Blog Salida

When Mountains Sing

2011-10-08T10:41:00.000-06:00

When Mountains Sing, by White Feather. We are formless energy and consciousness moving through and manifesting in the world of form. Salida author White Feather elaborates on what happens as we move from Source energy into form and then develop identities tied to that form. The separation between our true divine identity and the egoic form identity is the chasm we are trying to bridge in our journey of self-awareness. We build that bridge by embracing unconditional love and the NOW. To begin that bridge building there are choices that must first be made and White Feather illuminates those choices and the ensuing path of loving our selves into existence.

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In the Heart of the Rockies: A Story of Adventure in Colorado

2011-02-14T13:53:00.003-07:00

In the Heart of the Rockies: A Story of Adventure in Colorado, by G. A. Henty. After the loss of his parents, sixteen-year-old Tom is uncertain how to make his way in the world, especially since he wishes to provide for his two sisters. Tom, an Englishman, decides that it would be best for him to leave for America where he hopes to join his uncle. Once in America, Tom heads to the rustic Wild-West city of Denver in hopes of locating his uncle who was prospecting for gold. Tom soon finds his uncle and some new friends as well, including two Native Americans. Together they brave a bitter Rocky Mountain winter, thwart attacks by hostile Native Americans, and are eventually forced to navigate the wild and dangerous white-waters of the Colorado River through the uncharted Grand Canyon! Will Tom and his friends survive the treacherous journey? Will they find gold and be rich? Will Tom ever see his sisters again? These questions and more will be answered in G. A. Henty's In the Heart of the Rockies. Set in the mid-nineteenth century, this book includes more than eighty geographical, historical, and explanatory footnotes to aid the modern reader. Click here for more information or to order.

G.A. Henty (1832-1902) was a prolific author and journalist in the 19th century. Drawing on his experience and knowledge as a war correspondent, Henty was a master of weaving history into his fictional stories about courageous young men living in difficult times marked by military conflict. His stories provide insight into some of the greatest conflicts of history while introducing the reader to characters that embodied the values of integrity, duty and virtue. While aimed at older children and teens, even adults will enjoy his writings.

Resources For Writers

Great New Advances in Wind Farms

2010-10-12T14:25:00.001-06:00

Green Machine: Wind Farms Make Like a Fish Can the flicking tails of schooling fish help squeeze more power out of a wind farm? A group of aeronautical engineers seem to think so. Inspired by the turbulence created by fish schools, they are now testing whether it's possible to position wind turbines so that they help each other – and so boost a farm's energy output.

Wind farm turbines tend to fall into two types. Three-bladed, horizontal-axis wind turbines are more common – the world's biggest HAWT farm opened off the coast of Kent, UK this week. However, a new breed of vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) are on the up and up.

VAWTs feature a vertical shaft around which airstream-intercepting wings swirl (see Picture). The "lift" of the wind tangentially yanks the turbine around.

Their advantage? They can harvest airflow from all directions, plus are cheaper to maintain than standard turbines because their generators and gearboxes are on or near the ground.

One downside is that an individual VAWT is less efficient than a typical three-rotor turbine, says aeronautical engineer John Dabiri at Caltech in Pasadena.

However, HAWTs are not perfect. They have to be spaced wide apart - up to 10 times their rotor diameter – to avoid the blades of a neighbouring turbine slowing down the wind too much. That means building them offshore or where there is plenty of land.

VAWTs churn up less of the surrounding air. So Dabiri and colleagues wanted to find out if packing them as tight as possible could rival the overall efficiency of a typical wind farm.

As they did so, inspiration struck Dabiri: "It occurred to me that the equations I was writing were the same as I had previously seen in models of the vortices in a school of fish. From there it was just connecting the dots, conceptually speaking," he says.

One reason fish swim en masse is that it allows them to travel two to six times further than when swimming solo. In 1973, Daniel Weihs of the University of Cambridge suggested that the vortices shed by the tail of a fish in a school sets the surrounding water moving faster so that neighbouring fish get a speed boost.

Could turbines in air help each other too? By modifying the hydrodynamic fish equations for aerodynamics and then feeding them into a fluid dynamics model, they were able to work out optimum turbine placements.

A VAWT farm positioned in this way could generate 10 times the power of a HAWT farm of the same area. "We're proposing that VAWTs can be a more effective solution even for large-scale utility power generation," he says......

Wind Energy Basics
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Loss

2010-10-12T11:34:00.001-06:00

“Don't grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.” - Rumi

Books For a New Consciousness

Jobs, Corruption, and Beer

2009-09-19T08:02:00.003-06:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Colorado Jobs Up, Unemployment Sharply Lower
"In some of the best news about jobs in Colorado since the start of the recession, employment grew 4,900 in August, and the state's jobless rate fell half a percentage point, to 7.3 percent, the lowest since February."

Former Interior Secretary Gale Norton Is Focus Of Corruption Probe
"The Justice Department investigation centers on a 2006 decision to award oil shale leases in Colorado to a Royal Dutch Shell subsidiary."

Colorado Company Brews 30 Years of History
"After humble beginnings and plenty of heady times, Boulder Beer Co. Colorado's first microbrewery and the oldest surviving craft brewery since prohibition in the United States is turning 30 on Sept. 25, the second day of the Great American Beer Festival."

The National Parks: America's Best Idea

2009-09-19T08:01:00.001-06:00

Book Review

The National Parks: America's Best Idea, by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns. America’s national parks spring from an idea as radical as the Declaration of Independence: that the nation’s most magnificent and sacred places should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone. In this evocative and lavishly illustrated narrative, Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan delve into the history of the park idea, from the first sighting by white men in 1851 of the valley that would become Yosemite and the creation of the world’s first national park at Yellowstone in 1872, through the most recent additions to a system that now encompasses nearly four hundred sites and 84 million acres.

The authors recount the adventures, mythmaking, and intense political battles behind the evolution of the park system, and the enduring ideals that fostered its growth. They capture the importance and splendors of the individual parks: from Haleakala in Hawaii to Acadia in Maine, from Denali in Alaska to the Everglades in Florida, from Glacier in Montana to Big Bend in Texas. And they introduce us to a diverse cast of compelling characters—both unsung heroes and famous figures such as John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ansel Adams—who have been transformed by these special places and committed themselves to saving them from destruction so that the rest of us could be transformed as well. The National Parks is a glorious celebration of an essential expression of American democracy. Order from Amazon.com

Quick and Simple Pumpkin Soup Ideas

2009-09-19T07:49:00.003-06:00

by Christine Szalay Kudra

Just as there are different kinds of pumpkins themselves, pumpkin soup is a multitalented dish too. All over the world, you will find a wide verity of this dish from many diverse cultures and as you will come across when you try different pumpkin soup techniques. The pumpkin lends itself incredibly well to an extensive variety of diverse flavorings and ingredients. Pumpkin soups can be found, which feature pumpkin as the main ingredient of a dish or plays a supporting part of a combinations of many different ingredients.

If you're like most people though, you think of pumpkin soup as very much a seasonal dish, appearing on the dinner table around the holidays, and disappearing shortly thereafter, not to be seen again until autumn's chill returns to fill the air. We are all familiar with the traditional classic pumpkin soup with its many familiar spices like clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and alike served piping hot with just a touch of cream swirled into it. This cold weather dish is common around fall but this delicious soup is wonderful no matter what time of year you wish to serve it hot or cold.

For something a little bit different, try a curried pumpkin soup. It's a little bit spicier than the traditional pumpkin soup you're used to from holiday dinners, but every bit as delicious. The spices used in these pumpkin soups include some, which strike a familiar note, and others, which lend a more exotic taste to the dish. A wonderful alternative during winter months pumpkin soup makes a nice change of pace from those bland everyday soups we get far too often.

Jamaican pumpkin soup recipes are also a good choice if you're looking for a soup, which is a little different from what you may be used to. In Jamaica, pumpkin and other hard-shelled squashes are very popular vegetables and there are many different soups, which are eaten year round. These soups often feature beef, noodles, and spices including the classic Jamaican combination of thyme, allspice, and habanero peppers.

If you have a dinner party coming up, a pumpkin soup served in individual pumpkin shells is always an impressive presentation. For this particular pumpkin soup recipe, you'll want to have several small pumpkins (at least as many as you'll have diners and probably a few more). The pumpkin makes a great serving dish after being hollowed out, fill it with your favorite pumpkin soup recipe, and is sure to impress your guest and family alike.

You can dress up pumpkin soup into something sophisticated by adding some grown-up ingredients like sherry (dry or sweet) and gruyere cheese; this is a combination, which works especially well with pumpkin. The result is an incredibly delicious, silky smooth tasting soup, which will delight your family and friends and perhaps even make some believers out of people who were ambivalent to this vegetable before!

Whether curried, spicy, sweet or sophisticated, pumpkin soup recipes run the gamut of flavors and culinary influences, with a soup perfect for every palate. Pumpkin soup should not just be left to holidays such as Thanksgiving but enjoyed often. Try some variations on this versatile theme; after all, they are available year-round - and regardless of the season, this diverse vegetable should be a part of your culinary treasure chest year round.

Copyright © 2009, by Christine Szalay Kudra. As the mom of four boys great food is a way of life and lots of it. You can easily make a classic pumpkin soup from just a few simple ingredients. It is fast and easy to make this creamy gourmet soup that goes well with a full meal or can be served by itself. Garnish it with a dollop of sour cream and serve with linen napkins. For more info and recipes visit: PumpkinSoup.org

Culinary McCook

Smoke and Money Flow Into State

2009-09-01T15:43:00.003-06:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Health Advisory Issued As Smoke Flows Into Colorado
"Heavy smoke flowing into Colorado from fires in California and Utah has created unhealthy breathing conditions for some people, the state health department said today.

"A smoke health advisory was issued this afternoon for Garfield County and parts of northwest and north-central Colorado. The air is filled with so many fine particulates that state health officials said the air quality is in the "unhealthy-for-sensitive-group" category, which includes individuals with heart disease, respiratory illness, the very young and very old.

"The highest concentrations of smoke are likely occur north of Interstate 70 and as far east as the Front Range. Although the air in the metro region is hazy, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment officials said particulate levels outside the warning areas are only moderate."

Colorado Forest Service To Distribute 10.7M In Stimulus Grants
"The Colorado State Forest Service is seeking proposals for $10.7 million in federal stimulus funds it will distribute for projects that create forestry-related jobs. The funds authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act include:

• $6.25 million for organizations working to create or retain jobs in forest restoration and fuels mitigation.

• $4.47 million to fund jobs involved in planning community wildfire protection, with some of the money for jobs in the wood-products industry.

Cahokia: Ancient America's Great City on the Mississippi

2009-09-01T14:28:00.003-06:00

Book Review

Cahokia: Ancient America's Great City on the Mississippi, by Timothy R. Pauketat. Almost a thousand years ago, a Native American city flourished along the Mississippi River near what is now St. Louis. Cahokia was a thriving metropolis at its height with a population of twenty thousand, a sprawling central plaza, and scores of spectacular earthen mounds. The city gave rise to a new culture that spread across the plains; yet by 1400 it had been abandoned, leaving only the giant mounds as monuments and traces of its influence in tribes we know today.

In Cahokia, anthropologist Timothy R. Pauketat reveals the story of the city and its people as uncovered by the dramatic digs of American corn-belt archaeologists. These excavations have revealed evidence of a powerful society, including complex celestial timepieces, the remains of feasts big enough to feed thousands, and disturbing signs of large-scale human sacrifice.

Drawing on these pioneering digs and a wealth of analysis by historians and archaeologists, Pauketat provides a comprehensive picture of what's been discovered about Cahokia and how these findings have challenged our perceptions of Native Americans. Cahokia is a lively read and a compelling narrative of prehistoric America. Order from Amazon.com

Marijuana Clinics Sprouting In Colorado

2009-08-20T08:48:00.002-06:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Marijuana Clinics Crop Up Rapidly In Colorado
"The explosion of consumer demand for medical marijuana has spawned concern among some but represents opportunity for others to move medical marijuana into the mainstream. By summer's end, there could be as many as 60 medical-marijuana "dispensaries" in Colorado, according to the founder of Colorado Medical Marijuana, which catalogues the dispensaries on its website."

"From bright, modern offices atop a Panera sandwich shop near Park Meadows mall, Colorado Medical Marijuana walks potential patients through the process of finding a doctor and registering with the state — for $235. The state registry fee is $90. Under Amendment 20, passed by voters in 2000, dispensaries can sell marijuana to anyone on the medical- marijuana registry who has designated them as their 'caregiver.' To keep up with demand, the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation, which operates the Wheat Ridge clinic and 13 others in nine states, has hired nearly 40 new employees around the country this year and expects to add more, said founder Paul Stanford. Doctors do not prescribe medical marijuana and cannot dispense it. But Amendment 20 requires a doctor's signed referral, signifying a patient has one of eight specific medical conditions, including severe pain."

As of June 30th there were 8,918 people in Colorado registered to use medical marijuana. Gilpin County has the highest use with 8.7 registrants per 1000 people. Chaffee County has 2 registrants per 1000 people. What are your views on medical marijuana? Click on the Comments link to share your opinions.

Goat Song: A Seasonal Life, A Short History of Herding, and the Art of Making Cheese

2009-08-20T08:46:00.002-06:00

Book Review

Goat Song: A Seasonal Life, A Short History of Herding, and the Art of Making Cheese, by Brad Kessler. Acclaimed novelist Brad Kessler lived in New York City but longed for a life on the land where he could grow his own food. After years of searching for a home, he and his wife, photographer Dona Ann McAdams, found a mountain farmhouse on a dead-end road, with seventy-five acres of land. One day, when Dona returned home with fresh goat milk from a neighbor's farm, Kessler made a fresh chèvre, and their life changed forever. They decided to raise dairy goats and make cheese.

Goat Song tells about what it's like to live intimately with animals who directly feed you. As Kessler begins to live the life of a herder -- learning how to care for and breed and birth goats -- he encounters the pastoral roots of so many aspects of Western culture. Kessler reflects on the history and literature of herding, and how our diet, our alphabet, our religions, poetry, and economy all grew out of a pastoralist milieu among hoofed animals.

Kessler and his wife adapt to a life governed by their goats and the rhythm of the seasons. And their goats give back in immeasurable ways, as Kessler proves to be a remarkable cheesemaker, with his first tomme of goat cheese winning lavish praise from America's premier cheese restaurants. In the tradition of Thoreau's Walden and Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Goat Song is both a spiritual quest and a compelling and beautiful chronicle of living by nature's rules. Brad Kessler's novel Birds in Fall won the 2006 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and was named by the Los Angeles Times one of the top ten books of the year. He is the author of another novel, Lick Creek, and his non-fiction has appeared in numerous publications including The New Yorker, The Nation, Kenyon Review, and Bomb. Kessler is the recipient of the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a Whiting Writer's Award. He lives with his wife, the photographer Dona Ann McAdams, in Vermont, where they raise a small herd of dairy goats and produce cheese. Order from Amazon.com

Wolves Come To Salida, Colorado

2009-08-18T09:32:00.002-06:00

by M. K. Albus

The Wolfwood Refuge of Ignacio, Colorado once again brought some wolves and wolfdogs to Alpine Park in Salida for exhibit as part of their ongoing efforts at promoting an understanding of these animals. The refuge provides a place for unwanted and homeless wolves and wolfdogs. Part of their mission is to dispel myth and misinformation, judgment and prejudice, cruelty and inhumane treatment. They wish to reach a place of understanding and respect with the realization that quality of life is an inherent right of all creatures.

