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"Food is a central activity of mankind and one of the single most significant trademarks of a culture."
Mark Kurlansky
Life can be strangely coincidental at times, or maybe it is just the trend of the times. My recent amaranth obsession is at an all time high, and then I got an invite for the launch of a very very interesting book Centre of Science and Environment – First Food, A Taste of India's Biodiversity. The locavore in me jumped to it. What's not to love about celebrating local produce?
A live wire opening introduction to the book by CSEs petite and very talented Sunita Narain had everyone's attention. A cause close to my locavore heart, I was thrilled to see how beautifully local and rather unknown ingredients have been woven into the book. A lot of historical cuisine connect runs through the book, emphasising time and again that food is personal, and that everyone has a food story. The book, authored by Sunita Narain & Vibha Varshney, attempts to share India's rich, diverse and largely unexplored culinary tradition. Paired with vivid food memories and a deep emotional connect, it does a brilliant job!
Sunita Narain is an Indian environmentalist and political activist as well as a major proponent of the Green concept of sustainable development. She has been with the India-based Centre for Science and Environment since 1982. She is currently the director of the Centre and the director of the Society for Environmental Communications and publisher of the fortnightly magazine, Down To Earth. The recipes in First Food have been curated from Down to Earth.
Importantly, it makes the mind think. Think out of the box, as also question how far we will be pushed as a community before we realise that we are losing a whole lot of local food wealth falling prey to imports. To make the environment flourish and to add economic value to local produce, getting to the roots of traditional food is essential.
That somewhat explains First Food, an interesting title in itself. Thought provoking too. To understand the vast economic system that runs behind each fruit, flower, leaf and grain, the book does a good job in bringing together a rich resource of information; food stories, environmental issues, intriguing trivia and of course interesting recipes.For me, it is also the ingredients that inspire. I love cooking with beet greens {thanks to Sangeeta's vast knowledge}, and with turnip greens too {thanks to my mother who used to do it; still does}. Fermented pineapple kanji and beetroot kanji are on top of my list, thanks again to Sangeeta. These days, it's popped amaranth in cakes and brownies, whole grain in cookies and so much more!
At the launch that night other than the very talented Sunita Narain, we had Prof Pushpesh Pant {a noted food critic and historian} and Vinod Dua {a food critic and one of the best known names in indian media} regale the rapt audience with their tales. The professor had the audience in splits "When Sunita first told me about the book I thought it was priced too high. Then when I read it, I discovered that it was priceless!"
Vinod Dua, the great orator and entertainer that he is, took to food centric quotes, prose and couplets, both Indian and foreign. Beginning with one my favourite food quotes by George Bernard Shaw, "There is no sincerer love than the love of food.", he went on to read some best loved ones much to the delight of the audience!
It was a short and crisp launch ceremony, followed by a live food demonstration by master chef Manish Mehrotra of Indian Accent fame, and then dinner, all made from recipes in the book. It was impossible to get within hearing distance of this very popular chef, so we had to make do with queueing up for the dinner which was served alongside. The chefs special touch was discernible…
It was a vegetarian spread, as is the cookbook, and the food was mind blowing good! There was so much flavour, so much inspiration there that day. The bajre ki khichdi, the gahat ki dal, ker sangri ka paneer, til ke aloo, chaulai ka saag, drumstick leaves curry all delicious. There were accompaniments galore too. Savoury pancakes, stuffed parathas, chutneys, raita … plenty of flavour and plenty of old world charm. You'll find all the recipes in the book!
I came home rather inspired. Early the next morning, I bought fresh amaranth greens or chaulai ka saag {also lal saag as it's commonly referred to here} as it's in season. Stirred up some chaulai ka saag, some chaulai ka raita, aloo chaulai ki sabzi and karonde ka khatta meetha achaar; most recipes from the book, others just inspired. Made mixed grain puris on the side {makki ka aata, chakki ka aata and besan}. Oh so satisfying and all wiped clean!
Here's a quick recipe of Amaranth greens / Chaulai ka saag from the book. The books a great buy for recipes ideas and inspiration, a good feel narrative that takes you back to your roots. From herbs, flowers, leaves, fermented foods to summer coolers, it packs a pretty punch! I also like that the listed ingredients are short & sweet.
Summary: A quick, healthy and delicious stir fry that offers a highly nutritious side to an Indian meal.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
- 500g chaulai {amaranth} leaves
- 2-3 whole red chilies
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- a pinch of asafoetida
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsps vegetable oil {I used clarified butter}
- Wash the leaves and chop finely.
- Heat oil in a deep pan. Toss in red chillies and cumin seeds. Add garlic and asafoetida. Stir.
- dd the chopped greens and salt to taste.
- Cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Let the water dry.
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6 Comments
I just read about this book in the Outlook.. and was really fascinated and intrigued by it.. and now your post.. its really inspiring me to pick it up!!
PS– for a moment when you said amaranth greens.. I was a bit flummoxed.. but laal saag…ohh yes.. when in season.. its made almost once a week!!
You did an amazing review, I want to get this book. Thanks!
fallen in love with the ladle… whr did u buy it from???
For a second I thought the berries where ziziphus rugosa. I know carissa carandas but I haven't seen or heard of carissa macrocarpa before. Maybe they exist here in Goa but most probably they must be nearly extinct like all the other berries. I am very much for biodiversity and the book sounds like an amazing resource. I was looking for a book like this and maybe it would help me to discover new ingredients here. Your amaranth bhaji would go well with fat rice and fish curry. =)
What a fantastic blog post! It's bothering as I'm enduring some
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is a man amoung boys...
I love Stewart, the man is truly a king among nerds.
He's not just one of my a few most favorite actors, he's an unbelievable actor.
Seeing him is always an absolute wonder. He delivers amazing acting in plays, movies & videogames, and he's always unforgettable.
I will never forget his voiceover & acting for Forgotten Realms Demon Stone, he truly brought life to a famous book character, and no one would ever be able to imagine him differently.
is he not just the most adorable person ever? hahahahaha
Perhaps you need to let them out of your closet, the neighbours might find it suspicious hearing jizzing nerds from your house, even the military is letting them out now.
I'm kinda with Sir Patrick with "the twitter" I have no use for it personally, just use it to follow things like newegg or whatever, might find a good sale or something =)

subset: commoncrawl


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The interactive sculpture was made possible through a private donation from retired Bennett Pump Co. and SPX Corp. executive Peter Turner, who brought it to the attention of city leaders that there was no public statue of the city's most prominent founding father. Residents Susan Clink and Toni Reynolds made donations for the bench and plaque.
"Bill (Duffy, the artist) did a marvelous job," Turner said, after seeing the sculpture for the first time. "We're only 104 years late."
E. Jane Connell, senior curator of Muskegon Museum of Art, which was formerly Hackley Art Gallery, stood off near the curb eyeing people's reactions. She said Charles Hackley looked a little stoic, but that is how she has seen other representations of him. "From all I have learned about him, it probably suits him," she said. "I think he will be a centerpiece for civic pride."
Early in the day, a group consisting of artist Bill Duffy and Richard Rist, owner of the Baltimore-based The Large Art Co., urban planner Harry Wierenga, John McGarry, executive director of Lakeshore Museum Center, and others gathered to discuss the best positioning of the monument.
Both Wierenga and McGarry walked across the street to eye the view from Hackley Park.
The bronze sculpture was the color of a copper penny out of the factory, Duffy said, so he used a process known as patina, which is a chemical oxidation process to turn it various colors and pick up more detail in his suit.
"It's awesome, how the buttons look so real" said 8-year-old Anna Sytsema. "It looks like you can take the coat right off of him and put it on."
The sculpture attracted attention from passersby during the installation process. A school group walked by and one girl shouted out to her classmates: "That's Charles Hackley; he built a school, and a library and a park."
Mary Jane Duguay, 79, a lifelong Muskegon resident who worked at the Red Cross when it was in Hackley's former mansion, made a special trip downtown to see the sculpture in the morning. Her first response was "it's breathtaking, beautiful.""I am enthralled," she said, as she stood looking at it. "That's just going to be fabulous to have him sit there."
The sculpture was a project of Downtown Muskegon Development Corp.'s Public Art Committee. Members decided to go with an older Hackley during the height of his philanthropy and wanted him on a bench so people could sit beside him and have pictures taken.
E-mail Marla Miller at firstname.lastname@example.com


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Now that Ron Tomalis has set a date to leave his almost-no-work position created by Gov. Corbett, will Corbett promptly abolish that position, which clearly isn't needed? How many other high-priced, no-work or little-work, appointees does Corbett have on his staff?
I expected better from someone who formerly properly prosecuted such antics.
SUE PECK, Warrington Twp.


