Cookie Skates

This is yummy and so cute cookie, the kid will love them and it's good idea for holiday party.


Cookie Skates



INGREDIENTS :
1/2 roll (16.5 oz size) refrigerated sugar cookies
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 container (1 lb) creamy white creamy ready-to-spread frosting
30 small candy canes
Green decorating gel
Red candy sprinkles

DIRECTIONS :
1. In large bowl, break up cookie dough. Stir or knead in flour until well blended. Shape dough into 10-inch log; wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze 30 minutes.
2. Heat oven to 350°F. Remove dough from freezer. Flatten dough down center with handle of wooden spoon. To form boot shape, with fingers, flatten one side of log until about 3/4 inch thick. (See photo.) Cut log into 3/8-inch slices. On ungreased cookie sheets, place slices 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly with fingers.
3. Bake 8 to 11 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
4. Spread frosting on cookies. Place small amount of frosting along bottom edge of each cookie; attach candy canes to form "skate blades," breaking off portion of tip of curved end, if necessary. With green gel, pipe laces and outline on skates. Use candy sprinkles to decorate skates.

Article from : pillsbury

The Go Team Vodka

This sporty drink (featured in my drinking-book Good Spirits, but originally picked up from my bartending pal Joel Meister) will make you the winner no matter what the final score of the actual game. Refreshing, but with that little kick that makes it easier to handle your team losing, and more fun to celebrate your team winning, the Go Team is an ideal accompaniment for all the tasty snacks that have been posted this week.

Ingredients:
Ice cubes
1 ounce Stolichnaya Vanil vodka
1 ounce Stolichnaya Ohranj vodka
1/2 ounce Midori melon liqueur
1/2 ounce simple syrup (see note below)
2 lime wedges
5 – 8 leaves fresh mint
Chilled soda water

Directions:
1. Add the lime wedges, mint, and simple syrup to a Collins glass or similarly-sized glass. Using a muddler or wooden spoon, muddle well.

2. Fill the glass three quarters up with ice cubes. Add the vodkas and the Midori. Stir well with a bar spoon.

3. Top off the glass with chilled club soda. Stir one more time. Serve with a game-winning smile.

A Note: Simple syrup is a snap to make (if you didn’t already know). For 4-1/2 cups worth, add 3 cups sugar and 2-1/2 cups water to a medium-sized saucepan. Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to a boil over a medium-high heat. Lower the heat a bit, keeping the mixture at the low boil for five minutes. Then turn off the heat, and let the syrup completely cool in the pan. It stays good for up to a month in the fridge.

Article by : --A.J. Rathbun

The Best SF and Fantasy of 2007

Recently I contributed ayear's best SF/Fantasy article to Locus Online that I think will interest book-hungry Amazon readers. If you're unfamiliar with Mark Kelly's Locus Online, it is perhaps the best internet source for all things genre, and the electronic presence of the hardcopy magazine.

My article includes several titles familiar to readers from the Amazon Best SF/Fantasy list posted last year. However, it also includes many book not on that list, all of which are linked to Amazon. You'll find novel, first novel, anthology, reprint, and graphic novel recommendations galore. And, for your immediate reading pleasure, I've turned the spotlight on four recommended titles below. (In addition to my article, also take a look at Claude Lalumiere's recommended reading.)

The Stone Gods, Jeanette Winterson - A stunning SF book that's as much satire about our lives today as it is about the future. A new planet is discovered and the narrator and his robotic love are sent to explore it. At times tragic, at times hilarious, The Stone Gods is finally being released in the US in April from Harcourt (UK cover shown above). It's good for you, with its extrapolation about environmental devastation and our consumer culture, but also a fun, quick read.

The Dog Said Bow-Wow by Michael Swanwick - A master of the short form, Swanwick offers up a cornucopia of pleasures in this new volume. From steampunk to magic realism to fantasy, these stories resonate with intelligence and good humor. Not to mention, how can you resist a cover with an upside-down dog muzzle on it? Or an author who has won this many Hugo Awards?

Bright of the Sky by Kay Kenyon - This one's for readers who loved Ringworld by Larry Niven but also for fantasy readers who love great fantasy quests. How can that be, you might ask? It's set primarily in a strange alternative universe but also in the future of our universe. I think the cover, in this case, says it all: the book is exotic, beautiful, and daring. (Book two comes out in March.)

Logorrhea edited by John Klima - Possibly the most overlooked major anthology of 2007, Logorrhea included contributions from writers like Hal Duncan, Jay Lak, Michael Moorcock, and Marly Youmans, as well as yours truly. The premise? Each writer had to take a winning national spelling bee word and write a story around it. The results are wonderful, since this isn't the kind of constraint that straitjackets writers' imaginations--just the opposite. For my part, I wrote a story using all of the spelling bee words chosen by the other contributors. (There's a post on editor John Klima's blog that includes podcasts and other goodies related to the words.)

By : JeffV

Easy Parmesan Cheese Crisps

We've been eating a lot of cheese in the Al Dente HQ lately. (For those of you new to Al Dente, we just conducted a Parmesan cheese taste test, which I'm putting together the finishing touches on this week.) In honor of the mound of Parmesan left over in my refrigerator, I felt inspired to share this simple recipe with you all. When these crisps cool, toss 'em in a Caesar or pasta salad, if they make it that far. (Trust me, you'll be popping these like Pez.) And, you can always sprinkle a little paprika or freshly ground black pepper on these to give them a slight kick.

