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The 1st Philippine Environment Summit, a celebration of the Philippine environmental movement, will be held on Feb 9 to 11 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia. The 3-day event will showcase programs and projects, as well as breakthroughs and innovations that contribute to the social and economic advancement, while protecting the environment. There will also be an exhibit area featuring eco-friendly products and services.

With “Greening Together, Growing Better” as theme, the summit will feature renowned leaders of government, the church, environment, civic organizations and academia as plenary and resource speakers in breakout sessions and as exhibitors. Also attending the event are lead members of environmental civil society organizations, leaders of government and business, as well as individual and institutional environmentalists.

President Benigno Aquino III, Luis Cardinal Tagle, former SC Justice Reynato Puno, and internationally renowned environmental activists Dr. David Suzuki and Dr. Vandana Shiva are some of the invited speakers, while leading Presidential aspirants in the coming national elections will be asked to present their environmental agendas.

The Summit is co-organized by the Green Convergence — a large coalition of environmental and developmental organizations, networks, faith-based groups and individuals — and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Also supporting the event are the Energy Development Corporation, Tourism Promotions Board, Foundation of the Philippine Environment, PTFCF and Trans-Asia Renewable Energy.

The main objectives of the Summit are to disseminate information to the public on the developments, achievements, challenges, programs and projects in relation to food safety, environment and natural resource protection and conservation and sustainable economy; strengthen and energize networking between and within the public and private sector and within and across various sectors and groups, formulate policy recommendations; and showcase convergence initiatives between and /or among government, civil society, business, and other sectors of society.

“In celebrating the advancements in environmental protection achieved through private and public initiatives, we hope to create an opportunity for all sectors to unite and collaborate,” says Green Convergence president Dr. Angelina Galang. “The 1st Philippine Environment Summit is a call to government and the Filipino people to unite in accelerating the drive towards national sustainable development.”

The Summit will be plenary sessions in the morning and breakout sessions in the afternoon, and a simultaneous three-day exhibit. Another highlight of the event is an awards ceremony recognizing LGU eco-champions. It concludes with the environment movement’s resolution for specific desired actions by the most influential sectors – government and business – that will protect the environment in pursuit of sustainable development in the Philippines.

To register for participation, join the exhibits, or know more about the 1st Philippine Environment Summit, call 225 7330 or visit greenconvergencephil on Facebook.

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Turkey for me, turkey for you

It's thanksgiving weekend up here in Canada. I'm looking forward to some family time up at the lake. My brother's wife has decided to take their 2 cats and exchange student up to the lake, so I don't know where we'll sleep, but I'm sure we'll figure it out. I'm the youngest, so I'm used to being shoved in a closet for sleeping at family gigs. I think the closet is big enough to fit J and I in!
Mom has invited (gulp) 35 people for supper. Heh. I'm a bit nervous...I'll help her with everything, and hope we can all squeeze in!
Dad & I are gonna build a bookshelf. Mom and I are gonna build a turkey dinner.
Should be great!
I've been humming the thanksgiving song by Adam Sandler all morning...I'm ready for the holiday. I feel as tho I can control myself around the food, so I think it will be a good time.

Pass the cocoa please. Happy thanksgiving :)

Dinner for 35???!!!!

Wow, I'm impressed, that sounds totally daunting. I bet your mom sure appreciates the help. Have a great time, and enjoy your thanksgiving!
Scrumpy said…
Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

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Wednesday, 4 April 2012

EXH: Roerich at UNESCO in Paris

The Roerich Pact: the past and the present
Five days to discover the career and the commitment to peace and protection of cultural heritage of Nicolas Konstantinovitch Roerich (1874 -1947), Russian humanist, painter, writer, archaeologist.

This exhibition, organized by the International Centre of the Roerichs (ICR), traces the life of Nicolas Roerich, his commitment through the history of the Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace, and twenty years activity of the Center dedicated to the promotion of the Pact.

The inauguration of the exhibition is scheduled at 6 p.m., 2nd April and will be followed by the ‘The Tree of Life’ International Prize awards ceremony. The 2012 winners are:
- Ms L. Shaposhnikova, Director-General of the Roerich Museum
- H.E. Mr. B. Boutros-Ghali, the President of the International Panel on Democracy and Development, former Secretary-General of the United Nations,
- H.E. Dr. K. Singh, President of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations,
- H.E. Mr. Ch. Aznavour, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of Armenia to UNESCO

Type of Event Exhibition
Start 02.04.2012 10:00 local time
End 06.04.2012 17:30 local time
Responsible Permanent Delegation of the Russian Federation to UNESCO
UNESCO Responsible BPI
Organizer Permanent Delegation of the Russian Federation to UNESCO and the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO
Country France
City Paris
Venue UNESCO Headquarters - Siège de l'UNESCO
Street 7, place de Fontenoy
Room Salle Pas Perdus
Contact 01 45 68 26 83,

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purpose. beauty. inspiration.

Everybody loves a crackling fire, twinkling lights, and good dose of holiday cheer. But let’s be honest – the holidays can be a stressful time, especially when it comes to finding the perfect gift for EVERYONE IN YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY. And what about that one friend who seems to have everything, including expensive taste?

Breathe. We gotchu. We rounded up some of our favorite items from this year to create a last-minute gift guide for the design enthusiast in your life. Take a look!

christmas-blog-web1. Fade to Grey Pillow | We’ve used this bold, modern pillow in a couple of our recent projects, and we can’t get enough!

2. Adra Vase | White vases are the perfect way to brighten up your dining table or entry buffet, and a little extra texture or pattern goes a long way.

3. Mahogany Air Plant + Holder | Air plants are the perfect gift for the home that needs a little greenery without the high maintenance.

4. Styled | Written by Target Style’s Em Henderson, this book has great tips on accessorizing and styling, with beautiful visuals to boot! Plus, the gold spine looks gorgeous on a shelf or coffee table.

5. Geo Burst | Gold accents are on the rise, and on trend for 2017. We love this spiky, geometric burst on a bookshelf or mantle.

6. Hex Marble Desk Clock | All marble everything! This clock is a perfect, modern accessory for any work space.

7. Stilt Table Lamp | This unique take on a classic tripod lamp is a recent favorite of ours. It just might turn up in an upcoming RWD project…

8. Mongolian Lamb Pillow Cover | We’ve had a slight obsession with this glamorous pillow cover for the last year or so. The blush pink version made an appearance in our Luxurious West Sac Loft project, on the Portfolio.

9. Lima Alpaca Grey Throw | Cozy and stylish, this throw is the perfect accent for any bed, sofa, or armchair. Like the pillow cover above, it comes in just about any color.

Bonus Gift: RWD Gift Certificate | We love it when we get to be someone’s present! Contact us, and we’ll give you some more information about our services, and how to gift them. We can even send you a printable certificate to put under the tree!

Happy shopping, friends! Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!


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News & Articles

Questions about Seattle's Minimum Wage Ordinance? Resources to Answer Your Questions and Help Ensure Compliance

By Kristin Nealey Meier

The Seattle Office of Labor Standards (OLS) has released the final Administrative Rules for the City of Seattle’s new Minimum Wage Ordinance (MWO). OLS has also posted a workplace poster and an expanded Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). The rules, poster and FAQs are available to view and download at The FAQs provide the most guidance for compliance and cover questions about which employers are required to pay minimum wage; how employers determine wage requirements; wage schedules; temporary workers; and notice and posting requirements.

During the first year of implementing the MWO, the OLS will use a compliance letter designed to quickly remedy violations, make the worker whole and provide employer education. OLS will not impose civil penalties, unless there is evidence of an egregious violation. While the compliance letter will permit informal resolutions of complaints, it will have almost every characteristic of a charge except for a civil penalty when a violation is found.

The Minimum Wage Ordinance went into effect April 1, 2015.

If you have further questions, please contact an attorney in the Employment Rights, Benefits and Labor Group at Ryan Swanson.

Kristin Nealey Meier is a partner in Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC’s Employment Rights, Benefits and Labor Group. She can be reached at 206.654.2293 or

This message has been created by the Employment Rights, Benefits & Labor Group at Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC to advise of recent developments in the law. Because each situation is different, this information is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice on any specific facts and circumstances. Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC is a full-service law firm located in Seattle, Washington.

Have Questions?

Get in touch today.


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Let's Pretty-up Your Yard!
Mosaics for Outdoors

When: March 31 (10-4) + April 7 (10-3)
Susan Crocenzi
Sacramento Fine Arts Center in Carmichael, CA

Click for more photos of work related to this technique
Click for Flyer

The format of this workshop is 2 sessions with a week between so you can get some homework done. In the first session you will get your substrate cut and prepped, and get started on the mosaic (adhering tesserae to substrate). In the following week, you will do some homework and finish adhering. Then you will return for class #2 to grout your piece.

In this workshop, students will learn all about lightweight, easy-to-cut, exterior-grade tile backerboard that is suitable to hang in outdoor environments. We will cut shapes, rig for hanging, mosaic, and finish off the edges in this fun class. You will also learn where to purchase this backerboard, and the other supplies needed.

First session: Info about substrates that are suitable for outdoor mosaics, cutting the board into simple shapes, and finishing off the edges. Planning a design on the board. Next, we will talk about tesserae and adhesives that are suitable for using on outdoor mosaics. And then in the afternoon you will begin cutting and adhering these materials to the piece. You will not finish by the end of the day. Our next session will be one week from today, which gives you a week to complete the mosaic.

