PicoBlog

I love pork belly and there are a thousand ways to make a great dish out of one … hong shao rou might be my favorite. It’s certainly the one I cook the most in my home. It’s arguably the most classic pork dish from mainland China, slow-braised in a style referred to as “red cooked” using a combination of ginger, garlic, aromatic spices, chilies, sugar, star anise, light and dark soy sauce, and rice wine.

In the early 1980s, conceptual artist Jenny Holzer plastered New York with a series of guerilla art posters from a series she called “Truisms.” My absolute favorite of the lot was one that rings profoundly true in the politics of this fallen era: “Abuse of Power Comes As No Surprise.” As Trump promises a return to power marked by nothing but its abuse, the pattern is coming into a very sharp focus.

How many times in recent years has the term “narcopath” made its appearance when people are trying to ascribe the behaviors of narcissistic personality disorder to psychopaths? Unfortunately, this is frequent, and the number of articles and websites that are out there to make this connection are numerous. It is time to debunk this narrative because it isn’t going to go away on its own. A narcopath has been the term adopted by folks that do not understand psychopathy, ASPD, or narcissistic personality disorder.

On a warm, clear night in 1983, an Army two-and-a-half-ton truck pulled into a hangar on Pope Air Force Base, North Carolina, and dropped its tailgate. One by one, about a dozen Green Berets from 7th Special Forces Group jumped down. At the same time, an MC-130 Combat Talon, the special operations version of the venerable Hercules turboprop aircraft, taxied over to the hangar. The plane’s ramp lowered and two men in black flight suits with no patches or other insignia disembarked.

This is where I showcase something creative I have made. It may be a drawing, my knitting, or another craft I enjoy making. There’s a poll at the bottom for what I should share next. Do it please! 😘 Are you a first time visitor to Twisting the Myths? Subscribe to get more crafting inspiration like the drawing below, discover mysteries and monsters, or enjoy a quick tale. Today's art is a drawing of a red panda.

INGREDIENTS Brownies: 1 egg 2/3 cup sugar 1/3 cup oil 1/2 cup flour 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1/3 cup white chocolate chips  red food coloring, as needed Cream cheese swirls: 4 oz softened cream cheese 3 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp milk DIRECTIONS: 1. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and granulated sugar until it turns very light and fluffy, this will take about 5-10 minutes by hand. Since we don’t have any other leaveners in the recipe, this will be important for giving our brownies some volume, so make sure to whisk this really well.

Sadly, so-called breeding “improvements” over the last 100+ years have turned several once-healthy breeds into deformed dogs Before humans began their “remodeling” project, dogs like the Bull Terrier, Boxer, English Bulldog, and Dachshund were well-proportioned, generally healthy, and physically active. This is no longer the case with today’s redesigned versions of these breeds Over the years, several breeds have been deliberately fashioned to exaggerate certain physical traits at the expense of their health, longevity, and quality of life

To investors, The last few weeks have been filled with fear, uncertainty, and doubt in financial markets once the Fed made it clear that the anticipated interest rate cuts would not be coming as quickly or aggressively as most market participants were hoping for. But don’t let market sentiment fool you. The good times are still rolling. In a Wall Street Journal article this morning titled “Investors Are Striking Gold All Over,” Gregory Zuckerman and Gunjan Banerji highlight how well asset prices have performed over the last 6 months.

Hello Sketchbugs, We’re heading into the holidays with a post about how I illustrated this piece for the New Republic. You can find the article HERE. A lot of people think that artists use the first drawings they make for the final product, and for some geniuses that is true. However, more often than not, the process to the final piece is riddled with redraw after redraw. This piece in particular, challenged me to break my system of working in order to achieve a level of finish I felt content with.