So yeah..not the cereal though I grew up on it. I live in the Northeast which is blueberry country though. So check it. Let me give it to you. Another ill drink. Blend up some almond milk, blueberries and acai fruit and you got yourself an ill super drink on many levels. No, YOU do the research. Yet it goes down SMOOTH don't it. Yeah..what.
Blame my Old Earth. She was a teacher and always had alot of those teaching books laying around the house. So by the time I was a pre-teen I had absorbed more craft books then you can shake a stick at (I always wanted to say that phrase..what the L does it mean? I don't know.). Anyway, after this past Saturday's Rally in New Heaven the young moon SciDey hit me off with some pine cones. I live in New England so there are mad evergreen trees around here. In fact we have to always pick them up in the back yard (you have to wear gloves because they're covered with mad resin). Anyway, for those who are interested, here is something that you can do with all of those left over pine cones.
You can over them with a little bit of vegetable oil, sprinkle them with either Epson Salt or Table Salt and 'bake them' with wax in a cupcake pan making pine-like candles. Then you can toss them into the fireplace or fire and they crackle and pop. Depending on what kind of salt you used they will flare up with white flame or yellow flame. There are other colors that you can cause them to flare up with depending on what you sprinkle them with.
We use to just save garbage bags of them for the winter. One of those thangs.
I told you I LOVE using technology to explore the green. Check it out
Black Sapote: The Chocolate Fruit
Name & Family
English: Black Sapote, Black Persimmon, Chocolate-Fruit, Chocolate Pudding Fruit
Spanish: Zapote Negro
German: Schwarze Sapote
Scientifical: Diospyros digyna, Family: Ebenaceae
Same family: Kaki - Mabolo - Japanese Persimmon
Type
Tropical Fruit, 2 to 10 seeded.
Seeds: shining dark red-brown colored.
Many trees bear pitless fruit.
Mexican relative to the Chinese persimmon.
Description, Taste & storage
The Black Sapote is a Tomato-like fruit, 10 x 13 cm. large berry with a thin and firm rind. Its color is shining dark green with brown specs. The fruitflesh is rich, dark brown colored and custard like and is therefore called the Chocolate pudding fruit.
Complete ripe fruits are often ugly brown.
Black sapote's flesh is rich and custard-like, with a sweet, nut-like mild flavor and when ripe fruit pulp is blended with milk, cream or ice-cream, it tastes like mild chocolate - but without the caffeine or calories!
Tree
The black sapote is native in Mexico and Guatemala.
It is cultivated in Florida, The Philippines, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Hawaii.
It is an evergreen tree and grows upto 8 meter or more.
Black Sapote Tree Picture
Use
Often icecream is made of Black Sapotes.
The raw fruit is eaten with a spoon or eaten as dessert in milk or citrus juice.
Many different drinks are made from it as well as liquor.
Unripe fruits are not edible.
Use them in dips or sliced for a healthy chocolate-like dessert.
So I got in my first batch of soapnuts and I used them for the wash. It's a done deal. I'm a believer now.
Sapindus is a genus of about five to twelve species of shrubs and small trees in the Sapindaceae, native to warm temperate to tropical regions in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. The genus includes both deciduous and evergreen species. Common names include soapberry and soapnut, both names referring to the use of the crushed seeds to make soap.
The leaves are alternate, 15-40 cm long, pinnate, with 14-30 leaflets, the terminal leaflet often absent. The flowers form in large panicles, each flower small, creamy white. The fruit, called a soap nut, is a small leathery-skinned drupe 1-2 cm diameter, yellow ripening blackish, containing one to three seeds.
Soap nuts contain saponin, a natural detergent which is used to clean clothes. Soap nuts, especially Sapindus mukorossi, have become popular as an environmentally friendly alternative to manufactured, chemical detergents . A few nuts can be placed in a cotton drawstring bag in with a washload and reused several times. Soap nuts are safe for washing silk, woolens and other delicate fabrics.
Soap nuts, especially Sapindus mukorossi, are used medically as an expectorant, emetic, contraceptive, and for treatment of excessive salivation, epilepsy, chlorosis, and migraines. Studies show that saponin from soap nuts inhibits tumor cell growth. Soap nuts are among the list of herbs and minerals in Ayurveda. They are a popular ingredient in Ayurvedic shampoos and cleansers. They are used in Ayurvedic medicine as a treatment for eczema, psoriasis, and for removing freckles. Soap nuts have gentle insecticidal properties and are traditionally used for removing lice from the scalp.
