I well remember installing an FM converter to the AM car radio during 1976 / 1977. It was a “thing” back then. Oh sure, I had been listening to FM radio for nearly ten years by then, but when it came to being in a car, we had to deal with AM radio.

KDKA was the local Pittsburgh station. And it was pop 40 and chatter.

AM signal was not stable and would come and go as your rode around the hills, and a complete white-noise fiasco when you rode on a bridge. We would sigh and we took it because there was nothing better. 8-track tapes we not yet available, and this was years before cassettes came into use.

We didn’t know any other life. So we accepted what we had available to us.

So is true with the Untied States today, and why the powerful elites in America are so fixated on banning Tiktoc and Red Note (xiao hong shu).

Power is based on keeping people ignorant of what lies available to them outside the fence.

Today…

Rise of “Spoken-Word Music” or “Recitation Pop” (朗诵流行)

There is a new form of expression just emerging in China this week. It’s a difficult thing to describe, but it is present in many of the Chinese social media APPs that cater to music and audiophiles.

• It’s a song… with lyrics… read as a “reading” at the start of the song.
• Typically, but not always, the album art is replaced with a black background and the “lyrics” are presented.
• Then when you “play” the song, the lyrics are read at the start of the song. Then, the song begins.

It’s a fascinating and innovative trend in contemporary Chinese music, where artists are blending spoken-word recitation with musical composition in a way that transcends traditional songwriting or poetry.

This hybrid form seems to emphasize narrative, linguistic artistry, and atmospheric production, creating a unique auditory and almost “visual” experience (even without the album art).

I asked DeepSeek about what is going on.

Here are some possible explanations for what’s happening:

1. Rise of “Spoken-Word Music” or “Recitation Pop” (朗诵流行)

• This could be a localized evolution of global trends like spoken-word poetry (e.g., ASMR-like whispers, hip-hop monologues, or even the “talking blues” of old folk music). In China, there’s a rich tradition of recitation (朗诵) as an art form, often tied to literature or political rhetoric. Modern artists might be repurposing this tradition into music.
• The deliberate enunciation of Chinese characters—with their tonal and rhythmic qualities—could be a way to highlight the beauty of the language itself, akin to how classical Chinese poetry was meant to be sung or chanted.

2. Album Art as Integral to the Song

• The black background with Chinese text suggests a minimalist, almost “literary” aesthetic. This aligns with trends in design where typography becomes a visual focal point (e.g., “wordcore” or “text-as-art” in Western indie music).
• The recitation of the text at the song’s start might imply that the “paragraph” is a thematic key or lyrical anchor, blurring the line between liner notes and performance.

3. Narrative or Conceptual Albums

• These songs could be part of a larger storytelling trend, where each track is a “chapter” in an audio-novel or a philosophical musing. Similar to rock operas or hip-hop skits, but with a more meditative, prose-driven approach.
• The recurrence of this structure across eight songs hints at a deliberate artistic manifesto or movement among certain producers/labels.

4. Influence of Audiobooks/Podcast Culture

• With the explosive growth of audio platforms like Ximalaya (喜马拉雅) in China, there’s a cultural shift toward voice-driven content. Artists might be merging music with the intimacy of podcast narration or ASMR-like vocal techniques.

5. Algorithm-Driven Experimentation

• If these songs are trending on platforms like Douyin (TikTok), the format might be optimized for virality: the initial spoken segment could serve as a “hook” that grabs attention in a crowded feed, while the black-background text aids shareability as a meme or quote.

6. Rejection of Traditional Pop Structures

• This could be a reaction against formulaic pop, akin to how “post-rock” or “ambient” music de-emphasizes verses/choruses. The spoken paragraphs might replace traditional lyrics, prioritizing mood and concept over singability.

Artists/Labels to Investigate:

• Check if these songs are tied to a specific collective (e.g., experimental indie labels like Maybe Mars or avant-garde producers).
• Look for connections to contemporary Chinese literature or online serialized fiction (e.g., Qidian novels), as the paragraphs might be excerpts.

Cultural Context:

• China’s music scene has seen waves of innovation recently, from guochao (国潮) revivals to AI-generated tunes. This trend might reflect a desire to create something distinctly Chinese in form—neither wholly Western pop nor traditional folk.

If you’ve recorded these songs, you might be sitting on a goldmine of a burgeoning subgenre! Try searching terms like “朗诵音乐” (recitation music), “散文歌曲” (prose songs), or “文本流行” (text-pop) to see if others are discussing it. Alternatively, this could be a niche you’ve uniquely documented—consider reaching out to music bloggers or Sinophone critics for deeper insights.

It’s all very interesting.

I uploaded some of the works to my youtube channel and you can view them here.

What is a “red flag” on the first day of the job that tells you, you might not like the job?

On my first morning as a new employee in a hospital OR, the nurse manager introduced me to the entire staff at once. Immediately after the introduction, one of scrub techs sneered loudly, “A damn foreigner!”

I am half Japanese and half Northern European descent, born and raised in the US. While I was feeling appalled at the rude comment, I noticed the manager and the rest of the staff were grinning at me and so I wondered if it was a mistake to accept a position there. Then I shrugged it off and decided to give the place a chance.