Ingredients:
4 cups good quality coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with greased parchment paper. (Tip: using a silicone baking mat works very well.) Sprinkle the coarsely grated Parmesan cheese into small, 5-inch diameter circles onto the pan. The circles should be in a thin layer so that they crisp up nicely. Place sheet pan in the oven and bake for approximately 8 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cheese from the sheet pan. If you'd like to shape the crisps, quickly place them over a rolling pin after removing from the oven and allow them to cool. Sprinkle with desired seasonings, and repeat baking step with remaining cheese.

By : Sous-Chef on the Run

French Onion Dip

What good is watching a football game without onion dip? Pointless, I say. This is simple to make, so when it dissappears during the first quarter (and it will), you can whip up another batch during a commercial break.

Ingredients
1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh parsley and/or chives, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. Put all of the ingredients in a food processor. Process on high for 10 seconds. Stir slightly (making sure to get everything off the sides). Process for another 5 to 10 seconds until completely combined.
2. Spatula the dip into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate up to an hour (or for you impatient types, stick it in the freezer for about ten minutes). Serves 6 to 8 people.

Article by : AndreaLeigh From amazondaily

Swedish Meatballs

I have to admit feeling a little like Duke, the golden retriever who tries to sell the secret family recipe to Bush's Original Baked Beans--that's because I'm going to share my mom's super-secret recipe for Swedish Meatballs. I've used this recipe many times to make a big batch of easy-to-prepare party appetizers. They're always a hit, now friends even RSVP saying, "there'd better be meatballs!" So, whether your favorite spectator sport is the Super Bowl or Project Runway, here's the recipe in time to load up your crock pot.

Swedish Meatballs a la Broadstone's Mom

Ingredients:

1 six-pound bag of frozen meatballs from your favorite food warehouse, such as Costco
1 jar (16 oz) creamy Alfredo sauce
1 jar (16 oz) roasted garlic Alfredo sauce
1.5 cups dry white wine

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Arrange the meatballs in a single layer on a foil-covered cookie sheet. Bake uncovered until the meatballs are browned, about 30-40 minutes.
3. Transfer meatballs to a large stockpot and add both jars of Alfredo sauce.
4. Pour 1/4 cup of white wine into each jar and shake to blend with any remaining sauce. Pour the blended wine and sauce over the meatballs and stir well.
5. Simmer uncovered, over medium heat for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
6. Pour remaining 1 cup of wine into a glass--that's for you to enjoy while hiding the empty sauce jars.

It's that easy. Delicious, simple, and the sauce won't separate. Oh, and if you see my mom, don't... say... a word.

Article by: Broadstone From amazondaily

Cheeseburger In a Can

If a worldwide apocalypse had forced us to live in underground bunkers just a few months ago, our diet would have consisted of dehydrated foods, canned beans, and vegans. Now, thanks to zee Germans, you can add cheeseburgers to that menu.

And not just any cheeseburger--canned cheeseburger. The web detectives over at Spuch dug up this gem.

I guess if survival came down to a choice between cannibalism and canned cheeseburger, I'd definitely think twice about eating someone.

Article by :Spanno From amazondaily

Mini Beef Crescents

All this week, we're going to focus on food for Sunday's big game. My culinary preference for football cuisine is easy-to-cook, man-sized finger food. And lots of it. This recipe, from Pillsbury.com, fits the bill perfectly because it's versatile and easy to make.

Mini Beef and Cheese Crescents

Ingredients
1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 tablespoon Italian salad dressing
2 slices (1/2 to 1 oz each) cheese, each cut into 8 strips
2 tablespoons chopped roasted red bell peppers (from a jar or fresh)
3 oz thinly sliced cooked roast beef (from deli), cut into 16 pieces [feel free to substitute any sliced, chopped, marinated, or pulled meat --Spanno]

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray. Unroll dough and separate into 8 triangles; press out each triangle so shortest side measures 4 inches. Cut each triangle in half lengthwise from tip end to short side to make 16 triangles.
2. Brush each triangle with salad dressing. Top each with 1 cheese strip, scant 1/2 teaspoon roasted peppers and 2 pieces of beef, folding to fit on triangle. Roll up each, starting at shortest side of triangle and rolling to opposite point; place point side down on cookie sheet.
3. Bake 13 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.

Makes 16 appetizers.

Article by : Spanno from amazondaily

The Danger of Not Eating Tuna

In recent years, the last word on the dangers of eating mercury-rich fish seemed to be the government's well-publicized 2004 advisory, which recommended against eating too much higher mercury fish like white tuna, but whose warning applied only to pregnant or nursing women, women of childbearing age and young children. Though mercury overload could damage the still-developing nervous system of a baby, the scientific consensus was that for the average Joe taking in the average amount of fish, heavy with metals or not, it posed no undue threat.

But on Wednesday a New York Times investigation of local restaurants and groceries found that tender slices of tuna sushi being served up all over the city were "tainted" with exceedingly high levels of mercury — so high that eating just six pieces a week would send the average-weight adult over the EPA's acceptable weekly level of mercury intake over a period of several months. All this time, it seems, the average Joe may have been ingesting more harmful mercury than he thought.

So, what is a tuna-lover to do? TIME asked the opinion of Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, and co-author of one of the most comprehensive studies to date on the impact of fish consumption on human health.

Should we stop eating tuna?

No. Overall, the dangers of not eating fish [including tuna] outweigh the small possible dangers from mercury. The recommended amount for adults is to eat one or two servings of fish per week — but probably only 10% to 20% of the population in the U.S. eats sufficient fish. The real danger in this country, the real concern, is that we're not eating enough fish. That is very likely increasing our rates of death from heart disease.

