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Friday, April 10, 2009

Chocolate Stout for Easter, suggestions from Down Under

Slow Beer's suggestion for Easter... I agree! Who needs peeps or a hollow milk chocolate bunny?

Pours dark dark brown with substanital dark tan coloured head. Aromas of dry coco and vanilla dominate. Palate is rich and viscous with hazelnut, chocolate and some dry coffee roast. Caramel/honeycombe malt supports well to make way for a roasty, bitter finish.

Cloudwine Cellars

Slow Beer is the specialist on-line beer retailing arm of Cloudwine Cellars, a fiercely independent wine merchant with 3 stores in Melbourne – Camberwell, South Melbourne and Brighton.

Homebrew Recipe, Rogue Chocolate Stout

This recipe appeared in Zymurgy, the official organ of the American Homebrewers Association awhile back. An updated recipe is rumored to be coming soon (Summer of '09). The ingredients are no secret, Rogue's 22 oz bottles list all the barley and hops for each beer (without proportions/ measurements), and Rogue's proprietary Pacman yeast can be cultured, but that free range coast water is native only to Newport!

Rogue Chocolate Stout Gelato at Capogiro Artisan Gelato in Philadelphia

How sweet it is...

During Philly Beer Week 2009, unbeknownst to me, the folks at Capogiro Artisan Gelato made this amazing gelato! Best of all, the brewmaster from Rogue, John "more hops" Maier and his wife Stacey learned about the RCS gelato at Home Sweet Homebrew, around the corner from Capogiro's 2-th & Sansome Street store... Heartfelt thanks to Janina et al for the delicious experience. Here's what they have to say about it...

The Rogue Chocolate Stout gelato bears just a trace of the beer's dark color, but fully captures the rich roastiness that makes this brew so enjoyable. A bitter, bracing finish reminds you that this is an adult treat.


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Friday, January 23, 2015

Release Day!

Thanks to everyone who read the book, and placed your review. It means more to me than you could ever know.

I honestly wasn't certain Jack and Maggie's story would ever be told. It has had more than one re-write (the I lost count amount) but the story wound up exactly where it needed to be. And the answer was a dog. Who knew?

What happens when you move three thousand miles away but still can’t outrun the nightmare?

Fleeing from haunting memories, former U.S. Marshal Jack Butler winds up next door to his biggest nightmare: an attractive widow and her troubled daughter—a teen who reminds him of a past he’s yet to make peace with.

Maggie Bradshaw is struggling to raise a rebellious teen and to forgive in-laws who betrayed her in her time of greatest need…but her new neighbor is a godsend. Her daughter Lexi needs a positive influence in her life, and a law enforcement officer is the perfect choice.

Unfortunately, Jack isn’t interested in helping...until a stray dog walks into all their lives.

Can God use a grieving daughter and a stray dog with an ulterior motive to bring healing to all?

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Family Traditions

Family Tradition
One of my customers lately bought something of my Barefoot range which she was eagerly to receive. I was talking with her on the phone and she told me that she started a "Family Tradition" with the Barefoot Mice…..!

I thought how gorgeous is that. I am biased I love the Barefoot Mice. When I heard what what this gorgeous couple started as a Family Tradition, I could not help to share it with you.

They started off with 2 mice representing Grandma and Grandpa.

medium mice

Then they bought 3 male sitting down mice to represent their 3 grandsons.

They will be continuing to build their collection of Barefoot Mice as more grandchildren arrive. When their grandchildren visit them they will grow up knowing the symbol of each and every mouse and I am sure great stories will be told and heard by their growing family.

How awesome is this. Do you have any Family Traditions that you would like to share with us.

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Friday, March 23, 2012

Have you checked our Specials in our store lately?

Have you checked our Specials in our store lately?

From time to time you should, as I am always offering items on Special.
These mainly are great deals that I offer from time to time and end of line products.
So feel free to browse and find a bargain.
At the moment this doll house is going for 35% off the normal price. It is an absolute Bargain, not many left so do not miss out.

Check out our latest  Giveaway & Specials

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Do you have any helpful hints & ideas to share, why don’t share them with us here. We all learn from each other

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Tips of the day using Tea Tree oil to remove any tacky glue from stickers or cleaning your storage tins……

 Tea Tree Oil

As I was pottering around this morning, doing my regular chores and putting things away, one of the things I had to do is to take some sticker glue of a tin that I wanted to keep, and as I started scrubbing it with soap and water, I remembered that there is an easier way of taking it off.  Good Old Fashioned Tea Tree Oil, which I think most of us forget about it.

So with a bit of Tea Tree Oil and some water, it came off instantly.. I just thought I share this, because many a times we buy things and the glue of the price tags are hard to take off…but if  you keep a jar of Tea Tree Oil in your cupboard, it will be amazing how much use you find for it.

I personally love collecting tins and store food and other bits and pieces in them, I feel they give a bit of character to my place and at the same time they are useful containers.

Again another helpful hint using Tea Tree Oil. With use the lids tend to get a bit jammed, especially ones that I use often like the ones below which are my containers for my Tea, Coffee, & Tea bags, and as one can imagine are in constant use.

So every so often, I grab my Tea Tree Oil, and my Kitchen paper roll and I dab a little bit of oil onto the paper and the lids inside and out and around the rims of the containers…they will work like new again.

After I just polish them with some furniture polish and bring them back to life again. I love my coffee and tea tins collection they are some of my favorites, I bought them a few years down the track when Bushels had a promotion with them.

Hope you find use of this helpful hint and if you have one to share, please feel free to link here. I am always willing to learn. It is amazing how much we learn of each otherSmile

PS. "Experiences I expressed here are purely my own."

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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

New stock of Barefoot Mice by Barbara Sansoni has arrived in store….

Once upon a time actually in 1956 this lovely lady “Barbara Sansoni” started teaching illiterate people in Sri Lanka how to sew…..and viola the “Barefoot” concept started.

Gorgeous and lovable products have been created since then, some of which you will see proudly stocked in my store..
The sitting mice…were out of stock and a shipment of them just arrived… addition with the other sizes available in store.

mice family

A Mouse house with a family of six mice and furniture is also available in store. This is a great heirloom to pass on to your Grandkids.

Look at what just arrived, they are simple gorgeous, you look at one and forget the other, they are all individually lovable. Do not forget that the "Barefoot range" is all unique, you never get one the same. They have all been handmade and not one is exactly the same as the other.

They are all waiting for someone to love them …..and a good home!

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Friday, March 16, 2012

A visit to Dandenong Hospital’s Emergency Department–my experience

Hospital, Doctors Busy Box

One day this week, I felt terribly sick. I was fine in the morning, actually I was playing Badminton, by the afternoon, I felt like a migraine was coming on, mind you I do not have these often, probably in my lifetime, I only had 2 or 3 attacks the most, I ended up on the couch, had 1 Panadine Forte, and lied on the couch for a bit. My Headache started to disappear. I had some soup for dinner (one that I cooked), after which I started having tummy aches. I did not think much about it then. I told my husband I think I am coming down with a flu of some sort, and off I went to bed…I could not sleep my pain started to increase, and I was cramping very badly, woke up my poor husband who was dead tired, he stayed up with me giving me hot water trying to help settle my stomach as I felt like throwing up, but couldn’t and pain level was getting worse, I could not sit nor lie down as it made it worse, so I was continuously walking up an down our family room. Finally I said to him ring the hospital and see what they say, they suggested for me to go to hospital and have it checked.

So we got dressed and took off to Dandenong Hospital which is only 10 minutes by car away from us..
  • Great I said when I looked at the waiting room there is only 2 waiting. I was asked all my details at the same time crouching with pain and I had to keep going. (I hate that you have to give all your private details through a window, and everyone is listening to all your private details and concerns) Where is the privacy issue??????
  • When you are in that much pain, you do not want to go through this…but I suppose they have to go through this process.
  • I was told to sit down, someone will look after you, but there is a wait....(but I am in pain says me)
  • After ten minutes a nurse came out and game some Anti nausea Tablet, and a couple more to stop me cramping…and again I was told I  had to wait as they are very busy.
  • That I could not understand as I could only see 2 patients, but then I realized as the Ambulances were coming in, of course they would be given first preference. Then parents with young kids started coming in with high temperatures and again they took priority.
And I was left hanging there crouching with pain and no matter how much I asked  I was still told to wait… what do you ????

Having all this time……waited 5 hours until I left the Hospital.. I was looking around   eeeeeeeeee
  • Yes the waiting room was decorated quite bright and welcoming
  • TV on the walls  (which is okay for those who are not in pain)
  • Bright light again, made you feel safe and welcome…but for a patient I wanted to be by myself and looked after for god sake!
  • Couches were made of wood and  material, which looked great to the eye, but from Hygiene point of view, I think they are not suitable some had stains on them which put you off, and I can imagine they will be more hard to clean than leather…oh yes you are saying she is really going???
  • Towels or rather some sort of blankets where left on some couches, obviously given to patients that were waiting, and no one bothered to pick them…so yes Germs are spreading again…I felt very uneasy to sit on a couch and lie down (Hygiene purposes)
I was finally called in the doctor and nurses I have to say were very nice and apologized for the delay. I was examined and put me through all the tests, blood test and x-rays and all, and very impressed they had results within half an hour so from that part yes I was very very very impressed.

X-ray department
Apparently the whole hospital is having a revamp, there was notices next to the X-ray department. I was called in to have an x-ray, and I had to lie on my back on this hard stretcher, which I did not complain, but the poor guy who looked after me, was all apologetic, as he found himself very uneasy, due to the fact that there was no mattress on the stretcher, as apparently, it got dirty and they do not have another one to replace, all he could offer me was a pillow.

