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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Sunday Sermon and Open Thread

Sunday Sermon and Open Thread

by Betty Cracker|  February 5, 20127:04 am| 86 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Recipes, Religion

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Preach it, Brother Bill:

So, it’s Super Bowl Sunday. What are y’all cooking for the occasion, if anything? Does anyone have a good recipe for onion dip that does not include Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix? I intend to try this Alton Brown recipe unless someone has a better suggestion.

Also, Giants or Patriots? I’m not particularly fond of either team (my team is the sucky Bucs), but I’m leaning toward the Giants for no particular reason.

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Reader Interactions

86Comments

  1. 1.

    RosiesDad

    February 5, 2012 at 7:11 am

    I am a lifelong Giants fan and would love to beat the Pats again. But if not, it’s still great to be playing in the last game of the season.

    There will be smoked baby backs, guacamole and beer.

  2. 2.

    THE

    February 5, 2012 at 7:21 am

    I saw this earlier, Betty. The final “unbaptizing” ceremony is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

  3. 3.

    c u n d gulag

    February 5, 2012 at 7:22 am

    GO GIANTS!!!

    And, no, I don’t hate the Pat’s.

    I’m going over to a friends house, where my best JHS and HS friends will be. The 5 of us have been best friends for (YIKES!) over 40 years now.

    I have to drive home, so (SADLY) only 1 or 2 beers for me.

    She’s cooking up a storm. I asked what she wanted me to make, since I’m a good cook, and she told me “Just bring yourself.”

    So, I get a free ride for a change! :-)

  4. 4.

    JPL

    February 5, 2012 at 7:23 am

    Yesterday I made a big pot of red beans and rice. I’d like to see the Pats win but with Gronkowski iffy and Brady fallible, I’m a little nervous.

  5. 5.

    amk

    February 5, 2012 at 7:26 am

    ann romney’s dad was an anti-religious scientist ? Go dad.

  6. 6.

    henqiguai

    February 5, 2012 at 7:32 am

    Hard to go wrong with an Alton Brown recipe.

    Um, there’s some sort of sporting event today??

  7. 7.

    Ron

    February 5, 2012 at 7:38 am

    Unless you have a reason not to, I’d go with Alton’s recipe. And having looked at it it seems pretty simple.

  8. 8.

    Phylllis

    February 5, 2012 at 7:42 am

    I’m making a batch of jalapeno cheese (like pimento cheese but with..you know) to be served with townhouse crackers. There may also be a bag or two of Lays vinegar chips torn open. I’ve got the makings for jambalaya, but I’m still toying with running up to the grocery story in the next few minutes to get a boston butt for the crockpot.

  9. 9.

    amk

    February 5, 2012 at 7:54 am

    That Murkin dog with kittehs part 1 and part 2.

  10. 10.

    ExcuseMeExcuseMe

    February 5, 2012 at 7:55 am

    If you’re not up for making it from scratch, you can replace the Lipton Onion Soup with Knorr Leek Soup mix.

  11. 11.

    John Weiss

    February 5, 2012 at 7:59 am

    I’ve no dog in this hunt. I hope it’s a good game.

    Rose and I are making shrimp cocktail, grilled shrimp, sauce from scratch and faux-ground beef tacos and black bean nachos. We’re going over to a friend’s house early, we’ll have a martini or two and watch the beautiful Pacific pre-game.

  12. 12.

    Palli

    February 5, 2012 at 8:11 am

    This alone discredits Romney as a thinking , caring, person. He can not have an ounce of respect for an individual other than himself and his obedient family members.

    But I didn’t need to know more about him, his condescension for Others is thinly concealed.

  13. 13.

    Betty Cracker

    February 5, 2012 at 8:11 am

    @John Weiss: How do you make your sauce? My cocktail sauce is a variation on Ina Garten’s — I just use more horseradish and Cholula rather than Tabasco.

  14. 14.

    aimai

    February 5, 2012 at 8:26 am

    I can’t stand Bill Maher but that was a thing of beauty. Well worth watching. And it does tell you more about Mitt (and his wife) than one could stand to know. As a Jew the whole “baptizing our ancestors” things pisses me off, but I have comforted myself in remembering that the whole thing is bunk. Its much, much, much worse when you realize that they did it to someone who they knew, personally, would have rejected the act to their faces during his life. The retroactive baptising of the President’s mother, when they are so abysmally anti woman and pretty much stone racists until 1978 is also jaw droppingly awful. Like, how do you square baptizing someone into your religion in order to then excommunicate them for being a woman, for getting married to non whites, and for being a feminist? Are you also brainswashing them while baptizing them? Becuase I don’t see how this works otherwise.

    aimai

  15. 15.

