Ornamental offering...

Estimados amigos del 'blogosphere'

Estoy mirando con optimismo el 2006 y quiero hacer llegar los mejores augurios para el año entrante, deseando que puedan festejar en familia con amor y paz estas fiestas.

Afectuosamente

Span

Season's greetings one and all;

enjoy yourselves and have a ball.

(Here's two to get you started)

I'm off back to England on Thursday and I'm not sure whether I'll be posting much over the holiday period so I wish everyone the very best for Christmas and the New Year. Good health and good luck.

S.O. with _music

Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You

---------- Don't forget what I said about the spam fest!!S.O. with _music

Ows's outré...

Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine

Updated with YouTube.

¡OJO! Important note: I’ve changed the code and the source site as the other one doesn’t work any more but there are still pop-up ads every time you change page. Press play, fantastic...my boys are into Guns N' Roses now (they've converted me!...I was never a fan 'back in the day'...could have posted Paradise City, Welcome to the Jungle or Civil War...equally good), which explains my choice but number one son is really retro and is now Dave Bowie (Ziggy Stardust period) crazy...good lad!

Funny how today's teenagers are with music - it seems to me - they just aren't into the boom di ti boom house, dance, techno stuff. Anyway, I was blog hopping and found a blog with an inset Bon Jovi video so, intrigued, I followed the link to the advertised site (one of several similar sites I now realise!) that has literally thousands of tracks and hundreds of bands...pop, rock, dance, trance, country, rapcrap and presumably every other genre...enjoy!

S.O...sadly older? but with music...
Update August 2010:...reading this post now sounds so ancient! Only 5 years ago!

Oinoπoieio (or oivonoiεío)

Μιλάτε Ελληνικά…? Όχι…?

Did I taste the ‘Evinos’ of Ouranos? OK…Oenology…you know it makes sense. Last week, although I was working (yes, I WAS!) I was pleasantly surprised to find that my contact has branched out into wines and although this is ‘just’ a cellar of his own with a retail outlet, I was surprised by the quality available…surprised because I just did not know!

“And I ask myself why? Why were those cheap wines on Cyprus so good? I thought maybe one reason was that perhaps Cypriots would not drink them if they were not good, and maybe they only produce enough for domestic consumption and a small amount of export”…not my words but those of Michael Spice; do you ever find that someone has written exactly what you want to say!  The point re ‘not knowing’ is summed up nicely by Antony Haggipavlu of the Olympus Oinoπoieio – that’s ‘winery’, in case you were wondering…;-)

From the site: - In an article in the British wine journal Harpers two years ago, he is quoted as saying, "we have tried spending money on marketing Cypriot wines overseas, and we have tried blending indigenous varieties with international ones. But it doesn't work, simply because if consumers don't know something, they don't buy it. The only solution is to use known varieties and to produce high-quality wines at the lowest cost possible."Cyprus wines were praised by Dionysus, the god of wine in Greek mythology and whom the Romans called Bacchus; also, worshipers of Aphrodite - the Goddess of Love - celebrated with 'Cyprus Nama', allegedly the oldest wine known in history; strangely enough one of the best sites I have found on the subject uses the name of the Roman God (Bacchus) and not the Greek - this in no way detracts from the site, which suggests, amongst other things, routes for ‘wine’ tours and succinct first-steps in a wine-tasting guide -‘not another wine buff’…I don't mean me! Accreditation for the picture also goes to their site (Cyprus wineries).
Ευχαριστώ
Αντίο
S.O.

Optical illusions...

Optical illusions have always fascinated me; especially the ones that Nature herself can spring on us, anyone who has been to Electric Brae in Ayshire, Scotland will know what I mean but no picture can do it justice: you have to see it and 'feel it' to know what I mean.

There is a great sight [sic] for man-made optical illusions, Michael Bach, University of Freiburg, Germany; the image below is from the site...¡OJO!...that means 'beware' in Spanish - the word ojo i.e. without the exclamation marks, means 'eye' - which is quite appropriate because on the website there are a pair of eyes that follow your cursor around the screen...it's fun at first but after a bit I found it quite spooky!

On a similar theme, my favourite tongue-twister, which in my experience has never been successfully 'spoken', is very simple really: quickly say, ten times, the following words:

"Red leather, yellow leather"

...in fact forget the ten times, I doubt you'll manage more than 3!

S.O.

P.S. All new R5L poster/bloggers' links will be 'up' soon.

Off again...Days we love travelling...

I'm away this week, travelling again...for WORK!...but before I go I thought I would post re the political test, which I got from Gavin Corder's blog; I post it here because I think his version may be lost under several posts trying to get his non-commenting blog-stalker to comment!

You [Ows] scored as Anarchism:

Anarchism.................................75%
Republican................................67%
Green.........................................67%
Democrat..................................67%
Socialist.....................................42%
Fascism......................................33%
Nazi..............................................8%
Communism.................................8%

What Political Party Do Your Beliefs Put You In?
created with QuizFarm.com

Well, it seems I'm all things: equal parts Republican, Democrat and Green but with a high anarchistic streak...that could go in my profile (top of blog by the pumping 'O'...hey, that anarchy logo ia a bit 'O' ish as well...) and I guess I'm living in the most appropriate country as far as Anarchism goes!...I feel a history post coming on...did I just say coming? ;-)

S.O.

Orgasms…come again?

As promised here is another orgasmic post; this is the third, “The Triple Tickle”; the other two - just in case you missed them - were very well received:

Orgasms... did you see this coming?
Orgasms... the second coming.

The triple tickle is appropriate not just as this is the third ‘instalment’; it also refers to that Holy Trinity of simultaneous stimulation of the clitoris, the vagina and the anus (if you can manage it that is…it is very manageable!).

This would usually involve fingers of both hands and definitely the tongue; if any of you guys (or girls!) out there aren’t keen on using this wondrous mouth organ (well it’s an instrument!) to give your girl pleasure then…err…get the fuck off my blog you Goddam weirdos!…;-) …ahem, to continue: of course, this can lead to positional problems so finding the ideal juxtaposition of bodies is essential for comfort and efficacy. It need not be fingers, those cute little ‘finger’ shaped vibrators (you know the ones I mean!) would be even better plus gel/ baby oil/ other sex play lubricants or similar textured edible materials (honey, cream…) could also be employed to great effect...apparently.

Below is an image that doesn’t demonstrate the aforementioned positioning and may not demonstrate any of what I have referred to either, but hey, who cares if it does or not: it turns me on...and could be very loosely connected with a ‘triple tickle’! You will note the right-hand 'bud' is closed and the left-hand one is open revealing the outer, supporting tendrils which, when closed-up, protect the 3 inner, sentient, manipulating tentacles…you can just get a glimpse of supporting tendrils of the third bud which is positioned for maximum pleasure, those outer tendrils are supporting the “victim’s” weight while the inner, probing tentacles stimulate…well you can imagine what they’re doing…you can imagine that, can’t you? If not I’m wasting my time!

The above image is, as before, borrowed from the erotic sketches and stories of

Marjorie Baldwin Greene... it is called "Pollination"...oooeer.

If you crave for more sperm, seeds, ovaries, fertilisation, embryos and male and female bits, in simple picture form, go here

S.O. orgasms
Category:orgasm

Otoño...otean la ostentosa orgia...

