Sorry about the delay, evreyone!  I hope to be back to updating next week; for now, I’m going to enjoy the holiday with my family and friends!  New blackbird soon though, I promise!

!Z

Longa metragem Brizola – Tempos de luta, de Tabajara Ruas. (Vale a pena, pelo menos, assistir de 1h25 em diante)

Trechos da entrevista com Juliana Brizola:

Livro El Caudillo:

Entrevista do Prof. Aurélio Fernandes ao Fazendo Media, sobre os Círculos Bolivarianos.

Curta metragem Ou ficar a pátria livre:

Esta noche se retoman los entrenamientos tras el bache del Sábado pasado frente al Legea.

El entreno de hoy consistirá en un partido frente a frente con la ayuda de 5 extras, ya que la plantilla del Taranis ha quedado reducida temporalmente por lesiones, quedando fuera del entrenamiento Toni y Mos, éste último con problemas tras el último partido.

El que asistirá a los entrenamientos aunque se lo tomará con calma será Rober, que el sábado se aquejaba del tobillo.

Esperemos que el tiempo acompañe para la sesión de hoy y no haya lluvia.

Informaros de que se han habilitado unas novedades en el blog debajo de  cada post (pinchando en él, no desde la vista general) en el que podeis votar que os parece cada entrada y así ayudarme a mejorar, aunque con el número de visitas ya es de sobra, ya que esta semana casi llegamos al record diario de visitas por apenas 4 visitas.

También en los comentarios teneis unos simbolos para expresar si estais conforme o no con el comentario de cada usuario.

The Dolphins head into the Thanksgiving weekend game against the Buffalo Bills with a 5-5 record, and each game being a must win from here on out.

The Dolphins finish up the season facing the Bills, New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, and Pittsburgh Steelers.

I’m looking for the Dolphins to go 5-1 if they wish to have any chance at the playoffs, and the last four games look to be the most crucial.

At this point in time, I am not counting on the Patriots losing so many games that they force a tie-breaker with us at the end of the season, and even for us to win the AFC East, it would take a lot to happen from here on out for the Fins to repeat as division champs.

With the whole AFC North losing, that only puts us within reach of them, as each team lost a game on the Dolphins, that were in playoff contention.

Here is my list of teams that is expected to contend for the Wildcard race, like the Dolphins:

1. Denver Broncos: 6-4

2. Pittsburgh Steelers: 6-4*

3. Jacksonville Jaguars: 6-4*

4. Houston Texans: 5-5*

5. Baltimore Ravens: 5-5

6. Dolphins: 5-5

(asterisks represent teams the Dolphins play the rest of the year)

As you can see, each team either has the same record as the Dolphins, or is one game above. To tell you the truth, we are a lot closer to being in the playoffs than I thought we were, so why turn back now! This is the time of year when all systems should be go.

But lets take a look inside each teams schedules, and breakdown what should happen in each game, and the end result for each team.

1. Denver Broncos:

Week 12: New York Giants: On Thanksgiving day, the Broncos should lose this game is all goes well. I suspect that both of New Yorks lines will win the battle of the trenches, and thus win the game. The Broncos pride themselves on the pass rush, and with the Giants line being so good, there may not be much of one for the Broncos. Final Verdict: A loss to the Giants pushes the Broncos back to 6-5.

Week 13: Kansas City Chiefs: With the Chiefs playing the Steelers tough, and with Matt Cassel and Jamaal Charles leading the way offensively, the Chiefs could sneak out a win here. Final Verdict: I think that this being a division game, that the Broncos take the Chiefs seriously, and come out with a slight win over the Arrowheads. The Broncos will be 7-5 after this week.

Week 14: Indianapolis Colts: If the Colts decide that they do not want to rest their starters for this game, I think the Colts come away with an easy win over Denver. Plain and simple the Colts are the best team in the AFC. Final Verdict: Colts get the win here as usual, throwing the Broncos back to 7-6.

Week 15: Oakland Raiders: Easy win over the Raiders here. I think that the way the Broncos coaching staff is set up, that they will not be prone to too many of these upsets such as these. Final Verdict: Broncos win. Their record is now 8-6.

