You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Today's Quote
Labels:
Today's Quote
"Most of the greatest evils that man has inflicted upon man have come through people feeling quite certain about something which, in fact, was false."
- Bertrand Russell
Here's The Joke
Labels:
Humor
From Spadoman at Round Circle Blog
A friend just got back from a holiday skiing trip to Utah with the kind of story that warms the cockles of anybody's heart.
Conditions were perfect...12 below, no feeling in the toes, basic numbness all over...the "Tell me when we're having fun" kind of day.
One of the women in the group complained to her husband that she was in dire need of a rest room. He told her not to worry, that he was sure there was relief waiting at the top of the lift in the form of a powder room for female skiers in distress. He was wrong, of course, and the pain did not go away. If you've ever had nature hit its panic button in you, then you know that a temperature of 12 below doesn't help matters. With time running out, the woman weighed her options.
Her husband, picking up on the intensity of the pain, suggested that since she was wearing an all-white ski outfit, she should go off in the woods and no one would even notice. He assured her, "The white will provide more than adequate camouflage."
So she headed for the tree line, began lowering her ski pants and proceeded to do her thing. If you've ever parked on the side of a slope, then you know there is a right way and wrong way to set your skis so you don't move.
Yup, you got it!!! She had them positioned the wrong way. Steep slopes are not forgiving...even during the most embarrassing moments. Without warning, the woman found herself skiing backward, out-of-control, racing through the trees...somehow missing all of them and onto another slope. Her derriere and the reverse side were still bare, her pants down around her knees, and she was picking up speed all the while.
She continued backwards, totally out-of-control, creating an unusual vista for the other skiers. The woman skied back under the lift and finally collided violently with a pylon.
The bad news was that she broke her arm and was unable to pull up her ski pants. At long last her husband arrived, putting an end to her nudie show, then summoned the ski patrol. They transported her to a hospital.
While in the emergency room, a man with an obviously broken leg was put in the bed next to hers. "So, how'd you break your leg?" she asked, making small talk. "It was the stupidest thing you ever saw," he said. "I was riding up this ski lift and suddenly, I couldn't believe my eyes! There was this crazy woman skiing backward, out-of-control, down the mountain, with her bare bottom hanging out of her pants. I leaned over to get a better look and fell out of the lift." ..
"So, how'd you break your arm?"
A friend just got back from a holiday skiing trip to Utah with the kind of story that warms the cockles of anybody's heart.
Conditions were perfect...12 below, no feeling in the toes, basic numbness all over...the "Tell me when we're having fun" kind of day.
One of the women in the group complained to her husband that she was in dire need of a rest room. He told her not to worry, that he was sure there was relief waiting at the top of the lift in the form of a powder room for female skiers in distress. He was wrong, of course, and the pain did not go away. If you've ever had nature hit its panic button in you, then you know that a temperature of 12 below doesn't help matters. With time running out, the woman weighed her options.
Her husband, picking up on the intensity of the pain, suggested that since she was wearing an all-white ski outfit, she should go off in the woods and no one would even notice. He assured her, "The white will provide more than adequate camouflage."
So she headed for the tree line, began lowering her ski pants and proceeded to do her thing. If you've ever parked on the side of a slope, then you know there is a right way and wrong way to set your skis so you don't move.
Yup, you got it!!! She had them positioned the wrong way. Steep slopes are not forgiving...even during the most embarrassing moments. Without warning, the woman found herself skiing backward, out-of-control, racing through the trees...somehow missing all of them and onto another slope. Her derriere and the reverse side were still bare, her pants down around her knees, and she was picking up speed all the while.
She continued backwards, totally out-of-control, creating an unusual vista for the other skiers. The woman skied back under the lift and finally collided violently with a pylon.
The bad news was that she broke her arm and was unable to pull up her ski pants. At long last her husband arrived, putting an end to her nudie show, then summoned the ski patrol. They transported her to a hospital.
While in the emergency room, a man with an obviously broken leg was put in the bed next to hers. "So, how'd you break your leg?" she asked, making small talk. "It was the stupidest thing you ever saw," he said. "I was riding up this ski lift and suddenly, I couldn't believe my eyes! There was this crazy woman skiing backward, out-of-control, down the mountain, with her bare bottom hanging out of her pants. I leaned over to get a better look and fell out of the lift." ..
"So, how'd you break your arm?"
States broke? Maybe they cut taxes too much
In his new budget proposal, Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich calls for extending a generous 21 percent cut in state income taxes. The measure was originally part of a sweeping 2005 tax overhaul that abolished the state corporate income tax and phased out a business property tax.
The tax cuts were supposed to stimulate Ohio's economy and create jobs. But that never happened once the economy tanked. Instead, the changes ended up costing Ohio more than $2 billion a year in lost tax revenue; money that would go a long way toward closing the state's $8 billion budget gap for fiscal year 2012.
"At least half of our current budget problem is a direct result of the tax changes we made in 2005. A lot of people don't want to hear that, but that's the reality. Much of our pain is self-inflicted," said Zach Schiller, research director at Policy Matters Ohio, a liberal government-research group in Cleveland.
Read more
The tax cuts were supposed to stimulate Ohio's economy and create jobs. But that never happened once the economy tanked. Instead, the changes ended up costing Ohio more than $2 billion a year in lost tax revenue; money that would go a long way toward closing the state's $8 billion budget gap for fiscal year 2012.
"At least half of our current budget problem is a direct result of the tax changes we made in 2005. A lot of people don't want to hear that, but that's the reality. Much of our pain is self-inflicted," said Zach Schiller, research director at Policy Matters Ohio, a liberal government-research group in Cleveland.
Read more
GOP Conservativisim: Authoritarian or Libertarian
Labels:
Rachel Maddow,
videos
Good piece which clearly illustrates Republican's aren't what they claim to be.
Liberal groups launch emotional ad in Wisconsin aimed at recalling GOP lawmakers
Labels:
videos
In the wake of a devastating legislative defeat in Wisconsin, liberal groups have unleashed a new ad campaign against state Republican lawmakers who voted to strip the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions.
The one-minute spot was created by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) and Democracy For America (DFA). Featuring emotional testimonials from Wisconsin teachers and other state employees, it begins running Tuesday in Green Bay and Milwaukee, targeting six Republican senators eligible for recall.
Read more
The one-minute spot was created by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) and Democracy For America (DFA). Featuring emotional testimonials from Wisconsin teachers and other state employees, it begins running Tuesday in Green Bay and Milwaukee, targeting six Republican senators eligible for recall.
Read more
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Today's Quote
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Today's Quote
“All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom; justice; honor; duty; mercy; hope.”
― Winston Churchill
Donald Trump Fails to Produce Birth Certificate
He ought to fire someone over this: Donald Trump, who has recently been raising questions about President Obama’s citizenship, attempted to show how easy it is to prove citizenship by putting a copy of his own birth certificate online. Except he didn’t: It turns out that the document Trump posted is not an official birth certificate. It is missing the official state seal and signature of the state registrar. It is, in fact, a certificate of birth, which is signed by a physician at the hospital when an infant is born.
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Read more
Website of the Day
Labels:
videos,
website of the day
US Uncut is a grassroots movement taking direct action against corporate tax cheats and unnecessary and unfair public service cuts across the U.S. Washington's proposed budget for the coming year sends a clear message: The wrath of budget cuts will fall upon the shoulders of hard-working Americans. That's unacceptable.
2/3rds of US Corporations Pay Zero Federal Taxes: US Uncut Movement Builds to Make Them Pay Up
From coast-to-coast, more than forty cities joined in a day of action protesting the tax-dodging of massive corporations that they see as the real source of the country's deficit.
READ MORE
READ MORE
Monday, March 28, 2011
Today's Quote
Labels:
Today's Quote
"If you'll not settle for anything less than your best, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish in your lives."
— Vince Lombardi: Was an inspirational American football coach
How she met your grandfather
Labels:
Humor
My grandmother told me how she ended up marrying Grandpa.
She was in her 20s, and the man she was dating left for war.
"We were in love," she recalled, "and wrote to each other
every week. It was during that time that I discovered how
wonderful your grandfather was."
"Did you marry Grandpa when he came home from the war?" I
asked.
"Oh, I didn't marry the man who wrote the letters. Your
grandfather was the mailman."
She was in her 20s, and the man she was dating left for war.
"We were in love," she recalled, "and wrote to each other
every week. It was during that time that I discovered how
wonderful your grandfather was."
"Did you marry Grandpa when he came home from the war?" I
asked.
"Oh, I didn't marry the man who wrote the letters. Your
grandfather was the mailman."
Love Actually - Trailer
Labels:
Movie Trailers
I absolutely LOVE this movie and have watched it no less than a dozen times. If you've never watched it, you're missing a treat.
Love often goes haywire in this starry, cheerful romantic comedy. Hugh Grant is the British prime minister who falls for his assistant. Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, and Colin Firth are stewing in various states of romantic distress. They sort out their lives and bring you back to the film's glorious beginning: Dozens of ordinary people fly into each other's arms at an airport arrivals gate. You feel wrapped in a warm embrace, too, as Grant's voice reminds us, "Love actually is all around," as essential and free as air.
15 of the Deadliest Corporations
These corporations, if they were individual human beings, would be locked up for life. Instead, they continue raking in the big bucks. Human rights abuses, murder, war, eco disasters, and animal exploitation keep these evil companies raking in the green. Prepare to be disgusted.
Several big oil companies make this list, but Chevron deserves a special place in Hell. Between 1972 to 1993, Chevron (then Texaco) discharged 18 billion gallons of toxic water into the rain forests of Ecuador without any remediation, destroying the livelihoods of local farmers and sickening indigenous populations. Chevron has also done plenty of polluting right here in the U.S.: In 1998, Richmond, California sued Chevron for illegally bypassing waste water treatments and contaminating local water supplies, ditto in New Hampshire in 2003. Chevron was responsible for the death of several Nigerians who protested the company's polluting, exploiting presence in the Nigerian Delta. Chevron paid the local militia, known for its human rights abuses, to squash the protests, and even supplied them with choppers and boats. The military opened fire on the protesters, then burned their villages to the ground.
Diamonds are a girl's best friend -- unless she lives in the Ivory Coast. "Blood" or "conflict" diamonds are the name given to minerals purchased from insurgencies in war-torn countries. Prior to 2000 when the U.N. finally took a stand against the practice, DeBeers was knowingly funding violent guerrilla movements in Angola, Sierra Nevada, and the Congo with its diamond purchases. In Botswana, DeBeers has been blamed for the "clearing" of land to be mined for diamonds -- including the forcible removal of indigenous peoples who had lived there for thousands of years. The government allegedly cut off the tribe's water supplies, threatened, tortured and even hanged resisters.
