President Cristina Kirchner's emergency surgery for thyroid cancer puts a spotlight on her vice president, Amado Boudou, a guitar-playing former economy minister who will run the country for at least three weeks in January during her hospitalization and convalescence.
In the campaign leading up to Mrs. Kirchner's landslide October re-election, the telegenic Mr. Boudou's penchant for partying with rock stars and other celebrities often overshadowed his policy ideas.
But analysts say the leftist Mrs. Kirchner brought Mr. Boudou onto the ticket precisely because he lacked the political heft within the ruling Peronist party to emerge as a potential rival to her. Now that Mrs. Kirchner will be forced to retreat from the political stage for at least a few weeks after surgery next Wednesday, she is probably relieved to have chosen Mr. Boudou, analysts say.
Earlier this year, after she announced her plans to run for a second term, Mrs. Kirchner said the main reason she picked Mr. Boudou as her running mate, over some powerful Peronist governors, was his "loyalty."
Most medical experts consider the 58-year-old Mrs. Kirchner's prognosis to be good, and investors and politicians seemed to be calmly assimilating the announcement of the president's illness late Tuesday.
A vibrant-looking Mrs. Kirchner appeared Wednesday at an event with provincial governors and joked with Mr. Boudou, 48, about the responsibilities he was about to assume.
"Look at how important it is that the vice president thinks the same way as the person who has been chosen to guide the destiny of the country," she said. Then, amid laughter from the audience, Mrs. Kirchner looked toward Mr. Boudou and added: "Watch what you do!"
Mrs. Kirchner also made allusion during her remarks to the disastrous falling out she had with her vice president, Julio Cobos, during her first term. In July 2008, amid a bitterly polarizing Congressional debate over a proposal by Mrs. Kirchner to increase the grain export tax, Mr. Cobos was put in the position of casting the tie-breaking vote in his role as president of the Senate.
Mr. Cobos, who came from an agrarian district, broke with Mrs. Kirchner and voted no, dealing the government a humiliating defeat. For the next three years of Mrs. Kirchner's presidency, Mr. Cobos was ostracized by Mrs. Kirchner and her allies.
Today, by contrast, having Mr. Boudou in place "allows Cristina to recover without any worry about scheming by the VP to usurp power or otherwise take advantage of the situation," said Rice University political scientist Mark Jones. "Were the current vice president not a diehard Cristina loyalist, I suspect a host of topics, ranging from succession to potential attempts to take temporary control, would be causing great consternation for Cristina and her inner circle."
Mr. Boudou is generally liked by investors, who consider him one of the more philosophically market-friendly members of the Kirchner government. When Mr. Boudou took over as economy minister in July 2009, he set out priorities that many investors agreed with, including trying to restore credibility to Argentina's tainted inflation statistics and paying off Argentina's approximately $7 billion debt to the Paris Club of wealthy nations.
Nevertheless, Mr. Boudou never got far in achieving those aims due to resistance from more-populist members of the Kirchner inner circle, including Mrs. Kirchner's late husband and predecessor Nestor, who died of a heart attack in October 2010. But markets gave Mr. Boudou credit for having the right idea.
In Argentina, Mr. Boudou and his girlfriend, Agustina Kampfer, a television journalist, get paparazzi treatment from the media, which consider them one of the country's most glamorous couples. Mr. Boudou is known for tooling around on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and for collecting electric guitars.
Mr. Boudou's fun-loving ways have sometimes raised eyebrows in government circles, and Mrs. Kirchner hasn't hesitated to keep her No. 2 in his place. During a recent political event, Mrs. Kirchner wryly referred to Mr. Boudou as a "rich kid from Puerto Madero," an elegant part of the capital.
2011年12月30日星期五
2011年12月29日星期四
Material Handling and Workholding Technologies at PAC Design Show 2012
Fixtureworks (Fraser, MI), a leading manufacturer and supplier of material handling and machine tool components, workholding technologies and fixturing accessories will showcase its extensive clamping, gripping, locating, positioning, roller, bumper and support products at Booth 3473 during the Pacific Design & Manufacturing Show 2011, February 14-16, 2012, Anaheim, California. The display of products to be shown demonstrates the ability for OEMs, machine, forming and fabricating shop designers, as well as material handling practitioners with the economics and quick availability of standard, off-the-shelf parts and hardware-all from a single-source.
