5.30.2006
I Wouldn't Exactly Call It That. . .
"Interspersed with Buford's coming-of-age-in-the-kitchen story is Batali's own trajectory, which begins at a pizzeria called Stuff Yer Face while he's studying business at Rutgers." (From the 5/28/06 Book Review in the NY Times)
If you've ever been to Stuff Yer Face, well. . .it's not exactly a pizzeria. And the pizza is pretty freakin' wretched, by the way. You don't go to SYF for the pizza. You go for the beer sampler and the Bolis. And the general camaraderie of being in one of the few "family-friendly" hangouts in the college town that New Brunswick has bloated itself into.
There are other places in New Brunswick that are more accurately described as "pizzerias". Just not SYF!
"Interspersed with Buford's coming-of-age-in-the-kitchen story is Batali's own trajectory, which begins at a pizzeria called Stuff Yer Face while he's studying business at Rutgers." (From the 5/28/06 Book Review in the NY Times)
If you've ever been to Stuff Yer Face, well. . .it's not exactly a pizzeria. And the pizza is pretty freakin' wretched, by the way. You don't go to SYF for the pizza. You go for the beer sampler and the Bolis. And the general camaraderie of being in one of the few "family-friendly" hangouts in the college town that New Brunswick has bloated itself into.
There are other places in New Brunswick that are more accurately described as "pizzerias". Just not SYF!
5.18.2006
Fascinating
I'm feeling that this Slate feature, Blogging the Bible, will be incredibly enlightening to a great many readers around the web. And it's also funny and insightful, in a quasi-reverent sort of a way, kind of like revisiting a favorite book, and writing about all the stuff you missed when you read it the first time.
Mr. Plotz is having a lot of fun with this and I am having a lot of fun reading it and almost as much fun remembering that I can read the Text itself (kindly provided by Mr. Plotz as links, I think to the KJV online) amidst his commentary.
Keep it up!
(This post will also be available here: Chicks on Lit because I think it's relevant and a good illustration of the types of discussions I want to initiate there.)
I'm feeling that this Slate feature, Blogging the Bible, will be incredibly enlightening to a great many readers around the web. And it's also funny and insightful, in a quasi-reverent sort of a way, kind of like revisiting a favorite book, and writing about all the stuff you missed when you read it the first time.
Mr. Plotz is having a lot of fun with this and I am having a lot of fun reading it and almost as much fun remembering that I can read the Text itself (kindly provided by Mr. Plotz as links, I think to the KJV online) amidst his commentary.
Keep it up!
(This post will also be available here: Chicks on Lit because I think it's relevant and a good illustration of the types of discussions I want to initiate there.)
5.10.2006
Did I Forget to Mention. . .?
You know how there are always people you can't stand but you were either (a) forced to hang out with them or (b) were too lonely at the time you met them to hang out with anyone else? And then those people, who you don't consider to be your "friends", insist on telling their entire school that you're their best pal? And then, when you're in high school together you start hanging out. . .and you learn that the reason this person thinks you're friends is because nobody else will hang out with them and they haven't changed since the time you met them? In the 4th grade.
Well, one of those people has resurfaced, but I'm the only one of the two of us who knows it because I'm more web-savvy. And I didn't put my real name anywhere on the Internet except maybe my resume on GeoCities, but I'm not too sure about that anymore because I haven't updated that site in who KNOWS how long.
I stopped hanging out with this person in high school because #1 - she's an idiot, #2 - she kept harassing me and #3 - I outgrew her. This was 11 years ago and I was 17, going through some major emotional and financial issues because of my parents' divorce and my plans to apply to colleges. Amidst freaking out about how I was going to pay for college, this kid (with toady in tow) decided that it would be a lot of fun, every time she saw me, to call out "nerd".
Needless to say, I didn't think it was so much fun and I reported her to the Vice Principal of the school. She stopped talking to me and I haven't looked back.
Apparently, per a post from her on MySpace, she's lonely.
Awww, poor baby. Forgive me for my schadenfreude.
This person is a contemptible excuse for what could have been a human being. Her utter stupidity, lousy hygiene, horrible halitosis, spit-talking and total disregard for personal space (um, CLOSE TALKER anyone?) are reason enough for the sad state of affairs that leads to my next revelation:
She's lonely and she's looking to find me.
What an IDIOT! I'm very good at making myself disappear, and with good reason. I don't want to be found. Fortunately, she's such an idiot, she won't find me. Ha!
You know how there are always people you can't stand but you were either (a) forced to hang out with them or (b) were too lonely at the time you met them to hang out with anyone else? And then those people, who you don't consider to be your "friends", insist on telling their entire school that you're their best pal? And then, when you're in high school together you start hanging out. . .and you learn that the reason this person thinks you're friends is because nobody else will hang out with them and they haven't changed since the time you met them? In the 4th grade.
Well, one of those people has resurfaced, but I'm the only one of the two of us who knows it because I'm more web-savvy. And I didn't put my real name anywhere on the Internet except maybe my resume on GeoCities, but I'm not too sure about that anymore because I haven't updated that site in who KNOWS how long.
