Bongos were before my time by about ten years, yet they were still lying around. My buddy Jeff had a set of them (inherited from his older brother; who was off at school), and from time to time he would take them out. Six cross legged on the floor, and put a leather headband on and “play bongos”.
Silly actually.
But it was the time.
When I grew up, we wouldn’t do anything like this. Instead we would go to keg parties, also known as “Keggers” and drink, talk, socialize and smoke.
And that was the sign of that time.
Sometimes, perhaps I just spend my day musing about day dreams about much simpler times…
Today… the United States is bat shit crazy.
Heavy U.S. Naval Deployments Heading toward Venezuela
A major buildup of U.S. naval forces is underway outside Venezuela’s waters raising questions whether the Trump administration is preparing for a military confrontation with Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro’s government.
Ealy last week, news broke that up to three guided-missile destroyers would soon arrive in the region. The naval warships will target boats operated by drug cartels transporting fentanyl to the United States, officials said, but have not said how they will do so.
Sunday afternoon, we find out that also headed to the region is the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group — including the U.S.S. San Antonio, the U.S.S. Iwo Jima and the U.S.S. Fort Lauderdale, carrying 4,500 sailors — and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, with 2,200 Marines.
Those ships and the Marines departed Norfolk, Va., earlier this week but had to turn around to avoid Hurricane Erin. They are expected to head back out soon and are likely to arrive in the next several days.
Several P-8 surveillance planes and a submarine are also deploying to the region.
The U.S. is saying that Fentanyl ships from Venezuela into the US. The US also says that Venezuela has close relations with both Russia and Iran, and is constructing Iranian DRONE factories, inside Venezuela. Finally, the US says that Venezuela issues legitimate (but bogus) Passports to members of Hezballah.
Several months ago, intel circuits claimed the Russians were setting up facilities for long-range missiles to be in Venezuela, but under Russian control. I did not see any corroborating proof of those claims.
If those claims were correct, the US could be struck by Russian missiles fired from Venezuela a lot fast than those fired from Russia.
These are the kinds of claims that tell the average American, military action is coming – fast.
Kitchen Hints and Tips
Sandwiches
- When making sandwiches for brown bag lunches, pack the bread and the fillings separately. Putting them together at lunchtime will avoid soggy bread.
- French-toast your humdrum sandwiches by dipping the entire sandwich in a mixture of milk and egg. Fry it in butter or margarine until it’s golden-brown.
- Spread mustard or chili sauce on slices of cold meat, then place under broiler just before serving.
Russia has specifically indicated they will intervene militarily if the US attempts to seize the Panama Canal. How might this scenario play out, given China’s close military involvement with Panama as well, and Mexico’s clear commitment to Panama?
The Chinese have always been prepared for danger in times of peace.
The most amazing thing about Huawei’s CEO Ren Zhengfei is that he foresaw the US blockade very early, so he prepared a way to break the deadlock very early.
Similarly, for the risks of the Panama Canal and the dilemma of the Strait of Malacca, the Chinese began to lay out countermeasures many years ago.
Interestingly, despite Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s Canadian citizenship, three British royal medals, and anti-China and treasonous behavior since 2015, in Trump’s eyes, he is still a Chinese and is included in the menu. 🤣
In addition to being threatened by Trump, the deep reason for Li Ka-shing’s selling of the port is fierce competition and declining profits.
The Panama Canal itself has a declining volume every year. Li Ka-shing sold the port, and China did not say a word because this incident did not have much impact on China.
A severe drought that began last year has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes.
If you are interested, you can check how many ports China has quietly purchased in South America in recent years.
Apart from anything else, the closest to the Panama Canal is the Port of Chancay. China holds a 60% stake in Port of Chancay and has obtained 30 years of exclusive operating rights.
The United States has not yet controlled the Panama Canal. Even if the Panama Canal is controlled by the United States, it will not matter. China has already prepared a backup plan.
The key to success is planning, but the United States changes policies every day.
Americans are not capable of competing with the Chinese in strategy. A country with only 200 years of history is not capable of competing with a country with thousands of years of civilization.
Trump’s moves are all within the Chinese’s prediction, and China can introduce countermeasures at any time.
China Strikes Back: “We Are Ready for War!”
What can we expect from China’s 2025 “two sessions”?
From electric vehicles rolling off production lines to AI breakthroughs that are making waves globally, China isn’t just keeping up with the tech race—it’s setting the pace and leading the charge. The 2025 Two Sessions, China’s biggest political event of the year, is a great time to look back at what’s been achieved, adjust policies for the future, and figure out how to keep the momentum going in a world that’s watching closely—and perhaps sometimes with a side-eye.
A colleague of mine recently toured some of China’s top EV factories and said it was like stepping into the future. Packed with automation, digital tech, and green energy solutions, one of the factories in Guangzhou has over 80,000 square meters of solar panels powering 15% of the plant. Then there’s high-speed rail, which has completely changed how people travel in China. It’s fast, reliable, and super convenient—no long security lines or flight delays, just a smooth ride from one city to another. Whereas in the race for AI, companies like DeepSeek are developing cutting-edge apps that can compete with the best from Silicon Valley—and they’re doing it at a fraction of the cost. This isn’t just about catching up; it’s about leading the way.
Inside an automated textile factory in Qingdao.
China is proving it can innovate on a global scale, and it’s doing it fast.
This year’s Two Sessions come at a crucial time. China’s tech achievements are clear, but there’s still plenty of work to do. China’s ability to combine R&D, manufacturing, and supply chains is top-notch, but the focus now is on making sure these advancements benefit everyone, not just a few.
The Two Sessions aren’t just important for China—they matter to the whole world. As China keeps growing as a tech and economic powerhouse, its policy decisions have global effects. For people outside China, the event is a chance to get a peek into the country’s priorities. It’s an opportunity to understand how China plans to handle its internal challenges and its role in the global order. The fact that so many international media outlets are covering the event shows just how important it is.
Of course, China’s rise hasn’t been without challenges. Rather than embracing competition and innovation, some economies, realizing they’re falling behind, have resorted to trade wars, tariffs, and tech restrictions. These measures don’t foster progress—they create barriers that hold everyone back.
AI model DeepSeek stunned the world with its advanced capabilities and development costs far lower than its rivals.
The world needs to see China’s advancements as a chance to work together, not as a threat.
The U.S. approach to tariffs has been criticized by economists and businesses alike. They argue that tariffs hurt American consumers and mess up global supply chains. The U.S. and China have way more to gain from working together than from fighting. The focus should be on dialogue and finding ways to cooperate, not on zero-sum games.
Partnerships between Chinese and European automakers, for instance, could drive innovation and growth. Similarly, more collaboration between U.S. and Chinese tech companies could lead to breakthroughs in AI and renewable energy. The future of global trade and technology depends on our ability to work together.
The world is at a turning point, and the choices we make now will shape the future of technology, trade, and international relations. The way forward is through dialogue, collaboration, and a commitment to shared success. In a world that’s increasingly divided, China’s 2025 Two Sessions remind us that real progress isn’t just about what we achieve, but how we achieve it together.
UPDATED: National Guard troops have started to mobilize in 19 States.
Reports are coming in which indicate National Guard Troops are being mobilized in nineteen separate U.S. States.
As yet (8:10 PM EDT) there is no formal explanation as to why.
