Owl Be Seeing You

Today's email brought a bunch of cartoons from a friend. Anyone who knows me well knows that I collect owls and that my favorite saying is "It's never too late for a happy childhood", so the cartoon above really hit home.

Moroccan Orange Torte

Ingredients

6 eggs, separated
1 cup Sugar
1 cup walnuts, chopped coarsely, untoasted
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup orange liqueur
1 cup whipping cream
1 square bittersweet chocolate for garnish

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325F.

Beat the egg whites with 1/2 cup of Sugar in a large bowl. Electric mixers are usually best for this. The mixture should become quite stiff.

Next, beat the eggs yolks in a small bowl with the rest of the Sugar. Add the yolks to the whites but don't mix them - don't stir yet!

Add the walnuts after a few minutes and gently fold the ingredients together. Repeat this with the coconut, adding a little bit at a time.

Pour the mixture into a greased cake tin, and put it in the oven for 45 minutes. When it is golden brown, remove it from the oven and leave it out to allow it to cool but while it is still warm mix the orange juice and orange liqueur and pour it over the cake while it is still in the pan.

Shave bittersweet chocolate on top as garnish or melt and drizzle lightly!
This recipe serves 6 to 8.

Get Stuffed

Sweet peppers stuffed with rice
Serves 4

Ingredients

4 red or yellow bell peppers – about 2 pounds
1 pound ground pork
8 heaped tablespoons raw rice – use short-grain or round-grain rice
4 ripe medium-sized tomatoes – about 3/4 pound – peeled and finely chopped
5 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves – peeled and finely chopped
3 sprigs fresh flat Italian parsley – finely chopped
1 cup water
1 level teaspoon sugar - optional
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 leaves oregano - shredded
2 pinches saffron
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt

Toothpicks to fix lids

Preparation

Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a casserole or Dutch oven. Add the ground pork, the chopped garlic and the parsley leaves, the ground nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper, the oregano, and the pinches of saffron.

Cook 8 to 10 minutes over medium-low heat until the meat turns golden-brown. Stir often with a wooden spoon.

Set 2 tablespoons of tomato aside, and add the remaining chopped tomato to the meat. Add salt, and the sugar if you choose to add it, stir and cover.

Cook 5 minutes over low heat. If the tomato isn't juicy, add 1/4 cup water and an additional pinch of salt. You need a juice mixture so that the rice can cook properly later in the oven.

Add the raw rice and stir well. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes covered. Do not let the cooking juices evaporate.

Preheat oven to 350
Wash the peppers, and cut a circle at about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of the stem of each bell pepper.

If desired, pull out the stems, but don't discard them. Set them aside, and keep them to use them later as lids for the bell peppers. Try to remember which stem matches with which pepper.

Remove any seeds that are left inside the bell peppers, and cut their ribs with a knife or spoon. You can now preheat the oven.

Stuff the peppers with the meat and rice mixture. Leave about 3/4-inch without stuffing. Replace each lid to its matching pepper and stick both together with toothpicks.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 chopped tomato to a deep earthen pot if you have one, a Dutch oven or similar oven-fit pot.

Place the peppers vertical in your pot, and cover. Cook them in the oven for 45 minutes

Manic Monday - Ghost

I've mentioned in the past that I learned to read at a ridiculously early age. Today's prompt fits right in with this fact as the first poem that totally grabbed by imagination did so when I was five. It was Alfred Noyes, The Highwayman. What wildly imaginative child wouldn't have been captured by, "The Moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas."

This poem now has been read, reread, and spoken aloud to children of two more generations. Decades later my eyes still widen waiting for what happens next with Tim the ostler lurking in the dark ready to betray the lovers, the laughing, crude redcoats bent on capturing the highwayman, and it still captures me everytime in the telling of the repetitive:

Look for me by moonlight
Wait for me by moonlight
I'll come to thee by moonlight
Though hell should bar the way

Courtesy of Mo and Manic Monday, I just discovered that one of the great Celtic singers of our time, Lorena Mckennit has recorded a musical version. If you know the poem, enjoy. If you have never met the Highwayman or "Bess the landlord's black eyed daughter", settle back ready to shiver at

"Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!"

and their ghostly story that now has been repeating every night for more than a century.

And still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding— Riding—riding—
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.

Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard;
He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred;
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Welcome to another Manic Monday with Morgen. Don't forget to cruise by the new MM HQ at Manic Monday the blog.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

"Pudding" is a generic term for all British deserts. This is a lovely light cake with a toffee sauce topped by whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup pitted dates
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

TOFFEE SAUCE:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a 10-inch round or square baking dish.
Sift the flour and baking powder onto a sheet of waxed paper.
Chop the dates fine.
Place in a small bowl and add the boiling water and baking soda; set aside.

In a bowl of electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla; beat until blended. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Add the date mixture to the batter and fold until blended with a rubber spatula. Pour into the prepared baking dish.

