Hmm...
"Ace of Cakes Star Bakes World's Largest Cupcake.
......
Wouldn't a giant cupcake be.......like............a regular cake?...
......
*loss for words*
Anyway. Cake realities aside.
Yesterday was Rosh Hoshanah, but my brother was home on Sunday, so we had a nice dinner with him. ^_^ My mom and I made Chicken Marbella, which is really good, for the record. Mom also made a kugel (noodle pudding--the kind she makes is sweet, with raisins, sugar, eggs, and butter), and I campaigned for baked potatoes, since the chicken is also sort of sweet, and I'm much more of a savory person in terms of main courses. ^_~ We almost had matzo ball soup, but it was nixed by my salt-hating dad. But it was a nice meal, and I learned how to make the chicken dish! I'm always trying to expand my reservoir of main course recipes, since mostly I stick with baking things, where you don't have to worry as much about the temperature of cooked meat. :P
So, adachin was talking about books she's read lately, which reminded me that I haven't done the same for a while. Recently, I've been reading a book called Birdsong, which....................*skkkkkzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz* Oh, sorry. What I meant to say is, I've been reading Birdsong, and.............*thunk* Oh! Wow, I'm sorry. I have no idea why I keep falling asleep.
The reason I'm reading it at all is because, after the first 100 pages or so, it brings the characters into World War I. Not only am I hoping it will get better after that, I'm also interested in how modern authors write about WWI combat, which doesn't happen all that much, at least not so it's an extensive part of a book. But oh my god. I really want to like Sebastian Faulks (the author). And I'm nominally, nominally curious about his main character's backstory. And I know that these first hundred pages set up a relationship that will no doubt be important and returned to later in the story, and it needs to be set up. But surely, there must have been a more interesting way of writing it. It really feels to me like the author knows he has to set this relationship up, but he really just wants to rush on to the war parts. I can sympathize, but I'm doing my best not to fall into that trap.
I know that lots of people have read and really loved this book, so I bet it gets better as it goes, and I'll remain optimistic about that fact. I guess it's also an interesting sign that readers might be willing to slog through a number of pages of necessary set-up, although the very beginning is an unfortunate place in which to have those pages.
In brighter news, I'm also reading a book on the history of coal, and I'm not being facetious when I say that it's much more interesting than Birdsong. Seriously! I think the author's name is Barbara Freese, and she goes into the history of how coal was used and abused from the Roman occupation of Britain to the present day. Evidently, people in the middle ages shunned it because they believed that bad smells were evil, and since it released black smoke when it burned, that reminded them of the smoke that was supposed to come from Hell. But eventually the population exploded and they didn't have as much wood available for fuel due to construction, clearing meadows for sheep and the wool industry, etc., so they had to start using coal instead. I dunno, I just think it's super interesting, and it's written in a really accessible way that doesn't make your head swim. ^_~
Also, I feel like a complete moron, but I didn't know before reading this book that electrical plants are powered by coal. O_O (I'm not a science person. Don't make fun of me. I dunno what I thought was actually happening, maybe that we stored lightning, or something. :P In any case, I never really thought much about where electricity came from.) So the book is making me pay lots of attention to turning off lights when I don't need them and stuff.
Well, that's all. :D
......
Wouldn't a giant cupcake be.......like............a regular cake?...
......
*loss for words*
Anyway. Cake realities aside.
Yesterday was Rosh Hoshanah, but my brother was home on Sunday, so we had a nice dinner with him. ^_^ My mom and I made Chicken Marbella, which is really good, for the record. Mom also made a kugel (noodle pudding--the kind she makes is sweet, with raisins, sugar, eggs, and butter), and I campaigned for baked potatoes, since the chicken is also sort of sweet, and I'm much more of a savory person in terms of main courses. ^_~ We almost had matzo ball soup, but it was nixed by my salt-hating dad. But it was a nice meal, and I learned how to make the chicken dish! I'm always trying to expand my reservoir of main course recipes, since mostly I stick with baking things, where you don't have to worry as much about the temperature of cooked meat. :P
So, adachin was talking about books she's read lately, which reminded me that I haven't done the same for a while. Recently, I've been reading a book called Birdsong, which....................*skkkkkzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz* Oh, sorry. What I meant to say is, I've been reading Birdsong, and.............*thunk* Oh! Wow, I'm sorry. I have no idea why I keep falling asleep.
The reason I'm reading it at all is because, after the first 100 pages or so, it brings the characters into World War I. Not only am I hoping it will get better after that, I'm also interested in how modern authors write about WWI combat, which doesn't happen all that much, at least not so it's an extensive part of a book. But oh my god. I really want to like Sebastian Faulks (the author). And I'm nominally, nominally curious about his main character's backstory. And I know that these first hundred pages set up a relationship that will no doubt be important and returned to later in the story, and it needs to be set up. But surely, there must have been a more interesting way of writing it. It really feels to me like the author knows he has to set this relationship up, but he really just wants to rush on to the war parts. I can sympathize, but I'm doing my best not to fall into that trap.
I know that lots of people have read and really loved this book, so I bet it gets better as it goes, and I'll remain optimistic about that fact. I guess it's also an interesting sign that readers might be willing to slog through a number of pages of necessary set-up, although the very beginning is an unfortunate place in which to have those pages.
In brighter news, I'm also reading a book on the history of coal, and I'm not being facetious when I say that it's much more interesting than Birdsong. Seriously! I think the author's name is Barbara Freese, and she goes into the history of how coal was used and abused from the Roman occupation of Britain to the present day. Evidently, people in the middle ages shunned it because they believed that bad smells were evil, and since it released black smoke when it burned, that reminded them of the smoke that was supposed to come from Hell. But eventually the population exploded and they didn't have as much wood available for fuel due to construction, clearing meadows for sheep and the wool industry, etc., so they had to start using coal instead. I dunno, I just think it's super interesting, and it's written in a really accessible way that doesn't make your head swim. ^_~
Also, I feel like a complete moron, but I didn't know before reading this book that electrical plants are powered by coal. O_O (I'm not a science person. Don't make fun of me. I dunno what I thought was actually happening, maybe that we stored lightning, or something. :P In any case, I never really thought much about where electricity came from.) So the book is making me pay lots of attention to turning off lights when I don't need them and stuff.
Well, that's all. :D