"A common wish is for some combination of the three current frontrunners, a candidate described by one caller to an Alabama talk radio show as having Mr. Romney’s looks, Mr. Gingrich’s brains and Mr. Santorum’s moral fiber."
What I hear is a sleazy pretty faced religious nut. Is this completely off base?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/12/us/politics/tight-republican-primaries-suggest-unpredictable-south.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=primaries%20suggest%20a%20less%20predictable%20south&st=cse&scp=1
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
John O'Donohue on Conversation
One way, and I think this is a really lovely way, and I think it's an interesting question to ask oneself too, you know? And the question is when is the last time that you had a great conversation, a conversation which wasn't just two intersecting monologues, which is what passes for conversation a lot in this culture. But when had you last a great conversation, in which you overheard yourself saying things that you never knew you knew. That you heard yourself receiving from somebody words that absolutely found places within you that you thought you had lost and a sense of an event of a conversation that brought the two of you on to a different plane. And then fourthly, a conversation that continued to sing in your mind for weeks afterwards, you know? And I've — I've had some of them recently, and it's just absolutely amazing, like, as we would say at home, they are food and drink for the soul, you know?
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
lemon rhubarb pie cake
This is based on a recipe for a rhubarb upside-down cake from the New York Times. My recipe is considerably better though.
2 lemons worth of zest
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick of butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 lbs rhubarb (about 8 cups)
4 tbs cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon juce
1/4 cup sugar
1. preheat oven to 325
2. line the bottom of a 9” springform pan with parchment paper, cover sides and bottom with butter
3. mix zest and juice
4. mix flour, baking powder and salt
5. beat butter until soft
6. add sugar and vanilla and mix well
7. add eggs one at a time mixing well in between
8. add half the dry ingredients, mix
9. add the buttermilk, mix
10.add the rest of the dry ingredients, mix
11. add the juice and rind, mix
12. chop up the rhubarb
13. mix the rhubarb with the cornstarch and the sugar
14. mix brown sugar and butter in a pan over medium heat for about 2 minutes
15. pour the brown sugar mixture into the pan
16. spoon the rhubarb into the pan
17. pour on the batter
18. bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes
19. after it is in the oven mix the lemon juice with the sugar
20. mix it periodically while the cake is baking to dissolve the sugar
21. once the cake is done let it cool for 15 minutes
22. while it is cooling, cover the top (that will ultimately be the bottom) with the juice and sugar mixture so that it can soak in
23. run a knife around the edge, put a plate on top and flip the cake
24. release the cake from the pan while it is still a bit warm or it will stick
25. serve with an ample amount of freshly whipped cream
2 lemons worth of zest
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick of butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 lbs rhubarb (about 8 cups)
4 tbs cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon juce
1/4 cup sugar
1. preheat oven to 325
2. line the bottom of a 9” springform pan with parchment paper, cover sides and bottom with butter
3. mix zest and juice
4. mix flour, baking powder and salt
5. beat butter until soft
6. add sugar and vanilla and mix well
7. add eggs one at a time mixing well in between
8. add half the dry ingredients, mix
9. add the buttermilk, mix
10.add the rest of the dry ingredients, mix
11. add the juice and rind, mix
12. chop up the rhubarb
13. mix the rhubarb with the cornstarch and the sugar
14. mix brown sugar and butter in a pan over medium heat for about 2 minutes
15. pour the brown sugar mixture into the pan
16. spoon the rhubarb into the pan
17. pour on the batter
18. bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes
19. after it is in the oven mix the lemon juice with the sugar
20. mix it periodically while the cake is baking to dissolve the sugar
21. once the cake is done let it cool for 15 minutes
22. while it is cooling, cover the top (that will ultimately be the bottom) with the juice and sugar mixture so that it can soak in
23. run a knife around the edge, put a plate on top and flip the cake
24. release the cake from the pan while it is still a bit warm or it will stick
25. serve with an ample amount of freshly whipped cream
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Why can’t lust be love and love be lust?
Up late watching slug porn, you confess
you had a boyfriend who could spin you
like that, slug grace and slug ballet—we don’t
touch the topic of slime—and those eyes
dangling from tentacle tips must be a
kind of love or lust, sighting farther and
nearer all at once. (But are those eyes?)
Slug sublimity suggests love’s a drag,
touch that lingers and leaves a wet trail of
memory and What did we do before
YouTube? Boob tube. Boobs we have none; slugs,
of course, don’t care, can’t tell girl from boy,
(being, you know, hermaphrodites), and only
want flesh to fly. Forget their infamous
languor—here’s litheness in loving, buoyant
miracles of want, one slug spiraling
on the axis of another like a globe
slapped by an insolent hand. Neither old
nor young, we’re familiar with sluggishness,
too tired to explain why nothing makes us
spin like that: a-swirl, a pirouette, a gyre!
