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Qufu (曲阜 Qūfù) is a town in Shandong Province, located about 2 hours by bus from the provincial capital Jinan. Famous as the birthplace of Confucius, its Confucius related sites are declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
|I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there.
—The Analects, Book 7
Qufu has more than 2,500 years of history. Best known as the hometown of China's "first sage", Confucius, it was the home of his descendants - who often ruled the place as feudal lords - for many centuries, until being forced by the Communist revolution to leave China's mainland for Taiwan.
The center of the national cult of Confucius, and the birthplace of the mythical Yellow Emperor (the legendary founder of the Chinese nation), Qufu saw many emperors decorate its temples with stone tablets (steles), praising Confucius and other heroic figures of the past. Usually written in Chinese, but during some dynasties also in Mongol or Manchu, these steles are among the most characteristic objects to be found at the city's historical sites. The most important of them are supported by mighty stone tortoises (which since the Ming era have become known as bixi). Entire books have been published in China cataloguizing Qufu's steles and transcribing their content.
While large Confucian temples can be found throughout China (e.g. Nanjing's Fuzimiao or Jianshui's Wenmiao) and some of its neighboring countries (e.g. Hanoi's Văn Miếu), Qufu's original temple is the "first in honor".
Qufu also boasts a strong Muslim ("Hui") community, concentrated in the Xiguan neighborhood outside of the western gate of the walled city.
Get in edit
By bus edit
Bus from Jinan is the usual way, or on a tour. There are buses all day, but check the last departure or you may be spending the night.
1 Qufu Bus Station (曲阜客运站 Qūfù kèyùn zhàn) (Yulong Rd, 2-3 km west from the historic central city.). There is a frequent city bus service from the central city (outside of the south gates of the city wall) to the bus station.
By train edit
There are two main railway lines between Beijing and Shanghai: the high-speed line opened in 2011, and the century-old "conventional" railway.
- 2 Qufu East Railway Station (曲阜东站, Qūfù Dōng Zhàn). The high-speed line passes within a few kilometers from Qufu, and Qufu East Railway Station, located within several kilometers to the south-east of the city, is served by many high-speed (G- and D-series) trains (during daytime only), with direct service to Beijing, Tianjin, Jinan, Nanjing, Shanghai, Qingdao, and points in between. With the faster of them (G-series) it takes 2 hours from Beijing and 3 hours from Shanghai.
- 3 Yanzhou Railway Station (兖州站 Yanzhou). The "conventional" Beijing-Shanghai mainline, running slower and less expensive trains (T-, K-, etc. series, both in daytime and at night), gives a wide berth to Qufu; the closest station on that line is in Yanzhou, a small city around 15 km west of Qufu. If you arrive to Yanzhou, you can get to Qufu by taxi (around ¥40) or bus (running every 20 minutes from the early morning until 18:00-19:00) for around ¥6. When buying train tickets to Yanzhou, make sure not to confuse the station with the better known Yangzhou!
- 4 Qufu Railway Station (曲阜站 (Qūfù Zhàn)). is located within Qufu itself (2-3 km to the SE from the historic center; accessible by city bus). However, it is served by a branch rail line, and sees only a very limited service (just a few slow trains a day).
If besides Qufu you are also visiting Mencius Temple and Mansion in the nearby Zoucheng, you may choose to travel by train to Zoucheng (which is also on the Beijing-Shanghai mainline), and go to Qufu by bus (¥6-7, about 30 min travel time) or taxi. However, buses stop running around 18:00.
By plane edit
The closest airport to Qufu is the rather misleadingly named 5 Jining Qufu Airport. . While the airport is fairly close to Jining, the capital of the prefecture that Qufu belongs to, it is over 90 km from Qufu by road. Bus J963 can take you from the airport to Qufu. The airport has flights from Beijing, Shanghai, and a few other cities, including Guangzhou, Chengdu, Qingdao and Shenyang.
Get around edit
Walk or if you stand in one place too long, hordes of people will offer to transport you via all manner of vehicle, from rickshaw, to bicycle, to taxi, to beast.
The historical central city, surrounded by the restored Ming-era city wall and a moat, and containing Confucius Temple and Kong Family Mansion near its center, is about a mile across, and is small enough to walk. The modern visitor center is located outside the southern gate of the city wall. From the northern gate one can walk to the Confucius Cemetery (Confucius Forest) along a pleasant tree-lined (and, in the summer, vendor-lined) avenue.
Qufu has a small and inexpensive local bus system. The buses run along the east-west street south of the walled city, and can be used to travel to various locations on the city's outskirts, such as Shou Qiu (see below), the Qufu Railway Station (see below), and the intercity bus station.
The historical walled city, within which three of the major sites (Temple of Confucius, Kong Family Mansion, and the Yan Hui Temple) and many hotels arejust a couple of kilometers away. The town is quick to walk through and nice along the main streets. There are some old, restored gates and a winding creek to add atmosphere.
The Confucius Cemetery is a kilometer or so north of the present-day city wall. The modern city center is south of the walled city. The Muslim neighborhood with its mosque and a lively market is outside the west gate, while the Song-Dynasty sites associated with the Yellow Emperor and Shaohao are about 4 km east of the old city.
You pay for admission (¥30 to 80 per site, as of 2010) to all the good sites and wander among the sacred buildings, everyday buildings, stelae with inscriptions in Chinese, Mongol, and Manchu, and so forth. A guide or guidebook is essential as many of the sites are very big. Foreign tourists can gain free admission to the Temple of Confucius, Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion if you memorise 5 or more verses of Confucius's Analects in any language, whereas Chinese citizens need to memorise 30.
- 1 Confucius Museum (孔子博物馆), 100 Confucius Avenue (孔子大道100号) (take bus D55 or J963; both buses may be caught from Qufu Bus Station), ☏ , , email@example.com. 09:00-17:00, no entry after 16:00, closed on Mondays. Free.
- 2 Temple of Confucius (孔庙, Kǒng Miào). A row of gates and pavilions, and twenty-five stone turtles (bixi) holding tablets on which numerous emperors expressed their respect to the sage, in Chinese, Manchu, and Mongol (written in Phags-Pa script)
- Cemetery of Confucius, or Confucius Forest (Kong Lin)
- Kong Family Mansion (Kong Fu)
- Temple of Yan Hui (Yan Miao)
- Temple of Duke Zhou' (Zhou Gong Miao)
- Tomb of Shaohao (Shaohao Ling) and Shou Qiu (birthplace of the legendary Yellow Emperor)
The main areas to see are the so-called Sān Kǒng ("Three Confucian [sites]"): the Confucian temple, the Confucian mansions, and the Confucian forest (just north of town). During the warm part of the year, it's very touristy and loaded with guides herding sightseers with little flags and megaphones, but in winter the place is almost deserted. English is not widely spoken.
Confucius Forest edit
3 Confucius Forest (Kong Lin). The Cemetery of Confucius, or "Confucius Forest", is a cemetery where Confucius and more than 70 generations of his descendants have been buried. Besides the tomb of Confucius, it contains a number of interesting sculptural ensembles from the Ming and Qing eras, decorating the tomb sites of Confucius' descendants who were the area's feudal rulers, as well as other dignitaries. A typical ensemble (神道 "shéndào", or "spirit road") for a Duke of Yansheng (the senior-line descendant of Confucius in his generation, and the lord of Qufu) would start with a stone arch and contain a few stone animal statues (horses, rams, felines), a pair of human characters (a warrior and an official), and a stone turtle (赑屃 bìxì) holding a stele praising the deceased. The path leads to the grave tumulus with another (turtle-less) stele on top.
One tip is to go to the Confucian cemetery towards the end of the day (maybe at 4) and then stroll around until the tour groups are leaving, and you will have the forest all to yourself. Walk to Confucius grave and share some silent moments across 2,500 years with him. A treat if you have been travelling around China for a while and are tired of hordes of people and noise.
One can easily walk to the main (southern) gate of the Confucius Forest from Qufu's walled city. A wide tree-lined avenue, about a kilometer long, connects it with the northern gate of the city wall.
Shou Qiu and Shaohao Tomb edit
A more remote site - 4 km east of the central city - consists of Shou Qiu ("Longevity Hill"), the birth place of the legendary Yellow Emperor, marked with two giant turtle-borne steles (apparently, the two largest monuments of this kind in China), and the nearby tomb of his similarly legendary son 4 Shaohao. with a small stone pyramid (much smaller than those in Egypt or Mexico). These monuments date to the Song Dynasty.
1 Nishan Sacredland (Take intercity bus from Jining Qufu Airport to Qufu Bus Station. It takes about 3 hours to reach Qufu Bus Station and transfer to Bus No. 30. Then, it takes about 1 hour to reach the Lushan Holy Land Luyuan Tourist Center.), ☏ 400-6882323 (domestic). ordinary days:09:30-21:00 weekend:09:30-21:30. Adult ¥100/discount ticket ¥80 Children under 1.4 meters in height and passengers aged 70 and above can enter the venue free of charge with valid documents.
At night the city walls are decorated with ornamental lights. The moat around the walls make for a picturesque walk at night. Many of the local elderly gather around these places to dance.
There is a swanky bar located, literally, in the city wall. It's usually a bit empty, but the bar tenders speak a bit of English and are very friendly. Local expats can be found there on most weekend nights.
There are tourist stands all around the temples and shouts of "hello! hello!" can be irritating. The main buys are copies of the Analects and a "chop" with your name engraved on it or something like that. Otherwise, it's the usual tourist stuff.
A great variety of restaurants can be found in the eastern part of the old walled city, a block or two east of Gulou Ave (the main north-south street of the old city).
For Halal food, fresh produce, tofu, baked goods, etc. head to the Muslim neighborhood: Xiguan St that runs west from the old city's west gate.
Most restaurants you will easily find have marked up prices due to the tourist nature of the city. Beware asking cab-drivers or "wooden cab" drivers as they seem to receive kickbacks. You can expect to pay at least ¥100 getting a meal for two if you are not careful and savvy.
- Qufu International Youth Hostel, Gu Lou Bei Lu (Just inside the northern gate.), ☏ . It shouldn't come as much surprise that the cheapest place to eat in Qufu is the "bar" inside the International Youth Hostel. You can find a good bit of western food as well as a variety of standard Chinese fare. ¥15-40.
Konfujia in black jar (46%)
Finding a place to sleep isn't difficult, as you will probably be approached by people offering accommodation. Outside of the tourist season you can probably bargain pretty hard on the prices. There are a large number of small and mid-size hotels within the walled city, on the main north-south street and in the blocks to the east. There are also bigger and somewhat more modern-looking hotels in the streets south of the walled city, near the visitor center.
The Qufu International Youth Hostel is a very nice place to stay. With a friendly staff, and entirely new building this is an excellent place to sleep while exploring Qufu and its surroundings. The hostel is located at the northwestern end of the main street inside the city walls. It is ¥140 for a double/triple with private shower.
Muslim visitors may choose to stay at one of a number of halal (清真 qīngzhēn) guesthouses in the Xiguan neighborhood, west of the walled city.
Go next edit
- If the China's First Sage, Confucius, isn't enough for you, you can visit the nearby Zoucheng, hometown of the perennially Second Sage, Mencius.
- Tai'an, the gateway to the sacred Mount Taishan, is about an hour away by bus or (infrequent) train.


