I had to look up "meme" which is a word I've often heard used, but was never exactly sure what meaning was intended. This morning I learned it is a form of passing information from one person to another which may or may not be true. Urban legend comes to mind.
Very well. Now we all know.
The meme I've heard all my life is: Republicans are just a bunch of fat cats, interested only in protecting themselves and their fellow rich cronies (love the word "cronies") but conversely, the Democrats are veritable saints on earth, protecting the rights and fortunes of the poor.
Now I have no objection whatsoever to protecting what is one's own, the things one might have sweated and strained to obtain. Conversely, I rather resent the idea that someone else (Democrats) would try to usurp my ownership and use my money to aid in their saintliness.
Call me cranky. But, comes now, this information (via the LA Times, 11/8/15.)
California sends 55people to Congress. Of those 55, 20 are millionaires. Of the 20, 16 are Democrats and four are Republicans.
Hmmm - so much for the time-worn meme.
Monday, November 9, 2015
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Tidbits
I read this morning that today is the Reverend Billy Graham's 97th birthday. And mused for several minutes on why 97 seems really old to me whereas 100 doesn't. Is it because in the 90s one is hoping to hit 100? And once you get there, you don't have to try anymore? You made it?
A (Minor) Discovery
You can pull a wheelchair like a mule pulls a wagon. It was an incidental discovery in that I was using the wheelchair as a book cart at the library and wheeled into the elevator face first. There were others on board, so at our floor, I turned me and pulled. Worked a charm.
A (Minor) Discovery
You can pull a wheelchair like a mule pulls a wagon. It was an incidental discovery in that I was using the wheelchair as a book cart at the library and wheeled into the elevator face first. There were others on board, so at our floor, I turned me and pulled. Worked a charm.
Friday, November 6, 2015
$100 Million - And Still No Takers!
Architectural Digest arrived yesterday and one of the full-page ads is offering "Sycamore Valley Ranch" formerly Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch for $100 million. Sotheby's has the listing and they should be ashamed of themselves.
Clearly no one is that interested in living in a pederast's home since it has been on the market since 2012. Defiantly, the price has always been the same and you see what it's gotten Sotheby's - zip.
The sale price includes 2,600 acres, but, alas, Google as I might, I couldn't get the specs one usually does - number of bedrooms, baths, special attractions (fireplaces, solar-heated pool, etc.)
I can tell you that I wouldn't pay 100 pennies to even tour the place. Jackson should have been buried upside down as an expression of DISrespect.
During all the foo-foo-roo surrounding his death, we disembarked to visit Michelle in Paris and when the Custom's guy asked me the purpose of the trip - "Business or pleasure?" I replied, "To escape Michael Jackson!" and he roared, stamped my passport and said, "Bonne chance!".
Clearly no one is that interested in living in a pederast's home since it has been on the market since 2012. Defiantly, the price has always been the same and you see what it's gotten Sotheby's - zip.
The sale price includes 2,600 acres, but, alas, Google as I might, I couldn't get the specs one usually does - number of bedrooms, baths, special attractions (fireplaces, solar-heated pool, etc.)
I can tell you that I wouldn't pay 100 pennies to even tour the place. Jackson should have been buried upside down as an expression of DISrespect.
During all the foo-foo-roo surrounding his death, we disembarked to visit Michelle in Paris and when the Custom's guy asked me the purpose of the trip - "Business or pleasure?" I replied, "To escape Michael Jackson!" and he roared, stamped my passport and said, "Bonne chance!".
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Gadfly or Grump - You Decide!
Daily Breeze, 11/5/2015
Not many grocery options in some beach cities
Re: "Grocers have it rough in Southern California" (Nov.. 2)
Dear Sirs:
Grocers have it rough in Southern California. Maybe so, but the Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach shoppers have little choice. Vons. That's not much competition.
Sincerely,
Richie W. Murphy
Not many grocery options in some beach cities
Re: "Grocers have it rough in Southern California" (Nov.. 2)
Dear Sirs:
Grocers have it rough in Southern California. Maybe so, but the Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach shoppers have little choice. Vons. That's not much competition.
Sincerely,
Richie W. Murphy
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Would You Make/Eat These?
Admittedly, one of the reasons I subscribe to Bon Appetite is to be awed and amused by some of the things the editors propose we eat. Not every month's issue comes through for us but the Annual Thanksgiving Dinner issue did.
We all know not to put the snacks in the kitchen where we're working; most guests know to at least volunteer with clean up; how to make lump-less gravy (use a whisk.) Further tidbits - ask first if you can bring a dish and if so, bring it in a serving dish - don't make the host/hostess have to scramble to find one. Odds are their own dish cabinets are empty.