Quite a large crowd came to see the animals. Pens were set up in the park holding the larger wolves and wolfdogs and a few people at a time were allowed inside the pens to pet and be with the animals. A couple of young wolfdogs were outside the pens on leashes where children could play with them. To see children's faces light up as they petted the wolves was as uplifting to see as the wolves.

One rehabilitated 10-month-old gray wolf named Trinity was also outside the cages (see picture below). She was an incredibly gentle and loving animal who truly enjoyed the attention she got from all the people.

Photos Copyright © 2009 by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.

A great time was had by all. To learn more about Wolfwood Rescue visit their website: WolfWoodRefuge.com

Enthusiasm

2009-08-18T09:29:00.002-06:00

Quotation of the Week

"Nothing great has ever been achieved without enthusiasm" - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Exxon Mobil Found Guilty, Portland Company Moving To Colorado, Banned Purses

2009-08-15T08:42:00.004-06:00

Colorado News

Click on headline for full article

Exxon Mobil Pleads Guilty to Killing Protected Birds
"ExxonMobil, the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas company, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to charges that it killed 85 protected birds -- including hawks, owls and waterfowl. The company violated the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in five states over the last five years, according to the Department of Justice. Most of the birds died after exposure to hydrocarbons in uncovered natural gas pits, oil tanks and waste water facilities at ExxonMobil drilling and production plants in Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, court documents stated."

Portland Wind Turbine Company Moving To Denver
"Wind-energy company REpower USA Corp. of Portland is moving its headquarters to Denver in early September, the company said Friday."

Colorado Springs Liquor Store Bans Purses
Denver Post - "Colorado's Liquor Outlet issued a "no purse" policy, plastering signs in front of the store telling patrons to leave purses in their cars or at the door. 'If they try to shop, we won't sell to them,' head cashier Laurae Langello said. The purse ban was implemented three weeks ago to combat the increase of thefts this year at the store."

Colorado Wild: Preserving the Spirit and Beauty of Our Land

2009-08-15T08:19:00.004-06:00

Book Review

Colorado Wild: Preserving the Spirit and Beauty of Our Land, by Judith P. Sellers (author), Willard Clay (photographer), and with a foreward by T.A. Barron. The spirit of Colorado’s land is mirrored in all who prize its wildness and seek its preservation. Its sublime mountains, sun-dazzled plains, rugged canyons, wildflower-splashed meadows, and crystalline waters have long inspired people from diverse walks of life to strive to preserve it--in words, on canvas, in song. And, in its most imperative sense, many have also sought literally to preserve it. Colorado’s natural heritage is a legacy to be cherished and protected for generations to come. It will take the mind, spirit, and will of the Colorado people to succeed, but there is a driving, urgent imperative among its committed to save these special places that will be lost forever if the challenge goes unheeded. "Colorado Wild: Preserving the Spirit and Beauty of Our Land," a collaboration between naturalist writer Judith Sellers, well-known for her conservation efforts, and photographer Willard Clay, is a striking artistic photographic tour of Colorado’s wilderness with large-format photography and text highlighting past, recent, and current conservation efforts. Filled with the natural treasures of the state, "Colorado Wild" is a call to the challenge of preserving our land.

A former professor of botany at the Unviersity of Arizona, Willard Clay left his Ph.D. research projects and teaching career in 1982 to pursue nature photography on a full-time basis. Traveling throughout the country with a 4x5 view camera, Willard seeks natural compositions in color and form that are distinctive. Will’s photography first appeared in Arizona Highways magazine in 1979, and has since been published in myriad national publications, including magazines, calendars, books, and posters from the Sierra Club, Audobon, Outside, and more. Willard makes his home in Illinois with Debra Alsvig-Clay and her two sons, Curt and David.

Judy Sellers has lived in Colorado for more than thirty years, exploring the backcountry on foot, ski, and bike. A landscape designer by profession, she writes a weekly gardening column for the Colorado Springs Gazette. Her passion for the outdoors has led to involvement with many conservation organizations, both locally and nationally. The mother of two sons, she lives in the foothills of Colorado Springs with her cardiologist husband and two cats. This is her first book. Order from Amazon.com

Feeding Bears, Obama, and Mountain Climbing Death

2009-08-12T09:37:00.002-06:00

Colorado News

Colorado Woman Who Fed Bears Is Killed By One
"Donna Munson, 74, considered the black bears that swarmed across her land in southwestern Colorado to be her pets. She fed them dog food and scraps -- poking the food through a metal fence she built around her porch -- attracting so many bears that neighbors sometimes counted as many as 14 on her property at a time.

On Friday, one of them killed and ate Munson, slashing her head through the fence and dragging her body underneath it.

"She was dead set on continuing to feed the bears, and unfortunately, she paid the ultimate price," said Ouray County Sheriff's Investigator Joel Burk, who had to shoot a bear that tried to approach Munson's remains as he interviewed witnesses."

Colorado Apartment Vacancies Rise
"Apartment vacancies in communities outside metro Denver climbed to 9.1 percent in the second quarter, the highest level in four years, according to a report released Tuesday by the Colorado Division of Housing.

The second-quarter figures echo a trend in the metro-Denver vacancy rate, also at a four-year high with figures of 9 percent for the second quarter and 8.4 percent in the first quarter. The Division of Housing surveys apartment owners in both the metro area and outlying communities but conducts the surveys on different schedules. The non-metro vacancy rate is up from 6.7 percent during the second quarter of 2008, with all areas but Colorado Springs reporting increases."

Obama Coming To Colorado
"On Saturday August 15, President Barack Obama and the First Family will arrive in Colorado and President Obama will hold a town hall meeting in Grand Junction."

Colorado Mountain Climber Killed
"A well-known Colorado mountain climber was killed and his partner was injured Sunday when ice fell from beneath in North Cascades National Park. The climber who was killed, Craig Luebben, and Willie Benegas were training for an American Mountain Guide exam at the time of the accident, said Mark Gunlogson, with Seattle's Mountain Madness. Benegas worked for Mountain Madness."

Unemployment and Journalism

2009-08-12T09:13:00.005-06:00

Commentary

Ed Quillen: Ways to Reduce Unemployment
Denver Post: "After spending a week in Oregon, I nearly forgot how to pump my own gas, as the law there requires gasoline to be dispensed by an attendant...."

Bill Donovan: Journalism 101
Salida Citizen: "My friend Merle over at Arkansas Valley Publishing makes good points in his editorial on Friday. However, in addition to the simple fact that people now have the ability to speak out, I believe it is the lack of quality and or objectivity in our trusted news outlets that has created the perceived need for citizen journalism around the world..."

Anyone Lose Their Tennis Shoes?

2009-08-12T09:00:00.000-06:00

A Closer Look At Angus Cattle

2009-08-01T13:05:00.002-06:00

by Art Gib

Cattle are one of the animals that define America for several reasons. Our country's history wouldn't be complete without the cattle ranches and cowboys of the American West. A good portion of the U.S. economy is fueled by the cattle industry. In fact, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, cattle and calf production in 2008 was valued at $34.9 billion dollars, while the consumption of beef that year was 27.3 billion pounds. Americans love their beef and as a result, the industry thrives.

The most common breed of beef for consumption is Angus. This breed is characterized by two types of naturally hornless (polled) cattle: Black and Red Angus, so named because of their coloration. In the United States, these are considered two separate breeds. Black Angus is the most popular breed in the U.S. The cattle are considered better beef cattle for several reasons. Angus cattle are hardy and adaptable with a high carcass yield of higher marbled meat. They have a lower fat content than some cattle. These cattle are used exclusively as beef cattle and are not used for milk for human consumption.

Angus cattle came the United States from Scotland. The breed was originally called Aberdeen Angus because the cows were native to the Aberdeen and Angus counties of Scotland. In fact, Scotsman Hugh Watson is often considered the founder of the breed. He selected the best animals for his herd and it is believed that most Angus cattle today can trace their origins back to Watson's cattle.

The cattle breed first came to the United States via Scotsman George Grant in 1873. He transported four Angus bulls to the Kansas prairie. Two of these bulls were exhibited at the Kansas City Livestock Exposition. Because the dominant breed of cattle at the time was the Shorthorn, many people considered the hornless cattle strange and unusual. By crossbreeding the Angus bulls with native Longhorns, Grant was able to produce cattle that wintered better than regular Angus. During 1878 through 1883, the popularity of Angus grew and thousands of cattle were transported to the United States directly from Scotland. The popularity of the hornless Angus has grown exponentially since the early years.

Today, because of the recent spotlight on the inhumane nature of some cattle farms, many natural cattle farms have come into existence. They feed their cattle only natural feed and grains and use no added hormones or antibiotics. Most of these natural farms use only Angus and Angus cross-bred beef. Today, because of the quality of beef, Angus is the most popular breed in the United States.

Niman Ranch farmers and ranchers raise livestock traditionally, humanely and sustainably to deliver the finest tasting organic meat in the world. Art Gib is a freelance writer.

A Giant Hologram

2009-08-01T12:46:00.002-06:00

Quotation of the Week

"The universe may be nothing more than a giant hologram created by the mind." - David Bohm (Physicist, 1917-1992)

Solar Energy, Whiskey, & Affordable Housing

2009-07-31T12:04:00.004-06:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

EXCEL Wants To Charge Colorado Solar Customers New Fee
"Xcel Energy Inc. has asked regulators in Colorado for permission to charge residents who install solar-power systems a new fee. The Minneapolis-based utility, which is Colorado’s largest power provider, is arguing that solar customers should have to help cover the cost of maintaining electric grid infrastructure. For now, Colorado solar-power users pay meter and billing fees, but don’t pay the transmission-related fees that non-solar customers do. '[Solar] customers benefit from that grid by having the company as both a back up to their solar power system and a place to sell energy when they are not using it,' Xcel said in a statement on its Colorado Web site."

Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey Inks National Distribution Deal
"Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey has reached a distribution deal with national liquor distributor Republic National Distributing Co., effective Saturday. Denver-based Stranahan's previously was distributed by Baum Wine Imports for Colorado and by the distiller itself for other states."

Colorado Low-Income Housing Agency to Distribute 45M From Stimulus
"The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority said Thursday it is receiving $45.1 million through the federal economic stimulus program that will be used to build an estimated 1,800 low-cost rental housing units statewide. The funds from the federal departments of the Treasury and Housing and Urban Development will create nearly 750 jobs, CHFA said."

"The stimulus program — formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — created the Tax Credit Assistance Program and Tax Credit Exchange Program to boost housing for poor Americans; it is through those programs that CHFA is receiving the grant. CHFA said it will distribute the funds to eligible housing developers beginning in August."

The big question, of course, is will any Chaffee County developers go after some of that money in order to build low-income housing here.

It's Lilac Season In Salida

2009-05-22T09:20:00.002-06:00

Stimulus Money and Water Wars

2009-04-03T08:28:00.001-06:00

Colorado News

Click on headline for full article

Rural Colorado to Get $81M In Stimulus Money - Rural Colorado will receive about $81.5 million from the federal stimulus package to support farmers, ranchers and homebuyers, the state's senators said.

"We have a real need for more safe, affordable housing in rural Colorado," Senator Udall said in a statement. "Not only will these funds help more families achieve the dream of homeownership in those communities, they will create good-paying jobs."

Water Wars Leave Northern Colorado Farmers Dry - WIGGINS, Colo. (AP) — Many farmers in this northern Colorado plains region are struggling to keep their crops irrigated and stay afloat as they find themselves on the wrong side of state water rules dating back to the 19th century. The farmers around Wiggins, population 830, recently lost a lengthy war over access to the nearby South Platte River.

Stop Paying Cigarette Taxes

2009-04-03T08:01:00.001-06:00

Advertisement

Grow Your Own Tobacco! Did you know there was a way to have all the tobacco you ever need, and never have to pay for it? It's true! That's right, you read correctly. People in the know have wised up and started growing and harvesting their own tobacco. And it is much easier than you might think!

The best part is that when you grow your own tobacco, you know that it is free from harmful additives, and it only costs you a fraction of what you'd pay for over the shelf products.

Have you ever grown a vegetable garden, or have relatives or friends that have grown their own fruit, vegetable or herbs? Chances are if you're like the majority of the people in this country, you answered a resounding "Yes!".

Now from the concept of growing your own fruit and vegetables and enjoying healthy fresh produce, it isn't a wild jump to be growing and harvesting your own tobacco in the same way. Seriously, this is the future for anybody who wants to enjoy their tobacco and ensure they remain safe and healthy and save themselves a fortune in the process.

To learn more, read this special report by Benjamin Street; How To Reap the Rewards of Your Own Tobacco Harvest.

The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd

2009-04-01T10:27:00.001-06:00

Book Review

The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd, by Joe Camp. A surprise birthday gift plunged Joe Camp and his wife, Kathleen, into the world of horses as complete neophytes without a clue as to what horses needed or wanted. The Camps went searching for logic and sense in the rule books of traditional horse care and what they found was not what they had expected. Written for everyone who has ever loved a horse or even loved the idea of having a horse in their lives, this memoir leads us on a riveting voyage of discovery as Joe and Kathleen navigate uncharted, often politically incorrect territory on their way to achieving a true relationship with their horses.

As the creator of the beloved Benji series, Joe has spent most of his life luring us into the heart and soul of a famous dog, but now in this engaging, emotional, and often humorous story, he deftly lures us into the heart and soul of a horse. In doing so, he exposes astonishing truths and unlocks the mystery of a majestic creature who has survived on Earth, without assistance, for fifty-five million years. In a single emotionally charged moment, Camp communes with his first horse, Cash, in a way that changes him and his relationship with horses forever. In his own words, as he stood alone with his back to this horse: The collar of my jacket was tickling the hairs on the back of my neck. And my heart was pounding. Then a puff of warm, moist air brushed my ear. My heart skipped a beat. He was really close. Then I felt his nose on my shoulder...I couldn’t believe it. Tears came out of nowhere and streamed down my cheeks. I had spoken to him in his own language, and he had listened...and he had chosen to be with me. He had said, I trust you.

Ingeniously alternating between the stories of two people thrust into an unfamiliar, enigmatic realm and a fabled herd of wild horses brought to the New World centuries ago, Joe Camp’s valuable and inspiring book teaches us that the lessons he was learning apply not only to his horses but to life and to people as well–to all of us. Order from Amazon.com

Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets

2008-07-31T10:04:00.001-06:00

Book Review

Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets, by Deborah Madison. In her previous cookbooks Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and the classic Greens Cookbook, among others, Deborah Madison scored with savory yet sophisticated fare--the kind of food even meat lovers relish. Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets finds Madison shopping those havens of quality, taste, and diversity, and devising recipes based on their seasonally available bounty. Among the 350 recipes--not all vegetarian--fans will immediately recognize the Madison hand in dishes like Soft Tacos with Roasted Green Chiles, Spinach and Green Garlic Soufflé, and Winter Squash "Pancake" with Mozzarella and Sage. There's more to the book, however: "Many people still think that the farmers' market is the place you go to for cheap food," says Madison. More to the point, they're a source for "truly local and therefore truly seasonal [food], quite likely raised by sound sustainable methods and by someone who might become your friend." It's a message most readers will embrace.

