text:
Friday, May 9, 2008
An Energy Policy that Makes Sense (Reprise)
On April 4, 2008 I published my first energy policy on Seeking Alpha. Oil was around $100/barrel. Roughly one month later, oil is up another 20% and now over $120/barrel; the US dollar is dropping like a rock; the S& P500 has done nothing in years, and inflation, food and otherwise, is high and rising. CEOs of major oil companies took the unprecedented step to publicly say at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that worldwide oil supply will not keep up with worldwide oil demand by the year 2015. That is only 7 years from now. If oil prices are $120/barrel today (while oil supply and demand are balanced), what will prices be in 2015? Regardless, it is well past the time to take action. Yet still no word from the President and Congress on a real energy policy to prepare and protect America from the realities of peak oil. Why? I again submit a comprehensive energy policy below. It has been updated with the excellent feedback I received from the readers of Seeking Alpha. I commend you all for your interest, intelligence, and passion.
Since the US has no real energy policy today, the time constraints enforced by peak oil will require our new energy policy to be correct the first time around. I suspect we will not get a second chance. Below is an outline of a comprehensive energy policy that tackles the challenges of peak oil head-on. It will require sacrifice and present many challenges to the people of our nation. It needs to be implemented with the urgency of a "crash" program, like the Manhattan project. We must be up to this task. There is no alternative to failure.
• The first step in an energy policy that addresses peak oil is to acknowledge the problem at the highest levels of government. No difficult problem can expect to be solved until it is first acknowledged. We need to make the words "peak oil" as prevalent on the lips of Americans as is "Britney Spears" or "Hannah Montana". Every citizen needs to know exactly what is at stake here.
• Although the policies listed below are, for the most part Federal initiatives, it should be understood that state and local governments, including the association of governors, should be major role-players. They are best able to address issues like mass transit in their cities, power generation and transportation issues which are unique within their boundaries, and other similar aspects of an overall energy policy which are best dealt with at the state and local levels.
• Since transportation is a large component of imported oil usage (gasoline), we need to immediately increase tax incentives for highly fuel efficient vehicles. At the same time, we need to place *very* large penalty taxes on purchases of low mileage SUVs such as the Hummer. Yes, Americans are free to drive what they like, but if they chose to buy a vehicle that threatens America's economic prosperity and security they must be made to pay through the nose. The tax revenue from the sale of these idiotic vehicles will directly fund the tax rebates for fuel efficient vehicles. That way, if your neighbor drives a Hummer, you can thank him for helping to pay for your Prius.
• 60 mph top speed limit.
• We need higher fuel economy CAFE standards passed sooner rather than later (as in NOW). The recent legislation Congress passed on CAFE standards won't be fully implemented until 2021(!). Are you kidding me? The game will be over by then if we don't take more intelligent and immediate action. We cannot continue to let the US automobile lobby draft legislation governing mpg standards. Internal combustion engines should be required to satisfy the so-called "open fuels standard". That is, they should be required to run on gasoline, ethanol, methanol, or any combination of these fuels.
• American automobile manufacturers must receive government incentives to design and manufacture alternatives to the gasoline powered internal combustion engine. The assistance received will depend on the quality and timeliness of delivery of said vehicle, be it an electric, natural gas, or hydrogen powered solution. The goal should be for the vehicle to have a range of at least 300 miles per fueling and be manufacturable by 2012.
• Such alternative vehicle solutions will likely be powered, in part, by electricity. We therefore need a massive government led initiative to build out our non-oil and gas based electrical power sources and to update our electrical grid infrastructure. We need to free up natural gas for transportation and heating.
• Power sources that should be financially and otherwise encouraged by the government are nuclear, wind, and solar. We will need massive amounts of electricity from these sources, and we need to begin NOW. Nuclear plants require long lead times to license and build and we should have started yesterday.
• Since more power will be delivered electrically from nuclear, wind, and solar sources, the entire US electric grid needs to be updated and its capacity increased dramatically .
• The US ethanol program mandates should be stopped. It has probably saved some oil, albeit at what cost? The cost of grains has skyrocketed causing real inflation at the grocery store for everything from bread to beef and chicken. Also, with the affects of global warming, the water requirements of ethanol will become a real issue. Government should stop subsidizing ethanol and instead put these subsidies on wind and solar energy as well as building out the electrical grid. Besides, ethanol actually encourages further use of gasoline and in some ways gives American's the impression that it is the "answer" to higher gasoline prices. It is not. Lift the mandates and remove import taxes on imported ethanol (from Brazil for instance). Let the free market use ethanol and biofuels as desired and as economically feasible. Government mandates should not distort this market.
• The US has huge coal reserves, but coal is dirty. We need more research done in the area of coal-to-liquids and coal gasification so that we can harness the energy in coal without destroying our environment in a cost effective manner. I don't know if that is possible, but surely we need to find out. Soon. How is CO2 "sequestored" in the Earth? I don't understand how this is possible. Let's get definitive coal policy developed and move on.
• The Federal government, the state of Alaska, and Canada, need to get off their collective duffs and commit to building a much needed, and long overdue, natural gas pipeline from the gas fields of Alaska and Canada to the lower-48. ConocoPhillips and BP have committed to building this (no Exxon participation?). Governments and industrialist should support this effort. Planning and construction need to begin immediately and be accelerated.
• The Federal government and the individual states need to speed up the licensing and incentivize the building of LNG terminals on both coasts and in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Conservation and efficiency guidelines should be issued by the government and local utility providers. I cringe when I see huge displays of Christmas lights which burn all night long. It makes me realize how clueless most Americans are and what a long way we have to go. We should be penalizing such indiscriminate use of power. Energy efficient design techniques should be high priority on all types of construction and manufacturing endeavors.
• "Alternative fuels" should be encouraged but only after careful study of all relevant data. Ethanol is an example where short-sightedness, simple analysis, conclusions, and "bandwagon" jumping can end up with failed policy initiatives which are harmful to the overall objectives of a sound energy policy. (I don't consider wind and solar to be "alternative" energy sources. Wind is economically viable today, and solar be shortly). Biofuels (cellulosic ethanol and methanol) surely have a significant role to play, but let's not get emotional on the subject. Let the scientists and engineers make the call, not politicians. Geothermal should be utilized where appropriate and cost effective.
• We need to start drilling for oil off the coasts of California and Florida and ANWR. These oil assets will take years to bring online, and we need to start NOW.
• We need to increase the tax on gasoline, not decrease it! I know this will not be popular, but we must discourage gasoline consumption. Meanwhile, the gasoline tax receipts should go directly to support wind, solar, and nuclear energy production.
• We need to develop electric mass transit for people and goods. The French have done it and power it with nuclear energy. The Germans have done it and powered it by solar and geothermal. The US again lags in energy policy. Aren't Americans tired of falling behind Europe in terms of energy policy? Are Europeans really that much smarter than Americans? We should have high speed bullet train networks up and down both coasts, north and south in middle America, and and east and west coast connection. We need to kick the auto and trucking lobbyists out of the halls of Congress since they are largely responisible for not allowing high speed electric trains to be constructed (actually, it's the corrupt congressmen who take the lobbyists' money that are responsible...but that's another story).
• We need to encourage local sustainability in energy and food production. We need to encourage people to grow their own gardens, supply locally available solutions. We need to encourage population control both in the US and globally. Self reliance and frugality is required.
• 4 day work week whenever and wherever possible.
• Stengthen the US dollar! This cannot be done by mere rhetoric. Congress must balance the books. This means stopping the insane Bush tax breaks to the most wealthy Americans and matching spending with revenues. The US dollar has dropped over 50% since Bush began his economic "policy". Oil is priced in US dollars per barrel. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the connection here.
• Encourage population control by providing information and knowledge about the capability of the Earth's resources to provide for its inhabitants - not just wrt energy, but food, shelter, and all natural resources.
• Lastly, the citizens of the US must demand political leadership on this issue. As voters, we must make it clear that we will not re-elect politicians that continue to put the number one threat to US national security on the back burner. There is no issue that demands more political urgency than peak oil. Period. We need qualified and knowledgeable people to run for office on a platform that places an ***energy policy*** front and center.
These then should be the central themes of a comprehensive energy policy. The policy needs to be drafted in simple unambiguous terms. The tax policies need to be long term and phased in/out in a sensible fashion so that business can plan their budgets accordingly without having to worry about the outcome of the latest election.
Windfall profits taxes on the oil companies is an idiotic idea and counter productive. We have an oil supply problem, so tax the US companies that are providing oil? This is madness.
Now, my friends say, "Mike, what's with the nuclear solution, I thought you were an environmentalist?" Well, I am an environmentalist! Burning coal is simply killing the environment, period. CO2 is one issue, but the mercury being dumped into our water table is just as serious an issue to me. Anyone know the half-life of mercury? We have ignored peak oil for so long, we have no choice now but to license and build nuclear reactors as quickly as possible. Yes, I understand the issue of nuclear waste. That said, the Energy Department has been working on the technology to post-process spent fuel rendering it less hazardous. We should increase research and development of all stages of nuclear energy. Bottom line is this: we face such a huge energy crisis we will need all the non-oil energy we can get.
With respect to global warming, all I can say is this: peak oil has the ability to completely wreck our economy by the year 2015. Global warming, which I am in complete agreement with, does not have the power to wreck our economy for decades. So, which is the most urgent threat? Answer: Peak Oil. Now, the solutions of either address both, but I bring up the distinction because it is a question of priorities and urgency, If only people and media used the phrase "peak oil" as much as they do "global warming".
The longer the United States waits to address the realities of peak oil, the harder the task will become. If we do not act soon, it will simply be too late and we will suffer a decrease in our standard of living which, I can assure you, the American people are not only not ready for but can scarcely imagine. We are already beginning to see the affects of peak oil now. On the other hand, prudent action, while requiring sacrifice and hard work, can revitalize our country and usher in an entirely new era of economic prosperity. I certainly hope the next administration chooses the later path. You, the reader, can make a difference by speaking directly with your elected officials on the issue. Send them an email today with a link to this policy paper. Remember, it feels good to be a true patriot!
10 comments:
- Gary said...
Good work Fitzman. I like a lot of the stocks that you mentioned at the end of your article. I also own or have owned several of them. Two of my holdings that I hope will benefit from Peak Oil are LGCY and DMLP. They are a bit more complicated than energy trusts because they are master limited partnerships, but as oil and natural gas move up they should continue to benefit.
I enjoy your blog. Take care
- May 9, 2008 at 4:31 PM
Good article in Seeking Alpha on diversification. It solicited a lot of good discussion. From your writtings, it appears we are like minded on the matter of energy in the USA. You are welcome to use freely any the ideas in my blog at www.phillips49.blogspot.com.
Don Phillips
- June 4, 2008 at 7:31 PM
- A von Altendorf said...
I'm always skeptical of regulatory proposals, but I admit that yours is sensible and well reasoned.
A von Altendorf
- June 8, 2008 at 5:04 AM
Excellent analysis and recommendations with one exception. Terrible idea to drill for oil off California and Florida - our most beautiful coasts. Alaska is still suffering from massive oil spill and the recent one in San Francisco Bay wreaked havoc on local wildlife. There are smaller oil spills all the time - just check the numbers.
A little nitpicking - it is Nabors not Neighbors Industries. Otherwise, keep up the good work. Joel
- June 8, 2008 at 1:34 PM
The answer to the energy crisis is FUSION. That's how the sun works where our energy comes from. It is known how to FUSE the atom instead of splitting it, just not how to control or harness FUSION, but nuclear fusion produces little if any waste and will provide limitless energy to light up the planet if desired. Let the oil companies work with the govamint* to do the research. It's the FUSION, stupid.
- June 9, 2008 at 8:17 AM
How about having one formula for unleaded gasoline? We have several states with their own formula that ties up refinary time and needs to be inventoried etc.
- June 9, 2008 at 12:56 PM
- Dan Curtis said...
Mike, I am with ya brother. Wish our politicians were listening!
- June 11, 2008 at 3:35 AM
Excellent, comprehensive program.
I would add that it should not be politics as usual. Energy that can be produced more cheaply elsewhere - example, Brazilian ethanol - should not have tariffs put on it. As you note, it is very late in the game. Resources have to be spent efficiently to address this critical issue.
Also, regulatory changes (enforced position limits) are needed to correct massive commodities speculation, that is boosting demand and prices, by hedge funds and others who are not part of the normal supply/demand chain for commodities.
- June 20, 2008 at 3:18 PM
windfall profit taxes
make sense, because they
are mkaing "WINDFALL" profits
- at everyone's expense.
if they were thinking of the
US's interests, they'd reduce
their profit margins.
instead their profits are exploding
every quarter, which means
they are skinning all US consumers
to the bone.
AND they have their bitch bush
in the house to make everyone else
tow the line.
btw, you sound like a paid
oil bitch yourself.
- July 7, 2008 at 9:40 AM
- okc.onsiterepair said...
I like your article, I'd like you to consider adding the following power generation schemes as well.
1) Ocean Current, specifically
the Florida Current that feeds
into the Gulf Stream current.
Use the Aquanator design:
It carries about 30 times as
much flow as all the rivers
of the World and we could partially tap it for power.
With all the hurricanes though
I'd bury the "GIANT" power
cables in service tunnels
and run it North.
Per Wikipedia long haul
transmission losses for the
US in 2005 was 7% so it is
2) Coskata's Ethanol
3) LS9's Crap2Crude bacteria
4) Valcent Technologies Algae
that makes 100,000 gal/acre/yr
in the Desert.
5) Jet Stream Power via high
Altitude balloons - proof of
concept is in the works now.
According to one estimate, only 1 percent of the potential wind energy in the jet stream could meet the world's current energy needs.
Yes, that is right.
1% of the World Wide jet Stream
could in theory replace all
Power on Earth.
- July 30, 2008 at 1:44 AM