Read more
Several big oil companies make this list, but Chevron deserves a special place in Hell. Between 1972 to 1993, Chevron (then Texaco) discharged 18 billion gallons of toxic water into the rain forests of Ecuador without any remediation, destroying the livelihoods of local farmers and sickening indigenous populations. Chevron has also done plenty of polluting right here in the U.S.: In 1998, Richmond, California sued Chevron for illegally bypassing waste water treatments and contaminating local water supplies, ditto in New Hampshire in 2003. Chevron was responsible for the death of several Nigerians who protested the company's polluting, exploiting presence in the Nigerian Delta. Chevron paid the local militia, known for its human rights abuses, to squash the protests, and even supplied them with choppers and boats. The military opened fire on the protesters, then burned their villages to the ground.
Diamonds are a girl's best friend -- unless she lives in the Ivory Coast. "Blood" or "conflict" diamonds are the name given to minerals purchased from insurgencies in war-torn countries. Prior to 2000 when the U.N. finally took a stand against the practice, DeBeers was knowingly funding violent guerrilla movements in Angola, Sierra Nevada, and the Congo with its diamond purchases. In Botswana, DeBeers has been blamed for the "clearing" of land to be mined for diamonds -- including the forcible removal of indigenous peoples who had lived there for thousands of years. The government allegedly cut off the tribe's water supplies, threatened, tortured and even hanged resisters.
Read more
College Student Uses Tech Skills to Track Down Computer Thief
Labels:
human interest
He doesn't look like your everyday detective - but he could certainly teach them a thing or two.
Mark Bao is a Massachusetts college student with enough computer savviness to track down a thief who broke into his dorm and stole his laptop.
The 18-year-old's MacBook Air was stolen in February and through the help of Social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, he was able to track the perpetrator down single (and gadget) handedly.
Read more
Mark Bao is a Massachusetts college student with enough computer savviness to track down a thief who broke into his dorm and stole his laptop.
The 18-year-old's MacBook Air was stolen in February and through the help of Social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, he was able to track the perpetrator down single (and gadget) handedly.
Read more
5 Things NOT to Buy at CVS
You’d think that the core competency of a drugstore would be filling prescriptions, so why are the pharmacies at CVS (and all its competitors) in the very back of the store? Because that way, you’ve got miles of aisles to navigate — and baskets full of impulse buys to resist — on the way. The drugstore chains have been growing by offering higher-end cosmetics, more store brands, expanding their grocery offerings, and even selling prepared food. Would you like a CVS salad with your Lipitor? No store can be all things to all people all the time, though, so don’t let the one-stop shopping convenience empty your wallet. Here are five items you’d be better off buying elsewhere, for reasons of price, quality, or selection.
Preventive Health Care Services that Now Must be Free
Health insurance companies are a clever bunch, much like banks and airlines always finding ways to ding you with fees under various names. Part of "Obama Care", however, requires health plans not to charge co-pays, co-insurance, nor deductibles for certain preventive care. Here's the list.
Super Glue Inventor Dies
Thanks Mr. Coover, for the memories: Harry Coover, the inventor of Super Glue, died on Saturday at the age of 94. Coover invented the formula during World War II while trying to come up with an adhesive for use in clear plastic gun sights—but canned it after it proved too sticky. Then, working with a partner in 1951, he brought it back while researching a temperature resistant coating for jet cockpits. Once again, it was too sticky, ruining expensive laboratory equipment. This time, however, Coover and his partner realized its potential value. Seven years later, the first type of Super Glue hit the market. Coover never made much money of the substance: It did not become a commercial hit until after his patents had expired.
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What the heck's a vision board—and how can it change your life?
Step One: Cut out pictures of things you love. Step Two: Paste them onto paper. Step Three: Realize your life's ambition? Well...sort of.
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Website of the Day
Labels:
website of the day
WeatherSpark is a fantastic (and fantastically simple) new website that lets you access and data-mine decades worth of weather patterns, instantly, online.
Truth in Advertising and the News
By Ovid via Daily Kos
As an American living in Europe, I have to say that watching the US news is like watching your beloved Aunt Agatha slowly go insane. What's worse is watching it with my wife. She's French and though we have similar political views, because her background is as a French political advisor in Paris and my political background can best be summed up as "whining", we often have different views on how to approach problems. She's very much in the "what are we able to get done" camp as opposed to my "what should we get done" attitude. So when the subject of US politics comes up, particularly given her legal background (she has a Masters Degree in French law), she has a particular talent for asking questions which make me squirm.
Case in point: given the recent brouhaha regarding a law requiring truth in Canadian news, my wife asked me why the US didn't require news to be honest (she has been repeatedly shocked by some of the blatant lies that Fox News puts forward). I tried to explain about our First Amendment and why, sadly, Fox News used this to win a court case giving them the right to lie on air, and I also tried to explain how the US used to have a "Fairness doctrine" which at least required air time for opposing views, thus mitigating the problem somewhat.
Then she hit me with the question that her legal mind would naturally conjure up: don't you have truth in advertising laws?
Blink.
Um, er, uh, yeah. The FTC Website lists three legal requirements for advertising:
* Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive;
* Advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims; and
* Advertisements cannot be unfair.
Do you have any idea how embarrassing this was? I was sitting there trying to explain to my lovely French wife why the US requires advertising to be honest, but not the news. I couldn't. No amount of sophistry or twisting my mind around this problem could allow me to get around the core issue that if news is allowed to lie and advertising isn't, something is seriously wrong in the US.
Originally posted to Ovid on Sun Mar 27, 2011 at 03:55 AM EDT.
As an American living in Europe, I have to say that watching the US news is like watching your beloved Aunt Agatha slowly go insane. What's worse is watching it with my wife. She's French and though we have similar political views, because her background is as a French political advisor in Paris and my political background can best be summed up as "whining", we often have different views on how to approach problems. She's very much in the "what are we able to get done" camp as opposed to my "what should we get done" attitude. So when the subject of US politics comes up, particularly given her legal background (she has a Masters Degree in French law), she has a particular talent for asking questions which make me squirm.
Case in point: given the recent brouhaha regarding a law requiring truth in Canadian news, my wife asked me why the US didn't require news to be honest (she has been repeatedly shocked by some of the blatant lies that Fox News puts forward). I tried to explain about our First Amendment and why, sadly, Fox News used this to win a court case giving them the right to lie on air, and I also tried to explain how the US used to have a "Fairness doctrine" which at least required air time for opposing views, thus mitigating the problem somewhat.
Then she hit me with the question that her legal mind would naturally conjure up: don't you have truth in advertising laws?
Blink.
Um, er, uh, yeah. The FTC Website lists three legal requirements for advertising:
* Advertising must be truthful and non-deceptive;
* Advertisers must have evidence to back up their claims; and
* Advertisements cannot be unfair.
Do you have any idea how embarrassing this was? I was sitting there trying to explain to my lovely French wife why the US requires advertising to be honest, but not the news. I couldn't. No amount of sophistry or twisting my mind around this problem could allow me to get around the core issue that if news is allowed to lie and advertising isn't, something is seriously wrong in the US.
Originally posted to Ovid on Sun Mar 27, 2011 at 03:55 AM EDT.
Quick Chicken Stir-Fry
Labels:
recipes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 3/4 cups Chicken Broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4 cups cut-up fresh vegetables (broccoli florets, sliced carrots, sliced celery and green onions cut into 1-inch pieces or green or red pepper strips)
2 cans (4.5 ounces each) White Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained
1 cup regular long-grain white rice, prepared according to package directions (about 3 cups)
1. Stir the cornstarch, 1 cup broth, soy sauce and ginger in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth.
2. Heat the vegetables and remaining broth in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender-crisp.
3. Stir the cornstarch mixture in the skillet. Cook and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Stir in the chicken and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Serve the chicken mixture over the rice.
Makes: 4 servings (about 1 cup each).
Kitchen Clip
For a simple burst of fresh flavor, try using a teaspoon of minced fresh ginger in place of the ground ginger in the recipe.
1 3/4 cups Chicken Broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4 cups cut-up fresh vegetables (broccoli florets, sliced carrots, sliced celery and green onions cut into 1-inch pieces or green or red pepper strips)
2 cans (4.5 ounces each) White Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained
1 cup regular long-grain white rice, prepared according to package directions (about 3 cups)
1. Stir the cornstarch, 1 cup broth, soy sauce and ginger in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth.
2. Heat the vegetables and remaining broth in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender-crisp.
3. Stir the cornstarch mixture in the skillet. Cook and stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Stir in the chicken and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Serve the chicken mixture over the rice.
Makes: 4 servings (about 1 cup each).
Kitchen Clip
For a simple burst of fresh flavor, try using a teaspoon of minced fresh ginger in place of the ground ginger in the recipe.
Any Siblings?
Labels:
Humor
After school one day, a young first-grade boy was sitting at the kitchen table, eating his afternoon snack, when he blurted out, "Mom, the teacher was asking me today if I have any brothers or sisters who will be coming to school."
The boy's mother replied, "That's nice of her to take such an interest, dear. What did she say when you told her you are an only child?"
She just said, "Thank goodness!"
The boy's mother replied, "That's nice of her to take such an interest, dear. What did she say when you told her you are an only child?"
She just said, "Thank goodness!"
The 100 most beautiful words in the English language
Ailurophile A cat-lover.
Assemblage A gathering.
Becoming Attractive.
Beleaguer To exhaust with attacks.
Brood To think alone.
Bucolic In a lovely rural setting.
Bungalow A small, cozy cottage.
Chatoyant Like a cat’s eye.
Comely Attractive.
Conflate To blend together.
Cynosure A focal point of admiration.
Dalliance A brief love affair.
Demesne Dominion, territory.
Demure Shy and reserved.
Denouement The resolution of a mystery.
Desuetude Disuse.
Desultory Slow, sluggish.
Diaphanous Filmy.
Dissemble Deceive.
Dulcet Sweet, sugary.
Ebullience Bubbling enthusiasm.
Effervescent Bubbly.
Efflorescence Flowering, blooming.
Elision Dropping a sound or syllable in a word.
Elixir A good potion.
Eloquence Beauty and persuasion in speech.
Embrocation Rubbing on a lotion.
Emollient A softener.
Ephemeral Short-lived.
Epiphany A sudden revelation.
Erstwhile At one time, for a time.
Ethereal Gaseous, invisible but detectable.
Evanescent Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time.
Evocative Suggestive.
Fetching Pretty.
Felicity Pleasantness.
Forbearance Withholding response to provocation.
Fugacious Fleeting.
Furtive Shifty, sneaky.
Gambol To skip or leap about joyfully.
Glamour Beauty.
Gossamer The finest piece of thread, a spider’s silk.
Halcyon Happy, sunny, care-free.
Harbinger Messenger with news of the future.
Imbrication Overlapping and forming a regular pattern.
Imbroglio An altercation or complicated situation.
Imbue To infuse, instill.
Incipient Beginning, in an early stage.
Ineffable Unutterable, inexpressible.
Ingénue A naïve young woman.
Inglenook A cozy nook by the hearth.
Insouciance Blithe nonchalance.
