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Borderline Justice/States of Emergency: Orson Welles' Touch of Evil
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CR: The New Centennial Review 1.1 (2001) 75-105

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Borderline Justice/States of Emergency
Orson Welles' Touch of Evil

Donald E. Pease
Darthmouth College

The Anxiety of Transference

Three different versions of Orson Welles's noir classic, Touch of Evil, have been distributed internationally over a 40-year period. (A "director's cut" of the film was produced in 1998 out of the 50-page memo Welles had written to Universal executives after viewing Harry Keller's remake of several key scenes). 1 But the film, which recounts Miguel Vargas's decision to interrupt his honeymoon in the imaginary border town of Los Robles, with his American wife Susan, in order to investigate and thereafter to prosecute the corrupt policing practices of Hank Quinlan, has enjoyed almost no commercial success. Universal refused Welles editorial control over the first release and produced a 93-minute version of the film with little distribution. After a showing at Brussels World Fair in 1958 and a two-year run in Paris, Touch of Evil virtually went out of circulation.

Touch of Evil has recouped its losses at the box office, however, through the symbolic capital it has accumulated in the academy where it has exerted an unprecedented influence in the formation and reconfiguration of various [End Page 75] academic disciplines. After a film archivist discovered a 108-minute version in 1975, Stephen Heath conducted a frame-by-frame analysis of the film in two successive issues of Screen that, in consolidating film studies' epistemological rationale, significantly elevated its academic standing. 2 In an essay that he published in Screen eight years later entitled "The Other Question: the Stereotype and Colonial Discourse," Homi Bhabha detected in Heath's argument the symptomatic features of a colonialist fantasy whose critical elaboration subsequently became crucial to the formation of post-colonial studies as an academic discipline. 3 In The Cultural Front published in 1996, Michael Denning articulated Welles's involvement in popular front causes to what Jose David Saldivar has recently named the discourse of the Borderlands when he proposed Orson Welles's role in "the Sleepy Lagoon Case" as the key required to decipher its political unconcious. 4

The variations in the film's academic reception have turned on the different values that that these disparate disciplinary formations have associated with the cinematic representations of the border laws which pertain at the U.S./Mexican border and the political, social, and cultural strategies mounted in opposition to them. In his pioneering work on what he has called its filmic system, Stephen Heath has proposed that the law operating within the film's narrative should be understood to effect the resolution of the violent disruption in the order of things "with which the film opens, its containment—its replacing—in a new homogeneity." 5

After remarking that the operations of this law are encapsulated within the separation and subsequent reconciliation of Miguel Vargas and his American wife Susan, Heath arrives at the conclusion that the trajectory of their relationship constitutes the "kernel" of the ideal film narrative: "Ideally a narrative is the perfect symmetry of this movement; the kiss that the explosion postpones is resumed in the kiss of the close as Susan is reunited with Vargas—the same kiss but delayed, narrativized." 6

But upon observing that Heath's celebration of the formal elegance of this conclusion has uncritically ratified the means whereby the filmic narrative has established and thereby secured the Mexican/U.S. border, Homi Bhabha interrupts Heath's interpretation at precisely the moment in which Heath has restaged the postponed kiss. Bhabha takes issue in particular [End Page 76] with the following series of observations that he purports to establish the core of Heath's argument:

Vargas is the position of desire, its admission and its prohibition. Not surprisingly he has two names: the name of desire is Mexican, Miguel... that of the law American, Mike. The film uses the border, the play between American and Mexican... at the same time it seeks to hold that play finally in...


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Browse Book and Journal Content on Project MUSE

  Volume 19, Issue 1, Winter 2013

Table of Contents

China’s Sakharov and Havel: Fang Lizhi, 1936–2012

pp. 1-27

SYMPOSIUM Fuzzy Studies: A Symposium on the Consequence of Blur

Introduction: The Inchoative Moment

pp. 28-39

History from Way Above: Recognizing Patterns through the Fuzz and Fog of the Past

pp. 40-50

Fuzziness and Perceptions of Language in the Middle Ages: Part 2: Collective Fuzziness: Three Treaties and a Funeral

pp. 51-64

Watch Out for Thinking (Even Fuzzy Thinking): Concept and Percept in Modern Art

pp. 65-87

Ambiguity, Ambience, Ambivalence, and the Environment

pp. 88-95

Ghostlier Demarcations

pp. 96-110

On Sort of Knowing: The Daoist Unhewn

pp. 111-130

Little Reviews

The Tribal Imagination: Civilization and the Savage Mind (review)

p. 131

The Inner Lives of Medieval Inquisitors (review)

pp. 131-133

Evening’s Empire: A History of the Night in Early Modern Europe (review)

p. 133

The Devil in Disguise: Deception, Delusion, and Fanaticism in the Early English Enlightenment (review)

p. 134

Christian Materiality: An Essay on Religion in Late Medieval Europe (review)

pp. 134-135

John Donne, Body and Soul (review)

pp. 135-136

The Monstrosity of Christ: Paradox or Dialectic? (review)

pp. 136-137

The Actuality of Communism (review)

pp. 137-138

The Fifth Hammer: Pythagoras and the Disharmony of the World (review)

pp. 138-139

The Poetry of Thought (review)

p. 139

The Emergence of the Classical Style in Greek Sculpture (review)

p. 140

Words Alone: Yeats and His Inheritances (review)

pp. 140-141

The Colors of Zion: Blacks, Jews, and Irish from 1845 to 1945 (review)

pp. 141-142

Polemical Pain: Slavery, Cruelty, and the Rise of Humanitarianism (review)

pp. 142-143

The Huron-Wendat Feast of the Dead: Indian-European Encounters in Early North America (review)

pp. 143-144

Traversing the Heart: Journey of the Inter-religious Imagination (review)

pp. 144-145

Doubt, Atheism, and the Nineteenth-Century Russian Intelligentsia (review)

p. 146

The Other Within: The Marranos, Split Identity, and Emerging Modernity (review)

pp. 146-147

A God of One’s Own, and: The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflict (review)

pp. 147-148

The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere (review)

p. 148

Why Trilling Matters (review)

pp. 149-150

The Letters of T. S. Eliot (review)

pp. 150-153

The “High-Brow Effect”: Postmodern Meets Premodern Poetry

pp. 154-163

Tiepolo: An Artist without Gravity?

pp. 164-170

Poetry and Fiction

Nothingness in the Rough

pp. 171-179

Well under the Sun

pp. 180-199

Notes on Contributors

pp. 200-204

Research Areas

  • You have access to this content
  • Free sample
  • Open Access
  • Restricted Access

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Project Description

Part of a thriving new waterside community in the heart of west London ...

This beautiful development is being delivered by multi-award winning developer Waterside Places.

The scheme has been carefully designed to maximise the water frontage, while offering stylish and unique homes, focused around a sense of community. Generous outdoor spaces and living accommodation have all been carefully designed to embrace a thriving waterside community and encompasses residential, commercial and leisure space.

Each of the homes at Brentford Lock West has been individually designed to a high specification, incorporating an impressive array of leading brand name appliances and materials to meet the needs and the expectations of today's discerning buyers. The homes enjoy a contemporary feel, incorporating lots of light, as well as generous indoor and outdoor spaces that will allow residents to make the most of their new home, all year round.

Carrick Square

The Townhouses

The four/five bedroom townhouses are set along the beautifully landscaped Carrick Square and, with their own private gardens and generous terraces, offer access to precious outside space in a picturesque setting.

Bowline Court at Brentford Lock West forms the gateway to the centre of Carrick Square, where you will ﬁnd our generously landscaped courtyard garden, grassed roof-lines and rooftop allotments.  Arranged over ﬁve ﬂoors, Bowline Court offers a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments, some offering views of the Grand Union Canal.

Luxury Penthouse Apartments

Our luxury penthouse apartments have terraces with idyllic views of this new, vibrant waterside community. They also offer contemporary high gloss kitchens and all built to Code Level 4 for sustainable homes.

Phase ll

All the first phase units are now sold and construction has started on Phase II which will deliver 157 new homes.  Sales will be launched next year.

Key points

• Featuring high spec apartments & townhouses, with some offering views of the Grand Union Canal
• Help to Buy available
• Canal side location
• The chance to enjoy both inside and outside living in the heart of West London, as well as being part of an award winning, sustainable waterside community

For information on future phases, please call the Brentford Lock West sales team at Stubbings Property Marketing on 020 8569 7449 or email

The Halyards

RIBA National Award Winner 2015

The Halyards

RIBA London Regional Award Winner 2015

Block G - Commendation

New London Awards 2015

Muse social stream

Get in touch

Got a question? Please get in contact with us today.


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SAP remains world's fourth largest software company

    By: Mr. Adrian Bridgwater on Apr 01, 2014

    Analyst firm Gartner says that the worldwide software market grew 4.8 percent in 2013 and that SAP retains its position as the world's fourth largest software company.

    Microsoft Retains No. 1 Spot; Oracle Moves Into No. 2

    Worldwide software revenue totaled $407.3 billion in 2013, a 4.8 percent increase from 2012 revenue of $388.5 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. The developed geographies were the primary growth drivers offsetting the relative sluggishness in emerging markets.

    The software industry is in the middle of a multiyear cyclical transition as organizations are focusing investment on technologies to support existing system structure, in order to maintain competitiveness, while still taking advantage of cloud/subscription-based pricing where it makes sense to grow and advance the business.

    "There is a shift in vendor rankings from 2013 at the top of the worldwide software market," said Chad Eschinger, research vice president at Gartner. "This is the first time in Gartner's global software market share research that Oracle has ranked second in terms of total software revenue with $29.6 billion and capturing 7.3 percent of the global market. Global trends around big data and analytics with business investment in database and cloud-based applications helped to drive Oracle's top-line growth."