The exhibit will feature the new urethane covered bearing, cam follower covers and press fit rollers in addition to abrasive diamond surface and Sof-Top(TM) grippers from Fairlane Products, as well as unique manual clamps from Imao.
Urethane covered bearings have a smooth surface that is cast directly to a precision sealed ball bearing, providing a smooth, quiet and non-marring operation. Cam follower covers have a smooth urethane outer surface that is permanently bonded to a steel insert. They are designed to be press fit on to standard cam followers to prevent metal to metal contact and damage to finished or delicate surfaces. Press fit rollers have a smooth surface, permanently bonded to a steel insert and allows for customizing the mounting configuration.
The new Abrasive Diamond Surface Grippers, with surface comparable to 100-grit sandpaper bonded permanently to a stainless steel pad provides excellent non-slip gripping on smooth or slippery surfaces with minimal clamping force and surface marking. The non-marking, non-staining Sof-Top grippers provide excellent protection against damage on delicate work surfaces.
Also featured will be a range of unique manual clamps from Imao including miniature, heavy duty, swing, pull, push, rocker and snap clamps with forces from 150 to 2250 lb.
In addition, also on exhibit will be Fairlane Products full line of grippers, rest pads, Swivots swivel/pivoting positioning components, Quick Release ball-lock pins, rollers and bumpers; Kipp spring plungers, rest and riser pads, levers, handles, knobs, and hand wheels; Imao supports and stops, risers, T-nuts, sliding mounts, springs, supports, grid plates and blocks; OK-Vise single and double wedge clamp designs; Mitee-Bite low-profile edge clamps; and Modern Industries mPower(TM) product line which includes quick change precision locating and mounting systems and modular tooling, plates and columns.
The exhibit will feature the new urethane covered bearing, cam follower covers and press fit rollers in addition to abrasive diamond surface and Sof-Top(TM) grippers from Fairlane Products, as well as unique manual clamps from Imao.
Urethane covered bearings have a smooth surface that is cast directly to a precision sealed ball bearing, providing a smooth, quiet and non-marring operation. Cam follower covers have a smooth urethane outer surface that is permanently bonded to a steel insert. They are designed to be press fit on to standard cam followers to prevent metal to metal contact and damage to finished or delicate surfaces. Press fit rollers have a smooth surface, permanently bonded to a steel insert and allows for customizing the mounting configuration.
The new Abrasive Diamond Surface Grippers, with surface comparable to 100-grit sandpaper bonded permanently to a stainless steel pad provides excellent non-slip gripping on smooth or slippery surfaces with minimal clamping force and surface marking. The non-marking, non-staining Sof-Top grippers provide excellent protection against damage on delicate work surfaces.
Also featured will be a range of unique manual clamps from Imao including miniature, heavy duty, swing, pull, push, rocker and snap clamps with forces from 150 to 2250 lb.
In addition, also on exhibit will be Fairlane Products full line of grippers, rest pads, Swivots swivel/pivoting positioning components, Quick Release ball-lock pins, rollers and bumpers; Kipp spring plungers, rest and riser pads, levers, handles, knobs, and hand wheels; Imao supports and stops, risers, T-nuts, sliding mounts, springs, supports, grid plates and blocks; OK-Vise single and double wedge clamp designs; Mitee-Bite low-profile edge clamps; and Modern Industries mPower(TM) product line which includes quick change precision locating and mounting systems and modular tooling, plates and columns.
2011年12月26日星期一
The amazing training routine of Dirk Nowitzki
A superstar in his sport, Nowitzki lacked only the championship to feel truly in place among the game's legends. Notification of another All-Star honor caused perhaps a flicker of a smile for Dirk, and then a return to work.
Nowitzki's training routine had become the stuff of legend -- often referenced but seldom explained. But to understand how Dirk became Dirk, it is imperative to know that this player in his 13th professional season still followed the same regimen he learned as a skinny German teenager. That his personal coach, Holger Geschwindner, has been there every step of the way since Nowitzki was 16 only adds to the mystery and intrigue.
A 2008 Time magazine story said of Geschwindner: "A former captain of the German national team and a physicist, he has developed a series of formulas that may reveal the optimum arc for jump shots, using a combination of player height, arm length and release point. 'Take differential and integral calculus. Make some derivations and create a curve,' he recently said. 'Everybody can do it.'"
