Single Vegan Tiramisu

Craving a different sort of Vegan dessert without being committed to cooking,
I ventured on a quest to make a few desserts. The main one being a vegan tiramisu for the single person. I didn't want to make batches for the tiramisu, so I came up with a simple pan-cake that is spongy and satisfying the craving quickly in just a few minutes plus cook time if you made your morning coffee or came home to leftovers sitting in the pot. You aren't going to get out mixing bowls or any major equipment aside from a stovetop burner for this recipe. Just a pan, a small tupperware bowl, a teaspoon, ingredients, and a plate.

To make 1 tiramisu pancake (or other flavor --substitute liquid for coffee)

Unbleached flour = 5 really heaping teaspoons
Rumford Baking powder= 1/4 teaspoon
Brewed Coffee liquid = appx 1/4 cup or a little more
Madagascar Vanilla liquid= 1/4 teaspoon or more to taste
Earthbalance
Maple Syrup
Optional tiramisu syrup

Mix dry ingredients flour and baking powder together or put in a small 1 cup tupperware bowl with lid and shake it. Then add and mix in liquid ingredients, Coffee and Vanilla until smooth.
Heat the pan, here I use a small thin pan designed to cook a single egg. It fits a pancake or Boca buger perfectly. Melt a teaspoon of Earthbalance in the pan until sizzling, not burning, and then pour in the batter. Cook the pancake most of the way through on one side, then flip it. Cook on medium to low heat so there is no runny batter in the pancake.
When you're done cut take off the hardened top of the pancake. You can either scoop out the spongy contents into a bowl (hint: you can put it in the tupperware if you already washed it) or serve it on a plate. Drown the cake in maple syrup, tiramisu syrup, and a pad of Earthbalance.

If you want to make a vegan marscopone (not mascarpone), use a container of soy cream cheese, some maple syrup 1/4 cup to taste, add 1/4 tsp lemon juice for soured flavor, and whip. add sugar to taste if necessary.

List #1- USA SUCKS

A laundry list of How horrible it has been growing up in the USA, then add dating/marriage pressure and trying to maintain peaceful understanding.

1. White/Caucasian men still majority look down on asian & Japanese culture.

2. Most of the American men & women I have met in environmental circles have No remorse for Hiroshima and have no respect for Japanese, especially if they survive from US government funding ie., non-profit organizations, military contractors, military, etc. .

3. Many caucasian environmentalists have a strong anti-nuclear stance in some cases and support the United States having nuclear military power & nuclear reactors (though they will 100% claim it is not acceptable in other parts of the world).

4. Most of the low class try to bring me down to their level.

5. Some of the decent men know that they are admittedly not capable of taking care of me due to who my Japanese relatives are. They do not meet an acceptable social standard.

6. Alot of American men treat me badly (ie., abduction & assault- Eg. when Knight Engineering in Buckingham, PA abducted me to their home because of one of their staff, an empty apartment above a garage I found out and I was assaulted for over a week. No phone, no way to leave until I heard them talking about the neighbors growing suspicious because I wasn't seen leaving. I managed to get to my phone dial 9-11 before my phone battery died completely and call was traced. Police arrived to assist me;- however because of my ethnicity no court proceedings occured and they denied my rights as a human being, I only managed to leave) because they view Asian women (on a whole) as sex toys, not as human beings. This was perhaps the worst public instance of my assault by a prominent community member and his staff to my person. The bigger disadvantage to this is that the caucasian and other communities don't have any pressure from my/her family since they are few in number. Of course the men, not saying the low class, exploit her and disrespect her in the highest forms available and don't give her rights in court to the point of judge in normal case should be disbarred for racism/nationalism.

7. Other men & women of Hawaii, see me and other Asian women as people to exploit due to their use of violence to perpetrate their own ends. Finding that those men are more prone to instigating pimp-like behavior in my life because their own men & communities protect them from legal recourse.

8. My higher class relatives abroad are subject of jealousy for Americans and other Asian peoples in the USA. So, I have been attacked and had my life threatened and nearly killed multiple times because of my relation alone. I have found that most people in the USA have no remorse for Hiroshima. Except for a great-uncle of mine in USA who actually fought at Iwo Jima & cleaned up Pearl Harbor. Most USA patriots are poseurs in their military respect and awareness and choose to hurt me to try and play a role that isn't theirs.

Finished dating in Hawaii

It seems everything has come to a complete and unstoppable Halt in my dating life.
It's almost too gruesome to unpack. And, thankfully the rain that's been pouring for the past 3 days is making everything wet.
Dating the past week really put a stop to things. I was seeing an executive of a local Hawaii company. I had put an end to the dating since he only expressed interest in US based business, and doesn't want to get married, had a brutal drinking habit along with a couple of seedy and greedy girlfriends (and lived with one). So, go YIK. Now add in the fact that he was Japanese-American descent and not a "newbie" minority in the USA by SBA standards of 1 generation.
Then top it off with his habit to go to both Karaoke bars and Korean hostess bars in Hawaii where he bragged in his car rides of him & his friends splurging 10's of thosands of $$$$$$'s on the women. And, all followed up with a statement "if you need to prostitute and get busted, I'll bail you out." That was aside from going to a dinner at an acceptable chinese restaraunt with one of his business collegues and his "wife" who was from Osaka. The first words out of his collegues mouth were about someone potentially dying at some jobsite. And, it was followed up by his wife sending old-fashioned death threats to me with her chopsticks. My date then scolded me after the whole thing was over and became abusive.
I told one of my girlfriends about this and she simply said;- people like that are not your friends.
I couldn't have agreed more. That was over 6 mos. ago. Then he reappeared one night 5 months later at my apartment door, not just any night, but the night of my deceased brother's birthday! I should have called for a restraining order the following week.

The past week, he contacted me again. We went out for dinner and a few drinks. No major drama and he claimed that he had "cut down" on drinking. I think he just needed to hire a driver and skip the phone call to me. Though, given all that was said and happened in the past and that he's also older than I am, I really really don't think he gets it yet. He not only choses to absolutely humiliate me, treat me lower than a 3rd class citizen, but thinks that i'm willing to put up with it?! WTF... so I turned down the offer to see him again and attend his birthday at his family's home, as politely as was possible for me. Dating this Japanese-American was the most humililating experience, beyond what white racists do (where i've been abducted and assaulted), to me who is a newbie Japanese-American in the USA. My more respectable Japanese relatives want me to leave Hawaii because of dating like this--- no wonder. And, chances of my finding any hapiness in the USA seems absolutely futile.

Nuclear Generation Child

I'm a product of the Nuclear generation. I'm ùnmarried at 36 years old and have no children as a result of it. One of my parents is Japanese, and still a Japanese national, who was only a toddler when the bombing of Hiroshima occured in Japan. My Japanese biological parent was nowhere near Hiroshima when the bombing occured but was completely exposed to the Nuclear Fallout afterwards. My Uncles and Aunts who were born after the Nuclear event occured were not exposed to any Nuclear radition and thus have little health complications. When i was growing up in the USA near Washington's Crossing, my Japanese parent was diagnosed with cancer. I was barely 6 years old and was told at one point that my Japanese parent was dead (by the doctor). I was instructed as a child of 6 about the collateral damage of nuclear fallout, nuclear war, and what it meant for my life because it was so affected. Things that changed in my life at the recommendation of Japan & doctors were: `

1. Eating an entirely vegetable based diet called Shojin Ryori by my Japanese relatives.


2. Supplements of raw barley


3. not putting expectations of having children or a married life on me due to birth defects concern.


4. Finding that my Japanese parent nearly died from the Iodine during cancer treatment and that I am completely allergic to Iodine and developed a shellfish allergy by age 8.

Hiroshima fallout impacted my life in its entirety. I have lived as westerners call it "vegan" for over 25 years now. I cannot trust western medicine to diagnose me on certain things because it is clearly a money & politics game for them once I enter a hospital. Instead for many years since college, i chose alternative medicine and even found a very reputable Native American herbalist for my medical needs. I rarely take prescription medications and because I am mixed race on a genetic level, was told by a Board member of National Institutes of Health, that the cellular level they test on is for persons of the Majority genetic population in the USA. And, that the medications for this genetic population (primarily caucasian) in toxicology testing reaches toxicity at a higher level of chemical tolerance than for genetic populataions of mixed genetic backgrounds (such as caucasian/asian or caucasian/latino persons).

