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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Chicken with Honey Mustard Plus Sauce

Ever had one of those days that starts with a firm plan and a to-do list that is set in concrete__until you open your eyes and put your feet on the floor?  Then every thing you had so carefully orchestrated falls apart and the day is nothing but a system of punts.  Oh yes, that was my day today.

I had about 10 places I needed to go today before our weekend trip to Atlanta.  Unfortunately The Hub decided we needed to have the car carpet shampooed before said trip.  So instead of getting everything finished like I wanted to, I was at the car detail place at 8 a.m.  My car was held hostage there until nearly 5 this afternoon.  Maybe y'all are craftier than I am but I could not figure any way to get from here to there sans car.   I was stuck at home, carless with errands I now get to do tomorrow.

What to do, what to do?  I looked around and realized I had about 5 pounds of okra that needed to be preserved somehow.  I also had 4 pounds of green pears that could either be left to ripen for eating or cooked into some delicious preserves.

Since I was stuck at home anyway, the day turned into a processing and preparing day. The  pears have been cooked  and are waiting one more step tomorrow before canning.  3 bags of okra were tossed with cornmeal, spread on baking sheets and par-cooked.  They now swim with the fishes, and pork chops and beef tenderloins and squash packages in the freezer.  That left about 2 pounds for making pickled okra, with enough left for a side dish to go with supper.

By the time I had picked up my car and finished the final 2 jars of okra it was time to think about cooking.  I had a package of boneless chicken breasts, about a pound of okra and a bag of broccoli slaw.  It was pretty meager pickings to make a tasty meal. Since I was frying the okra, I wanted the chicken to be fairly simple.

I looked online and found a recipe for honey mustard chicken.  It was simple sauteed chicken breasts with a sauce made of honey and 2 types of mustard,  to be brushed on after cooking.  I thought it might make a decent base for a finishing sauce.

                     Chicken Somewhat Like the Honey Mustard Recipe I Found Earlier

4 chicken breast halves, patted dry
2 tablespoons sunflower oil (or any neutral oil)
1/2 cup dry white wine

Heat a dry saute' pan to very warm then add your oil.  When the oil is hot place the four chicken breasts in the pan and cook about 5 minutes on medium high.  Turn the breasts and lightly salt each one.  Cook for 3 minutes, then begin basting with the sauce.  After the 2nd baste pour about 1/2 cup of a dry white wine in the bottom of the pan to keep the sugar in the honey from burning. Turn the heat down to medium and continue basting and cooking for another 4 or 5 minutes minutes.  Flip them again and baste the other side a couple of times and then serve spooning a bit of the sauce on top of  each of the chicken breasts

Honey Mustard Plus Sauce

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup agave (because I only had 1/4 cup honey)
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup coarse grained brown mustard
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
dash of salt
3 turns of freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsley or 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
2 teaspoons dried savory leaves ( I meant to use thyme but had none. The savory was a delicious punt.)

Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl until blended.

This was a huge hit at the supper table tonight.  Everyone really did like it and each person asked to have it again.  I guess that is the biggest compliment you can get from something thrown together at the last minute.  It would be fantastic served over Jasmine rice with the sauce over it, seeping into the rice grains.  I will make a mental note to serve it that way next time.  I am delighted I was out of thyme because the savory/ parsley combination was a nice light flavor that complimented the mustards without over powering it.  It probably would have been better if I had the full 1/2 cup of honey since agave does not have a very distinct flavor, but it was delicious as it was.

I honestly can't think of anything I would do differently except to double the recipe and make additional chicken breasts.  It would be outstanding sliced cold on top of a green salad  with some sliced avocado. I would be tempted to add some of the sauce to additional olive oil and use it to dress the salad.

If you are in a chicken rut, try this.  You might like it.  You might even be like we were and like it__alot!

Monday, August 26, 2013

With A Cherry On Top

Sometimes I wish I were not such a nerd and didn't feel the need to research things we eat.  It seems every time I do I have to cross another item we used to enjoy off the list.  This time I HAD to read about the process of  making Maraschino cherries.  Dang!  Another food item gone!  Spoiler:  They chemically bleach all the color out of cherries, shoot them with red dye number 5 for that uniform hot pink cherry color, then send them swimming in a dye infused solution of sugar, high fructose corn syrup (GMO)  and water with several preservatives thrown in for good measure.  Ick!

Now don't get me wrong. It's not like we sit around throwing down cherries right and left, but some things like a sundae or certain beverages absolutely require a cherry on top.  Since I had a boatload of Bing cherries in the refrigerator I started looking for a way to make some suitable cherry topper for desserts.  It was easier than I thought.  I found a blog called The Garden of Eating and low and behold, there was a recipe for home canned cherries.

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cherry juice ( can substitute concord grape or black cherry)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
2 cups pitted fresh bing cherries

Bring the sugar water and cherry juice to a boil and stir until all the sugar is liquified.  Reduce heat to low and add the lemon juice, extract and cherries.  Cook for about 5 minutes for the cherries to absorb all the flavors.  Put the hot cherries in sterile canning jars.  Pour the juice over leaving 1/4 inch of head space.  Put canning lids on and process in a  water bath for 10 minutes.

Do these look and taste just like the traditional maraschino cherries?  Not exactly but they are a perfectly acceptable alternative and don't have a boatload of chemicals in them.

I have also read of another way to make a spirited version of these  You simply pour Maraschino Liqueur over stemmed cherries and let them sit for a couple of weeks for their "flavor" to develop. Since I live in Alabama and the state mandates what liqueurs are available for purchase, I cannot find it but I  thought I might scout for it in Florida when I am on vacation.  Will amend this post if I find some and it works.

p.s.  If you intend to make anything with fresh cherries, invest in a cherry pitter and work over the sink! When I had finished pitting all of them it looked like I needed to call Dexter to come analyze a crime scene.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Easy Peasy Shortbread

Ever wanted something sweet, but not too sweet.  Then you realize you really want something cookie-like but at the very same moment realize you are totally out of eggs.  That happened to me recently so I started looking through my cookie file.  Eureka!  Shortbread was just what I needed to make.  It requires no eggs, no mixer, no cookie cutters, it's a one bowl operation and takes about 35 minutes from start to finish.

                                                                 Easy Shortbread

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon reserved

In a medium mixing bowl mix all the ingredients until well blended.  The absolute best way to mix this is to wash your hands well, dry them and then mix with the tools God gave you until it is smooth. If is seems too dry and crumbly add a few drops of milk and continue mixing until smooth.  On an ungreased baking pan pat it into about an 8 inch circle that is about 1/2 inch thick.  With a fork, lightly prick the surface of the shortbread then cut into 8 or 10 pie shaped pieces, but DO NOT separate the slices from the circle. Bake it at 350 for about 25 -30 minutes ( Ovens vary.  You want it completely baked, but not browned)  Remove from the oven and immediately cut the pieces again, following the lines of the previous cut. Sprinkle lightly with the reserved sugar. Remove the pieces from the pan  and place on a cooling rack. Enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea.

This is a very simple but tasty treat when you are low on ingredients and time, but really do want a little something sweet until you can get to the grocery store and buy something truly decadent!

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Saving Strawberries

You know how you are about to make a salad for supper and you look in the crisper to get the lettuce and cucumbers and notice an entire carton of strawberries shoved in the back of the drawer?  Then you take them out and see you have to use them right now or toss the entire thing?  (Please tell me I am not the only one who occasionally overlooks fruit.)  You start thinking about how you can incorporate it into the night time meal, but honestly a bowl of strawberries does not sound good with grilled scamp, a baked potato and salad.  Keep? Toss? Keep? Toss?

Right as I was about to throw it away I remembered I had paid 2 bucks for it.  Trashing it would be akin to taking those 2 dollars and flushing them down the toilet, so I started thinking and flipping through my favorite food sites to find a quick recipe for strawberry cake.  Somehow or another during the search a recipe for Strawberry Balsamic Jam popped up.

 Hmmmmm.  It sounded good, but I did not want to run to the store and buy additional strawberries and I surely did not want to be stuck canning all night.  Instead I played around with the ingredients and the amounts to get a single small jar of what I guess is more like a conserve than a true jam.

                                           Strawberry Balsamic Conserve/Jam

1 pound very ripe strawberries, washed and hulled
3 tablespoons sugar ( I used sucanat  just to see if it would work)
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Put all in a small sauce pan and cook over medium low heat until the berries are very soft.  Mash the fruit using a potato masher (a fork would work) and cook until the mixture is very thick, watching to make sure it does not caramelize. (30 minutes maybe)  Let cool then place in a container in the refrigerator.

Though I don't dislike jams and jellies, I never actively look for them.  I am not one of those people who want jelly on my toast or biscuits...until this!  I think my indifference has been the lack of compound flavors in the jams and jellies I had had in the past.  I have eaten balsamic over strawberries on ice cream and thought it was delicious. ( Thanks, Cindy!)  That same kick of flavor was what made this jam taste just fantastic.  I have eaten it on toast, a plain scone and on goat cheese spread on a cracker ( Oh my goodness, that was the bomb)

Deliciousness and strawberries saved!   It extended the life of the berries by about 3 weeks and tasted good.  That is what I call a win/win situation.  Next on my list, peach black pepper jam?

Sunday, August 11, 2013

A Reason To Always Keep Shallots: Steak And Stuff!

Yesterday was one of those horrible, no good, very bad days.  It was not a day you could blame on any one thing either.  It was just a combination of irritants that create those days you just wish would end, because you know tomorrow will be better.

