Latest news with #Frederick
Daily Express
13 hours ago
- Daily Express
Sabah Forestry Department detains two lorries carrying logs in Ranau
Published on: Wednesday, July 30, 2025 Published on: Wed, Jul 30, 2025 Text Size: Frederick said inspections revealed the two lorries were transporting a total of 59 logs, equivalent to 63.2 cubic metres. SANDAKAN: The Sabah Forestry Department (SFD), in collaboration with the General Operations Force (GOF), detained two lorries carrying logs at Kg Randagong in Ranau during Operasi Khazanah at 1.30am on July 23. Sabah Chief Conservator of Forests Datuk Frederick Kugan said both lorries were stopped for transporting logs without a valid Removal Pass and for operating outside the permitted hours of 7am to 7pm, as required by SFD. He was commenting on a viral report on the seizure of the two lorries loaded with logs valued at RM2.68 million. Frederick said inspections revealed the two lorries were transporting a total of 59 logs, equivalent to 63.2 cubic metres. 'Further investigation by the Sabah Forestry Department confirmed that all the logs originated from a licensed logging operation under Form I belonging to Sabah Energy Corporation Sdn Bhd in Sipitang. All royalty payments amounting to RM4,732.70 have been duly settled with the State Government. 'Based on the domestic market price for processed timber, the Sabah Forestry Department estimates the commercial value of the seized logs to be around RM31,600. For the offence, the licensee was fined RM1,600,' he said in a statement. Frederick emphasised that SFD remains committed to enforcing the law to safeguard the State's forest resources and ensure that logging activities are conducted in accordance with established laws and regulations. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
The Star
4 days ago
- General
- The Star
'Potato king' myth in Germany's popular Sanssouci Palace debunked
Generations of Germans believe Frederick the Great brought the beloved potato to Germany. The legend is this: King Frederick II of Prussia wanted his subjects to eat potatoes, introduced to Europe in the 16th century from South America. But the people of Prussia, which later became part of a united Germany, wouldn't touch the tuber. So the 18th-century monarch resorted to trickery. He placed royal guards and soldiers along the edge of his palace garden – thus creating the illusion that potatoes were a rare and valuable crop reserved for the royal family and its aristocratic friends. But the guards withdrew from their posts each night, creating an opportunity for enterprising locals to sneak in and 'steal' the spuds. Thus began Germany's love affair with the humble kartoffel and Frederick's rebranding as Der Kartoffelkonig or the potato king. Except it's all fake. Bogus. Phony. Or Falsch, as the Germans would say. And debunking it is a royal pain for Jurgen Luh, historian of the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation, even when history has receipts. Archives of royal menus show the king instead had a penchant for Italian food and French wine. 'He never ate it,' Luh said. 'Any potato. Not boiled, not fried.' A statue of King Frederick II of Prussia at the palace. What's true The unexciting truth is that the potato has been cultivated in Germany's Bavarian state since 1647, Luh said. Frederick's great-grandfather, Elector Frederick William, introduced it to the Brandenburg area of Prussia in the 1650s, but only because he liked the aesthetics of the plant's leafy greens. By the time Frederick the Great took the throne in 1740, the potato was grown in gardens throughout Prussia but not on a large scale. The king did actually issue royal decrees promoting the farming and production of potatoes, but his people ignored them. Potatoes did not become widespread in Prussia, in central and eastern Europe, until after the Napoleonic wars ended in 1815, after Frederick II's death in 1786. The guarded garden story, Luh said, is nonsense. And Frederick was more of a wannabe potato king than an actual one. But the fable has deep roots, and the myth makes money. To this day, visitors to Frederick's summer home of Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, outside Berlin, leave raw potatoes and paper crowns on the king's grave. The palace's gift shops sell potato merchandise, from postcards and children's books to a €35 (RM174) apron proclaiming the wearer as a Kartoffelkonig. Luh used to correct tour guides and visitors to the palace, but he's largely given up. Besides, he said, at least it means people are coming to Sanssouci and experiencing its rich history. 'The fact is that the legend has beaten the truth and the legend is just too beautiful,' he added. Luh has been educating tourists and even tour guides about the real history of potatoes in Germany. It's cultural Whatever its roots, the potato is undeniably part of the German cultural identity. At Biohof Schoneiche, an organic farm outside Berlin, workers will harvest roughly 2,500 metric tonnes of potatoes come the annual September harvest. 'In most parts of the world, potatoes are considered a vegetable. In Germany it's a staple food,' general manager Axel Boehme said. 'People cannot imagine having a meal without potatoes.' Regional recipes, passed down from every oma (grandmother) to each new generation, debate the merits of a vinegar- or mayo-based kartoffelsalat (potato salad). From boiled (salzkartoffeln) or pan-fried (bratkartoffeln) to dumplings and pancakes (kartoffelklosse and kartoffelpuffer), the versatile vegetable is intertwined with the country's emotional heritage. Anke Schoenfelder, project manager for German potato marketing company Kartoffel-Marketing, says her favourite tuber tradition is rooted in making 'Kartoffel-Karotten-Gugelhupf' (potato and carrot Bundt cake, recipe on the right) for family gatherings. 