This Week: Roundup of Sunday Funnies - U.S. Kept Copies of Keys to Iraq, Statue of Liberty Reopens, Maine Gets Gay Friendly

Photo by Tansan @ flickr

From Denny: In this summer heat we all can use a good laugh! Here's the latest from the late night show comics.

This Week's roundup of the Sunday funnies.

The Daily Show

Jon Stewart: The United States gave the Iraqis the key back to their own cities. Don't worry, we made a copy.

The Late Late Show

Craig Ferguson: The show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" is returning to prime time. But due to the recession, it's being renamed "Who Wants Five Bucks and a Taco?"

Late Show

David Letterman: Here is good news for Bernie Madoff: Only 149 years, 50 weeks to go.

The Colbert Report

Stephen Colbert: [Clip from CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" show] "Tonight, connecting with one of Michael Jackson's old friends and perhaps one of the oddest, Bubbles, the chimp." Colbert: Congratulations, Anderson. This is even bigger than your 2006 sit-down with Saddam Hussein's beloved pet, Khalid Sheikh Mohamster. [Screeb shows hamster dressed as Saddam Hussein.]

And the week I missed somehow... Statue of Liberty Reopens

The Tonight Show

Jay Leno: It was hot today. Wasn't it? I tell you. Oh, I was sweating like John Edwards waiting to watch his wife on "Oprah."

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

Jimmy Fallon: The crown at the top of the Statue of Liberty will reopen on the Fourth of July for the first time since 9/11. Isn't that cool? Visitors will now be able to touch Air Force One as it flies right past them.

The Late Show

David Letterman: Here's a public service announcement now from Joe Biden. Remember that the sun's rays can cause painful sunburn and long-term skin damage. To be safe, between now and October, do not leave your home. Message from Joe Biden, "Time to Panic."

The Late Late Show

Craig Ferguson: The state of Maine today legalized gay marriage. Maine became comfortable with the idea after years of touching Canada.

Saddam Hussein Joe Biden Michael Jackson Anderson Cooper John Edwards Late Night with Jimmy Fallon The Tonight Show The Late Show The Late Late Show

* * *  Please support Warriors Pearl Foundation - contributing to fund efforts to help homeless female military veterans come home.  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  And a special thanks to those of you supporting this effort!  You rock!

 Subscribe in a reader to A Truth Journal

* Check out Dennys News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food - a place where all my 24 blogs link so you can choose from among the latest posts all in one place. A free to read online newspaper from independent journalist blogger Denny Lyon. * 

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Libations Friday! Coffee Recipe and Michael Jackson Poem Tribute 3 July 2009

Featured this week is a poem about Michael Jackson’s life, a writing exercise of how to write a poetry version of a favorite person’s biography and a coffee recipe.

Coffee photo by once and future @ flickr


Pot-Brewed Coffee with Raw Sugar and Spices (Café de Olla)

From: by Rick Bayless with Deann Groen Bayless @ Epicurious.com

This recipe is from the Rick Bayless cookbook - "Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking from the Heart of Mexico" (found under the Coffee section of The Social Poets Amazon store or just click on this book link)

Yield: Makes 4 - 5 servings

Commentary from author Rick Bayless: “Today, Mexico's best coffee is ripened and dried along the roadways in the cloud-blanketed highlands of Chiapas and over through Veracruz and Oaxaca. The prime beans are usually roasted a little darker than ours — almost a Viennese roast — and they brew a nice, medium-bodied liquid with some spunk. They tell me it's the second-class beans that get roasted darker, to a mahogany black with a shining sugar coat.

The steam-powered espresso machines in the city cafeterías extract a trio of ethnic brews: espresso, straight, foamy and Italian; café con leche, mixed with hot milk, French-style (but so common one would mistake it for purely Mexican); or Americano, simply diluted with water. The more rural brew leans toward the Spanish, the history books say, but it seems like a Mexican-flavored campfire version to me.

Café de Olla at its best is pot-boiled in earthenware with molassesy piloncillo sugar and spices like cinnamon, anise or cloves. These days, many traditional city restaurants offer the dark, delicious drink more regularly, served in old-fashioned earthenware mugs at the end of the meal.”

Ingredients:

• 4-5 ounces piloncillo*, roughly chopped or 1/2 to 2/3 cup packed brown sugar, plus 1 teaspoon molasses

• 2 inches cinnamon stick

• A few aniseeds (optional)

• 2/3 cup (2 ounces) Viennese-roast coffee, medium to coarse grind


• *Unrefined sugar that is pressed into cone or disk shapes. Also called panela.

Directions:

Boiling and steeping: In a noncorrosive pan, combine 1 quart water, the sugar, cinnamon and optional aniseed. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring to melt the sugar. Stir in the coffee, remove from the fire, cover and steep for 5 minutes.
Straining: Strain the coffee through a fine-mesh sieve into cups or mugs and serve immediately.