Sometimes my solution to the blues, is to cook something delicious.  When I am upset I bake, when I am sad I bake, but when I am just generally pissed with the world, I dig a little deeper and try to make something really delicious.  Plus I am currently eating no sugar ( Think no chocolate might be contributing to my black mood?) so baking was out of the question anyway.

There has been a recipe floating around Pinterest that is all about making steakhouse steaks.  Thanks to an incredible weekend sale at The Pig, I had 4 steaks in the fridge, plus I already had shallots and garlic in a basket and a carton of white mushrooms.  The only thing I did not have was Marsala.  I am not a very big fan of cooking wines, and since I almost always have a bit of leftover wine, there is just no point in buying it.

There were no amounts or measurements given so I was careful to measure for it to be accurate.  It was really more of a how to than a recipe.  This is a reformed recipe, using the original ingredients  except I added the butter because the sauce tasted flat plus  I had  tablespoon of leftover drawn butter. ( Thanks to The Hub's recent lobstering outing)

                                                              Steakhouse Type Steak

3 tablespoons ground beef* (If cooking steak in the skillet omit)
3 shallots, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup Marsala (any dry red wine works)
salt to taste
cracked black pepper to taste
4 steaks, seasoned as usual for you ( I use Angelo's Steak Seasoning * 'cause it is the bomb)

The instructions call for pan cooking the steaks, so if you are inclined to do that omit the ground beef.  If you are going to cook the steak in the pan do it now. ( It will require a couple of additional tablespoons of olive oil)  When you reach your level of doneness remove the steaks from the pan and put then somewhere warm.

 I had purchased a whole beef tenderloin and the butcher had not only sliced and trimmed it, but had ground all the trimmings minus the silver skin.  Since we prefer grilled steak, I put 3 tablespoons of the trimmings in the pan and cooked it well. while the steaks grilled.  Using a slotted spoon remove the ground beef , leaving all of the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.  ( Shelby, the dog, was most happy to have a treat on top of her dry food)

I had 3 shallots and used all of them, peeled and sliced thinly.  The garlic cloves were medium size.  If I had larger cloves I would  use only 3.   Add the olive oil to the pan and heat to a medium high heat.  Toss the shallots in and let them wilt, then add the garlic, stirring to keep the garlic from browning.  Remove from the heat and stir in the mushrooms.  Move them around to coat with the oil then return to heat for about 2 minutes, stirring continually.  Add the wine and stir through the vegetables, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorporate the beef flavors there.  Reduce the liquid by half, stir in the butter, add salt and pepper to taste and serve on top of each steak.

This was an instant mood lifter!  It was delicious and a snap to make.  It amped up the flavor of the steak and even provided some additional vegetables.  There was not a morsel left, though Shelby kept a constant vigil just in case!

Next time I make this I might experiment with some fresh herbs.  I think a little marjoram or thyme  added when the wine goes in might be very tasty.  I have parsley in the yard and should have minced some of that also but I just didn't think of it in time. Next time 4 shallots will be used.  They taste  great and really compliment the garlic.

And this is why you should always have shallots on hand.  You never know when you might have to cook your way out of the doldrums!

* I am going to the beach in a week and will be restocking my Angelo's stash.  Anyone else need any?

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Inventou O Prato de Frango ( Brazilian Chicken)

The catchy title of this chicken dish is actually a rough translation from English to Portuguese for the phrase "Totally Made Up Chicken Dish"  I can't verify the accuracy of the translation since I don't speak a lick of Portuguese, but it seemed like I needed to "fancy it up" by using a romance language instead of my own.  If it's not correct take it up with BabelFish.  I was completely at their mercy.

I am always looking for something we have never eaten before to try for meals.  We get bored eating the same food over and over.  A few weeks ago when I was cleaning my cookbook shelf, I happened on an old folder stuffed with recipes I had cut from magazines.  To anyone younger who might be reading this, there was a time, before Pinterest, when we looked through magazines for trendy, new food inspiration.  Once we found something that caught our eye, we would physically cut if from the page and either stick it in a folder, or paste it to a 3x5 card  and keep it alphabetically in a nice little card box. ( Seems insane or like something reminiscent of the dinosaur era, right?)  Of course, once I found the folder, it was a message from above to quit dusting and shuffle through the bits and pieces of magazine pages.

When I looked through it, I wondered what had possessed me to cut some of them out in the first place. Liver spaghetti? I hate liver so why would I bother with that?  Congealed salads?  Ditto with the Jello aversion!   I  also found quite a few recipes that would be considered ancient now, since some of the ingredients are no longer made. ( Anyone remember Whip & Chill)   Some reflected pop culture ( The Saturday Night Fever Dinner Party ) and some were just timeless recipes.

I found a recipe for a Brazilian pork dish  and made it for supper that night. It  met with lukewarm results then, but  the leftovers were stellar when we ate them for lunch a few days later.  I figured the  rub used to flavor the pork was what made it delicious, so I took the spice list and tweaked it a little to make my personal Brazilian* blend.

Brazilian Seasoning Blend

2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Put all the ingredient in a bowl and whisk to blend well.  Store tightly covered. ( I used an empty washed and well dried spice container and wrote Brazil on the cap but I am pretty sure it would live happily in any covered jar)

                          Completely and Totally Made Up On The Fly Chicken Recipe

4 boneless chicken breast halves
1 small onion, sliced in rings
1 clove garlic, minced
3 teaspoons Brazilian seasoning
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup dry white wine ( add an additional 1/2 cup if desired)

Season the chicken breasts lightly with the seasoning mix and let rest for about 5 minutes.  Add the oil to a pan and heat till hot.  Lightly brown the chicken on both sides then remove from the pan.  Add the onions and wilt, then add the garlic.  Put the chicken back in the pan on tops of the vegetables and add the white wine.  Sprinkle the remaining seasoning over the chicken breasts.  Reduce heat to medium low, cover the pan and let simmer until the wine is reduced by half.  To serve put 1/4of the onion garlic mixture on the bottom of the plate and top with the chicken.  Drizzle the top of each piece with the liquid remaining in the pan.

This was a very tasty and very easy dish.  I served it with some funky potatoes I had gotten in my co-op box and a side salad.  Next time I will serve it on a bed of rice and add an additional 1/2 cup of wine when cooking so it will have a tad more sauce.   This seasoning blend is so good, it could possibly become my second most used blend.  Don't worry Cavander's, you will always be my first love.

*This may or may not actually be a Brazilian spice combination.  I am only calling it Brazilian because the recipe I found did.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Tuna Salad? Surely You Jest? Yes!!!

When we were kids my childhood best friend and I both loved to cook.  Some days instead of playing outside we would "play" in the kitchen.  Both of our mothers let us use the kitchen freely with the same rules at each house.  Whatever we created had to be to eaten ( either by us or shared with the family)  and whatever we messed up had to be completely cleaned.  It was a perfect playground for us to cook up anything and everything we could dream of making.

We were only 9 or 10 but were most impressed with party food and drinks. We cooked all kinds of food and we cooked often, but some of our more notable dishes were child appropriate imitations of adult favorites. Mock pink champagne?  We made it and drank it out of sherbet bowls. ( It was the closest thing to a champagne flute we could find.)  Mock chocolate mousse?  Horrible, but we ate it from china cups with demitasse spoons.  Fake pate' made from potatoes and some other vegetable I can't remember?  Made and served on top of the uber gourmet Nabisco saltines.  As I recall other than making us feel pseudo-sophisticated they were all failures. After that I pretty much stayed away from the fake stuff  until a few weeks ago when I began dabbling in alternate ingredients to create everyday foods.

I am not sure where I first saw switching chick peas for tuna in tuna salad, most likely some vegan site, but the recipe they used was nowhere near my traditional tuna experience.  I am sure someone somewhere would love a curry, diced red pepper, and smoked coconut flake type of "tuna" salad, but it did not appeal to me in the least.  Instead I tinkered with it for a more typical take on tuna and came up with this.

                                                                       Tunaless Salad

1 cup of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight, cooked and drained ( or 1 can well drained)
3-4 ribs of celery, diced
3 scallions, sliced
2 teaspoons brown grained mustard
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons chopped pickles ( sweet or dill) optional
1 chopped hard boiled egg, optional

Serves 3-4

Make sure the chickpeas are well cooked.  You want them very soft but not mushy.  Drain them well and using a fork mash them until they are chunky.  Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix until blended but do not over mix or complete mush will happen.  This can be eaten immediately but is much better if it can hang around in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving.  I tried it first as a sandwich and have to admit it really does not work eaten that way.  But on some lettuce or stuffed in a tomato it becomes a pretty tasty lunch.  I would say I like it better than tuna salad because it does not have the cat food smell, but I like it slightly less than chicken salad.

Though the egg is optional and I have tried it both with and without, the egg lends a certain body to the mix and richness to the flavor.  The celery provides a needed bit of crunch and the brown mustard and the lemon juice add the tartness. I am a pickle person and have tried it using both dills and sweet pickles.  I liked both of them and could only say let your personal taste guide you. The mayonnaise is what binds it together and if you are a mayonnaise hater, this is probably not the dish for you.

First black bean brownies then adzuki bean burgers now chick pea "tuna"!  I am developing a new appreciation for the lowly bean.  Who said you can't teach an old dog a new trick?


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Monday, January 4, 2010

Help for Parents!

Found some new books that look intriguing - now we haven't read them - but they seem reputable!!!
Instructing a Child's Heart by Tedd and Margy Tripp
Everyday Talk by John A. Younts

And here's the deal- IF you do read one of these - leave a comment - we ALL want to know what you think!!!!

