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- I love the All-Star game. The introductions are my favorite part. Makes me feel 10 again. I love the step forward and tip of the cap.
- The pregame was terrific. Loved the All-Stars Among Us tribute, including all living Presidents.
- To my relief, Sheryl Crow didn't butcher the Anthem as I've seen her do in the past. She was okay.
- It was great to see the Cardinals Hall-of-Famers, especially Stan Musial. I know some Cardinal fans are disappointed Musial didn't get the Ted Williams treatment from players, but if the same feeling's not there, they shouldn't force it.
- Barack Obama can work a locker room like no President I've seen. He needs to work on that rainbow first pitch though. Not as bad as his bowling, but a clear sign of someone who hasn't thrown a baseball much in his life.
- Major cool points to the President for wearing a White Sox jacket and not pandering to Cardinals fans. Do you think Hillary Clinton would have done that?
- Game was pretty good too, though the National League can't get out of its own way. At least this year John Bachman wasn't worried about whether the outcome would keep the Cubs from having home-field advantage in the World Series.
- Keno Davis is averaging more than one contract extension per year.
- I was skeptical about the Chiefs paying $63 million for Matt Cassel, a guy with one year as a starting quarterback since high school, but the NFL Network's Paul Burmeister tells me he thinks it's a smart move.
- Paul also said he has serious questions about the leadership of Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.
- Paul's most underrated NFL player? Peyton Manning. Think about that for a minute.
- Tony Romo reportedly dumped Jessica Simpson the night before her birthday. Andy thinks this was to save money on a gift.
- Florida's Urban Meyer says he'll never coach at Notre Dame. Based on the track record of college coaches who make statements like this, it's time for Charlie Weiss to watch his back.
- UNI is putting in new turf. Thank goodness. The Panthers old field feels like worn out cheap carpet spread over a concrete floor.
- It's good news that Jewel Hampton may be in uniform for the UNI game. We had two different sources tell us Hampton partially tore his ACL and would likely miss considerable action. Kirk Fernentz—through Gary Dolphin—says Hampton did injure a knee ligament, but doctors think he should be ready for the opener.
- The more I get to know LeBron James, the less I like him. He's a once in a lifetime talent, and as far as I know, a law-abiding citizen, but he has some punk tendencies. We saw the first sign of it with the bad sportsmanship after the Magic crushed the Cavs, and another look when LeBron (reportedly) conspired with Nike to prevent anyone from seeing the King get dunked on. That's just stupid. Plus, it only makes us want to see that tape more.
- NASCAR says Jeremy Mayfield tested positive for meth AGAIN. Keep this guy off the track.
- Brett Favre says he'll let the Vikings know by July 30th if he's their quarterback. In other news, Brett Favre will announce July 30th that he's coming out of retirement to quarterback the Vikings.
Murph's Stream of Consciousness for July 15th
6 comments
Murph you forgot to mention the most important thing happening; that coach Thomas' son will be replacing his dad this season on the field. It is good to see that his legacy will live on through someone who appears to share the same great qualities his dad did.
John Stossel
Lay off King James sheesus! He doesn't disrespect you, so don't disrespect him, at least, until you get to know the guy personally.
FYI: From Chronicles of Higher Education:
Any thoughts on college athletic and broken system in higher education? State of CA is completely broke. Jobs cuts, no $ for schools, programs being cut. Yes, this was a contract between the school and a coach. But that does not make it right in the state schools.
July 10, 2009
The Coach Who Wouldn't Leave
San Diego State University fired its head football coach, Chuck Long, last November after his third straight losing season. So why's he still keeping office hours?
Mr. Long, a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy but a coach whose Aztec teams went a combined 9-27, has a clause in his contract guaranteeing him $715,900 per year through December 31, 2010, as long as he keeps working at the university. If he gets a new job, he forgoes the money.
Not many takers on the job market these days — surely no one willing to pay a losing coach that kind of coin. So like a modern-day George Costanza, Mr. Long is hanging around the campus doing "projects and analysis."
San Diego State is paying an outside consultant $125 an hour to work out a settlement. And university officials say that $1-million has been pledged to pay off the former coach's contract, but it's not clear how much of that has come through.
I am a lifelong Vikings fan and frustrated that Favre wants to play for us! The Packers are our #1 rivals. Favre needs to STAY in retirement or go back to the Packers.
Just my thoughts on the issue :)
Keith Murphy
Smart and needed move for the healing of AP.
I don't need to know LeBron personally to recognize bad sportsmanship and bratty behavior.
I can't fault Chuck. It's a contract. Good work if you can get it.
I feel your pain, but he'll quarterback the Vikings.
Kirk Diggler
Keith, 2 instances of supposed bad sportsmanship and/or bratty behavior is no reason to start labeling the guy as a punk.
I bet if I poked around long enough, I could find instances where you acted bratty or with bad sportsmanship. I know I have and still do occasionally. He's a human, just like everyone else. If I was 24 years old, and the worst you could say about me is that I didn't shake someone's hand and that I didn't want people to see a video of me getting faced, I'd take it in a heartbeat. I think most everyone else in this world would to.
Comments are closed.
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President Trump Gives Medal of Freedom to Former Attorney General Edwin Meese
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Hickenlooper Ends Presidential Campaign
Metro Teen Creates Downtown Des Moines in Popular Video Game
His Dad Has Been Deployed 10 Times. This is His Message to Other Military Kids
Tim Ryan Drops Out of Presidential Race, Will Run for Re-Election to Congress in Ohio


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Is it just me or do you love cake? A nice cup of tea and a slice of cake always makes the day better, don't you agree? I made the most tastiest banana loaf - my best to date!
You will need:
140g butter
140g sugar
140g self-raising flour
2 large or 3 medium eggs
1 tsp of baking powder
2 over ripe bananas
50g icing sugar
A few crushed banana chips
1. Preheat the oven to 180C for fan assisted or gas mark 4. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with parchment.
2. Cream the butter and sugar then slowly add the eggs with a spoonful of flour. Add the remaining flour, baking powder and mashed bananas.
3. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin, bang on the counter to get rid of air bubbles and bake for 30-40 minutes all depending on your oven.
4. Let the loaf cool in the tin for 10 minutes
5. Mix the icing sugar with tbsp of warm water. Add more or less to get a thick consistency. If you want pop the mixture in a piping bag and pipe a pattern on the top, if not just drizzle with a spoon. Then decorate with the crushed banana chips!
Happy baking beauties

subset: commoncrawl


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|Instantaneous speed
|The speed of an object at one instant of time.
|Average speed
|Equals the total distance traveled divided by the total time time taken to travel the distance.
|Amount of matter in an object.
|Tendency of an object to resist a change in it's motion.
|Law of conservation of momentum
|States that the total momentum of objects that collide with each other is the same before and after the collision.
|Center of mass
|Point in a object that moves as if all of the mass were concentrated at that point.
|Gravitational force between an object and Earth.
|A push or a pull.
|Net force
|Combination of all forces acting on an object.
|Distance is how far you have walked. Displacement is the direction and difference in position between your starting and ending points.


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The Team of Tomorrow, or at Least the Next Hour and a HalfAccording to reports confusing even by Internet standards, the Celtics are no longer the NBA's youngest team building a champion of the future. They are now a collection of superstars on the back nine out to win the 2008 NBA title or else. Unless, of course, the deal for Kevin Garnett falls through (again). Then it's back to the juggernaut of 2011! Don't cancel those season tickets. Please.
I have to figure this time the deal goes down. Celtics fans are a credulous lot, but if TWO Garnett trades fail to occur in a little over a month, even they will realize they're being jerked around.
So let's assume the Celts will consist of Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and 9 guys to be named later and changed continuously. Would that be better than Celtic Youth on the March? Definitely. Would that team be favorites to win the Eastern Conference? Yes, even if Danny Ainge neglects to fill those nine vacant roster spots.
That's not to say, however, the deal WILL take place. Ainge has taught Celtics' observers to keep loose in the batter's box. The New Idea has a tendency to be replaced by a Newer Idea at a dizzying pace. The Celts should print their rosters on those Erase-A-Sketch wax pads popular when I was a kid.
So let me salute the grizzled vets who'll lead the Celtics back to glory next season, and/or the next great players of the 21st century who'll build their own legend in seasons to come. At this point, the Celtics' rallying cry is "Whatever."