The book offers chapters deftly arranged by fruit and vegetable families as they appear in the markets, such as "The Vegetable Fruits of Summer: Eggplants, Tomatoes, and Peppers" and "A Cool Weather Miscellany," which includes recipes such as Sautéed Artichokes with Potatoes and Garlic Chives and a marvelous "essence-of" soup, Elixir of Fresh Peas. Madison also treats unfamiliar fruits and vegetables, presenting the likes of lamb quarters in a soup made with Sonoma Teleme cheese, and sugar loaf chicory simply grilled and dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Recipes for delightful salads like Melon Salad with Thai Basil also appear, as do a selection of pastas and risotto, such as Winter Squash Risotto with Seared Radicchio, and sweets like White Peaches in Lemon Verbena Syrup and Date, Dried Cherry, and Chocolate Nut Torte. With sidebars like Atlanta's All-Organic Market: Late October and color photos throughout of vendors, produce, and many of the dishes, the book offers the perfect match of Madison and the markets.

Order from Amazon.com

Day at the River

2008-07-28T21:18:00.003-06:00

Colorado Beef and Water

2008-05-12T09:18:00.001-06:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Colorado Schools Prefer Beef Less Traveled
"A growing movement that advocates buying and eating locally produced food is gaining momentum in Colorado high schools, where students find homegrown beef can be more palatable — if pricier — than what cafeterias used to serve."

Fire Danger Threatens Colorado's Water Supply
"Signs of climate change are already with us. Across the West, snowmelt runoff now starts 10 days earlier and fire seasons average 78 days longer than they did 20 years ago. Large forest fires burn six times as many acres and take five times longer to control. These trends threaten forest watersheds with increased floods and erosion and depleted summer flows."

Inside Steve's Brain

2008-05-12T08:44:00.001-06:00

Book Review

Inside Steve's Brain, by Leander Kahney. It’s hard to believe that one man revolutionized computers in the 1970s and ’80s (with the Apple II and the Mac), animated movies in the 1990s (with Pixar), and digital music in the 2000s (with the iPod and iTunes). No wonder some people worship him like a god. On the other hand, stories of his epic tantrums and general bad behavior are legendary. Inside Steve’s Brain cuts through the cult of personality that surrounds Jobs to unearth the secrets to his unbelievable results. It reveals the real Steve Jobs—not his heart or his famous temper, but his mind. So what’s really inside Steve’s brain? According to Leander Kahney, who has covered Jobs since the early 1990s, it’s a fascinating bundle of contradictions.

Jobs is an elitist who thinks most people are bozos—but he makes gadgets so easy to use, a bozo can master them. He’s a mercurial obsessive with a filthy temper—but he forges deep partnerships with creative geniuses like Steve Wozniak, Jonathan Ive, and John Lasseter. He’s a Buddhist and anti-materialist—but he produces mass-market products in Asian factories, and he promotes them with absolute mastery of the crassest medium, advertising. In short, Jobs has embraced the traits that some consider flaws—narcissism, perfectionism, the desire for total control—to lead Apple and Pixar to triumph against steep odds. And in the process, he has become a self-made billionaire.

In Inside Steve’s Brain, Kahney distills the principles that guide Jobs as he launches killer products, attracts fanatically loyal customers, and manages some of the world’s most powerful brands. The result is this unique book about Steve Jobs that is part biography and part leadership guide, and impossible to put down. It gives you a peek inside Steve’s brain, and might even teach you something about how to build your own culture of innovation. Order from Amazon.com

Spam and Foreign Firefighters

2008-04-29T10:05:00.000-06:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Prison For Colorado Spam King
"A 35-year-old Louisville man who ran a "spam" empire, sending hundreds of thousands of unsolicited e-mail solicitations to computer users around the world, has been sentenced to prison and fined more than $700,000 by a federal court."

Europeans Attend Colorado Firecamp
The Mountain Mail - "Instructors at Colorado Firecamp welcomed their first two international students, Paulo Gonçalves of Portugal and Nicola Lazzarini of Italy, earlier this month."

Spinach Dip Recipe

2008-04-29T09:44:00.002-06:00

by Nichole Roberts

Ingredients: 8 ounces cream cheese, cut in cubes 1/4 cup whipping cream 1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry, 2 tablespoons chopped pimento, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt, 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons grated onion, 1/4 teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled

Preparation: Combine cream cheese and cream in slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW until cheese is melted, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Add remaining ingredients; cover and cook on LOW for about 45 minutes longer. Serve with raw vegetables, crackers, or crusty bread cubes.

Tired of cooking the same meal over and over? Go to my web site and find out how you can start cooking amazing meals with top secret recipes. BestRecipesOnLine.com

Thai Recipes

Field of Dreams

2008-04-29T09:15:00.001-06:00

Short Story
by White Feather

The fields of summer were rich in earthly scents. The sky was big and the ground was moist from recent rain. As the group walked across the field they slowed their pace and took in the incredible beauty of the little valley.

The last time the group walked across this particular field it was frozen and everything was brown and yellow. There were no insects buzzing the air; no knee-high grass and wildflowers flowing in the breeze. It was winter then so now the group reveled in the sharp contrast. The field had come to life.

The people decided to stop and rest. They put down the large packs from their backs and placed them on the ground. Several of the group sat down on the ground with their backs to their packs. Others went to the small stream running along the edge of the field and collected water for everyone. The children, despite being exhausted, began playing.

What the group never learned during their winter visit through this field is that the field was a special energy center. It was the perfect place to stop and rest and try to rejuvenate before continuing with the journey. The energy of the field was exquisite. The group got so relaxed they decided to pitch camp right there in that field. They would leave in the morning. All the tension of being on a journey seemed to evaporate. All the thoughts involved with the trip dissipated and the group simply thought about their time of rest. It was like being home--for a day.

Everyone dreamed expansive dreams that night as they breathed in the rich air of the field. The sound of crickets serenaded the sleeping people as they dreamt of a home they were going back to. The sweet smell of the lush vegetation helped them focus in on that destination.

The next day when they left, each member of the group took part of that field with them.

In addition to occasionally writing for Blog Salida, Salida author White Feather has published numerous books, including two novels, collections of short stories, and collections of non-fiction essays. Books by White Feather.

Biotech, Renewable Energy, Income, and Snow

2008-04-25T12:42:00.000-06:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Colorado's Per Capita Income Highest in Pitkin County
"Per capita personal income in Colorado ranges from a low of $16,859 in Crowley County to a high of $86,122 in Pitkin County, according to data released Thursday by the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis."

Eighteen Renewable Energy Bills Moving Through Colorado Legislature
"DENVER – Colorado energy czar Tom Plant is keeping a close watch on the last of at least 18 bills related to developing Colorado’s renewable energy resources that are still moving though the legislative process as this year’s General Assembly nears an end."

Colorado Governor Signs Biotech Incentive Bill
"Colorado reached for its wallet to encourage biotech businesses in a move to match past rhetoric. Governor Bill Ritter has made meaningful economic development measures a cornerstone of his administration."

Eight Colorado Resorts Set Snow Records
"Among Ski Country’s 26 members, record snowfall was recorded at Beaver Creek (430 inches), Crested Butte (422 inches), Monarch Mountain (482 inches), Powderhorn (320 inches), Silverton (550 inches), Snowmass (450 inches), Steamboat (489 inches) and Telluride (353 inches)."

Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation

2008-04-25T12:18:00.002-06:00

Book Review

Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation, by Sheila Weller.A groundbreaking and irresistible biography of three of America's most important musical artists -- Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon -- charts their lives as women at a magical moment in time. Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon remain among the most enduring and important women in popular music. Each woman is distinct. Carole King is the product of outer-borough, middle-class New York City; Joni Mitchell is a granddaughter of Canadian farmers; and Carly Simon is a child of the Manhattan intellectual upper crust. They collectively represent, in their lives and their songs, a great swath of American girls who came of age in the late 1960s. Their stories trace the arc of the now mythic sixties generation -- female version -- but in a bracingly specific and deeply recalled way, far from cliché. The history of the women of that generation has never been written -- until now, through their resonant lives and emblematic songs.

Filled with the voices of many dozens of these women's intimates, who are speaking in these pages for the first time, this alternating biography reads like a novel -- except it's all true, and the heroines are famous and beloved. Sheila Weller captures the character of each woman and gives a balanced portrayal enriched by a wealth of new information. Girls Like Us is an epic treatment of midcentury women who dared to break tradition and become what none had been before them -- confessors in song, rock superstars, and adventurers of heart and soul. Order from Amazon.com

Lightbulbs and Lynx

2008-04-22T10:05:00.000-06:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Conservationists Sue For Lynx Protection in New Mexico
"ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A coalition of conservation and animal protection groups on Monday sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to force it to extend federal protection to Canada lynx in New Mexico. 'Once lynx cross from Colorado into New Mexico — which they have been doing — they're suddenly not protected anymore.'"

Recycling Program Begun in Colorado For Light Bulbs, Thermostats
"Xcel Energy Inc. and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Monday unveiled a recycling program for compact fluorescent light bulbs and thermostats containing mercury. The light bulbs and thermostats can be dropped off at any Ace Hardware location in Colorado. The retailer has 104 locations in the state. Although the light bulbs use less energy, the drawback is they contain small amounts of mercury. The recycling program is for individuals only, not for businesses."

Now there's some good news for Earth Day. What do you think of the lynx reintroduction to Colorado? What do you think of those compact flourescent light bulbs? Click on the 'comments' link below to share your opinions.

Democracy

2008-04-22T09:45:00.000-06:00

Quotation of the Week

"Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." - Winston Churchill

Tree Hole

2008-04-22T09:36:00.001-06:00

Girls to the Rescue!

2008-04-16T08:57:00.000-06:00

Announcements

As the second production in their 2008 season of celebrating women in theatre, Stage Left Theatre Company will be presenting two short plays for younger audiences. “Girls to the Rescue” consists of two stories involving well-known fairy tale characters in fun new situations.

The Fairy Godmother’s Assistant by Cynthia Mercati is about a young teen left in charge when the Fairy Godmother, her boss, goes on a much-needed vacation. The amazed assistant is visited by various members of the kingdom who are seeking help from the Fairy Godmother. Can this un-magical girl be of any help to them at all?

Have you ever wondered what happened to Cinderella after she married the Prince? In Cinderella, Inc. by Thomas Hischak, our heroine opens an employment agency. With the help of her stepsisters, Cinderella finds jobs for people who are difficult to employ for some very funny reasons. And then, there’s the dragon…

Directed by Bailee Schreyer-Bragassa with Zac Vosburgh, and by Dorothy Cladas, these tales feature the performances of local youngsters, and are sure to please children of all ages.

Performances are at the Salida Steamplant Theatre on Friday, April 18th at 7:00 pm, and on Saturday, April 19th at 11:30 am, and 2:30 pm. Tickets are $5 for kids under 18, $8 for adults, and will be available at Bongo Billy’s Salida Café, at the Salida Chamber of Commerce, and at the door. For more information, call 207-2209.

Gas and Water in Colorado

2008-04-12T09:15:00.001-06:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Study: Boom Will Double Northwest Colorado Population
"A new study predicts that the energy industry will drive a doubling in population growth in northwest Colorado by 2035. And that’s not even taking into account what would happen if oil shale development takes place in the region, the report says."

Alamosa Cleared to Use Water
"DENVER - They couldn't hear the celebration going on in Alamosa - the sound of tap water filling water glasses - when the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment lifted a state-imposed "boil water order" for the San Luis Valley community on Friday. The contamination left 389 people ill, 16 of whom had to be hospitalized."

Gas Prices Nearing Records Levels in Colorado
"DENVER (AP) ― The price of regular unleaded gasoline is nearing record levels in Colorado while the price of diesel is at an all-time high."

Lavender - The Scent of Relaxation in Your Herb Garden

2008-04-12T09:03:00.000-06:00

by Hans Dekker

Amongst the many types of lavender, three main varieties stand out; English, French, and Italian lavender. Some have been hybridized and these are easily grown hardy, though you can't grow the seeds, as they will revert back to the original plant. The hybridized plants have larger flowers; so if looks are what you are after, go for it.

If you intend to harvest for the oil, or to make lavender pillows, the English lavender has the strongest scent. It is the most popular lavender, with its compact bushy growth reaching about 3 feet high. It has silvery pointed leaves and tiny mauve flowers grow at the end of long stems. Different colored flowers, from white through to pinks, blues and mauves, are available and the highest concentration of oil is in the flowers.

French lavender is considered the most hardy of all, reaching a height of about five feet. If the spent blooms are snipped off regularly it will bloom for nearly nine months of the year, giving good value for money and time. The blooms cut off can be dried and used for pot-pourri or sleep pillows. So can the leaves. Given a sunny spot, it will reward you with a greater depth of colour in the blooms.

Italian lavender is the baby of the three, growing to only about two feet high. It is a bit scarcer, but well worth cultivating if you can find it. Its leaves are tiny, smooth and pointed and although similar in many respects to the other lavenders, it is still different enough to form a good contrast. It flowers from mid-winter to early summer and will make a most attractive small hedge or groundcover, the deep mauve flowers covering the bush profusely. It is not as highly perfumed as the other two lavenders.

The best time to pick lavender flowers for drying is just before the last flowers have opened. Do it on a dry day while it is still cool to retain the oil essence. Hang in a shady, airy place to dry out and then strip the flowers from the stems and store in airtight containers. Lavender is most effective visually if grown as a hedge or with several bushes grouped together. They all like a sunny well-drained position.

Lavender is used as a remedy for giddiness and faintness. It calms and relaxes and cosmetically is good for oily skin.

Hans is an avid gardener and writes for Gardening-Guides.com. Visit us for more articles on herb gardening

Theatre Entertainment This Weekend

2008-04-08T08:48:00.001-06:00

Announcements

High Country Fine Arts Association will present Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I this weekend at the John Held Auditorium. Shows will be April 11, 12, and 13 at 7pm with matinees on Saturday and Sunday, the 12th and 13th, at 2pm. Tickets for adults are $10 and $5 for seniors and those under 18 and are available at the Chamber of Commerce and at the door. For more information call 719-395-3579 or visit HCFAA.org.

Armageddon in Retrospect

2008-04-08T08:44:00.001-06:00

Book Review

Armageddon in Retrospect, by Kurt Vonnegut. The first and only collection of unpublished works by Kurt Vonnegut since his death--a fitting tribute to the author, and an essential contribution to the discussion of war, peace, and humanity's tendency toward violence. Armageddon in Retrospect is a collection of twelve new and unpublished writings on war and peace. Imbued with Vonnegut's trademark rueful humor, the pieces range from a visceral nonfiction recollection of the destruction of Dresden during World War II--an essay that is as timely today as it was then--to a painfully funny short story about three Army privates and their fantasies of the perfect first meal upon returning home from war, to a darker, more poignant story about the impossibility of shielding our children from the temptations of violence. Also included are Vonnegut's last speech as well as an assortment of his artwork, and an introduction by the author's son, Mark Vonnegut. Armageddon in Retrospect says as much about the times in which we live as it does about the genius of the writer. Order from Amazon.com

Spring Rituals

2008-04-06T09:45:00.002-06:00

by Jane Goodhart

As the days get longer, there are certain things I do to celebrate this fact. One is around the first day of spring, I walk or peddle but never drive down to the river, go to the boat ramp, take my shoes off and dip my footsies into the river. However this year I fear that my footsies may get tangled up in bureaucratic red tape, not to mention some chemicals or mega doses of minerals that I don't want to soak in. My other spring ritual is to get up before the sun rises and make sure I have some rocks to put on my rock sun calendar. It is my way of honoring the seasons changing. I am sure that the people who have moved into places I have lived in have wondered why there are rocks at angles, and lines, all going east. Maybe it will inspire someone that I don't know. It's the least I can do, eh?

