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Happy Belated Zhong Qio Jie (中秋節)
Even though it's weeks past Zhong Qio Jie (中秋節) also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, I still want to share these delicious date and red bean moon cakes that my Yi-Po Po and I made to celebrate one of my favorite Chinese holidays. Mid-Autumn Festival is a popular holiday celebrated by the Chinese and Vietnamese on the 15th day of the 8th month in the lunar calendar, this year it fell on September 12th. Traditionally, families and friends will gather and eat moon cakes, enjoy the beautiful bright full moon, and celebrate the bountiful harvest. Cities in China are decorated with floating sky lanterns, and the buildings and towers are also lit with lanterns and festive lights. There are huge festivals with Fire Dragon performances and parades of people carrying beautifully crafted lit lanterns.
To the Chinese, the full moon symbolizes family reunion which is why moon cakes are the official food of the Mid-Autumn festival. People eat moon cakes to show their homesickness, love for their family, hope for a bountiful harvest and a happy life. The traditional moon cake has a sweet cakey crust with a lotus seed paste filling and preserved salty egg yolk at the center. However, moon cakes vary in flavor and recipe in various parts of China. In terms of taste, they can be sweet, salty, spicy, or sweet and salty. Some common fillings are sweet red bean paste, sweet green bean paste, and taro paste. Finally, you have a choice between a sweet cakey crust, or a sweet flakey thin crust. There are just so many combinations of moon cakes to choose from, thankfully they are sold in Asian markets during the holiday so I usually I end up buying one of each of all the flavors.
One of my fondest memories as a kid growing up in Taiwan is going to the Mid-Autumn festival carrying my rabbit lantern to watch the fireworks and fire dragon performances, then staying up late and eating my Yi Po Po's home made moon cake with the rest of the family. I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of Chinese desserts especially the traditional moon cake, I find them too rich and densely packed with overly sweet fillings. However, my Yi Po Po's dates and red bean paste moon cake with a sweet flaky thin crusts is the exception.
For years, I actually refused to learn how to make my Yi Po Po's moon cakes because I wanted them to remain my once a year treat; it's something that I looked forward to every year and only good if it's made by my Yi Po Po. It's not that I didn't grow up watching her make hundreds of these or that I didn't attempt to learn how to make them. It's just that every time I TRY to make them they are never as good as the ones she makes. This year, I decided to give my Yi Po Po's ever so delicious moon cakes another go.
First things first, Yi Po Po's moon cakes are a labor of love. It's time consuming but the end result is so worth the time and energy. What makes these moon cakes different from the traditional ones is that the crust is flakey much like a philo-dough, the filling is made with rehydrated red dates cooked down to the consistency of a preserve, added into the sweet red bean paste and shaped into small rounds the size of golf balls. It's then wrapped with the dough, brushed with the egg wash and baked. The flakey crust adds a great contrasting texture and bite to the soft filling which is sweet from the red bean but also a little sour from the red dates. These bite size moon cakes are perfect for any time of the day as a breakfast item, mid day snack, or dessert.
Cheers & until next time,
Happy Zhong Qio Jie!
Date & Red Bean Moon Cakes
Serves 20
1 cup dried red dates
2 cups red bean paste, store bought
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups All purpose flour
4 tbsp vegetable oil
8 tbsp water
½ tbsp sugar
⅓ tbsp salt
1 cup all purpose flour
4 tbsp vegetable oil
Egg Wash
1 egg yolk (beaten)
For the Date and Red Bean Filling
1. In a small saucepan, put in dried red dates and cover with water. Bring the pot to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes until the dates are fully re-hydrated.
2. Drain the dates and let it fully cool. Once it's cool enough to handle, peel the skin off of the dates and discard the pits. Reserve only the meaty part of the dates in a small bowl.
3. In a sauté pan, add 1 tbsp vegetable oil and turn the heat to medium. Add 2 cups of red bean paste and your reserved dates. Fold the dates into the red bean paste with a spatula and cook for 10 minutes, add water 1 tbsp at a time if it begins to thicken up too quickly. Once it is done cooking, reserve in a bowl and let cool.
4. Once it is cool enough to handle, roll into 20 round balls.
*This can be done a day in advance and kept in the refrigerator. Let the filling come up to room temperature before using.
For the Skin
1. Dough Ball A: In a large bowl, mix together the 2 cups all purpose flour, 4 tbsp oil, 1/2 tbsp sugar, 1/3 tbsp salt and 8 tbsp water. Knead briefly until it forms a smooth dough, roll into a long roll and cut into 20 pieces.
2. Dough Ball B: In a separate bowl, mix together 1 cup all purpose flour and 4 tbsp vegetable oil until it forms a smooth dough. Roll into a long roll and cut into 20 pieces.
3. Flatten Dough Ball A, place Dough Ball B in the center of Dough Ball A and wrap edges to enclose Dough Ball B, then lightly flatten. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to a 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Beginning at the top edge, roll up the rectangle to a thing, baton shape, turn the baton piece vertically and roll out to a 1/4 inch rectangle. Roll up one more time to form a square shape. Roll each piece of square skin into a ball and roll into a 2 inch circle. Repeat for all pieces.
Making the Moon Cakes
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and prepare an ungreased cookie sheet.
2. Place 1 ball of filling in the center of each dough circle and gather edges to completely enclose, press edges to seal. Lightly press down each piece with the palm of your hand to form a 2 inch circle and place each finished cake on the cookie sheet.
3. Brush the tops of the cakes with egg wash and bake for 20 minutes until dough is flaky; remove and serve.
Scallions are more than just a Garnish. You'll be Surprised by these Delicious Scallion Bread Swirls!
There is something about cleaning out your refrigerator that is such a stress reliever, seeing a clean and almost empty fridge is just so calming. I always find that my fridge gets over loaded when we have company over, usually I'm left with a lot of garnishes and condiments. While cleaning out my fridge, I found 6 bunches of scallions hidden behind a mountain of tomatoes. I knew that they were going to start wilting soon and didn't want them to go to waste, so I needed a recipe that would use a large amount of scallions… what to make… what to make… While I pondered that question, I looked up common ways of using scallions other than just sautéing them.
Scallions also known as green onions, or spring onions, they are commonly associated with Asian foods. They are milder than most onions, and can be used both fresh and in cooking. Chopped scallions can be sautéed in stir fries, braised in stews, used as garnish in soups and mixed into a filling for buns and breads.
The most common way of using scallions is to sauté them with another main ingredient to add more flavor. It's not often the star of a dish, which is unfortunate because it has such great flavor on it's own. One of my favorite dishes that showcase scallions is the Chinese scallion steamed buns. It's essentially chopped scallions, rolled into little dough balls and steamed to airy perfection. So I thought, wouldn't it be even better if they were baked into individual bread rolls.
Luckily, I remembered that I recently found a Cilantro-Scallion Bread Recipe in the Summer Grilling Issue of Bon Appétit Magazine. I used this recipe as a foundation; I omitted the cilantro, doubled the amount of scallions and added toasted sesame seeds. These spiral swirls are super easy to make. Essentially after the first rise of the dough, you roll the dough into a large rectangle, spread the chopped scallion and toasted sesame seed mixture onto the dough, roll the dough into a cylinder, cut cylinder into 3/4″ dough swirls and bake for 30 minutes.
Scallion Bread
adapted Bon Appétit Magazine- July Grilling Issue
12 Serves
2 teasp active dry yeast
2 teasp kosher salt , divided
2 teasp sugar, divided
1 3/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons All purpose flour
4 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled, cubed
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped scallions
3/4 cup sesame seeds
1 teasp freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tbsp olive oil plus more for bowl and brushing
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silo pad. Pour 1/2 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F) into a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast, 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. sugar over; let stand until mixture bubbles and doubles in size, about 10 minutes.
2. Place flour, butter, remaining 1 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attached. Rub in butter with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Beat in egg, yolk, and yeast mixture, scraping down the sides.
3. Knead on medium speed until dough is soft and smooth, about 5 minutes (do not over knead). The dough will still seem a bit soft. Form dough into a small ball; transfer to a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a food processor add the scallions and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl; stir in toasted sesame seeds, 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, and 3 Tbsp. oil and set aside.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll dough into a 18×9 inch rectangle. Spoon scallion mixture onto the center and spread mixture evenly to the corners of dough.
6. Working from one short edge, roll dough rectangle into a cylinder.
7. Cut cylinder into 3/4″ dough swirls. Transfer dough swirls to prepared baking sheet; brush lightly with oil.
8. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
Printable Recipe
I think the swirl shape actually helps add layers of flavor and texture to the bread. While most of the chopped scallions are slowly baked and infused into the dough, there is a layer of scallions exposed at the top of the bread which is roasted and adds a crispy bite to the bread. The sesame seeds just takes it over the top, the nuttiness and crunch is perfect with the mildness of the scallions. It is incredibly fragrant right out of the oven, and it's best served warm. You really don't need anything else to go with this bread, it's perfect on its own.
Cheers & until next time,
Happy August!
Spinach, Lemon Basil, Walnut Pesto
After a successful trip to Clark's Elioak Farm Stand last week, I left with a variety of fresh herbs (lemon basil and regular basil being my summer favorites). I've mainly been adding the freshly chopped herbs to all my salads, pastas, and pizzas through out the week, but it seems as if my basket of basil is like the bottomless pan of lasagna in Garfield's dreams (which I am totally not complaining about). I didn't want the rest of the basil to go to waste, so I decided to make pesto which can be saved and used later as a dressing, marinade, sandwich spread, or sauce.
Traditionally pesto is made with pine nuts, basil, freshly grated cheese and oil. I didn't have pine nuts or cheese but I did have a Costco sized bag of walnuts and spinach. I thought I would make do with what I had; I substituted the pine nuts with lightly toasted walnuts which added toasty/nutty flavor and the spinach gave it a thicker consistency and balanced out the heavy basil flavor. I used two kinds of basil, regular basil and lemon basil which added an extra kick of citrus to the sauce.
This pesto sauce will have a thicker consistency than the pesto sauce you see at your local grocery store or at wholefoods, where the oil separates from the herbs when you let it sit. The spinach soaks up most of the oil, and turns the sauce into more of a pesto paste. If you find that the sauce is a little too thick add a little lemon juice. You can most definitely use it as a pasta sauce, I actually find that the thicker consistency makes the pasta less oily. It's also perfect substitute for tomato sauce on a pizza.
I decided to use it as a sandwich spread for a quick turkey and tomato sandwich for lunch and save the rest of it in a jar to use later in the week. I spread the pesto on two slices of bread, added a few slices of tomatoes and cold turkey sandwich meat and made it into a panini by putting it between a hot sandwich press. The pesto really brought out the sweetness of the tomatoes and tempered its acidity, and it gave the sandwich extra moistness since I had pretty dry turkey meat. I'll admit I'm pretty stoked for the rest of my week now!!
Cheers & until next time,
Happy Mid-July!
Spinach, Lemon Basil, Walnut Pesto
adapted from Sunny Vegan
Makes 4 Cups
1 cup toasted walnuts
6 cups packed spinach (stems removed)
½ cup packed fresh lemon basil
2 cups packed fresh basil
2 cups olive oil
1 teasp chopped garlic
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1. Pulse walnuts and garlic in food processor.
2. Working in batches, add spinach and basil and blend together. Repeat until you have blended all the spinach and basil.
3. With the food processor on, slowly drizzle in olive oil and blend well. Add remaining ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste.
*Note: To freeze for later use.
Pour into ice cube tray and freeze. Remove from ice tray and put into a zip lock bag, i can last up to 4 months.
Celebrating Opening Weekend of Clark's Elioak Farm Stand with a few jars of Dill Pickles
One of the best things about living in the suburbs of Maryland is that we have access to a ton of local farmers' markets from Washington D.C to Baltimore. And now that I have a car to haul my groceries, I no longer have to restrict myself to what I can lug back on the back of my bike going against traffic down a busy city street, although I do miss it from time to time.
I have to admit that my most hated season is summer in Maryland, the humidity and heat is sometimes just unbearable and I'm such a whiner about it too. But, what makes the July and August months survivable is when the Clark's Elioak Farm Stand opens on the first weekend of July.
I try not to play favorites as to which market I purchase from regularly but Clark's Elioak Farm in Ellicott City holds a special place in my heart. I spent much of my high school years hanging out on the farm, and have watched what started as a small petting farm grow into the Enchanted Forest and a well stocked farm stand that sells seasonal fruits and vegetables along with eggs, dairy and grass fed beef and lamb, and this year they even have a pick your own herbs and flowers field.
