Let’s Have Some Happy Presidental Day!

Tags

Just nothing but junk, life in the foothills, musings

It’s President’s Day!

I would have forgotten, being a retired person, and not being beholden to no calendar (we sometimes celebrate Christmas a few days late, because we are not aware of even what day of the week it is most of the time). Until I called the bank about a zillion times and couldn’t get a human being on the other end.

Since this task was assigned to me by the Contrarian, it’s safe to safe we both forgot.

There is a scam born nearly every minute I think. I get a e-mail every week telling me that the e-mail is in danger of being disconnected if I don’t return the e-mail with my username and password. It’s suitable addressed to “maintenance”.

I might bite, but for the bold statement across the top of my email that says: we will never ask you for your password.

Yesterday the Contrarian received an automated phone call, telling us that our debit card had been placed on a hold and that we should push “1” to go to the security division of the bank. No doubt they would want our account number and pin number to proceed. We didn’t fall for that one either. No doubt plenty do, which is why folks keep trying to figure ways around the law.

I’ve been receiving a zillion and one-third pop ups lately. No doubt from something I downloaded. I am a downloading freak. Anyway, it was getting so dang annoying so I went to Firefox help and said: “HELP“. They took me to options were I found that I already had the “block pop ups” checked. That made me exceedingly pissy since the pop ups are all Firefox windows.

I told the Contrarian. He found a site called www. computerhope.com You might want to write that down. I put in my question and was sent to a page that asked my type of browser, and then told me exactly what to do. It involved going to a scary place called “about.config”. I knew it was scary since the minute I got there, it said, “are you SURE you want to be here?” I checked the “I’ll be very very careful, I promise,” and proceeded to open and change something about privacy. So far so good.

Is anybody got an ad at the top of their “new post” page? (WordPressers only). I’m thinking of starting a national boycott of any ad that comes up on places where there shouldn’t be ads. I will decide of course where they shouldn’t be.

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Rutherford B. Hayes is the least googled President of the United States. I have no idea why nobody googles him. But it’s a great conversation starter wouldn’t you say?

Did I tell you about the site, The Top 10 of Everything and Anything? If I did, well EXCUSE me, and if I didn’t, well, go over there. It is a total surprise every day. Today is The 10 most unique egg cooking fryers. That’s another good conversation starter don’t you think?

Since the Pope is stepping down, I wonder if anyhow has asked him where’s the first place he’s going now that he’s a free man. I wonder if he’s say, “I’m going to Disneyworld!” He might you know. Well, he might.

What’s the best book you ever read? The one that had the greatest impact on you? The one you thought about for days, weeks afterward? The one you maybe read again? Mine? Oh, I don’t know as I can answer. Tomorrow my answer would probably be different from it is today. My rudder is loose I guess. Sometimes it’s definitely The Naked and the Dead. Sometimes it’s Grapes of Wrath. Some times it’s Mila 18. And then on Saturday’s it’s usually Calvin and Hobbes Collected Works. No that’s usually Sunday. Saturday is usually Bloom County.

I really breathed a sigh of relief when I discovered that I only gave up the SECOND most obvious thing for Lent. What was that you ask? Oh. Chocolate. And I’ve never given it up before for Lent. I would have hated to have picked the most popular thing–Twitter. I’ve given up soda before. That is number four. Number three is swearing–that would be a waste of time. I’m addicted to certain words and phrases that just seem to say it right. Did you give up anything? Do tell.

If Monopoly is a game form of capitalism, then I guess what is happening today is pretty much to be expected. I mean isn’t the object of Monopoly to win all the money and own everything? Are you telling me that people like Murdock and Trump don’t aim for that? Capitalism, but it’s very nature has the seeds of its own destruction within it.

MSNBC is airing “Hubris: Selling the Iraq War” tonight. Based on the book by David Corn and Michael Isikoff. Should be worth seeing.

Why is it that Mountain time is never mentioned when they say, 8 Eastern, 7 Central, and 5 Pacific? I mean it’s like we live in this great void of no importance. I feel slighted and slightly like the stupid child in the family.

You know I been wondering. Sarah Palin built a studio set at her home in Wasilla to broadcast to Fox, when they were good buds. I wonder if she goes and sits in it sometimes and daydreams about the good ole days when she was somebody?

Hey, well somebody has gotta do it don’t they?

New York demands a certain number of weirdos.

But I ask ya, if you saw this dude walking up the stoop of the brownstone next to you, after a hard day wiggling his ass, in them whitie-tighties, would you feel like maybe looking for a new place to live?

Live and let live as they say, but do it where I don’t have to see it.

He’s got some legs though. In a weird sort of way.

Do you wonder at the mind that one day said, “yeah, I’m going out to sing and play my guitar and I’m going to wear nothing but some white briefs. That is the ticket to success!”

I’d be checking to see if his Prozac needed a refill.

So…..I think I been daydreaming.

See ya!

Reading Between the Lines

Tags

David Barton, Dick Morris, founding fathers, GOP, History, Joe Walsh, Republican lies, Republican philosophy

 

 

The Contrarian often accuses me of being too partisan. Well, maybe I am, but frankly it’s very hard not to be. The clear and unadulterated fact is that all politicians mislead. The Democrats do it from time to time. The Republicans, on the other hand, do it as a matter of course. They seem so sure that their true intentions are so out of line with what any human would agree with, that lying is the only way to get us to “take our medicine.”

And believe me, medicine is what they are offering from their strange world view. I think it goes something like this–Rome fell in part because it let every Tom, Dick, and Harry become a citizen. They then fed them free of charge. They became entitled from their point of view. Rome became lazy and bloated with a welfare mentality and was ripe for the picking.  And they were picked.