...y oigan lo que ofusque...

西 风 颂

雪莱

剽悍的西风啊, 你是暮秋的呼吸,
因你无形的存在, 枯叶四处逃窜,
如同魔鬼见到了巫师, 纷纷躲避;

The warm sun is failing, the bleak wind is wailing,
The bare boughs are sighing, the pale flowers are dying;
And the year
On the earth, her death-bed, in a shroud of leaves dead,
Is lying.
Come, Months, come away,
From November to May,
In your saddest array,-
Follow the bier
Of the dead cold year,
And like dim shadows watch by her sepulchre.

The chill rain is falling, the nipt worm is crawling,
The rivers are swelling, the thunder is knelling
For the year;
The blithe swallows are flown, and the lizards each gone
To his dwelling.
Come, Months, come away,
Put on white, black, and gray;
Let your light sisters play;
Ye, follow the bier
Of the dead cold year,
And make her grave green with tear on tear.

With thanks to PBS...after all, he wrote them! The first is just the title and first Stanza, it's an Ode and the first word is 'O'; the second (below the picture) is in fact called 'Otoño'...if you're Spanish that is!

S.O.

Category: Foreign / otra

Omega Impressions...

Just trawling the many funny things you can get to put on your blog (remembering Gavin's "What Colour should your blog be" ...scroll up after following that link) etc, I came across this...

All very amusing because I get to be me...

...or even more me... (ahem)

Also I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome those R5NewsMB users who have popped in lately; Sarnia and Mags...do you not READ the messages you answer?!! I must have said at least 1000 times that I live in Spain..at least!...and if you believe that you'll believe what the sexy name decoder says about me too!!!...;-)

Open mind...

Just dropping a line to say I'm still alive after a wee spin in the Ecuatoranian wilds and to explain the 'webbands' on the top corners of my blog: as usual got the idea looking at other blogs; it is such a sad thing that there is so much intolerance and spite in this world and I liked the idea of the openmind site...

"the belief
Open-mind believes that we should approach various aspects and issues of life and society such as ethnicities, sexual orientations, cultural values, religious beliefs, political positions, and so on with an open-mind. No two persons are exactly the same in this world; everyone is unique with their own perspectives and beliefs.

When we encounter people who have a different viewpoint than ours we should approach them with an open-mind. Having an open-mind doesn't mean that we have to give up our own beliefs and accept others' all the time, it just means that we should try to listen to, and understand others' viewpoints on the subject; try to see where they are coming from. Only after that can we take a side and build our beliefs upon it. Simply to ignore others' points of view and claim that they are false is very immature and unreasonable: ignorance is the main cause of hatred, bigotry, prejudice and discrimination in society.

Furthermore, we should always respect others' points of view. Just because others have a different viewpoint than ours, doesn't mean that ours are better or right and theirs are wrong. Remember, there is no absolute right or wrong, there are only differences" [syntax edited S.O...and 1 error corrected when Gavin proof-read it....doh!]

Funnily enough I thought Kayfer's piece on snobbery with regard to council estate dwellers was along similar lines.

S.O.

OOTTT...(not OTT?)

Only Ows Testing Technorati Tagging...

Other

Obsession

Oligosaccharides...bug food?

Extract from product dossier of a Spanish Animal Nutrition company- revised, edited and translated by Span relating to prebiotics (e.g. oligosaccharides) and probiotics (good bacteria…I tell you that later…)

...no sex, no smut, no pictures...shit, come back later if you want!

The term oligosaccharide is derived from oligo meaning ‘a few’- and saccharide - meaning sugar. An oligosaccharide is a complex carbohydrate, a polymer, containing three to six units of simple sugars (each a monosaccharide and in the same way that poly [saccharide] means many), simply put: oligosaccharides are short chains of sugar molecules.

Most of the few naturally occurring oligosaccharides are found in plants; important oligosaccharide carbohydrates being raffinose and stachyose; they are found in beans and legumes but cannot be digested properly by our small intestine and end up being metabolized and expelled from the large intestine….oh shit!

There are several kinds of oligosaccharides, each made from different types of sugars: fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and inulin oligosaccharides consist of short chains of fructose molecules, while galacto-oligosaccharides consist of short chains of galactose molecules. All three types of oligosaccharides occur naturally, but they can be only partially digested by humans. The undigested portions remain in the body, and serve as food for probiotics and other "friendly" intestinal bacteria.

Research has established a positive relationship between oligosaccharides and friendly bacteria; intake of oligosaccharides can increase the amount of friendly bacteria in the gut, while simultaneously reducing the number of harmful bacteria.

Good bacteria and Intestinal Microbial Imbalance…

At certain times in an animal’s life, different exogenous factors - changes in feed, infections and parasites, antibiotic treatments… - lead to the balance within the intestines being disrupted, the entire digestive system is affected to a greater or lesser degree; the first symptom of this disruption is diarrhoea…not just loose poop…OK…squits, but the sign of a weakening of the intestinal defenses, which affords the possibility of the entry of disease-causing pathogens that attach themselves and multiply in the cells of the intestine lining. Diarrhoea not only entails less water but also fewer nutritive substances being absorbed…the very life of the animal thus affected may depend upon how serious the degree of dehydration is, and the resulting imbalance of electrolytes - this is because in conjunction with these changes in the “moisture content”, once the quantitative and qualitative change in the intestinal bacteria has taken place yet further infectious agents may settle into other body tissues.

There are many determining factors involved in the disruption of the balance of the intestinal flora (…and preventing this imbalance in animal production takes on a major degree of monetary importance) and this explains the reasons why many research studies have been undertaken aimed at pinpointing chemical and/ or biological products capable of preventing or avoiding these negative changes in the digestive ecosystem. One outcome of these aforementioned research studies has been the discovery of specific microorganisms which, when administered regularly, are capable of keeping the intestinal flora of animals healthy; these are known as probiotics.

Definition of “Probiotic”: according to Guarner and Schassfsman (1998) a “probiotic” is termed as being “live micro-organisms, which, after being ingested by an animal in a certain number, lead to benefits to the animal’s health which go beyond the merely nutritional”. In this definition, it is assumed that the ‘probiotic’ must have a positive impact on the composition of the intestinal microflora and provide noticeable health benefits for the animal in question.

Prebiotics, on the other hand, are non – digestible feed ingredients that produce a positive influence on the animal’s health by the selective stimulation of the activity and growth of the lactic acid bacteria present in the colon.

Prebiotics are carbohydrates that are both indigestible and unabsorbable by the animal organism, but easily fermentable by the intestinal bacteria, especially those in the colon; to be effective they must be able to pass the upper tracts of the digestive system and arrive at the large intestine. Among the prebiotics most studied are inulin (and its derivative oligofructose), fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), soya oligosaccharides (e.g. raffinose) and lactulose (lactose and fructose). FOS and inulin are found naturally in many plants, for example: leeks, onions, burdock, chicory and asparagus; FOS products derived from chicory root contain significant quantities of inulin.

