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

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Saturday, May 07, 2005

3:43:45 PM    comment []

Poorly Kneaded Dough   Exactly what I wanted. The dough hook on the KitchenAid is a modern miracle, allowing bread making to become as easy as it can get without a machine. I have nothing against the machines, with the little holes they make in the bottom of the loaf, I just prefer to make my own loaves and there is no need for one. The KitchenAid does all the kneading except the last few flops, but it mixes so well that it robs the dough of character – replacing it with consistency. Perfect tiny air bubbles spread evenly through the loaf is nice, but since I went to all the trouble of making a sourdough starter a while back I want loaves that that look homemade, “artisanal” even if you don’t mind hearing the current foodie buzz. I think it means that you pay nearly anal retentive attention to detail so, in the end, it looks like something you just threw together in an under stocked country kitchen. Reverse chic.   The sourdough is behaving better these, unlike the first couple of weeks when it chewed up gluten like a hungry bear, leaving dough with no body, dough that wanted to be a pancake. It doesn’t do that anymore. This hand kneaded batch doubled, with the help of some fast-acting yeast, in just under two hours and didn’t go flat in the process. I’ll post a picture of the finished product later.   Meanwhile, I’ve fired up the smoker again to make Canadian bacon from the remaining half of the pork loin. If you checked in here a couple of weeks ago, you’ll know that the first half became the centerpiece of a shinkenspeck. That’s hanging from the shower rod again, drying out slowly. I keep it at room temperature a couple of days and then move it to the refrigerator for a couple, where the lower humidity helps form the outer surface on the pork belly wrap. When it cools or warms up, the process begins on the outer surface, of course, and the warm temperature/cool temperature cycle helps promote a wicking action to equalize moisture throughout.   Last night, I went to the grocery for cat food. When I came out, I saw some down on his luck guy rummaging through the bushes. I tried not to make eye contact, but as I was putting groceries in the trunk he came up behind me and struck up a conversation. I answer minimally, trying to remember to shake my head back and forth instead of up and down. Finally, he blurts out, “I was wondering if I could get a cigarette.” Easy. “I don’t smoke,” I answer waiting for the move, asking for some money. He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a yellow card with black printing, the sort of thing you sometimes see beggars show you to prove that they are certified, real beggars, not just some stranger asking you for money. Sometimes they say that they are deaf mutes, which is a good time to answer them in universal sign language. Anyway, this guy didn’t hand me his credentials, he just waves it around a bit and says, “I’m an alcoholic…”   “Cool,” I say, “so am I.”   He laughs and extends his hand. I am reluctant, but finally grin and shake it. “Tell, you what, I’ll give you a beer.” I reach into the trunk and pull out a cold Beck’s that I’d just purchased. “This doesn’t twist off,” he says. “Nope, and I don’t have an opener.”   As I drove off, I saw him struggling with the bottle, still kinda stuck on the twisting algorithm. I hope he figured something out.     2:10:17 PM    comment []