Soap nuts are antimicrobial and are beneficial for septic systems and greywater. Soap nuts are used in the remediation of contaminated soil. They are used by jewelers, especially in India and Indonesia, to remove the tarnish from silver and other precious metals.
You can order them from this spot
I got put down with the soapy nut joint from spelunking in the Ultraviolet Underground
You HAVE TO keep your eyes on the right margin. I got the GREEN news feed going on so you can even hang out here with your feet up and get that emerald news coming in. I remixed where I blog at. I got a little twitter joint to update you on the whimsy. Plus I got the nice little slide show going down. Get familiar.
Yeah I do I do I do
The Loop is a new take on the cycle of life, and it could be the smart chef’s answer to a sloppy compost pile, window herb garden, garbage disposal (always bad news), and an archaic gas range, all in one.
The Loop, designed by Austrian eco-designers Teresa Ttillebacher and Birgit Dejaco, is a totally green, sustainable kitchen — that just happens to resemble an intergalactic boiled egg.
The pod-like creation goes far beyond the simple indoor composter — it has comfortable seating inside (a “slightly warmed, flexible membrane” … ooh?), a faux-grassy knoll for drying dishes, and a warm garden bed on its surface for growing arugula, basil, and other greens. The consistently warm temperature makes the Loop an ideal spot for plants to flourish. Greens are also nourished by compost.
Partnered with a methane gas processor, the Loop can extract methane from decomposing materials, which can be converted to cook food or used as electric power.
The pod also stores water (filtered through plants and soil) and can be used to store items like Tupperware and trail mix. While Martha Stewart might approve, it is hard to picture this in the average kitchen...
Via EcoFriend and Byzas
some pears, some spinach, some mint, some water. Blend that together. Yeaaaaaahhhh. It goes down smooth doesn't it?
My home(fruit)slice Idarastar that is. Spend some time at her site. It's kinda fresh.
There are alot of Greens out there. Yes y'all, beyond collards. For a Greens expert you can detect if they are rich, bitter, tart, full, etc. In fact, I may develop a taste system like they do for wine. Anyway check out Dr. Mao as he drops some that you may not know about. Doc Mao speaks.
Yeah..get over it. I hike all of the time in mountains, through trails, and even under the earth. Looks like this may have to be my next stop.
And its the problem of the modern world. While you have women such as Oprah and Monique champion the cause of being 'happy with whatever size you are' and 'Black women are naturally more thick' it is juxtaposed against the growing dangers of obesity. What needs to be done from my vantage point is a new physical general standard needs to be taken into account that is inclusive of the standards of various ethnic groups. Yes, women of various Original ethnic groups have always had more ample hills and mountains. That's because the damn white beauty frail standard is SICKLY. Also, it is CURRENT. If you go back just a couple of centuries ago you will see pictures of 'voluptuous' white women in portraits.
The reason for the shift is economic. A woman who was 'plump' was in effect flaunting her wealth ie..she could sit on her ass all day long. Also the pale skin showed that she didn't have to get out in the sun to work. Fast forward a couple of centuries later and boom. You show your wealthy by going to workout spas, tanning salons, and sitting in the sun still showing that you don't have to work.
There is a line between natural ethnic beauty standards and obesity. We just have to redefine it and not use the excuse of 'just accept me as I am' as a shield to hide from the growing issue of health problems and obesity in our communities.
While peta pets are trying to save the whales we need to save our communities
So with all of the talk about watermelon I decided to experiment with an old down South recipe of pickled watermelon rind. I'm basically going with the apple cider viniger, some date sugar, sea salt and cinimmon. I'll let y'all knowledge how it comes out.
So this meat eater said this is the reason he don't eat that much fruit. Watch out..watermelons and pumpkins set trip.
Vampire pumpkins and watermelons are a folk legend from the Balkans, in southeastern Europe, described by ethnologist Tatomir Vukanović. The story is associated with the Roma people of the region, from whom much of traditional vampire folklore, among other unusual legends, originated.
The belief in vampire fruit is similar to the belief that any inanimate object left outside during the night of a full moon will become a vampire. According to tradition, watermelons or any kind of pumpkin kept more than ten days or after Christmas will become a vampire, rolling around on the ground and growling to pester the living. People have little fear of the vampire pumpkins and melons because of the creatures' lack of teeth. One of the main indications that a pumpkin or melon is about to undergo a vampiric transformation (or has just completed one) is said to be the appearance of a drop of blood on its skin.
