Balls and Walnuts
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More procrastination
I need to catch up on my Tangent review responsibilities today. So what am I doing? Catching up on Jurassic Pork’s activities. Yesterday, he posted Maureen Dowd’s latest, and for Sunday brunch, he gives us a fine Assclowns of the Week. I learned something new regarding Wenyi Wang’s protest, something chilling. Here’s JP:
Of course, the CNN story doesn’t explain the reason for Dr. Wang’s protest, which is organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners while they’re still alive. So, while CNN effectively gagged her by not mentioning the need for the doctor’s protest, what’s even more telling is that a cameraman actually pulled a sign from her hands and literally gagged her by putting his hand over her mouth.
So much for the “liberal media.â€
And Dr. Wang’s brief but memorable protest, on the White House lawn and just feet away from both Hu and Bush, automatically forced into light a horrifying story that, until now, had been virtually ignored by the mainstream media (and still is, as I’ve just demonstrated).
Yeesh. Remember Pogo? We have met the enemy . . .
By the way, I see that, after a long and inexplicable absence, Double Plus Mal is back. I think she’s hawt.
D.
PS: Leg of lamb tonight, with focaccia and asparagus. I might do a little radicchio and goat cheese salad, too, if I’m feeling motivated.
For the lamb, I had Karen bone it (you’d think a surgeon could bone a leg of lamb, wouldn’t you? But hey, I’m not an orthopod!) Then I rubbed it with lemon, sprinkled it with salt and pepper, trussed it up, and marinated it overnight in . . . well, let’s see how it turns out, and if it’s good, I’ll let you know.
She says it with such feeling, too.
The last English lesson you’ll ever need: Fun with Dick and Pussy. Hat tip to YesButNoButYes.
Make sure you watch it to the end.
D.
Choke it.
Artichokes have drawn my blood more than a few times. I can’t think of a more intimidating vegetable. Still, they are delicious, and they’re not that tough once you get used to them. Here are a few tips to get you going.
Don’t you wish evil would prevail?
Be honest: in Diehard, whom do you want to survive:
this guy 
or this guy? 
If you’re my wife, the decision is easy. At the pivotal moment when Hans (Rickman) has the drop on McClane (Willis), Karen yelled at the TV, “Kill him! Shoot him now! Shoot him in the balls, then shoot him in the head, then kill his wife, too!”
Naturally, this made me think about all the other times when I really really wished the bad guy had snuffed the good guy. Here is my list of bad guys who should have prevailed.
(more…)
Free Jinger!
My hit counter went nuts today, thanks to the good folks at Television Without Pity’s Duggar Forum. The undoubtedly kind, lovely, and overflowing-with-awesome-taste Twissy recommended my post, Snape Hearts Michelle Duggar, and the TWP-people have been dropping by ever since. Oh, if only it would last.
In honor of the Duggar girls, AKA The Foodbringers, I’d like to post my recipe for dead easy and delicious strawberry shortcake. PBW, listen up — here’s your strawberry recipe!
Most strawberry shortcake recipes require you to make your own shortcake. Maybe I’ll try that one of these days, but for now, I prefer a compromise between DIY shortcake and those horrid spongy wonders they sell in the supermarket. I like to use SaraLee’s pound cake.
Here’s the version for PBW and my faithful readers:
Thirteen honeymoon memories
My sister saved the excessively long letter I wrote her about my honeymoon, and later gave it back to me. No way I would have remembered half this stuff!
Karen and I did Europe on the cheap in the winter of 1984 (back when Europeans liked us Americans). We rented a car in Brussels, and toodled around Belgium, France, Italy, Austria, and Germany for three weeks. Know what I remember most? Jet lag was a bitch.
Here’s Belgium and France. I’ll leave the rest for some other time.
Reversal of Fortune
Everyone recognizes that conflict and struggle are essential elements of any story, be it dramatic or humorous, and most books on writing craft also emphasize the desirability of change in the main character. Thus, a good story must feature a main character who changes as a result of his struggles.Which brings me to this guy:
Last night, before completely zonking out, Karen and I watched the opening to Tim Burton’s 1996 movie, Mars Attacks! The film follows the usual grand action movie pattern of introducing multiple characters who will, over time, change. Think about Poseidon Adventure, Airplane, Independence Day, or Starship Troopers.
Even though many of my books on craft emphasize that boring little pearl repeated above, few (one, IIRC) point out that the best kind of change is a reversal. The coward becomes the brave hero; the all-powerful criminal mastermind is revealed as a weakling; the cold and distant (though handsome) love interest becomes warm and lovable; the innocent loses his innocence, and the boy becomes a man. I would argue that reversal gives viewers/readers the most satisfying emotional experience.
Mars Attacks! provides a number of examples.
Eat my luscious brown balls
. . . which would be a much funnier title if I were something other than a Russian Jew, but hey, for all you know, I spent my Las Vegas vacation sunbathing in the buff.
Enough of that. Let’s talk meatballs. Here’s Marcella Hazan’s recipe, from her book, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, which I LOVE. Buy it. You won’t be disappointed.
What I learned on my Las Vegas vacation
A few surprising things, and a few kinda interesting items:
- Jake is a pretty good chess player. My brother (who is somewhere around Expert level) slaughtered him no worse than he usually slaughters me.
- Make your opponent tie down his pieces to the defense of pawns. (My bro did some teaching, too.)
- George Bush is in big trouble. My brother, a revivalist Christian from the heart of Orange County, no longer supports him. That tells me Bush’s base is seriously in deep shit.
- Jake and I learned to play Texas Hold ‘Em.
- We went to an Irish pub last night. I love black pudding.
- AOL sucks every bit as much as people say it does.
- There are indeed some fine restaurants in Vegas. Saturday night, we went to Ferraro’s, an upscale Italian restaurant. My mom and dad cleaned their plates (Jake and I were making jokes about them leaving tongue marks). Afterwards, my mom insisted, “I don’t like Italian food.”
- My son and I get along much better when we’re on vacation. I suspect work makes me grouchy. Go figure.
We’re flying home today. McCarren International Airport recommends we show up two hours prior to our flight. I hate to travel, but I do love coming home.
D.