Monday, August 24, 2015

Int'l Strange Music Day AUGUST 24, 2015

DIANE'S CORNER ... Celebrate Int'l Strange Music Day

International Strange Music Day was created by Patrick Grant, a New York City musician. The premise is simple: to get people to play and listen to types of music they have never experienced before. The ‘strange’ part can mean either unfamiliar or bizarre – the choice is entirely yours. Patrick believes broadening people’s musical spectrum can also change the way we look at other aspects of life – his mantra is ‘listening without prejudice’. This growing movement has concerts, a record label and strong support from summer schools, where it is appreciated as a great way to stimulate young minds. Have you ever wanted to combine a tight Wonder Woman costume, a frozen turkey drumstick and an inflatable wildebeest into a percussion concert? International Strange Music Day gives you the perfect excuse. What you do with these items once the music stops, of course, is your business… 


21 Cats Ambushing Your Yarn

Word of the Day

cembalo 


Definition:(noun) A clavier with strings that are plucked by plectra mounted on pivots.
Synonyms:harpsichord
Usage:Although the piano is a more versatile instrument with a greater range, some musicians still enjoy playing the cembalo for its distinct sound.




 History

Jorge Luis Borges (1899)


Borges was an Argentine poet, essayist, and short-story writer. Much of his work is rich in fantasy and metaphorical allegory, including the story collection Ficciones, which won him an international following. In the 1920s, Borges was afflicted by a worsening hereditary blindness and was totally blind by the mid-1950s. Forced to abandon the writing of long texts, he began dictating his works.

Liberia Flag Day


The Liberian flag bears a striking resemblance to the American flag, a reminder of the historical ties between this West African country and the United States. Eleven horizontal stripes represent the signers of the Liberian Declaration of Independence, while the single white star signifies Liberia's former position as the sole free black state in Africa. Flag Day, a patriotic day paying homage to Liberia's national emblem, is an official public holiday. Citizens and public buildings display their flags, and parades often feature schoolchildren and military units.

From Pebble to Planet: Researchers Find Humble Beginnings of Gas Giants


New research suggests that massive planets like Saturn and Jupiter started out with just a few small building blocks – more accurately building rocks – just half an inch or so across. 
READ MORE:


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1456 - The printing of the Gutenberg Bible was completed.



1869 - A patent for the waffle iron was received by Cornelius Swarthout.

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1932 - Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the U.S. non-stop. The trip from Los Angeles,CA to Newark, NJ, took about 19 hours. 

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1959 - Three days after Hawaiian statehood, Hiram L. Fong was sworn in as the first Chinese-AmericanU.S. senator while Daniel K. Inouye was sworn in as the first Japanese-American U.S. representative. 

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2001 - The remains of nine American servicemen killed in the Korean War were returned to the U.S. The bodies were found about 60 miles north of Pyongyang. It was estimated that it would be a year before the identies of the soldiers would be known. 

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2005 - The planet Pluto was reclassified as a "dwarf planet" by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Pluto's status was changed due to the IAU's new rules for an object qualifying as a planet. Pluto met two of the three rules because it orbits the sun and is large enough to assume a nearly round shape. However, since Pluto has an oblong orbit and overlaps the orbit of Neptune it disqualified Pluto as a planet. 



DAILY SQU-EEK




If You Were Born Today, August 24

You are a natural psychologist, with a special interest in, and insight into, personal relationships. You enjoy bouncing your ideas off other people. You don’t always follow others' advice, but you love to ask, if only to stimulate conversation. Your needs for communication and mental stimulation are strong, and you are at your best when you are one-on-one. Partnerships are important to you - you seem to need company. You are somewhat fearful of change, as security appeals most to you. You are highly intelligent, and although you tend to come up with the best ideas through conversation with others, your ideas are nevertheless your own - you simply seem to come alive through your interactions. There may be immature or premature themes in your earlier relationships - some with this birthday partner up early, possibly due to a fear of being alone, and others might attract immature partners. Still others simply attract youthful, playful people into their experience. Famous people born today: Marlee Matlin, Stephen Fry, Dave Chappelle, Steve Guttenburg, Rupert Grint, Jared Harris, Chad Michael Murray.




Picture of the day
Downtown Tampa
A view of the skyline of downtown Tampa, Florida, as viewed from the Embassy Terrace Hotel. Downtown is the central business district of the city, as well as the chief financial district of the Tampa Bay Area. It is second only to Westshore in employment. It is also home to several museums and cultural centers.
hi, sheri! :-)

Picture of a man riding a bike and towing his dog on a skateboard, Taipei, Taiwan

New Tricks

Photograph by Chuan Teik Heng, National Geographic 
Towing his dog behind him, a man bicycles down a sidewalk in Taipei, Taiwan. Chuan Teik Heng’s touching picture brings into individual focus a vibrant capital city that’s home to millions.

21 Cats Ambushing Your Yarn


knit

knit
i made this afghan some years ago .. really fun and very beautiful

knit

knit

knit





crochet

crochet

crochet

crochet

crochet


21 Cats Ambushing Your Yarn


RECIPE
 
 
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Spicy Roasted Chickpeas | Natural Chow
These spicy roasted chickpeas are a light and healthy snack, but that doesn't mean they don't taste good. They are AMAZING!
Preview by Yahoo
 





CROCKPOT RECIPE
stephanie o'dea

Indian Spinach and Tofu CrockPot Recipe

I can't seem to get enough Indian food lately. This dish did the trick. It has a bit of a kick, but didn't leave me gasping for air and reaching for bottle after bottle of water. I had it for lunch and dinner yesterday, and am looking forward to today's lunch.

The Ingredients.

There are a lot of spices. Don't get nervous.
You can do this.


