Es cendol Kedai Neng Euis

Es cendol elizabeth Bandung emang gag ada duanya...yahuuuddlah pokoknya....buat yang pengen gag usah bingung disini ada kok...otentik rasanya mirip banget.





Namanya kedai Neng Euis lokasinya di Teuku Umar gag jauh dari Outlet Handphone besar Cellular world, Es cendol khas Bandung yang terbuat dari tepung beras dengan campuran pandan hijau pekat terasa lembut banget masuk tenggorokan di tambah campuran gula jawa cair dan harumnya potongan nangka makin bikin udara panas kota denpasar jadi gag terasa, klo segelas es cendol dirasa gag cukup ada beberapa menu khas bandung lainnya seperti siomay, mie yamin dan nasi timbel dengan harga kantong kaki lima.



Kedai Neng Euis
Jl. Teuku Umar
Denpasar

Dog returns home when called

YouTube link.

Via Daily Picks and Flicks.

Pepsi, the choice of a new generation

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Queenie the waterskiing elephant dies

A waterskiing elephant whose unique talent garnered her international fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s has died in the southern US.



Queenie was put down earlier this week at the age of 59 after her health deteriorated, according to the Wild Adventures theme park in south Georgia where she retired to in 2003.

The elephant was just six months old when she was bought in a New York city pet store in 1953 by her former owner Liz Dane.


YouTube link.

Soon after Dane began training Queenie to water ski at a Florida theme park, where the animal performed to music several times a day for 15 years. She also played the harmonica. Dane, who performed alongside Queenie, said the elephant's death was "extremely sad".

Sky News anchor apologises for light-hearted racist remarks

An Australian news anchor who made a racist description of a Chinese man has apologised "unreservedly" for his remarks. On Paul Murray's Sky News show, news anchor John Mangos reported on a Chinese lottery winner who wore a mask to remain anonymous while collecting his prize.

After the story, he said: "I don't know why he bothered. I mean, I can tell you now — he's Chinese. He's got straight black hair and he's got squinty eyes and yellow skin." Murray was left speechless for a brief moment before replying: "That would be a very rough description."



Mangos has now apologised "unreservedly" for the comment. "On the Paul Murray programme I made some off-the-cuff remarks about a Chinese lottery winner," he said.

"The remarks were meant to be light-hearted and under the pressure of live TV my words were poorly chosen. In hindsight I can see they could offend and I apologise unreservedly for what I said. I am an Australian of overseas background myself and I am sorry for causing offence to anyone."

You can see the clip here.

'I'll let you shag my wife' banner furore

The Australian Football League has called on Channel Ten to explain why it aired footage of a supporter's banner inviting Geelong Cats star Paul Chapman to have sex with his wife. The sign reading "Paul Chapman I'll let you shag my wife" was broadcast towards the end of last Saturday night's match between Geelong and the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium in Queensland.

The AFL this week demanded an explanation from Ten, which said the broadcast was "unintentional" and assured the league it would not happen again. Campaigners against domestic violence commended the league's response but demanded more from the Geelong Cats.



"I'm not prudish and I think people should be able to express themselves but that's just not on," White Ribbon ambassador Warwick Leeson said. "It's a complete putdown, it reduces women to being something a man owns. I can't imagine a sign at a women's function saying you can shag my husband."

Mr Leeson called on the Cats to track down the man who held up the sign and strip him of his membership. A friend of the man who was waving the banner said the phrase was a reference to a well-known unofficial Cats war-cry. The friend said the man waving the banner was not married and meant no harm by the sign, which was checked and cleared by gate staff before the match.

Safety campaign wants wankers off Australian roads

An Australian road safety campaign that labels drink-drivers "wankers" will fall on deaf ears, a psychology expert says. Matemorphosis, a Motor Accident Commission campaign, is aimed at getting young men to speak up when their mates are driving dangerously, particularly on country roads.



By using pictures of a "W" and an anchor to depict drink-drivers as "wankers", and a door handle referring to unsafe drivers as "knobs", the TV spot is an effort to connect with younger drivers in their own language. University of South Australia Professor Drew Dawson has viewed the advertisement along with members of his class and was "less than impressed" with the new campaign.

"It's very complicated, the messages are difficult to interpret and, by and large, young men don't respond well to old men lecturing them," Prof Dawson said. "Most of the people here in the age group didn't get the W and the anchor and didn't understand Matemorphosis. Looking at it from a psychology perspective I was more than less impressed."


YouTube link.

Road Safety Minister Tom Kenyon said the Government made no apologies for the new campaign. "This is about a front-bar campaign and this is front-bar language so I don't apologise for it. Our community will not tolerate knobs or wankers behind the wheel," Mr Kenyon said.

