Airgun Blast Kills Whales

Dear Gabriel,

A whale’s ears can be more important than its eyes. And one loud airgun blast may deafen a whale forever. A deaf whale is a dead whale. Without a way to communicate, hear danger, or sound out the waters, whales and dolphins deafened by seismic airgun blasts may find themselves lost, hungry, or killed by a predator they couldn’t detect.

These blasts are used to find oil and gas under the seafloor, and they may soon be used in Atlantic waters off the U.S. coast. Oceana is fighting to block these plans and protect our Atlantic shores. Become a 2013 member today to join the fight to save the Atlantic and all the animals who are threatened by these deadly blasts »

The waters slated for seismic airgun testing include territory used by endangered North Atlantic right whales. With less than 500 of these whales left, we can’t afford to let a single one be harmed by seismic airguns. These airguns create blasts as loud as dynamite and go off every 10 seconds for weeks at a time.

We’ve gathered thousands of signatures against seismic airgun testing from activists like you, including 40,000 on the official White House petition site. Our organizers on the ground are bringing together coastal communities and rallying against these dangerous plans. We’ve managed to get seismic testing in the Atlantic delayed—but we’re not going to stop fighting. Can we count on your help?

After seismic testing in Madagascar, dozens of melon-headed whales beached themselves and died. The Department of the Interior estimates that 138,500 dolphins and whales will be injured by the proposed testing in the Atlantic.

Harmful seismic testing is also the first step to oil drilling off the Atlantic coast, bringing the threat of deadly oil spills to new waters. Your 2013 Oceana membership will help us ramp up our efforts to protect dolphins, whales and their habitats in the Atlantic and all over the world »

For the oceans,
Rachael Prokop
Oceana

Tutti-Frutti

Tutti-Frutti

Discovered in the vaults of the Kremlin after the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union, this recipe had been hermetically sealed in a safe that only the KGB had access to. Even Stalin, the notorious dictator, didn’t know of its whereabouts. Perhaps if he had sampled the Tutti-Frutti, he would have been much sweeter and more understanding.

Yield: 4 servings

2 apricots, peeled and sliced
1 nectarine, peeled and sliced
1 cup seedless grapes
1 tablespoon honey
3 cups milk
1 banana
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate

Place all the ingredients in a blender, and blend on medium speed for 30 seconds.

Pour into tall glasses and serve while listening to Little Richard singing Tutti-Frutti.

Excerpt from Great American Smoothies: The Ultimate Blending Guide for Shakes, Slushes, Desserts, & Thirst Quenchers by Gabriel Constans

Dangerous Liaisons

Dangerous Liaisons

This is not a smoothie you want to serve lightly. If you are planning on a divorce, are having an affair, or just having “lustful thoughts,” then don’t drink this in front of your wife, husband, or significant other. It is quite delicious, and if drunk in excess, it can cause you to reveal your deepest desires to all within shouting distance.

Yield: 4 servings

2 nectarines, peeled, seeded, and sliced
2 cups filtered water
1 banana
1 tablespoon brown rice syrup
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
1 1/2 teaspoons tahini
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
2 ice cubes

Place all the ingredients in a blender, and blend on medium for 45 seconds.

Pour into tall glasses and serve carefully. Do not drink in excess unless you are prepared for some dangerous liaisons.

Excerpt from Great American Smoothies: The Ultimate Blending Guide for Shakes, Slushes, Desserts, & Thirst Quenchers by Gabriel Constans

Equal Work Equal Pay

Gabriel –

I’m not sure if you were alive when President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act 50 years ago today.

I was a recent Trinity College graduate (here’s a picture of me with President Kennedy from just a couple years before to prove it):

President Kennedy called the Equal Pay Act “a first step” to ending the widespread practice of paying women less than men for the same amount of work. And that’s exactly what it was: a first step.

50 years later, we’re still fighting this fight, and women STILL make 23 cents less on the dollar. House Democrats have proposed a solution — the Paycheck Fairness Act — but Republicans voted to block this legislation from even coming to a vote. That’s unacceptable.

Automatically sign your name to tell House Republicans to support equal pay for equal work.

Our daughters and granddaughters should know that they’ll enter the workforce as equals to their male counterparts. But it’s going to take a real effort to get this done.

Add your name to our petition right now and say you support equal pay:

http://dccc.org/Equal-Pay

Thanks,

Nancy

The Peaceful Warrior

The Peaceful Warrior

Until now, the world was unaware of the day peace almost broke out among the planet’s nations. One day, someone tapped into the computers at the CIA, NSA, and DHS and put the entire world on alert by entering this smoothie recipe. Before anyone knew what was happening, China, Pakistan, India, China, Russia and North Korea were threatening one another with new and exciting smoothies. ALL weapons of destruction were converted into giant blenders, with a race to see which country could outdo the others in peacetime alternatives and smoothie diversions.

Yield: 4 servings

1/2 cantaloupe, peeled, seeded, and sliced
4 ice cubes
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 plum (European or Japanese), pitted
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
2 tablespoons applesauce

Place all the ingredients in a blender, and mix on medium speed for 30 seconds.

