Thinking...

Back when I started this, this was my foodie-blog. In the great blog consolidation effort of 2007, this became the "everything blog"

Lately, I've been cheating on the consolidation effort, and have been dribbling out bits into the old blogstreams.

But I got to thinking a bit tonight, and I've not yet shaken an idea. There are plenty of blogs about frugality. There are plenty of blogs about food. There is a subset that focuses on frugality on food quite admirably.

But there's also a lot of talk about quickly-inflating food prices, and after reading a few articles about dishes borne of necessity being served as "cultural luxury", I'm hung up over the idea of "Why would a meal that originated in making-do with scraps, or originated out of a culture of famine, demand a price here suggesting a gourmet palliate?"

I'm thinking a lot about that "making-do" ethic. I'm also thinking a lot about the "processed foods" being significantly cheaper than the real thing. My current inclination involves a lot of "Good job, marketing, you keep finding a way to sell us 'processed food products' that would have otherwise been tossed."

Sorry, I'm all over the place on this issue right now, but humor me for a while as I sort out some of these thoughts.

Hrm...

“This bridge will only take you halfway there, to those mysterious lands you long to see. Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fair, and moonlit woods where unicorns run free. So come and walk awhile with me and share the twisting trails and wonderous worlds Ive known. But this bridge will only take you halfway there. The last few steps you have to take alone.”

-Shel Silverstein.

Oh, where'd I leave my Apple ][e emulator?

I know. I'm a dork. I still think about computer games I played 20 years ago and how I wish I had finished them.

But I've got fond memories of my childhood playing games like this on lazy summer days, up until the afternoon thunderstorm would roll in and I'd have to unplug the computer.

Tex Avery's Television of Tomorrow

(found via BoingBoing)

Zero Punctuation vs. Everyone

Reverse Polarity

A return of mindless link propogation.

• How to behave on an internet forum


• More. Sleep. Now.


• Phone noise.

Can't...stop...must....warn.....others!

Yes. I like my foodstuffs to be suicidal

Come get some.

Well, I did vow not to grow up.

Today's new "non-employee" badge photo at a subcontractor.

Wonder.

*comes up for air*

Oh, right. People read this. Forgot. Yow.

It was a crazy weekend, starting early with valentine's day, and somewhere in the maelstrom of cooking, nerdery, affection, and whatnot, I got lost in it.

In a good way, you know.

Oh, sure, I could go into detail, but we all know that people in love are just the worst

Oh yeah, Valentine's day.

It was a good time.

Turns out we both had a craftiness urge. Then I made dinner (a ham/cheddar/artichoke heart fritatta and a spinach salad with citrus dressing. Excepting the processing that makes black forest ham, aged cheddar, or marinated artichoke hearts, built from the ground up)

Watched some Doctor Who, because we are both nerdy like that. But there's something awesome to be said about watching British Sci-Fi cuddled up to someone you really care about. Try it, you'll see.

And just for photographic evidence, our British Sci-Fi regimen was better cataloged tonight, so as a visual aid...

This would be the girl, enjoying a cup of tea while watching Doctor Who:

This would be me, also enjoying Doctor Who, as well as the incredible company:

Taken from taken from

Taken from Warren Ellis's blog, which was...

Taken from Harlan Ellison’s online community, reproduced in its unedited entirety below:

HARLAN ELLISON ON THE WRITERS STRIKE SETTLEMENT

YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO RE-POST THIS ANYWHERE:

Creds: got here in 1962, written for just about everybody, won the Writers Guild Award four times for solo work, sat on the WGAw Board twice, worked on negotiating committees, and was out on the picket lines with my NICK COUNTER SLEEPS WITH THE FISHE$$$ sign. You may have heard my name. I am a Union guy, I am a Guild guy, I am loyal. I fuckin’ LOVE the Guild.

And I voted NO on accepting this deal.

My reasons are good, and they are plentiful; Patric Verrone will be saddened by what I am about to say; long-time friends will shake their heads; but this I say without equivocation…

THEY BEAT US LIKE A YELLOW DOG. IT IS A SHIT DEAL. We finally got a timorous generation that has never had to strike, to get their asses out there, and we had to put up with the usual cowardly spineless babbling horse’s asses who kept mumbling “lessgo bac’ta work” over and over, as if it would make them one iota a better writer. But after months on the line, and them finally bouncing that pus-sucking dipthong Nick Counter, we rushed headlong into a shabby, scabrous, underfed shovelfulla shit clutched to the affections of toss-in-the-towel summer soldiers trembling before the Awe of the Alliance.

