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Mood : Blessed
When you enter the marriage portion of your life, devoting yourself to your significant other is your lifetime goal.. you work hard to please your husband/wife day and night, and honestly sometimes you have a bad day or two where you slip up more than you usually do.. for me, that day was yesterday.. it was my fault for being clumsy.. I'll spare you the details, but waterworks happened..
I honestly thought it was the end of my married life, that he was going to leave me coz I irritate him and stuff, that he regretted being my husband.. and just when I was ready to let him go to ease his burden, he comes and gives me a big bear hug, shus-shing my crying and listening to me ramble on and on about how sorry I was and stuff.. I told him that I thought he regretted marrying me and he said,"when did I say that? don't put words in my mouth, I never said that and you know it.." well, you know how women tend to exaggerate things, that's what I interpreted from his words.. in the end, we worked everything out.. I apologized, he apologized and we talked about it.. the thing is, I am clumsy and sometimes I am downright outrageously clumsy and a danger to myself.. that's where he gets mad coz he gets worried about me.. he assured me again that he's not going anywhere and that I should be more careful in what I do.. we still love each other very much, don't worry about that.. :)
the point of this post is, WOMEN tend to exaggerate things, making a mountain out of a mole hill, so to say.. just because you're married, this trait is no exception to you.. and also, marriage has its ups and downs, the important thing is to talk to each other.. it's fine to cry sometimes, it's a human trait after all.. besides, what doesn't break you makes your relationship stronger.. it's okay to argue once or twice, just make sure to make up once you're done! ;)


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Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Sweet Potato Salad
So it was with this sweet potato salad I've adapted from a recipe I found in Bon Appetit. I don't subscribe any more--some magazines just try too hard to be ahead of the latest trend. But being turned on to sweet potatoes prepared this way was worth the price of admission.
First, sweet potatoes are extremely healthy. A typical sweet potato contains only 95 calories, but is rich in Vitamins A and C in the form of beta-carotene, as well iron, dietary fiber and several other vital minerals. Plus it has a pleasing sweetness that sets it apart from regular potatoes and partners so well with other interesting ingredients, as you soon shall see.
Sweet potatoes are true root tubers, unlike the standard potato, which is actually a swollen stem. This year I am trying to grow sweet potatoes at the Washington Youth Garden as part of my chef residency. The plants I bought arrived in the mail all shriveled and looking nearly dead. But I was told they were tough little plants and would revive and they sure enough did. But now the deer have found the leaves too tasty. I'm not sure what the end result will be.
My grandmother made sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving by slicing them into chunks and smothering them in butter and brown sugar. Baked in the oven, they were incredibly dense and sweet, more like dessert, more like a confection. I think those are the kind of sweet potatoes most people remember (sometimes under a layer of marshmallows!)--and often reject. They can be achingly sweet and cloying prepared that way.
Instead, I like to peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into one-inch dice, toss them with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and bake them in a 350-degree oven until just tender. You can dress them any way you like at this point and they retain just their natural level of sweetness, which is enough for most people.
Or, you can treat sweet potatoes as a salad ingredient, as in this recipe. For 10 servings, peel 3 pounds of sweet potatoes. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes, toss with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and spread on one or two baking sheets. Bake in a 350-degree oven until just tender (I poke them with a metal trussing skewer to test for doneness).
While the sweet potatoes are baking, prepare the dressing. Whisk together 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 2 tablespoons orange juice, 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Set aside.
When the sweet potatoes are cooked through, remove from the oven to cool. Meanwhile, toast 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a large bowl, toss together the sweet potatoes, the toasted pecans, 1/2 cup chopped scallions, 1/2 cup chopped parsley, 1/4 cup golden raisins and 1/4 cup dark raisins. Stir in enough dressing to coat lightly.
The salad can be made ahead and refrigerated. Serve at room temp.
This sweet potato salad is a perfect summer side dish with grilled chicken, pork or barbeque. We served it with stuffed hamburgers for Fourth of July. We never tire of making it and people always ask for the recipe.
2 comments:
- farmingfriends said...
Hi Ed,
I love sweet potatoes and am growing my own this year too. They must be hardy plants because they managed to withstand being submerged in the flood water that we suffered for a couple of days. I like to peel and slice the sweet potatoes and fry them like chips. Not particularly healthy but tastes great.
Thanks for sharing this dish I will certainly be trying it.
Sara from farmingfriends
- July 10, 2007 at 5:35 PM
- Ed Bruske said...
Sara, what a great website you have! When you said you were having trouble with rain, I thought maybe you were in the Texas region. But I should have been looking in the opposite direction.
Love fried sweet potatoes. But as you say, it's a bit more of a production. I'm sort of lazy (slow), so I lean more toward the prepare-ahead style of cooking.
I am completely smitten by the pictures of your farm. I didn't know England could look like that. It looks like where I grew up in Illinois. I think you have a new friend...
- July 10, 2007 at 6:08 PM

subset: commoncrawl


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Chad Shelton of Brandon, MS, announced that where we come from right here in Mississippi is what we call GOOD frogs! It's not photoshopped either he said and was captured in the MS Delta.
Basket of frogs!
Congratulations to Chad and the mighty frogs that he and his friend caught recently in the great and wonderful Mississippi outdoors!


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MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — The teenage brother of a Montana woman on trial in the death of her new husband broke down on the witness stand when asked to describe his feelings toward her.
Michael Rutledge of Kalispell testified in tears on Tuesday that he was angry with defendant Jordan Graham because she had lied about the disappearance of her husband Cody Johnson and kept adding more lies to cover it up.
The 16-year-old Rutledge was with Graham when she led authorities to Johnson's body in Glacier National Park on July 11. Rutledge says she told him to tell others that park rangers had found the body.
RELATED: New Wife Charged With Pushing Husband Off Cliff
Graham initially said Johnson disappeared July 7 after leaving with friends. She later told federal investigators she and Johnson argued and he accidentally fell from a cliff when she tried to remove his hand from her arm.
Graham cried quietly during her brother's testimony.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Spring 2003
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas
This is a picture of me and my college roommates watching the invasion of Iraq. My roommate Erin remembers me taking this picture and saying, "We are going to regret this."
I desperately wish I had been wrong.
Over 4,000 Americans and 100,000 Iraqis have lost their lives in the war. There were no weapons of mass destruction and, while Saddam Hussein being gone is a very good thing, Iran and Afghanistan are bigger threats then if we had never stepped foot in Iraq.
The official combat mission is over but there is no victory to celebrate. No ticker tape parades or banner headlines. Only another geopolitical hotspot where an American presence will remain long after we are all gone.


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Trinity College – B.A. University of Oxford – B.A., M.A. (Oxon)
George Frederick Will (born May 4, 1941) is an American newspaper columnist, journalist, and author. He is a Pulitzer Prize-winner best known for his conservative commentary on politics. By the mid 1980s the Wall Street Journal reported he was "perhaps the most powerful journalist in America," in a league with Walter Lippmann (1899–1975).
Will was born in Champaign, Illinois, the son of Frederick L. Will and Louise Hendrickson Will. His father was a respected professor of philosophy, specializing in epistemology, at the University of Illinois.


