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It has been a golden weekend here in Western Massachusetts. Not so much the weather, rather it has been two days of pure gold with what's been going on. Continue reading
Category Archives: 50 Recipes
Golden Weekend
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The Flexibility of Mushroom Barley Soup
I remember when my kids were little hearing again and again the advice that they needed to have a routine. Routines were the mantra of experts, parenting magazines, and well-meaning friends. Of course if you skipped a nap or missed a meal there would inevitably be a parental price to pay (often in the form of a spectacular meltdown), but looking back what I recall from the months of baby and toddlerhood is not how we found and stuck to a predictable schedule, but rather how incredibly flexible my kids were. We had all sorts of adventures when they were little which ceased not because I suddenly bought into the idea that a regular regime was the best way for them, but rather because there were such rigid expectations at school. I'm not dismissing the benefits of routines, but in my experience they aren't everything. Kids are, in my experience, pretty darn resilient – basically the humanoid equivalents of silly putty. The irony of this dichotomy between communal wisdom pointing towards regulated patterns and my personal experiences raising two kids is I now find myself gravitating towards the rhythm of a grown-up routine. Though perhaps what I seek is more rut than routine.
As Indian summer has slipped into fall Shawn and I started to find our new regime as empty nesters. Nothing radical, just a gentle morphing from two plus decades of parenting into a new pace of just us and the dog. It's not that we stopped being parents because to be honest you never stop being a parent, but we were no longer expected to be part of the day to dayness of our children's lives. We had to trust in the job we did of raising them to be independent, kind, curious, resilient young adults. There are no do-overs when it comes to raising kids. Once they are off to college, heck once they are in high school, you are essentially done with the teaching portion of parenting. For better or worse. As we gradually adapted to this new reality of empty nesthood and started to not only find different patterns, but to enjoy life sans teenagers, it all evaporated with fall break.
Perhaps evaporate is too strong a word, since it wasn't as if we were back to doing the dreaded bus run. For the span of a week and a weekend we found ourselves living with people who wanted to borrow the car, needed to be driven to doctor's appointments and who were capable of consuming 3,000 calories a day. Trust me when I say that no empty nester I have ever known needs or is able to consume 3,000 calories per day. It was simultaneously glorious and overwhelming. There was lots of cooking, which meant there were also loads of dishes. I got hugs every time someone walked past me, which was wonderful. We heard details about classes, roommates, and professors which never made it into letters, texts or Skype calls. Comfort food was made and inhaled including Chicken Pot Pie Goo (basically chicken pot pie without the topping), Matzoh Ball Soup, Arlene Sullivan's Molasses Snaps, Crêpes, and Carrot Soup. As much as I am figuring out how to enjoy this new phase of my life it was fantabulous to have both kids home for the break.
Then of course the vacation culminated, as they always do, with everyone packing up and returning to their real lives. First there was the 5-mile-per-hour snail ride past an accident clean up on the Massachusetts Turnpike as Russell and I headed back to Simon's Rock. We debated the merits of getting out and walking versus staying in the car and poking along (we opted for the second option since there was so much stuff to carry) as we crept along. This two hour slow down was even more spectacular when we later learned it was caused by a three truck pile up which had occurred two days prior! Once Russell and I were past the clean up, off the thruway, and had fortified ourselves with some hot cider donuts at Taft Farms we unloaded his things and then I zipped over to the Amtrak station for one last hug from Isabelle. She and Shawn took the now very familiar, and thankfully this time quick, trip to the station in Springfield so she could pop back down to UNH. Then we parents got back in our vehicles to head back north to our very quiet house and our newish routine.
In our little corner of western Massachusetts fall is at the stage where it transitions from colorful, crisp and autumn-y to oceans of crinkly leaves underfoot, Canadian geese honking their way south, and snappy mornings which border on frost most days. I was craving something hearty and filling so I made a pot of Mushroom Barley Lamb Soup. As I puttered around the stove I realized that this soup is as flexible as my kids were when they were little. It is open to endless variations and can be adjusted and tweaked to please most (though unfortunately not all) palettes. For my vegetarian friends I would leave out the lamb chops and chicken stock and boost the vegetables and mushrooms. For my brother who abhors mushrooms I would delete the dried mushrooms, or because I am that kind of big sister I might leave them in, but chop them up so finely that there were no discernible mushroom bits for him to find and complain about. I love thick soups so there is a generous amount of barley in this recipe, but for people who want a bowl of something that is more of a soup than stew I could cut back on the barley. Do those people really exist? Nah, probably not. I guess the barley stays as is.
I used a combination of mushrooms which had been given to us as gifts. There were some wild Alaskan mushrooms our friend Eric had picked and dehydrated as well as handful of the Porcini my friend Rick brought back from Italy. Both had that delicious concentrated smell of earth and fall that I associate with dried mushrooms. This soup is one that gets better once it's had a chance to meld flavors, but honestly it is great the first night too. Every time I make it I wonder why I don't do so more often. Obviously it should be part of the new routine.
Mushroom Barley Lamb Soup
2-4 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 – 3/4 pounds lamb shoulder
1 large onion, chopped (or you can use leeks)
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1/2 – 3/4 cup dried mushrooms soaked in 2 cups boiling water
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup barley
2 teaspoons thyme
salt and pepper to taste
Start by pouring the boiling H2O over the mushrooms and allowing them to rehydrated in a small bowl. While they are plumping up and making mushroom broth, sauté the lamb chops and olive oil in a large heavy soup pot until they are browned on both sides. Add the carrots, onions, and celery and sauté a few more minutes. Pour in the chicken stock, sprinkle on the thyme, cover and simmer for half an hour. When the mushrooms are ready pull them out of their soaking water (which you will save) and chop. Carefully pour all but the last few teaspoons of mushroom soaking water into the soup pot (the last little bit will have a smidgen of dirt that clung to the mushrooms and trust me when I say you don't want dirt in this soup) then add the chopped mushrooms. Throw in the barley, cover and simmer another thirty minutes. Give the soup a stir every so often, but if you don't no worries – it will take care of itself. Add salt and pepper to taste before ladling out a few bowlfulls.
To end I offer you my last fall flower – a nasturtium snuggled against the porch wall and a haiku to fall.
The trees have disrobed
Orange, yellow and brown leaves
Cover the dog shit.
Filed under 50 Recipes
Soup is the Answer
I have not missed doing the school bus run at all. Not one little bit. When I emailed my friend Amy to say that I've been sleeping in until 7:30 she thought I was goofing on her, but I wasn't. Doing the bus run means you have to be up by 5:30 – 6:00 if you oversleep. So staying in bed until half past seven seems luxurious. Of course not having to do the bus run is akin to that proverbial double-edged sword. No bus run means no kids are at home. So a couple of weeks ago we went to see Russell. For no reason. Just to say hi and hang out before he went to calculus. It was fabulous to see him and made me feel very, very short.
Maybe this transition to being an empty nester is easier for me since both our kids chose to go to colleges near to where we live. Not so close they could live at home, but close enough for us to see them, take them out to lunch, and then be back in time to let the dog out. Simon's Rock is just over the Berkshire mountains and UNH is a short train ride along the Connecticut River. I'm sure I'd be handling this shift in parenting and family differently if they were going to college somewhere in California or Canada. Lucky for me they aren't.
As our offspring have settled into their semesters, Shawn and I are figuring out how to settle into our new family size of two plus the dog. Much has stayed the same – work, chores, taking care of the dog. Other things have shifted, the afore mentioned bus run, bedtimes and meals. Bedtime now has a glorious fluidity. If we're tired at 8:30 we can go to bed. Or
we I can stay up until 3am binge watching episodes of Outlander. It helps that we're both self-employed and can write our own schedules, which though it usually means working seven days a week we can choose what time on those seven days we work. Meals, or more specifically dinner, are one of the biggest changes, which I wrote about in my last blog post.
It's not just us. I've chatted with other empty nesters and they too find themselves having meals that aren't really what I'd classify as proper meals. Gooey, stinky, oozy cheese smeared on bread with a glass of wine. Avocados sprinkled with Worcestershire sauce. Plates heaping with vegetables, just vegetables (try feeding that to most teenagers). Or a bowl of cereal if you had a big lunch. Those are some of the dinners we've been having. Plus the timing can be whenever we want it to be – 6, 7, 8 or even 9. While I never managed my Mother's record of having dinner on the table by 6 every night for 20+ years (you rocked the dinner scene Mom!), I certainly tried never to make my kids wait until 9 before feeding them. It just wasn't humane after a long day at school followed by sports and homework. With kids out of the equation an early dinner has changed. Sure there are days when we decide to nibble on something at 6-ish, but basically we eat when we're hungry or when someone gets around to scrounging something up. Of late that something has included many pots of soup.
Soup works in so many ways because it is endlessly flexible. Immensely adaptable. Satisfying to eat and easy to make. So get ready because I am going to
bombard you with be sharing some of my favorite soup recipes as we slip into fall. There are already a few of my favorites on this blog like Laurie Colwin's Black Bean Soup, my friend Marisa's Ceci e Pasta or my go-to super-easy carrot soup. This go round will be my matzo ball soup à la Allison. Just so we can get the obvious out of the way – I am not Jewish. I did not grow up eating matzo ball soup. This is a shiksa's version of classic Jewish soul food, using a recipe from my half Jewish-half Italian friend. I even use –gasp– boxed matzo ball mix, so sue me. Enough said.
As Allison explained to me the key to matzo ball soup is all about how your mother made it. If you had a mother who made her matzo balls light as clouds that is what you look for in the "perfect" matzo ball soup. On the other hand if your mom made them like lead shot puts then you will probably think only a heavy, sit-in-your-stomach matzo ball will fill the bill, or in this case, soup bowl. Having grown up in an Episcopalian, matzo ball-less house I had no preconceived notions of how they should or shouldn't be. I fell in love with those not-so-heavy and not-so-light matzo balls my friend fed me thirty odd years ago.
If you want to see some hilarious reactions to people eating Jewish foods for the first time check out this BuzzFeed video. I cracked up when one tester referred to matzo ball soup as "the gateway drug to Jewish food." You have been warned.
Not Your Jewish Grandmother's Matzo Ball Soup
1 box matzo ball mix (I use Manischewitz)
4 eggs
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons seltzer
2-5 Carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and diced
3-6 quarts chicken or vegetable broth* (I use home made chicken stock and add water to it, but you can use canned in a pinch)
Handful of chopped parsley (optional)
Couple of handfuls of chopped or torn cooked chicken (again optional)
Allison is in the in between matzo ball camp. Not super fluffy, but not heavy either. Her answer is to add some seltzer to the mix. It lightens things up, but doesn't make them fall apart. These middle of the road matzo balls are what my kids have grown up on. So if you're feeding a whole family, or don't want leftovers half all the ingredients. Otherwise here's what you do-
Mix the eggs, oil and seltzer together then whisk in both packages of matzo. Stir until everything is moistened and place the bowl in the fridge for 15-45 minutes, depending on how long it takes you to make the soup part.
While the matzo mix is merging I add the chopped up carrots and onions into the broth and simmer everything until they are al dente, about 10-15 minutes. How much broth I hear you asking because you gave a pretty broad range of amounts. Well that depends. I like to cook my matzo balls right in the broth, which means they soak up a lot of broth. So I either start with what seems to be way too much broth, or I add a quart or two of water to my chicken broth, or I enjoy my broth-soaked matzo with a tiny bit of broth and a whole lot of matzo and veggies, sort of like dumplings. I can't make those decisions for you. You have to decide what kind of matzo ball soup person you are. For even more options the package says to cook the matzo in a pot of salted water. It's an option, but I don't really see the point of dirtying up another pot and I've never tried it that way. All I can advise you to do is know thy self. Or experiment. There really are no bad answers.
Once you've got what seems to be the right amount of broth for you, and your veggies are partially cooked then it's time to make the matzo balls. Wet your hands with water, scoop out some of the matzo ball mix and roll into a ball. How big? Again, that is a personal preference. I like mine the size of small oranges when done, so I start with matzo balls the size of giant golf balls. Some people like humongous matzo balls the size of a grapefruit. Again, you get to decide. Once you've found the right size for you, make them and plop them into the pot to simmer with the lid on. Fifteen minutes then I gently flip them over to simmer on their other side. If you're going to add chicken to the mix throw it in at the turning point to warm up.
To serve ladle out as many mazto balls as will make you happy (or as many as will fit in your bowl), along with some broth and veggies and chicken if you're having any. Sprinkle with chopped parsley if you'd like. It's all pretty free form, and if you're an empty nester than there are just the two of you and you can do whatever the heck you want to do.
*When I've known vegetarians are coming over I've made this with vegetable stock and it is delicious too. Obviously leave out the chicken if you're making a vegetarian version, but don't try to sub in tofu or tempeh. I think just straight veggies, matzo balls and broth will be fine. If you'd like, you could boost the amount of vegetables you use and add a stick or two of celery.
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Launch Number Two
Last Saturday I got up at 6 am to help pack the car and take Isabelle back to college. The start of year number two was completely different than it was for year number one. For starters it was just the two of us. No whole-family entourage like we'd done for her freshman year. Just two girls, a loaded Prius, and a couple of energy bars in case we felt peckish between Whately and West Haven. Even the weather was different –
These screen shots from my radar app show the difference from one year to the next. Despite the lack of precipitation, for which we were very grateful, there was still some pretty intense cloud action to gawk at as we zoomed south on 91.
Instead of the cutie little house she was in last year she's in a big dorm, smack dab in the middle of campus. There are pros and cons. One of the pros was we could load all her stuff into a gigantic orange crate on wheels then ride it up the elevator to her room in two trips. Yeah for giant orange crates and elevators!
One of the cons of said elevators is that she won't be able to use them on ROTC days since there is a regulation which states that when cadets are in uniform they may not use the elevators – they have to use stairs. I think the government just wants them to get a little bit more exercise. Of course for my kid that is just fine and dandy since she loves to work out. When she was describing her dorm to us after the housing lottery this past spring the main pro of this dorm (in her eyes) is the fact that the gym is right behind it – literally a hop, two skips and a jump, which makes her very happy. After I left there were some texts saying she'd been to the gym, had gone out to dinner with friends, but somehow hadn't quite unpacked her room (this via snapchat) –