The only known reference in scholarship is Tatomir Vukanović's account of his journeys in Serbia from 1933 to 1948. He wrote several years later in the Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society:
The belief in vampires of plant origin occurs among Gs. [Gypsies] who belong to the Mosl. faith in KM [Kosovo-Metohija]. According to them there are only two plants which are regarded as likely to turn into vampires: pumpkins of every kind and water-melons. And the change takes place when they are 'fighting one another.' In Podrima and Prizrenski Podgor they consider this transformation occurs if these vegetables have been kept for more than ten days: then the gathered pumpkins stir all by themselves and make a sound like 'brrrl, brrrl, brrrl!' and begin to shake themselves. It is also believed that sometimes a trace of blood can be seen on the pumpkin, and the Gs. then say it has become a vampire. These pumpkins and melons go round the houses, stables, and rooms at night, all by themselves, and do harm to people. But it is thought that they cannot do great damage to folk, so people are not very afraid of this kind of vampire.
Among the Mosl. Gs. in the village of Pirani (also in Podrima) it is believed that if pumpkins are kept after Christmas they turn into vampires, while the Lešani Gs. think that this phenomenon occurs if a pumpkin used as a syphon, when ripe and dry, stays unopened for three years.
Vampires of vegetable origin are believed to have the same shape and appearance as the original plant.
...
The Gs. in KM. destroy pumpkins and melons which have become vampires ... by plunging them into a pot of boiling water, which is then poured away, the vegetables being afterwards scrubbed by a broom and then thrown away, and the broom burned.
The majority of Vukanović's article discusses human vampires; vampiric agricultural tools are also mentioned. Though modern readers may be skeptical that such beliefs ever existed, the superstitions of Gypsy culture are well documented. The Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society has many articles that are collections of Gypsy tales, presumably oral history. However others are horror stories that allegedly include the direct involvement of the source (e.g., the fatal consequences of disrespecting the dead). In this context, vampire pumpkins and watermelons are not necessarily any more implausible than other superstitious beliefs.
The story was popularized by Terry Pratchett's 1998 book Carpe Jugulum, a comic fantasy novel making extensive use of vampire legends. Pratchett has stated that he did not invent the vampire watermelon story himself. It is found in several other works: Jan Perkowski's 1976 book reprinted Vukanović's account, the webcomic Digger incorporates a field of vampire squash (most of which resemble Butternut squashes in appearance), and recent popular books on the topic of vampirism include a mention.
{disclaimer. C'BS eats fruit that is blood free..ha}
So the G-O-D is rocking 7 day green post bday fast. I'm sol-searching so I'm pumping the body up with liquid light via green smoothies and crunchy green shiz. Share with you the smoothie of da day. Mangoes, dandelion greens, then you toss in a little water.
One of my peeps does. Check out how the Raw Mami does it.
Yep. Another rotation around the sun and constantly exploring no beginning and no ending. My mantra is that adults grow up to be children. The world is becoming more fascinating to me every second. Yes there are something that I want to have in my life. I'm moving toward them and at the same time they are moving toward me.
Constantly being mistaken physically (never mentally) for being in my twenties is just a fact of my existence. The God does it by simply taking care of my internal physical landscape.
No cigarettes to weaken the lungs. Shallow breathing is connected to depression
No abuse of alcohol which weakens the liver which generates anger.
Recently through various integrated practices (man..read the blog, sungazing, martial arts, dancing, writing, etc) learned to let go of stress which ages you at a ridiculous rate.
Eating sunfired foods has enabled me to add a realm of simplicity into my life. And I quite enjoy it. 37 years young and getting younger.
I write poems
Take a trip to The Pen is the Sword to check in on the poetry challenge. We started off with the 'Fib' which is a form of poetry based on the Fibonacci Sequence. If you're nice (like I am..don't sweat me..just get a towel) then you'll up your math game and see the connection. If you're REALLY nie then you can extract the Golden Ratio from the Fibonacci Sequence and see it in nature. Get nice.
....and trust me you'll reap the benefits of the harvest. Support Original Independent Right Food Movements
They stole the gold, diamonds, they're stealing oil (and if you don't know who THEY is can you say not the Original Indigenous sun tagged up skin man). They stole PEOPLE. And now they stealing the food. Can somebody just smack 'em up one time for me. We gots work to do y'all. Let's get it crunk.