They would claim that the US is falling behind in everything because the government and Democrats want to grow a nanny state, which is what Europe did, and look at the mess they are in, powerful and mostly bankrupt. We are too lazy, and we expect the government to provide for us, so why bother?

Okay, the medicine. Drastically reduce all controls on business and let it be a free system where the successful will rise to the top and the not so successful won’t. When business has freedom to do what it wishes, the economy will flourish, employment will rebound to  offer a job to all who wish one. Those who don’t wish one–not their concern. All government programs that support the poor? Slashed drastically or gutted completely. The only safety net is temporary and for those who have fallen on hard times through no fault of their own.

Religion by the way, will pick up the slack for the truly poor who are unable to work permanently. That’s called charity and you should be damned glad we just don’t throw you into the furnace.

Of course, such a plan is silly, and misses the biggest ingredient of all–GREED. It depends on the good intentions of the business community, and frankly we see way too little of that these days.

Anyway, that’s my take on what they want to do and why. And that it sucks is why they lie about everything and try by hook and crook to win the day rather than tell the truth and let average people decide.

Take one idiot–Joe Walsh–a name not to be bandied about for long, since he is surely to lose his seat in Congress come November. His pronouncements become more outlandish every day. He sees Al Qaida behind the recent shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin. He calls the President “boy” and claims that Jesse Jackson wants to return all African-Americans to the plantation–which if you didn’t know, is code, for “he’s an uppity Negro”.

Just read that our favorite pseudo-historian David Barton, has had his book pulled off the shelves and all publication stopped because the publisher became “aware” that it was full of errors.

His newest book, Jefferson Lies, turned out to be just chock full of them.

Irony is sweet at times doncha think?

Aww, and Barton is always saying that the only people who disagree with his books are dirty liberals.

Speaking of crazy out of this world lunatics, consider Dick Morris, mouthpiece of Foxy Noise who is almost always wrong in his predictions but enjoys the drama so much.

Morris has a new book out called Here Come the Black Helicopters which he claims is code for attacking Washington. In this case he means Obama, who he claims will impose a world government through the UN if re-elected.

Remember that crazy guy who predicted the end of the world recently? I think he should pick the day after the election, cuz Republicans sure say a lot of bad stuff is gonna happen should the Prez be re-elected. Hang onto your hats–and guns!

Another paste eater as a kid for sure.

One could go on.

Endlessly.

Until the sun implodes and becomes a white dwarf.

Until Ying meets Yang.

But I have a Cobb salad to make for dinner, so that’s all for now.

 

 

Related articles

• David Barton’s Book Will Rise Again (patheos.com)
• David Barton’s Christian Publishers Have Pulled His Book from the Shelves Due to Factual Inaccuracies (patheos.com)
• NPR Looks Into David Barton’s Bunk History, Refusal to Respond to Criticism (secularnewsdaily.com)
• Is Dick Morris the world’s worst political pundit? | Harry J Enten (guardian.co.uk)
• Dick Morris: “Don’t Believe Garbage Being Put Out By Media… Romney Is Winning” (thegatewaypundit.com)
• Rep. Joe Walsh says Democrats want minorities ‘to be dependent on government. That’s their game.’ (dailykos.com)
• Congressman Joe Walsh Repeatedly Refers To President Obama As “Son” (alan.com)
• Joe Walsh swipes legislation. From a Democrat. (dailykos.com)

 

Short Takes on the Day 11/06/08

Tags

appetizers, Archaeology, cake, chocolate, Desserts, Election 2008, fundamentalism, gay rights, gender, GOP, History, McCain, Pork, Presidency, psychology, race, religion, voting

Well, I’ve been saving a few articles I have run across during my convalescence. As we alluded to last week, the post election press is full of the usual Obama transition elements, but much more fun is the crazy world of Republican politics. The fur is beginning to fly as predicted between Sarah and the McCain campaign operatives. As well, we find the beginnings of the super fight brewing between the moderate wing of the GOP and the reactionary wingnut right. Months of fun are to follow!

Religious Dispatches reports that the much touted and predicted death of the Religious Right is highly exaggerated. In fact, what we will witness seems to be a fight among them for control of the movement. The more moderate faction will attempt to work with the Obama administration, the more wingnuttery will vie for control and try to direct the GOP in an even more conservative mode. Read their analysis.

I am always fascinated with any article that purports to dissect people from a psychological point of view. This article from The Daily Beast suggests that at least subconsciously, McCain deliberately made decisions that would guarantee his defeat. This was not conscious but was subconsciously his way of destroying the people who had destroyed his campaign in 2000. I don’t know if its correct, but I very much have always assumed that much that drove Dubya was tied to his need to prove himself to daddy. I think McCain has issues that stem from his successful father and grandfather and his relative failure as a Navy man. Additionally I think his POW time has a huge impact on him psychologically that was dangerous in it’s possibilities. Read this article and make up your own mind.

Another great post at Religious Dispatches about what role race, gender and religion played in this election. I found the analysis quite thorough and if this subject interests you, I’m sure you will find something worthwhile in the reading.

As we welcome a new president in, Britannica Blog has a fun little post on other presidents and some of the quirky things they said and did. Did you know for instance that John Adams swam nude regularly in the Potomac? See? Now go get that perfect water cooler tidbit that you so desire to dazzle your coworkers with. Also good for the kids to use in that next book report! LOL.

History News Network probes the issue of race and it’s impact on the election. Their review of polling information provides some important conclusions that we should all reflect upon. Most important the so-called “Bradley” effect seems to have been debunked as erroneous.

As someone who is more often critical of the Vatican than otherwise, I am pleased to report that Vatican officials are returning the head of a sculpture to Greece for inclusion in it’s proper place in the Parthenon. The head will be on loan for a year, and may be renewed. As some may be aware, the topic of antiquity pieces being returned to their lawful owners is hot news around the archaeology world. Reportedly, the Vatican possesses at least two other pieces of the Parthenon which may also be turned over to Greece. In any event, it’s a fascinating subject. Visit Rogueclassicism for the details.

