2.17.2009

Re: Feast

Allow me Steve.

Alas I Have No Camera HandyTo Document The Sheer Awesomeness Of This Feast

Just got home after taking three hours to figure out how to write a complicated e-mail that people needed me to send out last week and not surprisingly, was starving. But whatzuh to eatz? Editor don't rememberz how to cook.

What was needed here was simplicity and improvisation.

So I fired up the rice machine and got some premium organic basmati going. Then, I chopped up two fat onions which I fried to slimey, carmamelized perfection in a quantity of olive oil far exceeding two tablespoons. I added some habanero sauce, a mountain of salt, two cloves of garlic (minced) and a can of garbonzo beans, then simmered the amazing mixture to glistening, gooey spectacularness before adding some awesome broccoli (to defray some of the inevitable cardiac damage). Needed a secret weapon though, and aha! A splash of lemon juice and about three pounds of fresh ground black pepper (recently discovered scientific "fact": not possible to over-pepper beans).

Served on the now-ready rice, eating...Mmmmmmf, ghub.Vry vry ghub.

Mmmmmfmmfff!

In other news, California is really, truly, totally fucked. Turns out you can't cut taxes relentlessly and make it next-to-impossible to raise them in an emergency, then expect to breeze through a cataclysmic economic meltdown. Layoffs, program cancellations and copious suffering to doubtless follow.

Yep, far-right conservative small-government delusions just don't work. They break economies and ruin lives. Kinda like communist delusions used to do back in the Cold War era, ironically. Funny how extremism, intransigence and bullheaded devotion to ideological fairy tales always seems to cause trouble.

But maybe after electing a break-the-mold president Americans are, finally, ready for change? For centrist ideologies and policies based on reason, realism, co-operation and sustainibility?

Nah.

(First link to the New York Times, second to Fox.)

This Week at City Hall

Because City Hall is worth paying attention to...

Tues, Feb 17:
Works and Utilities Committee Meeting (4 pm): Considering the "Bad Apples Campaign" to reduce improper use of recycling programs, an expanded water conservation program, and an increase in the levies for properties with back alleys.
Development Appeals Board Hearing (5:30 pm)

Wed, Feb 18:
Executive Committee Meeting (11:45 am)
Parks and Community Services Committee (4 pm): The Regina Citizens' Public Transit Coalition is presenting a petition of over 7,000 names urging the city to expand transit service on Sundays and holidays. The more people who show up at this committee meeting the better.

Thur, Feb 19:
Board of Police Commissioners (2 pm): Considering the review of monthly crime stats for January '09. Crimes against people up 15% over Jan of '08. Crimes against property down 27%.

Anybody can attend these meetings. You can even make presentations at them. To view detailed agendas for these meetings and to download the reports, go here.

Six In The Morning

Special post-Family Day edition!

1 COUNTDOWN TO BARRACK U.S. President Obama will be in Ottawa Thursday--but how will this populist, eco-saavy urban Democrat get along with our glorious leader, an anti-environment, anti-labour, anti-culture, made-in-Alberta corporate stooge? (Toronto Star)

2 APESHIT A pet chimpanzee goes berserk, mangles an elderly woman and corners cops, who quite reasonably shoot its vicious, face-eating, monky-ass dead. (New York Times)

3 MANITOBA MENACE The U.S. deploys unammed surveillance drones to monitor the Canadian border, detering both al Quada and over-enthusiastic duty-free booze buyers. (Winnipeg Free Press)

4 NOT IN MY BACKYARD (AND/OR PRISON SYSTEM) Sneaky state politicians attempt to disrupt Obama's orders to shut down U.S. torture prison Gitmo. (The Guardian)

5 SCIENCE JES' AIN'T IMPORTINT While much of the world re-invests in intellectual capital one frustrated, underfunded Canadian researcher who just wants to help the children says he's getting better offers from Singapore. (Globe And Mail)

6 WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE WAL-MART The recession-resistent retailer posts a quarterly profit that exceeds expectations. (New York Times)