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Kim Zolciak Pregnant With Fifth Child?
According to reports, former Housewife Of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak is pregers … again.
The Don't Be Tardy star and her husband, Atlanta Falcons defensive end Kroy Biermann, are reportedly expecting their third child together, just nine months after giving birth to their youngest son Kash Kade.
A source close to Kim told InTouch magazine that the reality TV mom is pregnant but has been trying to keep it a secret. "Kim and Kroy are so excited to be pregnant again. They didn't plan it, but they are thrilled," another source told the magazine.
News of Zolciak's pregnancy shouldn't come as a surprise because on this season of Bravo's Don't Be Tardy, the show chronicles Kim and Kroy talking about getting pregnant again. The couple made it public that they are hoping for a girl, and having three children under the age of three doesn't phase them one bit.
Kim has two girls, Brielle, (16) Ariana, (11) and two boys with Biermann, KJ, (2) and Kash.
HipHollywood reached out to Kim's camp, but no word back.
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Shall age weary dance music's live legends?
In 2004, inthemix asked Maxi Jazz what he made of the rumours that Faithless were about to call it a day. "I think we are," he said. "You know, the touring is so devastating to your life; you've got nothing else to do except be on a bus, in a hotel room, in an airport, or on-stage."
As it turns out, it took another seven years, two albums and countless airport lounges for Faithless to truly feel its work was done. By midway through 2011, the group's "joyful, exhilarating and empowering" run will be over.
While Faithless was a relatively rare visitor to Australia (the band's 2002 visit was cancelled after Maxi Jazz was injured in a car accident), they belonged to an elite club of iconic live dance acts. In the decade that inthemix has existed, six blockbuster headliners have loomed large on festival line-ups here. Leaving aside the unattainable Daft Punk, the 'big six' would arguably be Faithless, the Chemical Brothers, Underworld, Groove Armada, Basement Jaxx and The Prodigy.
From the Boiler Room at Big Day Out to Two Tribes to Summadayze to Future Music Festival, these live shows have been the benchmark. In ten years, Basement Jaxx have headlined six Australian festivals, Groove Armada five, the Chemical Brothers four, and The Prodigy and Underworld three a-piece – with standalone tours and DJ jaunts scattered between.
With Faithless announcing its retirement and Groove Armada returning to their DJ roots, the big six is now down to four. So, 11 years after the Chemical Brothers and Basement Jaxx blew the roof off the Boiler Room, is dance music's major league shifting?
"We're getting to the stage where headline acts are running out," mused Future Entertainment's Mark James when inthemix quizzed him on the topic last year. "You've got your Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Groove Armada, Basement Jaxx…you sort of run out after that in our genres. There are a lot of indie-electro live acts coming up, but a guy on a computer waving a balloon around isn't really enough."
It's no mystery why these live legends have endured. The likes of Underworld and The Prodigy first visited Australia as heroes of the jilted generation, propelled by now-classic albums. None of these acts have escaped criticism – or worse, indifference – to some of their more recent work. However, it's the combination of legacy, time-honoured tunes and a well-oiled live show that keeps us coming back. With those credentials, there's also a budget to back it.
"As much as there's a resurgence of bands like Orbital and Leftfield, in our world there aren't that many other artists who have the ability to build live shows like that," reasons Future's Brett Robinson. "You've got to have a massive audience before you can start to spend money on shows like that."

subset: commoncrawl


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With a polished stone finish, this contemporary table lamp has a refined and stunning design.More Details >
This beautiful crystal stone table lamp with a night light will bring a calm, clean relaxed style into your home. The polished cylinder base is topped with a white sailcloth linen drum shade and a decorative finial. Grace your home with The Natural Light of this beautiful lamp.


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- 200g good quality dark chocolate, about 60% cocoa solids
- 200g butter
- 1 tsp instant coffee granules
- 85g self-raising flour
- 85g plain flour
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 200g light muscovado sugar
- 200g golden caster sugar
- 25g cocoa powder
- 3 medium eggs
- 75ml buttermilk (5 tbsp)
- grated chocolate or curls, to decorate
- 200g dark chocolate (or milk if you don't want it to be as rich).
- 200ml double cream.
Firstly, prepare your cake tin and preheat your oven to 160 c (140 if you have a fan oven). Put the butter, chocolate and coffee granules mixed in with 125ml cold water into a microwavable bowl or a saucepan. Heat until melted.
Next, mix all the dry ingredients into a bowl. Beat together eggs into a bowl or cup and stir in the buttermilk. Add both the buttermilk mixture and the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients. Fold it in gently so you don't knock out the air.
Put this in the oven for 1 hour and 25-30 minutes. Although keep an eye on it, because mine took less than that. After its cooled, split it into two (unless you baked it in two tins). I got a bit too confident and tried to cut it into three, and the whole top cracked into pieces - as you can see! It's not a strong cake because it's so moist, but because you cover it with ganache it doesn't matter too much if it cracks/breaks. After it came out of the oven, I whipped up some double cream to go in the middle.
To make the ganache, I heated up cream in a saucepan until it was just boiling. Have your chocolate ready in a separate bowl and pour the heated cream onto it. Leave it alone for a few minutes, and then begin to stir it together. It will look as though it's not coming together, but bare with it - as you can see from my photos it does start to look like ganache eventually!
It makes quite a lucious thick ganache so I poured it straight on and spread it on, but you can pop it in the fridge for it to thicken if yours is a bit runny.
This was my first time making a chocolate cage. They say to avoid white chocolate because its temperamental but mine worked just fine! My boyfriend chose the white cage.. dark may have been better :P
To make the cage, measure out some greaseproof so it fits around your cake and make it the height you want it. Melt some chocolate -I used about 100g for my cage. Pop it into a piping bag and pipe any design you like. Now you have to watch it - you don't want it to set completely so it cracks but you want it to start setting so that it loses its shine but can still bend. Wrap it around the cake and make sure you get it into the right position - it will smear if you move it! Pop it into the fridge until it sets.
Voila! Decorate it however you like. I made truffles to go on the top. To do this, use any extra ganache (or make more) and let it set in the fridge. Roll it into balls of your desired size, and dip into cocoa, sprinkles or melted chocolate. I then swirled extra ganache on top -both dark and white chocolate. May be a chocolate overload to some but to us it was amazing!
Liddie x