Oh chocolate sets my heart a singing as you well know. Baking Delights has a lovely chocolate lava cake to offer you palate. I tried one recipe for these which failed rather badly, so I’m interested to try it again when my back allows a little more time in the kitchen. Enjoy.

Since the holidays are now close upon us, I thought I would include this rather interesting recipe for empanadas which are a popular finger food in Spain and Portugal. These are pork curried empanadas and they just sounded great. If you are having a party and want something really elegant but not too hard to make, you might want to take a look. Simply Recipes also suggests that you can vary the filling and spices of course.

Okay, some of us deal with snow during the winter. And those of us who have been raised in that hellish environment know snow, you know what I mean? Well the Angry African sends us a hysterical piece on a novice and snow. He happily waves at the snow plow who covered up all his clean sidewalk and troops out to start shoveling again. You can imagine how long his love affair with snow lasted! Enjoy this piece, but be prepared to laugh a lot, or cry, if it sounds all too familiar. I was nearly screaming with laughter, and pain as my back started spasming from my guffaws! Stop this!

Although we scored a huge victory in Barack Obama’s presidency, we faired badly in California with Prop 8, the ban on gay marriage. I am sickened as are many by this development, one we thought was not possible only a few short weeks ago. But all is still not lost. Read AlterNet‘s report on the what the lawyers say about the legality of the new ban.

Well, enough for today. Enjoy the reads, I’ve already found some for tomorrow that will wow your socks off! LOL.

Atoms and Other Particles

Tags

American History, Applique, astronomy, beading, chicken, Civil War, crochet, Desserts, embroidery, founding faithers, fruit, Gardening, George Washington, herbs, Italian, Pennsylvania, pesto, quilting, religion, Rome, seeds, Women's history, world history

George Krause did this beauty, entitled “Fountainhead” in 1970. I suspect that in some parts of the west, such a delightful experience would be most welcome.

Well, the garden is officially planted for the second time. I couldn’t get any more tomato plants or any sweet peppers but I did manage to get four Anaheim peppers which are mildly hot and good for a lot of dishes. The garden doesn’t look too bad, and the corn seems to be going a bit. Some of the tomato plants look rather spindly, but who knows, they may take off. I’m wondering if I should get some fertilizer out on it. Perhaps the heavy rains have washed away nutrients. The little pepper plants, no more than about 7 inches tall are trying to set fruit. That concerns me, since I’m thinking they are not going to produce much. Nothing can be done.

It seems the story is the same everywhere. The Contrariansstep brother has sprayed his fields for weeds so apparently he thinks the corn will come along. Since we planted at nearly the same time, that gives us some hope. Surely he wouldn’t spend the money for nothing. He must feel that the chances are still worth it.

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A huge congrats to Deborah over at (Mis)Adventures of a Crafty Wifey. Seems they are pregnant. Stop by and give her and hubby a nice high five.

William Penn is of course the reason Pennsylvania is called, well PENNsylvania. Yesterday marked the anniversary of his penning ( no pun intended of course) a treaty between his white folks and the native tribe there, the Lenni Lenape. King Charles II had given Penn the land, but of course it was never his to give. Read more at Martin’s American History Blog.

Hannibal won a significant battle against the Romans on this date in 217 B.C.E. Of course in the end he lost. N.S. Gill’s Ancient/Classic History Bloghas the details. The Contrarian and I seldom hear of Hannibal when we don’t recall a funny incident. We were watching “Millionaire” back in its beginnings when Regis Philbinwas still hosting at night. The first question to a contestant was “What animal did Hannibal use to cross the Alps in his war against Rome?” Without batting an eye, the young man confidently exclaimed with obvious superiority, “Llamas!” ROFL. Now there is so much wrong with that that well it never fails to get us laughing like crazy.

Sandi’s Crochet Blog offers a pattern for an afghan, and she offers you three different sizes. The pattern is called shell triangles and it’s very lovely I thought. I have a couple of afghans in progress already, but of course I seldom work on them during the summer months. Just to hot and the yarn drags horribly and your hands sweat. (We don’t use air-conditioning) I have tried to leave comments on her site but they never open up. If any of you have any luck, let me know.

You can find a very interesting discourse on George Washington at American Revolution Blogtoday. He discusses at length Washington’s faith, and how he interpreted that in light of his responsibilitiesboth as Revolutionary General and later as President. A very impressive overview.

I’ve been on a cilantro kick for a while. The fajitas we had yesterday were so much enhanced by fresh cilantro in the salsa. So it should come as no surprise that I found this recipe from  Baking Delights enticing. It’s called Cilantro Chickenand is a quickie. I’m rather certain I shall make it before the end of the week, though I will be significantly cutting it down for two.

Today Civil War Women features Judith Carter Henry. The story is about the first battle of Bull Run and an unlikely victim of that battle. Mrs. Henry, 85 years old, was one of casualties and, and as Maggie points out, the romanticism of war soon faded.

My intestines have caught up with me so I’ve had to put on the breaks with my love affair with fruit for a bit. But that doesn’t mean that I want to deprive you of a great recipe. Mango Blueberry Fool is sure to please your family any day, but especially on the hot summer days when fruit tastes just so darn good. Thanks to Epicurious for another fine one.

I thought I would include this fromFeeling Stitchy today, in honor of our friend Vicki at Knitting Dragonflies. A plethora of dragonflies for your inspiration! Patterns, tutorials and links to other great dragonfly-inspired projects for embroidery and quilting. One is also beaded, so lots of different craft ideas are available.

