Luke Judge

Even before President Obama signed a new food safety law on Jan. 4, 2011, Yuma-area farmers had been voluntarily taking steps to ensure the healthy vegetables they produce don’t end up being a health risk instead.It all starts at ground zero with the soil and water that nurture the plants from seed to maturity. It includes the workers and equipment used in the fields to plant, cultivate and harvest the crops. And it extends to the packing houses and salad plants where the vegetables are cooled, processed and readied for distribution to consumers across the country.With a new company in town, it even includes sterilization of the semi-trailers that haul the thousands of cartons each day to their destinations.There’s a lot at stake for the multimillion-dollar industry that goes beyond the bottom line for farmers and shippers. They also want the assurance that the food they produce is the safest and healthiest it can be from field to fork.No one wants a repeat of a foodborne illness tied to consumption of a contaminated fresh vegetable.Congress passed and Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act in early in 2011 that goes into effect next spring, setting in motion comprehensive measures to prevent the problems that make people sick. It calls for new safety requirements for some fruits and vegetables, authorizes the Food and Drug Administration to order a recall of non-meat food items, increases inspections of domestic and foreign food facilities, and requires farms and processors to maintain records so foods can be traced back.“The impact to our local area growers will be somewhat minimal since the fresh produce industry itself has much stricter policies and guidelines already in place than those recently signed into law,” said Kurt Nolte, executive director of the Yuma County Cooperative Extension.not long after the E. coli outbreak in bagged spinach in 2006, California and Arizona each came up with leafy greens marketing agreements that established certain guidelines to prevent contamination in vegetables while growing and processing them. The agreements have served as models for other states.In addition, the Arizona Department of Agriculture already has Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices training programs for those who need it, Nolte noted. Training also is available through the Yuma County Cooperative Extension Office, and Nolte can be used as a contact for the training and integration of food safety programming in a farming operation.one of the biggest challenges facing farmers is preventing contamination of their crops from animal waste, whether left by wild or domestic animals in the field or along a road or canal bank that is then tracked or washed into the field, Nolte said. Animal waste can contain E. coli bacteria that has been linked to foodborne illnesses in humans.one simple measure farmers have adopted in recent years is to erect fencing, from chicken wire to black plastic, around their vegetable fields to keep out animals, he said. Fences are more often found near heavily traveled roads, urban areas where children may play and people walk their pets and close to desert native habitat.Nolte said the public can help by staying out of fields and keeping their children and pets out of them. And it’s important for people to clean up after their pets when walking them, especially along canal banks and irrigation ditches.other measures outlined in the Arizona Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement address the cleaning of farm equipment, worker hygiene and irrigation water monitoring.And there’s a new breed of agriculture professionals who oversee all aspects of fresh vegetable production on the farms where they work to ensure food safety.one project in the works is development of a new coring knife for cutting the vegetables, something of a rudimentary design with a circular blade welded onto a lettuce knife to remove cores in the field for salad products, Nolte said. The welded part has a rough surface E. coli bacteria can cling to, causing possible contamination. so a new knife is being designed with a smooth, seamless corer.Researchers in their labs also are working on projects to reduce the chance of contamination. For example, Sadhana Raishankar, a microbiology professor for the University of Arizona, has done work on edible films that contain essential oils and other plant extracts that inactivate E. coli and salmonella on various foods.Nolte said there has been only one incident of foodborne illness traced to a Yuma-area field. that occurred in the spring of 2010 in a romaine crop grown in April “at the very end of the season” in the Wellton area.“Data suggests the grower followed all guidelines,” Nolte said. An investigation traced the probable cause to a leaking septic tank in a vehicle park some distance away.“It was an isolated incident and handled rapidly. From that incident, our charge is to research the risk of septic tanks leaking deep underground that may leach into a dirt irrigation ditch.”Nolte concluded: “Production as we know it has changed dramatically with the scares about foodborne illnesses and the adoption of new growing standards.”Joyce Lobeck can be reached at or 539-6853. find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/jlobeck or on Twitter at @YSJoyceLobeck.

chicks Ducks food items, safety modernization, shippers

Take a good look at Yoda. A really good look.

If you go to the new and sprawling Star Wars exhibit at the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana — opening today and running for five months — you’ll see that it’s really him.

Yoda, in a glass case. The real one. Turns out he’s a puppet; no animatronics, and in the 1970s, not much in the way of CGI.

If you grew up on replays of the Star Wars saga, or received a strong dose from someone close to you, you’ll have a similar sense of cognitive dissonance as you walk through the exhibit.

There’s Princess Leia’s outfit from the first film made. Darth Vader’s costume stands tall, and recognizeable, with convincingly broken-in boots, also from the first movie.

The model used for the Millennium Falcon is there, and the one for the giant, wedge-shaped ship that pursued it, and shot lasers at it.

Close up, they look oddly small, plastic and painted. And yet, they’re unmistakeably the real thing, the originals.

The exhibit, “Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination,” is made up almost entirely of genuine artifacts from all six Star Wars films — the first three made, numbered four, five and six, and the second three, numbered one, two and three.

That was a recurring point of confusion that didn’t seem to interrupt the excitement of the first guests walking through the exhibit hall Thursday night.

“I hate to admit I’m such a Star Wars freak,” said Kent Yamaguchi, director of the Santa Ana Zoo, among the 600 or so invited in early for a preview. “I’ve spent half the time staring at the Millennium Falcon.”

For people of a certain age, possibly including local science reporters, the opening of the first Star Wars film is indelibly stamped in the files of memory.

“This is part of Americana,” said Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, just outside the case containing Princess Leia’s white, hooded outfit and the robots C3PO and R2-D2. “This is history. we all remember where we were when the first Star Wars movie came out. we felt it was something special.”

