text:
Walking through Sears department store the other day, I passed by the boys' and then the men's department while calmly experiencing all the expected memories: the packages of socks, the work pants, the plaid shirts, the dress shirts. My mind drifted back to the time, years ago, when Hans and his dad spent several hours in the parking lot of this store, trying to fix the heater on our old Custom Cruiser station wagon – at twenty-something degrees below zero. In the dark.
My thoughts drifted again and, from the fringes of the tool department, near a long row of shiny appliances, I stood gazing up at the glass elevator as it silently glided up and down, up and down. As a toddler, Hans liked to ride this elevator mainly because he liked to push the buttons – later, because he enjoyed the sensation of weightlessness. As a man, he shopped for tools and clothes there. At some point, he discovered that, from the topmost position of the elevator's journey, he could (unknown to his oblivious mother) keep me in view no matter where I was in the store. This knowledge served him well during the Christmas shopping season.
Yes, the Sears store in Fairbanks, Alaska holds many memories for us.
But, it's different – now.
I turned my back on the elevator and continued on through the tool department where we bought so many Christmas presents for the men in our family: the flashlights, the socket wrench sets, the tool bags. I was feeling rather victorious, thinking I had handled all that pretty well.
Feeling safe, I headed for housewares to look at sheets but then found myself in the little girls' department, which comes just before housewares. I felt uneasy for some reason. But, well, what could be safer than the little girls' department?
I ignored the silent warning which told me to just look straight ahead and press on with all possible dispatch to housewares. Instead, I let my eyes swing to the left to look at the little girls' dresses, all pink and frilly and loaded with ribbons. So girly. No little boy memories here. No, sir.
So why the tears out of nowhere, in the very center of Sears department store, far from the exit or even the bathroom where I can hide and compose myself? Why does my heart hurt suddenly and for no apparent reason?
Because, there is a reason.
Hans will never have a little girl.
He would have made such a great Daddy.


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The Carnival is Back in Town! After 1.5 years of lockdown, Wonder Shows is proud to be able to bring Rides of Thrill, Games of Skill and all of your favourite carnival treats to the Victoria Inn Hotel & Convention Centre for 4 weekends in a row!
Ensuring Safe, Family Fun Carnival Entertainment we advise all of our guests remain at least 6ft apart during their visit on our fairgrounds.
We will be operating our business in accordance with the Manitoba Health Re-Opening plan and permitted requirements.
Operating Hours, Dates and Attendance / Admission policies may change based on demand, health orders and weather. In an effort to control the volume of crowds and guests attending our event and to provide a safe experience for our paying customers we've implemented perimeter fencing around our midway and have implemented an admission fee that includes unlimited access to our midway rides.
- $25 Admission for all guests and includes Unlimited Rides.
- Free Admission for Children under 30 inches height. (Minimum requirement to ride any rides is 36″)
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- Masks not required outdoors.
- Vaccinations: We do not require you to be vaccinated to attend this event. Guests that are double vaccinated may voluntarily disclose their status to our gate attendants to receive a color coded wristband. Wristbands will help midway operators determine how to safely seat guests on our rides & attractions accordingly to ensure adequate spacing when possible.
As a family owned and operated business, your safety is of utmost importance. We appreciate your patience and understanding while we operate our business around the Manitoba Health Social Distancing Guidelines.

subset: commoncrawl


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America could have a 51st state.
Erin Burnett tells us which one in the OutFront OutTake.
Greeley, which is the only real city in NoCo outside of Larimer (which is not in this silly proposal) has the University of Northern Colorado. 90% of the current students would suddenly be out of state residents paying higher tuition. Boom goes the largest employer in Weld. Being this far against common sense oil and gas regulations designed for safety for public health is silly. Fracking is exempt from clean water and air acts. Colorado's regulations aren't even the strictest in the states, and the US compared to other 1st world nations is loosely regulated in this sector. This idea came from a right wing organization supporting big oil and gas. Look into the evils of Colorado Counties Inc. Thanks for the laughs.Conway, jokes on you.
If North Colorado becomes a state, it, the numbers, will still be neutral 'cause Texas is about ready to secede!
Do you have any other fairy tales stories?
Where did you get the photos of the homes from? That is in no way northEASTERN Colorado landscapes. In fact I think you have a photo of Boulder in the mix. NorthEASTERN colorado is a desolate wasteland. They might want to think about not using the name NorthEASTERN Colorado and instead use "the land of hopeless despair or land with no gas stations or rest stops". If they wanna succeed and pollute themselves into oblivion why not. I think that progressives of Colorado would agree that we will not miss that swath of the state.
The name is not North Eastern Colorado but North Colorado. We are only despaired because we are not fully represented do to the likes of you. Just remember those on the plains of Colorado do in fact feed and support a vast majority within the state and YOU will miss what we do put into the Colorado coffers..
I believe North and South New Jersey have tried this before to no avail.
I know you're think such a small state that New Jersey but it is vastly different from North to South.
If California hasn't done it yet, no one is going to.
PR voted (or didn't vote, depending upon whom you ask) to join the union last November. DC is perpetually begging to join the union. There has long been talk of WA, OR, and CA all splitting into various states. The only thing different about N Colorado is that there's oil in them thar hills that are trying to seceed and form their own state– oil that stuffs the coffers in Denver.
New Yorkers have long considered splitting in two. Westchester and Rockland Counties, plus NYC and Long Island would be its own state. Everything north of Westchester and Rockland would be a different state. Or else Long Island would be its own state and would be part of New England. But 100 senators is too even a number for this to be considered.


