IPS News 25

Itīs Made From Animal

The list that I use is in a box on its way to Dallas, so no article this month. My wrong.

Buy Stuff From This Company

According to PETA, this is an animal-friendly company.  "Those marked with a dot (·) meet the Corporate Standard of Compassion for Animals (CSCA).  Those marked with an asterisk (*) manufacture strictly vegan products:

"Aloe Up, P.O. Box 831, Harlingen, TX 78551; 800-537-2563"

Organization of Interest

Information is taken directly from the Idealist website (http://www.idealist.org/).

This Monthīs:

Daughters in Crisis and Mothers of Love, Inc.
172 Sawyer St.
Vellejo, CA 94589
United States
Contact Person:  Mrs. Regina Porter

"To implement various other various programs in the future relating to women, children, and youth."

Whad up wid dat?!

The point of this article is not to persuade, but to inform and provoke thought.  Information was taken from (http://www.yahoo.com) January 9, 2005.

"Subway Driver Faces Demotion in Turban Row

Fri Jan 7, 10:14 AM ET 

"NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Sikh subway driver is being forced to wear a badge on his turban or face being demoted and sent to the stock yards, his lawyer said on Thursday.

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority which operates the subways, told motorman Kevin Harrington to wear the MTA badge or he cannot work with customers.

"If he wears it, he can operate in customer service areas, if not then heīs relegated to yard duty," said Charles Seaton, spokesman for the MTAīs Transit Authority.

"I feel wearing the patch violates my religious freedom," Harrington, 53, told The New York Daily News. "The turban is a sacred space, so itīs like asking a priest to wear a logo on his vestments."

Harringtonīs lawyer, Amardeep Singh, said his client had always worn the turban in his 25 years on the job, but it was only after "9/11 that the agency tried to get its Sikh and Muslim employees to stop wearing their turbans and hijabs."

The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit in September on behalf of Harrington and several Muslim women bust drivers charing that the MTA discriminates against employees on the basis of religion."

Update on Tibet

Information is taken directly from an International Campaign for Tibet mailing.  Visit the ICT website for more info. (http://www.savetibet.org/)

"Three months ago, I called on you to stand up for Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, a monk beloved and respected by Tibetans, who was sentenced to death two years ago with a two year reprieve. And your voices were heard.

Thanks to your efforts, resolutions were passed in the European Parliament and in the US Senate in support of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche.

We have learned that the two-year reprieve of his execution will end on January 26th, the second anniversary of the final judgment against him. We are entering the most critical month of this campaign and we need your help.

Although we have not reached the goal of a new, fair and open trial for Tenzin Delek, the work of thousands of ICT members and Tibet supporters has been vital to spotlighting the injustices suffered by Tenzin Delek. One Chinese official said that he is likely to receive a long prison term rather than execution."

What a show!

The following episode of a t.v. show is worth taping:

The episode of Wil & Grace where they go to Stanīs funeral.  Grace is so Sally, especially when theyīre saying what of Stanīs estate will be left to Grape Antler.  Where do they come up with these things?

Whereīs That From?

I forget where the last quote came from, The Drew Carey Show or something I think. I donīt have my quote book with me *is a dork*. But anyway, hereīs another quote, an easy as crap one!

This monthīs Quote:  "Lay my hands on heaven and the sun and the moon and the stars while the devil wants to fuck me in the back of his car. Nothing quite like the feel of something new."

Petty Pectin Trivia

Dammit! The quote book also has the trivia stuff in it. Mebbe I can think of something. Gimme a minute...Oh! I read one today! Okay:

Hammerhead sharks hunt soley by scent, meaning the smell of blood to them is like the smell of freshly baked bread or cookies. And if they donīt smell blood, they assume thereīs no food. Dumbasses.

Hmm, thatīs strange...

*This article was taken from http://washingtontimes.com/business/20040721-101354-9099r.htm*

"Girl Scouts hire tough cookie

By Marguerite Higgins
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

If you still havenīt paid your local Girl Scout for that box of Thin Mints, nowīs the time to pony up.

The Scouts have hired a little muscle to get their money.