Second session: This is our grout day. You will learn all about supplies, safety, tools, and the care and maintenance of grout. We will grout your pieces, using as many colors as you'd like. You will learn all about grout colorants, where to purchase them, and how to use them. I will then show you a few different techniques to incorporate several grout colors in your work.

Price: 150.+ 45. materials fee

To register send me an email at susan@scmosaics.com.

Contact Susan for information about a series of classes in June. Flyer

Printable Flyer
Email: silvia@silviatrujillo.com

Linda Erfle Watercolor Workshop

Thursday June 14th –9am to 4pm

Dale Laitinen Workshops

Introduction to the Aquabord Advantage
with Dale Laitinen
June 5, 2018

PDF Flyer

Designing Powerful Landscapes – Sierra to the Sea
with Dale Laitinen
June 6-7, 2018

PDF Flyer

Telagio Baptista Workshops

"Less is More" June 19, 2018

"LOOSEN UP!" June 20, 2018

Save the Date!

In this Three DAY workshop students will learn the unique figurative collage technique. Emphasis will be on hand-painting your own papers for collage with a variety of techniques, then using them to develop form through light and shadow, just as with traditional painting techniques. No prior collage experience is necessary. Some painting would be helpful, but not imperative.

Email elizabeth@paperpaintings.com

NCA Workshops

WASH Workshops

California Watercolor Workshops

Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Inc.,
5330B Gibbons Drive, Carmichael, CA 95608
Hours Open: Tuesday 11 AM-7 PM; Wednesday through Friday, 11 AM-3 PM; Saturday and Sunday, 11 AM-5 PM.


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Saturday, August 24, 2013

Martin Luther King || Tears of Time

©2013 Turtle Heart

I was a teenager when Dr. King was murdered. I wept. I cried like a baby. I was a young man in Columbus Ohio. At the time, my mother, a dedicated Southern Baptist, carried me to White Hall Baptist Church every Sunday. That Sunday I stayed up almost all night preparing a speech that the pastor allowed me to give that Sunday. And I did that. My first public speech was a memorial to Martin Luther King to a southern Baptist church filled with white people. It was almost certainly a turning point in my life.

Today, some 50 years later, here we are again. It is not a day of celebration, though it is, it is yet another pivotal moment where the old white men who dominate the GOP politics of 35 US states and who stand in unprecedented obstruction and clueless impotence in the US Government have doubled down on their contempt and fear of people of color.

This morning I watched a 1966 rebroadcast of Dr. King speaking on Meet the Press. In my mind I made the contrast between that Meet the Press and the laughingly inept Meet the Press that is appearing today. The contrast between that moment and this, seen in that show, is astonishing. In 1966 that show was interested in the truth, in the movements of freedom. Today, hosted by a clown whose name is not worth spelling out, it is a propaganda machine spinning the opposition to our first African American United States President

Obama is not a Martin Luther King. He is almost certainly a good and intelligent and honest human being, but he is not a Martin Luther King. King was fearless. He spoke truth to power relentlessly and eloquently. Obama is polite, cautious and reserved. As Doctor King moved through his life, he did not blink, and he never took a backwards step. He was not timid. He was a real leader. King inspired me to make the choice to stand with my American Indian ancestors. My mother was a fair-skinned, slightly red-haired Celtic woman; my father a dark-skinned Ojibwe American Indian hiding out and pretending to be a “white man”. During those times I began to understand that I needed to make a choice about where I wanted to stand. As an adult man I chose to stand with the American Indians. Martin Luther King inspired me to have the courage to do that.

Obama has American Indian ancestors. In 2007 he was even adopted by the great Crow Nation and given the name “Black Eagle”. In American Indian cultures, adoption of a “relative” is a profoundly sacred ceremony, a part of, and contained with the roots of our ancient sacred religious and ceremonial practices, centuries old. So many American Indians were optimistic that at last someone at the Federal level might embrace the many devastating and terrible problems that face American Indians all over this country.

It never happened. It is not going to happen. Everything from education to health care to outright persecution and violence against American Indians is getting worse. The same is true for civil rights for African Americans and Latino Americans, all that progress brought forward on the might shoulders and illuminated soul of Martin Luther King is being diluted, diverted, re-defined and actually turned around, even by the once noble Supreme Court.

The new inspiration is seen in the likes of one time Senator Ted Cruz, who, like Obama is also a one term US Senator, is going to try and be the next US President to jump out from the shadows of inexperience and ego to further lead us towards the New Mediocrity.

I recently heard the flatulent Ted Cruz compared in intellect to the late and truly great conservative William F. Buckley. I commented at the time that comparing Cruz to Buckley as like comparing a deep and ancient river to a puddle of baby pee on the sidewalk.

I voted for Obama in both his elections. If we had voted in John McCain the world would be at war…McCain is clearly the most dangerous and imbalanced candidate to seek the Office in generations. So I voted for Obama when I really wanted to be voting for Hillary Clinton. Then there was the Empty Suit, ugly bag of mostly water with the name of Romney. So it was off to vote for Obama a second time. I am a registered democrat, but I have voted for Republicans from time to time. I voted for Nixon, from the jungle of Vietnam. I did that because he was the one US President who actually did things real and powerful and beautiful for American Indians, he alone among all the others…though these facts are not well known and in spite of all of his other problems and failings. He cracked open the door to China, a mixed but important blessing.

So what has happened to the Great Dream of Martin Luther King? Where has it gone? Obama is an intelligent and principled President…but intelligence is not Leadership- The Republicans have, seemingly, all the real political power, but Power is not Leadership. And look around the eight directions of our world…it is the same bleak picture. Lots of Intelligent People, lots of Powerful People…but not much leadership.

I find I am still waiting for Hilary Clinton.

And today when I looked at Martin Luther King, I wept again.

Monday, August 05, 2013

American Wars, American Gold

Over the summer I read a collection of books, that I put together myself, which encompassed American military history from the Revolution (Bunker Hill) to Afghanistan. At the end of this posting I will list those books.

I have also watched a series of films, from Gettysburg (the despicable defense of slavery) to the Battle Of Haditha (a despicable act of mass murder by American soldiers).

For weeks I have posted nothing. It is difficult to understand what to say about the present direction and comportment of the United States military. My conviction about the available evidence indicates a level of incompetence in leadership and policy that is very troubling and incredibly dangerous. I look at the portfolio of words that populate my mind and more and more am just speechless, unable to express coherently the meaning and the implications of so much failure in leadership, and so much morally and ethically corrupt behavior by America’s young soldiers in general….and in particular the insanely lawless behavior of privately contracted armed killer.

I was a soldier in Vietnam. I love soldiers. I do not want to disparage any soldier. Yet clear evidence exists in multiple media forms of mindless murder of children, women, families. Without a moment’s accountability. The national news media is itself a corporate interest so it never tells us “the other side” of any of these stories, ever. Fearless and perceptive journalists at the edges of the mainstream are our only hopeful sources of honest information on this subject. This is why the reading of courageous, recently published books and intelligently produced films on the subjects of our Middle East adventures.

The government and its corporate partners have organized to effectively make it as close to impossible as it has ever been to find out what is going on. The recent verdicts in the Bradley Manning trial are a clear signal that it will get even harder as the government is criminalizing information release more and more.

Since the first Bush gained national office, there has been a secret alliance between neoconservatives and Christian fundamentalism unprecedented in US history. Former government operatives and highly placed officials have retired to enrich themselves beyond a normal person’s wildest dreams. Kissinger, in particular, but nearly all the high level people around both democrats and republicans are cashing in at unbelievable and totally invisible levels of corruption.

These radical Christian fundamentalists at high levels of power and wealth believe they are the chosen ones. They do not believe in the separation of the so-called church (their church) from government. They have doubled down in secret deals to make themselves richer and richer. By any means necessary.  We have seen recently how once placed in Washington culture, its members never leave. After “serving” they become entrenched in the many schemes to cash in, manipulate behind the scenes and in a multitude of ways enrich themselves and their families.

This terrible story is balanced out by generations of abysmal leadership in the military and in the government, and in corporations.

The Generals
The present crop of General Officers in the United States military are pampered, cultist, shallow thinkers that are to a man, inept. For all the fame and notoriety of several of them, they have displayed an astonishing lack of both comprehension and leadership. Every choice made by the generals in Iraq and Afghanistan has backfired, failed or been impotent. Generals have never been more isolated from, and in a different culture from the soldiers who look to them for planning and sound decisions. The evidence for this is a matter of public record…a record that is crystal clear in its grim conclusions but kept on the back pages of every press organization in the USA. Invisible.

The Corporations
The redemption, protection and saving grace of our system of government is accountability. Because government officials and military commanders are part of the government, they can be held accountable by a wide variety of checks and balances.

Thanks to possible war criminals like Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and a long list of other government operatives, many, many activities, including armed force, have been privatized to corporations. These corporate entities work in secret, with zero accountability and often no oversight. In the Middle East wars privately paid corporate “soldiers” kill, kidnap, assault and destroy with no oversight or authority to contain them from military commanders, from anyone.

Think about that.

Thousands of private warriors, paid huge salaries, operating with impunity and outside of the lawful military chain of command, immune form both local and US prosecution.

The roster of ex congressional, senatorial, military and policy experts cashing in on the privatization of America’s occupations is mind-numbing. The MSM tells us not one word of these stories. The information is there but scattered around. Only in recent years have some great writers organized and brought forward the details of the corporate take over of American foreign policy implementation and enforcement.