text:
1> Pathfinder
2> Dungeons and Dragons 3.5
3> Advanced Dungeons and Dragons
4> Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition
5> Dungeons and Dragons 3rd Edition
Controversial list right off the bat because I chose a non-Dungeons and Dragons title for number one. When Wizards of the Coast (WOTC from now on) released Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition Paizo bought the former DnD 3.5 rule base from WOTC. They reworked it, improved it and released it as Pathfinder. Many have called it Dungeons and Dragons 3.75.
Pathfinder tops the list because it is the evolution of the spirit of Dungeons and Dragons. It cleaned up issues that had been bugging me for decades and kept the original feel of Dungeons and Dragons. DnD 3.5 is number two because it refined the newer concepts of 3rd edition. Advanced DnD was the first edition of DnD that tried to provide more structure to the rules started with the Original Dungeons and Dragons (aka White Box). ADnD 2nd Edition added new tweaks for characters and more ways to define them. DnD 3rd Edition introduced Feats, where characters could have abilities that altered the way other character features worked or enhanced skills.
Not on the list (no particular order)
Dungeons and Dragons Basic Rules (Red Box)
Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition
Dungeons and Dragons Next (5th Edition, not out yet)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
As the start of Earth Week begins today, we will begin our own Earth Week activities & crafts. I plan to have at least one thing that I will do with my family each day that is different from what we normally do daily. We will try a variety of crafts, recipes & cleaning ideas. I am also making it a goal this week to eat from the pantry & freezer, although I do have to make it an exception to go for a couple items since it is my husband's birthday and my daughter & I have a special dessert planned that we will need 1-2 ingredients for.
Sunday: 1mi Walk & Pancake Brunch @ River Bend Nature Center, Plant in Watch & Grow Planter, Cleaning Homemade Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner, Start hanging clothes on the line, Eat From My Freezer with Homemade Veggie Lasagna (zucchini & tomatoes from my garden) and Recipe Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Monday: Craft Egg Carton Eyes, Trash Pick Up at Park & Play, Recipe Tortilla Soup
Tuesday: Craft Egg Cup Insects, Craft Make & Play with Homemade Bubbles, Walk & play at the park
Wednesday: Walk & Picnic at the Park, Cleaning Wood Floor Wax
Thursday (EARTH DAY): Planting Activity @ Old Navy, Cleaning Microwave Cleaning
Friday: Craft Homemade Stickers, Craft Carton Wallet,
Saturday: Build a Birdfeeder @ Lowe's & hang up in yard, Recipe Homemade Granola Bars
In years past we have had a couple friends over to do some planting on Earth Day, but due to regular weekly activities our Thursday is quite busy and doesn't allow for us to have a playdate at our place, so we have moved our plating playdate out to the following week.


text:
by Michael
Family of Zombies Costume
Rate this costume:
5 votes
|1 comment · add a comment
More views: (click to enlarge)
Zombie Family
|Costume type:
|Costumes for Families
This homemade costume for families entered our 2013 Halloween Costume Contest.
A word from Janet, the 'Family of Zombies' costume creator:
We had a Halloween party at our trailer park in August and my husband, son and I went as a family of Zombies. These costumes were totally home made. It took me 3 hours to do our make-up. I learned everything from youtube. It was so much fun. We just used the clothing we had around the house, so it didn't cost much at all. Hope you enjoy our pics.
Similar costumes:


text:
All U.S. orders ship for just $4.20 + get FREE SHIPPING over $100!
I am a returning customer
Forgotten Password
Or register with Facebook.
Rolling Paper Depot requires that you be at least 18 years old to create an account. Please verify your age using the menu below.
Model : TOP100MMTUBESLT-5
Brand: Top
Availability: Out of Stock
Product Specs:
Qty in Box : 200
Qty in Pack : Comes with 5 boxes 200 count
Size : 100mm
These Top 100mm White cigarette tubes are ready to be packed together with your favorite filler. Try out a special new blend of legal herbs you just picked up at the store, or mix together a few tobacco blends you have lying around and create something new. It's up to you. Pack these cigarette tubes and create the perfect cigarette, the one you make.
Each of these cigarette tubes is 100mm long, longer then a regular cigarette, so you get a longer smoke with a longer burn time, so you'll get longer satisfaction! Comes with 5 boxes 200 count.


text:
Food Structure
Article Title
Composition and Some Properties of Spray-Dried Retentates Obtained by the Ultrafiltration of Milk
Retentates containing 20, 27, and 34% total solids, obtained on commercial scale by the ultrafiltration of milk were spray-dried on laboratory scale using centrifugal atomization and single stage drying with the inlet air temperature of 220 C and the outlet air temperature of 90 C.
The protein content in the powders was 31% to 35% compared to 24.8% protein in the control whole-milk powder. Lactose contents were markedly lower in the retentate powders (-10.6%) than in the milk powder (40.4%). Storage of the powders at 37 C resulted in a marked increase in the 5-hydroxmethylfural contents with doubling of this content in the retentate powders and tripling in the milk powder.
When viewed by scanning electron microscopy, the spray-dried retentate powder particles had smooth surfaces free from wrinkles usually seen in spray-dried milk powders. When the same products were exposed to atmospheres having 75%, 85%, or 100% relative humidity, the retentate powders exhibited less lactose recrystallization than the milk powder.
The melting temperature (Tm) (as determined by differential scanning calorimetry) of lactose present in the retentate powders was not affected by the reduced lactose content in the powders but the fusion enthalpy of lactose was reduced in the retentate powders compared to the control milk powder.
Recommended Citation
Kalab, Miloslav; Caric, Marijana; Zaher, Mansour; and Harwalkar, V. R.
"Composition and Some Properties of Spray-Dried Retentates Obtained by the Ultrafiltration of Milk,"
Food Structure: Vol. 8
, Article 8.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/foodmicrostructure/vol8/iss2/8


text:
Shinyekwa Isaac and Lawrence Othieno have researched Uganda's comparative trade advantage as it applies to China and other members of the East African Community (EAC). Dated September 2011 and titled Uganda's Revealed Comparative Advantage: The Evidence with the EAC and China, it was published by the Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC) established in 1993 in Kampala. The goal of the EPRC is to foster sustainable growth and development of the Ugandan economy through research and applied policy analysis.
From my perspective, the paper is especially useful because it analyzes Uganda's chances to benefit from the special preferential treatment offered on 4,021 product lines by China. There have been very few studies of China's preferential trade ties with African countries. While there has been more analysis of the larger U.S. preferential trade program for African countries, it seems that neither the U.S. nor the Chinese program has had the positive impact that was originally envisaged. The purpose of these zero tariff programs is to increase African exports to the United States and China respectively.
While Uganda's exports to China increased from $237,000 in 2001 to $20 million in 2009, its imports from China increased from $16 million to $231 million over the same period. Uganda experienced a growing trade deficit with China each year between 2001 and 2009. Uganda's exports to China are growing but at a slower rate than imports from China. Uganda mainly exports cotton, coffee, leather, fish, oil seeds, timber and mineral products to China. One of the purposes of the study is to identify Ugandan products that can benefit from zero tariff treatment into China. The study concludes that without Ugandan policy changes, "Uganda may not have the capacity to increase her exports to China due to the various supply constraints in the economy."
Monday, March 5, 2012
Uganda, China and Preferential Trade Treatment
Labels: China, East African Community, exports, preferential trade, Uganda
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text: Saturday, October 6th, 10AM - 4PMThe Friends of the Ashby Library invite you to join us at Ashby's 22nd annual Pumpkin Festival and Craft Fair. Come spend the day on the town common and enjoy the fall foliage while you engage in some family fun and find some unique gifts. There will be live entertainment throughout the day, food and craft vendors, games and activities for children, a pumpkin decorating contest, a tractor parade, and more. The Friends of the Ashby Library are a non-profit group of volunteers who support and fund the Library's educational needs. All of the proceeds from the festival support the educational programs at the Ashby Public Library.