Biofuel production is certainly one of the culprits in the current global food crisis. But while the diversion of corn from food to biofuel feedstock has been a factor in food prices shooting up, the more primordial problem has been the conversion of economies that are largely food-self-sufficient into chronic food importers. Here the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) figure as much more important villains.
Whether in Latin America, Asia, or Africa, the story has been the same: the destabilization of peasant producers by a one-two punch of IMF-World Bank structural adjustment programs that gutted government investment in the countryside followed by the massive influx of subsidized U.S. and European Union agricultural imports after the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture pried open markets. .
African agriculture is a case study of how doctrinaire economics serving corporate interests can destroy a whole continent’s productive base.
Read the rest of the article here
What is painfully obvious is that we (original peeps) got the juice. We need to realize that we're the gold that Columbus and his ilk was looking for. They need our resources from our lands and are even going as far as to buy body parts for transplants from people in 3rd world countries that they've made poor. WTF!
Bring it from the Meso to the micro also. You need to know the resources in your hood wherever your hood is. If you are on the internet your resources and connections to Original people world wide needs to be out of the stratosphere. Make it happen
So check it. If you get a cut slap a piece of nori seaweed on it. The iodine in the seaweed disinfects plus it absorbs some of the blood so it works like spray on skin.
...Wait...there WAS NO WATER??!!! Environmental Racism at its best.
Jury: Black neighborhood was denied water service
By JULIE CARR SMYTH – 15 hours ago
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Residents of a mostly black neighborhood in rural Ohio were awarded nearly $11 million Thursday by a federal jury that found local authorities denied them public water service for decades out of racial discrimination.
Each of the 67 plaintiffs was awarded $15,000 to $300,000, depending on how long they had lived in the Coal Run neighborhood, about 5 miles east of Zanesville in Muskingum County in east-central Ohio.
The money covers both monetary losses and the residents' pain and suffering between 1956, when water lines were first laid in the area, and 2003, when Coal Run got public water.
The lawsuit was filed in 2003 after the Ohio Civil Rights Commission concluded the residents were victims of discrimination. The city, county and East Muskingum Water Authority all denied it and noted that many residents in the lightly populated county don't have public water.
Coal Run residents either paid to have wells dug, hauled water for cisterns or collected rain water so they could drink, cook and bathe.
"As a child, I thought it was normal because everyone done it in my neighborhood," said one of the plaintiffs, Cynthia Hale Hairston, 47. "But I realized as an adult it was wrong."
Colfax described the verdict as unique among civil rights cases nationally, both in the nature of the ruling and the size of the award.
The jury in U.S. District Court found that failing to provide water service to the residents violated state and federal civil rights laws. The lawsuit was not a class-action. Colfax said 25 to 30 families live in Coal Run now.
The water authority must pay 55 percent of the damages, while the county owes 25 percent and the city owes 20 percent, plaintiffs' attorney Reed Colfax said. The water authority no longer exists, and the county would be responsible for paying that share of the judgment.
Zanesville attorney Michael Valentine said in court that he intended to appeal but declined to comment further. The county commission also plans to appeal.
Attorney Mark Landes, who represented the county and water district, called the verdict disappointing. He said jurors were not allowed to hear defendants' testimony that neighborhood residents were offered water service years ago and refused it.
Colfax said he was unaware of any evidence that was excluded from the trial.
"This was a case that was started and fired by out-of-town lawyers who saw an opportunity for a cash settlement," Landes said.
The plaintiffs' attorneys will receive a separate amount to be decided later by a judge, Colfax said.
John Relman, a civil rights attorney based in Washington, D.C., who represented the residents, said the jury heard hours of testimony and saw hundreds of pages of documentation over the seven-week trial.
"This verdict vindicates that this (treatment) was because of their race," he said. "The jury agreed with that and issued a verdict based on a full airing of the facts."
Ohio Attorney General Nancy H. Rogers said she was pleased.
"This decision speaks firmly about the importance of treating citizens with equal respect, regardless of race," she said in a statement.
Plaintiff Frederick Martin said the long wait was worth it.
He and his nine siblings shared two tubs of water between them on bath nights when he was growing up. He left Coal Run, built on a former coal mine, in 1970 so his children wouldn't have to endure the same living conditions, he said.
"Today I feel that we are really blessed, to know and to see justice being met," Martin said. "And to see, regardless of who we are, there is a price to pay if you discriminate against people."
