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Pakistani forces launch offensive against militants in Swat valley
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-Short Attention Span Theater-
We Were Right, Ship!
Boiled Nuts Help Protect Against Illness
No, it's not what you guttersnipes think.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - For lovers of boiled peanuts, there's some good news from the health front. A new study by a group of Huntsville researchers found that boiled peanuts bring out up to four times more chemicals that help protect against disease than raw, dry or oil-roasted nuts.
Lloyd Walker, chair of Alabama A&M University's Department of Food and Animal Sciences who co-authored the study, said these phytochemicals have antioxidant qualities that protect cells against the risk of degenerative diseases, including cancers, diabetes and heart disease.
The perfect food! We Southerners aren't dumb after all!
"Boiling is a better method of preparing peanuts in order to preserve these phytochemicals," Walker said.
The study will appear in Wednesday's edition of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The other co-authors in the study are A&M researchers Yvonne Chukwumah and Martha Verghese, as well as University of Alabama in Huntsville researcher Bernhard Vogler.
Don't sound like Southerners to me.
Walker said peanuts and other plants use phytochemicals for things such as helping avoid disease and insect attacks.
"These things are not nutrients; at the same time they have health benefits to humans," he told The Birmingham News. "The trick is to keep those health benefits, not to process them out of the foods."
According to Walker, water and heat penetrate the nuts, releasing beneficial chemicals to a certain point. Overcooking the nuts destroys the useful elements.
So don't over-cook your nuts!
Alabama is third in the nation in the amount of peanuts produced with a crop valued at more than $67 million last year.
Dothan, Alabama. The Peanut Capitol of the World!

Posted by: Deacon Blues || 10/27/2007 19:26 || Comments || Link || [10 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm still a dry-roasted Planter's Cocktail Peanuts guy....never worried they might/might not be a health food...

oh, and the Unsalted are for those who'll live to be a hundred and regret never having food that tastes good
Posted by: Frank G || 10/27/2007 20:16 Comments || Top||

#2  "these phytochemicals have antioxidant qualities that protect cells against the risk of degenerative diseases, including cancers, diabetes and heart disease"
That would account for why Jimmy Carter is still a pain in the behind more than a quarter century after being thrown out of the White House.
Posted by: Darrell || 10/27/2007 20:24 Comments || Top||

#3  Overcooking the nuts destroys the useful elements.

As is so often the case.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/27/2007 21:14 Comments || Top||

#4  http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/BoiledPeanutsHistory.htm

For those of you not in the know.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/27/2007 22:36 Comments || Top||


Shatner: How come I'm not in new 'Star Trek'?
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The original Capt. Kirk is disheartened he won't get to boldly go anywhere with his old pal Spock in the new "Star Trek" movie.

William Shatner is disappointed there's no place for him in the new "Star Trek" movie. While Leonard Nimoy is reprising his role as the pointy-eared Vulcan in next year's science-fiction flick, William Shatner is not on board as Kirk.

"I couldn't believe it. I'm not in the movie at all. Leonard, God bless his heart, is in, but not me," Shatner, 76, told The Associated Press on Thursday. "I thought, what a decision to make, since it obviously is a decision not to make use of the popularity I have to ensure the movie has good box office. It didn't seem to be a wise business decision."

Director J.J. Abrams announced last summer that Nimoy would reprise the role he originated opposite Shatner in the 1960s television show and played again in six big-screen adventures. Abrams said Shatner probably would have a part in the film, which is due in theaters in December 2008. But while Shatner said he had a couple of meetings with Abrams, nothing came of it.

Abrams' "Trek" film, whose plot is being kept under wraps by distributor Paramount, recounts an early adventure for the crew of the starship Enterprise, with Chris Pines as the young Kirk and Zachary Quinto as the young Spock.

The cast includes Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy, Simon Pegg as engineer Scott, John Cho as helmsman Sulu, Zoe Saldana as communications officer Uhura and Anton Yelchin as navigator Chekov, roles respectively originated by DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig.

