| Wednesday, February 14, 2007 |
| STREET FOOD OF THE WORLD |
Hot dogs in the U.S., maize on the cob in Tanzania, and crepes in France. In nearly every country of the world, street vendors serve up fast, cheap, tasty snacks. These are just a few.
India
Pani puri (also called golgappa)Potato cubes, chickpeas, and tomatoes are stuffed in a fried flour shell, then drenched in a tamarind sauce.
Mexico
Paleta de Mango Pierced with a stick, then peeled and scored into sections, the fruit is sprinkled with lime juice, chili powder and salt.
Poland
Obwarzanki Bread rings, brushed with egg white to add shine, are tied together with a string to hang around the neck or wrist.
Germany
Currywurst Grilled pork sausage is sliced and topped with a few squirts of ketchup then dusted with curry powder. It's served with a roll or fries.
Brazil
Acaraje Fritters of mashed black-eyed peas are filled with vatapa, a sun-dried shrimp puree mixed with okra, tomatoes and cilantro.
(Source:NATGEOMAG) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 9:32 PM |
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| WORLD PARTY |
WORLD PARTY.....In one last blast, revelers in many countries indulge in a riot of sensual pleasures before the austere observance of Christian Lent. Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, Carnival, Carnaval, Carnavale -- by whatever name, the celebrations sizzle with music, dancing, extravagant costumes, and wild parades. New Orleans, Rio De Janeiro, Venice, and Port-of-Spain host the biggest bacchanals.
1.) NEW ORLEANS
HISTORY
Louisiana Mardi Gras celebration in the 1700s imitated the masked balls of Paris. Parades began in the 1800s.
FOOD
King cake, iced in gold, purple and green. Whoever gets the tiny doll baked inside is obligated to host the next party.
RITUALS
Masked balls, parades of floats, jazz brass bands, throwing beads and doubloons to the crowds.
DID YOU KNOW?
Social clubs, or krewes, organize parades and balls. The oldest, Mistick Krewe of Comus, began in 1867. The first African-American club, Zulu, was founded in 1906.
2.) RIO DE JANEIRO
HISTORY
Reverlers hurled food and liquid at each other in a raucous street fight before parades became the rage in the mid-1800s.
FOOD
Bolinhos de bacalhau (cod fritters) feijoada (meat and bean stew)manioc fries, caipirinha (sugar cane liquor, lime, sugar)
RITUALS
Formal balls, and a parade of floats and thousands of samba dancers through the Sambadrome.
DID YOU KNOW?
Kicking off Carnaval in 2006, a free Rolling Stones concert drew more than a million fans to Copacabana beach.
3.) VENICE
HISTORY
Carnevale's origins reach back to the 11th century. Celebrations died out after Venice's 1797 fall to Napoleon but revived in 1980.
FOOD
Frittelle (fritters) crespelle (crepes) sfingi and galani (doughnuts) berlingaccio (sweet bread), sanguinaccio (blood pudding)
RITUALS
Masked balls, parades, processions of gondolas, pantomines, juggling, fireworks, concerts.
DID YOU KNOW?
At the height of the 10-day festival, some 150,000 visitors a day flock to the city's historic center, home to 62,000 Venetians.
4.) PORT-OF-SPAIN
HISTORY
French planters brought Carnival with tem in the 18th century. It was taken up by former slaves after their 1834 emancipation.
FOOD
Pelau (chicken, rice and pigeon peas) bake and shark (fish sandwich) doubles (curried chick peas in fried dough), rum.
RITUALS
The Carnival season of parties , concerts, and steel band shows climaxes in two days of parades.
DID YOU KNOW
Soca, the soul-influenced calypso sound native to Trinidad and Tobago, propels Carnival parades with a pounding rhythm.
(Source: NATGEOMAG by:A.R. Williams) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 9:21 AM |
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| DIAMOND 101 |
HOW TO MAKE DIAMONDS
Natural diamonds taKe the earth thousands of years to produce. Now high-tech companies can synthesize them in just a few weeks.
Here's one method:
1. Methane and hydrogen gas are flowed through a chamber containing diamond-seed slivers.
2. Heat is applied, and a complex chemical reaction causes the methane to slough off its hydrogen atoms.
3. The remaining carbon deposits itself atom by atom as diamond onto the diamond seed slivers.
Useful Applications:
As production of man-made diamond grows, jewelers won't be the only ones eager to work with the vesatile gem. Already its chemical and physical features make it ideal for a number of medical and industrial applications
In Electronic Devices, diamond could help dissipate heat generated by more powerful processors and prolong their life
Diamond's combination of stiffness and lightness makes it perfect for delivering clear sound in a Tweeter
For Windows on spacecraft and Optical devices like lasers, nothing beats diamond's hardness and transparency
Cosmetic and eye surgeons rely on Diamond Blades and Scalpels for their unparalleled cutting precision.