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Simple food (as local as possible), gardening, environmentalism, books, kitties, and errant musings from two odd Midwesterners.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Roasted Veggies and Homemade Pizza!
Now, as I have stated before I live in a crappy apartment and the burners on the stove are not entirely level, so this may be part of the problem. I also might have had the heat on too high, but needless to say, while they tasted pretty good, they looked nothing like the beauties on the Vegetarian Times' website. Hopefully I will get them down eventually.
I also experimented with roasting vegetables yesterday. I love roasted veggies, but up until this point have really only been brave enough to roast asparagus or potatoes. It is so easy and roasted veggies rock my world! I prepped a nice mess of veggies (and by prepped I mean washed, removed stems and cut in half), drizzled them all with olive oil, tossed a pinch of salt on, popped them in the oven and let them do their thing – hardly an ounce of effort required on my part, the veggies and the oven do all the work for you. Thanks Vegamonicon!
Thought I'd give you a nice before and after, in case there is anyone out there who isn't roasting their own veggies, this should convince you to do so immedietly.
Before (my pan is very used, can ya tell?)
And after (our apartment smelled so good!)
On to dinner last night. I mentioned in an earlier post that I had found a vegan pizza crust recipe from VeganYumYum, and while that looked good, Bryanna Clark Grogan had what appeared to be a much simpler crust so we went with that.
This was a team effort pizza as Brett actually made the dough, vegan no less! Brett's interest in cooking extends about as far as things like breads and pasta. He likes making dough. Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun working together in the kitchen (albeit a bit difficult since our kitchen is so small). And trust me, I realize how lucky I am to live with an omni who is not only supportive of my lifestyle and willing to eat my creations, but will also take part in the cooking sometimes and help with the other stuff like the dishes that result.
On a side note, I am lucky on many levels to have found a person like Brett. He never lets a day go by without letting me know that he appreciates me. He helps around the house, he shows interest in my interests, we share the same values and worldview, and he enjoys many of the things that I do. We can (and very often do) talk for hours and hours and have some of the most stimulating conversations that I have ever had. He impresses me with his intelligence, his kindness, his humor, and his heart. He is truly my best friend!
OK, onto something MUCH less sappy, I have to admit, I almost disgusted myself with what I just wrote, but it is the truth. I imagine Brett will probably be more embarrassed by that than me if he reads this though. :-)
Back to the pizza – Brett made the crust, and since it was the first time we had made it, we decided to cut the recipe to only make one crust in case we didn't like it – we didn't want to be stuck with a bunch of icky crust. This can be a challenge sometimes as you end up with very odd measurements, and it doesn't always work out the best. The crust turned out wonderful, it was thin and crispy with excellent flavor. But Brett thought if we followed the full recipe (and he read the whole thing before starting to work with the ingredients :-) - I have that problem too), that the crust would have turned out thicker and chewier like in Bryanna's pictures.
Regardless, it was good. While Brett was preparing the crust, I made a simple pizza sauce that turned out nice and thick, with a rich tomatoey flavor, but not overpowered with other spices, which is what we look for in a good sauce. I also got out some of the roasted red peppers and shallots I had roasted earlier in the day, as well as sliced and sautéed some button mushrooms, and sliced up some artichokes.
Now, some of you out there might be saying "Well Jennifer, this is great and all, but this sounds awfully similar to the Amy's pizza you claimed to be getting sick of." (Though really, probably not.) I know it is very similar, but since this is the first time I made homemade pizza, I wanted to go with a familiar flavor combination. I can now comfortably experiment with sauces and toppings now that Brett and I successfully made our first homemade pizza together.
Basic Pizza Sauce
1 clove garlic, mashed and minced
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 tbs tomato paste
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon olive oil
dash red pepper, optional
Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan over low heat until well blended.
I plan on using the rest of the roasted veggies for a nice simple dinner this evening.
I'm off to enjoy a beautiful (though windy) evening in Mid-Missouri with Brett and my lovely kitties Gabby and Nermal. This more than likely entails playing basketball on the Playstation with Brett (which is a bit funny in that I don't actually like real basketball) - Go Virtual Houston Rockets! Or I might read as John Pilger's Freedom Next Time and Chris Hedges' War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning are waiting for me at home – thanks to Brett. But now I have to chose which to start with, which likely means basketball as I'm too damn indecisive!
'Til next time!
9 comments:
- Ruby Red Vegan said...
Brett would be really useful in my kitchen - making breads and pizza dough really intimidates me! And I didn't interpret what you said about you and Brett as sappy at all. In fact, I am quite jealous, and very happy for you that you have someone like that in your life!
The butternut squash pancakes sound like they will be great when they finally decide to cooperate. Mmm, winter squash rocks.
You make me wanna roasted some vegetables! Ahh, some sweet potatoes, carrots, and butternut squash would make a nice orangey veggie roast...
- January 28, 2008 at 9:14 PM
- Jennifer said...
Ruby Red - You are not kidding, now that I have seen how much he enjoys making dough, I may put him to work in the kitchen more often.
Thanks about Brett. I am very lucky that Brett and I "fit" so well. I guess I am a believer that your significant other should be your best friend, someone you admire for who they are as people, and so on. And he's damn cute too! :-)
I had a good experience with butternut squash, it was the first time I had prepared it at home. Aside from trying to handle the size of the thing, it was a breeze to work with too. I love the flavor!
Your orangey veggie roast - great idea! Mmmmmmm. Roasted veggies are so good that they don't even need seasoning, I think I could live off of them.
- January 29, 2008 at 8:56 AM
- the pleasantly plump vegan said...
man, those roasted veggies look good! i can never get enough of those!
- January 29, 2008 at 11:49 AM
Your pizza looks delicious! There's nothing more rewarding than making your own.
- January 29, 2008 at 3:22 PM
- Lizzy said...
I have thought about making my own pizza dough for such a long time now and I think I'll give it a try.
I like thin crispy pizza so I guess I should also cut the recipe ;)
Roasted veggies are sooo good. My mom started doing it years ago, along with potatoes. I never wanted any potatoes though, I always stuffed my face with bell pepper, zucchini, scallions and whatnot. I love that the options are almost endless. And like you said, there's no work for us except cutting them into pieces.
I still have a few veggies left from my salad last night, I think I'll roast them tonight =)
Too bad I forgot to drain the chickpeas or else I could have made the sun dried tomato hummus. I might try the sour cream again, I don't want the silken Tofu sitting in the fridge for too long and turning bad again!
Honestly, I feel kind of weird for writing this since I actually don't "know" you. But reading how you described your relationship with Brett made me so happy. It sounds like you really found your better half there(and that he helps so much around the house, with cooking and all... well I believ you cherish the fact that you got yourself a man like that). And from the comments and the general writing of yours I got to know you as such an awesome person. I don't know, I wish I knew more people like you in real life. Kind, honest people who have something in their head. Not just hot air like most people.
Just wanted to let you know that I'm not trying to freak you out =p
- January 30, 2008 at 4:38 AM
- Lizzy said...
*not drain, damnit I meant soaked =p
- January 30, 2008 at 4:39 AM
- Jennifer said...
Pleasantly - I know, roasted veggies are the best! I plan on roasting more this weekend. They are easy to prep, tasty, and make for an easy dinner. Can't beat that.
Romina - Thank you, you are right, making something yourself is always more rewarding than getting it from a box or a take out place.
Lizzy - Yeah, if you want the crust to be crispy, you might want to halve the recipe, and then halve it again like we did. It makes for some difficulty in measuring ingredients, but it is how our turned out the way it did.
That sucks, I always buy my beans dried, so if you forget to soak them, well, your meal is pretty well shot!
I think you can get to know a person quite well from blogs and stuff actually, so I don't think it is weird, whatever means it takes to engage with like minded people works for me.
I am very fond of Brett. He has more of an egalitarian view on life and in areas such as the 'division of labor'. He is also still in college (I graduated last May), so he has more time to do these sorts of things. To be honest, I haven't done laundry myself since I got my first 'real job' this past September!
Thank you, you seem like a very cool person yourself. I looked at your photography the other day, by the way, pretty neat stuff. I liked the staircase, the tree, and the mirror pictures the best!
I also understand what you mean about wishing you knew more 'like minded and thinking folk' in person. I find myself in that dilemma pretty often as the few people I know (I am very shy and a homebody so people my age [23ish] don't tend to find me very interesting as I would rather read at home on Friday and bake on Saturday than party), well they waste the stuff they have in their heads on things like video games, shopping, and television (though that is the 'American Way' eh?). My activist friends bring me down sometimes because that is ALL they do, deal with issue, organize, and it starts to get you down, 'cause things really aren't that great in the world right now. I wish I could find more people who had a balance. I think it is important to be aware of issues and such, but to also have a recreational life beyond that.
And trust me, I'm from the US, I know all about the masses whose heads are full of hot air.
Hey, I don't know if you have Facebook or not, but if you do, you can add me as a friend if you like.
- January 30, 2008 at 8:16 AM
- ChocolateCoveredVegan said...
I love roasted veggies; they're one of my FAVORITE things to eat :o)
- January 30, 2008 at 1:48 PM
- muebles baratos madrid said...
Pretty effective info, thanks so much for this article.
- March 1, 2012 at 5:02 PM


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Happy July, friends!
Despite my love for snow, Christmas, and other trademark December happenings, July has always been my most favorite month for so many reasons.
July was and still is the only month guaranteed to be school-free. Though I haven't been in school for nearly 8 (!) years, I still think of July as part of summer vacation. So does Mr. Matt the teacher, who is home for most of the day and enjoying a well-deserved break from the classroom. The only real problem is that I really struggle to find the motivation to go to work, knowing he's home relaxing. Jealous much? Just a bit.
Work duties aside, July is also awesome because it's filled with all the fun things a kid/big kid could imagine: Pool time! Vacations! Picnics! Fireworks! River trips! And...
Birthdays! Two of my best friends growing up were July babies, so I looked forward to their parties every summer on July 11th and the 23rd. A few of my college friends have July birthdays, too, sandwiched around...
My birthday! It's no secret that I love my birthday to pieces. I plot my cake(s) for weeks. I plan my actual day out, hour by hour, so it's packed full of my favorite activities and people. As of now, the list of tentative plans includes running, kayaking, a trip to Sarris, and crab cakes. My birthday is on a Saturday this year, so I'm really looking forward to celebrating to the max! Oh, and I guess I should mention it's a milestone one -- cough30cough.
July is a pretty stellar month when you consider all of those things, right?
No? Not totally sold?
Well, yes, I'll agree with you that it's generally quite hot... and oppressively humid as of late. And I won't hold it against you if my birthday doesn't make you jump for joy quite like I do. (I do, however, hope you have that kind of enthusiasm for your own special day!)
It's National Ice Cream month, y'all!
Cakes, cookies, and pies are delicious, but ice cream is without a doubt my favorite kind of dessert. Winter or summer, rain or shine, I'm always in the mood for the sweet frozen treat.
I was so impressed with the two-ingredient ice cream I made last summer that I decided to give it another go and kick things up a few notches and create an outrageously decadent and over-the-top flavor: strawberry cheesecake ice cream!
It's loaded with all of the usual goodness you'd expect from its dessert ancestor: fresh strawberries and cream cheese, plus crushed graham crackers and butter reminiscent of classic cheesecake crusts. We loved the hint of salt that the "crust" brought to the chilled party.
I don't want to hype this too much (except I totally do) but Matt just may have said this is the best ice cream he's ever had. Just saying...
Add this no-fuss recipe to your summer party/after dinner menu and your guests will be on board the "July is the best month ever" train, too :)
Two years ago: Butterfinger caramel bars
Three years ago: Watermelon, arugula, goat cheese salad with balsamic drizzle
Four years ago: Pizzeria chicken packets
Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
(adapted from this base recipe)
-makes 10-12 servings
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons) salted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups quartered hulled strawberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 sheets graham crackers, crushed
1 pint (2 cups) very cold heavy whipping cream
Place metal bowl of an electric mixer in freezer to chill for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, in another large bowl, mix cream cheese, strawberries, butter, and vanilla until combined. Increase mixer speed to medium and continue beating until strawberries have broken into smaller pieces than original quarters. (I like identifiable pieces in my ice cream, but if you prefer smaller bits, continue mixing/breaking up as desired.) Fold in graham cracker pieces and set aside.
Remove metal bowl from freezer and add heavy cream. Using mixer with whisk attachment, whip cream on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the strawberry cream cheese mixture, until thoroughly combined. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the freezer for a minimum of 8 hours but preferably overnight. When fully chilled, allow to rest at room temperature for a few minutes to soften. Scoop and enjoy!