Past "Trek" films presented an obstacle to the revival of Shatner's Kirk, who died at the end of 1994's "Star Trek: Generations." But in science fiction, you can never truly say die. Spock was killed off in 1982's "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" then resurrected in 1984's "Star Trek: The Search for Spock," with Nimoy's Vulcan living on to co-star in three more films, two episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and now Abrams' new movie.

"I've got a lot to do," said Shatner, whose current work includes the TV show "Boston Legal," narration for the Christmas spoof "Stalking Santa" due on DVD on November 6, and the prequel "Star Trek: Academy -- Collision Course," a novel chronicling Kirk and Spock's first meeting.

Shatner says of "Star Trek": "Having been in on the creation of it, I was hoping to be in on the re-creation."
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/27/2007 07:53 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  You're dead Jim
Posted by: john frum || 10/27/2007 8:33 Comments || Top||

#2  Willam Shatner HAS BEEN.

I blame number 9 Jim.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/27/2007 8:41 Comments || Top||

#3  He should be asking "how come they're recycling that old series?" How 'bout something new?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 10/27/2007 9:42 Comments || Top||

#4  It's a trick. He's doing a cameo as The Great Big Head.
Posted by: Thomas Woof || 10/27/2007 10:15 Comments || Top||

#5  I can see him in a background shot on a telescreen hawking low price fares on Enterprise.

Posted by: BrerRabbit || 10/27/2007 10:34 Comments || Top||

#6  Shatner very craftily tied his boat to Nimoy's many years ago. That is, by contract, if Nimoy got *anything*, then Shatner had to get it too. This even went so far as with Nimoy directing ST-IV, they had to let Shatner direct (the funky) ST-V (aka "Cap'n Kirk meets God").

But if that particular clause has lapsed, then Paramount would probably tell Shatner to take a flying leap at a rolling doughnut.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/27/2007 10:46 Comments || Top||

#7  pics of the cast
Posted by: Frank G || 10/27/2007 10:47 Comments || Top||

#8  I have a bad feeling about this new movie. It just seems desperate to drag out the same characters, but the young versions?. Paramount clearly does not understand the franchise and why it was successful and they've been milking it for far too long.

If they wanted to revive the series they should do a WINDS OF WAR style mini-series. The conflict should be against the Klingons because they are a favorite.

The first episode in the mini-series should take place during the Captain Sulu time frame and use the slightly old Enterprise cast as well as Captain Sulu and crew to set up the situation. A planet along the Klingon border wants to join the Federation. The Federation tries but eventually backs down and the Klingon's crush the planet.

The next episodes takes place during the Next Gen/DS9/Voyager time frame when that planet wants independence again and the Federation tries to support it but the Klingon's declare war. The war is nasty, brutal, and lasts a couple two-hour movies worth. During the war we find that Klingon's looked different during the old series because Logistical problems prevented them from getting the right nutrition and they got Klingon Scurvy, which for warriors is a real embarrassment (and which meant the Feds could have beaten them if they hadn't backed down).

At the end of the last of the mini-series the Romulans side with the Federation (thanks to Spocks work behind their lines) and the Klingon's back off huffing and puffing but unwilling to fight a two front war.

Paramount, I'll write it, it'll rock, give me a call.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 10/27/2007 13:17 Comments || Top||

#9  A 76 year old man with a bad toupe doesn't exactly make leading man material.
Posted by: McZoid || 10/27/2007 14:47 Comments || Top||

#10  It just seems desperate to drag out the same characters, but the young versions?. Paramount clearly does not understand the franchise...