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Whether you are using iPhone or Mac, managing files properly is very important. There are two major advantages of perfect file management on iDevices It won't let your device be cluttered. It will prevent the iCloud storage from going overboard.
Fortunately, macOS Sierra has tried to solve the file management issue with the introduction of "Optimized Storage" feature. Once enabled, it automatically removes the old or unused files from your Mac and stores them to iCloud. You can download those items from the cloud whenever you want.
Want to free up storage as well as manage files properly on your Mac powered by macOS Sierra? Let me walk you through the process!
How to Use Optimized Storage in macOS Sierra on Mac
Step #1. Click on the Apple icon at the top-left corner of the screen.
Step #2. Now, choose About this Mac in the drop-down menu.
Step #3. In the System Storage window, you need to click on Storage tab → Click on Manage.
Now, you should see the four Optimized Storage options on the right side of the window.
- Store in iCloud
- Optimize Storage
- Empty Trash Automatically
- Reduce Clutter
Let's take a closer look at each.
#1. Store in iCloud
It will affect your iCloud Storage limit. But, if you have already enabled Desktop and Documents Syncing as well as iCloud Photo Library, it won't affect your iCloud storage limit.
Step #1. Click on "Store in iCloud" tab.
Step #2. Then, check the box for Store files from Desktop and Documents in iCloud Drive. It will store the files which are on your desktop and in the Documents folder.
Step #3. Check the box for Store photos and videos in iCloud Photo Library. It will store your entire original photos and videos in iCloud.
Step #4. Click on Store in iCloud again to allow the iCloud syncing.
#2. Optimize Storage
Optimize Storage lets you store the media (like movies as well as TV shows you have watched on iTunes) which is not in the cloud. You have the option to re-download the media if you wished to watch it later. Besides, it allows you to store your email attachments as well.
Step #1. Click on Optimize.
Step #2. You need to click Optimize again to allow it to remove the iTunes movies as well as TV shows you have already watched.
#3. Empty Trash Automatically
It will automatically erase the files left in the trash for over 30 days.
Step #1. Click on Turn On which is in the Empty Trash Automatically section.
Step #2. You have to click on Turn On again in order to confirm.
#4. Reduce Clutter
"Reduce Clutter" allows you to clean up files manually on your Mac. It makes easy to identify old or large items which you might not need any more.
Step #1. Click on the Review Files button in the Reduce Clutter section.
Step #2. Now, select the file categories in the sidebar. As for instance, you can choose Documents, GarageBand, Applications, iOS Files, iTunes, or Trash. Check out the storage occupied by any file in the list. If you no longer want any item, remove it.
That's it!
Enjoyed this tutorial? Share your feedback in the comments on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. Also, don't forget to download our iOS app on your iPhone and iPad.


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Audiobook, n. A way to infuse wonderful literature with shots of long car trips, dishwashing duty, and ketchup stain removal.
Author, n. One whose name is printed on books that were drafted by some else. See writer.
Autobiography, n. A partially true book in which someone tells about his own adventures. See biography.
Biography, n. A partially true book in which someone tells about someone else's misadventures.
Bookstore, n. A place where one goes to drink coffee.
Classic, n. A book one reads in class. People who read these books outside of class are attempting a form of self-mortification that will, in many cases, leave them with the temperament of Cormac McCarthy.
E-book, n. More real than a graphic novel, even when said graphic novel is in print format.
Historical fiction, n. 1. Novels that people used to read. 2. Social studies textbooks.
Horror, n. 1. A genre that exists because some humans associate fear with adrenaline and enjoy both. 2. The feeling that afflicts a normal person upon observing someone reading a classic outside school grounds.
Iambic pentameter, n. Often used as an incantation to frighten particularly annoying children.
Index, n. Highly valued by college students. Ignored by everyone else.
Poetry, n. The genre whose primary audience consists of its writers.
Prose, n. In college football, players are paid with free passing grades. In the prose, however, players are paid in money.
Rhyme, n. Poems with this quality will not be read by the editors of literary journals. Poems without it will not be read by anyone else.
Science fiction, n. 1. The geocentric theory. 2. A literary genre that is broader than the universe.
Table of contents, n. The library mending desk after all the damaged book covers have been removed.
Thickness, n. The presence of this quality makes a book useful to drop on burglars.
Writer, n. One who composes books for the sake of (other people's) great fame and (his own) financial survival.


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Indigenous soil and water conservation in Africa
Reij, C.
MetadataShow full item record
"The objective of this paper is to assess our current knowledge of indigenous SWC in Africa and to identify research needs and policy requirements in the field of African indigenous SWC. Three major issues are explored in the main text. The first demonstrates that despite a growing awareness of its importance, African indigenous SWC continues to be neglected. The second analyses present trends in indigenous SWC. Are indigenous techniques increasingly abandoned and if so, why? Can we identify cases where indigenous SWC techniques continue to be maintained and even expanded? The third briefly examines the effect of project interventions. Some examples will be given of project interventions damaging indigenous SWC and of others improving the efficiency of indigenous SWC techniques. The annex contains details and diagrams of indigenous SWC from Cameroon, Morocco, Somalia, Sudan and Tunisia." (Excerpt from Introduction)
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Links: Course Outline, Lecture Notes, Homework, Free Software
STA 294: Special Topics
Belief Networks
Instructor:Mark Peot
MWF, 9:10AM- 10:00 in Old Chemistry, Room 025.
Synopsis: Belief networks[ are an increasingly popular tool for representing uncertainty in artificial intelligence, statistics, and engineering. Belief networks are finding application in many products that people use everyday, for example, Microsoft has developed belief network-driven applications for several products, including the Answer Wizard of Office 95, the Office Assistant (the bouncy paperclip guy) of Office 97, and over 30 Technical Support Troubleshooters. Belief networks have found application in a number of domains, including:
The belief network representation and inference algorithms subsume many special purpose algorithms; including, for example, those used for prediction, estimation, and smoothing in linear statistical models (including Kalman filters and mixture models).
STA 294 is designed to introduce the student to the theory and application of belief networks and other graphical models for joint probability distributions. Topics discussed include:
Grading:Homework (50%) and a course project (50%).
Prerequisites:Probability, including Bayes Law, multinomial and normal distributions and basic statistics.
(Required) Castillo, Gutierrez, and Hadi, Expert Systems and Probabilistic Network Models, Springer-Verlag, 1997.
(Required) STA 294 Course Reader
(Recommended) Laurtizen, Graphical Models, Oxford University Press, 1996.
[AKA Bayesian networks AKA Bayes nets AKA causal probabilistic networks AKA directed graphical models.
Copyright 1999, Mark Alan Peot


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Cool your house smarter this summer for energy efficiency and a lower power bill.
As a city in a subtropical climate, the need to cool our homes in summer is a fact of life in Brisbane. But could you be doing it more efficiently? Read on for tips on how you can save money on power bills and reduce your carbon footprint.
Cover your windows
Invest in blinds and/or lined curtains and – if budget allows – install external awnings over the west-facing windows. When you're out for the day, cover your windows. By simply closing curtains over large glass areas you can prevent significant heat transfer into the home and any air conditioning won't have to work as hard.
Love the humble ceiling fan
If you own your own property and have no ceiling fans, consider paying a sparkie to install a few (fans are cheaper to buy online, and plentiful). If you already have air con installed, ceiling fans are an excellent substitute on all but the hottest days, making the room feel 3°C cooler. Ceiling fans are also more energy efficient than ever. DC (direct current) powered models use up to 70% less power than the old standard fans.
Install roof insulation
If budget allows, have roof insulation installed. In Australia, 40% of our energy use is consumed in buildings. The financial savings from insulation greatly exceed the investment costs – insulation in the average building pays for itself within two to four years.
Buying air con? Do your research
A reverse-cycle inverter-type air conditioner is the most efficient. Don't buy bigger than your need – a credible air conditioning installer will assess your home and recommend a kilowatt size that delivers the best cost efficiency. Also make make sure your system is fully programmable. That will help avoid the temptation to leave it on when you leave the house for long periods.
Get sweet with 24 degrees
Set your air conditioning between 27 and 24 degrees. This is the sweet spot in hot weather for comfort versus cost. Every degree you go lower will increase your power consumption by 10%.
On hot days, don't wait
There is a widespread belief that on a hot day you should wait as long as you can before turning on your cooling system. Not so. When you know a hot day is coming, waiting until the hottest part of the day means your air con has to work twice as hard to reach your target temperature, and may never reach it. That means higher power bills.
*Energy saving actions could save a typical Australian household about $605 over the course of a year. (see Australian Government – Reduce Your Energy Bills)


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Lovely Sheen ordered a pair of sitting dolls a year ago and then, she wanted a standing pair. She wanted something unique. something elegant and classy. We've brainstormed ideas of the new wedding dolls for quite sometimes, ended up took me a year to complete!! LOL! I think the longest pair I ever did. I'm glad it turns out fabulous!
Crocheted a Prince William wedding suit for the groom doll. The bride doll was dressed in a gown that looks almost similar to the one that Sheen has chosen for her pre wedding photoshoot...
Aren't they lovely?
So sorry to keep all of you waiting for new updates. Been so busy lately! I'll try my best to update the blog as often as possible. Please don't stop visiting my blog. :)


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We can help with aviation marketing products, 3D rendering services and so much more!
We trace our roots back to the prop-driven era of airplanes. Throughout our rich history, we've made them all—twin jets, military aircraft, supersonic jets, even unmanned aircraft and drones. Today, our portfolio expands beyond aviation and aerospace. We serve many diverse industries from medical to ground transportation to entertainment.
PacMin is renowned for its aviation models which are masterful replicas of the full-size aircraft. We can also produce desktop sized and large scale models of aircraft parts such as engines, winglets, and tails. Learn more about PacMin's capabilities.
PacMin Studio specializes in custom trade show exhibits, CGI marketing, and the unusual. Our team relishes the challenge and the thrill of transforming dreams into tangible marketing show pieces. Learn more about PacMin Studio's capabilities.