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KALAMAZOO — Steve Duisterhof said he had no intention of going into business with his father at Gordon Water Systems until he began to feel boxed in by his previous job.
He worked with the carton and container division of General Foods in Battle Creek, and that company wanted to relocate him to New Jersey.
"However the idea of being intimately involved in a small business, with potential to grow, became intriguing," he said.
Trained as a packaging engineer, rather than in business administration, he joined the family business in 1987. He became company president about 10 years later.
|Address: 618 E. Crosstown Pkwy., Kalamazoo; 300 E. Centre Ave., Portage; 114 54th St. S.W., Grand Rapids.
Phone: Kalamazoo, (269) 382-0068; Portage, (269) 324-5604; Grand Rapids, (616) 776-3800.
Employees: About 30
Products: Water softeners, bottled water and coffee.
Web site: www.gordonwater.com
And as president of Gordon Water, Duisterhof said he's responsible for growing the enterprise.
"When you own your own business there are very few limitations on what you can achieve," he said while sitting behind his desk at Gordon Water's headquarters on Crosstown Parkway.
Today, the 37-year-old company is working to expand its bottled water business here and throughout the region, as well as increasing a new venture — coffee roasting.
Each of the company's three locations sells freshly roasted coffees which Duisterhof imports from locales such as Africa and South America.
"We're pretty diverse today," Duisterhof said. "We deliver bottled water to homes and businesses. We do residential water treatment. We rent, lease and sell water softeners and we roast and deliver coffee and we have a broad client base."
But it wasn't always that way.
Duisterhof said Gordon Water Systems always faced competition in the water treatment market. Competitors included locally owned Culligan operations that were major players in the market. Gordon Water started into bottled water sales in 1988, when the market for bottled water was in its infancy.
He said there were many Monday mornings during that time when he'd walk into work and find no new installation orders on the board.
"If you didn't have those, Monday was a very stressful day," Duisterhof said.
But by concentrating on a sales strategy, the company was able to succeed, he said.
"Really good sales involves getting good at helping the customer discover what it is they really need from you," he said.
In the last two years, the weak economy has taken a toll on the business, Duisterhof said. Bottled water deliveries are down about 15 percent.
But, he said, Southwest Michigan's economy is relatively stable with a discerning and educated consumer base.
"They (consumers) want value and they know that doesn't always mean a lower cost," Duisterhof said. "We are very attentive to giving quality products, service and innovation."
To also grow the business, Duisterhof said Gordon Water is making a push into Web-based advertising and marketing.
"You had better understand how to be Net-centric because this new generation of consumers coming up lives on the Web and they're making decisions based on what they find there," Duisterhof said. "We're trying to create value on the Web. We show our products, but also show people how to use them."


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Generally, distributions from a qualified retirement plan that are eligible for rollover must be rolled over within 60 days of the date on which the distribution occurs. If a taxpayer did not complete the rollover within 60...more
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The Form 5500 Annual...more
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In its April 1, 2015 Employee Plans News, the IRS stated that defined contribution plan sponsors must maintain hardship distribution records and that plan sponsors cannot rely on electronic participant self-certification for...more
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- Deferred Compensation Equity Compensation Executive Compensation Filing Deadlines ISS Year-End Planning
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On June 25, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, which is likely to change the future of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) stock drop litigation. ...more
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MOBILE, Alabama – Ruling that a Grand Bay woman who died from gunshots from her own weapon "did not deserve her fate," a judge this morning affirmed the jury's recommendation and sentenced convicted killer Derek Tyler Horton to death.
Reading from his written order, Mobile County Presiding Circuit Judge Charles Graddick recited a series of factors weighing for and against the death penalty and found that aggravating factors outweighed mitigating ones. [Read the sentencing order here]
"In fact, the court finds the aggravating circumstances far outweigh the mitigating circumstances," he said.
Graddick's ruling sets off multiple rounds of automatic appeals. If Horton is unable to persuade state appellate courts to overturn his conviction or sentence, he will have the ability to raise constitutional objections in the federal courts.
Defense attorney Greg Hughes said he was disappointed by the judge's decision.
"You never like these things," he said. "We gave it our best shot, and the judge did what he thought was right."
Samantha Alspaugh, the daughter of victim Jeannette Romprey, expressed conflicted feelings after today's hearing.
"I really don't know what to feel," she said. "I don't want to say I'm happy with the decision, but I'm very pleased with the way things turned out."
Newcomer to death row
The same day that Graddick sentenced Horton, a judge in another Mobile County courtroom was changing the death sentence of another defendant to life in prison without parole, so the number of Mobile County defendants on death row remains at 14.
Derek Tyler Horton joined death row the same day another inmate left it, leaving 14 Mobile County defendants waiting for execution. The others are:
- Vernon Madison -- killed Mobile police Cpl. Julius Schulte in 1985.
- Jarrod Taylor -- execution-style shooting deaths of Steve Dyas, Sherry Gaston and her husband, Bruce Gaston, at Dyas' car dealership, Dec. 12, 1997.
- Thomas Dale Ferguson -- killed a Colbert County man and his 11-year-old son on a fishing trip, July 20, 1997. Case moved to Mobile County because of pre-trial publicity.
- Joseph Clifton Smith -- robbed and killed carpenter Durk Van Dam, Nov. 25, 1997.
- George Martin -- killed his wife, Hammoleketh Jackson Martin, and burned her body inside a car, Oct. 8, 1995. George Martin was a state trooper.
- William John Ziegler* -- tortured and murdered 19-year-old Russell Allen Baker Jr. at Ziegler's apartment, February 2000.
- Jeremy Bryan Jones -- raped and killed Lisa Marie Nichols in her Turnerville home, September 2004.
- Garrett Dotch -- ambushed and killed onetime girlfriend Timarla Taldon, outside the Subway sandwich shop in west Mobile where she worked, July 10, 2006.
- Donald Dwayne Whatley -- murdered downtown motel owner Pete Patel, December 2003.
- Lam Luong -- dropped his four young children to their deaths from the Dauphin Island bridge, Jan. 7, 2008.
- Aubrey Lynn Shaw -- stabbed his great-aunt and uncle to death at their St. Elmo home in August 2007.
- Michael Woolf-- shot his wife and 2-year-old son on March 5, 2008.
- Derrick Shawn Penn -- shot his estranged wife and her boyfriend in May 2009.
*Judge Sarah Stewart has ordered new trial for Ziegler.
After asking to see a priest and finding out one was not available, according to testimony, Horton went to a Chevron station less than a mile and a half from the victim's trailer home.
Later, Horton came across Romprey's trailer. The 59-year-old woman recently had returned home, where she lived alone, after visiting friends.
By all accounts, Horton had never met the victim. According to trial testimony, he used Romprey's gun to shoot her twice in the head and then, in the judge's words, set a fire to the home that "burned her beyond all recognition."
Someone saw flames shooting from the structure at about 1:30 a.m. on April 10.
Police later found Romprey's television, jewelry, computers and other items hidden behind an embankment. Horton also drove off in her Chrysler PT Cruiser.
A Capitol police officer later found Horton wandering on Interstate 65 near Brewton. Police found his palm print on Romprey's abandoned car, which contained her gun. His DNA was in a white knit cap found off of the highway. Surveillance footage from the previous night showed him wearing the cap.
Horton turned directly to Romprey's family this morning and apologized.
"I know there's probably nothing I can say to make you feel any different," he said. "I just want you to know that my family and I are praying for you."
Horton also apologized to his own family and thanked them for their support.
Alspaugh said afterward that she was not moved by Horton's apology because he did not admit to his actions. "He still did not accept responsibility," she said. "It didn't mean anything to me."
'callous and cold-blooded act'
Graddick said that he considered a number of factors offered by the defense, including his age -- he was only 18 at the time, barely old enough be executed -- his lack of previous significant criminal conduct and extreme mental or emotional disturbance.
The judge noted that Horton left his grandmother's home when he was 14 and went to live with his mother, a longtime drug addict. In that environment, according to testimony, he began using drugs, himself, and got into trouble with the law.
Graddick said that he found Horton's upbringing to be a mitigating factor but added that it was "not a license to commit and act of senseless rage or murder directed at an innocent person."
And Romprey, the judge said, did nothing to invite the "callous and cold-blooded act" against her.
"She was in her own home when the defendant shot her in the head and burned her beyond all recognition," he said. "Jeannette Romprey did not deserve her fate."Follow Brendan Kirby on Twitter: Follow @BrendanKKirby


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The Julius and Dorothy Koppelman Holocaust/Genocide Center at Rider University will present a screening of the 1989 documentary "More Than Broken Glass: Memories of Kristallnacht" 3 p.m. Sunday in the Gill Chapel on Rider's campus, 2083 Lawrenceville Road. There is no charge.
The 57-minute film chronicles the "Night of Broken Glass," or Kristallnacht – the evening of Nov. 9, 1938, when Adolph Hitler's Nazis declared open war on Jewish people.
Through coordinated attacks in Germany and sections of Austria, Nazi supporters ransacked synagogues and Jewish-owned stores and buildings, leaving countless smashed glass windows in their wake.
Some 7,000 businesses and more than 1,000 houses of worship were destroyed or damaged in the attacks, which went unanswered by German authorities.
Ninety-one Jews were killed, with an estimated 30,000 apprehended and shuttled off to concentration camps. Through archival footage, photographs and interviews with witnesses, the film forms a sharp portrait of the time.
Call (609) 896-5345, or email@example.com.