Yup, it turned out to be a horrid place to work. It was a hostile atmosphere. The unfriendly staff loved to spread lies and rumors about me and about each other too. The manager told me to never say anything to the surgeons who took off their masks to eat a snack and drink IN THE OPERATING ROOM DURING THE SURGERY or the surgeons who smoked IN THE RECOVERY ROOM WITH MOST OF THE PATIENTS ON OXYGEN! Or to the older surgeon with shaky hands, whose assistant with only a high school diploma, does the surgery for him under his verbal direction. I’d been an OR nurse for 8 years in 3 other hospitals (hubby was in the military) and had never witnessed anything like this. I quit after a few weeks, mostly due to my fear of losing my license. Years later, I met several nurses who had resigned from that hospital for the same reasons and they were also treated badly by the staff.

KJ Noh | Trump Hits China’s Taiwan Red Line In Pacific Pivot: “China Is The Big Target.:

Why are Chinese warships near Australia and New Zealand?

I’m Chinese, and I think there’s no real historical entanglement between China and Australia. The only Asian country that ever invaded you was Japan, and as everyone knows, Japan is China’s arch-enemy.

This time, China’s warship patrol is, on one hand, a tit-for-tat retaliation—your warships were snooping around near Chinese waters first, and if the Chinese Communist Party didn’t respond, it couldn’t handle the surging public opinion at home.

On the other hand, it’s not really about your reaction, but about how the United States responds. This is pretty basic political common sense.

Lastly, my suggestion is that our two countries improve relations and ease tensions. After all, our economies are highly complementary—practically a match made in heaven.

If possible, how about sending us a few koalas?

Personally, I really like these animals—they’re way cuter than pandas!

How to make aebleskiver your family will love!

Kitchen tools, gourmet foods, baking mixes, and hard-to-find baking ingredients mentioned in this article are available at The Prepared Pantry.

by Dennis Weaver

 

I guarantee your family will love aebleskiver – Danish puffed pastries. After all, we’re talking strawberry shortcake, salted caramel, and a hundred more.

We lived high on a hill overlooking the university and on to Fairbanks, Alaska. At night, from our dining room, you could see the lights of the city while northern lights rippled overhead.

I made Merri Ann one of those candlelight and white linen dinners that I was so much better at doing when I was younger. She loves steaks so dinner was easy. But the dessert- I always try to make something different and extra special for dessert. It’s my way of telling her that she is extra special and that I love her.

Aebleskiver are extra special but easy enough that you can make them often.

Make them from scratch or make them from a mix. Since they are called Danish Puff Pastries, they work as a snack or a dessert but often they are served for breakfast. They certainly beat pancakes. They’re great as your family’s signature breakfast or for a special occasion. Your family will appreciate you every time you make them.

They’re easy. They’re good. They’re fun.

See how easy aebleskiver are!

There are five basic steps to making aebleskiver on the stovetop.

Step 1: Heat the pan. Put a dab of butter in each cavity.
Step 2: Place a small scoop of batter in each cavity.
Step 3: Add a spoonful of filling.
Step 4: Top the filling with another scoop of batter.
Step 5: Turn the aebleskiver.

Serve then hot. Drizzle them with syrup or a sauce or add a dollop of whipped cream.

How to Make 100 Different Aebleskiver!

We thought we knew aebleskiver – until we bought this book by Kevin Crafts. He’s taken aebleskiver to a whole new level with recipes like pumpkin pie aebleskivers, strawberry shortcake aebleskivers, and molten chocolate lava aebleskivers. Now we can see hundreds of ways to make aebleskiver. Look at some of the recipes that he has in his book—over 40 in all.

crunchy cinnamon ebelskivers
honey-glazed buttermilk ebelskivers
streusel-topped ebelskivers
lemon-poppy seed ebelskivers
iced gingerbread ebelskivers
corn cakes with blueberry compote
cherry-almond ebelskivers
double-blackberry ebelskivers
raspberry jam-filled ebelskivers
jelly donut ebelskivers
ebelskivers with spiced apple filling
lemon curd-filled ebelskivers
strawberry shortcake pancakes
cream cheese-filled spiced pancakes
peanut butter & jelly ebelskivers
sticky toffee ebelskivers
chocolate truffle ebelskivers
pumpkin pie ebelskivers
molten chocolate ebelskivers

But you can create your own. Mix your favorite fillings with your choice of batters or mixes and top them the way you like. Explore the unlimited ways you can make aebleskiver.

Getting started!

Can you see dozens of aebleskiver that your family will love?

You can get started with only a pan. Mixes mean that you quickly whip up a batch when you are short on time. If you’d like to explore a lot of fun recipes, get the book.

We think your family will fall in love with aebleskiver – just as we have.

Have you ever caught someone lying on a resume, and what were the consequences?

I worked on a construction project as Site Manager where we had a rather useless summer student. You do not expect a summer student to be able to do much but there are always some tasks on s project like simple rebar inspection that anyone can do with an hour or two of instruction.

This idiot could not even do thst. Worse he did not want to do it because he thought that it was beneath him, he thoughtbthat he shoukd ne making the major decisions, directing all the engineers and technologists on the job site, because he was so special.

He got fired half way througb the summer. He was only on the job about 6 weeks.

