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June 20, 2007
Just in case you thought I'd lose weight on the no dairy/wheat/alcohol diet ...
No fear. I figured out how to make ice cream out of coconut cream, coconut milk, and a couple of avocados.
Plus, although I can't eat the cake, there is apparently nothing but fake, non-nutritive yet non-allergenic (to me) crap in the chocolate frosting. Let the rest of the family eat cake. Just give me a spoon and the Duncan Heinz can. I'm good.
Posted by lynx at 4:04 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
June 9, 2007
A Musical Meme
Since this one involves 80s music, how can I resist?
Here are the rules:
1. Go to http://www.popculturemadness.com/
2. Pick the year you turned 18 (left column)
3. Get yourself nostalgic over the songs of the year
4. Write something about how the songs affected you
5. Pass it on to 5 more friends
That's 1988 for me. Ugh. What a list. Nostalgic? More like nauseous. Debbie Gibson? Rick Astley? Poison? Blech. But let's see ...
Ooh, well. Here are a couple of obvious ones: Pour Some Sugar On Me and Love Bites - Def Leppard
I'd never listened to them or anything like them before Hysteria came out. In the summer of '88 I worked at Sound Warehouse, where we played that album incessantly. And every time we played it, it grew on me a little more (it was "Gods of War" that hooked me). Then came the videos, and the hormone rush.
Hmmm? Oh, sorry - got distracted there.
I saw them for the first time that summer. (Not on the legendary in the round tour, but on the shed tour following. And not on the Pyromania tour, as my husband will doubtless point out again. And again.)
Need You Tonight - INXS
Heh. More hormones.
This turned out to be another of my very favorite bands. I saw them that year, too, in a huge arena. They were better later, in clubs. Two of the best shows I have ever seen were INXS club shows in 1993. However, the 1988 tour is kind of peripherally responsible for Jeff and me getting back together after a post-high school breakup.
I had the lyrics to "Mediate" posted around my dorm room.
We will not speak of their current lineup.
Under The Milky Way - The Church
Alternative was just getting under way during my first year at college. In Dallas, a *brand new* station called The Edge (KDGE) came onto the airwaves, and played the most amazing music. The Church was heavy in their rotation. Atmospheric, catchy, sardonic ... what's not to like?
That year I worked at the college radio station, which only broadcast to the immediate vicinity. Really immediate. Like, only in the Student Center. But even so, it was a great time to be doing anything with college radio, even if no one ever heard you. Maybe especially if no one ever heard you.
It's The End of the World as We Know It - R.E.M.
R.E.M. was the defining musical element of my college years. Many of my college memories are tied to R.E.M. songs. Everyone listened to them, everyone went to their shows (and they were still small enough to play smaller venues more suited to college folk), everyone tried to learn the words to this song. Usually they were drunk and failed.
For some reason, I could not find the video for this song. So here's "Stand;" you know, the one everyone tried to do the dance to. Usually they were drunk and failed.
What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy) - Information Society
This one reminds me of going dancing on weekends at Dallas Alley. Dallas Alley used to be very cool, full of good clubs. The whole top floor of the attached mall was a Beatles Museum. The last time I was down there the mall was much more like a typical mall, and most of the good clubs were gone.
My kids like this one because of the Star Trek bits.
I'll tag: KathyJo (even though she tagged me for a Thinking Blogger Award and I haven't done anything about it), Kellie, Jeff, e and Catherine.
Posted by lynx at 1:05 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 8, 2007
Visitor
Look what we found on our back door this morning!
This is a male Luna Moth. It's been there for hours now, in the daylight. I figure that means it's dying. It's lovely, though.
Posted by lynx at 9:28 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 6, 2007
One Day, They Want to Direct the Military
I took an afternoon trip to Animal Control yesterday (will explain in another post). I knew I would be back too late to get dinner started, but I also knew that I had at least three capable teen/pre-teen types in my home.
So I called said capable children, and gave directions to the one who answered the phone: "I want you to get out five potatoes. Not the sweet potatoes, the regular ones. Wash them. Chop them up into big pieces. Put them in a pot, with just enough water to cover them up. Then put them on the stove to cook.
Also, go to the freezer, and get out a pound of ground beef. I'll make Shepherd's Pie."
Simple, right?
I called back 15 minutes later, to see how preparations were coming along. "How's it going, son?"
"Oh, fine, Mom! The poatoes are on the stove, heating up."
"Great! How did the chopping go? Did anyone lose a finger?"
"Uh ... we were supposed to chop them?"
So I reiterated the instructions. "Yes, chop them," and "Did you find the ground beef?"
He assured me that everything else was fine.
Fifteen minutes later, I was home. And in the kitchen I found, cooking away on the stove, a HUGE pot full of ... can you guess? Chopped sweet potatoes. And a pound of whitefish. Which was even labeled with a picture of a fish, for those not quite literate.
We didn't exactly have Shepherd's Pie.
Posted by lynx at 10:34 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 4, 2007
Who needs food?
Well, the results of my food intolerance test is in. According to the test, I am probably intolerant of the following:
• Milk (casein)
• Eggs
• Yeast (brewer's and baker's)
• Mushrooms
• Chili pepper
• Pinto and kidney beans
• Radishes
And, irony of ironies ...
• Cane sugar
It's a good thing I have a well-developed sense of humor, because I need one to go grocery shopping. Plus, most of the organic, frou-frou healthy snacks I buy are out - they all use cane juice. Ha, ha, ha.
These tests are not conclusive. The only thing I can do is to go off all these foods and see what happens.
I bought an ice cream maker and have some exciting honey-sweetened strawberry sorbet in the freezer. I'm attempting a rice milk "ice cream" with oreos, which have neither cane sugar nor dairy in them.
You might have noticed, though, that alcohol is made with yeast. Ha ha. The Gods sure are funny, aren't they?
Posted by lynx at 3:09 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
June 2, 2007
This Post is Definately About Grammer
I have been accused of being intellectually elitist. On a homeschooling board. On a homeschooling board for classical homeschooling.
It boggles the mind.
Why was I accused of being elitist? Because I was helping to point out some common grammar and spelling errors. No one was singled out or deliberately targeted; we were discussing common, general errors. You know, those misspellings and usage errors that sound like nails on a blackboard.
What did we get? Post after post about how pointing out such things is mean. It hurts feelings. It's ... intellectually elitist.
Frankly, if you are interested in classical education, I assume you care about things like grammar, and spelling. I think you ought to realize that you are teaching your children grammar, and not grammer. I think you ought to learn that "of" is not the word we use with "could," "should," or "would." If you follow an educational philosophy that is more laid back about things, I'll let you off the hook. But classical educators? For Heaven's sake, if we can't be elitist, who can?
Even if the word "elitism" conjures up all your inner guilt and makes you run for your hair shirt, you should not be afraid to confront and correct your mistakes. It's better to learn than to defend. Is the opposite of elitism blissful ignorance? Or just mediocrity? What do you choose for yourself?
Elitist. I am so there. Maybe I should just print it on a T-shirt, or stick it in my .sig file. "Warning: Educational Elitist. May correct your spelling, or your logic, or urge you to read a book."
Since it's 1:30 in the morning, I'm pretty darned sure every one of you will who reads this will find some spelling or grammar error to throw back at me. In a post like this, at least one error is guaranteed to be terribly embarrassing. (Like the time I posted about spelling errors on the WTM board, and misspelled "misspell" every time.) That's okay, I can take it.
Posted by lynx at 12:04 AM | Comments (16) | TrackBack