many things make a post
December 15, 2009
* Remember - "oy" is just "yo" backwards.
* A Regency Romance in 2 minutes.
* Julie Powell on what negative book reviews say about the reviewer.
* New tabletop machine lets you sous vide dans le chapeau. No, wait, that's "in hat." Um, hang on, let's see how much high school French y brain can dredge up... dans le chat? No, um. Merde. Try this: sous vide in your house.
* You know how sometimes you fall into an illustrator's work and simply can't get up? Just did that with Barry Moser. (hat tip to Jules at 7 Imp.)
* It's nice to know that Ann Powers is as smitten with Lady Gaga as I am. She states the reasons with greater lucidity than I ever could. There's a reason I rarely write about music.
* I am just not sure whether to be appalled or encouraged by the sheer number of recipes there are for Chex Mix.
* While this list of 17 Things About Cats is fun, what's better is discovering all of the other lists on The Oatmeal. Like, say, 8 Ways to Tell If Your Loved Ones Plan to Eat You.
* In case you've ever wondered: how the National Weather Service measures snowfall.
* I might have to make these Retro Cupcake ornaments with the kids over the break - but first I need to come up with a system to keep the Boy from inhaling the glitter.
* Two great stocking stuffers: The Martini badge and the Ritalin v. cross stitch magnet.
* Oh, Onion. I just can't quit you: Most Children Unrepentant Sociopaths.
FYI, my husband is the Chalk Hill PA weather observer for the NWS and we actually have a weather station that includes the "snowboards" and the melting cylinder. Dave trudges out to the backyard at 7AM every day and does his measurements. Then he enters it on the NWS site, and afterward writes a report to read on his teeny tiny local radio show. (590AM WMBS)
We are truly nerdy.
Posted by: Lee | December 15, 2009 at 01:33 PM
Thanks for the links. As always you give up some amazing ones.
Posted by: anj | December 15, 2009 at 01:51 PM
That Regency Romance in Two Minutes is GENIUS. (I love your many things posts.)
Posted by: Melanie | December 15, 2009 at 05:25 PM
Dans la maison. My high school French is reinforced with years of trying to figure out what my parents were saying. I have a kind of natural understanding of French. Unfortunately, this does not come with a natural ability to speak it. Or did I miss the point because I skipped the article preferring to find out what bad book reviews mean?
Posted by: Anna | December 15, 2009 at 05:28 PM
Re Lady Gaga--from May to June last year while I was in Greece with the students, I got so sick of hearing Poker Face EVERYWHERE we went that I turned far away from the phenom (well, that and the fug girls' pants thing lent the air of fluff). Then I learned my husband's cousin provides a lot of her shoes and knows the "real her", heard her actually sing on SNL this fall, realized she writes all her own lyrics/music, etc., and began to appreciate the performance art in her work. Long story coming to an end...yesterday, I mentioned to my husband that I thought I might stick a copy of her CD in one of our teen's gift boxes, for a similar reason to watching Gossip Girl together for the "teaching moments" for her--it pained him to tell me that it wasn't a good idea in that she had already bought it for me!
Posted by: Jerri | December 15, 2009 at 08:50 PM
Gotta say . . . Powell's commentary on her reviews actually say more about her than the negative reviews say about her reviewers.
Posted by: matthew | December 15, 2009 at 09:40 PM
Powell is an insipid, self absorbed twit.
Posted by: Debra | December 16, 2009 at 08:40 AM
I got "thin-skinned," "narcissistic," and "petty." And I don't even know who she is. Fact is, whether you're a writer, IT consultant, or ditchdigger, you're going to be critiqued, and not everyone will fall in love with you.
Posted by: matthew | December 16, 2009 at 02:00 PM
I gave up ditch digging because I couldn't handle being told my ditches lacked panache.
Posted by: The Featureless Saint | December 16, 2009 at 03:40 PM
Six feet deep, four feet wide, or bust!
Posted by: matthew | December 16, 2009 at 04:02 PM