text:
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
The Future That Wasn't, Part One:
I'd planned to devote this week's Archdruid Report post to the fine and practical art of composting, and for good reason. It's one of the most important and least regarded techniques in the ecotechnic toolkit, and it's also a near-perfect model for the way that today's mindlessly linear conversion of resources to waste can be brought back around in a circle, like the legendary ouroboros-snake that swallows its own tail, to become the sustainable resource flows of the human ecologies of the future.
Still, that profoundly worthwhile topic will have to wait a while. Even the most mercenary writer is now and then at the mercy of his muse, held hostage by some awkwardly timed bit of inspiration that elbows other projects aside, and I think that most of us who write for a living learn sooner or later to put up with the interruption and write out what has to be written. If this sudden veering from the pragmatic issues central to the last few posts needs a justification, that's the only one I have to offer.
Well, maybe not quite the only one. The holiday season now lurching past is not a time I particularly enjoy. Our solstice ceremony a few days back was a bright spot, mind you; midsummer is a more significant occasion in my Druid faith, but it's as pleasant as it is moving to gather with local Druids in the circle of the sacred grove to light the winter solstice fire and celebrate the rebirth of the sun in the depths of winter. Nor do I find anything in the least offensive in the Christian celebrations of the season. As human beings, we're all far enough from the luminous center of things that we have to take meaning where we can find it; if someone can grasp the eternal renewal of spirit in darkness through the symbol of the midwinter birth of Jesus of Nazareth, I can't find it in myself to object. From my perspective, though not from theirs, of course, we're celebrating the same thing.
Nor, for that matter, do I turn Scroogelike at the thought of gifts, big dinners, and too much brandy in the egg nog. I can't think of a human culture in the northern temperate zone that hasn't found some reason to fling down life's gauntlet in the face of winter with a grand party. Whether it's the Saturnalia of the ancient Romans, when cold grim Saturn turns back just for a moment into the generous king of the Golden Age, or the Hamatsa winter dances of the Kwakiutl nation of Canada's Pacific coast, when the cannibal giant Baxbakualanooksiwae, "Eater of Men at the River Mouth," is revealed as the source of mighty spiritual gifts, this sort of celebration reflects a profound set of realities about our life in the world. Besides, I'm fond of brandy, and egg nog, and a good party now and then, too.
No, what makes the midwinter holidays a less than rapturous time for me is the spectacle of seeing the things I've just listed redefined as artificial stimulants for a dysfunctional economy supported by nothing so straightforward as honest smoke and mirrors. When front page news stories about Christmas center on whether consumer spending this holiday season will provide enough of an amphetamine fix to keep our speed-freak economic system zooming along, I start wishing that Baxbakualanooksiwae and his four gigantic man-eating birds would consider adding corporate vice-presidents and media flacks to their holiday menu. And that, dear readers, is what sent me for refuge to Oswald Spengler. A mild depression can be treated with Ogden Nash poems and Shakespeare comedies, but when things get really grim it's time for the hair of the dog; the same effect that leaves the soul feeling oddly lighter after taking in a Greek tragedy, or listening to an entire album of really blue blues, hits a history geek like myself after a chapter or two of Der Untergang des Abendlandes.
I insist on the German title, by the way. The splendor of Germany's literature and the curse on its history come from the same source, the brilliant but sometimes misleading way the German language naturally expresses abstract ideas in concrete, sensuous terms. Untergang, which gets turned in English into the anemic Latinism "decline," is literally "going under," and calls to mind inevitably the last struggles of the drowning and the irrevocable descent of the sun below the western horizon. Abendland, the German for "the West," is literally "the evening land," the land toward sunset. Put them together and the result could be turned into a crisp line of iambic pentameter by an English poet – "the sunset-drowning of the evening lands" – but there's no way an English language book on the philosophy of history could survive a title like that. In German, by contrast, it's inevitable, and for Oswald Spengler, it's perfect.
Spengler has been poorly treated in recent writings on the decline and fall of civilizations. Joseph Tainter's The Collapse of Compex Societies, for example, takes him to task for not providing a scientific account of the causes of societal collapse, which is a little like berating Michelangelo for not including accurate astrophysics in his frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Spengler was not a scientist and never pretended to be one. He was a philosopher of history; in some ways, really, he was an artist who took the philosophy of history for his medium in place of paint or music. This does not make his contributions to our understanding of history less relevant. It's only in the imagination of the most fundamentalist kinds of scientific materialism that scientific meaning is the only kind of meaning that there is. In dealing with human behavior, above all, a sonnet, a story, or a philosophical treatise can prove a better anticipation of the flow of events than any scientific analysis – and the decline and fall of our present civilization, or any other, is preeminently a story about human behavior.
Tainter's critique also fails in that Spengler was not even talking about the fall of civilizations. What interested him was the origin and fate of cultures, and he didn't mean this term in the anthropological sense. In his view, a culture is a overall way of looking at the world with its own distinct expressions in religious, philosophical, artistic, and social terms. For him, all the societies of the "evening lands" – that is, all of western Europe from roughly 1000 CE on, and the nations of the European diaspora in the Americas and Australasia – comprise a single culture, which he terms the Faustian. Ancestral to the Faustian culture in one sense, and its polar opposite in another, is the Apollinian culture of the classic Mediterranean world, from Homeric Greece to the early Roman empire; ancestral to the Faustian culture in a different sense, and parallell to it in another, is the Magian culture, which had its origins in Zoroastrian Persia, absorbed the Roman Empire during its later phases, and survives to this day as the Muslim civilization of the Middle East. Other Spenglerian cultures are the Egyptian, the Chinese, the Mesopotamian, and the two great New World centers of civilization, the Mexican-Aztec and the Andean-Incan.
Talking about the rise and fall of a culture in Spengler's sense, then, isn't a matter of tracing shifts in political or economic arrangements. It's about the birth, flowering, and death of a distinctive way of grasping the nature of human existence, and everything that unfolds from that – which, in human terms, is just about everything that matters. The Apollinian culture, for example, rose out of the chaotic aftermath of the Minoan-Mycenean collapse with a unique vision of humanity and the world rooted in the experience of the Greek polis, the independent self-governing community in which everything important was decided by social process. Greek theology envisioned a polis of gods, Greek physics a polis of fundamental elements, Greek ethics a polis of virtues, and so on down the list of cultural creations. Projected around the Mediterranean basin first by Greek colonialism, then by Alexander's conquests, and finally by the expansion of Rome, it became the worldview and the cultural inspiration of one of the world's great civilizations.
That, according to Spengler, was also its epitaph. A culture, any culture, embodies a particular range of human possibility, and like everything else, it suffers from the law of diminishing returns. Sooner or later, everything that can be done from within the worldview of a culture – everything religious, philosophical, intellectual, artistic, social, political, you name it – has basically been done, and the culture fossilizes into a civilization. Thereafter the same things get repeated over and over again in endless combinations; disaffected intellectuals no longer capable of creativity settle for mere novelty or, worse still, simple shock value; artistic and intellectual traditions from other cultures get imported to fill the widening void; technology progresses in a kind of mechanical forward lurch until the social structures capable of supporting it fall away from underneath it. Sooner or later, the civilization falls apart, basically, because nobody actually believes in it any more.
What made this prophecy a live issue in Spengler's time was that he placed the twilight of Western culture and the beginning of its mummification into Western civilization in the decades right after 1800. Around then, he argued, the vitality of the cultural forms that took shape in western Europe around 1000 began trickling away in earnest. By then, in his view, the Western world's religions had already begun to mummify into the empty repetition of older forms; its art, music, and literature lost their way in the decades that followed; its political forms launched into the fatal march toward gigantism that leads to empire and, in time, to empire's fall; only its science and technology, like the sciences and technologies of previous cultures, continued blindly on its way, placing ever more gargantuan means in the service of ever more impoverished ends.
Exactly how the Faustian culture would metastasize into a future Faustian civilization he did not try to predict, but one element of the transition seemed certain enough to find its way into his book. The society that would play Rome to Europe's Greece, he suggested, was none other than the United States of America. In the brash architecture of American skyscrapers and the casual gesture that flung an army across the Atlantic to save France and England from defeat in the last years of the First World War, he thought he saw the swagger of incipient Caesarism, the rise of the empire that would become Faustian culture's final achievement and its tomb.
It was a common belief at that time. Interestingly enough, it also shaped the thought of Spengler's counterpart and rival, the British historian Arnold Toynbee, whose ten-volume A Study of History stands like hoplites in a Greek phalanx not far from the couch where Spengler and multiple cups of good oolong offered some consolation for the wretched orgy of economic excess and hallucinated well-being playing itself out outside my windows. For Toynbee, who shared Spengler's cyclical theory of history but rejected all his philosophy and most of his conclusions, the natural next step in the unfolding of history was the transition from a time of troubles to a planetary empire, and like many English intellectuals in the twilight of the British Empire, he expected an alliance between the United States and the British Commonwealth to become the seed of that empire-to-be.
As it turns out, though, this plausible and widely held belief was quite incorrect, and the actions taken by three generations of politicians and intellectuals in response to that belief are all too likely to play out with disastrous results in the fairly near future. We'll discuss that in next week's post.
30 comments:
- michael gorsuch said...
Cheers, John, and a peaceful new year to you!
I've been following this blog for over a year now, and have found your reasoning inspiring.
As the new year approaches, my wife and I will begin our plan for building a small container garden outside of our tiny Brooklyn apartment. We will be working towards understanding the basics of the nutrient cycle, and even plan to build a small vermiculture bin behind our building.
Beyond that, we've put together a 4 year plan to leave Brooklyn and move back to our original community in the midwest. We came here for business, but the value of a strong community has become obvious to us. I met up with an old friend over my holiday vacation, and his eyes lit up when I explained to him an idea of starting a 'backyard co-op' in which we all work to grow produce in our back yards and share the results and techniques. The idea is to synthesize a methodology that works well in our region and is as sustainable as possible.
I'm not sure if any of these ideas would have ever taken root so strongly in my mind if I hadn't stumbled upon your writing, and therefore would like to say 'thanks' for all of the hard work.
- bryant said...
Thanks JMG,
I really enjoyed this essay. Your use of language gave me visceral, as well as intellectual delight.
- The Dutchman said...
Very nice gloss of Spengler's ideas! A few points:
1] Listing a date as "1000 CE" is indicative of our decline. Spengler would want you to be a Faustian chauvinist and list the date as being Anno Domini. (See my blog entry on this at:http://festungarnulfinger.blogspot.com/2007/05/what-year-is-it-anyway.html)
2] Spengler's eight great cultures are the Apollonian (not Apollinian), Magian, Faustian, Egyptian, Chinese, Mesopotamian, Mexican-Aztec (Mezzo-American) and East Indian (not Andean-Incan).
3] While Toynbee is indeed a cyclical thinker (with each epoch returning to its starting point), Spengler is an organic thinker (with each culture having a period of growth, flowering, and death). The crucial difference is that while Toynbee sees the process as repetitive and continuous, once a Spenglerian culture is dead, no new culture ever need follow.
4] It is also worth noting that while Toynbee's histories now look like a quaint attempt to "explain everything," Spengler has proven to have enormous predictive value, seeing such things as the industrialization of non-western nations ("the Alienation of Technic"), environmental degradation, the rise of fundamentalism (or "Second Religiousness") especially in the Islamic countries.
5] Spengler's political program is worth checking out: http://torgprom.blogspot.com/2007/09/prussian-socialism.html
- Bill Pulliam said...
I like keeping the word roots in their original german structure: "The undergoing of the eveningland." Sounds like something that happens just before ragnarok?
Please do come back to compost when you can. Compost is one of the great magical things: life and death all summarized in a pile of humifaction.
- BoysMom said...
The Oswald Spengler book sounds interesting. Is there a particularly good translation you would recommend for those of us who do not read German?
- The North Coast said...
Once more, you have managed to surpass even yourself in this brilliant essay.
I never read so many gem-like articles with so many original ideas that make so much sense, from one writer.
