In the Name of All That is Holy

Tags

African Americans, Christianity, fundamentalism, GOP, Humor, ice cream, Italian, Joe Walsh, Pizza, teabaggers, terrorism

In order to protect my last shred of sanity, we are going to chat about just about anything OTHER than the debt ceiling and the children who claim to be governing us. Indeed the foxes are in charge of the hen-house.

So take a moment, relax, grab a cuppa joe and let’s see if we can find any remnant of a world we can still hang on to.

There is a really good post (most all of them are) over at we are respectable negroes about the backlash the right is giving to the notion that a Christian fundamentalist reeked the horror in Norway. From Beck’s claiming that the children murdered were attending a Hitler Youth-like camp to O’Reilly’s silly claim that he can be “defined” out of being Christian by his unChristian acts, we see a desperation on the part of the right not to be associated with terrorist acts. Chauncey DeVega weighs in.

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I was looking at a neat little recipe site the other day, and was reminded of a simple way to make “pizza” when you don’t have much time or are feeling lazy. While not as good as “real” pizza, it’s a nice substitute and heck, it’s down right perfect for those lazy football afternoons coming soon. It’s as simple as using flour tortillas as the “crust” and then adding your favorite toppings. Take a look at the recipe at JustaPinch and take it from there. The cook there calls her simple version, Pizzatillas.

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Joe “Hey Chris” Walsh, the blowheart that takes to YouTube to lecture the President and call him a liar, is a bit of a douche. Well a lot of a douche. The man who dares to claim he has all the answers of fiscal responsibility, and who is a loud-mouth TeaNutz® idiot, is a dead-beat dad. In Illinois, Joey owes his kids something over $117 THOUSAND bucks. Didn’t stop him from loaning his own campaign $35,000, but hey, that was important. Taking care of the kids? Not so much.

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Political Irony has a delicious piece entitled “To be a Republican You Need to Believe.” It is true, and funny, and sick, and ironic and well, it’s what a GOPer is, nuttier than a fruitcake. Don’t miss it.

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Like to make homemade ice cream? Not many people bother, mostly because left over ice cream becomes hard as a rock. This recipe is quick and promises that that will not happen. All you need is an inexpensive ice cream maker (usually under $40). It’s a rich recipe but only takes about 15 minutes to prepare + the machine time. I’m sure gonna try it.

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Just because it was cute!

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And because it’s true:

(h/t to Political Irony)

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Well, frankly there ain’t a lot going on in the blog world except debt ceiling blah blah blah, and so that’s it today!

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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“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

Lordy Lordy, I’m Well Past Forty

Tags

American History, Archaeology, Barack Obama, Bush, creationism, crochet, dessert, Election 2008, foreign policy, fruit, God, GOP, Home decorating, ice cream, Iowa, Limericks, lobbyists, McCain, medicine, Myanmar, Native Americans, psychology, racism, science, SCOTUS, Women's history

Painting of Madam Pompadour done by Amedeo Modigliani in 1915. You can see it at the Institute of Art in Chicago.

Things are progressing well in the housecleaning venue, however it seems another full week is in the offing. I got the upper cupboards done today and the window and ledge over the sink.  It’s coming along quite nicely for the most part, but it is tedious and I really wish I had started here first. Most of the other rooms were done in a week or less, and this two-week plus monster is trying. I haven’t culled my cupboards in way too long, and at least I have a much better organization going now. That is especially important for baking. I can’t stand having to drag things out of back spaces in order to do something.

On the blogging front, things are going to slow down a bit for a couple of weeks.  We are trying to get our garden in and it’s fairly large as you might guess. Parker got a first tilling done today, and I’m going to Walker a bit later to buy tomatoes, peppers, corn, and a few other things. I have a lot of seeds for lettuce, beets, chard, spinach and a host of other things that I must address as well. So I’ll get as much done on this as possible each day and post what I have.  I really had expected I guess to have the spring cleaning done by now, such is not however the case. I still have the laundry/pantry to do yet, though I suspect that will go in one day or two.

On that note, on with today’s news:

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Abby Sweets has a lovely berry tart that turned into a parfait after the usual kitchen disaster that befalls us cooks all the time. It still looks great and sounds great and is another of those spring time recipes that make for a light but luscious dessert.

Sandi’s Crochet Blog has three offerings today, a potholder pattern, another filet crochet, and a paneled afghan pattern. All are her creations, all free to you. I especially thought the potholder was cute.  I’ve linked you to the main site so just scroll down to see them all.

If lemon bars are more to your taste and you want to do something pretty quickly, stop by A Mingling of Tastesand try her recipe. I have tried one’s similar to these and I can tell you they tame that lemon desire very well.

Britannica Blog has a good look at the issue of racism and how it is or is not playing out in this election cycle. Is it okay for African Americans to vote for Obama because he is black but not okay for white West Virginia voters to vote for Hillary because she is white? It’s a difficult and qualitatively different answer. See what you think.

This is one that has troubled me for some time, and the Contrarian pointed out that we are only one of two countries worldwide who allow it. No I don’t know the other one. Why do we allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise on the airways? Frankly, they do more to dissuade me that otherwise since the side-effects they so quickly run over are scary to the point that I would avoid the medication unless it were truly life threatening. Bill Moyers Journal weighs in on the issue.

I was shocked I tell you to read the crawl this morning and see that ANOTHER McCain campaign staffer is leaving for improper/unsavory lobbying. That makes it 5 in one week. Now, we are waiting impatiently for the end of one administration led by a dolt who picked the worst collection of numb sculls to run the government and now his hip-joined buddy McCain is embroiled in a ongoing series of questionable campaign workers who have left under suspicious circumstances. Need one say more? Blue Girl, Red State has the dope.