    1 d2w2qdScreen Shot 2014-04-01 at 09.25.16.png

    Released: April 1, 2014, 1:32 am | Updated: May 28, 2014, 9:24 pm
    Keywords: Industry Trends News | SAP

    Copyright © 2014 ISUG-TECH. All Rights Reserved
    All material, files, logos and trademarks within this site are copyright their respective organizations

    Terms of Service - Privacy Policy - Contact the Help Desk


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Funkwerks - Deceit Rum Barrel-Aged Belgian Golden Ale

06 September 2016

Here’s another new bottle coming from Funkwerks in Fort Collins, CO.  This is a new version of Deceit and this release is a Rum barrel-aged Belgian-style golden ale.  This beer hits 9%-AbV and it was packaged in 750ml bottles on 11 Aug 2016.

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WILK Friday BeerBuzz

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Lets Talk Beer!

We've added some tools to encourage interaction. First and foremost, you'll see the Recent Comments section up above. This list displays the most recent comments from individual posts. Feel free to comment on ANY post by clicking on the "comments" link at the bottom of any post, or any link in the Recent Comments section. Comments are moderated, however you can choose to post anonymously.

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Advertising is not affiliated with any of the advertisers shown above. We run Ads as a way to help offset the costs to run this FREE blog....BUT if you do happen to click on any of these ads (even if you don't buy), we do eventually get a few pennies....literally.
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Pimm’s Dessert

Pimm’s & Lemonade is probably the most famous and most popular cocktail of Britain. Its main ingredient is a liqueur called Pimm’s No. 1, which recipe is unchanged – and still kept secret – since 1823, when James Pimm invented and served it as medicine for digestion problems. Pimm’s No. 1 is made with gin, but several other variations exist, like No. 3, which is made with brandy, or No. 6, which is based on vodka. Pimm’s & Lemonade is served in almost every English pub. According to taste it’s usually prepared either with lemonade or with ginger ale. Due to its fresh ingredients – such as strawberries, mint, cucumber, lemon, lime and orange – it is a perfect summer cocktail. While I was thinking about how this combination of ingredients might have developed into the final cocktail, I also thought about transforming Pimm’s & Lemonade (or to be exact in this case: Pimm’s & Ginger Ale) into a plated dessert. After planning each element thoroughly, I ended up with this colorful and extremely refreshing summer dessert.

Pimm's Dessert

Transforming cocktails into desserts isn’t so uncommon in the field of gastronomy. Last year for example I had a wonderfully refreshing Pina Colada dessert at the Onyx Restaurant in Budapest. One of my all time favorite dishes I’ve ever tasted in restaurants was the “Mojito” served in the Gastronomique Restaurant in Heroldsberg – which closed unfortunately a few years ago. The “Mojito” consisted of a base layer of mint granita, on top with a quenelle of warm lime and rum sabayon and garnished with a crispy candied mint leaf. I also managed to reproduce this dish at home since. The different temperatures and textures really transformed the Mojito into something very special. I also created a transformed version of mulled wine, which was based on components with similar textures, like frozen wine crystals, spiced orange sabayon and cinnamon crisp. I even challenged transforming a Bloody Mary into an interesting appetizer. So to sum up, the basic ingredients of cocktails can be very inspiring for the creation of a new dish or dessert.

For the dessert I began on the path of Pimm’s & Ginger Ale, because the ginger adds a nice spicy note and a different kind of freshness to the final result. The ground layer is basically a finely diced fruit salad consisting of strawberry, lemon, orange and cucumber seeds. The latter actually absorbed the flavors of the fruit salad and added yet again a new dimension of freshness and texture to the plate. Cucumbers are sometimes paired with mint, so I candied some cucumber slices in mint syrup, rolled them to small tubes and filled the cannelloni with mint flavored whipped cream. I actually used apple mint, which is not as sharp as peppermint and added a nice fruity note too. Further elements were a halved strawberry and some mint leaves. For the strawberry sorbet I used a little bit of Pimm’s, so it really resembled the cocktail when eaten with some of the fruit salad. Finally I garnished the plate with a Pimm’s syrup flavored with fresh ginger, a sprig of apple mint and a few crispy bits of orange tuile. I believe, this Pimm’s recreation turned out to be my most perfect dessert up to now.

Plating of the Pimm's & Lemonade Dessert

Pimm’s Dessert

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 4 hours

Yield: 4 portions

Pimm’s Dessert

  • 300g strawberries
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 oranges
  • 120ml Pimm's No. 1
  • 3cm piece fresh ginger
  • 50g butter
  • 25g flour
  • 1 small cucumber
  • 4 sprigs apple mint
  • 350ml whipping cream
  • sugar

For the orange tuiles
Wash 1 orange with hot water to remove the wax. Grate the orange peel by carefully not removing any white parts. Squeeze the orange juice and measure 40ml. Mix 40ml orange juice with the grated orange peel, 50g soft butter, 25g flour and 100g sugar. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until the mixture has hardened. Spread very thinly on a silicon matte and bake at 200°C / 390F until nicely browned. Remove from the oven and chill to room temperature. Break into pieces and keep in a dry place.
For the cucumber cannelloni
Dissolve 50g sugar in 100ml water and warm gently over low heat. Pick the leaves from the mint a reserve. Chop the remaining mint sprigs and add to the syrup. Keep warm and infuse covered for 1 hour. Remove the solids.
Wash the cucumber and cut into long thin slices using a peeling knife or a mandoline. Chop the cucumber seeds and reserve separately. Halve the cucumber slices, add to the warm mint syrup for 5 seconds, remove and roll up to small cannelloni. Put on a plate covered with clingfilm, cover again with clingfilm and refrigerate.
Chill the mint syrup to room temperature. Reserve a few mint leaves for decoration and mix the rest using a blender in the mint syrup. Add the syrup to the cream and leave for 10 minutes to infuse. Strain through a fine sieve and transfer to a siphon. Charge with 1 cartridge and chill for at least 1 hour.
For the fruits
Peel the other orange and the lemon. Carefully remove any white parts from the flesh. Fillet the orange and the lemon, discard the seeds and cut the fillets into 5mm cubes. Cover and refrigerate. Collect the orange liquids from the kitchen board and add to the remaining orange juice from the orange tuile (see above). Collect the lemon liquids as well and set aside separately.
For the Pimm's sauce
Add the remaining orange juice with 100ml Pimm's, 1 tbsp sugar and the sliced ginger to a small pan. Cook over low heat until the mixture gets slightly syrupy. Remove the ginger and chill to room temperature.
For the strawberry sorbet
Wash the strawberry, discard the greens and reserve 4 nice pieces as decoration. Cut some strawberries into 5mm cubes to get a total of about 2 tbsp. Cover and refrigerate.
Chop the remaining strawberries and mix with 1 tbsp sugar and 20ml Pimm's. Leave for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Blend into a fine puree and strain through a fine sieve to remove the seeds. Refrigerate and before serving prepare in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
To serve
Carefully combine the lemon, orange, strawberry and cucumber seed cubes. Create an 'S'-shape on cold plates from this fruit salad. Fill 3 cucumber cannelloni with mint whipped cream per plate. Cut the reserved strawberries in half and place on the fruit salad. Decorate with mint leaves. Add 5-6 tsp Pimm's sauce next to the fruit salad, so they can mix partially. Add a dollop of strawberry sorbet in the center of the plate and decorate with orange tuiles.

3 thoughts on “Pimm’s Dessert

  1. Angela

    I just saw this on TasteSpotting and had to stop over to comment. The photo is absolutely stunning!!! And, the recipe sounds delicious!

  2. Robert Post author

    Thank you Angela and Debs!
    The fruit arrangement totally resembled the original cocktail. The ginger sauce paired especially well with the sorbet and the cucumber seeds took on a slightly melon like flavor from the surrounding fruits.

Comments are closed.


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The purpose of this web page is to explain the scientific rationale of mySleepButton.

mySleepButton is based on a new super-somnolent mentation theory of sleep induction proposed by CogSci Apps Corp. co-founder, Luc P. Beaudoin. Beaudoin published this theory in an open-access paper on March 31, 2013 at Simon Fraser University where he is adjunct professor:

The possibility of super-somnolent mentation: A new information-processing approach to sleep-onset acceleration and insomnia exemplified by serial diverse imagining (MERP Report No. 2013–03). Meta-effectiveness Research Project, Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University.

CogZest initially ran a pilot test on this with promising results c. 2012/2013. This was subsequently put to an empirical test in an experiment at MacEwan University by Professor Nancy Digdon, Kelly O’Neill, Geoffrey Rachor and Beaudoin. The results are encouraging. A new experiment is currently under way at the Université de Montréal; its principal investigator is Prof. Julie Carrier. This is only the beginning of this research program. Another experiment by Digdon and colleagues is planned for autumn 2016. Several other labs have also expressed an interest in testing the theory and the cognitive shuffle technique. We encourage further research (see below). At SFU, Beaudoin has listed several research questions on his theory and technique that need to be addressed.

Our intention is to use mySleepButton to help our customers fall asleep faster and to advance knowledge about mechanisms of sleep onset. As scientific understanding improves, we will improve our product. Thus, mySleepButton is doubly scientific: it is based on cognitive science and its research sibling ( SomnoTest, mentioned below) will contribute to cognitive science.

What your mind does: Mentation

The brain is always active, creating mental content such as thoughts, images, wishes, wants, intentions, plans, assessments, feelings, stories, perceptions, recollections, etc. The waking mind is usually engaged in a limited number of more or less conscious activities such as planning, imagining, assessing, ruminating, perceiving and/or listening. “Mentation” is the word that stands for all of these activities. It’s more general than “thinking”, if you assume that thinking and feeling, for instance, are not the same.

The mind is a sense making machine

At almost all times, whether you are awake or asleep, your mind is engaged in some kind of sense making. That is, your mind is trying to make sense of the information that it gets from its senses or that it generates internally. For example, if you see someone crossing  the street, you might unconsciously infer that her purpose is to get to the other side. If she walks back and forth along a sidewalk, you might conjecture that she is waiting for someone. You are probably trying to make sense of this document. Even when you are asleep and dreaming, your mind is trying, with its limited resources, to make sense of the various images, feelings, and perceptions that your brain produces.

Sense making is suspended at sleep onset

However, there is one time of the day where mental activity occurs but sense-making is radically reduced: just before you fall asleep. (Psychoactive drugs, coma, and other abnormal brain states may also reduce sense-making.)

