The good…
Gay Santa ad highlights big shift in Norwegian society https://t.co/hwYlRO0601
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 23, 2021
… “We wanted to celebrate the 50-year anniversary since the abolition of a law prohibiting same-sex relationships,” says Monica Solberg, Posten’s marketing director. The ad has been watched well over two million times online.
“The magnitude of response took us a bit by surprise. We expected a reaction, but not to such an extent.” …
Until 1972 homosexuality in Norway was a criminal offence and changes in attitudes have taken time. Norwegians may now shrug their shoulders at an ad showing Santa kissing another man, but had it not been for one activist in particular things might have been different.
Kim Friele has been credited with relentlessly campaigning for the changes first to the same-sex law in 1972 and then to Norway’s partnership law that allowed same-sex marriage 21 years later.
Such was Friele’s national importance that when she died aged 86 last month, she was given a state funeral attended by members of Norway’s royal family.
Friele had once told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK how until the 1960s same-sex couples had to meet in secret underground clubs and how they were judged by society.
She reacted by giving lectures in schools and universities, appearing in the media and becoming a recognisable face during public debates…
During her campaign, Friele met conservative parliamentarian Wenche Lowzow, who would go on to become the love of her life.
While the couple were eventually able to tie the knot in Norway’s first same-sex civil partnership, their relationship cost Lowzow her political career.
Few members of Norwegian society are afforded a state funeral, but hers was held in Oslo’s cathedral and broadcast live on national TV.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store spoke at the service of “a warm, friendly, brave and powerful human who changed history”…
The funny…
— Classical Studies Memes for Hellenistic Teens (@CSMFHT) December 20, 2021
And the very, very mockable:
*gluing little gingerbread dicks onto cookies screaming gingerbread MAN*
— Jort-Michel Connard ?? (@torriangray) December 18, 2021
This is what a real gingerbread man looks like. pic.twitter.com/8k3Xgz5EeB
— James Palmer (@BeijingPalmer) December 18, 2021
ETA: Thank you, commentor germy:
— Gay for Christmas (@liturgicalgay) December 24, 2021
comrade scotts agenda of rage
Keep Saturn in Saturnalia!
mrmoshpotato
Does Grenell mean “of dumbass slapdicks?”
Jerzy Russian
@mrmoshpotato: I had always assumed that Grenell is Latin for “dipshit”, but I am prepared to be corrected.
mrmoshpotato
@Jerzy Russian: It’s possible there are different translations.
Baud
Wait till they learn about our plans for Girl Scout Cookies.
Central Planning
We’re getting ready for dinner. Lobster scampi with linguine and spinach soufflé.
I expect it will be my second food coma of the day after our breakfast this morning.
Ohio Mom
Somewhere on the intertubes I saw this: The church stole Christmas from pagans, then capitalism stole Christmas from the church.
Bouncing around the internet earlier today I also saw that the Norwegian post office does a clever Christmas commercial every year. Though this years is in a class by itself.
mrmoshpotato
@Baud: Bury me in Caramel deLights!
mrmoshpotato
@Central Planning: Haha, what was for breakfast?
Chetan Murthy
Richard Grennell is a well-known Trumpist. He’s also out and gay. Sigh.
JPL
@Ohio Mom: Deep but true
maybe not deep, but true none the least.
not too deep though
dm
Grenell is obviously pissed that the gingerbread person is labelled with a calorie count. Damned liberals are always trying to make us feel guilty about stuff.
Central Planning
@mrmoshpotato: Belgian waffles with a recipe that sits overnight, mimosas, coffee, scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, fresh squeezed OJ, coffee cake, and homemade maple syrup. Smaller gathering this year due to others being extra careful. We are all boosted and they are too, but old.
Comrade Colette
I spent the past two days grocery shopping, cooking, and baking, and then we had to cancel our small family brunch today because both my son and my niece have colds, so we have a preposterous amount of food in the house. Bacon, sausages, over two dozen eggs, Swedish tea ring, two kinds of rugelach, melon, pineapple, pints and pints of berries, champagne, juice … not to mention last night’s Chinese leftovers and all that on top of our normal food supply. I’ve just recovered from food coma #2 and am pondering part 3. I think it’s gonna be catch-as-catch-can for dinner.
Blessings, we has them.
Ohio Mom
@JPL: I thought it a bit of karma, the thief gets robbed.
lahke
Has the advisability of moving to windows 11 been discussed? I like the idea of getting Teams on my tablet, since we use it for work, but I hate going through upgrades.
Starfish
We are guinea pig sitting for another week and had a fairly low-key day.
Chetan Murthy
@Starfish: it’s your job to make sure s/he don’t OD on carrots ?
Litlebritdifrnt
My youngest great niece Rosie tested positive for COVID this morning. Whole family was over at middle nieces house for a get together on Sunday (12 of us) so not sure how she picked it up. We have all been careful about testing and everyone has been negative until Rosie this morning. She is fine, not sick at all, so we shall have to see how things go and we are all going to test again in a couple of days. Other than that brilliant Christmas.
Cameron
I dunno. Maybe he felt it should more properly be called a “gingerbread eunuch.” What makes him think it was supposed to be a gingerbread man? And why would anybody who has a life give a shit?
Suzanne
I am just eating a piece of cheesecake for dessert. It has been a good and hectic day and there is still stuff everywhere. I am going to go to yoga tomorrow morning to calm down.
Suzanne
@Cameron:
This is the question of the ages w/r/t the right wing.