Ezra Klein points us to a article in the New Yorker about McCain and his philisophical or not beliefs about SCOTUS. It seems that McCain as we are wont to understand on other things, knows little, cares little, and uses this issue as a nice vehicle to pander to the right wing base he so desperately is sucking up to. If you have noticed, McCain is now using all the proper phrasing about “activist” judges which is pure nonsense in the first place. He is not a lawyer, and one doubts he has a clue about what he is talking about.

History of American Women has a great post on the Native American peoples of New York. She gives a nice overview of each tribe, of which there were eight or more. Very informative history lesson for us all.

Iowa’s own Tom Harkin has a very telling and to the point statement about John McCain and his background. Harkin finds his worldview simply well out of touch with mainstream America and suggests that he views all through a military lens. Certainly McCain has been candid about his lack of knowledge of things economic and it seems Americans are quite concerned about the economy. The Iowa Independent has the story.

It seems we can never get past the discussion about science and God. Live Science attempts to put the whole issue in some kind of perspective. Science we know deals with the observable reality. Theology deals with the supernatural. The two are not at loggerheads. They are two rather different things. I have always concluded that science will not “find” God simply because that it why it is faith. It’s a journey of spirit, not the intellect. See what you think.

Mad Kane does it again. Anyone who saw the absurd interview with Bush wherein he claims to have given up golf to show solidarity with the troops knows what I mean when I say yech. I mean how obscene can one person get? He didn’t bother to stop fishing or dancing did he? Who does he think we are? morons?

We all know of Bush’s latest case of hoof and mouth disease as he accused Obama of appeasement. That has brought down a firestorm of criticism. (Good ole John joined in on Bush’s side, God bless him). Fareed Zakariahas a post today on the subject and the disingenuous nature of the remarks. As if Dubya has not done the same thing. Zakaria asks “Whose the real Appeaser?” Or you might like to take a look at Glenn Greenwald’s take on the matter at the Salon.

The Contrarian likes to watch the House and Senate on the tube when something interesting is going on. He gets a kick out of Byrd, whom he says ranges from senility to glimpses of true brilliance if you are quick enough to catch it. He has just endorsed Obama. Given that he is from West Virginia, I’d say it’s quite telling. Read Ben Smith’s thoughts on the matter at the Politico.

A Greco-Roman Buddha? It seems that from the earliest of days, making a likeness of Buddhas was not done. Sometime after the time of Alexander the Great, it became a more acceptable thing.Rogueclassicismhas a report of early images of the Buddha having been located in Mathura.

Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte is the next installment in Scandalous Women‘s Bonaparte week. She married into the family, marrying Napoleon’s younger brother. Jerome. They met ironically at a ball given by Declaration of Independence signer, Samuel Chase. Follow the link and read more about this fascinating woman.

I am delighted to post this next link. I have only 2 years to go and peace and calm is mine. So say scientists in a report by Science Digest. Aging seems to be associated with more positive emotions than negative ones.Yippee, I can hardly wait, because this gloomy gus feeling I’ve had since winter is getting tiresome indeed. I think the Contrarian is thinking of locking me in the basement! LOL.

If you are dreaming of icy delights, and I can’t say that I am, given the temperature is not even 70, you might be interested in this recipe for Strawberry Frozen Yogurt offered by Simply Recipes. If you have tried any of her recipes you can be sure they are always the best.

A terrific new blogger by the name of Chris in DC has hit the internet. Longtime commenter on Greenwald’s blog, he has started his own and given us a great post in what is going on in the sad sad world of GOP land. His writing is snappy and his mind is above average so enjoy reading his thoughts. We welcome Inside-out the Beltway. 

It appears we are all going to do what we usually do, rant a little or a lot, and then turn our head away and pretend we’ve done all we could. Things in Myanmar continue to deteriorate,the ruling Junta continues to refuse most aid, and pretend there is no human tragedy going on. What is worse, they were warned days before the cyclone hit that it was coming and they did nothing, nothing other than of course making sure their miserable lives were secure. One Neanderthal at a forum I frequent had the unmitigated gall to suggest that it was not our problem since we had no “interest” there. I guess I should not be shocked, we have done perilously little in Darfur either. How can humanity stand by and watch this? It’s beyond me. God must weep.

I admit we watch a bit of Fox NONews as comedy. I admit that one of the most silly of the commentators around is Bill Kristol, heir apparent to the great Neo-con revolution started by pappy. I enjoy quite mightily his lousy journalism in the NYTimes. He’s made another booboo it seems. The dude cannot keep his facts straight and has been caught going oops about 3 times now in his very short tenure. Join the fun in reading Think Progress‘s cute and fun article.

Tip Junkie has a nice little post on closet reorganization, and who doesn’t need that. She’s collected a few sites you might want to take a look at and get some ideas from.

 Boy this arrived in the nick of time. Urantian Sojourn’s Saitia has a lovely piece on how to find yourself when the world just looks like a mean and glum place. I hope you spend some time reading their stuff. They have been good friends to me, generous and thoughtful, always insightful. And if that one doesn’t grab you, there are several others. These guys are wonderfully prolific. Read Terry’s fine post on racism, still alive and sadly kicking today. Or read Propagandee’s great Republican Dog Food, or get a great laugh with Michael’s post on McCain’s VP choices! I apologize that I can’t direct link, but these posts are from Friday onward and all on the front page.

Wow, this one is a surprise. Archaeologists think they have found the palace of the Queen of Sheba! Visit this fine blog and learn all the particulars about the new find in Ethiopia. Thanks to Women of History for this one.