I also can't think of any other commentor on the challenges we face with Peak Resources who has given me so much hope that we can build a civilization that will succeed under vastly different, and harsher conditions.
- yooper said...
Hello John! My first reaction to your fine article titled, "The Future That Was'nt, Part One:", instantly brought me back to the days of the early seventies when natural resource depletion made up the bulk of my study. Of course, this was the foundation that my very dark view of the future was built upon.
It seems almost hilarious today, that at the time I held, almost no hope of ever reaching maturity, let alone the 21th century! "The Future That Was'nt, Part One...."
I suppose, suggesting that "resource depletion" was only to be a lifelong academic fanatasy of mine, at best, equally laughable....
It's usually this time of the year I take stock of what I've learned over the year. I've recently went back and reread your theory of catabolic collaspe. It's here I realized, that I'm actually living this scenario you're presenting, now. That it's not some fanatasy, I would never realize or come to see.
Through you, resource depletion/global warming have finally become relevant to me. For the first time in my life, you've given me a speck of hope, that my family might actually survive these constantly changing times to come, in a longer term way than I dared possible.
Thanks, yooper
- RJ said...
Gargantuan means towards impoverished ends. That's probably the best description of what I feel witness to while riding my bicycle through urban Florida. The scale of irony is breathtaking, yet few even consider it out of the ordinary.
Lewis Mumford's greatest fear was the Megamachine's complete divorce from the human spirit. We're there. It's much too late for any cult of personality to save our species (if one ever could), it will take a huge spiritual awakening. Forums such as this may in fact be key. Thanks.
- Loveandlight said...
I will be interested to learn what is meant by a "Faustian" culture. Does that indicate our tendency to sacrifice long-term well-being for short term gain and gratification (selling our proverbial soul, as it were)?
- Robin said...
Thanks for a new look from a different viewpoint at a wide perspective.
The United States may inded be like a Rome, but the hinterlands did retain some of the Roman influence and their own ways to a variable extent. So too, the rest of the Americas / Ausralia and Europe might better retain what they have.
- yooper said...
Hello John,
Yes, I hope you go back also and hammer your theory of Catabolic Collaspe, the successional process of K-selected spieces replacing R-selected spieces. I think it is so important, that people understand this natural law.
I'd like to suggest that by and large, this process has been a predictable measure of time in this enviroment. I fear, that is about to change.
It's my hope you will discuss any thoughts you may have regarding "time" of the successional process we're likey to encounter in the near future.
Thanks, yooper
- Panidaho said...
Please do come back to compost when you can. Compost is one of the great magical things: life and death all summarized in a pile of humifaction.
Life and Death and Life, too - as when you don't turn your compost pile often enough and the rotten pumpkin you threw on top last winter sprouts in the spring and grows like a wild thing!
- Leon said...
"Sooner or later, the civilization falls apart, basically, because nobody actually believes in it any more." An affair badly ended. Illusions shattered, followed by remorse, blame, regret, recriminations, grieving. But then, what is this secret sense of great relief I barely permit myself to feel? Thanks be to God and I don't even believe in God, it's over, it's ended, it's done! In my sixth decade, I feel young again.
- Leon said...
John, a technical suggestion: Your comments date time stamp presently gives only the time the comment was posted. Changing that to include the date will give the reader a better sense of the chronological give and take of the dialog.
Don't let this go to your head but your commentary is consistently among the best, if not the best, out there.
Thank you for your insight and inspiration, at least to me, to think rationally and deeply on these things.
- John Michael Greer said...
Michael, good for you! When you get the backyard co-op up and running, please share your experiences on the net -- this seems like an excellent idea, well worth emulating.
Bryant, glad to hear it.
Dutchman, thanks for the comments. I'd wondered about "Apollinian" -- that's how it appears in the Charles Francis Atkinson English translation, which is what I mostly use (my German is functional but slow). I don't agree with your dismissal of Toynbee, though. He's also proved to have a great deal of predictive force -- revisit his discussion of mimesis and the development of the internal proletariat, and you've got the social history of the last century in the Western industrial countries in a nutshell. Spengler and Toynbee illuminate different aspects of our present predicament; for that matter, I find reason to quarrel with both.
Bill, don't worry -- the subject of compost is dear to my heart and will get ample discussion down the road a bit.
Boysmom, there's a quite tolerable one-volume abridgment by Arthur Helps that's available in a lot of US public libraries -- that's my recommendation as a starting point for Spengler, just as the two-volume abridged Toynbee is a lot less formidable than the full ten volumes.
North Coast, thank you! I've always regretted the way that so many good ideas get expressed in such execrable prose these days, and there's only one way to fix that...
Yooper, you're welcome! I suppose the one really original thing I've been trying to say for the last couple of years is that there's a good deal of middle ground between "don't worry, be happy" and "we're all gonna DIIIIIEEEE!" -- and that middle ground is where we're all going to spend the rest of our lives.
RJ, the one thing I'm not sure Mumford caught -- though I badly need to go back and reread his works sometime soon -- is that the megamachine is unsustainable and therefore a temporary difficulty, though a severe one just now. There's a great passage in Roszak's Where the Wasteland Ends where he talks about the latter days of the technostructure in terms of the last weeks of a World's Fair, where everything is visibly cracking, the lights and machinery are on the fritz more often than not, the crowds are thinning day by day, and a sort of terminal dreariness settles over everything; I've long suspected that would prove more prophetic than many more colorful visions of the twilight of our age.
Loveandlight, you've put a finger on one of the differences between English/American and German literary culture. For us, Faust was permanently defined by Marlowe's Doctor Faustus, arguably the most brilliant portrayal of the psychology of damnation in all of literature. (No, that's not just a Christian concept; I suspect most of us know at least one person whose life has traced a downward spiral into madness and death because of an unwillingness to let go of some craving or petty hatred.)
For German culture, though, it's not Marlowe's Faust but Goethe's that defined the legend, and Goethe's Faust cuts a much nobler figure; his fall is a consequence of his unwillingness to settle for less than the infinite. That's the sense Spengler has in mind; modern Western culture is Faustian because anything less than infinity is intolerable to it. (For a fine example, see the protests posted here by believers in the fantasy of space colonization when I posted my piece on Fermi's paradox a few months back.)
Robin, stay tuned. The dream of America as the new Rome imagined that the Empire was still to come, waiting for some new Augustus to build it. What we got instead was Macedon, and a Macedon without an Alexander to make it work on the grand scale. Now comes the payback. But more on this next week!
Yooper, I've been collecting notes for a book tentatively titled How Civilizations Fall: A Practical Handbook that will expand the whole catabolic collapse idea quite a bit. It's still a couple of years off, but should be entertaining.
Teresa, you know my thoughts on compost! All in good time; the ideas haven't finished digesting yet... ;-)
Leon, I suspect a lot of people will feel that way. One of the reasons that apocalyptic scenarios are so popular just now, I've long suspected, is that for many, many people, a total catastrophe that left them huddled in the mud would still be less wretched than the thought of going on with the lives they're leading. As for the time stamp issue, I'll see what I can manage.
- Panidaho said...
JMG said:
there's a good deal of middle ground between "don't worry, be happy" and "we're all gonna DIIIIIEEEE!"
Yeah, seems the middle ground gets lost somehow. I think the Don't Worry Be Happy side is still the majority at the moment, and perhaps the TEOTWAWKI side of the continuum is the most vocal - so maybe that's why we don't see much of the middle ground position now.
Teresa, you know my thoughts on compost! All in good time; the ideas haven't finished digesting yet... ;-)
I'll be waiting! I'm hoping to pick up some new ideas. Oh, and about the pumpkin - of course that story was completely hypothetical.... ;-)
- Seaweed_Shark said...
Another fine essay. The Archdruid Report is becoming one of my major resources for contemporary thought. Well done!
- Dwig said...
If the present essay is any guide, I really like it when the Bitch Goddess has her way with you. If there's a downside, it's that I'll now have to add Spengler to my already burgeoning list of must-reads; the idea of civilization as the ossified remains of a superannuated culture is just delicious.
Re: In dealing with human behavior, above all, a sonnet, a story, or a philosophical treatise can prove a better anticipation of the flow of events than any scientific analysis – and the decline and fall of our present civilization, or any other, is preeminently a story about human behavior. I've been thinking about the label "hard sciences", usually applied to physics and chemistry. "Hard" has (at least) two meanings, with antonyms "soft" and "difficult". Certainly the subject matter of physics is considerably less difficult than that of the sciences that study living systems, so perhaps it's those sciences that should be recognized as "hard". Continuing in this vein, it seems to me that those sciences may be hitting the limit of what can be accomplished by what's traditionally considered scientific method. In order to break through, it may be necessary for them to embrace elements of spirituality and the arts.
I don't know it it'll fit in your next post, but I wonder what Spengler would think of the "Aufgang des Morgenlandes" (upgoing of the morning lands) currently going on.
- the skeptic said...
I cannot tell you how much your blog has filled my personal need for TRUTH, and valid intellectual discourse regarding the impending fate of western culture, in my otherwise cerebrally and culturally stagnant home of Houston Texas.
As a Northern California transplant, a Peak Oil preparer (I found your blog on www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net), and someone who, since childhood, has objected to the systematic destruction and waste of western commercial culture and wondered how long we can possibly keep it up, (and as a Christian who considers the Christian worldview to be merely the flavor of the millenia....delivered to the masses from the sword and the smallpox blanket and NOT the altar...; well... after 5 years of living here...I can honestly tell you and your readers that Texas, does not and will not "get it" until events stare us all in the face.
I only wish I could get my Texas-bred in-laws, friends...or even my wife for that matter...to take in your weekly offerings of excellently written thought, common sense, historical and spiritual perspective, gentle warning, and spiritually mature acceptance of the inevitabilities that our culture-run-amuck will eventually force us to adapt to; without treating it like an unpleasant chore for being un-telivized and challenging them to THINK.
Mind you, these people are not stupid nor cruel....they are just hard-working and intellectually lazy people whose concerns are purely local and personal...rather than international, global and historical. For them, these hard-scrabble, pay-as-you-go rural people, and those who are plugged-in to the debt economy with pseudo professions entirely dependent on Wall Street and cheap oil,...the edge of the world is either the edge of town, or at the farthest...the state border.
At least these folks, (the rural Texans and not the urban mega-church types) they know how to fix it...build it...grow it...hunt it...can it...fight it...barter for it...stick together...and put their faith in their God in hopes of better times and their version of salvation....many of them will survive and move-forward into the future...but will their culture resemble one that is sustainably harmonious with a permanently powered-down world? Or will it resemble its predominantly warlike Scotch-Irish forebearers (my ancestors as well) and enthusiastically elect the next political Hitler who can promise them a return of all-night gambling, ESPN and TV dinners regardless of which weaker nation or region must pay the price?
I personally want to grow food in the countryside...sustainably... for a living someday, escape the upper middle class intellectual vaccum of the suburbs, simplify my lifestyle around minimal consumption and recycling, and creatively live a peaceful and eco-friendly existence that I can pass on to my children. My soul is telling me to adapt now before I am forced to....and I await my ability to do so since I am chained to our economic ship of fools and its inevitable monthly dues just like everybody else.
However, it is the sharing of minds like yours that continues to give me the courage to prepare for change...and plan my family's escape from what Joe Bageant refers to as "The American Hologram".
May peace, security, love, understanding and good fortune follow you and your readers into this unpredictable next year....and THANK YOU again for giving all of us so much to think about, in such a dignified, unbiased, poignant and all-inclusive manner.
David Krongard
Sugar Land, Tx
- Dwig said...
Oops! In my previous comment, I wrote: "Hard" has (at least) two meanings, with antonyms "soft" and "difficult". The second antonym should have been "easy". Post in haste, repent at leisure...
- Lance Michael Foster said...
A interesting connection exists between Spengler's worldview and that of H. P. Lovecraft (yes, the very same) who read Spengler, as noted in S. T. Joshi's "H. P. Lovecraft: The Decline of the West."
- yooper said...
Happy New Years, John!
"I suppose the one really original thing I've been trying to say for the last couple of years is that there's a good deal of middle ground between "don't worry, be happy" and "we're all gonna DIIIIIEEEE!" -- and that middle ground is where we're all going to spend the rest of our lives."
It's precisely this, "middle ground" or you're version of it, that I'm so desperately seeking from you. Not a vision 50 years out. This is not where most of us on this post will spend the rest of our lives.....
