Clipmarks | michellezm's Pops

Economist on Africa and Hope

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:49:45 GMT

clipped by: ProfessorMike
clipper's remarks: The current financial crisis is a threat, but Africa's prospects don't look all that bleak

Clip Source: www.economist.com

UNTIL the past few weeks of global turmoil, Africa’s doughty band of boosters were feeling they at last had something to smile about. After four decades of political and economic stagnation that kept most of their 800m-odd people in poverty and gloom, the continent’s 48 sub-Saharan countries have been growing for the past five years at a perky overall rate of 5% or so. If they maintain this pace or even bump it up a bit, Africa still has a chance of taking off. Now, with commodity prices likely to fall, world markets sure to shrivel and Western aid set to plateau or even dip, Africa, though more isolated from the global economy than other parts of the world, is bound to suffer from its ill breeze. But maybe not as badly.

Tags: africa, financial crisis, global economy

Homemade Ricotta

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:06:47 GMT

clipped by: LemonThyme
clipper's remarks: This is one I'd like to try!

Clip Source: www.frugalvillage.net

Make your own ricotta cheese

HOMEMADE RICOTTA: You can make your own ricotta cheese. This recipe makes 2 cups.

Ricotta

1 gallon whole milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
kosher salt

Over medium heat, warm the milk and lemon juice in a stainless-steel pot until the curds separate. Line a colander with a few layers of cheesecloth. Ladle the mixture onto the cheesecloth. Using twine, tie the cheesecloth around the cheese. Attach the twine to a wooden-spoon handle. Rest the spoon with the cheesecloth hanging over a deep bowl or attach to kitchen faucet. Let hang for 3 hours. Remove from cheesecloth, and season with salt. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. — Rhonda, forums

Tags: milk, recipe, cheese, cooking, dairy

Lunchbox Dessert

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:19:04 GMT

clipped by: LemonThyme
clipper's remarks: The kids should like these!

Clip Source: www.frugalvillage.net

PB&J Bars

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup cold butter
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup jelly
1-2/3 cups peanut-butter chips, divided

Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease 9-inch-square baking pan. Mix together flour, sugar and baking powder. Cut in butter with fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in egg. Reserve 1 cup mixture; press remaining mixture onto bottom of prepared pan. Stir jelly to soften, and spread evenly over crust. Sprinkle 1 cup peanut-butter chips over jelly. Stir remaining 2/3 cup chips into reserved crumb mixture; sprinkle over top. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars. — S.G., Louisiana

Tags: recipe, snack, kids, lunch box

Grain glossary: 20 whole grains to cook and eat

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:19:17 GMT

clipped by: Lexica
clipper's remarks: There's a brief description of each grain given, as well as recipe suggestions and cooking tips.

Clip Source: www.culinate.com

The bulk bins can be bewildering; even when you’re familiar with a particular grain, it’s mind-boggling to make sense of all the names it may go by. Groats, grits, steel-cut, rolled, puffed, pearled, cracked, flakes, and flour are the most common references, and all describe how the grain has been processed.

How the grain has been cut or milled affects both texture (hence taste) and cooking time.

By no means is this glossary comprehensive — I barely scratch the surface of rice, and I know of at least a couple of omissions (Job’s Tears, rye berries).

For more information on grains — nutrition profiles, cooking tips, recipes — check out Lorna Sass’s book Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way, the Whole Grains Council, and Bob's Red Mill.

Amaranth

Barley

Buckwheat berries

Cracked wheat

Farro

Kamut

Long-grain brown rice

Millet

Oat groats

Polenta

Popcorn

Quinoa

Red quinoa

Short-grain brown rice

Sorghum

Spelt berries

Sweet brown rice

Teff

Rolled triticale

Wheat berries

Wild rice

Tags: food, cooking, ingredients, grains

Michelle McMullen, Missing and Wanted

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:04:34 GMT

clipped by: Delilah1234
clipper's remarks: There are so many questions and accusations surrounding the disappearance of Michelle McMullen, the young mother of a 6 year old, Jayden. Michelle was reported to be taking classes online and had transferred to a college in Louisiana to complete her on campus studies. Apparently she decided to bring her son back to Harrisburg, PA to stay with her parents while she finished her schooling. On the night of September 28, it is reported that Michelle dropped Jayden off at a friend's home in Harrisburg, who, by the way, was not expecting her nor had made prior arrangements to keep Jayden, turned around and headed back to Louisiana, a 17 hour drive.

