruffles.
- October 14, 2010 at 12:13 PM
- Paula said...
Barbie looks like she's had one too many botox shots...... and I Agree that it looks like one of those crocheted toilet paper covers with the doll on top.
- October 14, 2010 at 12:19 PM
- Squidley said...
What happened to the Soviet Russia post? It's on my feed, but not the site...
- October 14, 2010 at 12:28 PM
I decorate cakes for a living and actually had a barbie cake last week...it looked nothing like that...that looks like it might be all frosting and no cake :-D
- October 14, 2010 at 12:32 PM
- Unknown said...
At least she doesn't have boobs.
- October 14, 2010 at 12:32 PM
- Kate said...
I'm just earnestly concerned about all the ruffles. Why are we teaching our children to hate themselves with ruffles?!
http://arguingwithadoughnut.blogspot.com/ - October 14, 2010 at 12:35 PM
- Blessed said...
My 5 year old girl going past and seeing what I was looking at:
"Oh, it's so beautiful!
I wish I would chomp down on the computer!"
So, see, it met the demands of its target audience. ; ) - October 14, 2010 at 12:41 PM
- Cupcakes Lady said...
Halloween cake post...I think yes?! ;) xx
- October 14, 2010 at 12:53 PM
- karina said...
That reminds me of one of the worst movies I've ever seen... Boxing Helena. Only in this case it would be "Frosting Helena"
- October 14, 2010 at 1:23 PM
This is going to come off as pretty lowbrow after references to Theater of the Absurd and existentialism, but I have just two words:
Captain Pike. - October 14, 2010 at 1:36 PM
I notice several comments refer to having synthetic hair in the frosting. *Note to cakewreckers*: next time, please use real hair.
This cake looks like it was created by a drug cartel to send a message to doll makers everywhere. A decapitation cake speaks volumes.
In the '60s, doll cakes were popular where I lived, the kind where the naked doll wore a frosting bodice and a frosted cake skirt. Generic dolls were used because the real thing was too expensive, but everybody called them Barbie cakes. In fact, if you were unwise enought to point out it wasn't an authentic Barbie, the party hostess would correct you quickly (and angrily). - October 14, 2010 at 1:40 PM
- Dance To The Door said...
It's like she's stuck in quicksand that's made from layers and layers of ruffly, rose festooned frosting. Any minute now her head will slip below the surface and she'll suffer a sugary pastel colored demise..
- October 14, 2010 at 1:48 PM
Barbie's cake/dress reminds me of some of those 'worst bridesmaids dresses'
- October 14, 2010 at 2:00 PM
@fieldguidetohummingbirds : my sides hurt from laughing so much! Thank you!
- October 14, 2010 at 2:05 PM
- Siouxzr said...
So the wreckarator completes five or six rows of ruffles --- says "Hmm Maybe I'm going overboard with the ruffles. I know I'll do a row of roses." And back to the ruffles until Barbie appears to be entombed in frosting.
WV: phydr. Poor Barbie must now phydr way out of that doll eating cake. - October 14, 2010 at 2:20 PM
- WitchyMel said...
Hey lets not hate on the roses and ruffles, and look, little Susie there gets a doll head to wash (frosting) and style (sprinkles) and make all purdy!
[hack..eh...hack -pulls out synthetic hair- gag]
The frosting is... DELISH!!!
WV - Scruf "They're not ruffles, they're more... scruf."
http://velcrowallpaper.blogspot.com/ - October 14, 2010 at 2:48 PM
I sort of sympathize with the decorator, I tried to make my daughter a barbie cake for her third birthday and it turned out terrible! She being three, thought it was the best cake ever, but it was terrible. But I don't call myself a professional, so no I don't sympathize with the decorator.
- October 14, 2010 at 2:50 PM
@Karen: "amputee Barbie"--hahahahahaha!
I bow to the awesome posts this week. - October 14, 2010 at 2:53 PM
Antebellum Barbie's petticoat swallowed her!
- October 14, 2010 at 3:50 PM
Ever try to sit down in a hoop skirt? 'Nuff sed.
wv: artiesti - that's the most artiesti Barbie cake I've ever seen. - October 14, 2010 at 7:32 PM
What kind of person would think of making a cake like that? Oh lets just throw a Barbie head on top of a cake layered with roses and ruffles!
- October 14, 2010 at 8:20 PM
coming this season: Diabetic Barbie
-Barbara Anne - October 14, 2010 at 8:33 PM
Wow. Ken might want to sit tonight out.
- October 14, 2010 at 9:54 PM
OMG, it's a Dalek Barbie! "Exterminate! Exterminate!"
wv: isitindu
Barbie says, "Isitindu cake while someone takes du picture of me!" - October 14, 2010 at 10:28 PM
My 6 year old daughter saw this one and said "Oh, she's so bee-u-tiful!!! Can I have her for my next birthday cake?"
To which her twin brother pipes up "Well, she does look like you!"
Sibling love... I think it was because Barbie's blonde and DD is blonde, not that DD is covered if ruffles and roses... - October 14, 2010 at 10:34 PM
If you surgically remove Barbie's head, it is actually a pretty cake. And yes, it does look like a toilet paper roll cover.
wv: chipp
The sound made by my dental hygenist as he removes the plaque from my teeth caused by all that icing. - October 14, 2010 at 10:54 PM
- BADKarma! said...
Gives a whole new meaning to, "Let zhem eat cake!", doesn't it... O_o
- October 14, 2010 at 11:54 PM
I so wouldn't want a Barbie head on my cake unless it was for a halloween bash. Ugh and all that frosting would be a parents nightmare lol.
- October 15, 2010 at 1:45 AM
- Jennifer said...
Waiter, there's a blond synthetic hair in my cake.
- October 15, 2010 at 3:10 AM
This makes me a total nerd but I'll say it anyway - my instant reaction was "Venetian Pasticcerie" and if you look at the reflection of the buildings in the window they do have a certain italian look (could be wrong - don't flame me) But my point is that every street corner in Venice has a Pasticcerie with this kind of flamoyant kitchness on display.
- October 15, 2010 at 5:48 AM
- Theatre Geek said...
*sings* "Head and shoulders, bunch of ruffles, bunch of ruffles!"
- October 15, 2010 at 11:26 PM
I just wanna know; who in the heck thought that putting that Barbie head on top like that was a good idea?!
- October 16, 2010 at 7:51 PM
- Cami Franklin said...
My 5 year old was looking at the blog with me and we came across this barbie cake. Her mouth dropped, she turned and walked away in disgust and said, "I'm done." HA! HA! Even a 5 year old girl was not impressed with all the ribbons and frills.
- October 17, 2010 at 5:31 PM
gives me the heebee-jeebees!
- October 17, 2010 at 6:13 PM
Oh, thats scary. What the heck happened to her vital joints???? Creepy.
- March 21, 2011 at 4:13 PM
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text:
If you're coming, please take a minute or two to read through this entry.
If you're not coming, I'm so sorry. Regular knitting content resumes next week. There's lots of it.
No matter where you are, if you want to sign up for Ryan's Dulaan Brigade (folks who are promising to knit at least five items) today's the last day so get on over there and sign up.
What time should I arrive? How long will the event last?
The doors will open at noon.How do I get there?
Should you arrive before noon, the set-up crew will ignore your feeble cries for help and watch with glee as the squirrels mug you to get at your casserole.
We need to shut down promptly at 6 p.m., which should give us lots of time to knit and talk and talk and knit and eat and knit and talk and eat and knit. The format is open house: arrive when you can, leave when you wish.
We'll be drawing for prizes throughout the day.
I have sufficient volunteers for morning set-up and transport (thanks to all who offered), and would like to just wing it and see who's around at 6 p.m. to help with clean-up.
The venue is Northwestern Unversity's John Evans Alumni Center, 1800 Sheridan Road, Evanston. The entrance is on Clark Street, which Chicagoans should note is not the same as Clark Street in Chicago.What should I bring?
There are detailed directions here.
There's quite a bit of free parking on the adjacent streets and in the parking lot–just please do not park in reserved or numbered spaces.
