AAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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One.
Such a sad, strange little number. Its prime. It is it's own square root. Some may say that it is a singular sensation. Others might call it the loneliest number.
I call it heartbreak.
One lousy, stinking, minor, little point.
One more point and my Utah State Aggies would be proceeding on to the second round of the NCAA tournament. It was so close I can hardly stand it. So many "Ifs". If only Stew had switched to a zone defense in the first half. If only Jared Quayle hadn't fouled out. If only that moron ref had called the foul when a Marquette player launched Gary Wilkinson into the fifth row. If only USU hadn't blown a six point lead.
Oh well, at least they showed up and played a heck of a game.
Go Aggies!

p.s. My condolences go out to you BYU and Ute fans. But may I make one small comment? Our game was against the highest seeded (6th) of any of the three games and it was also the closest score in any of the three. I'm not implying anything, just pointing out the facts.

p.p.s Oh yeah, and we were also the only team with a lower seed (11th) than our opponent. Really, I'm done.

p.p.p.s And Jeff, before you start jawing about how BYU beat USU this year, I'll just say this. If the Cougars had the guts to come and play in the Spectrum, we'd be having a different conversation. Hmm, I wonder why they won't?

Sorry Jeff, you're doomed for life.

Admidst the turmoil of the recent economic storm here is some relatively good news, if you're under 35. Click here.
The author points out potential pluses like lower home prices, historically low interest rates and the fact that the stock market has never lost money over any 30 year time span, ever. So just sit back and take you medicine. Sorry Jeff, I guess you better hope one of your kids makes a whole lot of money.

Pure Comedy!

Ok, so I came across this while reading an article about the worst movie sequels ever made. This little gem is from the classic "Stayin' Alive 2". I can't help it, I crack up every time I look at it. So I thought I would brighten your day as well. You gotta love the eighties!

A day late and well, you know.

So yesterday was my birthday, but I'm just getting around to this. I can't say that I'm much for celebrations, but it was fun to see the boys get excited for my surprises. That's all I really wanted anyway. But Jo made it a lot of fun and even went to the hassle of making me (at my request) a weird chocolate-gingerbread-orange-cake thingy. Whatever you call it, it was delicious.

So here are some things that happened on my birthday.
1964 - The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing before a "record-busting" audience of 73 million viewers.
1969 - First test flight of the Boeing 747.
1971 - Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned moon landing.
1986 - Halley's Comet reaches perihelion, its closest approach to the sun, during its second visit to the inner solar system in the 20th century.

Some people that have the same awesome birthday
1763 - Ludwig I, Grand Duke of Baden (d. 1830) (I have no idea who this is, but I'm pretty sure he's German)
1800 - Hyrum Smith, American religious leader (d. 1844) (I didn't know this until today, pretty cool!)
1909 - Carmen Miranda, Brazilian actress (d. 1955)
1914 - Gypsy Rose Lee, American dancer (d. 1970)
1949 - Judith Light, American actress (of "Who's the Boss" fame)
1952 - Danny White, American football player
1954 - Kevin Warwick, Cyborg Scientist (I have no idea who this is, but come one, Cyborg Scientist? That's just awesome)
1955 - Jim J. Bullock, American actor ("I'll take the Jim J. for the block, John.")
1963 - Brian Greene, American physicist (someone waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay smarter than me)
1981 - John Walker Lindh, American Taliban fighter (this one is definitely not a plus)

Holidays
Saint Apollonia, patron saint of dentists and dental technicians

I also found out something cool this year. For years I've looked at the Chinese zodiac place mats they have at restaurants and looked up my year. 1975 is always listed as the year of the rabbit. Well as you may know the Chinese new year does not coincide with the western calendar. For some reason this year I saw that in 1975 the end of the Chinese year ended on February 10. So that means I'm not a rabbit, but a TIGER! That is way cooler.


So there's my birthday.

MMMM!!! Chile Verde!

I always feel like following up a serious entry with one a little more light hearted. Jo and I made this the Sunday before last and then ate it all week. I figured I got at least six meals out of it and I never got tired of it. Here's the recipe, the only thing I changed was that I added the zest and juice of one lime and since my pork roast was bone-in I put the bone in and let it cook with everything else. Instead of cooking it on the stove I just threw it all in the crock pot overnight. Make sure you have enough broth to cover the meat. The only thing I might do next time is include more peppers (or seeds) to make it spicier, but JoLynn might have something to say about that.
In the interest of giving credit where credit is due you can find a link to the recipe below.

