Friday, July 1, 2011

The Story Of The Star Spangled Banner

The future of the young United States looked bleak as the summer of 1814 entered its final weeks. The “Second War for American Independence”, often called the “War of 1812”, had taken a perilous turn for the upstart Americans. On August 19, British warships sailed up Chesapeake Bay and captured Washington D.C. in only five days. President Madison and other government officials barely escaped the city before the Redcoats set fire to the US Capitol, the White House, and numerous public buildings. As if by divine intervention, a torrential rainstorm struck just in time to save the city from total destruction.

From Washington, the British planned a massive attack on Baltimore. Incidental to the events leading up to the assault, American physician William Beanes was taken prisoner by a British scout party. Fearing for his wellbeing, a few of the good doctor’s friends sent a respected Georgetown lawyer named Francis Scott Key to negotiate his release. Once on board the British flagship, Key amiably persuaded the commanding officer to free Dr. Beanes, but because both Americans had observed preparations for the military operation against Baltimore, they were temporarily detained behind the British fleet.

At the mouth of Baltimore’s harbor sat Fort McHenry. No invasion force could take the city without passing by the imposing fortification. Knowing full well the British were coming, the determined Fort McHenry defenders unfurled an exceptionally large American flag, to proudly demonstrate their resolve. Sewn from the finest wools, the 30 foot by 42 foot banner was visible for miles.

At 7 o’clock on the morning of September 13, 1814, the British naval bombardment of Fort McHenry commenced. The American garrison, personified by their enormous flag, stood ready to face the enemy. The fierce bombing continued all day, and into the night.

From a distance, Key anxiously witnessed the battle as the evening wore on. As long as the roar of cannons filled the air, he knew Fort McHenry had not surrendered. Occasionally, the red glare of deadly rockets illuminated the night, giving visual assurance the Stars and Stripes were still flying. A few hours after midnight, the shelling suddenly stopped, followed by an eerie, uncertain silence. Key nervously paced the ship deck, agonizing over who had won the battle. Visions of defeat dampened his spirit. If Fort McHenry had fallen, would this spell doom for the United States? Did this mean the end of the republic’s grand experiment in ordered liberty?

Peering into the darkness for what seemed like an eternity, Key searched in vain for a sign to relieve his anxiety. Finally, the first glimmer of dawn’s early light revealed a joyous sight… the great Star-Spangled Banner gently blowing in the breeze… proof that Fort McHenry remained secure in American hands!

Moved by the dramatic outcome, Key quickly composed a few lines of poetry on the back of an old letter. Later, in his Baltimore hotel room, he added several more stanzas under the title “Defence of Fort M’Henry”. Within a week, the poem appeared in print, and soon, newspapers from Georgia to New Hampshire were running with the verses. Eventually, the poem was accompanied by music and renamed “The Star-Spangled Banner”. The song enjoyed patriotic popularity for many years, but it wasn’t until March 3, 1931, that Key’s inspiration was officially adopted as the national anthem of the United States

Benefits of hard boiled eggs

Creating ideal hard boiled eggs definitely comes with an art. A number of persons believe that boiling the egg literally means to let the eggs stay in boiling water for some time. This is not so, as the eggs can be overcooked creating a gray-green color. Invariably the picks of eggs decides how quickly the eggs will peel once they are cooked.

Fresh eggs are not the better choice for hard-boiling. Ensure the eggs are a couple of days old. Hard boiling farm fresh eggs will at all times lead to eggs that are awkward to peel. If you have boiled a batch that are difficult to peel, crack the eggs all around and put them to soak in cold water for a number of minutes. This will allow the water to enter betweenthe eggs and their shell so they are better to peel.

Put the eggs in a single layer in a saucepan, covered by at least an inch or two of cold water. Starting with cold water and gently bringing the eggs to a boil will help keep them from cracking. Adding a tablespoon of vinegar to the water will help keep the egg whites from leaving any eggs that happen to crack while cooking. Adding a half teaspoon of salt will prevent cracking and make the eggs easier to peel. Put the burner on high and bring the eggs to a boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, removethe pan from the heat for a few seconds.

Reduce the heat, and rejoin the pan to the burner. Let simmer for one minute then take the pan from the heat, cover, and let rest for 12 minutes. If you are doing a large bunch of eggs, you can check for doneness after 10 minutes by cracking one egg. If it isn't done, cook the other eggs a minute or two longer. The eggs should be done perfectly at 10 minutes, but there are factors which might just have an affect on the timing. These include the shape of the sauce pan, size and number eggs and amount of water in pan. This check will also eliminate the overcooking of the eggs.

Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and lay them into a bowl of ice water (this is if you have a lot of eggs) or strain out the water from the pan, and replace with cold water. Repeat until eggs are cool.

Peel the eggs if ready for eating or store them in a covered container in the refrigerator. They should be eaten within 5 days.

