Emu with a Clue’s Neighbors

Vox Hunt: Sunday Giggles

nobody@vox.com([this is connie]) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:32:29 -0700

Photo, video or song... Show us laughter.

Cat Licks Sour Apple Lollipop

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QotD: Family History

nobody@vox.com([this is connie]) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:15:33 -0700

What do you find interesting or unique about your family history?

Family

Mom's youngest auntie had a crush on my Dad. When she moved to States, she wanted to send Dad an air-ticket and she wanted him to move there to be with her. She said something very touching, "I have nothing now, but I have two hands and I can work. You just come and live with me here." I think that's sweet, but he had never into her. It's not because of Mom since Mom was still a kid at that time. But finally she gave up and she found someone there and they got married. They have no child, but seems like they lead a happy life together...

She came here to visit us few times when Mom was still alive and she stayed with us. She definitely has been over Dad, at least that's what I think. She still sends Dad birthday card every year and sometimes she forgot to send card on Mom's birthday :D It's understandable I think, since her birthday is only few days before Dad's.

FYI, Dad is 17 years older than Mom and he's my grampa's friend before he became his son-in-law :)

Other than that "unreturned love" family history, I am proud of the heritage of my family. I have Chinese, Hawaiian, and Javanese blood in me. And that's one of those things that make me unique :)

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Roses anciennes à Murol

nobody@vox.com(Sergio) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:18:36 -0700

P1010673

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No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake

nobody@vox.com([this is connie]) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:03:56 -0700

Scrumptious Sunday

Blueberries National Month

Just Taking a Bite

Crust:
1 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
Filling:
2 (8 oz) pack cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups cool whip topping, thawed (whipped cream will also do)
1 jar of blueberry preserves (use as much as u prefer as topping)
1 tsp unflavored colorless gelatin
3 tbsp water

Combine all the crust ingredients with a fork until well blended. Press in a 9 inch pie pan. Chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer. Add in vanilla extract.
Dissolve the gelatin in the water and add in the cream cheese mixture. Beat until well blended and cream cheese fluffy.
Add in the cool whip and fold gently.
Spoon over crust and let chill in the fridge for about 3 hours or until set. Top with some blueberry preserves or fresh ones which ever you prefer. Can do your favorite fruit topping too!

-- Source

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When are we going to stop being considered everyone's dumping ground?

nobody@vox.com(Flamingo Dancer) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 02:10:28 -0700

US military planned nerve gas test on Aust troops

The US was planning to test Sarin and VX nerve gas on up to 200 Australian combat troops. Defence files have revealed the United States military was planning to test deadly nerve gas on Australian troops in a far north Queensland rainforest in the 1960s.

Australian Defence Department files obtained by Channel Nine show the US was planning to test Sarin and VX nerve gas on up to 200 Australian combat troops by aerial bombing areas around Lockhart River.

The plan never went ahead, but American survey teams inspected the proposed testing site.

The prime minister at the time, Harold Holt, vetoed the plan.

His former staffer, Peter Bailey, says the Australian government was concerned that its Cold War alliance with the US would be damaged if it did not acquiesce.

"If they weren't pretty good and pretty faithful to the Americans we would be dumped, so I think ministers were very aware that this was probably our one main support," he said.

Former Democrats Senator Lyn Allison has told Channel Nine the current Government should make the documents public.

"There's apparently a whole unit which the minister says didn't conduct testing but I think we need to know what they were doing and it is time for these documents to be released," she said.

"Let us have a look at what was being contemplated just 40 odd years ago - it's not the deepest, darkest history of Australia we're talking about."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/06/2295601.htm

As if England testing their bombs and doing nuclear tests on our serving men wasn't enough, America thought they could just murder 200 of our men as well! Wasn't it only a few months ago that Cheney was trying to pressure Howard into taking all their nuclear waste and burying it in our country too? When are we going to stop being used as canon fodder and scientific experiements and respected as a nation? Enough! If it's not good enough for your back yard it is not good enough for ours.

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Green Drops and Moonsquirters: The Utterly Imaginative World of Lauren Child

nobody@vox.com(Ozone) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:53:29 -0700

Green Drops and Moonsquirters: The Utterly Imaginative World of Lauren Child

http://www.manchestergalleries.org/wh...

Green Drops and Moonsquirters is the very first exhibition to be dedicated to Lauren Child's work. Her illustrations artfully combine drawing, collage and photography while witty and irreverent text weaves through the pages in unconventional ways.

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And so to London and Hyde Park

nobody@vox.com(Snowy) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:41:48 -0700

We'd had a few days in London four years ago, and I had always wanted to return to see what I'd missed before. The sense of history in London just gets me every time. Mrs Snowy had lived in London in the late sixties, but there was much that she was yet to see, and she also wanted to take a nostalgia trip back to Earl's Court where so many young Aussies had congregated in those halcyon days.