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“When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.” Henny Youngman

“Even if you do learn to speak correct English, whom are you going to speak it to?”  Clarence Darrow

“It’s never just a game when you’re winning.”  George Carlin

“Marriage is a great institution, but I’m not ready for an institution yet.” Mae West

“Never be afraid to laugh at yourself, after all, you could be missing out on the joke of the century.” Dame Edna Everage

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And now for some stupid quotes:

Golden, Ripe, Boneless Bananas, 39 Cents A Pound.”
– Ad in the “Missoulian” by Orange Street Food Farm

“Sure there have been injuries and deaths in boxing – but none of them serious.”
– Alan Minter, Boxer

 

“How to store your baby walker: First, remove baby.”
– Anonymous Manufacturer

“You guys line up alphabetically by height.”
– Bill Peterson, Florida State football coach

“Men, I want you just thinking of one word all season. One word and one word only: Super Bowl.”
– Bill Peterson, football coach

“The internet is a great way to get on the net.”
– Bob Dole, Republican presidential candidate

“I get to go to lots of overseas places, like Canada.”
– Britney Spears, Pop Singer

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Big Brown has now won the first two jewels of horse racing’s Triple Crown. UPS is the appropriate sponsor of this thoroughbred. That package you’ve been waiting for is also three years old.

The office cubicle has turned 40 years old. The unique structures have revolutionized the work environment. Now most government buildings can sleep up to four times as many employees. – Alan Ray, Stockton, Calif.

President Bush was just in Saudi Arabia, meeting with King Abdullah. I think he gets a little confused. He kept saying, “So where’s Paula Abdul?” I don’t think he understands. Jay Leno

 

Drunk on an Apple

Tags

American History, Arabs, Archaeology, Barack Obama, Bush, cake, Catholicism, dessert, Election 2008, embroidery, farming, fruit, History, ice cream, immigration, Iraq, Italy, John McCain, Latino, Lebanon, Media, Medici, Myanmar, paleontology, quilting, Rumsfeld, torture, Truman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This a sculpture from the Louvre and is called Hermes a la sandale. It is a Roman replica by Lysippus of a Greek piece now lost. It is of Hermes, tying his sandal while listening to his father Zeus. The head is too small for the body and the tree stump under the leg is not part of the original work.

It’s gloomy and overcast with sprinklings of rain now and then. It’s thoroughly depressing and the Contrarian is simply beside himself with disgust at  his Iowa which has turned so nasty to us all this year. I fear that spring will escape us with nary a pleasantry. I can count perhaps on one hand the number of nice days we have had. The water just seems to sit everywhere with no where to go any more. It’s just impossible to work outside.

Given that scenario, I’ve done little today but pack up some things in the kitchen that I want to throw out. I find that if I don’t use things with in a year, then I probably don’t need them. Five extra carafes for coffee would suggest I don’t need at least four of them. LOL. Dinner is leftover meatloaf with gravy and biscuits, a veggie of some sort and probably a salad. I baked a loaf of bread. Whoopee what a day. Oh and we had three orioles at the feeder today. They love the apple. They go mad. I wonder if they get drunk or something?

If you are interested in new blogs, you might want to check out the sidebar, I’ve added a few over the last few days, mostly in history, politics and columnists I believe.

On to the news:

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This is one of those stories that slip through the cracks. Last week I reported on the release of a journalist Sami al Haj who had been detained for six years and then released without charges from Gitmo. It seems  al Haji’s arrest was not a fluke, but part of a pattern of intimidation launched primarily at Al Jazeera. Bombings, shootings and arrests are commonly used against them, all because the Bushites don’t like their reporting. Read about it from Amy Goodman at Alternet.

Today is the anniversary of President Harry Truman’s birth. American Presidents Blog has a nice piece on his trip to Europe in 1945, before the full end of all hostilities in WWII. Truman traveled by ship to Europe for a meeting with the allies, Britain and  the Soviets. This must havebeen some kind of surreal experience for Truman, given that Roosevelt had just died. Lots of links to his library and a day to day log of his trip.

A couple of things are really on my nerves today. One is Myanmar. Tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands are at risk of dying in what was formerly called Burma. Supplies are available, but the ruling junta refuses most of it because they are afraid of being toppled by aide workers and I guess the supplies themselves. I’m saying that I think the UN ought to just invade the country with a world force and take them down and save the people. This is genocide of a new flavor. It cannot go on. It is a crime against humanity. Read more at Blue Girl, Red State.

More and more people are talking about the “dream ticket”again. The one with both Democratic candidates. It would be Obama/Clinton of course. I can imagine Obama is not so happy about this, Clinton may be more so, given the bottom line now. I think it might be a worthwhile idea. I’ll vote for Obama in any case, but I think this could do a lot to heal some wounds. Britannica blog has an opinion on the issue, and it’s worth listening to.

C’est La Vie has a lovely tribute to mothers everywhere. The post consists of questions answered by second graders about what mothers are. It’s the usual chuckling and tender sweet post that you might want to send along to mothers you know and love.

Ben and Jerry  Cherry Garcia’s Ice cream. Okay. You want the recipe? I got it for you, or Copycat Restaurant Recipes does. Go and take a look. This is an odd one, no cooking before hand, and it has raw eggs, so be forewarned. I’m not a bit scared of eggs so I think it’s one I’ll try when it warms up a bit if it ever does.

Feeling stitchy has a nice little tutorial on embellishing things with embroidery. I tended to think of the usual things, pillowcases, and such, but her ideas definitely showed me a broader view of what can be done. Take a look and see if you get some ideas!

Warm Rhubarb compote with Walnut coconut crunch sounds especially nice on a day like this. Gloomy and cool and wet, begs for comfort food, and this recipe from Epicurious is sure to do just that–comfort you. A tad on the foo foo side with the ingredients, but I think you can substitute some of the high end ones easily enough.

I Just had to show you this one from Inspired by antique quilts. This is a quilt I have always wanted to make, but it is one that takes forever to make, years in fact. I have always wanted to make it using no duplicate fabrics at all. She has limited herself to no duplicates in every 100 piece block. The achievement is just mind boggling, and I really am going to start. My stash of fabric is not nearly as big as hers, no doubt, and it will never be, but I can start, and her 100 different pieces per block is a great idea! Recently when I was doing my craft room and working with my fabric, I made a special point of saving in a plastic bag all the tiny scraps that are just perfect for this kind of thing. I hear people send small scraps of their stash to others in a give-around and the end result is called a “friendship” quilt.

