Subversive

I was in Borders today and I committed an insanely subversive act: I bought an almanac.

When I saw the stack of “Old Farmer’s Almanac 2004” on the “new paperbacks” table, I laughed out loud. Then, looking around for hidden surveillance cameras, I thumbed through one out of curiousity. After a bit I decided to buy one, because 1) there was some interesting stuff in there, 2) it was only $6, and 3) I wanted to be able to say to the clerk, “You don’t have to report me because I’m buying an almanac, do you?”

Come get me, John Ashcroft.

Howard Dean Must Die (an endorsement)

Wonderful, bracing stuff. Please read this. (via Metamorphosism)

Adam Green

David (who incidentally has a new gallery up that you should check out) turned me on to a cartoonist named Adam Green, and a quick look at Green’s book “What Were You in a Previous Life?” made me an instant fan. I can’t wait to go through the archives of Green’s web site.

Even better, I wrote Green a fan e-mail today and he sent me a wonderful reply. Sometimes you think published authors and artists would never reply to an e-mail from a schmuck like me – but sometimes they do. It’s worth a try, anyway, to let someone know how much you appreciate their work.

I like Adam Green’s stuff so much, my new tagline is stolen from his book. I hope he won’t mind.

What was the Iraq war about?

1. It was about WMDs.

No. Turns out there weren’t any. And we were sold a bill of goods over it. And David Kay, the head WMD-finder who George and Condie and Dick all said would be their savior, is about to quit without issuing a final report.

2. It was about Iraq and al Qaeda.

Nope. Colin Powell, after bringing a vial of sand to the U.N. to represent Iraq’s anthrax (see #1), now says there’s no credible connection. The Secretary of State said that. Thanks for all your help, Colin.

Also, papers now show that Saddam himself warned his followers to stay away from Islamic jihadists who may come into the country after the American invasion. Further proof that Saddam wanted nothing to do with Osama and his followers.

3. After 9/11, everything changed.

No again. Former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill said this week that the plans to go into Iraq began in early 2001. In addition to being present at cabinet meetings, O’Neill was also on the National Security Council.

==============

If we went to Iraq to establish a large base of military operations and American influence in the region, or simply to deliver a general smackdown to the Arab world – and I believe those were actually the two main reasons for this war – maybe we should have considered those ideas beforehand, and not the previous three smokescreens that even the Bush inner circle can’t sustain any more.

(Thanks to Democratic Underground’s “Top 10 Conservative Idiots,” from which I poached many of the links in this post.)

UPDATE: The Army War College says Bush’s war was a “strategic error” that distracted from actually fighting terrorism. Those damn leftists strike again.

Paycheck

I really don’t remember anything about this movie. I think a corporation came and erased my memory. But I have a feeling that’s not such a bad thing.

About the only thing I remember was a misspelled headline on a newspaper featured prominently in the movie. Being Mr. Language Person, I laughed out loud, while no one else noticed.

Story of my life.

Not recommended.

Under the microscope

Watching “Meet the Press” this morning, I finally figured out something that’s been bugging me about this presidential primary season. Howard Dean and the others have to criss-cross the country, speaking to countless crowds and journalists about their campaigns for months on end. They have to appear on pundit shows and defend their positions, like John Kerry’s dance over the Iraq war this morning. They have to justify every utterance they’ve made in their lives, like Dean’s comments about the Iowa caucuses four years ago. They get poked and prodded like an alien abductee for more than a year.

Meanwhile, President Bush can sit ensconced in the White House, never say a word to the public, and talk to the press only when it’s absolutely necessary – and only in highly-managed situations. Then he comes in at the end, runs a few ads involving the flag and smiling, doesn’t stab a child in the neck during a televised debate, and has a huge advantage on election day.

Not the way to run a railroad, in my estimation.

Fun fact of the day

Did you know that germ-infested toothbrushes are a public health disaster of massive proportions?

I know – I saw it on an infomercial. For a toothbrush sanitizer.

Spam subject line of the week

SUBJ: she told me your where fat

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. Deconstruction seems to be a recipe for brain explosion. So I’ll just leave it up to my esteemed readers.

Fascinating

The new version of Photoshop, Photoshop CS, doesn’t allow you to open scanned images of currency. I understand that counterfeiting is bad. But considering that there are already geeks coming up with tons of ways to get around this, there are lots of other programs that don’t have this limitation, and all it will do is give Adobe bad publicity, why do it?

It also makes me wonder – will they be blocking porn images next? Will word processors be “watching” what you’re reading and writing? This isn’t so far-fetched. Remember the Microsoft Smart Tags fiasco? That was back in 2001, when Microsoft was going to alter its browser so they could change any word displayed to a link to a Microsoft product or other ad. Evil, and only got squelched when there was an outcry over it.

But these days, we’re pretty OK with others managing our freedoms (for our own good, of course). Think John Ashcroft doesn’t lick his lips with anticipation of the day he can monitor all your communication, and all your computer use? Then I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

Mac and cheese

A words mean things commenter named sir_jane_russell asked me to pass along my recipe for homemade macaroni and cheese. And so I shall. It’s actually Pam Anderson’s recipe (not to be confused with Pamela Anderson), from her book “The Perfect Recipe.” The idea here is that rather than making a fussy white sauce, something I never seemed to get the hang of, you make a custard for the cheese. It’s fantastic and easy – not much harder than the box, and so much better.

1/2 pound elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
2 large eggs
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk (NOT sweetened condensed milk)
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, or to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons mustard
10-12 ounces (3 cups) shredded mild cheddar, American or Monterey Jack cheese (not the already-shredded stuff, please)

Boil up the macaroni in salted water, definitely al dente. Once cooked and drained, transfer to large chicken fryer, Dutch oven or similar pan big enough to hold it, and add the butter. You want a heavy-bottomed pan for this.

Meanwhile, mix eggs, 1 cup of evaporated milk, salt, pepper and mustard in a small bowl. With your macaroni over medium heat, pour the egg mixture over the pasta with about 3/4 of the cheese, stirring constantly until cheese starts to melt. Gradually add in the rest of the cheese and evaporated milk, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes more.

And you’re done! I don’t think this tastes as good the second day, but if you do reheat it, do it slow and low with some extra milk.

You can serve it as is and it’s great. If you want to get a little fancier, you could take individual servings, put them each in a small ceramic dish, top them with breadcrumbs or crumbled up croutons and put them under the broiler.

In terms of cheese, I use about half cheddar and half Monterey Jack for this recipe.

This is so good, even David might like it.