So the place seemed full of grown-up kids. plus some actual kids.

They included Nicky Sciocchetti, 8, and his friend Quint Steffey, both slickly turned out, Nicky’s mother explained, as ARF Clone Troopers.

Both boys are fans of “The Clone Wars” animated series.

They were busy constructing their own miniature R2D2s and setting them to roll off onto tracks, one of the hands-on parts of the exhibit.

“I like the clones,” Nicky said. “They have different colors and badges.”

His mom, Leslie Sciocchetti, was wearing the white Princess Leia outfit, complete with donut-shaped hair pieces that covered each ear.

“I remember when it first came out,” she said. “I was in high school. I remember waiting in line for the first showing.”

The excitement extended to Discovery Science Center president Joe Adams, who said that, by luck, the exhibit had to leave another venue and its next stop was up in the air.

He was immediately on the phone to Lucasfilm Ltd., the George Lucas outfit that has been running the exhibit for years in different parts of the country.

“I said, ‘Don’t talk to anybody else,’” said Adams, who, dressed in a brown, hooded robe and carrying a glowing lightsaber, later did battle with Darth Vader as part of the exhibit’s Grand Opening Ceremony.

The huge exhibit put a bit of a strain on the modest-sized science center. It covers some 10,000 square feet, and what used to be storage space in the back had to be coopted to fit in all the glass cases, robots, models, vehicles and assorted artifacts.

A full-sized replica of the Millennium Falcon cockpit, a Disney-esque ride with a C-3PO voice-over and a projected trip through the universe, stands some 16 feet tall and had to be housed separately outside.

But the exhibit isn’t all Star Wars all the time. being a science center, Discovery uses parts of the exhibit as an entre to lessons about the real, nuts and bolts science.

It’s divided into two major themes: “Getting around,” which is all about transportation, and “Robots and People.”

In the transportation section, you’ll find the original, full-sized land speeder used in the first film, “Star Wars IV: A new Hope.”

It sits on three mundane-looking wheels. Mirrors around the bottom edges gave the illusion that it was levitating off the ground.

Nearby, kids can build their own levitating cars out of Legos and magnets, then magnetically levitate them on special tracks.

There’s also a case containing models from the “real world of speeders,” including a Boeing Canard rotor wing and Scaled Composite’s SpaceShipOne.

The Star Wars space cruisers and various other ships are there, but so is a case containing real proposals for star ships — the Daedalus interstellar ramjet and a matter-anti-matter rocket.

Over in the robot section, you can get a look at Luke Skywalker’s prosthetic arm from “The Empire Strikes Back” — a last look, in fact, because the well-worn arm is expected to be retired when this exhibit ends.

You can also learn about real prosthetics and implants: the Abiocor artificial heart, along with artificial retinas and cochlear implants.

Admission is by “timed tickets,” so advanced reservations are a good idea; they cost $10 for adults and $8 for children, but that’s added on to general admission, which is $14.95 for adults and $12.95 for children.

The center is pretty easy to find, on Main Street just off Interstate 5 in Santa Ana — the place with the giant, tilted cube that is, at the moment, emblazoned with Star Wars characters.

assortments 1970s, cognitive dissonance, discovery science center, millennium falcon, star wars where science meets imagination

Surbiton traders back Christmas lights to make them better than ever

9:32am Wednesday 23rd November 2011 in

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Traders have raised nearly £2,500 to pay for Christmas lights in Surbiton.

Surbiton Business Community (CBC) have clubbed together in a bid to make this year’s lights go with a bang.

Speaking on behalf of CBC Pat Boye said: “Last year’s lights were pretty poor and so this year we decided to do our own thing.

“The lights in Kingston are fantastic and we felt a little left out, so it was decided that we would get together and do something really special.”

The day’s fun will kick off with a mince pie bake off and an advent calendar hunt in Victoria Road from 3pm on Wednesday.

Young singers from Infants Maple Infants, Tolworth Junior and Infants, St Mathews Church of England and Surbiton High School will sing carols from 4pm.

The high street will also host African dance act Bode Lawal, who have performed at the Rose Theatre, and there will also be a raffle featuring gift voucher prizes.

The event is likely to last throughout the afternoon with lights due to be turned on at around 5pm.

for more information please contact Pat Boye on 020 8399 2188.

Read these Kingston stories

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November 09, 2011

In my family, we do not do store-bought cakes. We don’t go to the bakery to custom-order birthday messages written in icing; we do not do cake mixes.

We do sugar and baking soda and butter and eggs and melted chocolate. We grease and flour bundt pans and whisk together powdered sugar glazes, with maybe just a touch of ginger or a squeeze of lemon. We bake.

For occasions big and small, for birthdays and holidays and Tuesdays. We bake.

So, in early 2010, when I began planning my wedding, I knew immediately that my dessert would not be the standard wedding cake, a tiered confection dripping fondant, much-admired when on display but generally ignored when it comes time to actually eat dessert.

No, for my wedding, there would be a home-baking bender that would yield mountains of cookies and cupcakes and pie and fudge. and yes, there would be a cake, but one baked, assembled and frosted by my fianc?, Patrick, and me.

We were warned against the cake plan by friends and family who argued that it was just plain foolish to add more tasks to the already jampacked days before the wedding.

“You already have so much on your plate,” protested my mother.

But, on this subject, I was immovable.

I don’t remember a time when I didn’t know how to bake. I assume there was such a time — before I was old enough to grip a wooden spoon or dump the cup of brown sugar my mother handed me into the mixing bowl — but it is beyond the bounds of my memory.

My mother taught herself to bake because she wanted desserts that were fresher, more to her taste and just plain better than those she could get at a bakery. It was a process of trial and error, she says, but what she eventually learned, she passed on to my sister and me.