Bake until pudding is set and firm on top, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven to a wire rack.

Toffee Sauce:

Combine the butter, heavy cream and brown sugar in a small heavy saucepan; heat to boiling, stirring constantly.
Boil gently over medium low heat until mixture is thickened, about 8 minutes.
Preheat broiler. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the sauce over the pudding. Spread evenly on top. Place pudding under the broiler until the topping is bubbly, about 1 minute.

Serve immediately spooned into dessert bowls.
Drizzle with toffee sauce and top with a spoonful of whipped cream.

Let Me Call You Sweet Tart

Apple Cranberry pie makes a tangy twist to plain old apple pie. I love the play of sweet, tart, and spices in this recipe.

Ingredients

3 cups fresh cranberries
2-1/2 cups peeled sliced apples
3/4 cup apple juice (or orange juice)
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
1 double crust pastry (deep-dish recommended)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In saucepan combine berries and juice. Cook and stir 5-8 minutes (cranberries will "pop" –it’s fun to watch!).

Combine sugar, cornstarch, and allspice. Stir into the hot cranberries. Cook quickly, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles.

Remove from heat. Stir in apple slices. Set aside to cool.

Turn cooled fruit mixture into the bottom crust. Dot the top of the fruit with bits of butter.

Put on "lattice" top using other pastry. Cover with foil.

Bake pie covered for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 25-30 minutes more.

Ethnic R Us

Enough of the sugar. It's time for some spice:

Old Borunda Stacked Red Chile Enchiladas

Red Chile Sauce
12 red chiles,seeded and stemmed
1/2 onion
3 garlic cloves minced
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 Tbs flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. dried Mexican oregano
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Enchiladas
3 Tbs. hot vegetable oil for dipping the tortillas
12 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped onions
4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 450. Fill a large pot with water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat and add the chiles. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered for 15 to 20 minutes, until softened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Place the chiles, onion, garlic, and 3 cups water in a blender and blend until well pureed, apprx 5 minutes on high. Strain the puree, extracting as much of the pulp as possible. Discard the remaining skin.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the flour with the oil for 2 to 3 minutes to make a blond roux. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the strained puree, salt, pepper, and oregano to the roux, stirring constantly until it thickens . Set aside. (This may be used in other recipes calling for Red Chile Sauce.)

To make the enchiladas, heat the oil in a small skillet over medium -high heat for 3 minutes. Using tongs, place a tortilla in the hot oil for 30 sec or until soft and slightly browned. Drain on absorbant paper and allow to cool before handling.

Ladle a thin layer of sauce into a baking dish large enough to accommodate 4 stacks of tortillas. Place 4 tortillas in the dish and ladle some more sauce over each. Sprinkle with cheese and chopped onions, add another tortilla, and repeat. Top with a third tortilla, and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and onions.

Bake for 10 minutes or until the sauce bubbles and the cheese melts.
While the enchiladas are baking, fry the eggs sunny-side up.
Place each stack of enchiladas on a plate and divide the remaining sauce among the plates.

Serve immediately with a sunny side up egg on top.

Variation: Instead of stacking the enchiladas, divide the cheese and onions evenly among the tortillas (reserving some for the top) and roll the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese and onions and bake. Omit egg..

Topsy Turvy Bourbon Cake

BOURBON CAKE

2 c. red candied cherries, chopped
1 1/2 c. light, seedless raisins
2 c. bourbon
1 1/2 c. butter
2 1/3 c. granulated sugar
2 1/3 c. firmly packed brown sugar
6 eggs, separated
5 c. sifted cake flour
4 c. pecans
2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. baking powder

Combine cherries, raisins and bourbon. Cover and let stand overnight. Drain fruit, reserve bourbon.

Cream butter and sugar together until light.
Add egg yolks and beat well.
Combine 1/2 cup flour and pecans.
Sift remaining 4 1/2 cups flour, nutmeg and baking powder together.
Add flour mixture and bourbon alternately to butter mixture, beating well after each addition.
Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry.
Fold egg whites into flour mixture.
Fold soaked fruit and pecan-flour mixture into batter.

Turn into greased, 10 inch tube or bundt pan.
Bake in slow oven, 275 degrees, 3 1/2 hours.
Cool. Remove from pan.
Fill center of cake with cheesecloth which is saturated with bourbon, wrap in heavy, waxed paper or aluminum foil.
Store in tightly covered container.
Keep in cool place (in refrigerator if necessary).
Freeze as long as you like.

One hour before ready to serve prepare Bourbon Glaze:

In 1 quart saucepan stir together 1 cup Karo light corn syrup, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup butter. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; stir in 1/2 cup bourbon or orange juice. Makes 1 3/4 cups. Pierce cake and pour bourbon glaze over cake. Let stand until glaze cools.

Southern Sweet & Simple

I made you work too hard yesterday with all that boiling and beating, so here is easy and delicious.

