Teensy treat just for you...

A treat to watch-- from the Abu Dhabi World Pro in 2011, Paulo Miyao v. Pedro Torres, purple belt -65kg finals.



And a treat to eat: 3, 2, 1 Cake

These individual little cakes are amazing and ready to eat in one minute! They are perfect for whenever you feel like a treat without all the fat and calories that cake can have. Genius idea!

INGREDIENTS:
1 box Angel Food Cake Mix
1 box Cake Mix - Any Flavor
2 Tbsp Water
Makes 1 serving.

DIRECTIONS:
In a gallon ziploc bag, combine the two cake mixes together and mix well. For each individual cake serving, take out 3 Tablespoons of the cake mix combination and mix it with 2 Tablespoons of water in a small microwave-safe container. Microwave on high for 1 minute, and you have your own instant individual little cake!
Keep remaining cake mixture stored in the ziploc bag and use whenever you feel like a treat! You can top each cake with a dollop of whipped topping and/or some fresh fruit.

Helpful Tips:
This recipe is called 3, 2, 1 Cake because all you need to remember is
3 tablespoons mix,
2 tablespoons water,
1 minute in the microwave!

TRY various flavors of cake mix like carrot, red velvet, pineapple, lemon, orange, etc. Just remember that one of the mixes has to be the angel food mix; the other is your choice. The flavor possibilities are endless!

NOTES:
The best thing is, you open both cake mixes into a gallon storage bag, one that 'zip locks' or 'self-seals', or a container that seals tightly, shake the two cake mixes to blend and then make the recipe. Storage of mix is simple, put it on a shelf. No need to refrigerate, since the mix is dry. Always remember, that one of the cake mixes must be Angel Food. The other can be any flavor. The Angel Food is the cake mix that has the eggs whites in it. So, if, anyone is allergic to egg whites, don't eat this.

Mitt, really in touch with the average American....

"Presidential candidate Mitt Romney on being back home in Michigan:
"I like the fact that most of the cars I see are Detroit-made automobiles. I drive a Mustang and a Chevy pick-up truck. Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs, actually. "

Spam and eggs.

Jiujiu had a funny post listing the goofy stuff spammers wrote in their "comments" so I actually looked in my spam filter... Here's some:

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Ronda and Miesha

I enjoyed this interview.



I think Ronda needs just a tiny bit less of the confidence... not in her skills, but in her own rightness and opinions.  She's just a little too free with her words, and I think maybe they'll bite her someday.  She comes across too strongly, treading the line of b*tchery.  She's already my favorite female MMA fighter bar none because her judo and her armbar give me tinglies, but I would like her more if she seemed more humble.  She's right in what she says though...

01:50 -- Ronda Rousey -- "All these girls are saying that I have talked my way into a title, is just a mean way of saying that I was smarter than them and I figured out to make as much progress in six months as they did in six years."

RicksonGracie Dammit! Santorum is such a LIAR!

Euthanasia in the Netherlands: Rick Santorum’s bogus statistics

Posted by Glenn Kessler here, on the Washington Post at 06:00 AM ET, 02/22/2012.

 

 

“In the Netherlands, people wear different bracelets if they are elderly. And the bracelet is: ‘Do not euthanize me.’ Because they have voluntary euthanasia in the Netherlands but half of the people who are euthanized — ten percent of all deaths in the Netherlands — half of those people are enthanized involuntarily at hospitals because they are older and sick. And so elderly people in the Netherlands don’t go to the hospital. They go to another country, because they are afraid, because of budget purposes, they will not come out of that hospital if they go in there with sickness.”
 
— Former senator Rick Santorum, at the American Heartland Forum in Columbia, Missouri, Feb. 3, 2012
 
"These were interesting remarks by one of the leading candidates for the GOP nomination. Though Santorum made this observation earlier in the month, a video of his comments only circulated on the web over the weekend and a number of readers asked whether he is correct. (His comments also spawned headlines in Holland, such as one that proclaimed: “Rick Santorum Thinks He Knows the Netherlands: Murder of the Elderly on a Grand Scale.”)

So we will check his statistics — 10 percent of all deaths in the Netherlands are from euthanasia and 50 percent of those die involuntarily — and also his claim that the elderly wear bracelets requesting that they not be euthanized.
 