Clearly, not everyone can do it. Through thousands of practice hours, Nowitzki has become one of the most amazing shooters in history. Before he was thought of as a complete player, he was regarded as an elite sniper. A decade later, as he has continued to hone his craft, even the game's greats marvel at Nowitzki's skills.
It all stems from Nowitzki's daily grinds in the gym. Not the mandatory team practices, but the voluntary, individual workouts he demands of himself. Despite having earned a fortune of $140 million and counting, Nowitzki's hunger to improve, sharpen and add to his skills has not diminished.
"It's hard to explain his routine, but it is the same thing every single time," said Mavericks equipment manager Al Whitley, one of Nowitzki's closest friends in the organization. "When Holger is in town, it's just those two in the gym and Holger rebounds the shots. Starting close, and working out further. The weirdest shots you have ever seen, [which] Holger incorporated to improve balance and footwork. One-footed shots. Left-footed shots. Left-handed shots. Left-handed foul- and 3-point shots. You have to see it to understand what is going on.
"It is so different than a North American workout. It is the same routine every time. It doesn't alter. It is keeping the fingers wide. It is all about how the ball comes off his fingers."
Over and over. Shot after shot. Swish after swish. Just watching the routine makes you tired.
"About 45 minutes to an hour, to where [Nowitzki] is dripping in sweat," Whitley said. "It just works on his footwork. And all of those shots you see, he has been practicing -- hard. Holger comes three or four times a year. And when he comes, he is here for a couple weeks to a month. And every day he is here, they come back at night and do the shooting routine in the gym. Holger was here every night in the playoffs, so they would come back every single night. It keeps [Nowitzki] sharp and he is more than locked in."
The methods might seem unorthodox, but Nowitzki has adhered to Geschwindner's plan even as each of his seasons ended in disappointment. Nowitzki has a deep faith in what got him here, and he would not abandon it. And while he has earned the respect and sometimes friendship of other NBA stars, Dirk isn't so immersed in their fraternity that he shares agents and summer vacations as some players do. Nowitzki is both a superstar and an iconoclast.
After the playoff loss to Golden State in 2007, Nowitzki and Geschwindner went on a five-week trek through the Australian outback, New Zealand and Tahiti to help clear the player's head. They slept in hostels, camped in the brush, dozed on the beach, enjoyed fine hotels, even slept in a car for a week. That was the only time in Nowitzki's career that he didn't spend the entire summer developing a new aspect of his game. But actually he did. The time for reflection gave Nowitzki a new skill: The mental ability to not beat himself up over what he couldn't control and to focus only on what he could. He couldn't control people's perceptions of him. He could only control his own effort, decisions and determination to climb that title mountain.
The summer of 2010, after the playoff loss to the Spurs, was spent honing a new weapon. Before starting his 13th season, Nowitzki and Geschwindner perfected what would become the go-to move in the forward's already loaded arsenal. It was a step-back, fall-away, left-footed shot that uses his right knee to ward off defenders. And, for a 7-footer with Nowitzki's high-arcing shooting touch, it makes guarding him virtually impossible.
"They work on things years in advance, to bring them out down the road," Whitley explained. "That one-foot, off-balance shot, it is an unguardable move. It is something he worked on for a long time that he has finally utilized this year more and more. It is just unguardable and it's something he finally feels really comfortable with now. You are just at his mercy.
"Holger is so calculated and his thought process is so advanced that he puts Dirk in isolation in every situation that he is going to see and puts him in a place to be successful. Because Dirk is so tall and his release is so high, he can get his shot off anytime he wants. And on one foot, leaning back, fadeaway for someone that big?"
The new move also came with a counterweight to keep defenders honest.
Nowitzki's training routine had become the stuff of legend -- often referenced but seldom explained. But to understand how Dirk became Dirk, it is imperative to know that this player in his 13th professional season still followed the same regimen he learned as a skinny German teenager. That his personal coach, Holger Geschwindner, has been there every step of the way since Nowitzki was 16 only adds to the mystery and intrigue.
A 2008 Time magazine story said of Geschwindner: "A former captain of the German national team and a physicist, he has developed a series of formulas that may reveal the optimum arc for jump shots, using a combination of player height, arm length and release point. 'Take differential and integral calculus. Make some derivations and create a curve,' he recently said. 'Everybody can do it.'"
