hem|mungen

I wouldn't eat that if I were you.

I know the US is probably largely responsible for the general phenomenon of prepared and instant foods, but the kinds of things you can get in an envelope, can, or jar in Germany have always made me chuckle. I mean, is it only because I don't eat meat that I think canned sausage is hilarious? I think not.

Anyway, BB linked to this page today and I had to check it out: a project that looks at whether the illustrations on the package look like the food inside. You can guess what the answer is.

[My favorites are the Salate, all types. Shrimps drowning in mustard sauce, diced-up bologna emerging from pink "alfredo." Nom nom nom.]

I can SO read in the dark.

Via BB, a list of medical myths debunked. Not sensational, by any means, but sort of reassuring. My favorites: reading in low light isn't going to ruin your eyes, and it's not the tryptophan in the turkey that's making you tired, it's the eating too much. So nyaaah.

Choose wisely.

(I know, I know. Everyone's already linked to this. Well, too bad. Here it is again:)

Three's better than none.

Apparently we will get to see some of Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise next year. SAM's website says that three panels will be on view from 26. January to 6. April, certainly long enough to bring a class or two up to see them. That's cool. The last time I looked into this on the High's site I couldn't find any mention of Seattle, even though the rumor was already circulating that the panels would be here, too. Mark your calendars.

An unexpected benefit...

...of living in the great Pacific Northwest: we got to see Dan Bejar actually perform with New Pornographers. I've been happy to watch Kurt Dahle sing the Dan songs while he wails away on his drum set, in fact, he's pretty amazing. But I always wanted to hear Bejar sing his own songs, and he's never toured with the group (or at least he never played at the Austin shows, and we saw all of them, because I am a dork devoted fan). So. They did old and new songs of his, maybe five or six? He kind of flitted onto the stage every so often, sang, and then disappeared backstage to have another drink or something. Very divalike. And so now I feel inspired to pursue my dream of driving up to Vancouver to see a Destroyer show. Who wants to come along?

The show was fun, they're good live, and it was better than when we saw them last summer. But once again, the Seattle show crowd is simply foreign to me. They're so restrained! Even when people were really excited about a song (like, you know, something great off the very first album played as an encore), the most frenetic it got was a little hopping in place. Still it was a nice time, and the company couldn't have been better.

More numbered lists!

And why not?

A few notes after my first week of work:

1. In his address to us employees last week, the Pres. of my new institution used Eno's "Big Here and Long Now" as his leitmotif. I was very pleased by this.

2. I'm finally able to do online research and journal reading from my home again. Also, Interlibrary Loan has come back into my life (how I missed it!).

3. To punish me for going back to work, summer has returned and it's been beautiful here the last few days. At least I was able to go for a walk on the beach this afternoon. Dude, I can totally walk to the beach from my house.

How are you dealing with the onset of the semester/fall in general?

Let Zoltar choose your meal

This tool lets you enter cuisine, ingredient, and mood (!) and then produces a recipe suggestion. Turkish + gratifying yielded Imam Bayildi, which seems a little obvious, but maybe that's my fault for choosing those two parameters...

Anyway, don't have time to use Cookthink today, but maybe this weekend. If you use it successfully (as in, it suggests something, you make and consume it, and it produces the sought-after emotional response), let me know.

In the interest of proving I'm still here

1. I heard a DJ this morning say that Spoon sounds "like early Billy Joel." I am not making this up.

2. The mixed berry tart with pastry cream in Cook's is fantastic, as is my live-in pastry chef.

3. In two weeks we're going to see New Pornographers, which will require staying out late. Can we do it? Stay tuned.

4. I now have a lovely little office with a ca. 1960 terrazzo floor and a floor-to-ceiling window onto a courtyard. I feel very lucky, and not just because of its mid-century stylishness.