Read full article

Article from : http://www.time.com/

Miss Michigan crowned Miss America 2008

LAS VEGAS -- Miss Michigan Kirsten Haglund, a 19-year-old aspiring Broadway star, was crowned Miss America 2008 on Saturday in a live show billed as the unveiling of the 87-year-old pageant's new, hipper look.

Haglund, of Farmington Hills, Mich., sang "Over the Rainbow" to clinch the title. She beat Miss Indiana Nicole Elizabeth Rash, the first runner up, and Miss Washington Elyse Umemoto, the second runner up for the $50,000 scholarship and year of travel that comes with the crown.

Haglund, who studies music at the University of Cincinnati, grew up in a pageant family. Her mother is an active volunteer, and her grandmother Iora Hunt, competed for the crown as Miss Michigan 1944. Hunt was in the audience Saturday.

Haglund, a cheery, classic blond, wore a revealing silver sequined dress and black bikini during the evening gown and swimsuit portions of the pageant. As her platform issue, she promised to advocate for awareness of eating disorders, an illness from which she has recovered.

Haglund claimed 2007 Miss Michigan honors last June in Muskegon. She entered that pageant as Miss Oakland County and won a $10,000 scholarship.


Haglund was the second Farmington Hills resident to be crowned Miss Michigan in as many years. Angela Corsi won last year in her fifth and final year of eligibility.

The crowning at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip was aired for the first time on TLC. It capped a four-week reality series, "Miss America: Reality Check," which followed the contestants as they were pushed to shed the dated look of Miss Americas past and adopt a more updated style.

The show was the latest in a series of attempts to find an audience with a younger demographic after more than a decade of declining ratings.

The 52 newly made-over aspiring beauty queens who sought the top tiara sported updated hairdos, sassy attitudes and red carpet-worthy fashion throughout the competition.

Usually tame by modern TV standards, the swimwear competition kicked it up a notch. Most contestants wore black bikinis, and some struck provocative poses and twirled as the audience howled.

Contestants also wore blue jeans and added a bit of humor to the traditional opening number, the parade of states.Producers had hoped a new confident attitude would show through on the catwalks, and Miss Utah, Jill Stevens, an Army medic who served in Afghanistan, didn't disappoint.

"Home of the country's highest birth rate -- as long as the Osmonds don't move," she announced.

Stevens made it to the final 16, selected as "America's Choice," based on voting via text messages from viewers of a reality show that was designed make over the beauty queens and attract a new generation of fans. Judges chose the other finalists.

Miss Utah didn't make it to the final 10, but she took the disappointment with pluck. She dropped and gave the audience push ups before joining the other losers.

Producers added a twist to the interview portion, as well. They asked people on the street to pose questions, and the results were edgier than usual. Contestents were asked about binge drinking, HIV and Britney Spears' pregnant younger sister, Jamie Lynn.

"No I don't think she should be fired," Miss Indiana Nicole Elizabeth Rash said. "They're still people, they're still human beings. We all deserve second chances."

The long-struggling pageant had promised a new look for this year's beauty battle. "Entertainment Tonight" reporter Mark Steines was the master of ceremonies of the show. Clinton Kelly of TLC's hit "What Not to Wear" also helped with the hosting duties. Kelly had instructed the girls on how to update their looks during the reality show.

The pageant sounded different, too. A deejay spun dance music from turntables set up on stage. Contestant danced and waved to the audience during commercials breaks. The losers were seated on risers on one side of the stage, while the parents of the finalists, in black tie, were seated on the other.

The show was the latest in a series of attempts to find a new audience after more than a decade of declining ratings. The fading institution was dropped from network television in 2004. It spent a two-year stint on Country Music Television before being picked up last summer by TLC, a cable channel reaching 93 million homes in the U.S.

TLC added the pageant to its reality-TV stable, and announced plans to reinvent the look of the show and find an "It girl" ready for modern celebrity.

In addition to the $50,000 scholarship, Haglund will embark on a year of promoting the pageant, her platform issue and the Children's Miracle Network, a pageant partner.

Article by : Associated Press

Your KitchenAid Color Horoscope

Over the holidays I went over to my friend Jill's house for the first time. When I entered her kitchen I immediately exclaimed, "You have a GRAPE KitchenAid mixer!" Yes, I may be a little bit insane, but this was one of the highlights of the holiday season for me. You see, other people go to friends' houses and secretly peek in their medicine cabinets. Me, I stroll into the kitchen and check out the color of KitchenAid mixer the person has. This one detail speaks volumes about a person.

Now a grape KitchenAid mixer is truly extraordinary. Not many people can pull this off. Grape says that the owner is bold, daring, and perhaps a little bit quirky. And most of all, cool. Very, very cool.

I personally lust after the grape KitchenAid mixer. I would probably never have it, but I want it. I want to be that cool. Instead, I have a cobalt KitchenAid mixer, and it is a prized possession, if not a little bit basic. Cobalt is like having a black or white one, but with a little bit more charm. A person with a cobalt mixer wants the splash of color, but is afraid of going too far.

People with black or white mixers have classic sensabilities. They are generally not making a style statement with their mixer. It may blend in with the kitchen, or it may fit a somewhat austere black and white d??cor. Or, perhaps they just got it as a gift and the gift giver didn't know what color to get!

People with the newer chrome and other metallic models, probably have modern kitchens, filled with stainless-steel appliances. These people tend to be quite stylish, and often clean-cut.

But, it's those people with actual colors, like grape, that really make a commitment to their sense of style. Grape, tangerine, ice, wasabi (!)--these people have it going on.