We stayed at Royal Court Apartments in Bayswater, just a short walk from Hyde Park. Ours was a studio apartment with full cooking facilities. The location was just off Bayswater Road with a short walk to both Lancaster Gate and Paddington underground stations, and also to Hyde Park. We'd stay there again, if for no other reason than the convenient location near transport and also the London central district. This is the view of Gloucester Terrace from the entrance to the apartments.

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So, the obvious place to visit was Hyde Park. This is the view of the Italian gardens.

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We continued walking through Hyde Park until we came to Kensington Palace, which is of course where Princess Diana lived after her divorce from Prince Charles. We did the tour of the palace which dates back to William of Orange, and then walked through the room where Princess Diana's evening gowns are on display. Especially poignant were the videos of the Princess obviously enjoying herself at functions where she was wearing the gowns. Such a beautiful, vivacious, young woman with no knowledge of what lay ahead for her. This was also the residence of Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones when they were married. That marriage ended in divorce also. This is a shot I took of Kensington Palace. Somehow it will always be associated with unhappiness for me.

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We took a stroll down to Speaker's Corner. The symbolism of this corner of Hyde Park where citizens are free to speak on anything at all, including criticism of the government, did not escape me. Britain has much to be proud of, and set a fine example of tolerance for the rest of the world to follow. Unfortunately, all the speakers were preaching religion when we were there, all different of course. I was tempted to point them in the right direction, but somehow I doubt they'd be interested in my atheism. This is Speaker's Corner.

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And this is a view of the Serpentine.

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My admiration for the British people knows no bounds. The world owes them a huge debt for the institutions they have bequeathed to it. To say nothing of the games, including football. No, not that poofy round ball one, real football, Rugby League.

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Eat Junk Food if You Want to Lose Weight

nobody@vox.com([this is connie]) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:24:14 -0700

clipped from www.msnbc.msn.com

Man sheds 80 pounds on McDonald's diet

QUINTON, Va. - A Virginia man lost about 80 pounds in six months by eating nearly every meal at McDonald's.

Not Big Macs, french fries and chocolate shakes. Mostly salads, wraps and apple dippers without the caramel sauce.

Chris Coleson tipped the scales at 278 pounds in December. The 5-foot-8 Coleson now weighs 199 pounds and his waist size has dropped from 50 to 36.

The 42-year-old businessman from Quinton says he chose McDonald's because it's convenient.

His inspiration came from his two children and from the story of a blind war veteran who rode a tandem bicycle cross-country.

Coleson says his goal is to get back to the 185 pounds he weighed when he married Tricia Summer. Their 10th anniversary is Saturday.

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Cleaning Routine back in Action

nobody@vox.com(Procrastinator) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:00:38 -0700

If you follow my blog, I posted a while back (last holidays) that when holiday comes around my mum creates a "To Do" list of housework. The list is back.

My niece and nephew left early for the weekend so I was thinking to myself that I have a wonderful Sunday to myself. WRONG!!!

As soon as I woke up:

I changed the covers of all the beds
I took the clothes in off the line
I hung out the new clothes
I washed the old covers of the beds in the wash
I folded all the clothes
Prepared lunch
Cooked lunch
Cleaned up after lunch
Cleaned out the fridge and threw away the old food
Cleaned out the pantry and threw away old food
Wiped down and around the kitchen with special spray
Took garbage out
Did some recycling and organising of old newspapers and put them in the recycling bin
Sprayed down all the glass in the house (Windows, Mirrors - that means three mirrors per room and one window x 4 rooms and also the lounge room, kitchen and bathrooms)
Took in clothes off the line
Hung out the new clothes
Permed my mum's hair
Helped idiot brother with homework - he HATES/LOATHES problem solving questions

And then now there's dinner to worry about.

My back is ACHING from all the work.

I HATE the LIST. HATE IT WITH A PASSION. I can't use "I'm studying" as an excuse. Nor can I use "I wanna watch TV" as an excuse either. It won't go down too well... Atm, she's taken the list to add to it so i'm taking a breather...

Anyway, better get back to it. Will continue catching up with blogs as soon as i get the chance.

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And isn't it worse when the weather is ridiculously nice?

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Vox Hunt: The Unexplainable

nobody@vox.com(Cat) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 23:57:52 -0700

Show us something you can't explain.

My love of wearing socks and thongs. Can't explain it - but if David Beckham can do it, so can I. And when I do those first few shuffles you have to, to get the sock nicely wedged in between the toes I like to pretend I'm O-Ren Ishii. And my thongs have a wedge thanks very much.

Socks-and-thongs

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