Okay, have you tried planting an avocado seed? I have, and have actually grown one to a real plant, but then it just died. I think I may try again with the expert advice I found at Gardening Tips ‘n Ideas. Take a peek and don’t send that poor old avocado seed off to the compost heap again. Grow your own! Of course it takes years to produce fruit, so either grow as a houseplant or transplant to a movable container and eventually you will get fruit. We can’t plant outside here in Iowa, it’s too cold in the winter.

Alice Parker is another of those unfortunate women who was tried as a witch. While many try to play down this time in our history, especially the religious right who never want to admit that Christianity can get out of hand, History of American Womenmakes it very clear by her essays that it was indeed prevalent for a time. It is important that these poor women not be forgotten. Her conviction was later reversed and her family received 8 pounds in recompense. How very nice. 😦

Inspired by Antique Quilts has another one she is getting ready to finish. A lovely applique that is colorful and looks quite quick. The pattern is large as you can see if you follow the link and take a look yourself.

Science purely shocks me sometimes. It tells me things that frankly I never thought about before.  Most know of Homer’s Odyssey, if they haven’t read it, or seen some representation of it in film. Of course we know it is part fiction but also part fact, since Troy has long been known to exist, featured so prominently in the Iliad. In the Odyssey, an eclipse is mentioned in the 20th book. Astronomers have pinpointed the date of that eclipse as April 16, 1178 B.C.E. some months after Odysseus return, near in time to when he slayed the many suitors vying for his wife’s hand. Read all the fascinating details of how this was done at Live Science.

The new Pew Report is really fascinating as it looks at American views on religion. Some of the results are simply astounding in my view. Some of this I saw last night on the news. Apparently most of us, even most evangelicals don’t believe that their faith (Christianity) is necessarily the only way to salvation. A huge majority of Catholics (79%) feel this way, topped only by Buddhists at around 83%. That suggests I think, major room for interfaith dialogue and cooperation. The Politico has the story. Here is a link to the forum itself where you can spend a long time reading through this very detailed work.

Pesto! I love the stuff, and have about 8 basil plants doing just fine in a container by the front door. I plan on making pestowhen they are as big as i can get them. It’s very easy to make, just basil, olive oil, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese. Whiz it in a food processor, spoon into ice cube trays and freeze, pop out and put in a freezer bag. You can add it to pasta, soups, well just about anything you wish. Once Upon A Feast has some great new and different ways to make it. Cilantro is a favorite substitute. Just looking at the photos are enough to make a person swoon.

Well I found this next one a bit weird to say the least. It seems glass is not a proper solid at all. It’s moving. Yeah, did I say weird? Atoms are prohibited from moving where they want to by being blocked by neighbors. All of this means (heck if I know why) that glass could be the new component in airplane construction. I’m not thinking I want to sit in a transparent plane anytime soon!

Canada can boast a new find archaeologically speaking, and we always like to speak archaeologically whenever possible. An ancient fort constructed by people before Europeans arrived in the area, has been located in Western Canada, near Cluny and east of Calgary. It is defined as a Siksika First Nation reservation and is around 250 years old. The site was long known to native peoples.

Wow, I sure missed a number of posts by Melisende at Women of History. There are several so I’ll just give you the main site and you can scroll down and read what you like. The first is onMaria Comnena, Queen of Jerusalem, grandniece to Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnena of Constantinople. Second is Theodora Comnena, niece of the same Emperor. Next is Margaret Anjou, Queen to the King Henry VI of England, Artemesia of Hallicarnassus, Queen, and lastlyGalla Placidia, Empress and daughter of Theodosius the Great of Rome. They are all from June 22, so she’s been quite prolific. A lovely run of important women

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More Sign Humor:

At a Music Store: Out to lunch. Bach at 12:30. Offenbach sooner.

At a tire shop in Milwaukee: Invite us to your next blowout. 

At the electric company: We would be delighted if you send in your bill. However, if you don’t, you will be.

Church sign: To remove worry wrinkles, get your faith lifted

In a department store: Bargain Basement Upstairs.

In a Maine restaurant: Open seven days a week and weekends.

In a Pennsylvania cemetery: Persons are prohibited from picking flowers from any but their own graves.

Inside a bowling alley: Please be quiet. We need to hear a pin drop.

On a maternity room door: Push. Push. Push.

On a New York convalescent home: For the sick and tired of the Episcopal Church

Pandora’s Proximity

Tags

American History, Asian, barbecue, beef, Cajun Spices, cake, chocolate, church/state, Civil War, Crafts, crochet, evolution, faith, fundamentalism, Gardening, gay rights, health, human physiology, John McCain, knitting, leafminers, marriage, racism, religion, salad, science, tex-mex, Watergate, Women's history, Zoology

Entitled “Pategonia, Chile #5, this was done by Rene Bass Forman in 2004.

Another day with sun! Will wonders never cease? I had another of my bad dreams this morning, actually two of them together. One is the infamous pee dream. I gotta go in reality, and keep dreaming that I am having trouble finding a bathroom. It always ends up being a fairly public affair, and when I go, alas, two minutes later, I’m desperately searching for another one. That was conflated with a recurrent dream of being back in Detroit, practicing law, and I’m horridly late for a trial in progress that I have completely forgotten to return to. I woke up grumpy!

On the home front, we continue to slowly dry out. The river is down to a trickle and the Contrarian is doing some weed eating around about and burning trash. I’ve done the day’s housework–bedroom and my craft room. I’ve developed a fairly strict cleaning regime that is about the only thing that works for me. It gives me three days off a week–bedroom/craft room Tuesday, office/living room Wednesday, kitchen Thursday, bathrooms Friday. I also made a batch of Pastitsio for dinner, a Greek dish that I’ve had a lot of in the past in Detroit’s Greektown. It’s basically a meat ragu with pasta and a bechamel sauce with flavorings of Parmesan and cinnamon, and tomato paste. A nice little casserole is ready to hit the oven later on.