Week 16: Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles are a difficult team to predict. Some weeks they come out firing, some weeks they play down to the weaker teams level. I think the Eagles come out to play this week, and pick up the close win, although with Kyle Orton back to health, it may not be easy. Final Verdict: Eagles win, giving the Dolphins hope. Broncos record is now 8-7, and the Broncos are out of the Wildcard race.

Week 17: Kansas City Chiefs: This game should not really matter at this point, but for what it is worth, I see Cassel sweeping his former coach this year. The Broncos will either rest their starters, or be out of the race, so they will not play everybody they should due to injuries. Final Verdict: Chiefs win, leaving the Broncos gasping for some fresh air next season.

Some easy games at the end will not be enough for the Broncos to limp into the playoffs.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers:

Week 12: Baltimore Ravens: Tough game for the Steelers, especially with Ben Roethlisberger all shaken up. Final Verdict: The Ravens come out with this one to leave the Steelers reeling after 3 straight losses.

Week 13: Oakland Raiders: The Steelers get back to form here with a much needed win against the lowly Raiders. Plain and simple.

Week 14: Cleveland Browns: The Steelers pick up their second straight win against the Browns to boost their record to 8-5. The Browns do not have the offensive firepower to withstand the Steelers tough defense.

Week 15: Green Bay Packers: The Steelers will get to Aaron Rodgers at least 6 times in this game and come out with the win. Their record will now be 9-5, with their playoff chances getting bigger and bigger.

Week 16:Baltimore Ravens: The Steelers come out fighting in this brawl. The battle of the defenses will be the storyline of the game. Final Verdict: Steelers get the win, all but clinching a playoff berth with the victory, with their record 10-5.

Week 17: Miami Dolphins: Dolphins come out victorious here with a miraculous win over the Black and Gold. Joey Porter gets revenge on his former team, and gets to Big Ben 3 times. The Dolphins offense does just enough to win the game in this one. Final Verdict: Steelers lose, but still have chance at playoffs. Dolphins help their own cause here.

The Steelers capture one of the two Wildcard spots with some big wins when it matters, one against the Ravens.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 12: San Francisco 49ers: The Jags should win this tough game, but it could go either way. With the Jaguars prolific offense all of a sudden, anything could happen. It will come down to the run game in this one, and the Jags clearly have the better one. Final Verdict: Jags get the win, increase their record to 7-4..

Week 13: Houston Texans: Another tough game for the Jaguars. Andre Johnson will light the Jags defense up, as expected, and Steve Slaton will provide a nice change of pace. Final Verdict: Texans get the win here in a back and forth game. The Jags are now 7-5.

Week 14: Miami Dolphins: This is the game that will define which of these two teams makes the playoffs. I expect the Dolphins to win this in a thriller. The Dolphins specialize in stopping the run, so I am not expecting Maurice Jones-Drew to have a breakout game, but I do expect Chad Henne to dissect the Jags secondary, which is falling apart with the injury of Rashean Mathis. Final Verdict: Dolphins win, dimming the Jags playoff chances. Their record is now 7-6.

Week 15: Indianapolis Colts: Tough game for the Jags yet again. Final Verdict: Colts pick up the win in a grind it out game. No team in the league but the Saints can match Peyton Manning’s ability. Jaguars are now 7-7, and their playoff hopes are now slim to none after three straight losses.

Week 16: New England Patriots: Only a week removed from a tough game against the Colts, the Jaguars now have to face Tom Brady and the Patriots. Final Verdict: The Jags losing streak increases to 5, and are now officiallty eliminated from the playoffs.

Week 17: Cleveland Browns: This game really has no effect anymore. What should have been an easy win that gets the Jaguars into the playoffs, will end up being a game where the only thing that will matter will be getting the Jaguars confidence up for next season. Final Verdict: Easy win here against the Browns. The Jaguars final record is 8-8.

4. Houston Texans

Week 12: Indianapolis Colts: After a tough loss to the Titans, the Texans will end up boucning back with a win against the Colts, ending the Colts streak of perfection. Andre Johnson will dominate in this game against the Colts lowly pass defense. Texans now 6-5.