Makes: 1 pie

1 large sweet potato, boiled and peeled (see note)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 small can evaporated milk
1 cup whole milk
1 ready made pie crust

Mash potato with butter, sugars, spices and flavorings.

Beat eggs and milks with potato mix until smooth. Pour into ready-made pie crust and bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for about an hour.

Note Sweet potato should be larger around than a softball.

NOT SO EASY VARIATION TO DIE FOR

Bourbon sweet potato pie

Ingredients

1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup bourbon
2 Tbsp. melted butter
2 large sweet potatoes (cooked and mashed)
2 eggs
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup hot milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie shell, thawed

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Soak raisins in bourbon for 30 minutes.
Beat butter into mashed sweet potatoes.
In a separate bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, hot milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
Mix in raisins, bourbon and pecans (if desired).
Pour filling into unbaked pie shell.

Bake for 15 minutes.
Reduce oven to 325 degrees F.
Bake for an additional 40 minutes until knife comes out clean.
Cool slightly before serving.

It's That Time Again

Off and on between the doodles, memes, and politics, I will be posting the recipes for the holiday goodies. First up some of my favorite holiday candies.

Divinity

Ingredients:

4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup light (not dark) corn syrup
1 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
3 egg whites (room temperature)
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tsp vanilla
food coloring if colors other than white are desired

Preparation:

Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt in heavy saucepan.

Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture starts to boil.

Continue cooking until mixture forms soft ball when tested in cold water (or use a themometer).

In the mean time, beat egg whites until stiff. Then pour 1/2 cup of syrup over whites, beating fast all the time. (It helps to have some male with a strong arm to beat while you pour).

Continue to cook remaining syrup while beating egg whites, until syrup reaches the light crack stage when dropped in cold water (this will happen quickly).

Pour remaining syrup over egg white mixture, beating all the while. Continue beating until candy begins to hold its shape. Stir in vanilla and nuts and food coloring. Drop by teaspoonsful onto waxed paper. Makes 50-60 pieces.

Tips:

Do not try to make divinity if it is damp/humid weather.

Test the hardness of the syrup in a small bowl filled with water that has been chilled with ice cube. When you drizzle some of the syrup into the bowl it is ready when it stays "floating" in the air and does not sink to the bottom. then WORK REAL FAST.

Test a spoonful on waxed paper, if it keeps its shape after just a second you can start to spoon. If you wait until it is too firm, the last 1/2 of the batch will be too difficult to spoon out.

You can pour this into a foil lined pan that has been Pam sprayed then cut into squares if you are not comfortable spooning it out.

Bourbon Pecan Pralines

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
dash salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups pecan halves, lightly toasted*
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Bourbon
butter for baking sheet

Preparation:

In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt 4 tablespoons butter.

Stir in the granulated and brown sugars, dash salt, and heavy cream.

Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Remove the lid and boil until temperature reaches 242° on the candy thermometer, or almost firm ball stage. A small amount of the mixture, when added to cold water, will form a soft ball which will hold its shape and not flatten.

Stir in the toasted pecans.

Remove from heat and beat in flavoring and bourbon.

Continue beating until the candy loses its glossiness, becomes creamy in appearance, and begins to thicken.

Have a buttered baking sheet or waxed paper lined baking sheet ready. Quickly drop the candy mixture by tablespoons onto the greased cookie sheet. Wrap pralines individually in plastic wrap to store.

*To toast nuts, spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in a 350° oven, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes. Or, toast in an ungreased skillet over medium heat, stirring, until light golden brown and aromatic.

Easy Cream Cheese Fudge

Ingredients:

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, soft
6 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 package (12 ounces) white chocolate chips
1 ounce (1 square) semisweet baking chocolate
2 teaspoon shortening
3/4 cup chopped pecans, reserve extra pecan halves for garnish

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth .

Melt white chocolate chips in microwave on LOW until smooth, stirring occasionally.

Fold into cream cheese mixture with chopped pecans.

Spread into a greased 8 inch baking dish.

Chill until ready to frost. Melt baking chocolate with shortening in microwave on LOW (about 2 minutes).

Pour over top of fudge and spread to cover.

Garnish with reserved pecan halves.

Cool, then cut into squares.

The Peace Meme

Join The Revolution

Queen Mimi royal resident of Bloggingham Castle at Mimi Writes and the Blog Blast for Peace has commissioned me to "Meme the BlogBlast". When the edict comes from Bloggingham, I as a humble servant must obey, besides this is really important.

"Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right
ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.”

- Tom Stoppard

Twice a year in June and November all over the blogosphere and around the world, we try to get the words in the right order to nudge the world just a little. The words are "Dona Nobis Pacem" - Grant Us Peace.

These words have no party, no political stance, no sides taken, just one ardent wish for the whole of mankind: Dona Nobis Pacem. We need to spread the word even farther, so in preparation for the next Blog Blast on November 6, we are memeing Peace.

