What’s Up? 06/16/10

Tags

Campaign financing, chicken, Glenn Beck, Iran, lifestyle, racism, Recipes, religious right, Sarah Palin, soccer, Steven King

Ahh, I feel fairly refreshed from getting that rant out of me. All back to my sweet self.

The garden is getting water logged and this is not a good thing. When the plants get too stressed from too much water, they survive, but end up producing a half dozen seeds. They are too pooped to participate in the ritual of procreation. Sad, but true. Climate change. Sad but true. No matter what the wingnuttery right tells ya.

Oh don’t forget that Chris Matthews has a special on tonight 7 ET on the rise of the Tea Party movement. He says it’s done with little commentary, mostly out of their own mouths. This hopefully will motivate everyone to vote, because some of these folks are dangerous, the rest mostly deluded.

One of Lewis Black’s best lines:

I never understand people who come up to me and tell me that George Bush was a great leader. I wonder, what drug do I need to take to get that deluded?”

Deluded will be the word of the day, and I’ll use it regularly. I read yesterday that the dictionary people who worry about these things, say that some words are falling into disuse and will become extinct. So, I’m going to make sure deluded is not one of them. Choose your words wisely, tomorrow they may be as rare as flat earthers at a Star Trek convention.

One of the things that bugs me is that important stuff falls off the radar too quickly because news comes so fast. New crisis, new tragedy. You know the drill. Toyota? Who worries about their Toyota any more? Same thing with the “revolution in Iran.” Who remembers when we saw the glimmer of freedom shine forth? If you are interested in what life is like these days in Tehran, then visit here, thanks to Arts & Letters.

I know we all get Sarah (that woman is an idiot) weary, but Susan Posner is an excellent writer and journalist and she asks the question: Is Sarah Palin the New Leader of the Christian Right? Worth your while. So you won’t get deluded ya know.

Most of us are addicted to reforming some aspect of our lives several times a year, most notably known as New Year’s resolutions. But in any case, we recommit ourselves regularly to fixing us. Atticus has some ideas about taking that leap into the unknown. Take a moment and look.

Have to take a break and do some cooking. I’m making chicken with olives. Oddly, Pioneer Woman had a recipe which I didn’t select, and Rachel Ray had one that I didn’t write down. But I kinda liked the idea and blended some of theirs with my own, and got this:

chicken pieces (as many as ya want) salt, pepper and brown em.

Remove chicken and add onions, green or yellow pepper and chopped tomatoes.

Saute until mostly tender. Add the chicken back and cover tightly and simmer.

45 min. or so.

remove chicken, add fresh herbs (oregano, rosemary and chopped good olives)

simmer hard with lid off until reduced. (add tomato sauce if ya wanna to thicken more) oh idea! When I check mine, it was already pretty thick, so I think I’ll not reduce much but add a touch of cream at the end.

Return chicken, and add fresh chopped parsley.

Ladle over noodles or rice.

Serve with nice rolls and a salad.

Since Beck and company say its positively un American to like soccer, I’ve decided to love the hell out of it. I’ve informed the Contrarian to start looking for the games so I can stand for Socialism. What can I say, I’m deluded.

If ya wanna know why we are where we are, then Propagandee at Urantia Sojourn has the answer, replete with the wisdom of George Castanza, the neuro-cognitive kind I mean. The more I think, the more this makes perfect sense.

 I had a good rant, but Dave Hackel at Huff Po, really does it well with a long laundry list. All the usual suspects are put in their place. Enjoy.

Walid Zafar does a scathing expose` of Steven King (R-IA). His blatant racist rhetoric is shown for what it is, the rantings of a fairly stupid and utterly bigoted piece of flotsam. It is a sad burden that Iowans bear having this man living in our state. His latest is to charge Obama with “naturally” favoring blacks. It’s an old stereotypical statement and a old racist response. No doubt King would have been right at home in the  antebellum South.

