7/31/2005

Greek Frittata with Spinach, Oregano and Feta Cheese

This recipe serves: 6
Preparation time : 15 minutes
Cooking time : 20 minutes

Ingredients

3 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups spinach, washed, tough stems removed
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
4 large eggs
6 large egg whites
1 cup finely crumbled feta cheese
2 teaspoons fresh, chopped oregano
1/2 cup chopped onions
6 small potatoes, cooked and halved

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and season with salt and pepper. Toss quickly until leaves are barely wilted, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
2. Whisk the eggs, egg whites, cheese, oregano, salt and pepper together until thoroughly combined.
3. In an 8" or 10" ovenproof, nonstick skillet, heat the remaining teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
4. Turn the heat to low, and add the spinach and halved potatoes (cut side down).
5. Add the egg mixture (do not stir) and cook over low heat until the eggs are set, about 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler.
6. Place the skillet under the broiler for 30 to 45 seconds to finish cooking the top of the frittata.


Nutrition Facts


Serving Size 1 slice
Amount Per Serving
Calories 224
Total Fat 8 g
Saturated Fat 3 g
Protein 12 g
Total Carbohydrate 25 g
Dietary Fiber 3 g
Sodium 302 mg
Percent Calories from Fat 34%
Percent Calories from Protein 22%
Percent Calories from Carbohydrate 45%


Ode To Olive Oil

For thousands of years, olive oil has been the principal source of dietary fat in much of the world. This fragrant and delicate oil is the staple in the "Mediterranean Diet" which provides approximately 30-40% of its calories from fat. Studies have shown that those people who follow this European eating style, when compared to American cuisine, are at lower risk of developing heart disease and cancer. In addition, numerous studies show that they also live longer. So why not add a little Mediterranean flavor to your meals...

Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat, which unlike saturated fats, can help lower LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol). A monounsaturated fat is simply the healthiest fat you can have in your diet. Most heart researchers have shown that monounsaturated fats may reduce the risk of developing hardening of the arteries. LifeScript suggests that you use monounsaturated fats, like olive oil, instead of saturated fats like butter.

Question: Which Olive Oil Should You Choose?

Answer: Now that you know a little about the health benefits of olive oils and their origin in the Mediterranean diet, let’s look at the varieties that are available. Olive oils are graded primarily by flavor, color, amount of acidity and aroma. Most olive oils are a blend of several varieties. The crop and the weather conditions determine the cost of olive oil. Olive oil tends to be expensive since the best olives oils are made from olives that were harvested by hand.

Here are some definitions of olive oil:

Extra Light - Olive oil that has been refined to create a lighter color and flavor is called extra light. This oil is ideal for baking. Extra light has the same amount of calories and fat as the other types of olive oil.

Extra Virgin -Olive oil that has a low acid content and a delicate flavor. It’s from the first pressing of the olives, hence the descriptive term "extra virgin." It’s pressed, rather than chemically refined. Industry standards require that extra virgin olive oil must be free of acidity.

First Cold Press - Olive oils that are made from the first pressing of the olives without heat application are referred to as first cold press. This type of olive oil is more expensive and has a full, rich taste with much of the original olives' flavor maintained in the oil. First cold press olive oils are of superior quality due to the fact that at no point in production has heat been used to process the olive oil.

Pure РPure olive oil is made of a blend of virgin olive oil and refined olive oil. Use this type of olive oil to saut̩ rather than in salads.

Virgin – Virgin olive oil is mechanically produced. Most olive oils in the American marketplace are virgin olive oils. This type of oil comes from the second cold pressing of the olives and leftover pulp. Any oils that have been refined, rather than pressed may be labeled as "Pure" or "Original" or "Light."

Storing Olive Oil
Always store olive or any plant oils in a cool, dark place. One of the worst places to store oils is near the stove, microwave or oven. That’s because heat and light can cause the oil to turn rancid, eliminating the many health benefits of olive oil described above. In addition, refrigerating olive oil will cause it to solidify and be unusable unless brought back to room temperature.

To maximize flavor and minimize the damage to your wallet, save rich, extra virgin olive oil for salad dressings, for tossing with grilled vegetables, uncooked sauces, or brushing on breads and lean meats. Shop around and try several brands to find one with the flavor and intensity you prefer. Use lighter oils for sautéing and in places where you do not want a prominent olive oil flavor.

Nutrition Tip
If you want to personalize your olive oil you can simply add a few branches of slightly bruised fresh herbs or a few chili peppers to the bottle. Leave the herbs or chilies immersed in oil for several days, strain and store as you would other olive oil. Use seasoned oil for drizzling over grilled vegetables, lean meats or fish.

Weird Crap for you viewing pleasure

A Nice big heaping plate of WTF, enjoy Y'all!

The Jesus Cat. Brandy, a seven-year-old tortoiseshell cat owned by Mike and Margaret McGregor of Edinburgh, Scotland, has unusual markings in his fur. After seven years, Mike, an atheist with three ministers in his family, noticed an uncanny resemblance to the face of Jesus Christ in them, in the style of the shroud of Turin. — Fortean Times

The Oicumene. A group of Sun-worshipping pyramid-builders (from whose name the word 'ecumenical' is derived) whose global dominion in an ancient Golden Age is evidenced by the presence of pyramids in Egypt, Europe, and the Americas. Less known are the pyramids of China and Japan, which demonstrate the true omnipresence of the Oicumene. — Atlantis Rising


The Hand from Nowhere. A group of revelers on a boat just off the Lawrence Village Marina on Long Island, New York were having a boat party when a severed human hand dropped out of the sky and landed on the deck of their boat. Police have no idea where it came from or whose it is. — FATE


Nguyen Thi Suong, the Human Nightlight. For six consecutive nights in February 2003, this 56-year-old Vietnamese woman glowed in the dark for about five hours after she went to bed, according to her husband, Le Hop Dung. — FATE


Arboreal Boulders. In 1997, in Brown County, Indiana, a 500 pound sandstone rock was found wedged in an oak tree about 35 feet from the ground. Since then, four more boulders have been found in trees nearby, one nearly 45 feet up. No one seems to have any idea how they got there. — Fortean Times


Banana Squash Seeds of Mystery. A restaurateur in Salt Lake City, Utah, cut into a banana squash on the 13th of March, as he does several times every day. The seeds of this squash, which would normally be smooth, were etched with letters, numbers and Arabic symbols. — Fortean Times


Yey Prahao, the Healing Elephant of Cambodia. An 87 year old tusker, Yey Prahao travels from village to with his owner Pang Hy, curing illnesses by blowing water on sick people with his trunk. — Fortean Times


Muhnochwa, the Scratch Monster of Lakhimour Kheri. A luminous aerial entity that severely scratches its human victims. — Fortean Times


The Big Hairy Monster of Bolam Lake: A Bigfoot-like enormous humanoid, spotted in a country park in Northumberland. — Fortean Times


Lethal Yellow Jelly. A biohazardous "live, amoeba-like substance" that was released from three luminous hovering spheres in Hungary. -- Fortean Times
The Little People of Skara Brae. The long gone residents of a stone age settlement unearthed in Scotland. Judging by the size of their underground homes, they couldn't have been much more than three feet tall. Are they proof that fairies were real? -- FATE


The Grassman. A gorilla-like creature living in the wilds of Ohio. A Midwestern bigfoot known for killing deer. -- FATE


The Mysterious Vibrating Building. The 11-story Eurocity Tower, an office and shopping complex in Lille, France, has been inexplicably vibrating so powerfully that 3,000 people had to be evacuated. -- Fortean Times


The Blond Beast of Dragon Lake. Bigger than a cow, with a square head, horns, a long neck, and a duck-like beak, this golden monster reportedly lives in China's Lake Tian Chai. -- FATE


The Snarly Yow. A spectral hound sighted in Western Maryland, it appears and disappears suddenly, and has the ability to walk through fences and other solid objects. -- Strange


Mexico's Zone of Silence. Sort of a Bermuda Triangle in the desert near Ceballos, where radios stop working and "hot pebbles" inexplicably fall to the earth, where strange looking people appear suddenly and disappear just as quickly, and fireballs float in the night sky. -- FATE


The Hantu Pocong. Javanese zombies that are either goatlike or beautiful women, they exude a putrid pong. -- Fortean Times


The Manangaal. A bloodthirsty, vampire-like being from the Phillipines. It appears as a beautiful woman by day, but at night its upper body detaches and flies around the Pampanga Province feasting on the internal organs of barmaids and nightclub workers. -- Weekly World News


The Mumbu Mutu of Burundi. A brain-eating mermaid that's been sighted along the shores of Lake Tanganyika and the Lukuga River. -- Bizarre


The Giant Slug of Ogden Clough. This whalelike apparition slides around making a "funny, gritty noise like feet on wet gravel" near Torside Castle in an area of England known as the Devil's Elbow. -- Fortean Times


Kap Dwa, the Two-Headed Patagonian Giant. Over 12 feet tall, he was captured by Spanish sailors in 1673. After he'd killed four of them, his captors plunged a boarding pike through his heart. His stuffed body has been on display in English sideshows since 1900 and in America since 1980. -- Fortean Times


