Crystal Ball Gazing

Tags

Al-Jazeera, Books, Dalai Lama, Entertainment, freedom of press, Individual Rights, Libya, memory, news media, no-fly zone, pensions, religion, spirituality, Steven King, Tibet, unions, Wisconsin

Well, a no-fly zone has been instituted over Libya. It may be too little, too late. I guess there is no way to know at this point.

I don’t know if it was the right thing to do or not, but I do know that doing nothing was unacceptable. Somehow we have to make it clear to petty dictators that murdering your massive opposition is not acceptable, no matter how many paid henchmen you can pay.

There is nothing clear about whether it will succeed or not–the no-fly zone I mean. Andrew Sullivan directs us to Marc Lynch and his views which I think are well worth reading. All depends, in his view, as to whether or not we can succeed and do so quickly. The stakes are high. Bahrain and Yemen are both now engaged in severe crackdowns against rebels in their nations. A quick success in Libya could give them pause. Otherwise, the cries for freedom may be muffled once again.

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Some good news in Wisconsin. A judge there has placed a temporary restraining order against the Govenator’s new union busting bill. A full hearing will be held, to determine the legality of the sleazy trick the GOP attempted by violating the “open records” law. There is some reason apparently to think that the judge might be inclined to the union side of the equation.

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Lest we forget, the GOP of course is claiming that union benefit packages, including pensions are grossly unfair and bloated. All the while they claim this, not a one of them refuses their own pension plans gifted to them by taxpayers. Steven King (R-IA), oinker from Iowa, claims his is “slim pickins”, while the FACTS seem to suggest just the opposite. Like health care, which they are also again, and which they also receive from the taxpayers. Me thinks King, et.al. speak with forked tongues.

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Did you know that in the three areas of the US that carry the english version of Al-Jazeera, it gets quite high ratings? Did you know that every time cable networks start to talk about putting them on the regular cable news lineup, the conservatives go bat shit crazy? Political Irony suggests, I guess we don’t have freedom of speech here unless it agrees with what corporate-owned media likes.

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As many of you know, the Dalai Lama has been the political and spiritual leader of the Tibetan people for many years. He has been in exile since 1959. Recently he signaled his intent to step down as political leader, feeling that the Tibetan people should be able to rule themselves. They don’t like the idea, and apparently do not intend to amend their constitution to make that possible. I guess it means that the Dalai Lama is doing something right. It’s hard to think of any leader that the people wish to remain in office in this world today. Maybe we should take a look.

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A book you might want to take a look at, called the Sufi’s Garden.

The Sufi’s Garland
by Manav Sachdeva Maasoom
Published by: ROMAN Books
Publication date: 25th March 2011
Price: $24.95 (Hardcover)
104 pp, 6-1/8 x 9-1/4″
ISBN: 978-93-80040-02-8

A small excerpt:

I went outside to see
if God’s voice
was disturbing anybody

I think I’m going to inquire about getting it for review. It looks simply divine. [h/t 3quarksdaily]

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I bet you forgot, that you used to memorize things. If you are old as me anyway, which is older than most trees, but not quite as old as the Jurassic. See, we used to memorize things like phone numbers and addresses. And we don’t have to do that any more, so we are beginning to lose our abilities to remember stuff. I can tell you that is true because I dare not send the Contrarian to the store to pick up five things without writing them down. Actually, make that three things.

Anyway, there is a new book out that helps you remember what you never knew, or something like that. How to remember stuff. Moonwalking with Einstein: the Art and Science of Remembering Everything. Read a review of it here.

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Okay, you got enough information to make you  the hit of the party tonight. Have at it.

Related Articles

• The Dalai Lama pushes reform (search.japantimes.co.jp)

Thoughts from Above: The Fold

Tags

casserole, Catholicism, chicken, Chinese, election, evolution, Gardening, George Bush, Iowa, Iraq, meat, quilting, religion, SCOTUS, skillet meal, Tibet, world history

This is a camera print from a 35mm 15 minute silent movie by David Wark Griffith in 1909. It is entitled “The Mended Lute.” It is at MOMA.

Hope you all had a pleasant weekend. The weather was lovely Saturday, but I cannot say the same for Sunday which was mostly gloomy with showers now and then. Today is gloomy again and fairly chilly. It’s a slow progressing spring, but the trees are budding and the Contrarian predicts we will have leaves this year!

Since nearly 3/4 of my feeds are lit up today, it looks like people have been busy, so let’s get at it shall we?

