For something so simple, pasta is serious business

A woman touches pasta in a hotel conference room in Rome, Friday, May 18, 2012. Pasta sales worldwide have grown steadily over the past three years. Pasta is serious business in Italy, and the recent blind taste test organized by the world's biggest pasta maker, Barilla, drove home that an awful lot of thought goes into making the simple combination of durum wheat semolina and water from which Italy's national dish is made. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A woman touches pasta in a hotel conference room in Rome, Friday, May 18, 2012. Pasta sales worldwide have grown steadily over the past three years. Pasta is serious business in Italy, and the recent blind taste test organized by the world's biggest pasta maker, Barilla, drove home that an awful lot of thought goes into making the simple combination of durum wheat semolina and water from which Italy's national dish is made. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A group of women taste pasta in a hotel conference room in Rome, Friday, May 18, 2012. Pasta sales worldwide have grown steadily over the past three years. Pasta is serious business in Italy, and a recent blind taste test organized by the world's biggest pasta maker, Barilla, drove home that an awful lot of thought goes into making the simple combination of durum wheat semolina and water from which Italy's national dish is made. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

ROME (AP) ? They twirled, they sniffed, they slurped, they chewed.

The dozen housewives who gathered in a Rome hotel on a recent afternoon took their work terribly seriously, rating plates of pasta for chewiness, saltiness, gumminess or done-ness ? that perfect balance known as "al dente," or firm to the bite.

Pasta is serious business in Italy, and the recent blind taste test organized by the world's biggest pasta maker drove home that an awful lot of thought goes into making the simple combination of durum wheat semolina and water from which Italy's national dish is made.

"The simpler it is, the more testing it takes," said Stefania Fochi, in charge of consumer testing for market leader Barilla, which organized the taste test.

Pasta sales worldwide have grown steadily over the past three years, to ?22.3 billion ($28 billion) last year, according to Euromonitor research. In Italy, however, sales have fallen steadily over that same timeframe as the economy suffers and stores are forced to offer discounts. National pasta sales dropped to ?2.7 billion ($3.4 billion) last year from ?3.1 billion ($3.9 billion) in 2009 ? meaning spaghetti makers in these days of austerity need to try harder to keep their customers loyal.

Granted, in Italy, it's not a huge challenge given that most Italians eat a plate of pasta ? be it spaghetti alla carbonara, penne al ragu or orecchiette with broccoli ? at least once a day. But they are terribly discerning customers: A noodle is not just a noodle.

"Some were sticky, some were good, al dente and cooked the right amount of time," said Stefania De Rossi, a 46-year-old mother of three who was selected for the taste test because of her family's daily pasta habit. "I liked the last one (identified only by its code name: V36). It wasn't super smooth, it was a bit rough but seemed better."

Her pickiness stems in part from Italians' particular obsession with food: Eating in Italy is taken very seriously on both a family and cultural level. The Slow Food movement was born here and you can smell, see and taste this way of life at this time of year in outdoor markets, exploding with bundles of fresh asparagus now that the green and purple hills of artichokes have begun to wane.

And what better way to enjoy those asparagus tips than to sautee them in olive oil with bits of speck, a smoky cut of prosciutto, and toss the whole thing with a small mound of linguine?

"Pasta is truly the symbol, the emblem not just of Italian food ... but the principal plate of the Mediterranean diet," said Amelia Germoleo, vice director of the National Pasta Museum in Rome. "It's profoundly rooted in the culture, the lifestyle, the 'being' of Italy."

The museum, which is currently closed for renovations, seeks to enlighten visitors about pasta's past, including the very Italian origins of dried pasta, the stuff that comes in packages and can be preserved, as opposed to egg-based fresh pasta that must be eaten quickly.

It turns out Marco Polo didn't bring spaghetti to the West from China. Rather, Germoleo said, the earliest known origins of dried pasta date from 12th century Sicily. The Norman king of Sicily, King Ruggero II, instructed a geographer to write a book about all that was known of the world.

In 1138, the geographer, Idrisi, reported back that the settlement of Trabia, west of Palermo, was making a type of vermicelli that was "sufficient to provide not only for Calabria but also the Muslim and Christian territories, where numerous cargoes are sent by sea," according a citation of the book in a museum publication, "Time for Pasta."

"This debunks the myth that Marco Polo brought it from China," Germoleo said. "Dried pasta is absolutely Italian."

Agostino Macri, a food security expert at the National Consumer's Union, said that pasta was in the "genome of Italians."

"A good dish of pasta puts you in a good mood," he said. But he cautioned against going overboard in consuming it, particularly with specialties like spaghetti all'amatriciana, a heavy dish using tomatoes and bacon-like pancetta that is common on Roman trattoria menus.

"It has a lot of calories," he warned.

The pasta that was served to the blind tasters had none of that: simply spaghetti tossed with a dash of olive oil. Each of the five brands tested ? Barilla, De Cecco, Gragnano and supermarket brands Coop and Conad ? was cooked in 1 liter of water salted with 7 grams of sea salt for every 100 grams of pasta.

While each sample cooked, women in white lab coats and latex gloves handed out small packets of noodles as they appear in the package, giving the whole affair a sterile, clinical feel when most Italians would tuck into a plate of pasta around the dinner table.

The testers ran their fingers slowly over the slender sticks, caressed them, noted the flecks of brown on the golden strands of semolina and the slight roughness of the grain in their hands. And then they answered an 11-page questionnaire asking them how the color, thickness, smell, taste and texture appealed to them. The results aren't for public consumption, Barilla said.