What's your KitchenAid color profile?


Shop Cheap Kitchenware >> Click


Article by : KitchenMaus From amazondaily

Programmed to Love Chocolate

A recent study by Swiss and British scientists has determined that preferences for food--specifically chocolate--could be linked to a chemical signature that's programmed into our metabolic systems. The study breaks new ground in metabolic type research, and could help to eventually design healthy diets customized to an individual's needs.

Participants in the study classified themselves as "chocolate desiring" or "chocolate indifferent" and ate chocolate or a placebo, then were analyzed. The chocolate lovers all had a similar metabolic profile, whether they ate the chocolate or not. Studying food preferences and garnering information on metabolic types, according to one of the researchers "could open the door to dietary or nutritional interventions that are customized to your type so that your metabolism can be nudged to a healthier status." Read the full article at Physorg.com.

Article by : AndreaLeigh From amazondaily

Happy Hour : Grey Goose Ginger Peartini

Recently, I've rediscovered an old flame in downtown Seattle--Cutter's Smoked Salmon chowder. While this chowder is rich, creamy, and warms me to my toes on cold days, I have to admit that it's not their chowder alone that brings me into Cutter's--it's their Grey Goose Ginger Peartini.

A few weekends back, Head-Chef and I went to celebrate a special event with some close friends. Despite my desire to save a couple bucks and go with the happy hour scratch margarita, I just couldn't resist Cutter's peartini. Smooth, spicy, and sweet all is one sip! Here's how to make this one at home...

Ingredients:

2 parts Grey Goose La Poire
1/2 part ginger, muddled and mashed
1/4 part triple sec
1/4 part fresh lime juice

Directions:

Fill a martini shaker with ingredients above and shake gently. Stain and serve with a shaving of ice, straight up in a martini glass.


Article by : Sous-Chef on the Run from amazondaily

Better Greenwashing

The happy marketing language states: "Seventh Generation's plant-derived laundry detergents are tough on dirt but gentle on your clothes and the environment. They are non-toxic, biodegradable, and contain no phosphates, artificial fragrances or dyes."

Seventh Generation Laundry Concentrate is formulated to be effective in cold water, and good for use in both High Efficiency and standard washing machines. It is biodegradable and safe for septic and gray water systems. Seventh Generation claims that "if every household in the U.S. replaced one bottle of petroleum-based 2X liquid laundry detergent with one bottle of our plant-based product, we could save 233,000 barrels of oil--enough to heat & cool 13,400 U.S. homes for a year."

Amazon currently sells myriad Seventh Generation products--from dish washing liquid to diapers. The Laundry Concentrate we mention above is a 6-pack. Check their stuff out and write a review or two and tell us how you like it.

Article by: AmazonGreen Scene

Lose Weight, Get Paid in Cold Inedible Cash

I’m not going to lie to you--I could stand to lose a couple pounds. But it’s hard, even though I exercise, and try to resist the delicious amount of snacks around the Al Dente HQ. I mean, doughnuts taste good. Milkshakes taste good. Doughnuts dunked in a milkshake taste really good. If I was paid to lose those pounds though, would that be enough incentive? In the United Kingdom, some politicians think it will be. According to an article in the Times Online, “obese and overweight adults in England could be paid to lose weight under plans being considered by the Government.”

It’s part of a larger 375 million (pounds that is) program to help cut the amount of obese and overweight in the UK (other parts of the program include advertising, classes, and the creation of “healthy towns”). I dunno if, when that scrumptious doughnut’s right there in front of me (or, the scrumptious milkshake, or chocolate truffle, or large hunk of cake, depending of your preference), I would be able to say no, even if I knew I’d get a check down the road. Would you? And how much is enjoying yourself a little less worth?

Article by : A.J. Rathbun From amazondaily

The Three Potentially Offensive Pigs

I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow down your shoddily constructed...

Shoo-fly publishing's The Three Little Cowboy Builders is circulating the blogosphere as the latest casualty of eager political correctness. The digital pop-up book based on the classic story, The Three Little Pigs, was not shortlisted for the first annual (British government-backed) BETT Awards because, according to the panel of educator-judges, "the use of pigs raises cultural issues."

Today's BBC News report elaborated on the panel's judgment. Apparently, the use of pigs in the story was considered potentially offensive to Muslims. And Asians. And, well, construction workers:

The judges criticised the stereotyping in the story of the unfortunate pigs: "Is it true that all builders are cowboys, builders get their work blown down, and builders are like pigs?"

(Examples of judges' comments must have been released by someone associated with the book, because they are not reflected at all in this vague public statement, which essentially says that the book just wasn't good enough.)

Looking for some kind of response from any of the potentially offended communities, I found this Daily Mail article from March 2007, about a church school that renamed their Three Pigs musical "The Three Little Puppies." It includes a statement from Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra of the Muslim Council of Britain who said, "The vast majority of Muslims have no problem whatsoever with the Three Little Pigs. There's an issue about the eating of pork, which is forbidden, but there is no prohibition about reading stories about pigs."

No comment so far from the builders. Bob?


For the oft-maligned wolf's perspective, you can also check out children's laureate Jon Scieszka's The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!