(Full disclosure: The Fact Checker’s parents emigrated from Holland and I have direct, personal experience with the practice of euthanasia there. My father’s brother requested euthanasia when he was diagnosed with a terminal disease and after various remedies were ineffective. In the United States, he might have lived another two or three months, in great pain, and likely would have lapsed into a coma before death. But, after a conclusion by the Dutch medical establishment that he had no chance of survival, he arranged for his death at home with his family at his side. He even called me an hour before his death to say good-bye.)

We realize this is an emotional issue in the United States. But the simple facts, as Santorum described them, should be clear.

The Facts

In 2001, The Netherlands became the first country to legalize euthanasia, setting forth a complex process. The law, which went into effect a year later, codified a practice that has been unofficially tolerated for many years.

Under the Dutch law, a doctor must diagnose the illness as incurable and the patient must have full control of his or her mental faculties. The patient must voluntarily and repeatedly request the procedure, and another doctor must provide a written opinion agreeing with the diagnosis. After the death, a commission made up of a doctor, a jurist and an ethical expert also are required to verify that the requirements for euthanasia have been met.

Late last year, in the first such case, a 64-year-old woman with advanced Alzheimer’s disease was euthanized, on the strength of her insisting for years that she wanted the procedure to be done.

Nevertheless, the statistics show it is still a relatively uncommon form of death. In 2010, the number of euthanasia cases reported to one of five special commissions was 3,136, according to their annual report. This was a 19 percent increase over 2009, but “this amounts to 2.3 percent of all 136,058 deaths in the Netherlands in 2010,” said Carla Bundy, spokeswoman for the Dutch embassy in Washington.

At the time of the annual report, the commissions had been able to reach conclusions in 2,667 euthanasia notifications reported to the agency and found only nine in which “the physician had not acted in accordance with the due care criteria,” the annual report said. More than 80 percent of the patients were suffering from cancer; almost 80 percent died at home.

A 2005 study by the New England Journal of Medicine found only a minimal number of the cases — 0.4 percent — in which there was an ending of life without explicit request by the patient. The study concluded the rate had actually been cut in half since the euthanasia law was passed.

These statistics were so at odds with Santorum’s claims that we wondered how he could have thought that 50 percent of the elderly were put to death involuntarily (or that 10 percent of all deaths in Holland were from euthanasia.) Spokesmen for Santorum did not respond to a query, but the best we can tell, he is grossly misinterpreting the results of a 1991 survey known as the Remmelink Report, which was influential in crafting the 2001 law.

The Remmelink Report found that 0.8 percent of the deaths at the time were done without the explicit request of the patient; in 59 percent of the cases, the physician had some information about the patient’s wish. “Life was shortened by between some hours and a week at most in 86 percent,” a summary of the report said. “In 83 percent the decision has been discussed with relatives and in 70 percent with a colleague. In nearly all cases, according to the physician, the patient was suffering unbearably, there was no chance of improvement, and palliative possibilities were exhausted.”

And what about those “Do Not Euthanize me” bracelets?

This also appears to be a strange misinterpretation of life in the Netherlands. We did find that a Web site known as Right Wing News last year published an article which asserted that “over 10,000 [Dutch] citizens carry ‘Do Not Euthanize Me’ cards in case they are ever admitted to a hospital unexpectedly.” The source was the Louisiana Right To Life Federation, which in turn cited no specific source except possibly the Nightingale Alliance, which opposes euthanasia. But this group does not appear to have published any actual figures.

In a letter to the British Medical Journal last year, a Dutch euthanasia specialist wrote that such cards do not exist. “What does exist is a living will (the levenswensverklaring), which is distributed by the Christian Dutch Patient Association,” in which people can “state that active life termination is not an acceptable option.” He wrote that it is unclear how many people completed such a living will.
“According to the Ministry of Health, ‘Do not euthanize me’ bracelets do not exist in the Netherlands,” said Bundy of the Dutch embassy. “In the Netherlands, there are indeed living wills, which are documents in which members can state their wishes regarding euthanasia.”

The Pinocchio Test

There appears to be not a shred of evidence to back up Santorum’s claims about euthanasia in the Netherlands. It is telling that his campaign did not even bother to defend his comments.

Four Pinocchios"

Repost: the Art of Flow Rolling

Was reminded of this excellent instructional article  on the art of the flow roll today, so I decided to share.  It's really foundational stuff. 

Aside from the great article, Christian put together this 37 minute video that is worth everyone's time to watch.





