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

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Friday, November 19, 2004

Shot Across The Bow   The membrillo arrived today, in an ice packed Styrofoam box to protect the cheese. Kinda looks like an ancient tome, no? – Maybe the Sargasso Manuscript. It is from Spain, in a classy wooden box. Like salted herring. It was the only exotic ingredient not on hand and now it’s here. Thank Tienda.   The dough for the flatbread is resting in the fridge. Recipe said to start the yeast in warm milk and honey and throw that away and start over if it ain’t bubbling in 5 minutes. Fools!   Like a fool, I tried that and it didn’t get bubbly but I didn’t throw it away. Both milk and honey are yeast inhibitors and Gourmet should have known that. You have to scald the milk if you want to start the yeast within it. That would have worked.   I rescued the starter by sprinkling more yeast atop the failed mixture and sprinkling sugar on that to give it a running start. I also added dried yeast to the flour mixture for insurance. And some water so the little fuckers could have some breathing room. The rye/white flour & onion dough is resting in the fridge overnight to develop a little Moxie.   Ample warning. I’ll follow my instinct on the remainder of the Gourmet recipes and ignore their MBA advice.     6:55:05 PM    comment []

Hey, get this!   The US military says this may be the most important find yet - a house that appears to have been a headquarters for fighters loyal to Al Qaeda-linked militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Inside, Saddam Hussein friendship certificates, balaclavas often worn by insurgents in videos. And on the wall, the words "Al Qaeda organisation" in Arabic.   That pretty much sews it up, doesn’t it?? Kinda like those red crates with “EXPLOSIVES!” stenciled on them that you see in some movies. It don’t take Einstein to predict something’s gonna blow up. And those “Saddam Hussein friendship certificates,” were they all in a box and why didn’t anybody take any with them? Were they from him or to him, you know, like valentines?   Oh, and surely nobody but a hardened terrorist would ever wear a balaclava. Piece all this evidence together and you’ve got a fairly strong case we've captured the headquarters for “fighters loyal to Al Qaeda-linked militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.” A bit of a comedown from this morning’s story that it was Zarqawi’s headquarters, but it’s still one helluva story!   Hmmm…reading FGAQ last week, I learned that the Fallujah operation was initially codenamed “Phantom Fury” and Mark provided pictures of The Phantom wearing a…sit down now…balaclava! Do you suppose they’ve stumbled onto The Phantom’s secret lair? Wouldn't that be something!   UPDATE: Colin Powell has reported seeing a picture of a red crate in Iran with “NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVES” stenciled on it! Holy Holocaust, Robin! Is that Wile E. Coyote lurking in the background over there, sipping chai kurdi with Ahmed Chalabi?   3:30:24 PM    comment []

An End To Fox Hunts In UK!   But cricket will still be allowed. One incredibly silly sport should be plenty for a country the size of England and those grown men who spent small fortunes on silly hats and red jackets can now become cross-dressers, like Eddie Izzard. Still, what’s good news for the foxes may be bad news for the dogs: Huntsmen first started breeding hounds for foxhunting in the early 1660s. Today at least half a million people are either directly or indirectly involved in the 350 hunts across the country. At least 1,000 are employed directly by hunts and the industry is worth £14.9 million a year. Up to 8,000 people could lose their jobs and up to 25,000 hounds may be put down. That’s a little harsh. Those 8,000 people should be happy they’re only losing their jobs.   5:36:13 AM    comment []