 Government: Active and Retired

Since 9-11, the amount of money rolling around, up for grabs, in the many new security related fields is an unbelievable seduction. Washington is crowded out with present and former officials and their staffs riding an unprecedented gravy train….in the billions upon billions of dollars.

The modern age has produced so much money inside the governments of western cultures, it is impossible to resist. Lobbyists, contractors, agents, advisors, consultants and your basic opportunists are in their Golden Age of contracts, sub contracts and fee collection.

Do any of these people have the time or the motivation to think about the US Constitution, about the poor, about civil rights or immigrants?  Follow this selfish, self-worshipping greed to its political roots and you have the present day GOP conservative movement and its leadership…along with their partners in the Christian right.

So, well beyond the nearly speechless condition this collective portfolio of the death of human dignity from corporate quantum trajectories, fueled by religious extremists on all sides, it feels ever more strange for the act of blogging about it and wonder who among us is really paying attention….and how inevitable it all seems at this point.

I was a little starved for reading. I purchased an iPad some months ago. It was a real quantum leap forward for reading. I live in Italy and finding books in English, where I live is not even possible. Reading books on the laptop or desktop I don’t like it. But the iPad works just fine. Finding books is easy. So Below is the list of books I read rather all related to the question of America descending down a dark path, one I find troubling, extremely troubling.

Partial List of the Summer Reading and Viewing:

Battle of Haditha. Film. 2007.
Marines murder an entire community of inncent people in revenge and outrage over an IED killing several marines. The Marines are shown making cold blooded murder and manipulated by a cold-blooded, poiece of shit so-called Muslim religious leader who set up the community to be murdered to stir up anti-American activity. I do not support the troops any longer. They do not even support themselves. How many have made suicide? Thousands. The US military has lost its honor in these wars.

An intense portrayal of elite soldiers who have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: disarming bombs in the heat of combat. When a new sergeant, James, takes over a highly trained bomb disposal team amidst violent conflict, he surprises his two subordinates, Sanborn and Eldridge, by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat. James behaves as if he's indifferent to death. As the men struggle to control their wild new leader, the city explodes into chaos, and James' true character reveals itself in a way that will change each man forever

A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May 2011.

ISBN: 089141911X | ISBN-13: 9780891419112
March 23, 2003: U.S. Marines from the Task Force Tarawa are caught up in one of the most unexpected battles of the Iraq War. What started off as a routine maneuver to secure two key bridges in the town of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq degenerated into a nightmarish twenty-four-hour urban clash in which eighteen young Marines lost their lives and more than thirty-five others were wounded. It was the single heaviest loss suffered by the U.S. military during the initial combat phase of the war.

On that fateful day, Marines came across the burned-out remains of a U.S. Army convoy that had been ambushed by Saddam Hussein’s forces outside Nasiriyah. In an attempt to rescue the missing soldiers and seize the bridges before the Iraqis could destroy them, the Marines decided to advance their attack on the city by twenty-four hours. What happened next is a gripping and gruesome tale of military blunders, tragedy, and heroism.

ISBN: 0307744787    ISBN-13: 9780307744784
From the #1 bestselling author of Fiasco and The Gamble, an epic history of the decline of American military leadership from World War II to Iraq.

History has been kind to the American generals of World War II—Marshall, Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradley—and less kind to the generals of the wars that followed. In The Generals, Thomas E. Ricks sets out to explain why that is. In part it is the story of a widening gulf between performance and accountability. During the Second World War, scores of American generals were relieved of command simply for not being good enough. Today, as one American colonel said bitterly during the Iraq War, “As matters stand now, a private who loses a rifle suffers far greater consequences than a general who loses a war.”

ISBN: 0307460991    ISBN-13: 9780307460998
Written with bracing wit and intelligence, Rachel Maddow's Drift argues that we've drifted away from America's original ideals and become a nation weirdly at peace with perpetual war. To understand how we've arrived at such a dangerous place, Maddow takes us from the Vietnam War to today's war in Afghanistan, along the way exploring Reagan's radical presidency, the disturbing rise of executive authority, the gradual outsourcing of our war-making capabilities to private companies, the plummeting percentage of American families whose children fight our constant wars for us, and even the changing fortunes of G.I. Joe. Ultimately, she shows us just how much we stand to lose by allowing the scope of American military power to overpower our political discourse.

An examination of the Battle of Gettysberg on both the personal and strategic level.
The rise and fall of legendary war hero Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson as he leads the Confederacy to great success against the Union from 1861 to 1863. Prequel to the 1993 classic "Gettysburg".
As the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII, Gen. Fellers is tasked with deciding if Emperor Hirohito will be hanged as a war criminal. Influencing his ruling is his quest to find Aya, an exchange student he met years earlier in the U.S.
In 1937, Japan occupied Nanjing, the Chinese capital. There was a battle and subsequent atrocities against the inhabitants, especially those who took refuge in the International Security Zone.
ISBN: 156858394X    ISBN-13: 9781568583945
Meet Blackwater USA, the private army that the US government has quietly hired to operate in international war zones and on American soil. Its contacts run from military and intelligence agencies to the upper echelons of the White House; it has a military base, a fleet of aircraft and 20,000 troops, but since September 2007 the firm has been hit by a series of scandals that, far from damaging the company, have led to an unprecedented period of expansion.This revised and updated edition includes Scahill's continued investigative work into one of the outrages of our time: the privatisation of war.

ISBN: 0553381482    ISBN-13: 9780553381481
“This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can.”

With these words, Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland addressed the crew of the destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts on the morning of October 25, 1944, off the Philippine Island of Samar. On the horizon loomed the mightiest ships of the Japanese navy, a massive fleet that represented the last hope of a staggering empire. All that stood between it and Douglas MacArthur’ s vulnerable invasion force were the Roberts and the other small ships of a tiny American flotilla poised to charge into history.

In the tradition of the #1 New York Times bestseller Flags of Our Fathers, James D. Hornfischer paints an unprecedented portrait of the Battle of Samar, a naval engagement unlike any other in U.S. history—and captures with unforgettable intensity the men, the strategies, and the sacrifices that turned certain defeat into a legendary victory.

ISBN: 1451617526    ISBN-13: 9781451617528
AT THE HEIGHT OF WORLD WAR II, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, was home to 75,000 residents, consuming more electricity than New York City. But to most of the world, the town did not exist. Thousands of civilians--many of them young women from small towns across the South--were recruited to this secret city, enticed by solid wages and the promise of war-ending work. Kept very much in the dark, few would ever guess the true nature of the tasks they performed each day in the hulking factories in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains. That is, until the end of the war--when Oak Ridge's secret was revealed.

Drawing on the voices of the women who lived it--women who are now in their eighties and nineties-- The Girls of Atomic City rescues a remarkable, forgotten chapter of American history from obscurity. Denise Kiernan captures the spirit of the times through these women: their pluck, their desire to contribute, and their enduring courage. Combining the grand-scale human drama of The Worst Hard Time with the intimate biography and often troubling science of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Girls of Atomic City is a lasting and important addition to our country's history.

ISBN: 0670025445    ISBN-13: 9780670025442
Boston in 1775 is an island city occupied by British troops after a series of incendiary incidents by patriots who range from sober citizens to thuggish vigilantes. After the Boston Tea Party, British and American soldiers and Massachusetts residents  have warily maneuvered around each other until April 19, when violence finally erupts at Lexington and Concord.  In June, however, with the city cut off from supplies by a British blockade and Patriot militia poised in siege, skirmishes give way to outright war in the Battle of Bunker Hill. It would be the bloodiest battle of the Revolution to come, and the point of no return for the rebellious colonists.

As the Civil War continues to rage, America's president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield and as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves.

ISBN: 0802714714    ISBN-13: 9780802714718
When Nuremberg was scouted in 1945 as a possible site for the Nazi war crime trials, an American damage survey of Germany described it as being "among the dead cities" of that country, for it was 90% destroyed, its population decimated, its facilities lost. As a place to put Nazis on trial, it symbolized the devastation Nazism brought upon Germany, while providing evidence of the destruction the Allies wrought on the country in the course of the war.

In Among the Dead Cities, the acclaimed philosopher A. C. Grayling asks the provocative question, how would the Allies have fared if judged by the standards of the Nuremberg Trials? Arguing persuasively that the victor nations have never had to consider the morality of their policies during World War II, he offers a powerful, moral re-examination of the Allied bombing campaigns against civilians in Germany and Japan, in the light of principles enshrined in the post-war conventions on human rights and the laws of war.

Intended to weaken those countries' ability and will to make war, the bombings nonetheless destroyed centuries of culture and killed some 800,000 non-combatants, injuring and traumatizing hundreds of thousands more in Hamburg, Dresden, and scores of other German cities, in Tokyo, and finally in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. "Was this bombing offensive justified by the necessities of war," Grayling writes, "or was it a crime against humanity? These questions mark one of the great remaining controversies of the Second World War." Their resolution is especially relevant in this time of terrorist threat, as governments debate how far to go in the name of security.

Grayling begins by narrating the Royal Air Force's and U. S. Army Air Force's dramatic and dangerous missions over Germany and Japan between 1942 and 1945. Through the eyes of survivors, he describes the terrifying experience on the ground as bombs created inferno and devastation among often-unprepared men, women, and children. He examines the mindset and thought-process of those who planned the campaigns in the heat and pressure of war, and faced with a ruthless enemy. Grayling chronicles the voices that, though in the minority, loudly opposed attacks on civilians, exploring in detail whether the bombings ever achieved their goal of denting the will to wage war. Based on the facts and evidence, he makes a meticulous case for, and one against, civilian bombing, and only then offers his own judgment. Acknowledging that they in no way equated to the death and destruction for which Nazi and Japanese aggression was responsible, he nonetheless concludes that the bombing campaigns were morally indefensible, and more, that accepting responsibility, even six decades later, is both a historical necessity and a moral imperative.

