Aleksandra's Pierogi

https://www.everyday-delicious.com/sauerkraut-and-mushroom-pierogi-recipe/

Mamdani announces a new executive order protecting New Yorkers from "abusive immigration enforcement," including requiring ICE to have a judicial warrant to enter NYC property

The Voice of a Swimming Teacher

2nd August 2013

Having trained as a singer, Lisa Smith, STA’s Technical Support Officer knows a thing or two about the voice, and how important it is for swimming teachers to protect their vocal chords.

It is very common for teachers, lecturers or anyone who is required to speak excessively as part of their job to have at some stage in their working life a problem with their voice, and especially for swimming teachers who are projecting their voice in a noisy environment.

Symptoms such as a lack of voice strength and croakiness are typical of vocal abuse, and permanent damage can be caused to the voice unless good habits are adopted:

• Keep the vocal chords hydrated by taking regular sips of water whilst on poolside
• Project the voice, don’t shout, a thumbs up or clapping can motivate learners just as effectively
• Use the voice correctly when speaking, this is aided by good posture, and good breath support
• When speaking to learners, bring them close enough so that a quiet voice can be used
• Warming up the voice with vocal exercises such as humming before lessons can help.

Most importantly, I would advise anyone who suffers from a change in their voice or hoarseness for more than two weeks to visit their GP.

Lisa Smith
STA Technical Support Officer

https://www.sta.co.uk/news/2013/08/02/the-voice-of-a-swimming-teacher/ 

Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol (1973)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=KvEW3e0BLn8

Mamdani: "I speak of Renee Good, whose final words to the man who murdered her were, 'I'm not mad at you.' I speak of Alex Pretti who died as he lived, caring for the stranger. ICE shot him bc he did something they could never fathom ... let us offer a new path: one of defiance through compassion."

Cozy Safe and Settled

My new 1 year old rescue pup Lulu is snoring little piggy snorty sounds and it's lovely. I met her a week ago and adopted her last Sunday.

This morning our two dogs were sharing a bed for warmth but they each have their own bed and fleece blankets.  Lulu and Romeo are settling nicely. We are finding our daily rhythm.

I've been the the mother to dogs for 45 years. 

Yesterday I ran into Joni and told her about our new baby pup added to the family and I said, we all sleep in the bed, and she said. Oh yeah we bought a king sized bed to accommodate our two King Cavaliers because they stretch out horizontally. I told my husband we should've done this years ago because it's birth control. She laughed. She has multiple grandchildren.

Cornbread Baked with Sliced Onion inside!

 Try it! We love INDIAN HEAD stone ground YELLOW CORNMEAL and the savory recipe on the bag. I skip sugar and salt. It's fabulous!! I use my (greased) number 5 cast iron skillet to bake in.

The Public is Not on the Side of the Thugs

 American Decency Still Lives

When pushed far enough, Americans will do the right thing

Paul Krugman Feb 6  https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/american-decency-still-lives

Suaerkraut and Mushroom Pierogi

https://www.polishyourkitchen.com/sauerkraut-and-mushroom-pierogi-pierogi-z-kapusta-i-grzybami/

Mr. Nobody Against Putin 2025 1h 30m Film

A Russian teacher secretly documents his small town school's transformation into a war recruitment center during the Ukraine invasion, revealing the ethical dilemmas educators face amid propaganda and militarization.

• Directors
  • David Borenstein
  • Pavel Talankin
• Writer
  • David Borenstein
• Stars
  • Viktor Abakumov
  • Lavrenti Beria
  • Yevhen Konovalets

Jameela Jamil

I cannot remember a time before the conditioning that it is my sole purpose on this planet as a female to be liked, understood, believed and approved of. Comfort was never a priority, only obedience. I've been picking at the locks of my shackles for around six years now, and as I pressed "publish" on that last essay, I finally freed myself once and for all.

