Hosted by Polkastra.
Question of the Day
Since we've done gifts received not all that long ago... What's the best birthday present you've ever given?
Probably the best gift I've ever given is when I flew Iain's best mate over here for his birthday one year, and we managed to pull it off as a complete surprise. Iain had no idea, and the look on his face when he opened the door was priceless.
(This, btw, was when I was still working in Corporate America and making a shitload of money, and when tickets to and from the UK were about 1/3 what they are now.)
Shaker Gourmet: Thanksgiving 2010!
Time for another annual (American) Thanksgiving post! Time sure flies by...I can't believe it's the end of November already!
Being traditionalists of the Midwest variety, we are keeping with the favorite appetizer:
You can make "cocktail meatballs" with the same sauce, too.Cocktail Weenies
1 pkg Lil' Beef Smokies
1 12-oz jar Heinz Chili Sauce
1 tablespoon grape jelly (more if you'd rather have sweeter)
Mix it all in a crock pot. Cook on low for a couple hours before time to serve.
And going with the tried-n-true:
If you aren't stuffing it, toss a couple cloves of garlic, half an onion, and a few whole sprigs of fresh herbs into the cavity before tying the legs. You can also put a cup of wine or chicken broth into the bottom of the pan, which will add too your drippings for gravy. For more information on buying, thawing,cooking, and stuffing a turkey, see here.Herb-Scented Roast Turkey
* 1 T chopped fresh or 2 tsp dried rosemary leaves, crumbled
* 1 T chopped fresh or 2 tsp dried sage leaves, crumbled
* 1 tsp salt
* 1/4 tsp black pepper
* 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
* 3/4 cup butter, softened
* 1 whole turkey (thawed, innards removed)
—Heat oven to 325. In small bowl, mix rosemary, sage, salt, pepper, and garlic; rub into turkey skin (and under, if you cut a small slit in the skin and put some herbs & butter in the opening--but don't cut too many slits into the skin!)
—Stuff turkey, if desired.
—On rack in shallow roasting pan, place turkey breast side up. Rub all over with butter. Tie the legs together with cooking twine.
—Roast turkey as directed by weight.
—Place turkey on platter, cover w/foil. Let stand appx 20 minutes
before carving.
I've made this for the past couple years and it's a very tasty--the first time I made it I was skeptical of the onion & apple being together. If you get cube stuffing, you could make it just in a bowl and not as "muffins". (Original recipe here)Apple and Onion Stuffin' Muffins
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
* 1 stick butter, softened
* 1 fresh bay leaf, available in produce department
* 4 ribs celery and greens, from the heart, chopped (save time and purchase celery already washed, trimmed and cut into sticks, this makes chopping fast work)
* 1 medium to large yellow skinned onion, chopped
* 3 McIntosh apples, quartered and chopped
* Salt and pepper
* 2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
* 8 cups cubed stuffing mix (recommended: Pepperidge Farm)
* 2 to 3 cups chicken stock, available in paper containers on the soup aisle
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil to skillet and 4 tablespoons butter. When butter melts, add bay leaf and add the vegetables as you chop them, celery, onions then apples. Sprinkle the vegetables and apples with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Cook 5 to 6 minutes to begin to soften vegetables and apples then add parsley and stuffing cubes to the pan and combine. Moisten the stuffing with chicken broth until all of the bread is soft but not wet.
Butter 12 muffin cups, 2 tins, liberally with remaining butter. Use an ice cream scoop to fill and mound up the stuffing in muffin tins. Remove the bay leaf as you scoop the stuffing when you come upon it. Bake until set and crisp on top, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove stuffin' muffins to a platter and serve hot or room temperature.
I've made this for the past several years, after a friend gave it to me, and it's delicious. It has even converted a cranberry-hater. I kid you not.Ginger Apricot Cranberry Sauce
* 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
* 2 tbsp. finely grated ginger
* 16 oz. fresh cranberries
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 1 cup orange juice
* 1/2 cup apricot preserves
In a saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter. Add ginger and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add crans, sugar, oj and preserves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crans burst and sauce thickens, about 20 mins. Transfer to bowl and serve warm.
