text: Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums :: View topic - Adventure Games for ESL Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Adventure Games for ESL Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Learning English View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message amyloumJoined: 09 Mar 2011Posts: 6 Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2011 9:46 am Post subject: Adventure Games for ESL Hello everyone What do think of adventure games as a source for ESL (or English as a second language) teaching ? I'm a big fan of adventure games and I've played them for quite a long time. The richness of their dialogues and inteactions made me pose and think of their potentials as effective language teaching tools especially in areas like pronunciation and vocabulary acquisition. Now I'm working on this area as a research for my MA degree. I believe that AGs are even better than movies for ESL cuz rather than watching passively the student can live the experience. So What do you think guys? Any ideas Back to top educe22Joined: 14 Jan 2011Posts: 74Location: Fort Worth, TX Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 11:37 am Post subject: You would have to give me a sample scenario so that I can get a feel for how you would proceed. For the most part, based on my ESL tutoring, I would say that this would be a no-go. Low level ESL learners would need some level of instruction. Unless you did something like Rosetta Stone where you immersed the individual in the situation. The problem is, how do you provide feedback and correction? The game element differs from the learning element. I'm open to outside-the-box solutions, give me more than just the theory and I will listen and possibly contribute. But based on what I know, I don't think this will be a viable solution._________________Educe22 Back to top redsetJoined: 18 Mar 2006Posts: 582Location: England Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 3:11 pm Post subject: It really depends on what type of adventure games you mean. With the older ones where the game describes the location and the player types in what they want to do, there's definitely some active language use in there, both from reading the descriptions and expressing what they want to do or get more information about. Modern linguistics technology could probably do an even better job understanding the player, which would be important since those games often had trouble with native speakers! It could often be a case of forming short phrases exactly how the game's parser required them, which isn't really helpful if your goal is developing natural language. Most other adventure games now are fairly cinematic - it's basically like watching a movie, except you might get some dialogue options when there's a conversation. It's pretty limited in terms of interaction, maybe you could use it to teach nuance (less polite options making the other person insulted, and so on). It costs a huge amount of money to make these games though, and the more complicated you make them the more it costs! And if you could make a game that truly responded to natural language and changed events based on that, it would be popular with more than just language learners. It could be an emerging field though, computers are capable of more and more and like educe22 mentioned, Rosetta Stone can do things with language recognition that wouldn't have been possible ten years ago. Merging that with an entertaining experience isn't impossible, and it would definitely bring benefits. You also might want to research games in general, many people play games in English and it's as much a part of their learning experience as watching movies or listening to music. The online aspect means they can play with English speakers too, and interact with them, so it's all part of the immersion. Social networking games are a big thing now too (like Farmville on Facebook) so it's probably worth looking into that area - you have millions of speakers of all kinds of languages online and playing at any given moment, if you could get them interacting with each other somehow you could harness a huge amount of potential. Back to top amyloumJoined: 09 Mar 2011Posts: 6 Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 5:32 am Post subject: Thanks for your reply educe22 I appreciate your contribution but I'd like to ask you some questions because I need the opinion of an experienced ESL tutor. First of all, Why would you judge this as a no-go method? As for the scenario I don't have a fixed one yet. However I have some main points. As for the level, I'm thinking of intermediate and above levels for this study because these games are at the first place meant for native speakers so the student must possess enough knowledge to proceed through the game. The study will address 2 main questions: How can the teacher help students to get the best of these games? Would it be possible to enlarge the circle to include these games in educational contexts? I made a kind of a pilot study to give me some guidelines followed by structured interviews and questionnaires. The findings were kinda inviting. The participants were pretty much open to this idea and they stressed on the helpful language of these games or in other words they found it useful to be exposed to authentic language as opposed to the dead one in their textbooks. I'd like to hear from you soon Back to top amyloumJoined: 09 Mar 2011Posts: 6 Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 5:57 am Post subject: Thank you redset for your reply I think text-based adventure games are helpful being more language productive in their gameplay method but sometimes students might find it frustrating to proceed through the game because of the difficulties they might face when interacting with the computer. I'm kinda thinking of the new adventure games. These games save the players' time for example instead of spending extra time trying to create a phrase that the computer would comprehend they could simply play and enjoy. And as for programming a game that would be way beyond my abilities What I have in mind is just to use the COTs games (Commercial-off-the-shelf) for language learning. I would like to know more about the online interactive games. Could you please recommend some of them? and what are the most highlighted areas? looking forward to hear from you Back to top redsetJoined: 18 Mar 2006Posts: 582Location: England Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2011 8:35 am Post subject: Well they might enjoy games more when they just pick from a few conversation options, but then they're not really using the language, you know? From a learning perspective it wouldn't be much different from watching a movie. That said, it could be much more engaging for students to feel they're part of the experience, reading the options and thinking about what they mean and how it will affect the story. I do see a few problems with it as a learning tool though - firstly movies are usually an hour or two long, whereas games take much, much longer to play. It would be difficult to create a class activity around all or even part of a game, because you cannot jump to a certain point in the story easily, it requires game-playing skills to progress, and not all students would have access to a suitable computer. It would be much easier to have students watch a video and then discuss what happened, what was said, what could have been said and so on. I think games are a great, enjoyable way for people to immerse themselves in language, similar to reading or watching video or trying to understand songs, so for an individual they could definitely be helpful. As far as teaching goes though, I'm really not sure they'd be any use, unless they were specifically designed as a teaching tool. Without any form of assessment or any way to target specific language (discovering where a student is weak and then focusing on those areas) it's really a glorified movie, and the difficulties in using it as a teaching material probably outweigh the potential benefits. This is in my opinion anyway? What kinds of games were you looking at? If you name a few titles I might know them or be able to look them up. You should take a look at Interactive Fiction, which we were talking about earlier - it's still being developed and it's better at understanding natural language than it was, and people are still writing new adventures. It combines reading comprehension with the ability to form responses using correct spelling and syntax, so although it's not perfect it has some potential. Looks like someone's already using it! http://cle.usu.edu/CLE_IF_AUSFLUG.html As far as online games go it's just something that's a part of many games these days, you can go online and play with people from all over the world, communicating with a microphone and through text, so it's definitely a form of immersion and practicing communication. Not necessarily the best environment, of course Back to top amyloumJoined: 09 Mar 2011Posts: 6 Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 5:01 am Post subject: Thanks redset for your reply. Quote: What kinds of games were you looking at? If you name a few titles I might know them or be able to look them up Actually I'm thinking of adventure games like the classic "point and click" games because they are rich in description and dialuoges. I used one of the "Nancy Drew Games" series in my pilot study. The first outcomes were promising but still I'm facing some difficulties. Quote: I do see a few problems with it as a learning tool though - firstly movies are usually an hour or two long, whereas games take much, much longer to play. It would be difficult to create a class activity around all or even part of a game, because you cannot jump to a certain point in the story easily, it requires game-playing skills to progress, and not all students would have access to a suitable computer. I quite agree with you when it comes with these problems. I've been working on a list of the problems raised by the use of video games and the most persistent problems are "availability" + "costs" + "time" + "providing feedback" If I could overcome these problems I'd make a progress. And the important question is still whether to use these games in classroom with the teacher's monitoring or to use them for individuals with providing tasks and feedback for the tasks. Looking forward to your reply Back to top Dive into EnglishJoined: 14 Apr 2011Posts: 4Location: London Posted: Thu May 05, 2011 6:24 am Post subject: I love the 'Survivor' game from the book 'Teamwork' published by DELTA. It's a brilliant teamwork and groupwork activity. I've played it out in the sun, in the park on hot summer days with my students. It's brilliant speaking practice. Back to top peterteacherJoined: 13 Apr 2009Posts: 86Location: Australia Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:14 pm Post subject: Adventure games for ESL Hi, I've long thought the same about the potential benefits of adventure games as an English language learning tool. I always had in mind the old King's Quest and Space Quest titles along with the legendary Secret of Monkey Island. I had a go at writing some simple examples and seeing what I could do to make them more suitable for ESL students. As per previous posts I found language level was a barrier. The lowest level I could actually make something work and still be accurately describing the adventure was around pre-intermediate. Inter/Upp Int was much more viable but low(ish) levels aren't impossible. I also tried to make them short, aiming for a 20 minute completion time. Actual experience has proven that my "20 minutes" is closer to an hour of class time, depending on the students' background with computer games and computer literacy in general. Before anyone else tries to run a class through them, be warned that my quirky and slightly seditious sense of humour sneaks in every now and then. The last is in line with my general teaching principles: "always put in a bit extra for the students with higher comprehension levels"._________________Try some mini, on-line adventure games to help your English at: www.gameenglish.com Back to top daavidfischerJoined: 17 Oct 2012Posts: 25 Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 3:01 am Post subject: Why don't you try " The Da Vinci Code" in PC. It has a very rich language and a lot of good dialogues. I think this could help you improve your language a bit. Or you could go for Pandora's Box. -------------------------------------- DAVID GRANT nursing homes in wichita ks -------------------------------------- Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Learning English All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Student Forums----------------ComputersCurrent NewsCultureEnglish SchoolsFamilyFilm and CinemaFoodHealth and FitnessHelp CenterHobbiesHolidaysLearning EnglishLiteratureMaking FriendsMusicOpinionsPetsScienceSportsThe Strange and MysteriousTOEFL and Other English ExamsTravel You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Dave's ESL Cafe is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. 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Jennifer Klugh has been honored with a conference weekly award after each of her three cross country races this fall, including twice by the ECAC and once by the Big South.
After winning her third consecutive Big South women's cross country individual title, Liberty redshirt senior Jennifer Klugh has been recognized as ECAC Division I Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week. This is the second time Klugh has won the ECAC Division I Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week award this fall, after previously garnering the honor on Sept. 18. The Buckeye State native was also named Big South Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week on Oct. 3. Klugh had to work hard to win her third straight Big South title, after home course favorite Jeanne Stroud of Winthrop built an early lead of almost 20 seconds. In the end, Klugh came out victorious against a strong field of competitors, lowering her own 5K school record to 17:18.72 in the process. The next three runners to cross the finish line also broke or tied their respective school records. The Big South Women's Runner of the Year, Klugh is the first Lady Flame ever to win three straight Big South women's cross country individual titles. No Big South runner had accomplished the feat since Coastal Carolina's Jolene Williams in 1997, 1998 and 1999. Additionally, Klugh is the first Liberty women's runner to make the All-Big South cross country team four times in her career. Klugh's performance helped Liberty capture the Big South women's team title with a score of 40 points. That put the Lady Flames 32 points ahead of runner-up Coastal Carolina, giving Liberty its largest margin of victory at this meet since 1991. For her career, Klugh finishes as a 10-time Big South individual champion, including cross country, indoor track & field and outdoor track & field. She helped seven Liberty teams capture Big South titles, including three in cross country, three in indoor track & field and one in outdoor track & field. Klugh and her teammates will return to action on Nov. 9, when they travel to Charlotte, N.C., for the NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Cross Country Championships at McAlpine Creek Park. The women's 6K race begins at noon, followed by the men's 10K at 1:15 p.m. Klugh's goal will be to qualify for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships for the first time in her career. She has come close each of the last two years, finishing 15th at the 2010 NCAA Division I Southeast Regional Cross Country Championships and placing 20th a year ago.
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Job Summary This position provides 24 hour managerial and clinical support to patients and staff. Uses depth and breadth of clinical management knowledge to ensure the provision of high quality, safe, and cost effective patient care. Demonstrates clinical expertise and oversees the leadership of clinical, financial, and personnel management of the assigned areas.
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Minimum Qualifications BSN or MSN required for all new hires to the position after July 1, 2013.Incumbents in the position as of July 1, 2013 must possess their by BSN or MSN July 1, 2015. Requires a current RN license in state of practice. Requires BLS certification. Must possess a strong knowledge and understanding of clinical care management as normally obtained through two years of leadership experience. Demonstrates knowledge and skills of specialty area. Requires critical thinking, communication, influence, decision-making, analytical, and flexibility skills to make optimal decisions based on multiple variables and desired outcomes. Must have the ability to practice skills according to department and professional standards and quality requirements.In LTC setting: Requires familiarity with Alzheimers disease and developmental disabilities. Preferred Qualifications Master's degree in nursing preferred. Additional related education and/or experience preferred.


