I’m not one to say nothing if I can’t say something nice. In this particular instance, however, I can even say something nice about a politician. Rep. John Dingell has found the perfect application for his attitude and sense of humor–and in plain English, no less.
From the Detroit Free Press:
ST. LOUIS — Sen. John Kerry cited a Bible verse Sunday to criticize leaders who have “faith but has no deeds,” prompting President George W. Bush’s spokesman to accuse Kerry of exploiting scripture for political gain.
There are so many ducks in this barrel that I don’t even know where to start.
I’d rather have an atheist for president than someone who doesn’t know the difference between letting faith inform policy decisions and letting faith dictate policy decisions. (Frankly, my first choice would be someone who’s really into the separation of religion and state and lets ethics inform policy decisions, but that’s about as likely as me becoming a starting center in the NBA.) Bush is a born-again Christian, and that lot is not exactly known for being tolerant of other people’s ideas. I like it even less than I like 534 non-medical-professionals making medical decisions for millions of people they’ve never met.
And by the way, if I were a church-goer, I’d object to bringing politics into my religion as much as I object to bringing religion into my politics. (Or my workplace for that matter. Ever since I accidentally walked into a scheduled prayer meeting in the main studio of a televsion station where I worked, I’ve felt that worship in the workplace is as inappropriate as sex in the workplace. And a lot less fun.)
Finally, my usual plea. If you are sick and tired of a president who probably can’t even spell “hypocrisy,” let alone recognize it, register to vote. Then go vote. If you don’t, how can you expect anyone to take your complaints seriously? Besides, I don’t want to be the only person who gets jury duty three weeks after the election.
The perfect gift for the gaming geek who has everything.
Never Too Late to deliver laughs at Scottish Rite Cathedral
There’s a new place for live theatre in Indianapolis. The Scottish Rite Cathedral (650 N. Meridian St.) will be presenting the comedy Never Too Late on April 16-17, 23-24 at 7:30 p.m.
Harry Lambert has it all: A successful business, a dutiful wife, a lazy daughter, a dopey son-in-law with the last name Clinton, a nosy neighbor and a mayor to kiss up to. Then in one small announcement, Harry’s conservative world is changed forever. This three-act comedy is for those who are all for change, just not right now. However, refreshments will be served to calm things down.
The play is directed by Matthew Socey, co-host of The Art Of The Matter on 90.1 WFYI FM and the film talk show Saturday Matinee on 1430 WXNT AM. His previous directing credits include Saving Grace (Scottish Rite), Medea (Bookmama’s) and Yearning For Dogberry (Comedysportz). He appeared as an actor on the Scottish Rite stage as Nick in Over The River And Through The Woods, a role he also performed at Mud Creek. He’s also appear on Indy stages as a smarmy Hollywood executive in Yearning For Dogberry and an alcoholic guardian angel in Santa Is Dead/The Santa Monologues.
Tickets are $12 for reserved, $10 general admission. For more information, call (317) 262-3100 ext. 235. To speak with the play’s director, call (317) 698-6401.
Several days ago, I promised to post the family potato kugel recipe. I was 27 before my mother got around to giving me copies of my great-grandmother’s Passover recipes, so I feel quite timely posting them in the same month. All recipes assume that you’re using kosher-for-Passover matzoh meal. (If you don’t know what I am talking about, just buy regular matzoh meal and leave the kosher-for-Passover stuff for those of us who do.)
Mummum’s Potato Kugel
1 large onion, minced
1/8 lb. butter or chicken fat (or vegetarian chicken fat substitute–a concept that I find both amusing and disturbing)
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups grated raw potatoes (measure after draining well)
1/2 cup matzoh meal
1 1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
Saute the onion in the fat of choice until lightly browned. Add eggs to potatoes. Add matzoh meal, salt, and pepper to eggs and potatoes. Stir in the onions and the fat in which they have been sauteed. Pour into a well-greased (and I cannot emphasize that enough–well-greased!) 1-quart casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees until the edges are crisp, about 1 hour. Serves 6.
Note: This kugel will come out of the oven gray. Don’t worry; it’s supposed to. If gray food disturbs you, toss the grated potatoes with a small amount of lemon juice and drain again before adding the eggs. (The first time my mom used lemon juice, it came out of the oven fluffly and golden on the outside, and pale cream on the inside. After thirty years of gray kugel, it looked wrong. Appetizing, but wrong.)
