text:
By Fred Friedberg and Jenna Adamowicz
The definitions of recovery in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are numerous, as are the amount of intervention and naturalistic studies designed to assess illness recovery.1 In a recent systematic review of 22 studies, recovery percentages ranged from 0% to 66%.1 White et al report a recovery rate of 22% to 23% in their active behavioural intervention conditions. This rate corresponds with findings of a previous intervention study in CFS that used similar recovery criteria. 2
A controlled comparison of three recognised behavioural interventions for CFS incorporating an unusually large sample (thus, greater power) in comparison to previous clinical trials.
The use of multiple case definitions of CFS with varying criteria to assess clinical recovery. Thus, the percentage of patients who no longer met full illness criteria can be determined with reference to several definitions, rather than just one.
Operationalised criteria for recovery that include both symptom and functional changes as informed by population data. Such precise criteria make clear how recovery is defined and facilitate cross-study comparisons.
The absence of data on patients' perceptions of their recovery status and their pre-morbid functioning, both of which could inform the extent of recovery. Population norms may not capture health restoration if an individual's pre-morbid function was superior to his or her post-treatment improvements.
The qualification acknowledged by the authors of this study that 'recovery', their central construct, refers only to recovery from the current episode, rather than sustained recovery over long periods.
We would argue that 'remission' is a more accurate term—which the authors appear to agree with. This term is less prone to misinterpretation and exaggeration.
The lack of available behavioural treatment for most patients with CFS indicates that the recovery emphasis in this paper has little real-life impact on patient quality of life beyond the research setting.
Recovery in CFS should be more broadly defined, with reference to patients' pre-morbid functioning and their perceptions of their recovery status. Also, sustainability of recovery (as opposed to shorter term remission) over longer periods (5+ years) should be investigated.
Common understandings of recovery as a full return to health may not be applicable to outcome studies where criteria indicate remission rather than sustained recovery. Health services research is needed to incorporate behavioural interventions for CFS into clinical care.
These findings are unlikely to change the author's practices as the recovery definitions and rates presented replicate previous reports from behavioural intervention studies in CFS. It is important to recognise that a recovery rate below 25%, even if accepted as a full or nearly full restoration of health (a questionable assumption), still leaves the vast majority of these patients with significant symptoms and impairments. Yet the publicity generated by trumpeting recovery outcomes in CFS far exceeds the relatively modest results found for most patients in behavioural treatment research.3
Competing interests: None.
1. Adamowicz J,Caikauskaite I, Friedberg F. Defining recovery in chronic fatigue syndrome: a critical review.Qual Life ResIn press.
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2. Deale A,Husain K, Chalder T,et al. Long-term outcome of cognitive behavior therapy versus relaxation therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome: a 5-year follow-up study.Am J Psychiatry2001;158:2038–42.
3. Price JR,Mitchell E, Tidy E,et al. Cognitive behaviour therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev2008;(3):CD001027
Commentary on:
ABSTRACT FROM: White PD, Goldsmith K, Johnson AL,et al. Recovery from chronic fatigue syndrome after treatments given in the PACE trial. Psychol Med. 2013;43:2227–35.
Patients: Six hundred and forty-one people (mean age 38 years) meeting Oxford criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
Setting: Six secondary care CFS clinics in England and Scotland; study duration not reported.
Intervention: Four treatment strategies were assessed: specialist medical care (SMC) delivered by specialist CFS doctors (n=160); SMC plus adaptive pacing therapy (APT) delivered by occupational therapists (n=159); SMC plus cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) delivered by clinical psychologists
(n=161); and SMC plus graded exercise therapy (GET) delivered by physiotherapists (n=160).
Comparison: Between-arm comparisons: GET vs SMC, GET vs APT, CBT vs SMC, CBT vs APT and APT vs SMC (CBT vs GET not analysed) Follow-up 95% had primary outcome data at 52 weeks follow-up.
Dropout did not alter significantly by treatment group.
Allocation: Not reported
Blinding: Not reported
OUTCOMES: Recovery at 52 weeks (composite measure of normal range of fatigue, normal range of physical function, not meeting Oxford criteria of CFS, and Clinical Global Impression (CGI) score of 1 or 2):
Recovery at 52 weeks was achieved by 11 (7%) patients in the SMC alone group (95% CI: 4 to 13); 43 (28%) patients in the GET plus SMC group (95% CI: 16 to 30), number needed to treat (NNT): 7; 32 (22%) patients in the CBT plus SMC group (95% CI: 16 to 30; NNT: 7); 12 (8%) patients in the APT plus SMC group (95% CI: 4 to 14).
Patients randomised to GET plus SMC had significantly higher odds of recovery compared to SMC alone (OR: 3.71; 95% CI: 1.78 to 7.74) or APT plus SMC (OR: 3.38, 95% CI: 1.65 to 6.93). Patients randomised to CBT plus SMC had significantly higher odds of recovery compared to SMC alone (OR: 3.69; 95% CI: 1.77 to 7.69) or APT plus SMC (OR: 3.36; 95% CI: 1.64 to 6.88). There were no significant differences between the APT plus SMC group and SMC alone (OR: 1.10; 95% CI: 0.47 to 2.58).
Source: Fred Friedberg, Jenna Adamowicz. Psychological interventions: Reports of recovery in chronic fatigue syndrome may present less than meets the eye. Evid Based Mental Health doi:10.1136/eb-2013-101652


text:
Next Episode of The Dog Whisperer is
not planed. TV Show was canceled.
From London to the Jersey shore, Cesar travels far and wide this season to help problem pups, including those of Kelsey Grammer, Jillian Michaels and Hugh Hefner. Watch as Cesar rehabilitates dogs and trains people to achieve a balanced and natural relationship between humans and their pets.
Looks like something went completely wrong!
But don't worry - it can happen to the best of us,
- and it just happened to you.
Please try again later or contact us.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
After six weeks, Google+'s growth appears to be slowing, new research showed.
Users are spending about 5 minutes 47 seconds on the new social network for the week that ended Saturday, according to Experian Hitwise. Time spend on Google+ peaked in the week of July 16 at 5 minutes 50 seconds. From the Bloomberg article:
U.S. visits to Google+ fell 5.5 percent to 1.16 million during the week ended Aug. 27, after rising 2.6 percent the previous week, according to Experian Hitwise. The company had gained 283 percent the week ended July 16. Still, Google hasn't opened up the service to everyone yet, so it's too early to judge user numbers, said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Gartner Inc.
U.S. & World
So far Google+ has around 25 million accounts, only a fraction of the 700 million already on Facebook, but it has to start somewhere. Growth will eventually slow but will likely grow if Google+, like Facebook, rolls out new features to attract new users.


text:
(Updates with comments and new price forecasts from Refinitiv)
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text:
What Would Bob Do? Cutting Drywall
With the right tools and technique, you can cut drywall cleanly and keep the dust level under control.
I've got to remove some drywall in a room so I can nail studs behind the wall for anchoring purposes. What is the best tool for cutting the drywall?
If for any reason you want to cut drywall that has already been installed—for a nailer (blocking), say, or recessed lighting—the name of the game is minimizing dust. The jab saw is often the tool I recommend, because not only does it generate less dust than a power saw, but it allows you to closely control the cut so as not to disturb electrical work and plumbing behind the wall. As you work, use your free hand to follow the cut line with the nozzle of a shop vac. Further minimize dust by fitting the jab saw with a metal-cutting blade, which has fine teeth that won't remove as much material as a comparatively coarse standard blade. Let the inside face of the stud be a guide for your cut; once the cut has been made, follow up with a utility knife, using the precision tool to smooth out any irregular edges.
Related: 9 New Uses for Old Tools
When you're cutting a drywall panel prior to installation—or when patching a damaged section—your best bet is to use a utility knife in combination with a 48-inch drywall square. With the square, mark your cut lines, then score them with the utility knife, going deep enough to slightly pierce the gypsum core. Next, snap the panel along the scores you've made. What remains now is the drywall face paper on the side that you didn't score, but at this point in the process, you should have no trouble cutting it away, once more using your trusty utility knife. Avoid tearing the paper, particularly if your project is going to involve taping drywall seams. To make any minor, final-stage adjustments to the panel or patch you have cut, use a rasp to grind the drywall down to the dimensions desired.


text:
Profil na Mozillian
Costa Michailidis
O členu
In 2009 Costa escaped from university and has yet to be apprehended.
Constantly expanding his horizons, he has been a coach, a storyteller, an athlete, a web developer, a facilitator, and a full-time volunteer. Costa is incredibly passionate about making a positive impact and is grateful for the opportunity to work with scientists and business leaders on some of today's greatest challenges. He is also a TEDx Organizer, bringing together leading thinkers and helping spread breakthrough ideas.
Costa owes much of his character to an upbringing in the world of competitive gymnastics. On occasion, you might catch a glimpse of him flying through the air or standing on his hands.
Dovednosticouchdb, css3, html5, javascript, node.js
Webové stránky
Externí účty
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/costamichailidis
- Twitter: IdeasAndAction
Yousef Alam
Firefox OS app development, SUMO


text:
The Moselle's meandering journey begins in the southern Vosges mountains in France. The river has many a fascinating tale to tell – as will you after enjoying this cycle route.
The German section of the international Velo Tour Moselle takes you on a journey of richly varied scenery along predominantly level cycle paths. Trier is home to a number of impressive Roman monuments. At Schweich the Moselle starts cutting its way through the Rhenish slate mountains, twisting and turning through the ever-narrowing valley. Cultural highlights along the way include the famous wine ship in Neumagen-Dhron and the Middle Moselle Roman wine presses. Numerous castles, including Burg Arras and Burg Metternich, are tucked away in romantic side valleys. The route ends in Koblenz where the Moselle flows into the Rhine.
Terrain: an international long-distance cycle route running predominantly on asphalt paths, farm tracks and old towpaths over mainly level terrain. Also suitable for trailers from Thionville (France) onwards.
Scenery: the Moselle countryside is characterised by the river's many twists and turns, its steep valleys and its terraced vineyards. The cycle paths run between the banks of the river and the vineyards and pass through winemaking villages.
שני צירופי מקשים שימושיים להגדלת/הקטנת התצוגה בדפדפן:
הגדל תצוגה: +
הקטן תצוגה: +
עזרה נוספת ניתן לקבל מספק הדפדפן, באמצעות לחיצה על הסמל:


text:
Northern California Chapter Meeting on October 22nd
Events, meets and discussions around the SF chapter.
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Northern California Chapter Meeting on October 22nd
The next meeting of the Northern California Chapter will be meeting at Marsha Vargas Handley's home in San Francisco on Sunday October 22nd. The meeti...login to view the rest of this post
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text:
"Powerful, insightful, and practical. Integrity Selling for the 21st Century dispels outdated methods and techniques and replaces them with a dynamic six-step process for success… A must-read for any sales professional."
—Alex Perriello, president and CEO, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corporation
"Integrity Selling® is a wonderful tool that analyzes what makes people buy, and breaks down the process into simple and usable bites."
—Dennis Manning, president and CEO, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America
"Ron Willingham's new book helps salespeople realize that customers are not persuaded so much by what they say but by who they are and how they relate to others. It's a refreshing book that peels back the artificial layers of traditional selling and exposes the true essence of sales success." —Gerhard Gschwandtner, founder and publisher, Selling Power
"The Integrity Selling® program reminds us there is more to sales than being customer-focused. It's going the extra mile to solve needs, not fill wants. It's making the conscious decision to do things right for people because it's the right thing to do. Now, more than ever, those who believe in ethics, trust, honesty, responsibility, and integrity succeed. Those who don't, do not."
—Barry Griswell, chairman, president, and CEO, Principal Financial Group


text: Phoenix Suns Youth '47 MVP adjustable hat. The '47 MVP is your go to, go to the game hat. The '47 MVP's low profile structured crown, and beautifully curved bill help to frame your face and keep you looking good. While the MVP's raised front logo embroidery and velcro back closure with flat team logo embroidery let everyone know you're a real Suns fan!


text:
Earlier this week I received The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, a book with superb reviews. I knew instantly that I needed this book and I wasn't wrong, this book has page after page of the yummiest bakes. I sat down that evening and was just drooling upon reading one delicious recipe after another. This is one of those books that make you want to get in the kitchen and bake! One of the many recipes that caught my eye was Mom's Banana Apple Bread; I know there are many recipes out there for banana bread. But this recipe folks is different to any other banana bread recipe you'll ever experience. You're probably asking yourself what makes this bread so different? This banana bread is extra-special and it's all down to the bits of caramelized apple throughout, giving this banana bread so much extra flavour.The sweet apples just meld wonderfully into the spiced bread. Give it a try and you'll see!
Mom's Banana Apple Bread
Makes one 1½ -quart loaf pan (2lb/900g)
For the apples:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the banana bread:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
¼ cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups very ripe mashed bananas (2 to 3)
Before you start:Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/180oC. Lightly butter and flour a 1 1/2-quart loaf pan.
To make the apples:Preheat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter and brown sugar and heat until bubbling. Add the apples and cinnamon and sauté until golden and tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
To make the banana bread:-In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
In a small bowl, combine the orange juice and vanilla.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three batches, alternating with the orange juice mixture, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each flour addition. Stir in the mashed bananas until combined. Then stir in the reserved apples.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes before unmolding onto the rack to cool further.
*Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. The banana bread keeps well wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze well wrapped in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 weeks. Defrost (still wrapped) at room temperature.
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Mom's Banana Apple Bread
Earlier this week I received The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, a book with superb reviews. I knew instantly that I needed this book and I wasn't wrong, this book has page after page of the yummiest bakes. I sat down that evening and was just drooling upon reading one delicious recipe after another. This is one of those books that make you want to get in the kitchen and bake! One of the many recipes that caught my eye was Mom's Banana Apple Bread; I know there are many recipes out there for banana bread. But this recipe folks is different to any other banana bread recipe you'll ever experience. You're probably asking yourself what makes this bread so different? This banana bread is extra-special and it's all down to the bits of caramelized apple throughout, giving this banana bread so much extra flavour.The sweet apples just meld wonderfully into the spiced bread. Give it a try and you'll see!
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Afternoon Tea Slices and an Award!
I had a friend stay over at the weekend and she gave me this gorgeous bunch of flowers, my kitchen smells so lovely. I just adore having flowers in my kitchen. Thanks Marja!
I came across these wonderful looking Afternoon Tea Slices at Vi's Pantry (a forum I belong to), Gail posted the recipe and pics. I immediately was drawn to them and couldn't wait to try them out. They are a different take on Anzac Biscuits and are absolutely more-ish and one slice just won't be enough! They are the perfect snack! Thanks Gail for sharing this great recipe.
Afternoon Tea Slices
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup desiccated coconut
2 tblsp golden syrup
125g butter
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
1 tblsp hot water
300g dark chocolate, melted ( I used milk chocolate)
Preheat oven to 160c. Combine oats, flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl. Place golden syrup and butter in a saucepan over low heat and cook until melted. Mix the bicarb with the water, add to golden syrup mixture and stir to combine. Add to oat mixture and mix well. Press the mixture into a lightly greased 20cm x 30cm cake tin lined with baking paper. Bake for 20 mins or until golden. Allow to cool in tin. Pour over the melted chocolate and refrigerate until set. Cut into squares.
I am going to pass this award to the following:
Rosie at Rosie Bakes a Peace of Cake.
Brenda at Tea and Wheaten Bread.
George at Culinary Travels of a Kitchen Goddess.
Anna at At Anna's Kitchen Table.
Kelly-Jane at Cooking the Books.
Pixie at You Say Tomato, I Say Tomato.
Friday, 25 April 2008
American Pecan and Chocolate "Coffee Cake"
Thursday, 24 April 2008
Really Rich Chocolate Loaf Cake~Happy Birthday Rosie!
Makes 1 loaf cake
For the cake mixture:
2 x 100g dark chocolate
200g unsalted butter, very soft
200g caster sugar
4 large free range eggs, at room temperature
100ml sour cream
200g self-raising flour
For the topping:
1 x 100g dark chocolate
1 tablespoon golden syrup
25g unsalted butter
200g sifted icing sugar
Heat the oven to 180/350/Gas 4.
Break up the chocolate bars and melt gently. Remove the bowl from the heat and leave to cool until needed. Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of a food mixer and beat until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Stir in the sour cream, on low speed, followed by the flour and finally the melted chocolate, mixing gently until thoroughly combined. Spoon the mixture into a 900g (2lb) loaf tin (greased and base-lined). Bake in the heated oven for about 1 hour until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes then remove the cake from the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, make the topping: break up the chocolate and melt gently. Remove the bowl from the heat and stir in the syrup and butter and then add the sifted icing sugar. Leave to cool and thicken slightly. Spread the topping thickly over the cake and decorate with your choice of sprinkles.
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Peanut Butter Oat Bars
Spring has finally arrived, what a beautiful sunny day! It was a lovely change waking up to a glorious day and walking into my kitchen with the sun shining away in the garden. The kitchen is one of my favourite places in my home, it's where all my creations are born and made. So to celebrate the change in weather I decided to bake Peanut Butter Oat Bars, a favourite in our home. These oat bars are deliciously filling, and perfect to put in your kids or hubby's pack lunch box or for when they come home ravenous. No true peanut butter lover would be able to resist!
Peanut Butter Oat Bars
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick/4 oz./113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
1 egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar for dusting
Position oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with butter, then line it with parchment paper, letting it hang over 2 sides. In a bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda and salt and stir with a whisk until well blended. Set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar and peanut butter on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Turn off the mixer and add the flour-oat mixture. Beat on low speed just until blended. Using the rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the pan and spread it evenly. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake until the top of the cookie is golden and looks firm, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the baking pan from the oven and set it on a wire cooling rack. Let cool completely. Lift the cookie from the pan, dust it with confectioners' sugar and cut it into 1 x 4-inch bars.
Makes 16 bars.
Monday, 21 April 2008
My wonderful friend Rosie from Rosie Bakes a Peace of Cake has awarded me with this award. I am so touched and feel so honoured to have received this. I enjoy and love blogging and it was Rosie who encouraged me to start my own blog, I am so happy I took her advice. She is a true inspiration to me and she never ceases to amaze me with her beautiful creations. I just wish we lived near so I could sample those creations! Thank you so much Rosie for not only being a good friend to me over these years but for believing in me! Love and hugs, xxx.
There are so many blogs out there that are deserving of this award and that inspire me everyday! But I would like to pass this award onto the lovely Vicky from A Healthy Appetite, who only recently started blogging. She has a lovely blog with wonderful photos of her food, if you don't beleive me then take a peek for yourself. So Vicky may I present you with the "You Keep Me Blogging" award!! Hugs.
Sunday, 20 April 2008
Pasta with Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Pasta with Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
For the meatballs
250g pork, minced
250g beef, minced
1 egg
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp Oregano
3 tbsp semolina, or breadcrumbs
1 pinch Pepper
1 tsp Salt
For the tomato sauce
1 onion
2 garlic clove
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Olive oil, (not extra-virgin)
700g tomato passata (sieved tomatoes)
1 pinch Sugar
1 pinch salt and pepper
100ml full cream milk
To make the meatballs, just put everything in a large bowl, and then, using your hands, mix to combine, before shaping into small balls. Place the meatballs on baking sheets or plates that you have lined with clingfilm, and put in the fridge as you finish them.
To make the tomato sauce, put the onion, garlic and oregano into the process and blitz to a pulp. Heat the butter and oil in a deep wide pan, then scrape the onion-garlic mix into it and cook over a low-medium for about 10 minutes. Don't let the mixture catch, just let it become soft. Add the bottle of passata and then fill the empty bottle half full with cold water. Add this to the pan with the pinch of sugar, some salt and pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes. The tomato sauce will appear thin at this stage, but don't worry as it will thicken a little later. Stir in the milk, and then drop the meatballs in one by one. Don't stir the pan until the meatballs have turned from pink to brown as you don't want to break them up. Cook everything for about 20 minutes, with the lid only partially covering it. At the end of cooking time, check the seasoning as you may want more salt and a grind or two more of pepper. Serve with pasta of your choice and a sprinkle of parmesan.
White Chocolate Cookies Studded with Cranberries
Saturday, 19 April 2008
Cranberry Maple Muffins
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Sausage and Tomato Linguine and a 6 Word Tag!
Sausage and Tomato Linguine
Serves 4
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
450g Toulouse or herby sausages
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 bay leaf
Pinch of sugar
350g linguine/spaghetti
50g grated parmesan or mature cheese
Heat the oil in a pan, then fry the onion for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden. Remove the skins from the sausages and discard. Add the sausages to the pan and cook for 10 minutes until they start to brown, breaking them up with a spatula.
Add the tomatoes, bay leaf and a pinch of sugar, and season. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until cooked.
Meanwhile, cook the linguine/spaghetti in salted boiling water according to packet instructions. Drain, then stir into the sausage sauce with half the cheese. Serve hot with the remaining cheese sprinkled over.
6 Word Tag
The lovely Vi from Flowers in the Kitchen has tagged me for a 6 word description of myself.
1. Sensitive
2. Fiery
3. Caring
4. Considerate
5. Mad...but in a good and fun way
6. Strong willed
I am supposed to tag another 6 people but I am going to be a rebel and nominate all my blogger friends and leave it up to you if you want to be tagged.
Rhubarb Spice Cake
Tuesday, 15 April 2008
Banana Crumble Cake
Banana Crumble Cake
55g Fairtrade golden granulated sugar
30g plain flour
½ tsp Fairtrade ground cinnamon
30g salted butter
45g salted butter, softened
75g Fairtrade golden granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ tsp Fairtrade vanilla extract
75ml semi-skimmed milk
110g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
3 medium (or 2 large) Fairtrade bananas, sliced
Preheat the oven to 190oC/375oF/Gas Mark 5. Lightly grease a 20cm (8in) square or round baking tin.
Make the topping first. Mix the sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl, then rub in the butter, until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. (I use a food processor)
For the cake, cream together the butter and sugar in another bowl.
Mix in the egg, vanilla and milk.
Sift together the flour and baking powder. Then add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared tin.
Place the banana slices evenly over the batter, then finish with the crumb topping. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife placed in the centre comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Sunday, 13 April 2008
Chicken Casserole and Malteser Traybake
Chicken Casserole
4tbsp olive oil
4 leeks, cut into 1cm (½in) thick slices
6 rashers streaky bacon, chopped
3 stalks celery, sliced
500g (1lb) baby or Chantenay carrots, scrubbed
8 large chicken thighs
4 chicken breasts, halved
3 fresh bay leaves
4 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
1 litre (32fl oz) chicken stock
Fresh thyme (optional)
1. Heat the oven to 180°C (gas mark 4). Heat the olive oil over a medium heat in a large frying pan or a large flameproof casserole dish or saucepan. Sauté the leeks, bacon, and celery for 5-6 minutes, or until they have softened (without browning too much). Add the carrots, chicken pieces, bay leaves, garlic cloves and stock. If you do have some fresh thyme, add a few sprigs of it to the mixture.
2. Bring to the boil, cover with a tight-fitting lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 1 hour. Remove the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes, or until the chicken is nicely coloured.
3. Set the casserole aside to cool and then divide it into individual portions. Freeze in airtight containers and keep for up to 3 months. Defrost the casserole before reheating in a covered saucepan over a gentle heat.
Malteser Traybake
I present to you this weekend's second installment of traybake but today I have used Maltesers. I have lost count of the times I have made this traybake using Maltesers and it is by far the best no bake treat I've ever made. My son and hubby are addicted to this, infact anyone I know that's tried this has become addicted within seconds of the first bite! I tend to make it every once in a while as a treat (this stuff should come with a health warning, yes its seriously good), I don't want to add to the number of obese cases already hitting the nation, so a little of something naughty every once in a while does us all good. After all what would life be without a little traybake now and then!
Saturday, 12 April 2008
Mint Aero Traybake
Mint Aero Traybake
100g butter
200g milk chocolate
3 tablespoons Golden Syrup
225g finely crushed digestive biscuits
225g Mint Aero Bubbles or Maltesers
Melt together the butter, chocolate and syrup then add the crushed biscuits and the mint aero bubbles or maltesers. Mix together quickly then pour into a lined swiss roll tin, level with a spoon and chill till set. For a special occasion drizzle with some melted white chocolate. Once chilled, cut into squares.