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Problem 972. Set a diagonal
Solution Stats
Problem Comments
10 Comments
Added new test case 9 Oct. 2012
Are you missing some text from your example?
Test suggestion: Stick a zero in one of your v vectors and you'll eliminate some of the shorter answers.
Yes. All solutions with find don't work with 0 in v.
Thanks for the suggestions -- I updated the text, added a new test case and rescored.
@Nicholas Howe: The test suggestion meant: stick a 0 in v, and this 0 is meant to replace an entry of M that was unequal to 0. In other words: the new test-case doesn't make a difference (and hence is useless) if M is a null-matrix.
The cases with d=0 are working for me but your test cases are giving error..... What's this?
please, when you make use of test cases with floating point numbers specify a common precision, otherwise is impossible to pass the suite and people need to be noob! thx in advanced
Please add a precision threshold for floating numbers. Sometimes I get results with an error ~ e-17 close, but still not accepted.
Test cases with 2 input arguments can be very tricky for people without knowledge of nargin, and that is off-topic here. I think a hint should be added on the problem description.
Solution Comments
1 Comment
1 Comment
2 Comments
I like the try/catch with ans
It seems Matlab allows for many useful tricks. I was surprised at the behavior of 'diag' in the leading solution.
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Stonewall's Jerquee is a brand of snacks that bills itself as the world's best tasting vegetarian jerky, claiming to offer the same great chewing pleasure of real meat jerky.
Having tried a few vegetarian jerkies, I opened this package with some doubt, but questioned if this might be somewhat good after all. I mean, it actually has something of a smokey aroma, though clearly different than real meat. It actually looks like it might taste good.
The Stonewall's Jerquee brand is owned by Lumen Foods of Lake Charles, LA, which makes a variety of other soybean-based foods.
Defatted soy flour, purified water, soybean oil, autolyzed yeast, fructose, tomato paste, mustard, honey, molasses, onion, garlic, peppers (cayenne and white pepper), lemon, vinegar, spices, salt, and potassium sorbate.
This brand of soybean jerky has a similar taste as the other vegan-jerky brands I've had, though not quite as harsh, perhaps because this stuff appears to be more dry. It still has that semi-sour milk taste that was left in a bowl of Lucky Charms. But I found I was able to chew it long enough and swallow without gagging.
The BBQ beef flavoring does come through, but mostly as a pepper taste, and only after the first 10 seconds of chewing. But I can't really say that this tastes like BBQ beef. This just tastes like all the other vegan jerkies, but just drier.
This does have a more salty taste than the other brands, however.
The company recommends microwaving these pieces, but I couldn't get myself to do so. I was starting to grow weary.
These pieces are about the size of a chicken nugget, or maybe a little smaller.
They're somewhat greasy, leaving a fine film of oil on your fingers.
They also chew like a sponge. You can bite down on them fairly easily, but once they reach maximum compression, it becomes hard, just like biting down on a dish-washing sponge.
Once you're able to chew this, it feels more like a McDonald's Chicken McNugget that was nuked in a microwave for too long, and hardened up. Kinda chewy, kinda tough, but resembling nothing like meat.
And just why would a vegan want a product that eats like real meat? I thought they didn't care for meat. Like I said in my other reviews, this is proof that vegans secretly desire to feast on animal flesh.
Product Value
I paid $1.89 for this 1.5oz bag at a Sprouts store in Temecula, CA. That works out to $1.26 per oz, within the average price range for jerky.
I'd say that as a soybean-based jerky, this actually offers great value. Of all such jerkies I've tried, this actually has the best taste I've encountered thus far. But don't get me wrong, it's still nasty in my opinion, just not as nasty.
But as a BBQ Beef variety, it fails terribly. This tastes nothing like BBQ beef, it doesn't resemble anything I might find from a BBQ grill, not even the charred-black chunks of BBQ sauce. All it offers is a peppery taste that takes about 10 seconds to show itself.
I'm rating this as "dog treats".
As in the other vegan-jerky reviews I've written, I can't understand why a soybean-based product has to taste so bad. Having grown up around Japanese-cuisine, I've eaten a lot of soybean foods. The Japanese are probably the kings of soybean innovation, making a wide variety of soybean snacks, all of which tastes quite good. And I'm a guy who loves real meat.
I'm thinking companies like Lumen Foods, have an awful lot to learn from the Japanese.
Rating: Dog Treats
Buy this online:
Friday, June 20, 2008
Stonewall's Jerquee - BBQ Beef
Stonewall's Jerquee is a brand of snacks that bills itself as the world's best tasting vegetarian jerky, claiming to offer the same great chewing pleasure of real meat jerky.
9 comments:
- AnonymousSeptember 2, 2009 at 4:34 PM
You are so WRONG! I am a meat-eater and I LOVE these snacks, try a different flavor, my favorite is spicy chicken.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 16, 2009 at 9:54 PM
dude many vegetarians were raised as meat eaters by their parents so they got a taste for certain textures and spices. it has nothing to do with the taste of meat. meat doesnt taste like anything without spices on it. next time you make hamburger helper dont put any salt or anything on the meat and revel in the blandest food in the worldReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 2, 2010 at 10:28 PM
dude, you should know about dog treats, there generally invited to dinner as the main course I hear where your from. I love this product, and you just keep eating your meat- hope it's USDA approved, cause you most likely have great faith in our government when it comes to caring about your meat- and since when do vegetarians care what meat eaters think?ReplyDelete
- AnonymousMarch 16, 2010 at 7:40 AM
To who ever said meat has no flavor... I have to say that apparently you haven't ate good meat before.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousMay 8, 2010 at 3:42 AM
the guy who wrote this blog is right! Guess what, I was trying to be a vegetarian for a year and for god's sake I'm a 'meat' person...after all I'm just a human being, I know wearing furs are wrong but not for eat the meat itself...ReplyDelete
It's a harsh life for me to pretend to be a vegetarian and eat this fake so called meat...taste weird. Maybe it's not for me...
- AnonymousJune 15, 2010 at 12:48 PM
As others have said, some folks choose not to eat meat for lots of reasons -- dietary, religious, ethical, etc -- but were raised eating meat. Being a vegetarian/vegan doesn't mean you don't like the TASTE of meat, it means you're choosing not to eat it. Products like this are savory and rich and give vegetarians a great option for snacking.ReplyDelete
Haha i dont secretly want anything, i crave to rip flesh from a nice juicey rare steak, but i choose not to.ReplyDelete
My fav brand. I eat meat with rare med conditions, require very high protein; but savage, ungrateful to the meat or any part of meal is not my style. This is not caveman times, and natives sure did respect the entire process of garnering any part of the meal, from maize to meat. I prefer to minimize meat, and these snacks, I sooo crave, Id buy stock.ReplyDelete
Please send me mass samples for my vlog channell..your my fav brand!!ReplyDelete


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I am more than happy to be approached to undertake book reviews.
Reviews are usually worked upon in the order they are received and appear on the Anglers Rest site usually within approximately 4 – 6 weeks. Sometimes this is longer and depends on my workload. I also post the reviews to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk & Library Thing
In some instances, if perhaps the book is not a genre that I typically read or if I have a review queue I may well offer a guest post or interview.
Please drop me an email, using the subject heading of Book Review if you would like me to:
- Host a Guest Post
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text:
God's Call to Repentance - In Touch - October 14
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- 2022 Oct 14
October 14
God's Call to Repentance
In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the younger brother asked to receive his inheritance early so he might live as he chose. Once the father gave him his share, he made many unwise choices that led to hunger and destitution. What happened next illustrates the principles of godly repentance.
After squandering all his money, the young man found work feeding pigs, a bottom-of-the-barrel kind of job. One day he came to his senses and recognized his terrible plight. His repentance began with an awareness of his wrong choices and the fact that his bad situation was due to them.
Knowing that his difficulties came from his sinful behavior, the prodigal grieved over his mistakes and acknowledged that he had sinned against the Lord (v. 18). He declared he was no longer worthy to be his father's son. Godly sorrow and confession led the young man to leave that place and go home. His repentance was made complete when he turned away from his old ways and returned to his father. The Lord likewise calls us to repent and return to Him.
What a welcome the prodigal son received. Upon seeing him, the father was filled with compassion and ran to embrace him. Forgiveness and acceptance were extended to the son. Both are blessings that God freely offers to whoever asks Him.
The prodigal son did not clean himself up before returning home. He simply left his old life, turned toward home, and trusted in his father's mercy. The heavenly Father calls us to repent and offers us forgiveness when we turn away from our self-centered ways and move toward godliness (1 John 1:9).
For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org.
And Listen to Dr. Charles Stanley at OnePlace.com!
Used with permission from In Touch Ministries, Inc. © 2019 All Rights Reserved.