text:
As Prosper Gets The Green Light, A Comeback For Peer-to-Peer Lenders?
Journal reporter Jane J. Kim writes:
As banks clamp down on consumers' ability to get credit, alternative credit sources could be getting a boost.
On Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission gave its blessing for Prosper.com–one of the largest players in the peer-to-peer lending space–to register its loans as securities, allowing the company to reopen its doors nationally after it entered a quiet period last October.
The completion of the SEC registration process "means loans that are now purchased on Prosper are technically registered securities which means they can be resold in the secondary market," said Chris Larsen, chief executive and co-founder of Prosper.
As part of the registration process, the SEC approved Prosper's auction-based platform, which works like an eBay-style marketplace for would-be borrowers and lenders. It's the first time that regulators have approved a pricing mechanism where the final price of a security isn't secured in advance. By contrast, other peer-to-peer players offer lenders a range of fixed rates.
Under Prosper's model, prospective borrowers create loan listings detailing how much they're looking to borrow and what they're willing to pay in interest. Prosper supplements the listings with information from the borrowers' credit files, past loan performance and other details. Lenders (mainly individuals, though some are institutions) then use the information to bid on the loans in a competitive auction. The maximum loan amount on Prosper is $25,000, and the average loan size is about $6,000. Borrowers generally take out loans to either consolidate debt or fund small businesses, although paying for home improvement projects or financing education and auto purchases are other popular options.
In recent years, peer-to-peer lenders have emerged as an option for people looking for unsecured loans. Borrowers hope to lock in lower rates than they would otherwise have to pay on credit cards or from traditional banks. Lenders, meanwhile, aim to reap higher returns than they would otherwise find on other investments. The sites, which help match individual borrowers with lenders online, represent a tiny fraction of the consumer loan market, with roughly $100 million in new loans expected this year.
But the peer-to-peer lending industry has faced significant regulatory scrutiny. Some companies, such as Lending Club and Pertuity Direct, recently completed registering their securities with the SEC, while other players, including U.K.-based Zopa Ltd., exited the U.S. market. In April, Prosper tried to re-launch operations in California under an intra-state exemption, but reversed course within weeks until its registration with the SEC was completed.
In general, lenders' losses have also been ticking higher amid the rise in unemployment. For example, the average lender on Prosper since the company's inception in 2006 has lost 3.67% after charge-offs, though many of the earliest lenders lost much more. Since March 2007–when the company began providing more information about borrowers' credit and employment histories–average lenders' returns were negative 2.04%.
Like more traditional lenders, Prosper has tightened up on borrowers. As part of its re-launch, Prosper raised the minimum credit score requirements for borrowers to 640 from 520 and introduced a new rating system that takes into account the loan performance of 29,000 Prosper loans as well as credit score data. The company also introduced a minimum "bid floor" for each loan listing and dropped minimum bid requirements to $25 from $50, which should help lenders price loans more appropriately and make it easier for them to diversify.
Wallet readers: Would you turn to a peer-to-peer lending site for a loan? Would you consider becoming a lender? Let us know in the comments section, below.


text:
I am actually finishing a little early as I have just finished my fourth book and there is no time to start another.
As usually I have enjoyed taking part in Dewey's Read-a-Thon and it has been really cosy with my husband and sister also taking part again.
Something new was my hourly updates, it was nothing much but it was interesting to see how my reading progressed during the 24 hours instead of just updating when I finished a book. I might do that again next time.
List of books read:
- A man called Ove by Fredrik Backman
- The Menagerie by Tui T. Sutherland and Kari Sutherland
- 204 Rosewood Lane by Debbie Macomber
- What Once Was Perfect by Zoe York


text:
Friday, September 11, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Arminian Theology in View, Part IV
OK...it's been a while & I haven't posted anything about Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities by Roger E. Olson. I'm almost done with the book and am hoping to email professor Olson to get some questions answered that have not been really answered in the book. Overall I think the book is pretty good at describing what Arminius and his followers believed. What the book fails, in my opinion, to do is show us where these beliefs come from in the Scriptures. So far I'm on page 220 of a 246 page book and he's referenced 29 passages of Scripture (not including 3-4 references to an entire chapter)...but NONE of these passages are actually taken apart and exegeted!
John 3:16, 1 Tim 4:10, 2 Pet 3:9, etc are quoted over and over again but Professor Olson does not show how the verses support his claims/views. This is pretty sad and it's consistent with what I've found...nobody wants to go to any deeper argumentation than to say "John 3:16 says all and that's all I have to say about the matter!"
Sorry folks...this is not the way God's Word should be treated. I expect more out of pastors and teachers than just a few quoted verses and no explanation. Anyway...off my soapbox.
Here is a passage that made me go "Huh?!" On page 206 the author makes the following statement:
"Third, one charge frequently laid against Arminius's (and Arminianism's) doctrine of justification is that it makes faith the efficient and meritorious cause of justification, thus resulting in justification as a reward for a work of righteousness. How did Arminius regard the causes of justification? First, he stated clearly and repeatedly that faith itself is a work of the Holy Spirit and not a work of autonomous humans. 'Evangelical faith is an assent of the mind, produced by the Holy Spirit, through the Gospel...' Thus the Holy Spirit is the efficient cause of justification."
OK...here is my question; If the Arminian claims that the Holy Spirit is the efficient cause of faith and the efficient cause of justification then how can the same argue with limited atonement (I prefer to call it particular redemption)? If the Holy Spirit has to produce the faith through which we are justified then the Arminian would have to answer the question, "Why doesn't the Holy Spirit produce faith in everyone?"
I really wonder why this is not seen for what it is, and that's double speak. On the one hand he says that the idea of limited atonement is unbiblical...and yet on the other he says that the Holy Spirit has to produce the faith in order for someone to be justified. Anyone from the Arminian persuasion, please help me understand how this can be?


text:
Mistress Milana has a fetish for shit and she likes to do nasty things with her shit. She likes to play with it and other times like today, she uses it to punish anyone who messes with her. This guy had brought her the wrong package and she was not happy. She needed it urgently and for his incompetence, she punished him using her shit which she made him eat.
Mistress Gaia was given a stubborn slave to tame. She would give him a task and he would not do it or he would do it the way he felt like and not the way he was instructed. Instead of being angry at him, she documented his mistakes and she punished him for them. She made him lick her ass as she shit on him and made sure he ate the shit.
Mistress Anna does not take chances. She needed an important thing done and she did not want to leave it to chance that it would be done and be done in the right way at the right time. So she punished her slave to make sure he did it her way. She made him eat her shit as well as swallow it and he did it the way she wanted.
Mistress Alina loves playing with her shit. Today she did not feel like doing it herself. She felt like using the shit to humiliate her slave. She went to his room and she made him kneel down and eat her shit. She shit directly into his mouth and his work was to chew and swallow. She made sure he ate all of it and licked her ass after he was done.
Lady Yuna was pissed at this guy for being on her case in the office. He did not give her breathing space. She was so fed up she was ready to quit or to be fired. She decided to try a method she thought could work. She surprised the guy by humiliating him and forced him to eat her shit. She instilled fear into him and he never bothered her again.
Mistress Cherie and her friend owed this guy money but he kept asking for it as if they were running away. What was shocking was that the time for them to repay it was not even close. They were pissed as he was not honoring his side of the bargain. They tried to talk to him but he did not listen. The mistresses were left with no option but to shit on him and make him wait for his money when they had agreed it would be paid back.
Lady Marie and her friend mistress Michelle laughed when this loser messed up their dinner. They laughed because he did not know the kind of trouble he had gotten himself into. The mistresses tortured him by making him eat their shit and swallow it. It was bad enough eating one mistress' shit but he had to eat the shit of two mistresses. It was cruel and degrading and that was his punishment.
Lady Luciana does not like lazy slaves. She likes people who are hardworking and when she realized she had a lazy new slave, she had to nip that behavior in the bud. She did this by turning her slave into a human toilet. She shit on him and she had him eat the shit. She had him lick her ass and her asshole and used her as her toilet paper.
Goddess Amirha was paid to torture this guy and her weapon of choice was her shit. She wanted to degrade him and she did so as cruelly as she could. She made sure she shit directly into his mouth and that he ate all of the shit. She did not want to take chances so she pushed the shit into his mouth using a toilet scrub and made him swallow it.
Mistress Milana was paid to torture this guy and her weapon of choice was her shit. She wanted to degrade him and she did so as cruelly as she could. She made sure she shit directly into his mouth and that he ate all of the shit. She did not want to take chances so she pushed the shit into his mouth using a toilet scrub and made him swallow it.
This guy was into shit and he wanted to eat mistress Gaia's. So he approached her and told her of how he would love to eat her shit. She was surprised with that strange request but she was curious and agreed to it. But she had to tie him first since she did not know him and she did not want him to attempt anything funny. Once he was naked and she had tied him, she shit on him and to her surprise, he ate it.
Mistress Anna is a brutal mistress. She has a scat fetish loves to use her shit as a punishment tool. Her slave was not lucky today as she felt like shitting on him. He had not done any mistake but she did not care about that. As long as she felt like punishing him, she would do it without having to look for a reason. Her wanting to do it is reason enough.
This mistress was angry at her brother in law for beating up her sister over nothing. She never wanted to hear anything like that again so she punished him. She forced him to eat her shit and the poor guy was terrified and he ate the shit and swallowed it. She told him if she ever heard of anything like that again, he would only have himself to blame for what would happen.
Lady Yuna could not forgive her slave for the embarrassment he had caused her. He had to know better and since he did not, she had to make sure he knew better in every single way. She did this by shitting on the slave. She shit into his mouth and made him chew the shit before swallowing all of it. She only let him go when he was done with all of her shit.
Mistress Alina did not have food in the house for the slave to eat. So she had no option but to feed him her shit. She took him to the toilet and she had him eat her shit. She added ketchup to it so as to make it taste different and she had him eat the shit. It was not optional and he had to eat all of it and he did.
This mistress knew that she had to punish this guy in order to get information from him. She was in a hurry so she called her friend to help her. They took him to her torture chambers and the mistresses took time to shit on him and force him to eat their shit. The poor guy was degraded and was not used to that sort of punishment. He could not take it anymore and he talked.
Mistress Contessa likes fast slaves. She does not like slow ones who do things the way they want. She had to punish this slave for being one and give him an incentive to be faster. She forced him to eat her shit and told him that would be her food for everyday he was slow. He did not need to be reminded to be fast and from that day forward, he was never slow.
Mistress Mystique has a big ass. She knows it and she likes to use it to have fun. Today she made this guy who had been disrespectful towards her not only lick her sweaty and smelly ass, but she also made him eat her shit and drink her pee. He was degraded but she did not care as he had brought it upon himself by being disrespectful towards mistress Mystique.
Goddess Andreea was paid by her friend to punish a slave. She punished the slave cruelly to make sure he never did what he had done again. She did not even ask what he had done but she knew it must have been a bad thing. She trampled him and forced him to eat her shit and swallow it before she made him use her poo as lube to masturbate.
Goddess Amirha could not stand what her slave was doing to her. She did not like how dirty he was and how it affected her. She had his room cleaned by a professional and she punished him and told him to maintain the same standards. She pooped on him and she forced him to swallow the shit. She told him she would do worse things to him if he did not change.