Copyright © 2008, by Jane Goodhart. All Rights Reserved.

Jane Goodhart lives in Salida, Colorado. In addition to writing for Blog Salida, she is also a regular contributor to the Women's Teaching newsletter.

Franz Lake Mirror

2008-04-06T09:42:00.000-06:00

Teachers

2008-04-05T09:33:00.000-06:00

Quotation of the Week

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." - Henry Brooks Adams

News From Around Colorado

2008-04-05T09:06:00.001-06:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

The Fastest Growing Town in Colorado
"NEW CASTLE, Colo. -- Dale Gray remembers when it wasn't a big deal for kids to walk around downtown New Castle with their guns. A community survey by RRC Associates of Boulder estimated the town's population at 3,443 in 2007, and New Castle maintained an average annual growth rate of 8.9 percent since 2000. Some wonder if New Castle hit 4,000 last summer. 'Per capita, it is the fastest growing town in Colorado,' said building official David Hunsicker."

Grim Record Broken With 17 Deaths on Colorado Slopes
"17 skiers or snowboarders have died on slopes and mountains this season in Colorado, the most ever."

Fire Danger Classified as Critical in Parts of Colorado
"KUSA – Officials have issued a RED FLAG WARNING for Saturday afternoon and evening for most of south central and southeast Colorado due to the increased potential for wildfires."

Fine For Killing Colorado Bald Eagle Rises
"DENVER, Colorado — With a bald eagle named Adam looking over his shoulder, Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law a bill on Thursday that increases the penalties for poaching a bald eagle in Colorado after the federal government took the bird off the endangered species list. 'This law gives the bald eagle the same status in Colorado as the golden eagle, Rocky Mountain goat, desert bighorn sheep, the American peregrine falcon and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep," Ritter said as the bewildered bird looked on.'"

Hobbits Becoming More Human

2008-04-05T08:44:00.000-06:00

by Joel Kontinen

A new study suggests that the hobbits, a diminutive people whose remains were found on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003 and 2004, were real humans after all. They were originally classified as Homo floresiensis, a species distinct from Homo sapiens but the dispute about their status has never abated.
Named after J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth heroes, they became known all over the world after scientific journals published a drawing by Peter Schouten that describes a tiny ape-like man carrying a furry animal on his shoulder.

Many researchers think that the hobbits' small stature (one meter or just over three feet) and small head were the result of microcephaly, a neurological disorder that still causes some individuals to have an abnormally small head. They maintain that it is not justified to classify them as a distinct species. For instance, in 2006 Pennsylvania State University published a study stating that the small head of Homo floresiensis was due to microcephaly.

As reported by ScienceNow, a new study conducted by Peter Obendorf and Benjamin Kefford of the RMIT University of Melbourne and Charles Oxnard of the University of Western Australia at Crawley concluded that the small stature of the Homo floresiensis was not the result of genetic defects. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggests that the hobbits' size was caused by a condition known as cretinism. This is due to a lack of iodine. Comparing the pituitary flossa in a hobbit skull with individuals suffering from cretinism, they found a significant match and thus suggested a new theory.

The remains of twelve hobbits were originally found in a cave in Liang Bua. Obendorf stated that it is an area where people still suffer from goiters that results from iodine deficiency. The new study even mentions that local myths include stories of tiny people who lived in caves.

While it may be too early to discard the microcephaly hypothesis altogether, the case for hobbits being real humans is much stronger than before. We should probably do well to forget the image of an ape-like man carrying a furry animal on his shoulder and start describing hobbits as real people. It seems that the distinction between hobbits and humans is found only in Tolkien's Midde-Earth but not on this earth.

Joel Kontinen is a translator and novelist currently living in Finland. His background includes an MA in translation studies and a BA in Bible and theology. He mostly writes about orgins issues. Blog. Home.

The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

2008-03-29T12:51:00.002-06:00

Book Review

The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, by Pico Iyer. One of the most acclaimed and perceptive observers of globalism and Buddhism now gives us the first serious consideration—for Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike—of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s work and ideas as a politician, scientist, and philosopher. Pico Iyer has been engaged in conversation with the Dalai Lama (a friend of his father’s) for the last three decades—an ongoing exploration of his message and its effectiveness. Now, in this insightful, impassioned book, Iyer captures the paradoxes of the Dalai Lama’s position: though he has brought the ideas of Tibet to world attention, Tibet itself is being remade as a Chinese province; though he was born in one of the remotest, least developed places on earth, he has become a champion of globalism and technology. He is a religious leader who warns against being needlessly distracted by religion; a Tibetan head of state who suggests that exile from Tibet can be an opportunity; an incarnation of a Tibetan god who stresses his everyday humanity.

Moving from Dharamsala, India—the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile—to Lhasa, Tibet, to venues in the West, where the Dalai Lama’s pragmatism, rigor, and scholarship are sometimes lost on an audience yearning for mystical visions, The Open Road illuminates the hidden life, the transforming ideas, and the daily challenges of a global icon. Pico Iyer is the author of six works of nonfiction and two novels. He has covered the Tibetan question for Time, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, and many other publications for more than twenty years. Order from Amazon.com

Pet Memorials in Europe

2008-03-29T11:57:00.002-06:00

by Kristin Gabriel

For centuries people from around the world have honored pets upon their death and buried their beloved friends in pet cremation urns or pet cemeteries, which are not new to history. In 1986 Laurence Stager's archaeological team discovered the ancient pet cemetery of Ascalon dating back to the period of Persian rule (539-332 B.C.) in Palestine. It contained the remains of over 1000 dogs.

The Le Cimetière des Chiens D'Asnières-Sur-Seine features a large sculpture with the carving of a Saint Bernard carrying a child. Barry the dog saved the lives of 40 people in the Alps before he lost his own life trying for the 41st time to rescue again. Another large tombstone--features a German Shepherd statue memorializing all police dogs who have died in action.

One pet cemetery in the United Kingdom at Brynford near Holywell in Flintshire, has won awards. For the third year in a row the pet cemetery won the distinguished award for the UK's best facility of its kind last year. The award was from the Memorial Awareness Board, an organization run by the National Association of Memorial Masons.

Brynford's owner John Ward and his wife started the cemetery in 1989, and since, more than 500 pets have been buried and or cremated there. This cemetery features a chapel, tea rooms, and a visitor center on seven and a half acres of landscaped gardens for the pet memorials. At services in the chapel a priest delivers a farewell prayer with dignity.

In America, Hartsdale Pet Cemetery and Crematory is America's oldest and most prestigious pet memorial and burial grounds. It was developed back in 1896, and by the end of the War there were more than 2,000 graves in this Westchester County, New York cemetery where pets are buried in pet urns, and pet caskets, with pet memorial markers. It all started when prominent New York City Veterinarian Dr. Samuel Johnson offered his apple orchard as a burial plot for a friend's dog. Today, there are more than 70,000 pets buried there, and many have custom pet memorial stones.

This state of the art pet crematory has a separate crematory office and offers a range of services including cremation, pet memorials, pet cremation urns and more. Plus since more than 7,000 military canines had served with such great distinction during the War, it as Hartsdale Canine Cemetery that was chosen as the location for a beautiful pet monument built for $2,500. The German shepherd status was designed by Walter A. Buttendorf and sculpted by a well known designer who was one of the builders of Grand Central Station in New York City, Robert Caterson.

Kristin Gabriel is a professional writer based in Los Angeles, CA who works with Peternity.com, a place where people honor their pets for eternity. Peternity provides custom products including pet memorial stones and grave markers, pet urns, garden statue pet memorials, pet memorial headstones, pet keepsake memorials, pet portraits, burial boxes, custom engraved glasswork, and other pet memorials. Call 877-PET-PEACE or go to www.peternity.com

Colorado Wind Power

2008-03-27T09:27:00.000-06:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Austin Wind-Energy Company Moving to Colorado
"Austin's Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. is moving its headquarters to Broomfield, Colo., relocating 70 full-time employees. RES-Americas also said it plans to add 70 more employees at its new Broomfield site over the next year. Company officials said Broomfield is close to other RES-Americas operations, that Colorado's business and political climate supports renewable energy, and that the area enjoys a high quality of living."

Woodward Plans to Build Wind Turbine Inverters in Colorado
"Woodward Governor Co. plans to add up to 100 new jobs in Colorado through the expansion of its wind turbine inverter business, which will include a new production line in northern Colorado to support the growing demand for clean energy in the U.S. Inverters are used to convert a wind turbine's variable output into grid-compatible electrical power."

Who said renewable energy isn't good for the economy? It is certainly boosting the Colorado economy. Thank goodness we have some progressive thinking here. While many of us here in Chaffee County have been complaining about all the wind we've been having the last week or so, we might want to turn that thinking in a more positive direction. It would be nice to see some wind turbines around here generating clean renewable energy.

Civilization

2008-03-27T09:00:00.000-06:00

Quotation of the Week

"Civilizations in decline are consistently characterised by a tendency towards standardization and uniformity." - Arnold Toynbee

Food Shortage, Money Problems, and Weather

2008-03-25T10:20:00.000-06:00

Making Headlines

Click on headline for full article

Biofuels Boom Threatens Food Supply
"Growing use of such crops wheat and corn to make biofuels is putting world food supplies in peril, the head of Nestle, the world's biggest food and beverage company."

Daniel Pinchbeck Discusses the End of Money

Gulf Stream Leaves Its Signature Seven Miles High
"ScienceDaily (Mar. 24, 2008) — The Gulf Stream’s impact on climate is well known, keeping Iceland and Scotland comfortable in winter compared to the deep-freeze of Labrador at the same latitude. That cyclones tend to spawn over the Gulf Stream has also been known for some time. A new study reveals that the Gulf Stream anchors a precipitation band with upward motions and cloud formations that can reach 7 miles high and penetrate the upper troposphere. The discovery, announced by a Japan–US team of scientists, shows that the Gulf Stream has a pathway by which to directly affect weather and climate patterns over the whole Northern Hemisphere, and perhaps even world wide."

Coffee and Buffalo

2008-03-21T08:31:00.000-06:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Dozens of bison shot to death in Colorado
"Case looks like ‘random shooting that’s completely egregious,’ expert says."

Starbucks Must Pay $100 million in Back Tips
"California judge rules supervisors can not take share of gratuities."

This recent buffalo slaughter in Colorado is reminiscent of the wholesale slaughter of buffalo in the 1800's for nothing more than "sport." Have we not evolved any since then?

Starbucks earned 672 million dollars in profit last year but they won't pay their supervisors living wages. They augment their pathetic supervisory pay by allowing the supervisors to take a substantial amount of the tips customers leave for the hourly wage baristas. While this landmark case involves only Starbucks employees in California it will soon affect us here in Salida. After all, there are, not one but two, Starbucks opening up in Salida this year. (One in the local Safeway and one in the local McDonalds.) Will local Salidans be very willing to tip their Starbucks baristas knowing that a significant portion of their tips doesn't go to those baristas but rather to the managers of those Starbucks? Will they be willing to pay top dollar for coffee and then tip on top of that knowing that Starbucks profits while both the employees and the managers are utterly dependent on tips to make a living? What's your opinion on this? Click the "comments" link to share your opinion.

Farewell, My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living

2008-03-21T08:25:00.001-06:00

Book Review

Farewell, My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living, by Doug Fine. Like many Americans, Doug Fine enjoys his creature comforts, but he also knows full well they keep him addicted to oil. So he wonders: Is it possible to keep his Netflix and his car, his Wi-Fi and his subwoofers, and still reduce his carbon footprint? In an attempt to find out, Fine up and moves to a remote ranch in New Mexico, where he brazenly vows to grow his own food, use sunlight to power his world, and drive on restaurant grease. Never mind that he’s never raised so much as a chicken or a bean. Or that he has no mechanical or electrical skills.

Whether installing Japanese solar panels, defending the goats he found on Craigslist against coyotes, or co-opting waste oil from the local Chinese restaurant to try and fill the new “veggie oil” tank in his ROAT (short for Ridiculously Oversized American Truck), Fine’s extraordinary undertaking makes one thing clear: It ain’t easy being green. In fact, his journey uncovers a slew of surprising facts about alternative energy, organic and locally grown food, and climate change. Both a hilarious romp and an inspiring call to action, Farewell, My Subaru makes a profound statement about trading today’s instant gratifications for a deeper, more enduring kind of satisfaction. Order from Amazon.com

Colorado Snowfall Nearing Records

2008-03-17T13:54:00.001-06:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Colorado On Flood Watch
"Lakewood - Super-sized snowpacks and forecasts for a warm spring have large parts of the state on flood watch. State snowpacks, at 126 percent of average, are their highest in a decade, with some regions like the Arkansas River Basin seeing the deepest snows in 40 years, according the National Resources Conservation Service."

Crested Butte Snowfall Nears Record
"Mt. Crested Butte, CO - Crested Butte Mountain Resort's (CBMR) ski season is on pace to break the resort's snowfall record, and resort officials are extending three weeks of half price skiing and riding to everyone with a season pass or card from any ski resort in the country. With more than 350 inches of snowfall by the beginning of March, CBMR is on track to top the existing record of 415 inches, recorded during the 1979-1980 winter season."

Closer to home, Monarch Mountain has already passed the 400 inch mark.

The American Dream

2008-03-17T13:36:00.000-06:00

Quotation of the Week

"It is called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it." - George Carlin

Oregon's Rogue River Celebrates 40 Years of Protection

2008-03-15T12:22:00.002-06:00

by Joy Henkle

"It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, or other similar values, shall be preserved in free flowing condition, and that they and their immediate environments shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations." --Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

American attitudes toward wilderness underwent an important change over the course of the twentieth century. In the 1930s and 1940s, Aldo Leopold, Robert Marshall, and other well-known conservationists began to argue that not only were undeveloped areas of high ecological value, they were also of high social value since they provided an outlet for increasingly urbanized populations to renew their relationship with nature.

Aldo Leopold and Robert Marshall were born and died many years before the passage of the 1960s Wilderness Act but their influence on the formation of the Act's intent cannot be denied. Leopold is considered by many as the father of wildlife management and of the United State's wilderness system. He was a conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer and outdoor enthusiast. Robert Marshall, like, Leopold, was a visionary in the truest sense of the word. He set an unprecedented standard for wilderness preservation in the United States that few have surpassed. His ideas and dreams continue to be realized long after his death at the young age of 38 in 1939. He was the principal founder of The Wilderness Society and was among the first to suggest that large tracts of Alaska be preserved, shaped the U.S. Forest Services' policy on wilderness designation and management, and wrote passionately on all aspects of conservation and preservation.