Since it was their opening weekend, I made sure to stop by and see what they had in stock. I was pleasantly surprised to find cantaloupe so fragrant that you can smell it from about a foot away), sweet corn from Eastern Maryland, an abundant amount of zucchini, bright yellow patty pan squash, cucumbers and many more. After an hour of mingling at the stand and trying out all their fresh herbs (lemon-basil being my new obsession), I left with 3 dozen ears of corn, 2 cantaloupes, a pound of cherries, 20 pickling cucumbers and a basket of herbs. I was concerned with what I would do with so many pickles, but my friend devised the brilliant idea that I make dill pickles and share them with her.
I'm pretty particular about pickles, I don't really like it when they are super salty and they have to be cold and crispy. I like them with a bit of a kick, so along with the usual pickling spices of black peppercorn, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, celery seeds I added a bit of red chili pepper flakes and a few cloves of sliced garlic. They are the perfect condiment and side dish for any summer meal. You can eat them within 24-48 hours of pickling them and they last up to 2 weeks. So let's get to pickling!
Dill Pickles
adapted from Blondie's Cakes & Things
4 cups water
1 cup distilled white vinegar
2 tbsp kosher salt
1 teasp white sugar
6 pickling cucumbers cut into quarters
1 teasp black peppercorns
1/2 teasp coriander seeds
1/2 teasp mustard seeds
1 dried bay leaf (broken up)
1/4 teasp celery seeds (optional)
1/4 teasp red chili pepper flakes
8 medium cloves garlic, cut into long thin pieces
6 large sprigs of fresh dill
Equipment: 2 quart sized ball jars, or 1 large half liter jar (cleaned and dried)
1. In a non-reactive pot, bring water, vinegar, salt, and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
2. Place peppercorns, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, dried bay leaf, celery seeds, and red chili pepper flakes in the bottom of the jars.
3. Tightly pack in the cucumbers, squeeze garlic slices in between the cucumbers.
4. Carefully pour the cooled brine over your cucumbers, make sure they are covered completely (you should have a little over 4.5 cups of brine after boiling and cooling with a bit left over), place dill sprigs on the top of the jar before sealing very well.
5. Turn and shake jar until the pickling seasoning has evenly distributed throughout the brine. Place in refrigerator for at least 48 hours.
If you like your pickles on the saltier side, you can add a bit more salt to your brine. You can also omit the red chili pepper flakes and garlic if you aren't a fan of the heat and garlicky flavor. This is a pretty basic recipe, so if you want to get crazy try out some other spices or flavors and add it to your brine. I think my next batch will have red peppers and white peppercorn instead of black peppercorn, we shall see!
Cheers & until next time happy pickling!
This post is also featured internationally here– http://tinyurl.com/6ebf2jc
Enjoying the Last of Spring with Roasted Asparagus
It's always a little a sad to see Spring depart and have Summer roll in with vengeance. Spring a short season where we are blessed with a variety of fresh vegetables, such as peas, artichokes, spinach, fiddlehead ferns, spring onions, asparagus, and the list goes on.
Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables, it's such a versatile ingredient, it can be eaten raw, roasted, sauteed, steamed, pureed and made into a silky and creamy soup. One of the easiest preparations of asparagus is to roast it with a drizzle of olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. When roasted, you bring out the sweetness and earthiness of the asparagus. It's tender and soft on the outside while still having a bite to it. It goes well with starches and proteins because has such a distinctive taste and adds a contrasting texture.
A few weeks ago as I was making my rounds through my local farmers market, I spotted some beautiful thin speared asparagus. Luckily, I was incredibly hungry and hadn't eaten brunch prior to going out. I bought a few handfuls of asparagus and quickly returned home and threw them into the oven. I was pretty hungry and was in the mood for a hardy meal. I saw that I had some sweet potatoes laying around that I needed to use, so I decided to make some sweet potato hash browns to go with my asparagus. I didn't stop there, as you know by now if you've been following my posts, I love a good fried egg with a runny yolk. So to top off my meal, I topped my sweet potato hash brown and roasted asparagus with a fried egg.
This is a fairly simple meal to prepare, it just takes a little bit of time but it was well worth it. The crispy sweet potato hash brown layered with the roasted asparagus worked really well together, and the runny yolk just added a luscious creamy texture to the dish. With every bite, you are left wanting more.
Roasted Asparagus and Sweet Potato Hash Brown topped with a Fried Egg
adapted from Once Upon a Plate
Serves 4
Roasted Asparagus
1 lb Asparagus, trimmed
1 tbsp olive oil
Sweet Potato Hash Brown
2 medium-size sweet potatoes, peeled and grated
1 1/2 tbsp rice flour
vegetable oil, for shallow-frying
Fried Eggs
4 large eggs
sea salt and cracked black pepper
For the Roasted Asparagus: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the asparagus on a single layer on a baking sheet lined with foil, drizzle olive oil over the spears and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes until the asparagus are tender.
For the Sweet Potato Hash brown
1. Wash and peel the potatoes. Grate the potatoes into a bowl, then rinse thoroughly until the water in the bowl is clear, then let the potato sit in cold water for five to ten minutes. After, drain and dry the potato thoroughly, add and mix in the rice flour.
2. In a pan, heat 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil and add the potatoes. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and cook on medium heat until your hash browns get nice and golden brown, 4-5 minutes. Once they are cooked through on one side, turn the heat up to medium-high and flip the hash browns and cook for another 5 minutes until brown and crispy.
For the Sunny Side Up Egg
1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Slowly pour the eggs into the pan and turn the heat down to medium, cover the pan and fry until whites are cooked though, 3-4 minutes.
Once everything is done, plate the sweet potato hash browns with 5-6 spears of roasted asparagus on top and cover with the fried egg.
This Easter was especially important to our family because we were celebrating the birth of my nephew and the engagement of one of my cousins. Since our family was hosting the Easter brunch we had a lot of work to do in preparation for the arrival of all the guests which didn't leave me with a lot of time to make anything too finicky but I wasn't too worried since every family was bringing a dish or two… or five…
I wanted to prepare a Spring dish, something light with seasonal ingredients and easy to cook and serve. So I decided on a Spinach, Mushroom and Cottage Cheese Quiche. It's a dish I've made many times before but the twist is instead of featuring ricotta cheese I used a mix cottage cheese and shredded mozzarella cheese. I found that the cottage cheese added a layer of creaminess and the mozzarella cheese once baked held all the components of the quiche together. It was also lighter and not as dense and heavy as other quiches I've had before. The sauteed leeks added a subtle sweet and mild hint of garlic and onion flavor, letting the mushroom and spinach really shine. A pinch of cayenne pepper really gave it a nice kick too.
I didn't have time to make the pie crust from scratch so I opted for a store bought refrigerated pie crust (Pillsbury makes a damn good refrigerated pie crust. I blind baked the pie crust first, meaning that I partial baked the pie crust on its own before filling it. This prevents the pie crust from getting soggy once you pour the wet filling into the unbaked pie shell.
The preparation of all the vegetable ingredients is fast and easy. I sauteed the leeks, mushrooms, and spinach, set it aside and let it cool. While it cools, I made the egg, milk and cheese mixture. Folded the sauteed vegetables into the egg mixture, poured the spinach egg mixture into the pie crust, sprinkled with some more mozzarella cheese on top and baked for 40 minutes. It's fast in preparation and cook time, once you get it into the oven you don't have to worry about it, and it's also a great show off dish. It has a lot of flavor and looks like you slaved over it, and let's be honest here isn't having your family over a great time to show off a little bit? 😉
Spinach, Mushroom and Cottage Cheese Quiche
adapted from Bonbini
1 9 inch unbaked pie crust
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 leek, sliced thin
1 cup button mushrooms, sliced thin
2 cups spinach, cooked, drained, chopped
1 cup whole milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 teasp salt
1/2 teasp freshly ground pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1/8 teasp cayenne pepper
For the pie crust: roll out pie crust into a quiche or tart dish. Press the edges into the grooves of the pan and cut off excess pie crust. Using a fork, lightly poke holes in the pie crust, do not pierce through. To keep the bottom from buffing and the sides from falling, line the crust with parchment paper and fill it with rice or beans. Blind bake the pie crust for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F.
For the quiche
1. Heat the pan over medium heat and add the oil and leeks and saute until fragrant. Add the sliced mushrooms, cook for about 3-4 minutes until soft but still having a bite. Then add the spinach, and season with salt and pepper. Take off the heat and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and the cottage cheese, season with salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. Fold in the cooked vegetable mixture to the egg mixture.
3. Sprinkle some shredded mozzarella cheese over bottom of the crust, pour the spinach mushroom egg mixture into the pie shell. Sprinkle more shredded mozzarella cheese onto the top.
4. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until egg mixture has set. Let stand for another 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Easter is one of my mother's favorite holidays, mainly because I was born in the year of the rabbit so she loves anything that has to do with rabbits. Since we're not religious, I don't think my mother knows that Easter is actually celebrating resurrecting of Jesus. Come to think of it… that means that we've just been celebrating a fairy tale story about a well dressed rabbit bringing baskets of sweets, toys and Easter eggs to kids. That's a bit embarrassing, especially since I'm no longer a child and am still helping my mother decorate the house with Peter Rabbit collectibles and dying Easter eggs for the little ones to find.
This year was no different, I woke up on Easter Sunday to find what is usually an empty family room to a Peter Rabbit wonderland. After a quick banter on where to hang the Happy Easter banner (yes we had a banner… oh did I fail to mention that we HOST the annual family Easter party) I was put to work. Thankfully, I was NOT on the decorating committee and only responsible for cooking the Easter eggs.
Now, I don't know about you but I'm very particular about hard boiled eggs. I absolutely hate it when they are over cooked, rubbery, and have the greenish ring around the outside of the yolk. Usually another member of the extended family will bring the Easter eggs, but as much I appreciate their kind contribution I could not take another dozen plus over cooked hard boiled eggs.
Most people make the mistake of just throwing the eggs into a pot hot boiling water and boiling the eggs until THEY think it's done which by then is most likely well over cooked. If a boiled egg is overcooked, the whites are rubbery, the yolk is dry and a greenish ring will appear around the egg yolk. The green ring doesn't affect the taste but it does harm the protein and it just doesn't look all that appetizing. You can prevent this by chilling the eggs in ice cold water for a few minutes after they are done cooking.
The process of cooking hard boiled eggs correctly is actually much simpler than the wrong way that many do it. You start by placing the eggs in a pot of COLD water to cover completely. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat, after boiling for 2-3 minutes turn the heat off and let the eggs cook for 13-15 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately place eggs in a bowl of ice cold water. Chill for a few minutes in the cold water until they are completely cooled and they are ready to be peeled.
But WAIT! before you sprint off to buy a dozen eggs. Have you ever struggled with peeling a hard boiled egg, where it's just impossible to peel off the tiny cracked shells? Well that's because it was a fresh egg, an egg that is just a day or two old is almost impossible to peel. As eggs age, the shells will peel more easily. You can test for the freshness by dropping the egg into a bowl of water, a fresh egg will sink and an old egg will float. Try to use eggs that are at least 5 days old but within 1 month old and always keep them refrigerated.
Here's a trick to peeling a boiled egg so the egg white does not stick to the shell: fill a bowl or pot with cold water, crack the egg all around and peel it in the water. As soon as you find where the air pouch is and water fills that bubble it's smooth sailing from there.
Hard Boiled Egg
Makes: 12 eggs
12 large eggs (at least 5 days old)
ice bath
1. Place eggs in a pot and fill it with enough COLD tap water to cover completely by 1 inch. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water has come to a boil for 1-2 minutes, turn the heat off and let the eggs sit in the water to 10-15 minutes.
2. After the eggs are fully cooked, carefully place the eggs into a bowl of ice cold water to stop the eggs from cooking. Once the eggs have completely cooled, they are good to go for your enjoyment.
*Cook Times for boiled eggs
1-4 minutes for large soft-cooked eggs
12-15 minutes for large hard boiled eggs
Printable Recipe
I'm super glad I made my own hard boiled eggs this year since we had over a dozen left over after the egg hunt, so I'll be eating these for the next week or so… now I just have to find more creative ways to use these eggs!
Cheers & until next time Happy Rabbit Day!