text:
One of my favorite exhibitions at the Pour l'Amour du Fil show was the 'Unforgettable' exhibition with examples of antique Welsh quilts collected by Jen Jones.
I was struck by the geometry and modernism of some of the quilts. Also I had never seen one of these quilts before and was surprised by how thick the material was and therefore how far apart from each other the quilt stitches are. A true eye opener!
Spectacular quilts, don't you think?


text:
This website contains the journals I wrote while I was in the Church of Bible Understanding (COBU). These pages are also part of the source material for my book, Captive Congregation, which is available as a Kindle book or in paperback. (Captive Congregation is also available in the UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, France, Spain, Mexico, Italy, India, Brazil, and Japan.)
My second book, The Tangled Web: Letters from the Cult is also now available as an ebook.
Introduction to A Day in the Life of a Cult Member
The pages are a record of my life in COBU from 1990 through 1993, which were my last four years there. (I became a member of the church in 1980 when I was 22 years old. I left 14 years later at 36.) For a description of life in COBU and how the COBU system worked, it is best to start reading these journals from 1993 onward.
Before 1993, most my writing was self-condemning. At that time I believed the negative things our leader, Stewart Traill, said about us, and I didn't have the power or resources to reason my way out of it. Later, when I began to study about cults and manipulation to try to understand the system I was living under, I began looking at my surroundings with a more critical eye.
That being said:
"The rule I set for myself long ago that I should never destroy anything from this record: the principle value of these jottings for later use will be as a guide to reactions of the moment and I cannot help it if they remind me and embarrass me."
This is from John Hersey's novel The Wall. Somehow, despite our busy schedule that contained long workdays in the church-owned businesses, long meetings and time spent managing and training new converts, I managed to read a lot. And The Wall was one of the many books I read. The main character in this story kept a journal in which he recorded events, conversations and meetings during the last months of the Warsaw Ghetto before it was destroyed by the Nazis.
I wanted to do the same thing with my journals. I thought I might want to know what I was thinking at the time and that there might be some use for these journals later. I wrote down my thoughts, the conversations of others and about what went on in the meetings.
Where I mentioned books I was reading, I have provided links you can click on if you want to know more about some of the materials I had access to at the time which helped me to form a different viewpoint about the world I was living in than what I was supposed to believe about it.
There are different ways to read these journals:
You can start from 1990 read onward. Or starting from 1992 when I began to question things more.
Or read from 1993 onward, when I began to understand things more.
And by the end of May 1993, I was providing detailed descriptions of dialogs and the kind of manipulation that went on.
Any of these points would be a good place to start. There also is a link at the bottom of every page which takes you to the next part of the diary.
Two other good pages to read are the ones below, which are from my COBU Essays website:
My Exit Statement, or, Why I Desire to Leave The Church of Bible Understanding.
Breaking Silence to My Family About What Life Was Really Like in COBU.
My writing was highly subjective, though it is an accurate view from a rank and file member of a cult. I was subjected to many forces, some of which I understand now and some of which I don't fully understand and can only speculate about.
One of those forces was that the words that Stewart Traill, the leader of our cult, told us were often reinforced by inward and outward means. Peer pressure and the confines of a communal society in which we were isolated from outward influences was like an echo chamber that magnified Stewart's voice.
I also thought I heard God talking to me, in agreement with what Stewart was telling us. (I often recorded this in my journal as "a voice," since I was not sure and I didn't want to say that I knew for sure that it was God speaking to me.) I often had dreams that supported Stewart's claims that we were all going to hell. The broken down and tired condition I was in seemed to support Stewart's claims that I was not faithful to Jesus.
Also, there were influences, it seemed, from outside the cult. During a period when Stewart was preaching heavily about hell and how we're going there, I was on a subway in New York City and a man burst into the car, screaming desperately about how we're all going to hell. Now, there were often street preachers who came through the subway cars. But this was different. This man looked like he was running from a burning building. In a strident voice, he was saying that we're all going to hell and that the devil has many distractions to take our mind off it, like television, cigarettes and sports. Then he went on to the next car, with the same message. And he wasn't offering any solutions, like if you turn your life to God, you can be saved. No, just assurance of our eternal ruin.
On a less shocking level, when Stewart was introducing his new teaching that repentance means "making a U turn," which is really not such a bad teaching in and of itself, I was resisting it, not because of the message, but because of the messenger. Stewart had an obnoxious and insulting style of relating to us, and he started any lesson, no matter how Christian in content by first lining us all up and exposing how bad we were. So, I was out walking to get a van that was parked some distance away from the church and a guy stopped his car alongside me and said, "Hey, where can I make a U turn? I'm trying to get to the highway" That and seeing a poster in a customer apartment that said, "If you're going the wrong way, don't worry. God allows U turns" helped me to accept Stewart's teaching, at least on this subject.
Begin reading at December 1990.
Begin reading at May 1992.
Begin reading at January 1993.
Begin reading at May 1993.
More of my COBU Diary Pages:
Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry Cult Leader.
The Tangled Web: Letters and Essays About COBU
Follow A Day In The Life Of A Cult Member on Twitter
And Captive Congregation: My Fourteen Years in the Church of Bible Understanding, is available as a Kindle book or in paperback.
Tags: Church of Bible Understanding, COBU, cults, legalism, Stewart Traill


text:
November 22, 2011
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - EMPIRE Magazine Reveals Their Special Duel-Covers with Batman and Bane!
EMPIRE Magazine, the other day, revealed what the special dual covers of their exclusive coverage of "THE DARK KNIGHT RISES" movie will look like! One has Actor Christian Bale as BATMAN and the other, Tom Hardy as BANE! They will also feature exclusive interviews with Director Christopher Nolan and others. Plus, the publication will have many EXCLUSIVE 1st PHOTOS. The contents inside both magazines are the same, just different covers. Yes, they're making Collectors buy two of the same issue, ha! But that's fun and I gotta say that between the two my favorite is Batman. Which one will you get? Or, will you get them both?
No comments:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Thank you !! for visiting QuickView extension page
What is Quickview
Web pages contain embedded "gateways" – links to other sources of info.
But how often did you want to peek into those gates (links) without actually going there ? Quickview is the solution for that.
Quickview is a FF extension to preview any link.Once installed, simply ctrl+click any link , presto your gate opens for a peek.
You can even select any text on the page, and click a virtual button on the bottom right part (or just press 'f9') to view what world is saying about the selected text.
You can also view
– Conversations @ : Contextually, just-in time, find out what others are saying about the information you are watching
– Blog search : What are blogs saying about this.
– Web search : contextually search the link text on the web. Maybe someone has better information source.
(more on this coming soon.. my extension is awaiting approval on mozilla site)


text:
ISMAILA DAUDA, Grandview Prep
ISMAILA DAUDA, Grandview Prep Whos your favorite basketball player and why: Kevin Garnett because he is one of the best big guys in the NBA and he is a great competitor. Pre-game meal or superstition: Boston Market chicken with rice and black beans.
Scott Fisher, Correspondent
Copyright © 2018, The Baltimore Sun, a Baltimore Sun Media Group publication | Place an Ad