Inulin, FOS and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), are found in abundant quantities in mothers milk and are responsible for the intestinal flora in suckling animals. Mothers’ milk is not the only place that these prebiotic substances are found: they are present in many diverse feed ingredients that allow a modification of the micro flora stimulating the growth of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli.

The flora in the colon of suckling animals includes a high percentage of bifidobacterias, when suckling finishes this concentration is reduced and so weaning becomes an important stage for the introduction of prebiotics in the diet to favour the colonisation of beneficial flora in the intestine. Prebiotics aid the proliferation of the bifidobacteria and lactobacilli that act against gastrointestinal infections with preventative effects from diarrhoeas and gastroenteritis and also constipation, colitis and flatulence.

Nutrition

Ooowww by the light...

...of the (full) silvery moon.

Credit for picture must go here...Copyright © 2003 Santa Barbara Instrument Group.

I of course prefer the picture of the emerging moon below...except she's teasing me!!! Credit for which must go to that very naughty (I can talk!) Gavin Corder.

P.S. Temporary viewing fault: dear readers, this is a temporary postscript to allow the viewing of another nice moon (below) whilst we await the Blog-Image-Movement-Balance-Operator (BIMBO) to sort out blondie above: she should be wiggling her booty.

P.P.S. The slight technical hitch is now sorted (Wednesday 16th November...1:50pm): BIMBO has assisted the bimbo...but I'm leaving the nice (full) booty thatI used as a filler...oops, no! You know what Imean...

Hmmmmmmmm...booty...

obscurum per obscurius...

This opiparous, orotund opuscle is hardly oratio recta; use of Ockham’s Razor would be orthopraxy and also help solve such obnubilation and obscurantism; no, don’t oblatrate or objurgate, your oblocution will not deny my oblectation.

I hope my obsession, my olamic onomatomania, does not obganiate or cause oscitance.

On other matters, my ombibulous habit may be the cause my oniochalasia; when at home, with keen osphresis and oxyopia, I maintain an olent olitory that obscures any odorvector, ozostomia or offensive, olid ordure.

Perhaps more importantly, despite obsolagnium, my ophelimity is optimal; or was that the olisbos?!! Well at least I can be orgulous of my osculation…or is that my oneirataxia!

Dedicated to optimistic opsimaths...the link may help!

S.O.

Obbligato...

Just as an afterthought to the post below on ornithogalum you may have presumed the word had something to do with birds i.e. ornithology etc. , and rightly so, ornitho/ ornith is from the Greek ornis, ornith - birds...hmmmm...birds... well, I expect you may be interested to know that an anagram of genus ornithogalum is:

'on until huge orgasm'!!

S.O.

(Superfluous happy smiley...and what a reason to be happy!)

Ornithogalum...

This is my first Christmas post...sort of: the genus (not genius!...well actually, now I mention it...) of the title refers to the "star-of-Bethlehem", in botany it is a low, spring-blooming bulbous plant of the family Liliceae; there are numerous members of the genus, of which Ornithogalum umbellatum is the best known, the Lily family...my favourites...YES! - what's wrong with guys liking flowers! - they are native to the Mediterranean region but naturalized in North America and cultivated in gardens.

The plant has rather stiff*, grasslike leaves and a cluster of white star-shaped flowers marked on the back with green; it spreads easily but also tends to become weedy. Although the fresh plant is poisonous (as is often the case with things of beauty) the bulbs have been prepared and used as food in the Old World. The Christmas connection (the name star-of-Bethlehem) is because the flower has been associated with the star that guided the Wise Men to the manger. It is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliopsida, order Liliales, family Liliaceae.

* stiff eh?...despite this O. umbellatum is often known as Sleepydick!!!!

...you knew there had to be a reason I was posting this didn't you!

O...yes, the story...

Where has this been hiding!...sex, S/M, porno, erotica!....ooooohhhhhhhhh (sighs)...I feel faint.

It's an erotic classic yet it was written anonymously by a shy, intellectual French woman in honour of her secret lover….see this in the O..Observer

Histoire d'O (English title: "Story of O"…oh the joy! Wonderful… ) was published 1954 in French and is a fantasy of female submission (...hmmmm) about a Parisian fashion photographer who is subjected to one or all of the following at some stage and on various occasions: blindfolding, chained-up, whipped, branded, made to wear a mask, and ‘brainwashed’ to be on call at any hour for oral sex, vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse etc…oh, hang on that’s a bit much! More 'news' here...

In February 1955 this sadomasochistic novel won the French literature prize Prix des Deux Magots; even so the French authorities brought obscenity charges against the publisher. Since then there have been films and a TV series (when? where?!!!) It was written by Pauline Réage (yes, a woman), which was the nom de plume of Anne Desclos (1907-1998), who also wrote under the name of Dominique Aury...info and image (below) from the Wikipedia article (letter o) under various other meanings for 'O'.

Book...banned; film...banned; TV series...banned...it must be brilliant!!!!! It's all available now and would enlighten you all...go read!

S.O.

P.S. Thanks to the nigh-on famous Gavin Corder for my new image...the O...pumping... and pumping ...oh dear...I've gone all faint again.

Ocular opiate...

...oodles of oomph on offer!

ODE: Occasionally one ogles optical opulence, on observing our offered ornamental opus or orgy of outstandingly ornate, operatic orb.

OUTCOME: Oracular?...Optimal oration owed ovation?... only OK?...oops.

Or...Ows owed on-line opprobrium or (oh!!) orchidectomy?!!

S.O.

Oranges...the bottom of the barrel?

More than any other fruit, the orange is associated with its high vitamin C content.


Not surprisingly it is the primary source of vitamin C for many people in many countries. However oranges have more to offer nutritionally than just this one nutrient: a small orange contains generous levels of folate (folic acid), potassium, and thiamine, as well as some calcium and magnesium. (This and all you need to know here)

Orange trees are semitropical non-deciduous trees and probably originated in Southeast Asia; although everyone takes oranges for granted now at one time they were expensive and only rarely available in cooler climates; these days they ‘right up there’ with bananas and apples.

Skin colour is not a good guide to quality: Some oranges are artificially coloured with a harmless vegetable dye, while others may show traces of green although they are ripe. Through a natural process called "re-greening," the skins of ripe oranges sometimes revert to green if there are blossoms on the tree at the same time as the fruit; this is because the tree produces chlorophyll to nourish the blossoms, and some of the pigment may be taken up by the mature fruit. Oranges that have "re-greened" may actually be sweeter because they are extra-ripe.

Don’t get me wrong…I started this because I like oranges and nutrition(and the word begins with an ‘O’...gulp) , I thought a picture of oranges would look good on my blog (I think it does) and apparently some film directors like the look of oranges on the set, I liked this…oh God…Father.

...and even if any guys out there don't like the taste just look what thy can do for you...and I heard small ones are more juicy!

Nutrition

Ovum in tum...

Today, if we eat eggs at all, we almost always eat hens’ eggs, though the eggs of other fowl - including duck, goose and quail - are getting popular again.

Any egg should be worth a try however I did find the turtle eggs a bit more dry and gritty. An eggshell's colour is determined by the breed of bird (let’s forget the reptiles for now) that laid it and has nothing to do with either taste or nutritive value.