Woman gets probation after demanding divorce

A Tamarac woman who held a steak knife to her husband's throat and demanded he sign divorce papers and the deed to their house was sentenced to three years probation on Wednesday. Prosecutors dropped an attempted murder charge, and Tamara Strulovici, 53, pleaded no contest to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

In May 2009, Strulovici approached her husband from behind, put the steak knife to his throat, made her demands and slashed the fingers on his left hand, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.



In court, Strulovici said through a Russian interpreter that she is "not sure" if she and her husband, James Little, are still legally married. "I heard the rumours that he did apply for divorce," Strulovici said. "I don't do that because I don't have any money."

Married or not, Broward Circuit Judge Sandra Perlman ordered that Strulovici have no contact with Little. Strulovici's lawyer, Frank Prieto, said she has no problem with that aspect of her sentence.

Man sold boys tobacco products in exchange for spankings

Lexington County deputies have arrested 50-year-old Terrence Bryant for selling cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to underage boys in exchange for spankings.

Deputies began investigating the convenience store clerk after the father of a 12-year-old boy found him with a pack of cigarettes earlier this month.



Bryant sold the boy cigarettes at least five times over a two month period, in exchange for spanking the boy on his buttocks with his clothes on to gratify Bryant's sexual desires.

Deputies say Bryant also sold smokeless tobacco to two 15-year-old boys on May 10 after spanking them in the same manner. Bryant is charged with three counts of lewd act upon a child under age 16. He is awaiting a bond hearing at the Lexington County jail.

With news video.

Naked jogger ran around neighbourhood before jumping into pool full of children

A naked jogger streaked through a quiet Kansas suburb before hopping into a community pool full of children. The man was spotted at around noon on Wednesday running next to a two-lane road in Overland Park near Kansas City.

Resident Amy Shapiro said that stunned drivers stopped their cars as the man sprinted by. She caught part of his naked jaunt on her cell phone camera. "I was just like, 'Oh my God, this guy's naked,'" she said.


YouTube link.

After ducking behind some trees, the man hopped over a fence and dived into a pool filled with dozens of neighbourhood children. "Everybody scattered," Shapiro said. "They all jumped out of the pool. They were just shocked. He was just standing there like it was no big deal."

He then enjoyed a solo skinny dip for several minutes until police arrived and coaxed him out of the water. Officers escorted him away in handcuffs and a towel. He was taken to Kansas University Medical center for an evaluation and won't face any charges, police said.

Crazy Glue incident lands man in jail

Memphis police arrested a man on Thursday after he allegedly super-glued a Whitehaven woman's electronics into the wall sockets of her bedroom.

According to an affidavit, Abram Perkins, 40, plugged the woman's electronics into sockets with Crazy Glue and poured water on some equipment, causing $4,300 worth of damage.



After confronting Perkins in her bedroom, which the victim also uses as an office, the woman asked him what happened to her things. Perkins laughed and admitted to the vandalism.

He then left, taking some items with him. Police arrested Perkins at his house across the street from the scene of the crime. He is currently out on $2,000 bond.

Firefighters rescue woman with hand stuck in ATM

Firefighters had to free a woman who got her hand stuck in an ATM at the First Commonwealth Bank in Robinson Township, Allegheny County.

Erica Williams, of McDonald, told police that she tried to get money out but only got a receipt and her fingers got caught in the rollers, trapping her hand.



Moon Run firefighters responded and had to break open the machine using a special piece of equipment to free her.

First Commonwealth Bank released a statement saying, "As a community bank, First Commonwealth's primary concern is to provide a safe, convenient banking experience for our clients. We understand that the recent injury was a minor one and we are grateful that our client is OK."

With news video.

Chinese teenager sells kidney to buy an iPad 2

A teenager in China has sold one of his kidneys in order to buy an iPad 2. The 17-year-old, identified only as Little Zheng, said he had arranged the sale of the kidney over the internet. The story only came to light after the teenager's mother became suspicious.

It all started when the high school student saw an online advert offering money to organ donors. Illegal agents organised a trip to the hospital and paid him $3,392 (£2,077) after the operation.


YouTube link.

With the cash the student bought an iPad 2, as well as a laptop. When his mother noticed the computers and the deep red scar on his body, which was caused by the surgery, Little Zheng confessed.

The case highlights China's black market in organ trafficking. A scarcity of organ donors has led to a flourishing trade. In 2007, Chinese authorities banned organ trafficking and have introduced a voluntary donor scheme to try to combat the trade.

South African mob burn 'talking' monkey for being a witch

A monkey was pelted with stones, shot at and burned to death in a South African township because residents believed it was linked to witchcraft, an animal welfare agency has said. A mob chanted "Kill that witch!" as the vervet monkey was put in a bucket, doused with petrol and set on fire. Resident, Tebogo Moswetsi, admitted he had captured the monkey as it sought refuge up a tree in Kagiso, west of Johannesburg.