So, when putting together the plans for my wedding dessert buffet, I recruited family members with similarly strong feelings about baking to contribute to the bounty.

My mother would make her awe-inspiringly good chocolate cake, a dense and fudgy confection that is a universal and guaranteed hit. My father would fry up a hefty batch of krusciki, a Polish pastry that had been a specialty of my grandmother’s. My sister would make chocolate-mint cookies that have been a long-standing family tradition and cousins volunteered to whip up lemon bars and coconut cupcakes.

When circumstances prevented my aunt from making her legendary apple pie, we decided to bringin substitute pies from the Oprah-approved Centerville Pie Co.

With the majority of the dessert menu lined up, Patrick and I were left to figure out the cake we wanted to make. We played with and rejected several ideas. Lemon cake with berries was too common. something chocolate? My mother had it covered.

I spent weeks searching foodie websites and poring over cookbooks before we finally settled on nutmeg spice cake, from “Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston’s Flour Bakery + Cafe” (Keller and Keller, 2010) by bakery owner Joanne Chang, topped with brown sugar buttercream (adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit Desserts).

I want to say that after that decision was made, the cake production process proceeded smoothly, proving my mother’s anxieties unjustified. and the test run we executed just a week before the wedding was, indeed, nearly flawless.

The cake had the warm flavors we both love — nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger — and the brown sugar gave the frosting a hint of caramel flavor that added richness to the whole thing.

We failed, however, to properly account for all of the complications of the wedding day itself.

The cakes and frosting were made ahead of time, as planned. But, on the morning of the

wedding, time was in short supply. by the time I had eaten breakfast, greeted well-wishers who stopped by, and directed the decoration of the ceremony site, it was time to shower and have my hair and makeup done.

All of a sudden the window for frosting the cake had disappeared.

My mother volunteered to take on the task but quickly discovered that the frosting, which had been stored in the refrigerator, was far too stiff to spread. after 15 minutes of adding milk and whisking vigorously, the frosting became usable.

I, however, was knee-deep in bobby pins and eyeliner and neglected to mention that the finished creation should be chilled until serving. I realized my error hours later, during the reception, when I glanced over at the cake and saw the frosting sloughing off the sides; Patrick has taken to fondly calling it our Dali cake, its dripping frosting reminiscent of the melting clocks in the artist’s most famous painting.

The response, to the cake, however, was unanimous: It may not have been beautiful, but it was delicious.

If the rest of the contributions to the dessert buffet were nods to family history, our cake was quite the reverse. It was, in fact, a lot like our wedding: imperfect but beloved, the creation of something new and wonderful, surrounded by the best of family tradition.

A classic Shemkus family favorite that has been the centerpiece of many a birthday celebration, Fran’s Fudge Cake can be topped with a favorite frosting or a dusting of powdered sugar, though I have always preferred it plain.

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 tablespoons vinegar

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one 9-inch-by-13-inch cake pan or two 8-inch or 9-inch circular cake pans.
• Stir together all dry ingredients in large mixing bowl.
• Add oil, vinegar and vanilla. Stir until incorporated.
• using a hand or stand mixer, beat in the water 1/4 to 1/2 cup at a time, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula to incorporate all dry ingredients.
• Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

From the wonderful “Flour,” by Joanne Chang, owner of Flour Bakery + Cafe in Boston and Cambridge. Her recipe calls for a rum-flavored frosting, which we skipped to accommodate the tastes of our crowd.

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup nonfat buttermilk, room temperature

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.
• using a stand mixer fixed with a paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer), beat together the butter and oil on medium speed for about 1 minute, or until well combined. on medium speed, slowly add the sugar and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy. Stop the mixer a few times and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and the paddle to release any clinging butter or sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until combined. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl again as needed.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. on low speed, add about one-third of the flour mixture to the egg-butter mixture and mix until just barely combined. Pour in half of the buttermilk and mix until almost thoroughly incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl well. Again on low speed, add about half of the remaining flour mixture and mix until barely combined. Add the remaining buttermilk and mix until well incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl again. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until completely incorporated. Divided the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans.
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the cakes spring back when pressed in the middle with a fingertip. let cool completely in the pans on wire racks.

This recipe was lifted and adapted from a recipe for Gingerbread Roulade in “Bon Appetit Desserts” (Conde Nast Publications, 2010), a comprehensive compendium of

recipes from the venerable cooking magazine.

Brown Sugar Buttercream

1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

3/4 cup whipping cream

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

5 cups powdered sugar

• Stir brown sugar and cream in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves and mixture simmers. place in freezer until cold, about 15 minutes.
• Beat butter and powdered sugar in medium bowl until fluffy.
• Beat in cold brown sugar mixture.
• Spread on cake as desired. Frosted cake should be chilled until serving.

Editor’s note: Sarah Shemkus, former business reporter for the Cape Cod Times, was married in Gloucester and celebrated a reception in Rockport in September. Shortly thereafter, she moved to the North Shore with her new husband.

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A rainy Monday was brightened considerably when a young blond tot named Finn came into the store by himself. Rest assured his grandma was waiting just outside the door for him. What had caused young Finn to venture to the register alone? Quite simply, he wanted to hand JP an invitation to his third birthday.

JP is our storyteller and Finn has been coming to her weekly reads for months now, and the two of them have created a very lovely bond. when Finn approached the register my co-worker and I both asked if he needed any help – after all, it’s not every day an almost-three-year-old comes in unaccompanied. he said in a bright voice, “I want to invite JP to my birthday party.” I just about died of cuteness. It was a little heartbreaking to have to tell him JP wasn’t working.

I told him I would put the invitation in JP’s mailbox. Finn asked to see the mailbox to make sure I had put the invitation where it belonged. Then his eyes roamed around the books that make up the back room and he was silent. I’ll admit, it can be a lot to take in.