"For us the pasta is very important, especially for me," Gabriella Brescia said after sampling her five dishes as she packed up and headed home. "I could give up everything except pasta."

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Associated Press

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Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Really Just a Wrist ... - Health and Fitness

Greatest in quantity conventional carpal tunnel treatments point of concentration solely on the wrist. This come is, of course, designed to attempt to bring symptoms of hand pain, torpor and/or weakness. However, the true origin is rarely sought after, from this place, these treatments are often seasons worthless and, in the case of surgery, can really make matters worse.

In that place are many factors that power of determination often contribute to median strength inflammation, which is primarily answerable for the symptoms seen with carpal funnel syndrome. It can actually be due to problems or dysfunctions in the structures in and round the neck, the shoulder, the elbow, the carpus and/or hand. This is yet another covering of a specific painful condition really caused by something called a kinetic fetter disorder pattern. A fancy appellation for dysfunctional movement issues anywhere lengthwise a chain. In this case the fetter being the neck, shoulder, elbow, carpus and hand.

What do I mean by motion dysfunction?
Well, for example, the subscapularis muscle, what one. is part of the rotator cuff cluster, is the most commonly overlooked origin of wrist pain! When this muscle becomes one or the other weak or shortened, it will origin an abnormal glenohumeral joint movement of the shoulder. This in turn, can negatively impulse numerous other muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia from the neck all the way to the palm and fingers and can ultimately irritate the large strength that runs down the arm to the palm and fingers. However, do most doctors smooth examine or test this muscle or others? No!

The neck or cervical thorn is another frequent culprit in causing or contributing to carpal funnel syndrome. The structures that be obliged to be checked here are not only the vertebrae, discs and exiting strength roots, but the associated neck muscles, especially the scalenes. If these are tight or knotted through something called trigger points, they can provoke the cervical nerves that create up the large nerve that eventually branches one of what one. is the median nerve.

Then afresh, how many doctors would cogitate to examine the first rib? A misalignment of this construction can and often does reduce the funnel or space where the brachial plexus runs from one side causing nerve irritation in this place but again symptoms can ultimately superficies much further down the arm.

In our work, every patient undergoes an exhaustive inspection of all possible related structures involved to strip the root cause of their peculiar painful condition. To do anything smaller is definitely not providing the highest horizontal of healthcare service. Once fitly diagnosed, there are a number of of nature drug less, non-surgical usage options that can be used to effectively improve the enduring?s condition. These include trigger sharp end therapy, Class 4 Laser therapy, providing peculiar stretches or muscle strengthen exercises, and spinal and end joint manipulation to restore regular joint function and movement. More or all of these techniques may be required to vary the course of the patient?s problem. And greater degree of importantly, will actually prepare the right conditions to promote and hasten true healing as opposed to plainly attempting to reduce symptoms. In my judgment, to simply and blindly just use symptoms is not true doctoring nor does it present any real solutions for true sanative and the restoration of health. And after all, no one deserves anything smaller.

Dr. LaRosa is a Doctor of Chiropractic and has been a of nature health care provider in San Diego, CA because 1989. His approach to healthcare has ever been to treat the patient as a all and not just an isolated symptom. He uses numerous different treatment techniques and therapy modalities including Rank 4 laser therapy. Learn greater degree of about Dr. LaRosa?s use of Class IV Laser therapy, it?s account, what it is, how it works and why it truly is Penalty Relief at the Speed of Light. You owe it to yourself to discover out how to get rid of your pain and accelerate sanative without drugs or surgery.

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Official Sony PS3 Wireless Headset $83.97 @ DSE Instore or $93.92 Delivered

Seems like a good price for local stock of the Sony PS3 Wireless Headsets.

Shipping is $9.95 but some stores appear to have stock.

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In the future, your skin could solve your heart problem

Israeli scientists transform skin cells into heart cells for the first time ever

There may come a time when doctors can patch up your?damaged heart not with fancy futuristic materials, but with your own skin. A paper recently published in the?European Heart Journal details the work of a?team of Israeli scientists who took sample skin cells from two patients ? aged 51 and 61???with heart problems. For the first time ever, they were able to transform the skin cells into healthy, beating heart cells.

According to team leader,?Lior Gepstein, the resulting cells were "equivalent to the stage of [the patient's] heart cells when he was just born." After forming heart tissue out of the erstwhile skin cells, the scientists cultivated it in a petri dish with real heart tissue.

The researchers found that after 24 to 48 hours, the man-made heart tissue merged with the real sample?? the whole thing was even beating. They then implanted the hybrid tissue into healthy rats whose little rodent hearts accepted and formed connections with it.

While the results sound extremely promising, it would take a long time before the technique can be used in hospitals to save lives. Scientists believe that it could take as much as 10 to 15 years before clinical trials on humans even begin. But if this method proves to be effective, then we don't have to rely purely on?mechanical devices or transplants to cure advanced heart diseases anymore.

(Source)

This article was written by Mariella Moon and originally appeared on Tecca

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Sanchez sharp, Tebow tosses 2 INTs in Jets' OTAs

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Bloody Treason

(Remake of The Taste of Blood) In the small town of Blacksburg, South Carolina no one expected anything to happen..The local Werewolf Pack never had any problems with keeping the town safe..Until they moved there.. [OPEN! Many Character Slots Open!]