text:
For up to date (most of the time) news and original opinions before they hit the update, follow us on Twitter!
Switchfoot rocked Melbourne last night. Aussie friends, I can't wait to hear how things went over there! For now, check out these videos from the show:
"Needle and Haystack Life"
"Meant to Live"
"This Is Your Life"
"The Sound" is getting released next Monday to American Alternative stations everywhere. Christian rock radio has jumped the gun though, helping "The Sound" to debut at No. 26 on the Billboard Christian Rock survey.
To help get the song going on Christian Rock, head over to The Christian Rock 20 and vote for "The Sound." We've got a majority of the votes, so help keep it going! Stay tuned on Monday for a general market campaign plan for "The Sound." Stoked to get this started.
UK fams, "Hello Hurricane" is set for release on May 3 in your country. Here's a news story about it.
New press release about Switchfoot winning the Dove Award, as well as the recent mention the band received on USA Today:
Switchfoot received its ninth Dove Award for Rock Recorded Song of the Year for "Mess Of Me" from Hello Hurricane.
The band was also included in a release from USA Today this week that features To Write Love on Her Arms. The Switchfoot song, "Love Is a Movement," was one of the songs that inspired To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA). Jon Foreman played a benefit concert for the organization last year, and the band dedicated a whole tour in 2008, the "Up in Arms" tour, to benefit TWLOHA.
Switchfoot member Tim Forman said in 2008, "We've known Jamie [Tworkowski, To Write Love on Her Arms founder] for over five years now, and when he first told us about his vision to start TWLOHA two years ago, we were thrilled to jump on board in whatever way we could, wearing his t-shirts, linking to his myspace, just getting the word out. The dialogue surrounding depression is such an important one. It is huge for people to know that these are issues that are normal and ok to talk about. TWLOHA is breathing hope into lives once trapped by fear and doubts. 'Love is the Movement.' We're honored that a song we wrote seven years ago has become the slogan for TWLOHA. And it's true: love provides the motion that pushes us past the scars wear."
Jamie Tworkowski, who spoke on the "Up In Arm" tour, said in 2008, "Switchfoot was the first band to lend the stage to us, back when TWLOHA was simply an attempt to tell a story and help one friend. That was two years ago and we have come a long way since that surprising start. We are truly honored and excited to hit the road with this band that means so much to us."
About Switchfoot:
"Hello Hurricane acknowledges the storms that tear through our lives," states Switchfoot singer and songwriter Jon Foreman. "This album is an attempt to respond to those storms with an element of hope, trying to understand what it means to be hopeful in a world that keeps on spinning."
We built our own studio so we wouldn't be paying and playing by the hour," says Foreman of their self-styled Studio of the Foot home. The band tracked more than 80 songs and allowed themselves to get lost in the music again and get back to basics. "That's why we see this album as a new beginning of sorts," continues Foreman, citing the inspiration that likewise moved bandmate/brother Tim Foreman (bass), Chad Butler (drums), Jerome Fontamillas (keyboards), and Drew Shirley (guitar). "For us it was a feeling of true freedom."
Courtesy of BreathCast
For the USA Today award, go here.


text:
From the beginning as "Harbourfront Corporation", it was a federal crown corporation established in 1972.Harbourfront Centre was formed on January 1, 1991 as a non-profit charitable organization with a say and voice to organise and present public events.It is also allowed to operate a 10-acre site encompassing York Quay and John Quay.
Now, Harbourfront has three towers of which one of them is the starting point of the cable car ride.Harbourfront tower 1 and 2 are office buildings while tower 3 is the shopping area where many shops open daily to welcome in a new wave of customers.
Harbourfront Centre is also well-known for its Cruise centre where many ships and boats leave the dock everyday and set off to other destinations.At night, when the lights come on, the cruise centre is lit up and the bright lights reflect of the surface of the water, creating a nice and special effect.


