In the Headlights

Ken Jennings in Jeopardy

If you think I meant "Ken Jennings on Jeopardy", you're wrong.  In fact, I'd bet money that Ken Jennings will never be on Jeopardy again.

A shame, that.

CNN.com's Entertainment section had an article about a blog post Jennings, the biggest winner by far on Jeopardy did about the show, in which he pretty much slammed Jeopardy, and its host, Alex Trebek.  But he was pretty funny, and I'll forgive a lot for funny.  And, for the most part, he was right.  That is, he criticized the set, and the way it hasn't changed in 20 years, and the clue crew, and made fun of Trebek.

Then he suggested they get hipper (uhoh, I think I outed myself as one of the unhip demographic that watches the show) clues, and maybe have the contestants do something other than answer questions to get points.

It was pretty funny.  Not uproarious, but OK.  And even if he was right about some of the stuff, many of us still think it is among the best TV there is. 

So it comes as no surprise that Jennings is taking some heat for his comments.  Fans don't take insults to their dear Alex lightly.

Jennings's apology:  "We regret the insinuation that Alex Trebek is a robot and has been since 2004.  Mr. Trebek's robotic frame does still contain some organic parts, many harvested from patriotic Canadian schoolchildren, so this technically makes him a 'cyborg', not a 'robot'."

Speak for yourself, Mr. Jennings.

[Signature image from Waxy.org]

Human Resources at Work

A large corporation had recently hired several cannibals.

"You are all part of our team now", said the HR rep during the welcoming

briefing. "You get all the usual benefits and you can go to the cafeteria

for something to eat, but please don't eat any of our employees".

The cannibals promised they would not.

Four weeks later the HR rep called them together and remarked, "You're all

working very hard and we're satisfied with your work. However, one of our

secretaries has disappeared. Do any of you know what happened to her"?

The cannibals all shook their heads "No".

After the HR rep had left the room, the leader of the cannibals said to the

others, "Which one of you idiots ate the secretary?" A hand rose hesitantly.

"You fool!" the leader continued. "For four weeks we've been eating

managers! And no one noticed anything. But NOOOooo, you had to go and eat

someone who actually does something!!

(Those cannibals must have been cute and connected.)

[Via RR.  Illustration from Toothpaste for Dinner.]

Word of the Day

Solipsism--this great word was a favorite of two characters in The Tao of Steve.  So it seems worth looking at more closely.

solipsism:  The theory that the self is the only thing that can be known or verified.

A little more detail from Wikipedia, including the origins of this philosophy, from Greek presocratic sophist, Gorgias.

So it posits that the individual self is the whole of reality, and that others and the external world are representations of that self having no independent existence.

A tad egocentric, don't you think?

Though I'll grant you that everyone's reality is different, and tinged by his or her own viewpoint and experience.

 

Not to be confused with solecism, which is a socially awkward or tactless act (gaffe or faux pas).  Or a non-standard grammatical usage, an impropriety, mistake or incongruity.

You'll never see any solecisms here.  Hah.  Maybe I should say, check here for your daily solecism.

[Illustration from Dinosaur Comics]

The Tao of Steve

I watched this DVD last night.  Arrived at my house from Netflix, and all I have to do is put it back in the envelope and return it, and await the next movie on my queue. 

Anyway, it was a good, entertaining movie.  Only after it was over did some of the implications hit me.

The Tao of Steve is protagonist (if you can call him that), Dex's philosophy of picking up women.  In short, it consists of three basic parts:  Eliminate all desire.  That is, don't let a woman know you you desire her, because women can smell desperation a mile away, and it turns them off.  So hide it well.  Second, be excellent.  Do something in front of her to show that you are worthy of bedding her.  Third, when she wants you, retreat and let her capture you.

The Steve in the title is the ultimate cool guy, an amalgam of Steve McGarrett (Hawaii Five-O), Steve Austin (The Six Million Dollar Man) and a real Steve, and uber cool guy, Steve McQueen.

Dex himself is anything but cool.  He is fat, slovenly and looks as if he smells.  He spends his days drinking beer, playing frisbee or pool, and taking hits off his bong and lying to women.  He works as a part-time kindergarten teacher.  And he gets laid a lot.

When he plays poker with his buddies, they talk about the tao of Steve, trying to enlighten young Dave who wears his heart on his sleeve.  They tell him he is a "Stu", the opposite of Steve.

At his ten year college reunion, Dex runs into Syd and the two of them wind up having to share transportation after Dex's motorcycle breaks down.

Naturally, Dex finds a woman who is immune to his Steveness, and has to learn to woo her as himself.  What has he got?  He can spout philosophy with the best of them.  He's smart, he's funny, he's good with kids.  And, apparently, good between the sheets.

Is it enough to win a smart, savvy, beautiful and successful woman?  I won't give the answer away, but found myself wondering that after the movie was over.

Is it enough?  A sense of humor, and brains.  And, of course, the between the sheets part.  What about the lying, the refusal to grow up, the irresponsibility? The flabby body and unattractive tattoos?  Can Dex overcome them and win love?  You'll have to watch to see, and this movie is well worth watching.

And I can't voice my other questions without giving the whole thing away.

The movie stars Donal Logue as Dex, Greer Goodman as Syd, and Ayelet Kaznelson as Beth.  It was directed by Jenniphr Goodman.

Demographics

Every now and then, I click the "Country Share" button on my Sitemeter.  It always shows about 75% hits from the United States, and about 25% for all other comers combined.  Lately I have noticed an increasing number of foreign hits.  I did that today and checked the country share.  Here's what I got:

I think this is pretty cool.  I wonder what "Unknown Country" and "Miscellaneous" mean.  They make up 9% of my hits.  Pretty mysterious.