Week 13: Jacksonville Jaguars: Texans ride the thrill of victory into this game, and get the win against this division rival. Johnson dominates yet again, leaving the Jaguars bewildered. The Texans record is now 7-5.

Week 14: Seattle Seahawks: The Texans start off their two game stretch against the poor NFC West teams with a win against the Seahawks. Nothing to see here. Texans are now 8-5, with the playoffs in their grasp now.

Week 15: St. Louis Rams: The Rams can’t win a game now without Marc Bulger, so there is no chance for them now. The Texans increase their record to 9-5, with the playoffs dancing in their dreams now.

Week 16: Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins pick up the key win here, leaving the Texans doubting themselves going into the last week against the Patriots. The Texans now need to win against the Pats to get into the playoffs. Their record now is 9-6.

Week 17: New England Patriots: The Patriots win this close one in a game where they rest all of their key starters because of the clinch in division for them. The Texans are now eliminated from the playoffs, opening the door for the Dolphins.

The Texans cannot get past some rough games at the end, and escort the Dolphins into the playoffs.

5. Baltimore Ravens

Week 12: Pittsburgh Steelers: The Ravens edge out the Steelers here, and increase their playoff hopes with an emotional win over their division rival. The Ravens go into Week 13 6-5.

Week 13: Green Bay Packers: The Ravens will get into a shootout here, but should have some success on defense in getting to the passer. The Packers have a terrible offensive line, but could end up beating the Ravens through an Aaron Rodgers breakout game. Final Verdict: Ravens get the win, and move to 7-5. The Ravens prove to be too strong defensively for the Pack.

Week 14: Detroit Lions: This game should be no problem for the Ravens. If the Ravens win by less than 10 I will be shocked. The Ravens just do not lose these types of games. Ravens are now riding a 3 game win streak to a 8-5 record.

Week 15: Chicago Bears: The Ravens will take care of Jay Cutler. This will be another defensive battle, and I see the Bears doing just enough to pull the upset here, it is just a matter of keeping the turnovers to a minimum. Final Verdict: Bears pull out the win, push the Ravens back to 8-6, facing potential playoff elimination.

Week 16: Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers will pull one out when it really matters, and officially end the Ravens playoff dreams. Ahh, division games! Ravens are now 8-7.

Week 17: Oakland Raiders: This cupcake game for the Ravens does not matter at this point. The Ravens win big, simply because they do not lose to teams that have talent issues like the Raiders. The Ravens finish up the season 9-7, but not good enough for the playoffs.

The Ravens will not take care of business with an easier ending schedule than most, and eliminate themselves from the playoffs due to untimely upsets.

So as you can see, I have the Steelers being the only team out of five above that make the playoffs. The other team will of course be the Dolphins if they can win some clutch games down the stretch. The Fins also need to sit back, and watch the AFC South teams beat up on each other. Division favorites such as the Patriots, and Colts can only help us at this point.

The only game that the Dolphins need to win to get their playoff hopes started is the New England game. Sure, they can afford a loss, but I would rather beat NEW England, and lose that crucial 6th loss to another team somewhere down the road.

But games against teams such as the Bills and Titans are must wins at this point. Every game is a big one now, and for the Dolphins, now is when they need to come up big for us Dol-Phans!

SERVES  8    PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes + cooling    COOKING TIME: 1 hr 10 mins

Easy to prepare

INGREDIENTS

425 mls / 15 fl oz  (approx 2 US cups)  double (heavy) cream

1 small onion or shallot, finely chopped

2 thyme sprigs, one stripped of leaves

butter, for greasing

500g / 1 lb 2 oz parsnips (about 4 large)

500g / 1 lb 2 oz butternut squash (about 1/2 a large one)

25g / 1 oz Gruyere cheese, grated

…………………………………………………………

Method

Place the cream, onion or shallot and the thyme sprig in a small pan.  Slowly heat to just below boiling point, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.  Strain, discarding the onion and thyme.