Not that I'm objecting where you going with this! However, the very sad fact is, many on this post will not "enjoy" this middle ground for long. They will die....
Perhaps, being isolated much of my life in the forest has distorted my view of society. However, everytime when I venture out into this society, it screams, "UNSUBSTANTIAL!" There is no equilibrium, no balance.
John, I have always believed that the earth will take care of itself, it's nature's way. I suspect, you're the last person that needs conviencing of this...
It's this balance that our world is seeking just now. That balance, will come in the form of billions losing their lives, in the near future. It's our atonement....
Thanks, yooper
- Steve said...
Great to see Spengler invading your muse - i have also recently found myself drawn towards the Untergang during the long nights of winter.
I meant to comment sooner - I feel somewhat professionally obliged given that i have just [*cough mumble mumble* written a PhD thesis on him or something...]. It always amazes me how litle Spengler is discussed in this corner of the cyberworld given his immense relevance to the whole collapse / decline / civilisation theme. So...
Spengler as cyclical vs spiral thinker: Some evidence that in his later thinking S. realised how the Faustian civilisation was transforming the world and threatening to be the last 'Hochkultur' the world would see. In his 1931 work Man & Technics he wrote:
"The mechanisation of the world has entered on a phase of highly dangerous over-tension. The picture of the earth, with its plants,animals and men, has altered. In a few decades most of the great forests have gone, to be turned into newprint, and climatic changes have thereby been set afoot which imperil the land-economy of whole populations. Innumerable animal species have been extinguished, or nearly so, like the bison; whole races of humanity have been brought almost to vanishing point... All things organic are dying in the grip of organisation. An artificial world is permeating and poisoning the natural."
Faustianism: i know Atkinson warns in the translator's preface that once you read Spengler, everything seems to be read through the lens of his ideas, but even I was a bit freaked out when everyone started using the Faustian meme last year, e.g. George Monbiot in ' Heat', erm, JMG in that 'monkey trap' post, (OK that one seems less of a coincidence now). Faust, of course, means 'Fist', clenched in anger and desire for control, perhaps, whilst a 'Faustel' was a kind of hammer used in mining, which got us into this mess in the first place...
For those wishing to know more about Spengler, I am loath to send people off unprepared to read the whole thing (having just spent 5 years living with it which could have been spent learning permaculture...), but equally the abridged version (the only one in print, I think) doesn't really capture the full grandeur of the vision.You could do worse than to read John Farrenkopf's 2001 'Prophet of Decline', a very readable analysis of S.'s political thinking, or, if you have access to good library resources, Goddard and Gibbons' 1926 'Civlisation or Civilisations' is a brilliant exegesis / adaptation of his ideas.
JMG, if you are interested in a more specific (if unattributed to the point of plagiaristic) application of Spenglerian ideas to the US (and if you haven't already read it...) Amaury de Riencourt's 'The coming caesars' achieves just that with some style and verve. And if I ever get round to publishing anything before the presses stop turning for want of oil, I'll let you know...
- yooper said...
Another year, John! Today marks the first anniversary of expressing my thoughts about collaspe online.
One year ago today a very spirited email exchange ensued between Carolynn Baker and I. I had just finished reading her version of how collaspe could unfold in this country, much like your, "Adam's Story".
I found this article over at Adaptation. I can't remember the title, and since, I suspect she has removed the article altogether, I can find it nowhere. This scenario described the life of a middle aged couple living somewhere in the Detroit Metro area.
The story began with this middle aged couple moving to the suburbs, climbing up the ladder, while the husband was employed with one of the car manufactures. Their two children were now on their own and this couples decline began when he lost his job in the auto industry.
Within a short few years, communication broke down completely between the couple and their children, power outages were becoming more frequent and longer lasting, until the power went out for good.
At this point the couple decided to flee to the country side as total chaos broke out in the city. Along the way, the couple was lucky enough to get a "glass of water" a day. During this travel the husband died along the way and the wife's life was fortunatley spared when she was taken in by some kind of substantial farm....
Of course, I was extremely upset with this story! I really did'nt have a problem with her thoughts of collaspe coinciding with power outage, it was with the events she descibed afterwards. So many "natural laws" were broken to make the story not creditable. What a shame! However, in my opinion, it's the best attempt yet in describing how collaspe could happen, in the near future.
It was at this point, that I decided to attempt to describe a plausible collaspe scenario to the fine people over at BNB,(Bull not bull). This was presented in a series titled, "Royal Flush in Spades". Unfortunately, this was lost as the new forum was compromised.
This past year John, I've very much enjoyed your thoughts surrounding collaspe. Most writers attempt this challenging concept by projecting forward, from now to then. I see you as coming from then to now.......Why have you taken this approach? Is this a better way to approach readers with new ideas, forthcoming?
For one John, you have me riveted to the thoughts you will share this coming year!
Thanks yooper.
- yooper said...
Oh, btw John, my prediction for 2008 is the same as year, the U.S. will enter into somekind of recognizable "depression like" era during the second quater, which will be spread very quickly throughout the entire industrialized world. This comes on the heels from realizing that due to energy depletion, there would be no reason to expect interest from mainstream investment.
Thanks yooper
- John Michael Greer said...
Teresa, of course -- completely hypothetical. Splutter.
Shark, many thanks.
Dwig, you've touched on a major can of worms I plan on opening down the road a bit -- the conviction, central to the myth of progress, that science is immune from the phenomenon of diminishing returns. More on this later.
David, thank you for the vote of confidence. I think one of the reasons so few people "get it" is that for decades now, they've been served up with an apocalypse du jour by people wanting to panic them into some political scheme or other. It's the old story of the boy who cried wolf -- but it's not always remembered that in that story, the wolves did finally show up and eat the sheep.
Lance, thanks for the reference -- I'll certainly look Joshi up.
Yooper, all of us will die sooner or later anyway! My guess is that a fair number of people now living will die sooner than they otherwise would; still, there's time yet to opt into or out of that group.
Steve, thanks for the references! It's interesting that nearly all 20th century reactions to technology accepted the idea that it changed all the rules of the game, for good or ill. I find myself steadily less convinced of that. More on this later.
Yooper, my prediction for 2008 is that nobody can predict 2008! But we'll see.
- Ahavah B. said...
My wish list at Amazon is getting so long...
I don't subscribe, really, to the "WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIIIEEEE," mentality - but I do think it's going to be a terribly painful transition, and a lot of violence will be involved. But no amount of pointing out the obvious problems that will arise from peak oil and American economic problems (aka globalization) seems to motivate the average person to change their paradigm of thinking or living.
I have concluded, after several vain attempts to get my people (my "area of concern," so to speak) to wake up and smell the coffee, that instead of embracing reality and planning ahead, everyone is justifying their debt, consumerism and screwed up priorities, and no one will change anything until they absolutely have no choice. Self-sufficiency even at the level of community is simply not possible under our current leadership - and those leaders see nothing wrong. We, as a group, all feel that we have some sort of right to a "normal" life, and the definition of "normality" is the American consumer materialistic keep-up-with-the goldsteins culture. They attempt to conceal this paradigm with an absurdly medieval interpretation of strict religious observance, but in essence we, as a whole, have bought into the Faustian paradigm hook, line, and sinker - and have no intention of giving it up.
Unless everybody decides to "downsize" at once, nobody will voluntarily - and good luck with that, basically. Our leaders are arrogant and corrupt. Until the day when they don't have a drop of gas, not a bite to eat, and the bank sends the sheriff to kick them out of their giant ATM (formerly known as a "house") due to their outrageous credit card bills, the average family will do nothing to change their lifestyles. Many people even admit that things can't go on the way they are, but still won't give up any expense or any "normal" thing, no matter how much they acknowledge that neither their budget nor their community can survive if things continues the way they are. Their fear of being "different" far outweighs their fear of the consequences of their irresponsible lifestyle. "Different" is equated with "sinful" in our culture.
I am deeply impressed by your writing, btw. But even getting most of them to read your blog (or your forthcoming book - can't you write faster?) is a non-starter.
Many have been brainwashed to believe that the only wisdom on earth is to be found in their own medieval writings - which are themselves products of the infant faustian culture. Add to that a holier-than-thou attitude and I am deeply disillusioned that my people have any end other than ruin.
And what I see among people of other religious and ethnic groups is simply the same stuff with different labels. Don't get me wrong - my point is not that religion or distinct ethnic culture is bad, but simply that all have to a greater or lesser extent been invaded by the Faustian mind-set, and exorcising it seems impossible.
As I said, I am in despair that anything can be changed until it's far too late. Spitting into the wind is what I'm doing. Is it really "worth it" to keep trying?
- NeoLotus said...
I know I have a month to wait for any kind of response, but since I'm here today I wish to say first, I'm glad to have found this blog.
The more I read however, the more I come to realize my importance as an East-West hybrid.
My mother is Japanese, my father was U.S. Army born in Minnesota. I was born in America and grew up with Buddhism and Confucianism.
The six months I spent in Japan when I was 19 was the only time in my life I was most naturally myself. In America, I have always felt I was a foreigner--didn't help I was treated like one either.
My interests are deep philosophical thinking, ancient history, science, anthropology, gardening, complex systems and chaos theory, psychology, and anything else tickling my curiosity.
I have a BA in philosophy and humanities and an MA in urban planning/studies. My master's thesis was to provide a philosophical underpinning to New Urbanism's emphasis on community.
It was in writing my thesis that I found Lewis Mumford's "The City in History" quite helpful in understanding cultural trends and civilizational cycles from the perspective of chaos theory's emphasis of the dependence on initial conditions. To boil it down, the cultures which emphasize individualism, namely, the West, tend to fail. The cultures which emphasize family, namely China, India, and ancient Egypt, tend to endure. The fate of Ancient Egypt became sealed when it was Hellenized. Given this, things do not bode well as the East adopts more of Western culture.
However, this is not to say that Eastern wisdom cannot make inroads into the West. The Chinese philosophers were very astute in their observation of the cycling of life and phenomena best exemplified by the yin/yang symbol.
I think if a more concerted effort for East-West discourse and dialogue would take place, I think a more sustainable future could be built. Not to mention that for all its industrialism in Japan, there are still those who preserve the old ways, and in some cases the only thing the factory did was to automate the process, not replace the actual craft. Also, they venerate their master craftsmen as national treasures, such as sword makers. The Japanese katana is still some of the finest steel in the world.
They are also some of the most hygienic people on the planet and worked out long about how to prevent the transmission of disease by removing their shoes at the front door, and they conserve their bath water by washing their privates before soaking in the hot bath.
There is a whole lot to be discovered in an East-West dialogue. I think doing so now puts us in a unique position to take what's best in all the respective cultures of the world and using what works best to build a more sustainable future.
Sorry this got so long.
- Bernd Ohm said...
Dear John,
It never fails to amaze me when I see the influence Spengler - all but forgotten in his native country now - seems to be having in the English-speaking world today. There's this guy over at the Asia Times that poses as old Oswald in his Muslim-bashing diatribes, and now even my favourite Archdruid of the Northwest confesses a weakness for the "master thinker" of the Weimar Republic's Conservative Revolution. Interesting times indeed!
Speaking of this, it might interest you that Spengler himself refuted your interpretation of "Untergang". In his own words: "The notion of 'catastrophe' is not contained in the word. Instead of saying 'decline' one could use 'completion' [Vollendung], (…) thereby eliminating the 'pessimist' connotation for the time being, without changing the true meaning of the term." (my own translation, from Reden und Aufsätze, p. 63, which probably hasn't been translated into English).
I do agree though that the "deep dark" resonances the title evokes probably had some influence on the best-selling status of the book in the Weimar Republic. Just think of Germany back then as a country with a post-Vietnam trauma raised to the power of ten. My great-grandfathers had dreamed of becoming number one in Europe and of being at least equal to Britain in the world - only to be faced with a lost war, hyper-inflation, unemployment, and the unsecure status of a European middle-power. They just loved that Decline book.
Hope you guys do better over there! I'm sure you know what came out of that national depression - a strong desire to vote for charismatic Austrians with weird world-views and Chaplin moustaches...
Greetings and enjoy your vacation!
- Betsy aka 'the goat yoda' said...
My life *is* a compost pile!
Good to have found your blog.


