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* Updated : Following a statement released by Taylor Swift's UK agent, I have responded here*
Dear Taylor Swift,
I have read your open letter to Apple where you give your reasons for refusing to allow your album '1989′ to be included on their forthcoming Apple Music streaming service.
(For reference: http://taylorswift.tumblr.com/post/122071902085/to-apple-love-taylor)
I applaud it. It's great to have someone with a huge following standing up for the rights of creative people and making a stand against the corporate behemoths who have so much power they can make or break someone's career.
For instance, you say:
I'm sure you are aware that Apple Music will be offering a free 3 month trial to anyone who signs up for the service. I'm not sure you know that Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months. I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company
It is shocking, like you say, that any company should expect to exploit artists. It's not on at all.
This is not about me. Thankfully I am on my fifth album and can support myself, my band, crew, and entire management team by playing live shows
Ah.. but this is the thing Taylor, you say it's not about you – but clearly it is. Why else would you make such a public statement about how you're standing up for the rights of new artists and bands? Are you really supportive of other artists?
These are not the complaints of a spoiled, petulant child. These are the echoed sentiments of every artist, writer and producer in my social circles who are afraid to speak up publicly because we admire and respect Apple so much. We simply do not respect this particular call.
And this is the echoed sentiment of every professional photographer. Some are afraid to speak up for fear of being blacklisted by management and PR companies who seek to control the public perception of their talent.. For every artist that is in a secure enough financial and influential position to stand up against the likes of Apple without having to worry that Apple will publicly block your ability to earn a living from their iTunes market place, there are hundreds of professional concert photographers who don't enjoy that security.. they don't have the voice you do, and they don't have the public favour that you have when it comes to demanding fair rights for their work, and they have a much higher risk of being prevented from working in future, not just at your shows, but any show which is connected by the same promoter, venue, PR, or management company.
Which brings me to the point of this open response to you. I admire your message, I really do. I just think it loses the gravitas it rightly deserves, because of this:
Now.. forgive me if I'm wrong, but if you take points 2 and 3 in that contract (which is provided to Photographers who need to agree to those terms before they are allowed to do their job in photographing you for editorial outlets), it appears to be a complete rights grab, and demands that you are granted free and unlimited use of our work, worldwide, in perpetuity. You say in your letter to Apple that "Three months is a long time to go unpaid". But you seem happy to restrict us to being paid once, and never being able to earn from our work ever again, while granting you the rights to exploit our work for your benefit for all eternity….
How are you any different to Apple? If you don't like being exploited, that's great.. make a huge statement about it, and you'll have my support. But how about making sure you're not guilty of the very same tactic before you have a pop at someone else?
Photographers need to earn a living as well. Like Apple, you can afford to pay for photographs so please stop forcing us to hand them over to you while you prevent us from publishing them more than once, ever.
But I say to Apple with all due respect, it's not too late to change this policy and change the minds of those in the music industry who will be deeply and gravely affected by this. We don't ask you for free iPhones. Please don't ask us to provide you with our music for no compensation
With all due respect to you too Taylor, you can do the right thing and change your photo policy. Photographers don't ask for your music for free. Please don't ask us to provide you with your marketing material for free.
Time to stop being 'Mean'.
Jason Sheldon


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After all of the horrible, dense, theoretical verbiage I've had to toss at the screen today, I got in the mood for a little storytelling, inspired by an exchange on twitter. Every archaeologist has their own bug stories, so I'll share a few of mine. I've worked in a few places in the world, and each has their own array of flora and fauna. I run a strict no-kill policy in my trenches. Spiders, snakes, lizards, worms, we get it all, and I do my best to carefully move them to another place. I've also had goats, puppies, cows, raccoons, cats, and mice in my trenches, but we'll stay away from the mammals for now. (Also a rather creepy set of barefoot human footprints on a restricted site that did not appear at all outside the trench…yeah.)
I did my first field work in Texas, where there are an uncommon quantity and quality of bugs. There are the generalized menace bugs, such as horseflies, ticks, centipedes, chiggers, and fire ants and these are pretty much a fact of life. Add that to poison oak, poison ivy, heat stroke, and the fact that every single goddamn plant south of Austin is sharp, it can make survey pretty miserable. There's a plant called crucifixion thorn that doesn't even have leaves, only thorns…and the horse cripplers and the bull nettles. But again, I'm not here to talk about plants.
I was working with John Lowe (was it the Siren site?) when I got a mean set of chiggers. Chiggers aren't well known to the rest of the world, but they're mean little mites that like to burrow through your socks and give you a terribly itchy bite. They burrow into your skin, eat a little bit of you, and then fall back out again. They tend to leave horrible mountains of pus on me…not so pleasant. The next day my co-worker Tina and I stumbled into a seed tick nest, which makes you look like a poppy seed bagel, all covered in tiny little black spots that are biting you. When I got back to my hotel room I picked them off, squishing them between my thumbnails until they popped. I stopped counting at 70. Finally, I got bitten by a spider while riding in the site vehicle back to the office, which left an egg-sized welt on my inner wrist.
A few days later, big lumps started forming all along my shins and upper arms. I ignored it until my joints started seizing up and I couldn't walk anymore. I went to the doctor and it was one of those things where they started calling in more and more people to check me out. Turns out I got Erythema nodosum, an autoimmune response, in my case, to "excessive envenomation."
One more story, and I'll call it a night. I have to get back to the ol' dissertation. There's a lot of spiders around, including the pregnant camel spider I have pictured above (it's actually a bit small for a camel spider), the bright green spiders that come out alongside your trench when it's over 100F, and the baby tarantulas that are in tunnels they burrow in the ground and flop out wetly into your trench when you accidentally expose them. I was at another site in South Texas, lovely site, basically a riverbed with lovely cherty gravels and some questionable paleoindian artifacts mixed in. I'm afraid that my employer didn't get their full day of work from me, as I spent at least a solid hour watching a tarantula fight a tarantula hawk. Tarantula hawks are large wasps that like to find tarantulas and paralyze them, drag them back into their nest, and lay their eggs in their still-living bodies. Pretty cool stuff.
This dance lasted a long time, the tarantula waving its front legs around, trying to run away, the gorgeous black and russet wasp diving in again and again. Finally, the wasp got behind it and I could see the tarantula twitching as it was stung with the long stinger. The wasp dragged the tarantula for what seemed like ages. I'd go and sort rocks and then come back and the thing was still dragging the big hairy spider around. Finally it disappeared somewhere, I'm assuming the burrow, and all was peaceful again.
A lot of people will kill bugs first thing when they see them, and I slap mosquitos and fire ants like anyone else. But checking out a preying mantis, or those ridiculous big black beetles as big as your thumb that would turn over on their backs and just helplessly twitch at Catalhoyuk, finding a ridiculous looking caterpillar, being tasted by butterflies…it's just another reason I love archaeology. Bitey, evil bugs and all.

subset: commoncrawl


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Ask Lisa: What can I substitute for Pream?
Q: I have an old recipe that my family and I enjoyed very much called "Chicken SuPream." It was made with Pream coffee creamer, which is no longer available. Do you have any suggestions for what to use in place of the Pream?
-- Arline Rodstrom, Monroe, New York
A: For those who don't remember it, Pream was one of the earliest powdered coffee creamers, debuting in 1952. Unlike today's non-dairy creamers, it was actually made from real powdered cream with some sugar added.
Being made from real cream was actually one of the product's problems: Milk solids don't dissolve well in hot liquids. That issue eventually led to the development of non-dairy creamers, which are so plentiful today.
Pream often included recipes in its advertising campaigns, and after some searching, I was able to find a copy of the "Chicken SuPream" recipe.
Switching the recipe is not as simple as substituting another powdered creamer because today's versions probably contain more sugar than you would prefer in a savory chicken dish.
My suggestion is to use real cream to create the sauce.
Here is my re-creation of the recipe. I changed its title to reflect its new ingredients and also converted it for boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which are more popular now. Enjoy.
Makes about 4 servings
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons butter, divided use
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 ounces canned mushroom pieces, drained, or 4 ounces sliced, fresh mushrooms
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Place chicken in a shallow baking pan. Brush with 1 tablespoon of melted butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake for about 20 minutes.
While chicken is baking, drain mushrooms.
In a small saucepan, melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in flour until well combined and slightly brown. Then add the half-and-half, whisking constantly until it thickens. Stir in the paprika and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the mushrooms.
Spoon sauce over chicken and continue to bake, 10 to 15 minutes longer, or until chicken is cooked to at least 165 degrees and is tender.
PER SERVING: 315 calories, 30 g protein, 8 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 3 g sugars, 18 g fat (10 saturated), 130 mg cholesterol, 372 mg sodium.
-- Ask a food or cooking question by writing Ask Lisa at The Dispatch, 62 E. Broad St., P.O. Box 1289, Columbus, OH 43216; calling 614-461-5529; or sending email to firstname.lastname@example.com, with "Ask Lisa" in the subject line. Include your name, address and phone number. (Initials are printed on request.)