A new farm bill has been approved and is being sent to Dubya. He’s going to veto it of course. Tom Harkin is pretty ticked off, and so will Iowa farmers be. I guess the GOP has written off Iowa this election cycle. We are gonna be a blue state once again!

The Medici, that great Italian family from Florence, saved the day, helping to bring Europe out the of the Dark Ages. Remember, they weren’t quite as dark as portrayed. Both Arabs, Jews and Christians did much during those years to advance science, and preserve history. But the Medici’s no doubt had a great impact on art, science and culture as they pushed forth into the Renaissance. Read more about the family and its impact at Live Science.

Paul Krugman has some very thoughtful observations aboutthe impending Obama candidacy. I tend to agree with him. Most important is his statement that the various polls that seem to suggest that John McCain has a chance are wildly wrong, and common at this point in the cycle. They do not reflect in any way what will happen in November. Better predictors are all highly in favor of the Democrats. Read his post and see if you agree.

Things seem to be deteriorating in Beirut, Lebanon. Hezbollah seems in control of  parts of Beirut, and a civil war is threatening. More bad news for the beleaguered Middle East. Of course the usual charges of who’s the bad guy abound. The link by the way has little additional information. This link from the Washington Independent has a bit more.

Louis Bayard has a review of Tony Horwitz’s new book, “A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World.” It will, so Mr. Bayard says, tell you a bit of a different story about the settling of America. Not quite the flag waving stuff from high school. The bottom line, much of what you think you know is flat out wrong.

Do you know where the earliest human settlement in the Americas is? Americas should give you a hint its not in the US. It’s in Chile, and is somewhere in the vicinity of 14,000 years old. It is now believe that they migrated across the Bering Straits, and the date has been moved back to 16,000 years ago.

This is certainly discouraging. There are Catholic fanatics in the US, and they are no better than the wingnuts of the ultra reactionary right of other Christian denominations. One of the worst places for fairness is in Minnesota where a reactionary archdiocese holds sway. Recently a professor of Minnesota was denied the right to speak at a local parish adult education class on the issue of torture, simply because he is pro-choice on abortion. Such religious censorship is to be condemned wherever it raises its ugly head. His full remarks are included in the link. Talk to Action brings the story our way. This is how it starts folks. Misguided people under the shield of religion start to trample upon the rights of others.

I errrrr, did mention that I love chocolate? Once or twice maybe? I thought this recipe for a chocolate cake sounded decadent as heck and delicious sounding. It is done in pesky grams but remember the old site has the converter for you to use. I love the idea of the jam under the frosting. I’m gonna try this one. Dark Chocolate Layer Cake.

Jim Crow is back. Yes, given that we have new folks to hate with impunity, things are starting to get tough for Latinos in this country, especially now we find in Georgia. Resurgence of the KKK, and a plethora of all new Hate groups are thriving. They are breaking down doors and terrifying populations, often of US citizens of Latino descent. I am again, sickened by this type of thing. We are, through religion and political rhetoric, finding it all too easy to hate people who are not “like us” again.

Remember way back when Rumsfeld claimed that more troops weren’t sent to Iraq because the “generals didn’t ask for them?” Well, of course, most of us assumed he was lying to cover up his own incompetence, and guess what? Turns out we were dead on right. He lied. What’s new?

Urantia Sojourn has a good post on the Rev. Wright controversy and the fact that hopefully the intense spotlight will now shift to John McCain and his unholy alliance with Hagee and also Parsley another wingnut of similar flavor. McCain of course has lots of ties to the weird right, including Copeland who is now under investigation by our own Sen. Grassley for his interesting bookkeeping techniques. I’ve taken you to the main site, because for reasons I have no clue to, I can’t bring up the individu posts, they just don’t highlight or give me the hand. It’s the second post from the top.

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“No wise man ever wished to be younger.”  Jonathan Swift

“Autobiography is an unrivaled vehicle for telling the truth about other people.” Philip Guedella

“There’s a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.”  Steven Wright

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New excuses to: I’d love to but…..

I’m teaching my cat to sing.

I have constipation.

I have to tape the official Boy George fan club meeting tonight on the TV.

my orange juice box said concentrate.

I’m having my ingrown toenail removed. Wanna see?

I gotta go walk my turtle.

I have to iron my sheets.

it’s evil.

my mom said I have to rub her feet tonight.

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This weekend at the Bush family ranch, one of President Bush’s daughters will be getting married. And I thought this was cute. The groom went to President Bush and asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage. And President Bush said, “Well, it’s O.K. with me, but you got to run it by Cheney.” David Letterman

John McCain’s wife was recently overheard saying that they own eight or nine homes. Yeah, McCain’s wife denied this, however, and stated, “What I said is I’ve tried to put him in a home eight or nine times.” Conan O’Brien

A new poll came out today. It says conservatives like Rush Limbaugh are happier than liberals. Although it might not be happiness. In Limbaugh’s case, it might just be the OxyContin kicking in. Chris Ferguson

Say what you will about George Bush: He has driven us into an economic hole, making us less attractive as an immigration destination, thereby raising the quality of life for those of us still stuck here. – Will Durst 

Dripping Wet in Rural Iowa

Tags

astronomy, beading, chicken, crochet, dessert, embroidery, founding fathers, fundamentalism, ice cream, Iowa, Military, pasta, psychology, seafood, Women's issues, world history

This is a Cheyenne woman photographed by Edward S. Curtis. I believe it was taken in 1911. You can find other photos that depict Native Peoples from the Great Plains westward at: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html By the way, there are tons of other subject matter photos here. It’s a large chunk of Americana. Hope you enjoy them.