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Ever heard of Marbury v. Madison? As a lawyer, I knew it as perhaps the most important case of our early republic. It established the ultimate right of the Court to pass on the constitutionality of the actions of the other two branches of government. In that particular case, the Court determined that the Judiciary Act of 1783 was in part unconstitutional, and thus not enforceable as Mr. Marbury had requested. This established what we commonly know as “judicial review.” This case has been largely taken as a given until recently by the far right, which claims that there is no such right. This of course is all about their dislike for certain court decisions. They like that judicial just fine when it works for them.

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If you would like to travel even farther back into history, then mosey on over to Gill’s Ancient History Blog and read about Alexander’s first battle against the Persians at Granicus.

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Meanwhile, the Bushies go merrily along, ignoring the facts as they are always wont to do. If we have not uncovered enough abuses from the no-bid contracts to the Bush favorites, here we go again. You would think that given the black eye that now is apparent regarding Blackwater, that just maybe the Administration would choose to look elsewhere for help in Iraq. Nope, nada, no way Jose. Blackwater has been re-upped as they say, or as State Department mouthpieces say at least. Some claim that the sum total of American mercenaries now outnumber actual troop levels. That’s a lot of private army folks. It smells to me. What do you think?

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You may not have noticed by I no longer will be linking to E-Mail from Grandma. The reason was a post last week about immigration in which the poster (grandson) claimed illegal immigrants are responsible for just about every ill in America. His sources were lousy, as you might expect, mostly Lou Dobbs, well known ranter from the right on this issue. My contention is that even if there is some kernel of truth in such numbers, the dangers of such statements overwhelm the point. This simply reflects, in my opinion, our refascination with bigotry, and those who are naturally so inclined now feel safe to engage in this kind of racist rhetoric. But these “voices of anger” really do encourage consequences that are unhealthy and dangerous. Read about it at Alternet in the post entitled, “Sexual Abuse fueled by Abusive Immigration Language.“

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Just wanted to alert you that the blog An Iowa Garden worth looking at if you are a true plant person. I’m not, per se, caring more about pretty flowers and color schemes than the technical aspects of species and all that stuff. I urge you to add the blog to your list if you are more serious than me. The photo’s are quite lovely, and there is a very well constructed explanation of the plant in every case.

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Baking Delights has a nice surfing from Saturday around the food blogging world. She’s collected a number of recipes you might like to take a look at. Coconut Lemon Twinkies, Quintuple Chocolate Brownies, and garlicy bean enchiladas are just some of her finds. Take a look and find tomorrow’s menu!

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Begging for Bargains has a couple things, free Tide, and free calendars. Check them out, as I will later, when I’ve finished this!

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Who has dinner parties any more? Who ever did? Not me for sure. That is the province of the rich and wanna be rich. Still I found the post by Josie at C’est La Vie interesting and well, it got me to thinking that this might be a great gourmet delight if you got some friends together and each did a course or two. Kinda fun perhaps. Anyway, enjoy her tutorial on what you need to do!

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I think I linked you to something about the care and growing of roses a week or so ago. Here’s another entry from Sally’s Gardening Tips and it’s a first part of more parts to come. I hope to try another one this year, so I know I’ll be reading the series in hopes of getting some good tips that will make the latest acquisition a keeper!

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This recipe looks like comfort food to me. Potato-Bacon Hash sounds just about perfect for a Saturday light dinner. A nice salad on the side and I think you are all set don’t you. Thanks to Epicurious for this one.

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Hey folks from Iowa. Head over to Essential Estrogen please if you have a second and link to where to vote for her for Favorite female blogger. She’s been nominated. She’s Lynda Waddington and is on the next to last tier on the right! She does such a wonderful job of keeping us up on what is going on politically in the state. I never miss her posts.

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Feeling Stitchy has a group of links to other crafters she’s crazy about. I again will run through them later and see if there are any that I think would be of benefit to draw a feed on. These kind of posts definitely make my job easier! Lots of pics of the various crafts to give you a nice idea of the kind of work each does as well.

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If you love flowers and a pretty garden but don’t have a lot of money to spend, go over to Gardening Tips ‘n Ideas and get some really great ideas for how to maximize that money to its fullest. She is talking about a mere $5 dollars! P.S. I have asked if they mind if I dead head flowers at a nursery and take the seeds. No one has ever said no to me.