Some people are presuming this has to do with fighting crime in America’s largest cities. I’m not so certain. We would have had advance notice. We didn’t get any.
There are no Hurricanes, or massive storms. No flooding, wildfires, or earthquakes. Why do this on a Friday NIGHT?
It seems “something’s up.” Whatever it is, it’s huge.
More info as I get it.
Check back . . .
UPDATE 8:47 PM EDT —
I am now told this Order is for 1700 troops in nineteen states and has to do with using National Guard troops in support of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Raids against Illegal aliens.
The Order mobilizing these troops is said to be valid through November of this year. But again, this seems to be an odd – even absurd – explanation.
If 1700 troops are being mobilized in nineteen states, that’s 89 soldiers per state on average. Not even an extra 100 guys per state; which is almost nothing. What’s THAT gonna do?
No, this doesn’t make sense. There’s more to this. Digging further.
UPDATE 10:03 PM EDT —
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming -Status is effective from August through mid-November
Adventure Clothing
FBI raids John Bolton’s home
Hal Turner Nation August 22, 2025
FBI agents raided former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton’s DC-area home this morning in a high-profile national security probe. The raid began at 7:00 AM and is continuing as of the publication of this story.
Federal agents busted into Bolton’s house in Bethesda, Md., at 7 a.m. in an investigation ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel.
“NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission,” he said in a cryptic post to X shortly after the raid began.
How do billionaires spend their money?
Well… You can go on a cruise for 14 years, like Clara MacBeth !
Sit down because here comes a story!
In 1949, American millionaire Clara Macbeth decided to move to the most luxurious ship of the time, the English transatlantic Caronia, and stayed there for 14 years!
Clara MacBeth
During these 14 years, Clara lived in the same suite on that ocean liner, traveling non-stop (except when the ship was undergoing maintenance in shipyards), which earned her the reputation of being the most reclusive passenger a ship has ever had.
Born in 1870, Clara was the only child of James and Elizabeth MacBeth. Her father made his fortune by patenting a type of dynamite detonator, and also owned a large amount of real estate in upscale areas of New York, as well as shares in several companies. Her father died in 1929, and Clara inherited US$708,391 (equivalent to approximately US$15 million at today’s exchange rates). In 1933, her mother passed away, leaving her daughter US$708,391 (equivalent to almost US$17 million today) as an inheritance.
When she was young, Clara took a cruise with her parents around Asia between 1908 and 1909. Now alone, but a millionaire, she took another cruise around the world in 1935. But it was in 1949 that she decided to board the RMS Caronia , spending around US$396 per day and deciding to “live” there. It is estimated that, during these 14 years, she must have spent the equivalent of US$20 million, in current values, on the ship.
The RMS Caronia was a luxurious English ocean liner launched in 1947, with the mission of serving one of the most demanding routes at the time, between Europe and the United States. To give you an idea, the Caronia was the first ship to offer services and facilities that seem common when compared to today’s cruise ships, but for the time they were pure luxury: a permanent swimming pool, first-class accommodations, personalized service from a crew member for each passenger, waiter service, hot water on taps and private bathrooms in all cabins. The idea was to give passengers the feeling that they were in a “luxurious floating mansion”.
The RMS Caronia
Clara Macbeth rarely disembarked at stops and preferred to stay on the ship. It is estimated that she sailed the equivalent of twelve times around the world without leaving the Caronia, and logged more hours at sea than many of her own captains.
In the 1960s, with the popularization of jet planes, transatlantic ships lost their primacy in passenger transportation, causing the company that owned the transatlantic to go into crisis. Thus, in 1963, Clara had to disembark and went to live in her apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York. MacBeth died at the age of 99 in 1970. She left an estate worth US$11 million and donated, in her will, US$20,000 (equivalent to approximately US$160,000 today) to her faithful waiter at Caronia. It must have been the biggest tip in history…
The Devil You Know
Submitted into Contest #279 in response to: Write a story about someone confronting their worst nightmare.… view prompt
Scott Christenson
I often feared for my life, feared that I might wind up on the barbecue if they got hungry enough. It helped that I was the only snake catcher on Lamma. The locals were terrified of snakes. With the snakes’ natural predators wiped out, the venomous bamboo snake was a constant threat. My cat Thunder was amazing at spotting them from a distance, and I knew how to handle them.
The year after, the villagers hadn’t captured and murdered any swimmers from the mainland for months, and everything had gone quiet, when one day, a foreigner arrived on a sailboat. A British man who greeted the villagers cheerfully in Cantonese. The man grinned broadly, displayed his bare chest and back-free from any sign of infection. He said he was from Peng Chau, where a large community of uninfected people lived, and he was seeking a dentist.
We didn’t have a dentist, either. He then offered the village leader cans of corned beef, the one with the cow on it, said there was more. With the many tourist restaurants on Lamma Island, and tourism at a standstill, we had an almost unlimited supply of unutilized soy sauce, chicken powder, and black pepper. After a lengthy discourse, a trading route was formed.
The man on the sailboat left with his boxes of soy sauce, and that was the last I heard about him for a while.
A month later, he returned, and each month thereafter, we would trade cooking ingredients in exchange for canned food his people must have pillaged from a warehouse or cargo ship some place.
One summer morning, after checking my fishing nets, I returned home to another breakfast of green bananas. I was sick of them, but thankfully, there was no theft on Lamma, so at least I had something to eat.
Meow!
My cat, Thunder, stood outside the window, wanting to come in. The morning light showed him holding a small green snake in his mouth. I opened the window; he dropped the dead snake at my feet and brushed against my legs. Months ago, when the cat food ran out, I thought he’d run away, but he remained my loyal companion. He managed to get enough food from his solitary scavenging around the island. Under all that fur, I wondered if I would even know if he had the purple sores that were a sure sign of infection.
In the slow grind of the “diplomacy” of our local Chinese council, they eventually got around to asking the man on the sailboat about who lived on Peng Chau. Some of them had family members that lived on other islands. The man on the sailboat relayed the names from Peng Chau, and we provided the names of the people on Lamma. When the Peng Chau list trickled down to me, I saw her name. Rebecca Richardson. My heart skipped a beat.
She had lived in Hong Kong, and honestly I had stopped thinking about her a long ago. I used to look across the water for hours. Flickers of light appeared in a few high-rise apartment windows over there, and then nothing. Hong Kong was an island but no one had the foresight to cut the bridges and tunnels before the infected came across.
Looking back at the list of names, I saw they were mostly British. Surely I would be safer there, than being surrounded by villagers with bamboo spears with whom I could barely communicate.
Next month, we were going to send a representative to Peng Chau. I explained to the village leader that Rebecca, who lived there, was my girlfriend.
“Please, let me go!” I pleaded. I had seen him club people to pieces, and I knew it was a risk to push him too far.
He had a long chat with his daughter, who spoke some English, and then said, “I want you to listen carefully,” he said, his voice low and steady. “If you go, I can’t guarantee the safety of that cat of yours here.” He pointed toward Thunder.
In the early stages of the pandemic, I had seen worse things on the barbecue.
We made an agreement. The day the sailboat arrived, I strapped my carrying bags, and in an inner pouch, muffled by fabric, nestled Thunder. With the gentle winds, it took hours. When the boat approached Peng Chau, my heart raced. I couldn’t believe I was about to see Rebecca again.
