A picture began circulating in November. It should be “The Picture of the Year,” or perhaps, “Picture of the Decade.” It won’t be. In fact, unless you obtained a copy of the U.S. paper which published it, you probably would never have seen it.

The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by surgeon named Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother’s womb. Little Samuel’s mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta. She knew of Dr. Bruner’s remarkable surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb.

During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby. As Dr. Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon’s finger. Dr. Bruner was reported as saying that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile.

The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, “Hand of Hope.” The text explaining the picture begins, “The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother’s uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life.”

Little Samuel’s mother said they “wept for days” when they saw the picture. She said, “The photo reminds us pregnancy isn’t about disability or an illness, it’s about a little person” Samuel was born in perfect health, the operation 100 percent successful. Now see the actual picture, and it is awesome…incredible….and hey, pass it on! The world needs to see this one!

totalfilm:

Tom Hiddleston talks Thor 2 

Superhero nemesis Tom Hiddleston might be gearing up to sell the upcoming Avengers movie, but he also has one eye on a returning role in Thor 2, sequel to the movie which made him a star.



Sadly, he won’t be joined by director Kenneth Branagh, who has opted not to return to the director’s chair for a second outing. However, Hiddleston is confident that Marvel will have a contingency plan at the ready…

“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.” 
― Bob Marley

CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

Ingredients

Cheesecake base:

• 1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 tablespoon cocoa

Cheesecake filling:

• 6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped small
• 2 1/2 cups cream cheese
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar
• 1 tablespoon custard powder
• 3 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon cocoa, dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water

Sauce:

• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon dark corn syrup
• Special equipment: 9-inch springform pan

Directions

foodiefy:

BAKING 101 :  HOW TO CHOOSE AND BUY BAKEWARE

Having the right bakeware will make the time you spend in your kitchen both more efficient and more enjoyable. There are few things more annoying than having a fantastic dessert that took you hours to prepare ruined because you didn’t have the right tools to bake it properly. This guide to bake ware will help you ensure that you have the most essential bakeware for your kitchen, made of the materials that best suit your cooking style.

What bakeware do you need?

There are all kinds of bakeware that you can use if you are planning to open a bakery or become a pastry chef. You could spend a near-infinite of time and money trying out fancy tools and equipment. However, if you’d simply like to have a good array of bakeware on hand to cover most household needs, here is a good overview of what you’ll need to buy.

• Two baking sheets
• A 22.5cm/ 9-inch pie tin
• A loaf tin
• Two 2 x 17.5cm/ 7-inch shallow cake tins
• A  32x22x5cm/ 13x9x2-inch baking tin
• An 20cm/8-inch square or round cake tin
• A 6 or 12-hole muffin tin
• A 4-hole Yorkshire Pudding tin

With this selection, you can create most common cakes, pies, muffins,  tray bakes and Yorkshire puddings.

If you’d like to spread out a little more, you could also invest in a Bundt pan for fancy cakes, a spring form pan for cheesecakes and other very moist confections, and a pizza stone for creating home-baked pizzas.

How Finishes Affect Your Baking

How your bakeware looks can actually have quite an impact on your baking. The darker a material is, the faster it heats and the longer it retains that heat. For some types of baked goods, such as cakes and muffins, a dark finish is an advantage: the goodies come out a bit crispier and they are less likely to stick to the pan. However, more delicate pastries such as pies can burn if they are heated too quickly.

What type of bakeware should you buy?

With today’s modern technology, we have more options for our baking materials than ever before. The problem with having more options, however, is that it also becomes more difficult to choose the bakeware for your kitchen. Not only do you have to decide which pieces you want to have, but you have to set a budget and determine which features are most important to you. Here are some of the pros and cons of the most popular bakeware materials.

Stainless Steel Cookware
Advantages
• Attractive,  sturdy,  long-lasting

Disadvantages
• More expensive,  poorer heat conductivity

Aluminium Cookware
Advantages
• Lightweight, inexpensive, no hot spots, resists rusting and corrosion, also comes in non-stick varieties.

Disadvantages
• Dents and scratches easily, reacts with some cooking ingredients, shorter lifespan.

Silicone
Advantages
• Very light-weight, flexible, can withstand very high temperatures, can be frozen.

Disadvantages
• Cakes and other baked goods may stick in these forms.

Glass
Advantages
• Will not scratch, can see progress of baked goods, heats evenly, non-reactive.

Disadvantages
•  Heavy, can shatter if dropped or heated improperly.

While there is no one perfect form of bakeware for every cook, following your own preferences and buying the best quality that you can will help you to create better baked goods with less hassle.

Photo by Jeannie Maristela

SOURCE: http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/Cooking/Cookware%20Bakeware.htm