Inure To become jaded.
Labyrinthine Twisting and turning.
Lagniappe A special kind of gift.
Lagoon A small gulf or inlet.
Languor Listlessness, inactivity.
Lassitude Weariness, listlessness.
Leisure Free time.
Lilt To move musically or lively.
Lissome Slender and graceful.
Lithe Slender and flexible.
Love Deep affection.
Mellifluous Sweet sounding.
Moiety One of two equal parts.
Mondegreen A slip of the ear.
Murmurous Murmuring.
Nemesis An unconquerable archenemy.
Offing The sea between the horizon and the offshore.
Onomatopoeia A word that sounds like its meaning.
Opulent Lush, luxuriant.
Palimpsest A manuscript written over earlier ones.
Panacea A solution for all problems
Panoply A complete set.
Pastiche An art work combining materials from various sources.
Penumbra A half-shadow.
Petrichor The smell of earth after rain.
Plethora A large quantity.
Propinquity An inclination.
Pyrrhic Successful with heavy losses.
Quintessential Most essential.
Ratatouille A spicy French stew.
Ravel To knit or unknit.
Redolent Fragrant.
Riparian By the bank of a stream.
Ripple A very small wave.
Scintilla A spark or very small thing.
Sempiternal Eternal.
Seraglio Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem.
Serendipity Finding something nice while looking for something else.
Summery Light, delicate or warm and sunny.
Sumptuous Lush, luxurious.
Surreptitious Secretive, sneaky.
Susquehanna A river in Pennsylvania.
Susurrous Whispering, hissing.
Talisman A good luck charm.
Tintinnabulation Tinkling.
Umbrella Protection from sun or rain.
Untoward Unseemly, inappropriate.
Vestigial In trace amounts.
Wafture Waving.
Wherewithal The means.
Woebegone Sorrowful, downcast.
Assemblage A gathering.
Becoming Attractive.
Beleaguer To exhaust with attacks.
Brood To think alone.
Bucolic In a lovely rural setting.
Bungalow A small, cozy cottage.
Chatoyant Like a cat’s eye.
Comely Attractive.
Conflate To blend together.
Cynosure A focal point of admiration.
Dalliance A brief love affair.
Demesne Dominion, territory.
Demure Shy and reserved.
Denouement The resolution of a mystery.
Desuetude Disuse.
Desultory Slow, sluggish.
Diaphanous Filmy.
Dissemble Deceive.
Dulcet Sweet, sugary.
Ebullience Bubbling enthusiasm.
Effervescent Bubbly.
Efflorescence Flowering, blooming.
Elision Dropping a sound or syllable in a word.
Elixir A good potion.
Eloquence Beauty and persuasion in speech.
Embrocation Rubbing on a lotion.
Emollient A softener.
Ephemeral Short-lived.
Epiphany A sudden revelation.
Erstwhile At one time, for a time.
Ethereal Gaseous, invisible but detectable.
Evanescent Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time.
Evocative Suggestive.
Fetching Pretty.
Felicity Pleasantness.
Forbearance Withholding response to provocation.
Fugacious Fleeting.
Furtive Shifty, sneaky.
Gambol To skip or leap about joyfully.
Glamour Beauty.
Gossamer The finest piece of thread, a spider’s silk.
Halcyon Happy, sunny, care-free.
Harbinger Messenger with news of the future.
Imbrication Overlapping and forming a regular pattern.
Imbroglio An altercation or complicated situation.
Imbue To infuse, instill.
Incipient Beginning, in an early stage.
Ineffable Unutterable, inexpressible.
Ingénue A naïve young woman.
Inglenook A cozy nook by the hearth.
Insouciance Blithe nonchalance.
Inure To become jaded.
Labyrinthine Twisting and turning.
Lagniappe A special kind of gift.
Lagoon A small gulf or inlet.
Languor Listlessness, inactivity.
Lassitude Weariness, listlessness.
Leisure Free time.
Lilt To move musically or lively.
Lissome Slender and graceful.
Lithe Slender and flexible.
Love Deep affection.
Mellifluous Sweet sounding.
Moiety One of two equal parts.
Mondegreen A slip of the ear.
Murmurous Murmuring.
Nemesis An unconquerable archenemy.
Offing The sea between the horizon and the offshore.
Onomatopoeia A word that sounds like its meaning.
Opulent Lush, luxuriant.
Palimpsest A manuscript written over earlier ones.
Panacea A solution for all problems
Panoply A complete set.
Pastiche An art work combining materials from various sources.
Penumbra A half-shadow.
Petrichor The smell of earth after rain.
Plethora A large quantity.
Propinquity An inclination.
Pyrrhic Successful with heavy losses.
Quintessential Most essential.
Ratatouille A spicy French stew.
Ravel To knit or unknit.
Redolent Fragrant.
Riparian By the bank of a stream.
Ripple A very small wave.
Scintilla A spark or very small thing.
Sempiternal Eternal.
Seraglio Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem.
Serendipity Finding something nice while looking for something else.
Summery Light, delicate or warm and sunny.
Sumptuous Lush, luxurious.
Surreptitious Secretive, sneaky.
Susquehanna A river in Pennsylvania.
Susurrous Whispering, hissing.
Talisman A good luck charm.
Tintinnabulation Tinkling.
Umbrella Protection from sun or rain.
Untoward Unseemly, inappropriate.
Vestigial In trace amounts.
Wafture Waving.
Wherewithal The means.
Woebegone Sorrowful, downcast.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Today's Quote
Labels:
Today's Quote
"If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of being a prophet."
Isaac Bashevis Singer
1904-1991, Journalist and Writer
The Obedient Wife
Labels:
Humor
There was a man, who had
worked all his life, had saved all
of his money, & was a real
miser when it came to his
money.
Just before he died, he said
to his wife,"When I die, I want
you to take all my money and
put it in the casket with me. I
want to take my money to the
afterlife with me."
And so he got his wife to promise him, with all of her heart, that when he died, she would put all of the money into the casket with him.
Well, he died. L
He was stretched out in the casket, his wife was sitting there - dressed in black, and her friend was sitting next to her. When they finished the ceremony, and just before the undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife said,
"Wait just a moment!"
She had a small metal box with
her; she came over with the box
and put it in the casket. Then
the undertakers locked the casket down and they rolled it away.
So her friend said,
"Girl, I know you were not
foolish enough to put all that
money in there with your
husband."
The loyal wife replied,
"Listen, I'm a Christian;
I cannot go back on my word.
I promised him that I was
going to put that money into
the casket with him."
"You mean to tell me you put
that money in the casket with
him!?!?!?"
"I sure did," said the wife.
"I got it all together, put it into
my account, and wrote him a Cheque.... If he can cash it,
then he can spend it."
worked all his life, had saved all
of his money, & was a real
miser when it came to his
money.
Just before he died, he said
to his wife,"When I die, I want
you to take all my money and
put it in the casket with me. I
want to take my money to the
afterlife with me."
And so he got his wife to promise him, with all of her heart, that when he died, she would put all of the money into the casket with him.
Well, he died. L
He was stretched out in the casket, his wife was sitting there - dressed in black, and her friend was sitting next to her. When they finished the ceremony, and just before the undertakers got ready to close the casket, the wife said,
"Wait just a moment!"
She had a small metal box with
her; she came over with the box
and put it in the casket. Then
the undertakers locked the casket down and they rolled it away.
So her friend said,
"Girl, I know you were not
foolish enough to put all that
money in there with your
husband."
The loyal wife replied,
"Listen, I'm a Christian;
I cannot go back on my word.
I promised him that I was
going to put that money into
the casket with him."
"You mean to tell me you put
that money in the casket with
him!?!?!?"
"I sure did," said the wife.
"I got it all together, put it into
my account, and wrote him a Cheque.... If he can cash it,
then he can spend it."
Buried Provision In House GOP Bill Would Cut Off Food Stamps To Entire Families If One Member Strikes
All around the country, right-wing legislators are asking middle class Americans to pay for budget deficits caused mainly by a recession caused by Wall Street; they are attacking workers’ collective bargaining rights, which has provoked a huge Main Street Movement to fight back.
Now, a group of House Republicans is launching a new stealth attack against union workers. GOP Reps. Jim Jordan (OH), Tim Scott (SC), Scott Garrett (NJ), Dan Burton (IN), and Louie Gohmert (TX) have introduced H.R. 1135, which states that it is designed to “provide information on total spending on means-tested welfare programs, to provide additional work requirements, and to provide an overall spending limit on means-tested welfare programs.”
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Now, a group of House Republicans is launching a new stealth attack against union workers. GOP Reps. Jim Jordan (OH), Tim Scott (SC), Scott Garrett (NJ), Dan Burton (IN), and Louie Gohmert (TX) have introduced H.R. 1135, which states that it is designed to “provide information on total spending on means-tested welfare programs, to provide additional work requirements, and to provide an overall spending limit on means-tested welfare programs.”
Read more
Is Obama to Blame for $4 Gasoline?
Democrats, Republicans spin oil data in dispute over high gas prices.
Summary
Conflicting, false and misleading statements on oil production and gasoline prices have become the currency of politicians lately, as oil tops $100 per barrel and gasoline hovers near $4 per gallon. Among some of the claims that got our attention:
Summary
Conflicting, false and misleading statements on oil production and gasoline prices have become the currency of politicians lately, as oil tops $100 per barrel and gasoline hovers near $4 per gallon. Among some of the claims that got our attention:
- Top Republicans blame President Obama’s moratorium on deepwater drilling for rising gasoline prices. The moratorium delayed drilling of some new wells, but did not affect the output of wells already in production. A projected drop in total domestic oil production this year should amount to six-tenths of 1 percent of all U.S. consumption of liquid fuels. A Wall Street oil analyst told us the moratorium has had "zero" effect on prices.
- Obama said domestic oil production last year was its highest since 2003. That’s true — but U.S. oil production is projected to drop this year.
- Rep. Kevin McCarthy said "under this administration our output has gone down 13 percent." McCarthy is wrong — U.S. oil production was up in 2009 and 2010, and is projected to decline only 2 percent this year.
- Sarah Palin said Obama is "allowing America to remain increasingly dependent on imports" from unstable countries. But there has been a decline — not an increase — in total oil imports from Middle Eastern and African countries, as well as countries identified by the State Department as "dangerous or unstable," since Obama took office.
A few rules
1.Never stop thinking. This is important. If someone ever says to you ‘You need to stop thinking so much,’ call them ignorant in your head and keep thinking deeper. It is this mentality that breeds stupidity and sheeple. Your mind is the most important tool you have, if you stop using it, it will atrophy. Question everything.
2. Stare into space blankly and don’t mentally punish yourself for doing it, even if it is for that split second. If you have a problem with staring blankly, think of it as daydreaming.