"I was curious to see this monkey that people claimed could talk, and when I saw a group of people chasing after it, I joined them," he said. "When it went up the tree, I climbed after it and brought it down because I was curious as I found it unbelievable that a monkey could talk. I feel guilty. I shouldn't have taken it down from that tree. I dropped it down after someone poured petrol on it. I had no choice."



Moswetsi added: "Someone struck a match. [The monkey] got out of the bucket and dropped down dead. They continued throwing stones at it." Cora Bailey, manager of Community Led Animal Welfare (Claw) in South Africa, was alerted by a local resident and arrived at a scene of "sheer criminality". She said: "We just got there too late. What was incredibly sad is that there were so many little children in the crowd – some of them very traumatised."

Bailey said there is a "dreadful superstition" about monkeys and witchcraft in some communities, fuelled by ignorance that the animals can become separated from their troops or displaced from their natural habitats. "We deal with this kind of situation on a very regular basis. We usually manage to do crowd control so the monkey doesn't come to any harm."

Kookaburra survives 435 mile trip stuck in car's grille

A lucky kookaburra has survived a miraculous 700km-plus journey stuck in the grille of a car after being hit near Scone, NSW. Bruce Wham, of Wollongong, was on the New England Highway and heading towards Brisbane at 100km/h when his car hit one of two kookaburras that darted in front of it. "There was a bang and I thought, uh oh, there's one dead kookaburra," he said.



He stopped for petrol when passers-by noticed the bird stuck in the grille of his Mazda 6. It was motionless and Mr Wham and onlookers thought it was dead. "I must have hit him up the bum because his head and a little bit of one wing were sticking out," he said. Mr Wham then drove on to chilly Stanthorpe where he stayed overnight. Gazing at his car, he thought he saw the bird move. Locals inspected the kookaburra but advised him the bird was dead.


YouTube link.

Arriving in Brisbane the next day, he went to remove the carcass, to find an alive, irritated and extremely ruffled kookaburra. Mr Wham phoned the RSPCA and allowed staff to cut out a part of the grille to extract the bird after its 25-hour ordeal. For the past week, Gorilla, so named after the mode of its transport, has been recovering.



RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said it was one of the most unusual animal survival stories staff had come across, given the bird could have died from the impact, the lengthy car trip, the cold or the shock. "Not only was he in the grille and still alive but he ... basically just had a cut wing," Mr Beatty said. The RSPCA hopes a bird-lover might take the kookaburra south with them for release near Scone.

Tiny terrior reunited with owner after being blown away in storm

A relieved dog lover has been reunited with her pet after he was blown away. Tommy the fox terrier was out walking with mistress Ada Irvin in last Monday's freak storms when a powerful gust carried him off. But he's now recovering from his ordeal at home after a big-hearted driving instructor spotted him wandering about lost a few miles away. "I'm just so over the moon to have Tommy back," said Ada, 48, who works in a crematorium for pets. "It was bizarre the way he disappeared."

Ada had taken Tommy for a morning walk at Baron's Haugh bird sanctuary in their home town of Motherwell, Lanarkshire. Ada said: "It was a really wild day. Tommy was blown about a bit a couple of times. He stopped near a tree for the toilet when it had calmed down a bit. I turned away for seconds and when I looked back he was gone.



"He'd been swept away by the storm. I was frantic. I feared he'd been blown into the river." Ada took the day off work to look for Tommy, helped by her family. They put up posters but there was no sign of him. But a week after Tommy's disappearance, Ada got a call from driving instructor Kenny McIlvaney, who'd spotted Tommy in Hamilton and taken him in. Kenny said: "I knew he wasn't a stray, so I went over and found a phone number in his collar.

"I have a dog myself so I couldn't just leave him. It was no problem for me to drop him off at home. I'm just glad I could help out." Ada said: "Tommy had gone miles and crossed the motorway. He was skinny, hungry and dirty but he seems to be OK. I'm so lucky he's still with us - and so is he."

Firefighters rescue dog with paw stuck in bath plughole

A dog had to be rescued by firefighters after getting his paw stuck down a plughole. They had to dismantle a bath and cut howling Ozzy free after he got trapped while being showered at his home in Holyhead. Owner Bethan Roper was alerted by the eight-month-old miniature dog’s squeals of pain. The mum-of-two tried to free him put the bichon friese’s paw was stuck.

“I panicked. I tried to pull it out but his pad was embedded – I was scared I’d break his leg.” She called the fire service as daughter’s Alysia, seven, and Kasey, five, were getting increasingly distressed. “The girls were upset to see him in pain,” said Bethan. She added: “The firefighters were brilliant, dismantled the bath panels, unscrewed some pipes and pushed the plug out.”