You can also change out the cornflakes for pecans or almonds (add in a couple tablespoons of flour if you do).Sweet Potato Casserole
* 3 large sweet potatoes (or yams), roasted & peeled
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1/3 cup milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup packed brown sugar
* 2 cups cornflakes
* 2/3 cup melted butter, divided
—Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2 quart baking dish.
—Mash sweet potatoes. Combine with them with the sugar, eggs, 1/3 cup butter, milk and vanilla. Place in the prepared baking dish.
—In a separate bowl combine the brown sugar, cornflakes, and 1/3 cup butter. Sprinkle over the top of the sweet potato mixture. Bake for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.
Since I don't care for pumpkin pie, I always make two desserts. This year the second dessert will be toffee apple pie:
Toffee Apple Pie
5 - 6 cups apples, use a mix (I use Jonagold and Granny Smith)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
4 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 cup toffee brickle (I use Heath Bits o' Brickle [no chocolate on it!]) but any non-chocolate toffee candy cut up will do.
2 9" pie crusts
egg white + water for egg wash
sparkling sugar (optional)
--Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
--Peel and slice apples then sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine dry ingredients (only one 1/4 cup flour) in large bowl and add apples. Toss to mix. Add vanilla and cream and mix. Melt the 3 TB butter in heavy skillet. Add apple mixture and cook about 5 minutes. Turn into pie shell.
--Combine the flour and sugar in small bowl. Mix in butter with fork or pastry blender until it makes crumbs and then stir in the toffee. Sprinkle over apples and add top crust. Seal, vent top crust, and brush with beaten egg white (sprinkle with sparkling sugar if you want). Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 45 minutes longer. Let cool about an hour on cooling rack before serving.
For other ideas:
Thanksgiving 2009: Jellied Cranberry Sauce, Spinach Madeline, Pumpkin-Apple Streusel Cake.
Thanksgiving 2008: Good Eats Roast Turkey, Basic French Bread, Sweet Potato Balls.
Thanksgiving 2007: Bruschetta, Brie Mashed Potatoes, gravy & gravy tips, Old Fashioned Dinner Rolls, Herb Bread & Dipping Oil, Bavarian Apple Torte.
For a non-pumpkin, non-apple, super easy dessert: Peanut Butter Pie
Feel free to share your ideas/recipes, too!
Life Flashes By: Join the Open Beta!
The short of it: One of our Shakers has developed a new PC-based adventure game that you need to download and try out this very second!
The long of it: A little over a year ago, there was a guest post by Shaker Selasphorus on the issue of game developers catering to a rather specific demographic (i.e. dudebros). I took note of a comment by a Shaker named Squinky, who is an indie game developer trying to create "games with strong characters, personally meaningful themes, accessible interfaces, and an all-around focus on good storytelling."
Since I've always had an interest in doing voice work, I decided to reach out to Squinky (aka Deirdra) to see if she was in the market for any voice acting for her projects. Deirdra didn't need anyone at the time, but she said she would reach out if that ever changed. And so, about a year later I get a nice email from her stating that she'd like me to try out for a couple of parts for her new project, Life Flashes By. After several readings, she thought I worked well for a couple of the supporting characters in the story (I'm not telling which ones - you'll have to guess!), and off I went to record!
As I went through some of the script, I really appreciated the effort and thought that Deirdra put into this story, and I think you will too - which is why I would like you to consider downloading Life Flashes By and letting Deirdra know what you think.
Partial Credit
[TW: Sexual Assault]
CNN Nooz Blog: 'Maybe the media's making the TSA seem bad just for shitz.'
The real problem here is that the media is making a big deal about the possibility that survivors (and trans people, and civil libertarians, and people who don't like getting sexually assaulted) are just huge babies who probably don't have it that bad and should stop their whining.
So, yes, there is mediafail, just not the one CNN seems to be reporting. In otherwords, CNN is correct that CNN blows, but for the wrong reason.