text:
Leesa mattress is one of the bestsellers right now. The business has been rather aggressive with its discounts lately. There have actually been regular discount rates in recent months consisting of the straight $100 decrease for Halloween. Leesa mattress is certainly not the least expensive. Every size of Leesa mattress is actually on the dearer side when you think about competitors like Casper, Purple or Nectar to name a few. Leesa offers its bed mattress online through the main website and there are affiliate sites too. You can use the in advance discount on offer online and you can likewise try to find Leesa bed mattress discount coupon to conserve more. You might not get both at the very same time. Otherwise it is an inconvenience totally free shopping experience. You secure free shipping and a hundred nights' trial of the mattress. Leesa Mattress Environmentally Friendly
Attributes of the Leesa Mattress
Leesa bed mattress is made in the US. The bed mattress is well designed. The engineering involves three layers of premium quality foams. The upper layer is Avena foam. It is two inches thick and is mostly accountable for two qualities of the mattress. Avena foam adds to the cooling result to ensure the bed mattress does not maintain any temperature, thus enabling a great night's sleep. The foam also contributes to the bounce that many people like. The topmost layer is firm enough to guarantee steadiness but the bouncy feel makes one easily lay on the mattress without sinking in. The 2nd layer is the 2 inches of memory foam. This layer mostly eases all the pressure of the bodyweight. This is ultimate to guarantee even distribution of bodyweight so the sleeper does not feel any pressure point. Pressure relief as well as weight distribution naturally add to body contouring. It is this layer that guarantees the sleeper is oversleeping a comfy posture and has no discomfort whatsoever. The third or the bottom layer is 6 inches base foam. This is for strength, stability, core assistance and sturdiness.
Every Leesa bed mattress has exactly what the business calls Universal Adaptive Feel. It is a trademarked innovation that guarantees individuals of all sizes and with different sleeping choices will find equivalent comfort while using the mattress. The leading 2 layers have the capability to conform to the weight, size and sleeping preference of a specific or of a couple. The base layer is thick and strong enough to provide the core support needed for the 2 top layers to deliver this level of customization or adaptability. However, the Leesa mattress can not be corresponded with the Helix bed mattress which is actually customized based upon inputs from the private or couple through a Sleep Quiz.
Leesa bed mattress includes hundred nights of risk complimentary trial. There is free shipping and returns. The company donates one bed mattress for each ten offered in the nation. As you check out Leesa reviews, you would observe that the mattress is one the pricier side however it is also a soft and helpful bed mattress compared with a lot of its competitors. Leesa bed mattress doesn't have the sinking in concern. It doesn't have the overheating problem. It is proper for those who lay on their back, side or stomach. Leesa bed mattress is readily available in the six basic sizes including Twin that weighs 45 lbs, Twin XL which weighs 48 pounds, Full weighing 56 lbs, Queen weighing 71 pounds, King weighing 90 lbs and California King weighing 92 lbs. The 10 inches thick Leesa bed mattress is on the lighter end of the spectrum when you compare it with the closest competitors. Leesa bed mattress is CertiPUR-US ® licensed. It is made without any material or process that triggers ozone exhaustion, there is no PBDE flame retardant or lead, mercury or any other heavy metal, there is no formaldehyde, phthalates and it complies with the low unpredictable organic substance emissions basic, which is less than 0.5 parts per million for the appropriate quality of indoor air. There is a 10 year restricted service warranty.
Leesa Vs Competition
Leesa Vs Casper can be boiled down to 2 easy distinctions. Casper is significantly more budget friendly than Leesa. Casper has four layers of foam including 2 layers of poly foam, one layer of memory foam and among base foam. While both have the same density, the additional layer of Casper certainly makes a distinction. Leesa Vs Tempurpedic has one resemblance with Leesa Vs Casper, referring to the layers. Tempurpedic mattress has 4 layers, two of memory foam and 2 of polyurethane foam. The mattress is more than eleven inches thick but softer. Leesa is firmer. Nevertheless, the cost of Tempurpedic makes it unaffordable for most people. A Twin XL Leesa mattress is tagged at $625. A Twin XL Tempurpedic bed mattress is tagged at $3,099.
Leesa Vs Purple is maybe the closest contrast you would get. Both have 3 layers. Leesa has two inches of Avena foam, 2 inches of memory foam and 6 inches of assistance foam. Purple has 2 inches of hyper-elastic polymer, 3 and a half inches of polyfoam and four inches of polyfoam. Leesa is 10 inches thick. Purple is nine and a half inches thick. Both have soft cover that is reasonably thin with great stretch and cooling. Leesa has a firmness score of six out of ten. Purple's rating is to 6 to 6 and a half from ten. Both have equivalent assistance and very little movement transfer. Queen Leesa mattress costs $940 and you might get a discount rate or Leesa mattress voucher to conserve $100. Queen Purple mattress costs $999. King Leesa is $1,070 and you can get it at $970. King Purple is $1,299 which will not get discounted to listed below a grand. Both have ten years service warranty with a hundred nights trial. Leesa Mattress Environmentally Friendly
Leesa Mattress Vs Nectar Mattress
A lot of Leesa reviews and comparison with Nectar will inform you that the latter is a far much better alternative. You can check out the drawbacks of Leesa mattress on Amazon or you may carry out additional evaluation of Leesa Vs Tuft and Needle. If you intend to purchase Leesa mattress subject to reviews then you will find Nectar a far superior alternative. Nectar is several hundred cheaper than Leesa, without discount rate. It would be more affordable with discount rate. Nectar has more layers of memory foam, contributing to comfort and stability. Nectar has less bounce than Leesa which suits people who are a little obese or obese and basically everybody who is on the bigger side. Nectar is an inch thicker. It has lifetime guarantee and 365 nights of trial. There is no comparison in these 2 concerns.


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Plinky's Coin of the Month
August 1999
What U.S. volcano do more than 2 million people visit each summer? (Hint: It had an explosion 1,000 times larger than Mt. St. Helens' explosion.)
Stumped? For a huge clue, see this century's last commemorative coin—the Yellowstone National Park Commemorative Silver Dollar.
Yellowstone National Park? That's right—the park sits on top of a volcano that erupted 600,000 years ago. Today, the Yellowstone Hotspot produces the park's 10,000 geysers, hot springs, steam vents, and mud pots. You can find more of these "thermal features" in the park than in the rest of the world combined. In fact, 75 percent of the world's geysers are in Yellowstone!
The front (obverse) of the Yellowstone National Park Commemorative Silver Dollar shows one of these geysers erupting steam. The coin's back (reverse) has an American Buffalo. Both geysers and bison can be seen throughout the park's 2.2 million acres.
What else makes Yellowstone such a hot tourist spot? It's the world's first and oldest national park! Yellowstone was "dedicated and set apart as a public park" by an act of Congress on March 1, 1872. This act, signed by Ulysses S. Grant, was the start of our National Park Service.


text:
Seagate today announced the industry's first 2.5-in enterprise-class drive with 1TB of capacity, or about 60% more could be stored previously.
The drive is designed for "nearline" data center storage applications.
The next generation Constellation allows a standard 2U (3.5-in high) storage array to store up to 24TB, and a full server rack to store up to 500TB.
Meanwhile, Dell announced today that it is the first equipment maker to include the drive in a new array. Dell's MD1220 external storage expansion array houses 24 2.5-inch drives for the maximum 24TB capacity. Up to eight expansion arrays can be clustered together for a maximum of 192TB of capacity, Dell said.
Western Digital was first to the table with a 1TB 2.5-in hard drive with last year's release of the Scorpio Blue , which was targeted at laptops. That 5200rpm SATA drive had 3Gbit/sec throughput and contained three 333GB platters.
Seagate's new drive spins at 7200rpms, contains four 250GB platters, and has 6Gbit/sec throughput. Like the first generation of the Constellation, the second generation comes with serial SCSI (SAS) connectivity. The updated offering also offers serial ATA (SATA).
"We're comparing this model to a 10,000 rpm drive in the enterprise, which today has a maximum capacity of 600GB," said Barbara Craig, Seagate's senior product marketing manager. "Its performance is about three times that of notebook drive and it's twice as reliable."
The SAS model of the Constellation.2 is dual ported for resiliency and sports sequential and random read speeds of up to 115MB/sec; the SATA model has 115MB/sec sequential read speeds but boasts 180MB/sec for random reads. Not only did Seagate double the maximum capacity of the Constellation, but it also increased the entry-level drive capacity from 160GB to 250GB.
The Constellation lags behind Seagate's 1TB, 3.5-in enterprise-class drive in sequential performance, but blows by it in random reads. The random performance is better on 2.5-in drives because of their smaller disks and denser data.
Sequential Performance (MB/S) is better on 3.5-in drives because of the larger disk capacity and the higher areal density of the drive, Seagate said.
Regardless of the performance in comparison to its 3.5-in drive, Seagate pointed out that its new 2.5-in drive offers far greater space and power savings over its larger cousin. For example, the Constellation.2 offers 72% power savings while idle over the 3.5-in drive, or 3.85 watts versus 8 watts while idle, the company added.
Like its predecessor, the Constellation.2 is a self-encrypting drive. The latest model offers an encryption algorithm from AES 128-bit to AES 256-bit.
Sometime next quarter, Seagate is set to announce a Constellation.2 drive that has passed the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) and is sealed with a tamper-resistant label.
The estimated mean time between failures (MTBF) was also increased with this drive from 1.2 million hours with the previous generation to 1.4 million hours, according to Craig. The Constellation.2 has twice the lifespan of Seagate's 2.5-in laptop drive, the Momentus.
"We've experienced excellent field data on the Constellation product line and are passing this improved reliability on to the customer," she said.
Lucas Mearian covers storage, disaster recovery and business continuity, financial services infrastructure and health care IT for Computerworld. Follow Lucas on Twitter at @lucasmearian , or subscribe to Lucas's RSS feed . His e-mail address is email@example.com .
Read more about storage in Computerworld's Storage Topic Center.