3. Root Beer sucks after having spicy food.
4. Everything is going to be just fine. If you worry about acne, you’re going to get a fucking pimple.
5. Don’t be afraid to talk about anything. You shouldn’t be afraid of reality.
6. Everyone is a hypocrite.
7. You are all original. Every life experience is case sensitive and unique. Every time you wake up or go to the bathroom or quote someone else, you are becoming more you than anyone has ever been.
8. Do pointless things. Don’t actively restrain or hide yourself from the redundant.
9. Stop rushing. Shut up and embrace the sound of silence.
10. Religion shouldn’t be taught, it should be found. No one should tell you what to believe except you. And while were on the subject…
11. Don’t be restrained by one religion. People change every moment of everyday. Minds grow and evolve. Religion has no law so feel free to mix and match. Make your own.
12. Going to the bathroom is not a right nor a privilege. it’s an act of nature.
13. Talking to yourself is healthy. Is there anyone that you have more in common with?
14. There is no such thing as time. The sun never sets or rises. Days and years don’t exist. There is only your life. Earlier today you were born and death is predicted later in the evening.
15. We will always be in a transitional phase. Look outside and know that everything will be replaced at some point. This existence is temporary.
16. Its not half empty or half full. Its half a glass.
17. Every now and then take something that you see everyday and try to see it in a different light. Renew its existence.
18. Be happy, but don’t force it.
19. You will always succeed in trying.
20. We are all crazy. Every person you read about in the history books had some kind of ‘disorder’, they just knew how to use it.
21. We are all about as similar as we are different.
22. Ideas are just as valuable as people. Why do you think we keep making people?
87. Numbers don’t have to go in order.
24. Words will always be just words. Love is just another four letter word, only the feeling is real.
25. Ask a child for advice. They may not know much, but they know what is important.
26. Prove you’re alive. Do anything from dancing in the supermarket to screaming ‘Fuck’ during a moment of silence. Remind the world you are still here.
27. Don’t take anything, even this, too seriously.
2. Stare into space blankly and don’t mentally punish yourself for doing it, even if it is for that split second. If you have a problem with staring blankly, think of it as daydreaming.
3. Root Beer sucks after having spicy food.
4. Everything is going to be just fine. If you worry about acne, you’re going to get a fucking pimple.
5. Don’t be afraid to talk about anything. You shouldn’t be afraid of reality.
6. Everyone is a hypocrite.
7. You are all original. Every life experience is case sensitive and unique. Every time you wake up or go to the bathroom or quote someone else, you are becoming more you than anyone has ever been.
8. Do pointless things. Don’t actively restrain or hide yourself from the redundant.
9. Stop rushing. Shut up and embrace the sound of silence.
10. Religion shouldn’t be taught, it should be found. No one should tell you what to believe except you. And while were on the subject…
11. Don’t be restrained by one religion. People change every moment of everyday. Minds grow and evolve. Religion has no law so feel free to mix and match. Make your own.
12. Going to the bathroom is not a right nor a privilege. it’s an act of nature.
13. Talking to yourself is healthy. Is there anyone that you have more in common with?
14. There is no such thing as time. The sun never sets or rises. Days and years don’t exist. There is only your life. Earlier today you were born and death is predicted later in the evening.
15. We will always be in a transitional phase. Look outside and know that everything will be replaced at some point. This existence is temporary.
16. Its not half empty or half full. Its half a glass.
17. Every now and then take something that you see everyday and try to see it in a different light. Renew its existence.
18. Be happy, but don’t force it.
19. You will always succeed in trying.
20. We are all crazy. Every person you read about in the history books had some kind of ‘disorder’, they just knew how to use it.
21. We are all about as similar as we are different.
22. Ideas are just as valuable as people. Why do you think we keep making people?
87. Numbers don’t have to go in order.
24. Words will always be just words. Love is just another four letter word, only the feeling is real.
25. Ask a child for advice. They may not know much, but they know what is important.
26. Prove you’re alive. Do anything from dancing in the supermarket to screaming ‘Fuck’ during a moment of silence. Remind the world you are still here.
27. Don’t take anything, even this, too seriously.
Fifteen Fat-Burning Foods and Beverages
Wouldn't it be great if you could wave a magic wand and watch as your belly fat completely disappeared? But since we can't count on a fairy godmother to show up anytime soon, we have to keep ourselves in check via healthy foods like these!
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My new favorite thing
Labels:
favorite things
Loving the color, fun, and flexibility of Mane Message's dyed hair ties, head bands, and other bohemian-chic elastic hair accessories; they're made out of soft, stretchy elastic and double as bohemian-chic bracelets when your hair doesn't need to be up. Great for thin hair, teens, and kids. Ditch the uptight hair and rubber bands, ladies!
$16 (set of ten)
Daily Pill Could Prevent Onset of Type 2 Diabetes
A drug called pioglitazone has recently been shown to cut the risk of developing Type-2 diabetes by 72 percent.
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Baby Porpoise Rescued in Japan
Labels:
animals
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Easy Pasta Dish
Labels:
recipes
8 ounces uncooked wheel-shaped macaroni (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 pound bulk turkey Italian sausage
2 3/4 cups meatless tomato pasta sauce
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives
1 can (4 ounces) Green Giant® mushroom pieces and stems, drained
1 cup shredded fat-free or part-skim mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)
1. 1 Heat oven to 350º. Cook macaroni as directed on package; drain. Cook sausage in skillet, stirring frequently, until no longer pink; drain.
2. 2 Mix macaroni, sausage, pasta sauce, olives and mushrooms in 2 1/2-quart casserole.
3. 3 Cover and bake about 30 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with cheese. Let stand about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
3/4ths of Senate GOP Doesn't Believe in Science -- When Did Republicans Go Completely Off the Deep End?
The Tea Party and its allies had made it unacceptable to the GOP base to be anywhere except pandering to the anti-science crowd.
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Let's Talk About Death Panels
Labels:
health care
Critics of the Affordable Care Act keep saying health care reform will kill people. Perhaps they should talk to Dallas Wiens.
Wiens, 25, lost most of his face in a freak work accident. Earlier this week, doctors in Boston performed an experimental face transplant. The Defense Department and the hospital underwrote the surgery. (The Pentagon hopes the know-how can someday help wounded soldiers.) But Wiens will depend on expensive immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of his life.
The Affordable Care Act will allow Wiens to pay for those drugs. For now, it allows him to enroll in his father’s plan, because he is under 26. Later, when the law is fully in place, it will guarantee him access to a comprehensive insurance policy, regardless of his pre-existing condition. And it’s the ability to finance these treatments that enabled Wiens to get the surgery in the first place, according to Brian Beutler:
Beutler tells the tale of Wiens and some other patients in similar situations in a new story for Talking Points Memo. These stories are inevitably complicated and Beutler, to his credit, goes into those complications. Among other things, patients with severe illness and without formal insurance sometimes have options, whether it’s getting coverage through other government programs or simply relying on charity. (As Beutler notes, Wiens will likely qualify for Medicare coverage once he turns 26, because of his disability.)
But the broader point holds: Given the substantial evidence that thousands of people die every year because they don't have health insurance, the conversation about “death panels” has it exactly backwards.
Read more
Wiens, 25, lost most of his face in a freak work accident. Earlier this week, doctors in Boston performed an experimental face transplant. The Defense Department and the hospital underwrote the surgery. (The Pentagon hopes the know-how can someday help wounded soldiers.) But Wiens will depend on expensive immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of his life.
The Affordable Care Act will allow Wiens to pay for those drugs. For now, it allows him to enroll in his father’s plan, because he is under 26. Later, when the law is fully in place, it will guarantee him access to a comprehensive insurance policy, regardless of his pre-existing condition. And it’s the ability to finance these treatments that enabled Wiens to get the surgery in the first place, according to Brian Beutler:
...without that coverage, Weins wouldn't have been able to afford the expensive immunosuppressant drugs that he must take for the rest of his life to prevent his body from rejecting his new face. Patients have to demonstrate that they will be able to afford the anti-rejection drugs to qualify for a transplant.
Beutler tells the tale of Wiens and some other patients in similar situations in a new story for Talking Points Memo. These stories are inevitably complicated and Beutler, to his credit, goes into those complications. Among other things, patients with severe illness and without formal insurance sometimes have options, whether it’s getting coverage through other government programs or simply relying on charity. (As Beutler notes, Wiens will likely qualify for Medicare coverage once he turns 26, because of his disability.)
But the broader point holds: Given the substantial evidence that thousands of people die every year because they don't have health insurance, the conversation about “death panels” has it exactly backwards.
Read more
Easy Doughnuts
Labels:
recipes
I remember making these in Hom Ec in high school.
Ingredients
* 3/4 cup vegetable oil
* 1 8-count package large refrigerated biscuits (such as Pillsbury Grands)
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
1. Heat ½ cup of the oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat.
2. Place the biscuits on a cutting board. Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter or shot glass, cut a hole in the center of each biscuit, reserving the extra dough for "holes."
3. Test the heat of the oil by dipping the edge of a doughnut in the pan. When the oil is hot enough, the edge will bubble. Place 4 of the doughnuts and holes in the skillet and cook until golden brown, 1 to 1½ minutes per side. Transfer to a wire rack or paper towel–lined plate to drain. Add the remaining oil to the skillet, reheat, and cook the remaining doughnuts and holes.
4. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon. Gently toss the warm doughnuts in the mixture a few at a time. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Today's Quote
Labels:
Today's Quote
You get what you settle for.
- the character Louise in the movie Thelma and Louise
Girlfriend of Wisconsin Republican state Senator gets state job, 36% raise
Thanks Spadoman from Round Circle blog.
Wisconsin Republicans, from Scott Walker on down, have repeatedly justified their move to strip collective bargaining rights for state employees by claiming that the state is broke. However, this has not stopped them from giving a state job and a 36% raise to the 26-year-old girlfriend of Wisconsin state Senator Randy Hopper.
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The Corporate Conquest of America
By Thom Hartmann, Berrett-Kohler Publishers:
"While corporations can live forever, exist in several different places at the same time, change their identities at will, and even chop off parts of themselves or sprout new parts, the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, according to its reporter, had said that they are 'persons' under the Constitution, with constitutional rights and protections as accorded to human beings. Once given this key, corporations began to assert the powers that came with their newfound rights.... Interestingly, during the era of the Santa Clara decision granting corporations the full protections of persons under the Constitution, two other groups also brought cases to the Supreme Court, asking for similar protections. The first group was women. This was a movement with a fascinating history, its roots in the American Revolution itself."
Read the Article
"While corporations can live forever, exist in several different places at the same time, change their identities at will, and even chop off parts of themselves or sprout new parts, the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, according to its reporter, had said that they are 'persons' under the Constitution, with constitutional rights and protections as accorded to human beings. Once given this key, corporations began to assert the powers that came with their newfound rights.... Interestingly, during the era of the Santa Clara decision granting corporations the full protections of persons under the Constitution, two other groups also brought cases to the Supreme Court, asking for similar protections. The first group was women. This was a movement with a fascinating history, its roots in the American Revolution itself."