Starfish
@Chetan Murthy: They use “they” as their pronouns because there are two of them. One is a she/her and the other is a he/him. Should I just call them guinea persons to reduce the confusion and to annoy Grennell?
Dan B
Just started snowing here – pellet snow and very fast. Now it’s fine snow. Only “suposed” to get an inch but in hilly Seattle that could stop traffic. My partner’s sister in Bellingham had four inches this morning and the temp is supposed to drop to zero Monday. From 107 in summer to 17° in December it’s good the PNW has mild weather. /s
There’s a huge leg of lamb to cook for two.
Steeplejack
@lahke:
I did a bit of research when my computer offered to upgrade me a month or so ago but decided to hold off for now. I don’t have any fancy or unusual requirements, and Win10 is working fine for me.
But I can see where something like Teams might be a strong inducement.
Some perspective: ZDNet and PC Mag.
Mary G
It just took me an hour and a half to do the prep for my Gobble meal that was supposed to take 25 minutes. Can you all recommend a good knife for chopping vegetables?
Steeplejack
@Litlebritdifrnt:
Sorry to hear it.
“We have all been careful about testing.” Is everyone vaccinated?
Chetan Murthy
@Mary G: I don’t have one but I have a friend who swears by the mandolin. But they’re wicked sharp, and you can and will cut yourself badly. So get a glove with it. He said that the ability to cut all the veggies fast, and to a really uniform & small size, is just great, great.
Apparently the benriner brand is the one to get.
lahke
@Steeplejack:
Thank you! I’ll read up on your links.
Jay
@Mary G:
size and hardness of the veggie determines the size of the knife.
key thing is having a sharp knife.
I have a diamond stone in the knife drawer, always give the knife a few swacks and an steel before using it.
mrmoshpotato
@Central Planning: Food coma expected.
Gin & Tonic
@Chetan Murthy: I swear everyone who has a mandoline in their kitchen has a war story to go with it.
Gin & Tonic
@Jay: Size and hardness are the keys to life.
Suzanne
So I was just looking at my Facebook feed, and just today, its algorithm has decided to start showing me videos of babies getting chiropractic adjustments so they can go poop. I am sure someone was paid handsomely for this. I have no idea what I searched for that prompted this change of programming today.
normal liberal
On the topic of Christmas dinner, I made the Blogfather’s beef stew today – it was very good, although I under seasoned it. I also went a bit crazy with the veg, so tomorrow I will obtain more beef and even out the leftovers.
Thanks to John Cole for the entertaining and delicious recipe. My work lunches for next week are sorted.
Debbie(Aussie)
Just wanted to chime in to wish the jackals ‘seasons greetings’. Whether you celebrate, for whatever reason you celebrate, I hope you have been able to have some downtime, maybe visited with family or friends and have given or received some great presents. ???
I also wish you luck during this new surge of the virus. It appears that it is going to be difficult not to get the omicron variant.
Let’s have a better 2022????
Chetan Murthy
@Gin & Tonic: Ohhh yeah, my friend has some. But then, with a sharp knife, you can have some war stories unless you punctiliously practice good knife discipline.
I lopped off the tip of my index finger, then a month later did it again (before the first time had full-healed, then a month later took off a bit of the tip of my thumb. Each time, it was b/c I was in a hurry and not practicing good knife discipline.
So I can see the point of getting a mandolin (and chainmail glove!) Just … at $50 + price-of-glove, I just don’t think I wanna spring for it right about now.
Steeplejack
I have had a pleasant Christmas day. I feel tired—as usual, lately—but contented and somewhat happy. Had a bit of a snooze this afternoon, took a shower and shaved for the first time in over a week (just the shave, not the shower), then picked up Bro’ Man and BIL at 3:00 for their perilous trip to London. Had an uneventful drive out to Dulles. Overcast, occasional speckles of rain, but balmy temp (mid-60s!). The airport traffic was very busy, but I’m not out there enough to have a good basis of comparison.
Drove back to town and went to my favorite Chinese place (Hunan Village on the newly renamed Langston Highway in Arlington) to pick up a couple of egg rolls and some beef lo mein. Came home, had that with a rum and tonic. Still have some lo mein left for tomorrow or whenever. Sipping a second drink now and easing into the evening. Might go to bed early again. Haven’t checked my TV prospects, but there is an NFL game on, I think. Always a backup choice, especially late in the season with playoff berths on the line.
Checked my mailbox and found my license plate decals (two years, through December 2023), which I ordered on line December 17. Pretty snappy service. Thank you, Virginia DMV. I’ll put them on the doughty Kia the next time I go out. Which who knows when that will be, because I’m well provisioned and have no need to go out.
I got a bit of the back-story on the London trip from the travelers on the way to the airport. They booked the trip two or three months ago, before Omicron appeared, when it seemed that Delta was somewhat under control. Both of them are vaxed and boosted, plus they’ve both had a mild case of COVID. They don’t have any firm plans, are going to get the lay of the land when they get there and then decide on restaurants, sightseeing and other activities. They have an array of masks, up to N95 and PN95, and intend to use them. So they feel somewhat secure on a personal level. I’m not sure that’s enough, but whatevs.
I think that a big factor was that they got a huge discount on a reservation at a posh hotel—but it’s nonrefundable. That would be hard to eat. And they already canceled several trips in the last year or so. Maybe they’ve got some of that COVID fatigue that we were talking about here yesterday. People just want to get on with their lives, and that makes it easier to talk yourself into stuff.