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April L Wood is an author – currently writing a young-adult, urban fantasy, horror series titled Season Of The Witch, beginning with Winter's Curse, TBR through Wind Trail Publishing 10/16 – a book blogger for A Well Read Woman Blog, an author interviewer, a professional beta reader, and a caffeinated book reviewer. When she is not glued to her computer or a book, she is busy taming wild spiderwort, (God, those plants are annoying!), obsessing over her gardens to the point of insanity, feeding wildlife, and propagating her ever-growing collection of African violets. She lives in a large, beautiful, historic tudor colonial filled to the brim with her family, two cats, and three dogs.
My mission is to promote authors and spread the word about great books. My reviews are 100% honest, and are based on content, character development, plot, personal taste, as well as other factors. As such, I only review books that I believe I will enjoy, not only as a book reviewer, but as a fan. If I don't think I will enjoy reading your work, I will not accept your book for review. However, my accepting your work does not guarantee a positive review. I will publish my review regardless of the rating. As an author myself, my book review policy may change without notice as to focus on my own writing. Anything I have agreed to review will still be done as I've promised to do. Thank you for understanding.
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text:
Masala Dosa (with Potato Curry)
Someone once thought it was possible to objectively list The World's 50 Most Delicious Foods.*
(Let's ignore the fact that this cannot be done.)
Masala Dosa, unsurprisingly, made the cut. (It came in at number 49 out of 50.)
Crispy lentil crepes filled with savory potato curry and topped with coconut chutney. If I could ever choose a top 50, it would make my list, too.
The South Indian savory potato-y feast rarely makes an appearance on the mostly-North Indian restaurant menus in the states. But a little cup of grated coconut convinced me that I should make my own at home.
The coconut sparked a craving for spicy coconut chutney. And the chutney urged me into making something to serve it on (other than a spoon…). Dosa!
Dosa are crepes made from rice and lentil batter; they can be served in countless ways, including just on their own with ghee, as a crispy, buttery snack. The Masala Dosa version– crepes wrapped up around a dry potato curry– came about in an interesting way. At least according to (urban legend?)/Wikipedia:
"Before it was invented, plain dosa was served with potato curry (liquified potato palya) without onions in a separate cup. During a shortage of potatoes, a method was created in which potato was mashed and sautéed with onions with other spices. This was then placed inside the dosa instead of in a separate cup to hide the onions, which are not eaten by orthodox [Brahmins] and Jains. This came to be known as masala dosa, from the sautéeing of spices (masala) during the preparation of the potato palya."
So wrapping the potato curry inside the dosa was just an ingenious way of hiding the onions! I thought this was HILARIOUS when I read it, and here's why:
As it happens, I got so carried away by this challenging (and rewarding) cooking project, that I completely forgot about my girlfriend's hatred of onions, and excitedly awaited her reaction to the first bite. She loved it. And she got halfway through her first Masala Dosa before she turned to me and said, "this has onions!?!" I apologized. She went right back to eating.
For quite some time I'd been entertaining the thought of making my own dosa using my crepe griddle, though granted, that way I could never make them on as grand a scale as some that I've seen in restaurants– check out this photo of a dosa I ate for breakfast in Singapore to get a sense of their usual gigantic scale:
However, I did learn the secret to crispy dosas after much dosa-frying trial and error…
What started out as a very frustrating experience turned into a lesson in needing to just trust myself (slash trust that everything would turn out just fine). The lentil-rice crepes were much more fragile and tricky to flip than my usual breakfast crepes, but I eventually got the hang of it. My real frustration was that at first, each time I poured my dosa batter onto the hot crepe griddle, it would immediately sizzle into a latticework-like pattern with many sizable little round holes.
I didn't know if the pan was too hot or if something was wrong with my batter– or both– but I thought quickly and "patched" the holes by pouring another mini-ladle of batter over them. This was a bad idea.
The extra-ladled batter made the crepes too thick to get crispy. And the recipe that was supposed to produce 10-12 dosa only yielded 5 or 6! (Which is why I've listed the yield as 6-10 for dosa-frying beginners…)
But now that I've made them twice (!) I know that I should have just let it be, and the holes would have mostly closed up on their own, leaving me with an ultra-thin and ultra-crispy dosa, with latticework crispy edges all around.
Of course the other secret to crispy dosa is GHEE. I'd never used butter or oil on my non-stick crepe griddle before, but new spoonfuls of quickly-melting ghee in between dosas is key for their brown-buttery crispiness. And the EXTRA ghee that you smear around (and on top of, and under) the edges of the crepe is even more important for a perfect golden brown crunch.
I got my dosa crepe recipe from a friend's great aunt's (South Indian vegetarian) cookbook, called Apeetha's Legacy of Love. (And I made up the potato curry recipe based on what I've learned about South Indian curries from that same friend!)
It was such a success, and wonderful to feel that I'd conquered the U.S.'s South Indian food scarcity dilemma by making my own delectable dosa at home. (I've since been obnoxiously proud of myself.)
So now I'm passing this dosa-making superpower on to you, too!
* The very subjective "World's 50 Most Delicious Foods" list can be found here.
Print both recipes (Masala Dosa filling and Crepes).
Print both recipes, plus the recipe for Spicy Coconut Chutney.
Dosa Filling (South Indian Dry Potato Curry)
(Will fill about 4 small Dosa Crepes; Serves 2)
~ 10 small (or 4-5 medium) potatoes
~ ⅓ of a large onion, diced
~ 2 Tbsp. ghee or butter
~ 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
~ 1-2 tsp. urud dal
~ 1 tsp. black mustard seeds
~ 1 green or red chili (green is spicier), kept whole but slit lengthwise
~ 1 inch fresh ginger, finely diced (about 2 tsp.)
~ ¼ tsp. turmeric
~ ½ tsp. coriander
~ ⅛ tsp. salt (or to taste)
~ 1 tsp. cumin seeds
~ fresh cilantro, to mix in at the end as a garnish
CSA Farm Potatoes that I was surprised to learn weren't just white inside…
How to make it:
1. Chop very large potatoes into smaller chunks but keep small potatoes whole. Boil the potatoes in a pot of water for about 20 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Drain and let cool for a bit, then peel and roughly chop them into cubes.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt ghee or butter into the oil over medium-high heat, then add: urud dal, black mustard seeds, and cumin seeds.
3. Once the seeds start to pop, add the diced onions and the slit chili pepper. Mix well and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or longer, until the onion is soft.
4. Remove the chili pepper, and add: turmeric, coriander, salt, and ginger. Mix well and fry for an additional minute or two.
5. Then, add the (already boiled and peeled) potato cubes, and lower the heat. Mix to coat the potatoes well with spices and onions, and fry for an additional 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally so that too much food will not stick to the bottom of the pan. (You can also smash up the potatoes a bit– or to your desired consistency– with the back of your spoon.)
6. Remove potato curry from pan and keep warm until it can be used as filling for crispy just-fried dosas, or enjoy as a curry on its own.
Print this recipe only (South Indian Potato Curry)!
Print both recipes (Masala Dosa filling and Crepes)!
Dosa Crepe Batter
Based on the recipe for "Dosai: Savory Rice and Dhal Crepe" in Apeetha's Legacy of Love.
(Will make 6-10 Dosa Crepes; Serves 2-3)
~ 1 cup rice (I think Basmati would be best, but I used ¾ c Basmati, ¼ c Jasmine)
~ ½ cup urud dal
~ ½ tsp. fenugreek seeds
~ ¾ tsp. salt
~ ghee/butter/oil for frying the crepes
~ 3-4 Tbsp. day-old cooked rice, or poha (rice flakes)
Fenugreek seeds about to be added to Urud Dal; Basmati Rice.
How to make it:
1. Keeping the rice and urud dal separate from one another, rinse each well, then set each in its own small bowl to soak (first adding the fenugreek seeds to the urud dal). Soak for at least 2 hours or overnight. (If using poha, soak it with the dal and fenugreek; if using day-old rice, wait and add to the dal just before grinding in step #2.)
2. After soaking, drain water from the small bowls of rice and urud dal and grind each, one at a time, in a blender, adding in just enough water to be able to grind into a smooth paste.
3. After grinding each one, combine the ground rice and the ground urud dal in a larger bowl, add the salt, and beat until the batter becomes frothy (for about 5 minutes using an electric whisk or hand mixer). Cover and set aside for several hours or overnight to allow to ferment. (Apeetha's cookbook recommends that in a colder, dryer climate, you might need to leave the dosa batter inside the oven, with the oven light on, over night to keep it warm enough to rise.)
4. Once the batter has risen, you can refrigerate it for later (or up to a few days), or cook with it immediately. To make the crepes: Use a smaller bowl to dilute 1-2 cups of dosa batter at a time with water, until you have a batter that will pour easily. (Add up to about ½ cup water for every 1 cup batter.)
5. Heat a crepe griddle or flat frying pan over medium heat, and grease with ghee, butter, or oil. Pour ½ cup of the smooth batter around the pan, and use the back of the ladle to evenly spread out the batter into a thin 7-8 inch crepe (it's best to spread the batter around as you pour, since the second it starts cooking, the fragile partly-cooked crepe will easily stick to a ladle or spatula and tear). Fry for 2-3 minutes, or until the underside has turned a nice golden brown. Carefully flip the dosa over, and cook on the other side for 1-2 minutes. Remove and keep warm. (For crispier crepes, use more ghee– especially around, on, and under the edges; turn up the heat; and cook for longer.)
6. Re-grease the griddle for each new dosa, first adjusting the consistency of the batter by diluting it with more or less water, if necessary.
Print this recipe only (Dosa Crepe Batter)!
You can assemble the dosa either on or off the crepe pan/griddle. (I transferred each one to a plate first, so I could start the next one cooking.)
With the crispier (cooked-first) side down on the plate, optionally smear the center of the crepe with a bit of spicy coconut chutney. Then generously spoon some potato curry across the crepe, and fold or roll up.
Serve right away, while the potato curry is still warm and the edges of the dosa are still crispy, with coconut chutney to spoon over the top.
Print both recipes (Masala Dosa filling and Crepes)!
Print both recipes, plus the recipe for Spicy Coconut Chutney!
Related recipe posts:
> South Indian Spicy Coconut Chutney
> Chicken in Vindaloo Yogurt Sauce
> Kale Curry with Homemade Paneer
Sandhya permalinkAugust 20, 2012 5:29 am
Thanks for this Allison! My mom told my great aunt (who is 90+ and still internet-savvy!) that her cookbook had been cited in a blog post by a friend of mine, and the aunt was very happy.
Just one small correction: it's not Hindus in general who dispreferred eating onions back in the day. It's traditional Brahmins, a caste of Hindus, who did (many orthodox Brahmins still do). There is a very rich culture of onion, garlic, and meat eating Hindus in India going back many centuries, so you might want to correct that. :)
August 23, 2012 5:34 am
This sounds wonderful. I didn't know it was made from lentils!
August 23, 2012 9:53 am
This looks so good and I actually feel like I could make dosa now, before it seemed really intimidating. Thanks for breaking it down, I am defintitly bookmarking this!
Cathy permalinkAugust 26, 2012 9:16 pm
Thanks for the lovely post! I've recently tried to make these myself with terrible results. When I poured the patter into the pan, it stuck to the bottom and was impossible to flip without turning into a white goo-like mess. Do you have any idea as to why this is happening? D: Also, may I ask what did you use to grind the rice and dal after soaking?