Today's Edition of "Conniving and Sinister"
See Deeky's archive of all previous Conniving & Sinister strips here.
[In which Liss reimagines the long-running comic "Frank & Ernest," about two old straight white guys "telling it like it is," as a fat feminist white woman (Liss) and a biracial queerbait (Deeky) telling it like it actually is from their perspectives. Hilarity ensues.]
Assvertising
[Trigger warning for harassment, objectification, coercion, and mockery/minimization of same.]
This advert for Lindt Lindor Truffles originally ran in the summer, but I've just seen it starting to run again (as has Shaker Socchan, who emailed me about it). There's a lot wrong with this ad—see trigger warning, and of course the entire frame that suggests it's all hilarious because it's women doing it to a famous, powerful, privileged man—and a whole lot wrong with Lindt's decision to capitalize on the current concerns about TSA enhanced screening in an effort to sell fucking candy.
[Transcript below.]
Scene: An airport security checkpoint. Two young, thin, traditionally pretty white women, one blonde and one brunette, are working as security agents. Blonde nudges Brunette as tennis player Roger Federer comes through their checkpoint.[Assvertising: Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124.]
Federer: Hello. [He smiles.]
Brunette: [to Blonde] Hey, come check this out. [On the x-ray monitor, showing the contents of Federer's bag, is a bunch of round objects.]
Blonde: [nodding knowingly] Tennis player.
[The bag comes through on the conveyor belt; Blonde eyes Federer then zips open the bag, revealing a bunch of loose Lindt Lindor Truffles. Brunette comes over to look. They exchange glances with Federer. The two women each pick up a truffle, unwrap it, and eat it. They close their eyes and say, in unison, "Mmmmm."]
Federer: You're eating my chocolate.
Blonde: [with mouth still full of chocolate, pointing to bag] Um, we're gonna have to confiscate these.
Federer: Why is that?
Brunette: It's a new policy.
Blonde: No chocolate balls.
Federer: [looking confused] Okay.
Brunette: I think we should do a strip search.
Federer: [looking concerned] Excuse me?
Blonde: Definitely. [nods] Definitely strip search. [Federer looks alarmed.] So if you could take off your pants…turn around…
Federer: [turning around, but not taking off his pants] Is this really necessary?
Blonde: Stop. Right there.
Federer: [stopping with his back to the women] What's wrong?
Blonde: Nothing! Everything's right.
Brunette: You move very well.
Blonde: Mm-hmm.
Brunette: You must work out a lot.
Blonde: Mm-hmm. [Federer starts to turn back around.] Slowly—oh, yeah. That's the spot.
Federer: People are watching this!
Blonde: Anyway, you're all done! [The women smile; Blonde motions with her head that he can leave.] Carry on.
Federer: [reaching for his bag] My chocolate?
Blonde: Nope. My chocolate.
Federer: [walking away] You ladies are crazy.
Blonde: Have a nice flight! … Love you!
Two Americas
Corporate Profits Were the Highest on Record Last Quarter:
The nation's workers may be struggling, but American companies just had their best quarter ever.This is the master the GOP has been serving (and the Democrats, to a lesser extent). All the nonsense about abortion rights and kissing boys is just subterfuge, designed to get gullible US workers to vote against their own best interests.
American businesses earned profits at an annual rate of $1.66 trillion in the third quarter, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday. That is the highest figure recorded since the government began keeping track over 60 years ago, at least in nominal or non-inflation-adjusted terms.
Corporate profits have been going gangbusters for a while. Since their cyclical low in the fourth quarter of 2008, profits have grown for seven consecutive quarters, at some of the fastest rates in history.
Deregulation, privatization, corporate personhood, the veneration of avarice, the conflation of wealth with morality, and the myth of a market that solves all problems. That's what got us here.
The US public has told itself a lot of lies. The truth is this: The invisible hand belongs to a thief.
This is literally the worst headline I've ever read.
Barbara Bush Explains Miscarriage Anecdote.
There's nothing right with that collection of words.