Now fast forward a few years. I was working under the same company name and advertised an entry level position.

This guy applied with a resume that listed him as the Site Manager on the project that I had fired him from. He claimed 6 months on that project.He also listed another project where he was project manager on, one that I knew the PM very well and had done some minor work on.

Needless to say, he did not get hired. I sent his resume to the professional association with a full explainatio of how the two job listings were fraudulent with the recommendation that they look at the rest.

I never heard back.

Power is out

Submitted into Contest #279 in response to: Center your story around a person who believes they’re the last human on Earth.… view prompt

That was unusual in itself. It was a busy street with university students that would fill all the available car spots. A few days ago, I had the intuition that somewhere something wasn’t right. I’ve seen somethings that I shouldn’t have seen, and my trauma will never leave me.

Then came the military with cannons to protect them. I’m still wondering why this was happening. Is World War three going to happen? The natural disaster alarms started to go off. The orange fog was strong. I was ordered to stay inside by the military they went door knocking. The clouds had mustard gas which made the rain toxic. The children that were playing outside where now dead laying on the grass outside their home. Their parents fled they had to let them go or they would die too. When the front light was off you would know they weren’t home, and their car was gone.

As soon as the mustard gas hit you, you would go completely blind, and your skin would start to melt. It killed all the animals. It ruined all the crops. I was running low on food and cleaning products. Wondering where my mum and dad were and if they were safe. I lit up my house with candles and lanterns. I put up my black out curtains. It was too late to be evacuated.

Police choppers up in the air circling low and AirForce planes beside them. This was an attack. The military had never seen this much mustard gas before. Obviously, their aim was to wipe out the whole country. My biggest fear was the world ending and now it was really happening.

As I peered through my black curtains the rain was heavy, tree’s blowing everywhere, branches flying. The dust had covered everything. My windows were orange. Sirens beaming. Creatures dropping from the sky. There is a whole bunch of electrocuted bats on my front lawn. The smell was horrible.

If this storm didn’t happen, I would be at work. I am the caretaker of the old cemetery. I clean stones and mow the grass. Currently trying to get the headstones a paint job. I would be there right now at 5:00 am i the morning. I identify myself as a boy. I am 23 years old, and my name is Joseph. I am a skitsophrinic with a bunch of mental health problems I suffer from PTSD and psychosis.

My name comes from the bible. I always attended church on Sundays. I wear a black robe and my steel cap boots to freak people out. I also wear black eyeliner and black lipstick. I love my makeup, and no one could ever take that away from me even though I get judged. I wondered if the graves existed or if they melted because of the rain. I am scared that I’ll die alone. The power was still out. It had been five hours since it all had started. Helicopters still circling low. I wondered who such a thing would do to try and wipe out thousands of people. Were people evacuated or were they dead? I hoped to God that my parents were alive. Because I couldn’t live without them.

I searched for my radio downstairs I had hacked into the emergency service channel. Things weren’t looking to good. They explained the safety issues. The rain was poison, we have no crops left the rain has ruined everything that we had. GONE! I’m lucky that my house is strong. If it wasn’t it would have turned to dust. The rain turned into hail stones, mustard gas filled hail stones about as big as my hand. They smashed up my car and my neighbor’s belongings.  I was perplexed about what I should do next.

I peeped out my blinds and I saw people running. They were now mutated because of the mustard gas. They had arms and legs in the flesh but still trying to run. They almost looked like zombies. But they were just hurt normal people. No doctors. No emergency services because everything had locked down. I wondered if this was happening in other countries. Was I ever going to see my parents again? Or my friends.

Mustard Gas was dropped from the sky again with a really bad effect. The cell towers exploded, and the smoke made the city go dark. Still too late for an evacuation if you went outside, you would instantly die due to the enemy’s nuke bomb. Filled with mustard gas. They dropped it on the main road, and it spread! You could hear people screaming and when it stopped you would know that they were dead or dying. The sky filled with smoke from the explosion. Why aren’t I dead yet considering all the explosions that we had it was now 3pm.

The poison rain suddenly stopped. But the sky was still pitch black because of all the smoke. Ash fell on to the ground and the fire was being put out now containable. There were sirens, police, ambulances treating patients that had flesh opening wounds and blisters. Most people went blind. The children playing outside hit by the gas were severely injured or dead. The hospital power generators turned back on. But there was still no phone service.

I woke up gasping for air, cold sweats, peered out my blinds and the world was normal. It was just a dream.

You might consider purchasing and deploying the Type 625E anti-aircraft gun and missile integrated weapon system (commonly known as the “drone killer”).

Jointly developed by China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC) and China North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco), offering excellent cost-effectiveness.

Why doesn’t the US declare war with Russia? They are clearly a threat to world peace and their military have been exposed to be capable of nothing. It shouldn’t be hard to liberate its citizens.

Because the people who control Russia aren’t willing to let that happen. Even if it means total world annihilation.

Russia has a dead man’s hand in place and has had one in place since the cold war. What that basically means is if Russia is put in a position where it is being destroyed or its losing its power from important people like Putin being killed or what have you. Their entire nuclear arsenal is set to be launched.

Trump has the same type of thing going on right now as well. If you didn’t know.