Heat oven to 160C  / 325F  / Gas 4  /  (Fan oven 140C  /275F).  Rub the bottom and sides of a gratin dish measuring about 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 in) with butter.  Peel the parsnips and trim the ends.  Peel and scoop the seeds out of the squash.  Thinly slice the vegetables.

Layer the parsnip and squash in the dish, pour over the infused cream, then scatter with the thyme leaves and Gruyere cheese.  Bake for 1 hour until golden and a fork slides easily into the veg.

………………………………………………………….

Get Ahead:  Leave the bake to cool, then cover and place in the fridge for up to 2 days.  To reheat, place in a 220C  / 425F  / gas 7  (fan 200C / 400F) oven for 15 minutes.  If the top starts to brown more than you’d like, cover with foil.

This recipe first appeared in the December 2007 Christmas edition of BBC Good Food magazine

I was inspired by OhMyNom. Please help me out with my next post by taking this quick poll. Thanks!

This round is all about the extras that are included with both of these free programs. For this post, I am going to take a look at some of the extras included with Google’s Picasa, and then do a later post about the extras included with Live Photo Gallery. To say that both of these programs are completely free to use, they both include some fantastic extras for you to make use of. I am going to concentrate on the ones that I feel are likely to be the most useful to  new users.

Name Tags.

The new version of Picasa now includes name tags, and this feature is very useful because its such a time saver.  As soon as you have installed Picasa and it has finished  loading in all of your photos stored on your computer, it begins to scan all of them for peoples faces. You can add a name to a persons photo and then Picasa will find all other instances of that named person and ask you to verify if those photos are of the same person or not  You can confirm them all or individually.  I  personally love this feature and it really works well, saving you the trouble of sifting through all of your photo collection to name individuals included in them.  However, do note here that Picasa will find every person’s face in every photo that you have stored! Luckily you can choose to tell it to ignore any that are superfluous.

Creating a Collage. 

Another useful feature included in Picasa is the ability to create a collage of a collection of your photographs.  To create a collage, you simply select some photos or pictures and then click on the Collage icon at the bottom of the viewing area.  You can scramble and shuffle the pictures, change the background to either a plain one or have one of the pictures as a background. Each picture included can have a frame or not, and you have complete control over the finished  size of the Collage.

Geotagging in Picasa.

Another very useful included feature is geotagging which is made so easy to do in the new version. If you have a photo that was taken at a particular place or spot, just click on the Places icon and a world map will load on the right hand side of the viewing screen. You can then move and click until you arrive at the town/city or area where the photo was taken. Then all you do is just drag and drop the chosen photo into the map to geotag it. You can add as many shots of that area/building etc as you want just by dragging them to the map area. Each photo geotagged is then assigned a small red ‘flag’ on the right hand lower side to denote that it has been geotagged. Its so easy!  Again, I love this feature.

Making a Movie

You can take a collection of pictures and easily create a movie out of them inside Picasa.  This feature is ideal for a collection of photos of a trip that you made or a day out for example,or as in my demo a theme.   You can add some music to the movie from your music files, decide on the title and the fonts used for it, choose the transitions between each photograph, play it through and then edit it until you are satisfied with the result. You can also add some captions to individual photos when you edit it.

Unfortunately I have not been able to  include the completed video in this post  to show you as  I had  lot’s of problems trying to get my video file uploaded to YouTube, in fact I had to give up trying in the end as I do not have unlimited uploads/downloads. This uploading videos area  definitely needs sorting out by the Picasa bods as it appears that I am not the only one who has experienced difficulty in this area.  Let’s hope that I have better luck in my next post when I’ll be taking a look at the extra features available in Live Photo Gallery.

TG EDIT. Have now managed to get the video uploaded to YouTube by cheating and using Windows Live Movie Maker instead. So the enclosed video is made with Picasa but uploaded with Movie Maker. I have not altered it in any way.

another great production and video from the mac ‘n retna peace squad…

Here is the latest chronicled adventures from our Dol-Phan on the scene in Miami, Griffin Van Nest. He is creating quite the player posse down in Miami the past couple of days!

What a wild past 6 days it has been for this Dolfan ! Again, I’m not from these parts and getting a chance to meet, even briefly, with any of the players is such a thrill. You can’t do this type of stuff very often up in Ohio, if ever.