I know of at least one knitter, Karen B. (a prize donor, no less), who is in need of a ride to the event. Karen's a hoot and you'll enjoy meeting her. If you're in a position to offer a lift to her or to other knitters, or would like a ride yourself, please feel free to use the comments for this entry to arrange it amongst yourselves.
- Your Dulaan knitting, in whatever state it may be.
- Your contribution, if any, to the food and drinks. This is not required for admission. Those who can contribute, please do. Those who cannot, you are welcome nonetheless.
- A name tag, if you want to wear one. It's not required. I'm not wearing one. I'm going to assume if you read this blog and are coming, you know what I look like and won't confuse me with all the other short, bald men in the crowd.
Only if it's an ingredient in your casserole.Are children welcome?
Depends on the child. Children who are knitting for Dulaan 2007 are, of course, welcome. Children who are small enough to spend the day happily cooing in a baby carrier are also welcome. Troublesome children will be sent into the kitchen, where Dolores will teach them to roll their own cigarettes, and read aloud to them from The Joy of Gay Sex.Will you be collecting money for Dulaan?
No, because Dolores wanted to set up a Kissing Booth for that purpose and I decided it's best that all donations go directly to the people in charge. If you want to contribute monetarily to Flagstaff International Relief Effort (F.I.R.E.) there's information on how to do so here.Will you be collecting finished items to send to Dulaan?
No. All knitters will be responsible for sending their own finished work to F.I.R.E. by July 1, 2007. You can find specifics on how and where to ship via Ryan's blog.What should I wear?
Not this. Or this.Can I still request an invitation?
Yes, through Friday morning. Write to d_vanhoofen at franklinhabit daht com.When I get the e-mail with the link to the Evite invitation does that mean I'm on the attendee list?
No. Please respond (including regrets) via the invitation page. If you'll be bringing guests, please note how many using the guest feature, not the comment box. Having a reasonably accurate head-count is important to the people who run the building–who also happen to be my bosses. So I thank you for your cooperation.What if on Saturday morning my friend Ermengarde hears I'm going and she totally wants to go but she lives in a cave and so didn't hear about this in advance and so she's not on the list but she's afraid if she doesn't get to go she'll stop breathing and die? Should I bring her or not?
Come on over. Honestly, a few knitters more or less is not going to be an issue. One exception: Morgan Fairchild. Dolores and Morgan Fairchild don't get along, so no matter how she may beg, do not under any circumstances bring her with you. We don't need a repeat of what happened at the notorious Celebrity Tupperware Party of 1979.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Stocks rise and fall with twists in budget talks
| New York
Optimism that a budget deal will be reached in Washington sent stocks modestly higher Thursday. A pair of economic reports also brightened the mood.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 36.71 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 13,021.82.
The stock market took a brief turn lower when House Speaker John Boehner said little progress was being made in budget talks in Washington. The Dow was up as much as 77 points in morning trading, turned negative as Boehner made his remarks at 11:30 a.m., then slowly recovered in the afternoon.
Investors were encouraged by several positive economic reports, including a higher estimate of third-quarter U.S. economic growth, an increase in home sales and a drop in claims for unemployment benefits.
After a meeting with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, Boehner told reporters that Democrats still haven't said which cuts they would accept to government benefit programs, suggesting a final budget deal remains a long way off. Republicans have said that they are open to increasing tax revenues as part of an agreement but only if they're accompanied by significant cuts to spending.
Investors have been closely watching the talks between the White House and Congress over the "fiscal cliff", a reference to sharp government spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to start Jan. 1 unless a deal is reached to cut the budget deficit. New developments in the talks have whipsawed the market.
"It's a headline-watching market with this fiscal cliff," said David Brown, chief market strategist of the investment research firm Sabrient Systems.
Brown says the ongoing negotiations are likely to cause the stock market to take sudden turns in the weeks ahead. "But things seem to be moving in the right direction," Brown said. "I don't think either party wants to get pinned with hurting the market or the economy."
In other trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 6.02 points to 1,415.95. The Nasdaq composite index gained 20.25 points to 3,012.03.
In the market for government bonds, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 1.62 percent from 1.63 percent late Wednesday.
Stock in Guess gained 55 cents to $25.81 after the clothing maker joined the ranks of companies pledging special dividends to shareholders before favorable tax rates on dividends expire at the end of the year. The clothing company said it will make a one-time payment of $1.20 per share on top of its regular quarterly dividend of 20 cents.
Dividends, now taxed at 15 percent, will be treated like ordinary income next year unless Congress and the White House extend current tax breaks as part of a budget deal.
The Commerce Department raised its estimate for U.S. economic growth to an annual rate of 2.7 percent in the July-through-September period. That's much better than the 2 percent rate estimated a month ago and more than twice the 1.3 percent rate logged in the three previous months.
The Labor Department also reported that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dropped to 393,000 last week, in line with what economists had expected. It was the second straight drop after Superstorm Sandy drove applications higher earlier this month.
Target, The Gap, and others retail stores posted poor sales numbers, driving their stocks lower. It's a crucial time for retailers, who log a huge chunk of their yearly profits in the weeks running up to the holidays.
Among other companies making news:
— Kohl's plunged 12 percent, the biggest drop in the S&P 500 index. The company posted a drop in sales and said stores in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, areas hit by Superstorm Sandy, fared the worst. Kohl's stocklost $6.13 to $45.02.
— Kroger Co. rose $1.19 to $26.25 after the supermarket chain reported stronger quarterly profits and raised its earnings outlook for the year. Stronger sales helped the operator of Fred Meyer and Food 4 Less stores post better results than analysts had expected.


text:
Important Information
30 April 10:00 A.M | Lots 1 – 536
1 May 10:00 A.M | Lots 537 – 1072
2 May 10:00 A.M | Lots 1073 – 1319 | Jewellery
3 May 10:00 A.M | Lots 1320 – 1874 | Irish Vernacular
Terms & Conditions
1. Definitions in these Conditions, Sheppard's, who act only as auctioneers and agents for the vendor, are called 'the Auctioneers' and the representatives of Sheppard's conducting
the auction is called 'The Auctioneer'.
2. General: Whilst Sheppard's make every effort to ensure the accuracy of their catalogue and the descripton of any lot.
(a) Each lot as set out in the catalogue or as divided or combined with any other lot or lots is sold by the vendor with all faults, imperfections and errors of descriptions.
(b) Sheppard's do not accept responsibility for the authenticity, attribution, genuineness, origin, authorship, date, age, period, condition or quality of any lot, unless they have been
instructed in writing by the vendor so to certify, and in such case the Auctioneers do so as agents of the vendor are not themselves responsible for such claims.
(c) All statements, whether printed in the catalogue or made orally, as to any of the matters set out in (b) above are statements of opinion only and are not to be taken as being or
implying any warranties or representations of fact by Sheppard's, unless they have been instructed in writing by the vendor so to certify and in such case the Auctioneers do so as
agents of the vendor and are not themselves responsible for such claims.
3. The Auction:
(a) The Auctioneer has absolute discretion to divide any lot, to combine any two or more lots or to withdraw any lot or lots from the sale, to refuse bids, regular bidding or cancel
the sale without in any case giving any reason or without previous notice. He may bid on behalf of the vendor for all goods which are being offered subject to reserve or at the
Auctioneer's discretion.
(b) The highest bidder shall be the buyer except in the case of a dispute. If during the auction the Auctioneer considers that a dispute has arisen, he has absolute discretion to settle
it or re-offer the lot. The Auctioneer may at his sole discretion determine the advance of bidding or refuse a bid.
(c) All conditions, notices, descriptions, statements and other matters in the catalogue and elsewhere concerning any lot are subject to any statements modifying or affecting the
same made by the Auctioneer from the rostrum prior to any bid being accepted for the lot.
4. Recission: Notwithstanding any other forms of these Conditions. If within fourteen days after the sale Sheppard's have received from the buyer of any lot notice in writing that in
his view the lot is a deliberate forgery and within twenty-one days after such notification the buyer returns the same to Sheppard's in the same condition as at the time of sale and
by producing evidence, the burden of proof to be upon the buyer, satisfies Sheppard's that considered in the light of the entry in the catalogue the lot is a deliberate forgery then
the sale of the lot will be rescinded and the purchase price of the same refunded.