Here are the rules and the story.

(1) Copy this into a post
(2) ADD YOUR NAME to the bottom of the tag list
(3) Tag as many people as you'd like.

The Peace Globe project began in the fall of 2006 with a simple post from one blog, Mimi Writes. The post ignited a flame in the blogosphere. The flame became a passion. The passion became a movement. It amazingly traveled from blog to blog to blog across the globe. Bloggers wrote passionate articles on what peace means to them, along with the promise of three Latin words scribbled on a globe - Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace) - branded with the integrity of their names or blog names. It was positively inspiring to watch. And it began to happen all over the world - from Singapore to China to Afghanistan to Brooklyn.

It was simple. And powerful.

In less than three weeks bloggers from all across the globe will blog for peace. We will speak with one voice. One subject. One day.
Won't you join us? November 6, 2008

How To Get Your Peace Globe In 4 easy steps!

1. Right CLICK and SAVE the peace globe below or choose from other designs here.

2. Sign the globe using Paint, Photoshop or a similar graphics tool. Decorate the globe anyway you wish. You can even include the name of your blog. Click here for hundreds of inspiring examples from previous BlogBlasts.

3. Return the peace globe to mimi via email to mimiwrites2005@yahoo.com - Let me know your blog's name and url by leaving a comment and signing the Mr. Linky. Your submission will be numbered and dated in the official gallery . Your globe and post will be listed on the Official BlogBlast For Peace website and The Peace Globe Posts page.

Here's the most important part.

4. On November 6, 2008 DISPLAY YOUR GLOBE IN A POST on your blog. Title your post "Dona Nobis Pacem". This is important. The goal is for all blog post titles to say the same thing on the same day. Write about peace or simply fly your globe.

I, Mimi Queen of Memes, hereby royally tag the following.......
(Before you copy this list on your blogs, ADD YOUR OWN NAME to the bottom of the list. )


A Great Pleasure
A Journey Into The Mind & Life Of A Teenager
A Nice Place In The Sun
A Piece Of My Mind
A Room Of Crazy Scrapper
A Simple Life
A Word In Edgewise
Alasandra & The Cats
Amazing Life
Amel's Realm

Amori,poesie,arte,chat by Hanna
And Miles To Go Before We Sleep...
Angell'z Secretz
Another Desert Rat
Anyhow Blogs
Anything Goes
Apples Of The Eyes
Are We There Yet?
Are You Grateful?
Asara's Mental Meanderings

Ask A Lesbian
Attitude, The Ultimate Power
Awestruck
Backroads West Virginia
Balitang Kalye
BearsMountain
Beggar's Shot Glass
Betty's This and That
Bijoux & Banter
Billy Warhol's Billion Dollar Baloney

Bits and Pieces
Bits and Pieces by Jan
Blessings In Life
Blogger Happy
Blue Dreamer's Top Five
Bogie's Wonderland
Byrningbunny's Challenge Page
Cafe At the End Of The Universe
california is a recipe for a black hole
Candid Karina

Cap'n Dyke Lesbian Pirate Queen and Rogue Blogger
Captain Picard's Journal
Carver's Site Or Is That Sight?
Castle Of Nannbugg
Cathy's Resurrection Corner
Caught In The Stream
Chanel's Journal
Chocolate Mint Girl
Chronicles and Tales Unlimited (RED)
Chrysalis Angel

Colloquium
Clean And Simple
Comedy Plus
Communique by Ivanhoe
Crazy Working Mom
Crows and Daisies
Daisy The Curly Cat
Dana's Random Blatherings
Dating Profile Of The Day
Deep DownThe Heart

Diario de Iza
Dixie's Heart And Soul
Dottie's Place
Down River Drivel
Drowsey Monkey
Duward Discussion
Emila's Illustrated Blog
Etavasi
Everyday Healy
Everything and Nothing

Expressions and Thoughts
Feathering On My Nest
Fil-Am Never Ending Stories
Filipina In Hawaii
Find Out What Jen Finds
Fishing Around
Foster Me Up
Foxxyfyrre's Honk 'n Hollr
From The Roads
Good thoughts, good trades, good life
Hahn At Home

Happy and Scrappy In Ohio
Happy Life
Health Psych
Hearbeats....
Heart Of Rachel
Hello?....Is This Thing On?
Hnetka Goes HMmmm
Hobbies And Such
Home In France
Hootin' Anni's

Idaho Daily Photo
In Search Of Life
Inner Wall
Isis Dominguez Lahora
It's All Good
It's Not A Weekend: It's A Lifestyle
It's Sanni-licious
Jannaverse
JB's Small World
Journey To Authenticity

Julie Pippert: Using My Words
Julie's Blog
Julie's Jewels & Junque
Just About Scrapping
Just Me And My Creations
Just Write
Keep Fondly In My Mind (Twinkletoe)
Kellementology
Kids, Cats, & Books....What Else Is There?
Lakeside Lair