The brain controls sleep onset

Sleeping is essential. If you stay awake too long you will have great difficulty solving problems. You might even start to hallucinate and become paranoid.

However, it is not always safe to fall asleep. It would be very dangerous to fall asleep while you are being chased by an armed enemy. Or while driving. Some people have narcolepsy: they have little control over when they fall asleep. That is very inconvenient.

Therefore, the human brain has a mechanism to determine when it is appropriate to fall asleep. This mechanism is not located in the very smart parts of the brain. That is to say, it is not located in the cortex (the parts of the brain most responsible for thinking and higher order mental activities). So, the sleep onset mechanism needs to use “heuristics” to figure out when it’s time to induce sleep.

The sleep onset mechanism is not completely under voluntary (cortical) control. Just like evolution has made us unable to “will ourselves” to stop breathing, or to suppress the motivator to drink when we are dehydrated, so evolution has made sleep onset only partially under the control of the cortex. That is why most people can’t simply tell themselves “now I will fall asleep” and enter sleep onset—the process of falling asleep is quite indirectly controlled by the cortex. In contrast, most people can easily tell themselves to raise their left arm. (Muscle movement, while still relatively indirect, is much more directly controlled by the cortex).

The brain’s sleep onset mechanism balances various factors in its decision to induce sleep. It takes some of its cues about when to fall asleep from the cortex. But it is not completely controlled by the cortex either. It also gets a lot of its cues about when to fall asleep from various parts of the body and brain (chiefly, circadian and homeostatic factors).

How the brain’s sleep onset mechanisms determine it is OK to trigger onset

In order to figure out that the cortex is ready for sleep, the brain’s sleep onset mechanism must take into consideration what the cortex is doing. But because this mechanism is subcortical, it’s relatively “dumb”; so it cannot fully understand what the cortex is thinking. However, it is capable of detecting whether the cortex is involved in sense-making. And it can tell whether the mental activity is rich in diverse imagery and memories.

Three kinds of sleep-related mentation

There are three kinds of sleep-related mentation:

  1. Mentation that prevents people from falling asleep. That is, “insomnolent mentation“.
  2. Mentation that helps people fall asleep. That is, “somnolent mentation“. This is the kind of thing that helps to push you over the edge, into sleep.
  3. Mentation that has no particular impact on sleep onset. That is “asomnolent mentation“.

It is an important challenge for cognitive science to determine which kinds of thought patterns are insomnolent, which are somnolent and which are asomnolent.

Research suggests that the most common types of insomnolent mentation are:

a. Rehearsing/planning and problem-solving.
b. Thinking about sleep and its consequences.
c. Reflecting on quality of one’s thoughts.
d. Thinking about one’s level of arousal.

Interestingly, all insomnolent mentation involves sense-making. This, we believe, is not merely a correlational fact: sense making, particularly about important, urgent, or insistent matters, is insomnolent. So long as the cortex is involved in coherent thought, in sense-making, the sleep onset mechanism tends to delay sleep induction. (This tendency can be overridden.)

As people are falling asleep, their thought becomes disorganized. They have very brief dreams. They can experience diverse remote memories, some of which may even be decades old. They cease to engage in coherent thought and sense-making. Beaudoin proposed that this thought pattern does not merely correlate with sleep onset, it is somnolent.

Counter-insomnolent mentation

Most deliberate mentation techniques that folk psychology and professional psychology have devised to induce sleep are at best counter-insomnolent. That is, they are designed to interfere with or prevent insomnolent mentation. For example, meditation is counter-insomnolent because it (normally) involves focusing on a very simple theme or object, such as one’s breath or a mantra. While you are meditating in this way, you can’t at the same time be problem-solving, planning, scheduling, thinking about sleep, reflecting on your thinking, etc.

These techniques can in fact help you to fall asleep because they remove some barriers to sleep.

However, these techniques are not inherently somnolent. For example, meditation experts state that if you meditate properly, you will be in an extremely aware, alert and focused state. But while you are alert and focused, you are not asleep.

Super-somnolent mentation = counter-insomnolent + somnolent mentation

Suppose, however, that you are deliberately engaging in a mental activity that is both counter-insomnolent and somnolent. That would be a mental activity that (a) interferes with insomnolent thinking; and (b) signals to your sleep onset mechanism that you are primed to fall asleep. We would say of this activity that it is super-somnolent.

A new objective of cognitive science, then is to identify super-somnolent mentation. There are several candidates for super-somnolent mentation. A new “holy grail” of insomnia research (we believe.) One of them is serial diverse imagining, also known as “the Cognitive Shuffle”.

The Cognitive Shuffle (i.e., serial diverse imagining) is super-somnolent

The Cognitive Shuffle is a mental activity that is both counter-insomnolent and somnolent. There are different forms of the Cognitive Shuffle, the major one of which is serial diverse imagining. We’ll equate the Cognitive Shuffle with serial diverse imagining in this document.

The Cognitive Shuffle involves imagining diverse items, scenes or processes one at a time, each for a short period of time. It involves “shuffling one’s thoughts (and images)”. That is why the mySleepButton slogan is “Shuffle your thoughts to sleep”. For example, you might imagine the following things one a time, for a few seconds each:

  • a cow,
  • a stove,
  • a star,
  • a microphone,
  • a motor home,
  • a can of beer,
  • a basket,
  • a firetruck,
  • an octopus,
  • baking soda,
  • raisin bread,
  • a birdhouse,
  • a paperclip.

While you are doing this, you won’t be thinking about the concerns that keep you awake, because it’s difficult to think of multiple things at the same time. So this is counter-insomnolent. If your mind does wander back to your concerns, you just bring it back to random items.

The Cognitive Shuffle is somnolent

The Cognitive Shuffle is also somnolent. When your sleep onset mechanism detects this strange thought pattern, it may say to itself “The mind’s all over the place. Imagining all kinds of unrelated things. Looks like it’s getting drowsy. Let’s make it even drowsier.

This technique can induce sleep within a few seconds. But sometimes it can take minutes, even dozens of minutes. That’s because the sleep onset mechanism is an integrator. It uses several signals. That’s why it’s important to put all the odds in your favour and use the sleep tips.

Doing the Cognitive Shuffle is difficult unless you use the mySleepButton app, or you use the DIY-Cognitive Shuffle techniques we describe.

An invitation to sleep researchers and cognitive scientists

The super-somnolent framework is a contribution to cognitive science. As such it is open to scientific assessment and criticism.

mySleepButton does not hinge on all the tenets of the super-somnolent framework. The Cognitive Shuffle (SDI) technique and mySleepButton may induce sleep via other mechanisms than those identified by the super-somnolent mentation framework. Moreover, mySleepButton can be improved by discovering more about sleep onset mentation, using other scientific theories. Our data collection will enable us to discover and test new theories.

We welcome such investigation and encourage scientists around the world to test this theory. They can do these tests with or without mySleepButton. mySleepButton has extensible scientific data gathering capabilities. It is also backed by a central database. Therefore, we encourage sleep labs to contact us with respect to mySleepButton for research purposes.

CogSci Apps Corp. has developed a version of mySleepButton for iOS that is specifically for researchers and their participants: SomnoTest for iOS. (Research labs may contact CogSci Apps Corp. for more information and access to SomnoTest.)

The CogSci Apps Corp. founders have been designing and implementing tools to test psychological hypotheses since 2002. Several of these tools have been used at Simon Fraser University and other universities (e.g., Prof. Phil Winne’s extensive nStudy system; PDF).

Ownership and Affiliation

CogZest transferred ownership of the intellectual property related to mySleepButton to CogSci Apps Corp. in 2014. mySleepButton is the sole property of CogSci Apps Corp. Whereas Beaudoin is an Adjunct Professor of Cognitive Science and of Education at Simon Fraser University, and performs research related to this software at SFU, the information presented on this web site belongs to CogSci Apps Corp. and is not intended to represent SFU in any way.


text:
Square Enix promises more on Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII soon

After taking a bit of a hiatus, it seems the Lightning Returns hype machine is ready to go once again.

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Griffin48711560d ago

I'm ready for this game to come out now so they can hurry and move onto the next thing...

NukaCola1560d ago (Edited 1560d ago )

Bushido Blade 3
Kingdom Hearts III
Final Fantasy XV
Chrono 3

Here are some Square games we want. Please kill off XIII and move on!

tehpees31560d ago

XIII would not be so bad if they made it more like an RPG (open world with more side quests and freedom) and less like an adventure game.

NukaCola1560d ago

True. It wouldn't be. It's one of the best looking games I have ever seen or played. But at the end of the day it is shallow and hogs the SE development space. We are working on a trilogy on one RPG and it's getting tiresome. Lightning isn't a great character and I don't see the appeal in her or the story itself. We have had over 10 KH spinoffs since then and now even more with the HD remakes, but still now 3rd full installment. I'm ready for something else from Square.

TheLyonKing1560d ago

Agito localization aswell :)

Jinkies1560d ago (Edited 1560d ago )

Urgh....WE DON'T GIVE A CRAP Square, we don't give a crap about FF13-3 and continuing the story of the depressing, bland and boring Lightning. I care more for Noctis and I don't know nothing about the guy.

We want Versus, so just give us some Versus news...

Jeez is it that hard

princejb1341560d ago

i hope squareenix falls of a cliff for not giving us versus 13 already
they giving us all these games we don't want, and i agree lightnings story is depressing and boring

square has disappointed me to many times this gen and gonna keep disappointing with lightning returns

Marcello1560d ago

Exactly wat i thought when i read the headline, we dont give a shit about these games.

SquareEnix are so disconnected from there customers, its like there in another dimension or something.

Chrono1560d ago

They don't owe you anything, okay?

Mottsy1560d ago

true chrono... but i really would like to owe them 60 bucks for Versus.

Jinkies1560d ago

After how crap FF13 was and how they dont lisen to their fans....yeah they do.

RivetCityGhoul1560d ago

i like how they're promising to show something yet there is no demand to see anything from this game. nice job deluting yourself Square.

blackbirdi1560d ago (Edited 1560d ago )

f**k i want more Final fantasy versus 13 or type-0... i fucking hate lighting saga !!!!