On the home front a couple of things. First the office cleaning is done. I owe a great thanks to the Contrarian who hates cleaning but pitched in like a trooper and probably shaved two days off the project. We are ready to paint!

Secondly, the Contrarian called our neighbor and asked for some assistance to get the car out of the mud hole it had sunk into at our back door. We live in the holler so to speak and from the south, water runs down the hill to us. It continues past us to the creek which also catches the runoff from the hill to the north. He had to pull nearly 50 feet before the car was not sinking any more. We hurried off to Center Point to the “bad store” and got enough of the extras we needed until it finally dries out. The “bad store” means its one of those town local establishments that has not much but the obvious. You won’t find an avocado there for sure. So we are quite happy now, as the miserable rains have returned. The lane itself is pretty good, its just down here now that is muddy. But we left the car back where its quite sandy and drains downward so, we should have no trouble getting out after this couple of days has some time to seep down. The fields look surface dry, but the Contrarian’s half brother has sunk his backhoe into our field while working I believe on the tiles by the north-south creek. What a year it is becoming.

I have an idea, and that often can be a bad thing. It always gets me to thinking. A few nights ago, we were watching Bill Moyers Journal, listening to a young woman who is bureau chief in Iraq for some news group. Some of the Iraqi journalists who work for her also do a blog. I found it, and in looking it over got an idea. Here it is. I’m thinking of trying to collect blogs from various parts of the world, and once a week doing an international look around. I have this Iraq one of course. I found a Palestinian one that looked interesting, but was having trouble getting the feed, so that is still up in the air. I checked around for Iranian ones, and can find none updated since 2007, so the government may be blocking them. What do you think of the idea? After all, the wonder of the internet is the ability to talk to folks from all kinds of places around the globe. Can we benefit from peeking into their lives a bit? I sure think so.

Let’s see what is happening on this soggy dreary day:

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Speaking of that, Deborah at (Mis)Adventures of a Crafty Wifie, is from Singapore and has an interesting take on foxglove. Her life has been much different than most of ours, and I found this post delightful. She’s a wonderful artist in her own right and you might be interested in purchasing some of her work. At least you will enjoy the pictures.

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John Adams was one of our Founding Fathers. American History Blog has the top 10 things you should know about him. Since I have seen some of the HBO series, I knew some of them, but I learned a couple I didn’t know by reading this post. Try it.

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Sandi’s Crochet Blog is always so generous with her work and designs. She posts them all for free for us all. Here is another gem that creates heart shaped work that is suitable for Mother’s Day perhaps?

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Josie at C’est La Vie has an interesting idea–can the “butterfly effect” be applied to human kindness? A smile that grows exponentially, spreading far beyond the original smiler? Read her post and decide.

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Oh boy, Coconut & Lime has a to-die-for dessert today. And it’s about my favorite and is composed of more favorites, oh I’m just bouncy at this one: Dark Chocolate Ice Cream with Cocoa Nibs. Danged if I know what a cocoa nib is though? Is it a chip? I left a comment and asked, and I’ll let you know if I remember to go back and find out.

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Lucky us, more recipes are in the offing. Here is one that looked mighty nice for a lovely spring dinner (today would not be the day, given the yucky weather). It features shrimp and is called:
Capellini with Shrimp and Creamy Tomato Sauce. Perfect with some nice fresh bread and salad wouldn’t you say? My thanks to Epicurious.

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Lynda at Essential Estrogen has been busy and brings us another profile of a woman running for Senate seat, District 40 in Iowa. Her name is Sharon Savage. Learn all about her and her vision for Iowa.

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Feeling Stitchy has some very nice pictures of some embroidery work done by another artist. I thought they were most inspiring. I have done some embroidery and I certainly appreciate the skill involved. I’ve just never thought it worthwhile to embroider things like pillowcases and towels, because you either never use them to preserve the work or they wear out and your work goes into the rag heap. But making pictures is a fine way to preserve.

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Free Sample Forager has a number of new offers you might be interested in. (Getting to the mail box again was a delight, I got some Tide and a free poster I signed up for.) I saw toothpaste, and magazines, tea and cereal, among others. Skip on over and see if you find something you would like. Hey, I know these free samples aren’t much, but if you get one wash for free, it is one you didn’t have to pay for right? Over the year, you might save over all more than $100 in products. And it cost you zip, not even a postage stamp!

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Garrison Keillor must have known that today we needed a fix! He has some interesting things to say as always. Read “Freedom is hard work.”

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I must say, the National Review ( or how we can collect that many brain-dead boneheads on one magazine) strikes again. This time its my favorite, women bashing women. This happens a good deal on the right as you may know. Go to a Catholic forum and hear women talking about how wonderful it is to be “equal but different.” Translation: I love being a subservient wife and mother because God wants me to. Anyhoo, today Christina Hoff Sommers tells us how terrible it is that women are fighting for a piece of the prize in what still remain largely male bastions, math, physics and engineering. That women might bring something new to the table is beyond her. She offers a lot of claims but little or no verifiable facts. It’s the usual, the danged women’s movement is destroying family and hearth. Yada yada yada.

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National Geographic is reporting that a tomb thought to be that of Alexander the Great’s father, was actually that of his half-brother. This means that the armor found inside the grave may have belonged to Alexander himself, who pre-deceased his brother. These excavations are occurring in Greece. Read about it at rogueclassicism.

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Have you heard about the NYTimes report that “military analysts” supposedly hired by the various networks to give expert opinion on war stuff were actually plants by the US military? Plants may be too strong a word, but that is in effect what they ended up doing, simply reinforcing the political position of the administration.

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I just love Scandalous Women! I mean that in both ways too. Another wonderful addition to women’s history is offered today in the biographical sketch of Delia Bacon. Her mission in life was to prove that Shakespeare didn’t write those majestically exquisite plays. Her life was tragic. Samuel Morse and Ralph Waldo Emerson also figure in the story. Is that enough to tantalize your brain cells? LOL.