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Home | Battles | Cemeteries | Descendants | Find A Soldier | Towns | Units | Site Map
Draper, Oscar
Age: 29, credited to Poultney, VT
Unit(s): 5th VT INF
Service: enl 8/23/61, m/i 9/16/61, Pvt, Co. I, 5th VT INF, dis/dsb 4/28/62
See Legend for expansion of abbreviationsVITALS
Birth: 1832, Hartford, NY
Death: unknown
Burial: Poultney Cemetery, Poultney, VT
Marker/Plot: Not recorded
Gravestone researcher/photographer: Jennifer Snoots
Findagrave Memorial #: 0
(There may be a Findagrave Memorial, but we have not recorded it)
Alias?: None noted
Pension?: Not found
Portrait?: Unknown
College?: Not Found
Veterans Home?: Not Found
(If there are state digraphs above, this soldier spent some time in a state or national soldiers' home in that state after the war)
Remarks: None
(Are you a descendant, but not listed? Register today)
Copyright notice
Poultney Cemetery, Poultney, VT
Check the cemetery for location/directions and other veterans who may be buried there.


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Decorating with Quilts
Are you looking for new ways to display your quilts? Here are suggestions for incorporating quilts into almost every room in your house!
Stylish Staircase
Drape a quilt on the bottom of a staircase railing to fill hard-to-decorate spots. The quilt will add warmth to the wood or metal stair accents and keep the eye from looking through to other rooms.
Cupboard Covers
Smaller quilts can be draped over the door of a cupboard. Close the door slightly to keep the quilt secure. This is perfect for cupboards with windows, since it hides unsightly kitchen supplies or clutter.
Side Table Fashion
Lay a skinny table runner on a side table so it hangs down. It allows a peek at the quilt without overwhelming the decor of the room. Plus, if it hangs low enough, it can hide clutter on the bottom shelves of the table.
Replace a Headboard
Use a multicolor quilt as a headboard. You can easily change your bedding to a matching color for a quick update! Attach a hanging sleeve to the upper edge of the quilt, so the quilt can hang straight with little distortion.
Pretty Tablecloth
A larger quilt can be used as a decorative tablecloth to add color and texture to the kitchen or dining room. Use a favorite design on a table you don't often use. Or switch out the quilt with the seasons for decor that family and guests can enjoy all year long!
Quilted Wall Art
Treat your quilt as a giant work of art. Hang it in a bedroom to create an accent wall. A simple design can pull colors from the room for a modern piece of artwork. Or a scrappy wall hanging can add wamth and interest to balance neutral furnishings.
Seasonal Door Hanger
Substitute a wreath with a mini quilt for a beautiful door hanger! Hang it from a wreath hook with ribbon and store-bought accents, such as greenery or raffia.
Laundry Room Refresh
A clothes drying rack can be a permanent display for airy quilts. Keep the rack set up in the laundry room or spare bedroom to add easy decor. If you need the rack, simply fold the quilt and set aside until clothes are dry.
Beautiful Bed Runner
Elevate store-bought bedding with a quilted bed runner. You can easily switch it out to change the feel of the room. Lay it on the foot of the bed for a traditional look, off the bottom edge for a modern display, or down the middle to give little glimpses of the bedding below.
Mini Tabletop Decor
A small quilt stand is perfect for tabletop decor. Use it to display mini quilts, single quilt blocks, or even beautiful embroidery projects. Its compact size fits easily on a table like a picture frame would.
Frame a Mantel
Frame a fireplace or mantel with a wall quilt. Choose mantel decor that matches the quilt for an enhanced display. This display is perfect for seasonal designs or to create a focal point around a beloved pattern.
Pop Art
Off-center a quilt behind a couch or chair in the living room. Because the furniture will hide some of the quilt, it provides a quick pop of color without taking over the whole room.
Dresser Decor
Neatly fold a quilt and set it on top of the dresser. Then partially undo the fold and drape it down the front. Not only is a neat design element to a room, but it can easily be grabbed when an extra blanket is needed.
Fake Upholstery
A large throw can be draped over a couch and tucked into the cushions. The quilt will be showcased, but won't add extra bulk to the back of the couch when not in use.
Added Dimension
Secure curtain-rod brackets above your bed at headboard height and add a curtain rod. Fold your favorite quilt to fit and drape it over the rod for a one-of-a-kind, custom headboard. When you're ready for a change, swap the quilt with another one.
Picture This
Many quilters have an assortment of individual blocks that never made it to a completed quilt. Instead of hiding them in a box, use those blocks to make a decorating statement in your home. Simply mount the pieced blocks onto contrasting mat boards, then add nonglare glass with matching frames and you've got a great wall grouping that reveals your love of quilting in a clean, classic way.
On the Fence
Ladders are a great way to display your quilts, but here's a new idea. Stand a section of an antique picket fence on its end and drape the pickets with quilts. There are more pickets on a fence than rungs on a ladder, and since fencing is usually wider than a ladder, you can see more of your folded quilts.
Best Seats in the House
Instead of turning salvageable quilt pieces into pillows and purses, transform fabulous old quilts and unfinished quilt tops you find at auctions and garage sales into quilted chair cushions. Since they aren't perfect from the beginning, you won't have to worry about something being spilled on them.
Change of Art
Designed for urban dwellers who don't want to hang traditional curtain rods on the wall, this telescoping rod uses tension to balance between floor and ceiling. Besides spicing up a so-so corner in your home, consider other ways to use this unconventional quilt holder, such as three rods placed side by side to create an artful room divider.
Changing Times
The opportunity to turn another person's trash into your own treasure is one of the great aspects of yard sale and flea market shopping. When you're out and about, be sure to look beyond an item's intended purpose to see if there is a way it might be used to show off your quilts. This baby changing table turned display shelf got a new life with a coat of red paint. The shelves are spaced perfectly to showcase folded quilts when not in use, and the top shelf could be turned into a vignette with family photographs, dishes, or other home décor items.
Head Strong
Use a striking quilt, such as one with vertical rows shown here, to direct your eye from the ceiling down to your bed. Be sure to hang the quilt so that there's no break between the bottom edge of the quilt and the bedding. For a serene, luxe look, paint the walls a color that blends effortlessly with the quilt's border.
All Buttoned Up
For small wall hangings, run a thin dowel through a rod pocket on the quilt back's upper edge. Knot a length of narrow ribbon to each end of the dowel to make a ribbon hanger. Then hang the quilt from the ribbon on a thin nail, perching a button on the nail to cover the nail head. If the shank on the back of the button isn't large enough to keep it in place, a bit of wall tack or removable wax will ensure the button stays in place.
Pieced to Perfection
For designer Sandy Gervais' custom-upholstered sofa, she quilted panels large enough for the upholsterer to cut pattern pieces from -- in this case, rectangles bigger than the cushions' tops and bottoms, long strips for the gussets, and squares for the pillows. In this photo, Sandy's original artwork and antique bench turned coffee table complete the room's cozy look.
Speaking Volumes
Stacking quilts one on top of another is an idea that's been around for quite some time. But rolling them up and standing them on end like books on a bookshelf? Now that's a great idea. Here, designer Alex Anderson combined white pitchers and platters and unadorned, artificial trees to add interest to the display without taking attention away from the quilts.
A Step Above
Show off several quilts at once by displaying them on an antique ladder hung horizontally, rather than vertically. This arrangement allows for more of each quilt to show, as well as making a powerful decorating statement in your room. Decorative wood shelf brackets and long wood screws can be used to hold the ladder in place. To prevent the ladder from discoloring your quilt, seal the wood with polyurethane or place a white cotton pillowcase between the quilt and the ladder.
Bits and Pieces
Cut a piece of wood or other sturdy material slightly larger than your container's opening. Use this piece as a pattern to cut quilt and batting pieces that are 1 to 2" larger around all sides. Place the batting on the wood piece, then use a running stitch to gather the fabric tightly over the batting and wood piece to complete the project. It's a perfect way to rescue parts of a quilt, or to share pieces of a well-loved quilt with several family members.
Cottage-Look Cover-Up
Use a quilt to cover the cushions of a wood-frame sofa. Tuck in the ends for a fitted look or leave them hanging loose for a casual appearance. Add a mélange of favorite antique-linen-covered cushions and pillows you've pieced from leftover blocks, and you'll have a comfy spot to curl up on. If the sofa is used frequently, be sure to turn the quilt often to reduce wear and tear.
Feed your Creativity
This feed bunk, found at an antiques shop, is large enough to hold several bed-sized quilts. Lined with batting to protect the quilts and topped with glass cut to size, it makes a perfect coffee table. The quilts can also be rotated to change with seasonal décor.
No Sleeve? No Problem!
Using trendy curtain clips, suspend your quilt from a curtain rod. It's the perfect way to hang a quilt that doesn't have a sleeve on it, or to make quick seasonal changes in a snap. (Be sure to use enough clips to support the weight of your quilt, preventing undue stress on the fabric.) You can also try this idea in your sewing room. Consider removing closet doors and adding a curtain rod above the open door frame. Your favorite quilt can hang from the rod, keeping your stash out of sight and giving you another spot to display your artisanship.