No comments:

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Chicago O’Hare holiday decorations are a tradition for employees and customers

’Twas the week before Thanksgiving and the airport was bustling. Load factors were high and the passengers were hustling.

But overnight things were quiet and a change was a coming. ORD’s facilities maintenance mechanics were working hard with lift engines humming.

Down came country flags from the long hall in T3, up went decorations to prompt hundreds of selfies.

For the last 30 years, the iconic holiday decorations in Chicago’s O’Hare Terminal 3’s main atrium have brought holiday cheer to the thousands of passengers who pass through American’s third largest hub. Between the time the decorations go up — in time for the busy Thanksgiving travel period — and come down, it’s difficult to walk through the terminal without seeing people stop to take photos or see children’s eyes light up as they take in the holiday splendor.

American’s facilities maintenance mechanics are the unsung heroes behind the 8-foot-tall bows, 7,500 tiny white lights and dozens of lit doves. For more than 25 years, Viorel Petre — ORD’s own Father Christmas — directs the group, making sure each of the bows is hung precisely at the correct height and angle to complement the giant metal globe in the middle of the terminal. The team works overnight for two weeks to prepare, construct and hang the decorations — a process that takes approximately 544 work hours.

“When you’re here at 5 a.m. and the families are traveling and the children are crying, but then they come in and see this — they just light up,” Viorel said.

You may recognize the decorations from the iconic 1990 holiday classic, Home Alone. The film’s producers selected T3 in part because of the gorgeous decorations. Scenes from Home Alone and Home Alone 2 weren’t actually shot over the holidays, but the decorations were rehung for filming.

Home Alone was also on the minds of The Timelapse Group. This year, American hired the New York City-based company to document the decorations as they were being hung in T3.

“Our favorite part of the shoot was finding out that the terminal we were shooting at was where one of the scenes from Home Alone was filmed,” said Shiseido Ruiz with Timelapse. “And that the decorations (in the movie) were actually the same ones we were documenting.”

Timelapse spent 5 nights for a total of 35 hours capturing the event. A team of two people took more than 32,000 still photographs, which were then used to create the almost 2-minute video.

The result: A festive start to the holiday season and one we know our ORD customers look forward to every year.


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BBC News
watch One-Minute World News
Last Updated: Friday, 21 December 2007, 10:53 GMT
Fresh optimism in Turkmenistan
Turkmen schoolchildren
Turkmen children now spend longer at school, and are allowed to learn foreign languages

When the USSR collapsed, Turkmenistan's leader Saparmurat Niyazov simply pulled the Iron Curtain tightly around his nation, and tucked it away from the world's view.

A year after his death, the BBC's Natalia Antelava visited the country and found that the curtain is beginning to rise, revealing a nation that seems to defy all expectations.

Under the huge golden statue of their deceased ruler, two dozen people danced and sang in celebration.

The air filled with the beat of drums and excited screams. Girls laughed as young men, twisting and twirling, threw themselves on the ground.

We have peace, we have stability and we know what will happen tomorrow
Turkmenistan resident

It is a tradition in Turkmenistan for wedding parties to visit the monument of Niyazov, the man known as Turkmenbashi - Father of the Turkmen - who turned his energy-rich nation into one of the most isolated corners of our planet.

His eccentric decrees and bizarre laws have always made headlines - he brought fame to Turkmenistan by banning opera and ballet, outlawing beards and renaming months of the year after himself and his family members.

The flamboyant weirdness of his rule often took the global media's attention away from the real issues - political oppression and total lack of freedom.

Blinded by Niyazov's eccentricity, the world seems to have ignored the normal side of Turkmenistan. And a year on since Niyazov's death, that is the side that seems to be thriving.

Brighter place

Tatyana, an attractive, 36-year-old single woman, told me why she would never want to leave the country.

"Look at our neighbours - in Afghanistan, there is chaos and bloodshed. Iran can get bombed any minute. Uzbekistan is so poor, people are fleeing the country.

A Turkmen couple
Turkmen couples still meet beneath golden statues of Niyazov

"Here we have peace, we have stability and we know what will happen tomorrow."

And now, she added, there is more hope and optimism here than ever before.

A year since Niyazov's death, Turkmenistan is a brighter place. The change brought by the new President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has been slow but steady.

It is now easier to travel, the internet is no longer banned, schools teach foreign languages, and the government is talking about opening up the country's enormous natural gas reserves to foreign investors.

The new president has reopened rural libraries, which were banned in Niyazov's time - people in the villages, the late leader used to say, did not read books anyway.

'Revolutionary change'

Niyazov also reduced the number of years children went to school, which meant their qualifications were not enough to allow them to enter foreign universities.

But in 2007, not a single student in Turkmenistan graduated from high school - instead each was required to do an extra year which has been put back on the curriculum.

Perhaps an autocracy that works is better than democracy that doesn't
Turkmen journalist

"For Turkmenistan, these are revolutionary changes," said a senior Western diplomat in the capital Ashgabat.

But none of it means that this country is about to embrace Western-style democracy.

Mr Berdymukhamedov has promised to preserve Mr Niyazov's Soviet-style autocracy intact. And it seems that is exactly what many people want.

Political freedom may be scarce in Turkmenistan, but it costs less than $1 to fill a car tank with petrol. Electricity, gas, water and even public transport are, in effect, free.

Niyazov did not use all of his country's riches to build golden statues for himself, he also subsidised its economy. And for many, that is much more tangible than political freedom, much more real than a foreign concept of democracy.

"Perhaps an autocracy that works is better than democracy that doesn't," a Turkmen journalist said as we drove through the wide tree-lined avenues of Ashgabat.

But what about all the brainwashing? What about having to learn the Rukhnama - Niyazov's book, which became the basis of the country's education system?

I asked Irina, a young student who has lived in the United States and who, unlike most people in Turkmenistan, knows what life is like outside the country.

"So what?" Irina shrugged, "Rukhnama is just part of history."

In the Soviet days, she added, her parents had to study plenty more books by Lenin and Marx.

Irina and her friends disagree with the bad press that Turkmenistan has been getting in the West.

"It really upsets me, and I think it's unfair because people who write all these things don't live here.

"We know better what life is like, and what opportunities we have, and I don't think my country deserves the kind of criticism it gets," Irina said.

Has China's housing bubble burst?
How the world's oldest clove tree defied an empire
Why Royal Ballet principal Sergei Polunin quit

Americas Africa Europe Middle East South Asia Asia Pacific


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BBC News
watch One-Minute World News
Last Updated: Monday, 5 June 2006, 08:10 GMT 09:10 UK
Big Ben quarterly chimes stopped
Big Ben
Quarterly chimes will stop for about four weeks
Some of the famous chimes of The Great Westminster Clock have been silenced for a month while maintenence work is carried out.

Big Ben at Westminster Palace will continue to toll on the hour.

But the familiar "ding dong, ding dong", usually heard ringing out across Parliament Square on each quarter hour, was stopped at 0800 BST on Monday.

The work is expected to take four weeks and is the first major repair needed on the bells for about 50 years.

A new bearing will be fitted to the yoke of the fourth quarter bell at Whitechapel Bell Foundry.

Last October the chimes were silenced for 32 hours - believed to be the longest time in more than two decades - while engineers inspected the clock.

The chimes were hushed for longer in 1983 when the clock's hands were removed for new gilding to be applied.

Edward John Dent's clock, installed in St Stephen's Tower, at the northern end of the Palace of Westminster, became operational in 1859.

Hear Big Ben's chimes

The Great Westminster Clock
07 Apr 06 |  In Pictures
Clockwatcher faces testing time
07 Apr 06 |  London
Big Ben chimes stoppage mystery
28 May 05 |  London

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Page last updated at 13:23 GMT, Thursday, 28 October 2010 14:23 UK
Caring for a seal pup at Guernsey's Animal Shelter

Caring for Pumpkin the seal pup

A baby seal became the latest resident of the Animal Shelter in October 2010.

Jayne Le Cras of the GSPCA explained that normally he would be sent to the UK but because of a nationwide outbreak of seal pox he had to stay in Guernsey.

None-the-less Jayne said it remained the shelter's intention to get the seal back to full fitness whether he could go to a specialist seal centre or not.

Jayne said all going to plan he would be ready to go back into the wild by March 2011.

Pumpkin the seal
The seal was found near Vazon and will eat up to 30 a mackerel a day!

The GSPCA hoped to be able to send the seal to the UK before then.

Jayne said: "We don't have the facilities to keep him here until he is ready for release."

She said by then he would have almost doubled in size and would need to learn to interact with other seals to survive in the wild, something he could do at the centres in the UK.

When he first arrived at the shelter the seal was being fed on "fish soup" which Jayne described as water with fish mushed up in it.

She said he would quickly progress onto eating solids, which would include up to 30 mackerel a day - a great expense for the charity which asked for help in supplying the fish.

Jayne explained that seal pups like this are often found by dog walkers around the island's rocky headlands after stormy weather: "The mothers give birth and then go back in the water and periodically return to feed the baby, but sometimes the pups end up getting bashed about on the rocks and head further up the beach where walkers find them."

Following the news of the seal's rescue on BBC Guernsey the station's listeners suggested a number of names for the pup and, in keeping with the time of year, the GSPCA settled on Pumpkin.

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Page last updated at 16:27 GMT, Monday, 4 October 2010 17:27 UK

Fifa issues world ban to Nigeria

Nigerian footballer Yussuf Ayila
Nigeria failed to win a game at the World Cup in South Africa

Fifa has suspended Nigeria from international competition because of government interference in the sport.

The decision was taken on Monday after several members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) were hauled before the law courts.

Fifa rules prohibit any government intervention with its members.

