UK Scientist: ‘Case for climate fears is blown to smithereens…whole theory should be destroyed and discarded and UN conference should be closed’

‘We should end this anti-scientific nonsense now’ — UN’s ‘Copenhagen jamboree is a scandal and it must be stopped’

UK astrophysicist Piers Corbyn, of the long range solar forecast group Weather Action, declared that the ClimateGate revelations have rendered man-made global warming fears “false.”

“The case is blown to smithereens and this whole theory should be destroyed and discarded and Copenhagen conference should be closed,” Corbyn said in a contentious on air television exchange with an environmental activist with Russia’s WWF. The live TV debate with Corbyn appeared on Moscow’s RT TV on November 25, 2009. The RT TV’s segment was titled “Heating Cheating.” See Full Video of Debate here.

“The world is cooling and has been cooling for 7 years and the leading scientists, so-called ’scientists’ have been trying to hide that evidence,” Corbyn said in reference to hacked emails showing top UN IPCC scientists apparently conspiring to manipulate temperature data and exclude scientific studies from peer-review that they did not agree with.

“We should end this anti-scientific nonsense now,” Corbyn said.

“The data, real data, over the last one thousand, ten thousand or million years, shows there is no relationship between carbon dioxide and world temperatures or climate extremes. Now we can see that actually the people in charge of data have been fiddling it, and they have been hiding the real decline in world temperatures in an attempt to keep their so called moral high ground,” Corbyn told host Bill Dod and Aleksey Kokorin, the Climate Program Coordinator for WWF in Russia.

The upcoming UN global warming summit in Copenhagen is a “complete waste of time,” according to Corbyn.

‘A scandal’

“The Copenhagen jamboree is a scandal and it must be stopped,” he added.

“There is a gigantic bandwagon run by governments who want to control world energy supplies and hold back development in the third world. This thing they are doing now is just the same as they are doing in the banking crisis, it is creating a whole bubble of false values,” Corbyn explained.

Corbyn said the ClimateGate revelations further revealed that man-made climate fears are not scientifically valid.

“Their claims are false, I repeat, they are false, and this theory they’ve got is like the titanic and it will crash. I would suggest that honest green campaigners who want to preserve biodiversity should get off this [man-made global warming] bandwagon before it sinks,” Corbyn explained.

“Carbon dioxide levels are driven by temps, not the other way around. There have been big peaks in CO2 in past…carbon dioxide is actually a good thing for the world,” Corbyn explained. “More CO2 makes plants and animals more efficient,” he added.

Related Links:

Read All About it! Climate Depot Exclusive – Continuously Updated ‘ClimateGate’ News Round Up

More Defections! Center for Env. Journalism’s Tom Yulsman: ‘I’m standing with George Monbiot on this’

Another Blow to Warming Establishment: New Zealand’s climate center accused of ClimateGate-style temperature faking

ClimateGate: ‘Jones, Briffa and Mann seem to have committed several criminal offences’

The Program Code – Perhaps Far More Damning than the Emails

Australian Herald Sun: ‘Manufacturing consensus: why Climategate hurts the warming faith’

Monbiot: ‘There is no helping it; Jones has to go, and the longer he leaves it, the worse it will get’

2009 U.S. Senate Report: 700 Plus Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Warming Claims and see: ‘Series of inconvenient developments for promoters of man-made global warming fears continue unabated’

Losing Their Religion: 2009 officially declared year the media lost their faith in man-made global warming fears – October 2009

‘Series of inconvenient developments for promoters of man-made global warming fears continue unabated’

New Report: UN Scientists Speak Out On Global Warming — As Skeptics!