Clearly, not everyone can do it. Through thousands of practice hours, Nowitzki has become one of the most amazing shooters in history. Before he was thought of as a complete player, he was regarded as an elite sniper. A decade later, as he has continued to hone his craft, even the game's greats marvel at Nowitzki's skills.
It all stems from Nowitzki's daily grinds in the gym. Not the mandatory team practices, but the voluntary, individual workouts he demands of himself. Despite having earned a fortune of $140 million and counting, Nowitzki's hunger to improve, sharpen and add to his skills has not diminished.
"It's hard to explain his routine, but it is the same thing every single time," said Mavericks equipment manager Al Whitley, one of Nowitzki's closest friends in the organization. "When Holger is in town, it's just those two in the gym and Holger rebounds the shots. Starting close, and working out further. The weirdest shots you have ever seen, [which] Holger incorporated to improve balance and footwork. One-footed shots. Left-footed shots. Left-handed shots. Left-handed foul- and 3-point shots. You have to see it to understand what is going on.
"It is so different than a North American workout. It is the same routine every time. It doesn't alter. It is keeping the fingers wide. It is all about how the ball comes off his fingers."
Over and over. Shot after shot. Swish after swish. Just watching the routine makes you tired.
"About 45 minutes to an hour, to where [Nowitzki] is dripping in sweat," Whitley said. "It just works on his footwork. And all of those shots you see, he has been practicing -- hard. Holger comes three or four times a year. And when he comes, he is here for a couple weeks to a month. And every day he is here, they come back at night and do the shooting routine in the gym. Holger was here every night in the playoffs, so they would come back every single night. It keeps [Nowitzki] sharp and he is more than locked in."
The methods might seem unorthodox, but Nowitzki has adhered to Geschwindner's plan even as each of his seasons ended in disappointment. Nowitzki has a deep faith in what got him here, and he would not abandon it. And while he has earned the respect and sometimes friendship of other NBA stars, Dirk isn't so immersed in their fraternity that he shares agents and summer vacations as some players do. Nowitzki is both a superstar and an iconoclast.
After the playoff loss to Golden State in 2007, Nowitzki and Geschwindner went on a five-week trek through the Australian outback, New Zealand and Tahiti to help clear the player's head. They slept in hostels, camped in the brush, dozed on the beach, enjoyed fine hotels, even slept in a car for a week. That was the only time in Nowitzki's career that he didn't spend the entire summer developing a new aspect of his game. But actually he did. The time for reflection gave Nowitzki a new skill: The mental ability to not beat himself up over what he couldn't control and to focus only on what he could. He couldn't control people's perceptions of him. He could only control his own effort, decisions and determination to climb that title mountain.
The summer of 2010, after the playoff loss to the Spurs, was spent honing a new weapon. Before starting his 13th season, Nowitzki and Geschwindner perfected what would become the go-to move in the forward's already loaded arsenal. It was a step-back, fall-away, left-footed shot that uses his right knee to ward off defenders. And, for a 7-footer with Nowitzki's high-arcing shooting touch, it makes guarding him virtually impossible.
"They work on things years in advance, to bring them out down the road," Whitley explained. "That one-foot, off-balance shot, it is an unguardable move. It is something he worked on for a long time that he has finally utilized this year more and more. It is just unguardable and it's something he finally feels really comfortable with now. You are just at his mercy.
"Holger is so calculated and his thought process is so advanced that he puts Dirk in isolation in every situation that he is going to see and puts him in a place to be successful. Because Dirk is so tall and his release is so high, he can get his shot off anytime he wants. And on one foot, leaning back, fadeaway for someone that big?"
The new move also came with a counterweight to keep defenders honest.
2011年12月23日星期五
Perfecting panettone for the holidays
Christmas baking traditions die hard. Take my annual December output of stollen, that German holiday bread full of walnuts and raisins and drizzled with a confectioners' sugar glaze.
After nearly 30 years of dragging home pounds of nuts and golden raisins from the Strip, bags of powdered sugar from the grocery and staying up late waiting for the stollens to finally be done, I needed something new to bake for the holidays, and discovered it in the Italian tradition from Milan -- panettone.
When I acquired two new bread books this year -- "The Italian Baker (Revised)" by Carol Field and Ed Anderson (Ten Speed Press, $35) and "The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Bread Baking" by the French Culinary Institute (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $65) -- I found the inspiration to refine my original recipe and turn out exceptional panettoni, fresher and more sophisticated than those imported from Italy in cardboard boxes.
