"If I had a party and all we did was play Monopoly, would you guys come?"
-- Stephen Glass, "Shattered Glass"

I finally watched "Snatch" last night. I thought the acting was great, the story was fun, and it had that hip underground feel that >"Ocean's 11" aspired to -- and now I see why some people don't think that latter flick lived up to its potential. On the Rotten Tomatoes website, "Oceans 11" garnered more favorable ratings. I wonder why that is? Maybe because "Oceans 11" is easier to understand. It's definitely slicker -- not as dirty and seedy as "Snatch." And "Snatch" was admittedly hard for me to follow, at parts. That just means I'll watch it again, though.

Adam Penenberg, the newsman who uncovered reporter Stephen Glass' lies, (as chronicled by the fabulous flick "Shattered Glass"), is writing a new weekly column for Wired News. Among other things, Penenberg will attempt to analyze the ways politicians and corporations spin the news and point out when reporters distort facts or advance personal agendas.

Speaking of bad reporters, here's a story about a college reporter who made up 40 sources. I really don't think you could get away with this at Oregon State, my alma mater. Our newspaper staff was social enough (not to mention smart enough) that I think someone would have caught on. Still, you have to wonder how these things happen.   ¶ 4:23 PM

  This just in: Britney was the one who proposed, not her beau! That's a modern gal, I suppose. Makes me somehow respect her more. Not like I hugely respected her before. Will post more later, so check back!  ¶ 12:01 PM

  "I'm very drunk and I intend on getting still drunker before this evening's over."
-- Rhett Butler, "Gone With the Wind"

This will be short, as I'm at a school board meeting. Camping this past weekend was super fun. It was HOT by Alaska standards – above 80. And when we normally don’t get much past 75, which already feels sweltering, above 80 is downright nearly insufferable. Anyway, John, Krista and Jess came over and off we went to Hope. Jess and I were both driving -- two cars were necessary with gear, bags, two coolers and one very large dog (Denali). We found a good camping spot on the beach with a gorgeous view of the mountains and water, and away from most other campers so we could get loud and crazy. The bar was maybe a four minute walk from our spot, tops. John made dinner and we drank beer and played cribbage and hung out when Adam and Jake (mainly friends of John’s) showed up and we all played hacky sack, which was fun. I hadn't done that for a couple years.

We headed up to the bar around 11 – of course it was perfectly bright out still. At the bar, it was really quiet, but it just so happened that one of the handful of folks there was Mike Gorder, lead singer for Delmag, a very popular if not the most popular local band. He had with him a guy named Jody who is also a local musician, and some other random guy. They were playing guitars, singing. There was this older local woman named Tree who was also drinking and bopping around us. She had a matted little dog named Mya who was pretty cute. Scott Johnson and Kevin Klott showed up after a while. We probably all stayed in the bar an hour and a half or so, then headed back to the beach for a bonfire. Mike, Jody and Random Guy came too and pitched their tents near ours and gave us a ton of wood and more beer. I went to bed close to 4 a.m. This was after several people had fallen pretty dramatically into the mud (it’s thick sloppy gluey mud – very dangerous) and we’d had to move the camp and the fire further south because the tide rose so high. It actually took out our fire at one point and we had to rebuild it. Oops! Anyway, I believe I went to bed around 4 a.m.

I woke up with lots of bug bites on my feat. There were these monstrous nasty horseflies everywhere. And you really don't notice them, in some cases, until they bite. And it hurts! But the bites on my feet were from plain old mosquitoes. Bastards. And they still itch.

Last night, John and I opted for mellowness and movie. We chose "Party Monster" and it was the strangest movie I've seen in a while. It's a very compelling story about Michael Atig -- one of the major club kids of the New York scene in the 1980s. But the movie was not compelling. The acting was uneven, there were glaring holes in the plot development. So I tell you all this as a favor: Skip this flick.

Cheers!  ¶ 7:11 PM

  Oops, Britney's doing it again. Marriage, that is.   ¶ 4:47 PM

 

"My fear was just a shadow and then a voice spoke in my head
And she said
Dark is not the opposite of light
It's the absence of light
And I thought to myself she knows what she's talking about
And for a moment I knew what it was all about."
-- Beastie Boys, "Namaste"

The Beastie Boys' new CD is out and on top of the charts. Anyone heard it yet? I'm tempted to go buy it. I think of Beastie Boys and I think of driving to Milwaukie with Alisa and Zach listening to "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" -- of fraternity parties when "Girls" played any number of times -- of Meghann Williams, who once was genuinely angry with me for waking her up and interrupting her dream about Adrock.

