Star Mountain Art

Bamboo steamers are typically used for cooking Chinese dim sum, but have many virtues that make them handy for all types of food. The domed lid traps steam efficiently and the two baskets can be stacked to accommodate different foods in each level. These steamers are usually used inside a wok (be sure your wok is about 2" wider than the 10" baskets) but can also be set over a stockpot.

Start making sushi with Helen's Asian Kitchen Bamboo Sushi Mat and Bamboo Rice Paddle set. The mat is traditionally crafted with smooth and stick-resistant bamboo slats strung snugly together for controlled and tight rolling. The rice paddle (also called a shamoji) is the perfect tool for stirring and serving rice. It is also an agile tool to form rice for nigiri-sushi. Bamboo is less absorbent than wood and therefore easier to keep clean and sanitary. It is also a sustainable resource. Safe for use on non-stick cookware surfaces. Mat dimensions: 8.37" x 9.37" Paddle dimensions: 7.75"

A fun tool for the adventuresome home chef, this sushi mat set from Helen's Asian Kitchen makes sushi rolls, also known as maki zushi. Sewn from slender but durable strands, the sushi mat rolls into a tidy cylinder to shape the rice, seaweed, veggies, and seafood that make up maki. The sushi paddle is well suited to scooping and spreading sticky rice before rolling. Crafted from bamboo, a renewable and sturdy resource, the set has an authentic look and feel, enhancing the fun of sushi preparation. Washing by hand is recommended. --Emily Bedard

Chinese Praying Mantis (Tenodera aridifolia)Praying Mantis are one the best solution for people how don't want to use dangerous chemicals in their garden to control insects. They are one of the best predator insects, eating about any bug except the valuable Lady Bugs. Your Praying Mantis eggcases are currently refrigerated to regulate hatching; once removed and exposed to warm temperatures of 70 to 90 degrees F., the average hatch time is 10-20 days. Simply refrigerate the egg cases until you are ready for your chemical-free insect control. Each eggcase will yield from 50-200 baby Praying Mantis. Most hatch at once, but some may hatching may take up to two weeks. Generally purchased by mantid & insect enthusiasts, hobbyists, school teachers, or most important for garden pest control. With the egg case we include egg hatching and care instructions.

A haunting, evocative film set in the barren wilderness of Northern Shaanxi province in 1939. The life of a fourteen year-old peasant girl is changed forever by the arrival of a communist soldier.

Early in the second season of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon (Emmy nominee Jim Parsons) asks Penny (Kaley Cuoco), "When did we become friends?" For a smart guy, Sheldon misses a lot. But for the record, season 1 answered the question of whether or not an adorkable group of geniuses can become friends with the hot girl next door (yes!). Season 2 shows us what that friendship looks like, and it's awesome, especially when it includes a rousing game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock." Sheldon's roommate Leonard (Johnny Galecki) wants to be more than friends with Penny, but the richest relationship of the show is that of Penny and Sheldon. He uses the "covenant of friendship" to get Penny to give him rides, he engages in an over-caffeinated business venture with her, and in the excellent Christmas episode, they exchange gifts and share a surprisingly touching moment. (Sheldon's midseason efforts to befriend a colleague can't compare.) Penny is forever changed by the guys, even telling a date about Schrodinger's cat and delving into online gaming. The extras, including a gag reel and interviews with the cast and crew, reveal the stars to be as appealing and connected to each other as their characters. --Stephanie Reid-Simons

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 08/18/2009 Run time: 558 minutes Rating: Nr

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 09/01/2009 Run time: 1152 minutes Rating: Nr