I also notice that my Norwegian buds aren't holding up their end.  On the other hand, I haven't been too attentive to others' blogs lately.  Life keeps interfering with my virtual existence.

Speaking of which,  off to work I go.

Safety Tip

Jan sends us this safety tip:

Put your keys beside your bed at night.  If you hear an alarming noise outside or someone trying to break into your house, just press the panic button on your car.  The alarm will be set off, and the lights will flash and horn will sound until you turn it off or your battery dies.

I thought my house alarm had a panic button, but it doesn't seem to.  It does, however, have a test mode, which will raise the roof, so if I hear someone breaking in, I can enter my number and hit "test" and set off the audible alarm that way.

I also have cellular backup for my alarm system, because my husband told me a long time ago that even with an alarm, all an enterprising burglar has to do is cut the wires going to the house and the alarm will be inactivated.  Unfortunately, the cellular backup system seems pretty flawed, so often when we test the system, the upshot is that the cats are hiding for the rest of the day, and a repair man needs to schedule an appointment to come see why the backup signal isn't getting through.

Which brings us back to Jan's tip about the car alarm.

I like a backup plan that doesn't involve putting a load of  buckshot through the door.

Got all that?

[Horn via Valcom]

Smoky Citrus Shrimp with Parsley

Food activists Bryant Terry and Anna Lappe recently published  Grub:  Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen, which includes this wonderful recipe:

2 pounds large shrimp, shelled and deveined
3/4 teaspoon chipotle powder
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, minced
Lightly toasted baguette slices, for serving

In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with the chipotle powder and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.  In a large skillet, heat the olive oil.  Add the shrimp and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until they begin to turn pink, but are still raw in the center, about 2 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a plate.

Reduce th heat to moderately high.  Add the garlic to the skillet and cook until lightly golden, about 1 minute.  Add the orange, lemon and lime juices and boil until slightly thickened, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet, about 2 minutes.

Return the shrimp to the pan and toss to coat with the sauce.  Cook until the shrimp are white throughout, about 1 minute.  Stir in the parsley and season with salt.  Transfer to bowls and serve with baguette toasts.

[Via Food and Wine Magazine, August, 2006]

Addendum:  I made this a few days ago.  I didn't have any chipotle powder but did have some dried chipotles.  I chopped one of them up and added it to about one pound of shrimp.  I used three large cloves of garlic, and about the same amount of juice as recommended in the recipe above.  With a salad and some buttered crispy French bread to sop up the sauce, it was delish.

The Important Things in Life

First, I'd like to apologize the my lawyer friends.  You know who you are.

Now, on to the joke:

A very successful lawyer parked his brand new Lexus in front of the office, ready to show it off to his colleagues.  As he was getting out of his car, a truck came speeding down the road, and tore off the driver's side door.

Fortunately, a cop was nearby and got to the scene quickly.  Before he had a chance to ask questions, the lawyer jumped out of his car, livid.  He was screaming hysterically about how his brand new Lexus was completely ruined, and would never be the same, no matter what the body shop claimed.

When he finally stopped to take a breath, the cop shook his head and said "I can't believe how materialistic you lawyers are.  You are so focused  on your possessions that you neglect the most important things in life."

"How can you say that?  My beautiful car is ruined!" yelled the lawyer.

"Don't you even realize that your left arm is missing?" the cop asked. "It got ripped off when the truck hit you."

"OH, MY GOD!" screamed the lawyer.

"My Rolex!"

Degradable Dishes

Biodegradable, I mean. These plant-based dishes look good and are environentally friendly.

These are made from corn, potatoes, sugarcane, and recycled foam and paper.

Foam bowls and plates are made from potatoes, and feel and look like styrofoam. They hold hot or cold foods.  They completely compost within 45-60 days under commercial composting conditions.  Bowls  or plates, $79/case (1000 units) if buying 1-4 cases.  Cheaper for more.

These 12-oz. cups are made from fully compostable corn resin, but look like the kind made of petroleum-based plastic.  A case of 1000 costs $88.80, more cases, less cost. 

These, and takeout containers, napkins, trays, straws and much more available from Biodegradable Store.com.

If you don't need 1000 at a time, you can buy potato and sugarcane based dishes and utensils in lots of 50 units from World Centric.

For utensils made of sugarcane pulp, check out Clear Creek Compostables .

This poplar plywood, cork and wood veneer tray is from Branch: Sustainable Design for Living.  This beautiful tray is 18.25" X 14", and costs $150 (with free shipping for items over $100)

For more beautiful trays, as well as well as salad servers, cutting boards and much, much more, go to Bambu.  Save a tree by buying products made from renewable materials.

[Via Food and Wine Magazine, August 2006.]

Viva Zappos

My friend Melissa is maddening.  She is about a size two, and always looks like a fashion plate.  I was admiring her shoes the other day, and she told me about her favorite place to get shoes:  the internet.

Specifically, Zappos.  They have women's and men's shoes, handbags, men's bags and accessories.  Sizes up to 18 for you hard to fit men and women.  The prices are reasonable, with free 4-5 day delivery.  Standard shipping is free both ways, and there is a 365 day return policy.

I just linked to their clearance sale for women's shoes---all 1564 pages of it. I don't think I have time to browse all that, so I'd probably hone down to a particular type of shoe, but I think I should be able to find something to suit my taste in all that.