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Many reputable organisations in Kenya are adopting the trend when it comes to job listings and search notable among them is Kenya Airways, Google(K)Ltd,Shell (K) Limited,Price WaterHouse and Coopers(who starting 2008 will no longer accept paper applications). The Public Service Commission caught up with the trend faster than many public companies by launching their online recruitment and selection database on 16 March, 2007 although the system is only usable for currently serving Civil Servants.
Another ready advantage of E-Recruitment is that certain predetermined parametres can be used to automatically sift through various CV applications and narrow down to the desired candidates.According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development( CIPD) the advantages and Disadvantages of E-Recrutments are:
Advantages of using e-recruitment are:
- E-recruitment has the potential to speed up the recruitment cycle and streamline administration
- allow organisations to make use of IT systems to manage vacancies more effectively and co-ordinate recruitment processes
- reduce recruitment costs
- reach a wide pool of applicants
- reach a niche pool of applicants
- make internal vacancies widely known across multiple sites and separate divisions
provide the image of an up-to-date organisation, reinforcing employer branding and giving an indication of organisation culture
- offer access to vacancies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week reaching a global audience
- be a cost effective way to build a talent bank for future vacancies
- help handle high volume job applications in a consistent way
- provide more tailored information to the post and organisation eg case histories of the 'day in the life' or self-assessment questionnaire or quiz to assess fit with role
- be spontaneous for candidates as ease of use means there is the ability for applications to be instataneous.
Disadvantages of using e-recruitment include the potential to:
- limit the applicant audience as the Internet is not the first choice for all job seekers
- cause applications overload or inappropriate applications if care isn't taken drafting the job profile/specification
- exclude those who do not want to search for a new job online
- limit the attraction of those unable to fully utilise technology eg certain disabled groups
give rise to allegations of discrimination, in particular the use of limited keywords in CV search tools
- make the process impersonal, which may be off-putting for some candidates
impact on the 'cultural fit' dimension of recruitment
- 'turn-off' candidates, particularly if the website is badly designed or technical difficulties are encountered
- lose out on candidates, especially if your own website is below the search engine ranking of your competitors
- provide too little or inappropriate information, for example, corporate recruitment guidelines might not be written in a web friendly style.
Obviously their list is not exhaustive but Kenyan Companies should more readily adopt the use of E recruitment when sourcing out new employees or filling out job vacancies.This in iteslf can be used as part of the branding of the organization since progressive companies world wide have already adopted this measure.On the other hand E -Recruiting must be objective.I have many times applied for UN jobs using their online system,rarely does one get an acknowledgment nor a regret.Often times people who applied through other influences are recruited.This again brands an organisation and informs a potential employee on what to expect if appointed.So Kenyan employers please practise general ettiquette by sending acknowledgments and regrets!I know many of you dont and also update your websites and remove already filled positions.Job hunting online in Kenya is often searching through a quagmire and can be thoroughly disappointing with a lot of irrelevant websites or un useful information propping up!
On a positive trend ,today 's newspaper speaks of a plan by the Higher Eduction Loans Board to develop a web portal that will serve as an interface between fresh University graduates and Employers.Kenya's most profitable company safaricom has also established an online application system its new fresh look website.At the moment the facility is not operational though i view it as such a late attempt by a company that has such a resourceful employee base and accompanying capital.E -Recruitment is the way to go!


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Fifty Shades of Grey meets hilarious Contemporary Romance in this witty and sexy novel by Courtney Cole.
Caution! Only read this book if you want to laugh and are not offended by adult themes and language. This is not a Young Adult book.
"You know what they say…a happy vagina is a happy woman. Well, they might not say that, but they should." -Alli
Thirty-five year-old Allison "Alli" Lancaster has it all–a fabulous job, a beautiful 15 year-old daughter, a hilarious BFF and a gorgeous house with a pool and Jacuzzi in an exclusive Las Vegas neighborhood. What she doesn't have is a husband, because she kicked her lousy, cheating ex to the curb nine months ago. Since then, Alli has paid her dues with seemingly endless self-improvement and seemingly endless mourning. Now she's ready to move on and try new things.
Alli's idea of "trying new things" is nothing like that devil-of-a-best-friend of hers. Somehow, Sara, the devil of a best friend, talks Alli into trying out a sex toy, sleeping with a younger man and letting a stranger in a lab jacket put hot wax on a place that should never, ever, ever see wax. And that's only the beginning.
Alli never saw her life going quite like this. She also never thought she'd meet someone else who had the very real potential to change her life forever.
But she did.
Enter the new guy. He's gorgeous, refined and mature. He's also marriage material. But that poses a problem for Alli, who renounced the institution of marriage when she renounced her ex. What's a girl to do?
They say that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. But what the heck happens when you can't leave Vegas? Well, you spin the wheel, of course. You play the game and let the chips fall where they may.
Alli just hopes she can find them all.
Sandy's Review:
My sister gifted me this book because she was getting sick and tired of telling me to buy it. The first two pages had me laughing my ass off. Alli has so many crazy moments that I can't say which on is my favorite: Her boss telling her she forgot to put on underwear on or her daughter walking in her room while she had tea bags on her freshly waxed crotch. I'm not sure if I would have been able to handle the gigolo I slept with coaching my daughter or being the son of my new boss that I have a crush on. I hope everyone woman was as batshit crazy well adjusted as her after a divorce. This book has great embarrassing moments that will make you LOL.
~ Happy crazy reading 🙂
Purchase book here:
Confessions of an Alli Cat (The Cougar Chronicles, #1)
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- Re-release and Giveaway – If You Stay by Courtney Cole (thebookhookup.com)
- Sexy Sentence Saturday: If You Stay by Courtney Cole (bookishtemptations.com)
- What To Look For in a Husband or Wife (asktheyoungprofessional.wordpress.com)


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In which I make some clothes, expound on the virtues of the flat fell seam finish, and proclaim "you CAN sew your own clothes, and even wear them in public".
Thursday, January 20, 2011
New blouse and no thread issues
I've had this pattern for a little while but never made it. It's cute. I rummaged through my stash and hauled out this white stuff that I had bought at Darrell's years ago. It is a weave but it feels a little like a knit (it is textured), and it has a fine silver thread that you can glimpse occasionally. It also ravels quite a bit and is one of those fabrics for which you keep your lint brush always at the ready on the ironing board.
I think it might have been a remnant because it was only through clever cutting that I managed to get short sleeves out of the piece I had.
I decided on French seams for the shoulders and side seams, to keep the ravelly ends in. Around the armholes, I trimmed one side (the shirt side) and folded the sleeve-side-seam allowance over to contain the ravelly bits and then sewed that down with a zigzag stitch. Yes, it would be easier if I had a serger! But I don't.
The front bands are sewn across the bottom, right sides together, to make a nice square finish. But instead of hand sewing the band to the wrong or inside, I sewed it first by machine, wrong side to right side, then I sewed the square bottom, right sides together, THEN I folded it over to the RIGHT side of the blouse (the outside) and sewed it by machine with a topstitch.
It's a bit faster that way -- no hand sewing -- and it gives it a professional or maybe commercial look. Anyway, I like it and since I learned to do this with all the jean jacket bands I have sewed, I now do it with all the other bands I sew.
I also used the same technique on the bands that hem the slightly puffy sleeves.
Here is the puffy part of the short sleeve being sewn to the band and you can see how much the fabric ravels. The green thread is there to gather up the puffy part.
I have yet to go get buttons. This is a single button I have in my button box. It has no mates -- too bad because it is just like what I think would go best with this blouse. The silver thread makes the blouse sparkle a tiny bit but silver buttons would be way over the top. This one is a clear plastic button with a flower motif embossed on it and so it "sparkles" just a little bit. Plus, it is a bit bigger around than most of the shirt buttons I normally use and I think that would suit this fabric, since it is textured and not sleek.
Here is the blouse, awaiting my trip to the button store. Cute!
18 comments:
- Branka said...
Beautiful blouse, well done!
- January 20, 2011 1:56 PM
- Bethany said...
That really is beautiful!!
I'm jealous of your clothes-making skills (I'm terrible at it :(
- January 20, 2011 1:59 PM
- Debbie Cook said...
Beautiful! I love that fabric too.
- January 20, 2011 2:55 PM
- Sandy said...
The blouse is beautiful!
I remembered your post about sharp-edged throat plates when I was trying to make button holes with a gadget. The gagdet is great and includes a plate in case your feed dogs don't go down (mine don't). The thread broke on the test button hole and I looked at the plate. Sure enough, jagged edges! Sanded them down and 50 button holes later no problems!
- January 20, 2011 4:00 PM
- JuliaR said...
Thanks all!
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practise, practise, practise!
So glad that I could help someone else with broken thread issues.
Right now, I've been upstairs pawing through my stash and looking at patterns. I'm thinking about a piece of striped polyester for another blouse. But I have so much stuff!
- January 20, 2011 4:41 PM
- Ann's Fashion Studio said...
Love your blouse. It looks so pretty and fresh.
- January 20, 2011 5:40 PM
- Mary Beth said...
Gorgeous combo of pattern, fabric, and neat construction. Very beautiful!
- January 20, 2011 7:53 PM
- sewistafashionista said...
Boy, that is some ravely stuff. I saw it going over the throat plate in your one picture. The fabric is lovely, and your blouse came out perfect.
- January 21, 2011 10:06 AM
- Audrey said...
Neat fabric, though it looks like it might have been a pain to sew. It made up into a beautiful blouse
- January 21, 2011 12:43 PM
- JuliaR said...
Thanks again! It was surprisingly NOT that hard to sew with, even with the ravellies. It wasn't slippery which saved me from a lot of misery. I have been looking at some patterns from the 80s and I loved them so, but they are dated. Except for this one Vogue shirt pattern which I may use for the next one... we shall see.
- January 21, 2011 1:10 PM
- gwensews said...
That's a totally cute blouse! I love the textured fabric.
- January 24, 2011 8:24 AM
The blouse is beautiful and I agree with the clear buttons. Good info about the throat plate. Thank you.
- January 24, 2011 3:59 PM
- Kobra said...
Cute blouse :) I like the fabric a lot! Greetings from Norway! -Kristi
- February 08, 2011 4:55 AM
- JuliaR said...
Thanks all! I made the buttonholes last night and will be sewing the buttons on today. I'll try to remember to post a photo of that, so you can see which buttons I got.
- February 08, 2011 7:58 AM
- Barb said...
Beautiful job....thanks for the idea on using a zipper foot to top stitch close to a seam never thought of that!
- February 12, 2011 9:22 AM
Very good job. Fabric looks very fine. That is a good tip about folding facings out instead of hand sewing inside. I've used it, also if you sew the collar and/or collar stand the reverse of what most instruction sheets tell you it saves that hand stitching and is finished off like most commercially made blouses and shirts.
- February 12, 2011 10:46 AM
Very good job. Fabric looks very fine. That is a good tip about folding facings out instead of hand sewing inside. I've used it, also if you sew the collar and/or collar stand the reverse of what most instruction sheets tell you it saves that hand stitching and is finished off like most commercially made blouses and shirts.
- February 12, 2011 10:46 AM
- Terri said...
Love that pattern. I have it sitting here and have not used it yet. Am now inspired to try it.
- February 13, 2011 2:25 PM