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text:
Site-limited smoking ban is unfair
Editor, the Record:
The Monroe County Correctional Facility always seems to be a "test" for things on the county. This current smoking ban is only going to apply to the new correctional officers at the jail and no other county employees, not even other county employees at the facility. Would this not be considered discrimination? Or an even better term would be disparity of treatment.
The employees of the correctional facility are not allowed to take smoking breaks nor even step outside of the facility during their 8.25-hour shift. There are plenty other places in the county at which employees are allowed to leave for breaks and even take smoking breaks.
If the smoking ban is to cut down on health care costs, than let's look at the whole picture. An average smoker of the correctional facility has 8.25 hours less time in the day to smoke then other county employees in different positions. So, in reality, other county employees generally are or could possibly be smoking more throughout the entire 24-hour day, which, in turn, could mean they could have a higher probability of health care costs.
The economy is tough and budgets are tight, understandably, but if this "smoking ban" is truly the county's attempt to cut down on health care costs, the smoking ban should county-wide.


text:
Eddie Long Scandal: Minister Seeks to Recoup Settlement Money
Three of the young men who accused New Missionary Baptist Church minister Eddie Long of sexual coercion may have to pay back nearly $1 million of their settlement money, it has been reported Friday.
Long and his attorneys have notified the young men, Jamal Parris, Spencer LeGrande and Centino Kemp, alleging that they have violated terms of the confidentiality agreement included in the financial settlement, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday.
In letters sent to Parris, LeGrande, and Kemp, Long and his attorneys informed the trio that New Birth pastor intends to seek to recoup money from the settlement, the full amount of which has not been made public.
The legal team representing Long is seeking at least $900,000 already paid to the three accusers, according to people involved in the settlement but not authorized to speak publicly, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. That figure is a portion of the total settlement with the three men.
Calculating that the $900,000 figure is simply a portion paid to Parris, LeGrande and Kemp, the Atlanta publication estimates that the settlement cost Long at least $1.5 million.
Long was accused in a lawsuit filed last September of using church funds on gifts and trips for the men while having sexual relations with them. The men, who all attended New Birth Missionary Baptist church, were in their late teens at the time.
Kemp, 22, revealed Sept. 14 that he had written a book about his affair with the megachurch pastor, titling the work The First Lady.
Kemp described the book as a story of "love, lust, power, extravagant living and travel, betrayal, deceit, rape, down-low homosexual lifestyle, molestation, church corruption, secret societies, suicide attempts and religion."
Parrish and LeGrande, both of whom used to attend New Birth's LongFellows Youth Academy and whom Long had selected to mentor, broke their silence in late August.
The two men revealed that they were also planning to release a tell-all book, which they described as more of therapeutic venture.
"I don't care if this book sells one copy. But if it's just for me, this is what my life looked like, this is my voice for the first time," Parris told WSB-TV.
Long has denied all allegations of sexual abuse and also denied using funds from New Birth Missionary Baptist Church to entice the boys with "cars, clothes, jewelry, and electronics," as the 2010 lawsuit alleged.
The Lithonia, Ga., minister issued a statement in late August saying he wanted to put the sexual allegations behind him and focus on what God wants to do through his church.