The Tongue-Eater. Said by native Nicaraguans to be part turkey, part cat, this creepy critter tears the tongues out of cows and other domesticated animals and then drinks their blood. -- Strange

The Ukumar-Zupai. Inhabiting the mountains and deserts of Argentina, this hairy hominid is known to savagely ransack eagles' nests, "leaving dead and injured birds in its wake." Resembling a large, agile monkey, the ukumar-zupai is smaller than the yeti of the Himalayas. — FATE

Green Sweat. In China, a man noticed green stains on his white tee shirts. Soon he sought medical help as it became apparent that the green color was from his own sweat. A doctor at the Guangzhou Friendship Hospital said he had read of cases of red and blue sweat but never green. — Fortean Times


The Mozart Effect. Multiple studies have shown that a brief stint of listening to the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart appears to improve learning and memory abilities. — Phenomena


The Beast of Bolam Lake. A seven-foot-tall ape-like creature living near Bolam Lake in the north of England, one of many British bigfoots that were reported between 2001 and 2003. — Phenomena


Photosynthesis Man. NASA is studying an Indian man who stopped eating in 1995 and has subsisted on liquids and sunlight ever since. — FATE


The Dog That Wouldn't Die. On April 15, 2003 in Clearwater, Florida, a 10 month old mixed breed dog was hit by a car. Thinking its wounds were fatal, a policeman shot her in the head. The dog was then zipped into a body bag and put in a freezer to await disposal. Two hours later the dog was found to be alive and standing and is recovering nicely. — Fortean Times


Angel Feathers. Several people have reported finding white fluffy feathers in odd places, after asking for a sign that angels exist. The feathers have been known to subsequently disappear. — Fortean Times


The Green Lightning of Beaver Sands. Over the last several centuries, several documented cases of people disappearing in the Beaver Sands region of Oklahoma have been associated with eyewitness accounts of an eerie green lightning. From Spanish explorers to modern-day bank presidents, all have vanished when the green lightning appears. — FATE


The Carnivorous Hippopotami of Ginbo Woreda. In Ethiopia’s Kaffa province, a herd of hippos — traditionally vegetarian beasts — have inexplicably killed and eaten eight cows over the course of two months. — FATE


Acote, the Phantom Peddler of the Stagecoach Inn. He checked into this small Rhode Island hostelry, but he never checked out, as he was found murdered the next morning. His spirit is said to have haunted the inn ever since. — FATE


The Giant Mutant Owls of Veliki Popovac. Said to be the result of radioactive dust, these enormous raptors are said to attack everything from cows to airplanes. — Fortean Times


Fudu, the Beast of the Forbidden Valley. Taller than the tallest man and bulky as the largest gorilla, this gigantic and "incredibly menacing" man-ape informs part of African folklore. -- Fortean Times

The Zero Effect. Starting in 1840, every American president elected in a year that ended in zero died in office. The only exception was Ronald Reagan, who survived an assassination attempt. Our next president will be elected in a year that ends in zero. -- FATE


Aquatic Foam Balls. Hundreds of balls of foam, some the size of people, washed up on the shores of West Sussex, England in January of 1999. Environment Agency experts are investigating. -- Fortean Times


The Loveland Frogmen. About 3 feet tall and weighing in at a sturdy 60 lbs., these creatures have leathery skin and huge, bulbous eyes. Shy, when spotted they will disappear into the waterways of the Ohio valley. -- SUN


Mutual Dreams. When people find that they both had the same dream. Mutual dreams suggest some sort of a psychic bond. -- FATE


The Ciguapa. The Ciguapa, a howling nocturnal female entity native to the Dominican Republic, has feet that are on backwards, which makes tracking it difficult. Its appearance heralds its witness's death. -- Alternate Perceptions


The Man Who Took His Pond With Him When He Died. Freeman Whitney was the driving force behind the establishment of Mill Pond Park, in Harrison, Maine. The day after he died, the pond mysteriously emptied itself. -- Fortean Times


The Mongolian Death Worm. Know locally as the allghoi khorkohi, it's 3 - 5 feet in length, spits corrosive poison, and can kill in a mysterious manner resembling electrocution. -- Bizarre


The Triple-Toed Honey Island Swamp Monster. Pretty much your run-of-the-mill swamp monster, it has a more colorful name than its 2-toed cousins, the Wisconsin Werewolf and the Scape Ore Swamp Lizard Man. -- Fortean Times


The Taos Hum. Enigmatic low-frequency vibration heard incessantly by some residents of, and visitors to, Taos, New Mexico. It sounds like a truck might be coming up the road, but there is no truck and the hum doesn't stop. -- FATE


The Tasmanian Globster. A huge, mysterious lump of decaying tissue that washed ashore north of Zeehan in late December of 1997, it weighed about 8,000 lbs, smelled very badly, and seemed to have a large number of paddle-like flippers. -- Fortean Times

Excavations Reveal Secrets of Roman Road

By COSTAS KANTOURIS, Associated Press Writer

KOMOTINI, Greece - Archaeologists excavating along the Via Egnatia are revealing the secrets of the ancient Romans' equivalent of an interstate highway.

Stretching 535 miles across modern-day Albania, Macedonia and Greece, the stone-paved road made the going easy for charioteers, soldiers and other travelers. It was up to 30 feet wide in places and was dotted with safety features, inns and service stations.

"This was a busy road, and the Romans managed to make it completely functional," archaeologist Polyxeni Tsatsopoulou told The Associated Press.

Built between 146 and 120 B.C. under the supervision of the top Roman official in Macedonia, proconsul Gaius Egnatius, the highway ran from the Adriatic coast in what is now Albania to modern Turkey, giving Rome quick access to the eastern provinces of its empire.

Ancient engineers did such a good job that the Via Egnatia remained in use for some 2,000 years, sticking to its original course even as its paving slabs were plundered for building material. But over the last century, what's visible of it has dwindled to less than two miles in total.

Now it is being reincarnated as the Egnatia highway spanning northern Greece and set for completion in 2008. This 425-mile highway costing nearly $8 billion runs more or less parallel to the Roman road and crosses it several times.

An excavation near the town of Komotini, 170 miles east of Thessaloniki, revealed the Romans' sophisticated road-building techniques.

A central partition of large stones protected charioteers from oncoming vehicles, with similar barriers on the verges.

"This prevented chariots, wagons and carts from skidding off the road," Tsatsopoulou said.

She said drivers held the reins with their right hand and wielded their whip with the left, so the Romans made drivers stay on the left to avoid the lash of oncoming riders and keep road-rage incidents to a minimum.

There were inns every 30 to 40 miles, and post stations, the Roman equivalent of gas stations, every 7 to 14 miles. "These post stations had spare beasts, as well as ... vets, grooms and shoesmiths," Tsatsopoulou said.

Archaeologists also discovered ruins of military outposts, checkpoints and camps, with guard posts built near narrow passes to curb highway robbery.

Culture Ministry officials are hoping to turn the surviving highway remains into an archaeological walk for tourists, Tsatsopoulou said.

The Romans conquered Greece in 146 B.C., although Macedonia had come under Rome's control 20 years earlier. In A.D. 330, the empire's capital was moved to Constantinople, which marked the beginning of the Byzantine period in Greece.
Take the quiz: "The MOOD quiz! (With cool blinkies!)"

Nasty
People call you insecure, but they're totally wrong! You just like being mean to people. It's fun! Hee he he he ha!
It is never too late to be what you might have been.

-- George Eliot (1819-1880) English Novelist

found at Gigglechick.com

Wandering Moose Takes to Mini-Golf Course

7/30/2005

I Like The Way - Bodyrockers Lyrics

There's so many things i like about you, I..
I just don't know where to begin,

I like the way you, look at me with those beautiful eyes,
I like the way you, act all surprised,
I like the way you, sing along,
I like the way you, always get it wrong,
I like the way you, clap your hands,
I like the way you, love to dance,
I like the way you, put your hands up in the air,
I like the way you, shake your hair,
I like the way you, like to touch,
I like the way you, stare so much,
but most of all....
Yeah..
most of all....

I like the way you move.....
I like the way you move.....

I like the way you, put your hands up in the air,
I like the way you, shake your hair,
I like the way you, like to touch,
I like the way you, stare so much,
but most of all....
Yeah..
most of all....

I like the way you move.....
I like the way you move.....

I like the way you, put your hands up in the air,
I like the way you, shake your hair,
I like the way you, like to touch,
I like the way you, stare so much,
but most of all....
Yeah..
most of all....

I like the way you move!



















Your #1 Match: INTJ




The Scientist

You have a head for ideas - and you are good at improving systems.
Logical and strategic, you prefer for everything in your life to be organized.
You tend to be a bit skeptical. You're both critical of yourself and of others.
Independent and stubborn, you tend to only befriend those who are a lot like you.

You would make an excellent scientist, engineer, or programmer.


Your #2 Match: INTP




The Thinker

You are analytical and logical - and on a quest to learn everything you can.
Smart and complex, you always love a new intellectual challenge.
Your biggest pet peeve is people who slow you down with trivial chit chat.
A quiet maverick, you tend to ignore rules and authority whenever you feel like it.