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Adobe Subscription Shift Happens Faster Than Expected
Results from Adobe Systems Inc. on Wednesday afternoon whipsawed investors, who were at first concerned about the software maker's disappointing forecast but later assuaged by the company's report of a faster-than-expected shift to a subscription model.
Shares of Adobe fell as much as 3 percent in after-hours trading on Wednesday following the report, but later cooled to only a fractional decline. The stock closed the regular session up 1.7 percent at $33.12.


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To prove the mettle of the Geländewagen SUV, Mercedes' Australian arm arranged a 14-day trip over the 1,242-mile Canning Stock Trail for journalists — at least, that was the plan before five of the six vehicles broke down.
The stock Geländewagens suffered rear shock absorber failure after six days on the brutal Canning Stock Trail in western Australia, stranding the 14-person excursion. Mercedes flacks spun the failures as a welcome test, saying they had avoided aftermarket upgrades as an experiment. The caravan had to stop for two days while parts were flown, then trucked into the Outback — probably in some kind of GM vehicle, just guessing.
But there's was also just a slight undermining aimed at a few passengers — like the BBC TV journalists who arrived with 132 lbs. of luggage and were instantly nicknamed "Coco" and "Chanel." Who does Mercedes thinks actually buys a G-Class these days?
Hat tip to Richard


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Fresh off two years playing a zombie in real-life, Joaquin Phoenix is up for a role as mentor to emancipator/vampire killer Abe Lincoln.
Phoenix is said to be the first choice to play Henry Sturges in "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," according to Deadline, an adapted from the Seth Grahame-Smith novel of the same name.
The title role of our 16th president was awarded last week to Benjamin Walker, most recently seen playing our seventh president in the Broadway musical "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson."
U.S. & World
In the book, Sturges saves young Lincoln from a vampire attack, nurses him back to health and teaches him how to combat the evil scourge of bloodsuckers terrorizing America.
This comes as great news if for no other reason that it would seem to signal that Phoenix is done with the mockumentary nonsense that put his career on hold for two years and resulted in "I'm Still Here"


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WASHINGTON - When West Virginia Senate candidate John Raese delivered a thundering promise to support a "termination and repeal of Obamacare" at a recent campaign event, the crowd went wild. "Boy, do I know the applause lines!" exclaimed the Republican hopeful.
Raese's Democratic opponent, Gov. Joe Manchin, isn't all that different from his rival when it comes to the sprawling health care overhaul signed into law by the president earlier this year.
Calling parts of the bill "overreaching," Manchin has said that some parts of the legislation need to be nixed. "If you can't fix it, repeal the whole thing," he told FOX News last week.
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Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
Repealing — or at least "fixing" — the legislation may be a popular campaign proposal out on the stump. But both political and structural realities of the complex reform passed by Congress earlier this year make a wholesale cancellation of the bill almost impossible. And most of the unpopular parts of the plan, at least for the moment, are here to stay.
Legislative hurdles
It's not surprising that candidates of both parties are highlighting what they perceive to be flaws in the far-reaching overhaul effort. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted in early October, only 39 percent of likely voters in the 2012 midterm elections have a favorable opinion of the new bill, compared to 49 percent of likely voters who view it unfavorably.
Problems with the implementation of the bill have also made headlines. In recent months, the Obama administration had to issue dozens of one-year waivers to insurers and other corporations who resisted new rules capping coverage for certain health care plans. As insurers anticipate the coming changes, many have raised their premiums.
But — popular or not — killing the bill is hardly a possibility as long as there's a Democrat in the White House.
Even if Republicans win majorities in the House and Senate, President Barack Obama will retain the power to veto any legislation that crosses his desk, a power he'd certainly exercise if lawmakers tried to substantially modify or revoke the defining legislative victory of his first 18 months in office.
If — as most political observers are now predicting — Republicans win a majority in the House, leaders are likely to introduce legislation early next year that would repeal the existing bill and instead propose a GOP-authored replacement that would allow insurance plans to be sold across state lines, a measure that Republicans say would drive down costs because of increased competition.
But even if that measure passed the House, any controversial changes to the bill would face extremely poor prospects of passage in what's almost certain to be a closely divide Senate.
Julie Barnes, the director of health policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, says that efforts to change the new system also fail to take into account how much has already been done.
Although the bill is still in the early stages of implementation, says Barnes, state and local governments have already begun to receive federal grant money to establish new protocols — efforts that they aren't eager to see go to waste. "Those are bells that are not going to be unrung," she said.
More likely, she said, would be congressional elimination of funding for particular programs.
House Republicans are considering using the budget process to starve the Internal Revenue Service or the Department of Health and Human Service of money to administer the plan or enforce tax penalties for those who violate it.
House Speaker John Boehner promised to do just that in a recent interview with The Cincinnati Enquirer. "They'll get not one dime from us," he said. "Not a dime. There is no fixing this."
"That's really the only thing that is politically possible but in [Congress's] realm of responsibility," says Barnes, "Everything else has already been accomplished."
What about 'fixing' the bill?
West Virginia's Manchin is not the only Democrat in a tight race who has proposed overhauling the legislation.
In a recent debate, Kentucky Democrat Jack Conway called his proposal to "fix" health care "a stark difference" from his Republican rival's pledge to repeal the bill. Illinois Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, who is locked in one of the country's tightest Senate races, uses a similar line on the stump, calling the bill "far from a perfect vehicle" and saying of his GOP opponent Mark Kirk, "He wants to repeal it. I want to reform it."
Some "fixes" could receive bipartisan support. Republicans are likely to target one particularly unpopular IRS reporting requirement that could add a hefty paperwork burden to many companies.
But health policy experts and congressional aides on both sides of the aisle agree that the core pieces of the bill are so intertwined that it would be almost impossible to remove its most unpopular parts without collapsing the system on which the legislation is premised.
The "individual mandate" — the requirement that almost all Americans purchase insurance or else pay a fine — has been particularly reviled by opponents of the reform bill passed this year. Many Republicans argue that the mandate is unconstitutional, a question currently being explored in the courts.
"America is a country of choices, not forcing people to buy things that they don't need," said Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle in a debate against Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday.
But the mandate, which serves to spread risk throughout large pools of healthy people unlikely to require costly treatments, is a central portion of the bill that lawmakers negotiated with insurers.
"The object of the law is to prevent acute conditions from happening at the first place," said Barnes. "The only way to do that is to mandate. Our only hope is to spread risk around so that we can make premiums more affordable."
Some backers of the legislation argue that, as more components of the health care plan become operational, costs to the consumer will be reduced and enthusiasm for "repeal" will fade.
The most popular provisions — like subsidies to those who cannot afford insurance, small business programs intended to reduce premium costs, and a total ban on insurance companies denying coverage to adults with preexisting conditions — will be in place by 2014.
But opponents of the plan aren't buying it, saying that the Democratic administration has now become the face of a massive system fraught with inefficiencies.
"They've just grabbed ownership of every problem in the health care system," said one House GOP aide. "Every time you wait an extra hour in a doctor's waiting room, it's going to feel like Barack Obama's fault."