text:
[*This is a long post. So please be warned. May I also request people to read the whole post if they at all choose to start reading. Update on December 3, 2007: A minorly edited version of this post has appeared in the December edition of Pragati]
Amar naam, tomar naam—-Vietnam
"My name, your name, Vietnam". Resonating across the streets of Calcutta and the villages of Bengal, this slogan of the late 60s and early 70s was as much a cry of solidarity for the Vietcong fighting the Americans as it was emblematic of the growing popularity of the philosophy of Communism among an entire generation, a political ideology that defined itself primarily by its support for the "little guy", the downtrodden and the oppressed, as they fought the depredations of the West, evil corporations, landlords and the oppressive rule of the Congress. Tapping into this groundswell of Bengali idealistic passion, came to power a man who had positioned himself perfectly to ride the wave, branding himself as the "Sarboharar Neta" (the leader of those who have nothing).
A man by the name of Jyoti Basu, the leader of the CPIM.
Bengal was never the same again.
After nearly thirty years of Communist dominion in West Bengal, in what can only be called poetic irony, a word that rhymes with Vietnam has come to symbolize the political ideology of a new generation, that defines itself primarily by its support for the "little guy" as they fight the same set of enemies as before but with the oppressive rule of the Congress being now replaced by the oppressive rule of the CPIM.
That word is Nandigram —a human tragedy, an indictment of the extra-Constitutional authority of the democracy-crushing CPIM, and a political dagger in the hands of both the religious right and the "actual" Left to draw blood from their common enemy, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya
Will Bengal ever be the same again?
Nandigram—Nothing Neutral About It
Before we try to understand the significance of Nandigram, let us first try to get out of the way a common misconception. Nandigram is hardly about about resistance to the acquisition of land for SEZs—–the original notice by Haldia Development Authority was quickly withdrawn and as this video shows, (a person on being asked why they are continuing the struggle even after plans for the chemical hub have been officially abandoned says " Why won't they take the land. They still might. So we will continue with our agitation.") it's all about the struggle, the original cause be damned.
So then what is Nandigram?
A violent dog-fight for power being waged by the old guard (CPM's Laxman Seth) on one side and the new Trinamool goombahs backed by the Maoists on the other, a conflict that had been simmering for quite a long time and only needed a spark to set alight.
For those of you who would like to believe that the Bhoomi Ucched Protirodh Committee is an organization of unarmed, peaceful Robin Hoodish peasants who have been resisting the "evil government" from encroaching on their land kindly see this multipart video[1, 2 and 3]. You will see people repeating rumors of hundreds of deaths (a number even the Bhoomi Ucched people cannot back up with names and addresses), telling fantastic stories of village ponds red with blood being emptied of all water and "purified" overnight. You will also see images of policemen with their heads bashed in being taken away, unarmed protestors hurling stones at the police from a neat pile of bricks that seem to have spontaneously materialized out of nowhere, Panchayat offices vandalized, a rotting body of a policeman Sadhucharan Chaterjee being recovered from the river and the most harrowing of them all—the wife of CPM leader Shankar Samanta detailing how her husband was dragged out of his house, hacked into pieces and set afire (which might remind some of Ehsaan Jafri).
But while many tears may be shed for Ehsaan Jafri (and rightfully too), there is little sympathy for Shankar Samanta. Why? As this report by a group of Left intellectuals (a few from JNU) say, Shankar Samanta had killed innocent villagers and hence "had it coming."(or more precisely his supposed crimes put the murder in perspective) Of course, some questions may be raised as to why the word of the villagers (people who murdered Shankar Samanta) are considered to be fact while the CPM's description of Shankar Samanta as "very harmless man" is put in inverted commas. I personally am not saying that Shankar Samanta was innocent or was harmless by any definition (not that it justifies his being brutalized by a mob) but this kind of rather uneven treatment of two versions of the story indicate that these self-professed Left winging intellectuals were pre-disposed to be critical of the CPM. [The Leftist fact-finders do not seem too interested in the fate of Sunita Mondol, a class ten girl, mutiliated and raped and hung on a tree at a time when Bhoomi Ucched people had barricaded the village and driven out all CPM men] While this bias against the Left by Leftist intellectuals may on the face of it seem paradoxical, I shall subsequently try to explain why the CPM under Buddha is the "true Left's" biggest nightmare.
And while some of you may have stopped reading by this time and already gone to the comment section, for those who are still with me—-yes the video, originally telecast on a channel that is noted for its CPM sympathies, linked before also is not neutral, presenting just one side of the story with the narrator making no effort to hide which side her sympathies lie. This absence of reliable sources and numbers is indeed a problem for anyone trying to form an opinion on the actual events that happened in Nandigram. What then should people do?
Look at both sides of the story, use common sense and come to a conclusion.
Which for me is that while the CPIMs were no Cinderellas, the Bhoomi Ucched people are not exactly Snow Whites either—as a matter of fact they have quiet a bit of blood on their angelic halos. They had created unrest by spreading rumors of sinister plans to grab land, even after the government had publicly dropped all plans for land acquisition. They had driven out, through violence, villagers who held political beliefs different from theirs. They had looted, killed and raped. They had set up an alternate authority in the barricaded villages where people could not enter until vetted by the local Trinamool toughs.
Against this backdrop, it is incumbent upon any government to take action to restore the rule of law. There were however many options open to the West Bengal government to do that within the framework of legality—including calling in the Army. However the government took none of these options—–simply because they were not interested in merely affirming the rule of law.
Instead, they were more concerned about meting out raw retribution for the atrocities that had been perpetrated on the CPIM cadre and to re-assert the hold of the Marxists on rural Bengal. This is why, a crack army of the worst of CPIM goons from every corner of the state, using human shields drawn from the local population, marched upon Nandigram in a commando-style operation before going on a rampage of pillage, murder and rape while the police, also keen to seek revenge, backed them up.
The icing on the cake was provided by Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya who justified this dastardly extra-constitutional act of wanton violence as the "tit" for the "tat", "our boys" paying "their boys" back in the same coin, completely forgetting his responsibilities as the CM to be protecting everyone in the state.
Shameful. Utterly shameful.
Vir Sanghvi explains this as the traditional Communist mindset that makes no distinction between state and party. I would put it slightly differently— it was more about asserting one of the most basic premises of Left rule in Bengal: what the Party giveth the Party taketh away (many of the Bhoomi Ucched people being ex-CPIM)
The CPIM Recipe for Power
To understand this a bit more, we need to look at why the CPIM has been politically impregnable in rural Bengal for more than thirty years.
CPIM's stranglehold on rural power in Bengal stands upon several pillars. One of them is infiltration—-every government institution is staffed by Reds and anyone who is not Red is made irrelevant powerwise. The second is redistribution—-forcible acquisition of land/wealth from larger landlords and redistribution among cadres: a sure way of creating a large support base. The third is percolation—-letting the fruits of power percolate down the Red power structure (making a large number of people complicit in minor forms of corruption) whereas other parties tend to concentrate the benefits in the hands of the top brass, leaving the rank and file disgruntled. And the fourth is intimidation—in the cities it was through what Jatin Chakraborty, one-time best pal of Jyoti Basu and then sworn-enemy called "scientific rigging" and in the villages it was through acts of barbaric violence against anyone who tried to challenge the party; dead bodies turning up in ponds or in the paddy fields from time to time leaving villagers in no doubt as to who called the shots.
However as the years have gone by, a new generation of farmers have emerged, no longer having the same sense of obligation towards the CPIM that their fathers had. This has led to an erosion in the support base of the CPIM with many of the old strong hands graduating to the Trinamul Congress. With Buddha spelling out grand strategies of industrializing Bengal's rural landscape, a palpable sense of fear of being displaced has taken root among the rural population, a fear that has been adroitly fanned by Trinamul and Naxalite elements to get farmers to take up arms.
A violent break out had become inevitable. And when mayhem, initially targeted at CPIM took place in Nandigram, it became imperative for the Party to assert its power over life and death if only to set an example, if only to show that their iron control over the red dominion is as unforgiving as it always has been, if only to prevent a domino effect all over the state.
What the CPIM did not bargain for was the massive public upheaval in Bengal and the tidal wave of opinion directed at Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, that found expression through SMS-s, online petitions, mass emailing-s, discussions on social networking sites and a silent walk through the heart of Calcutta attended by thousands of people. While the only silver lining from this whole episode may have been this show of conscience from the people of West Bengal, what has been amusing to observe is the outpouring of vitriol against Buddhadeb and the CPIM from the Left-leaning cultural leaders of the state—–one of the Left Front's most trenchant support base.
This has wrongly been interpreted by many as an expression of disillusionment by the Bengali intelligentsia with Communists after the heinous events of Nandigram .
Nothing I feel could be further from the truth.
Buddhi-Jeevis vs Buddha-Jivis
The Bengali intellectuals are livid not at the CPIM party in particular (the CPIM of Jyoti Basu) or the philosophy of Communism in general, despite the fact that it is an idea that has been confined to the dustbins of history elsewhere in the world.
They are just hopping mad at Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and his politics.
Because he is *not* Left enough.
You see these same intellectuals, with a few exceptions like Suman Chatterjee (whose anti-Left stance has been as constant as his tendency to get married to multiple people), had been perfectly silent during the dark days of the 80s and the 90s when Ananda Margis were being shot down by CPIM goons while the law looked the other way, when a factory manager had a tire put on him by the workers and set on fire in broad daylight as the Left workers cheered, when three women were pulled out of a car to be raped and Jyoti Babu brushed it away with a " such things keep happening", when CPIM goondas rode on bikes brandishing pipe-guns preventing entire localities from voting.
As long as the city was brought to standstill by massive rallies against the imperial Americans and their instruments of evil like the General Agreement on Trades and Tariffs (GATT), as long as bandhs protesting the anti-people policies of the Center gave the babus a day off, as long the militant trade unions of CITU sent another multinational packing from the city, as long as the powers-that-be blew out hot red air from body orifices, as long as Jyoti Basu handed out plots in Salt Lake at throw-away prices from the Chief Minister's quota to the city's "cultural elite" (read Leftist intellectuals), everything was just ah-ok
[Jyoti babu once famously asked why people ever complain about CPIM rule after all the plots of land he has given to the press, the artists and even the opposition.]
Usha Uthup, who has of late discovered a hidden stream of anti-CPIM-ness, verbalized the mindset of the left-leaning Bengali intellegentsia once upon a time with her " Jyoti Babu Jyoti Babu don't worry Jyoti Babu" song set to "Mustafa Mustafa don't worry Mustafa" .
Nothing that happened in those happy days of Jyotism was worth protesting about or writing citizen's reports on— not the reign of terror of the CPIM, not the total subversion of contrarian opinion in all the institutions and not the marginalization of those intellectuals whose views did not tally with the Left.
Things however started changing once Jyoti Basu, the darling of the "humanist" intellectuals, stepped down and Buddha took over. Noone knew how different Buddha actually was from Jyoti Czar before he became the CM—–as a minister he was as dogmatic as the rest of the Alimuddin crowd preferring to spend his time translating revolutionary works into Bengali and analyzing obscure movies of peasant uprisings.
But then something changed.
He first put the cat among the pigeons by saying that unregulated madrasas were being used to spread messages of Jihad. Immediately there was an outcry from many Left intellectuals as even hinting that there exists a concerted movement of radical Islam is blasphemy for "radical humanists". Then started Buddha's active courting of foreign investment, even the notorious Selim Group of Indonesia, once the bete noire of the Bengal Communists for having buttressed Communist-hating Soharto. Buddha's aggressive industrialization drive was in sharp contrast to Jyoti Babu's summer-time sojourns in European capitals, the official reason for which was attracting "foreign investments". Because these rather faint endeavors produced nothing but better physical and emotional health for the leader of the destitute, they were acceptable to the real Leftists, albeit after a smirk or two.
However unlike Jyoti-dadu, Buddha was actually getting evil capitalists into the state. He was undermining the authority of the mighty trade unions, trying to get rid of the prevalent bandh culture (or as the intellectuals would say putting curbs on democratic expression of dissent) and dreaming of rapidly industrializing Bengal's countryside, an endeavor that would provide opportunities for so many Bengalis, who had to leave the state due to the closure of industries in the 70s and 80s because of militant trade unionism and lack of electric power, to come back again.
So what's wrong in all this?
Bloody hell it's not Leftist !
For a state whose intellectuals have a tendency to glorify poverty (" We are too cultured to be rich") and consider screwing capitalists and "imperialists" preferable to the flight of capital and loss of jobs, Buddha represents all that is not Bangali Communism.
For the JNU crowd of "historians" it has become increasingly difficult to explain over sips of capitalist beverages at the India habitat center why the CPIM central leadership opposed the same policies at the center that Buddha followed in Bengal,why Karat foams and froths about not undermining China while Buddhadeb argues for greater US-India cooperation.
Surely such a person had to go !
In a video whose link I have lost, I saw a supposed Bangali comic taunting Buddhadeb by reading out passages from his uncle Sukanta, a noted revolutionist Bangla Communist poet, to point out how much he had deviated from the golden path of Communism. During the townhall discussion on NDTV, an audience member called for the need for an alternative "Leftist" movement without Buddha.
Why do I mention this? Simply to re-iterate that the present disturbance has not made a large section of Leftists disillusioned with the philosophy of Communism. On that contrary, it has merely provided them a rallying point to articulate their desire of bringing back the old Jyoti Basu days of "pure Marxism" and comfortable stasis.
Some of you might interpret this last few paragraphs as a defense of Buddhadeb. It is not. Buddha, for all his great administrative skills (and this reminds me of yet another Chief Minister) and his radical reforms,has failed , either willingly or because he is powerless in this respect, to change the fundamentally oppressive nature of Left rule that bases itself, among other things, on fear and subjugation of dissent. In failing, he has himself handed to his critics, on both sides of the political spectrum, a multi-pronged trident to draw blood. And they arent being shy in poking it everywhere.
For those of you who think I am shooting the messengers (the brave Left intellectuals), I say in my defense that I am not equating Buddha's responsibility for atrocities with the political opportunism of the "Bam-ponthi" intellectuals—they of course do not balance each other out. However, it is not unfair to point out the not-so-hidden agenda of some of the prominent Left voices (often masquerading as "independent") who have spearheaded the protest, especially when you consider how they have remained silent spectators when other atrocities perpetrated by the Jyoti Basu-led Left front have happened.
The divided loyalties of the Bengali intellectuals, torn between their Marxist ideals and loyalty to the hand that gives, has been perhaps best captured by Mrinal Sen (a mostly silent voice against Left Front barbarities in the past) walking in two marches on successive days, one taken out by "citizens against Buddhadeb" and one taken out by the CPIM in support of the Chief Minister. A sidelight: Prabhuji Mithun walked in support of Buddha which was slightly ironic considering that in movies like "Tulkalam" and "MLA Fatakeshto" he is shown as fighting for farmers against evil corporations out to acquire their land. Of course Mithunda has his reasons and I will not try to analyze them here as it is futile trying to peek into the mind of God.
Lastly, Nandigram has been a gift from above for an increasingly irrelevant Mamta Banerjee and for the religious right, who after years of being pilloried by the Left for atrocities on innocents in their states, are enjoying kicking the Reds in the nuts ( I have never seen terror like Nandigram says Mr. Advani [yeah right]) and even accusing the Left of communal violence against minorities, forgetting of course to mention that many of the victims and many of the accused are Muslims.
Once the smokescreen has cleared, political punches landed and the sense of outrage has dissipated, what's left in Nandigram is a human tragedy of epic proportions whose the victims have cut across all political lines.
What's even more horrifying however is what lies in the future.
With the continued perpetuation of the traditional Marxist power idiom of violent cadre-ism and the accompanying reactionary "itching-for-violence" Maoist-Trinamool presence in rural Bengal, incidents like Nandigram will remain just one rumor, just one notice, just one bullet away from happening.