This encounter brought home the power of story hour. Reading to children creates a bond that is irreplaceable. While Finn might know me enough to say hello, I did not get a hand-colored birthday invitation.  JP’s story hours are fun, personal and she knows each child well enough to pick out books she thinks they’ll really love. Finn just loves JP and he wants her to be part of his life, all because they’ve shared stories together.

Maybe we’ll add another day of story hours, and I can read. There’s nothing like a three-year-old’s birthday party to keep a bookseller young.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 at 6:00 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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LONG BEACH — If the Easter Bunny hopes to start a family one day, he may want to steer clear of Long Beach City College.

The liberal arts campus in East Long Beach has significantly cut back on its resident rabbit population thanks to an aggressive spay and neuter campaign that kicked off last year. the out-of-control critters used to number at more than 300, reeking havoc on campus as they burrowed through athletic fields and devoured vegetation.

Today, the population stands at a manageable 70.

“The effort has been a complete success,” said Donna Prindle, head of the Rabbit Population Management Task Force, aka the Bunny Task Force. “It’s is a great example of how people can work together to control an animal population in a humane and caring way.”

The support of the college, Prindle along with the help of other volunteers began the exhausting task of rounding up the rabbits in March of last year. the long-time physical education instructor said she lost 25 pounds just struggling to corral them into pens and cat carriers one by one.

“We call it the bunny diet,” she said.

She estimates the task force has spayed and neutered hundreds of rabbits over the last year with the help of donations and volunteer veterinarians. They’ve found homes for around 170.

Many of the bunnies are released back onto campus after they’re fixed, but those that appear to be abandoned pets are kept and put up for adoption.

In a small warehouse on the south side of campus, Prindle spends seven days a week caring for more than 50 bunnies who still need homes. They all have names, like Alfred and Alice, and even get time in playpens for exercise.

The college still has the long-time problem of irresponsible pet owners dumping bunnies on campus. in November they rescued 10 newcomers, Prindle said.

“I can recognize most of the regulars this point so the abandoned ones are spotted pretty quickly,” she said, adding that the resident rabbits are normally either brown or black.

“We have T.J. here (for example),” she said, petting a special breed of dwarf rabbit with petite ears. “He was obviously someone’s pet.”

The campus typically sees an influx of furry friends in the months after Easter, when children lose interest in their new pets and parents realize rabbits require a lot of care.

“We like to put out the message around Easter that rabbits make wonderful pets but they do require a lot of love and care,” she said. “People considering a pet rabbit should realized it’s a commitment, because they can live for up to 10 years.”

For information on adopting a spayed or neutered rabbit from LBCC, contact Donna Prindle at or call 562-938-4356.

, 562-499-1305

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Events, Things to Do — by Susan Vincil on April 5, 2011 at 4:59 pm

In most of Mexico, Children’s Day (El Dia del Niño) is celebrated on April 30th.  The day was created, in 1925, to “celebrate children”.  It was believed that having a day to honor children would cause parents to take better care of their kids.  Today, the day is filled with parties, games, piñatas, and food.

In honor of this day, Cancun businesses are offering special promotions or have special parties planned for the little ones.

Coco Bongo, the famous nightclub, will have a special party for children.  The event will be held on April 15th, from 6-9pm.  The cost is $200 MXN, per person.  Coco Bongo is known for it’s shows and the children’s party will have its fair share of entertainment.  The shows planned for the children’s party are Batman, Spiderman, Michael Jackson, Superheroes, and Pirates of the Caribbean.  At this time, Coco Bongo is planning to have only one party for children so don’t miss it!  For more information, contact Coco Bongo at (998) 883-5061.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Company is having a “Kids Eat Free” promotion throughout the month of April.  (Restrictions apply.)  The restaurant has a play area for children and it’s located right on the lagoon so there is a lovely view, as well.  For more information, contact Bubba Gump at (998) 885-3010

Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville has a Kid’s Party planned for every Saturday in April.  The parties run from 2:30pm until 5:00pm and there will be games and a dog show (“dancing” poodles, I believe).  A DJ will also be on hand. Margaritaville will also have a special children’s menu and, most importantly, mom & dad will each receive a free margarita.  For more information, contact Margaritaville at (998) 885-2375.

Tags: Bubba Gump Cancun, cancun, Children’s Day Mexico, coco bongo, Margaritaville Cancun

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Don’t expect to see traditional quilts on display during “America Celebrates! Quilts of Joy and Remembrance,” the current exhibit at the Longmont Museum and Cultural Center.

Instead, the fiber artists included in this display use fabric and embellishments to forge vibrant illustrations of celebratory moments in American life. “These are contemporary art quilts,” says Erik Mason, museum manager.

The exhibit includes 57 artists whose quilts mark traditional holidays, cultural celebrations and personal milestones. New Year’s Eve and Independence Day are acknowledged along with Dia de los Muertos, Rosh Hashanah, and Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

Other quilts commemorate more personal milestones, such as Patty Hawkins’ “The Red Truck.” the piece celebrates a 50th wedding anniversary through a black-and- white photo transfer of a bride and groom inside a vintage truck.

The artists rely on diverse techniques to produce these vivid, often three-dimensional works. Hand-dyed fabrics, detailed stitching, beadwork and buttons can all enhance the visual impact of an art quilt.

“There are many ways you can change the surface of a quilt,” says artist Betsy Cannon, whose “New Year’s Eve” and “Groundhog Day” quilts are on display.

Today from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Cannon will share some of her ideas and techniques with other fiber artists as part of a demonstration titled “Embellishment Extravaganza.”

“You should integrate the idea of the quilt with the texture of the quilt, and not just use something simply because you have it,” she says. For example, the artist will show how she uses chicken feet, a recurring motif in her work.