Article by : Heidi From www.Omnivoracious.com

Hari Kunzru's Bookshelf: Researching the Revolution

I wrote last week about My Revolutions, Hari Kunzru's new novel, which is my January pick for our Significant Seven. And when poking around to learn more about him and the book, I came across his bare-bones home page, which features a larger version of the lovely bookshelf photo above, filled with what must have been his research materials for My Revolutions. I'm always fascinated by the process of research in writing fiction (how much to do it, when to stop and let imagination take over, etc.), but I nearly always despise those lengthy acknowledgments that often appear these days at the end (or worse, the beginning) of novels, explaining all the research materials used and thanking all those involved. It breaks the spell of the tale. My Revolutions does include such a note at the end, but it's written with some style and manages to still leave a great deal of mystery, so I didn't mind it. But even better is to see this jumbled shelf, raw and unexplained, as a hint of the sourcework that went into the story: the mystery of creation is for me not only retained, but deepened. And so in the spirit of the Omnivoracious annotated bookshelf, a partial listing of the books I can find in the photo (a treasure trove of Leftist theory and Sixties history) appears after the jump. --Tom

• SCUM Manifesto, Valerie Solanis


• Because They're Black, Derek Humphry and Gus John


• Baader Meinhof: Pictures on the Run 67-77, Astrid Proll


• Underground: The London Alternative Press, 1966-74, Nigel Fountain


• People Together, Clem Gorman


• The Squatters, Ron Bailey


• The Politics of Experience and the Bird of Paradise, R.D. Laing


• The Divided Self, R.D. Laing


• Knots, R.D. Laing


• Communes in Britain, Andrew Rigby


• King Mob Echo, Tom Vague


• The Christie File, Stuart Christie


• The Left in Britain, David Widgery


• Bending the Bars: Prison Stories of an Angry Brigade Member, John Barker


• The New Left, Maurice Cranston


• Anarchy in the UK: The Angry Brigade, Tom Vague


• The New Radicals, Saul Jacobs and Paul Landau


• The Carlos Complex: A Study in Terror, Christopher Dobson and Ronald Payne


• Das Capital, Vol. 1, Karl Marx


• Grundrisse, Karl Marx


• Low Intensity Operations, Frank Kitson


• Bringing Down America: An FBI Informer with the Weathermen, Larry Grathwohl


• The Winter Soldier Investigation: An Inquiry into American War Crimes, Vietnam Veterans Against the War


• The Black Panthers Speak, Philip S. Foner, ed.


• Weatherman, Harold Jacobs


• The Tupamaro Guerrillas, Maria Esther Gilio


• I Am Curious (Yellow), Vilgot Sjoman


• I Am Curious (Blue), Vilgot Sjoman


• The Wretched of the Earth, Franz Fanon


• The Angry Brigade, Gordon Carr


• With the Weathermen, Susan Stern


• Diana: The Making of a Terrorist, Thomas Powers


• Strategy for Revolution, Regis Debray


• What Is to Be Done?, V.I. Lenin


• After the Revolution: Authority in a Good Society, Robert A. Dahl


• Memoirs of a Revolutionary, Victor Serge


• Deep Cover: An FBI Agent Infiltrates the Radical Underground, Cril Payne


• Ecrits, Jacques Lacan


• Armed Love, Elia Katz


• Media Manifestos, Regis Debray


• The Mass Psychology of Fascism, Wilhelm Reich


• On Violence, Hannah Arendt

i-cop Article From : Omnivoracious.com

Remembering Heath Ledger

I met Heath Ledger in March 2001 when he was promoting A Knight's Tale during the round of publicity junkets in Los Angeles. The room smelled like smoke, probably because he was putting out one about every half hour, and he was squirming in a chair like a little kid who'd been scolded at daycare. Possibly because he was irritated at the prying questions all day about Heather Graham (whom he was dating at the time). Possibly because he'd been asked for the 100th time what it felt like to be on the cusp of movie stardom, as the giant poster for the movie was filled with his face, and his face only, with a shock of dreamboat-ish wavy blond hair.

The girls dug his wide smile and that Aussie baritone. At this point I knew him as the kid from that short-lived series Roar, co-starring Keri Russell, and later the paired with Julia Stiles in 10 Things I Hate About You and Mel Gibson's roguish son in The Patriot. While I sat uncomfortably through The Patriot in theaters, I did rather like Ledger on-screen, a young headstrong boy who defies his father to go to war.

I asked him first about that large poster that hung near his head like an omen. He, only 22 at the time, shifted and admitted he was intimidated by it. "It's an ensemble cast," he explained. "But at the end of the day, it's your mug up there."

And indeed, A Knight's Tale was a rather curious mix of medieval adventure and WWE, goblets and modern slang ("It's called a lance..... hell-O..."). The dance scene, in which Ledger and Shannyn Sossamon waltz properly, then bust a groove to David Bowie's "Golden Years," was particularly entertaining because Ledger truly appeared to be enjoying himself. He'd also gone balls-out serenading and dancing for Stiles in 10 Things. There'd been rumors he was eager to star in Moulin Rouge, but was ultimately passed over in favor of Ewan McGregor for being too young. Had he lived on, would we have seen Ledger in the next big-screen musical adaptation?

"[You should] have fun. Get up there and dance and sing. Dance as if no one’s watching," he enthused. "The reason that you dance and sing is to make the audience feel like they’re dancing and singing."

The problem was, after Knight's Tale underperformed, Ledger nearly self-destructed his own career, following a small but pivotal part in Monster's Ball with five flops in a row--an attempt, he later said, to stop the teen heartthrob scripts from coming in--before his simmering, subtle performance in Brokeback Mountain earned him all those comparisons to Brando. His relationship with co-star Michelle Williams, which was genuinely adorable, also landed him in a lot of "Stars... They're Just Like Us" spreads in Us Weekly. There was Heath, going grocery shopping. There was Heath, toting his baby daughter around Brooklyn. There was Heath, having a smoke.