    Spence

    February 5, 2012 at 8:31 am

    Bacon, Scallion, & Caramelized Onion Dip
    Cooks’ Illustrated

    makes about 1.5 cups

    3 slices bacon, cut into 1/4″ pieces
    3/4 cup sour cream
    1/2 cup caramelized onions
    2 scallions, minced
    1/2 tsp cider vinegar
    Salt and pepper

    1. Cook bacon in 8″ skillet over medium heat until crisp, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to paper towel lined plate and set aside.

    2. Combine sour cream, caramelized onions, scallions, vinegar, and bacon in medium bow. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve. (Dip may be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

    Cheers. Cooks’ Illustrated are good people.

  16. 16.

    amk

    February 5, 2012 at 8:32 am

    @aimai: Heh, the dead can’t talk. Reason enough to push your bs.

  17. 17.

    jeffreyw

    February 5, 2012 at 8:33 am

    BBQ’d baby back ribs, slaw, baked beans. Maybe some nachos. The kind that will anoint your lap with gooey dripping goodness unless you eat them with the care they deserve. Game? Bah, tho I will record it for the commercials.

  18. 18.

    John Weiss

    February 5, 2012 at 8:43 am

    @Betty Cracker: My sauce is a variation on Alton Brown’s recipe: more horseradish, lime juice and Sriacha sauce. Our friends are not so much into the hot stuff; if I were making it for us, I’d add some serranto peppers as well!

  19. 19.

    greennotGreen

    February 5, 2012 at 8:44 am

    Maher had some good points, and that was a funny bit, and I can’t tell you how much I disagree with the Mormon practice of baptizing the dead in the Mormon faith but for an entirely different reason than Bill. And conservatives trying to equate their religious beliefs with atheism is bogus.

    That being said, there are some atheists who proselytize just as vigorously as your born-again uncle, and those people make me really tired. My somewhat amorphous faith is the most *rational* explanation I can come up with of *my* experience of reality. *You* may not experience reality the way I do. Why would you presume to say that your experience is valid and mine is not?

    Today is a perfect example of why I believe in a higher power. Through Divine Grace, I do not have to watch the Super Bowl. What more proof could I possibly ask?

  20. 20.

    amk

    February 5, 2012 at 8:50 am

    @greennotGreen:

    Through Divine Grace, I do not have to watch the Super Bowl.

    you heathen heretic.

  21. 21.

    John Weiss

    February 5, 2012 at 8:52 am

    @greennotGreen: Why not watch it? The commercials are usually pretty good! The game will be good as well providing you’re into strategy and an athletic display like no other. On the other hand, eat well, be with friends…What’s not to like about that?

  22. 22.

    J.W. Hamner

    February 5, 2012 at 8:53 am

    Simply Recipes had one a couple of days ago: Caramelized Onion Dip. I’ve not tried it though, so can’t give any advice as to how it compares to AB.

  23. 23.

    tjmn

    February 5, 2012 at 8:53 am

    Onion dip.

    Best-Ever Onion Dip

    From Woman’s Day

    Total Time: 50 min

    Prep Time: 10 min

    Ingredients

    1 (8 ounces) brick light cream cheese (Neufchâtel), softened
    1/2 cup(s) reduced-fat sour cream
    1 tablespoon(s) olive oil, preferably extra-virgin
    1 cup(s) chopped onion
    1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
    1/2 teaspoon(s) pepper
    3 scallions, thinly sliced

    ——————————————————————————–

    Directions
    1.Stir cream cheese and sour cream in a medium bowl until blended.
    2.Heat oil in a medium skillet. Add onion, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes or until onion is soft, but not browned. Let cool completely.
    3.Stir into cream cheese mixture along with sliced scallions. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes for flavors to blend, or up to 2 days. Serve it with chips, pretzels or raw vegetables.

    ——————————————————————————–

    Tips & Techniques

    Prep Tip: Can be made up to 2 days ahead.

