Breezes Blowing Through My Mind

Tags

abortion, Archaeology, astronomy, cake, candy, casserole, Catholicism, death penalty, education, fundamentalism, Gardening, home, Iraq, Italian, pasta, religion

“Nympheas” is obviously one of Claude Monet’s “waterlily” pieces. It was done 1916-1919. It can be found at Musee Marmottan, in Paris. He is one of my favorite painters.

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It’s windy as heck today, but warm, and I cannot remember the last time I said that! I got a good deal done on my office/craft room, mostly thanks to the Contrarian who helped me move a few pieces of furniture around. Now I have a nice trestle table to cut material on.

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So it’s getting late, and we better get on with it if we are to finish today.

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Have you ever wondered which civil war general you were most like? Honestly, no. LOL. But if you have spent many a sleepless night pondering this burning question, relief is only a click or two away. The American Presidents Blog has a little link to a quiz you can take and get the answer.

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American Revolution Blog has a review of a book that looks quite interesting. It’s the personal history of one average women in America during the revolutionary period, with plenty of information of what was going on during that time in our young country. See if you like A Midwife’s Tale.

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A tip from Begging for Bargains. Stop by Saturday at Walmart and pick up a free re-usable grocery bag.

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Since I’ve been boring you for a few weeks now with tales of my cleaning projects, I thought I’d bring you some more information, aimed, no doubt, at making you feel so guilty that you feel compelled to join in the agony of house cleansing. Read a good post with some good ideas from Britannica Blog.

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You should definitely go over to C’est La Vie and read her account about her “visit with John Paul II” some years ago. It is most provocative, most spooky, and in the end, touching. I’ll not spoil it for you, but I do encourage you to drop by and read her account.

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Civil War Women has another Civil War nurse she is featuring today. Her posts are always jammed with facts, so don’t miss this installment about Emily-Elizabeth Parsons today. Reclaiming American women’s history, one post at a time!

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Sally’s Gardening Tips has some, errr, tips on indoor house plants. I’ve managed to collect a good few, and after the summer outside, they are getting to be monsters I tell you. She goes through some of the more common ones that are easy to acquire, and gives you plenty of information on taking care of them properly.

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I’m doing Italian today, with some left over chicken breasts that I roasted. Got some leftover spaghetti sauce, and I’ll jazz it up a bit with some cheese and olives. Put it over fettuccine I think. Epicurious has a nice little recipe for White Lasagna with Parmigiano Besciamella. This recipe comes from Gourmet so you know it will be a good one.

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Essential Estrogen traces the subject of abortion through television shows over the years. It was a fascinating read to me. I had not thought much about how television responded to our national debate on the issue of women’s reproductive rights. There were and are plenty of political repercussions to the decisions of various networks to push the envelope so to speak on this issue. See what you think.

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Garrison Keillor weighs in on the proposed merger between Delta and Northwest Airlines. Seems Mr. Keillor and Minnesota have a long and poignant history with Northwest. His stuff is always lovely I think, and worth a chuckle if seldom a guffaw. I think some days are just chuckle days don’t you?

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The History News Network has a chilling post on the death penalty. It was posted before today’s announced decision that has declared, unfortunately, that lethal injection is not cruel and unusual punishment. In any event, before the case just decided, the most important case on this particular aspect was one involving one Willie Francis. Read all about this god-awful case in Gilbert King’s well-done post.

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If you listen really carefully you can sometimes hear it. That mysterious, ethereal melody that haunts your dreams? Well, maybe not, but the earth does in fact sing, and its a lovely symphony we are told. Read about its possible causes at Live Science. It seems kinda nice knowing our little ball of blue is so happy. Hum a happy tune and know that you are one with Mother Earth.

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Just what does it mean to be a university or college and Catholic? It is expected that Pope Benedict’s address to Catholic university presidents at Notre Dame will help to answer that question. There has been a good deal of debate on this issue, mostly within the Catholic world. The right wing is appalled as usual with any teaching that strays one whit from the narrow confines of dogma. The vast majority of Catholics don’t think about it at all. Read an Op-Ed piece at the NYTimes and see what all the flap is about.

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Kevin Drum from Political Animal has a concise little post about an interview that Martha Raddadz had with George the other day, in which he admitted that he had not told the truth about the war goings on in Iraq. This lying was done, he claims for good reasons. See if you agree with George or with Kevin. I’m thinking that as an adult I’d rather have the truth.

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What Hath Got Wrought: The Transformation of America 1815-1848, by David Walker has won the Pulitzer prize for 2008. So reports Religion in America. You can read a bit about the book and decide whether to add it to your reading list for the summer. Sounds like a good one to me.

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If you remember history at all, you probably know that Philippi is an important site. St. Paul preached there, and the forces that killed Julius Caesar were finally defeated there. That’s just a couple of several other important things that occurred in that area. Read about what the archaeologists are uncovering there at Rogueclassicism.

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I would run somewhere to hide, but danged if I can figure out where in the heck to run to. It seems that our galaxy’s central black hole has flared in the last 300 hundred years. The giant seems a bit restless and I don’t know what to do next. Find out more at Science Daily.

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Wednesday is Fundamentalist day at the American Propect. Read Susan Posner’s excellent scoop on what nefarious goings on are brewing among the religious right in this country. It’s a weekly stop for me. Hope it is for you.

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I don’t think I’ve ever seen this chain in Iowa. Macaroni Grill, but I sure like the looks of this recipe so, dig in. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cake sounds like to die for as they say. Oh, yeah, this one is sure to please anyone who is a peanut butter fanatic, and that would be me.

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Been looking all over the web for a recipe for butter mints? Well sure you have. At Uncommon Artistic Endeavors, she gives you the recipe and how she used them for a baby shower. Cute idea I thought, and well, you can use them for any number of occasions when a mint is just the right thing. Okay, I’m stretching. Just thought you might like to take a look. PS, they are quite simple.

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One of the reasons given by those who want to lock the doors to America against the “flood” of illegals, is that they don’t pay taxes. Not so says Vox Nova and presents a case that in fact immigrants may be paying way more than their share. I’ve skipped to the actual source for your convenience.

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“They say that God is everywhere, and yet we always think of Him as somewhat of a recluse.”
Emily Dickenson

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“The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.” Voltaire

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“A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers.” H.L. Mencken

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Two major airlines, Delta and Northwest, have announced they’ll merge to form the world’s largest airline. But I don’t know about their new company name. They’ve merged to form DethWest, which to me has a negative connotation. Jimmy Kimmel

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John McCain apologized today after it was revealed that some the “McCain family recipes” posted on his Web site were actually plagiarized from the Food Network. I am amazed. How many different recipes can there be for prunes and creamed corn? Chris Ferguson

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Although I don’t think President Bush is too familiar with the Catholic religion. There was one awkward moment when President Bush kept looking behind the Pope going, “So where’s Mrs. Pope?” Jay Leno

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President Bush also told the Pope that he has prayed every single day since he became president. Hey, since Bush became president, we’ve all prayed every single day. Jay Leno

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The Pope will visit President Bush in the White House. Talk about different leaders. One speaks almost no English and thinks he’s God’s emissary. The other is the head of the Catholic Church. – Alan Ray, Stockton, Calif.