Did I ask your opinion? No. But mine is important. Very important you know.

I have been watching the internet for the past few days. Waiting for it to entertain me. I think one of the worst inventions or evolutions of recent times is the ability for the masses to comment on nearly every article in on line editions of newspapers and other such sites. Oh sure in the bad old days where the print edition was the only thing available; a person could write a letter to the editor and share their esteemed opinion, regarding someone else's esteemed opinion on the esteemed public opinion on some public issue or where to travel in these tightened economic times. But the editor of the newspaper didn't have to print it. Sure they might choose the occasional wack-a-doo letter because it would be so darn entertaining.
Dear Sir,
I recently saw a spotted towhee who possessed a look that reminded me of Mr. Wilson. I suspect He knows that Mr. Wilson will not give in to the economists and devalue the pound. We should not hold our breath either.
Kindly,
Mr. Pleasant Crump
Wiltshire


And of course the required mix of, "Why in my day..." and "I pay taxes..." or "Why should I pay taxes..."

Yes. All well in good in moderation.

Now there doesn't quite seem to be the same filter. So we are subjected to a lot of malicious opinions that seem to degrade into a contest of whom can be the biggest ass. Should we hand out a weekly medal for this title?
"Mr. B. Smith managed to derail a discussion by making stupid remarks about someone's looks, a cheap shot about someone's personal life and a useless bitch about what a git the other person is. Good job being a dick. Here is a coupon to get half off your next meal at Chili's."

"Aaarvdark69 was able to take the conversation and mention who he wanted to "bang" and why he shouldn't have to pay taxes because he hates so and so. What a talent. Here is your medal. Now piss off."

And of course with the the whole chaos of the past couple of days regarding Senators' Obama and Clinton; the asshattery has taken on new levels of stupidity and general irritation. Maybe it is time for people to step away from the keyboard, go for a walk, take a few deep breaths and maybe have a cup of tea. Read a book. (I am reading a few interesting books right now, plus the usual pile of food magazines. I am planning meals for the next eighty-million years)
If your team won? Dandy, but don't be snide about it. Be civilized and polite.
If your team lost? That's too bad, but don't be a bad loser. It is poor form.
If it isn't your team at all? Again. Relax. It isn't your problem.
Are you some kind of Senior Adviser who may or may not have a job? No? Okay then maybe it is time to enjoy the quiet.

Oh and this goes for either side of the battle. I don't want to hear any wankery phrases like, "if so and so wins I am moving to Canada." Canada doesn't want your whining face. Neither does New Zealand. Besides unless I see you with all of the forms applying for residence, I don't want to hear it. Let's lay off the histrionics for once eh?

On that note I want to share a hee-larious blog I found.
A satirical blog of Karl Lagerfeld's daily life. Who knew it would take the fake blog of an insane designer who makes no sense to provide me with the entertainment I desired.
Thank you K.

cooking, reading. what more do you want?

When I am not being irritated I am baking.
This morning I baked brownies. I haven't made them in quite awhile and tried this recipe that was in Gourmet magazine. Most brownie recipes seem to kind of follow a basic formula so it is rare for it to be terribly original. (unless they put in something like 14K gold or fois gras. Imagine fois gras brownies.) This was pretty basic. Though it did call for five eggs and it had chocolate and cocoa powder -just so you know that this was some serious business. I like the fact that I could put together all of the ingredients in one sauce pan. It made for a much tidier cooking experience.
The brownie itself was pretty moist and had a lot of flavor and made me feel just ever so sick to my stomach afterward consuming one bar.
I consider it a success.

Last night for dinner I made my amazing lamb meatloaf. It involves lamb (funny enough) quite a bit of cumin and a lot of broken up saltines. I like to save all the crumbly ones at the bottom of a packet for just such an occasion. I also made scalloped potatoes and grilled asparagus. It was appreciated.

In the world of books, I am reading Titled Americans. It is about Jennie Jerome (Winston Churchill's Mother) and her two sisters. They were three American women who married into the British aristocracy -despite not being heiresses. (Their Father had money but lost his fortune a few times and even when they had money they weren't Vanderbilts) They sort of began that trend in the mid to late 19th century of the unions between the two groups. (it was mentioned in novels like The Shuttle and The Buccaneers) All three married second/third sons that didn't have much money and while all three had potential, they didn't really use it. So the women were left to get cracking and in this case it meant having a lot of affairs. The kind that the upper-class were so good at having. Jennie Jerome was close personal friends with The Prince of Wales and a lot of other powerful men so she was able to call in a lot of favors to help her son on the path to his career.
This book was suggested by oxymoron67. So far he and I are in agreement about about how the author is portraying the three main figures of the book. It isn't terribly deep stuff but it is still entertaining. The historical and social context is definitely interesting. Pretty much the British Aristocracy was rather sexually free. There were standards about what one did in public but even then it was sort of vague at times. Only the middle class had to be shackled by morality.

I am still working through the final book in the His Dark Materials trilogy. (The Amber Spyglass) It is alright, though people have told me the ending is disappointing. I think I liked the first book the best. But I might as well see things to the exhausting end. Pullman does have a habit of getting a bit florid with the language -to the point that you just want to say, "get on with it."
Of course there are times when I have wanted to say that to J.K. Rowling. (lady did you have an editor?)

I need to look through and see what is next in the pile. I think either something by Emily Eden or a book on the Madame X painting by Singer Sargent.