A Reformed Druid Cross-post! Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 16 days ago 
green_thing.jpg From Yahoo list RDNAtalk--This article from the San Francisco Chronicle caught my eye and I just had to share. Have a good laugh! Stacey
Kiss my druid, death metal viking! How do you find your niche in an ocean of wonky weirdness?
By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist Wednesday, November 4, 2009
There I was again, just another typical workday cruising Weblandia for nimble ideas with which to stimulate the senses and better illumine the human experiment, feeling a bit more anxious and antsy than normal, but not really sure why. What could it be? What was this deep need, this itch craving a rusty, rough-hewn scratch, a needful void I couldn't quite name but which nevertheless had, I quickly recognized, a certain tang, a grubby, ancient stink of what I can only describe as stale beer meets hoary facial hair in a pile of really old meat served to me on a flaming sword by a dozen buxom whoremaidens on a creaky wooden ship in the pre-dawn mist in the year 975, gruntingly? Do you know that feeling? Of course you do.
Suddenly, like a lightning bolt made of gold bullion, rotted teeth and musty stone tablets covered in worm slime and virgin's blood, it hit me. There it was, right on the Metalsucks.net website I just so happened to stumble across for the first time; it struck my retinal core like the smoke of dry ice, traveled down my spine like a rum Kundalini and settled deep in the genitalia, where it proceeded to blast 10,000 raunchy power chords well into eternity.
It was a big, silly, wonderful ad banner for something called Heathenfest America '09, which, upon closer inspection, turns out to be some sort of cartoonish death metal microtour featuring a handful of hilariously unpronounceable metal bands -- Belphegor, Eluveitie, Vreid, Kivimetsan Druidi -- who all share a similar obsession for scallywags, hoisted mainsails, Celtic lore, beer, drawing mystical rune symbols on their hoodies with a purple Sharpie while completely stoned, and/or worshipping the giant rock vulva that is Stonehenge. Or, more likely, all of the above. In other words, Heathenfest -- not to be confused with Paganfest, apparently a nearly identical, rival tour with a gaggle of nearly identically themed bands now making metalheads belch and parents groan across America -- is one of what must be dozens of similar microfests stomping their way across the land right now and keeping the underground metal scene thriving. As Metalsucks says, Heathenfest promises to be "one of the best/dorkiest/drunkest shows of the Fall," unless you count Garth Brooks in Vegas.
Here's the curious thing: whereas most music festivals focus on broad genres -- say, all electronica or bluegrass or indie or whatever, Heathenfest et al go far deeper, are all about micro themes, parsing and sub-dividing your tastes into oblivion. Not just metal, not just black metal, not even speed black metal, but cartoonish speed black death metal about pirates and druids and beer. In a word: Awesome. But also entirely strange.
(BTW, my insta-favorite among the Heathenfest lineup has to be Alestorm, perhaps one of the best-named metal bands of all time -- a storm of ale! A tempest of fermented hops! Metalsucks calls them "a superior pirate metal band," which I can only take to mean there's more than one, which is a minor epiphany in itself.)
And it's all thanks to the Internet, methinks, to the constant and never-ending subdividing of the culture into cliques and interest groups and micro-niches to which the Net so happily caters, creates, enables. Is it not true? We've apparently reached a point where, not only can you enjoy any configuration of quirky offbeat special interests you desire, along with many you never even imagined, but are actually sort of encouraged to do so, to see how bizarre and recombinant you can get because, well, what's stopping you?
What are you into, mate? Latex frog farming? Blood paintings by menstruating asylum inmates? Star Trek: The Next Generation pastry-making classes? Large-format reptile taxidermy photography? S&M salsa dancing? Build-your-own-eco-friendly-coffin workshops? A wine club for macho gun-loving phallocentric paranoids? The Net shall provide. For better or worse.
To me, it all highlights the classic chicken-and-egg problem with Web life: Is the Net merely a wondrous connector of people with bizarre, curious interests, our most astonishing reminder yet that there are always individuals with shared hobbies and lifestyles, and it's merely a matter of hooking them up so they can all feel less alone and foster myriad new forms of micro communities? Or is it the treacherous mechanism by which cultures splinter and subdivide in the first place, and the Net actually does us all a huge disservice, fracturing us to the extent that we no longer relate on a broader scale, everyone so into their little self-important subset, their zealous micro-club that no one can speak a common language of shared humanity anymore?
The answer, of course, is that it's both. As in Heathenfest, the Net both creates a million weird and wonderful sub-genres, as well as providing respite and refuge for outcasts and freaks who think they're alone in their love of them. This is why it terrifies so many parents; kids can get exposed to some insanely disturbing s--t these days, the most extreme porn, the most outrageous racism, the most ridiculous and stupid and debased intellectual slime that human nature has to offer (hi, anonymous commenters!)
At the same time, there is astonishing beauty and diversity and range of experience, a way to reach out to others in ways unprecedented and downright magical. And as the truism goes, few things can make your average suicidal loner teen in Kansas feel less alone than finding a Web community of like-minded loners who share his love of country punk, Victorian dolls and Jell-O enemas. Or whatever.

I'm reminded of Dan Savage's amazing sex advice column, where it seems not a week goes by that he's not hit with some variant of the time-honored "am-I-alone-in-my-weirdness" query, almost always related to some bizarre kink or gross turn-on that the letter-writer is half-ashamed, half-titillated to be talking about in a public forum. After cringing deeply, Savage's advice to Disturbed Pervert is almost always the same: check craigslist. Check Google groups, Yahoo groups, etc. No matter your kink (well, almost), you can almost always find someone -- or multiple someones -- willing to engage in the same bizarre sub-sub-fetish as you, and maybe you can date them or pay them to let you tie them up and pour dog urine over them while someone massages your testicles with a pine cone. Mmm, wacky.
Where does it all lead? What does all the sub-fracturing and micro-niches tell us? Or is a cigar just a cigar, pirate metal is just pirate metal, and we should hoist a mainsail, draw down the keg, crank the riffage and lighten the hell up? I'm not exactly sure.
After all, as the druids say, "Niets gaat buiten alles om!" Dude, you can totally Google it.
Original posting: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/...
Comments: 0 Views: 34 Group: General Tags: druid, nature, mythology, art | Special Samahain treat! Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 32 days ago 

------> http://helgaleena.mylivepage.com/file/295_General <------
This is a link to where I have uploaded the latest issue of the Druid Inquirer, a free offering from the Reformed Druids of North America.
Mike put it in a members-only Yahoo group, RDNAtalk, instead of the usual place, but I'd like to get it to more viewers.
The occasion is that 1) Mike the Fool's website is migrating away from Geocities this month so they aren't available there until his new 'org' site is established,
2) it's damn good, as usual, and pertinent to some of the ethnocentric squabbling I have been stepping in at Usenet's alt.religion.druid
3) Dark Roast Press went into the erotic romance end with Samhain's Embrace by Jesse Fox, as well as the all-ages horror business with Chris Newman's Tales from the Uprising, and AP Miller's All Hallows Eve. So I am in the mood to share.
http://www.darkroastpress.com
What would the ancestors want? is one timely question that arises in us now. They mainly want us to keep our DNA going, I reckon. But what else?

