Grilling failures and other sundries
Test drove our new little cheapie hibachi today, and alas I botched the setup, resulting in a dense smokey taste that will likely stay in the back of my throat for the next year and a half. Burgers were cooked and consumed, but I can't say they were good, exactly. Will try to improve next time.
Did roll up some nice lumpia Shanghai for the dojo picnic tomorrow. Have discovered my big error - egg roll wrappers are just too thick...I've wanted spring roll wrappers all this time. We picked up a slew of them at a nearby Asian market and I'm very happy with the results. They cooked through, and are the right size and texture, instead of being these giant things where the wrapping never quite cooked through correctly.
Bemo's birthday on Monday. We should bring a cake to the dojo picnic in his honor. Will try to remember.
During the cookout today, Bemo announced that I had grey hairs. Well, I knew I had, but apparently they're proliferating around the top of my head with wild abandon, where I hadn't noticed them. Don't know how I feel about that. Well, I do know how I feel, I just don't know how intensely I feel it.
Have read and enjoyed Lev Grossman's The Magicians.. However, following it up with a reread of The Secret History and listening to Marc Maron's interview with Todd Hansen may have been too much bleak/angsty/dark, edgy art all at once. I know it was too much reading about people drinking, anyway.
Also finally got around to reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and found it a pretty thoroughly mediocre book. Will probably watch the new version of the movie on account of Daniel Craig, but the book was stodgy and full of characters without any life to them whatsoever, and endless descriptions of things I couldn't care less about, like computers booting up. I made it to the end only because I plowed through it in a couple of days, and have no impulse to ever reread it or read the rest of the books in the series, because I just don't care one whit about any of the characters.
Have watched a few eps of The Pacific on DVD. Didn't grab me as much as Band of Brothers did, but I was bustling during the second disc, so that may have been part of the reason I wasn't drawn in. Also my problem of telling people apart when they're all dirty and in helmets continues. Also also, either our tv is incredibly sucktastic (a valid proposition) or the night scenes were meant to be so dark that the actors are barely visible.
Also watched a little bit of the first season of The Electric Company. It was really working an interesting vibe, and I'd like to compare it to Sesame Street of the same year (1971). I think TEC must have been more slangy and edgy and hip, but I'm not certain.
Did roll up some nice lumpia Shanghai for the dojo picnic tomorrow. Have discovered my big error - egg roll wrappers are just too thick...I've wanted spring roll wrappers all this time. We picked up a slew of them at a nearby Asian market and I'm very happy with the results. They cooked through, and are the right size and texture, instead of being these giant things where the wrapping never quite cooked through correctly.
Bemo's birthday on Monday. We should bring a cake to the dojo picnic in his honor. Will try to remember.
During the cookout today, Bemo announced that I had grey hairs. Well, I knew I had, but apparently they're proliferating around the top of my head with wild abandon, where I hadn't noticed them. Don't know how I feel about that. Well, I do know how I feel, I just don't know how intensely I feel it.
Have read and enjoyed Lev Grossman's The Magicians.. However, following it up with a reread of The Secret History and listening to Marc Maron's interview with Todd Hansen may have been too much bleak/angsty/dark, edgy art all at once. I know it was too much reading about people drinking, anyway.
Also finally got around to reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and found it a pretty thoroughly mediocre book. Will probably watch the new version of the movie on account of Daniel Craig, but the book was stodgy and full of characters without any life to them whatsoever, and endless descriptions of things I couldn't care less about, like computers booting up. I made it to the end only because I plowed through it in a couple of days, and have no impulse to ever reread it or read the rest of the books in the series, because I just don't care one whit about any of the characters.
Have watched a few eps of The Pacific on DVD. Didn't grab me as much as Band of Brothers did, but I was bustling during the second disc, so that may have been part of the reason I wasn't drawn in. Also my problem of telling people apart when they're all dirty and in helmets continues. Also also, either our tv is incredibly sucktastic (a valid proposition) or the night scenes were meant to be so dark that the actors are barely visible.
Also watched a little bit of the first season of The Electric Company. It was really working an interesting vibe, and I'd like to compare it to Sesame Street of the same year (1971). I think TEC must have been more slangy and edgy and hip, but I'm not certain.