“I’ll stamp chicken feet and create a pattern, or bead an entire foot, or use puffy paint,” says the artist, who began quilting more than 40 years ago as a way of combining her interests in art and sewing.

“But I wouldn’t add a button just because it had a chicken on it,” she says.

Cannon’s fascination with chicken feet began after a friend’s Russian grandmother made soup using chicken feet. Around the same time, Cannon also heard the old Russian fairy tale about Baba Yaga, a witch who lived in a cabin on chicken legs.

“They’re just a little creepy and wonderful,” Cannon says of her fowl fascination. “I’ve ended up specializing in chickens, but I guess mine are more weird than cute.”

hindu Holidays & Festivals celebratory, dimensional works, diwali, photo transfer, traditional holidays, vibrant illustrations

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On Feb. 13, nearly 1,000 volunteers from the Los Angeles community helped raise more than $4.6 million for the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ annual Super Sunday campaign, working both on the traditional phone-a-thon and, for the first time, simultaneously at community service projects across the city.

The day of combined fundraising and service on “Centennial Super Sunday,” marked Federation’s 100 years in the greater Los Angeles community. the service projects drew volunteers from throughout the region.

“This is an annual event that we’ve been doing for a very long time, and [the funds] will go to the work we do locally and the work we do in Israel,” Jay Sanderson, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, said in an interview outside the phone-bank room at the Federation offices while wearing the day’s giveaway T-shirt, which read, “Today, I helped the world.”

Some of the volunteers were veterans of the effort, including Julie Platt, a longtime volunteer with the Federation, who spent hours making calls.

“I was born with a pledge card in my hand,” Platt said.

City officials, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Assemblyman Mike Feuer and L.a. City Councilman Paul Koretz, dropped by to help. Indeed, a few tables away from Platt, Villaraigosa called people who had given large sums to the Federation in previous years, clearly enjoying himself while telling them that it was the mayor calling and asking for donations.

“I’ve been supporting the Federation and all its good work here in Los Angeles among Jews, among the broader L.a. community and Israel, since 1994,” Villaraigosa said. “I come almost every year, and I get on the phone.”

A second phone-a-thon also took place at the Jewish Federation Valley Alliance in West Hills.

Sherry Barone, an engineer from Marina del Rey, was volunteering on the phone-a-than for the first time, and she stressed the need to “reach out to our local community.”

There were 12 community service opportunities involving Federation-sponsored programs, such as KOREH L.a. and Project Chicken Soup. 

Jonathan and Elise Hay had moved to Los Angeles recently from the East Coast and said that spending the day helping paint a fence and tend a garden at Richland Avenue Elementary School, near Barrington Avenue and Olympic Boulevard, was an opportunity to meet other people in their community.

We “usually do Sunday chores,” Jonathan Hay added. Today we wanted to “do something for others.”

Debi Huang, mother of a Richland Avenue Elementary School first-grader, hadn’t heard of the Federation at all; she learned through the school about the opportunity to help out for the day.

Huang, who blogs about the environment, spent her day in the school’s large garden — some of the garden’s food is donated to the Westside Food Bank — clearing out brush to make room for a wildflower garden and preparing a pumpkin patch for a bounty next Halloween.

In addition to the gardening work, more than 30 volunteers helped paint and put together a mosaic at the school’s entrances.

“It’s totally changed the look of the campus,” Principal Karina Salazar said toward the end of the day. Richland Avenue is one of the nearly 100 schools that participates in the Federation’s KOREH L.a. visits.

Volunteers also helped out at Project Chicken Soup, delivering food to people with AIDS and HIV. in the San Fernando Valley, people helped renovate the Hillel at California State University, Northridge.

At the Westside Jewish Community Center (WJCC), many participated in a partnership involving the center, IKAR and, of course, the Federation. Urban farming company Farmscape helped volunteers plant a garden in the courtyard outside the WJCC.

“I’m sitting at a computer all day long, [and] this is a way to get out,” said Guy Handelman, 27, an assistant film editor who shoveled dirt at the JCC to clear a space for the garden.

Brian Greene, executive director of the Westside JCC, said the food grown in the garden will be donated to food banks and help feed senior citizens living in the residential center at the JCC.

At Federation headquarters, downstairs from the hubbub of the phone-a-thon, families with young children participated in an arts project with a community-oriented scope that extends to Israel. the children finger-painted on fabric that older volunteers will use to make 12 quilts to send to at-risk youth at a school in Jerusalem.

Hagit Arieli-Chai was there, along with her two daughters, ages 7 and 12, and a 12-year-old friend of her daughters. Arieli-Chai said she wanted to do something “age appropriate” with the children, while her daughters’ friend said she wanted to “help Israel … and the community.”

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky stopped by the phone-a-thon early that morning, and he emphasized the large role the Federation plays in the community.

“This is a particularly difficult year, and many of the agencies that the Federation funds are going to get hit very hard by the state budget cuts,” he said. “So this particular year … Super Sunday means a lot.”