5. Default: Sheppard's disclaim responsibility for default by either the buyer or the vendor because they act as agents for the vendor only and therefore do not pay out to the vendor
until payment is received from the buyer. Instructions given by telephone are accepted at the sender's risk and must be confirmed in writing forthwith.
6. In the event of a sale by private treaty both the vendor and the buyer agree to be bound by the General and any Special Conditions of Sale.
7. Inspection: Each buyer by making a bid for a lot acknowledges that he has satisfied himsellf fully before bidding by inspection or otherwise as to all the Sale Conditions the physical
condition of and description of the lot including but not restricted to whether the lot is damaged or has been repaired or restored.
8. Property and Risk Legal title will not pass to the buyer until the lot(s) has been paid for in full and the Auctioneers shall he entitled to a lien on any lot sold until the purchase price
(as defined in 11 below) is paid in full but each lot is at the sole risk of the buyer from the fall of the hammer. Each buyer shall forthwith give his full names and permanent address
and if called upon to do so by the Auctioneer shall forthwith pay to Sheppard's such proportion of the purchase price as the Auctioneer may require. If the buyer fails to do so, the
lot may at the Auctioneer's sole discretion be put up again and re-sold.
9. Every bidder shall be deemed to act as principal unless there is in force a written acknowledgment by Sheppard's that he acts as agent on behalf of a named principal.
10. Removal of Goods.
(a) No purchase shall be claimed until it has been paid for and the sale has been concluded. All purchases shall be paid for and removed at the buyer's risk and expense, failing
which the Auctioneer shall not be responsible if the same are lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed and all lots not so removed shall remain at the risk of the buyer and subject to a
minimum warehousing charge of €5 per item per day. If they are not paid for and removed within seven days of the Sale the Auctioneer may re-sell them by auction or privately
without notice to the buyer. Any liability which there may be on the part of the Auctioneer in respect of any loss shall be restricted to a maximum of the price paid by the buyer of
the lot.
(b) In the event of any failure of the buyers to comply with any of the conditions the damages recoverable by the seller or the Auctioneers from the defaulter shall include any loss
arising on any re-sale of the lot, together with the charges and expenses in respect of both sales, and any money deposited in part payment shall be held by the Auctioneers on
account of any liability of the defaulter to them or to the seller. The Auctioneers are unable to accept payment from successful bidders other than in cash or by the bidder's own
cheque. Cheques drawn by third parties whether in the Auctioneer's favour or requiring endorsement, cannot be accepted.
11. Purchase Price: The purchaser shall pay the hammer price together with a premium of 20%+ VAT at standard rate. The premium attracts VAT at the standard rate and is payable by
all purchasers. The vendor authorises the Auctioneer to deduct commission and expenses at the stated rates from the hammer price and acknowledges the Auctioneer's right to retain
the premium payable by the purchaser. Payment by cash or guaranteed cheque.
Although every effort is made to report damage and restoration to lots in this catalogue, absence of condition does not imply a lot is free from damage,
and prospective purchasers must in all cases be responsible for determining condition themselves. Lots purchased online with the-saleroom.com will attract an additional charge for this service in the sum of 5% of the hammer price plus VAT at the rate imposed
If instructed we will execute bids and advise intending Purchasers. The service is free. Lots will always be bought as cheaply as is allowed by other bids
and reserves. Bids, when placed by telephone, are accepted only at the sender's risk, and must be confirmed by letter.
Special Condition: All purchases to be paid for the evening of sale.
A work catalogued with the name(s) or recognised designation of an artist, without any qualification, is, in our opinion, a work by the artist in other cases,
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text:
The SEC on Friday filed civil charges against Steven A. Cohen, the founder of hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors, accusing the billionaire of failing to prevent insider trading.
The Securities and Exchange Commission in a statement Friday afternoon said:
"Cohen received highly suspicious information that should have caused any reasonable hedge fund manager to investigate the basis for trades made by two portfolio managers who reported to him — Mathew Martoma and Michael Steinberg. Cohen ignored the red flags and allowed Martoma and Steinberg to execute the trades. Instead of scrutinizing their conduct, Cohen praised Steinberg for his role in the suspicious trading and rewarded Martoma with a $9 million bonus for his work. Cohen's hedge funds earned profits and avoided losses of more than $275 million as a result of the illegal trades."
The charges are part of an ongoing investigation into SAC Capital Advisors, which the government has called one of the biggest insider-trading cases in history. As we reported in March, SAC affiliates agreed to pay $614 million in penalties (although Reuters now puts the figure at $616 million).
The SEC is seeking unspecified fines against the 57-year-old Cohen and wants to bar him from being able to oversee investor funds.
An SAC spokesman says the latest allegations have "no merit" and that Cohen "will fight this charge vigorously."
"Steve Cohen acted appropriately at all times," spokesman Jonathan Gasthalter said in a statement.
Portfolio managers Mathew Martoma and Michael Steinberg have each pleaded not guilty to criminal insider-trading charges. They face trials in November, The Associated Press reports.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
I can't be sure, but it seems to me I first heard the words "Nelson Mandela" when I was in college, way back in the '70s. There was a lot of anti-apartheid activity, lots of demonstrations to encourage several universities to pull their investments out of South Africa. Somewhere in there came the story of a freedom fighter who'd been jailed on a barren island, in solitary confinement, for longer than many of us protesters had been alive.
A few years later, an infectious tune started seeping onto dance floors, the product of an integrated band that mixed politics with their pop:
Free Nelson Mandela!
Free, free, free Nelson Mandela!
Written by Jerry Dammers and performed by The Special AKA, the song told about Mandela's imprisonment in an infectiously catchy Afro-pop/ska beat, and educated a lot of people who wanted to know more about who this Nelson Mandela was.
21 years in captivity
Shoes too small to fit his feet
His body abused, but his mind is still free
Are you so blind that you cannot see, I said ...
Free Nelson Mandela ...
And, several years and a lot of international intercession after that, he was.
Feb. 11, 1990.
You remember the pictures: Nelson Mandela, walking, erect, out of Victor Verster, his last prison, flanked by his African National Congress colleagues and his then-wife, Winnie, as shutters clicked, cameras rolled, and his countrymen joyously did the toi-toi to celebrate his liberation. You could hear his Xhosa clan name being chanted: Ma-di-ba! Ma-di-ba!
He toured the world shortly after that, raising money for ANC programs. His last stop in the U.S. was Los Angeles. It had been a grueling trip — 27 years in some of the world's most infamous prisons had to have taken its toll. But everywhere he went, Madiba smiled, waved and urged people to look forward, not back, and to work together to achieve a common goal.
We black Americans, who had seen so many of our own heroes in the struggle cut down, were especially touched: Here was a man who had lived to reach his goal — or at least the beginnings of it. Unlike the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers (and Bobby Kennedy, whose portrait hung with his big brother's and Dr. King's in many a black household), here was a hero who'd survived.
Morgan Freeman, who usually played God, was chosen to portray him in Invictus. It seemed appropriate.
The sad stuff would come later — tales of corruption among ANC leaders, the distance and eventual divorce from Winnie, the eventual return of violence to too many parts of South Africa. He became the subject of a tug of war among feuding political heirs, and even real family, who fussed over the intentions of his philanthropic largesse.
Of course there will be a huge state ceremony and memorial services around the globe. The hymn-like beauty of "God Bless Africa," the South African national anthem, will float up, up, slow and graceful, toward the arches of grand cathedrals, from inside small whitewashed churches in the countryside. On playing fields after a moment of silence.
But I'll be thinking of another song, and remembering the generosity of the man who inspired it: Free Nelson Mandela ...
Freed now. Godspeed.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
Violent crimes threaten Las Vegas tourism
LAS VEGAS » Variously known as an adult playground and Disneyland for grown-ups, Las Vegas brands itself as a place where tourists can enjoy a sense of edginess with no real danger.