When a television series opens its new season with a lead character crawling out of his grave after escaping Hell itself, one cannot help but wonder: how will the rest of the episodes ever follow that? In the case of Supernatural's fourth season, the answer comes from above with the introduction of Misha Collins's Castiel, an angel dispatched to rescue Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) from infernal torment and reunite him with brother Sam (Jared Padalecki) for a very special mission. That quest--to stop the demonic Lilith from opening the 66 seals required to bring Lucifer to Earth and launch the Apocalypse--forms the backbone of the 22 episodes, which takes some fairly adventurous risks with the core of the show. Chief among these is the rift that deepens between Dean and Sam as they attempt to work together, despite their divergent destinies; also agreeable is the season's tonal shift away from its previous Monster of the Week format (though that's still intact for many episodes) and toward a single, more ambitious story and thematic arc. The sea change deepens the show's drama, intensifies the level of suspense and stakes in each episode, and pushes it several big steps away from its teen-friendly origins. Of course, there's still plenty of the show's trademark irreverence and humor to be found, especially in the clever "Monster Movie," which pits the brothers against a Shapeshifter that takes the form of classic movie fiends, and "The Monster at the End of This Book," where Sam and Dean discover a comic book with plot lines very similar to their own lives. By the time Supernatural's fourth season reaches its cliffhanger ending with "Lucifer Rising" (the title neatly sums up the plot), viewers should be fairly hungering for the next episode--a good sign that a veteran series is still hitting its stride. Extras on the six-disc set include commentary for three episodes: "In the Beginning," with executive producer Eric Kripke and writer Jeremy Carver; "When the Levee Breaks," with director Robert Singer and writer Sara Gamble; and "Lucifer Rising" with Kripke. Extended scenes are also available for several episodes, and the features are rounded out by a trio of somewhat ponderous featurettes on the concepts of Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell, as depicted in scenes from the show and discussed by its writers, theologians, paranormal investigators, and the like. Clocking in between 10 and 25 minutes apiece, the docs feel padded and somewhat undernourished in the information department. However, they're unlikely to detract from one's enjoyment of this stellar season. --Paul Gaita

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 09/02/2008 Run time: 390 minutes Rating: Nr

The delightful sitcom The Big Bang Theory revolves around a character type rarely seen on television: The alpha geek. Physicists Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon (Jim Parsons) get their lives shaken up when an attractive young woman named Penny (Kaley Cuoco) moves in to the apartment across from theirs. The key to the show, though, is not that they both fall haplessly in love--Leonard does, but Sheldon remains impermeably aloof and caustic about anything resembling romance or human relationships in general. While the push and pull of Leonard's yearning for Penny motivates much of the series' ongoing plot, the show's real drive comes from Sheldon's fantastic combination of obsessive-compulsive neurosis and grandiose obliviousness. He's a brilliant comic creation, imperious and dorky, a seamless collaboration of clever writing and an inspired performance by Parsons. Whether Sheldon loses his job for insulting his new boss, or finds his ego bruised by a child prodigy, or finds himself unable to bear being part of a lie that Leonard has told, he attacks the world with a relentless need to assert his supremacy--and the results are deeply funny. The triumph of The Big Bang Theory is that everyone is written with genuine affection; what could have been a lifeless parade of stereotypes--Two Nerds and a Hot Chick--becomes instead a charming collision of cultures. The familiar stuff (computer games, comic books, social incompetence) has the grit of specificity; the show understands the difference between Halo and Halo 3, knows what the Bottle City of Kandor is, and grasps the infinite variety of ways in which a conversation can go terribly awry. (Penny gets less nuance, but Cuoco still gives her a distinctive personality.) Kudos as well to supporting players Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar, who bring their own variations on geekiness to the table, and to great appearances by some of Galecki's former cohorts on Roseanne--Sara Gilbert as geekette Leslie and Laurie Metcalf as Sheldon's fundamentalist mother. All in all, one of the most winning sitcoms in years. --Bret Fetzer

Super-Slim FRUIT COMPONENT SLIM CAPSULE (Super Slim Pomegranate Weight Loss Capsule) is a well known weight loss product in the US and Europe. Component: Konicing nut, gamboge fruit, apple, kiwifruit, konjac extractive powder, sweet potato fiber Efficient component and content: General-flavone >= 2000mg per 100g Function: Losing weight, face beauty Suitable age: 16-65