I'm sure being on the quad will be noisy, but she went prepared with earplugs plus we picked up a box fan for the window which should at least provide some white noise to counteract the boisterous revelers who decided to skip the gym. And let's face it – any college campus would be noisy compared with our house in the country.
As for me, once we finished with the requisite last minute trips to Target, Whole Foods and IKEA (which somehow took hours), I toodled home for my first night as an empty nester. Since Shawn had gone up to the Cummington Fair to watch the demolition derby, it was less empty nest and more a night of having the house to myself. Just me and the dog and about six loads of laundry left behind by my sophomore girl. I unpacked boxes and bags, threw a load in the washing machine, and settled onto the couch with some crackers and this amazing Morracan Carrot Purée. I've been whipping up vats of this stuff ever since my sister took me to Sofra Bakery and Cafe in Cambridge. It is delicious and zippy, exotic (the spices) yet familiar (carrots) and I am in love with it. I'd had something similar at a African restaurant in another part of Cambridge years ago but never managed to get my hands on the recipe. Now I have a recipe and it is a winner.
Above is our platter of five meze dishes – the offerings change every day – including the Moroccan style carrots with dukkah (second from the right) all of which is served with crick-cracks. The green drinks were a very refreshing basil infused lemonade. Honestly it was some of the best food I'd had in ages, so much so that I made my sister go back with me the following day for breakfast.
I know I'm a bit intense about this recipe, but I need to be honest with you –actually this recipe is three recipes (well four if you realize that one of the three has another recipe within it) in one, which probably will seem a bit daunting. I took the lazy woman's way out and bought two of the components ready made, and when you do that this recipe becomes easy peasy. Hey, I bought Ana Sortun's cookbook Spice just to get my hands on this recipe, so it seemed silly not to pick up a packet of dukkah and a jar of harissa paste at the same time. Even if you're not near Cambridge you can call their store manager at 617.661.3161 and ask them to ship you your own supply, which will last for many batches of Moroccan Carrot Purée. Empty nest or no, you will be a very happy camper.
Empty Nest Moroccan Carrot Purée
2 pounds of carrots, peeled
5-7 Tablespoons olive oil
2-3 teaspoons cider vinegar
2-5 teaspoons harissa *
1 teaspoon cumin (ground)
1/2 teaspoon ginger (ground)
1-2 cloves minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste
Dukkah **
French bread or crackers
Chop the carrots into smallish chunks and put into a medium saucepan with water to cover. Bring to a boil, then simmer on medium high heat 20-30 minutes or until fork tender. Timing will somewhat depend upon the size of our carrot chunks. Drain the carrots but leave them in the saucepan and return it to the stove. Over medium high heat "dry" the carrots by shaking the pan constantly, sort of like you would for jiffy pop popcorn. You may be tempted to skip this step, but don't or it will make your carrot purée watery. It only take a minute or so.
Then with a potato masher mash the carrots, cider vinegar and harissa to taste, cumin, ginger, garlic, and enough olive oil to loosen the whole mixture. You don't want mashed potato smooth, you want the mixture to be smashed up, with a few chunks left for texture. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
You can serve this the way they do in the restaurant with a scoop of carrot purée, the dukkah sprinkled on top and crackers or bread to scoop it all up with. Or you can serve it in separate bowls of carrot purée, olive oil and dukkah. I've even spread some of the purée on a piece of bread then topped it with with a few slices of leftover steak and a handful of arugula to make a divine lunchtime treat. It would also be great to pack for a picnic.
So you really want to go all out and make your own harissa and dukkah? Here are the recipes (though I have not tested them myself). All three come from Ana Sorten's cookbook Spice.
* Harissa
1 cup ground Urfa chilies
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, soaked in warm water for an hour
3 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon Moroccan Ras el Hannout (yep, another recipe)
1/4 cup olive oil
Combine all ingredient in a blender and purée until smooth. Sore in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Moroccan Ras el Hannout
1/4 cup cumin seeds
3/4 teaspoon saffron
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 Tablespoon tumeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 Tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup paprika
In a cast iron frying pan toast cumin seeds for a couple of minutes until fragrant, shaking the pan vigorously. Cool seed and grind with the saffron in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Mix with remaining spices.
1/2 cup blanched almonds
3 Tablespoons coriander seeds
2 Tablespoons cumin seeds
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup unsweetened dried coconut
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In a cast iron skillet over medium/medium low heat toast the almonds until golden. Cool, then chop.
In the same iron skillet toast the coriander and cumin seeds until fragrant. Cool, then coarsely grind in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
In the same iron skillet toast the sesame seeds until just browned. Cool.
And yet again in the same skillet toast the coconut until golden and then cool.
Once everything is toasted and cooled combine together and grind or pound slightly to combine.
Filed under 50 Recipes
Farmer's Market Gifts
I got to the Amherst Farmer's Market early on Saturday, before everyone had finished setting up their booths, which gave me time to meander the rows of choices as I nibbled a turkish beef roll. I picked up bags of yellow, green and fava beans for a 7 bean salad (which lasts all of 7 minutes at my house with my
teenage locusts family). The bags of baby kale could not be resisted, especially after hearing about the upcoming world-wide kale shortage. I added a chunk of local goat feta and some baskets of organic raspberries so that once I was home I could throw together a lunchtime salad with a few toasted pecans and some balsamic vinaigrette.
This really is a fabulous time of year in New England to be cruising the farmer's markets because you never know what you will find. One of the things I contemplated buying was my very own baby fig tree, which came from a cutting off a fig tree that had been brought over from Abruzzi, Italy in 1920. I loved the idea of owning a fruit tree whose great, great, great grandparents had come from Italy. However tempting it was to own this bit of culinary history I decided to wait and let the dust settle from both our kids zooming off to college in the next few weeks before I took on the care and feeding of a baby tree. It turns out that this fig tree needs a very specific organic diet. And who knows – a needy fig tree might be the perfect thing to combat empty nest symptom.
After I said goodbye to the fig trees and headed back to the car with my basket loaded full of goodies I decided to make one last purchase. A large bunch of red onions for my onion loving husband. To my surprise a free zucchini came with every purchase. Ha! That's one way to deal with a row or two of rogue zucchini – give them away to all your customers. I guess it's better than trying to sneak one into every car parked within a four block radius of the market. So I paid for my onions, picked out a zucchini and headed home to make Zucchini Pancakes.
When life gives you excess zucchini there are many recipes you can sneak them into. I have a fondness for zucchini pancakes. If you are dealing with the monster zucchini I would suggest you shred from the outside towards the middle until I get to the inner quarter or third of the vegetable where the seeds are. That part can be mealy so you may want to compost it, it's up to you. I also hand grate my zucchini rather than zap it through a food processor because I feel you can produce longer shreds by hand, which in turn make lacier pancakes. Obviously you choose what you prefer.
Zucchini Pancakes
1 humongous zucchini or 4 regular size or 10-12 small ones
1/2 – 1 minced onion
handful of minced parsley
2-3 eggs
Tabasco sauce to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/3 – 2/3 cup of flour
Vegetable oil for frying
Shred the zucchini and gently toss with salt then place in a colander so they weep and lose some of their excess liquid. After 15-30 minutes squeeze dry with your hands (if you want to go nuts use a towel, but it really isn't necessary). Toss the zucchini shreds into a bowl and add onion, parsley, eggs, tabasco sauce and pepper. Stir together then add some flour, but go light at first.
While you are doing this heat up your fry pan with some oil. You want it hot, but not smoking. Then make one zucchini pancake. You want to test for salt and to see if there is enough flour. You, the cook, must sacrifice yourself by being the official taste tester. Sauté the pancake until golden brown on one side, flip and repeat. Then see if your seasonings are right. If they are you can proceed to making more pancakes. If not adjust and make one more tester.
In our family we eat as the pancakes are made. If you want to be a bit more civilized you can turn the oven on to low and store the pancakes in there as you cook them and then serve all together. If you do it this you may want to cover them lightly with a piece of tin foil so they don't dry out. We put a variety of toppings on our zucchini pancakes – salsa, more hot sauce, applesauce, tomatoes and onions. You decide what works best for you.
Tell me about what you've found at your local farmer's market that has delighted you~
Filed under 50 Recipes
Strawberry Kisses Part 3
At three am I woke to the smell of strawberry air. The gentle, soft essence of strawberries was coming from the kitchen. Not the fake, nasty chemical version you find in lip balms, candles or air fresheners, which in my opinion doesn't have the remotest connection to a true strawberry, but rather the air in my house was filled with scent of real strawberries because I was making Strawberry Chips, and they take all night to make. Our neighbor Joyce had loaned us her dehydrator and I was trying my hand at preserving strawberries in a slightly different way than the strawberry fruit leather I made in my last post.
I'd eaten dehydrated and dried fruit before, but I had never actually encountered a dehydrator in person. They're huge! Most of my kitchen equipment is the size of a baby, while this sucker was the size of a large toddler. And Joyce's dehydrator is jacked up like the kitchen equivalent of a monster truck with so many extra tiers it may require a special license to operate. I ended up setting the dehydrator on a card table rather than on my kitchen counter since I wasn't sure how much clearance the machine would need.
Before you can turn it on you have to get the food into similar sizes. Dehydrators do the work of sucking most of the moisture out of whatever food you put in them, but they don't prep it for you. That's just a lot of old-fashioned slicing and dicing. My husband told me Joyce cuts her fruit with a mandoline to get even slices (which theoretically would then have similar drying times), which makes total sense because Joyce is a physicist and does things scientifically. I chose to go rogue and cut my strawberries by hand. I'm such a wild thing. She also recommended a longer drying time at a lower temperature to preserve more of the vitamins. I did follow that suggestion, which is why I woke up at three am smelling strawberry air.
Before you decide to borrow your neighbor's dehydrator I need to tell you that strawberry chips are the fruit equivalent of crack cocaine. You will become addicted to them. The good news is there are no withdrawal symptoms, well until strawberry season ends and you realize there are only strawberries from California or Florida to dehydrate and you go nuts and decide to plow under your entire lawn so you can plant every inch of your yard in strawberries. Not that you actually do it, but the lack of more local berries to dehydrate makes you seriously consider the option for a minute or two. I'm just warning you.
Strawberry Chips
There is not a whole lot of recipe here. Take 2-4 quarts of strawberries, depending on how many tiers your dehydrator has, and after removing the stems slice them into 1/4 inch pieces. On my second batch I threw the outer slices into a bag which went into the freezer for smoothies, since the outer pieces seemed to dehydrate at a different rate than the inner pieces. You could slice horizontally or vertically – your choice depending on if you want circles or strawberry shapes, I chose the latter. Dehydrate on the low end of the spectrum, 105 – 115ºF for 12-14 hours depending on how juicy your strawberries are. When cool, store in small batches in baggies with the air sucked out.
If you'd rather not go to all the effort of sucking the moisture out of your strawberries you can enjoy them the old fashioned way which my friend Jane Lear did with her husband in this post. Or you can do what Shawn and I did last week when the kids were out one evening with friends. We just opened a chilled bottle of Prosecco and ate a bowl of strawberries au naturel as we sipped our bubbly.
Here are links for Strawberry Kisses Part 1 and Strawberry Kisses Part 2.
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Strawberry Kisses part 2
The remnants of tropical storm Arthur, formerly known as Hurricane Arthur, put a damper on the beginning of the July 4th holiday weekend strawberry picking. Strangely nobody wants to pick their own strawberries during a thunderstorm. Where is their sense of adventure? Oh, they're more concerned with safety. Once the storm blew through the skies cleared up and the harvest resumed. Inspired by my tinkering with some strawberry fruit leather last week Strawberry Boy and Strawberry Girl both came home with brimming boxes of strawberries and I went back to the kitchen.
I love the idea of fruit leather since it is the distilled essence of fruit. Strawberries, a spoonful of sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice, boiled down to a thick paste and then spread onto baking sheets and popped in a very low oven while more of the moisture evaporates. As if you could concentrate a strawberry's soul. What you buy in the store is like a third cousin twice removed compared with what you can make at home. The two big differences between home-made and commercially made are no artificial preservatives and tons less sugar. Without all those preservatives I wondered how long the fruit leather would last, but then I watched the kids snorffle up strip after strip and realized it wasn't going to last long enough to bother worrying about it. So I got on with making more and if you still have strawberries in your area I suggest you try these as well.
A couple of things I noticed as I made batch after batch
- You want to make sure the strawberry goo you cook down isn't too thick or thin
- If you make a 12″ x 18″ jelly roll pan it takes a really long time for the center to dry
- Cutting the fruit leather is very sticky so try using a pizza wheel or really good pair of kitchen scissors
Strawberry Fruit Leather
4 cups pureed strawberries (about a quart and a half)
4-6 Tablespoons sugar
1-3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
You can puree the strawberries in a blender, food processor or juice machine. The idea is to have absolutely no lumps. If you want to make seedless fruit leather strain the strawberry juice through a very fine sieve at this point. We didn't bother. Pour the strawberry juice into a wide saucepan or jelly pot and add the sugar and lemon juice to taste. Simmer 40-55 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture has reduced to approximately 2 cups or half of whatever you started with*. While the juice is cooking down prepare a jelly roll pan with a silpat mat or piece of parchment paper. If you cook the strawberry juice so that it is too thick you won't be able to spread it evenly on the jelly roll pan. If you make it too thin it will run to the edges of the silpat mat or parchment paper and seep underneath. When you get the right ratio you will be able to tilt the pan and have the strawberry goo flow to cover the mat, stopping short of the edges by about 1/2″.
Pop the jelly roll pan into a preheated oven set to its lowest setting (mine went down to 170°F) somewhere between 150-200°F. Bake for 3-6 hours depending on your oven temperature until the entire surface of the fruit leather is dry enough to touch without any sticking to your fingers. Every so often turn the pan front to back since most ovens have hot spots.
Let cool, transfer fruit leather to a piece of parchment (if you baked it on a silpat mat) then cut into strips. Roll up parchment and fruit strips into little logs and secure with a piece of tape or a rubber band. Store in a bag in the fridge.
* If you stop here you will have an amazing topping for yoghurt or ice cream. You could also drizzle this thickened strawberry goo over pancakes instead of maple syrup.
You can find links for other recipes that go well with strawberries by clicking here. If you want to dehydrate strawberries you can read about that here.
Filed under 50 Recipes