As for myself, I am continuing with isolation as my primary strategy, and I am thinking hard about telling them not to count on me to pick them up when they return next Sunday. I’ll see how it goes this coming week.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Steeplejack: Yes everyone is triple vaxed. We all have our home supplies of the testing kits (they are free here in the UK). I think Rosie is the only one not vaxed because she is too young, so that might be it.
prostratedragon
@Gin & Tonic: I first learned them from a chef who called his “the widowmaker.” Terrifying, they are; protective glove and a no-nonsense manner recommended. But they do their intended job well. Sometimes, for cutting small things like shallots, I like a small knife, maybe 3to4 inches.
mrmoshpotato
@Debbie(Aussie): Hope things are good for you (and not too hot) down under.
sab
@Dan B: So you have snow in Seattle and we were in the 60s in NE Ohio. Very weird.
Feathers
Ended up having a kale salad for dinner. Was going to have spaghetti carbonara, but unthinkingly decided to have breakfast treat of bacon and eggs since I had bacon in the house. Realized I didn’t want a second meal of bacon and eggs, so I doubled the kale salad I’d been planning as a side. Had an excellent multi fruit crumble for dessert. Realizing I like crumble just as much as pit and it’s so much easier, especially for one.
I sort of knew that Russia has it’s figure skating championships around Christmas, but it turns out it’s like football there, and on the day. Russian state TV YouTube channel had an English language stream, so that’s what I was watching. Massively horrendous judging and you know the coaches treat the skaters horribly, but fascinating to see all the skaters, not just the top three. Any lady in the top 12 would win the US championship easily.
Steeplejack
@Chetan Murthy:
There are inexpensive Kevlar or Kevlar-esque gloves that work very well. America’s Test Kitchen likes NoCry ($11.49) and Microplane ($14.99). (Their top pick, Mercer, is out of stock.)
I have one that works great; can’t remember which brand it is.
cope
No holiday dishes cooked up, fried egg sandwiches for lunch (sambal olek on mine) when we got back from taking a car full of gifts to our daughter’s for mostly the grand kids. No inside decorations or a tree, three of those laser projectors outside shining on the house and trees…easy to put away.
Just watching the end of “John Wick: Chapter 2” while the mrs reads. Who knew it was a Christmas movie? Pretty much a perfect Christmas.
mrmoshpotato
Earth vs the Spider (1958) on Svengoolie tonight.
Steeplejack
@Mary G:
A Japanese nakiri knife is specifically designed for cutting vegetables, but it makes a pretty good chef’s knife, too. The Pioneer Woman uses one, as do some of the cooks on other shows.
I have a cheap Mercer one that I got to try out before possibly getting a better one, but I haven’t felt the need to upgrade. It’s light, holds a sharp edge and has a comfortable, non-slippery handle. And the wide blade is good for scooping the chopped vegetables.
dnfree
@Feathers: What is in your “multi-fruit”? We learned about bumbleberry in Ontario many years ago. It’s not a type of berry, but a conglomeration of fruit. I know it as rhubarb, apple, strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry. Can be bumbleberry pie or bumbleberry crisp. I actually prefer crisp.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Steeplejack: Also you might want to tell your friends to see if they can get tickets to Neil Gaiman’s “Ocean at the End of the Lane” by all accounts it is spectacular.
debbie
@Comrade Colette:
I’d pack up goodie bags and make doorstep deliveries to your lost guests.
Geminid
It was a warm day here, and I walked around outside some in my bare feet just because I could. I decided to save visiting friends for tomorrow, Boxing Day.
I did visit some thoughtful people’s twitter accounts, though, older favorites like Ragnarok Lobster and Mangy Jay and newer ones like Kenneth House of Pfizer and Black Professor. A high school educator, Mr. Professor had a poignant Christmas tweet:
Several other educators responded. Denise @Goldfishies replied, “Just found out before break that a six year old student has never had a pillow. It’s rough out here.”
On a happier note, Mangy Jay was glad to hear one of her favorite songs on the radio:
Steeplejack
@Litlebritdifrnt:
Thanks! I’ll pass it on.
Litlebritdifrnt
Ooooh forgot to say it is Boxing Day traditional breakfast of “Bubble and Squeak” tomorrow. Left over mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts mushed up and browned in a frying pan. The name comes from the sound it makes in the pan as the taters bubble and the sprouts squeak. It is glorious.
VeniceRiley
@Baud: Reminds me of the time Jaime Murray ended up in Twitter jail for a picture of vagina shaped cupcake icing.
Comrade Colette
@Mary G: @Steeplejack: I have a similar santoku knife with shallow indentations along the blade that supposedly help food fall away from the blade as you cut. I don’t find that feature really works consistently, but it’s a terrific all-purpose knife nonetheless. Here’s a review of several models. The brand I have (Sujeo) seems no longer to be available.
Dan B
Thanks for the post about the gay Santa ad. Part of me can’t believe this was made because of how I grew up with total silence about gay people. And the homophobic justices on the Supreme Court make me feel that this period of acceptance may slam shut. But for this Christmas it feels nice.
Raven
Nice family dinner in Blacksburg. Everyone tested negative and we all had a nice time.
Dan B
@sab: Jet Stream is weakening so it’s in the south in the west and the Arctic air mass is over us. In the east it’s to the north and allowing subtropical air their. Wichita Falls was 91°.
phdesmond
just marking the day in this good company.