"The Fifa Emergency Committee decided suspend the NFF with immediate effect on account of government interference," Fifa said.

"During the period of suspension, the NFF will not be able to be represented in any regional, continental or international competitions, including at club level, and also not in friendly matches," the Fifa statement added.

Nigeria's ban from international football leaves their weekend's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Guinea in Conakry in doubt.

The world governing body said the ban follows a bid by Nigeria's Minister of Sports to restart the league without relegations from the previous season.

The decision by the Nigeria Sports Commission to force the NFF's secretary-general Musa Amadu to stand down from his position did not go down well with Fifa.

A court action barring the newly-elected members of the NFF also drew the ire of the world governing body.

The NFF board led by Aminu Maigari has not been able to operate because a Lagos High Court ruled that the elections that brought him to power in August were null and void.

A group known as the National Association of Nigerian Footballers (NANF) dragged the newly-elected board of the NFF to court for allegedly defying a court not to proceed with the polls of 26 August.

Subsequently, Nigerian Fifa committee member executive Amos Adamu, NFF president Maigari, his vice-president, Mike Umeh as well as acting secretary-general of the NFF, Musa Amadu were hauled before the court.

The NFF has been dogged by controversies since the team's elimination in the first round of the World Cup in South Africa in June.

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Maigari wins controversial poll
26 Aug 10 |  African
Nigeria football election on hold
22 Aug 10 |  African
Nigeria coaching job up for grabs
04 Sep 10 |  African
Nigeria arrests ex-football heads
07 Sep 10 |  Africa

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Hinchingbrooke 'one of the best NHS trusts in the UK'

The chief executive of Circle, the private health company which took over Hinchingbrooke Hospital Trust in Cambridgeshire six months ago, said it has improved patient care by giving more responsibility to doctors and nurses and by looking at costs "much more sensibly".

Ali Parsa told the Today programme: "We mix entrepreneurial drive and vision with employee ownership."

The quality of the trust has become "one of the best in the country in six months" he said.

Get in touch with Today via email , Twitter or Facebook or text us on 84844.

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Home  »  Newsroom  »  Drake News  »  Article

First OTD Class

July 29, 2016

Drake’s first class of OTD students embarked on a new venture for themselves and the University as they began their first term of classes in May. The cohort will advance together in the full-time program, which is both intensive and accelerated, with students earning their doctorate in only three years.

The OTD cohort met with residents from Mosaic this month.

The OTD cohort met with residents from Mosaic this month.

This first group of students has already formed bonds with their faculty. Taylor Crane, O1, says the cohort is in a unique position where, as the very first students, they can collaborate with faculty and help shape the future of the OTD program.

“They have been asking for feedback, and when we give it to them, they improve,” says Crane.  “That’s brought us so close already.”

Currently, the cohort has 26 students and future cohorts are expected to grow to 45. The building at 31st and University that currently houses the University Bookstore will eventually be home to the OTD department. (The bookstore is moving to Olmsted.) Once renovated, the facility will offer test equipment for families and individuals with disabilities to test.

Ann Burkhardt, director of the OTD program, says the department has thus far relied on community partners to give students hands-on service learning opportunities from the start.

“We’re about our community. That’s where our clients are.”

Earlier this month, OTD students and faculty invited residents from Mosaic, a central Iowa organization providing services to adults with disabilities, to a picnic in Cline Atrium. The group enjoyed lunch and participated in varying levels of interactive activities.

“Our students really had an opportunity to shine at that event,” says Burkhardt, who underscores how stakeholders voiced interest in the first OTD graduates representing a combination of empathy for and awareness of the disabled community.

When Drake University first explored the addition of an OTD program, research revealed that 12 Iowa counties are lacking professional and educational support in the field. There are 14 students, over half of the cohort, who are from Iowa and intend to stay in Iowa.

“We have already fallen in love with this profession even more,” Crane said. “The faculty strives to make us, the students, the best practitioners we could possibly become.”

Crane said they have had several practicing professionals visit class to discuss the type of settings they work in, which have given them insight into what they might specialize in.

Crane, who has a B.S. in kinesiology from Iowa State University, interviewed with three different schools as she searched for an OTD program. It was Drake, she says, that made her feel most welcome. “I felt the excitement they had,” remembers Crane. “The interview was so interactive. It really stuck out to me and made me accept.”

She says she was also attracted to Drake because of the volunteer opportunities in the local community. She plans to do work at Courage League Sports, a non-profit adaptive sports and recreational facility in Urbandale that offers year-round program for all ages.


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What do Estonians remember from their history? ({{commentsTotal}})

When asked about the most important episodes in Estonian history, most Estonians tend to bring out similar events. Tallinn University's professor of cultural history Marek Tamm claims that on the one hand, this can be attributed to the revolutionary importance of these events. On the other hand, it comes from the shared common memory, which helps Estonians remember the story of the their everlasting fight for freedom.

For years, Marek Tamm has conducted a questionnaire among his students, asking their opinion about the most important historical events in Estonia. The answers are roughly similar, the most frequent being about the episodes concerning our independence and freedom, from the Baltic Crusade (known as the “Fight for Freedom” in Estonia) and the St. George’s Night uprising up to the declaration of independence and the Estonian War of Independence.

But why do all these students remember and value similar events from the history of Estonia?

"The reasons should not be sought from the sheer importance of these events, but rather from the peculiarities of the Estonian collective memory," Tamm said in a one minute lecture, a joint science video project by TU and ERR. We learn as children that our ancestors have always yearned and fought for independence, and the Republic of Estonia, declared in 1918, is the logical result of this freedom fight that lasted for generations. All losses or stoppages in the fight have been anomalies, which have not deterred us from our path to independence.

"Our common memory is held together by a simple story of an age-spanning quest for freedom, which started with a loss at Ümera and ended with a win at Võnnu. This is the story that writers, artists and historians have been telling people for nearly a century and a half and it has become one that remembers itself for us," Tamm explained, adding that this story has become the backbone of the collective memory of Estonians and enables them to see themselves as a common and sustainable nation. "It lets us connect scattered events into one meaningful whole, instead of showing Estonians and Estonia as the sum of random occurrences."

Yet, Estonians should not limit themselves, Tamm said: "Our vision of our past, and therefore our present, will become more rich and varied, if we can tell ourselves as many different stories as possible."

Editor: M. Oll


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A man is arrested after "bright and popular" 16-year-old Christina Edkins was stabbed to death on a bus at rush hour.

Schoolgirl bus stabbing
Video: Schoolgirl Stabbed To Death On Bus

Police have chased down and arrested a man suspected of stabbing to death 16-year-old Christina Edkins as she travelled to school.

Christina was on a packed double-decker bus during rush hour in Birmingham when she was killed in what police believe was a random attack.

Paramedics and police officers were called just after 7.30am and tried to save Christina's life but she died at the scene.

Armed police were sent to patrol in the city as police hunted for what they described as an "extremely dangerous" suspect who they believed could have been armed.

Birmingham bus stabbing scene
Image: Forensic officers search the double-decker bus where the attack happened

Officers arrested a 22-year-old, who was seen acting suspiciously, after a short chase near a Morrison's supermarket in the city.

Christina, a pupil at Leasowes High School in Halesowen, was an avid user of the social networking site Twitter and on February 8 the @christinaedkin  account included a post that read: "This man is worrying me on the bus keeps getting up and walking up and down stairs, and sitting in different place :I"

West Midlands Police said they would be looking at her social media activity, but that "at this stage there is nothing to suggest she was being targeted".

Officers said that there was "nothing immediately" to suggest that Christina knew her attacker and that he had already been on the bus when she got on board.

The head teacher at Christina's school, Neil Shaw, said: "Christina was a bright and popular student much loved by staff and students alike. We are deeply saddened to hear this tragic news and our thoughts and hearts go out to her family and everyone who knew her.

"The school is working closely with the police and a team of counsellors to provide support to our pupils and staff."

Christina had recently taken part in Twitter "meet ups", where social media users get together to socialise.

Schoolgirl bus stabbing
Image: Christina was stabbed on the crowded number 9 service

Joe James, 18, from Bristol got to know Christina through these events and told Sky News: "I'm still not believing it. I just can't understand - why her?

"She had everything, she was very popular and generous - she was the kind of girl to help an old lady across the road."

A tribute page has been set up on Facebook for "beautiful angel" Christina, with users calling her death "a waste of a beautiful young life" and saying "justice will prevail".

Detective Superintendent Richard Baker said: "This is a tragic case and the victim's family are devastated.

"We are still anxious to hear from anyone with information or who may have witnessed the incident this morning to speak to us via the dedicated hotline 0800 096 0095.

"There will be a high police presence across the city this afternoon following this morning's tragedy particularly on buses and in schools in the area to provide reassurance to local people."

He said that he thought a number of people travelling on the bus at the time of the attack on Hagley Road had yet to come forward and that officers were trawling through CCTV footage for evidence.

Birmingham bus stabbing scene
Image: Paramedics were called but nothing could be done to save the teenager

National Express West Midlands said the vehicle was heading out of the city when the stabbing happened.

A spokesman said: "We can confirm that a tragic incident occurred on a number 9 service this morning.

"Our thoughts and condolences are with the friends and family of the person involved and we will offer all possible support to the police in their investigation of this matter."

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said they had been called to the scene shortly after 7.35am.


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May 24, 2017

Why did Twitter Succeed?