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Streets Talk DVD Presents: The Nino Brown Story (Lil Wayne Edition) (Street DVDTrailer)
lil wayne & dj scoob doo bring you an epic biography on the life and times of the greatest rapper alive. Behind the scenes footage, interviews,freestyles and more to your living room exclusively on streets talk dvd. DVD release date Fall 2008.
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"Garbage" Ad Pure Rubbish (CP at Shout First)
This article from PJ Tatler – Government Union's Pro-Obama 'Garbage' Attack Ad Backfires – is so friggin' awesome, I am quoting a massive portion of it.
Don't claim Mitt Romney doesn't know or care about garbage men when he devotes a specific mention about them in his book, right down to the line about being invisible:
"During my campaign for governor, I decided to spend a day every few weeks doing the jobs of other people in Massachusetts. Among other jobs, I cooked sausages at Fenway Park, worked on asphalt paving crew, stacked bales of hay on a farm, volunteered in an emergency room, served food at a nursing home, and worked as a child-care assistant. I'm often asked which was the hardest job – it's child care, by a mile."
"One day I gathered trash as a garbage collector. I stood on that little platform at the back of the truck, holding on as the driver navigated his way through the narrow streets of Boston. As we pulled up to traffic lights, I noticed that the shoppers and businesspeople who were standing only a few feet from me didn't even see me. It was as if I was invisible. Perhaps it was because a lot of us don't think garbage men are worthy of notice; I disagree – anyone who works that hard deserves our respect. – I wasn't a particularly good garbage collector: at one point, after filling the trough at the back of the truck, I pulled the wrong hydraulic lever. Instead of pushing the load into the truck, I dumped it onto the street. Maybe the suits didn't notice me, but the guys at the construction site sure did…" (251)
The AFSCME claim isn't just poor agi-prop, it was directly refuted before it was ever written.
Now, if Richard Hayes and the AFSCME union—which has pledged to spend 100 million dollars to reelect Obama instead of providing Richard with the healthcare he needs—wanted to really impress Americans, perhaps they could find an example of where career liberal elitist Barack Obama even pretended to have a service industry job, or spent time volunteering to help people.
Mitt Romney isn't a perfect candidate, but he is a far better man than the President, which much more depth of character and more genuine empathy for his fellow human beings when the cameras are off than Barack Obama could ever pretend to have.
If this union or other unions want to blow $100 million playing into Romney's hands like this, I hope the new President is considerate enough to invite them to his inauguration.


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All Bran Loaf Cake
Member recipe by amyndaz
ServingsServes 8
This is a fruit loaf cake, using All Bran as the main ingredient.
This recipe has been submitted by the Good Food community. Sign in or create a My Good Food account to upload your own recipe creations. Please note that all recipes will be moderated but they are not tested in the Good Food kitchen.
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- 1 cup All Bran
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 cup Self raising flour
- 1 cup Mixed Dried Fruit (I tend to use Apricots and Prunes for a juicier cake) & Almonds (if desired)
- 1/2 cup or 1 cup Soft brown sugar (depending on desired sweetness)
- A standard loaf tin
- Grease and line your loaf tin, and preheat the oven to 170C/fan 150C/gas 5.
- Use a cup to measure the ingredients (I use my small measuring jug featured in the photograph.)
- Pour the All bran and milk into a bowl. Leave the All Bran to soak up the milk (about 5-10 mins.)
- Add the self raising flour and sugar to your mixture and stir.
- Cut up your dried fruit (if using prunes and apricots) and dust with some of the self raising flour. Add the fruit to your mixture and stir.
- The mixture should be thick and gloopy, if it isn't you may wish to add a bit more milk. Transfer the mixture to your loaf tin and put in the oven for 1 hr -1 hr 30 mins. Check on the loaf after 1 hr by putting a knife through the middle, if it comes out clean the loaf is cooked, if not leave it in a little longer.
Comments, questions and tips
18th Aug, 2016
I don't think it's meant to be an American 'cup' measurement. I used to make this with my Gran and as far as I'm aware it's just that you need equal volumes of everything and a cup is easy to measure with. I use a small mug I have. Much easier than getting my scales out and weighing it all because same volume of everything would not be same weight...
5th Sep, 2013
Mine didn't raise as much as the one in the picture but it is very tasty and moist. I only used sultanas (the only dried fruit that I had at hand), and the result resembles very much a Soreen malt loaf, with only 5 grams more of carbs and four times the fibre. I also used a tbsp of honey instead of sugar. It was more than enough with the sweetness of the sultanas. I will be making it again (and probably cutting it and freezing, for a tasty "on the go" snack).


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Well, he has the free time now.
Days before New York congressman Anthony Weiner resigned his House of Representatives seat amid a lurid Twitter sex scandal, "Entourage" creator Doug Ellin apparently reached out to the 46 year-old politician about playing himself on an episode of the hit HBO series.
"Entourage," which stars Adrian Grenier and Jeremy Piven, follows the wacky misadventures of a young Hollywood star and his best friends as they navigate the sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll Tinsel town lifestyle. Numerous big names from a variety of fields - including Aaron Sorkin, Mark Cuban, and Jerry Jones - have appeared as themselves during the show's seven seasons.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
Ellin recently told Hollywood Reporter about the Weiner offer, but admitted he has heard "nothing" yet from the politician or his office.
"Entourage" season eight, slated to be its final season, begins on July 24.
Selected Reading: Hollywood Reporter, Us Magazine


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A student accused of sexually assaulting a classmate during an off-campus party has elected to have a judge decide his case, rather than a military jury, the U.S. Naval Academy said.
A school spokeswoman confirmed that Joshua Tate of Nashville, Tenn., made the decision Friday.
The former football player is charged with aggravated sexual assault and lying to investigators.
Prosecutors initially accused Tate and two other students of sexually assaulting a female student during a 2012 party at an off-campus house in Annapolis, Md., where the school is located.
The woman said she didn't remember being sexually assaulted after a night of heavy drinking but heard from others she had had sex with multiple partners at the party. Tate is the only one who remains charged in the case.


