WATCH CLIPS EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS Walt Cade and his buyers hit the road to Austin, Texas--the capital of the state and home to a multitude of proudly eclectic weirdoes. Moe and Mary battle for an antique unit with an 8 grand payout. Jenny gets a lesson in rock and roll. Victor finds an energizing item. And Rangers Ricky and Bubba use their home turf advantage to kick out the tourist competition. In a city whose motto is "Keep Austin Weird"--one team will truly learn the definition of an oddity.
Aust-in-Translation
Walt Cade and his buyers hit the road to Austin, Texas--the capital of the state and home to a multitude of proudly eclectic weirdoes. Moe and Mary battle for an antique unit with an 8 grand payout. Jenny gets a lesson in rock and roll. Victor finds an energizing item. And Rangers Ricky and Bubba use their home turf advantage to kick out the tourist competition. In a city whose motto is "Keep Austin Weird"--one team will truly learn the definition of an oddity.
NEW YORK - The forecast for the Pinstripe Bowl calls for snow and scoring.
West Virginia and Syracuse play Saturday at Yankee Stadium in a matchup of former Big East rivals and NFL-prospect quarterbacks
Snow is expected to fall in the New York area throughout the day, with accumulations of about 3 inches. Maybe that will help the defenses slow down a couple of offenses that have been among the best in the country this season.
"There are two factors that matter: It?s wind and it?s wet," West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen said Friday during a news conference with Syracuse coach Doug Marrone at Yankee Stadium. "Snow doesn?t bother us much. If the wind?s blowing that makes us miserable."
In that case the news should be good. The forecast calls for no more than light gusts of about 10 mph.
Marrone said his only concern was making sure there were enough shovels and workers on the field to clear the snow so the sideline and yard markers were visible.
"I already went to Home Depot," chimed in Yankees executive Mark Holtzman, who is in charge of running the 3-year-old bowl.
In that case, let it snow.
"That?s what makes football fun," said Marrone, the Bronx native and Yankees fan who is in his fourth season has head coach of his alma mater. "The only time you cancel a game is if there is lightning. Other than that the one thing we know for sure is we?re playing."
And if West Virginia is playing that means points will be plentiful. The Mountaineers have scored at least 31 points 10 times this season. Six times in a West Virginia game, the losing team has scored at least 34 points. Continued...
Syracuse has shown it should be able to keep up. The Orange (7-5) averaged 36 points a game while winning five of their last six. Cold and snow shouldn?t faze the Orange, but remember, they do play in a dome.
"You can say I?m used to this weather because I?m from Syracuse but a lot of times we don?t play in this weather," quarterback Ryan Nassib said. "When it?s windy and the elements are bad you just have to make more careful reads."
Another high-scoring affair would be an appropriate way for West Virginia to finish what has been a wild first season in the Big 12 for the Mountaineers, who fled the Big East after last year.
The Mountaineers (7-5) won their first five games this year, including a 70-63 head-spinner against Baylor and a 48-45 thriller at Texas. At that point they were ranked fifth in the country, quarterback Geno Smith was the Heisman Trophy front-runner and Morgantown was rocking.
Five straight losses followed as West Virginia?s defensive problems could no longer be masked.
The Mountaineers rallied to finish the season with victories at Iowa State and at home against Kansas.
Holgorsen credited his upperclassmen, especially Smith and talented receivers Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey, with helping West Virginia recover.
"They did keep pressing forward," he said. "That?s what good players and true leaders do, they step up and say let?s try to change some things."
Not much needed to change offensively. Smith and the Mountaineers are eighth in the nation in total offense at 518 yards a game. Smith has thrown for 4,004 yards and 40 touchdowns, and both Bailey and Austin had more than 1,000 yards receiving. Bailey, a junior who has already said he will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft, has 23 touchdown receptions.
West Virginia?s defense has been as bad as its offense has been good. The Mountaineers rank 123rd (out of 124) in the nation against the pass. Continued...
"Just because of what they have done throughout the year, or what they haven?t done, doesn?t mean they won?t be ready," Nassib said.
While Smith has gotten plenty of publicity and is expected to be an early round NFL draft pick - maybe even the first quarterback taken - Nassib has been almost as good with far less fanfare.
"Ryan?s a great quarterback," said Smith, who lost twice to the Orange while playing in the Big East. "He?s put Syracuse on the map again. I appreciate his game. He?s a great competitor."
Nassib has thrown for 3,619 yards and 24 touchdowns, and NFL scouts are well aware of the senior?s strong arm and athleticism. Running an up-tempo style offense that is similar to - though not quite as fast as - West Virginia?s, the Orange are 21st in the nation in total offense at 473 yards per game.
Syracuse will say goodbye to the Big East, too, after this game. Next season the Orange will play in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Will the Pinstripe Bowl be next to separate with the Big East? The bowl?s contract with the Big East and Big 12 has one more year.
Holtzman said it?s too soon to speculate what conferences the game will align itself with down the road, but he said he was confident in the game?s future.
"We expect this game," he said, "to be part of the bowl landscape for a long time."
It warmed our hearts to hear that when Kate Winslet tied the knot with Ned Rocknroll earlier in December, her Titanic co-star Leonardo DiCaprio walked her down the aisle.
Sure, celebs often attend each others' weddings; they even participate in regular people's nuptials, too. But we wondered which other celebs involved their celebrity friends in their weddings, like Winslet and DiCaprio.
Below, 11 other celebrities who asked their co-stars to be a part of their Big Day.
Jennifer Garner
Victor Garber <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/emma-stone-officiates-a-wedding-just-like-these-other-celebrities-20121411">officiated Jennifer Garner's 2005 wedding</a> to Ben Affleck after he and Garner appeared on "Alias" together. He later <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-mendelson/huff-post-review-argo-201_b_1955378.html">starred alongside hubby Affleck</a> in 2012's "Argo."
