Jun 5th, 2009 | SYRACUSE, N.Y. — It was a simpler sort of drug trade.
Syracuse police say a 45-year-old man offered a slaughtered pig as partial payment for a bag of crack cocaine.
They say two men were spotted making the deal on a street corner just before 8 p.m. Thursday.
Angelo Colon of Fulton was arrested on a misdemeanor drug possession charge and 42-year-old Omar Veliz faces a felony drug sale charge.
Police say Colon paid half a pig and $10 for a $50 bag of crack. Veliz told police the pig was for a celebration for a relative being released from jail.
While officers were arresting the suspects, someone took the pig.
Police don’t know if the men have lawyers.
Author: marga (Page 69 of 158)
A radically conservative talk show host gets himself waterboarded to show it’s no big deal – he ends up saying, unequivocally, that it is torture. I’d hope that everyone who says waterboarding is not torture should have the same guts.
Given that my last attempt at lotion making did not go very well and that I’ve used or given away most of the stock I had – I found myself wanting to give some to a friend, but having nothing available. So today I made (or tried to make) some more lotion, using yet another recipe. It didn’t come out perfectly either. I followed the instructions very closely, but made a few changes. I used beeswax pellets instead of shredded beeswax (can’t imagine it’d make a difference), green tea instead of chamomile tea, and skipped the potassium sorbate and cinnamon. Instead I added phenonip and cucumber-green tea essential oil. Now for the problems:
1) The recipe wouldn’t emulsify -or rather, about a third of it emulsified, but no matter how much I beat/blended it, the oil would not mix with the rest of the lotion. The consistency of the emulsified lotion, however, was wonderful: silky, smooth, creamy and light. I loved it – but I needed the whole bunch to be emulsified. Realizing that blending alone wouldn’t do it – I added a bit of melted emulsifying wax – and that, fortunately, did it.
2) Once the oil mixed with the rest of the lotion, the whole thing became very liquid. I blended and blended, mixed and mixed, and it made no difference. I finally added quite a bit of arrowroot, and I think that may have made a difference, but not a huge one.
So I’ve been left with a beautiful, silky, easy to spread lotion that is, unfortunately, quite thin. Still, I love the melt in your skin consistency and I’m definitely giving some to my friends (and keeping some for me!).
Here is the recipe that I plan to use next time.
Silky Body Lotion Recipe
1/4 cup apricot kernel oil
1/4 cup jojoba oil
1/4 cup beeswax pellets
2 Tbsp. emulsifying wax pellets
1 Tbsp. stearic acid
1 tsp. arrowroot powder
1 tsp. honey
1 cup brewed green tea, warm
1/4 cup aloe vera gel
1/4 tsp. citric acid
1 tsp. phenonip
fragrance oil
colorant (optional)
Melt together the oils, waxes, stearic acid, arrowroot and honey in a double boiler. Let cool a little, but not become hard.
Mix the tea, aloe vera and citric acid in a blender or in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the mixed oils very slowly, mixing/blending constantly. Continue blending until it emulsifies. Blend for 2 more minutes, and then for 30 seconds at the time, until the lotion achieves the thickness you want. Add phenonip and mix again.
Divide the lotion in as many parts as you want and add fragrance and colorant to each, mix. Bottle.
Here is a beautiful poem by Uruguayan writer Mario Benedetti, who passed away only a couple of days ago. As I enter my 40’s, I can’t but look look with disappointment at all the roads not taken, all the things not done, and wonder if it’s not too late for me. I know other friends have the same concerns. So here is this poem. I’m sure there is an official translation somewhere, but I haven’t found it. I’m a terrible translator, but I hope I can convey the gist.
Don’t Give Up
by Mario Benedetti
Don’t give up, you still have time
to reach up and start anew,
Accept your shadows,
Bury your fears,
Free your burdens,
Fly again.
Don’t give up, that’s what life is
Continue the journey,
Follow your dreams,
Unstuck time,
Move the rubble,
And uncover the sky.
Don’t give up, please don’t give way,
Even if the cold burns,
Even if fear bites,
Even if the sun sets,
And the wind goes silent,
There is still fire in your soul
There is still life in your dreams.
Because life is yours and yours is the desire
Because you have loved it and because I love you
Because wine exists and love is true.
Because there are no wounds that time doesn’t cure.
To open the doors,
Take away the locks,
Abandon the walls that have protected you,
To live life and accept the challenge
Get back laughter,
Practice a song,
Lower the guard and extend the hands
Open the wings
And try again,
Celebrate life and take back the skies.
Don’t give up, please don’t give way,
Even if the cold burns,
Even if fear bites,
Even if the sun sets,
And the wind goes silent,
There is still fire in your soul
There is still life in your dreams.
Because every day is a new beginning,
Because this is the hour and the best moment.
Because you are not alone, because I love you.
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