In other music news, rapper DMX has reportedly been arrested for trying to steal a car. Why would someone with as much money as DMX want to steal anything? People are so stupid sometimes, truly.

And amid the buzz over Clinton and his new book, Monica speaks out. She says he continued to lie in the book, as he did to protect his presidency, and blew an opportunity to set things straight. You go, girl.   ¶ 10:14 AM

  I had a really fun time at Jessica's last night. She had a grill full of fresh salmon sizzling when I arrived. She cooked a fish tail and gave it to Denali, her lovable black lab, just as an experiment to seem how he would take it. He lapped at it but looked very confused -- like, why do the humans get the good stuff and I get this slimy tail? It was really cute.

It's so summery today. The Blue Angels are in town for the annual air show and zipping over the office every few minutes in practice flights. Love is in the air, too. One friend was married last weekend, another the weekend before. There are two weddings on my schedule for August. Single? Here's some funny fashion tips -- example, avoid pants that make your tummy bulge, and sky-high heels that give you blisters. This stuff seems common sense, no? But I'm constantly amazed by the things I see people wearing. Like this chick at Chilkoots a week ago who had on low low low riding pants with a stringy thong completely exposed. I suppose a peek of panties can be tantalizing but this was way beyond that. I suppose it went with her whole look -- one of those napkin shirts that ties behind the back and at the neck and just sort of dangles there. Jeez. Leave something to the imagination, right?

Enough bitching about clothes. What else? A bunch of us are planning a camping trip to Hope this weekend, which should be fun. If you want to see footage of a grizzly bear attacking and gobbling up a moose calf, check out the newspaper's web site today. No, I'm not joking. And alas, Solstice has come and gone and as folks say, it's all down hill from here, with lengthening darkness until Dec. 21. Today, with 19 hours, 21 minutes and 12 seconds of daylight, we lost 37 seconds of sunshine from yesterday's time.

Here's a fun ender: What umbrella drink are you? This amazing quiz can tell you. I'm a "fuzzy navel flirt." In simple terms, I'm fun, festive, confident and direct. Go figure.   ¶ 2:47 PM

  "A boat beneath a sunny sky,
Lingering onward dreamily
In an evening of July--
Children three that nestle near,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Pleased a simple tale to hear--
Long has paled that sunny sky:
Echoes fade and memories die.
Autumn frosts have slain July.
Still she haunts me, phantomwise,
Alice moving under skies
Never seen by waking eyes.
Children yet, the tale to hear,
Eager eye and willing ear,
Lovingly shall nestle near.
In a Wonderland they lie,
Dreaming as the days go by,
Dreaming as the summers die:
Ever drifting down the stream--
Lingering in the golden gleam--
Life, what is it but a dream?"
-- Lewis Carroll,
"Through the Looking Glass"

John and I watched the most disturbing documentary last night about child beauty queens in the south. It was totally horrifying, all about this poor Barbie Doll-looking girl named Swan Brooner. Mildly curious about Swan, and having told Nicole about the highly disturbing nature of the documentary, I do a quick web search and... learn that Swan now reportedly lives in Alaska with her dad because her mother died of a heart attack in 2003 at the age of 44. Sure enough! I do a quick records search and find Swan, living in Soldotna (of all places!) with Ruby, Robin, Henry, Harry and Devon Brooner -- and at several different apartments during the last several years. Seems our Swan has fallen from grace.