Rarely is the victor's history re-examined, and A. C. Grayling does so with deep respect and with a sense of urgency "to get a proper understanding for how peoples and states can and should behave in times of conflict." Addressing one of today's key moral issues, Among the Dead Cities is both a dramatic retelling of the World War II saga, and vitally important reading for our time.

ISBN: 0307342026    ISBN-13: 9780307342027
George Weller was a Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter who covered World War II across Europe, Africa, and Asia. At the war’s end in September 1945, under General MacArthur’s media blackout, correspondents were forbidden to enter both Nagasaki and Hiroshima. But instead of obediently staying with the press corps in northern Japan, Weller broke away. The intrepid newspaperman reached Nagasaki just weeks after the atomic bomb hit the city. Boldly presenting himself as a U.S. colonel to the Japanese military, Weller set out to explore the devastation.

As Nagasaki’s first outside observer, long before any American medical aid arrived, Weller witnessed the bomb’s effects and wrote “the anatomy of radiated man.” He interviewed doctors trying to cure those dying mysteriously from “Disease X.” He typed far into every night, sending his forbidden dispatches back to MacArthur’s censors, assuming their importance would make them unstoppable. He was wrong: the U.S. government censored every word, and the dispatches vanished from history.

Weller also became the first to enter the nearby Allied POW camps. From hundreds of prisoners he gathered accounts of watching the atomic explosions bring an end to years of torture and merciless labor in Japanese mines. Their dramatic testimonies sum up one of the least-known chapters of the war—but those stories, too, were silenced.

It is a powerful experience, more than 60 years later, to walk with Weller through the smoldering ruins of Nagasaki, or hear the sagas of prisoners who have just learned that their torment is over, and watch one of the era’s most battle-experienced reporters trying to accurately and unsentimentally convey to the American people scenes unlike anything he—or anyone else—knew.

Weller died in 2002, believing it all lost forever. Months later, his son found a fragile copy in a crate of moldy papers. This historic body of work has never been published.

Along with reports from the brutal POW camps, a stirring saga of the worst of the Japanese “hellships” which carried U.S. prisoners into murder and even cannibalism, and a trove of Weller’s unseen photos, First into Nagasaki provides a moving, unparalleled look at the bomb that killed more than 70,000 people and ended WWII. Amid current disputes over the controlled embedding of journalists in war zones and a government’s right to keep secrets, it reminds us how such courageous rogue reporting is still essential to learning the truth.

ISBN: 1402210876    ISBN-13: 9781402210877
"In this stunningly written book, a Western trained Muslim doctor brings alive what it means for a woman to live in the Saudi Kingdom. I've rarely experienced so vividly the shunning and shaming, racism and anti-Semitism, but the surprise is how Dr. Ahmed also finds tenderness at the tattered edges of extremism, and a life-changing pilgrimage back to her Muslim faith." - Gail Sheehy

The decisions that change your life are often the most impulsive ones.

Unexpectedly denied a visa to remain in the United States, Qanta Ahmed, a young British Muslim doctor, becomes an outcast in motion. On a whim, she accepts an exciting position in Saudi Arabia. This is not just a new job; this is a chance at adventure in an exotic land she thinks she understands, a place she hopes she will belong.

What she discovers is vastly different. The Kingdom is a world apart, a land of unparalleled contrast. She finds rejection and scorn in the places she believed would most embrace her, but also humor, honesty, loyalty and love.

Thank you George Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.

Blog Archive


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March 10, 2003

Government defends mineral exploration plans

Botswana government has responded angrily to accusations that it is relocating Bushmen to clear way for diamond mining. This follows revelations by Survival International (SI), an international human rights organisation, that linked the removal of the San Bushmen from the country's Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), to the recent financing of a diamond exploration concession in the game sanctuary. Kalahari Diamond Limited, a company with a Botswana diamond exploration license was in mid February given US$2 million by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to explore diamonds in the country. IFC is part of the World Bank.

In a strong worded statement by Clifford Maribe, the assistant director of information and research in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, the government dismissed the claims as a dirty attempt by SI to misinform, mislead and deceive unsuspecting international public on the government's policy towards development needs of the Bushmen. "There is no connection between the relocation exercise in the CKGR and mineral exploration in that area," said Maribe. He said this was an attempt to discredit the country's diamond industry, which was the main source of prosperity and means to provide for the welfare and developmental needs of all Batswana, "including the Basarwa (Bushmen)". "Should a commercially viable deposit be discovered in the CKGR, the merits and demerits of mining will be assessed," said Maribe. He added that the relocation exercise was intended to alleviate poverty and empower the Bushmen, as well as to avoid land use conflicts within the CKGR. "Allowing for permanent settlements, the growing of crops and rearing of livestock inside the game reserve would not be compatible with the government's aims of preserving wildlife resources within the game sanctuary," said Maribe. He dismissed claims that the government forcefully relocated the Bushmen, saying it was done in consultation with the people residing in the game reserve, non-governmental organisations and interested parties. "The people who relocated consented to the [exercise] and even selected the areas where they wished to resettle," he said. He said only 17 Bushmen from a total of 689 who resided in the CKGR in 2001, remain in the game sanctuary, and the government was continuing with efforts to persuade them to relocate.

However, there has been precedence for relocations of communities from protected areas in the country. The government has relocated non-Bushmen communities such as the Mababe, who were moved from Moremi Game Reserve, near the resort town of Maun in north-western Botswana. But it is currently locked in controversy with the Wayeyi community of the Okavango Delta, south of Maun. The Wayeyi have appealed to the UN General Assembly for intervention, following allegations that they are being moved from the delta to make way for tourism projects that will only "benefit the rich". (African Church Information Service)

URL: http://www.sadocc.at/news/2003-066.shtml
Copyright © 2018 SADOCC - Southern Africa Documentation and Cooperation Centre.
Rechtliche Hinweise / Legal notice


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The University of Arizona

Media Recap: UA Micro-Campus Coverage

Last week, the University of Arizona announced the launch of its Global Micro-Campus Network and partnerships with 11 new institutions, bringing the total of UA micro-campuses to 13 in 10 countries. If you missed it, here is a summary of the coverage.

Going Big Into 'Microcampuses' - Inside Higher Ed

“Rather than build its own brick-and-mortar branch campuses, the University of Arizona is embarking on a plan to open more than 25 “microcampuses” at international partner universities over the next three years, creating a network that it hopes will be capable of educating more than 25,000 students around the globe.”

U.S. University Plans Dozens of Overseas 'Microcampuses'Times Higher Education

"Dual-degree programmes are a common model in international higher education, but Arizona’s approach is unusual in seeking to leverage these programmes to create branded hubs – what it has calling microcampuses – around the world.”

University of Arizona Looking to Create Dozens of 'Microcampuses' Around World - KTAR News

“There are already 11 more microcampuses planned that include universities in the Philippines, Jordan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Mexico, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.”

UA Expands Global Footprint with Micro-Campuses - Arizona Public Media

“Two of the school's micro-campuses are already running, in China and Cambodia. Eleven more programs will open in the next year throughout the Middle East, Asia and North America.”

U of Arizona Establishes International 'Microcampuses' - Education Dive

“The University of Arizona is partnering with universities throughout the world to establish ‘microcampuses’ over the next three years, where the school will partner with other campuses to educate more than 25,000 students.”

A New Global Model: The Micro-Campus - The EvoLLLution

“With a goal of providing access to top-quality US higher education on a global scale, we at the University of Arizona, together with a group of 13 international partner universities, have launched an ambitious initiative to establish one of the world’s most affordable, accessible and expansive global networks for higher education and collaborative research.”

University of Arizona Adding More Overseas Sites - The Arizona Daily Star

“The University of Arizona is reimagining what it means to be an international university in a digital age.”

University of Arizona Adding 11 New Micro-Campuses Abroad - KGUN 9

"The campuses are a new model to provide international students access to U of A degrees in their home country."

University of Arizona to Expand Internationally — With Microcampuses - KJZZ

"The University of Arizona is planning to open a series of microcampuses in countries around the globe."

UA Launches Visionary Global Network - UANews

“The micro-campus network opens educational and engagement possibilities for domestic UA students by allowing them to travel and study between Tucson and micro-campus locations — while remaining in their UA degree programs.”

Big Moves in U.S. Higher Education - Higher Education Strategy Associates

"The other really interesting and bold move came from the University of Arizona, which announced that it is going to create 25 “microcampuses” around the world capable collectively of teaching about 25,000 students per year."


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Corporate Creative :: Design Articles for Business

Launching a new website: the checklist

“Creating a new website is like having a baby – the first one really is the hardest.”

These words came from one of our current clients, during the early wireframe phase of his first website. And although we make the process as easy as possible for our clients, it remains a valid point. Your website is your company’s public face after all, so you really do want to make sure that each and every detail is just right.

The process can be overwhelming for the uninitiated. If this describes you, read on. What follows is a basic, plain-language checklist for getting your organization online.

Read On

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Posted in Business, Collateral, Issues, Marketing, Technology, Tips, Web Design

Search Engine Tunnel Vision

SEM Tips“I want our site to be number one on Google”

The number of times a client has uttered those words to us (or a close variation on the theme) is somewhat staggering.