    Read more: Best-Ever Onion Dip Recipe – Woman’s Day

  24. 24.

    aimai

    February 5, 2012 at 8:53 am

    Well, I don’t agree with that. I mean, sure, atheists can be just as boring as other people but its usually not on the subject of atheism. And you know how I can assert that my account of reality (not my experience of it, my account of it) is more true than a religious person’s? Because I don’t have to resort to the phrase “A miracle happened” or “Then g-d intervened” to explain natural world events.

    Just take “Sun rises, sun sets.” Some religious people in some religions believed that their actions (sacrifices etc…) were required to keep the sun on its course. They have long died out as practicing these rituals and yet the sun keeps rising and setting. They must have been wrong about cause and effect and the role of the supernatural in the natural. Thats just the fact of the matter. Their explanation was faulty.

    aimai

  25. 25.

    'Niques

    February 5, 2012 at 8:57 am

    I have a replacement recipe for onion soup mix I found online that is excellent:

    8 tsp dried onion flakes
    1-1/2 tsp dried parsley
    1 tsp onion powder
    1 tsp tumeric
    1/2 tsp celery seeds
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/2 tsp sugar
    1/4 tsp ground pepper

    Mixed together this equals one envelope of Liptons.

  26. 26.

    JPL

    February 5, 2012 at 8:57 am

    Linda’s video in response to the Komen’s foundation ignorance has doubled the number of viewers. It’s just under 140,000 views.

  27. 27.

    honus

    February 5, 2012 at 8:57 am

    I’m making this.
    Made it couple years ago and it was really good, it’s easy, too.

  28. 28.

    Tom Levenson

    February 5, 2012 at 9:01 am

    Red cooked drumsticks as my contribution to a neighborhood pot luck party.

    Oh yeah, of course: Go Pats!

  29. 29.

    Betty Cracker

    February 5, 2012 at 9:02 am

    @Spence
    @tjmn

    Both of those sound excellent!

  30. 30.

    geg6

    February 5, 2012 at 9:05 am

    Pork roast in sauerkraut (with onions, apples, and caraway) with mashed potatoes and green beans.

    Loved the Bill Maher bit. Like Bill, I have nothing but disdain for god-botherers because they have nothing but disdain for me. Kinda like my relationship with Republicans. Or the New England Patriots.

  31. 31.

    JPL

    February 5, 2012 at 9:08 am

    @honus: That sounds so good.

  32. 32.

    WereBear

    February 5, 2012 at 9:16 am

    Mr WereBear’s still sick, and I’m not a football fan, so I’ll fix him a few goodies I have already shopped for and finish my taxes. Unless I’m still too sick… that can happen with pneumonia, and I don’t want to risk a relapse!

  33. 33.

    FridayNext

    February 5, 2012 at 9:17 am

    @greennotGreen:

    I think the act of converting ancestors is pretty silly, too. But on the other hand, as a historian I have to say this tenant of their faith as encouraged Mormons to support a host of archives and research facilities across the land, ostensibly to support genealogy research. Can’t convert an ancestor if you don’t know who they are. I am glad to benefit from their silliness.

    Also, too: It’s not by the grace of god you aren’t watching the Super Bowl. Most American’s won’t. Last year was the most watched SB and highest rated show ever with 111 million viewers. Since there were over 310 million Americans, this means that only about a third of America watched. This year promises to be about the same. Makes you wonder who the “real Americans” are….

  34. 34.

    keestadoll

    February 5, 2012 at 9:25 am

    It’s Super Bowl Sunday in America, when we eat a lot, drink a lot, and cheer/swear at men trying to pummel each other…um…Keeping it simple today: frying-up my own corn chips, mashing up some avocados, and the following SUPER easy taqueria sauce/salsa (double or triple this depending on how many expected at your bash):

    1 can S&W Italian Style Diced Tomatoies
    1 jalapeno pepper (seeded, membranes removed, and diced)
    1 red onion (diced)
    1 bunch cilantro
    1/2 t crushed garlic
    1 T lime juice

    liquify in blender, s/p to taste.

    Go Giants!

  35. 35.

    Brother Shotgun of Sweet Reason

    February 5, 2012 at 9:32 am

    I’m disgusted that I’ll be rooting for a New York team. Only for the reason that the Patriots cut that player the day before the Super Bowl. What a dogshit thing to do.

  36. 36.

