“I’m a Pepper”…in more ways than one

Source: flickerhivemind.com

The famous tag line , “I’m a Pepper” was used by Dr. Pepper for many yeast as its advertising theme and slogan. And while I love Dr. Pepper (my favorite soft drink), it is not the only pepper that I love.

Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers are wonderfully yummy alone or prepared as part of a dish. Green are good too, but not as flavorful. I also like banana peppers and ground pepper. To the left is a photo of stoplight peppers (red, yellow, and green). And yes, they are sold in packages here as stoplight peppers.

I am also a fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, especially after Chad started to sing “Hail to the Victors” (Michigan Fight Song) at a concert in Buckeyetown, peppermint flavored gum and candies, as well as pepperoni served on pizza at certain occasions. I also like listening to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band.

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The only pepper I am not a big fan of are jalapeno peppers, though I can handle the more mild ones.

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A golden opportunity to express thanks

What better way to honor our seniors in their golden years than to provide them with  a better quality of life. This Friday evening, July 27, 2012, residents of Greater Lansing have a golden opportunity to give back for all they have done for us by contributing and participating in the 7th Annual Ingham County TRIAD Senior Prom.

A $25 donation allows you to partake in some of the finest dining in Mid-Michigan at the East Lansing Marriott, as well as hors d’oeuvres from Lou & Harry’s and yummy dessert items from Grand Traverse Pie Company.

The mission of the Ingham County TRIAD is:

 “A partnership among Law Enforcement Agencies, Fire Personnel, Senior Citizens (60+) and Community Members which promotes elder quality of life through advocacy, assistance, education and training.”

Furthermore, Ingham County TRIAD:

“Recognizes the dignity and worth of all senior citizens while addressing the unique needs and concerns of our aging population in a creative, sensitive and effective manner. Ingham County TRIAD pledges to maintain the trust and confidence of our elders by:

• Promoting senior safety through education and training
• Enhancing the delivery of law enforcement services to senior citizens
• Continuing collaborative efforts to meet the needs of our senior community
• Reducing criminal victimization to elder individuals
• Improving the overall quality of life for seniors.”

Sounds like a great, fun, and tasty way to assist senior citizens in the Greater Lansing community. Please consider attending the Senior Prom on July 27th or making a donation to the organization. Either way, it’s a golden opportunity to say thank you.

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The heart of “Brave”

Saw the newest Pixar movie, Brave yesterday afternoon in a theater stuffed to the rafters. While not my favorite Pixar movie of all time, it ranks up there with the best. An excellent film full of howling laughs, edge of your seat action, drama, lovely animated scenery that made me feel I was back in Scotland, and an important moral to the story -

“you must be brave enough to follow your fate.”

The best and most important aspect of the film was the two strong central characters were both women. Both Merida and her mother, the Queen are excellent characters who carry the storyline on their own. They are the heart and soul of the picture.

Most of the men in the movie are rather comical, except Merida’s father. One the three suitors for Merida even vaguely resembled a Middle Ages’ Napoleon Dynamite.

All in all, an enjoyable film that was worth every penny. One caution, small children may get frightened by some of the battle scenes, so use good judgment. Lastly, it is very nice to see Pixar back at the top of its game. Kudos on a terrific film.

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An epidemic whose cure cannot “weight”

According to a recent article in Live Science which was summarized in the National Center for Bicycling and Walking’s online publication, Centerlines, humanity is 17 million tons overweight. That is the equivalent to 34,000,000,000 pounds or another 242 million people!

Sadly, but not surprisingly, the United States is the most overweight nation on the planet. With all our fast food, fried food, super-sized sodas, lack of exercise, and over all couch-potato attitudes, we deserve to be at the top of the heap.  The research shows that while North America accounts for just six percent of the world’s population, but 34 percent of its human body mass due to obesity. that is a very sorry statistic.

Here are the lists of the top ten heaviest and lightest nations on the planet. It is noteworthy that half of the top 10 heaviest nation are located in the Middle East, while all ten of the lightest nations are from Asia or Africa. It should also be pointed out that for several of the nations included on the lightest 10 list, the opposite problem from obesity is occurring - instead of too much food (or calories) being consumed, they have too little, which is leading to risks associated with starvation.