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Level 3's inflammatory Monday afternoon press release, in which it basically accused Comcast of trying to whack Netflix streaming traffic and flout net neutrality principles, certainly started a fire. Within hours of issuing the press release, the head of the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau was on the phone with Comcast, giving the company the business end of her Question Stick. What exactly was going on here, she wanted to know.
So Comcast told her, and in a follow-up letter (PDF), made its answers public for the world to read. That's because, in Comcast's view, the entire dispute is "nothing but good old-fashioned commercial peering dispute" and Level 3 is being "entirely disingenuous."
The entire blowup was extraordinary, because Level 3 has been in commercial arrangements with Comcast for years. It apparently decided to risk whatever goodwill it had built up on its attempt to drive a hard bargain that would put Level 3 in a better position than content delivery network competitors like Akamai and Limelight.
A rash bid
Why take the risk? In Comcast's view, Level 3 may be in over its head with its new agreement to deliver all of the Netflix streaming video traffic. The argument is that Level 3 won the Netflix contract away from other CDN providers by providing a surprisingly low bid, one that it now has to back up with a good deal from the major US Internet providers.
"Level 3 has low-balled its way into a new business deal that will significantly increase the amount of Level 3's traffic Comcast would carry," says the cable giant, "and suddenly wants to seriously disrupt settled economics of Internet traffic to meet its new business plan. Its position is not based on any principles of fair play on the Internet, but instead is merely the result of its rash bid to carry Netflix traffic at radically low rates, based on the flawed assumption that it could use its Tier 1 Internet backbone status to cram its CDN traffic onto others' networks on a settlement-free basis."
Indeed, because Level 3 is such a major Internet backbone provider and has historically run only a smallish CDN operation, Comcast has actually been the one paying Level 3 for certain interconnections in the past.
But the Netflix deal alone is so massive that Level 3 has suddenly become a major CDN player. Comcast says that it was approached by Level 3 two weeks ago, just after Level 3 signed the Netflix deal, and was asked for 27 to 30 new interconnection ports using the two companies' existing interconnection agreement (that is, Level 3 would pay nothing more for adding up to 30 direct 10GigE connections to Comcast's network).
Comcast "was able to scramble and provide Level 3 with six ports (at no charge) that were, by chance, available and not budgeted and forecasted for Comcast's wholesale commercial customers." After providing these six additional ports, Comcast concluded that the existing settlement-free peering agreement with Level 3 was still (barely) valid, but if Level 3 really wanted another 21 to 24 ports, this was simply too much traffic. Level 3 would have to pay for those ports like any commercial paid peering customer.
Comcast also notes that nothing about any of these new ports was contingent on the type of traffic coming across it. That is, the company was concerned only about traffic volumes, not content.
Comcast's peering and transit policies are available on the company's website, and those policies make clear that settlement-free peering is only available to a company that can "maintain a traffic scale between its network and Comcast that enables a general balance of inbound versus outbound traffic."
Level 3 did not respond to our inquiries.


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In October of 1963 a simple film, a drama, was released in theaters that earned its lead actor the Best Actor Oscar at the Academy Awards. That film was Lilies of the Field, and that actor was Sidney Poitier. Directed and produced by Ralph Nelson, the movie was based upon a novel that had been published in 1962, with the same title, written by William Edmund Barrett. Poitier's co-stars in the film were Lilia Skala,Stanley Adams, Dan Frazer, Lisa Mann, Isa Crino, Francesca Jarvis, and Pamela Branch. The title of both film and book were borrowed from the Bible, found in the book of Matthew, Chapter 6, verses 27-33. It is in this section of Matthew that Christ gave his famous Sermon on the Mount. There is also a parallel scripture passage found in the book of Luke, Chapter 12, verses 27-30. The film is an interesting character study, showing two strong -minded people who meet by chance and work together for the good of all. It is a picture about faith, kindness, charity, respect, and love. Not romantic love, but the love one should have for one's fellow man.
Poitier plays Homer Smith, a handyman. He is bright, has had dreams of being an architect, but has never had the finances to pursue that goal. He was raised in the Baptist church. As he is driving across Arizona (where the movie was filmed) his car breaks down. Needing water for the radiator, he walks to a nearby farm to ask for some water for his car when he notices a group of middle-aged women trying to repair a fence and doing a bad job of it. The women introduce themselves to Smith, they are a group of nuns from Austria, Hungary, and East Germany. Their English speaking skills, he discovers, are very limited. The Mother Superior of this group of nuns, Mother Maria(Lilia Skala) speaks much better English, and she asks Smith to do a small roofing repair for them. Smith agrees to stay overnight and fix the roof in the morning because he figures he'll be paid for the small job and money is a good thing to have when driving across a state. The next day, Smith fixes the roof, and then approaches Mother Maria about his fee. He tries to get her to pay him by quoting from the book of Luke 10:7:" The laborer is worthy of his hire." Mother Maria, replies with a scripture passage of her own:" Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."
Smith soon learns that Mother Maria is one tough lady who likes things done her way and when she gets an idea that something needs to be done, she goes about getting it done, often in unconventional ways. He also learns that this group of nuns is very poor and that the land their convent is on was inherited by their order. The nuns are trying to live on what they can coax the land to grow, and the milk and eggs that they gain from their dairy cow and chickens. Smith decides to stay at the convent that day until he gets his pay for the roofing job, and against his common sense, he reluctantly agrees to stay for a meal and to stay at the convent to do other small repair jobs that have been needed to be done. He does all of this in the hopes that he will be eventually paid by Mother Maria.
The nuns secretively study Smith's skills and strengths while he works at the convent and they become convinced that he is the one, sent to them by God, to make their dream of building a chapel for the townsfolk, who are poor also, as the closest Catholic church is many miles away. When Sunday morning arrives, Mother Maria tells Smith that he will be driving the nuns to that distant Catholic church so they can attend Mass. He is invited to also attend the Mass, but he declines citing his Baptist faith. While the nuns are at Mass, Smith goes to a nearby trading post for a heartier breakfast than what he gets from the nuns' kitchen. While he is at the post, the owner, Juan(Stanley Adams), tells him about the hardships the nuns overcame to emigrate from Eastern Europe, including getting over that Berlin Wall. By now, Smith realizes it is very unlikely that he will be paid and partly due to the respect he has for the nuns in overcoming their hardships in Europe, he stays longer at the convent and decides to at least clear the land where the nuns have said they would want the chapel to be built. As he works on clearing the land, Smith shares his dream of being an architect and decides that he will undertake the building of the chapel for the nuns.
To provide more food for the nuns meager diet, Smith also gets a part-time job with a local construction company and impresses the owner with his skills at handling all of the heavy equipment. Smith also delights the nuns with the new foods he is bringing back to the convent's kitchen, including lollipops! In the evenings, the nuns usually gather to sing hymns and choruses from older Gregorian Chants. Smith decides to use this time to help the nuns gain in their English speaking skills and he also joins in with their singing. He teaches them some of his favorite gospel hymns, including the call and response song, "Amen", written by Jester Hairston(who also dubbed Poitier's singing voice in this movie.)
Smith is determined to build a lovely chapel for the nuns, and that only he will build it. The nuns write letters to various philanthropic groups for donations in order to buy the needed construction materials, but the letters only receive resounding No's from those groups. Word gets around to the townsfolk as to what Smith(or Schmidt, as the nuns call him) is trying to do, and they begin showing up at the construction site with offers to help and even Smith's boss at his part-time construction job shows up to donate materials. At first, the offers of help and the donated materials irks Smith, as he alone wants to build the chapel, but he soon realizes he can't do it alone and he accepts the townsfolks help, the materials, and he slowly becomes the construction site manager. After weeks of work, the chapel is complete and Smith insists that he will place the cross on the spire himself and sign his work where only he and God can see it.
The movie ends on Saturday night; the next morning, Sunday, the new chapel will have its dedication service. Smith is exhausted and he realizes that there is no more work to keep him at the convent. Mother Maria, too proud to ask Smith to stay on does insist that he attend the dedication service so that he can be recognized for all of his efforts by the congregation. She tells Smith about all of the other projects he can work on for the betterment of the town, including building a proper school. Smith mulls all that she has said while he is teaching the nuns their English lesson in the evening, and during this lesson he tricks Mother Maria into saying "thank you" to him; before this, she had only thanked God for the work, gifts, and help that Smith gave to the nuns. Later on in the evening, as he leads the nuns in singing "Amen", he sneaks out the door and takes one last look at the chapel. Then he gets in his car and drives away. Mother Maria hears the car engine start but stays seated, singing along with the nuns.
The movie was filmed in Arizona on the northern edge of Tucson. It won nominations for not only the Best Actor category, but also in the following categories: Best Supporting Actress for Skala, Best Cinematography-Black and White, Best Screenplay, Best Writing, and Best Picture. It is available through Amazon, and Netflix. As I said earlier, it is not an action flick, no romance, but a fine drama about people working together for the betterment of all.


