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Below are the 17 most recent journal entries recorded in
peacewood's LiveJournal:
| Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 | | 8:39 pm |
My encounter with Jamie Oliver
This Sunday, went to a B&N book signing where the erstwhile Naked Chef was present. He's about what I expected of him -- startlingly casual (dressed in a grey sweatshirt with a noticeable grease spot on one side), terribly friendly, and very excitable. He talked mainly about the poor eating habits of America and Britain, with a plug for his new ABC series in the spring, and his latest book, which he described as more of a diary with pictures than a cookbook. I even asked him a question during the Q&A, about the posting of caloric content in chain restaurants and the recent study that showed that it may actually be backfiring. He actually gave a very thoughtful and lengthy reply, saying that transparency is always a good thing even if there's no tangible effect yet, there are many things that government could be doing differently here such as altering the food pyramid, and so on. Of course, it didn't end there. When I approached the table and had him sign my books, I asked him how best to cook steak, and his reply, whether it was because there was a bit of line behind us or just his usual style, was snappy and to the point. "Yeh, get asked that a lot, everyone likes steak but they keep sayin' it turns out all dry an' 'orrible..." To the point, he said, use a better cut of meat, oil the meat and not the pan, "hit it really hot and fast, quicker than you'd ordinarily give it", and let it sit for a bit afterward. Great fellow, wish I'd brought my camera. | | Monday, October 5th, 2009 | | 11:55 am |
San Fran
Visiting my brother Ho out here in San Francisco for a week or so, and it's kind of strange -- even though I was in the area only about six months ago or so, the place has changed, albeit in small details rather than broad strokes. For instance, the BART (short for Bay Area Rapid Transit) system had charged $5.15 for a ride from the station where my brother lives to the airport each way (and it had held at this price for nearly five years), and now it's $8.20. The train itself, which used to come with impressive regularity every few minutes, dawdled into the airport station after nearly twenty minutes. A shop down the corner from where my brother lives, which used to sponsor "donation yoga", has closed, although I wasn't terribly surprised at that. And the Tenderloin -- the not-so-respectable part of San Francisco where we all have temporarily rented a practice space -- seems to be a bit more heavily populated this go-around than last. Of course, the general attitude of the people there is more or less the same (one guy attempting to hit us up for change the other night belligerently accused us of "blowing up his country"). It got me to thinking how much inertia there is in the country. Enough inertia to keep things from becoming catastrophic when economic disaster hits, but perhaps too much to make an about-face when one is needed. | | Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 | | 3:19 pm |
A Coarse President
I'm a little amused at the attention President Obama's "jackass" comment is getting. Leaving aside the fact that it was indeed an apt description of Kanye West's behavior, I think it's gotten the airplay that it has because he's normally quite restrained and articulate. A week or so ago, I purchased the audio book of Obama's "Dreams From My Father", which was a very compelling listen. In one section, he speaks in the voice of his high school friend Ray, belting out "Man, I had enough of those b--s--- Punahou parties!" in a pitch-perfect LA street accent. It was simultaneously jarring and hilarious. | | Monday, April 6th, 2009 | | 10:02 am |
| | Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 | | 7:55 pm |
| | Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 | | 3:01 pm |
| | Sunday, August 10th, 2008 | | 11:56 pm |
R.I.P. Isaac Hayes.
Stan: Why would God let Kenny die, Chef? Why? Kenny's my fr-f-f-friend. Why can't God take someone else's f-f-friend? Chef: [sighs] Stan, sometimes God takes those closest to us, because it makes him feel better about himself. He is a very vengeful God, Stan. He's all pissed off about something we did thousands of years ago. He just can't get over it, so he doesn't care who he takes. Children, puppies, it don't matter to him, so long as it makes us sad. Do you understand. Stan: But then, why does God give us anything to start with? Chef: Well, look at it this way: if you want to make a baby cry, first you give it a lollipop. Then you take it away. If you never give it a lollipop to begin with, then you would have nothin' to cry about. That's like God, who gives us life and love and help just so that he can tear it all away and make us cry, so he can drink the sweet milk of our tears. You see, it's our tears, Stan, that give God his great power. Stan: I think I understand. | | Thursday, February 16th, 2006 | | 3:10 pm |
| | Tuesday, January 3rd, 2006 | | 7:59 pm |
For 2006 -- the 50 book challenge
Yep, that's right. To add to the nice idealistic New Year's resolutions one generally comes up with around this time of year, I've decided to take on the 50 book challenge, recommended to me by a friend. For those who haven't heard, the challenge is to read fifty books in a year and blog about them. Since this averages roughly a book a week, I figure I'll start with a report this coming weekend (or perhaps next Monday). Anyway, the main reason that I'm announcing this is that I'd like to reserve the comment space below for any of you peoples to recommend some books that I could read in the coming year. I don't want to assign many guidelines, but keep in mind that as a reader, I tend to prefer non-fiction books over fiction ones, and if you do recommend fiction books, point me in the direction of a genre that isn't fantasy (I figure that's what I've got D&D for). I'll try and alternate non-fiction works with fiction works as the year progresses, but that won't be a rule that's set in stone. Happy New Year, all. | | Monday, October 3rd, 2005 | | 8:47 pm |
| | Wednesday, September 28th, 2005 | | 8:39 pm |
The passing of an author
M. Scott Peck, the author of The Road Less Traveled, dies at 69. Back at the age when reading a book could have a profound influence on my life, I read the aforementioned work and was amazed by it. To this day, it still informs a number of my opinions about the world and about people. I'll read part of that, and a couple of other books that he wrote, before retiring this evening. RIP, Scotty. | | Monday, May 2nd, 2005 | | 9:57 pm |
| | Wednesday, October 20th, 2004 | | 10:03 pm |
Sinclair jiujitsu.