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Un grande ed atteso ritorno al Municipale di Piacenza quello di Wayne Marshall che alla guida della Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini ? stato protagonista del concerto di domenica, nell’ambito della stagione concertistica 2010/2011. E’ oramai il terzo anno che Piacenza ospita il maestro Marshall e in questa occasione, per la prima volta, il direttore d’orchestra si ? cimentato non solo negli autori americani (in passato ha eseguito Gershwin, Bernstein), ma anche in un classico: la Suite dalla Schiaccianoci di Cajkovskij. Nel ricco programma anche un parallelo con la versione realizzata dal grande autore jazz Duke Ellington, che la incise  a Los Angeles in quattro sedute dal 26 maggio al 22 giugno 1960. La serata ? completata dall’esecuzione di Rodeo, quattro episodi dal balletto, composto da Aaron Copland, del quale l’apprezzato solista Alessandro Carbonare, primo clarinetto dell’Orchestra dell’Accademia di S.Cecilia, eseguir? il Concerto per clarinetto con arpa e pianoforte di Aaron Copland. un programma questo che dimostra quanto la musica non sempre ? categoricamente suddivisibile per generi esatti (classica, jazz, rock): lo dimostra anche il fervido fenomeno di contaminazione a cui assistiamo oggi, che per altro ha avuto origine agli inizi del secolo scorso. Commissionato da Benny Goodman, il Concerto per clarinetto di Copland nacque intorno al 1947 mentre l’artista si trovava a Rio de Janeiro per un ciclo di concerti. Copland  che si era prefissato di  mettere in risalto l’agilit? e il virtuosismo tecnico del dedicatario, decise di scrivere non per una jazz band, bens? per un organico costituito da archi; arpa e pianoforte. Il Concerto ha due movimenti, l’Adagio e l’Allegro e tra questi  vi ? una lunga e complessa cadenza solistica. Leggendo tra le righe, si pu? anche pensare che il compositore americano con questo brano abbia cercato di realizzare una simbolica ‘unione’ tra vecchio e nuovo mondo. Nell’Adagio, infatti sono evidenti le influenze del panorama musicale europeo, mentre nell’Allegro (che  nel caso specifico ? ricco di elementi ritmici e melodici di tipo ‘americano’ tra cui spicca lo spettacolare ‘glissando’ conclusivo), pu? rappresentare qualcosa definibile come ‘l’altra faccia della medaglia’. Il Concerto prosegue con l’esecuzione di Rodeo, suite dal balletto -  quattro episodi – commissionato da Aaron Copland per il Ballets Russe di Montecarlo nel 1942-43. Tanti i temi popolari presenti nel balletto in cui i due tempi centrali fungono da intermezzi lirico-sentimentali ai due scatenati ‘quadri’ esterni la cui verve ? esaltata dell’incandescente orchestrazione. Si prosegue con l’esecuzione la Nutcracker Suite, nella versione che Duke Ellington e Strayhorn hanno tratto da Cajkovskij. Nell’affrontare questa musica con un senso di grande rispetto, Ellington ha finito per salvaguardarne soltanto gli aspetti pi? formali, mentre lo spirito originale dell’opera risulta rivissuto e reinterpretato in modo assolutamente personale. Tuttavia si tratta di un’opera nuova rispetto all’originale classico, e come tale va giudicata per i suoi intrinseci contenuti musicali, al  di l? degli spunti tematici che costituiscono quasi un pretesto per fare  musica, come succede nella pi? genuina tradizione  jazzistica. Chiude il concerto il brano ‘originale’:  Suite "Lo schiaccianoci" di Piotr Iljic Čajkovskij, composta  tra il 1891 ed il 1892, per tradurre in balletto la fiaba "Nussknacker und Mausek?nig" di Ernst T. a. Hoffmann, nella versione di Alexandre Dumas padre, su sceneggiatura di Marius Petipa, coreografo francese tra i maggiori dell’epoca. Con la sua sagace scrittura orchestrale Čajkovskij invent? delle sonorit? speciali che calzano perfettamente sui personaggi della vicenda fiabesca: non ? soltanto questione di pura tecnica o di ispirata, geniale scelta di timbri, quanto ricreare con la musica, il  significato profondo del racconto “infantile". ALESSANDRO CARBONARE Dal 2003 ? il primo clarinetto dell’Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Per 15 anni ha vissuto in Francia dove ha ricoperto il ruolo di primo clarinetto nell’Orchestre National de l’Opera de Lyon e quindi nell’Orchestre National de France. I molti premi vinti nei pi? importanti concorsi internazionali fanno di lui il clarinettista pi? premiato a livello mondiale. Si ? aggiudicato infatti i concorsi internazionali di Ginevra, Praga, Duino, Tolone e Monaco1991 e 1992 e innumerevoli sono i premi nazionali vinti. Parallelamente all’attivit? in orchestra, ? impegnato in un’importante attivit? concertistica che lo ha visto debuttare nel 1990 con l’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande ed ? proseguita con l’Orchestra Nazionale di Spagna, la Filarmonica di Oslo, i Bayerischer Rudfunk di Monaco, la Wien Sinfonietta, l’Orchestra della radio di Berlino e le orchestra della Rai di Torino, di S. Cecilia. Nel ruolo di primo clarinetto ha avuto importanti collaborazioni con la Bayerischer Rundfunk di Monaco e nel 2000 con i Berliner Philarmoniker. Si ? esibito in tutto il mondo, ma particolarmente degni di nota ? nel 2000 il debutto alla Suntory Hall di Tokyo oltre  al recital della Carnegie Hall effettuato nel 1998. Molto attivo in campo discografico, ha registrato gran parte del repertorio per Harmonia Mundi e JCV Tokyo. Da sempre membro del Quintetto Bibiena, con il quale nel 2003 ha vinto un Premio Abbiati della critica musicale italiana come miglior gruppo da camera dell’anno, viene regolarmente invitato dai pi? importanti conservatori del mondo a tenere mastersclass. Su invito personale di Claudio Abbado ? entrato a far parte dell’Orchestra Mozart. La Deutsche Grammophon sta per pubblicare la registrazione del Concerto per clarinetto di bassetto e orchestra K. 622 di Mozart sotto la direzione di Claudio Abbado. WAYNE MARSHALL Protagonista nei concerti della Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini per il terzo anno consecutivo,  Wayne Marshall che ? anche pianista ed organista, nasce in Inghilterra da una famiglia originaria dei Caraibi. Determinante per la sua carriera ? stata la sua partecipazione come pianista alla celebre produzione di Porgy and Bess della Glyndebourne Festival Opera diretta da Simon Rattle, alla successiva incisione discografica con la EMI e alla versione televisiva del musical. Da allora si ? dedicato sempre  pi? al pianoforte e alla direzione d’orchestra, diventando in pochi anni uno dei pi? rinomati interpreti delle musiche di Gershwin, Ellington e Bernstein, nonch? di altri autori americani del XX secolo. Oggi ? molto richiesto anche come direttore d’orchestra ed ? diventato, dalla stagione 2007/8, direttore ospite principale dell’Orchestra Verdi di Milano, carica che ricopre anche nelle principali orchestre britanniche nonch? in numerose importanti formazioni di tutto il mondo, tra cui Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Berliner Philharmoniker, City of Birmingham Symphony, Wiener Symphoniker, Filarmonica di Rotterdam, Sinfonica della Radio Svedese, Orchestra Nazionale del Belgio, Bamberger Symphoniker, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, Berliner Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Dresdner Philarmonie, Sydney Symphony, Filarmonica di MonteCarlo. Nel 1998 ha debuttato in Italia come direttore al Teatro alla Fenice di Venezia ed in questi ultimi anni la sua presenza in Italia si ? notevolmente intensificata, portandolo ad essere ospite regolare della Filarmonica Toscanini, dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia di Roma, dell’Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai di Torino, dell’Orchestra “Cherubini”, del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, del San Carlo di Napoli, del Massimo di Palermo, Lirico di Cagliari; nel 2001 ha debuttato al Teatro alla Scala di Milano. Marshall ? un rinomato interprete di musical, genere al quale dedica sempre maggiore attenzione: ha diretto pi? volte West side Story alla National Opera di Washington, al Festival di Bregenz e alla Konzerthaus di Vienna dove ha debuttato nel 2000 con Wonderful Town che ha poi riproposto nel 2007 all’Accademia di Santa Cecilia di Roma. Come pianista ha suonato con gran parte delle orchestre sopra menzionate ma anche con London Symphony, Gewandhaus di Lipsia e le orchestre di Toronto, Dallas, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Lilla, Lione, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Stoccarda, Strasburgo, Radio Monaco; memorabili i suoi concerti con i Berliner Philharmoniker diretti da Simon Rattle e Claudio Abbado. Titolare dell’organo Marcussen della Bridgewater Hall a Manchester dal 1996, continua a esibirsi come organista e nel 2004 ha inaugurato lo strumento della nuova Disney Hall di Los Angeles con una nuova composizione di James MacMillan per organo e orchestra diretta da Esa-Pekka Salonen, a Scotch Bestiar brano che ha suonato anche ai BBC Promenade Concerts del 2005. Ha inciso per la Virgin/Emi Classics, Philips, Delos e Blue Note – anche insieme ad artisti quali Simon Rattle, Mariss Jansons e Paavo J?rvi -  sia come direttore che come organista e pianista, vincendo i maggiori premi europei (BBC Music Magazine’s Artist of the Year, ECHO, Victoires de la Musique 1998) e nel 2004 ha ricevuto una laurea honoris causa dalla Universit? di Bornemouth.   