These efforts to revalue wilderness' worth to society eventually lead to the formation of two important pieces of federal legislation passed in the 1960s. Both the 1964 Wilderness Act and the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act are premised on the idea that wild places are ecologically and socially valuable and therefore worthy of protection from unchecked development. Unlike the Wilderness Act, however, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act recognized that partially modified areas were also worthy of protection. It divided rivers and surrounding riparian lands into three categories--wild, scenic, and recreational--based on the degree of development.

Southwestern Oregon's Rogue River was one of eight rivers to be protected under the original 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. More than eighty-four miles from the mouth of the Applegate River downstream to the Lobster Creek Bridge are protected under the act, 33.6 miles of which are considered wild, 7.5 miles scenic, and 43.4 miles recreational. This incredible river's total flow is 215 miles from Crater Lake (the United State's deepest lake) to the Pacific Ocean.

Steelhead and salmon fisheries, challenging whitewater, and extraordinary wildlife viewing opportunities have made the Rogue a national treasure. Black bear, river otter, black-tail deer, bald eagles, osprey, Chinook salmon, great blue heron, water ouzel and Canada geese are common wildlife seen along the Rogue River. Popular activities include: white water rafting, fishing, and hiking.

The Wild section of the Rogue River is one of the most popular whitewater runs in the world. A steady water level due to dams upstream, hot sunny summer weather, and exciting whitewater rapids through lush forests and steep canyons heighten its popularity.

Due to its popularity, river managers have limited access to the Wild Section of the Rogue River in order to protect the river and the Wild Rogue Wilderness from overuse. Limiting the numbers of people on the river also enhances the Wilderness experience for floaters and hikers.

The last 40 years have afforded the Rogue River protection from development and misuse. The river today stands as a testament to the foresight of wilderness pioneers such as Marshall and Leopold and the legislation that was eventually crafted from their ideas and dreams. Marshall wrote just before his death, "To us the enjoyment of solitude, complete independence, and the beauty of undefiled panoramas is absolutely essential to happiness."

Joy Henkle has spent two decades as an outdoor writer for magazines, websites and, more recently, blogs. Over much of the last decade, her travel expertise has been focused on Oregon's unique and diverse Rogue River region. Visit her at Whitewater Warehouse orWhitewater Rafting Blog.

Pink Poodles, Turtles, and Vandalism

2008-03-11T09:45:00.000-06:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Colorado Woman Faces $1,000 Fine for Dyeing Poodle Pink to Raise Awareness for Breast Cancer
"BOULDER, Colo. — Just about every product you can buy is available in pink, or at least pink packaging, to raise awareness and money for breast cancer research. But one hair stylist's move to color Cici, her white poodle, pink for the cause has gone too far and could cost her $1,000, authorities in Boulder said." Photo included.

Vandalism at Catholic Church May Bring Charges Fro Mormon Missionaries
"Police said they will decide by Wednesday whether to press charges against three Mormon missionaries who allegedly vandalized a Catholic shrine in the San Luis Valley."

Bill Making Turtle the Official Colorado Reptile Crawling Ahead
DENVER—A bill designating Colorado's official state reptile is still slowly moving through the Legislature.

Mysticism

2008-03-11T09:27:00.000-06:00

Quotation of the Week

"The drug user drowns in the same pool mystics swim in." - Joseph Campbell

China's Chinese Food

2008-03-10T08:33:00.000-06:00

by Stefan Martiyan

When most people from the States here the word "Chinese" the first thought that instinctively comes to their mind involves small, white paper containers, stir fried rice and a $4.95 lunch special. Chinese food has the world captivated: it's fast, it's easy, it's cheap and it's good. The only thing is, the perception of what Chinese food is around the globe is often misrepresented to what Chinese food actually is in China.

Take for instance, rice. In America, rice is served with most every Chinese meal, regardless of what you order or where you're sitting down to eat. In China, rice is very common - don't get me wrong - but not nearly as common as you might think. Rice is only served when specifically asked for and is more or less used, not as a compliment to your tasty stir-fired entrée - it's actually used as your plate.

You see in China, no one is given his or her own meal; instead, everyone habitually shares with everyone else as an onslaught of entrées constantly come steaming out of the kitchen. Because of this, individual plates are not necessary and small bowls of rice are used to sop up any renegade food particles falling from most all foreigners' chopsticks. In some instances, when rice is not ordered, you'll be given a small ceramic dish, no bigger than the one you'd normally use in conjunction with a teacup, with which you have the choice to eat with or not.

Since the Chinese have not adopted the idea of fork and knife, and don't seem the least bit anxious on ever planning to do so, almost all the food that comes out is already prepared small enough to chew. Although this may seem convenient at first, other factors come into play, which make the situation a lot more complicated. For instance, many Chinese meat dishes - not to mention every fish dish I've ever ordered - are served still attached to the bone. Normally I'd be fine with this, since the most tender cuts of meat tend to be nestled next to the bone, but not having the luxury of a knife to cut away the meat with, nor an ample-sized plate to put down your bones on, requires some careful practice and a readjustment of acceptable eating ethics I've naturally become accustomed to while living outside of China.

Before coming to China, I was a bit worried that every restaurant would only have floor seating and no chairs, requiring me to sit cross-legged on the floor while trying to enjoy my food. This was a serious cause for concern because, for one reason or another, I've always had extreme difficulty crossing my legs comfortably while sitting on the floor - a problem which has also spurred countless years of childhood embarrassment while playing games like Duck Duck Goose. But upon actually arriving in China, I realized that absolutely no restaurant would ever require me, or anyone else for that matter, to sit on a Chinese restaurant's floor because it's more often than not covered in peanut shells, bottle caps, half-smoked cigarettes, and yes, the aforementioned bones of meat you have no where else to discard of.

Napkins are another western dining necessity that the Chinese seem too proud to take hold of. Every so often, a Chinese restaurant will provide you with a roll of toilet paper to clean your hands with, but nine times out of ten, you're on your own. Carrying little packets of tissue is a must when dining out in China, not to mention, being out when nature calls.

While living outside of China, I unknowingly became accustomed to variety. If on one day I wanted a nice deli-style, Italian cold cut sandwich and on the next I wanted something completely different, it wouldn't be a problem. Hell I could get Italian food on Monday, Mexican food on Tuesday, French on Wednesday, Indian on Thursday and pizza over the weekend, and it wouldn't be any more difficult than eating the exact same thing, every day, for the entire week. In China, the definition of variety is vastly different. It's almost a meaning within itself - there's variety alright, but only variety within Chinese food - nothing else.

If you want noodles, you go to a noodle joint; if you want dumplings, you go to a dumpling joint; and if you want a nice Italian, deli-style cold cut sandwich, you're shit out of luck. China offers variety within uniformity. Chinese food is pretty much all you can get, but there are quite a few options when trying to decide upon where and what you what you want to eat.

Lets start with street food. Street food in China is huge. Stands are everywhere you look selling all sorts of edible delights; fresh produce, fishless sushi, smelly tofu cups, plastic bagged noodles, fried chicken and vegetables, steamed dumplings, coal roasted pita bread and fruit on a stick - to only name a few. Meat on a stick is another facet of Chinese food that I never knew existed. BBQ stands are everywhere, often run by the white-capped people of Hui Muslim decent, offering up all sorts of seasoned bits of lamb, chicken, pork, and fish, which are usually, every bit delightful.

Next we have the Chinese "dish" restaurant. This kind of restaurant usually doesn't specialize in any one particular type of food, but instead offers up a wide variety of Chinese "dishes" that are successively served to you, one after the other. These restaurants often have private rooms, for parties exceeding five or six, where you'll be seated in a tightly enclosed area and given a number of waiters and/or waitresses to wait on you hand and foot.

Often times, the nicer places will have a spinning glass table, which makes dining out not only entertaining, but competitive in trying to seize an ample amount of your favorite dish.

There are also restaurants that serve a number of dishes, but only really focus on a few. The best way to tell this type of restaurant from a Chinese "dish" restaurant is to walk in and take a look at what everyone else is eating. If everyone's chomping down on a plate of boiled pork dumplings, it's probably safe to say that you've just entered a boiled pork dumpling restaurant.

Hui Muslim noodle restaurants are also very common, and one of my favorites, serving all sorts of freshly stretched knife cut noodles, in both soup and dish form. Dumpling restaurants are another familiar site - easily noticed by the stacks of wooden circular containers billowing steam outside the front door. The two main types of Chinese dumplings are called, jiasu and biasu - jiasu being the style of dumpling most commonly known to westerns, hand-rolled in a thin layer of dough, and biasu, which are more like steamed balls of bread with stuffing in the middle and twice as filling.

Another aspect of Chinese food that I feel needs to be addressed is the atmosphere when dining out in China. If you're one to prefer a nice, quiet, romantic, candlelight dinner - China is not the place for you. Hoards of brash and outwardly brazen voices fill the air as clouds of stale cigarette smoke hover viscously above. Half the place is usually drunk off baiju, a potent Chinese rice wine, or getting dangerously close, and the other half is yelling even louder, just so they can audibly hear the words they themselves are trying to speak. The restaurant's employees, who are always grossly overstaffed, constantly scurry this way and that, opening up new bottles of beer and bringing out endless amounts of pan-fried food.

Pan-fried food is something I always knew the Chinese preferred, but to what extent, I never had any idea. Have you ever wondered why no Chinese dish you've ever ordered has ever been baked? Maybe it's because finding an oven in China is nearly as rare as getting caught in a snowstorm in sub-Saharan Africa.

Ovens pretty much don't exist - unless you're a bakery or specialize in Peking duck - so the only two methods of cooking used are on top of a stove or over a charcoal grill - an observation, which I believe, has a direct positive correlation to why Chinese food is normally so greasy all the time.

One food in China that's never greasy is hot pot. Hot pot is a Sichuan specialty that's well versed all throughout China, and is pretty much exactly like it sounds - hot and in a pot. Sichuan is world renowned for the spiciness of its food, and hot pot is no exception. The table you're seated at will have a circular opening in the middle, which is connected to a propane tank down below. The cooking device that is brought out will contain two proportionate sides of cooking broth - one being blood red and the other, a shade off ocher. If you guessed that the blood red side is hot and spicy, you're the million-dollar winner. If you guessed the latter, you're still walking away with a complimentary prize.

Both sides are extremely spicy, but if you're feeling courageous and eat only from the red, it's a good possibility you may sweat off a few pounds before the bill is paid. The food you drop into the broth is what you actually order. Paper-thin strips of dried meat, bundles of mushrooms, a wide array of fresh vegetables, cubes of white bread, hearty chunks of potato and freshly knit pan noodles are just a few of an endless list of possibilities you have while enjoying a hot pot dinner out in China.

So there you have it - a taste of China's real Chinese food - bon appetit.

Please feel free to contact me via email -- smartiyan@mac.com Or visit my website -- web.mac.com/smartiyan

Comedy Entertainment This Weekend

2008-03-05T08:28:00.001-07:00

Announcements

Stage Left Theatre Company is pleased to begin their 2008 season this weekend with “Lysistrata,” the classical Greek comedy by Aristophanes. First performed in 411 B.C., this racy romp has Peace as its subject, and how a treaty might be achieved by groups of women banding together. If they agree to shun their men-folk, and can manage to seize control of the treasury, perhaps they can take matters of war and peace into their own capable hands. After 2500 years, this play still has relevance and humor today. Stage Left will present a modernized version of the play.

Directed by the team of Shelley Jacobs and Greg West, this production has a cast of 15 players. Some will be recognized by frequent theatre-goers, and some are new to the Salida stage. Shows will be Friday and Saturday evening at 7:30pm and a Sunday matinee will be at 2:30pm. Adult tickets are $10, senior's and children's tickets are $8. Tickets are available at the Salida Chamber of Commerce, Bongo Billy's, and at the door. The play contains mature themes. This is hilarious and timely entertainment for adults. You won't want to miss this show.

For this year's show schedules visit stagelefttheatre.org

Following the River

2008-03-05T08:01:00.001-07:00

Teen Driving Deaths, Colorado Government & More

2008-03-04T09:15:00.002-07:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Young Drivers' Fatalities in Colorado Dropped 34% in '07Denver Post: "The number of Colorado teens killed in car crashes has dropped by more than a third, but deaths could be even lower if more teenagers buckled up, authorities say."

Report: Colorado Government Gets C+
"The Pew Center on the States released the report Monday, ranking states based on how well they manage their budgets, staffs, infrastructure and information. Colorado received a "C+" overall. The center complemented the state for passing Referendum C, which helps provide more funding for higher education by allowing the state to keep tax surpluses for five years."

Colorado Ski Resort Dispute Starts Over
"WOLF CREEK PASS, Colorado — It’s now official. Environmental groups, including Colorado Wild, have dropped their lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service, which has agreed to take another stab at its environmental study of a road that would connect a real estate development to the base of the Wolf Creek Ski Area. But whether the Forest Service will draw any different conclusion is the key question. A press conference called by the U.S. Forest Service suggested it won’t."

Costs, Prison Population Going Up in Colorado
"A new report by the Pew Center on the States' Public Safety Performance Project finds that the prison population in this country has crossed a sobering threshold, including here in Colorado. The report shows more than 1 in 100 adults in America are behind bars–and details what that is costing state taxpayers. Last year Colorado taxpayers footed a bill of $599 million to incarcerate 23 thousand people..."

Medicaid Reduction Would Hit State Hard
"Colorado will lose $787 million in health care funds for low-income people during the next five years if proposed Bush administration cuts to Medicaid take effect, according to a new congressional report."

Government and Luck

2008-03-04T08:39:00.000-07:00

Quotation of the Week

"A little government and a little luck are necessary in life, but only a fool trusts either of them" - P. J. O'Rourke

Tomatoes: Harvesting History and Health

2008-03-03T09:09:00.001-07:00

by Annette Welsford

Spaghetti sauce, ketchup, salsa, and soup--none would be the same without tomatoes. It is hard to imagine a life devoid of this delectable fruit. Fruit? Tomatoes are the reproductive part of the tomato plant, so botanically speaking they are fruits. However, for horticultural and culinary purposes, tomatoes are vegetables because they are most often used in savory dishes. Tomatoes were not always so popular, though. They had a rough history from the mountains of Peru to our dining room tables.

Tomatoes in History: Tomato plants originated in the "New World," or western hemisphere. Most likely originating in Peru, tomatoes were domesticated into the plants we know today in Central America. Hundreds of years of cultivation changed a weedy, seemingly useless plant into a prolific producer of tasty fruit.

Brought to the Mediterranean regions by Spanish Conquistadors, and used widely for centuries, it took much longer for Europeans to embrace the tomato. Tomatoes are part of the plant family "Solanaceae," the potato family. Eggplants, potatoes and tomatoes all share the same genes. The potato family is also the family of deadly nightshade, which contributed to long-held beliefs that tomatoes were poisonous. Tomato plants are similar in appearance to Nightshade plants. Folkloric beliefs relayed that witches used nightshade plants to summon werewolves. The common name for tomatoes was "wolf peach." Linnaeus, upon adopting and applying the modern day system of bionomial nomenclature, named the tomato Lycopersicon esculentum, which translates as "edible wolf peach."