There are more things wrong with politics these days than right. One that is so wrong is that someone can invest 91 MILLION dollars of their own to win an election. This is and has been a rich game, and it’s one of the reasons that we have the mess we have. This is simply immoral. And it ain’t democracy.

And that’s a wrap. Don’t be deluded, come back tomorrow for more of something or other. It’s a mystery even to me.

Wiping the Lint From My Brow

Tags

American Idol, bible study, chicken, creationists, dinosaurs, Ellen DeGeneres, fundamentalists, GOP, health care reform, Italian, Joe Wilson, life in the meadow, Obama, sand burrs

I keep turning around and looking behind and below. Surely my stuffing is coming out as I move about my day. So it seems at least, as I’ve suddenly become prone to losing stuff.

I’m a fairly organized person, as you know. I usually know where things are, in general. “It’s somewhere in the house!”  Actually, I’m a bit better than that.

But lately my life has gotten increasingly complicated or scheduled, and I’ve not put in place the filing, organizing plans to insure that all the papers I collect are properly divided and located with others of their kind. Thus today, I find myself unable to locate the minutes of last month’s library committee meeting, and have had to issue a call for someone to bring a copy with them to the meeting today.

It’s disconcerting to be so scatterbrained. I’m not familiar with it. I feel uncomfortable. Kind of like that dream where I’m walking down the school corridor and wearing only my undies. How did I leave without my clothes?

It isn’t like I’ve never been busy before. I used to be really busy, often visiting multiple courts, with twenty or more clients and court appearances a day. Sometime in multiple cities. Often with shopping trips interspersed or after. I seldom screwed up, and lawyers are great at having networks of “stand-ins” for just those scheduling nightmares.

I wouldn’t change things. The Contrarian continues to be highly supportive. I was at my EFM meeting last night. They are different than previous educational experiences I’ve had. Fascinating in its conception, and I’ve already learned things about the Hebrew Testament and canon that I had not known, and so far I’m just at the introduction.

In a couple of weeks I start a month long Adult Formation class that I’m facilitating. We don’t like to use the word “teach.” I’m just  the one who will read the background material and push the conversation. I’m doing the lectionary section on Job, one of my more favorite books of the Old Testament. (I know, I know, that definitely says something weird about me.)  There are concurrent readings I think from Mark. I’ll be interested in how they interplay. The second year EFM students are doing Mark, so perhaps I’ll glean a few insights from them.

I got creative with dinner. Sauteed some chicken breasts, then sauteed onions and fresh tomatoes, garlic and some jalapeno, a bit of wine, salt and pepper. Chopped the chicken roughly and let it sit until a warm up, then add capers and olives. Serve it over spaghetti. My favorite kind of cooking is Italian. I love garlic and onions.

I’ve got the agenda set for the library meeting. Not so easy with no minutes from last month. We are having our re-opening at the end of the month, and we are pretty well set. It’s been an amazingly satisfying job. So many people worked hard. We fairly drooled over the new books added, more than 200, and all top notch biblical and theological works. I could read for years non-stop there now.

I missed the President’s speech last night because of the EFM class, but the Contrarian taped it for me, and we watched it when I got home. Powerful, competent, intelligent. The polls suggest the president hit a home run. Who would have doubted that? Put to rest are all the utter cow dung idiot arguments. Perhaps now we can have an adult discussion now that the hair-brain flights of fancy of the Palin/Gingrich et al contingent have been put to rest. Let us hope we can shush the children with their personal agendas of destruction. We deserve it.

Best moment: Joe Wilson (you lie) resulted in his opponent raising something like $200,000 to date. It was exactly what we hoped would happen. The rational people in America react with disgust, and the Rethug agenda of politics before reform takes a hit.

I find it humorous that because Obama is an inspirational speaker, he is disdainfully referred to as the Messiah, and we are his followers. Interesting, because most of these brain dead opposers claim to be born again Christians, and shouldn’t the Messiah be followed? But what can you expect from confused thinkers who have long since given up remembering what that thing between their ears is for.