Patient room
Had to go back to wait in the patient room where I was seen to and was trying to lie down a bit , I was starting to feel slightly better as my cramping was letting go a bit with the medication that they gave me, and tried to lift the head rest a bit as I do not sleeping with my head right down…well apparently the control battery ran out and obviously they did not have another battery to replace it, then I was offered a blanket, and I was asked do I want to use it as a blanket or as a pillow…which told me that they did not have any pillow around…….

Well well why did I feel that I had to say all this?????? I am very lucky compared to the number of patients that have to go and deal with these issues day in day out.
  • I thought we are the lucky country?
  • Why are we paying our taxes?
  • I am not sure if Hospitals around Australia are having all these problems and issues?
  • Very obviously Hospitals are understaffed and under equipped and no wonder nurses and hospital feel the way they feel?????
I finally like to thank all the staff that finally looked after me, they were wonderful, but obviously something has to be done in the Hospital system.

I like to hear your experience good or bad, so we can raise these issues and hopefully someone listens!

Thank you for listening

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Thursday, March 15, 2012

Sirena Tuna and Rice has just landed on our shelves at Woolworths..

Sirena3I am sure you all heard of Sirena Tuna before. Apparently it has been around in Australia since 1956. You can read the History of how the company evolved over here.
Well lately I have been approached by Soup (Soup is for people who love having their say and want to be involved in shaping the future of brands and products), to try a new product that Sirena just launched ready to eat tuna and rice meals in Woolworths.
They come in these 3 Delicious flavours which are ready cooked and can be eaten cold or warm:

image  image  image
Sirena Tuna and Rice – Italian Salad
Traditional Italian tuna rice salad filled with delicious Sirena tuna, rice, peas and capsicum
Sirena Tuna and Rice – Puttanesca
The perfect combination of delicate tuna, tomato, olives and capers with a hint of chilli
Sirena Tuna and Rice – Spicy Tomato
Spicy chilli and tomato Italian-style sauce with succulent Sirena tuna and rice
They are available in 190grm packs

To tell you the truth I was a bit skeptic when I saw these packets, as I really did not know what to expect, but once I tried one, I enjoyed the flavours and was really impressed. It actually took me back to my childhood. I was brought up in Malta, and we have a lot of Italian influence in our food culture. I cannot say I like one more than the other, as I really like the combination of the ingredients in the 3 flavours available.
I shared some of the samples with family and friends and asked them to use their imagination and to tell me what they have used these packs for and when.
Some of their comments:
  • they all loved the flavours, even those who are not European background
  • they said they made a great snack, for during the day, some were quite satisfied to have it for lunch, the guys felt that they had to have something else with it, as it was not enough on its own
  • one person went very creative and mixed the mixture with some eggs and milk and made a scrumptious omelet
  • personally I thoroughly enjoyed taking it with me to events where I exhibited , and found it so convenient to have as, all I had to do is open the lid and eat  without any mess …knowing I had a very healthy snack.
When I was in my studio, I ventured a bit more, and anyone can do this even if you work in an office or factory worker, as instead of having stir vegetables, you can mix it with a salad.

1. Stir fry quickly some mixed vegetables

2. Put it in a bowl

3. Open the Sierra Container, this one in particular is Sirena Tuna and Rice – Italian Salad

4. Throw into the bowl

5. Mix everything together and viola a scrumptious delicious meal in about 10mins

Thank you Sirena for creating these delicious and scrumptious snacks, and thank you Soup for asking me to try them out…
I thoroughly recommend them to everyone.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Giveaway: Calling all new Mums & Dads, Grandparents Auntie’s & Uncle’s or maybe, “you” who have a special friend who had a Baby in 2011 or 2012

Great Giveaway for a New Born Baby or Child - a Personalized Gift!

baby plate 4B

We have just introduced some new designs in our Baby Section for Personalized Plates, so we decided to celebrate by creating a Giveaway whereby you win a voucher of $30.00 to spend towards a  Personalized Baby or Kids Plate of your Choice.

 Let me tell you a little bit of what we have on offer.
If you are after something special for a gift for a Baby, Christening, Special Birthday, Baptist, First Holy Communion, have come to the right place!
These have proved to be very popular, a great keepsake to treasure for many years to come.

baby plate 3G

We also offer Photo Personalized Plate for any Special Occasion ...which you can read all about it over here:

If you celebrating a special milestone in your child’s life…we have gorgeous designs that will make a great decor addition to their room…check out

Personalized-plate-Bear-sitPersonalized-plate-pink-fai 350

Now what do you have to do to enter this giveaway:
  • This Competition is open to all new parents, grandparents, new auntie’s and uncle’s and maybe a special friend (WORLDWIDE)
  • Place a comment below as to why you want to win this Personalized Plate
  • The name of the Baby the plate will be created for.
  • Which design plate you would like to win or is your favorite.
The Above will entitle you to one entry for the Giveaway.
If you would like to gain more entries:
Leave a comment for each of the social networking that you follow us or maybe you consider to follow and you will gain another chance to win this fabulous Personalized Plate. Maybe you consider joining our Newsletter. Tweet or leave a comment on Face Book etc…if you decide to do so.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Baby Names - Popular Baby Names - 100 Most Popular Baby names

Baby Names - Popular Baby Names - 100 Most Popular Baby names:

'via Blog this'

Personalized Birth Plates for New Born's

It was interesting to read which names were popular for Baby Names in Australia for 2011. Also I find it quite remarkable that Traditional names are more popular than made up names.

Jack still tops almost the list for boys with William taking over, and Ruby and Chloe are still popular for girls.

You can read the full blog post by pressing the link. I will be following this with some new designs for some Baby Plates that I have introduced in store.

If you had a Baby in 2011 what was the name given to your son or daughter?

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29 novembre 2013

Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 800th goal for Real Madrid and 31 matches

Real Madrid, 800 goals in Champions League, and 31 consecutive matches Real Madrid, wins in Copenhagen, a record of great merit, because it is the first team to score 800 goals, in 31 matches, Real Madrid broke the first record with with a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo, reach a new milestone as it reached 800 goals, European Cup, as Real Madrid scored 18 goals in the first five days, with goals from Modric, and Cristiano Ronaldo, came to twenty in the first phase, Copenhagen Real Madrid 0-2, Champions League,
Posté par ronaldo_cr7 à 19:02 - Commentaires [0] - Permalien [#]
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The adventures of an analog engineer and digital storyteller who studies emerging networks and their impact on the great game of business.
Feb 9, 2014

On Saturday, February 1st, I launched Project Lizzie, a storytelling effort that’s built upon 99 postcards that were postmarked between 1904 and 1925. I first wrote about the project in a September 2012 post entitled Adding Measurable Value with Story. Since publishing that post, I’ve been working to uncover the life story of a woman whom I’ve never met, nor to the best of my knowledge, have any family connection to.

I’ve followed clues from both digital and analog artifacts–from online services like Google and–to snail-mailing city clerks to acquire death certificates. And I’ve learned something: for every mystery that I solve, new mysteries surface. The journey has lead me to old cemeteries and libraries where clues were etched into everything from stone to microfiche.

The Project Lizzie website is a platform that offers visitors multiple ways to interact with the story. If you want to simply follow the story, just read the it from the very beginning. If you want to spend some time flipping through all 99 of the postcards, visit the project’s Postcard Gallery. And, finally, if you want to take a more active role in the storytelling, you can either start your own research or accept some of the Special Assignments.

For me, the most satisfying part of the project’s launch were the reactions from visitors. For example, just twelve hours into the project, educators were tweeting about how the project could be used as a teaching tool for students. It just goes to show what can happen when smart people are allowed to use a platform for things that they are passionate about.

Please feel free to visit both the Project Lizzie website and the Project Lizzie Facebook Page.

Filed under: Social Media

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Friday, September 30, 2005

Richard Manuel & Bob Dylan

Some thoughts on seeing No Direction Home, Martin Scorsese’s masterful biography of Bob Dylan, earlier this week.

Working only with archival footage – the intimate interview with Dylan himself had been conducted by Dylan’s manager prior to the decision to get Scorsese involved – the director managed to avoid what might be the greatest trap in an endeavor of this kind: reifying (if not deifying) its subject, or any particular version of the subject. During the period covered by Home, we see Dylan move through four distinct phases as a musician:

  1. A performer of other people’s music – this is Dylan the folkie, the one we find on his first Columbia album.
  2. The composer of his own topical tunes – this was the breakthrough work that got him identified with the topical song movement & the likes of Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton, and others who writing songs about the events of the 1960s – the absence of these other writers is one of the noteworthy absences from the film, as is that of Ramblin' Jack Elliot, perhaps a more important influence than either Woody Guthrie or Dave Van Ronk.
  3. The composer of more poetic acoustic tunes – there is a wonderful scene of Dylan performing “Tambourine Man” at the “Topical Song” workshop at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964 as Pete Seeger sits behind him scowling, intently trying to fathom out this new more elliptical discourse.¹ This is the Dylan who is captured on Another Side, an album that was careful to telegraph that this was a Dylan you had not heard previously. In fact, tho, the Dylan of the eponymous first Columbia record was hardly the same as the one of Freewheelin’.
  4. Dylan in his first electric phase, the one that lasted through three solid albums (Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited & Blonde on Blonde), making it the longest period of consistency in his career, even to this day.

Reading Chronicles & other bios of Dylan, it’s apparent that there was another Dylan even before these four, the rockabilly teenager who played (miserably by all accounts) piano for Bobby Vee under the name of Elston Gunn. Scorsese elides over this period so quickly that I don’t think you can get a sense of it distinctly in Home, focusing more on Dylan’s own later appropriation of Bobby Vee’s name for awhile before Mr. Zimmerman headed off to New York City.

One year before the debacle over Dylan’s electric performance at Newport in 1965, the one after party I got to attend at the festival in 1964 – I’d been invited by Buffy Sainte-Marie – found performers like Sainte-Marie, Noel Stookey (Paul from Peter, Paul & Marie), John Sebastian, Dylan & others jamming songs from what was then the first Rolling Stones album. Indeed, that was where I first heard of the Rolling Stones.