But a series of high-profile episodes of random violence amid the throngs of tourists is threatening Sin City's reputation as a padded room of a town where people can cut loose with no fear of consequences.
A car-to-car shooting and fiery crash that killed two bystanders and an aspiring rapper Thursday followed a bizarre elevator stabbing and a movie theater parking lot shooting.
Though crime has been falling on the glitzy stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard that houses most of the city's major casinos, tourism officials worry that vacationers and convention planners could begin to steer clear of the town because of a perception of mayhem.
"We are concerned because it can create misperceptions about the safety of the city, the safety of the Strip," said Gary Thompson, spokesman for Caesars Entertainment, which owns 10 resorts in the tourist zone, including Caesars Palace and Paris Las Vegas.
Casinos are particularly worried about convention business, which helps fill rooms and gambling tables between weekends. Corporate planners can swing the market with a few decisions, said Gordon Absher, spokesman for MGM Resorts International.
"And that decision will bring thousands of people," he said. MGM operates several major casino-hotels, including CityCenter, where Thursday's convulsion of violence originated.
Violent crime, which includes murder, rape, robbery and assault, in the city's main tourist hub fell 13 percent in 2012, from 256 to 223 incidents, and is down 11 percent for the first part of 2013, with 50 incidents reported. The number of rapes has fallen by more than a third.
There have been two homicides just off the Strip this year, in addition to the three deaths Thursday, compared to none in the area during the first month and a half of 2012.
Had they taken place elsewhere, the incidents that made headlines in recent weeks would never have become national stories, Thompson said. But when the crime happens in a city that welcomes 40 million visitors a year, people tend to care even if they haven't seen the neon lights in years.
"It's like, 'I was there! I stayed in there in Las Vegas! I walked that part of the Strip!'" he said.
The spate of violence started just before the new year, when a man shot and killed his ex-girlfriend, an Excalibur hotel-casino concierge clerk, before fatally shooting himself.
The following week, a blackjack dealer was wrestled to the ground at the Bellagio with razor blades in both hands. She is charged with killing a 10 year-old girl and then slashing her co-worker's face.
On New Year's Eve, a man allegedly fired a gunshot into the floor of the crowded Circus Circus casino during an argument. A Saudi air force sergeant is accused of raping a 13-year-old boy in the rooms above the same night.
A nighttime shooting outside a Strip movie theater left two people critically wounded earlier this month. Last week, two random men allegedly assaulted a visitor in the elevator at the Mandalay Bay property, tackling him and stabbing him in such a frenzy that they also stabbed each other.
During the same period, Las Vegas courts sentenced a Florida teacher for killing a stranger with a single punch after trading words in a casino bathroom, and heard the case of two law students charged with beheading an exotic bird at the Flamingo casino-hotel.
The shoot-'em-up car chase that closed the Strip for 12 hours Thursday was the most public and deadly incident yet.
A person in a luxury SUV opened fire on an aspiring rapper in a Maserati near one of the busiest intersections on the iconic corridor. As the bullets flew, the Maserati ran a red light and crashed into a taxi, which burst into flames. The taxi driver, a passenger and the rapper were killed, and six people were injured.
Casino executives say they do all they can to keep visitors safe, with armies of guards, networks of high-definition surveillance cameras and undercover security workers scattered throughout nearly every major attraction.
"Unless you are a complete idiot, you're not going to want to commit many crimes in or around a casino because you're going to get caught," Thompson said.
But catching a criminal isn't the same as stopping the crime.
Commissioners in Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, are weighing steps to increase safety, including installing additional cameras in public spaces and broadening the sidewalks. In October, they banned potentially dangerous objects including fireworks, knives and toy guns from the Strip.
But real guns remain permissible. Nevada's relaxed gun laws, including the ability to carry them openly, have made Las Vegas an attractive spot for shooting ranges and gun shows.
Some observers think police should step up their presence on the Strip, just as they did after three slayings in 2011.
"Clearly they should be looking into this because they have had a string of incidents now, and while they've all been random incidents, they all did happen," said David Schwartz, the Director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
On Thursday, police spokesman Jose Hernandez said the department had no plans to send additional officers to the Strip, noting that crime remains relatively low for a town that accommodates so many visitors each day.
But with violent crime, as with so much else in Vegas, perception may outweigh reality. As a place built on the promise of letting loose, the city must work extra hard to banish all fear of danger, said Tony Henthorne, a marketing professor at the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration in Las Vegas.
"It's important for any destination that relies on tourism for a major percentage of its income to appear safe," he said, "and also actually to be safe."


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Grammy Nominees Announced
The Grammy Awards celebrated the diversity of music as six different artists tied for top nominee — Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, Mumford & Sons and fun.
Auerbach received five nominations as a member of the Keys and also is up for producer of the year, earning a spot with the others at the top of the list as the Grammy's primetime television special came to his hometown Wednesday night.
The rockers little resemble any of the other acts at the top of the list. The top nominations for Jay-Z and West, two of hip-hop's most important figures, is a familiar refrain; each has routinely been at or near the top of the nominations list for the last several years.
Indie pop band fun., a featured performer during the show, aired live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on CBS, rode the success of its anthemic hit "We Are Young," featuring Janelle Monae, to sweep of the major categories, earning nods for best new artist, song and record for "We Are Young" and album of the year for "Some Nights." The band's producer Jeff Bhasker is up for four nominations.
"When you call your band fun. with a period at the end of the sentence, you set a very high standard for yourself and for fun itself," Taylor Swift, the concert's co-host, said in introducing them. "Fortunately this band from New York has lived up to the name in the best possible way
R&B singer Ocean made a bold social statement earlier this year when he noted he had a same-sex relationship in the liner notes of his new album "channel ORANGE," and The Recording Academy rewarded him with the major nominations best new artist, record for "Thinkin Bout You" and album of the year.
And British folk-rock band Mumford & Sons, which made an auspicious debut in front of an international audience during the 2011 Grammys, is up for album of the year for "Babel," one of 2012's best-selling releases.
Miguel, who helped Ocean shake up the R&B world this year, and jazz great Chick Correa join the Keys with five nominations apiece. Nas and recording engineer Bob Ludwig join Bhasker at four apiece.
There were no major snubs among the top nominees. Most of 2012's inescapable hits are represented in some way — Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" is up for record of the year and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" garnered a song of the year nod. Drake, Rihanna and Nashville residents Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Jack White and best new artist nominee Hunter Hayes were among 16 nominees with three nods.
In many ways the nominations reflect a singles-driven year when no album rose to the level of acclaim as Adele's "21" or West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," which dominated the Grammys last February.
Rock, relegated to second stage in the era of electronic dance music, made something of a comeback and young bands are peppered in with the nominees we've come to expect each year.
The 55th annual Grammy Awards will be held Feb. 10 in Los Angeles. Trophies will be handed out in 81 categories.
The 5-year-old nominations show was held outside Los Angeles for the first time and showcased Music City for its growing role in the music industry. The Bridgestone Arena marked the largest venue the show has been held in and it may have been a dress rehearsal for a chance to host the main awards show sometime in the future.
LL Cool J returned as host, sharing duties with Swift, whose hit song "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" earned a nod in the jam-packed record of the year category. She was joined by fun., Gotye, Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)," The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy" and Ocean's "Thinkin Bout You."
Swift and LL Cool J opened the show by putting together a beat-box version of Swift's hit "Mean." Hayes displayed his versatility while announcing the best pop vocal album by singing snippets of each star's hit song. Maroon 5 played headliner, singing three songs mid-show before finishing off the live broadcast. The group stuck around for an hourlong performance afterward for the crowd in attendance.
Assisted by Monae, fun. reimagined "We Are Young" with orchestral strings as the crowd sang along, Ne-Yo, in wine-colored bowler, kicked things up with a cadre of dancers on his new club-infused song "Let Me Love You." And the show tipped it's hat to Nashville with a salute to Johnny Cash by Dierks Bentley and The Band Perry.