The original source is Christian at Zhoozhitzu do Graugardo. 

Dang gear is so expensive... a solution is at hand!

How much does it suck to buy a new gi... wash it once, and have it shrink too much to be wearable?  Or you try to shrink it, and it doesn't shrink enough?

How much does it suck to think you like your new gi, wear it a couple classes, and realize that it really doesn't fit you all that well?

How much does it suck to start out in BJJ and right off the bat it seems you have to spend $150 on a gi, when you're not even sure you're sticking with the sport?

Or how about you move, and you need a Gracie Barra gi for the new academy (or you're no longer training with GB and want to get rid of yours)-- what do you do?

I can tell you that few companies will let you return a worn and washed and dried gi for a refund.  It's hard to find Barra patch sets these days.  What if your academy sells "starter gis" for $125-- can you do better? What if you want to try out some muay thai and need some fight shorts? shin guards? And gloves?  But you didn't get a raise?

Check out the BJJ Gi Market.  Not just used gear... not just gis... but an affordable source for one-on-one sales of whatever you might need.  Some sellers are individuals, whereas some are direct (discounted) sales from the manufacturer.  (There's an A4 Ronin, brand new, for sale from the manufacturer right now for only $79.)

Here's what the site has to say:

"Welcome to BJJGiMarket.com.  Here you will find others who are looking to buy or sell gently used items relating to the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. If you are looking for cheap gear to buy, or have gear you do not need, and are tired of paying the high prices & fees on Ebay, then you have come to the right place. We do not charge for memberships or listings and we will host your photos and contact information so others just like you can search, browse, and buy or sell their gently used grappling merchandise.

We feel we are the best place to buy or sell used Gis, grappling shorts, shirts, gloves, and any other BJJ related gear or clothing on the web! From Kimonos to Tees you will find it all here at BJJ Gi Market.

***Please note we reserve the right to delete or edit any listing we feel is obscene or inappropriate and we do not allow the listing of undergarments or mouthpieces of any kind due to sanitary reasons and liability.  All else is fine as long as it is kept within the Terms of Service.***"

Right now I see some new and used Shoyorolls, some ladies' gis (and I'm about to add ten or so to that list this weekend), Atamas, Ronins, Break Points, Relson Gracie, Gameness... it's a good selection!  There are also fight shorts, new and used gloves, and a bunch of other stuff.  They also have categories for books and DVDs.  Are you a purple belt now and don't need Roy Dean's Blue Belt Requirements any more?  Let some whitebelt soak up the knowledge!

And, a special free gift if you purchase on the site: Stephan Kesting's A Roadmap For Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Ebook!

I've sold a few people gently-used gis before-- usually some young girl who sees one of my "dyed creations"-- and as long as you give it a good wash with about 1/4 cup of bleach in the water, a used gi isn't going to give you cooties. 

Ready to perfect your BJJ, network, bond, AND enjoy vacation???

Ladies, get ready for the Womens Grapple Camp this summer--  start planning now! I just finished a mini-camp, a 3-day weekend in San Antonio, full of great jiu jitsu taught by Val Worthington and Emily Kwok and fun times with other like-minded gals. I can only imagine what a full week would be like!  This one will be hostessed by Mallory Kraft, a blue belt and awesome friend of mine.  Here's Mallory (blue gi) last year at the Pan--

Here's a picture from a previous camp -- if you start counting 1 at the far left, #2 is Val, #3 is Mallory, and #5 is Emily.  The other two ladies also came from Mallory's academy.

The camp will be August 1-5 at Paragon BJJ Academy in San Luis Obispo, CA. What? your honey is pouting? Significant others (and presumably your kids) may train at either the SLO location or Templeton location (30 miles north) for only $50 for the week! From the schedule you can see there are plenty of classes to keep them busy.  Look how big their dang matspace is:



But they're not into jiu jitsu, you say? or some are, some aren't? San Luis Obispo has been called the happiest city in America by National Geographic and Oprah. There's tons of great hiking within the city or a 15-minute drive. SLO is also ten minutes from multiple beaches. Stay a little longer and make it a mini vacation. Drive down to the LA/San Diego area and do some slumming with Galvao, Cobrinha, Saulo/Xande, Kron, Henry/Ronda and other second-string instructors *wink*...