The South African Rand’s dramatic slump over recent days has left it looking notably undervalued, and therefore the prospect of a recovery over coming weeks is elevated argues the foreign exchange research team at ING Bank N.V in London.
ING have updated their clients with their latest forecasts for the Rand following the recent upheavals in the country and while some further losses for the currency are likely near-term, the currency should head back to fairer valuations.
The Rand is however trading as a political currency and any expectations for recovery do therefore rely on the assumption that the South African administration will settle down and keep previous policy decisions intact.
“Unless the new team start to undermine Gordhan’s 2017/18 fiscal plans or the SARB is pressured into early rate cuts, we expect investors will continue to find value in the ZAR,” says ING analyst Chris Turner in a note to clients dated April 6.
The Rand had been steaming ahead and was one of the better-performing global currencies before President Zuma purged key members of his cabinet including Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.
The move came at a time when Rand assets, particularly debt, were in strong demand.
Up until the cabinet re-shuffle of 30 March, the ZAR had been one of the best performing emerging-market currencies this year.
Driving that strength, say ING, was the global reflationary story – not just Trump’s possible fiscal stimulus, but also the prospect of more synchronised global growth.
“Expectations of higher growth in 2018 have lifted growth prospects amongst the commodity exporters in particular. South Africa’s key exports, precious and industrial metals, have performed well in such an environment,” says Turner.
It was all going so well until politics intervened.
Politics: What to Watch
For Rand watchers, the political pulse will be key going forward.
President Zuma’s purge of Pravin Gordhan and six other cabinet ministers has naturally un-nerved investors.
The move has proved divisive within the ANC executive team and the opposition has proposed a No-Confidence motion in Zuma – to be debated on 18 April.
“However, it seems unlikely that an ANC dominated National assembly would allow such a motion to pass,” says Turner who will be watching the ANC Congress in December, when a new leader will be chosen.
“While Jacob Zuma will retain Presidential power until general elections in 2019, the choice of a new ANC leader (and likely future President) will give an indication as to the direction of travel,” says Turner.
Sovereign Debt Ratings and Junk Status? It’s in the Detail
South Africa’s financial system and economy require large external funding requirements as the country is a net importer and ongoing portfolio inflows are critical to financing South Africa’s current account deficit.
This requires that investors continue to see value in South Africa’s large stock of debt and equity assets.
Notably this year’s inflows into South Africa have largely been into sovereign bonds - otherwise known as debt markets.
South Africa’s ability to issue debt in local currency means that South Africa’s share of hard currency in its external sovereign debt is a relatively small 10%.
The credit rating downgrade assigned in the wake of Gordhan’s dismissal was only assigned to foreign currency debt which is now loosely termed as junk.
The local currency rating, while also cut one notch, still sits as investment grade.
This is a subtlety that many might have missed amongst the shock of being ‘downgraded to junk’ and is important for the currency.
As a result, the impact on the Rand and financial system was not as bad as it could have been - what would really matter is the downgrading to junk of local debt which as we have noted accounts for about 90% of South Africa’s debt.
According to the IMF US$2bn of outflows would result from the downgrade to junk status of the foreign currency rating, but a more sizeable 2.5% of GDP (around US$8bn) of outflows should be realised were the local currency rating be cut to junk.
ING note that the reason for this much larger reaction to the local currency, rather than the foreign currency rating, is because of key local currency sovereign bond indices such as Citi’s WGBI and Barclays Global Aggregate Index which require Investment Grade status for inclusion.
Turner notes that a move by both S&P and Moody’s is required to prompt removal from the index.
How far is the South African local currency sovereign rating away from junk?
As per the above, S&P is one notch away from junk, Moody’s two.
Moody’s has South Africa on a negative outlook, which looks likely to result in a downgrade over the next 30-90 days.
“Whether Moody’s keeps South Africa on a negative outlook, after a downgrade, will be important. Even a negative outlook could take another 12-18 months to resolve. That means the more dangerous scenario of both S&P and Moody’s local currency sovereign ratings being cut to junk may only be a 2018 story, if at all,” says Turner.
Rand Undervalued, Should Move Higher
Another key reason as to why ING believe the recent ZAR sell-off has been quite limited this time when compared to previous episodes is owed to valuation.
ING’s Petr Krpata’s has worked on medium term fundamental valuation (BEER) and he sees the Rand being undervalued against the US Dollar by around 18%.
This compares to around 9% undervaluation during the ZAR’s recent peak two weeks ago.
“While meaningful in absolute terms, it is important to note that the current ZAR misvaluation is not far away from the upper 1.5 standard deviation band limit,” says Turner.
The deeper into undervalued territory a currency goes, the harder it becomes to push it even lower.
The last two times the Rand persistently traded through these valuation limits were during:
(1) the post Lehman collapse EM sell-off;
(2) the extreme Rand fall in late-2015/early-2016 (a mix of both internal political woes and external concerns about China).
“This suggests the scope for another large scale sell-off looks limited from here,” says Turner.
While the current ZAR valuation does look attractive, ING note that on a comparative basis it is not as attractive as the Turkish Lira’s valuation.
The Turkish Lira is meaningfully more undervalued than ZAR (following the large scale Lira sell-off during 2H16 and the early part of 2017), with the Lira being extremely stretched even by its own standards.
In addition to the benign environment supporting the carry trade, rising policy uncertainty in developed markets has encouraged diversification into emerging-market assets.
ING argue that the convergence of developed-market economic uncertainty on to that of emerging-market is one of the reasons why the recent ZAR sell-off has been more limited than that seen in December 2015 – when President Zuma removed Finance Minister Nene and his replacement survived three days.
South African Rand to Recover
The Rand is therefore a currency that is undervalued and still - arguably - a currency that is underpinned by investment-grade debt.
“On the assumption that key institutional/fiscal confidence does not erode – and that the central bank does not come under any pressure for easier policy (no signs as yet) - we think ZAR under-valuation will dominate over coming quarters,” says Turner.
A firmer ZAR would be consistent with ING’s generally bullish view on the commodity currencies which sees AUD/USD back to 0.80/85 on a 12/24 month basis and USD/CAD back to 1.30.
ING think continuity of the Zuma administration, surviving a no-confidence motion, could see USD/ZAR trade into the 14.00/50 region in 2Q17.
“Thereafter valuation metrics should come into play and expectations of stronger global growth into 2018, helped in part by clarity on what Trump can achieve, stand to drive USD/ZAR closer towards fundamental fair value levels closer to 12.00,” says Turner.
ING’s valuation models show the ZAR to be cheap on both a short-term financial fair value and also a medium-term fundamental basis.
In a benign reflationary environment, the bank sees USD/ZAR upside limited to 14.00/50 and favour 12.00 in a year.