Chile Verde
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos
5 garlic cloves, not peeled
2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
2 Anaheim or Poblano chiles (optional) 1 bunch cilantro leaves, cleaned and chopped
3 1/2 to 4 pounds pork shoulder (also called pork butt), trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 to 2-inch cubes
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
2 yellow onions
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 Tbsp of chopped fresh oregano or 1 Tbsp of dried oregano
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
Pinch of ground cloves

Method
1 Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well. Cut in half and place cut side down, along with 5 unpeeled garlic cloves, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin. Remove from oven, let cool enough to handle. If you want the additional flavor of chiles other than jalapenos, you can add a couple Anaheim or poblano chiles. Either use canned green chiles or roast fresh chilies over a gas flame or under the broiler until blackened all around. Let cool in a bag, remove the skin, seeds, and stem.



2 Place tomatillos, skins included, into blender. Remove the now roasted garlic cloves from their skins, add them to the blender. Add chopped Jalapeño peppers, other chilies (if you are using them), and cilantro to the blender. Pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed.

3 Season the pork cubes generously with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium high heat and brown pork chunks well on all sides. Work in batches so that the pork is not crowded in the pan and has a better chance to brown well. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, lift pork out of pan and place in bowl, set aside.

4 Pour off excess fat, anything beyond a tablespoon, and place the onions and garlic in the same skillet and cook, stirring occasionally until limp, about 5 minutes. If your skillet is large enough to cook the entire batch of chile verde, with the sauce and meat, then add the pork back to the pan. If not, get a large soup pot and add the onion mixture and the pork to it. Add the oregano to the pan. Add the tomatillo chile verde sauce to the pork and onions. Add the chicken stock (enough to cover the meat). Add a pinch of ground cloves. Add a little salt and pepper. (Not too much as the chile verde will continue to cook down and concentrate a bit.)

5 Bring to a boil and reduce to a slight simmer. Cook for 2-3 hours uncovered or until the pork is fork tender. Adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with Spanish rice and warmed flour tortillas or freshly made corn tortillas. Serves 8.

Here's another one for the "What's this world coming to" file.

Ok, so this semester (my last) I'm taking an ecology course online from Oregon State University. So yes, if you've been keeping track, I've now attended three universities in order to get my masters (U of U, USU, OSU). So yesterday I get this official email announcement about a student activity they are having. Here it is in it's entirety.

Calling all OSU students, faculty, and staff-
Do you have an artistic, musical or poetic talent that you would love to share?
Now it is time to express your self about sex, gender, relationships, orientation, or other issues relating to sexuality.
Come share, laugh, learn and support our OSU community. Please consider submitting material to the following events- speak your mind or give artistic insight to themes of sex!
Condom Art Competition
Competition packets and guidelines are available for pick-up now at Student Health Services room 310!!
All artwork will be displayed in Fairbanks Underground gallery during the week of SEXapalooza ‘09
Top three entries will be awarded prizes and fame.
Come get your packet today and get creative about sex!
Open Mic Nite
Bombs Away Café
Wednesday March 4th, 2009
7pm.
Open invitation to music, poetry, spoken word, stand-up or other creative performance. Let the inspiration begin- and the opportunity to tell us your opinions about sex and sexuality. Please only thoughtful and inclusive content.
Brought to you by Student Health Services
SEXapalooza ’09 is hosting a series on events in the first week in March catering to the themes of sex, relationships, identity and orientation, hook-up scene, sex and culture, and more!
This year SEXapalooza is unveiling a condom art competition, safer sex fashion show, open mic nite, sex and culture panels, games, activities and prizes! Mark your calendars: March 2nd-6th, 2009 and look for more SEXapalooza details to follow!

Samantha D. Leeds
Sexual Health Project Coordinator
Health Promotion Department
Oregon State University

Now, I'm all about getting kids proper sex education. It should be mainly handled in the home, but I realize the need. They are dealing with thousand of barely-not-teenagers (and some who still are) who are basically bags of skin containing nothing but hormones. And they are trying to avert a public health emergency. Although, come to think of it, a raging syphylis epidemic would probably do more to encourage chaste behavior. But come one! How about a little class. Ughh.

Best. Show. Ever.

It official. All other shows should just give up striving to be the best. 24 is the best show on TV, period. Thanks to last year's writers strike it has been 18 months since the show was aired. I thought this year it should have been titled "48" in order to make up for the season they skipped. Alas they chose to just do a 2 hour movie which aired in November.

Anyway, back to my point. This show has it all. Action, suspence, drama, good acting, thought-provoking themes. This year they are taking on some of the criticism that the show has received about glorifying torture and violence.

I'm not afraid to admit that I was practically giggling at the commercial breaks during the premiere. Its just so much fun! Some of the best writing producing and acting that has ever been done for television. Check it out.