You can expect a class to be taught by the head instructor at Paragon-- Chris Lovato, a black belt in BJJ and judo.  Here he is with Franjinha at No Gi Worlds 2010. Chris is on the left in the white and black rashguard. They closed out their absolute bracket together that year.  Franjinha is the head of the entire Paragon association and Chris' instructor.  Pretty cool moment!

So, consider this your save-the-date.  More info to come on registration, pricing, etc etc!

:)

Birth control, insurance, and Catholic hospitals/employers....

Reposted from Slate, by Amanda Marcotte:

"With all the fussing going on over the Obama administration's sensible refusal to carve out huge exceptions in their new contraception rules for religious-affiliated institutions that serve the public, I fear that there are a lot of misperceptions floating about regarding what it is that Catholic-affiliated hospitals and universities are really like, or how actual Catholics feel about this situation. Some numbers are helpful.

Twenty-eight states already require religious-affiliated institutions that serve the public to offer equal insurance coverage as non-religious institutions offering the same services. The tragic results predicted by anti-choice hysterics have not come to pass because of this. The notion that Catholics as a group are offended by these regulations is also false; a poll run by Public Policy Polling found that 53 percent of Catholics support the administration on this, which isn't substantively different than the population at large.The group who actually opposes the ruling are evangelical Christians, as a poll from the Public Research Institute found. Only 38 percent of evangelical Christians want the coverage.

So the divide here isn't between Catholics and non-Catholics, but religious fanatics and non-fanatics. You might not realize it from all the wailing about how Obama offended the Catholics, but most Catholics aren't actually sex-phobic religious fanatics. They use contraception and have abortions at the same rate as everyone else, in fact. The hyper-conservative representatives of the U.S. Conference on Catholic Bishops cannot be equated with American Catholics, any more than the Branch Davidians can be considered representative of Texans as a group.

The notion that the culture of Catholic-affiliated universities and hospitals is substantively different than secular or Protestant ones, and thus deserves some kind of special dispensation from having to obey the law, is something that direct experience with these institutions should immediately disprove. I personally went to a Catholic-affiliated university, and the reason that it was a fine fit for my atheist self was that "Catholic-affiliated" is basically meaningless when it comes to the daily business of a university. Culturally, there was no real difference between my school and a secular school. We had a LGBT group, co-ed dorms, no curfews, and while I was there our school theater did a performance of The Rocky Horror Show. Half the students and staff weren't even Catholic, and of those who were, most were like self-identified Catholics everywhere, which is to say not particularly interested in the church's extremist doctrines. The cafeteria served meat on Fridays during Lent. Campus entertainment, such as free movies and parties, was exactly like at secular universites. I remember sitting on a blanket on a warm summer night watching Pulp Fiction as it was projected on a wall on campus. My friends who went to private Catholic school in high school would often joke that they had better sex ed than you get in public schools. The only thing from the secular world that the USCCB cares to take a stand on is contraception, which suggests that this isn't about religion at all, but just about controlling women."

Screw cutting weight-- FUDGY brownies, I'm tellin' ya.

So, if the thought of box-mix brownies for Valentine's (or any-tines) offends... here are some brownies with extra fudginess (substituted pulverized nuts for some of the flour for added richness and less dryness..) Got the recipe from L.V. Anderson on Slate. But before the recipe, a brief report. I pulled myself up to a chin-up position with just my arms (JUST MY ARMS!!!) yesterday... twice... *prance prance* And then did it again with just the help of my tippy-toes on the wall 3 more times... that's right, baby, TWO PULLUPS... uh huh!

Ok-- back to the chocolate.

Chocolate Chip Brownies

Oil or butter for greasing the pan
1/2 cup almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts
3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch slices
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate (not chips), roughly chopped
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom and sides of an 8- or 9-inch square or round pan with foil or parchment paper and grease the lining. Put the nuts in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add the flour and salt, and pulse a few times to combine.

2. Put the butter and chocolate in a large saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until they melt and the mixture is smooth. (Or combine the butter and chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until they melt.) Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar, letting cool a little so you don't scramble the eggs. Beat together the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl, then add the egg mixture to the saucepan and stir to combine. Stir in first the flour mixture (do not overmix), then the chocolate chips, and transfer the batter to the greased pan.

3. Bake until the brownies just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes. Cool thoroughly before removing from the pan and serving. (The brownies will keep for a few days wrapped in foil or parchment paper at room temperature.)