Ellen DeGeneres has been named as the new judge on American Idol. I think it’s probably a good thing. She’s brightly funny. We don’t watch it that much, but Paula was always painful to watch. Ellen just came over to ABC and her daytime show is now at 9 am here. Gone are Regis and Kelly. I don’t know where they went. I liked Kelly but Regis was never my cup of tea.

Back to Wilson, ya see, I’m not all shocked and stuff. I don’t think the dude should resign. It is just symbolic of the general wingnuttery of the Republicans these days. Party of the certifiable. There is a pretty good analysis of this at HuffPo. Read it if you enjoy beating dead horses. I do from time to time. Just ask me about fundamentalists!

I’ve been hooting for a day or more at my re-meeting with creationists and the wacky world of dinosaurs and man kumbaya’ing through the amazon forest. Brings back memories of the Flintstones. Come to think of it, perhaps the creationists took that literally too. Anyhoo, I realized I had another A number 1 reason why evolution must be true:

SAND BURRS, SAND BURRS, SAND BURRS, SAND BURRS, SAND BURRS, SAND BURRS

I mean seriously, no loving God would create such a torture device.  Having no, and I  mean no use whatsoever, except to cripple and maim the unwary, it can only be the product of evolution. I repeat, NO loving God would deliberately dream this up.

My poor pups are limping every day. Fully a block long of the lane has these Inquisition worthy plants scattered around, dropping these lethal barbs in the sand.

It is unsafe to walk indoors without shoes, since both cats and dogs lay down and patiently pull the needle sharp orbs from their feet and hair. You have not lived until you have driven one of these babies into the ball of your foot at full deliberate step. The screams and curses can echo for miles.

Let me get organized, I have a dinner to finish, a meeting to conduct, and more things to lose before day is done.

Latin Fling

Tags

Arroz con Pollo, carribean, chicken, Latin, Recipes, rice, tex-mex

Yesterday, I spend the day at a church retreat as a special Lenten kickoff. We had a wonderful time and it was a good beginning to the season. We were blessed to have with us our former diocesan bishop and he offered much wisdom and lots of useful techniques to help us explore our relationship with God in a deeper way.

Following that, I ran off to collect some food for dinner, but was delayed again in arriving home by stopping to help a man who had accidently left a gate open. Two nice quarterhorses were viewing the world from the highway. I was able to be of some minor assistance in collecting them and giving him time to lead them back to their pasture. It was nice to get my hands on a horse again!