text:
Tour of old town Prague
Trip Start Sep 09, 2005
151Trip End Ongoing
Map your own trip!
Loading Map
Loading Map
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
I woke up after sleeping like never before. I don't think I moved. It was 10 am Prague time. We don't make it out of the hotel until around noon, but have tram tickets in hand and are walking to the tram stop by then.
I still find it amazing... but then maybe only for me... that I can get a transportation ticket, find the boarding station, get on the correct tram, find the machine to punch the ticket and get to the correct destination WITHOUT A CLUE as to what is on the signs, or understand what the driver is saying. Kind of gives everyone some hope, doesn't it! I mean, if Dianne can do it, anyone can!
We did overshoot our stop by a bit, but - Janice and Kim, you will like this - my "Dumber than Dirt" look was working in overdrive
Anyway, we started walking towards Old Town and found our way... not sure how for we took detours to take pictures. But, find it we managed to get really close. So close actually, that when I finally conveyed my question to the man, he pointed around the corner... we were literally 300 yards away. Actually, getting accross my question to him was a rather funny pantomine routine. I found a postcard with a picture of our destination, then pretended like I was walking and drew a questionmark in the air. I know, laugh if you must when you imagine this sight, but I got the answer I needed!
We followed the path as instructed and came upon the old town square. It was just as cute as in the travel books. The day was gloriously sunny and a lot of people were enjoying outdoor cafes or walking around taking in the sights. We did both. We walked around the entire area. Taking hundreds of pictures and stopping in the shops lining the square.
We found the astronimical clock and took the required picture, found the Hard Rock Cafe and took advantage of the ladies room
We made the round trip and went into St. Nikolas church. We then picked a place to eat and collapsed. We enjoyed our dinner/lunch or whatever it was and sat and enjoyed the atmospher even more for nearly an hour.
It was nearly 6 pm so we decided to try and find the tram #22 again. Well, this time it wasn't so easy. There were lots of options for streets and directions to turn. We checked in every other shop to make sure we were on the correct path. I finally spied overhead electric lines used for the trams and we headed in that direction. I sort of felt like Daniel Boone or something. I had become a master tracker, well sort of. I found the lines and followed them.. kind of like me see tracks, two horses, two men, one with a beard went this way. Once we made it to the road with the electric lines, I followed the tram tracks to the stop. Me see two big metal lines in ground, one goes east, one goes west to castle. However, I was so busy looking at the ground I nearly missed the tram. Judy brought me out of my trance and we got on the tram and headed back up castle hill to our hotel.