    The Ancient Randonneur

    February 5, 2012 at 9:33 am

    Eli’s coming!

  37. 37.

    honus

    February 5, 2012 at 9:37 am

    I’m not a fan of either team, but in order to avoid the show we will be having readings of selected passages from “A Fan’s Notes” at halftime.

  38. 38.

    becca

    February 5, 2012 at 9:45 am

    I wouldn’t label myself an atheist. Too confining.

    I am a possiblist. Anything is possible, just different degrees of likelihood. My hope is that death brings just a moment of clarity before I rejoin the stars.

    Other than that, it’s chicken and dumplings, green beans and apple bread pudding for dinner.

  39. 39.

    revrlove

    February 5, 2012 at 9:51 am

    @keestadoll:

    Sounds good! Just wings (buffalo, korean, and garlic/parm) and beer here. Already pre-gaming with antacids!

  40. 40.

    schrodinger's cat

    February 5, 2012 at 9:55 am

    I don’t really get football but since you ask, Pats all the way, why? Because I is a New England kitteh, that’s why.

  41. 41.

    honus

    February 5, 2012 at 9:57 am

    Forget Maher. If you never heard it, this is Emo Phillips best religion joke ever

  42. 42.

    Lojasmo

    February 5, 2012 at 10:14 am

    @becca:

    Weak atheist= have no faith in the existence of god.
    Strong atheist= faith that god does not exist.

    I am a weak atheist. Like mahar, if I find proof that god exists, I am open to changing my mind.

  43. 43.

    handsmile

    February 5, 2012 at 10:15 am

    @honus: (#37)

    Appreciate your invoking the legendary Frederick Exley and his magnum opus!

    It prompts me to consider what other authors wrote so little (Exley published only three works, and his second, Pages from a Cold Island, deserves reclamation), but continue to enjoy wide (comparatively) readership and renown today. Proposing candidates will be an interesting parlor game among friends for this evening.

    As for today’s football clashes, it will be the one scheduled for kick-off later this morning between Chelski and Lord Fergie’s Army that captures my attention. A neutral observer for the match, but I find this football to be “an athletic display like no other.” That other game, feh. (And living in one of the two cities involved, it really is inescapable.)

  44. 44.

    Chris

    February 5, 2012 at 10:16 am

    Red Onion Dip, Joy of Cooking. I’m not sure we’ve ever exactly followed the recipe, but whatever we did was tasty.

  45. 45.

    merrinc

    February 5, 2012 at 10:22 am

    I hate football and I’m trying to lose 10 pounds so this pigskin holiday gives me a sad. If I can get my 8 mile run in after yoga class, I may treat myself to some shrimp cocktail.

    Alton Brown rocks and that onion dip recipe looks pretty good. I made his brined/roasted turkey for Thanksgiving and it was incredible. I hadn’t eaten any sort of fowl for many years but I made an exception this year because our turkey was that good.

    BTW, check out the Bill Maher video comparing football to sochulism at moveon.org.

  46. 46.

    vtr

    February 5, 2012 at 10:30 am

    As a young kid, I watched on tv the Giants lose the NFL Playoff to Unita’s Colts. Heartbroken when Ameche dove over the goal line.
    Go Pats.

  47. 47.

    flurdman

    February 5, 2012 at 10:32 am

    Lets Go Giants. I am still sore over the Eagles being cheated out of their Super Bowl win a few years back.So anything thats bad for the patriots is great for me

  48. 48.

    FridayNext

    February 5, 2012 at 10:34 am

    @honus:

    You lost me at Emo Phillips. Besides, this joke was just a warmed over rehash of a bit on Cheers in which Woody and Kelly were represented as a “mixed marriage” because they were different sects of Lutheran.

  49. 49.

    dance around in your bones

    February 5, 2012 at 10:36 am

    That Bill Maher clip was hysterical. I’m sure my family thought I was laughing drunkenly at 6:30am, all by myself.

    In football, as a casual watcher, I always root for the team that wins. Used to drive my husband crazy, commenting on that ‘great play’ by whatever team.

    I said, I just like to see football played well – I don’t care which team wins. Anathema, I know.

  50. 50.

    becca

    February 5, 2012 at 10:38 am

    @Lojasmo:

    Well, there may be God or gods or alternate universes or black holes that lead to another thing unlike anything we ever imagined or whatever else you can imagine.