'Taste is memory, right? And when this is related to your family, this is even more part of your identity,' she said. The palace was once the summer home of King Frederick II of Prussia. Plus, Schoenfelder added, the potato can be used as a beauty product – the juice can be good for your skin, she says – or a household cleaner, for stubborn stains on the bottom of your oven. For now, Der Kartoffelkonig's legend lives on. As Luh was speaking to reporters in front of the king's grave, two tourists placed their offerings of potatoes on the tomb. One even took a selfie as she did so. 'I always think I should go here in the evening when I have no potatoes at home,' the historian joked. 'I could take them away and have a good meal afterwards.' – AP The potato and carrot Bundt cake or kartoffel karotten gugelhupf is often served during Easter in Germany. — Kartoffel-Marketing/ Potato and carrot Bundt cake recipe One 10-cup Bundt pan Time: 90 minutes Serves: 12 Ingredients: 250g high-starch potato (such as Russet and Maris Piper) 250g carrots 50ml carrot juice 50ml sunflower oil 4 eggs (medium-sized, room temperature) 200g sugar 1 packet vanilla sugar 125g almonds, ground 125g all-purpose flour melted butter to grease the mould 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs Wash the potatoes and boil them in salted water for 20 to 25 minutes, until tender. Let them cool slightly, peel them, and then press them through a potato ricer into a bowl. Wash and peel the carrots and grate them finely with the potatoes, using a vegetable grater or a mandolin. Generously grease the Bundt pan with oil or butter. Coat the pan with some breadcrumbs. Preheat oven to 200°C on the fan setting. Add carrot juice, sunflower oil, eggs, vanilla sugar, sugar, flour, baking powder and ground almonds to the mashed potatoes and grated carrots and mix with a hand mixer for about four minutes until a dough forms. Pour the potato-carrot cake batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes until cooked through (if necessary, cover the pan with aluminium foil after half an hour to prevent the cake from burning). Let the cake cool completely (you can also do this on a balcony or terrace) before decorating it with icing. This is important, because otherwise the icing will seep into the cake. In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar and a little lemon juice until thickened. Pour the icing over the cooled cake and decorate with your preferred toppings like chocolate chips, for example. Let it rest a bit to allow the icing to set.
Buzz Feed
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
27 Products To Help Fix Summer Body Problems
A bottle of Burt's Bees sunburn lotion because picnic-at-the-beach season is finally here. This will save the day when you forget to apply SPF on one of your summer adventures — the soothing blend of aloe and coconut oil will help calm your skin in no time. A cult-favorite foot file that'll grind away at calluses and have your heels and toes looking silky smooth and ready to slip into your go-to sandals. There are many foot files out there, but thousands of reviewers say this one works like a charm. An after-swim leave-in detangler to alleviate your chlorine-hair worries. Now you can glide around gleefully in the water like Aquamarine while playing the bop of the same name by Addison Rae. The lightweight spray is meant to help detangle, soften, lessen the effects of UV exposure, and will even help neutralize chlorine odors. A bottle of Fur Oil, which will be your new best friend for soothing your skin after hair removal. It uses tea tree oil to potentially prevent ingrown hairs and jojoba and grape seed oils to help reduce redness and irritation from current razor bumps. Those last two oils mean you can even use it to condition your cuticles, scalp, and to seal split ends. I just looked up "multitalented" in the dictionary, and it just says "see: Fur Oil." A pack of Dr. Frederick's Original blister bandages for all my fellow blister-prone people who refuse to let their sensitive feet stop them from rocking new shoes on vacation. These are designed to be water-resistant, stay in place all day, and provide extra padding to help relieve pain. Undersummers anti-chafing shorts to protect your thighs from friction when you wear your fave dresses and skirts — because nothing ruins a perfect summer day like realizing your thighs are gonna pay the price. And don't worry, these are super stretchy and moisture-wicking, so you won't have to sacrifice comfort to keep the chafe at bay. Or an all-over anti-chafe balm for anyone who is not actually about that hike life but still lets their super-active friends convince them to tag along. You can swipe this on your thighs, ankles, feet, neck, armpits, or anywhere else that needs some extra protection from the friction that's threatening to ruin your serene afternoon. A Lume acidified body wash that's designed to help control odor for a whopping 24 hours! That $3.75 shower gel you've been loyal to since high school simply can't do that. It's also formulated with mandelic acid to help brighten hyperpigmentation with continued use. And yes, it's safe to use on sensitive areas! Lume's whole body deodorant WITH sweat control — it has the same odor-eliminating goodness of the original formula with added