I was healthy for quite a while throughout my life after becoming a "vegan" and the added help from the Native American herbalist kept me flu & cold free in the Northeastern USA year-round (for approximately 10 + years). And, that was primarily in Ithaca, NY where the international student crowd and closed indoor environment for 75% of the year allows exotic flus to be passed easily. It took me 2 years in the college environment to seek the alternative herbal treatment. Mostly it was a simple intake of an herbal tincture when I got the sniffles. Never got sick after it was introduced in my life and I took it as instructed. Now with the current news and Japan, I have a new worry. That is being exposed to more Nuclear radiation. Obviously, I cannot take the iodine pills, or I will not be able to breath any longer, aside from other side effects. In my late twenties after being a non-profit work-horse and rarely slept, worked 80+ hrs. a week at low pay with multiple jobs and independent consulting gigs for business & entrepreneurs I believed in;- i collapsed due to a burnt out Thyroid. In conjunction with that it happened when i was consulting for a business owner with a humanitarian project that was based within sight of a Nuclear reactor near the Schyukill River near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I took several herbal thyroid supplements on the market after talking to another organizer at a clinic in Richlandtown, PA who was undergoing chelation and vitamin drips from radioactive exposure in Mexico. So, what i did which cost another good chunk of change, was go through all the thyroid supplements on the market that I could take. I found which ones worked best and then I purchased all the ingredients seperately and took them individually to try and isolate the main ingredient that I needed. After months of trying this, my choice thyroid supplement was standing with Deglycerrized Licorice or DGL (a $5.99 supplement on its own). And, it was the one thing that my body craved at the time. I would get mental pictures of it from my biological system when it was missing. And, it has been the only supplement that my body has Ever craved in my life. Since this time, I have lived/camping in remote areas of upstate NY as I have systematically developed allergies to cosmetic & toiletries at a higher rate, intense building allergies that keep me away from viable job opportunities, I cannot take any prescription medications as I experience nearly ALL listed side effects and some may stop my heart, and I can rarely find buildings in which I can live (due to intense allergies to the materials). In my life I have done non-profit work on the East Coast, as an unpaid intern/volunteer etc even with my own organization and done my own think-tank research due to the generally hostile political climate I experienced being Japanese-American for the past 36 years of my life. Because of the hostilities directed at me and my now deceased siblings;- I cannot see a future for me in the united states. I have been treated in Totality as "the ENEMY" all of my life by other Americans outside of my immediate family. And so, my situation is strained unless i manage to find individuals with causes to make a statement to those who consider me an enemy since my birth. This means financially, I have never been able to get off the ground to have any dream of having a home or family realized. I was fortunate for a more cultured relative, a Kelly from Philadelphia who was an entertainer, who gave me the musical instrument to see me through my childhood life. I do pray for peace, however, I feel that the USA has made a very loud statement of hating the Japanese. Even one of my Martial arts instructors here in Hawaii made a comment to me after the 3-11 Tsunami that he thought Japan is better off now. Since he seems to control & undermine my life in Hawaii, I could only take this statement of his Japanese hatred as part of his discontent with his own predominantly Chinese heritage. Someday, I hope that peace blankets the world. My life has been full of tumultuous fighting between other groups of people and their stances on a Nuclear world. Though, it is not my whole life, it is blaring so loud due to these outside parties that I can barely tone it down.

Military /Self Defense instructors who abuse women

This is based on a woman's true story and the author has been threatened by a man for writing this blog article.

• He puts on the "I can't control my abusive machismo" attitude due to his martial arts background, to you. He justifies how he abuses you by saying he's defending himself.


• ie., one instructor who has nearly every black belt imaginable a military experience background, in private would say that he's so hard-wired to protect himself that you can't come near him without his punching you. He would try to hit her even when they were watching dvd's of movies as she brought the popcorn over (once he nearly broke her nose), and after movie theater movies (which she'd be required by him to pay for) he would flip out, throw things at her and hurt her. saying it was her fault and that if anything he didn't know what happened and the movie made him do it. Though, this same instructor would go on blackbelt outings with hundreds of people who sleep in auditoriums and in rooms together, and bring back photos of sleeping in the rooms together and even of little kids sleeping.


• He says to you that because you didn't come to him looking for lessons you're seeing eachother and have a different financial obligation to him. This takes the form of being a dues paying member very inexpensive. Mostly because he puts all financial expectations of you outside the dojo. He starts by asking if you can help some with getting pizza or something for everyone. Once he establishes with everyone that he can provide these things a number of things begin to happen to you: 1. He demands that you help him financially with his friends' weddings, and other important events that you aren't invited to and cost is in the $100's of dollars. 2. He demands that you pay for gas for everyone from his parents'vehicles (x2), his vehicle (so he can take people out and you aren't included), and anyone else who might be driving him. (this adds to $1000's in a few months) 3. He takes away anything thing that you purchase for yourself and own use - such as groceries, dvd's, and other items in the vehicle. (mind you don't live with this man). 4. He attempts to take things from the property where you live (including furniture). These are just some examples. And, when you say no to him, because you meet in the dojo-- other people in the dojo hurt you for saying "no" to him.


• This Instructor is often attempting to be very charismatic and will bend over backwards for others in his community of martial arts and other services so that he can continue to abuse you. The most frequent thing that this type of narcissistic person will do is blame you for having feelings. If you didn't have feelings none of this would be a problem and it's your fault. He's the type who will volunteer at the Boyscouts and may have a high rank, be outstanding, and bring up the boys the way he wants to. He'll go as far as to blame anything you try to point out as inappropriate on you. Essentially his mindset in your relationship with him is that: you are to blame for any accusations brought on him. There is NO normalcy of interpersonal interaction with him. If he told you that you have to sleep with him because he thinks its good for you, he'll make sure you do so on his terms. And, if you have any feelings about it, he will scold you and call you crazy and make other damaging mental/emotional comments at you.


• This Instructor will even go as far as to get other students to abuse you. One day this woman was in class and one of the Navy Seals hit her in the back/near kidney really hard for no apparent reason to her. This Instructor then announced that if there were going to be any extra hits (to this woman he was using sexually) that the men there would have to pay him. The next day she had blacked out at the instructors house/dojo in the bathroom and was concious enough to remember him tossing her in the back of his truck and then dropping her off at her home. She was laid up in bed for 5 days before anyone came to check on her. He returned, and realizing how bad the injury was he took her to his martial arts friend& instructor. In the meantime, he didn't call, didn't stop by, and didn't care. She had moved to Hawaii alone, with funds to set up her new life and business, and this Instructor took away what would have been a decent and nice life with actions like these.


• This type of man also will deny any and all accounts of what he has done to abuse you. His major standing arguement is that "it's not his fault" if any other harm comes to you. Because he doesn't view what he does to you as "abusive." He has an inability to genuinely care about your well being. Additionally he has absolutely no remorse for what he does (primarily to protect his own survival.) Essentially in this arguement of his being faultless, "he denies any and all cause & effect relationship of his actions in your world."


• He will deplete you financially so that you are in one of the most undesireable positions financially to be able to leave. In one woman's case, over a 2 year period, this man took away her financial security in a matter of weeks. She had moved to Hawaii and only had a car rental, after that she was unable to secure her own transportation. Over the course of the time period, seeking attorney, and being denied because of the attorneys' fear of the man' background;- she is in a position where she has been stalked and nearly raped/mugged several times near her home. When she expresses this to him, in a desperate form of irrationality, he simply says that he doesn't need to care because it's not his fault. He confirms to her that he is simply abusing her, and/or simply does not care about her welfare. In a minor sense, when he says that he's taking you to lunch or dinner or something, it typically means over 90% of the time that he's going to pick you up and you woman is going to pay for it. He (ex/current Green Beret) tells you that he has no money because of his situation, despite other military men who have been investigate him a bit telling you that he has plenty of money and is abusing you for the sake of abusing you. Its also a known fact with other military people whom you live with despite being a civilian yourself. Additionally other military men have advised you to stay away from this person, and you do;- but he calls you or stops by. This man never adjusts his behavior towards you yet will tell you that he cares about you when you're upset. And, he has expressed his full intent to do this from the beginning that he would take your SSN and run you into the ground and that his last engagement/fiance/ girlfriend died in some unfortunate accident or suicide.