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One early February when I was around 15, as I remember it – possibly younger, certainly no older – I spent a week home in bed with the flu, watching as a blizzard kicked snow over the streets of New York City.  In my family, illness had its privileges: with the exception of the annual Charlie Brown specials, my sisters and I were permitted  to watch TV  only when we were sick, and because our one TV sat in the master bedroom, being sick meant spending the day in our parents’ large, comfy bed — which was where I was when I spotted, on my mother’s nightstand, a stack of catalogues from White Flower Farm and Burpee’s offering soft pink-petaled roses and lavender hydrangea and a fantasy full of flowers to be planted in time for summer.  Feverish and bored, I began paging through them, until I noticed, too, on my mother’s bedside table, a valentine my father had given her the year before: a paper-lace, antique card, embossed with forget-me-nots and roses. 

Flowers. Valentine. Catalogues. February.  it all suddenly came together.

For the next two afternoons, I snipped photographs of flowers from the catalogues, glued them on to paper lace doilies, cut heart shapes from the corners of envelopes and slipped a tiny message into each, which I then pasted into the center of each valentine.  And so began a tradition I have kept every year since (and it has been more years than I honestly care to say). 

Had I been half so clever as another young woman by the name of Esther Howland, I might be a corporate scion by now, and not a romantic, star-eyed writer; but it was Howland, not I, who took a similar inspiration in 1847 and turned it into one of the first woman-owned companies in America at the tender age of just 19.

The story is relatively straightforward: in the winter of 1847, Howland, the daughter of a successful stationer in Worcester, Mass., received a valentine card from a business contact of her father’s in the UK, where one could find pressed and cut lace papers of extraordinary quality –  far better than anything available in the US.  Inspired, the young Esther begged her father to order a few such papers for her to use in making her own simple valentines — a request he willingly indulged.  She began with fewer than a dozen designs, which she then, on a whim, gave her brother to show to potential clients on his next sales trip around the country; he returned with $5,000 worth of orders – and so Esther Howland’s valentine card business was born.

And her inventiveness did not stop there: over the years, miss Howland went on to introduce colored paper wafers that could be slipped beneath the lace to provide a snap of color – a detail that soon became commonplace in the designing of valentine cards around the world.  she added selected verses and sheets of love messages that the sender could cut out to personalize each note.  And she designed a line of particularly ornate versions, with lace ribbons and flowers,  which sold for $35 each and up – about the same price (or so the story goes) as a brand new horse and buggy.  By the time of her retirement in 1866, Esther Howland’s New England Valentine Company was selling for more than $100,000 a year.