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Do South African patients have any rights when their doctors strike?
22 June 2009 Leave a comment
'Striking South African doctors are a serious threat to the human rights of all of the country's residents — even refusing to treat emergency cases…'
Picture: with South Africa's 640 public hospitals facing a devastating strike by its 18,000 doctors, do the country's more than 30million poor patients who rely on these hospitals have any other alternative health care left, other than visiting the local witch doctors?
June 21 2009 – CAPE TOWN. For the third time within two months, the country's 18,000 overworked, underpaid and totally demoralised public hospital doctors are planning yet another wildcat strike from Monday at the 640 state hospitals. They start the strike in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape on Monday, and it will expand to the other provinces Tuesday and Wednesday.
The SA Medical Association spokesman Lebogang Phahladira told the Sunday Times on Saturday that the striking doctors 'will report for duty and sign attendance registers – but will refuse to treat patients, even in emergencies."
- And South Africa no longer has enough doctors in the private sector nor in the military to help out in emergencies– even if they were asked. South Africa now only has about one doctor for every 200,000 people and its public hospitals are overburdened due to the combined TB-AIDS epidemics.
In 1985, South Africa's public health service had more than 25,000 physicians and dentists; 5,100 specialists, 222 dental specialists and 18,700 paramedical workers, registered at the South African Medical and Dental Council; and 155,000 registered and staff-nurses. South Africa is in the midst of the world's most devastating co-epidemic of two simultaneous killer-diseases, TB and XDR-TB — and the rapidly-shrinking medical staff can no longer cope.
"Thousands of patients face being turned away from public hospitals (Monday) if the wildcat strike by South Africa's 18,000 disgruntled state doctors goes ahead", reports the Sunday Times.The South African Medical Association (Sama) spokesman Lebogang Phahladira said on Saturday that it ''expected a total shutdown" in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, followed by the rest of the country on Tuesday and Wednesday.
- By late Saturday, neither the doctors in the South African National Defence Force nor the private hospital sector — both central to government's previous strike contingency plans — had received any requests for help.
Sama spokesman Phahladira said members had "overwhelmingly" decided to strike. Doctors would report for duty and sign attendance registers but would not treat patients. "None of the departments will be operational and we will not see any patients, even in an emergency. We will not work until our demands are met," said Phahladira.
Sama wants a minimum 50% salary increase for its 7000-odd members. Government has offered a mere 5% – which is less than inflation. Apparently, a revised deal will be presented at a bargaining council meeting forthcoming Wednesday.
Sama chairman Mac Lukhele said although many members planned to strike, the union had appealed for patience until the outcome of this latest meeting. Some have agreed to hold off on strike action.
- A spokesman for the Hospital Association of South Africa, Kurt Worrall-Clare, said the group had had no requests for help. He said that in the past the association, representing all major private hospitals, had received formal requests from the government at least two or three days before anticipated strikes.
- Morgan Chetty, chairman of the KZN Managed Care Coalition representing some 3,500 doctors in the private sector, said they would not have enough doctors to help out if asked.
- Defence force spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi said the SANDF 's medical teams have also had not been asked to assist.
'There is no crisis' – KwaZulu-Natal health MEC…
The KwaZulu-Natal provincial MEC for health, Sibongiseni Dhlomo, told the Sunday Times yesterday 'the department did not believe outside assistance was necessary because there was no crisis.' However, in Gauteng on Friday, a provincial memo to Johannesburg hospitals requested contingency plans be put in place and strike committees set up. Gauteng health spokesman Mandla Sidu said it was the "prerogative" of hospital chief executives to request SANDF and private sector assistance. Western Cape health spokesman Faiza Steyn said the province had a "sufficient pool" of doctors, including part-time doctors, military doctors and agency staff, to draw from. Attempts this week to get comment from the national Department of Health were unsuccessful. — Additional reporting by Chandre Prince http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=1021082
Nightmare scenario
During the previous wild-cat strikes on June 6, 2009 and May 29 2009, accident victims who were rushed to state hospitals in Pretoria had to wait for three days for emergency surgery, and in Cape Town, it was reported that during a protest march on Parliament, a petition was handed in by more than 100 local doctors, pharmacists and other public sector health professionals – demanding fair pay and better working conditions. The march was organised by the SA Medical Association (Sama). The document calls for the immediate implementation of the promised Occupational Specific Dispensation, which was supposed to take effect in July last year; a minimum 50 percent increase in basic salary; and the unfreezing of all essential public sector medical posts. At the moment, more than 60% of the nursing staff posts also remain because there simply aren't enough qualified people to fill them.
Three-day wait in trauma unit for surgery:
Nurses and doctors at the Pretoria Academic Hospital, which was renamed the Steve Biko hospital in 2008, told the emergency-room patients waiting for their emergency surgery on June 6 that 'it was out of their control about who gets to be operated when, we are overloaded with work', telling patients that they were so permanently understaffed that emergency patients were forced to wait for days, with wounds remaining undressed and infections setting in, even without any strike actions…. For instance, emergency cases rushed to this academic hospital now already are being forced to wait without treatment in the trauma department of the Pretoria Academic Hospital for at least three days before they can be operated on. http://jv.news24.com/Beeld/Suid-Afrika/0,,3-975_2527110,00.html
Best public health system on African continent only fifteen years ago…
South Africa used to have the best Western public-health system on the African continent: In 1985, South Africa's public health service had more than 25,000 physicians and dentists; 5,100 specialists, 222 dental specialists and 18,700 paramedical workers, registered at the South African Medical and Dental Council, and more than 127,000 registered nurses signed up at the Nursing Council – and by 2002, there were 155,000 nurses.
In 2002, Statistics SA showed that the country had 155,000 top-trained practicing nurses, for a nurse/population ratio of about 343 per 100,000, well above the 200 per 100,000 minimum required by the World Health Organization. Now, the country's public hospitals show a severe staffing problem, with more than 60% of all the nursing posts countrywide remaining vacant for months on end. In many rural towns in all the South African provinces, there no longer are any physicians at all.
- In other areas there are clinics, but even the most basic medications are lacking. http://jv.news24.com/Beeld/Wereld/0,,3-71_2527071,00.html
- Also: Afrikaner doctor chosen Saskatchewan Physician of the Year 2009
Previous strike June 2007 plunged hospitals into chaos
There had also been a public service strike in June 2007, which included all the nursing-, technical-, clerical and janitorial staffers in the country's public hospitals — but which at that time, had seen doctors keeping themselves aloof from striking –, although they often publicly did sympathise with the poor working conditions of the medical staff. And when the nursing staff did not get the pay rises they wanted even after this devastating strike, during which many people died because they were left untreated in emergency rooms, they left the public service enmasse. Now there's a an average, countrywide nursing shortage of 60%, with some public hospitals reporting up to 90% shortages.
Cosatu president Sidumo Dlamini said the state of staffing at the country's public hospitals was a "ticking time bomb" and noted that if doctors were not happy in South Africa, the entire country would suffer.
- "We are saying to our government that this matter is very urgent. Workers in this country have been in recession for many, many years. When salaries get lower, it is destroying the country," he said.
36 hour shifts for $800 a month, overtime without pay :
The doctors' two-month campaign for better working conditions also include weeks of angry picketing . Doctors warn that they are being grossly underpaid, are forced work 36-hour shifts without any overtime pay because of the severe shortage of physicians and specialists, that there also is an often dramatic shortages of critical drugs and equipment at all the state hospitals, and heavy workloads for physicians, with shifts lasting up to 36 hours. The government had moreover offered these doctors a deeply insulting 5% in a pay-rise, which does not even cover inflation, said the South African Medical Association chairwoman Denise White.
The Health Professions Council of SA refuses to support the strike – albeit does 'acknowledge the need for adequate remuneration packages".
- "We do not support or condone the strike by public sector doctors over salaries and working conditions as they provide an essential service. However we fully acknowledge the urgent need for commensurate remuneration packages and improved working conditions," said HPCSA Registrar and CEO, advocate Boyce Mkhize. "Public sector doctors are professional health care practitioners working under sometimes extremely challenging conditions while saving lives on a daily basis and should be remunerated accordingly."
Doctors, nurses fleeing overseas:
HPCSA statistics indicate that over the past year 3,550 certificates of good standing were issued for medical practitioners alone while 22,032 certificates were issued since 1 April 2003. The majority of these certificates are requested by doctors applying for positions overseas.
'can any doctor still function safely after a 36-hour shift?'
Interns take home about R8,000 ($800) after deductions and specialists roughly double that, according to the United Doctors Forum deputy chair Mpho Mohlala. "We are not giving proper basic care to the patients. You are not doing justice to the patients. Do you think operating (on) a patient without having sleep for 36 hours, you are functioning? You are non-functional," said Mohlala.
Government denies there's any crisis
"We've got an exodus of doctors leaving the country, going to work overseas, and we've got lots and lots of doctors moving out of the public sector to the private sector," she told Agence France Presse news agency.
- The health department denies that its sector is in crisis, saying media reports are 'alarmist'.
"Illegal strikes and illegal marches" – but would they really fire all their doctors?
At the moment, more than 60% of the nursing staff posts already are left open. The exodus of South African nurses to Western countries started from 2004 – but the government itself has made matters much worse because it failed to address the complaints issued by staffers ever since the 2007 public service strikes, which brought no improvement in the working conditions. South Africa's nurses started migrating abroad enmasse. And now, it looks as if South Africa's doctors are also throwing in the towel – thus condemning Africa's once so brilliant First-World public health service to death. http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2523853,00.html
History of South African public health service under apartheid:
South Africa's present public health system was launched by the apartheid-government from 1977. It started an ambitious building programme of public hospitals, outpatient clinics and rehabiliation facilities countrywide for people of all races, and where patients could pay for health care according to their income. The motto of the SA public health service was: "Patients pay according to their income, and those who cannot afford it, get treated for free." Anyone earning less than R20,000 a year did not pay anything at all – ever, even for the most sophisticated open heart-surgery.
Preventative care was emphasized during apartheid:
The emphasis at these facilities was on preventative care: focussing on the rapid detection and prevention of the huge number of diseases Africa is prone to, from bubonic plague, bilharzia, cholera, tuberculosis, leprosy, polio, smallpox, malaria, haemorrhagic viral diseases, yellow fever, venerial diseases and meningitis.
- Within ten years after launching its public health service programme, South Africa had brought leprosy, yellow fever, smallpox and cholera completely under control, and polio and tuberculosis were 'being well-managed' because of the enforced, free immunisation of all children of all races against polio and tuberculosis.
By 1985, there were 122,402 beds in 623 state hospitals, and in 1985 the four provinces at that time, spent $23,7million each for maintaining their new public health facilities and clinics. The giant Baragwanath hospital built right next to Soweto's railway line, added another 120,000 annual in-patients to this list — as well as treating 1,5-million outpatients a year, serving the entire greater-Soweto area. Its maternity wards, if put end to end, measures a total of 1km. Mamelodi hospital near Pretoria also was added at this time with 12,000 beds, serving the black community for the entire greater-Pretoria region. However all the public hospitals treated patients of all races – albeit they were treated in racialy-segregated facilities during apartheid, which ended officially in 1994.
South Africa's first-world medical standards also drew calls for help from the rest of Africa: for instance when the greatly feared haemorrhagic Marburg fever broke out in Kenya and the Congo, South African virologists were asked to attend to these emergencies by the World Health Organisation, thus preventing large-scale epidemics.
Health schemes for 5,2-million black taxpayers during apartheid:
The South African government also set up medical-health schemes for the working black population: by the end of 1985, there were 262 such schemes with a total membership of 5.2-million black taxpayers, with the fastest-growing scheme, Bonitas, having a membership of 184,672 members by 1986, mostly black taxpayers in government service, on farms and even in domestic service.
In 1985, South Africa's public health service had more than 25,000 physicians and dentists; 5,100 specialists, 222 dental specialists and 18,700 paramedical workers, registered at the South African Medical and Dental Council, and more than 127,000 registered nurses signed up at the Nursing Council. Source: 'This is South Africa,' Jan 1987, ISBN 0797006540 State Printing Office, Pretoria.
sources, links:
- http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2524239,00.html
- http://www.samedical.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=577&Itemid=230
- http://www.samedical.org/
- http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/news/2005jan/14_sa_star.html
- http://www.nursingadvocacy.org/faq/migration.html
- http://www.polokwane.org.za/index.php?readnews+1558
- http://www.rudasa.org.za/student/limpopo/polokwane.php
- http://www.polity.org.za/article/sa-tshabalalamsimang-telemedicine-project-launch-23102007-2007-10-23.
- http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=nw20080118125902579C182990
- http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72719
- http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=1002506
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manto_Tshabalala-Msimang
- http://jv.news24.com/Beeld/Suid-Afrika/0,,3-975_2527110,00.html
- The Citizen- This hospital would have made Biko proud
- Health minister concerned about safety standards at SA hospitals
- Few rural doctors left in South Africa: http://jv.news24.com/Beeld/Wereld/0,,3-71_2527071,00.html
- http://www.thetimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=1021082