While his Oscar-nominated role catapulted him to better selections--most recently the role of a younger Joker in The Dark Knight, due this summer--he was obsessed with the character, telling an interviewer it took such a toll on his him that he couldn't sleep, even when his body was exhausted. Reading that article, I remembered another thing he said during our interview, back when he was on the verge of celebrity."I love acting and I have a lot of fun," he said. "[Yet] as soon as that disappears, the fun and friendship I have just deteriorates... I’ll walk away. It’s not hard."

It sure would have been great to see how many more interesting performances Heath Ledger might've turned in before walking away.

-- Ellen Aticle From : www.amazon.com/daily

announcing the 2008 Edgar Award nominees

Your reading queue may already be waist-high now (I know mine is) with all the Best Ofs and award winners that have been rolling in, but who can resist the siren songs of this year's Edgar hopefuls? I mean, really. From Benjamin Black's Christine Falls to debut favorite (and favorite of ours) In the Woods and Michael Chabon's genre-bending The Yiddish Policeman's Union--not to mention the host of delectable discoveries (Who is Conrad Hirst, indeed?)--it's been a great year for mysteries. I'm eager to see who'll be taking an Edgar home in May. Cue the drum roll:



Best Novel:

· Christine Falls by Benjamin Black

· Priest by Ken Bruen

· The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon

· Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman

· Down River by John Hart

Best First Novel by an American Author:

· Missing Witness by Gordon Campbell

· In the Woods by Tana French

· Snitch Jacket by Christopher Goffard

· Head Games by Craig McDonald

· Pyres by Derek Nikitas

Best Paperback Original:

· Queenpin by Megan Abbott

· Blood of Paradise by David Corbett

· Cruel Poetry by Vicki Hendricks

· Robbie's Wife by Russell Hill

· Who Is Conrad Hirst? by Kevin Wignall

Best Fact Crime:

· The Birthday Party by Stanley Alpert

· Reclaiming History by Vincent Bugliosi

· Chasing Justice by Kerry Max Cook

· Relentless Pursuit by Kevin Flynn

· Sacco & Vanzetti by Bruce Watson

Best Critical/Biographical Work:

· The Triumph of the Thriller by Patrick Anderson

· A Counter-History of Crime Fiction by Maurizio Ascari

· Deviance in Contemporary Crime Fiction by Christiana Gregoriou

· Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life in Letters by Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower and Charles Foley

· Chester Gould: A Daughter's Biography of the Creator of Dick Tracy by Jean Gould O'Connell

Best Young Adult:

· Rat Life by Tedd Arnold

· Diamonds in the Shadow by Caroline B. Cooney

· Touching Snow by M. Sindy Felin

· Blood Brothers by S.A. Harazin

· Fragments by Jeffry W. Johnston

Best Juvenile:

· The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

· Shadows on Society Hill by Evelyn Coleman

· Deep and Dark and Dangerous by Mary Downing Hahn

· The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh

· Sammy Keyes and the Wild Things by Wendelin Van Draanen

Grand Master Award:

· Bill Pronzini

Speaking of Edgar, it happens that Poe would have celebrated his 199th birthday this past Saturday. (I wonder if the nominee announcement just the day before was intended to coincide? Do tell MW of A!) In any case, we all know Poe's life was regrettably short: imagine how many more spooky stories he might have penned had drink and tragedy not gotten the best of him? What I'd like to imagine just as much is what he'd think of his heir-apparents writing today. I suspect he'd enjoy the grisly detail to be found in books like Heartsick or get sucked into the dark underbelly of Charlie Huston's world, but what about that frightful element of surprise--that unknowable dark turn into something sinister and evil--that makes his stories so wonderfully creepy? It's a primal sort of macabre you find in Poe that I think must be hard to recreate in the here and now, where (we think) we have the tools to unravel any mystery. Of contemporary authors, who do you think gets close to hitting that eerie note? Stephen King is my best guess, though it's hard to say. But I'm all worked up now for a good scare. --Anne

i-cop Article From : www.omnivoracious.com

Oscar Forecast: Razzie Nominations

If you didn't know, Lindsay Lohan film a movie called I Know Who Killed Me, in which she played a small-town girl who may also have been a stripper named Dakota. That film led the Golden Raspberry Award nominations, which (dis)honor the worst flicks of the year. Eddie Murphy set a new record with five nominations in a single year (for all the characters he played in Norbit. Here's the complete list of nominees:




Worst Picture

Bratz

Daddy Day Camp

I Know Who Killed Me

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Norbit


Worst Actor

Nicolas Cage (Ghost Rider, National Treasure: Book of Secrets and Next)

Jim Carrey (The Number 23)

Cuba Gooding, Jr. (Daddy Day Camp and Norbit)

Eddie Murphy (Norbit)

Adam Sandler (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry)


Worst Actress

Jessica Alba (Awake, Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer and Good Luck Chuck)

Logan Browning, Janel Parrish, Nathalia Ramos & Skyler Shaye (Bratz)

Elisha Cuthbert (Captivity)

Diane Keaton (Because I Said So)

Lindsay Lohan (I Know Who Killed Me)

Lindsay Lohan (I Know Who Killed Me) [double nomination for each role she played]



Worst Supporting Actor

Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End)

Kevin James (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry)

Eddie Murphy (Norbit) [as Mr. Wong]

Rob Schneider (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry)

Jon Voight (Bratz, National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, September Dawn, Transformers)


Worst Supporting Actress

Jessica Biel (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, Next)

Carmen Electra (Epic Movie)

Eddie Murphy (Norbit) [as Rasputia]

Julia Ormond (I Know Who Killed Me)

Nicolette Sheridan (Code Name - The Cleaner)


Worst Screen Couple

Jessica Alba & EITHER Hayden Christensen (Awake) OR Dane Cook (Good Luck Chuck) OR Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)

Any Combination of Two Totally Air-Headed Characters (Bratz)

Lindsay Lohan & Lindsay Lohan (I Know Who Killed Me)

Eddie Murphy (as Norbit) & EITHER Eddie Murphy (as Mr. Wong) OR Eddie Murphy (as Rasputia) (Norbit)

Adam Sandler & EITHER Kevin James OR Jessica Biel (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry)


Worst Remake or Rip-Off

Are We Done Yet?

