22 hours ago
4 days ago
Cherry heirloom tomatoes that I grabbed from the student store, halved and drizzled with balsamic and olive oil, and a sprinkle of pepper, eaten for dinner.
Don’t be fooled by all the pretty varieties: though the green ones look edible, they are nasty little fellows, not just sour but also astringent.
5 days ago
I’d Do It All Again, Corinne Bailey Rae, The Sea [2010]
Someone to love
It’s bigger than your pride’s worth
It’s bigger than the pain you got for all it hurts
It outruns all of the sadness
Is there a fine line to the darkness
Listen to this record immediately—it’s heargasmic. Oh Corinne, I have missed you so.
god and i opined
Let me start off my spiel by saying that I do not believe in talking about religion through the internet on principle, because most readers will merely take these words and project their own opinions through them without considering what is actually said. This bit of thought is not to be interpreted as a request for debate or criticism of Christians/atheists/whatever. With that said:
I despise the way Christianity is used nowadays, as a crutch by both those who follow the faith blindly and by those who label believers as backwards, whose opinions are not to be considered. I don’t think morals should have anything to do with religion, because what’s right should be right because it has a place in the world—not because God says so.
I’ve heard, listened, and watched too many people use Christianity as a defining edge in a stance. Citing scripture is not an appropriate form of argumentation, though it may be used as support. At the same time, just because God or the Bible is brought up in a conversation doesn’t mean it should be disregarded completely. Being an atheist doesn’t make one all-knowing, the same way being Christian doesn’t give one all the irrefutable right answers. In this manner I caution against using religion at all in conversation, because who is anyone to say what God wants or whether there is a God at all?
Unfortunately, there seems to be an unspoken rule on the internet that ignorance, irrationality, and sheer stupidity must invade all but few conversations on religion. While I personally believe that faith is a personal matter which requires a great deal of open-mindedness and consideration to cultivate, I seem to find more and more cases where God is a single-dimensional character whose words are twisted and abused to fit specific instances in life.
I suppose what I’m saying is this: if God’s will must be asserted as the reason something should or should not be done, His wishes better not be the sole support. Additionally, knowledge of a few dozen Biblical stories does not imply expertise on the Christian faith. Whether or not there is a God we should listen to should not affect every choice we make, be it the right to gay marriage, abortion, or marrying a cousin. To give all words consideration, even when filled with deep personal conviction, is a true sign of enlightenment, and the key to a rational society where everyone can live in understanding, if not agreement.
1 week ago
“A U.N. police officer unties the hands of a boy who took part in looting in downtown Port-au-Prince January 29, 2010.”
1 week ago
Selections from Extraordinary Desserts
We tried (top left, clockwise): La Bête Noire (“Traditional vanilla crème brûlée, chocolate truffle cream are layered in between dark chocolate cakes and moistened with Madagascar vanilla bean.”), Gianduia (“Myer’s Rum laced chocolate cake layers are married with hazelnut buttercream, chocolate mousse, and boysenberry preserves. Crushed pralines cover this most popular dessert.”), Torta Misu (“Our unique version of Tiramisu consists of espresso soaked ricotta cake layers and Italian mascarpone rum cream. This house favorite is finished with whipped cream and dusted with cocoa.”), and Ivoire Royale (“An exquisite torte made of fine layers of vanilla bean soaked pound cakes and creamy white chocolate mousse. Bursting with fresh raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and blueberrIes, this delicate mousse torte is hidden by white chocolate shaving dusted with powdered sugar.”). We also tried some sort of fruit Pavlova, which was excellent.
weekend foodie rundown
The boyfriend came across the country this weekend to spend time with me, so the friends and I decided to rise to the occasion and eat our way through San Diego. As expected, I spent my first paycheck on stuffing my face.
The cheapest, most assessable (read: white-palate friendly) sushi and Japanese food in San Diego, available at three locations (Sushi Delis 1, 2, and 3). It’s not the best sushi I’ve ever had, but at its price, it’s definitely worth a stop. We tried (among other things): teriyaki platters, tempura udon, and a bunch of different rolls. Our favorites are the 4x4 (four different pieces of four different rolls) and the Broadway (salmon, spicy tuna, tempura shrimp). For $16, I got a tempura udon and two rolls. Yum.
Let’s say this: we were all craving Boiling Crab, which was the only reason we decided to settle for Joe’s. The food was alright, but we definitely weren’t full, even after stuffing ourselves with the potatoes, corn, and sausage. Between five of us, we tried the Dungeness Crab Bucket in Garlic Herb and Spicy Boil, the Fire-Grilled Steampot and the Joe’s Classic Steampot. The Fire-Grilled was definitely the most tasty and flavorful. We split the bill, which came out to about $18 per person.
We always come to this Vietnamese/Chinese restaurant for pho, which is pretty darn good. Tasty broth and pretty fresh noodles, which is basically all I require. $5.50 for a regular sized bowl of Pho Tai.
Um, YUM. Also, ridiculously expensive. I love this excellent dessert place, which always has several amazing varieties of cake and fruit pastries, and do both so well. Edible flowers and gold leaf adorn each piece of dessert, which comes to around $8.50, give or take. I suggest going to the Extraordinary Desserts on 5th Street, rather than the one in Little Italy, because there is simply more parking.
This place is amazing. Period. My friend Monica is obsessed with this BBQ joint, which is usually so popular that the line winds around the establishment. Great baby back ribs and beef ribs (and the best damn coleslaw I’ve ever tasted). To avoid the line, come after 9PM. We got a teaser platter for $7, which included a huge tower of french fries, coleslaw, and ribs (4 bones). Amaaazing.
2 weeks ago
Kurt Cobain and his daughter Frances Bean
From 125 Rare Photos of Famous People
(via The Daily What)
2 weeks ago
Sleep Talkin' Man «
“My mild-manner English husband Adam lives quite a colorful existence in his dreams. Having benefited from hours of delight at his dead-of-night musings, I found it only fair to share them with the world.”
Some typical excerpts from this hilarious blog (and please, please don’t miss the audio samples on the left-hand side):
January 15, 2010
“Can you hold… can you hold my starfish? It doesn’t like it when I’m getting excited. Oh look, it likes you! Its legs are all cree-py cree-py.”
“Hey, don’t… don’t say anything. Why don’t you put it in an email, then I can ignore it at my pleasure.”
“I feel all rolley polley rolley polley. rolley pony PONY…. Splat!”
January 11, 2010
“Your mum’s at the door again. Bury me. Bury me deep.”
“Yeah, keep looking. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
“Shhhhhhhhh. shhhhhhhhh. I’m telling you: your voice, my ears. A bad combination.”
“You’re pretty. pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty…. [long pause] Now fuck off and be pretty somewhere else. I’m bored.”
[hand tangled in my hair, massaging my scalp] “I’m stuck. I’m stuck. Your pubes! You got to shave.”
“Butter… nut… squash. I like those words.”
2 weeks ago
life is
Incredibly busy and rewarding right now. I’m stressed out and exhausted but at the end of the day I couldn’t be happier doing anything else, because though maybe all of this will get old one day, it’s all I’ve got now.
(College is: lectures, friends, sorority life, boyfriend, new job, homework, midterms, parties, just enough sleep, and a whole lot of dirty jokes and junk food.)