It’s either fucking or marriage, I say,
saying more than I mean. Why can’t lust be
love and love be lust? you’re always asking,
even now as the slugs begin their sluggish
withdrawal—each complete in love and lust;
each mother and father to what they’ve made
together; each alone, content, and free.
by Jennifer Chang
you had a boyfriend who could spin you
like that, slug grace and slug ballet—we don’t
touch the topic of slime—and those eyes
dangling from tentacle tips must be a
kind of love or lust, sighting farther and
nearer all at once. (But are those eyes?)
Slug sublimity suggests love’s a drag,
touch that lingers and leaves a wet trail of
memory and What did we do before
YouTube? Boob tube. Boobs we have none; slugs,
of course, don’t care, can’t tell girl from boy,
(being, you know, hermaphrodites), and only
want flesh to fly. Forget their infamous
languor—here’s litheness in loving, buoyant
miracles of want, one slug spiraling
on the axis of another like a globe
slapped by an insolent hand. Neither old
nor young, we’re familiar with sluggishness,
too tired to explain why nothing makes us
spin like that: a-swirl, a pirouette, a gyre!
It’s either fucking or marriage, I say,
saying more than I mean. Why can’t lust be
love and love be lust? you’re always asking,
even now as the slugs begin their sluggish
withdrawal—each complete in love and lust;
each mother and father to what they’ve made
together; each alone, content, and free.
by Jennifer Chang
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
a great ride and another broken foot
I pushed up to Croton-on-Hudson this afternoon. It was hard, a lot of climbing. Gorgeous day though, perfect temperature. The part that sucked was the realization, once I got there, that my foot was broken. How did I manage to push 30 had miles on a broken foot without realizing it was broken? Needless to say, I took the train back. I'm pissed because I won't be able to race in May.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
thoughts on Going Rogue
I recently finished Going Rogue, Sarah Palin’s account of her life in politics to date. Although I of course have preconceptions about our beloved maverick, I tried to approach the book with an open mind. Going Rogue was definitely not written with my demographic in mind; it took some perseverance to make it through as Palin tried in vain to to clear her name in the aftermath of the Katie Couric interviews. Pages and pages of rhetoric were designed to resonate with patriotic gun nuts, the religious right, and the pro life anti-contraception folks. The largest goal of the book, however, was to promote a low regulation, low tax, small government as the only viable course of action for our country.
I can respect Palin’s goal, as the size of government is possibly the single biggest and most important ideological debate currently happening within our government. The size of our government has far reaching consequences, both domestic and international, ranging from health care and welfare to taxing and regulations. In econ 101, while discussing this issue, the textbooks always say something vague like, ‘if taxes rise above a certain or regulations are made more strict market forces will cause businesses to leave the economy’. This interpretation of the situation would support the conservative view on this issue, but it is in my opinion an incomplete interpretation. The missing argument is that there are benefits for businesses operating in a more highly regulated economy; if taxes are higher, businesses can take advantage of the additional services provided, such as a high quality road system or more government funded scientific research. I am by no means an economist, but I know enough about economics that I am sure hundreds of research papers have been written on this subject using fancy economic models and forecasting tools to reconcile these two extremes. Why aren’t these papers more present in the public discourse?
What surprised me about Palin’s account of this debate was how badly articulated it was. She just blabbed the usual, ‘taxes and regulations will make corporations go overseas’. The only example in the entire book she provided of a corporation that came into existence outside of government regulation was facebook. She stated that we should expect more such buisness in a small government economy. Don’t get me wrong, I think that facebook can be a force for good, but more often that not it is simply an advertising platform and a way to procrastinate. So, if facebook is the best example of a company arising from a lack of government involvement, then I don’t believe that small government is the end all be all solution.
While small government may be a viable option for our government, we need to be honest to ourselves about what that means. Namely, we will have a much reduced quantity and quality of public services.
I can respect Palin’s goal, as the size of government is possibly the single biggest and most important ideological debate currently happening within our government. The size of our government has far reaching consequences, both domestic and international, ranging from health care and welfare to taxing and regulations. In econ 101, while discussing this issue, the textbooks always say something vague like, ‘if taxes rise above a certain or regulations are made more strict market forces will cause businesses to leave the economy’. This interpretation of the situation would support the conservative view on this issue, but it is in my opinion an incomplete interpretation. The missing argument is that there are benefits for businesses operating in a more highly regulated economy; if taxes are higher, businesses can take advantage of the additional services provided, such as a high quality road system or more government funded scientific research. I am by no means an economist, but I know enough about economics that I am sure hundreds of research papers have been written on this subject using fancy economic models and forecasting tools to reconcile these two extremes. Why aren’t these papers more present in the public discourse?
What surprised me about Palin’s account of this debate was how badly articulated it was. She just blabbed the usual, ‘taxes and regulations will make corporations go overseas’. The only example in the entire book she provided of a corporation that came into existence outside of government regulation was facebook. She stated that we should expect more such buisness in a small government economy. Don’t get me wrong, I think that facebook can be a force for good, but more often that not it is simply an advertising platform and a way to procrastinate. So, if facebook is the best example of a company arising from a lack of government involvement, then I don’t believe that small government is the end all be all solution.
While small government may be a viable option for our government, we need to be honest to ourselves about what that means. Namely, we will have a much reduced quantity and quality of public services.
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