That has been tossing like salad in my head as I reread George Orwell and the Stargate Chronicles of McMoneagle. And I hope it won't be too costly to inter what is left of me when the time comes. I do want to be recycled.
Comments: 0 Views: 17 Group: General Tags: druid | Happy Autumnal equinox from the Great Pacific Garbage ! Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 74 days ago 
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/09/fbi-nsac/ 
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog... The Environmental Holocaust, by talented Myspace writer friend Paula, aka Insane pug from Hell...
Mabon loves you.
If you are in the UK, ORGAN passes along a very timely celebration of the landmark protests against land-grab vs. hallows at Solsbury Hill.
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog... Famous Peter Gabriel song about it, seed of future more successful struggles.
Time to get the carrots into the cellar and the old ladies into the house.
Comments: 0 Views: 58 Group: General Tags: nature, inhumanity, druid | Labor day Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 86 days ago 

http://www.care2.com/causes/civil-rights/blog/this...
In 31 states it is legal to fire someone because of their sexuality.
In 39 states it is legal to fire someone for being transgender.
As you can see, the number of states that currently offer protection for America's LGBT workforce is relatively few. That is why supporting ENDA legislation is so important, especially during volatile economic periods.
Most recently, a story surfaced of a woman from Pennsylvania who was asked for a picture of her genitalia so that she could return to a job that she worked perfectly well in before it was made known that she was transgender. (for link to that story go to the original post--h.)
This is just one story among literally thousands of incidents of discrimination against LGBTs in the workplace. Make no mistake, it does happen, it is happening and it can ruin lives. People reading this may know how hard it is to get a job today. Imagine if your were LGBT and facing the extra hurdle of employment discrimination possibly cropping up at every interview you attend.
But the Employment Non-Discrimination Act can change all that.
http://www.care2.com/causes/civil-rights/blog/this...

The moke of stridnight is Here Is the Fuman Race Hucked Ask Low Much Honger, America 90.90.90 www.nationalautism.com #999 #Autism
Enjoy your holiday.
Comments: 1 Views: 48 Group: General Tags: inhumanity | Lughnasadh and the flame in us Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 117 days ago 
green thing.jpg
This is the time of the harvest of first fruits. This is the time of burning. What is the connection?
The connection is to study the ur-form of all things living at an esoteric level, as Goethe did the plant world. Plants are amazing creatures of earth which transform water and air into the flame of life. They display their flame at the tops as flower, their sexual organs.

We are also living beings who flower and fruit and reproduce in our season. As we reach this time of first harvest, the hot zenith of the year cycle, the soil is dry and thirsty for extra nourishment because of all that has been expended in fruiting. Gardeners if they are wise water well and apply side dressings of compost. But for our ancestors this often meant sacrifices and ashes.

The most easy sacrifice is songs and dances of thanks.

Once harvesting was under way, feasting, choosing, raiding, trading also began.
The time of Lugh master of all trades and crafts, humanity strutting its multiple accomplishments before potential partners, is upon us. View ye the line of eligible partners swaying and giving voice to the fullness of their flowering. Build up the bonfires that rid us of chaff and sprinkle upon the fields the straw and the ashes, to keep the harvest coming.

From my roots I drew what I needed to grow into the shape I am now. And behold I am of good shape and accomplished. With my skills I forged many fine creations which I now exchange with you. I sing and you hear me and draw near to my heart, filling it to overflowing. Our fragrance fills the night as incense. This is the flowering time. This is the burning time. Dross becomes fuel becomes soil for the future.

Here is a link to more scholarly exigesis of the cross quarter festival also called Lammas
http://www.astrologycom.com/lammas.html
Comments: 0 Views: 40 Group: General Tags: mythology, nature, art | Eclipse transmission Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 134 days ago 
http://www.towleroad.com/2009/07/watch-longest-tot...
Eclipse to Me :
my darling hush
for you
have lived to be old
still wear
your rainbow crown
streams still flow
pains dissolving risen remain
and there will be
places to see
people to do
first fruits to pluck
wicker men to burn
and stories
http://www.astrodispatch.com/2009/07/27/solar-ecli...
Comments: 0 Views: 68 Group: General Tags: mythology, nature, art, druid, romance | So you do not burn out your eyes--- Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 134 days ago 

http://mashable.com/2009/07/21/solar-eclipse-onlin...
HOW TO: See the Longest Solar Eclipse of the Century Online
Comments: 0 Views: 25 Group: General Tags: nature, mythology, humanity | Carbon footprints Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 136 days ago 


I strongly suggest not using the term PUSSY here.....
Just because cattle fart and beer drinkers fart we do not eliminate burgers and beer
alt.pave.the.earth. on Usenet for example were visionaries in that respect, imagining the 'Mad Max' future for us.
Why shouldn't our species perish in our own excrement like a yeast? Might serve us right.
Comments: 1 Views: 73 Group: General Tags: inhumanity, druid, humor, mythology, nature | druids use satire! Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 141 days ago 
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Comments: 0 Views: 31 Group: General Tags: humor, politics, humanity, art | Here is a wise woman... Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 156 days ago 
This not-so-wise woman heartily recommends her, and anything she might have to say.
http://laraowen.com
Comments: 0 Views: 35 Group: General Tags: romance, art, humanity, mythology | Pagan is trendy now Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 160 days ago 

(Read more)
Comments: 0 Views: 81 Group: General Tags: mythology, humanity Midsummer on the way! Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 171 days ago 
The above is an all-ages ritual that is highly seasonally appropriate.
I recently joined this initiative:

http://thepaganandthepen.wordpress.com/
Connie, one of our members from Down Under, reminded us that for her it's Midwinter. The shortest day is approaching instead of the longest.
Comments: 0 Views: 63 Group: General Tags: fiction, nature, romance, art | The Lord's Army from Hell Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 177 days ago 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eZCiAGTbCk
At the link is an eighteen minute report on the 'army' that abducts people, especially children, in Uganda and Sudan.
Africa is not a fun continent right now except on the coasts.
And oh spit, the Tamil Tigers have been doing it too.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8121441.stm
http://stopchildslavery.com
Comments: 0 Views: 51 Group: General Tags: inhumanity, politics | Is it Beltane yet? Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 212 days ago 