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Mark Barnes is now blogging at Learn it in 5
Mark is now blogging at www.learnitin5.com.
Please join Mark and other innovative educators for amazing how-to videos and thought-provoking blog posts at
Learn it in 5
Are Teachers Inherently Innovative?
One of the blogosphere's more intelligent educators, DanMeyer, suggests that a large percentage of teachers are innovative.
Realize that if you're a teacher and you're reading a blog post, you're automatically seeded in the top 10% of innovative educators. You'll try anything once. Let's also go with Jack Welch and assume that 10% of educators are hopelessly and/or willfully incompetent.
Convince yourself, then, that 80% of teachers exist on a sliding scale of innovation and are basically up for grabs. Those who don't want to try [x] aren't necessarily bad educators. They may have made a rational calculation that [x] isn't easy enough, fun enough, or free enough to adopt.
As evidenced by the many comments on Dan's post, this is a hot-button issue.
Beyond the specifics of Dan's X and Y musings, the foundation of the commentary got me to wondering; are educators truly innovative, or do they see new technology and flinch, when someone suggests that they try integrating it into their classrooms?
The Dangers of E-Mail in Education
Not more than a few short years ago, you could e-mail a student and not give it a second thought. As Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at NYU's business school quickly learned, things have changed.
According to eCampus News, Galloway responded to an angry student's e-mail with a derisive reply, and shortly thereafter, it was traveling through cyberspace, faster than you can say Sincerely Yours.
Although teachers in the K-12 world are less likely to e-mail students, many do. I certainly have. Stories like this one about Galloway should make teachers take a moment of pause before responding to any e-mail from a student or parent.
You never know when your e-mail will become the hottest tweet or Facebook post on the Internet.
Education Is Coming Full Circle
According to eSchool News, the government has released its National Educational Technology Plan, which calls for sweeping edtech reform. Or does it?
As eSchool News reports:
"The plan, called "Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology," calls for engaging and empowering learning experiences for all students; standards and assessments that measure key 21st-century skills and expertise; a shift to a model of "connected teaching," in which teams of interconnected educators replace solo classroom practitioners; always-on connectivity that is available to students and teachers both inside and outside of school; and a rethinking of basic assumptions, such as seat time, that limit schools' ability to innovate."
Maybe I'm missing something, but when I started teaching 18 years ago, we worked in academic teams that functioned precisely as the plan outlines above.
We used interdisciplinary learning, team- and co-teaching and used the connectivity mentioned above.
Granted, our technology was not what it is today, but we did have technology and used it.
"Reform" may be the wrong word
None of this is to suggest that the plan is not important and that this is not what we should be doing in education. It just seems to me that rather than reforming, we may just be coming back full circle.
Many Teachers Missing Opportunities to Connect
An interesting post at Adventures in Teaching and Learning outlines "points of disconnect" between teaching "effective teaching." Basically, the post contends that there are things that keep some teachers from being effective — some of which are personal.
Adding my two cents
The blog post covers five areas of disconnect, but I'd like to add a sixth — unwillingness to improve technology literacy.
Even as technology advances explode in this new millennium, I still see teachers and administrators who are unwilling to accept this explosion and refuse to embrace the kinds of web-based instruction that students desire.
This sort of disconnect has got to stop, and it's up to all parties involved — government, administrators, teachers and parents — to make it happen.
Podcasting in the Classroom
Podcasting in the classroom can be both educational and fun.
Learn more in this "One Minute on Technology in Education" podcast.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
InnovativeEdu Eyes Interactive Reading/Writing in This Edition of Edtech Tweets of the Week
Here we are for Round Two of the Tweets of the Week, something that I hope becomes one of your favorite attractions.
We had a nice start last week, and thanks to a great suggestion, there are no retweets this time. Remember, I welcome your suggestions for this weekly feature. As always, my humble commentary is next to each Tweet in parentheses.
10:30am, Feb 22 from BuzzCanTweet
5:36pm, Feb 24 from HootSuite
2:43pm, Feb 22 from Web
6:52pm, Feb 21 from bit.ly
11:09am, Feb 21 from TweetDeck
12:06pm, Feb 21 from Web
7:05am, Feb 21 from Web
12:48pm, Feb 26 from TweetDeck
Jing Video Demonstrates Wiki Site's Slide Show Feature
The versatility of a wiki-hosted classroom web site allows teachers to empower students to create many wonderful learning experiences. An embedded slide show is just one example of a myriad of modules that some wikis provide.
Although it's not part of the wiki, a Jing video screencast can be linked or embedded on the wiki-hosted classroom web site, demonstrating how other tools, like the slide show are used. The example below is a Jing video I created in minutes and linked on my classroom web site, in order to teach my students how to create and embed a slide show on their student web sites, as part of a research project.
The students enjoy these instructional videos, which they can view as often as they need. They love creating slide shows even more.
Are Your Students Blogging?
I've been thinking about blogging in the classroom lately. My students do most of what would be considered blogging on web pages on their individual web sites on my classroom web site. It's not blogging in the way we think of blogging, because their posts can only be seen by me, unless I share them in class with a projector and white board.
I have used a standard blog platform in the past, and my students love it. The difficulty is having them complete school assignments that I don't want other students to see. Ultimately, this is what brought me to the wiki-based private student web site.
So, are you blogging? If so, what kinds of activities are your students doing in the blogosphere?
Feel free to comment.


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I identify online as Liberal, Christian and LGBT. I was brought up in a very loving, very traditional military family at a time when the British Empire had been all but dismantled. There were a few anomalies here and there, but for all intents and purposes the Empire was a thing of the past and the vast majority of people thought it was no bad thing. Nevertheless, school assemblies throughout my childhood were still graced by stories of brave missionaries bringing God and good manners to the Heathen, Gladys Aylward being one example. Another, whose name I have sadly forgotten, paddled the African rivers risking being eaten by ferocious cannibals, or catching her death by malaria, to make decent Christians of those wilder colonials under Queen Victoria's reign.
Today we focus less on these tales of individual bravery and foolhardiness or the folks whose lives were turned upside down; sometimes for the better but always at the expense of their own culture. Instead we focus more on the development of those countries, now independent, who try to make their own way forward in the world without the yoke of European oppression. Nowadays, as episcopal Christians, we may even feel that the yoke has shifted.
I was dismayed at the Church of England's decision not to go ahead with "gay marriage" because I see it symptomatic of something more sinister – a drift to the "right". Over my lifetime I have seen more and more good people turned off Christianity because of the cognitive dissonance generated by a loving and gentle Jesus Christ who is willing to love everyone equally and a church bent on enforcing rules that come through to us from the Old Testament via St Paul. The drift of individual spiritual fulfilment away from organised churches into Paganism, Buddhism, Humanism, Hinduism and even Atheism has caused the Church I grew up in to clutch at the receding straws of a wider communion. To allow gay marriage would be to lose the affiliation of Christians in countries that maintain penalties of torture, imprisonment and death for those guilty of "the sin of Sodom." I think this is far to high a price to pay for church unity. The Church of England had a chance to stand up for modern liberal values and bring its LGBT flock home like a good shepherd; instead it threw them to the wolves.
For many "Chapter and Verse Christians", the chapter and verses they adhere to most vociferously are not the words of Jesus himself but usually those passages from the Old Testament and Acts that reinforce hatred and division. It is my feeling that very often the verses quoted condemn the "wickedness" of others and exhort them to change or be flung into the fire. I think we should be concerned not with the wickedness of others but with our own core faith and compassion. It may surprise some of my friends to know I do often read the Bible at night. In that time, I confess, I often find some comfort in reading the Gospels and revisiting stories of Jesus that were so familiar to me as a child. It resonates with me that Jesus emphasized faith and love; that he mixed with working people and forgave sinners; that he valued the widow's two brass coins above all the pomp and show of the wealthy; that he valued the innocence of children above the esteemed religious leaders; that he healed the sick and raised the dead on the Sabbath when it was forbidden and risked life and freedom to do so. Jesus was a rebel, a liberal, a man who loved humanity and felt his own humanity deeply. He was one who knew the Law but was more interested in interpreting his Father's will than observing traditions laid down by the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees. He could quote Chapter and Verse when he had to but gave free rein to his own words when he preached the Good News.
Now on the other hand, I wrestle with St Paul and find him contradictory and obsessed. It may be that I will go to Hell for it, but I really do believe that he was mentally ill. Time after time, he rambles incoherently about whether or not women should wear hats or men should be circumcized. He berates people for following the Law and berates them for NOT following the Law. To me, he reminds me of an ex-smoker having to deal with a room full of smokers lighting up. He is verbose and he has lost none of his zeal for condemnation on the road to Damascus – and yet in Paul we find some of the most quotable and common sense quotes in Christianity. It is this dichotomy I believe that has led Catholics to burn Protestants, Protestants to burn Witches, the inquisition to torture heretics, the faithful to murder and persecute both Jews and Muslims. Is this what Jesus really wanted? For us to condemn others, excuse ourselves and act like tyrants using the Bible as an excuse for the basest human behaviour?
It is for this reason that I personally cannot bring myself to quote chapter and verse; I find it to be a red flag that urges me to be cautious of those who do.