‘The whole climate change issue is about to fall apart — Heads will roll!’ -South African UN Scientist Dr. Will Alexander, April 12, 2009

UN IPCC Scientist Kenneth P. Green Declares ‘A Death Spiral for Climate Alarmism’ – September 30, 2009

Climate Revolt: World’s Largest Science Group ‘Startled’ By Outpouring of Scientists Rejecting Man-Made Climate Fears! Clamor for Editor to Be Removed! – July 29, 2009

American Physical Society to review its current climate statement after a group of 80 prominent physicists petitioned APS revise – May 1, 2009

American Physical Society editor conceded a “considerable presence” of scientific skeptics exists – 2008

Polish National Academy of Science ‘published a document skeptical of man-made global warming’ – April 2008

Climate Fears RIP…for 30 years!? – Global Warming could stop ‘for up to 30 years! Warming ‘On Hold?…’Could go into hiding for decades,’ peer-reviewed study finds – Discovery.com – March 2, 2009

March 2009 U. S. Senate Report: ‘More Than 700 International Scientists Dissenting Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims’

India Issued a report challenging global warming fears – 2008

Canvass of more than 51,000 Canadian scientists revealed 68% disagree that global warming science is “settled” – 2008

Japan Geoscience Union symposium 2008 survey ’showed 90 per cent of the participants do not believe the IPCC report’

Skeptical scientists overwhelm Prestigious Geologist conference in Norway in 2008: ‘2/3 of presenters and question-askers were hostile to, even dismissive of, the UN IPCC’ & see full reports here & here

Scientist William Schlesinger admits in 2009 that only 20% of IPCC scientists deal with climate

Climate Fear Promoters Try to Spin Record Cold and Snow: ‘Global warming made it less cool’ – July 27, 2009

‘Find ways to exaggerate’: Nobel Prize-winning economist wishes for ‘tornadoes’ and ‘a lot of horrid things’ to convince Americans of global warming threat! – July 14, 2009

MIT Climate Scientist Lindzen: ‘Ordinary people see through man-made climate fears — but educated people are very vulnerable’ – July 6, 2009

Spoof: NYT in 2019: Scientists Now Say Global Warming Fears Fading Away – Claim There Never Was Warming Consensus

Gnaposs.

• Data: Diumenge, 29 de novembre
• Lloc: Jamboree
• Adreça: Pl. Reial, 17
• Horari: 21:00h
• Preu: 10€

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/gnaposs

The Elephant 6 Collective

A record label.  A collection of musicians.  An ethos.  A cult.  The Elephant 6 Collective is all that and more. Based in Athens, Ga. (after originating in Denver), and formed by Bill Doss, Will Hart, Jeff Mangum and Robert Schneider, it started out as a way to record and release their psychedelic influenced lo-fi pop. It soon spiraled and transformed, with other artists joining and band members working on each others’ albums. Eventually, it became less of a recording company than a pool of artists who shared a similar style and philosophy about making music.  And it was from this pool that some of the greatest artists of the genre’s modern era — Neutral Milk Hotel, The Apples in Stereo, of Montreal and The Olivia Tremor Control to name a few — got their start.

So what’s the very best of trip-hop? 20 Watts’ MARC SOLLINGER has the answer in our ninth 20 installment. Watch for new 20s each Thursday, only on 20 Watts, and check out our previous 20s below!

BSA has formally unveiled their plans for the new permanent National Jamboree site in West Virginia, which I wrote about in September.  ”The Summit: Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve” will encompass over 10,000 acres in the New River Gorge region near Beckley, West Virginia.

“Today is a great day for Scouting. Thanks to the generosity of the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the development of The Summit: Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve will be a source of fun, adventure, and discovery for hundreds of thousands of Scouts and leaders for generations to come,” said Chief Scout Executive Bob Mazzuca. “As we prepare to enter another century of service, this announcement demonstrates that Scouting is as relevant and vital today as it was when our journey began.”

Area residents, Scouts, community leaders, and elected officials attended the unveiling celebration at the Glen Jean Armed Forces Reserve Center. Guests included Gov. Joe Manchin, D-WV; U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-WV; Superintendent of the New River Gorge National River Don Striker; Fayette County Commissioner Matt Wender; and Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr.

