According to Meredith Sayles Hughes in her book, Cool as a Cucumber, Hot as a Pepper, the “Jamaicans are credited with giving the avocado the nickname ‘alligator pear’. The English-speaking people of this West Indian island - once a Spanish colony - substituted the word ‘alligator’ for aguacate, the Spanish term for ‘avocado’, and added ‘pear’ for the fruit’s pearlike shape. The commercial avocado industry discourages the use of this name, perhaps fearing that consumers won’t want to buy or eat something associated with a ‘gator.”

Nutrient content Avocados are sodium and cholesterol free. There is only five grams of fat per serving, most of which is monounsaturated. The National Cancer Institute and the Produce for Better Health Foundation include recipes for avocados in their meal plans. UCLA has recently discovered that lutein, a carotenoid, found in avocados helps to protect or prevent prostate cancer. Vital nutrients contained in avocados are:

* vitamin E, which helps “mop up” free radicals that can damage cells and lead to disease
* glutathione, which functions as an antioxidant like vitamin E
* beta-sitosterol, which helps lower blood cholesterol

In addition to Lutein preventing prostate cancer, it also helps prevent eye disease. Ounce for ounce avocados contain more fiber, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folate than any other commonly eaten fruit.

Peak season: Available year round. Ninety-five percent of the United States’ avocados are grown in California’s warm climate which lends itself to year round growing. The other five percent is grown in Florida.

Selection: Test avocados by feeling the skin. If the skin yields to slight pressure, then it is fully ripe.

Storage: Avocados can be refrigerated for a short period of time if sprinkled with lemon or lime juice and placed in an airtight container. If the avocado is not completely ripe, it can be wrapped in newspaper and stored with an apple or banana. Another way to ripen is to store one to three days at room temperature. For fully ripened avocados, they can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days in the vegetable compartment. Avocados will spoil at temperatures below 43° F.

Preparation: Cut in half around the pit. You can use both hands and twist the two halves in opposite directions to break away from the pit. Remove the pit by hand or a knife if it does not come away easily. Immediately sprinkle the flesh with lemon or lime juice to prevent browning. You can use a vegetable peeler to take skin off if avocado is going to be used in salads.

REPORT CARDS - Kerrey Madler’s Reality Check

6:30 am
I’m not a morning person, so I need motivation to get out of the warm, cozy comfort of my bed. So I think of miso soup and soy milk, yum. While water boils for miso soup, I squint at the list of freezer stuff on the fridge door. I think I’ll thaw the All-around turkey burgers for dinner. I drink my miso with two cubes of tofu and pepper added, and scarf down a banana. While the soy milk is heating up in the microwave, I throw on some clothes for work. I add multigrain Cheerios, a store brand cause it’s cheaper, to my soy milk, and grab a frozen entre’e (Taj Gourmet Chicken Tandoori with Vegetables),a bottle of frozen iced tea, a fruit yogurt cup and an orange for lunch, grapes for snacking.

8:00 am
I power-walked to work from the train station for 20 minutes and my runners squeak on the tile floor. There’s a cafe’ in the building, and I buy a tall latte with milk and sugar, and grab a small blueberry muffin to snack on later.

10:30am
The nutman came around, so I buy a package of pistachios and chocolate chip cookies from him. And I scoop some orange juice concentrate I’ve kept in the fridge at work straight from the container to my mouth.

12:30pm
Why didn’t the printer work, I don’t get it. The manual doesn’t help at all. I mull over the printer and layout problems as I heat my Taj Gourmet entre’e in the microwave. (Chicken and veggies in a tangy tomato sauce with brown rice and peas.) My iced tea is partially melted, and I sip the liquid. Fruit yogurt and orange polished off, I head for my walk with my powerwalk buddies, Claire and Rina. It’s 2 blocks to their office building, and 4 miles to the parliament grounds and back.

3:00pm
Ah, the pleasures of afternoon tea. If only I didn’t have to do that layout over. The iced tea is mostly melted, and the cold liquid is soothing. I go for a stretch in the ladies’ washroom and come back to savor my blueberry muffin, green seedless grapes and a V8 I bought from the convenience store.

7:00pm
Worked overtime to get work done before deadline. I don’t like heavy dinners, but I make sure they’re balanced just the same. The turkey burgers go between whole wheat slices of bread melted with a pile of grated Cheddar cheese. While the burgers are cooking in the microwave, I get some frozen peas, fresh broccoli florets, cans of beans, corn kernels and tomato paste and a scoop of couscous for dinner. I use a lot of olive oil, garlic for my vegetable concoctions. Dinner is interrupted by a phone call from a friend I haven’t seen in awhile. Josh and I plan to take a walk and lunch together tomorrow.