Tomatoes were not widely accepted, cultivated and eaten in European and North American countries until the mid-nineteenth century, when the myth of tomatoes as quick avenues to poisoning were put to rest. In the United States, tomato cultivation took off in 1820, when Colonel Robert Johnson ate a basket full of tomatoes in a public square to put to rest rumors of tomatoes' ill effects. During this time, most people still grew their own vegetables, and eagerly began growing tomatoes in their garden plots. These 19th Century garden plots are where the heirloom varieties of tomatoes, so treasured today, were cultivated, differentiated, and preserved.

Health Benefits of Tomatoes: Once people began growing and harvesting their own tomatoes, there was no stopping the popularity of the vegetable. Tomatoes are great sources of vitamin C and Potassium, each essential nutrients for health. The most celebrated nutrient in tomatoes is Lycopene, the red pigment in tomatoes. Lycopene contributes to health benefits such as reduction in risk of developing many types of cancers. Lutein, another element in tomatoes contributes to health of the retina of the eye, and to heart and vascular health.

Tomatoes are tremendously versatile, and can be eaten cooked or raw, whole or pureed, in salsas, soups, sauces, and in salads. Health benefits are best realized when tomatoes are cooked with a bit of healthy oil. Cooking helps break the cell walls of the plant, releasing nutrients. Healthy oils such as olive oil aid in absorption of vitamins and nutrients in tomatoes.

From their scraggly, weedy and dubious beginnings, tomatoes have become a staple in cultures all over the world. Prized for their flavor and their health benefits, tomatoes are a fixture of modern cuisine.

Annette Welsford is author and publisher of "How To Grow Juicy Tasty Tomatoes." For more information, and to purchase the book, visit bestjuicytomatoes.com.

Astrology Forecast for March 2008 - General Tendencies for All Sun Signs

2008-03-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

by Janet (Sparrow) Moon

After all the changes we have been through the past few weeks with Mars turning direct, Mercury's retrograde, a solar eclipse, and a total lunar eclipse, March will be a time to coast and enjoy all the new things in our lives. Jupiter will be moving to sextile Uranus this month, and that may inspire us to work harder or even volunteer to help others. It will definitely encourage us to reconsider what it is we value.

March will begin very quietly with no major aspects for the first 5 days. Around Wednesday, March 5th, we will be feeling the influence of the Sun introducing the Jupiter and Uranus duet. That will bring optimism and charisma to many of us through the end of the week. But, at the same time Mars will be debating with Pluto, and that can mean fights. Pluto can bring out the criminal, but with both planets at 0 degrees, it will probably bring out the hero too. Just remember you are not Super Man (or Super Woman), so think before you go on the offense or the defense. Mercury and Neptune will also be at an opposition on Sunday, March 9th, so guard against drinking too much over the weekend. You don't want to be a drunken hero.

The blessings will begin as Venus enters Pisces on March 12th with Mercury right behind her. And, dear Pluto, will be winking at them from across the zodiac as they begin their new adventure. And, the blessings are going to continue for the next 6 days. Venus, Mercury, and Pluto will encourage us to take a more spiritual look at ourselves and our environments. We may find a renewed connection with our Higher Power. Also Mars and Saturn will be shaking hands, and that will bring stamina, determination, and even tempers through Saturday, March 15th.

First Venus and then Mercury will move to compliment Mars-Saturn duet from Saturday through Tuesday, March 18th. This could bring a few minor problems with authority figures (including Dad), or we may find ourselves dealing with financial restrictions or verbal abuse. But, we are also going to feel very strong and capable and we will ready to put some of our beliefs into action.

Pluto will be at a square to the Full Moon on Good Friday, March 21st, and we will probably begin to feel it by Wednesday, March 19th. Squares are "bad," and the Full Moon has a tendency to cause some of us to go a bit out of balance anyway. There could be a lot of jealousy and arguments erupting, and with the Full Moon in Libra, and it will probably hit our relationships. Be gentle, be kind, and think before you act.

We will be much more pleasant on Easter Sunday with Mercury and Venus holding hands through Monday, and as we move to the end of the week Jupiter and Uranus will hit the peak of their connection with Mercury and Venus there to accompany them. The artistic impulses will abound, and we will be inspired to communicate and celebrate our differences all the way through Friday, March 28th.

The weekend of March 29th could leave us feeling a little crabby, and there could be some fights with the Sun and Mars in conflict. But, the last day of the month, Monday, March 31st, could leave us with a new perspective and a new attitude.

April 2008 looks much more exciting, so enjoy the peace that March will generate. The arguments and conflicts will return next month.

Janet (Sparrow) Moon is a professional psychic and astrologer. You can visit her web site for more articles about upcoming events in astrology, and to read her daily astrology general tendencies forecast. (This article can be reprinted freely online, as long as the entire article and this bio are included.) sparrowmoon.com

Colorado Lynx, Tamarisk, and a Big Pipeline

2008-03-02T09:42:00.001-07:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Local Lynx Survival In Doubt
The Durango Herald: "Federal wildlife officials will not designate land in Colorado as critical habitat for lynx, citing concerns about the long-term sustainability of the elusive, tuft-eared cat. The agency left Colorado out of its recent proposal to designate more than 40,000 square miles in six states as critical lynx habitat, despite the ongoing success of Colorado's eight-year-old reintroduction program. The agency's main concern was the decreasing number of litters born in the wild."

Invasive Tamarisk Takes Over Colorado Basin
PUEBLO, Colo. -- Nearly 70 percent of Colorado land taken over by tamarisk is in the Arkansas River Basin, a recently completed mapping project reveals. Right now, tamarisk is covering about one-third of the acreage where it has been found, but it likely will choke out other plants until it is the only vegetation in the area. The leaves of the plant provide little nutrition to wildlife and the plants leach large quantities of salt from the soil into the water. Unlike native cottonwood trees, the plants also spread to upland areas.

Colorado Springs Gets Support To Build Massive Pipeline From Pueblo
The debate continues over a billion dollar pipeline project affecting every community from Pueblo to Colorado Springs. The Bureau of Reclamation announced Friday it supports building the pipeline from the Pueblo reservoir straight north to the east side of Colorado Springs. This announcement is a victory for leaders in Colorado Springs, but it's not the plan the Sierra Club liked.

Scrunch of Snow Underfoot

2008-03-01T09:57:00.001-07:00

by White Feather

Walking the land, you are in touch with the planetary heartbeat. The more you walk, the more in synch you become. You begin to see the subtle earth energies at work. They are right there but you never noticed before.

Walking is rhythmic. All drumbeats are auditory reflections of the planetary heartbeat.

You can walk the same mile two hundred times and you will experience at least two hundred new things; something new each time.

One walk could intersect another walk you did twenty-four years ago even though you are now in a completely different place. Earth energy lines intersect all over the place; both in the physical and the non-physical. Every line somehow connects to all others. And all roads lead to Home.

When you walk the very same mile one hundred thirty-seven times and then when you walk it the one hundred thirty-eighth time and you do so while that mile is under two feet of snow, it's like taking a walk in a different dimension. It's intensely different.

There are so many dimensions right here. We never have to travel. But walking acts to turn the kaleidoscope. It is the turning of the pages that allows the story to unfold.

When you walk and as your feet pad upon the planetary Mother's skin, you are in a very creative state. Walking into the infinite field of possibilities, each step we take is an interdimensional birth.

When we walk we are engaging the NOW in all its many dimensions. When we walk we are engaging our selves and our own many dimensions. When we walk in joy and awe our bodies respond with the production of life hormones. With each mile our bodies become more balanced and playful. With each mile we see more--even if it is the same mile.

We could say every mile takes us closer to Home. Or we could say that we bring Home with us with each new step. We could also say that everything we see as we walk our walk is a new and different reflection or perspective of Home. Or we could say Home is everywhere we walk.

Walking is like pages of a book. If it's a book you've got to read but are not enjoying much you read quickly, often skimming, and the pages are turning rapidly. It it's a book you are thoroughly enjoying you savor every word and the pages turn much more slowly. How quickly do you walk?

Isn't it amazing how ten inches of snow cannot keep us separated from the planet but six inches of rubber can?

Isn't it amazing how the white of the nighttime snow perfectly reflects the white of the nighttime clouds? And our breath is the same color. And so is the moon.

The clouds and our breath and the moon, however, do not scrunch underfoot like the snow does. Wouldn't it be great to take a walk through a cloud to see what kind of sound it makes?

Copyright © 2006, 2008, by White Feather. All Rights Reserved.

In addition to occasionally writing for Blog Salida, Salida author White Feather has published numerous books, including two novels, collections of short stories, and collections of non-fiction essays. Check out White Feather's books here.

Foreclosures, Job Loss, and Cloud-Seeding

2008-02-28T09:32:00.000-07:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Colorado Ranks 5th in Nation in Foreclosures
The figures are out for 2007 and Colorado was ranked 5th in the nation for foreclosures. This is a slight improvement over 2006 when Colorado ranked number one. Click the link for a list of the 10 worst states in the nation.

654 Jobs Lost in Colorado in January
"Seven Colorado companies were responsible for the mass layoffs of 654 people last month... The report shows fewer mass layoffs at Colorado companies than in the recent past, with 12 employers eliminating 767 jobs in December and 14 businesses laying off 1,244 workers in November."

Cloud-Seeding Halted Over Concerns
Denver Post: "Even as wildlife managers were feeding deer deprived of grazing land by deep snowdrifts in the Gunnison Basin, clouds were being seeded to bring more precipitation in another part of the county."

Downstream: Encounters with the Colorado River

2008-02-28T08:48:00.002-07:00

Book Review

Downstream: Encounters with the Colorado River, by Karen Halverson. Downstream is an arresting vision of the Colorado River by renowned landscape photographer Karen Halverson. Crucial to development in the West, the Colorado River is at once wilderness, natural resource, recreation area, and wasteland. In seventy large-format color photographs, Halverson captures the river's natural majesty as well as the strange and unexpected beauty of its altered state. The images take us on an intimate exploration of the Colorado's entire length--from its rugged upstream canyons, to its dams and reservoirs, to where it disappears into the desert, entirely consumed. In an insightful, personal introduction to the photographs, Halverson tells how she explored the Colorado--accessing it by car, on foot, and by raft--while learning about its transformation into a complex water delivery system. In a lyrical foreword, historian William Deverell sets the photographs in the illuminating context of Colorado River history and discovery. In both images and prose, the book gives an extraordinary view of the Colorado's great and enduring splendor and a clear-eyed look at the many ironies contained in its waters. Order from Amazon.com

River Rock

2008-02-28T08:44:00.001-07:00

Time at the Clothes Line

2008-02-27T09:00:00.001-07:00

by Jane Goodhart

I recently saw an article called the right to use solar clothes dryers, so I am thinking that someone had come up with a way of just hooking your clothes dryer up to a solar panel or something. But low and behold a solar clothes dryer is what I have always called a clothes line. Gee I must be dating myself! Evidently in the northeastern states hanging your clothes on a line is forbidden! Evidently seeing your neighbors clean laundry is distasteful to some and it has been banned by home owners' associations. The legislators have actually had to write laws for the right to hang clothes on a line. What has this world come to?

I, on the other hand, have no such restrictions. The view from my clothes line is of an 11,000 foot elevation mountain. Watching the seasons come and go gives me solace in a hustle bustle world. Since I live by a laundromat sometimes friends come over to hang their laundry. It is really nice to be able to talk; catching up with their lives as we hang laundry together. You have to be a special kind of friend to hang laundry together.

There is an art to hanging clothes so they don't leave a clothes pin mark in an inappropriate place. I have discovered that there are several theories to this. Some women feel that they must wipe the line with a damp cloth before hanging a single thing and there are others who feel that is unnecessary. It seems to be a personal choice for most women. Now that the seasons are changing I have to be very in tune with the weather so that clothes do get to dry and not freeze which leaves terrible wrinkles, defeating the purpose of hanging clothes on the line. I am basically lazy and hate to iron so I hang accordingly.

I hang clothes in all kinds of weather. I have discovered that a good rain will take out lint, pet hairs, and just about any thing else, especially if you add a little breeze. I have put rugs out on the line for several days and found that all pet hairs are removed by the elements. Nothing like a good snowstorm and wind to clean a rug.

Why do I hang clothes on a line? I do it for several reasons. One is I love to be outside enjoying the day, and perhaps more importantly I am saving the environment single-handedly (maybe not, but doing my part). Electric clothes dryers are major polluters in the coal-based electric scenario. They use a lot of energy, and there is a way to dry clothes effectively that is good for the environment hence the clothes line. Also when you dry clothes on the line they automatically have that fresh smell that people spend money on to put in the electric dryer; dryer sheets--which means more chemicals. No thank you.

Copyright © 2007-2008, by Jane Goodhart. All Rights Reserved.

Jane Goodhart lives in Salida, Colorado. In addition to writing for Blog Salida, she is also a regular contributor to the Women's Teaching newsletter.

Man and Machine

2008-02-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

Quotation of the Week

"A world entirely conquered by technology, entirely dominated by industrial processes, entirely occupied by man and machine, would be a world unfit to live in." - Edward Abbey

Mining Problems

2008-02-25T09:45:00.000-07:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Colorado Residents Fight Uranium Mine
"NUNN, Colo. (AP) — Jean Hediger can stand at the edge of her organic wheat farm and look west to the Rockies, east toward this speck-in-the-road town and straight ahead into what she sees as her worst nightmare. A Canadian company's plans to establish a uranium mine just across the two-lane county road from Hediger's farm has triggered a bitter tug-of-war with residents of this fast-growing region about 70 miles north of Denver who fear the risk of contaminated water and other health problems."

"How do you farm organically next to a uranium mine?" Hediger asks.

Lamborn Calls For Presidential Intervention in Leadville
Included in this article is Doug Lamborn's letter to President Bush. Here are more articles about the drainage problem in Leadville:
Colorado Residents Brace for Disaster (Los Angeles Times)
Leadville 'Disaster' Releases Cascade of Dissent (Rocky Mountain News)
Tunnel Flooding Worries Town (Denver Post)
Work Begins to Ease Leadville Mine Pressure (Pueblo Chieftain)
Leadville: Pumping to Begin in Three Months (Vail Daily News)
The Leadville tunnel drainage problem and the threat of an imminent disaster has been a hot topic of discussion lately in Salida. Being downriver from the problem we would be affected by the release of any contaminated water. Fishing on the Arkansas River could be wiped out for a long time. Are people freaking out too much or is this a real threat? Click on the 'Comments' link below to express your opinion.

Aretha Franklin, Jesus, and Fart Pads

2008-02-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

Making Headlines

Click on headline for full article

Aretha Franklin Makes Number 1 on PETA's Worst Dressed List
Aretha Franklin was crowned this year's worst-dressed celebrity by the animal rights organization, PETA. Her crime: wearing yet another vulgar fur coat to the Grammy Awards. "You might be a queen, but you don't know jack about compassion," said the animals rights group. "How 'bout some R-E-S-P-E-C-T for animals?" PETA added. Click on the headline link to find out who else made PETA's worst dressed list.