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The next frontier in 3-D printing: Human organs(CNN) -- The emerging process of 3-D printing, which uses computer-created digital models to create real-world objects, has produced everything from toys to jewelry to food.
By: Brandon Griggs, CNN, CNN
(CNN) -- The emerging process of 3-D printing, which uses computer-created digital models to create real-world objects, has produced everything from toys to jewelry to food.
Soon, however, 3-D printers may be spitting out something far more complex, and controversial: human organs.
For years now, medical researchers have been reproducing human cells in laboratories by hand to create blood vessels, urine tubes, skin tissue and other living body parts. But engineering full organs, with their complicated cell structures, is much more difficult.
Enter 3-D printers, which because of their precise process can reproduce the vascular systems required to make organs viable. Scientists are already using the machines to print tiny strips of organ tissue. And while printing whole human organs for surgical transplants is still years away, the technology is rapidly developing.
"The mechanical process isn't all that complicated. The tricky part is the materials, which are biological in nature," said Mike Titsch, editor-in-chief of 3D Printer World, which covers the industry. "It isn't like 3-D printing plastic or metal. Plastic doesn't die if you leave it sitting on an open-air shelf at room temperature for too long."
The idea of printing a human kidney or liver in a lab may seem incomprehensible, even creepy. But to many scientists in the field, bioprinting holds great promise. Authentic printed organs could be used for drug or vaccine testing, freeing researchers from less accurate methods such as tests on animals or on synthetic models.
Then there's the hope that 3-D printers could someday produce much-needed organs for transplants. Americans are living longer, and as we get deeper into old age our organs are failing more. Some 18 people die in the United States each day waiting in vain for transplants because of a shortage of donated organs -- a problem that Anthony Atala, director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and a pioneer in bioprinting, calls "a major health crisis."
An 'exciting new area of medicine'
Bioprinting works like this: Scientists harvest human cells from biopsies or stem cells, then allow them to multiply in a petri dish. The resulting mixture, a sort of biological ink, is fed into a 3-D printer, which is programmed to arrange different cell types, along with other materials, into a precise three-dimensional shape. Doctors hope that when placed in the body, these 3-D-printed cells will integrate with existing tissues.
The process already is seeing some success. Last year a 2-year-old girl in Illinois, born without a trachea, received a windpipe built with her own stem cells. The U.S. government has funded a university-led "body on a chip" project that prints tissue samples that mimic the functions of the heart, liver, lungs and other organs. The samples are placed on a microchip and connected with a blood substitute to keep the cells alive, allowing doctors to test specific treatments and monitor their effectiveness.
"This is an exciting new area of medicine. It has the potential for being a very important breakthrough," said Dr. Jorge Rakela, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix and a member of the American Liver Foundation's medical advisory committee.
"Three-D printing allows you to be closer to what is happening in real life, where you have multiple layers of cells," he said. With current 2-D models, "if you grow more than one or two layers, the cells at the bottom suffocate from lack of oxygen."
To accelerate the development of bioprinted organs, a Virginia foundation that supports regenerative medicine research announced in December it will award a $1 million prize for the first organization to print a fully functioning liver.
One early contender for the prize is Organovo, a California start-up that has been a leader in bioprinting human body parts for commercial purposes. Using cells from donated tissue or stem cells, Organovo is developing what it hopes will be authentic models of human organs, primarily livers, for drug testing.
The company has printed strips of human liver tissue in its labs, although they are still very small: four by four by one millimeter, or about one-fourth the size of a dime. Each strip takes about 45 minutes to print, and it takes another two days for the cells to grow and mature, said Organovo CEO Keith Murphy. The models can then survive for about 40 days.
Organovo has also built models of human kidneys, bone, cartilage, muscle, blood vessels and lung tissue, he said.
"Basically what it allows you to do is build tissue the way you assemble something with Legos," Murphy said. "So you can put the right cells in the right places. You can't just pour them into a mold."
Ethical concerns
Not everyone is comfortable with this bold new future of lab-built body parts, however.
A research director at Gartner Inc., the information-technology research and advisory firm, believes 3-D bioprinting is advancing so quickly that it will spark a major ethical debate by 2016.
"Three-D bioprinting facilities with the ability to print human organs and tissue will advance far faster than general understanding and acceptance of the ramifications of this technology," Pete Basiliere said in a recent report.
"These initiatives are well-intentioned, but raise a number of questions that remain unanswered," Basiliere added. "What happens when complex 'enhanced' organs involving nonhuman cells are made? Who will control the ability to produce them? Who will ensure the quality of the resulting organs?"
Bioprinted organs are also likely to be expensive, which could put them out of reach of all but the wealthiest patients.
Murphy said Organovo only uses human cells in creating tissues, and doesn't see any ethical problems with what his company is doing.
"People used to worry about doing research on cadavers ... and that dissipated very quickly," he said. "We don't think there's any controversy if you're producing good data and helping people with health conditions."
Most experts, including Wake Forest's Atala, don't think we'll see complex 3-D-printed organs, suitable for transplants, for years if not decades. Instead, they believe the next step will be printing strips of tissue, or patches, that could be used to repair livers and other damaged organs.
"We are very eager to put pieces of tissue to work for surgical transplants," said Organovo's Murphy, who hopes his company will be ready to begin clinical trials within five years.
Of course, any use of 3-D-printed tissue in surgical procedures would require approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That review process could take up to a decade.
By then, the notion of a surgeon putting a 3-D-printed kidney into a patient may not seem so bizarre. Then again, this swiftly evolving technology may create new moral conundrums.
"The ethical questions are bound to be the same concerns we have seen in the past. Many major medical breakthroughs have suffered moral resistance, from organ transplants to stem cells," said Titsch of 3D Printer World.
"Will only the rich be able to afford it? Are we playing God? In the end, saving lives tends to trump all objections."
Tags: news, national, health, technology, updates


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"First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days."
Words from Barack Obama? Hardly. Those are words from Franklin Roosevelt's first inaugural address.
I am disappointed in my president, our president.
He has changed some really great rhetoric like FDR's "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" into this:
"I don't think that people should be fearful about our future. I don't think that people should suddenly mistrust all of our financial institutions."
"I don't think" indicates an Obama-centric view of the financial turmoil of Americans — not a "people centric" view.
And by guessing at what Americans really do fear, "financial institution," Obama is saying it is these evil "financial institutions" that many of us do fear.
Well, maybe in Obama World and Obama's White House, people fear financial institutions because they have no understanding of capitalism, business, the stock market and the American dream.
I am afraid that President Obama has no clue….That's my fear. And I resent Him telling me what I think.
I believe generally that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" and I also believe in JFK's famous challenge: "Ask not, what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
I also believe in Ronald Reagan's exoration: "Government is not the solution. Government is the problem."
I am afraid now because President Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and a lot of other well meaning folks think the government is the solution.
America's founders wrote down the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the other parts of our national fabric because they were living in fear of a far off all knowing and uncaring English Government.
And their spirit lives today in the saying, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." Many of us fear such naive, ignorant hubris.
I am starting to fear Washington. Obama's Washington. A far off, all knowing and uncaring government about five miles from my house, which is surrounded by other foreclosed houses.
I really do fear that Obama and many Democrat's don't get it.
Just last week, on Tuesday, President Obama, while speaking about the economy and the stock market, mentioned the "profit to earnings ratio."
And I thought he went to Harvard. There is no "profit earnings ratio." There is a "price to earnings ratio" or PE. Investors care more about their return on the dollar, reflected in the price they paid and the earnings that resulted.
Tom Petruno wrote in the Los Angeles Times on March 7, "He didn't get the lingo right, assuming he meant to say 'price-to-earnings ratios,' a measure of stock prices relative to earnings per share. That flub caused snickering among market pros."
Obama, Socialism, Fear, Lack of Confidence: Tanking Stocks, Skyrocketing Debt, Recovery Doomed This Year
I was even more disappointed when the president repeated this ignorant flub in a New York Times interview late in the week. That meant to me that nobody in the White House was smart enough to straighten out the president by holding a little school call on him. Or maybe they just don't know; and don't read. They certainly don't listen.
But they're thinking about curing all my education and health care problems, undoutedly….
So Obama's lack of stock market lingo doesn't mean to me that he slept through high school: it means he has no idea what drives capitalism because he was reading socialist doctrine instead of paying attention to America, as he himself indicates in his books. Maybe he never invested in anything but himself.
What is wrong with America? Everything, in Obama World:
"Look, I wish I had the luxury of just dealing with a modest recession or just dealing with health care or just dealing with energy or just dealing with Iraq or just dealing with Afghanistan," Obama said. "I don't have that luxury, and I don't think the American people do, either."
From CNN:
NYT Interviews Obama; No Economic Recovery This Year
NYT: After March 6 Economic News, "2009 is Probably a Lost Cause"
Obama: Crisis is time of 'great opportunity'
Obama, Socialism, Fear, Lack of Confidence: Tanking Stocks, Skyrocketing Debt, Recovery Doomed This Year
Can Democracy Fail With Obama's Socialist Help?
It seems to us that the attacks on Rush Limbaugh fromTeam Obama are an effort to tell Americans what to think and what not to think. This kind of arrogance often manifests itself in unusal ways: Limbaugh's radio show ratings doubled.
So I really do fear that President Obama and his guys don't get it….
Democratic Attacks On Limbaugh Boost His Ratings — But He's Not The Problem
I fear that the president doesn't understand that many of us don't want to pay more taxes, however they are hidden or veiled and whatever thay are for, many of us DO MIND paying for por, even though Chick Schumer thinks we don't, and many of DO want to further understanding of the good news/bad news behind such huge spending on health care and other Obama projects. And I certainly DO WANT to understand how all this government debt will degrade American growth and quality of life in the future. I don't like sending money for oil to Saudi Arabia and I don't like sending debt/interst payments to China eaither….
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama offered his domestic-policy proposals as a "break from a troubled past." But the economic outlook now is more troubled than it was even in January, despite Obama's bold rhetoric and commitment of more trillions of dollars.
And while his personal popularity remains high, some economists and lawmakers are beginning to question whether Obama's agenda of increased government activism is helping, or hurting, by sowing uncertainty among businesses, investors and consumers that could prolong the recession.
Although the administration likes to say it "inherited" the recession and trillion-dollar deficits, the economic wreckage has worsened on Obama's still-young watch.
Every day, the economy is becoming more and more an Obama economy.
More than 4 million jobs have been lost since the recession began in December 2007 — roughly half in the past three months.
Stocks have tumbled to levels not seen since 1997. They are down more than 50 percent from their 2007 highs and 20 percent since Obama's inauguration.
The president's suggestion that it was a good time for investors with "a long-term perspective" to buy stocks may have been intended to help lift battered markets. But a big sell-off followed.
Presidents usually don't talk about the stock market. But the dynamics are different now.
A higher percentage of people have more direct exposure to stocks — including through 401(k) and other retirement plans — than ever.
So a tumbling stock market is adding to the national angst as households see the value of their investments and homes plunge as job losses keep rising.
Some once mighty companies such as General Motors and Citigroup are little more than penny stocks.
Many health care stocks are down because of fears of new government restrictions and mandates as part a health care overhaul. Private student loan providers were pounded because of the increased government lending role proposed by Obama. Industries that use oil and other carbon-based fuels are being shunned, apparently in part because of Obama's proposal for fees on greenhouse-gas polluters.
Makers of heavy road-building and other construction equipment have taken a hit, partly because of expectations of fewer public works jobs here and globally than first anticipated.
"We've got a lot of scared investors and business people. I think the uncertainty is a real killer here," said Chris Edwards, director of fiscal policy for the libertarian Cato Institute.
Some Democrats, worried over where Obama is headed, are suggesting he has yet to match his call for "bold action and big ideas" with deeds.
In particular, they point to bumpy efforts to fix the financial system under Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
Obama may have contributed to the national anxiety by first warning of "catastrophe" if his stimulus plan was not passed and in setting high expectations for Geithner. Instead, Geithner's public performance has been halting and he's been challenged by lawmakers of both parties.
Republicans and even some top Democrats, including Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, have questioned the wisdom of Obama's proposal to limit tax deductions for higher-income people on mortgage interest and charitable contributions.
Charities have strongly protested, saying times already are tough enough for them. The administration suggests it might back off that one.
Even White House claims that its policies will "create" or "save" 3.5 million jobs have been questioned by Democratic supporters.
"You created a situation where you cannot be wrong," the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Montana Democrat Max Baucus, told Geithner last week.
"If the economy loses 2 million jobs over the next few years, you can say yes, but it would've lost 5.5 million jobs. If we create a million jobs, you can say, well, it would have lost 2.5 million jobs," Baucus said. "You've given yourself complete leverage where you cannot be wrong, because you can take any scenario and make yourself look correct."
Republicans assert that Obama's proposals, including the "cap and trade" fees on polluters to combat global warming, would raise taxes during a recession that could touch everyone. "Herbert Hoover tried it, and we all know where that led," says House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio.
The administration argues its tax increases for the households earning over $250,000 a year and fees on carbon polluters contained in its budget won't kick in until 2011-2012, when it forecasts the economy will have fully recovered.
But even those assumptions are challenged as too rosy by many private forecasters and some Democratic lawmakers.
Many deficit hawks also worry that the trillions of federal dollars being doled out by the administration, Congress and the Federal Reserve could sow the seeds of inflation down the road, whether the measures succeed in taming the recession or not. The money includes Obama's $3.6 trillion budget and the $837 billion stimulus package he signed last month.
Polls show that Obama's personal approval ratings, generally holding in the high 60s, remain greater than support for his specific policies.
"He still has a fair amount of political capital, so the public is willing to cut him some slack and go along with him for a while," said pollster Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center. "But the public will have to get some sense that the kinds of things he's proposing are going to work, or are showing some signs that they are working."
Allan Sinai, chief global economist for Decision Economics, a Boston-area consulting firm, said the complexity and enormity of the crisis make it hard to solve.
"There's no way to get it all right, regardless of which president is making policy," Sinai said. "The problem is the sickness got too far. The actions taken, medicine applied, were mainly the wrong actions. So it's just worse, and it gets harder to deal with. At this stage, there is no easy answer, no easy way out. It's a question of how we fumble through."