Read the Article
Nine-year-old loses leg while saving little sister’s life
Labels:
human interest
Nine-year-old Anaiah Rucker is being hailed as a hero after saving her sister from being hit by a truck last month. Anaiah told The Today Show's Ann Curry today that she didn't think twice before pushing her little sister out of the path of the vehicle as the pair crossed the street in Madison, Georgia to get to the school bus stop.
Anaiah took the hit, instead, and lost a leg and a kidney for her bravery.
"I love her more than anything," Anaiah told Channel 2's Tom Jones of her five-year-old-sister, Camry. Anaiah said it was raining and her sweatshirt hood was covering her eyes as she and her sister crossed the road. The girls' mother, Andrea Taylor, witnessed her older daughter's act of bravery from the porch of their home, where she watches the girls catch the bus each morning.
Read more/video
Anaiah took the hit, instead, and lost a leg and a kidney for her bravery.
"I love her more than anything," Anaiah told Channel 2's Tom Jones of her five-year-old-sister, Camry. Anaiah said it was raining and her sweatshirt hood was covering her eyes as she and her sister crossed the road. The girls' mother, Andrea Taylor, witnessed her older daughter's act of bravery from the porch of their home, where she watches the girls catch the bus each morning.
Read more/video
New 'Duke Nukem' video game rewards players for slapping women
A forthcoming video game sequel is taking an innovative approach to "capture the flag" ... They're calling it "Capture the Babe," and not only will players be capturing digital women, they'll be slapping them around, too.
With just over a month to go before the long-anticipated shooting game "Duke Nukem Forever" is released, some of its more controversial elements are finally leaking out.
But is violence against women really a gaming innovation worth 12 years in the making? Or is this just an obvious play for media controversy by the developers at Gearbox Software?
Read more
With just over a month to go before the long-anticipated shooting game "Duke Nukem Forever" is released, some of its more controversial elements are finally leaking out.
But is violence against women really a gaming innovation worth 12 years in the making? Or is this just an obvious play for media controversy by the developers at Gearbox Software?
Read more
Elizabeth Taylor Late to Own Funeral
Elizabeth Taylor even managed to be fashionably late to her own funeral. Taylor's burial service began 15 minutes behind schedule, by her request. "She even wanted to be late for her own funeral," a family rep said. She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, at a private ceremony attended by family and friends. She was interred at the Great Mausoleum, the same place as her longtime friend Michael Jackson.
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Slow Cooker Corn Chowder
Labels:
recipes
This is one of the more unusual soup recipes out there, and it's really tasty! It's also really easy - just use your handy-dandy slow cooker, and your meal will make itself.
Serves: 6
Ingredients
* 10 3/4 ounces can Campbells cream of potato soup
* 10 1/2 ounces can single strength chicken broth
* 2 cans creamed corn
* 2 chicken breasts
* 3 celery stalks, sliced thin
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 3 scallions (tops and bottoms), sliced
* 3 medium carrots, sliced
* 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
* 1/2 teaspoon thyme
* Salt and pepper, to taste
*
* 1 cup milk or cream
* 1 cup instant potato flakes
* 1/4 cup minced parsley
Instructions
1. Put both soups, the corn, chicken, celery, onion, scallions, carrots, garlic, thyme, and salt and pepper into a slow cooker; cook on low setting for about 7 hours.
2. Break apart the chicken and add the milk (or cream), potato flakes, and parsley.
3. Adjust seasonings as necessary and serve warm.
Serves: 6
Ingredients
* 10 3/4 ounces can Campbells cream of potato soup
* 10 1/2 ounces can single strength chicken broth
* 2 cans creamed corn
* 2 chicken breasts
* 3 celery stalks, sliced thin
* 1 large onion, chopped
* 3 scallions (tops and bottoms), sliced
* 3 medium carrots, sliced
* 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
* 1/2 teaspoon thyme
* Salt and pepper, to taste
*
* 1 cup milk or cream
* 1 cup instant potato flakes
* 1/4 cup minced parsley
Instructions
1. Put both soups, the corn, chicken, celery, onion, scallions, carrots, garlic, thyme, and salt and pepper into a slow cooker; cook on low setting for about 7 hours.
2. Break apart the chicken and add the milk (or cream), potato flakes, and parsley.
3. Adjust seasonings as necessary and serve warm.
GE, World's Largest Corporation, Paid Zero Dollars in U.S. Taxes Last Year
You know how we've been covering the efforts of U.S. Uncut, the growing campaign to stop corporate tax dodgers from exploiting overseas tax havens? Well here's an excellent example of why such efforts are desperately needed, from the front page of the New York Times:
General Electric, the nation’s largest corporation, had a very good year in 2010.
The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States.
Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.
Read more
General Electric, the nation’s largest corporation, had a very good year in 2010.
The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States.
Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.
Read more
Cellphones Track Your Every Move
Big Brother may not be watching you, but your cellphone carrier is. Mark Spitz, a German Green Party politician and privacy advocate, was curious about exactly what his cellphone company, Deutsche Telekom, knew about his whereabouts, so he took them to court. The results were eye-opening: During a six-month period, from August 31, 2009, to February 28, 2010, the company had recorded and saved his longitude and latitude coordinates a whopping 35,000 times, tracing his every move. Experts say Spitz has provided an unprecedented look into how cellphone companies track their users. About every seven seconds, your cellphone company will determine the nearest cell tower to efficiently route calls, and then, for billing purposes, track your location and how long the call lasted. In the U.S., telecommunications companies don't have to report the material they collect, and both the FBI and DEA often use cellphone records to pinpoint suspects. "I want to show the political message that this kind of data retention is really, really big and you can really look into the life of people for six months and see what they are doing where they are," said Spitz.
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Friday, March 25, 2011
Is it true that boycotting companies that import foreign oil will "avoid putting more money into the coffers" of foreign countries?
Labels:
FactCheck.org
No. There is no way to know for sure whether your local station is selling gasoline from imported or domestic oil. Besides, U.S. oil demand is twice its domestic supply.
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My Man Godfrey - Trailer
Labels:
Movie Trailers
As a scatterbrained heiress during the Depression, Carole Lombard finds a dashing homeless man as part of a scavenger hunt and hires him as butler for her flaky family (she has a crush). You laugh at the screwball comedy, swoon at the enchanting romance, and grow to appreciate wise and sane Godfrey (William Powell). As he demonstrates the rewards of helping your neighbor, he might as well be speaking to our own hard times.
Native American Code Of Ethics
Shuh-shee-ahsh (Curley)
Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often.
The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak.
~
Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path.
Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem
from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance.
~
Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others
to make your path for you. It is your road, and
yours alone. Others may walk it with you,
but no one can walk it for you.
~
Treat the guests in your home with much consideration.
Serve them the best food, give them the best
bed and treat them with respect and honor.
~
Do not take what is not yours whether from
a person, a community,the wilderness or from a
culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours.
~
Respect all things that are placed upon
this earth – whether it be people or plant.
~
Honor other people’s thoughts, wishes and words.
Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them.
Allow each person the right to personal expression.
~
Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative
energy that you put out into the universe
will multiply when it returns to you.
~
All persons make mistakes.
And all mistakes can be forgiven.
~
Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind,
body and spirit. Practice optimism.
~
Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us.
They are part of your worldly family.
~
Children are the seeds of our future. Plant
love in their hearts and water them with
wisdom and life’s lessons. When they
are grown, give them space to grow.
~
Avoid hurting the hearts of others.
The poison of your pain will return to you.
~
Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the
test of one’s will within this universe.
~
Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual
self, Emotional self, and Physical self – all need
to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out
the body to strengthen the mind. Grow
rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.
~
Make conscious decisions as to who
you will be and how you will react. Be
responsible for your own actions.
~
Respect the privacy and personal space of
others. Do not touch the personal property of
others – especially sacred and religious
objects. This is forbidden.
~
Be true to yourself first. You cannot
nurture and help others if you cannot
nurture and help yourself first.
~
Respect others religious beliefs.
Do not force your belief on others.
~
Share your good fortune with others.
Participate in charity.
Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often.
The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak.
~
Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path.
Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem
from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance.
~
Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others
to make your path for you. It is your road, and
yours alone. Others may walk it with you,
but no one can walk it for you.
~
Treat the guests in your home with much consideration.
Serve them the best food, give them the best
bed and treat them with respect and honor.
~
Do not take what is not yours whether from
a person, a community,the wilderness or from a
culture. It was not earned nor given. It is not yours.
~
Respect all things that are placed upon
this earth – whether it be people or plant.
~
Honor other people’s thoughts, wishes and words.
Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them.
Allow each person the right to personal expression.
~
Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative
energy that you put out into the universe
will multiply when it returns to you.
~
All persons make mistakes.
And all mistakes can be forgiven.
~
Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind,
body and spirit. Practice optimism.
~
Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us.
They are part of your worldly family.
~
Children are the seeds of our future. Plant
love in their hearts and water them with
wisdom and life’s lessons. When they
are grown, give them space to grow.
~
Avoid hurting the hearts of others.
The poison of your pain will return to you.
~
Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the
test of one’s will within this universe.
~
Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual
self, Emotional self, and Physical self – all need
to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out
the body to strengthen the mind. Grow
rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.
~
Make conscious decisions as to who
you will be and how you will react. Be
responsible for your own actions.
~
Respect the privacy and personal space of
others. Do not touch the personal property of
others – especially sacred and religious
objects. This is forbidden.
~
Be true to yourself first. You cannot
nurture and help others if you cannot
nurture and help yourself first.
~
Respect others religious beliefs.
Do not force your belief on others.
~
Share your good fortune with others.
Participate in charity.
Mexican Pizza
Labels:
recipes
Prep Time: 20 min.
Bake Time: 15 min.
1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
3/4 cup Prego® Traditional Italian Sauce
1/4 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sliced pitted ripe olives
1. Heat the oven to 400°F.
2. Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 15 x 10-inch rectangle. Place the pastry onto a baking sheet. Prick the pastry thoroughly with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
3. Stir the Italian sauce and picante sauce in a small bowl. Spread the sauce mixture on the pastry to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Top with the cheeses and sprinkle with the olives. Bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Makes: 4 servings (serving size- 1/4 pizza).
Kitchen Clip
For an additional topping option, cook 1/4 cup diced onion, 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms and 1/4 pound bulk Italian sausage in a skillet until the meat is browned and cooked through. Pour off the fat before sprinkling the topping over the pizza.
Bake Time: 15 min.
1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
3/4 cup Prego® Traditional Italian Sauce
1/4 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sliced pitted ripe olives
1. Heat the oven to 400°F.
2. Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 15 x 10-inch rectangle. Place the pastry onto a baking sheet. Prick the pastry thoroughly with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
3. Stir the Italian sauce and picante sauce in a small bowl. Spread the sauce mixture on the pastry to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Top with the cheeses and sprinkle with the olives. Bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Makes: 4 servings (serving size- 1/4 pizza).
