February 5, 2010
In a surprise to many in the chocolate world, the October 2009 Salon du Chocolat in Paris, awarded “most aromatic” to chocolate made from cacao beans from Peru. The event is an annual summit of master chocolatiers. About a decade ago in Peru a program was started to help farmers replace their coca plants (used to make cocaine) with cacao plants (used to make chocolate). While the start of the program was meager with only 12 farmers, there are currently hundreds. The lush tropics with rainforests and the Andes mountains make perfect growing conditions for the bean. Peru is now hoping to be known for chocolate like Colombia is known for coffee.
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February 2, 2010
Groundhog Day celebrations originated in Pennsylvania in the 18th century. At its core, a groundhog emerges from its burrow on February 2nd each year. If it does not see its shadow, it will fully emerge from the burrow and winter has come to an end. However, if the groundhog sees its shadow, it will retreat to the safety of its burrow and there will be six more weeks of winter. The most known Groundhog Day festival is held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania where Punxsutawney Phil is the guest of honor.
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January 21, 2010
Celebrated American writer, Edgar Allan Poe, has been honored in a most unusual way for 60 years. Every January 19th (Poe’s birthday) a person, known only as Poe Toaster, would arrive in the early morning hours dressed in black with his/her face covered and leave 3 roses and half a bottle of cognac on his grave. In 1993, a note was left stating that “the torch will be passed.” It is believed that children of the original Toaster have filled the role. That is a belief supported by the fact that each year the Toaster would make a signature gesture before leaving. However, this year, the Toaster never arrived, leading some to wonder if s/he has met their own demise. One of Poe’s most famous poems is The Raven.
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January 19, 2010
Monroe, Ohio takes community policing very seriously. So when a set of parents at their wits end called for assistance, the police department was happy to oblige. The parents (who have not been mentioned by name) called the non-emergency number to ask if an officer was available to come speak to their 6-year old son. Apparently, the boy – for some time now – has been very resistant to going to school in the mornings. The parents figured if a policeman told the boy that his mother would be in big trouble if he refused to go to school, it might change his behavior. Officer Mike Doughman took the call and it worked like a charm – the boy has merrily gone off to school every day since. Meanwhile, with all the media attention this story received, Officer Doughman has become quite the celebrity!
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January 14, 2010
Disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has put his foot in his mouth once again. His latest faux pas occurs in the upcoming issue of Esquire Magazine where he is quoted as saying, “I’m blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived.” He later apologized calling the statements, “Stupid, stupid, stupid.” However, when asked if he would deliver that apology to the president himself he told reporters “I’d be happy to but, you know, I don’t have the phone number.” Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office amid allegations of corruption that include selling the senate seat left open by Obama. His trial is set to begin in June.
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January 13, 2010
NBC and their affiliates have been struggling with ratings since they experimented with a prime time talk show starring Jay Leno. Not only have ratings for that show been poor, it has not served as a good lead-in to local 11pm news broadcasts. That in turn may be one of the reasons that The Tonight Show, hosted by Conan O’Brien, has seen a decline in viewership over previous years. On January 11, 2010, it was announced that Leno’s show has been canceled. It was proposed that Leno host a 30 minute show after the late news and the Tonight Show begin at 12:05am. In a public posting, O’Brien, stated that this is not an acceptable solution because it “will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting.”
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January 12, 2010
On January 11, 2010 retired baseball slugger Mark McGwire admitted to steroid use while an active player with Major League Baseball. As a rookie with the Oakland Athletics, McGwire was named the American League Rookie of the Year and broke a league record of most home runs by a rookie with 49. He came to fame as one of the “Bash Brothers” in the late 1980’s post season appearances. In 1997 he was traded to the Saint Louis Cardinals. It was in 1998 that McGwire and Sammy Sosa found themselves competing to break Roger Maris’ record of most home runs in a season. The nation was captivated as each player tallied dinger after dinger with McGwire emerging as the victor with 70 home runs compared to Sosa’s 66 and Maris’ record of 61. While McGwire’s home run record was broken in later seasons, he holds the distinction of the highest RBI-per-hit tally in all of baseball. Alleged steroid use has been a cloud over McGwire, most notably when he was subpoenaed in 2005 before a Congressional Hearing. When asked specific questions about steroid use, McGwire’s standard response was “I’m not here to talk about the past. . .” These allegations have potentially affected his induction into baseball’s Hall of Fame. McGwire became eligible in 2007, but has not received the needed level of votes for election.
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January 8, 2010
Like most engaged couples, Andrea Parrish and Peter Geyer, have lots of planning to do in preparation for their July wedding. But unlike most couples, they have the added burdoun of collecting nearly half a million aluminum cans (approximately 5 tons) to fund the wedding! The idea was born at one o’clock in the morning and grew so strong that Andrea could not shake it – saving the planet AND paying for their wedding. You might think that this great number of cans would allow for a wedding at the Ritz but earning roughly thirty seven cents per pound, they expect to net only $4,000 to $5,000. Enough they believe for a potluck wedding with “DIY decorations”, home brewed beer, and “sword-fighting battle”.
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January 4, 2010
Last week AT&T announced it ended its sponsorship of Tiger Woods. In February 2009 the company signed a multi-year agreement with the golfer that included prominent logo placement on his golf bag. AT&T is the second sponsor to terminate a business partnership after the revelation of Tiger Woods’ multiple affairs. Gillette has stopped airing commercials featuring Woods, but still includes him as a sponsor as do Nike, Pepsi and Gatorade.
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January 3, 2010
A new decade is upon us and the burning question thus far is . . . what do we call this year? Is it “two thousand ten” or “twenty ten?” Some newscasters have posed this question on their Twitter accounts. A WCAX reporter took to the streets for an informal poll in New England, with a clear majority voting for “twenty ten,” though many respondents said they’d probably use both options.
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