tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51224031901235619102024-03-14T03:42:33.352-04:00Musings by Rebekah StewartA librarian who enjoying sharing travels, baking recipes, and the books I've read. You never know what you may learn!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-81943741308018205532015-04-21T21:55:00.002-04:002015-04-21T21:55:27.975-04:00Interview with John L (Blog #4 for LS 581)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This blog entry is for a course at the University of Alabama that discusses people with disabilities, impairments and the aging society in regards to technology. This is an interview I did with John L on Sunday, April 19, 2015. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">John told me that he was born in the 1960s as a preemie. He wasn’t sure if the medication used during that time caused it his hearing impairement. He went on to saying that hearing impairments and deafness does run on his mother side of the family (some of his cousins and an uncle, his grandmother was born deaf, grandfather qualified for cochlear surgery [although declined]) and his mother is severely hearing impaired. His specific kind of hearing loss is a high frequency hearing loss which means that sounds like watch alarms, whispers, etc., he cannot hear at all. The use of American Sign Language (ASL) was a necessary second language growing up. He told me that he learned it that way a child learns Spanish in a Hispanic household, it is kind of a homegrown “dialect” of formal ASL. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">He went through school well enough, although he failed his first hearing test in 2nd grade. He did admit that his delinquent behavior in school could have been linked to not being able to hear well in school, but he felt like it wasn’t a huge detriment until his late teens when he tried to enlist in the armed services. He failed it outright. At 18, he wore his first hearing aide, which was one that went inside. Today he uses a very powerful over the ear aide to be able to hear people, although he needs to read lips. He is unable to hear without them, and he told me that as he gets closer to 50s the decline in his hearing has progressed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Meeting John, you would never figure he was deaf until you realized he was staring at you so intently to read your lips. He doesn’t “sound” deaf although if you are more of a soft spoken individual or mumbles or speaks in a heavy dialect, he will ask you to repeat what you say. He said that often times, people shout and slowly pronounce every single word once they realize he is deaf. It has affected him in securing steady work and he backed up that statement by saying that the unemployment rate for a deaf individual ranges from 40% - 50%. He said that he was glad to have made it through his school years under the guise of “normal”. He is very well aware how cruel kids are to those with disabilities. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Within the last 10-15 years, John has embraced technology to the fullest. He never was fond of the TTD/TTY relay systems. He said he never liked the idea of someone “listening” in on a private conversation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When I asked him how else technology has helped him outside of “text messaging” he said this, “…Interesting question. For me it allows expression through writing. It allows me to have closer mental relationships and companionships with people which I wouldn’t have otherwise. It allows me to practice videos with lyrics for my band pursuits (he is an ex drummer and singer for various local metal bands), and I’ve met some really wonderful and unique people via the internet, some of which I’m honored to call family. As far as romantic liaisons…you’ll just have to find me and find out for yourself.”</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Itty-Bitty-Lulu-Book-ebook/dp/B00NWSUYFI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413829832&sr=8-1&keywords=adventures+of+itty+bitty+and+lulu" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCiUdQm_dpApM0gCcHhquQdkcAOiXerAN_Tr3sFwXMBtz1oLSG-_0PDXhyphenhyphenhD6NhQkKDwqPmXIFQRH3qVYc6z94svIumKO97H1u45RI2F6O6qe_ac3bmWU62o7vQL1DZH95zdRW0O2YCUw/s1600/lulu.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Technology has also allowed him to fulfil the dream of publishing his first children’s book, <i><b>The Adventures of Itty Bitty and Lulu</b></i> which can be found on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Itty-Bitty-Lulu-Book-ebook/dp/B00NWSUYFI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413829832&sr=8-1&keywords=adventures+of+itty+bitty+and+lulu</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-41504455367642315142015-02-17T22:18:00.000-05:002015-02-17T22:18:12.158-05:00Book Review: "How to Age" by Anne Karpf<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This blog post is to satisfy an assignment for LS 581
Universal Design for Information Technologies which is a course that focuses on
aging, ageism, and disability in correlation to technology. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Book Review: <i>How to Age</i> by Anne Karpf published in 2014. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwU5UcM-BToKQGRceRUvp9v2__Wtab8w9g2bjtw0W4MIOhRJ72qEyVvsA-m07Mf2pH5aBej5PW04EHnt17L9gDAgN65nJzt3zfbyE0uBvmeJJQjJD6MJxVS_zn_78L1jkZ0NBCvmeZCsM/s1600/age.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwU5UcM-BToKQGRceRUvp9v2__Wtab8w9g2bjtw0W4MIOhRJ72qEyVvsA-m07Mf2pH5aBej5PW04EHnt17L9gDAgN65nJzt3zfbyE0uBvmeJJQjJD6MJxVS_zn_78L1jkZ0NBCvmeZCsM/s1600/age.jpg" height="200" width="127" /></a></div>
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This small handheld book covers the topic of aging in approximately
200 pages. But do not be fooled, it is a witty and charming read. Krapf, a
sociologist and award winning journalist, discusses the history and the many cultural
views of aging. She talk about various trends and stereotypes like newest trend
, the “youthful old”, the impossible ideals that may stress someone beyond
their 40s thinking they will become old and decrepit. The chapters are broken
up with examples of aging famous people and interesting facts, like where the
word “fogey” came from. <o:p></o:p></div>
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She takes on the fear of aging head on with sound confidence
that truly there is nothing to fear, just to embrace life for all it’s worth. She
gives a different insight to aging, why not simply age gracefully? She urges
readers to think about how they want to be when they hit a particular age, to
be proud of your age and realize that aging is not the end of the world. It’s
life. <o:p></o:p></div>
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“Age zestfully!”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Her very personable approach to the topic makes you feel
like you are engaged in a conversation rather than reading a lecture.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Beware, if you are looking for a fact book, this is not it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I gave it a 4 out of 5. Worth the read. Support your local
library and check out a copy!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-67152297780490263152015-01-19T11:30:00.003-05:002015-01-19T11:30:34.174-05:00LS 581 Blogpost 1 & 2 - Thoughts on Aging and Technology<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Background:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">What is Ageism? Here are two. Robert
Butler (1969) coined the term ageism defined as, “negative attitudes towards
aging”. New Ageism coined later by R. A. Kalish (1979) and C.L. Estes (1979)
came up with a kinder definition of, “the desire to help older people who need
special treatment due to poor health, poverty or lack of social supporters.
Although this positive form of ageism tries to do good, it supports the
stereotype of old age as a time of decline and loss.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">What is a disability? The ADA
considers a person to have a disability if: He or she has a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits one or more of his/her major life
activities; he or she has a record of such an impairment; or he or she is
regarded as having such an impairment. The ADA is divided into five titles:
Title I requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for
applicants and employees with disabilities and prohibits discrimination on the
basis of disability in all aspects of employment. It also regulates medical
examinations and inquires. Title II, public services (which include state and
local government agencies, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, and
other commuter authorities) cannot deny services to people with disabilities or
deny participation in programs or activities that are available to people
without disabilities. In addition, public transportation systems, such as
public transit buses, must be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Title III requires that all new construction and modifications must be
accessible to individuals with disabilities. For existing facilities, barriers
to services must be removed if readily achievable. Title IV Telecommunications
companies offering telephone service to the general public must have telephone
relay service to individuals who use telecommunication devices for the deaf
(TTYs) or similar devices. Title V includes a provision prohibiting either (a)
coercing or threatening or (b) retaliating against individuals with
disabilities or those attempting to aid people with disabilities in asserting
their rights under the ADA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">ICF is the measurement and policy
formulations for health and disability. It is a universal classification system
of disability and health for use in health-related sectors. ICF is named as it
is because of its stress is on health and functioning, rather than on
disability. Once upon a time, disability began where health ended and therefore
placed in a separate category. ICF is a tool for measuring a person's level of
health and their ability of function in society, no matter what the reason for
one's impairments. It is very versatile and can be used for a number of uses,
like as a planning and policy tool for decision-makers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">The BMW model is focused on the
equal access of information to patrons with invisible or temporary disabilities
that the ADA may overlook. They define an individual with a disability as one
who is despite their health condition; they will experience limiting factors
when accessing information. They believe that disability is socially created
problem and the direct effect of the environment, therefore the more limiting
the environment, the stronger the disability. In the library setting there
should be dialog between the professional and the patron to help facilitate
receiving of information, empower them to retrieve information themselves by
pulling down barriers that blocks this process. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Thoughts:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">My in initial statement for my
“elderly” drawing: An elderly woman comes into the library using the walker as
her means of support. Smaller and frailer, she takes her time, trembling as she
placed her books on the circulation desk counter, refusing any help at all. She
doesn’t want to be asked, I already got yelled at by her last week for
offering. Her reserved James Patterson novel is on hold, and she collects the
book. She is so thrilled that her eyes light up. Next she slowly makes her way
to the public computers to check her Facebook really quick, mostly to see pics
of her grandkids. She doesn’t need help, but appreciates if someone would hold
the computer chairs steady for her as she transfers herself from the walker to
the chair. When she pulls out her card, taped to the back of it is her library
card number and pin number, rewritten by me and taped on, so she can see it
better, even with her glasses. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">The only thing I found not referenced in these two articles that
always comes to mind when everyone talks about equality and such, in Florida,
especially in the Southeast part (never live down here), we cannot touch
anybody. People are so eager to sue someone that if someone falls, you hesitate
between helping and just calling the ambulance. For us, we have fire rescue
right next to us, so they gladly come over, after we have received the patron’s
verbal permission, to come and help them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">I do often come across the whole gap
in technology with, oddly enough, not the ageing population, BUT the population
of those in their 20s. At least half that come in cannot type, surf the
internet, or even compose an email. I find I have far less issues with the
elderly community, they are eager to learn and only ask for basic help. The
20-somethings want you to do it for them. So maybe this whole technology gap
applies to people in different demographics. Even my father used a computer
into his 80s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">My initial statement for my
“disabled” drawing: A limping older woman leans on her cane to enter the
library to use the computer. But she is seasonal and comes from Canada every
year so she has to see me to update her account. This year, she notices the layout
of the computers are different, there are more computers, than last year. She
comes to see me and I wave and smile, and immediately welcome her without using
my voice, making sure I pronounce my syllables. Then I hand her a pad and paper
– she is deaf. We exchange a simple conversation. She hands me her card, no
changes to her address and phone number, and I update it. I carefully, and
silently, explain the new sign in procedure, but I know she likes a little
extra space and the new layout is tighter and more claustrophobic, so since she
comes in the morning, when the children’s area is empty, I show her how to log
in on a child’s computer. She is thankful for the extra space and less people.
She knows she unknowingly makes “noise” from her throat that is loud, and
prefers to be a bit more secluded. We have no issues accommodating her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Most of the time, I am not aware that I do not use “people-first language”.
When I write something up, it is more prominent. The community our library
serves are mostly people of foreign origin, mostly Hispanic, so when I talk to
them I chose simpler and more condensed wording. It is easier for them to
understand and easier for me to not have to try and explain when I am alone
most of the day. I switch that mind process off when in general conversation or
writing and then I use people – first language. I know that some people prefer
“hearing impaired”, but I find it interesting that the deaf refer to themselves
as deaf, rather than hearing impaired, or at least the many I have encountered.