Godmars2901560d ago (Edited 1560d ago )

General thought: who gives a damn about this game - what about Versus?

Square, why are you so fu*king oblivious? How can you not see direct correlation with what you're doing, fans complaining about what you're doing, fans not buying the games you make, and your drop in profits?

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Nadia The Secret of Blue Water Wiki

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Wiki created September 9, 2009.

Welcome to Nadia The Secret of Blue Water Wiki
Nadia The Secret of Blue Water is a Japanese Anime program featuring Nadia who has a hidden past that she does not know about

She meets up with Grandis, Hanson and Sanson who are initially foes and meets Jean and Marie who help to discover her past Template:Infobox animanga/HeaderTemplate:Infobox animanga/VideoTemplate:Infobox animanga/VideoTemplate:Infobox animanga/Footer Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (ふしぎの海のナディア Fushigi no Umi no Nadia?, lit. "Nadia of the Mysterious Seas")Template:Category handler/numbered is a Japanese animated television series inspired by the works of Jules Verne, particularly Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and the exploits of Captain Nemo. The series was created by Toho, from a concept of Hayao Miyazaki, and directed by Hideaki Anno of Gainax. The series follows a young inventor named Jean and a former circus performer named Nadia, who wishes to return to her home in Africa. In its original Japanese broadcast, it aired from 1990 to 1991 and ran for 39 episodes, and distributed by ADV Films in the United States. ADV's Anime Network has broadcast the series in the United States. Reportedly, the series was going to be screened in the United Kingdom in the mid-1990s, but the UK distributor was concerned by the level of violence in the series.Template:Citation needed

The series centers around Nadia, a young girl of unknown origins, and Jean, a 14-year old prodigy from France. Early in the story, the two protagonists are chased by Grandis Granva, Sanson, and Hanson, a group of jewel thieves who pursue Nadia for the blue jeweled pendant she possesses. After being rescued by Captain Nemo and his submarine, the Nautilus, the jewel thieves and both Nadia and Jean join forces and participate in the struggle against the Neo-Atlantean forces, who seek to dominate the world. In the process, Nadia and Jean save the world from violent domination by the Neo-Atlantean forces led by Gargoyle, explore worldly mysteries and the powers of the blue pendant, uncover Nadia's hidden family ties, and ultimately discover the secret origins of Nadia.

Main article: List of Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water characters

Template:Refimprove This show's origins date to the 1970s when Hayao Miyazaki was hired by Toho to develop a television series. One of these concepts was "Around the World Under the Sea", (adapted from Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea), in which two orphan children pursued by villains team up with Captain Nemo and the Nautilus. It was never produced, but Toho retained the rights for the story outline, while the animator reused elements from his original concept in later projects like Future Boy Conan and Castle in the Sky. In 1988, Gainax was appointed by Toho to produce a series for NHK Educational TV. Miyazaki's outline for "Around the World Under the Sea" captivated the Gainax staff and, under the direction of Hideaki Anno, created The Secret of Blue Water. The series was scheduled to run for two cours, but the show's popularity prompted the network to request more episodes. Production on new episodes ran late. Starting with episode 11, Anno was working up to 18 hours a day. After episode 20, NHK put Nadia on hold due to limited budget. The series returned a month later with episode 21. Production was still slow, and Anno asked friend and Gainax co-founder Shinji Higuchi to take over the direction from episodes 23 to 34, while he focused on crafting the final five episodes. These were occasionally referred to as the "island episodes" by fans who consider them oddly animated and poor-quality filler, a sentiment that even Anno shared. Out of the newly commissioned episodes the director has later stated that he would have saved only episodes 30 and 31 if he were given a chance of omitting them; he produced a shortened compilation of Nadia called "The Nautilus Story", which deletes much of the island/Africa continuity and focuses more on the struggle between Gargoyle and Nemo. Shortly after Nadia completed its first broadcast in Japan, Carl Macek and Streamline Pictures purchased the rights to Nadia. Because of financial difficulties, Streamline could only dub the first eight episodes, released over eight VHS tapes. The dub's cast included Wendee Lee as Nadia, Ardwight Chamberlain as Jean, Jeff Winkless as Captain Nemo, Cheryl Chase as Mary, Melanie MacQueen as Grandis, Tom Wyner as Sanson, Steve Kramer as Hanson, Edie Mirman as Electra, and Steve Bulen as Gargoyle.  In 1996, Streamline's rights for the show expired. Later, in 2001 ADV Films purchased the series, and commissioned a new dub to be recorded at their Austin-based Monster Island studios. The new dub cast included actual children in the roles of Nadia, Jean, and Marie—Meg Bauman (14, Nadia), Nathan Parsons (12, Jean), and Margaret Cassidy (11, Marie). A Nadia feature film sequel premiered in Japanese theaters in 1992. The events take place three years after the defeat of Gargoyle and Neo-Atlantis.  Gainax had no involvement in the production of this movie, and the quality suffered greatly as a result; nearly one third of the ninety-minute feature consists of frequently edited clips from the show. Due to its perceived poor quality, the movie is not well known in the United States. ADV licensed it and released as Nadia: The Motion Picture on DVD in August 2002.

Pre-production discussionEdit

Before production of the series, Hideaki Anno suddenly asked the production team why Neo Atlantis want to conquer the world, and why they do not simply use their superior technology to live a more comfortable life. More questions arose as to how they plan to conquer the world. An answer to the latter question was given that since the heroes are in a submarine, Neo Atlantis has to somehow conquer the world via operations using submarines. The final answer was that at that time period, the only method of trade is by sea, and Neo Atlantis planned to monopolize the trading routes. Another question that was asked was, since that it is set in a time where powerful empires colonize developing countries and make big profit from them, stopping the trade routes seems to not be evil but justice. Seeing that production was about to begin and no doubt should be left unanswered, Toshio Okada answered at first that the culture at that time viewed colonization as justice, thus Neo Atlantis' actions are evil at the time. Before the end of the meeting, he gave another answer, which was that Neo Atlantis stops the evil empires from colonizing developing countries, just so that it can colonize the whole world, thus it is the supreme evil. However, no answer could be given to the question asked by Hideaki, and 15 years after the anime, Okada wrote a book called "Seikai Seifuku" wa kanou ka? ("Conquering the World", is it possible?) on behalf of the question.[1]

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See alsoEdit

  1. "Seikai Seifuku" wa kanou ka?, Toshio Okada, 2007

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Eastern - New York, NY February 24-25, 2017

  • 24 Feb 2017
  • 25 Feb 2017
  • New York, NY

Upcoming for the Eastern Region:

Call for Papers

Eastern Economic Association 2017 Conference

New York, NY – February 24-25, 2017

Conference Information: https://www.qu.edu/eea/conferences/

Hotel: Sheraton New York Times Square

Organizer: Craig Allen, Vice President – Eastern Region, c.allen.fcas@gmail.com.

NAFE will hold four sessions at the Eastern Economic Association 2017 conference, February 24-25, 2017 at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel in New York, NY. There will be a late Friday afternoon session, followed by our traditional social event. There will then be three sessions on the Saturday. Those interested in presenting papers are encouraged to Contact

Craig Allen, outgoing Eastern VP at c.allen.fcas@gmail.com.

Updated information about the Eastern Economic Association and its conferences can be found at: https://www.qu.edu/eea/

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Ninja Tools Barrier: Reverse Fish Scales Formation

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Ninja Tools Barrier: Reverse Fish Scales Formation
Sand Pillar
Kanji 忍具結界・逆鱗の陣
Rōmaji Ningu Kekkai: Gyakuuroku no Jin
English anime Ninja Tool Barrier: Reverse Scale Formation
Anime Naruto Episode #218
Appears in Anime
Classification Ninjutsu, Cooperation Ninjutsu, Kenjutsu
Class Supplementary
Range Long-range

This is a technique used by the Four Celestial Symbols Men. Devised to counter Gaara's sand, the formation draws upon their weapons (Weaknessless Soaring Shortswords, Garian Sword and Hōki's unnamed fire-shooting sword), arranged in a triangle with Gaara at the centre. The three members will use three underground waterways to connect their formation, which will converge under their target. With their weapons charged with their chakra, they will then activate the technique, sending a surge of power through the waterways to the central target. This will cause a water dragon to rise from the ground and envelop Gaara, soaking his sand and making it become much heavier. This causes it to clump and makes it near impossible to utilise.

  • The usual pronunciation of 逆鱗 is "gekirin", when read as that, it means "imperial wrath".

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Naruto Shippuden Episode 466 Subbed

More videos
  • Don Breed

    Where is shippuden? It’s supposed to be here for the weekend.

  • ddd

    aik episode 466 should be today..?

  • Don Breed

    All week for the same video?!…….really?!
    It went from 3 days Sunday… it’s Friday they’re saying 5 days now….smmfh

  • Don Breed

    Dhis dat bull?o

  • Arturo Fernandez

    The quality is very bad…


text:
Supervising the soil commend very influential worth seeing, O God,

The sand around .. .. art, but from behind me ..
And the darkness of the grave tells .. .. .. where Aptlaia
And the light line book .. forget my meeting ..

Where parents and Hananhm?! .. Sold and Vaia ..
CABAL and where crowds?! .. Left Akhaia ..
Where bliss and money?! .. Became behind me ..
Where and name its luster?! .. Between praise ..
..have The end of the current ..

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Dubai hotel deals not imagine in hotel

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text:
December 14, 2011

Pressured-cooked Chicken Pulao or Pilaf with Raita and Pickles — easy, hearty, satisfying meal

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Despite the chill in the air, the sun is bright and warm. As I look past the French window in our dining room, I cannot help but admire the sight of these sporadic visitors—parrots—squawking around as if they are celebrating the season. I see them everywhere in the afternoons: in our garden, under the roof tiles, or just fleeting about. Then there are these small birds—I’m no ornithologist and I’m not exactly sure, but I think they are sparrows—perched on my frangipani tree with their cheep and chirrup notes that sound like a happy melody. I could let my whole day slip away peacefully, finding inspiration just about anywhere I look, enjoying the simple pleasures of life. Sometimes it is the wonder of a bright blue winter sky studded with clouds—mind you, clouds are not a regular sight in Qatar. Or, the sudden downpour of rain... fresh blooms in the garden... fallen leaves fluttering in the wind... Sights that we often take for granted, or go unnoticed when we don’t have the time. I revel in the beauty of these little, little scenes before me.