You would make an excellent mathematician, programmer, or professor.


Your #3 Match: ENTJ




The Executive

You are a natural leader - with confidence and strength that inspires others.
Driven to succeed, you are always looking for ways to gain, power, knowledge, and expertise.
Sometimes you aren't the most considerate person, especially to those who are a bit slow.
You are not easily intimidated - and you have a commanding, awe-inspiring presence.

You would make a great CEO, entrepreneur, or consultant.


Your #4 Match: ISTJ




The Duty Fulfiller

You are responsible, reliable, and hardworking - you get the job done.
You prefer productive hobbies, like woodworking or knittings.
Quiet and serious, you are well prepared for whatever life hands you.
Conservative and down-to-earth, you hardly ever do anything crazy.

You would make a great business executive, accountant, or lawyer.


Your #5 Match: ENTP




The Visionary

You are charming, outgoing, friendly. You make a good first impression.
You possess good negotiating skills and can convince anyone of anything.
Happy to be the center of attention, you love to tell stories and show off.
You're very clever, but not disciplined enough to do well in structured environments.

You would make a great entrpreneur, marketing executive, or actor.


You are Agonistic

You're not sure if God exists, and you don't care.
For you, there's no true way to figure out the divine.
You rather focus on what you can control - your own life.
And you tend to resent when others "sell" religion to you.

In Vegas

Hand sewn Steel boned corset Elizabethan

7/29/2005

this one is for a certain person ,you know who you are...

straitjacket fits

found this page with an obscure band..has links and mp3: Only You Knew : under audio clips...weirdly hypnotic music, haunting tone , I think I like it....check it out.

lineara
You are Linear A! An early (possibly
non-Indo-European) syllabic system, you were
discovered on Crete last century, you have yet
to yield enough samples to be deciphered. You
probably came into existence between 2000-1900
b.c. and died out 400-500 years later. You gave
your writing system to the Greeks, who used it
for Linear B.


What Dead Language Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

A Wee bit of Cute from this morning..

I want this Wallet...

Marlene


Weird site of the day - for those back east


A cracked take on a fairy tale

By Anita Sama, USA TODAY

In our crazy, ever-changing culture, classic literature is the sane, immutable constant.

And then, there's Jasper Fforde.

Fans who have followed the four books in his Thursday Next series found a detective moving in a riotous universe that allows traveling into Shakespeare's plays and tampering with the novels of Austen and Dickens.


This time, Fforde's wild imagination shifts to the deceptively cozier venue of fairy tale and nursery rhyme. The Big Over Easy is billed as a case in the "Nursery Crime Division" of the Reading Police Force, and the victim is a transmogrified Humpty Dumpty. But he's not the one we met in early childhood; he's a womanizer, often drunk, given to shady business dealings. In short, a bad egg.


Ouch, you say? You ain't read nothing yet. Clever wordplay abounds.


He's only one of the inhabitants of this oddball town in Fforde's looking-glass literary world. Nothing is quite as it seems. Is Reading the English city? Or the act of eyeballs on paper?


In either case, this town is peopled with suspects - not exactly "peopled," because there are a few giants and a pale blue space alien.


Other inhabitants include Wee Willie Winkie, a shift worker with a sleep disorder; old Mrs. Hubbard, the not-so-motherly landlady; and notorious crime boss Giorgio Porgio.


The crime solvers are Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and Sgt. Mary Mary, their partnership a weird recasting of crime queen Elizabeth George's Inspector Thomas Lynley and sidekick Barbara Havers. As Jack and Mary probe Humpty's fatal fall from a wall (natch) into 126 pieces, they try to determine whether he was pushed and if so, whodunit?


The mystery is incidental to the careening plot. The real purpose of crime-solving in Reading seems to be generating fodder for the pulp bible of overblown detection, Amazing Crime Stories.


Along the way to the mystery's solution, Fforde pokes fun at the stereotypes of highbrow and lowbrow detective fiction, including a sideswipe at The Da Vinci Code.


Over Easy is an interesting reminder of the violent nature of the building blocks of children's literature. Greek myths and fairy tales are turned inside out, familiar names surface in peculiar circumstances. It's as if the Marx brothers were let loose in the children's section of a strange bookstore - a duck soup of loony lit.


How else to describe a plot that turns on the discovery of a giant wart and turns again on a stale sandwich used as a detonator?


Fforde wrote Over Easy before his Thursday Next novels were published. He has said his goal was to start with nursery-rhyme characters and then move to the more complicated creatures of adult fiction.


But when The Eyre Affair became somewhat of a cult hit, he built on that series with three more. Two additional Jack Spratt books are planned. The next: The Fourth Bear.


These and other facts - and way more non-facts - can be found at www.jasperfforde.com, a multi-layered playground not unlike his books.


In whatever form he delivers his writing, Fforde is above all funny. His self-styled "daft novels" are not for the lazy brained but for the actively engaged reader, one who knows the secret pleasures of a word puzzle and can draw on a lifetime of literature.

Lists of Best-Selling Books

WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST-SELLERS

FICTION

1. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic )

2. "Lifeguard" by James Patterson and Andrew Gross (Little, Brown and Co.)

3. "The Interruption of Everything" by Terry McMillan (Viking)

4. "The Historian" by Elizabeth Kostova (Little, Brown)

5. "Until I Find You" by John Irving (Random House)

6. "The Undomestic Goddess" by Sophie Kinsella (The Dial Press)

7. "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown (Doubleday)

8. "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy (Knopf)

9. "The Mermaid Chair" by Sue Monk Kidd (Viking)

10. "Eleven on Top" by Janet Evanovich (St. Martin's Press)

11. "Origin in Death" by J.D. Robb (Putnam)

12. "True Believer" by Nicholas Sparks (Warner Books)

13. "A Long Way Down" by Nick Hornby (Riverhead)

14. "Crusader's Cross" by James Lee Burke (Simon & Schuster)

15. "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom (Hyperion)

NONFICTION

1. "Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You to Know About" by Kevin Trudeau (Alliance Publishing)

2. "1776" by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster)

3. "100 People Who Are Screwing Up America" by Bernard Goldberg (HarperCollins)

4. "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century" by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

5. "Freakonomics" by Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner (William Morrow)

6. "Confessions of a Video Vixen" by Karrine Steffans (Amistad)

7. "Your Best Life Now" by Joel Osteen (Warner Faith)

8. "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown)

9. "The 3-Hour Diet" by Jorge Cruise (Collins)

10. "You: The Owner's Manual" by Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz (Collins)

11. "The Secret Man" by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster)

12. "The Purpose-Driven Life" by Rick Warren (Zondervan)

13. "Good to Great" by Jim Collins (HarperBusiness)

14. "The Pampered Chef: The Story of One of America's Most Beloved Companies" by Doris Christopher (Currency)

15. "Lance Armstrong's War" by Daniel Coyle (HarperCollins)

The Wall Street Journal's list reflects nationwide sales of hardcover books during the week ended last Saturday at more than 2,500 Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton, Bookland, Books-a-Million, Books & Co., Bookstar, Bookstop, Borders, Brentano's, Coles, Coopersmith, Doubleday, Scribners and Waldenbooks stores, as well as sales from online retailers Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

Celebs Bound for Springfield


By Josh Grossberg
1 hour, 5 minutes ago



No one knows for sure where the hell Springfield is, but we're guessing it must be pretty close to Hollywood.


After all, look at the latest batch of celebs set for guest shots on The Simpsons this season.


William H. Macy, Lily Tomlin, Ricky Gervais, Frances McDormand, Richard Dean Anderson, Rob Reiner and Michael York will drop by during the 17th season, which kicks off Sept. 11. Also coming back for more 'toon hijinks are previous guests Alec Baldwin, Kelsey Grammer and Joe Mantegna.


The season opener, titled "Bonfire of the Manatees," will find Homer in serious trouble after allowing Springfield's notorious Mafia don , Fat Tony (voiced once again by Mantegna), to use the Simpsons' living room to shoot a "gentlemen's film" to pay off a gambling debt. Having a cow, Marge runs away from the family to find herself and ends up meeting Caleb Thorn (Baldwin), a handsome marine biologist on a quest to save the endangered manatee--and Marge from her boorish hubby. Homer must figure out how to win back her affections. Baldwin previously appeared on the show as himself in 2002's episode "Gump Roast."


Meanwhile, fans will be treated to the first episode in three years featuring villainous Sideshow Bob (Grammer). When last he popped up in Springfield, Krusty the Clown's former sidekick was released from prison into the custody of the Simpsons to help Homer catch a would-be killer. When Bob finally decided to murder long-time nemesis Bart, he ultimately couldn't because he'd grown to like the kid.


And sure to please Patty and Selma will be the arrival of Richard Dean Anderson, who will undoubtedly use some of his MacGyver know-how to help the family out of yet another jam.