The Black Keys' "El Camino" was nominated for album of the year along with fun.'s "Some Nights," Mumford & Sons' "Babel," Ocean's "channel ORANGE" and White's "Blunderbuss." For best new artist, fun. and Ocean were joined by Alabama Shakes, Hayes, The Lumineers.
Record of the year nominees were "Lonely Boy" by The Black Keys, "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" by Clarkson, "We Are Young" by fun., "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye featuring Kimbra, "Think Bout You" by Ocean and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Swift.
Song of the year nominees were Ed Sheeran's "The A Team," Miguel's "Adorn," Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" and fun.'s "We Are Young."
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.


text:
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Model: 0003-BEI-50[1][1]Brand: Westaway & Westaway
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Westaway & Westaway own label product.Knitwear garments may carry the Lockie label.
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Sizes available : 42", 44", 46", 48", 50"
Dry clean or hand wash when the garment has been warn three or four times.
Hand wash instructions :
Use lukewarm water (30`C) and a gentle soap or baby shampoo.
Squeeze the soap through the garment. Rubbing will cause pilling (small balls) and may cause shrinkage. Rinse the garment thoroughly in cool clean water. Remove water by gentle squeezing or a light spin in a spin dryer.
Dry flat and smooth the garment back into shape.
When dry, iron lightly with a cool iron (two dots).
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text:
It won't be a surprise to say that there is always cake at the ready in the house. Whether it be for B. as a late night snack after a music job, friends dropping by on a late saturday afternoon, or simply as a quick snack as we pass by the kitchen. It's usually a variation of my grandma's yogurt cake. Always good. Always comforting. One cake I never make enough is coffee cake. You know, the kind with the lovely strudel top that is both crunchy and soft as you bite into it. But then Nicole's Chai Spiced Coffee Cake entered my life. Twice in one week. Three times a day, once.
I did not make it twice just for us and just because. You see, a couple of weeks ago, I received an email from a high school senior here in town, Haley, whose senior project was to recreate the Julie-Julia project but with David Lebovitz' Room For Dessert book. Haley asked if I would have a bit of time to give her some tips about running her blog chronicling the project, photography, writing, etc… I said yes. I remember when I started blogging that I was often looking up to my seniors for pointers (I still do at times) so I thought it was a great opportunity to give back to the blogging community. I am no expert but I have been at this blogging thing for a while now, eheheh.
And I love when life on the screen brings about wonderful little happenings like this!
Anyway, I thought we'd have some cake and tea and get right into the nitty nifty gritty of blogging and pictures. Well, schedules got out of hands and I never got to make that Chai Coffee Cake for Haley. We did meet this week and spent a great afternoon. I hope I answered her questions, at least until next time we meet. I gave her tips on how to operate her point and shoot camera to the best of its capacity, tips on light, focus, etc…and let her play with my props. Hopefully, there will be cake next time we do this!
I love this cake on so many levels but first and foremost because it is one of the recipes that Nicole included in her newly released first cookbook, "The Baking Bites Cookbook". Nicole's Blog, Baking Bites is one of the handful of blogs I started reading prior to starting my own. We were "blog friends from afar" until we finally met at BlogHer Food in San Francisco. Nicole is as delightful and true as she is on her blog. I am so proud that she achieved one of her lifelong dreams by writing this book.
I bluntly asked her if I could feature one of her recipes and introduce some of you to her blog if you did not read it already and to her "baby", The Baking Bites Cookbook. She agreed. I bluntly added "hey! Would you be ok to give a copy to one reader?" and she said yes. So here you go: there is one free copy of this delicious book up for grabs. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. The giveaway runs until Monday November 2nd, midnight US Eastern time and a reader will be chosen at random to receive a copy.
Given how good the Chai Coffee Cake was, I can't wait to bake more from Nicole's book!
Chai-Spiced Crumb Coffee Cake, from The Baking Bites Cookbook with permission of Nicole Weston:
Cinnamon is the standard spice for topping a crumb coffee cake. This coffee cake keeps the crumb topping and spices it up a little more by using some of the same flavors that are found in chai, including cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and allspice. These spices really help to make the coffee cake memorable – and they also make you want to come back for a second slice.
Note: the only change I made to the recipe was to fill my baking pan with half the batter, sprinkle some of the topping and add the remaining batter and topping.
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup sour cream, full or low fat
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or lightly greased aluminum foil.
Make the Topping:
In a medium bowl, combine all topping ingredients except butter. Whisk to blend.
Gradually stir in the melted butter, using a large fork or spatula to mix. When all the butter has been incorporated and the mixture looks like wet sand, squeeze small clumps together to make large crumbs ranging in size from that of a pea to that of a grape. Set aside.
Make the Cake:
In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by vanilla extract. With the mixer set on a low speed (or by hand), alternately add in flour and sour cream in two or three additions. When no streaks of flour remain, pour into prepared pan. Top evenly with crumb mixture.
Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Serves 9-12


text:
Red Sox - 010 000 211 - 5 12 0Dice (7-6-2-3-7, 96) settled down after wriggling out of trouble in the second inning and leaving the bases loaded. His three walks all came in the first 1.2 innings. He went to only two 3-ball counts over his last 19 batters. His pitches: 14-22-9 12-17-6 12 - 96.
Twins - 010 010 000 - 2 7 2
Boston had a four-dong night and all of the bombs were solo: Youkilis in the 2nd, Crisp and Lowrie back-to-back in the seventh and Lowell in the 8th. All four landed in about the same place beyond the left field wall. Pedroia drove in Lowrie in the ninth for the fifth run. For Lowrie, it was his first major league home run.
It was the bottom of the order that delivered tonight: Lowell (single, walk, HR), Youkilis (double, HR), Varitek (single, double, walk), Lowrie (single, double, HR). Pedroia's two singles were the only hits among the top four hitters in the order.
Okajima threw a perfect eighth and Papelbon looked good in the ninth. It was the 8th time Bot has pitched in the last 12 games/days.
Tampa Bay (20-16) shut out the Angels 2-0 to stay 2.5 GB the Sox.
Daisuke Matsuzaka (2.43, 177 ERA+) / Glen Perkins (2008 debut)
Perkins was in the Twins' pen in 2006 and 2007; he has pitched a total of 34.1 major league innings. MLB.com:
Following a muscle strain near Perkins' left shoulder that limited him to just 48 total innings last season (both in the Minors and the Majors), the Twins had the left-hander begin the year at Triple-A Rochester ... In seven appearances (six starts) for the Red Wings, Perkins was 2-1 with a 2.97 ERA.Disappointing game last night. Bot had trouble locating his splitter -- and yet Varitek kept calling for it. Walking Gomez -- who to that point had walked only 3 times all season, in 130 plate appearances -- after being ahead 1-2 was inexcusable. Also, not even looking over to keep the runners close and allowing them to steal at will was infuriating.
SoSH has a thread about Bot and his decreased K rate and usage in 2008. He's already equaled last year's number of games of 1+ inning (4).


text:
The bright lights of the political conventions dimmed. President Obama and Mitt Romney hit the campaign trail Friday. Both candidates headed for the politically critical states of Iowa and New Hampshire. We asked reporters in those both those places to find out how voters are feeling about the two questions that dominated the conventions: Are you better off now than you were four years ago? And which presidential candidate has the best plan for country? We go first to Sarah McCammon of Iowa Public Radio.
SARAH MCCAMMON, BYLINE: On their own, Iowa's six electoral votes aren't exactly a huge prize. But just like the nation as a whole, polls here are largely split, so six votes could become all-important. In this state with a relatively strong economy, the task for each candidate is persuading voters he has the best vision for the next four years.
BRETT LOGAN: I'm far better off than four years ago, but I'm not sure the man in charge right now is the reason for it. I think you make your own opportunities.
MCCAMMON: That's 29-year-old Brett Logan of suburban West Des Moines. He was eating lunch yesterday at a barbecue joint in downtown Des Moines. He says life is really coming together for him. He got out of the Air Force in 2008, got a good job in insurance, and was recently married. Logan says he's still undecided about how he'll vote. He thinks he'd get a tax break under Obama, but not under Romney. But he disagrees with the president's approach on issues like health care and Medicare.