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Tonight's meeting is being streamed live from the Council Chambers beginning at 6pm. To view the live stream, click on on the Live Video link next to tonight's agenda.
Join Mayor Andy Hafen and members of the City Council for a community reception welcoming the City Manager candidate finalists. Wednesday, July 8 from 6pm-8pm, West City Hall Lobby
The City of Henderson's 2015 Water Quality Report provides you with detailed information about your drinking water.
The City of Henderson offers a variety of premier pools and aquatic complexes open seasonally or year-round for your swimming and diving enjoyment.
Cool off in one of 12 fun splash pads around the city. Our splash pads are surfaced with recycled rubber for traction and to keep the surface cool. Best of all they're free!

subset: commoncrawl


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Hordelicious Preview: Variety is the Spice of Life
July 6, 2015 10:49 PM | Sean Flint
I'd be lying if I didn't say that horde mode is getting a bit old, at least in my opinion. You can only play so many wave-based survival games before you perfect strategies and end up getting bored before you get defeated. The wave "survival" genre needed a revamp and some interesting mechanics to breathe some new life into it and restore my interest. Luckily, Hordelicious came along, and brought with it not only interesting mechanics, but a good bit of silliness as well.


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Gary Ellis - Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate
Gary Ellis
Broker Associate
Address: 211 E Colonial Dr Orlando, FL 32801
Contact: Office: 407.841.6060 Email: email@example.com
Languages: English
- Graduate Realtor Institute
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- Gary's goal is to make a puchase or sale as stress free as possible. He has built a career in real estate by over delivering on customer's expectations.
- member of the International Diamond Society ( Top 17% of all Coldwell Banker associates worldwide ).
Gary's ListingsShowing:
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14238 Fredricksburg Dr Orlando, FL Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate
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If Ravens running back Ray Rice can't play Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, it will do more damage to the passing game than the running game.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh said Monday that Rice suffered a serious bruise to his knee against the Cleveland Browns with 10 minutes left in the game after being tackled on a short pass. Harbaugh said he is unsure whether Rice will be able to play against Pittsburgh.


text: POPSUGAR Moms Music and Books For Kids Tunes and Texts: Munro Leaf Books by Moms 1/21/09 0 Shares Like us on Facebook I had the chance to peruse some seriously trendy children's stores and boutiques on Beverly Drive in Los Angeles recently and noticed many of them had the somewhat old school Munro Leaf books, Manners Can Be Fun, Brushing Your Teeth Can Be Fun, How to Speak Politely and Why, How to Behave and Why and Reading Can Be Fun (all about $15), on display. Leaf is known to most as the author of the controversial children's book The Story of Ferdinand, but published about 40 kitschy guide books for children in the '30s and '40s, many of which have been reprinted in the last few years. Aesthetically, the books are beautiful, bright and fun to look at (I couldn't help but think they'd look very matchy matchy with a Reading Is Cool poster!), and hidden inside are messages that ring true no matter what the decade. The series features stick-figure illustrations and wholesome, verse-y text aimed at teaching children the rules of thoughtfulness and etiquette. My mommy gift meter says these could help add a serious tone to a goofy present and would be a nice addition to any bedtime story lineup. Read More Music And Books For KidsMunro Leaf Music and Books For Kids Read Between the Lines: 10 Classic Kids' Books With Delightfully Subversive Subtext Am I Having Fun Yet? How Motherhood Drained the Fun (but Not the Joy) From My Life The Latest Award-Winning Children's Books You'll Want to Add to Your Bedtime Routine I Have a Dream: 5 Books to Teach Tots About Martin Luther King Jr. POPSUGAR, the #1 independent media and technology company for women. Where more than 75 million women go for original, inspirational content that feeds their passions and interests. Stay sane and savvy with our daily newsletter Sign up with By signing up, I agree to the Terms and to receive emails from POPSUGAR.


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If you logged onto your current-gen console of choice to update the Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae demo today, you got a nice little patch for Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, as well. Hit the jump for more.
Those holding out for a PC port of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD are in luck. There aren't many details at the moment, but Square Enix confirmed plans to bring the enhanced PS4/Xbox One action-RPG to PC via Steam. Read on for more.
Square Enix shared its PAX East trailer for Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, offering another sample of the upcoming game's English dub. See the latest collection of footage after the jump.
Square Enix's latest batch of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD character trailers roll out the students of Class Zero. See introductions to Machina, Rem, Cinque, Cater, and Trey after the jump.
North American publisher Yen Press had a trio of new manga licenses - Gun Rose Days Season One, an alternate history about a Japan split between American and Chinese influence by Higurashi's Ryukishi 07, Final Fantasy Type-0 Side Story: The Reaper Of The Icy Blade and Horimiya, about the relationship between an attention grabbing but conventional girl and a more anonymous boy who is secretly pierced and tattooed.
We're not too far away from the release of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, which will come packing a voucher for the Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae demo. Square Enix recently busted out a hefty batch of screens for both, and you can see the latest after the jump.
A new Japanese preview is here for Final Fantasy Type-0 HD thanks to Famitsu. The latest video showcases five minutes of gameplay, highlighting some of the improvements over the original—including the visuals and subtle balance adjustments—as well as the main story and things to do on the side. More after the jump.
Square Enix released a "Final Trailer" for Final Fantasy Type-0 HD in Japan, showing more of the HD version's story scenes and gameplay. Near the end of the trailer you can also catch a peek at the Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae demo, which has been confirmed to launch on the same day as Type-0 HD. Hit the jump for more.
Following yesterday's Orience News Combat Special, Square Enix has another peek at Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. This one's all about the visuals, as it shows the leap made from the original 2011 PSP version to the upcoming HD console port after the jump.


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Strange Music
Artist: Kap Kallous
Song: Pine Box
It's been almost exactly six months since Kap Kallous' previous Booth feature, but the Florida representative makes his return today with the world premiere release of his latest effort. This offering from his... More
Posted about 4 weeks ago
This Week in Hype: Wrekonize on His First Album, Mayday & Strange Music
What could possibly be better than a "This Week in Hype" podcast? I mean, millions of dollars, sure, sex, yes. Maybe even a decent back rub...a Pop Tart straight out the toaster...a decent episode of The... More
Posted 4 months ago
Artist: DJ EFN
Featuring: Talib Kweli | Redman | Wrekonize
Song: Paradise
Album: Another Time
Are you a sucker for intricate bars and artful throwback beats? Then you'll be in heaven once you hit play on DJ EFN's forthcoming studio debut. Don't take it from me, though; simply hit play on the project's latest... More
Posted 4 months ago
Song: Push Gets to Shovin'
For their top-notch work over the course of 2014, Florida live-band ensemble ¡MAYDAY! was recently awarded the highest honor a hip-hop act can receive, taking home not one but two Best of the Booth trophies. Rather than... More
Posted 5 months ago
Artist: DJ EFN
Song: Hood Banger
Sometimes, a song's title says it all—and DJ EFN's latest effort is a case in point. Hood Banger is indeed the type of ish that you'd expect to hear blasting from an old-school head's car speakers. I... More
Posted 11 months ago
Real Recognize Real: Wrekonize on Pink Floyd, the Rise of TDE & More
Sometimes it can feel like artists move through the world in their own bubble, orbiting around each other but never touching, especially in hip-hop when biting and copying is a cardinal sin. But the truth is, music... More
Posted 11 months ago
Artist: Kap Kallous
Song: Sushi Bar
Album: Grandeur
How is Kap Kallous like a Sushi Bar? Easy—they'll both Give It to You Raw. On his latest single, making its world premiere on our front page, the Panhandle State emcee serves up a platter of lyrical prosciutto,... More
Posted one year ago
Song: Freak (Extended Mix)
Album: The War Within
Back in May of 2013, when Wrekonize brought us the world premiere of single Freak, many listeners expressed their wish that the song had been a bit longer. Well, those complaints didn't fall upon deaf ears. It's... More
Posted one year ago
Editor's Pick
Artist: Tech N9ne
Featuring: Wrekonize | MURS | Krizz Kaliko | Kutt Calhoun
Song: Strangeulation Cypher
Album: Strangeulation
For any semi-serious Kung Fu movie fans, The Game of Death is one of the genre's biggest What Ifs. The premise was a simple yet intriguing one that is centered around a tiered building of masters in various fields of... More
Posted one year ago
Featuring: Bun B | Riff Raff | Jackie Chain
Song: Easy Money (Remix)
As a hip-hop artist with a label deal and a growing presence on the national scene, Wrekonize must be swimming in cash like Scrooge McDuck… right? If only that were the case. On his latest remix, released as part of the... More
Posted one year ago
Sample Text - Sample Link


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The Opera Show With Duff Murphy
Every Sunday from November 3, 2013 to November 24, 2013
9:00 am
Multiple Locations
USC Thornton Wind Ensemble
Thornton School of Music
November 3, 2013
4:00 pm
University Park Campus
Bovard Auditorium (ADM)
Bovard Auditorium (ADM)
Modern Times With Alan Chapman
Every Sunday from November 3, 2013 to November 24, 2013
10:00 pm
University Park Campus
Ray Stark Family Theatre
Ray Stark Family Theatre
USC Pacific Asia Museum
Established in 1971, the museum is one of few U.S. institutions dedicated to the arts and culture of Asia and the Pacific Islands. Its collection continues to grow and now numbers more than 15,000 objects, plus a variety of exhibitions throughout the year.
Classical KUSC
91.5 KUSC broadcasts handpicked commercial-free classical performances, expert music commentary and coverage of the arts in Southern California. Classical KUSC can also be heard online via web stream.