When I finally spotted her, red hair, standing on the dock with a radiant smile, my breath caught in my throat. “I can’t believe you’re alive!” I said after I stepped off the boat, rushing toward her.
“It’s great to see you,” she beamed.
A crowd of men with British and Australian accents unloaded the sailboat, and it appeared that me and Rebecca were free to go off on a walk of our own. On Lamma, if a visitor wasn’t clubbed to death, they would be invited to an hours long banquet.
“I’m not the same person you knew before,” she said as soon as we were alone. I knew an announcement might be coming, but I wasn’t ready to hear it yet.
“Let’s go for a walk first before we catch up? I have something to show you.” I felt Thunder moving in my pack.
When we entered a secluded orchard, I said, “Wait a second.” I pulled Thunder out and set him down.
“Cute cat!” Rebecca squealed with delight. She reached down to pet him. As her hand approached, concern flashed in her eyes. “Is he infected?”
“No,” I assured her, noticing what a mess thunder was after being trapped in my backpack for hours.
Rebecca reached down to pet Thunder, and I felt her relax. Finally. Maybe everything was going to be ok. We could somehow, someway, return to our old relationship.
To celebrate the moment, I reached up and picked a low hanging mango from a fruit tree—
***
“—I think we have heard enough,” the judge interrupted, his voice slicing through the air.
“But it wasn’t my fault…” My heart thumped loudly in my ears, drowning out the murmuring of the crowd watching us in a makeshift courtroom on Peng Chau.
“Peng Chau follows British Law, and under British Law, ignorance of the law is no excuse,” he stated, his tone devoid of empathy. “Ignorantia juris non excusat, as it is known in Latin, A legal principle since Roman times. This special judiciary panel of Peng Chau finds you guilty of violating our communal food regulation, section 2.14. The bailiff will now carry out the proscribed punishment.”
From the side of the courtroom, four stocky men approached, carrying sharpened bamboo poles. Rebecca and Thunder were nowhere to be seen.
What’s the best way to start incorporating healthy habits?
4 small habits I used to lose 6kg fat in 6 weeks, stay lean & energetic
Most people give up before they see real results. It could be too hard, too much or too fast. What ever the habit is, there’s always a period of adaptation that is uncomfortable and painful. Starting the habit is easy, keeping them is hard. But if you have patience? You win.
#1: Replace your naughty foods with natural options.
When I started my weight loss journey, I stopped eating out. If I was hungry outside, I would get protein and vegetables only meals, and a light side of natural carbs. Sometimes there’s none of that available, so protein bars get the job done. You don’t need to settle for less food. It’s about picking better options. This works because the illusion of choice keep us committed.
#2: Less is more? Less is smart. Do less, just enough.
Since I was eating less, I trained less and focused on managing stress and recovery. In the past, I’d hammer myself with more weights trying to “stay in shape”. Not realising I was out of shape because stress holds on to weight. It also makes you weak & lethargic if there’s too much.
Consistency is easy when you have energy for it.
No point beating yourself up with “doing more” to satisfy your ego if you want to retain lean muscle.
#3: Snack on solid fruits & veggies.
Hunger is natural. Hunger burns calories (fat). When hunger pangs set in, I snack on solid fruits and dense vegetables like apples, carrots and celery. Pick your favourite and go to town with it. You can never eat too much veggies or fruits since they have a natural limit on your appetite.
Nutrients from this will keep you energetic and boost your recovery. Having more fibre in your diet will literally help you “lose” weight in the toilet.
(Extra brownie points if you meal prep)
#4: Don’t over complicate cardio.
For cardio, I didn’t like the treadmill much so I got my steps in nature instead. Walking in a park or forest trail will have you doing more steps because it’s fun, relaxing and engaging.
Again, don’t make it difficult for yourself. If you can only get cardio in the gym? Do 15 mins on the bike or elliptical machine. Put Netflix on, read an article, order your groceries.
It can be 5 or 15 minutes, just remember to increase it by 10–20% every 2–4 weeks.
One warning. Cardio only works for weight loss if you are eating less (calorie restriction). However, paired with the 3 habits above you’ll feel lighter, tighter and energetic.
The secret sauce & spice
To make this work—You’ll have to harness the power of patience. To keep these habits, you’ll need the momentum of consistency. Don’t be like “most people” riding on their motivation. Learn your limits through self-discipline to thrive!
Finding A Way: American People Want Better Homes.
When will China become the next superpower and replace America?
China will not be superpower in the sense that US thinks itself is superpower. It has no such aim.
China has no intention to dominant the world with air and sea powers and military bases. It is happy enough that its military is able to protect its own domain, and is confident it has enough power of reprisal to denounce the use of first strike.
China does not want the RMB to replace the US$ in international finance. It has no ambition for a RMB hegemony to replace the dollar hegemony. It is opposed to hegemony. China is a key country working with other countries in BRICS and outside BRICS, to build up the multi-currency system. There will be no dominant currency in the multi-currency system.
China will continue its economic growth to advance the welfare of its people, and work with other countries towards a shared future. The current Two Sessions underscores the theme that China will open up wider and wider.
China will continue its technology development no matter the sanctions and roadblocks put on its path. It will make technology accessible to developing countries towards the shared future.
DeepSeek is open-source and has “distilled” versions for those with limited computation power, cheap to train, and cheap to use and maintain.
Its green tech industries are expanding overseas. It is helping to build renewable power plants in developing countries. Low prices of solar panels make it more affordable for developing countries to transit to clean energy.
China will not be a bully in international relations. Sanctions have no part in its foreign policy. It treats every country with respect and as an equal, big or small, powerful or weak. It is striving with other countries to build a multi-polar world, a more democratic world away from big power politics and hegemony.
All these are happening and ongoing, regardless of whether the US wants to cling on to its belief of superpower, or to go along with the trend.
Sir Whiskerton and the Case of the Vanished Virtuoso: A Tale of Beatniks, Bongos, and Subterranean Swing
Ah, dear reader, prepare yourself for a tale of moonlit melodies, underground jazz, and one very determined feline who proved that even the most enigmatic mysteries can be solved with a little rhythm and a lot of charm. Today’s story is one of vanishing virtuosos, tap-dancing moles, and the power of music to bring unlikely friends together. So, grab your sense of adventure and a pair of bongos (just in case), as we dive into Sir Whiskerton and the Case of the Vanished Virtuoso: A Tale of Beatniks, Bongos, and Subterranean Swing.
The Disappearance
It was a moonlit evening when Jazzpurr the beatnik cat vanished mid-poem, leaving behind a trail of bongo drums, a half-eaten bag of catnip croquettes, and a haiku scrawled in mud on the barn door:
“Gone where the rhythm grows /
Beneath the earth, the cool bass blows /
Dig, cat, dig.”
Sir Whiskerton, lounging on his favorite sunbeam-turned-moonbeam, flicked his tail. “Ditto, my apprentice,” he said, his green eyes narrowing in curiosity, “we have a mystery.”
“Mystery!” echoed Ditto, bouncing after him. “Apprentice!”
The Investigation
Sir Whiskerton began his investigation by examining the clues left behind. Clue #1: A beret snagged on a fencepost near the compost pile. Clue #2: A chorus of moles humming “Take Five” in the carrot patch. Clue #3: A tunnel hidden beneath a loose floorboard in the barn, lined with jazz records and glitter.