LOGAN: I like about half of both of their plans, honestly. It's going to be a tough one for me.
MCCAMMON: Thirty-year-old Jason Wacker also works in insurance, an industry that provides lots of middle-class jobs in this city.
JASON WACKER: I personally think we are worse. The debt has dramatically increased. At the same time, jobs, while they might be good here in Des Moines, overall, around the country they're not.
MCCAMMON: Iowa's unemployment rate is a little more than 5 percent, three points lower than the nation's numbers. But around the corner at a vegetarian cafe, Jenny Forker says she's not better off. Forker lost her insurance industry job this year, a loss she blames partly on the economy.
JENNY FORKER: That was hard. I'd never lost my job before, never been unemployed, so it was a big change.
MCCAMMON: But Forker, who is 41 and now works at the cafe, doesn't blame President Obama.
FORKER: He's the only candidate I think women should be voting for, because I think he actually cares about women. I think he cares about grassroots efforts and activism. And I'm excited to see what he's going to do.
MCCAMMON: That is if voters decide to give him four more years. Both campaigns say Iowa is key to their strategies and voters should get ready for a lot more attention before November. For NPR News, I'm Sarah McCammon in Des Moines. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text:
Oranges and Glaze
5 satsuma oranges
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup semolina flour
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 10-inch round pan. (I used a 9-inch and, plain as the eye can see, it worked out great.)
Finely grate the zest of one of the oranges, and reserve the zest for the cake batter. Cut the orange in half, juice it, and strain the juice; you should have 1/3 cup juice. Slice the remaining 4 oranges into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Combine the orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and orange slices in a medium saucepan, and bring to a slow simmer over low heat. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes, until the centers of the orange slices are starting to become tender and translucent but are not falling apart. Carefully transfer the orange slices to a plate with a slotted spoon, and continue to simmer the syrup until it has reduced to 1/2 cup, 5 to 8 minutes. Set the glaze aside. (I did this step and then went to yoga class, came back an hour and a half later and finished everything up. Just in case, you need to break up this baking session.)
To make the cake, combine the butter and sugar in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix until fluffy. While the mixer is running, add an egg and wait for it to be incorporated before adding the other. Add the reserved grated orange zest. In a bowl, sift together the semolina flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture, a little at a time, to the batter mixture and mix until all of it is incorporated. Pour the batter into the pan and arrange the orange slices in one layer on top of the batter. Bake for 15 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350 and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the cake is an even golden brown and baked through; a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Let the cake cool on a wire rack until it is warm. Then, using a wooden skewer, poke holes all over the surface of the cake. Brush the glaze over the top, using a pastry brush. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature, and then unmold.


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Alabama, Florida State top first BCS standings
Alabama and Florida State hold the top two spots in the first BCS standings of the season. Oregon was a close third behind second-place Florida State.
The Seminoles (.9348 BCS average) are coming off their biggest win of the season, a 51-14 victory at previously unbeaten Clemson.
The Ducks (.9320) have only played one team that was ranked at the time, but could get a boost in the next two weeks with games against UCLA and at Stanford.
Ohio State is a more distant fourth, followed by Missouri in the standings released Sunday night.
The top two teams in the final standings after the end of the regular season play in the Rose Bowl for the national title in January.
Alabama is a comfortable No. 1 on the strength of being top-ranked by a wide margin in both the USA Today coaches' poll and Harris poll. The two-time defending champion Crimson Tide is second in the computer ratings.
If the Tide can stay unbeaten, it should reach the BCS championship game for the third straight year and for the fourth time in five seasons.
The polls count for two-thirds of a BCS grade.
Florida State is No. 1 in the computer ratings and third in each poll. Oregon is second in the polls and fourth in the computers.
The race between the Ducks and Florida State is shaping up to be a close one if both keep winning. The Seminoles still must play unbeaten Miami, rival Florida and potentially in the ACC championship game, which could be a rematch with Miami or maybe a game against Virginia Tech (6-1).
In addition to Oregon's next two tough games, the Ducks play Oregon State and potentially the Pac-12 title game against perhaps UCLA or Arizona State.
Ohio State is probably relegated to hoping for the teams in front of it to fall. The Big Ten is not affording the Buckeyes many opportunities for resume-boosting victories.
Stanford was sixth and Miami seventh. Unbeaten Baylor starts the BCS race eighth.
Only twice since the BCS started in 1998 have the top two teams in the first standings played in the title game.
The BCS is in its final season. It will be replaced by a four-team playoff next season.


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I like to keep a few quick meal ideas around for week nights when I don't have a lot of time to cook and this stir-fry is one of them. Really this recipe is more of a guideline where you can use whatever meat and vegetables that you want. You can also play around with the flavours by using different sauces. This time I went with asparagus because I had a bunch of it in the fridge and some chicken that I had in the freezer. I like adding nuts to dishes like this and the cashews were definitely invited to the party. I would normally make this with the garlic as stated in the recipe but this time I actually used some ramps or wild leeks as I had them on hand as well. Stir-fry's come together quickly so I like to have all of the ingredients chopped and at the ready. That means that the meat usually only gets to marinate for as long as it takes my to get everything else ready. The cooking takes very little time so this meal is usually on your plate in well under 30 minutes. Quick, simple and tasty; just the way I like it. I normally serve this on brown rice but you could easily replace swap in noodles, etc.
Asparagus and Cashew Chicken Stir-fry
- 1 pound chicken breast (cut into bite sized pieces)
- 1 teaspoon garlic (grated)
- 1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shao Xing Chinese cooking wine (or cooking sherry)
- 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 pound asparagus (cleaned, trimmed and cut into bite sized pieces)
- 2 green onions (sliced)
- 1 teaspoon garlic (grated)
- 1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 handful cashews (toasted)
- Marinate the chicken in the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, Shao Xing and corn starch at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Heat the oil in a pan.
- Add the chicken and saute until just cooked, about 3 minutes and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a pan.
- Add the asparagus, the white parts of the green onions, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and saute for 3 minutes.
- Mix the corn starch into the stock and add it to the asparagus along with the soy sauce.
- Add the chicken and simmer until the sauce thickens, a few minutes.
- Remove from heat ad mix in the sesame oil.
- Serve over brown rice and garnish with cashews and the green parts of the green onions.


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Enrico Frare isn't a well-known name in Italian business. The 36-year-old runs E-group, a small clothing company in the commercial region around Treviso that makes winter sportswear.
But last month, Frare did something that attracted a lot of attention. He bought a full-page ad in Milan's main newspaper appearing in what might politely be called his birthday suit. The caption read: "Every day in Italy an entrepreneur risks losing his shirt."
"Every businessman puts himself into his product," Frare says. "I decided that in a difficult time like this, I had to put my body in it as well."
Frare was trying to draw attention to the difficulty Italian businesses are having getting credit right now. He says he has orders from retailers he can't fill because he can't get a loan.
"I want to underscore that in a difficult time like this, if you can't get credit, it blocks production, creates unemployment and prevents you from doing research and development," he says.
Frare's methods are unorthodox, but his sentiments aren't. Italy's many small and medium-sized businesses have long complained about how hard it is to get credit. Economist Francesco Giavazzi of Bocconi University says in other countries, businesses raise money through the stock market or investment banks, but Italian companies tend to depend on commercial banks.
"These are not investors that are going to invest in an idea," Giavazzi says. "No, they say, 'Do you have a building to put up as collateral for my loan?' And these entrepreneurs often have good ideas but they don't have collateral needed for that."
With the debt crisis, banks have become even more reluctant to lend, and when they do, they charge higher interest rates. Gianfranco Librandi, who owns an electronics company and also started a small political party, says the credit crunch makes it harder for Italian companies to compete in the global economy.
"It is a big problem, and many companies close because they don't have money to buy new tooling to do new projects, and that is the only way ... to export or have new projects," Librandi says.
To compete, many young businesses have headed north to Switzerland or Austria, where the system lends more support to entrepreneurs. Enrico Frare doesn't want to do that.