I worked at a mental health facility and we had three regular clients who
always called themselves “deaf”. At the library, we have 4 patrons who are
hearing impaired who call themselves “deaf”. Of course in conversation with
others and in writing, I use the term hearing impaired, but I find it
fascinating how “pc” terms are not always used or less preferred. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">As for fairness, I can easily see
how allowing the Canadian woman to sit in the children’s area could cause
trouble, but we had a meeting over this, years ago, we figure, as long as no
one complains that she gets to be over there, it is fine. We actually some many
patrons complain that she was too “noisy” and this was our only solution that
would appease both sides and we felt as if everyone won. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">When considering disability, I do
feel as if we have to consider all definitions and all aspects of the
situation. Rules and codes are there as a reference and I believe it is up to
the institution to incorporate those rules into their policies, but people’s
individual circumstance varies. There are variable kinds of disability and if I
had to chose which disability definition to follow, I could not. It would need
to be a combination of all three, with wiggle room. To limit ourselves to only
one definition; I feel it would prove moot when the variety of disability is as
unique as the individual.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-62830880235846806042014-07-06T13:20:00.000-04:002014-07-06T13:20:06.231-04:00Interesting reference links for story research and writing: Florida, Orkney Islands, Floklore, USA, Georgia. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm always running across some really amazing webpages when researching for my book, library school project/paper, and character background for D&D. I thought I share the love since these people work so hard to put all this amazing information together in a very organized well referenced manner. Maybe their content will help you too.<br />
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1. <a href="http://www.angel.ge/fashion/68992-samoselipirveli.html" target="_blank">Georgia, Love Your Country, Love your Chokha</a>. These beautiful historical costumes are made by Samoseli Pirveli who is all about keeping the traditional costuming of Georgian Republic alive. You can rent these gorgeous costumes in Georgia. After creating two characters from this diverse region, I am also in love with the chohka and the chakura. Gorgeous visual reference to inspire! Mr. Samoseli has a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Samoseli-Pirveli/156269674486056" target="_blank">Facebook</a> account and you can be updated with new costumes and news.<br />
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2. <a href="http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/index.html" target="_blank">SurLaLune Fairytales</a>: What an absolute find this was! They feature 49 annotated (shortened versions) fairy tales, AND include their histories, AND the similar version of the tale across cultures, AND their modern interpretations, as well as the titles of the books that have the full versions (to find at the library or buy). This is a great research site because if you were looking for all the versions of Cinderella, they have it, then you can go out and buy/borrow it. <br />
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3. <a href="http://www.americanfolklore.net/index.html" target="_blank">American Folklore</a>: another find to bookmark and keep! This site contains retelling of folktales, myths, legends, fairy tales, superstitions, weather-lore, and ghost stories from all over the America. They even have a section for those new to American folktales (Who was Paul Bunyan?) or are curious about something (Why is a black cat bad luck?). They even have some great spooky American ghost stories!<br />
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4. <a href="http://www.wildflorida.com/index.php" target="_blank">Wild Florida Eco Travel Guide</a>: Florida?? Yes. Most of my stories are based in Florida because we have such a weird history here, and we are so much more than tourism. This guide is very comprehensive about the flora and fauna here in Florida, and it even goes over invasive species. you can search by category (ie, frogs, flowers, etc) or by name.<br />
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5. <a href="http://www.orkneyjar.com/folklore/index.html" target="_blank">Orkneyjar, the Heritage of the Orkney Islands</a>: The Orkney Islands are a cold remote island off of Scotland. Based on the idea that the people are no longer telling folktales (it's reviving!), the creator of this site built a beautiful site in preserving the unique tales of this island alive. If you are looking for bizarre mer-folk (mermaid) tales, tales of magical beings, ghosts, Valkyries, and Arthurian legends, etc. this is the place to go to. All these tales revolve around the dark cold water around them, and they have such beautiful disturbing feel. There is also a link to the heritage or the Orkney Islands. <br />
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6. <a href="http://www.creepypasta.com/" target="_blank">CreepyPasta</a>: Don't let the silly title fool you. You have to be 18 and up to enter this site because the horror short stories on here will keep you up at night. Seriously, the Russian Sleep Experiment kept me thinking for days. The short stories revolve around ghosts, secret societies, and cults. They are not for the faint of heart. And there are some very good people (like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/MrCreepyPasta/videos" target="_blank">MrCreepyPasta</a>) who recite these stories on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/MrCreepyPasta/videos" target="_blank">YouTube</a>.<br />
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That's it. I realized I had a lot so I'll do another one in the future of artists I found. Hope this helps some of you discover new things.<br />
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Cheers!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-71900354336203633482014-06-19T12:16:00.001-04:002014-06-19T12:16:40.502-04:00May Baking<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's always been a while. I have finally recuperated from my May class (says a lot in itself). I took some time off this month to work on my writing and baking. Today I just want to throw this up with my progress in baking.<br />
<br />
Victorian sponge: I was very proud of my frosting for this. Part homemade buttercream and part heavy whipping cream, this turned out to be the ultimate whipped frosting that my husband will eat. Not too sweet, light and fluffy, but not going to fall apart in the Florida humidity. The cake itself still needs work in the texture. This was the third attempt.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjC61l_C_rvv9AHcrA7CUqWOgTp2AMgAugjq-jnldRTTbE0jBeLYPjFllaiBOXE60NKVqIdCKUaQRCOBjgEqna0_u9vzneLSJL8G74VwI_L5x81xRnrcvdj4ZaCsj2tMjFYSja9p1iM0w/s1600/SAM_0576_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjC61l_C_rvv9AHcrA7CUqWOgTp2AMgAugjq-jnldRTTbE0jBeLYPjFllaiBOXE60NKVqIdCKUaQRCOBjgEqna0_u9vzneLSJL8G74VwI_L5x81xRnrcvdj4ZaCsj2tMjFYSja9p1iM0w/s1600/SAM_0576_small.jpg" height="150" width="200" /> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHwohikE6v3GmKOyOWpvgdHg65nebVSoAf09nxQNoqAe_RUFlO0Wjq2lslVrNCaO-xZVyTVM_Pr9QPhqxUFBg1IAqr-hjiqWkAFTja-Z8pmDIiUghiQEzMJrfzWcXuKJ9r50Jco_zwWA/s1600/SAM_0574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqHwohikE6v3GmKOyOWpvgdHg65nebVSoAf09nxQNoqAe_RUFlO0Wjq2lslVrNCaO-xZVyTVM_Pr9QPhqxUFBg1IAqr-hjiqWkAFTja-Z8pmDIiUghiQEzMJrfzWcXuKJ9r50Jco_zwWA/s1600/SAM_0574.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4qqVXRJI0kbVnT0NvvqaQXRjcSYI9FNTf2uIczpjzNXpLQiE1RMzzipZU8cu8ZZMrB6cJ7rx3gcw6HQNiQePIk76bPHjDkDUjAzVkqSOGPKCcEjqZZKmQRS9BLVd4ihkKVto7LIGXio/s1600/SAM_0580_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp4qqVXRJI0kbVnT0NvvqaQXRjcSYI9FNTf2uIczpjzNXpLQiE1RMzzipZU8cu8ZZMrB6cJ7rx3gcw6HQNiQePIk76bPHjDkDUjAzVkqSOGPKCcEjqZZKmQRS9BLVd4ihkKVto7LIGXio/s1600/SAM_0580_small.jpg" height="200" width="186" /></a></div>
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<br />
Blueberry pie: Which is my ultimate favorite. As much as I do like the other pies, what I cannot understand is why you want to disguise the delicious fruit with tablespoons of cinnamon and cloves (which obliterates every flavor), gobs of syrup, and/or a boat-load of sugar? That's the beauty of fruit pies, just enjoy them. I made this during Father's Day as an homage to my father who was the best pie maker I ever ran across. I did tweak his recipe a bit because his blueberry pie was always very runny (used corn starch). Blueberry pie is one that can make in my sleep because it's so easy. The dough, well, still working on it. :) I realized that we actually threw away the rolling pin because it was nothing but splinters, but I had an unopened bottle of wine from our anniversary that worked just dandy! This time I worked on making it look aesthetically pleasing as well as tasty!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgwIQU1trWMmP3uDugfWCtDCTP2gbkjQjETV3UF1TNwL01FbmYOpR2I1DN939srX6k61k1wHt6B2NnrHx9zTz5fW9UpNp7DE8Wtit7iPR2joaOd7vcYE8ZrFAl5kjJ-VOUcetMouvLQP0/s1600/SAM_0610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgwIQU1trWMmP3uDugfWCtDCTP2gbkjQjETV3UF1TNwL01FbmYOpR2I1DN939srX6k61k1wHt6B2NnrHx9zTz5fW9UpNp7DE8Wtit7iPR2joaOd7vcYE8ZrFAl5kjJ-VOUcetMouvLQP0/s1600/SAM_0610.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UVXg_EQIyUlCKN2VePP5atjghB3-BluUe9BPI1U4a31sqP7SUhKPju3J4I7Qa32rnt_aag5KHNfU7rzHGsETwETzdDStKZg5Hs2WCkq_yosScSWO9W3bPv88u_XhozktwIzcnV7th6U/s1600/SAM_0612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UVXg_EQIyUlCKN2VePP5atjghB3-BluUe9BPI1U4a31sqP7SUhKPju3J4I7Qa32rnt_aag5KHNfU7rzHGsETwETzdDStKZg5Hs2WCkq_yosScSWO9W3bPv88u_XhozktwIzcnV7th6U/s1600/SAM_0612.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
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<br />
Next entry I'll be sharing some really great references I found online while researching for my writing!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-86110961119680385632014-04-07T12:10:00.000-04:002014-04-07T12:11:46.159-04:00The Joys of Researching: Armenia, LibGuides, RPGs, and Persian music!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Enjoy this little quickie, y’all! I've been in a pensive mood lately thanks to a few random, slightly forced into circumstances that I am not complaining over.<br />
<br />
I cannot tell you how much fun it is to research. Most people think, "Oh gracious in a pastry! You are just running into dead-ends, starting over, and looking at stuff that doesn't even help! And it's boring!"<br />
<br />
<i>Nein.</i> What was that saying? "It's not the destination, but the journey that is most rewarding."<br />
<br />
So I have a few topics as of late that requires further investigation. For my LibGuide, I am working on building a resource site as an introduction to Persian/Sufi poets. I will post it when I'm done at the end of the semester. Through that process I have been teaching myself how to use databases that are available to me through the University of Alabama. At Ringling (where I got my BFA) and my current library, we have none. So on my search for finding videos that “sing” the poems, I came across this guy, Homayoun Shajarian. Oh my goodness, talk about a voice that gives you goosebumps! He sings classical Persian and surprisingly he sings from all of the poets minus Omar Khayyam (we’ll the man was a scientist first, so…).<br />
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Here is his newest song, singing Simin Bebahani’s poem “Why did you leave me?”.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ydlLBigOeMM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br />
Then thanks to a friend, I got dragged into a game using the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savage_Worlds" target="_blank">Savage World</a> base and the <a href="http://www.thesteampunkempire.com/profiles/blogs/victoria-rpg" target="_blank">Victoria RPG</a> setting. At first I wasn’t sure I had the mental state to actually pull this off since my characters from my book are demanding a lot of my time, and my school projects are draining. Nope, this was exactly what I needed. I haven’t played Dungeons and Dragons in a year, so I need a game. Our DM (dungeon master), a history teacher, to me makes the perfect guy to run this kind of setting (1880s – late Victorian era). He has been exceptionally flexible in me using D&D 3.5 rules for my character’s dog. And in trying to find digital version of the 3.5 rules for my character’s dog, I ran into a music group AGAIN that I overlooked the first time. How could I? Modern 80’s music! Oh yeah!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/ilovefuturecop/featured" target="_blank">Futurecop!</a> (love the unicorn logo!) This should be the kind of music playing on the radio!</div>
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<br />