A few reviews from the Epicurious site on this recipe:

"I made this for our dinner club and it was delicious. Just don't burn anyone pouring the coffee through the sieve! by A Cook from Alaska

"I needed a Mexican drink for a coffee where I demonstrated Mexican Appetizers. I put Starbucks in my pot's filter basket, added 2 Teaspoons whole anise seed and a few teaspoons of cinnamon. The smell was fantastic and they drank more coffee than Sangria! I also had dark sugar cubes for those who wanted it! by petitti from Memphis

"Very authentic. The only change I make is to omit the sugar and allow each person to add his own, as this is quite sweet for most North Americans, and nearly undrinkable for those who don't normally sweeten their coffee. Do use dark brown sugar in either case, and piloncillo if available. If you're accustomed to sweetened coffee, follow the recipe,playing with the amount of sugar. by A Cook from Jackson, NJ

"I used the brown sugar with ground Starbucks, and it was extremely sweet. You may want to tone down the sugar to 1/3 instead of 2/3 Cups. Other than that, very nice after dinner type coffee drink. by Tony from Philly"

Iran Headlines 28 June 2009

Map flag of Iran, SVG version of Image:Iran tricolour.png (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From Denny: It's getting more and more difficult for Iranian protestors to get news out or into the country. People around the world are carefully forwarding news reports - from different sites other than the official international news sites - in the hope folks in Iran can connect, finding out how much of their message and truth is reaching other parts of the world.

Feel free to send out what headlines posts are here at The Social Poets to someone you know - who knows someone - who knows someone, you get the idea. Hopefully, as bloggers we can fly under the radar for a while before the regime catches on to our support! :)

Remember, keeping this story high profile - while the mainstream media runs around with its head cut-off worrying about Michael Jackson - real people in Iran are suffering for lack of intense coverage. You can help save lives by keeping the heat on the public pressure on the Iranian regime, and, in turn, circling back to forcing mainstream media to carry more coverage.

World leaders stand united against Iran violence

Thousands demonstrate silently in Tehran

Iranian police clash with up to 3,000 protesters

Report: Hospitalized Iranians seized

Iran Crackdown Continues



“Punished mercilessly” – Is this Islam?

Sunday last day for Iran candidates to file complaints

Iran still interfering in Iraq, top Army general says

Iran detains eight local British embassy staff

Britain blasts arrest of embassy staffers in Iran

Iran's security council tells Moussavi to back off

Where is Rafsanjani?

* * *  Please support Warriors Pearl Foundation - helping homeless female military veterans come home.  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -  see what's new!  And a special thanks to those of you supporting this effort!  You rock!

 Subscribe in a reader to A Truth Journal

* Check out Dennys News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food - a place where all my other 20 blogs link so you can choose from among the latest posts all in one place. A free to read online newspaper from independent journalist blogger Denny Lyon. * 

*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

This Weeks Roundup of Sunday Funnies: Sicko Cinco de Mayo, New Dem Senator

The Tonight Show

Jay Leno: See all those people on the news walking around wearing those surgical masks, huh? Suddenly Michael Jackson not so crazy, huh?

The Colbert Report

Steven Colbert: President Obama got exactly the gift he wanted, an adorable new senator [former Republican Sen. Arlen Specter]. I just hope he is housebroken.

The Late Late Show

Craig Ferguson: [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad complained President Obama hasn't been returning his messages. No offense, Mahmoud, but maybe he's just not that into you.

The Colbert Report

Steven Colbert: Republican Sen. Arlen Specter has contracted donkey flu. Folks, this disease is now officially out of control. Back in 2004 we thought we had it contained to the coasts and the cities, but then it mutated and tore through the country.

Note from Denny: For the folks outside of America so you don't miss out on the inside America joke: donkey flu is a code phrase for changing your political party affliation to the Democratic Party.

The Tonight Show

Jay Leno: Biden isn't speaking out so much lately. Today, President Obama took some action. Did you see them together? Take a look. Duct tape. Look.

Jimmy Kimmel Live

Jimmy Kimmel: We have the first president ever who knows how to use Facebook, but his staff can't use Photoshop. Here it is, here is Air Force One and the Statue of Liberty, and look what else we can do. We can see President Obama walking on the wing.

Photo by Tansan @ flickr

* * *  Please support Warriors Pearl Foundation - helping homeless female military veterans come home.  Visit Denny Lyon Gifts  @ CafePress.com  -   - see what's new!  (yes, my new charity - why stand on the sidelines when you can actively do something about a problem?)

 Subscribe in a reader to A Truth Journal

* Check out Dennys News Politics Comedy Science Arts & Food - a place where all my other 20 blogs link so you can choose from among the latest posts all in one place. A free to read online newspaper from independent journalist blogger Denny Lyon. * 

*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!