subset: commoncrawl


text: ok I was already to half heartedly root for the Cards sunday,for no other reason than to keep the Steelers from pulling even farther away from us in the ring count. Then I read (I don't know how to post links or I would) That his holiness has asked the Hyatt to block HBO in the rooms so that his teammates won't be exposed to "partial nudity" and "ruin thier entire experience" I've got no problem with what or who anybody wants to worship, but I absolutly HATE it when this holier than thou crap kicks in. Live and Let Live. I hope the Steelers knock the pompous right out of that jerk.


text: It has been up in the air for a while now and I eventually got to publish the news on their website: Marika Zanforlin & Federico Degli Esposti have decided to end their ice figure skating competitive career. From now on they'll be busy attending roller skating exhibitions and hopefully also ice skating shows next season (where they will finally be able to show their roller skating pair elements without thinking about the rules!). BIG and for them for what they achieved on the ice with all the troubles they had these past 3 years! If you want to leave any message for them, just leave it here, on their guestbook or send it to email@example.com I'll collect and forward them to Marika & Federico as soon as possible!


text: Our remanufactured113R00723 cyan toner cartridge is guaranteed to perform same as or better than OEM cartridges.113R00723 works on Xerox Phaser 6180, 6180DN, 6180MFP, 6180N . This black color laser toner cartridge replaces113R00723 for Xerox Phaser 6180, 6180DN, 6180MFP, 6180N printers. Our remanufactured113R00723 contains smart chip and most of the internal components are replaced with new parts. With new chip, your printer will be able to interact and tract the cartridge usage. It will remind you when to replace the cartridge. Also our compatible is ISO-9001 certified that guarantees high-quality printing results. Using remanufactured cartridges offers big savings over brand-name products. Also recycling is always beneficial to environment.


text:
School shooting victim in coma
CENTENNIAL, Colo. - The only person shot and hospitalized by a fellow Arapahoe High School student armed with a shotgun is now in a coma.
Claire Davis' family issued a statement saying Davis is in a coma, but in stable condition on Sunday night.
Her father tells our news partners KMGH in Denver that his daughter is fighting for her life but is "not doing very well."
He asked the community to pray for his daughter.
Friends are using the Twitter hashtag #PrayforClaire to show their support.


text:
SMOKE AND THUNDER - Thursday, 9 May 2013
Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson will ring to the power and might of the big guns on Friday, May 17, as part of the Culture 24 national event – Museums at Night.
The themed event will showcase guns from Royal Armouries' national collection of artillery, featuring Victorian and Second World War weapons.
A main highlight of the evening will be special firings of the 32-pounder Victorian gun, by Portsdown Artillery Volunteers, from its position on the north Caponier – as featured on the BBC's Great British Railway Journeys' series when Michael Portillo visited the Fort
Visitors will feel the ground shake as the gun's immense power is released in an explosion of sound and smoke.
There's also a chance to witness the agility of the Second World War Sexton field gun, fired by Ubique Right of the Line, as its roars around the Fort's Parade Ground – bringing this out-of-hours' event to a climactic close.
Other features include presentations in the museum's galleries, and the chance to explore the 19th century Fort's re-created hospital, barrack room and tunnels.
Fort operations manager Nigel Hosier said, "The event is designed to appeal to all ages, particularly family groups as well as those interested in artillery. The title, Smoke and Thunder, is designed to evoke the noise and power of the big guns, in this historic setting."
Admission is from 6pm, priced at £3.50 for adults; £2.50 for concessions (senior citizens and children aged 5 to 15). A family ticket (two adults and up to three children) is priced £11.
Tunnel gun firings have limited numbers – please arrive early to avoid disappointment. The event ends at 9pm.
Standing high on Portsdown Hill near Fareham, Fort Nelson showcases one of the world's finest collections of artillery and cannon, from across the ages and from all corners of the globe.
In 2011, this unique heritage attraction underwent a £3.5m redevelopment to create a museum for the 21st century, supported by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, complete with new galleries, state-of-the-art education centre and visitor facilities.
There's also a 19-acre site to explore, complete with underground tunnels – and the Café 1871 is open every day.
Royal Armouries website
Royal Armouries newsletter
Follow us on Twitter
Find us on Facebook
Notes to editors
- Royal Armouries is the national museum of arms and armour and has sites in Leeds, HM Tower of London, Fort Nelson and Louisville, Kentucky. It is the first British national museum to open a permanent presence in another country
- Admission to the museum is free. However, there may be a small charge for some special events.
- Open all year daily, 10am-5pm. Closed 24-25 December
- Information Line: 0113 220 1999
- Website: www.royalarmouries.org
- The Royal Armouries Museum should not be confused with Royal Armouries International plc, the private sector corporate hospitality business.
To find Fort Nelson, follow the brown Tourist signs from the M27. The Fort is open seven days a week, from 10am to 5pm.
Download the PDF press release.


text:
Dog-friendly Perth and Kinross, 1 People & Cot Available
In the heart of the holiday town of Crieff, this traditional Scottish cottage has retained some of its original features and low ceilings in keeping with the character of the property. It is just a minute's walk from the town centre with shops, restaurants and pubs. For outdoor enthusiasts, there are walks for…
- 1


text:
Open house set Thursday in Nisswa for future CR 115 project
Future improvements to Crow Wing County Road 115 (Nashway and Ojibwa road around Round Lake) is the topic of an open house from 9-11 a.m. and 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, at Nisswa City Hall.
The Crow Wing County Highway Department will provide progress updates and gather information from stakeholders regarding possible improvements.
Luke Wehseler, project manager with the county highway department, told the Nisswa City Council on Wednesday, Oct. 16, that the county is in the very preliminary stage of this project.
A small part of the road — 1.4 miles — is in the city limits. Another 1.1 miles is in Lake Edward Township and 2.3 miles is in the First Assessment District. Wehseler called this a controversial project because of the mature trees, the scenic roadway and all the entities involved. County road levy funding is small, which adds another challenge.
The county says improvements are needed because of years of increasing traffic, inadequate drainage and inconsistent roadway maintenance that has left the road in poor condition.
"Just a million dollar overlay would be a poor investment of dollars. We want to address all the deficiencies," Wehseler said.
Regarding who would pay for improvements, Wehseler said different funding sources exist, but funds can't be applied for until there is a project.
Wehseler asked the council if it would support curb and gutter on its section of the road, saying if the city was against that, the county would eliminate that option from the city's portion of road. He said curb and gutter would save trees and preserve the road's rural character.
Council member Gary Johnson said he'd like to keep the road as close to what it is now as possible. Council member Jan Pierce asked that those involved keep in mind that many Nashway Road residents are seasonal and not here right now. Their thoughts must be included.
Wehseler said the highway department gathered information of existing conditions and challenges last spring, hosted an open house to gather input and started a task force that includes Pierce, Nisswa Police Chief Craig Taylor and Nisswa Public Works Director Tom Blomer, as well as other stakeholders, including the Round and North Long Lake associations, Lake Edward Township, Crow Wing County Planning and Zoning, Thirty Lakes Watershed District and the First Assessment District.
The road has two 11-foot lanes with no shoulder. Improvement options include adding shoulders, adding curb and gutter, and adding a pedestrian trail in urban sections.
"Right now it's in the very preliminary planning stage. So there's no need for the city to say if it wants to participate in cost sharing," Wehseler said. "If the city is adamantly against any of the options or parts of the options, that would be removed from Nashway Road. Right now it doesn't hurt to look at the options."
The public can review the project material online at http://www.crowwing.us/index.aspx?NID=696.
Also available on the website will be another stakeholder survey. This questionnaire is intended to compile feedback regarding the use of specific roadway improvement components and their potential impacts on the existing setting of County Road 115.
This information will be used to guide the ongoing scoping process and provide a means to narrow the wide range of alternatives. The survey will be available Oct. 24 to Dec. 2. Paper copies of the questionnaire will be mailed along with a self-addressed envelope. Participants are encouraged to carefully review all of the available information before completing the survey.
For more information, contact Wehseler at firstname.lastname@example.com or 218-824-1110.
Renamed roads
The council needs to name two roads as a result of the Highway 371/County Road 18 construction. Needing names are:
• Smiley Road from Nisswa Square to the Paul Bunyan trailhead parking lot.
The council agreed to rename that road South Main Street effective Jan. 15, 2014.
• A section of road from Hazelwood Drive to Highway 371 at the new traffic light.
Ted Dullum has requested to name that road, and Dick Carlson of the Nisswa Area Historical Society had submitted a list of early Nisswa pioneer families to be considered for naming new roads.
The council will review options for that road.
The council previously named the old segment of County Road 18 that was turned back to the city Lakers Lane. That road runs in front of Nisswa School, and a contest was held among students to rename the road.
Also, Crow Wing County is looking to turn back a portion of what formerly was County Road 18 (Main Street) by Oct. 31. The council agreed it wants patchwork completed before it will accept the road as a city road.


text:
I'd like to suggest/invite the large number of HGF members in Central FL to form a shooting group. There are a lot of us, between Cocoa, and Tampa, with Orlando in between.
I suggest picking a Saturday, once per month, and trying to get together a small group for friendly competitions, sharing/sampling guns, swapping lies, and maybe a beer after.
There are great ranges all over the state, some indoor, and some outdoor. We could shoot steel in Lakeland one month, and paper in Orlando the next, and seagulls in Canaveral the third... kidding.
Who's up for it? Reply to this thread, and PM me with email and contact info.
Since I suggested it, I'll HELP run it, but I'd like a west coast, and an east coast VP.
Orlando, FL
Shoot Straight Member
Apopka, Casselberry, Tampa
Forgive my ignorance.
Any response moves a thread to the "front of the line" and most likely into the Recent Threads section when you first log on. By "bumping", you're moving your thread to the front and increasing visibility.
The forum does have certain rules regarding bumping, but for the time being, they are only for classifieds.
The following rules are specific to "BTT", or bumping ads to the top of the page:
1. No BTT's until your ad is 48 hours old.
2. All changes/updates should be done with the edit feature to the original post, not by adding another response.
I'd like to have more info, if it's still available.
I'm in Kissimmee
Last edited by BRONzDOME; 11-08-2008 at 07:56 AM. Reason: To add location


text:
Anyone use these?
I bought some thinking they would save some time putting things together.
Well, I don't like them. Seems my bees stick them to the frames above, and when you try to take a super off to inspect, there is always a frame that sticks to the ones below, and I have to twist the super so I won't pull it out and drop it on the lower super.
[This message has been edited by Charliebuck (edited July 05, 2003).]