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Monday, October 03, 2005
I Have Seen Serenity
If you're not a Firefly fan, I'm really not sure how approachable you'll find this story. I daresay that you would find the "character immersion" in the early part of the film to be rather like learning to swim by being dumped into the Arctic Ocean. I have to wonder if you can generate enough sympathy for the characters to really respond to later events in the movie the way long-time fans will.
I think Joss Whedon is trying to say something about the nature of fanaticism in this film, but I don't want to go into details, yet.
In my opinion, though, this is definitely a film worth watching whether you're a Firefly fan or not. I was surprised that it was only on in one theater at the (Sh)Opry Mills multiplex, and with only four showings per day. If that's a typical schedule, then the fact that it made second place in theatre earnings against movies showing on multiple screens per theatre says a lot.
Spoilers will abound if you start reading the comments...
3 comments:
- Lord Runolfr said...
OK, I said some things seemed a little out of character in the opening minutes of the film. In particular, the good will that River had acquired in the final episode of Firefly -- "Objects in Space" -- seemed to have dissolved somewhere. I can see Simon being angry that Mal put River in danger, but not to the point that he would throw a punch. On top of that, I can't see Mal taking a punch from Simon without swing back and laying him out.
We get some technical clarifications in the opening monologue of the movie, if you're a geek like me. The Firefly "'Verse" is actually contained in a single solar system with multiple planets that have multiple, inhabitable moons. Having that many planets in moons in the "green zone" around a star strains plausibility a bit for me -- even with terraforming -- but that's the way Joss sees it, and I'll just have to suspend some disbelief.
We learn the origin of the Reavers in this film, and that led my good lady wife to wonder how they maintain their numbers. It doesn't seem likely that such violent sociopaths can breed successfully, even if they do have some kind of social structure that allows them to cooperate to operate ships and organize raids. They're victims of a chemical imbalance, and I'd have to guess that it's somehow contagious, so they turn some of the people they capture into sociopaths like themselves.
Two of Firefly's main characters die in this movie. Joss likes to jerk the heartstrings of his audience, and he wants you to understand that even the stars are mortal. Both deaths are somewhat arbitrary and unexpected, which is the way most deaths are, I suppose. I'm about to tell you who dies, so run if you must.
Shepherd Book seems to have taken the secrets of his past to the grave with him, although I suppose there's some chance that they will become relevant in sequels somehow. I'm not sure how Joss would pull that off, but he does love surprises.
Wash's death came with now warning whatsoever. I don't think Zoe has felt the full impact yet; apart from a brief stint of berzerker fury, she seems to be trying to handle his loss with her usual stoicness.
We also get some very blunt explanation of just what the Alliance was doing with River. They were definitely trying to turn her into some kind of psychic assassin, and she was the prodigy of the whole program. She is unquestionably psychic to some degree, having telepathically learned a secret from a government official who visited her at the "school".
And finally, there's the villain... the Operative. This is the guy who exemplifies the fanatic for whom no immoral act is too awful if committed in the name of a cause. At least he was able to change when he saw his cause knocked off its pedestal; I have my doubts about whether the real fanatics of the modern world could manage that.
Serenity is good stuff, and I'm looking forward to the next installment in the story.
- Tam said...
The many habitable planets and moons in the one solar system are stretching things a bit too far, but put it down to a little fantasy in your Sci-Fi, and all is well.
I was a bit confused by how the reavers stuck around so long, although I did really like the idea of how they were created. It made sense in Joss' Universe with Mal as the hero, that the Alliance has created the villains by "meddling".
I think Shepherd Book's story is gone. I think the story Joss wanted to tell for him, is the story he told for "the Operative." You notice Book knew a lot about the type of person the Alliance would send after River, and that he would not talk about it. I think he was once an "Operative" with the "belief" in the Alliance to match, and when he became disillusioned with the Alliance, he turned to religion.
You notice he kept on harping on to Mal about belief (even if it wasn't belief in his religion). I'm sure that the Operative, if he didn't fall on his sword, joined a similar organization to what Book did, since he probably couldn't believe in himself any more than Book did (how could he? He believed he was a bad person, who didn't belong in the "better" world he was trying to create).
If you think of the Operative and Book as basically the same person, separated only by time, you might be more willing to believe people like him actually exist. There are "believers" out there who would change their beliefs if they were proved wrong (proved wrong to them, which is not the same as proving their beliefs hold no sense or rational)... the trouble is, they will just find something else to blindly follow.
Anyway, I loved the movie too. I loved the one-liners Joss is great at ("There ain't been nothing 'tixt my neither that don't require batteries" or "Tell me again how Jayne got brought down by a 90 pound girl, cause that don't ever seem to get old" not the actual quotes as I don't have the movie to verify them against, but I'm sure you recognize them if you've seen it). The things you could actually see real people saying in that situation, which are just side-splitting. I loved that the thing Mal finally had "belief" in, was the truth. And I loved that River kicked ass. Joss does like the Teenage Girl Ass Kicker. :)
- Lord Runolfr said...
The idea that Book was once an "operative" makes a heck of a lot of sense; thanks for bringing it to my attention. I wouldn't necessarily call the Shepherd's story completely closed, though; it's just his part in it that's come to an end. It may or may not come up, but you never know when Joss will pull something up out of the past and smack you in the face with it.
River does kick ass, but I think having her standing virtually untouched when the bulkhead doors opened at the end was just a bit excessive. I think the scene would actually have been more effective if she were cut up twenty different ways but still victorious. As it was, I had no doubt that she would have mowed through the Alliance troops that showed up just as easily as she had the Reavers, so I didn't feel any real tension in that scene.
"You can't make me angry."
"Please, spend an hour with him."
-- The Operative and Inarra, speaking about Mal


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Navigate homebuying
Buying your first home can be nerve-racking. As a first-time homebuyer, you will navigate a process that might include uncertainty, excitement, confusion and frustration.
But preparation and knowledge can help you stay on the right track. Here are 7 steps that can improve your chances of having a good homebuying experience.
SEARCH RATES: View mortgage rates from nearby lenders today.
Know your credit
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If you think you may want to buy a home in the near future, your first step — and perhaps the most important one — is to watch your credit. Familiarize yourself with your credit history and make sure all the information in your credit reports is accurate.
"The very first thing you need to do is to find out what your credit is and what's being reported about your credit," says Pava Leyrer, chief operating officer for Northern Mortgage Services in Grandville, Michigan.
This will give you enough time to deal with any reporting errors on your report or improve your credit before you are ready to buy, Leyrer explains.
If all looks good, keep it up and don't max out your credit cards at the furniture store after you sign a contract for the home.
Hire a good team
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Buying a home for the first time is supposed to be fun, but it's actually hard work and at some point during this process, you will feel overwhelmed. You'll need to be surrounded by professionals who know what they are doing so they can guide you and provide answers to your questions.
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Find an experienced real estate agent, a reputable mortgage professional and a real estate attorney if you can.
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Get preapproved for a mortgage
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Homebuying does not begin with home searching — unless you are sitting on a pile of cash and won't need a mortgage. Otherwise, make sure you get a preapproval from a lender before you even begin hunting for a home.
And make sure it's a true preapproval and not just a prequalification, Da Silva says. Some lenders will tell you that you prequalify for the loan based on the income and credit information you have provided. That's not good enough for most sellers today.
With a real preapproval, the lender will verify your income documentation and not just check your credit.
"Have your finances really ready," Da Silva says.
Bankrate's mortgage calculator can guide your budgeting process.
Determine a budget and stick to it
© Iakov Filimonov/Shutterstock.com
Don't wait until you are shopping for a house to find out how much home you can afford.
Determine your budget and the monthly payments you can afford and qualify for early in the process.
Most importantly, stick to the plan.
"When you fall in love with a house, all common sense goes out the window," Leyrer says. "Make sure you know what's going to fit your budget and stay in control."
Remember that it's not just about the mortgage payments. Also consider the costs of your property taxes and homeowners insurance.
Bankrate's "how much house can I afford?" calculator can help you get started with determining your price range.
Time the end of your lease
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"How long will it take to find the home I love?" "When will I close?" "When will I move in?"
Until you actually sign a contract to buy your first home, these questions will remain unanswered.
Still, you have to do your best to time your closing and moving with the end of your lease.
As you begin your search for a home, revisit your lease agreement. See when the lease expires, learn about penalties for breaking the lease in case it comes to that and find out the options that are available in case you need a lease extension.
"Moving is one of the most stressful things you are going to do in your life," Da Silva says. "Be prepared. Talk to your landlord and ask, 'Would you be willing to give me a 2-month extension if I need it?'"
RATE SEARCH: Want to maximize your savings? Shop today for the best shopping money market accounts.
Consider down payment assistance
© David M G/Shutterstock.com
Many first-time homebuyers overlook down-payment assistance programs that may be available to them through state and local housing authorities.
They often assume that these programs are for low-income buyers only, says Rob Chrane, president of Down Payment Resource. But there are numerous programs available for mid-income buyers.
Some of the programs offer no-interest loans or grants as down-payment assistance and have few strings attached. Be sure to check with your local housing authority and ask for a list of lenders that participate in these programs when you begin shopping for a home.
Inspect the home before and right before
© Sean Locke Photography/Shutterstock.com
You're making a huge investment. Have it inspected by a reputable home inspector while you are under contract.
"You want to know: how's the roof, the plumbing, the electrical — there are a lot of variables involved," Castellanos says.
And don't forget to do your final inspection on the day of closing. If you are tempted to get the walk-through inspection out of the way the day before closing, think twice. A lot can happen overnight.
"We had something happen where the buyer did the walk-through one day, then the closing was the next day and the air conditioning had flooded the first floor of the house," Da Silva says. "Always do a walk-through the day of closing."
FREE TOOL: Is your credit mortgage-ready? Get your free credit score at myBankrate.