(Sources:Apollo Diamond,Element Six,Gemological Institute of America TIMEMAG)
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| posted by infraternam meam @ 5:50 AM |
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| Tuesday, February 13, 2007 |
| ARE YOU A GEO-GENIUS? |
Test yourself with these questions :
1. The eastern point of mainland Russia is located on what peninsula?
2. To fly directly from Brazil to Angola, you would travel in which general direction?
3. What large island is located about 200 miles northwest of Iceland?
4. What volcanic island east of Madagascar is an overseas department of France?
5. The Murray River flows into the Indian Ocean on the souithern coast of what country?
6. Although Siera Leone's name has Portuguese origins, what is the country's official language?
7. The oldest section of Algeria's most populous city contains a fortress called Casbah.What is this city?
8. Which large country bordering the Coral and Arafura Seas has a population that is more than
85 percent urban?
9. The more centrally located city of Abuja replaced what other city as Nigeria's capital in 1991?
10. The Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta makes up much of what country?
(Source: NATGEOMAG)
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ANSWERS:
1. Chukchi
2. East
3. Greenland
4. Reunion
5. Australia
6. English
7. Algiers
8. Australia
9. Lagos
10.Bangladesh
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| posted by infraternam meam @ 4:28 PM |
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| SOLVING YOUR IMMIGRATION PROBLEM IN 2007!! |
Will 2007 be the year in which you look your immigration problem in the eye and take the necessary steps to solve it? Will you seek the expert help you need to determine whether you are eligible today to join those who have legalized their status and are no longer afraid of a knock on the door that threatens to separate you from your loved ones?
Maybe you came into the U.S. without documents and have stayed and built a life here. Maybe you came with a visa that has long since expired, but you married and had children and have a good job and work hard. Maybe you came with a green card but misrepresented your name or marital status in order to get that status. Your family is back home and you want to be able to bring them. Maybe you would like to naturalize but are afraid to file because of a long ago criminal conviction.
These and other problems weigh heavily over the years. The non-citizen knows he should do something to deal with the problem but does not know what to do or thinks nothing can be done. Moreover, he is afraid to take any steps to solve the problem because he maight make matters worse and wind up with a deportation order. Immigration officials might come knocking on his door to execute an old deportation order and take him into custody.
The concerns are valid. Complicated problems require expertise in order to not make matters worse. That is why someone with a serious immigration problem (and most immigration problems are serious) should consult a knowledgeable and experienced immigration lawyer. An immigration law expert will be able to tell the non-citizen what, if anything, can be done. Equally important, the immigration professional will be able (and should be willing) to tell the person when it might be better to wait for positive developments in the law. Most importantly, a good immigration lawyer will insure that the appropriate applications, petitions and requests are skillfully drafted to give the best chance for success. We find that there is a solutions available for most immigration problems.
A person who gave a false marital status (or other non-true information) in order to obtain a green card maybe eligible for a waiver of the misrepresentatuon. If he has parent or spouse, son or daughter who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident and she can show that she has more favorable than unfavorable aspecs to her case, he maybe able to keep his green card. This is true even if the misrepresentation involved a fraudulent marriage -- as long as the family relationship relied on for the waiver is not a result o the fraudulent marriage. These waivers must be sought in Immigration Court and the Immigration Judge has specific criteria that he is looking for -- both negative and positive. Upon receipt of the waiver the non-citizen may be able to naturalize and petition his family.
A person who came into the United States with a false name in his passport maybe eligible for a waiver of that misrepresentation if he has a parent or spouse who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, who will suffer extreme hardship if the non-citizen is forced to return to the home country. BothCitizenship and Immigration Services and the Immigration Courts take the words "extreme hardship" literally. The standard requires that non-citizen show more than just the spouse or parent loves and would miss the immigrant. However, if the facts are presented in themost favorable light, it is possible to obtaiv the waiver.
Of course, if the person has never been granted a green card, the waiver will not solve all the problems. He will still need to be eligible to apply for lawful residence in order to legally live and work in the U.S. Various family relationships, employments and business investments are just some of the ways to obtain legal status in the U.S. The knowledgeable immigration lawyer will explore all possible legitimate aenues to determine if the alien is eligible for a green card. An immigration attorney will also explore whether a non-citizen is elgible for non-immigrant visas and any waivers that maybe necessary and available.