Let me take you back to last Monday night. I hear on the local sports radio station that Ronnie Brownis going to doing a radio show at some restaurant in downtown Ft Lauderdale. Sweet ! I’m there, that’s only 6 miles from where we’re staying on the beach here. The place is nice, real nice. we arrive about 5 minutes before the show is about to begin and discover there is only about 12-15 other Dolfans there. They did there broadcast in a corner booth as the rest of us sat at surrounding tables. During the commercial break is when people would go up to their autographs and pictures. I waited till the middle of the show to make my move, as to get a little more face-time with the man. This worked out perfectly,…….kind of. I chatted with him briefly, got my 2009 team ball signed (he was #7 on it), I got a 8X10 photo sign (pic of him & I from when I met him in Detroit before the Thanksgiving game 4-5 years ago),and then the radio host offered to take our picture with him. SWEET !! A new picture with Him, my Wife, & I,…nice ! Only problem was after he took it he dropped the camera. It wouldn’t power up and he thought he broke it. If he apologized once, he apologized 10 times. Dude was worked up about, as it turns out it wasn’t broken. I just took the battery out, then put it back in and it worked fine. From where we were sitting you could hear the show, but later that night I get a call from a friend telling me about how he went on for about 20 seconds on-air about how bad felt for dropping a guy from Ohio’s camera. Funny stuff…..

Now it’s Thursday night, and me and some friends went to watch the game at a sports bar right on the outskirts of downtown Miami. It was billed as a charity event called “Party with the Pros”. It was suppose to have in attendance several former Dolphins. Cool, I thought, I can get the autograph I ball I won at the stadium the week before and turn it from a scub ball (Derek Hagen) and turn it into something special. After all, my childhood hero (John Offerdahl) and a HOF’er (Dwight Stephenson) ere suppose to be there. But nowhere did it mention anything about anyone from the ‘72 team. I wasn’t there 5 minutes and I spot Jim Kiick ! Score ! Stephenson, Offerdahl,…double score !! Others showed up,….Tony Nathen, Mark Higgs, Troy Straddford,…all signed the ball. Now I start to see a bunch of guys from the ‘72 team !!!! Mercury Morris, Larry Little, Bob Kuechenburg,……SUPER SCORE !!!! I got them all on my ball and a bunch of picture with them all. But, without a doubt, the highlight of my evening was get a picture with Kiick, Stephenson, Myself, Kooch, and Little all in one picture,…….CLASSIC !!!!!So I took a ball that I didn’t think much of with just one signature on it. And now, it has 11 names on it,….2 HOF’er and 4 that were on the ‘72 team. WOW !!! Did I mention how sweet it was that the Dolphins won !!!!! YES !!!!

What is next, I think. Since I’m off work til mid Dec this if it is Dolphin related, I’m showing up,..period. So on Friday when I heard that Channing Crowder was going to be doing a radio show at a sports bar in Ft Lauderdale,….well, I went there too. I got there about 30 minutes early and the Wife and I got our booth. Not long after we sat down I motioned Channing over. Dude was to cool. He spent about 15 minutes chatting with us about all kinds of things. 1st thing I asked him was if he spoke to Zac Thomas lately, he response, “I talked to him today”. How cool is that. He signed my 2009 team ball (a different one from Thursday), a picture I got with him last year, and took another picture with him. Pretty sweet, but my night wasn’t over yet. After Channing left to do the show, I talked with the radio guy a bit. at the time I didn’t think much of it. Like every time I meet someone Dolphin related I tell them the short version of my story. Born in Ohio, going to a bunch of games, and now I make it down to Florida for the winter catching a bunch of home games. I’ve told it 100 times. But, half way through the broadcast he calls me up the the front and gives me a 5X7 autographed action picture of Channing and took a picture of Channing’s Mother giving it to me. NICE !!!! After the show was over, Channing came back to our table and gabbed another 15 minutes or so. We talked about all kinds of thing before and fter the show, Rex ryen, the hair pulling, some of my hockey adventure, fishing, tattoos, his old car,….on & on. Dude is not short on conversation skills and for that matter neither am I. Totally cool !!!!!