The very first rumors of a Star Trek revival, way back in the late Seventies, had this very premise. I thought it was a bad idea at the time, and still think so. I want THE FUTURE! not the future's past.
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 10/27/2007 15:07 Comments || Top||

#11  The original casting for this pic would have been pretty awesome - Matt Damon as Kirk, Adrien Brody as Spock, and Gary Sinise as McCoy - but apparently the studio has been itching to try a version of Trek than can most politely be called 'Star Trek 90210'....and they're gonna get their wish.

Paramount and Trek's producers, of all people, should remember the old saw about being careful what you wish for.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 10/27/2007 15:09 Comments || Top||

#12  Video here.
Posted by: Mike || 10/27/2007 17:36 Comments || Top||

#13  It just seems desperate to drag out the same characters, but the young versions?

This strategy worked so very well for Warner Brothers' with their Tiny Toons. Hollywood is so creatively bankrupt that all they can do is recycle old ideas. This, despite the existence of incredible new work like Peter Hamilton's "Reality Dysfunction", part I of his Night's Dawn six book trilogy. It is some of the finest modern Sci-Fi written and yet Hollywood resuscitates stale 1960s television shows and comic books for their plot lines.




























Paramount clearly does not understand the franchise and why it was successful and they've been milking it for far too long.

Like the last cow on the farm.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/27/2007 19:05 Comments || Top||

#14  re: post #7

That would be a great cast for a mashup titled, "Sylar and Julius Caesar go to White Castle"

For Star Trek, not so much

Posted by: Grumenk Philalzabod0723 || 10/27/2007 19:06 Comments || Top||

#15  Anyone suprised?

Hollywood hasn't had very many 'fresh' ideas in decades. Any wonder why most of the blockbusters during the last few decades have been, in essence, remakes or from other media (books, plays, even saturday morning cartoons....)
Posted by: CrazyFool || 10/27/2007 19:20 Comments || Top||

#16  there have been some inventive films, they just don't come from the major studios, who push low, but steady profits from sequels, prequels, spinoffs. They seem about to run the comic book conversions into the ground. I've loved the Spiderman movies, but as a kid, I was a Fantastic 4 fan and the movies have SUCKED, imho. Mel Gibson has been taunting the majors and making big bucks doing so. I thought Apocalypto was excellent, and The Passion was even better. There are still good flicks being made (Cinderella Man, Last Samurai, Open Range?)- check out 3:10 to Yuma (albeit, a remake), and I have high hopes for American Gangster... too many execs want to do little, risk little, and others are determined to ram their anti-american, anti-military (helllooo Robt Redford?) shit down our throats. Vote with your pocketbooks!!
Posted by: Frank G || 10/27/2007 19:36 Comments || Top||

#17  "Old Man's War" would make a great movie!
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 10/27/2007 19:51 Comments || Top||

#18  I think so...
Posted by: Frank G || 10/27/2007 20:05 Comments || Top||

#19  They Misquoted me, it was...

Whyyyyyyyyy... am I... Not.. in the New... startrekmovie?


Posted by: Bill Shatner || 10/27/2007 20:31 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
The world's most dangerous golf tournament
As course hazards go, the threat of a suicide bomb attack places the Kabul Golf Course in a class of its own. Four suicide attacks in the Afghan capital in three weeks, the last of which killed 12 people on the road to the clubhouse, ensured that the latest Kabul Desert Classic could safely claim to be the most dangerous golf tournament on earth.

The open competition on Afghanistan's only course, was begun in 2005 by aid workers. Funds raised went to an Afghan charity set up by the veteran ITN journalist Sandy Gall. Some of those present suggested that the 3rd Desert Classic might be the last.

"It all depends on our foreign friends," said the club’s leathery pro Mohammad Afzal Abdul, 50, a scratch player who has worked the course since the 1970s. "If they stay things could improve. If they leave it to the Afghans, everything will collapse again." Mr Abdul was arrested for two months and beaten with cables after the Taliban found his collection of golf trophies and accused him of working with foreigners.
He ought to have an exemption for the Masters ...
The nine-hole course was opened in 1967 and enjoyed its heyday in the early 1970s when Kabul was a tranquil way station on the hippie trail. However, the Russian invasion ended the flow of international visitors . During the bloody civil war of the 1990s the area witnessed frequent tank battles.