Eggs should always be refrigerated (and it’s best to store them large-end up) because when stored at room temperature they lose more quality in 1 day than in a week in the fridge so always keep them there and still in their carton; this helps prevent any possible damage but also avoids tainting because they can easily absorb odours especially from odoriferous foods (such as onions...onions...O...thinks...). Providing the shells are intact they can be refrigerated up to a month but the best flavour (and cooking quality) will be realized in eggs used within a week.

The egg is a nutritious, delicious food in its own right but it also has numerous other uses in ‘everyday item’: they help to leaven cakes, breads and of course soufflés; they provide a base for many dressings, especially mayonnaise; a thickener in sauces and custards and a clarifying agent for stocks etc. but with their significant protein, vitamin and mineral content and relatively low saturated fat content, eggs are most commonly eaten as ‘eggs’ and provide a valuable component in a healthy diet.

Egg protein is of high biological value as it contains all the essential amino acids needed by the human body; they therefore complement other food proteins of lower biological value by providing the amino acids that are in short supply in those foods. A whopping 12.5% of the weight of the egg is protein, which is found in both the yolk and the albumen; although the protein is more concentrated around the yolk there is in fact more protein in the ‘white’. Such is the high value and high digestibility of eggs that they provide a reference standard by which other foods are assessed.

Vitamins and minerals are also abundant: eggs contain most of the recognised vitamins with the exception of vitamin C; they are a good source of all the vitally important B vitamins (riboflavin etc) plus the fat-soluble vitamin A, provide useful amounts of vitamin D, as well as some vitamin E. Eggs contain most of the minerals that the human body requires for health; in particular they are an excellent source of iodine, required to make the thyroid hormone, and phosphorus, required for bone health. The egg provides zinc - good for growth, healing/ fighting infection great for shiny healthy hair and nails etc - selenium, an important antioxidant; and calcium, needed for bone and growth structure and nervous function. Eggs also contain significant amounts of iron, the vital ingredient of red blood cells, but the actual availability of this iron to the body is uncertain as yet...

Eggs contain only traces of carbohydrate and no dietary fibre but 10.8% of the egg content is fat. However, before you spit the dummy and scream “Unhealthy” you should understand that approximately 11% of an egg’s fatty acids are polyunsaturated, 44% monounsaturated and only 29% saturated; I have mentioned fatty acids in other posts and this becomes important when people talk of the ‘badness’ of eggs re cholesterol etc. Go here if you’re interested (from the same eggs and nutrition site) to find out how this really 'unhealthy' claim is not the case at all. The fat of an egg is found almost entirely in the yolk; there is less than 0.05% in the albumen.

Cholesterol and Lecithin (a phospholipid, essential for the metabolism of fats) are fat-like substances and are essential to the structure and function of all cells in the body. Cholesterol helps to maintain the flexibility and permeability of cell membranes and is also a raw material for the fatty lubricants that help to keep the skin supple. Cholesterol is essential for the production of sex hormones, cortisol, vitamin D and bile salts. Lecithin - of which choline is a major constituent - is involved in the general lipid transportation in the blood and in the metabolism of cholesterol.



Yes, you're right: this is the bottom of the post, or is that two eggs?
S.O.

Nutrition

October's over...

Halloween special....a Sexy Witch...

Continuing on this theme, the following is taken from 'The Tools of the Craft', by Lee Thurmond.
"The sacred tools of the Witch have been around for thousands of years and we present the basics here. There are many books that go into further detail and always remember that Witchcraft is truly a Life's Quest. As we all know there are numerous tools that are used world over by Witches on a daily basis. Some of these tools are a considered essential to certain individuals/or traditions and others may consider these same tools a hindrance or unnecessary."

The following is just a very brief snippet of what can be found in this 'Witchraft Basics' from The Witches' League For Public Awareness:

ATHAME: The next tool I would like to discuss briefly is the athame. The athame is usually a black handle, double edge knife [blogger's note: that's woken Gavin up!] and is strictly a ritual tool. It is a symbolic representative of the element of fire. It can be used as a tool for laying down a circle and also as a symbol representing the male aspect. Athames can be used to invoke the quarters, release the quarters, and are customarily used to assist with blessing the waters of life inside of the chalice, this blessing being symbolic of the Great Rite.

CAULDRON: The cauldron represents the gift of birth, death and rebirth, also knowledge and inspiration. The cauldron is a female aspect and is a symbolic representative of water, and it may also be used as a representation of fire. It is often referred to in connection with Cerridwen.


WAND: The wand has been known as a tool that is gentle in nature and has the male aspect, it is the symbolic representative of air. It is another tool that can be used for casting circle, invoking and releasing the quarters, and casting of spells, and some have used this in place of the athame or sword in the performance of the symbolic ritual of the Great Rite.

Etc.

It does scare me though...

S.O.

Onomatopoeic oeuvre...

Plop

(Dedicated to the BBC Radio 5 UK News Board posters)

Orgasms... the second coming

That’s got your interest…more below after some discussion; the image is called 'Gardening' from Marjorie Baldwin Greene...which helps explain part of what I'm getting at below.

Sexologists Masters and Johnson ("Masters and Johnson on Sex and Human loving" ©1982,1985,1986) describe the female orgasm as follows: "Women often describe the sensations of an orgasm as beginning with a momentary sense of suspension, quickly followed by an intensely pleasurable feeling that usually begins at the clitoris and rapidly spreads throughout the pelvis. The physical sensations of the genitals are often described as warm, electric, or tingly, and these usually spread through the body. Finally, most women feel muscle contractions in their vagina or lower pelvis, often described as "pelvic throbbing."

This and most of the text below, plus much, much more can be read in full at the aptly named The-Clitoris.com...the final few paragraphs are my own as you may guess!

While all orgasms are organically the same, varying only in strength and length, a woman may not experience them all in the same way: how a woman experiences an orgasm during masturbation is usually totally different than how she experiences it during partner sex. In fact, women often report their most "satisfying" orgasms occur during masturbation, perhaps because they are the centre of attention, and not worrying about or distracted by a partner. A woman may experience an orgasm totally differently if her vagina is empty than when a penis or hand is inserted or she may be more aware of her vaginal contractions when her vagina has something to clamp down on!

Women experience total body orgasms, clitoral orgasms, vaginal orgasms, and uterine orgasms and there are two physical changes the body must under go if a woman is to experience orgasm. The first is "vasocongestion," the pooling of blood in the breasts and genitals. This results in the breasts and genitals becoming larger, the body feeling warm or hot to the touch, the change in color of the breasts and genitals, and vaginal lubrication. The second is "Myotonia" or "neuromuscular tension," the build up of energy in the nerve endings and muscles of the entire body.

If a woman experiences one orgasm, she can usually have many more in one session, as long as adequate stimulation continues. Some women will have one orgasm right after another, for as long as the stimulation is continued. Practice seems to make this more probable. The clitoris may be extremely sensitive after the first orgasm, requiring a very light or indirect touch and a woman may need only to slip a very slightly away from the point of orgasm before she can have another.

Most multiple orgasms, despite howling protestations from all us guys, occur during masturbation most probably because there is nothing or no one to distract a woman from her pleasure, and if a vibrator or similar 'gadget' is utilized it will not get tired, unlike a woman's own hand, or that of her partner.