“I commend the Boy Scouts of America, Stephen Bechtel, and all of the supporters for working so diligently with our state and local officials to bring this project to fruition. This partnership will reap tremendous benefits for young people across the country and the Mountain State for many years to come. West Virginia is proud to be a part of this new chapter in Scouting history,” said Gov. Joe Manchin.

While I would have liked to see a more centrally-located site chosen for the National Jamboree, I am excited by the opportunity that thousands, perhaps millions, of young men in the Eastern United States will have to experience high adventure at this site.

The Summit: Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve will complement the BSA’s existing three high-adventure bases in New Mexico, Minnesota, and Florida and help meet demand for new high-adventure activities not offered elsewhere. Annually, the BSA’s three existing high-adventure bases serve more than 50,000 youth – with 20,000 or more regularly wait-listed to attend.

The site, located in the Glen Jean – Mount Hope area, will offer unique opportunities for high-adventure whitewater rafting, technical rock climbing, mountain biking, and other extreme outdoor sports. The beautiful backdrop of the New River Gorge serves as a living outdoor classroom, offering activities that build leadership skills and the strong principles rooted in the Boy Scouts’ mission.

I do want to give a tip of the hat to the folks on BSA’s Centennial social media outreach team for getting the word out in multiple medias on this and other Centennial stories.

BSA says they plan to break ground in the spring and take 3-4 years to be up to a full high adventure program.  If Philmont’s full and an Ely canoe trip isn’t on your calendar already start making plans for The Summit.

.

Nel numero 3/2009 di Proposta Educativa è stata pubblicata una lettera (leggila qui) a firma di Giacomo Ebner, Chiara Clementi, don Damiano Marino (responsabili e assistente ecclesiastico Regionale Agesci Lazio).
Nel numero 6/2009 di Proposta Educativa è stata pubblicata la mia risposta (insieme ad altre) che potete leggere qui o più comodamente vi allego di seguito. Il concetto è breve: ma l’Agesci “sfiorisce” perchè non sono stati approvati il Jamboree e i castorini (con tutto il mio rispetto per l’impegno dei capi che hanno promosso le due iniziative)? Secondo me no, sono ben altre le priorità su cui ci si deve concentrare.

Ecco la mia risposta

«È realmente segno di “accontentarsi”rinunciare all’accoglienza dei castorini e al Jamboree in Italia?
È realmente necessario attivarsi per creare un Jamboree in Italia dopo il passivo di centinaia di migliaia di euro del campo nazione E/G (vedasi qui pag. 71 e le cifra a pag. 23)e dopo la fallimentare consulenza (leggasi qui a pag.22) attivata (e pagata) per raccogliere fondi per il centenario?
I grandi obiettivi dell’Agesci quali sono, i castorini, il Jamboree? Forse sarebbe meglio creare una struttura organizzativa che supporta realmente i capi e i Gruppi, reale fulcro dell’attività educativa ed invece non esiste una guida che aiuti i capi a districarsi sullenormative dei campeggi, sulle normative fiscali e giuridiche relative alla gestione amministrativa ed economica di un gruppo. Meglio ragionare sui massimi sistemi, i grandi eventi e perchè no cambiare ogni 3-4 anni l’iter di formazione?!».

Per ultimo: più che a queste riflessioni comunque direi che sarebbe da sottolineare invece il fatto che è stato approvato, dallo stesso consiglio generale nel 2008, un iter di formazione che va nella direzione opposta dell’iter richiesto dallo stesso consiglio generale. Leggasi questo mio post per capire.

C’est étrange d’entendre parler français.[...]
J’ai beau me le répéter, je ne sais pourquoi cette nuit j’ai échoué tout seul, dans cette ville indifférente où il ne reste plus rien de nous.

Es raro oír hablar francés. […]
Pese a repetírmelo, no sé por qué esta noche he fracasado a solas, en esta ciudad indiferente donde nada queda ya de nosotros.