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July 4 letters to the editor
Corporate justices had to rule that wayThe Supreme Court ruling upholding ACA (Obamacare) was the only decision they could make without causing chaos in the marketplace.
(Dan Rosenstrauch/Bay Area News Group)
Five delicious noshes for that picnic basket
Ready to dine al fresco? Picnic cocktails, addictive fried chicken and tasty salads add up to a quintet of delicious treats for your outdoor feast.
(Photo by Darren Carroll/Getty Images)
Did Tiger Woods cheat with Amanda Dufner?
Lindsey Vonn reportedly caught golfer with his competitor's ex-wife, which is likely why they aren't dating anymore.


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According to the U.S. Coast Guard, a group of eagles is referred to as a convocation. OneKind indicates that over 60 different species of eagles are spread throughout the world.Know More
Although eagles are large birds, their structures vary somewhat depending upon their habitats. Forest-dwellers have short wings and long tails that help them maneuver through the trees. Broad wingspans and short tails are characteristic of eagles living in open areas. Most eagles are carnivorous, and both Harpy and Philippine eagles are able to hunt and carry off large prey such as deer and monkeys. The African vulturine fish-eagle is an unusual species that feeds primarily on oil palm fruit.Learn more about Eagles
According to the Raptor Research Foundation, the most apparent difference between eagles, hawks and falcons is size. Eagles are among the largest birds of prey, while certain species of falcon weigh less than 50 grams. Hawks, a varied group of raptors, usually fall somewhere in the middle. The different sizes and builds of these birds allow them to hunt in unique ways.Full Answer >
Bald and golden eagles are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The bald eagle is also protected by the Lacey Act. These eagles are native to North America.Full Answer >
Eagles, like other birds, flap their wings and give themselves thrust to move through the air and fly. The movements that create the lift are very similar to swimming motions.Full Answer >
Bald eagles protect themselves by growing to a large size that makes it difficult for other winged predators to capture them, by being able to fly away from large land predators and by being strong enough to attack prey easily. The bald eagle does an excellent job of locating prey by flying and then swooping down to clasp the prey.Full Answer >


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It is our responsibility to understand and promote the fact that sexual assault is never excusable or deserved, and most importantly it is never the survivor's fault. Get some tips on how to help prevent sexual assault.
Know the Definitions:
What is Sexual Assault?
Any type of forced, manipulated or coerced unwanted sexual content /activity, that occurs without consent. Sexual assault can happen to anyone regardless of gender, race, or sexual orientation.
What is Consent?
A voluntary, informed, sober, wanted, mutual, honest, and verbal agreement of yes to engage in sexual activity, when "no" is a present and viable option. Consent cannot be coerced. Consent can never be implied and cannot be assumed. When intoxicated, an individual cannot legally consent to sexual activity.
Statistics and Facts:
- Every 2 minutes, someone in the US is sexually assaulted and 60% of those assaults go unreported to the police.
- The FBI reports that only 2% of rape reports are given falsely, the same report rate for other felonies.
- 1 in 4 college women will be sexually assaulted.
- On college campuses, most sexual assaults are committed by someone the survivor knows.
- Alcohol is common in many sexual assaults on college campuses.
Ways to Stay Safe at Parties(Minimizing the risk of sexual assault):
- Stay with friends, don't go alone, be with people you can count and rely on.
- Make a plan before you go to a party. Set up checkpoints, or code words, so you can stay connected with your friends throughout the party.
- Always hold onto your drink – even when you go to the bathroom. If your drink if out of your sight, even for a few seconds, get a new one.
- Don't accept drinks from just anyone (i.e., those in punch bowls, open containers).
- Avoid parties that charge men but let women enter and drink for free.
- Always keep your cell phone on you.
- Avoid secluded places where you could be vulnerable.
- Make sure to have a plan on how you'll get home (a designated driver, a friend to walk home with).
- Trust your instincts. If something feels uncomfortable, leave and get to a safe place.
- If you feel pressured, coerced or fearful, protest loudly, leave, and go for help.
Be a Proactive Bystander:
- Be aware of your surroundings and look out for your peers' safety.
- Recognize when a situation could and/or will escalate.
- Take responsibility and have the confidence to intervene before an incident occurs.
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Category: Alcohol, Young Adults - Alcohol