Nowadays Beltane, the main bonfires of spring, about which Stravinsky enthused in music for the ballet, is conflated with May 1. May Day, International Workers of the World Day in many places, has no correlation with the full moon, but then, neither does Halloween. Still, since it's only first quarter at the moment, I say let's have Beltane for another week! Let us circle our May poles with wreaths and weave our ribbons. This year I have been circling threads so much with my wee crochet hook I sprained my thumb. Let us eat our soups of the first chives and nettles and dandelions, garnished with cheerful boiled egg. Let us munch on violets and smell jonquils and plum and cherry blossom. I hear that the smart Pagans down under have moved their Beltane to October and are having their Samhain now, as well they should. For are not our fortunate grocery stores full of the harvest of South America? Never mind what this Druid did privately to celebrate, unlike the wild citizens of Edinburgh with their RedMen and WhiteWomen flirting all over the streets round the May Queen. For all ages I prepared the kettle of dandelions de luxe. It goes very well with North American 'soul food'-- our cornbread was in the shape of a heart, also very seasonally appropriate, though no Green Men died for our celebratory rites round here. I like to start with either good olive oil or bacon fat, supplemented by a couple cloves of miced garlic for sweetness, and two or three cups of finely sliced cabbage as well. Dandelion is a bitter green, though not as potent as mustard. My front yard yielded an easy quart of young leaves. When they come up through mulch they are specially tender, and it's important to get them before the plant flowers, after which they toughen up. And float them in a basin of water before you chop them! no matter how I try to pick cleanly, there are always flower buds and grass and dead leaves lurking, not to mention sand. Two-inch lengths cook up well. Once the cabbage is braised to your liking, begin to add as many dandelion greens as the kettle will hold. You will need to add water each time you add more greens in order to get them to steam and wilt down. The dent de leon is thirsty. That is why it is such a good tonic for the liver and kidneys. And once you have stirred down the final batch of leaves, it is important to fill with water to the level of the leaf mass as well. They will continue to absorb more water as they cook. I like to poach eggs on top of the greens, but discriminating presentation frowns on this because the egg turns brown. You have heard of dandelion coffee, have you not? That is why sliced boiled eggs are the garnish for company. And they will turn a quiche brown too, like this: 
Tastes good though, even with very little salt. Save it for the BBQ ribs. I find myself craving barbecue at this time of year, and many cook-offs for BBQ trophies take place in the spring. I have heard that paradoxically, swine are immune to swine flu. So perhaps consuming pork products is a way of boosting one's immunity? It's worth a try anyway. http://www.myspace.com/blackpigbordermorris Here is a great link for more information about this holiday.
http://planetaryenergies.net/2009/04/28/planetary-... Peace peace peace!
Comments: 0 Views: 48 Group: General Tags: nature, romance | Easter spam Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 234 days ago 
Comments: 0 Views: 47 Group: General Tags: mythology, nature, romance, politics, art | I am a woman giving birth to myself... Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 237 days ago 

And it HURTS! However I have promised to live until I have got the hang of enjoying it.
Comments: 1 Views: 119 Group: General Tags: humor, art, mythology, romance | How quickly the world owes us something Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 268 days ago 
Comedian Louis CK, brought to you by my fellow author Daisy Dexter Dobbs. Her original blog here http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog... An author recently sent me a file my computer couldn't get open. Turns out it was in a format that used to be a journalism standard- .qxd. Reminded me that when I was in high school when we wanted to use the computer we had to punch holes in a stack of paper cards first. We were told to learn Fortran. Typing was done on huge vibrating loaves of machine with a little leaping ball of letters, or more slowly on a smaller machine with many levers and an inky ribbon on two spools. Nowadays I don't even need pieces of paper! New century, longer lives, less muscle. We are used to sitting in chairs and flying very fast through the air, or down ribbons of asphalt macadam. Thank goodness for compost. Otherwise we might think that all waste goes away down pipes or in trash trucks and that's it. The ancient New Year that starts at vernal equinox is approaching. Us folk bred farther from the Equator don't relate in our guts to the Chinese New Year that begins a cross-quarter sooner. My son outgrew his bed and is receiving a new one. Dirt is beginning to show through the snow. Already they are enforcing 'savings of Daylight', which it turns out was invented in Britain. In Sweden, nobody quits using their headlights to drive no matter what the time of day. Eggs and baby animals and brave bulbs blossoming. And I am telling you this in signals that travel though space and back, and are recorded in the virtual realm where you can see them even after I leave again. And I am still cutting up old socks into rings and weaving them together into potholders the way I did when I was seven.
Comments: 0 Views: 76 Group: General Tags: humor, nature | My new favorite astrologers Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 275 days ago 

I have two new favorite cheer-ups in the stars department. One is Christopher Witecki at Soulgarden, who is handsome and has endurance and the common touch. http://www.soulgarden.tv/ also reposted at youtube if it's not working smoothly The other is The Great Fernando, of http://turnwise.blogspot.com/ The Turnwise Almanack, where you may also follow the prognostications of Lady Anaemia Asterisk. Just let me share with you this wonderful advice from the most recent edition of WOSSNAME, the newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion: Lesser Umbrage 19 Feb - 20 Mar
Peoples often ask Fernando how he stays so calm, cool and collected
at all times. For Fernando, this is easy, because Fernando has the
very, how you say it, "laid back" personality. Except for the making
of love, where Fernando is moltissimo hot-blooded. But for
Umbragians who wish to be more like Fernando, the stars say that
your self-improvement is the ancient Laotan mystic art of yoga. You
too can learn to breathe through your third eye. And for those who
do not have the personality for yoga, never fear, for the stars have
the answer: the ancient art of tantrum yoga. If you can't stay calm,
let your tantrums work for you to give you the great power and
endurance in the obstacle race of life. Then you will be as relaxed as Fernando.
I too shall learn to breathe through my third eye. Btw, if you think I might be a bit of a skeptic regarding the power of the stars, let's just say that my thinking is much like my Myspace friend Melodee Aaron's here; http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog... The doctor in the delivery room has more impact on your personality than a distant planet-- but how exactly did you get that doctor attending? Not being born yet...
Comments: 0 Views: 81 Group: General Tags: humor, mythology, romance | Something excellent and free Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 287 days ago 