Patrick Modiano, Quartier perdu (1984)

Teniendo en cuenta lo que me espera para el tiempo que voy a estar, más me vale que me dedique a bailar y me olvide de angustias…

(«… Y cómo huir / cuando no quedan / islas para naufragar / al país / donde los sabios se retiran / del agravio de buscar / labios que sacan de quicio, / mentiras que ganan juicios / tan sumarios que envilecen / el cristal de los acuarios / de los peces de ciudad…»)

Nos vemos por aquí a mediados de diciembre. Disfruten, como siempre, con nuestro servicio de bar y nuestras especialidades típicas.

…

Let’s dance little stranger / Show me secret sins / Love can be like bondage / Seduce me once again
Burning like an angel / Who has heaven in reprieve / Burning like the voodoo man / With devils on his sleeve
Won’t you dance with me / In my world of fantasy / Won’t you dance with me / Ritual fertility
Like an apparition / You don’t seem real at all / Like a premonition / Of curses on my soul
The way I want to love you / Well it could be against the law / I’ve seen you in a thousand minds / You’ve made the angels fall
Won’t you dance with me / In my world of fantasy / Won’t you dance with me / Ritual fertility
Come on little stranger / There’s only one last dance / Soon the music’s over / Let’s give it one more chance
Won’t you dance with me / In my world of fantasy / Won’t you dance with me /Ritual fertility
Take a chance with me / In my world of fantasy / Won’t you dance with me / Ritual fertility

Vamos a bailar, forasterito / Enséñame a pecar en secreto / El amor puede ser darle al bondage / Sedúceme otra vez
Ardiendo como un ángel / Que tiene el cielo por indulto / Ardiendo como el hombre del vudú / Que anda con ideas de diablos
No vas a bailar conmigo / En mi mundo onírico / No vas a bailar conmigo / Fertilidad ritual
Como una aparición / No pareces de verdad para nada / Como una premonición / De maldiciones en el alma
La forma en que quiero amarte / Bien podría ser del todo ilegal / Te he visto en miles de mentes / Has provocado que cayeran los ángeles
No vas a bailar conmigo / En mi mundo onírico / No vas a bailar conmigo / Fertilidad ritual
Vamos, forasterito / Solo queda un último baile / En poco se acaba la música / Vamos a ver si ahora lo hacemos
No vas a bailar conmigo / En mi mundo onírico / No vas a bailar conmigo / Fertilidad ritual
Mira a ver si lo hacemos / En mi mundo onírico / No vas a bailar conmigo / Fertilidad ritual

Escena de Bande à part de Jean-Luc Godard (1964) con música de Nouvelle Vague, «Dance with me», del disco Nouvelle Vague – Bande à part (2) (2006), versión de la canción del mismo título del disco homónimo de The Lords of the New Church (1983).

Aqui teneis el nuevo tour de Spitz llamado Jamboree.

Falta todavia el dvd iso nº2 pero lo estan subiendo actualmente, cuando lo acaben de subir lo posteare tambien ^^

Pass: carrozzeria
Disc1
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8HHXORF5
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http://www.megaupload.com/?d=01WCMD0Q

Pessoal,
Foi pedido que se mostrasse aos pioneiros.

Aqui vai um “cheirinho” dessa agrande actividade que vai ser o Jamboree 2011 na Suécia.

http://vimeo.com/4828034

Toda la informacion disponible hasta la fecha sobre el nuevo dvd del ultimo tour de Spitz (el mejor grupo de la historia en cuanto a musica japonesa se refiere)

LIVE DVD
『JAMBOREE TOUR 2009 ~さざなみ OTR カスタム at さいたまスーパーアリーナ~』
スピッツ
2009.11.04 RELEASE !

First Pressing
UPBH-9442
\7,800(tax in)

Regular Edition
UPBH-1239
\4,800 (tax in)

First Pressing comes with an extra DVD, a live DVD and a 30-page Arena Tour photobook.