But that wasn’t the end of Ozzy’s ordeal as the plughole was still stuck to his paw. “I called the vet and the fire crew offered to come along. They didn’t want to cut off the plughole as it might injure his paw. In the end the vet injected him with anti inflammatories and it just fell off.”

Ozzy made an almost instant recovery and was running around wagging his tail at their home in no time. Fire service senior operations manager, Gary Brandrick, said: “We would usually refer this type of incident to the RSPCA, but there were no officers in the vicinity. To prevent distress and possible injury for the dog, we therefore attended.”

Oenpao

Kalo Restoran yang satu ini banyak cabangnya juga di Jakarta, Oenpao Restaurant waralaba makanan Asia, untuk yang di Bali ada 2 tempat yang satu di daerah Renon dan yang saya datangi ini adanya di Sunset Road, sebelum di lokasi yang baru Oenpao sdh ada cabang di Raya Kuta depan pantai tp karena posisinya yang kurang strategis agak di ujung pantai dan agak menjorok ke dalam gedung jadinya sepi pengunjung.






Di lokasi yang baru ini juga pengunjungnya gag terlalu banyak padahal kalo diliat dari tempatnya enak banget, cozy dan ambiencenya keren.... tp mungkin karena lokasinya juga yang di jalur cepat jadi orang agak males untuk berenti.



Harga makanan disini relatif murah, ada banyak jenis menu mulai dari aneka Mi dengan isian bebek panggang, ayam panggang, ayam charsiu, mi ceker, dan mi kari bebek/udang dan aneka nasi ayam panggang, bebek peking, nasi hainam sampe bubur ayam yang lembut dan gurih dengan harga yang super murah cuma 10 rb dengan condiment yang lengkap.



Menu andalan ditempat ini udah pasti dimsumnya, hakau, swikiauw, siomay, pangsit shanghai, lumpia dengan harga perporsi antara 13.000 - 19.000 rupiah





Untuk minumnya menurut saya agak mahal mungkin karena harga makanannya yg murah jadi minumnya diatas rata-rata, untuk segelas es lemon tea/juice dr kemasan tetrapak harga segelasnya 19 rb.



Tapi untuk tempat yang nyaman dan makanan yang enak.... buat saya ini salah satu lokasi yang sempurna untuk sekedar hengout dan brunch bareng pasangan atau teman baik.

Aphids Are Actually Good For Your Plants

... according to President Obama.

I continue to be mesmerized by this video, posted by our Monks of Miscellaneous Musings.

The thing is completely mind-blowing to me. Despite a total breakdown in job creation, the guy just can't stop with the social justice rhetoric. It's like he's living in a different world.

Pretend you're a business owner watching this. Large business, small business, whatever. Demand for your products is down. Costs of raw materials are up. When the president says, "every citizen deserves a basic measure of security," you know exactly where that measure of security is going to come from. You! The guy is planning to load you up with yet more commitments, this time in the form of supporting everyone out there and making sure they get what they need. You're a plant with aphids and the dude is importing more.

When you watch the head of the Administration say stuff like this, you'd be crazy to expand, hire or do anything other than look for other places to go. He shows no comprehension whatsoever of what it takes to generate wealth. All he knows how to do is spend yours. Follow this up with a speech on the environment and the consequent financial attacks by the EPA on your business, and it's no wonder no one is hiring.

Obama: Aphids are good for your plants. We need to do more to support the aphids.

How To Promote Your Novel Before Publication

By Jason Boog on Galley Cat, June 3, 2011 

Today’s guest on the Morning Media Menu was author Paul Malmont, talking about his new novel and writing contest.

Malmont (pictured) will give one writer a chance to be published in the paperback edition of his novel, The Astounding, the Amazing, and the Unknown. The author also shared book promotion tips for all the writers in the audience.

Interview excerpts follow below, but here’s more about the contest: “Finish the story begun by one of the characters in the new novel. Start your version with ‘The robot felt…’ Finish with ‘In the end, the robot felt nothing. He wasn’t programmed to.’ The up-to-2000 words in between are all yours.”

Malmont shared some promotional tips: “You’ve got to look around at the other tools that are out there. I’m using an app that was developed for Facebook in particular, it’s the Wildfire app. It makes it very easy to put together a contest like this. It allows for the social voting and everytime somebody votes or writes or submits, that gets broadcast out to their larger network. That will hopefully bring in people that hadn’t heard about the novel before.”

He continued: “When you turned in a book, the question they used to ask was ‘what book will you write next?’ I think that question is now ‘what are you doing to promote that book?’ The publishing companies have pulled way back on what they are doing. They aren’t sending people on tours, they found that people don’t really go to readings anymore … the cost/benefits of a tour don’t pay off the way they used to.”
Malmont concluded: “You can directly contact bookstores all around the country. I’ve been writing the booksellers that I’ve met that I’m not going to get to visit on this tour as I would have liked to. I’m working with them to try and set up other things like streaming video events or live chats.”