Donald Faison
Perhaps Zach Braff and Donald Faison's bromance on "Scrubs" is so believable because the two are real-life buds. Braff <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/donald-faison-cacee-cobb-married-tie-the-knot-photos_n_2311174.html">hosted Faison's 2012 wedding </a>at his home in Los Angeles.
Beverley Mitchell
When Beverley Mitchell <a href="http://www.instyle.com/instyle/package/general/photos/0,,20352342_20355384_20761809,00.html">got hitched in October 2008</a>, she asked her sisters to be bridesmaids -- her TV sisters that is. Jessical Biel and Mackenzie Rosman, who co-starred with Mitchell on "7th Heaven,"<a href="http://www.justjared.com/2008/10/01/beverley-mitchell-wedding-pictures/"> were in her wedding party</a>.
Stanley Tucci
In 1998, Stanley Tucci directed and acted in a little-known movie called <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120823/">"The Imposters"</a> with Steve Buscemi. Since then, the long-time friends have <a href="http://observer.com/2008/01/buscemi-tucci-team-for-production-company/">started a producttion company</a> together and Buccemi <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20634884,00.html">acted as best man at Tucci's wedding </a>to Felicity Blunt in September 2012.
Jensen Ackles
The whole cast was involved in this "Supernatural" wedding. Jensen Ackles<a href="http://www.justjared.com/2010/05/15/jensen-ackles-wedding-pictures/"> married his "Supernatural" co-star Daneel Harris</a> in May of 2010. His onscreen bother, <a href="http://www.celebritybrideguide.com/jensen-ackles-and-danneel-harris-wedding/">Jared Padaleck, acted as groomsman</a>.
America Ferrera
Vanessa Williams hosted America Ferrera's 2011 nuptials to longtime boyfriend Ryan Piers Williams <a href="http://www.etonline.com/news/111969_NEW_PICS_America_Ferrera_s_Wedding/index.html">at her estate in upstate New York</a>. But she wasn't the only "Ugly Betty" co-star involved in Ferrera's Big Day. <a href="http://wonderwall.msn.com/tv/america-ferrera-weds-at-star-packed-bash-1626991.story">Judith Light officiated</a> the ceremony.
Jenni 'JWoww' Farley
It's no surprise that Jenni 'JWoww' Farley asked Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi to <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/358465/jwoww-talks-big-tv-wedding-names-snooki-maid-of-honor">act as maid of honor</a> at her upcoming wedding. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/01/snooki-and-jwoww-best-friends-forever-video_n_1561903.html">The friendship between these two besties has grown</a> over seven seasons of "The Jersey Shore" and now on "Snooki and JWoww."
Hugh Laurie
Before Hugh Laurie played <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/house-md">Dr. Gregory House</a>, he had a hit sketch show on the BBC called "<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/abitoffryandlaurie/index.shtml">A Bit Of Fry & Laurie</a>." He and his comedic counterpart on the show, Stephen Fry, were such good buddies, that <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0491402/bio">Fry acted as Laurie's best man</a> at his 1989 wedding.
Tamera Mowry-Housely
Tamera Mowry-Housely had "Sister, Sister" co-star and real-life twin, Tia Mowry-Hardrict, <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20489964,00.html">as her Matron of Honor at her 2011 wedding</a>. Of course, Tamera was also Tia's <a href="http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,,20196740_20448235,00.html#20448229">maid of honor back in 2008</a> when she tied the knot.
"Bachelorette" Ashley Hebert
Chris Harrison, host of the "Bachelor" franchise, took on a new role for "Bachelorette" alum Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum -- <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/bachelorette-wedding-to-air-on-abc-with-chris-harrison-officiating">he officiated their wedding</a>. Naturally, a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/17/the-bachelorette-ashley-and-jp-video_n_2313671.html">TV special of their Big Day aired </a>in December of 2012.
Tiffany Thornton
Tiffany Thornton <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2062007/Demi-Lovatos-new-romance-Wilmer-Valderrama-heats-step-Disney-stars-wedding.html">had Demi Lovato as a bridesmaid in her November, 2011 wedding</a>. The two have been pals since 2009 when they both starred in Disney's "Sonny With A Chance." Lovato even <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/13/demi-lovato-catches-bouquet_n_1146516.html#s490610&title=Nicole_Scherzinger">caught the bouquet</a> at the reception!
Keep in touch! Check out HuffPost Weddings on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
OUYA, the Android-based affordable gaming console that inspired a wide range of reaction from tech watchers and gamers alike when it debuted on Kickstarter back in July 2012, today reached an important milestone: shipping product. Admittedly, it's just the developer-specific consoles for now, but 1,200 units are now winging their way to actual people, and the company put the pre-release gaming console on video to prove it.
If you're new to the PlayStation ecosystem, you'll need to set up your PlayStation ID and account information. Instead of fighting with the PS3's controller on a virtual keyboard to enter all your deets, plug in any USB keyboard and type things out faster.
Click here to view this gallery.
[More from Mashable: 10 Bizarre New Year?s Resolutions on YouTube]
Now that the holiday gift-giving time is over, we're sure many of our readers unwrapped some new consoles. Despite its long life on the market, the Sony PlayStation 3 is still converting gamers everywhere, and many people were bound to receive one for the first time.
If you're one of those lucky people and you aren't sure what to do with your console right out of the box, we're here to help. We compiled the important things you should set up before getting started, as well as some great games you can download right away or should purchase the next time you're shopping.
[More from Mashable: 5 Best iPad Apps of 2012]
Check our list above for suggestions on what to do and play on your new PS3. Do you have any tips to share? Please leave them in the comments.