Several local councils have retained Fidelity Information Corp., a Pacific Palisades Calif., debt-collection company. Fidelityīs online division, www.olddebts.com, has mailed 2,000 letters to delinquent cookie customers in the Midwest. Others may follow.

Jeff Cronrod, Fidelityīs president and chief executive officer, wonīt say how many Girl Scout troops or councils have hired his agents, but the new clients have been working wiht Fidelity for the past seven months.

"Honestly, I have never heard of any such problem before," he says. "The Girl Scouts were not even on our radar screen."

Representatives of Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. arenīt talking, either, but itīs clear that now that the cookies have crumbled, the Scouts want their money. "While Girl Scout councils have an excellent record of handling delinquent accounts, many councils use professional collection agencies after they have made initial attempts to collect on bad debts," a spokesman for the organization says.

In most councils, uncollected cookie money makes up less than 1 percent of total revenue, but sales of the popular treat make up a substantial sum for the regional Scout councils.

The Girl Scout Council of the Nationīs Capital, which has 4,038 troops in the Washington metropolitan area, had an outstanding debt in 2003 of $30,000, according to Business Week.

Annual cookie sales, which generally take place between January and April, are run locally by Brownie, Junior Scout and Girl Scout groups, which determine how much the cookies cost and how the cookies are paid for.

A box of Samoas or Tagalongs typically costs $3 to $4, depending on where they are sold.

Part of the proceeds, about 50 to 65 cents per box, stays in the local group. The rest goes to the council covering the area and the Girl Scoutsī two contract bakers. There are 315 Girl Scout councils in the United States.

The aggressiveness in claiming the cookie funds is up to each group, Fidelityīs Mr. Cronrod says. Groups send up to four letters to debtors, report their deficits to three credit bureaus and have telephone calls made through the agency.

Girl Scout councils may take their cases to a small-claims court. Any use of a pledge, which allows consumers to promise to pay for cookies at a later date, puts Scout moms and troops at risk for reneged payments, says Audrey Alvarado, executive director for the National Council of Nonprofit Associations, a D.C. tradegroup.

Nonprofit groups tend to have higher return rates than regular companies, Mr. Cronrod says. "People are more willing to pay back their pledge or promise to a nonprofit more quickly than a doctorīs bill or car payment.""

Visindi med Vadem

Iīm thinking this article will be discontinued as the writer is too busy to write, unless any of the 1 people who read this want to take over it. As for salary, I can give you like, a piece of gum a month.

Song of the Month

"Complicated", by Avril Lavigne.  Because I just got back from Olgaīs wedding and Sally and I sang this again and again to reminisce about the Buddy Mammas at Joeīs Crap Shack.  We also sang that "Iīm with you" song alot.  Okay, not so much "sang" as "screamed", but whatever.  You get the idea.

(Editorīs Note: I started working on this back in November of 19dickety4. Procrastinate much?) 

Stuff That Rules

Revelations rule.  So, itīs like, my whole life Iīve listened to Nine Inch Nails (anyone else think the newer stuff is kinda lame?) And Iīve listend to Pretty Hate Machine no less than 390,418 times (īcause, you know, I count since I have no life and all.) But recently I started listening to it again because I heard someone say some song on the radio was sexy and it wasnīt and then I started to think about music that I think is sexy and I thought of Nine Inch Nails, moreso the music and Trent Reznorīs moaning and whatnot than the lyrics. So yeah, Iīm listening to Pretty Hate Machine and then it suddenly occurred to me that all of these songs that I had thought were talking about life and emotions were actually hormonal. Now there are some lyrics that are openly sexual, such as:

"Lay my hands on heaven and the sun and the moon and the stars while the devil wants to fuck me in the back of his car."

or

"Thereīs a devil sleeping in my bed...I know itīs not the right thing, and I know itīs not the good thing. Kinda I want to."

Now, how I got the swarmy messages in that, but missed the sultriness in the lyrics below might confuse you, but just imagine how I felt. But then, lemme tell ya, it was like a whole new world of meaning to my life when I finally had that Eureeka-moment. I wonīt go into graphic detail about the following lyrics because it might excite offend you, but hereīs a sampling of lyrics for you to dissect ever which way you please:

"If she says come inside Iīll come inside for her. If she says give it all Iīll give everything to her. I am justified. I am purified. I am sanctified inside you."

