- Was anyone else momentarily un-awed by the Opening Ceremonies enough to think (while Chinese soldiers did something with a flag): "Hey, this is an awful lot like watching those 1936 Olympics?" I'm not saying China is Nazi Germany, and I'm not saying their leader (I'm unable to remember his name and I don't feel like looking it up) is Hitler, per se. But....you know, just the spectacle of it struck me as vaguely...1936-esque. It was pretty, it was amazing--and it was doctored for our TVs. Like I said, something wasn't quite right.
- And while we're on the topic, I'm usually a big fan of the Olympics. I enjoy the sports, I enjoy the ceremony, and damn if I don't get choked up occasionally by the medal ceremonies. However. China does have an abysmal record on human rights. (Then again, like I said last night to Bob Costas and GWB last night--or rather, as I said at the TV--why the hell would the US care about human rights violations? You know, considering how well we're doing ourselves on that account.) And I've felt uneasy about eating up so whole-heartedly this somewhat shammy Olympic Games. It's obviously a very complicated political and diplomatic situation, but suffice it to say that I'm torn while watching.
- Ah, the bugs. Last night, I woke up with at least four more mosquito bites than I went to bed with, which is troubling. At least, I'm assuming they're mosquito bites. I'm still laboring under the impression that it's nothing in the bed, because Sam is happily unbitten every morning. On Saturday night, I went to a party at my Dad's, and he'd had the house professionally fogged for bugs, which, don't get me wrong, was awesome. Sam didn't get any bites. And he usually can count on a couple if we're outside without spray. But I did get bitten. 4 giant ones, and I swear to god, they're driving me crazy. Apparently even a professional bug fogging can't keep the bugs away from my ambrosial blood. I mean, I kind of knew it was worse than usual (this summer has been brutal; I can't ever remember a summer where I got so many bites that itched for so badly for so long), but this just proves it. I AM A BUG FEAST!
- I want to point your attention to the comment on that last post I wrote about John Edwards. Tim rightly points out that Elizabeth is just as culpable, and he's right. She is. She was involved in day one from his hubristic run for president, and should have known better. People might be letting her off the hook some, and I think that's fair too, only because she was a bit of a victim in this situation. She didn't do the cheating, he did. That said, I'm not quite sure that she didn't have some sort of obligation to try to stop the crash-bound train that would have been his presidential campaign. She's not guilt-free, that's for damn sure. However, let's be clear that HE was the one who put her in a situation that was unfair, and ugly as hell. Was she going to leave him? A sick woman with two young kids? Was she going to not support him if he went over her head and ran anyway? Was she going to out the affair to the press? One thing I think we have to look at with John Edwards here is that he obviously didn't have very much regard for his wife, if he was willing to cheat on her. So whether or not he would have listened had she cautioned, I'm not sure. All I'm saying is, yes, she's definitely not without blame here. But I don't think it's fair to excoriate her as much as him.
- Brett Favre is a Jet. Thank god football press can get back to making sure I draft the right players. And I think it was going to be the Jets all along, because clearly Brett Favre realizes he looks best in green. (Ha ha, just kidding.)
- When cooking with sour cream, it is best to follow the directions and cool the sauce down before adding it. Sour cream DOES curdle, and it will curdle at even what seems like a low heat. It's not that curdled sour cream tastes bad, but oh doggy, the texture is disgusting. Oddly enough, it did reheat better today for lunch. It was still curdled, but less....noticeable. Not that I'll ever make this recipe again (Sam would not eat it, and those are one-offers for me.), but now I know.
- What's up, Chicago drivers? Stop being total douchebags and beeping at me for not turning INTO WALKING PEDESTRIANS WHO HAVE A WALK SIGN. I'm no namby-pamby when it comes to driving fast or hard, but I'm going to go ahead and draw the line AT HITTING PEDESTRIANS. So keep your beep and leave me alone. I promise I'll go as soon as those horrible people who decided to walk around a big city get out of the middle of the road. Most of the time, Chicago drivers, we see eye-to-eye. I understand your hurry; I have it too. It's a Chicago thing. But your intense bloodlust leaves me confused. I'm not killing people so you can get home faster. That is all.
UPDATED:
- Ok, if I spot something cheap and intriguing at the Green Market, I'll buy it. I like to try new veggies. This past Saturday, while buying a new variety of red onion (Tropea, very good, but very strong), some jalapenos (for a recipe, as was the onion) and some heirloom tomatoes, I did a quick round of the cucumbers. I adore cucumbers, especially with lime and salt. My mouth waters just thinking about it. Last year, I bought a yellow lemon cucumber, which was okay, I guess. Nothing special. So anyway, this past Saturday I spied an orange sort of...rough looking specimen, and I just had to have it. It was 50¢, which I think is a bargain, especially because it was the best cucumber I've ever eaten. So crisp and cool and...sweet? And green inside! That was a surprise. But seriously, it was soooo good. I don't remember the name, only that it was an Indian variety. If you ever see an orange cucumber with an Indian name, BUY IT. If you like cucumbers, I promise you will like it.
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