American British..Wedded Bliss

image taken from commons.wikipedia.com

I have previously admitted to being a fan of bad reality TV shows (obviously I don't think they are bad, I find them quite entertaining). One of my favorite shows to watch is anything bridal. No, I am no where near getting married (if only I was so lucky), but I enjoy viewing them so whenever I do get to plan my magical day, I am as prepared as possible. In America I watch "Say Yes to the Dress" and "Bridezilla's". In Britain my only real wedding option is "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" and "Don't Tell the Bride". I won't give a long summary about the shows, "Say Yes to the Dress" is about bridal dress shopping in a New York Store and "Bridezilla's" is about America's most demanding insane brides. "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" documents the extravaganza's that UK gypsy throw for their teenage daughters and "Don't Tell the Bride" is about having the groom plan the whole wedding on his own with a budget.

The differences in these shows is huge. American brides go for very showy, sexy, bold dresses while the British brides are more happy with simple demure, classic looks. American brides want weird outdoor locations while the British bride wants to get married in a manor house. Surprisingly, I would say that American brides and bridal shows more closely resemble the weddings thrown on "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" in that we like our nuptials to be show stoppers. The dress has to scream "look at the bride and only the bride!". In general..the wedding is all about the bride. Whereas in the UK on "Don't Tell the Bride" and even among my friends, the wedding is about both partners in the union. It is a lovely idea....but honestly I still think that I will want to be the center of attention on my wedding day. I'm attaching links to watch these American and British bridal shows, so you can see just how different they are.
Say Yes to the Dress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WKFteSb5As
Bridezilla's: Netflix
Don't Tell the Bride: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00d7mtr
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding:http://www.channel4.com/programmes/big-fat-gypsy-weddings

I'm not sure which I prefer...I think that even though I now live in England, will likely marry an Englishman, I am still going to want an American style wedding and dress. I don't want a simple wedding, I plan on having not only a massive wedding cake, but a full dessert bar. Best part about that will be that I keep all the leftovers! I love that I'm lucky enough to learn about all the cultural differences between the U.S and U.K. I didn't think there would be so many, but we differ on almost everything from liking soccer to football and simple chic wedding gowns to skin baring slinky bridal dresses.

I've attached links so you can view the difference in wedding dresses
American style: http://www.pninatornai.com/
British style: http://ellisbridals.co.uk/

Ikea

I have now been to Ikea in three countries, and I have to say....they are all the same. Which everyone knows, but I find very comforting. The Ikea in Seattle is located near the airport, so whenever my family had to do a pickup, we would go to Ikea before or after, have some meatballs and check the As Is sale corner to find some cool cheap Swedish stuff to fill our home with. My siblings always love the play area, and I am a huge fan of the desert section in the cafeteria.

Yesterday I went for the first time without my family. I went with my boyfriend. Who I have just officially moved in with. The first boy I have ever lived with. It felt like a huge step and I admit to sort of freaking out about it. But then we went to Ikea to find some stuff to organise all of our stuff. And suddenly, moving in wasn't as scary. Because we had gone to this place that I had happy family memories, and we shopped for stuff that looked the same in Seattle or Coventry. It is strange that when you travel so much, move around every few years, that returning to a place that feels familiar can have such a calming effect.

Thank Gawd for Ikea! It is in most countries, and even though it is a Swedish store, it will always remind me of home in Washington and my family. I need to have a place like that. Plus you can't help but love their furniture and prices.

Same Sex Marriage Now Legal Nationwide in America

In a decision that was years, even decades in the making, finally the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that same sex marriages are a constitutionally recognised right!! . It was a 5-4 decision, which is much too close for my personal liking but nonetheless this is most definitely a victory of gay activists and lobbyist. America has persecuted same sex couples for years unnecessarily, first allowing them to be attacked and beaten, then refusing their right to marriage and in many places their right to adopt or have children. Luckily now with the passing of this Supreme Court decision, gay couples will have a much better chance at gaining the same benefits that heterosexual couples get (tax break for being married), as well as being able to adopt much more easily.

 I don't doubt that many states will be extremely unsatisfied with this decision. However, thanks to the Constitution, a Supreme Court decision cannot be appealed. So the more conservative states such as Kentucky will just have to deal with it. The Obama administration must be doing backflips for joy because this will go down as a win of his presidency. Obama has been able to accomplish more in his last year as president than most, he recently was able to relax trade regulations and now he will be able to claim this victory as well.