Heaviest 10 (for nations with more than 100,000 people):

1. United States
2. Kuwait
3. Croatia
4. Qatar
5. Egypt
6. United Arab Emirates
7. Trinidad and Tobago
8. Argentina
9. Greece
10. Bahrain

Lightest 10:

1. North Korea
2. Cambodia
3. Burundi
4. Nepal
5. Democratic Republic of the Congo
6. Bangladesh
7. Sri Lanka
8. Ethiopia
9. Vietnam
10. Eritrea

The research was detailed online Sunday (June 17) in the journal BMC Public Health.

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Scenes from Michigan’s vagina support rally

Here are some of my photos taken last night at the Michigan rally in support of vaginas held at the steps of the State Capitol in downtown Lansing. At least 5,000 people attended in support of Women’s Rights.

Sheroes of the day – Rep. Barbara Byrum and Rep. Lisa Brown

“Vagina Monologues” being presented

Under a beautiful June evening sky.

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Michigan vagina rally

I am currently attending the Rally for Vaginas at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. This is easily the largest crowd I have seen at a capitol rally with at least 5,000 women and men of all ages attending.

The rally is in response to the overtly prudish and arrogant actions of the conservative, male dominated state house of representatives where the leader censured two female representatives last week. More will be posted tomorrow.

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GOP legislative “house’shit and ‘man’ure (NSFW)

I was totally disgusted yesterday by the puritanical and prudish actions of the male-dominated Michigan House leadership for silencing two female legislators. As the War on Women has been raging for nearly two years, Representative Lisa Brown (no relation) expressed satirical appreciation to all those legislators who were “concerned about her vagina.” She was silenced for that statement.

Representative Brown

Meanwhile, Representative Barb Byrum was silenced for protesting that she was not being allowed to speak on another bill. Once again those stalwarts of liberty and freedom proceeded to silence her as well. My, how Kabul on the Grand River is so delightfully charming and civil in June.

Representative Byrum

I don’t know about you folks, but the actions of these right-wing GOP (a.k.a. Grand Old Pricks) zealots in the Michigan House is getting out of hand.

I am also curious why these women were silenced when earlier this year Representative Rick Jones was not  for using the word “hooker” to describe a female public relations executive. Oops, I forgot. He’s a man, so stupid, idiotic, prudish, puritanical, asinine, and archaic rules written by other egotistical, etc. men do not apply to him.

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Ya get what ya vote for

Earlier this week, House Republicans blocked a Democrat proposal to require equal pay for women for equal work. This represents yet another attack on women by the right.

So folks, we have an election coming up later this year. If you are a male or female supporter of women’s rights and for equal pay for equal work, then I hope you choose to vote for those candidates who also support these issues. Otherwise, ya get what ya voted for.

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A few predictions

Making predictions on future events and trends can be risky, as more often than not you are likely to be wrong. But, there are a few items I think are worth noting. So here goes:

• Brazil, not India will be the next superpower after China and the first in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Sadly, I think parts of Europe may be headed for possible open warfare – not over political ideologies, but between the haves and the have-nots. If the USA is not careful, it may be going down that same path.
• The Basque and Catalonia regions of Spain will successfully separate into independent nations as a result of the economic upheaval.
• Canadian banks will become among the world’s largest and most influential as they avoided the pitfalls of the housing bubble.
• The Republican Party will split in two within five years.
• Poland will become an economic powerhouse as the link between Germany and Russia.
• America’s first woman President will be elected in 2016.

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Cherishing, not criticizing diversity

Every now and then I hear (or overhear) an offensive comment from someone that irritates the daylights out of me. Late Monday afternoon this happened when a person make the following obnoxious comment:

“It’s getting to be like the intersection of Singapore Street and Calcutta Boulevard around here.”

Really? How very 17th Century of you. Just because people are different, may do things differently than you, or have different opinions, doesn’t mean they are wrong. Nor does that give you any right to be derogatory.

Live and let live. It is the beautifully vast diversity of cultures, people, ideas, art, and beliefs that make living in the college town (and on this planet) so very wonderful.

Sadly, far too many people are trapped in their xenophobic attitudes and have no idea of all the wonderful things they are missing out on. If they would just take a moment, step back, and absorb the amazing wealth of diversity around us, they might learn to cherish all the blessings found on the lovely sphere that we all inhabit.

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