Let’s see what is around the internet today that sounds tasty, fun to make or just thoroughly interesting to learn about.

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For those who are as old as me, this story is well known. For younger folks, you may not know so much. Today is the anniversary of the break-in at the Watergate hotel, by five men in the employ of the White House. The coverup that followed and it’s uncovering led of course to the downfall of the Nixon presidency. Read about it at Martin’s American History Blog.

Sandi’s Crochet Blog has a lovely lacy daisy to crochet withthread. Of course you could do it with heavier weights as well. But as such it makes a nice applique to a T-Shirt or pair of jeans. It’s cute, and of course, the pattern is there for you as well.

Is McCain’s run for the presidency doomed? So say many historians, who always look at the big picture. The big picture of course means examining history and looking for parallels. They suggest that the Republican cycle is about done, and this is normal. American Presidents Blog has the story for you to ponder and agree with or not as your intellectual prowess dictates.

David Barton, mentioned here before as a fool with a penchant for spreading untruth about our founding traditions, is, according to American Revolution Blog up to his old tricks. That is, he, a exceedingly poor excuse for a historian, attempts to rewrite history to suit his motives of introducing Christianity into the public arena as THE religion of the country. Read this fine expose’ of his junk history regarding the Mayflower Compact.

I confess, I’ve never tried to cook an entire beef brisket. I’ve seen recipes that called for elaborate self-made smoking systems that require constant attention and hours of labor. Baking Delights claims that this one, done in the oven for 12 hours works perfectly well. She lays out all the particulars for you. She claims it is a true Texan perfection. Look it over, take a chance and dive in. She says it freezes just fine, because she says you must make a whole one to make it right, and they are huge. Given prices of everything these days, cheap meat is going to become increasingly welcome in our household, and I intend to make this soon.

Chocolate andhas the sublime, the incomparable, the tasting delight of  Molten Chocolate Cake for you today. Oh, I can sink into a pile of gooey ecstasy just at the mere thought of this. I’m thinking of the 4th of July for this gem.

Now for something completely different. Salad and a nice Asian one to boot. This might be a perfect foil for all manner of summer light dinners. It’s called Pickled Carrot-Cucumber Salad and comes to us from Coconut & Lime.Take a look and add to your repertoire if you so desire.

Fannie Lawrence Rickett‘s was a Civil War nurse. Civil War Womenfeatures her this week in a nice little biography. Daughter to wealthy Jamaican land owners, she later married a distant relative of her mothers who was a captain in the US army. He was badly injured during the war, and she made her way to where he was imprisoned. There she cared for him and other captured and wounded union soldiers.  Read about her life of dedication and hardship as the war progressed.

Commonweal, has an editorial entitled “Marriage, California Style” that examines the new same-sex marriage situation in that state that took effect yesterday I believe. They feel the decision is ill-advised. I do not of course. See what you think.

Steak Fajitas are a staple around the Meadow. We have them at least once a month, and sometimes two. In fact they are on the menu for later in the week, if I can get to the store and pick me up a green pepper. I thought you might like an authentic one from Epicurious today taken from Gourmet magazine. The only thing weird about this recipe is the basil, which I don’t find correct. I would change it to cilantro myself.

Free Sample Forager has a slew of new items for you. I saw cereal and acid reducer and rice, all free samples. There are a good dozen to look at and link to and acquire.

There are those in this country, and I am one of them, that fear that our respective bigotries are doing such damage to our country and our world that something must soon be done. It seem epidemic and endemic in our world. I’ll have more to say on this subject at a later date, but I urge you to take a look at this offering from History News Network, “A Passion for Overcoming Injustice has Seized America Once Again.”

Mary Towne Easty was another of those women who ended up on the wrong side of Salem religious fanatics and paid the price with her life. History of American Women, focuses on her story today and her death in 1692 at the gallows.

Serious knitters know about spinning and dying their yarn. I think it’s a fascinating idea, but know I’ll never get to that level of interest. I would love to weave as well, but know I never shall. Same for learning to play the piano. If you have this kind of serious interest, Knitting Dragonflies has some information for you. I am still puzzling over socks directions and scratching my head, thinking it doesn’t make a lot of sense with all these needles (five of them?).

Ever wondered about optical illusions? How exactly they “trick” the eye?I have, pondering how the neurons in our fabulous brains fire in exquisite synchronicity to do what they do so that we can do what we do. Well, Live Science has the answer for us. It has to do with the future, and how far we can see into it.

And if you think that only humans have the capacity to think and plan ahead, well, think again as they say. It turns out that apes and orangutans can as well, and do. But another indice of defining humanity that falls by the way side. It seems that there is less and less that separates us from our close cousins than ever we thought.

Wow, a totally awesome question this week on On Faith. Do you believe that faith affects health? Does it do so positively or negatively? Is this New Age? Lots of interesting ideas here. I think it can be both a help and a detriment. I think it depends on how you use it, and what exactly faith means to you. I’ve seen a whole plethora of people who have turned faith into mental illness, and others who have grown in vigor through quiet contemplative spiritual exercises. Read the varied approaches by the panel and delve into the comments.

Once Upon a Feast has more mouth-watering recipes to tempt you to get in that kitchen and really explore your culinary heart. I think  that Cajun Spices are a must, and it’s always better to do your own that buy that expensive packaged stuff. Also, you can wander over to the Pasta Roundup and find a ton of great dishes here. The true joy of this roundup are the pictures which are so glorious, I swear you could eat the paper and be satisfied.