text:
Paintings by Jerry Cabrera (bottom piece on loan from UTSA Art
Museo Alameda presents exhibit by UTSA alumnus Jerry Cabrera
By Tim Brownlee
Assistant Director of Public Affairs
(June 21, 2007)--San Antonio's Museo Alameda, the first formal affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, will present "CAPE," an exhibit of oil paintings by UTSA alumnus Jerry Cabrera, from June 27 to Sept. 2.
Today's headlines
- La Prensa Foundation is newest member of UTSA Lone Star Society
- UTSA alumna Jordan Kaufmann wins $50K for new stent-graft start-up
- UTSA begins new way-finding sign installation this summer at Main Campus
- USA Today: UTSA long jumper Tyler Williamson rescues three-year-old boy
Article tools
Meet the artist at an opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, June 27 at the Proyectos Gallery on the museum's second floor. Admission to the reception is free and open to all.
Additionally, the artist will discuss his work in a Contemporary Art Month lecture from 2 to 4 p.m., Saturday, July 7 in the Proyectos Gallery.
A UTSA M.F.A. degree recipient, Cabrera examines in his exhibition the cultural issues of the bullfighting tradition. According to the artist, removing the subjects (the bull or matador) from the event focuses on the active beauty found in the movement of the cape. The exhibition includes a piece on loan from the UTSA Art Collection.
The exhibition is made possible by grants from the NALAC Fund for the Arts with funding from the Ford Foundation, the J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation and the Cultural Collaborative of San Antonio. The San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs provides additional support.
For more information, contact the Museo Alameda, 318 W. Houston St., San Antonio, Texas, 78205, at (210) 299-4300.
Museo Alameda explores the Latino experience in America through multiple art forms to foster contemplation, deliberation and understanding of America's cultural fabric. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Wednesday and noon-6 p.m., Sunday. The museum is closed Monday, New Year's Day, Easter, Battle of Flowers Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.


text:
Anyone see that amazing TD run by RG3? WOW! That dude is gonna be good! I can't wait to watch Cam Newton VS RG3 in the pros!
Waiting for Chris Polk to get going in this one So far hes been quiet I wonder what rd Terrrance Ganaway is gonna go in? Noticed some got him moving up to RD 3-4 ish Hes a big bruiser! Probably be a nice replacement for Brandon Jacobs assuming BJ is gone after this season


text:
And by the way, I am by no means a Chan fan.
And by the way, I am by no means a Chan fan.
A three fall Hanyu at Skate America outpointed a one fall Chan at Skate Canada (over two programs).
I'm well aware of the circumstances surrounding their respective silver medals (indeed, I checked the scores before I posted just to see if my recollection was correct). Though, just for fun, my predicted podium at Worlds is Kozuka-Fernandez-Abbott, so take from that what will.
^^Big kudos to you if you're right...I'm not that risky
Although aren't you in the lead in the Grand Prix predictions game? I probably shouldn't bet against you
So we do have 4 japanese men in Grand Prix Final. Japanese nationals are going to be extremely interesting!
Yes, funny how things worked out


text:
Mozilla is a non-profit (yep, no stocks, no shareholders, no profit margin to meet ) organization like no other. Mozilla brought open source to the masses and continue to do so, guided by the principles and values enshrined in its Mission and Manifesto. Mozilla's mission is to promote openness, innovation and opportunity on the web and as such continues to innovate for the benefit of the individual for the betterment of the web so that it always and forever serves the greater good. Support Mozilla to build the browser that puts you first: become a Mozilla Supporter or Contributor or drop the Mozilla Ghana team a line at mozghana – at – gmail – . – com.
The video below explains spirit behind Mozilla's ideals and mission. Enjoy!


text: British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who a little more than 10 years ago became the youngest prime minister of the 20th century at age 43, announced on Thursday his plans to step down as the country's leader next month. He'll resign on June 27, making way for Treasury chief Gordon Brown to take his place. As the new Labour Party leader, Brown is expected to easily win the next election. In an emotional farewell speech at Trimdon Labour Club in his constituency of Sedgefield, Blair referenced the major issue that caused his popularity to tumble - his decision to follow the United States into war with Iraq. "Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right," Blair said. "I may have been wrong, but that's your call. But believe one thing if nothing else. I did what I thought was right for our country." The government has said it hopes to withdraw its troops from the front lines this year, which the public will no doubt be in favour of. As for how Blair will be remembered, many say his efforts in helping the poor, transforming the Labour Party, and bringing about an end to the troubles in Northern Ireland shouldn't be overlooked. The announcement from Blair came only two days after Northern Ireland formed a power-sharing administration, something he'd been working toward his whole political life.


text:
A while ago Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia), was discussed in a thread. Until then I was completely unaware of the existence of this fascinating plant genus. Since then I have been trying to find a source of a small quantity of seed, in order to plant a few small test plots to see if the plant can be grown successfully here in my region. In reading about Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia), I found that temperatures over 95F cause the plants metabolism to go into 'overdrive' and they 'burn-out', due to this. In the mid to late 1970's, New Mexico State University worked to develop a strain that had resistance to this problem, it is called Sainfoin 'Renumex'.
I finally found a source for a small sample of Sainfoin seed, for the variety 'Shoshone', and am still working to obtain samples of other varieties. I have not yet found a source for 'Renumex' - which may be the variety that has the best chance for success, here. I plan to sow my test plots in October, so that I can give them the maximum time to become established before ambient temperatures possibly cause them metabolism problems. My goal is to find a way to establish and maintain stands of Sainfoin in Southern Arizona -- so as to possibly improve the forage situation during extra dry seasons.


text:
Hours after man sentenced to 16 years in fatal drunk driving case victims' families hold memorial
EL PASO, Texas - Kim and Ida Araujo were the closest of sisters.
Now Ida is all alone.
In December, Miguel Vargas, with Kim and two others as passengers, drove drunk on Mesa and crashed his car, killing Kim and Idaly Reyes. On Tuesday Vargas was sentenced to 16 years in prison after being convicted of two counts of intoxicated manslaughter.
"I'm not going to say it was a victory because it's not. I can tell you, even now, it has brought some peace and comfort but not a victory. And we're not happy about it either. ... No, no it's always going to be there," Ida said Tuesday night when asked if she has forgiven Vargas. "I don't hold anything against him anymore now that I had eye-to-eye contact with him. But I don't think I'll ever forgive him. It was only two sisters and he left me all alone."
Ida said the past two weeks have been difficult for both families and interaction with Vargas' family made it even tougher.
"Vargas' family has been posting a lot that at a lot, that at least they still have their son alive, that they're still going to get to hug him no matter how many years he spends in jail," Ida said. "And you know what, it's true. Maybe it's true. But they're not going to be able to hug his guilt."
Ida said she spoke directly to Vargas, looking him in the eye, before Judge Bill Hicks made his ruling on Tuesday.
Vargas has been given credit for the time he has already served.
Vargas had eight beers and six drinks before getting into the car and racing down Mesa.
Two other passengers were in the car, Nefi Armendariz and Stacy Reyes, survived but were injured.
Dolores Reyes, the prosecuting attorney, said she hopes this case sends a message.
"You're taught from a young age don't drink and drive. The consequences you have not only to yourself but to others are just incredible. It is a parent's worst nightmare to receive that phone call in the middle of the night."


text:
View Detail
10th Annual Managing Human Resources Back to Course List
The Georgia Highlands College Advisory Council will present its 10th Annual Managing Human Resources Seminar on Tuesday August 11th. The seminar will be held at our Georgia Highlands College Cartersville Campus on HWY 20 in Cartersville. The Seminar will be in room 160 on the 1st floor of our academic building.
This seminar is for anyone who manages, supervises or leads employees. Please open attached brochure to see the seminar agenda. We have assembled an impressive lineup of speakers.
THIS YEAR THE SEMINAR WILL FOCUS ON: Recruiting, Training and Retaining Talent in a Competitive Labor Market
This years seminar will include the following topics:
Obtaining training funds for new and incumbent workers under the new WIA/WIOA thru The Governors Office of Workforce Development (GOWD).
Attracting and Retaining Talent
Creating a Bully Free Workplace Environment
Labor Attorney, Dan Murphy, will again be with us to discuss the latest hot legal issues.
10th Annual Managing Human Resources Seminar
The Changing Employment Landscape in Northwest Georgia
Keeping Your High Quality Talent
Sponsored by the Continuing Education Advisory Council
Georgia Highlands College
August 11, 2015
Room 160, Cartersville Campus
Registration Fee: $59
George White, MBA
Director of Continuing Education
Georgia Highlands College
Date(s): August 11, 2015
Time(s): 8:30am to 3:00pm
Location: Cartersville
Fee: $59
Register for this Course


text:
I have mine covered on my home owners. I think up to $2500 is automatically covered on my Statefarm homeowners policy here in Texas. I pay like $6 a year extra to cover up to $5k in firearms. They won't go above $5k. After that, U have to insure guns seperately at a prorated fee depending on their value. And, that would only cover theft and not fire.
But, if ya have under $5k worth, ya need only worry about the extra few dollars a year. Now, this is Texas - Statefarm operates a bit differently in each state due to different laws in each state.
I was told I just needed the receipt and the owners manual to make a claim. I have the receipts and manuals locked up in my bank box.


text:
Thank for the tute. Like the look of the arrowhead!!
Printable View
Thank for the tute. Like the look of the arrowhead!!
love that you can make this block from a D4P...great job on the step by step tutorial
Thank you for the wonderful tutorial!
Thank you for the tutorial. I am going to do this block.
I love tutorial's like this you start with one simple block and make it look exotic at the end. Thank you Carrie.
You all are very welcome!! :-)
Great Job... I am amazed at all the ideas shared on this site... You did a excellent job with this tute. thank you
Love the tut....my list just keeps growing here of blocks to make. Thank you
Brilliant Carrie. I'll have to try that, thanks for taking the time...
Well, I loved that. Looks like so much fun to do. I will also have fun watching this tutorial. Thanks for sharing.