The dichotomy between folk & rock was indeed fairly hard in those years, tho the emotional force against the music had much to do with the corporate control of mind-numbing music. While Dylan’s entry into rock opened up the music’s lyric potential, the British invasion – not just the Beatles & Stones, but also the Animals & John Mayhall, who took Chicago Blues rather than the Tin Pan Alley of Gary Lewis & the Playboys² and their ilk, as their point of reference – was already breaking up the tight-knit control a half dozen labels had on the pop charts. Indeed, within two years of Dylan’s going electric, I saw one concert at Winterland in San Francisco in which the opening act was Pink Floyd (who had just released their first album), the second act was The Doors (who had just released Strange Days, their second album), and the headliner was Donovan. The so-called San Francisco Sound of the 1960s – the Dead, the Airplane, Big Brother & the Holding Company – really was the influx of folk musicians into rock.

It was ironic that Columbia Records signed Dylan – and fortunate for him that John Hammond basically let him do what he wanted to do – when he’d already been rejected by Folkways and Vanguard, the two major folk labels of the period. Tho Columbia is now part of Sony, Dylan has stayed with the same label for 44 years. Bruce Springsteen is another John Hammond project who has stayed with the label his entire career. (Hammond’s own son, John Jr., a fine roots blues musician, originally signed with Vanguard.)

Hearing Dylan going electric at Newport in 1965 reminds me, more than anything else, of what a great blues band Paul Butterfield had. Between his death & Michael Bloomfield’s o.d., it left precious little as a record of its achievement. The loudest concert I ever heard was a Butterfield performance in the old U.C. gymnasium in ’65 or ’66. The recordings of Dylan on his world tour to the U.K. in 1966 with the Hawks (soon to morph into The Band), with Mickey Jones sitting in for Levon Helm at drums (Helm having been appalled at the booing Dylan was getting & wanting no part of that – he returned to the group during its long “hiatus” at Big Pink after Dylan’s accident) are nowhere nearly as cohesive instrumentally.

Some of the clips show Dylan wearing his herring bone suit when touring with the Band. I remember seeing him in that suit at a show at the Berkeley Community Theater in, I believe, early 1966, thinking that it was the type of clothing I’d only seen before on older blues musicians. To my eye, it still looks much quirkier than the polka-dotted blousy shirt he’s wearing in the photo above.

One of the more interesting moments in the film is Allen Ginsberg choking up as he recounts his experience of first hearing “Hard Rain,” played for him at a party in Bolinas by Charlie Plymell. “I wept,” Ginsberg says, clearly recognizing the reflection of his own influence in Dylan’s lyrics, “The torch had been passed.” I remember my own experience, first hearing that song. Lacking Ginsberg panoptic reading (he was 37 in 1963, I was 17), I can clearly recall the hair on the back of my neck standing up: I had never heard anything like that before anywhere. It was an announcement that the world was going to be different very very soon – in spite of its apocalyptic message, the song gave me an unshakeable optimism that I would return to often over the next couple of years.

Ginsberg’s presence on the film makes great sense, not simply because he knew Dylan. Nor is he the only writer in the film – James Baldwin shows up twice, we hear a snatch of Kerouac & in a shot of heads at the Cedar Bar you can make out Frank O’Hara as he blurs past, unannounced & unquoted. Dylan may or may not be a poet, depending on your definitions – in my book, the answer is not, but frankly I don’t think it’s an important question – but his aesthetic, in virtually all its phases, is distinctly New American. And if Dylan’s own sense of logic in his songs is never that far removed from Ginsberg & the Beats (hear, say, the echo of Ray Bremser in “Positively Fourth Street”), the writer he is most like (I’ve said this before, but Home underscores the point) actually is Kirby Olson’s Doubting Thomist, Gregory Corso. Compared with Ginsberg or Kerouac, Dylan is almost shockingly uneducated – he’s not kidding when he says that he didn’t go to classes at the University of Minnesota – and yet he’s brilliant & an absolute sponge of data, an autodidact whose program of study, if one can find it anywhere, is a peculiar combination of cultural studies – sans theory³ – and the Bible. These twin sources have been constant throughout almost all of his different periods & personae.

In the film, his oldest acquaintances call Dylan a “receiver” (what a Spicerian term that is!) and a “shape shifter” & to the degree that Scorsese has to settle on a Dylan to use as his focal point, the one he gives us is Dylan the chameleon, the artist who is always at a remove from his own public identity, an actor who is forever “on,” leaving betrayed friends who thought they knew which one was the “real” Dylan everywhere in his wake – virtually all of whom have decided to forgive him. At some level, that’s not genius, but a personality disorder, a kind of narcissism perhaps, but one that seems utterly disinterested in his own Self. Certainly that’s consistent with the artist who “don’t look back,” who has lived his adult life with an invented name & who has come up with a new Dylan roughly every three years now since 1960. At the same time, the line that will stay with me from this film perhaps longer than any other is a wistful Joan Baez, who seems still able to get in touch with some kind of love for the man, saying that she has no idea what he’s thinking, “I know only what he’s given us.”

¹ Tho I was at the ’64 festival, I missed that session, going instead to listen to the jug band of Sleepy John Estes, Yank Rachel & Hammie Nixon perform at a blues workshop. To this day, that is still the best acoustic blues show I’ve ever attended, so I can hardly say that I regret my decision. When I finally met Dylan at an after-party at the Viking Hotel later in the week & asked him what he was working on, he pulled a typescript of “Tambourine Man” from his coat pocket. I was already starting to read Allen Ginsberg & Michael McClure & the rather vaporous surrealism of its text didn’t strike me half as strange as it seems to have hit the older Popular Front folkies already in their 40s.

² On Lewis’ records, most of the roles played by “studio musicians” turned out to be Leon Russell.

³ He has the anti-intellectual’s distrust of theory in all forms.

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Attic Insulation

Attic Insulation

Our blown in attic insulation service is one way we markedly enhance the effectiveness of your home’s insulation through convenience and affordability. Providing the home with a better insulating “seal” is the reason “retro-fitting” a home’s existing insulation is growing in popularity.

It has long been known that many otherwise well insulated homes and buildings were
poorly sealed or had become poorly sealed as they were modified and aged. The lack of a proper seal is a leading cause of air leakage in and out of homes and buildings.

Approximately 40% of all air leaks are in your attic. Un-insulated exterior walls can
account for around 15%. This air leakage results in wasted energy and other moisture problems in most building and homes. Only recently has it become possible to address this problem without significant and costly renovations.

Today, Roof-Masters can identify the areas of greatest need and propose a cost-
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Contact Roof-Masters today with any questions and “insulate now….save later!”

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Sunday, January 24, 2016

QOV Number Three!

Here is number three quilted, now to box them all up and get them on their way so I can move along to the next project!
The fabulous, fast Baptist Fan, so great for traditional quilts and especially for guys, neutral thread again allows the theme to shine.
 Simple and fuss free, I love to use BF it always looks good.
And shows up so nicely on the backing, makes the quilt reversible.
Now to finish the Bonnie Hunter mystery Allietare I just need to add borders to make it queen size.

1 comment:

Andee said...

Another great QOV!


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Friday, July 2, 2010

The Ralph Wiggum of cities

"It can't be that bad, except that Cleveland has never won a professional sports title in anything ever, and they are usually ranked among the Top 10 Most obese cities. Basically, Cleveland is the Ralph Wiggum of cities."
(Dec. 16, 2009, Matt, Every Day, Another Song)

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About Deviant RachelFemale/United States Recent Activity
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I got into photography to some degree over the summer. I would like to be able to take really good quality pictures with a better camera, but I only dabble in it every once in a while, so there's no point getting an $800 camera:) Also, I like doodling/sketching random crap in my spare time in school, and just recently got into collaging with pictures torn out of magazines:P..maybe it's not really art..but, hey, it's in the eye of the beholder:)
also, I write fiction when I get the chance..I did at one point hope to publish, but my story fizzled out hopelssly, so now I just write for my own enjoyment and publish mostly on quizilla, because I was a member there first:)

Current Residence: USA
Favourite genre of music: any of my fave movies:)
MP3 player of choice: iPod, what else?:P
Personal Quote: "If it were not for the last minute, nothing would ever get done."

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Tammara Featured By Owner Dec 21, 2008
Thank you Rachel.:hug:
rosebloodfaerie Featured By Owner Oct 28, 2008
Hi! I don't know how many people will look on my page, but I just started:P So I'm gonna try and upload some stuff and hope I don't disappoint:)


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411 088 photos of houses and buildings in Russian Federation.

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Rostov-on-Don, Ulyanovskaya st, house 19

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August 28 - September 3, 2005

Ferrari: *recaps the pirate conversation from last week to Tommy*
Tommy: *silence*
Ferrari: OK, nevermind, I thought it was funny.
- Marc, Tommy, and Ferrari driving home from West Virginia, 8/28/05

August 21 - 27, 2005

August 14 - 20, 2005

Ferrari: This rain SUCKS.
Marc: Yeah.
Ferrari: Damn Lake Erie.
Marc: That's exactly what it is too.
Ferrari: Can you imagine if you were a pirate on Lake Erie? And then you went to the big pirate convention, and one pirate's like, "Arrrrgh, I've sailed the seven seas.... where've you sailed?", and you're like... "Lake Erie...", and they're like, "Lake Erie?!?!" and then you get made fun of by all the other pirates?
Marc: *laughs a little*
Ferrari: Sorry... it's the rain.
- Marc & Ferrari driving home from Rochester, 8/20/05

August 7 - 13, 2005

July 31 - August 6, 2005


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Friday, March 06, 2009

(Photo Credit: Christopher Blunck, DC Sports Box)

Kristi Toliver named ACC Women's Basketball Player of the Year!

Lynetta Kizer named ACC Freshman of the Year!

Terps win first regular season ACC title since 1989!