My initial recipe was created by Jim Lahey for the December 2008 issue of the late and still-mourned Gourmet magazine. At the time, Mr. Lahey, owner of The Sullivan St. Bakery, was the darling of New York food writers. Gourmet embraced his celebrity as well and reproduced his panettone.
The gimmick to his panettone was the use of a tiny ( 1/2 teaspoon) amount of yeast and exceptionally long (12 to 15 hours) rising or initial fermentation stage. The Gourmet recipe directed you to place the dough in a cold oven for that time, assuming, I guess, that we all had more than one oven and could afford to tie one up for that long.
I found that the effects of this technique resulted in a flavorful, but dense bread that rose only slightly even after 15 hours and needed almost two hours to bake.
I changed the recipe by using bread flour instead of all-purpose and 1 1/2 teaspoons of SAF Gold instant yeast that works best with sweet doughs. It's called "osmotolerant." I kneaded the dough in a stand mixer for 15 minutes using a dough hook to develop more gluten.
The changes improved the bread considerably. It was easier to handle, rose faster without imprisonment in a cold oven and baked in just over an hour. The panettone was airy, moist and redolent of vanilla.
The recent baking books led to more upgrades in the panettone production. Their recipes were more complex and challenging than Mr. Lahey's recipe, and the breads were worth the work, both head and shoulders above the Lahey product even after my improvements.
These recipes are not for casual bakers; they are advised to use the Lahey recipe with my refinements. The recipes also call for panettone baking molds made of lined paper. I found mine at Pennsylvania Macaroni in the area where bread is sold.
Traditional panettone is a yeast bread full of eggs, sugar and butter -- really a brioche with dried fruit and citrus flavoring. It has a long shelf life. Ms. Field says the Italians save a few slices from Christmas to eat on Feb. 3, the feast day of St. Biagio, the protector of the throat.
The Italians consume more than 100 million panettoni, adds Ms. Field, who has traced its origins to the 15th century when a poor baker named Antonio created the bread, hence the name, pan di Tonio. Apocrophal, maybe, but panettone is a Christmas standard no matter how it earned its name.
I baked four different panettoni this month in search of the best version, then offered samples to three tasters, two of whom are experienced bakers and the third who is an eager consumer of their baked goods. The winner was the recipe from the French Culinary Institute, with Ms. Field's a close second.
My fourth -- from the Wild Yeast blog -- was a serious effort that required two days in the making. Like the French Culinary Institute's, it calls for a mature "levain" or naturally created leavener that takes a week or so to make and regular "feedings" of flour and water to maintain.
After nearly 30 years of dragging home pounds of nuts and golden raisins from the Strip, bags of powdered sugar from the grocery and staying up late waiting for the stollens to finally be done, I needed something new to bake for the holidays, and discovered it in the Italian tradition from Milan -- panettone.
When I acquired two new bread books this year -- "The Italian Baker (Revised)" by Carol Field and Ed Anderson (Ten Speed Press, $35) and "The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Bread Baking" by the French Culinary Institute (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $65) -- I found the inspiration to refine my original recipe and turn out exceptional panettoni, fresher and more sophisticated than those imported from Italy in cardboard boxes.
My initial recipe was created by Jim Lahey for the December 2008 issue of the late and still-mourned Gourmet magazine. At the time, Mr. Lahey, owner of The Sullivan St. Bakery, was the darling of New York food writers. Gourmet embraced his celebrity as well and reproduced his panettone.
The gimmick to his panettone was the use of a tiny ( 1/2 teaspoon) amount of yeast and exceptionally long (12 to 15 hours) rising or initial fermentation stage. The Gourmet recipe directed you to place the dough in a cold oven for that time, assuming, I guess, that we all had more than one oven and could afford to tie one up for that long.
I found that the effects of this technique resulted in a flavorful, but dense bread that rose only slightly even after 15 hours and needed almost two hours to bake.
I changed the recipe by using bread flour instead of all-purpose and 1 1/2 teaspoons of SAF Gold instant yeast that works best with sweet doughs. It's called "osmotolerant." I kneaded the dough in a stand mixer for 15 minutes using a dough hook to develop more gluten.
