zen.org Communal Weblog

On the Bookofjoe blog, there’s a link to a story about chocolate coins that was in the Wash Post. Now, it’s quite interesting, cause those chocolate coins are really the baseline for so many comparisons.

Living over here now, I find that most American chocolate tastes like the chocolate coins of my childhood. Can you just imagine what the chocolate coins would taste like to me now?! Maybe I have become a chocolate snob, but why the heck not have the best stuff? Mars bars here (in the US, it’s a Milky Way. Milky Way here is a whole different thing. Wait. They’re called Milky Bars. Here. yeah.) are the most luscious yummy things. You can taste the milk. Mmmmmmm. They just started having Mars bar…somethings, that are like Kinder bars but have caramel inside. I mean, it’s like a mouthful of butter.

I need to find dairy free chocolate coins for next year for P (adds to list of things I forgot to do for holidays this year, including sending out cards.)

But what I’m saying is…if we all think they taste like crap, why the heck do we all keep buying them!? My brother and I got them for playing dreidel for Hanukkah, and I think they were the last chocolate we ate from the whole holiday. Leave the worst for last :-).

bookofjoe: Best picture of the day

We have had freezing nights, but this mornings commute it was 30ºF, sunny and fluries. First time I saw ice patches too. Bam, winter is here. I see 50ºF days in the forcast too, so I guess autum is comming back again.

KPCC (that’s Pasadena City College, if I remember right) is streaming the audio
of plays (or radio plays specifically, I’m not sure), done by LA Theater Works.

Some of the plays listed sound great, including the latest, which is War of the Worlds starring ST:TNG alumnus.

It’s all RealAudio, and I can’t wait to listen!

Yesterday a friend and I went to see Howl’s Moving Castle, the latest work of Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎駿). I think we were the only pair of adults in the house; most of the other folks had kids with them.

We’ve seen many (but not all) of his other movies including Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki’s Delivery Service. While my favorite so far has been Kiki, I think Howl’s Moving Castle was the best yet. It was absolutely beautiful, in the writing, the animation, everything. We had fun identifying the voices of the English dubbed version, and felt Christian Bale‘s was perfect for the part of Howl.

Of course I still want to see Serenity before it leaves the theaters!

On Tuesday morning I was playing tennis. I ran across the court to try to make a return on a pretty fast ball. ZAP, I felt something snap or twist in my lower back that hurt like mad. I tried to force myself to play through it, but the pain kept slowly increasing. By that evening I found it hard to fall asleep because no position seemed comfortable.

This continued for the next few days, leaving me stuck in bed or on the couch unable to get around much. I had to walk carefully because at nearly any random moment, I might get hit by this piercing pain. On Thursday night I took some more medicine to help ease the swelling and let me fall to sleep.

This morning, it was feeling a bit better. Elana noticed that the lower-left of my back was swollen much larger than the right. We made an appointment and went to the local G.P.

After a few tests and examinations, he said it was most likely to be a pulled muscle in my back; not a slipped disc, as I’d started to fear. Two different places on the Net described slipped disc problems, and a lot of the symptoms seemed pretty similar.

We’re going to try to stick with a regular pattern on the meds, and keep me walking around more than I’ve done since it started. Some light stretches should also contribute.

We fly from the states back to Ireland next week. I’m reaaaaaaaaaally hoping this goes away enough for the flight to be livable. 🙂

In California, we happened to go to our favorite restaurant on our anniversary. Well, maybe not happened, maybe we booked it, but still….it was a happy coincidence we were there on the day. The menu….ah, the menu.

Menu Gastronomique

CELERY ROOT SALAD
Enoki Mushrooms, Brulee Figs, Carrot Jus

PEAR AND AUTUMN SQUASH
Spiced Cappuccino, Mille-Feuille, Citrus Powder

HUDSON VALLEY FOIE GRAS
Granny Smith Apple Gastrique, Sautern Gelee, Hazelnut Crisp

_______________________

ALBACORE TUNA
Baby Artichokes, Cocoa Nibs, Yuzu Vinaigrette

ALASKAN BLACK COD
Nasturtium-Saffron Tea, Salmon Caviar, Garden Herbs

DAYBOAT SCALLOPS
Concord Grapes, Pink Peppercorn Caramel, Pickled Fennel

______________________

STEAK ONGLET
Chanterelles, Fingerling Potato, Syrah Jus

PORK TENDERLOIN
Roasted Lady Apple, Salsify, Perigeuex Sauce

MAGRET DUCK BREAST
Foie Gras, Pluots, Butter Beans

_______________________

ARTISIAN CHEESE SELETION
Marmalades, Honeys

FIG PARFAIT
Spiced Port Reduction, Roasted Fennel Seed Ice Cream

CHOCOLATE PEAR CUP
Coriander Ice Cream, Clove Ganache

PINEAPPLE RAVIOLI
Pink Peppercorn Panna Cotta, Lime Sorbet

CHILLED BERRY COMPOTE
Cinnamon Basil Ice Cream, Almond Crisp

No no no, we didn’t eat all of that. Just one thing from each section. Man I love food.

So, what is it with dark beer & men’s intestines? Last night after a surprise birthday party for a friend, we made it home in time for several explosions to occur.

There are not enough candles in this house.

I’m spending the night at the Logan Airport Hilton in Boston before flying to California tomorrow. Elana and Patrick are already out there and awaiting my arrival; E’s going to be picking me up.

Staying here is a much better idea than the original plan: up at 6am, leaving for Boston by 8, getting there about four hours later, and then sitting on a plane for nearly seven hours. It occurred to me thisk morning, but I didn’t actually do it until I mentioned it to E on the phone and she agreed it’d be much better to sleep well and not exhaust myself on the drive right before flying.

Instead, I’m able to relax and sleep in, with no pressure: just get my ass over to the checkin desk in time. I still miss E & P and can’t WAIT to get to see them tomorrow when I land.

However, getting to watch an important Red Sox game in a bar in Boston was a great distraction. The bartender had to share his opinions with nearly everyone working there—the guys keeping the tables clear, and the women doing a great job waiting on the tables. Coupled with a sly grin, he’d announce to them that the Yankees “really should’ve just stayed at home.” It was sometimes only a few minutes between each time he’d share this with someone new.

Sitting next to me at the bar were two couples, each clearly Bostonians somewhere in their 50s. The Red Sox hit a ball, they led the cheer. A ball hit by the Yankees is caught, they led the cheer. (The bar had at least fifty people in it, about half of them eating food and all of them drinking some form of alcohol from what I saw.)

The lady next to me, one of the wives, kept shouting, “Go Mike! Yeah Mike!” Her voice was just barely audible over the sound of her hands crashing together in boisterous applause. I didn’t need to use Google to guess the pitcher’s name.

Reuters confirmed what I heard on the radio driving into Boston about security at the game: “The Boston Globe reported that 876 officers and commanders would patrol Boston’s Fenway Park at each of the three games for the American League East title, which would guarantee the winner a spot in the playoffs.”

As I made my way onto Route 1 towards Logan, the radio commentators (all on AM stations, none of which came in well—what’s the “official” Boston Red Sox AM station to use??) criticized the umpire behind home plate. This was later echoed by one of the husbands standing at the bar: the ump seemed to wait a long time to actually signal whether or not it was a strike. On the radio, they theorized the player at bat heard the call before the ump finally decided to signal the official opinion to everyone else.

The lady next to me concurred on my conspiracy theory: much like George Bush in the debates, the ump probably had an earpiece making him wait to find out what his call was supposed to be.

Despite any of that, I learned that American Baseball is perfectly matched with a well-poured pint of Guinness. 🙂

One sleep ’til I see my darlings…

USA Today:
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – The Danish Air Force said Thursday it paid about $5,000 in compensation to a part-time Santa Claus whose reindeer died of heart failure when two fighter jets roared over his farm.