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Thursday, February 18, 2010
How to wear flower headbands and necklaces
My interesting friend... http://jchristinahuh.blogspot.com/ (who makes the most amazing wedding flowers!) Saw this and thought of my work... It is a beautiful photo shoot in Russian Vogue... Maybe it will inspire!
Posted by jodi french paper arts at 11:49 AM 6 comments:
Frayed Linen Cuff with Roses- Jodi French
Loving the fabric cuff! This look works with a flounce skirt and cowboy boots, or with a slinky black dress. I love fashion that dresses up or down. The cuff has brown taffeta roses dotted with vintage pearls in the center. The linen has a black and tan plaid, edges are fringed by hand. Jodi French
Posted by jodi french paper arts at 10:08 AM 3 comments:
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Sand Lotus Flower
Working on an evening look for a very special night in LA. Sexy but yet sophisticated. Dramatic but still elegant. This is a first effort, wondering if I should add a little more sparkle? The dress is a strapless black and fitted.
Posted by jodi french paper arts at 6:47 AM No comments:
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Silver Gray Lilly Necklace
A statement necklace. Soft silver and gray lilly flowers are gathered around your neck. Hanging from a satin ribbon. This necklace was sold before it was made. trying to decide if I should make some for Etsy??
Posted by jodi french paper arts at 12:32 PM 3 comments:
Labels: Silver Gray Lilly Necklace
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PRESERVATIONISTS wince when they see how architects in the 1950's renovated majestic old structures like the United States Rubber building at 58th Street and Broadway and the Gorham building at 36th Street and Fifth Avenue. Such remodelings epitomize the era when the marble, granite and bronze of the American renaissance was considered just so much scrap. The architect responsible for those two renovations, Herbert Tannenbaum, is still practicing at age 90 -- and it turns out he didn't like what he did either.
''They told me, 'Do it or we'll get someone else,' '' Mr. Tannenbaum says, recalling how in 1959, although he was committed to the modern style, he had wanted to save the elegant colonnade and sensitive carved marble panels on the Gorham building, which had been designed for the silver company by McKim, Mead & White in 1907. In that year Architectural Record had called the building ''a surprise and a joy.''
But in 1959, Mr. Tannenbaum says, after his suggestions had been rebuffed by a new owner who wanted to alter the space for new offices and wanted a different design, at least at street level, the architect regretfully developed a crisp design of modern grids of glass and porcelain enamel, which were installed after the original details were stripped off. ''I was bawled out by some other architects,'' Mr. Tannenbaum says.
In the same year the West Side Federal Savings Bank called on him for their ground-floor branch in the 1912 United States Rubber building, which had been designed with an all-marble facade by Carrere & Hastings, architects of the New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. The lower floors of the United States Rubber building were rich with carvings, Ionic columns, arches and rusticated blocks. Previously, in the mid-1950's, Mr. Tannenbaum had designed a metal and neon sign over the building's main entrance. But, he says, by 1959 the bank wanted ''something big.''
''I gave them a design which I felt was right for that building,'' saving most of the ornament, ''but it didn't have enough punch for them,'' he recalls. As with the Gorham building, he says, he was told to take it or leave it, so he developed a sleek surface of polished gray marble with stainless steel trim. The original marble base was jackhammered off.Continue reading the main story
''It broke my heart to tear those beautiful Ionic columns out,'' he says. ''And I've never been happy with the result. It's like wearing sneakers with a tuxedo.''
Mr. Tannenbaum currently shares an office with an interior-design firm high up in a West 25th Street loft. He was born in Manhattan, grew up on the Lower East Side and studied medicine at N.Y.U. for two semesters. ''My father, a grocer, died and I couldn't continue,'' he says.
A PROFESSOR praised his drawing ability, and he began to study architecture at night, also at N.Y.U., working during the day with the architects Oscar Goldschlag, Benjamin Whinston and, finally, Emery Roth.
''Emery Roth was well educated, I learned a lot,'' Mr. Tannenbaum says, even though he was working there at the bottom of the Depression in the 1930's. ''We'd take any little job -- oil burners, alterations, anything would make us happy,'' he says of the office that just a few years earlier had produced some of Manhattan's most famous buildings, among them the Ritz Tower Hotel at 57th Street and Park Avenue and the San Remo apartments at 74th Street and Central Park West. ''I did the dog work: window schedules, hardware details.''
Using borrowed money, he set up his own office in 1936 at 11 West 42nd Street on the day he passed the test for his architectural license. He took a job for a mortgage company, appraising plans for building loans. He later designed wartime housing projects at the Lakehurst Naval Base in New Jersey.
He says it was his ''first big job -- about 150 houses, very Cape Cod, very simple, one story.'' There were also ''at least 100'' supermarkets for A.&P., he says, and shopping centers for Shopco, a developer active on the East Coast.
IN New York City, he designed office buildings -- among them ones at 880 Third Avenue, at 53rd Street, built in the 1960's, and 405 Park Avenue, at 54th Street, designed in 1954. ''That was just when that all-glass business was coming in, and I thought they'd have a terrible time with wind and water,'' he says, so he gave 405 Park Avenue strip windows set off by gray brick bands.
Mr. Tannenbaum has continued to design buildings but says he is shifting into development. Working with a partner, he is pursuing a suburban site for a shopping center.
He has watched the preservation sensibility rise to a point where most owners now seek to restore what they have, not remodel it.
The United States Rubber building almost got a restoration 10 years ago by the architect Richard Rice, working for an ownership group led by John Phufas. Mr. Phufas cleaned the building and repaired the lobby, but ''restoring the lower facade would have cost $1 million or more,'' Mr. Rice says, and there were other priorities. At the moment the current owner, 1790 Broadway Associates, is altering Mr. Tannenbaum's design, but only by cutting additional windows into the upper part of his sleek facade.
Mr. Tannenbaum is realistic about an architect's place in the pecking order. On a 1950's shopping center in Frederick, Md., he was able to fulfill an idea and design the ceiling in red, white and blue, simulating an American flag. But for his current project, he says: ''I'm keeping my mind pretty blank at this point -- it depends on the principal tenant. It's the same position again: who's more important, the tenant or the architect?''Continue reading the main story


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NEW YORK (April 12, 2012) — Six hungry prospects with a combined record of 88-4-5 with 61 knockouts will clash in a trio of vitally important fights on ShoBox: The New Generation on Friday, April 27, live on SHOWTIME® (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) at Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Okla.
In the main event, unbeaten southpaw and IBO super middleweight champion Thomas "Tommy Gun'' Oosthuizen (18-0-1, 13 KOs) of Gauteng, South Africa, will make his ShoBox debut when he meets Marcus "Too Much" Johnson (21-1, 15 KOs), of Houston, in a 10-round super middleweight bout.
Undefeated Luis Orlando Del Valle (15-0, 11 KOs) of Bayamon, P.R., gets the toughest test of his career when he faces Christopher Martin (23-1-3, 6 KOs) of Chula Vista, Calif., in a 10-round super bantamweight battle.
Former international amateur standout and current World Boxing Council (WBC) super featherweight Youth champion Jose "The Sniper" Pedraza (7-0, 6 KOs), of Caguas, P.R., will open the telecast against Gil Garcia (5-2-1, 1 KO) in an eight-round super featherweight bout.
ShoBox expert analyst Steve Farhood is eager to see how the intriguing matchups play out. "I'm anxious to see Oosthuizen,'' Farhood said. "He seems like a physical marvel because he's 6-feet-4 and makes 168 pounds. This division is one we've targeted on SHOWTIME and ShoBox so we'll get our chance to see if he's going to be a player or not. But he's matched very tough. Johnson has proven in his previous ShoBox appearances that he has a lot of talent. If he's motivated, this is a virtual pick 'em fight.
"Del Valle shined in his one previous ShoBox fight, but Martin is a slick, very experienced boxer who's certainly a top 15 super bantamweight. So Del Valle is taking a big step up in class.
"And it's very exciting to have Pedraza on ShoBox. He's clearly one of best prospects in the world and might just be the best prospect in Puerto Rico, which is saying a lot given all the young talent on the island today.''
Oosthuizen, 24, is managed and trained by fellow countryman and former two-time world title challenger, Harold Volbrecht. The son of former two-division South African champion Charles Oosthuizen, Thomas is ranked No. 7 in the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and No. 10 by the WBC.
A rangy boxer-puncher, Oosthuizen has fought all but one of his fights in South Africa. This will be his second go in the United States after winning a unanimous decision over Aaron Pryor Jr., on Sept. 3, 2011, in Biloxi, Miss. The fast-starting Oosthuizen, despite a right eye that was cut and badly swollen, outlasted Pryor by the score of 117-111 three times.
Oosthuizen is coming off a sixth-round TKO over Serge Yannick on March 3. He turned pro in February 2008. The sole blemish on his record, a Nov. 6, 2010, draw, came in his 14th fight in a 12-rounder against Isaac Chilemba.
Johnson, who is making his 2012 debut, regained his winning ways in his last outing by outpointing William Bailey across six rounds on Nov. 19. In his outing before last, the 26-year-old suffered his lone defeat on an upset 10-round decision to Dyah Davis on April 8, 2011, on ShoBox.
A terrific amateur who just missed making the 2004 United States Olympic team, he twice defeated Andre Dirrell before losing to Andre Ward in the trials and The Box-Offs. Johnson was ranked in the top 10 by two of boxing's major organizations before the stunning setback to Davis, the son of 1976 U.S. Olympian Howard Davis.
"Everything happens in its own time, but I'm ready to make another move,'' said Johnson, a skilled boxer-puncher. "I have a lot to prove in this fight. I just want to thank SHOWTIME for having me again."
Johnson's other ShoBox appearances came against Victor Villereal (Oct. 2, 2009), Derek Edwards (April 30, 2010) and Kevin Engle (Nov. 5, 2010).
The world-ranked Del Valle, a quality prospect and member of the vaunted Team Puerto Rico, is rated No. 3 at featherweight in the World Boxing Association (WBA) and No. 8 in the World Boxing Organization (WBO). He's won eight of his last 10 fights by knockout.
This will be the 5-foot-6, 25-year-old Del Valle's second start in 2012 and third since he won his ShoBox debut with an impressive 10-round unanimous decision over Dat Nguyen. Del Valle is coming off a clear but hard-fought unanimous eight-round decision over Mexico's Jose Beranza on Jan. 21.
"I'm very excited and can't wait for this fight,'' said Del Valle, who lives in Puerto Rico and splits training between Puerto Rico and New York. "Martin beat Eduardo Arcos and Chris Avalos and the only fight he lost was very close. But with me, there won't be any excuses. I'm going to win. I feel I'm a complete fighter and if I just stay focused, everything will fall into place. I want to fight for a world title by early 2013.''
An outstanding amateur who captured countless titles en route to going 114-12, Del Valle has been a pro since April 11, 2008. A natural left-hander who fights from the orthodox stance, Del Valle made headlines recently for nearly getting into a fight with WBO bantamweight champion Jorge Arce at the weigh-in for the rematch between Orlando Salido and Juan Manuel Lopez in Puerto Rico.
Martin, the No. 8-ranked contender at 122 pounds in the International Boxing Federation (IBF), was unbeaten through 25 fights (23-0-2) with his most significant success coming in his 10-round debut on a split decision over the previously unbeatenAvalos on ShoBox, on Aug. 6, 2010, in Hinckley, Minn.
The 5-foot-7, 25-year-old Martin is looking to rebound on April 27, however, after going 0-1-1 in his last two starts. He boxed a 10-round majority draw with Teon Kennedy last Jan. 13, and dropped a split nod to Beranza on Oct. 1, 2011. The draw was scored 95-95, 95-95 and 97-93 for Kennedy. Martin lost to Beranza by the scores of 96-94, 97-93 and 98-92.
"I definitely have a lot to prove,'' said Martin, a pro since July 2006. "My last fight, I didn't fight my best, and I felt I lost to Beranza. There was just too much going on before that one. I never get nervous and I got nervous. I trained hard. It just wasn't me with the same edge. It was like just going through the motions.
"Somebody once told me that I 'fight to my opponent's level.' And even though I didn't want it to be true, it is true. When I fought Avalos, I knew I was going to be a challenged. That is how I feel now."
Pedraza represented Puerto Rico in the 2008 Olympics. He also was a gold medalist at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games, and was a three-time Puerto Rican national amateur champion.
A pro for little more than a year, the 21-year-old has mostly blitzed his opposition, winning all but one of his seven fights by knockout. He turned pro on Feb. 18, 2011, and fought six times that year. In his 2012 debut, he registered a fourth-round TKO over Anthony Woods in Puerto Rico.
"My training is going great. We are ready for any challenge and the fans can expect a great fight," said Pedraza, who trains in his hometown of Cidra, P.R. Jose started boxing when he was 10 and turned pro on Dec. 3, 2009, after going 155-15 in the amateurs.
Pedraza's opponent, Garcia, is no stranger to tough competition in his young career. The Houston native has already faced unbeaten prospects like Jerry Belmontes, Jesse Magdaleno and Gabino Saenz.
Mike Crispino, known for his work on the MSG Network in New York, will call the blow by blow action on ShoBox with Farhood alongside. Gordon Hall is the executive producer of ShoBox with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing. For information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, visit the website athttp://sports.SHO.com.