Woo! *fans self* Is it hot in here or is it just Trent Reznor in the early 90s?

Dude and Chick of the Month

Dude: Olgaīs dad. It was so funny because before the wedding we were all taking pictures and everyone was getting pictures of Olga and her family and Anitra said, "You guys are such a good-looking family! You take such nice pictures." Then Olgaīs dad said, "Are you serious?!" And Sally and I cracked up. Then he walked over to us and said, "Well nobodyīs ever told us that before. Normally people say, īWhereīd all them short people come from?ī" I laughed so hard I stopped breathing for a few seconds.

Chick: Olga. That chick has really got her shit together. I mean, sheīs a college graduate and has a good, steady job that she enjoys and gets alot of money for doing. She just got married to someone who I have always said was perfect for her even though I only met him one time before the wedding. And she just, is adult and stuff, and not in an oppressive white man sort of way either, but in the buy porn for minors kinda way. Iīm just so proud and happy for her. And she always gives you like, the best birthday and Christmas presents ever, but I didnīt know that until after we became friends, otherwise I wouldīve gotten to be her friend sooner of course.

(Editorīs note: For crap-quality pictures, go here.)

Wacko Advice From Waco

Want a Big Penis to tell you want to do? Send your dilemmas to Big Penis Man c/o the IPS and kiss all your worries goodbye!

I forgot to remind BPM to answer the questions after exams were over īcause I was dealing with my own life. Mayhaps weīll take care of this next month.

New Column!
Mebbe Dis Be Good

(Editorīs Note: This is a damn long recipe, but hopefully the following oneīs wonīt be. As always, feel free to skip it if you donīt give a damn. Thank you and drive through!)

Before we stopped doing these newsletters a few years ago, this was an idea for a new column.  Then when we relaunched, the goal was just to get things going again and I didnīt want to add any new columns, at least not ones that I did myself, so I didnīt, but now things are up and going again so I figured itīs time to have a new column.  This one will be the IPS recipe of the month, or however often these newsletters come out.

(Recipe taken from http://www.epicurious.com)  My altered lazy/vegetarian/lactose-intolerant version of these recipe follows the Epicurious/Bón Appétit version.  For any of you who would like to try this but think the recipe looks to complicated, try it anyway.  Itīs actually about 4 times as wordy as it is hard to make.  The actual making of the cake takes maybe an hour total in time, including breaking up the graham crackers and preparing the topping.  The rest of the time the cheesecake is sitting in the fridge.

"No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crust

Chill this overnight to develop the blueberry flavor and give the filling time to set.

Crust
9 whole graham crackers
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
3 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin (measured from 2 envelopes)

12 ounces Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 cups fresh blueberries

Topping
1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
4 1/2-pint baskets blueberries
2/3 cup blueberry jam

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Blend first 4 ingredients in processor until graham crackers are finely ground. Add butter and vanilla; process until moist crumbs form. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Bake crust until deep golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool.

For filling:
Pour 1/4 cup water into small saucepan; sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir over very low heat just until gelatin dissolves. Set aside.

Blend cream cheese, cream, sugar, and lemon juice in processor until smooth. Add berries; puree until smooth (some blueberry bits will remain). With machine running, add warm gelatin mixture through feed tube and blend well. Pour filling into crust. Cover; chill overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.) Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides. Transfer to platter.

For topping:
Beat cream and sugar in medium bowl until firm peaks form. Spread cream mixture thickly over top of cheesecake. Place berries in bowl. Heat jam in small saucepan over low heat until just melted. Pour jam over berries; toss to coat. Mound coated berries in center of cream, leaving 1-inch plain border. Chill cake at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.

Test-kitchen tip:
Whole graham crackers measure 5x2 1/4 inches before being broken into four smaller rectangles.

Makes 10 servings.

Bon Appétit
July 2003"

Now, the Epicurious version calls for gelatin.  Seeing as I happen to be a vegetarian, then I didnīt use gelatin.  I actually kinda altered the recipe alot and made a semi-Icelandic version of it, and let me just say, of all of the cheesecake recipes Iīve tried and all of the cheesecakes that Iīve made myself, this one was the best.  Most cheesecake recipes that I see rely on either gelatin or a large number of eggs to set the cake.  If you donīt eat gelatin, then your only other option is to use alot of eggs and your cheesecake will come out tasting like you used alot of eggs.  So, below is my version.

