I <3 Yogurt!

Madzoon (yogurt) is one of my favorite foods on the planet. Being middle eastern means cooking with lots of yogurt - from appetizers, to the main course, to dessert!

I've never made my own yogurt before, but I'm going to start. It's cheaper and more environmentally friendly to make your own than to buy a big plastic tub of it every week at the market (if you eat as much as I do). Wish me luck in my experiment!

Yoghurt was first introduced to the United States by Armenian immigrants Sarkis and Rose Colombosian, who started "Colombo and Sons Creamery" in Andover, Massachusetts in 1929. Colombo Yogurt was originally delivered around New England in a horse-drawn wagon inscribed with the Armenian word "madzoon" which was later changed to "yogurt", the Turkish name of the product, as Turkish was the lingua franca between immigrants of the various Near Eastern ethnicities who were the main consumers at that time. Yoghurt's popularity in the United States was enhanced in the 1950s and 60's when it was presented as a health food. By the late 20th century yoghurt had become a common American food item and Colombo Yogurt was sold to General Mills in 1993.

-wikipedia

Yogurt is tasty and has medicinal uses. Use it to treat infections and an upset tummy. Always use plain yogurt with live and active cultures. Add your own flavors with fresh fruits, nuts, herbs, and spices. For a healthy snack I add uncooked oats or spelt flakes to yogurt with raisins, walnuts, and fruit preserves. So much better than ice cream! Keep the high fructose corn syrup and dyes out of your yogurt!

Love,
Shameless Yogurt Lover

Jesus <3s Fools

Yet another reason why I don't subscribe to organized religion, despite the importance it holds for my Armenian culture.

Participate by actively not participating in all foolishness.

Example.

Thanks to the PDD for the Armo video.

xoxo
Sarkis Diarbian
(aka Carla)

Ugly Sweater Bike Ride Pub Crawl!

Yo Yo Yo !

Carla is turning 24 years old on October 24th and she's moving to Oakland, CA on November 6th!

The party is Saturday October 25th!

Ugly Sweater Bike Ride Pub Crawl!

Please wear a very ugly sweater.
Examples:








We will start at my parents house on the East Side for Armenian food and a few beers.
My mom and aunties are the best cooks in Providence.
Brace yo'self!
Here's a map of where they live:
View Larger Map

Then we will ride bikes to our favorite saloons, pubs, dives, and discos!
(Examples: Wild Colonial, Local 121, Wheels, AS220, Trinity, Julian's, Avery, E&O, Scurvy Dog...)

Can you handle it?

No gifts, please.
Well, maybe one of these...
I can't afford to ship a lot out to Cali.
And your presence alone is a gift!

If you choose not to bike, please don't drink and drive.
We can arrange for sober drivers!

I love you all very much!
Please let me know if you're coming so I can tell the Armenian Womenfolk to cook tons of food.

xoxo
<3
Carla

Democracy at Home and in the Motherland

Do you live in Rhode Island?
Are you a registered voter?
Find your polling place and go vote before 9pm!

Then come to Lupo's and watch results come in.

* * * * * *

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

The media blackout within Armenia has Diasporans nervous and unsettled (to say the least). From my friends who live there, I'm getting mixed messages about what has been going on, and why.

How many dead? 8? 40? 100?

"Yerevan residents have resorted to telephoning one another or coming out onto the streets to swap information. Taxi drivers, in particular, have become a good source of 'alternative news.'"
-iwpr.net

"CNN segments about Armenia were clipped from television programming, and many Web sites were closed. Only journalists from foreign news organizations could attend Mr. Ter-Petrossian’s briefing."
-NYTimes

Why do I have to ask my friends via e-mail what is happening there - where is the coverage?!



I am so much to say about this... But I have to go vote!

xoxo
carla

Sippin' whiskey in the midnight shade...

“The Armenian government prides itself on having a democratic image,” said Cartner. “Beating peaceful demonstrators is inconsistent with that image and violates its obligations under human rights law.”
-human rights watch www.hrw.org

Well, I don't think the Armenian gov't has much of a democratic image to begin with, but if they're trying to pride themselves on one, they shouldn't be doing this... or is this how it's done in a democracy?

* * * * * * * * *

I watched Rambo 3 tonight (at the Hot Club) and realized with my brother that everything Dick Cheney knows about Afghanistan, he learned from this movie.


goodnight.

xoxo
carla

The Bees Knees and GPI

Human Tetris - amazing game show

Passive Aggressive Notes - 'nuf said

Spring is coming, and what better way to celebrate the blossoms, blooms, and rain than to keep bees! I'm very excited to settle down and keep bees myself. I'm a bit of an apiphile (?) and recommend Betty's Bee School brought to you by the RI Beekeepers Association (of which I am a member). I took the class last year. Well worth the $45 if you've got the interest and passion for hive insects like I do.

The Armenian Presidential elections were held last week - full of third world dramarama. Levon claims they were rigged, but I've been talking with my Armo bretheren up in Canada who argue that it was the private media companies which pretty much all sided with Serzh's campaign that gave Serzh the win. People have been camping in the streets of Yerevan and in Hanreptutian Hraparak (Republic Square) in support of Levon... Exciting amounts of passion for fair election processes and democracy, or another case of people with post-Soviet unemployment & needing an outlet for frustration (and time consumption)? I think it's a lot of both.

I'm pretty sure most of these numbers are bogus and inflated.

And how do we want to measure Progress? GNP? or GNH? or GPI? How long can our current methods of gaining economic progress continue before we use up all of our natural resources and destroy our squishy (delicious) brains? The third world hasn't caught on to this "green is the new black" trend, and their economic development is rooted in the same economic theories and formulas that have corrupted, polluted, and left so many in poverty here in the "developed" world.

Maybe I've been reading too much Kalle Lasn.

Go out for a long walk today! Look around. Do you love what you see?

xoxo
Carla