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Everyone is putting in their two cents about the Bush administration, and I certainly am no exception. There is an exceptionally fine article ( I read about the first 1/3 and skimmed the rest, and will return to read it in its entirety) about the rush to judgment about our boy wonder. No, the author is not a fan, but he does make an important point: history is not something that can be assessed with any immediacy. Things need time to play out and settle before one can correctly vision the impact of decisions on the total political landscape. I’d recommend this one. (I have toyed with placing a countdown calendar here too! lol. Maybe I will.)

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Knitting Dragonflies has another featured crafter for us today. This one is Stormy Designs, and you can see some nice pics of her crafts. She is also having a sale at her Etsy store, so be sure to take a look. Very cute stuff!

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Oh the creationists are at it again. A new film is out called “Expelled.” It’s a documentary supposedly about a “debate” between Intelligent Design proponents and the rest of the bleeping world. The ID folks claim that life is so intricate that it calls for a “designer,” which would be God. So far so good, I would agree, but they claim that there is evidence of this in nature (there is not) and therefore it should be included in school curriculum as science. This has all been exploded in the Dover case already. The ID people’s “evidence” simply collapsed under examination and the Court found in favor of those opposed to the religiously motivated Discovery Institute and its ID claims. (The Dover case is mentioned in the article in references to Pennsylvania in 2005.) Be informed!

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Okay, so this is an old one, but it’s been too long since I had a Dave Barry fix. So with apologies to those who have possibly already read it, this gem from 2002 helps men with laundry. I think I might be able to benefit as well, since I am no sort of expert in laundry, and everything is sooner or later discarded as too stained to wear any more. Enjoy my pretties.

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Midwest Neurotica has an absolutely great sounding recipe for chicken. This one is called Mississippi Delta Chicken and Rice. I think I’ll give this one a try soon. I just need some mushrooms and I’m set for this one. Just give me a little delta cornbread and we are set for some fine greasins’.

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Niki’s Ventures has a nice little wall hanging applique quilt for Christmas. Composed of an advent wreath, a manger and a present, it is lovely. You can never start to early you know. She got the full pattern and directions from McCalls, so follow the link.

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One of the issues prevalent in the Roman Catholic Church, but certainly of concern for all faiths, is how to make and keep supposedly “eternal” truths, well, current in the a changing radically different world. Major religions such as Catholicism are suffering loss in membership, and even in Italy, only one in four considers religion very important in their lives. This in some measure is because many feel that mainline faiths have lost relevance in this day. This drives the ultra right traditionalists quite mad. They rant, they rave, they call most of us liberals cafeteria Catholics and suggest we look elsewhere for our salvation. They like their church unchanging forever and forever. Read this interesting take on the problem and see what you think.

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The Contrarian and I never miss either The Daily Show or The Colbert Report. We find them hilariously funny, as well as sophisticated and witty. Steven Colbert often boasts that politicians get a “bump” by appearing on his show. Is it really true? The amazing answer is only a click away! By the way, Colbert has set up a donation site for the PA school system. Register your likes for the candidates by voting your money. I’d find that by going directly to his show through Comedy Central.

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The Chinese must be getting awfully darn frustrated. This Tibet thing is not going away and the Olympic torch is the latest casualty. It seems in Paris, demonstrators were able to get a hold of the torch as it passed and extinguish it. The planned relay was eventually cancelled as Chinese officials realized that they were never going to get through the protesters along the way. I’m heartened by this news that the world is responding so well to the crackdown against the beleaguered country of Tibet.

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Given the never ending primary season for the Democrats, one might wonder if the super delegate thingy was a good thing. Also whether the democratic ideal of proportional delegate assignment was such a good idea. Sean Wilentz makes an argument that if there had been winner take all, Hillary would be far ahead. He finds Obama’s minor popular vote lead inconsequential. Read his article and see what you think. Anything would be better than this morass as far as I am concerned.

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Glenn Greenwald lambastes Cokie Roberts for her appearance on George Stephanopolis’s Sunday show wherein she laid claim that Americans would prefer to win in Iraq ala the plans of McCain and Graham. Such is not of course at all true, Americans overwhelmingly want this war to end and for US forces to get out as quickly as possible. A video clip is linked to so you can see it for yourself. I did for sure, and Katerina Vanden Heuvel handled her expertly in my opinion.

