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PITTSBURGH, June 12, 2007 Pittsburgh native David Hollander, creator/writer and executive producer behind the popular CBS series The Guardian, once again returns to his roots to find inspiration for his latest show, TNTs Heartland, a drama about a Pittsburgh-based transplant hospital set at the fictional St. Jude Regional Transplant Center. The series premieres Monday, June 18 at 10/9c on TNT.
Growing up in Pittsburgh during the 80s, David Hollander witnessed the many organ transplant milestones pioneered by Thomas E. Starzl, M.D., Ph.D., and his team at UPMC. Today, UPMC is widely known as a world-class transplant center, taking care of patients from all over the globe.
The original series stars actor Treat Williams (from TNTs Everwood, and ABCs Brothers & Sisters) as Dr. Nathaniel Grant, an intense, overworked heart and lung transplant surgeon who battles the clock to save lives in the high-stakes world of transplant surgery. Dr. Grants devotion to his work takes a toll on his relationships, including the one with his ex-wife, played by Kari Matchett (from ABCs Invasion), who works at the same hospital as the organ-recovery coordinator. The two must work past their personal clashes in order to save lives.
David Hollander has tremendous respect for the transplant profession and approached UPMC for his research because he wanted to have a complete understanding of the transplantation process, both from the donor and recipient side, said Bill Morris, transplant administrator of the UPMC Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute . Both Mr. Morris and administrators from the Pittsburgh-based organ procurement organization, the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE), provided professional consultation for Heartland.
We are honored and inspired to have provided Mr. Hollander with background information for his new series. This is the first TV drama that will prominently profile the role of an organ procurement coordinator and I am confident that the role will be portrayed accurately and with respect for donor families, stated Susan Stuart, president and CEO of CORE.
The organ procurement coordinator typically is responsible for responding to hospital referrals and managing an organ donation case including evaluation, donor management, organ allocation and coordination of the surgical recovery.
To help promote the new series, TNT has initiated a public-awareness campaign to educate people about the benefits of life-saving organ transplants. Last month, TNT began airing promotional spots under the theme, What Would You Do With a Second Chance at Life?, profiling NBA All-Star and Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning, who shares his personal experience of his kidney transplant to help drive home the positive side of organ donation and transplantation. The spots will continue to run during TNTs coverage of the NBA playoffs.
For more information about organ donation, please contact CORE at 1-800-DONORS-7, or visit www.core.org .
UPMCs transplant programs comprise the worlds largest and busiest, where surgeons perform more types of organ transplants than at any other institution. On average, a transplant is performed every 12 hours at UPMC Presbyterian, UPMC Montefiore or Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. In the last 20 years, more than 12,000 transplants have been performed. These transplants include liver, kidney, pancreas, small bowel, liver/small bowel, heart, heart/lung, double-lung, single-lung and multiple-organ transplants. In early 2007, another milestone was reached when UPMC performed its 1,000th live donor transplant, which involved all living kidney, liver and lung donors combined.
Pittsburgh's transplant programs are internationally renowned for having had far-reaching influence on the field. UPMC researchers and surgeons have made many of transplantations most important advances. In recent years, clinical and research programs have involved novel approaches to induce tolerance of transplanted organs and pioneering efforts to explore alternative sources for human organs, such as organs from animal donors or artificial organs. A large percentage of the worlds surgeons and physicians have been trained at UPMC and the center continues to attract clinicians from other programs seeking to learn the Pittsburgh model.
For more information about transplant services at the UPMC Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, including information about living donation, please call 1-800-533-UPMC, or visit http://www.upmc.com/Services/TransplantationServices/StarzlInstitute/.
Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences
Supplemental content provided by Healthwise, Incorporated. To learn more, visit www.healthwise.org
For help in finding a doctor or health service that suits your needs, call the UPMC Referral Service at 412-647-UPMC (8762) or 1-800-533-UPMC (8762). Select option 1.
UPMC is an equal opportunity employer. UPMC policy prohibits discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, sex, genetics, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, familial status, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected group status. Further, UPMC will continue to support and promote equal employment opportunity, human dignity, and racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity. This policy applies to admissions, employment, and access to and treatment in UPMC programs and activities. This commitment is made by UPMC in accordance with federal, state, and/or local laws and regulations.
Medical information made available on UPMC.com is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not rely entirely on this information for your health care needs. Ask your own doctor or health care provider any specific medical questions that you have. Further, UPMC.com is not a tool to be used in the case of an emergency. If an emergency arises, you should seek appropriate emergency medical services.
Pittsburgh, PA, USA | UPMC.com


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Gideon's Cat
I've noticed this tom cat we have doing this several times over the past few months. Every time I take out some milk for them, he's opposed to getting his whiskers wet, and decides to "scoop" up the milk, and lick it from his paw.
I've also noticed that he's training the little yellow kitten right next to him in the video....
It' reminded us of how God chose Gideon's Army to fight the Midianites in the Bible (Judges), by having them go to the brook and take a drink of water - those who scooped it up with their hands were chosen (300 of them), those who lapped it up with their mouths, were sent home.
I have been trying to get a video of this cat for over a month now, but he keeps avoiding the camera - especially if I started to talk (that's why there is no "narration" to the video...).
This time, though, I kept silent, and he held up his end of the bargain, and started dipping.
I just hope I'm not in store for another 299 crazy cats for a furrball "army" -
I have enough goofball critters around here as it is....