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The VA Innovation Initiative (VAi2), a $50 million department-wide program seeks promising innovations from employees, private sector, non-profits, and academia to help veterans have access to VA healthcare and benefits. The goal is to improve the quality of services delivered, improve VA operations, and reduce or control costs delivering services.
Innovative ideas are needed to:
• Enhance Maternity Continuity of Care—in 2010, the VA was authorized to cover the costs of post-delivery care for newborn children of veterans receiving maternity care from VA. The Maternity Tracker is envisioned to help VHA provide new levels of continuity of care for the growing number of female veterans receiving fee basis or contract maternity care outside of the VA system
• Redesign the PTSD Treatment Experience—many veterans are reluctant to seek mental health treatment due to the symptoms of PTSD. The VA is looking to find innovative ways to redesign the experience that veterans encounter when undergoing PTSD treatment
• Create mobile applications for e-benefits information and services—VBA and VAi2 envision a mobile app for e-benefits to enable veterans to check the status of their claim, submit First Notice of Death, ask questions, update information, and change direct deposit information from their smart phone or tablet
• Prevent and treat pressure ulcers—the VAi2 seeks ways to leverage training, develop new forms of specialized care, and provide for data collection and analytics to further advance preventing and caring for veterans with pressure ulcers
The 2010 and 2011 Industry Innovation Competitions resulted in nearly 600 ideas submitted from industry across eleven topic areas. In total 37 projects are underway and are now in various stages of project design, developing testing, and evaluating results.
Sweetspot Diabetes Care one of the previous awardees developed an initiative that remotely is able to monitor blood glucose levels in veterans. Now veterans can stay at home and send data from their blood glucose testing devices to VistA. Healthcare providers are able to monitor the information and receive alerts when readings indicate that a patient may have complications due to poorly controlled glucose levels.
The deadline to submit concept papers is May 29, 2012 and a webinar will be held April 10, 2012 to cover the topic areas. For more information, go to www.va.gov/vai2.


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The insulation is in, and that is the only good thing I can say about this last week. Let's do this in timeline format, shall we?
Early November: I call the drywaller, and agree to find my own insulator when he tells me his has retired. After much calling back and forth, I find an insulator and call the drywaller back and schedule our drywall to begin November 30th. He puts us on his schedule, or so he says, and tells me to call him if anything changes.
November 27th: I'm getting nervous, as I haven't gotten any sort of call from the contractor asking if we're still on, or confirming anything, or even saying anything about signing a contract, which we haven't done. I assume he'll bring the contract with, on the first day of work, but STILL. So I call him, the day after Thanksgiving, and, predictably, get no answer. I leave a message saying that I'd like to confirm that we're still on his schedule for Monday, could he please call me or Don back, and leave our numbers (although he should have them).
November 30th (Monday): Don takes off work so that he can do a walkthrough with the drywaller when he arrives. We wait, and wait, and he fails to show up. I call his cell phone at least five times and leave a couple of messages.
December 1 (Tuesday): He finally answers his cell phone in late morning. I say politely that I had thought we were supposed to be on his schedule this week, and that I'd been trying to get in touch with him. He says he was out of town, makes no mention of getting any of my messages, and says he can PUT us on his schedule for the week, just let him call his hanging guy and see when they'll be done that day, he'll call me back in a bit. I wait until nearly 5 PM, then finally call back. He says he was going to call me as soon as he got into the office, and that the drywall will be delivered on Thursday and hanging will commence on Friday. I ask if he can come out for a walkthrough, as there are a few trouble spots that weren't there during the estimate (plumbing, etc). He says absolutely, he can come out around 2 PM the next day, he'll give me a call when he's on his way and oh, he'll bring the contract with him.
Wednesday: He doesn't call. Don takes the afternoon off of work to be here for the walkthrough. The drywaller doesn't show up. We call several times throughout the afternoon. Finally, Don leaves a message on the guy's voicemail saying, essentially, either call us back or we'll be moving on to another contractor. Rather predictably, he doesn't call.
Thursday: Shockingly, no drywall is delivered. I call the other drywall contractor we got similar quote from in August, and leave a message asking if the quote's still good and if not, can we get another. He calls me back and says he'll check.
Today: New drywaller calls back again - meaning he is officially two phone calls higher in my estimation than his predecessor - and tells me they can do the job for the same price he quoted me in August. I ask him to come out for a walkthrough. He says he can come out on Monday, and will give me a call. I have limited hopes.
This whole thing has been... just... why wouldn't you put forth the simple basic minimum effort and call somebody back? Clearly the guy didn't want our money. And, it seems, may not in fact know how to check his voicemail. In which case, uh, good luck with that business of yours.
So now I don't know if we'll have drywall by Christmas, and I'm kind of depressed about it. The entire experience has left a decidedly bad taste in my mouth, and I'm so sick of waiting for phone calls I could spit.
Friday, December 04, 2009
Labels: contractors, drywall
1 comment:
Been there, done that. I chose two that advertise in the local paper each week. One showed for an estimate, the other did not. Never heard from either ever again. I ended up doing the job myself. One would think in this economy that contractors would be easier to come by, but I guess not. Best of luck to you...
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In 2007, the Commonwealth of Virginia State Assembly issued a statement of regret for the institution of slavery. Following suit, a few of Virginia's colleges and universities expressed their regret for the institution's use of slave labor, and some began to look more closely at that part of their history. These statements were a good first step, but there is still relatively little scholarly or public knowledge of how slavery and its aftermath shaped many Virginia institutions of higher education and how in turn these institutions influenced the wider community. This conference creates a much-needed space for the discussion of race histories at predominantly white and historically black Virginia colleges and universities. For the first time, we hope to bring together leaders from institutions across the state to engage in conversations about how we as well as our universities remember and represent our past involvement with slavery, Jim Crow laws, and segregation. We hope to engage community members, students, faculty, and administrators in discussion about the continuing impacts of this history. Understanding how these histories are represented at different institutions will help us to interrogate their legacy and influence on our present. Please join us for this free, inaugural conference in which we'll explore how remembering and representation of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and discrimination affect the present state of race relations at Virginia colleges and universities and their neighboring communities.
Link to map key listing names of public and private institutions of higher education


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I swear homemade strawberry jam cannot be compared to store bought in any way, shape or form. It is beyond delicious, and that is probably why I have found myself making it for the past couple of years. While I planted 100 strawberry plants this spring, they won't really produce until next summer, so for this year I headed out with a dear friend and picked about 10 pounds of strawberries.
I decided to use the bulk of them for strawberry jam because, to my delight, I'm not the only one who can't get enough of homemade jam—the hubby loves it too! I wish I had thought to take pictures of the process, but, alas, my tired mind was only focused on the job at hand.
Here is the recipe and instructions to the yummiest strawberry jam that you can make too!
6 2/3 Cups Crushed Strawberries (hull, wash, then crush one layer at a time using potato masher)
1 2/3 Cups Water (or unsweetened fruit juice, thawed fruit juice concentrate)
1/3 Cup and 2 Tablespoons Ball RealFruit Low or No-Sugar Needed Pectin
2 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
I began with filling my big canning pot with water, enough so that when I put my jars in they would be covered by 2 inches of water. Place this on a burner set to high.
I then hulled, washed, and sliced 6 & 2/3 cups of strawberries, crushing them with a potato masher. It is best to crush one layer of strawberries at a time in order to get them really crushed. After they were all crushed I placed them in a big pot along with 1 & 2/3 cups of water. You can also use unsweetened fruit juice, but water works fine for me.
After I was finished crushing the strawberries I prepared my jars by making sure they were clean and then setting them in a sink full of very hot water, where they will remain until I fill them with jam.
I set the strawberries and water mixture on the stove to bring to a boil. While waiting for it to boil I slowly added in 1/3 cup & 2 tablespoons of RealFruit Low or No-Sugar Needed Pectin. I then brought it to a rolling boil, meaning I couldn't stir the bubbling away.Then I added 2 & 1/2 cups of sugar and mixed it in well. When it came to a rolling boil again I set a timer for 1 minute and stirred constantly. After the minute I removed it from the heat.
I took my jelly/canning jars and began to fill them with the strawberry mixture until they were about 1/4 inch from the top. I wiped off any jam that was on the rim or around the band area of the jar and then I placed a clean brand new lid on the top and screwed the band on loosely. With this recipe I was able to make just over 10 cups of prepared jam. I had a small amount left over so I placed it in a small container to be used right away and didn't bother to give it a water bath but instead placed it in the fridge a couple hours later.
I placed all of the jars gently into the canning pot, which at this point was gently boiling, and boiled them for 10 minutes. Upon taking them out of the pot I set them on a towel on the counter to sit for 24 hours, and listened for the beautiful popping sound that ensured they were properly sealed. After 24 hours you should press your thumb into the middle of each jar lid to ensure the lid is properly sealed, if it is not it will pop in an out. If you find that any of your jars didn't seal properly place them in the fridge and use them first.
We enjoy using our jam for PB&J's, toast, on crackers and ice cream and in some recipes that call
for jam.
Here are some of the products I used to make my jam. These links contain affiliate links, which just means that if you choose to purchase them I get a small commission at no additional cost to you, which helps compensate us for the time we put into bringing you Penny Pinching Prose.
The start up cost to make your own jam may seem like it's not worth it, but once you have the jars and canning pot the only thing you will need to purchase in the future is the pectin and lids. I made my 10 cups of jam for less than $20, and not only is it yummy, I know exactly where it came from and what's in it!
Keep pinchin' :-)