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Looks like science is figuring some things out. Astronomers and others of that ilk, believe that black holes, which are at the center of I believe most galaxies spew out a lot of particles in powerful jets. They had an idea of how that was done. The photos of the process have just been received from VLBA (Very Long Baseline Array) which confirms their theory. Read all the fascinating details at Science Digest.

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Hah! I got the ingredients for this one, so I think next week, I’ll definitely give this a go. It is one of those dishes that seem always right, any season, any day. See if you agree with Chicken with Mushroom Cream Sauce. This is from that great site, Simply Recipes.

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Susan Posner has another addition to her fine series, Fundamentalist over at the American Prospect. Be sure to read it. This one features Pentecostals, Iowa’s own Senator Grassley, McCain and gay teens.

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The Washington Independent reports the Senate GOP’ers managed to stop another bill. This one gave women a bigger window to sue for wage discrimination. All the Dems wanted was that the statute of limitations reset with each paycheck. Republicans wanted none of that, and McCain is on record saying it “hurt” business. Both Obama and Clinton raced back and voted yeah, McCain did not bother.

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Shaking It Up in the Heartland

Tags

Barack Obama, dessert, fruit, Gardening, health, homosexuality, ice cream, Limericks, PTSD, religion, weeds

This beautiful example of African art is a Mask made of wood, fiber, beads, and pigment. It is from Angola or the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is from the late 19th-early 20th century. The word Chokwe leads the discription. I am not sure if that is the tribe or what. I believe it to be absolutely gorgeous though.

Well, soggy it is. It has rained almost non stop since about 5 yesterday afternoon. It’s getting boring to say the least. We probably will wait to shop until at least Sunday, letting it dry out, if indeed it stops raining any time soon. Water is starting to pool around in the “yard” and our creek may start flooding us–just kidding.

I’m nearly done cleaning the craft room. Just a few more baskets of this and that’s to go through and redistribute to their proper location. I’m quite pleased with it, though there are drawers and a closet that will need a redo, but it’s good enough for me to find most things again.

It’s Friday, and that means, well, that its the end of the week. So, let’s get you the news you need to be the talk of the golf course, church coffee hour, or other social gathering of your choice.

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Starting to get a little hungry for strawberries? I found this different kind of recipe at 101 Cookbooks, and thought I’d pass it along. I think you can vary this a good deal with different fruits, different sugars (vanilla infused sugar for instance) and using whipped cream instead of yogurt. You be the judge, or follow the recipe as given. It’s called Strawberry Panzanella.

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How’s this for weird. Today is the anniversary of the big one that hit San Francisco. April 18, 1906 recorded the worst ever earthquake in the history of San Francisco. Last night of course, there was a rocker and shaker epicentered in Illinois. I sure didn’t feel it, did you? I felt one once in Detroit, back in the 70’s or so? I remember it clearly. You can read about more disasters, (and we do get giddy about that don’t we) at American History Blog.

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I’ve had a goodly number of gays friends over the years, and I adore them and their partners. It disgusts me that a small segment of my Church is homophobic, couching it in the old malarky of “oh we love the sinner but hate the sin.” That might convince were it it not for the fact that they drag forth every little tidbit of trash they find that insists that it is now definitively proven that being gay is a choice not a genetic imperative. Of course if you truly do love the sinner, this should not make a whit of difference. Here’s just a tad more evidence that the whole thing is genetic in nature and we thank the fruit fly for helping us along in our quest.

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American Presidents Blog has a off beat post today about President D.W. Eisenhower and his love affair with the Augusta National Golf Club. A number of regular tour golfs knew him from his visits there, and have interesting anecdotal remembrances of him.

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Methodists are the third largest Christian denomination in America. They are quintessentially America, being a moderate voice in the religious world. Brittanica Blog has an excellent overview as the body gets ready for its next General Conference. They essential offer a microcosm of American beliefs on all the issues of social concern that are in the news so much these days. Some expect a conservative backlash.

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Okay, I simply get weak in the knees when the word ice cream is mentioned. Oh I have my favorites to be sure, but I’d walk a mile to eat most any kind. Imagine my delight, my near orgasmic joy when I saw this recipe: Ben & Jerry’s NY Super Fudge Chunk. Oh I bow to the folks at Copycat Restaurant Recipes for this one. Enjoy.

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If you missed that series on growing roses at Sally’s Gardening Tips, she has a one post refresher with all the main points for you today. I, as I said, have had lousy luck for the most part, mine seem to die out after a couple of years, but I’m willing to try it again, with all her helpful tips.

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I did not watch the debates Wednesday night between Barack and Hillary. I’m told by some bloggers I trust as well as some mainstream media that Barack did poorly and seemed to literally become tongue-tied when he was unable to deal with tough questions. This does give some cause for concern as he seems more than likely to end up the Democratic nominee. Mad Kane is at it again with a pointed, and so spot on Limerick. Should we be concerned?

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I’ve lately mostly chosen not to engage in a lot of discussion about the Obama/Clinton fight. I tend to think that in the end Barack will prevail because he just simply has the numbers. He made a mistake with his remarks about Pennsylvanians and their misplaced anger, pushing them into guns, religion, and suspicion of “other.” I mostly, ironically or not, thought he was right, but also thought it was fairly a dumb thing to say. Paul Krugman has a different take on the matter and thinks Barack was simply dead wrong in his analysis. I’m somewhat persuaded that Mr. Krugman is right. What do you think?

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PTSD is a subject near and dear to my heart. It’s a life-long condition that is at best coped with by use of a lot of mechanisms, none of them perfect. Some suffer a good deal more than others, and on the upside there are some promising treatments, especially when the trauma is addressed close in time to the events. It is horrifying to find that the Rand Corporation pegs the numbers of veterans suffering from depression, PTSD and brain injury at nearly a million. How the VA will handle this horrific number is impossible to know.