Tracklist Limited Edition (2DVD + 2CD + 30 pg Photo Album)

Tracklist Regular Edition

Spitz Official Website
Official Live DVD Website

I was scrolling through the shots from J19 and thought id post one of my fav shots being a) an rx3 and b) on the 2 step. Have to love the rx3 awesome shape and they are going faster and faster every meet. Jimil Jafaar from Pac Performance eat ur heart out.

Welcome to Keyport, New Jersey

The Keyport IHOP is a proud sponsor of this event!

The 12th Annual Keyport Country Jamboree and Chili Fest is an old-fashioned street fair featuring live music and entertainment, a contest to judge the best homemade baked cakes, pies and jams, and the best Chili around. The festival returns to downtown Keyport on Saturday, October 10th and Sunday, October 11th.

Admission and parking is free, with the event taking place on West Front Street, which will be closed to traffic during the event from Broad to Beers streets. The event will take place from Noon to 7:00 PM, rain or shine, offering great food and fun for the whole family. There will be a beer and wine garden featuring cowboy mugs available for purchase.

On Saturday, October 10, the Ring of Fire Band will perform from 4:00 – 7:00 PM and on Sunday, October 11, the Southern Steel Band takes the stage at Noon followed by the Steel Rail Blues Band from 3:00 – 7:00 PM. The bands will be performing in the mini-park on West Front Street overlooking the new waterfront promenade. There will be additional performers such as the Legendary OK Cowboy, and strolling Cowboys and Cowgirls. The kids won’t want to miss their stunts such as knife juggling, gun spinning, whip cracking and lassoing.

Keyport’s downtown stores and cafes will be open throughout the festival, and they will be joined by specialty vendors and crafters lining the route, offering unique merchandise. The Farmers’ Market will also be open offering fresh produce and fall plants and flowers.
Chili lovers won’t go away hungry, with the food vendors serving up a variety of chili recipes. On Saturday, professional chili chefs will be competing for a trophy presented by Mayor Rob Bergen. The chili tasting and voting will run from noon to 5pm on Saturday and there is no entry fee to vote. Participating local restaurants will be competing for the trophy. Chili will be available for purchase throughout the weekend at the food court. On Sunday, from noon to 4PM, the Cake, Pie and Jam Contest will be opened to the general public for submissions. The winners will be announced at 5PM. There will be many children’s activities including Inflatable Bounces, Face Painting, Pumpkin Painting and Games.

The Keyport Country Jamboree and Chili Fest is hosted by the Keyport Cultural Celebration Committee (KCCC) with local support from our generous sponsors T&M Associates, the Front Porch Emporium, Hatch Mott MacDonald, Keyport IHOP and CME Engineering.

For additional information, directions, or entry forms, call 732-739-5138

Join our Facebook Fan Page for updated events:

Keyport IHOP Fan Page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Keyport-NJ/Keyport-IHOP-Open-24-Hours/132818693551?ref=ts

I’m not going to start this blog with an apology. I’m just gonna go straight into things because I’m ready for bed and I’m tired of postponing making a new blog entry. On Wednesday, I decided to “take a break” with Bradley. Why? Because he was getting jealous of Jacob — Jacob had apologized to me and told me he wanted to start talking to me again. Of course I was still pissed and had to think about what to do, and that night when Bradley called me and I brought up the topic, he made a huge deal about it. It was all of this and the fact that things just didn’t feel the same between us for the past week anyway that brought me to my decision.

And although he said I had two weeks to decide if I wanted to date him again, he called me Thursday and asked me for the verdict, which kind of ticked me off; it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours. In the end he just told me to call me when I was ready to talk. I even hung out with Jacob that day, just to see what talking to him again would be like, and it was nothing like it used to be. It was…normal. No desire to be with him anymore.

As for Friday, I rode home with Courtney and got off the bus with her and Jacob. She wanted us both to go to a basketball jamboree with her to watch her sister Kelsey play at Country Day. The jamboree was pretty uneventful (I don’t think Poland won any games) and afterwards, the three of us went with Kim to the Panda. I didn’t eat much because I was getting upset about the whole Bradley-Jacob situation, and the icing on the cake was the fortune inside of my cookie: “Watch your relations with other people carefully, be reserved.”