--2 boxes of frozen spinach, drained (I used one chopped, and one whole leaf)
--1 lb of extra firm tofu
--1 yellow onion, diced
--3 smashed and chopped garlic cloves
--1 can garbanzo beans, drained
--2 inches of ginger, peeled and grated
--1/2 tsp kosher salt (and then more later to taste)
--1 tsp cumin
--1 tsp curry
--1 Tbl coriander
--1/2 tsp chile powder
--1/2 tsp garam masala
--1/2 cup water

--cornstarch (to coat the tofu)
--butter (to fry the tofu)

The Directions.

Use a 3 or 4 quart crockpot.

Drain your tofu. Squeeze it in between some paper towels or a clean dish cloth if need-be to get as much of the liquid out as you can.

Cut it into 1-inch cubes and toss it with corn starch. Fry in butter until golden brown--resist the urge to flip; tofu takes a while to brown.I made some here, and there are pictures.

While the tofu is browning, squeeze out all of the moisture from the spinach and dump it into your crockpot. Dice up the onion, and mince the garlic. Add that, too. Drain your garbanzo beans, and pour them in. Add all of the spices.

Stir in 1/2 cup of water.

Add the tofu to the very top of the spinach.

Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours. This doesn't take very long to cook. Serve over white rice, and scoop up with naan, pitas, or corn tortillas.

The Verdict.

I loved this. Adam did, too. The kids each picked out a few pieces of tofu, but mostly they ate the tofu after it was fried in the butter, and ate rice with Parmesan cheese. I will make this again. It's a very satisfying lunch, or flavorful side dish.




CRAFTS

Mason Jar Fresh Herb Garden

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What you need: 
Glass Mason jars
Seed packets for various herbs, or pre-grown seedlings
Labels
Plenty of sunlight (be sure to read the recommendations on the seed packets)
Water
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Start off by choosing which herbs you’d like to grow. Think about your cuisine choices, and which herbs you tend to use more often than others. I chose sage, mint, basil, parsley, and dill because I already have plenty of recipes planned for the warmer months ahead and these herbs will compliment them perfectly.
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Make sure to label the jars as you place the seeds in their corresponding pot. Then fill each mason jar almost all the way to the top with organic potting soil. Sprinkle in a few seeds of your chosen herb to the jar and cover with a little additional soil. Follow by pouring enough water to only dampen the soil.
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The next part is just all about being patient and waiting for your plants to grow.  Make sure they have plenty of sunlight and water each day!
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Your varying herbs will probably take different amounts of time to germinate and start sprouting. Allow approximately one month before you can most likely start using your herbs for all of their satisfying benefits.
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Three children were riding in a car when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog’s duties. 

“They use him to keep crowds back”, said one child. 

“No”, said another. “He’s just for good luck.” 

A third child brought the argument to a close. “You’re both wrong … They use the dogs”, she said firmly, “to find the fire hydrants.”



CHILDREN'S CORNER .. coloring








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PUZZLE


thanks, heide ... 1st Miss America pageant..1921
A Few Interesting Photos from History


QUOTE
A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same. - Elbert Hubbard







In 2008, the world’s oldest cannabis stash was found in a 2,700-year-old Gobi Desert grave. For most of the Civil War, soldiers only saw combat about one day out of 30 each year. (Submitted by Chester Tumidajewicz, Amsterdam, NY) Camels once roamed the Canadian Arctic! To blend into its Andes mountains habitat, the newly discovered Pristimantis mutabilis frog changes its skin texture from smooth to prickly.


"Good Morning" in Welsh (Wales)      -      Bore da 








CLEVER
Food - Microwave butter without melting it



EYE OPENER

Surprisingly Funny Palindromes

grammarly
What is a palindrome? According to The Oxford English Dictionary the word is based on Greek root words meaning “back” and “running.” Palindromes are words or phrases that read the same backward and forward, letter for letter, number for number, or word for word. Some palindromes seem philosophical.Do geese see God? Others tell a story. A man, a plan, a canal: Panama. Still others are silly and rather nonsensical. Straw? No, too stupid a fad; I put soot on warts. 
A great bargain:
A nut for a jar of tuna.

A permissive friend:

Al lets Della call Ed “Stella.”

An Italian palindrome:

Amore, Roma.

A long example:

Are we not pure? “No, sir!” Panama’s moody Noriega brags. “It is garbage!” Irony dooms a man—a prisoner up to new era.

A moral dilemma:

Borrow or rob?

Follow the words, not the letters:

King, are you glad you are king?

A weird concept:

Taco cat

Bad eyesight:

Was it a car or a cat I saw?

A list of naughty people:

Dennis, Nell, Edna, Leon, Nedra, Anita, Rolf, Nora, Alice, Carol, Leo, Jane, Reed, Dena, Dale, Basil, Rae, Penny, Lana, Dave, Denny, Lena, Ida, Bernadette, Ben, Ray, Lila, Nina, Jo, Ira, Mara, Sara, Mario, Jan, Ina, Lily, Arne, Bette, Dan, Reba, Diane, Lynn, Ed, Eva, Dana, Lynne, Pearl, Isabel, Ada, Ned, Dee, Rena, Joel, Lora, Cecil, Aaron, Flora, Tina, Arden, Noel, and Ellen sinned.

A news report:

Ed, I saw Harpo Marx ram Oprah W. aside.

A record, set straight:

Madam, in Eden, I’m Adam.

A hitman for hire:

Murder for a jar of red rum.

Call your mother:

Mom.

A gross creature:

Oozy rat in a sanitary zoo.

Verbal abuse:

Yo, banana boy!

Would you try:

UFO tofu?
These are just a few examples. 






1 comment:

  1. Sheesh....now all our resident beasts are demanding skateboards:)

    ReplyDelete