8:30pm
I watch tv snacking on almonds, a peach, baby carrots and a slice of berry pie. I take Squibbles, my pooch, out for a walk, check my mail and email, and brush my teeth. Then I pick up a book and read till 11:00pm or so before catching some zzzs.

Report Card
Our in-house R.D. Heather Simmons-McKinnon gives Kerrey’s diet a passing grade. Overall, this one day in Kerrey’s eating life is a picture of balanced nutrition, but she gets a bit less calcium than she needs. Kerrey is 22 and needs at least 1 000 mg of calcium a day. Kerrey is getting somewhere around 900 mg.

But she gets high marks elsewhere: Kerrey gets more than 200 percent the recommended dietary intake for vitamins A, Bs, C and E with servings of fruits and vegetables all day. She also gets a good dose of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. She’s getting enough zinc from the nuts, and she gets lots of iron and enough fat and cholesterol for health from a combination of nuts, raw fruit and veggies, whole grains and indulgences.

Kerrey’s physical activity leaves room for indulging in berry pie, chocolate chip cookies and lattes with milk. Kerrey’s total calorie intake is around 1500 calories after subtracting the ones she spent on exercise. Kerrey can boost her calorie intake by eating a heartier breakfast or a bigger dinner.

First of all, do comparison shopping before you select a prepaid calling card. Don’t purchase the very first prepaid calling card you see. Examine various prepaid credit cards available from other phone companies and do a comparison of the cost and usage terms. Although it is tempting to buy a card with the cheapest price, don’t do it unless you have examined it thoroughly.

All cards display their calling rates for each minute boldly on their cards and their commercials. But, the other issues such as call connection fees and the usage terms are barely mentioned. Second, always notice the little print that is usually unexpected. The reason for this is that when you begin to use the lesser priced calling cards you might discover that the connection fees are very expensive and you will pay more in the long run than you pay for the calls.

The issue is that the amount the business loses each minute when they charge a cheaper rate is surely compensated for by higher rate they charge to connect you. This can be very costly for the ones that pretty much make short calls. It might cost several dollars to be connected, even though the charge for each minute might be a few cents. For example if the connection fee is $1.50, then you will have to pay $1.50 each time you use the card for making calls. If you only make short calls, you will wind up making many more calls for the specific face value of a particular card than if you bought a card with a per minute call rate that costs just a little bit more but that has a low or even no connection charge at all. So make an adequate comparison between the prepaid cards that are available considering the purpose and length of the calls you intend to make.

Remember the price for connecting calls for long distance and international calls since most likely the price for those will be higher. Some of the prepaid calling cards have a maximum charge of $3 for every international call. More than the already discussed hidden fees are taxes, rounding and maintenance costs. For instance if the card has a 5 minute rounding standard then you will have to pay for 5 minutes although your telephone conversation just lasted for 2 minutes. A lot of people don’t realize that they are paying these hidden fees, and they end up spending a lot of money.

It is also essential to examine the billing increments for every card. Learn about the available billing increments for the cards. For instance, if calls are billed in three minute intervals then you are required to pay the amount of 6 minutes although you only talked for 4 minutes. You can save a lot of money if you have the right billing increments.

That there is a fee to be paid if you call from a pay phone is another factor that you must consider. The fee is mandated by the FCC, however it can also be different for each company. Various charges might apply when calls are made with a cell phone and a prepaid calling card is used. In addition you need to know if the type of card you are considering can be recharged. It is important to shop around and find the best card for your needs.

Looking for love,

I walk to Starbucks
for an iced latte — watch
a man, sitting at a table,
cut open a mango
and eat it with a spoon,
in tidy, delicate bites.

I eat my mangos in private–
standing over the sink
slurping, while juices run
down my elbows,
hairs catch between my teeth
golden pulp gluts my throat
in orgiastic pleasure.

Iced latte is good,
anywhere.

You should also peruse pages just like these pages at this web site, so that you become familiar with what is out there. See what publishers are buying. Are they interested in free verse more than fixed verse? (That is a no-brainer) Are the publishers looking for short plays? Find out what new contests are over the next horizon. There is a treasure trove to be discovered here. You will get tips on writing of course, but there is much, much more. You will learn where to sell specialized articles. You can find addresses of hundreds of magazines like golf magazines, bowling magazines, Internet magazines, etc.

Don’t be afraid of email. Why? This is for the simple fact that the best job sources are usually newsletters and newsgroups for writers. To get a detailed list of these, subscribe to the last issue of The Write Site and immediately you will be sent the latest newsletter with thousands of jobs and countless writing lists, including job listings for writers.