Kitchen Clip
For an additional topping option, cook 1/4 cup diced onion, 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms and 1/4 pound bulk Italian sausage in a skillet until the meat is browned and cooked through. Pour off the fat before sprinkling the topping over the pizza.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The Gods We Are
Courtesy of SoulWise.net
We are a fuzzy bit of stuff that vibrates...
Matter is more than 99.99999% emptiness! There is nothing there but a fuzzy bit of stuff that vibrates like crazy and makes us believe that matter is solid. How come? Another question is - why can't we see through matter if it is more than 99.99999% emptiness? Why do we see and experience solidness? On top of all this, in all the years we go to school - why aren't we told that matter is an illusion? What is the secret? Why keep us dumb...??
We are not color blind - we are dimension or density blind...
One of the secrets is - our body is a lens - a filter. It experiences a specific physical reality only - which in and by itself is not actually there - it is an illusion. There is no objective reality out there! We create it on the spot in our head. It is like only seeing the color red in a picture that contains a myriad of other colors and then say: I see a red building - it's all red! Possibly we only see one part in a million of the Total Reality that surrounds us. This one millionth part we call Physical Reality. All other realities are filtered out by our awareness system. We are surrounded by all these other realities, but they are not experienced or noticed by human beings. We do not even suspect that they are there! What a surprise...
All Things are Energy-Force-Fields...
Another remarkable thing is, that there is no objective reality separate from the observer. The reality we experience is self created and we select it from the Absolute Reality that surrounds us. We only experience our own perception of that Reality! So, again - in actuality - physical reality as an objective reality does not exist. Our perception is the reality we think we experience and it is formed from the Infinite Reality we look at. All of us, individually, create our own reality on the spot - by means of our perceptions! Yeah, this is hard to believe - I know! Further more, all things (read energies) in creation are aspects of each other and one aware energy can experience other energies. These other energies not necessarily are as aware as human beings. Some are less aware and others are more aware. There are different densities of energies with different levels of awareness...
The universe is a Relationship of Energies...
These energies are actually energy force fields (awarenesses) and the one energy responds to the other. This response or reaction is what we call perceiving or experiencing it! For example, human energy can experience tree energy and tree energy is also able to experience human energy. We could use any combination of energies, and as long as they are within a certain range, they can experience each other. The universe is a relationship of Energies... or Awarenesses. It's an energy or awareness in relationship with other energies! It is all very simple. This is why we can sense the quality of other people for we are able to feel their energy. Charismatic people feel nice to us and some others just make us feel out of sorts. A few give us the creeps...
Nothing is outside of ourselves...
We all create our own individual reality out of the Infinite-Holographic-Absolute-Reality that surrounds us and in which we live. We live right within it and are it! We could also call this reality the Reality of God! Also - actually only God exists... only Spirit exists... only Consciousness exists! We are One with this Infinite-Holographic-Absolute-Reality, but we only experience a fraction of its Unbroken Wholeness when we are Human Beings. This Absolute-Reality is like a palette from which we select our realities like a painter selects the paints from his palette. What we see and experience as our physical reality is a specific selection or vibration of the essence of the universe. The Absolute Reality in which we live is also called the Universal Mind...
Creation is always new...
The universal mind is and contains consciousness as well as the so called unconsciousness or the Non-Being. The Universal Mind and its manifestations is a Dynamic Energy that changes continuously. Creation is always new! There is nothing outside of this universal mind for all things and beings live within the Unbroken Wholeness. We are this unbroken wholeness or the Universal Mind. It is our mind, but we are tuning out all realities except the physical! The sages of the past used to call this Absolute Reality or Quantum Soup --- the Void. It indeed is a "Nest of Nothingness" out of which all things arise or manifest. From this Absolute Reality all things are created by the directed energies we call thought or mind. The more we are able to focus our thoughts - the more we are able to create. To learn to do this is what the school of earth is all about. We are apprentice creators!
We miss more than we see or experience...
Because we experience life in matter through the body or filter, we are fooled into believing that matter is the only thing around. Our matter body and our conscious mind are in synchronicity with the perceptions we create from our surroundings. We do not experience all the other energies or realities because we are out of sync with them (We cannot perceive them right now). They are from a different dimension or realm. Since we experience only a fraction of what's going on - we are deceived by our human awareness system. Our awareness system is very limited, but on the other hand, it is a brilliant masterpiece of creation for it is only aware of certain aspects of creation. Quite the feat, for all this is done on purpose! The great Co-Creators are very very crafty...
We all create our own unique perception from the reality in which we swim...
Similar things happen when we watch TV. There is no picture there - we create it while we watch it. The same happens when we watch a movie. There are no moving pictures on the screen - we create these moving pictures while we watch a sequence of still standing pictures. It is similar with the ordinary reality of the matter world - we create it while we live in it. Our senses, brain and conscious mind are responsible for this. What is actually out there is the Absolute Reality that contains all realities. All things exist within the Absolute Reality or within the Universal Mind. The only things that are not already existing within the Absolute Reality, are the things we create anew, from minute to minute. Even this is debatable for all of Life is a simultaneous affair. From the perspective of the physical level though - we are always on the leading edge of creation...
Human Beings are Miniature Universes...
We could call the Absolute Reality the Infinite-Holographic-Quantum-Soup and it contains all realities or illusions (they are the same). From this Quantum Energy we create the physical universe and our world - including our computer monitor! All beings and things created from the Infinite-Holographic-Quantum-Energy are but temporary aspects of the Whole. Meanwhile, we are a complete miniature universe and a fully working duplicate of the Original. Actually, we are the Original - but we are unaware of that! We have the same qualities as the Force we sometimes call the Almighty! So, we are the Absolute Reality and could see ourselves as a Holographic Duplicate that exists within the Absolute Reality. We create our perceptions or realities, illusions, personal truths and universes by means of the power and qualities of the thoughts we entertain. We therefore are - the Living Truth! We create our World and our Truth while we are experiencing them. They all are unique creations...
We do not learn very much in our Halls of Learning...
We as human beings (Souls in matter) have limited ourselves to but a few octaves of total reality while the spectrum is infinite. Now, here follows a very important point: the entire scheme of delusion and illusion is maintained and re-enforced by the rulers of our world! There are no schools or institutions in the world, that tell us about our illusive existence, yet we spent about 12 to 15 years in these great halls of learning. What a joke! Why is this so?
Most Human beings are brainwashed Robots...
The rulers of the world want mankind to exist in a conditioned or brainwashed state of mind. It makes us easier to rule and control. It makes us believe and respond to all kinds of fiction or nonsense. These concoctions or fictions, include all present philosophies, religions and political concepts as well as the ordinary things of life. Like our financial systems, the medicare systems and the deluding perpetrations of the media. They all keep us busy believing in stories from the most mundane to the ridiculous. They even make us go to war and kill our brothers and sisters. What a game! We are brainwashed from the day we are born. The rulers of the world want us to believe in the reality of the conscious mind only! This mind tells us that things are as we see them. They are not! The reality we experience is the result of a mental habit, we are stuck in a mental rut! Because of this we are forced to be reborn again and again. We are asleep! To awaken to 'what is' - is an individual task. There are many more and better realities than the reality most people are experiencing and believe in presently...
The human mind is kept closed...
The main reasons why marijuana and LSD are illegal is the fact that they are mind-expanding drugs and they give us glimpses of the true reality we live in. On the other hand, beer and alcoholic drinks are legalized for they limit the human mind and keep it on a lower level of awareness. All this makes it easier to control us. No enlightened or free thinking human beings are desired by our rulers. They either put them in prison or get rid of them! This not only used to happen, but it still does...
We can see it happening all around us...
The rulers of our world extend all the way up into higher levels of the universe and mankind has been controlled by negative oriented Alien Forces for many thousands of years. As we know, it created a hell on earth, from which we will transcend in the years ahead. The world is run by Fear instead of Love! The energies of Fear and Suffering are Food for these Aliens. The world is struggling dysfunctionality because of this. That's why there are so many wars! Meanwhile, in the near future, our third dimensional way of life will be abandoned. We can see it happening all around us. Meanwhile, many of us wanted to experience the phenomenal finish of this period and that is why so many of us are here. Mother earth is a bit overloaded because of it, but it will not be for long. Time is running out...
We have programmed our mind with an illusion...
Our illusive existence on earth is a creation by the creator within us, which is directed by the minds of the population of the world. All of us (more or less) agree on the reality we see and experience, while in the mean time the reality we see is a virtual reality which we reinforce by believing in it! We have programmed our mind with an illusion. We are deceiving ourselves and we don't know it! In the mean time, nobody teaches us what's going on in actuality. We have great institutions of learning and all of them are teaching us to keep believing in the world of the senses only - the world of the Rulers who are in power. These Rulers are very pleased with themselves. Meanwhile they themselves are controlled by the Negative Aliens and we are deceived left, right and in the middle. Life on Earth has become the result of Fear and Lies...
Great Souls entered Earth...
These Rulers include all world leaders, all religions and nearly all politicians. Religions are inspired and originated by the Negative Alien Forces who have their bases on and off the planet. Originally, the religions were instituted by Advanced People from other planets in order to help us become civilized. Great Souls entered Earth. Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad are the most well known. There were many other great Souls who came to earth in order to assist us. However, slowly but surely, the religions went sour on us and they were taken over by the power hungry males of the world. They rewrote the bible and it resulted in the ugly history we are familiar with. Religions do not come from God... God is Creation! God does not initiate Religions... God IS! Religions are Man-Made control systems...
A world of cooperation, sharing, understanding and love...
Sure - truth is stranger than fiction! For example: certain off planet forces are able to create so called miracles, like the Lady of Lourdes and others. Thousands of so called miracles are happening all over the world. All faked! See this... By means of Holographic Phenomena and other technological means they create Figures of Light that seem real. The ordinary Churchgoer is deceived by nonsense. The world can only change when we see through the deceit of the forces that rule us. We are the creator of our destiny. It's up to us. We have to undo the old world and re-create a new and different world. A world of cooperation, sharing, love and understanding that will replace ambition, competition, aggressiveness and greed. This can only come about when our level of awareness has risen. A higher level of Awareness recognizes that understanding and love are the answer...
We teach our children nonsense...
There is no objective physical reality out there without us and what we experience is an illusive world of our own creation - that exist in our mind only! It does not exist out there - there is no objective reality. We have accepted the "world in our head" as real and most people believe that this is the only world there is! Within this subjective and illusionary world we have created all kinds of belief systems, philosophies and institutions of learning that all reinforce the Big Lie! Do you see what the problem is? We are in a dilemma! We teach our children nonsense and many become teachers who teach others more of the same. The world has become an affair of the Ego and its senses, while the reality of Souls and Spirits are not recognized by the masses. As of late however, the movie industry is trying to help and educate mankind. Movies and many TV shows are in the process of changing Humanity's thinking. All this take a long time. Lies are easier to believe than truth...
We are a fuzzy bit of stuff that vibrates...