"I'm an Italian, and I believe in my potential and in my products, and in Italy there are a lot of young entrepreneurs who have talent," he says. "And I don't see why I have to leave this area to work and come back just for Christmas or vacations."
But without more access to credit, companies like Frare's will have trouble growing, and it will be a lot harder for Italy as a whole to emerge from the fiscal trap it finds itself in.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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I can't remember how it went, exactly, because at the time I'd been drinking, but when I first met Heather B. - writing below - in person I was all like "I LOVE YOU" and she was all "DO YOU?" and I was all "DOOD! SHUT UP! I LOVE YOU!" and then I hugged her and slobbered on her and then - after a brief intermission to put a McDonald's bag on my head (not this year, though; last year. This year I forewent the hat, the better to avoid security) - proceeded to talk her ear off about no end of fascinatingly banal things. And I would do it all over again, a million times. Because I love her that much. You got that, Heather? I LOVE YOU. And now that you've written 'balls' all over my blog, I love you even more.
"In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw. ~ Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye
I am a Scorpio in most every sense of the word. I am brooding, intense, tenacious, obsessive and if you piss me off; may God have mercy on your soul. The way that I am able to tick off each of these things and say, yes, that is what I am and I have no problems with it is an acceptance of self that has taken 24 years to realize and embrace. No one likes the girl who is over the top and extreme but I am also a loyal person and I will defend my beliefs and the people I love until I am blue in the face. I like being that person.
Then there's the sex part of being a Scorpio: The belief that we, being the passionate sign, are inherently interested in sexual matters or that we use sex as an expression of love. It explains why through college I was referred to as 'asexual' or 'prudish' because I was physically unable to allow my brain to move to a point where I could go forth and get laid every single night. It was incomprehensible. And to think that I had friends who thought that I did not want to get laid? Are you fucking kidding me? I remember sitting with a group of girlfriends and I suddenly said out loud "Holy shit, I need to have sex". My friend Pam looked as if the wind had been knocked out of her because "my God, YOU need to have SEX?! YOU NEVER TALK ABOUT SEX!" Yes, well just because I don't feel the need to discuss it as I'm casually brushing my teeth or opening a bottle of Chenin-Blanc does not mean that I am not a human being who would like to get some ass.
But still it's hard for me to just come out and use the word sex without my face feeling like its on fire. Why yes, I can play it cool, calm and collected but on the inside I cannot believe I just used that word and I said it OUT LOUD and in front of people. Meanwhile the conversation continues and I'm dying a slow and painful death in my head because I am an adult who just said 'sex'. Even writing it just now I had to look around in my office, where the door is closed because it could be read on the screen because all of my coworkers have x-ray vision.
When guest posting was mentioned I casually emailed Catherine back to say "Ok! But it will be about balls and porn" and then I hid under my desk because I said balls and porn and perhaps I should use far gentler language for a person who has a Frankenvulva. And that was a big step for me because then I tweeted about the balls and the porn and each time I said balls and porn I raised my hands in the air and said, "Yeah I said it! BALLS AND PORN, MOTHERFUCKER! HOW YOU LIKE ME NOW?!" While feeling all drunk with power with my new found sexual freedom and ability to say porn in front of a few hundred people, I was feeling good. I was grinning. I went home and said 'cock' in front of my lesbian roommate because good lord, I can do it. And then I talked about my boobs with my male best friend and you guys, it felt AWESOME.
Then I went to work all prepared to write an essay about balls and porn and how much good balls and porn can bring to one's life. The freedom that comes with the release of using both words casually. So I sat in my office in my comfy chair and started typing away because I was going to write about sex and it would win me a Pulitzer. And then I got a knock on the door. It was my mother. She sat down and asked what I was doing and about a trip we're taking to Manhattan on Sunday and then she peeked over and asked what I was writing about. I could feel the sweat dripping off my forehead and down my back. My heart started to beat faster and yet I was prepared to say "Mom, I am writing about balls and porn and I may have just said cock". I could feel the words coming off my tongue. I'm an adult. I can use these words, right? Right. And then I looked back at my gorgeous and lovely mother. My mother who summers on Martha's Vineyard and abstains from alcohol and wears David Yurman. I couldn't do it. "I'm writing about personal finance. About blogs and advertising and my mutual love and fear of Suze Orman". She shrugged. "Oh…ok. Well bye". And like that she was gone.
She closed the door behind her and I let out a sigh and whispered, "Balls and motherfucking porn". Baby steps, people. Baby steps.
Labels: guest post awesomeness


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ALBANY, N.Y. – Minimum-wage increase proposals are getting the maximum push from Democrats in statehouses in more than half of U.S. states, highlighting the politically potent income inequality issue this year.
Lawmakers in at least 30 states are sponsoring or are expected to introduce wage hike measures, according to a national review by The Associated Press. They hope to notch state-level victories as President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats remain stymied in attempts to raise the federal minimum wage above $7.25 an hour. The president is expected to mention the minimum wage in his State of the Union address Tuesday.
Even in Republican-dominated capitals where the bills are longshots, the measures still give Democrats a chance to hammer home the popular theme of fair wages in what is an election year in most places.
"It's a no-brainer for any Democrat," said Neil Sroka, a strategist for progressive groups who is communications director at the Howard Dean-founded Democracy for America. "Congress is failing. They can take real action right in the states and have a demonstrable impact right here at home. For politics and policy, it's a winning strategy."
Minimum wage is a perennial issue that has taken on a higher profile amid the slowly recovering economy and growing public debate about income inequality. A Quinnipiac University poll this month found 71 percent of Americans in favor of raising the minimum wage — including more than half of Republicans polled.
Michael Sargeant, executive director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, calls it an "organic issue that's bubbling up from the grassroots." But it's also being pressed by politicians and labor unions. Democrats challenging Republican governors have taken up the issue, and there are ballot initiatives in several states.
"We are facing a huge income gap that only continues to widen, where the workers at the top see large wage increases and the workers at the bottom are at a standstill. That needs to change," said Massachusetts Democratic Senate President Therese Murray.
Five states passed minimum wage measures last year, and advocates hope that number will grow as states from New Hampshire to Washington consider proposals. Many would push families above the federal poverty line, which is $15,730 for a family of two. In Iowa, a bill would hike the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10. A Rhode Island bill would raise it from $8 to $9. And a year after New York approved a multiyear minimum wage hike, Assembly Democrats introduced another bill for 2014 sponsored by Labor Committee Chairman Carl Heastie of New York City that would accelerate the increase.
Labor unions and other advocates point to workers like Andrew Lloyd, who cleans the cabins, bathrooms and cockpits of airplanes between flights at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City for $8 an hour. With a wife and 1-year-old, he relies on food stamps to help stock the refrigerator and his paychecks barely cover diapers and other needs of his daughter. He said he can't afford a new pair of socks for himself.
"It's not enough. What we're making is not enough to support," Lloyd said. "There's just no way they can justify what is going on is right."
Opponents, many of them Republicans, argue that the higher wages translate into fewer jobs and higher consumer costs. So wage hike bills in Republican-controlled legislatures, like Florida and South Carolina, are not expected to pass. In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott said the claim that working families need the boost to make ends meet makes him "cringe, because I know that statement is a lie."
"Even if we did raise the minimum wage, working families will still not be able to make ends meet on those jobs," Scott said. "We need good jobs that lead to good careers for our families, and that's what I am focused on."
Already, a Democrat-backed bill to increase Indiana's minimum wage by $1 was blocked by majority Republicans on a party-line vote Tuesday.
Win or lose, the legislation gives Democrats a potential weapon against Republican opponents. Eddie Vale, a Democratic strategist with close ties to labor unions, said Republicans who oppose a wage hike will face fierce criticism.
"There's a lot of people in this state that are making the minimum wage that are voting Republican right now," said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner of Tennessee, where they plan to introduce a minimum wage bill this year. "Maybe if they see that they don't have their best interests in their heart, they might change their minds."
There's hope that success will breed more success. Vale, a top adviser at the Democratic super PAC American Bridge, said the thinking behind the push is to get things started at the state level, where lawmakers come into more direct contact with their constituents. Once state legislatures start moving, it will lend momentum to a federal expansion.