The event went ahead on Friday with a security cordon provided by a local warlord; a figure described by one Kabul diplomat as "a hard-drinking human rights abuser who should be in The Hague, not on a golf course." Most of the 30 competitors were drawn from the aid worker community.

The winners were two Afghan eighteen-year-olds with less than a year’s golfing experience each. Hashmatullah and Ali, both of whom have only one name, are among the first Afghans to take an interest in the sport and receive daily lessons from the course pro in exchange for a spot of gardening.

"I started six months ago and have played every day since," said Hashmatullah, beaming with pride after an impressive 4-under-par round. He hopes to compete for Afghanistan in the Asian Games in Nepal next year if the Afghan government is able to fund a team.
Posted by: Pappy || 10/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Kabul Desert Classic could safely claim to be the most dangerous golf tournament on earth, followed closely by the Golfers' Club at Fort McPherson. The only course in CONUS surrounded by chain link topped with razor wire and concertina. That weapons firing you hear is NOT from the rifle range, there isn't one.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/27/2007 3:17 Comments || Top||

#2 

Yeah. And now you're gonna die, wearing that stupid little hat. How does it feel?
Posted by: Raj || 10/27/2007 8:28 Comments || Top||

#3  What's par for the course?
Posted by: JohnQC || 10/27/2007 9:09 Comments || Top||

#4  For those less faint of heart, you can always try your hand at the Elfego Baca Golf Shoot held in honor of Mr. Baca memorialized in the Disney series "The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca". Just watch that first step off the tee.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 10/27/2007 10:01 Comments || Top||

#5  While not the most dangerous, perhaps the most challenging golf course ever was made in the 1940s in southern Arizona.

It started when a tourist, heading to California, stopped at a very isolated gas station to fill up his sports car. To fill up, he had to remove his golf bag, which he left behind when he took off, never to return.

After holding on to his bag for a while, the guys who worked at the station decided to make themselves a golf course, something they had never seen in real life. Fortunately, one of them found a crude diagram for a golf course, with its dimensions marked out, but not scaled.

So they set up one, out in the rocky and hilly desert, but in yards, rather than feet.

It took them quite a while, but they set up flags on poles about where they thought they should be, with a map and compass.

The first golf game was quite an expedition. Each of the golfers had a pack mule and one had a saddlebag full of golf balls, having obtained a bucket of them at a driving range a few hundred miles away on a trip, along with a local Mexican "caddy", whose primary job was to cook, watch for snakes and keep the rifle handy.

One of the golfers got drunk and angry and kicked a rock, breaking a toe for his efforts, so he went back early, but the other two finished, and averaging their scores they figured that it was about a par 1300 or so. It took 3 days.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/27/2007 11:21 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Saudi authorities behead 3 Banglas
There's three new openings for academic positions ...
Posted by: Fred || 10/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Either the Saudis used these guys to cover up for some prince of some kind, or the sentence was fair enough.

********
Saudi authorities beheaded three Bangladeshi men Friday who were convicted of killing a fellow national and raping his wife, the Interior Ministry said.

In a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, the ministry said that Thakeer Abdul-Rahman, Tafeel Abdul-Rasheed and Leon Juli stormed the home of the fellow national, whose name was not given.

"They beat him up, threatened him with a knife, blindfolded him and used a rope to strangle him," according to the statement.

It said the three men stole the couple's money and gold jewelry before taking the wife to a remote place and raping her."
Posted by: Glenmore || 10/27/2007 13:17 Comments || Top||

#2  I thought Sharia demanded four Muslim men as witnesses of the rape. Otherwise the woman would be stoned for adultery.
Posted by: Rambler || 10/27/2007 16:12 Comments || Top||


Britain
Former British MPs struggle to find jobs outside Parliament, report
Many former British MPs have difficulty adapting to life in the outside world and finding a job after they leave the House of Commons, a new report said here Friday.