Matter is more than 99.99999% emptiness! There is nothing there but a fuzzy bit of stuff that vibrates like crazy and makes us believe that matter is solid. How come? Another question is - why can't we see through matter if it is more than 99.99999% emptiness? Why do we see and experience solidness? On top of all this, in all the years we go to school - why aren't we told that matter is an illusion? What is the secret? Why keep us dumb...??
We are not color blind - we are dimension or density blind...
One of the secrets is - our body is a lens - a filter. It experiences a specific physical reality only - which in and by itself is not actually there - it is an illusion. There is no objective reality out there! We create it on the spot in our head. It is like only seeing the color red in a picture that contains a myriad of other colors and then say: I see a red building - it's all red! Possibly we only see one part in a million of the Total Reality that surrounds us. This one millionth part we call Physical Reality. All other realities are filtered out by our awareness system. We are surrounded by all these other realities, but they are not experienced or noticed by human beings. We do not even suspect that they are there! What a surprise...
All Things are Energy-Force-Fields...
Another remarkable thing is, that there is no objective reality separate from the observer. The reality we experience is self created and we select it from the Absolute Reality that surrounds us. We only experience our own perception of that Reality! So, again - in actuality - physical reality as an objective reality does not exist. Our perception is the reality we think we experience and it is formed from the Infinite Reality we look at. All of us, individually, create our own reality on the spot - by means of our perceptions! Yeah, this is hard to believe - I know! Further more, all things (read energies) in creation are aspects of each other and one aware energy can experience other energies. These other energies not necessarily are as aware as human beings. Some are less aware and others are more aware. There are different densities of energies with different levels of awareness...
The universe is a Relationship of Energies...
These energies are actually energy force fields (awarenesses) and the one energy responds to the other. This response or reaction is what we call perceiving or experiencing it! For example, human energy can experience tree energy and tree energy is also able to experience human energy. We could use any combination of energies, and as long as they are within a certain range, they can experience each other. The universe is a relationship of Energies... or Awarenesses. It's an energy or awareness in relationship with other energies! It is all very simple. This is why we can sense the quality of other people for we are able to feel their energy. Charismatic people feel nice to us and some others just make us feel out of sorts. A few give us the creeps...
Nothing is outside of ourselves...
We all create our own individual reality out of the Infinite-Holographic-Absolute-Reality that surrounds us and in which we live. We live right within it and are it! We could also call this reality the Reality of God! Also - actually only God exists... only Spirit exists... only Consciousness exists! We are One with this Infinite-Holographic-Absolute-Reality, but we only experience a fraction of its Unbroken Wholeness when we are Human Beings. This Absolute-Reality is like a palette from which we select our realities like a painter selects the paints from his palette. What we see and experience as our physical reality is a specific selection or vibration of the essence of the universe. The Absolute Reality in which we live is also called the Universal Mind...
Creation is always new...
The universal mind is and contains consciousness as well as the so called unconsciousness or the Non-Being. The Universal Mind and its manifestations is a Dynamic Energy that changes continuously. Creation is always new! There is nothing outside of this universal mind for all things and beings live within the Unbroken Wholeness. We are this unbroken wholeness or the Universal Mind. It is our mind, but we are tuning out all realities except the physical! The sages of the past used to call this Absolute Reality or Quantum Soup --- the Void. It indeed is a "Nest of Nothingness" out of which all things arise or manifest. From this Absolute Reality all things are created by the directed energies we call thought or mind. The more we are able to focus our thoughts - the more we are able to create. To learn to do this is what the school of earth is all about. We are apprentice creators!
We miss more than we see or experience...
Because we experience life in matter through the body or filter, we are fooled into believing that matter is the only thing around. Our matter body and our conscious mind are in synchronicity with the perceptions we create from our surroundings. We do not experience all the other energies or realities because we are out of sync with them (We cannot perceive them right now). They are from a different dimension or realm. Since we experience only a fraction of what's going on - we are deceived by our human awareness system. Our awareness system is very limited, but on the other hand, it is a brilliant masterpiece of creation for it is only aware of certain aspects of creation. Quite the feat, for all this is done on purpose! The great Co-Creators are very very crafty...
We all create our own unique perception from the reality in which we swim...
Similar things happen when we watch TV. There is no picture there - we create it while we watch it. The same happens when we watch a movie. There are no moving pictures on the screen - we create these moving pictures while we watch a sequence of still standing pictures. It is similar with the ordinary reality of the matter world - we create it while we live in it. Our senses, brain and conscious mind are responsible for this. What is actually out there is the Absolute Reality that contains all realities. All things exist within the Absolute Reality or within the Universal Mind. The only things that are not already existing within the Absolute Reality, are the things we create anew, from minute to minute. Even this is debatable for all of Life is a simultaneous affair. From the perspective of the physical level though - we are always on the leading edge of creation...
Human Beings are Miniature Universes...
We could call the Absolute Reality the Infinite-Holographic-Quantum-Soup and it contains all realities or illusions (they are the same). From this Quantum Energy we create the physical universe and our world - including our computer monitor! All beings and things created from the Infinite-Holographic-Quantum-Energy are but temporary aspects of the Whole. Meanwhile, we are a complete miniature universe and a fully working duplicate of the Original. Actually, we are the Original - but we are unaware of that! We have the same qualities as the Force we sometimes call the Almighty! So, we are the Absolute Reality and could see ourselves as a Holographic Duplicate that exists within the Absolute Reality. We create our perceptions or realities, illusions, personal truths and universes by means of the power and qualities of the thoughts we entertain. We therefore are - the Living Truth! We create our World and our Truth while we are experiencing them. They all are unique creations...
We do not learn very much in our Halls of Learning...
We as human beings (Souls in matter) have limited ourselves to but a few octaves of total reality while the spectrum is infinite. Now, here follows a very important point: the entire scheme of delusion and illusion is maintained and re-enforced by the rulers of our world! There are no schools or institutions in the world, that tell us about our illusive existence, yet we spent about 12 to 15 years in these great halls of learning. What a joke! Why is this so?
Most Human beings are brainwashed Robots...
The rulers of the world want mankind to exist in a conditioned or brainwashed state of mind. It makes us easier to rule and control. It makes us believe and respond to all kinds of fiction or nonsense. These concoctions or fictions, include all present philosophies, religions and political concepts as well as the ordinary things of life. Like our financial systems, the medicare systems and the deluding perpetrations of the media. They all keep us busy believing in stories from the most mundane to the ridiculous. They even make us go to war and kill our brothers and sisters. What a game! We are brainwashed from the day we are born. The rulers of the world want us to believe in the reality of the conscious mind only! This mind tells us that things are as we see them. They are not! The reality we experience is the result of a mental habit, we are stuck in a mental rut! Because of this we are forced to be reborn again and again. We are asleep! To awaken to 'what is' - is an individual task. There are many more and better realities than the reality most people are experiencing and believe in presently...
The human mind is kept closed...
The main reasons why marijuana and LSD are illegal is the fact that they are mind-expanding drugs and they give us glimpses of the true reality we live in. On the other hand, beer and alcoholic drinks are legalized for they limit the human mind and keep it on a lower level of awareness. All this makes it easier to control us. No enlightened or free thinking human beings are desired by our rulers. They either put them in prison or get rid of them! This not only used to happen, but it still does...
We can see it happening all around us...
The rulers of our world extend all the way up into higher levels of the universe and mankind has been controlled by negative oriented Alien Forces for many thousands of years. As we know, it created a hell on earth, from which we will transcend in the years ahead. The world is run by Fear instead of Love! The energies of Fear and Suffering are Food for these Aliens. The world is struggling dysfunctionality because of this. That's why there are so many wars! Meanwhile, in the near future, our third dimensional way of life will be abandoned. We can see it happening all around us. Meanwhile, many of us wanted to experience the phenomenal finish of this period and that is why so many of us are here. Mother earth is a bit overloaded because of it, but it will not be for long. Time is running out...
We have programmed our mind with an illusion...
Our illusive existence on earth is a creation by the creator within us, which is directed by the minds of the population of the world. All of us (more or less) agree on the reality we see and experience, while in the mean time the reality we see is a virtual reality which we reinforce by believing in it! We have programmed our mind with an illusion. We are deceiving ourselves and we don't know it! In the mean time, nobody teaches us what's going on in actuality. We have great institutions of learning and all of them are teaching us to keep believing in the world of the senses only - the world of the Rulers who are in power. These Rulers are very pleased with themselves. Meanwhile they themselves are controlled by the Negative Aliens and we are deceived left, right and in the middle. Life on Earth has become the result of Fear and Lies...
Great Souls entered Earth...
These Rulers include all world leaders, all religions and nearly all politicians. Religions are inspired and originated by the Negative Alien Forces who have their bases on and off the planet. Originally, the religions were instituted by Advanced People from other planets in order to help us become civilized. Great Souls entered Earth. Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad are the most well known. There were many other great Souls who came to earth in order to assist us. However, slowly but surely, the religions went sour on us and they were taken over by the power hungry males of the world. They rewrote the bible and it resulted in the ugly history we are familiar with. Religions do not come from God... God is Creation! God does not initiate Religions... God IS! Religions are Man-Made control systems...
A world of cooperation, sharing, understanding and love...
Sure - truth is stranger than fiction! For example: certain off planet forces are able to create so called miracles, like the Lady of Lourdes and others. Thousands of so called miracles are happening all over the world. All faked! See this... By means of Holographic Phenomena and other technological means they create Figures of Light that seem real. The ordinary Churchgoer is deceived by nonsense. The world can only change when we see through the deceit of the forces that rule us. We are the creator of our destiny. It's up to us. We have to undo the old world and re-create a new and different world. A world of cooperation, sharing, love and understanding that will replace ambition, competition, aggressiveness and greed. This can only come about when our level of awareness has risen. A higher level of Awareness recognizes that understanding and love are the answer...
We teach our children nonsense...
There is no objective physical reality out there without us and what we experience is an illusive world of our own creation - that exist in our mind only! It does not exist out there - there is no objective reality. We have accepted the "world in our head" as real and most people believe that this is the only world there is! Within this subjective and illusionary world we have created all kinds of belief systems, philosophies and institutions of learning that all reinforce the Big Lie! Do you see what the problem is? We are in a dilemma! We teach our children nonsense and many become teachers who teach others more of the same. The world has become an affair of the Ego and its senses, while the reality of Souls and Spirits are not recognized by the masses. As of late however, the movie industry is trying to help and educate mankind. Movies and many TV shows are in the process of changing Humanity's thinking. All this take a long time. Lies are easier to believe than truth...
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Today's Quote
Labels:
Today's Quote
"Your sense of humor is the knife in which you cut through the wilderness of despair."
— Tracy Morgan, actor and comedian
Nine Pictures of the Extreme Income/Wealth Gap
Many people don’t understand our country’s problem of concentration of income and wealth because they don’t see it. People just don't understand how much wealth there is at the top now. The wealth at the top is so extreme that it is beyond most people’s ability to comprehend.