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Academic Courses:
This list shows Advanced Placement courses that this school offers. Learn More
Advanced Placement courses are rigorous and designed to prepare high school students for college in a wide spectrum of areas from history to foreign language to natural science. Colleges often grant placement and course credit to students who obtain high scores on the examinations.
Advanced Placement Program Validity Research and Recommendations for Providing Credit and/or Placement (College Board)
The Relationship Between Advanced Placement and College Graduation (National Center for Educational Accountability)
The Role of Advanced Placement and Honors Courses in College Admissions (Center for Studies in Higher Education at UC-Berkeley)


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Detective: Holmes played puppets with paper bags
CENTENNIAL, Colo. - It was just hours after a deadly Colorado theater shooting, and James Holmes was not acting like a man accused of methodically planning the attack and booby trapping his apartment.
As a police detective interviewed the suspect they'd picked up outside the theater, he started pretending the paper bags on his hands - meant to preserve gunshot residue - were puppets.
The former neuroscience graduate student tried to jam a staple into an electrical outlet. He played with a cup on the table. An officer noted that his eyes were dilated.
The description came Tuesday as prosecutors try to show that Holmes should face a trial for the July 20 attack. He faces more than 160 felony charges for allegedly killing 12 and injuring 70.
Defense attorneys say Holmes is mentally ill, and have used their questions to try to make that point. They haven't elaborated but have said they might call witnesses later in the week who could discuss Holmes' mental health.
The description of Holmes after the attack, given by police detective Craig Appel, seemed to undercut prosecutors' attempts to show Holmes as methodical, spending two months to assemble his arsenal.
The first recorded purchase: two tear gas grenades, ordered online May 10.
Holmes also bought two Glock handguns, a shotgun and an AR-15 rifle, along with 6,295 rounds of ammunition, targets, body armor and chemicals, prosecutors said.
He dyed his hair bright orange, then bought a scope and non-firing dummy bullets on July 1, the visit and the new hair color documented in security video.
Finally, he purchased glycerin and potassium permanganate - chemicals that could combine to create fire and sparks - from a Denver science store. At some point, he also improvised napalm, as well as thermite, a substance which burns so hot that water can't extinguish the blaze.
Holmes' purchases were split between two planned attacks, prosecutors said - the theater shooting and a booby trapped apartment that would've blown up if anyone had entered.
The bottle of glycerin was meant to fall into the permanganate when the door to his apartment opened, to cause an explosion and then a fire, prosecutors said.
The manager of The Science Company, Steve Grebe, confirmed the purchase, noting the amount was small and the materials are common in junior high experiments.
The setup in Holmes' apartment had deadly potential, though. Parts of Holmes' carpet were soaked with gasoline and oil and ammonium chloride, a white powder, was poured onto the floor in strips, FBI bomb technician Garrett Gumbinner said.
"It would have ignited and the whole apartment would have exploded or caught fire," Gumbinner said.
He said the system had two other initiating systems. One was a pyrotechnics firing box that would have been triggered by the remote control unit of a toy car left along with a boom box set to play loud music. Gumbinner said Holmes told him he hoped the music would lure someone and lead them to play with the car, thereby detonating the explosives.
The other initiating system was a model rocket launch box which operated by means of infrared light, but Holmes told investigators it wasn't armed, Gumbinner said.
The attempt at a distraction speaks to a plan to escape but the traps weren't triggered. Holmes, clad from head to toe in body armor, was found standing by his car outside the theater. He told investigators that the booby trapped apartment was an effort to pull police away from the theater so, under that scenario, he wouldn't expect to see police so quickly.
Police said he volunteered information about the booby traps. Authorities went to the apartment and carefully dismantled them.
Prosecutors also used Holmes' dating website profiles to try to prove he knew the consequences of his actions. On two social networking websites - Match.com and FriendFinder.com - Holmes asked: "Will you visit me in prison?"
The Match profile was created in April; the FriendFinder account was opened on July 5. Holmes last accessed the sites two days before the July 20 shooting at a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises," detective Tom Welton testified.
As prosecutors lay out their case, Holmes' lawyers have been asking questions throughout the hearing that suggest a mental health defense.
Attorney Tamara Brady asked Steven Beggs, an ATF agent who testified, whether there was anything to prevent "a severely mentally ill person" from purchasing things like chemicals, ammunition and handcuffs.
He replied no.
Defense attorney Daniel King asked Appel if Holmes was tested for drugs or other substances.
"I saw no indication that he was under the influence of anything," Appel said.
Holmes' lawyers could have waived the first public airing of the case against him, but legal analysts say they may see the mini-trial as a chance to gauge the prosecution's case or tactics to prepare for a possible plea agreement.
Cases rarely advance to this stage without a judge agreeing to set a trial.
If Holmes is found sane and goes to trial and is convicted, his attorneys can try to stave off a possible death penalty by arguing he is mentally ill. Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to seek the death penalty.
If he's found not guilty by reason of insanity, he would likely be sent to the state mental hospital, not prison. Such a defendant is deemed not guilty because he didn't know right from wrong and is therefore "absolved" of the crime, said former Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey, who recently lost an insanity case.
Last year, Bruco Strong Eagle Eastwood was acquitted by reason of insanity in the wounding of two eighth-graders outside a school not far from Columbine High School. His case garnered national headlines after a math teacher tackled him and stopped the shooting.


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Tag Archives: Dr. Michael Lange founded lange eye care
Dry Eye Treatment and Meibomian Gland Dysfunction a Natural Approach by Michael Lange OD.
Dry Eye Treatment and Meibomian Gland Dysfunction a Natural Approach is a culmination of over 20 years of natural treatments for dry eye developed by Michael Lange OD. Dr. Michael Lange says if these steps are explained in detail to the patient and are followed carefully a vast improvement in dry eye and meibomian gland dysfunction will be a result. Michael Lange OD, CNS is one of a select group of eye care providers that is a certified nutrition specialist as well. Dr. Lange is involved in the research and development of nutritional supplements for eye care and whole body wellness. Dr Michael Lange founded Lange Eye care and Associates 3/15/1993 and has grown to 10 locations in Florida. The Lange Eye institute in the Villages Florida is one of the largest Nutrition oriented eye care centers in the world. The Lange Eye Institute is the home to many nutritional omega index studies, beta-carotene/lutein absorption studies and spectracell nutritional studies. Dr.Lange is constantly searching for better natural ways to help his patients. The Lange Eye Institute in The Villages Florida embraces the latest in nutritional, surgical, medical and optical treatments to help their patients. The following four steps will help doctors and patients in their quest to improve dry eye and meibomian gland dysfunction. These four procedures if followed will possibly eliminate the need to use expensive prescription medications or have expensive dry eye procedures done. The goal is to make the body work to its fullest potential. This is a natural inexpensive option to expensive dry eye procedures like meibomian gland probing, lipiflow or IPL laser dry eye treatment.
1. Nutrition for dry eyes is the most important step in natural dry eye treatment. The majority of Americans are deficient in omega 3 with an Omega index score around 4 . Omega index is the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 in blood. Omega index should be over 8 to gain the therapeutic health benefits. Take a good triglyceride form omega 3 fish oil with a minimum of 1500 mg of omega 3.
The correct dosage of omega 3 will reduce inflammation in the Meibomian glands and improve the tear production. Most patients after taking the correct form omega 3 supplement in the right dosage will have a dramatic improvement in the tear production from the Meibomian glands. Fortifeye Super Omega gives the ratio of DHA and EPA that has been working in large dry eye clinics through out the world. Omega index studies indicate that two per day dosing of Fortifeye Super Omega will bring the omega index to an average between 9.1 and 11 in patients under 240 lbs. The goal is to bring the omega index to a minimum of 8. People over 240 lbs may need to double the concentration of omega 3 to get the same results. Most patients with dry eyes and meibomian gland dysfunction will improve by starting the correct dosage and form of omega 3 fish oil. However some moderate to marked dry eye symptoms may need some additional nutritional help. I recommend adding the most potent antioxidant /anti inflammatory nutrient on the planet called astaxanthin at 6mg.
Astaxanthin for dry eye is rapidly gaining a strong foothold in the natural medicine realm. Astaxanthin is a super carotenoid derived from algae. Astaxanthin when added to omega 3 fish oil will enhance the anti inflammatory effects. Astaxanthin will also help to reduce dry tired eye symptoms. Astaxanthin has many other amazing health benefits. I recommend using an organically grown algae called astareal. The combination of triglyceride form omega 3 and 6 mg of astaxanthin will help combat against oxidation and inflammation in the eye and entire body. This combination will also improve circulation to the eye and may indirectly help other eye problems like glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. One final nutrient that can be added for the more extreme dry eye is GLA from Black currant seed oil. I like a ratio of close to 10 to 1 GLA to omega 3. 140-160 mg of GLA in addition to 1400-1600 mg of omega 3 fish oil is ideal. The exact combination can be obtained by taking two Fortifeye super omega along with 140mg-160 mg of GLA. GLA has some additional anti inflammatory properties that stimulate series one prostaglandins and aids in healthy tear production. GLA also is amazing for the skin, hair, nails and joints. The triple whammy of dry eye nutrition is TG form omega 3, Astaxanthin and GLA. GLA for dry eye when used in combination with omega 3 and astaxanthin works very well. This combination is also even better for skin, hair, nails and joint health.
2. One of the main reasons for dry eye symptoms and Meibomian gland dysfunction is a build up of microbial flora on the eye lashes and inside the Meibomian glands. This condition is called blepharitis. If lids are quite inflamed ,red and crusty then proper lid hygiene is crucial as the first step at natural dry eye relief. I recommend scrubbing the lids and lid margins with a commercial preparation like occusoft lid scrub foam. This scrubbing will eliminate much of the bacterial flora on the lashes that can clog the Meibomian glands that secrete the crucial outer layer of the tear film. Often times if a patient has a chronic irritated red-eye even after doing lid scrubs with occusoft they may have another condition causing the problem, Another type of blepharitis is related to a small parasite called demodex. Demodex is a small parasite that crawls into the hair follicle at night and multiplies. The demodex may cause lids to become red, inflamed, crusty , and itch. It is important to wipe the lashes and lid margins with a special pre medicated pad called cliradex right before bed. Cliradex has the demodex killing properties derived from tea tree oil and is extremely effective for the treatment of demodex related blepharitis and secondary dry eyes. Scrub lashes first with occusoft, rinse then rub the Cliradex onto lashes and lids before bed and do not rinse. This combination of lid hygiene will help to eliminate the microbial flora ( staph and demodex) that is blocking the Meibomian glands and causing the dry eyes. Proper lid hygiene is one of the most important steps in dry eye control.
3. Meibomian glands often times need a jump-start to help them secrete a better tear film. Heating and massaging the lid margins is crucial to unclog the meibomian glands so the glands can secrete the crucial outer layer of tear film. This needs to be done for 10-15 minutes 2 times a day. The use of a warm wash cloth is an inexpensive way to do this but I have found that the Brueder Mask is the best way to continuously do this treatment. This is a mask that u put in microwave for 20 seconds and then Velcro around your face for 10-15 minutes two times a day. While the mask is on the eyes gently massage the lid margins to help un clog the blocked glands. This mask will also help cut inflammation around and under the eyes. The Brueder eye hydrating mask can last up to two to three years without being replaced. This mask is only $25 and makes the hot compresses a very simple and relaxing task.
4. Lubricating eye drops are important to use frequently in beginning phases of natural dry eye treatment. Using a good unpreserved artificial tear that has some hyaluranic acid for dry eye relief is my first choice. I recommend either Oasis tears plus or Blink to minimize dry eye symptomatology and both have hyaluronic acid in them . Hyaluaronic acid has some anti inflammatory effects and makes these two lubricating eye drops my first choice for dry eyes. For the extreme dry eyes and Meibomian gland dysfunction patients I like adding a special lubricating eye drop called Retain MGD. Retain MGD helps to replenish the outer lipid layer of tear film that may be deficient in Meibomian gland dysfunction patients. This combination helps to replenish all layers of the tear film.
Michael Lange OD states if the four steps above are followed carefully most people with dry eye and meibomian gland problems will improve. Many people will notice improvements in as little as five days but it will take up to four months to gain the full potential for dry eyes. These steps will in many cases eliminate the need to have more expensive dry eye procedures like Meibomian gland probing, lipiflow dry eye treatment or IPL laser dry eye treatment performed. Dry eye kits including everything mentioned above are available at a discounted price at http://www.fortifeye.com. I recommend all readers of this blog see their local optometrist or ophthalmologist if they have any problems with their eyes. This blog is for educational purposes only. If you are in the Florida area come by one of the 10 Lange Eye Care locations. http://www.langeeyecare.com , http://www.drmichaellange.com
Everything discussed in this article can be purchased at http://www.fortifeye.com or u can call 866 503 9746
Michael Lange OD, CNS (Board Certified Optometric Physician and Certified Nutrition Specialist) 10/06/2013