Terps tip off TODAY as #1 seed in ACC conference tournament in quest of first conference championship since 1989!

How does senior Marissa "Shoulders" Coleman feel about the team's chances?
We are playing so well right now; we have so much confidence in our game and each others' games right now. Honestly, I think the only reason we could lose is if we beat ourselves.
Will the Non-Lady Terps even make it to the Big Dance? Don't know. Can't say. Outlook: Hazy.

Will the unemployment rate reach 10% before the end of the NCAA tournament? Don't know. Can't say. Outlook: So grim we refuse to think about it lest it mess with our basketball buzz.

Gotta go, kids. Action is underway in Greensboro, and the Terps are down by two. Clearly, they need us to be concentrating.

Go, Terps!

  1. Well they almost gave me a heart attack, Rox, and I got in trouble with Moose for yelling too loud. But I tell myself that a close game like this was actually good for them. They have a tendency to take teams for granted and they MUST stop doing that. Was glad to see a lot of folks scoring, too.

    GO MIGHTY TERP WOMEN -- TERP WOMEN RULE, and FEAR THE BRENDA, who did an awesome job of coaching today down the s-t-r-e-t-c-h.

  2. "Once we got the lead, I think we crushed their confidence a little bit and ours went up." So said Marissa Coleman. Nothing would be finer than to beat Caroliner. . . .

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Monday, March 25, 2013

Monday March 25 2013

What an odd week.  Almost no Shakespeare out there in the world.  Well, not that I could see anyway. But quite a lot, closer to home.

From Davis and Frankforter’s The Shakespeare Name Dictionary:
  • April, which will soon be upon us, comes from the Latin aperire, to open, and is mentioned in many of Shakespeare’s plays. It is also the month in which Shakespeare was born and died, although the Dictionary doesn’t tell us that.
  • Aquilon is the north wind. In Troilus and Cressida Ajax tells the trumpeter to blow like Aquilon to summon Hector to battle.

Shakespeare sightings:
  • Not a single one this week!  What’s the world coming to?

Further this week:

 Posted this week:
  • This Monday report

  1. I have grave doubts about this webinar on the authorship question. The whole issue deserves nothing of the kind. It is disturbingly similar to the Evolution vs Creationism debate. On the one side, a scientific theory, not without blank spots and troublesome points, but with a good deal of *positive* evidence as well. On the other side, a wildly speculative hypothesis that rests *entirely* on faith - and debunking the other side by negative evidence (which is a nonsensical conception by default).

    Let me put the authorship controversy as briefly as I could. My point is that ignoring anti-Stratfordians, not arguing with them and resorting to ad hominem attacks, is the best policy to adopt, never mind their scorn which such attitude is bound bound to arouse.

    This is my modest virtual collection of early quartos; there are, among other things, eight of them:

    Taking into account some wrong dates, half of them were published during Will's life and half within a decade after his death. Let's focus on the former four: Hamlet (1604)*, Richard III (1602), Romeo and Juliet (1597) and Troilus and Cresseyd (1609).

    Three of these editions do contain facsimile reproductions of the title pages. (R&J is the exception.) All three of these pages do contain the line "By William Shakespeare". That's right. It's not even "Shakspere" or anything like that. It's Shakespeare.

    Show me the tiniest bit of evidence that these attributions are fake and you'll have my complete attention. And I mean *positive* evidence, material evidence - which simply means evidence that rests of facts and artefacts. Speculations on the non-existence of something, and extrapolation on this basis, are not evidence. This is pseudo-evidence which leads to pseudo-scholarship.

    The edition is actually of the first quarto from 1603. But it does contain, also, a facsimile of the title page of the second quarto from 1604: this is the one discussed here. Incidentally, the first quarto's title page lists the author as "Shake-speare" - not that it matters considering the mind-numbingly erratic spelling in Elizabethan times.

  2. By way of conclusion, a few words about the chief anti-Stratfordian argument using their own method of sweeping statements based on nothing more than personal feelings. It's really easy to make any case like that.

    Reading the comments of anti-Stratfordians, their greatest objection seems to be that Shakespeare, it seems fairly certain, never did go to universiry. Big deal. University education is grossly overrated in the first place. The only "education" that really matters is the self-education of personal experience. This is not taught is schools and colleges. It can't be.

    Personally, I think Shakespeare was not so much a great reader as a great mixer. Much if not all of his knowledge he might easily have obtained by conversation with all and sundry. I am indebted - as for so much else as regards Will and his times - to G. B. Harrison who once casually remarked, in one of his books on the subject, that conversation is by far the greatest source of knowledge. And it is the right type of knowledge for this case: vast yet inaccurate.

    Besides, as Bill Bryson has wisely remarked, the value of Shakespeare really has nothing to do with his knowledge. This is the least remarkable part of his genius. Only small and superficial minds are impressed by such things. The value of Shakespeare is his (just about unparalleled) understanding of the human condition. This is learnt neither from books nor in colleges, much less so the ability to express it on paper.

    If you want a fine modern equivalent of the "authorship controversy", think of "The Dark Side of the Moon" being written and recorded by some other band but Pink Floyd. Forty years have passed since this amazing album hit the charts with a vengeance. It's about time somebody put the record straight by telling the real story of its creation...

    I'd better go to bed now...

    1. I actually love to read your comment above, Alexander. I agree completely. Actually, desiring to know more about that, I apply to the webinar. Let's see what they have to say about it. It sounds funny how so many people seem to be ready to do anything to prove that the plays attributed to Shakespeare are not really Shakespeare's. For me, refusing Shakespeare just because he's not 'educated' is unreasonable. Many of our modern writers and singers and actors don't get education on their professional subjects, but they do great anyway, thanks to their experience and hard work. So I say I'll believe that Shakespeare really wrote all that, until it's proven, and reasonably proven, otherwise. :D

    2. Hurrah for these comments! I so agree and I hope others read these excellent arguments. Only one disagreement with Alexander and that is on whether or not the webinair debate is a good thing. I think it is. It's like Richard Dawkins tirelessly,reasonably explaining to the unreasonable (in every sense of the word!) insistent creationists. Water dripping on a stone. Lighting sparks in the darkness. And all that.
      Welcome to the blog, Lemon Tree. We're looking forward to more comments. Let us know what you think of the Webinair when it's been done.
      Everybody, be sure to check out Alexander's link to Library Thing.

  3. I agree with your disagreement, Ruby. I mean, I hope I'm wrong, you're right, and the webinar will do some good. I can't quite imagine a debate between sides as opposite as "only material evidence matters" and "the absence of evidence is the only real evidence", but that may well be my, to borrow a phrase from Arthur Clarke, failure of imagination.

    Lemon Tree, it's great to have you with us. The presence of more Strarfordians is encouraging that there may still be some intelligent life left on Earth.

  4. Oh I think there's quite a lot of intelligent life left on Earth. Richard Dawkins says, "There are still no grounds for complacency," (The Greatest Show on Earth, last sentence)but the evidence for intelligent life is also quite convincing. About the webinar, let's hope it reaches and convinces some non-Stratfordians.


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Monday, September 16, 2013

Monday September 16 2013

It seems that every time we finish a play I say, “xxx is a strange play!” And then I start looking more closely at it.  Such is the case with Timon. We’ve been reading other people’s analyses and yesterday evening we watched the BBC production and things are starting to fall into place.  I started writing the text this morning.  Maybe it will be ready for the blog next week. But now, this week:

From Davis and Frankforter’s The Shakespeare Name Dictionary.
  • Clare, or Saint Clare as she is named here, was the founder of the order that Isabella in Measure for Measure belonged to. It emphasized poverty and the order was introduced to England around 1293. The vows of poverty were hard for everyone to keep and other more moderate groups broke away to start their own orders.
  • Clement’s Inn, mentioned in Henry IV, Part Two, lodged young men training for the law.  George’s Inn sounds like more fun.

 Shakespeare sightings:
  • In the last pages of Shakespeare’s Local by Pete Brown, about the George Inn where the Swedish Shakespeare Society’s course was held this summer (see the report under “Ruby’s Reflections” and the last three weeks’ Monday reports), the author gets to the point where Sam Wanamaker starts the Globe project and Southwark and Shakespeare become big tourist attractions.  And the George Inn “still caters for people a long way from home, who have come to see the sights and reconnect with age of Dickens and Shakespeare.”  I can only add that next time you’re in London, make sure you go to the George. It was a real experience when we were there this summer. Having now read about its history, we really must go there again. Thank you, Pete Brown!
  • In the unlikely but engaging novel Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, one of the drippier of the many absurd characters tells us that her eighth grade son and his classmates are doing Shakespeare in school and she uses Othello’s words “she loved me for the dangers I had passed/And I loved her that she did pity them” to describe her own pathetic one night stand with the main character’s husband.
  • IMDb, a website I visit lots of times every day, tells us that Dennis Lipscomb (in the cast of Slow Burn which I reviewed on the movie blog yesterday) “trained as a Shakespearian stage actor.”  He should have stuck with that and not made bad movies like this one.

Further this week:
  • Finished reading aloud with Hal: Timon of Athens.
  • Watched: the BBC production of same.
  • Started writing: text on same.
  • Received: from Bokus:
    • Shakespeare and the American Musical by Irene Dash
    • Shakespeare’s Freedom by Stephen Greenblatt
    • Practicing New Historicism by Catherine Gallagher and Stephen Greenblatt. Not really a Shakespeare book but since Greenblatt is my favorite Shakespearian I’m listing it anyway. And of course Shakespeare is mentioned a lot in the book.

 Posted this week:
  • A report on Andrew Hadfield’s  Shakespeare and Republicanism.
  • This Monday report.

