I’ve always loved chess. I’m not very good at it, but I like the concentration it requires and the semi-academic sense I always get when playing it. Something about a game of chess suggests refinement and maturity (at least to me) and I’ve been wishing, lately, that more people approached conversation they way they should approach chess.
Civility, and Chess
March 5th, 2010Product Review – Stash Tea (Green Chai)
March 3rd, 2010I’m a supporter of loose-leaf teas from fancy outfits, not just because they sell a fine product, but I really enjoy the old-timey experience of measuring out loose tea. People were keeping tins of loose tea long before any of us were born… and for some reason, fighting with the lids, botching the measuring, and spilling loose tea on the counter makes me feel a little more connected with the whole human race. (I’m actually really serious, and urge everyone to give it a try. It’s like a visit to a living history museum, right in your own kitchen.) But, we don’t always have the luxury or the time to prepare loose-leaf teas to accompany us to the office, on the trail, or in the car.
Vacations, Pauperdom, and a Measure of Freedom
March 2nd, 2010Within the space of one week, I had plans for 2.5 vacations fall through. I say 2.5 because two were excursions I was involved in planning, and one was an invitation from a third party that I had to turn down. I’ll admit that two and a half vacations in one year seems pretty extravagant. But the idea of going on no vacation at all makes me frown and think the word pauper (yes, in italics and everything). It also makes me think that the plans we make for our spare time and money are so fraught with pitfalls that I might actually prefer furrowing my brow and thinking the word pauper to actually going anywhere.
Product Review – The Frog Bra
February 28th, 2010Yes, that says Frog Bra. For the very best in women’s athletic wear, Title Nine is a must-browse whether you get their catalogs, cruise their website, or have the good fortune of living in a town where they’ve set up shop. And amid the biking shorts, running socks, stylish skorts, perfect shirts, and yoga pants, nothing holds a candle to their selection of sports bras and best among them is the oddly named Frog Bra.
Product Review – Samsung Washer
February 24th, 2010Yes, the washing machine gets reviewed under ‘technology’ – I consider anything that runs on electricity to be technology (it’s too hard for a Luddite to break them down into ‘electronics’ and ‘appliances’). Some time ago, the old washing machine developed a worrisome squeak and didn’t seem to be working as well. The Techno Mage insisted it was my fault… Luddites have a tendency to mistake one machine’s capabilities for another (who knew that “HE” meant “high efficiency” and that only certain types of detergent can go into certain types of machines… couldn’t someone just bring me a washboard and a cake of Fels Naptha?). After half-flooding the laundry room with soap suds and suffering a week-plus of metallic shrieking, a new washing machine was in order.
Playing the Peacemaker is a Bad Idea
February 24th, 2010As human creatures, we tend to like the notion of things like diplomacy and peacemaking. It takes a grown-up person, possessed of patience and compassion, to resolve conflict reasonably in his or her own life. And it takes an even better person to mediate the disputes of others, to smooth the way to common ground, to convince those around them to make amends. I, dear readers, am no such person. And probably, you aren’t either. Let me tell you why….
Hygiene vs. the Environment: The Hanky Debate
February 20th, 2010I’m a big supporter of switching to reusable products when possible and/or getting the most use out of disposable products (tin foil, if you’re careful, can be utilized several times before discarding, depending on the circumstances of its initial use). Some things, like facial tissue, just won’t reuse. Even if you keep the same ratty Kleenex in your pocket half the day, it’s destin for the bin – as well it should be.
Theory, Storytelling & Expectations
February 12th, 2010I’ve been busy, and Battlestar Galactica aired at odd intervals, so I missed it while it was on television. I’m only just now beginning to watch the series on dvd, and am trying (five episodes in) to understand why its viewership is split. I’ve heard die hard fans declare their boundless love for everything about this program. And I’ve heard disenchanted viewers lay down the two-part verdict: boring and depressing. Five episodes in, and I think I’ve solved the mystery behind these disparate views. I could be wrong – but that’s why I’m calling it a theory.
Review – “Herne’s Apprentice” (Damh the Bard)
February 11th, 2010If you ever listened to Pink Floyd and felt totally captivated by David Gilmour’s guitar work and asked yourself “why doesn’t someone play like that but write music I’d like to dance to?” Well, someone does.
Just Desserts
February 23rd, 2010Recently, at work, I decided to take a moment to catch up with the world’s news. We don’t get scheduled breaks, but I thought it would yet be an acceptable moment’s diversion. A quick stop at a news site offered me the tantalizing-seeming promise of better looking hair (I wasn’t called vainglorious for nothing), so I clicked – and wished I hadn’t.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: edamame, goat cheese, pumpkin seeds, stupidity
Posted in Commentary | No Comments »