June 2009 Archives

I spotted this plate and three others recently at Goodwill. Do you think it looks like a sunflower? I do. Oddly, the design is called "Casablanca" and it was made by the Royal China Company. I think Casablanca was a terrible name for this design. Someone gets a naming fail. 

I found a little bit of information on Royal China online.

In 1934, the Royal China Company began production in the old E. H. Sebring China Company plant located in Sebring, Ohio. Early production included dinnerware patterns in groups called "series." The patterns in a series varied from year to year. Also, shapes within a series were not always the same and the same pattern was often used in several series. Therefore, determining what pieces were made in early patterns is quite difficult. Also, fire in 1970 that destroyed all of the early records, has impeded researchers in their efforts to piece together the history of this company. Numeous collectors are interested in three colonial-style dinnerware lines produced by Royal China. These are "Currier and Ives," Colonial Homestad and Old Curiosity Shop. "Currier and Ives" is colored transferware on an ivory background that was adapted for Royal China use by Gorden Parker. It was introduced in 1949 and continued to be sold into the 1980's. Colors made include blue, green, brown and pink. Large department store retail outlets and catalog giants such as Sears and Montgomery Ward helped to make this pattern tremendously successful for Royal. The pattern was also distributed as a premium through the A & P Grocery chain. Gorden Parker also designed Colonial Homestead and Old Curiosity Shop. Colonial Homestead was introduduced in the early 1950's and was still being sold by Sears in the late 1960's. Old Curiosty Shop was sold primarily during the 1950's. The Royal China Company bought the French-Saxon China Company of Sebring in 1964. This plant was initially operated as a subsidiary company, but it became the center of Royal China operations after the fire in 1970. In 1969, the Jeannette Corporation bought Harker China and Royal China. Royal China assumed control of Harker production until that plant closed in 1972. The Jeannette Corporation and all of its holdings was bought by the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York in 1976. In 1981, Royal China was sold to the J Corporation, a group of private investors from Boston. Another change of ownership came in 1984 when the plant was sold to Nordic Capital of New York. The Royal China name was retained through all these changes of ownership. By 1986 the company was no longer in production.

The information for this article was taken from the book "Lehner's Encyclopedia of U.S. Marks on Pottery, Porcelain, and Clay" by Lois Lehner. This book has a wealth of information on pottery companies and should be in every dealers library.

My plates were a dollar a piece and I'm quite happy with them. I've also warned the household as to how unhappy I'd be if a plate met an untimely end. Fair warning, ya'll.

We've had a nice, comfortable futon in our living room for a while. It was a hand-me-down from my In-laws. It didn't really match my decor, though, and I think most people would rather not sit on a futon when they come to my house. Thanks to the powers of Craigslist, I was able to trade the futon for a fistful of cash and finally bought some new furniture this weekend.

See? A new chair and loveseat.

The chair we acquired on Saturday from a furniture consignment shop having a grand opening. I spotted it after visiting nearly all the thrift shops in town. I'm pretty sure angelic voices sang and the heavens shone down upon this perfect chair. At least that's how I felt after hours of fruitless shopping.

The loveseat I found listed on Craigslist on Saturday night and we picked it up Sunday afternoon.

Now, here's the living room:

See how the light blue chair matches Monet's painting in the background? The other wingback we purchased at Goodwill for a song some time ago. It needs a lot of therapy, but we still like it. By the way, the coffee table is from a yard sale and the rug is one I crocheted.

Oh, do you see a girl in the corner there? She's cooking mini pizzas for lunch and talking to me. She's probably ranting about politics.

A new book I recently heard of is "Jane Austen's Sewing Box".

Based on the novels of Jane Austen, this beautifully presented book is for craft enthusiasts and lovers of history and literature alike. A celebration of the Regency period, each of the 18 sewing, needlecraft, knitting, paper and decorative projects is accompanied by an extract from the relevant novel, historical notes, full colour photographs and illustrated step by step instructions for authentic replication. Key points: quotes from Austen novels illustrate how a character wore or used an article that can be recreated by the reader; brings the style, colours and textiles of the Regency period alive, a elegant and creative era of art and crafts; an accessible range of activities that caters for a variety of craft types and skill levels.

Jane Austen and crafts? Sounds fantabulous!