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- 10
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There are many ways for a band to follow up a hit. None of them is guaranteed to work, but some are more likely than others to flop, artistically or otherwise. This reissue of Talk Talk's final album, 1991's Laughing Stock, presented here without any distracting "bonuses" on immaculate vinyl, helps tells the story of Talk Talk's fraught, exhausting, confounding, brave, and ultimately brilliant final act. (There's also a postscript, in the form of frontman Mark Hollis' solo album, but we'll get to that.) Though you're more likely to describe Laughing Stock as lovely or otherworldly or even gentle, in its way it's as uncompromising as any apocalyptic noise record. And in a weird way it exists only because Talk Talk were at one time a hit-making pop band.
Formed in 1981, by 1986 Talk Talk were enjoying the biggest sales and best reviews of their short career, thanks to their third album, The Colour of Spring. Having started out as a moodier-than-average synth-pop act-- Duran Duran with the glitz and hedonism swapped out for nervous jitters and existential dread-- they'd transformed into the avant-garde edge of 1980s M.O.R. Even at their most acceptance-hungry, there'd always been something faintly left-of-center about Talk Talk, from Mark Hollis' haunted and word-swallowing singing to the musical hints that the band was more interested in 1970s prog than 80s dance-rock. On The Colour of Spring, the big, romantic ballads were still there, but they were strangely muted. They had an eerie jazz-like minimalism and attention to atmosphere that suggested an appreciation for Eno's ambient records.
This canny mix, stadium-friendly melodrama in an experimental but not too out-there package, paid greater commercial dividends than probably anyone would have guessed. With EMI's accounting department more than pleased, the label gave Talk Talk carte blanche to make any damned album they wished. The result was the band's fourth album, 1988's Spirit of Eden. Talk Talk took up this new freedom with a perverse relish, racking up countless hours and major dollars recording Spirit, a gorgeous but amorphous epic that proved that ruthless quiet could be just as difficult as ear-harassing volume. Talk Talk took this go-ahead from their label as their chance, possibly their last, to explore their truly envelope-pushing ideas, rather than the hints they'd offered on Spring.
By the time of Spirit, Talk Talk had fully rejected the sleek and kitschily futuristic music that first brought then to prominence. In its place, they crafted an immersive and ever-flowing style, alternately hushed and loud, lush and arid. It was a brand of unashamed art rock that was completely out of step with both the underground's unkempt roar and the manicured mainstream. Jazz became a more major component than ever, both in the overall style of playing, especially drummer Lee Harris' steady and cymbal-heavy swing, but also in the band's increasingly complex and usually improvised interaction. These improvisations were stitched together after the fact into what sound like carefully thought-out compositions that still somehow vibrate with the surprise of in-the-moment exploration. Which partly explains how "I Believe in You", Hollis' most comprehensible performance on an album where a lyric sheet is very necessary, can feel like a singer-songwriter ballad floating in and out of a swirl that evokes avant-classical at its least forbidding and electric jazz at its most beatific.
This genre-blurring fearlessness, along with the way Spirit and Laughing Stock bloom from extreme quiet to extreme loudness only to slowly recede again, is why these albums get tagged as precursors to post-rock, when no post-rock albums much resemble them in sound, construction, or especially ambition. Talk Talk use ideas from jazz and classical to build the subtlest gradations of drama. But despite the restraint, it's also not polite, musically or otherwise.
Hands were wrung on a corporate level over Spirit. Some old fans understandably balked, though new fans did gradually accumulate. An note of puzzlement could be read in the press notices, whether they offered praise or derision. The band decamped to Polydor and made an even more opaque fifth and final album, using much the same methodology as on Spirit and seeming to give even less of a shit about how it would all be received.
This is the oft-repeated and probably too-pat story that gave Talk Talk a second life as fame-spurning and journey-hardened underground icons. But it's also not hard to understand why the band broke up after Laughing Stock, or was simply broken. There's more going on in these six tracks than on Spirit, but the song structures are even stranger, built up from the tiniest musical gestures, clashing in mood from track to track, frequently more improvised-sounding than ever. The goal, assembling a coherent album from all this stuff, probably seemed quixotic to many of the contributors as it was being made. The recording process has long been described as one of the most arduous and prone to control freakitude ever. The band members were probably relieved to dissolve Talk Talk, move on to less demanding projects, or recede back into private life, once Laughing Stock was finished, despite the monumentality of what they finally made.
And it remains wholly singular, however many indie rock bands and experimental composers have genuflected toward it over the last 20 years. The half-dozen songs on Laughing Stock feel discrete, complete-unto-themselves, each one a little world that doesn't always seem to have much to do with the song that precedes or follows it. The underwater glide of "New Grass" is Talk Talk as a purely placid and lovely proposition, electric organ and lilting guitar endlessly circling around Harris' heartbeat-steady drumming, recalling the tranquility threatened with an edge of disquiet in Robert Wyatt's early solo work. "Ascension Day" remains the band's most chaotic and vicious song, like a small jazz combo being elbowed aside by a noise-rock band, with a climactic barrage of drumming that falls on your ears like an avalanche before the audible tape-splice cuts it dead. But even in this assault you can hear the monomaniacal care and craft that went into assembling and recording Laughing Stock, from the full-bodied throb of the upright bass to the little twitches and groans of horror-movie music lurking in the background on the verses. Laughing Stock was Talk Talk at their most demanding, and when listening to the spectral free jazz squeal of "Taphead", you understand why it was saddled for so many years with the "difficult" epithet.
The Laughing Stock reissue sounds amazing, as good as the album's ever sounded, in any format. Which is crucial, because on some level Talk Talk's later albums are all about sound. How startling, isolated moments of sound, or a formless wash of sound, can wring emotions out of listeners as powerfully as any conventional melody. How the ambient sound of the room in which an album was recorded can be used almost as instrument in itself, and how the studio can be used to create a sense of environment in the listener's mind that has nothing to do with recording booths and control decks. How far the sound of a rock song can be pared back and loosened up and still be "rock," or even still be "a song." And especially how sound can become all the more powerful when surrounded by silence, great gulfs of which are all over the later Talk Talk albums, especially Laughing Stock, captured here in a remarkable vinyl mastering job on Ba Da Bing's part.
Seven years after Laughing Stock, and seven years into the band's slow word-of-mouth rehabilitation from pretentious flop to shining example for independent artists, Mark Hollis returned with a completely unexpected solo album, which seemed to almost sneak out into the real world rather than be "released" with the usual promotional fanfare. Part of this feeling comes from Hollis' almost Salinger-grade rejection of celebrity, journalism, the industry, even making art for public consumption. (Talk Talk virtually disappeared as a public entity from Spirit onward, leaving the records to do most of the talking.) But it also comes from the startlingly private sound of Mark Hollis itself, like the kind of painful, personal document that's usually released only after the artist's death.
Where Laughing Stock creates multiple environments, Mark Hollis is intimate, almost shockingly so. Hollis often sings as if he's right up against your ear, at a volume designed to not wake spouses and small children. Listening, you often feel like you're eavesdropping on a musician working in the supposed seclusion of his home. Indeed, like few other records I know-- maybe Panda Bear's Young Prayer and Arthur Russell's World of Echo-- Mark Hollis creates the sensation that you're very much in the room where it was recorded.
But where those albums sounded very much like thrifty, one-man-band operations, Mark Hollis draws on a cast of musicians almost as large as Laughing Stock, and in their own self-consciously restricted way, these songs are as dramatic as anything on that album. Certainly they're as immersive, if only because you have to listen so closely, thanks to the lower-than-low-volume approach to recording and playing, in order to follow the even more classical-informed logic of their movement, whole songs carried by just an oblique dance of woodwinds or a long-decaying string melody. Over its eight minutes, "A Life (1895-1915)" plays like a novel whittled down to a haiku, tracing one WWI soldier's tragic arc from birth to early death on the battlefield, with Hollis' barely audible voice at the song's end communicating as much ache as any of his more full-throated performances. If the hermetic Laughing Stock was a scaling back of the wide-open grandeur of Spirit of Eden, then Mark Hollis is an even more radical reduction of scale.
So it's no surprise that Hollis has been publicly silent ever since, since silence always seems to be where the songs on Mark Hollis want to go, as if it took great effort to even decide to commit these particular sounds to tape. Perhaps Hollis just feels that he's said everything he had to say. Or perhaps he's still deliberating as to what, if anything, he's comfortable with releasing next. Unlike many reclusive musicians, though, you won't feel that Hollis absented himself before his overall project was completed. These albums still stand a good chance of alienating you, but if you find yourself vibrating sympathetically to them, there's enough mystery and beauty in them to sustain a lifetime's listening, whether Hollis or Talk Talk ever record another note.
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|263 posts found
Apprentice Member
Joined: 1/08/06
I make my friends all laugh and smile, and never want to hate!
Originally posted by Anubisan
And if you think this isn't a big problem, go check the WoW forums. Then you will see there is something else that is going on other than us not being as security smart as you are.
Login or Register to never see this panel
Apprentice Member
Joined: 1/08/06
I make my friends all laugh and smile, and never want to hate!
Originally posted by severius
None of those apply to me.
So what's your next accusation?
And again, have you gone and looked at the WoW forums to see how big a problem this is. Do you think it could possibly, just possibly, be a Blizzard problem?
Yes, some people just as smart as you got hacked. Oh, no's!
Originally posted by upallnight
I've seen the forums, and I get spam emails every day saying that my account has been hacked or has supposedly been accessed from some unauthorized place. If you do not know how to use a computer, if you do not know how to check the legitimacy of links in said emails before you click on them and go to fraudulent sites and start giving away your account info then, like I said, its no one's fault but your own. Ignorance is never and acceptable excuse and, in closing, if they were as smart as me.... well, then they wouldn't have gotten hacked now would they lol.
Its really quite simple:
with half a minute's worth of work and the most basic levels of common sense your account won't get hacked. Hell, if you have an iphone they will even give you a free authenticator. Whether you, personally, did any of the above or not only you will know regardless of the claims you make here to protect your ego. The fact of the matter is it is not easy to hack someone's account without their assistance.
Does this look familiar to anyone?
Dear Customer,