I ended up crying in the parking lot but being cheered up by Courtney and Kim by the time I got dropped off at Courtney’s house. Courtney and I had to wake up at ten AM to get ready for the pie festival on Saturday, but I was feeling a lot less loaded down for some reason. Courtney painted faces and I took some pictures until around three PM. Then Courtney, Brooke, Kelsey, and I all went Jet Skiing on the Red River with Katie and Hailey for an hour or two. We all went back to Courtney’s house afterwards and got ready to go to the MAiZE. I wanted to invite some more people to go just to add to the fun; that ended up being only Kris because everyone else was already busy.

So I rode to the MAiZE with Kris (who likes to drive super fast using his knee to steer), Courtney, and Jacob while Katie, Lauren Laborde, Kelsey, Hailey, Tristan, and other people I don’t even remember piled up into another vehicle. At the MAiZE we were joined by Kayla and Tyler. Well, the awkwardness of Kayla being there was kind of high, because she really liked Kris and he was hanging out with me during the whole thing. And I started to tell that I liked him too. The two of us held hands and talked the whole time and ended up getting lost. Courtney and Jacob made it out within thirty minutes (How, I’ll never know…) and within an hour, Katie called me and told me that everyone else was already out except for Kris and I. We ended up seeing Tyler towards the end and he led us out of the MAiZE, where Kayla was conveniently standing with her arms crossed. She sounded pretty pissed but I didn’t know what to say.

Sorry if you think what I did was wrong, but I honestly don’t, considering all the circumstances. Kris drove Courtney, Jacob, and I to Burger King afterwards, where Jacob was being extremely quiet and emotional. Kris went to talk to him outside and Courtney told me his problem: he was still in love with me, and seeing me with Kris (his best friend) was incredibly hard. Apparently he told Kris he didn’t care if he asked me out or not. He just wanted us to be happy. We drove back to Courtney’s house, Jacob left without even saying goodbye to me or Kris and without kissing Courtney, and Kris came in to talk about the situation for like fifteen minutes. I ended up falling asleep on him, though, so I wasn’t much help. I don’t think they came to any decisions either.

Sunday we had to wake up just as early as Saturday, which sucked, because Courtney and I were both really exhausted. What sucked even more was the fact that we woke up early for no reason — face painting at the pie festival was canceled and so was softball practice. We ended up going to Books-a-Million, though. I bought the fourth Private series book, Confessions. Eventually I went home and Kris came over to my house. We attempted to watch The Green Mile but ended up talking during most of it and he had to leave at 7:30.

Bradley called me like six times while Kris was over, texted me twice, and left me a voicemail. When Kris left I called him back and said I wasn’t ignoring him — someone was over. He just told me that he needed to know my decision immediately. I told him we were over and done with…and then he seemed fine. So we attempted to have a normal conversation but it was interrupting by Jacob, who was texting me saying he was sorry and saying he was done with people and wanted to say goodbye. I attempted to make him feel better but I failed. There wasn’t really much to say or do.

So, as you can see, you know why I titled this blog “clusterf!ck.” There is a buttload of drama surrounding me right now and it is insane. But…I think I can get through it. Eventually.

truly yours,
.chizuru

—————-
Now playing: Push Play – Midnight Romeo
via FoxyTunes

Scouts is a great way to build teamwork, survivial skills in an environment full of motivated individuals!

Scouts Canada, the country’s leading youth organization, offers seven challenging programs for boys, girls and youth age 5-26 in thousands of individual groups in most cities and towns across Canada.  Over 74,000 young people enjoy Scouts Canada’s programs, which are provided by 23,000 caring and dedicated volunteers.   Scouts Canada’s national office is located in Ottawa.

http://www.scouts.ca/dnn/

Just spent an enjoyable week entertaining two rather gorgeous girls from my erstwhile adopted homeland of Poland. It’s easy to be snobby about seeing a city from a tourist point of view but Barcelona really does pull out the stops when it comes to sightseeing and it was a pleasure to revisit all the greats with guests in tow… as well as get in some bikini time (the Polish girls, not me).

