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August 31, 2005
Let the earth swallow me up right now
It's official: I don't recognize this country any more.
Witness this from today's SFGate, via the AP:
Poll: Public Divided on EvolutionBy WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, August 31, 2005Americans are divided over whether humans and other living things evolved over time or have existed in their present form since the beginning of time, according to a new poll.
People on both sides of that argument think students should hear about various theories, however.
Nearly two-thirds of those in a Pew Research Center poll, 64 percent, say they believe "creationism" should be taught alongside "evolution" — a finding likely to spark more controversy about what is taught in the schools.
That controversy could be related to the difficulty of measuring public sentiment about teaching evolution, creationism or the more recent concept of "intelligent design," a Pew official said.
Click here to read the full article.
If 64% of American's really belive 'intelligent design' should be taught in a SCIENCE class, then... well, honestly I just don't know what. I mean COME ON, PEOPLE! Philosophy and Religion belong in education, too BUT NOT IN A SCIENCE CLASSROOM.
::sigh::
I guess this is why I'm not a politician.
Posted by kyle at 1:22 PM
August 28, 2005
Devils, dogs
Fully two weeks after the event itself, here are the promised pictures from my Very Evil Birthday celebration. Good fun and heartburn were had by all. No one ate an eyeball, though. Hm.
Posted by kyle at 11:08 AM
August 25, 2005
It's Always Funny in Philadelphia
Are Christopher and I the only ones tuning in to see the hilarious FX show "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia?" We tuned in mostly because I thought the other new FX show to premiere at the same time, "Starved," looked fucking hilarious. It is pretty funny, but "Sunny" is way way better.
The show is set in a South Philly dive bar owned by a brother, his two pals and his sister. It's got a definite "Seinfeld" vibe (all of the characters are just a little despicable), though the humor is alot more adult. Lots of overt sex stuff. Plusses include: A) they love making gay jokes, and 2) the guys are all total Dannies. I also love the interstitial music, but that's just a thing I have.
As a sidebar, I think the viewers of Fox News would plotz all over their plastic-covered Barcaloungers if they watched this and some of the other shows on FX. How funny that one company owns them both! And by funny I mean soul-chilling.
I have to reccommend "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" here, because I know there are a lot of TV watchers among you regular readers of my blog (yes, I mean you Nicole and Jenny!). As is typical of these annoying cable channels, they keep jerking the day and time of the show around, though you fortunates with TiVo won't have the problem trying to find it that I have.
Watch this now -- it's clever, cute, hilarious and obviously it'll be cancelled. Nothing this good can last. I'm sure Tim Goodman would agree.
Posted by kyle at 4:00 PM | Comments (2)
August 24, 2005
Lemon, fresh
When I have an evening or afternoon at home, I love to bake. This habit is met with such delight by so many of my friends and co-workers that I almost never have to eat the whole thing myself. Not that I wouldn't, mind you.
So when life hands me lemons, yadda yadda yadda. Specifically this time, we're talking about that most fabulous of Northern California delicacies, Meyer Lemons. These little miracles are lemons, only better. Way way better. The taste is hard to describe, but trust me when I say that once you have them, all other lemons start to taste like dish detergent in comparison.
A gal at work brought in a bag of these lovelies the other day, and I snatched up a supply. See, my favorite thing to do thus far with Meyer Lemons is to bake them into a recipe I found in Everyday Food, Glazed Lemon Pound Cake.
A shout out to Everyday Food is appropriate here, as it really keeps things simple and delicious, my favorite kind of cooking and eating. Pick up this digest-sized magazine at your local grocery store and you won't be sorry. Every issue is a gem.
I cranked out two delicious, moist, dense-but-not-too-dense loaves of this cake in no time last night. It's a great feeling to get home, take out your eggs and butter to come to room temp, open the mail, change your clothes, turn on NPR, and start greasing pans. By the time it's time to make dinner, you'll have the cake out of the oven, and by the time dinner is done, you'll be able to drizzle them with the simple glaze and eat eat eat.
Take note, young'uns: stay out late dancing while you can. Some day you'll actually look forward to an evening in with a stand mixer and All Things Considered. I'm just saying.
Glazed Lemon Pound Cake
Makes 2 loaves
Prep time: 30 minutes
Total time: 3 hours
For best results, bring all the ingredients up to room temperature before getting started. When zesting and juicing lemons, grate the zest first, then squeeze out the juice. Meyer lemons work beautifully with this cake. Note: The batter can also be baked in a 12 cup buttered and floured nonstick Bundt or a tube pan; the cooking and cooling times are the same.
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sugar
5 large eggs
1. Preheat oven to 350°, with rack in lowest position. Butter and flour two 4.5 x 8 inch (6-cup) loaf pans.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine buttermilk with lemon zest and juice. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
3. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated after each.
4. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in three parts alternately with the buttermilk mixture in two, beginning and ending with flour; beat just until smooth (do not overmix).
5. Divide batter evenly between pans; smooth tops. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes (tent with foil if browning too quickly). Cool 15 minutes in pan. Turn out cakes onto a rack; cool completely before glazing.
Lemon Glaze
Covers 2 loaf cakes or one Bundt/tube pan cake
2 cups confectioners' (powdered) sugar
3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1. Place confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl or a liquid measuring cup (sugar may be sifted to get rid of lumps, but this isn't always necessary).
2. Stir in just 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice. The glaze should be thick, but pourable. Add more sugar or more juice as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.
3. Set rack with cakes over a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Pour glaze over cakes, letting it run down the sides; let dry, about 30 minutes.
Posted by kyle at 3:15 PM
August 19, 2005
"One day in the late mid 80's I was in my early late 20's. "
I am not one of those people who is afraid of saying my age out loud. My life has, by and large, got consistently better and better the older I get, so I figure the best is yet to come, so why not enjoy it.
Last week, as you know, I turned 37 (more on the festivities later), and though I can't pretend the looming four-zero doesn't give me sort of a lump in my throat, I am glad to share that fact with folks I know.
Others, I realize, are different. Based on a funny line by John Cameron Mitchell in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," Emily and I hereby establish this as the new standard of Describing Your Age Without Giving Too Much Away.
AGE "I'm in my...
30 "I'm 30."
31 ...early thirties."
32 ...mid-early thirties."
33 ...late early thirties."
34 ...early mid-thirties."
35 ...mid-thirties."
36 ...late mid-thirties."
37 ...early late thirties."
38 ...mid-late thirties."
39 ...late thirties."
40 "I'm 40."
Based on our formula, Hedwig's line (and not co-incidentally, the title of this post) would translate to: "One day in 1986, I was 27." As you can see, Hedwig's way, and now our way, is way funnier.
Posted by kyle at 3:41 PM | Comments (2)
August 4, 2005
Very Evil Birthday
You're invited to a party!
Saturday, August 13th is my 37th birthday. I will likely be working on the day itself, but that doesn't mean that I can't parley the actual day into a weekend full of fun and frolic. I want you to join in a special part of it.
Christopher has been pestering me for a while to decide on an event for at least one of the days for that weekend. Here is an excerpt of the e-mail I sent him:
Here is what I want to do: Friday night I want to come home after work and bake something. Then I want to order some food delivered and eat dinner and watch some Netflix or something. Inviting folks over to join us would be just fine and fun. Alternatively, we can make hot dogs instead of ordering out. Mmmm... hot dogs.
Like a good husband he has consented, asking me to put one of my favorite films at the top of our Netflix cue.
So, on Friday night, 8/12, we are going to have hot dogs (which I love so fucking much), potato chips (C got some Ohio-made Ballreich's chips sent for his birthday last week), whatever baked goodie I decide to crank out, and, if Netflix is kind, we will be screening a favorite from my high school days: The Evil Dead.
If I don't seem like the horror movie type to you, it's because I'm not. I do like the occasional scary movie. The Evil Dead, however, far from being scary, is the most hilarious thing ever filmed. My friends and I back in West Virginia would organize a big annual screening of this cult classic and it's sequel/re-make Evil Dead 2. ED2 makes a good companion piece, but we were always disappointed by it. See, Sam Raimi (yes... THAT Sam Raimi) really took ED seriously. He wanted people to be freaked. It was supposed to be scary. Parts of it are, I suppose, but mostly it's a total riot. Again, because it was meant to be serious. Unlike Showgirls, which was meant to be a total riot and ended up scary. Or something.
ED2 fails in comparison because it is intentionally funny. I mean, Bruce Campbell (reprising his role as Ash from the original in what is essentially a re-telling of the same story with more schlock) cuts off his own possessed hand, and replaces it with a chain saw. An eyeball flies through the air, it's optic nerve trailing like Superman's cape, and is somehow swallowed by a bystander. Though I must admit we reenacted that eyeball scene many a time, I can only say, "Whatever." We'll stick with the original, thankyouverymuch.
Maybe if I can pick up a copy of Soapdish, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Death Becomes Her, or Ferris Bueller's Day Off, we can screen a second movie. Otherwise, there's always Waiting for Guffman or Steel Magnolias from my personal library. Diabetic comas... oh the hilarity!
So, please come and join us. Drop me an e-mail and let me know if you are coming and what details, if any, you need. Regrets and gifts not necessary. Flying eyeballs are, though.
Posted by kyle at 11:52 AM