“Ah, Ditto,” Sir Whiskerton mused, “Jazzpurr hasn’t been kidnapped—he’s joined something. But what?”
“What!” echoed Ditto, who was now juggling three acorns.
The “Aha!” Moment
After interrogating a jittery Leonardo the Bullfrog (“I swear, I just frogsplain the lyrics!”), Sir Whiskerton deduced the truth: Jazzpurr had discovered The Subterranean Jazz Den, a clandestine club run by moles in zoot suits. “They’ve been hosting underground gigs for years,” the detective purred. “But why hide it?”
“Hide it!” echoed Ditto, who was now wearing Jazzpurr’s beret.
The Hurdle
The entrance to the Den was booby-trapped with squeaky floorboards, and the moles—led by a bespectacled, tap-dancing mole named Groove—refused to let “surface dwellers” crash their jam session. “No cats allowed!” Groove chirped, brandishing a tiny trumpet. “We’ve got a strict no-whisker policy!”
“Policy!” echoed Ditto, who was now tapping his foot to an imaginary beat.
Overcoming the Hurdle
Sir Whiskerton, ever the diplomat, proposed a deal: “Let us join your concert, and I’ll teach you to poach worms without alerting the farmer.” He also promised to keep the Den a secret—if they returned Jazzpurr.
Groove’s eyes lit up. “Deal! But only if you cats can… swing.”
“Swing!” echoed Ditto, who was now spinning in circles.
The Resolution
Jazzpurr was found sipping “moonlight mojitos” (mint-infused pond water) and composing free verse with a mole named Thelonious. “This place digs my vibe, man!” he said, adjusting his beret.
Sir Whiskerton, with Ditto on bongos, joined the moles for a barn-shaking rendition of “Cool Cat Blues.” Even Doris the Hen clucked along, mistaking the saxophone for a “very loud rooster.”
The Conclusion
At dawn, Jazzpurr returned home, but not before promising to host weekly “surface jam sessions.” The moles, now sporting tiny monocles, became farm celebrities.
As the sun rose, Sir Whiskerton purred, “Art isn’t just for galleries or barns—it’s wherever the beat takes you.”
“Takes you!” echoed Ditto, proudly.
The Moral of the Story
As the animals celebrated their newfound friendship with the moles, Sir Whiskerton took a moment to reflect. “The moral of the story,” he said, “is that art inspires adventure—and sometimes, the wildest mysteries lead to the grooviest friendships. So, when life gives you bongos, make jazz.”
“Jazz!” echoed Ditto, who was now wearing a tiny zoot suit.
A Happy Ending
With the mystery solved and the farm alive with the sound of music, the animals returned to their peaceful routines. Jazzpurr, though still a beatnik at heart, became a beloved member of the farm’s musical community, hosting jam sessions that brought everyone together.
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 Groove, the tap-dancing mole, leading his band in a swinging rendition of “Mole-a-Lujah.”
And so, dear reader, we leave our heroes with the promise of new adventures, new challenges, and hopefully, no more vanishing virtuosos. Until next time, may your days be filled with laughter, love, and just a little bit of feline genius.
The End.
(…until the next case.)
What eventually convinced you to leave the United States?
I have lived in the US for the past 11 years, but recently my wife and I decided that we cannot tolerate the psychological and spiritual harm caused by living in this environment any more, so we are leaving the US within the next month. I don’t know where we’ll move to next, but it will be some place which is not the US.
The primary reason for us wanting to leave is that we do not like the way US society is set up, what it rewards, and the values which such a system cultivates. There is a sense of fear, uncertainty, loneliness and isolation everywhere in the US across all social strata. There are weak social bonds, so making money is the only way that people can get any sort of psychological safety, and this is a disaster for people’s mental health and sense of dignity. I find it appalling how money is at the forefront of nearly every American’s thoughts, even above more important concerns such as self actualization, personal growth, and the joy of doing something meaningful. From my observations, this obsession with money is true for people at all levels of society, from billionaire CEOs to fast food workers. I find such people dull and painful to interact with, because their obsession with money makes them blind to all the other countless factors involved with being human. It’s like trying to discuss a tree with someone who only sees one leaf and who obsessively talks only about that leaf.
The US rewards very few fields, and almost all of these fields are traditionally masculine fields such as finance, law, engineering, and a handful of others, while there are zero incentives to help any feminine fields to flourish. This forces women into jobs that they are temperamentally less suitable for, which ruins their morale, saps their humanity, and contributes to the women raising emotionally unhealthy kids, who then continue this senseless cycle of existential unhappiness. The arts and humanities are derided by Americans, and then they wonder why they are so unhappy and why society is messed up… A healthy community is only possible when the masculine and feminine sides are both nourished. But the US is founded on masculine brutishness, such as the conquest of native Americans, slavery, overwhelming preference for finance, technology, and the military over art and literature.
I’d rather be poor in a place with happy and content people who are doing what they need to do to advance in their soul’s journey without having to give up their dignity to survive. No, making money is no one’s soul goal, and is often a distraction from what really matters. Money is meant to be a tool to show gratitude for someone else’s effort in helping you, and not a measure of one’s self-esteem and self respect. But the US has this backwards, and it creates a spiritually sick society which will poison everyone who spends time here. A place with people who are content, secure, and doing something meaningful has an invigorating energy to it, which shows itself in the energy in public spaces, how people interact with one another, and what fields receive support and which are left to fend for themselves. All that I need is food, clothing, shelter, and a community of healthy and happy individuals around me.
In a healthy society, the focus should be on enabling each individual to thrive rather than maximizing the GDP. But the concern for the GDP of the US overrides everything else, and such narrow-mindedness causes irreparable harm to the collective psyche, which will take generations of suffering to undo.
I am grateful for all the opportunities and training that the US offered me at a critical time in my life, but now I feel that I have learned all I needed from the US, and staying here any longer will only make me sicker for no benefit.
Man Went Viral For The INSANITY Of American Healthcare SCAM
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Ø Never disclose, store or write down your user ID, password or PIN.
Ø Remember, Bank never asks for your user ID/passwords/Card No/PIN/Passwords/CVV.
Ø Disable the ‘Auto Save’ or ‘Remember’ function in your device to avoid storing user IDs and passwords.
Internet Security:
Ø Always look for “https” in the address bar of our banking site.
Ø Do not perform online banking transactions at public places using public / open Wi-Fi networks.
Ø Always logout and close the browser when you are done with your work.
UPI Security:
Ø Keep your mobile PIN and UPI PIN different and random.
Ø Do not respond to any unknown UPI requests.
Ø Report suspicious requests.
Ø Always remember that a PIN is needed only for transferring amounts, not for receiving.
Ø Instantly disable UPI service on your account if any transaction has been executed, though not initiated by you.
Debit/Credit Card Security:
Ø Beware of your surroundings while performing ATM transactions through ATM machines or POS devices. Cover the keypad while entering the PIN.
Ø Always verify the authenticity of e-commerce websites before performing the transactions.
Ø Manage your debit card transactions through Online Banking. Set a limit for card transactions at e-commerce platforms, POS and ATM both for domestic and international transactions.
Mobile Banking Security:
Ø Strong passwords/Biometric permission should be enabled on your phone and tablets.
Ø Do not share your mobile PIN with anyone. Use biometric authentication wherever feasible.
Ø Do not download any unknown app suggested by strangers over SMS or WhatsApp.