If people understood just how concentrated wealth has become in our country and the effect is has on our politics, our democracy and our people, they would demand our politicians do something about it.
How Much Is A Billion?
Some Wall Street types (and others) make over a billion dollars a year – each year. How much is a billion dollars? How can you visualize an amount of money so high? Here is one way to think about it: The median income in the US is around $50,000, meaning half of us make less and half of us make more. If you make $50,000 a year, and don’t spend a single penny of it, it will take you 20,000 years to save a billion dollars. . . . (Please come back and read the rest of this after you have recovered.)
What Do People Do With SO Much?
What do people do with all that money? Good question. After you own a stable of politicians who will cut your taxes, there are still a few more things you can buy. Let’s see what $1 billion will buy.
Read more
If people understood just how concentrated wealth has become in our country and the effect is has on our politics, our democracy and our people, they would demand our politicians do something about it.
How Much Is A Billion?
Some Wall Street types (and others) make over a billion dollars a year – each year. How much is a billion dollars? How can you visualize an amount of money so high? Here is one way to think about it: The median income in the US is around $50,000, meaning half of us make less and half of us make more. If you make $50,000 a year, and don’t spend a single penny of it, it will take you 20,000 years to save a billion dollars. . . . (Please come back and read the rest of this after you have recovered.)
What Do People Do With SO Much?
What do people do with all that money? Good question. After you own a stable of politicians who will cut your taxes, there are still a few more things you can buy. Let’s see what $1 billion will buy.
Read more
Top 6 things more important to Republicans than jobs
Republicans won dramatic victories last November by promising to mitigate high unemployment. "This coming election is about one issue: jobs," to-be Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) said weeks before election day. "It's about jobs that were promised to the American people by the current administration, and were never delivered."
But in the three months since taking over the House and expanding their voices in the Senate, Republicans have yet to pass a jobs-focused bill, instead prioritizing numerous social and cultural issues that are unrelated to job creation -- and have little or no chance of becoming policy.
Here are six such legislative goals they've been hard at work on.
1) Curtailing Abortion Rights
Read more
But in the three months since taking over the House and expanding their voices in the Senate, Republicans have yet to pass a jobs-focused bill, instead prioritizing numerous social and cultural issues that are unrelated to job creation -- and have little or no chance of becoming policy.
Here are six such legislative goals they've been hard at work on.
1) Curtailing Abortion Rights
Read more
To Pay Off, or Not to Pay Off?
Labels:
Weekly Savings Tip
If you're like many people, you're probably juggling more than one credit card. In fact, the average consumer has 2.7 cards each, according to a January 2010 survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. So, when it comes to paying off your debt, which card do you attack first? The card with the lowest balance? Or the one with the highest interest rate? It's certainly best if you can pay off your balance(s) all at once at the end of each month, but sometimes that's just not, shall we say, in the cards. Here are a few things to remember when planning your repayment strategy.
Minimize interest. In general, you want to pay off the card with the highest interest rate first. Pay the minimum payment due to your lower interest rate card(s) and then put the rest of your payment resources toward the card with the highest interest rate. This strategy will help minimize your interest expenditure.
Max it out. Your payment, that is. If your cards carry nearly the same interest rates, you should try to always pay more than the required minimum payment. Often the minimum payment due is barely more than the finance charges that month, which means consistently paying the minimum can lead you to carrying your balance for years and barely putting a dent in it.
Consider a merger. If one of your cards has a significantly lower interest rate, you might consider transferring your balance from your high interest card to the one with the lower rate. You will likely have to pay a transfer fee, but this will allow you to combine the funds you were going to use to pay each card, and put it all toward one card with a lower interest rate. Try this Credit Card Optimizer to help determine the best distribution of your debt.
Remember, the sooner you pay off your credit cards, the better. Check out this Credit Card Pay Off Calculator to help determine what it will take to pay off your balance, and what changes you can make to meet your repayment goals.
Visit www.feedthepig.org for more money-saving tips.
Minimize interest. In general, you want to pay off the card with the highest interest rate first. Pay the minimum payment due to your lower interest rate card(s) and then put the rest of your payment resources toward the card with the highest interest rate. This strategy will help minimize your interest expenditure.
Max it out. Your payment, that is. If your cards carry nearly the same interest rates, you should try to always pay more than the required minimum payment. Often the minimum payment due is barely more than the finance charges that month, which means consistently paying the minimum can lead you to carrying your balance for years and barely putting a dent in it.
Consider a merger. If one of your cards has a significantly lower interest rate, you might consider transferring your balance from your high interest card to the one with the lower rate. You will likely have to pay a transfer fee, but this will allow you to combine the funds you were going to use to pay each card, and put it all toward one card with a lower interest rate. Try this Credit Card Optimizer to help determine the best distribution of your debt.
Remember, the sooner you pay off your credit cards, the better. Check out this Credit Card Pay Off Calculator to help determine what it will take to pay off your balance, and what changes you can make to meet your repayment goals.
Visit www.feedthepig.org for more money-saving tips.
Items in Drugstores with the Biggest Markups
Whether you're looking for heartburn relief, aspirin, condoms, vitamins or even shampoo and lipstick, shopping at a drugstore can be daunting. There are so many choices that the easiest option can be buying a brand you know.
But drugstore markups can lead to serious overspending. At the very least, you could be overpaying for a drug that can be found much cheaper in a generic version. After all, the Food and Drug Administration requires generic medications to have the same active ingredients as the patented medications they replace, so you're buying the same product, but you aren't paying extra for the fancy branding and packaging.
Outside of prescription drugs, which items at a drugstore are you likely to be charged more for?
But drugstore markups can lead to serious overspending. At the very least, you could be overpaying for a drug that can be found much cheaper in a generic version. After all, the Food and Drug Administration requires generic medications to have the same active ingredients as the patented medications they replace, so you're buying the same product, but you aren't paying extra for the fancy branding and packaging.
Outside of prescription drugs, which items at a drugstore are you likely to be charged more for?
Man Guilty of Urging Suicide
A Minnesota judge found William Melchert-Dinkel guilty of two counts of aiding suicide after he sought out depressed people on the Internet and urged them to kill themselves. Melchert-Dinkel’s lawyers tried to argue that his actions were protected as free speech, but the judge threw out the argument: "Melchert-Dinkel was not merely expressing ideas about suicide. The court finds that defendant's speech imminently incited the victims to commit suicide, and can be described as 'lethal advocacy,' which is analogous to the category of unprotected speech known as 'fighting words' and 'imminent incitement of lawlessness,’” the judge wrote. Melchert-Dinkel could face up to 15 years in prison, but his lawyers will appeal the ruling.
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Creamy Pork Sauté
Labels:
recipes
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 25 min.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 boneless pork loin (about 1 pound), cut into thin strips
2 stalks celery, sliced (about 1 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Celery Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/4 cup water
1 cup regular long-grain white rice, prepared according to package directions (about 3 cups)
1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until well browned, stirring often. Remove the pork from the skillet.
2. Heat the remaining oil over medium heat. Add the celery, onion and thyme and cook until the vegetables are tender, stirring often.
3. Stir the soup and water in the skillet and heat to a boil. Return the pork to the skillet and cook until the pork is cooked through. Serve the pork mixture over the rice.
Makes: 4 servings (about 1 cup each)
Cook Time: 25 min.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 boneless pork loin (about 1 pound), cut into thin strips
2 stalks celery, sliced (about 1 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Celery Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/4 cup water
1 cup regular long-grain white rice, prepared according to package directions (about 3 cups)
1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until well browned, stirring often. Remove the pork from the skillet.
2. Heat the remaining oil over medium heat. Add the celery, onion and thyme and cook until the vegetables are tender, stirring often.
3. Stir the soup and water in the skillet and heat to a boil. Return the pork to the skillet and cook until the pork is cooked through. Serve the pork mixture over the rice.
Makes: 4 servings (about 1 cup each)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Today's Quote
Labels:
Today's Quote
"The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."
-Barack Obama - December 20, 2007
=
"This is like deja vu all over again."
- Yogi Berra
- Yogi Berra
Gary Moore - Red House (Hendrix Cover) - Wembley Arena 04
Labels:
music videos
Enjoy!
RIP Gary Moore.
U.S. Soldier to Plead Guilty to Murder
One of 12 U.S. soldiers charged in relation to the murder of three Afghan citizens will plead guilty, says The Wall Street Journal. Army Spc. Jeremy Morlock will admit to three counts of murder and one count of conspiracy in the hopes of receiving a reduced sentence. On Monday, the German magazine Der Spiegel published photographs of the soldiers posing with the corpses of their alleged victims. Morlock’s trial is set to begin Wednesday; his lawyers will use a “good soldier” defense.
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The Man Rules
Labels:
Humor
At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down
Finally , the guys' side of the story.
( I must admit, it's pretty good.)
We always hear " the rules"
From the female side....
Now here are the rules from the male side.
These are our rules!
Please note.. these are all numbered "1 "
ON PURPOSE!
1. Men are NOT mind readers. (FIRST & FOREMOST RULE)
1. Learn to work the toilet seat.
You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down.
We need it up, you need it down.
You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.
1. Sunday sports, It's like the full moon
or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
1. Crying is blackmail.
1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one:
Subtle hints do not work!
Strong hints do not work!
Obvious hints do not work!
Just say it!
1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do.
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.
In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.
1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.
1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one
1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done.
Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.
1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials..
1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.
1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.
Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.
1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.
1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong.
We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle..
1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.
1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really .
1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as Football or Hockey.
1. You have enough clothes.
1. You have too many shoes.
1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!
1. Thank you for reading this.
Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight;
But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.
Finally , the guys' side of the story.
( I must admit, it's pretty good.)
We always hear " the rules"
From the female side....
Now here are the rules from the male side.
These are our rules!
Please note.. these are all numbered "1 "
ON PURPOSE!
1. Men are NOT mind readers. (FIRST & FOREMOST RULE)
1. Learn to work the toilet seat.
You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down.
We need it up, you need it down.
You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.
1. Sunday sports, It's like the full moon
or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
1. Crying is blackmail.
1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one:
Subtle hints do not work!
Strong hints do not work!
Obvious hints do not work!
Just say it!
1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do.
Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.
In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.
1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.
1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one
1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done.
Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.
1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials..
1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.
1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.
Peach, for example, is a fruit, not A color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.
1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.
1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong.
We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle..
1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, Expect an answer you don't want to hear.
1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine... Really .
1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as Football or Hockey.
1. You have enough clothes.
1. You have too many shoes.
1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!
1. Thank you for reading this.
Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight;
But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.
My new favorite thing
Labels:
favorite things
Text on candle glass: "With all the things I know, one could write a book... Although, one might also say that, considering all that I don't know, one could create a library." - Sacha Guitry.
$45 here
Audio Meditations for Finding Inner Peace
Practice these mindfulness meditations to center yourself in the present moment and discover complete awareness.