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Photos by:

Izzy Hudgins

This wedding features a New York bride and an Irish groom who met while living in Madrid and married back in the bride’s home town. As a nod to their worldliness and love of adventure, the couple laced their wedding day with hints of travel, ranging from luggage tags to city signs. Izzy Hudgins Photography and French Knot Studios made it possible for us to share this beauty today, so let’s jump in!

wedding portraits - photo by Izzy Hudgins

From the bride, Carisa: My husband and I met while living in Madrid, but have spent the last 4 years stateside. He’s from Ireland, I’m from upstate NY. It makes sense that we have an affinity for the “Old World” charm that takes us back to that time when we first met, within places and spaces whose walls and grounds are filled with character of days passed. Although we were getting married in the United States, we wanted to find somewhere here that had some of that character. The Hudson Valley lent itself to just that, and a wedding date in October made perfect sense to take advantage of its well renowned fall foliage. The Church, the Winery (Reception venue), and the rental home we were staying in (where I got ready that morning) are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places and were all built in the 1800s. (1839, 1895, and 1858 respectively.) The stone structures and pristine gardens provided the stylistic elements we loved and the misty dewy morning certainly added an extra Irish ambiance to our day.

sequined boutonnieres - photo by Izzy Hudgins

bride getting ready - photo by Izzy Hudgins

vintage handkerchiefs - photo by Izzy Hudgins

colorful bouquet - photo by Izzy Hudgins

bohemian brides - photo by Izzy Hudgins

orange wedding bouquets - photo by Izzy Hudgins

wedding ceremony venue - photo by Izzy Hudgins

church wedding ceremony - photo by Izzy Hudgins

wedding sign - photo by Izzy Hudgins

To say that this was a global affair would be accurate. Not only did guests travel from afar, but resources were utilized from all over the country, and the travel concept was embedded throughout in the décor. Being that we were in a winery, we also carried on with a beverage theme and decided to name the tables after a medley of international watering holes that have been part of our story. The centerpieces were a mix of DIY monogrammed wine crates and various beverage glasses (spray painted and glittered,) finished off with the perfect touch of stunning flowers. When I look at photos of the reception with the tables in the background, I see the miles this truly collaborative effort traversed… the trips home when my Mom and I scoured thrift shops for the beverage containers, the wine crates created in my parents wood shop in NY, stained and aged by my husband on visits from Alaska, with some expert guidance from our stylist in Georgia. Another handmade product of my parents’ wood shop is the wedding card box that was created with reclaimed barn wood from a nearby 19th century farm. This was designed with input from myself, my husband and my parents and is a treasure we’ll have for years to come to remember our day.

gold centerpieces - photo by Izzy Hudgins

glitter table numbers - photo by Izzy Hudgins

escort cards - photo by Izzy Hudgins

hang tag escort cards - photo by Izzy Hudgins

travel wedding theme - photo by Izzy Hudgins

paper goods garland - photo by Izzy Hudgins

travel wedding ideas - photo by Izzy Hudgins

travel weddings - photo by Izzy Hudgins

If you need info on the Golden Girls… My gals were given a color and some direction and off they went. There was everything from a secondhand eBay dress to a Rent the Runway selection to a last minute (literally the week before) Macy’s gown for the 5 Months Pregnant MOH! I hadn’t seen most of the dresses until that day so it was an extra special bit of fun for me to see that vision come together.

glitter wedding details - photo by Izzy Hudgins

glitter wrapped favors - photo by Izzy Hudgins

bilingual wedding ideas - photo by Izzy Hudgins

long tablescapes - photo by Izzy Hudgins

dessert tables - photo by Izzy Hudgins

travel glitter wedding - photo by Izzy Hudgins

photo booth accessories - photo by Izzy Hudgins

View all images from this wedding in the gallery

Wedding Location: Washingtonville, NY / Photographer: Izzy Hudgins Photography / Event Design: French Knot Studios / Floral Design: Audrey and Jess / Ceremony Venue: Chapel of the Holy Name / Reception Venue: Brotherhood Winery / Wedding Dress: WToo “Mimi” / Alterations: Rose’s Custom Tailoring, Anchorage, AK / Lace Church Piece: Tulip Bridal / Reception Bow Belt and Pocket Squares: French Knot Studios / Jewelry: Rent the Runway / Purse: Vintage Whiting & Davis Co. from 1930’s via jazzymoonz / Handkerchief: lasadana / Hair: Kathy Stack / Makeup: LeAnne Stack (bride) and Fara Shoudy (bridesmaids/Mom) / Groom’s and Groomsmen Suits: Men’s Wearhouse, Black by Vera Wang / Ties: Macy’s / Engagement Ring: Custom made by Bill Cronin of Cronin Jewelers / Bride’s Band: JBR Jewelers / Groom’s Band: Spexton Jewelers / Wedding Caterer: Inn Credible Caterers / Wedding Cake: Baked Euphoria / Cake Topper: French Knot Studios / Ceremony Musician: Glenn Roth / Band: Brotherhood Band

  • Tanya

    Beautiful wedding. I’d love to know where you found those map escort cards?

    • Carisa Donahue

      Thanks Tanya. Bride here. I made the escort cards with some clip art of a map and added the labels (all in a word doc.) and printed them on a card stock, snipped the edges, added reinforcement holes, and bakers twine. A little time consuming but quite easy. You can do it!

  • Andrea

    Love your wedding!! And I love the lace piece you wore for the ceremony. I’m looking for something similar, but I couldn’t find it on the website that was linked. Do you have any additional info you can share? Thanks!!


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RuneScape Wiki

Strange key loop

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Strange key loop detail

The Strange key loop is half of a mysterious key found inside of Movario's base during While Guthix Sleeps. When used on a Mithril Dragon with the Strange key teeth, it will fuse to form the Dragonkin key, which is used to make the dragon platebody via the Dragon Forge.

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Sunday, February 22, 2009

The Day After

I'm a little sore today from yesterday's race, but not as bad as I expected. I managed to get in 90 minutes of exercise this morning, which is actually more than usual. Instead of finishing a book before I worked out this morning (something I did twice last weekend!), I took a book with me and finished it on the recumbent bike.

1) Rode 10.39 miles (1 hour) on the recumbent bike
2) Walked 0.30 mile ( 5:11 min) on the treadmill
3) Ran 2.14 miles (25 minutes) on the treadmill

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Monday, May 04, 2009

In With the Doctor

I decided to go ahead and make an appointment with the orthopaedist about my right leg (IT band, I think), and she can see me on Friday-yay!. I saw that doctor earlier about another injury, and she was great! She may refer me to physical therapy again, but I figure that the earlier I start, the sooner I can run more miles! Woohoo! :)

teacherwoman said...

If you haven't tried the foam roller yet, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT! I have been using it consistently for the past few weeks and have noticed a huge difference. Roll out your entire body, from hips to the ankles, quads, hams, and even your butt!

Good luck with your doctor appointment!

Lesley said...

I bought a foam roller over the weekend, and have used it a few times. I still feel kinda awkward using it, but I'll keep trying! I'm determined! :)

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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

What Runners Think About While Running

I get asked a lot what I think about while I am on a long run. When I am out on the road alone for a hour or more, what do I do to keep myself occupied? Sometimes I take my iPod. Sometimes I just completely zone out. And sometimes I see something which I seize upon and which keeps my mind busy for a little while. Such was the case with my 11-miler on Sunday. In the yard of a home outside of town, I saw a very large statue of the Virgin Mary perched at the edge of a pond. Immediately my mind threw out "Our Lady of the Pond."I found this highly amusing. I repeated it to myself over and over while I was running. I thought about the ways in which Our Lady of the Pond could watch over the waters, protecting the ducks and fish alike. Our Lady of the Pond.

This ends the totally scary glimpse into the head of a distance runner.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

One More Thing

I forgot to add something to my list of reasons why I am finding myself nostalgic for winter running:

There is nothing like inhaling a stray insect or running through a cloud of gnats!

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Be Careful What You Wish For...You Just Might Get It

It seems that spring has, at last, finally sprung in Michigan.

Of course now I all but guaranteed we will have one more blast of winter weather by saying that, didn't it?

I have whined and complained and bitched about the way winter seemed to be dragging on...and on...and on...around here. I yearned for longer days, warmer temperatures, sidewalks that were free of snow.

Now I have all three of those things, except they aren't turning out to be as all-encompassingly fantastic as I thought they would be. OK, the longer days thing pretty much rocks. I can go out for a run at 6:30 pm, finish at 8:00 pm, and it's still light out. Furthermore, I am about to flip my schedule and start running in the early mornings again now that it's semi-light at 6:00 am.

However. Warmer temperatures means I am sweating more. And for me, "more" means "getting drenched." I sweat a lot. That old trying-to-be-funny saying about how "women don't sweat, they glow" does not apply to me. I don't glow. Or glisten. I look like someone threw a bucket of water on me. It was so nice over the winter when I didn't come back with my hair all matted down, huge sweat bibs on the fronts and backs of my shirts, and eyes red and stinging from sweat trickling into them.

I am enjoying the fact that all I need to go running now is a pair of shorts and a tank top instead of ten layers and multiple accessories, though. And whoa, folks, let me just say that proper running shorts and short-sleeved and tank tops are so much nicer to run in than cotton T-shirts and my old gym shorts. I feel so sleek and speedy in my new gear. Additionally, I can coordinate my outfits with one of my thirteen Bondi Band headbands. I am ready for any fashion situation! When you look good, you feel good, you know.

But. Warmer weather also means that the snow cover is gone and the temperature is above freezing most of the time. Thus, all of the roadkill that was sacrificed to the car gods over the winter and mercifully lay frozen for months has now thawed. I like to run in the country as much as possible. The country contains many ditches and such where roadkill landed. Said roadkill is now becoming...awfully fragrant. Nothing like the smell of dead deer in the morning! I can only hope that our local crows, vultures, ants and flies do their jobs as Nature's Garbagemen and take care of this problem.