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On Saturday, May 18, IBF light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson will meet ferocious Argentinian brawler Lucas Matthysse at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. This is one of the most eagerly anticipated matchups of the spring.
The fight will take place at 141 pounds, so the IBF title will not be on the line. Still, much more than any alphabet-soup belt is at stake. Peterson and Matthysse are two of the top-ranked fighters in the always competitive light welterweight division, and both have an obvious future at full welterweight, where some of the sport's biggest money fights take place.
This is the kind of fight where the winner is difficult to predict, but a relentless, action-packed war is almost a sure bet.


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This deal has ended.
This Philosophy Miracle Worker System drops from $80 to $48 at Sephora. This is a current price low for this set $13. It features Philosophy's anti-aging products including Dark Spot Corrector, Miraculous Anti-Aging Retinoid Solution, and 30 Anti-Aging Retinoid Pads. Plus, add code YOURGIFT for a free deluxe sample (plus 3 extra samples) at checkout. Shipping is free at $50, otherwise it's $5.95. Sales tax is charged in most states.No longer available


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Post office holds open house
NW News Staff
The Bothell Post Office will host its annual Open House Oct. 9 beginning at 11 a.m. The lobby will be decorated in a prehistoric theme with entertainment by Fred and Wilma Flintstone, Mr. Slade and BamBam Rubble. Meet postmaster Mike Martens and take a Behind the Scenes tour conducted every half hour until 4 p.m.
The Open House will also feature a Long-Life Vehicle on display, a Kiddy Corner to explain stamp collecting, the Bothell Post Office Philatelic Society to answer stamp collecting questions and a Go-Fish tank. Cookies, coffee and punch will be served. The post office is located at 10500 Beardslee Blvd., Bothell.


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FLINT, MI – Detroit Lions Tight End Brandon Pettigrew will promote an educational video game at International Academy of Flint next week.
Pettigrew and State Treasurer Andy Dillion are rolling out Financial Football, a statewide educational video game and classroom curriculum with Jump$tart and Visa Inc., according to a news release. The game incorporates money management lessons and is being distributed to schools throughout the state.
As part of promoting the game they'll make a stop at International Academy of Flint on Dec. 18.
It will take place at 10 a.m. on Dec. 18 at International Academy of Flint, 2820 S. Saginaw St. in Flint.


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The Morning Line, Grade III, 6f, 3 yr & up, $10,000 Stakes
1 Colin, Notter, 4-1
2 Count Fleet, Longden, 2-1
3 Armed, Arcaro, 6-1
4 Twilight Tear, McCreary, 8-1
5 Grey Lag, Fator, 8-1
6 Beldame, O'Neill, 27-1
The two fillies - Twilight Tear and Beldame - broke first and led the tight pack through the backstretch with Armed catching the fading Twilight Tear and the flying long shot Beldame at the start of the turn. By the top of the stretch Beldame was beaten but able to hold on for third as the favorites Count Fleet and Colin never seemed to run. However, Grey Lag was. Lagging, that is. Down the stretch Grey Lag rallied past Armed for the win paying $18.00 for each $2 ticket.
RESULTS ......WIN ... PLACE ... SHOW ... Winnings
Grey Lag...... $18.00 $10.40 $6.60 ....... $43,200
Armed ........................ $6.40 $4.00 ....... $14,400
Beldame.................................$9.20 ....... $7,200
Count Fleet .............................................. $3,700
After four races, here are the money leaders:
Man O' War... $216,000
Assault........... $144,000
Gallant Fox .... $78,000
Gallorette ...... $72,000
Exterminator. $72,000
Next week's key entrants are expected to be Assault and Zev. A field of six is anticipated over the same six furlong course as this week. After four races, Assault, Gallorette, Man O' War, and, now, Grey Lag have qualified for the first - of six - major race; to be held on the 4th of July on the APBA Horse Race Track.


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"I used to be a landscape painter," Ben Kingsley says. "Now, I'm more of a portrait artist."
The veteran actor isn't talking about a gentleman's Sunday hobby, but his all-consuming career. When he primarily worked on stage, he says, he worked on the big picture — wide vistas, bold gestures. Now, on film, the job is more concentrated, more detail-oriented.
"The colors themselves — I would say those are probably multiplying," he says, warming to his own metaphor. "However the gestures, the brush strokes, I think those are getting rather more restrained. As I get older, I want my work to be more economical. I don't want clutter."
I can tell.
It's not just the 69-year-old's lean, practically aerodynamic appearance, or the brisk, businesslike way he calls precisely on time for the interview. It's the way his mind works, quickly, rationally, precisely. Let other performers regurgitate the publicity-junket cliches, or mumble inarticulately about "the human condition" and their "process."
Kingsley likes logical arguments, big ideas.
Today, he's talking about performance as fine art, and the music and colors of acting. When I last spoke to him, a decade ago, it was all about classical archetypes. That remains a favorite subject, actually — how all characters conform to one of several mythic types. The Mandarin, the mysterious villain who he plays in the new "Iron Man 3," is definitely one type -- but I can't really tell you which because...
"No, no, no, we do have to tread carefully, don't we?" Kingsley says, rapidly warding off any spoilers. "It's really, really tricky talking about it without giving anything away. But I would say the film does examine the idea of the man in the mask, the human inside the suit of armor — it's a theme that Robert (Downey Jr.) and I share in the film. Both characters use things — either armor or iconography — to protect them a bit from the real world. They're both very vulnerable males - which contrasts quite nicely with the film's empowered females!"
Of course, the Marvel characters — like the great characters from classic literature — all have their own, singular tragic flaws. That's what makes them so powerful. And that's one of the things - beyond, of course, those lovely paychecks — that continues to draw great performers. After all, isn't there something of Faust in Magneto? Of Prince Hal in Thor? It all goes back to Kingsley's favorite talking point.
"We're dealing in archetypes here," he says. "Not stereotypes, not copies of a copy of a copy, but something primal... They say there are only seven original myths from which all other stories spring, and when you're part of that, when you're playing a part that refers back to that primal human dance of love and fear and revenge and ambition — even when it occurs in a comic-book franchise — you feel it as an actor. You feel it in your DNA."
The early, lonely years
Whatever his genetic makeup, little in Kingsley's family background indicated a career in the arts. His mother was an English/German fashion model; his father, a doctor from a peripatetic Indian family that had lived everywhere from Zanzibar to Kenya, and made their fortune in the spice trade. (In fact, Kingsley's grandfather was known as "King Clove" — something young Krishna Pandit Bhanji drew on when, years later, he was looking for a stage name.)
But it was not a home that looked kindly on going into acting. In fact, Kingsley admits, it was not a family that even often looked kindly at each other.
"I think I first wanted to be an actor when I was about 4," he says. "I was already the Danny Kaye of the family — running around knocking myself out trying to keep everybody laughing, trying to inject some humor into the atmosphere. And I'd go to bed exhausted. I'd literally tire myself out trying to pump some fun and laughter into this near vacuum."
That vacuum continued, particularly when - in his very late teens, `I expressed an interest in `this acting thing,'"
"My parents were neither encouraging nor discouraging," he says. "Very disconcerting actually, their indifference. Ah, but poor things, I think they were so preoccupied with their own problems and odd personalities that their children's well-being was not the highest of their priorities. They just rather ignored it all."
Kingsley pushed on, anyway. After university, and a brief flirtation with pop music — Brian Epstein sought him out after a performance in the `60s, and Ringo Starr urged him to "have a go" at it — he plunged into the Royal Shakespeare Company and the classics.
"As I said, there was no encouragement from my family," Kingsley says. "I look back now and I wonder how I got myself through it. But I think it's that struggle that, hopefully, makes you a better actor, a more empathetic actor. It certainly makes you a storyteller with more urgency — you feel you really need to tell the tale at hand."
For 15 years, Kingsley worked almost exclusively on the stage — playing everything from Shakespeare to Beckett, painting his bold landscapes of indomitable mountains and threatening clouds.
"I think it's vital for an actor to have a background in the theater," he says. "In this business, you cannot, cannot achieve anything on your own; it's all collaborative. And in the theater, you learn how to build something together, to listen to the other, respect the other. You learn that you're not only dependent on your fellow actors, but on the audience; believe me, you can't be on stage and just go off into some narcissistic bubble. I mean, you can, but when the audience loses interest and that bubble bursts, you realize you're just up there entertaining yourself."
The break
After years of being on stage — and a few parts on British television, and movies — Kingsley heard that Richard Attenborough was casting the lead for his epic "Gandhi." Kingsley — who knew, immediately, that this was "the part, his 'Lear'" — went after it, and landed it. It won him an Oscar and, quite simply, changed his life.
And his key to understanding this globally renowned preacher of non-violent protest was — rage.
"It's a performance fueled by the character's anger more than anything else, really," he says. "His indignation. `You are going to throw me off this train?' That's the nuclear fuel rod inside the man, the absolute rage over that incident. But then you convert that anger into something skilful, articulate, politicized, eloquent - and, eventually, iconic. It's all about rage - but rage as filtered through intelligence."
And, again, one of Kingsley's archetypes.
"Look at Hamlet, who I also played," he says. "There is an anger at injustice there, too. But it is also filtered through a truly refined, elegant intelligence. That intellect — that's one of the colors I use, painting those portraits... To be honest, an actor is limited by his imagination; hopefully, it grows with the craft. It can be a very healing and exciting way of life - and a great way to see the world."
The Oscar he won for "Gandhi" made those travels even easier. For the last 30 years, Kingsley has gone from one part, and one country, to another, trotting the globe as easily as his forebears did. (He's also been through a number of marriages — he married, for the fourth time, in 2007 — and won a knighthood that, for awhile, left some co-stars grumbling he insisted on being addressed as "Sir Ben.")
But the work has been gritty and real and wonderfully eclectic. Small pictures like "Death and the Maiden," "Sexy Beast" and "House of Sand and Fog." Big pictures like "Schindler's List," "Hugo" and "Shutter Island." And then, the entertainments — a mad mix of everything from "The Dictator" and "The Love Guru" to the current "Iron Man 3."
"Essentially what we're always trying to do is tell a story with primal ingredients, and touch the audience with something genuine, as felt and experienced by the actors," Kingsley says. "But as an actor, your work needs to adjust to the style of the particular production. There's a rhythm to the telling, a tone. It's a bit like having a musical ear, being able to hear that, and it's a great thrill for me when I recognize it."
It's also been thrilling, he says, to watch his four children grow up, and see two of them enter the profession.
"I adore watching them perform," he says. "Afterward, I hug them so hard I fear I'll crack their ribs. It's a kind of compensation, I know, for the lack of reaction I received as a young man. But every generation, thank God, is different and you can break the old patterns... I just know it can be such a struggle, as actor — it was such a struggle, for me, to grow into the adult from that odd childhood. And while all struggles help us as storytellers, in the end, as a young actor to be able to get that encouragement, that strong positive response, is gold."
Kingsley continues to work as much as he can. He has five other films scheduled for release this year, including the big-buzz adaptation of the sci-fi "Ender's Game"; assignments in waiting include a modern version of "A Doll's House," the medical thriller "Eliza Graves," voicing a cartoon character for "The Boxtrolls" and playing Herod in "Mary, Mother of Christ."
"There's an urgency to telling a story on film that I find attractive," he says of his busy schedule. "A stage production — I can look at a David Hare play, a Pinter play, and think, well, I can't do that this year, perhaps the next. But with film, you have to jump onboard immediately or it leaves without you. And I find that very compelling. There are certain scripts that come my way and I have to be part of them. 'Schindler's List' — I had to be part of that. 'House of Sand and Fog' — I had to tell that man's story."
He has an Oscar. He has a knighthood. What challenges remain for him?
Refreshingly — no false modesty here! — Kingsley says, quite honestly, he sees none.
"It's odd, but that's never a word I use," he says. "`Challenge.' I don't see new roles as challenges. I've never felt challenged by the process. I feel almost embraced by it, because it's a process I so enjoy, this combination of discovery, curiosity. I delve into the writing, and once there's that recognition, once I see that genuine pattern of human behavior, I can live within it, I can work within it, I can tell a story using it. I have my colors and I have my blank canvas and now all I need to do is fill it in."
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2009 Domaine Pinson Freres Chablis
Producer: Domaine Pinson Freres
Style: White Wine
Grape Type: Chardonnay
Origin: France
Region: Burgundy
Appellation: Chablis
85-86 Points | Stephen Tanzer's IWC - July/August 2010
(tasted from tank prior to bottling) Ripe citrus fruits on the nose and palate. On the soft side, but with good texture and volume for village wine.