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This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Bloody Mess?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

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Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
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YoshiFTW

Member for 1 years

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yay!! I'll take a female Gamma :)

Calvazara

Member for 1 years

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Could I reserve the Beta female and a regular female coven member please? Thank youuu. :)

Edit; Actually, just the Beta please. :p

Last edited by crybloodredtears on Wed May 23, 2012 6:48 pm, edited 1 time in total. ? The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life.?

Winter is coming.

~ crybloodredtears..

crybloodredtears

Member for 1 years

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May I reserve a Regular Female coven member?
Thanks ^^

But MEEEEEEEM, I don't want a signature!

RainbowFace

Member for 0 years

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May I take the coven lead fighter if no one has yet?

EDIT

Would it also be possible for me to take the pack beta as well?

jigokunoshinzo

Member for 0 years

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Post a reply

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Learn Meditation Techniques to Achieve the Focused ... - health article

Meditation is an ideal way to shift one?s mind from the cluttered thoughts to more focused state. Meditation helps one gain greater concentration of and control over mind. There is a strong correlation between our mental and physical health. The relaxed state of mind keeps a body in the finest and fittest fettle. In order to reap benefits of meditation, one must learn the techniques. There are some meditation techniques that we can easily imbibe and incorporate into our daily life.

Meditation Techniques : Choosing a Suitable Surrounding

First choose a calm surrounding where nobody can disturb you. You must switch off your mobile phone, otherwise it will prevent you from going into a deeply composed state. Try utmost to shrug off your tension and anxiety. The first stage of the meditation techniques requires you to choose a place having an air of calmness and serenity. The traditional meditation technique requires the practitioners to sit in the lotus position. But there are some who do not find it a comfortable posture, so they can seek a support of a comfortable back cushion. Both choosing an atmosphere and a suitable posture are of immensely important part of the entire meditation techniques as they significantly help the mind ditch the rambling thinking and push it into the cool state. Make it a point to avoid sitting in a cross-legged posture as it will negatively influence the easy flow of energy within your body. If you do not feel at ease while sitting, then there are other alternative meditation techniques to embrace. You can simply lie on a bed though it is better to choose the one that you do not use to sleep on. Lying on your own bed may hamper your effort to attain a particular state of mind as you may feel sleepy and the objective of meditation will lost either at starting or on midway.

Meditation Techniques : Choosing a Posture

Posture, as it has already been mentioned, is really important to ensure possessing a composed mind. If you are following the traditional method of sitting meditation techniques, then try to embrace the magnetic posture. In other words, you have to sit straight so that your spine remains relaxed and lengthened. Take care that your hands and feet are not touching each other. Place your legs in full contact with the ground and make sure they create a right angle to form a square between two legs, floor and the chair on which you are being seated. If you are lying instead of sitting, then you must ensure that both of your legs are not crossing or even touching each other and your hands lie gently by your sides. When you are lying on a sofa or bed, you must lie in a straight fashion to ensure that your back is in the most relaxed condition. Even in theta meditation, in order to utilize the full potentials of the power hidden within you, you must elect a comfy posture to sink into a focused stage of mind.

Meditation Techniques : Deep Breath

Now, when you are in a comfortable posture, shut your eyes. Do not snap your eyes just like the beginners, rather close your eyes gently. At first, gaze at your surrounding and then close your eyes slowly while inhaling oxygen. A deep breathe technique will help you fill your lungs with fresh air and get them completely rid of poisonous carbon-DI-oxide. Mastering the art of meditation techniques is not easy but with regular practice you can certainly better your performance.
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Implementation of organizational change process in the management

Change management or organizational change is a type of official structured method of transitioning or shifting of teams, individuals or organizations from the present state or destination to a future state or place as desired. The organizational change process involves assisting the employees to embrace and cordially accept modifications coded in the current business stream or environment. It?s correct that implementing organizational change requires co-ordination and team effort. The change management tools need to be developed with consideration and well-built effort to produce a prosperous organizational change.

The organizational change tools are implemented with concern towards the basic tricks of the team or organization, which may involve both past and provides strategies. This is because both past and offer method of follow-ups in a variety of aspects of a business is defined to exert considerable influence in the future management. For managing organizational change, it takes correct development procedures and rapid adjustment skills. The primary part of organizational change may be the manifestation of adjustment. Each personnel from the team or organization must accept the variable sphere because loss in an individual root may lead to the entire failure with the change management.

The organizational change management tools can be bound with all the properties of being fast and accurate. You can?t reduce the momentum of your team, business or organization in order to slowly cope with all the change in sphere. An effective change management is influenced by various abilities. This includes the quality of management tools development, the pace of proceedings and also the speed of adjustments. The organizational change management strategy or strategies formed by teamwork and coordination should be maintained and followed cordially for any certain period. The queries of each and every team member need to be met with explanations and clarifications to create a prosperous follow-up of the organizational change strategy.

The development of well-balanced organizational change strategies is essential while conducting an organizational change. The foremost change management approach must be produced by a figure, who qualifies well in leadership, of the same quality leadership adversely influences a change management system. The introduction of a change management tool must talk with discussion by all the members and there must be an effective fore-visualization with the change management toolkit ahead of its request inside the process.