Thanksgiving doesn't change much as we can see from the above. And thank God it hasn't - I'm still making my Mother's menu and one of the items is the ubiquitous Green Beans and Mushroom Soup and Durkee's Onion Rings, served on the side from the container. They get soggy otherwise. "Tacky" some say (including my sister) but "home" to me. And that's what the day should mean, no matter how far away one is from it.
However, this recipe has nothing to do with what came before it - CURED EGG YOLKS.
When you've made an angel food cake or over-served Ramos gin fizzes, here's an idea from chef Christopher Kostow, of St. Helena, CA.
Make a bed of: 1 3/4 cups kosher salt and 1 1/4 cups sugar, mixed, and use the back of a big spoon to make indentations in it.
Carefully place 4 egg yolks in the indentations, sprinkle leftover mix across them, wrap dish in plastic and store in the refrigerator for 4 days.
Then take them out, rinse under cold water, pat dry with paper towels and put them softly on a well greased rack in a larger pan. Oven to 150 until the egg yolks dry to the consistency of a firm cheese and let cool. If your oven won't go that low, leave them in the cold oven for two days.
Now you've got them - what to do with them? Grate them as a finishing touch on asparagus, shave over white bean crostini, crumble over steamed vegetables or add to broth for more body.
Overkill - shave over fried or boiled eggs.
We all know not to put the snacks in the kitchen where we're working; most guests know to at least volunteer with clean up; how to make lump-less gravy (use a whisk.) Further tidbits - ask first if you can bring a dish and if so, bring it in a serving dish - don't make the host/hostess have to scramble to find one. Odds are their own dish cabinets are empty.
Thanksgiving doesn't change much as we can see from the above. And thank God it hasn't - I'm still making my Mother's menu and one of the items is the ubiquitous Green Beans and Mushroom Soup and Durkee's Onion Rings, served on the side from the container. They get soggy otherwise. "Tacky" some say (including my sister) but "home" to me. And that's what the day should mean, no matter how far away one is from it.
However, this recipe has nothing to do with what came before it - CURED EGG YOLKS.
When you've made an angel food cake or over-served Ramos gin fizzes, here's an idea from chef Christopher Kostow, of St. Helena, CA.
Make a bed of: 1 3/4 cups kosher salt and 1 1/4 cups sugar, mixed, and use the back of a big spoon to make indentations in it.
Carefully place 4 egg yolks in the indentations, sprinkle leftover mix across them, wrap dish in plastic and store in the refrigerator for 4 days.
Then take them out, rinse under cold water, pat dry with paper towels and put them softly on a well greased rack in a larger pan. Oven to 150 until the egg yolks dry to the consistency of a firm cheese and let cool. If your oven won't go that low, leave them in the cold oven for two days.
Now you've got them - what to do with them? Grate them as a finishing touch on asparagus, shave over white bean crostini, crumble over steamed vegetables or add to broth for more body.
Overkill - shave over fried or boiled eggs.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
The Swiss Army Knife of Travel
No, you can't take knives on planes. Don't get all giddy here. The title was just a reference to something called "practicality."
And that would be the "transport wheelchair" we got at the onset of all of my troubles walking due to the hip surgeries.
What is a transport wheelchair you ask? Well, it is much lighter than a regular wheelchair as it is an aluminum frame with canvas slings for the seat and back. The biggest difference is the wheel size. It has (estimated) 6 in. vs. the 2 and 1/2 ft. found on a regular. There is no way you can propel yourself by wheeling it - someone else has to push you. Yeah, I'm not as dumb as I look, hah!
However, you can fold up the foot rests and use your feet to propel you along in an emergency. Your charred ashes will not be found due to whoever is pushing you taking off like a rat.
Why am I rambling on about this today? Because we are (finally) going to Paris to see Michelle, my best friend. Being more than slightly over-confident than I need to be, I thought I could do it all, using just my cane. After all, half the time it's not touching the sidewalk as I walk and rarely used in the house.
But then I got to remembering our other visits to Paris and the vast distances we covered. Richie seems to have one gear for walking - start and just keep going. This is unacceptable to me now. About every three blocks, I know I would start whining, "I need to sit down! Paris sidewalks are obstacle courses, dammit!"
So I bit the bullet. Advantages: we don't have to bother Air France for a sidewalk to gate ride. You get to the gate in your own and when it's time to board, they switch you to an aisle wheelchair ( very narrow one - sort of like sliced wheelchair) and stow your own on board.
This is a good thing as down in Baggage, the loaders would undoubtedly be gleefully trying to destroy the wheels.
I am very comfortable pushing the empty chair. I will also enjoy its supermarket cart aspect - shopping bags on the seat! There are a great many things to buy in Paris. Good gifts include various-sized tins of pate, wines, perfumes --are clunky not to mention heavy.
Empty chair = posh walker.
Empty chair = shopping cart.
Empty chair = weapon to part the hordes.
And I'll always have a place to sit down!
And that would be the "transport wheelchair" we got at the onset of all of my troubles walking due to the hip surgeries.