The plaintiffs' attorneys successfully argued that the decision not to pipe water to the plaintiffs was racially motivated, painting a picture of a community with a history of segregation. Black residents of Coal Run Road were denied water over the years while nearby white neighbors were provided it, they said.
Landes countered that about half of Muskingum County residents are not tied into the public water system even today. Among those without it are county commissioners, judges and other prominent officials, he said.
Zanesville has about 25,000 residents on the edge of the state's Appalachian region. One in every five families is below the federal poverty level, and the unemployment rate in Muskingum County in May was 7.4 percent. The national unemployment rate that month was 5.5 percent.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hMnu0H6Qi8X7GmSypI2yEhoTAflAD91RD6B81
...their names were Squash, Maize, and Beans.
DJ, drop a wiki(pedia) scratch on 'em
The Three Sisters are the three main agricultural crops of some Native American groups in North America: squash, maize, and climbing beans (typically tepary beans or common beans).
In a technique known as companion planting, the three crops are planted close together. Flat-topped mounds of soil are built for each cluster of crops. Each mound is about 30 cm (1 ft) high and 50 cm (20 in) wide, and several maize seeds are planted close together in the center of each mound. In parts of the Atlantic Northeast, rotten fish or eel are buried in the mound with the maize seeds, to act as additional fertilizer where the soil is poor.[1][2] When the maize is 15 cm (6 inches) tall, beans and squash are planted around the maize, alternating between beans and squash.
The three crops benefit from each other. The maize provides a structure for the beans to climb, eliminating the need for poles. The beans provide the nitrogen to the soil that the other plants utilize and the squash spreads along the ground, monopolizing the sunlight to prevent weeds. The squash leaves act as a "living mulch," creating a microclimate to retain moisture in the soil, and the prickly hairs of the vine deter pests.
And the EMCEE coming with the ill reference site, history, planting techniques, etc
History of the Three Sisters
And DAMN those sisters taste good together (the author is not liable for any sexual connotation that may be gleamed from the above statement)
So you're in Denver and you want to eat right? Right out of your own house? And you want some recipes? And you want some food? Damn greedo (stop being greedo). Yet dammit. I STILL got something for you. The OG Lunchbox. Yeaaaah.
I got this video from a good friend of mine's. In her words "when did eating pork, corn bread and canned fruit become healthy?!"
I had a fresh/ripe/seed (take it to the max son) childhood. One thing that me and my two siblings used to do was snap string beans in the living room. My Old Earth would set up a bit bowel and a little trash bag and the three of us would snap snap snap. Involve your child in preparing meals. It's a bond that lasts a lifetime.
Peace. People are always amazedt at the amount of food that I eat. It ain't alot and for some reason they think that coupled with my plant centric diet I am going to die soon. I actually become very tired pointing out the obvious. Why do I always have more energy then everybody, even those half my age. Why do I not need stimulants (coffee, red bull, etc) to get through a normal day. My body tells me when it needs to re-up. I ain't becoming a stick boy and on the other end I maintain this 185lb weight pretty consistently. My man Dan Tres put it in a larger socio-economic sphere so I'll let him tell it.
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Consumption: Filling our bellies until we die...
One of the problems I have with the mainstream media and the general public (there is a legal definition for that term: that vast multitude, which includes the ignorant, the unthinking, and the credulous, who, in making a purchase, do not stop to analyze, but are governed bu general appearance and general impression; JW Collins v. F.M. Paist Co., DC Pa, 14 F2d 614) is the reaction to a major crisis. The best example is the issue of the deterioration of the environment. The mainstream media provides these crazy apocalyptic scenarios, people start to panic and believe everything that is thrown at them while a small minority cashes in on the all the misery and fear. Of course, no one in the mainstream media (or their “expert” drones) offer any real solutions. Those that do offer them are marginalized or shut out. Even if those that approach a crisis pro actively do find a way to spread the message, the masses who we eloquently entitle the 85ers, would ignore the message altogether.
It amuses me to see members of congress and presidential candidates begging automobile manufacturers to make cars that burn 30 miles to the gallon. It scares me to hear consumers claim that they still want big cars. Folks still want huge SUVs that can't fit in regular parking spaces just to look good. Of course, the issue is not only that the demand for oil has increased. The issue is our consumption levels across the board.