Sure, we all want it. And for certain parameters, we can get it for you. But while Search Engine Optimization is a very important component of both web development and your overall marketing platform, it cannot stand alone.

Read On

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Posted in Branding, Business, Issues, Marketing, Tips, Web Design

A Well Managed Suite of Business Materials

When you’re not around to make a personal impression, your materials are doing it for you. So naturally, you want to be sure that your materials are making the right impression. In this article I’ll go over a few specific bits of advice to ensure that your corporate identity materials are projecting an image of competence and success.

Read On

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Posted in Branding, Business, Collateral, Issues, Marketing, Tips

You’ve got 50 milliseconds to wow me

How strong is your website’s immediate appeal? According to a Carleton University study published earlier this year in the academic journal Behaviour & Information Technology, web designers have only 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression.

In less than the blink of an eye, your internet users have already formed an opinion about your website and by extension, your company. Participants in three studies were first asked to rate a series of web pages according to their aesthetic appeal after viewing them for 50 milliseconds, and were then asked to examine each site more carefully and provide a new rating. Confirming the old saying that a first impression is often a lasting one, the researchers found no significant difference between the two ratings. This means that in that first 50 milliseconds, your audience has already sussed you out.

Read On

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Posted in Business, Innovation, Issues, Marketing, Technology, Tips, Web Design


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Category Archives: FIABCI

Press Release

<<<For Immediate Release>>>

Portland, Oregon. March 28, 2011.

Steve Strode was installed to FIABCI-USA’s Board of Directors, during the organization’s Spring Business Meetings in Alexandria, Virginia. Founded in 1948, FIABCI (the International Real Estate Federation), is based in Paris and is comprised of chapters in over 60 countries worldwide.  FIABCI-USA is the only international real estate organization representing the entire spectrum of the real estate industry in the United States.  FIABCI also maintains an NGO (non-governmental) Consultative Status within the United Nations.  Steve is currently a broker with Meadows Group Inc., Realtors®, in Portland. He is also the current Advisory Board Chair of the International Business Council at the Oregon Association of Realtors®.

For more information, please visit, or contact, phone 503-490-4116

A picture is worth…

…about $5.7 Billion!

I took this picture during the Washington D.C. Embassy Briefings at the Canadian Embassy awhile back. To underscore how important Canada is to the United States economy, they have posted a US map with various statistics for all 50 states.  The “1” indicates that Canada is Oregon’s largest trading partner.

I work  directly with a number of real estate professionals throughout Canada, too, so please let me know if I can help.

International real estate, in our backyard

I just returned from our FIABCI Spring Business Meetings in Alexandria, VA, and as always the meetings proved to be both educational and great business. A quick recap….

Most of my clients and friends know that I work in the international real estate market, but not all know how that applies directly to my business right here in Portland. It’s simple – while all real estate is local, to be truly effective we have to operate on the global stage.

Consider this:
1. Trade between the United States and Canada (our largest trading partner) is at the rate of over $1,000,000 per minute.
2. Closer to home, Oregon and Canada trade $16,000,000 in goods daily – and bilateral trade supports 88,750 jobs in Oregon.
(source for both, Canadian Embassy briefing, Washington DC, March 26, 2010).

How does this affect a local seller of real estate?

While all sellers expect their property to go on the MLS and the broker’s website – unique, high-end and investment properties need more. Much more. This is where FIABCI members can offer a seller a tremendous competitive advantage over every other broker.

  • FIABCI members are members of Proxio, a global MLS exchange for practitioners who work with international clients.
  • We can broadcast messages directly to FIABCI members around the globe to announce our special properties. This is supply and demand at work; I can maximize the supply of potential buyers.
  • At each business meeting, we can promote our featured listings to brokers from around the world – FACE to FACE. In the age of social media, we all know that face to face networking still yields the best results.

Prior to the meetings, many of us also attended a class on Global Real Estate that was conducted by a visiting professor from University of Denver. We were reminded that the United State is still considered the best real estate market in the world, so it is key to promote our local market outside our backyard.

So, as the U.S. continues to attract global real estate buyers, I will do my part to make sure that Oregon is on the world’s radar!

Thursday | International Destination

Many of us know someone, or know someone who knows someone, who owns property in higher-profile foreign destinations – such as Mexico and Costa Rica. In fact, hundred of thousands of North Americans already own property outside the U.S., and the numbers will only increase.  I plan to feature both established and up-and-coming destinations.  I will only write about countries that place no restrictions (or limited – such as a fideicomiso in Mexico) on foreign ownership.

This week it’s Ecuador!

Atacames is located on the Pacific coast, less than 400km from the Quito, Ecuador’s capital. It’s a small beach town popular with vacationers from Quito and nearby Columbia. A good friend of mine and real estate agent owns a condo on the beach, so if you’re want to check things out this is an affordable way to go; we can connect you with a reputable broker in the area as well.  More popular cities for North Americans are Cuencas and Salinas; most foreign buyers are from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.

Here’s a view from the balcony. I can send you more pictures and full details if you’d like.

Homebuying basics

  • New construction average is <$90 per square foot,
  • Cost effective way for Americans concerned about outliving their retirement assets,
  • No restrictions on foreign ownership,
  • No Multiple Listing Service; hire reputable agent  (I can refer you, just ask),
  • Transactions are still mostly cash, as in many destinations.

This is intended as just a very brief overview, and of course is not intended as legal advice.  Real estate transactions can be especially complex outside the United States, as customs and laws vary from country to country. As a member of FIABCI (the International Real Estate Federation), I can connect you to skill professionals worldwide. FIABCI has members representing the entire real estate spectrum, and we’re passionate about the world of international real estate. Please don’t hesitate to contact me.

If you have any destinations you’d like me to feature, please email me at or call +1.503.490.4116.

Highlights from New York

FIABCI meeting

Last week was the annual reception and meeting at the United Nations for members of FIABCI (the International Real Estate Federation). FIABCI maintains a Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the UN, the top ranking of any non-governmental organization.

In addition to being a networking event, we enjoyed a presentation by Michael P. Buckley on “Seven Transition Waves in the Midst of Crisis.” Mr. Buckley is the Director at Columbia University’s Center for High Density Development (CHDD). Two topics especially spoke to me:

1. Clustering – Cities that will thrive and lead in the 21st Century will be clusters of similar types of businesses. As Portland has built – and continues to build upon – its reputation for  being a center of green technology and industry, we will be a leading cluster in this arena. This bodes well for our future.

2. High Density Development – High density development is key to remaining a leading city in the 21st Century.  Mr. Buckley presented some CHDD-inspired case study scenarios for developments in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Harlem, New York City; Coney Island, New York City, among others. Here too, Portland is a leader. We’re fortunate to live in one of the few areas of the country with Urban Growth Boundaries, which maximize urban development and makes intermodal transportaion options more feasible.

United Nations Tour

We had an impressive tour of the United Nations and enjoyed some private remarks regarding the Global Housing Foundation (launched by FIABCI in 1999 in partnership with the UN). We take for granted our property rights in this country. However, it is estimated that one billion people live in slums. And worldwide, only 1% of property is owned by women.

From the GHF’s mission:

“Private-public partnerships like that of Global Housing Foundation are crucial to addressing and solving these catastrophic, imminent problems. For this reason, the United Nations, through its UN-HABITAT Human Settlements Program, has embraced Global Housing Foundation as a powerful model for slum-improvement programs. Global Housing Foundation is considered an official partner to the United Nations’ global housing efforts. In 2007 GHF teamed up with Merrill Lynch to create the world’s first international “Micro Mortgage” program.”

I look foward to learning more about the GHF,  and appreciate that FIABCI takes a leading role so that I may become involved. If you would like more information about any of the above, please contact me at, or call 503-490-4116.

Thank you for your business. Your support enables me to be active in groups that truly make a difference.

Proxio – A valuable new listing service

“All markets are local” is a phrase often used by the National Association of Realtors during our Public Awareness Campaigns. This is very true, and it underscores the need to contact a local market professional before buying or selling real estate.

However, when it comes to selling your home, your Realtor’s marketing plan should include promoting your property as far and wide as possible. As a member of FIABCI (the International Real Estate Federation), I am excited to announce we have partnered with Proxioa truly international MLS. Plus, the agents who belong to both FIABCI and Proxio specialize in working with global clients.

I can list your property on Proxio at no added cost, and give you a competitive edge in a very competitive market. Please call me if you’re thinking about buying or selling. It all starts with an initial conversation and a plan.

I’m going to the United Nations!

As a member of FIABCI (the International Real Estate Federation), I am fortunate to network, share ideas, and learn from some of the best in the business globally. Founded 60 years ago, FIABCI is based in Paris and has chapters in 65 countries; FIABCI-USA is the only real estate organization to represent the entire spectrum of the industry in the United States.

FIABCI also maintains a Special Consultative Status with the United Nations, and I am excited to be the only Realtor from Oregon who is attending this event on October 22nd.


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Friday, January 3, 2014

Agility trial

On December 28th we headed to Zanesville for another agility trial. We love going to trials in Zanesville because our friends Frankie and Ernie usually met us there. This time we got to give them the pressies we picked out for them for Christmas and they gave us some Christmas goodies as well. They are such nice guys.

Frankie and Ernie gave me good luck and I got a Q in my standard run with 9 more MACH points.

My Jumpers run wasn't so great. Dad messed up and sent me in the wrong end of the tunnel and then I dropped a bar. Still had fun though.