Now that we have all made it to the other side of Valentines Day the great marketing of romance phenomenon, which in the old days was called Lupercalia and involved ripping hearts out, I have to exult in two things. Thing one: the band Lamb of God has made their entire new album, WRATH, available to listen for free! at Myspace. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=us... 
Thing two: 
http://www.darkroastpress.com I am now officially a published romance author, not just a fanfictioning and editing wannabe. The anthology My Dark Roasted Valentine, released on Valentine's Day 2009, contains 25 percent Helgaleena romance in the form of my short story, Heartseeds. 
Comments: 0 Views: 194 Group: General Tags: mythology, romance, fiction, art | Imbolc-- Bridget's bathwater Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 298 days ago 
 Bathing in Moonlight by *jmulcahy on deviantART
There is a legend that holy Bride the threefold goddess of the domestic arts could turn her bathwater into beer. I think that is wonderful.
It is also the season when the maple sap begins to flow, ready for tapping, and the ewes are with lamb. It is the season for St. Heikki festival in Finland, when all the gods of the Kalevala visit the towns, and carnival before Lent.
Comments: 0 Views: 89 Group: General Tags: mythology, romance, art, nature | Space Program rant Update in honor of NASA Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 322 days ago 
My romance- sci-fi author friend at Myspace Melodee Aaron combs the newsfeeds and comes up with some excellent ones. NASA wants citizen input on what the Space Program's 'civilian' goals should be. TELL THEM FOR GOSH SAKES! click on the link. http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20090113/sc_space/wa... I asked them to shoot down giant asteroids please. Below is a repost of my earlier blog on the space program and why we need it. Nature is Good. But if we can keep from being incinerated or boiled off into the vacuum, that is a bonus... Look here, all--
Star Wars geeks may think of ourselves as nerds but actually we are escapists. The real action is in the Real World in Actual Outer and Inner Space. Thank you to the NERDS for this crucial reminder. On the whole I would say that the non-Star Wars sci-fi parts of my friendsbase at Livejournal have a much higher IQ overall, and know what the Real Nerds with Science Jobs are toying with lately. Whether it's giant particle colliders or Chandra or polar monitoring stations, they are better to spend time eavesdropping on than we 'Jedi' standing around cyberspace waiting for the next Lucas product to spend our grocery money on. Having shaken my heavily splinted index finger at you all I give you the link. <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/200... It's from scifi author Jay Lake, <a href="http://jaylake.livejournal.com/">http://ja... a great provider of regular helpings of 'link salad'. I advise you to read each and every comment in the thread because the posts are NOT by the braindead. Then form your own opinion on whether or not you think humanity is worth perpetuating in the best interests of the planet we parasitize. Tailor you citizenship practices accordingly. New Years update ! If you click on the following link, there's a great commentary by sci-fi author Melodee Aaron, and a huge and interesting quote of JFK (deceased president John f Kennedy, for the younger crowd) regarding the USA space program. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog... That is all. 
Comments: 0 Views: 149 Group: General Tags: politics, mythology, nature, star wars, romance | It's that time--- tell me what a great editor I am! with adult exerpt Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 326 days ago 
This is a repost from the group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MMRomancereadersandW... .... For those who may not have gathered this info yet, I am the chief editing Sith at Dark Roast Press. My public persona is a dreadlocked Hutt, as I began my love of M/M romance with Star Wars fanfiction and still have not fully left that phase of my evolution behind. There's a pretty comprehensive collection of links to my Star Wars work in all genres at the Myspace profile.
http://www.myspace.com/helgaleena
What I learned from that incubation was that I could get equally as much satisfaction from beta reading and mentoring new writers and those whose mother tongue was not English yet chose to write in it. My masters in South Asian linguistics wasn't quite as useless as I thought!
In 2007 I followed a brave cadre of fanfiction writers into the world of e-romance publishing, under the banner of Aphrodite's Apples Press. I was priveleged to work with over fifty different authors at all levels of expertise during that time, and count many of them as friends still, though when the Apple Tree fell, our editing children had to scramble for new homes.
Worst off was the Aphrodites GLBT line, scheduled to be born on Valentines Day. Instead, the whole press went down. Rhiannon Rhodes stepped in and made us a home-- Dark Roast Press. http://www.darkroastpress.com I am so gratified that we are getting such kudos at the P&E Poll. And my work there with all our writers has meant so much to me, and will continue to do so.
Adrianne Brennan is a former SW geek, yea one among many, whose paranormal romance novel Blood of the Dark Moon has now been reissued by Freya's Bower at last, and also her short Blood and Mint Chocolates, an F/F title in the same universe-- both works are my satisfied editing clients. A vote for her (yes non-M/M titles, sorry) is a vote for moi. And the books are doing well there at P& E, http://critters.org/predpoll also at the LoveRomances Cafe poll. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LoveRomancesCafe/
But that's not all! Claudia, my boss at Loveyou Divine Alterotica, has been nominated for a CAPA! You know them; Carol McKenzie and Bryn Colvin and Nix Winter all the other cool writers are there. Over there I got to do an M/M edit called One Night Stand. It's a paranormal with plenty of kink. Do check it out.
http://www.loveyoudivine.com/index.php?main_page=d...
EXERPT: When their lips parted Arda whispered, "You'll appreciate tonight. You'll see." He touched Greg's shirt and drew his finger down his forearm. That feels nice. "I want to seduce you."
No kidding. "I realize this. But first, I want to get to know you."
"What do you want to know?"
"Anything...just talk to me."
He shot Greg a bewildered glance and shrugged. "I'm just like you. Well, almost. I enjoy good food, mostly earth food...Italian...some Chinese. But I also enjoy food from other planets...like Klingdon cuisine. Occasionally I drink a glass of fine earth wine." He raised his glass in a wordless toast. "I have all the emotions you humans experience. I have many enjoyments and many dislikes. I like to play the piano and I can sing. I like to paint nudes in oils and belly dance."
"Art?" He is toying with me...lying maybe. Greg shook his head and rolled his eyes.
"We have things in common, don't we? Actually, if you got to know me better, you'd find we have a lot in common. Unfortunately, we don't have time to form a relationship."
He slipped his hand around Arda's neck and pulled him into a kiss. When their lips parted he murmured, "Tell me about your being a Demi-Lord," wanting to get to know the situation better.
"I'm royalty of Dezcartia of Ghod ZoHepez. I'm in line to take the throne and rule with the Uba Thaph, which is much like the Congress that you know. I'm risking all that and death to be with you because I'm not to mix with anyone, except the servants the Uba Thaph provides."
"That's not fair."
"No, it's not."
"I'm sorry."
"It's all right." He paused in thoughtful silence, then added, "There's not enough time, Greg, to tell you all of it. I'm sorry."
"You're risking death to be with me?" He's totally obsessed! I'm impressed with his defiance.
"You're going to be my sexual entertainment for this evening. You'll love it. It'll be different for you." He raised a hand. "Usba Echu? Come here. It's time to prepare Greg for the rack."
While the servant stood nearby, Arda's eyes elevated and lazed over the lowest point of the V in Greg's shirt, where a few sprigs of chest hair showed. Taunting Greg, Arda fingered his own sex through his clothing, running a finger up and down the outline of his bulge and down the left leg of his pants, showing Greg his formidable length, maybe ten inches or so. On second thought, maybe I'm the obsessed one.