subset: commoncrawl


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Friday, May 15, 2009
{Kiss The Sky- Random Magazine}
The new issue of the british magazine "Random" just recently came out, for my disappointment they forgot to put my credits, but I can claim it as my work. Those beautiful pictures were shot by Misha Taylor.
Photographer: Misha Taylor
Stylist: Kenny Ho
Groomer: Fernando Haddad
Model: Jacques @ Wilhelmina
Publication: Random Mag
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So, sorry about not writing one of these for a couple of weeks. Life can get a little hectic here, and I find that spending my free time documenting my non-free time is not my favorite thing in the world. Who would have thought? Anyways, that is all behind us now. I promise I will start doing better about this whole documenting my year thing. Also, when I break that promise, I will at least try to deliver entertaining stories. For instance, this time I am going to write about my first time I went to play volleyball here. Bonus, there will actually be pictures in this post at the end!
First a little background. Volleyball has a pretty decent following in Germany. Of course nothing trumps soccer, but still, a much bigger proportion of Germany plays volleyball than in America. Therefore, it was pretty easy to find a place and people to play with. Going into it, I guess I had similar expectations to what open gym is like in America. You show up, warm up a little, play games for the duration of the time, and then go on about your business. I was totally off base.
To begin with, our warm-up was playing a short game of soccer. You want to know what intimidation is? That would be playing the national sport of the country you are in with a bunch of people you just met, who speak a different dialect of the language you have learned for the past nine years. After we finished, and I did not embarrass myself, I thought we would start playing. Nope. Then we started doing volleyball warm-ups. Now a half hour has passed, we finally have the net set up, I am all warm-upped and stretched out and am ready to play. That is when we started to do drills, and I mean drills. It is at the point that I started doing pushups after making a mistake during a drill, where I wonder what the hell is going on. We are sprinting for loose balls, running complex plays and generally practicing like a team preparing for a game. Mind you, we actually do not play other people, so this is really just for the upkeep of our skills.
Now do not get me wrong, it was a lot of fun and the other guys are really nice and friendly. It was just absolutely like nothing I expected. So after two and a half hours of working my ass off, we are finally finished. Somebody then asks if I want a beer. I thought I was being asked if I wanted to go out afterwards, because there was festival in the city that night, so I naturally said yes. That is when the beer is brought out. Right on the court. Now understand, we just trained for two and half hours, and I am completely gassed. The last thing I wanted in that moment was beer, especially German beer.
For those of you who do not know about German beer, let me run it down for you. First of all, I have not found any, and I mean any, that are under 5.3% alcohol. Secondly, there is about as much beer in two American cans as there is in one German beer. In other words, one German beer is the equivalent of at least four American. Furthermore, pretty much everybody has at least a beer a day. In fact, they like the taste so much that some people drink alcohol free beer during the day. I know waiting until I turned twenty-one to drink made me a lightweight, but I will be drinking everybody under the table when I get back.
So the beer gets brought out and everybody gets one. At this point, I still hated the beer and was getting used to it. Of course, I am not about to not finish that beer and do my hardest to keep a good poker face while I drink it, because I mean come on! This is Germany! I am not about to be known as that kid who cannot drink the beer. So we finish our beers and head to the locker room to change.
Except, we are not getting changed. Instead, we are all showering. In a single room. With no partitions. Now for those of you from an older generation, I know this does not seem weird. The thing is, this really does not happen that much today for my generation. The only time I can see this happening is after a high school or college game. Even then not always, as the showers in my high school did not work. Regardless, I was definitely not expecting this, and it was all I could do not to laugh as the drawers dropped all around me. Still, there was no way I was not doing this, as I did not want to be also known as the weird kid who does not shower after playing like everyone else. In other contexts, this whole story would be a great PSA about peer pressure, seeing as I started drinking and getting naked even though I did not want to. Furthermore, because I was not expecting this to happen, I did not have anything to shower with. No towel. No soap. No shampoo. Nothing.
Also, because when it rains it freaking pours, the moment after I get naked a very nice named Aldo decided to strike a conversation with me while he is in similar state. I was not even in the shower yet, and there I am having a conversation in German about how he and is wife, who are from East Germany, went to New York after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The whole time I am thanking God that that German beer was working overtime on me, because there was just no possible way I could have gotten through that conversation without it. Moreover, this happens every damn week now! Somebody just talks to me while we are standing there buck-ass naked. I am afraid to go to the bathroom with these people, because I think somebody is going to break that rule and start talking to me there. Every guy reading this post just understood that last sentence.
Anyways, so we shower and a few of us head out to the festival that was happening in the city. Honestly, as far as organized, massive events go, Europe kicks America's ass. The entire city was lit up in lasers, with all of the buildings having different sceneries and images projected onto them. In other words, unbelievably awesome.
At this point I started to like German beer, mainly because I was having too much. What can I say, when in Rome right? At one point, I actually had a beer in each hand due to miscommunication. You really can never take the ASU out of the kid, can you? We just find a way to drink excessively, even if by accident and through language barriers. Sadly, I was unable to finish one of them, which marks the only time I have not finished my drink in Germany. Also, I am now in love with German beer, and definitely credit that night. I really do not want to go back to American beer, or water as it is called here. This is especially true because everything is under three euros here, which you know, awesome.
In the end it was a great night, and I was lucky enough to find a great place where I could get a nice souvenir. If you understand that comment, you really know me too damn well.
Finally, pictures!
For those of you who guess that final picture, congratulations! As you can see, however, I have moved on from bricks to cobblestones.


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Oster® MyBlend® Grey Sealing Ring for Blade Assembly
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Oster® MyBlend® Grey Sealing Ring for Blade Assembly
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Additional Information
- Sealing Ring for Blade Asembly
- Fits Oster® MyBlend® Blenders
Oster® MyBlend® Grey Sealing Ring for Blade Assembly is rated out of 5 by 12.
Rated 5 out of 5 by Hanalei from Good sealing ring. I'm glad that I was able to find a replacement sealing ring as my other ring broke. I was not too happy with the shipping charges as it was $26.00 and the ring cost was $2.00, Priority mail at $26.00? I guess I had no choice, I needed the item.
Date published: 2014-09-19
Rated 5 out of 5 by RG Mac from Helpful Customer Service Finding a replacement part for my Oster blender made it operable again. The confusing thing was finding which part to order. The customer service operator made it easier than I expected. My advice: don't be hesitant to call the company when the device isn't working.
Date published: 2015-01-03
Rated 2 out of 5 by lynnrd from Grey Sealing Ring I bought this item hoping it would fit my mother's Oster blender, but it was too small. I believe the size I really needed has been unavailable.
Date published: 2014-11-15
Rated 1 out of 5 by BrianT from Wrong seal This seal was not the correct seal for the blender that I have . mine is a flat "washer type" seal rather than the square cross section type. Also I would think you could find a cheaper way to ship this product. Is not worth the cost of shipping to send it back, so I didn't.
Date published: 2014-12-31
Rated 5 out of 5 by Hi there from Did it right I ordered the MyBlend rings by mistake. I then found the Grey Sealing Ring which is what I wanted. The product arrived promptly and in good condition. However, opening the product package was a great challenge. It took a knife used carefully, scissors and brute strength.
Date published: 2014-12-04
Rated 1 out of 5 by seldom_cook from hard to find I have been looking for a sealing ring for my blender for a while. No one seems to carry them. They do wear out. It cost $1 and the shipping is a whole lot more to get it sent. Isn't there someone who carries this little piece?
Date published: 2017-04-28
Rated 1 out of 5 by out of kitchen from doesn't fit, wrong product, oh brother! I ordered this for my Oster blender. It is thick and didn't work, you would think an Oster blender seal would all be the same size. Garden sent me what I needed at no charge, they were great to do business with.
Date published: 2014-12-11
Rated 1 out of 5 by Too Practical from ring for blender I purchased the ring for my blender for $.70, paid $6.00 in shipping and it did not fit. It wasn't worth returning. Not sure about ordering another one.
Date published: 2014-10-20


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This grand piece of work appears to be the brainchild of Russian engineer Alexander Zinin. It would appear it was some form of home project, and he calls it something along the lines of "SUV Suitcase". It's pretty easy to see why from the video! What innovation, eh?
So if you've got a second for something cool, or you need a break from some dastardly portfolio-assembling, check out the link for the video below!


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Matt Weaver
Wednesday May 2, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
The American government wants to impose travel restrictions on British citizens of Pakistani origin because of concerns about terrorism, according to a report today.
In talks with the British government, the US homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, called for British Pakistanis to apply for a visa before travelling to the US, according to the New York Times.
The newspaper claimed that US officials were concerned about the number of terrorist plots in Britain involving citizens with ties to Pakistan.
It is understood that the British government is resisting any attempts to single out particular ethnic groups for travel restrictions. The Foreign Office has yet to comment on the report.
Mohammad Sarwar, the Labour MP for Glasgow Central, described the proposal as "unbelievable and shocking. Every British citizen must have the same rights. I don't think America has any right to interfere in this way."
Mr Sarwar, who was born in Pakistan and became Britain's first Muslim MP in 1997, urged ministers to reject the idea.
The report of America's concerns follows the conviction earlier this week of five British men for planning a series of attacks across the UK. Four of them were of Pakistani origin. But according to the New York Times, talks on travel restrictions for British Pakistanis have been taking place for some "months".
Last month, Mr Chertoff held talks with the home secretary, John Reid. It is believed they discussed the visa waiver scheme that allows citizens from 27 countries, including the UK, to travel to the US without a visa for up to 90 days.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph on the eve of the talks, Mr Chertoff said: "We need to build layers of protection, and I don't think we totally want to rely upon the fact that a foreign government is going to know that one of their citizens is suspicious and is going to be coming here."
At the time he did not mentioned restrictions on British Pakistani, but he expressed concern that the terrorist such as the July 7 bombers, three of whom were of Pakistani origin, could have used the visa waiver scheme to enter America.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
US 'wants British Pakistanis to have entry visas'
Posted by Solidarité sans frontières at 3:48 PM
Labels: Fortress North America