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Today's News: Our Take - Barbara Walters Returning to The View in Three Weeks
After suffering a concussion and battling chickenpox, Barbara Walters hopes to return to The View in three weeks.
Photos: Out and proud celebrities
Walters, 83, phoned into the ABC daytime show from her home Wednesday to discuss her return. She said that she isn't in pain, but is feeling weak. She also said she isn't "scratching too much" thanks to lots of calamine lotion. "I'm not itching away," she added.
Walters was hospitalized on Jan. 19 after fainting and cutting her head while visiting the British Ambassador's residence in Washington D.C. days before she was set to help cover President Obama's Inauguration. Walters said she discovered she was already suffering from chickenpox and a fever when she went to the hospital. She suffered a concussion and received six stiches before being released 10 days later.
View original Barbara Walters Returning to The View in Three Weeks at TVGuide.com
Related Articles on TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com


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Guest host Brian Stelter shares his thoughts about disclosure involving CNN's Crossfire.
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Chris Kelly of Kris Kross Dead at 34
Chris Kelly, one-half the hip-hop duo Kris Kross that scored a radio hit with "Jump" in the early Nineties, has died, The Associated Press reports. Kelly, 34, was found unresponsive yesterday afternoon in his home and taken to Atlanta Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The police are investigating the death as a drug overdose, according toThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution. An autopsy will be performed today.
Song Stories: Kris Kross, "Jump"
Known as "Mac Daddy," Kelly and his groupmate, Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith, were discovered by a 19-year-old Jermaine Dupri while performing at an Atlanta shopping mall. The budding hip-hop mogul brought the duo to Ruffhouse Records, which released their debut album, Totally Krossed Out, in 1992, when Kelly and Smith were 13 and 12 years old. As Kris Kross swiftly gained popularity among teens with their radio-friendly rap and trendsetting style (they wore their clothing backwards), the album reached Number One, selling four million copies, and its lead single, "Jump," topped the singles chart for eight weeks. The group was embraced by older music stars, t0o, appearing in music videos by Michael Jackson, Run-D.M.C. and TLC.
Kris Kross released two more albums in the Nineties to lesser success before Kelly and Smith went their separate ways. In February, the duo reunited to perform their at the 20th anniversary concert for Dupri's So So Def label.
Kelly's mother, Donna Kelly Pratte, addressed his death in a statement last night.
"It is with deep sadness that we announce that our beloved Chris Kelly has passed away on May 1st," the statement read. "To millions of fans worldwide, he was the trendsetting, backwards pants-wearing one-half of Kris Kross who loved making music. But to us, he was just Chris – the kind, generous and fun-loving life of the party. Though he was only with us a short time, we feel blessed to have been able to share some incredible moments with him. His legacy will live on through his music, and we will forever love him."
Fellow entertainers expressed their condolences online, with Nicki Minaj tweeting "sending love to his family," and LL Cool J dedicating the song "14 Jump on It" to Kelly and tweeting, "May GOD embrace your soul & lift up your family."
More News
Hear Scott Weiland's Trippy 'Barbarella' Demo Ahead of '12 Bar Blues' Reissue
- Previously Unreleased
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On a hot streak: Fire recruits help Rockford close in on full strength
ROCKFORD — Confronted by the deafening hiss and intense heat of a flaming natural-gas leak, Mike DeLaRosa puts faith in his heavy layers of firefighting gear and ignores every human instinct to retreat.
He crouches low and walks through the wall of heat. He points what appears to be an overmatched dry-chemical fire extinguisher at the towering fire and cuts loose with two or three blasts, first at the base and then at an upper pipe.
Welcome to Firefighting 101, where the emergency is simulated but the flames are real.
"It's good to know your equipment works and you don't really feel the effects of the heat as you would wearing regular clothes," said DeLaRosa, 24.
"For me, it's about building confidence in my gear and equipment. And when I'm out there, I am really excited to learn how to put the fires out."
The U.S. Army National Guard veteran is one of 20 recruits in their sixth week of a 15-week basic training program with the Rockford Fire Department. The simulated gas fires were the first time many of the recruits had faced that kind of intense heat.
Once they are certified, the recruits will be assigned to engine companies as probationary firefighters for a year and bring the department to a crew of 252.
"It will be the first time in 13 years we reach fully authorized strength," Chief Derek Bergsten said. "But that will only last a short time because we always lose about 10 a year to attrition with retirements."
After probation, they will be re-evaluated and hired as permanent firefighters. Starting pay is $42,350 a year.
Until they are ready, the department is paying firefighters overtime to reach the required minimum staffing of 64 on duty every day.
There are a few black and Hispanic recruits, but no women in the class. Correcting a historic imbalance to better reflect the community it serves is a high priority, Bergsten said, but the composition of the latest class is, unfortunately, maintaining status quo.
More than 91 percent of Rockford firefighters are white and less than 4 percent are black, compared with 20.5 percent of the population; and less than 5 percent are Latino, compared with 16 percent of the population.
Bergsten said the department is working to cultivate minority recruits by working with the Rockford School District and establishing an Explorer Post. Both are designed to garner interest in firefighting among Rockford youths.
Recruits this week were learning to use portable fire extinguishers to put out gas, wood and electrical fires at Fire Station 6 on West State Street.
They will take a state firefighter basic test before they complete training. It includes studying fire science, practical lessons in putting out various types of fires, hazardous-materials training, various rescues, and ladder and rope training.
There is so much material that it seems like a crash course at times, even though the recruits are training eight hours a day.
"It's pretty realistic, this training with natural gas," Lt. Brian Drerup said. "We are using the same gas lines that are running through the city, so if someone is digging and broke a gas line ... these are the same type of fires you would have in those situations."
The training is physically demanding and more difficult than expected for an experienced firefighter, said Tom Butler, a 30-year-old recruit who has been a part-time firefighter for years in Cherry Valley.
He helped fight the massive fire sparked in June 2009 by a derailed Canadian National train carrying more than 2 million gallons of ethanol.
Despite his experience, it took Butler 12 years and more than five tries to pass Rockford's exams and join a family tradition as a third-generation firefighter.
"It's been in my blood since I was a little kid, and it's all I ever wanted to do," he said.
Jeff Kolkey: 815-987-1374; firstname.lastname@example.com; @jeffkolkey