    But, if there was indisputable proof of the existence of God, I wonder what would happen?

  51. 51.

    redshirt

    February 5, 2012 at 10:55 am

    Go Pats! Hopeful that they can pull out a win, but this Giants team has been gangbusters for weeks and have proven they can’t beat Brady and the Gang. So I’m nervous, but hopeful.

  52. 52.

    suzanne

    February 5, 2012 at 11:02 am

    I may watch the game, though I’m not sure why. I haven’t watched any other games this season, I don’t care who wins, and we don’t have people coming over. Plus, I have a big test to study for. So, why? Eh.

    I love the baby more than life itself, but I am looking forward to pooping with the door shut.

  53. 53.

    WereBear

    February 5, 2012 at 11:03 am

    @becca: Well, you know… there is.

    Black holes and multiple galaxies millions of light years old. The magnificent panorama of a mountain hike or a tropical island. The way an abused cat will still reach through the cage bars and beg for love.

    There is wonder and amazement and outright awe and awwwww all around us.

    What else could it all mean? The capacity for happiness is explained by chemicals; but does not guide us to their purpose. God, in whatever form he she or it might take; does.

    The end is the means.

  54. 54.

    MikeJ

    February 5, 2012 at 11:05 am

    Thank god that horrid pregame stuff is over! Normally we don’t have to sit through that crap but air it on fox’s main net and they feel like they have to give us a half hour of morons babbling before the game starts.

    I don’t hold much real hope, and I know this is an unpopular view around here, but I gotta cheer for the local boys. Go Chelsea!

    Celery, celery…..

  55. 55.

    gelfling545

    February 5, 2012 at 11:07 am

    Caramelized Onion Dip

    3 large onions sliced very thin, 2 C sour cream, salt, lemon juice

    Place the onions in as non-stick skillet, sprinkle with salt to cover lightly (about 2-3T), cook over medium heat stirring often until caramelized (30-45 min). Add to sour cream and mix thoroughly adding about 1t lemon juice. Taste & adjust salt & lemon juice.

  56. 56.

    Ken

    February 5, 2012 at 11:09 am

    As a Browns fan, it’s; Super What? Living in Buffalo, the Bills; Been there, not done that.

    I’ll pull for the Giants at the party today; they have more Buckeyes on their team.

  57. 57.

    THE

    February 5, 2012 at 11:13 am

    @Lojasmo: I’m a strong atheist.
    I find the Abrahamic God so revolting, that even if he existed, I would keep trying to get escape from him.

    I just want Man to be free to pursue our own destiny in our own way. If we screw it up, we live with it (or not). I don’t want saving.

    This universe, Nature, is more than enough for me. I accept it as it is. Death, suffering, all of it.

  58. 58.

    2liberal

    February 5, 2012 at 11:27 am

    how can anyone not like the Patriots? about them releasing the WR – they needed to have more DL around. And he will get a SB ring and share if the Pats win.

    GO PATS !

    PS Joe Lieberman is pulling for the Giants.

  59. 59.

    Cacti

    February 5, 2012 at 11:33 am

    @2liberal:

    how can anyone not like the Patriots?

    Anyone who doesn’t cheer for former guests of honor at George W. Bush’s SOTU address.

  60. 60.

    MikeJ

    February 5, 2012 at 11:36 am

    Chelsea 1 – 0 Man U
    Yea!

  61. 61.

    burnspbesq

    February 5, 2012 at 12:02 pm

    Snacks by Boar’s Head.

    Giants, 41-28. Eli & Co. are going to shred the Pats’ makeshift secondary, and the Giants’ front four will do just enough to keep Brady from making Gronkowski the hero.

  62. 62.

    burnspbesq

    February 5, 2012 at 12:03 pm

    @MikeJ:

    Boo!

    Also, Howard Webb, you suck.

  63. 63.

    JPL

    February 5, 2012 at 12:04 pm

    @2liberal: He also gets paid.
    according to nbc.sports

    Patriots wide receiver Tiquan Underwood will get paid as if he played in the Super Bowl, even though the Patriots cut him Saturday night………………………………………
    Defensive end Alex Silvestro, who was activated from the practice squad for the game, will actually only get half a Super Bowl share due to league rules. This will only be his second active game all year. Silvestro is expected to help

  64. 64.