There is a reason why social media, Twitter in particular, has become as popular as it has. The reason is not too far to look. It satiates the desire of people to look for real news and its implications. This job was originally meant to be done by the Main Stream Media (MSM) which was supposed to be the voice of people. Apart from giving an account of the goings on in the country, MSM was also supposed to help you shape your opinion on various issues. Unfortunately, most of the MSM failed miserably in their duty. As the media’s stand on Brexit and Trump’s election has shown, the narrative has moved to the right, whereas they remain on the left.

The entire MSM the world over conveyed only ‘a’ point of view, which was deeply aligned with the left. Why they were aligned with the left, I’ll discuss a little later. But since there were so many news papers and channels (later) it became a case of competitive left liberalism. Each media house tried to outdo the other by moving even further to the left. Slowly but surely left liberalism became the only rallying point within the media.

This begets the question as to why should they be so. The answer to this question is also not very difficult to find. It started from the Second World War which was seen to have been caused by the extreme right wing nationalism of the German Nazis. This impression in people’s minds wasn’t wrong. Nazis were helped in this war by the right wing fascists of Italy and imperialistic Japan. For the media, it seemed only too correct to ridicule the right wing and its policies which led to the war and untold suffering for common people. What was good for the goose had to be good for the gander as well. If the right wing in Germany deserved to be ridiculed, then the right wing in America too had to be treated the same way. Moreover, despite subtle differences both were die hard Christians, and white to boot as well. Secondly, portraying the plight of the poor as well as disparities between them and the rich as a result of right wing economic policies seemed to get them more eyeballs, which in turn fetched them more advertising revenue. This made them ridicule the right wing even further, and so, the vicious cycle continued.

The media houses in other countries blindly took their cue from America and conveniently became left aligned. It worked for a while since there was no other alternative available. The right wing had very few takers, or so they believed. The assumption that all kinds of right wing in every country is the same and had to be brushed aside or ridiculed proved to be their undoing. Right wing in different countries means different things. Media houses overlooked this major issue. They just blindly followed the American model. Endorsements in terms of ad revenue from left of center ruling parties also contributed immensely in this decision.

And then, the internet happened. People started getting connected with each other in more ways than one. Initially, the media houses did not complain. They thought that internet would help them in selling their sob stories even faster than before and to far off places. This too worked for a while. But then, wheels of natural justice took over. Innovation led to creation of social media sites like facebook, orkut, twitter etc.

The first forms of such sites were just a platform to engage socially. People just exchanged pictures and social greetings. Twitter changed all that. Days of long monologues were over. You had to be precise and to the point. People loved this platform. Finally, they could say whatever they wanted to, of course within the four walls of decency, without being moderated upon. Initially, many well known names of MSM also happily embraced it and soon developed a large following. They found short exchanges with their readers and viewers meaningful. However, people were not as dumb as MSM believed them to be. They soon realized that they could not just interact with these well known names but even question them on their news stories. Not only this, they also realized that they could exchange ideas with like-minded people and point out mistakes in news stories, and reach out to millions within seconds. The bluff of MSM had been called. They could now be challenged. And they were. In India, Radia tapes episode was a prime example of the power of social media. The social media did not adhere to the unwritten rule of the MSM to discuss their own. The journalists involved in Radia tapes stood thoroughly exposed. The MSM was forced to discuss this issue. Slowly but surely, in a matter of just a few years, their agenda was being dictated by the social media. Reluctantly, however nuanced it was, they were still forced to shift towards the right.

For the MSM moving towards the right is not an easy job. By being there, they’re well out of their comfort zones. It’s also not like one day you get up and make a switch to the right. That’s because there is no such switch. The reasons for this are two fold. Firstly, once a media house has been known to propagate a particular line of thought they get branded as such. And the MSM has been doing this for many decades now. As any marketer will tell you, once you get branded in a particular manner, however hard you may try, it is next to impossible to change that perception in the minds of people. If a media house is known to be left centric, it will be extremely difficult to shake off that perception in people’s mind.

Secondly, these media houses are controlled by editors and experts who come from left of center backgrounds. This is so because educational institutions too were organized to produce left of center ideologues. This too was so for the same reason as the media. It made the education system look credible and appealing whose products could fight the tyranny of the right as well as the rich. If such people control the media today, it would be foolhardy to expect them to shift their positions any further than they already have.

It is therefore no surprise that right wing dominates the opinion on the internet the world over, especially twitter. In simple terms, right wing controls the social media because of the preponderance of the left in the MSM. In doing so, it does a balancing act, which is natural justice.

Author:  Lt. Col. (R) Manish Jaitly

@poorafauji Writer of “Oh My Gods”

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Picture Credit: Wikipedia Twitter

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News n Views is an online place for nationalists to share their opinions, information and content by way of Blogs, Videos, Statistics, or any other legal way that they feel comfortable.
  • Hari

    Absolutely correct Majority of big media houses are controlled by Politician and corporate where real news are disappeared, With the emerge of Twitter and Facebook people slowly realized that the Picture that MSM presents is entirely different from reality. Now every single person who has smart phone is able to get the correct and real news it certainly gave new space for common man to come and express his or her view which often get unheard. It’s time for MSM and few liberal journalist to understand that now their agenda or propaganda will not survive because people of this country can easily differentiate what is real and what is paid? Twitter is new tool for citizen journalism.


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Sunday, June 3, 2012

NPN May 2012 Poll Results

In May our poll asked which of Intamin's custom designed, launched coasters in North America was your favorite.

© Cedar Point

Maverick at Cedar Point pretty much ran away with this one.  In the end it gathered 35% of the total votes.  The ride features a unique combination of quick transitions, inversions, and airtime along with a beyond vertical drop, and a launch in the dark.

The ride that got closest to Maverick to finish in second place was also at Cedar Point, Top Thrill Dragster.  Even the 420 foot tall ride's impressive statistics could only get a total of 14% of the votes.

Starting with third place many rides finished close together.  The third spot went to Busch Gardens Tampa's Cheetah Hunt with 9.9%, but close behind were Hersheypark's Storm Runner with 9.7%, and Kings Dominion's Volcano had at 9.5%.

Proving just how unscientific these polls are is the fact that Kingda Ka, Top Thrill's bigger brother with a nearly identical layout, finished with only 8%.

We're going a little different in direction with this month's poll, comparing only two coasters, both proving to be some of America's most intense.  Which is your winner?

Surya said...

Just rode iSpeed in Mirabilandia. It's very similar to Maverick in many ways, and just as awesome. If you ever get to Italy, don't skip it, the visit to the park is totally worth it because of this coaster, but they also have an excellent B&M inverted!


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Calgary, AB,

Leaf & Pumpkin Composting program starts this weekend

The City of Calgary will run its annual Leaf & Pumpkin Composting program from Saturday, September 24 until Sunday, November 6. Residents can bring their bagged leaves and pumpkins to one of the 35 drop-off locations around the city.

“There are many benefits to composting leaves and pumpkins,” says Waste & Recycling Services Superintendent Darcy Cairns. “When yard waste is buried in the landfill it releases methane, a harmful greenhouse gas.”

“Calgarians help keep over two million kilograms of leaves and pumpkins out of landfills each fall. It’s great that we can work together to turn them into nutrient-rich compost instead.”

Cairns also reminds Calgarians to use paper yard waste bags over plastic bags for the Leaf and Pumpkin program. “Paper bags are more environmentally friendly as they are 100 per cent compostable and leave no waste behind. We encourage everyone to make the switch.”

Here are some quick tips about this year’s Leaf & Pumpkin Composting program:

  • This program is intended for residential use only.
  • Only leaves and pumpkins are accepted. Please do not include rocks, branches, soil or sod.
  • Paper yard waste bags are preferred. They can be found in the same aisle as garbage bags at most grocery, hardware and garden retailers.

Woman-girl-leaf-pumpkin-400px.jpgWHAT: Encourage Calgarians to bring their bagged leaves and pumpkins to a seasonal drop-off location.

WHEN: September 24– November 6, 2016

WHERE: 35 drop-off locations around the city. Visit to find a location near you.

Audio clips and b-roll video footage are available for download for broadcast media use via the 2016 Leaf & Pumpkin Media Advisory.

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Airtel backs Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh on healthcare interventions

Airtel backs Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh on healthcare interventions

Airtel Nigeria, has thrown its weight behind the Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh (DRASA) Health Trust to commemorate Nigeria’s first anniversary after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the country Ebola-free last year October 20th.

To mark the anniversary, DRASA Health Trust, a non-profit organisation formed in memory of the late doctor who risked her life to contain the first case of Ebola in Nigeria, has unveiled robust healthcare initiatives aimed at preventing future outbreak of infectious diseases in Nigeria.

Airtel backs Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh on healthcare interventions
Late Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh

At the event which took place at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, yesterday (October 21st), DRASA Health Trust said the health programmes include the Outbreak Preparedness/Response, Simulation Training and #ItStartsWithMe Campaign.

Speaking on the telco’s support to the Trust, Director, Corporate Communications & CSR, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Emeka Oparah, noted that Airtel Nigeria is committed to offering relief to Nigerians through its various CSR programmes, saying Airtel and DRASA are passionate about initiatives that will transform lives and empower more Nigerians.

According to Mr. Oparah, Airtel Nigeria, as a responsive organisation, gave its support to the government’s team last year by donating items towards the fight against the Ebola Virus.

“It is in the DNA of Airtel Nigeria to continuously strive to proffer solutions to alleviate difficulty or challenges and extend a helping hand to underprivileged people through its charity programmes like the Airtel Touching Lives programme, a revolutionary CSR initiative that has impacted on the lives of individuals, people and communities across Nigeria,” he said.