A third of the MPs who left Parliament as a result of losing an election had not expected to be defeated, according to a study by the University of Leeds, in northern England. One MP who lost in the 2005 General Election described it as feeling like being "cut off at the knees", the report said.

Researchers found that many former MPs miss being at the centre of British politics. Another ex-MP said "I would wake up in the morning, listen to the radio, and form views on the issues of the day and then I realised that no one wanted to know what I thought".

Professor Kevin Theakston, of the School of Politics and International Studies at the University of Leeds and co-author of the report, said "There has always been anecdotal evidence of ex-MPs who have suffered nervous breakdowns, marriage break-ups, depression and serious debts problems".

"But our project is important because there has been virtually no systematic research into these issues, into what happens to former MPs and into the experience of leaving Parliament".

The report also found that only a quarter of former MPs surveyed were able to return to the career they had had before entering the House of Commons. Around half of those, who did not retire voluntarily from the House of Commons, said it had taken three-to-six months to find a new job. Just one-fifth said they were able to find work immediately or almost immediately. One in seven ex-MPs took over a year to find employment.

The team surveyed 184 ex-MPs from all parties with a combined parliamentary experience of about 3,000 years.
Posted by: Seafarious || 10/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Landing that first real job is indeed a challenge.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/27/2007 3:24 Comments || Top||

#2  This is an experience every current MP should share.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 10/27/2007 7:47 Comments || Top||

#3  Even with the UK's low unemployment rate, it's hard to land a job when you have no useful skills. They're politicians, perhaps they would have better luck in venues like drug dealing, or underage prostitutes pimping?
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 10/27/2007 7:52 Comments || Top||

#4  Yes, I would like some fries chips with that...
Posted by: Raj || 10/27/2007 8:30 Comments || Top||

#5  "I would wake up in the morning, listen to the radio, and form views on the issues of the day and then I realised that no one wanted to know what I thought".

Welcome to my world. Asshole.
Posted by: BrerRabbit || 10/27/2007 11:41 Comments || Top||

#6  "I would wake up in the morning, listen to the radio, and form views on the issues of the day and then I realised that no one wanted to know what I thought".

C'mon, that's gotta be from The Onion.
Posted by: Angie Schultz || 10/27/2007 15:10 Comments || Top||

#7  "I would wake up in the morning, listen to the radio, and form views on the issues of the day and then I realised that no one wanted to know what I thought".

I look forward to the day when Al Gore finally utters this.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/27/2007 18:10 Comments || Top||

#8  Buster in the desert in a mad world - excellent illustration!
Posted by: Chuckles Jaise7272 || 10/27/2007 23:20 Comments || Top||

#9  "I would wake up in the morning, listen to the radio, and form views on the issues of the day and then I realised that no one wanted to know what I thought."

Hell, nobody wanted to know what you thought before.

Except the people you paid....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 10/27/2007 23:26 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Outspoken Uzbek reporter killed
A prominent journalist and an editor of an Uzbek-language newspaper has been shot dead in the Kyrgyz city of Osh near the border with Uzbekistan. Police have confirmed that 26-year-old Alisher Saipov died in a gun attack. Police say that they are questioning witnesses and that for now, they have no other details.

He was shot dead as he walked out of his office in the centre of Osh. It was around seven in the evening and still light when unidentified gunmen fired from a car, killing him with three bullets.

At twenty-six, Alisher Saipov was one of the most outspoken journalists in central Asia. Saipov edited the region's only Uzbek language publication which challenged the government, and reported for the Voice of America. His reports for Voice of America and various websites have always focused on Uzbekistan. He was passionate about telling the story of one of the world's most repressive states.