Speaking of swans, anyone out there but me know Loreena McKennitt's song, the Bonny Swans? Great but sad song, arranged from an old legend, about a sister who's killed by her other sister, Anne, because Anne wants the little sister's man. I used to always tease Erin about that: "Hey Erin, this song's about a big sister who kills the little sister!" It did not, however, scare her as it did when we were all little, and Scott and I would grab forks and chase her around the house while Tom Petty's "Don't Come Around Here No More" played. If you'll recall, that Alice In Wonderland themed video ended with Tom eating the Alice girl, who had turned into a cake. Scared my sister to death. Ha ha. We still tease her about that. We're a tough-love clan, us Peszneckers.   ¶ 5:15 PM

  "Oh, and next Friday... is Hawaiian shirt day... so, you know, if you want to you can go ahead and wear a Hawaiian shirt and jeans."
-- Bill Lumbergh, "Office Space"

I just had to post that because today is, yes, Hawaiian Shirt Day here at the Anchorage Daily News. And I do feel like I'm trapped in the movie "Office Space." I turned a 90 inch story into my editor at noon (it's the Sunday cover story). It's now almost 5 p.m. and he hasn't returned a draft to me yet. UGH! Which brings us to another lovely "Office Space" moment (by the way, I found a great web site with all sorts of "Office Space" quotes):

Peter Gibbons: Well see, they wrote all this bank software, and, uh, to save space, they used two digits instead of four. So like 98 instead of 1998? Uh, so I go through these thousands of lines of code and, uh... it doesn't really matter. I uh, I don't like my job, and, uh, I don't think I'm gonna go anymore.
Joanna: You're just not gonna go?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah.
Joanna: Won't you get fired?
Peter Gibbons: I don't know, but I really don't like it, and, uh, I'm not gonna go.
Joanna: So you're gonna quit?
Peter Gibbons: Nah-uh. Not really. Uh... I'm just gonna stop going.
<strong>Joanna: When did you decide all that?
Peter Gibbons: About an hour ago.
Joanna: An hour ago... so you're gonna get another job?
Peter Gibbons: I don't think I'd like another job.
Joanna: Well, what are you going to do about money and bills and...
Peter Gibbons: You know, I've never really liked paying bills. I don't think I'm gonna do that, either.

Cheers!   ¶ 4:53 PM

  "I like my money right where I can see it... hanging in my closet."
-- Carrie, "Sex and the City"

Recap of awkward conversation just witnessed on employee patio:
The scene: A young girl, perhaps in her late-20s, sits at a picnic table, reading, her brown hair pulled back into a pony tail. She is wearing sunglasses. The door opens and a man steps out of the building. He isn't unattractive, but is noticeably older. He does a double take when he sees the girl, and stops.
Guy: Hi.
Girl: (Looks up. Pauses before answering.) Hi.
Guy: (pauses.) So... how was fishing?
Girl: Not so good actually.
Guy: Oh? Did you get anything?
Girl: Um... No.
(awkward pause)
Girl: So, I uh, I'm sorry I didn't call back. I got your message but then... when I went to call, I accidentally hit delete instead of send ...

Why, people? Why?! Why do we tell little lies to make other people feel better? I am reminded of a nice but much much older and very unattractive guy who surprised me once at home with a call, asking me to dinner. I made up something lame, confronted with hurting his feelings. Wouldn't have it been nicer to just tell him I wasn't interested and not prolong his hopes? This patio conversation, replayed above, was unbearable. Everyone knows just cause you delete a number doesn't mean you delete it from your call log. He knew it. She knew it. It was bad.

Here's another question: Why do all the couples from "The Bachelor" fail, while the two from "The Bachelorette" succeed?

And on the general topic of relationships, check this out. Hey, if it works for mice... maybe men?

Anyway, rumor is Britney's engaged to the dancer guy. Maybe she's jealous of all the J.Lo mania? "Sex and the City" has done fairly well so far in its TBS ratings, perhaps losing some points to Newlyweds. It really depresses me that people would rather watch Nick and Jessica fight and frolic than tune into a quality comedy like "Sex." But who am I to talk? I watch all sorts of reality television.

I have Monday off. It's part of the McClatchy Company's efforts to recognize the diverse background of its employees. You can pick any day to take off as a paid holiday. I picked summer solstice. And you notice solstice here. We have 19 hours, 21 minutes and 47 seconds of daylight today. It's fantastic. And I plan to enjoy every minute of it during my much-needed three days off. Hope everyone else has a great weekend!   ¶ 2:16 PM

  "If two people have only one thought between them, something is very wrong."
- Carrie, "Sex and the City"

Happy Thursday! Feels like Friday since I've been working since Sunday. It's helped that the weather's been horrid, though -- rainy, blowy, cloudy, icky. Oops -- my apologies to DeAnn for discussing weather.