The Humanist Carol
(chorus and first verse written by
Rev. Peter Gomes of Harvard University;
additional verses by Peter H. Desmond)
God rest ye merry, humanists, let nothing you dismay.
Remember there’s no evidence there was a Christmas day.
That Jesus Christ was born at all is more than we can say.
Chorus:
Oh, tidings of reason and fact, reason and fact;
Oh, tidings of reason and fact.
December was the month when Romans gave each other gifts.
They had a sun god, Mithras, who is famed in art and myth.
His birthday was a holiday — December twenty-fifth.
Oh, tidings of reason and fact, reason and fact;
Oh, tidings of reason and fact.
When days grow short, like savages’, our hearts are filled with fear.
We set up pagan Christmas trees, drink pagan Christmas cheer.
It’s atavistic terror with a saccharine veneer.
Oh, tidings of reason and fact, reason and fact;
Oh, tidings of reason and fact.
Steeplejack
@Raven:
?
debbie
@sab:
We got about a half-inch of rain here today. I don’t know how much snow that would have been if it were colder, but I’m happy it was just below 60 here.
Lyrebird
Dear Anne Laurie,
Thanks for once again making my life better, this time for me getting to learn about the life of Kim Friele.
And the diagram from germy is awesome too! Maybe when we’ve all gotten the Army vaccine and boosters and what have you we can have a meet up somewhere north of Metro North and east of Syracuse.
Jay
As an addicted Tool Guy, we have about 2 dozen knives in the knife block, ( maple) plus the knife drawer, ( also maple, each knife has it’s place).
they range from standard German, Japanese “clones”, a couple of really nice Damascus hand forged actual Japanese sushi knives, a couple of ulu’s, ( great for filleting fish) to June (Cleaver).
some are 50 years old, some only 20.
I also have half a dozen diamond stones, steels and rods to keep them all sharp.
the key thing is to keep them all sharp, even the bread knife.
Lyrebird
@Dan B: Happy holidays to you and your hubs. I hope people keep this ad and the Danish ad with the trans teen getting a present from his stressed out but caring dad up forever.
Mike in NC
We had Christmas dinner with a friend down the street whose daughter and son-in-law recently moved from Sydney to Greenwich, CT. They have an adorable four-year-old girl with a delightful Australian accent.
Major Major Major Major
You can have my cookie’s gender when you pry it from my cold dead hands
Kay
Our grown kids get us a group gift every year and my daughter picks it and organizes payment. The three boys just this year realized she never puts any money in- she bills it 1/3, 1/3, 1/3. They never asked the total. This year was a car bike rack and it’s backordered to May and she forwarded them the email.
Guffaw. She’s a treasure.
Dan B
@Lyrebird: Thanks! We had a nice Festivus day dinner with good friends, a straight couple. We always have great fun and great food. The husband was a chef for years. There are tens of thousands of LGBTQ people in Seattle and no longer just in the gay neighborhood of Capitol Hill. There are some bigots but since “we” are everywhere they have to work to avoid us
The majority of churches in Seattle are welcoming. There are several that are Black churches including one up the street that is, like this neighborhood, very diverse.
Steeplejack
@Comrade Colette:
I like santokus, too. Years ago I had an expensive Wüsthof santoku with that Granton edge. Worked fine, although, as you said, the Granton edge is not the miracle they would have you believe. I lost it along the way and replaced it with the Victorinox covered in your linked article. I used that for a long time—still do, sometimes—and got the Mercer nakiri a couple of years ago after I saw Ree Drummond (the Pioneer Woman) and some guy on Milk Street using a nakiri. I like the Mercer because it’s got a bit of a point, in case you need to poke something, and the blade edge has a slight curve, so you can do a rocking cut, if desired.
The Pioneer Woman has her own nakiri, which is the more traditional design (no point). I have no idea how good it is. There are lots of choices available, including Wüsthof. (Someone told me years ago to stay away from the low-end Wüsthof Gourmet line.)
Over the last few years I have gravitated to Mercer and Victorinox knives, because they provide good value at low prices. I really like the Santoprene handles. I think my most-used knife is a serrated Victorinox paring knife that is perfect for making sandwiches, spreading condiments and cutting limes for my rum and tonic. Also, too, tomatoes. Good for casual use when you don’t need a big knife.
The Lodger
@phdesmond: Well done!
PaulB
Cooked a porchetta for the first time today and realized that I probably should have waited until I can afford a self-cleaning oven, as it splattered everywhere, leaving a thick layer all over the oven sides, floor, and racks. Decided to just go ahead and clean the oven this afternoon, as it’s easier to do it right away rather than letting the splatter bake on. On the plus side, the porchetta was pretty good.
Santa decided I had been a bad boy and gifted me with a hernia this year. Fortunately, I was able to get a brace/wrap delivered fairly quickly and it seems to be doing a decent job keeping my guts where they belong. It will need to, as my first appointment with the surgeon isn’t until 1/11. Heaven knows when I’ll be able to schedule the surgery, particularly with Covid cases and hospitalizations on the rise. It could have been, and still could be, a whole lot worse, so I’m grateful that, so far, it’s manageable, with minimal pain and inconvenience.
I’m also grateful that the hernia held off until I was mostly done with my weight loss and fitness program, as stopping in the middle would have been a significant setback, both physically and mentally. As it is, I’m going to end the year 140 pounds lighter than I began it, into the healthy weight range for my height for the first time in my adult life. 2022 will be all about staying in that range and staying fit. Wish me luck!
