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Many of you already know about the Animal Rescue Site, where you can visit daily and — at no cost to you — contribute food to homeless pet shelters simply by clicking the big purple button. (Note: You can also sign up for a daily e-mail reminder once you've clicked through.)...  Well, I just found out about a similar set of sites called http://www.freekibble.com/ (for dogs) and http://www.freekibblekat.com (for cats). Simply stop by either (or both) sites every day and answer the daily trivia question, and — whether you answer the question correctly or not — the sponsors will donate nutritious, high-quality food to shelters (again, free of charge to you). From the site: "(Site founder) Mimi Ausland, a 12 year-old girl from Bend, Oregon, wanted to help feed the hungry animals at her local animal shelter. [...] In addition to providing free kibble to the Humane Society of Central Oregon, we've added 13 new shelters to the program (from Oregon to Florida!) and plan to expand the program to many more... every piece of kibble counts! We’re very happy to say that we’re partnering with Castor and Pollux to feed these hungry dogs and cats a very high quality, all natural kibble - a very decent dinner!" I find this most admirable, especially coming —as it does— from a 12-year old. And yes, her site also has a daily, automatic e-mail reminder that you can sign up for. P.S. Speaking of pets, please be sure to stop by and help Sydney win the "Arizona's Top Pet 2009" competition. You can vote once per day from up to three different e-mails per IP address. No cost, and e-mail addresses are required only to prevent ballot stuffing, not for marketing purposes of any kind. TIA, you guys. As always. Tags: animals, cats, dogs, friends, pet rescue, thank you From: Chicago Mood: Upbeat Now Playing: 'The Beast In Me' - Nick Lowe
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"(A)n apocalyptic documentary that is as beautiful as it is damning..."The film's official web site (chock full of interesting information and helpful resources, including screening dates and locations) can be found here. And yeah, I'm definitely taking my kids with me, as this issue will affect their generation far more than my own. Tags: fish populations crash, fishing, food, greed, marine life, oceans, overfishing, overpopulation, youtube From: Chicago Mood: Pessimistic
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In their continuing quest to lose the Hispanic vote for the next hundred years, Republicans have managed to ratchet up the hate in the latest attempt to derail the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. A new TV commerical produced by the wingnuts at the " Committee for Justice" claims that Sotomayor “led a group supporting violent Puerto Rican terrorists,” going so far as to link her to “Obama’s buddy Bill Ayers, the unrepentant terrorist who bombed American buildings in the seventies." Get a load of this: The "terrorist" group that these pinheads are referring to? The Puerto Rican Legal Defense & Education Fund, a decidedly mainstream civil rights organization on whose board of directors Sotomayor has served. Apparently, in Tea Bag Land, a group that protects Latinos from race discrimination is no different from al Qaeda. Estas personas no solo so estupidas, si no tambien locas. ☺P.S. Meanwhile, Micheal "Stepin Fetchit" Steele is busy wooing black voters into the Republican tent with fried chicken and potato salad. I shit you not. Tags: gop meltdown, loathsome people, republican smear, right-wing lunatics, scotus From: Chicago Mood: Amused
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It seems like not a week goes by without industrial animal food production somehow making headlines — the H1N1 flu pandemic, astounding meat recalls, high levels of arsenic in chicken feed, or any of a dozen other concerns. One recent story that should have generated some rather large waves, however, has made only a minor splash...  Chile's salmon farming industry, second only to Norway's, is on the verge of collapse.Salmon are not indigenous to Chile, but grown in crowded cages installed in the bays and estuaries of the country's otherwise beautiful southern fjord region. These "farmed" Atlantic salmon are fed a steady diet of wild fish — perfectly edible for humans, but more profitable when converted into "value-added" finfish. The approximately three pounds of wild fish needed to produce each pound of farmed salmon has caused some people to refer to finfish aquaculture operations as "reverse protein factories." Equally alarming, salmon farms have become excessively dependent upon toxic pesticides to combat sea lice and antibiotic medicines to thwart viruses that can run rampant among the high concentrations of rapidly growing, penned fish — not unlike industrial-scale hog, poultry, and cattle CAFOs on land. But the drugs are no longer working... ( Read more )Tags: environment, factory farming, fish populations crash, food, marine life, meat, overfishing From: Chicago Mood: Damned, Dirty Apes
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Hat-tip Jonny Bowden...  What is the ideal diet for human beings? Vegetarian? Vegan? High-protein? Low-fat? Dairy-Free? Truth is, there's no such thing as a "perfect" diet. At least not one that's based on how much protein, fat or carbohydrates you eat. People have lived and thrived on high-protein, high-fat diets (the Inuit of Greenland); on low-protein, high-carb diets (the indigenous peoples of southern Africa); on diets high in raw milk and cream (the people of the Loetschental Valley in Switzerland); diets high in saturated fat (the Trobriand Islanders) and even on diets in which animal blood is considered a staple (the Massai of Kenya and Tanzania). And folks have thrived on these diets without the ravages of degenerative diseases that are so epidemic in modern life — heart disease, diabetes, obesity, neurodegenerative diseases, osteoporosis and cancer... ( Read the rest )So I ask you, dear reader... Poll #1428904 You Are What You Eat
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: AllI am... My diet is... Tags: cooking, food, friends, health care, reader poll From: Chicago Mood: Guilty
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Super easy, and a nice change of pace from the old standard... 
Garlic Butter Potato Blooms• 6 medium potatoes (skin on) • 2-3 cloves fresh garlic, thinly sliced • 2 Tbsp olive oil • Butter • Sea salt • Freshly ground black pepper 1) Preheat the oven to 425˚F. 2) Place the potatoes on a chopping board then, starting from one end, cut thin slits about 3/4-4/5 through each one so the potato "fans" but does not fall apart. 3) Carefully arrange the potatoes on a baking tray and insert garlic slices between the slits. Scatter some butter on top of each potato, then drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle some salt and pepper, to taste. 4) Bake for about 40 minutes (or until the skins turn crispy and the inner flesh is soft) Bon appétit!P.S. For those of you with an aversion to garlic, you can substitute grated parmesan or chive cream cheese. Tags: cooking, food, recipes From: Chicago Mood: Hungry
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 As we all know by now, Yukon Barbie and her defenders have cited (ad nauseum) the numerous ethics complaints against her as a practical reason for her resignation. Yesterday, Palin continued down that Path to Nowhere by telling the Anchorage Daily News that fighting the "frivolous" claims was "immobilizing" her. "I'm not going to let Alaskans go through a year of stymied, paralyzed administration and not getting anything done," said Palin. Naturally, skeptical observers have wondered how she would handle being president if a handful of ethics complaints are enough to make her unable to run a state. Her answer? Palin said there is a difference between the White House and what she has experienced in Alaska. If she were in the White House the "department of law" would protect her from baseless ethical allegations.
"I think on a national level your department of law there in the White House would look at some of the things that we've been charged with and automatically throw them out," she said. There is, of course, no such thing as a "Department of Law" at the White House. :/ ( Bonus Cartoon )P.S. (Speaking of ethics violations) it appears she's been hit with yet another one, but not by those nasty, witch-hunting liberals this time. ☺ Tags: comedy, dumb americans, gop lizard queens, gop meltdown, republican corruption, republican scandal From: Chicago Mood: Amused Now Playing: Ice Cream Truck
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A small, quick favor to ask, if you'd be so kind...  This here is Sydney, and she's running for the title of Arizona's Top Pet 2009. If you would take just a moment to stop by and vote for her, both I and her dad m_fallenangel would be very grateful. There is no cost, and you can vote once per email address per day (a valid e-mail is required, but only to prevent ballot-stuffing, not for marketing purposes). If you'd like to bookmark the link and stop by to vote daily, all the better! Thank you in advance, my friends!P.S. Please drop me a "done" in the comments so Angel & I can put you on our "Pass It Forward" roster. ☺ Tags: animals, dogs, friends, thank you From: Chicago Mood: Grateful Now Playing: Girls Making Brownies
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...wake up with fleas.
 (Hat-tip John Aravosis)Surprise, surprise: White supremacists and neo-Nazi hate groups plan to take advantage of the anti-tax "Tea Parties" set to occur in more than 1,000 cities and localities over the July 4th holiday weekend to disseminate racist fliers and other materials and attempt to recruit others to their cause, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). ADL's Center on Extremism, which monitors extremist groups and provides information to law enforcement and the public, has released information on its Web site describing the attempt by white supremacists to co-opt the anti-tax message of the events as a means to spread racism and anti-Semitism. On Stormfront, the most popular white supremacist Internet forum, members have discussed becoming local organizers of the "Tea Parties" and finding ways to involve themselves in the events. Many racists have voiced their intent to attend these rallies for the purpose of cultivating an "organized grassroots White mass movement," with some suggesting that they would do so without openly identifying themselves as racists. According to Tea Party organizers, rallies are currently planned in all 50 states and in 1,328 cities. Quoting Stormfront member "pk125": Folks, the only reason we're in this mess is because as a rule, Whites do NOT participate in the political process. Even though time after time, we've seen just effective that has been for the jews. For the blacks. For La Raza. And "Falcon2488": Judging by the way they are tearing out their hair - we are doing something very right. If we keep growing and getting stronger the way we are, they might need diapers... And "ProtestImmigrantsInvasion": There is [sic] 5 days of Tea party — http://teapartypatriots.org/ — Pass some WN flyers! Happy Independence Day, America.P.S. The Freepers are having none of it. None, I tell you! Leftkicker: “I wouldn’t be surprised if Acorn members have been paid off to pose as white trash supremacists. On orders from Obama."
EyeGuy: "And, of course, Jews are PROMINENTLY featured among the international and domestic Left. Vocal, strident, relentless and yes, hateful toward conservatives."
BoilingPots: "Nope, the ADL and their supporters only attack conservatives. They and their supporters need to be smashed."
MarineBrat: "Every racist I know is a democrat, and I know dozens." And on and on... Tags: dumb americans, independence day, racism, right-wing lunatics, tea bagging From: Chicago Mood: Amber Waves Of Agave Now Playing: Fireworks (What Else?)
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 Vinnie Jordan: 1955-2001For those of you that have been my friends since the alt.tasteless days, the name Vinnie Jordan needs no introduction. For those of you that've never heard of him: Vinnie Jordan blasted on to the 'net in the early 1990s. He found a home in alt.tasteless (in fact, he was named Mr. Alt Tasteless for 1997) and its less slutty stepsister group, alt.peeves, and he was well-known on the ba.* and scruz.* groups. A Google Groups search on pigface@deeptht.armory.com, pigface@netcom.com and vinniej@sco.com will show his meanderings into other newsgroups through cross-posted flamewars and trolls.
He had a number of noms de 'net: Pigface, Notorious P.I.G, One Sick Individual, King of Beasts, Missing Link, Dirty White Boy, Filthy McNasty, Pickled Punk, Doggiestyle, Official Asshole of the 1996 Olympics, and I.M. Bent.
Off the 'net, Vinnie was a gentleman (except when he was channeling Pigface; in that case, he could be both funny and infuriating to be around, depending on whether you were his target or his audience). Yet Vinnie had a streak of self-destruction and seemed destined (and at times, determined) to meet an early death. He said he expected to live to age 40 and that anything after that was borrowed time.
Vinnie was expressive and profane and belligerent. But those who knew him well knew another side to Vinnie — a side that was rarely expressed in the public sphere of the 'net. You'll see proof of that in some of the e-mail exchanges that people have contributed. Vinnie died in 2001 at age 46, in Santa Cruz, California. The following post was among the first of Vinnie's works that I read after aimlessly wandering into a.t. in 1995, and one that I have reposted in various other forums every July 4th as a memorial to his twisted spirit. I warn you that it isn't pretty, but I hope that you'll enjoy it as much as I still do. ( Rest in peace, old soldier... )Tags: alt.tasteless, farewell old friend, independence day, remember when, vinnie jordan From: Chicago Mood: Nostalgic
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Just when you thought the Teabagger crowd couldn't get any wingnuttier...  (Hat-tip Karl Frisch)Pssst, hey conservatives... I want to let you in on a devious little plan being hatched by your leaders in the media. It goes something like this: President Obama, the Democratic Congress, and the federal government are evil. They already have too much power and want to take even more control over your life. They're out to take away your guns, liberty, freedom, paycheck, and perhaps your mother's apple pie! Worse yet, now they want to count you. Have they no shame? That's right. In Obama's unyielding quest to impose a socialist-fascist-communist-Marxist police state, the president is going to send his minions from ACORN to your door to count you for the decennial census. And their solution to the president's pompous power grab? Sitting out the census. Seriously. ( Check this out )Tags: dumb americans, gop meltdown, republican implosion, right-wing hack, right-wing lunatics From: Chicago Mood: Amused
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Farewell to one of the classiest, most exciting athletes of my generation... 
1952-2009
"What Manny Pacquiao is to the Philippines, what Julio Cesar Chavez is to Mexico, so Alexis Arguello is to Nicaragua, a boxer who transcended sport to become a fighting symbol of the collective heart of his people... He was a fighter, pure and simple, one of the most elegantly vicious ones ever to step inside a ring, and outside of it, one of the most intelligent and inspired..."Tags: boxing, death, farewell old friend, mortality, sports From: Chicago Mood: Nostalgic
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... all in the same bite! 
Grilled Honey-Citrus Scallops• 16 large sea scallops, cleaned and patted dry • 1/2 cup orange blossom honey • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice • 4 tsp finely grated lemon peel • 2 tsp finely grated lime peel • 1 tsp hot chilli sauce (e.g., sambal olek) or a healthy pinch of red pepper flakes 1) Combine honey, orange juice, lemon & lime peel and chilli sauce in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to thoroughly blend. When heated through (not boiling!), remove and allow to cool to room temperature. 2) 30-60 minutes prior to grilling, toss the scallops with the room temperature glaze. 3) Pre-heat grill to medium-high heat. 4) Using a non-stick fish grilling pan (or heavy duty aluminum foil, lightly oiled), grill the scallops for approximately 90-120 seconds per side. (Don't overcook 'em or they'll be rubbery.) 5) Remove scallops from grill when lightly seared and serve over steamed rice. NOTE: You might want to increase the glaze ingredients and set a little aside before marinating the scallops and use it for dipping. Bon appétit!Tags: cooking, food, recipes From: Chicago Mood: Summer
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So my war with the god-damned rabbits continues, and guess who just got nailed with friendly fire? 
Yeah, that's right. Captain Dumbass.After the evil little bastards mowed an entire section of my baby Black-Eyed Susans into nubs sometime yesterday afternoon, I decided on yet another non-lethal offensive. So I go to the store today and buy a ten-dollar bottle of this stuff, made with dried blood and garlic oil. Absolutely fetid. I bring it into the garage and try to twist the childproof cap off, and, well - you can pretty much guess the rest... Yep. Spilled it. All over myself and the garage floor. Half the god-damned bottle. Me and my whole fuckin' house now reek of shit and dirty feet. Oh, and - joy of joys - it doesn't wash off with hot, soapy water, either. Quit giggling, you fuckers. Tags: dumb americans, jesus fucking christ, wildlife From: Banished to the Patio Mood: Foiled Again Now Playing: Rabbits laughing
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Whether you're covered or not...  (Hat-tip Susie Madrak)UninsuredWristband.com is a project started in 2007 by Daric Cheshire, 36, an artist/business owner in Portland, Oregon, as a response to the ongoing health care crisis. If you'll remember, there were a lot of causes using wristbands (such as the yellow "live strong" bands, etc.) at the time, and he thought it was a perfect way to illustrate the problem of the uninsured. At the time he started the project, Chesire's own family was uninsured. The original concept: if people who actually are uninsured were to wear these wristbands, the rest of us lucky enough to have insurance would be able to see in daily life what a real problem it is - that it affects normal, everyday people like your grocery checker or your next door neighbor and not just marginalized groups like the homeless, or undocumented immigrants. As he puts it, the message of the band is: "I'm uninsured. You may not know why, but now you know my face. Maybe I look like you or someone you love. I'm uninsured and scared of being without health insurance in this country. Maybe my health is already suffering from lack of health care. Today it's me, tomorrow it could be you."The response was enthusiastic, and it's grown to where the bands have now been embraced by people who just want to draw attention to the problem, whether they're insured or not. What a great idea, for as Sicko showed us, none of us really have health insurance - we have the illusion of health insurance. The bands are $3.99 each. If you want one, you can order here. If you can't afford it, Daric will send you one, anyway. I'm in. How about you? Tags: friends, health care, health care crisis, medicine From: Chicago Mood: Stubborn
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