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Today in the News: Plane crash victim died from being run over by fire truck
News to know
Officials said today that one of the victims of the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash died from injuries she received when she was run over by a fire truck. The San Mateo County (Calif.) coroner made the announcement. The victim Ye Mengyan, 16, was thrown from the plane when it crashed and appears to have been covered by foam sprayed on the plane to keep it from burning more, and a fire truck then drove over the girl, killing her. The fire department and the city of San Francisco apologized to the family of the teen.
Quote of note
"You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot, I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me, 35 years ago." - President Barack Obama, talking about the acquittal of George Zimmerman. Obama said the government should review "stand your ground" laws in the wake of the trial.
Hot video: Returning soldier surprises family at beach
Hyrum Bronson has been away from his family for six months while on a tour in Afghanistan. He was released three weeks early and made his unexpected return count: He swam up to his family in scuba gear while they were playing in the water. It's a great family moment.
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This one is not actually a tombstone, but a memorial in Trusham Church in Devon, England. A booklet on the church says:
At the east end of the north aisle is the large wooden monument to John and Mary Stooke in imitation marble. There is only one other such monument in Devon in any way comparable. John Stooke was the son of a yeoman farmer (also John) at Pristons in Trusham (now disappeared). An interesting local story attaches to him: in January, 1645, at the time of the Civil War, the night before the battle of Bovey Tracey a party of royalist officers were surprised while gaming at an inn in Bovey. One of these, said to have been a Clifford, escaped with his winnings — a bag of gold — and rode off towards Trusham, pursued by roundheads. It is said that in attempting to avoid capture he threw the bag over a hedge into a field called "Kiln Close" (still known by that name, by the turning off to Ashton; here it was found next day by John Stooke junior, who then set up as a clothier in Chudleigh, making his fortune and enabling him to leave substantial moneys for charity in Bovey Tracey, Trusham, Ashton and Christow. The two almshouses in Trusham were provided in this way…
Three of the bells date from the seventeeth century, the earliest (1623) bears the name of Adrian Norman, parson, Sand\ford Tucker and John Stooke, churchwardens. Two more (1676 and 1684) were given by John Stooke, son of the last, and already referred to (Stooke monument). These three are Pennington bells, from the Exeter foundry of that name.
Here is a closer view of the inscription:
John Stooke (1628-1696) was the elder brother of my 7-great grandfather Edward Stooke (1631-1699), and they were among the nine children of John Stooke (1592-1642) and Grace Smallridge (d. 1645). The younger John married Mary Apter, and they had no children. Edward, my ancestor, married Mary Satterley, and their son Edward married Mary Furlong.
The Stooke family lived for several generations in the Teign valley in Devon, mainly at Trusham and the nearby village of Ashton.
Filed under: family history, genealogy | Tagged: Ashton, Devon families. Tombstone Tuesday, family history, genealogy, MI, monumental inscriptions, Stooke family, Teign Valley, Trusham |


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HBO film explores marriages from their start
NEW YORK – As filmmaker Doug Block sat in a coffee shop talking about his "112 Weddings" documentary, a stranger interrupted him to talk — at great length — about the state of her marriage.
She wasn't even aware of the film, which debuts at 8 p.m. Monday on HBO. The conversation she eavesdropped on enthralled her. As Block gets more exposure for "112 Weddings," during which he revisits couples for whom he shot wedding videos to ask how marriage has gone, he'd better get used to such interactions.
The New York-based Block has made wedding videos to earn extra money, and sensed from the beginning there was a film there. He made sure to retain ownership of wedding footage, although he doesn't use it without permission of the couples.
"I loved the idea of starting a movie where most Hollywood movies end, which is the bride coming down the aisle," said Block, who has delved into personal topics for his work before. He made a film about his parents' marriage and another about the empty nest syndrome when his daughter left for college (she's now, at 24, back home).
He knew the time was right when he called Janice and Alexander Caillet of Newton, Massachusetts, who talked at length about why they didn't need the official sanction of a marriage when Block filmed their "commitment ceremony." Thirteen years later, they were getting married.
Janice and Alexander believed their word to each other was a strong enough commitment for many years. Once they had children, the legal advantages became apparent. "We wanted to make sure that nothing was going to keep us apart," Janice said. "We didn't need anything to keep us together."
Some of the marriages ended in divorce. One couple has struggled to care for a sick child, another has hung on through the wife's depression. Children and job pressures take a toll, and the relationships ebb and flow. Block focuses on 10 couples, including No. 112 as they prepared for their wedding.
When he called the couple from his first wedding video, Sue Odierna of Mamaroneck, New York, had filed for divorce the day before. The clips from the wedding seemed to foreshadow trouble: Sue seemed a lot more excited than Steve, who later grew distant and found someone new. The more weddings he shot, though, Block said he was less able to predict which couples would last.
Most couples were filmed as they sat side-by-side talking about their marriages, an interesting dynamic in itself. Block tried not to take advantage of the intimacy involved. When he asked one couple what they would say now if they rewrote their vows, there was a 22-second pause before the woman said, "next question." He left it out of the film because it felt like a cheap shot.
Interestingly, he asked all the couples if they felt they'd married their soul mates, and none said yes. Some joked about it, saying it was a lovely concept. Clearly, the dewy-eyed days are over.
"The film stresses that marriage is hard, that it takes work," Block said. "People see that as a negative, that it's a bad thing. But it's not.
"Life is going to throw things at you," he said. "People get old and die. Kids are born and grow up and leave. You face layoffs or success. There are all sorts of challenges that you come up against together, and how you deal with them as a couple determines whether you're going to make it or not. The idea that it's going to be an easy path is ridiculous."
The Caillets believe that "112 Weddings" should be required viewing for couples approaching their own wedding.
"It's a pretty sobering wake-up call for so many people," said Alexander Caillet. "You're so enthralled from dating, but it's really a commitment."
Hard work, challenges, commitment — it all sounds like buzzkill for someone young and in love.
The film ultimately celebrates marriage and the passing of time. And it renewed Block's appreciation for his wife of 28 years.
"I am one lucky dude," he said.