The change management techniques have to be developed gradually with concern for the separate comments imposed about it by each one of the team member. As with organization change, group influence is a crucial factor. A strategic change management can be undergone through the followup of the imposed strategies with team effort. ?Accuracy?, ?Timing? and ?Rapid Adjustment? will be the three secrets of a prosperous organizational change process.

click here to know more about organizational change strategies.

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Meryl Streep to present Shirley MacLaine with award

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Importance of Travel Insurance | Life With Lisa

Posted on22 May 2012. Tags: Travel

If you?re going abroad, the chances are that you?ll need some insurance to cover you in case something bad were to happen to you or anyone else with you such as a friend, partner or family member. Travel insurance is a very useful thing to have when you?re going on holiday, as it covers all manner of things that could happen to you. In the event of an accident, you might also want to consider claiming for compensation with the help of a legal professional who works on a no win no fee basis.

Among the things that travel insurance policies cover include medical costs faced in the event of illness, loss of property such as cameras and mobile phones, any problems with the accommodation, theft and, in some cases, injury. As well as being useful in case of something unfortunate happening, travel insurance can be surprisingly cheap, with some policies costing less than ?200 per year. Meanwhile, the majority of travel insurance policies offer those who buy it full coverage, meaning they can enjoy their holiday a little more.

While travel insurance covers many things, if you?re involved in an accident while on holiday, you might be eligible to make a claim for compensation from the holiday provider if not informed of any risks that you?re taking while on your break. By hiring a lawyer of solicitor with sufficient knowledge of the area of holiday accidents, you could stand a chance of winning compensation to cover the costs you face after having that accident. This is worth doing if the money your insurance policy pays out isn?t enough to meet your costs.

This is a featured post from No Win, No Fee.

Interview: Tony of International Couples.net | OnlineDatingSites.net

Interview: Tony of International Couples.net

Have you ever thought about being in a relationship with someone from a different culture or country? Maybe you have been in a long distance relationship with a partner who lives far away and struggled to find time to see each other. Tony at InternationalCouples.net knows exactly what you are going through. He is also in an international relationship and seeks to share his?knowledge?and experiences with others. InternationalCouples.net is the place to find stories and advice about how to find success as an international couple. Clearly, Tony is a busy man, but we at OnlineDatingSites.net have been lucky enough to catch him for an interview.

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What is it like dating across countries? Do most international couples have a solid period of time where they are constantly around each other or is it usually a long distance relationship?

Truth be told, ?international relationship? is a very broad term and it usually refers to couples where there is some international element. In ?What truly is an international couple? I will try to explain the many faces of such relationships. Generally, with this term we are?referring?to a union or a relationship between a local and a foreigner, two locals in a foreign country like an expat couple, two locals with different cultural backgrounds, like a Native American or someone with an Hispanic background, or more simply two foreigners in a third country. Furthermore, it is easy to define interracial but what is the separation between what is multicultural and what is international? In my experience, the distance factor comes into these relationships at some time. And when distance makes its appearance, it is the ultimate test for the couple. Distance can make couples stronger or destroy them.

There are couples that start off by living together as ordinary couples and then, when one of the partners moves back to his/her country of origin, they cope with distance for the first time.

Other couples experience distance from the very beginning. On the one hand they probably grow stronger but they also kind of wear out sooner. This is the case for those partners that meet while both or one of them moves abroad to work, to study or simply goes on vacation. At one point those couples must settle down in one of their respective countries or in a third country. There are also those couples that keep commuting for many years.

Then, there are those international couples that already live in a certain country (either because they moved there or they grew up there) and so are less likely to be affected by distance.

When dating, there must be a lot of time and money used when traveling to see each other. How do internationals couples justify this expense?

When distance forces couples to commute, dating can be a very stressful and expensive game. If someone is still depending on their parents for their finances, parents usually end up paying the phone bills and for the train or plain tickets. Those coming from well off families may pull the game a bit longer but, at some point, parents are going to stop paying for that. This is when, if the entire thing is feasible, one of the two might decide to leave and join the partner wherever he/she is for a shorter vacation or to continue studying in his/her city.

Parents do not always approve of such relationships and this can lead to family conflicts.

Funny enough, the state of things does not change radically for those people that meet when they have already started working or already have a business or profession. Indeed, if when we are still students or teenagers we may have more freedom but fewer resources, when we have a job we have more resources but, almost always, very little freedom. International couples that date across countries usually undergo one of the following phases:

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1. They have just met. For a little while they will try to make the long-distance relationship work.
2. They want to stay together and are working out who should move and where.
3. They love each other but it is too difficult to leave the job/country.

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In each case, the monthly expenses depend on many factors. Low-cost fares are a great help to contemporary couples. Within Europe, for instance, there are many low-fare airlines which means that couples can meet over the weekends and travel for as little as twenty or thirty euro. Such situation is favorable also because you get basically anywhere within one to three hours of flight. Those couples that come from countries that are more distant say an American citizen and a European, or Asian or African cannot enjoy short haul flights and this can be frustrating. In my experience, though, long distances spur such couples to search for long-term solutions, and this is one of the main differentiator between the couples that ?normalize? and those that keep commuting.

Phone bills represent another spur in the wheels for international couples. Smart phones do help a lot, these days. Up to five years ago Skype was the only solution for calling home, nowadays you can use Skype and similar tools (Voipbuster, for instance) for telephone calls from your mobile phones as well. Moreover, there is a number of smart-phone Apps which can be downloaded for free or for peanuts, really.

On the overall, expenses always top the list of reasons as why you international couples split up or marriages fail.