Also, the Internet is another source of many publishers. Do many Internet searches for poetry publishers, prose publishers, magazines. **Always be sure to check additional web sites at the bottom of the search window.**

Before submitting, familiarize yourself with the ezine or magazine. Also read some of the content before submitting. This is possibly the most important thing that any writer must do. Pay very careful attention to the guidelines. Word count, deadlines, and query information MUST be followed to the letter.

Should I be giving away all these tips? Why, of course, we are fellow writers! Now start clicking those keys, guys:)

Is there any wonder why it’s harder than ever for a girl to get a date at college?

Drum roll please….Penn State University feminists showed their true colors by presenting C**tFest and SexFaire. Both events were funded by the university and “celebrated” women through tactics such as live nude performances, a “Tent of Consent” (later shut down by the university), and the proclamation of white males as the common enemy of all oppressed. Enlarged papier-ma^che’ female genitals were used as cups to serve punch. Soaps in the shape of private parts were passed out as favors. In the hypocritical tone reflected by most of today’s radical feminists, Penn State activists protested when a Hooters franchise threatened to move into the campus community, claiming the restaurant objectified women and threatened women’s safety on campus. The message sent to campus males was pretty obvious: women like objectification, but only when they are the objects of other women.

Next up….Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, which graced college campuses in 43 states. As part of the V-Day Initiative (yes, “V” stands for “vagina”), college feminists were encouraged to perform the play in an effort to “reclaim the word,” or as one participant exclaimed, turn the word “vagina” into something positive for women-such as mother goddess. Regardless of how the rest of campus women or men felt about the play, posters with painted renditions of female genitalia were scattered across many college campuses and participants were encouraged to buy V-Day Initiative t-shirts that contained the aforementioned graphic. Traditional Valentine’s Day celebrations were shunned in favor of V-Day. No men with candy or flowers allowed, unless in a manner celebrating, or reclaiming, a body part that was once considered private.

Item number three: Author and commentator Ann Coulter was excessively harassed while speaking at Duke University and, more recently, Cornell University (her alma mater). At Duke the campus feminists berated her for her views on abortion and the Violence Against Women Act. Cornell was even less kind, hurling oranges at her before she was almost physically attacked. All in all, women’s groups were militant, settling for low blows to Coulter’s intelligence and appearance and practicing their pitching with oranges.

Ciallis, or TADALAFIL, in some patients works within one half hour, very fast, and can last up to 36 hours. The advantage of this is that you can have intercourse when the time is right for both you and your partner. Remember that your results can vary, so talk to your physician today to see if Cialis is the right drug for you. Studies have shown that for up to 36 hours after taking a single dose of Cialis, men with ED were able to have one successful intercourse attempt. Tadalafil has not been studied to see if it is able to sustain several sexual attempts from one dose.

Both drugs have side effects: four hour erections? Results vary for every man… try taking both of them and see what the effects are. Cialis is a more recent drug so its effects over a long period of time are unknown.

It is totally your choice.

If you or a friend is interested in buying Viagra, it can be ordered in privacy from Online Pharmacy.
As well as:
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A: The back of her head!

This joke is just one the many million “blonde jokes” that have been around since Jean Harlow, and it was in 1953 when blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe first dyed her hair the color of corn silk and proved that Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. For years, blondes have had an unfair reputation of being stupid. Some people trace this back to a silly genetic myth that intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair. Brown and red are copper colors, so this is the supposed scientific explanation why blondes are dumb? Of course, many scientists, even scientists with blonde hair underneath their safety goggles, have rejected this myth. Despite this rejection, blondes have continually been tormented mercilessly for their stupidity and only given praise for their good looks and ability to avoid serious matters; exemplifying the phrase “Blondes have more fun.”

Blondes may have more fun, but they kick butt in court too. In this summer’s blockbuster Legally Blonde, directed by Robert Luketic, Harvard law student Elle Woods, played by Reese Witherspoon, proves that despite her blonde roots she too can litigate with the best of them. Woods, president of her sorority, straight-A fashion design major, and Hawaiian Tropic model, follows her ex-boyfriend, Warner, to Harvard law to prove that she is serious enough to be this aspiring senator’s wife. However, upon arrival she realizes that her blonde roots are even more “totally, so totally, truly heinous” when trying to mingle with the Ph. D’s and microbiologists. Woods realizes that in order to prove to Warner that she is a serious student, she must first prove it to herself. In doing this she also comes to the realization that the world holds more than what her Beverly Hills neighborhood boasts and proves that even the manicurist at the local nail salon has the potential to sparkle.