Pharmacists should stop selling dubious products including homeopathy if they want to perform work currently done by doctors under a federal government trial, a leading GP says.
As pharmacists prepare to take on more medical work under a multi-billion dollar deal with the federal government, President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Frank R Jones, said baseless homeopathic treatments should not sit alongside conventional medical treatments in retail pharmacies.
"We would certainly encourage our pharmacy colleagues to really critically look at what they are selling at their chemists," he said.
"I think they are very, very conflicted and I think really if they are on board with the rest of the medical community, they have to practise evidence-based medicine."
As the College of GPs launched an advertising campaign this week to raise their profile and highlight their qualifications, Dr Jones said pharmacists were selling "a lot" of products that were not evidence based, meaning they lack scientific proof of efficacy or have been proven not to work.
"We know a lot of cough medicines for example make very little difference … [and] I still see occasionally that they are in chemist shops," he said. "They [pharmacists] have to either practise scientifically or not."
The College of GPs campaign – a TV and cinema advertisement that spruiks the benefits of having an ongoing relationship with a GP – comes after the federal government's failed attempt to introduce a new co-payment for GP consultations, and the continuation of a controversial freeze on indexation of medicare funding for their services.
It also follows federal Health Minister Sussan Ley's announcement last month that pharmacists could start receiving funding to perform work currently done by doctors and nurses, such as vaccinations, wound care and management of conditions such as arthritis. The government has provided $50 million for a trial, but the details are yet to be determined.
Pharmacists have previously proposed offering checks for weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol, sparking concern among some doctors that they are moving into their territory without adequate qualifications.
In response to a recent National Health and Medical Research Council review that showed homeopathy was useless, Grant Kardachi, the President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (the peak professional organisation for pharmacists) said it highlighted the need for pharmacists to advise consumers of the dangers of choosing homeopathy over evidence-based medicine.
"Clearly under the PSA Code of Ethics pharmacists must caution against the use of homeopathic products," Mr Kardachi said in March.
But a spokesman for the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (the peak body representing pharmacists with retail stores) said the guild does not tell pharmacists what they should and should not stock.
However, its policy on complementary medicines states that pharmacists should be aware of "the efficacy and safety of complementary medicines sold within their pharmacy, using an evidence-based approach and utilising available clinical / traditional-use information".
The guild's policy says consumers should have access to trained staff who are aware of the different levels of evidence for such products, so they can make an informed choice. Pharmacists should also be aware of the "placebo effect" and provide advice to consumers about the risks and benefits of their options.


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What a paradox!
Darkness intrigues us, but also repels us. Darkness fascinates us and stirs up fear.
We meet darkness as young children with trepidation because our eyes cannot glimpse our parents. At those young ages, what we cannot see does not exist for us so we fear our safe place with safe people has evaporated. As we get a little older, flashlight tag and chasing fireflies on starry summer nights delight us. A bit later still, we risk riding roller coasters in the dark at Disney World and screech as we watch a Halloween movie.
When we open the book of Genesis, we see darkness, an inky blackness, at the outset and learn God separates or makes a clear distinction between darkness and light. Reading further we recognize God’s enemy has many names including “The Prince of Darkness”.
Nothing gives me more of a sense of what such an enemy looks like perhaps than the final scenes of The Fellowship of the Ring in The Lord of the Rings or the opening scenes of the sequel, The Two Towers.
The moviemaker presents a dark creature (Balrog) with some semblance of a man-shape made of shadow, fire, and flame that strikes terror into the company on the quest to destroy the evil ring of power.
Gandalf turns to face the enemy and stand his ground on the Bridge of Khazad-dum. He forcefully pounds his staff onto the bridge and says,
” You cannot pass. I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the shadow! You cannot pass.”
We breathe a sigh of relief as he skillfully wars against the creature, but when he believes the enemy is defeated he turns his back on him to join the others. We gasp as Gandalf discovers his foe has whipped a fiery lash around him pulls him into the abyss.
The movie trilogy of Tolkien’s epic work is a favorite of mine. I confess we own the expanded version and I have watched the series more than a few times. Each time I discover another nugget of truth in the twists and turns of the allegorical tale.
Each time I learn more about the battle that not only rages on the screen, but also in the real world we all live in. Each time I realize again that I am small, the enemies of darkness are big, but God is bigger still.
The movie trilogy reminds me of a battle that is largely unseen by the naked eye but leaves evidence of its existence. The trilogy also reminds me that these foes will not be ultimately and finally defeated until our Lord returns. Yet because of the cross, each of us who call upon His name is empowered to join the fight and stand with Him.
One other message from The Lord of the Rings trilogy stands out as truth. The fellowship is tested at many junctures and begins to break apart. However, it is not the many battles and skirmishes with various creatures of darkness that begin to undo the fragile alliance between men, dwarves, and elves.
Rather an unseen foe defeats one and then another in the fellowship. The foe, unrecognized by each, comes from a place of darkness inside of them that allows a chink in the armor. That place of darkness hidden within them, recognized by the enemies outside of them, neutralizes and defeats them.
This truth played out on the screen sobers me with a clear message. To defeat the darkness outside, I must first defeat the darkness inside that hides in the corners unconfessed in shame and give the enemy no quarter or opportunity.
2 thoughts on “The Unseen Foe”
The foe is a sneaky dude that understands the darkness of our hearts as well as what triggers our fears. I haven’t seen any of the movies (nor read the books…maybe one of these days).
My Grand daughter is 11 and totally hooked on Lord of the Rings so each of her cats has a name from the movies. I have to give the cats a nickname because I cannot remember the long version. Because of her I have watched them several times. You speak such truth in your last paragraph. First we must defeat the enemy inside, the old man, the old nature who loves only itself. Then we are ready for battle. To battle the outside darkness from a dark place inside is certain defeat. Thank God for the light of Jesus who lives in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Good post.

domain: artistic


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Sitladevi lives in the crafts village of Nirona, on the way to the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. She makes a living serving home-cooked local cuisine to tourists. Her bajre na rotla loaded with ghee, gond ka halwa and baingan ka bharta are a hit. As you get into a conversation about where she gets her bajra atta or ghee, she surprises by saying she mostly uses packaged atta from the neighbourhood kirana store. "The packaged atta is clean and convenient. I only go to a chakki to get wheat for halwa as I am used to a particular consistency," she says. Her kitchen also has a bagful of Rs 5 Britannia cakes for her child's birthday. Earlier, she used to make halwa but says, "Aaj kal bacchon ko yeh hi pasand hai," she says.
Is small-town India, where 60 per cent of India lives, embracing packaged food due to reduced prices post GST, a single tax system that has enabled manufacturers to distribute in far-flung areas?
One sees similar trends in the quaint town of Ramanagara, off the Bengaluru-Mysore highway, where the local provision store has a string of Rs 10 Milky Mist ghee sachets. Owner R. Shyam says these sell well as they save people the hassle of making ghee at home. "People are becoming quality conscious. They want their food to be clean and fresh and pesticide-free," says Arvind Mediratta, MD, Metro Cash & Carry. Metro, apart from selling products of food companies, has been actively pushing its own brand, Fine Life, to retailers. Mediratta says having own branded play is important for maintaining standards.
A Credit Suisse Report says the branded packaged foods market will grow from $75 billion to $270 billion over the next decade (from about Rs 7,413 crore to Rs 18.86 lakh crore @ Rs 69.84 to a dollar), a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17 per cent over 10 years. "We expect the overall packaged foods market to grow at 13 per cent but branded should grow faster. The growth is likely to be even faster at 18 per cent for non-commoditised branded packaged foods categories," it says. Categories such as baby food, chocolates, biscuits, baked products, and juices and ready-to-drink beverages are pegged to see the most growth.
Under GST, FMCG companies, including food majors such as Britannia and Nestle, have done well. Nestle India saw volume growth of close to 11.2 per cent in nine months of 2018, its net profit jumped 39 per cent, and it launched close to 40 new products. Britannia Industries has seen its stock price surge 66 per cent since GST launch. Mondelez India (makers of Cadbury chocolates) posted 47 per cent growth in net profit in 2017/18.
The 2017/18 fiscal saw the announcement of 23 new processed food -related investments in India of Rs 5,231 crore (as per CMIE); 16 projects worth Rs 3,274 crore have been completed. The food sector has also seen considerable investment by start-ups backed by private equity. While 2015 saw 16 rounds of food start-up funding worth $32.30 million (about Rs 225.6 crore), in 2017, this was $48.90 million (about Rs 341.5 crore). The 2018/19 fiscal has seen 13 rounds of funding at $70.10 million (Rs 489.6 crore), according to Tracxn. The star investment was the Rs 31,700-crore merger of the consumer division of GSK with Unilever.
A lot of this growth has been clearly due to GST, which brought down prices of food products by 5-12 per cent. Improved supply chain and availability of electricity, which aided cold chains, have also played a big role.
The story in urban India is different. The desire is to cook and eat fresh. "If you listen to the chatter in office or at a cafe, people are looking for healthier food options and want to eat fresh," says Avani Davda, MD, Godrej Nature's Basket. Urban India is seeing a gradual shift towards fresh, shorter-shelf life packaged food. The days when one used to drive all the way to Pune for fresh Shrewsbury biscuits at Kayani Bakery are coming back. "We are a country that eats fresh, which is why processed foods brands have not taken off the way they could have. Food habits change every 100 kilometres. So, understanding food and its diversity is a mammoth task," says Ashni Biyani, MD, Future Consumer Products.
No wonder companies such as iD Foods (makers of dosa-idli batter) and Epigamia (Greek yogurt) have scaled up. However, Varun Berry, MD, Britannia Industries, says the Indian packaged foods story is that of "India and Bharat". "At the one end, you have consumers who have disposable incomes looking for healthier options. And on the other end, you have people for whom bhukh-pyaas is important, and for whom taste is important too. So, the trend to eat fresh and healthy will be for a certain segment, but the large population will look at products that fill their stomachs and are tasty."
Berry is talking about democratisation of packaged foods. He agrees with Mediratta's (Metro MD) view of the Indian consumer's rising demand for quality. "They want good products at the right price, therefore, we are trying to democratise the best products. I want to give the best product but I want to cut frills like packaging," says Berry. He gives the example of premium cookies Chunkies, which earlier came in a box of five cookies, each packed separately. "We have launched a Rs 20 pack. We have put five large cookies in a tray pack," he explains.
All About Scale
The most interesting food innovations in the past few years have come from start-ups and not the larger companies. "The smaller companies' speed to market is fast," says Davda, who prefers to partner with start-ups. "I partner with them, understand the trend and give them the shelf space. For instance, while there is block cheese, people are asking for fresh cheese. People want imported French cheese with a 15-day shelf life. They are not happy with a three-month shelf life. So, if somebody brings fresh cheese, we put our brand name and sell."
However, categories such as batters, Greek yogurt or artisanal breads have the challenge of scale and, hence, don't appeal to the biggies. Building a food business of scale will require change of habit and mindset, explains Balram Yadav, MD, Godrej Agrovet. He says while there are many takers for fresh dosa-idli batter, there are many who prefer their own batter. "For a large company to take interest in a category like batter, it has to be adopted by a large mass of people. In addition, managing logistics of a fresh product involves huge costs; it also has to be produced closer to the market. A large company will not invest unless it sees scale," says Yadav.
The revenue from a particular product launch also has to be large enough, explains Berry of Britannia. He says the supply chain infrastructure of a large food conglomerate is also not akin to fresh products'. Products like idli batter and cold pressed juices with just three-four day shelf life will continue to remain with smaller entrepreneurs as these do not generate large revenue, he adds. "However, going forward, even large companies will have to think about how to handle smaller SKUs and give them the attention required if they have to compete with start-ups," admits Berry.
The writing on the wall is clear. The packaged food sector is set to explode. But a $1 billion-food business (Rs 6,984 crore) is unlikely, says Yadav of Godrej Agrovet. "Scale will be the biggest challenge," he says. The other big challenge would be inflation. "As we get into the next calendar year, every company may look at price increase as inflation may be back," says Berry. Catering to a price consumer as well navigating market realities will surely be a challenge for the food companies in India.
Copyright©2021 Living Media India Limited. For reprint rights: Syndications Today