Other big names lending their voices to the show include Yankees' pitcher Randy Johnson, boxing champ Joe Frazier, former basketball star Dennis Rodman and NFL legend turned Fox Sports broadcaster Terry Bradshaw. The latter two will appear as themselves in The Simpsons annual "ghoultide" special, "The Simpsons Tree House of Horror XVI" airing in its traditional post-Halloween slot on Nov. 6.


While unveiling the roster of guest stars, Fox reps and show producers didn't immediately comment on Internet reports that Christina Aguilera turned down a Simpsons slot that would have had the "Dirrty" pop tart competing in an American Idol-esque show.


The Simpsons remains one of TV's biggest franchises, consistently ranking tops in the advertiser-friendly 18-48 demo in its Sunday time slot. With the broadcast of its 350th episode last season, The Simpsons, ranking behind only Ozzie & Harriet as the longest-running comedy series in TV history.


Even though series mastermind Matt Groening has occasionally suggested the show's end might be nigh, there's no sign of stopping.


After some protracted negotiations, Fox agreed to a new four-year deal with the show's six stars, giving each a raise to $250,000 per episode and keeping The Simpsons around for a potential 20th season.


And according to Fox reps, preproduction work is under way on a Simpsons animated movie, though no timetable for its release has been announced.

Silicone breast implants get FDA OK

By Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Silicone gel-filled breast implants won conditional approval to return to the broad U.S. market after a 13-year ban when health officials on Thursday backed a version made by Mentor Corp.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the device maker must satisfy a number of conditions before it receives final approval to sell the implants. FDA officials said they were legally prohibited from making the conditions public.

Mentor said the conditions were "generally consistent" with recommendations from an FDA advisory panel earlier this year.

In April, the expert panelists voted 7-2 to recommend approval of Mentor's silicone implants, but called for the company to monitor some women for rupture over 10 years as well as educate patients and doctors.

The FDA said its decision "does not mean that the device is approved for marketing in the United States at this time."

Critics of the implants, banned for most women since 1992 amid allegations that leaking silicone caused disabling, long-term illnesses, were hopeful the FDA would require more safety information before making a final decision.

"FDA can still do the right thing," Sybil Goldrich, head of the patient group the Command Trust Network.

The U.S. Senate health committee is investigating the FDA's handling of the decision, citing complaints about a conflict of interest among some FDA advisers. Other critics called for the FDA to delay a final decision pending the probe's conclusion.

Studies have failed to find a connection between silicone implants and chronic diseases. Researchers have linked the devices to pain and other local complications, and manufacturers admit the implants can break and require replacement.

Only U.S. women who need reconstruction surgery after breast cancer, have a physical deformity, or need a replacement after other implants ruptured have had access to silicone implants as part of special clinical studies.

Many women and plastic surgeons say silicone implants, which are available in Europe, look and feel more natural than saline-filled ones.

"I think women, with their physicians, can make informed decisions," said Betsy Mullen of the Women's Information Network Against Breast Cancer.

Dinosaur Embryos Reveal 'Ridiculous' Proportions

The oldest fossilized dinosaur embryos ever found reveal how the creatures grew from tiny hatchlings to become such giant land beasts.

The embryos, including one that was ready to hatch before being frozen in time, had no teeth. That is further evidence that at least some dinosaurs must have tended their young, scientists said today.


The embryos are 190 million years, dating from the beginning of the Jurassic Period.


"Most dinosaur embryos are from the Cretaceous period (146 to 65 millions years ago)," said biologist Robert Reisz of the University of Toronto at Mississauga. "The work on the embryo, its identification, and the fact we can see the detailed anatomy of the earliest known dinosaur embryo is extremely exciting."


'Ridiculous' proportions


The dinosaur is called Massospondylus. It was common in what is now South Africa.


A typical adult Massospondylus was 16 feet (5 meters) long. The best-preserved egg is just 2.4 inches (6 cm) long. The embryo, curled up inside, is about 6 inches (15 cm) in length.


An analysis of the embryos suggests they were born walking on four legs with short tails, long forelimbs and big heads. To morph into their adult shape -- walking on two legs with long tails, short forelimbs and small heads -- their various features must have grown at different rates.


"The proportions are just ridiculous," Reisz said.


There are no other examples of such well preserved embryos combined with adult skeletons among dinosaurs, Reisz said.


The lack of embryonic teeth points to hatchlings that could not possibly have fended for themselves.


"These embryos, which were clearly ready to hatch, had overall awkward body proportions and no mechanism for feeding themselves, which suggest they required parental care," said Reisz, who led the investigation. "If this interpretation is correct, we have here the oldest known indication of parental care in the fossil record."


More impications


The embryos were found in 1978 but only recently have they been exposed from the rock in which they were embedded. The results of the study are detailed in the July 29 issue of the journal Science.


The fossils are in fact the oldest examples of terrestrial vertebrate embryos.


The research indicates how larger dinosaurs later in the fossil record might have come about.


Massospondylus was a prosauropod. The group is thought to have later evolved to include giant sauropods that walked on four legs, including the gargantuan Seismosaurus.


Scientists once thought the group walked only on two legs, then simply dropped to four when they evolved into heavier beasts. But the new findings may challenge that assumption by showing that even prosauropods had some tendency to walk on four legs.

"Because the embryo of Massospondylus looks like a tiny sauropod with massive limbs and a quadrupedal gait," Reisz and his colleagues speculate that "the sauropod's gait probably evolved" by a process in which features present in an embryo and juvenile gradually become predominant in adults later in the evolutionary timeline.

"This would be significant because it means we might have to re-evaluate the origin of many features in sauropod skeletons we assumed had to do with weight support," said Western Illinois University researcher Matthew Bonnan in a separate article in the journal.

Birds of Prey: See Today's Dinosaurs
Avian Ancestors: Dinosaurs that Learned to Fly

ideas for new corsets >SCA


7/28/2005

My own Blue Poll for today...

What do you think of these shoes???and why?



CHICKEN WITH TANGERINE, HONEY, AND CHIPOTLE GLAZE

Click link for picture of the food.

The glaze gives the chicken a sweet, spicy kick. What to drink: Zaca Mesa 2003 Viognier, Santa Ynez Valley ($15).

Glaze
2 cups fresh tangerine juice
5 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons finely grated tangerine peel or orange peel
2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce*
Chicken
1 cup fresh tangerine juice or orange juice
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
3 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons finely grated tangerine peel or orange peel
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 2 3/4- to 3-pound chicken, quartered, backbone removed

Nonstick vegetable oil spray



For glaze:
Boil juice, honey, and soy sauce in heavy medium saucepan until reduced to 2/3 cup, about 20 minutes. Mix in grated peel and chipotle chiles.
For chicken:
Whisk first 9 ingredients in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish to blend. Add chicken; turn to coat with marinade. Cover; chill at least 2 hours and up to 1 day, turning occasionally.

Spray grill rack with nonstick spray and prepare barbecue (medium-low heat). Remove chicken from marinade; discard marinade. Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt. Grill chicken until cooked through, turning and repositioning occasionally for even cooking, about 20 minutes. Brush chicken all over with glaze; grill 2 minutes longer on each side. Transfer chicken to platter. Serve, passing remaining glaze separately.

*Chipotle chiles are dried, smoked jalapeños canned in a spicy tomato sauce, which is sometimes called adobo. They are available at some supermarkets, specialty foods stores, and Latin markets.

Makes 4 servings.
Bon Appétit
July 2005
Ted Reader



How You Life Your Life

You have a good sense of self control and hate to show weakness.

You tend to avoid confrontation and stay away from sticky situations.

Your friends tend to be a as quirky as you are - which is saying a lot!

You tend to dream big, but you worry that your dreams aren't attainable.

FOOD-Amish Style YUM!-merchant.

In the Scope today for Tagging:)

Alrighty then...
I have recieved and answer, I know what to do now....Duh!

I really don't know too many people in the blogosphere yet ,
The question: What's on your Nightstand?


Answer: Well I don't have a nightstand,
I have a pile of Books about 2.5 feet high, that is covered in socks, baby clothes, Books, hairbands,
teddy bears, small boxes >saved for future holidays or Birthdays. That is about it...

The victims:

IRISH DIABLO

ALIX
I'm sorry Alix, I just found out Kitty tagged you first,nevermind...

PAVLINA

TESCO

JES

ANITA

Tag Virgin

OK it seems I have been Tagged by BILLT ,
Now what does one do??
I have no Idea, it seems fun,
I'm just not sure what to do. I am thrilled to be included :)
Anybody? Help? instruction>I hate being ignorant on a subject....

7/27/2005

A Poem for Pavlina- Elating Serendipity


















I can't think of any way
To link festivity to tranquility
Other than through the euphoria
That overwhelms me
In my serene sanctuary

Every noise-producing button
Is scrupulously switched "off"
Except for the snoozing air conditioner
That regularly self-activates
To keep the inside temperature right
On a dizzyingly hot summer night

by Joan Marques

Just a little poem to welcome Pavlina, she is now in the my Blog links, she was mentioning SLEEP and I am envious sooo, I found these words for her...

have a good sleep everyone. *)

Punk-Pink Poodle Stowaway


Punk-pink poodle was a stowaway
Saint Leo University students said they found the vagabond in Dade City and moved it to their dorm.
By CHASE SQUIRES, Times Staff Writer
Published May 8, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
photo credit
Dr. Jonathan Blake of San Antonio Animal Hospital treated a toy poodle Friday found in a dorm room at Saint Leo University.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAN ANTONIO - Every dog has his bad hair day.