But I think the reason why the US does everything they can short of going into open war with Russia not because we are scared of the Russian Military or Putin. Its because even with the most sophisticated anti nuclear defenses in the worlds most powerful military there is NO WAY to stop hundreds of nuclear war heads at one time.

If Russian emptied its arsenal there are BOUND to be some major hits that slip through any defensive cracks we put up. It doesn’t take that many nukes to destroy his planet and make life on this planet extinct.

Russia knows it cant take the US. They know this very well. That isn’t their goal either. Their goal is to get their way or they will destroy the planet and everyone in it with their final farewell from power. Russia has a very, if we cant have it nobody can attitude towards power.

Truth be told America could absolutely DESTROY Russia in open conflict. I mean probably in a very short time. But there is no way to really do that without mutual global destruction happening.

AMERICANS SHARING THEIR LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCES AFTER USING CHINESE TRADITIONAL REMEDIES

Sir Whiskerton and the Great Hen Race: A Tale of Monkeys, Mischief, and Misadventures

Ah, dear reader, prepare yourself for a tale of unexpected windfalls, runaway monkeys, and one very confused flock of hens who found themselves thrust into the spotlight. Today’s story is one of chaos, creativity, and the importance of finding joy in life’s little absurdities. So, grab your sense of humor and a bag of popcorn (for snacking), as we dive into Sir Whiskerton and the Great Hen Race: A Tale of Monkeys, Mischief, and Misadventures.

The Farmer’s Windfall

It all began when the farmer received a tax refund check in the mail. At first, it seemed like a modest sum—enough to buy a new pair of overalls, perhaps, or a fresh bale of hay. But then, due to a computer error, the farmer received a second check. And a third. And a fourth. Before long, the farmer was sitting on a pile of money so large, even Porkchop the Pig was impressed.

“What in the name of cluck am I supposed to do with all this?” the farmer muttered, staring at the stack of checks.

“Cluck!” echoed Doris the Hen, who had been eavesdropping, as usual.

The Monkey Racing Track

In a moment of inspiration (or perhaps madness), the farmer decided to invest his newfound wealth in a monkey racing track. “Monkeys are the future of entertainment!” he declared, ignoring the skeptical looks from Sir Whiskerton and the other animals.

The farmer ordered a truckload of racing monkeys, each one trained to sprint, leap, and perform acrobatics on a custom-built track. But disaster struck when the truck carrying the monkeys had an accident near Bigcat’s farm. The monkeys, sensing their chance for freedom, escaped into the forest, leaving the farmer with an empty track and a very empty wallet.

The Great Hen Race

Undeterred, the farmer hatched a new plan. “If I can’t race monkeys,” he said, “I’ll race hens!”

The animals stared at him in disbelief. “Hens?” Sir Whiskerton said, raising an eyebrow. “Doris can barely walk in a straight line, let alone race.”

But the farmer was determined. He painted each hen a different color—Doris became “Red Rocket,” Harriet was “Blue Blaze,” and Lillian, ever the dramatic one, was dubbed “Purple Lightning.” The hens, confused but flattered by their new names, strutted onto the track, ready to race.

Chaos on the Track

The race began with great fanfare. The farmer blew a whistle, and the hens took off—sort of. Doris immediately veered off course, chasing a bug. Harriet and Lillian ran in circles, squawking loudly. Meanwhile, Rufus the Dog, who had been appointed the official “race announcer,” barked excitedly but provided no useful commentary.

“And they’re off!” Rufus howled. “Wait, no—Doris is eating something! Harriet is… spinning? And Lillian has fainted! This is the most exciting race I’ve ever seen!”

Sir Whiskerton watched from the sidelines, his tail twitching with amusement. “This,” he said, “is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever witnessed.”

“Witnessed!” echoed Ditto, who was busy practicing his echoing skills by repeating Sir Whiskerton’s every word.

Sir Whiskerton Saves the Day

As the chaos reached its peak, Sir Whiskerton decided it was time to intervene. “Enough!” he declared, leaping onto the track. “This race is over.”

The farmer, realizing the absurdity of the situation, burst out laughing. “You’re right, Sir Whiskerton,” he said, wiping tears from his eyes. “This was a terrible idea.”

“Terrible!” echoed Ditto, though he had no idea what it meant.

The Moral of the Story

As the animals gathered around, Sir Whiskerton took a moment to reflect. “The moral of the story,” he said, “is that life is full of unexpected twists and turns. Sometimes, things don’t go as planned—but that’s where the fun begins. Whether you’re racing monkeys, hens, or just chasing your own tail, the important thing is to laugh, learn, and enjoy the ride.”

“Ride!” echoed Ditto, proudly.

A Happy Ending

With the race abandoned and the hens returned to their normal, un-painted selves, the farm returned to its peaceful ways. The farmer, though poorer in wallet, was richer in spirit, having learned that money can’t buy happiness—but it can buy a very entertaining story.

As for Sir Whiskerton? He returned to his sunbeam, content in the knowledge that he had once again saved the day. And as he drifted off to sleep, he couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Doris the Hen, the “Red Rocket,” still chasing bugs in the barnyard.

And so, dear reader, we leave our heroes with the promise of new adventures, new challenges, and hopefully, no more monkey business. Until next time, may your days be filled with laughter, love, and just a little bit of feline genius.