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p.s. regardless of whether or not you will be blowing the egg out of the shell, definitely add a pinch of baking soda to the boiling water. It makes getting the shells off soooo much easier!
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subset: commoncrawl


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Andy Rundquist, Hamline University
I was at a physics chairs conference several years ago, and we were discussing how to deal with students cheating on homework. It was where I first heard of Cramster.com and I came away pretty depressed. One suggestion that I laughed at when it was mentioned, was to just do quizzes instead of collecting homework. I laughed because I did not see how I could cough up that much class time for assessment, especially since I tended to collect homework on a daily basis. It is funny to think about it now, but that experience is what led to one of the biggest changes to my approach to teaching. These days people would call my response "flipped learning," but at the time, I called it "stopping cheating." This past summer I went to another chairs' conference and the subsequent conference on online learning and I got a chance to share some of what I have learned since jumping on this flipped bandwagon.
I am constantly tweaking my teaching. Often what makes me crabby in one class is what is addressed in the next. A lot of the changes I have made have been centered around the preciousness of class time. In class students have nearly unfettered access to me, so I figured I should prioritize the things that we do in class so that I could help them the most. The thing that dropped to the bottom of the list was reading the text to them, which was a very cynical description my chair gave of my lecture style after he visited my classroom in my first year.
So what does my class time look like now? My students are engaging with each other and the material, using physical whiteboards to draw up potential solutions to challenging problems, and talking with each other and me trying to place the new material in the context of the old. I encourage my students to come prepared with 1) an understanding of why we are studying the daily topic in the first place, 2) an initial knowledge of the vocabulary we will be using, and 3) experience with where and what their resources are. They do this by reading the text, watching the videos I provide, and talking with each other through our class backchannel.
I am constantly prioritizing what should be done in class versus out. The list is long, but includes derivations, history, examples, lab planning, assessment, and tying ideas together. I make choices about that list on a daily basis, with very few things always being in or out of class. I do my prioritization based on how I feel class is going, what questions students are asking, what I have done in the past, and what logistics are needed.
Making this change has made teaching harder for me. In class I have to have an overall plan, but otherwise I need to be flexible to meet students' needs. If I ask them to do a problem that is too hard, I need to figure out where they are stuck and make quick decisions about whether to "teach" them at that moment or let them develop their own models as they struggle. I have learned a lot talking to friends and colleagues who are high school teachers, especially those who use the modeling curriculum.
I have had to give up a few things. In the past, I was usually present when they learned (or at least heard about) some cool thing. Now, they have almost certainly read about it or studied a video about it before class, so I do not get to witness that "ah-ha" moment. I console myself by taking that cool thing and having the students really dig deep with it in class, but I would be lying if I said I did not miss that sage-on-the-stage feeling every once in a while.
One thing I will not miss, though, is looking at my watch whenever a student asks me a tangential question. You know that feeling, when a student has demonstrated an interest in the topic, but is tying it to something that would take too much time away from your lecture to cover in today's class. In the past I had always look at my watch before answering. Not anymore. I have already "covered" what I wanted to with my reading assignments and videos and other resources that I have provided. If a student wants to dig deep right now in class, let's do it! Better to honor their passion than to be a slave to your calendar, I say.
Probably the coolest thing to come out of all of this, for me, is putting some of the tools I use to create resources into my students' hands. When I started to realize how much more useful my solution set screencasts were (to save time going over them in class) compared with just the paper copies, I started to look into having students turn in their work the same way. My solution screencasts do not just show the work, they discuss the steps in detail, mostly because I talk a lot faster than I can write. Turning that around and having students explain their thinking is much more valuable than looking at a sheet of their (you hope) handwriting. That sort of thing is also useful when groups are trying to bring you up to speed on their progress. Forcing groups to wait around until their turn at the end of lab is not nearly as efficient as having them make a screencast/video of their progress that they can email you and you can watch before the next lab.
My most recent experiment with "flipping" is what I have dubbed "flipping the flip." In a non-science-major physics of sound and music course this past fall I had the students only come prepared by having them think about a simple question. One example was "what actually makes the sound of a snap?" I did not ask them to read or watch videos or anything leading up to class. I did it because one of the biggest problems with a flipped pedagogy is student buy-in and preparedness. I wanted to see what I could do in a class where I did not expect much (if anything) from them before class. Once in class, I would throw out a problem like "what's going on in this simulation" or "could you snap in outer space" and slowly they would start working together to figure out what was important/hard/weird/exciting about the topic. At the end of the class we would gather and they would put in their requests for resources. They would ask for pages in the text to read that might explain what confused them, or they would ask for an explanation from me about why we would use one equation and not another. I would dutifully go provide those resources and they would use them to prepare for the various assessments we had in class. It was a fun class to teach, but I felt that it put even more pressure on me to be flexible while trying to get them from A to B.
There has been a lot of research about flipped class teaching, but I think more could be done. Determining the best mix of at-home versus in-class work would save me a lot of time, though I do think there is a lot that will always be case-by-case. Research into the best ways for students to make use of out-of-class resources, including static content, dynamic content (where they can interact with the material somehow), and peer/instructor-based connections (like backchannels), is vitally needed by this physics research engineer. At the end of the day we are all trying to help students learn in the best ways possible. I will keep looking at what makes me crabby about the last course I taught to figure out what to try in the next course, and I will continue to keep tabs on the research that you and others are doing to help me do that.
Andy Rundquist is an Associate Professor of Physics at Hamline University in Minnesota. His research interests include the generation, characterization, and optimization of ultrafast laser-matter interactions, and how to leverage technology to aid student learning.
Disclaimer – The articles and opinion pieces found in this issue of the APS Forum on Education Newsletter are not peer refereed and represent solely the views of the authors and not necessarily the views of the APS.