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Wow, finally scientific evidence to back up what I always assumed. Perhaps you did as well. Me, I have always thought that one of the lessons we should adopt from dogs, (and there are many I contend) is their ability to stay focused on the present. Of course, this applies to other animals as well. Animals do have memory of the past, but it is largely just weak or strong, and that may dictate future action. They cannot however place a past episode into an actual time frame. Got it? What I can’t figure out is how they could concoct a test to figure that out. They explain it, so enjoy the read. The same applies to the future by the way. Animals are simply blessed with living in the moment, which is where we all should reside most of the time.

I Totally Hate April 1st

Tags

1st Amendment, Archaeology, cake, chocolate, church/state, cleaning products, environment, health, Iraq, mental illness, native American, sociology, Tibet, vanilla, Women's history

A portrait of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, painted by Louis Tocque in 1758. It can be seen at the Hermitage in Moscow.

Well, yesterday it rained nearly all day, and that is never good here. Two dogs and four cats find a good deal to argue about on such a day. The dogs especially are grumpy, and the cats get increasingly so as the day progresses and they have no place to run off their excess energies. The chili for dinner turned out to be a perfect foil for a soggy cold day.

Today, the gloom remains, although the rains seem to have departed. It is cold as well, or remains so from yesterday. I am getting that feeling again of hopelessness. I ignore it, keep my head down, and force myself to continue with every day tasks.

The bedroom cleaning is nearly done already. I have the walls done all hanging on them. I have washed all the knickknacks as well. I’ve washed down the various tables and chests. I have still to rip the bed apart and wash the bedskirt, flip the mattress, and move stuff to vacuum the carpet. I am also making a major overhaul of the clothes. We have always used two main chests, but I’ve always combined our clothes into his/her drawers. I decided he can have one, and I’ll take one. I figure on doing that tomorrow. I can do no more until we get to town again and I can buy paint. I have several painting projects planned. The bedroom walls, and at this count about 3 chests or tables. Not all the same colors of course, and I thought I might do some stenciling as well on some of them. Perhaps what makes this “spring” cleaning palatable is that I’ve got a long list of redecorating ideas as well. Most are cheap and hand made and I’m excited to get started.

Let us see what is going on around and about. I visited a couple of carnivals over the weekend and have a couple of links for you that I thought you might like:

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The first is a recipe for making your very own vanilla extract. I use a great deal of this rather expensive ingredient. We are, as cooks, always warned never to buy that artificial stuff. I’m not sure how accurate that admonition is, since often I find that I do not have that fine taste that can discriminate between the authentic and the fake. But assuming that there is a real difference, I have always used the real thing. If you buy the beans in bulk, I do think you can save some money. The balance of the ingredients are easy to locate, and well, see what you think.

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This cute dream catcher is offered to you with full instructions. I have a couple of these which I bought in Santa Fe a few years ago. They can be made out of so many different things. I have one made in part of deer antler. The feathers are found on most. Beads and leather are other possible additives. These make fine little gifts, especially I would think for children.

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I am starting to really like these “felted” bags.” The important thing is to make it from pure wool, because of course the point is to wash it in very hot water and let it shrink naturally. It makes a nice tight weave of course. I thought this pattern and instructions was helpful in learning how it’s done. Take a look and get some inspiration.

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If you are determined to do your part and go green as much as you practically can, here are some recipes for making your own cleaning solutions. This one is for making your own laundry soap, dry variety. I’d be interested if someone costed it out and told us whether we are saving any money using these other products. That would certainly sweeten the deal for me. I hate to say it, but savings are a tad more important to me than the ecology. Facts are facts.

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Abby Sweets has a nice recipe for “gooey Chocolate cake.” I have a half of one now, though not this recipe. I have an excellent thought slightly tedious recipe from Cooks. I believe mine came off their TV show, and not their cooking magazine. One day, I’ll post it. It’s a moist cake and a great frosting.

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I’ve been watching the Tibet situation and feel such great sympathy for these people. I am increasingly troubled by a White House that blithely seems to be ignoring the whole thing and is happily planning it’s fun tour of the Olympics with nary a pause. I am not sure I feel we should boycott the games, as this simply penalizes an array of athletes who have little to nothing to do with what caused this mess. The world is watching. The question is, does the world have enough guts to set aside its “economic’ interests and do what is right. Read the thoughts of an American Buddhist nun about what you can do. It’s simple, and it will make you feel good and it will do good. Visit and read and then DO.

