In this April 20, 1972 black-and-white file photo, first lady Patricia Nixon welcomes China's giant pandas at Washington's National Zoo in Washington. With her is Ting-Hung, head of the Bureau of Public Service of the City of Peking, who accompanied the animals to Washington. Monday was the 40th anniversary of the day pandas Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The pandas were gifts to the United States from China following President Richard Nixon's historic visit to the country. The pandas were officially presented to the Zoo on April 20, 1972. Ling-Ling lived at the National Zoo until 1992, when she died. Hsing-Hsing died in 1999. They were the first pandas in US zoos in modern history. There are now 11 pandas at four American zoos!
Hey, it's me Cutesy Bunny and I wanted to make a special surprise for my best friend Love Panda, so I put my little apron on...
For cute Love Panda cookies you'll need the following:
2 1/2 cups flour;
1 cup butter, softened;
3/4 cup sugar;
1/2 cup powdered sugar;
2 egg yolks;
2 tsp vanilla extract;
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I actually put more because I love cocoa);
chocolate chips, for decorating.
Steps:
1. Cream the butter and the sugars together. Add the egg yolks one at a time, then add the vanilla extract. Add the flour until just combined. Split the dough into 2 equal pieces. Add the cocoa powder abundantly to the 1 of the pieces of dough until the dough is dark enough to resemble panda eyes/ears/nose/mouth.
2. Now it's time to form the panda face. From the the white dough divide and make small balls to form a sweet round face. Use the roller to smooth out the surface.
3. Same technique is used for the ears: make a semi-circle or make a round ball that you smooth out with the roller and then cut it with a knife. Make oval roundish shapes for the eyes. Don't be afraid to get dirty... and creative!
4. Use a piece of chocolate chip for nose and eyes. White nonpareils would look awesome as panda eyes too, but I didn't have any at the time.
5. You can make a mouth out of a thin strip of dark dough or leave the panda with no mouth. Whatever you think is cuter!
6. Take the cookies and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Chill the cookies for 10 minutes while you preheat the oven to 325ºF.
7. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes.
8. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet and then feel free to take a bite of cuteness.
My cookies are nowhere near perfect and I'm still improving, but I think they're pretty darn cute and yummy. Now go make your own panda cookies and enjoy eating something very Cute and Happy!
Do you want to be cute? Being cute is about making the most of your sweet, friendly, and innocent nature, and projecting it wherever you go. It is about being genuine, smiling, and greeting others with delight; it's about sharing warmth with friends, colleagues and people you meet on the street. Being cute is a few steps away:
1. Smile: Do not look like a goof when you smile; just smile like you always do. Be cute and happy, but not over the top! Be yourself; and don't pretend to be someone else!
2. Laugh heartily: As with smiling, laughter is a reflection of the soul. Laugh to feel good, laugh to cheer up others and laugh with others. Spread the need for more cheer and people as it gets. Make sure not to overdo it. Most people find excessive laughter annoying, not cute. Also make certain that people don't find your laugh to be generally annoying or fake.
3. Give compliments: Everybody loves someone who sees good in others and makes them feel good. It can be a great conversation starter sometime too. (Where did you get your shoes? They're so cute!) Just make sure you mean it; say it in your normal tone of voice, not a squeaky, overenthusiastic one.
4. Be as smart as you are: Being smart is not just about book-smarts; it is about using your mind to its fullest potential by discovering what you are good at and doing it really well. Do not act dumb because you misguidedly think this is cute. It is not cute; it is telling others that you can be overlooked and ignored when genuine opportunities for good things in life come your way. Live your life to its fullest potential by learning as much as you can and finding out as early on in life what you are good at doing.
5. Be interested in others: Attractiveness comes from being happy, vivacious and bubbly. This translates to being a person who engages others in conversation, takes an interest in what others say and shows a genuine concern for the other person's interests. Active listening is a very important part of appearing attractive to others.
6. Use eye contact: Eye contact is a way of engaging others directly. It shows interest, it shows that you are attempting to bring this person into your sphere and keep them there. Don't stare though, just use common sense and remember that it is about communicating with other people, not sucking them into your sphere of influence.
7. Have fun: Everyone likes a person who is fun, social, and outgoing!
8. Be well groomed: It is your choice as to what products you decide to groom yourself with and what labels you choose to wear. (TIP: Cute Brands can help out with the cuteness, wink) All that is important to remember is that a well-presented person will always appear attractive. Wearing clothes that make you feel good and a hairstyle that accents your best features are always a helpful step in boosting your self confidence and this will shine through in your personality.
9. Dress comfortably:Wear comfortable clothes in your style, like a pair of form-fitting jeans- not too tight, but then again, not too loose either. Whatever you decide to wear, make sure that it's cute and totally you because you don't want to be someone you're not. Wear lots of colors, either pastel or bright.