Furthermore, some people forget that expenses must be accounted for also later on in the relationship. Indeed, when an international couple settles some costs may be cut down but others remain. Travel expenses, for example, will be reduced but unless the couple wants to forget their roots and travel back home only once in a while, they will keep showing up.

Different cultures have different ideas about what is right and wrong, proper and improper. How do international couples deal with cultural differences without offending one another?

It is more difficult than it seems since many differences are actually tiny little details in the way people go through their days. It is paramount to understand and interiorize that in most cases there are no right and wrong ways of doing things but just different point of views and the results can be just as right with both methods. I also strongly suggest doing some research over what is believed to be a population?s characteristic. In many cases, such readings can be a bit stereotypical but helpful all the same.

Good advice in order to not to offend one another and to better understand the other?s culture is avoid creating isolated cultural worlds. What I am saying is that partners should try to blend together and join each other?s cultures. What I often see, instead, is that partners behave like watertight compartments. The one partner follows his cultural habits and so does the other one. Melting, in this case, means to join the partners? habits and so slightly modify yours. The secret is to understand that the couple should have its own identity and it is not purely two single persons together.

How do international couples resolve moral issues and religion, especially when it comes to how children will be raised?

I suggest discussing these topics in advance and to be very clear about what are your own expectations and values. As always, I suggest to search for the values shared by both instead of underlining what are the differences. So, families might decide to attend religious services separate as they have different faiths, which is fine, but they must agree on the basic values that they want their children to be brought up with. Also, parents might give different importance to study and physical activities but the well being of their children should be at the first place.

Coming from an American point of view, I imagine my family wouldn?t be too thrilled to find out I was maintaining a long distance relationship with someone across the ocean. Their concern would probably double if they learned I was planning to move out of the country to be with the person. How do international couples gain acceptance from their own family and their spouses?

A certain degree of stubbornness is required but family acceptance is also very important. In any case, it is paramount to remember that the aim is to have the family of origin and your partner both on the same side: the side of those that love and support you. It is not a battle of wills and it is not a competition as who loves you the most. You need both types of love.

Therefore, there are some moves that might help this process. Having your partner coming over and visit you and introduce him/herself to your family does show your willingness to gain support from your family. It also shows your partner?s desire to be accepted by your family and that you regard you relationship as something important.

When an international couple decides to make their relationship permanent, through marriage for example, how do they decide which country they will live in.

I think that in such phases both emotional and factual factors are taken into consideration. Emotional factors answer needs like where people would like to live, how deep are their roots and how good they manage homesickness. The factual factors, on the other hand, are those factors that have a factual and materialist nature such as who is enjoying a better career at that moment, whether the couple is planning on having children, who is earning the most etc. Both factors are important. Factual factors are fundamental since a good career or a healthy business can guarantee stability to the family. But, at the end of the day, emotional factors play a far more important role since jobs can be changed but emotions and feelings are not to be messed with.

Seeing each other in person at least once in a while must be important to the health of the relationship. How often should an international couple plan to travel to see each other?

It really depends on the distance, the depth of the relationship and, of course, on the financial means that the couple has. I would suggest that the distance-phase is kept at a minimum and during that time for partners meet at least once a month or every couple of months (for those couple that live in very distant countries). Deciding to resolve and stop commuting saves time, stress, energy and money.

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Obviously there are many hardships in maintaining an international relationship, but there are certainly benefits as well. What is your favorite part about being in an international relationship?

I like being able to immerge myself in another culture whenever I like and I love to have two cultures. I love switching from one language to another and I think I am very lucky because I can pick the best from both cultures.

A lot of concern involved in international relationships surrounds differences in language, culture and way of life. What are some similarities people can find amongst themselves when in international relationships?

I like to think that people in a relationship are, in a certain way, like products. In international relationships, in particular, the packaging can be very different indeed. What people should be looking for is similar products, not similar packages. People, then, should be interested in finding shared values in the persons they fell in love with.

You can discover that behind the surface and across hundreds of thousands of kilometers, families and persons may have very much in common in terms of values, life style and the importance given to children, love and respect.

What are the unique personality traits of people who maintain healthy international relationships?

This is a very good question and it gives me the opportunity to explain what I regard as ?minimum requirements? to enter the international world. I am absolutely convinced that single-minded persons and those who do not really appreciate anything that differs from their routine, habits and beliefs, are ill-suited for such relationships. It is a personal view, of course, but over the years, meeting with couples similar to ours, I have noted that such persons do accept differences with difficulty and manage changes of habits very badly. I am not saying that their relationships will not work or that they are not caring persons but, on the long term, these personalities are going to impact the couple somehow.

Open-mindedness, then, is one of the first characteristics that international couples should possess. It goes without saying, naturally, that this does not mean a blind acceptance of all the differences of the partner but, instead, a mature and non-conflictive approach to them. International couples are blessed with having the chance of being able taste the best out of two or three cultures. If they are close-minded or simply do not need what is best in other cultures then why are they together?

For those couples that come from different language groups, I reckon that a minimum ability with languages is a great help. I have met couples in which one of the partners completely disregarded the partner?s language. Because of language ability (and laziness too), for years they went on speaking just in one language. Needless to say, when the couple was off visiting relatives and friends where the other language was spoken, one of them was cut out of the conversation and completely clueless about what was going on. I do understand that language, as math for example, is not for everyone but an effort should be made all the same. It also increases intimacy within the couple.