Laketrees
Larry Hnetka Goes HMmmm
Last Minute Lyn's Life
Late Bloomer Boomer
Late Night Latte
Leaf Float Down River
Leaping Before I Look
Life
Life and Adventure
Life Is A Roller Coaster

Life's A Dance You Learn As You Go
Lowdown From Lois
Luz de Luma, yes party!
Mama Pajama
Managing Autism
Maremagnum
Marie Millard
Mary
Mary's Writing Nook
Maryannaville

Mattress Police
Maya's Window
Meezer Tails
Memoirs Of A Chaotic Mom
Mickey's Musings
Mighty Mom
Mimi Writes
Minnesota Mom
Minority Kills
Modern Musings

Mom Knows Everything
Mom's Musings
moms...check nyo
Momto3cubs
Monday Morning Power
Mother Of Shrek
Ms Cellania
Much Of A Muchness
Muffin53

Mumblings
My Blog Rules
My Colorful World
My Dogs Keep Me Sane
My So-Called Site
Namnet's Philosophizing Playground
New England Lighthouse Treasures
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Norte
Nyumix's Blog

O'Ceallaigh & The Quill
Odat's Mumblings
Oh I've Got The Blues
Olde Lavender Prims
On A Limb With Claudia
On The Wall
Opinionated Black Woman
Our Two Little Princes
PT-LawMom
Pet Monologues

Pimp Your Blog
Pinay-At-Heart
Pinaymama's Dairy
Points Of View
Precious Moments
Quilly's Pacific...Paradise?
Rainbow In The Golden State
Ramblings and Whatnot
Ramblings Of An Idle Insomniac
Random Autumness

Rants, Raves, & Random Thoughts
RDH Mom
Reba's Run
Rojoy's Daily Update
Rooms Of My Heart
Rose Of Sharon
Rose' World
Royal Kitties
Run Away Thoughts Of EMZ
Sacred Ruminations

Sarah Spelled The Right Way
Sarge Charlie
Saturday 9
Scraphut
Screw Perfection
Second Effort
Secret Agent Mama #1
Secret Monologues
Shannon's Moments of Introspection
Ship's Log Of GT281

Simply Sassy
Slavery Bliss
Small Reflections
Space Of Reality
Speedcat Hollydale
Straight Forward Comic
Strange But True
Stray Thoughts
Sunday Stealing with Judd Corizan
Surgeonsblog

Tangled Up In Twyla
Tarheel Ramblings
Teacher Julie
Tell Me About It
Teri Teri Quite Contrary
Tertium Quid
That Grrrl
The Backwoods Drifter
The Beacon
The Best Is Yet To Come

The Big Leather Couch
The Calalilly Space
The Cookie Sheet
The Evil Blogger Twin
The Furry Bambinos
The Furry Diva
The Gaytheist Agenda
The House Of The Flying Monkeys
The Ice Box
The Junk Drawer

The Kat House
The Morning Meeting
The Painted Veil
The Puppy's Palace
The Random Forest
The Rising Blogger
The Salty Mooch
The Starr Ann Chronicles
This And That
this is Jo Beaufoix.com.....like Kate Moss, but not

This That and The Other Thing
Titration
Trav's Thoughts
Twisted Sister
Vaguetarian Tea Room
Valerie Joy
Valley Girl
Vixen's Den
Wading Through My Stream of Consciousness
Wandering Consciousness

Warmstone
Weird Sanctuary
Weird Sanctuary
What She Said Too
When Silence Speaks
When Your Only Tool Is A Hammer
Will Think 4 Wine
Will Write For Food
Witty Writer Gal
Wonderland Or Not

Work Of The Poet
World So Wide
Writer Cramps
WTIT Tape Radio
Your Caring Angels
Zaius Nation
Driven To Distraction
Why? What Have You Heard?

............................................................................................................YOUR NAME HERE.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE TAGGED TO PLAY.

Memeing the Movement. 27 Reasons To Fly A Peace Globe

I don't usually tag on memes, but this one is too important not to do so.

The Mitchell Blog, eProf2, Dexter's Views, Morning Martini, Rob's Blog, Brian Arens, Tick Tock Goes The Clock, Blues Crab, Euro Tom, Aging Hipster, Patterns2, Seasonal Pantry, The Bertsch Day In Review, Let's Not And Say We Did, Unlikely Burrito, Border Explorer, Show Your Garden, The Back Channel Blog,

Manic Monday - Running Neck and Neck

I have a confession to make. It's about my neck. For some women it is the wrist, elbow, back of leg, ears or a long lingering kiss. Well I've been known to swoon with just the stroke of a finger across the back of my neck. We are talking about legs buckling, stomach tightening, and much, much faster breathing.