So, the research for my character’s background begins like most of my characters that I write about, but this guy, really makes me feel thankful for all that research I did for my Georgian character in my book. This guy is Armenian, and I am delved into his role as deacon in the Armenian Apostolic Church which was as foreign to me as eating monkey brains. By the time I got as far as I am now, I learned a lot about this country’s history and I am thoroughly impressed at how they’ve isolated their language and their religion. I did not know Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity, nor did I know that scientists study the language because it is so unique and it shares almost no resemblance to it's neighboring countries's languages. I found some wacky things along the way when researching names, but overall, it has been a fun experience, which is making me write a novelette for his background.<br />
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I’m sure the DM won’t mind. :P<br />
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Happy writing!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-8333879695812053772014-03-13T18:58:00.001-04:002014-03-13T18:59:29.560-04:00Women in Technology Part 3 of 4!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As I flipped through Fast Company, again, I came across an excerpt from an article written by Jillian Goodman who works for Fast Company. Of course their website did not have the full article. But <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/10/14/zuckerberg_gates_back_teaching_coding_in_school/" target="_blank">SALON</a> did (thank you!). <br />
<br />
On October 14, 2013, Jillian Gooodman wrote an article that talked about how Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and some guy from Miami Heat (wait, athletes are educated? Really? Then why aren’t they proud and showing off their learning skills and being rolemodels for children? Isn’t that why we pay them millions of dollars?), came together and talked about how they feel it is important that every school child knows how to code. <br />
<br />
This idea launched <a href="http://code.org/">Code.or</a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null">g</a>, a website for educators to help prepare lessons to teach coding to students. During Computer Science Education week (in early December), one hour a day should be dedicated not only to the history of computing (where Grace Hooper from my previous technology entry is mentioned), and the founders are taught, but also learning how to do basic coding (like HTML markup language). Computing in the Core, developed hour long lessons to teach kids to code in various platforms. Their goal to not let coding be for a dedicated few, but for everyone.<br />
<br />
Eventually their goal is to have coding as an option in for highschool instead of math or science. According to the excerpt in Fast Company Magazine, schools in Tennessee were already implementing this. <br />
<br />
Melodie Hillier, TechStart's Event and Program Manager at the Tampa Bay Technology Forum, reported that last week, her company introduced Code.org to 21 Hillsborough County school teachers. So this is already here in Florida!<br />
<br />
My thoughts were, “oh, this is the way for the government to make more minimum waged jobs. Taking away specializations in the computing field.”<br />
<br />
My husband had a different outlook on the article. Since he has been in computers for over 18 years, he said that honestly, there is nothing wrong with the idea, just the way they are going about it. He rather see kids learn now what coding is like so they don’t waste their money in college “thinking” they want to be programmers, engineers or comp science majors. They get there and are overwhelmed at what it REALLY is. <br />
<br />
I countered with this: even still, there’s a huge difference between computer science and computer programming. One is more physics and math based than the other. Why have this wipe out a math or science class, when you need those basics to be a computer engineer? Why can’t they offer is as an elective?<br />
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The answer, lack of money going to schools.<br />
<br />
What is your take? <br />
<br />
And then I wondered if they were going to focus on teaching girls to code or is it just another subject matter that they will flaunt towards boys. Because we all saw what happened with Tinker Toys, oh no, lets sue a company trying to show girls that it’s awesome to be engineers. <br />
Within my research to see if there were any endeavors to teach girls code had launched around this time, I came across two programs:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.girlsteachinggirlstocode.org/" target="_blank">Girls Teaching Girls Code</a> is a mentoring program that has its upcoming code camp in April 2014. They tell it better than I can.<br />
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<a href="http://girlswhocode.com/" target="_blank">Girls Who Code</a> Seshma Raujani is a huge advocate for closing the gender gap in STEM based subject areas (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), and was the first South Asian woman to run for Congress. In 2012 she started this endeavor to show girls that coding is fun and a very important need in the future of technology. She uses stats from the US Department of labor who estimates that by 2020 there will be 14 million computer-based jobs, and she wants women to fill half of them. According to the same stats, 14% of the women graduates are going into a computer science related field. While back in the 1980s, it was 37%.<br />
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I wonder what happened?<br />
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<br />
<br />
------------ LS560 Below----------<br />
(2014). Girls Who Code. Retrieved from http://girlswhocode.com/<br />
<br />
(2014). Teaching Girls to Code. Retrieved from http://www.girlsteachinggirlstocode.org/<br />
<br />
Goodman, J. (2013, October 14). Zuckerberg, Gates back teaching coding in school<br />
Does every child need to learn computer science? Fast Company Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.salon.com/2013/10/14/zuckerberg_gates_back_teaching_coding_in_school/<br />
<br />
Hillier, M. [MelodieHillier]. (2014, March 10). Last week TechStart introduced @codeorg to 21 Hillsborough teachers. Excited to visit their classrooms in April! pic.twitter.com/qzDVT6KxgD. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/MelodieHillier/status/443044476181688321/photo/1<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-13737745030533937812014-03-08T23:12:00.000-05:002014-03-08T23:14:50.572-05:00Wasted week, but I found K-Pop!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So my husband has returned home from his trip with a friend that came from Australia. <br />
<br />
Of course, I thought I would get SO MUCH done while he was gone. You know the important things like:<br />
<br />
1. Writing without any disruptions.<br />
2. Cleaning the house.<br />
3. Shopping.<br />
4. See a couple of friends.<br />
<br />
Well, yeah right. One of my professors turned into a dinosaur and nearly stressed me out over a paper. I spent all of my time working on it.<br />
<br />
I have at least worked on a couple of random scenes that needed my attention. I did hang out with a coworker over tea and Lebanese food. And I did do the fastest clothing shopping ever for my husband. Oh, and I did get the bathroom cleaned. <br />
<br />
When it was too late in the night after working on homework (like 3am) and I needed to calm my mind. I found myself catching up on my <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/CardGamesFTW">Yu-Gi-Oh The Abridged Series</a> (because that crap is hilarious (you have to start from the beginning). I am in love with Melvin, one of the villains. His best like is, "Who wants a hug?!" said with the most evilest of laughs.<br />
<br />
I've always loved J-POP (I still die for X-JAPAN), because even in the 90's Japanese music videos were a billion times better than the crap we have here in the US. Randomly, for whatever reason. I ran across K-POP (Korean pop). Don't ask me why, and I found this group called T-ARA.Like Japanese music videos, they have "drama" versions of their songs where they make like mini-films. Holy poop on a stick. I am in LOVE. This are the two music videos, which are "Cry Cry" (Part 1) and "Lovey Dovey" (Part 2) put together. Thanks to Haqita ChanHan for adding the English Subs!<br />
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Enjoy all!<br />
Now back to writing!<!--3--></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-50512460881497397112014-02-20T10:56:00.002-05:002014-02-20T11:00:58.276-05:00Women in Technology Part 2 of 4<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Okay, fellow readers, let's continue on the Women in Technology Theme! This will take the place of another year I horrifically neglected to share something for International Women's Day (it's called being busy) and of course for my LS 560 course. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This one comes from Fast
Company Magazine that led me on a wild goosechase to find the full article. Which is usually the trend for this magazine.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Fast Company comes to the
house in my sister’s name, which is strange because she’s all into fashion…and
this magazine is far from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">haut couture</i>.
Each glossy page is flooded with pictures of hipsters who wear clothing far too
tight, paying $20 for a frap-crap-hold-the-fat-sprinkle-the-blood-of-laboures-iced-latte-but-not-latte
coffee from Starbucks, with egos the size of China, talk about how they cannot
poop without their iPhones.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">But like with every publication, if you sift through the garbage, you might find something interesting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">So this issue surprisingly had an snip-it of an article about <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3018610/arab-womens-tech-advantage">Middle Eastern women in computer science</a> which took me forever to find it on their website. </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhthJ6UhtZDjXOqdkTdjDzb1xH0mkBRwkoocnuIMb63gNySl1HNCxEUu43oOBOFx-38kfGUAFCBLGB5whgvLM-0rUsof4QfAAWPl3TJ1cfsaWVnUHfJ9jZT8EE67MQ_dNNlNgHxTlwUy7g/s1600/3018610-poster-p-next-arab-womens-tech-advantage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhthJ6UhtZDjXOqdkTdjDzb1xH0mkBRwkoocnuIMb63gNySl1HNCxEUu43oOBOFx-38kfGUAFCBLGB5whgvLM-0rUsof4QfAAWPl3TJ1cfsaWVnUHfJ9jZT8EE67MQ_dNNlNgHxTlwUy7g/s1600/3018610-poster-p-next-arab-womens-tech-advantage.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from Fast Company.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So other than bitter cold and the Winter Olympics, St. Petersburg, Russia hosted a computer convention
That Microsoft puts out called the <a href="https://www.imaginecup.com/">Imagine Cup</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There waltzes in
a group of Arab women from Oman and Qatar, and people are surprised that the
female gender from the Middle East can do more than just produce babies and
wear hijab. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Asya al-Jabrl, 22 year old student from Muscat, Oman
had a crying frustrated 9 year old cousin who couldn’t learn. His tears moved
her and after he got tested for dyslexia, she gathered two other students (Marwa
al-Habsi and </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Safa Almukhaini</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, both 22) and created
ReadX. It won them a spot at the Microsoft sponsored event.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
Another group of women from Qatar came led by <span style="color: windowtext;">Latifa al-Naimi</span>, a 20 year old computer
science student from Qatar University. Her team developed <a href="http://www.artouch.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext;">Artouch</span></a>, a device that allows museum-goers to connect with artifacts
on exhibit in her country. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiK1kwFuNYYdz-vxEMJ9HANrs0MrBTixvM_ovFooKKoiGDIBFheLomMPRIBiKV46TiEgx9IzYkxusq06MGJPRu-7IyU7-JU0PeV3fzKvUY5ieznA3OXFLF6cqU2oreBLeQyACodcQDfvk/s1600/20120331_BKP001_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiK1kwFuNYYdz-vxEMJ9HANrs0MrBTixvM_ovFooKKoiGDIBFheLomMPRIBiKV46TiEgx9IzYkxusq06MGJPRu-7IyU7-JU0PeV3fzKvUY5ieznA3OXFLF6cqU2oreBLeQyACodcQDfvk/s1600/20120331_BKP001_0.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sheika al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It was inspired by Sheika al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the
former Emir of Qatar, who has plastered the pages of Bloomberg Business Week
and Forbes magazine as the “<a href="http://www.economist.com/node/21551443">art culture queen of the world</a>”. She has developed
the art culture in Qatar, emphasizing its education.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The attendees of the event seemed surprised, but the female teams did not see
anything special about it. Both said that back home, coding is taught starting
in high school for anyone to pursue, and that they do not care if they work in
an all-female team or a mixed one with boys.<br />
<br />
Even though Imagine cup welcomes teams from the participating 71 countries,
only 3 teams had women in them – one from Oman, Qatar, and the last one from
Portugal.<br />
<br />
What, wait? Seriously? America, I expected better. :/ Shouldn’t
we be leading innovation created by women? Isn’t that what we try to portray to
the world, that we value our educated women??? Guess not.<br />
<br />
In the same article, as they continued on about how the Gulf States, are
really pushing for their women to be educated, it moved back to us, in the US.