I am also convinced that a certain degree of stubbornness is needed. Why? Well, as it happens in school, sometimes people like to gang up on those that are different. And international couples are different. People in such relationships may be foreigners, they may speak different languages, they may have different skin colors, faiths, accents?In my experience, I have seen people that get too stressed when comments or innuendos are made and stress impacts the couple. Being in such relationships, where there are possibly more issues than in ordinary ones, is like starting up a business and listen to negative comments and many friends saying that it will never succeed. You have got to believe in your feelings and forget the differences.

What advice would you give to a single man or woman interested in starting an international relationship with someone?

Truth be told, I do not really think that one can choose to start an international relationship on purpose but, should one fell in love with an international partner, I would recommend to dive into it as open minded as possible, enjoy the cultural richness, the different flavors, the opposite point of views and be patient with the myriad of small differences. After all, no pain, no gain!

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Thanks Tony!

by Tonya Vrba - Monday, May 21st, 2012

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Food Network Star Recap: May 20, 2012 from Tv Food and Drink ...

I think tonight?s unfortunately bland ?Bus Tour? episode of Food Network Star?can be summed up by the amount of times the participants gave each other the ?swirly finger.?
You know the ?swirly finger,? right? ?You put your index finger up in the air and swirl it around as a silent way of saying to someone else, ?Yo dude? wrap it up. ?It?s officially boring now.?
Television producers crouching behind cameras often give the ?swirly finger? to their red carpet host who?s about to go one question too many with Jim Belushi. ? Mommies give it to the mall Santa when their kid moves away from Legos and skateboards and starts asking for live panda bears and a career like P. Diddy?s.

As for me, I was giving the ?swirly? to my television about 25 minutes into this episode.

This new format of dividing the competitors into three smaller teams, each led by a celebrity mentor has proven itself, in only two episodes, to be a critical mis-step for the show. ?Here?s why:

1.) I said it last week, and I?ll say it again? I DON?T CARE OF GIADA BEATS BOBBY, OR IF BOBBY BEATS ALTON. ?They each make more money at a Saturday Barnes and Noble signing than I do all year. ?Short of threatening to give their kids Mike Tyson face tattoos if they lose, I will never believe any of them care anything about ?the win.?

2.) Breaking the 15 competitors into smaller teams of five, I feel, has taken out a great chunk of the intimidation factor. ?Think about it? what would make you sweat more? going up against a gang of 4, or a gang of 14?

Watching these competitors scream obscenities at one another as they fight over the meager amounts of ingredients on hand in what has got to be the worst stocked kitchen in all of television is a huge part of the fun. ?I like seeing the challenges bring out the worst in these players.

But because of this new format, each team is separated from one another for almost the entire episode, so they don?t even get to lay eyes on the very people they?re told to compete against, much less insult them, trip them as they?re running across the kitchen, or over-salt their bouillabaisse when no one?s looking.

Even worse, within the teams there seems to be a slowly blossoming ?support mentality? taking hold. ?I don?t know about you, but I don?t want to watch these contestants help one another and offer consoling shoulders when they under-perform. ?I want to see the 1950s telephone operator push a carving knife up against Rock and Roller?s throat for swiping the last parsnip off her work station. ?I want to see Pucker Lips Justin rip that irritating nose ring out of Michele?s face. ?I want raised voices and words like ?backstabber? and ?manipulator? tossed about freely. ?I don?t need to watch a group of people suppress their petty jealousies and pretend to get along with each other for two full hours. ?I?ve got family holidays for that.

3.) Where?s our villain? ?Last season, we had that fabulous ?Bitch on Wheels? Penny. ?I can?t say I ever once wanted her to win, but I relished hating her for enough episodes so that I could ultimately take great satisfaction when the judges finally knocked her legs out from under her. ?We have no one even approaching that spot so far this season. ?I got the impression last week either Nikki or Martita might be heading for the ?love to hate? title, but everyone is so isolated from one another, there?s no opportunity for them to even work up enough venom to spit.

In short, there?s an appalling lack of drama on this season?s Food Network Star, and the blame can be pointed squarely at the decision to copy the ?celebrity mentor? format of NBC?s The Voice. ?Hopefully, it will be rectified soon and the remaning competitors will be merged back into one giant dysfunctional ball? competing in a space that?s just a little too small for them, with the heat turned up just a little too high, and the kitchen floors greased just enough with an invisible layer of Crisco. ?Otherwise, it?s going to be a long, painful season for all of us.

Challenge #1 - Each team is assigned a different New York neighborhood known for a specific type of cuisine. ?After visiting each neighborhood, each contestant must return to the kitchen and create a dish inspired by it, then present it to the judges and a group of guinea pig ?test-eaters? on a local bus tour.

Here are the highlights:

Justin has pretty lips, but no personality and likes to dress like a 1970?s wedding DJ.

1950s Phone Operator Emily forgets to eat and nearly throws up on everyone during her bus presentation.

Martie still likes to party.

Michele goes on and on about how much she hates ?bottom-feeding? catfish, then makes a bunch of it and pretends to like it to trick other people into eating it.

Judson gets assigned pickles as his dish?s main ingredient. ?Alton tells him to ?embrace the pickle.? ?Everyone purses their lips and looks down at their feet.

Kara gets nervous while presenting and refers to ?African Americans? as ?blacks,? which makes Judge Susie Fogelson wince. ?Also, her chicken and waffles dish tasted like she got it out of the frozen food section at the Piggly Wiggly.