Mental & Emotional Torture

• This man mentally and emotionally totures this woman who he formed some bond with.In one woman's case, whose brother died, this man frequently told her that he would be her brother. To her, she was horrified, because he had often collected her personal information during their time together. He claimed to be helping her at first and got her resume, and as many professional details from her as possible. He went so far as to take several photos of the things in her apartment when he stopped by, and after the "sexual exploitation" period stopped, only stopped by her place with another larger man with him. As the abuse went on, he threatened her and told her about how he goes to other states and commits identity theft crimes. She began to realize that because he was only seen in her life for maybe a 1/2hr to 2hrs on any given day that he was simply monitoring her. And, even during the period when he would have sex with her that lasted for nearly 2 years, he never hugged her or kissed her. Even when she requested that he change his behavior because it made her uncomfortable with him in her life (early on) he complained about it. He also went on later to divulge to her his like for Korean bar girls, that he liked and made a promise to a teenage girl, and that his mother wouldn't approve of his being with her because she wasn't a sex worker.

About Self Defense for Women

This isn't directed against a particular group or individual. It is to communicate about taking self-defense courses.

NEVER and I mean NEVER tell a Martial arts or Self Defense instructor about your history as a victim. Even a seemingly well intentioned instructor will put everything including sex under "self-defense training." The bad ones are like the ultimate predators. They will ruin you financially and otherwise so you have no recourse against them. And, they will use any law enforcement ties to protect themselves. There was one even one Dojo who used to rape women to initiate them into their next rank. One of the belted woman managed to sue the NY dojo for such discriminatory assault practices.

Additionally, if you are a woman of Asian descent, be even more careful because they will use your cultural background against you doubly. Because of some Asian gift-giving they will take everything from you even without your offering, your approval, or your consent. I have had this happen to me several times with an instructor. Everything from threats to "what's in the dojo stays in the dojo."
And then there is the perception that by paying your instructor the "fee" he asks will ease things.
Once you pay their fee they know they can get more out of you by hurting you extra in class if you don't comply with their outside wishes. Someone needs to define where the civilian instructor's position ends and his being a regular civilian begins legally. Remember, any men in the class are an extension of his ego as an instructor. He will rarely repromand the male students for any ill remarks or sexist behavior especially when trying to retain students in 'this economy."
Additional signs of being of women being abused by an instructor (I have seen over a 10 yr. period) include; women who actually commited suicide, women who turn into cutters (people who cut themselves to ease their pain) around the instructor, women who are frequently told to shut up when trying to voice a reasonable complaint or repromanded for "trying to cause drama".
Lets face it, many women go to safety courses to learn to defend themselves; not to walk into a roomful of ill mannered thugs.

10 mos. in Hawaii- Feb to Dec. 2009 - draft

Hawaii is an island. So, it has to "attract" money. The only way that Soldiers/servicemen and seem to think that the are going to make money since many military cutbacks is by becoming private contractors for companies to overseas. This is creating a really unsafe political and physical environment for the serious foreign investor or politician.

I chance have met several military and ex-military personnell who are trained asassin's/ killers. They know that taking on a killing contract is their best bet at eliminating their financial problems. Unfortunately, for some people this means that they are targets for U.S. military men who are helping their contractor buddies out by putting persons with foreign family/relative and connections in life threatening situations. More international business relationships will be damaged.

Stricter policies for the US military and enlistment/service duration should be enforced. People using the US military as a training school to become killers are jeaporadizing the security agreements with the U.S. and some other "friendly" countries.

Quick Review: US -- needs editing

Problems... can you say scumbag?
1. U.S. (typically white) Men don't respect minority women.
2. U.S. (white) men use minority women's identities/them to secure large amounts of money for business and then leave the women humiliated and broke.
3. Most U.S. men still believe that minority women/ Asian women are a tradeable commodities with their friends. Many Asian women go unheard because there is no help for them due to racial discrimination and intolerance in small, predominantly white communities.
4. Without some sort of death threat, U.S. men don't begin to consider treating a minority female well. In most areas of the USA outside Hawaii, CA there are fewer minority women in any area to help eachother. Most men know that a minority woman in a small community has little to no family or help from other people in the community. This makes the minority woman an easy target.
5. When trying to start a business U.S. men will volunteer to steal the minority female's money, and they volunteer blatantly. (this has happened to me several times... and, I'm not the only one)
6. Hawaiians like other U.S. citizens are pro-US military to the effect that they are no longer at all considerate of 1st generation US people ... (except when trying to get at any money available). They have little to no diplomacy and will do their best to force people into their militant way of life and thinking. This includes harassment in such a way that non-compliance results in grave financial and physical outcomes. The people act worse than bullies in a playground.
7. Oahu, HI is mostly military mindset people. They are vulgar, insulting, and violent. Many of the military men and women/spouses choose to act out abusively towards eachother. It is overall very unpleasant to be around. I have received many warnings from people about the military on the Island. The military men here on Oahu have a bad reputation for treating women horribly. The women/ spouses have a reputation of being at a bar picking up other men as soon as their husband(s) are away on deployment.

It's pretty obvious to me that democratic or republican; - most U.S. men think that any money someone from other national origins (like myself) should surrender any means (I have) to live to them. According to them, I'm not American enough... even with half of my family having fought in every major war the U.S.A. has engaged in on the planet. Rape is forceable by them and there is no retribution to the men. The U.S. clearly does not protect minorities and has systems set up to make it difficult if not impossible to use the system.

In my case, my Japanese family and I had the best of intention to try to understand the USA the generation after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From my point of view alone;- the USA has no intention of allowing me certain unalienable rights due to my national origin of being born to a Japanese national parent. Not only was my life manipulated by the U.S. govt and local govt. school district as a child;- I was forceably physically beaten for my national origin from age 7 - 12 in the school district. I was subject to additional U.S. government intervention in my home as a child where I was subject to their programming, torture, and brainwashing which included severing my connection (ripping the phone out of my hands in simplist forms) to my Japanese family/relatives/grandparents/etc.). Because i was a child and could not fight the people hurting me at Church, in school, and at home I was told I was a Japanese piece of shit and was made an example to the American children so they would do better than me. This continued till I was graduated from the Government funded High School in Quakertown, PA. The community funded the government school to harm me and set the example for all the Children who were expressly White and Aryan.

In many years of travel in the U.S. I have sought better options and people. Unfortunately, this is very difficult since the American people will only support what they believe is the best. What they believe stands upon a shitload of misinformation and blatant discrimination and non-acceptance of people from other cultures. Basically, they know that other people will work hard to try and prove themselves. It's much easier for them to steal the work. It happens everywhere in the U.S.

Renters Beware of Foreclosures

No... Not the Economy again.
Property owners are trying to hang on everywhere. This is starting to affect the renter's market.
Looking for a room for rent or a new apartment for rent? Beware of houses under foreclosure or on their way to foreclosure. Renters belongings can be gobbled up by the property owner's creditor or thrown out on the street without a warning. Some renters will also be out on the street without notice in some cases. I have heard more than a few of these stories circulating from military folks offbase in Hawaii. I may find myself in the same situation.

A short Letter I sent to Amnesty International USA

This I wrote, as things are so bad here for me at this point, primarily on behalf of my mother and myself. My mother was a Japanese Citizen at the time, and I know that my Japanese relatives have disputed my U.S. nationality as a result of how we are treated here in the USA. I am still being discriminated against heavily while I stay in Ithaca, NY. My rights are no respected and I still have no defense. My mother's family in Japan is also involved with decision makers in Japanese Government and some people like my Aunt have access to high level govt. information. Due to the Patriot Act revisions we can no longer communicate with our Japanese relatives.
The brief letter I sent to Amnesty International USA is as follows:


Over the course of a lifetime: 1970My still then, Japanese mother gave birth to my older sister and was told by the nurses at Quakertown Hospital that, "You don't deserve to have a child." My sister died at the Quakertown Hospital and her body is buried near Philadelphia. There was nothing that my parent's could do about it. 1980's I was a child and was informed by my mother about racism. Nearly every day at elementary school, I was grabbed by my hair by a group of girls and thrown to the ground and kicked and beaten at recess (with teachers watching nearby). Aside from experiencing regular name calling,"Brownie, Chink, etc." I was also put down by my teachers at school for my race. When my mom showed up to teach kids about Japanese culture;- the beatings I experienced at school for being "the wrong kind" worsened for me.This lasted through till Junior High school. Church during these years was worse as I was perceived as being "an abomination" by God's word and Pastor Landis because I am of mixed-race and national origin.
1990's Quakertown Community High School People I knew at school became involved in Born Again Christian movement and KKK meetings and concerts. I had very few friends and was still one of 2 non-caucasian people in the entire school. My history /U.S. Cultures teacher (Mr. Pfeiffer) compared me to a 3 tier Latrine photo posted on the bulliten board in front of the class. He screamed "Those/You Japs" at me frequently when covering Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima from the U.S. perspective; - making my classmates laugh at me. Though he is also avidly anti-semetic.There were regular fights at the small Quakertown Movie Theater then between Skinheads and Non Skinheads most Friday nights.2000 I returned after completing college. And, fell under attack by local KKK people. They broke into my car, harassed not only me but my then living younger brother (now deceased). I was targeted by an engineering dept. in Buckingham and locked in a apartment and raped repeatedly until I managed a 9-1-1 call on a nearly dead cell phone.Between 2000 and 2007 I was stalked, harassed, locked in 2 apartments and raped, received death threats, found German knives outside my window at my parents' house. Police would follow me from business meetings and stop me on back country roads (difficult) and harass me. Police would follow me once I got off the turnpike exit and follow me to my parents' house where I reside. Investigators refused to investigate the rape incidents claiming it "out of their jurisdiction" and the advocacy outreach refused to see me because I'm a minority woman who is non-white.Upon my brother's death, when the police arrived, they Chased me and even the 1 minority female officer said that "I'd better run outta there (my home) because I'm a half-breed and there isn't anyone who's going to help me there." After my brother's death I was stalked and raped. I knew a Chinese woman who owned substantial business and has a family, she told me re: her own sexual harassment problems that "the Judge said that Asian women are here for men to have sex with in Bucks County." She also advised me to leave. Shortly after she sold her business and left the area. There is alot more racial profiling that happened due to people using my brother and the monies that the lawyers received for the problems. My brother is dead and nothing and noone will ever replace him. He was my best friend.
In 2007 I was forced to leave my Parent's home in Quakertown, PA without money or shelter. An Amnesty family (also Tibetan) helped me for a few months to relocate. Since I left their care I have had more problems with men ( I am a repeat rape victim ) and my Japanese family memebers cannot send financial help because of their involvement in Japanese government and the new restrictions in the Patriot act. My Japanese Family communicated to me that they think that my life is "as good as dead" in the next years. There has been concern about my nationality, which I cannot resolve because my mother was a Japanese citizen at the time that I was born. If I had to choose a nation today because by Japanese law I cannot be a dual-citizen, Today I would choose to be Japanese.
I need help. I have so much more to tell that I can't even begin to express. I have been attacked by many people on the East Coast because they rarely see Popular Japanese faces.
I am 33 yrs. old today. My mother faces discrimination against her and her disability due to cancer by the State of PA. I personally have been made an example to my piano students and their families who are also "East-West" families or other minorities to Bucks County.
My life is nothing but sadness.The help I need is tremendous to repair respect to me and my Japanese family.

More Movies I saw: Who hasn't?

Star Wars : The Clone Wars - Violent, but animated
Batman - Too Violent
Death Race - Not as Violent as Batman
Babylon A.D. - Strange
Hell Boy II - O.k. for kids
The Forbidden Kingdom - reminded me of old Greek Mythology claymations...
KungFu Panda - Cute
Hancock - Will Smith is a hottie

30+ Olives to try

I've taken a "simple" job that includes 700 International and Domestic Cheeses and at least 20-30 types of Olives and Hummus Tabouleh and other Mediterranean fare. This probably tops the Pag's (French) Wine bar job that I took for a holiday season where there are over 300 French wines and included French cheese plates just across the street from Paganini Trattoria.

Olive Information:

• Greek Green Olives are MT. ATHOS OLIVES, DIVINA.
• Black olives that are "dyed"

To be updated:

My Olive List: my Favorites are in bold

1. Kalamata Olives = 2 olives/ 5 calories
2. Kalamata Olives pitted = 2 pieces/ 5 calories
3. Kalamata Olives stuffed with garlic
4. Cerignola Green (Italian) = 2 olives/ 25 calories
5. Cerignola Black (Italian)
6. Nicoise (French) pitted
7. Ciglione with minced garlic
8. Greek Green Olives
9. Greek Cracked Green Olives = 3 olives/20 calories
10. Greek Green Olives pitted
11. Greek Green Olives stuffed with Almonds - Crunchy, sweet, mellow, and yummy.
12. Greek Green Olives stuffed with Citrus - My favorite pick for vodka or gin martinis ( i might even be tempted to make a slightly dirty up a Cosmo with this olive.
13. Greek Green Olives stuffed with Feta Cheese
14. Greek Green Olives stuffed with Blue Cheese
15. Greek Green Olives stuffed with Gorgonzola Cheese
16. Greek Green Olives stuffed with Garlic
17. Greek Green Olives stuffed with Minced Garlic
18. Greek Green Olives stuffed with Jalepeno Pepper = 2 olives/ 15 calories
19. Green Olives with Sicilian Herbs
20. Green Olives with Picante = 3 olives/25 calories
21. Greek Olive Medley
22. Greek Olive and Feta Cheese salad
23. Green Olives (Italian) stuffed with strips of Red Pepper
24. Green Olives (French) stuffed with Anchovies
25. Mammoth Black Olives = 3 Olives/60 calories - Though the younger olives (less black) taste a bit floral to go with a Chardonnay, the more mature olives are much richer and heartier than an Oil Cured olive.
26. Maddelena Olives (brilliant purple) = 3 olives/ 35 calories - A very red wine turning to vinegar type of taste with this meaty and bright olive.
27. Mt. Pelion black Olives: large like a plum (almost the same size as the Mammoth Black Olives) with a floral type of taste.
28. Picholine green (French) = 2 olives/ 35 calories
29. Manzanilla Black Olives = 3 olives/ 45 calories - These olives are nearly the size of prune plums and are a very dark black color.
30. Oil Cured black Olives = 8 olives/70 calories
31. Oil Cured Pitted Olives
32. Calabrese Olives

Most extreme Coldest town on Earth- Verkhoyansk

67° 33′ 0″ N, 133° 23′ 0″ E coordinates for Verkhoyansk or see Satellite Google Earth map

Verkhoyansk experienced a record low temperature exceeding -90 degrees Farenheit in 1892. Today the average winter temperature of this population of approximately 1500 people is -55 degrees Farenheight. The hottest extreme in the same locale ranges from 102 to 192 °F.

Related Links:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verkhoyansk
2. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0850700.html
3. http://tools.wikimedia.de/~magnus/geo/geohack.php?pagename=Verkhoyansk&params=67_33_N_133_23_E_region:RU_type:city
4. http://www.kosmosnimki.ru/index.html#mode=map&x=133.38333&y=67.549999&z=12&fullscreen=true

the Highly Explosive sQuba by Rinspeed

sQuba is the 1st functional amphibious and submersible luxury sport car.
Go see it at: Geneva Motor Show (also click title for Pravda slideshow link)
When: March 6 - 16, 2008
Ticket Links:

1. http://www.salon-auto.ch/en/pratiques/horaires.php
2. http://www.palexpo.ch/en/Manifestations/detail.php?event_id=213&year=2008

"...engineered by Esoro - What you dream is what you get."
"...The real challenge however was to create a submersible car that moves like a fish in water."
From Website: "PRESS RELEASE" http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/14/geneva-08-preview-rinspeed-squba-concept-for-the-spy-who-lov/

• Big guy at Rinspeed: Frank M. Rinderknecht
• Inspiration: Lotus Elise in 1977 James Bond movie 'The Spy Who Loved Me'.
• Rinspeed: Founded in 1979
• sQuba Development time: 30 years;
• sQuba Production time: 6 months from initial concepts to reality by Esoro


• Specs: 1st amphibious submersible luxury sport car
• Exterior Foil Skin: from Wetzel Processing Group, Hornschuch, & Foliatec
• Interior Elements: salt-water resistant, Mother of Pearl & diamond-plated non- slip abrasive inlays from Strähle + Hess and KGS Diamond
• Emissions: environmentally friendly car with ZERO emissions.
• Propulsion: two propellers, pair of Seabob jet drives, 2 electric motors
• Inside Environment: oxygen is provided through an integrated Scuba-like system
• Submersible Range: does best to 33 ft./ (10m)
• Encapsulated: open cockpit
• Land Motor: electric
• Batteries: rechargeable Lithium-Ion

Related Links:

1. http://www.topblogposts.com/2007/12/rinspeed-squba-concept/

2. http://www.softwareheadlines.com/modules/planet/view.article.php/245215

3. Video: http://www.i4u.com/article13718.html

4. http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/14/geneva-08-preview-rinspeed-squba-concept-for-the-spy-who-lov/

Simple F-A-R-A for people with family overseas

visit this link: www.fara.org/faq ]

According to some of my collegues from political organizing school they are all for their own influence on U.S. law. Most are involved in U.S. government on the mainland in some capacity. They support (not only because it is in their social interest) severing outside and international connections despite being caucasian themselves democrats who are for the greater public interest. They work on issues to help "the working conditions of"migrant workers, not to empower people with substantial overseas connections, and they exploit immigrants of all walks of life rather than helping (unless it's a social justice cause that makes them look gracious). They do not agree with people like me who are 1st generation in the U.S. This will and does exclude any outside ideas and influence that U.S. officials and Corporate owners do not consider their own;- regardless of how much corporate or other info U.S. companies or individuals rip-off.