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Entergy New Orleans Inc. filed a proposal for an energy efficiency program Thursday afternoon with the City Council that would broadly benefit all types of customers from individuals with low incomes to large commercial and industrial facilities.
Under the terms of a deal struck in March, Entergy was required to develop an energy efficiency program proposal by July 2 to fulfill the goals of Energy Smart, an energy efficiency program developed by a community task force that was adopted by the city last year.
Tracie Boutte, vice president of regulatory affairs at Entergy New Orleans, said that Entergy's proposal is designed to work hand-in-hand with other programs such as the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the State Energy Program and to make use of any federal stimulus money that might be available to New Orleans to maximize the program's reach.
"We have designed programs to complement that funding," Boutte said. "This is a comprehensive program."
Entergy's proposal does include provisions for helping customers finance weatherization improvements to their homes or businesses, but Boutte said that her company was not able to nail down details because time was short and the funding environment is unusually dynamic right now between the challenges of the credit crisis and opportunities for getting federal money through stimulus or climate change initiatives.
In its filing, Entergy proposes giving one-time rebates to lenders who make energy efficiency loans to customers based on the amount of anticipated savings on their electric bills, but the company says it is still exploring "more creative opportunities for leveraged financing," and is evaluating various models from around the country.
It further encourages the city to explore opportunities created by the recently approved Senate Bill 224, which would allow local governments to issue bonds and property assessment programs for energy efficiency districts.
"Entergy New Orleans is committed to continue to explore cost-effective, efficient financing mechanisms to complement the programs described herein in order to maximize participation in the Energy Smart programs," the filing reads.
Entergy will present its plan in a public hearing on July 9 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lindy C. Boggs International Conference Center at the University of New Orleans Research and Technology Park at 2045 Lakeshore Drive.
While much of the program deals with physical improvements to homes or businesses, it also includes small steps that Entergy says will make a difference, such as replacing old light-bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs, tuning up residential air-conditioners and providing a "one-stop shop" of information to consumers about energy efficiency.
Boutte said Entergy's research shows that there's still a need in the community for these steps, but the program would be tweaked on an annual basis. As the community adopts more energy efficient behaviors, some components of the program could be adjusted.
The program, which was developed with the assistance of the energy practice at ICF International, the company that managed the Road Home program, and GCR & Associates, a local consulting firm, also includes three pilot programs.
Entergy proposes to follow about 20 existing rooftop solar panel installations to see how they perform, but to help people purchase solar hot water systems, which cost less money and have shorter repayment times. The company also aims to launch a pilot program with real time energy meters to see if people will modify their consumption if they can see what leaving lights on or turning up the air-conditioner costs at any given time.
Karen Wimpelberg, president of the Alliance for Affordable Energy, had only taken a cursory look at the plan late in the day Thursday, but said she liked what she saw. At first blush, she said the program appears to be transparent and make the company accountable for measurable savings goals. Going forward, she's interested in learning more about the financing proposals, and whether Entergy can make it sustainable.
Entergy's proposal must be approved by the City Council. If there are no significant delays, Entergy expects to choose a third party to administer most of the program in March, and then launch it in July.
The proposal can be found on Entergy's website at www.entergy-neworleans.com/irp. Over the next few weeks, people can post questions about the proposal and get answers within five days.
Rebecca Mowbray can be reached at email@example.com or 504.826.3417.


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AMHERST – Following the University of Massachusetts basketball team's win over St. Bonaventure Saturday, Chaz Williams was spotted on crutches leaving the Mullins Center.
The senior point guard injured his left ankle/foot early in the second half when junior Cady Lalanne – all 6-foot-10, 250 pounds of him – came crashing down on his leg after Williams went up to block the shot of Bonnies big man Youssou Ndoye.
X-rays came back negative Monday night, revealing Williams suffered a deep bone bruise. He will continue to be held out of practice until Wednesday's game at George Mason, though coach Derek Kellogg expects his best player to suit up.
"I believe he's OK. I think he's going to be fine," Kellogg said. "It may take him a few days because he's bruised up and he's beat up. And not only his foot or ankle; his body is getting attacked by every team out there and he's getting hammered every time he dribbles the ball. He's a tough kid, and I think he'll be playing Wednesday.
"But a couple of days off from practice for his foot to heal will probably be pretty good for him."
Though hobbled by a noticeable limp and wearing a walking boot, Williams wasn't pleased with the involuntary time off.
"It's the competitive spirit in me," he said. "But I'm just taking precautionary measures right now. Coach wants me to be precautionary with things."
Williams said he caught the replay of his injury later that night when his block on Ndoye – particularly impressive given the nearly foot-and-a-half size difference between the players – made No. 9 on SportsCenter's top plays.
"If people noticed the reaction when I fell, I kind of kicked my foot away because I felt it right then and there. I wasn't even into the game because my foot was hurting," he said. "That's just me being a basketball player and trying to stick it out.
"But I'll be all right. I'm from Brooklyn, so hopefully nothing can keep me out."
ELON SELLOUT: According to Andrew Wilson, an athletic communications assistant for Elon, the Minutemen's game against the Phoenix in North Carolina Saturday is already sold out.
Elon's Alumni Gymnasium accommodates fewer than 1,600 people, but the school's athletics website is encouraging fans to dress all in white as part of a "White Out" promotion to create a more hostile environment.
Kellogg welcomes the challenge.
"I do think the guys realize it's kind of an 'us against the world' mentality. And these could be nice crowds Wednesday and Saturday," he said. "What's nice is we're having nice crowds wherever we go now. Home games we're having good crowds and we're going on the road with good crowds. I hoping that continues to keep the guys energized."