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InterCeramic® USA Tile
About InterCeramic® USA Tile
Interceramic's tradition of excellence began in Mexico, where it was
established in 1979. High-quality products and services powered the company's
1988 expansion into Dallas, Texas, which was subsequently followed by
retail/wholesale stores in the Dallas, El Paso, and San Antonio areas. By
coupling products manufactured by Interceramic with a collection of imported
tiles from around the world, we developed a unique operation among American
ceramic tile distributors.
This approach to tile distribution proved popular and allowed us to expand our system rapidly, covering the majority of Texas (including the Houston, Austin and Fort Worth areas) and opening in the busy Atlanta, Georgia area. From there, we focused our efforts on growing to the west of Texas, starting with Phoenix (including a satellite store in Scottsdale) and Las Vegas. To fill in the gaps and provide logistical continuity, we opened new locations in Albuquerque, Tulsa, and Oklahoma City. After that came state-of-the-art facilities in McAllen, Texas, Denver, San Diego, Sacramento, Anaheim and Manteca, California, which also function as a distribution depot for our western warehouses. Most recently, we've opened new locations in Salt Lake City and Fresno to further enhance our presence in the western U.S.
Today, Interceramic operations include: eight manufacturing plants in four state-of-the-art facilities in Mexico and the U.S.; twenty-five company-owned design and distribution centers throughout the U.S.; over 200 franchise stores throughout Mexico; and over 180 independent distributor locations in the U.S. and Canada.
By combining the world's finest imported ceramic tile, porcelain, glass tile and natural stone with our own wide range of floor and wall tile, Interceramic has become a premier distributor of tile, stone and related products in North America.
As we meet emerging consumer needs by offering more porcelain tile, glass tile and mosaics along with one of the industry's largest selections of natural stone, Interceramic's tradition of excellence continues to grow.
Nobody offers a larger selection of ceramic, porcelain, glass and natural stone products than Interceramic Tile & Stone Gallery. Combined with our allied products, Interceramic Tile & Stone Gallery is the one source for all your tile installation needs.


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Love and Pastry Cream
September 15, 2009 at 9:39 pm 57 comments
I'd like to clear something up – not everything goes according to plan. In fact, I probably endure more angst and heartbreak in the kitchen than in my high school. Sure there's homecoming coming up and some share of senior year drama, but really, it's all minor compared to some of the disasters that come out of my oven.
I've had meltdowns in the kitchen. Lie-on-the-kitchen-floor, seriously-consider-smashing-plates, cry-and never-want-to-get-up meltdowns. Some of the mistakes have been simply frustrating, like the Daring Baker milanos that just did not want to be oval shaped. Some have been so meaningless that I shrugged, threw out the inedible bits, and moved on. Some have been genuinely funny, like the blueberry corn pancakes I made for breakfast (see above photo) where in the end I stopped putting blueberries in because honestly, why waste blueberries on awful pancakes?
But my worst baking failures, the most bitter disappointments, have all somehow been father related. My very first ambitious project was for my dad's birthday a few years ago. I tackled a triple mousse chocolate cake which… well, five hours passed and all I had for my effort was a sticky, teetering pile of dishes and a failed mousse that could only be described as a waste of ingredients.
For father's day, I knew I wanted to make eclairs. Although my dad is a great cook he isn't a huge fan of baking, but he has always baked to make my birthday special. One year, he made large chocolate eclairs for every girl at my party. Before and since then, I've always loved his eclairs. I'd never made pate a choux or pastry cream before but figured it couldn't be that difficult. Oh, boy.
The first time I overbaked the eclairs and the pastry cream was eggy and rubbery. You'd think that anything with milk, cream, butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla would be wonderful – but now, I know better. The morning of, I decided my overdone eclairs wouldn't cut it and tried again. This time, scared, I underbaked them. I didn't have time to make more pastry cream, and the chocolate glaze… I don't know how I ruined chocolate glaze, but there was too much corn syrup and it had the consistency of gloop. Dad tried to scrape some up with a spatula, but it slid right off. That stuff could make pans nonstick, if you could get it to stick to the pan.
For dad's birthday this weekend, I was determined to get it right. I was going to make Boston Cream Pie, one of his childhood favorites. I would get pastry cream and chocolate glaze right, or die trying. I decided to go with a sponge cake instead of yellow cake for a lighter pie, and simply crossed my fingers.
Maybe I'd stocked up on good karma, or maybe I really have learned a thing or two, but somehow, it all went according to plan. The sponge cake was light and spongy, the pastry cream was sweet and creamy and rich, and the chocolate glaze was perfectly shiny and thick. When Dad came into the kitchen and dipped a finger in the pastry cream, I held my breath. "Pretty good," he said, and I felt it would all be okay. When he'd finished his first slice before I'd cut my own, I knew it was more than okay – it was great.
I'd like to give a shout out to my dad, who will probably be the first and last person to read this post. He checks my blog more often than I do; he has always supported me in baking. Even when I break 18 eggs or serve him gross blueberry pancakes (which, by the way, he ate) he supports me. He was the only person I told when I got my very first comment on this blog, and he kept me going even when I thought I was going no where. He is the first person I bounce Daring Baker ideas off of at the beginning of each month and, okay, his ideas are usually better than mine.
I have wanted to write this post since Father's Day and it's a shame I had no dessert to write about then. But at the moment there is no Boston Cream Pie left, as he took the last "slice" (about a third of the whole thing) last night. As he closed the refrigerator door he commented, "Leftover pastry cream and ganache… sounds like you should make eclairs."
Happy birthday dad, I love you!
It's been a while since my last post and it's because of school. Even though senior year comes with a lot of freedom and independence, it's still extremely busy. And I have some fantastic exciting news that I'm dying to share with you, but I think I'll save it for another day for now… :) Thanks for staying with me!
Most recipes say that boston cream pie is best the day it's assembled. I liked my first slice the best, since the cake was the lightest and fluffiest. But dad liked the cake better after an overnight sit in the fridge. The cake became denser, the pastry cream was cold, and the chocolate glaze had become much thicker. Your preference!
Basic Sponge Cake
Makes two 8″ or 9″ cakes
From Fresh from the Oven
1/2 cup cake flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease two 8-or-9-inch cake pans and cover pan bottoms with rounds of parchment paper.
Whisk/sieve the flours, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside. Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter melts. Take the sauce pan off the heat and add in vanilla extract; keep the mixture covered and warm.
Separate the eggs, placing the whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer or whisk) and reserving the yolks in a small bowl. Beat the whites on high speed until foamy. Gradually add 6 tablespoons of the sugar and the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites to soft, moist peaks. If using a standing mixer transfer the beaten egg whites to a large bowl and add the egg yolks to the standing mixer bowl (you don't need to clean the bowl).
Beat the egg yolks with the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture is very thick and turns a pale lemon color, about 5 minutes. Add in the beaten egg whites to the yolks, but do not mix.
Sprinkle/sieve the flour mixture over the egg whites and mix on low speed for 10 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer, make a well in one side of the batter and pour the melted butter mixture into the bowl. Fold gently with a large rubber spatula until the batter shows no trace of flour and the whites and yolks are evenly mixed, about 8 strokes. Also make sure that you have incorporated the butter into the mixture. There should not be visible grease/oil as you pour the mixture into the cake pans.
Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until the cake tops are light brown and feel firm and spring back when touched, about 16 to 18 minutes for 9-inch cake pans and 20 to 22 minutes for 8-inch cake pans.
Cool completely on racks. Run a thin knife around the inside of the cake pans and then invert them onto the racks (or onto cardboard rounds or tart pan bottoms) to release the cakes from the pans. Remove the parchment paper.
Pastry Cream
Makes lots of leftovers
From The Omni Parker House
1 tbsp butter
2 cups whole milk
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup sugar
3 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Bring butter, milk, and cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Meanwhile, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and eggs in a mixing bowl and whip until ribbons form.
When the milk mixture reaches boiling point, whisk in the egg mixture. Boil for one minute, then transfer and strain into another bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and chill, preferably overnight. Once thoroughly chilled, whisk in vanilla extract until smooth.
Chocolate Glaze
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp butter
Bring cream and butter to a boil over medium heat, then pour over chocolate. Sit 3-5 minutes, then stir to combine.
To Assemble: Level cooled sponge cakes if necessary. Spread pastry cream in a thick layer on one cake, then top with the second. Pour cooled, thickened chocolate glaze on top and serve. Keep in fridge.
Printer Friendly Version – Boston Cream Pie
Entry filed under: Cake/Cupcakes. Tags: cake, chocolate, cream, creamy, Dad, layer cake, meringue.
57 Comments Add your own
Looks delicious ! I will show it to my girlfriend and ask her to do it for me! lol. love your recipe ! thanks
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ESAMI TOWER - Situated in about 5 km from the City centre of Arusha, Tanzania, ESAMI tower is a 14 floor building with a capacity of 110 self-contained single rooms installed with DSTV and wireless internet connection. This hostel facility was rehabilitated and refurbished recently through financing from the European Union.
Lounge and Bar - Tastefully furnished the lounge contains a cash bar for participants to relax and mix in very beautiful surroundings overlooking Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro in the background.
Cafeteria - The cafeteria has a sitting capacity of 60 participants. Delicious African and English cuisine of very high standards is served. Our vegetables are cooked while fresh as they are delivered straight from the ESAMI farm.
Transport - ESAMI has a fleet of vehicles including a bus and micro-buses. These provide transport during participants study tours and excursions. Transport services for participants are available at certain intervals to Arusha city centre.
For participants flying into Kilimanjaro, taxis are available at the airport at a fee of US$50 one way.