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All-American BoyBook - 2012
From his celebrated appearance, hatchet in hand, in Parson Mason Locke Weems's Life of Washington to Booth Tarkington's Penrod, the all-American boy was an iconic figure in American literature for well over a century. Sometimes he was a "good boy," whose dutiful behavior was intended as a model for real boys to emulate. Other times, he was a "bad boy," whose mischievous escapades could be excused either as youthful exuberance that foreshadowed adult industriousness or as deserved attacks on undemocratic pomp and pretension. But whether good or bad, the all-American boy was a product of the historical moment in which he made his appearance in print, and to trace his evolution over time is to take a fresh view of America's cultural history, which is precisely what Larzer Ziff accomplishes in All-American Boy.
Ziff looks at eight classic examples of the all-American boy--young Washington, Rollo, Tom Bailey, Tom Sawyer, Ragged Dick, Peck's "bad boy," Little Lord Fauntleroy, and Penrod--as well as two notable antitheses--Huckleberry Finn and Holden Caulfield. Setting each boy in a rich cultural context, Ziff reveals how the all-American boy represented a response to his times, ranging from the newly independent nation's need for models of democratic citizenship, to the tales of rags-to-riches beloved during a century of accelerating economic competition, to the recognition of adolescence as a distinct phase of life, which created a stage on which the white, middle-class "solid citizen" boy and the alienated youth both played their parts.
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Tuesday, July 12, 2016
DIY Easy Sweet Pea Wreath
I recently discovered some sweet peas growing through the fence into our yard from our neighbor's home. And I loved them.
My friend, Carol, told me that she had made wreaths from them in the past and they were easy, required no tools and dried really well. When we got to our cottage "up north" this year and discovered a bountiful supply of sweet peas, I decided to give her suggestion a go and make my own wreath. It was extremely easy and my first attempt was a success!
I've tried to recreate the process for you in this tutorial, but we are running very low on sweet peas on my side of the fence... anndddd.... I'm not going to ask my neighbor if I can raid her stash! But it's so easy that this should suffice. If you need more clarity, just ask!
This is a super easy version and results in the pictures I've shown you. For a more polished look, you can start with a metal wreath as a base, or you can create a circular base from floral wire. You can always secure the loops with floral wire as well, but mine held together just fine without it.
You can leave the wreath as is and it will naturally dry on its own into a much more compact version. This is another reason to start really lush and thick.
I absolutely love the way they look, and you can find sweet peas on just about any roadside (in our area anyway!). They grow easily if you'd like to start your own garden! I can't wait to add more to ours.
If you create any of your own wreaths, I'd love to see them!
All the best, and as always, thanks for reading!
Labels: beautiful, create, diy, floral, flowers, free, it's ok because i love flowers, make, my neighbors flowers are invading my yard, no tools, so easy, sweet peas, what to do with fence flowers, without tools, wreath
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text: July 3, 2014 at 5:46 PM Citizen tip closes LaConner's 'rainbow bridge,' traffic being detoured Posted by Mike Lindblom The landmark arch bridge between LaConner and the Swinomish Reservation was closed Thursday afternoon, after someone told dispatchers a piece of it fell off the bottom. A quick inspection by Skagit County Public Works didn't find any damage, but the county closed it anyway as a precaution, said Dan Berentson, public works director. Inspectors from the… More Comments | More in Traffic & Transit | Topics: bridges, rainbow bridge, Skagit County


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For Girl Museum the end of 2009 is the beginning of our second excting year of life! We are very honored and proud of the progress and connections we have made and look forward to 2010 for continued growth and new projects.
I highly recommend tuning in to very important series airing on PBS, 'A Girl's Life', hosted by Rachel Simmons. She is the author of New York Times bestsellers Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls, and The Curse of the Good Girl: Raising Authentic Girls with Courage and Confidence and the founder of the Girls Leadership Institute. We will respond on the blog after the episodes, so check your local PBS station for times.
Let's make the decade one of positive peaceful dedication to the emotional and intellectual education of girls in this world.


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This is the wall hanging I outlined stitched with my good Pfaff Quilt Expressions 4.0. I haven't had much experience stippling, so this panel was a perfect study for me.
The parts I added:
- The dark brown borders. (I thought black would be too dark)
- Coordinating rust/cream stripped fabric from the inner border for the backing.


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Shop Announcement:
Welcome to Silver Birch Studio. My shop features a wide selection of handmade jewellery items, mainly in sterling silver with semi-precious stones.
Silver Spinning Ring with Flat Twisted Spinner, size O
This spinning ring makes a perfect gift for compulsive twiddlers! It keeps fingers busy, relieves stress and passes idle moments. The two rings are both made of sterling silver. The inner one is 1mm thick and 10mm wide. I have forged it with a ball-pein hammmer and tumble-polished it so that it catches the light from many angles. It has been formed into a curved anticlastic shape which holds the outer ring securely while allowing it to spin. To make the spinner, I twisted two lengths of silver wire together and then passed them through a rolling mill to create a flat twist. The resulting ring was then oxidised to darken it to a pewter colour and create contrast. This dark patina may lighten with wear or if treated with silver polish.
The ring is currently available in UK size O. I will send it by Royal Mail first class post, packaged in a smart gift box.
Thank you and happy spinning!
Stock no. R104
Shipping & delivery
This item will be posted to you by Silver Birch Studio within 3 days of receiving payment.
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You have 14 days, from receipt, to notify the seller if you wish to cancel your order or exchange an item.
Unless faulty, the following types of items are non-refundable: items that are personalised, bespoke or made-to-order to your specific requirements; items which deteriorate quickly (e.g. food), personal items sold with a hygiene seal (cosmetics, underwear) in instances where the seal is broken.


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Call for Papers for the 32nd Annual Slavic Forum 2012
The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at The University of Chicago is excited to announce our upcoming graduate student conference, the 32nd Annual Slavic Forum. This year's conference will focus on comparative inquiries in Eastern European and Slavic cultures, in the spirit of comparative studies of history, literature, and linguistics. This year the conference will take place on May 11th-12th, 2012 and will consist of formal panels and a keynote lecture.
We invite abstracts for individual papers, 20 minutes in length, from Master's or Ph.D. students in Slavic studies and related fields, including linguistics, literature, history, gender studies, art history, music, theater arts, film, as well as any other disciplines related to the topic of the conference. The Slavic Forum committee will organize panels following the acceptance of papers to the conference. Papers accepted to the 32nd Annual Slavic Forum will be published in an electronic collection of working papers from the conference. A style sheet will be distributed following the acceptance of papers to the conference and authors will be given a chance to revise their papers and include comments from the conference prior to publication.
The deadline for all abstract proposals is March 16th, 2012. Please send a brief abstract (300 words or less) and a short bio to firstname.lastname@example.com. Examples and references are not included in the word count. Please include your name and affiliation at the top of the abstract but not in the body, so that we may make them anonymous for refereeing and easily identify them afterwards. All abstracts will be refereed and participants will be notified by the end of March.
Please also note any equipment that might be needed for the presentation. The Slavic Forum committee will strive to meet all equipment needs, but cannot make any guarantees due to budget limits.
For more information refer to Slavic Forum's website:


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TRIUVA Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft mbH is a leading provider and manager of structured real estate products for institutional investors in Germany with assets under management of around EUR 9.9 billion. As an integrated investment platform with a network of branches spanning Europe and many years of expertise, we offer our investors all services for the structuring and management of real estate investment products. We primarily focus on commercial properties in the office, retail and logistics sector in Europe.
TRIUVA at a glance:
- Around 40 funds with more than 100 institutional investors
- About 200 employees at 15 locations throughout Europe
- Around 270 properties and assets under management of EUR 9.9 billion
- Regulated under the German Investment Act (KAGB) and Luxembourg investment law in accordance with AIFMD and monitored by the German and Luxembourg financial supervisory authorities