"Rip-off"is a term used lightly in domestic matters;- however most people forget that it translates to corporate and government espionage when conducted over U.S. borders. I will never understand how this translates to a more peaceable world. It's the same mentality the Nazi's had when attempting to create a uniform nation of like minded and similar looking people. In anycase FARA was designed in 1938 to Prevent such Nazi behavior.

In 1938, FARA was Congress' response to the large number of German propaganda
agents in the pre-WWII U.S..

One example of FARA being enforced follows at the Slatetv.org/id/2085430 link:

He was charged not with espionage, but rather for "acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government." Who qualifies as a foreign agent, and why do they have to
register? http://www.slatetv.org/id/2085430

FARA is the Foreign Agent Registration Act for anyone operating on behalf of an other than U.S.A. interest outside or inside U.S. borders. This could include people who represent their family members overseas, who receive money from persons of other nations, etc.

Common questions about what FARA is and who must register: http://www.fara.gov/links/faq.html

a Brief About Lobbying: Many Political Action Committees (PACs), Animal welfare organizations, Environmental organizations, and other Charitable organizations host a lobbying day so that you can talk to your Senator, or drop by your senator's office to voice your concern over a particular issue or matter.

Public Citizen publication on FARA for Lobbying and Representing outside interests in the U.S. (nearly any U.S. Citizen can lobby): http://www.lobbyinginfo.org/documents/FARA.pdf

In old Japanese trade history; ginseng for 35% more

Oko gin (gin meaning silver in Japanese language) was specially minted circa 1650-1700's for a trade agreement with South Korea for the healthful ginseng herb. This herb was important at this time for curing sickness as well as other traditional applications. The Oko gin coin was pressed for this single trade deal and was minted with a higher purity (appx 80%) and silver content (up to 50%). The commonly used cho gin had a lower grade silver and only appx 20% content. The minting of the purer Oko gin was demanded by Korea for this trade deal when it was crucial for Japan to have the ginseng herb for remedies.

from: website
Vintage Japanese Coins: http://www.imes.boj.or.jp/cm/english_htmls/feature_gra1-9.htm
Ginseng site: http://kgc.or.kr/new_eng/?gclid=CN-Bp_790JECFQ0cHgodjwKcCA

my Similie for my being on the East Coast

It's like trying to start your own golf course in the middle of the Gobi (desert).
You need water to make a green;- yet it keeps evaporating. --- AMK

Nukes from North Korea & Kidnapped Japanese women and kids

"North Korea in February 2007 agreed with the U.S., China, Russia, Japan and South Korea to dismantle its nuclear program in exchange for 1 million metric tons of fuel oil, or equivalent aid, and normalized diplomatic ties with the U.S. and Japan.
Japan has said it won't share the cost of energy assistance until North Korea accounts for Japanese citizens it kidnapped in the 1970s and 1980s. "

From Bloomberg.com website: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?id=20601101&sid=akPkZnXiPgFE&refer=japan

North Korea kidnapped several Japanese women and children by boat from the coastlines of northern Japan. These women and children were forced to live in North Korea so that the North Koreans could learn to speak the Japanese language & infiltrate Japan. I heard this story as one of my many Japanese adopted cousins was abducted at age 12.

Additionally, the U.S. has not taken North Korea off the list of countries that support terrorism;-due to North Korea's failure to provide a Declaration of their Nuclear usage to the U.S.

Iron Ore for 65%more

Due to potentially inferior Steel product from China and China's high demand for more iron ore;- Japan's Nippon Steel & JFE and Sout Korea's Posco have agreed to pay Brazilian company Vale (VALE5.SA) 65% more for their Iron Ore in fiscal year 2008-2009 .
http://www.forbes.com/markets/equities/2008/02/18/japan-iron-ore-markets-equity-cx_vk_0218markets04.html
The Nikkei Japanese stock exchange reached its 2 week high. And, this lead to the pinnacle of Brazilian stock market in its most recent month, as Vale is heavily traded on the Bovespa index .BVSP of the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange. Brazilian currency also gained on the U.S. dollar.

"Japanese stocks climbed to a two-week high on Tuesday as trading houses such as
Itochu Corp rose on strong metals prices and big-name exporters were snapped up
by individual investors."

From website: http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSTKU00304120080219

Nippon Steel: - 2nd in the world for steel manufacturing
JFE Steel:- 3rd in the in the world for steel manufacturing
Takenaka Corporation:- One of Japan's top 5 contracting/ building firms

New: Africa Energy Comission- as Raw a field as it gets

Most of us know that this was bound to happen. It was just a question of when.
Everyone in the Japan, U.S., Germany, etc. scrambling to set up functional infrastructure, transportation systems, and working on African development in numerous African countires knows that energy is important.

What is more important is that it is in the hands of African people. Like the troubled oil industry in African regions;- an alternative energy dictatorship could become potentially beyond heinous to the people in Africa who already have expensive health care costs just to stay alive. There is an enourmous amount of physical labor involved in setting up solar collector fields, alge ponds for bio-fuels, as well as other inexpensive solar collector and energy sources to put lights in African schools for children to learn.

Today: AFREC is the newly formed African Energy Comission

About 30 energy ministers from African Union countries are in Algiers for the meeting. They have been joined by representatives from other regional and international energy groups, as well as international financial institutions.

From: website- http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h3WnzdNpBOVhMGGhFpBfnHcGkErQ

AFREC is formed just in time for discussion at the Third International Solar Conference.

U.S. Missile Launch: Toxic Fuel could impact Earth

The multimillion dollar L-21 is a U.S. satellite that could re-enter the earth's atmosphere as lethal gaseous space junk bomb. The non-navigable reconaissance satellite contains approximately 1,000 pounds (454 kg) of lethal hydrazine fuel that could impact the earth and cover the area of a small cityblock. Additionally;- any onboard information can be destroyed with a missile.

The missile launch must happen in the next week, and may be considered a show of U.S. missile capabilities to the Chinese who executed a similar missile-satellite action last year.

I'm still single

I'm still single
Originally uploaded by angela kneale

It's Valentine's Day! And, I suppose I have the pieces to a nice day alone. Though, I did get 1 sms Valentine from a sound engineer in D.C. @ midnight.
Hugs...


1. Amy's Roasted Vegetable pizza -no cheese with shiitake muchroom, roasted red pepper, and sweet onion @$7.00 at Wegmans, Tops, Acme, Superfresh

2. Kosher Wine: Recanati from Galilee, Israel- the Yasmin 2006 white is Kosher and 65% Emerald Riesling, 20% Savignon Blanc, 15% French Columbard. I got this bottle at Red Feet Wine in Ithaca, NY appx $15.00

3. Piano Keys: Yamaha digital stage piano

4. Piano Music: one of my favorites to play...Brahms Paganini Variations Urtext edition $30.00

5. Reason I no longer date: Stained Glass Heart given to me by after nerve wracking presentation where his sports car could have killed me as I crossed the street, he slammed on the brakes, jumped out of the car and gave me this piece of art (all in between my crossing the street from my car to my house years ago). Cost: Priceless

Valentine's Day Conception: November 15-24

Do you have a birthday that is approximately 9 months away from Valentine's Day?
This would be appx. November 15 to 24th. Seemed like mom & dad were aiming for having a Thanksgiving babe. Or was is just a Valentine's day conception.
I'm one of these kids, I was conceived on Valentine's day... I've met a couple others... who else is out there?

Jammy Trend from Japan: Puchi Puchi (say it Poochy Poochy)

Ïnfinate Bubble Wrap Hot Trend... You can carry it around and punch the bubble wrap simulated buttons all day! and then, it makes a sound like a dog bark or a game sound of achievement. They're about $12 USD. Click on the above link to see the commercial, feel the song and then order your "puchi puchi"!
I'm groovin to: I want a puchi puchi... gimme your puchi puchi... I like my puchi puchi...

also... see a review of puchipuchi in English

I took the Middle Path

"Inspired by Buddhism, this philosophy stresses the "middle path" as an overriding principle for appropriate conduct and way of life of all people, at individual, community, business and government levels.Sufficiency means moderation, reasonableness and resilience to rapid changes."