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Welcome to the Library & Study Centre
Library & Study Centre Manager : Ms Anna Morton
When is the Library & Study Centre open?
Monday - Friday, 8.15am - 3.30pm
How many books can be borrowed and for how long?
3 books may be borrowed for 3 weeks. Hopefully students return their books on time but reminders are regularly put in the tutor group registers. We do ask students to either replace or pay for lost or damaged books.
Library & Study Centre Resources
A variety of resources are available:
- Reference, fiction and non-fiction books
- A daily newspaper and magazines
- 10 networked computers with a black and white printer
- Topic research boxes for use in the classroom
Information Research Skills
The Year 7 'Learning to Learn' programme is supported by the library. Students undertake a research programme in the library where they have the opportunity to use the library resources and to practice their independent research skills - note-taking, skimming and scanning, how to search effectively on the internet for information etc.
Supporting Reading for Pleasure and Literacy
Students are encouraged to keep reading anything and everything.
- Quiet Reading Library lessons for Year 7 & 8 Classes are held every fortnight in the library. This provides the opportunity to read quietly and to choose books to take home.
- Reading Lists are provided to support reading choice. We also use an online website 'Lovereading4schools' to publish book lists online.
Please click on the'Reading Lists' page to see these.
- Accelerated Reader is a reading programme which is used by the English department and supported by the library.
Please click on the sidebar to read about this in more detail.
- The Reading Challenge Cup is given to the House which scores the most Reading Challenge Award points every two terms. The Reading Challenge Awards can be earned by taking a Library book out, using the Word of the Week, writing a book review and taking part in the Reading Challenge Cup competitions.
Word of the Week changes every week. Click on the sidebar to see this week's word.
- Special Events are held throughout the year to celebrate reading and literacy. Roald Dahl Day is celebrated in September and World Book Day in March. Our Readathon raised over £500 in February 2019 .
The Creative Writing Group
- The group meets every Tuesday lunchtime 1.10pm to 1.55pm upstairs in the library to just enjoy writing and letting our imaginations take flight. Everyone from any year is welcome.
Writer in Residence
Local author (and Warriner teaching assistant) Philip S Davies runs the group every Tuesday. He helps our young writers develop their creative writing skills and they give him feedback on his new book.


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They could be the next stars of "The Biggest Loser."
Seven elephants at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park have lost a combined total of 11,314 pounds ever since zookeepers enforced a nutrition and exercise regiment for them in 2000.
The rotund captive elephants that zoo visitors are familiar with are mostly overweight compared to those in the wild.
To get the elephants back in shape, zookeepers introduced a diet high in hay and stopped feeding them treats such as bread, corn and jelly beans.
Instead of three big meals per day, they get several small meals. Zookeepers also scatter the food around the yard so the elephants have to work to find it.
At the San Diego Zoo, keepers also trained the elephants to walk laps around their enclosure. Elephants at the Wild Animal Park are also encouraged to walk across their 3-acre enclosure. Workers rake the packed soil to simulate jogging on soft sand.


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Sanctions are the primary mechanism through which competitions are recognized by SSC.
The objective of the Hosting Manual is to provide members of organizing committees with sufficient information and guidance to enable them to plan, organize and conduct a major Canadian speed skating championship.
Meet Manager is a software tool offered by Speed Skating Canada to help manage short track meets.
© 2019 Speed Skating Canada. All Rights Reserved.


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"Transition" as a Technology of Power – Environmentalities
by bojanboric
The new post-socialist authorities perceived that the total break with the Soviet past was necessary especially in terms of dissolution of the Soviet system of spatial organization, ideological, institutional and social structures. This notion which may be summarized in one sentence as "throwing away the heavy weight of the past" (StanilovK. 2007) is in essence similar or could be viewed as a parallel process that occurred in the West during the 1980's and preceded the revolutions in most Eastern European countries when neoliberal doctrines conducted by Thatcher and Reagan dominated the other "transition" – a shift from the Fordist system of production organized within the Keynesian welfare state system to a much more geographically open entrepreneurial system of governance and market based society (Harvey D. 1989). The lessons learned in the West during this process were soon implemented even more radically by IMF, the WTO and the World Bank (Stanilov 2007) in the process of institutional restructuring of societies in CEE countries through privatization, deregulation, decentralization, weakening of the state, strict monetary controls, austerity measures, etc. This time the most radical version of transformation was implemented as a form of "Shock Therapy" and directed by economists, such as Jeffrey Sacks who believed that only radical measures could achieve positive results in the long term. In this context the remains of the socialist system were metaphorically compared to a " cancerous growth" (Stanilov 20007) that needed to be severed and uprooted in the shortest possible time.
This overall institutional transformation has enabled local governments to engage directly with the international and local investors and business and this also transformed the role of the institutions in urban planning. This kind of new role of government as a facilitator of business interests rather then the defender of public interest reveals an essential conflict between two main components of the post socialist transition, the economic shift to market economy and the political process of democratization of society. According to Vaclav Belohradsky who refers to American sociologist Daniel Bell, there is an inherent conflict in late capitalism that he refers to as "the disjunction of realms". For Bell, economy, politics and culture are the most important aspects of modern capitalism and if any of the three aspects become extremely dominant in society they negatively affect the other two. For example, the "imperative of maximum efficiency and profit" causes subjugation of society and shifts the balance of political power hugely in favor of those forces whose sole interest is profit making.
Thus, "the imperative of equality" as a democratic ideal becomes threatened by growing economic powers and in such case the coexistence of market economy and democracy lie on the shaky grounds. Another notable disjunction in the transition is that of two kinds of transitions: The first is the imaginary transition represented as a populist post-modern and utopian concept reflected in the belief in the life in desire driven consumerism visible in the images on urban billboards and in the media and the other type of transition is the actual bureaucratic process of admission to the European Union. This bureaucratic kind is perhaps the only "real" transition consisted of the relentless machinery of standardisation, seen as the essential to the process of EU accession. According to Alexander Kiossev, "every single sphere of social reality" needs to be synchronized through the implementation of EU standards and by involvement of variety of experts, auditors, controllers, etc. Every single aspect of life is to be adjusted to the new standards and those countries that do not comply with such procedures face severe sanctions. By replacing the Soviet version of biopolitics aimed to produce the new utopian society through centralized system of planning within a given state apparatus, the EU driven biopolitics introduces the process of shaping desirable populations on global scale by imposing norms on their local environment, interacting directly with their cultural habits, influencing daily life and not merely interacting with the classical state as a single center of power (since there is no such thing). Thus, new more acceptable forms of culture, which assures compliance with EU's own apparatuses of security aims to produce new citizens.


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Description: A spicy way to change your regular hamburger.Serving Size: 1-5Time: 10 minutesDifficulty: Easy
- Ground beef any amount adjust spices for beef amount
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons dijion mustard (sometimes I will use Sweet Hot Mustard for a different taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepperPreparation:
- Start grill or the stove.Instructions:
- Mix all ingredients together forming patties taking care not to compress them more than necessary.
- Grill or panfry.
- Add your favorite cheese. Try crumbled Feta cheese or goat cheese once in a while.


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Tech Gifts for Grinches
The holiday gift-giving season is all about family. That sounds great, but, let's face it, you can't choose your family. Chances are you've got at least one family member on your list who's simply a miserable, terrible person with no ability whatsoever to experience joy in life. Add in friends' significant others (you can't choose them either, no matter how you might wish you could) and whoever you draw in the office secret Santa pool (ditto), and the chances that you've got a Grinch or Scrooge on your list are even higher.
The temptation might be to leave your personal Grinches off your list (or to give them lumps of coal) but, as the Crachitts and Betty Lou Who knew, the holidays aren't about giving people their just deserts, but rather extending them some measure of charityno matter how ill-deserved. Yet, if you get them a cheery holiday sweater or a lovely decoration, they might do something terrible to you. Plus, you know they'll just throw it away, so it's money wasted. And, let's be honest, the safe old fall-back gift card is just a sign of having given up on the person. It's so safe it borders on humbuggery. You're not going to melt the Grinch's heart with a $25 Barnes and Noble card.
The problem is, what will make the Grinch or Scrooge in your life really happy? Spontaneous outburst of song and visitations from Angels of various time periods are tough to pull off, after all. Not to worry: we've come up with a list of 10 Tech Gifts for the Grinch in your life.
Find more great high-tech holiday gift


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How long is the foreclosure process if I have already modified my mortgage once?
I modified my mortgage a few months ago and still struggling. I owe $315 and it's worth about $200. So, after thinking about it I am considering just letting it go into foreclosure. Since I have already been thru this process with them and re-negotiated my mortgage, is the foreclosure process quicker? Will they start the foreclosure process after I have missed only one payment? How long do I have to try and save money and find somewhere to live? Has anyone been thru this?
You were able to modify your loan in order to make it current. Now you begin the whole process again, starting with the time you miss your payments, sent a default notice, pre-foreclosure, foreclosure sale and eviction. Usually, this would take months in order to process but if you want to expedite the case, you can just move out of your house and leave the keys there. Tell the bank that you are no longer capable of paying your mortgage and want that your house be foreclosed on.
However easy you think this process is, it will give grave negative effects to your credit rating, and more importantly to your life as a whole. Once the foreclosure is complete, it will stay in your credit record for a period of seven years. Your credit score will be lowered by 200 to 300 points, affecting all the applications that you make. If you want to get a car or new mortgage, you would not be qualified because of your rating. If you lose your job, you may also find it hard to find another because of your record. Your car insurance will definitely increase as well as the interest rate of your credit card. You might not even buy a house unless you are able to give at least 20% of down payment.
As a solution, talk to your lender and let him agree on a short sale. Through this, you will be able to sell your house at a fair market value and avoid the process of foreclosure.