He switched his attention to Greg's crotch and took his hand off his own pants, reached over and brought Greg's hand into his lap.
Feeling him for himself, Greg relished the intimate touches that he gave to Arda's cock, even though it was through fabric. Arda's member pulsed under his pressing and plying palms and fingers. Greg began squeezing it gently, causing Arda to squirm and moan as he lay back, his eyes closed. Greg felt the old familiar, hard pang of his own erection; he teased him until his organ engorged and ached.
"You have no idea what you do to me, love. All night I've been half- hard in anticipation of this intimacy. Sweet, blissful agony." An appreciative gaze twinkled in his eyes. "Let's get undressed and go to the shower," Arda urged. "There's more to come. Much more."
"What will you do to me?"
"You'll see, my precious." http://www.loveyoudivine.com/index.php?main_page=d...
I don't know what promo has been done for it, but I was told I went 'above and beyond' on this one. Most of the other works I do at LYD are het.
And someday, SOMEDAY, I am going to let another editor see the little story of a blow up doll who comes alive, my first try at original fiction that came out of November's NaNo WriMo.
So, am I Best Editor in the universe? Maybe not, but I have lots of fun trying. Vote here.
http://critters.org/predpoll
Comments: 0 Views: 133 Group: General Tags: romance, fiction, humor, politics, fanfiction, mythology | What is ahead for 2009? Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 341 days ago 
Your guess is as good as mine. We won't be Bush and Cheney's hostages anymore, but how much will change? The very same source I am citing reports that Halliburton, Cheney's old chums, have moved their HQ from Houston to Dubai.
As Mr. Fahad notes, my fellow disabled American Bonnie Lackey writes truth. And I'm glad to finally come across it. Thanks, Bonnie. This is a reprint from http://www.fahad.com posted in march 2006. The following email I have received from (Bonnie Lackey) had touched me deep inside. It touched me so much because I felt the truth in every word spoken. The reason I'm publishing her email to me is because Ms. Lackey asked me to spread her message on behalf of the good Americans to the people of the United Arab Emirates .... Read her letter carefully to see what I mean ......
Dear Fahad Al Mahmood:
I am an American Woman of 55 years. I searched within the United Arab Emirates for someone to possibly explain the fears that Americans have with the Dubai Ports issue. I stumbled upon your site quite by accident, but felt that you might be able to communicate what I feel to many others.
Additionally, my cousin, attended Embry Riddle as you did and I live in Florida, as you evidently did at one time....perhaps our only common link in the world other than we are human beings watching the world crumble around our ears.
I wanted the people of the United Arab Emirates that this administration has made many mistakes, at least in my eyes, and now, a growing feeling in the minds of many Americans.
George Bush, Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Condeleesa Rice, their support staff, and many major Republican politicians have pounded into the brains of the U.S. citizens that the attack on the World Trade Towers on September 11, 2001 had everything to do with terrorism and the majority of those who flew the planes into the twin towers were from Saudi Arabia.
In order to win the 2004 Presidential elections, Bush and Cheney...and all of the rest of their believers...constantly preached the fear of God into the hearts of Americans. Fear was their winning tool.
This administration has proven to be liars, spies, torturers, law breakers, manipulators and basically, a classic group of sociopaths...willing to do and say anything to back their cause.
Meanwhile, for example, George Bush gives tax incentives for American Corporations to go abroad and do business across the world. The Corporations, by the thousands, ran with that offer and invested in countries that normally, we would never do business with. However, these companies offered cost reductions in manufacturing, call centers, textile production, and everything that you could imagine. All while now, many of them, creating fake subsidiaries in various regions of the world...ulimately not having to pay into the tax base of the United States.
Second, this administration, allowed the wealthy major tax breaks...where those individuals pay virtually NO TAXES into our tax base. To divert attention to the working class, they offer a $400.00 a year tax break to win the hearts, minds, and pockets of those who are less savvy about the government, and those who are too busy trying to make money (perhaps working two jobs or the wife and husband are working to support their families) and still they are struggling to survive.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes Dick Cheney, who was the CEO of Halliburton prior to his election in 2000 to Vice President, has an opportunity to elevate Halliburton (in 2000) from number 17 to number 1 for the Pentagon's Vendor list. Halliburton sets up 58 seperate subsidiaries in the Cayman Islands, and contracts services with other countries, one being IRAN, where the United States is suppose to have sanctions. Other companies follow suit and ultimately end up making billions of non-taxable income.
The war in Iraq was very pre-meditated. I had heard about Bush wanting to get rid of Saddam long before 9/11 ever occurred. It has been proven now that Saddam never had involvement with Osama Bin Laden, nor did he have stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. Additionally, Saddam did not have the military build-up to match the American Troops. He had poorly maintained everything except them many palaces that he had built. Even the oil refinerys were aged and in poor repair.
My early problem, prior to the truth about Iraq and Saddam ever came out, was with the United States preempting an attack on a soverign government, without the support of the United Nations nor the Inspectors having completed their final reports. This thought process reminded me of a "mad dog"...who attacks without reason or rational....no matter what anyone else thinks or believes. Here again the constant lies...all used to get the American people to support ths agregious act.
The lies and cover-ups from this administration have been constant and always imposed fear of other middle-eastern states. There are many radical religious leaders here in the United States, as well. They make a lot of money by supporting wars as do all of the corporations making supplies for the troops. These ministers preach from their pulpits the same things that this administration did, allowing this fear to have people fearful of death...thus turning to their God, filling the church pews, and paying what these ministers call Tithes...but, it is money...hoping that their prayers and money will buy them, in case of a war on American land, a way to go to heaven...to atone for their sins...I call it an epidemic of religious proportions! The law in the United States is suppose to be "separation of church and state". However, this is what George Bush put forth when he was running for office...his "supposed" Christian beliefs and that God had told him to run for office????!!!! If anyone else said that to the American public, they would have him in a straight jacket and placed in a mental institution. But this draws in these ministers
Please note at this juncture that these churches are also tax free. They pay NO TAXES for anything. So, once again, the middle and poor classes must bear the burden of supporting the budgetary needs of this government. Soon, as the war costs grow, since there is not enough money coming from just these hard working Americans, this adminstration, siphons money from all of the trust funds including Social Security Trust Fund, Federal Employees Retirement Fund, the Military Retirement Trust Fund, the Federal Hospital Trust Fund, The Railroad Employees Retirement Trust Fund, the Federal Employees Life Insurance Trust Funds, the American Indian Trust Fund and more....now they try to say that the Social Security Trust Fund, that we have all paid into all of our working lives, is almost bankrupt....they do not tell us why...and they don't tell all of the other groups involved that there is anything wrong with their accounts. They have taken close to $4.1 TRILLION DOLLARS from these accounts since Bush came into office with no marketable assets to back the amount taken and no budget to pay back the trust funds. These Trust Funds are not suppose to be touched. They are only suppose to reinvest them to help them make more money.