Singapore Stores Pull 'Jesus' Cosmetics
SINGAPORE - "A cosmetics line that extolled the virtues of "Lookin' Good for Jesus" has been pulled from stores in Singapore after a number of complaints from shoppers, according to media reports Tuesday."

Subtle Butt - Fart Pads
A company called The Pond Inc. is now selling a product called "Subtle Butt", billed as a fart neutralizer, to eliminate smelly flatulence. It's an activated carbon fabric pad, measuring 3.25" x 3.25" square, and adheres to the inside of your underwear with two self-adhesive strips. As the wind breaks, Subtle Butt filters the flatulence, absorbing and neutralizing its odor. (Check out the promotional video.)

Locavores Love Home Grown Food

2008-02-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

by Diana Walker

No it's not a recently discovered species of dinosaurs. The term locavore describes someone that likes to eat locally grown food. It's a trend that is not only good for the environment but good for small farmers and local agricultural industries.

The eat local trend is all about eating foods that do not need to be shipped thousands of miles before landing on your grocery shelf. It's about eating food that does not have to be laden with artificial substances to ensure that it lasts way beyond its natural period of freshness. Most importantly it's about adjusting our diets to eat food that is in season for the regions we live in and it's this last point that can be difficult for some.

Many of us have become accustomed to being able to purchase popular produce like strawberries and asparagus during times of the year when they are out of season for our region. That convenience has a significant impact on the environment when that strawberry has to be shipped via air or roadway from California to Ohio. According to the Washington non-profit group, Worldwatch, food sold in American supermarkets travels on average about 1,500 miles from the farm to the consumer. This represents a 25% increase from 1980.

That is a lot of fuel consumption and pollution creation all to satisfy our penchant for out of season and out of region foods. The challenge for supporters of the local food movement is to discover tasty and interesting diets that can be grown within a 100-300 mile radius of communities.

Do you know what kinds of local produce are available at different times of the year in your community? One of the best places to start this research is at your local farmers' market, food co-op or organic food store. In fact any local food shop that is focused on carrying healthy locally and ethically grown food should be able to give you some advice.

Community Supported Agriculture or CSAs are another new development in the local food movement that is helping to make the locavore lifestyle more sustainable. CSAs are an agricultural business model that helps to connect local organic growers directly with customers. They help struggling farmers to connect with a steady customer base.

Certain seasons are more difficult than others for locavores. It's no surprise that wintertime CSA distributions may have less variety than summertime distributions; but with come creativity and wonderful winter recipes eating local can be very tasty. Winter CSA distributions tend to include root vegetables that the farms have stored in cellars in addition to freshly harvested produce. Choices of produce for those of us in northern climates may include potatoes, kale, carrots, parsnips, leeks, beets and rutabagas.

The popularity of the locavore as a movement is helping to educate consumers about the nutritional and ecological benefits of eating locally. The more consumers know the more they will demand the choice and availability of home grown food. This is great news for small farmers and entrepreneurs who all contribute to the home grown food we've all come to love and to re-discover with great enthusiasm.

For over 20 years, Diana Walker has assisted people like you in using natural, safe options for creating vibrant health and well-being. Get her gems of wisdom and healthy recipes mini- e-book via her free newsletter at: diana2.com.

Cats, Deer, Rugby, and Liquor

2008-02-19T09:21:00.001-07:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

New Mexico Cat Flees Fire, Is Found 240 Miles Away in Colorado
The black and white cat ended up in Pueblo, Colo., some 240 miles north of her Albuquerque home. She was returned Sunday to her owner, Jade Schulte. Miko's adventure began after Schulte's home burned in December. The cat disappeared that night.

"We didn't think we were going to get her back," Schulte said. "We had basically given up hope and were hoping that she was with a good family."

About two weeks ago, she got a call from Pueblo that her cat was safe and sound.

"I was like, 'Great I'll pick her up!'" Schulte said. "I figured she was here at the shelter but they said, 'We're in Pueblo, Colorado,' and I said, 'How on earth did she get to Pueblo, Colorado?' and they said 'I don't know, where are you?' I said, 'We're in Albuquerque."'

Officials at the Pueblo shelter speculate that Miko, scared and trying to keep warm, hid in a truck and rode it up Interstate 25. When the Pueblo animal shelter got her, her collar was missing, but shelter officials scanned the microchip in her neck and came up with her owner's name.

Colorado Does More Emergency Deer Feeding
EAGLE, Colo. (AP) -- Because of a heavy snow season that will go into the record books in some areas, wildlife staff soon will begin feeding famished deer near Eagle and Wolcott. Although feeding has been required more frequently in the Gunnison Valley, which not only experiences heavy snow but is much colder, this is only the third time in 25 years it has happened in the Vail Valley.

New Stadium May Be Coming to Downtown Colorado Springs
"A field bigger than Invesco field could be coming to downtown Colorado Springs." Can you guess which sport this stadium will house?

Customer Concerns Color Debate On Sunday Liquor Sales
What do you think of that article and what do you think of liquor being sold on Sundays? Click on the "Comments" link below to voice your opinion.

The Flow of Time

2008-02-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

Quotation of the Week

"The sensation of the flow of time is directly proportional to the quality and quantity of the flow of thoughts." - G. I. Gurdjieff

Whiff of Spring

2008-02-17T11:03:00.001-07:00

Sundays In Salida by Crazy EddieWell, the pitchers and catchers for the Colorado Rockies have reported to Spring Training. To non-baseball fans this probably doesn't mean a thing. To baseball fans, though, it means the beginning of spring. Salidans know better, though. We know there is still plenty of winter left. But at least we have gotten past the worst part of winter and can now enjoy the occasional balmy day. Walking around town yesterday, I swear there was a faint whiff of spring in the air.

Maybe I'm being overly optimistic. Maybe I just desperately want spring to get here quickly. Perhaps you can tell that I'm not a winter person. I don't ski, I don't snowboard, I don't snowmobile, and I don't snowshoe. I don't really care for snow and I certainly don't like icy streets and sidewalks. (I have managed to not slip and fall on the ice once this winter.) I also don't care for huge heating bills.

So if I am not a winter person then what am I doing living in Salida? Are you kidding? I live in paradise! To me, during spring, summer, and fall Salida is the most beautiful place on the planet. Sure, winter can be quite beautiful, too. But personally I would prefer a shorter winter. This is my 16th winter in Salida and every winter I bitch about the weather but as soon as spring arrives I forget all about it and I am happy again. Oh, it's good to be in paradise!

Well, it's Sunday, my day off. Hellelujah for Sundays! My doggie is going to take me for a nice long walk this afternoon. I can't wait. Salida is a fantastic place to live for those inclined to take daily walks. Walking, to me, is not just about exercise; it's a form of meditation. It's also a great way to connect with Ma Nature and with the community. Walking brings me great joy.

Copyright © 2008, by Crazy Eddie. All Rights Reserved.

As a young kid playing "cowboys and Indians," Crazy Eddie always insisted on being an Indian. He wanted to be a chief. Well many, many years later he finally became a chief when he took on the task of being editor-in-chief of Blog Salida.

The Infamous Meat Grinder

2008-02-14T09:33:00.002-07:00

by Jane Goodhart

We moved about three years ago and there are some things I may never find. One item that was driving me crazy was not knowing where my meat grinders were. I know it seems silly in an age of electric blenders, juicers, and food processors. But I can't deny it, I feel insecure if I don't know where my grinders are. I must confess that I use them less than I think of them. I spoke to other women in my age bracket and we all agreed it is somehow important to know we have that back-up; we can function no matter what happens, power outages, political upheavals, economic upheavals. I need to know that I can function in a kitchen with out all the gadgets that require electricity. All we really need is the infamous meat grinder. If I have my grinders I know that I can make ANYTHING out of nothing in the kitchen. I must admit that they usually end up in the back of some rarely used drawer wrapped neatly in a flour sack with the attachments all together. But they are there if I need them. Just knowing that allows me to be OK with other things that may go awry in my world. So my dear husband after listening to my laments goes on a search....3 weeks later he has found not one, but 4 meat grinders and I am one happy camper. Now I feel like I can take on the world and whatever it may have to offer. Silly modern women, huh?

Jane Goodhart lives in Salida, Colorado. In addition to writing for Blog Salida, she is also a regular contributor to the Women's Teaching newsletter.

Sea Grotto

2008-02-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

Animals in the News

2008-02-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

Making Headlines

Click on headline for full article

Rare Albino Moose Photographed in Montana
Check out these incredible photos of an extremely rare albino moose.

Mystical White Stag Roams the Highlands
"Since time immemorial it was a messenger from the afterlife, a mystical creature that chilled the blood of kings and commoners alike. But now a young white stag has appeared in the Highlands of Scotland, gathering his own legends." Check out the photo of this extremely rare white stag.

Indian Tiger Population Cut In Half
A new census of wild tigers in India shows the population has been almost cut in half over the last 5 years.

Love Will Prevail

2008-02-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

Quotation of the Week

"It is part of God's law that love will ultimately prevail in this world. But it is also part of His law that we have total freedom whether to love now or later, whether to embrace it willingly or to putup a fight. History bears witness to the resistance of the human species to the love in our hearts. Love's pull, our resistance to it, and our final surrender back to love are the story at the center of all human existence." - Marianne Williamson

Trout, Wolves, and Popcorn

2008-02-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

Colorado News
Click on headline for full article

Rainbow trout revival underway in Colorado?
ASPEN, Colorado — For the first time since whirling disease decimated most naturally reproducing rainbow trout populations in Colorado more than a decade ago, a new strain of the sport fish has reproduced naturally. The breakthrough took place in ponds along the Fryingpan River above Basalt. A second population of the new cross-breed of trout has spawned successfully in the Gunnison River, according to state wildlife officials, giving rise to the hope that wild, self-sustaining rainbow trout populations will thrive once more in Colorado rivers.

Wolf Reported in Rocky Mountain National Park
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colorado — Rocky Mountain National Park officials say a recent report of a possible wolf sighting is credible, but they say it's difficult to be sure without more evidence. Ranger Jack Dinsmoor said Friday that two experienced park volunteers reported seeing what looked like a wolf on December 4th. They didn't get a photo, but large paw prints were later found in the area.

Easier For Western States To Kill Wolves
BILLINGS, Mont. — A new federal rule would allow state game agencies to kill endangered gray wolves that prey on wildlife in the Northern Rockies. An estimated 1,500 Wolves in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana are scheduled to come off the endangered species list in coming weeks, which would allow public hunting of the predators for the first time in decades.

Colorado Company Recalls Popcorn
The federal Food and Drug Administration says Rocky Mountain Popcorn Co. has voluntarily recalled more than 1,600 bags of ready-to-eat low-fat caramel popcorn. The FDA said Monday an ingredient was found to have a trace amount of tree nuts, which could cause a reaction in anyone allergic to such nuts. The agency said no allergic reactions have been reported. The recall covers green, nine-ounce bags with UPC number 10449 32050 and with a manufacturing code less than D1231xx.

Four Great Reasons Why to Keep Hens

2008-02-11T09:55:00.000-07:00

by Peter Welsummer

These delightful birds are fabulous for four great reasons: 1.) They lay eggs. 2.) They are terrific composters. 3.) They make fabulous fertiliser. 4.) Make great pets for kids

Eggs
One great feature about chooks, over any other pet, is that they lay eggs. You can expect at least 1-2 eggs per day per hen, when they are in their prime, and this makes a tasty addition to any family. Eggs are a nutritional powerhouse providing 18 different vitamins and minerals, high quality protein and important antioxidants. Along with their nutritional value, eggs are tasty, convenient and good value for money making them an excellent inclusion in a well balanced, healthy eating pattern.

Great Composters
The most annoying thing about compost bins, is the time it takes for food scraps to decompose. To aid the decomposition process, some bins now come with turn handles, to keep the waste products moving - and decomposing. Why waste time with these awkward contraptions, when you can have up to a dozen legs turning it over full time! Chooks make food scapes and garden waste disappear into top compost in days, not weeks. While they compost, they also eat your old waste, saving on grain costs. This great compost is nutrient rich, ready to make any garden thrive.

Fabulous Fertiliser
Fire up your garden in no time with a rich blend of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, as found in chicken manure. Roses absolutely love the stuff. A word of warning though, chicken manure can be so packed full of nutrients, it can actually burn your plants. It is a good idea to avoid direct contact and mix it in with other compost before applying to the garden.

Awesome Pets
As Pets, Chooks are second to none. They are cheap to feed, costing only a little grain, cute to look at, funny to watch, good with children, lay eggs, and teach kids great life skills. I love to tell stories around the work lunch table about funny things that my pet chickens did when I was growing up.... and today!. Like the time I saw a Rhode Island red chase after a mouse and eat it in one gulp! or, how the white leghorn avoided the fox, by flying three meters up on top of my cubby house. If you keep chooks, you'll start having some great stories to tell too.

Happy Chicken Keeping!

Peter Welsummer is the editor of thenaturegarden.com, a DIY gardening site with great articles on pets, wildlife, kids, organic and traditional gardening.

Cabin Fever Eases, Poetry Needed

2008-02-10T21:15:00.000-07:00

Sundays In Salida by Crazy Eddie
I do enjoy Sundays in Salida and today's weather could not have been more delightful. Salida has been on the verge of a cabin fever epidemic and today's gorgeous weather did a lot to quell the epidemic. My dog took me on a very long and therapeutic walk--and I was wearing a very light jacket! I hadn't seen that light jacket since early November. And by the end of the walk that jacket was just about too much. Today I experienced actual warmth. It felt really, really good.

With Valentine's Day being this week things are sure to heat up even more. Don't forget! Unless, of course, you're single. Then you don't have to worry about it. Unless each year you've always given your dog a Valentine's card. Luckily, I've never given my dog a Valentine's card so she doesn't expect one. Thank goodness.

Speaking of Valentines, do you know what Blog Salida is looking for? We're looking for poets! We want to publish poetry by local poets living in the Salida Area. So if you do poetry please consider submitting one or two of your best poems to Blog Salida. Check out our submissions page for submission guidelines.

And that also goes for short stories, photos, articles, essays, book reviews, and interviews. Being a community website we want to publish community writers. Express yourself through Blog Salida. Oh, send us your favorite secret recipes, too.

Creative Snow Shoveling

2008-02-10T20:08:00.000-07:00

Put joy
back into
snow shoveling.
Get creative
with it!

Ghosts, Cotton, and Killer Dolphins

2008-02-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

Making Headlines

Click on headline for full article

GM Cotton Gets First Resistant Pest - by Kate Melville
"Bollworm are the first pests to evolve resistance in the field to cotton plants modified to produce an insecticide called Bt, according to a new research report in Nature Biotechnology. Bt-resistant populations of bollworm, Helicoverpa zea, were found in more than a dozen crop fields in Mississippi and Arkansas between 2003 and 2006. 'What we're seeing is evolution in action,' said lead researcher Bruce Tabashnik. 'This is the first documented case of field-evolved resistance to a Bt crop.'"

Jessica Alba Attacked by Ghost She survived.

Killer Dolphins Baffle Marine Experts
A gruesome story of killer dolphins near Scotland and Virginia.