What more ? Well, yes ! On Saturday there was another charity event that some Dolphin players where going to be at. It was for a little boy that had been covered in alcohol then lit ablaze by other kids. He was burned over half his body, and had been in the hospital for over a month now. The news reported that he had just taken his first steps on Friday since being in the hospital. Way to go kid, we’re all pulling for you !!! The place was packed. It was held at a local country club and it was very much like a carnival or neighborhood festival. Cotton candy, face-painting, Santa arriving in a fire truck, an elvis tribute band, 50/50 raffle, tons of stuff for a silent auction, the Panthers and Marlins mascots, a couple of Dolphin cheerleaders, and,….of course, 3 Dolphin players. Nobody knew who was going to show up. The event started at noon, and the players got there around 1:15. Chad Penninton, Devon Bess, and Pat White !!! WOW, solid group ! The line was a bit long so I ordered lunch, ate, then got into line. 20 minutes later, I now have 3 more names on my 2009 ball, a new picture with me and all 3 of them, and I got Pat White to sign a mini helmet !!!!

Here I have to say just how lucky I’ve been. 3 of the 4 events happened about 6 miles from where I’m staying on Ft Lauderdale Beach. I got another 2 and a half weeks here before I relocate up to the Tampa area for my work assignment. Until then, if it’s Dolphins related,…….I’ll be there !!!!!

-Griffin

se uno ha la passione….

To celebrate the ending of The Gathering Storm tour, we are running a giveaway on Twitter. One person will win a full-color Randland map (given out exclusively on tour) plus a Mistborn trilogy boxed set (new this month!).

To enter: Post what you liked best about reading The Gathering Storm (or post about what you’re looking forward to in Towers of Midnight). Make sure you include @torbooks in your response so we can find your entry.

Random drawing will occur @3PM EST Tuesday, November 24.

Good luck!

Amin

Con desarrollos tecnológicos así, pronto dejaremos de sufrir del Síndrome del Túnel Carpático y trabajar será mas divertido.

Comparte este Post-it

This is a UK favourite at Christmas time and has more or less become an intrinsic part of this special meal.  ‘Pigs in Blankets’ are simply chipolata sausages, wrapped in streaky bacon. 

So easy to prepare, for 8 people you will need:

 8 regular-sized pork chipolata sausages (allow 16 if you’re buying the usual cocktail size Christmas midgets)

8 rashers of streaky bacon strips

Olive oil

………………………………………………………

Preheat the oven to 220C / 425F / Gas mark 7  (200C for a fan oven, approx 400F)

Put a slice of streaky bacon on a flat surface and stretch and flatten it by gently pulling the back of a knife or palette knife over it.

Take a chipolata and roll the bacon strip around it to make a ‘pig in blanket’.  (If you’re using the mini sausages that are usually around at Christmas you’ll find that half a strip of bacon will do for one little sausage).  Repeat until all sausages are wrapped.

Sprinkle a little sunflower or olive oil in the bottom of a shallow oven proof dish.  Lay the pigs in blankets on top with the loose ends of bacon facing downwards and drizzle a little more oil on top.

Cook in the oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Drain on kitchen paper if you are concerned about them being too fatty.

Preparing ahead:   On the day before these are needed you can roll the sausages in the bacon and store, covered, in the fridge.

The humble sprout is much maligned but it’s a delicious vegetable  (if cooked properly) and as one of the ‘cruciferous’ group of vegetables (along with, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and broccoli)  may help to protect the body from cancer.  I can’t stress this enough: The key is to not overcook them.  If you’ve had bad experiences with them, the chances are that an inexperienced cook has ‘nuked’ them within an inch of their lives, rendering them limp and a slightly yellowy green colour.  In this state they take on a nasty bitterness and are very unpleasant to eat.  Cooked correctly however they should be soft but still retain some of their ‘oomph’ (my technical term, roughly translated to mean ’some of their body and structure’) and will still appear green.  