 

"Lost in Austen," which aired on the BBC, sounded like a wonderful film for a sci-fi loving Janeite:

Amanda Price is sick of the modern world. She yearns for the romance and elegance found in the books by her favorite author, Jane Austen. But she's about to get a rude awakening as one fateful evening, she is propelled into the scheming 19th century world of Pride and Prejudice while that book's Elizabeth Bennet is hurled into hers. As the book's familiar plot unfolds, Amanda triggers new romantic twists and turns within the Bennet family circle as she clumsily tries to help the sisters nab husbands and even captivates the tantalizing Mr. Darcy herself. But what about Elizabeth...and what will become of one of the world's greatest love stories?

Thanks to Netflix, I was able to watch the DVD without purchasing it. I'm really glad for that because I think it would have been a shame to have wasted money on this movie. While many parts were extremely funny, I thought the inclusion of so much crass language made the movie unworthy of an association with "our Jane". The movie is definitely not family friendly. Quite a shame - it would have been an interesting addition to my Jane Austen collection.

 

We just got back from watching the new Transformers sequel. Unfortunately, the audience was loud and immature. Many hooted and shouted when the "New Moon" preview showed because of this guy. And, right before the movie began, one man yelled into the darkness, "We love you, Michael!" During the movie, much of the audience screamed or talked. I missed hearing many parts because of this.

The movie itself was more, more, more. More action, more battles, more Transformers, and more vulgarity. Although the movie was fun, the smut level was really too high and I wonder how it was able to get a PG-13 rating.

At the end of the movie, everyone clapped louder than I've ever heard before. Trust me - it wasn't that great a movie. S, however, has already declared it to be the best movie ever made. Of course, he's an eleven-year-old boy. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad movie, but a little editing would have done wonders.

(Shown above are the Transformers t-shirts I made the kids last year using freezer paper stencils. Can you guess what the kids wore to the movie tonight?)

Just wanted to alert ya'll to two book challenges:

• Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge.

Now what is required for this challenge? Very little. You decide how much or how little you want to read about the land of Narnia. All you need to do today is link your blog up to the Mr. Linky below so that people will know that you are participating. If you've written an introductory post on your blog talking about the challenge, all the better! Link up that specific post! As you read through The Chronicles of Narnia visit around and see what other people are reading and thinking about.

Then come back here on Friday, July 17th to link up all of your Narnia posts from this month. (Whether you write one post or a dozen! Come and link them all!)

• The Everything Austen Challenge (with prizes). 

The Everything Austen Challenge will run for six months (July 1, 2009 - January 1, 2010)! All you need to do is pick out what six Austen-themed things you want to finish to complete the challenge.

Check out the links for more info on both challenges.

I'm considering the Everything Austen Challenge. Maybe I can convince one or both of my children to join me.

My husband recently alerted me to a new blog called Alice and Kev. This unique blog follows the lives of a homeless father and his young daughter...in The Sims 3 computer game.

The blog's front page explains more:

Welcome to the tale of Alice and Kev.

This is an experiment in playing a homeless family in The Sims 3. I created two Sims, moved them in to a place made to look like an abandoned park, removed all of their remaining money, and then attempted to help them survive without taking any job promotions or easy cash routes. It's based on the old 'poverty challenge' idea from The Sims 2, but it turned out to be a lot more interesting with The Sims 3's living neighborhood features.

I have attempted to tell my experiences with the minimum of embellishment. Everything I describe in here is something that happened in the game. What's more, a surprising amount of the interesting things in this story were generated by just letting go and watching the Sims' free will and personality traits take over.

The unusual saga is much like a soap opera or telenovela. The free will and personality traits enable Alice and Kev to make choices independent of their creator and their lives are quite a sociology experiment.

To read the ongoing tale, you'll want to start at the beginning.

The decor and design industries often go a bit cuckoo. Some trends are so outlandish it makes me shake my head in disbelief. If you feel this way too, you may enjoy Moggit: The Mogg Blogg. Yes, it's rather snarky, but I think a little snark may be needed when we're discussing $850 broom lamps and Jolly Roger chandeliers.

I have added a new link to my far-right sidebar (a little below my bio blurb). The link is to my son's blog, "I Like Ike". I have no input in S's blog; it's all his own. I do, however, pester and coax him to use proper grammar and punctuation.

S would love to have visitors to his little corner of the internet and he'd be simply giddy if kind people would leave him a comment.

Wow, how long has it been since I posted a Menu Plan? Seems like forever. Don't worry; I've had menu plans. They just never made it online.

When I do my fortnightly grocery shopping, the two-week menu is written on the grocery list. After grocery shopping, I fold the paper with the menu showing and pin it to the side of the fridge or tuck it in my main (and much-loved) cookbook, "Saving Dinner". 