    MikeJ

    February 5, 2012 at 12:05 pm

    Chelsea 2 – 0 Man U
    Yea! Yea!

  65. 65.

    MikeJ

    February 5, 2012 at 12:10 pm

    Three!

  66. 66.

    burnspbesq

    February 5, 2012 at 12:18 pm

    @MikeJ:

    Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you.

    If you want to watch Champions League football next year, you can always go to White Hart Lane or the Emirates.

  67. 67.

    wmd

    February 5, 2012 at 12:35 pm

    Not Onion dip, but damn good, and close enough:

    Rondele garlic cheese, sour cream – equal quantities. Chives to taste (I use about 1 Tablespoon for 2 cups of dip).

    Mix two main ingredients thoroughly…

  68. 68.

    vheidi

    February 5, 2012 at 12:37 pm

    @burnspbesq: I can’t imagine how I got so lucky, but the match is on my (non-cable) tv. Exciting!

  69. 69.

    300baud

    February 5, 2012 at 12:38 pm

    @greennotGreen:

    That being said, there are some atheists who proselytize just as vigorously as your born-again uncle, and those people make me really tired. My somewhat amorphous faith is the most rational explanation I can come up with of my experience of reality. You may not experience reality the way I do. Why would you presume to say that your experience is valid and mine is not?

    I agree that those people are indeed tiresome assholes, and that in particular denying your experience is wrong.

    However, the thing that’s still reasonable to challenge is your interpretation of your experience. A few months after a friend’s mom died after a drawn-out battle with cancer, she had the experience of being visited by her mom’s ghost. Now she knows that’s unlikely, and believes that what she actually experienced is a hallucination, one of the many tricks that brains play on their owners.

    If somebody tells me, “I had a vision where a luminous man with flowing robes and a beard told me to live a better life,” I’ll say, “Wow, that must have been a powerful experience.” But if somebody says, “Jesus came to me and told me to run for president and smite the heathens so please donate,” I’ll say, “Mrs Bachmann, you’re crazy.”

    The crazy part isn’t experiencing a vision, which happens to a significant percentage of people the world over. The crazy part is throwing evidence and reason to the wind and assuming that the vision is externally generated and therefore proof of something.

  70. 70.

    JWL

    February 5, 2012 at 12:40 pm

    I’ve never been willing to bet against Brady-Belichik in a Super Bowl, and I won’t start today. Still, watching the Patriots over the past decade has been a lot like watching the Yankees over the course of my life– I love to watch them play, and I love to watch them lose. And while I’ve watched a ton of football over the course of my life (way too much, in fact), I don’t have a clue which team will win today. I always root for the NFC, however, and will again this afternoon. So, Go Giants– if only to teach the pretty boy that has spent his adult life sleeping with super models on mattresses of cash a lesson in humility.

  71. 71.

    Yutsano

    February 5, 2012 at 12:42 pm

    @burnspbesq: Emirates just started a non-stop route from Seattle to Dubai. No doubt utilizing one of their brand-spanking new Boeing Dreamliners. I’d kill to go, but gotta save up leave for the back surgery.

  72. 72.

    burnspbesq

    February 5, 2012 at 12:44 pm

    @vheidi:

    Fox has no rights to any college basketball, and Sky has a Premier League package, so when Fox wants a lead-in on Sunday they just grab whatever match Martin Tyler is calling and wrap a locally created pre game and halftime around it. If they could only get rid of Piers Morgan and let Stone and Wynalda do it by themselves, it would be much better.

  73. 73.

    WereBear

    February 5, 2012 at 12:50 pm

    @wmd: Mmm. This matches my cooking skills!

  74. 74.

    MikeJ

    February 5, 2012 at 12:56 pm

    Time to start drinking. Had you told me before the match Chelsea would get a draw I would have been happy. Blowing a 3-0 lead? Grrrr.

    I didn’t think I’d have to put up with that shit until the Red Sox started playing again.

  75. 75.

    Gust Avrakotos

    February 5, 2012 at 1:02 pm

    I like Mahers comedy writers. They come up with some real zingers sometimes. However, I think Maher himself is a pretentious douche!

  76. 76.

    ThresherK

    February 5, 2012 at 1:14 pm

    @Spence: Is this gonna be a Cooks’ Illustrated v. Good Eats rumble? I mean, I live in Connecticut, so it’s not like drinking people are getting into near fistfights over anything else this week.