text:
It appears that President Obama has asked House Dem leaders to jettison another provision sought by liberals from the stimulus bill as a way of placating Republicans.
As I noted below, anonymous House Dem staffers told Politico that Nancy Pelosi and the House Dem leadership were dropping from the bill the so-called "cram downs," which give judges the power to renegotiate mortgages on terms that are better suited to homeowners who are in trouble. House liberals wanted this, and it was unclear why the leadership had done this.
I've just confirmed from a senior House Dem aide that the House leadership did this at the behest of Obama aides, who asked the leadership to chuck the provision. This is the second such move: It comes after the news this morning that Obama had personally appealed to Pelosi to drop family planning funds for low-income people from stim package — also to placate Republicans.
"The Obama camp said, `Don't do it in the stimulus, we'll do it in another bill,'" the aide told me, referring to the cram downs. "He thinks it's controversial with Republicans."
"Now Obama can say he's trying to show a good faith effort with Republicans," the aide continued. "He's reaching out a hand to them, they keep slapping at it."
Asked for confirmation, Pelosi spokesperson Brendan Daly would only say: "The Speaker has said that [the cram down measure] is a priority for her and for the caucus. We will work to pass it soon, whether in another vehicle or in a stand alone bill."
One quick question about the politics here: Do Obama aides actually believe such gestures will win over Republicans? Perhaps, but it's also possible that such measures are all about laying the groundwork in advance to blame GOPers and paint them as partisan obstructionists if and when most of them vote against the stim package, which they appear likely to do, no matter how many concessions Obama grants.


text: Sijun Forums :: View topic - Forest Elven Little Red Riding Hood Log in to check your private messages Sijun Forums Forum Index >> Work in Progress View previous topic :: View next topic Author Topic : "Forest Elven Little Red Riding Hood" stylusjunior memberMember #Joined: 09 May 2007Posts: 16Location: Canada Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 9:15 am I'm right smack in the middle of an animation project to close off my undergrad. We're not an animation school, so I was lucky to have come across this opportunity. My group and I are creating a Flash-animated adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood. I draw+paint everything, give it to the others and they animate it. I gave the idea for Red and her grandmother to be forest beings and we settled on elves. I managed also to convince my teammates that we could do the entire movie w/ one backdrop and just moving things around and changing colours to create different settings... from sunlit forest to dense forest (where she meets the Wolf) to the Grandmother Tree. Here's the concept stuff I've done for the characters and the backdrop. Please C&C! Back to top UrbatectmemberMember #Joined: 07 Oct 2003Posts: 70Location: swe Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 4:19 pm Looks cool. Will the flash animated art be more line-art looking? If it will it might be good to do this more in the concept art as well if that is the case? I dont really like the red pattern on her dress btw (shes good other than that though). Back to top SynnicalmemberMember #Joined: 28 May 2005Posts: 177Location: Toronto, Canada Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 2:06 pm you might want to go for something more vector-based style rather than the painted look; anything with a stronger silhouette that is easier to read when animated. As for the design, the wolf has some very odd proportions going on, besides, I think you should aim for something less humanoid in appearance. The red riding hood looks good, though I'd get rid of the pattern on her dress. Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Sijun Forums Forum Index -> Work in Progress All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Digital Art----------------Digital Art DiscussionWork in ProgressGallery/Finished Work Miscellaneous----------------Random MusingsArchive : Sep99 - Dec00 You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Powered by phpBB © 2005 phpBB Group