Yesterday we told you about the interactive map of local gun owners published by the?Journal-News,?a newspaper serving the Westchester and Rockland counties of New York, and the outcry it immediately drew. Turns out the stunt was so unpopular ? with gun owners and privacy advocates alike ? that a blogger named Christopher Fountain took it upon himself to dig up and organize the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the?Journal-News staff, starting with editor Cyndee Royle. The post is called "Keep up the heat" and encourages readers to pester the paper and prevent them from continuing to report gun-owner addresses.
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As long as they were keeping it to letters to the editor(s), the staff list was, at first, small potatoes as far as payback goes: the allure of the paper's original map of gun owners was the ability to see who, and how many people, owned a gun near a specific address ? the paper's stunt was a map, not just a (sparsely populated) list of names. But overnight a different retaliatory blogger decided to map the newspaper staff addresses culled thus far (from Google and elsewhere). Here's what Robert Cox, of?Talk of the Sound, came up with:
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It's a disparate (and perhaps desperate) effort ? there are only eleven addresses, one of which is located in Manhattan ? and lacks the visual impact of the original map, which indicated just how many gun owners (and guns) there are in just two counties in blue-state New York. So it's not particularly interesting, but it may be dangerous, and it's certainly depressing ? as its author notes: "Be advised that the Journal News has been in downsizing mode for the past several years. I have to wonder if all these names are current employees but we will treat them as such until we learn otherwise."
RELATED: Times-Picayune Reporter is Mad as Hell and She's Not Going to Take This Anymore
It's an open question whether the retribution is misplaced. In a morning interview with CNN, Fountain said he was angered by calls from victims of domestic abuse with gun permits who were worried their whereabouts had been inadvertently revealed. And, more philosophically: "In the aftermath of Newtown, it was obviously one tragedy, but somehow they were conflating legal gun owners with some crazed tormented devil up in Newtown and putting the two together."
NRA president David Keene said Thursday that David Gregory should not be prosecuted over the gun magazine he showed on "Meet the Press."
Gregory is currently being investigated by police after he showed what appeared to be a thirty-bullet gun magazine during an interview with NRA's Wayne LaPierre on Sunday. D.C. city code stipulates that it is illegal for anyone to possess, transfer or sell a magazine. It is not known whether NBC News had permission to use the magazine, and the network has not commented on the situation yet.
Keene appeared on CNN on Thursday. When asked if he believed Gregory should be prosecuted, he responded, "No, I don't think so."
He said that Gregory's actions showed that owning a magazine is "a silly felony." He continued, "I really think what David Gregory did while he was inadvertently flouting the law was illustrating in a very graphic way, perhaps not intentionally, but in a graphic way just how silly some of these laws are."
CNN host Carol Costello pressed Keene on whether Gregory should be prosecuted, considering that the law already exists. Keene maintained his position. "I?m not a vindictive guy who wants to go after David Gregory," he said. "I think it illustrates the craziness of some of these laws."
When Lions return man Stefan Logan fielded a kick at the 4-yard line on Saturday against the Falcons, he did something extraordinarily stupid: He took a knee and downed it. At the 4-yard line.
TV cameras caught Lions coach Jim Schwartz calling that, ?the f?king stupidest thing I?ve ever seen.? Now Logan has been benched.
?I won?t be [returning kicks] this Sunday,? Logan confirmed today. ?I?m mad, but at the same time there?s nothing I can do about that. That?s coach?s decision. I blame myself. I?m not blaming the coaches, I blame myself. I?m my worst critic.?
Logan didn?t have much of an explanation for why he downed the ball.
?It was a messed up play by me and I have to live with it and move on from it. It?s just a bad play by me and I have to pay the consequences and I have to live with it. I just have to work through it and just be ready for whenever your opportunity comes back up,? Logan said.
Schwartz said that if Logan can?t be trusted not to down the ball at the 4-yard line, then he can?t be trusted to return kicks.
?Part of a returner?s job is to know where he is on the field. Saying ?I didn?t know where I was, I thought I was in the end zone,? is not a valid excuse. Your job as a returner is to know where you are on the field, particularly after we had gotten a safety,? Schwartz said.
Frankly, Schwartz?s decision to bench Logan is long overdue, regardless of his bonehead play last week. Logan is dead last in the NFL with a 21.3-yard kickoff return average and 16th with a 9.1-yard punt return average, and he has six fumbles this season.
Still, Logan is confident in himself going forward.
?Things happen. I didn?t lose the game,? Logan said. ?The game was already over. So it?s not like I lost the game for us, but you can look at it however you want to look at it. We?ve all struggled as a team so far. Not just one individual. I?m like the quarterback on special teams. When the camera goes on special teams it comes straight to me so if anything happens on special teams as far as muffing a punt or a guy running into me or something like that it?s going to be my fault because the light is on me.?
The reality is that Logan is wrong when he says the game was over. It wasn?t over. The Lions were losing by 13 points with 1:21 remaining at the time of Logan?s blunder, so they certainly weren?t in good shape, but teams have come back from being down 13 with 1:21 remaining and gone on to win. In fact, just this season the Lions came back to force overtime after trailing the Titans by more than 13 with less than 1:21 remaining. In that game, Logan fielded a kick with the Lions down by 14 with 1:16 remaining. Fortunately for the Lions, when Logan downed that kick he really was in the end zone. (Apparently Logan thought at the time that the game was over, but his teammates still fought their way back into it.)
Logan?s ?the game was already over? statement doesn?t speak well for his competitiveness, but Logan said he still expects to be an NFL return man in 2013.
?I?ll just keep moving forward whether it?s with Detroit or another team,? he said.