text: How Much Do You Know American Horror Story? How much do you know my favourite tv show of all time, pass for a follow! pizza.addict published on March 21, 20159 responses 2 5.0★ / 5 Questions in vertical order Finish the quote:Who is..... email@example.com? Tate Langdon? The next supreme? Bloodyface? Who does Evan Peters play throughout the whole series? Select the four correct answers Bloodyface Kit Walker Tate Langdon Dr Thredson Arthur Arden Kyle Spencer Jimmy Darling Nora Montgomery's baby was called.... Richard Hamish Thadeous Cornileous All monsters are... Scary Imagination Human Judy, Judy.... Bo budy Judy Pepper Banana fana fo... fishy fudy flame Fee fi fo Mudy..... Momma Margeret Judy I am the next.... Heir Supreme In line What series are their so far: Select the four correct answers Murder House White House Circus Freakshow Coven Theatre Asylum What is the killer clown called? Dandy Twisty Bouncy


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WHAT IS IT??? It's Black Carrot Cake!!!
Piggie was in Singapore recently and her posse dragged her to get some Black Carrot Cake and some duck rice thing at a hawker stand. Piggie loves carrot cake with thick unctuous cream cheese frosting so I was excited!!! Piggie wasn't seeing well all weekend but that could be from extreme drinking…no one knows…so this was a chance to get some veggies and beta-keratin for improved vision and healthy skin! Piggie secretly wanted veggies all weekend so this was double exciting…
The cake came…Piggie was all like…WHAT IS IT?!?!?!?!? It looked carby, glutinous, savory and completely not what Piggie was expecting. Below…close up. I like close ups and photos cause I lack imagination.
Piggie still doesn't know why it's called black carrot cake but it doesn't matter. When something is this good…it just doesn't matter. It could be called stinky feet and I'd still eat it. It doesn't matter.
For unworldly fools out there still wondering what it tastes like…it's like Pad See Ew…but take out the noodles and greens and whatever healthy option goes in there…keep the sauce and egg and sub in gelatinous turnip cake. You have to chew even less than with PSE…Perfect for the lazy person inside all of us. I give this an 11 out of 10 for shock value, superior taste, and good value.
The duck rice thing was tasty as hell but didn't stand a chance against the carrot cake in terms of rating…so no review.
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Jump Starter
Only 5 donations so far...(sad panda)
General News
The Bushy is going to the "back-up" caster for a quote. I should have a dollar amount next week. You should also check out Scott's pre-order for the Hellspawn. The Bushy pre-order will be longer that the Uziel. I may do like with the Madcat MK II...sell "slots". It worked well.
All but my international Uziel orders are out. They should be hitting mailboxes any day now.
I apologize about the Madcat MK II LRMs. That was a crap oversight on my part. I included NO mounting points for those. I will get the build notes updated to show how I did it. Pinning it is the easiest method...personally, magnets.
More General News
Decals, decals, decals. I would love to offer decals to go with my kits. I have contacted Fighting Piranha countless times in the last year and never hear back. That being the case, I have decided to look into making my own. These would be "white backed" decals meaning you could put them on a dark color and they will still look great. I print some of my own using my Xerox Phaser 6125N but I am limited to no white. Obstacles to overcome...the printer can create the art, but that is expensive. He said I could send the art, but he would need it in a Corel Draw file. Yeah...right. What? Who? Any artists want to volunteer their time?
The second obstacle is the sheer number of Houses, Clans, and Mercs. Then within each you have unit upon unit. I could never make them all...nor include them in a kit. I was thinking of making "Decal Packs." For Example if you ordered the FedSuns Pack it would contain the primary House logo, some of the major units (Assault Guards, Heavy Guards, 1st Kathil Uhlans, 1st NAIS), and assorted warning stripes (black/yellow checker board), etc.
OR I could just offer general warning stripes and the like and leave it to the individual to find their own major unit markings. Can you see the potential issues? For every one I would produce there would be twelve "Can you make this one?" e-mails. The answer would always be a resounding "No."
Commissions (update)
I am available again for scratch commissions or build commissions. The only commission I have going right now is a Madcat MK II build. Funds from commissions go to getting more kits cast...and you know you want more kits...right?
In talks with a potential client. Thoughts on a more modernized Dervish?
Planned Future Releases
The Uziel, Madcat MK II, Flea, and Deimos are all available in the store. International shipping is again available. The Nova is back on the desk and I am going to shoot for an August release date. Then, unless someone steps in with a commission/casting option, I may release the Masakari. Of all my builds, this one is the most "caster ready." Or I may finish scratching out my Loki...decisions, decisions.


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German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed her view that no country will have to leave the eurozone, despite the fiscal and economic crisis that has rocked the 17-nation currency bloc, in comments published Friday.
Asked by national news agency DPA whether, amid the ongoing debt and recession woes hitting several southern member states, any of them will have to leave the euro, she said: "No, I don't see that happening."
Pushing her message of the need for greater fiscal discipline, structural reform and strengthened competitiveness, she said: "All of us have to jointly become better, and for that we need European unity."
Merkel, who faces elections on September 22 in Europe's biggest economy, has long championed fiscal discipline that has forced painful spending cuts in countries such as Greece and Spain.
More recently she has focussed on the need to help the victims of the crisis, almost six million jobless under-25-year-olds, and repeatedly said that "Germany will only do well if Europe does well".
Asked whether she had switched emphasis too late and made mistakes in the past, she defended her initial focus on orderly public finances.
"Greece, Portugal and other countries were in a position where they could no longer raise funds because of their high debts," she said. "Because this threatened the euro as a whole, we agreed to help these countries under the condition that they reduce their deficits.
"After all, that (deficits) was what triggered their crises."
Merkel added: "As soon as the countries affected by the crisis return to a path of solid finances, there is a need to also improve competitiveness and to promote new — now sustainable — growth and employment."


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For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line one 12-cup standard muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, milk, butter, vanilla, salt and egg in a medium bowl just until combined. Be careful not to over mix. Pour into the liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Cool on a rack 10 minutes, and then remove the cupcakes and cool on the rack completely.
For the filling: Melt the butter in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the pineapple, sugar and salt and cook, stirring frequently, until caramelized and the liquid is mostly evaporated, 18 to 20 minutes. (You will be able to run your spoon through the filling and leave a streak behind that holds 1 to 2 seconds before filling back in. The consistency of the filling should be like caramel sauce.) Set aside to cool.
For the icing: Melt the butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer and continue cooking until dark golden and toasty smelling, about 4 minutes. Once you see the milk solids turning a medium brown color, turn off the heat. Cool to room temperature. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar and pineapple juice to make it smooth but not too spreadable.
To assemble: Using a melon baller, scoop out a hole in each cupcake large enough for 1 tablespoon of pineapple filling. Fill and press gently with the back of the spoon to level the filling. Spoon a teaspoon of icing over the hole to cover. Garnish the cupcakes as desired with cherries and pineapple.
Recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchen
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Acapella: "Waiting for Tonight" by Jennifer Lopez
Instrumental: "Memories" by David Guetta feat. Kid Cudi
Download link: https://sowndhaus.audio/index.php?a=track&id=4319
All mixes linked to on this site are created for entertainment, and as demonstration of mixing and production techniques only. The copyright for the individual tracks used remains with the artist. If you like the mixes I have created, please buy the original songs and support the artists. If you are a representative of either the artist or the publishing company and would like the tracks removed, please contact me directly and I will take the tracks offline.