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Most of us are trying to do our best to keep pesticides our of our environment these days, for obvious reasons. That is particularly problematic when we live in rural areas, because farmers are not likely to be prevailed upon to stop using them, given their convenience. But they do have an impact. Weed killers, have a deleterious effect on the development of amphibians, causing birth defects in them. I guess the rest of us must simply do the best we can not to add to the usage. Moreover, we need to investigate these problems for ourselves, and if warranted, lobby our state legislatures for measures to control the use of these dangerous herbicides.

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Earth Day is upon us April 22, and Craft Tutorials has a whole host of crafts using recycled materials. If you are looking for something to do, or have an upcoming need for a gift, check out the site and you likely will find something that you can make easily with stuff you have around the old house.

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“A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought.” Dorothy L. Sayer

“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.” Douglas Adams

“I took a speed reading course and read ‘War and Peace’ in twenty minutes. It involves Russia.” Woody Allen

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Here’s to you IOWA:

Iowa Pranksters Get 3,000 Forks In Lawn DUBUQUE, Iowa (AP) ―

When known pranksters Rick and Marilyn Jones left town for a wedding, neighbors seeking payback eyed their property and decided to stick a fork in it — a few thousand forks, in fact.

Tom and Paula Tschudi planted 3,000 white plastic forks in the Jones’ yard and dangled more from the roof, fence and garage.”We just wanted to do something funny to them, because every time we leave, they pull some prank on us,” said Paula Tschudi, who promised to help pick up the forks.

Over the years, the Joneses have strung beer cans like holiday lights around the Tschudis’ home, put a for-sale sign in their yard and strung yellow crime-scene tape around chalk outlines of bodies on the sidewalk.

As the Tschudis, their two children and another neighborhood family planted the forks Sunday, one passer-by asked what they were doing.”We told him we were aerating their lawn,” Paula Tschudi said with a laugh.

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.) From Dave’s Daily.com

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Down in Washington it was so sunny the Pope was wearing his stained-glass sunglasses.

These international trips are tricky, and often there can be some confusion and perhaps some embarrassment. They had an episode today in Washington, everybody is laughing about it now. But at the time it was not funny. The Pope, after the mass, accidentally gave the last rites to John McCain.

The Pope, God bless him, got on the Pope-Mobile after the mass. And then, President Bush followed him in the Dope-Mobile. David Letterman

Dumb Laws in Alabama:

Boogers may not be flicked into the wind.

It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle.

It is illegal to stab yourself to gain someone’s pity.

You cannot chain your alligator to a fire hydrant

You may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time.

Tomorrow: Alaska! (From Bored.com)

Tsunami of Rain on a Soggy Land

Tags

2nd Amendment, astronomy, breakfast, Catholicism, chicken, crochet, dessert, education, environment, George Bush, ice cream, Iraq, potatoes, torture, vegetables, Women's history, world history

Today, our featured art offering is from Japan. Katsushika Hokusai did this in a series in 1830-31, entitled “The Great Wave off Kanagawa. ” The mountain in the background is Mt. Fuji. You can find it at the Art Institute of Chicago.

I am always rather captivated by East Asian art. I like the delicacy and simplicity, yet great and intense attention to detail.

I sure hope you are having a good day. It’s raining here, cold and windy. It is expected to go on all day. The good news is that temperatures are going up next week, maybe into the low 70’s!!!

On the home front, the bathroom is finished. I always start with the bathrooms thinking they are small and won’t take time, but they always end up I think being the hardest, soap scum, tiny places where mops don’t reach and all that make for slow progress. So I’m delighted to finish. It’s three rooms down and 4 to go. Really 4 1/2 to go, since the laundry/pantry is a room too. But at least tomorrow I can start on my room, getting it all spiffy for serious crafting.

Okay, ready to see what’s going on? Proceed with caution, you never know what you may find.

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A Mingling of Tastes has a great little recipe for breakfast that would certainly work for a nice brunch as well. If you want to kick it up a notch, try Orange-Ricotta Pancakes with Almonds. Sounds about perfect for a lazy spring Sunday meal.

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Lesbians. Oh, I can just see your mind flip into gear. Hmmm, gay rights post right? Nope, Originally the word referred to inhabitants of the isle of Lesbos. The poet Sappho is its most famous daughter and she wrote lovely poetry of love about both men and women. Skip over to the Ancient History Blog and learn more about this fascinating woman.

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I have no doubt that General Petraeus is a fine soldier, perhaps one of the best. He may well be a great military strategist for all I know. But I do think that he has been placed in the breach by the Bush Administration. George stands behind the bemedaled army general, afraid to stand forth alone, and lets the General do his dirty work for him. The General is not a politician, yet he is being used as one. Now George steps forth and says, “well, I’m just doing as my generals advise.” Alternet has a compelling post today addressing the “betrayal” of the American people. See what you think.

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American Revolution Blog has an important post today. It is about the abysmal state of education in this country. We like to think our system is better than any in the world. That is far from the truth, and has been for many years. Any cursory watch of Jay Leno’s, Jay Walking will set you straight in a moment. College students whose major is education cannot answer basic questions about our government officials and framework. A full 25% of high school teachers believe that man and dinosaur co-existed. This cannot be tolerated. Read a fine post that will give you the facts on this growing dilemma that threatens our very standing in the world, and our claim to be the best.

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I am a big fan of Bill Moyers. I believe he is one journalist who has never compromised his ethics for the moment. I say that being aware that he was a politico and has served in our government in times past. Mr. Moyers was recently given the Ridenhour Courage Prize. If you follow the link you can read his acceptance speech. It’s a very valuable statement, about our government, our times, and our responsibilities as citizens. I hope you will take the time to read it. It reminds me, and all of us that we too have some responsibility to the truth. To tell it as best we can. To hold government’s collective feet to the fire. I do so in the most minor of ways, but the words of Mr. Moyers are powerful calls to us all. I hope you take the time to heed it.

