Just a bunch of stuff

So, it's Thanksgiving. RB is at her sister's in Atlanta (the other sister, not the one who wanted my chili recipe). And I am trying not to think about all the pie in the fridge. So, basically, I'm bored and grouchy.

Time for a link-fest!

* Did you know that Africa + South America = Dinosaur? Because it does.

* Did you know that European children are just as stupid as American children? Because they are.

* Lots of straight lines on maps are crooked, sometimes because the surveyors were drunk.

* Iraqis are relying on high-tech dowsing rods to detect bombs at security checkpoints.

* Good news for RB: Catching up on lost sleep works, according to a new study.

* My friend Marc is in a BBC documentary you can listen to online. I myself was once interviewed by the campus newspaper. Well, not the official campus newspaper, just something some students were putting out. But, you know, it was still a big deal.

* New favorite blog to waste fifteen minutes with: Asian Poses, documenting the ways Asians (particularly Japanese and Koreans) pose when someone points a camera at them.

* Aliens do not love synthesizer music as much as you have been led to believe.

* Do you feel like eating fast food, but you're not sure where to go? Wonder no longer!

* Speaking of food, a farmer speaks up on Thanksgiving about the miracle that is modern agriculture. (Thank you!)

* Apparently, pink is the new black. (Yes, I know. Lazy hack joke. But it's late.)

It's over!!!

--PADDY O'PAGAN

The underground music scene

Lately the musicians who play for tips in the Davis Square T stop have been playing some really beautiful music. This morning, a guy on guitar wans playing something that sounded a great deal like Come Unto Jesus. I had to get on the train before I had a chance to talk to him, but certainly a few bars were the same.

And last week, there was a guy playing Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, on the trumpet. Very cool! I actually got a chance to talk to him for a minute, and mentioned that I knew the guy that had arranged the piece.

I was referring to Mack Wilberg, because what he was playing sounded just like the trumpet part in the choral arrangement I had sung in Men's Chorus. But he had never heard of Mack Wilberg, and mentioned another composer who had arranged the entire piece just for solo trumpet. I've been trying to remember the name for the last week, but I can't, and I'd really like to hear more than I got from a hurried morning waiting for the subway.

So I think I'm looking for a CD of brass setting of hymns. Any ideas, imaginary readers?

--YOHANNA BEN-DAVID

Masquerading

I know I should have started thinking about this weeks ago, but I don't know what to be for Halloween. Ideally, it would cost less than twenty dollars, be super original and fun, and work as half of a couple costume. But two out of three ain't bad.

I hunted around this morning for a Captain Hammer t-shirt, but all the official ones my size are sold out. And.. you know... I want to do an official one if I'm going to do this.

Suggestions?

--ABDUL ALEM


PS - Going as one of the groupies is still an option. But I don't like that t-shirt as well.

Recipe fun time

My sweetheart-- let's call her Rainbow Brite-- had her sister in town last week, so we did a little cooking. RB's sister asked me what was my favorite thing to cook, and I said chili. It's a true American art form, like blues, barbecue, and silly t-shirts.

She said that she would like to try my chili, so I cooked some up on Saturday night and we enjoyed it with quesadillas. She then asked for a recipe, which I sent her by email. Here's the report:

Just ate dinner. Jeremy said, "This is easily the best chili you've ever made." :)

Hooray!

And as I rejoiced in having spread my meaty gospel, my thoughts turned (like Lehi) to my loved ones. Since this is the first time I've written the recipe down in several years, I thought I should share it with you, my imaginary readers. It's not the only way I make it, but it's probably the easiest version. Enjoy!

House of Payne Quick and Easy Chili

Ingredients:

2-3 pounds lean (90% or better) ground beef
1 pound pork sausage (bulk sausage, not links or patties)
1-2 medium sweet onions, chopped smallish
2-3 cans (15 oz.) beans (pinto, black, or small red)
1 can (15 oz.)stewed tomatoes (or diced)
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped fine
1/4 cup brown sugar (or more if you like)

Spices: salt, black pepper, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg,
cayenne (optional), cilantro (optional), oregano (optional).