Ø Applications should be downloaded only through official stores i.e. Play Store or App store.
Ø Regularly monitor the permissions of critical apps installed in your mobile and keep track of unnecessary and unused apps.
Ø Avoid connecting phones to public wireless networks.
Social Media Security:
Ø Confirm the identity of the person you are interacting with.
Ø Do not share your personal/financial information on any social media platform.
Ø Do not discuss confidential information in public places.
You can access this link Cyber Security – Personal Banking to keep yourself informed on various tactics fraudsters are using and how to safeguard yourself against these frauds.
Those Without Shadows
Submitted into Contest #279 in response to: Write a story about someone confronting their worst nightmare.… view prompt
George Georgerfrost@gmail.com
All you will know for sure is, this place does not have a name and from all that I have heard, it probably doesn’t deserve one. And in this empty place, you’ll feel as though you’ve always been here.
“Donald.” I hear my wife’s voice call to me.
My dream evaporates as my eyes flutter open. I am glad to be back from that place that has haunted all of my dreams.
I have slept through my alarm again.
“You’ve overslept.” Grace gives me a gentle shake.
“Damn.” I groan thinking that I have to get moving. We have a staff meeting in an hour.
“Got your coffee.” She opens the curtains, letting the sun scream into the room.
“You’re the best.” I kiss her on the cheek.
“Better get into the shower.” She smiles. I did not have time to tell her of my recurring bizarre dream. I’ve told about it before and she thought it was cute. I didn’t think it was cute, because it seemed so real.
After taking my shower and having a sip or two of coffee, I completely forgot about my nightmare. I look in the mirror, with the light on, I can see my shadow clearly. I do not know why this nightmare bothers me since I hardly ever notice my shadow as it is.
“C’mon Donald. You’re gonna be late.” Grace is knocking on the door.
“I’m almost ready.” I respond as I finish shaving.
I manage to get to the office just as the staff meeting is starting. Some of my coworkers give me an expression of disparagement since I have a reputation of showing up late.
Mr. Ross, the section supervisor, went over the agenda as I sat there looking out the window through most of the meeting.
“I want to warn you to be careful if you are missing your shadows.” He concluded the meeting.
Was I hearing things? Did he really say that or was I daydreaming and let my nightmare take control?
Walking out of the conference room, I turned to Jordan Wilks who wandered back to her desk.
“Jordan, why did Mr. Ross say to be careful if you missed your shadows as we were leaving?” I asked her as she began to click away at her computer.
“I wasn’t really paying attention.” She shrugged.
“Oh, okay.” I nodded as I walked to my desk.
The sun was streaming in the windows. There were a thousand shadows everywhere. Shadows were everywhere. Normally I would not notice this unremarkable detail, but I was now suddenly aware of the dark spaces we left behind us.
“Donald, glad you could make the meeting.” Mr. Ross leaned on the outside wall of my cubicle. He was being sarcastic of course, but I felt I deserved it.
“Sir, did you say ‘I want to warn you to be careful if you are missing your shadows?’” I unexpectedly remembered what he said verbatim.
“Are you being careful?” His smirk unnerved me. Sure, as a supervisor he was a pain in the keister, but he usually made sense.
“If I could.” I stumbled for a moment, “What did you mean by that?”
For a moment he looked befuddled, but regaining his composure, he nodded, “Losing a shadow can be a traumatic thing.”
“How so?” I swallowed hard.
“You’re a bright guy, you figure it out.” He chuckled and walked into his office.
By quitting time, I had completely forgotten the exchange I had with Mr. Ross after the meeting. I pressed the button for the elevator. The door whooshed open and I got into the elevator car. There was only one other person in there when I got on. He was facing away from me, but then he turned and my blood ran cold.
He had no face.
My eyes were wide and my mouth agape.
From a transmitter device, he spoke, “Good afternoon Mr. Harper.”
“Who…who…are you?”
“I am an escaped shadow.”
“What are you doing here?” My voice immediately went hoarse.
“Reminding you that you are one of us.” His transmitter buzzed and then he continued, “You will lose your shadow shortly and with it your soul.”
“Why…are you doing this to me?” I mashed myself against the opposite wall.
“There are those without shadows.” He explained, “Your nightmares as you call them are a forewarning of what is to come.”
“I don’t understand.” I gasped.
“There is no need for you to understand.” His coat sleeve rose as if to point a finger at me, but the sleeve was empty. The elevator door opened and some people entered, but the faceless man was no longer there.
I managed to exit the elevator before the door closed, but I had been shaken to the core.
Was I about to be punished for some misdeed I had done in the past? I never thought about my shadow until today. The nightmare came regularly, but it was easy to discard and a relief to say the least.
“Are you all right?” Grace asks as I have eaten dinner and was watching television without saying a single word.
“I had a pretty rough day.” I admit.
“Want to tell me about it?” She asks, leaning toward me on the couch.
“I don’t know how to explain it.” I shake my head slowly.
“Do your best. I’m here to support you.”
“You always have.” I say in a whisper as I take her hand into mine.
“I hate seeing you like this.” She says gently, “I know that the job can be a pain-”
“It’s not the job.” I exhale.
“Then what is it?”
I exhale a little more forcefully. I inhale as if this will bring me courage, “I have this nightmare…”
“I know something is wrong the way you thrash about, waking me up.” She tilts her head.
“I dream that I am in this strange place where people are walking, but none of them have any shadows.” I close my eyes as if the nightmare his hiding in the darkness.
“Sounds pretty upsetting.”
“It is.” I acknowledged. “It feels like this nightmare is trying to take over my life.”
Prophetic words to say the least. That evening as I fell asleep watching television, the faceless man woke me with a start.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. I could feel myself tremble underneath my robe.
“I came to check on you.”
“What for? Do I need to be checked on?” I said with a bit of an edge to my inquiry.
“Most certainly.” He laughed, but then there was static in his transmitter.
“I don’t understand why you are hounding me.” I turn away from my uninvited guest.
“It should be clear.” More static, “I am here to make you one of us.”
“Why?” I feel my energy drain at that moment.
“Because you have signed a contract.” He holds out a piece of paper even though he does not have hands.
“I never signed anything for you.” I huffed.
“Is that your signature at the bottom?”
I lean in to take a closer look. It is my signature, but I know I have never seen this document before. “It’s a forgery.”
“I know a lot of my clients would claim that to be the case, however-” There is a dramatic pause before he continues, “I can have this brought to court to prove its authenticity.”
“What court?” I definitely reply.
“A much higher court than one of yours.”
“My chances would be about zero, right?” I shake my head.
“No, no, we would accommodate your legal needs.”
With that final statement, he disappears into thin air.
I close my eyes.
I see the sun high in the azure blue sky. I see a line of people walking along the wall. These people have no shadows. Watching from my vantage point, I can see they all carry an expression of hopelessness.
“Young man.” I hear one of them call out and it takes me a moment before I realize he is talking to me.
“Yes? What can I do for you?” I ask him.
“I am Absolm.” He says.
“I am Donald Harper.” I reply.
“Down here we only need one name.” He tells me.
“How come?”
“Why would you need another name when you have come to this godforsaken place?” He shakes his head. “No one cares about your surname.”
“What?”
“When they take your shadow away, they also take your surname as well.”
“How come?”