Commenting on the DRASA initiatives, Trustee member, Dr. Ama Adadevoh, noted that under the Outbreak Preparedness/Response, the Trust will partner with relevant bodies to train 1000 experts across the country on the spectrum of outbreak response for Ebola and other infectious diseases, develop a university curriculum based on the EVD Guide and develop a digital platform of the EVD Guide for further dissemination.

“While under the Simulation Training, DRASA will champion medical simulation for students and health professionals to ﬁll   a critical gap and build capacity in medical ethics and infectious diseases.

Speaking further, she noted that both ethics and infectious diseases control are areas where there is limited expertise in Nigeria, however, Dr. Adadevoh exempliﬁed the essence of an ethical medical practitioner when she contained an infected patient at personal danger, making her truly faithful to her Hippocratic Oath.”

The third part of the programme is the #ItStartsWithMe Campaign held last week Thursday, October 15th to mark the Global Handwashing Day.

At the event Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mr. Linus Awute, while Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode was represented by Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Healthcare, Dr. Femi Onanuga. Airtel Nigeria’s team at the event included Head, Public Relations, Adefemi Adeniran; Director, Enterprise, Tawa Bolarin and CSR Manager, Chinda Manjor.

It would be recalled that last year, Nigerian government swiftly responded to the index case which was recorded in July in Lagos, but it was successfully curbed and the WHO declared Nigeria Ebola-free on October 20th.

Late Dr. Adadevoh courageously identified and contained the first case of Ebola in Nigeria. Her heroic efforts prevented an outbreak in Nigeria. DRASA was created in her honor to reflect her passion and continue her legacy of providing high-quality healthcare in Nigeria.

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New To Woodworking
Articles, Featured

Milling Your Own Lumber

July 25, 2009 by · Leave a Comment

To Mill or Not to Mill?

jointerThat is the question! Buying lumber in the rough and milling it yourself has lots of benefits. First of all, its cheaper. Second, you can keep your boards as thick as you want. And finally, you can be sure that your boards are always flat with nice straight sides and 90 degree corners. But, you need to have the budget and the room for the main tools involved in milling: the jointer and the planer. So if you do decide to go that route, check out this video: The Wood Whisperer – The Jointer’s Jumpin’ – A basic review of the milling process and a few alternative milling methods for special circumstances.

Since a planer and a jointer represent such a huge investment, most folks can only get one at a time. So, should you get a jointer first, or a planer? This Question of the Week deals with that exact topic: Which Comes First, Planer or Jointer?

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Baldwin Mountain in Warren County NY

Baldwin Mountain - Physical Feature (Summit) in Warren County

Baldwin Mountain is a physical feature (summit) in Warren County. The primary coordinates for Baldwin Mountain places it within the NY 12860 ZIP Code delivery area.

In the Maps and Aerial Photos section below, you'll find links to: (1) Local area photos around Baldwin Mountain, (2) A listing of the nearest hotels to Baldwin Mountain and (3) Driving Directions to Baldwin Mountain from almost anywhere. The location of Baldwin Mountain is marked on an interactive map. The map can be searched by either business name or business category.

Baldwin Mountain - Maps, Driving Directions & Local Area Information

Feature Name: Baldwin Mountain
Category: New York physical, cultural and historic features
Feature Type: Physical
Class: Summit
County: Warren County
Latitude: 43.6967327
Longitude: -73.783183
GNIS ID: 942905
Camera Icon Photos of the local Warren County area

Neighborhood Data

Address Based Hyperlocal Data Input an address and get data & demographics for the pertinent census block group (CBG), a searchable map and a customized directory. The CBG is the smallest geographical unit used by the Census Bureau for reporting certain data.

Baldwin Mountain - Maps & Aerial Photos

Search the map for:
BIG Map | Driving Directions | Data Source - USGS GNIS ID: 942905

Nearby Cities, Towns & CDPs

Chestertown, NY (3.1 miles SSW)
Pottersville, NY (3.1 miles NW)
Schroon Lake, NY (9.9 miles N)
North Creek, NY (10.1 miles W)
Bolton Landing, NY (11.6 miles SSE)
Warrensburg, NY (13.8 miles S)
Lake George, NY (19.1 miles S)

Other Small Populated Places

Starbuckville, NY (1.4 miles S)
Brant Lake, NY (2.4 miles SE)
South Horicon, NY (3.1 miles SSE)
Village Estates Mobile Home Park, NY (3.4 miles SSW)
Adirondack, NY (4.7 miles NNE)
Darrowsville, NY (6.1 miles S)
Riparius, NY (6.1 miles WSW)

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Internal Medicine

Internal Medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness.  At least three of their seven or more years of medical school and postgraduate training are dedicated to learning how to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases that affect adults.  Internists are often referred to as the “doctor’s doctor” because they are often called upon to act as consultants to other physicians to help solve puzzling diagnostic problems.

Internists are equipped to deal with whatever problem a patient brings…no matter how common or rare, or how simple or complex.  They are specially trained to solve diagnostic problems and can handle severe chronic illnesses and situations where several different illnesses may strike at the same time.  They also bring to patients an understanding of wellness (disease prevention and the promotion of health), women’s health, substance abuse, mental health, as well as effective treatment of common problems of eyes, ears, skin, nervous system, and reproductive organs.  We hope this overview will always give credence to our themes… “caring for life” and “ taking care of yourself never felt so good!”

  • Adult Internal Medicine/Primary Care
  • EKG, Pulmonary Fuction Testing, Body-Fat Analysis
  • Physician-guided “Take Shape for Life” health program
  • Pap smear, breast exam and comprehensive venipuncture services
  • Allergy and Asthma care
  • Physical and Sports Therapy*
  • Gastroenterology/Colonoscopy**

*services performed on-site by BioKinetic Sports Physical Therapy

**services performed off-site by Peter Distler, MD


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Culture, Featured, Music

A Complete List Of Athletes Mentioned in Action Bronson and Party Supplies’ Blue Chips Series

No other rapper in the game right now references athletes in their rhymes quite like Action Bronson does. Bronsolino’s lyrics sound more like an amalgamation of the Food Network and ESPN rather than rap bars. However, Bam Bam’s blend of gastronomy, sports and street culture have the turned the Queens emcee into a present day auteur.

In celebration of the release of Bronson’s mix tape Blue Chips 2 produced by Party Supplies, we have made an unabridged slideshow of all the athletes name dropped by Bronson throughout the Blue Chips mixtape series.

Click the slides to see what sports stars have been brought into Bronson’s lavish lexicon of luxury.


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Monday, March 27, 2006

Speaker Spotlight: Gary Mokotoff

Gary Mokotoff is an author, lecturer and leader of Jewish-American genealogy. He will be giving two lectures at the conference of interest to persons with Jewish ancestry: Beginning Jewish Genealogy and How to Document Victims and Locate Survivors of the Holocaust.
Keep Reading About Gary Mokotoff

Gary’ credentials are extensive. He is the first person to receive the ALifetime Achievement Award@ of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS). He is the author of a number of books including the award-winning Where Once We Walked, a gazetteer which provides information about 23,000 towns in central and eastern Europe where Jews lived before the Holocaust, How to Document Victims and Locate Survivors of the Holocaust, and Getting Started in Jewish Genealogy.

Mokotoff is also known for his application of computers to genealogy. Among his accomplishments is co-authorship of the Daitch-Mokotoff soundex system; the JewishGen Family Finder, a database of ancestral towns and surnames being researched by some 50,000 Jewish genealogists throughout the world and the Consolidated Jewish Surname Index. He is publisher of Avotaynu, the magazine of Jewish genealogy and past president of IAJGS. He is/was on the Board of Directors of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, Association of Professional Genealogists, International Institute of Jewish Genealogy, JewishGen, Association of Jewish Book Publishers and Jewish Book Council.

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Fiddle Tunes & abc Notation

  1. Home Page & Discussion Including Some Practical and Background Discussion Topics

Online Host: New Hampshire Old-Time Country Dance Web Site.

  1. Peter Yarensky, Publisher, Designer  & Nearly Everything Else

NH Country Dance Table of Contents

NH Old-Time Country Dance Web Site Home Page

Music Pages Site Map

Fiddling & Playing Music

  1. Wednesday Jam, Durham

  2. Canterbury Fiddlers Picnic

  3. Barrington Natural Heritage

Fiddle Tunes: Introductory

  1. Tunes Home & Discussion

  2. About the Tunes

The Tunes in abc & pdf format (individual pages by style)

  1. Reels | Jigs, Square Dance

  2. Two-Steps, Marches, Polkas

  3. Waltzes | Other Tunes

  4. The Tunes, PDF Format

  5. abc Musical Notation

  6. Peter’s abc Help File

Music-Related Links (In Progress)

  1. Sites with Recorded Music

  2. This section has a separate, more detailed site map.

Music & Dance Weekends

  1. Ralph Page Weekend

  2. Star Hampshire Weekend

Music & Dance Community, History & Stories

  1. Photo Page Index

  2. Music & Dance Story
    General Index

  3. NE Contras & Squares Index

Dance Pages

  1. Country Dance Newsletter

  2. Dance Calendar Page

  3. Lamprey River Band

Music Pages

  1. Wednesday Jam, Durham

  2. Canterbury Fiddlers Picnic

  3. Fiddle Tunes - Index, abc

  4. The Tunes, PDF Format

  5. abc Musical Notation

  6. Peter’s abc Help File

  7. Links - Recorded Music Sites

Site Information

  1. Contact/Link Information

  2. Update Notes

  3. Feedback Page

NH Country Dance
Site Navigation

Section Home Pages are listed here; a few major Subpages may be as well.

A more detailed listing of each section may be found on each Section Home Page.

