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

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Thursday, April 03, 2003

Due to budget constraints, "Peasant Night" came a day early this week. Unlike the economic genii granfallooning around our political power center, I am unable to grasp the concept that spending more money on fireworks to piss off my neighbors while cutting my own income and running it up on VISA to pay off when I'm even poorer will insure my long term financial success. The dismal science just depresses me. So, I'm cooking leftovers. Now I am happy because I just discovered that I can pick up a thoroughly saturated ham hock with my Chef Wizard tongs and turn it over easily in the last of the leftover mayocoba beans. That's a hefty lift for a pair of tongs that look as flimsy as a wisk. They are substantial. 8:09:20 PM    comment []

Feeding A Monster Just visited runswithscissors and noticed the "links -- doorways to entertainment & personal growth or blatant timewasters" links arranged pretty much by length, not alphabetically. Visually, nice! A brief examination of those links gave me evidence to believe that Disturbing Search Requests was the most suited for my palate du jour. We're living in a movie, I decided. After viewing some of the requests it became apparent that more of this craziness is exactly what the doctor advised. Time for a couple faux search requests from Mr. Google: My grandmother ate wool My big toe attacks me   7:43:56 PM    comment []

Name the speaker! Who do you think would say this? Following the 9/11 tragedy at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the entire world was united in sympathy and support for America. But thanks to the arrogant unilateralism, the bullying and the clumsy, unimaginative diplomacy of Washington, Bush converted a world of support into a world united against us, with the exception of Tony Blair and one or two others. My fellow South Dakotan, Tom Daschle, the US Senate Democratic leader, has well described the collapse of American diplomacy during the Bush Administration. For this he has been savaged by the Bush propaganda machine. For their part, the House of Representatives has censured the French by changing the name of french fries on the house dining room menu to freedom fries. Does this mean our almost sacred Statue of Liberty--a gift from France--will now have to be demolished? And will we have to give up the French kiss? What a cruel blow to romance. Here's the answer. Surprised? Well, so far it has been a week of many surprises. 5:12:05 PM    comment []

Older brother 'Ove' Glove cradles the newly-arrived Chef Wizard twins, I mean tongs. You can tell when he's happy because he wags his tail. When he's depressed or frightened, he hides it between his legs like a puppy. The little black rectangle on the upper pair of tongs is a sliding lock to hold them closed. That's a feature that Kuhn Rikon advertises as "patented one-handed locking action." Their tongs sell for $18 to $25 a pair. They look very ritzy. The Chef Wizard tongs are about $20 (including S&H), look cheesy and take 8 weeks to arrive. I can't ever imagine needing two pairs of tongs at the same time, so I'm giving a pair to Liz. Buyer's Remorse? None, now that they're here. However, if I ever wanted a pair of tongs to wear as a fashion accessory, the Kuhn Rikon ones win hands-down. 'Ove' Glove wonders how much heat they can take. So do I. The single page user's manual (thumbnail pictures of Whisk, Serve, Strain, and Grip) says this: Your Chef Wizard is made with 100% dishwasher safe materials. Chef Wizard is not intended for use in the microwave, and should not come into contact with open flame, stove elements, or prolonged periods in the oven. 'Ove' Glove smiled and wagged his tail again. I smiled too, imagining 'Ove' Glove grabbing the tongs to pull a hot potato out of the oven. Then I put on 'Ove' Glove and pisked up a raw Russet. Not bad, but I couldn't lock the tongs. I removed 'Ove' and put him back on the counter. He hid his tail. I tried to lock the tongs around the potato with improved dexterity. I couldn't. I tried to lock on something smaller, the famous "medium onion." Success. Looks like it's possible on objects up to a little over two inches in diameter and even then I'm not certain the the plastic lock is designed to handle the stress. That's okay, I can't imagine needing to lock when I have an opposing thumb to keep the handles closed. 4:37:32 PM    comment []

Van Gogh Potato Blossom Origin & Breeding: bred by Kweekbedrijf Ropta - Z.P.C. from the cross (ZPC C 239 x Gloria) in Leeuwarden (The Netherlands) in 1976    5:10:42 AM    comment []

If a writer used the timing of a death like this one in a novel, his editor would say no. But it has really happened, Edwin Starr has died as the battle of Baghdad begins. Reader Rahul posted this at the BBC site: "It's a bitter irony that the man who wrote the words "War what is a good for, absolutely nothing" should die at a time when the majority of the world is repeating his very words." The complete lyrics to War are here. Expect to hear a lot of this tune on your local Clear Channel station the next few days in tribute to Mr. Starr. 4:41:34 AM    comment []