text:
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Change In The Air
I recently read a blog post on The Creative Pen blog that outlined a few paths to success as a writer. It wasn't anything new that I hadn't seen before, but I then sat down and thought about it. To truly be successful I am going to have to be a prolific author. My novel has been in the works for almost 2 years, and that simply won't cut it. I have been writing other stories, and all of the writing combined would be enough for another novel if it were all one story. I need to get to the point where I can write and publish a new novel in at least 6 months.
That means that I need to spend a lot more time working on my writing and a lot less on promotion and my blog. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop updating here. It means that a lot of my posts that don't get much traffic and cost me a lot of time are going to go away. Some of the features that are going to stay are my regular blog posts (although these may pop up less often), the music playlists, and movie reviews. The rest of my updates will begin to take a more conversational tone like this one. I will try to update daily, but if I miss an update I'm not going to feel bad about it. I am going to put my writing first, and hopefully once I get more and more of my writing published on Amazon it will prove to be worth it.
Some of my other features will still pop up from time to time. My graphics with quotes from my stories on Wattpad will continue to pop up on twitter, facebook, instagram, and tumblr. The memes I have been making are quick and easy to make also. They will continue to pop up across my social media outlets. They just won't be here on my blog anymore. Those updates are already seen across my social media accounts. There is no reason for me to link to the same thing here. Now it's time to get back to some good old #amwriting.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Writer's Playlist - July 26 Edition
The evolution of the music playlist continues! I have found that I can simply share a direct link to the list in Spotify. In future editions of this I will include that link along with the list of song titles and artists. Fifteen songs are featured which will make a playlist of a little less than an hour estimating an average song length of 4 minutes or less. If you have any song suggestions for the list please leave a comment!
The List
Link to the list in Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/user/12145759073/playlist/4L63LkF1oGEgtE6dqUN2uX
- Bobby Brown - Every Little Step
- Soul For Real - Candy Rain
- Schoolboy Q - Studio
- The Notorious Big - One More Chance / Stay With Me
- B.O.B. - Headband
- The Rolling Stones - Paint It Black
- The Animals - House Of The Rising Sun
- Busta Rhymes - What's It Gonna Be?!
- Tony! Toni! Tone! - Whatever You Want
- Aerosmith - Crazy
- Nelly - Country Grammar
- Michael Jackson - Remember The Time
- Jay-Z - Run This Town
- The Box Tops - The Letter
- Sheryl Crow - Soak Up The Sun
Friday, July 25, 2014
What is it about?Lucy has been partying with her boyfriend all night. In the morning he wants her to deliver a metal briefcase for him that he says contains paperwork. She goes to deliver it and finds out that she has been roped into a drug deal. She is then recruited to be one of their drug mules. The drugs have been inserted in a package under her skin, but the package begins to leak. The drug gives her more access to her brain, based on the assumption that humans can only access 10% of their brain. She begins to develop superhuman abilities that give her heightened senses, allow her to read minds, and telekinetic powers. The drug is killing her, and she reaches out for help from a scientist who studies the brain.
You will like it if...You like SciFi movies that speculate on ideas even though they are based on psuedoscience. If you can get past the fake science then this can be an enjoyable movie for the most part. It does tend to get a bit speculative and strange towards the end. The tension and action in the movie is interesting especially when Lucy begins to develop her powers. If you can push past the fake science, the ending still may not be your cup of tea. If you're not a fan of movies that take that turn towards the strange, as some SciFi stories tend to, then this might be one to avoid. I wanted to enjoy this movie more than I did, but it lacked the consistency to be anything more than a bit above average.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Grim Chapter 8 - Questions
Catch the story from the beginning: http://www.wattpad.com/47729575-grim
Chapter 8 Questions - Harold asks the reaper some questions. Read this chapter here: http://www.wattpad.com/60882129-grim-chapter-8-questions
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
A Look at Kindle Unlimited
What is Kindle Unlimited?Kindle Unlimited is an ebook subscription service presented by Amazon. This isn't a new idea. There are several other subscription services that have been available for a while now, and have quite a bit of funding behind them. This service is a bit different from the others. Let's take a look at some of the features of this service.
- Price: $9.99
- Selection: Over 600,000 books
- Audiobooks: Several of the books available through this service are also available in audiobook format through Audible
- Amount of books: Unlimited up to 10 at a time
- App: Available through any device that supports the Kindle app
- Free Trial: 30 day free trial
What makes this service different from the others available?Not a whole lot to be honest. You can read my previous post exploring the other subscription services that are available here: http://brianbasham.blogspot.com/2014/03/a-look-at-ebook-subscription-services.html. Here's a list of the biggest differences between Kindle Unlimited and these other services:
- The inclusion of audiobooks
- A direct path for self published authors to make their books available to this service through KDP
- The selection of books contains mostly self published works along with works from several smaller publishers
- The selection of books does not currently contain any books from the big 5 publishers
- The distribution of the Kindle app. It's available on just about every mobile device
- The backing of the Amazon targeted marketing machine
What does it mean for readers?A few of my friends signed up for this as soon as they got the email from Amazon, and instantly fell in love with it. They complained that some of the books on their "to read" list weren't available, but they moved on to pick up several other books that looked interesting to them. It didn't slow them down much. They didn't seem to know anything about the other subscription services that are available. Kudos to the power of Amazon's marketing. It also shows, in spite of the large amounts of funding, that the other subscription services haven't been successful in getting the word out.
Those who read tons of books are going to love this service. It won't matter that the selection doesn't include many A list titles from the biggest publishers. They will still purchase those books, but will likely miss out on many mid-list books they would have normally purchased otherwise. Instead they will most likely spend that time reading books published by smaller presses or via KDP that are available via Kindle Unlimited.
What does it mean for authors?It's not clear what this service might mean for authors. Some authors are running around proclaiming that the sky is falling, but it doesn't seem like that is the case. Some others are looking at it as potentially another revenue stream which it most certainly is, but the real mystery is "how much?". It still isn't clear what the royalty payout will be for authors in this deal.
How this service effects visibility for authors is another matter. This gives authors another incentive to publish through KDP. It won't be worth it for authors who have an established following outside of Amazon. Those authors can still publish their shorter works (the ones with smaller revenue stream) through KDP to take advantage of the visibility that this service may provide. It may help other first time self published authors gain visibility that they would not otherwise have. Their book may still be a needle in a haystack, but it's a much smaller haystack.
One last thingToday July 19, 2014 is the last day to sign up to be eligible for my $20 Amazon Giftcard giveaway. To enter you just need to sign up for my monthly newsletter.
Sign up for the newsletter here: http://brianbasham.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_29.html
More information here: http://brianbasham.blogspot.com/2014/06/giveaway-and-other-goodies.html
If you're interested in Kindle Unlimited here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=9578129011
I'm leaving to go on vacation to visit relatives in a few hours. I will try to be active on instagram and twitter, but I'm not sure how well the internet access will be where I am going. If I disappear for the next week it won't be because I have forgotten about you all!
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Sex Tape
What is it about?Cameron Diaz plays a mom who blogs about her experiences as a wife and mother. There is a corporation that sells toys that is looking to expand it's online presence that is run by Rob Lowe. They bring Cameron in to discuss possibly having her be the voice on their online blog. The corporation wants her to tone down some of her more racy posts. She had recently vented her frustrations over her sex life with her husband played by Jason Segal. To celebrate her impending success Diaz sends the kids to her parents so she and her husband can make a sex tape. They record it on the husband's ipad which then syncs to every ipad he has ever had. He has given several ipads to friends and family. Now they have to try to get the sex tape back from anyone that may have one of the ipads.
You will like it if...You like mild comedies that feature Cameron Diaz's (and/or Jason Segal's) naked butt. For an R rated comedy this movie is rather tame. There is some nudity, but nothing that you haven't seen in PG-13 movies. They could have easily made this a PG-13 movie if not for all of the unnecessary F-bombs sprinkled throughout. The only frontal nudity is featured in a book that the couple uses. The humor isn't as raunchy as it could have been. While there are a few chuckles here and there, there aren't many big laughs. The same tired jokes that have been borrowed from funnier movies are used in several spots, but they aren't funny anymore. It's a cute little movie, but the only thing that makes it special is Cameron Diaz's butt.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Writer's Playlist - July 17 Edition
This week's music playlist is a bit different from previous versions. The links will go to my tumblr where it is setup to play directly from that site. I have found that some songs I have wanted to include have been blocked on youtube. Hopefully that will not be the case this week. Fifteen songs are featured which will make a playlist of a little less than an hour estimating an average song length of 4 minutes. If you have any suggestions for the list please leave a comment!
The List
- Janet Jackson - That's the Way Love Goes: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92005871631
- Sia - Breathe Me: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92007570711
- A Great Big World - Say Something: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92008178846
- Duffy - Mercy: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92008904091
- Fugees - Killing Me Softly: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92009319636
- Gotye - Somebody that I Used to Know: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92009776661
- Maroon 5 - Won't Go Home Without You: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92010291961
- Colby Caillat - Bubbly: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92011033141
- Jason Mraz - I'm Yours: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92011554861
- Miguel - Sure Thing: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92011818901
- Amy Winehouse - Back to Black: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92012098096
- Bruno Mars - Talking To The Moon: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92012406671
- Blackstreet - Fix: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92012813951
- That Way - Wale: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92013297841
- Adele - Set Fire To the Rain: http://ninjadueces.tumblr.com/post/92013808281
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Ninja News - July 15 Edition
Ninja News is weekly feature on my blog where I share some of the strange or interesting or interestingly strange news that I have come across over the past week. If you want to share a news article to share in this feature then please don't hesitate to message me on facebook, twitter, or in the comments.
What the...
- http://www.wired.com/2014/07/the-creature-feature-10-fun-facts-about-the-echidna/ - You had me at 4 headed penis
Writerly Stuff
- http://blog.smashwords.com/2014/07/2014-smashwords-survey-reveals-new.html - Interesting blog post on data collected by Smashwords
- http://blog.bookbaby.com/2014/07/seven-deadly-sins-of-book-promotion/ - Promotional sins from a publicist's perspective
- http://www.indiesunlimited.com/2014/07/08/are-indie-books-being-squeezed-out-of-book-promo-sites/ - Disturbing trend at book promo sites.
Amazon vs. Hachette. Ready. FIGHT!
- http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/07/09/sycophants-and-stockholm-syndrome-more-publishing-rhetoric-yay/ - Interesting/funny blog post on Amazon's latest offer
Monday, July 14, 2014
Grim Chapter 7 - No Good Deed
Catch the story from the beginning: http://www.wattpad.com/47729575-grim
Chapter 7 No Good Deed - The reaper moves on to his next job, but the other soul may interfere. Read this chapter here: http://www.wattpad.com/59623793-grim-chapter-7-no-good-deed
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Author Superfriends Teamup Part 2
Sign up for the newsletter here: http://brianbasham.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_29.html
More information here: http://brianbasham.blogspot.com/2014/06/giveaway-and-other-goodies.html
Meeting PlacesIn part 1 (http://brianbasham.blogspot.com/2014/07/author-superfriends-teamup-part-1.html) I discussed a grand idea for helping to promote works of those who wish to participate. This is a collaborative effort that will require the efforts of everyone involved. Now we need a place to meet and share ideas. For such a large effort, we will need multiple venues to get the word out and organize events. I have decided to begin with Facebook, G+ Communities, Wattpad, and Goodreads. We will need to pick a venue to be headquarters for this effort. For now we need a place to discuss our ideas.
Google+ Communityhttps://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/103733724132030260502 - Google has made a push to have their own social media experience become popular. This is one of the fastest growing social media sites for good reason. Google writer's communities are very active and informative. Anyone who has a gmail account can log in here and easily find discussion groups on any number of topics.
Wattpadhttp://www.wattpad.com/59575481-author-superfriends-teamup - Millions of writers and readers contribute to this community. This is a great place to help try to build a fanbase. It's also a great place to provide samples of your writing for potential readers or fans.
Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/group/show/139888-author-superfriends-teamup - Another great resource site for readers and authors alike. The discussion groups are a great place to network with authors and readers. It's also a great site for posting and reading reviews.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Friday, July 11, 2014
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
What is it about?This movie takes place several years after the Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The virus that had given the apes their intelligence is now spreading through humans, but it kills them. There are a few humans that are genetically immune to the virus. They band together across a bridge from the apes who have built a city of their own. The humans are running out of fuel to run their generators, and need an alternate energy source to keep the lights on. There is a hydroelectric dam nearby, but it's near the city of apes. The apes want nothing to do with the humans. If the humans run out of power then they are going to attack.
You will like it if...You liked the previous Planet of the Apes movie. This time around Ceasar is all grown up and has children of his own. The threat of war between the two factions provides tension throughout the movie. The most impressive thing about this series is the way they have made the story seem so realistic. The CGI animation has been upgraded, and the emotions the apes show seem real. The movie is so well made that you don't notice the all too common occurance of actors not focusing on the CGI animated characters. The movie isn't perfect. There are some issues with the plot, and the storyline borrows heavily from previous Planet of the Apes movies. I think this is the best in the series, but there is still room for improvement.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Grim Chapter 6 - Death Goes On
Catch the story from the beginning: http://www.wattpad.com/47729575-grim
Chapter 6 Death Goes On - The reaper tries to remove the soul that attached itself to him. Read this chapter here: http://www.wattpad.com/58723924-grim-chapter-6-death-goes-on
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Author Superfriends Teamup Part 1
Sign up for the newsletter here: http://brianbasham.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_29.html
More information here: http://brianbasham.blogspot.com/2014/06/giveaway-and-other-goodies.html
The IdeaSo what is this grand idea I had? I want to organize a group of authors for a long term collaborative promotional effort. I'm sure that this has been done over and over again with other groups of authors. I have seen several cross promotional efforts over the time I have been trying to do this myself. Critique events, review contests, pitch events, etc.. Many of these are across multiple blogs. BUT.. What happens after the event? Everyone goes on their merry way.
What is so different about this?This will be an organized effort across multiple social media outlets, and I don't intend to dissolve this partnership. We authors are all Supermen and Superwomen. Still it is very difficult to organize and keep up with all of the social media outlets that are around. Who has the time for all of that? I'm looking to help with this. I am also looking for people to help organize and promote along with me. Of course none of us will be locked into this partnership, and anyone can leave at any time.
I Want You!I need others to help make this work. I don't want to be alone on stage farting on a snare drum. No one wants to see that! I want this to be a collaborative effort from the start. I have a ton of ideas to share with anyone that is interested in this idea. If you are interested then please contact me any way you can. I want everyone that is interested to start coming up with their own ideas.
United We Are StrongNext week I will start to unveil the beginnings of this group effort. We will need a place or multiple places to meet and decide what direction this group will take. For such a large effort, I cannot run things alone. We will need several leaders within the community to help organize and lend ideas. Everyone will be able to participate in the process of building something that I hope will be truly special. More details to come next week!
Writer's Playlist - July 7 Edition
This week's music playlist includes links to the videos of each song on Youtube. Fifteen songs are featured which will make a playlist of a little less than an hour estimating an average song length of 4 minutes. If you have any suggestions for the list please leave a comment!
The List
- D'Angelo - Me And Those Dreamin' Eyes Of Mine: http://youtu.be/h3y2aP0B4Ic
- Missy Elliott & Da Brat - Sock It 2 Me: http://youtu.be/9UvBX3REqSY
- Lorde - Tennis Court: http://youtu.be/D8Ymd-OCucs
- Red Hot Chili Peppers - Otherside: http://youtu.be/rn_YodiJO6k
- B.o.B - Nothin' On You [feat. Bruno Mars]: http://youtu.be/8PTDv_szmL0
- Timbaland + Magoo - We At It Again: http://youtu.be/7Fvsw94DD4g
- Pharrell Williams - Come Get It Bae ft. Miley Cyrus: http://youtu.be/SkF0E6PGzsU
- Nirvana - Lithium: http://youtu.be/pkcJEvMcnEg
- Foster The People - Pumped up Kicks: http://youtu.be/SDTZ7iX4vTQ
- MAGIC! - Rude: http://youtu.be/PIh2xe4jnpk
- Tony Toni Tone ~ If I Had No Loot (Live): http://youtu.be/85hU1151P2Q
- Playa - Your Dress: http://youtu.be/u-vOB_Dez8o
- Craig Mack - Flava In Ya Ear: http://youtu.be/9-MLp3l2fkA
- Disclosure - Latch feat. Sam Smith: http://youtu.be/93ASUImTedo
- Aaliyah - Rock the Boat: http://youtu.be/LNenJf8SmdM
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Ninja News - July 6 Edition
Ninja News is weekly feature on my blog where I share some of the strange or interesting or interestingly strange news that I have come across over the past week. If you want to share a news article to share in this feature then please don't hesitate to message me on facebook, twitter, or in the comments.
http://insatiablebooksluts.com/2014/06/27/publishing-vs-amazon-play/ - Hilariousness that perfectly explains the rediculous stance traditional publishing has taken against Amazon.
http://news.distractify.com/fun/fails/people-who-should-never-be-allowed-to-fix-anything-again/?v=1 - If it ain't broke don't fix it.
http://www.msnbc.com/melissa-harris-perry/watch/minimum-wage-fight-gets-boost-from-ikea-292463171647 - Ikea and Minimum Wage
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118424/jk-rowlings-silkworm-shows-what-she-thinks-publishing-industry - Tell me how you really feel JK Rowling
http://thenextweb.com/dd/2014/06/21/publishing-industry-isnt-dead-evolving/ - The revolution will not be televised.
http://updegrove.wordpress.com/2014/07/04/the-future-of-competition-in-publishing-be-very-afraid/ - A dark prediction for the future of publishing
http://www.lindsayburoker.com/social-media/book-promotion-what-matters-most/ - Quick and dirty promotion with a time budget
http://janefriedman.com/2012/05/18/4-ways-to-immediately-improve-your-book-marketing-efforts/ - Marketing tips
What The?? LOLhttp://www.moonmontchronicle.com/supreme-court-rules-jcpenney-allowed-to-sacrifice-employees-to-appease-cthulhu.html - The latest Supreme Court ruling has unintended consequences.
http://insatiablebooksluts.com/2014/06/27/publishing-vs-amazon-play/ - Hilariousness that perfectly explains the rediculous stance traditional publishing has taken against Amazon.
http://news.distractify.com/fun/fails/people-who-should-never-be-allowed-to-fix-anything-again/?v=1 - If it ain't broke don't fix it.
Interesting Stuffhttp://animediet.net/commentary/the-future-of-love - Love and Robots
http://www.msnbc.com/melissa-harris-perry/watch/minimum-wage-fight-gets-boost-from-ikea-292463171647 - Ikea and Minimum Wage
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118424/jk-rowlings-silkworm-shows-what-she-thinks-publishing-industry - Tell me how you really feel JK Rowling
Publishing Stuffhttp://www.hughhowey.com/the-new-top-down-approach/ - Another insightful article about publishing from Hugh Howey
http://thenextweb.com/dd/2014/06/21/publishing-industry-isnt-dead-evolving/ - The revolution will not be televised.
http://updegrove.wordpress.com/2014/07/04/the-future-of-competition-in-publishing-be-very-afraid/ - A dark prediction for the future of publishing
Writerly Stuffhttp://www.hughhowey.com/do-writers-need-a-union/ - Writer Unions by Hugh Howey
http://www.lindsayburoker.com/social-media/book-promotion-what-matters-most/ - Quick and dirty promotion with a time budget
http://janefriedman.com/2012/05/18/4-ways-to-immediately-improve-your-book-marketing-efforts/ - Marketing tips
Friday, July 4, 2014
Deliver Us From Evil
What is it about?Officer Sarchie, played by Eric Bana, is part of a special unit that handles tough cases for the police. Sarchie is able to pick up on when something evil is about to go down. His partner calls it his "radar". They get a call about a domestic dispute that seems straightforward, but his radar goes off anyway. The two officers arrive at the home, and notice scratch marks on the wood floor. It's the first sign that something strange is going on. The husband they arrest is one of three who were in Iraq together. Sarchie following his gut investigates the strange happenings surrounding the three and becomes a target himself for whatever evil entity is causing these events.
You will like it if...You like disturbing thrillers about demonic possession. If you are looking for a scary horror movie then you will be disappointed. There are a few cheap jump scares, but the overall creepiness factor throughout the movie is very good. The sense of dread you feel never has a real payoff that feels satisfying. The finale has the feel of a color by numbers picture that everyone should know by now. Bana throughout his career has been all over the spectrum from terrible to very good. This is one of his better performances, and he has gotten better with age. Everyone else gives solid supporting performances. In the end it's an entertaining thriller that has an unsatisfying ending. The ending doesn't ruin the movie, but it does hold it back from being as good as it could have been.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
What is it about?Melissa Mccarthy plays a down on her luck fast food employee. She gets fired then she catches her husband having a sit down dinner with the neighbor. She assumes that her husband has been cheating on her. She packs a suitcase, and the handle falls off, spilling all of her clothes on the ground. It's the worst day ever. She decides to then go on a roadtrip with her grandmother to Niagra Falls.
You will like it if...You are Melissa Mccarthy's husband or you like bland dramedies. There are very few big laughs in this movie which is disappointing considering her past couple of forays have been fantastic. If you liked The Heat and Bridesmaids then you will be thoroughly disappointed with this one. Susan Sarandon has some fantastic facial expressions in this movie, and does a serviceable job, but it's not enough to save the movie. It's bogged down with an uncomfortable "I like you but I'm shy" romance subplot. The script also meanders about with no purpose. If you must see it then wait for it to come out at Redbox.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Wrath of the Ninja: Politically Correct
The NRAI understand that we need to protect our 2nd ammendment rights to bear arms, but what these barrel cleaners are doing is taking it a bit far. Not that they care what their members or anyone else thinks. I don't know how a group with so much political clout can have such batshit crazy leadership and still hold on to their fanbase. Wait.. *looks at the current political parties in power* nevermind. Seriously the NRA leadership sent out an email to members of Congress to shoot down a bill that over 70% of their members agreed with. That's how much they don't give a crap.
So what are they doing now? They are taking reporters to task for calling a murderer who shot people with a gun a "shooter". The shooter also shot people with a knife and gunned down people with his car. The NRA's news mouthpiece says that is no reason to call the gunman a shooter. I hope Billy Johnson reads this, so he knows that I'm calling him retarded. Let me ask you.. Did he shoot someone? Yes? Then how the crap would he not be a shooter? There's a special place in hell for people who make my head hurt this bad Billy. I hope you know that.
The New Conservative OrderThe New Conservative Order is trying to protect the feelings of the super rich and super religious people out there. They don't even call the rich that any more. They call them "job creators". So let me get this straight. Mitt Romney, the man who has personally sent thousands of American jobs overseas through outsourcing, is a job creator simply because he's rich. Do you think about the excrement that comes out of your mouth before you start spewing it?? The republican leadership has gone so far as to not even discuss the wealth gap because it might make the super rich cry (QQ). They even think words like "middle class" are dirty words. Wait. What? If you get hurt by words like that and it makes you cry so much that you use a hundred dollar bill as a tissue then here's a tip. Don't be so freakin' greedy! Congrats you're rich, now do something with your money you retard!
They have also put a ban on terms like "sea level rise" and "climate denier" because people who refuse to believe PROVEN SCIENCE find it offensive. So what should we call them? I vote retard. How out of touch with reality do you have to be to go against things that have been proven by science? Where do they find these people? If I say "The grass is green", are they going to say "Nope"? When I pull out a green crayon and put it next to the grass to prove without a shadow of a doubt that it is in fact green, are they still going to say "Nope"?? Seriously?
RetardednessI believe that words are just that.. words. They only have the power to offend you if you give them that power. With that being said, I use the word retard. It's not because I wish to be offensive towards people with mental deficiencies. It's because there is no way to say something like this without being offensive. Mental retardation is real no matter what you call it. I sincerely apologize to anyone who has that mental condition for comparing you to the leadership of the NRA and/or Conservatives who are crying because of science or because they have lots of money. No one should be put down like that.
Ninja SolutionThere is no cure for crazy. The only thing you can do is avoid these people who will not listen to reason. That should be easy for ninja with their many stealth techniques! Although if you know someone rich that is crying about being rich then I would volunteer to take that burden from them. Ya know... so their feelings won't get hurt so much.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
I was talking to a friend who worked at a Colonial House over the summer. She informed me of an astonishing fact: most of the children who came through the house had no idea what a fireplace was for, that clothes and food can (and sometimes usually) come from animals, and did not even know who George Washington was.
My first reaction was precisely like that of Professor Digory in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe movie: "What do they teach kids in schools these days?"
I just have no concept of people not knowing what I consider to be elementary and common knowledge facts. What is the world coming to?
On a bright note, she said that you could tell who was homeschooled - because they actually knew these things and were respectful. It's nice to know that at least entire generations aren't losing basic knowledge. I have a lot of respect for those who homeschool, and, with the wonderful results of home education, it makes me wonder why it isn't promoted very much, and why more people do not partake of it!
original image source
This post does contain affiliate links. This means, at no additional cost to you, I may receive commission for referring business. Thank you for your support!