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The Original Ballers Podcast
About This Show
Each week your hosts Gary and Nicole will cover the new HBO series, Ballers. The series stars Dwayne Johnson, John David Washington, Omar Benson Miller, and Rob Corddry. Listener feed back is encouraged, send your thoughts, questions, and feedback to email@example.com more »


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Yesterday I went to the Flea Market, where I got two huge blisters, a coke, and a $3 purse! The purse is what I'm going to focus on~ Here it is before:
As you can see, it's preeeetty simple. Not bad, but also not the bag for me! It was way too plain, so I decided to spruce it up. First I was going to go with navy stripes and make it nautical themed, but thats not really me, so I decided to go with cute teal chevron stripes!To make the stripes even spaced, I lined up tape side to side and then took off every other piece of tape so that all the stripes would be uniform.
Sorry this was such a long wait, it won't happen again! :3


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seriously. i know i say it every year.
but seriously.
i took my oldest baby on a special trip for her birthday this year. we went to boston. we had a blast cruising around the cape, whale watching, seeing the historical spots and eating eating eating.
before we left we had a little family party to celebrate S's life.
that's getting to be a lot of candles!!!
a donut the size of her head!
we went to the best ice cream place ever... giffords.
she got some birthday ice cream and a bobble head lobster.
she was pretty pumped about that.
we ended the night in the north end eating delicious italian food. and the waiter even made a special trip to the store across the street to get her some chocolate milk.
i love the young lady you are becoming my SR. i love your confidence, your creativity, your silliness, your humor, your wicked baking skills, your fashion sense.... you are still rocking those crazy outfits.
heck, i even love your "cosmetic" glasses you insist on wearing.
i love everything about you.
you are beautiful inside and out.
happy 12th birthday baby girl!


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venerdì 19 dicembre 2014
SAHARA caracal cat
Needless to say, as soon as I laid eyes on picture of a real caracal, I decided that I had to make one!
Caracals have short fur, so I decided it was the perfect challenge to make a no joints body design. I wanted the body to look as realistic as possible, and jointed limbs can be a problem with short fur as you really see the limb as a separate part of the body. With a one piece design, the look is elegant and natural.
The body is internally wired: from head to spine, all four limbs and the tail.
So, here is SAHARA.
giovedì 13 novembre 2014
....and here is CINDERS!
mercoledì 22 ottobre 2014
FROST the little kitten
I used a very long and fluffy two toned faux fur that had to be extensively scissor sculpted. Little Frost looked like the Yeti before his 'hair cut'...now he looks well groomed and well behaved, but don't be fooled, he can be naughty!
domenica 19 ottobre 2014
PANTAGRUEL a new design for a raccoon
I finally decided to pluck up the courage to try it 'on fur', and I must say that my long and careful thinking has done the deal.
Pantagruel has wire bones in his arms, legs, back and tail. He can be arranged in many natural positions and the absence of joints give him a very realistic look. I have enjoyed working on this new project, and I think I will apply what I have learned to other animal designs.
Another thing that I have enjoyed very much was the felt slice of cake. I must thank Pinterest for the great inspiration it has provided, with so many pictures of 'felt food' to give me ideas!
So, this is my latest raccoon, a very big 16 inches boy, Pantagruel!
Pantagruel is now up for adoption here:
martedì 14 ottobre 2014
TABBY a custom order
Well, this is Tabby, made with a fantastic beige and ginger faux fur. A ginger cat with blue eyes....miaaaowww!
lunedì 1 settembre 2014
SIBERIA again....
|Click here to go to AUCTION EVENT
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I had a lovely time meeting with some of my spinning guild on Wednesday. It was supposed to be a pool party but the rain kept us indoors.
It was nice to sit and just spin for a few hours and not feel guilty about it.
The new wheel was there (the one that we won from the Sheep to Shawl) and I can't wait to try it out some day.
I finished about 2 oz of my Pigeon Roof Studios "Delight" Merino/Silk roving.
It's dreamy.
I also wanted to post a picture of the "shawl" that I started knitting.
Um, I did the whole pattern and it's the size of a handkerchief:
(Chequebook in the background for scale)
THey said the pattern was knit with 100g of yarn (which I assumed was fingering weight) but maybe not.
So, I think I will need to rip it out and start again wtih something else.
I bit the bullet and bought the pattern for the Forest Canopy Shawl
I didn't really want to purchase a pattern-but everyone in blogland has raved about it and I thought it would be a good first time lace, and one that can be done with any gauge yarn.
So, I bougt the pattern was pleasantly surprised when the designer refunded half my money--not sure why--maybe she was having a sale??? I need to send her off an e-mail to inquire (self, send that e-mail now)
So, I have some more spinning to do, some shawl knitting to do and it's getting cooler around here so picking up that sweater should happen soon.
This is the last week for Princess B to be home before she starts school.
Every day she asks me how many more sleeps and it seems like just yesterday I was telling her 21 and now it's down to 9...
When did she get so big???
We had some fun at a free zoo this past weekend...trying to get all those last summer bit's of things in before Fall officially hits.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Some spinning pictures
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text:
With deep sorrow we have learned of the death of the Heroic Leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, at 10:29 pm on Friday November 25 in Havana.
He was the greatest revolutionary, the guerrilla fighter of our time, the most beloved who taught us by example throughout his extraordinary life that "nothing is impossible for those who fight".
We will have to continue the struggle without him but the best way to honor his memory is to renew our commitment and pledge to defend his principles and the legacy that Fidel leaves to all mankind.
Viva Fidel! Long Live the Cuban Revolution!
International Committee for Peace, Justice and Dignity


text:
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Under The Overpass
1 comment:
- Bookworm said...
I'm not a religious person -- or rather, I'm not a God believing person, although I believe in religion -- but peculiarly enough, I've always believed in the absolute truth of the Passover story. Thus, while I am unable to believe that God conversed with Moses, caused the ten plagues, hardened Pharoah's heart, and parted the Red Sea, I actually believe that the events described in Exodus really happened. I think they're history, and amazing history at that. I've always been proud of being Jewish, because I've had this profound sense of lineal descent from the people who did that, all those years ago, who came up with those profound ideas, and who clung to them through thick and thin, creating the oldest continuous intellectual and religiously coherent group in history.


text:
Take The Children from The Room Before Watching This Video
Because it isn't pretty. After Hugh Hewitt finishes with poor Tucker Carlson, Tucker is looking, well, like a wet spot on the floor.
Actually, the video's very entertaining. Here it is; I recommend it heartily and without reservation.
And after you watch the video, read this piece by Ronald Cass. It is the most thoughtful and even-handed discussion of the Miers nomination I have seen yet.


text:
Joshua's Christmas Mod features with many Christmas-themed features to Minecraft. It will provide you with a large number of decorations related to Christmas such as trees, lights, wreaths, and stockings; to food items like sugar cookies, candy canes, eggnog, pies, and more. This mod is supportive with multiplayer. Well, that's sounds fantastic. Let's the install to enjoy a Christmas-celebration with your friends.
Features and Recipes:
Download here :
Joshua's Christmas Mod 1.11/1.10.2
See more :
Minecraft 1.11.2 Mods
Command Blocks 1.11.2
Minecraft 1.11 Maps


text:
Magento gets high notoriety in the internet business advertises. 80% of e-commerce business site has been utilizing magento as an e-commerce business platform because of its best components. Some benefits of using Magento to develop an e- commerce store are as-
Magento is an Open Source
Magento is an open source stage. It offers traders to extra elements, for example, module and expansions to giving more easy to understand and client fulfillment. You will show signs of improvement result on the off chance that you enlist magento developer for your magento web design that making it extraordinary and easy to understand.
Showcasing Friendliness
When clients go to your webpage, it generally beyond any doubt that he/she is happy with your web composition and modules. Since they are not willing to trust on your site then he won't attempt to get your item and administrations. Along these lines, Magento 2 is an enhanced form that provides for advertiser quicker load times and a friendlier backend UI which improve the client encounter.
Search Engine Optimization
Website streamlining is a vital part of any e-commerce web design business in light of the fact that 80% of movement originate from the web index. What's more, Magento have the capacity to rival the web crawler with its unprecedented components, for example, Meta label, web index cordial modules, module, and that's just the beginning.
Magento e-commerce platform can be utilized by independent venture to expansive endeavor. What's more, it's distinctive module and augmentation fit into any site prerequisite additionally an accumulation of subjects that plans site as your necessity. Magento has a few releases that you can download. The most prevalent are Magento undertaking and group version.
More Useful
Keeping in mind the end goal to cover all clients, you need to get all conceivable method for pulling in clients, for example, 'send to a companion' choice, pamphlet administration devices, client bunch valuing, and substantially more. In magento, consistently new applications and augmentation made to add capacity to your site needs.
It is Secure
E-commerce business site contains exchange data and to secure this from programmer require a stage that keeps your information from hacking. Also, to vie for, magento has standard security that called dad doss that incorporates fourteen insurances; it implies that every one of the information concerning the items, clients, private data, exchange points of interest, and so forth.
You have checked all magento highlights. So, magento have the capacity to offer the best plan, module, and augmentation to the Merchant and fulfill the client by offering best easy to understand outline and route. At long last, in the event that you need to advance your e-commerce business online with magento then you can contact Canada Web Design Company for the best e-commerce website design.