So, what that all meant is that I was tired and not at all interested in posting yesterday. So I thought I would post today the recipe for Arroz con Pollo I mentioned the other day. I got the recipe from Cook Magazine’s Test Kitchen show, shown on PBS. It turned out fabulously and we loved it. As there are about as many recipes for chicken and rice as their are chickens, you can feel free to substitute. Many of the photos I found clearly had green peas in them, so you might add that, but I would only do so at the very end, since they really don’t need cooking.

~~~

Traditional recipes start with a whole fryer cut up. This recipe called for only chicken thighs. I think that works better because not all pieces otherwise need the same cooking time.

6 thighs ( trim excess fat, but don’t remove skin yet)

Place in a marinade of:

6 cloves garlic mashed, or minced

1 tsp salt

1/2 oregano

1 tsp white vinegar

1/2 pepper

1/4 tsp red chili flakes

Marinate at room temp for 15 min. If longer, in the fridge.

Meanwhile:

In a oven ready pot:

1-2 TBSP oil

Add 1 lg. onion, 1 green pepper, and 1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes

Cook until softened (omit the extra chili peppers if you don’t like a little spice.

Add Chicken to the pot, skin side down, brown lightly at medium heat, turn and do other side.

When this is complete, add:

1 3/4 c. chicken stock

1/4 c. H20

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

2 TBSP cilantro, chopped

cover, reduce to a low simmer and cook for 20 min.

Add:

3 c rice

1/2 c pimentoed olives

1 TBSP capers, rinsed,

return to a simmer while heating oven to 350.

When ready, put in over for 20 min. Then stir, and if needed add a bit more water, and cook another 10 min.

Remove from oven and removed chicken.

With spoons or forks, remove meat from the bones and place in a separate dish. Discard skin.

Add to this:

1tsp olive oil

2 tsp vinegar

2 TBSP Cilantro chopped

1/4 to 1/2 c roasted peppers chopped roughly.

Mix and then add back to the rice and stir, and let sit a couple of minutes to rewarm.

Serve with tortillas. I’d say it serves about 6 comfortably.

Enjoy!

Lil Bits of Rancor or Not 9/19/08

Tags

Archaeology, cake, chicken, cookies, dessert, Election 2008, energy, environment, fundamentalism, gay rights, Greek history, John McCain, Sarah Palin, Spain, tex-mex, voting

Starting out with good news, it appears that the bloom is definitely off the flower as regards the Palin candidacy. The cracks are there, and the buckling is starting to occur. Nearly 1500 gathered to denounce her candidacy in Alaska (that is a huge number for Alaska folks). The media seems to be ready to fight back at last, and there are plenty saying that only the most rabid racist hate mongers among us will be voting for that ticket in November.

Oh, I just love Tex-Mex if you hadn’t heard. And one of my favorites at the restaurant anyway is Chimichangas. Baking Delights  has a wonderful recipe that doesn’t require deep frying which is such a mess and since her brisket recipe was SOOOOO GOOOOD, I’m assuming this will be a hit too. These are for chicken but I’m sure you could substitute about any meat you like.

In a tour de force, the NYTimes  has vetting Ms Palin themselves, and boy what they have turned up is enough to curl your nose hairs as they say. It’s all cronyism and strong arm tactics and plenty of secrecy. Sound familiar? Believe me this is one damning article and you should read it. I’ve been saying that Palin would be relegated to a closet in a McCain administration. I may have been very wrong. It may be McCain who is shoved in the corner. This woman is an egomaniac on a mission to be president herself.

Oh boy, and don’t miss Frank Rich’s op ed in the Times  on the 13th. It is simplya scathing indictment of Palin and the weak McCain who now holds onto her coat tails hoping she can drag him into the White House.

We seem ruled by polls these days. And they seem to go up and down and round and round with little agreement. Distributor Cap NY  tries to make some sense out of them, and tries to explain to us how they should be viewed. I’d take a look and read his analysis and then you will understand why they are not the things to place too much credence in.

The mere mention of the word chocolate and I am there! So here is a lovely recipe, reprinted at Epicurious  from Gourmet Magazine. Chocolate-Glazed Chocolate Tart  is easy to make and will soothe the savage beast of a chocolate addiction. Don’t miss it.

There is a new website called Women Against Sarah Palin. You should take a look. Impressive response by women in America. They have an email and you can give you views of Ms. Palin some of which will be printed on their site. Email them at womensaynopalin@gmail.com. Please do so and make your voice heard. The tide is beginning to turn. We need your help.