Without further ado, here is this week's menu:

Monday: Hamburger Gyros (called "BBQ Gyros") - p. 247. We skip the olive oil, add a whole cucumber, and add one chopped tomato and feta.

Tuesday: Crock BBQ Chicken, home fries, carrots - p. 223) We prefer to use frozen chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken.

Wednesday: Chicken Lo Mein - p. 226) We use a bag or two of frozen Chinese veggies. Saves some time and gets me my beloved water chestnuts and baby corn.

Thursday: Skillet Pizza - p. 174) Calls for red bell pepper. I often use the canned, which is found in the pickle aisle.

Friday: Indonesian Chicken, rice, broccoli - p. 190. We use breasts instead of thighs and skip the cayenne pepper. We fix this with creamy or chunky peanut butter. The peanuts in the chunky add a nice crunch. A lot of times, we mix the broccoli in with the Indonesian Chicken sauce. Tastes great. We also add a bit more peanut butter than is called for. If your sauce gets too thick, just thin it with a bit of water.

I write my alterations on the recipes, crossing out ingredients and adding others in the margins. I also rate recipes on a star system. One=good, two=great, three=wonderful. And I note if certain family members love or hate the recipe.

So, what's your menu plan?

S was making a mini-movie for someone and the person requested a certain TV show's theme song. S asked me to search online and, amazingly, I discovered Television Tunes. Yep, a whole site devoted to collecting TV theme songs and commercial jingles. Who knew?

Am I the only mother whose child has such an interesting wardrobe? Here are some of D's costumes over the years:

Robin Hood.

Indian. Family heirloom.

Regency. Vision Forum catalog.

Chef.

Pirate.

Knight.

Jedi.

Peasant.

Saracen.

World War II soldier.

Summer soldier.

Modern soldier.

Norman knight.

Rider of Rohan.

These are just the outfits that made it to film. Many others have existed for only a few hours before being dismantled or destroyed.

I was just writing a post about the cutwork lace tablecloth my In-Laws brought me from Spain a few years back and how it had gone MIA. I had been searching for weeks - to no avail. However, composing my thoughts must have shaken loose some cobwebs; I just found the tablecloth on the bottom of the placemat drawer. Hooray! All hail the power of blogging.

Though I live in a state with 2,276 miles of tidal shoreline, I don't live on the beach. Maybe that's why I love this container beach garden at Over the Crescent Moon - it looks like a lovely way to bring the beach home. I have read that seashells raise the ph of soil (making it more alkaline), so you would want to keep the ph needs of your plants in mind when putting this together. Of course, the sand must be acceptable to the plants as well.

By the way, here's a little trivia on the etymology of "alkali":

The word "alkali" is derived from Arabic al qalīy = the calcined ashes, referring to the original source of alkaline substance. Ashes were used in conjunction with animal fat to produce soap, a process known as saponification.

First, Sonia Sotomayor made news breaking an ankle after she fell in LaGuardia Airport. Now, Hillary Clinton has fallen and broken her elbow. Are liberal women becoming brittle? No, it looks like we have two fine examples of postmenopausal osteoporosis. I recently heard that women are less able to absorb calcium after age 30, which would make it vital during a woman's youth. However, calcium is important at all stages in a woman's life. Other potentially modifiable risk factors are:

• Excess alcohol - small amounts of alcohol do not increase osteoporosis risk and may even be beneficial, but chronic heavy drinking (alcohol intake greater than 2 units/day),^[8] especially at a younger age, increases risk significantly.^[9]
• Vitamin D deficiency^[10] - low circulating Vitamin D is common among the elderly worldwide.^[11] Mild vitamin D insufficiency is associated with increased Parathyroid Hormone (PTH) production. ^[11] PTH increases bone resorption, leading to bone loss. A positive association exists between serum 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol levels and bone mineral density, while PTH is negatively associated with bone mineral density.^[11]
• Tobacco smoking - tobacco smoking inhibits the activity of osteoblasts, and is an independent risk factor for osteoporosis.^[8][12] Smoking also results in increased breakdown of exogenous estrogen, lower body weight and earlier menopause, all of which contribute to lower bone mineral density.^[11]
• Low body mass index - being overweight protects against osteoporosis, either by increasing load or through the hormone leptin.^[13]
• Malnutrition - low dietary calcium intake, low dietary intake of vitamins K and C^[10] Also low protein intake is associated with lower peak bone mass during adolescence and lower bone mineral density in elderly populations.^[11]
• Physical inactivity - bone remodeling occurs in response to physical stress. Weight bearing exercise can increase peak bone mass achieved in adolescence.^[11] In adults, physical activity helps maintain bone mass, and can increase it by 1 or 2%.^{[citation needed]} Conversely, physical inactivity can lead to significant bone loss.^[11]
• Excess physical activity - excessive exercise can lead to constant damages to the bones which can cause exhaustion of the structures as described above. There are numerous examples of marathon runners who developed severe osteoporosis later in life. In women, heavy exercise can lead to decreased estrogen levels, which predisposes to osteoporosis. In addition, intensive training without proper compensatory increased nutrition increases the risk.
• Heavy metals - a strong association between cadmium, lead and bone disease has been established. Low level exposure to cadmium is associated with an increased loss of bone mineral density readily in both genders, leading to pain and increased risk of fractures, especially in the elderly and in females. Higher cadmium exposure results in osteomalacia (softening of the bone).^[14]
• Soft drinks - some studies indicate that soft drinks (many of which contain phosphoric acid) may increase risk of osteoporosis;^[15] Others suggest soft drinks may displace calcium-containing drinks from the diet rather than directly causing osteoporosis.^[16]
• Caffeine - contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence linking caffeine to osteoporosis.^[17]

(Information on risk factors from Wikipedia)

 

Here are two matching red & white dessert recipes: Eton Mess and Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake.

The names certainly sound classy. I'd love to try them out. D loves Meringues (used in the Eton Mess recipe). Maybe she'll try to bake some. They look fairly simple.

"This 300 square meter carpet is made almost entirely of flowers. Assembled in the Grand-Place, Brussels, the practice of creating such works of art began back in 1971 as a means to promote begonias, the rugs' primary medium. The pattern of last year's installment was based on a medieval carpet design."

Click through to Curbly to see the amazing photo. 

This tutorial at CraftyPod will show you how to put your own custom cover on a pocket spiral notebook.

Just take a look at this amazing dollhouse, which sold recently for 50,000 pounds.It was created by retired British builder Peter Hughes over a period of fifteen years.

In the May 2009 issue of Family Fun magazine, I found instructions for making clay mushrooms. D was kind enough to use the instructions to craft me a wee mushroom. Here it is:

I love the way it leans gently to the side. She even included gills beneath the cap.

D used Sculpey and baked it so this toadstool will never die.

I promised to freezer paper stencil the children's surcoats and finally got a chance yesterday.

D chose to side with Rohan and wanted a horse.

S sided with Gondor and wanted a tree.

If you'd like to make your own freezer paper stencil, I have a free printable PDF tutorial which may aid you.

After resting from our morning at the Air & Space Museum, we drove to the West Potomac Park to see the Jefferson Memorial.

Across the Tidal Basin.

Though it had rained all morning and puddles were everywhere, it didn't rain while we were at the Memorial.

Here is the Portico.

This is the top of the Portico. Jefferson drafts the Declaration of Independence.

Here are the children inside the Memorial. See the wreaths some people bring?

This is a better view of the bronze statue.

Inside the Portico.

Looking between the pillars of the Portico, you can see the White House and the Washington Monument across the Tidal Basin.

Another view of the Washington Monument.

Here is the Memorial's cornerstone - laid by FDR in 1939.

This is a side view of the Memorial's circular colonnade. Notice the Ionic capitals on the columns.

This is a very rare "Buddy" column.

As the sun set, the fog rolled in to the city.

Some more photos from the Jefferson Memorial are at Flickr.

Afterwards, we drove to Old Town Alexandria and had pastries in a little bakery there.

A poem by S:

 

Metal and bolts it is.

Sleek and curved,

Yet loud as it blows

Its horn while racing through the tunnel.

Daughter would like a little jacket to wear with sundresses. She liked this Matinee Swing Jacket crochet pattern from Lion Brand Yarn, but she wants me to leave off the collar and shorten the length and the sleeves. Other than that, though, she wants it just the same.

I'm thinking a sand-colored cotton yarn.

On the third day of our vacation, we took the Metro into DC and went to the Air and Space Museum. It was rainy and cool, so it was a good day to spend indoors.

Here are the kids being silly on the Metro.

The Air & Space Museum is very large and has two stories. This is a view from the second story.

Here are some rockets.

Now here's something cool: The Spirit of St. Louis...

And SpaceShipOne.