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Let the Peace of God Guard Your Hearts & Minds
Larry Vinson
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Madison, AL 35758
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Hope, one of 22 Kaleidoscope lenses, is for illuminating, deepening, and expanding our gifts on life's journey. It is a spiritual healing tool that helps us grow in emotional intelligence by assisting us in learning more each day about how we may increase light and love and diminish suffering and strife in ourselves and in all Life. Enjoy!
All stories, poems, haiku, photos, design, graphics, other art, and concepts are by Barbara unless otherwise attributed. Copyright © 2016 by Barbara Jo Shipka. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, digital, electronic or mechanical, including forwarding by email, photocopying, recording, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the author. Thank you for honoring the copyright.


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Sushi with Fish and Vegetables
We like to serve sushi on Shabbos as an elegant fish course. Our guests are always amazed when we bring out a giant platter on Friday night. The cost is minimal and the pleasure is fit for a Shabbos feast.
- 8 nori sheets (dried seaweed)
- ¼ pound sushi grade (salmon, sea bass, tuna, or yellowtail), cut against grain into 2 x ¼ inch pieces, or ¼ pound tofu, cut into ¼-inch strips
- 1 tablespoon canola oil, if using tofu
- 2 carrots, julienned
- 1 cucumber, cut into thin 2-inch strips
- 3 green onions, cut into thin 2-inch strips
- 1 avocado, cut into thin 2-inch strips, optional
- 6 cups cooked sushi rice (see page 49), cooled
Fry tofu in oil until lightly brown. Pat ¾ cup sushi rice onto 1 sheet nori, covering bottom 2/3 of nori. Leave top 1/3 plain. Lay a row of fish or tofu, and vegetables of your choice across bottom of nori, on top of rice. (Keep a bowl of water next to you while rolling the sushi to moisten your hands, since this will make the preparation easier.) Roll tightly from bottom. Wait a moment to let nori moisten and form a seal. Continue with remaining ingredients.
Slice each sushi roll into 8 pieces. Arrange on a serving platter. See page 49 for serving instructions.
Serves 8–16.
Sushi Rice
This sweet vinegared rice gives sushi its unique flavor.
- 3¾ cups water
- 2 cups uncooked sushi rice
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar
Bring water to a boil. Add rice, vinegar, and sugar. Stir thoroughly, cover, and reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes. When rice is fully cooked, turn off heat and let cool uncovered.
Makes rice for 7–8 sushi rolls.
English Mustard Dipping Sauce
Great if you are on a low-sodium diet. Use this delicious mayo dip instead of soy sauce with your sushi.
- 1 tablespoon dry English mustard
- ½ cup mayonnaise
Mix mustard and mayonnaise together and stir until smooth.
Serves 6–8.
Wasabi Dipping Sauce
An unusual twist on classic wasabi.
- 1 tablespoon wasabi powder
- ½ cup mayonnaise
Mix wasabi and mayonnaise together and stir until smooth.
Serves 6–8.
Soy Sauce and Wasabi
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons wasabi powder, prepared according to package directions
Set a small dish for soy sauce and wasabi in front of each person. Serve wasabi in a small mound on sushi tray. Each person can pour soy sauce into their dish and add a little wasabi and stir it into the soy sauce. Wasabi is spicy; test it to see how much you like.
Teriyaki Salmon
Very easy and very elegant.
- 2 pounds salmon fillet, or 4–6 portions
Teriyaki Sauce
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, diced
- 4 teaspoons canola oil
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¾ cup water
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch and equal amounts water, for thickening
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
To prepare sauce: Fry garlic and ginger in oil over medium-high heat until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add soy sauce and water. Reduce heat to medium low. Slowly stir in sugar until it dissolves. Lower heat if necessary. Combine cornstarch and water and add to sauce, stirring constantly to thicken. Add sesame seeds. Pour sauce over salmon and bake at 350o for 30–45 minutes or until salmon flakes easily. Serve with rice.
Serves 6
Variation Teriyaki Chicken
Option #1: Slice 3 chicken breasts into strips and stir-fry in 2 tablespoons canola oil until cooked through, approximately 3–5 minutes. Add teriyaki sauce and serve over rice.
Option #2: Bake a whole chicken, or chicken parts, at 375o for 20 minutes. Add sauce and continue baking another 40–50 minutes.
Option #3: Teriyaki chicken drumsticks or chicken wings — prepare like option #2 above and bake for 25 minutes until done. Great finger food for a party.
Malaysian Sesame-Topped Vegetables
A mélange of sweet and tangy. These vegetables are delicious and easy to make.
- 8 large carrots, sliced into ½-inch slices
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 5 cups mushrooms, quartered
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons plain or toasted white sesame seeds
In a covered pot, steam carrots in water 1-inch deep for 3 minutes. Drain excess water. In a separate pan, stir-fry garlic in oil on medium-low heat for 2 minutes. Add carrots, mushrooms, vinegar, and sugar to pan. Keep stirring until vegetables are cooked but still crisp. Add soy sauce. Remove to serving bowl and garnish with sesame seeds.
Serves 6–8.
Thai Iced Tea
A delicious, cooling treat. Great for Shabbos lunches in the summer.
- 4 cups hot water plus 4 Lipton tea bags
- 2 cups vanilla-flavored soy milk
- ¾ cup sugar
- crushed ice cubes
Boil water and pour into a heat-resistant pitcher. Add tea bags and brew tea to double strength (twice as long as usual). Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Add soy milk. Let cool, and serve in glasses over crushed ice.
Serves 8.
Note: May also be served as a hot tea.
Excerpted from The Complete Asian Kosher Cookbook By Shifrah Devorah Witt and Zipporah Malka Heller
Shifrah Devorah Witt and Zipporah Malka Heller are a mother-daughter team that have turned their love for Asian food into the fabulous and easy to use new cookbook, The Complete Asian Kosher Cookbook. With Chapters on Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Filipino, and Indian cuisine, The Complete Asian Kosher Cookbook brings you some of the best recipes that Asian food offers simplified so anyone can make them. With recipes varying in complexity from five minutes to make and up this cookbook holds something for everyone. If you are in the mood to try something new, or wish you could find your favorite Asian recipes kosher the Complete Asian Kosher Cookbook is bound to have just what you are looking for.


