We Shoulda Had a V-8!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
TURKEY'S SLIPPERIEST MEN
A Thousand Wrestlers and Two Tons of Olive Oil
From: Der SpiegelEvery summer for the last 650 years, Turkish men have gathered to see who was the strongest, fastest and slickest of them all. It's called Kirkpinar, and it's the biggest oil wrestling competition in the world.
The well-muscled men face off in the middle of a grassy field, as a crowd of thousands looks on eagerly. Slowly, methodically, they cover their chests and legs with olive oil -- first with the right hand, then with the left. Then they take turns oiling each others' backs.
Then the fun begins: Turkey's annual Kirkpinar festival, the highlight of the Turkish sporting calendar, is a three-day orgy of oil wrestling. Known as "yagli gures" (pronounced "yaw-luh gresh"), the slippery sport is considered by some to be the Turkish national game.
Oil wrestling season lasts eight months a year in Turkey, but all the local and regional matches are just warm-ups for the main event: the Kirkpinar in Edirne, the granddaddy of all oil-based sports events. The Kirkpinar -- first contested in 1362 -- is considered by some to be the longest continuously running sporting event in the world, lubricated or not.
Spain's Great Tomato War
From DerSpiegel
It is perhaps the largest food fight in the world. Every year in the tiny town of Buñol, Spain, locals and tourists engage in pitched battle using close to 150,000 kilograms of tomatoes. The tradition has been going on for over 60 years, but no one seems to know how or why it got its start.
It's one of those childish impulses most of us know well. Faced with a plate full of food in a room full of people, it's hard not to indulge in fantasies of throwing your dinner at those seated around you. Indeed, the good old school cafeteria food fight is high on the list of pleasant childhood memories for many.
As it happens, though, there are a number of places in Europe where you don't have to restrain yourself should the urge to throw some groceries come upon you. From Spain to Greece to Italy to Berlin, food fights have become something of an annual ritual, all in the name of tradition, of course. As part of our ongoing series on weird European traditions (more...), SPIEGEL ONLINE plans to bring you up to date in the next month on the most outrageous of the continent's food fights.
The largest and best known, of course, is the vast tomato war fought in the tiny Spanish town of Buñol, located not far from València. Every year, on the last Wednesday in August, thousands of locals and tourists pile into the narrow town square, the Plaza del Pueblo, well before noon to wait for the first of the trucks laden with overripe tomatoes to arrive. Right at midday, a rocket marks the start of battle, the first load of juicy ammunition is poured into the square, and the sky turns dark with vegetal projectiles.
More.....
It is perhaps the largest food fight in the world. Every year in the tiny town of Buñol, Spain, locals and tourists engage in pitched battle using close to 150,000 kilograms of tomatoes. The tradition has been going on for over 60 years, but no one seems to know how or why it got its start.
It's one of those childish impulses most of us know well. Faced with a plate full of food in a room full of people, it's hard not to indulge in fantasies of throwing your dinner at those seated around you. Indeed, the good old school cafeteria food fight is high on the list of pleasant childhood memories for many.
As it happens, though, there are a number of places in Europe where you don't have to restrain yourself should the urge to throw some groceries come upon you. From Spain to Greece to Italy to Berlin, food fights have become something of an annual ritual, all in the name of tradition, of course. As part of our ongoing series on weird European traditions (more...), SPIEGEL ONLINE plans to bring you up to date in the next month on the most outrageous of the continent's food fights.
The largest and best known, of course, is the vast tomato war fought in the tiny Spanish town of Buñol, located not far from València. Every year, on the last Wednesday in August, thousands of locals and tourists pile into the narrow town square, the Plaza del Pueblo, well before noon to wait for the first of the trucks laden with overripe tomatoes to arrive. Right at midday, a rocket marks the start of battle, the first load of juicy ammunition is poured into the square, and the sky turns dark with vegetal projectiles.
More.....