A neighbor just up the road smoked a ham for Christmas and dropped by this evening with a plateful for me. I feed her cat when she goes on vacation and won’t let her pay me, so this is her way of saying thanks. Between that and the porchetta leftovers, I’m set for the coming week.
A good friend is currently visiting New York City for a month and is watching the case count there with some dismay. Fortunately, he and his husband were able to do the things they really wanted before Omicron really took off and, so far, they both remain virus-free. They’ll likely hunker down and mostly isolate for another week before returning to the Pacific Northwest.
Happy holidays, everyone, and may the new year bring you happiness and good health.
There go two miscreants
@Kay: Thank you for ending my day with a hearty laugh!
Steeplejack
@Mike in NC:
My new favorite kids’ show (thanks to niece and nephew) is Bluey. A family of blue heeler dogs with fetching Australian accents. Hey, a Christmas episode!
Dan B
@Jay: I went to cooking school and then spent seven years in high end kitchens and I don’t have as many knives as you. Not even close. I think I’ve got nine. Pots and pans is a different story.
phdesmond
@The Lodger:
thank you!
Suzanne
@Steeplejack: Bluey is adorable. Spawn the Youngest is a fan. Her favorite is Shaun the Sheep, though, which is also great.
Just found out that my cousin, his wife, and their kids all got the Rona. Only his wife is showing any symptoms, and they’re very mild so far. Vaccinations for them all, of course.
debbie
@Suzanne:
I’m a fan of Shaun from way back.
BeautifulPlumage
@Dan B: Hi Dan! Merry Holiday’s to you & your spouse. I’m jealous of your snow; still nothing in Renton.
Steeplejack
@PaulB:
I feel ya on the hernia, bro’. (Don’t ask how.) And congratulations on the weight loss. That’s a major achievement!
Suzanne
@debbie: Spawn the Youngest went as Shaun the Sheep for Halloween this year. I made her a really cute costume out of a hoodie. She refused to wear the hood part. So she just walked around looking fuzzy and grabbing candy.
BeautifulPlumage
5 of 7 planned turkey dishes completed & cooling. Meals for the next several weeks! Might even have energy to clean up all the dishes after the last 2 are done. Right now is IPA time with the feet up.
Ruckus
@PaulB:
I had a hernia a few years ago and the VA waited about 5 months to repair it and the wait didn’t seem to make any difference so it was likely just a minor one. Minor being a relative term of course.
Also congrats on the weight loss. It takes effort and time and for many people those are two things that do not go together.
Steeplejack
@Suzanne, @debbie:
Same. All of Nick Park’s stuff is great. Flashback to Creature Comforts, the first one I ever saw.
Sister Golden Bear
@Dan B:
I hear ya. I hear ya. I’m just thankful I live in California, and also trying not to think about what the SCOTUS may do until after New Year’s.
Fair Economist
@Mary G: My best knife is a cheap serrated one I got at a discount store 30 years ago. Always sharp, always works. Have two sets of fancy knives that sit in the drawer unless my favorite is too far off on the size needed.
Steeplejack
@Suzanne:
As one does. ?
Steeplejack
@Ruckus:
It’s only minor when it happens to someone else!
Kayla Rudbek
I got back from my sibling’s house a little while ago. I ate far too many of my vegan cream cheese crescent rolls as hors-d’ouvres and we didn’t get to the pie that I baked because there was ice cream and angel food cake. My sibling was kind enough to pick up vegan chocolate ice cream so my nephew got to have two kinds of ice cream for dessert (regular peppermint and my vegan chocolate). I always remind my nephew “just because it’s vegan doesn’t mean that it’s good for you.”
debbie
@Steeplejack:
Same for me. Grommit was such an old soul.
Feathers
@dnfree: it was an ancient can of apple pie filling augmented with a frozen blueberry & raspberry mix that I for smoothies. If I’m starting from just fruit, I go by the chart that’s in one of my cookbooks. There are probably similar ones online. It’s a matter of how much juice the fruit gives off, how much natural pectin it has, and how sweet. There are also many different toppings. I usually use equal parts flour, brown sugar, and rolled oats, mixed with a slightly smaller part of butter. Cinnamon or cinnamon adjacent spices, too. A 9×9 pan bakes at 375 for 30 minutes.
Somebody last night was talking about a blueberry ginger lime pie. That sounded like an excellent crumble as well.
Dan B
@BeautifulPlumage: MIke went to his house on the other side of the hill near the VA. 2 miles away and no snow. His sister in Bellingham had 4 inches this morning. She’s got horses to feed and bad knees.
Feathers
@Kayla Rudbek: The first food I ever saw being sold as vegan was a vegan donut. Laughed my ass off. Glad that it was there for the vegans. But to only have donuts…
Sort of like the grilled cheese and French fries vegetarian special.
Ruckus
@Steeplejack:
EXACTLY!!
Fair Economist
@Major Major Major Major: You can have *my* cookies when you pry it from my cold dead stomach. And good luck even then because DNA tests don’t work on cookie gender.
PaulB
Minor rant that should have gone in the Festivus thread: well-meaning friends who just do not understand that “alone” and “lonely” are not synonyms. And that some of us are introverts who are both comfortable and happy home alone for the holidays, particularly these days, and we will steadfastly refuse all efforts to drag us to your own family gathering.
Rant over.
coin operated
This commercial brings me much joy for a lot of reasons…least of which…coin’s daughter finally came out of the closet (to the surprise of nobody who knows her) a few weeks ago.