“They don’t tell ya. It’s just part of the rules of this dreadful place.” Absolm begins his journey along the wall.
I see no guards or security to watch over them. I wonder why they don’t try to scale the walls. The walls are over a hundred feet, but if no one is watching, why wouldn’t they at least try it?
“Who were you talking to last night?” Grace asks me when I get out of the shower.
“No one.” I answer.
“I heard you talking to someone.” She looked me in the eye.
“I fell asleep with the television on.”
“Nonsense, I turned it off when I went to bed.”
I knew that. When I was talking with the faceless man, the television was not turned on.
“I was having one of my nightmares again.” I added quickly.
“I think you need to talk to someone about these nightmares.” She suggested.
At the office I asked one of my trusted coworkers, Troy Bishop who he might recommend. Troy was diagnosed with PTSD when he was in Iraq. While he chose to bypass the VA in favor of a private counselor, he knew a lot about some of the local psychiatrists. He recommended Dr. Weston who had his office a few blocks from ours.
I went to schedule an appointment at lunch. Instead, Dr. Weston told me that he wanted to do a preliminary assessment right then.
“So you are Donald Harper?” He looked over the form I filled out in the waiting room.
“Correct.”
“No history of military service?” He raised an eyebrow.
“No sir.” I shook my head.
“But you are having these awful nightmares?”
“I have these nightmares and a faceless man who has threatened to take me into my nightmare.” I could not believe I was saying this. I felt they were going to lock me up for such a crazy statement.
“Faceless man? How often does he visit you?”
“He just started about two weeks ago.” I answered, surprised that he was calling for security.
“And where is this place in your nightmares?” He asks as he starts to scribble some notes on a legal pad.
“The place has no name, but the people there are without shadows.”
“Without shadows?” He wrinkles his forehead without much hair.
“Yes, they walk around without having shadows even though the sun is out.” My throat is dry, “I’ve been told-”
“By who?”
“I’ve had conversations with some of those without shadows.” My mouth feels dry like a desert. I can feel the grit on my tongue. “They say that when they lost their shadows, they also forfeited their souls.”
“Really?” He leaned forward. I could not believe that his facial expression was that of concern, because as the words left my mouth, I felt as if I was a certifiable lunatic. “Normally I would diagnose this as a psychosis, but under the circumstances, I have some first hand knowledge of what you’re talking about.”
“What do you mean, Dr. Weston?” I was dumbfounded by his statement.
“You see, my son, Gregory, was contacted by a faceless man. He told me of this place you have described.” He paused and put his head in his hands before continuing, “Three days he disappeared without a trace. I contacted the police, but so far I have heard nothing. Now you are telling me what I thought was a nightmare may be more than that. I would give anything to find my son. Anything.”
“I don’t want to go there. There seems to be more suffering than I can take.” I feel tears pushing on the sides of my eyes.
“You tell those monsters to take me instead.” His face became frozen in an expression of anger.
“I will let them know.” I rose to my feet. “Will there be anything else?”
He closed his eyes and shook his head.
“I am here again.” The faceless man chirped over his transmitter.
“Why are you here?” I asked knowing full well what his answer would be.
“I am here to take you. Your time has come.”
“What if I tell you someone else wants to go instead of me?”
“That would not be acceptable.” His transmitter squeaked.
“Why not?”
“Because you have been identified as someone who must go to the place of those without souls…I mean shadows. You have not earned the privilege of making a deal.” His transmitter spoke in a heavy purposely slower cadence. “You have been found to be negligent of your duty toward a loved one.”
Loved one? What was he talking about?
“Your brother and you went for a hike through the woods when you came upon some ice. Instead of trying to get around it, you both walked over the ice. It crackled and broke, because he was heavier than you and he went into the icy water.”
How could he know about this? I never told anyone.
“You did not tell anyone until it was too late.”
“I was scared.” I began to shake.
“You could have saved him. He was just a boy.”
“So was I.” I could feel the tears roll down my cheeks.
“Never once did you say you were sorry.”
“I wanted to forget it. I wanted to bury-” I stopped, my mouth felt as if it was frozen in terror.
“You have been reprimanded to spend eternity without your shadow. Without your soul.”
“Can you tell me where he is, my brother?” I asked.
“No, I cannot.”
“I just want to tell him how sorry I was.” I fell to my knees wiping the tears from my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt.
“It is time, Donald Harper.” The faceless man evaporated in a swirling vortex which swallowed me whole. I felt myself being lifted in the vortex that was in total darkness. In the darkness, I felt my shadow being ripped away from me, but I knew there was more being extracted in that moment.
There was a whirling and then a hard landing in this place with no name. The sun was searing down, but when I looked, I saw there was no shadow following me as I joined the others in their search for a way out even though I was well aware I would never find it.
Kitchen Hints and Tips
Vegetables
- Marinate carrot strips, drained, sliced beets (plus onions, if desired), cauliflower florets, or broccoli florets in the liquid from a jar of sweet pickles. Put the lid back on and refrigerate for two or three days to allow the flavor to develop.
- To keep boiled vegetables bright-colored, add a few drops of olive oil to the water.
- To keep vegetables from discoloring after they are peeled, cut the pieces into a bowl of salted water (about 1 tablespoon to a quart of water). This works well with potatoes and other produce.
- To wash greens, fill sink with water. Cut off and discard stem ends. Add trimmed greens to water, gently submerging them once or twice. Let stand in water a few minutes. With your hands, lift out washed greens; do not disturb sand that has accumulated on bottom. Place washed greens in a large colander to drain. Before cooking, rinse drained greens under running water two or three times.
- Add a pinch of sugar when cooking vegetables. Sugar acts as a marvelous flavor enhancer. There is never enough sugar to make the vegetables taste sweet.
- Use leftover vegetables to make into patties. Mash vegetables together, add parsley, butter and your favorite seasonings, then fry.
- To restore fresh flavor to frozen vegetables, pour boiling water over them, rinsing away all traces of the frozen water.
- Cook vegetables in the bottom of a double boiler while you make the cream sauce for them in the upper pan. This saves fuel and energy.
- Onions, broccoli and Brussels sprouts will cook faster if you make an X-shaped cut at the base of the vegetable.
- By lining the crisper section of your refrigerator with newspaper and wrapping vegetables with it, moisture will be absorbed and your vegetables will stay fresh longer.
- Lettuce and celery will keep longer if stored in the refrigerator in paper bags instead of cellophane. Don’t remove the outside leaves until ready to use.
- To prepare frozen vegetables for a casserole, cook them right in the box. Remove outer wrapping first, then pierce box with a fork. Place in the microwave and cook, following microwave directions on package. Let stand a few minutes. Gently squeeze package to get rid of excess steam before opening.
- If fresh vegetables are wilted or blemished, pick off the brown edges. Sprinkle with cool water, wrap in a towel, and refrigerate for an hour or so.
- Cook in vegetable, beef, or chicken broth for a nice flavor.
- Put vegetables in water after the water boils — not before — to be sure to preserve the vegetables’ vitamins.
- Line the bottom of the vegetable compartment with paper toweling. This absorbs the excess moisture and keeps all vegetables and fruits fresher for a longer period of time.
- Use nylon net to scrub vegetables at the kitchen sink. It cleans them without rubbing off the skin, where the good nutrients are.
Artichokes
- Don’t cook them in aluminum or iron pots as they will turn the pots gray.