Remember when Sarah and John told us that she was qualified to handle the economy since Alaska produced 20% of all US energy? WRONG. According to experts, even under the broadest definition, Alaska contributes at best 7.5%, and under traditional definitions, they produce only 3.5%. They lie it seems about everything. Alaska is 9th in production behind states like Texas and Wyoming. This was fact checked by the Washington Post  and brought to us by Ezra Klein.

Garrison Keillor gives us his take on the remade Republican party. Just forget the past  (and our responsibilities for it) and write a “new narrative” as the people who are going to clean up the mess we made. As always, nobody says it quite like Mr. Keillor. Enjoy the ride.

More bad news for McCain. It seems his pundit buddies, Richard Cohen, and now David Brooks are jumping off the trackand saying, “gone too far there John, we’re done with ya.” His colossal dishonor in picking Palin is just a tad too much for even some of his former supporters.

Joseph Welch? Remember him? He is the guy who finally put an end to the McCarthy hearings with the well placed words, “Have you no sense of decency sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?” History News Network  says this campaign of McCain’s is simply stunning in its use of lies and deception. If this works, then there facts and issues no longer matter at all, it’s just about skillful manipulation of facts to distort character. The answer, a well placed Welch remark in the debates. I hope it happens, and I’ve been predicting that Obama will push the buttons of Mr. McCain until he erupts. And that shall be that as they say. End of campaign.

If you are tired of the old rhetoric of gotcha politics, head over to Institute for America’s Future where they make a fine attempt to actually discuss the issues. There is a forum there as well. I haven’t had time to look it over very carefully but I got the tip from Hullabaloo.

Maureen Dowd  has a not to miss article this week. She slams dear Sarah for her non-thinking approach to running the world. Just platitudes and well, Sarah is sounding more and more like Dubya than Dubya did. Not a McCain clone at all, she’s a carbon copy of our dumb boy Bush himself. And we know where that got us don’t we?

I know you, like me, are always desperately happy to learn more about Troy. No not where I live, but where the whole Trojan Horse thing came about from. You know, Homer, Illiad? Ringing a bell? Sure, I knew it would. Well there are ongoing excavations going on there, and so I thought you would appreciate an update. Go to rogueclassicism  and read all about what they are learning these days.

A reader of this blog, Shannon, brought this to my attention, and I think it’s one of those things that we all should bookmark and read whenever we get depressed during this never ending election cycle. Anne Lamont offers us sage advice on how to deal with the insanity generated by the McCain campaign.

Two excellent entries from Scandalous Women today. One is a scandalous biography ofthe woman pope, Olimpia Maidalchini. No she wasn’t elected pope, but her brother was, and the word is she wielded the real power. And the second, right below, is a list of 100 of the best history blogs. So if you love history, check that out.

Lots of baking in the fall, as the kitchen is cool. You might want to try these Pistachio White Chocolate Cookies. These seem rather unusual and well, nuts and chocolate just go together. You can of course substitute white chocolate for any of your liking. I generally prefer bittersweet myself, but heck,  who are we kidding, there is no bad chocolate.

We of the liberal persuasion all know that if Barack Obama had Sarah Palin’s “qualifications” or did the things she and John do, he and his family would be vilified in ways that are too disgusting to relate.  Acts of Hope  has a fine piece that she got from Tim Wise on what it means to be White Privileged. If you haven’t had a chance to read it, stop by now and do so. It is very true. And I need to thank a number of folks like FranIAm  who have done similar whatif’s.

I’d recommend Susan Posner’s column, The Fundamentalist  this week at American Prospect.  She has a good perspective on the evangelical wacko right and how they have infiltrated and control the McCain campaign platform. They see Palin as their best hope of controlling McCain, whom they have always been suspicious of. They see her choice as their return to firm power. I suspect they are right. Let’s hope they don’t win.

Good news for gay marriage proponents. Prop 8 in California is losing steam and now trails by 17 points in the polls. I find this so wonderful and delight frankly in the fact that the wingnuttery right is gnashing their teeth over this development. They continue to tout that they are giving voice to the majority, but I submit that this isn’t the case! Bravo to Californians.