From: International Herald Tribune "The wisdom of the 'middle path' Honor fit for a king"
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/25/opinion/edanand.php
-

My mother always, always told me to take the middle path for as long as I can remember. I was raised with Shojin ryori values before I knew anything about animal rights and veganism. The U.S. nuked Japan and it directly & severly impacted my life by the time I was 7.
Despite my growing up as a baptized & confirmed Lutheran (The St. John's Evangelical Lutheran church were the racist community values that taught me self-hatred due to my race & ethnicity;- though I had to show community participation as part of this lifelong cultural exchange.)

Here's the article about an action from a decade ago about my then "questionable & radical" behavior.

Changes with Angle

Here are a couple of photos of yours truly. I look so different depending on angle. The B&W was taken by myself up close. The one of me in the red was taken by Diana from afar. They say bi-racial photos are difficult to capture because we look different from every angle!

Thirteen Minutes

Positvely wonderful: Thirteen Minutes magazine popped out at me on the newstand for a change with the music coverage in it's recent issue. That is more specifically, Vol. 2 Issue 3 for $5.99 + tax at the local Borders.
includes in the Music feature issue: Mary Digby, Gackt Oshiro, and Ayumi Hamasaki Also, there are many articles written by Asian Americans, And it offers a refreshing change of featuring Asian influenced models.

Though, I admit I was cringing each time I flipped through Thirteen Minutes magazine the page to see a starkly Aryan European model. I think it's bad enough that completely white people try to pass themselves off as exotic, let alone their latest development in saying that they are Asian and bully their way through a completely mispronounced reading of romaji for Tibetan, Japanese, Chinese and declaring that they are capable of understanding everything Asian. No I don't necessarily mean the models, I mean their subclades of modern fashion and "progressive" acceptance.

Let's delve into culture further and please attend an NYU opening of Kip Fulbeck's the Hapa Project coming next month. I am a halvsie and I am disgusted with the gross racism that is directed at me. Go get a clue at NYU.

you understand...spooks

The other night, yes after 33 years on the planet, I was talking to a man who seemed to fully understand my sentence: "My dad used to run spooks."
He told me to tell my father thank-you, because he wouldn't be alive as a high-calibur person if it weren't for some of the work my father did.This stranger who said thanks is a competant engineer/builder/marksman/beyond master-diver, etc.

Everyone else just thinks I'm crazy.

Recent Movie Review...

Mad Money- super movie for women of all ages to watch. Feel good crime movie of women improving their lives by ripping off the National Treasury of worthless paper that
is taken out of circulation.
National Treasure- Tried to watch it... got a phone call
seemed like an interesting puzzle table tale with a nice gold city carved in the ending. Somehow it was like deja vu and other treasure seeking movies I've seen.
Rambo- This time it was completely realistic. Really.
Untraceable- Grotesque and somewhat like X-files without the sound effects, similar story line with a rampant murderer.
Atonement- Beautiful movie and story (minus the war images). Tasteful & well done.
Cloverfield- Just short of being better than seeing the filming of a nuclear bomb dropped on Manhattan. This was a downer with killer effects.
Meet the Spartans- Nice compliment to seeing the intense Rambo flick. Light, airy with attractive people and blurred crotch shots. Somebody had fun making this one...and politically even-handed with Ellen DeGeneres and G.W. Bush characters going to the Pit of Death.
There will be blood- Long arse, down to earth, oil prospecting, dirty/clean business story of success. A good make out session, plotting time, just kick back and go...though no waves of hysteria.

Reasons to Hate Everyone

I love you I love you mwah mewah mwah xoxoxo

I've gotten so sick of hearing the tired war comments of reasons why people hate me because i'm direct descent of an Imperial Japanese family... here is a list (to be updated) that I should hate everyone around me...

1. Americans because they Dropped Nuclear bombs on Japan and have affected my health for the rest of my life.

2. Russians for putting my Japanese uncle in Siberian prison camp where he was 1% of total survivors of 1200 Japanese.

2. Koreans for constantly antagonizing, stalking, and harassing me on the East Coast (not to mention war problems with Japan and U.S. --- my great uncle Jo was a tank commander in the Korean war).

3. Japanese for bombing Pearl Harbor (my great uncle eddie was in the Navy and at Pearl harbor at that time... he makes an effort to be civil with my Japanese mother)

4. Chinese... for nearly breaking my arm when I visited a Jook Lum studio in Philly's China town with a musical colleague who does his Praying Mantis style there.

5. American particularly white men (see note*) for always taking from me and never outrightly helping me. They always take more money and time from me than I can afford... and then not to mention the humiliation of the fact that they then do nothing to help and everything to see my demise.
note*: I'm not speaking of the run of the mill beer drinker... I mean more like the political affectors & large entrepreneurial personalities.

Enough for now before I create a list of high-end names that have adversely impacted my life here in the States not including my calls to the ATF, RAIIN.org, Homeland Security, etc. etc. . And then i'm expected to live like a normal person.... so I ask... with what besides my arse?

Valentine's PAC Sun Tour- Ny Area

What: The Audition featuring Envy On the Coast / Danger Radio / Another Day
Where: The Loft Poughkeepsie, NY
When: Thu, 02/14/08 06:30 PM

I purchased a Hurley bag that says Hurley all over it and in freezer pop colors this weekend and was given the PAC Tour Cd sampler and told I could get tickets for this week. Apparently, with some rumor that they would be stopping in & nearby the local Ithaca store.

aaaargh... though just checking the Pac Sun site reminded me that I left my Billabong bikini at the gym...ooops.

Rambo & Untraceable- Please don't support Violence

Over the weekend I caught up on movies with the wretchedly disgusting Untraceable only paralelled by the recent release of Rambo in grotesque violence. Though even after being invited to and attending a talk given by a Burmese monk on Burma at Cornell University (approximately the same time when Japanese reporter Kenji Nagai was killed); - at least Rambo is somewhat progressive in communicating how brutal Burma can be. see an example of real-life footage on Kenji Nagai Though, my Japanese upbringing still tells me that I should not support violence. It is still a hyper politically charged issue to financially support violence in any way. It's not a matter of "turning-away" so much as it is a matter of cutting of financial support that sustains that environment.
Boycotts are normal in the consumer world. In the political & financial world of global commerce the same type of "boycott" action is taking by cutting funding to those terse and ill regions. There is still more that can be done; - none of which is a humane approach to solving the problem. Like rat poison;- people are affected by everything they come in contact with. Weather it kills the enemy or weakens them;- everything is fair in war. Cutting funding to the plight is the best action in entirety. I can also speak from personal experience on that here in the U.S. however- it is an entirely different and seperate matter from attending a talk on Burma. During the talk provided by the Burmese monk, I was thankful that my exposure to Asian languages helped me understand the talk more than what the translator presented to us in English. Somehow all those nuances are lost and people get the "soundbite"version of what is going on without the descript storytelling impacting them at the time of the talk. Then you couple that with some photos after a 2 hr. session and you have one long-arse version of a Cnn report. I'll clean up this article in a bit.

The Mach 5 - a first in anime from Japan to the U.S.

The original Japanese anime entitled "Mach GoGoGo" was created with inspiration from Viva Las Vegas and Goldfinger and imported to the U.S. as "Speed Racer". I grew up in the States watching Speedracer as a kid, watched the 3am MTV version while in College eating spaghetti after piano practice because the building closed, and just can't wait to see the Speed Racer movie!

Speed Racer Pages:
About Speedracer
Official Speedracer Site: www.speedracer.com
http://home.alphalink.com.au/~roglen/speed.htm
http://www.rassi.com/speed-racer.html

High Performance Hybrids

Still a far cry from 007's, the James Bond amphibious Lotus Esprit; the Lotus Exige is a Real-live-ready-2-drive Hybrid of Interest...

"And Lotus does it with a 1.8-liter inline-4 that gives you the kind of great fuel economy you'd expect from a Prius."

From : Driver Review of Lotus Exige 2008 at Edmunds

Grand Prix racing season is upon us and the closest race track to this blogger in Watkins Glen, NY will have its first major race June 3-6, 2008.

"Lotus is credited with making the mid-engined layout popular for Indycars, developing the first monocoque Formula 1 chassis, and the integration of the engine and transaxle as chassis components. Lotus was also among the pioneers in Formula 1 in adding wings and shaping the undersurface of the car to create downforce, as well as the first to move radiators to the sides in the car to aid in aerodynamic performance, and inventing active suspension."