- To store, don’t wash them when you get them home. Just drizzle with a few drops of water, then seal in airtight plastic bags. Refrigerate for up to two weeks.
- Before cooking, let them stand for 1 hour in a large pot of cold water to which you’ve added 1 tablespoon vinegar for every quart of water. This helps prevent discoloration, and the flesh will be more succulent after cooking.
- To prevent discoloring, stand artichokes in cold water with a tablespoon of vinegar for an hour before cooking.
- Before cooking artichokes, let them stand for 1 hour in a large pot of cold water to which you’ve added 1 tablespoon vinegar for every quart of water. This helps prevent discoloration, and the flesh will be more succulent after cooking.
Asparagus
- To make thick asparagus stalks tender, peel the lower parts up to the tender part with a potato peeler.
- Tie fresh asparagus with string before cooking. This way you can remove the spears easily, without breaking them, after they’re cooked.
- Open a can of asparagus from the bottom so you can pull out the spears without breaking the tips.
- If you bend an asparagus stalk, it will snap at the point where it becomes tender.
- If you peel stalks with a vegetable peeler before you snap them, you’ll have less waste and more of the asparagus spear to eat.
- If asparagus becomes wilted, stand it vertically in a pan or jar in about 2 inches of ice water. Cover with a plastic bag and fasten to the jar with a rubber band. Put in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours before cooking.
Bean Sprouts
- Keep them white and crisp by storing them in a bowl of water in the refrigerator.
Beans
- Do not add salt when cooking dried beans. The salt toughens beans and prolongs cooking.
Beets
- To prevent the beets from bleeding while cooking, do not cut the stems of beets too close. Leave about one to two inches of stem and keep the root intact. Put about 2 tablespoons of vinegar in the cooking water, and peel the beets after they are cooked.
- Instead of boiling beets, bake them like potatoes. They have a lovely flavor.
- To keep the color in your beets when boiling them, add a little lemon juice.
Bell Peppers
- To keep stuffed bell peppers from collapsing, bake them in greased muffin tins.
- To peel peppers, put them under a preheated broiler for just a few minutes. Then drop them immediately into a paper bag. Close the bag tightly. The steam from the hot peppers will loosen the skins so they can be slipped off.
- Green peppers don’t last long in the refrigerator. A good way to get them to last as long as possible is to wash them and hollow out their insides. Then cut them into whatever sizes you want. Dry them with paper toweling before putting them into a dry plastic bag, then freeze them. When you need green peppers, you’ll have them still fresh.
Broccoli
- Stems can be cooked in the same length of time as the florets if you make “X” incisions from top to bottom through stems.
Cabbage
- To keep red cabbage red, cook the cabbage uncovered and add a little lemon juice, vinegar or 1/4 cup wine to the water.
- Insert wooden picks through cabbage wedges to hold leaves together while cooking.
- To absorb odors while cooking, place a small cup of vinegar on the stove.
- To soften cabbage leaves before making stuffed cabbage rolls, remove the core from a large head of cabbage and place it in a pan of hot water. Heat the water to not-quite-boiling. Remove the cabbage and carefully peel off the outer leaves that have softened. Put the head back in the water, bring the water back to a simmer and repeat until you have enough cabbage leaves.
Carrots
- To make perfect carrot curls, use a vegetable peeler to cut long strips of carrot. Roll them up, and fit each strip into an ice cube tray compartment. Fill the tray with cold water, and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use, then drain.
- Do not store unwrapped carrots in the same storage container as ripe fresh apples. The apples give off ethylene gas that causes a “ripening” process in all fruits and some vegetables. This can result in the carrots acquiring a bitter taste.
- Be sure to remove carrot tops before storing them in the refrigerator. The tops drain the carrots of moisture and cause them to become dry and limp.
Cauliflower
- To keep it bright white, add a little milk during boiling.
- To keep it snowy white, soak for 30 minutes in cold salt water before cooking it.
- Cauliflower will stay white if you cook it with a strip of lemon peel.
- Place a piece of stale bread on top of cooking cauliflower, and the house will stay odor-free.
- Cauliflower cooked in an aluminum pot will darken. Use a different kind of pot and add a little sugar, lemon peel or vinegar to the cooking water to keep cauliflower white.
Celery
- To make celery curls, cut the stalk into 3 or 4 inch pieces. Slice each piece into narrow strips leaving the end uncut to hold them together. Place them in ice water for 30 minutes until they curl.
- To give stew great color and flavor, add a few teaspoons of soy sauce.
- Store in the refrigerator in paper bags instead of plastic ones. It will keep longer.
- Celery will crisp up fast if you place it in a pan of cold water and add a few raw sliced potatoes.
- Strip the leaves from celery, wash them and dehydrate them on a cookie sheet in a slow oven. The dried leaves are then crumbled and stored in airtight jars. These flakes make a nutritious addition to soups, stews, and broths of all kinds.
- Celery leaves should be dried and saved for soup, stew or salad dressing. Rub the dried leaves through a sieve to powder them.
Chiles
- A good way to keep whole chiles fresh is to put them in an airtight bag and freeze them. Then you simply remove them as you need them. When frozen, they are also much easier to slice (particularly the small Asian chiles). The best part though is that you have less of a problem with getting the ‘juice’ (capsaicin) on your fingers which can burn like heck if you rub your eyes!
Cucumbers
- Put attractive scalloped edges on cucumber slices, by running the tines of a fork lengthwise over the peeled or unpeeled cucumber, then slice.
Eggplant
- Drop eggplant into salted water as you peel it to remove any bitterness. Dry it with a paper towel before cooking.
- The fewer seeds in an eggplant, the less bitter it tastes. Check the bottom (the end opposite the stem). There will be a grayish “scar” about the size of a dime. If the “scar” is oval or oblong, the eggplant will be loaded with seeds. If the “scar” is round, it will have far fewer seeds.
Garlic
- Chop garlic in a small amount of salt to keep pieces from sticking to the knife or chopping board.
- Before chopping garlic, sprinkle the cloves with salt. The salt will pick up the juice that would otherwise be left on the chopping board.
- Garlic peel will slip off easily if you place the clove on a cutting board, and press down on it hard with the flat edge of a wide-blade knife. The skin will almost fall off by itself.
- Garlic cloves can be kept in the freezer. When ready to use, peel and chop before thawing.
- Garlic cloves will never dry out if you store them in a bottle of cooking oil. After the garlic is used up, you can use the garlic-flavored oil for salad dressing or stir-fry.
Green Beans
- Sauté green beans in a small amount of oil before you add liquid to them. The flavor is improved enormously, and you’ll cut down cooking time.
Potatoes
- Before microwaving potatoes, wrap each potato in a paper towel instead of simply placing a towel on the oven floor. Moisture is absorbed from all around the potato, so the skin will be crisper.
Lettuce
- It will keep longer if you store it in the refrigerator in a paper bag instead of plastic.
- Perk up soggy lettuce by adding lemon juice to a bowl of ice cold water, and soak the lettuce for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Soggy lettuce can be fixed by dousing it quickly into hot, then ice water with a little apple cider vinegar added.
- Lettuce will crisp up fast if you place it in a pan of cold water and add a few raw sliced potatoes.
- A fresh head of lettuce won’t brown as quickly if you remove the care before storing. Just hit the core sharply against the counter top and twist it out.
