Social Media - the fastest vehicle of MIS-information on the information highway

I don't know about you but I am getting totally fed up with all the false information that's being carried around on the back of social media outlets these days. Especially when the bulk of it is completely avoidable! *No Hungary didn't make a law requiring Jews to wear a yellow patch! **No Ben Stein didn't write some flowery monologue in response to a "holiday tree" comment made by the White House. ***And no the reason why your "baby-cut-carrots" go white is not anything to do with chlorine...that's just what happens when a peeled carrot starts to dry out...yeah I know it really blows your mind doesn't it!

I apologize if this is coming out like a Rick Mercer rant on CBC but really! The facts are out there folks if we would just take a couple seconds to check to see if what we are about to "share" is actually credible. If we aren't willing to do that then maybe we should consider whether or not we have any business passing it on to our unsuspecting family and friends via our favourite social media(which, for the Facebook hater, includes your mouth)....or being on the internet at all for that matter.

So the next time we complain about the "media" maybe we should think about the kinds of things that we are circulating to our viewers/listeners. Lets do our research folks so we can share the good stuff...if not, lets all just shut up.

"It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt"

-Unknown

* Jews wore gold stars in protest of Marton Gyongyosi's suggestion that Hungary compile a list of "people of Jewish ancestry who live here, especially in the Hungarian parliament and the Hungarian government, who, indeed, pose a national security risk to Hungary" http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/11/29/call-for-jewish-list-raises-the-spectre-of-renewed-anti-semitism-in-hungary/
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/03/15640241-far-right-leaders-demand-for-list-of-jews-spurs-outrage-in-hungary?lite

There is absolutely NO law requiring Jews to wear any kind of identifying mark

** A fraction of the monologue is Stein the remainer seems like a cut and paste game which changes from year to year. http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/confessions.asp http://www.ieyenews.com/2011/12/ben-stein%E2%80%99s-christmas-email-chain-letter/  http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_ben_stein_christmas.htm
*** http://www.snopes.com/food/tainted/carrots.asp

Chanukkah Treats

Chanukkah is just about a week away!! Are you ready? I'm not but thankfully, like Shabbat, it comes anyway!

Here's a tasty treat to add to those party platters this year! Your gluten free friends will thank-you for them I am sure!

Start off by making a batch of rice krispie squares. Of course make sure to use kosher marshmallows!

*If you live in the boonies like we do and don't have ready access to purchase kosher marshmallows but have some kosher gelatin on hand you can make your own: http://dancingtotherhythm.blogspot.ca/2012/08/kosher-marshmallows.html

Let the squares harden up and cut them into Chanukkah shapes with a knife (or cookie cutters if you happen to be so lucky!...I wasn't).

Use whatever you'd like to decorate them with. Really anything goes. For these I just used melted chocolate. To pipe it on don't bother with a fancy piping bag (they are a pain to clean!). Grab a plastic sandwich bag and cut a fine tip off the corner. Just make sure that if you use chocolate you let it cool a bit before putting into the bag and also that the bag is thick enough it isn't going to bust when put under pressure....cause that just sucks.... Milk bags are actually toughest!

As you may have noticed...
I made the attempt last year to colour some of mine blue...I wouldn't recommend this, they came out looking more greeny, seafoamy blue than Chanukkah blue....so there I warned you. If you go colouring yours don't say I didn't warn you!

Ta Da!

I now have art items up on my blog that are for sale! I will be working on adding more items as I have time so keep checking back for new stuff! So go check it out! Like right now! :oD

Announcing!....well sorta pre-announcing

So in an effort against idleness and hopefully making a few dollars I will be adding a new page to my blog shortly. Yes my plan is to make stuff so people like you...yes YOU! Can buy it,....well I mean if you want it...if you don't want it then I am not pressuring you to buy it or anything. Uh Anyway yes so that is the plan. It could just totally bomb but I figured I might as well give it a shot.

Snow n' Stuff

  So Believe it or not it was actually raining this afternoon! Then it turned into a beautiful "Ontario snow"...yeah that means it made everything very slushy on the roads but hey, that's the price you pay for scenic winter pictures.

All that being said, as soon as I noticed the snow coming down I quickly grabbed the camera and got outside asap. I have really missed my "outside time" and there is just something about walking through deep snow and splashing through slush puddles that appeals to me :D kinda like comfort food at the end of a hard day...only...um healthier! It also brings back memories of those epic afternoons spent with the siblings. Crazy carpeting down steep hills wasn't enough of a gas for us so we'd spend half the afternoon making the biggest and steepest ramp we could at the bottom( bam! Homeschooled much?!), then the other half perfecting it after each run until...we had either: wrecked it, wrecked ourselves, or actually made it perfect!......and the only reason I said all that was because?...Well this was the perfect kind of snow.....hmmm where is my crazy carpet when I need one? Oh wait...never mind, I am in Saskatchewan! :P

This week I have been mulling over the Parshah....over and over and over again. Vayetze is one of those portions that I think my "for further information file" is just pretty well stuffed as far as it can be.....until I read it again, then somehow I manage to stuff a few more files into that bad boy. Not to say that I don't ever get anything out of it or I don't learn anything. Actually right now my brain is going back and forth like a pin ball machine gone haywire! But all my "aHa"s, inquisitive "oh"s, or boarder line "hmm"s are in such a jumbled mess of thoughts and references bouncing back and forth I just can't seem to write them down....no matter how many times I backspace and start over again :P

Oh well, perhaps better luck next Parshah?

Lila Tov(good night) and enjoy the pictures, I enjoyed taking them :o)

Oh yeah, and I must give a shout out to Mr. Squicciarini, I was listening to a podcast today and heard you read a comment I made on the web-site during the meeting, you'll probably never read this but I just wanted to say thanks (and congratulations) for being one of the select few to actually pronounce my name correctly on the first attempt, for that I salute you sir!

 

                                             

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Two to One - Skirt transformation

 So this was something that I had intended to post about a month ago when I finished this project but due to some things like packing and flying across the country it kinda got forgotten. I had these two pairs of pants kicking around for awhile. I knew I wanted to make a skirt out of them but I just haven't had the time. Well when I had the time off in October I finally did it. I spent around 3 hours trying to make a plan before getting frustrated at getting no where and just dove in and started cutting, sewing and making it up as I went along. I left most of the edges raw so they will eventually fray and make a rag effect...plus it's faster and easier to sew that way ha ha ;)

     Bada bing, bada boom and there you go. I also lined it, so it is actually nice and warm for fall, winter, or Canada, whatever climate you may be residing in.

Etz Chaim - Tree of Life

When it comes to art I have always reached for the pencil and sketch pad over a set of brushes and paints. Maybe because the commitment part of paint scared me too much. You can always erase pencil...and for someone who is notorious for making plenty of mistakes that was top priority. But not too long ago I started experimenting with the painting a bit more and I have to say, as nerve wracking as it still can be working with paint, I love being able to create a work "in colour"!