  1. Hey Sagira!
    Wow, you look wonderful, as always! Congrats on the big Q and I'm glad your jumps were fun. That's the important part anyway. BOL I can tell you that F-n-E were so glad to see you and your peeps! I heard all about it. BTW: Thanks so very much for the goodies! OMD the bandana is amazing...I'm wearing it now...and the toys are great. I admit to killing that stuffy, but it was a blast! Thanks so much for being such a super furiend and I've got a little something headed out to your pack too. Woohoooo!
    Grr and Woof,
    Sarge, Furiend

  2. You met up with Frankie and Ernie?!? How cool is that? It looks like you had a lot of fun running those courses!

  3. Awwwwwww we think it wasn't US that gave you Luck... WE think it was YOUR grrrrreat SKILL that got that new Q ! Bravo and Congratulations to you!!!
    AND thank you THANK YOU fur the super WONDERFUL Pressies.

  4. Concats on another Q and more MACH points Sagira.

Thanks for leaving me a comment. I LOVE reading all the comments.


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Monday, November 15, 2010

Deal of the Day: Best Prices All Year for Hanna Andersson

If you love Hannas, now is the time to buy! Every year, they have the best markdowns on some of their classic items during these last weeks in November.

These dresses with leggings are virtually indestructible! $11 off the dress and $7 off the leggings. If you're looking for a fun gift for under $35 dollars, check out these colorful rugby sweaters -- $18 off!

Santa needs to do some looking around now -- catch you later, faithful readers!

Cheap and Cheerful wants to know: What are your favorite sources for cozy, well made clothes?

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Become a Volunteer

Salem Main Streets relies heavily on the fantastic support of our volunteers.  If you are interested in volunteering for a Salem Main Streets event, please contact Kylie Sullivan, the Main Streets director, at 978-744-0004 x115, or e-mail:

Calls for Volunteers

Salem Farmers’ Market

The Salem Farmers’ Market runs every Thursday from June 8 until October 12. Volunteer once a month, every other week, or every week! All help is appreciated.

  • Set up (1:30 to 3pm): Set up tents, set up equipment (sound stuff for musicians), and help vendors unpack their goods (light to heavy to awkward-to-hold items; this is optional, but neighborly, useful, and fun).
  • Market (3 to 5pm and 5 to 7pm): Count visitors and answer questions.
  • Breakdown (6:30 to 8pm): Break down tents, bring equipment and supplies to storage (light to heavy to awkward-to-hold items), help vendors break their tents down and help pack their trucks and cars (light to heavy to awkward to hold items; this is optional, but neighborly, useful, and fun), and watch vendors’ stuff when they go to get their trucks and cars.

Contact Gillian at

October Information Booth

Salem Main Streets operates an Information Booth on the Pedestrian Mall for the month of October, staffed entirely by resident volunteers and serving over 24,000 visitors annually.

All volunteers are asked to be available for a minimum of two shifts for two hours each and will be required to complete a one hour orientation session.  The orientation will take place on Saturday, September 16 at 9:30 a.m. at the National Park Service Regional Visitor Center. Volunteers will be updated on new October events and there will be time for returning volunteers to share insights and information with those new to the program.

Click on this link to RSVP for the Orientation –

Volunteers are needed for two hour shifts throughout the day each weekend in October, as well as some additional dates including October 5 (Parade night), October 9 (Columbus Day), and of course, October 31 (Halloween Night). We are also looking for multi-lingual volunteers to assist the many international visitors who come to Salem. If you have availability some of these days, enjoy helping visitors by showing them your enthusiasm for our cultured and historic city, and want to make it fun and easy for visitors to explore all of Salem’s sites and attractions, please join us!

  2 Responses to “Become a Volunteer”

  1. I have been a resident of Salem for the past 14 years and have enjoyed watching the city evolve and grow into an amazing and rich destination all year round. I would like to volunteer and participate in the planning and organization process of the many events of this great community. Please let me know of how I can contribute.

  2. I have been an unwavering Ambassador Volunteer for: Salem MainStreets/Haunted Happenings, The Chamber Of Commerce, City Hall and Mayor Kimberly Driscoll, for the past 5 (this will be my 6th) years. I LOVE to always contribute and share any/all of my knowledge with Residents, Visitors & Tourists alike. For a recent example; I have given an Asian friend of mine a wealth of information on The City Of Salem-and-as a result, we both explored the city together and she wants to come back again and again. I really do enjoy it when I can help people with their visits/stays, even Tours about Salem. This City truly does have a very welcoming spirit about it, more than any other that I have known.

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May 2017

Strategic Initiatives in Sales Compensation: Factors to Consider

Objectives-based or strategic performance measures in sales compensation attempt to balance the short-term delivery of financial results with longer-term sales growth and increased customer value. Strategic Initiatives (or M.B.O.’s as they were once known), if used properly, have both qualitative and quantitative expectations and outcomes. To determine whether they make sense for your sales organization requires an assessment of their rationale and the pros, cons and requirements necessary to implement

outsourcing sales compensation help

Outsourcing Your Sales Compensation Part 1: Outsourcing as a Cost Cutting Measure or Strategic Initiative? In recent years the practice of outsourcing administrative functions has become increasingly prevalent. In particular, transactional activities that do not add value to the core functions and critical competencies of the enterprise have been targeted for contracting out. Payroll, benefits administration, inventory management, freight and logistics are all tasks often done outside, rather than monopolizing the

Sales Resource Group President Featured in The HR Gazette

The Sales Resource Group’s President, David Johnston, was published this week in Toronto-based HR publication, The HR Gazette. David Johnston’s latest article on sales compensation strategies is called Who Owns the Incentive Compensation Plan? and considers why so many incentive programs have failed to meet expectations, what are the root causes of lack of commitment and ownership by the executives, and how to create sales comp plans that will actually work. Here’s an

David Johnston Hosts New CPSA Sales Compensation Podcast

The Canadian Professional Sales Association’s Sales Compensation Strategy podcast series launched this month – promising to tackle the big issues connected with sales compensation, business strategy, and employee recognition. Learning how your sales compensation program aligns with your business goals, and how sales marketing and service strategies will help to achieve those goals is critical in today’s highly competitive local and global economies. This series will feature experts in sales compensation that have

sales comp podcast

Segmented Customer Targeting and Life Cycle Value   As companies are moving more and more toward having fewer salespeople on the street, those larger accounts become more critical, and as a result it’s really gets into customer segmentation. When you’re segmenting your customers into your A, B, and C type customers, then you need to have a strategy for your compensation program that says here’s what I need in terms

sales comp podcast

What Separates Effective Sales Comp Plans From Those That Fail?     What are the key components of those Sales Compensation plans which succeed when others fall to the wayside? Discover the two key elements.. Another Helpful Tip Brought to You By The Sales Compensation & Strategy Podcast The Sales Compensation & Strategy Podcast by the Sales Resource Group offers sound bites and interviews relating to all things sales compensation-related. Join

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3 Steps to Developing a Sales Compensation Plan     There are, essentially, three elements involved in developing a sales comp plan. The first is the upfront research that needs to be done to give you the data that you need in order to effectively model and calculate. Companies should get input from the leadership and sales leaders within the organization in terms of their direction and what they want

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What is a Sales Compensation Strategy?   A sales compensation strategy is the philosophical approach used to manage sales compensation for all sales roles within an organization, whether it’s inside, outside, channel sales, or major accounts. It is a philosophy and a strategy for how you want to pay your sales people. Another Helpful Tip Brought to You By The Sales Compensation & Strategy Podcast The Sales Compensation & Strategy Podcast

Sales Resource Group Founder Recently Interviewed on CPSA's SalesProChat Show

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Friday, 21 March 2014

Lentil Fritters / Paruppu Vada / Masal Vadai

Masala Vada / Vadai is a popular evening snack of South India. It is made out of lentils and spices . It perfectly pairs with Tea / Ginger Tea. It is also a popular street food to munch on and widely available in all tea shops here. They are crispy outside and soft inside. Flavoured with ginger and cilantro leaves

These are deep fried savoury fritters served with coconut chutney or just plain. Channa dal / spilt Bengal gram dal is soaked for 2 to 3 hours. It is then grind to coarse paste. Then we add chopped onion, ginger, green chilli and cilantro leaves to the batter. Batter is spread as thin discs and fried in hot oil.

My kids love them as evening snack with tea and I like them in spicy Kadhi. Today I made these vada to serve along with Kadhi , a yogurt based gravy. Vada will soak all the spicy yogurt sauce and it will be soft by the time we serve.

  • 1 Cup Channa dal (soaked for 3 hours atleast )
  • 1 Medium onion chopped finely
  • 2 Green Chillies
  • 1 inch piece ginger
  • 4 to 5 curry leaves (optional)
  • 1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
  • a pinch of Hing / Asafoetida
  • Oil for deep frying
  • salt as required

1. Wash Channa dal serveral times and soak it in water for 3 hours

2. Take 2 tablespoons of soaked channa dal and keep it separately. Grind remaining channa dal along with 2 green chillies, and ginger to coarse paste

3. Add chopped onion, salt, hing, chopped cilantro leaves, curry leaves and mix everything together. Now add reserved 2 tablespoon of channa dal also to the batter and mix well

4. Check for seasoning and salt if required
5. Heat oil for deep frying the vada. Take about 1 tablespoon of vada batter and make a disc. Drop the discs gently in the hot oil

6. Fry them in medium flame for 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, flip them and fry on the other side for 2 minutes

7. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel

8. Serve hot with tea

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Monday, 31 December 2012

Cheers to a new year

London Olympics 2012 Opening Ceremony  -  PA Photo from the web

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.     Oprah Winfrey

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.   Ralph Waldo Emerson

With best wishes for a happy, healthy, peaceful and secure 2013.