But this is ridiculous.

Veterinarian Jonathan Blake said Saint Leo University employees brought in a toy poodle Friday that was found in a dorm room.

In addition to being underweight, at just 6 pounds, the little dog was sporting a pink hairdo, the result of some kind of dye or spray, Dr. Blake said.

University spokeswoman Jacqui Cash said the poodle's tale is a bit of a mystery, but by Friday afternoon, it had a happy ending.

And Blake figures the pink dye might come out with a good shampooing.

Cash said school security officers thought they heard a dog barking Thursday in a dorm, where such pets aren't allowed. They alerted officials, who confronted three students Thursday night, and the students said they had found the dog wandering in Dade City, with a pink hairdo, and thought they could take him home and clean him up.

After discussing it, the students agreed taking on a pet wasn't the best idea and agreed to give him up, Cash said.

He ended up with pet lover Susan Reed, in the school's student services office, because her friends knew she has a soft heart for animals, Cash said. But when Reed couldn't take him in, she brought him to Blake at the San Antonio Animal Hospital.

That's when Blake decided he wanted to help find the affectionate little dog with the funky hair a new home.

Before word spread outside his office, Reed said someone back at Saint Leo decided they wanted to adopt the pink poodle.

Blake said it isn't unusual to find a lost animal at the university toward the end of the school year.

"About this time, we see an increase in stray cats brought in from out by the college," Blake said. "The school year ends, and they get left behind."

But a pink poodle is a first.

Cash said her own dog, a basset hound named Abbey in honor of the Saint Leo Abbey, is a university dog. She found her wandering campus during a reunion weekend about two years ago.

Saint Leo University rules don't allow students to have pets, Cash said. Most pets, that is.

"The official policy of the university is pets are prohibited," she said. "Except for fish and small lizards."

[Last modified May 8, 2004, 01:26:44]


OMG , this pink poodle amoeba is trying to eat this cute little baby???What ever shall we do?



Pink Poodle...yah I know, But I Like them...

Poodle site of the day!

Cool, Poodle stuff...have to take a browse....later gator..

Hey HoneeeY!!! I need some luggage...
CHERIE WHEEL SUITCASE Dimensions: 18" tall x 12" wide. Handle extends 13.5"

Price: $50.00
DEPT56-30845-000-2000


Dog Parks USA- your Guide the Poodle

Poodle E-cards, they rock

OJ Simpson Told to Pay DirecTV $25G, Fees

dumbass...

Bill thats a damned good offer!

I wonder how many goats we have to GIVE this guy to take Hillary off our hands ?

head ache day 2

Funny Military t-shirts from Iraq

***these were featured on Ala's site, provided by Free0352...

Recipes from Kraft.com

Basil & Tomato Feta Bruschetta






Recipe Rating:

Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 25 min
Makes: 36 servings


Nutrition Information
Kraft Kitchens Tips
Ratings and comments
You may also enjoy


1 loaf French bread, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 Tbsp. oil
1 lb. plum tomatoes, chopped (about 2-1/2 cups)
1 pkg. (4 oz.) ATHENOS Crumbled Feta Cheese with Basil & Tomato, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. chopped pitted ripe olives
1/4 tsp. pepper



PLACE bread on cookie sheet and broil until lightly toasted on both sides. Brush 1 side of toasted bread lightly with 1 Tbsp. oil.
MEANWHILE, mix tomatoes, 1 Tbsp. remaining oil, cheese, onion, parsley, olives and pepper.
SPOON about 2 tsp. of the tomato mixture onto each toast slice just before serving.




KRAFT KITCHENS TIPS


Storage Know-How
Store ripe tomatoes, stem-side down, at room temperature away from direct sunlight. For best results, use within a few days after purchase. Do not store whole, uncut tomatoes in the refrigerator as this will result in loss of flavor.

funny t-shirts

Bizarre T-shirt Slogans
----------------+

1. "Frankly Scallop, I Don't Give a Clam." (seen
on Cape Cod)

2. "That's It! I'm Calling Grandma!" (seen on an
8 year old)

3. "Wrinkled Was Not One of the Things I Wanted
to Be When I
Grew Up"

4. "Procrastinate Now."

5. "Rehab Is for Quitters."

6. "My Dog Can Lick Anyone."

7. "I Have a Degree in Liberal Arts - Do You Want
Fries With
That?"

8. "Party - My Crib - Two A.M." (on a baby-size
shirt)

9. "Finally 21, and Legally Able to Do Everything
I've Been
Doing Since 15."

10. "ALL MEN ARE IDIOTS, AND I MARRIED THEIR
KING."


***


7/26/2005

Amber Alert- Unknown Utah Girl-age 8

Amber Alert Issued for 8 Year old Utah girl
Posted: Tuesday July 26, 2005 9:58 PM CT


The Salt Lake City Police Department and the state of Utah issued the Amber Alert on Tuesday night after it was reported a girl was forced in to a van by a male suspect.

8 year old Utah Girl 8 years old. She was seen wearing baggy grean shorts and white tank top. Her height and weight are unknown at this time.

The suspect is a male, 35-40 years of age, thin build. His hair is brown and is cut in a mullet. He is wearing a black short sleve shirt and black pants. The vehicle is a gray or light blue full size van older make with rust spots.

Anyone with information is Asked to call the Salt Lake City Police department at 801-799-3000 or dial 911

Amish Teen Charged With Stealing Numbers

:::I have removed the photo even though my hubby comes from PA(and has many pic of the land and people) and lived near the Amish, someone is pissing me off with their comments, and won't leave a real name or link... -Blue

HUNTSBURG, Ohio - Callers complaining about loud music coming from a buggy led deputies to charge a 19-year-old Amish man with stealing house numbers and flower pots. David Byler was charged with theft and underage consumption of alcohol, both misdemeanors.

Callers to the Geauga County sheriff's office told dispatchers early Sunday about a buggy playing loud music and stealing items from outside houses in a rural area of northeast Ohio.

"When our officer caught up with him in the middle of the road, there were flower pots and house numbers in the buggy," sheriff's spokesman John Hiscox said.

___

Headache again.....not good.

Canadian lab to test 'sasquatch' hair

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - The debate over the existence of sasquatch, aka Bigfoot, an ape-like creature said to haunt the wilderness of western Canada has entered the world of modern DNA testing.

A laboratory will test hair samples that several residents of Teslin, Yukon, say were left when the large, but so-far mythological creature made a late-night run through their community in early July.

University of Alberta wildlife geneticist David Coltman, who agreed to do the tests as a favor to a colleague, said on Monday that scientists have cataloged the DNA of nearly all large animals in the Yukon such as bears and bison.

"So we'll compare it to all of that, and if it doesn't match anything, then it's potentially interesting," said Coltman, who suspects the hair was actually left behind by a much more mundane Yukon bison.

"If sasquatch is indeed a primate, then we would expect the sample to be closer to humans or chimpanzees or gorillas," Coltman said.

The legend of a large, hairy, two-legged creature lurking in the mountains of western Canada and the United States dates back to before Europeans settled the continent. This was the second report of the creature near Teslin in just over a year.

In the latest sighting, a group of Teslin residents told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. they heard branches cracking and saw a large human-like creature run by a house. It left behind large footprints, they said, and the hair tufts that were given to wildlife officials.

Coltman expects to have his results on Thursday and said that even if the hair turns out not to be from a sasquatch, the process should serve as good way to get students interested in the field of DNA testing.

"It's sort of like a wildlife CSI story," he said.

Bulgaria unearths Thracian riches




Archaeologists in Bulgaria have unearthed the treasure-filled tomb of what is thought to be a Thracian king.
A golden crown, ring, armour and other artefacts dating back 2,400 years were found with the skeleton in a tomb near the south-eastern town of Zlatinitsa.

National Museum of History director Bozhidar Dimitrov said the Thracian king was a young ruler who was buried with two horses and a favourite dog.

Excavations of burial mounds across Bulgaria have unearthed similar finds.

But Professor Dimitrov says there is something different about this burial.

Ring clue

"He seems to have died suddenly," he told the BBC News website.

THE THRACIANS

Lived in what is now Bulgaria, Romania, northern Greece and Turkey from around 4000 BC
Conquered by Rome in AD 46
Not thought to have had own alphabet
Described by Herodotus as "savage, blood-thirsty warriors"
Finds include ceramics, bronze, gold and silver jewels


In pictures: Thracian riches

"Like the Egyptians built pyramids and used them as temples before they died, the Thracian rulers built mounds. When they died they were buried inside and earth was piled up on top. But here there was no mound."

The bones are still being excavated and will be sent to Sofia for examination. But Professor Dimitrov says the ruler seems to be a young man in his prime who was given a lavish funeral.

As well as the crown wreath and animals, the tomb included decorated bronze, iron and copper armour and body wear, engraved with scenes from Greek mythology.