Given Schwartz?s comments about Logan, it will probably not be with Detroit.
The defending remained terrible, which made the outcome foreseeably dramatic. In hindsight, it was foolish to dismiss any Manchester United game (including today?s) as being predictable. With the firepower to overcome any foolishness at the back, the Premier League?s leaders will forever have to out-shoot their opponents, something that?s lead them to the top of an entertaining if highly flawed Premier League.
Today was no different. David de Gea deserved an assist on Newcastle?s opener, his poor block pushing a long range shot right into the path of James Perch (the only onrushing attacker). A 29th minute Jonny Evans? own goal restored the Magpies? lead shortly after the Red Devils? defender had equalized. After new goal scoring machine?Patrice Evra (up to four goals on the season) pulled United back, Papiss Demba Cisse put Newcastle in front with 22 minutes left.
But then Manchester United did Manchester?United things. Robin van Persie hit his league-leading 13th goal three minutes later, bringing the Red Devils back for the third time. Then as regulation time ended, Javier Hern?ndez beat Tim Krul low to deliver full points, giving United a seven-point lead and one more point than they had at the same juncture last year.
If any 4-3 result was predictable, this was it.
MORE: Wayne Rooney left out of Boxing Day squad
There?s no more entertaining team in the world right now than Manchester United,?adulation?which serves as a double edged sword. If they don?t have the best set of attackers in the world, they certainly have the most clinical, the team posting an amazing conversion rate throughout their campaign. But their defense is nowhere near good enough to sustain their style of play, particularly on days when Michael Carrick is asked to carry Paul Scholes in midfield.
Not good enough to hold leads, Manchester United provides opponents no reason to revere them the way Barcelona and Bayern Munich are esteemed. If you go after them, you will score on the Red Devils. Your best chance to win is to hope they?ll sit on a lead (as they did against Manchester City) or fail to convert the chances they create (as they did against Everton and Norwich).
MORE: Hart, Mancini failings on display for City
They?re the perfect leaders of a league that has proved enticing if extremely flawed. As the league?s performances in Champions League showed, there are no great teams in England, but there are a number (like Liverpool, Fulham, Southampton, and even Chelsea) whose entertainment value transcends their results.
Were those clubs (or Manchester United) in Spain or Germany, they would sit lower in the standings. But England doesn?t have to be the highest quality competition every year. Let leagues ebb and flow, especially if they?re going to offset their drops with fun factor that augments the best talent in the world.
And no doubt, today?s game at Old Trafford wasn?t the highest quality soccer. But it was fun. It was exactly why the Premier League is the most popular league in the world, if not necessarily the best.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - "You know," "whatever" is a really annoying term -- "like" "you know." We're "just sayin'."
When it comes to the most annoying words or phrases used in conversation, those four top the list in 2012, according to the annual Marist Poll.
"Whatever" headed the list, cited by 32 percent of adults, and next came "like," which 21 percent didn't like.
Runners-up included "Twitterverse" and "gotcha'."
The results mirrored last year's survey when "whatever" topped the annoying words list for a third straight year. But "seriously," named by 7 percent last year, dropped off the list entirely - really.
Marist questioned 1,246 adults in a U.S. nationwide, telephone survey.
Results showed differences by age and regions, with people younger than 45 or in the Northeast especially annoyed by "like," while "you know" offended more of the 45-and-over set.
Men and women gave similar responses overall, but whites were twice as likely as non-whites to find "you know" irritating. And people under 45 were more than twice as likely as those over 45 to be put off by "just sayin.'"
(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Patricia Reaney and Kenneth Barry)
Those hoping the United States Senate may get a little less gray and a bit more celebrity-studded won't be getting their Christmas miracle today.
Despite speculation, Ben Affleck announced late Monday he would not go after John Kerry's Senate seat in his native Massachusetts if the senator is confirmed as secretary of state.
The actor, who has been an increasingly popular presence in the political world recently, wrote on his Facebook page: "I love Massachusetts and our political process, but I am not running for office."
Chatter around a possible run went into overdrive Sunday when during an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation" the Cambridge native decidedly did not rule it out saying, "One never knows. I'm not one to get into conjecture."
In the post he mentions his charity work in the Congo, something he discussed on ABC's This Week as well as testifying before Congress, as one of the reasons he's not interested in entering Bay State politics.
"Right now it's a privilege to spend my time working with Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), supporting our veterans, drawing attention to the great many who go hungry in the U.S. everyday and using filmmaking to entertain and foster discussion about issues like our relationship to Iran," Affleck said.
The movie star added his praise of Kerry, writing: "We are about to get a great Secretary of State."
"There are some phenomenal candidates in Massachusetts for his Senate seat. I look forward to an amazing campaign," Affleck added.
As for some of those candidates on the list, Gov. Deval Patrick is likely to appoint a replacement to fill Kerry's seat in the interim period. Former Massachusetts governor and Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis, as well as Vicki Kennedy, the widow of Ted Kennedy, are on Patrick's list, according to reports.
Scott Brown, who lost to Elizabeth Warren in November, is widely believed to be the likely Republican nominee and is viewed as a strong contender. On the Democratic side there are several names often mentioned currently in the U.S. House of Representatives: Edward Markey, Michael Capuano, and Stephen Lynch. Other possibilities include Martha Coakley, the state attorney general who originally lost to Brown in the 2010 special election held after Kennedy's death, which Brown won.
Patrick has said he won't appoint anyone until Kerry is confirmed at state.
ABC News' Elizabeth Hartfield contributed to this report.
Canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce bring smoke and a little heat to this quick, sweet/savory side dish. Sliced scallions add brightness.
By Terry Boyd,?Blue Kitchen / December 25, 2012
Mashed sweet potatoes with a smokey flavor from chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and just a hint of heat.