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Last of the mega-mergers
The announcement last week of a merger between American Airlines and US Airways will create the world's largest airline.
Since both carriers serve Maui, an obvious question is: Will the merger mean fewer flights to our island?
The last mega-merger – between United and Continental – barely affected us because Continental had basically stopped service to Maui. There were some seasonal flights but no year-round service from Continental.
This is not the case with American and US Airways. Both have year-round operations here. So the question becomes: Will the combined airline opt for fewer, fuller flights? Will there be fewer jobs on the ground on Maui?
The merger also creates challenges for the other unaligned carriers serving Maui – most notably Alaska and Hawaiian. It would seem that both of them should be seeking code-share status with carriers like Jet Blue and Southwest, so the Midwest and Eastern United States are not simply surrendered to the mega-airlines.
There has never been a merger the size of the AmericanUS Airways deal. Continental-United and Delta-Northwest came close, but this is the last – and the largest – of the big deals. It will be interesting to see how seamlessly the merger is carried off.
It will also be interesting to see how the other airlines react and how all of it affects the traveling public.
* Editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher.


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DETROIT, MI - The NHL Winter Classic game to be held Jan. 1 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor is expected to be a sellout and draw a record crowd of more than 107,000, organizers said Tuesday at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena.
"We feel pretty good about delivering exactly what we were talking about," said Tom Wilson, Olympia Entertainment's president and CEO.
Crews for HBO's series "24/7" are expected to be in Detroit this week to get behind-the-scenes footage of the Detroit Red Wings leading up to the event. The Red Wings' opponent is the Toronto Maple Leafs, another "Original Six" team.
The first HBO "24/7" show is expected to air 10 p.m. Dec. 14. Other shows will follow each Saturday night before the game.
Attendance at the Winter Classic game is expected to set the world record for an outdoor hockey contest. The current record is 104,173 set at Michigan Stadium during "The Big Chill," a Michigan-Michigan State college hockey game in 2010.
"We don't script anything, we don't set anything up," said Bently Weiner, HBO's coordinating producer. "That's the beauty of "24/7."
About 10,000 tickets for the two Red Wings/Maple Leafs alumni games at Comerica Park in Detroit are still available, Wilson said. The games are part of a downtown Detroit "Hockeytown Winter Festival."
Comerica Park is expected to hold 38,000 for each game and is expected to get a new grass field for the Tigers that will be ready for the 2014 season.
John Collins, the NHL's chief operating officer, told reporters he believes the entire two weeks of hockey-related events in Ann Arbor and Detroit will give southeast Michigan a $30 million economic boost.
"This is our biggest game ever," Collins said.
Wilson said up to 300,000 fans could visit Metro Detroit for Winter Classic-related events.
For a complete Winter Festival games in Detroit, check out the schedule online.
"This is an enormous event that's literally manmade," said Wilson of the Winter Festival. "The Winter Classic has a life of its own, and it's a special thing. Nobody has tried (the Winter Festival), it's a little ambitious and audacious.
"But the impact on the city of Detroit, by virtue of these additional events, is going to be pretty consequential."
The Winter Festival will include the Great Lakes Invitational collegiate hockey tournament, an Ontario Hockey League doubleheader and an an American Hockey League game featuring the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Crews are expected to move into Michigan Stadium to prepare for Winter Classic on Dec. 2 and have most of the prep work done by Dec. 23.
The Red Wings and Maple Leafs are each expected to get two hours of practice time Dec. 31 on the stadium's ice.
Both the Winter Classic and alumni games will be televised; NBC and Canada's Rogers Cable have partnered to broadcast the Jan. 1 spectacle. And there are 23 corporate brands expected to sponsor the vent.
"This is our Super Bowl," said Don Renzulli, the NHL's executive vice president of events.
Collins said the Winter Classic and its affiliated events are part of the NHL's goal to make professional hockey in the U.S. and Canada become a $4 billion business over the next three years. He mentioned the NHL being valued at $2.2 billion in 2006.
The Winter Festival's two alumni games in Detroit will be held Dec. 31 at the Tigers' home. Tickets are good for both games and can be found on Ticketmaster's website.
For a complete schedule of Winter Classic and Winter Festival-related events in Ann Arbor and Detroit, check out the Red Wings' website.


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January 2011
2011 List of 12
Happy New Year!
I probably should've done this much sooner after the season ended, but no time like the present… without further delay, here is the 2011 List of 12!
For those of you who don't know what it is, or how we pick it, check out the posts from last year or 2009, which explain it pretty well. This year, we have 15 pitchers to choose from, in alphabetical order:
Blackburn, Nick –
He posted two decent seasons in 2008 and 2009 but could not repeat the effort
again last year as his K/9 dropped to a pitiful 3.8. No matter how good his
ground ball rate, or how favorable his home ballpark, a starting pitcher simply
cannot earn fantasy value with so few strikeouts.
Cueto, Johnny –
He faded badly after a great start in 2008, and didn't appear to step forward
much in 2009. The strikeout rate dipped a little further in 2010, but he cut
the walks and got some better luck on the homer ratio, and voila, his ERA
dropped over three-quarters of a run. I'm not convinced he'll be a stud, but he's
growing into a solid mid-rotation starter.
Dickey, R.A. –
One of the biggest surprises of 2010, Dickey finally qualified for his first
ERA title after spending parts of seven other seasons in the Majors.
Breakthrough or fluke? He kept the walks low, got plenty of grounders and wasn't
hurt by the longball, though his strikeout rate was barely serviceable. The
same formula would make him a solid end-of-rotation risk in 2011, but he's no
sure thing.
Feldman, Scott –
Not dissimilar to Blackburn, with a few more strikeouts, but a few more walks,
fewer grounders and a much less forgiving home ballpark. Pitch or Ditch
material at best.
Gallardo, Yovani (below) –
Cons: Stalled around 185 innings for the second straight year, and still gives
up a few too many walks. Pros: Dominant strikeout rates coupled with major improvement
in command, and solid home run rates despite ordinary ground ball rates. With
health and better defensive support he could have a breakout season, and oh
yeah, he only turns 25 in February!
Gorzelanny, Tom –
Posted an up-and-down season, including a stint in the bullpen, but finished
with his best season since his 2007 campaign in Pittsburgh. The walk rate
spiked 50% from 2009, but I'm expecting improvement there based on what he did
in 2007, 2009, and in the minors, and he's not terribly homer-prone despite an
ordinary ground ball rate. A sneaky sleeper for 2011.
Hammel, Jason – Maintained
solid strikeout rates all season, and was dominant in a five-start stretch
throughout late May and into June, but otherwise very ordinary. His K/BB rate is
encouraging, but the ground ball and homer rates hold him back. Still, a solid
mid-rotation starter whose strong strikeouts give him decent upside.
Johnson, Josh –
Just missed this list last year, but earned a nod as a major breakout candidate,
and he did just that despite missing a few late-season starts. Even if he "slips"
back to his 2009 level, he's entered the soft ace category and will move into the
elite with another season like 2010. Still, the disconnect between his ground
ball and homer rates, combined with the Marlins' mediocre team defense, suggest
more of the former than the latter.
Jurrjens, Jair –
He essentially repeated his 2009 season, minus the BABIP good luck and health. His
true level is probably an ERA in the upper 3's, making him a useful
end-of-rotation option but not an ace by any measure.
Lannan, John –
Pros: He's from Long Beach, NY, not far from the home of our own Mike Siano. Cons: His
strikeout rate makes him the left-handed NL version of Nick Blackburn. Sorry, that's
not intended as high praise.
Liriano, Francisco
(right) – Despite a 5.80 ERA in 2009, he carried a huge buzz into drafts last season
thanks to a monster winter league campaign, and didn't disappoint. Most
importantly, he stayed healthy enough to make 31 starts, just missing 200
innings, and returned his walk and ground ball rates near the levels of his
2006 breakout. He turned 27 this winter and pitches in a very favorable home
park, so expect another big step towards stardom this year.
Marcum, Shaun – A
draft-day afterthought after missing all but five minor league starts in 2009
while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Marcum was one of the biggest
surprises of 2010, posting strong numbers while going wire-to-wire in the brutal
AL East. The only major flaw on his resume was a weak ground ball rate and a
correspondingly poor homer rate, but moving to the NL Central should help
address those concerns. At 29 he's a little old to be considered a breakout candidate,
but if healthy he should easily match or could even improve upon his strong 2009
Matsuzaka, Daisuke
– Four full seasons and nearly 600 innings of gut-wrenching, nauseating roller
coaster rides prove he's definitely not one for the squeamish. The strikeout rates make him awfully tempting, and with his
stuff, he could dominate if he ever decides to challenge hitters and throw more
strikes. But it's best to not watch.
Pelfrey, Mike –
Throw out a brutal seven-start summer stretch in which his strikeouts utterly evaporated, and Big Pelf acquitted himself nicely as a solid mid-rotation
starter in 2010. However, his overall numbers don't show any real growth over the
last three seasons, so this is probably as good as it gets. Not that an ERA in
the high 3's is bad, but he's not someone to target.
Sanchez, Jonathan
(right) – Siano's pet pitcher finally makes the list! He threw a no-hitter last
year and has dropped his ERA nearly two full runs over the past two seasons,
despite a dip in his groundball rates and no meaningful improvement in his walk
rates. With an improved offense and a strong defense behind him in a great pitchers' park,
Sanchez should be at least be a solid #3 this season, but without cutting his
walk rate from the mid-4's at least to the mid-3's, he could see his ERA
stagnate in the mid 3's.
So, to summarize, here's how
I rank them for 2011:
1. Johnson,
2. Liriano,
Francisco (by a nose over Gallardo)
3. Gallardo,
4. Sanchez,
5. Cueto,
Johnny (edges out Marcum on youth and upside)
6. Marcum,
7. Hammel,
8. Jurrjens,
9. Gorzelanny,
10. Pelfrey, Mike
11. Matsuzaka, Daisuke
12. Dickey, R.A.
13. Lannan, John
14. Blackburn, Nick
Feldman, Scott
mentioned above, we pointed out Johnson last year as a top
"near-miss" from the list, and this year's list of close calls is
particularly intriguing. While none of these five pitchers have the 500 career
innings we use for the List of 12 cutoff, all are close enough, and trending in
the right direction, to be excellent choices for this season: Dallas Braden (473.1
career IP), Clayton Kershaw (483.0), Hiroki Kuroda (497.0 IP),
Anibal Sanchez (477.0) and C.J. Wilson (484.2).