domain: news


text:
A sorry state of affairs
The tendency of Americans in the social media era to perform public shaming acts has surfaced heavily in the presidential campaign, and we’re wondering who could be held to a standard based on everything they’ve ever done being perfect and acceptable.
Bill Clinton in Campaign 1992 “didn’t inhale.” He went on to do far worse in terms of not acting presidential in the White House. Whether he was the first president to have illicit sex in the White House is always subject to debate.
What Donald Trump said on an 11-year-old tape from a hot microphone was horrendous, unacceptable and not presidential. But he correctly pointed out during the presidential candidates townhall Sunday evening that Bill Clinton put words into action.
The abrupt social media shaming of Trump is hardly an “October surprise.” It may or may not get to character of the candidate currently. Given that it took 11 years for the comments to surface, we wonder if there is more current verbage available beyond his own, again non-presidential, statements on the campaign trail. To his supporters, it’s meaningless in terms of the campaign. To Hillary’s forces, it’s just more reason to pave over her faults while shouting about Trump’s.
There used to be substance to presidential campaigns, talk of tax rates and how to create jobs and what the cost would be to those who have them. A candidate with a trail of questionable activities behind her like Hillary would be fodder for questions about job performance. A candidate without public experience like Trump would likewise be subjected to substantial commentary.
Other than shouting across one another about keeping or dumping Obamacare, the candidates themselves seem too busy trying the public shame thing to be of substance. It deflects attention from Hillary’s political past or Donald’s business dealings.
Some Americans are shocked by the lowness of the campaign, but this has been coming since the explosion of social media unleashed the ability for everyone to be a would-be social commentator during the past several years.
If Kennedy vs. Nixon was the first debate of the TV era, we think Trump-Clinton is the first campaign of the Twitter era, where quip and snark replaces substance and presidential timber. We’ve traded bad sound-bite politics for even worse 140-character snaps.
There’s nothing to be shocked about if viewed through that lens. Everyone is subject, and we do mean everyone from the guy next door to the pope, of being dragged into the court of public shaming via the immediacy, without a second thought, without an editor, of social media.
The result, of course, is chaos, where truth and fact take a back seat to personality and insult.
Trump’s best hope at this point among the self-righteous hoarde, which surely isn’t comprised of people who never, ever, made an off-color statement at any time in their pre-politically correct past, would be for a smoking gun about Bengazhi, or something more damning about her treatment of Bernie Sanders to be found in the Wikileaks releases of Hillary’s e-mails.
Which means Americans have ceded control of their presidential election to an organization founded by an accused, fugitive, child molester bent on bringing everyone and every part of society or those in charge down a peg, it seems.
A sorry state of affairs indeed.
But not a surprise in the social media social shaming era.

domain: sociology


text:
This article first appeared in the October issue of Wealth Insight magazine that tracks and looks forward at the consequences of the deal struck between ArcelorMittal and Uttam Galva.
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) categorises Uttam Galva, a leading domestic producer of value-added steel, as a small-cap company. It is a secondary steel maker and specializes in cold-rolled steel. In June, 2009 quarter the company reported a profit of Rs 346 crore. It had fallen by 34 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis whereas on year-on-year period it saw profits soar by 30 per cent.
The company has been under the spotlight ever since it became clear that world steel giant ArcelorMittal will turn into a co-promoter. Rakesh Arora, analyst at Macquarie Research says, “The lucrative Indian market puts it on the radar of most companies.”
This was a logical thing for ArcelorMittal, which is facing constraints in starting a greenfield project in India. For Uttam Galva there were positives too as the company may not have been in the best of health, which is clear from a filing by Uttam Galva promoters that they had a 38 per cent stake hold in the company, but out of this, 71.36 per cent had been pledged — this now stands reduced to about 49.97 per cent of the promoters holding as result of a revoking of the pledged shares in mid-September. Uttam Galva Director (Commercial) Ankit Miglani explained: “The amount received out of the share pledge by the promoters had been utilised to fund the company’s operations”.
Targetting Uttam Galva
What makes Uttam Galva such a desirable entity for ArcelorMittal is that the Indian company is a leading supplier of the automotive and the white goods sectors in India. Uttam Galva will provide a ready-made operations foundation for ArcelorMittal, allowing it a running entry into a so-far off-limits economy that is humming and an access to ready-made consumers.
Meanwhile, Uttam Galva too will stand to gain as its supply of raw materials will be secured, but it will also get access to new set of clients, for which there would have been strong competition. In fact, for most of the big auto companies based in Europe, which buy steel from ArcelorMittal, and which are looking to set up shop in India, or are already running them here, it would be natural to source steel from ArcelorMittal. This will apply especially to those auto companies which import fully-built cars into India, the premium ones, because the quality of steel they are looking for can easily be routed to them the Uttam Galva.
Rising Over Constraints
To make his presence felt in the country of his origins, after pulverizing the opposition abroad, Laxmi Mittal should know that building up a business of this nature from scratch is not easy in India — 3-4 years after announcing large steel projects of 12 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) each, L N Mittal-led ArcelorMittal and South Korean steel major Posco are still struggling. Macquarie Research report puts the blame on “allocation of resources, land acquisitions and environmental clearances”, this is despite the full support of the centre.
India’s steel making capacity, which is only a tenth of China’s, is dominated by large local producers Tata Steel, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Jindal South West (JSW), which would be very difficult and expensive takeover targets. This is what makes smaller steel firms, which make up nearly half the industry in India, attractive targets given their value-added steel capacity, coal and ore reserves. The circle will be completed with a positive future bias as ArcelorMittal can enable a far more rapid development in Uttam Galva’s capabilities to supply these sectors. Also, buying into Uttam Galva will give Mittal a steel plant that produces a million tonne of cold rolled steel of which 7,50,000 tonne is galvanized, which is considered to be the fastest growing category of steel products.
Compared to this the younger sibling, Pramod Mittal-controlled Ispat industries manufactures just 3,25,000 tonne of galvanized steel. Ispat mainly produces hot rolled steel with a total production capacity of 3.3 million tonne, but then Arcelor itself produces over 100 million tonne of hot rolled steel. But a deal with Ispat would always have been questionable.
Global demand for steel slumped by more than a tenth in the past year (2008), but India’s 55 million tonne (mt) steel market has seen demand grow by nearly 10 per cent as its $1 trillion (Rs 48 trillion) economy focuses on building physical infrastructure and because of the surprisingly good performances logged by certain sectors like automobiles, which have seen a magnificent rebound in demand.
The very fact that India is a small consumer of steel in comparison to most bigger economies, means that there is a scope for improvement by companies like Uttam Galva, especially since iron ore is cheap in India and demand growth potential is strong.
The strengths of the market have been espoused by Ratan Tata, Chairman of Tata Steel, too: “Per capita consumption is very low, so the potential is very high.” India’s per capita steel consumption is at 44 kg per year, compared to 100 kg in Brazil and a global average of 198 kg.
Since March, the Indian steel industry is running at full capacity and steel demand in the country is strong on the back of the government’s stimulus plan, private investment and demand from automotives. The future may well be gauged from the words of Seshagiri Rao, Joint Managing Director of JSW Steel, India’s second-biggest steel company by domestic sales: “Most companies are starting to invest again in capacity expansion”.
- On September 4, the promoters of Uttam Galva Steel entered into a share purchase agreement with global steel giant ArcelorMittal.
- ArcelorMittal Netherlands BV announced it will acquire 35 per cent stake in Uttam Galva Steel for Rs 500 crore which will give it a major manufacturing presence in the country.
- According to the pact, ArcelorMittal will acquire a 5.6 per cent stake from Galva’s promoter and an additional 29.4 per cent stake will be acquired through an open offer at Rs 120 per share scheduled to close by November 17.
- If it does not succeed, then the promoters will part with their holding, so that ArcelorMittal can have equal shareholding.
- ArcelorMittal would also get to appoint three directors on the board of Uttam Galva.
Two things are amply clear from the ArcelorMittal-Uttam Galva tango and these are; that local steel manufacturers who are already facing stiff competition from their global peers and likely to face more in the futures. They will have to pick a bigger brother to ally themselves with and the moves by these two companies will likely be replicated by others in the steel industry as the new phase of consolidation in the takes off. The second eventuality that is likely to transpire is that it will un-lock value of small Indian companies, opening up greater opportunities for profit for investors.
Although Rs 120 per share open offer is a good price during a commodity bust, but the true value will only be unlocked after ArcelorMittal acquires control and the company announces its future plans.
To read the full article and much more, please subscribe.