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Savor the variety of restaurants in Rogers.
To be a great city, you need great food—and Rogers is no exception. Our ability to attract convention and business travelers from across the country has also helped us lure popular national chain restaurants to set up shop here. So if your appetite has you craving amazing pizza, rich pasta, tasty burgers or decadent steaks and seafood, you'll find it all here. Rogers also blends in some pretty special homegrown cuisine, which ranges from hidden local hangouts, to great ethnic fare, to custom-made pastries and fresh-brewed cappuccinos. It's all on the menu here in Rogers.
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WORCESTER, Mass.—Officials at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have discovered a $3.4 million theft by an employee who died in a December car accident.
School leaders told The Boston Globe (http://b.globe.com/162f06P ) an internal investigation found that for five years financial analyst Leo Villani siphoned funds from payments intended for the state Medicaid insurance program. It may be the biggest theft by a state employee in more than a decade.
Officials at the Worcester (WUS'-tur) school say Villani made $46,000 a year, but drove a Porsche, collected Salvador Dali paintings and built a large home in Uxbridge. They say he claimed he inherited money.
The school has dismissed one supervisor and disciplined several other workers in response to the theft. It also has called in an outside auditor.
Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.bostonglobe.com


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It's been nearly three years since retired racing pierogie Potato Pete leveled Teddy Roosevelt at PNC Park. The 2009 incident that wouldn't die was celebrated on ESPN's Sportscenter and nominated for a "This Year in Baseball Award". With Potato Pete officially retired, our favorite racing president never got a shot at revenge.
For TR, the wound obviously remains as fresh as ever, because when Potato Pete made a surprise appearance Wednesday night at Nationals Park, Teddy stopped dead in his tracks.
The Four current Racing Pierogies started the evening running an extra-long relay race from the left field bullpen, with Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson taking the first leg against Oliver Onion and Jalapeño Hannah.
After a questionable tag from Abe Lincoln in center field, Teddy got a big jump on the second leg, but stopped in his tracks when Potato Pete appeared in the stands by section 134.
Teddy and Pete began sparring, and even took their scuffle into the stands as George Washington raced by for the win.
After the race, Teddy tweeted Ohhh, I see Potato Pete has come out of retirement and on MY home turf!? I haven't forgotten what happened in 09! Tomorrow Pete, it's ON!"
It sound like a grudge match is in the works for Thursday's series finale. This could be fun.
Video courtesy of YouTube member lfahome


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At the end of February, I'll announce the finalists for the Delete Key Awards for the year's worst writing in books. And if tradition holds, some will read like a screenplay called Attack of the Killer Exclamation Points.
What's wrong with overloading a book with exclamation points besides that it looks — well, dippy? David Shipley and Will Schwalbe respond indirectly in Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Home and Office (Knopf, 247, $19.95).
They note that in e-mail the exclamation point has found new life as a surrogate emoticon:
"The traditional rules allow for an exclamation point only after an actual exclamation – 'My Goodness!' or 'Good Grief!' Few abide by this any more.
"Exclamation points can instantly infuse electronic communication with human warmth. 'Thanks!!!!' is friendlier than 'Thanks.' And 'Hooray!!!!!' is more celebratory than 'Hooray.' Because e-mail is without affect, it has a dulling quality that almost necessitates kicking everything up a notch just to bring it to where it would normally be. If you try saying 'Thanks' or 'Congratulations' in the flattest voice you can muster, you'll notice it sounds sarcastic. Without an exclamation point, these may read the same way on the screen."
The catch is that while exclamation points are an "effective way to combat e-mail's essential lack of tone," the authors say, they're also lazy: The better your choice of words, "the less need you will have for this form of shorthand."
That comment suggests why a blizzard of exclamation points hurts books more than e-mail: We know our electronic correspondents don't always have the time to refine every word. Authors do have the time. And unlike e-mail, books have tone, the psychological cast or shading of their words. If the tone is well-controlled, a book may succeed even if other aspects of it fail. Authors who substitute exclamation points for the right words are defaulting on a vital task: control of tone helps to set the mood much else in a book.
Have you read a 2008 book by an author who abused exclamation points or another punctuation mark? If so, you can nominate the book for a Delete Key Awards by leaving a comment.
© 2009 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.


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text:
4 Responses to "Self-Serving Biases"
May 24, 2007 at 3:02 pm
This isn't exactly news, but it still bears repeating.
June 17, 2007 at 4:00 pm
[…] here. For related posts on how people understand themselves and the difference it makes, see "Self-Serving Biases," "The Perils of 'Being Smart' (or Not So Much)," and […]
October 26, 2007 at 12:09 am
[…] a previous posts, we described "optimism bias" (see "Self-Serving Biases") and some of its effects (see "Some Situational Sources of War" and "The […]
October 14, 2009 at 12:02 am
[…] a sample of related Situationist posts, see "Self-Serving Biases," "The Motivated Situation of Inequality and Discrimination," "Thanksgiving as […]


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As the Ars team convenes for two days of meetings in Chicago, we're reaching back into the past to bring you some of our favorite articles from years gone by. This feature originally ran in December 2009.
It was 1879, and investor Charles A. Sumner sat at his desk, frustration pouring onto the page through his ink pen. Sumner, business partner to the radical economist and journalist Henry George, was finishing the concluding passages of a book about what had happened to the telegraph, or the Victorian Internet, as one historian calls it.
"This glorious invention was vouchsafed to mankind," he wrote, "that we might salute and converse with one another respectively stationed at remote and isolated points for a nominal sum."
But instead, he continued, "A wicked monopoly has seized hold of this beneficent capacity and design, and made it tributary, by exorbitant tariffs, to a most miserly and despicable greed."
It's a largely forgotten story, but one that still has relevance today. If you follow debates about broadband policy, you know that there are two perspectives perennially at war with each other. One seeks some regulation of the dominant industries and service providers of our time. The other seeks carte blanche for the private sector to do as it sees fit. Nowhere does the latter camp press this case harder than when it comes to network neutrality on the Internet, and appeals to the Founding Fathers aren't unknown.
"Our founding fathers understood that it is government that takes away people's freedoms, not individuals or companies," wrote entrepreneur Scott Cleland in an opinion piece for National Public Radio not long ago. Cleland opposes the Federal Communications Commission's proposals to codify into rules its principles prohibiting ISPs from discriminating against certain applications.
"At the core, the FCC's proposed pre-emptive 'net neutrality' regulations to preserve an 'open Internet' are not at all about promoting freedom but exactly the opposite. Freedom is not a zero sum game, where taking it away from some gives more to others. Taking away freedoms of some takes away freedom from all."
Reading this argument, one wonders if there ever was an age when the hands-off school of regulation got exactly what it seems to want—a network environment largely untarnished by public oversight.
In fact, there was such a time.
Hayessociated Press
Three years before Sumner wrote his lament, the country was wracked by the most convulsive presidential election since the outbreak of the Civil War: Democrat Samuel Tilden of New York versus Republican Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio. The Republican party had split between loyalists to the administration of Ulysses S. Grant and those appalled by its corruption. In truth, the resurgent Democrats were no better when it came to civic virtue, but they lured some Republicans away with Tilden, who famously battled bribery and graft as governor of New York.
When, on that November night in 1876, the popular results indicated a narrow majority for the reform candidate, many assumed the first Democratic victory in two decades. But not so at one of the Associated Press's most prestigious affiliates, the ardently pro-Republican New York Times. When prominent Democrats nervously contacted the Times asking for an update on the results, its managing editor John Reid realized that the election was still in doubt. He contacted top Republican party officials and had them spread the word via telegram—the electoral college votes in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina were still in play.
It was easy for these men to access the telegraph system, because its main operator, Western Union, was also militantly pro-Republican. During the long controversy in Congress over who actually won the districts in the disputed election of 1876, Western Union secretly siphoned to AP's general agent Henry Nash Smith the telegraph correspondence of key Democrats during the struggle. Smith, in turn, relayed this intelligence to the Hayes camp with instructions on how to proceed. On top of that, AP constantly published propaganda supporting the Republican side of the story. Meanwhile, Western Union insisted that it kept "all messages whatsoever . . . strictly private and confidential."
Tilden supporters weren't fooled. By the end of the debacle—Hayes having won the White House—they called AP "Hayessociated Press."
The great giveaway
It was no secret why Western Union sided with Republicans. By the 1870s, the Party of Lincoln (Abe himself being a former railroad lawyer) had given away massive quantities of land for the construction of railroads and telegraphs: almost 130 million acres (about seven percent of the continental United States) was granted to eighty enterprises. Although the telegraph had been pioneered by Samuel Morse in the 1840s, the innovation didn't really take off, economically speaking, until it partnered with the railroads, at which point it became the Victorian era's version of our information superhighway.
The Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 sped up the construction of a coast-to-coast railroad system, and it further subsidized telegraph growth as well. But Congress provided very little regulation or oversight for the largesse.
The result was the infamous Credit Mobilier scandal of the 1870s, a scheme that bears some resemblance to the Enron debacle of 2001. Rather than license the construction of the Union Pacific railroad to an independent contractor, its Board of Directors farmed the work out to Credit Mobilier, a company that was, essentially, themselves. In turn, Credit billed the UP vastly more than the actual cost of the project. To keep Congress quiet about the affair, the firm offered stock in itself to Representatives and Senators of any political persuasion at bargain basement prices.
In this context, it should come as no surprise that the nation's telegraph system quickly fell into the hands of one of the most notorious schemers of the Gilded Age.