My ex, her mom, was less than enthusiastic. Daughter made it clear…say one negative word in public and visiting the grandkids comes to a halt. To my astonishment the ex, a garden variety Evangelical Trumper who’s never had a filter, has been remarkably silent.
Mid 60s and clear skies in most of the Vegas valley. Threw a ribeye on the barbie and hoping that food coma doesn’t take me before my usual bedtime.
randy khan
Cross-posting this from LGM):
Between LGM and Balloon Juice I have learned a ton. (Not all of it useful in my daily life, but so what?). I hope I’ve made some small contribution to that.
Also, 2021 was an annus more horribilis than 2020, and the two communities helped me get through it. So, profound thanks to all.
Chetan Murthy
@PaulB: I’ve had trouble convincing my family that I’m perfectly fine alone on holidays, and that I don’t like parties. But whatevs. They respect my choices.
Mike in NC
We’re watching a satire on Netflix called “Don’t Look Up” with Jennifer Lawrence and Leo DiCaprio. The president is played by Meryl Streep, who has two portraits in her office: Woodrow Wilson and Richard Nixon.
Steeplejack
@PaulB:
Seconded. I don’t shun company, but I have always been comfortable being by myself and entertaining myself. Solo holidays not a hardship.
Caphilldcne
Man that’s a hell of a Norwegian daddy fantasy! I felt it was a little over somber and not into the religious overtones but 50 years of decriminalizing gay relationships is Wirth celebrating.
Steeplejack
@randy khan:
Thanks, and thanks for your contributions.
Soprano2
@Dan B: It was in the 70’s here today. One of my nephews was wearing shorts! It’s crazy, this is probably the warmest December of my lifetime here.
satby
@Steeplejack: Thirded.
Soprano2
Deleted duplicate comment.
mrmoshpotato
@randy khan: Got Netflix? Watch Death to 2020. It’s hilarious.
Death to 2021 comes out in two days.
SiubhanDuinne
@satby:
And fourthed.
Kalakal
@Steeplejack: But do you like Wensleydale cheese?
Gretchen
dmsilev
Figured if I’m going to be on my own for the holidays, might as well overcook. Dinner was leg of lamb glazed with pomegranate molasses and roasted on a bed of fennel, fresh baked rolls, and a chocolate lava cake.
Took a good chunk of the day in prep (plus a bit yesterday; the rolls start with a preferment), but was worth it. Also, plenty of leftovers which is always nice.
MagdaInBlack
@PaulB: Right there with ya.
dmsilev
@Gretchen: Anything gay gets him very upset Also, he sees ‘gay’ in lots of places where normal people are like ‘there’s nothing sexual about that at all, what is wrong with you?’.
UncleEbeneezer
Just spent about 6 hours at the in-laws place in Sanger, TX. Ugh…
The complex they live in is such a depressing sea of white resentment. A bunch of middle-aged and elderly white people who all just look and act like they hate life. Major MAGA vibe everywhere you look. We even saw a bumper sticker that said “Their blood is on your hands, Biden” (I assume that’s an Afghanistan reference) amidst the countless Punisher and BlueLives stickers.
It all feels like the videos of East Germany and former Soviet Block countries where everyone is just fucking miserable. I wish we could move them someplace better but we really can’t. And they wouldn’t wanna go even if we could because I suspect they are more comfortable living where they are than they would be living near any sort of Black/Brown communities.
Tomorrow we are heading to a lake-house out in Jefferson which should be nice and will give us more space, but damn, we are already counting the hours until we can get back to Los Angeles.
Also, I had to run to the gas station/convenience store and I was the ONLY person wearing a mask out of like 20 people.
randy khan
@Mary G:
I have Shen knives and love them – a big chef’s knife, a small chef’s knife, and a small serrated knife. They were pretty expensive but are great in your hand and cut beautifully.
The big knife is what I use for chopping most vegetables. The little one is better for fine work – things like shallots and, today, prepping a beef tenderloin – but I use the big knife a lot more.
Kayla Rudbek
@Feathers: as my sibling-in-law says, some of these recipes/foods defeat the whole purpose of being a self-righteous vegan:)
Ramona Rosario
@Steeplejack: Hi neighbor! So happy to see somebody else refer to newly named Langston! Could not wait for them to replace the old odious name Lee!
Steeplejack
@Kalakal:
“I like meat! I need a hot country. Name it and I go.”
debbie
@PaulB:
I like to think of it as solitude.
Feathers
If anyone is wondering about the best of the Christmas skating, it was at the Japanese Championships, which run through tomorrow.
Wakaba Higuchi – left off the Olympic team four years ago and struggled ever since. Redemption today.
Yuzuru Hanyu’s sublime short program. He’s been injured, so this is the first we’ve seen of him this year. His long program is tomorrow at around 4am eastern time.
UncleEbeneezer
@debbie: I don’t think of my self as an introvert (I can and do like to socialize, more than people I know who consider themselves introverts) but I lived alone for many, many years and now I can only go out and make small talk for 4-6 hours and then I just really long to be alone (or just with my wife) and have the freedom to do whatever I like. Especially if I have to make small talk with people who aren’t very politically engaged. It’s fucking exhausting.
Feathers
@Mary G: If there is a cooking school anywhere near you, see if they have a knife skills class. Your local adult ed or vocational high school may as well. I took a Saturday morning class at a local culinary school and it made such a difference in being able to get food on the table (especially vegetables) in a reasonable amount of time. As for knives, I usually go by the Americas Test Kitchen ratings. They recommend the Victorinox. I’ve had mine for several years and love it. Plastic handle, but less than half the price of the snob brands and I find it far more comfortable than the very nice German knife I passed on to my brother.