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Ford's new challenger for the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship, the new Fiesta RS World Rally Car made its first global public appearance at the Paris Motor Show.
13. February – The Fiesta RS WRC will be premiered in competition Swedish Rally, the opening of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship, the 10 . Make
For Paris, the preview model in a striking blue and gray livery, designed specially for the show of Ford of Europe design team has developed over. The new World Rally Car, the best-selling car Fiesta street derives developed by Ford of Europe and its partner M-Sport Rally.
Used as the basis of the Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car, the legendary Rallye Monte Carlo on his debut last January and other international and national rallies in 2010 won the Ford of Europe design team and M-Sport have worked together to fine-tune the styling of the to create body and aero package of the new Fiesta an exciting replacement for the outgoing Focus RS WRC.
Although no detailed changes may be made as the Fiesta RS WRC car, the development program will continue through the balance is pre-season tests this year and timely specialized to the start of the team, the final car will share the striking appearance and celebrated 'kinetic design' elements of style synonymous with the latest road Ford vehicles. The interior is also now available as Fiesta RS WRC rally car, as it contains a number of production parts.
The Fiesta RS WRC competition car is part of a new era for the World Cup. The Fiesta rally car will be equal to boast all-wheel drive transmission and a 1.6-liter turbo engine, the new Ford EcoBoost engine family based, with new rules.
The new Ford EcoBoost engine family features gasoline direct injection and turbocharging to maximize the performance and efficiency. "The introduction of the latest engine-Ford technology to its rally program further strengthens our commitment to motor sport. It also demonstrates our continued support for affordable competition from an off-the-shelf production engine on which our WRC power base," said Mike Norton, the European motorsport manager have Ford engineers at Ford and M-Sport worked together closely in developing this 1.6-liter engine, bringing with prestigious French tuner Pipo Moteur additional know-how to the power plant.
The Fiesta RS WRC appearance at the Paris Motor Show, the car is the first major test program with the full 2011 specification engine on gravel roads in Spain next week. The car has almost 3,000 km of testing in the UK and France, which initially driven by the current WRC engine and more recently by a prototype 1.6-liter Ford EcoBoost turbo unit completed.
The test will take the first opportunity for BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen and team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila of the new Fiesta RS WRC.
Gerard Quinn, Ford of Europe's motorsport director has charge of the Ford program to develop throughout 2010 and says. "We are pleased to have a preview of the Ford Fiesta RS WRC in such a prominent Paris Motor Show, as there are significant visual differences from the Fiesta S2000 base car and big changes under the skin. The biggest, of course, is the 1.6-liter Ford EcoBoost turbocharged engine of the original version that was Ford's Powertrain Engineering team develops. "
M-Sport managing director and BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally team director Malcolm Wilson is just as enthusiastic about the new car.
"This is is an exciting time for all involved in the auto-development," says Wilson. is "Countless hours in the Fiesta RS WRC gone to reach this point, and this car, the public is presented for the first time a proud moment for us. We are satisfied on the right track with our development and the team with Tests to date. Another important step will be taken in early October, when the car tests in 2011, the full technical specification for the first time.
"We have a test car, under the leadership of our technical director Christian Loriaux. Mikko and Jari-Matti lead our challenge with the new car in the 2011 WRC, so their feedback is from the review of critical importance and will provide valuable data for our engineering team to work with, "added Wilson.
The Fiesta RS WRC is to replace the record-breaking Focus RS WRC Ford Championship challenger. The Focus RS WRC won back-to-back world championship titles manufacturer in 2006 and 2007, and its victory in New Zealand in May was the 75th Blue Oval WRC level, so that Ford's most successful producers in the world championship history.
Ford has sold more than one million of the hugely successful, the latest generation Fiesta road cars around the world as they went on sale in October 2008. Fiesta, Ford truly global car, the No. 2 best-selling car in Europe.
The latest Fiesta has already proven his skills in motor sport to the test. The International Trophy for Sport Fiesta Fiesta cars R2 is a series of successful support to the FIA World Rally Championship and the Fiesta S2000 rally car is currently with the S-series support within the WRC WRC.
American sports icon Ken Block has advertised a fiesta rally car in the Rally America Championship this season, and the car won gold and silver medals in two Super Rally Car and Rally events at the X Games event in Los Angeles in July.
"The Ford Fiesta has already established itself as a serious contender in a range of global motorsports activities, and we can not wait until our official car of the highly sophisticated world rally championship debut next year," said Gerard Quinn.
"We worked hard the car is without doubt the best-selling Fiesta road vehicle that is itself a global success story to ensure you. Ford's design and product development teams have close and effective working with our partners at M-Sport, the enormous know -how to deliver the key not only a competitive rally car, but also a car that is stylish and seen a Ford Fiesta, "he added.


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Product DetailsA time travel movie about two "time twins" who bounce back and forward between 1980s New York and London and the Western Front in the French trenches of World War I whenever the other is in mortal peril.
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This is a photo of a happy family..I wonder if this is their house?..or are they just visiting. I will guess just visiting the country folk who live in the log cabin.
I think this may be from the 1940's. That is a different kind of hat that the Mrs is wearing.
Thanks for stopping by, do come again:)


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Rick Warren Reaches Out to Extraterrestrials
"We all worship the same God," says Purpose-Driven Pastor
by Pat Shanks
In what many are claiming is a transparent effort to deflect attention from a recent controversy over his cozying-up to the Muslim community, Purpose-Driven Pastor Rick Warren has come forward to announce that his ministry horizons are far wider than anyone could have ever imagined.
"Psalm 8 says that the Earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof," said
in a video message addressed to supporters. "I am here to proclaim to you today that the fullness spoken of in the Psalter is about to take on unprecedented meaning." Warren
Unveiling an ambitious program to extend the hand of fellowship well beyond the Van Allen radiation belts, "
's pastor" has revealed that he has been in contact with extraterrestrial intelligence in an effort to spread the Gospel. America
"I think the big lesson here is: it's not all about your galaxy," said
. Accordingly, the mega-pastor's well-known Global Peace Plan, or "Peace Plan 3.0," Warren
has been expanded into the Intergalactic Peace Plan, or "Peace Plan 3.141559265" (the number for p [pi], the understanding of which is fundamental to space travel).
Using communications technologies now limited to the U.S. military, a series of intergalactic, interfaith conferences will be scheduled, beginning in 2015, with an ad hoc coalition of 42 human-like civilizations, largely but not exclusively located within the Milky Way Galaxy.
claims God has been preparing him for this ministry operation for several decades, and that the sources he's been studying in preparation for the event are centuries in the making. "You know I've read the complete works of Jonathan Edwards—in order—and you just know that he was open to extraterrestrial life. After all, he was living and working in what was then a Warren , so how could he not have been open to the possibility of new worlds elsewhere—as in outside the planetary realm? Plus, the word 'alien' appears in his works forty-two separate times. That should tell you something." When pressed, however, New World appears to have a difficult time deciding which is more of a marvel: the rapid advance of technology that will make this event possible, or his own scholarship and magnanimity. "A conservative estimate among astronomers is that we've only mapped out about 9% of what is known to be the universe. That leaves 91% unmapped —which corresponds precisely to the 91% of our income that Kay and I give away," Warren 's pastor added superfluously. America
In other quarters, Rev. Warren's motivations are being viewed with considerable suspicion. "This is a NASA-sized smoke screen and nothing else," says blogger Creed Gottschalk of GotCreed.com, a Christian discernment web site. "He's just trying to take the heat off the Kingsway document. The chances that this is for real are about as likely as the space shuttle falling out of the sky and taking out one the many campus buildings at Saddleback," Gottschalk said. "I don't think he's even seen Star Wars."
|Who knew? Thermians (top left), depicted in the
1999 movie Galaxy Quest, starring Tim Allen (above, right),
actually exist. Allen's character, Commander Peter Quincy
Taggart (right, in full regalia), may be based on Rick Warren.
This is not
's first tussle with bloggers and apologists who claim that they represent orthodox views of the historic Christian faith—and that he does not. "He just keeps stepping in it deeper and deeper every time," said GotCreed's Gottschalk. "That he now feels the need to make up space aliens seems just about right." Chris Rosebrough, of Pirate Christian Radio, suggested in a Wisconsin-based terrestrial radio interview last week what Warren needs to do to extricate himself from this controversy. "He needs to quit with the fuzzy, evasive, non-theological, non-biblical definitions and give us something hard theologically as far as the definitions are concerned, and put to rest this idea that they're promoting some kind of common ground based on Muslims and Christians worshipping the same God." Warren
Instead, it appears, Rick Warren prefers to look to the skies.
While his interest in and involvement with the extraterrestrial goes back a number of years, careful observers of his more recent statements would have detected clues of his extra-heavenly yearnings. "When I want to pray, my thoughts want to float away,"
told the 2010 Desiring God Conference by video. Apparently, Warren 's thoughts had been floating away to distances measurable only in light years. Warren
|The Planet Kolob. Less-cynical commentators
think this may be Rick Warren's real target.
In the late 1980s, a brief stint as chaplain at the U.S. military's NORAD defense facility, located somewhere in the Rocky Mountains—at least, that's what the government wants you to think—whetted Warren's taste for space evangelism. A scientific breakthrough—to which
, as chaplain, was privy—came when astronomers discovered that radio signals from the 1920s were starting to bounce back in the direction of Earth. At first they thought these were fluke deflections from medium-to-large sized stars with exaggerrated magnetic fields. But astronomers were less convinced of their original hypothesis when signals started coming back accompanied by mathematical coding which was interpreted as a request for clarification, according to forensic astrolinguists. Warren
"Apparently they were receiving transmissions of sermons by Aimee Semple McPherson and couldn't believe what they were hearing," explained astronomer Giaco Pastorini of the
in the Italian West Indies, and a former NASA employee. "Chaplain Warren took it upon himself to explain systematic theology to the astrolinguists, who then relayed the information back into outer space." University of St. Hubbins Observatory
|New Zealand blogger Art Stufflegriffin
of ApostatePlanet.net
What few people outside the Ufological community realize is that the Thermians are, in fact, real; that the events depicted in the film are real; and that the whole project amounted to a massive public misinformation campaign—an attempt to divert the attention of Ufological investigators who were getting dangerously close to the truth in the mid- to late-1990s. Speculation that the Tim Allen character is actually based on Rick Warren has not been confirmed.
Though many discernment bloggers seem certain that
Warren's newly transpired intergalactic interests are a diversionary tactic, some have speculated that 's real motivation is to target the Planet Kolob, a close neighbor to the Thermians, and thought to be the origin of Mormon civilization. "I say, 'Good on him,'" said blogger Art Stufflegriffin of Warren , proprietor of ApostatePlanet.net. "We can correct their thinking—right at the source—and just nip this thing in the bud. She'll be right." Timaru, New Zealand


