I was walking up the Hill. I hate it. It's too steep, too everything. And then I spotted some old ladies lugging lawn chairs up the Hill. Well, that put things into perspective.
This afternoon, another student was enthusing about The Amber Spyglass. I think Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials is brilliant, but all I said was, "That's a good book." It's pointless to extol the virtues of a book to someone who's already a fan.
The ARC of the Covenant. An interesting article with hints on how not to get ripped off by ARCs. I confess, I'm usually more interested in the content of a book rather than its packaging so lures of pristine ARCs (unless they are free) will not sway me.
Where are all the single women? The single men? I'm looking at those two blue dots on either side of the Idaho-Washington border and I'm thinking, "Is that Moscow and Pullman? Nah. Must be Spokane and Coeur d'Alene." Most of the people I know are either married or seriously involved--which would normally not bother me, but it does get annoying when conversation starts veering off into "S.O. this, S.O. that" territory.
17 foods to try before you die. Some of those--no thanks. Like street food, for instance. People have landed in the hospital because of it. Hm. I should probably make my own list some time. (It would probably include snake and snail, but not frog. I've tried frog before.)
Oh my - the 17 foods range from disgusting (roe of any type, bone marrow) to so infuriating I can barely type (horse, foie gras) to great but on what planet is this not familiar (real whipped cream, wood fire cooking, condensed milk, afternoon tea, real balsamic vinegar) to should be eaten every day, not just once before death (bitter greens, pick your own produce) to should never be eaten if health is a concern (kobe beef sashimi, langos). OK, maybe the le riopelle de l'isle (I do love cheese, or it would be in the should never be eaten if health is a concern category), truffles and salsify are inspired. But who hasn't eaten street food? True - it can be delicious, and it is risky at the same time. And the writer is supposed to be a restaurant critic?
Actually, bone marrow isn't so bad. It's good in a soup.
As for street food, it depends on where. In the U.S., okay. But I was thinking more about third world countries--in which my answer would be an unqualified no.