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Childhood Obesity Grant
MetLife Foundation has supported AAFP through over $1 million in grants funding childhood obesity projects since 2006 through the Americans In Motion – Healthy Interventions (AIM-HI) initiative.
Grant Recipients 2013-2014
The AIM-HI initiative distributed $160,000 in funds to family medicine residency programs (FMRPs). Eight FMRPs were selected to develop family-centered community projects designed to reduce childhood obesity and promote fitness for the entire family. Grant funding period will be September 15, 2013, through July 15, 2014.
The following eight programs will receive AIM-HI grants made possible by the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation and MetLife Foundation:
Drexel University College of Medicine/Hahnemann University Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program; Philadelphia, PA*
Program Director: David A Berkson, MD, FAAFP
Residents at Drexel University College of Medicine and Hahnemann University Hospital are entering the second phase of a project called Move It with Mommy & Me II. The project, based in a community shelter for women and children, aims to decrease the number of children who are obese by providing information on healthy eating and physical activity to residents at the Eliza Shirley shelter(use.salvationarmy.org).
*Original project was funded by AAFP's AIM-HI Childhood Obesity Grant for Family Medicine Residency Programs-I. Learn more about the first phase of the project.
Midland Family Medicine Residency Program; Midland, MI
Program Director: Kelly J Hill, MD
Michigan has one of the highest obesity rates in America. Residents at Midland Family Medicine Residency program, located in a federally recognized medically underserved community, will implement a project called An Integrative Approach to Childhood Obesity: Taking Patient Care Beyond the Office Setting. Their goal is to focus on improving physical activity, healthy eating and emotional well-being using AIM-HI resources in area high school health classes. They will also incorporate twitter by providing weekly health tips.
Oklahoma University Family Medicine; Oklahoma City, OK
Program Director: James Richard Barrett, MD
The residents will be implementing a project called Ruf-Nex for LIFE (Living Inspiring Fitness Every day.) The intervention site, a school, was established in 1893 to educate the children of oil field workers, and the school mascot, the "Ruf-Nex," is based on this early beginning. Residents will work to connect low-income high school students and their families to the Community Nutrition Program and collaborate with the high school to improve the quality of food offered for breakfasts and lunches while staying within the allocated budget. The outreach project will also include educational school-based activities to improve physical activity and healthy eating among schoolchildren.
Palmetto Health Family Medicine Residency Program; Columbia, SC
Program Director: Charles J Carter, MD, FAAFP
South Carolina is among the 10 most obese states in the nation, and the target area of this residency's project is adjacent to a neighborhood with one of the highest health-related amputation rates in the country. Residents at Palmetto Health FMRP will be addressing the childhood obesity problem through a project called 3's a Crowd: Impacting childhood obesity using a magnet high school, a local college, and a family medicine residency program. Residents will lead monthly workshops for students on self-image and disease prevention, as well as physical activity and stress management classes. Additionally, they will develop a square-foot garden with harvested produce used for cooking demonstrations and mindful eating education.
Plaza Medical Center of Fort Worth Program; Fort Worth, TX
Program Director: C. Philip Hudson, MD
Residents at the Plaza Medical Center of Forth Worth will engage high-risk children and families in their project, Bridging the Gap in Obesity Prevention through Community-Oriented Primary Care. In order to address childhood obesity in their clinic, residents will co-lead group visits alongside a clinical health psychologist for selected children and their parents, encouraging positive health behaviors. They will also complete community engagement service projects and add a structured systematic resident education program focusing on fitness. The project will use AIM-HI resources, including the Ready, Set, FIT! curriculum, to improve healthy lifestyle behaviors.
St. Claire Regional's Rural Training Track Residency in Family Medicine; Morehead, KY
Program Director: Michael R King, MD, FAAFP
St. Claire Regional's rural training track will be executing a project called Raising the ARK (Activity in Rural Kentucky) in an effort to improve the physical activity and healthy eating in children. School officials expressed concern about childhood obesity in their district and when residents did an analysis of 51 fourth-grade students at the targeted school, they found 40 percent were overweight or obese. The project will be focused on teaching third and fourth graders, along with parents and faculty, and will use the AIM-HI Children's books and resources to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors.
University of California (Davis) Health System Family Medicine Residency Program; Sacramento, CA
Program Director: Thomas A Balsbaugh, MD
Residents Improving Patients Eating (RIPE) will work to increase residents' understanding of the importance of healthy eating for the health and well-being of their overweight and obese patients. The project will provide family medicine residents with special produce prescription vouchers for patients to use at a UCDHS farmer's market. A registered dietician will provide training to the residents on healthy eating and obesity. Residents will also offer education sessions to participating parents and children on how to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables into their diet.
University of Maryland School of Medicine Family and Community Medicine Residency Program; Baltimore, MD*
Program Director: Yvette L Rooks, MD, FAAFP
Residents at the University of Maryland School of Medicine will continue their B-M-I (Better My Identity) project with a goal of encouraging a wholesome lifestyle, happy outlook, and healthy self-image for underserved school-aged pediatric patients. Each of the program's school-based sessions will include physical activity, nutrition education and emotional well-being.
*Original project was funded by AAFP's AIM-HI Childhood Obesity Grant for Family Medicine Residency Programs-I. Learn more about the first phase of the project.
This project was made possible by MetLife Foundation.
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Collision Claim Associates – The Diminished Value Experts
We're independent, unbiased vehicle appraisers specializing in the areas of vehicle diminished value claims, total loss valuation, post-repair vehicle inspections and general auto damage claim consultation. Our staff of appraisers, inspectors and consultants have many years of car appraisal experience. With over 1200 vehicle inspectors throughout the country we have the ability to provide services nation wide. Click any of the links in the blue bar above to learn more about the auto damage claims process.
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Before you hire any appraiser, you should check their Better Business Bureau report at www.bbb.org


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A sneak peek for Splash Magazines readers!! This Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013 watch the all new Julius Jr. Halloween episode airing on Nick Jr.! Julius Jr. is a new animated preschool series that features playful imagery and inventive spirit. The show follows Julius the Monkey and the Paul Frank family of characters shrunken down into their preschool size, teaching kids that the best inventions are the ones that help your friends!
Amazing adventures are just a door away! Discover Julius Jr. this Sunday, Oct. 27 at 11am/12c on Nick Jr. in the U.S.
Connect with Julius Jr. by visiting the Nick Jr., following them on Twitter and Instagram, or liking them on Facebook.
Published on Oct 25, 2013


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The Big East was a Big Bust on the first day of the NCAA tournament -- and there goes your office bracket.
Third-seeded Georgetown? Gone. Six seeds Notre Dame and Marquette? Maybe next year.
The No. 2 seed Villanova Wildcats were the only Big East team to advance on Thursday and they needed overtime to get past mid-major Robert Morris.
Georgetown and Villanova put on a pair of uninspired showings in Providence, R.I. — the Big East's headquarters.
Even President Barack Obama was letdown by the power conference. Guess that's what he gets for opting for the "safe" picks.
Through the first 12 games of the NCAA tournament Thursday, Obama has correctly predicted all but three results in his bracket. But all three losses were by teams in the Big East: Georgetown, Notre Dame and Marquette.
The deepest — perhaps most talented — conference in basketball was smacked around by teams from the Mid-American Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, and the Pac-10.
"It doesn't surprise me, it doesn't," Ohio coach John Groce said. "There's just a lot of good teams out there, a lot of good players, a lot of good coaches."
Groce led his 14th-seeded Bobcats to the biggest upset of the day when they handled the Hoyas from start-to-finish in a 97-83 win. They led by as many as 19 points against a maddening Georgetown team that had defeated two NCAA tournament No. 1 seeds this year in Syracuse and Duke.
The Hoyas said all the right things after the game about how every team in the tournament is a threat to win. Still, Georgetown had to be stunned it was heading home while a team they likely had no knowledge of on Selection Sunday was still playing. All the national TV appearances and recruiting perks of playing in the Big East were left meaningless.
"They just had all the answers," Georgetown coach John Thompson said.
There was disappointment all around the Big East.
— Quincy Pondexter drove for a tiebreaking bank shot with 1.7 seconds left to lift 11th-seeded Washington past Marquette.
— Old Dominion held on for a 51-50 victory over Notre Dame for its first NCAA tournament win since 1995.
The Wildcats survived a scare against Northeast Conference champion Robert Morris. Karon Abraham scored 23 points for the Colonials which appeared on the brink of becoming only the fifth No. 15 seed to beat a No. 2 and the first since 2001.
"I think sometimes if you get into a game like that and get embarrassed with a team like that or them outplaying you, that's going to lose the game for you," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "If you allow your ego to get involved in a game like that, you're going to get beat."
It's not over yet for the conference that placed two teams (Villanova, Connecticut) in last year's Final Four. No. 1 seed Syracuse, No. 2 seed West Virginia, No. 3 Pittsburgh and No. 9 Louisville can salvage a successful start on Friday.
The Big East is still the only conference to place three teams in the Final Four.


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God's Trade, Economics of judaism, christianism and islam
dimanche 13 janvier 2008
For the first time an economist has read and analysed the Holy textes of the great monotheistic religions, with economic tools. The book demonstrates that a basic economical point of view, reachable by everyone, can bring into light " the fabrication " and evolution of the Jewish, Christian and Moslem monotheistic religions.
It is done in a complete and clear way and adressed to both believers and non-believers.
It is indeed a genuine deal that God made with Abraham, the founding father reclaimed by the three religions. A deal leading to " The Promised Land " which is still today a contentious matter.
Paradoxically the " God's Trade" aims at ending competition on " the religious market ", since monotheism gives monopoly to the belief of a " jealous ", unique and exlusive God. This belief facilitates the reception of tithes, donations and offerings which finance the everyday life of priests and their sometimes sumptuous investments. The temple of Jerusalem is an emblematic example which shows the process of richness accumulation. Although this example is a model for other religions.
Using a material unexplored yet in France, the author is eager to make a detail of both the origin and functionning of the jewish sanctuary and its extension. As the notion of " natural " monopoly must rely on State to be maintained, it is submitted to the market law and must be cautious for instance, not to increase " prices ", or not to lie about the quality of its services.
The history of belief is highlighted in a singular way by the author who chose to analyse religion from an economical point of view.
Le marché de Dieu, Economie du judaïsme, du christianisme et de l'islam.
Denoël, coll. Mediations. 336 p. 22 €


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8th Apr 2013 - Version 1.2 - Fixed bug that caused posts to not display on some installations. - Fixed bug in Options which didnt set the typography correctly. - Fixed bug that stopped logo from linking to homepage. - Fixed bug that caused Javascript errors when some option fields are left empty. - Added option to include image with audio. - Added option to upload custom background image. 28th Feb 2013 - Version 1.1 - Fixed lightbox not loading - Added update notifier - Single page will now display the full menu instead of just an exit button - Comment form is now cleaner and takes up less space
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Woman says iPad she bought at Walmart was fake
Walmart refunds purchase price
A Brockton woman said the iPad she bought at Walmart was fake.
"When I first opened it I thought, 'Wow it's so light, Apple really is an elegant product,'" said Suzanne Nassise.
She said what she bought at the Westgate Mall Walmart looked just like the latest iPad until she tried to turn it on.
"I don't know what it is. I don't know if this is just a sample, but it doesn't work," said Nassise.
See a slideshow of the history of the tablet
Walmart initially would neither exchange it nor offer a refund, telling her that is store policy when a product is unwrapped.
Nassise didn't know until later that the sale of fake iPads is now being reported around the country.
"When I realized it I was upset. I just paid $500 for a paperweight," she said.
The fake iPad had a fake power input and, "If you look you see where the speaker is supposed to be, it's flat, just dots," she said.
After inquiries from WCVB-TV, Walmart agreed to give Nassise a full refund.
"We're still working to understand how this could have happened and are actively reviewing our transactional records and surveillance video to determine how this product ended up on our shelves," said Kayla Whaling, a spokeswoman for Walmart.