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MINNEAPOLIS -- One of Sen. John McCain's fellow prisoners of war spoke this morning to the Alabama Republican delegation and remembered fondly their arrival in Montgomery on March 14, 1973, after their release.
"Thank you for the great reception y'all gave us there," said Col. Lee Ellis of Georgia, a retired Air Force colonel who was captured 11 days after McCain in 1967 during the Vietnam War.
Ellis said Maxwell Air Force Base was the first U.S. soil they touched on their return home, and Ellis would later be stationed there from 1982-86.
Alabama Republicans need no convincing of McCain's qualifications for the presidency, but Ellis testified about McCain's character as a well-known POW and son of an admiral who rejected an offer to be released ahead of others.
"He made probably one of the toughest decisions anybody could make," Ellis said. "He said, 'No, I'm not participating in your propaganda."
Ellis said it was an example of McCain putting the country ahead of himself, echoing a theme of the McCain campaign and the strategy by the Republicans to shorten their convention agenda because of the threat of Hurricane Gustav.
"What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a man who makes the right choices under the most difficult circumstances. He chooses what's right rather than what feels good, what looks good and what would be to his own benefit," Ellis said.
Alabama Republicans will attend the abbreviated convention this afternoon, but are also monitoring Gustav.


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Originally posted August 22
From Slashdot, (hat tip MediaGirl):
rev_media writes to tell us that CNN has a few updates to the Real ID act currently facing legislators. The Real ID acts mandates all states to begin issuing federal IDs to all citizens by 2008. Costs could be as much at $14 billion, but only 40 million are currently allocated. Several states have passed legislation expressly forbidding participation in the program, while others seem to be all for it. The IDs will be required for access to all federal areas including flights, state parks and federal buildings. People in states refusing to comply will need to show passports even for domestic flights.
So yeah. Internal passports (along with exit visas) are the very mark of the beast. At the point where you have to show internal papers you are no longer living in the land of the free.
I find this all very interesting because there are majorities for universal healthcare and for abortion on demand, and have been for ages – yet there has been no action on either of these things. There is a majority for getting out of Iraq yet every nominee who stands a chance of being the President with the exception of Richardson won't rule out "residual forces" – just as American legislators won't do what the majority wants, yet there seems to be this bipartisan consensus for spying on Americans (there was no public outcry for the FISA changes); for torture; for ending habeas corpus; and for internal passports and a computer system which will tell you if you can work or not and which you won't be able to fully appeal the damages of false positives to the court system (this restriction of the courts right to try cases is becoming more and more common.)
The only conclusion one can come to anymore is that the US is no longer a functioning democracy. The elites in the country are doing what they want to do no matter what the majority opinion. If the opinion is far too far against them, well, they will use propaganda (the 70% of Americans who believed Iraq was behind 9/11) and they expect (indeed, they know from repeated experience) that the media will propagate their propaganda and not challenge it. Indeed, when 5 media conglomerates control about 80% of all media, it would be surprising if it were otherwise.
More After the Jump
The US is an oligarchy and it acts like one. Hourly wages for non supervisory employees haven't gone up in 30 years but the proportion of national income for the top 1% has soared. The majority of all gains from the last expansion went to the rich. Bonuses on Wall Street last year were equal to the raises of 80 million ordinary Americans. When the housing bubble started crashing last year there was no bailout, but when hedge fund millionaires started hurting the Fed rushed in (might not work, but they're at least trying).
There was a class war in the US. The rich won it and their employees in government are working for the people who pay them (when you have to raise $10,000 a week as a House Representative, who do you think gives it to you? Think they're doing it out of the goodness of their hearts? Don't make me puke.)
However, the forms still remain. Despite thumbs on the scale, and despite some electoral problems, it is still possible for Americans to toss the bums out. Failure to do so will reap the entirely predictable and expected result of a continuation of the trend until a Depression hits. Then… you might get FDR… or you may get someone much nastier, and with it lose even the pretense of Democracy.
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I bribed my children with McDonalds.
In 2007 my General Practitioner advised me have a mammogram as a baseline appointment. "Just to know what your normal is." So I did. I went had my first mammogram, feeling a bit nervous - but understanding that this is a just fact of life. Done.
In 2008 I scheduled myself for another mammogram.
Let me stop here to share two miracles here.
1. I forgot that my 2007 appointment was simply a baseline; there really was no need for me to have another mammogram until I was 40 which would be in another 2 years.
And 2. When I went to the appointment I said I "lost" my script (I never had one) and surprisingly that my insurance accepted it!
So on a bright October afternoon (that is long time for me to go without deodorant - first of all) I am with my 3 children (ages 12, 6, and 3) in a pink room undressing while they fill their faces with Hershey Kisses with caramel taken from the receptionist's desk. I say, "Stay here, low voices, be good - and we will go to McDonald's afterwards it should not be long and pick up all these pink foil candy wrappers."
One month later, after a pretty intense breast biopsy, they had detected quite a bit of precancerous cells.
2008 - I bring in the New Year by undergoing a single mastectomy. By the Fall I am back to work and in school again - like nothing happened. Done.
And for awhile that is what I thought - over and done with. I went to visit my oncologist once - but when I was prescribed a medicine that was thought to be depleting my white cells count. I tossed the medicine and never went back. Why? I thought - I am not undergoing chemotherapy my lymph nodes are negative; I did not have the gene, why go? I compared it seeing a prenatal doctor when I was not pregnant. I did not get the point.
I shared this small-minded point of view with my ever vigilant GP. She took a sigh and looked at me and said, "You know you need to look at this not like a stage .but a condition."
I made an appointment with my oncologist right there - a little over a year after I tossed the pills.
Ironically this low white cell count has been a bigger deal than what I thought. After months of going to my bi-monthly blood draw for them to tell me that there is no change and beginning to feel like Norm from Cheers at the doctor's office (where everyone knows your name). I was told a week ago that I would have to undergo a bone marrow biopsy. Hmm not so done.
A friend of mine said that I was in remission. And I was what remission? I am not in remission. I never thought of myself in remission - it was such a "cancer" word. I did not want to join groups, collect pink lids, wear warrior t-shirts, or race for a cure I just want to live my life like it never happened.
But it did a fact I am reminded of daily when I shower, look at my myself naked, decide what to wear, and push back the low cut front dress that I will not be wearing anytime soon, and when I curse myself for misplacing my breast prosthesis (it happens). The long clean slight line on my chest tells me that it happened and it is real. It is taking time for me to embrace this - because I did not want to. Yet with this recent development, I realized that it is NEVER over.
But I do not live with regret, anger or sadness. I live in gratefulness - for my family and friends the new one I made on Facebook whose story has much more bravery and strength that I can ever imagine. I am grateful for the nurses who apologize each time they have a stick yet another needle into my arm - like it is their fault, and for my only daughter (whose life I truly want to fight for) who no-nonsense attitude which typically gets on my last nerve was actually refreshing when I realized could not have the reconstructive surgery as soon as I wanted. "Why Mom? You are fine." I am even grateful of all the e-mails that fill my mailbox everyday from Army of Women, Susan J. Komen, The Scar Project, The American Cancer Association, and the Keep a Breast Foundation (aka I love boobies).
I can start by living my life honestly and to say to admit with pride and a slight lump in my throat that I am a Cancer Survivor. There, I admitted it.