(Image by James M. Graham)

All Borders stores to close but no decision on Angus & Robertson

SmartCompany -Thursday, 02 June 2011 12:13 

Madeleine Heffernan

The nine remaining Borders bookstores throughout Australia are set to close, costing 315 people their jobs, but the administrator of its collapsed parent says no decision has been made on the future of Angus & Robertson.

A letter to Borders customers was sent this morning entitled: "GOING OUT OF BUSINESS! ALL LOCATIONS CLOSING! – Everything on sale – Everything Must Go!"
The book chain has offered up to 40% off the original prices of all stock but notes it is "business as usual" for the chain's website, borders.com.au.

A spokesman for administrator Ferrier Hodgson told SmartCompany this morning that there is no change on the status of Angus & Robertson, the other book chain owned by REDgroup Retail.
But 315 people will their jobs from the Borders closures, including 137 full-time workers and 69 part-time workers.
Four of the affected Borders stores are in Melbourne: Chadstone, Carlton, Knox and Melbourne Central.
The other stores are Sydney's Bondi Junction, Canberra and Perth city stores, and Chermside and Robina in Queensland.
Ferrier Hodgson added in a statement this morning the closures would take place over the next six to eight weeks, with July 17 the final date.
Administrator John Melluish said while the employees had shown "extraordinary commitment in their efforts to keep the business going", the stores were closing because no buyer had emerged for the Borders outlets.
“Unfortunately, the reasons for the store closures are beyond their control,” he said.
This week, Ferrier Hodgon urgently called for potential buyers of all or part of the Angus & Robertson or Borders networks, after failing to ink a deed of company arrangement with creditors.
Ferrier Hodgson has already closed 55 Borders and Angus & Robertson stores since its appointment almost four months ago.
A further 34 employees were made redundant from REDgroup's head office this week.

Questions remain about the dozens of Angus & Robertson franchised stores. The 25 A&R franchisees which unsuccessfully fought to break their franchise agreement after the administrators were appointed could now get their wish of operating as independent book stores, experts say.
Others have suggested a group of franchisees might band together to launch an offer for the right to continue trading under the A&R brand, presumably at an attractive price.

There is also speculation a rival book chain – namely Dymocks or Collins – might be interested in REDgroup.
REDgroup Retail's collapse, and the inability of its administrators to find a suitable buyer, has also shone a spotlight on the health of the Australian book retail industry, with many pointing to the competitive pressures posed by online booksellers, and Australia's relatively expensive rents and wages, plus fragile consumer spending.
But others, including the A&R franchisees which sought to trade independently, say REDgroup's collapse was related to how the business was run, and are confident bookselling has a healthy future

The Hunger Games: A Trilogy in Four Parts

Shelf Awareness

Deadline.com reported that Lionsgate "has been carefully observing predecessors who squeezed an extra film out of a book franchise," and even though the notion "isn't set in stone" yet, the film company seems to be planning to make four movies from Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games trilogy. Mockingjay, the last novel in the series, would be split in half because it is "logistically ambitious and can be scaled up comfortably to cover two films. I believe that Gary Ross and Collins have done rewrites and already figured out how to create a satisfying ending to the third film," Deadline.com wrote.

Room is bookies' choice for Orange

The Bookseller - 02.06.11 | Graeme Neill

Man Booker-nominated Room (Picador) is the hot favourite to win the Orange Prize for Fiction, according to odds just released by bookmakers William Hill.

The winner of the 16th prize will be revealed next Wednesday (8th June) at the Southbank Centre in London.

Author Emma Donoghue is 2/1 to win the prize, with Aminatta Forna's second novel, The Memory of Love (Bloomsbury) sitting at 3/1.
Both Emma Henderson, author of Grace Williams Says it Loud (Sceptre) and Nicole Krauss, for Great House (Viking) are 5/1 to clinch the prize.
Téa Obrecht's The Tiger's Wife (Phoenix) and Kathleen Winter's Annabel (Jonathan Cape) are the outsiders at 6/1.

The prize is awarded to to the best novel of the year written in English by a woman. The winner is presented with a cheque for £30,000 and a limited edition statue known as the Bessie.

Allen Curnow's 100th Anniversary

Join us to celebrate

     THE 100^TH ANNIVERSARY

       OF THE BIRTH OF

 THE GREAT NEW ZEALAND POET

 ALLEN CURNOW

  

AT A BENEFIT FILM SCREENING OF

EARLY DAYS YET

A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT

ALLEN CURNOW, DIRECTED

BY SHIRLEY HORROCKS

AT THE BRIDGEWAY CINEMA, NORTHCOTE

ON THE EVENING OF THURSDAY

JUNE 16^TH

Screening starts 8pm, wine from 7.15pm

$35 per person (includes a glass of wine)

ELIZABETH CAFFIN WILL INTRODUCE THE EVENT.