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Now I am going to take my time and have more fun, and do this project the right way, sparing no effort or resource.
The Destroyer Cube is entering the cube stage of the build...Ha, Ha! Some of my Internet buddies mentioned that the model is a triangle, and I just smiled and said; what you have been looking at thus far is the superstructure, not the outer frame. I set this second dry-fit arrangement up, for another preview of how the lighting will look, with the exterior upper hull in place.
The outer-hull templates are cut and ready to go. The first thing I wanted to do is to dry-fit them, as pictured. I of course made sure to design and draw them to fit properly, but it is always good to check the parts before you start gluing things together.
I cleaned the tiles with a scrub pad to get a fine texture all over the plasticard. The glue will have a fine rough surface to hold to.
Under the weight of the tiles and my table side trashcan, the plasticard sections set very nicely. They are as sturdy as the floor tiles themselves now.
I recently received my next supply order to continue working on the Destroyer. I have also decided to make a Sphere next so I can use some of this for that model too.


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The old saying that "Some days I shoulda stood in bed," has now been updated to "Some days I shoulda never turned on the computer." Today was one of those days. My trusty PC radiated nothing but gloom and doom. So much so that it set me to worrying whether Republican Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, by decisively defeating the union-led effort to dump him, had -- inadvertently or otherwise -- written the obituary of the American middle class.
My worrying began here at The Huffington Post when I read a blog by former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who wrote:
Rarely in history has the cause of a major economic problem been so clear yet have so few been willing to see it...
It's because American consumers, whose spending is 70 percent of economic activity, don't have the dough to buy enough to boost the economy -- and they can no longer borrow like they could before the crash of 2008...
We won't get out of first gear until the middle class regains the bargaining power it had in the first three decades after World War II to claim a much greater share of the gains from productivity growth.
How to do that? Reich suggests we somehow learn from history -- from New Deal measures of the 1930s, from the war as the employer of all resorts in the '40s, and tax rates for the rich that exceeded 90 per cent throughout the '50s. Reich points out that what we did back then worked:
By 1953, the top 1 percent of Americans raked in only 9.9 per cent of total income. Most of the rest went to a growing middle class -- whose members fueled the greatest economic boom in the history of the world.
That boom continued through the sixties and into the early seventies, columnist Harold Meyerson tells us in The Washington Post. One reason was continuing U.S. domination of the post-war global economy.
[B]ut that's only one of the two reasons our country became the first to have a middle-class majority. The other is that this was the only time in our history when we had a high degree of unionization. From 1947 through 1972 -- the peak years of unionization -- productivity increased by 102 percent, and median household income also increased by 102 percent. Thereafter, as the rate of unionization relentlessly fell, a gap opened between the economic benefits flowing from a more productive economy and the incomes of ordinary Americans, so much so that in recent decades, all the gains in productivity -- as economists Ian Dew-Becker and Robert Gordon have shown -- have gone to the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans.
When labor was at its numerical apogee in 1955, the wealthiest 10 percent claimed just 33 percent of the nation's income. By 2007, with the labor movement greatly diminished, the wealthiest 10 percent claimed 50 percent of the nation's income. Today, wages account for the lowest share of both gross domestic product and corporate revenue since World War II ended -- and that share continues to shrink.
Meyerson notes that, in the wake of the unions' defeat in the Walker recall effort, many of labor's friends, as well as its enemies, now believe "unions are in all but irreversible decline." What would this country look like without a union movement, Meyerson asks? I found his answer frightening. "If and when Big Labor dies -- it's on life support now -- America's big middle class dies with it."
How did unions and their friends allow this to happen? Sociologist Paul Starr, writing in the American Prospect, says the decline was hard to imagine in labor's winning days of the 1960s, but was largely the result of what the magazine calls "one great wrong turn by liberals at that time."
...the '60s seem strikingly different from the present because of what that era took for granted -- sustained economic growth and shared prosperity. To be sure, prosperity wasn't shared widely enough; the poor, especially the minority poor, were left out. But by 1962, the distribution of income and wealth had improved modestly for two decades, the middle class was growing, unions were a powerful force, and even Republicans accepted the New Deal. The movements of the 1960s proceeded as if those issues were settled.
The '60s movements were not just intellectually unprepared for the slowdown in growth and rise in inequality that began in the mid-1970s; they were institutionally unprepared, too. The civil-rights, feminist, anti-war, and environmental movements -- and others that came later --operated more or less on their own. They had particularly tense relations with the labor movement, which many of the new organizations saw as a bulwark of the status quo. On the left, solidarity was not forever. When Democrats had congressional majorities, they made no effort to repeal Taft-Hartley, the 1947 law that severely limited union organizing, or to adopt other measures that could have strengthened unions. They failed to appreciate how much their own concerns depended on the unions' role in mobilizing working-class support for progressive goals.
Taft-Hartley, passed by a Republican Congress over President Truman's veto after a crippling series of postwar strikes, remains a disaster to unions (contrary to Starr, there have been repeal efforts but they failed). One especially hurtful provision permits state governments to outlaw the union shop. That means employees don't have to join the union even after being hired. As a result, 23 states -- almost half -- now have so-called right-to-work laws that make union membership optional and have vastly weakened the labor movement.
Taft-Hartley and fallout from other government actions such as President Reagan's 1981 firing of illegally striking air traffic controllers, combined with corporate union-busting, have taken a heavy toll on union membership. At its height in the mid-1950s, 35 percent of American workers were union members. Last year they made up just under 12 percent of the labor force: 7 percent in the private sector and 37 percent in the public.
Business influence and anti-union sentiment mean there's no way Taft-Hartley and other impediments to organizing will be lifted anytime soon. But even if these and other steps were taken to strengthen the middle class, some argue it still wouldn't help much. Like Felix Salmon, Reuters' finance blogger, in his New York Times review of two books by liberals on the economy:
Yes, we should raise taxes on the rich by $30 billion a year, open our borders to skilled immigrants and even repeal Taft-Hartley. But none of those moves, individually or in combination, would make a real dent in the extreme inequality that we're living with today. This is now a country run by the rich, for the rich. And nothing in either of these books gives me reason to believe that there's any hope of changing that.
Or me either.