text:
- Horoscopes
- Dear Abby
- Games & Puzzles
- Lifestyle
- Events & Exhibits
- Food & Drink
- Arts & Music
- Movies & TV
Amistad America has entered into a new partnership with a New Haven-based international organization dedicated to the abolition of human trafficking and child slavery, according to an article in Wednesday's New Haven Register.
On the 174th anniversary of the 1839 Amistad revolt, Hanifa Washington stood in front of the Amistad memorial on Chapel Street in New Haven to announce the partnership with Love 146 and her appointment as the executive director of Amistad America. She had served as a cook aboard Amistad as it sailed into Cuba in 2010 and most recently worked as Amistad America's director of education and community outreach.
"I think the fact that Hanifa has led Amistad voyages into this partnership, and wants to include the story of modern-day slavery in the story of the Amistad, she and Amistad voyages, they're turning a corner," said Ryan Day, communication strategist for Love 146. "They're going in the right direction; they're going in a very forward-thinking direction."
The news of a partnership and new leadership comes after some troubling years for Amistad America. The Day reported last month that the organization lost its nonprofit status after failing to file federal tax returns for three years.
State Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington, has been pressing the state Department of Economic and Community Development to detail how Amistad America has spent the $8 million in state funding it has received.
As a result of Urban's inquiry, the state's two auditors of public accounts are preparing to look into Amistad America's finances. DECD plans to make payments totaling $359,000 a year to Amistad America during the next two years.
Washington said the agency is working in "complete transparency" with the state to best expedite Amistad's reinstatement as a nonprofit. She noted clerical errors as part of the reason for the delayed payments.
For over a decade Amistad America has used the schooner to travel from New Haven and around the Caribbean to provide educational programs about civil rights and the Amistad revolt.
The Amistad has been under repair in Maine and operated by the Ocean Classroom Foundation and has not been in Connecticut since last summer. According to the website, marinetraffic.com, the Amistad is underway, with a destination of Yorktown, Va.
The ship is scheduled to be in New London on Saturday and New Haven on July 23.
With "$8 million invested in this story, it is the most important story Connecticut has to tell," said Kip Bergstrom, DECD deputy commissioner.
Aboard the ship, visitors learn the story of a 26-year-old captive, Sengbe Pieh, who led a revolt while aboard the ship. Pieh's revolt on July 2, 1839 later led to the Africans being held in a New Haven jail after the U.S. government seized the ship off Long Island.
A legal battle ensued, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the captives were legally free, and they returned to Africa.
Washington said she became immersed in the Amistad story after serving as a cook on the schooner.
"The ship creates a safe haven for the ripple effect of dialogues including slavery, racism and oppression," Washington said.
This will be the first year that the ship will provide a venue for conversation about human trafficking.
Washington, who said her roots in social justice date back to her childhood, began researching the issue of human trafficking a year ago when she started training side by side with her predecessor at Amistad America, Greg Belanger.
The two agencies collaborated over the last eight months to develop educational material on human trafficking to present during the tour of Connecticut waters this summer. The information will include similarities among the perpetrators from the earlier years and present day, as well as how to recognize and become abolitionists.
"I think including the story of modern day slavery and modern day human trafficking is what's going to really engage visitors this summer and beyond," Day said.
Washington said the two agencies have worked very well together with the joint mission of freedom fighting.
"We're like two wings of a dove of freedom," Washington said.
Amistad waiting for permission to dock in New London for 175th anniversary
State's Amistad audit months overdue; spending of loan investigated
Report: Amistad finances out of reach for state economic development commissioner
Business owner says Amistad America never paid bill; audit of organization's debt underway
Amistad's trip to Puerto Rico during hurricane season angers lawmaker
Amistad America executive director offers glimpse of ship's future
After doctors saved his father, Groton senior plans to study medicine
Penguins survive scare, open Stanley Cup final with 5-3 victory over Predators
Jay Leno loves vintage cars, and now he's selling products to make them shine
Shaffer's Marina sell rods, hooks and bait, but the advice is free
Connecticut Audubon's Chaney preserve looking to attract shrubland species
R.J. Evans goes to Louisville and Roger Bidwell goes to the Hall of Fame
8th graders from New Jersey refuse to be photographed with Paul Ryan
Trump calls trip 'home run' as Kushner questions left unanswered
What if U.S. quits climate deal? Scientists say it doesn't look good for Earth