Wednesday, 26 December 2012

Silent night

All is peaceful on Albert Terrace in Saltaire. The scene on this cobbled street at night probably looks little different from how it looked when it was first built in 1854. That's kind of comforting, I feel.

OK, some purist will point out that the lamps used to be gas and the mill chimney used to have a fancy top... but never mind! The sepia toning is entirely natural.

Tuesday, 25 December 2012

The reason for the season

Another of Saltaire's Living Advent Calendar windows, in a house on Caroline Street, this seemed an appropriate image to remind us of the real reason for Christmas (not Santa after all!)

I heard a whisper somewhere (can't recall where) that there really was a new-born baby living at this house - and if that's true, then I wish the family every blessing at this special time of year. Enjoy your little one, they don't stay tiny for long. This time last year, my precious granddaughter was not much bigger than this. A year on and she's almost a toddler, and seems as happy and healthy as a child can be, for which I am thankful every single day. I'm going to really enjoy my Christmas Day with her.

Thinking today of all my family and friends: those I will see and those I won't, those I know face-to-face and those I know (and many I don't) who read this blog. Wishing you a very happy, peaceful and joyful Christmas, if you celebrate it, and a very good day if you don't.

'The star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him.'  Matthew 2: 9-11

Monday, 24 December 2012

Santa's coming!

As a child, I would have loved this metal rocking horse. It's in the window of the vintage homewares shop on Saltaire's Victoria Road. Only the thought of the shortage of storage space at home prevented me from popping in to buy it for my granddaughter! Together with the traditionally decorated Christmas tree, it makes an attractive and nostalgic display, especially at night when the lights are on. It seemed an appropriate illustration for Christmas Eve, when every child in the country must be waiting with barely suppressed excitement to see what Santa brings and whether he read their wish list!

Sunday, 23 December 2012

Heavenly host

Another of Saltaire's Living Advent Calendar windows - this can be seen in the porch of Saltaire's United Reformed Church.  It exemplifies the best of these window designs - bold, graphic, simple - and yet somehow (to me) it gets across a feeling of joy and exuberance, of angels trumpeting the good news of Christ's birth.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.' - Luke 2:13-14

Saturday, 22 December 2012

Spiderman gets lucky

Of all the Saltaire Living Advent Calendar windows, I think I like this one in Rhodes Street the best this year. It's different, it's amusing, it's bold, modern and colourful, beautifully executed and yet quite unfussy. 10 out of 10 from me!

I've been slightly disappointed that a lot of the windows have not come out very well on my photographs this year. Sometimes it's been a practical problem, a car or tree in the way. Though they all look very attractive to the observer (which is, I guess, the real point...) some are very pale or simply too detailed and intricate to show up well in a photograph. I have risked being run over standing in the middle of the road with a tripod but even so I have found that I need a longer telephoto lens for some. [It's on my Santa list but I don't think I've been good enough for long enough yet ;-(  ]  The Facebook page has pictures of all of the windows, taken by better photographers than me, so hop over there if you want more.

Friday, 21 December 2012

I guess most people enjoy peeking into other people's houses. I do. I've been known to go round 'show houses' that are for sale, just being nosey. I also get a magazine called '25 Beautiful Homes' to ogle the lovely interiors shown and glimpse the lifestyles that go with them. House-porn, they call it! I know lots of people blog about home decor too, and 'pin' pictures on Pinterest, so I know I'm not alone in this desire to see how other people live. Winter is the best time to peek into other people's rooms, when they leave their curtains open and the lights on. I've loved looking for Christmas lights, ever since I was a child, when it was a game we played on the journey to my grandparents' house at Christmas. So it was a delight to see this inviting scene, with its candles, wreath and Christmas tree, when I was out photographing the Advent windows in Saltaire. Sometimes 'an ordinary window' can look as attractive as the specially designed displays. It looked like someone had drawn a face in the condensation too, ha!

Thursday, 20 December 2012

An urban forest

All of a sudden a little forest has sprung up in Saltaire! Christmas trees for sale, all lined up on the wet pavement outside the greengrocer's shop.  I didn't bring one home, as my sitting room is too small - I can't fit a proper tree in anywhere, much as I like the look (and smell) of them. So I have a little carved and painted wooden tree that I bought at the German Christkindelmarkt one year. It's decorated with tiny wooden snowmen and bells, quite pretty. It wasn't until I looked at this photo that I noticed the florist's shop (Bouquets) has closed down. Another victim of our recessionary times.

Wednesday, 19 December 2012

Doves of peace

Window number 16 of Saltaire's Living Advent Calendar can be found on George Street. It's a flock of doves, beautifully lit. This photo hardly does it justice. In these chaotic times it was good to feast my eyes on these symbols of peace, spend a few moments thinking of the world's troubled places... Syria and Newtown, Connecticut, amongst others... to reflect, too, on why we have Christmas at all.

They have made the most of those old 1930s stained glass windows that some of the village houses have. They are a legacy from when the housing stock, which had originally belonged to the Salts company, was sold (see more here) and people could opt to buy the property they lived in. A lot of people apparently started 'modernising' and personalising their homes with these leaded light windows that were very fashionable at that time.

Tuesday, 18 December 2012

Late night shopping

Out in the evening with my camera on a tripod, the parade of shops on Saltaire's Victoria Road looked too enticing to pass by without a photo. I liked the different colours and warmths of the lights. The hairdresser, on the left, has sparkly chandeliers; the bakery always looks warm and inviting; the bar 'Don't tell Titus' has hot red lights that make it look like a haven in a storm. Further down, the jeweller's lights are appropriately diamond-white and the shops at the bottom of the row, which sell nice things for the home (oriental, vintage, art), have fairy lights - very pretty.

Monday, 17 December 2012

Baildon Green revisited

Although it's only a fifteen minute walk from Saltaire, the hamlet of Baildon Green always feels to me like a different planet altogether. Many of the buildings pre-date Saltaire (which lies further down in the valley, more or less at the end of the road you can see). The hamlet grew up as a small farming community; then the textile industry developed, firstly domestic handlooms, then a 'loom shop' attached to a farm and in 1840 a small mill was built. The open land was 'Common Land' (something Saltaire did not have) where people were allowed to collect firewood and graze their animals. To this day the grass on the right is grazed by goats and a natural spring forms a small pool. Baildon Green became famous for an annual Gypsy gathering. They say that over 5000 people attended in1881 but the tradition died out at the beginning of the 20th century. These days the area is a Conservation Area, so hopefully its character will continue to be preserved. (See also this early post of mine.)

Sunday, 16 December 2012

Seaside colours

Sometimes the dark and cold at this time of year starts to get me down. It's nice then to seek a dose of colour and sunshine on blogs from sunnier climes. It's even better to wake up to a sudden clear, crisp, sunny day. On just such a golden morning recently, I went out for a walk; not far, just up through Baildon Green, following the road because the footpaths were so wet and muddy. The route passes through what was once a quarry (where some of the stone that built Saltaire originated from, I believe). Looking up the hill, I liked the tones of blue, white and sandy yellow - in fact it reminded me of seaside colours!  The trees and the grasses may be winter-dead but they are still pretty.

Saturday, 15 December 2012

Success in 'Le Bid'

Yorkshire will host the 2014 Tour de France! The county has beaten worldwide competition in its bid to bring the cycling race, one of the world's largest sporting events, to the North of England for the first time. On the 5th & 6th of July 2014, the county will host the Grand Départ, the prestigious opening days of the iconic cycling race. The race will start from Leeds, probably touring up into the North York Moors and then from York through to Sheffield. The exact route will be announced in January next year but as well as starting locally it's likely that it will pass not far from Saltaire on the second day too. The Tour will then move south for a final stage, finishing in London, before moving across the Channel to France. Expect to see everyone go cycling mad. I'm excited already! All credit to those involved in putting Le Bid together - Welcome to Yorkshire (the tourism body) was the prime mover.
Allez Yorkshire!

Friday, 14 December 2012

Dancing bear

Window number 5 of Saltaire's Living Advent Calendar is particularly innovative. Created by Abbi and Craig on Constance Street, the window features this bear, wearing a very Christmassy sweater, with a robin in a party hat (so cute!) If visitors click the QR code in the bottom corner of the window with a mobile phone app, they can watch the window come to life in an animated version. (This may be a Victorian village but we're up there with the latest trends!) Happily, you too can see this delightful animation from the comfort of your own home - click here to watch it on Vimeo. It's quite jolly!

Thursday, 13 December 2012

It's that spam again...

Another anonymous fan comment (ha!) :
'I'm a long time watcher and just thought I'd drop by and say howdy there for the incredibly 1st time. I severely delight in your posts. Many thanks. You will be my function models.'
Nice to be appreciated, isn't it?
(Though they do want me to look at their useful webpage: 'How to get fair skin naturally at home'.  Bathe in milk, maybe...? Let me know if you want the link to look at it for the incredibly 1st time.)

Star light, candle light

Advent.... the expectant waiting for Christ's coming - a Christian season that I find really helpful and try to observe in small ways. I love the Advent carols we sing in church, I love lighting the candles, I find it a time for counting my blessings. I try not to spend the whole of December rushing around in a pre-Christmas frenzy; there's so much happening to enjoy. Like me, many people engage in the tradition of opening windows on an advent calendar each day, counting down the days - maybe anticipating the chocolate inside too, if you go for that kind of calendar!