domain: finance


text:
German title: Was bleibt und andere Gedichte
Indonesian title: Yang Tertinggal dan puisi lainnya
Ikram Jamil’s poetry is filled with references to geography, history, and
classic Malay literature. With their Malay flavor and diction, his poems convey
a tension between the past and present, between the colloquial and the
literary, and between regionalism and nationalism. The poet bequeaths the
wealth of the Malay language.


Jan. 31, 2009
Austin, Texas - The Cal State Fullerton baseball was ranked No. 4 in the nation by Kendall Rogers at Rivals.com today as he continues to counts down his preseason Top 25 in 25 days.
The No. 4 ranking by Rivals.com, is the highest preseason mark by any poll. The Titans have found themselves in the No. 5 spot by Baseball America, No. 8 by USA Today/ESPN Coaches, No. 10 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association and No. 13 by Collegiate Baseball.
The Titans started No. 16 in the nation on the Rivals.com poll in 2008, and finished the season as its No. 10 team in the country with a 41-22 overall record and Big West and Regional championships to their credit.
Also the top pick to win the Big West Conference by the league's coaches, second-year Head Coach Dave Serrano and the Titans will defend their 2008 Co-Big West championship with a line-up stacked with returing players. Team USA participants Josh Fellhauer (Jr., CF, Rancho Cucamonga, Clif.), Christian Colon (So., SS, Corona, Calif.) and Jared Clark (Sr., 1B, Castaic, Calif.) as well as experienced position players in Dustin Garneau (Sr., C, San Pedro, Calif.) and Joe Scott (Sr., 2B, Corona, Calif.) with headline a lineup that will feature four seniors, two juniors and a pair of sophomores to begin the 2009 campaign. Sophomore right-hander Daniel Renken is the Titans' lone returning starting pitcher.
The Titans begin their quest for the 2009 national title early Sunday morning (Feb.1) with a midnight workout at Goodwin Field. The Titans are looking to be the first in the nation to practice and the last to play in the College World Series. Practice will begin just after midnight and will run until approximately 4:00 a.m. and will include a 7-8 inning scrimmage.


text:
|Prep time||20 minutes|
|Cook time||25 minutes|
|Total time||45 minutes|
|Allergy / Intolerance||Amines, Artificial Addititives, Artificial Colours, Glutamates, Preservatives, Salicylates, Wheat|
|Suitable for||Gluten Free, RPAH Elimination Diet - Low Chemical / Failsafe|
|Meal type||Bread, Lunch, Lunch Box, Savoury Snack|
|Misc||Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold, Serve Warm|
|Website||Healthy Body Helpers (Facebook)|
Oopsies are a healthy, easy alternative to bread.
- 3 eggs
- 100g cream cheese
- pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Low Chemical / Failsafe
In the original recipe the baking powder was optional. I haven't made them without it, but leaving out the baking powder, or using gluten-free baking powder would make these gluten-free.

domain: food


text:
A native New Yorker, Griffis received her BFA from The Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts (Montpelier, VT). She has had solo exhibitions at Anna Kaplan Contemporary (Buffalo, NY) the Pamela Williams Gallery (Amagansett, NY), Lizan Tops Gallery and AE Gallery (both East Hampton, NY), Whitney Art Works (Greenport, NY), The Re Institute (Millerton, NY) and 571 Projects (New York, NY).
Her work has been included in group shows at Edward Thorp Gallery (New York, NY), White Columns (New York, NY), Bowman/Bloom Gallery (New York, NY), Michael Steinberg (New York, NY), Silas Marder (Bridgehampton, NY), Ille Arts, (Amagansett, NY), Sara Nightingale Gallery, (Sag Harbor, NY) and Boltax Gallery (Shelter Island, NY) among others. Griffis has received fellowships from Le Moulin à Nef (Auvillar, France), Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus (Schwandorf, Germany), the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, (Ithaca, NY), Schloss Pluschow (Mecklenberg- Vorpommern, Germany), The Edward F. Albee Foundation (Montauk, NY) and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (Amherst, VA). That Melora’s work depicts the dramatic and mines the psychological is no surprise since she is also a professional actor and performance artist. Griffis is also a graduate of The Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York City and has worked extensively in theatre, television, and film.
After starring in the feature film blessing, (Sundance Film Festival Spirit Award) with her father Guy Griffis, she moved to Los Angeles, where she attended The Santa Monica College of Design, Art, and Architecture’s mentor program. Melora has written, designed, choreographed/directed, and performed in over a dozen performance art works in New York City and abroad. She visits similar themes that inhabit her painting in her performance work and writing.
Doug McClemont, Linda Yablonsky, and the late Robert Long, have written about her work which is psychologically charged and dedicated to authentic expression, drawing on intimate and universal concepts. Griffis’ figurative works lean toward abstraction encouraging the viewer to engage with her paintings prismatically. Melora makes oil paintings as well as mixed media works, both flat and sculptural, that combine found textiles pieced together with intentionally uneven hand stitching in various colored threads. Alluding at once to the fragility of loss and the subsequent process of grieving, it proposes a kind of celebratory mending. Griffis states, “an inherent, intuitive occupancy of an interior psychological world exists [in my work], and I trust in the gravity of the personal paralleling public import.” Just as a play pulls back the curtain on a particular physical and psychological locus through set and character, Griffis’ work animates the canvas with a similar appetite. Critic Doug McClemont says, “With their (…) dramatic use of color, Griffis’ works convey the impression that memories and retellings can be strangely cloaked and yet, nevertheless, poignant.” Delving into our shared humanity, Griffis’ energetic paintings are personal, provoking an emotional response in her pursuit of truth.
Melora lives and works in New York City. Learn abut a recent show here.


text:
Following the threats from Yung6ix’s official DJ, Baddest DJTimmy, saying he has the nudes photos of Akpororo’s wife, after Akpororo made a joke about Yung6ix that he should have used the N3.9million he spent on drinks at the night club to buy a hit song.
DJTimmy in a video he posted threatened said he has the nude pictures of Apokororo’s wife, claiming she was a sex slave to a dancer, disclosed as PD and she also made five abortions for the dancer.
According to LIB who contacted the comedian about the threats or allegations, he said: “No reaction”
He was also asked if he will filed a lawsuit against DJTimmy, Akpororo said: “No need”
Akpororo was asked his reasons for not thinking of dragging DJTimmy to court, he said:
“No need. Don’t worry, they are just joking. No need”.