What I treasure about this tale is what it says about this holiday, and what it says about its meaning.  No one even knows for certain what the history of St. Valentine’s day actually is, or, for that matter, which St. Valentine it celebrates.  Any religious character has long since faded far way. It’s just a day for sharing hearts and flowers, a kiss or two, and the occasional diamond ring.  what allowed a young American woman to become a business success story even before the Civil War began was neither greed nor wile or even desperate necessity, but a simple admiration for something beautiful, and a chance to help so many others just  to say “I love you.”  it doesn’t get much better than that.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

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ARMED with kitchen knives and in a standoff with police, 15-year-old Tyler Cassidy appeared to have reached the point of no return.

The teenager appeared to be "full of rage" and "on a mission to kill", according to one witness at an inquest into his death in a police shooting.

He had stolen the knives from Kmart, stabbed a Coke machine, attacked a passing car and told people to call the cops because there was a madman on the loose.

About 9.30pm on December 11, 2008, four police officers had Tyler surrounded in the all Nations Skate Park, next to Northcote Plaza.

Tyler had copped a face full of capsicum foam, but was still on his feet.

"He’s resistant to the OC foam at the moment," Sen-Constable Richard Blundell, puffing after a foot chase, said into his radio.

"He’s still armed with the knives, though, and he’s trying to get … ah, members to shoot him."

Standing around Tyler in an arc formation were Sen-Constable Blundell, Leading Sen-Constable Colin Dods (now a sergeant) and constables Nicole De Propertis and Antonia Ferrante (both now senior constables).

Keeping the blue shirts at bay, Tyler put his mobile phone to his ear and spoke briefly to his brother.

"The cops are here now and someone’s going to die," Ldg Sen-Constable Dods believes he heard Tyler say.

The inquest has been adjourned. Next month, State Coroner judge Jennifer Coate will give her findings.

At age 11, Tyler was referred to the Austin Health child mental health service.

His dad, Ian, had died three weeks earlier after a short battle with cancer. "Tyler was deeply affected by his dad’s illness and death," his mother, Shani Cassidy, said in a statement to the Coroner’s Court.

"Ian was Tyler’s hero and inspiration."

Two weeks after his father’s death, Tyler ran from school and lay down on a busy road.

He had also made threats to others.

Tyler liked to pretend he was a pirate, according to his mates. They called him "Skinhead Superstar" because of his severe haircut.

He spent his last day in Diamond Creek, drinking Bundaberg rum with mates, some with ties to a Right-wing nationalist youth group called the Southern Cross Soldiers.

He then boarded a train about 7.07pm with a female friend. he sent four texts to friend Emily McGenniskin that night. One read: "WORST MOOD EVER LOL."

Blake Cassidy estimated that at 9.07pm, his little brother sent him a text message saying "im sick of it". Blake later sent Tyler a message saying: "U have so much 2 live 4".

About 9.18pm an incensed Tyler called 000 and told the call taker: "He’s got a gun … he’s a psychopath … and he’s gone crazy … shoot him f—— dead!" The call was given a "priority one" dispatch.

About 9.20pm Tyler marched out of the plaza’s Kmart with a stolen 30cm kitchen knife in each hand.

To witness Caterina Gallo he looked "full of rage, like he was on a mission to kill".

The inquest heard Sen-Constable Blundell, believing Ldg Sen-Constable Dods’ life was in danger, opened fire at Tyler twice, but the teen continued on.

In her statement, Constable De Propertis said: "(Tyler) turned slightly like he had been hit … but he still continued towards Dods and he still had the knives pointed up in his hands."

Constable De Propertis said more shots caused Tyler to slump before he straightened again and advanced.

"That’s when I discharged a round at (Tyler) to prevent him from attacking, and in defence of, Dods … Blundell (also) fired another shot."

Fiona Ellis, counsel assisting Coroner Jennifer Coate, said: "according to Dods, as Tyler continued to advance he took aim at his chest area and kept firing until he went to the ground."

The time frame between Tyler first engaging the police and shots being fired was three minutes. At 9.31pm a message came over the airwaves: "Northcote 303. can I get an ambulance here immediately. we have shot this male."

Tyler was hit five times – once in the right arm and knee and twice in the right thigh. The fatal wound was a gunshot wound to his chest.

andersonpj@heraldsun.com.au

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History of Wedding Favours

Wedding favours have a long history and have traditionally been given as small gifts to wedding guests. It originally started in Europe as with many things with the Upper Class. In those early days, wedding favours were small trinket boxes made from materials such as crystal or porcelain. Inside would be sugar cubes or high quality confectionary. In those days, sugar was an expensive commodity and it showed the wealth and prosperity of the givers.

Of course, as the price of sugar came down, others started to follow the fashion first popularised by the aristocracy. They too started giving similar favours to their wedding guests. Over time, these favours were replaced with almonds to represent wellness in the bride-groom’s life. These almonds in turn became sugar-coated almonds.

Traditionally, the sugar-coated almonds are given in sets of 5. This is to represent fertility, wealth, health, longevity and happiness.  These are usually presented to guests in simple but elegant favour boxes or favour bags. This is still a very common favour given to wedding guests the World over but things are changing and people are starting to get more inventive.

Nowadays you will still see sugar-coated almonds and other confectionary but you will also see more expensive favours such as crystals to lovely candle favours. These are the sign of the times and it is just another way for the bridegroom to thank their wedding guests. For those on a tighter budget, couples are becoming more creative and making their own favours and perhaps presenting them in a nice favour box. This can save on cost but still have a great effect by adding a lovely personal touch.

Whatever direction the fashion for wedding favours go, it is clear that they are extremely popular still and are here to stay. Wedding favours are a fantastic way for the bridegroom to thank their guests and it need not be an expensive exercise. A simple home-made favour presented in a lovely favour box can be a great gift to receive.

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