10. Shyness isn't a bad thing: It gives you this kind of mysterious edge. People keep asking you questions and keep wanting to talk to you to get to know you more. Shy, but sweet and bubbly people are absolutely adorable. Don't be too loud. Period. If your voice is loud enough to be heard two rooms away, most likely you're being too loud.
11. Act very innocent: It helps; when the word "cute" comes to mind, for most people, they associate this with innocence.
Yes, is as simple as that... Now go out there and be CUTE and HAPPY - be a well rounded person, a living example of cuteness, and positivity! Person by person, friend by friend you can make an impact and change the World by making it a nicer place to live in!
Be as smart as you are. Being smart is not just about book-smarts; it is about using your mind to its fullest potential by discovering what you are good at and doing it really well. Do not act dumb because you misguidedly think this is cute. It is not cute; it is telling others that you can be overlooked and ignored when genuine opportunities for good things in life come your way. Live your life to its fullest potential by learning as much as you can and finding out as early on in life what you are good at doing.
Nakia began creating art at an early age. Five to be exact. First the Detroit native began with dance, then she moved into acting in college and has now finally embraced vocals. Very soon after graduation from Fordham University, Nakia made her Broadway debut in Hot Feet, a musical that danced to the rhythm of Earth, Wind and Fire. Though she was a part of the ensemble as a dancer, while off stage, Nakia spent most of her time in the dressing room, singing. That very dressing room is where Nakia began to take her gift seriously. After the show closed, she began to work on her own vocal project. These elements combined with the understanding that everything is within, make up REMEMBER ME, her debut album intending to reunite the self with the Self.
"Peace! & Rock On!"
With her music, she seeks to remind the World of how powerful and creative we are. Her voice paints beautiful pieces for the ear to embrace and the heart to open to. As a clear evidence please check out this wonderful video that is now spinning on MTV and VH1:
DUJIANGYAN - Six young pandas bred in captivity were released as a group of "pioneers" into an enclosed forest in Southwest China's Sichuan province on Wednesday.
Giant panda twins Xingya (top) & Xingrong, two of the captive-bred pandas to be released into wild plays at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Dec 21, 2011.
The six pandas will eat bamboo freely with no help of breeders in the "Panda Valley", the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding and Release Research Center affiliated to the Chengdu panda base, said Fei Lisong, deputy director with the center.
The release is the first step of a project aiming to help the endangered species to adapt to the wild environment and eventually survive in the wild, Fei said.
According to Fei, after a year observing their health and researching their genetic backgrounds, the six -- Xingrong, Xingya, Gongzai, Yingying, Zhizhi and Qiqi -- were carefully selected from 108 pandas living at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
"They are in their subadult age, similar to the childhood of human beings, with comparatively strong survival ability and rapid growth. And Xingrong and Xingya are twins," he said.
They will be the first group of pandas released into the "Panda Valley," a center which is located in Majiagou in Yutang town in the Dujiangyan city, about 40 km west of the provincial capital of Chengdu.
Still under construction, the center is designed to train giant pandas born in captivity to survive in the wild.
Over the past 30 years, the Chengdu panda base has been sending captive-bred pandas back into the wild. However, their efforts have seldom succeeded, as human-raised pandas have great difficulty surviving in the wild, according to a statement from the base.
Among the 10 pandas that have been released since 1983, only two are still living in the wild. Six have been sent back to the breeding center due to dramatic weight loss, and one was found dead and the other is believed to have also died, it said.
Researchers believe that releasing six pandas together, unlike previous attempts to release them individually, will help them to survive.
The wild release training will concentrate on upgrading the adaption ability of pandas by reducing their contact with humans, as well as providing artificial wild feeding areas.
It is expected that some pandas with the ability to survive in the wild will be released some day to a larger semi-wild area with more abundant bamboo choices and no man-made structures, said Fei.
The separation of habitats, resulting from human activities, has fragmented the wild population of giant pandas, which has limited mating options and lead to a high possibility of inbreeding.
Yao Ming, a retired Chinese professional basketball player holds a panda cub during a panda releasing ceremony at the Chengdu Research Base, Jan 11, 2012.
Yao Ming & his wife Ye Li hold two panda cubs during a panda releasing ceremony at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Jan 11, 2012.
Combination photo shows the six pandas bred in captivity to be released into wild at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Dec 21, 2011.
Giant pandas Qiqi (L) & Zhizhi at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Dec 21, 2011.
Giant pandas Zhizhi (top) & Qiqi play at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Dec 21, 2011.
Giant pandas Yingying (L) & Gongzai play at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Dec 21, 2011.