The End.

“This is Sarah Chen, broadcasting from Seattle. If anyone can hear this, I’m at the Space Needle. I broadcast every day at sunrise. Please respond on any frequency.”

She waited, counting to one hundred as she always did, the familiar static crackling through her handheld radio. The morning fog pressed against the observation deck windows, obscuring her view of the city below. Not that there was much to see anymore – just empty streets gradually being reclaimed by nature, abandoned cars forming artificial reefs in a sea of wild grass and climbing vines.

The count reached one hundred. No response, as always.

Sarah switched off the radio and added another tally mark to her notebook. She’d started keeping count after the first month, when hope began to fade. Now the marks filled page after page, a growing testament to her solitude.

She hadn’t always chosen the Space Needle. In the beginning, she’d driven from station to station, broadcasting on every frequency she could access. She’d broken into radio stations, television studios, and military installations. She’d learned to operate equipment she’d never touched before, spending weeks studying manuals and practicing with different systems. But after months of silence, she’d settled on the Space Needle as her base. Its height gave her the best chance of reaching anyone who might be out there, and something about its iconic silhouette made her feel less alone.

“Time for breakfast,” she announced to no one in particular. Speaking aloud had become a habit, a way to keep herself tethered to sanity. Her voice echoed slightly in the empty observation deck, bouncing off the windows and returning to her like a faithful companion.

She unzipped her backpack and pulled out a can of peaches. Food wasn’t a problem yet – the city had enough non-perishables to last several lifetimes. She’d organized systematic raids of every grocery store and warehouse in her vicinity, carefully rotating stock to avoid spoilage. Sometimes she wondered if she was being too methodical about it. Who was she saving the food for?

As she ate, Sarah watched a family of deer pick their way through the street below, now visible as the morning fog began to lift. They moved confidently through the urban landscape, no longer startled by the remnants of human civilization. She’d named the mother deer Augusta, after her own mother. The fawns she called Thing One and Thing Two, a small homage to Dr. Seuss that made her smile.

“Good morning, Augusta,” she called through the glass. “Kids looking healthy today.”

The deer, of course, couldn’t hear her. But they were part of her daily routine now, like the broadcast and the tally marks. Routine was important. Routine kept the darkness at bay.

Sarah had been alone since The Silence began. She still wasn’t sure what had happened – there had been no war, no pandemic, no dramatic catastrophe. People had simply… vanished. She’d gone to bed one night after a normal day at her software engineering job, and when she’d woken up, everyone was gone. No bodies, no signs of struggle, just empty clothes lying in empty beds and cars stopped in the middle of streets.

The first week had been chaos. She’d run through the streets screaming for help, broken into homes looking for survivors, tried every phone number she knew. The internet had still worked for a few days, but no one was posting, no one was responding to messages. Then the power had started failing in sections of the city as automated systems reached their limits. Now only her solar panels and generators kept her small corner of the world humming with electricity.

She’d tried to leave Seattle once, about six months in. She’d loaded up a truck with supplies and started driving south, broadcasting as she went. But after reaching Portland and finding it just as empty, just as silent, she’d turned back. Seattle was home. If she was going to be alone, she wanted to be alone somewhere familiar.

The peaches were gone. Sarah carefully washed the can and added it to her recycling pile. She wasn’t sure why she still recycled – habit, maybe, or some deep-seated need to maintain order in her tiny sphere of influence. Or perhaps it was optimism – someone might return someday, and she wanted them to find a world that hadn’t completely fallen into chaos.

“Daily tasks,” she said aloud, consulting her notebook. “Check the generators. Water the garden. Repair the broken window in the north section. Library run for more engineering manuals.”

She’d been teaching herself everything she could think of – engineering, medicine, agriculture, radio operations, solar power systems. Knowledge was survival now. If something broke, she had to fix it. If she got sick, she had to treat herself. The library had become her university, and she was its only student.

Later, as she tended to her rooftop garden, Sarah found herself humming an old song her mother used to sing. The vegetables were coming in nicely – she’d finally figured out the right balance of nutrients and water after several failed attempts. The first year, she’d relied entirely on scavenged food, but now she was growing more and more of her own. Sometimes she grew far more than she could eat, unable to break the habit of planting for a family that no longer existed.

“Look at these tomatoes, Mom,” she said to the sky. “Finally got them right.”

Talking to her absent mother had become another habit. Sometimes she imagined whole conversations, complete with her mother’s practical advice and gentle teasing. Was this madness? She didn’t think so. Madness would be forgetting, pretending she hadn’t once been part of a world full of people. Remembering hurt, but it kept her human.

As the sun began to set, Sarah made her way back to the observation deck for her evening broadcast. Same message, same static, same silence. She made her tally mark – morning and evening, two broadcasts a day, every day.

But tonight, something was different. As she turned to leave, a flash of light caught her eye. Far in the distance, beyond the city limits, a pinpoint of brightness flickered in the gathering darkness. She grabbed her binoculars, hands shaking slightly as she focused them.

There, on a hill several miles away: a bonfire.

Sarah’s heart began to race. In three hundred and seven days, she’d never seen a fire she hadn’t set herself. It had to mean something. Someone had built it. Someone was out there.

