Monkeyfister

Labels: Gone Galt, Gone Glatt, Gone GORT

Labels: Gone Galt, Gone Glatt

Labels: Gardening, Snakes

The government has told Bank of America it will need to raise $33.9 billion in capital to withstand any worsening of the economic downturn, according to an executive at the bank.

Executives sparred with the government over the amount, which is higher than executives believed the bank needed. But J. Steele Alphin, the bank’s chief administrative officer, said Bank of America would have plenty of options to raise the capital on its own before it would have to convert any of taxpayer money into common stock, a move that would effectively increase the government’s holdings in the troubled bank.

“We’re not happy about it because it’s still a big number,” Mr. Alphin said. “We think it should be a bit less at the end of the day.”

Financial markets in Asia dropped initially on the news as investors questioned whether the results of the government’s stress tests of the nation’s 19 largest banks, whose assets represent about two-thirds of the nation’s financial system, would show more weakness in the financial system than hoped.

The Treasury Department declined to comment on Tuesday evening.

Labels: Banksters, Ben Bernanke, Stress Tests, Tim Fucking Geithner, Wall Street Swindle

A great ally for most garden vegetables, this aggressive Garden Oyster mushroom unlocks nutrients from straw, sawdust, and organic debris, feeding the roots of underlying plants. Ideal for over-wintering and mulching, or early Spring planting where straw is overlaid, the HUG kit is a natural way to recycle nutrients and grow gourmet mushrooms at the same time.

Labels: Gardening, Mushrooms, Mycorrhizal Fungus

GardenPunks is the story of a Northern California family doing as much as it can to live organically, thoughtfully, and with regard to the environmental impact of its activities. Expect stories about gardening, food, energy use, consumption, and other things green (and sometimes tasty).

Labels: Organic Gardening, Raised Bed Gardening, Suburban Gardening, Suburban Permaculture

Labels: Hot-Ass Music

Labels: Crazy Michele Bachmann, Fucked-Up Republican Heads

The Republican Party lost Arlen Specter to the Democrats last week. Over the weekend, they lost Jack Kemp, a vocal proponent of a “big tent” GOP, to cancer.

It’s been a “bad to worse” patch for the Republican Party. First they face a Democratic president who 81 percent of Americans say they like. Then they face an America where only 21 percent say they’re Republicans.

The permanent GOP majority envisioned by Karl Rove has given way, in crisis, to a Washington wholly dominated by Democrats, and critics calling the GOP “The Party of No” (somewhere between “a doomsday cult and Scientology,” writes New York Times columnist Frank Rich).

This hour, On Point: we’ll ask where is the big tent for the GOP now, and does the Republican base want to raise it again?

Republicans, what do you think? Even if you’re no fan of Specter, are you worried about the GOP’s dwindling ranks? Do you want a broader party or a purer one? What happened to the “permanent majority?” Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

Labels: Adrift, Fail, Fucked-Up Republican Heads

Labels: Corn, Corn Earworms, Organic Gardening, Row Crops

Labels: Attracting Bees, Bees, MadSat, Mike Finnigan, The Blogohood

1. Plant Something.
2. Harvest Something.
3. Preserve something.
4. Reduce Waste.
5. Preparation and Storage.
6. Build Community Food Systems.
7. Eat The Food!

1. Planted Peppers, Onions, Dill, Basil, Rosemary, Thyme, Leeks, Sunflowers, Swiss Chard, Cilantro, Parsley, and three big containers of Kennebunk Potatoes (six plants per container-- same as last year). The Blueberries are doing fine, and seemingly happy in their place by the corn. It'll be time to hoe and mulch the corn as soon as the rain stops, as some sort of grass has sprouted up with all this rain.
2. I'm winding-down the last of the Asparagus harvesting, and getting into the Strawberry, Radish, Spinach, Lettuce, Broccoli, Swiss Chard (last year's survivors), and Green Onion harvests.
3. I've been drying Shiitake and Oyster Mushrooms nearly every day. Dried a lot of Rosemary and Mint over this weekend... and some catnip. Watching my cats cuddle up to the dehydrator, which I put on the living room floor, was WAY worth the effort. They went NUTS!
4. I broke out my trusty, ol' copy of, Extending The Table, and prepared a series of meals based on my harvests, and which built on leftovers from the previous day. GREAT Cookbook, BTW.
5. I scored up 220 2"x12"x12" patio blocks on Craig's List for a dollar a piece (they were 75-cents each, but, I asked him to make it a dollar each and deliver them. The cheapest I could get them at Home Depot or Lowe's was $1.50 each, plus tax.). I resorted to Chemical Warfare against the Bermuda Grass that has constantly invaded my raised beds (a VERY selective product from Hi-Yield, recco'd by the TNAgExtension). The grass died, and I reseeded with White Dutch Clover, today, while we're getting all this rain. The blocks arrive on Friday, and I'll lay down some weed-block, and put down the blocks around all the main beds. Die Bermuda Grass-- DIE!!!
6. Last week I helped two neighbors put in their gardens. This year, four of us neighbors have planned to trade, sell and barter our surpluses between each other, let the neighbor Kid, Andy, and out-of-work neighbor, Tommy, sell some surplus, and we each have planted extra of a staple specifically to give to the local Food Bank around the corner.
7. This morning, I invited Tommy and his wife to come and pick some extra strawberries from by front yard bed. As I was typing this, they brought over a GIANT slice of homemade strawberry shortcake. NOMNOMNOM... I've been eating a lot of salads, steamed Asparagus, and Swiss Chard cooked Southern Style. Strawberries for breakfast. Mint Tea-- LOTS of mint tea. Stockpiling those mushrooms, eating some with recipes.

Labels: Food Security, Gardening, Grow Your Own, Independence Days

WASHINGTON — Jack Kemp, the ex-quarterback, congressman, one-time vice-presidential nominee and self-described "bleeding-heart conservative" died Saturday.

His spokeswoman Bona Park and longtime friend and former campaign adviser Edwin J. Feulner confirmed that Kemp died after a lengthy illness.

Kemp had announced in January 2009 that he had been diagnosed with cancer. He said he was undergoing tests but gave no other detail.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called Kemp "one of the nation's most distinguished public servants, Jack was a powerful voice in American politics for more than four decades."

Kemp, a former quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, represented western New York for nine terms in Congress, leaving the House for an unsuccessful presidential bid in 1988.

Eight years later, after serving a term as President George H.W. Bush's housing secretary, he made it onto the national ticket as Bob Dole's running-mate.

Labels: In Memoriam

CALEXICO, California - A California-based food distribution company is recalling candy imported from Mexico because it contains high levels of lead.

King Midas Inc. said Friday it is warning stores to stop selling Hola Pop, a caramel lollipop with a salted apricot in the center. The candy also comes in other fruit flavors.

The company says recent analysis of Hola Pop by the California Department of Public Health found that the candy contained a high level of lead.

Labels: Contaminated Food, Food Recall, Lead Poisoning

Labels: H1N1 Swine Flu

Labels: Leonard Cohen

Labels: Movies