Clip Source: mothersarevanishing.blogspot.com

The "what ifs" swirling around this case are like smoke around a campfire. Her family reported her missing after they had not heard from her within a reasonable amount of time, and her car was found abandoned in Hagerstown, MD only a little over an hour's drive from where she dropped of her son.

"[Police] told me that a missing person case isn't a priority but a person with a warrant out for their arrest is," Michael McMullen said. "The facts of the [theft] case doesn't fit. They're trying to add mystery to it because the [Harrisburg] police dropped the ball" on the missing person investigation.

A little 6 year old boy is without his mother, he doesn't know why, he has the same questions that the rest of Michelle Mc Mullen's family has and that is where is she? Is she safe? Is she hiding? What has happened to her?

All Jayden knows is that his mother isn't talking to him.

"And he's very upset," Michael McMullen said. "He wants to know why."

Tags: michelle mcmullen, mothers are vanishing, missing mothers, missing persons, missing adults, crime, victim, abduction, justice

The Coolest Apartment Block on Earth

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:20:36 GMT

clipped by: CarnivalBorn

Clip Source: www.environmentalgraffiti.com

Viennese artist, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, has designed what has become one of the more unique and visually stimulating buildings in the world. With over 1000 unique windows, individualized handles on windows and doors, a living roof, café, parking garage, restaurant, bar, playground, and a running stream, the Waldspirale in Darmstadt, Germany is an architectural wonder. Upon first glance, second and third, one is simply enchanted and astonished.

WWIII?

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:19:07 GMT

clipped by: JackieDel

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

October 12, 2008

Warning signs of an Israeli strike on Iran

David Owen

David Owen was foreign secretary from 1977 to 1979

Some key decision makers in Israel fear that unless they attack Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities in the next few months, while George W Bush is still president, there will not be another period when they can rely on the United States as being anywhere near as supportive in the aftermath of a unilateral attack.

In the past 40 years there have been few occasions when I have been more concerned about a specific conflict escalating to involve, economically, the whole world. We are watching a disinformation exercise involving a number of intelligence services. Reality is becoming ever harder to disentangle.

Tags: usa, foreign policy, war, israel, iran

Deer last seen in 1930 found in Sumatran rainforest

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:57:17 GMT

clipped by: valann 47

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

A small deer that fell into a hunter's snare in 2002 has been identified as a Sumatran muntjac - more than 80 years since the animal was last seen.

The deer, about the size of a large dog, was photographed six years ago, but the pictures have only now been properly identified.

It had fallen into the trap at an altitude of 6,400ft high in the Kerinci-Seblat National Park mountains.

The Sumatran muntjac was first classified in 1914 and it has not been seen anywhere since 1930.

At first, it was thought to be one of the less endangered red muntjac herd. But after years of poring over the evidence, experts said it was definitely the rarer animal because it was significantly smaller and darker.

This is an important discovery and it adds to our knowledge of the specialness of Sumatran fauna," said professor Colin Groves, the taxonomist who confirmed the identity of the animals.

A Sumatran muntjac deer in a hunter's trap in the Kerinci-Seblat National Park, 2002

Tags: deer, sumatran muntjac, rare

Hundreds of New Marine Species Found

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:35:43 GMT

clipped by: invictus

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

Oct. 8, 2008 -- Hundreds of new marine species and previously uncharted undersea mountains and canyons have been discovered in the depths of the Southern Ocean, Australian scientists said Wednesday.