Some Ideas on Learning Fiddle Tunes, Historical Context & Fiddling Traditions

This section presents sheet music for a variety of fiddle tunes in a couple different formats, primarily abc and  PDF; abc format is discussed elsewhere in its own section. I'd like to start with some discussion of the written music I'm presenting and some issues of interest related to that music. I’ll start with a brief Table of Contents for the page.

On This Page ...

You will find discussions of the following.

  1. Learning by ear vs. learning from written music.

  2. Sources of music for listening.

  3. New England fiddling and a brief history of New England music and dance tradition over the past century.

  4. Living traditions and the role of change.

  5. Is there really a New England tradition?

I hope you enjoy it and find it interesting and useful!

Fiddle Tunes of New England, Canada, Sweden and Related Traditions

In general I am presenting a selection of traditional and some more contemporary tunes from New England, Canada, Sweden and related traditions. More about the traditions below, but first ...

Why This Section is Here

It’s rather odd that I’m presenting so much written music, as I don’t really read music very well, and I don’t really believe in learning from written music unless you’re pretty familiar with the tune and the tradition from considerable listening, preferably to a variety of fiddlers playing the music, but at least to an adequate sampling of recorded music.

The following discussion of listening vs. reading clearly represents my opinion. I think it’s valid, but I realize some people disagree.

  1. To those who for whatever reason choose to learn primarily from written music, I hope you will read the next section Listening and Reading below and at least consider supplementing written music with a goodly amount of listening.

Listening and Reading. Clearly, written music is in no way a substitute for listening as a tool for learning a tune or a style of music.

  1. If you don’t believe the last sentence, think about the next question. Does it really make sense to use your eyes to learn something that's completely auditory in nature?

  2. Still not convinced? Sometimes if you turn things around you can see them more clearly. Would you listen to your clothes to figure out if the color of your pants matches the color of your shirt? It’s just the same thing in reverse.

  3. To those who believe they can’t learn by ear, please reconsider: you’re almost certainly doing yourself a disservice! There are numerous web sites that present various techniques for learning how to do it. A few of these either are or will be included in the Links section of this web site; or look up learning by ear in Google for a variety of such sites. You really can do it. Prove it to yourself right now by taking some simple familiar tune or song you’ve never played before (e.g. a Christmas carol, a popular song, or whatever works for you), and try playing it in an easy key - on the fiddle that would probably be D or G. I bet you can do it without much trouble!

Who/What Are the Best Listening Sources? One more comment about listening. It is my observation that many (probably most) contradance musicians these days (which is what I consider myself to be primarily) listen mostly to other contemporary contradance musicians if they listen to traditional music at all - even when they’re learning a French Canadian reel or a Swedish waltz. That’s a start, but really a rather shallow one given the richness of the music. If that describes your listening habits, consider broadening them; it will likely be very rewarding in terms of enjoyment and its effects on your playing.

Other sources of enjoyment and inspiration would include previous generations of contradance musicians, and musicians from the various traditions contradance music has borrowed from, including the previous generations of those traditions (e.g. French and English Canadian, English, Scottish, etc.). You may want to play in New England style for the dance, but it’s nice to know something about where the tunes came from.

Let’s think a bit about the musical traditions themselves. We (those of us who live in New Hampshire or for that matter most of Northern New England) are very fortunate to live in a  place where there’s a strong musical tradition, and at a time when the local traditions are generally quite healthy. That hasn’t always been the case. Contradancing nearly died out at various times, and the music with it. Ralph Page revived it at one point, Dudley Laufman again later.

A Really Quick Look at the Past Century of Music and Dance in New Hampshire. It is rather interesting to look at a couple quotations from one of our few solid connections between the current contradance revival and dancing as it was 80 or more years ago. Newt Tolman attended and played flute for the Nelson dances starting as a kid by around 1918 or so when they were rowdy country dances (just “dances”, not “square dances” or “contradances”; no one made that distinction!). He commented that “by 1950 or so, I never expected to play again for square dances” (Quick Tunes and Good Times, 1972, 35). From his writings it is clear he never really even expected to hear what he considered to be real dance music again played by a live band for actual dancers.

The dances certainly never stopped in Nelson; after all Ralph Page called there regularly. But they did nearly everywhere else, and as much as I enjoy singing squares, the music for them is far less interesting than the old jigs, reel, hornpipes and other tunes used in the earlier dances. And even people who had previously called contras (e.g. Willy Woodward - Frank’s father) switched over to all singing squares because that’s what everyone wanted. The revival that Ralph Page led was centered around the caller; the music was given less emphasis.

After things died out again and shrank back to the core (once again, Nelson), Dudley Laufman came along to lead the most recent revival. This one was quite different, as it placed more emphasis on the music. Newt had a few things to say, of course. (I never knew him unfortunately but if anyone thinks I’m opinionated, I gather he was much more so!) Really you should find a copy of the book and read it if you can, but here are a few quick quotations. Some, as you might expect, were less than complimentary - like the one about Dudley’s followers as “wild-haired, barefoot girls carrying guitar cases which probably held nothing but their spare underwear” along with the ”bearded characters who twanged away on home-made zithers” (page 37). But he said “Though I may have accorded him less flattering titles at one time or another, he has really been our catalyst” (page 39), after which he describes at length how Dudley was responsible for bringing back the music he remembered from his youth. For example, a couple paragraphs later he commented: “At the last dance, I counted eighteen musicians, at some point in the evening, all playing - a sort of square dance symphony. It was probably the largest ensemble to be heard playing that sort of music in a new England town hall, in close to a century. And in contrast to the motley crew who used to appear only a few years ago, all of these people were well trained, and some of them were very expert performers.”

All this less than 15 years after he thought he’d never play for dances again. Newt took on a central role as a connection to the time before the music had largely been lost, a source of tunes, a researcher of old tunes, and was along with Dudley, Deanna Stiles and undoubtedly others, very important in shaping the current revival of New England dance music.

Living Traditions. One thing I’ve learned is that if there ever was such a thing as purity in any musical tradition, it’s probably been more the exception than the norm for at least a couple hundred years in the Western countries if not longer. In the early days of the Ralph Page Weekend, a fascinating presentation included the fact that the earliest trip by a colonist back to the Old Country (England, that is) solely for the purpose of collecting the latest hot tunes and dances (same thing probably as they tended to go together much of the time in those days) was in about 1800 +/- a couple years. Given that such a trip then was almost like a trip to the moon now, we can assume there’s always been a lot of cross pollination of traditions. In later years there was Border Radio from Mexico or off shore that could be heard all the way up to Canada. More generally, most musicians, and probably especially the best ones, have always been looking for new and interesting tunes to play, often from exotic sources. These are all characteristics of living traditions: traditions that are actively being pursued and developed by their practitioners, unlike traditions that only exist in more controlled artificial circumstances such as a museum or a professional act.

So we have French Canadian fiddlers playing Texan and Ukranian fiddle tunes, New England French fiddlers playing country & western, foxtrots, and anything else they like, English Canadian fiddlers writing Calypso fiddle tunes, and New England fiddlers playing Swedish hambos, Irish jigs, Scottish marches and French Canadian reels. Most of the people I know who grew up with their tradition are happy to play whatever they like regardless of its purity. That has always been more a concern of new converts and people worrying about losing their tradition.

Change & Living Traditions. I admit to having some such concerns. The New England tradition has been changing at an accelerating rate in recent years. In one sense this is a good thing in that it’s an indication of the vitality of our tradition, as is the large number of young musicians and more recently young dancers. On the other hand while I don’t consider myself an expert at such issues, I would guess that it’s unhealthy for a tradition to change too quickly, and I’m not always happy with some of the actual changes occurring.

On the other hand, my concerns have been tempered considerably by having the good fortune of getting to hang out quite a bit over the past 15 years ago with people like Marcel who grew up in a tradition and are happy to play anything they like from that tradition or any other. At Marcel’s Wednesday Night Soirées Marcel played French Canadian fiddle tunes, but also Maritime and Ontario fiddle tunes, Square Dance tunes, Round Dance tunes (waltzes and foxtrots), country and western, a few New England contradance tunes Marcel learned from April Limber - anything Marcel enjoyed playing!  As a result when Marcel moved away and we started our own jam we deliberately decided to keep a very loose interpretation of what fits in our Canadian Jam Session: we play many tunes from the same selection as Marcel, and also play more New England and Scandinavian tunes.

New England Fiddling. What is New England Fiddling anyway? It’s changed a lot over the years, and incorporated a lot from other influences due to the variety of ethnic groups present in New England. (Yes, it may be fairly uniform, but if you heard the program Jack Beard put together on ethnic influences in New England music several years ago, the variety is surprisingly large!) In particular our fiddling has incorporated Scotch, Irish and French Canadian influences quite strongly.

A note about Lissa and New England Fiddling. As many of you already know, Lissa is one of the outstanding fiddlers currently playing New England contradance music, as well as being one of the nicest people around and a good teacher.

That’s more than most of us have accomplished - but she also has a strong interest in learning more about the history and development of the New England fiddle and dance traditions.

One more thing you might find interesting: Lissa even has a section on her web site of links to web sites that help make the world a better place. As long as there are people like Lissa around we’re in good shape for years to come.

For a good discussion of New England Fiddling, New England Contradance Music and Contradancing (all closely related topics) what they are, who are some of the important classic New England fiddlers, where to buy recordings, etc., go to Lissa Schneckenburger’s web site.

You should really check out the whole site as there’s lots of neat stuff there; but for current purposes, go to FAQs and click on "What is New England Fiddling?" and "What is a Contra Dance?" for a good discussion of all these issues.