 Small shifts in diurnal rhythms are associated with an increase in suicide: The effect of daylight saving

Large disruptions of chronobiological rhythms are documented as destabilizing individuals with bipolar disorder; however, the impact of small phase altering events is unclear. Australian suicide data from 1971 to 2001 were assessed to determine the impact on the number of suicides of a 1-h time shift due to daylight saving. The results confirm that male suicide rates rise in the weeks following the commencement of daylight saving, compared to the weeks following the return to eastern standard time and for the rest of the year. After adjusting for the season, prior to 1986 suicide rates in the weeks following the end of daylight saving remained significantly increased compared to the rest of autumn. This study suggests that small changes in chronobiological rhythms are potentially destabilizing in vulnerable individuals. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1479-8425.2007.00331.x

Loving this book: Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: A Neuroscientist Examines his Former Life on Drugs

Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: A Neuroscientist Examines his Former Life on Drugs

Marc Lewis

A gripping, ultimately triumphant memoir that's also the most comprehensive and comprehensible study of the neuroscience of addiction written for the general public.

FROM THE
"We are prone to a cycle of craving what we don't have, finding it, using it up or losing it, and then craving it all the more. This cycle is at the root of all addictions, addictions to drugs, sex, love, cigarettes, soap operas, wealth, and wisdom itself. But why should this be so? Why are we desperate for what we don't have, or can't have, often at great cost to what we do have, thereby risking our peace and contentment, our safety, and even our lives?"

The answer, says Dr. Marc Lewis, lies in the structure and function of the human brain.

Marc Lewis is a distinguished neuroscientist. And, for many years, he was a drug addict himself, dependent on a series of dangerous substances, from LSD to heroin. His narrative moves back and forth between the often dark, compellingly recounted story of his relationship with drugs and a revelatory analysis of what was going on in his brain.

He shows how drugs speak to the brain - which is designed to seek rewards and soothe pain - in its own language. He shows in detail the neural mechanics of a variety of powerful drugs and of the onset of addiction, itself a distortion of normal perception.

Dr. Lewis freed himself from addiction and ended up studying it. At the age of 30 he traded in his pharmaceutical supplies for the life of a graduate student, eventually becoming a professor of developmental psychology, and then of neuroscience - his field for the last 12 years. This is the story of his journey, seen from the inside out.

Rule about Onion and Potato Storage

 Onions and potatoes should be stored separately because onions release ethylene gas and moisture that significantly accelerate the spoilage of potatoes. The gas causes potatoes to sprout and turn green, while the moisture causes onions to turn mushy and rot, leading to a much shorter combined shelf life.

Reasons to Keep Them Separate:

• Ethylene Gas Emission: Onions release high levels of ethylene gas, a plant hormone that causes nearby produce, such as potatoes, to ripen and sprout prematurely.
• Moisture Exchange: Potatoes have high moisture content, which can cause onions to turn brown, moldy, and turn into a soft, rotten mess.
• Spoilage and Odor
  :
  The gases and odors from onions can affect the taste of the potatoes, and the combination accelerates the rotting process
  .
   

Proper Storage Tips:

• Potatoes: Store in a cool, dark, and dry place with good ventilation (e.g., in a paper bag or mesh basket) to avoid sprouting.
• Onions: Store in a cool, dark, well-ventilated area, preferably in a mesh bag.
• Avoid: Do not store them together in the same basket or confined, dark space. 

Natural peanut butter and Hazelnut Spread on toasted home made sourdough bread

 Spread it thin! It's perfect!!

History Teaches . . . Why did mainstream institutions fall so easily to Trumpism? How do we understand our "Strange Defeat" ? Felicia Kornbluh Feb 03, 2026

 https://feliciakornbluh.substack.com/p/history-teaches-why-did-mainstream

Villain-in-Chief: Stephen Miller Whenever President Trump puts on a performative display of hyper-aggressive dominance, Stephen Miller can be found lurking in the background egging him on

To live happily is an inward power of the soul.

 Marcus Aurelius

Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking. Marcus Aurelius

Today I escaped anxiety. Or no, I discarded it, because it was within me, in my own perceptions – not outside. Marcus Aurelius