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Here is a link to an article. The top image is steak tartare, and part of the platter, to the right of the meat is two small bulbous pickles with long stems.

Could anyone identify these things for me?

http://blogs.menshealth.com/guy-gourmet/gut-check-...

OK - this is a rhetorical question, but I wanted a forum to post a few of horsemanship that people need to read from time to time.

HOW TO RUIN A GOOD HORSE _Top 3 TIPS for NEW OWNERS!

1) Love him to death.

Treat your horse as though he has no needs except to be there for you. Make sure that you spend every waking moment with him, groom him for hours on end, play games with him, keep him from his herdmates, worry about every muscle twitch and hair out of place. Never step back and wonder if the horse really likes this - of course he does! He is your best friend - your only friend.

2) Train him yourself.

Good trainers are too expensive, and besides, you've read at least two training manuals and watched videos galore about how to train horses.

3) Bring him right home.

You have a new barn and a pasture that is just begging for a horse to live in it. He will love all of the room and the peace and quiet. He has you for a companion, so he doesn't really need other horses in his herd. Plus, he knows how much you love him and he can forgive any mistakes that you might make in feeding and care - he understands that you have to start somewhere.

I am directing Sweeney Todd, and I have to make a decision about accents. We all have the same natural accent (except one, who has a broader-voweled accent) from eastern Ontario.

My pet peeve with accents is that everyone on stage will have a different one, and most of those will change from the beginning of the show to the end. This is what I have observed to be the case with all productions.

If anyone has tips or sites or methods to use that can help me to coach these actors so that they come across like their characters and not like some Monty Python rip-offs, I'd really appreciate it.

Even if the answer is, 'You just have to keep correcting them.', that is helpful.

thanks

So many people ask for input about the conformation of their horses, but they have no clue about what is needed to give a good opinion. Here are the photos that are necessary to show us, in order to give opinions about the make and shape of your equine (you should also supply these photos if you have questions about breed).

Make sure that your subject is well-lit. That means that, on a sunny day, walk your horse into the shade and take the picture there. This will prevent harsh shadows that can obscure the real shape of your horse. You need someone to hold the horse's lead, and someone else to take pictures.

Ready? Good. Now pretend that you are in line class. Set the horse up so that it is standing square, and make sure that it is looking forward.

Get a photo like this from both sides.

Next, walk behind the horse, braid its tail down, or make sure that it is otherwise out of the way of the hocks, and take a picture from the rear. (Make sure the horse is standing square).

Now take a pic from the front, with the horse looking straight ahead.

We should be able to see the whole horse in every picture. It should be standing square in every picture, too.

thanks!

N