Additionally, this administration starts borrowing from other countries (approximately 11 others), Japan being the one we owe the most to and China the second highest amount. However, they offer marketable assets to these countries, especially China. Now China, not only is in a major trade deficit with us, but holds our financial security in the palms of their hands. Much of what I am telling you is not publicised on American television as these stations are now all Corporate owned and the corporations are making much money doing lots of things including supplying the war, which only benefit them and their stock holders...not America in general. The CEO's of these Corporations also make lots of money, tax free due to tax loopholes for the rich. So they decapitate the the American Tax Revenue System in America, once again, also having the ability to control the information that is provided to the common American citizen.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of American jobs are being outsourced annually. Over 800,000 jobs in 2005 alone. High Tech jobs in America for American Corporations are being held back for Foreign Nationals...over 200,000 jobs.
Now the Budget, which they are actually withholding large sections of it from being devulged to the Congress and Senate and the American People, is such a large, black hole that they start cutting the budget. Where do they start? With Medicare (medical assistance for elderly and disabled), Medicaid (medical assistance for the very poor), and grants for college for poor and middle-class students. They also cut subsidies to American Farmers, because of the trade agreements, they can import fruits and vegetables for much less money than helping the American Farmers.
Now, as corporations find that they can make more money abroad...example...GM, General Motors has now cut thousands of American jobs, but is the number one car maker and seller in China. Also, since we outsourced so many jobs to China, we are in competition for the world sources of oil. Chinese use to ride bicycles, now they drive General Motors and Ford cars. Yet the Japanese car makers in America are doing very well and now a Korean car maker is moving to the United States to build cars for Americans. Do you see any problems as yet???
Now thousands of American Corporations are laying off or letting go thousands of American Workers. Americans don't have health insurance. If they do, it is very high in cost. The doctors are in cahoots with the Health Insurance and Pharmaceutical Companies in raising the cost of all of their services and products. Only the well-off can afford nice cars and Health insurance.
Halliburton, meantime, is overcharging the U.S. for oil, food, and other items. This is a "no bid" contract, (how convenient for Halliburton and Dick Cheney whose stock options for Halliburton has gone up 3,128% since he took office and he still gets close to $200,000. in deferred salary from Halliburton, six years since he quit his job as CEO.)
Now the U.S. is trying to sell off American Assets to Foreign Companies...anything to make a dollar...which has been so devalued, as has our reputation, since Bush took office. This adminstration has functioned in a vacuum. They are so busy "cooking the books" as they say in America for those misrepresenting and doing fraudulent and dishonest things with the Nations money, they are also so busy lying and deceiving the American Public, they are so busy looking out for their own best interest, which is a conflict of interest for elected officials to be making money or seeking long-term benefits for themselves. They are so busy undermining the people paying their salaries, helping their rich friends get ahead, and making sure all of those corporations make big donations to their party for the concessions made in tax incentives and tax breaks and the poor and middle class can just go to hell, plain and simple.
The schools are very poor in America, there are so many illiterate students, and we now have the greatest high school drop-out rate ever in America. Students who so graduate can't afford to go to college now that the grants and scholarships have been either eliminated or reduces.
The chemical companies, pharmaceutical companies, the Federal Drug Administration, and the doctors are not providing good health care. The toxins that they are putting into the drugs are making healthy people sick, they can't afford to get well, the chemicals as preservatives and toxins, such as anti-biotics, anti-parasitics and body enhancers to fatten up the animals.... they are feeding and injecting into our animal food chain and spray on our foods in the fields are ingested by the poor and middle class...who still can't afford good health care. The toxins they use in our injections, our teeth, our blood streams...supposedly to prevent illness, fix our teeth, and kill cancer and other diseases are really still killing us. Only the wealthy can afford "natural products" which won't invade their systems with toxins. People are getting frustrated and many low and some, now, middle class are doing illegal drugs and even legal drugs in order to cope with their financial problems. Husbands and wives fight over finances or work so much they never see each other...so they usually break up. The fathers don't pay for child support, the mothers then live with the children way below the poverty level. They now create gettos where there are gangs, crime, and illegal drugs everywhere. Kids and women are getting raped and killed, and kidnapped all of the time.
The police and hospitals do not have enough money or resources to handle all of this craziness! They let criminals out of prisons and crazy people out of mental institutions because there is no money to take care of them. Then these people go out and victimize innocent people...breaking and entering their homes...sometimes when they are at home, stealing their possessions and robbing them of peace of mind. They do drugs which then usually calls for guns of all kinds even semi-automatics, they run the streets at night. Good and honest people must lock themselves up in their homes with security systems in order to protect themselves....all this because there are not enough police, because there is not enough money.
Meanwhile...the crooked politicians are cooking up deals with lobbyists, taking their money, then acting on their behalf to get the things they want done. The politicians live in big homes in Washington, D.C. and their home states. They have excellent salaries that they increase regularly. They have guaranteed pensions for life and wonderful health insurance for life...for themselves and their families. They can buy anything they want, invest in anything they want, send their kids to the best private schools because they don't have to pay any taxes...and the money keeps rolling in.
These things that I am telling you are just the TIP of the iceberg...which is another thing. The EU wanted the U.S. to join in acting against Global Warming. The U.S. refuses since they don't believe that there is Global Warming. But artic glaciers are melting down at a rapid rate. One huge glacier in Alaska floated away and crashed into a port. The hurricanes, tornadoes, wild fires, tsunamis, earthquakes, snow slides, mud slides due to extensive rain, droughts due to extensive dry spells...on and on...these are not enough to convince Bush to do anything about Global Warming....why???? Because then he would have to impose enviromental laws that would impact the bottom-line figure for all of their corporate buddies!!! That's why! Even though he is not up for re-election...his party, the Republican Party is up for election...and they all have their hand in Corporate profits either through stock options, lobbyists, or undercover reasons. They couldn't get the donations for their re-elections from the corporations if they imposed environmental restrictions, because the companys couldn't make as much money. Which now brings up the subject of environmental pollution....rivers with chemicals in them, air pollution due to fumes and exhaust from manufacturing smoke stacks. Nuclear reactors in every state...heaven forbid a melt-down or a terrorist attack.