It inspires me, lifts my spirit and makes me live in the present.

It usually takes me a fair amount of time to collect my thoughts before I start to punch something up. But times like this when the adrenaline is flowing, it banishes all the grimness and things just happen without much effort. You know what I mean?

This pilaf has been something I’ve been wanting to share ever since my friend and schoolmate Latha requested for the recipe a couple of weeks back when I shared a picture on my facebook page. At least it is not sitting on the back burner like the biryani recipe request by my dear friend and ex-colleague Hend. For some reason, there never seem to be a good enough time to share my biryani recipe though it’s one of the first recipes I had in my draft when I started blogging. If you happen to be reading this, I'm sorry Hend, but I'll get to it sooner than later!
Rice is a staple in South Asia. Whether it is steamed rice served with a curry, or rice dressed up with spices and other ingredients for a flavorful one-pot meal like the classic biryani or pulao (pilaf or pilau). There are many variations of Indian pulao. Ideally, it is prepared by frying spices in a bit of fat to awaken flavors and then the rice grains are thrown in and stir- fried for a good few minutes to break down the starch before cooking. Bay leaf, star anise, cinnamon, clove and cardamom all add fantastic taste and aroma to the pilaf. Put it all together—spices, rice, vegetables, meat and broth—in a big pot, or pressure cooker in this case, and you have a fragrant, comforting meal in a snap. Easy to cook and delicious to enjoy; even easier to freeze and reheat later!

Long grain, fragrant basmati rice is used to prepare rice-based dishes like biryani, ghee rice and pulao. Personally, I like to use these extra-long grained rice cooked to the right tenderness: chewy but not sticky. There’s nothing unappetizing like mushed up rice.

Pressure cooker is a kitchen staple in our homes back in Kerala. It makes cooking so much easier and healthier. Not to mention, it’s energy efficient and time saving too. However, if you don’t own a pressure cooker, you can adapt this recipe for closed pan cooking using a large skillet or saucepan. Just adjust the water ratio and cooking time in this case. Generally, a 2:1 ratio is followed for closed pan cooking: 2 cups water to 1 cup rice, but follow the instructions on your rice package for correct measure and cooking time. You may also want to check out my ghee rice recipe for a better understanding of cooking basmati in a closed pan, if you like.

With winter and the holiday season here, this seemed a better time than any to share my pilaf recipe. Chunks of vegetables, sausage and rice are poached in veg broth in the pressure cooker and cooked in merely 3 minutes. The rice is infused with the heady flavors of spices and all other ingredients. With raita on the side, this makes an excellent lazy weekend lunch or dinner. Or take it you your holiday potluck party and have fun!
You can make this a totally vegetarian meal by adding a delightful variety of vegetables, or a non-vegetarian meal by throwing in some meat—I used chicken sausage because it was so much easier. You can add or substitute any number of fresh, colorful veggies—carrot, peas, bean, potato, mushroom and baby corn will do particularly well. Just be careful not to use any thing that may turn mushy. For a milder dish, reduce the number of chilies. Vegans can eliminate the meat and substitute vegetable oil for butter.

Pressure-cooked Chicken Pulao or Pilaf
Serves 6-8

3 cups basmati rice (I used Indus Valley extra long grain basmati)
3 ½ cups water
1 cube vegetable stock (I used Maggi)
1 star anise
2 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
4 green cardamom pods
2 2” cinnamon sticks
1 cup onion, finely sliced
16 baby carrots, halved or quartered lengthwise depending on size
1/3 cup green peas, fresh shelled or frozen (I used frozen)
16 green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon green chili, stemmed and thinly sliced, or to taste
3 chicken sausage, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
4 tablespoon butter-oil mixture (2:2 ratio)
salt, to taste
fried onion, to serve

Rinse the rice in several changes of water until the water runs clear—this will also remove excess starch. Leave to soak in enough cold water for a minimum of 30 minutes, then drain in a colander.

Dissolve 1 cube vegetable stock in 3 ½ cups of water to make the vegetable broth.

Meanwhile, heat oil and butter mixture over low heat in a large pressure cooker (I used 6.5 liter cooker). Tip in star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves and green cardamoms, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add onions and sauté over medium-low heat with a bit of salt, stirring often, until onions are softened but not brown, about 15 minutes. Now tip in the ginger-garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Stir in the peas, carrot, beans and sausage and stir-fry for 3 minutes.

Add the rice and stir well until all the grains are evenly coated with the spice infused fat—take care not to break up the grains. Continue cooking and stirring for a good 3 minutes until just translucent around the edges. The rice will smell pleasantly toasted at this stage. Pour in broth and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Taste and adjust salt as needed (I used just ½ teaspoon salt as the stock is high on salt). Stir to combine.

Close cooker and bring to full pressure on high heat (the cooker whistles when it reaches this stage). Then reduce heat and cook for another 3 minutes. Take off heat and allow to cool naturally.

Once cool, open lid and let the rice sit for a 2-3 minutes to lose steam and the wet texture, then gently fluff up with a fork. Transfer to a large serving dish and garnish with fried onions, if you like. To fancy up, I cut a few star shaped carrots using a cookie cutter and threw it on top.

Serve on its own, or with raita and my radish and cucumber pickle on the side. Any leftover will stay in the refrigerator and just gets better. It freezes magnificently too; freeze for an easy meal later and reheat in the microwave.

Radish and Cucumber Pickle
This’s a quick vinegar pickle and you can make it using any firm vegetables.

5-6 small radish, finely sliced
5 firm cherry tomatoes, finely sliced
1 cucumber, finely sliced
2 tablespoon vinegar
3 tablespoon water
salt, to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and season to taste. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Cucumber, Onion and Tomato Raita
This is slightly different from the raita recipe I shared on my ghee rice post. Here yogurt is seasoned with dry roasted cumin and pepper.

Serves 4-5

¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
5 black peppercorns
¾ cup yogurt
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 green chili, chopped
½ small onion, chopped
1 small tomato, deseeded and chopped
salt, to taste

Place yogurt in a bowl and beat in smooth with a fork. Season to taste.

Preheat a small pan over medium-high heat. Add cumin and peppercorns and stir roast for 1 minute or until the spices release their aroma. Remove pan from heat and leave to cool. Crush the dry roasted spices in a mortar and pestle and stir into the yogurt.

Thrown in the diced cucumber, onion, tomato and chili, and mix well.
My favorite way to enjoy this comfort food? Hmm, cozying up on the couch with a big mug of pilaf and a good movie—ideally a romantic comedy like Ugly Truth, Pretty Woman, The Proposal… er, it’s quite a long list and I know you have better things to do than read my favorites.

So until next time, I hope you have fun and enjoy this lovely holiday season!

  1. Assalam Alaikum sweet Nashi,
    I Love the post as usual :) rice in pressure cooker is a new thing for me..really! but seems interesting so i will try definitely! wish you a happy season! the birds(sparrows)are so cute! close like Love Birds..haha..shooo shweet..thanks for sharing awesome pics!

  2. OMG! this is a beautiful post with a wonderful recipe....luv your pics and presentation dear...

    SYF&HWS - Cook With SPICES" Series - CARDAMOM (Dec 5th to Jan 5th)
    100 Friends/Followers & GIVEAWAY

  3. Lovely menu! Everything looks so delicious and tempting.

  4. Wonderful post ! Thanks for sharing those lovely pictures :)

  5. mmmm.... mind blowing simply, no words to describe Nash. Your pics make me drool always.

  6. Lovely pics as usual,Nash!You have to tell me how you design all these so beautifully and immaculately,seriously.Pilaf and raita is my go to dish when pressed for time,specially during the weekends.

  7. Looks absolutely incredible and prefect..

  8. Pilaf looks absolutely droolworthy. Amazing clicks.

    Hamaree Rasoi

  9. lovely post all the clicks...Yummy pulav

  10. That's some jaldi rice..Definitely bookmarked and useful for my hectic days..! :)

  11. And how how how on earth did you manage to click such wonderful pics of the parrot??

  12. Nash darling !!!! superb pics kto..kandittum kandittum mathiyakunnilla..

  13. Awesome pics and true visual treat....

  14. Nice meaningful post..The pictures talk and sing..It's classic.

  15. I love this post with those cute birds, particularly the parrot, awesome recipe with beautiful pictures.

  16. very satisfying meal indeed. love the raita

  17. What a beautiful post dear,great job..stunning pics and satisfying meal...beautiful

  18. I just love some (actually most all) of your pictures...I like that pickle recipe, should try that sometime.

  19. beautiful post, love the recipes and excellent clicks..kudos to your hardwork in presenting each recipe and the photography..:)

  20. Delicious and drool-worthy pulao! We love it so much and have it all winter long!!!

  21. Lovely post with beautiful pictures.

  22. post, awesome pictures..thank u so much for sharing this...loved your pilaf too :)

    Spicy Treats
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  23. A lovely post! I love the tranquil of your surrounding!

  24. Everything looks so good here.

  25. Must try your Cucumber, Onion and Tomato Raita, I love the taste of cumin.

  26. Nashi...i just loved what you wrote...amazed to see those picture of birds...i could find only Doves over here in Qatar..

    And all those clicks were just superb... loved ur recipe as well..

    good one dear :)

  27. Beautiful birds!

    Love the pilaf recipe. Perfect for the festive season!

  28. beautiful pictures Nashira.......kandittu kothi varunnu......

  29. Nashira, i had been keeping away from the computer the last couple of months and i know what i have missed. I cannot tell you enough how much i love your photos and styling, loved everything and especially that heart shaped carrot in the raita cup. Pilafs and biryanis are my favourite food of all time, something i would never refuse even on a full stomach. Pilaf in a mug?!, new to me but sure sounds comforting :)

  30. Your photos speak millions! Beautiful captures and that chicken pulao is too tempting! :)

  31. The recipe is perfect ..... I luv one pot meals ! I am sure you would have stirred it out in a jiffy. Must appreciate your efforts towards making the presentation and the clicks. I bet you would have spent a lot of time for those ..... and it's worth the effort !! Luv every inch of your clicks as much as I luv the recipes.