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WORLD No1 Roger Federer remained on course for an incredible 16th Grand Slam title after turning on the style to beat home favourite Lleyton Hewitt in Melbourne.
The Swiss star hardly broke sweat to claim a resounding 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 victory and book a quarter-final date with sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko, who saw off Fernando Verdasco in a five-set thriller.
Federer described his performance level as "very high" against Hewitt, but knows he will have to up his game further against in-form Davydenko, who has got the better of him in their last two encounters.
"He played very well the last couple of times we've played," Federer said. "I've always had tough ones against him. He's really picked up his game, he used to have issues on serve but now that's gone. I just hope I can get the better of him in five-set play."
Russian Davydenko had to withstand a strong second-half fightback from ninth seed Verdasco to clinch a 6-2, 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 win in the Rod Laver Arena. He added: "Mentally, I'm still strong. I don't know if I can win here, but I'm feeling good about my tennis right now."
Davydenko is joined in the last eight by third seed Novak Djokovic, who cruised past Polish outsider Lukasz Kubot 6-1, 6-2, 7-5. Djokovic now takes on 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who won a five-set thriller with Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7, 9-7.
R Federer (Sui) (1) v N Davydenko (Rus) (6)
N Djokovic (Ser) (3) v J-W Tsonga (Fra) (10)
A Roddick (USA) (7) v M Cilic (Cro) (14)
A Murray (GBR) (5) v R Nadal (Spa) (2)
Jon Couch


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Thursday, July 16, 2009
A Chance
Sunday, July 12, 2009
It sinks in: some Reflections
Our Final Day
Monday, July 6, 2009
Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
The Heidelberg Project Performance!
Teaching Day 1
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Welcome Day and Planning
Sunday, June 14, 2009
A success!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
CAR WASH Fundraiser!!
Donation Letter
Dear Potential Patron,
Detroit, once a center for music and the arts, is now struggling economically, culturally, and emotionally. With recent economic and political events greatly impacting life in Detroit, help is needed now more than ever.
As a group of artists from the Juilliard School, we will act to share our tools with the citizens of Detroit. While there, our group will run an arts immersion program for "abuse/neglect" youths at Holy Cross Children's Services and perform at various locations throughout the city. We will engage the community in a revitalizing arts program while inspiring and empowering the creative spirit. We hope to make a difference that will be a catalyst for growth.
The program will begin on June 20th and run for one week. Our group aims to raise $3500 for airfare, food, and ground transportation. With your help this enriching program can occur. Your donation, regardless of monetary size, would be greatly appreciated. Your support will help us illustrate the power of the arts as a universal tool for initiating change, and offer hope for a brighter future for Detroit.
We thank you for your support and patronage to the arts and the city of Detroit!
With warm regards,
Breanna O'Mara
Juilliard School
Check may be made payable and sent to:
Breanna O'Mara
60 Lincoln Center Plaza
The Juilliard School, Box 322
New York, NY 10023


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Butch, from From The Cheap Seats, posed a question in the comments section in an earlier posting of mine about the concentration of players who tested positive for PED use since 2005. He was curious to see if the %'s of those testing positive matched the % of geographic origin.
I promised a follow-up when I could track down the info, and the good folks at Baseball-Reference.com were kind enough to show me how to find the data I needed.
The table below lines up the information provided by ESPN (Players, by country, who have tested positive for PEDs, since 2005) with the birth information provided by B-R (Players birthplace, since 2005). I added in the % Variance column, which compares the % by birthplace to the % PEDs. A negative number indicates the % of PED use (or guilt) exceeds the relative composition by birthplace. For example, players born in the Dominican Republic accounted for 11.4% of all MLB players in 2005-06, however they accounted for 23.6% of the guilty PED tests. I also Indexed the % Variance to also show how Latin America's been disproportionately accounting for guilty PED tests. A score of 100 means their PED test % equals their place of birth %. A score below 100 means lesser percentage of players from that country have tested positive than are in MLB during this time. A score above 100 indicates a higher degree of testing positive than the country accounts for in MLB composition.
Butch, thanks for asking the question. I hope this answered it. I also hope others found it at least interesting to see what's going on. Clearly, more education and attention needs to head to Latin America.


text:
Cu Bocan | Highland Park | Jameson | Shelter Point | Tullibardine | Wyoming
Subscribe to Whisky Magazine to have every issue delivered direct to your door.
Glenweevil an everyday story of distilling folk 5
The story so far: Kevin accidentally stole a lorryload of Glenweenvil, and had to hide it at the distillery. The stolen whisky was passed off by Ruth as a newly-discovered stash of pre-war Glenweevil....
August 1999, Issue 5, page 82
Glenweevil an everyday story of distilling folk 3
The story so far at our fictional distillery: the theft of a lorryload of Glenweevil was closely followed by the discovery by Ruth of several casks of (allegedly) pre-war Glenweevil in an old warehous...
May 1999, Issue 3, page 74
Glenweevil an everyday story of distilling folk 2
The story so far at our fictional distillery: under the new ownership Andrew had to reapply for his own job. Ruth has informed Andrew of the discovery of several casks of pre-war whisky in an old cell...
March 1999, Issue 2, page 74
Glenweevil an everyday story of distilling folk 1
To prove that Whisky magazine has its ear well and truly to the ground, we would like to introduce our fly-on-the-wall, worm's-eye-view of the Scotch whisky industry. Any resemblance to persons living...
January 1999, Issue 1, page 74
Whisky Magazine Issue 5
Guide to Tobermory - Milroys of Soho - Whisky and Fish.
Published August 1999.
Whisky Magazine Issue 3
Irish whiskey - Wood ageing - How malt gets its character.
Published May 1999.
Whisky Magazine Issue 2
What's it worth - Macallan - Johnnie Walker.
Published March 1999.
Whisky Magazine Issue 1
Whisky hero Arthur Bell - Laphroaig - Cooking with Nick Nairn.
Published January 1999.


text:
After meeting in the Mojave Desert during a field ecology class in 1987, we were inseparable. In 1990 each of us earned our Bachelors Degrees in Biology, Ecology, and Evolution. Eloping in the Rocky Mountains during our cross-country trip to Minnesota, we have now been married for over 20 years. Today, Tamy is a Registered Nurse and Bruce is a high school biology teacher.
Love of Nature, Wildlife and Adventure joined us in 1987, and continues to be a common theme for our lives today. As field biologists in the mid 1980's and public employees today, we have been on a quiet quest to educate others about the beauty and fragility of our planet's ecology. We use our photography to convey the unique evolutionary heritage, complexity, and geography of the Earth to those who enjoy our images. Environmentalists to the core, we hope that our pictures carry a message that inspire others to conserve and preserve the planet's physical and biological diversity.
We specialize in Natural Light Photography and serendipity defines our photographic style. "The Way We See It" is our opportunity to use images and words to express our passion for the environment, travel, and biodiversity. On this sight we hope to educate and motivate.
We have a simple piece of advice for our readers...
Leave the comfort of your reality... Grab the gear... Get dirty... Explore the planet.
To see more of our images, visit our Gallery at www.BTLeventhal.com
Contact us about photographs, photography, and private workshops at firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Congress Promises to Act Blameless
This stationary dome has passed as many Farm Bills this year as the fully mobile Representatives have.
On May 9th, Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schaefer told reporters, "I have visited face to face with the President. He was very clear and very direct. The President will veto this bill when he gets it."
Well, we all saw that coming. The 2007 Farm Bill was already slouching when it was introduced in May 2007, and has received a barrage of verbal assaults from every interest group imaginable in the year since then. What better end to this poor, tortured bill then to have it dragged back through Congress for an encore performance?
I would like to think that the veto would, as we learned in middle school civics class, give Congress a chance to revisit those issues that were too extreme so that a bland, uncontroversial version can make it through a 2/3rds majority. But who are we kidding? "Bland" means easier to stomach, and in Congress that translates to bribing Senators and House Reps by funding their pet projects, pushing up the cost of a bill that already carries a 286 billion dollar price tag.
I understand that subsidies are going to millionaires. I understand that direct payments are being given across the board regardless of crop price. I understand that we need more money for the McGovern-Dole Program, nutrition for low-income residents, and decreased spending. The valid arguments are everywhere and the people making the arguments all sound right. We'll have plenty of time to talk about it as we ramp up for another Farm Bill in 2012. But on May 16th programs are going to start getting cut and the present Congressional/Presidential duo is already a year late getting its homework done. At some point you just have to stop and say that if no one is happy, it's a sign of decent legislation.
The President will veto. That's frustrating. But if Congress sends this thing into another tailspin once they get it back, that's even worse.


text:
Got my cheese curds and an energy drink. Good to go.
A light, airy, effervescent, blog of grave consequence. (NOT!) Dedicated to those of us who must respond to negative stimuli by Chernobyling (entombing in concrete) our innermost thoughts.
A semi-gruntled corporate reliability engineer trying to make ends meet while keeping my wife happy, and myself out of the asylum.
Maintenance working on the captain's chair is laying in and blocking the
aisle of my next flight so we can't load. Looks to be a teenier plane from
hou to mke.


text: Tofu as an egg replacer:Chocolate Brownies (wheat, sugar & dairy-free)make in 9 x 13 panIn a mixing bowl mix together:2 1/2 cups amaranth flour1 1/2 tsp. baking powder1/4 tsp. sea salt1/2 cup chopped walnutsIn a stainless steel pot heat over a low flame, until melted and a smooth consistency:3/4 cup soy milk1 1/2 cups natural chocolate chips (unsweetened) or 1 cup cocoa powder2 tsp. vanilla extract1 3/4 cups fructose granules 1/2 cup + 2 T unrefined corn oilIn blender, blend:12 oz. silken tofu3/4 cup filtered waterAdd liquids together, add to dry mixture, mix well; pour mixture in a lightly oiled casserole dish (9 x 13), glass or steel, and bake in a preheated oven at 375 for 25-35 minutes, until firm and a knife goes in and pulls out of cake easily .