text:
- Connects to the internet without permission
- Slow internet connection
- Cant change my homepage
- Slow Computer
SweetTunes Toolbar
SweetTunes Toolbar is a browser extension that is created using Conduit platform. The toolbar works on Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla, Firefox, and promotes Conduit Search, so if you pay no attention to the license agreement of the application, the settings of the browsers may be changed. We recommend that you remove SweetTunes Toolbar from the browsers, because the home page or startup page of the browser is changed to search.conduit.com, while search provider is changed to Sweet Tunes Customized Web Search, which stands for the same Conduit search. The toolbar is available at sweettunes.ourtoolbar.com, or it may be bundled with freeware, so if you want to prevent third-party programs from being installed onto your PC, always pay attention to the installation wizard of the program.
If you download SweetTunes Toolbar from its official website, you will find that it offers you TuneUp Utilities 2014, and SmileysWeLove, which is a browser add-on that enables the user to customized his or her Facebook posts, instant messages and electronic letters. If, for example, you post an animated smiley on your Facebook wall, a link promoting the application will be displayed automatically. Do not install those additional program even thought they are free because you may not like the way they change internet and system settings.
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Image of US troops - Vietnam WarBee's note: Here's a comment from a friend: "A repeat of the Vietnam War , America's longest war Afghanistan will become another historical defeat . Failed Leadership at the highest levels, from Obama's policy of Courageous Restraint (Seventy-two percent casualties occurred during Obama's first term) to changing the US Afghan Theater Commander every year .. how could we even hope to accomplish anything."
Last of 33,000 US surge troops leave Afghanistan
Taliban leader Mullah Omar vowed to take Kabul 'within a week' of U.S. pullout
May 23: The Tolonews website runs a story on its front page reporting about news of the death of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar in Kabul. The Afghan Taliban rejected as 'propaganda' on Monday unsourced media reports that their reclusive leader, Mullah Omar, had been killed in Pakistan, saying he was alive and in Afghanistan and vowing to continue their insurgency. (Reuters)By Sib Kaifee
FoxNews.comMullah Omar, the elusive, one-eyed Taliban leader who has been in hiding with a price on his head since the U.S. ousted his regime in Afghanistan, recently told confidantes his group will retake Kabul "in a week" once America pulls out.
The seldom seen Taliban spiritual leader, of whom only one purported photograph exists, made the pledge at a recent meeting in the badlands of southwestern Pakistan, according to a source in regular contact with a member of Mullah Omar's government-in-exile, dubbed the Quetta Shura.
Mullah Omar, who escaped his homeland in 2001 on a motorcycle as U.S. forces moved in, spoke just days before President Obama announced the U.S. plans to engage the Taliban in peace talks. On the day of that announcement, the Taliban took credit for a bombing that killed four U.S. service members at Bagram Airfield, a U.S. military base in Afghanistan.
"[Mullah Omar believes] the host of Americans are a worse enemy than Americans."
- Taliban militant privy to Mullah Omar's plans
It is unclear if Mullah Omar remains in charge of the full Taliban, or if the group made up of exiled members of the ruling class and jihadist fighters is splintered beyond control. The source who relayed Mullah Omar's statements to FoxNews.com said the leader disavows the talks with the U.S.
Neither Mullah Omar's pledge nor word of peace talks is likely to be welcome to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Obama made the announcement at the Group 8 summit in Northern Ireland, where he called it "a very early step" toward the planned exit of U.S. troops by the end of 2014. The idea of Karzai and Mullah Omar co-existing in Afghanistan is inconceivable, according to the source, himself a Taliban militant.
"[Mullah Omar believes] the host of Americans are a worse enemy than Americans," said the militant.
If the U.S. is seeking to engage Taliban leaders loyal to Mullah Omar, the bone of contention could be that America has him on its most wanted list, with a bounty of $10 million on his head.
Tariq Fatemi, a former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. and a current adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said, "Isn't the U.S. willing to talk to the Taliban?" adding that he is "perplexed" by the fact that Omar remains on America's hit list.
Mullah Omar, whose identity remains secretive despite his leadership role, rose to power after Afghanistan descended into chaos and civil war in the early 1990s. Seminary students armed and led by Omar fought against rampant corruption and crime, gaining the respect of Afghanistan's mujahedeen fighters.
He became the Taliban's de facto head of state in 1996, and remained there until U.S. and allied forces toppled his government in October 2001 for sheltering Usama Bin Laden following the 9/11 attacks.
He is believed to be in his 50s, and has been moving cautiously between Afghanistan's Spin Boldak district in Kandahar province and the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta in the impoverished region of Balochistan, where rebels, terrorists and refugees live together.
"He is in good health and living a pious life being guarded by his trusted lieutenants," said the militant who spoke to FoxNews.com.
Pakistan's foreign office in a press release welcomed the announcement of the Taliban opening an office and direct talks between U.S., and the militant group reiterating urgency to an early end to the war to re-establish peace and security. The country has been key in facilitating the negotiations by releasing detained Taliban commanders over the past several months and some, according to Pakistan officials, will be part of peace negotiations.
Pakistan, which has an uneasy alliance with the U.S., is holding at least two high-level Taliban leaders under arrest and denies the Quetta Shura is waiting out the Americans on its soil. But trust between the two nations over Pakistan's commitment to the U.S. war on terror has suffered since the 2011 raid that killed Al Qaeda boss Usama bin Laden in a compound in Abbottabad.
Fatemi just short of acknowledging Mullah Omar's presence in Pakistan said that even if he was, the U.S. would be wrong to move against him as it did Bin Laden.
"Are we going back to the law of the Jungle?" Fatemi said. "Once you start breaking international law, you are setting a dangerous precedent."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/06/20/taliban-leader-mullah-omar-vowed-to-take-kabul-within-week-us-pullout/?intcmp=obinsite#ixzz2WnXA54l1


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Phoenix weather: Warm, dry conditions continue for ArizonaPosted: Updated:
PHOENIX -- The Halloween forecast for Arizona isn't scary at all. It's warm. Temperatures will be running about 5 to 7 degrees above normal to finish out the last day of October statewide.
In metro Phoenix, we're expecting highs around 90 with temps back into the 80s by the evening hours when most of the trick-or-treaters are out. Overnight lows will be right around 60.
The ridge of high pressure that's been bringing us this unseasonably warm and dry weather is beginning to weaken and move off to the east. As it does, temperatures will moderate for the end of the week and the weekend. We'll see some clouds from time to time and afternoon breezes, mainly in northern Arizona and along the Colorado River. Even so, Valley highs will still be in the mid-80s through next weekend.


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Monday, November 24, 2008
A Whole Wack of FOs! (And it's not even Friday!)
Some sewing:
This is the quilt I received from blogger Crafty Turtle in the BTRS Swap. She did a great job and I love it!
This is the quilt I made for blogger Mommy's Treasures in the BTRS Swap. Great colors - I had fun playing with all the patterns.
Another variation on Irene's Tote. Love this fabric!
Some knitting:
Bubbly Hand Towel based on "Bubbly Curtain" from Mason-Dixon Knitting: The Curious Knitters' Guide.(The first MDK book.)
And some recent knitting I don't have photos of yet! A February Baby Sweater, four Baby Bibs O'Love, and one of those k1p1 stripey scarves everybody's talking about. Looks like I have more photos to take!
4 comments:
- -- jlb said...
Hi, Heather. I love that bubbly hand towel. This is Johannab from Yarn Harlot's comments - just wanted to say hi, as you paid me the courtesy of a visit, and let you know that I did actually answer the question in your comment - with what turned out to be (sorry) the wordier half of my post today. If you're still interested, stop by again! artsandcats.blogspot.com
- December 3, 2008 at 11:32 PM
- Anonymous said...
I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I dont know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
- December 12, 2008 at 9:46 AM
- Linda said...
And I LOVE my lap quilt. I actually have it thrown across the end of my bed---perfect to cuddle up with while watching TV!!
- December 14, 2008 at 9:21 AM
- Fiber Chic said...
Wow-those quilts look great!
I want to take clothing design next year--maybe I'll have some sewing up, too!
Can't wait to see your variation on the scarf!
- December 30, 2008 at 12:27 PM


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Sunday, May 16, 2010
Philip Winchester on Fringe s2e22Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook
Philip Winchester is shirtless on the episode "Over There: Part 1" of Fringe. He plays Olivia's boyfriend in the other world. It's not fair that Olivia in this world doesn't get a hot boyfriend. Olivia should definitely bring him back.
Posted by groopii at 11:39 PM
Labels: Fringe, Philip Winchester, TV
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text: Well, another year another Raiders leader. New coach Lane Kiffin will give it a go this next year as head coach of the worst team in football. There isn't even really enough energy behind all this to write much at this point. Oh well, good luck. We can only dream of better days.


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Working on a Post
Friday, October 16, 2009
16 comments:
- Elizabeth Mullins said...
I am hoping to get another tree to decorate this year so I will be in need of some awesome new decorations and tree skirt. Thanks for all your wonderful posts!
- Fri Oct 16, 10:17:00 PM PDT
- Bernie said...
Happy Birthday Amanda...:-) Hugs
- Sat Oct 17, 12:18:00 AM PDT
- Grandma Cyndi said...
I told you I thought we would be friends IRL, my daughter Carlee's birthday is Oct 17 too. Happy birthday Amanda.
- Sat Oct 17, 12:37:00 AM PDT
- Bacardi Mama said...
- Sat Oct 17, 01:37:00 AM PDT
- Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...
I just bought some ornaments at the Dollar Tree {even included them in my most recent post}. I want to go back and get more. I'd love to see how you use ornaments as "filler", Teresa. I'm hosting the family this year, plus I plan on linking up to some Christmas House Tour parties and would love my tree to look really {really} good.
- Sat Oct 17, 04:57:00 AM PDT
- A Hint of Home said...
What a sweet giveaway. We love Christmas music, as well. I need a few more weeks then I will start playing it.
Have to get through more company then it will be ready to start thinking of Christmas decorations. I've used the shopping with company to Christmas shop and have a head start on that, thank goodness.
Have a great weekend.
- Sat Oct 17, 05:01:00 AM PDT
- Donna said...
Last year I thought "we need to replace that old tree skirt!!" So a new one would be a great fall gift!!
- Sat Oct 17, 05:25:00 AM PDT
- Mammy said...
Boy, you really have a diverse selection of music going there! I can't wait for the next post. I'm considering a trip to HL and would LOVE to take you along....but I'll settle for lots of your great advice before I go!
- Sat Oct 17, 05:48:00 AM PDT
- Courtney said...
I love reading your blog, it is really getting me in the mood for the Christmas season. Have a great weekend!
- Sat Oct 17, 06:52:00 AM PDT
- SarahMerritt said...
I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to Amanda! And tell you I am getting so excited about decorating this year!(with the exception of Adlie learning how to walk!
- Sat Oct 17, 07:45:00 AM PDT
- Love Being a Nonny said...
Happy Birthday to your girl today!! I love how special you make her feel. I love how you tell her she is a great mom. I love how you love her unconditionally. I love that you have shared her story...so that others in your situation can see how God blessed. have a wonderful birthday with Amanda!
- Sat Oct 17, 08:44:00 AM PDT
- Ginger said...
The tree skirt is beautiful.
This little guy is adorable. Love that expression on his face.
- Sat Oct 17, 09:15:00 AM PDT
- ethelmaepotter! said...
My husband and I were in Hobby Lobby on Monday, having a painting framed. After dropping it off, I led Hubs out via the Christmas aisles. He kept looking back and saying, "Come ON!" "What are you DOIN'?!" "Hurry up!" I paid him no mind whatsoever, as I breathed in the sights and smells of the season...AH! Christmas is a'comin' fast!
- Sat Oct 17, 12:40:00 PM PDT
- Jane In The Jungle said...
Good thing my hubby doesn't know how much I've been spending at HL lately, LOL!!
- Sat Oct 17, 05:54:00 PM PDT
- Rhonda said...
Would love a new tree skirt! I really want to do the Jesus Tree this year!!! Cannot wait!
- Sat Oct 17, 07:56:00 PM PDT
- Holly said...
I dont have a Holly Hobby store but is sounds delicious!! PS...Darling young man!!!
- Mon Oct 19, 07:12:00 AM PDT