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I don’t know about you, but I’m getting increasingly nervous about food prices. They are simply sky rocketing everywhere and for those of us on fixed incomes, well it is scary. I don’t think I’m ready to go quite this far, but it’s worth considering at least. There is nothing embarrassing in doing this and that needs to be emphasized. We throw away tons of perfectly good and healthy food every day. Read of the posters adventures in dumpster diving, and well, consider it at least.

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SCOTUS has agreed to hear a case out of Utah about religious symbols being displayed on public property. This is a bit different than the norm. A City park in a town there already carried a copy of the ten commandments. A new group called the Summum, wanted to put up another monument to the “Seven Aphorisms” of their faith. Well you see the problem. As I have researched this area of our countries history, I find that moves to reduce the public exhibition of symbols and such of Christianity are a direct result of the far right religious to promote Christianity in public forums. So what would otherwise be of pretty much no consequence, becomes so in defense of our common right to be free to practice faith as we wish and no faith if that is what we wish.

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C’est La Vie has a good post about food additives and the harm they are doing us. I am quite sure that a lifetime of eating processed foods has resulted in my current inability to digest a lot of sugar. The demon is called “high fructose corn syrup” and it’s found in so many things you would never expect from bread to cereal to goodness knows what else. I make a lot of sweet things from cane sugar, but I still think I’m eating a lot healthier than before. And I feel a lot better too, though I will forever suffer certain effects no doubt.

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Yippie, Civil War Women has a new post for you today, This one is about Delphine Baker, and documents her work to have Soldier’s Homes for Civil war veterans. But that was only one of her many projects. She managed to get legislation through Congress in 1865, and several “asylums” were opened in the East and Midwest.

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Well the headline did it for me. I rushed right over and read this amazing story. This will flip your wig, twist your shorts, and well just do other odd and weird things to your other clothing pieces. I’m going to be very leery of growing pumpkins again I tell you, if this is what I can expect: Baby Calf grows inside Award-winning Giant Pumpkin.” (Photo’s accompany, this is no trick! honest, promise, swear.) I trust the source, don’t you? We are indebted to Gardening Tips ‘n Ideas.

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Apparently gold jewelry is not a new thing. In fact, the oldest piece so far found in the Americas has been identified as a nine-bead necklace found in the Andes in Peru. Anthropologists learn that our ancestors were quite capable of doing metal work much earlier than we had thought. It seems that the more we learn about early humans, the more we realize that they were generally more sophisticated than we imagined them to be.

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If you thought that we present day humans have the corner on killing off other species on the planet, think again. We have been at the business of destroying other species for a while now. Latest research suggests that humans were in part at least responsible for the demise of the mammoth. Global warming after the ice age indeed was the major contributor, but hunting delivered the final blow.

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Kevin Drum has a thoughtful post based on an article written by Zbigniew Bzezinski for the Washington Post. Contrary to what the GOP wants us to believe, there is no reason to believe that withdrawl from Iraq will lead to some catastrophe. And of course, that suggests that this is not going on already. A thoughtful careful withdrawl can be accomplished, and some are sure it can result in a stable Iraq. Read Drum and then follow the link to read Brzezinski’s full report.

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Gary Kamiya poses an interesting question: Has the internet helped in reducing our puritanism? We the judgmental Americans seem not so upset any more about sex scandals and drug use, and other various vices. While I’m not sure the internet is the culprit here, if there is one, it has certainly contributed I would argue. Perhaps it is in showing us all how very alike we all are, regardless of location, culture, or sex. Perhaps it is because no political party, religion, or ethnic group has been immune from the dirty little exposition of secrets long hidden from public view. Whatever the reason, most of us, it seems, are not so quick to jump on the “other.” This has the unintended consequence I believe of making the wacko right all the more strident and loud in their condemnation. It seems to really tick them off that mostly nobody is listening as they rant about the impending doom of America should we continue down this sin-filled path.

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I think we all go a view, perhaps for the first time of what it must be like to be schizophrenic. A Beautiful Mind helped us see the difficulty of such a life, and why, simply most can’t cope with the voices and visions that often torment them. Normal differences in the brain between men and women seem to be reversed in those who suffer from schizophrenia. Emotion is the key, and schizophrenic women do not react as they should, nor do men, just the opposite in fact. I’m not sure that researches know exactly what this means yet. But interesting it is.

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Eclectic/Psychotic? It’s all Opinion.

Tags

bread, cake, crochet, orchids, pasta, quilting, seafood, sociology, St. Patrick's Day, succulents, Tibet, US Gov.