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Boxing Fans Gets KO'd In The Ring
When it comes to boxing, the fighting is often left to the professionals inside the ring, but sometimes those without the gloves on decide to get in on the act. That was the case following this match, and in the end the fans in attendance got their money's worth, and then some.
Not only were they treated to a knockout in the scheduled main event, but they also witnessed a second KO after family, friends and fans of both fighters entered the ring to dish out some additional punishment. Why does it always seem as though the peacemaker is the one who eventually gets knocked the f*&k out?


text: First, I am a happily married with two children. I am perfectly normal, you would hardly notice me if we walked by each other on the street. While I am pretty, I am not traffic-stopping beautiful! I do have a full time job working for a law firm. I live in a typical suburb outside of a large mid-west metropolitan city. I am just like you, that is if you're a woman. I make dinner, do the laundry and help with homework. I attend parent-teacher meetings and I try to maintain a romantic connection with my husband. Only now, I'm embarking on a journey that is both enticing and scary and I'm inviting you to join me. I have decided to join the adult entertainment industry as a phone actress (don't you just love the P.C. title?) aka phone sex operator. We'll see what happens… So ladies, if you're thinking of joining the ranks of the adult entertainment world, I'm your guinea pig! Enjoy!


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CBR's Hasbro Toy Fair Report
Hasbro gathered fans in the media from far and wide together this past Saturday for its Collector-Fan Media Day preview event, part of the 2011 American International Toy Fair in New York City. CBR News got a look at great swaths of the company's big releases for the coming year in the Star Wars, Marvel, Transformers and G.I. Joe franchises, along with a surprise appearance from a whip-wielding, fedora-wearing old friend.
There are a few huge highlights on the Star Wars front to talk about. For the first time, Hasbo will be releasing an action figure for a character featured in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, Nom Anor, a Yuuzhan Vong infiltrator featured in a recent arc of the series' books and comics. It's a pretty deep-cut addition to Hasbro's line of toys, but one that elicited bellows of joy from the gathered crowd. Also later this year, "deleted scenes" collector sets will be arriving in support of the "Star Wars" Blu-ray release, which will feature never-before-seen footage from all three films. There's also more coming from Hasbro's Vintage line, which launched in 2010. Wave 5 will hit later in 2011 with 12 action figures packaged in vintage-style "Revenge of the Jedi" cardbacks. Yes, you read that right. "Revenge of the Jedi."
"Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi" was very nearly released with "Revenge" in place of "Return," until George Lucas made a last minute decision — after promotional materials had been printed, of course — to change the title because "Revenge" isn't a very Jedi-like attribute. Any Star Wars merchandise with the original title printed on it fetches big money on the collector market and Hasbro's next Vintage wave will reference back to that moment in the franchise's history. Comic-Con International attendees will have an opportunity to pick up the full set, packaged in a rather awesome Death Star box and including Salacious Crumb and a Mouse Droid as bonus figures, complete with their own mini-cardbacks.
That's not all for Lucasfilm, however, or for CCI attendees. The gist of it is: bring money. Hasbro is also prepping an "Indiana Jones" collector's set featuring a redesigned Indy, plus action figures that were planned and never released. This one's a pure CCI exclusive, like the Death Star box set detailed above. In addition to the new Indy, the set will also include Toht (with swappable melty head and scarred hand), Marion Ravenwood, Sati, the bald German mechanic from "Raiders" and Indy in a German soldier disguise.
Like I said: bring money.
Marvel and Transformers are both going to have a sizable presence in the toy market later this year, with highly anticipated summer blockbusters set to arrive for each franchise. "Thor" and "Captain America" are obviously the focus for Marvel, with the expected assortment of 3 3/4″ and 6″ figures incoming, though "Iron Man" is getting some love too, with Crimson Dynamo and "Initiative" War Machine figures. Sadly, there were no "X-Men: First Class" toys, though.
The biggest news for Marvel is the planned 2012 return of Hasbro's Marvel Legends line, starting with a Modern Thor 6″ and continuing next spring with 6″ Ultimate Hawkeye and Heroic Age Bucky Cap figures. Build-A-Figure will also be returning, starting with Terrax. Hasbro is also looking to one-up last year's giant-sized Galactus with a mutant-hunting Sentinel. CCI attendees will be able to buy this sucker on an oversized cardback, though if you pick it up in stores — Hasbro promises greater quantities than there were of Galactus — you'll get a Wolverine figure thrown in as well.
As you might imagine, the main focus for Transformers is tying into this summer's Michael Bay sequel, "Transformers: Dark of the Moon." Look for a multi-platform video game from fan-faithful "Transformers: War for Cybertron" developer High Moon Studios. No word on the game's release date, but the movie toys will be out on May 16.
To be honest though — and this is no fault of Hasbro's — the upcoming "Transformers Prime" line, based on the recently launched TV series, is much more appealing. I've made this complaint before and have seen it echoed by colleagues: Bay's robot designs all look the same. Optimus Prime and Bumblebee manage to stand out, but most of the alien robots just look like jumbles of oddly shaped metal strips thrown together. The Prime character designs, and action figures by association, have far more character.
Despite that, the coolest bit of Transformers merchandise does in fact tie to the movie. Hasbro will be selling Optimus Prime and Bumblebee half-face masks that double as RealD glasses. Buy one of these puppies before you see the movie, or any other 3D movie for that matter, and you won't need the theater-provided shades. Plus, you'll look completely ridiculous.
There's one other seriously awesome piece of Transformers merch coming, but it's actually more of a mash-up. Hasbro dug into the vaults for some of its upcoming G.I. Joe offerings, and one item that will be re-designed and re-released is the fan-favorite SkyStriker fighter jet. Hasbro will offer a special edition of the SkyStriker as a Comic-Con exclusive, featuring a Generation 1 StarScream paint job and a Cobra Commander action figure as the pilot. Also, Cobra Commander is armed with the gun form of Generation 1 Megatron. Can you handle that?
Which brings us to all other things G.I. Joe. Technically speaking, 2012 marks the 30 year anniversary for the franchise. Hasbro has decided to celebrate a little bit early, specifically this year, because, as a rep said during the presentation, there might be other notable Joe happenings in 2012.
The plan is "30 for 30," as in 30 products to celebrate 30 years. In addition to the SkyStriker, Cobra's H.I.S.S. tank is also making a comeback. Action figures will feature new vintage-style cardback art specific to each figure's faction: G.I. Joe, Cobra and Renegades, spawned from the popular new animated TV series. The figures themselves look great in pictures, even the slightly more stylized Renegades line. The return of the SkyStriker and H.I.S.S. tank is definitely the biggest news, though you can also expect to see new figures for Cobra Commander, Hawk, Blowtorch and various accessory-laden soldiers.
There was plenty more revealed, but this brings you up to speed on the most notable collector-focused items. Be sure to check out our Hasbro 2011 Toy Fair gallery right here.
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Read entire article HERE.
" Afrasiabi said his arrest was over an un-paid driving ticket dating back more than two decades ago.
"The Cambridge police gave me a racist attitude, asked for my [drivers] license and arrested me on the spot on a flimsy basis that some 25 years ago I did not pay a driving violation fine -- which I have [paid]," he said. "
Scholar details US police brutality
Labels: police brutality
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Tahini has taken years to grow on me. I think it might be one those foods that you first either love or hate. Even if you do hate it, I still think you should give it another try. The first time I tried tahini I was disgusted. It just seemed like really bad peanut butter and I couldn't work out why anyone would eat it. I gave tahini another chance a few years later in a cake and really didn't like it! But I didn't so much HATE it. It wasn't until years later that I became a full-on convert when I tried the tahini sauce at Ottolenghi in Islington, paired with juicy-fried aubergine slices. Such garlicky and great-tasting tahini sauce that was. These days, I use tahini all the time, at any chance I get . Most often, I crush a little garlic with salt, whisk in some tahini and add a dash of water. This elixir is just divine served with baked or grilled fish, or sometimes I add a bit of ground up nuts and then use it as a salad dressing for farro. Yummo.
I must admit, I've always been a bit of a conservative and have mostly stuck to using tahini in savoury dishes. But boy was I missing a trick; tahini can really lift a bored or tired bake. I think I've made these particular tahini biscuits about four or five (!) times this year and for someone who really despises making recipes over and over again that's really saying something. This recipe is from Ruby Tandoh, most known for being a finalist in The Great British Bake-Off, but also now talented food writer. Her recipes are exactly what I look for: unexpected yet genius flavour combos and informative, unpatronising and well-crafted writing. With the masses of cookbooks being churned out these days, it is increasingly hard to find recipes that are different and still offer something of value, more than the 'been there, done that' ones, and I find myself turning more and more to Ruby Tandoh as a reliable source. These tahini biscuits remind me of these other really tasty tahini biscuits in one of my favourite cookbooks of all-time, Claudia Roden's A New Book of Middle Eastern Food. The thing that gives these biscuits another dimension of flavour is the lemon zest. Each time I make these biscuits, they always taste different depending on the size of the lemon or what kind of tahini was used. I like that a lot. These are so melt-in-your mouth and crumbly that you once to pop you won't be able to stop. If I feel like I'm getting a bit boring, I sometimes go 'crazy' and add a bit of honey instead of the full amount of sugar for a slightly chewy texture. Another good addition is vanilla pod seeds instead of the lemon. Rebellious times!
Tahini lemon biscuits
Makes about 20–24
120 g butter, softened
120 g tahini
120 g sugar
zest of 1 or 2 lemons
240 g plain flour
1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
pinch sea salt
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Cream the butter, tahini and sugar until pale and fluffy. Mix in the lemon zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Gently stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture, using the back of a spoon to combine.
Roll out into balls and space them apart on the baking tray. Pat each down with your fingers, or use a fork to make a crosshatch patter on top of the biscuits. Bake for 12–15 minutes, or take it a bit further for more brownish edges like in the photo above. Remove from the oven and let them sit on the tray for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Dunk into a cuppa tea and enjoy!
(Recipe from Crumb by Ruby Tandoh, Chatto and Windus)