The large ring on his finger shows a Thracian ruler on a horse being crowned by a Greek goddess.

"This is important as in Thracian religion this is an obvious ritual for when someone is crowned king," said Professor Dimitrov.



Investigations are continuing as to the identity of the ruler. The professor's theory is that he was a ruler called Sevt, referred to in Greek writings relating to the period.

He said Sevt inherited a region from his uncle and, faced with a disgruntled local population, paid the Greek army to help take control.

But he says there were around 23 kingdoms in Bulgaria during the same period, so finding the exact identity will require further research.



DUMBASS FILES

What do you suppose he thought would happen?
Tue Jul 26,10:01 AM ET


SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) -
A Texas man was arrested on Monday after calling police to complain about the theft of his marijuana, authorities said.

Stephen Knight, 17, said three men had broken into his apartment, hogtied him with Christmas lights and stole some marijuana, along with a plasma screen television, police said.

Police are looking for the suspects. In the meantime, they arrested Knight after finding several marijuana plants growing under heat lamps in the apartment, four grams of harvested marijuana and a tablet of ecstasy, Officer Chad Ripley said.

Knight said the men barged into his home early on Monday morning demanding, "Where's the weed?," according to San Antonio police.

White House May Sidestep Dems on Bolton



By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent
Tue Jul 26,12:06 AM ET



WASHINGTON - Frustrated by Senate Democrats, the White House hinted Monday that President Bush may act soon to sidestep Congress and install embattled nominee John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations on a temporary basis.


White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Bush has used his power for temporary appointments when "he has to get people in place that have waited far too long to get about doing their business." He said that "sometimes there's come a point" when Bush has decided he needs to act.

Bolton's nomination has been stalled for months. Critics say Bolton, who has been accused of mistreating subordinates and who has been openly skeptical about the U.N., would hurt U.S. efforts to work with other countries on global matters. The administration says the tough-talking Bolton is ideally suited to lead an effort to overhaul the U.N. bureaucracy and make it more accountable.

Bush could put Bolton on the job by exercising his authority to make a recess appointment, an avenue available to the president when Congress is in recess. Lawmakers are expected to leave Friday for a summer recess and not return until Sept. 7.

Under the Constitution, the appointment would last until the end of the next session of Congress — no later than January 2007.

Republicans have twice attempted — and failed — to break a Democratic filibuster against Bolton's nomination. The White House has ruled out withdrawing Bolton's name, and has called repeatedly for a vote on his nomination.

Some in Washington had expected Bush to give Bolton a recess appointment over the Senate's July Fourth break. But Republicans said negotiations with Democrats were ongoing, and a recess appointment, should it come to that, probably wouldn't occur until August. There has been no sign of a breakthrough in recent days.

Earthquake Rattles Parts of Montana

HELENA, Mont. - An earthquake measuring a magnitude 5.6 struck southwestern Montana on Monday night, rattling windows, nerves and buildings, but there were no immediate reports of any serious damage or injuries.


The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was centered about 13 miles northwest of Dillon, but residents across a wide swath of Montana, Idaho and Washington reported feeling the temblor at about 10:10 p.m.

Reports came in from as far away as Great Falls, more than 200 miles to the north, and Billings, 250 miles to the east. Some residents reported two distinct tremors, several seconds apart, lasting about eight to 10 seconds in all.

In Dillon, Beaverhead County Commissioner Mike McGinley said there were scattered reports of broken glass and other minor damage around town, but nothing significant.

"We've got fire and ambulance personnel standing by" just in case, he said Monday night.

The USGS categorized the earthquake as "moderate." Initial reports said it occurred about 25 miles underground, but the USGS later said the quake was at a much more shallow depth — only about 3 miles below the surface.

Bud Revious, the deputy response coordinator for the state Disaster and Emergency Services office in Helena, said officials there were busy monitoring the state's scattered wildfires when the office shook.

"We thought maybe we were having one of those microbursts like we had a couple weeks ago, but we looked around and there was no wind," he said.

___

I really didn't notice anything, but then again , a big truck goes by the house and it shakes so, more shaking I would not even register it...G-man didn't notice anything either...

Grilled Balsamic and Grapefruit Glazed Salmon

1 cup freshly squeezed Sunkist® grapefruit juice
2 Tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 salmon fillets, 6 oz. each
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
8 Sunkist grapefruits slices, 1/2 " thick, 1 1/2 oz. each

To make one portion:

Combine Sunkist grapefruit juice, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in medium saucepan. Boil until reduced by half, approximately 15 minutes. Hold warm.
Season each side of salmon fillet with 1/16 tsp. salt and 1/16 tsp. pepper. Grill salmon, presentation side down, until just done in center, about 5 minutes per side, depending on thickness of fillet.
Brush salmon with 1 tablespoon Sunkist grapefruit glaze during grilling and just before removing from grill.
Place 2 Sunkist grapefruit slices on serving plate and top with cooked salmon fillet. Drizzle 1 tablespoon glaze on top of salmon.
.5 Cup of Fruit per Serving
Color Group(s): Yellow/Orange*, Red*
(*depending on grapefruit used)
Nutrition Information per Serving: calories: 280, total fat: 6.0g, saturated fat: 1.0g, % calories from fat: 19%, % calories from saturated fat: 3%, protein: 35g, carbohydrates: 21g, cholesterol: 88mg, dietary fiber: 1g, sodium: 410mg
Recipe is courtesy of Sunkist. Recipe was reviewed by Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) for Sunkist.
All PBH endorsed recipes meet the nutrition standards that maintain fruits and vegetables as healthy foods.
Makes 4 servings

Space shuttle Discovery lifts off, reaches orbit


CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The U.S. space shuttle Discovery blasted off from its launchpad at Cape Canaveral in Florida on Tuesday in NASA's first shuttle mission since Columbia was destroyed in 2003.

The launch was postponed from July 13 because of a glitch in a fuel sensor.

The shuttle, carrying seven crew members, soared into slightly hazy skies on a plume of smoke and flames, and the roar of its solid booster rockets rattled windows and shook the ground across the Cape.

The booster rockets separated without problem just after 2 minutes into flight, said NASA launch commentator James Hartsfield. Around nine minutes after launch, the shuttle reached its planned preliminary orbit and cut off its three main engines.

The shuttle's mission is to test new safety and repair measures introduced after Columbia disintegrated over Texas on Feb. 1, 2003, after falling foam knocked a hole in its wing on liftoff 16 days earlier. Discovery will also deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station.

Word of the day

WORD: abeyance uh-BAY-uhn(t)s (noun)

: Suspension; temporary cessation

SYNONYMS: * inaction
* dormancy
* remission

WORD WISE: Abeyance derives from Medieval French
abeance,
"expectation," from abeer, from a-, "to" (from
Latin ad-) +
baer, beer, "to gape (at)," from Late Latin
batare, "to
gape."

QUOTE: Her plans fell into abeyance when she
parted from
Franz Josef and traveled for five years.
--Rebecca West, "Black Lamb and Grey Falcon," The
Atlantic,
January 1941

OBSCURE AND UNUSUAL WORDS
*************************

1) ruffian ruffee en (noun)
: somebody who behaves in a rough, bullying,
or violent
way, often a member of a gang of criminal
thugs (dated)

Fifteenth century. Via French from,
ultimately, Italian
ruffiano, of Germanic origin.

2) chantey chantee, shantee (noun)
: a song chanted by sailors as they work

Mid-19th century. Origin uncertain, perhaps
an angliciz-
ation of French chantez "sing!"


BONUS WORD OF THE DAY: panoptic pan optik
(adjective)

: Taking in or showing everything in a single
view

Early 19th century. Formed from Greek panoptos,
literally
"seen by all," and panoptes, literally
"all-seeing," both
formed in turn from optos "visible."

7/25/2005

A few words from Bianca....






First Picture I dyslexic should say Dog Bless America...Next two sign thingies...I ALWAYS ON GUARD..Terrorist I BITE You! ..Until no moving anymore...And Last Picture...Me as Baby I so Cute....I Picked My People , it easy, Man come and look in cage, He say to Lady look at this little one, He open cage and pick me up ,I like him ,is ok...Man hand me gently to Lady, She look at me holding me, I look in her eyes, and give kiss on nose in greeting to her, she sigh and say " Well that s it then we have to get this one." Man goes "Why?" Lady say" She kissed me..". They Take me too my new home , to Meet Coal, and Baby Bup he was Baby then, no Xaby yet he come later, and is my special puppy...They My Family I love and protect them, so I say again to terrorist I BITE YOU!!!Stay away!!!

Santas From Across Globe Meet in Denmark




This was a nice article to see, brings a smile to your face...
yeah XMAS is coming(fav time of year)

By JAN M. OLSEN, Associated Press Writer

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - More than 100 Santa Clauses and their little helpers danced, bellowed ho-hos and raced up a rapidly melting hill made of snow Monday at the annual World Santa Claus Congress.