Needless to say the sudden popularity of vampires has found an ardent fan. The vampires have come out of the coffin and they are sexier than ever.... normal men burn with jealousy as women breath a little faster over the undead and definitely cool, overheated guys with the long teeth, and there has been quite an improvement in their looks.

Nosferatu first appeared in the silent movies in 1922. Based on the novel Dracula, changes were made in the looks and story to avoid copyright problems. Here the horror of the vampire had full rein.

In the late 20s on stage and then in the 30s on film, Bela Lugosi captured the physical attraction on the vampire along with the mystery, fear and danger.

In 1979 George Hamilton brought a vampire to the screen that made you die laughing with Love At First Bite.

For a while there was a lull in the popularity of vampires, then you got the teenage versions with Lost Boys in 1987. Set on the boardwalk of Santa Cruz, CA, this cult classic has now had a sequel just this year.
It was a long dry spell of great vampires for those of us with sensitive necks, but when Mick St John hit the TV screen, the temperature broke the top of the thermometer. Moonlight follows Alex O'Laughlin as Mick St. John, an immortal vampire and private investigator and his struggle to exist after he was bitten 60 years ago by his vampire bride, Coraline, on their wedding night. It also follows his internal torment as he falls in love with one he should not, a mortal named Beth, a news reporter, as well as his dealings with the woman who made him a vampire. Unfortunately you can only catch Mick and Beth steaming up the screen in reruns somewhere due to really poor judgement on the part of CBS. The hiatus caused by the writers' strike just as an audience was developing, did in the show and the idiots at CBS replaced it with a now failing piece of trash. So go looking for Mick. He is worth the effort.

Now we have two more ways to enjoy the simmering and sultry dangerous to know when you don't have a stake in your hand as they both court and kill.

Can Stephanie Meyer's vampire novels do for moviegoers 
what they've done for readers? The first book in the series comes to 
theaters in December. Not since Harry Potter has a book-to-film journey inspired so much enthusiasm — or so much anxiety. The movie will follow the novel closely: Pretty but awkward 17-year-old Bella (Kristen Stewart) moves to a small town in the Pacific Northwest and falls in love with Edward (Robert Pattinson), a heartbreaking beautiful vampire. Edward also falls for Bella, but his desire for her barely controls his instinct to devour her. It's this combination of passion and danger, of course, that surrounds this teen romance with a halo of epic, doomed love.

Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton in HBO's very very sexy new drama based on the books of Charlaine Harris. Vampires are integrating into society and the sparks are flying, and both love and hate clash in the mystery of the characters of Bon Temps, Louisiana. Hard R rated for the squeamish adults and children so fair warning. (Note to HBO, trim a few scenes so there is a version teenagers can watch for a good story and mystery).

Bill and Sookie (Anna Paquin) are as hot a team as has ever been imagined and they are surrounded by unusual and fascinating characters brought to life by a great author and now translated to the screen.

The theme song for True Blood is "I Want To Do Bad Things With You" and they most certainly do. All I have to say about that is, "Honey do I have a neck for you".

With Love From The Bee Gees

In case you missed this in the news and need to perform CPR, try humming the Bee Gees "Staying Alive" to get the proper beat. Of course, if you have an odd sense of humor, you can hum, "Another One Bites The Dust".



STAYIN' Alive may be the perfect song for helping people to do just that, according to research out of Chicago.

A published study reported people providing CPR while listening to the disco anthem completed close to the perfect number of heart compressions per minute.

To give a patient the best chance of surviving, CPR should be done with 100 compressions a minute, said study author Dr David Matlock, more than most people realise. With 103 beats per minute in Stayin' Alive, the Bee Gees wrote an excellent guide for providing CPR, Dr Matlock said.

The study involved doctors and students providing CPR while listening to MP3 players, and found those who were working to Stayin' Alive came closest to maintaining the ideal number of chest compressions.

It is the first study to back up what the American Heart Association has been saying for two years; that's how long they've recommended people learning CPR keep the catchy tune in mind while performing resuscitations.

One of the participants in the study, Dr Matthew Gilbert, 28, told the Associated Press he has since hummed the tune to himself while working on real patients. Dr Gilbert said he was surprised the song worked as well as it did.

"I was a little worried because I've been told that I have a complete lack of rhythm," he said. And while not a fan of the Bee Gees, Dr Gilbert told AP he knew a song by Queen with a similar number of beats.

"I heard a rumour that Another One Bites the Dust works also, but it didn't seem quite as appropriate," Dr Gilbert said.

Homesick

One of my favorite things to do with a computer is to just put in an odd search term and see what pops up of interest. Today, I put in a piece of lyric from the Counting Crows song, Long December "One more day in Hollywood, and one more night up in the canyon". I was feeling a little homesick for my home state and for some reason that song connects to a lot of memories. What turned up was absolutely beautiful and made me absolutely miserable.