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Nobody loves a red glass ball (or glitter, or tinsel) quite like we do.
These aren't your scraggly, Charlie Brown Christmas trees (although those hold a special place in our hearts too). Decorate your evergreen top-to-bottom using these festive holiday themes as inspiration.
It doesn't get more timeless than this Fraser fir trimmed with an angel topper, red ribbon and classic ornaments.
What you'll need: red ribbon ($10, amazon.com), angel tree topper ($30, amazon.com), red ornaments ($13, amazon.com)
A cozy Christmas in the country requires (battery-operated) candles plus wooden ornaments. Round out the scene with a pair of old-fashioned snowshoes and bottle-brush trees in place of a skirt.
What you'll need: candle Christmas lights ($11, amazon.com), snowshoes ($100, etsy.com), bottle-brush trees ($16, amazon.com)
Go ahead and buy a few yards of this craft store staple. Besides snipping it into a garland or tree skirt, you can hot-glue it into (unbreakable!) pinecone and icicle ornaments.
See more at Good Housekeeping »
What you'll need: felt ($16 for 2 yards, amazon.com), scissors ($10, amazon.com)
For a regal theme, mix royal purple with hits of gold and sapphire. For even more sparkle, stick self-adhesive jewels on colored balls.
See more at Good Housekeeping »
What you'll need: colorful ornaments ($13, amazon.com), star tree topper ($47, etsy.com), self-adhesive jewels ($8, amazon.com)
Celebrate the guest of honor by copying St. Nick's style. Stick to red and white ornaments, including candy canes, and top the tree with a fur-trimmed hat.
See more at Good Housekeeping »
What you'll need: Santa hat ($24, etsy.com), candy cane ornaments ($7, etsy.com), red and white ornaments ($18 for 9, etsy.com)
It's the opposite of a winter wonderland — the American Southwest inspired this festive space. Turns out, cactus ornaments and sunset-colored gift wrap provide plenty of Christmas cheer.
What you'll need: teepee ornament ($13, amazon.com), dream catcher ornament ($9, amazon.com), gold tinsel ornament ($7, etsy.com), colorful gift bags ($4, amazon.com)
Decorated with paper doves and frosted pinecones, this monochrome tree suggests a recent snowfall, regardless of the actual weather forecast.
See more at Good Housekeeping »
What you'll need: dove ornaments ($9, etsy.com), white snowflake ornaments ($9 for 12, etsy.com), silver ribbon ($23, amazon.com)
"The tree in the kitchen is edible, a tradition my mother kept when I was growing up. It's decorated with cookies, ribbon candy, gumdrops and other old-fashioned candies that people can eat right off the tree," says designer Barry Dixon. "The strings of popcorn and cranberries go outside for the birds and squirrels when we're done."
What you'll need: red bead garland ($10, amazon.com)
Real candles give the Christmas tree in artist Clare Potter's home an old-fashioned charm, but for safety reasons you should use lights at home.
What you'll need: candle Christmas lights ($11, amazon.com), gold bead garland ($8, amazon.com), silver ornaments ($2, amazon.com)
Artfully hung with Chinese silk pincushions and silk flowers designed by floral artist Katsuya Nishimori, this Christmas tree provides a focal point for a seasonal cocktail party and a family dinner. "I like to encourage artists in every field. Even a tree can be a platform for expression," owner Alexandra Munroe says.
What you'll need: silk flowers ($10, amazon.com), Santa ornaments ($10, amazon.com)
Sticking with a strict color palette offers a crowded tree a little more peace, and these red framed ornaments make for an extra tidy arrangement.
What you'll need: garland ($19 and up, amazon.com), red picture frame ornament ($12, etsy.com), silver ornaments ($7, amazon.com), red berries ($18, amazon.com)
Red and green don't always need to take center stage. This blogger used white faux berries as garland around her tree.
See more at Clean & Scentsible »
What you'll need: white berry garland ($24, amazon.com), white snowflake ornaments ($9 for 12, etsy.com), red star tree topper ($5, amazon.com), hanging sign ($12, amazon.com)
A picture is worth a thousand words — but we also love displaying a cheery message to spread merriness throughout a home.
See more at The Tomkat Studio »
What you'll need: "Merry Christmas" sign ($30, amazon.com), silver bow tree topper ($10, amazon.com), snow fluff ($6, amazon.com)
"We always throw a big party for about 400 people, and I started putting trees throughout the house to get guests to circulate and not congregate in the one room with the one tree," say designer Barry Dixon. "We put the little purple one in my niece Lauren's room about nine years ago, because that went with the lavender-print Kathryn Ireland wallpaper in her room."
What you'll need: gold bead garland ($8, amazon.com), purple ornaments ($12, amazon.com)
This blogger's tree is full of handmade and store-bought ornaments, but the real show stopper is carefully placed on the very top.
What you'll need: fake frosted ivy ($13, amazon.com), frosted ornaments ($20, amazon.com), gold garland ($8, amazon.com)
For a more subtle look, use muted colors to complement your evergreen.
What you'll need: white snowflake ornaments ($9 for 12, etsy.com), white fake flowers ($37, amazon.com), mercury glass ornaments ($10, amazon.com)
"I'm from New Orleans, and once, after a hurricane, my mother gathered the fallen magnolia leaves and preserved them in glycerine until Christmas," says designer Suzanne Rheinstein. "We painted them gold. I grew up loving the glitz of Christmas, and this tree, in my house in Los Angeles, reflects it."
What you'll need: Santa ornaments ($10, amazon.com), gold garland ($8, amazon.com), gold angel tree topper ($46, amazon.com)
This blogger isn't a fan of themed trees, but proudly boasts DIY ornaments that showcase family photos.
See more at Cottage in the Oaks »
What you'll need: white paper tags ($5, amazon.com), silver star tree topper ($7, amazon.com)
Utilize every inch of a short and stout tree by hanging ornaments in a variety of sizes.
See more at The Art of Moseying »
What you'll need: red bead garland ($10, amazon.com), black bow tree topper ($7, amazon.com)
"After too many years of erecting a 20-foot behemoth, I've simplified," says designer Jamie Drake. "Now I get a pair of miniature trees, put them in gold-painted terra-cotta pots — I spray them in my garage — and place them on a console table flanking an antique mirror. No lights. No muss, no fuss."
What you'll need: colorful ornaments ($10, amazon.com)
Owls, deer and bears — oh my! Achieve a similar woodland look by highlighting your favorite furry friends.
What you'll need: burlap garland ($17, amazon.com), bear ornament ($11, etsy.com), owl ornament ($12, etsy.com)
A white frosted tree has tons of combination possibilities. Try mixing in pops of blue for an icy effect.
See more at Centsational Girl »
What you'll need: silver star tree topper ($7, amazon.com), blue glitter garland ($17, amazon.com), frosted ornaments ($20, amazon.com)
Replicate a snow flurry by scattering large flakes around as ornaments.
See more at The Yellow Cape Cod »
What you'll need: white snowflake ornaments ($9 for 12, etsy.com)
Take a note from a classic Christmas carol. This blogger was inspired by "The Little Drummer Boy."
See more at Kara's Party Ideas »
What you'll need: drum ornament ($12, etsy.com), red bows ($10, amazon.com), drumsticks ($12, amazon.com), jingle bells ($24, amazon.com)
Instead of wrapping your tree in a horizontal direction, drape ribbon vertically for a fresh look.
What you'll need: green ribbon garland ($10, amazon.com), silver ribbon ($23, amazon.com), silver ornaments ($4, amazon.com)
Beach lovers should take a handful of their favorite things and turn them into ornaments for the perfect by-the-sea tree.
What you'll need: seafoam green ornaments ($83, amazon.com), rope garland ($5, amazon.com), mercury glass ornaments ($10, amazon.com)
Feeling a little adventurous this season? Follow this blogger's example and incorporate hues like pink, lime, turquoise and purple.
What you'll need: hot pink ornaments ($7, amazon.com), bright green ornaments ($7, amazon.com), pink star tree topper ($20, amazon.com), purple tree skirt ($22, amazon.com)
A burlap ribbon topper — with burlap garland to match — completes this cozy, semi-traditional tree.
What you'll need: garland ribbon ($8, amazon.com), maple wood ornament ($15, etsy.com)
Combine a solid and striped ribbon when wrapping a skinnier tree to give it a fuller look.
What you'll need: red velvet ribbon ($18, amazon.com), red and white ribbon ($13, amazon.com), white snowflake ornaments ($9 for 12, etsy.com), red ornaments ($8, amazon.com), blue ornaments ($23, amazon.com), white ornaments ($2, amazon.com)
Sometimes it's nice to keep things traditional. This blogger topper her mini tree with a familiar star and hung colorful ball ornaments on each branch.
What you'll need: white snowflake ornaments ($9 for 12, etsy.com), gold star ornaments ($8, amazon.com), colorful ball ornaments ($3, amazon.com)