Brown the pork sausage in a large pot. Do not drain. Add the beef and brown. Turn the heat down to medium-hot and keep it there. Shake on salt and pepper until it tastes good. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic. Shake on chili powder until it's pretty much all red. And add a little cayenne if you want-- about a half a teaspoon, I think.

(You can also do this using stew beef. Just substitute it for ground beef, follow all the above steps, and then put it in a crock pot and cook it for about 6 hours or until it completely falls apart. Then proceed with the recipe as follows.)

Add beans (no need to drain them, but you can if you like). Add cumin to taste-- maybe like a teaspoon or a half a teaspoon. Stir in the brown sugar. Add a tiny, tiny pinch of cinammon, and an equal amount of nutmeg. You don't need hardly any. Stir in tomatoes. Add a can of water or two if you want it thinner. And again, salt to taste. (Wait until it's almost done before you add the oregano and cilantro-- and don't use too much.)

Cook until hot and then serve with a sharp cheddar or some real sour cream. (You can also just turn it down to simmer for another half hour or an hour. This helps the flavors marry, but it's not essential if you don't have a lot of time.)

It takes about 20-30 minutes start to finish. Good luck, and bon appetit!

You're welcome! (And let me know how it turns out!)

--GILBERTO "TURK" BENITEZ

Barack's Nobel Intentions

So apparently everyone in the Norwegian Parliament is in love with Barack Obama. The last sitting US President to get the Nobel Peace Prize was Woodrow Wilson. Let's compare their achievements.

Wilson ended the First World War (in which more than 15 million had been killed and more than 70 million had been mobilized) by sending US troops to break the stalemate and force the Germans to sue for peace. (Most historians now agree that Germany would not have been defeated without the US joining the war.) While the war was still being fought, Wilson drew up a 14 point plan for peace to make sure such wars would never happen again. After the war, he went to Versailles to negotiate the peace treaty. Unlike the other participants, he negotiated not to gain advantage for his country but to implement his plan for peace for all the world. And he founded the League of Nations, a predecessor to the United Nations. All of this had been accomplished when he was awarded the Nobel.

Barack Obama has given several speeches which were well received, some of which were in foreign countries. He has promised to decrease the number of American troops involved in the war in Iraq, and has been publicly considering doing the same in Afghanistan. He has also talked about ending the practice of indefinitely detaining enemy combatants in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, although he has acknowledged that many of them will have to be indefinitely detained somewhere else. In other words, the US has not really been acting more peaceful.

He has also managed to wheedle a new set of promises out of Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, Russia, etc., which greatly resemble the previous set of promises given to Bush. But there is so far no sign that the behavior of any of these countries has changed in any substantive way. In other words, he has not persuaded any other country to behave more peacefully, either.

So, seriously Norway-- what the hell?

--JHON NOONIEN SINGH

Band Names Challenge

Read this Mark Steyn blog post, and pick out the best band name. My pick is Tripedal Catnappers, so just try to beat that if you can.

--REDBEARD

From my new favorite comic

She may be Canadian, but this woman speaks the truth!

--BIG JACK LE PEN

Kitchen apes

So science has proven that cooking is what makes us human. Maybe that explains my love for fire. And food.

This study also says that the institution of marriage is all about meals, and that sex is incidental. Personally, I hope mine will have a little of both.

--YAHYA AL-RIIFI

Do I owe Ron Paul money?
Chapter 5: Closing the Ring

In the summer of 2008 I had a Ron Paul nut subletting in my apartment, and he was convinced that the sky was falling. He kept making these dire predictions, but every time I tried to nail him down on specifics, he would skitter away. In the fashion of 9/11 Troofers and other conspiracy-mongering morons, he would say that he was just 'asking questions.'

So one day he was blathering on again about how shadowy, evil forces were manipulating the global financial system, which would very soon experience a catastrophe of biblical proportions. The stock market would collapse, he said, and even paper money would become worthless. And then he made a specific, empirically testable prediction. He said that in the next year (or two), the price of gold would rise and stock prices would fall such that the numbers for the price of an ounce of gold in dollars and the Dow Jones Industrial Average would meet (probably at around 3,000).

So I made him a wager. The gap between the price of gold and the Dow Jones was then about ten thousand. If it were to close to half that distance in the next year or so, then I would admit that his prediction seemed to be coming true and would make a large donation to Ron Paul. For his part, he said that if this did not come true, he would not donate to Ron Paul.