It shared an image that went viral in June 2013 from an Apple Convention in San
Francisco. As you can see, there are no women in line to use the bathroom.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-IB81C0vh18WpBbULyYxE0w946yXhKXu5bFnSJtr40jCh8k5rK9hv1_2oazMOpBGXUyygf1QlUFlLihfmpNod1RiXcgvDDYEYDn2ZYnzZJ93j44ub0Uzqg_Q-Gr9ZwX4HxqZPEXQtrA/s1600/3018610-inline-i-1-next-arab-womens-tech-advantage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-IB81C0vh18WpBbULyYxE0w946yXhKXu5bFnSJtr40jCh8k5rK9hv1_2oazMOpBGXUyygf1QlUFlLihfmpNod1RiXcgvDDYEYDn2ZYnzZJ93j44ub0Uzqg_Q-Gr9ZwX4HxqZPEXQtrA/s1600/3018610-inline-i-1-next-arab-womens-tech-advantage.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by: Dan Akerman/CNET</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Hrm, take what you want from the photo, but means a lot when women were
there at computer science’s inception, creating languages and computers. Why
are movies and books about jerks like Steve Jobs getting fandom like he was a
god? Strong dedicated women get forgotten, but foul-tempered narcissists get
recognized? What kind of a message are we sending to both girls and boys who
represent our future?<br />
<br />
Something wrong with this picture (literally and figuratively).<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><b>Thanks to (LS 560 Info):</b></u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Lemon, Gayle Tzemach. (2013) Arab Women's Tech Advantage: Middle Eastern countries sent two all-female teams to Microsoft's Imagine cup this year. That's not as surprising as it sounds. <i>Fast Company</i>. Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/3018610/arab-womens-tech-advantage<br />
<br />
Microsoft Imagine Cup. (2014) Retrieved from https://www.imaginecup.com<br />
<br />
Qatar’s Culture Queen Mar. (2012) <i>The Economist</i>. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/21551443<br />
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-57933006500860298852014-01-23T10:36:00.004-05:002014-01-23T10:39:08.103-05:00 Women in Technology Part 1 of 4<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Okay, fellow readers, nicely folded into
the usual baking, library thoughts, and travel news, there will be some tech-based entries for a few months for my IT class. Since it has been a few years that I had done my yearly "women doing awesome stuff" post - my topic for these tech posts are "Women in Technology - Doing Awesome Stuff".</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span></span>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I cannot even begin to write anything about technology unless I begin with the woman who taught computers to understand words.</span></span></h2>
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December in 2013, was the 107<sup>th</sup>
birthday of the first female computer programmer, <a href="http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/hopper_grace.htm">Rear Admiral Grace MurrayHopper, USNR, (1906-1992)</a>.</span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Hold on! If you dare to call yourself a "super awesome computer geek" and do not know who she is,
stop and take a moment to slap yourself (really hard). Feel the burn? Continue reading.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Grace Hopper graduated with her degree
in mathematics at Vassr College (and taught there from 1931-1943) and then got
her PhD at Yale University in 1934. That same year she joined the Navy Reserve.
Immediately she was assigned to work on the embryonic electronic computer (means that they can think for themselves). She
worked her way up the ranks and finally became Rear Admiral in 1985. Top this
day, she is the oldest woman in the armed forces at the age of 76. After she
retired in 1986, she stayed teaching about computers, programming and concepts
related to time (such as nanoseconds [see below for video]) until her death in 1992. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Her only regret
was not being able to see the 21<sup>st</sup> century. She wanted to celebrate
December 31, 1999, and look back at how far computers had developed, thanks to
her knowledge, skill, and dedication.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0x5dkWS6OaTQRxaYDVUGFXKHJgtvEvZQlLaaTOruKT_WO0llX04jyGETWK8eRVsUObkdZWssA1PBw3syzQ3PLQl7BJ2yCpWiNS6y8JVKY7nSFhBBNhPwO9r0fLRcJANqp6A06V6czDpA/s1600/bugincomputer.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0x5dkWS6OaTQRxaYDVUGFXKHJgtvEvZQlLaaTOruKT_WO0llX04jyGETWK8eRVsUObkdZWssA1PBw3syzQ3PLQl7BJ2yCpWiNS6y8JVKY7nSFhBBNhPwO9r0fLRcJANqp6A06V6czDpA/s1600/bugincomputer.jpeg" height="265" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">She loved numbers and puzzles, and
coined the term “bug in the computer”, because when she was working at Harvard
in 1945 on an experimental machine called the Mark I, something malfunctioned.
Opening it up, she found an actual bug in the computer.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">She changed the world of early computers
by creating COBOL (Common Business Orientated Language), which means that the
computers can respond to commands typed in words rather than a number sequence.
She worked on Mark II and Mark III and designed and created another computer
called UNIVAC I (still in use). </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisv3FvK5OCxNL733OcH7PKLBGeY20LrvWeIWomChOmozTshgh-7ayUBSVe49VeuRjsY2eLn92cPuxSv5fKHU8MUd4Rk0b5vddAAYFHmulRMf4O27As7GUO5-0qtr0RvrwKoU49um_MJ6E/s1600/US_Navy_100713-N-7042V-027_USS_Hopper_%2528DDG_70%2529_sails_port_side_along_USS_Ronald_Reagan_%2528CVN_76%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisv3FvK5OCxNL733OcH7PKLBGeY20LrvWeIWomChOmozTshgh-7ayUBSVe49VeuRjsY2eLn92cPuxSv5fKHU8MUd4Rk0b5vddAAYFHmulRMf4O27As7GUO5-0qtr0RvrwKoU49um_MJ6E/s1600/US_Navy_100713-N-7042V-027_USS_Hopper_%2528DDG_70%2529_sails_port_side_along_USS_Ronald_Reagan_%2528CVN_76%2529.jpg" height="224" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>USS Hopper (DDG-70)</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">USS Hooper (DDG-70), a <span class="st">Arleigh Burke-class
guided missile destroyer, </span>is named after her. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I so want a battleship named after me! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">When she retired in 1986, she said this,
“Our young people are the future. We must provide for them. We must give them
the positive leadership they're looking for.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">That day, she was given the
highest award possible by the Department of Defense - the Defense Distinguished
Service Medal - one of many awards she received from both the Navy and
computing industry.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Today, there is a foundation named after
her to celebrate women in the computing field and the same organization pairing
up with the <a href="http://gracehopper.org/">Anita Borg Institute</a> to host a convention bringing women, who
are far and few, in the computing field, together, to be empowered, share
ideas, and network. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/JEpsKnWZrJ8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Grace Hopper explaining nanoseconds. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A huge thank you to the many men and women who serve in our armed forces! <a href="http://www.history.navy.mil/index.html">Naval History and Heritage</a>, website where I got most of Grace hopper's information from, also has a great feature up for February about African Americans in the Navy. Wonderful website, worth checking out! </span><br />
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<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Props: For my instructor, citations are below. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Alter, Charlotte. (2013). GoogleDoodle Honors Grace Hopper, Early Computer Scientist: Kicks off Computer
Science Education Week with Tribute to Woman Who Taught Computers to Use Words.
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Time News Feed</i>. Retrieved from <a href="http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/09/google-doodle-honors-grace-hopper-early-computer-scientist/#ixzz2rEUNKmkE">http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/09/google-doodle-honors-grace-hopper-early-computer-scientist/#ixzz2rEUNKmkE</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anita Borg Institute. (2014) Grace Hopper: Celebrating Women in Technology.
Retrieved from <a href="http://gracehopper.org/">http://gracehopper.org</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dickason, Elizabeth. (1992). Looking Back: Grace Murray Hopper's Younger Years.
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Biographies in Naval History: Rear
Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, USN, 9 December 1906 - 1 January 1992</i>.
Retrieved from<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <a href="http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/hopper_grace.htm">http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/hopper_grace.htm</a></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dickason, Elizabeth. (1992). Remembering Grace Murray Hopper: A Legend in
Her Own Time. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Biographies in Naval
History: Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, USN, 9 December 1906 - 1 January
1992</i>. Retrieved from<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> <a href="http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/hopper_grace.htm">http://www.history.navy.mil/bios/hopper_grace.htm</a></span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-22660323484596364942014-01-12T23:07:00.000-05:002014-01-12T23:07:11.074-05:00My Favorite Reads from 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I made this list for my sister, who wanted to know what I enjoyed last year since she wanted a few ideas. I asked her what she liked and she gave the vague answer of "anything". Be careful when you say "anything", you'd be surprised at what you get. </div>
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Honestly I was surprised that I read enough to put together a Top 13. There were others, but they didn't make the list for numerous reasons. </div>
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Now note that some of these books came out in 2012, but we did not get them in the library until 2013. Also some were recommendation from friends, so they might be older. But there is nothing wrong with discovering a book that had been poorly misrepresented/promoted, or just fell under the radar - a lot of delightful finds never make it to the NY best Sellers because that list is manned by people who play slight of hand. Sad. </div>
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From (in my opinion) great to awesome: I did mention the sensitive context for the squeamish people.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNn_fe4ehdOsI4XDJnvE5Q0hQTpPI219iDhwGm_VIJN0MXv9z1lQrdexcjRMEWd-YHi_2eiLCMhROKUKJKuBNh15aPRvuKEIOxvmtRDoeTGlGUEols3Cyx9cPakq6A-7LH0L6b8YvatU/s1600/inline-susan-cain-quiet-book-front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeNn_fe4ehdOsI4XDJnvE5Q0hQTpPI219iDhwGm_VIJN0MXv9z1lQrdexcjRMEWd-YHi_2eiLCMhROKUKJKuBNh15aPRvuKEIOxvmtRDoeTGlGUEols3Cyx9cPakq6A-7LH0L6b8YvatU/s1600/inline-susan-cain-quiet-book-front.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></div>
13. <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking/dp/0307352153/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389232431&sr=1-1&keywords=quiet">Quiet: Power of Introverts in World that Can't Stop Talking</a> by Susan Cain</b>. (01/2013) <i>Non Fiction</i> book about the surprising role of introverts in home, business, pleasure and parenthood. As an introvert, I enjoyed it. <br />
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12. <b><a href="http://www.christinefeehan.com/drake_sisters/index.php">The Drake Sisters Series</a> by Christine Feehan</b>. <b>(In order: Magic in the Wind, Oceans of Fire, Dangerous Tides, Safe Harbor, Turbulent Seas, Hidden Currents)</b> (2005-2010)<i> Paranormal Romance</i>.
If you don't read Feehan's work, she is violent. I love her because she
is not afraid to talk about bloodshed on page one. These sisters are
witches, and each book, each of them gets a man (what romance is about).
The stories are unique, each couple different, BUT there is kidnapping,
rape, trafficking, drugs, forced slavery, etc. Not by the men to the
sisters, but by the "villains" to the sisters. Her sex is rather pornographic.</div>
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11. <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Aquariums-Pyongyang-Years-North-Korean/dp/0465011047/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389233139&sr=1-1&keywords=aquariums">The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag</a> by Chol-hwan Kang</b>. (08/2005) <i>Non Fiction</i>.
A great account of Kang's unimaginable suffering in the camps and how
he is unable to adjust to life after he finished served his time. The
ending felt a bit rushed, like he was holding back, but worth the read. This whole book is about torture.</div>
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10. <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Orphan-Train-Christina-Baker-Kline/dp/0061950726/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389233407&sr=1-1&keywords=orphan+train">Orphan Train</a> by Christina Baker Kline</b>. (04/2013) <i>Historical Fiction</i>.
This book has made numerous reading lists across America about a little
known fact about the American West, there were orphan trains and bridal
trains. This book is about a surly foster girl who chooses to do
community service hours at a home of an old woman. While in her attic,
she stumbles across a past, and helps the woman find something she lost
in her life, her child. It's a touching book. Ending was lacking, but
you're satisfied. There is child labor and child molestation in this
book, but not in super detail. <br /><br />
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<span id="goog_1250309309"></span><span id="goog_1250309310"></span>9. <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/People-Who-Eat-Darkness-Tokyo--/dp/0374230595/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389233518&sr=1-1&keywords=people+who+eat+darkness">People Who Eat Darkness</a> by Richard Lloyd Parry</b>. (05/2012) <i>True Crime Non Fiction</i>.