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Beautifully presented this unfurnished large 4 bedroom, 5 living area, 2 kitchen, 2 bathroom home will accomodate almost any family size. Lovingly renovated throughout, you are welcomed into the formal living and dining area, which leads into the central renovated kitchen with ample bench and cupboard space, dishwasher and 900mm stainless steel gas cooker. Adjoining meals and family rooms compliment and then lead into the downstairs rumpus room overlooking the outdoor deck and garden area. This then leads to another separate downstairs living area which has the as new 2nd kitchen area, perfect as a teenagers retreat, guest quarters or for entertaining a large family. All bedrooms feature built in robes, the master having its own walk in robe and full ensuite bathroom, the central renovated 2nd bathroom has a separate shower and bath, there is also a separate 2nd toilet and a separate laundry with direct external access.
Also feaures:
Ducted heating throughout
Multiple split systems and ceiling fans
Double lock up garage and single carport
Additional 2 x off street car spaces
2 x powered storage sheds
Additional 2 x storage sheds
Manicured gardens and outdoor decked area
Pets will be considered on request
Ideally located within a short distance to more than 6 x local Primary Schools and 3 x local Secondary schools, Sydney Parkinson, Singleton and Frog Hollow Reserves, Bus routes: 842, 845, 861 and 863 to Hallam train station, easy access to Monash Freeway and centrally located between Endeavour Hills Shopping Centre, Dandenong Plaza and Fountain Gate Westfield.
By registering your details you will be informed of any updates, changes or cancellations for this property. If no one registers for an inspection time, then the inspection may not proceed.


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Great projects! Thanks for sharing! I'm a follower here and on facebook. firstname.lastname@example.com
Sunday, December 11, 2011
is drum roll please.........ReinasMomma said...
Please email me at email@example.com with your snail mail address...Thanks for playing along!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
SBD and LSHD blog hop
Hello!! Welcome to the
Scrapping Bug Designs and
Little Scraps of Heaven Designs
Handmade Christmas Gift Idea Blog Hop.
If you are just starting this hop you need to go to Chrissy's blog
This blog hop starts Saturday 12:00 am and runs til Saturday 11:59 pm
(central time)
We are so glad that you have decided to hop along with us. Throughout our hop we hope to inspire you with lots of ideas for creating your own handmade Christmas Gifts this year .There will be some great blog candy along the way as well as a.....
GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY of .....
~$100.00 in free patterns from Scrapping Bug Designs
~$100.00 in free patterns from
Little Scraps of Heaven Designs!!! ~~~WOW
To be eligible for the Grand Prize.... You MUST..... follow all blogs, leave a comment on all blogs, become a follower of Scrapping Bug Designs and Little Scraps of Heaven designs on facebook , leave a comment there to know you made it through the hop!Here's the Line up
Chrissy Palmer
Deborah Foti
Linda Mortenson
Cindy Phillips
Nancie Brungard
Jane McKinney
Angie Christensen
Liz Hagag
Tracey Geneau
Jeana Sealock
Kandice Jarrell
Emily Lanham
Pam Pease
http://geezypeaseypapercrafting.blogspot.com/ YOU ARE HERE!
Paula Wells
Tammy Luiz
Leann Duncan
Lisa Rhodes
Tricia Moore
Here are my projects!
Here are my projects!
The first one is using an old fashioned lollipop and scrapping bug designs cut file Country Christmas... The second one is a pillow box using another cut file from scrapping bug designs called Holiday Magic.
Now time for some Blog Candy!!!!
Now time for some Blog Candy!!!!
Leave me a comment here and make sure you follow my blog! Please also follow our fan page on Facebook! I will pick a random winner on Sunday morning.
Thanks a bunch and good luck!
Now off to ....
Now off to ....
Paula Wells
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The ambrosial aroma of these tiny flowers draws millions of bees and creates linden honey, a pale colored honey despite it's strong aroma and taste. The aroma is described as woody, pharmacy and fresh, also described as mint, balsamic, menthol and camphor. Therapeutically the honey is used primarily for treating colds and fever and is said to strengthen the heart. It is reputed to be one of the best tasting and most valuable honeys in the world.
Medicinally the flowers have been used by herbalists to cure insomnia and nervous anxiety. A tissane is also good for colds, fevers and nervous headaches. It is said to be one of the best herbs for hypertension, second only to hawthorne.
I took a walk up my block one morning and harvested about a pound of linden blossoms. In the cool shade of the tree I had only to reach up and gently pull the copious blossoms into my muslin bag. They're drying in baskets laid with parchment all over the kitchen. I'm also tincturing some as I did last summer using successive batches of flowers macerated in the same alcohol. I'm planning to use it as a perfume base. It's a difficult aroma to capture and the absolutes I've sampled are lovely but don't come close to capturing it's elusive sweetness. Even the co2's I've come across, although close, don't really possess it's charms. It's on it's third round of flowers now and has turned a beautiful pale yellow/green. The aroma is sweet and has taken on some of the notes in the flowers. It doesn't have much tenacity and it's very faint but if the right notes are built around it and don't dominate it I think it will give some lovely top notes to a summery fragrance. (More on tincturing later.)
In Proust's Swann's Way the narrator dips a petite madeleine into a cup of Tilia blossom tea. The aroma and taste of cake and tea triggers his first conscious involuntary memory. Indeed, the gentle fragrance in the afternoon air triggers memories of June in the late 80's when I first moved to my neighborhood, Park Slope, and had to know where that iniminable fragrance was coming from.
"When from the distant past nothing remains, after the beings have died, after the things are destroyed and scattered, still, alone, more fragile, yet more vital, more insubstantial, more persistent, more faithful, the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls, ready to remind us, waiting and hoping for their moment, amid the ruins of everything else; and bear unfaltering, in the tiny and almost impalpable drop of their essence, the immense architecture of memory.
"Yet again I had recalled the taste of a bit of madeleine dunked in a linden-flower tea which my aunt used to give me (although I did not yet know and must long await the discovery of why this memory made me so happy), immediately the old gray house on the street where her room was found, arose like a theatrical tableau…"
–Marcel Proust, Du côté de chez Swann (1913) in: À la recherche du temps perdu vol. 1, p. 47 (Pléiade ed. 1954)(S.H. transl.)