  32. woohoo gal, with all the poetic beauty around you , I would rather live in a dreamy mirage than live in the present :P ; the platter looks festive,fresh,breezy,homey and sensuous (all-in-one)

  33. splendid and breathtaking pics! that's a nice one-pot meal for busy weekdays!

  34. Once again Pulav never looked better before! Lovely shots :)
    I am a great fan of one pot rice dishes in winter. Comforting and filling!

  35. Such attention to detail, Nash...Incredible. I learn so much from coming to your space.
    I am curious to know what is in that metallic bottle.

    The chicken pulao looks delish and so do rest of the accompaniments.
    I completely understand what you mean by just revel at the transformation around us these days.

  36. veendum veendum kothipikkuvanalleeee...beautiful clicks and pulav dear..perfect.

  37. woman, I can't focus on the recipe cause the photos are so excruciatingly tempting. *EYESGLUEDTOSCREEN*

  38. Aww, thank you all for your lovely feedback. You made my day!

    Salam, Kadeeja. Sweetie, you should try this in the pressure cooker. It’s so easy!

    Thanks Anu, Ambreen, Raks, Zareena. You are so sweet!

    Aw Farwin, thanks hon. This’s just one of those things that gives me the thrills.... I just have trouble stopping when I’m in such a mood :)

    Divya, Deepa, Aarthi: Thank you lovelies!

    Gayathri, like I said, I see these parrots—lots of them—flying around in our compound in the afternoons. It’s a lovely sight especially since I’ve seen them caged most of my life :)

    Thanks so much sweet, sweet Sarah! :)

    Nisa, Melange, Ayeesha, Sayantani, Suja, Manju, Shobha, Kiran, Pavithra, Sangee, Anh, Anthony: Your comments are really appreciated, thank you!

    Sylvie, I’m pleased you like the raita. It’d make a wonderful side to any meal.

    Manjoo, I’m fascinated to see them too.. :)

    Thank you Indu and Ganga!

    Aww, thanks La. You are so generous with your words. You know, it’s comforting to cuddle the mug and nibble on the rice, while watching a movie :)

    Love2cook, thanks much for your sweet words :)

    Satrupa, this’s just the way I like. I don’t fancy spending too much time in the kitchen cooking. But styling and taking photos, I don’t mind at all! :)

    Thanks Rumana!

    Priay, you are a sweetheart! Thanks for the lovely words and for following me on fb & twitter. Sweet of you!

    Sarah, oh yea, it’s a perfet one-pot for busy weekends :)

    Thank you sweet Chinmayie!

    Ani, that’s a bottle of Freez--carbonated drink in ice lemon flavor. And what you actually see here is one of their limited edition bottles. Yea, we have a great understanding and that’s why I enjoy talking to you so much!

    Oh Tina, thanks dear!

  39. Aw Arva, thanks sweetness! Big hugs!

  40. Parrots look beautiful!Just love the way you have cut carrots in star and heart shapes,also that your writing touches so many:
    "You can make this a totally vegetarian meal by adding a delightful variety of vegetables, or a non-vegetarian meal by throwing in some meat—I used chicken sausage because it was so much easier."
    "Vegans can eliminate the meat and substitute vegetable oil for butter."
    Noting down/bookmarking this,thank you for sharing!:-)

  41. Wonderful, yummy, delicious and tempting pulav. Very beautiful presentation. Parrot looks very cute.

  42. Hello Nashira
    Your Pilaf looks lovely and the photographs are pure art.

  43. Beautyfull post and pictures Nash! Girl you are always a great inspiration and I am looking up at you, I mean it! I have noted down your pulav recipe, I love the touche of different spices with chicken sausage slices. Nice for a change. Rice is pretty much a every day side dish, new styles are always welcome! thanks for sharing a piece of your life. =)

  44. Beautiful recipes and clicks! The pulao, pickle and raita look amazing and so festive.

  45. Okayy.... And againn you created a masterpiece!!!!! Wow is the word!!

  46. Wow, a refreshing meal. would love to have a plate of that. We have completed one year of blogging. I wish to thank you for your support and words of encouragement, Nash. You have been a sure motivator. Thanx

  47. I had chicken pulao for dinner last night... Just love them so much!
    And hey lovely pictures you have there.. Hope you could share some of your photography tips and tricks too:)

  48. Nashee, A Fabulous Blog Award is waiting for you at my space. I will be happy if you could drop in and collect it :)

  49. Delicious, yummy and tempting dish. Wonderful presentation.

  50. too good. lovely presentation :)

  51. Ah, yes! The pressure cooker, aka the most genius creation of our day (ok maybe that's exaggerating but I just adore pressure-cooked dishes).

    Your raita looks outstanding, too.

  52. Everything looks so beautiful here. It's just so hard to take my eyes off the pictures. Great recipe too.. The cucumber radish pickle is too good...

  53. Beautiful recipes and pictures. Lovely food styling as usual!

  54. delicious looking colourful meal

  55. Your pictures are gorgeous. Merry Christmas!

  56. Hey really do know how to make me salivate with goodies and savouries..u know what, you should seriously come visit me so we could cook and bake together! Hope you have a wonderful holiday season, merrily and happily, and an astounding new year ahead for you and family..lots of luv xx

  57. Lovely post, super clicks n delicious meal.

  58. Hi, I’m Sonia, italian food blogger (and your 'fan') sorry for my bad english, I want tell you that I have included the link of this recipe (which I liked very much) in the section on my blog dedicated to “10 ways to make” (“10 Modi di Fare”) pilaf.
    The post is ‘Riso pilaf’ I hope not to bother you, have a nice day.

    1. Thanks Sonia! Thank you for including my pilaf recipe and letting me know. You too have a good day!

A million thank you's for stopping by, taking the time to connect, and coming back to visit again. I genuinely appreciate each of your kind thoughts, lovely words, love and support. Happy, happy to hear from you, and hope to see you again!

♥ Nashi


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Jews Solidly Behind “Transgender Rights”

rabbi-jesse-olitzkyIn the Haaretz article below, Rabbi Jesse Olitzky (pictured) indicates that not only are Jewish institutions and sects overwhelmingly in favor of special legal rights for “transgender” individuals, but Jews are also determined to change society so as to make us defenseless against the promotion of perversion and sexual identity confusion — all part of a genocidal Jewish assault on the normal mating and reproduction of Whites.

THE FIGHT over HB2 is more than a civil rights struggle; it’s a human rights struggle. And as Jews, we have a particular imperative to treat it as such.

As Jews, we have an obligation to see each individual as made in God’s image. Each individual is unique and created differently. We are not God, and therefore, it is not for us to put parameters on the divine nature or image of another person. Rather, we should honor each individual as divine, regardless of one’s gender identity. Even the rabbis of the Talmud understood that we do not live in a gender binary system. We find six different gender identities in the Talmud. This Talmudic precedent suggests that we should not only acknowledge one’s gender identity, but also celebrate it.

Some Jewish institutions are starting to implement policies in line with this thinking. Last year, the Union for Reform Judaism passed a resolution that “affirms the right[s] of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals” and “urges the adoption and implementation of legislation and policies that prevent discrimination based on gender identity and expression.” Similarly, the Conservative Movement’s Rabbinical Assembly is in the process of voting on a resolution that affirms its commitment to fully welcoming, accepting and including people of all gender identities in Jewish life and general society. These statements understand our commitment as Jews to honor each individual. Last June, I wrote that ensuring that all can use the bathroom in our institutions “is as integral to the sacred nature of the building as is creating a transcendent prayer space.”

These statements reflect an understanding of the importance of making sure that our sacred communities and sacred spaces are welcoming of everyone. But our obligation as Jews to embrace the gender identity of each individual does not end with our institutional buildings and programs. We have an obligation as Jews to build a society that is just as inclusive and accepting as the communities we set out to create.

HB2 supporters claim the law will keep individuals safe from bathroom predators. But this law doesn’t ensure anyone’s safety. Instead, it puts lives in danger. It endangers the lives of people in the transgender community by further denying them basic human rights, by suggesting that they don’t really exist, and by closing them off from society. If our responsibility as Jews is to do what we can to save every life, then we have an obligation to repeal HB2 and similar harmful and discriminatory legislation in other states.

* * *

Source: read the full article at Haaretz

* * *

COTB-copyTHE INCOMPARABLE, AMAZING music of Dresden’s Call of the Blood is now available in a digitally remastered 20th Anniversary edition CD. Crafted with jewel-like care and true artistry, this is unlike any music you have ever heard before.

Listen to a low-bitrate sampler here:

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Thursday, July 31, 2008

5 Ways Team USA can please Coach K!

Team USA gave Turkey a beating in their second exhibition game, but I'm not too impressed. Here are five ways they can please me and Coach K:

5. How about some more air time on Road to Redemption? As Coach K is probably in his last couple of years as a coach, I'd like to see him doing other things than saying come on let's go, this is great, we have to play as a team. I mean, if they don't win the gold, he's got to have something to remember.
4. Get Dwight Howard to work his magic to get more minutes for ex-Blue Devil (his current title is bench warmer) J.J. Redick. Maybe then he can look half as good as he did in college. I think saying this kid hasn't lived up to his potential is an understatement. If the Magic can't deal him where he would play, they need to find a use for him.

Give Coach K a cool Chinese nickname (like Ball Don't Lie did for Kobe and LJ). I'm thinkin something that involves ee (the number one, I know how to say it, not sure on the spelling) and however you say number and coach in Chinese (together, number one coach!). Maybe asking Yao to help out?

2. Get Kobe to go back in time and play for Duke. A dream for Coach K and Kobe is now being achieved in the Olympics. But, I assume he'd like to win an NCAA title with Kobe at the helm. So, they'll cut a deal to go back in time when ever time travel is real (trust me, we're just having fun with this one!) and get Kobe in blue and white. This would really change everything, he'd probably be drafted before the 13th pick and not traded to the Lakers for Vlade Divac.