antiperspirant power! Spread it on your pits, skin folds, privates — anywhere external that needs extra protection while you gallivant around in the summer sun. Pro tip: apply it at night for best results so your skin can properly absorb it. And a pack of 30 aluminum-free deodorant wipes so you can quickly freshen up those pits while you're hitting the town in a sunhat like the summer diva you were destined to be. These are super easy to carry around, and just a few swipes will help neutralize odors and leave behind a tropical coconut scent. Or a pack of SweatBlock wipes, which might be the most aptly-named product ever; they truly block the sweat. They're super easy to use: dab the wipe on your underarms, let it dry for 3–5 minutes, let it sit overnight, then clean with soap and water in the morning. Once you do that, you'll be protected from excess sweat and odor for up to seven days. Or!!! An aluminum-free Sol De Janeiro Rio Deo deodorant that not only helps prevent odors but is also available in four of SDJ's iconic scents (The "Cheirosa '62" scent is the same as Bum Bum Cream btw!) It's also designed to help soothe skin, and reviewers say it actually holds up all day. A sand-removal bag you'll want in your beach bag at all times going forward — because beach trips are the best but removing sand is the worst. Just pat the bag to disperse some of the talc-free powder inside, then wipe it over your skin and watch the sand just glide right off! It even comes with a waterproof carrying pouch so you can keep it safe in between uses. A pack of hypoallergenic body wipes for the days when you need to skip the shower and take the lazy route instead. We've all been there. These are infused with aloe so your skin will feel refreshed, clean, and silky smooth, even on those scorching summer days. A bottle of Happy Nuts Comfort Cream — an aluminum-free lotion-to-powder formula that's designed to keep the ~downstairs area~ dry, comfy, and stank-free. If your... um ...🌎 globes 🌎 are susceptible to chafing in warm weather, you might want to keep a few bottles in stock. Or Carpe's Groin Powder that's not only silky smooth but also absorbs sweat thanks to the corn starch base. While it's specifically designed to be safe to use on the groin, some reviewers have had success using it in skin folds and other sweaty areas. Oh, and the delightful white jasmine scent is a welcome bonus. Seamless bra liners you'll wonder how you ever got by without. Simply place them in your bra and let the moisture-wicking fabric do its magic while keeping you extra comfy. And! A pack of disposable underarm shields so you'll be extra protected when you attend a baseball game and a round of ~the wave~ threatens to broadcast your sweat stains up on the jumbotron. These adhere to the inside of your clothing and absorb wetness to keep those pesky sweat stains at bay. And!! A pack of highly absorbent sweat liners — now your fave hat won't be drenched at the end of your afternoon walk. Just peel off the adhesive backing, place it inside your hat above the rim, then rest assured that your eyes are protected from sweat and your hat is protected from nasty odors. And!!! A pack of genius handkerchiefs that are specifically designed to mop up sweat. They can absorb seven times their weight in moisture and dry faster than traditional towels. Honestly, where have these been all our lives?! A Revlon volcanic stone face roller to mop up excess oil before it has time to break down the makeup you spent SO much time applying that morning. This was one of the first beauty products to go viral on TikTok — and for good reason! It mattifies with just a few swipes and is designed not to disturb your makeup. Or a pack of oil-absorbing sheets that will tackle the shiniest of foreheads and have you looking instantly matte without ruining your makeup. These are a must on the days when you want to touch up in a hurry and forgot to bring your setting powder with you. CeraVe's Renewing Salicylic Acid Cleanser so you can banish the acne that's popping up like sunflowers all over your body now that warmer weather is finally here. Reviewers have had luck using it on face and body acne, with many saying it reduces rough skin, bumps, and pimples with consistent use. A pack of shoe deodorizers that are a must-have for anyone who apologizes profusely any time they take their shoes off around other people. They're designed to absorb and neutralize odors overnight, and you can even use them in gym bags, pet beds, lockers, or anywhere else that's in need of a refresh. And a deodorizer shoe spray made with peppermint and eucalyptus oils that's safe enough to spray directly on your feet so you can tackle those odors from the source. It's designed to dry super quickly, so you can spray it and put your shoes on right away. The super popular Bug Bite Thing, which uses the simple power of suction to alleviate the post-bite itching and swelling from the adorable but vicious bumblebee that attacked you while you were distracted by an equally cute butterfly that landed on a sunflower (I think they may have been working together). It works on everything from mosquito bites to wasp stings, so you'll probably want this in your pocket any time you leave the house this summer. A pair of Nippies, adhesive pasties reviewers swear by for feeling comfortable, secure, and supported — especially when their summer 'fits just don't work with a regular bra. The medical-grade adhesive provides a strong, waterproof hold, and they're entirely washable and reusable. Plus, they come in several colors to match various skin tones.