Blue Kitchen
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I know what you?re thinking. Sweet potatoes? Isn?t Thanksgiving over? But how can you not love a good-for-you root vegetable that actually gets healthier when you add fat to it? According to Whole Foods, ?Recent research has shown that a minimum of 3-5 grams of fat per meal significantly increases our uptake of beta-carotene from sweet potatoes.?
Skip to next paragraph Terry Boyd
Blue Kitchen
Terry Boyd is the author of Blue Kitchen, a Chicago-based food blog for home cooks. His simple, eclectic cooking focuses on fresh ingredients, big flavors and a cheerful willingness to borrow ideas and techniques from all over the world. A frequent contributor to the Chicago Sun-Times, he writes weekly food pieces for cable station USA Network's Character Approved Blog. His recipes have also appeared on the Bon App?tit and Saveur websites.
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Sweet potatoes aren?t just kinda healthy ? they top the Center for Science in the Public Interest?s Best 10 Foods list. The Center calls them a ?nutritional All-Star ? one of the best vegetables you can eat.?
They?re also delicious, versatile and easy to work with. Here at Blue Kitchen, we cook with them a lot. We?ve used them in everything from sweet/savory Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Shallots to Sweet Potato and Pork Pierogi made with wonton wrappers, Sweet Potato Sage Pasta with Chicken and an absolute given at our Thanksgiving table, Marion?s Sweet Potato Vichyssoise. These weeknight-quick, smoky mashed sweet potatoes are destined to become part of the regular rotation here, I think.?
The smoke comes from canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Chipotle peppers are smoked jalape?o peppers; adobo sauce is a marinade popular throughout Latin America, usually made with chile peppers, garlic, tomatoes, vinegar and a variety of herbs and spices. The chipotle pepper brings the smoke, and the adobo sauce adds a nice tang. Both pack heat, but not a lot.
For this recipe, I used one chopped up pepper and a teaspoon of the adobo sauce with two medium sweet potatoes, about one pound. The resulting taste is nicely smoky, but not overpoweringly so, and the heat sneaks up on you without taking over. This would make a perfect side for grilled or pan seared pork chops. They would also be great with steaks or even roast chicken. I served them with tilapia fillets, cooked as I do them for Tilapia Fish Tacos, but served whole.
Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Serves 2
2 medium sweet potatoes, about 1 pound
salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced
1 canned chipotle pepper, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can (see Kitchen Notes)
1 scallion, green parts only, sliced (see Kitchen Notes)
Peel and cube the sweet potatoes. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold, salted water by an inch or so. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, finely chop the chipotle pepper.
Drain sweet potatoes, add butter and mash with a hand masher. Add chipotle pepper and adobo sauce and mash to combine completely. Can be made ahead up to this point and left covered on the stove while you finish other dishes. Reheat gently before serving. Transfer to a serving dish or divide between two dinner plates. Garnish with sliced scallions and serve immediately.
Kitchen Notes
One pepper? But I bought a whole can! I know. This is typical of most recipes that call for chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. The thing is, a little of their smokiness goes a long way. Readers over at Apartment Therapy?s The Kitchn have a number of suggestions for storing leftover peppers for later use. One blends them with the adobo sauce in a food processor, then freezes the mixture. About a tablespoon equals one pepper, so you just slice off what you need.
Don?t skip the scallion. In researching chipotle mashed potatoes to make this recipe, I found (as Marion did when she was researching shortbread cookie recipes) that there were really only a few variations. One thing I didn?t see anywhere, though, was the addition of sliced scallions as a garnish. I consider this my major contribution to the oeuvre. As Marion long ago discovered with her sweet potato vichyssoise, the green oniony bite of the scallion tops balance the sweetness of the sweet potatoes, pulling them back into side dish territory from dessertland. The also add a pleasant crunch. Chives will also work, but I wouldn?t use chopped onion ? that would be overpowering.
The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of food bloggers. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by The Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own and they are responsible for the content of their blogs and their recipes. All readers are free to make ingredient substitutions to satisfy their dietary preferences, including not using wine (or substituting cooking wine) when a recipe calls for it. To contact us about a blogger, click here.
(Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brigham Young Cougars linebacker Ezekiel Ansah (47) celebrates after sacking Utah State Aggies quarterback Chuckie Keeton (16) during the first half of the game at LaVell Edwards Stadium Friday October 5, 2012. BYU is winning the game 6-3.
College football ? ?Ziggy? started playing sport only 2 years ago, now projected as 1st round pick
San Diego ? Of all the crazy stories that BYU football players like to tell about their teammate from Ghana who played football for the first time just two years ago but is on the verge of becoming an NFL first-round draft pick, linebacker Brandon Ogletree has maybe the best one.
Just the other day, Ogletree says, defensive end Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah asked him what NFC and AFC meant, and the differences between the two conferences in the NFL.
?
Out of nowhere
BYU?s Ezekiel ?Ziggy? Ansah started the season as an unknown, but is now getting plenty of attention:
? Projected to go 24th overall in April?s NFL Draft by ESPN?s Todd McShay
? Had eight tackles against Boise State, Georgia Tech
Is a Phil Steele All-Independent First-Teamer
? Had career-high three tackles for loss and two sacks against Utah State
?
Pointsettia Bowl
BYU vs. San Diego State
Thursday, 6 p.m.
TV ? ESPN
"It is just hilarious, because you think he is here," says Ogletree, holding his hand at eye level. "But he will say stuff that makes you realize he is almost like a baby when it comes to understanding football. It?s totally hilarious, but totally cool."
And it?s totally the best story of an otherwise mediocre season for the 7-5 Cougars, who will meet 9-3 San Diego State on Thursday night in the Poinsettia Bowl.