Linkie is afraid to make cannolis.

Yvan makes a mozzarella anitpasti that has no flavor.

Josh plans to ?rock and roll? his Italian sausage story, but instead presents a meandering 15 minute narrative that has something to do with how Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci first met. Everyone is bored, and Giada promises never again to pick someone for the show because of his cute butt and super-cool sideburns.
Judge Bob announces that Martita is ?just so likable!? ?Everyone purses their lips and looks down at their feet.

In the end, the members of Team Giada won the Bus Challenge and were all saved from elimination. ?Heading to the Producer?s Challenge Elimination Cook-off?were Kara and Judson. Their final challenge was to create an interesting dish with ? I kid you not ? potatoes. ?Not sweet potatoes, not Himalayan Wombat Potatoes, not Mr. Potato Head dolls. Just plain old potatoes. And there was still thirty minutes to go.

Kara made twice-baked potatoes ?with a twist!? ?What was the grand mysterious M. Night Shyamalan?element to her meal, you may ask? ?Was it that they were creamy? ?Was it that she added bacon? ?Was it that her mommy makes them for her every year on her birthday?

It was never made clear.

Regardless, Judge Bob loved it, though Susie pointed out that when Kara presents her food, she uses hollow words like ?fantastic? and ?great? way too much.

Meanwhile, Judson made potatoes encrusted with salmon and mascarpone?and goat cheese. ?The title alone should have secured him the win over Kara right then and there.

Bob said that the meal wasn?t memorable because the salmon was really the star instead of the potato. ?Susie said that it was layered and soulful, but that Judson lacks authenticity when he?s presenting his food, and comes off as if he?s talking to a room full of thousands.

Judson cried. ?Susie was not having it. ?That woman is made of stone, I tell ya! ?I love her!
In the end, ?Don?t Say Blacks? Kara was the one who took the long walk of shame through the darkened Food Network Star kitchen? the one that never has any butter on hand when the challenge that week is ?Make Something Spectacular with Butter!?

Poor Kara didn?t seem too surprised that the axe fell on her neck. ?Though the judges saw potential, they couldn?t find anything ?unique? that would make them want to watch any more. When they said that, I pursed my lips, looked down at my feet, and prayed for a reversal of fortune on next week?s Food Network Star.

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Victim's father regrets death of 'Lockerbie bomber'

The father of a British victim of the Lockerbie bombing said Sunday he regretted the death of the only man convicted of the atrocity and expressed hopes his name would be cleared posthumously.

Jim Swire, a British doctor whose daughter Flora was killed in the 1988 bombing of the Pan Am airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, said he had long believed that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was innocent.

"It is a sad time, I think. I have been satisfied for some years that this man was nothing to do with the murder of my daughter," Swire said.

"I think Scotland has a big question to answer as to why his verdict hasn't long since been reviewed," he told BBC TV.

But British Prime Minister David Cameron rejected calls for an inquiry into the conviction.

"This has been thoroughly gone through," Cameron told British reporters at a NATO summit in Chicago. "There was a proper process, a proper court proceeding and all the rest of it."

"I'm very clear that the court case was properly done and properly dealt with.

"Today is a day to remember the 270 people who lost their lives in what was an appalling terrorist act," Cameron added.

A Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands convicted Megrahi in 2001 of the bombing which sent debris from the jet raining down on Lockerbie, killing 11 people on the ground and all 259 on board the jet.

Scottish authorities released Megrahi from prison on compassionate grounds in August 2009 because he had prostate cancer, a decision which caused outrage in Britain and the United States.

Cameron said on Sunday: "I've always been clear he should never have been released".

Some have suggested the decision was taken to smooth the way for oil deals in Libya to be struck with British firms.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond argued that Megrahi's death vindicated his administration -- which can make decisions on justice matters independently of the British government.

His death "puts to rest some of the conspiracy theories which have attempted to suggest that his illness was somehow manufactured -- today's news confirms what we have always said about his medical condition", Salmond said.

Swire, a member of the Justice for Megrahi (JFM) group, said the Libyan had been in great pain when he visited him in Tripoli in December.

"I think we both knew we were saying goodbye to each other," he said. "His demise now has at least relieved his pain for him.

"From now on perhaps we can concentrate on trying to find out who did murder my daughter and all those other people."

Swire said he was confident that Megrahi's guilty verdict would be quashed.

"I think the verdict will be overturned because there is already sufficient information to make it untenable," he said.

Swire revealed that in their final meeting, Megrahi discussed clearing his name.

"He still wanted to talk to me about how information which he and his defence team have accumulated could be passed to me after his death," he told Sky News.

Megrahi dropped an appeal shortly before his release even though he was under no legal compulsion to do so.

The secretary of JFM, Robert Forrester, said Megrahi's eldest daughter Ghada, who studied law in Scotland, has often signalled her intention to push for the appeal to be reopened after her father's death.

Even if she does not do so, Forrester said Swire and other sceptical families could do so.

However, he accused the Scottish administration of obstructing efforts to shed light on the Lockerbie affair.

"The Crown and successive governments have, for years, acted to obstruct any attempts to investigate how the conviction of Mr al-Megrahi came about.

"Some in the legal and political establishments may well be breathing a sigh of relief now that Mr al-Megrahi has died. This would be a mistake."