The changes improved the bread considerably. It was easier to handle, rose faster without imprisonment in a cold oven and baked in just over an hour. The panettone was airy, moist and redolent of vanilla.
The recent baking books led to more upgrades in the panettone production. Their recipes were more complex and challenging than Mr. Lahey's recipe, and the breads were worth the work, both head and shoulders above the Lahey product even after my improvements.
These recipes are not for casual bakers; they are advised to use the Lahey recipe with my refinements. The recipes also call for panettone baking molds made of lined paper. I found mine at Pennsylvania Macaroni in the area where bread is sold.
Traditional panettone is a yeast bread full of eggs, sugar and butter -- really a brioche with dried fruit and citrus flavoring. It has a long shelf life. Ms. Field says the Italians save a few slices from Christmas to eat on Feb. 3, the feast day of St. Biagio, the protector of the throat.
The Italians consume more than 100 million panettoni, adds Ms. Field, who has traced its origins to the 15th century when a poor baker named Antonio created the bread, hence the name, pan di Tonio. Apocrophal, maybe, but panettone is a Christmas standard no matter how it earned its name.
I baked four different panettoni this month in search of the best version, then offered samples to three tasters, two of whom are experienced bakers and the third who is an eager consumer of their baked goods. The winner was the recipe from the French Culinary Institute, with Ms. Field's a close second.
My fourth -- from the Wild Yeast blog -- was a serious effort that required two days in the making. Like the French Culinary Institute's, it calls for a mature "levain" or naturally created leavener that takes a week or so to make and regular "feedings" of flour and water to maintain.
Czech Christmas tradition takes the biscuit
It’s a common scene during advent in the Czech Republic. Dough is made, rolled and cut into shapes or pressed into molds. Walnuts are crushed for filling and melted chocolate is drizzled on top. As one tray is removed from the oven and set out to cool, another is slid into its place.
When done, the sweets are arranged on trays for guests. They are as much a part of the decorations as the tree. Chocolate topped baskets filled with nuts, gingerbread fish and dusted vanilla rolls huddled together, doughy wasp-nests oozing egg-liqueur and crisp jam filled butter cookies are some of the dozen types usually made. All the while, not a single sweet is sampled until the 24th of December (when Czechs traditionally celebrate Christmas) — unless, according to legend, the person wants to bring misfortune upon his or her shoulders.
But how popular is the tradition of baking Christmas sweets, really? An entry on Czech Wikipedia claims that 87 percent of Czechs bake festive biscuits, but the entry provides no support for the figure. Friends, colleagues and family members all attest to baking, so maybe there is some truth in this number.
The major supermarket chains certainly see a marked increase in the sales of flour. Tesco said sales rose by a factor of 30 percent. For Albert, purchases of flour were “roughly seven times greater than during the ordinary times.” Kaufland also reported that the amount of flour sold was many times more than in the rest of the year. It can’t all be going into breading the carp.
The origin for the baking tradition apparently goes back to the pagan winter solstice festivals. Protective and ceremonial foods were prepared for the occasion to shield the house from “dark forces.” Overtime these “magical” foods became the sweets we know today.
Of course, it could be said that if you go back far enough, you’ll find a pagan root for anything. It doesn’t explain the continuing popularity.
Jana Florentna Zatloukalov, author of Vnon kuchaky pro dceru (A Christmas Cookbook for my Daughter) offered a personal explanation as to why the tradition is upheld.“I can't speak categorically for all 10 million Czechs. For myself, I'm pleased to say that the tradition of Christmas sweets is is one of the things that makes a family a family and a home a home. Christmas sweets cement us together in a refined way, and at the same time connect the present with the past,” she said.
Going back a few generations, sweets were not so common among ordinary people. Before the use of sugar beet in nineteenth century, sugar was quite expensive. Vnoka — the traditional Czech Christmas loaf with raisins — was more common in the past than rich biscuits.
The boom period was the first republic. Manuals of this time were “bursting” with many types of sweets and tea cakes. “I think the demand for considerable diversity and quality craftsmanship took root in this time,” Zatloukalov said.
When done, the sweets are arranged on trays for guests. They are as much a part of the decorations as the tree. Chocolate topped baskets filled with nuts, gingerbread fish and dusted vanilla rolls huddled together, doughy wasp-nests oozing egg-liqueur and crisp jam filled butter cookies are some of the dozen types usually made. All the while, not a single sweet is sampled until the 24th of December (when Czechs traditionally celebrate Christmas) — unless, according to legend, the person wants to bring misfortune upon his or her shoulders.