We reported yesterday that Old McCain got confused when being interviewed by a Spanish radio stationperson and didn’t apparently know who Jose Luiz  Rodriguez Zapatero was. Randy Scheunemann claims that of course that is wrong, he knew perfectly well who he was, but in his own bumbling round about way, he was just suggesting that he was going to continue the snub that Bush has started for the Spanish leader, when Zapatero withdrew his troops from Iraq. Well, okay, if you want to buy that rhetoric which is obviously silly, go ahead. So McCain is once again promising a continuation of Bush policies. That works! (So why did he say he would be happy to meet with Zapatero merely five months ago?) I just want to thank McCain now for screwing up relations with another ally. Good going there big guy. Ain’t senility a bitch?

Sorry, but the old dude is not to be believed. In trying to drum up voter support for his off shore drilling mantra, the dull one touts that oil rigs are safe and come through hurricanes just fine, and “fish love them.”No explanation for the latter remark of course, just the usual nonsense that pops into the old guy’s head. But the bit about oil rigs having no problems with hurricanes is simply absurd. Hurricanes Rita and Katrina destroyed 113 rigs off shore, and three rigs simply disappeared and their whereabouts is unknown. Untold spills were also the result. As they say, yes, and telephone wires are essential to the habitat of birds too. Caretakers, come in and clean up another one for da loony boss.

Okay, so I have to finish with AA. Today is a special, his love letter to  his wife. I know you will enjoy it, and you will recognize perhaps some things about your own spouse. Might be a good time to mention one or two. 🙂

Lil Bits of Rancor 9/05/08

Tags

abortion, astronomy, casserole, chicken, Christianity, Election 2008, John McCain, religion, Reproductive Rights, salad, Sarah Palin, science, tex-mex, Women's issues

Let’s start right off with a recipe today. A Mingling of Tastes has a lovely recipe for coleslaw, called Cabbage/Radish Slaw. It uses some jalapenos but also uses sour cream instead of mayo for the dressing. It’s definitely for a Tex-Mex meal, but I thought it was a nice change of pace. See what you think by following the link.

I think Essential Estrogen  makes an excellent point about Bristol Palin’s pregnancy. According to Sarah Palin, Bristol chose to continue her pregnancy and keep her baby. John McCain has said that should this happen to his daughter, she would choose as well. Neither apparently thinks that the rest of American women should be allowed choice however, since they both are for a ban on abortion. Jon Stewart made the same point Wednesday night on his show.

I’m not talking a lot about Sarah Palin’s speech. It was effectively given, I’ll grant her that. It was long on nasty personal name calling and short on any real substance of WHAT THEY WILL DO, (other than shake up Washington, which is hard to see happening because even if they win, they will surely face a strongly Democratically controlled Congress). Worse yet, much of any substance was actually not true, such as her claim that she squashed the “bridge to nowhere.” Just more of the Rovian big lie approach. Ezra Klein  has a reasoned critique of the speech and you can read it here.

A list of FactCheck.org  corrections:

• An ad running in Iowa and no doubt other places, suggests that Democrats are to blame for the deficit and that Obama and Democrats will bring painful new taxes to the middle class. This is just a patternof McCain’s in distorting Obama’s tax plan. Of course Obama’s plan doesn’t increase taxes for the middle class, but significantly reduces them.  FactCheck calls McCain for engaging in a pattern of deceit. Obama’s claim that his program would cut taxes for 95% of American families is essentially true according to the non-partisan economic experts FactCheck used. Comparing the two plans, Obama’s average person would gain almost $800 more than McCain’s in tax savings.
• In regards Iran, McCain isolated statements of Obama’s and then twisted them to mean something quite different than they clearly meant in context. McCain claims that Obama called Iran a tiny  country of no real significance or importance. Of course the context was that the usage was in relation to Russia. Obama was making the claim that the Soviet Union posed a more significant threat to American interests in the past. He said in other speeches that Iran was the most significant threat posed to Israel and the region.

A post at In These Times explores the distortions of the McCain/Palin campaign from last night’s speakers. They report that the AP, so disillusioned by the distortions of the speakers against Obama/Biden, that they determined to fact check them all. See the results. Unfortunately ITT does not cite their source article at the AP, but you get the flavor of it at least.

If you are looking for something amusing in all this, slip over the Inside-Out the Beltway for his humorous take on the McCain campaign and “The Amazing Smoke Machine.” You won’t be sorry, and you will laugh. It is so very McCain. It’s “more coal, I can still see real issues,” and more. Don’t miss it.