domain: celebrity


text:
“Advent season?” mused the Rev. Tim Schenck in response to a question about how his parish is preparing for holiday services against the backdrop of the pandemic. “At some level, it feels like we’ve been in a nine-month season of Advent.”
Advent, according to Schenck, rector of The Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist in Hingham, refers to the four weeks preceding Christmas and marks a period of preparation before the arrival of the Messiah. “Advent is about waiting and anticipation and expectation and hope. This is what we’ve been doing since March. And it’s what we will continue doing.”
Schenck may be putting the most positive spin possible on the dilemma that Christian clergy members throughout Massachusetts are facing this month: How to preserve the spirituality and wonder of Christmas observances in a year when many churches are holding services remotely.
“It’s been tough,” conceded the Rev. Kenneth Young, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Haverhill. His congregation is missing out on in-person Sunday services as well as the prayer meetings, Bible study, and other spiritual gatherings that typically sustain them throughout the week. Instead, Sunday services are held via Zoom and Facebook Live, and Young — along with other church leaders — hold conference calls throughout the week devoted to scripture and prayer.
“It’s an opportunity to stay in contact with each other,” Young said. “Our church is regional, not just Haverhill but the whole Merrimack Valley. We are trying very hard to keep people uplifted. But as much as we would love to gather in person, we can’t. Especially being a primarily African-American and Afro-Caribbean congregation, we are keenly aware of how this disease has disproportionately affected our community.”
And the limitations the pandemic is imposing upon church leaders go beyond worship services, Young said. “There are complications around pastoral care as well. I can’t visit church members in the hospital when they are sick.”
Back in March when COVID-19 first took hold in Massachusetts, clergy members learned to hold services online or perhaps to hold small outdoor gatherings when possible. Few of them imagined at the time that the pandemic would extend to Christmas. But with contagion rates spiking once again, many churches in Greater Boston aren’t holding indoor Christmas services.
Under specific state safety standards effective Dec. 13, places of worship are encouraged to hold services virtually or outdoors.
For indoor services, places of worship must monitor the number of people present and limit occupancy to no more than 40 percent of capacity. They also should ensure attendees who are not from the same household remain at least 6 feet apart. People must wear face coverings.
Most Catholic parishes in Greater Boston are planning some kind of in-person Mass for Christmas Eve or Christmas, all by pre-registration in order to limit numbers, according to Father Paul Soper, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Boston. Keeping households 6 feet apart means many churches are only at around 20 percent capacity, he said.
Soper estimates that 75 percent of churches are also livestreaming services.
Some parishes have become creative. Sacred Heart Church in Waltham offers drive-in Masses, at which congregants stay in their cars in the church parking lot. It also offers indoor Masses with very limited capacity.
Both options will be available at various times over Christmas, according to Youth Minister Laura Peterson, along with livestreamed services.
It’s not only traditional worship experiences that churches have had to change this year. The holiday season typically includes congregation-wide parties and pageants as well.
“Normally at this time we’d be hosting something big and celebratory, an open house to welcome people to our grounds,” said Will Barnett, co-pastor of Highrock Acton. His church, which is a member of the Evangelical Covenant Church denomination, opened a new facility in Acton earlier this year.
Barnett and his staff were eager to show off the new building and had envisioned a big Thanksgiving gathering, oriented primarily toward the many recent immigrants who attend the church’s English language learners’ program.
“Instead, we held a Christmas drive-through earlier this month,” Barnett said. “Families arrived in cars; we decorated our church property with lights and trees. One member of our congregation who owns a farm brought her horses, and we had a Nativity scene. It gave people a chance to see some familiar faces and feel some Christmas spirit while staying safe.”
Some congregations are finding creative ways to rethink the classic Christmas pageant. At St. John the Evangelist in Hingham, more than 70 children signed up to take on prerecorded roles for the pageant video that will be shown during the Christmas Eve service.
That’s a lot of angels and shepherds, said Schenck, “but there’s plenty of room at the inn. And the advantage this time is that everyone watching the pageant gets their own comfortable front-row seat. No fighting over the pews this year.”
Of course, the pandemic has made the outreach that many congregations consider critical to their mission more important than ever. “We’ll still do our Toys for Tots drive, though normally it’s much more of a communal event,” said Young, of Calvary Baptist Church in Haverhill. “We’ll still be able to pass toys out to people in our community, though, and that’s more important than ever this year, when so many people have lost their income.”
Some of the outreach is more emotional than material. Along with the season’s celebratory aspects, “We also want to create space to acknowledge this has been a year of tremendous loss for many people,” said Barnett, of HighRock Acton. “Members of our church have lost parents and grandparents to COVID; they’ve lost jobs; they’ve experienced loneliness and disappointment. We recently held what many churches call a blue Christmas service, which acknowledges the increased sadness that many people feel at this time of year. We lit candles to symbolize light in the darkness and the act of wrapping our grief in God’s love.”
After the formal part of the service, said Barnett, congregants were assigned to virtual breakout rooms where they could share their sorrows in smaller groups and offer one another prayers.
Pastor Janine Dailey at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Lowell was poised to launch a new outreach group for her congregation just as the pandemic struck. An offshoot of a program founded by the Rev. Liz Walker at Roxbury Presbyterian Church, Dailey and her staff completed training last winter to lead the “Can We Talk” program to support anyone experiencing trauma or post-traumatic stress.
“We were planning to launch in person. Instead, we’re doing it virtually,” Dailey said. Meanwhile, her congregation offers support to the Lowell community in material ways as well, including a sleeping bag ministry, through which they collect funds to buy sleeping bags for homeless people in their city.
Ultimately, Schenck pointed out, this mid-pandemic Christmas season has the potential to make its mark on church communities in positive ways.
“So many of the Christmas services over the years tend to run together,” he remarked. “People will remember this Christmas. Pandemic ministry has required all of us to be very creative. If that means people are learning the familiar stories in new ways, that’s a good thing.”
John Hilliard of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Nancy Shohet West can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.


text:
10 easy stretches for people who sit at a computer
If you sit in front of a computer all day, you’re setting yourself up for musculoskeletal imbalances that can become painful and movement-restricting.
Most people lean forward when they use the computer. This is not advisable since it will cause you to round your shoulders forward and hunch your back.
The solution? Discreet stretches that you can do at your desk. If you have any joint, musculoskeletal problems, or pains, consult with your doctor before doing these stretches.
Gerry Morton, CEO of EnergyFirst, suggests these desk friendly stretches:
Do these stretches at least twice a day, more often if you start feeling stiff after sitting for a long time.
Proper posture at the computer is important. Sit with:
More tips on how you can increase flexibility and reduce stiffness and pain can be found by visiting Effective Exercise.Gerry Morton, CEO of EnergyFirst, is an experienced athlete who has competed in 30+ marathons and 4 Ironman triathlons. Gerry is an excellent source of information on nutrition, supplementation and effective exercise. Since 1997, he has been educating and motivating others on how to attain peak performance.
EnergyFirst, a leading company in the all-natural protein and supplement industry, was founded in 1997. We, at EnergyFirst, believe that everyone can benefit from drinking a protein shake whether the goal is optimal nutrition in a meal replacement, an easy and healthy breakfast alternative, a weight loss aid, or a protein supplement for athletes. We also believe that your protein shake should be 100% natural and delicious. Nutritionist, educator, athlete, and EnergyFirst's CEO, Gerry Morton is committed to providing customers with all natural, science-based, effective products for optimal nutrition, weight loss, and a healthy lifestyle.
If for any reason you are dissatisfied with your purchase, simply return the unused portion for a full refund." Learn More
President & CEO

domain: health


text:
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domain: game


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Quickly turn yourself into an artoonist, as you create professional looking cartoons from your snapshots and images.
Artoon is an easy-to-use app that will create colorful illustrations for the bases of your design projects, or simply have fun transforming profile pictures into toon-like characters for Instagram, Facebook, Pintrest or other social networking sites. With a few simple adjustments you can change colorful characters with thick outlines to ones with lots color that make your toon pop.
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With Family Sharing set up, up to six family members can use this app.

domain: design


text:
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a treatment done in a pressurized chamber where the air pressure is raised to 4.2psi or1.3 ATA higher than normal air pressure and an oxygen mask flowing 95% oxygen. In this pressurized environment, your lungs can breathe in up to three times more oxygen than what would be possible breathing pure oxygen at normal air pressure. Your blood then carries the oxygen to your body’s tissue stimulating stem cells and growth factors, which are the building blocks of the natural healing process.
Hyperbaric therapy is prescribed by specialists in vascular medicine, radiology, reconstructive surgery, oncology and other specialties to treat a growing number of medical conditions.
Fight cancer and heart disease with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Manage ADD/ADHD, Autism, Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
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Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is used to treat various ailments from common everyday aches and pains from athletics and aging, to serious health conditions and has been attributed to even waking upcoma patients! Discover the healing power of oxygen. Book your appointment today at Fresh Start Hyperbaric in Edgewood, Washington.

domain: biology


text:
Bank of Hawaii, which twice delayed its planned departure from American Samoa, is now planning to stay in the U.S. territory for an indefinite period.
The state’s second-largest bank will keep the Utulei branch open until a suitable replacement can be found, said Peter Ho, chairman, president and CEO of Bank of Hawaii.
Ho made that decision after meeting with American Samoa Gov. Lolo Matalasi Moliga on Monday morning at the bank’s downtown headquarters.
“I am very humbled, overwhelmed and (left) speechless by Chairman, President and CEO Peter Ho and Bank of Hawaii’s continued commitment and great sensitivity to the needs of the people of American Samoa reflected in his approval of my plea for help to extend Bank of Hawaii’s departure time line beyond March 14,” Moliga said in a statement.
Ho said it is evident that additional time would be beneficial for the local community.
“Our commitment is to provide a smooth transition for our customers and the American Samoa government, and we will not leave until we are comfortable that the depository needs of the territory can be appropriately accommodated,” Ho said in a statement. “We want to be supportive.”
Bankoh, which has been in American Samoa for more than 40 years, closed the small Tafuna branch on March 15 of this year but has since extended the close of the Utulei branch — first by 90 days until June 14, 2013, and then by 12 months to March 14, 2014.
Ho has said the bank was leaving American Samoa because it was in the best interest for the bank’s shareholders to make Bankoh a more efficient operation and that American Samoa is geographically isolated from the bank’s other markets.