Religion in American Historyhas a good one today. They feature on wingnutty Cal Thomas, popular from his idiotic featured editorials and his rightwing drivel on FoxyEntertainmentNews. Cal, using that damned if you aren’t a Christiannonsense, claims that Obama isn’t one. Why you say? Because Obama actually thinks a compassionate God doesn’t condemn 4/5 of all humanity to eternal hellfires because they haven’t had the benefit of Christianity as their source of religious training. Read the funny, but sick take by Mr. Thomas.

This recipe caught my eye at Simply Recipes. I’ve forgiven her for the Chipotle Chocolate Cake. Frankly I rather detested it, and finally threw out the last piece. i just couldn’t manage another slice. Her Tex-Mex recipe for Mexican Green Bean Salad sounded just right. We have yet to plant our beans given the lousy weather, but hope to before the end of the week. I can see making this fine offering to accompany some grilled fare.

A goodie, today we get another great post from Scandalous Women. Today she focuses on Grace Metalious, the author of that scandalous book Peyton Place!Remember the TV show? How we watched in titillation at the goings on of the families, sure that we were on the verge of naughtiness. Remember the waif thin Mia Farrow and Ryan O’Neal?  Read about Ms. Metalious’s life in all its detail. My deepest thanks to Elizabeth for her extraordinarily fine posts.

Tip Junkie is featuring a whole slew of crafters with lots of talent, and lots of stuff for sale. You might want to take a look, buy something, or get some ideas for crafting of your own. I thought there were a number of delightful products, and it certainly gave me ideas.

Veggie Gardening Tipshas an excellent post on that miserable ewww pest the leafminer. Those are those great big green sluggy things that eat the tomato plant you have been so lovingly tending in less than a day. I’ve not had much trouble with them here in Iowa, but in Michigan it seems I was always fighting them. Some great help on eradicating this beast.

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More of those wacky bumper stickers–read em here instead of rear-ending somebody trying to read them on the road!

huked on foniks werkd fer me

I am overjoyed with whelm!

I didn’t fight my way to the top of the food chain to be a vegetarian.

I Don’t Suffer From Insanity, I Enjoy Every Minute Of It

I Feel Like I’m Diagonally Parked In A Parallel Universe

I Got A Gun For My Wife; Best Trade I Ever Made.

I Have The Body Of A God … Buddha

I Just Got Lost In Thought. It Was Unfamiliar Territory

I left the womb for this?

I put in contacts for this?

I took a pain pill. Why are you still here?

Weep for Iowa

Tags

American History, astronomy, Civil War, crochet, cross stitch, fabric decoupage, founding fathers, ice cream, Italian, pasta, Presidents, quilting, religion, science, Unitarianism, Women's history

Another entry into the Spider Black-White Photography competition. This one is from an amateur Jason Robinette USA. It is such an anomaly in contrasts, the expected tilted back head so common to one who is arising from beneath the water of a pool, the hand placements so very odd. It other worldly in some sense, alien. I wonder if it was spontaneous or staged?

Horrors continue in Iowa. We learn that a boy scout camp was hit by a tornado last night with a loss of life of 4 and upwards of near 50 injured. It is almost beyond comprehension that so much misery is visiting our state. Cedar Rapids has no power, and the 500 year flood plain has been evacuated while the downtown begins to flood. Cresting has not yet even occurred. One can only wait in dejection as things just get worse and worse.

Our friend has has plenty of time to remove all his valuables and appliances from his home. At last check yesterday the waters from the Wapsi were about 40 feet from the house. The Wapsi has I believe crested in Independence which is the last stop before it hits us. Things look bleak. Well water must be boiled in our county if you live on a flood plain. We do not.

Our major concern now is power. It flicked off once yesterday and then went off for about 10 minutes. No sump is worth a dime if the power goes out. At this point, our basement would begin flooding I believe within a hour. That is simply nothing we can do anything about. As power fails on other parts of the grid, more stress is placed upon those still operating.  It has rained fairly steadily since about 6 am. We are now in a lull, and hope that perhaps we have now had the worst of it. Time will tell, but we are told that after today, things will be quite a bit better except for Sunday where rain is still highly likely.

Oh, the Chipotle Chocolate Flourless  Cake is well, HOT. If you make it, I would definitely not add the dash of cayenne suggested. I added a couple of scoops of ice cream and that tempered the heat enough that I could enjoy it, but I’m doubtful I’ll try this little number again. It would be okay I guess for something rather fancy, small pieces with ice cream or whipped with maybe some fresh raspberries for garnish. It definitely is a dish that would cause a good amount of chatter when served.

Let’s see what we can find that takes our minds off the sad state of affairs in my state.

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A lovely owl filet crochet  is offered by Sandi’s Crochet Blog. As always it comes with complete instructions and variations so that you can even cross-stitch it if you wish.

Iowa Public TV has been running a series on the American Presidents. We just finished watching the one on Harry Truman. I didn’t think much of the man after watching it frankly, and even less of his self-centered wife Bess. His adoration for her was slightly disgusting, given that she treated him rather badly in my opinion. American President’s blog  has a nice piece on his courtship of the woman. He was strange and they were a strange couple.

American Revolution Blog  looks again at religion, especially that of Unitarianism in our early colonial period. I believe that John Adams changed from his Puritan roots to the Unitarian church. It’s an excellent read and you shouldn’t miss it.

Okay, so we have been flirting with some recipes that are a bit out there. This one features that chipotle again, this time with blackberries. I thought it made an interesting possibility for summer barbecue. It’s called Chipotle-Blackberry Pulled Pork, and comes to us from Coconut & Lime. It’s a slow cooker recipe, with a long list of ingredients but oh it could be a huge winner!

Free Sample Forager  has Pantene hair product samples available. Vaseline samples as well.

Garrison Keillor  has a piece over at the Salon. This week he weighs in on Barack Obama and the challenges faced by a black man running for the country’s highest office.

Family Style Food  offers a recipe that is anything but Family Style. This is a lovely update of an old favorite. I can assure you that at the moment we actually have a wonderful beautiful ripe tomato of sufficient size, BLT’s are thfirst thing we consider. We gorge on them for a month, at least once a week, until the time has past. Take a look at BLT’s with aoili sauce and on Flatbread.Recipes for all including the flatbread. Oh I am definitely trying this one.

Maggie brings us another of her marvelous bio’s. This time the featured woman is Rebecca Towne Nurse. She arrived with her family in Salem, MA in 1640 and later married a man named Nurse. She was arrested as an elderly woman of 71 as a witch, and even though she had an impeccable history in the town, accusers (who may have had other personal reasons to get her out of the way) prevailed. Although the initial verdict was Not Guilty, the jurors were urged to return and rethink things which they did, and finally provided the Guilty verdict that was desired by some. Read about this sad story at History of American Women.

Niki’s Ventures  has a link to a big bunch of new quilting patterns. This is worth bookmarking if you are a quilter. She lists a very long list of sites which offer free patterns and then gives you a separate list for specific quilt types. An excellent resource. In fact there are several lists, and in total more than 2500 patterns. So this is the best of the best. I’ll add this site to my blogroll for crafts for sure.

The Hubble space telescope continues to show us new parts of our universe in all its splendor. The Coma Cluster contains thousands of Galaxies. Can you imagine what you are viewing here? Millions upon millions of stars and planets. I believe most  are older galaxies, no longer producing much in the way of new stars. It is an impressive wonder.

Did I tell you that I adore ice cream? And I adore cherries especially. They are so expensive here in Iowa. I remember as a kid stopping at a roadside stand on the way up to the lake and buying a quart for 50cents. Now it’s like $3 bucks for a quart. But oh so good to combine the two as Simply Recipes has done for Cherry Ice Cream. Oh did I say it also has chocolate chips? BONUS! And I bet that changes your mind!

Secret Recipe Blog  has a wonderful Olive Garden  entry today. Tortelloni Bologneseis available for the copying. Italian dishes are my super favorite ethnic food with Tex-Mex a close second. Try your hand at this crowd and family pleaser.

A wonderful fabric decoupage nightstands  for you from J Caroline Creative. I picked this up through Tip Junkie  and thank her alot. I can’t vouch for the colors chosen here, which are a little glaring to me, but I this tutorial is worth that and more. If you have a cheap piece of furniture that you would like to redo, this is great! Take a look and save this tutorial as the process can be used on anything I think. I’m now thinking of buying a really cheap chest of drawers just to try this.

If anyone is a Civil War buff or a military history buff, I found a nice site courtesy of World History Blog entitled Wig-Wags. It’s run by a graduate student in the subject so you will get some great information and as I perused it, some really good reviews of books on the subject. Stop by if so inclined.

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 HA!

 

 

 

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“I’m not against half-naked girls – not as often as I’d like to be…” Benny Hill

“TV has brought murder back into the home where it belongs.” – Alfred Hitchcock

“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” –Mark Twain

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind”. –Gandhi

“You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take. – Wayne Gretzky

“Happiness isn’t getting what you want, it’s wanting what you got”. – Garth Brooks

“I’m an excellent housekeeper. Every time I get a divorce, I keep the house”. – Zsa Zsa Gabor

“Charlie Brown is the one person I identify with. C.B. is such a loser. He wasn’t even the star of his own Halloween special.” — Chris Rock

Finding the Spiritual in H2O

Tags

American History, chicken, Christianity, crochet, cross stitch, Gardening, health, humming bird food, knitting, Native Americans, pasta, Presidents, quilting, religion, salad, science, sewing, Women's issues, Zoology

This was an entry in the 2007 Spider Awards for black and white photography. It is by Matthew Septimus and is entitled “Ganges Bathing.”

It struck me that we are not making anything spiritual of this experience with water. Perhaps that is our failing. Another night of rain, punctuated by sump duty, laying in bed listening to it stop and then just when you felt relief that the storm had passed, the splats upon the skylights began again. This must have happened six or more times, as my grief grew deeper with each teasing interlude interrupted but again with the awful sound. The Contrarian is distressed, and he is the one who usually maintains an optimism that I cannot hold on to. I on the other hand, have made my peace in some respects, surrendering to that which I cannot change.

I think that I composed a very long essay on this experience in my head last night, but truth be told, I have no desire to set it to type today. The effort seems too much, and what hasn’t already been said after all? I remind myself that we are in our home, we have lost little but perhaps the garden, and there is no clear assurance of that. We endure because that is our humanity. Looking back, we will undoubtedly wonder how we did, but during the doing, one simply puts one foot before the other, does the next task at hand, and hopes. Hope is our eternal protection.

I made a pretty little holder for my knitting needles the other day. I guess I should try to figure out how to download and upload pictures and show you. LOL. It’s too insignificant for all that trouble. I made some chicken enchiladas for dinner. I kind of redid a recipe I found, eliminating the canned soup and replacing it with a thickened chicken broth, that I made after poaching the chicken in it. I’ll let you know how it turned out. Alas my cilantro had turned to yuck, so I saw no point in making any fresh salsa. Cilantro is the key I believe. So bottled will do.

Let’s see what crafts and recipes we can find today to brighten up the world.

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Martin’s American History Blog  gives us a nice piece on the Mayflower Compact which influenced to some degree our efforts in constructing our Constitution. Follow the link off his main page and read a most interesting story on the this most important document.