1. Win the damn gold! Sorry to be obvious, but this is why these guys are giving up their summers. If they don't win the gold, I think it would be a huge disappointment for US basketball. On the positive side, I think it will increase the hunger for some of the stars during the NBA season. We know Flash and Kobe don't need more desire, but why not?

EXTRA: I came up with two ways to make assistant coach Mike D'Antoni happy!

2. Find a way to make Danilo Gallinari a US citizen and get him on the 2012 team!
I know, I'm playing the Italian card, but the Knicks drafted him, by the time those London games rolled around, they'd have a great feel for each of their styles. To get him on the team, they could pull some strings (hey, Kaman got to play for Germany!).

1. Let him take over for Coach K! It's time for some fresh legs all across USA basketball and Fran Fraschilla also thinks he could be the next coach. He could bring his experience from playing and coaching and Italy, he'd already know the international game. A little run and gun for the USA team? Why not!

Of course some of this stuff is crazy, but I'm psyched about this basketball! The summer league wasn't that interesting and the medal round of these games is shaping up to be great!

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Team USA Thumps Turkey!

In an early game (started at 8pm Eastern time) the USA beat Turkey 114-82. Turkey stayed close through most of the first half, but just like Canada, they were blown out.

The thing they really have to work on is defense. I think they will do fine with getting steals and getting out into the open court, but they need solid half court defense. Just like Fran was saying, the teams they're going to be faced with in the future will be a lot better. According to the box score, there were no turnovers, but the USA can't count on that in the future.

I am still very much impressed with the play of Dwayne Wade. It looks to me like he is more focused and hungry than ever. He had a solid 13 points today and I think what was great was his fast break dunks.

In this game, team USA shot almost 71% from the field. Again, another stat you can't count on. If I remember correctly, they shot a little over 60% against Canada and I can assure you, it won't be the same in tomorrow's game. They will face Lithuania, a team that John Hollinger thinks they might wrongly underestimate (talks about a couple of minutes into the video).

Set your alarm clocks, Friday's game against Lithuania starts at 8pm Eastern time on ESPN2. Also tonight, another episode of the Road to Redemption series at 7:30 pm Eastern on ESPN2 (sorry to sound like an ESPN promo, but this is good stuff!).

Photo by: Andrew D. Bernstein

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Artest to Rockets?

According to RealGM, the Houston Rockets have reached an agreement with the Sacramento Kings to acquire Ron Artest.

Rockets get: Ron Ron
Kings get: Bobby Jackson, 1st round pick next year, probably Donte Greene and cash.

Oh, I forgot to include a ticket to the draft lottery in what the Kings get. I think this is a steal for the Rockets and if Yao and TMac are healthy, you've got a team that's ready to win. The West just gets tougher. This deal can't go through until August 14, if the rookie Greene is included. There will probably be more players added as more is learned.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Knicks Make Deal for the Heck of it!

The Knicks sent Renaldo Balkman and cash to Denver for a 2010 second round pick, Taurean Green and Bobby Jones. I think the Knicks were just helping the Nuggets shed some cap.

I guess some of these guards have potential, but I don't think it's enough to pat Donnie Walsh on the back. Walsh has been pretty quite, in terms of wheeling and dealing (not like he's got much to work with!). Ultimately, these deals don't matter in the thick of things. The goal set by Walsh is simple: see if these guys can make anything happen for a couple of years, let their contracts expire and start chasing stars in the free agent market of 2010. There might be a couple of guys that fit well into D'Antoni's system (QRich did well with him in the Suns) and I can't believe I'm saying this, but they might keep them.

Here's how I think of the Denver situation:
George Karl was playing cards with all of the playoff bound Western conference teams, put down the "we're gonna suck at defense and see if offense can win a title" card and lost miserably. Now he and the Nuggets are scrambling to cut costs, become a lottery team and get better for the future.

I understand why Melo didn't get the Camby trade, it's not all NBA GM's aren't rocket scientists, right? Well the Denver rocket had a mechanical problem: it could get up high in the sky (think of that as scoring), but when getting back into Earth's orbit (think, defense), the only thing that kept them from a crash was Camby's defense (they settled for an emergency landing).

Anyway, if I was a big Nuggets fan, I'd be disappointed.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Team USA dominates Canada!

Team USA did what I thought they would and beat Canada big time, 120-65. The first quarter was close, but team USA cruised the rest of the way. I was most impressed by how good DWade looked, he looks great, no hesitation when he went up for a nice dunk. I think that once the US knew it was over in the second half, they were more relaxed and had much better ball movement.

Anyway, for anyone who cared to watch a Friday auto-blowout, there were some very nice highlights. My favorite was a play were Chris Bosh got a nice pass for an in-your-face, long jump and throw down! The next game for team USA is next Friday: hopefully we won't see a blowout there!

The Machine Overseas?

The free agents currently available seem to all be interested in Europe now. Sasha Vujacic is threatening to go to Europe if he doesn't get about $5 million a year. Pretty soon we might as well take every guy on the market and ask if they want to go to Europe (Josh Smith next?).

I hope LA will keep Sasha, he's a young, pesky defender and his jump shot is dynamite. It gives LA great depth when you can bring Sasha and Jordan Farmar off the bench. LA already lost Ronny Turiaf to the Warriors, the young core of LA's future is at risk. The future would be Farmar or Vujacic starting, throwing the ball to Bynum down low.

No one has made him an offer, I think if it's not LA, it's Europe. Euro, or weak dollar, Mr. Machine?

Thursday, July 24, 2008

I'm thinkin.....

How bad will Canada lose tomorrow nights exhibition against the US (8pm Eastern, ESPN)? I'm not sure how hard the US will play, but Canada failed to make this years Olympics (they haven't since 2000, actually) and everyone knows the US wants to prove the doubters wrong.

No LJ in tomorrows game (probably), he's got an ankle sprain to deal with. What I am going to be looking for from the US is tough, lock down defense (I would say for 48 minutes, but I think it might be less). Also, I want to see how Coach K will play his three point guards (JKidd, CP3 and Deron Williams).

Hopefully, I'm wrong and we get to see a great game (a little more entertaining than summer league, please?). The only great thing going on in Canada that has to do with basketball is the Raptors, not this national team. Prove me wrong, prove to me that Steve Nash and Samuel Dalembert aren't the only two Canadian ball players worth knowing!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Hawks Lose Depth, Blame the Dollar!

The Hawks have lost a nice young player in Josh Childress. Where did he go? Olympiakos. He's getting $20 million for three years and will stray from being paid in our weak dollar. Maybe my friend Kellex should change the name of his site (The Sports Dollar) to the The Sports Euro. Five guys have gone from the best professional basketball league in the NBA, to all parts of the world (Russia, Spain, Greece, etc.).

The Euroleague should certainly be happy, their league will benefit from all these guys coming over (don't forget Brandon Jennings!). I will watch as much Euroleague as I can! My question is, right now these teams have an advantage because their curriencies are strong, but once that dies down, what happens to guys like Childress? I hope he got an early termination option, while he may be a star over there, he may want to come back to the NBA at some time.

Is anyone else Euroleague bound? I think there may be a couple more players, but I'm not sure who they are.

Another Detroit Brawl?

Yep, it happened again. Another brawl at the Palace, only this time it's a WNBA brawl. If you haven't seen it already, here's a video of the fight and some breakdowns of what happened:

This is, of course, terrible for not just the WNBA, but also the NBA (the NBA is already considered somewhat dirty and it could be leaking over into the WNBA). When the best player in your league, Candace Parker, is involved, it becomes tough to suspend her and still have a well represented league. I don't know much about the WNBA, but if this begins a trend, they will have to take action.

I would suspend Parker 10 games. I know there will be plenty of other suspensions also. Rick Mahorn claims he didn't push Lisa Leslie, but it certainly looks like he did. It's a big mess; we'll just have to wait for the league to dole out suspensions.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Don't Count Out the Nets!

Oh, the East is rising, what are we going to do about the one team that really improved itself, so far (the Sixers)? The New Jersey Nets picked in the lottery this year, but they have made some nice moves that may get them back in contention.

You look at the nucleus that they have built: great young point guard in Devin Harris (Marcus Willimas and CDR off the bench), bolstered front line with Yi and Brook Lopez (don't forget the energy Stromile Swift and Josh Boone could bring off the bench) and they just acquired Keyon Dooling (and did I mention VC?). While that sounds like a pretty solid squad, they have to prove it out on the court.

This team won 34 games last year and finished 10th in the Eastern conference. The Hawks made the playoffs winning only 37 games, but I think you might have to be at 500. next season (if we're lucky). To get to a winning percentage of 500., all these Nets have to do is win seven more games.

That is of course doable, but here's what they have to do: forget the doubters, work hard, the basics. This is not hard to do: this team is young, so all they need is a lot of practice and a strong, vocal coaching staff to get them over the hump.

They could be similar to the Hawks that took the Celtics serious for six games before being blown out of the building in the seventh.

Remember: this team will not be popping champagne and not sleeping for a week. They're young and if they don't live up to my expectations and squeak into the playoffs, well they get a lottery pick out of it. If they make the playoffs, then this young team gets some experience. Everyone wins!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Should Cuban and Pritchard Have a Sitdown?

The Mavericks let injury ridden Darius Miles workout for them. If he signs anywhere and plays in 10 or more games, the Blazers owe him a nine million dollar salary. That begs the question, what does Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard do about it? We can speculate how much interest the Mavs have, but I think he's inching forward in getting a job.
1. Get friendly with Mark Cuban. Just make sure they don't sign the guy. The Mavs recently signed Gerald Green, so make the case that Green is a newer, younger, and less washed up version of Miles. I don't think signing him makes much sense either. He could be a locker room distraction, another thing this squad does not need.

2. Let him rock; in the D-League. Some players that may not be the most popular NBA players, tend to play well in the D-League (Von Wafer is a good example). I could see Miles stay in the D-League and be a big time player there.

3. Offer him a ring if you win it all in seven years. It may not be as good as playing for it, but Miles could get a ring for not costing nine million!