This is an automated notification regarding your recent change(s).
As you may or may not be aware of, this conflicts with the EULA and Terms of Agreement.
If this proves to be true, your account can and will be disabled. It will be ongoing for further investigation by Blizzard Entertainment's employees.
If you don't wish to get your account suspended, you should immediately verify your account ownership. If the information is deemed accurate, the investigation will be dropped.
This is easiest way to confirm your personal information along with concealed information about your account. We recommend you login to verify information of your account:
If you ignore this mail, your account can and will be closed permanently.
Once we verify your account, we will reply to your e-mail informing you that we have dropped the investigation. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter, and your continued interest in World of Warcraft.
Account Administration Team
P.O. Box 18979, Irvine, CA 92623
Blizzard Entertainmen INC.
Now, the https: address above... is not the actual link that the words lead to. Here is something free for you too lazy to LEARN HOW TO USE THE DAMN TOOL THAT IS SITTING IN FRONT OF YOU:
This one leads to us.batlle-security.com
NO individual with an iq in the positive range can for one minute say that this is a blizzard address roflmao. You people really crack me up, its always someone else's fault rather than your own.
[Mod edit]
Novice Member
Joined: 7/01/10
Originally posted by severius
Wait! Just because I use the Interwebz, I should have some responsibility for attempting to know what dangers there are in doing so? Or even worse take responsibility for the actions I take while using it?
"Interwebz Hacked I'm an idiot Im Done"
##Best SWTOR of 2011
##Fail Thread Title of 2011
Apprentice Member
Joined: 1/08/06
I make my friends all laugh and smile, and never want to hate!
Originally posted by severius
Again, not the problem here.
So apparently, you're either just trying to piss people off or you're not smart enough to figure out what's going on either.
And besides all that, let's say I were as big a doofus as you're trying to make us all out to be, don't you think Blizzard should have tested their security measures. Either that or given us one of your computer IQ tests.
Apprentice Member
Joined: 1/08/06
I make my friends all laugh and smile, and never want to hate!
Originally posted by severius
From the time I closed my account to the time I tried to reopen it I received nothing from anyone about my account. Nothing at all.
Originally posted by upallnight
I can care less if I "piss people off". It surely isn't my intention, but the truth usually does hurt. You should be happy it is only your little wow account that got hacked and that they havent just outright stolen your identity (which is what would have happened had Blizzards servers been hacked). I am not your mommy and will not hug you and pet you and tell you that it is the evil man in the sky that has caused your account to be hacked. I will tell you that these emails (like the one I posted above) come fast and furious, no less than 2 a day, every single day, even when my account was cancelled, and that those slow of wit or just lacking in rudimentary computer literacy can fall victim to such phishing attempts. Blizzard has done everything they can apart from holding your hand and saying now now thats not a good password you might want to rethink it. Whether or not you take their advice, whether or not you choose to educate yourself are, again, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. As I said, whether or not you admit to doing one of those things listed does not invalidate the accuracy of the statement. The only ones who know the truth are God, you and the people with your account info. I do know that there is not some malicious little goblin sitting under your bed watching and transmitting all your passwords to some nefarious all powerful supervillain. Hell, I would be more prone to believing that fantasy than to believe that you, or others, did nothing at all to cause your accounts to be hacked.
Old School
Joined: 1/03/04
Originally posted by upallnight
It is possible that it is a problem on blizzards end, but anything is possible.
A bunch of people on some forums barking that they can't explain how they got hacked isn't very a very compelling argument that something is afoot at the circle K. It just means that there are a lot of people who don't know what happened.
Strangely enough, these very same arguments were made before the battle.net merger and people insisted it couldn't possibly be something wrong on their end and must be blizzard.
Same old same old I guess
Apprentice Member
Joined: 1/08/06
I make my friends all laugh and smile, and never want to hate!
Originally posted by severius
Yeah, the truth would hurt if were the truth.
Just remember that when the day comes that you get hacked. Because I've seen happen to the most careful and knowlegable of folks. It's usually the cocky that learn the most hard lessons in life. Mostly because they sting the most when the lesson comes.
Apprentice Member
Joined: 1/08/06
I make my friends all laugh and smile, and never want to hate!
Originally posted by Daffid011
I hear what you're saying. But even if... there is a problem when one company is having that many problems at one time. A litlte hit from a fire here and there and it's something that can be handled as user error. But something is afoot at the Circle K. And it's not most excellent.
Originally posted by upallnight
There are 12million active accounts meaning active. There are a guestimate of 20+ million inactive accounts. Now we see a hundred or what number complaining. You tell me, is that a lot?
in terms of statistics, you might have a higher chance of getting kill by an asteroid, than getting hacked, kidding.
Frankly, if we have 1% hacked, we expect 120 thousand players alerted and screaming, as they are "active" users, and god knows how many inactive account holders found out they got hacked. Tell me if you see 120thousand complains, which means only 1%.
Advanced Member
Joined: 8/23/09
Lol buying an authenticator does not make your account unhackable, over 500 players with authenticators have been hacked by the man in the middle attack.
Apprentice Member
Joined: 5/12/07
I have this problem currently, after 7 monthes of being away from the game i wanted to resub to play again. I got my notice i was locked, banned or hacked. I am now on my 7th day with the issue. I have called blizzard account support roughly 3 times a day for 7 days at randomn times and every time i get "sorry the queu is full try back later".
This is either a much bigger issue than 100,000 accounts out of their 20 mill active and inactive, or they are preffering to handle the issue by email only and removing the phone capabillity. Either way i think that show this is a much larger issue than some people think.
In my opinion Blizzard is handling it fairly well, keeping it out of major gaming headlines and although i am on my 7th day of trying to get it resolved I am getting feedback and further steps, so it is not as if my request is being ignored. Though my 2 cents is they may want to call in the service support reserves in bangalore because most gamers don't have the patience to wait more than one hour for a fix.
Old School
Joined: 1/03/04
Originally posted by upallnight
Perhaps this looks like one big massive new problem now, because you are taking notice of it due to your account getting hacked. When you got hacked and went to the forums I'm sure it looked like some relevation of what was going on and perhaps looked like it didn't exist before.
However this isn't some problem that only had hits here and there as you describe it. It has always been a major problem for blizzard. Why do you think blizzard made the authenticator over two years ago? Hacked accounts have been a problem that are getting worse and worse over the years and hackers are only getting more sophisticated in their methods.
It isn't a problem that is unique to blizzard either. Here is a link to a thread in the Aion forums with the same speculation that is going on here. Just look at the similarities there.
Post 1 "i have a safe system, i am computer savy, i know whats out there and how to get it as most of you do"
Post 3 "My guess is they have access to NCsoft servers and NCsoft seems powerless to stop it."
Post 4 "if anyone can tell me how this happens i would love to know so i can fix it on my end, but i know its not my end. so your guess is as good as mine" (from the original poster no less)
Post 6 "It might be a rouge NCsoft employee"
Same users who think they are impervious to threats on the internet looking for someone else to blame. Nothing really new.
Novice Member
Joined: 6/17/10
Originally posted by BizkitNL
Maybe they ought to fine these hackers.After all it would be good for the police force, bring in more revenues..But the OP has a point..I was hacked and i never played WOW in three years..They sent me a email mail saying my account was closed..I wrote back and said who was paying for my account since i have not played in three years? Due to there embarrassing moment they unlocked my account..Maybe this company ought to be investigated..It seems where there a WOW Forum there is a Awful lot of complaints about players account...
Joined: 5/28/07
"If men were created equal, then what happened to game developers?"
I will go ahead and spit out my last encounter with WoW just to show you guy's something is going on with Blizard. About a year ago I decided to play again, seeing as I had some free time and wanted to say hello to a few players that still play. When I logged into my account, it was saying that my account got hacked. At this time my account had not been merged with my battle.net account so I contacted Blizzard and got everything sorted out and linked and I was off playing. About 6 months ago I quit playing again because work picked up alot. Remember, I said 6 months ago.
About 2 weeks ago I decided to look at the armory and couldn't find anyone of my characters listed. So I decided to log into the account to see whats up, and low and behold hacked again. At first im like ok, buying one of those authenicator thingies. So i contacted Blizzard and was told that my account had been hacked on June 26th and shows several gold transactions during that time. At first I'm like ok that was not me. Then I thought to myself, how the hell did they play on an account that had no subscription and both trials used up? So here we are, at present day. My account is still under investigation and they have yet to answer this single question to me. I even called them to ask how anyone could play an account that was pretty much locked from being played without a subscription. The guy on the phone had no clue and said it was impossible. So there you have it.
Now tell me this, do you think Blizzard is somehow blocking accounts on purpose and stating they have been hacked just to make you buy one of those things? It all sounds odd to me, but I doubt I will ever get an answer to that question.
Novice Member
Joined: 7/15/10
Originally posted by Li-Su
Of course I can be wrong, After all these years I never got one single phishing scam mail for wow. I the day after I signed up for the 14 day trial I get at least one per day (that I forward to blizzard to help them solve the problem).
Of course I subscribe tons of ML everyday NOT, and any one of them could be the source.
Of course my small mind cannot conceive any other idea than some person inside blizzard has sold the ML. Who would believe that??!?! Just IMPOSSIBLE.
Its just a big coincidence!
So to me that is the truth and you do not exist. rof
Novice Member
Joined: 10/18/04
I'd be surprised if anyone who doesn't have an authenticator hasn't been hacked yet.
Vault-Tec analysts have concluded that the odds of worldwide nuclear armaggeddon this decade are 17,143,762... to 1.
Advanced Member
Joined: 8/23/09
I had this happen to a friend i am on my lvl 80 paladin i see him login but wait he told me a few months back he was taking a 3 month break in the summer, so i send his toon a tell, no replies, i then phone him up and said someone was on his account, he said that is not possible there is no subscription, he then tries to log in says there is no subscription, then his toon logs off and my fiend re-activates his 3 month dormant account and finds his stuff missing, characters all deleted.
How can this happen his account had no sub both trials used up either this is an inside job or hackers found a way to hijack accounts with no subs?.