It is based on the true events about the disappearance of Lucie
Blackman, a girl from the UK who goes to Japan and works in those
restaurants where girls sit and chitty-chat and pretend to be a
"girlfriend" without the sex. Parry goes to Japan to cover this story
and it is so engaging because not only it involves Japan and their
strict customs, but Blackman's psychotic family as they
storm to Japan and try to figure out something. The killer is a grade A
psychopath that makes Ted Bundy look like a pansy.<br />
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8. <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Safe-Haven-Nicholas-Sparks/dp/1455523550/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389234023&sr=1-1&keywords=safe+haven">Safe Haven</a> by Nicholous Sparks</b>. (12/2012) <i>Contemporary Romance</i>.
If you want a safe romance (no in-depth sex scenes) with a thriller
twist, here it is. I don't normally read his books because they are just
so, boring. But this one was different. After killing
her husband in self defense, she runs away to Safe Haven to start over.
She meets a single dad who owns the local bait and tackle shop. Life is
good and she's settling in when suddenly a stalker comes what seems like
out of nowhere to track her down. Who is this guy? Someone you'll
never expect. There are two great surprising twists in this story. </div>
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7. <b><a href="http://origamiyoda.com/">The Origami Yoda Series</a> by Tom Angleberger (The
Strange Case of Origami Yoda, Darth Paper Strikes Back, The Secret of
the Fortune Wookie, Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppet, Princess
Lablemaker to the Rescue)</b>. (2010 - 2014) <i>Middle grade children's chapter book</i>.
Want a super nerdy fun read? This is it! A bunch of loser guys at this
school comes together and with the power of origami Yoda, they win (not
really) the day. Too funny! <br />
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6.<b> Below Stairs by Margaret Powell</b>. (12/2012)<i> Biography</i>.
The true accounts of the maid who inspired Upstairs Downstairs and
Downton Abbey. Wonderful little biography. She was a fascinating woman
herself. I did a <a href="http://rebekahyami.blogspot.com/2012/07/below-stairs-how-gre-is-smashing-my.html">blog review</a> last year after I read it. </div>
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<b>5. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Angel-Christmas-Heather-Graham/dp/0778313948/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389236677&sr=1-1&keywords=an+angel+for+christmas+heather+graham">An Angel for Christmas</a> by Heather Graham</b>. (10/2012) <i>Paranormal Romance. </i>Nothing gets Christmas started best like when a dysfunctional family finds a bleeding cop facedown in the snow in their driveway.
Who is this guy? Is he really a cop? but here's a crazy murderer
causing havoc. She falls in love with the cop, but is he real or a ghost
tangled in an ancient war between good and evil? This book is very rated G. The only "oh!" moment is the mention of a shower and she's wearing a towel in the hallway. Oh my!<br />
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4.<b><a href="http://katiemacalister.com/books/">The Aisling Grey Guardian Series</a> by Katie MacAlister (You Slay Me, Fire Me Up, Light My Fire, Holy Smokes).</b> (2004 - 2007) <i>Paranormal Romance.</i>
This will make you spit milk from your nose because it is so damn
funny. Aisling finds out the hard way that she is a mate to a dragon,
not just any dragon, but the king of thieves, who loves shineys...much more than her. Throw
in a cast of weirdo paranormal misfits, a demon reject as her sidekick,
and a creepy taxi driver who shows up in every country she goes to, you
have a wacky adventure. I could not stop reading it, it was so funny.
Sex scenes are not pornographic, but there's biting. </div>
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3. <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Lily-Jodi-Lynn-Anderson/dp/0062003267/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389234637&sr=1-1&keywords=tiger+lily">Tiger Lily</a> by Jodi Anderson</b>. (07/2013)<i> YA fiction</i>.
Ever wondered about Tiger Lily from the Peter Pan stories? Anderson
brings a fantastical, gruesome, realistic, spin the the life of the
people in Tiger Lily's village, and who Tiger Lily was to Peter Pan. I
enjoyed it because it talks about how when we destroy a person, we
really destroy people. If you know who the Zuni Berdaches were, then it
would make sense, but regardless, your heart will ache in this story. It
was beautifully written. No sex, but it hints to a rape. </div>
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2. <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Enchanted-Life-Adam-Hope-Novel/dp/0062099442/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389235356&sr=1-1&keywords=the+enchanted+life+of+adam+hope">The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope</a> by Rhonda Riley</b>. (04/2013)<i> Fantasy/Fiction</i>.
A beautiful love story about a woman who digs a strange creature
out of the mud during a storm in 1950s midwest. This creature slowly
becomes woman, then into a man. And they embark on one of the most
sweetest love stories I have read in a long time. It is WEIRD, but
beautiful. Has mild sex scenes and drug use (during the 70s).</div>
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1. <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Black-Jewels-Trilogy-Daughter-Darkness/dp/0451529014/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389236179&sr=1-2&keywords=black+jewels+trilogy">The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop</a> (Daughter of the Blood, Heir to the Shadows, Queen of the Darkness)</b>. (1998-2000) <i>Dark fantasy/Horror.</i> For me, there will NEVER be a better trilogy of books written in <b>MY</b>
lifetime. This was one of the few books that have left me so empty, I
cried because I didn't want it to end. To me this is the epitome of what
dark fantasy/horror should be. Welcome to a miserable world where the
dark has been skewered by those with no power, through blood packs with
the Lord of Hell's wife (whom he is divorced from), the "humans" have
enslaved those with power, mostly men who have the power of the Jewels,
to meager slaves, robbing them of their pride and sanity. They hinge on
one hope that the "Queen of the Darkness" will be born and bring order and
peace again. It's really a story about a father who has been torn from
his sons. As the future queen is born, the Lord of Hell goes through
"hell" to bring her to him, especially when he finds out she is being
tortured as a child by family who think she's crazy. The young girl,
meets her "mate", who is a slave. He gives his life to protect her and
enters a shattered realm of madness to save her soul after she is
brutally raped and killed. Knowing that his mind is going, he shatters
his jewel to call his father (Lord of Hell) and his half-brother
(another slave in a distant land) to take her and keep her safe.
Recovering, she joins her "blood father" (Lord of Hell) and she grows
into a Queen to be feared and adored. She frees her mate from the bowels
of insanity and together they rage war, with her new kingdom. Gorgeous book,
and I cried like a baby at the end. Bishop wrote one of the best
"goodbye" scenes I have ever read. WARNING: This book if not for the faint of heart. There is rape (towards men), child rape, child prostitution, slavery, torture (like you
cannot imagine), burning, and "bitch" is used quite often. Book 1 is
brutal, B2 is much calmer as the Queen grows up, going to the point of
cute and funny, a nice break from the horror of B1. Book 3 is rough, but not as
bad as Book 1.
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Now go out and READ!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-53287143519379743902014-01-05T23:02:00.003-05:002014-01-05T23:02:56.322-05:00Happy New Year 2014!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, another year has arrived! Welcome aboard to 2014!<br />
<br />
Alot has happened since I wrote a blog entry:<br />
<br />
I finished my first semester of graduate school and will be starting a new one Thursday.<br />
I am currently stressing myself out over writing my first magazine article. I need to turn it in ASAP.<br />
I did a lot of baking that I neglected to put up here...I will render that.<br />
I received two beautiful thoughtful gifts for the holidays.<br />
We went on our first cruise (it was awesome).<br />
I attended my first professional workshop a month ago and I am still getting over the jitters.<br />
<br />
What I am looking forward to in 2014:<br />
Surviving another semester of school.<br />
Hosting my first event for April is for Authors. An emerging authors information workshop. <br />
My husband ever-so-kindly taking me out for sushi for my birthday/Valentine's Day (they are a day apart).<br />
The South Florida Fair!<br />
My sister coming to visit in a few months.<br />
More baking!<br />
More writing!<br />
And hopefully someone will love my vision enough to ask to read my manuscript.<br />
<br />
Merry New Year! Make it AWESOME!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-14090688905944492692013-09-19T22:08:00.001-04:002013-09-19T22:08:13.965-04:00Gradute School Week 5<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So I know it has been forever. I have been going through a period of transition in my life - rather favorable ones, thank you.<br />
<br />
Remember all my GRE madness and tears? Well I ended up being accepted into graduate school at my first choice, The University of Alabama. I am actually very excited and I feel very positive that I made the right choice. I am loving reading and discussing about the things (and then some) that I do on a daily basis. It really makes you re-evaluate yourself when you are going in depth about the principles of your future profession. I am so glad!<br />
<br />
My husband and I and a fantastical road trip to the University that housed many mis-adventures (as expected), but we came home alive and well.<br />
<br />
I have been delving into baking some more, I feel like it has become my catharsis from reading numerous articles, processing rather technical information and jargon-loaded language - I do enjoy it! I had my first paper due tonight and it ended up being a subject matter that I would LOVE to expand on in the future, maybe as a thesis or something.<br />
<br />
No worries! More baking fun to come! <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NpgXOWam8uY8syPMOS3McNaJi05KWuN1NY5AT9EPgtFM3cp2DWZ9hSp4qbcJkeHQMjpg27WOpSKBA8S9E5gd22qPFeSkAS0KjDmrojiHOlEBzFXkeVIC0SyXLw6nCV9sR8c3j_hVCTk/s1600/1116176_10151681927759457_1761450496_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5NpgXOWam8uY8syPMOS3McNaJi05KWuN1NY5AT9EPgtFM3cp2DWZ9hSp4qbcJkeHQMjpg27WOpSKBA8S9E5gd22qPFeSkAS0KjDmrojiHOlEBzFXkeVIC0SyXLw6nCV9sR8c3j_hVCTk/s400/1116176_10151681927759457_1761450496_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Group photo of my cohort. We are all distance students.</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-20399061217203910812013-03-27T09:57:00.001-04:002013-03-27T09:57:31.243-04:00Barbari & Beyaz Penir makes the Turkish Breakfast!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, as one might have guessed from the title that I made Barabri! And we also found Beyaz Penir (Turkish white cheese made from sheep's milk that tastes similar to feta cheese). I'm so excited that I had to write a smaller entry just to share!<br />
<br />
The cheese adventure:<br />
<br />
So we are lucky to be surrounded by two Middle Eastern markets. One of them is a chain branch that started in Orlando called <a href="http://www.apnabazartampa.com/(S(dudr1f45mcgr3b45salixdrb))/index.aspx">Apna Bazaar</a> that has been here for years (they're down the road). Then last year, another one opened in Boynton Beach along our shopping route, <a href="http://www.samarasupermarket.com/">Samara Supermarket</a>. Apna is mostly Pakistani/Malaysian/Indian with some Middle Eastern items with halal meats (which we buy because they are free-roaming/range, no hormone added, natural meats from local farms). Samara is a Middle Eastern grocery.<br />
<br />
I've always disliked feta. I hated the briney taste and the texture and the way it looks. Greek was so salty and bitter that my tongue would burn. Ugh! Then I went to Turkey and met my husband and discovered the deliciousness of Turkish feta. Yes, there's a brine, but it's not a sodium bomb and the texture is semi-firm, somewhere in between a mozzarella and crumbling Greek yet it holds so very well. Came back to the states (sigh) and my husband disliked Greek also. So our hunt began.<br />
<br />