Cooking Tips - How to Eat Snow Crab Legs

Crabs usually seen on a cafe menu are snow crabs, king crabs, Dungeness crabs, and stone crabs, to name just a few. Snow crabs have recently become famous because they are often given at all-you-can-eat Chinese buffets. They are much easier to maneuver when it comes to cracking them open and eating the tender flesh inside than other types of crabs. A simple nutcracker is all you need to begin on your seafood feast.

Eating snow crab feet can be difficult at times. Despite its good and super delicious taste and flavor, consuming this delicious meal can be sloppy and hard at times, especially for those who barely know and lack the skill to do the job . For this reason, it is but good to know how to consume snow crab legs.

Required Tools - Materials

When people know how to consume snow crab feet, they can easily part take and appreciate such a special treat. The tools for this simple task include lemon wedges, which can give an enticing taste to the meal. Likewise, thawed butter also goes well with such appetizing treat. Furthermore, pick out hard to reach meat of crab with a fork or crab pick.

Instructions:

1. Pull one of the feet off the cluster ; you will notice it is made up of two joints. Fold at the joint and pull apart slowly. If you are lucky , the meat will come out of the leg through the joint. This works really well with the fingers. Squeeze the lemon onto the meat and dip in the butter. Eat the crab meat.

2. Open the shell on one end of the leg nearby a joint. Don't squish it; just break it. Fold and separate. The meat must come out in one large piece. Repeat lemon and butter.

3. Employ a crab tool or a crab tool to get any meat that is hard to get out of the shell. Squeeze on lemon and dip in butter.

4. Squeeze on finished, use a pre-moistened hand wipe until you can get to a sink and wash your hands.

Tips - Warnings:

1. People can use device in place of crab tool. After enjoying the meal, cleaning is very essential. Remove the crab scent off your hands by employing tissue or any brand of hand wipe. More importantly , go to the pot and then wash the scent off your hands employing water and soap.

2. Eating crab feet can truly be messy. At times, the scent sticks right into the hands. After enjoying such super fine and delicious treat, clean your hands using a hand wipe . If there is none available, generally tissue will do. If there is a pot simply cleaned hands properly with soap and water.

How to Have Fun With Cool Games

Taking part in laptop games is one among the most fun activities that are obtainable for many people.
Of course, for young individuals plus recent people, enjoying pc G will be a very fun pastime activity. For a few adults, the idea of having fun with computer G would be to play cool G that they remember from their childhood.
Most of those cool G are games that became classics like Mario games, Percent Man, Solitaire and Prince of Persia. Most adults can still feel joy once enjoying these games, as it'd facilitate them to unwind and bear in mind their childhood at the same time.
These days with the appearance of the internet, it has become attainable to play all kinds of various games for free. This is often pretty helpful as you can play all sorts of different cool G online while not even downloading them or while not even paying for them.
You'll be able to notice all kinds of various games like Ben ten games, car games, Spongebob and puzzles, action G, flying G and all kinds of funny games. With the net, the probabilities are endless, as you'll be ready to search out totally different variations of those games.
In fact, if you do not like games such as car games or Ben 10 games, then you may want to consider enjoying mind games which will facilitate your mind to start thinking. One in every of the ways in which you'll be able to do that would be to play cool math G and puzzles online. The probabilities depend solely in your imagination and your expectations from a laptop G.
For example, for most folks, taking part in their favorite cartoon character could be a requirement. Hence, you will see individuals enjoying Ben ten games, Spongebob G, dress up games or Miley Cyrus as a results of this.
After all, on the other hand, you'll see people who wish to play alternative types of G like automotive games, war games and action G. Naturally, you'll have to seek out a web web site that's suited to those tasks, so that you'll be able to play these G and a lot of more for free.
You ought to perpetually bear in mind of numerous sites that solely distribute viruses and you ought to only play at safe and clean sites that offer cool games.
This means, you'll play all the G that you like to your heart's content and have all the fun that you simply want.

Parched No More

Parched No More, a Wasabi Media Group property, has quenched your thirst for beverage knowledge for more than two years. Covering all liquid consumables in the category of over 21 beverages, Parched No More is a resource for beer, wine, cocktail, and spirit information. Whether you are seeking a beer or spirit review, cocktail recipe, or wine news, PNM has been the source.

As the site and audience have grown, so have the horizons of Parched No More expanded. As part of this expansion, the editors have added a professionally acclaimed bartender who shares his expertise in the Crafty Bartender column and a wine shop owner who will introduce readers to interesting and unique wines in her column, Pressed for Thought.

In addition to the integration of two experts, the editorial team decided it was time for Parched No More to provide more than beverage knowledge to their readers. Michele Pesula Kuegler, Editor-in-Chief of Wasabi Media Group noted, “As enthusiasts of beverages, members of our team often enjoy attending beverage events, such as wine expos. Parched No More seemed like the perfect vehicle for delivering information about upcoming beverage events to our readers.”