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|Anti-Social Behaviour Bill - continued
|House of Lords
|back to previous text
Clause 61: Power to remove trespassers: alternative site available
142. This clause inserts a new section 62A into the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 so as to create a new power for a senior police officer to direct a person to leave land and remove any vehicle or other property with him on that land. Subsection (2) sets out the conditions that the senior police officer must believe to be satisfied for a direction to leave the land to be given to a person. At least two persons must be trespassing on land; they must have between them at least one vehicle; they must be present on the land with the intent of residing there; and the occupier of the land must have asked the police to remove them. In addition, it must appear to the senior police officer that there are relevant caravan sites available for the trespassers to move to. Subsections (5) and (6) enable the Secretary of State to make an order subject to the negative resolution procedure to change the definition of 'relevant site manager'.
Clause 62: Failure to comply with direction: offences
143. This clause inserts a new section 62B into the 1994 Act. Its effect is that a person commits an offence if he fails to comply with a direction given under section 62A, or if, within 3 months of the direction being given, he returns to any land in the area of the relevant local authority as a trespasser with the intention of residing there. The maximum penalty is 3 months imprisonment or a level 4 fine. Subsection (5) provides a defence to this offence if the accused was not a trespasser, or had a reasonable excuse for failing to leave or returning to relevant land, or was under 18 and living with his parent or guardian when the direction under section 62A was given.
Clause 63: Failure to comply with direction: seizure
144. This clause inserts a new section 62C into the 1994 Act. This provides the power for a constable to seize and remove a vehicle, if he reasonably suspects that the person who owns or controls the vehicle has committed an offence under Section 62B, and the offence relates to the vehicle in question.
Clause 64 and 65: Common land: modifications and interpretation
145. New section 62D of the 1994 Act (inserted by clause 64) makes necessary modifications to new sections 62A to 62C of the 1994 Act in their application to common land. New section 62E of the 1994 Act (inserted by clause 65) provides for the interpretation of terms used in new sections 62A to 62D of the 1994 Act. Unlike the existing powers in section 61 of the 1994 Act, the definition of "land" includes roads.
Clause 70: Extent
146. This clause provides that Part 6 and Part 9 of the Bill extend to England and Wales, and Scotland. The rest of the Bill extends to England and Wales only.
Schedule 1: Demoted Tenancies
147. Schedule 1 makes amendments to the Housing Acts 1985 and 1996 relating to demoted tenancies.
148. Paragraph 1 inserts new Chapter 1A into Part 5 of the Housing Act 1996. New section 143A of the Housing Act 1996 sets out the conditions for a demoted tenancy to which new Chapter 1A applies:
? the landlord must be a local housing authority or housing action trust;
? the tenant must occupy the dwelling-house as his only or principal home, or, where there are joint tenants, that each is an individual and at least one of them occupies the dwelling-house as his only or principal home; and
? the tenancy must have been created by a demotion order.
New section 143B sets out the duration of a demoted tenancy. A demoted tenancy will normally remain a demoted tenancy for one year, at which point it will become a secure tenancy. However, if the landlord issues a notice of proceedings for possession during the first 12 months of the demoted tenancy, the tenancy will remain a demoted tenancy beyond the initial 12-month period until one of the events in subsection 143B(4) occurs. Specific provisions also apply if either of the first and second conditions in section 143A is no longer satisfied or the tenant dies. For example, if the tenant no longer occupies the property as his only or principal home, it will cease to be a demoted tenancy and will become a non-secure public sector tenancy which may be ended by a notice to quit.
149. New section 143C makes provision for a change in the status of a demoted tenancy if, during the demotion period, the landlord's interest in the housing stock of which the dwelling-house forms part is transferred and the new landlord is neither a local housing authority nor a housing action trust (HATs). New sections 143D to 143F describe the process by which a demoted tenancy can be ended. The court must award possession, unless the landlord has failed properly to follow the procedure set out in sections 143E to 143F. The procedure is similar to that for ending introductory tenancies as set out in the Housing Act 1996.
150. The landlord must first serve a notice of proceedings on the tenant. The notice must contain the information prescribed in subsections 143E(2) and (5). The court will not hear proceedings begun on or before the date specified in the notice.
151. New section 143F requires the landlord to review a decision to seek possession if asked to do so by the tenant within 14 days from the date when the notice of proceedings for possession was served. The Secretary of State is given the power to make regulations with regard to the review procedure to be followed. After the review has taken place, the landlord must inform the tenant of its decision (giving reasons) before the date stated by the landlord's notice on which possession proceedings may be begun.
152. New section 143G allows possession proceedings to be continued if, for example, there is a change of landlord. It also provides that a demoted tenant will not have the right to buy unless the proceedings are determined and the tenant is not required to give up possession. In this case the tenant would become a secure tenant and so the right to buy would apply.
153. New sections 143H to 143J set out what happens to the tenancy if a demoted tenant dies during the demotion period. If the tenant was a successor in relation to the secure tenancy which preceded the demoted tenancy (or to the demoted tenancy itself) there is no further right of succession. If the tenant was not a successor then there may be one succession to a person qualified to succeed under new section 143H(3). New section 143J defines "successor" for these purposes.
154. New section 143K provides that a demoted tenancy cannot be assigned apart from by an order of the court in specified matrimonial or family proceedings. New section 143L ensures that demoted tenants may benefit from the right to repair as set out in section 96 of the Housing Act 1985.
155. New section 143M gives demoted tenants the same rights to information published by the landlord as secure tenants. New section 143N provides that the county court has jurisdiction to determine proceedings brought before it regarding demoted tenancies. If a person decides to take proceedings in the High Court that could have been heard in the county court under new section 143N, that person is not entitled to recover any costs related to that action.
156. New section 143P describes who counts as a member of a person's family for the purpose of succession to a demoted tenancy. The concept of an enduring family relationship includes established heterosexual, lesbian or gay unmarried couples.
157. Paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 makes consequential amendments to the Housing Act 1985.
158. Paragraph 2(2) amends section 105 of the Housing Act 1985 to give demoted tenants the same rights as secure tenants to consultation on matters relating to housing management.
159. Paragraph 2(3) amends Schedule 1 of the Housing Act 1985 to add demoted tenancies to the list of tenancies that are not secure tenancies.
160. Paragraph 2(4) amends Schedule 4 of the Housing Act 1985 to ensure that if a demoted tenant subsequently becomes a secure tenant and thereby entitled to the right to buy, time spent as a demoted tenant will not count towards the qualifying period for the right to buy or towards the level of discount to which he is entitled under the right to buy provisions.
Schedule 2: Curfew orders and supervision orders
161. Paragraph 2 of this Schedule amends section 37 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 so as to increase the period for which an offender aged 10-15 may be made the subject of a curfew order from up to 3 months to up to 6 months. It also specifies that the supervisor of a young person subject to a supervision order should also act as the responsible officer for the curfew requirement.
162. Paragraph 3 allows a court to make a separate curfew order in respect of an offender even if it is also making a supervision order in respect of him.
163. Paragraph 4 (1) to (3) amends Schedule 6 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 to increase the length of time for which the offender may be required to comply with specified directions of the supervisor or with requirements of the court from up to 90 days to up to 180 days. The directions or requirements may require the offender to live at a specified place and report to specified people at specified places and times. They may also require the offender to participate in activities identified by the supervision officer, such as offending behaviour programmes. The court requirements can also include one to make reparation. Paragraph 4 (4) repeals the paragraph of Schedule 6 which relates to night restrictions as this is no longer required.
164. Paragraph 4 (5) inserts a new paragraph 5A in Schedule 6 to the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000. New paragraph 5A creates a new requirement which may be imposed by the court in a supervision order. It allows the court to require an offender to live for a period of up to 12 months with a local authority foster parent, subject to certain conditions being specified. Paragraph 5A (2) sets out these conditions. They are that the offence must be one which is imprisonable in the case of an adult, and that the offence or combination of offences were so serious that the court would normally have imposed a custodial sentence, or a custodial sentence would have been appropriate in the case of a 10 and 11 year old persistent offenders had they been aged 12 or over. In addition the court must be satisfied that the offending was due in large part to the home circumstances, and that the fostering requirement would help with the offender's rehabilitation.
165. Paragraph 5A (3) allows the court to designate the local authority in whose area the offender resides as the one with the responsibility for placing the offender with foster carers, in line with their obligations under the Children Act 1989.
166. Paragraphs 5A(6) and (7) set out the circumstances in which the court may make a fostering requirement if the offender is not legally represented. Paragraph 5A (8) allows the court to impose other requirements available with a supervision order as set out in Paragraphs 2, 3, 6 and 7 of Schedule 6 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act when imposing a fostering requirement. Paragraph 5A (9) ensures that the local authority has the necessary powers to place the child in other local authority accommodation in an emergency.
167. The financial effects of the Bill will be subject to a number of variables, particularly related to the extent to which agencies utilise their new powers. Many of the powers are designed to enable local authorities and the police to carry out their existing responsibilities relating to anti-social behaviour in a more efficient and effective way. On current assumptions, which are not final, the Government estimates that gross costs will be in the order of £67m in 2004-05 and £60m in 2005-06. All of these costs should reduce over time as future offending is deterred. In addition, there are significant probable savings in terms of reducing disruption to communities caused by anti-social behaviour, preventing anti-social behaviour and reducing criminal offending although these are yet to be fully quantified. The departments responsible for the measures in the Bill are committed to their spending settlements; and the costs of the Bill will be met from within them. None of the Bill's provisions have tax implications.
Part 1: Premises where drugs are used unlawfully
168. The total cost for these measures is expected to be £2.5 million a year based on an estimated 300 cases a year. This includes costs to the Department of Constitutional Affairs related to court time and legal aid of approximately £0.8m, costs to local authorities of housing those made homeless of approximately £0.6m and the costs of the police in sealing the property at an estimated £1.3 million. The non-realisable benefits gained from the use of these new powers are expected to include, enhanced community safety, community well-being, reduction in crime, increase in value of properties and increase in trade for local businesses.
Part 2: Housing
Publishing policies and procedures on anti-social behaviour
169. There is expected to be an approximate overall cost of £319k in 2004-05 for local authorities to publish policies and procedures on anti-social behaviour.
Discretion in possession proceedings
170. There is expected to be a one-off cost of £5k in updating judicial training material in 2004-05.
171. There are expected to be costs to the courts of hearing these new applications for injunctions, and of breach of injunctions hearings. These are estimated at £48k in 2004/5 and £139k in 2005/6. There will also be associated legal aid costs. These are estimated at £62k in 2004/5 and £150k in 2005/6. There will also be benefits to the courts from this measure. There are likely to be fewer possession cases brought as anti-social behaviour is more successfully controlled and the community protected through injunctions. However, the Government estimates that there will be a net cost to the courts.
172. There are costs to local authorities and Housing Action Trusts (HATs) in obtaining injunctions and pursuing breaches of injunctions. These are estimated at £75k in 2004/5 and £233k in 2005/6. There are expected to be benefits to local authorities. Injunctions are seen as likely to reduce the number of possession actions which are necessary, as well as reducing the amount of housing officer time spent dealing with anti-social behaviour. The Government estimates that the overall financial impact on local authorities and HATs of this measure will be neutral.
173. There will be costs to the police in increased enforcement as there is likely to be a rise in the number of injunctions with power of arrest attached. The Government estimates that the costs to the police of this will be £3k in 2004/5 and £10k in 2005/6. There are also likely to be benefits to the police of the overall package of housing and anti-social behaviour measures. With more effective powers available to social landlords, there are expected to be fewer police call-outs to incidents of anti-social behaviour, and less escalation of anti-social behaviour into crime. The Government estimates that the overall impact on the police is likely to be a net benefit.
174. As this is a new measure, there will be some costs to the courts in new forms, staff training and changes to IT systems. These are estimated by Court Service to be £350k. Where demotion is sought in conjunction with possession, there will be no additional court costs. Where it is sought as a standalone measure, the Government estimates that the costs to the court will be £4k in 2004/5 and £13k in 2005/6. There will also be associated legal aid costs. These are estimated at £28k in 2004/5 and £90k in 2005/6. There are expected to be some benefits to the courts as anti-social behaviour is more effectively controlled and the requirement for other legal action in response to it is lessened.
175. There will be some costs to local authorities and HATs in applying for demotions. The Government estimates these to be £19k in 2004/5 and £60k in 2005/6. There are also expected to be benefits to social landlords through the more effective control of anti-social behaviour, and hence a reduction in the amount of officer time spent dealing with anti-social behaviour. The Government estimates the overall financial impact on local authorities and HATs of this measure will be neutral.
Part 3: Parental Responsibility
Truancy and exclusion from school
176. These measures will result in costs to local education authorities but by preventing truancy and permanent exclusions they are also expected to result savings, resulting from avoiding the need for prosecutions and alternative provision for permanently excluded pupils. Penalty notices will also provide a cheaper alternative to prosecution and generate revenue to offset enforcement costs. There will be costs to the courts resulting from the prosecution of parents who do not pay penalties for truancy and applications for exclusion-related parenting orders, but also savings from prosecutions avoided by parenting contracts or replaced by penalty notices. The net effect of these measures on local authority and court expenditure is estimated to be more or less neutral (a very small net increase in expenditure by local authorities estimated at £75k per year and a very small net reduction in expenditure by the courts estimated at £38k per year). These estimates do not take account of indirect savings from reductions in youth crime associated with parenting contracts and orders.
Criminal conduct
177. These measures will result in costs to youth offending teams but by preventing youth crime they are also expected to result in savings due to a reduction in the number of crimes being committed and the reduced number of prosecutions of children and young people. There will be costs to the courts from applications for anti-social behaviour parenting orders, but also savings from prosecutions avoided by parenting contracts. The net effect of these measures on court expenditure is estimated to be a small net increase of £48k per year for the additional parenting order court cases. Youth offending teams will be able to choose whether they want to make additional investment in early intervention at an estimated cost of £11.2m per year but with potential savings through reduction of youth crime of £19.6m per year across the youth justice system.
Part 4: Dispersal of groups
178. As a result of this measure there could be an increase in work for the criminal justice system in terms of increased numbers of prosecutions in the courts and financial implications for the duty solicitor scheme and legal aid fund. However, this power will be limited to areas where anti-social behaviour is a particular problem and should be offset by the deterrent effect of a power of arrest and the savings in terms of preventing anti-social behaviour.
Part 5: Sanctions etc.
Anti-social behaviour orders
179. Measures related to anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) will improve the process and overall cost of obtaining, monitoring and enforcing breach of anti-social behaviour orders and equivalent orders and providing support to parents of juveniles involved in anti-social behaviour. The measures allowing local authorities to access the youth court and prosecute breach of orders are optional and place no additional obligations on authorities. Similarly, enabling housing actions trusts (HATs) to apply for orders places no obligation on HATs. These measures allow agencies to use their time and resources more effectively according to particular circumstances. For example, a HAT will be able choose to apply for an ASBO rather than seek a possession order and eviction, which is usually more costly, or it may combine both proceedings.
180. Enabling individuals to be joined to related proceedings in the county court when their anti-social behaviour is a cause of those proceedings makes more effective use of court time by removing the need for a separate hearing. Requiring the courts to make an parenting order when making an ASBO against a juvenile aged under 16 is expected to reduce further anti-social and offending behaviour and thereby lead to savings in other areas of the criminal justice system. Before such savings are taken into account it is estimated costs relating to the measures will be approximately £370k.
Orders made on conviction
181. Measures related to orders made on conviction clarify the position of the prosecutor in seeking orders on conviction and are expected to ensure the process runs smoothly, thereby making more effective use of court time. The measures are also intended to ensure that orders on conviction are sought where appropriate and therefore preclude the need for a separate hearing in the magistrates' court. Without taking these efficiency savings into account it is estimated that related costs will be approximately £90k. There are no costs arising from removing automatic reporting restrictions on orders on conviction made against juveniles in the youth court.
Penalty notices for disorderly behaviour by young persons
182. It is planned to pilot the extension of the fixed penalty notice scheme to 16 and 17 year olds in 2004. The costs incurred will be subsumed in the existing arrangements for fixed penalty notices. Costs of national implementation will be assessed in the light of the pilots.
Curfew orders and supervision orders
183. Measures to allow fostering as an option for use with the supervision order will be piloted with approximately 20 places per year taking an average of 26 young people and each placement lasting an average of 9 months. Estimated total costs of the pilots will be £2m. This includes recruiting training and employing foster carers, evaluation of the pilots and an average weekly cost of £2k of paying foster carers, providing 24 hour support service to foster carers, educational and family support input and therapeutic intervention. There will be estimated savings from custody diversions of around £450k for the Youth Justice Board who commission and purchase secure juvenile places. There are also expected to be additional benefits to this measure which are difficult to quantify, such as reduction in crime for local communities, and a small reduction in the number of juveniles who are in custody.
184. Changes relating to intensive supervision orders and curfew requirements will allow the Youth Justice Board to increase the length of their intensive supervision and surveillance programme (ISSP) from the current 6 to 12 months. The measure will be rolled out gradually, and will cost youth offending teams £3m in year one rising to 6m in year 2. This includes the extra cost of supervision for the longer period and an increase in tagging costs. The funding will be provided in 2004-05 and 2005-06 through efficiency savings in the secure juvenile estate. Benefits to the community will include a reduction in crime, including reduced re-offending rates. A full evaluation of ISSP is being undertaken by Oxford University. The report of this evaluation is due in 2004.
Extension of powers of community support officers etc.
185. The extension of the power to issue penalty notices for disorder to persons accredited under community safety accreditation schemes will increase the number of people who can address these aspects of anti-social behaviour. There are training costs associated with this measure to be met by the organisation seeking accreditation, this is estimated at £136 per individual. The benefits in terms of fines paid and court savings are estimated at £77k in year one, rising to £390k in year three. In addition there are unrealisable benefits in terms of improved community safety.
Report by local authority of certain cases where a child is remanded on bail
186. Measures requiring local authorities to provide information to the court regarding young people placed on remand will mean minimal costs to the courts where an additional hearing is necessary to hear the local authority report back. This cost is estimated at £4k per year, and cost to the local authority for the production of the report is estimated at £47k per year. However, the benefit received by preventing re-offending on remand and increasing the attention to the needs of young offenders is expected to lead to savings across the youth justice system estimated at £562k. Overall the measures are expected to result in a benefit of £0.5m.
Part 6: Firearms
187. The Government estimates that changes related to the age at which young people can own an airgun will lead to approximately 250 arrests per year with approximately 70 cases proceeding to a court hearing at either a magistrates, court or a youth court. Estimated costs incurred by the Department of Constitutional Affairs will be approximately £60k; police costs are estimated at £8k and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) costs at £25k. The total costs are therefore estimated to be in the region of £93k. There are also expected to be savings as a result of a reduction in police time taken by dealing with complaints, and a reduction in the cost of damage to property.
188. Prosecutions under the new offences of having airguns and replica guns in a public place with no reasonable excuse will lead to estimated costs of £288k. The Department of Constitutional Affairs have estimated their costs at £230k. The Crown Prosecution Service estimate their costs at £26k. Police costs are estimated at £32k.
189. The use of the order making power to ban certain types of air weapons is expected to result in savings on the cost of investigating offences committed with this type of weapon. It is believed that this provision will have no adverse effect on police budgets if it is used to require existing owners to obtain a firearms certificate as the licensing system is run on a full cost recovery basis. The Government estimates the total costs of any prosecutions relating to possession of these weapons would be £143k.
|© Parliamentary copyright 2003
|Prepared: 27 June 2003