What is a transport wheelchair you ask? Well, it is much lighter than a regular wheelchair as it is an aluminum frame with canvas slings for the seat and back. The biggest difference is the wheel size. It has (estimated) 6 in. vs. the 2 and 1/2 ft. found on a regular. There is no way you can propel yourself by wheeling it - someone else has to push you. Yeah, I'm not as dumb as I look, hah!
However, you can fold up the foot rests and use your feet to propel you along in an emergency. Your charred ashes will not be found due to whoever is pushing you taking off like a rat.
Why am I rambling on about this today? Because we are (finally) going to Paris to see Michelle, my best friend. Being more than slightly over-confident than I need to be, I thought I could do it all, using just my cane. After all, half the time it's not touching the sidewalk as I walk and rarely used in the house.
But then I got to remembering our other visits to Paris and the vast distances we covered. Richie seems to have one gear for walking - start and just keep going. This is unacceptable to me now. About every three blocks, I know I would start whining, "I need to sit down! Paris sidewalks are obstacle courses, dammit!"
So I bit the bullet. Advantages: we don't have to bother Air France for a sidewalk to gate ride. You get to the gate in your own and when it's time to board, they switch you to an aisle wheelchair ( very narrow one - sort of like sliced wheelchair) and stow your own on board.
This is a good thing as down in Baggage, the loaders would undoubtedly be gleefully trying to destroy the wheels.
I am very comfortable pushing the empty chair. I will also enjoy its supermarket cart aspect - shopping bags on the seat! There are a great many things to buy in Paris. Good gifts include various-sized tins of pate, wines, perfumes --are clunky not to mention heavy.
Empty chair = posh walker.
Empty chair = shopping cart.
Empty chair = weapon to part the hordes.
And I'll always have a place to sit down!
Sunday, November 1, 2015
Proposing a New National Holiday
Admittedly this idea came from a long-standing tradition in another country. That would be the British celebration on December 26th called "Boxing Day." For years, I wondered why they all got up and put on boxing gloves and apparently spent the day duking it out.
Brits are different - madly eccentric say many. "Eccentric" is the polite description of "barking mad" over there and another example of the exquisite tact of our friends Across the Pond.
Boxing Day is the day that envelopes of cash or treats were boxed up for the servants (for whom Christmas was just another working day.)
My idea has nothing to do with Christmas or boxing. It comes much earlier in the calendar year; November 1st to be specific, the day after Halloween.
Trick or Treaters are an uncertain quantity around here -- several years ago, our street (three blocks long) had school buses bringing them in. Yesterday we had one group of six kids and no one else.
This kind of uncertainty means we either have to buy out Smart & Final Iris or Target bags of candy or turn off the porch light and hide in the backs of our own homes.
Richie traditionally over buys because, "What if the school buses come back?" (They haven't in nearly 20 years.)
Today we have a generous supply of individually-wrapped mini-bars. I already have a generous supply of cellulite and really, I need no more.
Thus was born the annual, national day event that I would call
GET THIS STUFF OUT OF MY HOUSE! DAY
Invite people - family, friends, neighbors in the same situation (candy glut) - to an Exchange Party and start the wheeling and dealing. Any monies offered in bidding wars could be donated to a charity such as Put the Teeth Back in Our Kids Mouths.
Word: to ADA members (dentists) we know what you look like - don't crash our GET THIS STUFF OUT OF MY HOUSE! DAY We have ways of dealing with you.
Brits are different - madly eccentric say many. "Eccentric" is the polite description of "barking mad" over there and another example of the exquisite tact of our friends Across the Pond.
Boxing Day is the day that envelopes of cash or treats were boxed up for the servants (for whom Christmas was just another working day.)
My idea has nothing to do with Christmas or boxing. It comes much earlier in the calendar year; November 1st to be specific, the day after Halloween.
Trick or Treaters are an uncertain quantity around here -- several years ago, our street (three blocks long) had school buses bringing them in. Yesterday we had one group of six kids and no one else.
This kind of uncertainty means we either have to buy out Smart & Final Iris or Target bags of candy or turn off the porch light and hide in the backs of our own homes.
Richie traditionally over buys because, "What if the school buses come back?" (They haven't in nearly 20 years.)
Today we have a generous supply of individually-wrapped mini-bars. I already have a generous supply of cellulite and really, I need no more.
Thus was born the annual, national day event that I would call
GET THIS STUFF OUT OF MY HOUSE! DAY
Invite people - family, friends, neighbors in the same situation (candy glut) - to an Exchange Party and start the wheeling and dealing. Any monies offered in bidding wars could be donated to a charity such as Put the Teeth Back in Our Kids Mouths.
Word: to ADA members (dentists) we know what you look like - don't crash our GET THIS STUFF OUT OF MY HOUSE! DAY We have ways of dealing with you.
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