Look! My hometown is part of an exhibit.

See it larger here.

We liked the World War I exhibit.

We also liked the Wright Brothers exhibit.

There was even a very interesting aircraft carrier exhibit.

As you can see, the kids really loved the Air & Space Museum.

Because of the rain, we had to eat in the museum cafeteria. It was insanely expensive, as was the gift shop. But the kids were thrilled, which made H and I happy.

After the museum, we took the Metro back to our hotel.

After resting (from our exhausting visit to Arlington National Cemetery) and eating at our hotel, we got in the car and drove into DC to explore the city. Perhaps because it was a cold and windy Sunday afternoon, we were able to find free parking across the street from the Washington Monument. We decided this would be a great time to walk around the National Mall. (Properly, the area we explored is called the Constitution Gardens; however, I've always heard it called the Mall.)

Right after we walked across the street to the Washington Monument, we saw Marine One land at the White House. Here are Marine One and the Washington Monument.

Here is Marine One flying over the city as it leaves the White House.

After watching documentaries about Marine One, it was wonderful to see the real thing in action.

Here are the kids standing next to the Washington Monument.

They're bundled-up because the hot day turned chilly.

We left the Washington Monument and walked towards the Lincoln Memorial, but first we came to the World War II Memorial.

 

The Memorial is divided into an Atlantic Theater and a Pacific Theater. Because my grandfather fought in Europe, we were more interested in the Atlantic Theater section.

Though I do not love the WWII Memorial's design, it did have some good features.

Here is a look back towards the Washington Monument.

After the WWII Memorial we came to the Reflecting Pool.

This adorable duck family followed us the length of the pool.

At the end of the Reflecting Pool, we finally arrived at the Lincoln Memorial.

Naturally, the kids reached the top of the stairs first.

When I reached the top, I remembered I'm acrophobic, but that didn't stop me from seeing Mr. Lincoln.

When we safely made it down from the Lincoln Memorial, we wound our way around to the Wall, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

We took this photo of the kids there, beside The Three Soldiers.

I wasn't sure if it was proper for the children to smile in such a solemn place but they simply couldn't help being happy alongside representatives of our noble servicemen.

As we walked along the Wall, we spotted this letter from a soldier who came home - to a comrade who didn't.

Here is the letter larger.

I think the Wall is the most emotional and somber area of the National Mall. Unfortunately, we passed some teenagers who made rude comments about the memorial aloud and this greatly upset S.

After the Wall, it was dusk so we made our way down Constitution Avenue and back to our car.

I spent yesterday out of the news loop helping H build a computer desk from scratch. I was thus very surprised last night, as I was relaxing on Twitter, to discover that Iranians were revolting against an obviously stolen election. A bigger shock to me was the lack of news coverage the rioting was receiving from our news channels. In fact, the only place I could get news was on Twitter under the topic #IranElection. Iranians were using camera phones to film the revolts, uploading the footage to Youtube, and tweeting updates. Some were taking photos and linking them to Twitter via Twitpic. Eventually, it was tweeted that the Iranian government was shutting down cell phone coverage and internet connections there to prevent this relaying of information. Through Twitter and Youtube, I was also able to find out that the BBC appeared to be the only news organization not lying down on the job.

This is just another instance lately of the Mainstream Media sleeping while the world gathers its own raw news.

 

After leaving Yorktown, we got stuck in the worst traffic jamb I've ever seen. For hours, we barely progressed towards DC. Finally, we made it to DC, coming in by the Pentagon, and saw the Washington Monument looming before us as the sun set. It was a lovely sight. We were all so giddy, it's a wonder we didn't crash right there. Thankfully, we made it safely to our hotel in Maryland. H got a wonderful deal over the internet and we are still so proud of the great hotel he found us for such a low price.

The next morning, we caught the Metro to our first DC stop: Arlington National Cemetery. By the way, we travelled a lot on the Metro during our vacation and found it to be safe and clean.

This is a view as we walked from the Metro station to the front gate of the cemetery. You can see Arlington House up on the hill. Arlington is huge. Wear your most comfortable shoes and bring a water bottle. I recommend you allow for at least half a day in the cemetery. We did and still missed much.

These are the gates of Arlington National Cemetery. One happy son and one slightly cross daughter. What? Am I taking too many photos, Dear?

Arlington is very hilly and everywhere you look you see tombstones. We also saw many robins.

Before you climb the highest hill to Arlington House, you come upon the gravesite of President John F. Kennedy, his wife and two of their children.