She reached for her radio, then stopped. What if it wasn’t a person? What if it was something else? The world had become strange in its emptiness – she’d seen things sometimes, in the corners of her vision, that didn’t quite make sense. Or maybe she was finally cracking, seeing things she wanted to see.

But as she watched, the fire flickered in a deliberate pattern. Three short bursts, three long, three short.

SOS.

Sarah’s hands were steady now as she reached for her emergency pack – always prepared, always ready for this moment she’d started to believe would never come. She had a decision to make: stay in her safe routine, her carefully ordered world, or venture out into the darkness toward an uncertain signal.

She thought of her tally marks, her daily broadcasts, her conversations with absent people and silent deer. She thought of all the questions she’d stored up over the months, waiting for someone to ask them to.

“Well, Augusta,” she said to the empty observation deck, “watch my garden for me. I might be gone a few days.”

She shouldered her pack, checked her weapons, and headed for the emergency stairwell. As she began her descent, she felt something she hadn’t experienced in three hundred and seven days: hope.

Whether the signal led to salvation or disappointment, at least it was something new. At least it was a change. And maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t the last human after all.

Behind her, the Space Needle stood sentinel in the gathering dark, waiting to see if its lone occupant would return with company, or if it would remain a monument to solitude in a silent world.

Shorpy

‘Don’t want leftover chips’: China says NO to Nvidia’s less advanced H20 semiconductor

Nvidia’s H20 is technologically inferior to the Huawei Ascend 910C. China’s message to Nvidia and AMD is clear: Give us the best, or we don’t want it.

By The Week News Desk Updated: August 12, 2025 12:11 IST

Representative collage: US President Donald Trump (left), Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (centre), Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) [FILE] | AFP

In a major escalation of the US-China tech war, Beijing has reportedly pressured Chinese local companies to stop buying the H20 chip from tech giant Nvidia Corp. This move directly challenged the recent move from American President Donald Trump, putting chipmaker Nvidia in a tough spot.

According to a Bloomberg exclusive, which cited people familiar with the situation, the Chinese government have asked companies, especially state-owned ones, to avoid using Nvidia’s H20 artificial intelligence (AI) chips—which the chipmaker made particularly for the Chinese market. Beijing’s guidance on this was strong, especially for using these chips in any work related to government or national security.

This development would be a major setback for the world’s most valued listed firm, Nvidia, and came just a day after a Reuters report revealed the chipmaker’s controversial deal with Washington.

RELATED | ‘That was a big blow’: Trump says 50% US tariff on India

According to that report, Nvidia and its rival AMD agreed to give the US government 15 per cent of the money they make from selling these specific chips to China. The US government, under Donald Trump, had allowed the sales of AI chips to resume on this very condition, just months after banning more advanced chips from entering the Chinese market.

Now, it seems China doesn’t want these chips anyway. The Bloomberg report stated that Beijing has been pushing for self-reliance—their own version of ‘Atmanirbharta’—in technology, urging its firms to use chips made by Chinese companies like Huawei instead of American ones.

There were two main reasons for China’s pushback. One, Chinese officials were reportedly worried that the American chips could have hidden security risks, like location-tracking or a “remote switch” that could shut them down. Nvidia strongly denied these claims.

Two, Beijing has been planning to expand its own world-class semiconductor industry and reduce its dependence on Western technology. The government has reportedly been asking companies why they need to buy Nvidia’s chips when domestic options are available. Huawei Ascend 910C performs much better than the H20.

 

The H20 chip itself is a product of this tech war. After the US banned Nvidia from selling its most powerful AI chips to China, the company designed the H20 as a less powerful version specifically for the Chinese market to comply with US rules. While not as strong as top-tier models, it is still very useful for AI tasks, and major Chinese tech companies like Alibaba and Tencent were seen as key customers. But if you check benchmarks, the H20 chips were not that impressive, and matched with the capabilities of the Huawei ones.

This shocking move by China will now create a big problem for Nvidia. First, the US government wanted a cut of its sales. Now, its biggest potential customer, China, has told its firms not to buy their chips.

It shows how global tech companies—even the biggest chipmaker in the world—are not immune to Trump’s tariff war. It has essentially been caught in the middle of the political battle between the two global superpowers.

50 MINUTES of Women Who REGRET DIVORCE the SECOND They see his New Wife! | The Wall

How can Europe honestly view its lifestyle as better than that of the United States?

From the Pumpkin Patch to the Kitchen:
Favorite Recipes

I fell in love in Fairbanks, Alaska—the land of the midnight sun—with the sweetest girl in the valley. All five of our children were born there. We lived on a three-acre plot overlooking the Tanana Valley and the University of Alaska; a plot that backed up to old mining claims. With the kids, Merri Ann and I wandered those mining trails and explored old diggings. On our lot, where the slope banked into the summer sun, we cleared off the birch trees for a garden. We hauled in a truckload of peat and tilled it into the soil making it rich and thick. And then we read everything we could about gardening in the far north.

With banked beds, ground cover to capture the summer heat, and over-ambition, we were awash with summer produce. We had beans and peas and broccoli. On the deck in planter boxes, we grew tomatoes—ripe by the Fourth of July. Potatoes thrived. We built a room to store potatoes, squash, and canned goods. But we never grew pumpkins.