If a partner wants to bring their female partner to multiple orgasms, they will probably have to forego their own pleasure; at least temporarily…this last point is probably the most important: no matter what equipment we have, both as body parts (!!!) or sex toys the most important thing is to pay as much attention as possible to our partner to try and make their pleasure greater…the thing is, and you won’t like this, is that I am convinced that male humans are ill equipped to really take women to that highest high…

Guys, listen! Don't get all 'macho' with me...No, I’m not saying ‘you’ can’t do it or that your partner doesn’t orgasm; what I’m saying is…well, what I’m trying to get at here is….err, that we need a few more hands and arms with flagellum fingers and maybe even a morphing member...the following may go some way to explain: the image at the start and this one here are from a great set of highly erotic sketches and tales from Marjorie Baldwin Greene (Marjorie's Bedtime Stories), visit the site (hosted by Tripod) and see what I mean, this one is called 'Lara in Trouble II' and there are many more sketches,like this one, in colour with related captions and stories. The site comes with a caution that should be read before going further re non appropriate content for children etc. ..orgasms

 

So there you have it, I’m jealous of the multi-tasking tendriled/ tentacled, polymorphous orgasm-inducing powers of a series of fictional plants, aliens and cephalopod or gastropod molluscs!
S.O. orgasm


orgasms

Onan...oh no...oh yes!

Excerpted from Brush Up Your Bible! by Michael Macrone

"And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him. And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also."
-- Genesis 38: 7-10 (KJV).

You might think [yes we do] Onan's sin was "onanism," an eponymous English term for masturbation...yep, that's what I thought...Dok?...But such is not what the Bible tells us: Onan does "spill his seed on the ground," but... he doesn't "get there" by himself...he's not 'on his own' with his 'first (five-fingered) lover', oh no: Onan has been put on the spot by Jacob but only with respect to a tribal law of that time...tribal law...(or in modern terms a bloody Godsend [oh yes] for brother-in-laws everywhere provided that the sister-in-law was a bit of alright!): so...let's get this straight...though Er is dead, if Er's brother impregnates Er's widow then any resulting son will be taken as Er's...ahem...OK, we know that primogeniture (succession through the first-born son) was of supreme importance (then) so really he's compelled by duty...could be fun...no?
Follow the link...read the rest... excuse me while I go to the little boys room...

S.O.

Orgasms...did you see this coming?

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Olives...MUFA's galore!...

Steady!...you’ll see what I mean by reading on…nutrition galore. Olives are wondrous things…since nutritionists are forever telling us that we must address the balance of what we eat, especially with regard to fats and cholesterol, interest in olives and olive oil has never been higher. Not a day passes when the virtues of the ‘Mediterranean diet’ have been promoted with increasing enthusiasm; you know what its like...all those onions and garlic, and tomato with everything...a diet high in cereals, fish, fruit and vegetables with the primary source of fat being olive oil.

To find out more about the olive plant, different cultivars and the methods of their cultivation go HERE or for an easy to read and fairly informative background into all things olive go HERE.

But oil is fat…fat is bad? No? Let’s quickly establish what’s what: there are various types of fat but they are not all bad; the main types are saturated and unsaturated fat and this latter can be further split into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. All types of fat are classified by this "saturation" and many foods contain all three types in different proportions.

Together, the three different types are known as "total fat" but it is important to note that each type has a different effect on the body. Each fat is made up of various fatty acids and each different fat will have a unique fatty acid profile containing SFA (saturated fatty acids) MUFA’s (monounsaturated fatty acids) and PUFA’s (polyunsaturated FA’s).

Published studies confirm that monounsaturated olive oil has many health benefits. While both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats lower the harmful LDL cholesterol (low density lipoprotein) in the body, monounsaturated fats maintain levels of the helpful HDL cholesterol (high density lipoproteins), but polyunsaturated oils reduce it. Despite all the known and presumed benefits of monounsaturated oils (Olive oil in general but also groundnut, nut and avocado oils…) it is the PUFA’s that are classed as essential fatty acids (EFA) because our bodies cannot synthesise them…it gets really complicated…go HERE for as good a place as any to get in really deep.

We know olive oil is high in these monounsaturated fats and among the health benefits are the lessening of risks of heart attacks and other circulatory problems, helping the digestive system to function more efficiently and is the edible fat most easily absorbed by the intestines and regulates the passage of food through the intestines, in fact one or two tablespoons of olive oil has a positive effect as a laxative and as if that is not enough, olive oil is considered a good food choice for expectant and nursing mothers since it is thought to encourage normal brain development in the infant before and after birth and at the other extreme in the autumn of our lives it may be helpful in preventing the wear and tear of age on the brain functions and the aging of organs and tissues in general.

Olive oil contains a high percentage of the monounsaturated oleic acid, the highest in fact at over 70% monounsaturated (with +/- 16% saturated and 10% polyunsaturated) Thus, it is a natural monounsaturated oil.

When shopping try to be selective, as always you pay for what you get so if the olive oil you want is 'surprisingly' cheap...well, enough said; always choose cold-pressed unrefined nut or seed oils or extra-virgin olive oil, this way you know that it has not undergone undue processes or chemical treatments, also if you can get it in dark glass all the better… I’m serious, read this “Find an extra virgin olive oil that is cold pressed, unfiltered, and looks cloudy. The oil should be packaged in dark glass bottles to protect it from the damaging effects of light. Real olive oil is still made in small estate bottled settings.”…then read more HERE.

S.O.

Credit for the photograph of the olive selection: DECLAN MCCULLAGH PHOTOGRAPHY
Nutrition

You know it makes sense...

"Sugen un etusdio de una uenivrsdiad ilnglsa, no ipmotra el odren en el que las ltears etsan ersciats, la uicna csoa ipormtnate es que la pmrirea y la utlima ltera etsen ecsritas en la psiocoin cocrrtea. El rsteo peuden etsar ttaolmntee mal y aun pordas lerelo sin pobrleams. Etso es pquore no lemeos cada ltera por si msima snio la paalrba cmoo un tdoo. Pesornamelnte me perace icrneilbe..."

Indeed...and as I know many of you (but by no means ALL of you) will have a torrid time trying to understand what I have written - because no translation site will have a clue what I have posted - I include the correct rearrangement of the letters and their translation below...underneath an example of what mosquitos can do to help us...or is it that I fancied posting a gratuitous display of lovely flesh...

"According to a study from an English university the order in which you write the letters of a word does not matter: as long as the first and last letter are written in the correct positions the rest can be totally wrong and you will still be able to read the message with no problem at all. The reason for this is because we do not read each letter individually but the word as a whole. Personally I find this incredible..."

S.O.

Days we love with the ones we love....

After popular and incessant demand from my many readers (ahem) I have decided to post a picture of my beloved children, taken in the garden at home in the UK this summer.


You will note 4 different hair types (check out that afro!) but all the same face although that's not really apparent from the picture considering the sun and certain moods!

The Value of Yeasts in Horse Nutrition

Horses are classified as non-ruminant herbivores; they are ‘browsing’ grazers and normally would spend a lot of time each day feeding on a little-and-often basis. This forage diet offers plenty of fibre which, together with the simple sugars from the digested forage provides an adequate energy intake. A variety of pasture and plants/ herbs consumed can largely satisfy a horse’s need for vitamins and minerals.