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In a presidential race whose outcome is expected to hang on turnout at the polls, an army of interest groups is pumping at least $350 million into get-out-the-vote campaigns that are rewriting the tactics of elections.
The efforts are part of the most expensive voter-drive ground war in history. It includes the major parties and their allies, the independent but partisan groups known as 527's, whose attack advertisements have played a big role in both President Bush's and Senator John Kerry's campaigns.
And for the first time in a national campaign, it includes hundreds of civic organizations and deep-pocketed business interests.
These groups, including the United States Chamber of Commerce and coalitions of charities, are using millions of dollars from donors that the groups are not required to identify. And though the groups are nonpartisan, some emphasize issues identified with one candidate or the other.
The efforts include door-to-door drives, mass e-mailings and telephone campaigns intended for select groups of voters. And the onslaught has been heaviest in the states that are still up for grabs.
In Florida, for example, unions and civil rights groups are coordinating their efforts, dividing up the state by precinct to reach as many voters as they can. But the fervor has even reached Baghdad, where a Republican lobbyist is trying to help an estimated 100,000 employees of American contractors in the Persian Gulf vote in time to be counted.
Unlike the major parties and the 527's, the nonpartisan groups are not bound by federal election law that requires them to say where the money comes from.
"We have no disclosure," said William C. Miller, the national political director of the Chamber of Commerce, which has been trying to reach potential voters with mass e-mailings.
And unlike the major parties and the 527's, the nonpartisan groups cannot promote a candidate or make political statements without endangering their tax status. But they can have much the same effect by emphasizing "hot button" issues that may tend to help a particular candidate, or by simply turning out groups that tend to vote overwhelmingly for one party or the other.
The members of a new coalition of charities called the National Voice, for example, are pumping $80 million into motivating voters who are more likely to help Mr. Kerry. In Highland, N.Y., Sister Adrian Hofstetter, an 85-year-old Dominican nun, is using National Voice's Internet program to call minorities and young residents in central Florida to encourage them to vote. "About half of them were very receptive," she said. "They thanked me for calling."
The Chamber of Commerce's pro-business e-mailings appear to be more helpful to President Bush. One energy company was so excited by the appeal that it gave $250,000 this week, the group said.
In eastern Iowa, Republican manufacturers have joined the Prosperity Project of a pro-business organization to appeal directly to workers through e-mail messages and fliers stuffed in paycheck envelopes. The literature links voting to job security.
Voters have mixed reactions to the barrage. Many said in recent interviews that they enjoyed the opportunity for a bit of doorstep discourse with recruiters. But others said they were concerned about a loss of privacy and tired of being increasingly pushed to vote early by absentee ballot. Political operatives are even gathering completed absentee ballots in many swing states.
"I didn't want to vote absentee; they talked me into it," said Janice Burgess, 72, a retired printer in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, referring to two Democratic canvassers. As it happened, she failed to sign the ballot submission, meaning it cannot be counted. A county worker pointed out the error, so she will go to a polling place on Election Day after all to cast her vote for Mr. Kerry.
Many of these tactics were used in 2000, but the scale and aggressiveness of this year's ground war has far surpassed even the expectations of the presidential campaigns.
The nonpartisan groups and the 527's alone are spending at least $350 million this year to increase the turnout, which could exceed 121 million. That spending is several times what it was four years ago, when 105 million votes were cast, according to those who are raising the money.
Each side is accusing the other of crossing the line into fraud, though election officials believe a handful of recent incidents were isolated. In one, Charles E. Coulson, the prosecutor in Lake County, Ohio, said an inquiry had found 65 voters who said political operatives had tricked them into signing requests for absentee ballots. The campaign workers, they said, misrepresented the forms as requests for sample ballots or permission to plant a yard sign.
Each side is also watching the other for signs of advantage. When unions in Cedar Rapids took advantage of an Iowa law that let them set up voting booths at a Teamster's hall on Oct. 10 to collect early votes, a Republican monitor, Bill Vernon, was there taking notes. He said he was looking for a surge in Democratic registrants that would require an offsetting effort by the Republicans.
The major parties and the political groups deny promoting overzealousness by their recruits but acknowledge that the voter-drives are vital.
"Get-out-the-vote will decide the outcome of the election," said Karen Hicks, the national field director of the Democratic National Committee. "We knocked on over a million targeted doors last Saturday and are making record numbers of phone calls and visits every day."
Republican operatives agree that the presidential race has come down to turnout and say they are matching Democrats step by step. "We have neighbors talking to neighbors, and that's the way to win a close race," said Terry Nelson, national political director of the Bush campaign.
Win or lose the White House, the groups that are helping the campaigns vow to become fixtures on the political scene, and their most potent influence may not even be in national races. They are also getting involved in local campaigns, in which they could have a huge impact for years to come.
In Florida, a national group called the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or Acorn, set out to do just that this November by putting a proposal for a minimum-wage increase on the ballot. It formed an affiliate called Floridians for All and quickly collected the required signatures. The effort went on to register 90,000 new low-income and minority voters.
"I believe in the minimum-wage effort," said one donor, Martin Levin, a trial lawyer who has also given money to Mr. Kerry. But he added: "I felt the need to do whatever I could to get George Bush not re-elected."
Floridians for All is typical of dozens of groups that are playing a powerful role in the presidential race, even though their only connection to Mr. Bush or Mr. Kerry is through the voters they are trying to motivate.
The groups' involvement in the presidential race is receiving mixed results. On one hand they are engaging people in the political process and supporting elections with money that does not carry the whiff of party contributions. But on the other, their funds are more difficult to trace, and many are operating outside the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance act, which sought to control election spending by banning unlimited contributions to the parties. Project Vote, the charitable arm of Acorn, will spend at least $16 million in crucial states this year; it spent $1 million in 2000.
"How much money has been pumped into this, we don't have any idea," said Kent Cooper, co-founder of PoliticalMoneyLine.com, which tracks political spending.
Like most of these groups, the Chamber of Commerce is not required to name its patrons, but Floridians for All is, because Florida law considers the group a political action committee.
An examination of its finances shows that the group has gathered significant support from tax-exempt charities that have not traditionally been big givers to either party. The Solidago Foundation of Northampton, Mass., which supports social environmental causes, gave $40,000, while the Tides Foundation, of San Francisco, another backer of social causes, has donated $165,000.
Floridians for All's other benefactors, state records show, include Richard Foos, the founder of Rhino Records in Los Angeles, and several big unions, including the National Education Association, which gave $250,000. Mr. Levin gave $130,000 of his and his law firm's money.
The Pew Charitable Trusts is also a big player in the voter-turnout effort. It increased its grants six-fold over 2000, mainly through its $9 million support of an effort for young voters, the New Voters Project.
"There was an enormous wealth created in the 90's," said Rebecca Rimel, the president of the Pew trusts. "A lot of these people are saying they want to, quote, make a difference, get a return. And they're worried about the health and happiness of American democracy."
These donors are also attracted by the ground war campaigns being waged by the new nonpartisan groups, by the 527's (the name is taken from a section of the tax code) and by individual activists who are racing to reach voters who might be missed by the political parties.
On a recent Sunday afternoon in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Christopher Curran loaded his Palm Pilot with the latest intelligence on Democratic voters and headed out for some ballot chasing, as it is called.
In swing states like Iowa, few turnout drives are as sophisticated or as ambitious as that of Mr. Curran's employer, America Coming Together, or ACT, a 527 group with a $125 million budget and a force of paid workers that will swell to 45,000 on Election Day. But the tactics ACT uses are potentially as controversial as they are powerful.
Mr. Curran tells prospective voters that he is taking a survey and gently asks how they feel about high-priced prescription drugs, or how Mr. Bush has dealt with economic issues. But Mr. Curran's true mission is to register voters and get them to vote absentee, which he does only if they indicate they might vote for Mr. Kerry.
On porches and sidewalks, Mr. Curran then helps voters fill out forms and later delivers some of the forms to the county election office. An ACT spokeswoman, Sarah Leonard, said the group complied with election laws.
The Republican Party and its allies are wielding another voter turnout tool: corporate communications. "This is a huge number of people," says Gregory S. Casey, chief executive of the Business Industry Political Action Committee, or Bipac, which increased its spending ten-fold this election, to $5 million. The group is helping 700 companies and associations in pivotal states to persuade their employees to vote for candidates who favor business interests.
A recent Bipac message distributed by Al-jon, a solid-waste equipment manufacturer in Ottumwa, Iowa, to its 110 workers referred to job security in every paragraph. "Prosperity -- and job security -- don't just happen," the message said. "They are the result of our free enterprise system and reasonable government policies. So every vote counts."
The turnout campaigns are concerned not just with voters in the United States. Timothy B. Mills, a lobbyist working on Iraq reconstruction issues for the law firm of Patton Boggs and a former vice president of the Republican National Lawyers Association, has organized the effort in Baghdad to help the estimated 100,000 contractor employees in the region cast their votes. One plan is to send the ballots en masse to an office in Washington, where they would be separated and redirected to the appropriate local election site.
Both Republicans and Democrats are also using registration forms and other voting records to identify the voters they want to reach. Election officials say the law compels them to release the documents. But it is not just the names that the political operatives want; the records identify those who vote only sporadically, a priority group in this election.
"Most voters are unaware that their data is a matter of public record and is being transferred and enhanced by political campaign to create elaborate voter profiles," says Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation.
Some officials worry that the aggressive pursuit of voters could backfire. "People are just ticked off," said Denise Lamb, the director of elections in New Mexico. "I'm worried they're going to be so sick of this, they will put a pox on the election and decide to just not show up."