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So how sweet is it that the "Nature" episode titled "Why We Love Cats and Dogs" airs on Barkus night? (7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, WYES-Channel 12.)
The episode tracks pet-owners and a slew of researchers - including a dog behaviorist, an evolutionary biologist and a veterinarian - in search of the sometimes-mysterious, sometimes-silly connections we make with the likes of Molly and her lesser canine and feline friends.
"I spent an enormous amount of time talking with experts about whether or not we've gone too far in the way that we deal with our animals, and do we turn them into furry humans, and do we really treat them like the creatures that they are instead of sort of projecting onto them some kind of human qualities and treating them that way?" said filmmaker Ellen Goosenberg Kent, during the January TV Tour in Los Angeles. "The truth is, they aren't like us, even though they do share a lot of our qualities. And in the film, we talk about the fact that research shows that dogs and cats do share our emotions in some significant ways.
"One of the things I learned is that dogs and cats thrive on challenge. So some of the things that I initially went into the film thinking might be unfair -- competition of different kinds, sporting events that animals take part in -- those are actually often beneficial for the animals.
"But then there are a whole host of other things that have to do, dressing animals up and other kinds of things -- clearly if you look them in the eye, you know that they're not enjoying it. So I think you have to be as empathetic to them as they can be to us."


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It was a beautiful weekend.
I shot a 44 for nine holes this morning. (I also played Friday, but stopped counting after I hit 50.)
Things can change. But will Penn State???
According to Chris Korman of the Patriot,
The Nittany Lions are an elite defensive team.
With an offense capable of squandering every chance to score.
That was the basic lesson of yesterday's annual coaches' clinic scrimmage, which might be a fair indicator and might not be.
There were no blitzes or extra defensive backs allowed, and the offense stuck to its rudimentary plays. No need for the joke about how all of Penn State's plays are rudimentary.
Yet, it took Morelli a year to handle this rudimentary system. I guess that comes with a rudimentary coach.
For the most part, Chris tried to point out the positives, and balances with some cautions. He noted that Morelli was jittery and missed some open receivers. (He's not used to seeing open receivers.)
But according to Sam Ross, Jr. of the Tribune-Review, this is the "same old team."
The first-team offense, going against the first defense in the tone-setting opening portion of scrimmaging, managed a procedure penalty and a Tony Hunt fumble in the first four plays.
Quarterback Michael Robinson did have some nice throws during the course of the day, including a 17-yard touchdown on a diving catch by Ethan Kilmer, one of those athletic defenders getting a look on offense this year.
Morelli also had two fumbles on center exchanges. But the exaggerated gesturing by Paterno and the subsequent removal of A. Q. Shipley, a defensive tackle taking a shot at center, suggested the coach wasn't blaming his sophomore quarterback.
I don't want to read too much into this--it is spring after all. But when was the last time we had a great center??? Why wasn't this a recruiting priority? Our back-up for Smith is a defensive player? Even if EZ didn't get into trouble, he is a senior and we'd still need a center next year.
I really want to find some hope in all this, but the more I hear, the more I fear.
A reader, who writes for another site, wrote me with this unconfirmed tidbit:
one of the h.s. coaches at the coaches clinic yesterday noticed some dissent on the way to teach/practice offensive line play among the PSU staff...given that there are two coaches for the one unit that has underachieved the most during this five year 'run' i thought it worthy of notice.
Yep. Things are really looking bright . . . like when you're in a tunnel and there's a freight train coming the other direction.
At least the defense--and the weather--is great!


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Discuss and debate new thinking with like-minded individuals in an informal and relaxed environment.
Catholic priests and their talented parishioners hope music will be the icebreaker this weekend when they hold two nights of fundraising at Middlesbrough Theatre.
They will be 'Rocking in the Aisles' for the 16th time in a night of music and entertainment in aid of Middlesbrough Catholic Fellowship for those with additional needs.
In an event that has become a fixture in the calendar since its inception in 1996, rocking priests from the Diocese of Middlesbrough will be led by folk act, the Chancey Brothers, comprising Canon Eddie Gubbins, Fr Pat Keogh, Fr Pat Hartnett and Rev Pat Thomas.
Rev Len Collins, deacon at Middlesbrough Cathedral and chaplain at James Cook University Hospital, will star in a Neil Diamond tribute act, while Fr Paul Farrer will lead The Scratch Band.
Children from Spotlight School of Performing Arts in Middlesbrough and Redcar will take to the stage, along with local mystery magician, The Great Eamondo.
There will also be songs from the shows by talented 14-year-old Alanis Beckett, from Bridlington, the recent winner of Pope Idol, the annual talent contest run by Middlesbrough Diocesan Youth Service.
Rocking in the Aisles has proved a great success over the years with local priests and young people giving their time free of charge and the local community responding in great numbers.
Fr Paul Farrer, who has organised the event with the Diocesan Youth Mission Team, said: "It is great to have such a talented group of people who are willing to give their time year on year.
"But this year, for the first time, tickets have sold only slowly so far, so I'd ask anyone out there to please come along, support a great local cause and have a memorable night out.
"I know this is a difficult time economically, but we should never forget how much good we can do when we get together to support events like this. Now, more than ever, we need to stick together as an area, as a town and as a community."
Performances take place on the evenings of Friday April 27 and Saturday April 28. Tickets, priced £8.50 each or £28 for a Family Ticket (2 Adults, 2 Children), are available from the theatre by calling 01642 81 51 81, Mission House on 01642 822056 or Chris Tillotson on 01642 324043.


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1789 US Colonial New France 2Sou Countermark ToB Tobago
Click thumbnails for expanded view.
- $297.61
- Quantity Available: 1
1789 US Colonial New France 2Sou Countermark ToB Tobago
1789 US Colonial New France 2 Sou Copper coin countermarked counterstamped ToB Tobago French West Indies
The host coin is low grade but the countermark is strong. These coins are evaluated, graded by the countermark, not the undertype.
These coins circulated in the 13 US Colonies with the rum trade between the Colonies and the West Indies.
Also, the British and French merchant marine ships traded with the West Indies AND the 13 Colonies
Vlack #442 on page 154 of An Illustrated Catalogue of the French Billon Coinage In the Americas. Listed by Robert Vlack as a Rarity-2.
Research indicates that very few New France countermarked Colonial coins, intended for trade with the Americas, have surfaced for sale at numismatic auction houses. A collection comes up for sale once every 10 or 20 years, literally.
Extremely undervalued, in my humble opinion.
Satisfaction guaranteed.
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Item Details:
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The same can probably be said for how we act in everyday life: Always act in such a way that you would get along with yourself. Continue reading
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How to lie by saying true things. Continue reading
Today I had one of those blinding insights again! Suddenly everything made sense, it clicked. What a fantastic feeling when everything simply falls into place.
I am sure you've had this kind of insight and more often than not their magic wears of all too quickly. I forget, my habits get the better of me, I prioritize other things, and before I know it my great understanding slips through my fingers. Continue reading
Recently I came across Gretchen Rubin's Manifesto on her blog The Happiness Project and it struck a chord with me.
Wouldn't it be great if people had constitutions like states or manifestos like movements? A list of short guidelines that neatly encapsulate who you want to be as a person, how you want to act and what values you want to uphold. Continue reading
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At the center of "No Boundary: Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth" lies Ken Wilber's idea that we draw boundaries where none exist in reality and that these boundaries lead us into internal and external conflict; that the "map is not the territory" and we tend to create a map of opposites.
At 140 pages the book is nice and short, and quite unlike Ken Wilber is highly readable. In it he shows a path of how we may release these boundaries to gain equanimity and enlightenment. Continue reading
Self-discipline hasn't been my strength in the past, especially when it comes to food. In the process of writing another blog post on feeling OK in any setting I wondered how I would cope with not eating for a while.
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What is in this article?:
- 6 Raising corn is more of a gamble than playing blackjack.
- 7 The Amazon rainforest is not being cut down for soybean production.
- 8 Nearly all Midwest farmers have access to high-accuracy guidance networks.
- 9 More GPS brownouts are ahead.
- 10 Corn borer populations are rapidly shrinking in the Midwest.
- 11 Integrated pest management (IPM) isn't dead but evolving.
- 12 Glyphosate is applied too late.
- 13 Adding autoswath control to a sprayer saves 5 to 17% in applied product.
- 14 Assisted steering systems are no-brainers for return on investment.
- 15 It takes less fossil energy to produce ethanol than it takes to produce gasoline.
- 16 Ethanol does not take food away from people in developing countries.
- 17 Ethanol is not a water hog.
- 18 Livestock farmers are losing control of their animals.
- 19 Beef packs more nutrients into one 3-oz. serving than chicken does.
- 20 Small farms are not necessarily the most environmentally friendly option.
More About:
Corn borer populations are rapidly shrinking in the Midwest.
CORN BORER populations in the Midwest are very low, according to Michael Gray, extension entomologist, University of Illinois. He credits this to the high use of Bt corn hybrids. However, he doesn't expect the corn pests to become extinct.
"The European corn borer has a wide range of hosts on which to feed," Gray says. "The corn rootworm has a narrower range of hosts, but those hosts include other grasses such as foxtail. So I expect these pests to remain in the landscape, only at lower levels. But they won't become extinct." — Mark Moore