Good And Evil   Caught you walkin' like a gangster Saw you grabbin' the controls Now you're almost outta batteries You gottta sweater much too small   Pokin' at your navel Pointin' your finger too You say your lips don't even stick together When the dust comes up Blowin' 'cross the plains Pictures are fallin' in and outta their frames!   Singing : good and evil, good and evil They turn 'em loose and they turn into people   Singing : good and evil, good and evil They turn 'em loose and they turn into people             - lyrics by David Byrne   Nearly two years ago (04 August 2003), Jim Lobe wrote an article on John Bolton for Inter Press Service. It begins with this unusual endorsement of Bolton: To former ultra-right U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, he is "the kind of man with whom I would want to stand at Armageddon, if it should be my lot to be on hand for what is forecast to be the final battle between good and evil in this world." Yes, the perfect ambassador for the UN. Please note that Jesse did not specify which side of this epic battle he was aligning with, but I hope it’s safe to assume he meant the home team, the “good” one, the one the folks cheerleading creationism in Kansas say is destined to win, though I haven’t seen the Vegas odds. But before we get to that battle, we have to endure an even more noxious one – the one for Bolton’s confirmation. When we left off, you might remember, Ohio senator George Voinovich halted the proceedings by uttering these words: "I've heard enough today that I don't feel comfortable about voting for Mr. Bolton." A twinge of conscience! – totally unacceptable in Republican ranks. Once you start down that slippery slope, next thing you know, there will be Republican artists, interior decorators, poets, and – God forbid! – Republicans who like to sing show tunes! We don’t need senators who have consciences, senators who think for themselves; what we need is people like Lynndie England who just follow orders. President Bush expressed his support for such people in Iraq just last week: "But Iraq has—have got people there that are willing to kill, and they're hard-nosed killers. And we will work with the Iraqis to secure their future." That’s right; people who show no mercy will be the ultimate winners. Move America Forward knows the drill, immediately disinterring Harry and Louise to utter classically understated dialogue worthy of George Romero: Wife:  Honey, were you watching C-SPAN today?  Did you hear how disloyal Senator Voinovich was to Republicans and President Bush?  Voinovich stood with the Democrats and refused to vote for John Bolton, the man President Bush has chosen to fight for the United States at the UN Husband:  No, I was streaming it on the Internet at the office, but from what I could tell, Senator Voinovich played hookey from the hearings? Wife:  Yeah that’s right.  He’s missed most of the Bolton confirmation hearings, but then shows up at the last minute and stabs the President and Republicans right in the back. Right in the back! Holy shit! He tried to assassinate the President! That’s what you get for having doubts, you son of a Voinovich! Get with the goose step or get off the parade grounds. This will undoubtedly encourage other Republicans with doubts to have the courage of the President’s convictions, securing Bolton's nomination. Back to the 2003 article, tell ‘em what they’re getting, Jim: North Korea, which last week agreed to engage in multilateral talks with its Northeast Asian neighbors and the United States on its controversial nuclear program, announced Sunday that it will have nothing to do with Bolton and will not even recognize his status as a U.S. diplomat. The highly unusual statement was reportedly provoked by a speech given by Bolton in Seoul last week excerpts of which were reprinted on the highly sympathetic editorial pages of the Asian Wall Street Journal Friday, in which the undersecretary, who ranks fourth in the State Department hierarchy, described life in North Korea as a "hellish nightmare" and accused Pyongyang's leader, Kim Jong Il," of being a "dictator" or running a "dictatorship" or "tyranny" no less than a dozen times. Some U.S. and Asian analysts indicated last week that Bolton, who has made no secret of his belief that Washington should pursue "regime change" in Pyongyang rather than a new agreement on its de-nuclearization, may have intended to use the speech to provoke Kim into rejecting the forthcoming meeting. Cheney and the Pentagon have long been skeptical of any negotiation with North Korea. Bolton personally sabotaged those talks, in defiance of the State Department mission - which was to engage. Now lets fast forward to today and see what Kim Jong Il has been up to in the meantime: WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. intelligence community is monitoring what appears to be preparations by North Korea to conduct a nuclear test, a Defense Department official told CNN Friday. But the official strongly emphasized that it is unclear whether the activity is real or deceptive.   The truth, boys and girls, is that there are limitations to governing by fear. It is human nature to rebel and defend oneself, just like you once had to stand up to the school bully. Kim Jong Il sees Bolton not only as “human scum and bloodsucker,” but also as a threat that demands a response. His response is quite simple – build a nuke and nobody will dare attack him. A few years ago, “officials” would wave off the idea that the “good” USA would use nuclear weapons again and some probably still do that wave off move reflexively. But a few years ago, nearly everybody would wave off the idea that the USA would fabricate lies as an excuse to invade another country or that we would engage in systematic torture of prisoners. Kim Jong Il, along with many others, has noticed the transformation.   It is no coincidence that this nuclear test coincides with Bolton’s confirmation.   9:24:41 AM    comment []