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Oman Air will celebrate Onam in the skies, by introducing Onam Menu on its flights to Cochin and Trivandrum on 25 August 2007, 26 August 2007 and 27 August 2007. The National Carrier of Oman is pleased to announce the introduction of Onam Menus for its Indian Sub-continent passengers. The Menus would be served on the Muscat– Cochin / Trivandrum sectors. Passengers on these flights are in for this great treat.
Corporate communication and Media Department in Oman Air stated that Kerala, nicknamed as "God's own country", has a reputation of being one of the most beautiful states in Southern India. Kerala enjoys unique geographical characteristics, which makes it one of the most important tourist destinations in Asia. Onam, the National Festival of Kerala, is Kerala's most colorful festival & begins on the special day called Thiruvonam and this falls 10 days before the harvest seasons commences in Kerala. They said that the familiar glee and excitement that comes with it has already enveloped Kerala. The weeklong Onam celebrations would be a feast to the minds and eyes of Keralites and tourists alike. Oman Air wishes to identify with the rich culture of Kerala.They said Offering Onam food is like expressing our great respect for this state and its heritage, and is also in tune with the historical ties Oman has had with India."
Commenting on the introduction of the Onam Menus on board Oman Air flights, Ms. Sumaya Al Busaidi Senior Manager Catering stated, "The addition of the Menus to our in-flight menu selection is a commitment towards meeting the expectations and requirements of our Indian sub-continent passengers. Expert Chefs from within our in-flight Catering team in consultation with the management team and the concerned parties have created the Onam menus. We want to make our valued passengers feel home in spite of being in the thick of the skies"
She added, "Oman Air values and appreciates the festivities that are held within India and participles in this Onam festivity by providing a special menu that includes traditional Kerala delicacies to suit the occasion for the south India region. Ms. Sumaya Al Busaidi said that "one of the advantage of having a multi cultural team within the unit is that staff is given the opportunity to utilize skills from the ethnic region and aids towards achieving meal products with quality and authenticity."
"In conformity with IATA regulations, special dietary options are available on Oman Air' flights which include Asian Vegetarian; Diabetic; Low-Cholesterol; Low Salt and Jain meals and many more, please consult your travel/ booking agent should you have any special dietary requirements." She concluded saying.
It is worth mentioning that Oman Air Is gearing up to get underway with its ambitious growth plan to ensure that it can offer people a greater choice of destination, more flights, and the latest in-flight products and services. As part its plan, Oman Air will be extending its route network extensively. The national flag carrier of Oman presently flies to 21destinations.


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New Hampshire Roots Kids Tee
Regular price $25.00
It's never too early to show off your New Hampshire pride! Your kids will love wearing this incredibly soft shirt so much that they might never want to take it off!
These super comfy New Hampshire kids t-shirts are made of a comfortable, lightweight cotton and come in a variety of bright colors.
Whether you are giving this New Hampshire t-shirt as a gift for Christmas, birthdays or just simply to show a little love, we know your little New Hampshirite will love wearing it!
All of our shirts are printed to order. Shirts generally take 3-5 days to print, pack and ship. You'll receive shipping confirmation when it is on its way.
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• 100% ring-spun cotton (heather colors have polyester)
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While we know you'll absolutely love our shirts, we understand sometimes items aren't what you expect. If this happens, don't worry - we've got you covered! We have 30 day return and exchange policy. See details on our policy here


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So, This Is How It Is (Suburban Sprawl). Review by Marcel Feldmar.
Altar of Harmony (Third Man Records). Review by James Mann.
Brown Acid – The Tenth Trip (Riding Easy Records). Review by Carl F. Gauze.
Culture Shock Treatment (Paper + Plastick). Review by Bob Pomeroy.
Double Date With Death are loud and Canadian, and they don't care if you don't understand their French howling. They have a double date to get to.
Population II (Riding Easy Records). Review by Carl F. Gauze.
Newly restored, this British dream horror has never looked better.
The Pandemic Songs (Saustex Records). Review by James Mann.
Toda La Razon. Review by Stacey Zering.
Well into their third decade, G. Love and Special Sauce still sound like they are in no particular hurry to get there.
Illustrators and artists reimagine famous works of literature as one panel cartoons.


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Red Market
London's late-night food market is rocking Shoreditch
Food markets are springing up all over London, but when this night market opened in Shoreditch last summer, it offered something different - a playground for the fun-seeking youngsters who roam east London of an evening. Within the blink of an eye it was gone again and the cool kids had to return to the default drinking dens and late night kebabs.
This year it's back with a slightly different crowd - local families and food lovers by day and revellers by night. Red Market is running on Thursdays and Fridays from noon-11pm, with an extension lasting until Fri 19 October 2012.
Red Market is located between Rivington Street and Old Street - just opposite the Holiday Inn.
288-299 Old St, EC2 (www.redmarketlondon.com). Old St tube/rail or Shoreditch High St Overground. Noon-11pm Thur, Fri. Twitter: @RedMarketLondon


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Cuomo: Newly Banned Gun's OK for TV and Movie Sets
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York will change its newly toughened gun law so military-style rifles and high-capacity semiautomatic handguns can be used on the sets of TV shows and movies.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislators say Wednesday they'll exempt the productions in New York from bans they rushed into law as the first in the nation after the Newtown school massacre.
They must also quickly fix another error that could soon put police officers carrying high-capacity magazines in violation of the law.
The need for a "clean-up" bill means the fight over the law may not be over after all.
An estimated 10,000 opponents of the new restrictions will descend on Albany Thursday as legislators consider additional amendments.


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Hustler Turf Equipment's Super Z Diesel mower offers a 34-hp Caterpillar diesel engine and a top speed of 15 mph. The mower has a cutting height range of 1 inch to 7 inches. The hydraulic-drive deck is designed for better cut and distribution. With a fuel capacity of 18 gallons, the mower also features auto-reversing fans that automatically clear the radiator and oil-cooler core.
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To increase the productivity of its WideSpin 1530 topdresser line, Turfco now offers a Cross-Conveyor attachment that allows the machine to also be used for material handling duties. The attachment mounts to either the tow-behind or truck-mount, and it offers the convenience of 180 degrees of rotation behind the machine. When combined with Turfco's three-position remote control switch, the Cross-Conveyor gives grounds crews flexibility in material placement. When not in use, the attachment can be stowed for transport of the unit.
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Trimless Solutions has developed a labor-saving product that eliminates the need to apply TGRs or total-kill herbicides around posts. The PostMate restricts grass from growing up around any type of post. The durable, maintenance-free product maintains a clean, sharp edge around the post and won't curl or separate. PostMate is easy to install with its patented seamless interlocking system and will eliminate the need for weekly trimming. The 4×4 PostMate is designed to prevent trimmer damage when installed.
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Profile Products' Terra-Tubes Fiber Filtration Tubes for storm water treatment are designed to trap, filter and treat sediment-laden runoff while reducing hydraulic energy. Terra-Tubes are engineered composites of wood fibers, man-made fibers and polymers that are encased in heavy-duty knitted tubes. The filtration medium is available as a polymer delivery system or as stand-alone fiber tubes to accommodate specific applications. Terra-Tubes can accommodate specific applications that include slope interruption devices, channel flow checks, drain inlet protection and perimeter sediment control.
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Onset Computer Corporation's HOBO Water Level Logger is a high-accuracy, pressure-based water level recording device that combines research-grade accuracy and durability. The HOBO water level logger operates as a standalone unit, which simplifies deployment and eliminates many of the maintenance issues associated with vent tube-based loggers. A second HOBO water level logger can be used for barometric compensation when required.
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AFL grand final parade 2018: The photos
Perth great-grandmother Sylvia Prince rarely leaves her home - the "football mad" octogenarian is usually glued to her TV screen watching footy.
But on Friday, the 85-year-old West Coast tragic was one of thousands of football fanatics who joined the AFL grand final parade through Melbourne's city streets.
"I hope it's a good game, that's all I hope. Both sides will be nervous and they'll be trying and excited. That's all you can ask," Mrs Prince, who's nabbed tickets to Saturday's decider between West Coast and Collingwood, told AAP.
"The ones that come out to play on the day will win."
Mrs Prince says she's been a footy fan since she was five years old.
"I never leave the house, I'm football mad. I go into withdrawal when we've finished for the season."
However, once a year, she and daughter Cheryl Dragowski visit Melbourne to see a week of live matches.
The pair never dreamt their team would be a contender for the 2018 premiership.
Melbourne mum and Collingwood supporter Elizabeth Bargas said she got her children John and Hope into football from their infancy.
The trio don't have tickets to the grand final but will barrack for their team from home.
Australian Associated Press