In December in Saltaire, as regular readers of this blog will know, the village becomes a 'Living Advent Calendar'. Each day from the 1st to the 24th December, a window display is lit somewhere in the village. Glowing each evening from dusk until about 10pm, the lighted windows form a lovely trail as the month goes on, a chance to marvel at people's creative ingenuity. It's well worth a visit if you live locally. For those that can't visit, there are ways to share. I will be posting some photos on my blog as usual and there is also a Facebook page that features all the windows, as they're lit - click here.

This one - window number 6 - is the one in Saltaire Methodist Church Hall, created by members of Saltaire Art Club. They always make a good job of it and I really like this year's display. The strong colours and bold shapes have quite an impact.

Wednesday, 12 December 2012

A promise fulfilled

I promised - so here it is..... Saltaire's Christmas tree, all lit up. Standing on the lawn outside the Victoria Hall, it has a bit of a hard job competing with the floodlights that illuminate this magnificent Victorian building. (See here for a daytime photo of the Victoria Hall).  Nevertheless, it's quite pretty this year, with coloured lights that flash. They're a bit blurry in my photo as it was really windy at the time I took it.

Tuesday, 11 December 2012

White Christmas?

In the church hall of Baildon St John's, someone had gone to enormous trouble to create this magical festive scene: snow, fir trees, polar bears, penguins and reindeer - and of course a sleigh. Isn't it lovely? I can feel all those schmaltzy Christmassy songs running round my head... 'I'm dreaming of a white Christmas'.... Actually, one is starting to look a distinct possibility. It's freezing cold here and sleeting.

Monday, 10 December 2012

Wreath display

Inside St John's Church, Baildon, as part of the village's Christmas festival, they had a display of festive wreaths. They ranged from traditional foliage wreaths to very modern ones made of unusual materials, and from elegant to quirky and humorous.  (See below: sparkling snowflakes, brussels sprouts and dog biscuits!) It was a very innovative idea and well worth viewing.  The church itself is small but not unattractive, with wooden pews, an elaborate metal rood screen and some stained glass windows.

Sunday, 9 December 2012

St John the Evangelist, Baildon

Baildon's Parish Church, St John the Evangelist, was built in 1848 with the tower added later, in 1928, to commemorate those killed in the 1st World War. It is not very big inside and when it was first built it was not a parish church, being then part of the parish of Otley. It is linked with St James, a pretty church I showed on my blog some time ago, and St Hugh's down in the valley.

Saturday, 8 December 2012

Beat the cold!

There was pre-Christmas fun in Baildon last weekend. The village (a couple of miles from Saltaire) held a festival, with lots of craft stalls, music, dancing and of course plenty to eat and drink. There was a great atmosphere, with crowds of people enjoying the bright sunshine, even though it was cold.

One way of beating the cold is to get your clogs tapping, which is just what Saltaire's very own dance team, Rainbow Morris, were doing, dancing here outside Baildon's Ian Clough Memorial Hall and adding lots of colour to the scene. (Ian Clough was a Baildon man, a skilled mountaineer, who was sadly killed in 1970 climbing Annapurna in an expedition led by Chris Bonington.)

Friday, 7 December 2012

All lit up

I had to call at the Post Office parcel delivery office the other evening on my way home from work, to pick up a parcel from Amazon. I've done nearly all my Christmas shopping online this year, which may or may not be good for the overall shape of the British economy but has been very good for my stress levels! Anyway, that meant a trip through Shipley market place, so I took a quick snap of the LIT Christmas tree on my iPhone. It's much prettier at night than it looks in daylight... the downside being that far more people get to see it during the day (see here or scroll back to Monday) than at night. I still prefer a real tree.  The glowing red thing in the background is the clock tower in its festive garb.

Thursday, 6 December 2012

Cosy glow

From the steps of Saltaire's Victoria Hall, looking across Victoria Road towards the nicely symmetrical old Factory Schools (now part of Shipley College).

You get a sense from this photo of the glow at the heart of our village on a chill winter night. The public buildings have warm-toned floodlights illuminating the stone work. Along with the street-lighting, which is not too harsh and modern, it makes it all seem really cosy.

Wednesday, 5 December 2012

Let there be light

No doubt, as a gran, I shall get more acquainted with this type of thing... Enterprising traders had set up pitches selling these light sabres and wands, outside the Victoria Hall.  The children were really enjoying running around with them and I must admit they looked rather fun and pretty, flashing and glowing in the dark.  I was quite amused to see one little lad - about four, I guess - whose parents had obviously not succumbed to his pleas. He just walked over and helped himself to one and ran off with it! The stallholder did spot him though and went and retrieved his stock - quite gently, I might add.

Tuesday, 4 December 2012

Christmas tree...

Saltaire, unlike Shipley, has a real Christmas tree, on the lawn outside the Victoria Hall. It's not very big (or maybe it just looks small against the huge building) but it is REAL. People gathered on Sunday to see the switching-on of the lights. There were a few Christmassy stalls inside and plenty of mulled wine to drink. Hall Royd Brass Band played carols. Everyone stood around and got cold.... In fact I got so cold I went home before they'd even switched the lights on. Tch!

I will go back one evening and take a proper photo, I promise.

Monday, 3 December 2012

Christmas tree?

When Gattina (Writer Cramps) shared photos of the very avant-garde Christmas tree in Brussels this year, it reminded me of the one in Shipley's town centre.  They used the same idea last year and most of the time it didn't even seem to be lit. This photo was taken in the daytime - the lights are on, but you can't see them.  Even a bit of lens flare doesn't really cheer it up...  Nul points and a definite thumbs down from me, Shipley, sorry!

Sunday, 2 December 2012

Beside the railway line, right in the centre of Shipley, is a scrap metal merchant's depot. It's huge but fairly cleverly hidden in a valley, so you hardly notice it from road level, though from the train it makes a fascinating and surprisingly colourful sight. I took this photo from the railway bridge. There are hundreds of skips full of scrap, all perched rather precariously on top of one another. I can't imagine what becomes of it in the end.

Saturday, 1 December 2012

Carnegie Library

Every time I see this building it makes me feel sad. It's in Windhill, on the main road from Shipley towards Leeds, not far from the Dock Lane cluster of buildings that I showed on Thursday. Built in 1905, it was one of many libraries built with a grant from the Carnegie Trust. Unfortunately it is poorly positioned on what is now a very busy road junction. It's a long time since it was used as a library and it also had a brief incarnation as a dance hall before becoming disused and now boarded up. There was a plan to turn it in to flats, but that appears to have faltered. (I'm not sure who'd want to live right on the junction anyway.) Sadly you can see it degenerating, year by year. The windows are broken, there are trees growing through the masonry and I imagine it is damp and decaying inside. It's unfortunate that it stands in a prominent position on the way into the town and gives a terrible impression. It will no doubt end up demolished, a shameful end for a once fine building.


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Happy Vinayagar Chathurthi - Puranam Kozhukattai/ Rice flour dumplings with Coconut filling

>> Sunday, September 12, 2010

Happy Vinayagar Chathurthi to everyone!!! Today we celebrated Pillayar chathurthi with the traditional menu including plain kozhukattais, puranam kozhukattais, sundal, venn pongal, vadai and payasam. Also this year I made pillayar idol myself with the modelling clay and it turned out great.. And I was really happy to celebrate pillay chathurthi with our home made pillayar idol.. :)

Here I am sharing the recipe of puranam kozhukattai. Kozhukattai is the steamed sweet dumplings made from rice flour which is a must for Pillayar chathurthi. Puranam kozhukattais are the rice dumplings filled with some sweet filling like coconut or sesame. Puranam in Tamil refers to the fillings used inside the dumplings. I made the filling using coconut and sesame seeds. Usually in India my mom and my MIL both used to make their own rice flour at home, but I didn't have much time and used the store bought rice flour.

Things needed
Rice flour - 1 Cup
Salt - a pinch
Grated coconut - 1/2 Cup
Sesame seeds - 2 Tbsp ( Dry roasted and coarsely ground)
Jaggery - 1/4 Cup
Cardamon powder - 1 Tsp
Water - 1/2 Cup to 3/4 Cup

Place rice flour with salt in a blow. Add required amount of warm water so as to make a soft, non-sticky dough. To make the filling, heat jaggery in a pan along with a Tbsp of water. As the jaggery melts add the coconut and ground sesame seeds and cook until the mixture thickens. Filling is ready when the mixture could be made into balls without getting crumbled.

Now divide the rice dough into small balls. Shape the balls into small cups, if required use little oil to shape the dough. Fill the rice cups with coconut-sesame filling and finish them into desired shapes like round balls, crescent shaped or like that of a coconut.
Steam the prepared kozhukattais by placing them in the idly plate for 5 minutes on medium flame or until the outer covering gets cooked. Sweet kozhukattais are ready to be part of offerings to Pillayar.

aipi September 12, 2010 at 4:34 PM

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to you n your family dear !
Kozhukattai has come out very nice and loved that middle picture very nice !!

US Masala

Satya September 13, 2010 at 9:51 AM

lord ganesha looks so divine ...happy ganesh chaturthi to u n ur family ...kozhukattais looks so delicious

Priya (Yallapantula) Mitharwal September 13, 2010 at 9:55 AM

Happy vinayaka chaturthi to you too dear.

Priya September 13, 2010 at 12:49 PM

Belated vinayaka chathurthi wishes..kozhukattais looks yummy..

Krishnaveni September 13, 2010 at 3:50 PM

Happy vinayagar chaturthi, delicious kozhukatai, great

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