Bratz

Epic Movie

I Know Who Killed Me

Who's Your Caddy?

Worst Prequel or Sequel

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem

Daddy Day Camp

Evan Almighty

Hannibal Rising

Hostel - Part II


Worst Director

Dennis Dugan (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry)

Roland Joffe (Captivity)

Brian Robbins (Norbit)

Fred Savage (Daddy Day Camp)

Chris Siverston (I Know Who Killed Me)


Worst Screenplay

Daddy Day Camp

Epic Movie

I Know Who Killed Me

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Norbit


Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie

Alien vs. Predator: Requiem

Captivity

Hannibal Rising

Hostel: Part II

I Know Who Killed Me


What was the worst movie you saw in 2007?
-- Ellen From www.amazon.com/daily

Nebula Awards Long List Announced

The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America has announced the long list for the prestigious Nebula Awards, from which the finalists will be chosen by SFWA members. It's quite a hodge podge of types and authors, plenty for everyone to choose from. I'm not sure who my money would be on--newcomers like Tobias Buckell, Hal Duncan, and Jay Lake, "famous outsiders" like Michael Chabon or J.K Rowling, established SF writers like Nalo Hopkinson and Peter Watts, or what I'd call "distinguished Old Masters," like Joe Haldeman and Jack McDevitt. Should be interesting--stay tuned! Before they parse it down, here's the list of novels for Amazon readers wishing to seek out some great SF. For the entire long list, visit the SFWA website.

Ragamuffin, by Tobias Buckell

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon

Species Imperative #3: Regeneration, by Julie E. Czerneda

Vellum: The Book of All Hours, by Hal Duncan

The Accidental Time Machine, by Joe Haldeman

The New Moon's Arms, by Nalo Hopkinson

Mainspring, by Jay Lake

Odyssey, by Jack McDevitt

The Outback Stars, by Sandra McDonald

Strange Robby, by Selina Rosen

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling

Rollback, by Robert J. Sawyer

Blindsight, by Peter Watts

i-cop From : Omnivoracious.com

Save Money: Kill-a-Watt

Ever wanted to know how much energy that fridge in your garage from 1989 is sucking up? Pick up the Kill-a-Watt and find out. You just might want to replace that bad-boy.

At the time of this writing there are 187 customer reviews on this product with a lifetime average 4.5 star rating.

Illustrative review:

+++++Very satisfied with my purchase, January 7, 2008
"I wanted to know how much electricity my computer and entertainment equipment were useing when they were in idle 'standby-by' mode. Its interesting to know that most instant-on electronic equipment can draw a significant amount of current when it is supposedly shut off. I also connected a significant portion of my decorative Christmas lighting though my Kill-a-Watt monitor and confirmed why my electric bill goes up during the holidays. I think using this device answered any question I had about energy use and I am very satisfied with my purchase. So for I've purchased 3 of these devices, 2 for myself and one as a gift for a relative."

The Kill-A-Watt is perfect for standard 115 VAC appliances only, 15 Amps maximum, 125 VAC maximum (TVs, computers, refrigerators, A/C units, air purifiers, space heaters, dehumidifiers etc.).

You can calculate your electrical expenses by the day, week, month, or year while also checking the quality of your power by monitoring voltage, line frequency, and power factor.

While not a new product in the marketplace, the Kill-a-Watt provides what everyone is always looking for: how to save some money. That makes double Green goodness in our book.

i-cop From ~ AmazonGreen Scene

Yet Another Reason We Should Be Able to Drink at Work

A recent article reports that German researchers just announced that drinking beer promotes good health. How could this lovely dream be possible? They say that, “preliminary studies indicate xanthohumol, a compound found in hops, inhibits a family of enzymes which trigger cancer, as well as help the body detoxify carcinogens.” While I can’t pronounce “xanthohumol” even after a number of drinks, I’m happy to hear about this latest news on how healthy consuming a few cold ones is (along with the known benefits of wine, cocktails, and highballs, this means it’s probably pretty unhealthy not to drink). They do also say that the current amount of hops in most beer means you might need to drink about 60 to get the benefits of one of their extra-hoppy xanthohumol-rich beers (they also say they’re working on getting the xanthohumol-levels bumped up in beers). The end result of this study--in my Thursday-morning opinion? If not allowed to have a few beers at the end of a long work day, tell your boss that they’re endangering your health. And then meet me at the bar.

Article From: www.amazon.com/daily

Can Michael Pollan Fix the American Diet, One Kid at a Time?

Feeding our kids should be simple, right? We've been feeding ourselves for years. How hard can it be to whip up some oatmeal and crush a banana? But everywhere you turn, there's an edict on what they can eat and when (yogurt and cheese at nine months, but no milk until one year--huh?), or how they should drink water (regular cup vs. sippie-cup), or how we need to make sure meal time is enjoyable so the kids don't grow up with food issues.

Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto speaks to one of my biggest anxieties as a new parent--feeding my child.

Talk about food issues, Pollan highlights the pitfalls (or pratfalls) of our culture's obsession with healthy eating. Expanding on his indictment of "nutritionism" from the January 28, 2007 New York Times Magazine, he presents tidbits of recent studies and statistics that range from the absurd (like how lobbyists manage to keep the acceptable level of free sugars in the U.S. diet at 25 percent of daily calories, despite the World Health Organization's recommended limit of 10 percent) to the downright embarrassing, like this statement from a 2001 study: "It has now been recognized that the low-fat campaign has been based on little scientific evidence and may have caused unintended health consequences." Oops.

Such factoids are entertaining (or disturbing, depending on what you've been eating), but what really comes in handy is Pollan's list of easy-to-remember guidelines like, "Avoid food products that make healthy claims" and "Don't eat anything that your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food." It's a great philosophical companion to helpful yet overwhelmingly detailed parenting staples like Super Baby Food.

Will In Defense of Food do for the local food movement what An Inconvenient Truth did for environmentalism? Maybe. I don't know. I do know that this book that never once mentions parenting or children is one of the best parenting guides I've found so far on the subject of food.

Article Form : www.amazon.com/daily

2008 Golden Globe Winners

Everyone golf-claps for Atonement, the winner of the Best Motion Picture Drama Award, the final Golden Globe handed out this evening, and it ends — just like that. It has to be one of the most anti-climactic moments in the history of entertainment. A congratulations is in order for Joe Wright though, whose film may now become a frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar.

So here we are to run you through the list of Golden Globe winners, in a hopefully more entertaining manner than was just witnessed on the TV Guide Network. There was commentary about the Writers Strike, Mary Hart making bad jokes and a whole bunch of surprises — and above all, Juno got absolutely screwed. Then again, we could have seen that one coming.

Without further ado, here is the list of winners from tonight’s Golden Globes Ceremony Press Conference:

Category - Winner

Best Motion Picture - Drama - Atonement

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be

Blood

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama - Julie Christie, Away From Her

Best Performance by an Actor - Musical or Comedy - Johnny Depp, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy- Marion Cotiallard, La Vie en Rose

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Cate Blanchett, I’m Not There

Best Director - Motion Picture Julian Schnabel, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men

Best Original Song - Motion Picture “Guaranteed”, Into the Wild

Best Original Score - Motion Picture Dario Marianelli, Atonement

Best Animated Film - Ratatouille

Best Foreign Language Film - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly


So there you have it, those are the winners from the movie side, at least. If you are interested in the TV winners, I would suggest heading on over to to IMDB.com’s Awards Page.

Article From : http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/ by Neil Miller

Kids' Books to Caucus By

In our home, we read political blogs compulsively (from smart liberals *and* smart conservatives) and we haven't been able to stop listening to streaming local radio from Iowa, New Hampshire, and now Nevada, all while watching the latest results tallied on Politico.

So how do we incorporate our kid into the action? At nine months, about the only way Silas gets involved is by laughing when we cheer and/or moan--in the most exaggerated way possible, for his entertainment--as primary results come in. And we may try to deploy his cuteness to sway fellow caucus-goers in February. (You have been warned, precinct #SEA 43-2059!)

But little did I know that for even slightly older kids, there's a slew of new political books out--even picture books! Publishers Weekly just posted a thoughtful and seemingly exhaustive list of new books this year on politics and elections, from novels to kid-friendly biographies of current candidates to a scrapbook-style history of Lincoln. (Sadly, there are no are no Huckaberry or Chicka Chicka DNC board books.)



There are lots of intriguing titles on the list, including a DK book on the voting process, an entry from one of my favorite kids' book dogs, and even a story written by White House press correspondent/legend Helen Thomas. Check out the informative PW article for more commentary and context on all the books, but here's the list--and if you don't see a link, that probably just means the publication date is still too far out:

* A to Z Mysteries: Super Edition 3: White House White-Out
* Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek: A Tall, Thin Tale (Introducing His Forgotten Frontier Friend)
* America
* American Flag Q&A
* Americana Adventure
* Americans Who Tell the Truth
* As If Being 12 3/4 Isn’t Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President!
* Ballots for Belva
* Barack Obama: An American Story
* Barack Obama: Working to Make a Difference
* Callie for President (Candy Apple #9)
* Capital Mysteries #1: The Election-Day Disaster
* Colonial Voices: Hear Them Speak
* Declare Yourself
* Duck for President
* Eyewitness: Vote
* First Boy
* First Daughter: White House Rules
* First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover
* First Kids
* George Washington’s Socks
* George Washington’s Teeth
* Grace for President
* The Great White House Breakout
* Hillary Clinton: An American Journey
* If I Ran for President
* If You Lived When Women Won Their Rights
* Lady Liberty: A Biography
* LaRue for Mayor: Letters from the Campaign Trail
* Lincoln Shot! A President’s Life Remembered
* The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary
* Long May She Reign
* Madam President
* Madam President: The Extraordinary, True (and Evolving) Story of Women in Politics
* Margaret Chase Smith: A Woman for President
* Max for President
* My Teacher for President
* Otto Runs for President
* Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out
* President Pennybaker
* Presidential Races: The Battle for Power in the United States
* Presidents’ Day
* Presidents FYI
* So You Want to Be President?
* Soccer Chick Rules
* Stand Tall, Abe Lincoln
* Vote!
* Vote for Larry
* Vote for SpongeBob
* What to Do About Alice?
* White House Q&A

i-cop From : Omnivoracious.com write by : Paul