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Edit hardcopy. I repeat: Edit hardcopy. In doing this I cannot believe I never realized what a vital step this is in the writing process. Perhaps being that I'm in the homestretch of putting the wrapping paper on what is technically my second novel, this is the first time I've really taken the time to print out and read the whole thing all the way through. In doing this, I'm finding significant ways in which to tighten and otherwise improve the overall voice of my writing. Perhaps I'm just that much more aware this time around of what constitutes good writing, but I can't emphasize enough how much better I'm feeling about this book despite the amount of extra time it's taking to finish it off.
Three times I've gone through my manuscript on the screen. Consequently, I've made some fairly significant changes, trimming the overall text down by about 23 thousand words and making adjustments according to my own sensibilities aided by comments provided by the gracious folks who agreed to read my work. But with the printed pages before me, I'm catching so much more in relation to overall voice and style.
To anyone out there who writes that might be reading this, I strongly suggest taking the time to print your work out, grab a pencil and go at it. You'll be amazed at what you might find.


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kw: book reviews, nonfiction, memoirs, friendships, food, cooking
Isabel Vincent was nearing the end of a toxic marriage. Her friend Valerie had just lost her mother and was worried about her father Edward, a 90-year-old. She asked Isabel to "look in on him". Over the next few years, a friendship blossomed, and Ms Vincent's book Dinner With Edward: A Story of an Unexpected Friendship, is an intimate peek into it.
Just a touch of a spoiler: Though at the end of the book Edward is still living, at age 94 he is getting frail and has just hosted what he calls "the last supper". The eighteen chapters of the book focus on eighteen meals, most of which Edward cooked for Isabel or for her and a few others. Edward is an extraordinary man. Like many self-taught polymaths, he had a few careers, not just the usual one or two. Along the way he learned to cook very, very well.
Isabel and Edward each had a huge need. He was suddenly adrift, having been widowed after 68 years with an extraordinary woman. She was "going under for the third time" as her marriage dissolved around her. She needed his perspective, along with the comfort of a warm and exceptionally delicious meal, about weekly. He needed a focus outside himself, a way to divert his grief into caring for another.
In the end, each felt the other had rescued them. Need I say this was not a romance? Except in the way that every deep friendship forges a bond nearly as strong as a happy romance. Most folks know the Bible verse, "It is better to give than to receive." Both Isabel and Edward felt they were receiving something precious. Neither could fathom the value of what they were giving. That is the best kind of gift, the best kind of friendship.
Friday, January 27, 2017
A serendipitous friendship
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Simple Steps To Shredding Those Pounds Witness How This Loses 14 Pounds In a Week
To most people, the reality of weight loss seems like it is out of reach. We usually start out highly motivated. But as time passes, we simply become less interested. There are ways you can stay motivated. If you want to learn how you can become one of those people that loses weight and keeps it off, read on for tips and ideas.
Identifying your goal is the first step in a successful weight loss program. Do you hope to shed those last 10 pounds that have been bugging you, or are you planning on a dramatic, lifestyle changing weight loss? Figure out why losing weight is important to you. Is it because you want more energy, or because you have a specific goal in mind, like dropping a few dress sizes?
There are many little things you can do each and every day that will help support your success in your weight loss program. Keep track of how much weight you lose every week. You should also maintain a food diary. When you write down all of your food and drink choices, it will encourage you to make better choices as you progress with your weight loss plan.
Letting yourself get to the point where you are unbearably hungry is a bad thing! You will have trouble controlling your eating choices if you allow yourself to become too hungry. Select items for your menus beforehand, and keep snack foods on hand for whenever the need may arise. Whenever you can you, should take you lunch with you from home. Not only will you save money by doing this, you will also remove the temptation of unhealthy foods by not having the need to purchase food on the go.
In order to lose weight you need to pay attention to not only your diet but also the amount of exercise you get. You'll be more motivated if you create an exercise plan made up of activities you enjoy. Whether you join a sports team, sign up for some dance lessons, or find ways to work out with friends, it's important to keep your workouts entertaining. Make sure you are creative with your exercise endeavors.
A key step in getting yourself healthy is to throw away all the junk food and temptations in your home. Eliminate the sources of your bad eating habits and increase the availability of fruits and veggies. Get rid of all the unhealthy foods right now, so you can't possibly reach for them.
Be sure to tell your friends and family all about your choice to lose weight. Loved ones are the best inspiration you can ask for. Get together with your friends for support if you feel like giving up.


