Video: From the Jazz Festival - Giving Kids a Chance Thru Music

From Denny: New Orleans' Rebirth Jazz Band helps at risk kids discover and develop a new life.

Having worked with Special Needs kids myself I know how important it is to nurture young minds and hearts. When left unattended human nature turns resentful and eventually violent.

What they learn beyond music is the concept of the positive version of teamwork and emotional discipline that will carry them for a life time. This is a wonderful program producing heart-warming results!

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Check Out New Coffee Recipes and Amusing Poem!

From Denny: Posts have been delayed due to my jury duty service this week but I'm getting back up to speed.

Well, hike yourself on over to my blog called The Social Poets for the Libations Friday! 8 May 2009.

Why? New coffee recipes, new coffee site, original and amusing light-hearted poem by "moi" AND it's Friday! Does Life get any better? :)

Oh, and if you have never visited this blog before now, just scroll on down past the posting area to get an overview of all my blogs. There are the blog descriptions so you can get a feel for each blog's focus and personality. There are also headlines of the latest postings from each blog all contained on one page, a convenient fast-paced glance. Enjoy!

Photo by Sarah Sitkin @ flickr

Video: How Healthy is Your Cooking?

From Denny: Home cooked meals are the increasing trend with today's economy. A recent university study looked at 800 home cooks who are considered the nutritional gatekeepers of the family. If the cook has problems with proper portion control and types of foods served then 75% of the family tends to follow their lead.

Types of Cooks identified:

Giving cook - very generous person other people love to be around, often so concerned about recreating that perfect dish they don't always think about health.

Healthy cook - think too much about health they often make dishes no one can stand to eat.

Innovative cook - creative thinker who loves food and loves the taste, experiments a lot with spicy foods and new cuisines, fresh foods and tries new things, the person you want to hang out with regularly.

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Blogger Interviews Porn Queen Stormy Daniels While Waiting on Jury Duty

Image via Wikipedia

From Denny: Been on jury duty since Monday and the days are getting longer so not able to post much. Maybe tomorrow will be a shorter day!

Looks like Cheeky Quote Day is sidelined for today. Will a true story of what happened to me today do in its place? I'm up for a second-degree murder case. Probably will sit around all day waiting to be rejected. That's what happened today after 10 hours of jury selection.

I did get to chat up the staff. Talked to a sheriff who the local news station had promised to interview about his time in Iraq but didn't - clearly he needed to talk about it - so as any good blogger with a journalism degree, well, I jumped on the interview, duh! He's with the Army 239th, an MP and just got back from Iraq a few months ago. He proceeded to tell me about what it was like serving over there.

Real sociable guy and it sure surprised me when he started talking but I figured it was good for him to get the stress out. I mean, how many warriors actually tell you how many kills? And worse, how many were Iraqi children, armed with hand grenades and ordered by their parents to come kill Americans? Sad but true tale.

While he acknowledged it was a tough decision to choose self-defense and claimed it didn't bother him, I figured it did upset him and that's why he was telling me all about it. Soldiers from many wars often start talking around me and I hear the most amazing stories of personal trauma.

It isn't always what people tell you as true but rather the fact that they are talking about something so horrific while claiming it doesn't bother them. Of course it bothers them, why else would they need to talk about it? I don't waste time judging, just accept and listen. Talk about a lot to process for them.

***

Now the highlight of today's jury service was going to lunch at a little eatery known as The Roux House. We noticed the local TV news crew outside, went in and there was a big commotion at the back of the restaurant. We peeked in and it turns out a new politician was announcing her candidacy.

Who was it? Turns out it's the porn queen, Stormy Daniels, who was the regular prostitute for years for Louisiana's Senator David Vitter. Yep! The former pro is running against her customer!

I found it amusing. On her way out she stopped to talk to everyone at the few tables and so I took the time to interview her about her candidacy. Turns out ABC News was there too. I asked some very easy questions to give her a chance to prove herself. I'll try to blog tomorrow about the interview. What a hoot! When was the last time you had the opportunity to interview a porn queen AND attend a bizarre event in the weirdest world of Louisiana politics? It was a definite two-fer! :)

Related articles by Zemanta

• Louisiana Voters Lukewarm on Vitter (politicalwire.com)
• Stormy Daniels, Porn Star And Potential Sen. Vitter Opponent, To Launch Listening Tour (huffingtonpost.com)

4 Chocolate Articles and Recipes You Might Enjoy

Cover via Amazon

From Denny: Since I have to travel out of town on Mondays and get back late in the day (wishing I had the time to research and write another health article) ... thought I'd round up some chocolate articles as highlights this week from one of my other blogs, Romancing The Chocolate. Finally, scientists agree with all the women (and some awesome men) in the world that chocolate belongs as one of the major food groups! :) Enjoy!

Recipe: Chicken and Pistachio Mocha Mole Sauce

Recipe: Chocolate Espresso Bars

Recipe: Chocolate-Banana Croissant Panini

Recipe: Chocolate-Amaretti Heartbreakers