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RECIPE OF THE WEEK – Grilled Steak with Green Beans, Tomatoes and Chimichurri Sauce
RECIPE OF THE WEEK – Grilled Steak with Green Beans, Tomatoes and Chimichurri Sauce
Total Time: 30 min
Prep: 10 min
Inactive: 5 min
Cook: 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Level: Easy
3/4 pound green beans, trimmed
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for grill grates
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 strip steaks (about 1-inch thick), about 1 1/2 pounds total, trimmed of excess fat and halved
Chimichurri sauce, recipe follows
Chimichurri Sauce:
1/2 small garlic clove
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup fresh herbs, such as parsley, mint and cilantro
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon water
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place a double layered piece of heavy-duty foil on a tray or cutting board; fold and gather edge to form a rim. Toss the green beans and tomatoes on foil with 1 tablespoon olive oil; season with salt and pepper.
Preheat a grill to medium. Lightly oil the grill grates and season the steak with salt and pepper. Slide the foil tray onto the grill; cook, tossing occasionally, until the beans char slightly and cook through, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the steaks to the grill; cook until desired doneness, about 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Remove steaks to cutting board to rest 5 minutes. Slice, and serve steak and the vegetables with the Chimichurri Sauce.
Copyright 2010 Television Food Network, G.P. All rights reserved
Nutritional analysis per serving of steak and tomatoes
Calories 451; Total Fat 29g (Sat Fat 11g, Mono Fat 13.4g, Poly Fat 1.54) ; Protein 37g; Carb 9g; Fiber 4g; Cholesterol 94mg; Sodium 217mg
Chimichurri Sauce:
Combine the garlic, vinegar, herbs, olive oil and water in small food processor; pulse until herbs are coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper.
Calories 33; Total Fat 3.5g (Sat Fat .5g, Mono Fat 2.7g, Poly Fat 0.3g) ; Protein 0g; Carb 0g; Fiber 0g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 120.5mg
Stretch your strip steaks, a juicy and delicious cut of beef, by sharing them and serving them alongside a hearty serving of grilled green beans.
From Food Network Kitchens
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/grilled-steak-with-green-beans-tomatoes-and-chimichurri-sauce-recipe.html?oc=linkback


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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Title IX recently grew a few more teeth. The Supreme Court strengthened enforcement of Title IX by ruling that teachers and coaches may sue schools for giving girls second-rate treatment without fear of punishment.
The judges' 5-4 ruling revived the lawsuit brought by Roderick Jackson, a teacher and girls' basketball coach at Ensley High School in Birmingham, AL, who was fired four years ago from his coaching position after objecting to unequal treatment for his athletes including practicing in an old, non-regulation gym and having no access to funds earned at the team's games to pay for officials, equipment and other supplies.
When Jackson first sued to challenge his firing, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed his complaint citing that Title IX protected discrimination victims, but not others who, at most, witnessed discrimination. After the high court ruling, the case will now return to federal district court in Birmingham.
"This decision is a slam-dunk victory for everyone who cares about equal opportunity," Marcia D. Greenberger, National Women's Law Center (NWLC) co-president, said in a release. "The court has confirmed that people cannot be punished for standing up for their rights. This protection is not just critical for Title IX but also for other bedrock civil rights laws."
The NWLC, along with former Acting Solicitor General Walter Dellinger, represented Jackson before the Supreme Court. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said teachers and coaches are often in the best position to vindicate the rights of their students because they are better able to identify discrimination and bring it to the attention of administrators.
"The court's ruling is a win-win for schools and students," Jackson said. "Knowing that we are protected against retaliation, people like my students and me will be more likely to come forward if we see discrimination. That will give schools notice of problems and a chance for students and administrators to work together to fix them. That's what I really wanted when I started this process."
The case has opened the door to more litigation for schools, said Anne L. Bryant, National School Boards Association's (NSBA) executive director.
"NSBA fully supports the principle of Title IX to create gender equity in schools," Bryant said. "But the Supreme Court has created a new pathway to the courthouse, despite the fact that Congress had already provided for Title IX enforcement without lawsuits. Correcting problems and resolving disputes without lawsuits better serves individuals complaining of sex discrimination under Title IX and at a lower cost to taxpayers."
The Supreme Court's decision was close. The dissenters — William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy and Clarence Thomas — said the court should not go further to allow more lawsuits under Title IX.
"Jackson does not claim that his own sex played any role, let alone a decisive or predominant one, in the decision to relieve him of his position," Thomas wrote.


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Since we love you all so much, we're giving you a gift -- a couple of our very best soup recipes, previously only available in HG cookbooks! They'll keep you snuggly and warm 'til the New Year...
1/4th of recipe (about 1 1/4 cups): 125 calories, 1.25g total fat (0g sat fat), 582mg sodium, 26.5g carbs, 5.5g fiber, 8g sugars, 4g protein Freestyle™ SmartPoints® value 1* SmartPoints® value 2* Creamy, sweet yet savory, and sooo delicious. If you like carrots, you'll FLIP over this colorful concoction!
Ingredients: 4 cups chopped carrots 1 large onion, chopped 1 medium potato (about 7 oz.), peeled and cubed 2 cups fat-free chicken broth 1/4 tsp. salt, or more to taste 1/4 tsp. black pepper, or more to taste 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 cup Unsweetened Original Almond Breeze Directions: Bring a large nonstick pot to medium-high heat on the stove. Add carrots, onion, and potato. Cook and stir until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth and seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until veggies are soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Carefully transfer contents of the pot to a blender. Add Almond Breeze and puree until smooth. If needed, return soup to the pot and bring to desired temperature on the stove. Season with additional salt and pepper, if you like, and enjoy! MAKES 4 SERVINGS This recipe can also be found in the "Soups" chapter of Hungry Girl 300 Under 300!
1/5th of recipe (about 1 cup): 68 calories, <0.5g total fat (0g sat fat), 998mg sodium, 9g carbs, 1.5g fiber, 6g sugars, 8g protein Freestyle™ SmartPoints® value 1* SmartPoints® value 2* This recipe is for HG Lisa's favorite soup from her favorite sushi restaurant, graciously given to her by her favorite sushi chef, Kazu. P.S. It tastes even better the next day!
Ingredients: 1/2 cup liquid Asian noodle soup base (like the kind by Kikkoman; found at Asian markets and select grocery stores) 2 cups peeled eggplant cut into 1-inch cubes (Japanese eggplant, if available) 1 Anaheim pepper or banana pepper, seeded and chopped 1 cup chopped shiitake mushrooms 5 oz. cooked ready-to-eat medium-small shrimp Directions: In a medium nonstick pot on the stove, combine soup base with 3 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Add veggies and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, or until veggies have softened. Add shrimp and cook until hot, about 2 minutes. Enjoy! MAKES 5 SERVINGS This recipe can also be found in the "Souper Douper" chapter of Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World!
Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Absolutely not! Click "Send to a Friend" and let those old acquaintances know you love 'em.
Since it's almost the end of National Eggnog Month, it's DEFINITELY time to make our tasty lightened-up nogs... in three different flavors! The nog days aren't over yet...
SmartPoints® value not what you expected? Click here for more info on how the values are calculated, plus more FAQs about PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® values on our website.