(Editorīs note: Since then I discovered that agar is also a good substitute for gelatin, so you can just use that instead of gelatin in the above version of the recipe.)

Crust--Follow ingredients and directions as above.  If you use a blender to do this instead of a food processor, I suggest crushing the graham crackers by hand first, blending the rest of the ingredients together separately, and mixing it all together in a bowl in the end. 

Filling
500g/25oz plain or blueberry Skyr (Skyr is a yogurt-like specialty product of Iceland.  Itīs much lower in fat and calories than cream cheese and uses the natural binders in milk products to thicken it instead of adding gelatin as is often done in American yogurts.  I used Skyr instead of cream cheese and whip cream so that I didnīt have to use gelatin.  I relied on the natural binders in Skyr and the pectin from the blueberries to bind the cake together.  Also, as with all other Icelandic dairy products, skyr is much lower in lactose than American dairy products so even someone as lactose-intolerant as I am can eat it a cup or so at a time and have no digestion problems.  Itīs available through specialty shops in the US.  If you donīt use skyr, then Iīm pretty sure that you can use a combination of yogurt -with or without gelatin- or cream cheese and and then use pectin instead of gelatin.)
1/2 cup sugar  (I used the lower fat/sugar form of blueberry skyr, which is a bit more sour.  The blueberries in Iceland tend to be rather sour too and even though I used blueberries that were imported from the US, they were still a bit too sour so I had to use some sugar.  I think it would actually have been okay to cut it down to 1/4 of a cup sugar or honey -not pouring honey, but the thicker kind- too.)
1tbsp lemon juice
3 cups blueberries
1/4 cup water (maybe)

Follow directions as above, ignoring the part about preparing the gelatin.  You may need to add a bit of water when blending if you do this in a blender instead of a food processor as I did. As as little water as possible, a tablespoon or two at a time.  You also might find it helpful to pulse for 5 seconds, stop, wait a couple of seconds while the stuff inside falls back down, repeat until well-blended.

Topping
2 pints blueberries
2/3 cup blueberry or other berry jam

I donīt like cream, so I left it out.  You can follow the original topping ingredients and directions if you prefer.  Otherwise, heat the jam in a small sauce pan over low heat until melted.  Add the blueberries.  Stir to combine.  Continue to cook until blueberries soften (I watched an episode of Friends and then came back to the sauce when it was over.)  Use a fork, potato masher, or even a spoon to mash the blueberries.  Pour in bowl and refrigerate until cooled, but not cold (If itīs solid, then itīs too cold.  Pour it back into the pan and heat it up a few minutes.)  Pour over cheesecake.  (You may have to use a spatula to spread it out a bit.)  Leave a 1/2 to 1 inch border as topping will spread out depending on how thick/cold or thin/warm it still is.  Chill 1 hour to 1 day.

Notes From the Editor

Dude, the editor was damn busy this month. I work hard for the money! So, okay, I think this might be the last newsletter I write from Iceland. As you may or may not know, Iīm moving back to the states at the end of August. (Some of you might not even know I was gone in the first place. I can feel the love.) So, sorry this newsletter is kinda half-assed and missing lots of info and sorry it took me so damned long to get it out in the first place. It just took me a long time to write that recipe. Also, Iīm working on putting the Year in Review results up before I leave here. As long as I donīt get distracted by something shiny or Orlando Bloom-ey, then things should be fine.

And if any of the 24 Hour Party People in Dallas want to get together to celebrate my triumphant return (Iīm triumphant because I slayed a few dragons during my stay in Iceland), then call me *does the hand phone mime thingey*. Or email me. Or just come over to my dadīs house īcause thatīs where Iīll be staying for awhile. And at this time Iīd like to give a shout out to my homies in Iceland (all like, 3 people that Iīve pimped this website off to). Holla if ya hear me! *wishes she were Black*

Remember, if you have any ideas for the newsletters or the website feel free to email them to us.  We at the IPS love membership involvement.

The IPS, delorted...