San Francisco Chronicle
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Robilee Frederick, Bay Area artist who painted with animal guts and dined with Pavorotti, dies at 93
In her quest to reach her audience on a gut level, abstract painter Robilee Frederick took it to the extreme. She stretched out sausage casings to form a canvas and applied strings of animal stomach fiber in place of paint. 'It was very powerful, visceral work,' explained Indigo Ceballos, curator at the Hess Collection Winery in Napa Valley. 'She was using viscera.' Frederick was also using gunpowder, flame, cigarette ash and seed pods in her Napa art studio and science lab. She called herself a 'process' painter to emphasize the point that the act of creation was as important as the end product. She was handy with a blowtorch and incense coils and liked to drip candle wax on a canvas before dipping her brush in oil paint. When she wanted to make her paintings translucent, she hired an engineer to backlight the canvas in neon. Frederick was also a sculptor, and her work in a wide variety of media was exhibited in Bay Area galleries and in the collection of at least one major museum, with a concentration of her work in private museums of wineries in the Napa Valley, where she lived. She was still at work in her home studio in St. Helena into her 90s when she became too frail to operate her blowtorch and sand her surfaces with a power tool. Still, the only way for her three children to keep her from going to work at 9 a.m. and turning on the classical music was to close down the studio and move her to her son Duncan's home in Huntington Beach. She died of natural causes in hospice care on June 14, said her daughter and art manager Robin Frederick. She was 93. 'I've never encountered anyone so driven, so inspiring and so deeply creative,' said her daughter, a producer who works in film, video and digital media in Los Angeles. 'She excelled at anything she touched, whether it was in the kitchen, at the piano or in her studio. She was an extraordinary, visionary artist.' Frederick herself did not discover this until she was in her early 50s and had sent the last of her children off to college. Living in San Rafael with her first husband, Kirk Frederick, she enrolled in the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland to pursue her MA, but she did not complete her degree. In 1985, she had her first gallery show, and in 1994, she became represented by Braunstein/Quay Gallery. The solo show titles back then were always specific to her media. 'Smoke and Memory' was followed by 'Light Shadow Burn' in 1999 and 'Heat & Light' in 2002. 'Robilee was a very, very, very gracious and multi-talented person, and also a little bit of a mad scientist, or maybe just mad,' said Shannon Trimble, who worked at Braunstein/Quay and developed this assessment by watching Frederick in her home studio. 'She often had to work on a flat metal surface because of the materials she was handling and in this very creative way of torching and burning she would build the surface into a luminous finish.' In 1996 she created a child's dress made out of animal gut that was suspended on wire for a group show, called 'Veil of Memory' at the San Francisco Arts Commissions Gallery in the Veterans Building. She was also part of 'Circle of Memory,' a four-person show organized by fellow Napa Valley artist Eleanor Coppola. It opened at the Oakland Art Gallery in Oakland in 2003 and spent 11 years on display, traveling worldwide. A light box titled 'Veiled Light V' from her 2002 solo show at Braunstein/Quay was acquired by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, who operate the de Young and Legion of Honor. Robilee (pronounced Robby-Lee) Patrick McCallister was born Oct. 8, 1931 in Evansville, Ind. Her father, Ivan McAllister, worked in real estate and insurance and played classical violin. Her mother, also named Robilee, was a schoolteacher who enrolled her daughter, known as 'Robby,' in piano lessons at age 5. By age 10, she had advanced to the point that she was sent to St. Louis to study under concert pianist Corinne Frederick. By then the family had moved to Carmi, Ill. To get to her weekly private lesson on Saturday, Robilee and Robby had to board the morning train at 4:30 a.m. and travel 120 miles. The ride took hours, and this is where she learned to draw, sketching portraits of passengers on the train in colored pencil in order to pass the time in each direction. Her love of drawing outlasted her love of the piano, but not her love of the piano teacher's son, Kirk Frederick. After graduating from high school, she boarded a train for Wellesley College in Mass., where she majored in music. After graduating in 1953, she moved to New York City parlaying her sketching skills into a job as an illustrator for Harper's Bazaar magazine. This is when the piano teacher's son re-entered her life. He came to visit her at her air-conditioned apartment, then one of the few, on the Upper East Side. It was nice and cool so he stayed. They married in 1952, then moved to San Francisco where Kirk became vice president of Fibreboard Corp. Their first two kids, Duncan and Robilee III (who goes by Robin), were born while the family lived in Tiburon. By the time her other two kids, Kirk and Logan, were born, they had moved to San Rafael. They lived in a three-story Georgian Colonial home that was big enough for two grand pianos in the music room and many dinner parties, often linked to Robilee's position at the San Francisco Opera Guild. 