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BATON ROUGE -- The celebration relatively was tame, the surest sign that the LSU Tigers aren't close to achieving the goal they have in mind.
Obviously, winning the Baton Rouge Regional, the last of their three victories being a 6-5, 10-inning victory over Oregon State on Sunday night at Alex Box Stadium, was sweet for the Tigers (46-16), who didn't advance to the NCAA Tournament last season.
Catcher Ty Ross and right fielder Alex Edward sandwiched a pair of doubles around Grant Dozar's strikeout in the ninth to score pinch-runner Jared Foster, and shortstop Austin Nola drew a walk, advanced to third on JaCoby Jones' double and scored on a wild pitch by Dylan Davis to provide the winning run in the top of the 10th.
But if anyone was expecting much more than congratulatory high-fives among the Tigers, they were mistaken.
A riveting rally was capped by a businesslike postgame response. The Tigers want - expect - more than a regional win and success in the Super Regional this week. And if they continue to show the kind of grit displayed Sunday, there's not much reason to expect they won't get it.
Credit Oregon State for pushing LSU to overtime, and for almost forcing the Tigers to play today to decide who would emerge from the regional. The Beavers rallied from a 3-0 deficit when they easily could've balled up in a fetal position, labeled their season successful and slinked away with a thrashing.
The major blow of LSU's three-run first was Raph Rhymes' two-run homer off Taylor Star, enough to chase Starr after one-third of an inning.
But Scott Schultz came on in relief and assured that the Tigers wouldn't have much more success than that over the next 8 2/3 innings, striking out nine and allowing just one earned run during that time.
The problem was that he and his teammates pretty much needed perfection. And LSU wouldn't allow that, not given an opportunity to win the regional with a three-game sweep and make today an off day.
He Tigers pulled to within 5-4 by scratching across a run in the top of the seventh, then turned on the late-game heroics to end Oregon State's season.
Sure, some will label it Alex Box Stadium magic. The Tigers, after all, draw strength from their rowdy home crowds, who proudly can be called the most vocal in college baseball.
But to call it magic would be to shortchange the hard work involved.
It's not all "poof" and smoke when a team grinds out quality at-bats late in the game; LSU's final three hits were doubles, two by players who entered the game with five doubles (Ross) and one (Edward) for the season.
It's not mirrors when the final pitcher of the game, Nick Goody, strikes out the side in the bottom of the 10th, Ryan Barnes and Kavin Keyes swinging and Ryan Gorton looking.
It's a between-the-ears thing, a confidence thing, a belief that the game isn't over until you have at least one more run than the other team thing.
So the Tigers now get to watch and see whom their opponent will be. They get to take a day of rest, save their arms and legs and bats, and prepare to entertain another opponent en route to what they hope and expect will be a trip to the College World Series.
By most measures, the celebration was somewhat muted.
Obviously, because there's more work to be done. Because the Tigers certainly expect their seasons to be about more than winning regionals, and even Super Regionals.


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How to Fix a Slow Drain
Having a slow drain is an ongoing nuisance. Once you have a slow drain, until the issue is properly
addressed, the problem will only get worse over time. If you ignore the problem long enough, you will end up with
a clogged drain. When you have a clogged drain, you have to drop what you are doing and fix the problem or call
a professional plumber. A professional plumber will do a great job for you, but having them clear your clogged drain
is going to cost you.
A slow drain occurs when enough debris accumulates in a drainage pipe that it starts to choke off the pipe and restrict the flow of water. The problem will tend to get worse over time because the drainage pipes will accumulate more and more debris until the material restricting the flow of water is removed.
Dealing with a slow drain first involves clearing the obstruction in the drainage pipe. Once that is done, you should start doing some preventative maintenance so that your drainage pipes keep flowing smoothly.
Disclaimer: I am not a professional plumber, just a guy who has used different methods for fixing slow drains and wants to share his successes. The methods should be safe, but use them at your own risk.


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Investigator Claims Whitney Houston Was Murdered
A private investigator is claiming Whitney Houston didn't die of an overdose or drowning—she was murdered.
Gumshoe Paul Huebl claims he has Houston's killers on tape and is turning the footage over to the FBI: "I have evidence that points to Whitney being a victim of a high-powered drug dealers who sent thugs to collect a huge debt she owed for drugs," he told The National Enquirer, in an interview coming out Thursday.
Huebl points to two unknown men who kept showing up at the Beverly Hills Hilton, where Houston was staying, and blending in with her group of hangers on.
The day before her death Whitney received a cocaine delivery but was later heard to say, "I'm tired of this shit." The PI says she was referring to being tired of harassed to pay her drug debt, which had reached $1.5 million.
Huebl maintains one or both of the men entered Houston's room during the 45-minute period she was left alone on the evening of February 11.
He also refutes the coroner's verdict that there was no foul play involved in the icon's demise: "Whitney's body shows classic defense wounds that would have occurred while she was battling for her life," Huebl told the Enquirer.
Source: Radar Online
If you get a chance, watch the reality series from the money grubbing family of Ms. Houston. Campier than The Anna Nicole Show and Valley of the Dolls put together.
Plus it reminds me of my daze of quaaludes.
And by killing the crack head they accomplished exactly what? Certainly didn't help as far as the 1.5 million claim of debt.
Let's move along. She had a lethal amount of cocaine in her system "administered shortly before her death", an unhealthy (although prescribed) amount of Xanax for her size, marijuana, a plethora of cigarette butts near her, alcohol, benedryl and other over the counter meds. It was a suicide. Maybe she just didn't plan for it to happen at that exact moment.
@Jack E. Jett: There was a backstage snippet with Vicky Winans, Cissy, Dionne Warwick and Roberta Flack. Vicky, Cissy and Dionne had that "crack voice" and Vicky was sweating profusely.
An investigator has claimed that he has the video evidence to prove that Whitney Houston did not die of a drug overdose but was killed by drug.
Paul Huebl told the National Enquirer he has turned over evidence to the FBI that shows the 48-year-old singer was killed over a drug.
The Whitster said….."crack is whack" and that she was "too rich" to do it.
Are you saying that a music star lied about drug use????????? I just can't believe
@WayDifferent: That is what makes the show so great. The entire family is a group of Lil Whitney's. ….All fucked up on something and it is clear they are using the money from this show to by more of their drug of choice.
Bobby Christina……..that chick lives in her own world…..she IS Anna Nicole.


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Last night I dreamed that I had four days to get off book for a show that I didn't even remember auditioning for - a hybrid of The Sound of Music, Green Acres, and Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas that was supposedly set to run between my current show - Spirits of Suspicion - and my March show, All in the Timing.
You see, that's the kind of thing I have to look forward to when I fall asleep.
However, these are the kind of things I have to look forward to when I wake up:
- Breakfast.
- Giving you the lowdown on the SSF production of Hamlet
- Chatting about the Gifford Family Theatre benefit on Saturday night
- Crashing The Wit's End auditions for Sweeney Todd this week (though I suppose it's not considered crashing if you asked permission in advance)
- Further prom-style planning of SALT fashion options - and no, it's never too early, especially if you're doing a little hand-crafting...
We'll talk more later, but for now...