SOSDD

I found this blog post today via The Center for Improved Living. It's written by a soldier in Iraq who when answering the May 24th question for the day "What do you REALLY want to do today? "over at CFIL, replied "I wish I could be home eating ice cream with my wife and daughter...I'm sick of Iraq."

Two Women (55 - 60 years)

8/1/03

Overheard conversation in a cafe in Palo Alto:

A: I saw that play - Homebody/Kabul just before I left.
B: What did you think of it?
A: I didn't- I didn't think it was successful.
B: But they go to Afghanistan- This woman?
A: Right. You never know whether she dies or disappears or...you know, pulls a Kurtz.
B: Arrogant, naive Westerners flying themselves headlong into something they know nothing about.
A: Reminded me of a Paul Bowles novel. The Sheltering Sky? But I have to tell you about the play. Well- it was nearly four hours long! If you're Shakespeare-
B: Or Mozart-
A: Right. Anybody else- forget it. You don't get to write four hour plays. I mean I see that thing and------I just don't know what to do with this world. We didn't go into WWII until we were smashed in the face with Pearl Harbor- Why the sudden? I mean it's disturbing to think of our government talking about attacking another country when nothing has happened to us.
B: It's just a case of what's good for Mitsubishi is good for the world.
A: The war on terrorism is being run by all the people who benefit from oil.
B: You know the American Revolution wasn't fought for freedom but because of economics.
A: (audible gasp)
B: Well it's true.
A: I won't buy anything from China. They're all slaves.
B: The bottom line is RCA can go up to a third party and say how much can you make these tv's for? How much can you make this VCR for? We can get it for cheaper. We don't want to know who made it or where it comes from because it's costing us less. We can pass the savings on to the consumer. Right?

Sex Pistols Live in San Francisco

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3: Contains the infamous "ever get the feeling that you've been cheated" line.

Broccoli Quiche

Since our third child was born last month, I've been obsessively making this savory ditty. It's a simple, tasty, any-time meal that's great when I need to power snack. I've been making it with pre-made pie crust. I prefer homemade sure. But I don't have time to make it right now. As it is, sometimes I have to assemble the components over a couple of days because I either don't have all the ingredients or I get interrupted by the kiddies. Anyway, I've tried two different brands from Whole Foods. 1) Vermont Mystic Pie Company's frozen pie shells 2) some other brand I can't remember (not as good as #1, but takes up less room in the freezer).

Broccoli Quiche

Filling (use any combination of the following and put into 2 pie shells)
7 - 8 fresh mushrooms
1/2 bunch of green onions
2 packages of frozen broccoli or the equivalent in leftovers
1 pound cooked bacon or prosciutto
6 - 8 oz of cheddar
6 - 8 oz of monterey jack
season with salt and pepper if you like


Batter (mix well then pour over the filling slowly)
1 1/2 pints of whipping/heavy cream
7 - 8 eggs

Bake
400 degree oven for 15 minutes
350 degree oven for 45 minutes

Looks something like this:


I've been making it with broccoli and prosciutto and a variety of cheeses. This week's was a mixture of muenster, pepper jack, and cheddar, plus I used bacon which was nice change. The pepper jack was a bit much at times. I like the astringent taste of using only cheddar. Astringent - what a selling point. Makes 2 pies or you can halve the recipe.

Serve and enjoy!

What the Dog Ate

The head of my daughter's toothbrush.
(identified first when it came back out the way it came in)

By the way. Have you seen this dog?

Lost in Translation

My husband, Roger, had a particularly confusing interaction with one of the mothers at my son's school recently. It went like this:

School Mom: Your cat is dead.
Roger: We don't have a cat.
School Mom: Your cat is dead.
Roger: We don't have a cat.
School Mom: No. No. Your cat is dead!
Roger: I'm sorry, but we really don't have a cat.
School Mom (emphatically, slowly pronouncing every syllable): Your cat is dead. We wren out'a food yestrdy in 'e didn't git hat lunch.

It helps to know that said School Mom is originally from New Zealand. So here's the translation:

School Mom: You're Carter's dad. We ran out of food yesterday and he didn't get hot lunch.
Roger: Oh. Carter! I'm Carter's dad.! Right. We were wondering about that.

Cream and Dream

My favorite ice cream shop of all time. When my husband and I were in Prague, we went to this place every night.

How To Eat A Kumquat

My daughter wanted to try Kumquats for dinner tonight. We bought some but then became perplexed about how exactly we should eat them. Here's the video we found. I love the internets!

That's Opera Doc

The Numbers

Artist Chris Jordon's portrait of America in cellphones, plastic bottles, handguns, jet trails, pain killers, and more. Be sure to check out Ben Franklin where Chris depicts the amount of money our government spends each hour on the war in Iraq. Clicky clicky here.

Here's just one example: (photos on Jordon's website have better resolution).

2.5 million plastic bottles, the number used in the US every hour.

Partial zoom:

Actual size:


What is it? A robot effigy of our George dubya as a gladiator pulling a chariot. This was the fun ride at last weekend's Peninsula School Spring Fair. Your week can't be that bad when it starts like this can it?

Random Ten

1. Bring Me Some Water - Eddie Money
2. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) - Arcade Fire
3. Word Mule - Jim White
4. My Old Kentucky Home - Paul Robeson
5. A Goodbye Rye - Richard Buckner
6. Icky Thump - White Stripes
7. She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult
8. Eulogy to Lenny Bruce - Nico
9. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Patti Smith
10. Cherry Bomb - The Runaways
11. Black Holes - Needle
    

Be Careful What You Wish For

Or at least be more selective when giving out your address!

Goodbye to All That

Last Saturday was the kind of day that begins civilized enough - you know - chocolate croissants and strawberries - but around mid-day turns into a free-for-all with the kids toys strewn all over the house and you taking a rubber mallet and a crowbar to the couch. See about six years ago, our dog decided to eat a hole in the back cushion and the couch has never been the same. Some would argue (I would) that the end of the beginning came when the manager at our old apartment complex decided it was time to re-roof. This fine dust shook out of the ceiling and landed on the couch and instantly became ground in. But the demise of the couch has increased with the addition each kid. Our daughter sits at one end and eats her Amaranth flakes there (the side the dog chewed oddly enough) and well...it pretty much became her little nest. She stuffed her My Little Ponies underneath the cushions along with what appeared to be a whole box of cereal and crayons and money and, and, and. The kids liked to jump on the couch just to see all the crap fall out of it. Anyway, last Saturday we said goodbye to all that and pried the couch apart and took it to our local garbage collection site. I wanted to get out the chainsaw because for me, firing up the chainsaw is the adult equivalent of dancing the Hokey Pokey. It's what it's all about.

We didn't take pictures. Because to have thought about taking pictures. Taking pictures. Would have taken us out of the experience. We would have been projecting into the future. So as much as you'd like to see our destroyed couch, I can't accommodate such a requests. Sorry. Next time. Next time.

Believe It!

Fundamentalist atheists.

What It's All About