RivenRock Gardens is a blog from a place that sells organic edible cactus. Don't laugh. That's their business and someone there takes amazing photographs. Down at the bottom of the home page is a link that says "Our pictoral tribute to the seasons". If you click on the link it takes you to a series of stunning links to years and seasons. All of this is interwoven with quotes, song lyrics, and invitations for people passing by to please steal a screensaver. You can just prowl and browse through the pieces of paradise that still exist and are enough to make a native weep with longing.

One of my granddaughters is named Brandy. Her mother gave her that name because she loved the song and because "my life my love and my lady is the sea". The photos of the central coast capture the power of the place. It didn't help that my November trip to Asilomar got cancelled, but here I was looking at oceans and hills and countryside and getting more homesick by the second.

So go visit RivenRock. Maybe pick up some organic, edible cactus, but don't leave until you've visited California.

I'm going to go cry now while listening to the Mamas and the Papas

Dick Haymes

This week's Manic Monday with the "Moon" for a prompt started a trip down memory lane. In 1980 I attended a memorial service with a representative of the Los Angeles Musicians Union for one of my favorite singers. Dick Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an actor and one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. The whole rock era had removed him from the charts, and a long bout with alcoholism destroyed his early popularity, but he continued to tour in Europe and was making something of a comeback in the states in the late 1970s prior to his death from lung cancer.

Haymes was probably as well known for his marriages as he was for his singing. He was married six times and had six children. His most noteworthy marriages were to film actresses Joanne Dru (1941-1949), Rita Hayworth (1953-1955) and Fran Jeffries (1958-1964). His daughter Stephanie Haymes was married to Sir Elton John's lyricist Bernie Taupin. When you add in his claimed "non combatant" status during WW II and his Argentinian citizenship, Dick Haymes was always a bit of any outsider even while racking up many notable movies and records.

There is an excellent short biography on Haymes at the bottom of the page here.

For those in a hurry, kick back for a few minutes and enjoy the peaceful easy feeling that comes when you listen to a beautiful, mellow baritone singing a love song.

Moonlight Becomes You

Manic Monday - Moon

Below are two sets of lyrics. The first was written for a 1934 MGM picture. It was written with a particular star in mind and when she was dropped, the song was cut as well. It was resurrected for another movie with a different set of lyrics and then was again dropped from the picture and was replaced with a third set of lyrics that went on to become the biggest hit by this writing team.

Can you guess the song before clicking on the you tube link below or the Wiki article about the song and its history?

PRAYER

Oh Lord,
If you ain't busy up there,
I ask for help with a prayer
So please don't give me the air.
Oh, hear me lord,
I must see Garbo in person
With Gable when they're rehearsin'
While some director is cursin'.

Please let me open up my eyes at seven
And find I'm looking through the Golden Gate
And walking right into my movie heaven,
While some executive tells me I'll be great.

Oh, Lord,
I know how friendly you are
If I'm not going too far,
Be nice and make me a star.

THE BAD IN EVERY MAN

Oh, Lord
What is the matter with me?
I'm just permitted to see
the bad in every man.
Oh, hear me Lord!
I could be good to a lover,
but then I always discover
The bad in every man.

They like to tell you that they love you only,
And you believe it, though you know you're wrong.
A little hallroom can be awfully lonely
And a night can be so very long.

Oh, Lord
Perhaps I'll alter my plan
And overlook if I can
The bad in every man.

Visit Mo for more Manic Monday.

Shameless Promotion

For the Doodlers in the crowd, the first episode of "The Blogger" begins today on DOODLECHRIS

Working Class Hero

John Lennon would have been 67 Today

Working Class Hero

As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function you're so full of fear

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever and class less and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

There's room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill

A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be

If you want to be a hero well just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me

Thursday 13 - Presidential Trivia

As most of you know, I love History. Even more, I love wierd history and bits of trivia and wierdness that most people don't know. With the current Presidential campaign, I thought I might list 13 truly odd things about the Presidency. There has never been a president whose last name started with the letters D, I , O, Q, S, U, X, Y, or Z. This election might actually eliminate one of those letters from the group. There has never been a president whose first name started with the letters E, I, K, N, O, P, Q, S, V, X, or Y. No changes coming this time around. If you want to be President, have a birthday in October. Six presidents share that month. January, February, March, and April have four Presidents each. The Yankee Doodle Dandy born on the fourth of July: Calvin Coolidge. Three Died on the fourth of July: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Monroe. The real fathers of their country: John Tyler with 15 children and William Henry Harrison with 10 children. Can this marriage be saved? Nope! Ronald Reagan married his first wife, Jane Wyman, at Forest Lawn Cemetery. Andrew Johnson was a self educated Tailor and made clothes both for himself and the members of his cabinet. John Tyler, President from 1841 to 1845, joined the Confederacy twenty years later and became the only President named a sworn enemy of the United States. When President Hoover and his wife did not wish to be overheard by others, they spoke in Chinese, and the Coolidges used sign language. All Presidents have worn glasses though some not in public. Gerald Ford was once a male model. James Garfield could write Greek with one hand and Latin with the other at the same time, and a book published in 1940 contained 370 proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem, including one by Garfield. Three Presidential assassinations had the same witness: Robert Todd Lincoln who was present at the assassination of his father Abraham and the shooting of both Garfield and McKinley.