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To the left we have “The Weaver” painted by Diego Rivera in 1936.

To the right, “On a balcony” done by Mary Cassatt in 1878-79.

Both can be found at the Art Institute of Chicago.

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Just a short update on the Palermo Pizza freebie. Yesterday, I mentioned that for signing up for their “newsletter” I got a 75c coupon. Following that an e-mail arrived telling me I would receive a further $1 coupon and a pizza peal. Not a bad promotion. I’ll tell you if I actually receive it, but it seems worthwhile to join up.

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Okay, it’s down to the wire and you just must have some St. Patrick’s Day decoration. Before you do it the easy way by running to some store and laying out cash, scurry into your crafting materials and find just a small piece of yarn that is green. Now you can make a shamrock! LOL. You can attach it to a pin and use it as a lapel decoration! Or be inventive. Crochet away with this little project submitted by Sandi’s Crochet Blog. P.S. She has additional St. Patrick’s patterns so do check this out, even if for future reference.

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I am envious of those of you who have HBO, because you are going to see the new miniseries on John Adams and I’m not. Well, not until they choose to run it on one of the other stations in a couple of years! American Revolution Blog gives you a heads up on the preliminary reviews so you can decide. So far it seems to have received mostly very good ones, although a few dislike the portrayal of Franklin. All in all, it sounds like a don’t miss to me. Don’t mind me if you see my nose pressed up against your living room window! I believe it starts this weekend!

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Oh goodness, finally I can report that a spring flower has been found in Iowa! Stop the presses, alert the White House, get out the bronzing gel and sunscreen, we are finally assuredly moving off dead center. Go to An Iowa Garden to see the clear and undeniable evidence that Spring is indeed here, healthy and vibrant. I’m told there is a media frenzy, the area has been cordoned off by police. Be the first in your town to view the white wonder of a snowdrop in the lawn!

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Baking Delights has just given me the most exquisite jolt of food delight imaginable, a recipe for Kalamata Olive Loaf Bread. Oh goodness, this one looks good. I left a comment yesterday on her blog and think I might have ticked her off a bit. I made a joke about her using recipes by candidates to decide who to vote for. She retorted that her post was a joke. Course, I assumed that, but couldn’t resist my jibe. My sarcasm can be taken badly sometimes unfortunately. I make it up to her by lots of links to her fine recipes! If you have a heavy duty mixer, then by all means make bread all the time, it is so easy! If you make it by hand, then do as you wish, I am not a kneader! This bread is so blessedly good, and this recipe simply is one of the best I’ve seen.

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I love orchids and truth be known, they are quite easy to grow. I had a few back in my days when I practiced law, and lived in Detroit and had excess spending money. They are a tad expensive, but you can sometimes get them at 1/2 price at Lowe’s once they have bloomed and are just leaves. Those don’t sell so well, so they attempt to entice you to purchase. They don’t bloom often, but when they do, the bloom can go on for several weeks so it’s well worth the investment in time and waiting. Sally’s Gardening Tips has some help for you to get started. They are mostly easy to grow as long as you pay careful attention to the basics. Make sure you use a potting soil made for orchids!

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Now I thought this was a clever idea. I love receiving flowers just like the next girl, but truth be told, most don’t do well. The Contrarian in the “early years” brought home roses for our anniversary. That has long stopped, but I never really objected because: a) roses are expensive as sin these days, and b) they don’t open right and no matter what you do they tend to look like crap within about 3 days. Flower bouquets are worse, since not all flowers deteriorate at the same time, so some part looks crummy after a couple a days. Answer? Send succulents! Gardening Ideas and Tips has the link and information to give your flower giving times a new twist.

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I’m toying with the idea of starting a new quilt, and doing just a scrap quilt of simple squares, or maybe rectangles. I’d like to concentrate on colors that are springy. Pastels in green and blue and pink. I have a lot of scraps. I know if I keep going to Inspired by antique quilts, I’ll be starting even sooner than I thought. Her stuff is so pretty and comfy looking. So go get inspired!

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Some posts are just good to read. Just because they are, well good. Go and visit Midlife by Farmlight today and see what I mean. Super post, just the kind you need as you bustle between household duties and the computer and back again. Food for thought, something to chew on as you contemplate that vacuum. It’s the kind of post that, well, like the one above, just inspires a person to get to it. Thanks Jeannelle!