(Yes, he bet nothing. It was a cowardly dodge. But in his defense, he's seen that none of his predictions of doom ever come to pass. He has accordingly concluded that the Secret Masters are manipulating events to make him and Dr. Paul look foolish. Also, he has no money to bet, because even though he understands the financial system on levels I never will, his investments never turn out and he is always poor. Again, those darn Secret Masters.)

September 2009 was the deadline, and here we are. And what a trip it has been! I'll admit, there were some moments where I genuinely wondered if this blind squirrel had managed to stumble across an acorn. But then our Magical Unicorn Rider-in-Chief saved America or something and the economy staggered to its feet.

So here are the numbers for the last three months:

July 21, 2009
* Dow Jones = 8,915.94 points
* Price of Gold = $947.75
* Difference = 7,968.19

August 21, 2009
* Dow Jones = 9,505.96 points
* Price of Gold = $940.50
* Difference = 8,565.46

September 21, 2009
* Dow Jones = 9,778.86 points
* Price of Gold = $997.00
* Difference = 8,781.86

And the winner is: Me! In the last fifteen months, the price of gold has not substantially risen and the stock market (though it had problems far larger than what I would have expected) has demonstrated amazing resilience. Hooray for capitalism! Hooray for optimism! Hooray for America!

And boo for crazy old Ron Paul and all his nutty followers that stocked up on gold and guns and apocalypse repellent.

--"SUNSHINE" DAVE RAHIMI

A year of movies

Okay, I'm tired of having this dumb post about a video game at the top of my blog. So how about we talk about movies? It's been almost a year since I posted my first set of reviews. And I know that you, my imaginary readers, have been eagerly anticipating the sequel-- which, here it is!

Fall 2008 movie reviews

* * Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist : I love George Michael, but this movie was mostly pretty vapid. I guess I just could not relate to the protagonists, rich teenagers in New York City who are immersed in the indie music scene. It just seemed ridiculous to me; even the music was a mixed bag.

* * Twilight : One day, Robert Pattinson will bite me and I will become a glittery fey vampire who sparkles in the sunlight. Until then, I will have to watch this movie and dream. The best part of the experience was that my date and I were alone in the theater with, like, a whole middle school worth of girls, who oohed and ahhed and giggled their way through the whole film. Now I know what it feels like inside the heart of a thirteen year old girl.

* * Quantum of Solace : Kaboom! Explosions! Punching! Cars! Solace! Oil! Girls! Blammo! Whatever!


2009 movie reviews

* * * * Coraline : Stop-motion animation about a little girl who discovers a doorway into a world of magic and spookiness. Like a Tim Burton movie, but cuter. Some of the visuals were just unbelievable. See this on the big screen if you can.

* * * * Doubt : The four principal actors were all nominated for Oscars, and for good reason. It's a great, great movie-- especially because there's no big courtroom scene where the evil-doer is confronted with the facts. In fact, it's not even completely obvious who did wrong. The story is left ambiguous. Fascinating.

* * * Taken : Want to see Liam Neeson punch every sleazebag gangster in Europe in the throat? I know I did! Wish he could have spared one for James Bond.

* Terminator Salvation : This film made me long for the the careful realism of James Cameron's original, not to mention the understated, subtle performance of Arnold Schwartzenegger. Sorry, Batman.

* * * * * Up : Thank you, Pixar, for the best movie I have seen this year.

* * * Star Trek : It's a new flavor of Trek, but I like it. I thought New Kirk = New Coke, but the final scene convinced me I was wrong. Plus, Simon Pegg as Scotty was hilarious.

* * * * (500) Days of Summer : I liked this movie a lot. I've been thinking about a lot of these same questions-- what is love, how do I know when I've found the right woman for me, etc.-- and so I really identified with the protagonist. Plus, great music. (Sorry, George Michael.)

* * * * Julie & Julia I almost want to give this five stars, just for the Julia parts of the movie. But the Julie parts of the movie are clearly three-star material. But go see this just for Meryl Streep. Genius! This is the kind of love story we need more of. The kind with food is what I mean.

--FABULOUS J.