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More calls to reform UNRWA
Rotten UNRWA practices seem to attract more attention:
A good piece by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in Wash. Times: Cut off Relief Agency. UNRWA backed U.S. foes for years
For six decades, the United States has voluntarily contributed billions of dollars to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which was created strictly to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees. In return for our generous investment, UNRWA subverts our laws, aids violent Islamist extremists, propagandizes against our ally Israel and in favor of Hamas, and works with banks targeted by the United States for money laundering and terrorist financing.
As our nation faces growing economic challenges, Congress must cut off funding to UNRWA and use our foreign aid to advance, rather than undermine, American interests and values.
As a recent report by UNRWA's former general counsel concluded, the agency has continually failed to properly vet staff members and humanitarian aid recipients for ties to foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs). UNRWA does not ask personnel or aid recipients if they are members of FTOs, and it screens staff names through a U.N. list that does not include members of Hamas, Fatah's al-Aqsa Brigades or other groups Palestinian extremists would be most likely to join.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd has stated that the agency does not consider those groups to be of concern. Her predecessor, Peter Hansen, proclaimed in 2004, "I am sure that there are Hamas members on the UNRWA payroll and I don't see that as a crime." A number of UNRWA staffers were discovered to be members of FTOs – Awad al-Qiq, a now-deceased rocket-builder, even served as headmaster of a UNRWA school.
UNRWA, where is the money going?
HT: Living with Rockets


text:
Real Housewives Cocktail Contest
12 comments:
- Rosa's Yummy Yums said...
A great idea!
- May 15, 2009 at 3:16 PM
- Lys said...
This is a contest that I have to submit something. RH is a guilty pleasure as well and, well, I think I can whip up a little cocktail or something in honor of all things RHJerz (considering they haven't done RHPhilly yet).
- May 15, 2009 at 4:43 PM
- Black and (a)Broad said...
Hi Hi,
Being out of the loop in Holland, I just heard about the Housewives series. I spent a couple of hours on YouTube trying to watch a series or two to see what all the fuss was about. To no avail. Anyway, your group sounds like lots of fun, can if I ever get access to the series, maybe you'll see me on Twitter. Can't wait to read the recipes inspired by the shows.
- May 16, 2009 at 1:32 AM
- Natashya said...
Hmm, haven't seen the show.. but I'd be happy to help you sample those drinks..!
- May 16, 2009 at 3:49 PM
- Chris said...
Addicted right there with ya! I hope I can think of something!
- May 16, 2009 at 6:21 PM
- maybelle's mom said...
I have been out of blogging and tv watching for a while, but even I have heard about the Real Housewives. I love the idea of a drink contest. (Too bad I won't be able to drink for a while with the baby.) PS love the new look.
- May 16, 2009 at 8:06 PM
- ~~louise~~ said...
Okay, so I never heard about this show until I saw you gals twittering away. What world do I live in??? As a HUGE fan of Sex in the City, I will check it out while I'm in Idaho for the next two weeks. I may just brew up a concoction if I make it back in time. Thanks, Courtney:)
My layover is in Chicago!!!
- May 17, 2009 at 8:27 AM
- Megan said...
I've never seen it but by God you can bet I'm checking it out! A cocktail huh? I like cocktails!
- May 17, 2009 at 1:20 PM
- Connie Weiss said...
I would love to come up with a drink inspired by my favorite reality show (besides The Bachelorette)!
I cant wait to get started!
- May 25, 2009 at 6:54 PM
- Ben said...
Why do I always miss all the fun in twitter? LOL That sounds like a fun event, too bad I have never seen that show and don't even have cable, LOL. I'll see what you guys come up with :)
- May 29, 2009 at 5:32 PM
- Susan @ SGCC said...
Well, you know I'm a RH junkie! I'm going to have to put my thinking cap on for this one!
- June 2, 2009 at 1:41 PM
- bren said...
love this! will enter a few.. is there a limit! i just got in to the shows... NJ is hilarious! ATL is crazy...not a representation of women here...lol
- June 3, 2009 at 11:00 AM


text:
Thursday, March 31, 2011
NHL Reset: Today's Previews and Last Night's Round-Up with Every Goal in Every Game (Video)
Today's every goal from every game is dominated by the St. Louis Blues who blistered Detroit 10-3 at Joe Louis Arena. It was the first time in 17 years that the Wings had allowed double digit goals to an opponent. Surprisingly, Chris Porter was the only multi-goal scorer in the contest.
The other surprising game from last night was Carolina romping over Montreal 6-2 to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Habs had won all three games with the Canes this year so Carolina finally got revenge. Jeff Skinner and Jamie McBain each had two goals for the Hurricanes.
Anaheim moved past the Predators into sixth place with a 4-2 win over Calgary which probably snuffed out the Flames dim playoff hopes. If Calgary wins their four remaining games they would get to 95 points which probably will not be enough to make the playoffs in the West. Cory Perry had two goals and Ray Emery got the win in net as Jonas Hiller's vertigo appears to be continuing.
Buffalo shut out the Rangers 1-0 behind the perfect goaltending of rookie Jhonas Enroth who stopped all 23 Ranger shots as he beat his childhood idol Henrik Lundqvist. With the win, Buffalo stated three points ahead of Carolina and moved past the Rangers into seventh place.
In a game of little consequence, New Jersey beat the Islanders 3-2 on Andy Green's first goal in three months. Frans Nielsen had both goals for the Islanders.
Tonight's Games...
Toronto at Boston (6:00 CDT) The Leafs appear to have run out of games and would need a near miracle to get back in it while Boston hopes to pick up a little momentum as they prepare for the playoffs.
New York Rangers at New York Islanders (6:00) The Rangers desperately need to win to keep Carolina at bay while the Isles would love to derail their playoff run.
Atlanta at Philadelphia (6:00) The Flyers could mathematically eliminate the Thrashers with a win.
Columbus at Washington (6:00) This should be an easy one for the Caps.
Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay (6:30) The Lightning are trying to turn their recent mediocre play around and will have a challenge in doing so against the Pens who will have Sidney Crosby in tow for moral support.
Ottawa at Florida (6:30) There's little to say about this one.
Edmonton at Minnesota (7:00) Probably less to be said here.
Nashville at Colorado (8:00) Nashville hopes to avoid tripping up against the Avs in a game they can't afford to lose after falling to seventh last night when they were idle.
Los Angeles at Vancouver (9:00) This is a much bigger game for the Kings as they try to hang on to with without their top two scorers. Vancouver could wrap up the President's trophy with a win and a Flyer loss.
Dallas at San Jose (9:30) Another critical game for Dallas who is still three points out of the top eight. This is the middle game in a five game road trip where they have only gathered a point in the first two games.
More Later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOntheGlass
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text: Now that Amazon owns Whole Foods, I hope – and sincerely hope – that they will get rid of the snake oil section at Whole Foods stores. It's is a pretty big section of their stores. Have you ever read the labels of the health and beauty products at Whole Foods? You should! They sell products that sound like they can treat all sorts of medical problems, but don't actually say that they do anything at all; products like 'herbal liver cleanser', 'herbal colon cleaner', & 'kidney tonic.' Products like these remind me of the traveling snake oil salesmen of the 19th Century. Whole Foods sells a lot of medicine of dubious efficacy, like homeopathic headache remedies, but they don't sell aspirin, Tylenol, or Advil. Why? Store employees will tell you that they don't sell these products because they aren't 'natural.' The fact that they work is irrelevant. Never forget this – 'natural' does not mean 'good for you.' Arsenic, cyanide, and rattlesnake venom are all natural products. They are all found in nature, but that doesn't mean that they are 'good for you.' They also sell a lot of gluten-free toiletries at Whole Foods, such as their own store brand of gluten-free baby shampoo. Now OK, the baby shampoo they sell at Safeway and Giant supermarkets doesn't say 'gluten-free' on the label, but so what? You aren't planning to feed shampoo to your baby, are you? I never buy anything at Whole Foods health section, but I do sometimes look at the people buying stuff there and wonder: "What is that person thinking?" Most of the customers buying these products look intelligent and well-educated. Today, I overheard a customer at Whole Foods ask a store employee: "Do you sell gluten-free eye shadow?" Yes, it turned out that they did have gluten-free eye shadow.


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Boy it didn't take long for Hillary's flunkies to get this video jerked off of Youtube. Copyright infringement's ass.
They sure don't want people poking for at Killary. But never fear, there is more than one way to skin a cat…
Click Here To Become A Conservative Blogs Central Blogger
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text:
I rarely bake cakes, cookies or make puddings for several reasons. Firstly if I regularly baked I would be the size of a house as I would pig the whole lot, and secondly however much I covet a baby pink Kitchen Aid so I can whip up a pavlova on a summer's day, I barely have room in the kitchen for an extra wooden spoon let alone anything else (bloody London houses)!
Therefore when Arabella announced she wanted a Disney "Frozen" cake for her birthday party last week, I got my knickers into a bit of a twist. I found a few cakes shops who would make one personally for Arabella however they cost over £100 and so that was a big no no. In the end I had no other choice but to bake one…..thank goodness for Betty Crocker! She makes baking cakes an easy peasy process.
Ingredients for 12 people:
1 Betty Crocker cake mix (I used the chocolate Devil's Food one)
1 tub of Betty Crocker icing (I used Buttercream)
90ml vegetable oil (6 tbsp)
250ml water
3 medium free range eggs
2 x cake tins (around 8")
butter for greasing
Grease two cake tins and preheat the oven to 180 C / 160 C (fan) / gas mark 4.
Mix the eggs, oil, water and cake mix gently together and then whisk for a few minutes until smooth & creamy. This is hard work without an electric whisk and I seriously got a sweat on!!
Pour the mixture evenly into the two greased cake tins and cook in the oven for 23-28 minutes (or until a rounded knife inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean). I did 25 minutes and as the cakes were on different levels in the oven, I swapped them over after 13 minutes.
Once ready cool on wire racks.
I left them for about 40 minutes.
Finally cover with the icing (this is never my forte as they are never as neat as I would like) and decorate.
I bought the personalised cake topper and figurines off Amazon although there are so many party shops online you are spoilt for choice. The cake topper wasn't the easiest to put on and whatever you do, don't put cling near it as it rips the thing off, but all in all it was a success. I used lots of candles to cover up the holes I made in the cake topper which Arabella loved as it meant more for her to blow out plus the figurines doubled as a birthday present. Plus the best thing of all - the kids actually ate the cake and I have had no reports of food poisoning!!!