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So, after zoho writer erased my work and I transitioned from denial to hysteria, I called my then-girlfriend, who told me about this short story she'd written that got erased and how when she re-wrote it, it was the best story she'd ever written. I believe my reaction to that was a high-pitched wail or something like "No, I'm not re-writing it, it'll never be good again." Mostly because I'd done a lot of research for some inane reason. Sometimes I get on these research kicks. It's weird/awesome/wastes my life away.
The funny thing is, actually, she ended up being right, but in a roundabout kind of way: the story I ended up re-writing was kinda [cue violin swell, then transition into Tegan & Sara "Dark Come Soon"] the story of MY LIFE. I solicited my readers to tell me their worst computer-crash stories to make me feel better, even/especially if they never ever usually commented, and I'd make it into a Top Ten, and then all these readers came out of the woodwork and most of them stuck around, which's awesome/AWESOME. AND one of them was my now writing partner, Carly, with whom I just finished (a possibly final) draft of the pilot. It is really good now. I mean, we thought it was good before, but we were wrong, NOW it is good.
Anyhow: I told myself, one day, when I don't know what to write about, I'll attempt to re-create that post. But I still don't really want to do that.
Howevs, I decided to unearth it and see what I could gleam. I have a printout of an early draft of the blog from about 12 hours before it was destructed forever, which I'd brought to the ex-GF during visiting hours for her copy-edits. I'm looking at that now. It's peppered by her handwriting, red ink: circles around misspellings, carrots removing unnecessary hyphens, corrections of it's/its, #s, the scribbled words "suspension of disbelief," "disconnect," "allusions," "Thomas Pynchon (bag over head)." What did we talk about that day? (I remember, of course: it was one of the best conversations we've ever had. Sometimes, I am still sad. Sometimes it is not as easy as I say it is to be happy.)
Anyhow Part Two: This all relates. Carly and I are writing a TV show. I was watching a montage of L Word clips on a friend's myspace the other day and thinking how these characters are a part of my life and how magic it'd be if one day our characters were a part of your lives. Then I thought about how I have learned things from television, every now and then, and I'm not just talking about Sesame Street, Square One or Loveline.
I think the best television writers are also artists/educators, not just comedians/entertainers. Usually they're smarter than their shows imply [unless it is Alan Ball, Aaron Sorkin or Jim Henson, they have smart shows]. That's why TV writers're always dropping allusions to high art, to remind us of their literacy. Nietzsche must've done a triple-somersault in his grave, Mary Lou Retton style, when Jenny Schecter announced on The L Word that her story, "Thus Spoke Sara Schuster" had been published in The Best American Short Stories [Totally impossible, unless the guest editor was Ryan Seacrest or a chimpanzee.] Later, this became just one element of the glory which is Jenny's on-screen literary career, which is one of many reasons why I heart The L Word and it's strange little world of magic and make-believe.
There was a great "This American Life" called "What I Learned from TV." In it, Ira Glass referenced an episode of The O.C. [which was basically, in terms of learning things from TV, American Bandstand for Young Male Musicians with Faux Bed Head and Feelings] which referenced This American Life! I think it was when Seth had that girl over, the snotty one, and Summer was like "Who's there, I hear a voice," and Seth says it's "This American Life" and Summer says: "Is that that show by those hipster know-it-alls who talk about how fascinating ordinary people are?"
How super-duper-meta, right? Anyhow Ira loves that show. I love Ira. See how I did that? See how I brought that back around? To LOVE?
These are some of the things I've garnered from the Evil Box. This might be a regular feature, which I will return to frequently, like I do with the "Carousel of Progress" (which I will return to, seriously). Because I've learned a lot of things, obvs. Usually I learn better without commercials, or watching shows on DVDs. I find promos to be a bit frightening sometimes. Like when they're like "Kathy Griffin hits HARD TIMES!" and she's crying like her Dad is dying? And then all these graphics are like bang bang bang "Seee what happens when life isn't SO FUNNY ANYMORE!" boom-boom-bup-bop-ding! Kathy Griffin! Like, whoa. Not cool! [I love her show though, sidenote. Carly you should edit their promos so that kinda stuff doesn't happen.]
"You need to watch The L Word," Becky told me. Becky wore $80 sweatpants and had a waterfall in the backyard of her Westchester home; she was a brilliant photographer and an A-E-Phi and my best friend at University of Michigan and she was really into television and was one of the only girls I knew that'd never kissed another girl. She was the one who told me to watch Six Feet Under, so when she recommended The L Word--which I'd heard of, vaguely, but hadn't really considered watching, because I generally avoided anything that might make me want to be a lesbian, I knew it was: 1) probs a good recommendation, 2) appealing to heterosexuals as well as homosexuals.
So fast forward to December of 2004, New York City: I'd just joined Netflix. I ordered the Season One DVDs. I watched. I had a boyfriend. I kept rewinding to the scene where they try to figure out if Lara is gay, and the one where Shane's wearing the hoodie and talking to Tammie Lynn and says "You have a lot of feelings." I kept rewinding. I called Krista: "You have to come home right now. There is this girl on this television show, and I think I'm in love with her. It feels very real. She is unlike anyone I've seen before, male or female, she is perfect human, we are in love, we have a lot of feelings, you must come home and watch." And I showed her and she sat down on the ground in a heap of scarf and skirt and said "Oh, Ris, you're right." (She spelled it "Ris," and was the first person to call me that. It's pronounced "Riese" though.) "Ris, she's beautiful. Okay, rewind that scene again." (Krista is straight.)
And for a week we put red envelopes in the mail, received new ones, watched the whole season in four days, thanks to a speedy Netflix turnaround. When Shane told Cherie: You know...my entire life, people have said that...I would become a psychopath if I don't learn how to feel. But I wanna know, Cherie, what the fuck is so great about feeling? Because I finally let myself. And I feel like my heart's been completely ripped out. I remember feeling specific and sad and I realized a good first step towards learning how to feel would probably be to admit I like girls, or something. I don't mean as a lesbian, though that's a part of it: that I liked spending time with other girls, something I'd forgotten in my string of boyfriends and co-workers and my boyfriends' friends, always against girls in some way rather than with them/for them. Anyway. Yeah, it was just part of a lot of thoughts I was having then.
I just looked through my old livejournal to find this conversation I had with Jeremiah [I'd give him a code name to protect him, but, as a member of the NYPD who had no interest in helping me when I was being threatened, I'm not really into protecting him right now, I mean, hello, totes paradox!] when I made my screensaver entirely pictures of Shane. [Sidenote: There's so many LJ entries right when we broke up when I talk about how I think relationships are "bunk" and how I have no feelings and how I was sorry that I'd broken his heart: "He wants to have babies. I want to be a baby. Well, a 23 year old baby," and that "no man is an island. except me," and "I'm bloody Ibiza!" I've totally matured like, not at all since then.] Anyhow:
Him (points to screensaver): Who's that?
Me: Shane.
Him: Shane?
Me: Shane, from The L Word. she's hot.
Him: The L Word is about lesbians, right?
Me: Yeah. She's hot.
Him: You're attracted to her?
Me: Absolutely.
Him: I don't find her attractive at all.
Me: You really should see her in the show. You need to see her talk.
Him: You mean "hear" her talk. You can't see someone talk.
Me: You need to see her while she is talking. it's like--the way she moves, and acts, it's like--everything. It's like pure sex.
Him: Would you have sex with her?
Me: Oh yeah.
Him: So are you like, totally bisexual?
Me: Haven't we discussed this already?
Him: Yeah, well, i know you've been with girls, but i thought you said you liked men better.
Me: I do like men better. [UPDATE, 7/19/06: I was lying.]
Him: Do you think you could go the rest of your life without having sex with another woman?
Me: What exactly do you mean by 'having sex'?
Him: Never mind. I got my answer. Let's talk about something else.
The West Wing:
When I've been writing for too long and my brain hurts, I turn out all the lights and lie on my bed and listen to Ave Maria over and over. Time slows down and G-d feels tangible and my body cools. Then I can sit back down, turn on Firefox, go to my google home page, see the CNN headlines, and remember that George W. Bush is president, not Josiah Bartlett. Then I go stick my head in the oven.
Also: On steamy afternoons when New York's beat me senseless and I feel I've spent my entire life transversing subway tunnels, one station to another, walking to transfer, transfer, beaten by crowds/smoke and instead of touching people I love [Once I believed if I held on to her tightly enough for long enough, we'd become the same person], I am feeling strangers and their big purses and beer breath and tampons/cosmetics/mass-market paperbacks and so I listen to "Ave Maria" on repeat on my ipod, and then everything slows down and I can step away a little.
The first time that song struck me as something I needed in my earbuds a lot was when I heard it on The West Wing. I actually learned a lot about world politics from that show. Seriously.
"I was watching a television program before, with a kind of roving moderator who spoke to a seated panel of young women who were having some sort of problem with their boyfriends -- apparently, because the boyfriends had all slept with the girlfriends' mothers. And they brought the boyfriends out, and they fought, right there on television. Toby, tell me: these people don't vote, do they?"
-Josiah Bartlett, The West Wing
The 'Issac and Ishmael' episode after 9-11? Amazing. So many things amazing on that show. I can't even begin.
Krista introduced me to West Wing. I didn't expect to love it. But I loved it! I came home once and Krista was crying on her bed, on the tiny screen Bartlett was accepting his second term of election and Krista said: "Why can't we have a president like that?" and I thought, "What?!" You're crying over an inauguration on television? But then when I watched it, and I got to that scene, I felt the same way. Dark and wondering why.
Jed Bartlet is both passionately religious and spiritual as well as politically liberal and entirely logical. He's memorized the Bible, so he can go head-to-head with Conservative Bible-Beaters and win every time. Also, he's not real. But who is? Jenny Schecter? Zarathustra? Me? Auto-Win? Auto-Straddle?
I can't answer those questions.
Okay, just two for now 'cause it's 3:48 AM and I am tired and need some sleep, for real. Also, I should say some other things. These are those things:
1. We had a Blogger Meet-Up thing outside.
We took a train to Brooklyn to go to Cattyshack for this Weenie Roast thing. I knew Caroline was gonna be there [who we met on the cruise], because she works there, and also I'd invited Carly (before I met her) and Jamie (who's not actually gay) via Curly, the organizer, when she asked me if I knew anyone who'd wanna be invited. We also brought Carly's friend Roy and my friend Haviland.
So yeah, we took a train and then it was so hot and humid and it was taking forevers.
Me: "Dude, this is taking so long, I'm like, not even gay anymore."
Roy: "I left my gay back at Jay Street."
But then eventually we got there, still gay. It was so hot though! Like, the weather! When I'm hot, it's hard to think of other things. But I did, a little bit. I also ran into a girl I knew from Sarah Lawrence. It was so weird.
Check out Haviland's poses. Also, I look just like A MUPPET.
UPDATE: Unfortunately, Carly doesn't like the photo of her that was taken at the Weenie Roast, and offered to send me a replacement photograph. I thought "I don't remember Carly having a camera," but who knows, I was tired and leaking intelligence from my pores, maybe she did have a camera and I just didn't notice.
This is what she sent me:
Unfortunately, The First Rule of Auto-Win Club dictates that if you don't like your photo, I get to choose whatever photo I want from your myspace and use that instead. Unless you are ethically opposed to photos in general, which Carlytron is DEF. NOT., she loves photos.
That's her on the right with the shark head.
I don't know what I'm going for here. But it's probably pretty hot.
2. I am sleepy. I have more things to write, but I don't think I can write them. In fact, I can't promise this post included correct spellages of any words of the English persuasion. I'm just saying, that's all.
3. Also related to teevees, the Emmys were announced tonight. I don't watch the teevee really so I hadn't seen very many of the shows, but seriously, Carly was IMing me about it and she is and I also am weirded out by this Two and a Half Men thing. It's like the new Everybody Loves Raymond. Sometimes I feel like I live on an island. No man is an island, except me. I am Ibiza! I am Bloody Ibiza! Also just to be sure I was paying attention, she stuck "Curl Girls" and "The L Word" into her list of nominations for best television drama. I was like "WAIT! Curl Girls is a reality show, right?"


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Big Booty Hunter James Deen is on for another adventure. He's heard about the existence of Big Booty Girl Daphne Rosen running free in the wild, and he knew he had to hunt for that booty. He invites the viewers on his adventure to capture, tame and penetrate the big booty. Collapse
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Tags: Karachi Murad Ali shah Posted in Media, Photoblog, Politics | 21 Comments »
Umaira Sadaqat Hey
Ramazan (Ramadan) Schedule for Karachi – 2014
balma Why are the days and dates mentioned in Urdu? Since everyone speaks broken English in Karachi, let's...
Karachi travel guide
ejaz wonderful guide
ahmed Yes quite detailed. I'm resident of karachi and i was don't know of the some sights mentioned in...
ali very informative..