Much more was expected of the Cougars last August with a senior quarterback and experience on both sides of the ball. What was unexpected was the 6-foot-6, 270-pound Ansah, a special teams ace last year who began the season on the bench. He didn?t start a game until Week 5 against Hawaii after getting his first real consistent when Eathyn Manumaleuna went down with a season-ending knee injury against Boise State.
Now, one can?t watch or read an NFL mock draft without noticing Anzah?s name at the forefront. And his unique story ? he was discovered in his hometown of Accra, Ghana, by LDS Church missionary Ken Frei and steered to BYU because he wanted a shot at playing professional basketball like his hero, LeBron James ? was featured in Sports Illustrated.
"It is a great feeling. But most of all it is really humbling," said Ansah, who had to be told that being the subject of a major SI article is quite a big deal in this country. "I never knew I would get this far. It has been really humbling to me."
Ansah was twice cut from BYU?s basketball team after tryouts, so he tried track, competing favorably in the 400 against guys half his size. Finally, BYU track coaches took him over to the football offices and introduced the player who has come to be known as "The Freak" to BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall and his staff.
To the teammates who literally had to show Ansah how to put on his hip, shoulder and thigh pads when he had them on backward, upside down or in the wrong places, the story is simply amazing.
"The first time he lined up, he looked like a crouching frog," says linebacker Kyle Van Noy. "Funniest thing I ever saw. ... He was just raw. He still is raw. But the potential he has is more than anyone I have ever seen play a sport, actually."
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The NFL is noticing. Todd McShay, an ESPN draft analyst, most recently had Ansah going in the first round, 24th overall, in his mock draft. Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. told The Salt Lake Tribune that Ansah is going to be a high pick.
"We keep watching game after game, and Ansah is out there producing, and showing that great, great talent," Kiper Jr. said. "Jason Pierre-Paul [of the New York Giants] would be the guy that you automatically compare him to ... because he was a guy that was in a rotation at South Florida, and all of a sudden he becomes a first-round draft pick, and now he is one of the best defensive ends, one of he best pass rushers, in the league. So Ansah is going to draw those comparisons."
Kiper said a lot of defensive ends could go in the first three rounds and Ansah could be the first senior DE taken if he shows well in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., next month and in the NFL Combine in February.
"I would say mid first-round, early first round is not out of the realm of possibility," he said.
Ansah is well-equipped to count up the money an early-round draftee can expect to make ? he had four statistics classes last semester alone and is on track to graduate next spring with a degree in actuarial science ? but doesn?t have a grasp on exactly how much money NFL football players make, teammates say.
"He probably knows more than he?s letting on," Ogletree said. "But [his rapid improvement] has never been about making it to the NFL. It has been really fun watching him evolve, and just his understanding and awareness, and just how tough he has gotten. He used to be the least physical player on the team. Now, no one is more physical."
Around campus, Ansah is known for wearing bright-colored clothing and large eye-glasses with no lenses in them so he will appear more studious. But he?s easily one of the smartest players on the team ? a reason he was able to pick up football so quickly.
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Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
This guest article from YourTango was written by Deb Dutilh.
Studies show that a lack of communication is the number one reason couples break up or get divorced. Nagging is a major culprit ? relentless reminders, suggestions and advice on how, when and why we should do things.
But what are some of the other bad communication habits that erode away at couples?
1. Being Inauthentic.
How many times do you catch yourself saying ?yes? when you really mean ?no?? Do you say, ?I don?t know? for fear of being judged, dismissed or rejected? When we systematically accept things against our will, shut down to keep the peace and rationalize why that?s okay, we set ourselves up for resentment and anger down the line.
Covering up our feelings and not trusting our partner to be mature enough to manage their response to ?no? just won?t work. It?s better to say, ?No, I?m not available to discuss this right now. I need to unwind and think about it. I?ll be ready to talk about it in an hour.? Then keep your promise.
2. Incongruence.
Most of our communication is non-verbal, and when it?s out of sync with our words, we are sending mixed messages. No wonder couples argue, get frustrated and eventually tune each other out!
When we say one thing while rolling our eyes, tightening our lips and/or shrugging shoulders, we send another message, usually one of being dismissive, defensive and/or judgmental. One way to avoid this is to maintain eye contact. This ensures active listening and allows you to focus on what the other person is saying instead of considering what you are planning on saying next.
3. Win-lose attitude.
In the world of neuro-linguistic programming, we say that effective communication is when your message is not simply sent, but transmitted and received by the listener. When talking about uncomfortable subjects, it?s too easy to become judgmental, blaming and defensive ? tactics that all lead to communication breaking down.
Priding yourself on being a pit-bull, taking things personally, finger-pointing, finding fault, and needing to have the last word, well, it just doesn?t work. Instead, set your intention for how you want the conversation to go so both of you win and take some time to really think about all the different possibilities and outcomes. Creating a peace treaty together that sets up the guidelines for communication to ensure smooth, respectful and authentic communication is a great tool.
4. Interrupting, finishing sentences and forgetting to pause.
This is a bundle because when you have one you almost always have the other two as well. How many of us have forgotten what we learned in grammar school? Don?t interrupt and let the other person take time to formulate an answer. On this level, men and women communicate so differently.
Men often complain that they are still thinking about an answer when their partner starts badgering them for a quicker response or asks another question while they are still thinking about the last one. Take time to pause by counting to 30 before saying anything at all and don?t ask several questions at once. And while you?re at it, do as we do in France: Roll your tongue around your mouth seven times before you speak.
You might look like a cow chewing your cud but it forces you to slow down and really think about what you?re going to say. It might even get a smile in an otherwise tense situation, but at least your partner will feel respected and know that you?re patiently giving him to time to respond.