I may finally watch "Snatch" tonight. That's right, never seen it. I'm lame. Also have never seen "Sexy Beast," also on tonight's list of possibilities. Also must see "Fargo," SOON, or my mom may disown me.

I don't think I mentioned that on the plane from Anchorage to Chicago they showed "Dirty Dancing 2: Havana Nights." Maybe the only way they could get someone to watch it was to play it to a captive audience? Like the substitute teacher I had in high school who never taught us anything, just played guitar -- badly. Particularly Stairway To Heaven. I shudder, remembering.

Are y'all feeling tired? You should. Today is the dark moon. I knew it before I even looked at my moon calendar. John complained of feeling exhausted, I felt exhausted, and lo and behold... If the moon can control the tides...   ¶ 4:27 PM

  "We're on top of the world, man."
-- Chauncey Billups, Pistons, finals' most valuable player

The Detroit Pistons have won the NBA championship! Up until this season, I hated the Pistons, because they beat the Blazers in the finals back in the day. And they had that creepy Bill Lambier guy with the plastic face mask. But this time around, it was easy to cheer for them: They have my fave bad boy, Rasheed! What's next for the Lakers? Time will tell.

Another note on the Sex and the City topic: This week is just back-to-back favorite episodes. Next week they start airing them in order. So if you've never seen it, or just seen a few, but want to try it out (Mom?), I'd recommend skipping this week and starting fresh next week. I did watch the beginning of last night's episode, "The Real Me," and noticed subtle changes -- nothing that ruined it. But I'm going to have to watch more before I pass judgment.

Now, on to a more sober subject: Here are excerpts from an e-mail I just received from a friend who is a platoon leader in the Army and stationed over in Baghdad:

Subject: Hanging in there
Sorry it's been so long since I've written, been super busy lately. My battalion had another soldier killed and a couple wounded, none of my guys but some we knew. Things have been crazy lately and only seem to be getting worse as we get closer to the transfer of authority. I hope it gets quiet again after June 30th. We just missed the big car bomb downtown 2 days ago. Blew up about 500ft. from my convoy. Big boom and one hell of a mess. Lots of bodies, luckily none of us got hurt. Sometimes you just get lucky and take a left instead of a right. I sure hope we don't run into any more of those. I'm up at the airport right now just killing some time before we have to pick up all our passengers and head for home. Another long day, but we found this cool little MWR facility that's air conditioned and has internet and pool tables. Even has indoor plumbing, which I've almost forgotten how to use. Toilets that flush are an amazing thing. The heat is miserable, about 120 today, although there is a little bit of a breeze that feels like a hair dryer hitting you in the face, but it does help dry the sweat faster. What I'd give to be on the river fishing or at the coast surfing.
Just having some fun, any sort of fun, would be awesome right about now. A cold beer would be really nice too. Anyway, drink a cold one for me and the boys and keep the letters & emails coming. Everybody take care, stay in the center lane, and of course......
Let'er Buck!  ¶ 12:35 PM

  "I have low self-esteem, but I express it the healthy way... by eating a box of Double-Stuf Oreos."
- Miranda Hobbes, "Sex and the City" season 1

Tonight, Sex and the City goes into syndication. Now, every Sex fan's worst fear: Will it be watered down? Will we feel disappointed when it's all over? Feel cheap, used? I don't think so. I've read a lot on the topic and the consensus seems to be die-hard fans (like me) will notice changes and omissions. For example, Mr. Big's seductive "abso-f*cking-lutely" and the term "f*ck buddy" because "absolutely" and "sex buddy." But I've also heard HBO planned for this all along, filming tamer scenes for audiences overseas, and the eventual transfer of the show to syndication. Now we've got a whole new round of Sex, and those who've seen it so far say it's pretty satisfying. I'll definitely be watching.   ¶ 11:49 AM

  "Announcing your plans is a good way to hear god laugh."
-- Al Swearengen, "Deadwood"

I wrote the wildest story yesterday, and normally wouldn't link to my own stuff. But this tale is just too crazy. Click on the headline: "Zoo fills up with bears as Willow shooting makes 2 more orphans." The two orphaned bear cups are still unnamed.

Speaking of naming offspring, a cursory scan the list of most popular baby names shows the top shows traditional names still make a strong showing. Then Gwyneth Paltrow names her baby Apple. And now Courtney Cox has dubbed her new daughter Coco.