This natural feeding regime is very sympathetic to the structure of a horse’s digestive tract but the domestication of the horse as a work animal, including the subsequent and necessary changes made to their dietary and feeding habits, has helped contribute to the many feed-related problems that can now occur.

The digestive tract of equines can be envisaged as divided into two sections: the first of which (stomach and small intestine) is similar to that of a monogastric such as a pig, man or dog: and the second section comprises a well-developed hindgut, which is similar, in a way, to the rumen of a cow. Horses are called ‘hind-gut fermentors’ and this is where the serious digestion really occurs. The caecum and colon can hold over 100 litres of feedstuff in various stages of digestion.

As with all animals the digestive process starts in the mouth with thorough chewing of the food materials to reduce particle size as an aid to digestion and to allow easier swallowing. During chewing saliva is produced; this acts not only as a lubricant to ease the passage of the chewed food but also saliva contains bicarbonate, which helps to protect the vulnerable areas of the stomach from the strong acids that are produced during digestion.

Ideally, all equines should be fed a high fibre diet with at least half their energy needs coming from roughage/ fibre: those that are fed a ration that is high in long fibre (hay, haylage, grass…) chew more and so produce more saliva.

After chewing and the start of its digestion (breakdown) in the mouth, the food material moves along to the stomach. In the acidic conditions of the stomach food is mixed thoroughly; the stomach has two major functions during the digestion process in the horse: firstly to continue the breakdown of the feed by digestive enzymes and secondly to regulate the rate of passage of feedstuffs from the stomach; the food matter only remains in the stomach for a short period of time before it passes into the small intestine: horses have a relatively small stomach, 5 – 15 litres - that is designed for trickle/ little-and-often feeding.

The feed also travels quite quickly through the regions of the small intestine; this is about 21-25 metres in length and is where much of the enzymatic digestion of fats, starch, sugars, and protein takes place, and also the absorption of many minerals such as calcium, zinc, copper and fat-soluble vitamins. Starch is digested (broken down) by glycanase enzymes, oil is digested by lipase enzymes and protein is digested by protease enzymes that are produced in the pancreas or small intestine.

Diets fed as large meals only once or twice a day result in the rapid passage of food through the stomach and small intestine reducing the efficiency of the digestion, increasing the possibility of undigested starch reaching the hindgut. The hindgut is adapted to digest fibre in the horse’s diet through a process of fermentation and here its rate of passage slows considerably.

Horses are not able to digest fibre using their own digestive enzymes and so are dependent on the microbial populations found throughout the length of the digestive tract from the stomach to the terminal colon; the caecum contains billions of coliform forming units (CFU’s) microflora per millilitre of caecal fluid consisting of bacteria, yeasts, fungi and protozoa.

Basically the hindgut is a highly developed large intestine, consisting of the caecum, large colon, small colon and rectum; in the hindgut the feed is turned into usable nutrients that will be absorbed through the gut linings. Digestive enzymes and yeasts break down the feed; it is the billions of bacteria that further process the simple sugars, amino acids and fatty acids for absorption through the gut wall. Beneficial bacteria assist in the fermentation of fibre plus the synthesis of protein and a host of B vitamins; pathogenic microflora contribute to disease, which may cause digestive disturbances, scouring and colic.

Probiotics (yeasts, non-harmful bacteria, fermentation products and enzymes) can usually curb digestive upset symptoms within a 24 hour period, but it takes longer, probably 3 to 7 days to change the microflora balance and re-establish good hind-gut fermentation.

During the process of fermentation fibrous material is broken down and converted into substances called volatile fatty acids (VFAs). The horse absorbs these VFAs from the hindgut into the body, where they are used as a source of energy; when enzymes provide better digestion of fibre the animal gets more calories and more varied nutrients from the feed.

The starches and simple sugars found in cereals that are commonly fed as part of animal diets would normally be digested in the small intestine; a horse’s G.I. tract does not have the capability for large amounts of starch digestion in the small intestine and any starch that remains undigested on reaching the hindgut will be fermented rapidly, leading to a build up in acidity.

Despite the knowledge that large amounts of cereals can be detrimental to the horse, affecting the hindgut environment, many of the diets fed to competitive horses place great stress on their digestive systems: they are often fed large high cereal-content rations and have limited access to forage.
Diets containing high levels of cereal starch and limited quantities of forage have a negative effect on the hindgut environment and alter the balance of microflora; the population and balance of different microflora in the equine gut is changing constantly; this balance of microflora can be affected by numerous factors including the composition of the diet, particle size of the ration, time (of day) of feeding, environmental stress, drug treatments (wormers, antibiotics…) etc.

The Value of Yeast

When hind gut efficiency is impaired, for example on low-fibre diets, it is important to supplement the diet with the B vitamins that are usually ‘manufactured’ in the gut. Probiotics will help to restore hindgut efficiency i.e. yeasts will help the beneficial (cellulolytic) bacteria to multiply because they are a rich dietary source of B vitamins and amino acids, whilst oligosaccharides (prebiotics) will bond with undesirable (pathogenic) bacteria in the gut and effectively remove them, excreted in the faeces.

As previously mentioned, increased acidity results from a change in the relative proportions of the different volatile fatty acids produced during the fermentation of starch, and is largely responsible for imbalances in the microbial flora.

These imbalances can be common because millions of beneficial bacteria die naturally and are lost from the digestive tract every day; maintaining the healthy balance is essential to support normal digestion and immune function thereby helping the horse maintain health, vitality, weight and condition.
The term yeast designates a group of fungi which have certain outstanding characteristics in common; live yeast is scientifically proven to help maintain a healthy balance of beneficial bacteria.
Yeasts (fungi) are microscopic living organisms that are responsible for the fermentation process; there are many different strains of yeast with varying characteristics present throughout the natural environment that we live in; some strains with desirable characteristics for food production/ digestion are now commonly utilised in human and animal nutrition.
The prominent genus in nutrition is Saccharomyces; selected strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are used in the food and feed industries and for other fermentation purposes (baker's yeast, brewer's yeast, wine yeast, in the manufacture of alcohol…)
It is important to reiterate that yeasts are now recognised as rich dietary sources of B vitamins and amino acids for both humans and animals; more specifically for equines, yeast enhances feed digestion improving growth, bone development and stamina.

Available nutritional yeast products fall into three distinct categories; namely live yeasts, yeast cultures and dead yeasts:

Live Yeast - Live yeast is the preferred nutritional product: live yeasts, separated from the media at the end of the yeast culture process, yield a nutritional product of greater quality and consistency; this, when fed as a nutritional aid, benefits digestion in the aforementioned ways.

Yeast Cultures - All commercial yeasts are produced by growing them in media containing the necessary nutrients for optimal growth. At the end of this process the entire culture can be harvested and supplied as a yeast product (a yeast culture). However, this will not only contain pure live yeast cells, but also dead yeast cells, growth media and metabolic by-products.

Dead Yeast - Dead yeast products are also marketed (Brewer’s yeasts etc) that have been separated at the end of the brewing process and thus retain no fermenting capacity (beneficial action) although they are still a source of nutrients.