The importance of this matter can not be underestimated. Same sex couples have been forced to exist for decades without the ability to marry the person they love, without the ability to make medical decisions for their significant other, and basically forced to reside in a state of perpetual "friendhood". Imagine if you were never allowed to marry your boyfriend or girlfriend. You could be 70 years old and unable to introduce people to them as your wife or husband because of some small difference that sets you apart from others. This is a massive decision and change the Supreme Court has made. I am immensely grateful and proud that it finally happened. I hope that this heralds a period of more liberal decisions made by the Court in the future.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/us/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=span-ab-top-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

The abuse of statistics

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

When you are watching an advert/commercial on TV and the company claims that 89% of woman saw an improvement in their skin within two weeks, it sounds great right? But in the subtext of some commercials, you can see that they product was tested on less than 100 people. Is that a reliable sample size? In addition, what counts for improvement? When products are being sold to us, companies constantly abuse their use of statistics, twisting them to sound better than they are in reality. I don't want to buy a mascara that only 20 woman have tried and 15 liked. The portion of sample is just too small.

Unfortunately this statistical abuse is not solely limited to product sales. I have also observed it (in growing amounts) within politics. Skimming the news the other day, I saw that it was claimed in America (by a reputable source) that terrorism was up 80%. Maybe that is true in one sense. But the way it was phrased implied that there was an 80% increase in terrorism towards America. The statistic could easily breed fear, hatred and obviously support all of the American anti-terrorism policies like monitoring, sending troop etc. I am not implying that the statistic isn't true. It could well be that globally terrorism is up 80%, this shouldn't come as a surprise because any attack, bombing, shooting by ISIS will count as a terrorist attack. So the statistic was somewhat twisted.

And again today, I saw the same thing. A global survey of 40 countries, it was claimed that 69% of people saw America in a positive light, including the American effort against ISIS. Having lived and travelled extensively abroad, I find this statistic very hard to believe. Maybe the people surveyed were all highly educated, working in government, and able to understand all the actions taken by the American government. But for the most part, I believe that average person tends to have a poor outlook on America. I know from experience that most people view the U.S as a country that is glutinous, violent, and has a very unequal treatment of people. In a lot of ways I agree. This is why I struggle to trust that 69% of people actually like America. Especially given that many find American war actions as over the top and violent, I doubt 69% agree with the US moves against ISIS. But perhaps I am wrong.

The point of this post was to highlight that when you read the news, or watch a commercial, don't trust every number. Statistics are abused, inflated, manipulated to support a point. In academics it is a common thing. If you find a statistic from one study that supports your own in some way, you use it. Does it convey a different point than the original statistic? If yes, than it is manipulating the numbers. I don't necessarily have strong feelings against it, I just think that more people should be aware that the numbers you hear can't always be trusted. Statistics sound lovely and nice, but often should be regarded with a hint of skepticism.

Puff Pastry magic

In my Girl Guide meeting on Thursday, I learned about the British ready made puff pastry invention. For some time now, I have been craving American Pillsbury cinnamon rolls or crescents. I always used to buy the tube of dough, and stick hot dogs in or nutella or a personal favorite, cream cheese. In my nine months in England, I had yet to find something similar. Then, like a lightening strike, my little girl guides taught me about puff pastry. We used it to make a traditional Coventry dish, "god cakes", which I'm told is basically a pastry form of the sweet mince pie. (Mince meat is also a new thing to me). While the god cakes were good, I was significantly more excited to discover the puff pastry that was basically like the dough in a can that I bought in America! Sure...the dough pastry dough is a lot thinner, not nearly as saturated in fatty goodness, and bakes lighter, it is still good to finally have the ability to play with easy (and cheap) dough again!! I immediately went out the next day and bought my own box of the stuff. (For other foreigners living in the UK this puff pastry magic lives in the Tesco butter aisle). I was tempted to make my version of a sausage roll, but elected that it was too dangerous for a first puff recipe. Instead I made what I now call "peach pockets".

The Blonde's Peach Pockets
You will need
-box of ready made puff pastry dough
-can of peaches
-brown sugar
-regular white sugar
-some milk

Open the peaches, drain the juice, then slice the peaches up so they are in small cube like shapes. Through the peaches, some brown and white sugar, into a pot. Put the pot on the stove until the mixture is boiling. While you wait for it to heat up, roll out the puff pastry until and divide it into 8 pieces (or however you want to). Once the peach mixture is hot, place a dollop in the middle of the puff pastry. Get a cooking brush or a spoon and lightly coat the edges around the peach with milk. Then fold the pastry over so the peaches are encased, and coat the top of the pastry with milk as well. Sprinkle the top with sugar, cut a few holes in the dough, and place it on a tray. I let mine bake for about 20-25 mins at 200 degree's celsius. When they are browned on the top, take them out, let em cool, and enjoy!

Heavenly Gluten Free Cake Balls [Recipe]

So, technically speaking, I have a gluten intolerance. Every dinner I eat gluten, I find myself ill the next morning. Not entirely pleasant. In America, it was a struggle to afford to eat gluten free, so I gave up trying. However, in the UK gluten free food is much more affordable. So I recently decided to try and be as gluten free as possible. I admit to still having my naan's or a baguette, but I have made an effort to buy gluten free bread, I rely on corn tortillas as a staple in my diet, and overall I am making more of an effort.