I should mention that when Lissa was writing that section she solicited ideas and feedback from several people; I was honored to be one of them. She came up with a very nice discussion of the topics, and as a result I’m quite happy to refer people to her discussion and feel no need to duplicate it. Those of you who know that I can have perfectionist tendencies will realize that this is a major compliment!

The Role of Written Music. Assuming you're doing a goodly amount of listening and have an understanding of how the tunes should be played, it can be useful to refer to written music to figure out the details of a tune. If you have a thorough understanding of a musical tradition you can use the music to learn new tunes without listening to them specifically; but to do that accurately and with all the subtleties requires truly large amounts of listening. Therefore I'm providing written music in a few different forms. Hopefully it will be used to supplement listening rather than as a replacement!

About Musical Traditions - In Particular the New England Tradition

Some Thoughts on the Reality of the New England Tradition. I describe the tune selection I present in the sheet music on this web site as being from the New England, Canadian, Swedish and related traditions. Sadly over the years I have had the following experience on several occasions - which in my opinion is several times too many, thus the following discussion. A musician - generally a very good fiddler, generally playing in an Irish tradition, never from Ireland - learns that I play New England contradance music. He or she then informs me that there really is no such thing as a New England tradition; all the best New England tunes are really Irish.

Here’s are my thoughts, in the context of previous commentary. Please note that this should not in any way be taken as an insult to Irish music which is one of the great musical traditions and has without a doubt made major contributions to the music of New England.

Regardless of its validity, to deny the existence or validity of someone’s musical tradition in such a fashion is at best arrogant, and is a great way to arouse a variety of  negative thoughts and emotions in other musicians. In addition it’s obviously incorrect, which leads to obvious conclusions about the credibility of the person who makes such a statement.

Let’s see ... Amelia, Ross’s Reel #4, Fair Jenny’s Jig ...

As far as I know New Hampshire has been part of New England for all of recorded history, and if through continental drift it was once connected with Ireland there were no fiddlers around at the time. Therefore, one would have to account for Bob McQuillen and the well over a thousand tunes he’s written. In 1980 and 1981 Rod and Randy Miller justified including Bob’s tunes in New England Chestnuts Volumes 1 and 2 (an excellent pair of records now reissued on one CD by Great Meadow Music) by declaring Bob to be a New England Chestnut himself! Then there are all the other people we know of, not to mention all the ones lost to history, who have composed great tunes in New England over the past few hundred years. We have a long tradition of our own tunes, many of which are excellent and many of which are played elsewhere including Ireland.

Having said that, it is certainly true that many of the tunes we play have their origins in Ireland (or England or Scotland for that matter). But would we really call those tunes, as played by a New England contradance band, Irish tunes? It’s interesting to compare how we play our tunes, and how a traditional Irish band plays a similar set of tunes. (I realize both traditions include considerable variation, and some New England bands emulate the Irish sound.) Sometimes they sound so different it might be hard to realize they are the same tunes.

  1. It must be said that the same person who might say all the best New England tunes are really Irish, if faced with a New England musician playing New England style at an Irish session, would probably be horrified. For that matter an Irish musician tends to sound out of place in a New England jam session. The styles are so different they’re only marginally compatible.

The Role of Dancing. Here’s a partial explanation. In part it’s just a gradual drift in styles over time. But another issue is the role of dancing. In Ireland the music is played mostly for listening so rhythm and phrasing are much less critical. In New England our music is ultimately dance music, and rhythm and phrasing are key. Bob’s piano style probably exemplifies what’s so central to our music that’s generally not really present in much Irish music better than anything else. (Until fairly recently accompaniment of any sort was a foreign concept to Irish music; even now it tends to be much lighter.)

New England fiddling should be rhythmic too; Lissa once mentioned in a conversation that a good fiddler should play sufficiently rhythmically that you wouldn’t entirely need accompaniment for the music to be danceable. Irish fiddling may be rhythmic, but it’s often much less so, and wouldn’t really work well in the context of a contradance.

This distinction has caused problem on more than one occasion when I’ve called with musicians who weren’t dancers and didn’t understand this issue! Now and then someone has pulled out an Irish tune that has phrasing that just made no sense to me and isn’t clear enough to fit the dance. It may be a fine listening tune, but it’s not a contradance tune. One time I actually had to stop the dance and ask for a new tune; I just couldn’t figure out where to call the figures!

To conclude this section, in my opinion based on lots of observation and a fair amount of research although very little formal background in the field, it seems most desirable to acknowledge that each tradition exists largely as its own independent tradition, while at the same time acknowledging that they are all interconnected, often to surprising degrees, and have been for a surprisingly long time. Tunes and styles travel up and back across cultures, whether we want them to or not. We need to think about the implications of that, but ultimately it’s how things work so we should make the best of the situation, and if possible use it to the advantage of our tradition rather than complain about it.


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Opening round loss an opportunity missed for Blues

The St. Louis Blues had the defending Stanley Cup champions on the ropes early in the best-of-seven Western Conference quarter-final. But they couldn’t put them down for the count.

The Blues lost Game 6 of the series by a final score of 2-1 on Friday night, and were eliminated from the post-season, losing the series 4-2.

The Blues won the first two games of the series, but lost the final four.

“You get opportunities like this, like we did in Game 3 and 5 and again tonight, you can’t miss those opportunities,” said Blues’ head coach Ken Hitchcock, according to a pair of tweets (here and here) from Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“I hope our players, when they pause & reflect on it, are really pissed off. Disappointed in opportunity we missed here.”

One point of concern was the Blues’ inability to get pucks on net. St. Louis had 21 missed shots in Game 6, and could not get anything at the Kings goal when they needed to the most.

And when the Blues’ shots were on target, Kings’ goalie Jonathan Quick got in the way.

Quick was sensational again in Game 6, making several key stops during the game.

And then there was Dustin Penner’s winning goal, which came with 0.2 seconds remaining in the second period on a slap shot that deflected off the stick of Blues’ defenseman Roman Polak and past Brian Elliott.

Colin White makes Senators playoff debut, Penguins lineup the same

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The Stanley Cup Playoffs often feel like a battle of attrition, which only makes the introduction of fresh faces that much more compelling.

Try this on for size: with their playoff lives on the line, the Ottawa Senators will see the playoff debut of 2015 first-rounder* Colin White against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. It’s also just his third game at the NHL level, overall.

After rolling with seven defensemen in Game 5, Guy Boucher is opting for a traditional alignment of 12 forwards and six defensemen.

White has that high-level pedigree and possibly fresh legs – even just relatively speaking – so it’s not out of the question for the 20-year-old center to make an impact.

Check out the full roster report here (note: Pittsburgh’s going with the same group as Game 5). Scott Wilson is good to go for the Penguins.

* – 21st overall.

Boucher on Senators’ resiliency: ‘We’ve always chosen to fight’

It’s almost always intriguing to see how a team responds to a tough playoff loss, but that fascination spikes even more if said team fell by an especially lopsided score.

We’ve seen the Pittsburgh Penguins respond to some blowouts with big wins, but now the shoe is on the other foot; how will the Ottawa Senators rebound from the 7-0 shellacking they suffered in Game 5?

Well, if you ask Guy Boucher, they’ve developed a track record that shows they’re willing to fight with their backs against the wall.

Great stuff, right? It’s honestly too bad that Boucher’s defensive system isn’t always as entertaining as his quotes.

Speaking of how Game 5 feeds into tonight’s Game 6, the video above this post’s headline discusses how Ottawa’s goaltenders might be feeling heading into Tuesday.

WATCH LIVE: Pittsburgh Penguins at Ottawa Senators – Game 6

Last night, the Nashville Predators demoralized the Ducks and advanced to their first-ever Stanley Cup Final. Will we learn their opponent tonight or on Thursday?

That’s up to how the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators perform in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Will Sidney Crosby and the Penguins follow that 7-0 rout with a close-out performance, or will Erik Karlsson and the Senators avenge that embarrassing loss to send this series to a decisive Game 7?

Find out on NBCSN at tonight. You can also watch the game online and via the NBC Sports App.

Here’s what you need to know:

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators (Pens lead 3-2)

Time: 8:00 p.m. ET

Network: NBCSN (Stream online here)

Check out the highlights from Pittsburgh’s 7-0 win in Game 5

Pens redefining defense by committee

Four things the Pens need to do to eliminate the Sens

Swedish League champ sees another sign in NHL

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It’s an offseason of change for SHL champion HV71.

In the days following the league title, HV71 saw No. 1 goalie Linus Soderstrom sign his ELC with the Isles and d-man Andreas Borgman — the league’s rookie of the year — ink with the Leafs.

Earlier today, HV71 winger Filip Sandberg signed a two-year deal with San Jose. Shortly after that, Columbus announced it inked Sandberg’s running mate up front, Kevin Stenlund, to a three-year, entry-level deal.

Stenlund, 20, was the Blue Jackets’ second-round pick (58th overall) at the 2015 draft. He’s coming off a good year, setting career highs in goals, assists, points and games played during the regular season, then adding 10 points in 16 playoff appearances.

And he might have a chance to build on that campaign.

Per the Dispatch, the Blue Jackets expect Stenlund to play next year in Sweden, rather than try to make the move overseas. It’s possible the Isles could make the same decision with Soderstrom — meaning it’s not all bad for HV71.


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Dancing With The Stars is definitely not my buzz at all but delighted to see Cork’s Lyra build on her recent success with placements on Teen Wolf and Striking Out (I was lead music supervisor on that) and Shazam and iTunes chart placements. She appeared on the show to sing ‘Emerald’ backed with some epic… Read more »

Posted on March 13th, 2017