From Wikipedia entry on Lotus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Cars

Links
2008 Exige S 240: concept carz : wikipedia link : Edmunds
2008 USA Exige S 220
2008 UK Exige S 220

Lotus 265E

"The new 265E version is powered by the same-old supercharged Toyota engine as the familiar Exige S, but this time runs on bio-ethanol meaning around 70% less carbon dioxide emissions and 44bhp more go. Sounds virtuous? Well as 0-60mph arrives in 3.88 seconds and the top speed is a hugely illegal 158mph your virtue may be in jeopardy. Your honour."

From: Greener Machine blog at www.greenermachine.com

Get more online about the Saving 4 Change:

$"2.80 per gallon currently is a “psychological turning point for consumers,” says David Tompkins, executive director of business solutions at Edmund"

From: Edmunds Blog:
Yet I wonder why people have cars if they all have to scrape to fill the gastank? Next: Price tag of the Exige...

Lotus Sport Exige (243 HP): 15 in production at appx. $80,000.00 USD
About Lotus

The Company (Group Lotus) also acts as an engineering consultancy, providing engineering development - particularly of suspension - for other car manufacturers. The lesser known Powertrain department is responsible for the design and development of the 4 cylinder engine found in many of GM's Vauxhall, Opel, Saab, and possibly some Saturn cars. It should however be noted that the current Lotus Elise and Exige models use the 1.8L VVTL-i I4 from Toyota's late Celica GT-S and the Matrix XRS.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Cars

The Exige 265E is a factory-built Exige S optimized to run on E85, comprised of 85% ethanol. The higher octane of this biofuel allows a higher compression ratio and/or more supercharger boost. Lotus says it has no intention to build the 265E (E for Experimental) as a production car, and that it is simply a biofuels demonstrator. According to Lotus, the Exige 265E model has the following specifications:

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Exige


Additional Link Credits:
Hemmings Auto Blogs
QV500.com

Porsche Panamera

J-Pop for February

It's rare to see a popular Japanese face (bijin) here on the East Coast USA.
There is such a density of people of Korean and Chinese descent on the East Coast of the USA that most people who haven't had exposure or travel to Japanese culture, beauty, aesthetic assume that all people of Asiatic peoples are the same (see list of Asian Nations).

So, without further adieu;- here's a list of "must-know bands" from this month's Shojo Beat Please comment with other suggestions!

Asian Kung Fu Generation
L'Arc~en~Ciel
Every Little Thing
SMAP
Utada Hikaru
M-flowDragon Ash
Crystal Kay

Consulting - to get paid or give away?

Yesterday I attended a "logo meeting" for a new and upcoming not-for-profit entity.
More specifically for a group of artists in the field of movement & dance. I was the only non-white person present despite my stressed out bleached hair and colored contacts. Their designer was present and after the meeting was over, (mind my personal comment;)- a typical white male with a ponytail who just took a word that means "One body" and visually turned it into the name of an Irish woman who is called grandmother in German. I don't care how the white male consultant "looks". I've met many male "designers" who seem to think that they are doing right by everyone. In anycase, after the meeting I wanted to unjoin entirely from the very white mindset that dominated the day. Yet at this point to give my professional opinion (as i have done professional business entity creation) is costing me (not them) my time as a mixed-race woman. To give away? or can i afford my opinion?

help.

Ice Falls at Baie Finn in the Winter

Here are a few photos of the frozen McGregor Bay and Baie Finn area in Ontario Canada. It is a popular boating and Yachting area during the warmer summer months.
We arrived by snowmobile in the blistery cold.


Here's a photo of me with my friend in front of the Ice Falls.

Presidential Address

Tonight I was fortunate enough to try some Safari Liqueur while watching the presidential address. I was mortified while listening to Bush's speech. Liqueur...a bunch of beers earlier, some Thai food... and then Bush's Presidential address happened. His economy proposal for the nation that may only take the form of carbon credits... the Medicare plan that may be for the self insured retiree candidates with high incomes only (I’ve heard over $100,000/ year). And the continual war on terrorism with the U.S. military is able to hire its own civilians for special ops. ...an idea that mortifies me... because then how is the world to determine what is truly terrorist versus what is truly America's (the U.S.) since there is such racism and nationalism with in the United States. Or, that people like my father who can shoot well as a Class 1 could potentially eliminate the other side of my family in Japan. ;- Or, occurrences of like instances with other families and friends scenarios. Additionally, the fact that the U.S has gotten our asses kicked hard in Iraq and that we still cannot return home. It seems that 40 years of isolation would do it here in the U.S.
The perpetual reign of the U.S. enterprise over the citizens here to eliminate funding and force people to join the military and participate in the infrastructure change or a heightened "homeland security"...as the U.S. corporation makes significant job cuts to stay afloat and enable an elite Executive lifestyle that leaves the majority of U.S. citizens grasping for ways to live. Is the American public really going to perpetuate more of the bourgeois corporate elite by sacrificing more of today's youth just to save the increasing crime rate due to loss of jobs and an overall participatory economy?

Halvsies!!!

!

Mobile to Mobile or Landline Calling

REBTEL; Free to RebIn Countries and nominal cost to RebOut countries; see partial RebIn list below.

After posting some usual solutions to expensive overseas and not-in the local calling area phone charges; I was introduced to Rebtel. Simple; Pay $1 USD/ week and call any RebIn country for $0.00/ minute. There is a small amount of front end user work to do to make this work; It is time well spent.

If some of the concepts here seem too confusing to you for any reason; think of this as if setting up a conference call between 2 users. You basically set up a number to have the person you're calling to contact you. The difference is that there is no "set" calling time. You, the caller contact their phone and they hang up and dial into a local number that you have assigned for them even though you never hang up on them...stay and wait for them to return your call.

$1 a week to these countries and more through Rebbing
Some of the Countries that I saw included for RebInare:
USA mainland
Argentina
Belgium
Brazil
Chile
Singapore
Portugal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
United Kingdom

Rebtel is a super solution. You can even add your Outlook contacts (beta).

RebOut
Rebtel RebOut offers the Mobile user to make affordable calls using the existing Cell phone plan; countries that are not in Blue (Blue indicates RebIn at this link). There is a current $1 weekly fee that must be paid, and there is billing as a normal local call rate (so if your local call is $0.26/ min your Rebtel call will be the cost + the $0.26/min.) So, check your current landline or cell. phone plan to see your call cost.

For emergencies it wouldn't hurt to have the service as a backup. Most Mobile companies are still charging upwards of $1 per minute for international mobile to mobile or mobile to landline calls. And yes, there is SMS text messaging available.

For someone Helping a family in need in Namibia; Here's an example of regular calling to a Country like Namibia (very expensive to start with);

Namibia through Rebtel is $0.27 cents to a mobile and $0.15 to a landland from the Mainland USA. Rebtel is 5 to 10 cents less per minute from the traditional plans, and some calling cards.

The Rebtel user here is a RebOut caller. This RebOut means that a nominal fee will be incurred for per minute useage plus any local calling charges. The Rebtel caller will have a local number set up for the call recipient to call into.



Readers: Please let me know if there are any corrections that I can make to improve this article.
Sign into Rebtel and register.

Phone to Phone Calling

Re: Phone to Phone calling...
Free rates apply to registered Jajah users (both caller and call recipient)
The low rates apply when there is at least 1 unregistered Skype user. Registration does not change the Phone provider. This service, as I have experienced it is independent of the cell phone service provider or landline service provider.
You might ask, "Then why use Jajah?".
For international calls especially, I like to receive calls on my mobile phone.
However, my mobile company charges me $1.32 to $1.50 a minute for calls.
I got sick of having to go to the convenience stores to buy international calling cards at the $10 at $0.06/min to Asia. Or punching in over 26 numbers and waiting to make calling card calls.

Jajah is a solution for me due to the simplicity. My rates through Jajah are approximately 1/10th of what I would pay to my cell phone carrier.
I can talk for reasonable amounts of time and send text messages at a better rate!

Read below for a variety of common options for reduced cost communication!!!
++++++++++++++++++
1: Phone to Phone calling (minimal use of computer)
No Download needed. Online registration required. Free calling from phone to phone in your Zone.

www.jajah.com - Domestic and International Phone calls & Text Messaging.