I forgot to mention that the chemicals used in our products have caused millions of deaths due to cancer. Other toxins cause Autism, heart arrythmias and other heart disease issues, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimers Disease...neurological brain diseases. Even if you have health insurance, the hundreds of thousands of dollars for Cancer treatment is more than people can pay over and above the coverage of their insurance policy provides. If you become disabled, it takes years to be approved to get the money that you worked all of your life for. Many people die or get worse leaving them in such bad condition that they will never recover, before they are approved. Having Health Insurance doesn't mean that you are going to get help...because if your doctor doesn't accept it, because it doesn't pay enough...you will then die or loose everything you have trying to raise the funds to pay the remaining costs.
All the while, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld (involved with a pharmaceutical company producing billions of dollars in tamiflu doses which may or may not ever be used and may not be the right product for whatever may hit America and other countries depending on the varient types of flu found), Rice, Karl Rove, Bush's right hand man, and all the rest of his crew...are saying, "We must fight terrorism abroad so that it never comes to our shores". The Al Quieda, the Hamas, the insurgents, whoever is the group of the day or all of them everyday...are coming. That is why we must fight in Iraq. That is why we must tap your phone lines, watch everyone with the Patriot Act...spy on those who may hurt us! The one's who drove the planes into the towers were from Saudi Arabia. Everyone in the Middle East are our enemies...we can't even trust Israel. Now we must watch Venezuela...our borders are being invaded by Mexicans, and other South American Countries, then Terrorist could come through there also.....THIS IS WHAT WE HEAR ON A DAILY BASIS!
The Bush goes and makes arrangements with a foreign country to buy American ports.....No wonder the American people didn't want this to happen. Then Bush goes to India and offers nuclear materials to them. He tells us that they are going toseparate their military nuclear needs from their civilian nuclear needs....How stupid do they think the American people are....??? Much of them are stupid because they don't hear what really is going on behind the scenes. Americans are too busy working...they don't like to read...the middle and lower class are not that bright or else they would be wealthy....so they tell us what they want us to know and now it backfired with Dubai.
Through all of this, the biggots and racists in America are becoming worse in their attitude towards foreigners, even second and third generation immigrants, born in America, but look Chinese, Middle Eastern, black...even though this country was founded on immigrants...these under-educated, gun-toting, American Nazi's are growing in numbers.
I have spent this time telling you this long, true story because, I know that feelings have been hurt because of the Dubai incident. I tell you this to let you know that it is not all Americans! I would love to go to Dubai, I love the customs, the beauty of different religions and cultures. I just wanted someone to tell the story of the GOOD AMERICANS!!! Those of us who recognize what is going on, who read books, research on the internet...those of us who can read between the lines...see what is really going on.
I am disabled due to a car accident. I, actually have more time available that I would like. I watch programs and documentarys that would bore most people to tears. However, I want to be a vital human being...maybe my body has problems, but I want my brain to still function at a high level. I spent my life helping the needy, people that others turned away. I hope that someday, I may be much improved in my health and that I can help others again. I speak three languages, I type 62 words a minute without an error. I read and spell very well. I love computer technology...yet I am stuck, most of the time in bed.
Today, though, I feel good that I tried to let someone know what we Americans are up against. This administration is the worst, the most corrupt, uncaring, vicious, manipulating that I have ever seen in my 55 years. And for the moment, I have the freedom to tell this story, due to my Freedom of Speech. However, many who have spoken out about the wrongs of this administration have lost their businesses, lost their careers, lost contracts, and face constant scruitany by our Federal Government.
So when George W. Bush and Condeleesa Rice go to other countries and tell them what to do and how to do it....it really sickens me...because, as you saw after Hurricane Katrina, it took them five days to save thousands of people right here in America...Bush lied and said that he didn't know. Someone found the tapes to prove that he did...tapes of a conversation that the president had with the person he put in charge of the disaster...that was timed and dated. Still thousands are homeless, here in America, with nothing left but a bag of donated clothes..wandering around. However, they did get to Pakistan and Indonesia after their disasters in two days...because he was trying to impress them!
Most of the money, the National Guard (troops suppose to be used here in America for National Disasters), high-water vehicles, and supplies were in Iraq. Where I live in Florida, there has been 3 terrible hurricanes that have hit within 18 months, I have received NO HELP. I am disabled, with no homeowner's insurance (because at first I couldn't afford it, then, when I had it, it closed down and cut off all policies in Florida, right before the next hurricanes hit this year. I have just a plastic tarp on the roof of my home. Last year I had one, Hurricane Wilma tore it off, so now I have another one on now.
I have asked God that if he will help me get well, that I will travel abroad to help other countries. I know there are many others that would be willing to do so also, except they are all so afraid.
So, I beg of you, sir, please tell the people of the United Arab Emerits and Dubai, for me, and the thousands who would tell them if they could, that there ARE GOOD AMERICANS....but unfortunately, we are not in power at this time...and we cannot even change our own situation and problems...as Bush puts us deeper in debt and continues to incite additional problems. On behalf of the Good Americans, my deepest apology for the change in heart about the Dubai Port deal. However, after reading this story, I am sure they will understand how everything evolved and why most Americans are afraid of their own shadows right now.
Sincerely,
Bonnie Lackey bonnie462@adelphia.net
Thank you Bonnie for your honest words and I hope I have done my part in delievering your message to the UAE people and all those who started to believe there no good Americans left .... Labels: UAE
Comments: 0 Views: 133 Group: General Tags: inhumanity, politics, star wars | Solstice Reposting of THE AGENDA Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 356 days ago 