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Hey there everyone thanks for stopping by today. I'm going to share with you today a fun Halloween card that is perfect for that little spook in your life!! I'm loving the cute pattern paper from the Spirited collection from Authentique and you know that the Petaloo goodies go perfect with it....I mean really is there anything that Petaloo flowers don't go with????
So for my card I made the base of the card, then simply cut the pattern paper 1/4" smaller then the base. I centered that and adhered it with my Xyron Adhesive Runner. I then cut a couple of different size stripes and adhered those as well. The cute little die cut sayings up in the right corner and also next to the flower are from the same collection from Authentique.
I added some green ribbon that I had in my stash along the top and tied it into a bow. I am lovnig the black Burlap Blossoms on this card, and well I can't get enough of the Spring Berry Clusters either!!! I used the liquid glue for those that Xyron has out in their Teresa Collins Adhesive Kit. Once I placed those on the card, I then popped up the little Boo Crew saying. Now I have a cute little Halloween card ready to go! Here is a close up of the bottom of the card.
Supplies Used:
Petaloo - Burlap Blossoms (black) Spring Berry Clusters (Lav/Purple)
Authentique - Spirited Collection
Xyron - Adhesive Runner, foam squares & liquid glue
Ranger - Walnut Stain Distress Ink
Thanks so much for stopping by today, hope you have a wonderful day!!