Let's face it, we Americans are some big mofo's who want everything extra large, super sized, huge, or jumbo. We want it big whether it's our lunch, our cars, our clothes, our jewelry, or our houses. Once we get what we want, we want something bigger. We have become addicted to our consumption. We are the only country in the planet that has buffets. Travel to any other country and one will see that people eat differently. They normally eat in smaller portions. They drive smaller cars and live in smaller apartments and homes. It is so bad that when people go on vacation, they stay at these huge resorts that just import everything American. When people tell me they go to Jamaica, I ask them if they stayed in a resort. If they say yes I respond, “then you weren't in Jamaica then.”
When I first became a vegetarian I had to learn this valuable lesson. I remember visiting my mother in the Bronx when I first started rocking the vegetarian lifestyle. My beautiful and wonderful mother made her usual 7 course Dominican meal. She placed a heaping mountain of rice and beans and avocado for me. She even threw in an extra plate of sweet plantains on the side. I looked at my mother and she explained that since I don't eat meat, I would need to substitute it with extra vegetables. That is when it hit me.
If we really want to save the environment, we have to have an ill paradigm shift in the way we consume. We should eat until we are full not until we are stuffed and can't move around. Instead of getting fast food, we should bring lunch to work. Our dinners should be light. We should save sweets for a nice weekend treat instead of after every meal. We should not gorge. We should not over indulge. In other words, everything should be in moderation. This is how it should be across the board.
There was a time when people laughed at Elijah Muhammed's insistence that we should eat only one meal a day. In this day and age of rising food prices, it's not a bad idea. What I have learned in my travels and research is that we place too much emphasis on calories. Our daily average is just too much. We don't need that especially since most of us do not work out in the fields or work 8 hours in a factory sweating calories off.
Many will argue that developing nations like China and India will not roll this way. I highly doubt that since they have been practicing that for centuries. Don't let their Americanized restaurants in our borders fool you. And if even if they don't do it, doesn't mean it's right.
We have to really re-wire our thinking when it comes to the items we purchase. We should avoid the big screen TVs and the huge entertainment systems. They condition us to sit at home and watch TV instead of going out to exercise. We should eat in smaller portions. Avoid doing big giant trips to the movies, amusement parks, or other weekend getaway sprees. Instead, take walks to the park as a family. Buy a bike at a pawn shop or a thrift store and go nuts!
For many of us, these ideas would be hard to swallow. It's a paradigm shift not a born again moment, folks. We can either do that or fill our bellies until we die. Lately however, that may not even be possible anymore.
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Be sure to check out Books, Hip Hop culture, and everything else in between...
C'BS ALife Allah, Master Cleanse guru to the stars (or to those hood celebrities) says..."I told your ass to not go directly to solids when you break the fast! You can feel every damn inch of your intestines and colon now can't ya!...come one...listen".
The images are startling. World wide Original People are moving the Green Agenda forward. One of the great byproducts of this is that it will destroy the last vestige of dependency upon the colonial powers who are operating from the Oil Baron standpoint. When Original People realize that giving up oil is also a wise move politically in terms of economic sovereignty then damn..watch out Oil Barons. Also, people are letting their artistic eye wander and coming up with epic acts of beauty. How apt a metaphor for a post colonial worldwide society.
Green Towers In Malaysia Modeled After Fleet Of Ships
The Greenest Skyscraper In India?
The Tallest Building In Thailand Will Be Green
Unusual Green Architecture In Japan: Namba Parks
Green Hotel To Be Built Into Chinese Quarry
Leading-Edge Green Complex For Singapore
I got put on to this by hanging out at the Ultraviolet Underground
Via CT Green Scene
dollars per year in commuting costs, and promote local retail districts. They could also have an impact on suburban areas, by making the land near train stations on Metro North, Shoreline East and the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield line more valuable.
Of course, to be truly effective and enable the majority of city residents to feel comfortable commuting via bicycle, designated bike routes must also be combined with traffic calming treatments that reduce vehicle speeds and create safer intersections. As the number of cyclists in Downtown New Haven continues to grow,
transit ridership increases, and the potential citywide economic benefits of improved traffic safety are more widely understood, the political will for implementing these types of strategies -- which have been in use for decades in many other cities and countries -- will hopefully increase.
WTNH-8 also ran a video news segment on this story, with great images of overflowing bike racks at the train station and footage of Elm City Cycling's recent "Bike to Work Day/BTW Breakfast." Also see separate WTNH news coverage here. The $10,000 grant application was made possible based on the city's recent application to LAB for designation as a bicycle-friendly community. Click here for a thread summarizing previous DNH coverage of bicycle access on trains and at Union Station.