Now, on to our sidewalks. For months I ran in the streets because the sidewalks were a half-shoveled or not-shoveled-at-all nightmare. Now that the sidewalks are clear, I can run freely on them. Except...often I find myself back in the street anyway. Why? Because the sidewalks of my lovely little city are so uneven as to guarantee a faceplant or skinned knees at some point in my future. I have to stare at a spot a few strides ahead of me at all times in order to stay alert for changing topography. This prevents me from taking pleasure in anything else. I love being able to look around at the world while I am out running. However, my world shrinks down to the few feet of sidewalk a short distance in front of me these days. Thus, I often veer into the street to get some relief from staring at the same spot on the sidewalk and to not worry about tripping and crashing to the ground.

Finally, the combination of warm temperatures + clear sidewalks = PEOPLE, PEOPLE EVERYWHERE. I got used to being the only one out and about during the winter (except for fellow obsessed runners; we would always exchange "the nod" if we passed each other while out for a run on a frigid January afternoon). Sometimes I felt as if I was the only one alive in town. The peace and solitude were lovely. Now I have to dodge ambling teenagers, people with dogs, little kids on bikes, enormous sidewalk-gobbling megastrollers, old folks going slowly, and people who walk three abreast and don't even attempt to move when they see me coming.

I wanted spring to come so badly, and now that it's here, I find myself waxing nostalgic for winter. I'm never satisfied, am I?

Thursday, April 10, 2008

I had a long (2-hour) meeting at work this morning. I was sitting in the conference room waiting for it to start and looking out the windows. I saw some guy out for a run on a sidewalk about 300 meters away. I watched him until he passed out of sight and the whole time I was thinking, "I wish I could be out there right now."

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Aw Yeah

After my Weight Watchers meeting yesterday I headed out to the track for my speed workout. I was feeling slightly peevish because I had posted yet another middling one-pound gain at weigh-in. I'm on a plateau so huge it feels like Tibet. I just cannot get away from the 159-161 pounds range. Sigh.

Anyway, I bopped on down to the track for some 800-meter intervals. At least the weather was pleasant, unlike one week ago when I battled that 30-mph wind and 35-degree temperature before screaming "F@RK THIS!" and bagging it halfway through the workout. I started with a mile warmup and then launched into my first 800. As I was pounding along, a huge gaggle of girls appeared on the grassy slope leading down to the track. It was some local soccer team there for practice. I passed by them on the curve heading into the homestretch in front of the grandstands.

I zoomed past, and then I heard one of the girls say, "Oh my God...look at her muscles." I was wearing my spiffy new Asics shorts (third day in a row!) so my gleaming white (love those Midwest winters...nary a photon of sunlight has hit my skin in six months) legs were out there in all their apparently rippling-muscled glory.

I hereby confess that upon overhearing that comment I kicked extra-hard to finish my interval. All remaining irritable thoughts of my stalled progress at Weight Watchers were swept away. So what if I can't seem to lose any weight? I've worked so hard for these strong legs, these muscles that are now drawing comments from strangers. These legs have carried me almost 300 miles this year, will carry me 13.1 miles in a mere five weeks, and hopefully hundreds more (and a marathon distance) by the end of the year.

Sometimes positive change isn't always about the number on the scale.

Also: Adolescent girls? Squeal a lot.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Race Report: Meteor 10K

Ah, sunrise. Heralding a new day full of fresh possibilities. In this case, my first 10K race. At 7:15 am we were driving east into the blinding sunrise, heading for the campus of the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the Meteor 10K.

We arrived with plenty of time to spare; I picked up my race number amidst the total chaos of the expo hall and then we strolled down to the start/finish line. I did a brief warmup, some stretches, and then joined the participant crowd.

Final adjustments

I was very pleased to see that the race was using start and finish timing mats for this chip-timed event, unlike several previous events I have participated in. This ensured that my time would be extremely accurate. When the DJ booth started blaring the Rocky theme I knew the big moment was at hand. I also knew I could not bolt out too fast at the start which would guarantee a quick fade later in the race. I decided to start with a slowish warmup first mile and then settle into a faster pace. The race started, everyone surged forward, and I was off!

Around mile 1 (photo from Run Michigan image gallery)

I did exactly what I had planned for the first mile: 8:41. OK. Feeling good. Breathing under control-- nice slow, deep breaths. Legs feel fresh. Stomach rock solid. Let's open things up a little.

Somewhere around mile 1.5, passing the start/finish line crowd again. Looking good!

I settled back into a nice groove and slowly upped my speed. The miles just seemed to fly by. I felt great, the best I've felt since I got sick two weeks ago. I had struggled somewhat with training this past week; I just felt like something was "off." I felt like I had lost my "running mojo." It came roaring back during this race. I was passing people right and left. I felt like I had wings on my feet! I passed the 5K mark just before 27:00. As we started up Hines Dr., (holy potholes, Batman!) which was a long out-and-back, the front of the field passed me on the opposite side. I love these races that double back on themselves, giving us middle-of-the-packers a chance to see elite runners in action. The turnaround point on Hines Dr. was shortly after the 4-mile mark. I decided to bear down and pick up my pace a little for the final two miles. I didn't really have any time goal for this race. I told John before the start I would finish in 55 minutes if I took things nice and easy and 50:00 if I worked for it. Soon enough mile 5 was behind me and I could hear the noise from the finish line area. I was undeniably tired and working harder than ever. Just a little bit more! After an unscheduled "water jump" (partially flooded driveway) right at mile 6 the path jogged a little to the right and then it was just one long straightaway to the finish. I pushed hard all the way to the line and finished in 51:22.

Immediately after the finish, still breathless, watching a race volunteer remove my timing chip from my shoe.

My splits were 8:41, 8:24, 8:13, 8:10, 8:04, 8:11, and the final 0.2 at a 7:20 pace for an average of 8:16. I finished 17/124 in my age group (30-39) and 181/617 overall. It was a great race; the weather was perfect (sunny, about 45 degrees at the start, no wind). I also got a bunch of stuff on sale at the race expo afterwards, and any time I can get an awesome blue Asics shirt for 50% off is a good day.

Talking with Erika and Victor after the race.

Friday, April 4, 2008

True Grit

Yesterday during some random running blog meanderings I stumbled across YARB (yet another running blog), this one entitled Frayed Laces.

This woman experienced an injury so ghastly, so horrible, so unbelievable, I would never wish it even on someone in my age group who is about to finish one second in front of me to win our age group in any race. I wouldn't wish this injury on anyone, ever, under any circumstances.

Her pelvis broke due to a stress fracture DURING A MARATHON and she kept going and finished the race.

I can't even put into words how in awe of her I am. I probably would have collapsed in a heap.

My confession? I'm absolutely terrified of getting a stress fracture. It's my worst nightmare. I think every little twinge is an incipient stress fracture. I'm currently obsessing over the state of my right shin. It doesn't hurt...there's just...a weird little feeling there. It does not hurt or bother me during my runs, however. I've done enough research to know I should be feeling some degree of pain during a run if I was developing a stress fracture.

In other news, tomorrow morning is the Meteor 10K in Dearborn, Michigan, a race in which I will be running. My very first 10K race! I'm 100% guaranteed to get a PR!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

...just registered for the 2008 Detroit Marathon.

Oh my God. I'm really going to do this.

My very first marathon.


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Tag Archives: Toxic

Nanoparticles in Your Packaged Foods

Scientists are so smart. They are going to solve all of our problems. I think eating nanocellulose is so much better than eating carbohydrates: Swedish breakthrough to unlock ‘super material’ potential. Continue reading

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Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Because I'm too busy giving the book its final tweaks to write posts of my own. Here are notes on a feminist hip-hop conference.

Part 1

Part 2

(Besides book-tweaking, I got an interview tomorrow morning with a criminologist to talk about serial killer groupies, and then I gotta watch the Suicide Girls DVD so I can write about it for a sorta-porn magazine, and then I gotta go back to worshipping the new Jaguares album. Which you should be doing, too. Some record stores are still open as I type this. Go buy it. No fucking around.)

Hey, it's about to be June. So here's a partial list of my Album(s) of the Year candidates, so far.

High On Fire, Blessed Black Wings
Fantomas, Suspended Animation
Jaguares, Cronicas De Un Laberinto (comes out today, go get it!)
Nine Inch Nails, With Teeth
Meshuggah, Catch Thirty Three (comes out today, go get it!)
Mike Jones, Who Is Mike Jones?
Burnt Sugar, If You Can't Dazzle Them With Your Brilliance Then Baffle Them With Your Blisluth
Marc Ribot, Spiritual Unity
The Mars Volta, Frances The Mute

Art Ensemble of Chicago, Certain Blacks and Phase One
Frank Wright, Uhura Na Umoja and The Complete ESP-Disk Recordings (that'd be Frank Wright Trio and Your Prayer)
Archie Shepp, Black Gipsy
Alan Shorter, Tes Esat
Clifford Thornton, The Panther And The Lash

I'm sure I've forgotten things, but all these should be in every home with a functioning CD player.

...I've got a blog, so I get to comment on shit what don't really concern me if 'n' when I damn well feel like it. So shall we?

Anthony Miccio wrote a review of the Ying Yang Twins' single "Wait" in the Village Voice. Two female critics, Jessica Hopper and Julianne Shepherd, responded, not all that kindly, to his thoughts. Anthony attempted a rebuttal. (There's also a discussion about the song, and now the foofaraw, on ILM. My comments appear at the tail end of it.)

Here's what I think: Seems to me that (in Shepherd's view, though I actually think Hopper's critique is stronger) the review connects with the ILM/Voice mindset that (can seem like it) combines what blount called "the old 'art has no duty to anything/one but itself' jig" with a snickering, boys' club embrace of sexual ultra-machismo as rebellious fun (rather than implied threat, which is how lots of women, not just overeducated campus-speech-code-happy women, view it).