For all the journalists out there, this last link comes from Nicole, and has to do with the profit-hungry world journalism has become.

One last random note: The "Deadwood" finale totally rocked. It was probably my favorite episode yet. The way this show layers scenes one after another, with rarely a fade-to-black cut out but instead a constant stream of action with mounting tensions -- it's just fabulous. Emmy nominations are Wednesday and I am crossing my fingers that Ian McShane gets nominated for his portrayal Machiavellianian saloon owner Al Swearengen.   ¶ 1:04 PM

 

"Men are confused. They're conflicted. They want a woman who's their intellectual equal, but they're afraid of women like that. They want a woman they can dominate, but then they hate her for being weak. It's an ambivalence that goes back to a man's relationship with his mother. Source of his life, center of his universe, object of both his fear and his love."
-- Northern Exposure

I was so excited to hear about the Stepford Wives remake and am totally bummed out by the bad reviews it's getting. John says I put too much store in reviews. They are a major factor for me. First, I don't like to watch any movie unless I know what genre it is and its major plot elements. I also love previews. I know some people are just the opposite. One guy in particular closes his eyes during movie theatre previews. These folks want to watch a movie with a clean mental slate, without pollution. I can respect that. It's just not my style. As for reviews, these people are paid to have opinions and know about movies, so yes, what they say matters to me. It's one reason I appreciate Rotten Tomatoes -- because it gives you the ratio of bad and good reviews. At press time, only 28 of 90 reviews have said Stepford Wives is worth seeing. Maybe I'll just rent the original.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!   ¶ 5:11 PM

 

"It is no fun to kick the dead. And I am not suggesting that journalists, anchors and media commentators do so--especially when the man in the casket was beloved by so many. But it is not unreasonable--or disrespectful--to have an honest discussion about Reagan and his legacy and to acknowledge (and explain why) he was hardly a hero to all. The media too often gave him a free ride when he was president, and that ride has continued this week.
-- David Corn, "The Nation"

Am I the only one who was tired of Reagan coverage on day one? And is anyone as annoyed as I am that all the "Reagan is great" articles totally left out the fact that he totally ignored AIDS? AIDS cases were recognized in 1981. Wasn't until '87 that Reagan said the word "AIDS" publicly. By then, 27,000 people had died. Maybe, in the aftermath of the Gipper's death, people just don't recall that black mark on his presidency.

How about a lighter subject? Music! I finally heard Loretta Lynn's new album, thanks to a friendly coworker burning it for me. The "Portland Oregon" song is so incredible. I listened to it over and over, as one must do upon discovering a fun new song. And though I've never been a gin lover, it made me a little homesick, I confess.

My mom sent me this fun link with the 100 best country love songs. I was pretty surprised to see that Garth Brooks made the list just once, and it wasn't for "The Dance," which is a crime. I also noticed a lot of country singers are named George. Theories, anyone? I listened to country a lot during the high school and early college years when I was still working on a ranch and crossing paths with cowboys. I forwarded the link to my friend Jess in Idaho and she pointed out a song title alone can bring back a wave of memories. Sure can! That list is like a mental yearbook. Here's another song list, kind of cheese but appropriate for the season.   ¶ 12:58 PM

  DeAnn graciously pointed me to this link, rather than post it herself on her own blog. It's about the women on Deadwood having a growing role on the show. It's interesting, because it talks about the challenge of growing the female characters' roles when, back then, women's needs really were largely tied to men. Enjoy!   ¶ 4:52 PM

 

"The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think."
-- Edwin Schlossberg

I link today, with great pride, to this essay written by my mom, titled "The Art of the Deal in the Coen Brother's Fargo." Yes, I'm proud.

In other news, Howard Stern has been fined a cool $1.7 million by the FCC -- the largest fine ever leveled by that agency. But does anyone think this will change Howard Stern? Come on. It will just up the ante on his vitriolic rantings and ogling of any big-busted female to slink through his studio. But you know what? If you don't like it, don't listen to it. That's my theory.