Watermelon auctioned for $6,100 in Japan
Record-breaking sale comes after a pair of cantaloupes sold for $23,500
updated 5:24 a.m. ET, Fri., June. 6, 2008
TOKYO - A black jumbo watermelon auctioned in northern Japan fetched a record $6,100 Friday, making it the most expensive watermelon ever sold in the country — and possibly the world.
The 17-pound premium "Densuke" watermelon, grown only on the northern island of Hokkaido, was purchased by a marine products dealer who said he wanted to support local agriculture, according to Kyodo News agency.
In a country where melons are a luxury item commonly given as gifts, the watermelon's hefty price tag follows another jaw-dropping auction last month, where a pair of "Yubari" cantaloupe melons sold for a record $23,500.
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Most expensive ever?
But for watermelon, Friday's winning bid drew a gasp even from veterans of the expensive-fruit market.
"This is the highest price on record for a Densuke watermelon, and that probably means it's the highest of any watermelon in Japanese history," said Kazuyoshi Ohira, a spokesman for the Tohma Agricultural Cooperative in Hokkaido.
The watermelon was the first of 65 sold as part of the season's initial harvest and one of 9,000 expected for the entire year. Unseasonably warm weather in April and May helped boost sugar content and overall quality of the watermelons this year, Ohira said.
Other Densuke watermelons won't cost quite as much. Most will retail at department stores and supermarkets for a more modest 20,000 yen to 30,000 yen (U.S. $188 to U.S. $283), Ohira said.
‘It's not the same’
And what makes a watermelon worth $200, much less $6,000?
Its unusual black skin, Ohira said. Inside, the watermelon is crisp and hard. And, he says, it has unparalleled taste.
"It's a watermelon, but it's not the same," he said. "It has a different level of sweetness."
...I eat alot of watermelon. Ha. For the traditional 'Black imagery with watermelon' that may not be politically correct yet....didn't I say I eat alot of watermelon..ha.
Scientists: Watermelon yields Viagra-like effects
By BETSY BLANEY, Associated Press Writer Thu Jul 3, 12:33 AM ET
LUBBOCK, Texas - A slice of cool, fresh watermelon is a juicy way to top off a Fourth of July cookout and one that researchers say has effects similar to Viagra — but don't necessarily expect it to keep the fireworks all night long.
Watermelons contain an ingredient called citrulline that can trigger production of a compound that helps relax the body's blood vessels, similar to what happens when a man takes Viagra, said scientists in Texas, one of the nation's top producers of the seedless variety.
Found in the flesh and rind of watermelons, citrulline reacts with the body's enzymes when consumed in large quantities and is changed into arginine, an amino acid that benefits the heart and the circulatory and immune systems.
"Arginine boosts nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, the same basic effect that Viagra has, to treat erectile dysfunction and maybe even prevent it," said Bhimu Patil, a researcher and director of Texas A&M's Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center. "Watermelon may not be as organ-specific as Viagra, but it's a great way to relax blood vessels without any drug side effects."
Todd Wehner, who studies watermelon breeding at North Carolina State University, said anyone taking Viagra shouldn't expect the same result from watermelon.
"It sounds like it would be an effect that would be interesting but not a substitute for any medical treatment," Wehner said.
The nitric oxide can also help with angina, high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems, according to the study, which was paid for by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
More citrulline — about 60 percent — is found in watermelon rind than in the flesh, Patil said, but that can vary. But scientists may be able to find ways to boost the concentrations in the flesh, he said.
Citrulline is found in all colors of watermelon and is highest in the yellow-fleshed types, said Penelope Perkins-Veazie, a USDA researcher in Lane, Okla.
She said Patil's research is valid, but with a caveat: One would need to eat about six cups of watermelon to get enough citrulline to boost the body's arginine level.
"The problem you have when you eat a lot of watermelon is you tend to run to the bathroom more," Perkins-Veazie said.
Watermelon is a diuretic and was a homeopathic treatment for kidney patients before dialysis became widespread.
Another issue is the amount of sugar that much watermelon would spill into the bloodstream — a jolt that could cause cramping, Perkins-Veazie said.
Patil said he would like to do future studies on how to reduce the sugar content in watermelon.