Pour into tall glasses, serve and enjoy peace (for a change).

Excerpt from Great American Smoothies: The Ultimate Blending Guide for Shakes, Slushes, Desserts, & Thirst Quenchers by Gabriel Constans

Women Like Amber

Dear Gabriel,

Our beautiful 36-year-old daughter Amber Schinault was a victim of domestic violence in Maryland. Amber was first assaulted by her boyfriend with his car on June 1st, 2012, where she had three fingers partially amputated. On June 7th, 2012, Amber with both hands bandaged from her operation, stood before a judge and obtained a restraining order against him. Our daughter was the most loving and kind individual.

After living with us for 50 days while in recovery, Amber went back home on July 19th, 2012, because she missed her four rescued dogs so much. On July 22, her ex-boyfriend broke into her house, waited for her to get home, and then murdered her. The restraining order had no effect because he was determined.

We started a petition in memory of Amber to help other victims of domestic violence like her. Will you sign it?

In 2010, a bill was presented to start a program for a GPS tracking device to notify law enforcement officials and the victim whenever a violator enters a restricted area. Since then, this bill has been in limbo in Maryland. Our goal is to notify the legislation just how important this program is not only in Maryland, but for the entire U.S.

If Amber’s ex-boyfriend had a GPS tracker in place to alert authorities when he entered areas near her, Amber still might be alive today.

Please help us make a difference and save women like Amber in the future.

Thank you for taking action,

Amber’s Family
Care2 Petition Site

The Shadow – Liquid Sunshine

The Shadow (Drink With Sunshine)

Nobody knows where this smoothie came from or how it was discovered. There is no reference to it in any of the literature or cookbooks in the world, but The Shadow knows . . . it tastes great!

Yield: 4 servings

6 tablespoons frozen orange juice
3 bananas
2 cups milk (soy, rice, almond or dairy)
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
8 ice cubes

Place all the ingredients in a blender, and mix on medium speed for 30 seconds.

Pour into tall glasses and serve (in the sun or shade).

Excerpt from Great American Smoothies: The Ultimate Blending Guide for Shakes, Slushes, Desserts, & Thirst Quenchers by Gabriel Constans

Judy Blume’s First Movie

Judy Blume Talks Screenwriting and Adapting ‘Tiger Eyes’ to the Silver Screen by Vicki Salemi on June 7 from Media Jobs Daily

In Tiger Eyes, Judy Blume’s new movie based on her 1981 novel – check that, her first movie – the best-selling author collaborated with her son and filmmaker, Lawrence Blume, to bring it to the silver screen.

After a recent screening concluded in Manhattan, she explained to the audience, “We always said if we were going to work together on a project, it would be Tiger Eyes. It was Larry’s favorite.”

There were some concerns, however, about translating one of her books onto the screen. She revealed, “It just needs to be emotionally true to the story and the characters and we didn’t want to make a schmaltzy movie.”

There were challenges, too. For instance, he mentioned remaining steadfast to the goal of doing ”something about real kids having real life problems and trying to make it as genuine as we could do it.” Plus, the book was written in the first person and “turning that inner emotional stuff into behavior that you can film was complex.” Next, the director put it into a three-act structure and added, “And then I wrote some stuff and Judy fixed it.”

And then fear set in. He confessed, “I like to work in a fearless way but I was afraid of people who read and loved the book saying I can’t believe they ruined it. So I was operating in a little fear of not straying too much away from the book. We tried really hard to keep as much as we could as possible while making it a movie.”

To which point, she quipped, “Did I not say to you all along, Larry, if he doesn’t feed her fruit in the canyon, we’re going to hear about it?”

As for the screenwriting process, the best-selling author explained, “Well, I’m not a screenwriter, this was screenwriting 101. I’ve written other screenplays but I don’t think the way a screenwriter does though I’m learning, but Larry does. Larry knows structure and he comes at it from an editorial, he’s been a film editor so he guided me to do the structure. He guided the structure of the film and I do people and dialogue.”

Read complete story and interview at Media Jobs Daily.

Glacier

Glacier

I’m really happy with my latest stone creation. Of course, it’s not really “mine”, as the materials are all gifts from the earth. I just shaped it in a particular way from a rectangular slab.

I’ve titled it Glacier. A variety of images can be seen within the various shapes, strands and brown veins inside.

It took about two months to carve, sand and polish. It is made from Italian ice alabaster.

Still looking for an inexpensive black stand to place it on.

Living Without Enough Food

Dear Gabriel,

Tonight, chances are a senior in your community will go to bed hungry.

And your neighbor isn’t the only one suffering: millions of older Americans were unable to afford a meal today. Without enough to eat, seniors struggling with hunger could become more vulnerable to illness.

It’s heartbreaking to think of so many older Americans going to bed hungry – but it’s not going to change unless we commit to fighting senior hunger.

We can’t keep ignoring seniors across America who struggle every day to keep food on the table.

Take action today: Add your name and commit to fighting senior hunger!

Thank you for taking action,

Ellen B.
Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team