Steeplejack
@Ramona Rosario:
Howdy! I live in Falls Church, near Seven Corners, and my brother’s manse, Sighthound Hall, is down the road in the Woodmont section of Arlington. That’s my hunter-gatherer range, with Ballston and Clarendon in between.
We had a big discussion about the Langston renaming, because of course all we could think of was Langston Hughes. I looked it up, and it’s named after John Mercer Langston (1829–1897), the first person of color from Virginia elected as a representative to the U.S. Congress. He did it in 1888, well into the Jim Crow era.
I was impressed by how quickly the street signs got changed and Google Maps picked up on the change.
As a postscript, I will note that my brother and I agreed (once again) that the Internet has for all practical purposes killed barroom
argumentsdiscussions, because you can look up anything in two minutes and settle any disagreement. It’s a big loss. The last Internet-free discussion I can personally remember was in a Mexican restaurant in the ’90s, and the subject was whether the red, or lesser, panda is actually a panda, and what the hell is a panda anyway? Somebody said “rodent”—probably the margaritas talking—and we were off to the races. All we agreed on was that “rodent” was right out. I think we made that person buy an extra pitcher or two.Dan B
@UncleEbeneezer: Could make a bundle setting up a Stasi to shake down those folks. Your folks could be administrators. Richard Grennell would be happy to set it up. Then they would have more reasons to be miserable. Real reasons.
dmsilev
Annals of ‘No shit, Sherlock’:
Cruise passengers on holiday trip deal with outbreaks: ‘We’re sailing on a petri dish’
Chetan Murthy
@Feathers: This is one of the things I want to do, once it’s safe to go into rooms with other people for extended periods of time: cooking classes. I wanna learn knife skills, pastry making, baking bread, and a bunch of stir-frying from a few different cuisines. Can’t wait, can’t wait, can’t wait! [narrator: he will wait]
Mary G
Thank you everybody for the recommendations. I did finally finish and eat my miso shrimp with shitakes, bok choy, and onion on brown rice, all total 430 calories. It was delicious. Comparing my final dish with the pictures, I may have chopped things too fine, but it was excellent. Two people dropped off leftovers for us and said the house smells great and they’d be happy to take the second serving off my hands.
Gin & Tonic
@Steeplejack: I have thought about this from a different angle – my (current) grandchildren are aged 6 and 4. I’m not sure what it will be like growing up for them in a world in which every question, no matter how idle, is capable of an instantaneous answer. I (and presumably most here) grew up with things you just *didn’t know*.
NotMax
@Chetan Murthy
1) Knife blade very sharp.
2) Do not ever allow your skin to come into contact with cutting edge of blade.
3) See #1.
That’s it for today’s class. Next week we’ll focus on getting a grip.
:)
Suzanne
@dmsilev: Cruises are disgusting.
Chetan Murthy
@Gin & Tonic: I’ve read many people chewing over that question in columns. The view that I find most compelling, is that even when all known information is available via a search query, it will still be a great, great advantage to have learned a massive amount of information. I know that in my own field (software) the ability to have massive amounts of information in my head has always been an unreasonable advantage over other programmers. Other programmers think “hmm, I think there’s a way to solve this problem” where I’ve been able to say “oh, I know how to solve this problem, A, B, C, done”. And this is the same in other highly-technical fields: having a large and well-populated “cache memory” makes you more efficient, b/c it’s faster to look up stuff in your mental cache, than break your train of thought to go figure out how to look it up on the Internet.
I don’t think that that’s going to change. One thing that will, is the ability to have a large web of ideas and the ability to use that web to phrase search queries. For sure, different people have different amounts of “Google-Fu” and having more of it makes searching much, much more effective. That’s a different kind of cache memory from just having a ton of facts and their relationships in cache, but it’s also very useful — more useful than it used to be in pre-Internet times, I think.
VeniceRiley
@PaulB: That is awesome and you are amazing! Congrats on the result of so much hard work.
mrmoshpotato
@Suzanne:
Why would you not pay to be trapped on a ship?
Chetan Murthy
@Suzanne: I’ve never been on one, can’t imagine how it could be worth doing. But a friend took one to the Galapagos (small ship), and my mom later did the same. They really liked it. But that’s very different, b/c it’s the only way to get there, and the ship stops many times so you can debark and visit various sites of interest.
Mike in NC
@Steeplejack: We lived in Falls Church for a few years in the 90s and I absolutely loved it. So close to all the important stuff in NoVA and DC.
Steeplejack
@Gin & Tonic:
It’s just different. One of the things that inflames my “pedantry” here is how ridiculously easy it is to check things or look up things in real time compared with how it was when I was a newspaper reporter in the 1970s. Every newspaper back then had a reference area with an unabridged dictionary, almanacs, atlases, city directories, “reverse” directories (tag an address to a phone number) and all sorts of reference books, which you had to tediously consult to check something in a story. The one that I particularly remember was how to spell Metairie, LA (suburb of New Orleans). It was a late-breaking story on a weekend night deadline, and somebody had misplaced the Rand-McNally U.S. road atlas. Maddening.
And now it’s so easy to look up anything while you’re in the process of writing—how to spell someone’s name, when something happened, etc.