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January 24, 2008
Another hiatus
I blogged with a vengeance all month...have a record 85 posts in the first 3 weeks of January (coming close on the heels of a record 73 posts in December 2007) ...and so, it is perhaps time for a slow-down or breather anyways. Go find my 'voice' or my place in the world or something :)
All this blogging and hardly anyone even reads the blog anyways! I quite enjoy it as it allows me to collect things of interest I read about on the internet or in books in one place but at some point practicality has to set in and I have to answer the obvious question: What is the point of all the time and effort that goes into this?
Anyways... I'll be back to blogging for sure - likely in late February or by early March for sure. Until then... be good.. have fun and enjoy your time.
So I think after taking a hiatus for some years and coming back, I'm finding my voice and my place again in the world of music around me. - Boz Scaggs
January 22, 2008
And then there was one
One surviving French veteran (poilu) from World War I, that is.
Louis de Cazenave, one of the last two official surviving French WWII veterans, died two days ago at age 110. Following his death, Lazare Ponticelli has become the last fully verified French veteran of World War I. (Apparently, the French government has approved a state funeral for the last official World War I French veteran to die. I'm sure he's not holding his breath in anticipation! ;))
Lucky guys to live so long (90 + years!) after being involved in a war that claimed an estimated 20 million people (9.7 million military deaths and about 10 million civilian deaths) around the world!
Wikipedia has a link about surviving veterans of WWI. There are three living in the US - aged 106, 107, and 108 - of which one of them (the 106 year old) had "completed basic training, but did not see action: he was held back in reserves in England due to age." Actually the link says he was Canadian then - not American - but lives in the
And the 108 year old, Harry Landis, apparently is in a nursing home in
Incidentally, the last woman veteran from WWI, Charlotte Winters , died last year at age 109. Gladys Powers of
P.S. More factoids about WWI.... if you be so inclined.
Wikipedia also has a link that discusses last surviving US war veterans in various wars over history.
A nice summary of tables at this article:
36: Countries involved in fighting
Sources: National World War I Museum, Congressional Research Service
Last Spanish-American War veteran:
Last Civil War Union veteran:
Last Civil War Confederate veteran:
Last Revolutionary War veteran:
Source: Department of Veterans Affairs
How the United States' major modern wars compare
Number served
U.S. military deaths
U.S. military wounded
Major weapons introduced
World War I
4.7 million
Airplane, tank, chemical warfare
World War II
16.1 million
Amphibious assault ships, paratroops, atom bomb
Korean War
5.7 million
Helicopters, first jet aircraft in combat
Vietnam War
8.7 million
Rapid-fire assault rifles, laser-guided bombs, unmanned aerial vehicles
Persian Gulf War
2.2 million
Spy satellites, stealth aircraft
Afghanistan and Iraq
October 2001-present
1.5 million
Satellite-guided bombs
Sources: Congressional Research Service, GlobalSecurity.org, Defense Department.
January 21, 2008
Lets dance to the djembe!
First up, a dance to a djembe beat from Bamako, Mali.
Here's some djembe drumming and dancing at a marriage ceremony in Bamako, Mali
and more djembe and dancing from Senegal this time (Mamadou Sidibe on the djembe)
And here is 4-year old Isaiah Chevrier playing the djembe -- I had seen some of his videos on youtube before. The future is in good hands, literally!
Abdoulaye is Isaiah's 2-year old brother
Some day, these kids will be like this Grand Master Djembe Player - 70-year old Sega Cisse.
Related: A travel log about drumming in Bamako, Mali
January 20, 2008
Reason as religion (and the war on mortality)
David Rieff writes about his mother, Susan Sontag, who died of cancer in December 2004 (wow...3+ years! Feels like a couple at most!):
I found the above excerpt in a review of David's book Swimming in a sea of death, in which Thomas Lynch writes:
My mother loved science, and believed in it (as she believed in reason) with a fierce, unwavering tenacity bordering on religiosity. There was a sense in which reason was her religion. She was also always a servant of what she admired, and I am certain that her admiration for science (as a child, the life of Madame Curie had been the first of her models) and above all for physicians helped her maintain her conviction -- and again, this, too, was probably an extrapolation from childhood -- that somewhere out there was something better than what was at hand, whether the something in question was a new life or a new medical treatment.
"Swimming in a Sea of Death" is Rieff's brief record of how high priests of the body and blood sort -- whether oncologists or monsignors -- must so often disappoint. And how they disappointed his mother. In the end, neither science nor medicine, reason nor raw intellect, "avidity" for life nor her lifelong sense that hers was a special case -- nothing could undo her death. Susan Sontag "died as she had lived: unreconciled to mortality." And there is the sadness at the heart of Rieff's testimony: that mothers die, as fathers do, regardless of what they or their children believe or disbelieve. It is our humanity that makes us mortal, not our creeds or their antitheses.(Emphasis mine. Loved that sentence.)
All of us swim in the one sea all our lives, trying to stay afloat as best we can, clinging to such lifelines and preservers as we might draw about us: reason and science, faith and religious practice, art and music and imagination. And in the end, we all go "down, down, down" as Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote, "into the darkness," although she did not approve and was not resigned. Some lie back, float calmly and then succumb, while others flail about furiously and go under all the same. Some work quietly through Elisabeth Kübler-Ross' tidy, too hopeful stages; others "rage, rage" as Dylan Thomas told his father to. But all get to the "dying of the light." Some see death as a transition while others see it as extinction.
Read the review in its entirety. Well written and kind of timely for me in some ways as my wife and I are dealing with some health issues with our own parents this month.
Sex has made me stupid
Great video though. It's UK artist Dave the Chimp's second video for the British electro-punk band, Robots In Disguise. The earlier one is here.
Seems, when the band plays live, they are joined by a drummer named Ann Droid. Maybe its an intentionally assumed pseudonym..... but, that's pretty cool. Ann Droid. Great futuristic name! ;)
January 19, 2008
Let the bells toll
Amazing to see him as a teenager in this 1958 clip from a TV show.
Found the video through a comment at a blog post by the famous woman prodigy chess champion, Susan Polgar.
The lurid lights, the shadows of the inner world
Found the above at a link that refers to Faulkner's Nobel lecture in 1949. Three short paragraphs but what a punch they deliver! Some day, I will read my Faulkner!
I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work - a life's work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for glory and least of all for profit, but to create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before. So this award is only mine in trust. It will not be difficult to find a dedication for the money part of it commensurate with the purpose and significance of its origin. But I would like to do the same with the acclaim too, by using this moment as a pinnacle from which I might be listened to by the young men and women already dedicated to the same anguish and travail, among whom is already that one who will some day stand here where I am standing.an be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.
Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only the question: When will I be blown up? Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat.
He must learn them again. He must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid; and, teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and truths of the heart, the old universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed - love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice. Until he does so, he labors under a curse. He writes not of love but of lust, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, of victories without hope and, worst of all, without pity or compassion. His griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He writes not of the heart but of the glands.
Until he relearns these things, he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man. I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last dingdong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it c
Sex Sells, People Listen
LETTERS FROM WORKING GIRLS is an online project that launched on January 14, 2008. Here, you'll find real letters from real working girls about their real experiences. The project was created by Susannah Breslin, a journalist and blogger.Actually, just 3 posts in the last 4-5 days... but apparently she's tracked over 20,000 visitors in 3 days. Like she writes at her blog:
Letters from Working Girls has had over 20,000 visitors in 3 days. When people talk about sex work, the people listen.Related: Their stories... rendered in graphic novel form by Peter Conrad.
Ali Farka Toure, Redux
Here then are a few more gems from the master!
In my previous post, I thought I went to heaven listening to his son play "Ai du". Here is the master himself playing that beautiful piece.
You can also hear him on the recorded version of "Ai Du" with Ry Cooder, in the Grammy-winning album Talking Timbaktu. Also, another song, "Diaraby" also from the same album.
Two great videos with 9+ minutes of great music each, thanks to the comment someone left here. Anonymous...but thanks a lot, my friend.
And finally,
live from the Festival of the Desert in 2003.
Vieux Redux
If there is a God, he must be having a good time listening to Ali Farka Toure. For now, here on earth, THIS is heaven! (Thank you, Thank you, Thank you...to Vieux's bassist Eric Herman's activism-minded Modiba Productions, who produce Vieux's records, for putting this online!)
I cannot imagine how amazing it must be to listen to his father live.... missed that chance now :(... but I HAVE to see Vieux live next time he is in the Boston area! Or maybe I'll just see him whenever I get to the Desert Festival, huh? ;)
And here is Vieux playing "Bullet the Blue Sky" by U2
and one last short clip for now... from the Dun Laoghaire Festival of World Cultures, Ireland in August 2007.
Previous post about Vieux here.
Soul and solace - a festival for the mind!
That's the very beautiful voiced Mali singer, Rokia Traore. Unlike Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate, she is not from a griot but is from the Bamana ethnic group - traditionally not allowed to perform as musicians. Thank god people like her and Salif Keita (also of royal heritage, traced back to the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita) have been able to fight these old customs and bring their beautiful voices to the world.
^ Some of them - don't need to name names, do I? - can hardly be called performers. Drugged-out tramps maybe but calling them musicians would be an insult of the musicians of the world! If music is not the priority but shaking you hips and flaunting your body is ...(nothing wrong with latter..but that's not a music video, its called soft-porn at best; and depending on which performer it is - ugliness.) ... then sorry.. that does not qualify as music in my mind. This here....is music!
Thanks to youtube and the internet revolution, here I am...listening to these beautiful voices from around the globe this Saturday morning. Here's more. Beautiful music. Amazing voice.
I had heard Rokia before but another Mali diva that I read about and heard just now is Oumou Sangare. You can listen to her songs through World Circuit but here are a few videos through youtube.
First up - a live performance of Oumou Sangare featuring Ali Farka Toure at the Festival in the Desert in 2003.*
And there is more.... including the first video below where she sings with the very talented Alicia Keyes (one really good US singer, who has a good voice AND has made it big in the US.)
Some of my earlier posts about music from West Africa, in particular Mali: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5..
* Some day before I die I hope to be at the Festival in the desert in Mali! Next time someone says go to Timbaktu, I'll gladly take them up on it ;) (The festival is held in Essakane, approximately 65 kilometers north of the city of Timbuktu.)
In trying to find these links, google came up with links to some travel agents offering packages to the festival. Unbelievable how expensive it is! I guess with popularity comes price!
The 2008 festival just got over (Jan 10-12) but thanks to the Guardian newspaper, some free mp3s from the 2008 event.
Bassekou Kouyate, the ngoni wizard of Mali
Khaira Arby performs
Vieux Farka Touré performs
Unknown Tuaregs singing around the campfire
Also, you can see pictures & some videos of the 2007 edition of this great festival.
Iraq, a profit machine
The horror of what is taking place in Iraq exceeds my worst fears five or six years ago (after Bush came to power). I am horrified at the disastrous mistake involved. Imagine the complete madness in trying to occupy a large Arab country in the middle of the Arab world, a culture we know precious little about, and who speaks a language only a handful of our specialists can speak, with armed forces which we have limited control of and with a large army of private soldiers… The whole thing is a scandal. . . a series of lies. I don't understand the motivation for the war, but suspect the real reason for the war, which one would suspect of a country which is a third oligarchy, a third plutocracy and a third theocracy, is that it simply is a profitable machine.
We have caused a monstrous mess. We don't even count killed Iraqis. God knows how many Iraqi women, children and men have been killed by our accidental shootings, which we are such experts at, or by other Iraqis. No, 'Benito Bush' (Bloom's pet name for President George Bush) deserves, if we had a functioning civil law in the world, to be condemned for crimes against humanity. Bush is ultimately responsible for this war," Bloom says pointing angrily with his index finger in the air as his dark eyes burn below a pair of thick dark eyebrows and a crown of unruly white hair.
Bloom also delivers some well-earned lashes at the U.S. media:
'Media-ocrity' is what I call it. It is awful what kind of media we have today. Nobody dared to stand up and criticize Bush when he unlawfully went to war on Iraq. It is depressing, and shows what direction this country has taken since he came to power—a power which did not rightfully belong to him. The media is not playing its role. The Bushites are bullies and for a long time nobody dared criticize them and just swallowed their propaganda and lies. People have become scared. In this kind of climate, nobody is interested in the critical voice. You ask about the role of the intellectual in America today and I have to say: What role? What intellectuals? There is no room for them in the simplified and dumbed down world of today's media. We used to play a role, and there are still a few left, but we are a dying breed. Nobody seems to be interested in nuance anymore.
Related: Bush as Macbeth ("Macbush")
Everyone's Gone Nuts: The exaggerated threat of food allergies
What is odd and What is normal is Changing
Some interesting snippets from the Harpers Weekly Review for Jan 15th
A British artist exhibited 55 "beautiful and delicate" canvases of his ejaculate sprinkled with carbon dust,7
... and French customs officials seized 224,000 fake anti-impotence pills.
Forty-seven U.S. senators were fighting for the return of guns to national parks and wildlife refuges.
Soldiers were being sent to Afghanistan wearing high-tech helmets that gather data on how bomb blasts impact their brains,
..and it was revealed that Blackwater dropped riot-control gas on U.S. soldiers in Iraq in 2005. "This," said Army Captain Kincy Clark, "was decidedly uncool."
Scientists from the American Astronomical Society attended their annual meeting and agreed that the universe is bizarre and violent. "This is the glory of the universe," said the association's president. "What is odd and what is normal is changing.And a couple other science stories in the news:
Uruguayan scientists have uncovered fossil evidence of the biggest species of rodent ever found, more than eight feet long and weighing between 1,700 and 3,000 pounds.
A species of self-destructing palm trees that flower once every 100 years and then die has been discovered in Madagascar.
Training the Multitasking Brain
Nothing to fear but fear itself
An intriguing new study suggests the answer is not so clear-cut. Although it's impossible to calculate the pain that terrorist attacks inflict on victims and society, when statisticians look at cold numbers, they have variously estimated the chances of the average person dying in America at the hands of international terrorists to be comparable to the risk of dying from eating peanuts, being struck by an asteroid or drowning in a toilet.Earlier: Who's afraid of Terrorists?
How worried are you that you or someone in your family will become a victim of terrorism? Very worried, somewhat worried, not too worried, or not worried at all. In the graph below (see post), you can see how Americans have been answering that question since the attacks of Sept. 11. Even though there hasn't been an attack on American soil in the ensuing six years, close to half of Americans are worried about being victims. Over this same period, similarly large numbers of people have been telling pollsters they consider it somewhat or very likely that there'll be a terrorist attack in America within several weeks or several months.In the post, John Tierney debates this graph in the context of availability cascades ...
.... beliefs that spread because their promoters exploit a dramatic image that's readily available in people's minds. The technical name for these promoters is "availability entrepreneurs"; another, coined by John Mueller of Ohio State University, is "the terrorism industry.""Exploiting a dramatic image readily available in people's minds"... that's what all the hatred of Islam or Iran, that seems very prominent in the US, is also all about. Yes.. Ahmedajinad's rhetoric does make it easy to look at him as a illogical fool but I fear many of our politicians and their rhetoric may seem the same to many Iranians.
January 18, 2008
One (Christian) nation under God
As "700 Club" co-anchor Terry Meeuwsen explained on today's installment of the popular Christian show, "Each year, just before the first part of the year, Pat (Robertson) goes off alone with the Lord and then comes back to share with us what the Lord has shown him about the coming year.
This year, God told him (above link has a video...no.. not of God telling Pat this but of Pat telling his faithful followers what God told him*):
"What I'm praying about is China. I'm asking for 250 million in China. We haven't had that breakthrough yet but I think we're going to get it. God's going to give us China. And China will be the largest Christian nation on the face of the earth. They're going to come to Jesus."
Thanks, Pat. Good to know. :)
* If God talks to this guy (Bush), then I suppose he could be talking to Pat too! Or maybe its just the voices in his head! Kooky!
Actually, even with Bush, there is reason to believe he isn't talking to the God he thinks he is talking to.. but to Lord Shiva! :) Scott Hartin writes in Harpers this month:
Cartoonists in the United States have regularly given Bush's God the bodily manifestation and voice of a Yale dropout and retired corporate executive named Dick Cheney. But this lacks imagination. No one doubts the involvement of Dick Cheney in this orgy of blood and destruction, but he himself is merely a mortal vessel serving the god of war and destruction. I'm zeroing in on the Godhead in question, and I'm increasingly convinced that he's a denizen of the South Asian subcontinent, and in particular the Lord Shiva.
Go read the article for why he picks "The Destroyer" from the triumvirate of Hindu Gods - Brahmā, Viṣhṇu, and Śhiva.
Rudy-speak & fear-mongering
This almost reads like something Jon Stewart would come up with to ridicule Rudy or something the satire magazine The Onion would make up! He really brings up 9-11 every single time, doesn't he!!
Earlier this month:
He wants your vote for him but you better know English!
It was just about 25 hours ago that Rudolph W. Giuliani addressed a group of Cuban-American supporters in Florida. His warm-up speakers addressed the crowd in Spanish. His wife, Judith, greeted the crowd in Spanish. And his campaign launched a new radio ad in Spanish, and passed out Spanish-language campaign fliers about his "12 Compromisos con el Pueblo Americano.''Two days prior to that: a fearmongering ad from Giuliani camp ..
But on Friday evening, when Mr. Giuliani was asked at an Elks Lodge here about what he would do to end illegal immigration, he ended with a familiar applause line: "The final end result about becoming a citizen – you should be able to have to read English, write English, and speak English if you want to become a citizen,'' he said.
An enemy without borders. Hate without boundaries. A people perverted. A religion betrayed. A nuclear power in chaos. Madmen bent on creating it. Leaders assassinated. Democracy attacked. And Osama bin Laden still making threats. In a world where the next crisis is a moment away.
"America needs a leader who's ready," the narrator concludes.A link from last month: Giuliani's New Immigration Spot
and an article I had seen a few months back: Giuliani and the fear card!
I have not been following the campaign trail closely since the NH primaries. Too many other interests... I will just wait for Tsunami Tuesday to separate out the leaders a little bit. Right now the Republican side looks totally uncertain - no clear leader ...so much so the NY Post yesterday had one word for the entire slate of Republican candidates: Losers. Being a NY paper, they had some special words for their ex-mayor:
But there's only one GOP candidate that beats all the rest at being a loser: Rudy Giuliani. He has perfected the art of underperforming to the point that his campaign now insists it was all part of his game plan. He's been reduced to watching from the sidelines and praying for other people to lose - like McCain in Michigan so his momentum would be stalled - rather than getting in the game and winning himself.
God save us all!
* Is Huck still the frontrunner or has that ride up waned after Iowa? I know Romney won in Michigan but that by no means Romney is in the drivers seat. Guiliani is flailing, McCain is making a solid comeback but is there even a frontrunner in this GOP Chaos?
If Hillary or Obama lose from here (one of them should win the Dem candidacy), it will really suck and to me would mean that majority of public is either stupid stupid stupid to vote a Republican in again or Diebold succeeded in rigging the important states again, as in 2000 and 2004!
Enough for now...but if you want more, there is a nice summary of coverage from various media outlets on Republican race here.
Information Revolution, you say?
Hmm... batao...kya boloo. "We have a billion people to advertise to, you know" is what came to mind but I didn't even say that. Shrugged my shoulder and mumbled something that I do not quite remember! A la George Costanza in The Comeback episode, a better response came to mind much later -- along the lines of: "Yes, we need ads to buy elephants like you need car ads, you know! And how would we know what deals are on in the jungle when we go hunting? And how would we brownies learn how to make fire if we didn't have ads by match companies showing us how! By the way, please return that concept of 'zero' back. Heard you guys don't appreciate anything with no value attached to it anyways!"
Ok..now I'm being facetious and stereotyping here now about materialistic ignorant Americans -- not all Americans are like that and the country continues to be the world leader in the production of some brilliant minds. It also actually can boast of some really socially, culturally, and globally aware human beings...but they do not form the majority or even a significant minority. The above anecdote made me aware to the fact that in "liberal & cultured" Brahminical Boston area, I am still in the US! I would have expected that question in some places in the Mid-West where I lived before but not in the Boston area!
Further proof of this ignorance is brought to light by a Pew Research Foundation study about What Americans Know: 1989-2007 that has found that public knowledge of current affairs has changed little by the news and information revolution.
Elsewhere, a comment at this thread at plastic.com, which I used to read regularly some years back but have not read it in over a year, may explain some of this 'ignorance.'
People who are (1) ill-informed, (2) can't see through the transparent performances of hack anchors and O'Reilly, and (3) are unwilling or unable to rely on more than one news source to come to their incorrect interpretation of facts.The comment specifically mentions O'Reilly because the thread is about ..
..a poll conducted by Sacred Heart University has led to headlines across much of America's right-wing media that FoxNews is now the "most trusted" news source for Americans, passing CNN, which was most trusted for accurate reporting in 2003. These media outlets typically lead with the poll results that the most trusted national TV news organizations, for accurate reporting, in declining order, were FoxNews (27.0%), CNN (14.6%), and NBC News (10.90%). These were followed by ABC News (7.0%), local news (6.9%), CBS News (6.8%) MSNBC (4.0%), PBS News (3.0%), CNBC (0.6%) and CBN (0.5%). The follow-up statistic is that in 2003, CNN led FoxNews 23.8% to 14.6%.Wow...seems only 3% of people believe PBS! Who did they poll? Fox News anchors? Well...
Scan a little further down the page, or look at a more objective news source and additional poll results put the numbers about FoxNews in a very different perspective. ...
James Castonguay, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of SHU's Department of Media Studies & Digital Culture, summed it up:"The fact that an astonishing percentage of Americans see biases and partisanship in their mainstream news sources suggests an active and critical consumer of information in the U.S. The availability of alternative viewpoints and news sources through the Internet no doubt contributes to the increased skepticism about the objectivity of profit-driven news outlets owned by large conglomerates.
Naah.. I do not think it works that way. While it is true that there is an availability of alternative viewpoints via the internet and while one could hope that the power of information and its ease of access in today's world would dissipate some of the ignorance, the fact of the matter is that birds of a feather flock together. People listen to the news that only fits their world-view and fits into their biases. One finds comfort against the 'evil terrible' world with other people who share your own biases and view-points. A plethora of choices has meant that each person finds such an outlet, which reinforces his or her biases and in many cases even ridicules alternative view-points. Opinion, spun as "the truth", has replaced objective news in America and that is one of the reasons why ignorance prevails in this land. Doublespeak and the Orwellian "newspeak" has replaced honest discourse (political or other) in this country. Like William Lutz of Rutgers University said in an interview almost two decades ago:
What a perfect definition of what we see in mainstream media these days! Do read the interview - its a fascinating discussion of the prevalence of double-speak in media, businesses, government, etc. And I think the explanation below of why not too many people in the US vote also has some merit. People recognize and have become jaded with this BS and double-speak!
Double-speak is language designed to evade responsibility, make the unpleasant appear pleasant, the unattractive appear attractive. Basically, it's language that pretends to communicate, but really doesn't. It is language designed to mislead, while pretending not to.
Double-speak is not a slip of the tongue or a mistaken use of language, it's exactly the opposite. It is language used by people who are very intelligent and very sophisticated in the use of language, and know that you can do an awful lot with language.
I have a hypothesis that I would love to test, and I hope sometime to be able to do that. I would love to be able to track the pervasiveness of double-speak, as it grew, along with the decline in voting, because the reaction I get to double-speak, from a lot of readers of the Quarterly Review, is they write to as, "Well of course, I know this language, I see it all over the place, I see it all the time, but what else can you expect from politicians, they all lie, they all use double-speak." It is that cynicism which leads to, "There's nothing I can do about it." So people withdraw and pull back.Also this interesting excerpt from a review of Mr. Lutz's book, The New Doublespeak:
It is necessary, for the healthy functioning of a democracy, to have free, open, and honest public discourse. In a world where plain English is being replaced by doublespeak and hot-button word engineering, that honest communication cannot take place. As William Lutz points out, the increasing corruption of our public language — the language we use to debate issues and to decide public policy — is the corruption of democracy itself.An excerpt from the book can be read here and this site called Doublespeak is a good relevant site to read.
I could go on and on about this... how this ignorance also breeds a certain arrogance but I'll stop here for now, with a link to an interesting site someone forwarded to me: Fox attacks Decency. If you share some of my own viewpoints (and perhaps biases), you will enjoy it. If you are one of those millions in this country who get all their news from Faux..er..Fox News, you will dismiss this as liberal propaganda! :)
Quote for the moment:
Americans seem to have a very difficult time recognizing that there is a distinction between understanding and sympathizing. Somehow we believe that an attempt to inform ourselves about what leads to evil is an attempt to explain it away. I believe that just the opposite is true, and that when it comes to coping with evil, ignorance is our own worst enemy. - Kathleen Norris
Recalling failure's non-optional status
In a stunning reversal of more than 200 years of conventional wisdom, failure—traditionally believed to be an unacceptable outcome for a wide range of tasks and goals—is now increasingly seen as a viable alternative to success, sources confirmed Tuesday.
Americans have always been told that they should succeed at all costs," Emory University sociologist Dr. Lauren Hodge said. "But based on new evidence, this can no longer be called true—if, in fact, it ever was. As failure continues to dominate the American landscape, this mantra must be overruled." "We have no choice but to revoke failure's non-optional status, effective immediately," Hodge continued. "Now all citizens will be able to step back, stare down the hardship and difficulty they will face in the pursuit of success, and say, 'F--- that—this isn't worth it.'"
Some predict that a majority of the U.S. populace will now opt out of its previous obligation to give it 110 percent, and, in the coming weeks and months, give as little as 45 percent. For underachieving Americans, that number is expected to drop to as low as 5 percent by March.
"In retrospect, failure becoming an option was inevitable," historian Michael Lambeau said. "The only difference is that now Americans can choose, without fear of being ostracized by society, to quit long before getting ahead." Lambeau predicted a substantial decrease in the number of everyday Americans who fear failure, and a dramatic rise in those who actually embrace the once-reviled stench of defeat and disappointment.
Brilliant stuff, as usual...from The Onion! :)
Fuzzy Caucus Math
The ear-mark of a true candidate
This is satire from the Onion...but its almost all true!
Although the clip has one guy saying, "No one party has a monopoly on bullshit", some of the fun in the humor was lost to me when there was a rather unnecessary special dig at Hillary at the end, followed by this priceless quote: "Not just talking bullshit but actually living the bullshit...that's the ear-mark of a true candidate." (They all bullshit...why pick on Hillary in particular?)
Earlier post about Bullshitting here and couple good definitions of Bullshit here and here.
A video-wall of great music
January 16, 2008
Speed-dating Bush
Probably spoken in two-three word sentences like that too! ;)
It took Mr. Bush almost his entire presidency to embrace diplomacy, but now that he's in the thick of it, or perhaps the thin of it — given his speed-dating approach to statesmanship — he is kissing and holding hands with kings, princes, emirs, sheiks and presidents all over the Arab world and is trying to persuade them that he is not in a monogamous relationship with the Jews.
His message boiled down to: Iran bad, Israel good, Iraq doing better.
Misogyny in the media
Bob Herbert writes in the NYT about politics & misogyny in the US.
Little attention is being paid to the toll that misogyny takes on society in general, and women and girls in particular. Its forms are limitless.Read the article - there is much to be outraged! Even in the land of the free. And elsewhere around the world, these crimes and violence against women can reach some rather depressing levels.
The cable news channels revel in stories about women (almost always young and attractive) who come to a gruesome end at the hands of violent men. The stories seldom, if ever, raise the issue of misogyny, which permeates not just the crimes themselves, but the coverage as well.
Mortality is on the horizon
In an article about mid-life crisis, Richard Friedman, M.D. writes:
No doubt about it, life in the middle ages can be challenging. (Full disclosure: I'm 51.) What with the first signs of physical decline and the questions and doubts about one's personal and professional accomplishments, it is a wonder that most of us survive.Maybe there is some truth to the fact that the idea of a ;mid-life crisis' is just an excuse for many to fight the 'boredom of the routine'... but questions of 'what is the true meaning of life' do arise in many people's lives -- sometimes even in your 20s, as it did in the case of David Seaman, who... , actually, let me just cut-n-paste from the amazon.com link for a recent book - the real meaning of life - that is edited by him.
Why do we have to label a common reaction of the male species to one of life's challenges — the boredom of the routine — as a crisis? True, men are generally more novelty-seeking than women, but they certainly can decide what they do with their impulses.
But surely someone has had a genuine midlife crisis. After all, don't people routinely struggle with questions like "What can I expect from the rest of my life?" or "Is this all there is?
Of course. But it turns out that only a distinct minority think it constitutes a crisis.
(The book) collects the insights of everyday people who responded to David Seaman's simple query, "What is the meaning of life?" typed into an online forum on a laptop at Starbucks. To his surprise, a flood of responses came. Some suggested "boobies and beer," but Seaman found that most were much more thoughtful — so much so that he created a website and now this book to collect the best of them. From thousands of respondents — including Buddhists, born-again Christians, atheists, waitresses, students, and recovering heart attack patients — come incredibly diverse wisdom that can be aphoristic ("Be grease, not glue"), philosophical ("There is no point to life, and that is exactly what makes it so special"), or whimsical ("Me, I'm going snowboarding").Here are some excerpts from the book and you can subscribe to 'the real meaning of life' newsletter here.
Yes.. mortality is on the horizon -- but deal with it! :)
* I should clarify: No thoughts of seeking "self-knowledge in the arms of another woman" or buying fancy cars here. Maybe I am going in reverse gear -- feeling a 20-something-ish feeling of crisis/existential angst coming. Maybe I am going in reverse gear, you think? :) My body is definitely not...but maybe my mind is? :)
A naked brain floating in space.
It could be the weirdest and most embarrassing prediction in the history of cosmology, if not science.Dang.. I knew I was insignificant but a "momentary fluctuation in a field of matter and energy"! :)
If true, it would mean that you yourself reading this article are more likely to be some momentary fluctuation in a field of matter and energy out in space than a person with a real past born through billions of years of evolution in an orderly star-spangled cosmos. Your memories and the world you think you see around you are illusions.
There is more oddball speculation in this theory...
The basic problem is that across the eons of time, the standard theories suggest, the universe can recur over and over again in an endless cycle of big bangs, but it's hard for nature to make a whole universe. It's much easier to make fragments of one, like planets, yourself maybe in a spacesuit or even — in the most absurd and troubling example — a naked brain floating in space. Nature tends to do what is easiest, from the standpoint of energy and probability. And so these fragments — in particular the brains — would appear far more frequently than real full-fledged universes, or than us. Or they might be us.
Read the details at the article, if interested. Makes for some fascinating sci-fi-ish leaps of imagination for sure but who said life is simple. Jokes aside, even Einstein's relativity theories sound sci-fi-ish to me and those are pretty well proven! These theories are still evolving and could well be proven wrong by someone else down the road or maybe we are really fluctuations!
Not one more refugee death, by Emmy Pérez
And just like that, my #NPM2018 celebrations end with a poem today by Emmy Pérez. Not one more refugee death by Emmy Pérez A r...
Today a poem by Wang Peng. __ Things We Carry on the Sea by Wang Ping We carry tears in our eyes: good-bye father, good-bye mother ...
Today, a poem by Ilya Kaminsky, who I heard about only this month via a Poetry magazine podcast. We Lived Happily During the War by Il...
Today a poem by Ocean Vuong, whose debut collection ' Night Sky With Exit Wound ' has won rave reviews not only in the US but also ...


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'The Good Wife' review: Cataclysmic moment shocks viewers
The Good Wife: "The Last Call." 9 p.m. Sunday on CBS.
Let's start with a spoiler alert: If you did not see Sunday's episode of "The Good Wife" and don't want to know why it's been the talk of the Internet all week, read no further.
If you did see it, you're probably still in shock. How can the show go on without Will Gardner? Not only was Josh Charles' character a major player in the lawyers' war with Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) and Cary Agos' (Matt Czuchry) fledgling firm, he was, of course, the object of Alicia's conflicted affection, notwithstanding her more complicated feelings about her husband, Illinois Gov. Peter Florrick (Chris Noth).
Beyond this weekend's "mourning after" episode, the loss of Will's character actually sets up even greater dramatic possibilities for the show and for Alicia's complicated personal and professional relationships with Peter, Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi) and Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski).
Stepping back, you can't help feeling that the tattered triangle of Alicia, Will and Peter had been played out as far as it could be. With Will gone, though, the writers just gave themselves an even bigger playing field with several compelling possibilities. Will's absence now looms even larger over Peter and Alicia's fragile political and personal relationship. Without giving away any significant plot points from the next episode, "The Last Call" is about mourning and about how death throws a new light and perspective on our lives and relationships.
First and foremost, of course, Alicia is pushed to the limit. Heretofore a woman who prided herself on strength and the ability to keep her emotions in check in a crisis, Alicia is now faced not only with the loss of a man she loved but also with the reminder that she isn't Superwoman.
For a moment at least, we see the old alliances re-emerge from the pile of baggage that alienated Alicia from her former colleagues at Lockhart Gardner. Now, of course, all of that seems so inconsequential.
The episode's title refers to a brief voice-mail message Will left on Alicia's phone, only moments before his client, Jeffrey Grant (Hunter Parrish), grabbed a cop's gun and set off the courtroom melee that would end Will's life.
What did Will want? Was he calling to complain that Alicia was attempting to steal his clients? Or was it to say he appreciated her telling him the client had sought a second opinion on a case from her? Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't about business at all. Maybe it was about them, about Will and Alicia, an acknowledgement of what they both knew: that regardless of how strong Alicia wanted to be in supporting Peter, she was as much in love with Will as he was with her.
"The Last Call" is a tearjerker, yes, but it is authentically moving. There are Emmy-bait performances at every level, from Margulies to Baranski, Panjabi and guest star Parrish.
But what is next for Alicia? The episode leaves us, inevitably, with questions and curiosity, which is just what the writers intend.
David Wiegand is The San Francisco Chronicle's executive features editor and TV critic. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Twitter: @WaitWhat_TV