DINAH MORRISON HAS DONATED A FRAMED, VINTAGE, SILVER GELATIN PRINT OF ALLEN CURNOW BY ROBIN MORRISON TO BE AUCTIONED

FOR THE CANCER SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND

To book seats, please send a cheque to

Arts in Education Trust

PO Box 78-084, Grey Lynn, Auckland 1245,

or make a direct bank payment to

         Arts & Education Trust

          030255 0413691 00

            (Use your name as a reference)

Please also RSVP to

lanirain@yahoo.co.nz

Your tickets will be at the theatre on the night

PROCEEDS FROM THIS EVENT WILL GO TO

THE CANCER SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND


Photo of Allen Curnow above by Marti Friedlander

Borders Gets More Time To Reorganize

PublishersLunch

In federal bankruptcy court Thursday morning, Judge Martin Glenn agreed to extend the exclusive time period in which Borders can come up with a plan for emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy or selling the company's assets. As previously reported, Borders would have run up against a June 16 deadline to file a plan under an exclusivity period, which has now been extended to October 14, with time to solicit votes on such a plan pushed back to December 13.

Borders representative Andrew K. Glenn explained in court that a sale is now the focus of their efforts rather than reorganization, saying the company is in talks with "multiple buyers" interested in "most up to all" of the remaining 405 stores. To which Judge Glenn dryly commented, "I read the Wall Street Journal this morning, too," referring to Tuesday evening's report of interest on the part of private equity firm Gores Group. Despite the judge's implication of how the story might have gotten there, attorney Glenn floated the idea that the newspaper piece emerged from the creditors' committee--which the committee's representative vehemently denied.

Though Andrew Glenn said he was "not at liberty to disclose any details of what's going on," he insisted the sales process was "significantly more robust" now than it was recently (thanks, Liberty Media) and that Borders estimates they can close a deal within 2 to 4 weeks, after which they would file a formal motion to sell parts or all of the company. "We have 11,000 employees, multiple buyers, hundreds of landlords, thousands of creditors. It's most important to have a streamlined, rational process to allow company to do what it needs to do to remain a going concern." As for the committee, they said their main objection was not being kept in the loop and having little knowledge of Borders' ultimate plan. Glenn also complained at one point "we are getting slaughtered in the press," though he later toned down his wording once he realized multiple reporters were present at the hearing.

The Greatest Photoshop Of All Time

see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Video Of The Day

... is Andrew Klavan with a typically awesome effort.

Can We Please Stop Behaving Like Swine Now?

Re: the recent Twitter controversy over Democrat representative Weiner texting horrid photos of his private parts photos to some chick.

Cindy Meston directs the Sexual Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a past president of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health. If there is something you want to know about what turns women on, she is the person you call.

“We spent six years of research on why women have sex,” Meston says. They compiled 237 reasons. Duty sex. Revenge sex. Pity sex. Bored sex, engaged in because women simply had nothing better to do. “Of the 237 reasons why women have sex,” Meston says, “not one was looking at a man’s genitals.”

Sadly, the reason that Weiner and Brett Favre and others send these images is that women expect nothing better.

See also: men, lack of marriageable

Addendum: Whatever we do, let's not go back to the bad old days when behavior was judged according to fixed standards. The Victorians had it all wrong. All wrong. I mean, they did, didn't they?

Chickpea Samosas with Raita dip; and a Thank You dinner

Note:  I've been nominated for Babble's 100 Top Food Blogs!  I have 12 more votes to get into the top 50.  If you like what I've done here, would you follow the side link to Babble and vote for me?  I am on page #2 "Snippets of Thyme"

Remember how proud I was of my husband for working so hard on a major project that his company is implementing this year?  Well, he, in turn,  is just as proud of his supportive work team.  I popped into what they call "The Big Room" at work and was so impressed with his group.  They have really pulled together so many nationalities and cultural differences to form a cohesive team that has reached the fruition of a year long journey.

My husband asked if I would like to have some of his work mates over for a thank you celebration to show his appreciation.  Knowing that his team is from all over the world, I thought that would make for an interesting and diverse evening of great shared conversations.  

Of course, as all of you know how this "snippets" mind works, food flew straight to the top of my list of "to dos".  We would have Europeans, South Americans and Indians attending our little soirée.  I needed to prepare a list of dishes that could cater to a vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian crowd.  I reveled in the laundry list of "what-ifs" I could cook up.