That didn’t mean that pumpkins didn’t thrive in the valley. Prize winners at the fair were over 50 pounds. But these were show pumpkins, not the sweet little meaty pumpkins that you want for pies. These we bought at the farmer’s market or at the store.

Kitchen tools, gourmet foods, baking mixes, and hard-to-find baking ingredients mentioned in this article are available at The Prepared Pantry.

by Dennis Weaver

In this article, I’ll tell you about pumpkins, how to choose them and puree them and I’ll share great pumpkin recipes with you.

All about Pumpkins

Pumpkins are versatile. You can bake a pumpkin, steam a pumpkin, sauté a pumpkin, make puree out of a pumpkin, and more. But where a pumpkin really comes into its own is in your kitchen. Pumpkins make favorite pies, moist cakes, interesting breads, and delightful cookies. The flavor is mild, maybe a little earthy. Typically, pumpkin is the canvas for an array of spices. When we think of pumpkin, we think of mixtures of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves found in pumpkin pie.

There are two types of pumpkins—the decorative pumpkins intended for jack-o-lanterns and sweet, pie, or eating pumpkins. The larger decorative pumpkins used for jack-o-lanterns tend to be watery and stringy and are not very good for baking. Pie pumpkins are much better—meatier, smoother, and sweeter.

When choosing pumpkins, select those that are firm and heavy for their size. Avoid those with soft spots or any signs of decay. Inspect carefully any areas that may be soiled with dirt from the field. The rind should be hard. Choose one that is small enough to use at one time since cut pumpkins will not keep as well.

In the right conditions, your pumpkins will keep for two or three months. Store them in a cool, dry location. Space them so that the air can circulate around them. Ideal temperatures are 50-55 degrees F.

Once you cut into a pumpkin, it should be refrigerated. Chunks can be kept in your crisper where the atmosphere is moist or in perforated plastic bags for a week or more.

For longer storage, cook your pumpkin, puree it, and freeze the puree. Properly frozen, your puree will keep in the freezer for six months. Raw pumpkin can also be frozen. Clean and peel the pumpkin. Cut the flesh into one-inch cubes. Place the cubes in freezer-type bags and freeze. Measure out what you need for your favorite recipes. Use within two months.

Pumpkin and Spices

Pumpkin is mild and it’s gently earthy flavor is often used as palette to deliver other flavors–most often, spices. The most common spices are cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Cinnamon is the mildest of the quartet and often hides behind the others. Yet, many times, I prefer to use cinnamon alone. A really good cinnamon melds perfectly with pumpkin.

Just as there is a stark difference between good cinnamon and cheap cinnamon, so is there a marked difference in types of cinnamon. There are three major types of cinnamon and I recommend that you keep all three in your cupboard:

Korintje Cassia Cinnamon This is the most popular cinnamon used in the United States. A good cassia is pleasant, not astringent, and you can dip your finger in it and taste it. If you have a good cinnamon, you can use much more than what the recipe calls for—two or three times as much.

Sri Lanka Cinnamon This is a very mild, sweet, woodsy cinnamon—a true cinnamon. It almost has a honey tone to it. It will get lost behind stronger spices like cloves or nutmeg but melds perfectly with earthy pumpkin.

Vietnamese Cinnamon This is an exciting cinnamon. It packs a punch and fills your kitchen with sweet aroma when baking. Vietnamese cinnamon has more volatile oils and has a tone associated with cinnamon oil more than the ground spice. I love this cinnamon in an apple pie. You don’t need cloves and nutmeg when you use this spice.

How to Puree Fresh Pumpkin

Can you use fresh pumpkin instead of canned?

Yes. We prefer fresh but we suspect that we’re biased. Quite frankly, in many recipes, we have a hard time telling the difference. And we often use commercially canned pumpkin for the convenience.

1. Cut a sugar or pie pumpkin in half. Remove the seeds.

2. Place the halves in a baking pan, flesh side down with 3/4-inch of water in the pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees or until the flesh is tender. (For small quantities, you can cook the pumpkin in the microwave.)

3. Let the pumpkin cool until you can handle it without burning. Scoop the flesh out of the pumpkin and place it in a blender, food mil, or food processor. Process until smooth. If you have a Victorio-type strainer, you can process the cooked pumpkin with the skin. The strainer will separate the skin from the pulp.

Often, especially from smaller or immature pumpkins, the puree will not be thick enough—a spoon should stand upright in the puree. To thicken, place the puree in a saucepan and cook, stirring often, until the puree becomes thicker.

The Recipes

Pumpkin and Corn Fritters

This is one of Merri Ann’s favorite pumpkin recipes. We’ve been making these fritters for a long time. These make wonderful breakfast fare but we’ve served them often on chilly fall evenings served alongside a soup or a salad. Mostly we have served them drizzled with maple syrup but they are also wonderful with cinnamon apple syrup, maple cream syrup, or cinnamon cream syrup.

