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United States, North Carolina, Carrboro, English, Paul, Male, 56-60, All Music, All Food.

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Monday, February 17, 2003

Just another page 4 story: (CBS) North Korea threatened on Tuesday to abandon the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War, accusing the United States of plotting a pre-emptive attack on the communist state. Safely buried, we can ignore it and make it go away. Poof! 9:01:53 PM    comment []

The Matthew Broderick memory inspired by The Music Man brought back a very funny incident involving a bunch of infantile beer-drinkers (sadly, I was among them) at another now closed Chapel Hill restaurant. Dean Smith would come in often on Sunday evenings for a couple carry-out orders of calabash. The house rule, strictly enforced by the owner, was that nobody was to ever say anything to the coach, not if they ever wanted to sip a $1.25 Bud in his joint again. Ignore him. Don't even look at him. Let him have his space. We all respected that. When the coach came in, nobody said anything. Not a peep. One night, we were kinda watching Down and Out in Beverly Hills on network TV when the coach walked in. He placed his order at the register, as usual, and stood there waiting for it as the kitchen kicked into their overdrive "It's for Dean Smith" gear, as usual. Then "D", a troublemaker if there ever was one, suddenly bursts out in this 120-decibel baritone..."HEY...lookie there...isn't that..." The previous hush, in a natural reaction, became total shock. We hunkered down and tried to pretend we hadn't heard it. Deano eyed the bar nervously. "...Nick Nolte?" says "D", completing his sentence by pointing at the TV. Lotsa conspiratorial giggles and beer-chokes, but we all looked at the TV. At the register, the coach turned and looked out the door. Then, while his back was turned, "M" stood up and began waving her arms frantically, like she was waving to someone departing on a plane. The coach turned around again, looking at the bar. "M" froze instantly into the model of adult seriousness. We all looked at Nick Nolte on the tube and suppressed more giggles. After a while, the coach turned his back again. As if on cue, everybody at the bar jumped up, making hideous happy faces, eyeballs wide, waving frantically, jumping hysterically, like a mime troupe on speed. Slowly, he turned around again, and we all froze into an instant adult glacier at the bar. You're never too old to be back in the 7th grade. 3:29:09 PM    comment []

Today, Gloria is a bit more cooperative for the camera, almost exhibitionist. Yesterday her cap was about 3/4-inch in diameter, today it's about an inch an a quarter. Her entourage has grown as well, in numbers and size. Think I'll get her out of there qnd have her raw on a crispy salad, after another day or so. My idea is that the real estate she occupies might be put to better use by the more evenly matched babies. They can grow together to a nice size, without Gloria hogging all the space. Democracy, an even playing field in a free market, no more monarchies.   2:53:21 PM    comment []

Lynne Rossetto Kasper did indeed chat about deep-fried banana dessert coated with caramel and black sesame seeds. A google on '"fried banana" and "sesame" nailed it, posted on What's Cookin', by an unregistered user named beachbibi. It doesn't say how many sesame seeds. (edit: now it does, I found another recipe) This is what you were looking for....the asian style fried banana that you dip in ice water to make the sugar crystalize! Chinese Toffee Bananas 1 egg (185 ml) (6 fl oz) (3/4 cup) cold water (125 g) (4 oz) (1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour peanut oil for deep frying 4 firm ripe bananas 1-2 teaspoons black sesame seeds  Sugar Glaze (375 g) (12 oz) (1 1/2 cups) sugar (125 ml) (4 oz) (1/2 cup) cold water Beat egg, add water and beat again, then add flour all at once and beat until smooth. Let batter stand while making glaze. (To make the glaze, heat sugar and water in a small heavy pan, without stirring, until golden. Add the sesame seeds, remove from heat.) Start heating oil for deep frying, as the success of this sweet depends on having the glaze ready and the oil hot enough at the same time! Slice bananas thickly, dip into batter to coat, then take one piece at a time and drop into the oil. Do not crowd the pan or they will stick together. If the temperature of the oil drops too much the batter will be heavy and absorb too much oil. As soon as each piece of banana in batter is golden, lift out with a slotted spoon and put immediately into the saucepan with the glaze, turning to coat all over. Lift out and drop into a bowl containing cold water and ice cubes. The glaze will harden and become brittle almost at once. Lift out quickly onto a platter which has been lightly oiled to prevent sticking. Serve as soon as possible, while sugar is brittle and batter crisp 1:43:44 PM    comment []