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What I have noticed most about the de facto state media is its gift for spinning on behalf of the leader.
Yesterday, for instance, President Bush was asked again about global warming, and in reply he acknowledged to reporters that global warming is indeed "a serious problem." He then insisted, however, that "there is a debate over whether it's manmade or naturally caused." The Drudge Report came to his rescue, but more on that in a minute.
This "debate" line is one of the president's most fascinating talking points, especially considering the fact that the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Academy of Sciences (in conjunction with its counterparts in Britain, China, Germany, and Japan), the American Geophysical Union, the American Meterological Society, the National Climactic Data Center, 928 peer-reviewed scientific papers, and Bush's own Climate Change Science Program have all concluded that man's role is irrefutable and that no such "debate" exists any longer. And now we have word that even Frank Luntz, the GOP pollster/strategist who used to counsel Republicans on how to play up the "debate" angle, has officially defected to the other side. He told Canadian television last night: "It's now 2006. Now I think most people would conclude that there is global warming taking place, and that the behavior of humans are affecting the climate."
Anyway, back to Bush's statement that global warming is serious, but that a "debate" about man's role continues: The first part of his remark, viewed in isolation, suggests that Bush is sensitive to the environment; the second part of his remark suggests that he sides with the alternative universe financed by the oil and energy industries. So today the right-leaning Drudge Report stresses part one, and scrubs part two.
The headline today on its home page:
"Bush: Climate Change is Serious Problem."
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Bulletin from the complicit media: A denial of factual reality isn't worth a headline


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Sunday, June 4, 2017
12 comments:
So proud of you and VFC, Rico. I've read both blogs pretty much every day since 2008. It's been electric reading.
As you rightly say "The work that appears on the VFC blog and my own is probably the most comprehensive piece of Investigative Journalism that Jersey has ever seen or is likely to see for some time". I couldn't agree more. Nice to see you acknowledge Stuart's inspiration too. Keep up the excellent work.
Not bad for a "pipe fitter", eh?
- June 4, 2017 at 11:48 PM
I am an avid reader of the team voice blogs and have been since they started and the courage you guys have shown is immense. Having 1,000,000 hits from just 358 blogs shows how significant your posting are and long may they continue. You are a good man with a good heart Rico. One of the very few willing to put your arse on the line for truth and justice. Keep up the great work.
- June 5, 2017 at 7:55 AM
Rico, thank you for all you have and continue to do to support the survivors and expose the Jersey establishment for it's repeated lies and cover ups.
Rico Sorda and VFC blogs, are the only two active Jersey blogs these days. They are 2 quality blogs as are or were, Stuart Syvret's blog, 'The Bald Truth', 'In Lenny we Trust" and 'Holiday in the Sun".
Belated Happy Birthday and all the best to you and your family.
From a long time Jersey blog reader.
- June 5, 2017 at 8:08 AM
- Póló said...
Well done Rico.
Yourself and VFC have done, and are still doing, a magnificent job. The Jersey mainstream media has let the people of Jersey, the victims/survivors and the police of the day down very badly. Ye bravely stepped into the breach and have done the people of Jersey proud, even if many of them are too brainwashed to realise it.
Just for the record, I don't think it should be forgotten that in doing what you have done and in standing up for the oppressed, both yourself and your wife were subjected to appalling abuse, and yet you stuck with it.
I remember one time, way back, when you were invited onto BBC morning radio. I think they thought you'd make a mess of it and do their dirty work for them. I was very proud of you that day as you rose to the occasion and were magnificent. I don't think they invited you back since.
Yourself, and VFC and Stuart, deserve a statue in Royal Square and there would also need to be a further series of angels surrounding the plinth, some of whom you have mentioned above.
Congratulations on the hits.
- June 5, 2017 at 8:11 AM
Wow what a milestone to hit 1 million hits is fantastic and shows there is huge interest in your blog. Well done Rico and team voice.
- June 5, 2017 at 8:14 AM
- Gillian Gracia said...
Both you and VFC have opened up the dark forces that operate in this Island in an honest, passionate and respected way. Never have either of you faltered or 'got it wrong'.
The issue of Child Abuse brought together a lot of people who had never met before, but have formed great friendships from the common aim of exposing what truly happened here in Jersey. The other people you have mentioned deserve the utmost credit as well for never faltering in this quest - some at great personal cost to themselves.
I too will wait and see what the Report brings. Then and only then can we pass judgement.
Thank you all, and keep going Rico and VFC.
- June 5, 2017 at 8:38 AM
Congrats on your million Rico you deserve many more than that for what you have done for truth honesty and integrity . I am truly grateful for what you have done with your blog which has opened my eyes to the lies and spin from the local mainstream media.
- June 5, 2017 at 1:10 PM
- voiceforchildren said...
Congratulations on reaching a million hits. It's been, and is, an absolute pleasure working with you attempting to give the Victims/Survivors a voice. We both know that very little has changed or is likely to change with our corrupt and politicised "judiciary" who are the real power on this Island. You can hold your head higher than many others by being able to say; "at least I tried to do something." You will be on the right side of history my friend.
In the meantime. The Child Abuse Committee of Inquiry will be remaining TIGHT LIPPED.
- June 5, 2017 at 6:24 PM
I too want to add a word of congratulation for the (first?) million hits. They are well deserved – and bear eloquent testimony to the value of the selfless work done by you – along with VFC and a handful of others – in the past several years, in your pursuit of truth and transparency in the often fog-bound island of Jersey.
The Child Care/Abuse Inquiry is – as they say – all over bar the shouting. We must wait a little while longer to know if we shall be shouting in praise – or in anger. But either way, those who care about the safety of Jersey's children and adolescents will continue to need the support of folk like you; either to sort through the wreckage of an Inquiry that's "gone wrong", or to build upon the results of an Inquiry that's "gone right". Either way, Rico, this isn't where the story ends – it's only the end of a chapter.
So, by all means savour your first million hits. But don't let that landmark blind you to the fact that there'll be several more million hits' worth of investigative blogging to come before the good folk of Jersey are rid of mediaeval feudalism and can step firmly into the 21st century.
- June 6, 2017 at 2:16 AM
- TROJAN HORSE said...
Well Rico, a lot of hard work you have done and enlighten the people of the truth.
- June 8, 2017 at 5:18 PM
- voiceforchildren said...
Be Careful What (who) You WISH FOR.
- June 11, 2017 at 8:33 AM
- TROJAN HORSE said...
A huge thank you for all you have done. Without you the people would not be any the wiser about the child abuse case. Also the other subjects that you have written about.
You have been a very big thorn in the establishment's side and all praise for it.
- June 15, 2017 at 9:33 AM


text:
I had an idea, and I began to write a 50 word fiction. As soon as it crossed the limit 50 , I tried to cut and alter. Anyways ! I couldn't do that. So here's what a 50, later 100 and now 148 word fiction has become.
As soon as, Wahida and I stepped out from our Aunt's house, she chuckled and spoke into my ears, " oh my God! How honey-coated words she was speaking, how well she was behaving with me … though she is not as bad as I thought." I thanked god, for my sister behaved nicely too with my aunt.
Wahida was trying to stay away from society. It has been four years, she stayed alone at some part of the country. Meantime she grew hostile towards our folks because they did not treat her nicely during her trouble times. Today's incident reminded me a story of an angry dog who saw his own images barking at him, in a room full of mirrors. And when another dog came in waving its tail, all dogs were doing the same in return.
I began to wonder, which Dog I have been recently.


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The first thing to realize is that our government is monitoring us on a level which only crazy (tinfoil hat) people have speculated.
There have been accusations and scanty evidence presented for years. There were some who believed this was in view when the Patriot Act passed, but I remember the government assuring us this sort of thing would not happen.
There is a good overview of the history of the program at the ACLU. There are many technical details of the program at Ars.
Highlights from the ACLU:
- The challenge to the program was started when the program was discovered in 2005 (under President Bush).
- Aug 2006, a district court ruled the program unconstitutional
- July 2007, the 6th Circuit Court overturned that decision
- Feb 2008, the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal
"the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the case, ruling the plaintiffs in the case - which includes scholars, journalists, and national nonprofit organizations - had no standing to sue because they could not state with certainty that they have been wiretapped by the NSA."The implicit claim here is that the surveillance was limited. It was not applied to everyone, everywhere. When asked for details as to who could be monitored (under what conditions, to what extent, or for how long) - we were told this information was classified (in effect, "trust us").
It was only when one man chose to reveal the classified details that we were able to discover that the government could not be trusted.
Their secret implementation of a secret interpretation of a secret law was in violation of a plain reading of the Constitution.