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Be the first OregonLive.com user to add photos or videos of Kksl AM 1290
Kksl AM 1290 is located at 3030 SW Moody Ave, Portland, OR. This location is in the Corbet - Terwilliger - Lair Hill neighborhood. This business specializes in News & Media.


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Cherry mallow traybake
Nutrition and extra info
- Freeze un-iced sponge only
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal383
- fat16g
- saturates9g
- carbs58g
- sugars40g
- fibre1g
- protein5g
- salt0.52g
- 250g pack butter, softened
Butter is a dairy product made from separating whole milk or cream into fat and…
- 280g self-raising flour
- 250g golden caster sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
Baking powderbay-king pow-dah
Baking powder is a raising agent that is commonly used in cake-making. It is made from an alkali…
- 4 eggs
The ultimate convenience food, eggs are powerhouses of nutrition packed with protein and a…
- 150ml pot natural yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 85g red glacé cherry, chopped
- 50g white marshmallow, snipped into small chunks
To decorate
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line a 20 x 30cm baking or roasting tin with baking parchment. Beat together the butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs, yogurt and vanilla. Stir in the chopped cherries and snipped marshmallows. Scrape into the tin and bake for 25-35 mins until a skewer poked in comes out clean. Cool.
To decorate, put the marshmallows into a pan with the milk and gently melt, stirring. Scrape into a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to spread. Spread over the cake, dot over the halved cherries and slice into 15 squares.


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The Icefields Parkway is one of the world's most scenic drives. It's stunning enough if you're just driving through, but it's even better if you slow down and enjoy some of the hikes and viewpoints along the way to Jasper.
You'll see peaks reaching above 3,300 metres (approximately 11,000 feet), ancient glaciers that are still carving the landscape beneath them, icy waterfalls pouring over rock ledges and, possibly, wildlife such as bighorn sheep, deer, elk and black bears.
Have your camera handy and take it slow on the road (watch for wildlife and, in places, rocks).
- Emerald-hued Moraine Lake rivals nearby Lake Louise for beauty -- and you can stay there, too, at the Moraine Lake Lodge, where rustic elegance and award-winning restaurant make for a romantic getaway (morainelake.com).
- Sitting beside Bow Lake, its red roof like a siren call, Simpson's Num-Ti-Jah Lodge (num-ti-jah.com) keeps the stories of mountain guide Jimmy Simpson alive -- it is a piece of Rocky Mountain history.
- There's staying and playing at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and Golf Course (fairmont.com/jasper) -- not to mention walks around the lake, plus hiking, canoeing and horseback riding.
- Take some of the hikes off the Parkway, the Peyto Lake (easy) and Parker Ridge (steep) trails. Many of the hikes are short but reward you with stunning vistas of lakes and glaciers you won't see from the road.
- Stop at the Columbia Icefield (columbiaicefield.com), where you can learn about how the glaciers were formed and how they move each year, take a walk to the toe of the Athabasca glacier, or take a Brewster's SnoCoach tour onto the glacier's surface (wrap up, because there's always a cool wind).
- Take a wild raft ride on the Sunwapta or Athabasca Rivers near Jasper -- prepare to get thoroughly splashed, but keep your eyes peeled for wildlife, especially birds. Several companies offer float and/or whitewater trips (jaspercanadianrockies.com).
- Stock up for breakfast or a delicious picnic lunch at Laggan's Bakery & Deli in Lake Louise village's Samson Mall. Bring your appetite, and your taste for good coffee.
- Splash out in style at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, in the elegant, CAA Four Diamond-rated Edith Cavell Dining Room (fairmont.com/jasper).
- Look for bistro-style food and casual dining, including tapas-style dishes and paella, at La Fiesta in Jasper, at 504 Patricia St. (780-852-0404).
- The story is the Crowfoot Glacier used to have three "toes" but now only has two -- even missing a digit and viewed from a distance, it's still impressive.
- Stop at the viewpoint for the Weeping Wall, where meltwater from snow and ice on Cirrus Mountain pours over the rockface.
- Don't miss the other waterfalls along the way, including Sunwapta Falls and Athabasca Falls. There's no doubt how much power water has when you're seeing and hearing it tumble into deep chasms.
- Take a cruise on Maligne Lake (malignelake.com) -- the lake Mary Schaffer, known as "Yahe-Weha" or "Mountain Woman" to the local Stoney Indians, first visited 100 years ago. She was instrumental in lobbying to have Jasper National Park's boundaries include the lake.
- Ride the Lake Louise Gondola (lakelouisegondola.com) near Lake Louise or the Whistler's Mountain Tramway (jaspertramway.com) near Jasper for a relaxing trip to the top of their respective mountains (assuming you're not afraid of heights -- if you are, consider these trips an adrenaline boost).
- Soak in the natural mineral waters of the Miette Hot Springs (pc.gc.ca), near Jasper. It's one of the most relaxing spots in the Rockies, which you'll need after the eye-opening drive to Miette up the Fiddle Valley.
If You Go
- The Icefields Parkway, part of Highway 93, stretches for 230 kilometres between Lake Louise and Jasper, through both Banff and Jasper National Parks. For visitor information, check the Parks Canada website at pc.gc.ca, and enter the name of the park into the "search" box.
- Note that along the Parkway, services are available only at Saskatchewan Crossing (The Crossing Resort, online at thecrossingresort.com, offers accommodation, dining and gas) and the Columbia Icefield (accommodation and dining but no gas). Otherwise, fill up at Lake Louise or Jasper.
- You'll find more information at www.banfflakelouise.com; www.jaspercanadianrockies.com; www.icefieldsparkway.ca; and www.travelalberta.com. By phone, 1-800-Alberta is an excellent starting point.