S.O.

Nutrition

Days we love...Travelling

I shall be in Africa, the Middle East and South America over the next few weeks but will endeavour to post something when I can...perhaps a travel diary.

For those that follow Islam peacefully I wish you a happy Ramadan; recently whilst looking at Islamic sites one had a link to this showing what (they said) is a great gift from God; maybe not, depending on your beliefs, but intersting all the same.

CHIVALRY: a combination of qualities...

Chivalry is a COMBINATION OF QUALITIES that centre on justice, gallantry, courteousness, honour and a readiness to help the weak or distressed.

Originally from the Old French chevalerie (C13 /14 from Chevalier) it was of course those qualities expected of an ideal knight; today it is, in essence, ‘only’ politesse and applied to one’s behaviour toward women.

I believe that the most defining thing about all chivalrous acts, whether they be a cliché as in the cloak over a muddy puddle, or even ‘minor’ as a helping hand or accompanying a lady across the street, opening a door, giving a few pence to the person who hasn’t got quite enough to pay the shopkeeper etc, is that they come with no strings attached, that is to say no conditions or stipulations or even thoughts of possible future recoupment.

A Chevalier was a horseman, a mounted and heavily armed soldier serving a lord or sovereign; chevalier (knight) was a nonhereditary title but could be that of a low-ranking noble; the word chevalier is from Late Latin caballàrius from caballus horse and from these same roots come our English words cavalier, cavalry and cavalcade by way (C16) of the Old Provençal and from Italian cavaliere (horseman).

Definition: (Webster’s 1913) Taken from this very helpful and excellent site

Chiv"al*ry\, n. [F. chevalerie, fr. chevalier knight, OF., horseman. See {Chevalier}, and cf. {Cavalry}.]
1. A body or order of cavaliers or knights serving on horseback; illustrious warriors, collectively; cavalry. “His Memphian chivalry.” - Milton.

By his light Did all the chivalry of England move,
To do brave acts. - Shakespeare

2. The dignity or system of knighthood; the spirit, usages,
or manners of knighthood; the practice of knight-errantry.
- Dryden.

3. The qualifications or character of knights, as valour, dexterity in arms, courtesy, etc.

The glory of our Troy this day doth lie On his fair
worth and single chivalry. - Shakespeare.

4. (Eng. Law) A tenure of lands by knight's service; that is,
by the condition of a knight's performing service on
horseback, or of performing some noble or military service
to his lord.

5. Exploit. [Obs.] - Sir P. Sidney.

{Court of chivalry}, a court formerly held before the lord
high constable and earl marshal of England as judges,
having cognizance of contracts and other matters relating
to deeds of arms and war. – Blackstone

Introduction to Chile. Part I

Chile: Situación, superficie y clima
La República de Chile forma una estrecha franja de tierra que discurre entre el Océano Pacífico y la Cordillera Andina, en el extremo sudoccidental del continente americano. Tiene una superficie de 756.946 km cuadrados, - aunque reclama sus soberanía de 1.250.000 km cuadrados de territorio antártico -, una longitud de 4.270 km (desde la frontera con Perú hasta el Cabo de Hornos) y una anchura media de 200 km (máxima de 400 km). Su posesión más occidental es la Isla de Pascua, a 3.780 km de la costa continental.
Chile es un país montañoso, recorrido de Norte a Sur no sólo por la Cordillera de los Andes (con alturas que superan los 6.000 m), sino también por la Cordillera de la Costa, formando entre ambas el Valle Central. El relieve chileno es muy variado e incluye zonas desérticas en el norte del país, zonas montañosas con nieves perpetuas, estepas en la zona austral y paisajes polares en el extremo sur. Por otra parte, Chile es un país sísmicamente activo y cuenta con varios volcanes en actividad. Además, la escasa distancia entre la cordillera andina y la costa no permite el buen desarrollo de los ríos.
El clima es suave y seco en el norte y húmedo en el sur. En Santiago (520 m de altitud), el mes más caluroso es enero (con 11° C de mínima y 36° C de máxima) y el más frío julio (que oscila entre 0,2°C y 20° C). El mes más seco es febrero, con precipitaciones medias de 2 mm y el más lluvioso, junio (84 mm).
Demografía y sociedad
Chile tiene 15.116.435 habitantes (INE–Censo de 2002), de la cual el 50,73% son mujeres. El porcentaje de población que habita en áreas urbanas es de 86,6%. En la Región Metropolitana, donde se encuentra la capital, Santiago, se concentran 6.061.185 habitantes, es decir, el 40% del total de la población del país. La composición de la misma está formada por 75,5% de mestizos; 19,9% de descendientes de europeos y 4,6% perteneciente a grupos étnicos (destacando un 4% de mapuches).
De acuerdo al Censo 2002, un 25,7% de la población es menor de 15 años y el 11,4% tiene 60 o más años. El 95,8% de la población está alfabetizada.
No existe una religión oficial. No obstante, según datos del censo 2002, el 70% de los chilenos mayores de 14 años se declara católico, el 15,1% evangélico, un 4,4% profesa otras religiones y el 8,3%, ninguna.
Breve referencia histórica
Chile alcanzó su independencia el 18 de septiembre de 1810. La Constitución actualmente en vigor se aprobó en 1980 y sólo ha experimentado ligeras modificaciones. La principal modificación se realizó en marzo de 1994, mediante la cual se acortó la duración del mandato presidencial de 8 a 6 años. El Presidente de la República no puede ser reelegido para el periodo siguiente.
Las elecciones generales del 11 de diciembre de 1989, primeras de la democracia, fueron ganadas por los partidos de la Concertación, tomando posesión, como Presidente de la República, el democratacristiano Patricio Aylwin Azócar, el 11 de marzo de 1990. Tras cuatro años de mandato, las siguientes elecciones fueron nuevamente ganadas por la Concertación, saliendo elegido Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, a quien le sucedió, el 11 de marzo del 2000, tras las últimas elecciones presidenciales, el también candidato de la Concertación, Ricardo Lagos Escobar, actual Presidente de la República. Online Chilean news: Daily Newspaper 'Mercurio'. (otra en Español)

Category: Foreign

S.O.

Practising with links

I tried to add a link several times yesterday within the previous message; every time an error occured despite the fact that I had followed the instructions to the letter and checked, and rechecked...also, it was past midnight and I was a bit tipsy...but that shouldn't matter, should it?

Today let's read the Sunday Times

Or we could read this, which I think is an all round better newspaper

1st edit (10:45 am)...both links work perfectly, maybe it's true what they say about the demon drink...Doh!