My Guild did what it did in 1988. It trembled and sold us out. It gave away the EXACT co-terminus expiration date with SAG for some bullshit short-line substitute; it got us no more control of our words; it sneak-abandoned the animator and reality beanfield hands before anyone even forced it on them; it made nice so no one would think we were meanies; it let the Alliance play us like the village idiot. The WGAw folded like a Texaco Road Map from back in the day.

And I am ashamed of this Guild, as I was when Shavelson was the prexy, and we wasted our efforts and lost out on technology that we had to strike for THIS time. 17 days of streaming tv!!!????? Geezus, you bleating wimps, why not just turn over your old granny for gang-rape?

You deserve all the opprobrium you get. While this nutty festschrift of demented pleasure at being allowed to go back to work in the rice paddy is filling your cowardly hearts with joy and relief that the grips and the staff at the Ivy and street sweepers won’t be saying nasty shit behind your back, remember this:

You are their bitches. They outslugged you, outthought you, outmaneuvered you; and in the end you ripped off your pants, painted yer asses blue, and said yes sir, may I have another.

Please excuse my temerity. I’m just a sad old man who has fallen among Quislings, Turncoats, Hacks and Cowards.

I must go now to whoops. My gorge has become buoyant.

Respectfully, Yr. Pal, Harlan Ellison

###

A joke I'm supposed to tell the girl

What's the difference between a woman taking a bath and a nun?

The nun has hope in her soul.

What Would Jesus Do For A Klondike Bar?

Ok, I usually don't speak up much about religion, as there are already plenty of people in the world that would.

But, I find some amusement in this article

And by "amusement", I mean "WTF?!? Why can't a good idea be a good idea and why can't people follow their own beliefs so long as they don't tread upon the opportunity for others to do their own thing?"

Disclaimer: I am not muslim, anglican, nor british, so maybe I just don't get it.

-transiit

Hey kids!

Learn about steampunk the NPR way!

-transiit

A Question.

Have any of you tried the idea of taking stock at the end of the day not based on your mood, but on the things that you accumulated? I don't mean stuff you bought, but things like the detritus from your pockets, or a lingering taste on your breath, or a scent that you picked up, or just reflecting upon something you saw?

I've been trying this, and I find it's an interesting experience. I find that it's easier to remember good things that have happened, and forget some of the hassles.

Currently sniffing the back of my right hand,

transiit

Assassins.

Had a brief talk with the girl about some of the confusion and unrest. I think we understand each other better now.

And then we passed up the chance to go see the Professional Bullriders Association event at the Honda Center (I feared any novelty would wear off quickly, and then we'd be stuck in a crowd of people that weren't in it for the novelty.) and instead went and saw a play. A musical, in fact.

(yes. I know. We've all heard what I think of musicals. This wasn't so bad.)

So, yeah, consider going and seeing "Assassins" at the Chance Theater in anaheim. Info here

New New Media Comedy.

The sad and lonely tale of Revver

Stress: All the small things.

I won't claim that I'm immune to the impact of major life events, but more commonly it's when all the little things start piling up and accumulating that it gets me down.

So here I am, somewhere beneath a mountain of things that need to get down within the next couple months, trying to put out fires where I can, and counting up the looming deadlines, the traffic ticket, the jury duty, the trip I'm taking in march, this, that, those other things.

And to make it extra special, I got the bright idea to choose now to quit smoking. Blech.

This, too, shall pass.

The Girl is having a rough time right now, and I don't know of anything I can do to make things easier for her. Those of you that have known me for a time will recognize that this is the sort of thing that burrows into my brain. Patience.

So that's where I've been.

-transiit

Dammit!

I almost made it.

Didn't watch the superbowl, didn't care, didn't even know what teams were playing.

And then Pilot went and fucked it all up. Bastard.

-transiit

(first superbowl-free conversation year next year, even if I have to go into hiding for six weeks.)