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Efforts to reduce water consumption presuppose knowledge of the current consumption. Measuring systems such as magnetic-inductive or ultrasonic flow meters detect the three process categories volumetric flow quantity, consumed quantity and medium temperature. They are frequently used in cooling circuits, e.g. in steelworks, the automotive industry and in glassmaking. In water management and industrial installations, the sensors are used for water consumption measurement.
Peak consumption, present consumption or accumulated consumption can be accessed and adjusted via programmed switch and alarm level settings - all at the touch of a button.
The range also includes types for use in drinking water supply.


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It's mardi gras time here in sin city so I'm leafing through all the associated literature and I find an ad for the Ultimate Health and Hygiene Necessity for Your Lifestyle – the Hyundai Bidet!
"douche yourself in seconds with the Enema Wash feature, Auto Dry ready for action any day any time and end those embarrassing moments during and after sex. the Hyundai Bidet is the ultimate in Health and Hygiene and will improve your Love Life. Be among the thousands of Australians who have experienced the Life Changing Benefits of this fine bidet."
just what are those embarrassing moments during and after sex that the Hyundai Bidet ends? and Auto Dry ready for action? that sounds kinda unjuicy. but mostly I want to know what the Life Changing Benefits would be so I visited their website…….
My husband used to spend a lot of time on the throne, now I can't get him out of the bathroom.
"Name Withheld" sent in this testimonial. I'm more confused than ever. Was the "throne" he used to sit on not already in the bathroom? Is "Name Withheld" grateful for this change in habits or is this actually a complaint?
so I checked out the FAQ:
1/ When cleanliness is an issue, both men and women who want better hygiene before or after sexual activities can utilize our bidet for the cleansing and pulsating massage functions.
Pulsating massage functions….. now you're talking. Let's investigate the Health Issues section:
In more than a few ads for bidets, doctors claim the device may even prevent colon cancer, but we have found no study so far that substantiates that.Despite the lack of hard data, it seems reasonable that just the thought of a device that might prevent surgeons from one day removing a substantial portion of your rectum would create a frenzied run on bidets.
Well if the lure of pulsating massage functions doesn't get you in then the (unsubstantiated) threat of losing a substantial portion of your rectum might.
Putting in the gimcrack's order now…..


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NGI-funded Research Published in Land Economics Journal
May 6, 2013
NGI researchers, Drs. Dan Petrolia and Keith Coble, both of Mississippi State University, have recently completed research about homeowners' participation in the National Flood Insurance Program. "Risk Preferences, Risk Perceptions, and Flood Insurance" is the article that has been published in the journal, Land Economics. Dr. Craig Landry of East Carolina University in Greenville, was also a contributing author.
Even though legislation has required flood insurance be bought for Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA), participation rates remain relatively low, and participation is still not universal even among properties where mandatory purchase provisions apply. In an effort to determine the reasoning for such low participation, this research project has attempted to establish what factors determine the decision to purchase a flood policy.
The Abstract for the journal article is as follows:
We combine household-level data on the choice to purchase flood insurance with experiment-based risk preference data and subjective risk perception data. The sample covers a wide geographic area (the entire U.S. Gulf Coast and Florida's Atlantic Coast) and includes individuals exposed to varying levels of risk. This work represents one of very few analyses to do so. Results indicate that our experiment-based measure of risk aversion over the loss domain positively and significantly correlates with the decision to purchase a flood policy, as do perceived expectations of hurricane damage, eligibility for disaster assistance, and credibility of insurance providers.
To review the entire manuscript, you may visit University of Wisconsin Press publisher of Land Economics.


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Using the boxes on the right hand side of the search results you can refine your search. You can filter the results by Territorial Authority, Authority Number, or NZAA Site Number. For example, selecting one of the options underneath Territorial Authorities will restrict the results to only those reports in that Authority. Selecting two options will show reports for both Authorities. If none are selected, then no filtering based on Authority will be done.
A favourites option is available. In search results or browsing lists, you can click on the icon by each document to add it to your favourites. The icon will highlight () to show that the document is in the list. Clicking again will remove it. A small box on the right hand side of the page will give you a link to view your favourites. From there you can delete favourites, view in different formats, and email the list to someone.


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Filing for divorce online
Some people in our area are taking advantage of an online divorce form, possibly cheating spouses out of assets.
Some people are filing divorce online because it's cheaper, others for more deceptive reasons. A local attorney says the Texas Supreme Court made an online form option available about six months ago for those who can not afford an attorney.
Family Law Attorney at Woodburn & Watkins, LLP, Joshua Woodburn says, "There's a lot of people who are using the system who don't, who aren't poor, who aren't indigent, who don't need to use these services, but are doing so. In some cases to hide assets from the other spouse."
At the same time, low-income individuals filing online may not know what rights they're giving up. Woodburn says the process can be very complicated in Texas as far as figuring out what's community property, right of reimbursement, awarded spousal support, and child support.
He says, "One party may be in control of all the assets, and other party may not have any knowledge of it. So the forms that are being promulgated are really, can be detrimental to the person who doesn't have knowledge of that information." Amarillo Family Support Services Crisis Services Coordinator Angie Stoval says, "When they show up in court, they don't exactly feel prepared. They feel intimidated by that process."
For example, a wife filed claiming she does not have children thinking it's not an issue for them, but she really had three. Woodburn says, "The father may not have had any right to see his children, and the mother may not have had any right to see, to have any child support, or any other help. Just because she didn't understand what the forms were saying."
Woodburn says the forms are best for people who do not have kids or assets, and have been married for a brief period of time. He says, "The biggest problem that may occur is they approve the forms as they're written. And that could mean that you need to appeal that case and that can make things much more expensive than the original divorce would be."
For free legal advice, you can contact Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas at (806) 373-6808.
Jessica Abuchaibe, NewsChannel 10.