text:
I just read on an email about a lady who started random acts of kindness and started a movement of niceness. It is a rare thing to encounter a kind-hearted person, but it is also extremely contagious! If you're having a bad day, why not get your mind off of yourself by doing something unexpected. Here are some "college-student-safe" ideas to get your creative juices flowing...
- Invite a friend who lives in a different dorm to come over and just talk. If you're really fancy and have pop corn or ice cream, share!
- Branch out of the usual Easy Mac or Ramen Noodle routine and get a couple of friends to help you cook a full course meal. Yes, you can make amazing food without a full kitchen! Ask around to borrow a crock pot, rice cooker or griddle.
- Go get WiFi with a friend and laugh at YouTube videos.
- Go for a Sonic run and surprise your professors with their favorite soda. If you don't already know their preference, text someone who knows them well or check their Facebook (people like to put random facts about themselves on the internet!).
- Stop by Walmart and get a bunch of flowers, then put one in each of your best buddies' mailboxes.
- Most campuses have a bookstore that's loaded with what students really want: candy. You know someone on campus is having a worse day than you, so give them a sweet treat.
- Go into town with a friend and get your mind off your troubles by taking advantage of an attraction your city has to offer. One of my friends took me kayaking on the Oklahoma River this week, and we had the time of our lives!
- Read a good book. I'm not talking about the romance novels that make you depressed because you'll never meet your Mr. Darcy... I mean wholesome, meaningful reading like Passion and Purity, Lady in Waiting, and Preparing to be His Help Meet. Go to the "May I Recommend" page for a list of my favorites!


