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CONSPIRACY THEORY WEDNESDAY

Conspiracy theories have been around a long, long time.  Some resurrect themselves periodically and some die a natural death or are replaced by even better ones!

BIG BROTHER is watching you and me….When the government-forced transition to digital TV was made, many theorists believed that miniature cameras and microphones were built into the newer TV sets and in the set top boxes;  all the better to spy on  you my dear.  And then there was the mind control factor.  By using digital technology, subliminal messages and advertising could be directed at viewers.   Just think how easy it would be to subvert your mind and feelings?

Whoooooeeee this is a good one for the books!

conspiracy theory digital tv

Big Brother is Watching You

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Who is this grand feathered creature?     Well he’s known as an EAGLE OWL

Where does he live?     I don’t really know, but he visits Central Park from time to time.

What does he do?  He sits and watches everything that goes on around him.

Why does he have such big orange eyes?  All the better to spy dinner when it wanders by.

Where are his wings?  Are they big?

Take a look at this magnificent bird in flight !!! You may have to copy and paste.

 http://youtu.be /LA6XSrM0V_0?hd=1

WHO oo took this fabulous photo?  Why Murray Head of course!!


Eagel Owl, central park, new york city

Whhhooooo are YOU?


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My own Work کار شخصی

A Bunch of Resveratrol

Lately much has been written and talked about  natural remedies especially in the form of the food we eat.  Nature’s own painkillers are in our pantry not our medicine chests.  Last week on one of the major broadcast stations, there was a segment on the importance of eating healthy healing foods and they’re not green.  And this ties into just what foods can  we eat that will actually help alleviate certain ailments, diseases and conditions.

  1. RED GRAPES:  Red grapes are rich in resveratrol, a powerful compound that blocks the enzymes that contribute to tissue degeneration.   In addition, resveratrol is known t to protect against the kind of cartilage damage that causes back pain.
  2. GINGER:  Ginger has long been associated with aiding indigestion, however, ginger is an effective pain-killer.  People suffering from knee pain greatly improved once they started taking ginger extract.  “Ginger relieves pain by blocking an enzyme that’s a key component of the inflamatory process”, so says investigator Christopher D. Black, Ph.D., assistant professor of kinesiology at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia. Two to three teaspoons a day should do the trick. “That’s not an overwhelming amount,” he says. “You could easily add that to a stir-fry or soup.” Other options include ginger tea and beverages made with fresh ginger.
  3. SOY:  If you add soy to your diet, your osteoarthritis knee pain should lessen by at least 30%.  Consuming 40 grams of soy protein daily for three months patients were able to cut their use of painkillers in half.  Soy’s isoflavins, hormones with anti-inflamatory properties.  I’m hoping that a combination of ginger and soy will alleviate my bursitis which is now in both hips.
  4. TUMERIC:  Tumeric, a spice commonly found in much Indian food fights the pain of rheumatoid arthritis as much as ibuprofen.  I mentioned this at my weekly Mah Jongg game and found out that one of our players has been taking it for years and she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritisl
  5. CHERRIES: Anthocyacins are the reason cherries are a pain killing food.  Anthocyanins are antioxidents and they reduce inflammation and you know for the past several years inflammation has gotten a lot of attention in the press.  Apparently there is inflammation in many parts of our bodies where it’s presence can be a host area for disease.  In a test study, participants who ate 45 bing cherries every day for 28 days dramatically reduced their inflammation.
  6. CAFFEINE:  Do you wake up achey and stiff in the morning? And yet you always feel better after your first cup of coffee?  That’s because caffeine reduces your pain especially aches caused by exercise.  Caffeine has also been purported to increase your threshold of pain, so you might want to grab a cup of coffee on the way to your workout.
  7. FISH:  We all know that fish is a dieter’s favorite, that fish and its omega-3 oils are good for your heart.

Taking all this information to heart, I had salmon for dinner,  bought frozen cherries and blueberries for my morning Greek non-fat yogurt and fruit shake.  I hope my bursitis gets the message soon but if relief wants to start high up, then I would welcome some relief from my achey-breaky neck.

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A couple more photos have been sent in and I said I would post them too!

Fifth Avenue, New york city, Easter parade, easter bunny

YES - It's Real and REALLY Soft

photo by Catherine

And then there’s the lovely Catherine!

Easter parade, easter bonnet, new york city

Catherine is a Pink Confection!

Three generations of annual Easter Parade strollers.  So far Finley hasn’t missed one yet!  And don’t you love her “bonnet”?

Easter parade, Easter hats, easter bonnet, fifth Avenue, New york

We Three - Me, Chiara & Finley

photo by Debbie Follett

Finley Ray, Easter hats, Debbie Follett, Easter parade

Debbie and Finley

Debbie joined Chiara, Tom and Finley in the stroll down the Avenue. Love her purple hat!

Easter parade

Finley Ray on Fifth Avenue

photo by Debbie Follett

Francesca, Easter Parade

Debbie and Francesca at the Easter Parade

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DIJONNAISE-CRUSTED COD

4 Cod fillets

2 TBS olive oil – divided

Coarse salt and ground pepper

2 crushed garlic cloves

a few sprigs of thyme

3 TBS Dijon mustard

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

2 TBS minced chives

Heat 1 TBS olive oil in saute pan over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. Season fillets with salt and pepper.  Sear the fillets with garlic and thyme about 3 minutes. Turn over cook 3 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium and cook 3-4 minutes.

Preheat broiler. Spread mustard over fish. Mix breadcrumbs, chives, 1 TBS olive oil-pat evenly on fillets.  Broil till crumbs are golden.

SERVING SUGGESTION

Serve with garlic wilted spinach and basmati rice

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eFinley, Papa Pete, Finny

Finny and Papa Pete

The old glasses in the eye trick sent Finley into spasms of giggles.   The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree because her mother used to crack up every time Peter did this for her at the dinner table.  Generational fun.

Finley, making brownies with Gigi, licking the bowl

Scraping the bowl

One afternoon I had Finley over so we could make brownies together.  She really got into it;  she poured all of the dry ingredients, put the egg in and did some mixing too!

Finny, Finley Ray, licking the spoon, making brownies, Gigi

Licking the spoon

Looking at this photo brings back memories of my own childhood.  I remember getting to lick the spoon or beaters after my mother made cookies or a cake.  More generational fun!

Starbucks, blackberry, Finley Ray, Finny

"I have to take this call"

I took Finley to Starbucks and she took my blackberry.  We often go together to Starbucks where it’s chocolate milk for her and a grandé Americano for me.

Papa Pete,Finley ray, Finny, reading

Let's Pick Another One to Read

Finley loves her booksshe reads to herself, has her favorites and of course loves to be read to by Papa Pete.

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Although it’s hard to resist asking God, Mother Nature, the Force or whatever higher power (if any) that you believe in, there’s really no point in asking WHY?

YIN

Friday morning about 5:00am; FIRE! A pre-dawn blaze with enough wind to whip up the flames and carry sparks and embers through the air where they landed on another historic home.  Fire in Ocean Grove is a greedy beast, swallowing up as much timber as its tongue can reach.  WHY? Oh there are any number of reasons being bandied about; neglect, arson, faulty wiring, gas  pipe problem – WHY? Destruction, Loss, Damage See photos in

OCEAN GROVE TRAGEDY. PHOTO GALLERY BY CITIZEN PHOTOGRAPHERS

The photos in this link are posted in Blogfinger, a blog with lots of local information and a sounding board for residents.

Friday afternoon in Tokyo; EARTHQUAKE! TSUNAMI! What could be worse than having your house tumble down, the road open up below you,  gas pipes ripped apart, electrical wires loose  with fires breaking out and explosions every minute or two?  ONLY to be followed by a massive tsunami wave.   The tsunami roared over the initial damage and compounded the destruction 100fold. WHY? Destruction, Death, Fire, Flood, Mayhem, Radioactivity

smoke rises, Japan's coast, Ishimaki,Japan, earthquake, tsunami March
Ishimaki,Japan

photo from MSNBC

Otsuchi, Japan, ferry boat, tsunami, earthquake

Otsuchi, Japan

Photo from MSNBC

total destsruction, earthquake, tsunmami,

Where is his house?

photo from MSNBC

YANG

Saturday afternoon: One day later, a few blocks away from the devastating fire site and on the other side of the world from the massive natural disaster, new life is forming.  Why? My daffodils are coming up!  Don’t they know it’s still March? We could have a snow storm.  I thought they would bloom at Easter as they have in the past.  Doubt that I’ll still have blooms since Easter is late this year.  My neighbors across the street who get the afternoon sun in their front yards already have snowdrops and crocuses blooming!

Daffodils, Ocean Grove, La Vie en Rose,March, spring

Early Spring-The Life Cycle Begins

Photo by Lori

Sunday afternoon: Growing up in New England, I can tell you that Spring is a much yearned-for season.  Every kid knows that when you see the first Robin,  Spring has arrived.  This big red-breasted harbinger is a sign that once again life has returned to the gray and leafless landscape.  When you see your first Robin of the season, you automatically smile because you know and anticipate what is coming.  Is there any season more welcomed than Spring?  I don’t know why the Robins have landed so early in March;  I think the ground is not completely thawed and any worms or grubs are still deeply burrowed.  We may still get snow but they’re here bringing a promise of new life.  Why?

 

harbinger of spring,  Robin, March, spring

Harbinger of Spring

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Last weekend, I was delighted to have Finley stay with us at the cottage.  Well the idea of having her here was exciting.  However, once the crib, the booster chair, the stroller, her suitcase,  the cats in their crates, the food, my bag, Peter’s bag, the other food bag, the blue bag (which carries so many things), the hanging clothes and the clean laundry and her car seat…WELL, really!!!!

Ok so I digress – we joined our friends, Susan & Jim and Joe & Michael for a “catch-up meet-up brunch” at Nagle’s.  We hadn’t seen each other in  a while due to who was sick, who was traveling and who hadn’t been in town.  And I wanted to see Michael before he left for California.  Peter’s birthday was at the end of February, Joe’s birthday had been in the week before AND moved into a new apartment. Michael left his job in CA and was going to be moving to NYC with Joe,and little Miss Fin was in town – so, Let’s Celebrate!

Jim got a large sheet cake with a  BIG RAINBOW on it-this is a running insider joke between them.  So I gave Joe a birthday card with a rainbow, a congratulations on your new home and new job card and Susan added Peter’s name to the birthday cake.

Happy Birthday, Joe Lugo, Peter, Nagle's, brunch
Happy Birthday Joe! and Peter too

photo by Lori

Joe Lugo, Peter Press, Nagle's, sunday brunch

Cutting the cake

photo by Lori

Joe Lugo, Finley Ray, Finny, Nagle's

Finley and Uncle Joe

photo by Lori

You can see where the first cut was made and if you look at the first picture, you can see that the rainbow is on the opposite side of the cake – Finny wanted a piece of cake with the blue rainbow. Even if we wanted to accomodate her request, it would have been hard to extricate one piece of cake out of the middle – Problem solved.  How about a piece of  cake and Gigi will cut a piece of the blue rainbow and put in it on your piece?  “OK” , she says.

Finley Ray Clark,Finny, blue rainbow, Nagle's

I Want the Blue Rainbow

photo by Lori

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There are so many reasons to celebrate – of course if you listen to the news or read it online you might wonder whether you should party hard or not. How confusing!  “…the national debt is skyrocketing mortgage rates are at all time lows…unrest in the Middle East continues….President O’Bama announces troop withdrawl in Afghanistan…the polar ice cap is melting…scientists have cloned a sheep…and on and on and on and on.

I have a better idea!  Let’s  just celebrate!!! I found this vintage Hors D’oeuvre cookbook from 1981, written by two women from Santa Maria, CA.  The title caught my eye, Company’s Coming. I thumbed through it and fairly quickly determined there was hardly a recipe in there that I might make.  But then I noticed the first chapter was titled Planning It and as I began to read I found myself smiling and nodding –  this is great!

To quote the authors; ” We believe in entertaining 52 weeks of the year with a few days off  in between for getting back into shape, working, and planning the next party…”   “Our motto – ‘Any excuse for a party is a good one’ – is demonstrated by the following list of ideas for giving an hors d’oeuvre party’ .”

According to my calculations we are in the 9th week of the year.  The cookbook lists a reason for celebrating each week and as I read through the list, I realized a couple of holidays and celebrations have been moved around.  For instance, Super Bowl Sunday now takes place in February and not January and the Oscars have been pushed back too.  However, I would like to keep to their schedule so if along the way you notice the dates are off a bit you’ll know why.

Here are their first 9 weeks of ideas and hey, the way I look at it, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t play catch-up!

  1. WACKO – (Willey’s Annual Convention of Krackpots in Orcutt) – Happy New Year!
  2. NEW YEAR’S DAY – Recovered from last night in time to watch parade and get our second wind for the Bowl games.
  3. BREAKING NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS – Ours never last any longer than this.
  4. P.O.P. – “Pity Old Pop” for now he has to figure out how to pay all those holiday bills.
  5. SUPERBOWL – We decorate the house with our favorite team’s colors
  6. HOBO – Since we are so poor, we eat out of tin cans and drink from Mason jars.  Dressing the part is always fun.
  7. GROUND HOG DAY – Whether we see our shadows or not, it’s another excuse to party.
  8. PRESIDENTS – Everyone gets in the act.  We come as our favorite President or First Lady and try to guess who’s who.
  9. VALENTINE’S DAY – It’s a real romantic night…Keep an eye on your spouse!
  10. 50’S – Dust off the old 45’s and your records too!

So now you have many reasons to celebrate and as you can see, the party doesn’t have to be BIG, or elaborate – maybe just another couple or a few friends over.  Time to put JOY back in our lives – CELEBRATE!

The 50’s will be easy for me – I might just rock and roll to a few tunes with Peter in our living room.  And those of you who know us, know that we definitely have the 45’s and the record player aka turntable to play them on.  Probably also those clever little yellow discs.

yellow disks, 45 rpm records

45 RPM Record Disks

 



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Oscar icon

"Hello Gorgeous"!

Everybody has jumped into the game!  Predictions are coming in from far and wide, expected and unexpected.  Who doesn’t have an opinion?  Well of course I do…From My Point of View.

Who deserves it?  Who is getting a popularity vote?  How much is insider Hollywood politics playing a role?  Is it a case of money talks and walks away with the Oscar? Is it just a crap shoot?  Does anyone really believe that BEST is really the best?  Tomorrow night we’ll all find out.  Oscar parties abound, champagne and popcorn are my favorite combination to celebrate!  Although in past years we have gone the whole movie candy route too, Junior Mints and all!!

Okay, OK, onto the predictions of this opinionated blogger.

BEST PICTURE: The King’s SpeechHands down, this will win.   It’s gotten the hype, the buzz and the right cast to win.  Only real contenders were True Grit and Social Network. True Grit because the Coen brothers never make anything but excellent films and Social Network because the subject matter is so NOW and Jesse Eisenberg was fantastic.

BEST ACTOR: Colin FirthExtraordinary embodiment of the character and as an actor he is extremely versatile and a great risk-taker.  Flapping his gums and rolling around the floor, Colin proves once again, the depth and breadth of the excellent training Brittish actors receive.

BEST ACTRESS: Natalie Portman Young as she is and up against veteran Annette Benning, I believe  Natalie will take it.  Very popular movie, the dieting, the work, the pregnancy and the engagement all add up to beating out Annette whose role was not a stretch for her by any means.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christian Bale This is the only movie of the 10 that I didn’t see but I have read enough about the movie and the role and know Geoffrey Rush is keen competition but I don’t think the Academy is going to have The King’s Speech walk away with every award and also Christian apparently was superb in this difficult role.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Melissa Leo This IS a really tough call because there’s been so much buzz around Hailee Steinfeld and the Academy loves to honor up and coming actors in this category.  Conventional wisdom says Melissa will win but I wouldn’t be surprised if Hailee is called up front and center.

BEST DIRECTOR: David Fincher Going out on a limb here because it isn’t often that the Oscar for Best Director goes to other than the Director of Best Picture.  However, Finch is overdue and is more like recent winners in this category.  Not quite a toss-up but we’ll see.

Those are my top picks; I think Best Editing will go the Social Network , I think Costume Design will go to Jennie Beaven although I think Collen Atwood SHOULD win for Alice in Wonderland. Best Adapted Screenplay-Social Network. Best Original Screenplay-The King’s Speech.

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