I love being married

I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. Rita Rudner
Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then. Katherine Hepburn
Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate. Barnett R. Brickner
More marriages might survive if the partners realized that sometimes the better comes after the worse. Doug Larson
Divorce: The past tense of marriage. Author Unknown
A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. -Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966
It destroys one's nerves to be amiable every day to the same human being. Benjamin Disraeli
Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight. Phyllis Diller, 1966
An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit. Pliny the Younger (Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundis), Letters
If you made a list of the reasons why any couple got married, and another list of the reasons for their divorce, you'd have a hell of a lot of overlapping. Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960
A man marries to have a home, but also because he doesn't want to be bothered with sex and all that sort of thing. W. Somerset Maugham
There is no substitute for the comfort supplied by the utterly taken-for granted relationship. Iris Murdoch
Matrimony is a process by which a grocer acquired an account the florist had. Francis Rodman
Marriage is a book of which the first chapter is written in poetry and the remaining chapters in prose. Beverley Nichols
All marriages are happy. It's the living together afterward that causes all the trouble. Raymond Hull
As to marriage or celibacy let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent. Socrates
A first-rate marriage is like a first-rate hotel: expensive, but worth it. Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966
The reason for much matrimony is patrimony. Ogden Nash
Three rings of marriage are the engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering. Author Unknown
A man in love is incomplete until he has married. Then he's finished. Zsa Zsa Gabor
One should never know too precisely whom one has married. Friedrich Nietzsche

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No comment...awaiting reply...to be confirmed...watch this space.

The Roots of Catalan Cooking

Not my own work - blogger blagged. Es de otra

Few cuisines are as attached to their historical roots as Catalan cookery is. Carla Passino compares today's fare with the medieval original.

'Catalans eat more graciously and better than other countries.' This may sound like a rave review by a food critic smitten with the menu at top Catalan restaurant El Bulli, but it was actually written in the 14th century by Francesc Eiximenis, a theologist who occasionally occupied his time with the rather more mundane concerns of eating and drinking. (bloggers note: he seems like a good sort)

Catalonia - intended as the larger area where Catalan is spoken - was as much a beacon of European cuisine in the Middle Ages as it is today, or perhaps more. It influenced cooking styles throughout the continent and especially in Italy, where it arrived through Sicily, Sardinia and Naples, which became part of the Catalan-Aragonese kingdom between the 13th and early 15th centuries. In a quirk of destiny, the Catalans were probably bringing back to Italy a much embellished version of what the Italians themselves had brought to Catalonia in Roman times.

The core of Catalan cuisine is of Roman origin, according to Rudolf Grewe, who was one of the foremost scholars of Catalan food history. The Romans brought to Catalonia bread, wine and oil - 'the classical triad' which, according to medieval food historian Massimo Montanari, fed imperial ideology and the food model it imposed throughout the Roman Empire. And Roman writers mentioned oysters from Tarragona, mountain hams and clams as local delicacies. (Bloggers note: well apart from the oysters and clams, the bread, wine, oil and ham are the same today...daily fare that is, not centuries old!)

However, this basic fare was greatly enriched in medieval times, when Catalonia became a flourishing centre of commerce which rivalled with Venice and Genoa for naval hegemony. Set at the heart of the Mediterranean, the country introduced and adapted many foreign influences into its culinary tradition. Arab cookery was especially important. The Moors held much of the Iberic peninsula throughout the Middle Ages and their traditional ingredients, such as rice, lemons or bitter oranges, made their way into local cuisines throughout Spain.

The Libre de Sent Sovi - which (presumably?) dates from 1324 and is one of the oldest cookbooks in Europe - lists a number of dishes made with aubergines, spinach or sugar which have a clear Moorish origin. Aubergines, for example, are served with almond milk, or cooked in a casola (casserole), and the book gives two recipes for alatria, pasta of Hispano - Arabic origin. Trade with the Muslim countries and Africa also brought in spices, which played a major part in medieval Catalan cuisine.

Cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon - which were thought to have medical properties - were widely used in medieval Catalonia. A simple mig-raust (later known as mirrauste) of almond milk, in the book de Sent Sovi, calls for pepper, ginger, cloves and the ubiquitous cinnamon - as well as sugar.

Some recipes use saffron, which had already been known in Roman times but found a new lease of life in Moorish-influenced Catalonia. Not only did the spice become an integral part of Catalan cuisine and the cuisines which descended from it, but - cultivated as it was in Valencia and Roussillon - it fueled a booming trade with Germany and central Europe until the 16th century.

The Libre de Sent Sovi also carries one of the earliest recipes for two founding elements in modern Catalan cuisine: picada and sofregit. A paste made with ground almonds, herbs and spices, picada is to Catalan sauces what roux is to French ones: the quintessential ingredient, the cornerstone of good sauce-making. Sofregit, which may have influenced the Italian soffritto, was a stir-fry of chopped onions, garlic and herbs that was and is still used to flavour all sorts of dishes. The contemporary version is practically identical to the medieval one, save for an ingredient: the tomato, which came to Spain and Catalonia from America in the 16th century. (Bloggers note: tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco...wow! Imagine a day without at least one of them today?...or hamburgers)

Beyond the individual dishes, however, it is the creative approach to ingredients which has remained a constant in Catalan cuisine from the Middle Ages. Sweet-and-sour combinations, for example, were common throughout Europe during the Middle Ages, but lost currency in later centuries. In Catalonia, however, they have remained an important part of the local heritage. Today's rabbit with pears, for example, or duck with fruit have their roots in the marinated mutton with pears and quince that appears in the 16th-century Libre Del Coch.

The other pillar book of medieval Catalan cookery, the Libre may have been written in the 16th century although it was published in 1520. The author was a Mestre Robert, who in later editions is identified as Robert or Rupert de Nola, head chef to Alfonso V El Magnánimo, king of Aragon, Valencia, Mallorca, Sicily and Sardinia, king of Naples and earl of Barcelona between 1442 and 1458. The book was probably a present for Alfonso's son, Ferran, who later became king of Naples, and it may have been a prime vehicle through which Catalan recipes penetrated Italian cuisine.

In typical medieval fashion, the Libre has plenty of sweet-and-sour dishes. One for all is the fritter of new cheese with sugar and honey, a version of which has survived practically unaltered in the former Catalan colony of northern Sardinia, where it is called a sebada or seada.
Mestre Robert often suggests sprinkling some sugar and cinnamon to give more oomph to his recipes, although, he says 'there are people who believe that you shouldn't sprinkle sugar on pottages cooked in meat stock and everything depends on the taste of the lord of the house.'

Sweets, such as marzipans and all sorts of fritters, feature prominently throughout the book - an indication that desserts played as important a part on the Catalan medieval table as they do today, although their serving style was different at the time. Another cookery book from the period is entirely devoted to 'totes maneres de confits' - from confit lemons to codonyat, a quince cheese which is still popular today. Perhaps it was familiarity with these recipes that prompted 15th-century Italian food writer Bartolomeo Sacchi, known as Platina, to say that the Catalans were undisputed masters in Lenten confectionery.

By then, the conquest of the Americas was looming on the horizon, and with it would come the last key ingredients of Catalan cuisine. Tomato, for example, added the finishing touch to the sublime simplicity of pa amb tomaquet - toasted bread with garlic, tomato and olive oil - while chocolate found its way into the saucepan to jazz up hare. (Bloggers note: chocolate as well, come on! What chance do we have!!)

Once again, new flavours went to add layers of complexity and riches to the Catalan pot, bringing it very close to culinary heaven. It is testament to the incomparable art of contemporary Catalan chefs like Ferran Adrià of El Bulli and Santi Santamaria of Can Fabes that they managed to improve on it.

(Bloggers note: El Bulli is not open all year and details of it and Can Fabes can be found via Google)

Category: Foreign

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Nutrition