Jajah is great for the person who wants to make calls without all the computer gear; ie, video cam and headset. You don't necessarily need your computer after registration, but you do need your own phone and the person you're calling needs to have a phone. You talk through your phone at a reduced or free rate compared to some traditional calling plans. The rate is sometimes 1/10th of the normal cost of International overseas calling rates! It is very low cost compared to packaged International calling rates from your landline. (see rates here) That's 3 yen/minute Junko Obasan to Takenaka san!!! Not 10 yen/ minute.

Also, your grandmother, or mine in that far away land won't need computer access.
You can quickly patch the call through to your loved one and they only need their phone. And, you can use your phone handset/headset and walk around your house! No being attached to the computer for any reason...commonly found with using PC to phone calling through Yahoo or MSN or Skype.

Mobile phone to Mobile phone or Phone
www.jajah.com - Mobile to Mobile free calling. New! Check out the required Mobile phone to use this Jajah feature and use of a computer to register your number with Jajah. It seems you must still have a regular calling plan; though if you're calling out of the country this feature can be very useful. Some mobile plans charge up to $1.50/ minute of air time to Outside countries. Jajah can make those calls more affordable.

Free calling on a fixed budget

Free calling/ communication options for those who are on a tight or fixed budget. There are some business plans available as well as family packages.
First, here are some rates and my reasoning for using these great services!


Skype Rates per Minute in USD $
Helsinki Finland $0.031
Japan $0.025
Japan (mobile) $0.154
New Zealand $0.021
New Zealand (mobile) $0.310

North American Rates for Skype are Free until the end of 2006.(11/24/06)


Free rates apply to registered Jajah users (both caller and call recipient)
The low rates apply when there is at least 1 unregistered Skype user and compare to posted the Skype rates I listed above.
Registration does not change the Phone provider.
This service, as I have experienced it is independent of your cell phone service provider.
You might ask, "Then why use Jajah?".
For international calls especially, I like to receive calls on my mobile phone.
However, my mobile company charges me $1.32 to $1.50 a minute for calls.
I got sick of having to go to the convenience stores to buy international calling cards
or punching in over 26 numbers and waiting to make calling card calls.
Jajah is a solution for me to the simplicity. My rates through Jajah are approximately 1/10th of what I would pay to my cell phone carrier.
I can talk for reasonable amounts of time and send text messages at a better rate!

Read below for a variety of common options for reduced cost communication!!!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1: Phone to Phone calling (minimal use of computer)
No Download needed. Online registration required. Free calling from phone to phone in your Zone.

www.jajah.com - Domestic and International Phone calls & Text Messaging.

Jajah is great for the person who wants to make calls without all the computer gear; ie, video cam and headset. You don't necessarily need your computer after registration, but you do need your own phone and the person you're calling needs to have a phone. You talk through your phone at a reduced or free rate compared to some traditional calling plans. The rate is sometimes 1/10th of the normal cost of International overseas calling rates! It is very low cost compared to packaged International calling rates from your landline. (see rates here)

Mobile phone to Mobile phone or Phone
www.jajah.com - Mobile to Mobile free calling. New! Check out the required Mobile phone to use this Jajah feature and use of a computer to register your number with Jajah. It seems you must still have a regular calling plan; though if you're calling out of the country this feature can be very useful. Some mobile plans charge up to $1.50/ minute of air time to Outside countries. Jajah can make those calls more affordable.

Free downloads, free communication, Computer to computer
www.imvu.com - for gamers and kids mostly. - chat in 3D. No real live video.

IMVU requires time, definately. It is a constructed world in 3D much like the old moos and muds. There are many choices for your character and settings. You must have sufficient memory to run this one too - though most computers today will do. And a tolerance for teenage antics including pulling wedgies on your character.
I have found few adults hanging out on this site. But an interesting crowd none the less. IMVU is in 3D chat style and allows the user to participate in simulated real world settings, purchase clothes to dress your 3D character, and purchase hotel rooms and such for your characters to hook up in the online fantasy land. The chatters or users are real people. Includes a web page that can be decorated. 3D snapshots of people/ characters you meet to be added to your website. etc.

Computer to computer or Computer to Phone

www.skype.com - Video, Computer to Phone, Chat, send files - Requires download
Skype has a calling option to call from your computer to a landline or other phone numer. However, you must purchase Skype credit in order to do this. There is a small fee to call internationally to a land line. It is not a substitute for calling out for emergencies to 911. You cannot send files on a call to a landline. Nor can you see the person you are calling.
Chat & video conference free internationally from computer to computer; much like MSN Messenger or Yahoo Instant Messanger. There is a video option for video calls/ chat.

File transfers can occur without having a Yahoo or MSN related email address to manage additionally.

You can make calls to phones anyplace in the world ( for a small fee - *for free and the best rates I've found: try looking at Jajah for free calling to land lines and mobile phones).

MSN Messenger - PC to Phone, Video, Chat, Games, email, send files
Sign up for an email account with Hotmail for your friends to contact you. Though, it is not the only email option, it is part of setting up your messenger user account. You can set up with a video camera and headset on your computer to have a direct conversation and see the person who you're speaking with in Real time.
There are newer features from the old messenger to call internationally and locally to mobile and landlines. Now with a feature making it compatible with YIM or Yahoo Instant Messenger buddies!

http://messenger.yahoo.com/ - PC to Phone, Video, Chat, Games, email, send files
A great way to communicate and send files, start by setting up a free Yahoo account. You can set up with a video camera and headset on your computer to have a direct conversation and see the person who you're speaking with in Real time. There is PC to phone calling for approximately 1 cent per minute. It's nearly 75% more expensive than using Jajah. And, I have to compare the rates with Skype.




Rev: 11/24/2006

About Recruitment

Over the past Decade I have learned a variety of recruitment methods; all grassroots/ 1 on 1.

Reading sites about a variety of companies who market products through individuals has really perked my attention on the Recruitment matter.

There are several instances that I can think about:

1. Many people grew up fundraising door to door for baseball, soccer, the senior trip, or for their favorite campy/ militant survival club. (that's honest to many people and harmless)

2. Many people have engaged in door-to-door people of faith recruitment procedures; depending on what faith they try to muster. (that's being devoted to many people and not an offensive nuisance)

3. Many people jump on a political bandwagon without studying politics and work for change. (that's considered smart work to many people and not the actions of charlatans)

4. Many people expect to be recruited for the Military. And, some are willing to "fight"for this country. They're recruited and don't know what will happen to them; whether they return live, dead, or severely injured. (that's considered brave, courageous, and admirable to many people and not with a total lack of respect to the taxpayers and families who are forced to afford such brazen actions)

With these things in my mind, how can I possibly not justify learning more, and furthering my education in some the systems that exist? Whether it's for people, the environment we live in, the creatures of the planet, making money, or any other fun adventure.... why is recruitment and learning such a scary and loathed subject by so many people?

Voting the Humane USA way

Today I went to the Polls. The new voting booths are in.... all electrical with buttons. No more ancient levers are there to pull. And, the volunteers seem to be very happy to show people how the booths work. The volunteer even stepped in the booth and pushed a bunch of buttons and then left. So I had to clear his inputs with my own. Talk about intent!!!

Because I'm a U.S. born citizen of 1st generation and 1/2 Japanese descent, I took more than 1.5 weeks researching my voting selections. And, then I visited my favorite PAC (political action committee) online; Humane USA. They have a list of Endorsements and you can see their questionairre if you visit the home page.

I voted according to their endorsed candidates. Not because they told me to. I was happy that after I researched my voting choices that they Matched up with Humane USA. Many considerations went into my voting for this 2006 election. Earlier in the week I read that Bob Casey (D) has been funding organizations and companies in N. Korea and other countries where there is terrorist activity. I couldn't vote for Casey due to the NY Times article I read about this. Additionally, I know my Obasan or Grandmother (as well as other family members up to 60+) in Japan is/are living in the N. Korean missile testing area.

The following from Humane USA political animal issue #15

PENNSYLVANIA: Ed Rendell (D). Gov. Rendell has been a leader in cracking down on Pennsylvania’s notorious “puppy mills.” He is appointing a state prosecutor charged with regulating the state’s 2,500 kennels, and is proposing legislative changes to strengthen penalties for abuse.

I realize that I am a minority in this state, and that there is still a horrid amount of racism that I and others experience. I can only put my trust in those who show compassion towards animals it seems. And, keep my future hope open to those who will show compassion and help futher fair Human rights treatment here in this State of Pennsylvania.

The following from Humane USA political animal issue #15

PENNSYLVANIA: Rick Santorum (R). Sen. Santorum is one of the Senate’s strongest champions for animals. He has consistently led efforts to increase funding for enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, and animal fighting law. He is also the author of legislation to crack down on abusive “puppy mills.”