He wrote extensively about torture in Uzbek President Islam Karimov's prisons, about the clampdown on dissent and the plight of the Uzbek refugees living in Kyrgyzstan. He was also critical of the Kyrgyz authorities, which he said have allowed President Karimov's influence to spread beyond the borders of Uzbekistan.

Over the past two years, Mr Saipov's investigations has helped to reveal that ethnic Uzbeks were the targets of the cross-border security sweep and that the security services were behind the kidnapping of dozens of asylum seekers and refugees. Recently, the pages of his newspaper Siyosat, or Politics, have been full of stories about the climate of fear ahead of this December's presidential vote, in which President Karimov will seek re-election.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They must have run out of polonium.
Posted by: Grumenk Philalzabod0723 || 10/27/2007 2:13 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Two Christians kidnapped in N Waziristan
Masked men kidnapped two Christian janitors in front of Miranshah Headquarters Hospital in North Waziristan on Friday, eyewitnesses said. Naeem Masih and Shahbaz Masih, both janitors at the hospital, were abducted “right from the main gate of the hospital”, witnesses said. Around 1,000 Christians live in Miranshah. Two Christians were kidnapped five months ago but were later released. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, however, local Taliban are suspected to be involved in the incidents.
Posted by: Fred || 10/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Indian man unable to buy roses for his wife, now world's largest grower
There is a school of thought that says that if you are going to get something done properly, then you have to do it yourself. It is a principle at the heart of many a great business and it is one that Ramakrishna Karuturi knows well, one that this week has made him the world’s largest cultivator of roses.

He has risen to the top of the rose tree, becoming the world’s largest cultivator of the flowers, after Karuturi Networks, his Bangalore-based company, agreed to buy Sher Agencies, the Kenyan nursery of a Dutch flower producer, in a €50 million (£35 million) deal.

The mechanical engineer, who returned to India from business school in Ohio in the United States a decade ago to run the family cables and transmissions towers business, began his unlikely move into the flower industry one long, frustrating Valentine’s Day. Hunting for a rose bouquet for his wife across India’s IT hub, he drew a blank. Bangalore was a rose-free zone.

So he decided to start to grow them himself. In 1996, the entrepreneur opened two greenhouses on 3.2 hectares of land in the southern Indian city, which is renowned for its temperate climate, and began to export the flowers. Mr Karuturi’s roses are now sold in Africa, America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. With the Sher acquisition, the fourth outside India and a deal financed through foreign currency convertible bonds, Karuturi’s annual production has jumped from 130 million stems to 650 million. Its target is one billion stems by 2010. To achieve that, the company will build more greenhouses in Ethiopia and will seek further acquisitions in the highly fragmented global flower business. It is in advanced takeover talks with a nursery in Ecuador.

Mr Karuturi, 42, believes that there is a large market in India, where Valentine’s Day is being celebrated increasingly. “There is huge potential in India. When I came back from the US, Valentine’s Day was unheard of as a festival, but now even on Mother’s Day, gifts are exchanged. I was surprised how quickly Western events have been assimilated into the culture,” Mr Karuturi said. About 20 per cent of Karuturi’s rose business is domestic, but he says that can be increased to 50 per cent. The company has 40 flower shops in India and aims to open a further 60 by Christmas.

Karuturi also supplies bottled gherkins to European, American and Russian supermarkets and provides niche software and IT services.

An estimated 40,000 hectares of land are under rose cultivation world-wide, yet the biggest farm is no more than 200 hectares. Kenya has the world’s largest share of the rose trade - 4 per cent – because it has ideal growing conditions, including 12 hours of light a day. Horticulture is Kenya’s third-biggest foreign exchange earner, bringing about $100 million (£49 million) into the economy every year, with most flowers exported to Europe.
Posted by: john frum || 10/27/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As a devout capitalist who delights in ikebana and giving women flowers, this story strikes numerous chords. People who teach flower arranging have requested the loan of my own collection of ikebana accessories. My sweethearts have always received at least one or more bouquets of flowers—usually a dozen roses—each week and have had other women express amazement at the regularity thereof. One woman even commented to a girlfriend of mine how the only time she got roses was when her husband was trying to make up for cheating on her. Another bemoaned how even after giving birth to their son, all she got from her husband were carnations. Amongst local florists, I'm known as a tyrant for picking out each individual flower for bouquets and even bringing in my own vases when their selection is inadequate.