Despite a sprinkle of rain and trees in full Nordic summer bloom, the Papa Noels, St. Nicks and Sinter Klaases from 10 countries were in a yuletide spirit as they kicked off a three-day convention in Denmark, including a Santa parade and a chimney-climbing competition.

To the strains of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer," the bearded Santas dressed in red and white gathered in a northern Copenhagen amusement park as dozens of children watched in astonishment.

"I didn't know that there were that many Santas," said Cecilia Bergqvist, an 8-year-old Swedish girl.

While all Santas professed to be the real thing, one delegate from Marysville, Washington, could make a pretty good case. He legally changed his name to Santa Claus, saying he hated "to lie to children."

Claus, who has worked as Santa for the past two decades, showed his passport to an AP reporter to prove his claim.

To qualify as Santa, candidates must sport a white beard, don a red suit in which they must not smoke tobacco — and refrain from drinking alcohol before addressing children. At the Denmark congress, their physical skills also were put to the test.

A team of three foreign Santas — including Claus, Tokyo resident Paradise Yamamoto and Norway's Thorvald Moi — easily beat three Danish Julemaend in a race up a snowy 5-foot hill atop which they put a small present under a Christmas tree.

Yamamoto, who traveled to Denmark with his sidekick, Yutaka Iwabuchi, dressed as the reindeer Rudolph, said being Santa was "tough work."

A chimney-climbing competition was set for later Monday.

Later this week, the Santas are also scheduled to parade in Copenhagen, visit hospitalized children and take a dip in the sea.

They also were expected to have a few good laughs as they draft proposals to improve their working conditions.

Their demands include standardizing chimney widths in the 25-country European Union and holding Christmas twice a year to lessen the burden on Santas, whom they said must currently rush around the world to distribute presents in just one day.

The festival has grown from a local summer activity created 42 years ago by the Bakken amusement park, 13 miles north of downtown Copenhagen, to an event attracting Santas from around the world. By tradition, the festival is held each year six months before Christmas.

___

The Sims 2: Nightlife In-Depth (PC)

Gypsies? Vampires? GameSpy goes straight to the source to find out a little more about the upcoming Sims 2 expansion.
By Dave 'Fargo' Kosak | July 22, 2005

Fargo: In the weeks leading up to the release of The Sims 2 University we published a series of letters from a Sim college student, giving you an up-close and personal look at what was to come. With Nightlife so close on the horizon, we wanted to give you an informed opinion of the game from an intelligent, well-reasoned, well-spoken Sim. But instead, we found Jimmy "Tha Love Doctah" Beeterman.

Tha Love Doctah: The Doctah is IN!

Fargo: Now, uh, Doctor, my understanding is that you're not actually in the final expansion pack, but that you've spent significant time there helping Sims hook up using the new dating features in the expansion. True?


Jimmy "Tha Love Doctah" Beeterman

Tha Doctah: Thas right. I AM the Love Doctah, I am your neighbor. I am a PHD: "Pretty Hot Dude."

Fargo: ... right ... I can't imagine why they wouldn't want you in the final game. But let's talk about the expansion! Along with new items and new locations, which we'll talk about in a second, there's a whole new "dating" mini-game. How does it work, exactly? How do you start a date?

Tha Doctah: Well, assumin' you have digits, you just pick up the phone. In the industry, this is known as a booty call. Or, if you meet in person, and you think you've got that special sumthun' sumthun' with each other, you can click on someone to ask 'em to a date right there.

Fargo: Once the date begins, what happens? How does it work?

Tha Doctah: A little timer starts, and you can see a little gauge letting you know how the date is going. From there, it works like a racing game: if you're doing well, you get 'extended time.' Otherwise the date ends early, and you go home to watch Skinemax.


The new downtown area is loaded with fancy restaurants.


Fargo: I see! Once it's over, how do you know if a date went well?

The Doctah: You'll know it went well because it was with me!

Fargo: Okay, fine - how do the rest of us know that a date went smoothly?

Tha Doctah: There are all sorts of little bonuses and perks if a date works out, and believe me, I've had it all. You might get bonus friends, that is, an instant-in with all of your date's friends. If you date a great chef, you might learn some cooking tips and get a skill point or two. If you've dated somebody who's high up the ladder in your current career, you might get a call the next day and find out you got a promotion.

Fargo: That's pretty sweet! So there's lots of bonuses hidden in the game like that?

Tha Doctah: I haven't worked a day in my life!
Fargo: Here's a question I'm sure you get asked a lot: How do you make sure a date goes well?

Tha Doctah: Baby that's easy. In Sims 2: Nightlife all the fellas and ladies have turn-ons and turn-offs -- there's a whole "attraction engine" under the hood.

Fargo: Almost a whole new mini-game?

Tha Doctah: Baby my 'attraction engine' has eight cylinders. In a "v" shape.


Alternatively, take a date to a dive bar where people play poker in wifebeater tee-shirts.


Fargo: Okay stop. Just -- stop. What you're telling me is that different Sims have different romantic wants, different tastes in the opposite sex? Or same sex, for that matter?

Tha Doctah: Right, everybody's got an angle. Some Sims are more attracted to certain personalities -- they want someone who's gonna make a lot of money, or they're looking for a family-man. Little things also make a difference: Some Sims like people with glasses, or people with red hair, or Vampires--

Fargo: Hold it! Did you just say Vampires? Like, literally, Vampires? Like Bella Lugosi?

Tha Doctah: More like Geena Davis in the movie Transylvania 6-5000, but yah.

Fargo: Tell me more!

Tha Doctah: Well, Geena Davis took a lot of bad bit parts before she made it big --

Fargo: No about Vampires, Jimmy. The Sims 2 is going to have Vampires now?


The trendier underground clubs always have a DJ.


Tha Doctah: Oh yah, I see 'em all the time. See, there's the Grand Vampire who wanders around downtown after dark, wearing a cape and jumping out at people going "Bla! Bla!" a lot. If you buddy up with him, he might bite you. His bite gives any Sim the curse of "Vampirism," but it's not so bad of a curse.

Fargo: Why's that?

Tha Doctah: Well, for one thing, none of your needs decay -- you can just wander around town at night chillin' with your blood brothers without needing to sleep or eat. Also, you can turn into a bat and fly, which I hear is nice. And you can buy a coffin for your house, which, you know, I hear some chicks dig that.

Fargo: Sounds great!

Tha Doctah: Of course if you're ever outside during the day, the sunlight will burn you to a crisp where you stand.

Fargo: ...okay, not so great. Let's get back to dating.

Tha Doctah: What, you and me?

Fargo: NO! I mean, in general.

Tha Doctah: Because I haven't eaten in a week.

Fargo: What kinds of things can make a date go bad?

Tha Doctah: Oh all sorts of things -- not that I know from experience, but I've heard stories. For instance, you don't want to try to date when you're tired or uncomfortable. If you pee yourself in the middle of a date, it's pretty much a dealbreaker.

Fargo: The date ends early?

Tha Doctah: Sho' nuff. Or, you can fall asleep in your food. Or the waiter might spill food on you. There are numerous food catastrophes to be on the lookout for. But the worst is when a "Romantic Rival" comes along.


Not ... so ... smooth.


Fargo: A rival?

Tha Doctah: Yah, you see, in Nightlife, if you piss off another Sim, they might become your rival. If your rival shows up in the middle of a date, he or she might try to steal away the love of your life -- you know, following you around, flirting...

Fargo: Sounds like a disaster.

Tha Doctah: That's why I'm glad Sims University added prank joy buzzers.

Fargo: Where do you recommend taking a date?

Tha Doctah: Back to my place: I got me a love tub.

Fargo: Okay, just humor us and tell us where you would take a date in the new downtown area featured in the expansion pack.

Tha Doctah: Well, every Sim's gonna have his or her own thing. An active Sim is gonna have fun bowling, or dancing. Others just want to eat or watch TV. There are about 20 new lots built out in the downtown area: restaurants, clubs, bowling alleys, karaoke bars, parks... I've hit 'em all.

Fargo: How do you know what your date wants?

Tha Doctah: In Sims 2 Nightlife, you can ask Sims and they'll tell you what their wants are, so dating is a walk in the cake.

Fargo: Assuming you find that special someone.

Tha Doctah: And even if you don't, there's always cologne.

Fargo: Is there an easy way to find that special someone? With all the turn-ons and turn-offs, it must be hard to find someone who's compatible...

Tha Doctah: This much is true. However -- and I have no need of her services myself -- I hear there is an old Gypsy Matchmaker woman who you can find wandering around the town.

Fargo: Now this sounds promising! How does she work?

Tha Doctah: Well, you step up to her and cross her palms with some silver. Or, in this case, a pile of Simoleons. You can choose how much you want to spend with her -- the more you spend, the better your match will be.

Fargo: So it's important not to skimp?

Tha Doctah: Oh hell yah. There's a rumor around town that some guy tipped her half a Simoleon and ended up dating Courtney Love.

Fargo: But if you pay well...?

Tha Doctah: Yah baby, she'll find a perfect match for you, and your ideal mate will just fall from the sky. Literally. It's a little crazy that way.

Fargo: That's awesome, I'll keep that in mind. Before we go, can I ask a personal question?