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Marathon Health Care Centers Receive Prestigious Awards
Earle Lerner, President and CEO of Marathon Healthcare Group, an East Hartford-based skilled nursing provider with Skilled Nursing Facilities in 6 Connecticut cities, proudly announced on Thursday that 3 more of Marathon’s nursing centers have received the National Malcolm Baldridge Award for Quality and Excellence.
Marathon Healthcare Centers of Norwalk, Torrington, and Waterbury join last year’s Quality Award recipients Marathon Healthcare Centers of Prospect and West Haven. This Step 1 award, which will be presented at the American Healthcare Association’s annual convention, was received in 2008 by only 7% of Connecticut’s 244 skilled nursing facilities.
The American Healthcare Association describes the Quality Award Program as: “The AHCA/NCAL Quality Award Program directly supports the Quality First principles to cultivate and nourish an environment of continuous quality improvement, openness, and leadership. These principles are:
- Continuous Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement
- Public Disclosure and Accountability
- Patient/Resident and Family Rights
- Workforce Excellence
- Public Input and Community Involvement
- Ethical Practices
- Financial Stewardship”
Marathon Healthcare Group’s President and CEO Earle Lerner stated “We are enormously proud of our employees. This Quality Award is further evidence of their dedication and of our higher calling as a patient-centered organization.”
Marathon Healthcare Group is distinguished by their commitment to achieve outcomes of exceptional quality through unwavering focus on physical, spiritual, mental, and financial wellness and by means of patient and staff empowerment in the facilities and communities they serve.
http://www.marathonhealthcare.com/
Marathon Healthcare Centers of Norwalk, Torrington, and Waterbury join last year’s Quality Award recipients Marathon Healthcare Centers of Prospect and West Haven. This Step 1 award, which will be presented at the American Healthcare Association’s annual convention, was received in 2008 by only 7% of Connecticut’s 244 skilled nursing facilities.
The American Healthcare Association describes the Quality Award Program as: “The AHCA/NCAL Quality Award Program directly supports the Quality First principles to cultivate and nourish an environment of continuous quality improvement, openness, and leadership. These principles are:
- Continuous Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement
- Public Disclosure and Accountability
- Patient/Resident and Family Rights
- Workforce Excellence
- Public Input and Community Involvement
- Ethical Practices
- Financial Stewardship”
Marathon Healthcare Group’s President and CEO Earle Lerner stated “We are enormously proud of our employees. This Quality Award is further evidence of their dedication and of our higher calling as a patient-centered organization.”
Marathon Healthcare Group is distinguished by their commitment to achieve outcomes of exceptional quality through unwavering focus on physical, spiritual, mental, and financial wellness and by means of patient and staff empowerment in the facilities and communities they serve.
http://www.marathonhealthcare.com/
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Chalk Art Contest in Milford Connecticut This Weekend
Saturday, July 5 from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM
Chalk Art contest to be held
Location: Milford Green
The 22nd annual New England Arts and Crafts Festival's Chalk of Fame competition is looking for chalk artists to use sidewalk blocks as their canvass this weekend on the Milford Green in Milford, CT.
The competition is 10:30 am to 2:30 pm Saturday (rain date is Sunday), with cash-prize winners will be announced at 3 pm!
The festival committe supplies red, white and blue chalk, and artists are encouraged to bring pastels and chalks of their choice.
Sidewalk sizes are 58-inches square and run across and diagonally on the Green.
Each square represents one entry, which can be either an individual artist or a small team, but all participants on the team must be in the same age category.
Entry fee is $5. A registration form can be downloaded by going to www.milfordarts.org, clicking on the 22nd annual New England Arts & Crafts Festival link, where complete rules are available.
Registration also can be done starting at 10 am the day of the competition at the MFAC booth.
The 22nd annual New England Art and Crafts Festival will feature it's "Chalk of Fame" competition. Winners will be announced at 3:00 PM. there are cash rewards for each category
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