Sinclair supposedly "backed down" and now are replacing Stolen Honor with a news piece which is ostensibly balanced and neutral. Right? If you believe that, I can get you a sweet deal on a local bridge. Let's face it -- the only reason there was any movement on all on this issue was because a lawsuit underwritten by Media Matters on behalf of Sinclair shareholders demanded a response by the end of the business day or they would seek an injunction to stop the airing of the program. So what did they do? They responded, saying they would not air the film. Just enough of a response for Glickenhaus (the law firm representing the shareholders) to relent. Oh, but guess what -- Sinclair is going to air this teensy-weensy little "news program" called "A POW Story: Politics, Pressure, and the Media" which just so happens to include footage from Stolen Honor and will present a number of Vietnam vets who will attack Kerry like rabid dogs. Practically, folks, nothing has changed. Sinclair is still determined to smear Kerry a couple of days before the election in order to fulfill the political cravings of its deranged executives. The good news is, the grassroots campaign to Stop Sinclair is working! Dozens of advertisers have pulled out of Sinclair entirely, thanks to the actions of lots of people who did nothing more than take some time to send a message or two to the advertisers. KEEP UP THE PRESSURE. Continue to call and send e-mails to the advertisers -- and explain your position calmly and civilly: Sinclair is still ordering its stations to air a piece of anti-Kerry propaganda and are still using the public airwaves to promote their political agenda. Use the updated advertisers list provided in my previous post, or directly visit http://www.boycottsbg.com/advertisers/ and start plugging away. And on a victorious note: 7UP/CadburySchweppes, Educate, Inc. (Sylvan), Energizer, Flesher's Fairview Healthcare, Irondequoit Suzuki, iWireless, JCPenney, JetBlue, Kmart, Kraft Foods, Patties Panties, Pepsico, Red Bull North America, S F M LLC, skogman realty, ThermoSpas, and Whataburger have all pulled their advertising! So celebrate by taking JetBlue to your local K-Mart while drinking Red Bull and wearing Patties Panties... or something... :p | | Tuesday, October 12th, 2004 | | 5:30 pm |
Stop Sinclair.
I've never done something like this before, but it has become truly necessary. For those of you who don't know, Sinclair Broadcasting Corporation, which controls 62 TV stations around the country, is ordering its stations to pre-empt regular programming (even during prime time!) to air a vitriolic piece of anti-Kerry propaganda produced by -- surprise, surprise! -- the Swift Boat Vet producers. "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal" can potentially be beamed into 25% of the United States' homes a few days before November 2. This is the same Sinclair Broadcasting that ordered that its affiliates not run an edition of Nightline because it was "disguising political statements as news content"...the very height of hypocrisy. Why is this different from, say, Moore coming out with "Fahrenheit 9/11"? Because Sinclair is operating on TAXPAYER-SUBSIDIZED broadcasting space. People had the choice to pay money and see Moore's film. The television company is making that decision for potentially millions of viewers. Essentially, they're giving the Bush campaign a free million-dollar-plus campaign contribution (think about how much a 90-minute spot in prime time across 25% of the USA would cost) and are in clear violation of FCC rules. The way to make your voice heard is the good ol' fashioned capitalistic way -- hit them in their pocketbooks. A handy site called http://www.boycottsg.com, which lists all the advertisers for this 90-minute atrocity, is up, but it's only been intermittently working (either due to hacking attempts or too much traffic). Because it's only sporadically up, I feel it's my duty to list all the advertisers and their contact information in this space. COPY IT AND PASS IT ALONG TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES. Contact all the advertisers, explain to them that Sinclair is wrong for blatant electioneering on the eve of the election, and make clear that you will BOYCOTT their products if they do not pull out of advertising for "Stolen Honor". Phone numbers listed first, followed by online e-mail forms and e-mail addresses. If you send e-mail, make sure it is personalized and not a form letter. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!!!!!!!!!! ( List of Advertisers ) | | Wednesday, September 15th, 2004 | | 5:06 pm |
| | Monday, June 21st, 2004 | | 1:24 pm |
| | Friday, June 18th, 2004 | | 5:44 pm |
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