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Your Game-Day, Sunday, Big Game IP Special Column
January 31, 2014
So, I guess there's this thing called "The Super Bowl" this weekend. Apparently, it's a football game? I wouldn't know.
Actually, I should stop playing dumb. Even people like me who don't like football watch the Super Bowl because it's an event. The halftime show is a pop-culture highlight (Hi, Beyonce!) and the ads are an experience in and of themselves.
What's interesting to me is how jealously the NFL guards the Super Bowl brand (I would, too. It's worth an estimated $470 million). It's protective of it to the point that it rarely allows companies to use the copyrighted phrase "Super Bowl." This is why you see a lot of ads that try to capitalize on the popularity of the game while tap-dancing around the actual phrase "Super Bowl." It's not a Super Bowl special, it's a Game Day special; the offer is valid only on Sunday, not "Super Bowl Sunday."
(Anna Kendrick's somewhat amusing spot for Newcastle pokes fun at this.)
Now, I would think that if an organization were as restrictive with its copyright as the NFL is, advertisers would say "Forget it" and just walk away.
Obviously, that isn't what happens.
A 30-second spot at this year's Super Bowl is estimated to cost about $4 million, and big-name advertisers like Pepsi, Anheuser-Busch, Disney and Volkswagen have all signed up.
That's an illustration of two things.
- First, people love the Super Bowl, and that gives the NFL serious control over its advertiser. Don't like our terms? That's too bad. Now, step aside, please, so that any of the several companies behind you can sign on the dotted line.
- Second, that is one seriously valuable copyright.