This is actually a scaled-back version of the recipe that my great-grandmother used. Originally, it was probably about four times the yield and made in a roasting pan. (She used to make enormous pies in roasting pans, too, but that’s another story.) The following recipes have also been scaled back to yield somewhat less than you would use to feed an entire village.
Mummum’s Matzoh Balls
2 eggs
1 Tbsp butter or chicken fat (or vegetarian chicken fat substitute–the concept becomes more disturbing than amusing the longer I think about it)
scant 1/2 cup matzoh meal
2 Tbsp chicken broth
dash pepper
dash salt
little ground ginger, if desired
Beat the eggs with a fork until foamy. Add remaining ingredients. Mixture should be thick, but not dry. Refrigerate at least one hour. With wet hands (the secret to good matzoh balls) form into small balls. Drop into salted boiling water and cook slowly for 45 minutes in a covered pot.
Despite my uncle’s and cousin’s opinion to the contrary, the matzoh balls should be light and fluffy, and they are supposed to float. If they sink, you have overworked the dough and they are better used as grapeshot than served to anyone you like.
Mummum’s Charosis
2 tart apples
1 Tbsp Passover wine (the only good use of Manischewitz, as far as I’m concerned)
1/2 cup nuts (preferably walnuts)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp honey (optional, probably because Mom doesn’t like to make anything with more than four ingredients)
Pare and core apples. Chop apples and nuts together, until you have a reasonably fine consistency. (Do not use the food processor, or you’ll have nutty applesauce.) Add cinnamon, wine, and honey. Makes about 2 cups.
In my immediate family, the charosis is traditionally forgotten during the Seder meal, and consumed during the rest of the week. We do the same thing with cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving.
Mummum’s Passover Sponge Cake
12 large eggs
12 rounded Tbsp sugar
9 rounded Tbsp Passover cake meal (if eggs are small, use 8 rounded tablespoons. If more nuts are used, use less cake meal. Do not make batter too viscous.)
grated lemon rind (Presumably from one lemon. The card doesn’t say.)
1/2 lb. walnuts, chopped finely (optional–see honey above)
Separate eggs. Take the time to do this carefully, because you need the whites to gain as much volume as possible when you beat them. Mix the yolks, sugar and lemon rind. Add the cake meal and mix very well. Beat the egg whites until they are very stiff, and fold into cake batter, working as little as possible to retain air volume. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
I’ve never had the cake with walnuts, probably because they aren’t even mentioned in the instructions. I’d guess that they go in before the egg whites, but life is full of little uncertainties.
I just found a line in a document that states that the provisions therein are not meant to cover all contingencies, like “natural disasters such as nuclear war.”
My brain hurts.
Update: It turns out that the text is standard for every document of that type.
Excedrin migraine, please, and make it a double.
I’ve had one damn cold after another this month, and I have missed a lot of time at the gym. Most of the month, in fact. Prior to that, I’d been stuck at the same weight almost since New Year’s. So it was with great trepidation that I stepped on the scale last night, for the first time in six weeks or so.
I was pleased to discover that I have now lost about twenty pounds since July. This is the general vicinity of my halfway point, and it’s very encouraging. The only downside is that I figured that I’d gotten stuck, so I caved in and bought some new clothes…some of which are now getting very loose indeed. It feels good, though. Very, very good.
This little gem came to me from my brother. And yes, it actually works.
Ed’s officially through his 90-day probationary period at the new job, and is just a regular full time employee now. I’ve put in two weeks at my new job. So much has gone on that it seems like forever since I left the Project of Elemental Evil, even though it’s only been seven months. In a further perceptual time warp, I’m so comfortable at the new job that it feels like I’ve been here much more than two weeks. Not that I’m complaining. At this point, a regular schedule that doesn’t include late nights worrying about unemployment or jobs-that-suck-your-soul is just my speed.
I pulled my copy of the Chicago (film) soundtrack of the shelf yesterday and was belting out “Cell Block Tango” on my drive into work. I came to a dead stop when it got to Hunyak’s lines, which are in (I think) Hungarian.
Mit keresak, en itt? Azt mondjok hogy a hires lakem lefogta a ferjemet en meg leesaptam a fejet. De nem igaz, en artatlan vagyok. Nem tudom mert mondja Uncle Sam hogy en tettem. Probaltam a rendorsegen megmagyaranzi de nem ertettek meg…
Does anybody know where to find a translation? Surely I am not the first person to ask this question.
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