The relationship between citrulline and arginine might also prove helpful to those who are obese or suffer from type-2 diabetes. The beneficial effects — among them the ability to relax blood vessels, much like Viagra does — are beginning to be revealed in research.
Citrulline is present in other curcubits, like cucumbers and cantaloupe, at very low levels, and in the milk protein casein. The highest concentrations of citrulline are found in walnut seedlings, Perkins-Veazie said.
"But they're bitter and most people don't want to eat them," she said.
Those whom have taken extensive drug tests know that those things are crucial at times. For instance on some test if you eat a big mac (which has poppies...yes the same one's that are in opium people) you will show up as positive for heroin.
This news item from China causes you to think. Just how many of the chemicals from meat are planting their self in your bloodstream.
China Doping Ban for Olympic Swimmer
Coca Cola that is. I mean, on the real I would have to drink like 3-4 cans a day. As I transitioned into a more live food diet I was able to cut it out yet it was my strongest addiction.
Now Coke had two straight up stimulants in it. Cocaine and Kola Nuts.
Straight from wiki land
When launched Coca Cola's two key ingredients were cocaine (benzoylmethyl ecgonine) and caffeine. The cocaine was derived from the coca leave and the caffeine from kola nuts - Coca-Cola (the 'K' in Kola was replaced with a C for marketing purposes).[20][21]
Coca - Cocaine
Pemberton called for five ounces of coca leaf per gallon of syrup, a significant dose, whereas, in 1891, Candler claimed his formula (altered extensively from Pemberton's original) contained only a tenth of this amount. Coca Cola did once contain an estimated nine milligrams of cocaine per glass, but in 1903 it was removed.[22] Coca Cola still contains coca flavouring.
After 1904, Coca Cola started using, instead of fresh leaves, "spent" leaves - the leftovers of the cocaine-extraction process with cocaine trace levels left over at a molecular level.[23][24] To this day, Coca Cola uses as an ingredient a cocaine free coca leaf extract prepared at a Stepan Company plant in Maywood, New Jersey.
In the United States, Stepan Company is the only manufacturing plant authorized by the Federal Government to import and process the coca plant.[25] Stepan laboratory in Maywood, N.J., is the nation's only legal commercial importer of coca leaves, which it obtains mainly from Peru and, to a lesser extent, Bolivia. Besides producing the coca flavouring agent for Coca Cola, Stepan Company extracts cocaine from the coca leaves, which it sells to Mallinckrodt Inc, a St. Louis pharmaceutical manufacturer that is the only company in the United States licensed to purify cocaine for medicinal use.[26] N.J. Stepan buys about 100 metric tons of dried Peruvian coca leaves each year, said Marco Castillo, spokesman for Peru's state-owned National Coca Co. [27][28]
Kola Nuts - Caffeine
Kola nuts act as a flavouring in Coca Cola, but is also the beverage's source of caffeine.[29] In Britain, for example, the ingredient label states "Flavourings (Including Caffeine)".[30] Kola nuts contains about 2 to 3.5 percent caffeine, is of bitter flavour and is commonly used in cola soft drinks. In 1911 The US government initiated United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola, hoping to force Coca Cola to remove caffeine from its formula. The case was decided in favour of Coca Cola. Subsequently, in 1912 the US Pure Food and Drug Act was amended, adding caffeine to the list of "habit-forming" and "deleterious" substances which must be listed on a product's label.[31]
Coca Cola contains 46 mg/12 fl oz of caffeine, while Diet Coke Caffeine-Free contains 0 mg.[32] Caffeine may be used by athletes as ergogenic aid - to increasing the capacity for mental or physical labor. The ergogenic qualities of caffeine are contested, although there is strong evidence that it may significantly enhance endurance performance. For this reason, caffeine is listed as a restricted substance by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Nevertheless Coca Cola was the leading sponsor of the 1996 summer Olympic games.[33]
As I took it out of my diet I found another reason to hate on Coca Cola. All I have to say is that they kill indigenous original people.
Check it out here
So kcuf a coke and a smile.
For those who keep up with my hyperspace blogging this woman is one of the two people who are responsible for it. Blame her. She just got up her blog running again and it's phire so get on it. Check out the article that she has on Jamaica (Sorrel). Those who know me know that this, ginger beer, coconut water, Ume (plum wine), sake and bhang lassi are some of my favorite drinks. Man how can I forget shou wu chi and Baji Chiew. I be in love with good drinks. A nice juice or smoothie...stop stop. No really, stop.
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