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Blog Contest: Lesbian Love Jams
The latest episode of the Lesbian Tea Basket is a pretty rare event caught on film. My friend Elisabeth did not set out to do this but I believe she out gayed me for approximately 7 minutes. Not that being gay is a contest, since being gay is truly the greatest team sport of them all. However, I am told by many people quite often that I am the gayest person they know and I cannot wait to show them how Elisabeth is even gayer.


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When it comes to financial problems, everyone knows that the best thing to do is let a professional take care of it. If a company or even an individual can no longer cope with debts and there is no other way to solve the issue, then they may be obliged to declare bankruptcy, because this may be the ultimate solution. Contrary to common belief, bankruptcy is not necessary a bad thing: it enables both natural and legal persons to get rid for huge debts that could not be paid otherwise and thus allow them to have a new start, if they want to. So if you are experiencing such a situation, fear not, because with a great legal representative, such as those who work at My Fresh Start Lawyer, things can come back to normal as soon as possible. Bankruptcy gives you the opportunity to regain control, but keep in mind that the process is quite difficult if you work by yourself. For this reason, you need to make sure you hire a specialized lawyer to offer you guidance, support and legal advice.
You may think that you do not need an attorney, because hiring them will be just one more expense, but you cannot be any more wrong. When it comes to dealing with bankruptcy, a lot of people are affected by the pressure of financial hardship, so they can no longer see the situation clearly. It is true that the process is somehow troublesome, since there are plenty of legal considerations to keep in mind and a lot of paperwork to deal with. However, bankruptcy lawyers in Philadelphia have enough experience to understand each and every case, so if you have your own legal representative, there is nothing to worry about. They will take care of the situation in a professional way, objectively and in accordance to the law. Basically, there are two types of Delaware bankruptcy lawyers, depending on the type of clients they are working with. The first category, commercial attorneys, offer their services to those who need to file for bankruptcy for a business, while the second class, consumer lawyers, are those who work directly with natural persons who want to get rid of individual debts. So according to the situation you need to solve, you have to choose one of these specialists. On the one hand, commercial bankruptcy attorneys will help you clear loans, obtain time to restore your business and also protect it from creditors, until it gets back on the market. On the other hand, consumer lawyers will show you how to clear debts, deal with creditors and create a strong payment plan.
As you can see, there are plenty of financial and legal aspects to solve when it comes to bankruptcy, both commercial and individual. If any of the above mentioned terms are unknown to you, then you will probably need to hire an experienced lawyer to help you during the entire process. Just hire a specialized attorney and wait for them to do your job – then, you will be able to start over.


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Corporate and/or government control of land often lends itself to abuse–one need only look at the hideous strip malls, huge boulevards convoluting what was or could have been a pleasant street into a forbidding and noisy thoroughfare built for nothing but motor vehicles, or at cookie-cutter housing projects with houses built barely 5 feet apart converting previously beautiful arable landscapes into ugly, land-starved, life-denying cells. Similarly, a glance at the BLM and the history of land grants, how the native Americans were shoved off their ancestral lands, mining and logging "rights" that have been exploited, HUD's dismal sub-standard public housing, etc. reveals government's failures at protecting nature and preserving or creating habitable neighborhoods and cities.
In contrast, a wonderful thing is happening in some very depressed communities, like Detroit, where the people are claiming the land from abandoned properties in order to grow their own food, a very direct solution to not only urban blight but food deserts, one that needs no bureaucratic or corporate involvement, and one that increases sustainability in a very democratic manner and also decreases pollution. Everyone who knows anything about real estate understands that the best way to increase the value of property is to improve the landscaping, and every human being responds positively to the beauty and serenity of nature, even those who practice environmental destruction. You don't see the CEOs of polluting corporations hanging out in their off time at a nuclear power plant, a copper mine, or a denuded forest–they are on their yachts on the glittering ocean, skiing down a gorgeous mountain slope, or at least on a golf course surrounded by grass, shrubs, water, and trees. Everyone appreciates plants and trees and feels better when in their company, with their life-giving oxygenation, without which we could not survive; when those plants and trees provide nutritious food, their value is potentiated even further, beyond their inestimable intrinsic worth.
There are a lot of direct actions we citizens can take to reclaim the land and utilize our natural environment to beautify and support life: in addition to re-purposing abandoned properties for growing vegetables to feed yourself and members of your community, working locally on establishing community gardens and planting fruit-bearing trees, both in your own yard and in city parks and along city streets, is another way to ensure there is land to cultivate to help grow the natural environment. Also, doing away with corporate "personhood" will allow for citizens to take back the power to outlaw the excesses of the corporate world that impinge on our lives in a multitude of ways including housing, city planning, zoning laws, and land use. We can exercise all of these options to enhance our lives and reclaim the land by growing the natural world.