Apna sells a variety of Egyptian feta, which is absoloutly intolerable. The texture is perfect, but I did not think there was anything saltier than Greek. I was wrong. Then the guys at Samara told me that if there's something I would like for them to carry, just let them know. Months ago, I asked for Turkish cheeses. Then we went last week and looked in the cheese fridge and saw *cue angels singing* Turkish feta! I snatched it. Now if they only bring<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 16px;">kaşar </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">cheese (hard, stringy pale yellow cheese made from </span></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">sheep's</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> milk - tastes like a cross between </span></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">Parmesan</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> and </span></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">provolone</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">), then I'd be one happy lady!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">So last night, I toiled until I made Barbari and it was just the greatest completment to Turkish feta and therefore, we decided to have our </span></span><span style="line-height: 16px;">weekly</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;"> Turkish breakfast just a few days early. :) Bon Apetit!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span>
So, Rebekah, what comprises a Turkish breakfast? Well, everything you see here: eggs (soft boiled), fresh sliced tomato, cucumber, olives, Beyaz Penir and bread. Now there are other things that we have no access to...yet!: Sour cherry preserves and <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">kaşar cheese. And one more thing that is optional that takes a long time to make, red lentil soup. Together it makes a one hearty, healthy breakfast that is so filling and delicious. :)</span></span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-58401709486004220452013-03-25T22:28:00.001-04:002013-03-25T22:37:04.023-04:00I BAKED BREAD!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, it happened. I figured out how to make bread. FINALLY!<br />
<br />
Sad part is that I cannot enjoy this with dad. It was the one baking adventure we encountered and failed miserably at. After all these years, I could not believe how easy it was.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_pU-6hM5BWNQTEOLMhcZPazRoFrvj_n774Iqxbx2KWflem7_5nT6iKeuzNYpykN0kOmjO40OV7OD69qycyiMIlTQ1Q7-MptX202Tz0mjEdC5PNLJOl706EaRLZnzgyhfW5ogwsFdUVE/s1600/SAM_0222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_pU-6hM5BWNQTEOLMhcZPazRoFrvj_n774Iqxbx2KWflem7_5nT6iKeuzNYpykN0kOmjO40OV7OD69qycyiMIlTQ1Q7-MptX202Tz0mjEdC5PNLJOl706EaRLZnzgyhfW5ogwsFdUVE/s1600/SAM_0222.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First attempt.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
This is a 3 cup batch that makes 3 small baguettes/2 medium/1 large. Instead of doing a boule I chose this shape because my husband and I like to make veggie subs.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-UAmdwgGjRuTyfrL6N1bWK__W4ITroZHXIAnlCH2zsc8WSazdf4HKx3J1Co2I9LbGqN7Qvkt0R0FjHHUxZGfzUPFzPrwELe86G-v_lKIA8CUGZgLGKvJukD4UXz1JlKwA9YP3LgXFx4/s1600/SAM_0230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-UAmdwgGjRuTyfrL6N1bWK__W4ITroZHXIAnlCH2zsc8WSazdf4HKx3J1Co2I9LbGqN7Qvkt0R0FjHHUxZGfzUPFzPrwELe86G-v_lKIA8CUGZgLGKvJukD4UXz1JlKwA9YP3LgXFx4/s1600/SAM_0230.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second attempt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Experimented with garlic loaves and at this point I was working on the salt amount.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_uNk3k9MkdHI0SZVIpeJW9PTipvVvKIqSlfHhpow1DmNQuc1iizv-FudeD58ucsbuUlzqlZ0DAD5kqMgmcnYX9GvY5DQxgkeKS3VRWhoNkZKy4E1JK-Ip2U1dH4o9brmfyTaY7CKRkI/s1600/SAM_0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs_uNk3k9MkdHI0SZVIpeJW9PTipvVvKIqSlfHhpow1DmNQuc1iizv-FudeD58ucsbuUlzqlZ0DAD5kqMgmcnYX9GvY5DQxgkeKS3VRWhoNkZKy4E1JK-Ip2U1dH4o9brmfyTaY7CKRkI/s1600/SAM_0234.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fourth attempt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
3 cup batch makes 8 rolls. By now, the got the salt down, added poppy seeds to the tops and figured out the baking time.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I also experimented making <a href="http://www.mycitycuisine.org/wiki/Barbari_bread">Barbari</a> bread (also known as Tabrizi [-i = from city of Tabriz] bread {where my husband was born}). I can use the same bread recipe but the only drawback, the bread dough method I use is the wet dough method so it's like elastic. Tried it a couple of times without much luck, but I'm going to try. :) But I really like making rolls!<br />
<br />
So why bake your own bread when you can buy?<br />
1. Well, it was a goal.<br />
2. After I realized how much bread my husband consumes, and he's used to fresh bread, after reading the labels of the so-called "artisan fresh" bread in the stores, I was flabbergasted at the amount of ingredients. When did bread have 12 ingredients, many of them that I cannot pronounce?? There's supposed to be 4: flour, salt, yeast, water! Since we've eliminated a lot of processed foods, eating everything as fresh as possible, the ease of making my own fresh bread was one obstacle that we overcame. Thankfully, it was stupid easy! :)<br />
3. Cost. Instead of paying $2-$6 per loaf of "fresh" bread in the stores. Making them only costs us $0.88 per 2 medium loaves or 8 rolls. Can't beat that!<br />
<br />
Until next time, and yes, I will be writing more!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-16782619469363299522013-01-27T20:32:00.000-05:002013-01-27T20:32:21.445-05:00Broccoli & Cheese MacaroniStill on the baking spree, I decided to share a recipe that I created today...because it was THAT good. I included metric measurements because everyone should enjoy this!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGWDg2NzMzqUXqTYOVcOGg7X6_Fp26n3_UUEF49hdPlJn09pbhXu5OSz9xB5-NQ9dvAIf7egr1twVy-8ObQd2H2WPLFV-U9xc1kJpu_PU3GEyUD_bpy4j7kBNO1GrhFB0Qn1qK1GvdwHY/s1600/SAM_0144_blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGWDg2NzMzqUXqTYOVcOGg7X6_Fp26n3_UUEF49hdPlJn09pbhXu5OSz9xB5-NQ9dvAIf7egr1twVy-8ObQd2H2WPLFV-U9xc1kJpu_PU3GEyUD_bpy4j7kBNO1GrhFB0Qn1qK1GvdwHY/s1600/SAM_0144_blog.jpg" height="253" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheesy Broccoli Macaroni</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Rebekah’s Cheesy Broccoli Macaroni</u></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 - 16oz (.5 kilo)box of elbow (or small shell) macaroni.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2 - 8oz (.25 kilo) blocks
of cheese sliced and set on a plate<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; text-indent: 2.25pt;">
– mix and match extreme
flavors like Mozzarella and Extra Sharp Cheddar. Swiss and American. Münster and Emmentaler. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 lb (.5 kilo) of broccoli (washed and stems peeled and cut
into ¼ in pieces. Florets washed and picked apart)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1/3 of half a red onion diced<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3 garlic bulbs diced<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2 tablespoons (29.5 grams) of flour<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3 tablespoons (44.4 grams) of butter diced<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 - 12oz (.3 kilo) can of evaporated milk <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Set oven to 375°F
(190.5°C). Lightly grease (or
use a spray oil like PAM) the bottom of a 13x9x2 baking pan. (No access to a
13x9 pan? Use any 15 cup casserole pan.) <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a large pot boil heavily salted water. Add the elbows and
broccoli. Boil 9 – 11 minutes or until aldente. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While the water is boiling, in a sauce pot, melt over medium
heat the 3 tablespoons of butter, add onions and garlic and let that simmer for
a minute or two. Whisk in the 2 tablespoons of flour to create a roué. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Remove the sauce pan off of the burner and slowly whisk in
the evaporated milk. Place back onto the burner. Keeping at medium heat, whisk
in slowly the half of the cheese. Don’t stop whisking. The cheese will eventually melt
and the cheese sauce will thicken. At this point, set the heat on low. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The pasta and broccoli will be aldente by now. I personally recommend
using a hand strainer to remove the pasta, because the florets would have broken
apart and may fall through the holes of the colander. Drain and set into a
large mixing bowl. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pour cheese sauce over the macaroni/broccoli mix and using a scraper, mix
everything together. Then pour into the baking pan. Top with the remaining
cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Serve hot. En Geute! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If evaporated milk is not available in your area, you can achieve the same results by using heavy whipping cream. 1:1 ratio. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-47063460836646429082013-01-19T22:11:00.000-05:002013-01-19T22:11:02.026-05:00Baking Away the Blues<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So I guess everyone goes through different stages of grieving. Mine apparently are:<br />
-A cynic's view of the world.<br />
-Applying for Grad school.<br />
-Thinking about how that goat farm is looking good right about now.<br />
-Realizing I'm labeling myself in the wrong writing genre.<br />
-Wishing I had friends who actually likes to talk about the weird crap I do. (Passionate one-sided discussion about the Caucasus region and it's culture = blank stares from co-workers)<br />
-Baking.<br />
<br />
So as I entered the Baking stage of grieving, I realized that I can do one thing (in the kitchen) really friggin' well - bake. If there's an oven (or flame, I can bake in fire), tinfoil and ingredients, then there will be something amazing.<br />
<br />
So this week:<br />
-pasta, mushroom and cheese casserole<br />
-ooey-gooey cheesy bake (husband devoured half in one sitting)<br />
-chewy "I can feel it in my toes amazing" dark chocolate brownies<br />
-my lip-puckering lemon cake with lime glaze<br />
-cheesy biscuits<br />
<br />
I thank my father who taught me this. Of course, I can cook on a stove (mighty well, danke!), but he really inspired me to love the oven. I always helped him. He was the cook of the house and I was always there next to him. It will be the one thing I will miss the most.<br />
<br />
One thing we could never figure out together was bread. If it has yeast - it will fail. So tonight, I gave it another shot after I gave up on bread making 5 years ago. This was my result:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4hZEESUtZsOUK04LQmWojcC9XK8r39J-2srbbRMW75T8bYUXSq3-m98PQBc0mJKtz2ITjYrUj6iztPBBKz7qTQeSiEhJsZ5twY58-Z5Gka99KnqvbdH_KkRCMvkXrVcGIo7TrF2OupI/s1600/P01-19-13_21-43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4hZEESUtZsOUK04LQmWojcC9XK8r39J-2srbbRMW75T8bYUXSq3-m98PQBc0mJKtz2ITjYrUj6iztPBBKz7qTQeSiEhJsZ5twY58-Z5Gka99KnqvbdH_KkRCMvkXrVcGIo7TrF2OupI/s320/P01-19-13_21-43.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Only edible </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Yup, that flat doughy thing was bread. It was only edible. I think I made the water for the yeast too hot so it didn't rise and my shoulder doesn't let me knead well enough. Oh well, next time.<br />
<br />
So tonight, my husband and I enjoyed the Middle Eastern marinated olives I made yesterday. I make them extra garlicky because that the ONLY way to eat the olives!<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-28158459355460072882013-01-16T11:41:00.000-05:002013-01-16T11:41:18.721-05:00A Foul Prologue to 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
...this is the first year we will no longer have matching DD/MM/YY...and twinkies, ho-hos, or anything made by <a href="http://hostessbrands.com/Closed.aspx">Hostess</a> (by the way, good job for closing yet another "made in the USA" source of jobs. Just what we need, more unemployment). I am having the same feeling I did when they announced <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060824-pluto-planet.html">Pluto was <b>not</b> a planet</a>, and when I pulled the book from the shelf about <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7013943.stm">Burma and replaced it with Myanmar</a>. When I was flipping through the children's history book about Myanmar, no where did it mention that it used to be Burma. It goes straight from talking about its ancient history, skipping over its years as Burma, then to the present. It feels as incorrect as removing women, blacks or Jews from history books - as though they never existed or ever contributed anything. Oh wait, it already happens. *eye roll*<br />
<br />