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David Brooks as a political analyst leaves me cold, mostly because he is a thinly veiled McCain supporter, but also because he is a conservative and I have trouble understanding them. To me its like intellectual = liberal, and so Brooks is another breed entirely, smart it seems, but lacking in some ability necessary to collate facts into coherent meaning. His take on the personality of a certain type of overachiever is fascinating reading however. I am a sucker I admit for the psychological approach. I’m forever dissecting Dubya’s actions in light of his parents and siblings. See what you think. He gives us something to chew on in determining just what makes a so-called intelligent man with a huge future throw it all away for an expensive roll in the hay. I wonder if he is right.

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The situation in Tibet has been bad for a very long time, as you no doubt know. I regularly get appeals for money as the Chinese continue to maintain their grip on this country which is home to the Dalai Lama, one to which he has not been able to set foot for some years. Another uprising by those demanding independence has led to killings by Chinese police. They of course are blaming the spiritual leader with inciting the uprising. It is hoped that such protests will embarrass the Chinese government, especially now when they are desperate to keep things looking rosy and happy with the Olympics coming so soon.

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Bet you didn’t know that there was a tsunami in Egypt in 365 C.E. did you? I sure didn’t. A roman historian however, wrote about it. Greece and Sicily were also affected by this massive wave, we are told. Experts believed it was triggered by a massive earthquake off Crete. Some scientists think another may be due. So make your summer travel plans accordingly. Remember, I warned ya!

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For some reason, this recipe just sounded good. From time to time I actually get a yen for tuna noodle casserole. This is not that, but, well, its got tuna in it. And I like arugula a lot as well. So, get the recipe, then plant some arugula this spring and then you can have this dish about May or so. You know it will be good, because the picture is almost food itself. Try Pasta with Tuna, Arugula and Hot Pepper.

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No one seriously disputes the fact that the Bush administration has gone way beyond anything before in attempting to acquire power to itself at the expense of the other two branches of government. No doubt they have determined in their clear wisdom that the American Constitution is no longer fit in this modern political world. There are two new books out on the subject and American Prospect gives you a nice review of them both. Be afraid readers, be afraid. We are losing our grip on this country and we may live to regret it.

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I am not an aficionado of Starbucks. Not that I don’t like their coffee or anything, just that it’s too expensive, I don’t live near one, and I use a French press already and it tastes just fine. So I had no idea they had something called A Gingerbread Loaf. This looks very desserty to me, but I would probably eat it for breakfast. I’m a sugar person in the morning. It’s another secret recipe!

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Okay, the Farmer’s Almanac has tips for the day:

Bleach your cutting board with an occasional lemon. I dunno why, they did not say. I like mine just fine, but I do give it a extra wash now and then with some hot soapy water and a quick rinse. But use the lemon, make them happy.

Growing strawberries? Need to know how much to water? Find the answer by following the dancing link!

What causes grey hair? Don’t get me started! Oh, you want the technical scientific reason? Okay follow the link and find the boring answer.

What is swifter? heat or cold? Uhuh, I knew you wanted to know this one. Gosh, they must have some fine scientists at the Almanac. They brought out the best for this question.

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“Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.” ~~Sir Arthur Eddington

“Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.” ~~Andre Gede

“After I’m dead I’d rather have people ask why I have no monument than why I have one.” ~~Cato the Elder

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I’ve had a visitor here from Macedonia, so I thought I would post this story in honor of that visit. I guess every country has its peculiar problems. We got the lady on the toilet for two years, and well they have this bear you see…..well read on, read on.

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Eighty thousand dollars for sex? And he’s not even married to her?– Sam Single

Economists are worried that if conditions do not improve, we might experience another Depression, or as John McCain calls it, a second childhood. – Marc Ragovin, New York

In an attempt to restore her wholesome image, Dawn Wells — Mary Ann of “Gilligan’s Island” — has strenuously denied any connection to illegal drugs. Though she did admit that she knew what it was like to have a bad trip. – withPenache

A new study by the Nielsen ratings service found that the PG-rated movies with the least profanity made the most money at the U.S. box office. Asked to comment, a representative of the film industry said, “Who’s the blankety-blank blank who came up with such a blankety-blank idea?”

The city of Northampton, Massachusetts, has hired specially trained stink-sniffers to help determine whether the city landfill is too smelly for neighbors of the dump. After this project, the stink-sniffers will go back to their regular jobs as Northampton High School cafeteria ladies.– Paul Seaburn, Spring, Texas

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That’s All Folks!