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Another quality Hand Painted Plate from Coiffe, Limoges, France featuring a pair of gorgeous white Water Lilies exquisitely represented as the focus on this lovely plate. A third blossom ready to burst into bloom and a lovely leaf reach up opposite each other from the central blossoms. Soft green lily pads and delicate pink tendrils accent the lifelike blossoms. On a soft peach background, the embossed and scalloped edge is painstakingly trimmed in gold and sage green. The plate is signed by the artist, "HPW," on the front. Using an interesting technique, the artist achieved the white of the lilies by painting only the lines and shading to define he petals, so each blossom maintains the glossy shading of the original white ware plate. The paint gives the rest of the plate a matte finish.
It is marked with the green underglaze Limoges star mark with each letter of Limoges in a point in the star followed by the word "France." This mark was used by the Coiffe Limoges factory from 1890 to 1914. Coiffe Limoges was a maker of fine porcelain white ware that was often sold for decorating by other companies or individuals.
This lovely porcelain plate measures 7-7/8 inches in diameter. The gold is a little worn on the edges, and there are a few very thin gray surface scratches, but the design is still clear and lovely, and there is no other damage to the plate.
11 other shoppers have this item in their Cart or Wish List
Glassware, Dinnerware, and Unique Small Treasures
Wishing you a grand Independence Day! We have lots of vintage items perfect for your backyard barbecue!


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Everyone has been so happy to be with the cousins.
Good times are being had by all..... Especially when Auntie Glenda (my brother's wife) spoils them all (girls, that is) by taking them for pedicures the first day!
It's a difficult decision choosing colors....
Colors chosen (glad no one went for the color of the walls in this place!).
And time for the beautification process to begin.
Lucy looks comfy and right at home (or not).
The older girls do seem to be rather comfortable with their environment. Perhaps they were born for this life.
And they are all done.
Later Auntie Jann (my sister) and her husband Chris took us all out for ice cream.
No, we didn't have two each - she was holding Chris'!
Alex and Maddy looking rather cool.
And enjoying being exceptional goofy together.
My mama and Mia.
(yes, you have permission to burst into song - I do.)
Brooklyn and Mia look like twins from a ways away with their long curly blonde hair.
The next day (Sunday) we got to have a wiener roast at my cousin and uncle's land. It is the kids' favorite place to go when we are here. More pictures to come from this great place.
Mia, Brooklyn and Timaya reunited.
Eric, my brother and Lauren.
Sister Kim in the background, John (brother-in-law), Glenda, mommy, Chris.
Jann and my Auntie Irm (my mom's sister). I am SO thankful that my aunt is here right now. They actually live in Texas and it is a huge blessing that she is here at the same time as we are. I love my Auntie Irm!!!
And the three boy cousins are also reunited: Jesse, Cole and Cade.
One of the best ways to spend an afternoon - with the exclusion of Manitoba's provincial "bird" - the mosquito. They are in great abundance this year. They really seem to like the fresh blood of the visiting family - namely the Ackermanns.
The Ackermanns really are not liking the mosquitos.
Good thing the Ackermanns love their family!
Good thing the Ackermanns love their family!


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Aquí su columna en inglés y aquí en español.
Aquí los párrafos más relevantes:
... Given the magnitude of the selloff, some observers may be surprised to learn that the banking systems of these countries are not infected with the financial bird flu spreading through the G-7. Rather, investors are piling out of Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Peru and Colombia in a flight to quality. They are also fleeing because of the credit squeeze, the end of the commodity boom, and a slowdown in rich-country growth that will reduce demand for the region's output. Growth is expected to slow in most of Latin America.
Even worse is the damage being done in the arena of ideas. The region's most reform-minded countries are now under attack by socialists who claim that the meltdown is cause for abandoning market economics. Just the opposite is true.
Thanks to the reforms of the past two decades the most open Latin economies are in a much better position today than they were in the 1980s when Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker tightened credit to attack inflation. They should not be allowed to backslide. This is the time to accelerate liberalization with an eye toward greater economic flexibility...
... To that end, the region has much work left to do. Brazil's entrepreneurs are burdened with punishing tax rates and complex regulation. Mexico restricts investment in energy, telecommunications and air travel, and in recent years it has increased protectionism. Colombia and Chile still fiddle with capital controls. Peru has insecure property rights, which discourage investment. Labor markets throughout the region are inflexible.
Every crisis offers opportunities and this one is no different. The region's reformers have already done much heavy lifting. Why not seize the moment and finish the job?
Aquí una entrevista a O'Grady en la que habla sobre su columna:


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As of Saturday, January 29th, Bird is officially off his seizure meds! Yaaaay!
The last few nights Bird has not wanted to go to sleep. He's very sleepy (rubbing his eyes), but the minute you put him in the bed, he screams. And screams. The last 2 nights I though it was his cough and cold keeping him up. Tonight, however, there's much less snot and little coughing. What's his excuse? Every time I walk back into his room, he immediately stops crying, reaches his hands up, and smiles. Hmmm. I'm thinking he wants some cuddle. A few minutes ago, I sent Jacin in to put the paci back into Bird's mouth and pat his tummy (with strict instructions NOT to pick him up). Upon entering Bird's room, this is what Jacin found:
Sing it, Jail Bird, sing it! Wait, what's that I hear? Could it be silence? Golden. Absolutely golden.
Thanks to Dianne West for taking Bird's 9 month pictures Saturday. Beautiful weather for pictures at the park. However, the wind and sunshine made Bird's eyes water and skin break out. Oh well. He's still pretty cute!!
We're back on the wagon, trying to eat right and exercise. We've had some good meals here lately:
White chili (yum!)
Home-made pizzas (with low fat cheese and turkey pepperoni)
Sausage, Cabbage & Potatoes (used turkey sausage and chicken broth)
Taco Soup (left-overs later this week over baked potato)
Spaghetti (home-made sauce, lean ground beef, whole wheat pasta)
Chicken DiVan (chicken, broccoli, fat free soups & mayo, low fat cheese)
Eating right is fun! I actually enjoy cooking, as long as Jacin cleans up the kitchen. :) Yep, I have a great hubby.