My take on all this is that it's all about relative public profile. I don't think "Wait" is exactly misogynist, in that it doesn't express hatred or loathing for women. It is a call for rough sex, and said rough sex may not be as consensual as a few half-phrases are clearly intended to convince the (critical) prosecution that it is. So it's a song written by half-literate knuckle-draggers who are happy to be that because that's what's made them their money. And (I'm trusting the rest of the discussion thread on this, because I don't actually own the Twins' album) this is not the first time they've trampled into potentially misogynist territory, and indeed some earlier examples seem to be worse. In this case, I think it's the creepy whispering (with its obscene-phone-call/stalker implications), not the lyrics on their own, that's making (some) women shudder. If these same lyrics were delivered in the usual crunk bark, I don't think the outcry would be as loud.

At the same time, I think the (commercial/pop-cultural) success of the song is helping draw fire, too. The women linked complain that whiteboy critics who embrace this song, and crunk in general, shrug off its offensive aspects partly out of fear of being called racist. Since I've seen it happen many times online (and even in Spin - one of their articles about the 2 Live Crew court case was called "Fear Of A Black Penis," implying that Florida sheriffs/prosecutors were tiny-dicked white men intimidated/threatened by Luther Campbell's pythonlike manhood, and jeez no of course there's nothing racist/patronizing about that bit of projection), I buy that. But I think that if the song wasn't a hit, nobody would give a shit. Exhibit A: Nelly. The outcry over his "Tip Drill" video was relatively short-lived, because "Tip Drill" was not a hit. (Was it even a single in the traditional released-to-radio sense?) Exhibit B (and here's where we leave race behind, sorta): Cannibal Corpse. What do Julianne and Jessica think about "Fucked With A Knife" and/or "Entrails Ripped From A Virgin's Cunt"? Nothing, I suspect. Because Cannibal Corpse play to a fairly small audience/scene, relatively speaking (actually, they probably sell just as many records as the Twins, or damn close, or did at their peak), and (oops, here comes race again) that audience/scene has no hipster cred with whiteboy critics the way crunk (black, culturally "other") does.

Saturday, May 28, 2005

Let’s see if we can’t unpack the layers of dumbness in this story.

First, you’ve got MTV demanding that Nine Inch Nails not perform in front of a big picture of President Bush during the Movie Awards show next week. Because such a gesture would – what? Cause the band, and the network, to be arrested and charged with treason? Get their broadcast license yanked? Probably not.

You wanna know what would happen?

1. Brent Bozell would go on Hannity & Colmes or Scarborough Country (or maybe both) and complain about MTV’s anti-Bush bias.
2. Atrios and Tom Tomorrow and Kos would talk about how great it was to see Trent Reznor “standing up to” the President.
3. Bill O’Reilly would complain about MTV’s anti-Bush bias.
4. Eric Alterman would complain about O’Reilly’s and Hannity’s and Scarborough’s attempts to “censor” Reznor and MTV.

So Nine Inch Nails backs out of the show. And the following will happen:

1. Atrios and Kos will complain about MTV’s “cowardice.”
2. O’Reilly and Hannity will complain about Reznor’s anti-Bush bias.
3. Nine Inch Nails fans will clog music message boards with poorly-spelled and even more poorly typed tirades about MTV, Bush, and the greatness of Trent Reznor.

But here’s the thing: why?

Why did Reznor think it was a good idea to perform in front of a big picture of Bush? I don’t mean “good idea” in the sense of “important political gesture,” though we can get to that in a second. I mean “good idea” in the sense of “adds something to the song.” As near as I can tell, “The Hand That Feeds” (the latest NIN song, the one they were going to perform) has no political meaning, explicit or implicit. It’s just a typically Trent-y rant about dominance and submission. Could be about creeping fascism, could be about unrequited love, could be about dog ownership. He grabbed a cliché – biting the hand that feeds – and built himself a nice little industrial-disco-metal track. Good for him. But attaching it to George W. Bush, or attaching George W. Bush to it, seems wholly dubious. Pointless. Goading, in fact.

I don’t think Trent Reznor’s a very bright guy.

I like his music quite a bit; I think the new album is much better than The Fragile. (It’s about as good as The Fragile would have been if he’d kept just the good songs for that one, instead of putting out a bloated double disc.) But his lyrics are clichéd bullshit, overwrought and emotionally stunted at the same time. So it doesn’t surprise me that the idea of performing “The Hand That Feeds” in front of a big picture of George W. Bush seemed like a good one to him. But it isn’t a good idea. It’s a dumb idea, because I’d be willing to bet that lots of people, like me, never heard a political subtext in the song. They would have gone right on imagining the song to be apolitical until the moment Trent and the boys came out, and George flashed up there. And then they’d all have shut down their brains. Half of them would have begun mindlessly cheering this “radical” gesture, and half of them would have begun baying for Trent’s blood because of this “traitorous” gesture.

So from that moment on, you’ve got half your audience loving you for the wrong reason, and half your audience hating you for the wrong reason. And the actual song (which, again, is pretty good, if a little too indebted to The Rapture) might as well not be coming through the speakers at all. And before anybody starts telling me that polarizing the crowd that way is some kind of Stanley Milgram-esque psych-out that proves Reznor’s brilliance as a provocateur, I say bullshit. Because, again, I’ve read the guy’s lyrics. He’s a bonehead who’s a genius in the recording studio.

So the layers of dumbness at work here are:

1. Trent Reznor is dumb for a) wanting to perform a non-political song in front of a picture of the President on MTV, b) stomping away in a huff when MTV wouldn’t let him, and c) thinking this is any kind of meaningful gesture.
2. MTV is dumb for telling him not to use their airtime to make an ass of himself.
3. The lefty blogs are dumb for bitching out MTV over this.

That's all. Next idiot, step up.

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Sasha Frere-Jones is absolutely right. I am happy to join him in his revolution, in my own small way.

(I have only been asked to four of the "listening sessions" he describes. The first was Tool's Lateralus, which I gave a 7 out of 10 because it sounded like it had been recorded concurrently with its predecessor, five years earlier. The third was Metallica's St. Anger, which I demolished in a 1000-word review that ran in about seventeen alt-weeklies. Somewhere in between, I heard the last Disturbed album at the lead singer's apartment in Chicago, while writing a cover story on them for Alternative Press. I got to listen to it two or three more times over the course of my weekend in Chicago, though, mostly while driving in one bandmember or another's SUV. It was, and remains, a very good album. And I heard Slipknot's Iowa at a "listening party" in some shitty bar in lower Manhattan. It was nearly inaudible over the jabber of two-dozen open-bar-exploiting rock hacks. The inaudibility turned out to be a good thing.)

I mostly review small, indie-label releases. It isn't like blowing off big-time publicists is a major part of my life. But from this day forward, as others before me have said, if called, I will not go.

I wrote a review of Meshuggah's Catch 33 about five or six weeks ago, and sent it off to the Cleveland Scene. It vanished. Now, all of a sudden, here it is in this week's paper.

Does this mean the album has a street date? I sure hope so; it's an astonishing record, guaranteed to make metal fans (and metal-friendly critics) shit themselves with joy, and forget all about the crushing disappointment they felt when they heard the new System of a Down disc.

After checking the Nuclear Blast website, it seems Catch 33 is coming out on Tuesday. Wow; they're doing almost as much publicity for it as Limp Bizkit did for that EP they pinched off the other week. Well, you heard it here: Catch 33 is fucking mind-roasting, and you owe it to yourself to go buy one on Tuesday.

Thursday, May 19, 2005

So the book has a cover (which I'm a little disappointed with, but never mind), and a release date: September 9, 2005. Almost exactly four years after my first book came out. (Street date on that one was September 11, 2001. No, really.)

The manuscript has to be 100 percent finished, edited and author approved by June 6, so I'm gonna be spending the next week or two exchanging versions of chapters with the copy editor, who seemed like a decent enough guy on the phone. I did a quick re-read of some early chapters the other day, and I'm pretty happy with it. There are a few things I need to add, just for the sake of touching on releases that have come out since I turned in the first version, but other than that, it is what it is. Whoever's gonna hate it, is gonna hate it, no matter what I do now. And I already got paid. So fuck, let's just get it on already, right?

I've got two competing ideas for my next book rattling around in my head. The one isn't coming together as quickly as I'd like (usually, when I decide to write a novel, it appears in my brain fully-formed), but the other will require extensive research for historical accuracy. I think I'm up to the homework, so I'm gonna go with the latter, and if the currently semi-shapeless idea starts to sharpen up in my mind, I'll make detailed notes, and that'll be the book after next.

In the meantime, I earned some grocery money by writing about Porcupine Tree this week, so go read that if you want. The new album's good; you should buy it. It'll make you much happier than the new System of a Down disc will. I've only listened to that record once, but it really didn't impress me at all, and I can't imagine myself going back for another helping at the end of the year.

Saturday, May 14, 2005

Here's an amusing little tale of a porn girl who pretended to be Latin when she needed a marketing hook, took on all comers of all colors until the business got bored with her psycho antics, and went White Power when she had nowhere else to go. (Here's an earlier story about her wars with her neighbors, down in Florida.)

In other news, I gave the revised version of my novel to my agent early this week, and now I'm working on a couple of Next Things: notes toward another novel, and a possible anthology of music-related essays. A few of the higher-profile names I asked to contribute said yes right away, which will make the proposal that much more salable. So I'm feeling okay about that project. There probably won't be a ton of money in it, but it'll be fun.

Friday, May 06, 2005

In the last month (first batch April 12, second batch last night) I have bought six CDs by Grand Funk Railroad. I now own the 2002 remastered editions (w/bonus tracks) of On Time, Grand Funk, Closer To Home, Survival, E Pluribus Funk and We're An American Band, plus Live: The 1971 Tour, which I bought a couple of years ago. Unless someone can make a really convincing argument for Phoenix or anything post-WAAB, I think I'm done. But only because the discs I do own seem to contain a lifetime's worth of knuckle-dragging joy.

I'll step right off the ledge with my opening gambit: I prefer Grand Funk's version of "Gimme Shelter" to the Stones' original.