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Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) belongs to the most widespread diseases in Western countries, causing up to sixty per cent of the workload of gastrointestinal physicians. One of the most frequent symptoms of IBS is bloating, which reduces quality of life considerably as patients perceive it as particularly bothersome. For quite a long time, IBS was believed to be a primarily psychological condition.
"Contrary to this view, recent findings suggest that IBS is linked to clearly detectable gut microbiota alterations. Additionally, bloating can be related to specific kinds of diet, thus opening up promising paths towards an efficient disease management," says Professor Giovanni Barbara (University of Bologna, Italy).
This was one of the topics presented at the Gut Microbiota for Health World Summit in Miami, FL, USA.
IBS is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, causing several symptoms, which include abdominal pain, bowel movements that cause discomfort, and - in nearly all patients - bloating. IBS affects up to 20 percent of the population in Western countries. This condition represents up to 10 percent of the workload of family physicians and up to 60 per cent of that of gastroenterology practitioners. Within the range of IBS troubles, it is bloating that bothers patients most.
A microbiota-based condition
For quite a long time, not only bloating, but IBS in general was frequently perceived as a mainly psychological condition, mostly affecting young, predominantly female and anxious patients with no detectable abnormalities in their bowels. Consequently, the disease burden was often attributed to an imaginary disorder, and the treatment was far from satisfactory.
"Thanks to new diagnostic insights and a rapidly growing knowledge about the role and function of the microbial communities living inside our guts, our view on IBS and its causes has changed considerably," says Prof. Barbara, President of the European Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (ESNM). According to him, there is a lot of evidence showing that IBS is associated with an imbalanced composition of the gut microbiota. This means that the system of checks and balances between beneficial and potentially harmful bacteria, which characterizes a healthy gut microbiota, is disturbed in IBS patients.
"Probably the best example of this interaction is the discovery that IBS symptoms develop in up to 10 percent of previously healthy subjects after a single episode of gastroenteritis caused by an infection through bacterial pathogens like Salmonella, Shighella or Campylobacter, which can severely disrupt the microbiota balance," says Prof. Barbara. An additional problem results from the fact that not only infections, but also the antibiotics that are used as a remedy, may increase the risk for IBS, as they, too, can alter the gut microbiota in a negative way.
Nutrition is key
Another important factor is nutrition. Food that is rich in carbohydrates, particularly fiber, tends to produce larger amounts of gas than a diet without these ingredients. In some individuals, this might lead to repeated bloating and flatulence. The potentially negative impact of this kind of nutrition applies in particular to individuals who already suffer from IBS. Recent studies show that such a "flatulogenic" diet (for example, bread, cereals and pastries made of whole wheat, and beans, soy beans, corn, peas, Brussels' sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, celery, onions, leek, garlic, artichokes, figs, peaches, grapes and prunes) induces profound changes in the microbiota of IBS patients, thus prolonging and increasing the symptoms. However, at the same time, the gut microbiota of healthy subjects remained stable and unaffected by this kind of diet.1
"On the other hand, we now know for sure that diets containing low fiber content improve these symptoms significantly. Recent research results suggest that, compared to a normal Western diet, a diet low in so-called FODMAPs (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols) reduces symptoms of IBS, including bloating, pain and passage of wind," says Prof. Barbara.
Another interesting observation Prof. Barbara points to is that those IBS patients who have several clear-cut gut symptoms have also more profound changes in their gut microbiota, as compared to other patients whose bowel physiology is less disturbed, but instead combined with mood disorders. This suggests that the troubles of the second group are more socially grounded and mood-related, whereas the condition of the patients belonging to the first group is predominantly physiologically based - IBS proper, so to speak.
What further developments can doctors and patients expect? "It is amazing to see how quickly gut microbiota research has gained center stage within gastroenterology in the course of the past few years," says Prof. Barbara. "This is due to its crucial role not only for IBS, but for gastrointestinal health in general. In order to further improve diagnosis and treatment, we have to identify more of the various functions of the intestinal bacteria. With regard to clinical applications, bacterial functions are even more important than their types."


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Like many Texans and Americans, Jason Villalba loves Sriracha.
Villalba, a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, puts it on, or in, just about anything. Eggs. Pho, the Vietnamese noodle soup. Even lasagna.
"I've been a huge fan for the last decade," Villalba told Business Insider in an interview.
But lately, Villalba and other Texas Republicans have taken a different interest in Sriracha. They want the company to move its operations from California to the Lone Star State, in light of what they say are California's crushing regulations, high taxation, and burdensome cost of living.
The hot sauce has become a major topic of conversation in both Texas — where the state's Republicans are looking to score another business victory over California Democrats — and in California, where its Republicans are using the opportunity to slam the state's regulations and high taxation.
It even reached up to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who tweeted last week the company would be "welcome with open arms and eager taste buds." In California, Republican gubernatorial candidate Neel Kashkari tweeted it was time to "stand with Sriracha":
RT if you're tired of gov't regulations killing jobs. I stand with Sriracha against big gov't. http://t.co/YXtse0IvOi pic.twitter.com/0xVKsMvq7T
— Neel Kashkari (@neelkashkari) April 19, 2014
"I think we're at a tipping point," Villalba said. "When you start to overburden the creators of jobs, ultimately the creators of jobs have to consider alternatives."
On May 12, Villalba will lead a delegation from Texas to California to tour the Sriracha facility in Irwindale and meet with David Tran, the CEO of Huy Fong Foods, Inc. Joining Villalba in the delegation are Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and one of the top aides to Texas Attorney General and Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott.
Together, they will look to take advantage of a recent dispute between Huy Fong and the Irwindale City Council, using it as their main argument in an attempt to convince Tran to bring Sriracha to Texas.
Villalba originally took an interest in the Sriracha possibility in January, when he wrote a letter to Tran inviting him to move operations to Texas. That came about a month after a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled Huy Fong Foods needed to halt any production that could cause chili odors. The city of Irwindale sued the company in October, citing complaints from residents who claimed the odor from production was a public hazard.
Two weeks ago, the Irwindale City Council voted unanimously to declare the smell of the hot sauce a public nuisance, despite promises from the company that they would work to mitigate the smell by June.
In reaching out to Villalba to invite him to tour the facility, Tran told him he fears the city won't accept any solution. (Huy Fong didn't respond to a request for comment on this story.) Villalba also said more than 60% of the complaints about the smell have come from only a handful of households.
"I'll bet they never had any anticipation in one-thousand years that a city council could shut them down during the most important time of their processing merely because a handful of individuals from the community claim they had an itchy nose," Villalba said.
Because of its popularity, the Sriracha situation has provided Villalba and other Texas Republicans with a media-friendly story for what they say is a larger trend — businesses are leaving places like California and coming to Texas. Republican Gov. Rick Perry has been actively poaching businesses from all over the United States, but some of the most noteworthy have come from California.
On Tuesday, Toyota announced it would move its U.S. headquarters from California to Texas. Dairy company Hilmar Cheese just built a new, state-of-the-art facility in Texas, in addition to its plant in Hilmar, Calif. HID Global, a identity, identification and security corporation, recently announced it is moving its global headquarters from Irvine, Calif., to Austin.
These are some of the examples cited by Staples, the state's agriculture commissioner, of the trend. He told Business Insider in an interview there are many more. Minutes before he spoke with Business Insider on Tuesday, he said he was on the phone with a company interested in moving its operations to the Lone Star State. Overall, Texas' trade and business development division spends hours each day speaking with companies.
"It's an indicator of the distinct differences in the basic philosophies of Texas vs., for instance, California," Staples said. "The proof's in the pudding. From 2008 to June of 2013, California lost almost a half a million jobs, and Texas added more than 600,000 jobs. And it's because of a philosophy of providing that partnership and opportunity for private-sector growth."
On a larger scope, Occidental Petroleum Corp. said in February it would move from Los Angeles to Houston. In 2009, power company Calpine Corp left San Jose for Houston. And back in 2006, engineering company Fluor Corp. moved from Orange County to the Dallas area.
The Sriracha developments, and others, have made California Republicans worry. Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, the leading Republican gubernatorial candidate to oppose Gov. Jerry Brown, said he wouldn't blame Huy Fong if they decided to move.
In an interview, Donnelly said the Sriracha example makes clear the problem California — that too much power is concentrated in the hands of too few in the state and local governments.
"It's hard to blame anybody for leaving California," he said. "I've reached out to them and said, 'Let us help you.' I'd rather they stay here and those jobs stay here, because once they leave, it's almost impossible to get them back. A company that's moving out is not going to move back in."


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May 16, 2013
LAWT News Service
Powerful cluster of Black community, clergy and labor leaders revealed a binding Community-Mayoral Covenant which has been received and verbally agreed upon by both candidate for Los Angeles Mayor Councilman Eric Garcetti and Controller Wendy Greuel, it was announced.
Authors of the Community Mayor Covenant, which included organizations and civil rights advocates, have formed under the organizational name of Black Community, Clergy and Labor Alliance (BCCLA).
President Eric P. Lee leads the BCCLA along with Dr. Maulana Karenga (professor and Chair of African Studies at Cal State University Long Beach) and Larry Aubry, president of Advocates for Black Strategic Alternatives.
Other members include Seba Chimbuko Tembo, executive director of African American Cultural Center, The Rev. K.W. Tulloss, president National Action Network, The Rev. Tony Smart, The Rev. Donald Wilson, Damien Goodmon, and Tony Wafford, president of I Choose Health and Wellness Foundation and Anton Farmby.
"This is a critical moment in our history, Black community, clergy and labor leaders have come together under the banner of the Black Community, Clergy and Labor Alliance ("BCCLA") to propose a covenant-based politics that is ethical in foundation, inclusive in form and people-focused, beneficial and practical in content. The character of the times and the urgency of the situation demand that we do things differently, definitely better and with greater concern for Black community interests and the common good," said president Lee.
The announcement was made at the African American Cultural Center on Monday May 13.
BCCLA holds the position that support of any political candidate must be based on mutual respect, mutual benefit and the common good expressed in mutual commitments. Thus, political candidates who seek the support of the Black community must recognize and respect our interests and endorse our list of vital interests and agenda.
The Covenant currently consists of eight (8) core areas of concern that directly impact the quality of life in the Black community: Economic Development, Education, Employment, Health, Housing, Legal Justice, Preservation of Cultural and Arts and Transportation.
This covenant will serve several essential functions that aims to not only achieve concrete policy and political goals of the black community and Mayoral candidate, but also to create a new way of political thinking and political practice. First, the covenant will serve as a rating system for candidates and thus a basis for community support or non-support of a given candidate. Also, it will serve as the central point of reference for community conversations and media initiatives BCCLA will launch to cultivate community commitment to this covenant process.