Daily Dose o' Cute
Video Description: Dudley wrestles heroically with a fuzzy yellow blanket, set to a piece of Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, Op. 55 Eroica Symphony. Spoiler Alert: The blanket wins!
Still pix of Dudz w/ the blanket and the kitteh girls, in various poses of cuddly sleepiness, below the fold (on most browsers)...
Dudley
Sophie
Olivia
Matilda
Joss Whedon on Buffy Reboot
So, as you may have heard, Warner Bros. announced yesterday that they are "doing a 'reboot' version of Buffy, without any apparent involvement by the original creative team for the movie or TV show, including the man considered the end-all be-all Buffy mastermind, Joss Whedon."
I'll leave you to dissect the wisdom of such a decision in comments. Whedon's reaction is priceless—and perfect:
I'm glad you asked for my thoughts on the announcement of Buffy the cinema film. This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths—just because they can't think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself."But seriously, are vampires even popular any more?" LOL forever.
Obviously I have strong, mixed emotions about something like this. My first reaction upon hearing who was writing it was, "Whit Stillman AND Wes Anderson? This is gonna be the most sardonically adorable movie EVER." Apparently I was misinformed. Then I thought, "I'll make a mint! This is worth more than all my Toy Story residuals combined!" Apparently I am seldom informed of anything. And possibly a little slow. But seriously, are vampires even popular any more?
I always hoped that Buffy would live on even after my death. But, you know, AFTER. I don't love the idea of my creation in other hands, but I'm also well aware that many more hands than mine went into making that show what it was. And there is no legal grounds for doing anything other than sighing audibly. I can't wish people who are passionate about my little myth ill. I can, however, take this time to announce that I'm making a Batman movie. Because there's a franchise that truly needs updating. So look for The Dark Knight Rises Way Earlier Than That Other One And Also More Cheaply And In Toronto, rebooting into a theater near you.
Leave me to my pain! Sincerely, Joss Whedon.
Korea Crisis Open Thread
New York Times—'Crisis Status' in South Korea After North Shells Island:
The South Korean military went to "crisis status" on Tuesday and threatened military strikes against the North after the North fired dozens of shells at a South Korean island, killing two South Korean soldiers and setting off an exchange of fire in one of the most serious clashes between the two sides in decades.I don't guess I need to point out here that one of the problems of being embroiled in
...The North blamed the South for starting the exchange; the South acknowledged firing test shots in the area but denied that any had fallen in the North's territory. It was in the same area that a South Korean naval vessel, the Cheonan, was sunk in March, killing 46 sailors. Seoul blamed a North Korean torpedo attack; the North has denied any role.
The United States, Britain and Japan on Tuesday condemned the latest attack. The United States called on North Korea to "halt its belligerent action."
Sydney Morning Herald—North Korean dictator-in-waiting linked to deadly artillery attack: "North Korea has burnished the leadership credentials of its 26-year-old dictator-in-waiting with a deadly artillery attack on South Korean territory, causing its neighbour to return fire and scramble F-16 fighters. ... A North Korea expert at Beijing's Central Party School, Zhang Liangui, told the Herald that Kim Jong-un was deliberately destabilising the environment in order to mobilise the military and consolidate his power."
CNN—South Korean leader calls for 'action' after strike:
South Korea's president called on his military forces to use "action" and not talk to punish North Korea for deadly artillery attacks on Tuesday, but international diplomats appealed for restraint.Not good. Not good at all.
"The provocation this time can be regarded as an invasion of South Korean territory. In particular, indiscriminate attacks on civilians are a grave matter," President Lee Myung-bak said at the headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff here, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
"Enormous retaliation is going to be necessary to make North Korea incapable of provoking us again," Lee said.
Your Morning TSA Security Round-Up
[Trigger warning for general harm.]
McClatchy—Against advice, TSA chief didn't warn public about pat-downs: "Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole said Monday that he disregarded internal advice and decided not tell the public in advance about aggressive new screening and pat-down procedures for airline passengers, fearing terrorists could try to exploit the information."