5. Focusing on the negative, and impoliteness.
Somewhere along the way, the idea of polite requests, please, thank you and other words of appreciation in everyday conversations have gone the way of the Smith-Corona typewriter. From the classic, ?Don?t leave the toilet seat up!? to ?How long does it take to empty the trash?? ? these commands are the quickest way to send a man to his man cave.
Instead, adopt this simple one-liner that will train any man to jump up and help. ?Honey, I feel like a queen when you see the trash can is full and take it out for me! Thank you so much for doing that!? There?s nothing wrong with a little over the top appreciation which always works and is the best way to foster open, loving authentic communication.
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More divorce advice from YourTango Experts:
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????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 14 Dec 2012 ????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
APA Reference Experts, Y. (2012). 5 Communication Habits That Could Lead to a Breakup. Psych Central. Retrieved on December 18, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/12/17/5-communication-habits-that-could-lead-to-a-breakup/
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Days after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, actress Naomi Watts took part in a fundraising telethon spearheaded by George Clooney to help the region's hundreds of thousands of people in 14 nations whose lives were shattered.
Little did Watts know that eight years later she would be starring in "The Impossible," out in the U.S. movie theaters on Friday, about a real family's experience in Thailand. The tsunami and earthquake killed more than 5,000 people, and resulted in 2,800 missing in that country alone.
Yet when the actress was first approached to star in the film, directed by Spanish filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona, she hesitated.
"I thought, how do you make a movie about a tsunami without it becoming some sort of spectacular disaster movie?" Watts, 44, told Reuters. "That would be so wrong."
However once Watts read the script, she said was moved by the story based on the real-life Spanish family of Maria Belon, her husband Enrique Alvarez - played by Ewan McGregor in the movie - and their three sons.
Belon's family were spending their Christmas holiday in Thailand when the tsunami hit. The film follows their struggle to survive, injured and separated, in the aftermath and their perseverance in finding each other amidst the chaos.
"I felt a huge amount of pressure because of the responsibility to Maria's story," said Watts. "And on her back, she carries the stories of everybody else because hers is connected to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. I felt a sense of responsibility."
PLAUDITS FOR WATTS' PERFORMANCE
The British-born, Australian actress delivered, despite her fears. So far, her performance has earned Watts best actress nominations from the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild and the Broadcast Film Critics Association.
The New York Observer wrote in its review that "Watts seems almost spiritually committed to her role" while The Hollywood Reporter said she "packs a huge charge of emotion as the battered, ever-weakening Maria whose tears of pain and fear never appear fake or idealized."
Watts credits the real Maria Belon for being "an open book" when it came to recalling her personal experience during that harrowing time.
The two met before shooting began, and Belon was on the film set. Belon, a physician in Spain, also wrote detailed letters chronicling her experience, including taking refuge in a tree and the Thai villagers who discovered her weak and injured body.
One of the more challenging aspects of the shoot was recreating the tsunami, a 10-minute sequence in the film that Watts said took six weeks to shoot on location in Spain. Rather than creating the tidal wave digitally, actors were anchored in water tanks with the current pushing at them and "debris being chucked at you."
Watts said that while the challenge of shooting the sequence was incomparable to the suffering of those who went through the ordeal in 2004, it was "physically the most demanding thing I've ever done."
There was much more dialogue scripted during that sequence but "you were struggling to breathe and we quickly learned that once you open your mouth, water is going in and nothing is coming out.
"Though it was difficult, I'm grateful we got that kind of level of fear and intensity," she added.
What offset the intensity during the shoot was having her sons Sasha, 5, and Sammy, 4, visiting Watts on the set. "We had them paint stuff on themselves like scars and wounds, then rub them off so they could see it wasn't real," recalled Watts.
It's a far cry from the way she used to approach her work before having kids, such as her Oscar-nominated performance as a grief-stricken mother the 2003 film "21 Grams."
"I was taking everything home with me, staying up all hours, writing, thinking, researching ... just living with torment," Watts recalled of that time. "I can't live like that at this point in my life with little ones. I am a mom of two small kids and once I put the key in the door, it's my duty to be totally present."
(Editing By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Alden Bentley)
Dec. 16, 2012 ? Better targeted treatments for 20 per cent of renal failure patients are on the horizon following a key discovery about the role of white blood cells in kidney inflammation.
In a study published December 16 in Nature Medicine, researchers from Monash University tracked the movements of white blood cells, or leukocytes, leading to a new understanding of their behaviour in both healthy and diseased kidneys.
Leukocytes play important protective roles in the body's immune system, but in some cases they cause damaging inflammation. Glomerulonephritis is an inflammatory disease of the kidney that can lead to the need for transplantation or regular dialysis. More than 20 per cent of end-stage renal failure cases result from glomerulonephritis.
Lead researcher, Associate Professor Michael Hickey of the University's Centre for Inflammatory Diseases in the Department of Medicine said the team used advanced microscopy techniques to visualise the movements of leukocytes through the kidney.
"In order to manipulate a system, you must understand it. Now, we have a really clear understanding of the disease process and the molecules involved in the key steps," Associate Professor Hickey said.
"Contrary to conventional medical and scientific opinion, we found that leukocytes are constantly circulating through and patrolling the blood vessels within healthy kidneys. It was previously believed that they only arrived in the kidney during the development of disease. That's not the case. However, during disease they linger in the kidney during the course of their normal journey, become agitated and cause inflammation and kidney damage."
End-stage renal failure leads to significant health and personal impacts, including ongoing visits to a dialysis unit several times a week, or a significant wait for a donor.
Renal Physician and co-investigator Professor Richard Kitching said therapies to effectively target glomerulonephritis were needed before end-stage was reached.