Everywhere during our vist to D.C., we saw Tulips, Cherry trees, Dogwood trees, and Robins.

A patch of loveliness amongst the solemness of Arlington.

Here is Arlington House - home to George Washington's grandson/adopted son. It was also home to General Robert E. Lee (though it belonged to Lee's wife, not him). See the long line of people waiting to enter? Unfortunately for us the National Park Service is currently restoring the home and it is now empty, but we were still able to go inside and take a look.

Can you imagine being a child of Arlington House and playing upon this hill?

Up on the hill is also the grave of Charles L'Enfant, designer of Washington, D.C.

In the background you can see the Washington Monument on the left, the Capital Building in the center, and the Jefferson Memorial on the right.

Also on the hill are the gardens.

Next, we went back down the hill to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

There we witnessed not only the Changing of the Guard, but also two wreath laying ceremonies. Here is a video of a wreath laying ceremony (though not one of the ones we witnessed).

And here is one more photo, this time of the kids with a statue of Sir John Dill.

There are a few more photos of Arlington at Flickr.

After all this walking, we took the Metro back to our hotel for a bit of a respite.

H recently took us out to a free Minor League Baseball game.

The weather was perfect and we had a great time.

The Tampa Yankees played the Clearwater Threshers.

Poor Yankee #12 was hit by a baseball in the nether regions. He thankfully recovered.

And, because the game was free, we didn't feel bad about leaving before the final inning.

Guess which favorite boy I know recently turned eleven? Yep, my son. Here he is with the cake his sister lovingly baked. Yes, that's a rectangular cake on a round plate. That's also a Hannukah candle glowing atop. And don't miss the glob of chocolate icing on the placemat there.We're weird like that.

I'm not sure why, but I like this photo of the kids right before a recent storm. The clouds were speeding across the sky but we could still see the sun.

You can see it large at Flickr.

In case you missed any of the President's 6,000-word speech yesterday in Cairo, I have included it below. Here are a few annotated passages:

The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President John Adams wrote, "The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims."

The Treaty of Tripoli of 1796 was the earliest attempt by America to appease Muslim terrorists. We paid off the Barbary Coast (Tripoli, Algiers, Morocco and Tunis) Muslims, as did the French with the Vikings and the Romans with the Barbarians. While the quotation is from the Treaty, the Treaty was merely signed by President John Adams; thus, the quotation is not his. Also, the English translation of the Treaty is considered by scholars to be erroneous an it is questionable whether the quoted passage is contained in the original Treaty. Lastly, the Treaty worked so well that President Jefferson had to send the newly-minted Marines "to the shores of Tripoli".

Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed - more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today...On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people - Muslims and Christians - have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead.

The Palestians' sufferings can never be equated to the systematic extermination of an entire People (of which many Muslims, such as the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, were complicit). Anyone who believes the comparison betwixt the two is accurate should spend more time investigating the Holocaust. I suggest you begin with the personal concentration camp account by the Christian Corrie Ten Boom, The Hiding Place, and the "Why We Fight" episode of the miniseries "Band of Brothers". There is no comparison. The Palestinians were akin to the French of New Orleans after the Louisiana Purchase. If the Cajuns had attacked Americans continually, they too would have been surrounded by troops and checkpoints. Also, the Palestinians who reside in refugee camps are there because they refused to live with Jews and because no Muslim countries would have them.

Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia, where devout Christians worshiped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country.

I know it's been a long time since the President lived in Indonesia, but is he not aware that Indonesian Christians, especially schoolgirls, are regularly beheaded as Muslim trophies? As to Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition, I've got nothing. Looks like I'm not the only perplexed blogger. Anyone with a clue, please pass it on.

I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal...Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life, and in countries around the world.

The only people I have heard who called a woman with covered her hair less equal are Muslims. I hear it every time a woman is stoned, raped, lashed, beheaded, poisoned, or the victim of an "honor" killing. Adults can visit Atlas Shrugs for more information. As an American woman, I dispute the President's conclusion that we are less equal. I have never felt deprived of life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness and certainly never because I was born with ovaries.

The Holy Koran tells us, "O mankind! We have created you male and a female; and we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another."

The Talmud tells us: "The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace."

The Holy Bible tells us, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now, that must be our work here on Earth. Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you.

Why no Peace quote from the Koran? Is there one?

If you would like to write your own Obama Speach, this post at The Daily Beast will walk you through the steps. Just think of it as a Mad Lib guide.