'Beverly Sills and Luciano Pavarotti would come over for dinner when performing with the San Francisco Opera because they loved my mother's cooking,' said Robin. A favorite was the curry recipe from Trader Vic's. 'I remember being in the back seat of my dad's Jag, sandwiched between Sills and Pavarotti, driving over the Golden Gate to get to the Opera House on time.' Kirk Frederick died in 1976, at age 52, and Robilee sold the big house and bought a house on Pacific Avenue in the city. She met her second husband, California home developer Ben Deane, on a setup date. They were married in Big Sur in 1985 and built a house with a separate art studio on Howell Mountain in St. Helena. When they put it on the market in 1990, the listing caught the attention of Herb Caen, who had always admired Robilee's style. 'Ben and Robilee Deane's showplace above Meadowood in Napa Valley is on the market for $3.4 million, and that's our affordable-housing replay for today,' Caen wrote. 'How big is it? How many houses have an indoor golf driving range?' The Deanes then moved to a home on the Spottswoode Estate, where they lived until Deane's death in 2005. Ben Deane liked to play backgammon with Swiss winemaker and art collector Donald Hess and during a game Deane suggested he check out his wife's artwork. Hess became intrigued by her use of light, particularly in side-by-side paintings, one lit and one unlit. He began collecting and displaying her work in his galleries and curator Ceballos hung her work alongside paintings by 20th century masters Francis Bacon and Robert Rauschenberg. One day Ceballos saw Hess studying the artworks together and commented, 'She really holds her own against the big guys. I'm proud of her.'
CBS News
17-07-2025
- Business
- CBS News
$5.2 million in funding approved for flood management projects in Maryland
Maryland's Department of Public Works approved $241 million for projects in the state Wednesday, including $5.2 million for flood management efforts. The department also approved $7.5 million to support the construction of a new hotel and conference center in Frederick. Nearly $31 million in grants were allocated for projects in seven counties and Baltimore City, and $25 million was given to minority-owned and small businesses. The funding for flood management projects was granted after requests from the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), the board said. The money will be used to help alert local governments to potential flooding and reduce runoff after heavy rain. The approval comes after a deadly flooding event in central Texas killed more than 130 people. Nearly 100 people are still missing two weeks later. Some Texas residents reported that they did not receive emergency alerts as the flooding got more severe. However, CBS News reported that 22 warnings were issued by the National Weather Service during the storms and flash flooding. In approving the request, Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman emphasized the need for investments in state infrastructure, especially in flood-prone areas. "As a former Texas resident for a few years, it is absolutely devastating to watch what happened there," she said. "We are not immune in Maryland to that type of flooding that we saw happen there." The funding also comes after severe flooding events in Maryland. On July 14, torrential rain prompted a historic Howard County city to shut down its Main Street. "Close to home, just in the last week, officials ordered the shutdown of Main Street [in Ellicott City] not once, but twice as a result of significant rain-producing events," Lierman said. The Ellicott City area experienced deadly flooding events in recent years, including in 2011, 2016 and 2018. In May, heavy rain caused flooding in Allegany and Garrett counties, affecting about 200 homes and prompting rescue efforts. The governor's office requested that the White House issue a Presidential Disaster Declaration after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) determined that recovery could cost $15.8 million. The state has made progress in its flood prevention efforts. After the flooding in historic Ellicott City, its Safe and Sound Plan was credited with helping prevent significant flooding. The state Department of Natural Resources recently launched a new map that allows residents to track potential flooding in their communities.