But how popular is the tradition of baking Christmas sweets, really? An entry on Czech Wikipedia claims that 87 percent of Czechs bake festive biscuits, but the entry provides no support for the figure. Friends, colleagues and family members all attest to baking, so maybe there is some truth in this number.
The major supermarket chains certainly see a marked increase in the sales of flour. Tesco said sales rose by a factor of 30 percent. For Albert, purchases of flour were “roughly seven times greater than during the ordinary times.” Kaufland also reported that the amount of flour sold was many times more than in the rest of the year. It can’t all be going into breading the carp.
The origin for the baking tradition apparently goes back to the pagan winter solstice festivals. Protective and ceremonial foods were prepared for the occasion to shield the house from “dark forces.” Overtime these “magical” foods became the sweets we know today.
Of course, it could be said that if you go back far enough, you’ll find a pagan root for anything. It doesn’t explain the continuing popularity.
Jana Florentna Zatloukalov, author of Vnon kuchaky pro dceru (A Christmas Cookbook for my Daughter) offered a personal explanation as to why the tradition is upheld.“I can't speak categorically for all 10 million Czechs. For myself, I'm pleased to say that the tradition of Christmas sweets is is one of the things that makes a family a family and a home a home. Christmas sweets cement us together in a refined way, and at the same time connect the present with the past,” she said.
Going back a few generations, sweets were not so common among ordinary people. Before the use of sugar beet in nineteenth century, sugar was quite expensive. Vnoka — the traditional Czech Christmas loaf with raisins — was more common in the past than rich biscuits.
The boom period was the first republic. Manuals of this time were “bursting” with many types of sweets and tea cakes. “I think the demand for considerable diversity and quality craftsmanship took root in this time,” Zatloukalov said.
2011年12月16日星期五
Green bids farewell to local Boys & Girls Clubs
Ron Green, chief professional officer of Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Tennessee, has accepted the position of CPO for the five clubs making up the Boys & Girls Clubs of Nash/Edgecombe Counties in Rocky Mount, N.C., he announced to his board of directors Tuesday.
Green, who was the first executive hired by the local organization when the long-time dream of a Boys & Girls Club became a reality in 2004, has made his mark in the community in many ways that benefit children and young people, according to his board.
In a letter sent to board members unable to attend the Tuesday session in which Green announced his decision to accept the challenge of a new administrative position in another location, the focus was on opportunity.
“… opportunities and blessings abound, even when it may not be easy to appreciate the packages in which they sometimes come wrapped,” the letter noted.
“Ron Green, our CPO, and his family will be leaving us early in the new year to take advantage of an excellent opportunity for them in North Carolina. Ron has been sought out and offered a position that calls for many of the skills he has used so effectively as our first CPO and our guide through territory that was foreign to most of us, including the opening not only of the Union City club but the recent excellent outreach to children and youth in Humboldt.
“We celebrate this recognition of Ron’s talents and abilities and wish them the very best in their new home, even as we deal with our own emotional reactions to the news and its effect on our clubs, our communities and ourselves as their friends.
“Please remember, however, that this set of circumstances also represents an opportunity for the Union City and Humboldt clubs. In beginning our search for a new CPO, let’s keep in mind the assets we want to build on and begin to move beyond dreams and into action on the issues we want to claim positively in the future.
“As we say an emotional good-bye to Ron and his family, I know we will find within each of us the best attitude and strongest commitment to searching for a new CPO and family to carry on the work that Ron has reminded us, by his words and his deeds, is so vital. His shoes will not be easy to fill, but we must be committed to the belief that we not only face new opportunities for those we serve, but our clubs represent an opportunity, as well, for someone we have not yet met.
“We must begin to move in a positive and affirming way toward offering that chance for all who are affected by this important decision.”
Green moved to Union City from his home state of Mississippi just a few months before the doors opened to Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Tennessee in the fall of 2004. The club has been located at 1015 East College St. in Union City — sharing the former Miles School building with a Head Start facility — since that time. More than 1,600 youth and children are on the membership role of the club, which serves an average of 135 children from 6-12 years old and another 45 teens each week day.