My daughter suggested samosas.  Yes!  Samosas are so delicious and I had just run across a recipe for vegetarian samosas filled with peas and chickpeas.  That would be a great vegetarian option for our menu.

We began cooking several days in advance of the party.  I think we made about 50 or so of these flavorful packets.  Folding the triangles was awkward at first but before long we were clicking along and the scented samosas were piling up.

Madeleine and I imagined generations of Indian women deftly folding samosas up at an expert pace.  We giggled at the image we must present trying to get the technique just right.

The filling for these chickpea samosas is so aromatic.  Not long after all of the ingredients were being mixed on the stovetop did the kitchen fill with enticing smells.  Spices are important in Indian food and it was so interesting to become familiar with cumin, mustard seed, ginger, and cilantro combined.

After brushing the filo dough triangles with butter, we slid tray after tray of them into the oven.  Again the smell of these delectable bundles filled the entire kitchen.  

The cold yogurt and cucumber dip, called Raita, that accompanied these samosas is  a great accompaniment.  As the layers of flavor from the samosas build, the cold and creamy yogurt adds a softening touch.

It was a wonderful evening getting to know these hard workers who hail from all over the globe.  We stayed up into the evening listening to  funny stories from Scotland,  about cooking with cactus in South America, and  the  multitude of differences between cuisines from the diverse regions of Northern and Southern India.  Wouldn't it be something to zip to each country and really see these wonderful stories played out in kitchens all over the world!


 Spicy Chickpea Samosas with Raita:
(adapted from Cooking Light April 2011 issue)


Ingredients:
(yields 12 servings)
Samosas:
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen or fresh green peas
1 tablespoon water
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
24 (14x9-inch) sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons butter, melted


Raita:
3/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
3/4 cup chopped seeded peeled cucumber
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Directions:
To make samosas, heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add chopped carrot;  cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add 1/2 cup onions, ginger, and garlic;  cook 1 minute, stirring constantly (Snippets notes:  Wait until the pungent smell fills the room.  It's wonderful!)  Add green peas, 1 tablespoon water, and chickpeas;  cook 1 minute.  Remove from heat;  stir in 1/2 cup cilantro and 1 tablespoon juice.  Cool  (Snippets Notes:  I made this filling ahead of time and kept it in the refrigerator)
Preheat oven to 400˚F
Place 1 phyllo sheet on a large work surface (Snippets Note:  I used 2 sheets at a time because one was too difficult for me).  Cover remaining dough to keep from drying.  Coat with cooking spray.  Fold layered sheets in half lengthwise.  Spoon 2 tablespoons filling onto bottom end of rectangle, leaving a 1-inch border.  Fold bottom corner over mixture, forming a triangle;  keep folding back and forth into a triangle to end of phyllo strip.  Tuck edges under; place, seam side down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray.  Brush with melted butter.  Repeat with remaining sheets of phyllo.  Bake at 400˚F for 10 minutes or until crisp and golden.


To make raita, combine yogurt and remaining ingredients.  Serve with samosas.  (Snippets Notes:  I made the yogurt mixture the day before the party.  I kept the cucumbers out until right before serving so they wouldn't get soggy)

Guild of Food Writers Awards announced in London

Domestic Goddess Praises Italian Queen

Nigella Lawson made a surprise appearance tonight at Fishmongers' Hall, London Bridge, to present the Guild of Food Writers’ Lifetime Achievement Award to Anna del Conte, the UK’s leading authority on the food and cooking of Italy. ‘The Guild feels privileged tonight to add our award to Anna’s accolades’, said Guild member Nigella, who spoke warmly of del Conte as both a professional and personal model. Anna joins other recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award including Mary Berry (who presented the other awards this evening), Marguerite Patten CBE, and Katie Stewart.

That award topped a glittering evening’s celebration of some of the best and brightest of UK food writing and broadcasting. First-time winner Felicity Cloake garnered two honours, Food Journalist of the Year Award and New Media of the Year Award. Other first-time winners included Mark Diacono, whose A Taste of the Unexpected took the hotly contested and fiercely competitive Food Book of the Year Award, and Niki Segnit, winner of the Jeremy Round Award for Best First Book for The Flavour Thesaurus. Radio 4’s Food Programme also took two awards, for ‘The Food Industry’ (Derek Cooper Award for Campaigning and Investigative Food Writing or Broadcasting) and ‘Pop-up London’ (Food Broadcast of the Year Award). 

There were other surprises on the night. The coveted Cookery Book of the Year Award had an extended shortlist of four due to the high quality of entries. It was won by Caroline and Robin Weir for Ice Creams, Sorbets and Gelati: The Definitive Guide. And one of the most deserving projects among the shortlists, Valerie Twomey’s Truly Tasty, a cookbook aimed at people living with kidney disease, received the Miriam Polunin Award for Work on Healthy Eating. It is Twomey’s first book and was assembled with the help of some of Ireland’s most distinguished chefs.