    I’m married to a Worcesterite, who doesn’t care much for sports, but in her DNA knows who she is to root for, I’m contractually obligated to do this in public on our greatest secular holiday not involving the team I root for:

    Rah Patriots.

  77. 77.

    metalgirl

    February 5, 2012 at 1:15 pm

    I haven’t tried this one yet but the comments from people who have say it’s great! http://www.food52.com/recipes/8902_caramelized_onion_dip

    Good luck!

  78. 78.

    burnspbesq

    February 5, 2012 at 1:38 pm

    @MikeJ:

    I doubt this will be much consolation, but Howard Webb really sucks. One makeup call is bad enough. Two is scandalous.

    In April and May
    You will rue the day
    That two precious points
    Went skipping away

  79. 79.

    opie jeanne

    February 5, 2012 at 1:51 pm

    @aimai: They did this with Barack’s mother? Pretty low.

    It still pains me that my dear Mormon cousins had my beloved grandmother baptized, but I could have forgiven them if they had stood in for her themselves. No, they had total strangers stand in for Grandma Mabel (she was their great aunt), a mission that retired people sometimes do. I truly hate the impersonal and assembly line treatment of the dead by this church.

  80. 80.

    opie jeanne

    February 5, 2012 at 2:29 pm

    Chili and fry bread, for Navajo tacos. YUM!!!

  81. 81.

    hamletta

    February 5, 2012 at 3:33 pm

    @FridayNext:

    Woody and Kelly were represented as a “mixed marriage” because they were different sects of Lutheran.

    Dude, I’m a Lutheran. They’re called “synods,” and hell, yeah, that’s a mixed marriage. Misery Synod doesn’t allow our kind to take communion with them.

    ETA: AB’s Onion Dip is awesome: I’ve made it before. However, it’s best made the night before, to give the onions time to fornicate with the sour cream.

  82. 82.

    Another Halocene Human

    February 5, 2012 at 11:33 pm

    I am a weak atheist. Like mahar, if I find proof that god exists, I am open to changing my mind.

    I’m a strong atheist. If I find proof that D_g exists, I still won’t worship him/her.

    ETA: @57 THE: So sorry, my dear, I see that you got to this comment first. My apologies!

  83. 83.

    Another Halocene Human

    February 5, 2012 at 11:39 pm

    The crazy part isn’t experiencing a vision, which happens to a significant percentage of people the world over. The crazy part is throwing evidence and reason to the wind and assuming that the vision is externally generated and therefore proof of something.

    I don’t think this is craziness, however. It may not even be irrational, assuming the person in question isn’t up on the latest in neuroscience. Sometimes, it is willfully ignorant. Some people just want to believe.

    There is a lot of money in the people believing stuff racket. I think that’s why even though science now knows why people have visions–no supernatural explanation required–there’s been little dissemination of this knowledge.

  84. 84.

    Another Halocene Human

    February 5, 2012 at 11:44 pm

    I like Mahers comedy writers. They come up with some real zingers sometimes. However, I think Maher himself is a pretentious douche!

    When Maher started rambling on about atheists sometimes being dogmatic and wrong about things, I couldn’t stop thinking “VACCINESVACCINESVACCINESVACCINESFUCKINGDOUCHEBAGNEVERAPOLOGIZEDDIDYOUVACCINES”.

    Yes, Maher is an enormous d-bag. That speech would have been the appropriate place to show some humility and maybe kinda admit he may have been a little bit wrong, but–no. Being a d-bag who pals around with fellow self-congratulatory d-bags like A. Coulter and Dan Fucking Savage means never having to say you’re sorry.

  85. 85.

    HumboldtBlue

    February 5, 2012 at 11:51 pm

    Pork roast in sauerkraut (with onions, apples, and caraway) with mashed potatoes and green beans.

    Eight pounds of pork shoulder covered in two white onions, 14 or 15 pu-wukka-wukka’s of Old Bay and smothered in two bottles of kraut at 200 degrees for six hours with hot links, heeb nats and brats stuck in an hour before eatin’

  86. 86.

    THE

    February 6, 2012 at 4:10 am

    @Another Halocene Human: No worries. I’m delighted to find someone else who understands that mere existence of a deity doesn’t mean I have to give up my human self-respect and grovel.

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