MySpace, YourSpace, we all space for MySpace …
One thing (of many, I assure you) that I dislike about this site is its feeble ‘blogging’ system, in particular its refusal to give me a more ‘advanced’ editor … curiously, the most recent version of Firefox is not ‘recent’ or ‘advanced’ enough for them, which tells me that they’re probably focused on out-of-date and buggy versions of IE. But I digress.
I continue to post here.
I’m a bit like a crackhead or abused spouse in that way.
Music:
This won’t last, but for a while at least I’ll go “in order” through my music archive, and since that order is alphabetical-by-artist (followed by alphabetical-by-album), I am currently a few albums into AC/DC (midway through Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, in fact).
In 1996 I was given a copy of Ballbreaker, their newest at the time, by Andy Mac while in Marburg, and I became rather attached to track 7, Hail Caesar; while the band is known for juvenile sexual puns, and Ballbreaker had its share, there were a few interesting political references on the album as well. In particular I continue to hear The Furor as The Führer, and parts of Burnin’ Alive seem to comment upon Bill Clinton (“He came from a little town called Hope” and “and someday, maybe baby, he’ll inhale that smoke!”)
Baking:
It’s both amazing and scary how long a bag of carrots can last around here. In Berlin a week was the maximum, even in the fridge or on a dry, cool shelf, regardless of the season. I bought a bag several months ago and today got to the last orange sticks. I had placed them in the fridge long ago, and with the exception of one that had become a bit rubbery, all were solid and showed no significant discoloration. It makes one think about pesticides, preservatives, etc.
2.5-3 cups of shredded old carrots later I had the necessary ingredients for two loaves of carrot-nut bread. I had been using a 1-loaf recipe, but I found a nice 2-loafer that doubled some of the ingredients (1.5 to 3 cups of flour, for example) and only increased a few others (carrots, eggs) by about 50%. The addition of half a cup of milk is nice and provides moisture and texture.
2 cups grated carrots
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two medium loaf pans by greasing and dusting with flour or lining with parchment paper.
1. Grate and measure the carrots and set aside.
2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Whip the eggs together in a medium bowl. Stir the sugar in and then add the oil, extract, and milk.
4. Make a depression in the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture along with the carrots and nuts. Mix with a spatula until combined.
5. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until the loaves test done when a toothpick is inserted in the middle of the loaves. Remove the loaves from the pans and cool on wire racks.
Television:
Back to Buffy — I watched two episodes last night, which was fewer than the expected DVD or two. Spike has been neutered, so to speak. I got another episode or two of Good Eats and I sort of wonder why I missed out so long on this show (oh, wait, it’s because I don’t have cable, don’t really watch TV, and am more or less out-of-the-loop when it comes to pop culture or pop cuisine).
Movies:
I’ll head out with my brother and Sherie this evening to see Babel. One of my students this last semester was rather smitten with the movie as well but was really hoping for an Oscar for Scorsese. Regarding Babel, I like the director’s other films, so based on that I’m optimistic about at least liking it … I don’t need Oscar material or art here … entertainment is enough. I would love to see Pan’s Labyrinth (not yet in town, I think) as well as Children of Men, the trailer to which I saw months ago. Clive Owen, based on a PD James story, and directed by Alfonso Cuarón … that’s enough for me.
Books:
I’m still on House of Leaves but picked up two volumes yesterday afternoon around library-closing-time on my way out of the library … one on Aristotle’s Rhetoric and one on mimesis (and not Auerbach’s, which I already have in English). I have this temptation to return to often-enjoyed but low-quality favorites once I’m done with Danielewski … perhaps even Terry Brooks (the pleasure is entirely guilty, except perhaps regarding Elfstones … … even ore nostalgia value than the others, since I read it first and enjoyed it while listening to the Four Seasons over and over in the old living room on Charolais Drive).
News and Links:
Typo takes tourist 13,000 km out: “A 21-year-old German tourist who wanted to visit his girlfriend in the Australian metropolis Sydney landed 13,000 kilometers (8,077 miles) away near Sidney, Montana, after mistyping his destination on a flight booking Web site.” This is amazingly funny and sad at once, and the type of story (given its German[y]-related content) I would tell to students to remind them why spelling matters. The story, however, almost sounds too good to be true, urban legend material (though I was once tempted to buy a cheap ticket to Athens, until I realized that the website meant Athens, Georgia …)
Japan, Home of the Cute and Inbred Dog: “Rare dogs are highly prized here, and can set buyers back more than $10,000. But the real problem is what often arrives in the same litter: genetically defective sister and brother puppies born with missing paws or faces lacking eyes and a nose. There have been dogs with brain disorders so severe that they spent all day running in circles, and others with bones so frail they dissolved in their bodies.” We were experienced with more mild inbreeding disorders when I was young — Bigfoot had extra toes; his distant cousin Muffin was a psychotic calico, and Pooh, the youngest and last of that that line we adopted, was a buff-colored, rumpy manx.
SI.com put together a gallery of “NCAA Basketball Cheerleaders” and somehow managed to focus on Wisconsin. When I look back on my students over the years I’ve had a football player, a soccer player, frat boys and a frat vice-president, along with stoners, geeks and nerds of various sorts, ROTC guys (two in one class), older single mothers, freaky weird cat ladies, and grad students, but so far no cheerleaders. In high school and even middle school cheerleaders had a certain social status, but Pomona didn’t have them, and since I was never an undergrad here, I have no idea how they fit into things here on this campus. Just a random thought.
In other news there is a great page with links to lots of Neal Stephenson information and texts.