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C’est La Vie has a post today about our love for guns. She views this from a Canadian point of view. While she graciously says that she casts no aspersions on other countries, I have no problem saying that her country has some sanity where this issue is concerned and we are largely insane in my opinion. But that is true of quite a few others issues as well. She is spot on in her analysis. Stop by and take a look.

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I don’t know about you, but I adore artichokes. This recipe is a new one for me, I usually do the usual, boil them and then make a lemon/butter sauce. This just looks so good I want to eat the screen. LOL. Epicurious finds this recipe from Cookie, and it’s called Braised Artichokes.

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Okay, it may not be the right timing. After all, today is a slug of a day, but if you have a hankering for something exotic and terribly upscale when it comes to ice cream, consider this one for Coconut Pineapple Ice Cream. Oh a nice one to keep in mind for the summer. Much thanks to Gourmet CakesEasy Dessert Recipes.

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I keep saying I want to knit some socks, when Knitting Dragonflies who knits quite obviously, comes up with patterns for crocheting them. Now I’d never even thought of that. And I have not of course yet started the infamous socks. (Afraid of failure no doubt). So, take a look and see if it motivates you. Perhaps to shout a resounding NO!, or maybe to try it yourself. I think they would function best as kind of sock slippers , rather than for shoes. They look a bit bulky.

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In the news last evening was the new stuff about how all this torture crap got approved. Tenent is seen scrambling to the White House again and again, demanding permission from higher ups before his guys and gals participate. Colin Powell was in attendance. So were all the usual suspects, such as Cheney and Rice. It now seems clear that they all were in it up to their necks. Nobody can claim they were unaware of the “details,” they defined the details. What sordid and unAmerican tactics. It makes my skin crawl, it makes me ashamed, it makes me burning mad.

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Perhaps you have heard. Pope Benedict XVI is coming to America. Couple of reasons: to seek some sort of reconciliation in a church torn with sex scandals, and to pump up the flock so to speak which has suffered losses of numbers in recent years. Nobody expects Il Papa to wag his finger at Bush’s war a good deal, or say anything very dramatic. The truth is Benedict, often called the “Rottweiler” in his pre-popery days, is a quiet, soft-spoken, pious and nice man. His policies are not to my liking for the most part, but I can appreciate his great intelligence and learning. It will be interesting to see what he has to say. A report by Phillip Pullella from Vatican City, purports to alert us that our view of Benedict seems to be changing.

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Taken a gander at the Constellation Leo lately? If you had, you’d undoubtedly seen the planet that is located there. That is if you happened to have a super duper Palomar type telescope to see it. Actually, I doubt that would be big enough. The darling is about the size of Neptune and is rocky. And it may have a brother or sister planet too. Both orbit a devilishly cute star called Gliese 436.

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I love hash browns, and I know how to make them nice and brown and crispy. If you don’t, and for a long time, I didn’t, Simply Recipes has the recipe, but more importantly, the method for guaranteeing that they turn out perfect. (She uses a ricer, I use a tea towel to squeeze out the liquid–the most important part of the recipe.)

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Heather Mills, remember her? Dancing star, who actually seemed kinda nice for that brief moment in time before she reverted to her evil self and the divorce from Paul? Well apparently the lady has scored once again, this time she has been awarded the right to royalties on the song “Eleanor Rigby,” super superior song we thought was written by Lennon/McCartney. She claims this is just the start of her claims, so watch out! Ouch, the fumes are making me cry!

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Chicken recipe alert. Chicken Marsala from the Olive Garden. The Secret Recipe Blog has it for you just in time when you were wondering what to do with the 1/2 cup of Marsala wine lurking in the fridge. You no doubt have a 1/2 cup of Marsala in the fridge don’t you? Oh, well, then use some red wine you do have and call it Chicken Red! I doubt it will be apparent to any but the most discerning palate.

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You know it wouldn’t be so bad, but this happens every damn time. Whenever its something versus the environment, the something seems always more important than it. And this is no exception. The planned “fence”to keep out illegals is dangerous to the environment. That is a given. The White House has ordered it built and decided to side step all state laws to the contrary. The Congress gave them that power, long ago. Nobody wants to talk immigration in this political year, so, yep, you guessed it, nobody is gonna stop this silly fence unless the Courts step in. Many are planning lawsuits. I’m not very hopeful. Sigh, I’m never very hopeful when it comes to our recognition of environmental matters.

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Urantian Sojourn has a most sharply concise synopsis of the Petraeus/Crocker hearings in Congress. I concur with their conclusions quite obviously and admire their style, wit, and ability to write well. See if you agree.

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If you happen to be a Civil War buff, and there seem to be many, there is a great little site, featured at World History Blog that you might like. It seems you can animate the various battles and see them progress from start to finish. I assume CivilWarophiles like that sort of thing. If you do, skip on over and take a look. Oh, if you are WWII buff, there is a similar companion site for that too. Both links are at WH Blog.

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“Most men are within a finger’s breadth of being mad.” Diogenes the Cynic

“The average person thinks he isn’t.” Father Lawrence Lorenzoni

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According to the insiders, Condoleezza Rice has been actively lobbying to be John McCain’s vice presidential candidate. That would be interesting, don’t you think? Condoleezza Rice, John McCain. Kind of like Ebony and Ornery. Jay Leno

Canada just announced it may boycott this year’s Summer Olympics because of China’s treatment of Tibet. Yeah, when asked about the boycott, Canada’s prime minister said: “I’m very angry at China. Plus, we suck at summer sports.” Conan O’Brien

In case you forgot, taxes are due next week. You know, we all hate paying taxes but the truth of the matter is without our tax money, many politicians would not be able to afford prostitutes. Jimmy Kimmel

What we’re finding out in the hearings in Congress is that General Petraeus tells better war stories than Hillary Clinton. – Gil Stern