You deep fry these pumpkin fritters just as you would French fries. The fritter batter mixes together quickly so this is a quick dish to put together for those evenings when you just don’t have a lot of time. It’s also very economical.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup milk
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups grated, raw pumpkin
• 1 cup frozen or drained canned corn kernels

Instructions

1. Mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Add the milk and eggs and stir until mixed. Add the pumpkin and corn kernels.
2. In a deep fryer or heavy pan, heat enough vegetable oil for deep frying. The oil should be very hot, 375 degrees.
3. Drop three or four large spoonsful of batter into the hot oil. Let them cook for three or four minutes, turning once, or until they just start to brown. Remove them to dry on paper towels
4. Serve immediately drizzled with maple syrup.

Pumpkin Pie Squares

When we were first married, Merri Ann started making Pumpkin Pie Squares—I think from an old Farmer’s Home Journal recipe. Over the years, we tweaked it a little here and there and adopted it to different size pans.

It’s like a pumpkin pie on a baking sheet with pecans added and has been a go-to recipe when we’ve needed to feed a crowd.

Except for Ben who doesn’t like nuts, our kids prefer this over pumpkin pie.

This recipe is designed for a small, a medium or a large batch. The chart below sets forth the ingredients for each. Use the ingredient amount in the first column for a small batch. Use an 8 x 8-inch baking pan for the small, an 8 1/2 x 13-inch pan for the medium, and a 10 x 15-inch pan for the large.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. For the crust, cut the butter into the sugar, oats, and flour until crumbly. Press the ingredients into an ungreased baking pan, across the bottom and up the sides. Bake the crust for 15 minutes.
3. For the topping, cut the butter into the nuts, flour, and brown sugar. Set aside.
4. For the filling, combine all ingredients in and whisk until smooth and all ingredients are evenly distributed. Pour into the baked crust. Bake for twenty minutes and remove from the oven. Immediately, spoon the topping over the filling and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or until a knife stuck in the center comes out almost clean.
5. Cool on a wire rack. Garnish with whipped cream.

Cinnamon Chip Pumpkin Snacking Cake

Pumpkin has a neutral, earthy flavor. Typically we rely on spices to deliver the flavor—most notably, cinnamon. I recent years, we’ve taken to adding cinnamon chips to our pumpkin recipes from pumpkin bread to cookies. The burst of cinnamon in every bight is delightful.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon maple flavoring
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup cinnamon chips
• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Water

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. If you are using a dark pan, preheat to 300 degrees F.
2. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice tighter in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream the shortening and sugars together. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each. Beat the mixture until light and fluffy.
4. Add the maple and pumpkin and combine.
5. Alternately add the flour in three additions and the milk in two, starting with the flour. (Adding the flour and milk in stages will better balance the batter.) Add the chips. Scrape the batter into a well-greased 8 1/2 x 13-inch pan.
6. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the cake tests done. Cool on a wire rack.
7. For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together. Add the powdered sugar and continue beating. Add the vanilla and lemon juice. Add just enough water to bring the frosting to a spreadable consistency.
8. Frost the cake after it has cooled.

Whom does Putin need more?

China is a major buyer of Russian Gas and Oil

China sells unlimited dual use goods in massive quantities with NO STRINGS ATTACHED and accepts payment in RMB and Rubles

China buys huge quantities of Pork, Wheat, Coal and Lumber from Russia

China sells unlimited quantities of refined rate earth materials to Russia with NO STRINGS ATTACHED

China has 287 Banks dedicated to accepting the Ruble payments and converting them into RMB, Dirhams, Brazilian Reals, Rand, HKD & Saudi Riyals

Ensuring that Russia can continue to thrive even if they don’t get connected to SWIFT and can trade with 124 Countries globally

China has a stable leadership with consistent foreign policy , many times for as long as 20–30 years at a time

Russia and China are too deeply well integrated now

Now let’s see the US :-

US wants Cheap Oil prices

US wants to compete with Russia in supplying Gas and Oil to countries at 14% to 24% higher prices

US used to sell a lot of high grade components to Russia but now Russia is developing most of these indigenously

Besides without Chinese Rare Earths , US Supply chains are decimated for 8–15 years minimum and so Russia won’t be getting advanced high grade components anyway until 2033 minimum

So US has NOTHING to offer to Russia because Russia has experienced a world without the US and has actually seen things improving significantly

---

All the US offers is “We won’t plan your dissolution and ultimate break up”

Even if Trump is sincere, that’s only till 19/1/2029 (If Trump doesn’t die by then)

In fact, if the Ukraine conflict drags on until 8/11/2026, the Congress composition could change and Trump could become impotent

So Russia has absolutely no reason to join the US and turn against China

China’s military has expelled the U.S. destroyer Higgins that illegally intruded into China’s territorial waters near Huangyan Dao on Wed.

He Tiecheng, spokesperson for the navy of the Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), said that the theater command organized forces to lawfully track, monitor, issue warnings, and expel the U.S. warship, which entered the territorial waters near Huangyan Dao without authorization from the Chinese government.

The U.S. actions severely violated China’s sovereignty and security, undermined peace and stability in the South China Sea, and contravened international law and the basic norms governing international relations, He said.

He said that naval forces of the Southern Theater Command remain on high alert at all times to resolutely defend national sovereignty and security as well as peace and stability in the region.

REALIZING that YOUR LIFE isn’t OVER, you’ll be SHOCKED by WHAT is HAPPENING THERE | Marie Atwater

https://youtu.be/R4W4o0VT9Do