Now, for a Wednesday recipe:

Beef and spinach turnovers
This dish takes some time, but it's easy and it's yummy.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef (low fat is fine)
Spinach (fresh, not frozen. Ew.) Chop it up real good.
Onions, finely chopped
Swiss or cheddar cheese, grated or sliced
1 tube of low-fat buttermilk biscuit dough (think Pilsbury)

Directions:

Over medium heat, crumble ground beef in non-stick pan and brown. When it starts to get a good color, drain the fat and add the onions. When the onions are looking "done," add the spinach and cook until spinach is wilty. Drain any excess fat and remove from heat.

Open the biscuit tube. If you are me, that would require finding someone else to open it while you plug your ears. Those things are scary!

Each ready-made biscuit should be in a flattened circle shape. You want it even flatter -- and thin. An easy way to do this is to get two plates, and two sheets of wax paper, and smash the dough between the plates to get it nice and flat. You can then use a rolling pin (or a tin can) to roll it flatter.

Spoon some of the beef mixture into the dough circle. Top it with cheese. Fold circle in half and seal edges with a fork. Do this for each dough circle. Preheat the oven to the temperature as directed by the dough container.

These won't need to bake long at all, since you've thinned out the dough. But watch them to make sure the bottoms aren't cooking too fast. If they are getting too brown but the dough doesn't look done, flip them over and continue cooking.   ¶ 11:53 AM

 

"In Hollywood, a marriage is a success if it outlasts milk."
Rita Rudner

So there I am in my Chicago hotel room, sipping Fosters and chatting up friends, when the Reagan death news tidbits streaming across the bottom of the CNN screen are interrupted briefly by a gossipy news item: "Jennifer Lopez marries Mark Anthony." I was absolutely convinced this was false -- that Mark Anthony is still married, right? By now, however, we all know about his quickie divorce and that they are indeed married. The bride wore Vera Wang, the groom wore Armani, and turns out that non-engagement ring engagement ring that J-Lo started sporting a week ago was indeed the real thing ring. Today, Page Six is reporting the nuptials were perhaps hastened because J-Lo is pregnant! Article says she's Catholic, and wouldn't have a baby out of wedlock. Um, hello? This sort of hypocrisy just drives me nuts. It's OK to sleep with a married man out of wedlock, but not have a baby out of wedlock. Whatevvahh.

Anyway, Chicago. I had a great time. I arrived in the morning and checked into my hotel, right off the famed Michigan Avenue. The architecture was amazing. It's a very pretty city too -- lots of trees and plants. The conference would run all day Friday, Saturday and until I left on Sunday, but I did get to venture out Friday and Saturday nights.

Friday, I went with my friend Gregg Blesch (former Oregonian coworker) to the Billy Goat, a very fun and famous diner/bar located on the subway level of the Michigan Avenue strip, right between the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times. Its very location makes it a convenient bar for media, but it's also been popularized by a certain classic Saturday Night Live sketch. Then Saturday, I joined Greg and his wife, and another couple, for dinner. We headed to Frontera Grill, a highly regarded spot. Kara warned there would be a wait. Yup: Three hours! I couldn't believe it. I can't think of a single restaurant in Alaska, except maybe Double Musky
in Girdwood, where you would have to wait that long. But we took it in stride, put our names on the list, and strolled down the block to Fado, an Irish pub. After some beer and soup, we again faced the crowds at Frontera. It had thinned out enough to get into the bar, where we had awesome margaritas until our table was ready. And yes, it lived up to the hype: The food was amazing. Our appetizers included seviche and the freshest guacamole I've ever had. My dinner included maza corn turnovers filled with goat cheese, and rolled tortillas with seasoned chicken and amazing vegetables served over a mound of guacamole.

Alas, all things must come to an end, and I returned home very very late on Sunday, to my cool boyfriend, gorgeous mountains and a VCR that had obediently taped the Sopranos season finale.

  ¶ 11:32 AM

 

“Some goddamn point a man's due to stop argueing with hisself and feeling twice the goddam fool he knows he is 'cause he can't be something he tries to be every goddam day without once getting to dinnertime and f*cking it up. I don't want to fight it anymore, understand me Charlie? -- and I don't want you pissing in my ear about it. Can you let me go to hell the way I want to?”
— Wild Bill Hickok, "Deadwood"

No particular reason for that particular quote, except that I love "Deadwood" and its finale is this Sunday. I won't quite be back to town yet, though. In less than nine hours, I will be on a plane and headed for Chicago. I'm staying at the Wyndham Chicago, which looks pretty swanky. I'm in the perfect mood to be shuttled off somewhere and stay holed up in an anonymous hotel room flipping through random cable channels and drinking hotel room coffee.

