5.11.2005
tidbits
These really are sort of the table scraps of hilarity. And of course, table scraps, when put together in the right proportions, can make darn good eatin'. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to write this post before lunch...
I'm in the Bodleian Library, which is one of the largest and most esteemed libraries in the world. It's nice that I've got internet access, as it makes doing research a lot easier. And, of course, makes me that much more easily distractable. From the New York Times today:
First off, the fortune cookie bet. I love the fact that those lucky numbers actually turned out lucky. I'm not actually too surprised, as those cookies have always been pretty magical in my eyes. I'm just surprised at the number of events which had to line up for that to work.
a) the Chinese restaurant had to pick those particular cookies to give out.
b) the people who ate the Chinese food had to read the lucky numbers.
c) they all had to be the types of people who play the lottery.
d) they all had to play the lottery on the same day.
e) finally, the numbers had to be right.
The mathematical improbability of this is phenomenal and yet, there it is. Sweet.
Secondly, note the byline of the aforementioned article. Jennifer 8 Lee is, in fact, the product of two parents who also believe in lucky numbers. I remember reading an article in the Boston Globe back in 1999 or something which profiled Ms. Lee because she had a middle nmae that would not fit on standardized testing bubble-sheets. 8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture, and this is simply an extreme of that. By the way, she is now being sued by a landlord in Washington DC for throwing wild parties and destroying her apartment in the process. Silly yuppies... When will they learn?
So the Bodleian Library has a famous "Bodleian Declaration", which is pretty quaint.
I hereby undertake not to remove from the Library, or to mark, deface, or injure in any way any volume, documnet, or other object belonging to it or in its custody; not to bring into the Library or kindle therein any fire or flame, and not to smoke in the library; and I promise to obey all rules of the library. The Italics are mine, the boldfaced words are, indeed, in the declaration itself. I particularly like having to promise not to kindle herein any fire or flame.
And it's Wednesday, so another round of food-related articles have hit the nodes of the web. Joy! Another note from the New York Times regarding Yale (boo, hiss!), this time about a dining hall that serves organic, locally grown foodstuffs. It's so good it's got a bouncer to make sure you don't get in if you're not a member of that particular residential college. Inspired by the Alice Waters philosophy of local and sustainable produce-driven cuisine, of course, this starts out at Berkeley College. :P
But California is awash in its own controversy, I suppose. David Shaw of the LA Times says that there's no good pizza in California. Says the San Francisco Chronicle, pizza is alive and well in the Bay Area. Among my favorite quotes from the Shaw article, though, has to be his describing a pizza ordered at Zelo: " like tomatoes and mushrooms, but if I want a salad, I'll order one — as an appetizer, not on top of my pizza." I would have to agree.
And from the elite and snobberific coasts of our fair country to the heartland, this recipe from the Chicago Tribune. Daresay I've never seen a recipe like that in the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, or even Boston Globe. I have seen worse in the Globe, though, like nigiri sushi that's made not by pressing a rectangular bit of rice together in your hands and laying a piece of fish on top, but by pushing sushi rice into a tupperware container and then smoothing over the top with a layer of smoked salmon. Un-mold and clice into rectangles, as a brownie. That's good eatin'... Two weeks ago, the New York Times was running a recipe for duck confit. The Chicago Tribune's got us eating taco salad. Good grief: the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune has us eating Crunch Coated French Toast. Oddly, one of the Chinese restaurants here in Oxford has French Toast on the menu. I think for them it's a deep-fried peanut butter sandwich. Ew.
OK, so the tidbits idea kind of fell by the wayside. That's all for now, I promise. :)
I'm in the Bodleian Library, which is one of the largest and most esteemed libraries in the world. It's nice that I've got internet access, as it makes doing research a lot easier. And, of course, makes me that much more easily distractable. From the New York Times today:
First off, the fortune cookie bet. I love the fact that those lucky numbers actually turned out lucky. I'm not actually too surprised, as those cookies have always been pretty magical in my eyes. I'm just surprised at the number of events which had to line up for that to work.
a) the Chinese restaurant had to pick those particular cookies to give out.
b) the people who ate the Chinese food had to read the lucky numbers.
c) they all had to be the types of people who play the lottery.
d) they all had to play the lottery on the same day.
e) finally, the numbers had to be right.
The mathematical improbability of this is phenomenal and yet, there it is. Sweet.
Secondly, note the byline of the aforementioned article. Jennifer 8 Lee is, in fact, the product of two parents who also believe in lucky numbers. I remember reading an article in the Boston Globe back in 1999 or something which profiled Ms. Lee because she had a middle nmae that would not fit on standardized testing bubble-sheets. 8 is a lucky number in Chinese culture, and this is simply an extreme of that. By the way, she is now being sued by a landlord in Washington DC for throwing wild parties and destroying her apartment in the process. Silly yuppies... When will they learn?
So the Bodleian Library has a famous "Bodleian Declaration", which is pretty quaint.
I hereby undertake not to remove from the Library, or to mark, deface, or injure in any way any volume, documnet, or other object belonging to it or in its custody; not to bring into the Library or kindle therein any fire or flame, and not to smoke in the library; and I promise to obey all rules of the library. The Italics are mine, the boldfaced words are, indeed, in the declaration itself. I particularly like having to promise not to kindle herein any fire or flame.
And it's Wednesday, so another round of food-related articles have hit the nodes of the web. Joy! Another note from the New York Times regarding Yale (boo, hiss!), this time about a dining hall that serves organic, locally grown foodstuffs. It's so good it's got a bouncer to make sure you don't get in if you're not a member of that particular residential college. Inspired by the Alice Waters philosophy of local and sustainable produce-driven cuisine, of course, this starts out at Berkeley College. :P
But California is awash in its own controversy, I suppose. David Shaw of the LA Times says that there's no good pizza in California. Says the San Francisco Chronicle, pizza is alive and well in the Bay Area. Among my favorite quotes from the Shaw article, though, has to be his describing a pizza ordered at Zelo: " like tomatoes and mushrooms, but if I want a salad, I'll order one — as an appetizer, not on top of my pizza." I would have to agree.
And from the elite and snobberific coasts of our fair country to the heartland, this recipe from the Chicago Tribune. Daresay I've never seen a recipe like that in the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, or even Boston Globe. I have seen worse in the Globe, though, like nigiri sushi that's made not by pressing a rectangular bit of rice together in your hands and laying a piece of fish on top, but by pushing sushi rice into a tupperware container and then smoothing over the top with a layer of smoked salmon. Un-mold and clice into rectangles, as a brownie. That's good eatin'... Two weeks ago, the New York Times was running a recipe for duck confit. The Chicago Tribune's got us eating taco salad. Good grief: the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune has us eating Crunch Coated French Toast. Oddly, one of the Chinese restaurants here in Oxford has French Toast on the menu. I think for them it's a deep-fried peanut butter sandwich. Ew.
OK, so the tidbits idea kind of fell by the wayside. That's all for now, I promise. :)