For those who are worrying about how well Sarah Palin came off Wednesday night. Two things. I read reports of two focus groups, one in Detroit of Independents, the other composed of Hillary supporters. None were the least impressed with Ms. Palin on the issues or on her fitness to be VEEP. They agreed she gave a fine speech, she was articulate. Second comes a piece from the NYTimes Opinionator, collecting the journalists opinions from around the country, and folks, it ain’t good for the most part. Read the comments though, there are quite telling I think.

A fascinating discussion over at On Faith from the Washington Post. Is it hypocritical that we are considering a woman for a high post in government when we keep them from serving in the higher posts in some of our churches? You can bet that the discussion is quite animated on this one. Read all the panelists and then join in the conversation.

I confess I did not watch McCain last night. I saw snippets of course this morning and mostly he was the same old “my friends” kinda sad little old man, much like a cartoon character who talked like he had a cold. Worse at one point he was in front of a green screen that was part of an expansive lawn leading up to a mansion. Not the kind of picture the McCainites should have been promoting, but we hear that his campaign is in some disarray these days. There is a good report of Journalist reaction at Political Animal today. Also read some of the comments which are also grand. Another analysis can be found here. And American Prospect  also weighs in.

Seems our new plaything Sarah Palin has her own Jeremiah Wright in her closet. The real vetting is just getting started and it seems her pastor in the great city of Wasilla has had some pretty nasty things to say about Democrats and their likelihood of attaining heaven. Pastor Kalnins is another of those feisty firebrands who speaks his mind. Sarah, dear lady that she is, spent most of her life in that church, having been baptized at age 12. But another fun item for the bloggers to spew about no doubt.

It’s nice to know that McCain’s campaign caretakers now admit the obvious. This campaign to them is “not about the issues”but about the character of the candidates. They are of course setting out to prove but again that we somehow have to give this thing to Johnny S. because he deserves it and that this is the proper pay off for his POW status. We heard about it interminably again last night. I never fail to be amazed at how stupid they really are. Of course the American people are only concerned with personality, that is why Johnny didn’t bother mentioning any specific programs or proposals he shall work for. Uh huh, riggghhht. THEY DON’T HAVE ANY is more like it. Read a good article at the Salon.

As you can see, this rock tells the tail. There is now a serious question as to the sun’s involvement in the formation of our solar system. You can see that right? If you are among the minuscule number of people who can’t see this obvious factoid, then I urge you to run by Science Daily  and learn this incredibly important piece of information. How can a person be grounded on his planet when he doesn’t fully understand how it came to be I tell ya?

Simply Recipes always has great recipes. This one is perfect to go with the coleslaw featured up top. It’s Chicken Enchiladas Verdes. I need to get some tomatillos and make this soon. It sounds utterly scrumptious to me.

Over at Telling Secrets, we get one of the best lines in answer to Palin’s “He was just a community organizer.” It seems a dear commenter in Michigan, said this:. “Ms. Palin needs to remember that Jesus was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor.” Yep, I think that says it quite nicely don’t you?

Another article by American Prospect  is a must read. Given McCain’s usual gaffes on the campaign trail, and his sometimes grandiose claims about what he will do as President, some wonder who is running the show? Is McCain actually in charge, or is he the figurehead run by his handlers? Some of those handlers are, well, beholden to other interests you see, being paid by them???? so we have a right to know. This article is very scary, and I urge a read.

From time to time I come across something that you have to read. It is unpleasant, it is guilt inducing, but it is real. Real enough to reach out and touch. Some need no reminding, they speak this every day, calling us all to account and to remember. Others, like myself, manage to forget about this more than I would like to admit. Read it, send it to those you love, those whom you respect, those whom you have a bond with. Then send it to everyone else too. Let no one forget. JUST FREAKING READ THIS PLEASE!!!!

Okay, that is it for the week. Hope you find a link or two of interest. 🙂

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.

~~~&&&~~~&&&~~~

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

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?