Gracious, Rebekah, where did the snarkiness come from today? Well, we kicked off the holidays with a death in the family (will not go into details) and fudge-awful backpain. Those two combos has turned me into a troll - you know, the kind that eats goat off the bridge. It's not the most pleasant way to start off a new year.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8YkP7ykluFPtbgBLjev3eQwAV0kUnLTKUOrV032FGIWoTLlVJPBEOoniJJrweNaWfOJytw2um7ium91l23HntiFOefbXJZDyGR4Rn0Y9ivjBt9XRHcBvE6RTS5rWQuD3tey0NkVLNzQ/s1600/Troll_b164e1_970612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA8YkP7ykluFPtbgBLjev3eQwAV0kUnLTKUOrV032FGIWoTLlVJPBEOoniJJrweNaWfOJytw2um7ium91l23HntiFOefbXJZDyGR4Rn0Y9ivjBt9XRHcBvE6RTS5rWQuD3tey0NkVLNzQ/s320/Troll_b164e1_970612.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My crappy attempt at humor this week.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Last week was my official week back at work and it was difficult to look at people as they take up space and air and resources, zipping in and out on their wastful iPhones (but they cannot pay $.10 of their fines), hating their life and their kids. They have no clue how privileged they are. No clue how lucky that they can even come into a library and enjoy the free AC, browse books, use computers and have access to luxuries such as knowledge. In many countries, you cannot browse books in a library or even use computers...if there is a library at all. I watch parents treat their kids like animals (I wish I was exaggerating), grabbing, pulling and screaming at them to shut up and sit down - well, newsflash, you didn't give birth to dogs. (not saying that you should treat any animal like this either). And it sickens me that they have no idea how lucky that are to enjoy the miracle that is parenthood.<br />
<br />
15 years ago, you only read about this kind of treatment in a newspaper from a 3rd world country or watched it on the news as the covered a story from some poor neighborhood here in the US. You didn't treat people and your kids like garbage or animals in public.<br />
<br />
And when you tell people who you have lost, its funny how they look at you like you grew a second head, or they scowl. Either way, they offer no condolence or any sort of attempt to show one nuance of care. Instead they hate you or think you are making it up. I despise going out, I despise the idea of looking at another face of empty emotion. I wish people would just say something, anything. They can even wish my car good health, or even say "good riddance". Sounds dumb, but it's better than apathetic stares.<br />
<br />
Nice to know that the world I considered to be fictitious exists. Scary when you've predicted all of this. <br />
<br />
The other night, when I was laying down, trying to fall asleep, a new character formed in my mind. He wanted to join my universe. I thought about how many other characters had come and gone, no longer serving a purpose in my world. They now sit at the karaoke bar (where all my shelved characters go). I told him that maybe there is a place for you, but the world I created 15 years ago, exists now and that you will not have a happy ending. He was and still is persistent and has given me his name and profession. We'll see.<br />
<br />
Hopefully, the next entry will be less spiteful.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-74200053013854498702012-12-10T20:48:00.001-05:002012-12-10T20:48:45.639-05:00My NOOK<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
First, a wonderful shout-out to my sister who celebrated her birthday! Without her, I would have never met my husband. I am so happy that we became close in our adult years. :)<br />
<br />
Well, I have moved up in the technological world. I have an e-reader. But you know what's funny, I remember how all of this came about and where it began. Let's go to Daytona Beach in the summer of 2006 for the <a href="http://www.rtbookreviews.com/convention-home">Romantic Time Convention</a> (writing/book con - they have bad-ass parties). There I am standing in line, waiting to be first to grab a seat for a male model competition. There is a woman in front of me with this weird, flat computer like thing about as thick as a 250 page book.<br />
<br />
See, kiddies, there were no tablets back then, just these spiffy laptops produced by Toshiba and IBM that could flip over and become a tablet-like device...they weighed a ton!<br />
<br />
I asked her what it was and she happily explained to me what an e-reader was. It took an SD card, was black and white, hideous thing I'd ever seen, but I feel in love. I came back from the convention raving about this kick-ass device and EVERYONE thought I was off my rocker and stupid. Ebooks back then were illegal scanned .pdf files of books (mostly gaming books) and certain rights-free classics. And of course, erotica. <a href="http://www.ellorascave.com/">Ellora's Cave</a> was the first publisher I ever heard of making ebooks. I went to every computer store asking about this and most of those guys were smiling, but I can in their eyes that they thought I was the dumbest gal on the planet.<br />
<br />
Well, here's a birdy for you jerks who thought I was crazy. You are probably the people who stand in line to buy a $600+ iPhone.<br />
<br />
Six years later, after many life changes, it's my wonderful husband who gifts me with a Nook Color. I am in love. I wanted something I can put an SD card into for all those ebooks I have saved for 6 years. I can play Scrabble (my favorite board game) anytime I want to, but most importantly, I can learn how to use <a href="http://www.overdrive.com/">Overdrive</a> for downloading ebooks so I can help the patrons when they come into the library with their portable devices. It wasn't affordable, we argued about it and scrimped and gave up a lot of things for it. I'm just happy it worked out. :)<br />
<br />
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-2289101589639117882012-11-26T10:51:00.003-05:002012-11-26T10:51:56.691-05:00I Shoot Magic Missile at the Closet!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yesterday, being that it was the last day of my Thanksgiving break, I was couponing in front of the TV, thinking of how thankless couponing is. Then my mind wandered into everything else I had wanted to do that day: playing with the rats, laundry, researching literary agents, fixing my synopsis, finish reading another book. Suddenly, "BOOM!" the closet imploded, everything collapsing into the corner while drywall dust spewed everywhere.<br />
<br />
I sat there speechless with a pair of scissors in my hand. The coupon for Energizer batteries fell to the ground, along with my mouth. The damn wire closet racks fell.<br />
<br />
Now, a little back story, my mother had the same issue. As we live in this townhome that was built back in the 70s, we are realizing many design flaws. In the room my husband and I occupy, there is no insulation In the summer, if it's 100 degrees outside, so are we inside. And when it gets cold, we are left shivering at night (we have a floor heather for those nights now). They installed the hooks for the closet racks <b>into the drywall.</b> :/ There were twenty gaping holes where each hook was before it was ripped out.<br />
<br />
As the pile groaned, preparing to topple over again, I got up and removed everything. Now we didn't have a lot to begin with. Mostly empty boxes sat on top. My husband's clothes are few and my spartan amount of clothing would embarrass the typical American woman. What do you expect? I've moved constantly, can't carry everything!<br />
<br />
I waited for my husband to return, feeling defeated at the pile. He walked into the room with a grin and a bowl of grapes and cauliflower. I cried, he laughed and kissed me. We ate together then began to figure out what to do. After calling for backup and not getting any, we decide to tackle this on our own. We were going into battle.<br />
<br />
EIGHT hours later, my husband's side is up. We've re-installed the hardware into the studs. My side is falling down, even the studs wouldn't hold it back up. Sore and exhausted, I am ready to give up. Then we remove my side and decided to retreat from the battle and went to <a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/Canopy-Heavy-Duty-Garment-Rack-Bronze/15627387">WalMart to buy a clothing rack</a>.<br />
<br />
WalMart, as much as I hate you, you did save my life last night. We spent the next hour cleaning, vacuming, and installing the new rack. We threw away the hoards of empty boxes and reorganized everything.<br />
<br />
Aching and nearly falling over, we made a simple dinner of fresh bread, cheese, spinach and olives. Somehow, I did finish my first set of research. And we both collapsed.<br />
<br />
This morning, I woke up thinking, "So this is what my D&D characters feels like after a campaign." We didn't want to move.<br />
<br />
Oh yeah, the closet looks great. Nice not to be visually cluttered. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-62243365944694289222012-11-22T12:22:00.001-05:002012-11-22T12:22:13.292-05:00Thanksgiving Simply<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, the homemade pumpkin pie is out of the oven and the ham went in. Yup, ham. We like to be creative every year. :) Plus, I LOVE ham. And my ham is just juicy and delicious. Oh yeah, I'm tootin' my own horn.<br />
<br />
There are many things that I am thankful for this year:<br />
<br />
1. Health. Even though we don't have health insurance, doing our best to eat healthy and staying fit has kept us out of the doctor's office. Of course since people drive while texting, we do scare of getting into car accidents. Why hasn't texting while driving been banned?<br />
<br />
2. A wonderful husband. Nuff said. :)<br />
<br />
3. A great job that I enjoy going to everyday! Who doesn't love working with books?!<br />
<br />
4. Two gorgeous little Russian blue ratties who have stolen my heart.<br />
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5. Being one-step away from homeless, having a roof is a wondrous blessing.<br />
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6. Couponing. How else am I supposed to afford feminine items and food! :)<br />
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7. Yoga. Keeps that back pain at bay.<br />
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8. Still loving to do art.<br />
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9. My family. I miss my sister dearly.<br />
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10. The couple of friends who do remember me on occasion. :) Being a loner, that's awesome.<br />
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I am also grateful to be able to have the creative energy to finish my book. The drive to apply for grad school and hopefully create a better life for my husband and I.<br />
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I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving! Today is the day to be grateful for the things we have: love, family, homes, jobs, etc. Let us remember the people who have nothing and those who are forced to not be with their families so they can sell garbage to the consumers and the materialists.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-75173198971573106572012-11-04T17:13:00.000-05:002012-11-04T19:35:35.916-05:00Energetically Divine <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today, I wanted to help promote the website of a very dear friend, Effie. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="http://energeticallydivine.wordpress.com/"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzxuL2IpCYCnqp5Ab-TZlErP7NXBhLkLT-Q_vGcS59uEcJRe__ZcXtCGjPDE04Mrf0AXkqt_jQnm4Y1bi13UwFzeycQ2fa1euTnZBi5S1bK_S-2qsGT5ZKXQzGlh3jS1GZe6Kg1bYkjzk/s1600/208080_186726211463401_1932672773_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://energeticallydivine.wordpress.com/">Energetically Divine</a></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://energeticallydivine.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Energetically Divine</a></span></b></div>
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Effie offers handmade soaps,<a href="http://energeticallydivine.wordpress.com/bath-body-products/" target="_blank"> lotions and toiletries</a> at very affordable prices. I highly recommend the whipped soap. Goat milk, shea butter, honey silk powder and a hint of vanilla creates this luscious thick soap that is gentle and mild for sensitive skin. I use it on my face because of its gentleness. Her lotions are just as delicate and the best part, no oily residue. It absorbs into the skin leaving a silky smooth texture. </div>
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She also offer <a href="http://energeticallydivine.wordpress.com/fragrance-oils/" target="_blank">fragrant oils and lip balms</a>. What I love about her oils is that the scents are not overpowering (I have allergies to strong scents).</div>
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Effie offers more than just products. Her <a href="http://energeticallydivine.wordpress.com/intuitive-services/" target="_blank">intuitive services</a> reaches out to your guardians. She includes a gem and bath oil that was charged with the energies needed to help ground your energy. A portion of her services does go to help the charities, <a href="http://tibetanaid.org/">TibetAid.org</a> and <a href="http://tnp.org/">The Tibetan Nuns Project (tnp.org)</a>.</div>
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Thank you so much for checking out her site. Feel free to ask her questions about her products and services!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-7517720355569452052012-10-24T12:15:00.000-04:002012-10-24T12:15:07.975-04:00Rebekah's Marinated Olives<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Well, a few weeks ago, my husband treated me to a picnic. It was very impromptu while at Publix (a very common grocery store for you non-Floridians). Their deli section has "anti-pasto" filled with marinated olives, red peppers, mushrooms and whole garlic cloves. At $7.45/lb it's a lot. But he really wanted to try them so we got two of everything equaling half a pound. We ate picnic and they were good but not awesome but it was just spending the time alone by the lake that meant so much that it wasn't a big deal. </div>