“There is huge potential in India. When I came back from the US, Valentine’s Day was unheard of as a festival, but now even on Mother’s Day, gifts are exchanged. I was surprised how quickly Western events have been assimilated into the culture

Small wonder that a largely free society has evolved a tradition of celebrating events that elicit such universal sentiment whereby they are adopted by entirely foreign cultures. I really should say "ostensibly foreign cultures" because India—as Asia's largest democracy and most productive economy—has so much in common with America that their embrace of our own popular holidays really is no surprise.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/27/2007 0:37 Comments || Top||

#2  One woman even commented to a girlfriend of mine how the only time she got roses was when her husband was trying to make up for cheating on her.

The common thread between infidelity and funerals has finally been identified.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/27/2007 3:30 Comments || Top||

#3  I grow flowers, rather than give them. Mrs. no mo has often told her friends that if I ever actually gave her flowers, it would mean there was another woman.

We see a theme developing here?
Posted by: no mo uro || 10/27/2007 6:58 Comments || Top||

#4  Mr. Wife paints in oils, and gave each of his girlfriends an oil painting. He never gave me one, but brought two paintings into the marriage. He also brought his love of beauty and artistic taste, and enthusiasm for painting the walls of wherever we lived. He is looking forward to painting again when the trailing daughters are grown. Zenster, you sound like a delightful and enthusiastic beau. May you one day find yourself happily married to a woman who appreciates you properly.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/27/2007 10:05 Comments || Top||

#5  Andrew Wyeth, the American painter, did 240 nude studies of his neighbor, Helga Testorf, over a 14 year period, unknown to either his wife or her husband, the latter who was surprised, to say the least, after seeing a painting of his nude wife on the cover of Time Magazine.

Shortly thereafter, a cartoon came out which showed a somewhat cringing Andrew Wyeth, with his wife saying rather angrily, "Why don't you ask Helga for a cup of coffee?"
Posted by: Anonymoose || 10/27/2007 11:34 Comments || Top||

#6  Zenster, you sound like a delightful and enthusiastic beau. May you one day find yourself happily married to a woman who appreciates you properly.

Thank you for the kind thoughts, trailing wife. I'm working on it.
Posted by: Zenster || 10/27/2007 17:08 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2007-10-27
  Pakistani forces launch offensive against militants in Swat valley
Fri 2007-10-26
  Mehsuds formally ask army to leave Tank compound
Thu 2007-10-25
  India jails 31 for life over 1998 blasts
Wed 2007-10-24
  Binny demands reinforcements for Iraq
Tue 2007-10-23
  PKK offers conditional ceasefire
Mon 2007-10-22
  Bobby Jindal governor of Louisiana
Sun 2007-10-21
  Four dozen Talibs banged in Musa Qala area
Sat 2007-10-20
  Waziristan to be pacified 'once and for all'
Fri 2007-10-19
  Binny's handler was incharge of Benazir's security
Thu 2007-10-18
  Benazir Bhutto survives bomb attack
Wed 2007-10-17
  Putin warns against military action on Iran
Tue 2007-10-16
  Time for Palestinian State: Rice
Mon 2007-10-15
  Six killed, 25 injured as terror strikes Indian town of Ludhiana
Sun 2007-10-14
  Khamenei urges Arabs to boycott Mideast meet
Sat 2007-10-13
  Wally accuses Hezbullies of planning to occupy Beirut


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