The description of relief and waivers in this article are just a brief outline of what mybe available and how it might be obtained. It is essential to know when to apply for relief, what relief to apply for and how to apply in order to afford the best possibility for success. For all these reasons, it is necessary to seek the expertise of a knwledgeable and expreienced immigration attorney who can help you find your immigration solution for 2007.
(The analysis and suggestions offered in this column do not create a lawyer-client relationship and are not a substitute for the personalized representaion that is essential to every case. Atty. Reeves has repsented clients in numerous landmark immigration cases that have set new policies regadling INS action and immigration rights. His many successes have been published in Interpreter Releases, Immigration Briefings and AILA Monthly wich are nationally recognized immigration periodicals widely read by immigration lawyers, State Department and immigration officials. His cases are also cited in test books as aguide to either immigration petitioners. His office are located in Pasadena, San Francisco, Beijing and Makati City. Telephone: (800)795-8009. E-mail: immigration@rreeves.com. Website: www.reeves.com)
(Source: FILIPINASMAG by: Attys L. Reeves and Nancy E. Miller) |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 7:26 AM |
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| Monday, February 12, 2007 |
| LET'S TALK ABOUT THE BRAIN |
FIVE PATHS TO UNDERSTANDING
From gruesome ancient rituals to modern pharmacology, manking has been trying to discover what's really going on inside our heads. A short history.
Ancient Beliefs What is the brain?
5000 B.C.
Earlt evidence of trephination, a primitive brain surgery in which a hole is cut through the skull. The practice, which persisted through the Middle Ages, was sometimes used to treat seizures or headaches.
4000 B.C.
The first known writing about the brain describes the mind-altering sensations that result from eating poppies.
2500 B.C.
Hippocates describes epilepsy as a disorder of the brain, not a curse from the Gods. He also believes the brain is the seat of intelligence and emotion.
387 - 335 B.C.
Plato believes the brain controls intelligence and is "the divinest part of us". Aristotle, his student, believes the brain merely cools hot blood from the heart.
170 B.C.
Galen, physician to Roman gladiators, dissected the brains of sheep, monkeys, dogs and swine. He concludes that the cerebellum controls the muscles while the cerebrum processes the senses.
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Anatomy How is the brain built?
1700 B.C.
The 15 ft.-long Edwin Smith Surgical Papyrus, a copy of Egyptian records from 3000 B.C., includes the earliest account of the anatomy of the brain and describes 27 cases of brain injury.
300 B.C.
Alexandrian biologists Herophilus, the "father of anatomy", and Erasistraus, his student, are the first to rely on dissection of the human body to study the brain and describe the nervous system.
1100 - 1500
Quack practiced in sleight of hand go across Europe, claiming they can cure mental ilnesses by removing "stones from madness" from the brain.
1664
Thomas Willis, an Oxford professor, writes Cerebri Anatome, the most detailed description yet of the nervous system. Willis believes separate parts of the brain are responsible for thoguht and movement.
1808
Franz Joseph Gall, a German anatomist, creates phrenology, a pseudosciense based on the idea that a person's personality is rvealed by the contours of the head.
1848
Railroad worker Phineas Gage's skull is pierced by an iron rod. He lieve, but his personality reportedly changes, raising questions about how the brain's frontal regions affect behaviour.
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Psychology How does the mind work?
1649
Rene Descartes tackles the philosophical distinction between mind and body by proposing that the immaterial soul enters he body through the brain's pineal gl;and.
1869
A decade after his cousin Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species, Francis Galton writes Hereditary Genius, in which he postulates that intelligence is inherited.
1890
William James publishes Principles of Psychology, a monumental work widely hailed for its rich and insightful descriptions of human nature and behavior.
1899
Sigmund Freud argue in Interpretation of Dreams that dreams are windows to an otherwise inacceible mind, "the royal road to the unconcious". It takes eight years to sell 600 copies.
1903
In a famous expriment with dogs and dinner bells, Ivan Pavlov explores conditoned responses, an animal's involuntary reaction to stimuli, such as drooling at the sound of a bell.
1938
B.F. Skinner describes how an animal's behaviour can be engineered through positive and negative reinforcement.
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Disorders Can we fix the brain?
1402
St. Mary of Bethlehem is England's first hospital for the mentally ill, and a variant of its name, bedlam, comes to signify all psychiatric facilities.
1658
Jojann Jakof Wepfer proposes that stroke is caused by a broken blood vessel in the frain.
1883
Emil Kraepelin describes schizophrenia and manic depression.