To prepare them for cooking: Remove the tougher and loose outer leaves (usually only one or two in number) and rinse in cold water.  I know opinion is divided nowadays but I still like to cut a little cross in the base of them because I find it helps to cook them evenly and quickly.  I then cook mine in one of those foldaway steamer baskets, placed in the bottom of a pan with a little bubbling water underneath, lid on, for 8 – 10 minutes.  Timing depends on the size of the sprouts so do keep an eye on them and check for readiness by poking them with the tip of a sharp knife.  If you prefer, you can of course boil them for an equal amount of time.

To serve: Again, I’m a fan of these little veggies so for me, serving them steaming hot with freshly cracked black pepper is all that I need, but non die-hard sprout fans might also like a knob of butter!

If I still haven’t quite convinced you, here is a very nice recipe for sprouts with a little extra crunch, nuttiness and interest – perfect for Christmas and Thanksgiving lunch and dinners.

CRISP-TOPPED SPROUTS

Serves 8 people    Preparation time: 15 minutes    Cooking time:    15 minutes

 Ingredients

1 kg / 2 lb 4 oz Brussels sprouts

50g / 2 oz white bread, preferably ciabatta

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for serving

25g / 1 oz flaked almonds

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Zest of 1 lemon

………………………………………………………

Remove any tough leaves and trim sprouts, then steam for 10 minutes until tender. 

Tear the bread into crumbs.  Heat a large frying pan and pour in the olive oil.  Add the bread and fry until just crisp.

Tip in the flaked almonds, garlic and lemon zest, then cook gently until everything is golden (be careful not to burn the garlic).

Place the sprouts in a serving dish, season, then toss with the crumbs etc. You can, if you wish, add a little extra olive oil to finish.

………………………………………………………..

These can be prepared ahead:  Cook the sprouts the day before to the ‘al dente’ stage (in other words, until almost but not quite cooked).  Remove from the heat and then cool quickly by draining and then plunging into a bowl of iced water.  Drain and set aside in the fridge.  You can also make the topping a day in advance and store it in an airtight container in the fridge.  To serve: Microwave the sprouts for 1-2 minutes or cook in boiling water to re-heat (being careful not to overdo it).  Warm the topping mix then toss with the topping as above.

Ricky Williams continues to amaze me. Not only has he put his troubled past behind him, but now he can heal himself, with the help of a friend, almost on the spot.

Yes, Ricky has a not so secret way of healing himself in the game, without the help of the popular choice, the trainer.

Ricky and friend Daniel O’Hara both partake in “pranic healing”. Pranic healing sounds to the common ear like a strange version of a voodoo doll, but in all honesty, it is so much more.

“Ricky will send me a text message saying, for example, to work on his ankle,” O’Hara said. O’Hara, in Orange County, Calif., will then “visualize Ricky’s ankle as if he’s standing in front of me. I visualize him glowing. I make a sweeping motion over my ankle to remove the dirty energy from his ankle that’s creating an abnormality and give his body fresh, revitalizing energy.”

“Ricky could be doing anything when I’m doing this — watching TV, sleeping,” O’Hara said. “It’s like a voodoo doll. I know it sounds strange.”

Ricky will then proceed to text O’Hara how the injured body part in question feels,“He says it’s a four, and I’ll try to get it to a 10. It takes me four minutes with Ricky because he meditates and has positive energy. It could take 25 minutes with somebody else. He’s special.”

Ricky can also do this himself:

“Usually, I prefer to work on it myself, but for some of the little nicks I’ve had this season, Daniel has really helped me. I know for a fact it works. It’s fascinating.”

All of this pranic healing, and the rest of Ricky’s healing techniques and activities, such as massages, acupunctures,vegetarian diet, yoga twice a week, meditation, and breathing daily has helped Ricky to one of his most successful seasons.

Ricky is averaging a career high 5.3 yards per carry, and those 5.3 yards are all hard earned yards as well. You are not watching Ricky Williams play ball if he is not running through would-be tacklers, or bursting through the gap with his amazing quickness.

This is Ricky’s year, and because of his amazing healing techniques, it might even convince to him to keep playing football for a couple more years:

`I’m looking forward to my plans after football,” he said Tuesday at his new South Beach restaurant, PROOF. “But if it’s the right situation, it would be difficult to turn down.”