Marina O’Loughlin continued the trend of female dominance of the Restaurant Reviewer of the Year Award and double shortlistee Sybil Kapoor took victory in the Michael Smith Award for Work on British Food. Mark Hix, who was also shortlisted twice, won the Evelyn Rose Award for Cookery Journalist of the Year, and Josceline Dimbleby’s travel memoir Orchards in the Oasis was given the Guild’s newest award, the Kate Whiteman Award for Work on Food and Travel.

Celebrated Guild member Mary Berry – who came to Fishmongers’ Hall straight from filming for the next series of Great British Bake Off – presented the beautiful engraved trophies in the magnificent Banqueting Hall. Guild President Jane Suthering commented: ‘Another wonderful awards party in a really lovely venue, and another fantastic set of worthy winners. Congratulations to both shortlistees and winners.’

Summary of winners:

Cookery Book of the Year Award

Winner: Caroline and Robin Weir, Ice Creams, Sorbets and Gelati: The Definitive Guide (published by Grub Street)

The other shortlistees were:

Willie Harcourt-Cooze, Willie’s Chocolate Bible (published by Hodder & Stoughton)

Diana Henry, Food from Plenty (published by Mitchell Beazley)

Yotam Ottolenghi, Plenty (published by Ebury Press)

Derek Cooper Award for Campaigning and Investigative Food Writing or Broadcasting

Winner: BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme: The Fruit Industry presented by Sheila Dillon

The other shortlistees were:

Stefan Gates, Stefan Gates on E Numbers (published by Conran Octopus)

BBC One’s The Great British Waste Menu (produced by Optomen Television)

Evelyn Rose Award for Cookery Journalist of the Year

Winner: Mark Hix, for work published in The Independent

The other shortlistees were:
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall with Debora Robertson, for work published in The Guardian’s Weekend magazine

Diana Henry, for work published in The Sunday Telegraph’s Stella magazine

Food Book of the Year Award

Winner: Mark Diacono, A Taste of the Unexpected (published by Quadrille)

The other shortlistees were:

Patricia Michelson, Cheese (published by Jacqui Small)

Lindy Wildsmith, Cured (published by Jacqui Small)

Food Broadcast of the Year Award

Winner: BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme: Pop-up London presented by Sheila Dillon and Tim Hayward

The other shortlistees were:

BBC Two’s E Numbers: An Edible Adventure presented by Stefan Gates (produced by Plum Pictures)

BBC One’s The Great British Waste Menu (produced by Optomen Television)

Food Journalist of the Year Award

Winner: Felicity Cloake, for work published in Fire & Knives and The Guardian

The other shortlistees were:

Tim Hayward, for work published in Fire & Knives and on The Guardian and The Observer’s Word of Mouth blog

Christopher Hirst, for work published in The Independent

Jeremy Round Award for Best First Book

Winner: Niki Segnit, The Flavour Thesaurus (published by Bloomsbury Publishing)

The other shortlistees were:

Ghillie James, Jam, Jelly & Relish (published by Kyle Cathie)

Stevie Parle, My Kitchen: Real Food From Near and Far (published by Quadrille)

 Kate Whiteman Award for Work on Food and Travel

Winner: Josceline Dimbleby, Orchards in the Oasis (published by Quadrille)

The other shortlistees were:

Sybil Kapoor, for work published in The Spectator: Scoff, Caterer and Hotelkeeper and House & Garden

Jamie Oliver, Jamie Does … (published by Michael Joseph)

Michael Smith Award for Work on British Food

Winner: Sybil Kapoor, for work published in Country Life

The other shortlistees were:

Mark Hix, Hix Oyster and Chop House (published by Quadrille)

John Wright, River Cottage Handbook: Hedgerow (published by Bloomsbury Publishing)

Miriam Polunin Award for Work on Healthy Eating

Winner: Valerie Twomey, Truly Tasty (published by Atrium)

The other shortlistees were:

BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme: Sugar and the Soda Tax presented by Sheila Dillon

BBC Two’s E Numbers: An Edible Adventure presented by Stefan Gates (produced by Plum Pictures)

New Media of the Year Award

Winner: Felicity Cloake, for work published on The Guardian and The Observer’s Word of Mouth blog

The other shortlistees were:

Katy Salter, for work published on www.pinchofsaltlondon.com

Oliver Thring, for work published on The Guardian and The Observer’s Word of Mouth blog

Restaurant Reviewer of the Year Award

Winner: Marina O’Loughlin, for work published in Metro and Fire & Knives

The other shortlistees were:

Richard McComb, for work published in The Birmingham Post

Matthew Norman, for work published in The Daily Telegraph

Lifetime Achievement Award

Anna del Conte