text: I had the same problem, i think there is a thread on apug about it. 4x5 film isnt 4x5, its slightly smaller. Ilford make the direct positive in fibre based in 3.9x4.9 size which will fit inside a standard film holder. For resin coated you just have to cut a small strip off two edges with a sharp knife.


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potential technologies which makes use of ultra wide band
Chapter 15
There are several common beliefs concerning edible bird's nest. The majority ...
Solution Manual. Time-Harmonic Electromagnetic Fields. Roger F. Harrington
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"Today's United States Supreme Court decision not only changes the definition of marriage, but takes from the states and their citizens the longstanding authority to vote and decide what marriage means. To the Tennessee citizen who asks 'Don't we get a chance to vote on this in some way?' the answer from the Supreme Court is a resounding, 'No, you do not.' For the Court to tell all Tennesseans that they have no voice, no right to vote, on these issues is disappointing. The Court, nevertheless, has spoken and we respect its decision. Our office is prepared to work with the Governor and the General Assembly, as needed, to take the necessary steps to implement the decision."...go to the release.
Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III announced today that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has issued an order temporarily blocking the merger of Sysco and US Foods. The court order states that a preliminary injunction is in the public interest as there "is a reasonable probability that the proposed merger will substantially impair competition."
Tennessee, along with ten other states, joined the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent the proposed merger between the nation's two largest food distributors until the FTC completes an administrative hearing. The hearing, scheduled to begin July 21, 2015, will determine whether the proposed combination would violate the antitrust laws...read the Sysco, US Foods release.
Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III and Bill Giannini, Acting Director of the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs today announced a settlement with RadioShack over the sale of its customers' personally identifiable information. Tennessee played a leading role in a thirty-eight state coalition to oppose the sale of consumer data.
The settlement will limit information RadioShack can share with new owner General Wireless. General Wireless will only use the information they obtain from RadioShack in the continued operation of the RadioShack brand...read the Radio Shack release.
Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III, along with attorneys general from 30 other states, today announced a settlement with three national credit reporting agencies — Equifax Information Services LLC, Experian Information Solutions Inc., and TransUnion LLC.
The settlement requires the credit reporting agencies to pay the participating states $6 million and to make a number of changes to their business practices. Tennessee will receive $157,000 for its participation in the investigation...read the credit reporting agencies release.
Consumers harmed by mobile cramming practices now eligible for refunds
Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III and Bill Giannini, acting Director of the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs today announced settlements with Sprint Corporation ("Sprint") and Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless ("Verizon") that include $158 million in payments. The settlement with the state of Tennessee, the other 49 states, and the District of Columbia resolves allegations that Sprint and Verizon placed charges for third-party services on consumers' mobile telephone bills that were not authorized by the consumers, a practice known as "mobile cramming."
Cramming on mobile phone bills typically involves a $9.99 per month fee for "premium" text message subscription services (also known as "PSMS" subscriptions) such as horoscopes, trivia, and sports scores that the consumers have never heard of or requested...read the Sprint, Verizon release.
Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III today announced a settlement with Atmos Energy Corporation (Atmos) that significantly reduces a proposed rate increase to natural gas consumers. The settlement provides that consumers' rates will only increase 0.5%, which is substantially less than the 3.9% rate increase Atmos originally requested.
"This agreement accomplishes two very important things. It keeps rates down for consumers while allowing Atmos revenues sufficient to earn a fair and reasonable return on its capital investments," said Attorney General Slatery...read the Atmos release.
Press Releases