Thus, the Parched No More Beverage Events section was created with the intention of helping both event attendees and promoters. For event promoters, this page offers advertisement opportunities for events at prices that match any budget. Looking for an inexpensive way to promote your event? The events page has a free listing option. Able to spend a little money promoting an event? For less than twenty dollars, you can have a featured listing that is displayed prominently.

For event attendees, the Beverage Events page makes it easy to find events. With the events organized by date, visitors simply need to click the month in which they are seeking an event, and all available listings will be displayed. With listings displayed on a page free of advertising and gratuitous images, there is no confusion as to whether a listing is an actual event or a click-through advertisement. All listings are beverage events.

As part of Wasabi Media Group’s Lifestyle channel, Parched No More has a strong following of readers who have an appreciation for good food, tasty beverages, interesting travel, and more. According to Ms. Pesula Kuegler, “We have experienced an increase in the number of food and beverage aficionados in our readership and believe the Beverage Events section will be an instant sensation.”

Parched No More’s parent company, Wasabi Media Group, is the home for numerous Web properties, including online publications and directories. Their topic-specific Websites provide laser-focused content for their readers. Wasabi Media Group is a subsidiary of Wasabi Ventures, LLC, a venture capital and holding company.

How To Make Wine At Home Out Of Apples

It is very easy to make wine. You are wondering how to make wine at home? It is easier. When we say wine, the first wine that comes to our mind is that made out of grapes. But, here, I would like to tell you how to make wine at home, out of apples.

How to make wine at home in the easiest way? All you need to have are apples and very minimum number of ingredients. The amount of ingredients needed is proportional to the amount of apples. Here, the ingredients are for a little less than 4 pounds of apples. The apples should be cut with the peel into nice pieces. Into this not less than 8 pints of water should be added after putting the apples in a bucket. This bucket should be kept away for a week after covering it. But it should be stirred daily with a spoon that is made put of plastic. After a week, this water should be filtered out using a cloth made out of muslin.

Then, two and a half pounds of sugar should be added to the bucket of filtered water. Also lemon and orange rinds, washed well should be added along with this. This mixture should be stirred well till the sugar is dissolved. Then is the process which makes it a wine. Yeast, yeast nutrient, pectic enzyme should be added to this and should be kept away for a whole day after covering the bucket.

After a day, the content can be filtered and converted into a fermentation vessel. No liquid should be wasted. The cloth which is taken for filtering should have waste as dry as possible. If it is taken right then, after the filtering process is done, it can be had as a very tasty wine free of alcohol. But otherwise, it can be kept in the vessel for four months, checking it every month for a thin white layer. If a thin white layer is present, it should be removed.

After four months, the wine can be bottled and the delicious wine is ready to be had.

The 5 Most Important Parts of Healthy Eating and a Healthy Diet

When you think about healthy eating you think about fresh foods and portion control and while those are big parts of healthy eating there are other things to take into consideration as well.

1. Adequacy

Is your diet supplying you with enough nutrients to help your body be healthy?

For instance, are you lacking iron in your diet as iron is an essential nutrient? The fact that you lose some iron everyday means you also need to replace it each day. If you don't and do not eat enough iron rich foods you could develop iron-deficiency anemia and you may begin to feel week, cold, unhappy, exhausted, and suffer from headaches. All of that from not getting adequate iron in your diet. So you can see how your diet should be full of adequate amounts of nutrients to keep your body running physically and mentally.

2. Balance

If you eat a bagel for breakfast, lunch, and supper then you are missing out on a balance with other foods. You need a good balanced diet for good healthy eating.

For instance, consider calcium. Let's say you get enough iron in your diet but don't get much else. Many foods that are high in iron are poor in calcium and a diet lacking calcium can cause poor bone development and bone loss. So to obtain both iron and calcium you have to balance your food choices and eat a good amount of both.

3. Calorie Control

We all know this when we are trying to lose weight but we barely think of it when we are trying to maintain a healthy weight.

The amount of energy taken in should equal the amount burned off throughout the day to maintain a certain weight. Simple as that. This allows you to control your body fat and weight to your liking and not gain the weight and have to burn more calories than you take in just to lose it all.

4. Moderation

Moderation is the key to a healthy diet. This does not mean abstinence or self-denial, it just means moderation. So if you like a certain junk food you can eat it moderately, like once a week, for good health but if you start to eat it every day then it becomes a health risk.

Moderation doesn't just include junk food or fatty food it also includes food that is considered healthy as well. For instance, a good amount of fiber in the diet contributes to a healthy digestive system but too much can contribute to nutrient loss.

5. Variety

To go with moderation and balance, variety is using these talents to the fullest. You should not eat the same food every single day, even if it is highly nutritious food. You may miss out on some important nutrients in your diet that you could be getting if you mixed things up a little.

Also, eating the same thing every day may be doing more damage than good for your health by giving you larger amounts of toxins, additives, and preservatives.

And another reason is mixing up your food is fun and lets you look forward to and enjoy your meals!