Tha Doctah: Yes, I do trim my chest hair into funny shapes.

Fargo: ... that wasn't what I was going to ask, but while we're on the topic: ew. I was going to ask why Maxis decided not to include you in the expansion pack?

Tha Doctah: It may have been due to the restraining orders.

Fargo: Thanks for your time.
_______________________________________________
The Sims 2 Nightlife (PC)
The Sims 2 Nightlife takes Sims into the night to explore all of their favorite after-dark activities. Players can either head out and discover their love lives or have a crazy night out with friends. With the new dating gameplay, players will see if their Sims have chemistry with others which will determine their romantic fate. The newest addition to the game includes the brand new pleasure seeker aspiration allowing players to explore a life filled with unforgettable dates, endless nights of dancing and fine dining. Make your Sims nightlife fantasy a reality with over 125 new objects including a DJ booth, poker table and all you need to design the ultimate nightclub and VIP lounge




Vandals torch 20 U.S. flags

Neighbors rally around family that just buried son-in-law soldier

By Dan Klepal
Cincinnati Enquirer staff writer

FAIRFIELD - American flags, lining the lawn of the mother- and father-in-law of fallen U.S. Army Pfc. Timothy Hines Jr., were heaped in a pile early Saturday and burned under a car parked in front of the home - less than 24 hours after Hines was buried in Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery.

Jim Wessel, Hines' father-in-law, said he thinks that the fire was a random act of vandalism.

The flames totaled Sara Wessel's car.

Sara is Hines' sister-in-law and Jim Wessel's oldest daughter. She had been staying at the house on Sando Drive since the family returned last week from Washington, D.C., where they were visiting Hines at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Hines, 21, was buried Friday after more than 400 people mourned his passing and celebrated his life at the Vineyard Community Church in Springdale. He was buried with full military honors, leaving behind a pregnant widow who expects to give birth in about two weeks and a 2-year-old daughter.

Hines died last week from injuries suffered when a roadside bomb exploded June 19 in Baghdad.

Sara Wessel woke up when the flames set off the car alarm.

"Whoever set the fire used about 20 flags that were given to me by friends," Jim Wessel said. "If it wasn't random vandalism, what statement were they trying to make?"

The 20 flags were replaced with more than 200 by Saturday afternoon. The flags came from family, friends and neighbors.

"We have a great neighborhood," Wessel said.

Police said the fire started about 5:30 a.m.

"What happened to this family is a tragedy; what occurred (Saturday) morning is despicable," Fairfield Police Chief Mike Dickey said in a prepared statement. "We will take every step to identify the persons responsible and hold them accountable."

Doris Morris, who has lived next to the Wessels for 46 years, was shocked to hear about the fire.

"This is a quiet neighborhood, and they are very good, sweet people," Morris said of the Wessels. "It's just horrible that someone would do that, whether it was vandalism or because of the Iraq situation."

Bob Kramer, another neighborhood resident who stopped by the scene to visit with his police officer friends, said he doesn't think that the fire was random. There were more than 20 cars parked on the street Saturday morning, he said.

"With the connection to this family, what are the chances of them randomly getting the flags out of their yard and choosing that car?" Kramer asked. "For someone to target them and add to their suffering is just horrendous."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Fairfield Police Department tip line at 896-8200.

Donations can be made to the Timothy Hines Memorial Fund at any Fifth Third Bank, or to the Hines Family House project through Impact A Hero. Information about that program can be found online at www.impactahero.com.

E-mail dklepal@enquirer.com

Wheels on the Bus go WOOF WOOF WOOF



A group of dogs is taken to a day camp near Bogota in a bus in this photo taken on June 30, 2005. The Transmiperro system (Transport my Dog) is a day camp for dogs, where a colourful bus takes them to a camp in the village of Cajic, 30 km (19 miles) north of Bogot, where the animals are trained and enjoy games and activities. Each pet owner pays between $34 and $106 per month depending on the program the dog is enrolled in. The dogs are returned home, exhausted, at the end of the day. Picture taken on June 30, 2005. To match feature Colombia-dogs REUTERS/Jose Miguel Gomez

Man Forced to Wear Sign for Animal Cruelty

HOPWOOD, Pa. - A western Pennsylvania man said he endured more than he expected when he agreed to an unusual sentence for an animal cruelty conviction.

Ulysses Zimmerman, 22, of Point Marion, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty for allegedly neglecting his dog, denying it veterinary care and strangling the animal.

But Zimmerman didn't pay a fine or spend time in jail. Instead, he stood at a busy intersection in South Union Township Thursday, wearing a sign that read, "I Plead Guilty ... Animal Cruelty is a Crime ... My Dog's Name WAS Salt and Pepper."

Zimmerman was supposed to stand at the intersection for eight hours, but Robin Moore, the Fayette County Humane officer who devised the sentence, allowed Zimmerman to leave early because of all the abuse passing motorists hurled at him.

"Everybody started screaming at me and cussing me. I got there at 9:30 a.m., but Robin said at noon that she'd heard enough and that I could leave," Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman denies he intentionally hurt his pet.


Additional story : Here

My Judgement : To be incarcerated , then neglected,
starved, then denied medical care, half strangled
.....Then to be Fed to Wild Rabid Boars....
:sound of "GAVEL of DOOM" smashing down

Baron's says....THANK YOU!

A REAL WAR DOG!


US Flag Flown in Iraq to Support K-9's Body Armor
A Baghdad K-9 unit is auctioning off a US Flag that will be flown over their Base Camp to help support the cost of purchasing their K-9's Body Armor.

The cost of just one of these vests is $2097.89, not including shipping fees. (This price has been confirmed)
Due to Operational Security they are unable to release details to the public of the actual number of vests they are in need of. Their current goal is to purchase at least one Vest that they can share.





















Baron in Baghdad says...."Look at my new duds". Thank you all very much for your donation support that helped raise the funds for Baron's body Armor!
Your donations assisted us to bid on 2 auctions to raise funds for Baron's vest, we are still working towards more vests for the K-9's with Baron.

You can read about this original fundraiser here: FUND RAISER

Thank you to these donors:
Lois & Bob Schneider
Gail Ross
Dian & Greg Chapman
Janet Tagg
Faye Lee
Sarah Klein
Penelope Price
Connie Stanley
Patricia Heggie
Claudia Swanson
Nancy Cox
Christine Smock
Judy Meek
Sandra Miller
Sarah Klein

I found this on a site called Military Mascots, and this was a great story for anyone, these animals love and protect our troops , the least we can do is see they have the protection they need from being caught in Harms way...

I now Have this site listed in the Links, you might want to check it out.

Amber Alert..Lydia Bethany-Rose Rupp .- PEDO-FILE # 1

Amber Alert Issued for 8 Year old Nevada Girl
Posted: Saturday July 23, 2005 10:06 AM CT


The Lion county Sheriff's office and the state of Nevada issued the Amber Alert after the child was abducted Friday.

Lydia Bethany-Rose Rupp 8 year old female. She's 4 feet 9 inches tall, 85 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

The suspect is Aguerro, Fernando P. (AKA Gonzales, Fernando) who is a Hispanic male approximately 48 years of age. He is 6 foot 1 inch tall and 175 pounds. He has black and gray hair and brown eyes. He's slim build with a mustache.

He is driving a blue or silver Kia Rio with no license plates. The direction of travel is unknown. The suspect has relatives in Las Vegas and San Diego.

Anyone with information should call the Lion County Sheriff's office at 775-575-3383 or dial 911.


Police seek sex offender, missing girl

CNN) -- Authorities are searching for a convicted sex offender suspected of taking an 8-year-old girl from her home near Reno, Nevada, according to the Lyon County Sheriff's Office Saturday.

They have issued an Amber Alert in the disappearance.

Lydia Bethany-Rose Rupp was discovered missing Friday when her mother returned home from work in Fernley, northeast of the capital Carson City, said authorities.

They identified the suspect as Fernando P. Aguerro, also known by the last name Gonzales.

The child is 4 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 85 pounds, and has brown hair, brown eyes and a fair complexion.

Aguerro is described as a slim Hispanic male, about 48 years old, 6 feet 1 inch tall, 175 pounds with dark eyes and a mustache. He is thought to be driving a blue-gray, 2001 four-door Kia Rio sedan, without license plates. Authorities said he has relatives in San Diego and Las Vegas, and may be headed to one of those cities, or to Sacramento, California.

A statement on the national Amber Alert Web site says Aguerro also has used the aliases Ayala, Pons and Vega.

The child's mother met Aguerro at a church function in April, and he then moved into her home. Authorities said he took the mother to work about 5:30 a.m. Friday, then called her at noon to say he would be unable to pick her up.

When the mother returned about 3 p.m., she found him, her daughter and their brown cocker spaniel missing. Also missing were the suspect's and daughter's clothes, all photographs of the girl and ID cards belonging to the mother. She told deputies she and Aguerro had argued about the attention he was paying to the child and a possible move to San Diego.

Aguerro was convicted and sentenced as a sex offender in Los Angeles more than 10 years ago for lewd and lascivious behavior, the sheriff's office said.