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Coghlans Magnetic Bear Bell
We know that we don't get many bears in the UK, however the Coghlan's Bear Bell has proven to be a real hit with our customers, especially for using with their dogs to be able to locate their cheeky pup is as well as to alert wildlife of their presence.
The bell on this Bear Bell measures roughly 4cm and comes on a strong Velcro attachment that can quickly and easily be looped onto your clothing, rucksack or onto your dog's collar, it also comes with a magnetic silencer too.
So whether you are heading off to hike the trails and want to reduce the risk of startling a grizzly or whether you want to keep an ear out for your faithful hound and give other wildlife a heads up when they are snuffling in the undergrowth, then the bear bell is an inexpensive and fantastic practical and simple gadget!
- Attaches to clothing or pack with a Velcro© strap
- Movement causes a steady ringing to warn animals of your presence
- Magnet in bag eliminates noise
- Size: Bell is 4cm (approx.)
- Weight: 35g (approx.)
- Coghlans Magnetic Bear Bell
Delivery Charges
Just £1.95 next working day UK delivery - Free on orders over £50
Delivery Times Explained
Next working day delivery - stock is available from our warehouse and will normally be despatched the same day if you order by 3pm.
All items are sent on a next working day service (large/expensive items DPD Monday-Friday, smaller items Royal Mail Monday-Saturday). If you require Saturday delivery on larger/more expensive items (over about £50) there will be an additional charge, please give us a call for a quote.
Northern Ireland, Highlands and Islands will take 2 working days.
On order - Please call to check availability
Delivery Method
Small items may be sent by Royal Mail 24h, larger or more expensive items with DPD Next Day may require a signature on delivery. In the event that no one is available, the parcel will be taken to your local depot and a note will be left with instructions for redelivery.
Our Guarantee
Our "no quibbles" guarantee means that if for any reason you are unhappy with the item you have purchased just return it in its original condition within 28 days and we will issue a full refund or exchange.
Christmas Returns
Items purchased between 1st November and 25th December can be returned anytime until the 31st January 2018 as part of our extended Christmas guarantee! Normal terms and conditions apply


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Monday, April 28
Earth to Sandra...Come In Sandra
... as evidenced by this picture of what appears to be a wireless in-ear IFB device of some sort.
IFBs are typically used by newscasters or other live TV hosts to receive audio cues from a producer or director. Musicians also use them in place of traditional floor monitors to hear themselves while performing onstage.
But in Sandra's case, what kind of cues does she need?!?!
Here's what I imagine happens on set:
Sandra: This mochawhippitini is sooooo delicious and so easy to make.
Producer (what Sandra hears in her ear): Okay, Sandy, go get the Cool Whip out of the fridge... no that's the oven, Sandra. Refrigerator. Quick -- make a joke about that!
Sandra: Oh my, I went to the oven! My nephew Brycer once hid the whipped topping in the oven and I went INSANE looking for it.
Producer: Good job. Blame it on the kid. Okay, now open the Cool Whip and put some in that glass.
Sandra: Allllllll you need to do is add a little of this whipped topping to the rim of your martini glass and then pour in some coffee-flavored liquor and some coffee-flavored vodka.
Producer: Okay, good...good. Slow and steady. Wait... why are you drinking out of the bottle, Sandra? Sandra? Will you please stop that? All right... that's a cut. Hose her down, people! We gotta shoot Cocktail Time again!
A pretty accurate guess of what happens, no?
So Aunt Sandy has to wear an in-ear monitor just to get through her recipes. At least I'm pretty sure that's what it is.
Either that or she accidentally put a Sweet Tart in there and forgot.
Labels: food network, Sandra Lee


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Lunar test: All-female Russian crew complete 8-day Moon flight simulation
This marks the first time that the crew is all-female, and at least one of the experiment's participants hopes to become a real cosmonaut in the future.
"Of course I want to go into space. This has been a priceless experience in the isolation that comes with space flight," Inna Novinova told journalists.
The crew were banned from taking their cell phones with them, and stayed in touch only with the medics' command center.
They also couldn't use the shower, and had only wet wipes for their personal hygiene. Also, the women had about 90 minutes' free time during the day, working the rest of the time.
The crewmembers got along really well, despite the hardship – confounding skeptics' predictions.
"To those who said we'd end up ripping each other's hair out: we didn't even come close to that," Daria Komissarova said.
The women missed their close ones much more than any daily comforts, another crewmember, Anna Kussmaul, said.
"Not knowing what was going on in their lives for eight days bothered me a lot more than not having shampoo or chocolate," she told journalists.
The six crewmembers were selected from dozens of volunteers, and were monitored by a team of 30 scientists.
A similar experiment – involving mixed crews – was conducted in 2010, and simulated a flight to Mars. It lasted 519 days.


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Passive DNS network mapper a.k.a. subdomains bruteforcer
For those who have never used dnsmap, dnsmap is a command line tool originally released in 2006 which helps discover target subdomains and IP ranges during the initial stages of an infrastructure pentest. dnsmap is a passive(ish) discovery tool meant to be used before an actual active attack. It's an alternative to other discovery techniques such as whois lookups, scanning large IP ranges, etc … Run dnsmap and you should be able spot netblocks of a target organization in a relatively short period of time.
dnsmap is open source and is known to work on Linux, FreeBSD and Windows using Cygwin, although it has mostly been tested on Linux.
New features included:
IPv6 support
Makefile included
delay option (-d) added. This is useful in cases where dnsmap is killing your bandwidth
ignore IPs option (-i) added. This allows ignoring user-supplied IPs from the results. Useful for domains which cause dnsmap to produce false positives
changes made to make dnsmap compatible with OpenDNS
disclosure of internal IP addresses (RFC 1918) are reported
updated built-in wordlist
included a standalone three-letter acronym (TLA) subdomains wordlist
domains susceptible to "same site" scripting are reported
completion time is now displayed to the user
mechanism to attempt to bruteforce wildcard-enabled domains
unique filename containing timestamp is now created when no specific output filename is supplied by user
various minor bugs fixed
Download and more info about dnsmap: http://code.google.com/p/dnsmap


