babbling blue

Here’s something on the lighter side! This is from an English web site on “eating and drinking”, which are two of my favorite things. I got it from the blog of a cyber-acquaintance, another Josh.

Source

Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
(Note: With very few exceptions, I no longer eat fish or seafood, so that eliminates a number of things)

1. Venison (won’t eat it now)
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (gross!)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp (Might have tried this as a kid, but I don’t recall)
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi (”How will you find a husband if you can’t make aloo gobi?”)
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream (I think I have anyway)
21. Heirloom tomatoes (not to my knowledge)
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
Read the rest of this entry »

I haven’t been blogging much about politics, or at all really. I have just really lost all my enthusiasm for this election. I was a firm Obama supporter, but I am not any more. I will most likely vote for him in November, but being in Illinois it doesn’t really matter. I still think he’s better than McCain, but . . . well, I was really hoping to not have to choose the candidate that I thought was less bad for the first time since I started voting. Now, that’s how I’m feeling again. Obama has demonstrated himself to be a standard politician in reformer’s clothing, and not even a particularly shrewd one.

At some point Obama started drifting (or some say veering) to the right. That made me nervous. Then he did something that really turned me off. After saying he would vote against it, he turned around and voted for the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. I don’t want to go off on a tangent on FISA 2008, but suffice it to say there were a number of bad things in there, not just retro-active telecom immunity. That’s for another post.

Anyway, Obama has been called pragmatic (most recently by Joe Biden, I believe), and some would argue that his vote was politically necessary. I argue that as Americans, our civil liberties are not pawns to be sacrificed on the political chess board. They are the foundation of this country. Voting for the amendments upset a lot of people. There is a group on my.barackobama.com with more than 23,000 voters, created to urge Senator Obama to vote against telecom immunity in FISA.

And now we know his Veep candidate. Joe Biden. Biden has been called a blowhard, a wind bag and a number of other things. While he’s probably not a bad guy, he his enamored with the sound of his own voice and is–as such people often are–inclined to say some pretty stupid things, and get recorded doing it. Biden is known as Credit Card Joe and Senator MBNA because of his support for that wretched bankruptcy law written by the credit card industry, and more. And last but not least, he’s been in the Senate for 35 years. Hardly the symbol of CHANGE that Obama is trying to promote. In many ways, Joe Biden epitomizes the D.C. establishment that so many of us believe is FAILING this country so miserably.

After all that build up, the Biden announcement was a total disappointment. When the press leaked it late Friday, I hoped beyond hope that it was a fake out, and someone better would be announced soon. But I woke up Saturday morning and saw a text message from the Obama campaign that Biden was indeed his running mate. Blah.

So you see, I’m just finding it hard to care. I don’t want to just write bitchy blog posts, but I’m hard pressed for any other material.