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But ever since then, I got to thinking "how can I make this better?" I knew there had to be something. I searched my Persian recipe books, most of their marinated olives are like <a href="http://turmericsaffron.blogspot.com/2010/11/zeytoon-parvardeh-persian-olive.html" target="_blank"><i>Zeytoon Parvardeh</i></a>, sweet and made with pomegranate paste and ground walnuts. A glorious delicacy from the Gilan region of Iran. </div>
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No, I wanted savory. So my journey brought me to <a href="http://www.gourmetworrier.com/2009/06/spicy-moroccan-olives.html" target="_blank"><i>Zeytun M'charmel</i> </a>. Moroccan marinated olives. English recipes say "spicy" but I think they mistranslated it. It really means "spiced" not "spicy" because there is nothing hot about this dish.</div>
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Now I meditated over the recipe - stupid simple but it was taste I was looking for. So after trying out different flavors for the marinade, knowing that my husband and I LOVE garlic I came up with (drumroll please!)...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFf5cQhe5zXalRLbc6TdGQxOjl4X_V1ttr1LfZYDjt9smZKrGjqfNGziZE3L5nN9DvMllzkd78CTvdblU9-cavLmixhqvXYl44Mo9EW_gzmPAA4vEXqiDPInL2hVwiNZIwZcenIFSN8GQ/s1600/P10-24-12_10-51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFf5cQhe5zXalRLbc6TdGQxOjl4X_V1ttr1LfZYDjt9smZKrGjqfNGziZE3L5nN9DvMllzkd78CTvdblU9-cavLmixhqvXYl44Mo9EW_gzmPAA4vEXqiDPInL2hVwiNZIwZcenIFSN8GQ/s1600/P10-24-12_10-51.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Rebekah adlı marine zeytin! </div>
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You will need at least a 48oz/1119mg bowl with lid (airtight!). </div>
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6oz (1 can) of green olives</div>
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4oz of black olives</div>
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8 small garlic cloves (cut in half or thirds)</div>
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4 pepperoncini (Greek pickled peppers) pits/stems removed and halved (keep it's juice!)</div>
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3 <b>hard</b> Roma tomatoes halved and sliced into wedges. </div>
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4 medium chunky portebella mushrooms quartered. </div>
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1/2 a lemon (or lemon juice equivalent)</div>
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2-4 pinches of oregano, ground cumin, garlic powder (optional), kosher salt, fresh black pepper, Italian seasonings. </div>
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2-4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil.</div>
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In bowl, rinse olives. Drain. Add tomatoes and pour hot water (not boiling) until covered. Let sit for 10 minutes. Use this time to wash and cut the veggies. Drain olives and tomatoes and pat dry in a paper towel. </div>
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In same bowl, mix spices, lemon juice, oil, saved pepperoncini juice and fresh garlic. </div>
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Add warmed olives and tomatoes, stirring lightly. </div>
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Add rest of veggies and the squeezed lemon, then stir until well coated. </div>
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Snap on lid, give everything a good shake.</div>
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Put in fridge and chill overnight. Come and shake the container once every hour (when you can).</div>
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The next day, serve with mozzarella cheese and fresh Italian or French bread. It is AWESOME! What you see in the bowl is HALF of the olives, that is just what my husband ate for breakfast this morning!</div>
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Where to find the stuff for cheapest?</div>
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<b><u>Walmart</u></b> - Green olives $1.88 (6oz can), black olives $1.48 (6oz can), Garlic and Herb french bread loaf $1.58, Sorrento mozerella stringsters $2.98 (had coupon for $1.50 off each), Vigo brand pepperoncini $1.98 (there are other brands but this one has the best taste and it's imported from Greece through <a href="http://vigo-alessi.elsstore.com/" target="_blank">Tampa, FL</a>!), Fresh garlic (they have the fattest ones!) and Roma tomatoes $2.48/lb</div>
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<b><u>Winn-Dixie</u></b> - Baby portebello mushrooms containers 2/$5 usually with a $1 off produce coupon if you go at the end of their sale week.</div>
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48oz (3 lbs) = (approx) $6.48 or $2.16/lb. Tastier and cheaper than store bought!</div>
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And just in case you haven't noticed the similar words: <i>zeytun</i>, <i>zeytoon</i> and <i>zeytin</i> all means <b>olive</b>. :)</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-29694456482753295012012-10-13T19:48:00.001-04:002012-10-13T19:48:43.925-04:00Museum Day 2012 & Two Days Until the GRE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The title sums it all! It's been an interesting 8 weeks as I finally come into the final countdown for the GRE. I hope everyone will be so kind to send good vibes my way on Tuesday. <div>
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During Banned book week, my husband and I enjoyed a wonderful Saturday on Sept. 29 for <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/" target="_blank">Museum Day</a>. It happens once a year so keep an eye out for the 2013 date! In our county, only two museum's participated: The Norton and the Cason Cottage. Well, my husband is not big into paintings so we settled for the <a href="http://www.delraybeachhistory.org/cason_cottage.aspx" target="_blank">Historical Cason Cottage</a> in Delray Beach. We had such a delightful time. We arrived just in time for a docent to give us a tour with all of the historical goodness. The next day, my husband took me out for a picnic. :) Tomorrow, he wants to BBQ. We have our veggies ready! I cannot wait to roast garlic and mushrooms. </div>
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Oh, yeah, GRE. Well, the studying is over. I am in the vocab review and math concepts review. I made this handy-dandy cheat sheet to practice from. Monday, I will take my final practice test and that's it!</div>
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Oh yeah, here's a new word for me. Now, I know that a waffle is this:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgovW3XIQzsYJ0mHZt0xbSYQsZC0K2Fo3udhiKoum1LAbY64mvdrkWoYW9JHrvmfsOPU08P-AUPc3ZIdCfFatWh2ntaL_Z41jr5uO_o5vajq7rE8tKEWhcVCAphJ2cDG0jyQL9_ldq9B5E/s1600/250px-Waffles_with_Strawberries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgovW3XIQzsYJ0mHZt0xbSYQsZC0K2Fo3udhiKoum1LAbY64mvdrkWoYW9JHrvmfsOPU08P-AUPc3ZIdCfFatWh2ntaL_Z41jr5uO_o5vajq7rE8tKEWhcVCAphJ2cDG0jyQL9_ldq9B5E/s1600/250px-Waffles_with_Strawberries.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">yummy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsm3u2OHqqj93FSqnDvpwyGSH-Az3lm42pGHWB9UdCEry-AQEQ7D4-VyvBDmi7s_yFPyh1MiImOgn4pySwZ6RsitI_4zmJDeKJfgF3tsXDyh9vbXomhydZsAcaC-PF7anGzFMF42jkljk/s1600/382968660_91a383ccca_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsm3u2OHqqj93FSqnDvpwyGSH-Az3lm42pGHWB9UdCEry-AQEQ7D4-VyvBDmi7s_yFPyh1MiImOgn4pySwZ6RsitI_4zmJDeKJfgF3tsXDyh9vbXomhydZsAcaC-PF7anGzFMF42jkljk/s1600/382968660_91a383ccca_z.jpg" height="120" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the texture</td></tr>
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AND<br />
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now apparently, <i><b>waffle</b></i> is also a verb that means "to speak or write equivocally"<span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;">. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, geez! </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122403190123561910.post-90481396049813345242012-09-25T22:32:00.000-04:002012-09-25T22:43:31.109-04:00Upcoming Banned Book Week 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yes, I know, dear world, it has been a while since I have posted. I've been so busy with studying for the GRE that I've neglected people...and it doesn't help to find out from my sister that when she calls my number, it says it's disconnected. :/ Right now, I don't have the time to deal with it, no one calls me anyways. Oh, my sister calls the VOIP phone (just in case people might find it rude that I don't care if my sister calls - she knows how to get a hold of me!! :D)<br />
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As of today, 3 weeks until the GRE. Oh, sigh.<br />
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As for more exciting news! The Banned Book Week Display is up!! I was so thrilled to be doing it since I am a firm believer in not censoring books.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Qoa3NFT52kAWV6uFW448yRRBW4q3hWUnhDSxkFRnw8utcHZUj90W2wi1po_cO92lz9cQSa-TMdmZfHguAv5k8gx5ZpNsBAQmdaU027BHzZsyCBVOJhDbzgB2OVZqGUdvj3WzaUmaK_M/s1600/P09-25-12_18-07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Qoa3NFT52kAWV6uFW448yRRBW4q3hWUnhDSxkFRnw8utcHZUj90W2wi1po_cO92lz9cQSa-TMdmZfHguAv5k8gx5ZpNsBAQmdaU027BHzZsyCBVOJhDbzgB2OVZqGUdvj3WzaUmaK_M/s400/P09-25-12_18-07.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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For the book list, I used <a href="http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/radcliffes-rival-100-best-novels-list/" target="_blank">Radcliffe's Rival Top 100</a> list (ALA approved). ALA (American Library Association) does have a section of each year's <a href="http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged" target="_blank">most challenged books</a>. No surprise that this year, we see <i>The Hunger Games</i> series, <i>The Color of Earth</i> and AGAIN <i>To Kill a Mocking Bird</i>. Really?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKTbMrltxynBxnMidBr0LNyDTa-GdQBEck2JczpmoBbAMt9trB48KSgxXir4UUUJav20KaC3fo_h6IY8atUaMVpXTNHqHjdmdVSUDQb23Lib9T244ytmY1-bIuNCh7yfkhUb8L3Mcd7ys/s1600/P09-25-12_18-08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKTbMrltxynBxnMidBr0LNyDTa-GdQBEck2JczpmoBbAMt9trB48KSgxXir4UUUJav20KaC3fo_h6IY8atUaMVpXTNHqHjdmdVSUDQb23Lib9T244ytmY1-bIuNCh7yfkhUb8L3Mcd7ys/s640/P09-25-12_18-08.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">September was also Medieval Month, so the left side is our tribute to the Medieval Ages. The right are the banned books, I chose to display.</td></tr>
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Since the popular books were checked out, I decided to choose books that most kids and parenting adults would know best from their childhood. Our demographic is mostly the elderly and young families with small kids - nothing in between. We all love and adore <i>Winnie The Pooh</i> and <i>Charlotte's Web</i> - yes, they are banned books. Us geekier types may have begun our reading world with Tolkien (hence the <i>Fellowship of the Ring </i>is up there [part 1 of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy - for those who did not know]). Geez, I was 13 when I first read Tolkien's books! And I waited to take a picture until <i>1984</i> was found! I was sad that we did not have <i>Heart of Darkness</i> or <i>Naked Lunch</i> (I personally own these). Of course, I could not leave out <i>Schindler's List</i> or <i>The Color Purple</i>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ66mdG7nLVZSpaiTjmbENMne6McX5BLD6o74pFzG3HHPu75BLyiMnxMheRNHMphEouUnDlaC_oS1Cq9wTysiI_2gJRcKpayVHoJWREJvO53NEnjKe7hNo1yVGwFv18bc-sZ3gtaKqZGw/s1600/BBW12_VirtualReadout_logo3_SM_0_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ66mdG7nLVZSpaiTjmbENMne6McX5BLD6o74pFzG3HHPu75BLyiMnxMheRNHMphEouUnDlaC_oS1Cq9wTysiI_2gJRcKpayVHoJWREJvO53NEnjKe7hNo1yVGwFv18bc-sZ3gtaKqZGw/s200/BBW12_VirtualReadout_logo3_SM_0_0.jpg" width="167" /></a></div>
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Seriously, we do not understand how luckily we are to be able to read books and enjoy them. We are so blessed to be able to browse through a library when in some countries, you cannot even browse or sit and enjoy the AC while looking through magazines. Literacy is not an enemy. It gives us the option to learn about something and then make a decision whether or not to agree or disagree with it.<br />
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I was surprised when I realized that the cutest kids book, <i>The Hungry Caterpillar</i>, is a banned book?! Seriously, people need to lighten up. We need to be proud that we have the opportunity to be literate and be able to enjoy books. Knowledge is power! READ!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17342533849945823335noreply@blogger.com7