Legally Blonde teamed up with Vidal Sassons nationwide to promote the movie, and launched the first annual National Blonde Day, on July 9, 2001. Vidal Sasson salons offered free transformations to anyone brave enough to go blonde, because as Elle Woods always says, “If you are not genetically blonde, never, ever, show your roots.”

Andrea Jean, Vidal Sassoon Marketing Manager, said “We really enjoy making people look and feel their best, and going blonde is a great way to make a change and feel fabulous.”

If you took advantage of Vidal Sasson’s offer or are planning to go platinum, but fear the potential snickers, then there’s always the Blonde Legal Defense Club. Founded by the real-life Elle Woods while studying at Harvard Law, the club’s ultimate goal is to dispel blonde stereotypes and ensure that hair color is not a factor in work or social environments.

Fern Magnin, official spokesperson for the Club, says, “People assume you’re a bimbo. It’s like you’re a sculpture—pretty to look at but unable to speak or think. Well, I can change a light bulb on my own, thank you very much. We’re not going to stand for it anymore.”

As the movie’s slogan says, “Believing in yourself never goes out of style.” And … don’t forget about your roots.

“I think men with long hair are cool. They beat women who cross-dress and grow facial hair.” -Ian de Souza.

“Disgusting, gross, n its doesn’t cost much to get a haircut.” -Tanya Chacko.

“That depends on what kinda face he has.” -Sandeep Malpani.

“Gays…all of them!” -Akshay Pratap Singh Deo.

“They suck!” -Priti Patnaik.

“Koooool.” - Jatin Babani.

“They look pathetic.” -Neha.

“They look old-fashioned.” -Shilpa Rao.

“They look chakkafied!” -Meghna Rao.

“They look bad!” -Mrudulatha Devdas.

“That don’t impress me much!” -Rajat Kapoor.

“Looks sexy on some & horrible on others.” -Nitya.

“It depends on the guy who wears it…but most of the time it looks stupid.” -Elton Fernandez.

“Girls have cut it short and men have grown it long…so it’s kinda okay.” -Abhishek Jaiswal.

“I don’t like men with long hair…it looks so horrible. Long hair is meant for girls!” -Vidhu Jain.

“Depends! Long hair where? Actually it looks good on some…guess it depends on the face-cut.” -Priti Philip.

“I’d say they have a lot of patience…shampooing, conditioning, trimming, blah blah…they deserve at least an ounce of appreciation for that and for daring to differ. But then it suits only a handful.” -Aparna Rajesham.

“I think they are very sexy - depending on the way they carry themselves.” - Divya Bharath.

My journey began nineteen years ago, since then life has changed a hell of a lot….. for the worse, and thats putting it lightly.

Every man is being scrutininzed, and his every action criticized. We aren’t rapists or murderers, so why are we being persecuted?? What the hell is going on??If the world is full of angels then hell would be out of business! Everybody wants to mould angels. Why the hell can’t people be the way they want to be? If it wasn’t for the bad, then the world would be really boring, and life wouldn’t be an adventure. There would be nothing to complain about.

So, I personally think the bad should be allowed to live the way they want to provided they don’t corrupt the good. This seems to be a dangerous proposition, but why should it? After all didn’t somebody say that “GOOD ALWAYS TRIUMPHS OVER EVIL”.

You can use detox patches anywhere on the body that need detoxification, even though they are meant to be used on the soles of the feet. All natural ingredients such as wood and bamboo vinegar, and tourmaline are used in the foot detox patches. Together, these things help stimulate the acupressure points on your feet thus leading the blockages in the circulatory and lymphatic systems to being removed. It allows the body to eliminate toxins easier.

Foot detox patches show quick results. You will feel better in just one night, but for best results it’s wise to use for two weeks.

Foot detox patches help you in:

• Getting rid of toxins
• Improving blood circulation
• Strengthening the immune system
• Preventing water retention
• Boosting the metabolism
• Improving sleep patterns
• Preventing fatigue
• Revitalization
• Pain management

The following are some things you have to remember regarding the use of foot detox patches:

1. Detox patches can be used on any place that needs attention.
2. Don’t place them on open sores, mucus membranes or around the eye area.
3. Foot detox patches can be worn anytime; however, nighttime use is highly recommended.
4. You can wear socks over the detox patches to keep them in place at night.
5. When applying on slippery, active, or misshapen places, use adhesive tape to secure the patch.

The build up of toxins can be prevented by regularly using detox patches. Don’t forget that your immune system will be stronger if you rid it of toxins. Use detox patches to prevent illness. You can be healthier with natural detox foot pads.