[waits as everyone leaves]

Seriously, that one track, contained on Survival, sort of encapsulates everything great about Grand Funk - the album as a whole is kind of their defining statement. (It's not their best album; I think Closer To Home is. But it's their most unadulteratedly Grand Funk-ian.)

On the Survival cover, the members of the band are clad in loincloths, covered in mud, clutching bones and huddling at the mouth of a cave they're clearly supposed to be living in. (This is a pretty fair approximation of the circumstances critics of the time would have wished upon these three lunks, had they their way. But anyhow.) They're running with the Nugent-ian noble-savage thing, a few years before Terrible Ted would put on his own loincloth, and swing across arena stages on a rope.

The music on Survival, as on every Grand Funk album I own, is as gloriously primitive as the artwork. The mix is crystal-clear, allowing the listener to wallow in the sheer...competence of every recorded moment. For a band no more talented than your average collection of sixteen-year-olds in a suburban garage, these guys sure liked to jam. The bonus tracks on most of these reissues contain extended versions of album cuts - and wow! did they bloat up in concert.

I think it's the dumbness of Grand Funk that makes me like them so much. They distilled American white teenaged Seventies-ness down into a thick, tar-like muck, and spread it everywhere. It's not the hostile dumbness found in, say, NYHC country or Toby Keith, though. It's unthinking fun, with occasional outbursts of semi-coherent philosophizing ("Save The Land").

Make no mistake, though: my newfound enthusiasm for GFR contains not a drop of contempt or irony. I have always preferred the music of 1970-75 (and even the late 1970s) to the music of 1964-69. The Beatles? Pre-Let It Bleed Stones? The Velvet Underground? No thanks; I'll take Black Sabbath, ZZ Top and Grand Funk. (And Blue Öyster Cult and Motörhead and Cactus and Montrose and Free and Bad Company and...and...and...)

Monday, May 02, 2005

I’ve seen all four of what I’d consider the major works of Sam Peckinpah. Two of them, The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs, are great. On the other hand, I tried to make it through Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia (newly released on DVD) the other day, and by about the halfway point I was ready to saw my own head off. And The Getaway - well, all I can say is that the Alec Baldwin/Kim Basinger remake didn’t do the half-assed original any harm. Some folks like his stuff a lot better than I do, though. Walter Hill loved Bloody Sam so much he made his very own Peckinpah movie, back in 1987: the baroque, blackly hilarious, sweaty, bloody, fucked-up border blast-’em-up Extreme Prejudice, which I watched last night for the first time since catching its theatrical run at 15.

The movie has two main plotlines, which intertwine pretty well. Plot No. 1: Jack Benteen [Nick Nolte] is a Texas Ranger; his best friend from childhood, Cash Bailey [Powers Boothe], is a drug dealer who lives across the Mexican border in Kurtz-ian splendor, strutting among his thuggish banditos in a gleaming white suit and crushing the occasional scorpion in his naked fist, just because he can. (Today’s movies are really missing the ostentatious, context-less displays of macho that substituted for character development in 80s action flicks.) In their constricted, manly way, they both love the same woman, played by Maria Conchita Alonso. Conflict ensues. Plot No. 2: a group of killing-machine veterans, all supposedly dead, travel the world doing the U.S. government’s dirty work, and their latest assignment, they believe, is to take out Cash Bailey, who used to be an informant but who’s turned rogue. (There’s a twist here, but I won’t spoil it, because this movie really is worth a spot on every Netflix queue.) As part of their anti-Bailey efforts, they blow up large sections of Benteen’s home town, which makes him angry. Eventually, though, he travels down to Mexico with them, aiming to get a personal confrontation with Bailey while the soldiers tear the place up.

The supporting cast is sort of an 80s action all-star team. The soldiers are played by, among others, Clancy Brown, William Forsythe, and Michael Ironside. (The guy who played Lamar in Revenge Of The Nerds is in there, too, but if anything, that should be a laudable tribute to his range.) Nolte’s running partner, the local sheriff, is Rip Torn. Cash Bailey’s two main henchmen are “Tiny” Lister and Luis Contreras (you may remember him as a tall, surly supermarket security guard in Repo Man). Forsythe steals most of his scenes, as he so often does (side note: a friend of mine interviewed Forsythe once, and the actor's recollection was that in true Peckinpah spirit, this was the drunkest set he'd ever been on), but this movie really belongs to Powers Boothe.

Boothe’s madness in this movie is brilliant and hilarious. The first time he confronts Nolte in the desert, his white suit shines like the sun. The next time we see him, he’s wearing the same suit, but he’s unshaven and it’s practically pinto-spotted with dirt and sweat. He’s a true sleaze, the centerpiece of Walter Hill’s view of Mexico as a place where no one seemingly could get clean even if they wanted to. Clouds of dust float around greasy, heavily-armed Mexicans, and Boothe lists in the middle of the crowd, tequila bottle in one hand, revolver in the other. His delivery of the sometimes preposterous, other times oddly brilliant dialogue is note-perfect: you never believe he’s anything but an utterly dissipated, depraved scumbag, and yet he’s oddly pitiable even in his psychosis. It’s sort of like he’s channeling his earlier, equally unforgettable work in the 1980 TV movie Guyana Tragedy: The Story Of Jim Jones.

There are a bunch of extremely violent outbursts, including a massive explosion, a bank robbery, and a shotgun-to-the-foot scene that made me wince when I first saw it as a teenager, and did it again this time. But the climactic massacre is where the Wild Bunch comparisons really come into play. Just like the Peckinpah version, there are machine gun nests, blood squibs as far as the eye can see, and bodies tumbling from roof to street in lovely slow motion, all expertly edited so the plot is never lost. At the same time, the duel between Boothe and Nolte over Alonso has an almost Leone-like majesty. This film reveals the extreme difficulty of making a modern-day Western that really works. Walter Hill pulls off what very few other directors could (probably because most wouldn’t even try).

Hill is one of my favorite directors, and I think this might be his best movie. It’s the movie that made me start looking for his name as a factor in whether I’d buy a ticket, or hit the video store, or not. It’s underrated, and too infrequently seen, compared with his better-regarded, better-known movies like 48 Hrs., The Warriors, Southern Comfort or Hard Times, but I think Extreme Prejudice distills everything great about Hill’s cigar-chomping, balls-out approach to filmmaking (and everything he stole from Peckinpah’s few lucid moments). It’s a movie that deserves a reputation beyond folks like me. (And a widescreen DVD release would be nice, too.)


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Sunday, January 25, 2009

It's not about me....

I believe that angels are all around us….guiding us in situations. We merely have to ask the angels to be with us.
When I run long distances I carry this angel coin in my pocket. My work colleague Ann gave it to me before my first marathon. It comforts me.

Last weekend I was in Phoenix to run the Rock and Roll ½ Marathon. I took the medal with me and placed it in my pocket as I got dressed the morning of the race. I actually forgot it was in there until about mile 10. Perhaps I was done with the running, tired and a little worn out. Regardless, I remembered that it was there.
I touched the medal and said….”be with me Gabby”…Gabby is one angel I know by name because I knew her when she was here on earth. It made me feel a little better and I then remembered asking her to run with me my last 3 miles of the marathon last year. Might I add, those final 3 miles were quick ones in my book! Angel Gabby or adrenaline….you choose….
So about mile 10 this past weekend I touch the medal…and smiled…and then you know what happened? A man started to swerve in front of me. He seemed a little dazed and confused, perhaps dehydrated. He started to go down, and I helped to stop him. He seemed to bounce back with relative ease and we both continued with the race.
Another mile and a half down the course there was a man heading towards the sidelines with his head down. There was another runner behind him ushering him off the course. I stopped and asked if he was ok….well duh, he was not! I got his number and ran up to the next aid area telling the volunteers to send help to him. Not feeling super confident that he would get the help he needed, I stopped to tell a police officer who was minding the intersection to send someone to assist.
I continued on, enjoying the sun, the run and the thickening crowds as we neared the finish line. I started sprinting when I saw and heard the end. I raised my hands in victory and in hopes that the race photographers would snap a decent shot. I looked down to stop my watch just in time to see another man going down. This one ended up on his back. I proceeded to help him as a medic came and took over….

I think to myself…Are you kidding me….did this really happen? Three people stumbled or fell in front of me the last 3 miles of this race!
Did these runners need me? Maybe.
Was Gabby there with me? Absolutley.
And then I realize, this race was not about me, it never was.

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Union bank of India revised its rates on advances for MSME sector
By Vaibhav Aggarwal
Nov 6, 2014
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Last day Union bank of India unveiled that bank will slash down the rates for loans to MSME segment. In order to enhance the credit growth bank has planned to do so. Bank will reduce the rate ranging from 200 bps to 375 bps.

Currently the base rate of the bank - at which the bank lends to the other banks, is 10.25%. The new rates will be applicable from 3rd November, 2014. The bank also reported that MSME (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise) is a potential sector the economy which needs to boost. Further the bank also informed that the revised interest rate for investment grade borrowers is in the range of 12.25% to 13.75%.

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Breads and Baked Goods - Salads and Stuff - Soups
Vegetables - Main Dishes - Desserts

White Bean Bacon Chowder

2 cups dried Great Northern beans, rinsed
8 slices bacon
1-1/2 carrots, chopped
1-1/3 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1-1/4 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1-1/2 cans chicken broth
1-1/3 cups milk (not skim)

   Place beans in a large bowl and soak in warm water overnight.
   The next morning, in a large skillet over medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp, but do not burn. Drain bacon fat and crumble bacon; set aside.
   In a crockpot, combine carrot, celery, onion, potato, Italian seasoning, ground black pepper, beans and crumbled bacon. Pour in broth. Cover and cook on low setting for 7-1/2 to 9 hours or until beans are tender. Transfer 2 cups at a time to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Return to crockpot. Add milk and heat on high for 15 minutes. Serve.