I am a big Pritchard fan and I want to see the Blazers succeed (after the Lakers, of course). They have been taking in big time young ones and they are going to need all the cap they can get. So, make your old fans happy Darius!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Magic closing in on a deal?

The Magic have been adding players to the back court and I think it means a trade is imminent. They signed Anthony Johnson, drafted Courtney Lee and seem to be loaded at the one and two spots. I'm going to assume they are not going to resign Carlos Arroyo and Keyon Dooling, seeing as Johnson would take Arroyo's minutes and Dooling hasn't received an offer from the Magic yet.

So who's the odd man out? It has to be J.J. Redick. He didn't play much at all last season and it seems the Magic want to acquire Javaris Crittenton. I don't know how much Memphis wants for Crittenton, but Redick and possibly a sign and trade with one of their free agents might do. Redick may not be as good as Mike Miller, but he could bring some of that shooting touch back that was sent away to Minnesota.

Camby off to LA!

The LA Clippers sent a second round pick to the Denver Nuggets for Marcus Camby. I like the move by the Clippers. This, of course, signals a change of motives for Denver.

I thought LA could make a run at Emeka Okafor, but I think they will do fine with Camby. He can defend, hit the mid range jumper and do a decent job of filling the void of Elton Brand. Going forward, I would like to see an addition at the small forward position.

Also, now we have another ESPN analyst saying the Clips are playoff bound-Ric Bucher. Now I don't think there are many definite playoff teams in the West (Lakers, Hornets, Spurs, that's about it!). I cannot put the Clippers in that bunch, even if they're healthy. I'm sure we haven't seen the last move from Golden State and they still have Dallas, Phoenix, and others to get through.

The Nuggets are probably not going to make the playoffs next year. This move says, "hey, we thought this team was good, but now we traded our best defensive guy and want to be bad in order to have cap for 2009-10!" That's what this is about: they came to the conclusion that this bunch can't win a title and want to have money to get another star next to Melo. The star I would like to see in Denver is Chris Bosh. He would be a nice fit, he does play defense (they really need that). I think that Allen Iverson could be on the market now. If any team has cap space, they can probably get whatever Nugget they want as long as it's not Melo.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Starbury Can't Avoid Meteorite (Get rid of him)!

I think New York fans aren't going to have to deal with Stephon Marbury next season. Mike D'Antoni doesn't like him, Walsh acts like he wants him to hit the road and I think he shouldn't let the door hit him on the way out!
This guy should be bought out. I don't think he's tradeable and this will help the cap space situation. Can he get another gig? I think so, he could go to a place where he's not #1 (kind of like Rasheed, but not for a title). Could he go to Europe, like he said is in his plans? I don't think it's likely, he couldn't handle it. I would like to see him go to Milwaukee or Cleveland. If he plays to his potential, it would be a steal for the Bucks. If the Cavs had him, maybe LeBron could get him to put his money where his mouth is.

Wherever he goes, just get him out of New York! If you search, "stephon marbury out of new york," on Google, you get 309,000 results for a reason!

Friday, July 11, 2008

Shaq Jumping Cars?

Someone knows how to be Shaq! They shot this video of Shaq jumping over an Escalade.

I saw this and just cracked up! The guy may not look like Shaq, but he sure sounds like him! I found it on Ball Don't Lie and I'm glad I did! So, sit back and laugh! It's Friday!

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Predictions Shattered!

Elton Brand and Brandon Jennings decided to mess with me: the basketball prophet (not really). I wanted Josh Smith to be a Sixer (I even had five reasons) and I wanted Jennings to make his choice on the 11th (so he could get an endorsement with Apple, or go to Cisco).

It's pretty much a lock that Smith won't come to the Sixers. Brand will take the cap space and the only way he'll go to Philly is a sign and trade. I don't disagree with the move, but I had no idea it was going to happen (did anyone?). The Sixers lacked scoring up front and Elton will fix that.

Has anyone noticed that Elton likes to mention how great his agent is? I watched the videos over at ESPN and he loves to mention his agent.

The deal with Brandon Jennings is he made his decision a couple days before iPhone day! Now I know he chose Europe and would go with Cisco, but I think he could really get more money out of raining on Apple's parade (not that they're direct competitors, but both are techie).

Either way, I loved writing those stories! More to come soon!

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Tuesday, July 08, 2008

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Pietrus to Magic!

The Orlando Magic are going to bring in Mickael Pietrus, according to Realgm. I like the addition; Mickael can shoot, score and should help them launch a ton of threes again. They're becoming a deep team, key bench guys include: Brian Cook, Keith Bogans, and now Pietrus might replace Keyon Dooling.

I think they should trade Redick, maybe they could do it for cap space? It could help them be active in future free agent markets, which look crazy good. Anyway, I think they are making the right moves to look like a big time contender (especially once they're in that new arena)!

Monday, July 07, 2008

Brandon Jennings Can Get Rich on July 11th!

Brandon Jennings has a marketing opportunity that may not be on his mind yet (no, this is not a spam post). On July 11th, his SAT scores will be released. How does this affect basketball? Well, if he gets a high score, he can go to the University of Arizona. Disappoint and he's either going to Wake Forest (test optional now), or more likely; he'll be on his way to Europe.

If you didn't know, July 11th is also iPhone day. People will be standing in line waiting to activate their 3g iPhones. How does all of this allow Brandon Jennings to compete with the marketing gem that is LeBron (he's got big endorsements with Nike, Microsoft and too many others)?

Let's assume he gets the right SAT Score..

Then, he should give a call to Apple. "Hey, Microsoft has LeBron James; I passed the SAT on iPhone day. Sound like the perfect combination?" Imagine Jennings talking with the iPhone music in the background, "When I'm not playin' ball, I rag on my friends who use Windows Mobile and chat it up with other 'one and done' guys." He could milk about a million from this at Arizona and raise the bar once he's in the NBA.

If the SAT doesn't compute..

Then he's Cisco bound. I can envision this even more than the iPhone: "Since I play on the other side of the globe, I need a powerful network that lets me video chat with my friends and family back in the states." Cisco could claim they're hip with a guy like Jennings backing their product. Jennings could start to compete with LJ with a couple million a year to start.

Now, I know this is far fetched

But Jennings has to start thinking about cash money! Aren't we going through tough economic times? And remember when three years and $21 million wasn't enough for
Latrell Sprewell to feed his family? Jennings might not be able to feed himself at Arizona, let alone feed everyone back home with his salary from Europe. And like KG says, "Anything is possible!"

Friday, July 04, 2008

5 Reasons Josh Smith Should Be a Sixer!

Josh Smith is probably one of the best free agents available at this point. The Sixers were a surprise playoff team in the East; they're young, athletic and getting better. They also have some cap room they can dish out. So I thought of five reasons they should sign Josh Smith.

5. So the Hawks can officially become the new Clippers (before the Baron Davis and Gordon moves). Unless there was a sign-and-trade, this team would go from just cracking into the playoffs, to a team with Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby and some other young guns. They would be the new team to laugh at (the Griz have joined that group).

4. So it looks like Ed Stefanski made a big move and is not just feeding off of the roster that Billy King made.

3. Because I want to hear a commentator say, "Oh my goodness what a move by Smith," (or some other OMG like reaction) further into the playoffs.

2. Then AI (the one in Denver) will realize, "
Man, I wish I had someone who played defense on my team."

1. Because it would give the NBA an excuse to put two players from the same team in the dunk contest! Josh Smith and Andre Iguodala are just freak athletes. Here is some proof: when you search "Josh Smith dunk," or "Andre Iguodala dunk," on Google, you get a combined 254,400 results!

Here are some Smith blocks and dunks:

This is a move-esq highlight film of Iguodala:

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Free Agency Time!

Today teams can start negotiating contracts with free agents. So there are plenty of rumors flying around.

Baron Davis

I really don't like the idea of BD opting out. It doesn't make sense financially, unless there's a sign-and-trade.

Here are some numbers from a Ball Don't Lie post:
Davis was due to make 17.8 million bucks next season, but faced with a stalemate with the Warriors over a contract extension, he's now left all of that on the table.

Who cares about the extension now? Davis is 29 and despite past health issues, the big time 09-10 market might be better. Also, he's getting to that age where he probably wants to be with more of a real time contender (Clippers, stay away!).

He should have focused on playing this year, get almost 18 mil (not too shabby) and worry about getting a raise next summer. I hope this isn't about a raise. If I'm a GM, this guy isn't worth any more than that. Let's say he wants a three year deal that would net him just as much, if not more, per year. Then, you are paying a guy, who will be on the decline and possibly become an energy guy off the bench. Stay in Golden State, at least sign a one year deal, then you can play in the big free agent market!

Jose Calderon

Is staying put! Smart, seeing as Ford is going to the Pacers (as long as everyone passes a physical and the league approves it). The Raptors need him, it should be much easier to play the inside game, he'll get to throw the ball to Bosh or O'Neal.

Okay, enough with free agency for now. I have a poll up about the new film Gunnin' For That #1 Spot (here's a description). I haven't been able to see it yet (thanks for only releasing it in the big cities!), but I am trying to find a way. Hopefully I'm able to see it soon!

For the latest on free agency, check Google News, RealGM, and any other great sources for up to the minute updates.


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Essex Liebherr Crawler Selected for NCCCO Practical Exam

June 2006 - CCO Practical Exam candidates were in for a treat when they signed up to take their hands-on exam with East Texas Crane Academy in April.

Chosen as the practical test crane for the lattice boom crane exam was a brand new Liebherr LR 1200 SX, one of a dozen bought by Essex Crane Rental, and never before used for CCO practical exam testing.  Essex also provided the Arcola, Texas test site for the CCO exams.

essex crawler for practical exam

The 275 ton capacity machines, built by Liebherr in Nenzing, Austria, feature boom configurations and options reportedly available exclusively to Essex.  Essex expects them to be particularly useful for application in the booming wind turbine industry.

According to CCO Accredited Practical Examiner, Joe Bob Williams, President, East Texas Crane Academy, the LR1200 SX was a hit with all the 25 candidates that tested on it.  “To a man, they all bragged on the crane as the best they had ever operated,” said Williams. “It's really state-of-the-art.  The radius indicator was precise to the inch.”