USA Today—Body scanner makers doubled lobbying cash over 5 years:
The companies with multimillion-dollar contracts to supply American airports with body-scanning machines more than doubled their spending on lobbying in the past five years and hired several high-profile former government officials to advance their causes in Washington, government records show.Washington Post—Nearly two-thirds of Americans support full-body scanners at airports: "Nearly two-thirds of Americans support the new full-body security-screening machines at the country's airports, as most say they put higher priority on combating terrorism than protecting personal privacy, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll."
L-3 Communications, which has sold $39.7 million worth of the machines to the federal government, spent $4.3 million trying to influence Congress and federal agencies during the first nine months of this year, up from $2.1 million in 2005, lobbying data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show. Its lobbyists include Linda Daschle, a former Federal Aviation Administration official.
Rapiscan Systems, meanwhile, has spent $271,500 on lobbying so far this year, compared with $80,000 five years earlier. It has faced criticism for hiring Michael Chertoff, the former Homeland Security secretary, last year. Chertoff has been a prominent proponent of using scanners to foil terrorism. The government has spent $41.2 million with Rapiscan.
"The revolving door provides corporations like these with a short cut to lawmakers" and other decision-makers, said Sheila Krumholz, of the Center for Responsive Politics.
Meanwhile, Kevin Drum and Ezra Klein, two men for whom I've guest-blogged and respect greatly, argue that we might as well accept the "annoyance" of enhanced screening because security is only going to get more invasive if another terrorist attack happens, anyway.
Kevin Drum says, "The price we pay for this is plenty of annoyance," and Ezra Klein says, "This will depress my civil libertarian friends, but I think it's the hassle that people are really objecting to here."
Yikes.
Leaving aside my lack of enthusiasm for the calculation that we should give an inch's worth of encroachment into our civil liberties in order to stop the government taking a mile, both of them roundly ignore that the only people challenging these measures are not inconvenienced civil libertarians. There are practical and valid objections being made by people with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, and survivors of sexual violence.
That doesn't constitute some vanishingly small minority. There are millions of people with disabilities in this country alone, and millions of survivors of sexual violence: 1 in 33 men and 1 in 6 women (which are probably low estimates and many of them multiple times).
Those millions of people are not just potentially "inconvenienced." Being triggered does not mean feeling hassled or being annoyed or having your feelings hurt or getting upset. It means experiencing a physical and/or emotional response to a survived trauma, having a significantly mood-altering bout of anxiety. Someone who is triggered may experience anything from a brief moment of dizziness, to a shortness of breath and a racing pulse, to a full-blown panic attack. In the midst of traveling, which is an already-stressful experience for many PWDs and survivors.
Ignoring the legitimate concerns about enhanced screenings of people who may be triggered by them is certainly more convenient for a STFU argument, since no one wants to be the guy who tells survivors and PWD that they're necessary casualties of a security policy that protects the privileged. But it's dishonest. And I expect more from Kevin and Ezra.
Happy Birthday, Deeky!
Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuu!
Happy Birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuuu!
You're a forty year old aaaaaaaasshoooooooole!
And a huge sad bums, too!
Happy birthday, asshole!
P.S. I love you.
Happy Birthday, Elle!
Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuu!
Happy birthday to youuuuuuuuuuuu!
You look like a two-fisted smasher of the kyriarchal agendaaaaaaaaa!
And you smell like one toooooooo!
(Mmmmm...lavender!)
Happy Birthday, Elle. I love you, grrl.
Question of the Day
What's the best book you've read lately?
Rebecca Traister's Big Girls Don't Cry.
(Just because my answer is nonfiction doesn't mean yours has to be. Fiction welcome, too. Novels, graphic novels, comic books, children's books, biographies, whatever.)
Today's Edition of "Conniving and Sinister"
[Trigger warning for assault. Background.]
See Deeky's archive of all previous Conniving & Sinister strips here.
[In which Liss reimagines the long-running comic "Frank & Ernest," about two old straight white guys "telling it like it is," as a fat feminist white woman (Liss) and a biracial queerbait (Deeky) telling it like it actually is from their perspectives. Hilarity ensues.]