Fisking the BBC People who claim to have been kidnapped by aliens have a tendency to believe in fantasies and suffer disturbing experiences in their sleep, scientists have found. But the researchers say "abductees" also believe in their experiences so deeply that they display real stress symptoms similar to those of traumatised battlefield veterans. Vern awoke with a start, as usual. That dream critter with the orange flashing eyeball on a long stem was the worst of all the night creatures. The scurrying purple paramecium at his ankles directed his steps to the crusty coffee pot. There was a smell of urine in the air and not much light. Joe DiMaggio sat atop the coffee maker, resting his chin in his palm, with a bright yellow "56" overlaid on his forehead. Vern measured the coffee carefully, immediately discarding any coffee that failed intense visual inspection. The latest research on the "taken" phenomenon was unveiled at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Denver. "This underscores the power of emotional belief," Professor Richard McNally, from Harvard University, told the BBC. The coffee pot erupted with a volcanic rumble as a black-and-white King Kong gleefully tossed natives from the cliffs. It would be many hours until the sunrise. Perhaps it would never happen. Outside, a distant siren interjected its voice into the quiet cacophony. Vern lit a Doral Light, and coughed. "I've had several encounters with alien craft and I've had an alien implant removed from my body." He said to the purple paramecium   "If you genuinely believe you've been traumatised and recall these memories, you'll show the same psycho-physiologic emotional reactions as people who really have been traumatised." Vern coughed again. Then again, and began to retch. The first sip of coffee had troubled the alien microbes lining his throat. They had broadcast a high frequency radio alert to the dogs outside, who relayed it with howls to the camouflaged ships that were constantly overhead. It took energy. His throat was sore. He lay down on the sofa and covered his head with the blanket. Beacon lights began to flash, and he smiled to himself. The beacons were friendly. A group of abductees told the BBC about their experiences on Saturday. One of them said: "I've had several encounters with alien craft and I've had an alien implant removed from my body." New-age beliefs It was typical of the stories they all had to relate. It is thought there are about four million Americans who believe they have been abducted by extraterrestrials. The beacons became brighter. The television came on by itself. A fog horn sounded as his command ship crashed into the Golden Gate Bridge. The fish in the aquarium stared at him. Some of them left the water and began flying in lazy circles over his head, like vultures sensing a dying creature. In the kitchen, King Kong was arm-wrestling Joe DiMaggio, while Hitler danced with Elvis, and suddenly kissed him on the lips. Awake again. Damn it. Scientists believe this clearly is not true, so why do abductees believe they have been taken? Professor McNally has found that many of them share personality traits and sleep disorders. "Most of them had pre-existing new-age beliefs - they were into bio-energetic therapies, past lives, astral projection, tarot cards, and so on," he said. The talisman on the mantle suddenly farted loudly. The tarot cards arose from the sleeping deck and attacked the carrion-crazed fish, shooting them down like Zeroes in the rising fog of piss and coffee. King Kong coughed, and began to retch. He wanted to lay down on the sofa and cover his head. "Second, they have episodes of apparent sleep paralysis accompanied by hallucinations." Lab experiments These frightening experiences usually prompted the individuals to visit therapists, who would frequently suggest alien abduction as a cause - an explanation which the abductees readily accepted, he said. The door burst open. It was Wayne Newton - with a whole box of fireworks! A line of chorus girls marched in, kicking as high as their chins, their thighs shimmering in the light of the television. Here's Ed Sullivan! A REALLY BIG Shew...The Beatles, Senor Wences, Topo Gigio, Elvis, Johnny Mathis, and the world champion New York Giants! Peter Tosh in a cloud of spliffy smoke. Dale Earnhardt, sideways, on a go-cart. Vanessa Williams. Here's....Johnny. My fallow Americans...and food! Lots of cupcakes with sparkler candles, on silver platters,carried in by still more kicking Rockettes.  A pizza, 30 feet across topped with suckling piglets. Anthony Quinn in an igloo. Commandos with barking walkie-talkies. Walter Cronkite! Chiquita the banana! Professor McNally has come up with a rational explanation of alien abduction experiences which was endorsed by other psychologists in Denver. He said the individuals conformed to a "common recipe". But the researcher stressed that many of the people really did believe what they were saying. In laboratory experiments, individuals were asked to relate their experiences. These stories were played back to them and their physical responses recorded. "When a Vietnam vet has his experiences played back to him in the lab of some combat event, his heart rate goes up and you see an increase in sweating. If you don't have post-traumatic stress disorder, you don't react that way. "The heart-rate responses and sweating responses were at least as great in the alien abductees when they heard their memories of being taken and molested by space aliens and subjected to experiments as those of people with genuine traumatic events."   5:12:33 AM    comment []

Iced Magnolia Second time this winter. Not as bad as the last. These icy coatings take their toll, but when spring comes so will the blooms. 3:48:57 AM    comment []