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Articles tagged vincent grass
16 May 2008 // 4:24 AM
There's a changing of the guard in the Walden-Disney movie franchise, "The Chronicles of Narnia." The young actors who were the leads in 2005's "READ more
15 May 2008 // 10:00 PM
Prince Caspian includes mêlée after mêlée, as well as recriminations against the commander in chief who goes in without an exit strategy or even much of a battle plan.READ more
27 Apr 2008 // 11:00 PM
In the first act of this four-part production, Tinsel Town decides to do some unbelievable front loading. Will there be room for independent offerings, or former HBO carnal comedy divas? Who knows? Without a doubt, it's an interesting way to start the season.READ more
House of Blondes "First of July" (audio) (premiere) // Music
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Fave Five: Alpine
// Sound Affects
"Australian sextet Alpine's newest album is a fantastic expansion of their joyous pop sound, but two members give us five records apiece that helped define their unique musical identities.READ the article


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On October 11th, the Kibera School for Girls and the Kibera community joined together to recognize and celebrate the rights and value of girls for the very first International Day of the Girl Child. View photos from the celebration!
We are proud to have your support in our movement for change! While we are closing this particular project page in order to consolidate our presence on Globalgiving, we encourage you to migrate your support to Shining Hope for Communities' Girl Effect Project Page. The Challenge starts on November 1st (next week!) and we need you to rally the highest number of grassroots supporters to help us win $25k to grow our impact! Tell your friends & family to support the Girl Effect in Kibera by making any level of contribution on our Girl Effect Project Page. Every donation counts!
This Fall, our work empowering girls & their familes is featured by Half the Sky Movement, a campaign inspired by Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn. Nicholas Kristof and Half the Sky Celebrity Advocate Olivia Wilde make a visit to SHOFCO! WATCH the FILM >>
We're proud to share with you the poem below from Vanessa, a 2nd grade student at the Kibera School for Girls:
I am VanessaI am as brave as a lionI work hard to achieve my dream of becoming a doctorI am a flowerI make your garden full with beautiful colorsI am the happiest girl in The Kibera School for GirlsWhatever I am, I am always happy because I knowEven if I am by myselfThere is somebody who cares for me and loves meI am beautifulI love how I was createdI am the Grumpy BearI always know your feelingsI make your dreams come trueI am brave because I look forward to my education successI am enormous because everyone in The Kibera School for Girls knows meAnd even there are some people around the area who know meI am a little angelI fly to help other people surviveI am the windI give you fresh airI am the sunI make your crops growI am specialI work hard for my teachers and parentsI am as brown as the sunI am shiningI am a human beingI am the playful girl in The Kibera School for GirlsI am graceful, hopeful, and lovelyI am the most brilliant girl in the whole wide worldI AM ME!
Project Reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you will get an e-mail when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports via e-mail without donating or by subscribing to this project's RSS feed.
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Farmer BoysRead MoreFarmer Boys in Las Vegas on N Lamb Blvd is a well-known fast food spot, offering a laid-back ambience with wonderful burgers and tasty fast food. It's a culinary destination for those seeking good food. Thanks to its outdoor seating, the restaurant is a fantastic option when the Nevada weather is suitable. No specific attire is required, so feel free to dress casually and comfortably. Also, while the overall price may be low, you can bet that the ingredients will be fresh. In fact, you should easily be able to enjoy a good meal for nine or ten bucks, and can probably get in and out for just a fiver if you try. At some point, everyone should try the zucchini, as it's frequently raved about. In terms of the restaurant itself, if you're on the lookout for the perfect spot for family or friends, it's been reviewed as a solid option for large groups and kids. In addition to its convenient drive-thru, the restaurant even provides catering for events around town. One of the better quick-service franchises in the area, chances are you won't walk away from this Farmer Boys disappointed. Don't worry about trying to find a spot on the street, as visitors to the restaurant do have access to a private parking lot nearby.4450 N Lamb BlvdLas Vegas, NV US
Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt Las VegasRead MoreIn 1983, Golden Spoon Frozen Yogurt set out to do the seemingly impossible: dethrone ice cream as the top frozen treat. The company staged its coup by developing frozen yogurt flavors that were just as tasty, yet healthier, than the competition. Boasting low- and non-fat flavors, a reduced calorie count, and three active cultures for digestion, Golden Spoon's yogurt soon became a staple in Las Vegas among everyday people and rock stars who want to know what it's like to be everyday people. Today, the flavor board lists the rotating flavors of the day, with up to 12 available daily, depending on the season. You'll find chocolate, vanilla, and peanut butter, plus more inventive options like root beer float and black cherry. Once you fill your cup at the soft-serve machines, you can go wild at the toppings bar, where more than 50 add-ons await.1651 W Horizon Ridge Pkwy.Henderson, NV US
Grand Sierra Resort & CasinoRead MoreProperty Location With a stay at Grand Sierra Resort & Casino Featuring The Summit Tower in Reno, you'll be on a river and convenient to Fun Quest and National Automobile Museum. This casino resort is within close proximity of Reno Central Library and Victorian Square. Rooms Make yourself at home in one of the 1990 air-conditioned rooms featuring high-definition televisions. Your pillowtop bed comes with triple sheeting, down comforters, and Egyptian cotton sheets. Relax and take in city and river views from the privacy of your room. Complimentary wireless Internet access keeps you connected, and cable programming is available for your entertainment. Bathrooms have complimentary toiletries and hair dryers. Rec, Spa, Premium Amenities Pamper yourself with a visit to the spa, which offers massages, body treatments, and facials. After a day on the slopes, you can relax in one of the 3 spa tubs. Additional features at this Art Deco resort include complimentary wireless Internet access, a concierge desk, and an arcade/game room. Dining Grab a bite to eat at one of the resort's 10 restaurants and 3 coffee shops/cafés, or stay in and take advantage of 24-hour room service. Relax with your favorite drink at a beach bar or a poolside bar. Full breakfasts are available daily for a fee. Business, Other Amenities Featured amenities include a 24-hour business center, limo/town car service, and a computer station. Event facilities at this resort consist of a conference center, conference/meeting rooms, and small meeting rooms. A roundtrip airport shuttle is complimentary at scheduled times.2500 E 2nd StReno, NV US
Capriotti's Sandwich ShopRead MoreLocated in North Las Vegas on W Craig Rd, Capriotti's is a popular deli that offers superb soups and good sandwiches. An unforgettable dining experience set in a family-oriented vibe. It's a culinary destination for guests that want fantastic food. Thanks to its outdoor seating, the restaurant is a fantastic option when the Nevada weather cooperates. No specific attire is required, so feel free to dress casually and comfortably. Also, though the overall price can be a bit on the low side, you won't be sacrificing any quality. In fact, you should be able to enjoy a good meal for $11 or $12, and can probably get in and out for $8 if you try. In addition to its convenient take-out menu, the restaurant even provides catering for events around town. A franchise with more than a century of tasty success, this Capriotti's definitely stands out from the competition. Don't worry about trying to find a spot on the street, as visitors to the restaurant do have access to a private parking lot nearby.1311 W Craig RdNorth Las Vegas, NV US
Nellis AFB CommissaryRead MoreTreat yourself to good food and drink at Nellis AFB Commissary in Nellis Afb. Gather the whole family for a trip to Nellis AFB Commissary — everyone will find something to like (even the pickiest little eater) on the menu here. Guests may have a hard time conversing, as the restaurant is rather noisy. Driving is all about convenience, and we get that. With spaces available, we'll help speed up your night. Make use of the safe and efficient bike parking at Nellis AFB Commissary.4200 Mountain Home BoulevardNellis Afb, NV US
Prim Valley ResortsRead MoreStrap on your unthinking cap and let loose on Primm Valley Casino Resorts' family-friendly attractions, ranging from thrilling coasters to the gentle, youngster-bouncing Frog Hopper. Riders taller than 4 feet can take the plunge on the Turbo Drop, which boasts a 170-foot vertical free fall at 45 mph, or The Desperado, a twisting coaster with more banks than a financial district and more giggle-induced glee than insider trading. The Adventure Canyon Log Flume refreshes riders with water while stimulating their trigger fingers with laser-light target shooting in splashy surroundings. If brick-and-mortar amusement doesn't crank your cerebral cortex, take a ride in the Maxflight Cyber Coaster, which virtually simulates an authentic rollercoaster down to the last detail.31900 South Las Vegas BoulevardJean, NV US


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COLUMBIA CITY — Officials at Whitley County Consolidated Schools have been crunching numbers since last year, trying to ensure the teacher-to-student ratio is manageable in each classroom.
Superintendent Dr. Patricia O'Connor presented to the corporation's Board of School Trustees on Monday a report on classroom size for all five elementary schools, the middle school and high school.
"We studied this issue last year, conducting three months of research," O'Connor said.
O'Connor said a class size taskforce was created to study the issue.
COLUMBIA CITY — Columbia City schools have "overwhelming" parental involvement in the progress and future of their students, according to Whitley County Consolidated School's Superintendent Dr. Patricia O'Connor.
O'Connor presented the numbers of the most recent parent-teacher conferences to the corporation's Board of School Trustees at a work session Monday.
"We were very pleased by the high school percentage of parents that attended the conference," said O'Connor, saying that the 50 percent participation in the conferences, or 588 parents, was much higher than in recent years.
COLUMBIA CITY — At Monday's work session of the Whitley Consolidated School Corporation, Superintendent Dr. Patricia O'Connor and corporation Business Manager Tony Zickgraf presented a document to the board that was drafted by the John Glenn School Corporation.
The document — a call out to the Indiana Legislature.
The Walkerton-based school corporation drafted a resolution to Indiana lawmakers and sent letters to WCCS and other districts around the state.