Such encouraging words from Ricky sends excitement into the heads of Dol-Phans all over the world. If the pranic healing is really the secret behind Ricky’s amazing comeback, the past two years, then I say keep doing it, and why not get the rest of the team involved in it as well! They could use it right now.

As for Ricky’s injuries that head coach Tony Sparano hinted at in his press conference earlier in the week, Sparano now says Ricky will be fine.

Could the pranic healing be behind the sudden recovery?

A good planning starts with a wise appraisal of the situation, with plenty of time to think where you want to go, for how long and spending how much. It might even give you time to raise some extra funds if you think your budget will be too tight. Shop around, do your math and begin to enjoy your summer vacation right now.

Get All The Family Involved

Play a game, pinpointing possible places on a map and reach an agreement. It is ideal for a cold, windy weekend in front of a fireplace or around the breakfast table. Once you know where you want to go, or can afford to go, think of the cost and do not be conservative just yet. There will be time to adjust the budget later on, if it gets too tight. So make your checklist, asking everybody to remember what you did and what expenses you had on previous vacations. This is another little game…

Three Definite Lines Of Expenses

First of all, consider traveling expenses. Whether you will be going by car or by plane there is a certain expense. Probably your air tickets for all the family can be financed with your credit card, but we do not want to overload it. There usually are installment plans given by the airline, which can be more convenient and will leave room on the card for extras and unforeseen events. Gas expenses mean you are going nearer, in your car and that will be a smaller sum, but no credit there, I am afraid.

Lodging

Unless you are planning to spend some time at a friend’s house or maybe your old folks’ place, you will have lodging expenses: Hotel, a mountain cabin, hostel, a beach condo, whatever. This will be your largest expense, naturally depending on how long you are staying, but it is normally an important sum.

Extras

Extras comprise extra meals, day tours, drinks, cocktails, evening entertainment and awanna. Awanna buy this, awanna buy that. Well, it is supposed to be fun, is not it? You do not want to start saying “no this, no that” to your kids. Sounds funny, but it is all too true.

Add Up

So, once you have got everything on your checklist, add everything up and then think where you can get the cash from. There are special loans with a grace period, so that you can start paying when you get back. You have plenty of time to start shopping around for all you need. You may want to get some new clothing or footwear for everyone and that needs time to prepare. You could even start paying now for some of the items and gain time.

Now Keep The Family Involved

Everybody should have a little chore, like making their own checklist of things they want to take, finding out the cost of entertainments, so as to help with the building of the vacation budget. It will surely be a beautiful holiday and everyone will be looking forward to it and contribute to the planning and preparations with enthusiasm. This will keep the younger ones away from too much TV or internet and make them feel they are useful to each other.

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Cada vez que sale un trailer de una cinta con Ben Stiller no me tomo la molestia de verlo. No es que el tipo me caiga mal, de hecho me parece que ha hecho cosas geniales como Reality bites o Zoolander, pero en serio basta de actuar siempre como el goofy de There’s something about Mary. Sin embargo este trailer me llamó la atención

Y es que cada vez que Noah Baumbach hace una nueva cinta, merece como mínimo una celebración con fanfarrias.

No saben quien es este tipo? Pues es el guionista de dos pelis de Wes Anderson: Life Aquatic with Steve Sizzou y Fantastic Mr Fox. Aparte ha dirigido cosas como Kicking and screaming (no la de Will Ferrel), Margot at the wedding y una de las mejores cintas de la década: The Squid and the Whale.

Con ese currículum ya entienden porqué deben prestarle atención a esta peli. Y es que hay que tener talento para lograr filmar a Ben Stiller sin su cara de idiota de costumbre.

Celui qui a les clefs, le “pass-partout” de l’ISCOM interviewé par Paméla Shaw lors de la journée des anciens.

Pas la peine de le présenter aux Iscomiens Daniel est le « passe-partout » de l’Iscom et en possède toute les clefs (même celle du 5ème étage…)
Daniel, toujours aussi loquasse, nous donne ses impressions sur la journée des anciens .