I'm going there for a conference put on by the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media. It should be fun! I have been to one Hechinger conference before and besides the fact that the hotel was amazing and it was near prime shopping in downtown San Francisco, I also learned a lot and was really inspired!

This Sunday is the season finales of "Sopranos" and "Deadwood". I am setting my VCR since I don't get back til late that night and am hoping "Sopranos" deals with the whole Adrianna/FBI story arch. I think one of "Sopranos" biggest flaws is it introduces so many characters, and histories, and plot twists, that it seldom ties them all up. Maybe that's why more people are dying lately? They don't have time to resolve plot lines so they're just killing people? Maybe? As for "Deadwood," the entire finale could just be the characters cracking jokes and dancing, and I'd be entertained. If this show isn't nominated for Emmy's, I will be smashing my television.
  ¶ 3:02 PM

 

"Somewhere on this globe, every ten seconds, there is a woman giving birth to a child. She must be found and stopped."
Sam Levenson (1911 - 1980)

OK, so that quote's a tad cynical. What can I say? Two of the newsroom women popped out babies yesterday. Stephanie gave birth to a girl, as yet unnamed, and Elizabeth gave birth to a boy, named Eliot. Yes, that's how they're spelling it. One L. One T. It's the second baby for both mothers.

I like babies just fine and the pictures of these newest additions to our planet can't help but make even the most severe cynic smile. The mothers cradle their babies affectionately, gazing downward. Both fathers have assumed appropriate positions in the photographs: One hand on mom's back, and adoring daddy eyes settled on the baby's face.

Why do people get so excited about new babies? Nicole says it's our glee and celebratory spirit at seeing our species persist. Maybe. I just get annoyed by how rational and intelligent people get so relentlessly gushy and silly about infants. Yes, they're adorable. And I can understanding gushing and oohing and ahhing to an extent. But, I have my limits.

Until recently, I didn't even want kids. So I also sympathize with people who don't want or have kids -- whether they always wanted them but just didn't get around to it or didn't do it, or whether they always knew they didn't want to be a parent. While a lot of folks goo and gah over babies because they look forward to when it's them, with their baby, getting the home-made booties and maternity leave, there are also those people who see babies and want to run to the nearest clinic to get themselves reproductively fixed.

Well. Today, in the spirit of breeding in this already overpopulated and underfinanced world of malnutrition and poverty, I offer this recipe from my mom. I've never actually made it but I've devoured it many times and it's really good, fairly inexpensive and makes a hearty helping, big enough to feed a huge family.

Mommy's Yummy (and simple!) Pot Roast

Ingredients:
1 pot roast*
1 envelope Lipton's (dry) Onion soup mix
Potatoes - equivalent of one regular-sized one per person
Carrot - 3 or 4, or a couple handfuls of baby ones
3 onions, sliced
Pepper

*If you aren't sure what this is, ask the butcher to help you. chuck roast or 7-blade roast work great. You want something 3-4"" thick. Cheap cuts of meat are best, and they need some fat in them.

You'll need a large pot with a lid-- one big enough to hold the pot roast with the lid on.

Directions

Gently tuck a large piece of heavy-duty foil into the pot (the idea here is to use the foil as a liner, put the roast on it, and then gather the foil up around the roast; this helps the roast cook and keeps the mess out of your pan; based on this, you don't want to tear the foil!).

Spread 1 of the sliced onions around the bottom of the pot. Add 1/2 cup water.

Place the roast on top of the onions.

Sprinkle the dry onion soup mix on top of the roast. Sprinkle liberally with pepper and pile the remaining sliced onions over and around the roast. Crimp the foil up over the roast.

Put the lid on the pot. Roast on the low rack of a 300 degree oven for 2 hours.

After 2 hours, remove the pot from the oven. Open the foil carefully (watch out for hot steam). Place the potatoes (peeled and cut into quarters) and carrots on and around the roast. Re-crimp the foil, replace the lid, and put it back in the oven.

Roast for 2 more hours at 300.

EAT!

The meat will be fork-tender. The juice makes a great baste if you skim the fat off first. Leftovers make wonderful sandwiches.
  ¶ 1:25 PM