Colorado Town Loses Legal Fight

2008-02-09T09:30:00.000-07:00

by Crazy Eddie

The town of Fraser, Colorado lost its fight with the town of International Falls, Minnesota over the trademarked use of the term, Icebox of America. Both towns claim they are the coldest towns in the lower 48 states. International Falls claims to have been using the phrase to describe their town for a longer time. They have photographs of their 1955 Pee Wee Hockey Team with Icebox of the Nation printed on their jackets.

In 1989 International Falls paid Fraser $2,000 to stop using the phrase and Fraser stopped using it. It looked like everything was settled but recently International Falls neglected to renew their patented trademark on the phrase and it briefly slipped into public use. Fraser made a bid for it. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office made a ruling on the dispute and awarded the trademark back to International Falls.

Anyone who has lived in Salida over the past two and a half months might think that they have been living in the coldest spot in America but this legal battle reminds us that there are even colder places! Heck, just think about Leadville, Gunnison, and Alamosa. To the people of those towns Salida must seem like a tropical beach. But to us Salidans who have put up with non-stop snow and ice and wind and brutal cold for the last two and a half months it is hard to see our situation as even remotely resembling a tropical beach. It's all perspective. So it's good to occasionally remind ourselves that we are a banana belt and that there really are colder places. I purchased a bunch of bananas at Safeway yesterday to help remind me of that. They are so beautiful! Just looking at them I am filled with hope and I can feel myself warm up ever so slightly.

Copyright © 2008 by Crazy Eddie. All Rights Reserved.

Tenderfoot Hill With a Light Dusting

2008-02-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

The Gas Station

2008-02-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

Short Story
by White Feather

The 1957 Chevy pulled off the mountain highway into a gas station. The family inside had been traveling across the country; the two parents in the front and the four children in the back. The second oldest child--a boy named Scott--was born the same year as the car, and was now eleven years old. As the four kids scrambled out of the car, one of Scott's younger sisters asked, "Where are we?"

"Colorado," said Scott as he raced ahead of his siblings and made it to the restrooms first. But Scott could think of nothing else until he had relieved himself. He had not peed since New Mexico. Closing his eyes, he completely emptied his mind.

Coming out of the dark restroom, Scott's eyes were greeted by a very bright sky. He shielded his eyes with his hand and looked around. There was a man in a uniform putting gas into the car. Scott's mother was getting something out of the trunk. The rest of the family was in the restrooms or waiting to get in one. Scott then looked around at the mountains surrounding the gas station. Though it was summer, they were covered with snow, and they were incredibly tall.

Suddenly, Scott got the urge to walk around to the side of the gas station. At the edge of the gas station property, Scott could now see a green meadow with a small stream running through the middle of it. It was incredibly beautiful, but there was something else about it that Scott did not understand. The little meadow had a very strong pull on Scott and it seemed so very familiar, but he had never been there before. Following this feeling, Scott walked out into the meadow, and as he did so, he saw the mountains rising behind the gas station.

After getting out into the middle of the pasture, Scott stopped in his tracks and stared up at the mountains. That same feeling came over him in regards to the mountains. They looked so familiar, but he had never seen them before. The contours of the mountains and even the shape of the snow on them all seemed to correspond with a memory, but how could that be?

It was also the smell of the meadow that overwhelmed Scott. Finally taking his gaze off the mountains, he then looked at the tall grass gently swaying in the breeze. The sound of babbling water coming from the stream seemed to take over his hearing. Scott just stood there in the meadow mesmerized by the feelings that were washing over him. Slowly, he knelt down and touched the tops of the grasses and wildflowers. He did not pull at them, but rather just gently waved his hands over them. The smell of horses suddenly entered his thoughts as the breeze changed. Then, a bluebird began singing from atop a tall pine tree on the other side of the stream.

Scott tried hard to understand the feelings he was experiencing, but they just did not make sense. He sensed that he had been in this exact spot before, but he was a different person when he was there. But something made this spot special to that other him. Scott tried hard to feel what that specialness was, but he could not identify it. So he just luxuriated in it, imprinting it on his memory. Someday he would be on land that felt like this again. Listening to the babbling stream, Scott felt like he was about to be transported to that time, but then someone shaking his shoulder brought him out of it.

It was his sister, "Where have you been Scott? Mother's been looking for you. What were you looking at?"

"Nothing!" replied Scott emphatically. He got up and turned around to walk back to the gas station, ignoring his sisters repeated questions.

Just then, Scott's mother came around the corner of the gas station and saw Scott and his sister walking back. She immediately began hollering, "Will you get back here right this minute! What on earth do you think you're doing, Scott? What did I say about wandering off? Will you hurry up!"

Scott and his sister began running. They headed straight to the car. The rest of the family were in their seats ready to resume the trip. Scott's mother was still blabbering on, but Scott had tuned her out. She was saying something about getting to Wichita by sunset. The fight for the window seat was a quick one, with Scott winning. As the 57 Chevy left the gas station and re-entered the highway, he stared at the meadow and the mountains as they came into view. After they passed the meadow, Scott continued staring at the mountains, enjoying their every feature, until he could see them no more.

******
Twenty-four years later a brown station wagon pulled into that very same gas station. A woman and a six year old girl got out of the car on the passenger side, and they both proceeded to the restrooms. Getting out of the driver's side, a thirty-five year old man got out and went inside the station to pay for gas. He soon was back outside and putting gas into the car. Locking the gas nozzle open and pouring, he then stood up and looked at the scenery all around him. The mountains were so beautiful with their white crowns standing tall above the forested flanks. The air was so fresh, with the smell of grass and pine trees and horses. Breathing the air deeply into his lungs, the man was invigorated and overcome with a sense of deja vu.

When the gas was pumped, the man went to the restroom. His wife and daughter were still in the girl's room. Relieved, he came out of the restroom and took another swig of mountain air. Noticing his wife and daughter getting something out of the back of the station wagon, the man wandered around to the side of the gas station. As he saw a peaceful grassy meadow with a babbling stream running through it, he stopped in his tracks as he was overcome with an intensely peaceful feeling. As he saw the snow-capped mountains behind the meadow, chills raced through his body. He had been there before!

The man looked intensely at everything trying to bring back his memory of the place. It was a memory lost deep in his memory banks; one that he had not retrieved in a very long time. He was on the verge of tears as he was overcome by the beauty of the place and the very strong feelings the place evoked. Suddenly, the sound of the babbling stream seemed to take hold of him and he felt the memory of the place rise to the surface of his thoughts. As wave after wave of joy rippled through his being, the man shed a tear.

And then he heard his little girl's voice yelling, "Daddy!" His reverie broken, the man wiped his tear, then turned around and waved at his daughter. And then he saw his wife come up behind his daughter and also wave at him, yelling, "We're ready to go, Scott!"

Timbuktu, Plastic Bottles, Marijuana, & Kissing

2008-02-06T09:54:00.000-07:00

Making Headlines

Click on headline for full article
Generous Donation Saves the Libraries of Timbuktu
Over 100,000 ancient manuscripts sit on shelves and in boxes in the private libraries of Timbuktu, ancient city of Mali. These manuscripts provide a wealth of information about pre-colonial Africa and are endangered by the weather and by neglect. Thanks to an $8 million dollar donation from South Africe they will now be saved.

Does Obama Support the Decriminalization of Marijuana? Does he or doesn't he? You be the judge.

Researchers Reveal Why We Kiss Yes, there are men and women in white coats studying this phenomenon.

Plastic Bottles And Hot Liquids A Bad Combo "Researchers from the University of Cincinnati have discovered that polycarbonate plastic bottles, when exposed to hot liquids, release potentially hazardous amounts of the hormonal disruptor Bisphenol A."

Wintry First Street

2008-02-06T08:52:00.000-07:00

Oregon Rafting: The Whitewater Gourmet

2008-02-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

by Joy Henckle

Generally, one does not equate whitewater rafting trips with excellent food. The fun of riding the rapids takes precedence over culinary taste treats. Typically, a rafting lunch consists of balancing a sandwich, bag of chips, and store-bought cookies on your lap as you teeter precariously on an uneven rock. And, more often than not, some of that lunch ends up as ant food on the sandy shoreline.

One Oregon whitewater rafting company has been quietly working over the last decade to change the way their customer's eat while on the river. To do that, the company began by buying fruits and produce in season from local farmers. The thought was that local farmers are wonderful resources. By dealing directly with these farmers, the company came into personal contact with the people who actually grew the foods their clients consumed. Clients started noticing a marked difference in the freshness and uniqueness of the food. Vine-ripened tomatoes, freshly-picked blueberries, juice-dripping peaches, were all often picked by local farmers just a day or two before clients enjoyed them riverside.

Bob Meister, president of Whitewater Warehouse, explains the company's passion for locally grown, in-season foods. "We find inspiration for our menus based on what the farmers tell us about local foods and their availability. As much as possible, we also grow our own produce from seed on our organic farm plots. But, when we can't grow our own, we look to local growers and producers. A perfect example of this is our local hazelnut farmer. Oregon is known for being one of the few regions in the world to grow these buttery nuts. It is such a treat to drive 15 minutes to the actual hazelnut farm, talk to the farmer, and purchase them for our clients."

Whitewater Warehouse, a company that runs multi-day rafting, kayaking, and hiking trips through southern Oregon's Rogue River canyon, has been a leader in "from the source" rafting cuisine. Besides the fresh fruits and vegetables, the company serves its clients delicacies such as smoked Oregon salmon, olive and black fig tapanade, and Northwest wines. Offering foods that highlight Oregon's incredible culinary bounty has been a calling card for the company. Clients come from all over the world to experience what few other outdoor-focused companies are doing.

Molly O'Hearn, a long time Whitewater Warehouse client and passionate food person says, "It is hard to describe the difference because this company is so unique when it comes to food. I am constantly amazed at the quality of the food that they put before us. Many of the items I can't even buy as fresh as they do. Their passion for providing a first-class culinary experience is unsurpassed. I don't know of any other rafting company that focuses so much on the quality of food that they offer their guests. I travel all over the world on business and eat at exotic locations. I have to say that the experience Whitewater Warehouse offers its clients is like no other I've experienced on my travels."

Purchasing "from the source" is getting a bit easier as producers become more marketing savvy. The Oregon Wine and Farm Tour sponsors a website of all-Oregon products. The site highlights large and small Oregon producers who are coming into their own on the national and international cuisine scene. The Southern Oregon Wineries Association is another organization devoted to showcasing southern Oregon's burgeoning wine industry. Michael Donovan, spokesman for the group, shares his thoughts. "Our area is really perfect for a large variety of grapes. We are gaining national exposure and attention due to the incredible geographic diversity that helps produce our spectacular wines. Our region runs from Roseburg to Ashland, Oregon. In it you will find all kinds of different weather and geographic conditions. And this diversity is what makes our wines special. For example, in the cooler regions growers produce spectacular Pinot Noir and Pinto Gris. In the dryer areas, the bold reds come into their own such as the Cabernet Sauvignon and syrah varietals."

Joy Henkle is an outdoor writer and has written for numerous industry websites, blogs and newsletters. She lives in Oregon and is passionate about locally raised and harvested foods.

Victor Hugo on Ideas

2008-02-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

Quotation of the Week

"An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come." - Victor Hugo

Colorado Snow and Pueblo Aircraft Woes

2008-02-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a Colorado Snow Report from an Australian travel newsletter, eTravel Blackboard:

Colorado Resorts offering super bowls of snow
Monday, February 04, 2008

Thanks to a steady pulse of storms streaming across the state this month, Colorado ski resorts are seeing record amounts of snowfall, abundant powder days and robust mid-season conditions. All 26 resorts have received fresh snow in the last 24 hours and season-to-date snowfall totals have surpassed 28 feet in some areas.

Combined, Colorado’s 26 member resorts have received 4,750 inches of snow this season, equaling roughly 395 feet. Since December 1, 2007, it snowed at Colorado resorts 59 out of 62 days, resulting in 51 official powder days (calculated as at least one resort receiving 5 or more inches of new snow).

January snowfall records were broken at both Crested Butte and Snowmass. Crested Butte broke their record after they received 41 inches of new snow this past week and Snowmass broke their record after receiving 38 inches of new snow.

This week in Southwest Colorado, Wolf Creek received 60 inches of fresh snow, Silverton 47 inches of snow, Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort 42 inches, and Telluride 32 inches of snow.

The Central Rockies have also been getting fresh snow with 26 inches at Monarch Mountain this week. On the Western slope, 31 inches of new snow fell on Powderhorn Resort and nearly two feet has fallen on Sunlight Mountain. Aspen Highlands received 32 inches of new snow, Aspen Mountain 30 inches and Buttermilk 24. Click here for full article

Colorado aircraft builder hits rough air

PUEBLO (AP) — The city of Pueblo is seeking to reclaim more than $2 million in incentives given to Adam Aircraft, which fell short of promises to provide 448 local jobs for seven years.

City Manager David Galli says Adam Aircraft could get credit for employing between 80 and 90 people, though. Layoffs wiped out most of the company's local work force. The privately owned aircraft developer said last month that it laid off 80 workers in Pueblo.

Galli says that of the $3 million made available to the company to come to town, about $2.4 million was spent on a building and equipment. He says the city owns the building and has placed liens on the equipment. Full article here.

Super Bowl Sunday in Salida

2008-02-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

Sundays In Salida by Crazy Eddie

You know what I like about Super Bowl Sundays in Salida? It's a great time to take a walk, in fact it is a rare opportunity to see Salida in suspended animation. While the big game is on tv my dog takes me for a walk through the utterly deserted streets of Salida. There is no traffic; no one on the streets or sidewalks. It's like the town has been abandoned. The only sounds are of nature and of my footsteps. It's not often one can experience Salida like this during the day.

Yup, that's what I do during the Super Bowl. I'm not a football fan nor do I care about those million dollar commercials. I do enjoy walks, though, so today I will time my walk to occur during the big game so I can experience the town in that eery silence.

How did you spend Super Bowl Sunday? Leave a comment.

Blue Covenant

2008-02-01T23:37:00.002-07:00

Book Review

Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water, by Maude Barlow. A passionate call to action from one of the leading voices in the global struggle for universal access to the earth's most vital element—a sequel to the acclaimed Blue Gold. In their international bestseller Blue Gold, Maude Barlow and co-author Tony Clarke exposed how a handful of corporations are gaining ownership and control of the earth's dwindling water supply, depriving millions of people around the world of access to this most basic of resources and accelerating the onset of a global water crisis. Blue Covenant, the sequel to Blue Gold, describes a powerful response to this trend: the emergence of an international, grassroots-led movement to have water declared a basic human right, something that can't be bought or sold for profit.

World-renowned activist Maude Barlow is at the center of this movement, which is gaining popular and political support across the globe, encompassing protests in India against U.S. bottling giant Coca-Cola; in Bolivia against the water privatization scheme of European water conglomerate Suez; against the use of water meters in South Africa; and over groundwater mining in Barrington, New Hampshire, and dozens of other communities in North America. With great passion and clarity, Barlow traces the history of these international battles, documents the life-and-death stakes involved in the fight for the right to water, and lays out the actions that we as global citizens must take to secure a water—just world—a "blue covenant"—for all. Order from Amazon.com

Einstein on Politics

2008-01-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

Quotation of the Week

"Politics is a pendulum whose swings between anarchy and tyranny are fueled by perenially rejuvenated illusions." - Albert Einstein

Cold Water

2008-01-27T13:51:00.000-07:00