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Professor of Computer and Information Science
Dr. Taylor received his A.B. degree in Electrical Computer and Systems Engineering from Harvard College in 1988 and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University in 1990 and 1994 respectively. Dr. Taylor was the Jamaica Scholar in 1984, a member of the Harvard chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and held a Harvard College Scholarship from 1986-1988. From 1994 to 1997 Dr. Taylor was a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He joined the faculty of the Computer and Information Science Department at the University of Pennsylvania in September 1997. He received an NSF CAREER award in 1998 and the Lindback Minority Junior Faculty Award in 2001. In 2012 he received a best paper award at the IEEE Workshop on the Applications of Computer Vision. Dr Taylor's research interests lie primarily in the fields of Computer Vision and Robotics and include: reconstruction of 3D models from images, vision-guided robot navigation and smart camera networks. Dr. Taylor has served as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions of Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence. He has also served on numerous conference organizing committees and was a Program Chair of the 2006 edition of the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition and of the 2013 edition of 3DV. In 2012 he was awarded the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching at the University of Pennsylvania.


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The cold and flu season is no fun. The sniffling, sneezing and headaches add up to a big discomfort for many. While there is no cure for the common cold or flu, there is an organic way you can fight it: by drinking adequate amounts of water. Water helps to wash germs and viruses out of your immune system and keeps the body hydrated. Many in the medical field suggest drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day to boost your immune system and your overall health.
In addition to keeping your system adequately hydrated, here are 4 benefits on why water is essential for your body.
1. Water oxygenates your blood and flushes out harmful toxins from your immune system.
2. Prevention of common chronic ailments is another benefit of using water to fight off cold, flu and other illnesses.
3. Drinking adequate amounts of water will help you digest your food better.
4. Drinking water will help organs like your eyes and mouth to remain moist and repel contaminants that could cause infections.
Before you run for that glass of water however, stop to think about whether your water is filtered or not. The full benefit of water is ineffective if it contains waterborne contaminants such as bacteria, sediment, Giardia or Cryptosporidium. This is why drinking filtered water, free from contaminants, is best for your immune system.
Filtered water can come from many different sources such as point of use (filtered water pitchers and refrigerator water filters) and point of entry (such as whole home water filters). Deciding which option is best for you depends largely on preference. However, always stop and consider what your water quality is like by testing your water before deciding on any option.
Remember that water is a natural way to help your immune system fight germs associated with colds and the flu. Drinking the recommended 8 glasses of water per day will keep your body hydrated and ready to fight off harmful viruses.
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Bret Michaels did it. Bobby Brown did it too, to much less success. So did Paula Abdul. The preferred vehicle for a musical comeback is not on the charts any more but on reality television.
The latest to join that rich tradition is Toni Braxton, the Severn native who was one of the highest-selling artists of the 1990s but has seen her sales droop to dramatic lows, just 145,000 units for last year's "Pulse."
In the last decade she has also taken personal blows, a multimillion-dollar bankruptcy filed earlier this year being the most recent to attract unflattering attention from the tabloids.
The singer says "Braxton Family Values," which premieres Tuesday on We TV and revolves around her life with her sisters, is an attempt to take ownership of her media narrative and return to the spotlight she has ceded to younger stars.
"My sisters kept telling me, come 2011, you have to start telling your story. Everyone knows about your financial woes, your bankruptcies, but they don't know what really happened," she says. "In the end, I'm glad I did it."
The jury is still out on the impact of reality TV on a flagging music career. The path to a comeback is littered with stars who didn't fare much better than a token slot on "Celebrity Apprentice" or "Dancing with the Stars." Tellingly, Braxton's already done the latter. She placed sixth in 2008, bested by Cloris Leachman.
Makeba Riddick — the recently Grammy-nominated Baltimore songwriter who worked on Braxton's "Pulse" album — says it's her best bet.
"It's just where we are. Everything is reality TV," she says. "I think with Toni, it's helping her to get her audience back, to keep her relevant."
Advertised as an intimate look at Braxton's life, "sibling rivalry, man drama, bankruptcy, a DUI and much more," the show delivers on that premise.
In the first episode Traci, Towanda, Tamar, Trina and Evelyn, the family matriarch, squabble, sun-tan, toast champagne, and lounge on the private plane they've rented to fly to the Bermudas.
Tamar shows herself to be a student of the genre. She shrieks and pouts and generally plays the part of histrionic diva better than Countess LuAnn de Lesseps herself.
We TV, which has taken a page out of the Bravo handbook, has been building up its reality TV programming and was looking for a follow-up to their just-finished Joan and Melissa Rivers show.
John Miller, a senior vice president, said the network was attracted to the show because of the backstage dynamic of the sisters.
"Our series showcase women in real-life situations with all the raw emotion and chaos that comes with it," he wrote via email.
Mainly set in Atlanta, the show is less interested in the music. When Braxton does sing in the first episode, it's a modest coda after an hour of the typical sturm und drang of the genre.
It finds the singer far from the stratospheric heights of the '90s, when she was a musical supernova, on par with Madonna and Mariah Carey at dominating the radio waves.
Guided by mega producers L.A. Reid and Babyface, she created a unique blend of R&B and pop that broke through the pop-dominated charts of the time.
"Whitney was doing straight pop. Then you had other artists, like Mary J. Blige, who was straight R&B, very urban," Riddick says. "Toni bridged those two."
The new sound was combined with her voice, a sultry, almost hushed alto that lent songs like "Un-Break my Heart" a quiet drama, but that also surprised listeners by hitting sky-high notes.
"The singing that everyone's raving about today, the Jennifer Hudsons, Fantasias?" says Gail Mitchell, senior R&B editor at Billboard magazine. "That's what Toni was doing in the '90s in the wake of Whitney and other real singing singers."
Braxton's self-titled album spent three weeks atop the R&B/hip-hop albums chart. And over the course of the decade, she had four No. 1's on that chart and five top-10 albums on the Billboard 200, Mitchell notes.
But the last decade has been criminal on her personal and professional life, as she allows in the show's opening close-up. She filed for a second bankruptcy, discovered that one of her sons is autistic and separated from her husband.
She's also says she's been affected by health issues — a heart condition and lupus — that prevented her from furthering her career and committing to projects.
"My career is on hiatus by choice," she says. "I don't look at it as a low point. In any career there's ups and downs. It's been a really tough three years."
Even before that, she was at a generational impasse. Like many '90s contemporaries — Janet Jackson, Boys II Men, among them — she wasn't able to transition to the 2000s with the same strength.
In fact, since 2000's "Heat," which moved 2 million copies, she's been shedding listeners by the millions. Her follow-up to that album sold 243,000 copies, and last year's "Pulse" sold 145,000, a career low, according to Nielsen Soundscan
DJ Tim Watts of Baltimore's Magic 95.9 says the new material hasn't translated into sales because she's gone after the hard-edged sound that would get her played on hip-hop stations like 92Q instead of playing to her roots.
"Toni is no longer hip. She's basically an adult contemporary artist now," he says. "The 35-to-50 bracket is where her audience is," Watts says. It's only on stations like his, he says, that her old material gets played alongside R&B stalwarts Luther Vandross and Anita Baker.
Mitchell says that overall industry trends have cut into Braxton's sales as well but that her fortunes come down to her choice of material.
"Whitney's gone through the same thing. Janet Jackson's is the same. For the ladies of the '90s, the questions is 'How do you evolve?'" Mitchell says. "It depends on the song, You can't pretend to be something you're not. You can't go back and try to appeal to the kids by being a copy of what's out there. You have to stay true to what you are."
Braxton says she did not pursue the show to revive her flagging career. She says the idea for this one came from her sister Tamar, who has wanted a show since 2007.
She says doesn't even watch that much reality TV save for the "Top Model" shows.
"This is not going to help my financial problems. It's not the kind of money you get paid for a show like this," she says. "I just said 'yes' because I thought it was absolutely right what my sisters said. I've never told my story about financial woes, and I was ready to tell my story."
But it's usually at low points like this one that other artists have turned to welcoming environs of reality TV.
Mitchell, who's not ready to write her off, says Braxton is a hit song away from regaining her status. But until then, TV is a way to keep her in the public eye, even if it's unclear what effect it can have on record sales.
"I'm sure she'll get a spike, but sustainable sales is the operative word," she says.
That's the consensus on the show.
"As we've seen so many times before, it doesn't always revive a career, but having that audience watching something you do is always a plus," Riddick says.
"She should get on 'Hollywood Squares' if they'll take her," Watts adds. "It'll introduce her to new audiences who may not have heard of her, and it'll re-introduce her to some of the audience members who left hip-hop stations are listening to those like mine."
Beyond the show, Braxton hasn't thought far ahead.
She sounds, in fact, tired, and when asked if she's working on new material, or signed to label, she says something surprising.
"I don't even know if it's something I want to do. I don't know if I'm going to do music anymore. I love it still and I'll always sing. I'll always do a show here and there, but I don't know if that's going to be my concentration and my profession."
At least, she can rest assured there'll always be a place for her on "Celebrity Apprentice."