This summer, Green and the board oversaw the opening of a new club in Humboldt, which is now an important part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Tennessee organization. The new club opened with a waiting list of members at the start of this year’s school term and is enjoying great success in that community.
Under his leadership, the local club has grown stronger in program content and opportunities for development in a safe and structured setting and has shared the knowledge and experience gained with personnel and supporters of the Humboldt organization. The clubs have both forged positive bonds with the local educational systems and have instituted special tutoring programs to assist students. Green, a college baseball and football player and a former professional athlete, introduced several opportunities for participation in sports that taught children the fundamentals of the games and allowed them a chance to practice their skills in competition.
He stressed personal responsibility and introduced a values-based program called SMACK (Spirituality Molds Attitudes and Character in Kids) that set high standards for students and helped them learn to apply spiritual truths to their everyday lives.
The Fourth Child Christmas program to benefit children who might otherwise face a bleak holiday, back-to-school programs that promote the excitement of a new school year and provide needed items for the classroom and day-long summer programs are also important components of the programs Green has worked to implement.
In addition, a Boy Scout troop grew out of the club setting and children of all ages have benefited from the technology provided at the club.
Green, who was the first executive hired by the local organization when the long-time dream of a Boys & Girls Club became a reality in 2004, has made his mark in the community in many ways that benefit children and young people, according to his board.
In a letter sent to board members unable to attend the Tuesday session in which Green announced his decision to accept the challenge of a new administrative position in another location, the focus was on opportunity.
“… opportunities and blessings abound, even when it may not be easy to appreciate the packages in which they sometimes come wrapped,” the letter noted.
“Ron Green, our CPO, and his family will be leaving us early in the new year to take advantage of an excellent opportunity for them in North Carolina. Ron has been sought out and offered a position that calls for many of the skills he has used so effectively as our first CPO and our guide through territory that was foreign to most of us, including the opening not only of the Union City club but the recent excellent outreach to children and youth in Humboldt.
“We celebrate this recognition of Ron’s talents and abilities and wish them the very best in their new home, even as we deal with our own emotional reactions to the news and its effect on our clubs, our communities and ourselves as their friends.
“Please remember, however, that this set of circumstances also represents an opportunity for the Union City and Humboldt clubs. In beginning our search for a new CPO, let’s keep in mind the assets we want to build on and begin to move beyond dreams and into action on the issues we want to claim positively in the future.
“As we say an emotional good-bye to Ron and his family, I know we will find within each of us the best attitude and strongest commitment to searching for a new CPO and family to carry on the work that Ron has reminded us, by his words and his deeds, is so vital. His shoes will not be easy to fill, but we must be committed to the belief that we not only face new opportunities for those we serve, but our clubs represent an opportunity, as well, for someone we have not yet met.
“We must begin to move in a positive and affirming way toward offering that chance for all who are affected by this important decision.”
Green moved to Union City from his home state of Mississippi just a few months before the doors opened to Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Tennessee in the fall of 2004. The club has been located at 1015 East College St. in Union City — sharing the former Miles School building with a Head Start facility — since that time. More than 1,600 youth and children are on the membership role of the club, which serves an average of 135 children from 6-12 years old and another 45 teens each week day.
This summer, Green and the board oversaw the opening of a new club in Humboldt, which is now an important part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Tennessee organization. The new club opened with a waiting list of members at the start of this year’s school term and is enjoying great success in that community.
Under his leadership, the local club has grown stronger in program content and opportunities for development in a safe and structured setting and has shared the knowledge and experience gained with personnel and supporters of the Humboldt organization. The clubs have both forged positive bonds with the local educational systems and have instituted special tutoring programs to assist students. Green, a college baseball and football player and a former professional athlete, introduced several opportunities for participation in sports that taught children the fundamentals of the games and allowed them a chance to practice their skills in competition.
He stressed personal responsibility and introduced a values-based program called SMACK (Spirituality Molds Attitudes and Character in Kids) that set high standards for students and helped them learn to apply spiritual truths to their everyday lives.
The Fourth Child Christmas program to benefit children who might otherwise face a bleak holiday, back-to-school programs that promote the excitement of a new school year and provide needed items for the classroom and day-long summer programs are also important components of the programs Green has worked to implement.
In addition, a Boy Scout troop grew out of the club setting and children of all ages have benefited from the technology provided at the club.
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