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Behind this gate are the graves of two of my ggg grandfathers, two ggg grandmothers and a 2nd cousin once removed.
This is the Old Cavendish Cemetery on the banks of the Wannon River. In use from 1849 through to 1922, it was the site of over 120 burials. A beautiful resting place for my ancestors but the problem is there are very few headstones remaining.
I visited a few weeks ago on a sunny Sunday morning. Ticking off the risk factors before entering: sunny, mid-spring, river location, long grass and graves, I decided to move quickly as I didn't want to run into "Joe Blake". I moved at great haste barely stopping to take each photo. Surprisingly none were blurred.
This cemetery is set in beautiful countryside with Hugh Duncan and his wife Catherine having a prime position overlooking the Wannon River.
I have a family link to the Brewis family of Karabeal (below). My first cousin 4 x removed, Alice Reed married Henry Alfred Brewis, son of Joseph and Mary Brewis. Alice was the niece of Susan Reed, wife of James Harman.
The following headstone is interesting. It is the grave of Ann Wright who died in 1891. She is buried with her son Henry Huntly and another Cavendish man Brown Hearn who died in 1904. A clue came from another Hearn buried in the cemetery, Jessie Hearn. Her death record of 1880 lists the three-year old's parents as Brown Hearn and Elizabeth Huntly (or Huntley). I have found a Victorian Marriage record for an Ann Prior to Henry Huntly in 1842 at Portland, but I can't find a birth record for a Henry Huntly Jnr and I can't explain the "Wright" surname.
A Diphtheria epidemic hit Cavendish during 1879 and 1880 and many lives were lost including four children of the Cavendish school headmaster. The headstone of Sarah Jane and Minnie McDonald is a reminder of that time. Sarah Jane passed away on 17 June 1880 and her sister on 19 June 1880. They were the daughters of Michael and Margaret McDonald of Hyde Park, Cavendish.
Richard Bryant (below) was a July Passing Pioneer. Maggie, Richard's second wife, was born in Ireland and was Margaret Nowlan. My link to Richard is on his Passing Pioneer entry.
This plaque at the entrance to the cemetery lists all those buried in the cemetery and events from the history of Cavendish during the time the cemetery was in use.
My family members are well represented in the cemetery, but the headstones are gone. They included my ggg grandparents Charles and Agnes Hadden and their great-grandson, Charles. Also, my ggg grandfather James Mortimer, died 1895 and his granddaughter Queenie Rose Ann Victoria Mortimer who died as a baby in 1891.
There are three Mortimers that I am not sure of. Given I cannot find the death of my ggg grandmother Rosanna Buckland*, she has to be one of them. One unidentified Mortimer died in 1895 which should be James Mortimer. There is also a Mrs Mortimer, died 1889 and another Mrs Mortimer, died 1898. I think the latter is Sarah Ann Duggan, wife of Henry Mortimer, James and Rosanna's youngest son. Sarah Ann died in Warrnambool in 1898.
GGG Grandmother Rosanna could be the 1889 "Mrs Mortimer". Or maybe not. She has been elusive to date *. There is also a Mr W. Mortimer who died in 1889. I don't have a W. Mortimer on my tree that died around that time nor can I find a W. Mortimer in the Victorian Death records.
I will return to the Old Cavendish Cemetery in Autumn when the grass will be shorter and "Joe Blake" will be tiring. Maybe then I can take my time and see what is hidden beneath the grass.
For a full list of those buried at the Old Cavendish Cemetery, check out Ian Marr's great site Cemeteries of S.W.Victoria
* With some help I did find the death date of Rosanna Mortimer and you can read more about that on the link here. Since that discovery the Hamilton Spectators from the time are now available at Trove, so I was able to find Rosanna's obituary and once again another variation on her name.
"Joe Blake" ( Australian Rhyming Slang) – snake.


text: NEW YORK (AP) – Fast-food customers in search of burgers and fries on Thursday might run into striking workers instead. Organizers say thousands of fast-food workers are set to stage walkouts in dozens of cities around the country, part of a push to get chains such as McDonald's, Taco Bell and Wendy's to pay workers higher wages. It's expected be the largest nationwide strike by fast-food workers, according to organizers. The biggest effort so far was over the summer when about 2,200 of the nation's millions of fast-food workers staged a one-day strike in seven cities. Thursday's planned walkouts follow a series of strikes that began last November in New York City, then spread to cities including Chicago, Detroit and Seattle. Workers say they want $15 an hour, which would be about $31,000 a year for full-time employees. That's more than double the federal minimum wage, which many fast food workers make, of $7.25 an hour, or $15,000 a year. The move comes amid calls from the White House, some members of Congress and economists to hike the federal minimum wage, which was last raised in 2009. But most proposals seek a far more modest increase than the ones workers are asking for, with President Barack Obama wanting to boost it to $9 an hour. The push has brought considerable media attention to a staple of the fast-food industry – the so-called 'McJobs' that are known for their low pay and limited prospects. But the workers taking part in the strikes still represent a tiny fraction of the broader industry. And it's not clear if the strikes on Thursday will shut down any restaurants because organizers made their plans public earlier in a call for workers around the country to participate, which gave managers time to adjust their staffing levels. More broadly, it's not clear how many customers are aware of the movement, with turnout for past strikes relatively low in some cities. Laila Jennings, a 29-year-old sales associate at T.J. Maxx, was eating at a McDonald's in New York City this week and said she hadn't heard of the movement. Still, she said she thinks workers should be paid more. 'They work on their feet all day,' Jennings said, adding that $12 to $15 an hour seemed fair. As it stands, fast-food workers say they can't live on what they're paid. Shaniqua Davis, 20, lives in the Bronx with her boyfriend, who is unemployed, and their 1-year-old daughter. Davis has worked at a McDonald's a few blocks from her apartment for the past three months, earning $7.25 an hour. Her schedule varies, but she never gets close to 40 hours a week. 'Forty? Never. They refuse to let you get to that (many) hours.' Her weekly paycheck is $150 or much lower. 'One of my paychecks, I only got $71 on there. So I wasn't able to do much with that. My daughter needs stuff, I need to get stuff for my apartment,' said Davis, who plans to take part in the strike Thursday. She pays the rent with public assistance but struggles to afford food, diapers, subway and taxi fares, cable TV and other expenses with her paycheck. 'It's really hard,' she said. 'If I didn't have public assistance to help me out, I think I would have been out on the street already with the money I make at McDonald's.' McDonald's Corp. and Burger King Worldwide Inc. say that they don't make decisions about pay for the independent franchisees that operate the majority of their U.S. restaurants. For the restaurants it does own, McDonald's said in a statement that pay starts at minimum wage but the range goes higher, depending on the employee's position and experience level. It said that raising entry-level wages would mean higher overall costs, which could result in higher prices on menus. 'That would potentially have a negative impact on employment and business growth in our restaurants, as well as value for our customers,' the company said in a statement. The Wendy's Co. and Yum Brands Inc., which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, did not respond to a request for comment. The National Restaurant Association says the low wages reflect the fact that most fast-food workers tend to be younger and have little work experience. Scott DeFife, a spokesman for the group, says that doubling wages would hurt job creation, noting that fast-food chains are already facing higher costs for ingredients, as well as new regulations that will require them to pay more in health care costs. Still, the actions are striking a chord in some corners. Robert Reich, a worker advocate and former Labor Secretary in the Clinton administration, said that the struggles of living on low wages is hitting close to home for many because of the weak economic climate. 'More and more, people are aware of someone either in their wider circle of friends or extended family who has fallen on hard times,' Reich said. Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, which is providing the fast-food strikes with financial support and training, said the actions in recent months show that fast-food workers can be mobilized, despite the industry's relatively higher turnover rates and younger age. 'The reality has totally blown through the obstacles,' she said. — Follow Candice Choi at www.twitter.com/candicechoi