I've found myself in a baking mood lately, so I decided to try to make cake batter brownies. Never made them before, but on my pinterest the pictures always looked so yummy that I eventually had to make it. All I needed was a store bought cake mix and some extra sugar and milk. In an attempt to be gluten free, I bought a free from sponge cake because a plan gluten free vanilla cake was unavailable. Again, it has been a while since I've been on a gluten free diet, so I forgot how the change in ingredients can mess up a gluten containing recipe. I blame bad chemistry. My cake batter brownies were not a gluten free recipe, but my cake mix was. Unsurprisingly, the brownies did not work out. For some reason the batter just didn't stick together as I hoped it would.

I got upset and abandoned the cake in the kitchen for a few hours. It tasted great, but wasn't at all what I was trying to bake. My boyfriend took pity on me and said he would eat my crumbled, dry cake anyways. Luckily he avoided that fate, because on spur of the moment trip to Tesco I decided to try and make my first ever cake balls.

It was a resounding success! Cake balls always seemed so fancy in Starbucks or bakeries, I assumed they took a lot of effort to make. I was wrong, it was super easy!

All you need is cake (mine was pre-crumbled to save on time ;), a jar of store bought frosting and some baking chocolate. Mix 2/3 of the jar of frosting (less if you want more of a cake texture, more if you want it to be more like a truffle filling) in with your crumbled cake, then melt the chocolate. Take your cake mixture, roll it into balls, and roll it in the melted chocolate. It hardens within minutes and it tastes amazing.

My gluten free cake balls went over amazingly! No one could tell that they had no flour, and I wasn't ill the next day. I'm so obsessed
that I am making them again tonight with a chocolate cake mix. I'm sure it is possible to make the cake batter from scratch, but I admit to being lazy. In addition, I have US recipes memorized, which use cups. The UK uses grams and scales to measure out ingredients. This is a transition I haven't adjusted to yet, so until I do I will stick to my store bought ways. I suggest you ALL try to make cake balls next time you have a cake experiment gone wrong.

Cyber monitoring

Yesterday I attended a brief one day conference centered around security. The talks were wide ranging, from security and terrorism to security and science fiction to security and digital protection. It is this last subject that interested me most. Although I have been a blogger on and off for two years, I'm an avid Facebook user and I'm considering wandering over to Twitter, I confess that I am not the most tech savvy. So a talk on data protection and mass collection was entirely foreign territory. However, I think it warrants a blog post given the recent American upheaval over the expiration of the Patriot Act. Government surveillance is a big deal and touchy subject, but not something I have considered until my lecture yesterday.

The discussion began with an image of all the cable's connecting the world to the internet. While I understood that the internet was grounded in cables, to see a picture of it, and to see that someone could tap into one quite easily was a bit shocking. I was also surprised to learn that an email I send from the UK to China can bounce to hundreds of different computer serves across my campus and the country before it reaches it destination. The use of wifi and instant messaging makes it seem like the internet is a direct passage, but really its a convoluted maze. This maze is something that the government apparently takes a large interest in recording. As it stands its possible for the government to access and store the content of your messages, emails, what you watch, everything! Some techies didn't like this, and they began a cyber war against the government designing massive data encryption systems to protect information. Originally the government tried to ban this, but eventually learned it was a battle they would never win. Now most sites protect their users search history or personal information from data collection, but it isn't always successful. People can always find a way around the encryption.

My question for this post is, is internet monitoring/mass data collection something that should be allowed or not? I observe two sides to this issue. The first is that, people have the right to privacy. In the past it would be nearly impossible for the government to mass monitor peoples meetings and snail mail. So why should they be able to now just because the internet makes it easier? Why do governments feel it is necessary to watch everyone rather than the select few who are dangerous to national security? In addition, is it fair for them to save information about you and use it against you at a later date? The second side to this issue is what are we hiding that is so secret? If you are doing something the government shouldn't see, should you be doing it? I'm not referring to sending a naughty Snap Chat or sexting. But the purpose of the Patriot Act was to monitor people and prevent another 9/11 from happening. If the internet data collection is stopping terrorist attacks, can it be so bad?

As with any argument, their is validity to both sides. I think that I would prefer to know that what I do online is private and not being recorded by the big man. However that is a reality that doesn't exist. This blog post is being monitored, saved and probably archived into my file of internet info. Weird to think about. I don't like knowing everything I do is going into mass data collection, but I'm no so enraged over it that I will become an activist against it, nor will I learn better methods of encryption to hide my doings. I have nothing to hide. But I do believe it is somewhat a violation of rights.