text:
New research from GlobalWebIndex shows that 80% of adults that access the Internet own a smartphone.
The quarterly survey, which assessed nearly 42,000 adult Internet users in 32 markets, found that the vast majority of adults used smartphones extensively in their daily lives. The average amount of time people spend using their mobile device is up to 1.85 hours a day, a 40 minute increase since 2012.
The survey also showed that 47% of adults owned a tablet and 34% owned a smart TV. 91% of participants said they owned a PC or laptop.
Wearables did not do nearly as well as their cellular counterparts. Only 9% of the adults surveyed said they owned a smartwatch. The biggest group of people to own wearable devices was affluent males between 25 and 34 years of age who live in the Asia Pacific region. Only 7% of participants reported owning a smart wristband, like the Nike FuelBand or Adidas miCoach. Regardless of how many of these wearables devices have come out in recent years, people still aren't jumping on the bandwagon.
Surprisingly, a full 25% of smartphone owners said they do not have access to Internet on their phones. That is the inherent reason why most smartphone owners get this device, so it's strange that number is so high.


text:
- The arrival of my in-laws at our house (strategically preceded by my mom's arrival the previous day :-))
- The delivery of our new car (safely driven home by my uncle) and the related -
- Successful parking experiment by my hubby
- Unexpected denting while retrieving the vehicle from the parking lot (shhh!)
- Uneventful drive by me
- Good ride by my friend Meg
- The meeting with my dear friend Meg in Pune since we both shifted to Bangalore (I shifted to Bangalore - she got married - she shifted to Bangalore - I got married - I moved back to Pune - waiting for her to move back)
- The meeting with our (Meg's and mine) dear friend TheBug and his new bride for the first time since they got married (I doubt his bride'll ever want another meeting again--we almost made TheBug yank her out of the bedroom to meet us in the parking lot and then didn't allow her to open her mouth!!)
Here's where I say what I want to say whether anyone cares about it or not. Apparently, not many do.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Aug 25, 2007: A day of many Firsts
The past Saturday saw many things happening for the first time, including:
Thus blabbered Pallavi Sharma at 3:56 PM 2 comments: Links to this post
Labels: Day Dramas
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Yet another sequel to
...my blueness :)
|Your Blog Should Be Blue
Your blog is a peaceful, calming force in the blogosphere.
You tend to avoid conflict - you're more likely to share than rant.
From your social causes to cute pet photos, your life is a (mostly) open book.
Thus blabbered Pallavi Sharma at 8:27 PM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: Synchronicity
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
I've put various vinaigrettes and creamy dressings on cabbage slaws and flavored them up with caraway, coriander, apple jelly, and horseradish. I've applied sesame vinaigrettes and spicy peanut dressings. I've added carrots, apples, cauliflower, radishes, turnips and packaged ramen noodles. But never feta cheese and kalamata olives. Huh. Well. I'm glad I was able to remedy that flaw in my repertoire.
This salad is a less summer-weather-dependent version of the Greek salad with which we're all probably somewhat familiar. It leaves out the tomatoes and cucumber, which are unreliable at best in the supermarkets this time of year. In lieu of the more familiar lettuce or spinach that demand to be eaten as soon as the lemony dressing is poured upon them is sturdier shredded cabbage. It's quite simple, really, and if, like me, you have a lonely cabbage threatening to dry up in your neglected refrigerator and you can't quite face another traditional slaw, it's a revelation. It's exciting. It's delicious.
I added even more lemon juice and a little lemon zest to the dressing. I liked its pucker-y zing, but if you don't care for foods so tart or acidic, you might want to leave out a tablespoon of juice just to be safe. You can always add more if you want it. The same goes with salt. I kept the amount small, since the feta and olives contribute a lot of their own saltiness, and the acidity of the lemon juice fills in some of the flavor necessity for me that salt might in a blander dish. I recommend tasting for salt after the salad has been sitting for the recommended time in the recipe below and deciding then if it needs more.
I also added a bit of fresh parsley and a smidgeon of fresh rosemary. The rosemary just gives that little, little piney note that I like in a lemony, feta-y, olive-y dish, but I wouldn't want it to dominate the flavors like it so easily can. Just a tiny bit is enough, and if you don't have rosemary on hand, it probably wouldn't be worth buying a bunch just for the pinch I added to this slaw.
Whatever you do, at least try to remember this treatment of cabbage slaw. In fact, go make it right now. Okay, at least write the idea down. It's really great.
Cabbage Slaw with Feta and Olives
Adapted from Recipes from the Root Cellar by Andrea Chesman
6 cups thinly sliced or shredded cabbage (about ¾-1 whole small head)
½ cup thinly sliced red onion
½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary (optional)
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste if needed
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Combine cabbage, red onion, olives, feta, parsley and rosemary in a very large bowl. Toss gently to combine.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon zest and juice, olive oil, salt and pepper until very well blended. Pour over cabbage mixture and toss gently to coat evenly. Let stand 30 minutes refrigerated or at room temperature. Taste for salt and adjusting seasoning before serving. Refrigerate leftovers for a few days
Makes 6-8 servings.
Other recipes like this one: Radish and Carrot Slaw with Zesty Citrus Dressing, Deconstructed Spanakopita Salad, Chickpea and Olive Salad with Greek Flavors
One year ago: Chicken and Vegetable Tetrazzini


text:
This is Lily. I brought her home on Thursday night, she was frightened, abused and abandoned. No Animal Shelter would take her. So now she resides in my dining room. We are slowly gaining her trust. (Food works wonders) I even had my DH's approval. (Huge shocker there) You see we already have many animals that share our home, I mean what's ONE more right? Can you say 7..........LOL
We woke up this morning to the birth of kittens. Six of the little cuties to be exact. They are stinking adorable. But now I have to be the ogre and say that we can absolutely, positively not keep any. Yeah right.


text:
It turns out that my manager's wife and I graduated from high school together. I vaguely remember her after looking at the senior yearbook. Lest you think I'm incredibly forgetful, there were over 500 graduates in that class -- and I definitely didn't know everyone. Also, lest you think I didn't own tweezers, Brooke Shields-style eyebrows were quite acceptable at that time.
But it is strange that we didn't figure this out before, as my manager and I spend about 50% of the work week together and have talked about teen years, etc. Even stranger -- we both attended the reunion held 3 years ago. We didn't work together then, but we were both there.
Which got me to thinking. How many places have I been at the same time as a future acquaintance? If I had zigged instead of zagged, would I have met that person then and not later? Was I standing behind my manager when we picked up nametags?
I know what you are thinking -- the whole "butterfly flaps its wings and causes a chain of events leading to a tsunami on the other side of the world" -- this isn't a new thought. But it does make me feel incredibly pressured to memorize faces when I'm out and about. So maybe when I do meet someone in the future, the déjà vu feeling will be quickly explained away.
Serendipity. Fate. Coincidence. I'll take them all.
Tell All Your Single Friends, it's a world of laughter - HA! Now you have to hum it too!
XO, JamieSmitten


text:
Now I must scurry off to get to some editing jobs, but I'll hopefully "see" you back here on Friday!
"These three months I've been fixated on how wonderful it's going to be, but almost never thinking it would happen, because it's still more like a dream to me than a reality," [I said.] "But now that it's really here, I'm worried about what's going to happen, and if—if it's really going to be all that I dreamed it to be."
"It's going to be," Caroline declared. "We're going to places that have been our favorite places since we were kids, where we've always wanted to be: castles and cottages and green hills and forests. We'll be where all our favorite book characters lived. We'll be in the most beautiful country in the world!"


text:
EU not forcing Turkey to choose between EU and Cyprus, spokesperson says February 2, 2011Posted by Yilan in Turkey.
Tags: Cyprus
European Commissioner for Enlargement & Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule's spokesperson has said that the EU was not forcing Turkey to make a choice between the EU membership and Cyprus.
Spokesperson Natasha Butler told the Anatolia news agency on Tuesday that continuation of membership negotiations between Turkey and the EU had a strategic importance both for Turkey and the EU, adding that the EU Commission was committed to Turkey's membership process within the scope of framework agreement of 2005.
Noting that Turkey, too, should be committed to EU process, Butler said that Turkey should exert more efforts to meet the criteria.
Regarding Cyprus issue, Butler said that the EU Commission supported efforts for solution of Cyprus issue, stressing that Turkey's contribution to solution was important.
The EU was not forcing Turkey to make a choice between the EU membership and Cyprus, said Butler, adding that however, Cyprus issue had an influence on many political areas.
A comprehensive solution to Cyprus problem would have positive impacts on Turkey's accession talks, she added.
Commenting on Turkish-Armenian relations, Butler said that good neighborly relations was a part of political criteria which were necessary for EU membership.
Regarding the views of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who said that the EU needed Turkey, Butler said that the commission was aware of the dynamism of Turkish economy and people, and it could be an important value for the EU.
No comments yet — be the first.


text:
My friend and Stampin' Up! demo, Debi's birthday was the end of August. She was away for a couple Sundays and I didn't get her card done on time. She received it very late, but loved it anyway!
I had decided to do an easel card, but did not want the front to be part of the easel display. I glued the dp background only at the top and bottom edges so it would bend more easily when the card was opened. The flowers had to be placed so they would bend with the dp.
Tilda was colored with Copics -
Apron - BG13, 11, 10; Blouse - R11, 12; Shoes - E43, 44, Crystal Effects; Flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts; Cardstock is SU Soft Sky and Blue Bayou; Tag was cut using Magnolia Tag die cut
Stove - C7, 5, 3, 2; Tea kettle - B39, 37, 34, N1; Oven mitt - B37, 34, 32; Shelf and accesories- E29, 25, 53, YR02, 00, B0000, R08, E0000, B97, 95, 91; Kitty - Y26, 23, 21, E25, YR01; The tablecloth was paper pieced. Lace B0000; Table - E29, 25, 53; Tilda - Dress/pinafore - Y26, 23, 32, E97, 95, 93; Shoes - E71, 74, 79, silver glitter pen. The cake and muffins were cut from dp. The cake was covered with Crystal Effects and Pearl Pen White drops. The spatula was from Magnolia charms - Yummy for Your Tummy
I used very stiff clear plastic strips to make the images stand up. You do have to bend them up after opening the card. I couldn't figure out how to make them pop up on their own.
The shelf and stove are on dimensionals.
The rug is 3 layers of cs cut with my Nesties petite scalloped ovals.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing Debi's card! Have a blessed day.