A total of 274 species of fish, ancient corals, mollusks, crustaceans and sponges new to science were found in icy waters up to 9,800 feet deep among extinct volcanoes, they said.

Tags: biology, oceans, marine life, science

Invisible to the naked eye - Fascinating images of life under the microscope.

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:37:29 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: They are all finalists in Nikon's Small World competition, which for 34 years has celebrated this technique known as photomicrography.

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

'Small World is regarded as the leading forum for showcasing the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope,'

incredible images that use microscopes and digital imaging software to capture views of nature which are invisible to the naked eye.

It looks like a tiny, blue, bug-eyed alien - its miniature spine visible through translucent skin. But this fascinating image is actually a close-up of a chicken embryo and finalist in a 'small world' photography competition.

They are all finalists in Nikon's Small World competition, which for 34 years has celebrated this technique known as photomicrography.

Images are taken through microscopes, which magnify an image by at least 20 times using ordinary light, ultraviolet, infrared, electrons or X-rays.

Golden wonder: Using fibre optics, this image shows the wing scales of a sunset moth

Clip Source: www.nikonsmallworld.com

A Silent Stroll across North India

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:05:45 GMT

clipped by: Lifestar
clipper's remarks: Hope you enjoy ^_^

Clip Source: www.linternaute.com

Tags: india, people, culture

The Sum Of Your Facial Parts

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:32:28 GMT

clipped by: debbyski

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

IS the woman pictured on the right more attractive than the woman on the left? Do her wider-set eyes, the longer distance between her hairline and the bridge of the nose, and the rounder shape of her face make her more beautiful?

Essentially, they trained a computer to determine, for each individual face, the most attractive set of distances and then choose the ideal closest to the original face. Unlike other research with formulas for facial attractiveness, this program does not produce one ideal for a feature, say a certain eye width or chin length.

Yet, like the many other attempts to use objective principles or even mathematical formulas to define beauty, this software program raises what psychologists, philosophers and feminists say are complex, even disturbing, questions about the perception of beauty and a beauty ideal.

To what extent is beauty quantifiable?

the fantasy art of Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:37:57 GMT

clipped by: Lexica

Clip Source: www.shadowscapes.com

-Shadowscapes Jewelry-

-Shadowscapes Art-

-Shadowscapes Tarot-

Clip Source: www.shadowscapes.com

Galleries

Faeries

Thornwode Book

Angels

Lands Beyond

Fairytales & Mythology

Creatures

Celtic

Eastern

Dance

Book Covers

Tarot

RPGs

CCG: L5R

CCG: Warlord

Miscellaneous

Ink & Pencil Originals

Sketch Originals

Tags: art, artists, fantasy

Narcissistic People Most Likely To Emerge As Leaders

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:49:05 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: It is important not to confuse narcissism with high self-esteem, she said.

“A person with high self-esteem is confident and charming, but they also have a caring component and they want to develop intimacy with others,” Brunell explained. “Narcissists have an inflated view of their talents and abilities and are all about themselves. They don’t care as much about others.”

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Narcissistic People Most Likely To Emerge As Leaders

“Not only did narcissists rate themselves as leaders, which you would expect, but other group members also saw them as the people who really run the group,”

Narcissists, by definition, are self-centered and overconfident in their own abilities.

And while narcissists are more likely to become leaders, results of one of the studies suggests that, once in power, narcissists don’t perform any better than others in that leadership role.

“It’s not surprising, but the desire for power is what really drives narcissists to seek leadership positions,” she said.

Results showed that narcissists did no better than others on selecting the items that would best help them survive. In addition, groups that overall scored highest on narcissism did no better than other groups on the task.

Results showed that the MBA students rated highest in narcissism were most likely to be identified as emerging leaders by the expert observers.

Tags: society, leadership

Eye Colour

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:22:25 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.colourlovers.com

Some of the most amazing colors can be found in the eyes of the creatures looking back at us. Here’s a gallery of some of mother nature’s remarkable gazes.