In Minnesota, Rep. Ryan Winkler said as the debate spreads to more states, lawmakers might be more comfortable boosting the wage floor in his state.
"It's not peer pressure, but it's safety in numbers," Winkler said. "It makes people feel like this is a mainstream thing to do."


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African American Art Since 1950: Perspectives from the David C. Driskell Center
African American Art Since 1950: Perspectives from the David C. Driskell Center
African American Art Since 1950: Perspectives from the David C. Driskell Center chronicles the evolution and growing prominence of African American art over the past 60 years.
Featuring works that cover a wide range of art styles and media, the exhibition explores recurring themes of race, gender, American history and slavery as well as the importance of body for artistic expression. Artists include luminaries such as Faith Ringgold, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett and Sam Gilliam who opened up the possibilities for African American art and more recent examples by artists like Kara Walker, Chakaia Booker and Willie Cole. The exhibition is organized by the David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora at the University of Maryland.
This exhibition is on view September 27, 2014 through January 4, 2015.
Sponsored by
Companion Events
Free Family Day - September 27
Studio 1 Telling Stories with Pictures - September 27, 2014 - January 18, 2015
Film: The Loving Story - October 2
Opening Reception/Curator Talk - October 16
Interpretive Response in Dance and Music - October 23
Art Talk - November 6
Romare Bearden, Morning, 1975, collage on paper, © Romare Bearden/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY, Gift of David C. Driskell.
Jacob Lawrence, Carpenters, 1977, silkscreen, 18" x 22", © 2011 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, NY, from the David C. Driskell Center Collection.


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Tons of thoughts while re-watching replays of Rasheed's 60-footer...
The hot story of both the day and the week leading up to the Final Four is the fate of Florida coach Billy Donovan.
Would Donovan really leave
First off: I don't think he'll go to
More realistically: There is the idea that if
But I'd argue this would push him to a coaching job in the NBA, not another college. He has always said the NBA is intriguing to him, and it's not like he won't get offers (no matter what the sorry record of college-to-NBA coaches is). Fans can't begrudge a jump from college to the pros.
Apparently, the Heat are hot for him, which would be a great fit. He could stay in-state and enjoy the services of a Top 3 NBA superstar. (I was thinking Bobcats, because Jordan would want to make a big splash and the team is essentially a bunch of college kids anyway. But who would want to play for MJ? Worst boss ever.) Originally, I thought he was a lock for the Knicks, but as they're keeping Isiah, that seems to be a non-starter (lucky for Donovan).
From everything I understand, Donovan was going to wait all along until the end of the season to do his extension. Rather than creating uncertainty, isn't this the stand-up thing to do? After all, can you imagine the crap he'd get if he spent this week negotiating a lucrative personal contract extension, rather than focusing on the Final Four?
That would go against everything he has preached to his team; it's why he didn't sign an extension last April – he said that if his players would defer their NBA payoff to return, he'd defer his big payoff for a year, too. So his silence isn't a signal he's got a deal with
As for the Heat? It wouldn't surprise (or offend) me, and it shouldn't surprise (or offend) Gator Nation.
Let's move on...
My favorite stat of the Tournament (remaindered from yesterday): Nearly 162,000 people correctly predicted this year's Final Four in ESPN.com's Tournament Challenge. (Last year's total of correct Foursomes? Four.)
Thanks to the Commenters for pointing out some possible Glaring Omissions in yesterday's Top 5 CBB teams since 1985: '94-95
Given my list, I think teams are generally given a lot more credit for following the "win a title first, then get back to the Final Four and lose" than "get to the Final Four and lose, then go back to the Final Four and win a title."
Maybe that's because defending a title is so much harder than winning a first one.
Quickie-ish College Hoops All-Americans: As the AP has released their All-America teams, most notable for putting freshmen on the first team for only the third time ever (and there were two of 'em this year, Durant and Oden).
It's time for my picks, in order of how worthy they are to be on the team:
1st team: Durant, Law, J. Green, Tucker, Hansbrough.
2nd team: Oden, Horford, Afflalo, Lofton, Dudley.
Billy Gillespie to
Gillespie would have
(The latest update is that Texas A&M is going to sweeten the pot to keep him. Seriously: Given the foundation Gillespie has put in, the Aggies job is a better one than coaching at
Rick Pitino not leaving
Women's Tournament: You could tell
They play each other in the Final Four: Something's gotta give.
I'm sticking with LSU and the ironic timing of winning a national title. (It's just like Michigan and Bill Frieder in 1989, except he was exiled for having an inappropriate relationship with Arizona State, not his own player.)
MLB: Joe Torre back in '08? If the Yankees don't win the World Series this year (or at least an
MLB Fantasy: Did you drop Kerry Wood and Duaner Sanchez yet? How about picking up new Marlins closer Jorge Julio for a few extra saves?
MLB Know the Name: Ria Cortesio, who will become the first female ump to work an MLB game (even if it's exhibition) in 20 years. (Remember the name "Pam Postema?")
My new Nats fandom: Apparently, most of the season tickets won't be delivered in time for the season's start. Excellent customer service for a team that will be lucky to win 40 games!
NFL Trade: Eagles get LB Takeo Spikes and QB Kelly Holcomb from the Bills for DT Darwin Walker and a cond'l '08 draft pick.
NFL: The hot catchphrase of the summer will be "personal conduct policy," the new hammer that the league plans to wield to club players and coaches into not being such assholes.
Suspensions (even up to a year) and fines are nice, but when the Commish starts talking about docking teams' draft picks, he's threatening in a language they can understand.
(Man, if the new policy had been in place over the last year, the Bengals wouldn't have a draft pick.)
NFL 2007 Season Opener: Saints at Colts, by far the best possible matchup, pairing the Super Bowl champs versus the league's top feel-good story.
Ron Jaworski to MNF: He will go down as the best analyst in the history of the show. Hopefully, it will finally affirm that the average MNF viewer doesn't want more entertainment -- they want more analysis.
(And yet, the USA Today story about the switch said that Joey T was TOO much about the in-game analysis, and not enough about analysis of the other news around the league. Fair enough: Jaws would be as expert about that as anyone, and you never got the sense that Joey T was comfortable riffing on the storylines from the rest of the league -- of course, game analysts rarely are, which is what makes Jaws such a good fit here and what makes next season's development of the show so intriguing: Sounds like they want MNF to be as much a three-hour talk about the week in the NFL as it is a three-hour talk about the game at hand.)
Roids Watch: How fast will it take the transfer of customer lists from the Albany DA's office to sports leagues for the names to come out in the media? My over-under is the end of the business week.
NBA: Rasheed from 60! Yet another sign that this is the Pistons' year to win the East.
NASCAR: I'm not sure there's a more promising marketing gimmick than "Car of Tomorrow." I don't even understand what it means. It just SOUNDS interesting.
NFL PacMan Watch: Jones to face felony charges? Seems like it was only a matter of time, didn't it?
NHL: Commish Bettman says fighting is "part of the game," after critics pop off about the need to curb it. (Bettman added that safety should be the first concern. Isn't it possible those are incompatible?)
Tennis: Serena heckler booted. I appreciate clever heckling, but there's very little place for it during a tennis match. And it's totally unacceptable when the heckling is racist.
Freaky story of the day: The news that there was a device to shoot poison darts into horses embedded in the track at
(It would, of course, be much more intriguing if they surreptitiously shot poison darts into visiting football players at
Rest in peace, Jason Ray.


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A kindler and gentler Sancoale
This blend of definition and delicacy makes the Sancoale Superfamily versatile and appropriate for a variety of applications. The design minimizes the characters to their essence, leaving a default set of simple characters without notches or spurs. However, the typeface family's slightly technological feel still appears friendly and approachable to the reader. It's slightly condensed proportions and tall x-height also make the design readable at a wide range of sizes, which works especially well for web pages. These softer letterforms give Softened its unique, futuristic look--great for distinguishing your text or display. There are six weights with true italics.
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