Having also done some fairly extensive club crawling I’m still not entirely satisfied by the Barcelona nightlife, and waiting to find my niche. We did Jamboree, Catwalk and Razzmatazz, but the first two are typical tourist fare and the latter is a just a huge crush (a night spent queuing in effect!) and def too much for a clubber of my advanced years. Did turn up a new place called Marula which may be worthy of a second look. Met a French DJ called Fred Spider and although I can’t recall very much of our 2 hour conversation I seem to remember we shared the same music taste and nightlife outlook… he plays there at weekends so I’ll get back to y’all if I get around to going.

On my honor I will do my best to…keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.  -Scout Oath

In my scouting days, Boy Scout Jamborees were an opportunity to meet hundreds of other boys from dozens of troops and raise hell with minimal adult supervision.

Do a good turn daily.  -Scout Slogan

A popular pastime was sending younger boys on snipe hunts (Oh, that elusive North American snipe!). Variations included sending tenderfoots to other camps asking to borrow their left-handed smoke shifters, blueberry peelers or portable tent windows.

Be prepared.  -Scout Motto

We would empty plastic gallon jugs of apple cider and fill them with stale, warm beer.

A scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly,…

At night we would go on raids to pull out tent stakes.

…Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful,…

Our best prank was setting off a huge aerial flare in the middle of the skit program.

…Thrifty, Brave, Clean & Reverent.  -Scout Law

Thank you, B.S. of America, for making me the man I am today.

Yesterday was a fabulous Saturday in Brooklyn. Woke up at 8 a.m. (yes, on a Saturday) and went running for the first time in WEEKS with a brand new playlist, followed by a trip to the Brooklyn Public Library and the farmer’s market. Now I have endless amounts of peaches, plums, raspberries and blueberries as well as subway reading material for the week. Per-fect.

Later in the day I met up with my friend Lucy, who always knows what’s going on in the city when it comes to music. We went to the Park Slope Bluegrass and Oldtime Jamboree at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture. WTF is a Society for Ethical Culture? I have no idea. But we went there. There were a lot of older people, at least 75% of the hair in the room was white or missing completely. We felt like we had been momentarily transported to Vermont or somewhere, we definitely did not feel like we were still in New York. Some of these people had Southern accents and most of them lacked any sense of style. BUT they played some amazing Bluegrass. I am always awed by any musical abilities and some of these people with their instruments (not to mention voices) really impressed me. This one lady looked like she was 70 years old, played bluegrass bass and sang it out. If only my grandma could do that! (For the record my grandma owns an accordion, so maybe that means something.)

When we first got there, they had sold out of food so we walked two blocks to Sweet Melissa, a bakery on 7th avenue that I’ve heard of and walked by many times but never actually gotten anything from.

Well. I ordered their chicken potpie and it did NOT disappoint. I have no idea the last time when I actually had chicken pot pie was, but it’s been so blah and rainy outside, so a nice, warm, crisp chicken potpie is just what the doctor ordered.

Will you just look at that pot pie? The color is off because the lighting in the restaurant was not conducive to my photography skills, as is so often the case. But look! It is basically one giant crust that sits on top of a bowl of chicken stew. And the crust was so flaky and easy to break off into pieces, I really don’t think I have ever had better pot pie. It was comparable to the chicken stew they served at the Michigan State University cafeteria. I’m not even kidding, that was some good stuff! But it did not, of course, have that fancy crust.

Anyway, after my pot pie (and Lucy’s salad – she always gets salad!) we ordered a dessert. We got the warm flourless molten chocolate cake instead, basically, my five favorite words right there.

