My Own Thoughts

Billy Joel’s song, illustrated, with pictures of the headliners from the song.

This is so insightful. from Day by Day by Chris Muir

Someone recommended Indian pudding, specifically this recipe. I’ve never had it before, but it might be fun to try it. The intro begins: My first encounter with Indian Pudding was over 20 years ago at Durgin Park, a landmark restaurant in Faneuil Hall, Boston, famous for its home-style Yankee cooking and, at the time, its [...]

The Telegraph has an interesting article about a Chinese village that appears to have descended from a lost legion. Tests found that the DNA of some villagers in Liqian, on the fringes of the Gobi Desert in north-western China, was 56 per cent Caucasian in origin. Many of the villagers have blue or green eyes, [...]

I am presently making the beautiful (and hopefully delicious) recipe of Chocolate Cobbler from Adventures in Baking. Usually her beautiful fondant cakes are beyond me, but this looked like something I could do. The boys are looking forward to eating it with Natural Vanilla Bean ice cream from Bluebell. It took a lot more time [...]

I need that smell too–then it is Thanksgiving, says Reener. I melt a stick of butter (yes, entire stick) in a cup of milk until butter is melted. I mix the pepperidge farm stuffing mix with some bread I’ve let sit out and get dry overnight. Then I grind a few sticks of celery and [...]

Albuquerque Turkey (sung to the tune of “Clementine”) Albuquerque is a turkey And he’s feathered and he’s fine And he wobbles and he gobbles and he’s absolutely mine. He’s the best pet that you can get.. Better than a dog or cat. He’s my Albuquerque turkey And I’m awfully proud of that. He once told [...]

You can do homemade gravy! My grandmother taught me. Do it right in the roasting pan on the stove. First skim off the juices and fat, if any – leave the crispy bits in the pan. Add 1 tablespoon fat back into the pan for each cup of gravy. Heat on the stove, then add [...]

I want to put these up on Facebook next year, so I am writing it today (December 20, 2009 and posting it next November. Identify the following Christmas tunes: 1. The apartment of two psychiatrists. 2. the lad is a dimunitive percussionist. 3. Decorate the entry-ways 4. Sir Lancelot with laryngitis 5. ABCDEFGHIJKMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 6. Present [...]

Orange rolls and cinnamon rolls for breakfast. The boys and I ate the orange; R ate one of the cinnamon. Turkey is in the oven with sweet potatoes for R and I and baked potatoes for M and E. I’ll be making bean and cheese quesadillas in an hour and a half and sticking a [...]

Assistant Village Idiot writes about caroling in the car. This is what I’m talking about… When I was growing up we sang in the car all the time and I thought it was such a big deal and so important. Turns out, for my folks, it was just a way to keep us busy because [...]

A guy in Russia has apparently made it his goal to live like a czar. I love his floor! Beautiful pics at the link.

Joanne Jacobs says: We know how to teach black kids – and other disadvantaged students — but we don’t do it, writes John McWhorter in The Root. Starting in 1968, a huge federal study called Project Follow Through compared different methods of teaching at-risk K-3 children: Direct Instruction (DI), a scripted phonics program using repetition [...]

Inuit Tradition: To truly love someone is to learn the song that is in their heart, And then sing it to them when they forget

Chinese Noodle Dinner, 2500 years old Noodles, cakes, porridge, and meat bones dating to around 2,500 years ago were recently unearthed at a Chinese cemetery, according to a paper that will appear in the Journal of Archaeological Science. Since the cakes were cooked in an oven-like hearth, the findings suggest that the Chinese may have [...]

Thank you, God, for: O Oranges Optimism Oregon Originality Opinions Oklahoma–where Ron and my dad were born! Oatmeal cookies Oatmeal with fruit Owls Ocelots–Paul Outback Offices of Admission, especially ACU’s which I would like to let us know if M is in October, especially in New York! Olive oil (although I ask, if you are [...]

Went to Barnes & Noble, bought a book, and ate dinner at Starbucks. They have a great cream of chicken with wild rice soup, which I paired with an asiago pretzel. Very good.

I am never particularly happy about cheating students, but this paragraph from a “shadow scholar, a ghostwriter” of college (undergrad and graduate) work really frustrates me: I do a lot of work for seminary students. I like seminary students. They seem so blissfully unaware of the inherent contradiction in paying somebody to help them cheat [...]

Dr. Joe Schwarcz has written a number of books that are a lot of fun- The Genie in the Bottle That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles Science, Sense, and Nonsense, and many others. I’ve used all three in my classes with good success. I’ve also used Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks but some students don’t [...]

The stability of boys’ names was meant to convey solidity and strength. Girls’ names came to be regarded as something more decorative. In evangelical circles, Biblical names were big, so there were plenty of Rebeccas, Sarahs, and Rachels, but there was also a wide field for something more unusual. Roman Catholics insisted on a saint’s [...]