It’s similar with writing. Anyone who has grown up with word processors and on-line text editing really has no clue what it was like to compose, rewrite and edit with paper and typewriters—or, God forbid, longhand writing. The processes are fundamentally different, and they affect the way you even think about writing.
Suzanne
@Chetan Murthy: Lots of people I know have been on them and enjoyed them, but they have never really appealed to me. I like to explore when I travel and I don’t really want to hang out around lots of Americans.
Chetan Murthy
@Steeplejack:
I’m not a writer, but we have a ton of them as commenters here: I wonder what they think?
Dan B
Leg of Lamb smeared with olive oil, Dijon mustard, garlic, fresh Rosemary, chipotle, and smoked Paprika in the oven. Golden Beets to follow plus potatoes on the stovetop in ghee with Rosemary and Fennel seed. Bibb lettuce with radicchio, garlic, reserve (syrupy) Balsamic and Sicilian EVO.
Food coma!
Steeplejack
@Gin & Tonic:
Really true. The example that always hits me is cooking and recipes. You can search for the most obscure recipe or ingredient and find not one but many sources, including YouTube videos (or knowledgeable people on your favorite blog!). Back in the day you had to buy cookbooks and magazines, consult with (rare) foodie friends and good-cook relatives, etc., and all the time you knew there was a whole world of information out there that you just didn’t know. Again, maddening.
Chetan Murthy
@Steeplejack: OTOH, today you have to do that same consultation to figure out who’s reputable, right? I mean, there’s so much “information”, but some is more valuable than others, and finding that valuable bit is a lot harder. And it’s hard to use the Internet for that reputation-finding, b/c the publishers all game it.
Chetan Murthy
@Steeplejack: I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be argumentative. But I’ve been working with the Arpanet and Internet since the mid-80s, and it seems like, sure the Internet has sped up our ability to code a bit, but it hasn’t changed it in any fundamental way. And similarly when it comes to doing research. You still have to read the papers, evaluate them, figure out what you think of them, etc, etc.
dm
@Chetan Murthy:
My problem lately is that too often I can think of three ways to solve the problem, then have trouble deciding which is the right one for the current circumstances.
I will say that being able to google error messages is a godsend, especially in environments where one can’t simple grep the sources for the error string.
(As to your later point about doing research — the thing the internet does is make the research so much more accessible. I no longer have to spend a couple of days a month in the library.)
Steeplejack
@Mike in NC:
It is very convenient. I rarely go into D.C., but where I am I’m about 10-15 minutes from the Potomac and then—boom!—into the city. And I have easy access to I-66 and the Beltway. Lots of stuff to do in NoVA.
Chetan Murthy
@dm:
I remember before the Internet, paper archives were passed down like trust funds. When I got my PhD and went overseas for my postdoc, I passed it down to one of the younger members of my research group. We were all assiduous in collecting papers for our archives, ordering reprints, etc, etc, even for papers we weren’t planning to read immediately, b/c just having a large archive meant being able to do some amount of research without having to schlep over to the library.
CaseyL
@Mike in NC: I was looking forward to that one, but have heard it’s a clunker: has a point of view that, however justified, it hits you over the head with over and over, at high volume.
dm
@Chetan Murthy: oh, yes.
A couple of jobs ago I just emptied my file-cabinets into one of the recycling bins. All that stuff, gathered over the years, now more accessible online than in the file-cabinets right there next to my desk.
dopey-o
The only thing worse than feeling lonely is wishing you were.
Comrade Colette
@Feathers:
I have a relatively inexpensive (<$40) plastic-handled Victorinox bread knife that is the absolute best serrated knife I’ve ever owned. I also use it to slice tomatoes, even though it’s the wrong shape and size, because it works so beautifully.
Chetan Murthy
@dm: And the next time I move, I’ll probably be doing the same with my book collection. Probably whittle 65 feet down to …. a couple of feet or so. Like, keep The Art of Computer Programming, Feynman’s Lectures, and ….. maybe that’s it. Though I have a large collection of Grantas which I’d be loath to give up, b/c they’re hard to find online. 65 feet. 35 years of buying books. Sigh.
Citizen Alan
There was a certain poignancy to Christmas dinner with my family today. Because my mother is 85 and seems to be declining, and I don’t think she has many Christmases left. And after she finally passes, it is entirely possible that I’ll never see a single member of my family again for the rest of my life.
dc
@Kay:
She does the work, if they don’t like it, they can start putting in the time and thought.
Steeplejack
@Citizen Alan:
As was mentioned last night, you are facing the transition from your “family of origin” to your “family of choice.” Some in the former may make the transition with you; some may not.
StringOnAStick
@Steeplejack: I have transitioned to “family of choice” over the last few years and certainly prefer it to the seething mass of dysfunction and co-dependency of my original one. Watching the endless stress of the sibling who can’t make that leap is sad but it’s her choice.
Miss Bianca
@Dan B: Yeah, just watched the “I saw Daddy kissing Santa Claus” ad and I gotta admit, it got to me. I had no idea Norway had been so much more progressive on LGBTQ rights so much earlier than the US, and that it was all largely due to one person’s activism!
Man, plus the whole “falling in love with a conservative politician who ended her career to marry her” is the stuff of Hallmark movies. I would watch the shit out of that story!
Sister Golden Bear
@Chetan Murthy: The only cruise I’ve been on was a visit to Antarctica, which like the Galapagos, is the only way to visit. Most of the “entertainment” were lectures about the area, fauna, sea life. Also it is was pretty casual, no dress up dinners, etc.
Pro tips: