Tonight I watched the short documentary Candyman: The David Klein Story. It’s about the guy who invented Jelly Bellys. I came to it through a Talk thread on Serious Eats that got a bit contentious. Continue reading ‘Candyman: The David Klein Story’
Today a coworker was playing the Shangri-Las’ “Walking in the Sand” video. Which reminded me that, before our wedding, my wife went on a YouTube listening spree, looking for just the right processional, recessional, first dance, and parent dance songs. She found a great blog from a wedding DJ that posts monthly playlists. (I’m not linking it here because I don’t remember what it was.) In one of his playlists, I think she found the lesser-known Shangri-La number “Past, Present, and Future.” It’s pretty great:
Anyway, the coworker and I got to chatting about this, and she asked what music Claire and I used at our wedding. It took me a while to remember, and at one point I had to go into my “Day-Of Schedule” Google doc to look it up. So I’m posting here so I don’t forget. Continue reading “Wedding remembrance: the music”
Who holds the record for fastest diaper change? Not me, to be sure, though I have gotten pretty good at swapping out shit britches over the last four weeks. It takes me less than a minute now for cloth diapers—and less than that if I’m putting The Bean in disposables. That’s still not as fast as the various procedures above. But they have nothing on this guy. Continue reading Who holds the record for fastest diaper change?
Seriously, don’t bother watching this video. Nothing much happens. I got the notion of setting up a time lapse thing so I could see if the starter really was bulking up as part of the feeding cycle, as the book suggests it will. This is about 3 hours’ worth of time here. I’m thinking I … Continue reading Tartine Bread, Day 6: Time lapse video of starter after feeding
As I said yesterday, I decided to time-shift my feeding schedule to the mornings. Trouble is, I’m pretty groggy in the mornings. Today, for instance, I almost forgot about tending the starter. But then I went into the kitchen to take my vitamins, and BLAMMO. “What’s that smell?” … “Oh. Yeah. Gotta feed this thing.” … Continue reading Tartine Bread, Day 5: The hardest part
I love all forms of Christmas music — traditional/religious carols and poppy secular songs alike. It was too difficult to make a Top 5 list that drew from the entire Christmas songbook, so here are the poppy ones first.
OK, so this one is pretty much traditional as most people would define it, but I think the fact that it’s a David Bowie and Bing Crosby duet, complete with cheesy banter at the beginning, puts it into post-modern pop territory. For a while, you think Crosby is going to overpower Bowie, but then the Thin White Duke pipes up, and … wow, that’s some beautiful harmonizing there.
From as early as I can remember, “The Little Drummer Boy” has always gotten to me. There’s something I’ve always found moving about stories like the drummer boy’s — people of modest means offering up all they have. Blah blah blah.
A few things tied together with a very thin thread …
First, I read A. O. Scott’s “Gen X Has a Midlife Crisis” in the New York Times this morning. Online initially and then, yes, switching over to my iPhone when I had to leave the house for work. (Scott says, “I see you rolling your eyes. That’s right, you: the one in the fake-vintage rock ’n’ roll T-shirt and thick-framed glasses reading this on an iPhone at the sidelines of your daughter’s soccer game.”)
Anyway, thick-framed glasses, check. iPhone, check. Daughter, not yet. The passage that stung (emphasis, mine)… Continue reading “OMD, Gen X, and Frank Frazetta”