I stopped hanging out with this person in high school because #1 - she's an idiot, #2 - she kept harassing me and #3 - I outgrew her. This was 11 years ago and I was 17, going through some major emotional and financial issues because of my parents' divorce and my plans to apply to colleges. Amidst freaking out about how I was going to pay for college, this kid (with toady in tow) decided that it would be a lot of fun, every time she saw me, to call out "nerd".
Needless to say, I didn't think it was so much fun and I reported her to the Vice Principal of the school. She stopped talking to me and I haven't looked back.
Apparently, per a post from her on MySpace, she's lonely.
This person is a contemptible excuse for what could have been a human being. Her utter stupidity, lousy hygiene, horrible halitosis, spit-talking and total disregard for personal space (um, CLOSE TALKER anyone?) are reason enough for the sad state of affairs that leads to my next revelation:
She's lonely and she's looking to find me.
What an IDIOT! I'm very good at making myself disappear, and with good reason. I don't want to be found. Fortunately, she's such an idiot, she won't find me. Ha!
5.05.2006
5.03.2006
Wedding Planning Post #2
No ranting yet.
Because Matt would prefer to keep the attire choices "top secret", I've removed my prior pics. On top of that, the link to the womens' attire didn't exactly work, so I'm not disappointed.
I need to look at the gowns from Mary Ellen, try on Aunt Monica's and make appointments at salons (I'm thinking David's Bridal and Alfred Angelo are my best bets) in the next few months. July should be FINE to look @ everything.
Notes: Bridesmaids' attire should be ordered no later than 6 months out (October/November); Gown should be ordered no later than 8 months out (August), see if I need to order a headpiece (would like v. much to use Aunt Monica's) - if I need to order a headpiece, must order it in August!!!
No ranting yet.
Because Matt would prefer to keep the attire choices "top secret", I've removed my prior pics. On top of that, the link to the womens' attire didn't exactly work, so I'm not disappointed.
I need to look at the gowns from Mary Ellen, try on Aunt Monica's and make appointments at salons (I'm thinking David's Bridal and Alfred Angelo are my best bets) in the next few months. July should be FINE to look @ everything.
Notes: Bridesmaids' attire should be ordered no later than 6 months out (October/November); Gown should be ordered no later than 8 months out (August), see if I need to order a headpiece (would like v. much to use Aunt Monica's) - if I need to order a headpiece, must order it in August!!!
5.02.2006
Does It Make Me a Bad Person If. . .?
. . .when I realized that yesterday was the "Day Without Immigrants" boycott, and didn't road-rage once during my commute, I thought my life would be a lot easier if they just deported the illegals?
Don't get me wrong, my family came over as immigrants to get a better life for themselves too. But we didn't come in illegally.
Sure, it took my great-great-grandmother 40 years to file for citizenship, but it's not like she smuggled herself into the country or anything. She came through Ellis Island, through the brutality of the processing center.
Sure, my great-grandmother didn't speak much English when she arrived in the US from her home village in what used to be the Austro-Hungarian Empire (it's now Slovakia, I think) but she learned English. In fact, she and her brother used to walk to school together and vary their shouts of "hey Anna, wait up!"/ "hey John, wait up!" down the block so that they looked like regular American kids. They were determined to learn ENGLISH. They didn't teach their children much Slovak; they insisted that they learn English.
Is this the case nowadays? No.
I heard a story a number of years ago about one of my dad's client's daughters or somesuch. Brilliant girl, accepted to some Ivy League school somewhere, but she didn't go. Why? She couldn't speak English. So she went to the University of Miami (FL) because they have a bilingual program. I wonder if she lost out on better opportunities because of it; it really would be too bad if she did because I don't think that's fair. But I also don't think it's fair to live in the USA, where the "official language" is English, and not learn English well enough that you could take advantage of an opportunity like that.
I do NOT understand this at ALL.
. . .when I realized that yesterday was the "Day Without Immigrants" boycott, and didn't road-rage once during my commute, I thought my life would be a lot easier if they just deported the illegals?
Don't get me wrong, my family came over as immigrants to get a better life for themselves too. But we didn't come in illegally.
Sure, it took my great-great-grandmother 40 years to file for citizenship, but it's not like she smuggled herself into the country or anything. She came through Ellis Island, through the brutality of the processing center.
Sure, my great-grandmother didn't speak much English when she arrived in the US from her home village in what used to be the Austro-Hungarian Empire (it's now Slovakia, I think) but she learned English. In fact, she and her brother used to walk to school together and vary their shouts of "hey Anna, wait up!"/ "hey John, wait up!" down the block so that they looked like regular American kids. They were determined to learn ENGLISH. They didn't teach their children much Slovak; they insisted that they learn English.
Is this the case nowadays? No.
I heard a story a number of years ago about one of my dad's client's daughters or somesuch. Brilliant girl, accepted to some Ivy League school somewhere, but she didn't go. Why? She couldn't speak English. So she went to the University of Miami (FL) because they have a bilingual program. I wonder if she lost out on better opportunities because of it; it really would be too bad if she did because I don't think that's fair. But I also don't think it's fair to live in the USA, where the "official language" is English, and not learn English well enough that you could take advantage of an opportunity like that.
I do NOT understand this at ALL.