1906
Alois Alzheimer details presenile degeneration, which in 1910 becomes known as Alzheimer's disease.
1936
Egas Moniz publishes a description of human frontal lobotomy as a treatment for psychosis.
1949
Australian Jphn Cade publishes findings that lithium is an effective treatment for bipolar disorder.
1987
Prozac is approved by the Food and Druv Administration as a treatment for depression.
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Neuroscience What powers the brain?
1791
Studying frogs, Luigi Galvani, an Italian physiologist, is the first to propose that some form of "animal electricity" secreted by the brain drives nerve activity.
1870
Camillo Golgi develops a staining method that reveals the detailed structure of sensory nerve cells that feed into the brain.
1936
Henry Hallett Dale, and Otto Loewi share the Nobel Prize for describing acetylcholine, a major chemical transmiter of nerve impulses.
1973
Michael Phelps, Edward Hoffman and Michael Ter Pogossian develop the positron emission tomography scanner, which uses radioactive agents to image the brain.
1998
Fred Gage at the Salk Institute publishes a groundbreaking paper describing for the first time the ability of adult brain neurons to regenerate.
2001
First gene=theraphy trial to treat the brain disorder Alzheimer's disease.
(Source:TIMEMAG: A User's Guide to the Brain - Special Issue Edition)
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| posted by infraternam meam @ 11:37 AM |
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| WHAT YOUR FAVORITE SONG SAYS ABOUT YOU |
Do you like to share it with Shakia to "Hips Don't Lie"? Or would you rather hear an aria from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro? Your favorite tunes can reveal about your personality, according to new research from Peter J. Rentfrow, Ph.D., associate professor of social and personality psychology at England's University in Cambridge, and Samuel D. Gosing, Ph.D., associate professor or psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Read on to find out what personality clues may be hidden in your CD collection or iPod playlist.
GENRE ONE
Classical or Jazz
IF YOU LIKE SONGS LIKE....
Vialdi's "Spring"
Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo"
YOU ARE LIKELY TO BE....
Inventive, tolerant of others and imaginative. You feel secure about your intelligence.
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GENRE TWO
Rock or Classic Rock
IF YOU LIKE SONGS LIKE.....
The Red Hot Chili Pepper's "Dani California"
The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar"
YOU ARE LIKELY TO BE.....
Open to new experiences, curious and willing to take risks. You're confident about how attractive you are.
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GENRE THREE
Pop or Country
IF YOU LIKE SONGS LIKE.....
Nelly Furtado's "On The Radio"
Carrie Underwood's "Jesus, Take The Wheel"
YOU ARE LIKELY TO BE.....
Outgoing, cheerful and reliable. You enjoy helping others.
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GENRE FOUR
Funk or Soul
IF YOU LIKE SONGS LIKE.....
Prince's "3121"
Mary J. Blidge's "Be Without You"
YOU ARE LIKELY TO BE.....
Extroverted, energetic and talkative. You're independent and not bound by convetnion.
(Source: LADIESHOMEJOURNAL by:Katie Brophy)
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| posted by infraternam meam @ 11:19 AM |
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| Tuesday, February 06, 2007 |
| 10 QUESTIONS TO LIFT YOUR SPIRITS |
WHEN YOU'RE FEELING DOWN:
1. What are the chances that next year at this time, I'll feel no better?
2. What would I tell my child or my best friend if she were in my shoes?
3. What difficulty did I live through in my childhood that makes me think this problem is insurmountable?
4. Does this current challenge reveal a core weakness in me, my relationships, or my work that I am better off knowing about today when I would be five years from now?
5. When I overcome this problem, in what ways will I be stronger?
6. If I lose everything that's at stake at this moment, what do I still have of value in my life?
7. Who are the people I love most? How much time woild I dwell on my current losses if I got the news that just one of them was still very ill?
8. What do I already have in my autobiographical "bank" -- such as children I've raised, people I've helped, animals I've sheltered, or career goals I've reached -- that can never be taken away from me?
9. If I were waiting a short story or a screenplay about my life, how would I have the main character (me) turn this problem into an advantage?
10. Has this struggle taught me that someone in my life is a true friend?
(Source: GOODHOUSEKEEPING/ yourGOODlife by Keith Ablow, M.D. |
| posted by infraternam meam @ 12:15 AM |
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| About Me |
|
Name: infraternam meam
Home: Chicago, United States
About Me: I am now at the prime of my life
and have been married for the past 25 years.
Sickly at times, but wants to see the elixir vita,
so that I will be able to see my grandchildren from my two boys.
See my complete profile
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