Food Ratings on CHOW.com

This guy is called supertaster, and he totally pre-emtped my idea of rating grocery store food on a blog. He tried the chocolate croissants in the frozen section at Trader Joe's this week, and I had just tried to beg Jeff into buying them when I found this part of the CHOW.com site. The site also has awesome videos of how to do cooking stuff. They're connected to Chowhound, which helps to find restaurants in ones town.

End the Strike

I recently heard that if the writer's strike doesn't end soon, ABC may hold the next season of Lost until Winter 2009. I don't think I can handle that. I can definitely handle paying 50 cents more on a download, so writers can make more money. I can handle producers giving up some of their yacht payment money. I can't handle waiting any longer for Lost. Maybe I should read more...

Boobie Month

I keep telling people about this, so I thought I should just blog about it. I love this website called ETSY. It's like the e-bay of crafting. People put their art, crafts, and handmade items up for sale. I was "surfing" around the site and went to Storque and then Craftism (craft activism). One of the items being sold and giving funds to cancer organizations and supporting awareness of breast self-exam is this crocheted boobie pin, on which you can specify the colors you prefer when ordering. The creator's organization is called Boobs and Dinks, and she also sells early detection kits that teach how to give a self-exam (for men and women.) I thought these pins were cute and funny and for a good cause.

Torrance Farmers' Market

We went to the local farmers' market on our bikes again this weekend. The absence of rain brought more vendors including the croissant guy. We ate one of his chocolate almond croissants in the "food court" seating, and it was amazing. (Way better than the soggy strawberry rhubarb pie we bought last weekend.) Jeff discovered sweet limes and ate both samples we were given. The bike ride over is perfect -- flat and not too long and short with a wide path two-thirds of the way. We heard buzz about a pancake breakfast in the park but didn't check it out, as it was lunch time. My mom would have loved that.

Another good poem, this one from Poetry 180

Did I Miss Anything?

Tom Wayman

Nothing. When we realized you weren’t here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours

Everything. I gave an exam worth
40 percent of the grade for this term
and assigned some reading due today
on which I’m about to hand out a quiz
worth 50 percent

Nothing. None of the content of this course
has value or meaning
Take as many days off as you like:
any activities we undertake as a class
I assure you will not matter either to you or me
and are without purpose

Everything. A few minutes after we began last time
a shaft of light suddenly descended and an angel
or other heavenly being appeared
and revealed to us what each woman or man must do
to attain divine wisdom in this life and
the hereafter
This is the last time the class will meet
before we disperse to bring the good news to all people
on earth.

Nothing. When you are not present
how could something significant occur?

Everything. Contained in this classroom
is a microcosm of human experience
assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
This is not the only place such an opportunity has been
gathered

but it was one place

And you weren’t here

From Did I Miss Anything? Selected Poems 1973-1993, 1993
Harbour Publishing

Copyright 1993 Tom Wayman.
All rights reserved.
Reproduced with permission (click for permissions information).

Farmer's Market + Rain + Bikes = FUN!!

Jeff and I rode our bikes to the Farmer's Market this Saturday morning while fluffy white clouds loomed in the sky. My bike is a new cruiser, with a detachable basket (perfect for the market), and I bought it last Sunday afternoon. Jeff's had his bike for a few years but hasn't had a reason to ride it in a while. With two bikes in the family, it'll be easier. The 25 minute ride to Wilson Park was dry, but after we bought our goods (pie, fresh bread, green beans, peaches, and pears), the rain started up. While we had some lunch in the "food court" tent, the rain started to pour. We thought it was over and left, but on the way home got soaked. It ended up being really fun; Jeff said he felt like a nine-year-old, riding his bike in the rain. I made Jeff take a picture of soaked me at the end, holding the strawberry rhubard pie we'll dive into tonight.

The best tri-flavor ice cream?

It's time to definitively decide which tri-flavor ice cream is the best. Jeff and I just polished off a tub of spamoni (in less than a week), which was fabulous. Pistachio is hard to find outside of Italian gelato, mixed with bold cherry and light chocolate -- it's great! Alone, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry are amazing, but are they great together? Please vote for your favorite, neopolitan or spamoni, by posting a comment.