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My New Profession

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Ruby Tuesday

As we enter fall, high schoolers all over the nation are playing the national obsession while their parents are glued to the screen for the pro teams.

It's not time for me as yet. A leftover from a gentler age, I can't start football until after the World Series. If my Dodgers are there, insanity will rule around here, and you need a clear head for football.

Manic Monday - Les Feuilles Mortes

Leaf graphic created by Janna of Jannagraphics


In 1966 I walked out of the movie Grand Prix saying, "Why couldn't they kill James Garner?" This wail of protest was caused by one of my favorite actors and singers (Yves Montand) who was playing the role of the French race driver ending up in a tree towards the end of the movie, while the American driver (Garner) survived and got the girl.

So what does this have to do with "Leaf"? If you have the time, do read Montand's bio linked above as he was a fascinating man who lived a life that seems as if it came out of a novel, and I may write a full blog article about him at a later date. As a cabaret singer, one of his signature songs was "Les Feuilles Mortes" - The Dead Leaves. The beautiful melody of this song acquired new lyrics and in English became "Autumn Leaves".

As we enter my favorite season of the year, here are the leaves: First sung by Yves Montand in French with both the French lyrics and English translation following, and then the Autumn Leaves sung by another favorite Nat "King" Cole.


Les Feuilles Mortes

Oh! je voudrais tant que tu te souviennes
Des jours heureux où nous étions amis
En ce temps-là la vie était plus belle,
Et le soleil plus brûlant qu’aujourd’hui
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle
Tu vois, je n’ai pas oublié...
Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle,
Les souvenirs et les regrets aussi
Et le vent du nord les emporte
Dans la nuit froide de l’oubli.
Tu vois, je n’ai pas oublié
La chanson que tu me chantais.

REFRAIN:

C’est une chanson qui nous ressemble
Toi, tu m’aimais et je t’aimais
Et nous vivions tous deux ensemble
Toi qui m’aimais, moi qui t’aimais
Mais la vie sépare ceux qui s’aiment
Tout doucement, sans faire de bruit
Et la mer efface sur le sable
Les pas des amants désunis.

Les feuilles mortes se ramassent à la pelle,
Les souvenirs et les regrets aussi
Mais mon amour silencieux et fidèle
Sourit toujours et remercie la vie
Je t’aimais tant, tu étais si jolie,
Comment veux-tu que je t’oublie?
En ce temps-là, la vie était plus belle
Et le soleil plus brûlant qu’aujourd’hui
Tu étais ma plus douce amie
Mais je n’ai que faire des regrets
Et la chanson que tu chantais
Toujours, toujours je l’entendrai!

Oh, I would like you so much to remember
Those happy days when we were friends, and how
Life in those times was more lovely and tender,
Even the sun shone more brightly than now.
Dead leaves are gathering as in December
You see how one never forgets...
Dead leaves are gathering as in December,
Just like the memories and the regrets.
And then the north wind comes and sweeps them
Into oblivion’s icy night.
You see how I never forgot
That old song that you sang for me.

REFRAIN:

A song like us, birds of a feather,
You loving me, me loving you,
And we lived happily together,
You loving me, me loving you.
But life tears apart gentle lovers
Who quietly obey their heart,
And the sea invades the sand and covers
The footsteps of those torn apart.

Dead leaves are gathering, dead leaves are piling
Up just like memories and like regrets.
But still my love goes on quietly smiling
Thankful for life and for all that it gets.
I loved you so, you were ever so lovely,
How can I forget? Tell me how!
Life in those times was more sweet and beguiling,
Even the sun shone more brightly than now.
You were my most sweet friend and lover,
But regret is all that I can do,
And I’ll keep on hearing the song
That I used to hear sung by you.

Bleeding Blue

It's playoff time and my Dodgers are playing ball. I have been bleeding blue since before they made the move from Brooklyn and became an obsessed fan in 1955 when they had the good sense to come to my city.

One of my favorite movies of all time is "84 Charing Cross Road". It has a marvelous scene where Hampf pleads for prayers for the Brooklyn Dodgers. If you have never seen the movie, here is a small taste. Watching it should keep you busy, while I'm watching baseball.

Death Gets The Blues

I'm fussing with VISTA(which I hate hate hate and am stuck with)again and wishing for an Apple to fall in my lap. You can reference an old post about VISTA for when I first acquired this monstrosity perpetrated by Microsoft on an unsuspecting world. Anyway, I borrowed one of the Doodlechris cartoons to express my frustration. It isn't quite this bad, but at one time or another, we have all seen "The Blue Screen of Death".