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What a life we all live!
We swim in the past,
Or fly in the future,
Rarely we Value the Present in hand!
What a life we all live!
We swim in the past,
Or fly in the future,
Rarely we Value the Present in hand!
As kids most of us learnt naturally to pretend or were taught to pretend for fun. May it be sleep or a munching action, pretending to be an adult or a teacher or a bully. It sure was fun and we did carry it to many parts of life.
I share stories of people who pretend to be different than what they actually are –
Pretend 1 – Miss X is a beautiful and charming lady, whom you would say is in her mid-20's or so. I assumed her age, but soon got to know she has two kids both above 10 years of age. We were together in a training and had met then n there. She was kind and helpful. Knowing that I had just moved in to the city, with nowhere to go, she offered her own place for me to stay on two occasions. That was on the same day we met and another day in the week. Being inquisitive I did probe to know more about her. She was polite to answer me. She was divorced. The husband was an abusive drunkard and had kept her in a kind of house arrest. She planned to get herself and her kids out of this mess and fled from the house. That one decision of having a good life for self and her children, has kept her going. She keeps fit by daily exercising and eating healthy food. If I had not asked her I would have never known what a struggle this lady has gone through and how courageously she has faced them. Now the "Pretend" part, she hides behind the child like face of hers and never gives away her past. It seems to me that the brave heart says "No sympathies required, you carry on with your life, I do with mine". The days I stayed with her were eye openers for me. Her maid would come and whine about her husband or son or daughter in law, Miss X would give it right back to her saying handle it, you know what to do and what to say, do not keep cribbing about it. At work she was friendly, professional and gave all she can to do her job well and beyond. Post work she would unleash her passion for baking. She catered for friends and friends of friends by baking delicious cakes, cookies and chocolates. This helped her financially and kept her busy till the time she crashed at night. Years of scars would be difficult to grow out of, she needed pills to calm her down to rest or sleep. She pretends to show everything is normal, when outwardly it is but inwardly only she knows what she goes through. Pretend, for a cause of it.
Pretend 2 – Miss Y, a 12-year-old, of a family friend. She is smart, studious, well-traveled (thanks to her mom, who makes sure to take the little one where ever she went since she was 6 months old), class monitor, dancer, singer and many more. Being the only child she is showered with heavy care by her mom. She shows her smartness in speech, actions, thoughts and writing. The same when it comes to showing care and affection towards a few chosen ones, like her father, paternal grandparents and the small girl next door. However, she pretends to be blind of any loving actions of her mom and shuns them away saying, it is her duty to do so. This act of "PRETEND", is among many of us too, regardless of age and generation towards both parents or one of the parent. I wonder where this act of pretending would lead to.
Pretend 3 – We are invincible. Look at all of us, the way we live. We breathe as if we are to have all the oxygen for many eons to come, so with the water, so with everything nature has to give us. We face those consequences too. Global warming, diseases, disparity, increased killing, reduced tolerance, selfish desires – all in alarmed warning to mend our ways. But how we PRETEND to be unaware of these time and again. We may attend a lecture or a talk and even support it by sharing with others, but where is the action? Are we implementing it in our day to day life? Can we just stop pretending that everything is fine and actually accept the situation and ACT!
The stories shared above are real.


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Thursday, May 20th 9:00am – 12:00pm
Discover valuable tips for funding a nonprofit organization at the upcoming Next Chapter Workshop. Join us on Thursday, May 20th from 9am until noon at the Olympia Center 222 Columbia St. NW to learn beneficial tools that will help improve your nonprofit's fiscal success, in order to serve the community. The workshop is $35, and you can register online at http://www.volunteer.ws. For more info contact Linda at the Volunteer Center 360-455-0220.


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Just wanted to welcome Nick Jacobs, President and CEO of Windber Medical Center, to the health care blogging community. He is now blogging at "Nick's Blog." Guess it was only a matter of time before a hospital CEO joined the blog ranks. I look forward to watching Mr. Jacob's posts.
Mr. Jacob's story of how and why he started blogging is featured over at the Diva Marketing Blog. Other hospital CEOs should take note. I plan to email this link out to some of my hospital client CEOs and see if a West Virginia CEO can become the second hospital CEO blogger.
For more information check out this post at Hospital Impact.


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Occasionally, the mirror glass in the side or rear view mirrors on a Honda CR-V will crack or break. To keep the car functional it is necessary to replace this mirror glass as quickly as possible. This is a simple auto repair project that you can do at home with little to no tools at your disposal. The main materials required are pliers, glue and the replacement glass.
Purchase replacement mirror glass from a Honda dealer or auto parts store. Make sure to purchase the glass for the correct mirror, as well as choosing mirror glass for the correct vehicle year. Not all CR-V mirror housings are shaped the same way.
Move the car to a sunny location. This will help loosen up the mirror glue and make it easier to remove the broken glass.
Apply heat to the surface of the mirror with the heat gun to further loosen the glue holding the mirror into place. Put on the work gloves. You do not want to touch the hot glass, and the broken mirror pieces can cut your hands. If you can avoid digging glass shards out of your hand you should.
Pry the broken glass out of the frame with pliers, flathead screwdriver or any other tool that helps you remove the glass. Throw the broken glass away immediately, either into a dustbin or some other disposable container.
Heat the surface of the mirror frame with the heat gun once more to soften any remaining glue. Remove the glue from the surface with the flathead screwdriver. You can also remove the glue with a glue removal solvent, as long as it is safe for use on plastic surfaces.
Apply a new bead of glue to the mirror frame. Spread the glue to cover then entire frame with a paint scraper or some other spreading tool. Press the mirror over the glue.
Test the glue to see if it holds the mirror in place right away. More likely that not, you will have to create a brace for the mirror to hold it in place while it dries. Make a brace from electrical tape. Tape the mirror glass to the frame, then wrap the entire mirror housing in tape. Leave the tape in place for 24 hours to allow the glue time to fully cure.


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So my beautiful envelopes arrived this morning and they look great! I've struggled to find the colours I want with the V shape flat on the back but Tanya at SocialPrinting.com.au helped me out. Thanks Tanya!
All note cards will be available with your choice of envelope colour for that added personal touch.


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You can see the images and learn more at their website. The article has a lot more details about the project including the financial caps and where the money is coming from.
There have been some dicsussions about if Riverview is the best site or if somewhere else in East Mesa is preferable.
East Mesa proponents point to the potential of more money being spent in Mesa - what they fail to point out is the opposition in the Red Mountain area and the lack of development in the Gaylord area. We have been a fan of this concept in the past, but expect a free standing stadium in the middle of nowhere like Glendale and Goodyear for awhile.
Riverview is indeed closer to Tempe and Scottsdale. It is however, closer to Mesa retail than Hohokam ever was with development across the street in Mesa Riverview shopping center.
To be sure, there are pros and cons to both locations, but the Wrigleyville West concept is something that will be attractive in either locations. In reality, the best part about both of these sites is that they are in Mesa. It is critical that we keep the team in town. The details beyond that should be discussed with great interest, but we must be mindful of the ultimate goal here.


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Without providing specific details, Ubisoft has officially confirmed the rumors floating around the internet for the past few days, Assassin's Creed Unity is indeed the next game in the series.
This new CGI trailer for Assassin's Creed Unity shows Arno racing against time and through a dense and chaotic central Paris in order to prevent the beheading of Elise, a character central to Assassin's Creed Unity's story. As an independent young noblewoman, Elise is determined to secure her place in the Templar dynasty amidst the chaos of the French Revolution. Her quest leads her to cross paths with Arno and establish an unlikely bond with him.
Ubisoft is also offering fans the chance to discover a novel by Oliver Bowden based on Assassin's Creed Unity. This new paperback from Penguin Random House builds on Bowden's past Assassin's novels – with 3 million copies sold to date - and examines an era when the divide between the rich and poor is at its most extreme, and a nation is tearing itself apart. Told from Elise's perspective, the book follows her and Arno as they are drawn into the centuries-old battle between the Assassins and the Templars – a world with dangers more deadly than they could ever have imagined - and fight to avenge all they have lost.
Finally, fans can now also order "Elise: The Fiery Templar," a high quality figurine designed by Ubicollectibles that features Elise as she sets her sights on her target with her gun poised and sword sheathed at the ready on her back. This collectible can be assembled into a diorama with the "Arno: The Fearless Assassin" figurine. Additional digital content for Assassin's Creed Unity also is included with the purchase of this collectible.
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