domain: economics


text:
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Type: Home & Garden
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U.S. Treasury Collects More Than $3 Billion in Delinquent Debts for States Including $1.8 Billion in Delinquent Child Support
April 19, 2018
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s (Treasury) Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) today released its Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 Annual Report to the States on the Treasury Offset Program’s (TOP) Delinquent Debt Collection. The report details each state’s success in collecting delinquent debts through a unique partnership with the federal government. Debts successfully recovered through TOP include delinquent child support and state income tax obligations, unemployment insurance compensation fraud and employer tax debts, and more.
“The Fiscal Service is proud of the work we have done in collecting more than $3 billion in delinquent debts for the states in FY 2017, including $1.8 billion of delinquent child support," said Fiscal Service Commissioner Sheryl Morrow. “The simple premise of the offset program is that as Treasury we should not pay those individuals or businesses that have failed to meet their government obligations without first applying that money to the delinquent obligation.”
“Treasury encourages states to participate in each of our offset programs,” Commissioner Morrow said. “With our proven track record of helping to collect long overdue funds, states can benefit directly from our efforts and recover important taxpayer funds that are owed to them.”
TOP is used to intercept eligible federal and state payments to delinquent debtors, in accordance with the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 and other legal authorities. Federal law requires state agencies to certify that the debt is valid, delinquent, and legally enforceable and that the agency has complied with all due process pre-requisites prior to offset. This means that, at least 60 days prior to submission of the debt to TOP, the creditor agency has sent a notice to the debtor stating the amount and type of debt and the agency’s intention to refer the debt to TOP for offset. The creditor agency must also provide the debtor with the opportunity to resolve the debt through a repayment agreement and/or to dispute the agency's claim.
Due to Fiscal Service’s strong federal-state partnerships in FY 2017, TOP recovered $7.26 billion for federal and state agencies, including $1.8 billion in delinquent child support debts, $607.7 million in outstanding state income tax obligations, $353.8 million in unemployment insurance claims, and $85.3 million in other state debts. Treasury is proud to partner with the following federal agencies in administering TOP state programs: the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Child Support; and the U.S. Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service for Unemployment Insurance. Since the implementation of TOP in 1996, the Fiscal Service has collected $90.0 billion for federal and state agencies, including $45.9 billion for participating states.
To view the FY 2017 Annual Report to the States on TOP’s Delinquent Debt Collection, or for more information about TOP state programs, visit fiscal.treasury.gov/top/resources-for-state-agencies.html.


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17/02/12 16:20 Filed in: HDR Photography
Many people are often let down by camera companies who don't include bracketing options in their cameras. The three frame up to two stop bracketing just doesn't cut it for me. My very high end Nikons could do a 9 frame bracket which is usually sufficient (Not Always) but even my D7000 couldn't do this. Sony has what seems to be the worlds worst bracketing features. you can bracket .3 or
.7 stops for three frames. Does that do any good in any way? Not really, I have that much latitude with a raw file. Why is it even there? Anyway, maybe they think their build in HDR jpg rendering is what everyone in the world wants or that there isn't anyone who really wants bracketing. In any case, you're mostly going to have to bract your shots yourself.
What is HDR?
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. Your eyes see in High dynamic range, at least when compared to cameras. Even the most expensive cameras don't see detail in the highlights and shadows like your brain does. Photographers have been trying to keep detail in bright clouds and deep shadows since photography began. This is just where the tech has taken us. This technique is one way to extend the range of detail your camera can capture. Actually, you capture different exposures of the same scene. This technique doesn't work well for moving subjects. Landscapes and Architecture are where this works. So if you've ever taken a shot of a landscape or sunset and wished there was a way to get more detail in the shadowy areas, this is for you.
What you need to get a good HDR capture? First you need to secure your camera. A good solid tripod is very important for best results. Also don't skimp on the tripod head. You should be able to lock down your camera on your tripod and it shouldn't move. If it moves when you let go of the controls, well, your tripod and or head aren't strong enough for your setup. So step 1 Lock down your composition. Second, figure out Where the information is in the scene. My Nex-5n has a live histogram on the screen. This is very nice for HDR shooting. I compose my shot, then set my camera to manual and pick the f-stop I want. Usually F16 ish. It's important to keep your F-Stop constant for the entire series of shots. Now, I go to one extreme of the exposure. You can slow down your shutter speed until you see the dark side of the histogram come into the middle or the shadow areas are all the way opened up. Then you take a shot, if you are concerned about sharpness, use a cable release or remote control. Now turn your shutter speed dial. My camera moves exposure in 1/3 stops, most do this the same. So I count three clicks on my wheel, this is one full stop. Take another shot. Repeat until you've captured all the detail in the highlights, such as the sky or the sun. I love shooting into the sun for HDR shots. When you are shooting directly into the sun and a subject in the shade, you'll end up with 13-15 stops needed. By taking a shot every stop you are able to get a very clean highly detailed HDR image.
1. Frame your shot and lock down your camera.
2. Pick your F-stop and ISO and lock those down.
3. Set your shutter speed to one end of the exposure. I usually start with the image overexposed.
4. Shoot then change exposure by one stop and shoot again and again until you've captured all of the dynamic range in the image.
5. There is no step 5, you're done. Recompose and make another image.
Now take your images into the HDR software of your choice. I'll list three that I use. There are many more options and price points available.
1. Nik Software HDR Efex Pro.
2. Photomatix Pro or Photomatix Light
3. Photoshop CS5
Photomatix is the easiest and fastest. Nik HDR Efex is also easy. You get different looking images from each of these software packages. Photoshop for me is the most difficult way to get a pleasing image.
Some people (photographers) are haters of HDR, I'm not sure why. Most non-photographers love the look. You can make an image of a scene that is more realistic than a standard capture. You can of course go very unrealistic too. It's an art form. Make it look pleasing to you and have fun.
Thanks for reading and watching today.

domain: hobby


text: DNGRCT aka Craig Vincent is an Oakland-based multimedia DIY punk, street artist & designer. He is also the co-creator and founder of Destroy Art Inc & a direct descendant of Victoria Woodhull. A truly multi-faceted artist, Craig has an inclination towards political, societal and personal empowerment narratives illustrated through thought-provoking, explosively energetic punk rock aesthetics on collage, canvas, paper, film, sculpture, graphic design, writing, installation, street art and music. He has been active in the Northeast punk/hardcore scene since the early 90's running a punk record label and was a vocalist in several NJ punk bands such as The Degenerics, Kamikaze and Plastic Cross. Craig has worked on public art projects with the San Francisco Aquarium & has exhibited all around the USA. His work has been featured in Murze (UK), Beautiful Bizarre (Australia) & multiple record covers on labels such as Fat Wreck, Don Giovanni, Soul Rebel & Beer City Records.


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Chapter Two: The Current Study/ Statement Of The Problem
The current study examines how Virginia is situated within the landscape of hip hop music. The West Coast and Mid West may also be considered centers for hip hop production, but for this study I will be discussing how Virginia’s situadedness is ideal in relaying some of hip hop’s coastal tensions (Bracey and Sinha, 2005). Geographically, Virginia hip-hop is located between two key regional hip-hop sub genres, that is East Coast and the Southern hip hop. East Coast hip-hop is most specifically centered in the New York City area, radiating outward throughout the North Eastern region of the United States. Southern hip hop is most specifically connected to cities such as Atlanta, New Orleans, and “the deep South” in general (Harrison, 2005). Geographically, historically, and symbolically speaking, Virginia falls below the Mason-Dixon line that was established to separate the Northern states from the Southern states (Bracey and Sinha, 2005). However, within hip hop’s culture, Virginia is imagined as an ally of these two regional forces, where artists from Virginia such as the Neptunes, Timberland, and Missy Elliot’s artistry has been cohesive in East Coast, Southern, and even West Coast hip hop accord.
This study is important in helping us to develop a better understanding of the relationship among (hip hop) music, identity, and place, as well as illuminating on some ways in which music categories (such as East Coast and Southern) have been produced and promoted through cultural industries that come to shape local scenes. More people will continue to make and pursue music that makes Virginia unique (Harrison, 2005).
With all music, people start by imitating until they find something closer to home to model themselves after. Then when people get comfortable with the form of music it becomes a part of the individual or the state (Krims, 2000). Is Virginia at a stage of boasting its own hip hop identity or are residents subscribing to East Coast or Southern hip hop demeanors?
To employ the qualitative component of reflexivity, I should mention that I myself am a native of Virginia who undertook undergraduate and graduate studies in Virginia, Hampton University and Virginia Tech respectively, thus my focus is on Virginia hip hop most specifically. In college I have been exposed to people from all over Virginia, all over the nation, and all over the world. Our interest in hip hop culture and its application to everyday life was something most of us had in common, especially at Hampton, a historically black university, where the development of black identity was foremost. Most people clung to their regional identities anchored in hip hop antics and historically rooted claims of authenticity and these regional hip hop identities were even sometimes a source of tension and rivalry at HU. In this study I will explore Virginia’s situatedeness in hip hop’s topography as it relates to the salience of particular regional identities and what informs those identities. Furthermore, I will examine if Virginia’s hip hop is a unified or diversified front.
Chapter Three: Theory
With the rise of globalization, the wide range of once distinctive cultures have been brought into jeopardy by the homogenizing effects of mass culture, thus the study of the myriad of local cultures has become increasingly warranted (Bennett, 2000). However, the same processes that contribute to one global culture, taken with the practice of active cultural selection, can reinvent the traditional culture’s symbols and artifacts into new localized forms. Through this process an established culture is circulated, imitated, and multiplied (Bennett, 2000). People draw on local forms of knowledge to make sense of media messages and incorporate them into their everyday lives. Though we are exposed to the same global flow of commodities, highly distinctive meanings are ascribed to images and information based on our local sensibilities. The latent effects of mass culture are emancipatory in that the people will become conscious of new ways to navigate through systems that govern their lives (Bennett, 2000).
Music plays an important role in the way in which people define their relationships to their local everyday surroundings. Meanings attached to popular music are adapted to the specifications of a given locality (Toop, 1984). Musicians derive their music sounds from shared awareness in a local setting. The narratives one may present in relation to music spring from common, local, epistemologies. People cling to specific music as “symbolic anchors in regions, as signs of community and belonging, and a shared past” (Whiteley et al, 2003 p.3). The importance of space and place is signified by the breadth of cultural and musical production in local settings, where music can be made to the sound of everyday life and furthermore diffuse different ideas of national identity (Whiteley et al, 2003).
Ideas of community are relative to the collective identity in a shared environment. Music plays a significant role in the way individuals fashion that environment. In other words, authors of collective identity are also the “authors of the spaces and places these identities are lived out” (Bennett, 2000 p.64). Within a musical work, the listener may find a synthesis of sentiment and shrewdness that is a collective representation of a local space. Place and place based identities begin by utilizing the common stock of understandings about a locality. Our local knowledge is further enhanced by our collective values when we are exposed to other introspective narratives like we find in music.
Groups map out cooperative zones to effectively cattier to the collaborative needs of the community. People refer to information constructed from local resources to resolve problems that arise in these zones. As new people inhabit urban and rural zones, they become refined in regard to the social structure of the new habitat, however, they still shape “the day to day life of a particular place with aspects of their cultural reality” (Bennett, 2000 p.66). Music is a local resource that shapes cultural realities. Music influences the construction and ascertation of divergent social boundaries (White, 1996). Audiences may relate to the same music, but use the knowledge they absorb from it in different ways. A series of competing local narratives are created, where different social groups have different definitions of a space. Urban and rural zones become increasingly contested terrains. Those who choose to participate in the culture negotiate the aspects they find least appealing and at the same time fashion new forms of local identity that draw upon both the global and the local (White, 1996).
Whitley, Bennett, and Hawkins argue that “music, it has been illustrated, can bond displaced peoples, effectively bridging the geographic distance between them and providing a shared sense of collective identity articulated by a symbolic sense of community” (Whitely, et al, 2003 p.4). They go on to explain “as a highly visible and audible commodity, music comes to stand for the specificity of social experience in identifiable communities” (Whiteley, et al, 2003 p.4). Music becomes globally acknowledged when it captures the attention and allegiance of people from different locations. Music is effective when it mobilizes people by creating a locality where cultural heritage is shared (White, 1996).
Chapter I Introduction
Chapter II Current Study/Statement of the Problem
Chapter III Theory
Chapter IV Hip Hop’s Background
Chapter V The South
Chapter VI Virginia Hip Hop
Chapter VII Methods
Chapter VIII Taxonomies
Chapter IX Analysis and Findings
Chapter X Conclusion
GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT
Virginia Hip Hop and Place