text:
forum: Food & Drink
Pages: 1 | Home » Food & Drink » Wedding dinner
#1 Fri 09 Feb 07 11:16pm
- Member
- From Montreal, Canada
- Member since Fri 09 Feb 07
Wedding dinner
Hi guys,
I'm planning to be the cook for my own wedding dinner (by me I mean me and an army of friends... ). I'm plannig for about 75 to 85 people plus the cooking staff (about 10). I want something that like a big bowl and plate of stuff tha you can throw on the table and people can get thuck in !!!
Any idea, suggestion and experience would be welcome
#2 Sat 10 Feb 07 2:08am
- Member
- From England
- Member since Sun 01 Jan 06
Re: Wedding dinner
What about a great big paella - I always think those huge massive wide pots of it look really impressive!
#3 Sat 10 Feb 07 12:31pm
The White Rabbit
- Forum super champ
- From Sydney, Australia
- Member since Tue 22 Jun 04
Re: Wedding dinner
Are the people who are cooking for the wedding going to be attending the ceremony?
#4 Sat 10 Feb 07 6:39pm
- Member
- From Montreal, Canada
- Member since Fri 09 Feb 07
Re: Wedding dinner
I plan to have the ceremony at 3 PM so I will have some time before to ge them going. After the ceremony while we will be taking pictures and stuff the cooking team will head back and get everything ready for the dinner.
Hopefully most of the job will have been done in the morning or the day before. I'm basically looking for something that can be prepared as mutch in advance as possible.
#5 Sat 10 Feb 07 9:42pm
- Member
- From London
- Member since Sun 11 Dec 05
Re: Wedding dinner
make a lot a few nights before but dont cook and freeze them instead. then about an hour before eating stick them in the oven
you will actually find that they will improve the longer you keep them
#6 Mon 12 Feb 07 3:06am
- Forum champ
- From Sydney, Australia
- Member since Tue 22 Jun 04
Re: Wedding dinner
Chicken with Mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
2 cups milk (can use half chicken broth)
3 egg yolks
4 cups cooked diced chicken
16 ounces small whole mushrooms, sautéed
chopped parsley
salt, cayenne, nutmeg, to taste
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 to 2 tablespoons butter, cut up
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
Make sauce of butter, flour and milk. Remove from heat and add yolks separately, beating constantly. Let sauce cool, then add chicken, mushrooms, parsley, seasonings and sherry. Mix well and place in 11x7x2-inch baking dish.
Dot with butter then top with crumbs and bake until heated and crumbs are browned, or about 25 to 30 minutes at 350°.
Asparagus with Lemon Matzo Crumble
4 pounds asparagus
4 tablespoons melted pareve margarine
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Matzo Crumble
4 tablespoons pareve margarine
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 green onions, finely chopped
2 cups matzo meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
To cook asparagus: Cut off the woody stems of asparagus, leaving spears about 6-inches long. If stalks are thick, peel with a vegetable peeler, pulling from stem end toward tip. (Thin spears do not need peeling.) Separate into bundles of 6 to 8 spears each with tips pointing in the same direction. Tie with string.
In a large skillet, bring 1-inch salted water to a boil. Add asparagus and cook until tender, 3 to 6 minutes after water comes to a boil. Timing depends on size and age of spears. Remove bundles, cut string and run asparagus until cold water to stop the cooking. Blot with paper towels. (Asparagus may be refrigerated overnight wrapped in paper towels. Bring to room temperature before reheating.
To make crumble: In a large microwave-safe bowl, heat margarine and oil on HIGH (100 percent) one minute or until margarine is melted. Stir in garlic, lemon juice, green onions, matzo meal, and salt. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH (100 percent) 6 to 8 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes, until dry and crisp. (Crumble may be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 2 weeks. Bring to room temperature.)
Before serving: Arrange cooked asparagus on microwave-safe platter. Sprinkle with salt. Cover with waxed paper and microwave on HIGH (100 percent) 2 to 4 minutes or until heated through. Heat margarine and lemon juice until melted. Drizzle over asparagus. Sprinkle crumble across the center.
Baked Ham in Champagne
1 (9-pound) boneless ham
1 (1-pound) box light brown sugar
2 (4/5 quart) bottles extra dry champagne
3 tablespoons honey
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1-1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
Score ham and place ham on rack in baking pan. Cover top with 1 cup brown sugar and pour over 1 bottle champagne over ham.
Bake at 325 degrees F. 2 hours.
Combine remaining bottle champagne, remaining brown sugar, honey, ginger, and mustard and bring to rolling boil in saucepan. Lower heat and simmer while basting ham every 15 minutes until done. Garnish with pineapple slices and spiced apples, if desired.
Beef Tenderloin with Mushroom Gravy
1 whole beef tenderloin roast (about 4 pounds), trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Mushroom Gravy:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2-1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
12 ounces white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thin
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Sprigs of fresh rosemary for garnish (optional)
Heat the oven to 500 degrees F. Rub the beef tenderloin with the olive oil and sprinkle with the pepper.
Place diagonally on a 15-1/2 x 10-1/2-inch jelly roll pan, tucking the thin end under for even cooking.
Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of the thickest part registers 135 degrees F. for rare.
Meanwhile, make the gravy. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the flour and whisk for 2 to 4 minutes, or until a dark golden color.
Slowly whisk in the broth and wine, then the mushrooms, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened.
Remove the beef tenderloin from the oven, cover loosely with foil, and let stand for about 10 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers 140 degrees F. The meat will continue cooking and the slicing will be easier.
Slice 1/4-inch thick and arrange on a serving platter. Garnish with rosemary sprigs and serve with the mushroom gravy.
Bistro Mashed Potatoes
5 pounds russet potatoes
1/4 pound butter
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole milk (or more)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 slices bacon, chopped and cooked
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Boil potatoes until soft. Place in mixer; add milk and butter; mix well. Add sour cream, cheese, bacon and add seasonings. If potatoes are too thick add more milk and adjust seasonings as needed.
Cassoulet of White Beans, Sausage, and Duck
2 pounds small white beans such as Great Northern, soaked overnight in plenty of cold water
1/2 pound salt pork or thick-cut bacon, blanched
2 halved onions and 1 chopped onion
1 smashed garlic clove and 1 minced glove
Bouquet garni composed of 4 sprigs parsley, 3 sprigs thyme, and 2 bay leaves
2 quarts chicken stock
1 pound pork sausages
4 tablespoons rendered duck fat or olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
1-1/2 pounds red tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or one 28-ounce can of tomatoes
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 whole confit of duck, cut in 8 pieces, or 8 whole legs, halved on the bone
1-1/2 cups toasted bread crumbs
To prepare the beans, drain and put them in an 8-quart casserole with the bacon, the halved onions, the smashed garlic, bouquet garni, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer over low heat, uncovered, for about an hour. Remove the bacon and cut it into 1-inch pieces. Strain the beans, reserving both the beans and the cooking liquid and discarding the onions and bouquet garni. Set the beans aside in a bowl.
To cook the sausages, prick each one in two places with a fork and put them in the bottom or a 10-inch saute pan with 1/4 inch water. Cook over medium heat, turning from time to time, until the water has evaporated and the sausages are browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove them and cut at an angle into 1-inch pieces.
Add 2 tablespoons of the duck fat to the pan with the chopped onion and cook, stirring from time to time until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and continue to cook and stir for another minute. Add the white wine and cook for another minute. Stir in the tomatoes and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Season well with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
To assemble the cassoulet, layer one-third of the beans on the bottom of the casserole and add half the bacon or salt pork, sausages, and duck confit (on the bone). Cover this layer with half the tomato mixture. Repeat with another third of the beans and the remaining bacon, sausages, and duck confit. Cover this with the rest of the tomatoes and then the beans. Add salt and pepper to taste to the bean-cooking liquid. Pour in enough of the bean liquid to come up just to the top of the beans. Cover the entire cassoulet with bread crumbs, dot with the remaining 2 tablespoons duck fat, and bake in a 350-degree oven for an hour and 15 minutes, or until the bread crumbs have formed a crust. You can break through the crust with the back of a spoon three or four times during the cooking to allow the juices to help form a crust.
Hot Mayonnaise Glazed Scallops
12 large scallop shells (available at gourmet stores) or 12 small scallop shells (available at fish store)
24 large sea scallops -- each cut horizontally in half
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onions or scallions (green part only)
1 1/2 cups hot mayonnaise
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Have hot mayonnaise prepared and ready to use.
Put the scallop shells on a baking sheet. Season both sides of the scallops with the salt and black pepper. Put two scallops in each shell and spoon about 2 tablespoon of the mayonnaise over them. Bake on the top rack of the oven until the mayonnaise is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Garnish with the green onions and serve hot.
Linguine with Lobster Sauce
4 frozen lobster tails (2 pounds total), thawed
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup chopped garlic (6 cloves)
2 cups diced onion
3 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) ready-cut tomatoes
1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 can (15 ounces) tomato puree
2 pounds linguine
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
Remove meat from lobster shells and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven. Add 3 tablespoons garlic; saute 2 minutes. Add lobster meat; saute 5 minutes. Remove lobster to a bowl; keep covered.
Add remaining oil, remaining garlic and onion to Dutch oven; saute 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, oregano, salt, mace, pepper, bay leaf and tomato puree; cook over medium-low heat 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf and discard.
Meanwhile, cook linguine in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water until al dente, firm but tender. Drain and keep warm.
Remove 2 cups tomato mixture to a blender or food processor. Whirl until pureed. Return pureed mixture to pot. Add lobster meat with any accumulated juices; cook 2 minutes or until lobster meat is cooked through. Remove from heat. Stir in cream.
Place hot cooked pasta in a large serving bowl. Pour sauce over; top with parsley. Toss to mix.
Pork Shoulder Roast with Apple Stuffing
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced sweet onion
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
1 large Granny Smith apple, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large clove garlic, pressed
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
4 cups herbed stuffing mix
1/4 cup apple juice
1 Tbsp fresh minced sage
1 large clove garlic, cut into slivers
1 (about 7 pounds) pork shoulder roast, deboned
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup apple juice
Line a large baking pan with heavy duty foil. Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large pot, gently saute celery and sweet onion in butter until onion is translucent.
Add apples and pressed garlic; cook about 1 minute longer, stirring often. Add chicken broth and apple juice. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in sage. Then add stuffing mix, stirring to absorb liquid. Let rest to cool.
Place the deboned pork shoulder roast fat-side up on a cutting board. Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Turn roast over and again sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. You may need to add a few cuts so that it lies open and flat. Poke holes in the meat with a sharp knife and insert garlic slivers into the pork.
Pack cooled stuffing on top of the pork roast. Roll both ends to the center to enclose the stuffing and tie with kitchen twine. Place roast skin-side up in baking pan. Pour in chicken broth and apple juice. Cover with a layer of heavy-duty foil and seal edges to the rim of the pan.
Bake about 2 hours. Remove foil and bake an additional 30 minutes until skin is browned.
Turkey Scalloppini with Capers and Lemon
20 (6 ounces each) turkey breast medallions, pounded thin
2 cups flour
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil as needed
1-1/2 Tablespoons shallots, chopped
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/3 cup capers, drained
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup turkey or chicken stock
1 pound butter cubed and kept cold
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
Lemon slices for garnish
Pound turkey breasts into scalloppini filets. Mix flour and bread crumbs with salt and pepper to taste.
Heat saute pan with olive oil. Dredge turkey through the flour/bread crumb mixture, then saute both sides until fully cooked. Place onto a sheet pan and keep warm.
Add shallots, garlic, and capers to saute pan and saute until lightly golden. Deglaze pan with wine. Reduce by half. Add stock and reduce by half. Add butter and swirl in pan until all is melted into the sauce. Finish with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
Serve with basil mashed potatoes and a variety of grilled vegetables (red and yellow pepper, eggplant, zucchini, and fennel).
Garnish with a lemon wheel twist.
#7 Mon 12 Feb 07 9:02am
- Member Occupation Teacher/Registered Nurse
- From Brisbane Australia
- Member since Fri 14 Apr 06
Re: Wedding dinner
you're brave....
What about lots of finger foods that can be prepare the day before and served cold on the day.....
Spiced Chicken drumsticks with the spice of your choice.
Quiche - you can do lots of varieties.... salmon, chicken, asparagus,
lots of cold meats, chicken, ham, roast beef etc and anti pasta.
lots of filling salads, pasta, pototo, garden, greek, rice
Casseroles that can be cooked the day before and just re-heated the day of the wedding. Chicken, Chillie Con Carne, Beef etc,
For sweets, lots of cake and slices.....
Fruit Salad
One thing that is becoming popular in Australia is serving your wedding cake as dessert.... If you do this, that is one less thing you have to prepare on the day and makes a nice finish to the meal. You also don't have to buy the little paper bags for people to take their slices home.
Let us know how it all goes...
Pages: 1 | Home » Food & Drink » Wedding dinner


text:
This incredibly soft woven scarf holds a super-sharp mix of striped chevrons and diamond shapes, resulting in a sophisticated accessory with the statement punch of a graphic tee.
- Blocks of striped chevron pattern
- Hemmed edges
- 71" long x 29" wide
- Viscose
- Hand wash
- Imported
Shipping and Returns
We ship anywhere in the U.S. and to over 55 international destinations.
Everyday Free Standard Shipping on orders $50+ placed online at Express.com for U.S. or Canada.
Simple Returns. Up to 90 days. Get the full details on Returns & Exchanges.


text:
Big Sur's relaxed approach and rich finish offers a masculine sensibility that is perfectly scaled to achieve Wendy's lifestyle look and feel of a comfortable yet lux bedroom environment. Layered wooden details and "cross framing" highlight the collection and add depth while maintaining a certain simplicity that kids can grow with.View More Items in This Collection
Leave a review & win $100
For an extended warranty please click here
With proper care and attention, you will enjoy your new Legacy Classic Furniture for years to come. Legacy warrants its furniture to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from date of delivery to the consumer. The Legacy warranty applies to furniture used for normal residential purposes and in no event, be responsible for any incidental or consequential damage.


text:
News and media
|News article
|Remove Type: News article
|Remove Country: Mexico
|Remove Region: Global
World Energy Academy Programme Update
Since the launch in Argentina in 2014 of the first World Energy Academy programme designed to provide national level training programmes, countries from every region have expressed their support of the initiative. Almost 20 countries, such as Estonia and Lebanon are planning to shortly set up Academies, with nine countries saying they will set up […]
Posted on 18 August 2015
World Energy Trilemma report receives positive reception
This year's World Energy Trilemma report was launched at the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) meeting hosted in the city of Merida, Mexico during the opening ministerial plenary on 27 May 2015. Secretary General, Christoph Frei, presented the key findings of the report to the ministers and senior representatives from the 23 participating CEM countries and […]
Posted on 12 June 2015
Looking ahead to the WEC North America Region Energy Forum
The WEC's 2014 North America Region Energy Forum will take place this June in Calgary. Graham Campbell from Energy Council of Canada, the WEC national committee who's organising the event, tells us what's in store for participants. What is the idea behind the event? The North America Region Energy Forum is a unique opportunity to […]
Posted on 24 April 2014


text:
"There's one thing this country won't forgive, it's the sin of being poor."
--Garnet Rogers, "Election Night: North Dakota" (1984).
The gulf between rich and poor in most states is wide and growing, according to a new report by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Connecticut Voices for Children and the Connecticut Association for Human Services analyzed the report, and found that Connecticut's gap is one of the worst, and one of the fastest-growing, in the country.
Click here to read the rest of the column.