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Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Cancer Podcast
Listen to Cancer Podcast
Posted by Nature Cures Clinic at 2:57 PM
Labels: alternative medicine, cancer, health, naturopathic
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Drs. Greg Eckel and Greg Nigh, naturopathic physicians and licensed acupuncturists, discuss a wide range of topics related to health and disease. You can submit your questions to firstname.lastname@example.com, and they will answer them promptly. Drs. Eckel and Nigh are primary care physicians specializing in alternative and complementary health care. You can learn more about them at naturecuresclinic.com.


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(Part One of Five of my Carmen Sandiego series, wherein I compare my travels to that of the fictional villainess)
Well she sneaks around the world from Kiev to Carolina,
She's a sticky-fingered filcher from Berlin down to Belize,
She'll take you for a ride on a slow boat to China,
Tell me where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
Kiev = yes
Kiev is the capital of Ukraine. It's more Russian-speaking than Ukrainian-speaking. It's the place where the Orange Revolution kicked off. And not too long after, it sort of got rescinded.
Highlight: Trying to find where Biden was going to be staying.
Lowlights: Having to leave one of my favorite hosts (Luda, who also got me hooked up with this Kyiv Post article.)
Kiev has a Roni On Location episode, found here and above.
Carolina, surpringly = no
North and South. I haven't been to either. You hit the Carolinas on a standard NY-Florida roadtrip. But having been born in NY, but not growing up there, I never did such a trip.
Berlin = yes
4 times. More than I've been to a lot of U.S. cities.
1) 2004
Smack dab in the middle of my first big solo trip. I stayed there for a week, one of only two places (the other being Prague) where I hung out for that long in, due to having a crew of people that I was hanging out with (that I met at the hostels therein).
It's also the site of my first karaoke experience.
2) 2007
Before my first English teaching gig in Italy, I hung out for a bit in Berlin with a girl that I had known briefly from a job in CA. It didn't go so well.
3) 2009
After Moscow, before heading to Frankfurt to fly to Alaska for my road trip with Tav, I stayed with Julia, a girl that I had previously met in Sarajevo, via CouchSurfing.
4) 2010
Thinking that it was central and accessible (via low-cost airlines and trains) for people all over Europe, I scheduled a party and invited everyone that I knew in Europe.
Highlights 2004-2010: Hanging out with a group of cool folks during my first trip in 2004. Getting worldclass treatment from my good friend/host, Julia.
Lowlights 2004-2010: Inviting everyone I knew in Europe to have only one dedicated Swiss friend (thanks, Pascal) make the trek to my European Shindig. Realizing that no matter how accepting I may be of my gay friends, gay clubs and I do not get along.
More pix of Berlin without me in front of the Berliner Dom (or holding a popsicle with a squinty look) can be found in my Berlin Flickr set.
Belize = no
With my Spring 2011 Latin America trip, I should be hitting this tiny, sub-Mexico (in geography) country.
China = yes
You know about China. It's big and it has a huge population.
And when you go around in it, you feel like you're in a massive Chinatown.
Highlights: Sneaking into the Forbidden City. Sneaking onto the Great Wall.
Lowlights: Some of my worst CouchSurfing experiences (or at least references), back to back.
You can see my excitement at sneaking into the Forbidden City on my sizzle reel.
The series will be continued in Part Two: "Steal their Seoul in South Korea"
All pictures can be found at http://flickr.com/roniweiss


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In the second attack of 2015 on a mosque of Shia sect in Shikarpur in Sindh over 60 people were martyred, the first attack was in Rawalpindi. Police has been prompt in terming it a suicide attack.
Reuters reported that Jundullah, a splinter group of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which last year pledged support for the Islamic State group based in Syria and Iraq, claimed responsibility. "Our target was the Shia mosque ... They are our enemies," said Jundullah spokesman Fahad Marwat
Residents of Sindh showed complete solidarity with the families who lost their near and dear. Sindh government announced a day of mourning in solidarity with the families of the victims and said the national flag would fly at half mast and compensation was also announced for the victims' families.
On the call of Majlis Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), a large number of men, women and children staged sit-in various parts of provincial capital as well as other cities. Protesters said that terrorists are roaming freely and the government has failed to protect citizens' lives.
MWM was joined by Sunni Ittehad Council, Sunni Alliance, Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek. However, many of the political and religious parties remained completely aloof.
Over the years it has been alleged that Punjab offers the safe sanctuaries for militants but PML-N been denying it. In the aftermath of Shikarpur carnage, Federal Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan has accepted presence of various militant groups and extremists in Punjab.
According to the scanty information provided to media 14,000 individuals were hauled up for investigation; 341 allegedly involved in hate speech; 1,100 warned for misuse of loudspeakers; and 41 shops closed for distributing hate material. These numbers pertain to the recent National Action Plan initiated only but no one knows about those arrested and freed.
The revelations by the interior minister indicate a continuing unwillingness to be as forthright as possible. Virtually nothing has been done in over a decade to clamp down on extremist and militant outfits in the province. According to the minister the groups operating in the province have soared to 95, well above the nationally banned 72 groups that the interior ministry itself has listed.
His revelation prompts following questions rightly raised by Dawn in one of its editorial:
- Which groups comprise the list of 95 militant/extremist outfits
- Which additional groups have become active in Punjab?
- Who are the leaders of these groups?
- Where do they operate?
- What is their reach?
- Who funds them?
- Which madressahs, mosques or religious networks are they tied to?
- What attacks have they carried out?
- And, perhaps most relevantly, what types of attacks are they suspected of planning?
While it is almost impossible to deny foreign involvement in such incidences, the real operators are certainly Pakistanis or those coming from other countries having found safe sanctuaries in Pakistan.
One has all the reasons to believe that most of the extremist outfits have bases in KPK, Punjab and Baluchistan
While these operators may kill hundreds of innocent people in those provinces to spread terrorism, killings in Sindh are aimed at making Pakistan economically weaker.
As such the interfaith harmony is at its peak in Sindh and Shia-Sunni rift is not a local phenomenon. Many in Sindh believe that sectarian killing in the province is done by groups based in other provinces.


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I am heading out to Tempe for IronMan Arizona.
The IronMan racing season starts this weekend in Tempe.
An IronMan race tests the body as well as the mind. After 8 hours of doing anything physical the mind takes over.
The race is on Sunday April 15, and you can watch the results live at IronMan Live
My bib number is 1175.
Look closely and you might see MonkeeDo


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- "Gray Leader standing by."
- ―Salm reporting in
Horton Salm[2] was a human male who served as a pilot in the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. He fought against the Galactic Empire during the Battle of Endor as leader of Gray Squadron.[1]
Behind the scenesEdit
Horton Salm first appeared in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, but was first identified as such in Star Wars: Galactic Atlas.
- Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (First appearance)
- Star Wars: Return of the Jedi junior novelization (Voice only) (as Gray Leader)
Non-canon appearancesEdit
- Star Wars: Galactic Atlas (First identified as Horton Salm)


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{Photo by rocketlass from the House on the Rock.}
Is it even humanly possible to resist a book with chapter titles like these:
Eccentric Behaviour and Noble MannersThey're from Born Under Saturn (1963), an anecdote-laden study of the relationship of art and madness by Margot and Rudolf Wittkower. Just republished by those strenuous supporters of melancholy, the New York Review of Books, I can tell after mere minutes that it's going to offer many a great line to share. Like this, from the section in "Genius, Madness, and Melancholy" called, "Was Franz Xaver Messerschmidt Insane?":
Genius Madness, and Melancholy
Suicides of Artists
Celibacy, Love, and Licentiousness
Misers and Wastrels
Even the most extravagant beliefs can hardle be quoted as proof of an individual's insanity, if they are shared by many thousands for hundreds of years.Or this, from "Artists and the Law":
It must be recalled that lawbreakers infested every country and every class of society. Unrestrained passions, violence and felonies of all kinds were not confined to a "criminal class." Kings and popes, members of the aristocracy and clergy burghers, craftsmen and peasants were all capable of crimes which now, as a rule, are the reserve of specialized professionals or maniacs.Elsewhere, they relate the story of an artist who slashes the face of a rival, but, through the peculiar justice of the early Renaissance,
at the last moment the penalty was commuted to service on one of the papal galleys, "in consideration of his being innocent of most of the accusations except the sin of face-slashing--if sin it is."No question that you'll be hearing more from this one in the coming months.