- Lettuce will not “rust” as quickly if you place a paper towel or napkin in the storage container.
Mushrooms
- Never store mushrooms in a plastic bag because they quickly become slick and unpleasant. They keep best either in a brown paper bag (with the top folded down) because the brown paper absorbs the moisture that the mushrooms produce.
- You can tell if mushrooms are fresh because their caps are completely closed, with no gills showing.
- To keep mushrooms white while you saut them, either add a half teaspoon of lemon juice to each half cup of melted butter or, if you are sautéing whole caps, sauté the tops of the caps first and fill the cap with lemon juice while the top is sautéing
- Oyster mushrooms are excellent but a bit pricy. As mushrooms are about 90% water, when they are in the supermarket for a long time the water content is greatly reduced. Stock up on the oysters when they are in a somewhat desiccated condition, slice them and allow to dry. Reconstitute by soaking in a beef or bouillon liquid and use them in any way you desire. But, my preference is to go into the forest and collect them wild. Caution….Have a field guide or someone who can identify the mushrooms you've collected. ~ Frank Hoffman, Toronto
Onions
- Slice while partially frozen, and there will be no tears.
- If you have many onions to peel, cover them with very hot water a few minutes and the skins will slip off easily.
- Peel and quarter onions. Place one layer deep in a pan and freeze. Quickly pack in bags or containers while frozen. Use as needed, chopping onions while frozen, with a sharp knife.
- To get the onion smell off your hands, rub a stainless steel spoon over your hands or rub your hands on a stainless steel sink. It works every time!
- If an onion seems too strong to use raw on a sandwich or in a salad, place the slices in a bowl of water to which you have added about 1 teaspoon of sugar per cup of water. Let the slices soak for about one hour.
- Rub your hands with parsley after cutting up onion, and the onion smell will disappear.
- When cooking onions and garlic together, always cook onions first then add the garlic. The flavor of each will be kept separate and the garlic will not become bitter.
- Fix a stockpile of chopped onions for your freezer. Peel off the skin and cut the onions into sections. Place in a blender filled with cold water. Grate for two or three seconds, then drain in a colander or between paper towels. Spread the chopped onions on a cookie sheet and freeze them quickly. Put the chilled onions into freezer bags and store in the freezer to use as needed.
- After an onion has been cut in half, rub the leftover side with butter, and it will stay fresh longer.
- Store them, wrapped individually in foil, to keep them from becoming soft or sprouting.
Parsley
- Store fresh parsley by rinsing it and shaking off the excess water. Wrap it in several thicknesses of damp paper towels. Store the wrapped parsley in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator.
- Freeze parsley by rolling the sprigs into a tight ball, then wrapping in foil. Freeze. Unwrap when needed and shave off the quantity you require. Re-wrap the remainder and return to the freezer. It will retain its flavor and freshness.
- Keep parsley fresh in your refrigerator by putting the bunch in a plastic bag with a quarter of an apple.
- Keep parsley fresh and crisp by storing in a wide-mouth jar with a tight lid. Parsley may also be frozen.
- To keep parsley fresh for up to two weeks, trim 1/2 inch from the bottom of the stems and place the entire bunch in a covered jar that contains enough water to keep the stems wet. Every few days, cut off another 1/2 inch or so because the stems will tend to seal and stop taking up water if you don’t.
Potatoes
- Salting potatoes before cooking perfects their texture. It removes a lot of their starch and built-in moisture.
- If making potato pancakes, salt the shredded potatoes and leave them in a colander to drain for 15 to 20 minutes.
- If making French fries, add salt to the ice water they soak in before you drain and dry them for frying. Adding salt before cooking also helps give the potatoes a natural saltiness so that you don’t have to overdo it when they are done. Sea salt works best and is much better for you than ordinary table salt.
- To get a flakier baked potato, prick it with a fork halfway through baking.
- Don’t pare small, new potatoes. Rub the skin off with a metal pot scrubber.
- Potatoes will stay white after you peel them until you are ready to cook them if you cut the pieces into a bowl to which has been added either a teaspoon or so of lemon juice or vinegar, or some salt. Do not let the potatoes soak in the water too long because they can lose a lot of their supply of vitamin C.
- Bake potatoes by standing them on end in a muffin tin. That way you can remove them all at once, and they will bake just a little faster that way, also.
- For the best French fries, let cut potatoes stand in cold water for one hour before frying. Dry thoroughly before cooking. Fry them just a few minutes and blot off the grease. Fry a second time until golden brown. Put them in a brown paper sack. Sprinkle with a little salt and shake. You will drain and salt in one action.
- A leftover baked potato can be re-baked if you dip it in water and bake in a 350 degree F oven for about 20 minutes.
- Always start old boiling potatoes in cold water. Cook new potatoes in boiling salted water.
- To make mashed potatoes fast, cut raw potatoes with a French fry cutter. They’ll cook in just a few minutes.
- Save some of the water in which the potatoes were boiled. Add to some powdered milk and use when mashing. This restores some of the nutrients that were lost in the cooking process.
- For beautiful brown and crisp baked potatoes, wash skins well, then butter the skin before putting them in the oven.
- Try using sour cream instead of milk when mashing.
- Add a small amount of vinegar to grease when frying potatoes to eliminate the greasiness.
- For baked potatoes that are crispy outside and fluffy inside, cook in a hot oven, about 425 degrees F.
- Overcooked potatoes can become soggy when the milk is added. Sprinkle with dry powdered milk for the fluffiest mashed potatoes ever.
- Make delicious soup with leftover mashed potatoes. Blend potatoes with a little milk. Place in a pot and add a little more milk, some butter and a sprinkling of parsley and chives.
- For crisper-skinned baked potatoes in the microwave, wrap each potato in a paper towel. Moisture is absorbed from all around the potato, so the skin is crisper.
- For the best French fries, let cut potatoes stand in cold water for an hour before frying. Dry thoroughly before cooking. Fry them the first time for a few minutes and blot off the grease. Fry the second time until golden brown.
- Hurry up baked potatoes by boiling in salted water for 10 minutes, then place in a very hot oven.
- For fast baked potatoes, cut potatoes in half and place them face down on a baking sheet in the oven.
- If you’ve peeled too many potatoes, cover them with cold water to which a few drops of vinegar have been added. Keep refrigerated and they will last for 3 or 4 days.
- Potato pancakes: Add a little sour cream to prevent potatoes from discoloring.
What happens to a person if he doesn’t get sunlight for a whole month?
I lived in Arctic Norway for almost 8 years, every winter, we experience two months without sun. In the middle of the day, if the sky is clear (which is very rare), we can see a kind of dark light, but without sunlight. It looks like this:
It’s actually good, as long as there’s a little fresh snow and not too many storms, it’s very comfortable. But we definitely lack energy in the morning because it’s psychologically hard to wake up when there’s no difference between midnight and ten in the morning.
We also get less vitamin D. Some people even have less energy because of it. And we get whiter and whiter. If you’re a red-haired Celt, you’ll literally look like a ghost after two months.
But the interesting thing I felt during this period was the influence of the moon. Every time the moon was full, I suddenly became more energetic, could stay up late, and overall became more positive (I could also see things outside – Amazing!). I remember one day, I took tourists to see the northern lights, and then the full moon came out … I could barely look at it directly. I was … blinded by the moonlight! It was an interesting experience!