"The treatments we have can be fairly effective, but they are non-specific and they often have unacceptable side effects," Professor Kitching said.
"Currently, we have to suppress the immune system to combat the inflammation and this immunosuppression leaves the body more prone to infections. Additionally, some of the drugs have metabolic side effects, such as weight gain and bone thinning.
"Now we have a better understanding of how the disease develops, we can identify targets for more specific drugs, with fewer side-effects."
The Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry reported that 19,000 Australians had end-stage kidney failure at the end of 2010.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Monash University.
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Journal Reference:
Sapna Devi, Anqi Li, Clare L V Westhorpe, Camden Y Lo, Latasha D Abeynaike, Sarah L Snelgrove, Pam Hall, Joshua D Ooi, Christopher G Sobey, A Richard Kitching, Michael J Hickey. Multiphoton imaging reveals a new leukocyte recruitment paradigm in the glomerulus. Nature Medicine, 2012; DOI: 10.1038/nm.3024
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
For those who have a dried-out skin and never too interested in getting it seem like a withered apple, your best way out would be to jump headlong right into a dried-out skin care regimen. The dried-out skin is essentially a dehydrated skin, very responsive to the elements elements. Therefore the dried-out skin care regimen is about adding nourishment to your skin and keeping it protected against exterior ravages.
Dried-out skin care involves dealing with the roots from the problem. Aside from the inherently dried-out skin type, dryness may also be caused by taking drugs like diuretics, antispasmodics, and antihistamines. Dried-out skin may also derive from health conditions like thyroid problems, dermatitis, eczema, skin psoriasis, seborrhea and diabetes. Excessive contact with harsh weather conditions like snow, sun and winds and using chemicals onto the skin, Vit A and B inadequacies can result in conditions of dryness too.
The basically dried-out skin includes a dull look about this especially round the mouth and also the eyes also it feels taut and uncomfortable immediately after washing. Chapping and cracking are its severest signs and symptoms.
Dried-out skin care mainly involves adding nourishment to it with baby oil, gentle moisturizing creams and ideally, a non-detergent based, neutral-pH product to wash it. Dried-out skin needs an out-and-out cleaning although not having a commercial cleaning soap. After washing, always employ a moisturizer in it to help keep your skin searching and feeling supple and soft. It?s good if you employ the moisturizer in it on the moist skin.
You may also use oil for hydrating your dried-out skin, however while rubbing, try not to stretch the skin. Apply oil abundantly about the eyes, since this is the region most vulnerable to facial lines and crow?s ft.
Dried-out skin care demands the use of only very gentle and ideally natural splendor care items. Thus whenever you retire for that evening, massage yourself having a homemade adding nourishment to cream. Or use a natural splendor mask composed egg, honey, essential olive oil and rose water to supply the skin with the nourishments.
A warm milk bath having a couple of drops of almond oil put into it?ll soften and hydrate the skin like little else. Dry, cracked lips respond well to some little milk cream combined with rose water and lime juice, while style divas recommend the raw-beetroot-application-before-the-lipstick routine. Just some Vaseline later on guarantees that the lips remain pink and pretty.
Dried-out skin care also involves understanding what to steer clear of. Overheated rooms, beauty care remedies which use steam and sudden changes of temps wreak havoc on a dried-out skin. While walking in the cold, liberally douse yourself with a few type of moisturizer in it, and put on the sun block when you are out under the sun.
Your diet plan too plays a huge role in that contains the reverses of the dried-out skin. While smoking and fatty, oily meals really are a definite no-no, fruits and veggies, together with copious amounts water daily, improve the standard of the epidermis and they?ve been shown to contain anti-ageing qualities. Thus with your meals in what you eat, explore only remain healthy, but look also good.
You will find many herbal treatments that may be directly put on your skin or consumed to assist your problem of dryness. Thus lavender, lavender, calendula, comfrey, tea tree oil, natural aloe-vera and peppermint utilized in herbal facials are great for dried-out skin and borage, fennel, coltsfoot or calendula tea can be purchased daily for any youthful searching skin.
Dried-out skin care really means indulging the skin, for you need to always bear in mind that you?re coping with something very fragile.
Tags: dry skin care, ways to dry skin care This entry was posted on Monday, December 17th, 2012 and is filed under Health Tips, Skin Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
As 2012 comes to a close, it's time to remember the ads that were deemed too risqu?, disingenuous or gratuitous to make it to glossy magazine pages or commercial breaks.
These are the most eyebrow-raising ads that were banned around the world this year.?
They were kicked off the airwaves for everything from showing naked models to promoting dangerous driving to depicting brain-loving zombies to offending elderly dudes with the implication that an?"older man does not receive any [sexual] attention due to his age."
Click here to see the worst of the worst for 2012 >
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Walt Cade and his buyers hit the road to Austin, Texas--the capital of the state and home to a multitude of proudly eclectic weirdoes. Moe and Mary battle for an antique unit with an 8 grand payout. Jenny gets a lesson in rock and roll. Victor finds an energizing item. And Rangers Ricky and Bubba use their home turf advantage to kick out the tourist competition. In a city whose motto is "Keep Austin Weird"--one team will truly learn the definition of an oddity. 
OUYA, the Android-based affordable gaming console that inspired a wide range of reaction from tech watchers and gamers alike when it debuted on Kickstarter back in July 2012, today reached an important milestone: shipping product. Admittedly, it's just the developer-specific consoles for now, but 1,200 units are now winging their way to actual people, and the company put the pre-release gaming console on video to prove it.
This guest article from YourTango was written by Deb Dutilh.
As 2012 comes to a close, it's time to remember the ads that were deemed too risqu?, disingenuous or gratuitous to make it to glossy magazine pages or commercial breaks.