Salmond said the Lockerbie case "remains a live investigation".

"It has always been the Crown's position that Mr Megrahi did not act alone but with others," he said.

Scotland's top prosecutor and the head of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation visited Libya in April to assess the investigation.

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Beckett sharp again as Red Sox top Phillies

Associated Press Sports

updated 4:54 p.m. ET May 20, 2012

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - If he keeps this up, Josh Beckett won't have to worry about hearing boos anymore.

Beckett pitched 7 2-3 strong innings and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit a three-run homer to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 5-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday.

Mike Aviles also homered and drove in two runs for Boston, which has won eight of 10 games overall after taking the final two of this three-game series.

Beckett (4-4) was booed off the mound May 10 when he allowed seven runs in 2 1-3 innings following news that he had played golf while skipping a start to rest a strained lat muscle - but he has been spectacular since.

After shutting out Seattle in a home win on May 15 by pitching seven scoreless innings and giving up four hits with nine strikeouts and two walks, Beckett allowed one run on seven hits Sunday while striking out five and walking two.

"I was making pitches when I needed to and the defense was unbelievable, everybody contributed," Beckett said. "I was keeping the ball down and I threw a few changeups, or I got ground balls. It's nice to keep the ball in this ballpark."

His only blemish was Juan Pierre's sacrifice fly in the eighth that gave Philadelphia its only run.

"His stuff was really moving today," Boston manager Bobby Valentine said of Beckett. "He was aggressive in the strike zone and he looked like he wanted it."

Adrian Gonzalez went 2 for 4 and now is 9 for 16 lifetime against Phillies lefty Cliff Lee.

Lee (0-2), making just his sixth start of the season after spending time on the DL with a strained oblique, had his worst start of the year. In seven innings, he allowed five runs on nine hits - both season highs. He struck out six and walked one.

"They've got a good offense," Lee said. "They make you throw a lot of pitches. They foul off good pitches until they get one to hit. It's definitely the sign of a good offense, which they are."

The three-time All-Star and 2008 AL Cy Young winner has been pitching well this season, entering with a 1.95 ERA, but has not been getting run support some of the time or bullpen support other times.

The Phillies' offense didn't help Lee, once again, but this time the left-hander wasn't able to keep Philadelphia close.

"Tonight it was definitely my fault," he said. "I've gotta do a better job of that. I gotta get deeper in the game without giving up so many runs. This one falls on me."

Aviles led off with a homer for the second straight game, ripping Lee's 1-1 cutter into the seats in left.

"I just try to put the ball in play, try to hit the ball up the middle and whatever happens, happens," Aviles said. "I'm just trying to get on base."

After Aviles' RBI single in the second gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead, Boston went ahead 5-0 in the third inning on Saltalamacchia's three-run homer that cleared the seats in center field and reached Ashburn Alley, the fan walkway behind the outfield seats. Lee said the pitch was a mistake.

"I threw a changeup up out over the plate," he said. "Other than that, I felt like they battled. They fouled off a lot of good pitches, made me work a lot early. They got themselves a nice lead and never really lost it."

Lee settled down after that, retiring the next 11 batters before Beckett's single off the wall in center to lead off the seventh. But the damage had been done.

"I was hoping once (Lee) settled in he started pitching pretty good we could score some runs for him, but we couldn't do it," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We hit some balls hard early but we couldn't get any big hits and drive runs in."

Beckett was in total command against a Phillies lineup that had 15 hits the previous night. Other than the third inning, the right-hander allowed just two runners to reach second base prior to the eighth.

"He kept the ball down good," Manuel said. "He hung in there, kept his pitch count down and (it) allowed him to go deep."

The Phillies threatened in the third, putting runners on second and third with one out after Lee doubled, but Jimmy Rollins grounded out to third and Pierre lined out sharply to first to keep Philadelphia scoreless.

Philadelphia scored its run in the eighth on Pierre's sacrifice fly to left that scored pinch-hitter Pete Orr, who doubled. Valentine lifted Beckett after the right-hander walked Shane Victorino to put runners on first and second. And the bases were loaded when reliever Vicente Padilla walked Hunter Pence. But Padilla got Ty Wigginton to ground out to second to escape the jam.

"That's a situation you want to be in and Padilla did a good job," Wigginton said.

The Phillies were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position Sunday, and now are 3 for 21 in their last two games.

Notes: A day after making a sensational catch in center field, Boston's Ryan Sweeney didn't play. Valentine said he would be evaluated further on Monday, mentioning a possible concussion. . Phillies GM Ruben Amaro defended the club's use of a cortisone shot last Sept. 18 on Ryan Howard's injured left foot. The reaction was in response to a Philadelphia Inquirer story Sunday suggesting that the cortisone shot may have contributed to Howard's Achilles' tear last Oct. 7. ... Boston OF Cody Ross didn't play for the second straight game after fouling a ball off his left leg on Friday. ... The crowd of 45,586 was the 225th straight sellout and 241st counting postseason play. ... Philadelphia RHP Kyle Kendrick (0-3, 5.96), filling in for injured right-hander Vance Worley (elbow), is scheduled to face Washington left-hander Gio Gonzalez (5-1, 2.22) on Monday night when the Phillies host the first of a three-game series. ... Boston RHP Clay Buchholz (4-2, 7.77) opposes Orioles RHP Tommy Hunter (2-2, 4.78) when the Red Sox travel to AL East-leading Baltimore on Monday.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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