text:
Some health experts expect that more than one million people will die from the disease in China this year, with British-based health data firm Airfinity forecasting Covid fatalities could hit 36,000 a day next week.
People across China crowded into trains and buses for one of its busiest days of travel in years on Friday, feeding fears of new surges in a raging Covid-19 outbreak that officials say has hit its peak. In comments reported by state media late Thursday, Vice Premier Sun Chunlan said the virus was at a “relatively low” level, while health officials said the number of Covid patients in hospital and with critical conditions was on the decline. But there are widespread doubts about China’s official account of an outbreak that has overwhelmed hospitals and funeral homes since Beijing abandoned strict Covid controls and mass testing last month. That policy U-turn, which followed historic protests against the government’s tough anti-virus curbs, unleashed Covid on a population of 1.4 billion that had been largely shielded from the disease since it emerged in the city of Wuhan in late 2019.Some health experts expect that more than one million people will die from the disease in China this year, with British-based health data firm Airfinity forecasting Covid fatalities could hit 36,000 a day next week. Recently, the overall pandemic in the country is at a relatively low level,” Sun said in comments reported by the state-run Xinhua news agency.“The number of critical patients at hospitals is decreasing steadily, though the rescue mission is still heavy.”Her comments came on the eve of one of the most frenetic travel days in China since the pandemic erupted in late 2019, as millions of city-dwellers travel to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year holiday that officially begins on Saturday. More than 2 billion trips are expected to take place across China between Jan. 7 and Feb. 15, the government estimates. Excited passengers laden with luggage and boxes of gifts boarded trains on Friday, heading for long-awaited family reunions. “Everyone is eager to go home. After all, we haven’t seen our families for so long,” a 30-year-old surnamed Li told Reuters at Beijing’s West railway station. But for others, the holiday is a reminder of lost loved ones.


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text:
Watch full episodes from all four animated series, get the latest news, and find everything you would want to know about the. Though outnumbered, yugi will never give up, as long as he believes in the heart of the cards. But with his best cards resting at the bottom of the ocean, yugi must discover a new strategy if hes to survive fake kaibas powerful blue. There lies a strong divide between the rich and the poor, and bridging that gap proves to be difficult. The series is currently licensed for release in north america by konami. You can use your mobile device without any trouble. Jaden yuki, known as judai yuki in the japanese version, is the main protagonist of yu gi oh. Zexal and other popular tv shows and movies including new releases, classics, hulu originals, and more. Wiki is a free repository on all aspects of the yugioh. The movie all cutscenes full aether storyline duration. No other sex tube is more popular and features more yugioh akiza scenes than pornhub.
However, only 31 episodes from seasons 4 and 5 were dubbed into english by 4kids entertainment, due to low ratings, pressure to air yu gi oh. Yu gi oh 5ds episode 46 english dub online for free in hd. Yuma and sharks battle with don thousand takes a treacherous turn when the great barian deity reveals he. Visit the news section for dates of upcoming yugioh. Episode 46 supreme black dragon of rebellion episode 45 xiangke and xiangsheng. Yuya sakakis dream is to follow in his fathers footsteps and become the greatest dueltainer. Hoping to save his friends from the clutches of sector security, yusei fudo challenges his old nemesis officer trudge to a turbo duel. Yugi must duel a magical doppelganger of kaiba created from the greed and powerlust yugi wiped from kaibas soul. Yugioh arc v amv shun kurosakishay vs sora rise hd.
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Yu gi oh 5ds episode 150 yusei turns gold over top clear mind. Replaced episodes 43, 44, 45 and 46 of yu gi oh 5 ds in hd. However, while yugi only controls one dark magician, arkana has three residing in his deck. In the 5ds bonus ending edition, this song was used in the ending with the gang leaving the city instead of future colors. Compatible device and highspeed, broadband internet connection required. No other sex tube is more popular and features more yu gi oh hentai scenes than pornhub. Neo domino seems fit to entertain itself with a wild new event called riding duels, the newest. Mark of the spider, part 2 the truth from seventeen years ago, the hidden trap of the dark signers. Fans everywhere hope youre having a good day because its going to be much better today ill give you t. Gx, as well as the reincarnation of the supreme king.

domain: entertainment


text:
Republican State Reps Describe Process In Madigan Investigation
September 10, 2020 1:06PM CDT
Three Republican state representatives are describing the process in the investigation into allegations against Speaker Michael Madigan. The group spoke yesterday to the media about the process and say six members of the special investigative committee are ready to get their work underway. Three Republicans and three Democrats have been appointed to the committee. Democratic Representative Emanuel Chris Welch will chair the committee, and Speaker Madigan will be invited to testify.

domain: politics


text:
I’m glad everyone loves baked goods as much as I do. I’m making the bread tomorrow, and I’ll show you guys how it works.
The key with real sourdough is that it takes a lonnnng time. Even when you’ve got starter (which takes about a week to get going the first time), you’re looking at 12-24 hours of rising time! (Normal bread is more like 1-2 hours). And I’m babysitting my blogger baby friend again today, so no bread making.
Dinner was tasty, but nothing exciting.
Chicken w/some Italian herbs, and roasted garlic, brown rice with the same seasonings plus cheese, and peas
And a salad. Love that salad.
We decided it was perfect hot chocolate weather
Was there booze in there? Possibly. Let’s not judge.
And for “bed dinner”* we ate this ridiculous pack of sugary weirdness
I found it for 98 cents at Winco. Couldn’t say no. Candy that looks like mexican food.
That, clearly, is chili con carne.
The eggs on the “heuvos rancheros” tasted like pineapple. Not eggs. Which was good, but really weird. Food that looks like other food is just strange…
Now I’m chowing down on this
Plain yogurt with pineapple and Nature’s Path Maple Sunshine goodness
And waiting for my baby friend to wake up and eat her yogurt with me
*when Baby Brother was little he called dessert “bed dinner”, as it was the meal you ate before bed. I told that to the fiance, and he liked it, and it stuck.
Dose your family have any weird little kid sayings that stuck? In the fiance’s family his sister called bananas “blalalalahs” and they still say it sometimes when they ask her what she wants to eat.


text:
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Liverpool have squandered the opportunity to guarantee qualification in the Champions League against Sevilla...
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Liverpool legend Steve McManaman has been impressed with Mohamed Salah’s goal scoring record at his...
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England and Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has hailed Salah’s movement ahead of Liverpool’s Champions...