The original sermon is here: I am much too chintzy to write another one just because it's nearly winter solstice. It's hibernation season and I'm fighting that as it is. http://helgaleena.mylivepage.com/blog/141/1034 Remember you can never have too much Sex. But if it's leading to reproduction you are doing it wrong unless you want the world to die from having too many damn humans on it. And if it involves long term harm to any involved then you are not nice and will get coal in your stocking or your wooden shoe depending on your ethnicity. This time of year creates intense craving for sleep, or lights twinkling and hot stimulants if action is involved. (y/n) You know what's pernicious mythology? Soulmates. the One and Only. In the flush of initial compatibility after long searching for a comfortable fit, couples think every single thing is going to go chronically right forever after due to this. Then they go and evolve into better people who might no longer fit each other so well. What's more, if narrowmindedly they think there is no other option than each other, they are stagnant and stuck. Guess what? It is guaranteed that Death Do Us Part. All things pass from one stage to the next. We can only do our best for one another and hope for the same in return. It doesn't always last, and it doesn't always work, and the least we can do is give the old shoe a decent burial when it wears out. Oh the roads it's been down! Yours truly keeps outlasting things I thought fondly might kill me. Including 'the love of my life' who turns out to be as steadfast in venom as he was in sweetness. And both turn out to be non nutritious after all. I did my best and try to play by the rules still, whatever illusion he dresses me in with his increasingly unfamiliar mind. All this had me trying to remember why I am helgaleena, whether I still am, because, that man I married once is seeming so strange suddenly. I came across THE AGENDA and behold, it still fits. So I box it up and put new paper on so all the people who didn't read it before will think it's tinsely and festive. http://helgaleena.mylivepage.com/blog/141/1034 A year ago this time I was helping Nikki Watson with her first full length novel for Aphrodites Apples Press. It was about a girl who loses her fiancee and falls apart for months, then is pulled out of herself again by the love of her friends. The title was SPIRAL and I hope it makes its way to print again. It was strung together out of fragments, much like the protagonist herself. AA is gone, but there is Dark Roast, and there is Nikki, now a multi published Australian author of our fine genre. May your downward and inward spirals tighten into little clumpy lumps in the middle and then unwind outward into increasing illumination as you unfold again. This is the time of year for it. Must sleep now. 
Comments: 0 Views: 739 Group: General Tags: politics, inhumanity, art, humor, romance, fiction, fanfiction, mythology | PIE versus chaos Posted by:helgaleena helgaleena healing line 379 days ago 
Pie Out of Anything No, I am absolutely serious. Hard times are coming, if they haven't already hit, and we may not be able to get a turkey to stuff this year and have to buy the two dollar ‘breast roast' instead. It is a lot more festive if you have pies around the lump on the platter. And they can be full of just about anything. Day by day, there are times when it's hard to know what to make out of the miscellany they handed you at the food pantry, if you were far enough forward in line to get a sack. Just invest the five bucks in flour instead of a footlong sub at the takeout place and you will have some options. Oh, and another five bucks for a jug of generic vegetable oil. They'll last you two whole weeks at the least, and probably all month if you don't bake your own bread. Pie crust is simple. You mix oil into the flour until it's almost holding together on its own, then add the last bit of water needed to achieve workable dough. Half a cup of flour should be enough for a top or bottom crust in a standard tin. Biscuit dough is similar, only you only add enough oil to get it crumb state, and also add leavening so it'll rise, and make your more bread like product with buttermilk and water. If you aren't already familiar with producing biscuit and pie crust, learn fast. And I have not mentioned the salt. Lots of people object to me not adding it, but I am allergic to it, you could say. Commercial baked goods are full of the stuff so you hoi polloi probably will miss it. I shall be dealing with main course pies first and dessert pies second. As I am steadfast in my contention that they can contain anything, I will subdivide by method. Method one-- stewed anything into an egg pie Start with a pint of leftover anything with chunks and juice or gravy. Line your tin or casserole with your pastry crust; you probably won't be needing a top crust for this one as the egg will hold it together. Scoop the solid parts of the stew out with a slotted spoon and into your crust. Then whisk together the remaining liquid, three to four eggs, and enough milk to make enough scrambled egg to completely immerse the solids. If the top surface is too unsightly, top with crumbs or grated cheese or something. Bake at medium heat until completely set all the way to the middle. In England they will put whole small sausages in this. In Finland they will leave out the anything and just bake the eggs. In Spain they will serve you tiny slices of this, call it tapas and charge you a lot of money. Method two-- tins of anything cobbler This calls for biscuit dough and has no bottom crust. Mix several tins of things together and add any spare diced vegetable you may have until there is at least a pint but less than a quart of food in the casserole. Make two cups of flour into biscuit dough and cover the top of the casserole of food with roughly walnut or tablespoon sized chunks of the dough. Scrape out the bowl very well, stir into a solution with water or milk, and pour over the casserole so that liquid surrounds the hunks of dough. Bake at medium heat uncovered until the top is a sentimental golden brown and the stuff underneath is bubbling and no longer smells like the inside of the tin. You'll be fine. If it's brown already and hasn't bubbled yet, put a lid on it and keep baking till it smells better. Method three-individual pies This calls for twice as much pastry and dry textured anything that can be spooned into a six inch or larger circle of crust, the edges moistened and aggressively sealed, and baked on a cookie sheet. Do not try to fill with more than you would put in a burrito. Unless you like Cornish pasty that requires knife and fork or a towel wrapped around it, that means under a quarter cup per pastry. This is simple engineering. Method four- the custard pie Here we are probably entering the realm of dessert, unless you have no teeth. The basic custard pie has one half cup of sugar, an egg, no top crust, and pureed anything. Blend well to fill the crust, and bake until set and bottom crust is completely done. If you are feeling positive about eating, experiment with spices and flavorings. Method five -fruit pie or tart If you are lucky enough to have a can of something labeled ‘pie filling' you can use it as is. Otherwise you need to cook and/or thicken the fruit juice with flour or tapioca or cornstarch. It's easy to do this in a saucepan on the stove. In Finland you'd skip making pie at this point and just eat a bowlful. One quarter cup of flour or starch will thicken your quart of fruit. Sweeten to taste. Are you still making pie? Okay, the bottom crust you will fill, then attach your lattice work or your entire attractively vented top crust and bake. This is also how steak pie is done, and that anomaly, rhubarb. Just as tomato is a fruit we treat as a vegetable, rhubarb is a vegetable we treat as a fruit. If your fruit is sufficiently presweetened and cooked that it's better to refer to it as jam, the resulting pie is called a tart. Pizza is in my opinion merely a large savory tart on a yeasty crust. However we are not dealing with yeasty crusts or strudels here. Surprisingly, an onion will cook down to tart state, but not a squash or yam-- too starchy. Treat them as custard. Method six-gelatin, ice cream or pudding pie I cannot bear to deal with these until summer, but the directions are on the box. Just cook your crust and not the pudding; put it in later, genius. Precooked crusts are also nice piled full of potato salad or fruit salad which you then weigh down with the correct dressing. Expensive versions from the ice cream store cost big bucks and you can do it at home for cheaper. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie Actually, I am only posting this to console myself on a day when I have been too out of it to do anything else constructive but lecture thou internet that cannot object. Method seven-- the no-bake cream pie. http://www.popularpages.net/pics/cream-pie_2_2412_... This is very romantic but difficult to arrange. It requires cooperation from at least two people, but I can think of no more delicious pie or one that is more pleasant to serve to the appreciative consumer. Do not let a pie like this go to waste. It's extremely nutritious and it doesn't keep.
Comments: 0 Views: 151 Group: General Tags: romance, politics |
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