It was pretty good. My only complaints would be the wrapping was annoying to get around and I think I needed a glass of milk or a spoonful of vanilla ice cream to top it off. And perhaps a little more molten wouldn’t hurt. The next time I’m there I may try one of these cupcakes:

ANYWAY. This was supposed to be a post about Bluegrass. I like it. I also like that there are things called Pickin’ Tents where everyone brings their instrument, comes and goes as they please and jam along with whoever. Throughout the night we would go outside and check out the impromtu bluegrass band under the tent. My favorite is when everyone was singing along, people’s voices always surprise me.

A lot of the songs were about West Virginia. One of them I even knew from when I was like ten and would play this Carmen San Diego computer game all the time. Now that was a good game.

2700 Alton Parkway
Irvine, CA 92606
www.bcdtofu.com

All I have to say about BCD Tofu is…RIDICULOUS…the price that is

I’m not going to lie, $8 for soy milk curd, coagulated milk protein, enzyme magic, etc. is just plain wrong.  It’s really cheap to make tofu, so why charge so much?  Just to slam dunk this point across your face and your widening eyes as you read the last line, a friend went with us and doesn’t particularly like tofu, so he ordered Teriyaki chicken.  The dish amounted to about $14 for just plain chicken cooked with teriyaki sauce, which is basically sugar, dark soy sauce, and mirin.  That’s just plain ripping a customer off.  Even the chicken is probably thinking, “damn, I feel bad for you.

As far as my tofu dish went, I ordered spicy tofu soup that came with several side dishes.  None of the side dishes were really worth mentioning as they are standard side dishes that you would get served any any Korean restaurant.  The taste of my tofu dish wasn’t too bad with a good helping of spice and heat… but I can’t help but think that I paid $8 for just tofu.  When I told my mom about what I ate and she asked me how much it costs, her eyes just basically rolled 360 degrees and she proceeded to beat me savagely for spending so much money for tofu.  She is beating me as we speak.

Blame it on my culture, but Chinese people won’t pay that much for tofu sitting in water marinated with several spices.  A quart of Tofu at the store (about maybe 4 bowls of tofu soup at BCD) is only about $1.50.  The profit they are making over their customers is mind boggling.  However, because this place is situated in Diamond Plaza, I’m not surprised because I’m sure the Irvine Company is charging sky high rent.  If the tofu dish I ate was around $4-$5, I wouldn’t mind so much nor would I be complaining at all about this review…except for…………………………………..

…………………….service…there wasn’t any.  We rang the bell several times to get someone to come get our order, no one came.  Luckily, a waiter was in the vicinity when we were trying to get a hold of someone and a person at our table basically called out at him to take our order, even then he said “hold up, let me get someone.”  NICE!  When we wanted more water or our check, no dice…rang the button at least 8 times (this is no exaggeration, thanks Natalia ) and still no service.  After poking at the button for another 20 times (okay this is an exaggeration) I finally just got up myself and went to go get the check at the front.  Service seems to be the #1 complaint here at BCD (check yelp as well for all the complaints) and this is enough to warrant anyone not to come back because trust me….the service is that bad.

THE GIST:

Food: eh, forgettable, I mean..it’s just tofu!  No offense to anyone who lives or dies by tofu of course lol.  Wouldn’t be complaining if it wasn’t $8.

Price: You can spend that same amount and get better food at 85 degrees and get 10 times more food, need I say more?

Service: I think the Keebler Elf can serve the entire BCD crowd better…. on a busy night…. by himself……. more attentively…..with a gun to his head….while juggling knives…being chased by wolves…cursed by Stalin…pecked at by roosters in heat…elbow jabbed to the gut…and blind (not an exaggeration hahaha).

I took some pictures last Friday at the Central Jamboree. Here are a couple shots.

Warm-ups

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I wasn’t trying for motion blur on this next one but I actually like the effect. Notice the guy in the white sneakin around to take down that QB! =D

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Touchdown!!!

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P.S. – I apologize for the bombardment of four post today haha You should know by now that I”m pinched on time, so I do a lot of updating at once when I actually have time.