Sandi’s Crochet Blog  has a lot of new entries, so I’m sending you to the from page and you can scroll down. She offers some new patterns, a father’s day tote, a lacy edging, and directions on how to weave in the ends from all those granny squares  when you assemble the pieces. There are only 2 blog entries allowed apparently on these “about” blog platforms so go to the bottom and click on more blogs entries and I think the rest will pop up.

We all know that Thomas Jefferson  was talented as a writer and thinker. He was also an accomplished architect and designed Monticello and the University of Virginia. Read about his contribution to our architectural heritage at American Presidents Blog.

More American history and this focus is on Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Islandas a tolerant haven from the religious intolerance of Plymouth Settlement. That is the common story about Mr. Williams. American Revolution Blog has the story you might not have heard about.

Baking Delights  has her loving Saturday surfing so you can scoot over there and find lots of recipes. I saw  cupcakes, and Asparagus and Cashew Chicken, curries and Thai food, and more. I am definitely returning to check out a couple of these.

Gardening Tips ‘n Ideas  has a cute little post about what kind of gardener you are. A starter, maintainer, or finisher? I’m definitely a starter. I love to plant the darn thing, hate to weed and find it so hot when harvest time comes around because that means lots of work in a hot kitchen. Slip over and read this fun post.

History of American Women  takes a look at the Native Peoples who inhabited the area now known as New Hampshire. It was a surprise to me when I moved to Connecticut several years ago to discover such strange names for the Native American tribes. So much different to me than those I was familiar with from Michigan. And of course their dress and livelihood and housing was also different. We tend I think to think all Native people are the same, the ones we see in our old cowboy and Indian movies. Enjoy her fine post. These are simply wonderful posts and so informative.

I mean, if you want to see what a serious quilter’s stash looks like, go over to  Inspired by Antique Quilts  and be shocked! I mean wow, I have like one small shelf of hers and that’s my entire stash. I don’t know whether to feel economical or sadly behind! It’s an impressive array. One of these days, I’m gonna start a new one, I just can’t decide what! I want to do an applique, a friendship quilt, and a old fashioned nine patch. I can’t do all three at once!

First we got to figure out what kind of gardener we are, now its what kind of crafter we are. Yarn Harlot has a new book out, and Knitting dragonflies got a copy and concluded from reading that there are basically two types of crafters. Depending on which kind you are, will determine what you do I think. I’m not sure which one I am, but I think product. I think the more I think about it, it might explain a lot about me as a crafter.

Okay, quiz onwoolly mamoths! No not really, but I sure didn’t know that there were two distinct groups of them. I thought they were all the same. Live Science  has the story for you.  DNA research has uncovered a lot of new information about these cute creatures. It was long thought that humans were the cause of their demise, but it now seems that one group died out well before humans came on the scene.

I just got interrupted by the Contrarian. He’s feeling a bit more up since the garden, miraculously seems to be doing okay for the most part. He’s putting up the humming bird feeder and I of course forgot the recipe for the sugar water. So, I’m doing a google for the answer. For your information its: a 4:1 ratio 1/4 cup sugar for every cup of water. Boil the water first, and don’t add coloring.

Niki’s Ventures has a baby bib  for you to make and a link to the free pattern. Or try a bird mobile  for a crib or frankly a lot of little nooks. It’s quite inventive I thought.

On Faith has a most interesting topic this week. What does health have to do with faith? Do religions which have an integral health element in their tradition have real benefits to their followers? Mental health results? A provocative idea, with lots of panelist essays and tons of comments. I’ve joined in these discussions a couple of times, and they really are fun.

Another Pasta roundup  at Once upon a Feast. If pasta is your thing, and it sure is mine, there are quite a few entries this week. Salmon, pestos, and one I am going back for, a new Pastitsio. Having eaten in a Greek town setting for years in Detroit, I know my Greek food. The pictures are luscious too, which really is a great incentive to try some of these. There are much more than a dozen here, and they range into all the great cuisines, Asian, Italian, Greek, you name it.

I was utterly taken aback by this next post. It seems a Church has been found in modern day Jordan which may be the earliest Christian church yet found.It dates, unbelievably to the time of between 33CE and 70CE. It is said that 70 followers of Jesus took refuge there from the persecutions in Jerusalem. It sits below the Church of St. Georgeous, reputed until then to be the oldest, at the age of around 230 CE. What is not clear is whether this was a unique occurrence, or a general rule around the various preaching geography. I suspect it is the former. Rogueclassicism brings the story to you.

Well folks, I don’t exactly know what to make of this one. And before you ask, it’s not from The Onion. It’s a legitimate report from Science Daily. It simply reports that golf cart accidents are on the rise. I guess a number of comics could have a lot of fun with this. I’m not one of them alas. Okay, there are some reasonable explanations, but I’m not sharing. Read for yourself! LOL.

The Contrarian does not like curry, and frankly I adore it. My favorite is chicken salad with crunchy veggies, sunflower seeds, grapes and yes curry. Simply Recipes  has another recipe, and it is definitely going on my to-try list. Take a look at Chicken Curry Salad and see what you think.

Threads of Desire  catches us up on her latest work in cross stitch. She just inspires the heck out of me with her beautiful work. Just looking at what she’s working on gives me a lift.

Women of History  posts a look at women and rights. Focusing on Saudi Arabia in 2003 and comparing it to what is happening in Australia is most interesting. Comparing them both the American women and their rights is even more so. I doubt seriously that any gains have occurred in Saudi Arabia in the past five years. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if things have regressed.

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Some silly quotes for you:

Crazy is a relative term in my family!

Procrastinate now, don’t put it off.

“No BLOOD no foul.”

I’d kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Borrow money from pessimists – they don’t expect it back.

The sooner you fall behind the more time you’ll have to catch up.

OK, so what’s the speed of dark?

Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

When everything is coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.

I intend to live forever — so far, so good.

What happens if you get scared half to death twice?