Small Talk: Behavioral Gabbing Unit

[Willowy]

How hard to press your thumb? Just a little or really make a good dent?

[Bookish Jen]

1 minute ago, Franky said:

How hard to press your thumb? Just a little or really make a good dent?

Just a smidge is fine to see a small dent.

[thewhiteowl]

I would so buy this cookbooky.

[Bookish Jen]

29 minutes ago, thewhiteowl said:

I would so buy this cookbooky.

I'm game. I'll look over my collection of recipes and if anyone wants to PM or email your recipes please do. My email is thebookself@yahoo.com.

I can also write other related copy regarding recipes, introduction, various cooking/baking terms, etc. Please let me know of anything else you might want to read in this book.

However, I am not a graphic designer so some with those mad skills can do the graphics. 

And if you send a recipe please also send a Profiling the Palate if you want to and a brief bio. 

I'll put other writing projects (other than my blog and some other gigs) on the back burner. 

Edited September 27, 2016 by Bookish Jen

[Bookish Jen]

And what should we title this book? Normasm came up with Crumbinal Table, which I think is a great title.

[Old Dog]

-

Edited September 27, 2016 by Old Dog

[normasm]

We could have little outtakes (factoids) that could be titled Sanguine Observations, or some such, in which we can talk about a forensic fact, or a detail about the human body. We could also share favorite poems (that are in the public domain, perhaps) and art that we make (nothing ripped off or copyrighted), we could invite some of the cast and crew to contribute if they wish (although I'm not sure about the legal permissions for something like that).

I design books for a living, and could help with that end, also in getting it published, which might not be as expensive as one would think.

If we're serious about it, that is...

[Bookish Jen]

1 hour ago, normasm said:

We could have little outtakes (factoids) that could be titled Sanguine Observations, or some such, in which we can talk about a forensic fact, or a detail about the human body. We could also share favorite poems (that are in the public domain, perhaps) and art that we make (nothing ripped off or copyrighted), we could invite some of the cast and crew to contribute if they wish (although I'm not sure about the legal permissions for something like that).

I design books for a living, and could help with that end, also in getting it published, which might not be as expensive as one would think.

If we're serious about it, that is...

I like your ideas. We could share obscure ideas, factoids, opinions on food and cooking throughout the ages. I've written several reviews on food-related books and films. Right now Milwaukee is having its annual film fest and I'm going to see a documentary called City of Gold, which is about Pulitzer Prize winning food writer Jonathan Gold. I can write a review of that movie. I also think we should add quotes about food and food-related topics. They can come at the beginning and ending of our recipes just like how CM book-ends their eps with various quotes. 

And so cool you design books for a living, Normasm. Yes, we need your help!!!!

I'd love to do this. And I'll start a folder for this regarding the copy of the book.

Edited September 27, 2016 by Bookish Jen

[JMO]

This is just a 'quick and dirty', but a few of the recipes could be accompanied by something like this:

“Henry!”

The little blonde looked up at his godfather.

“What?”

From the tone of his voice, and the twinkle in his eye, Reid could tell that Henry knew, very well, ‘what’.

“You can’t lick your finger and stick in in the sugar!  We’re rolling the sugar mint cookies in that.  You’ll get germs all over it.”

JJ laughed as she deposited another spoonful of squash into Michael’s mouth. 

“Spence, I hate to break it to you, but this place is pretty much germ central.”

“Ugh!  Please don’t tell me that!”

He’d been fastidious in making Henry wash his hands before they’d started the baking project, and washed his own equally well. 

She shrugged an apology at him.  “Sorry.  Goes with the territory. Kids, germs.  Two kids….”

“Exponentially more germs.  Well, we’re going to bake them anyway.  I guess that will pretty much kill most of the germs.”

Doing his best to rationalize, mostly for his own benefit.

JJ spooned another helping into Michael as she watched her son and his godfather rolling dough balls through the less-than-pristine sugar.

“You know, I’m surprised you like to bake,” she said.  “Especially cookies.”

Reid squinted his lack of understanding at her. “Why ‘especially cookies’?”

“Because of the every-ten-minute thing.  You like to bury yourself in a project.  I can’t imagine you enjoy interrupting it every ten minutes.”

“Ah,” he said, as he rolled another cookie between his palms, “there, you would be wrong.  Didn’t I ever tell you that my mom used to bake?”

“She did?” 

“When I was little.  Maybe three or four. She wasn’t that sick yet, and she used to cook.  And…well, I didn’t have that many friends who liked the things I liked, so I used to help her.  It was all chemistry, after all.”

JJ chuckled.  “Were you going for a PhD in cooking?”

“Ha.  No.  But…remember, I’d learned to read before I was three, and I couldn’t get enough of it.  But, as you pointed out, baking cookies was a little disruptive…”

“So you gave up on the cookies?”

“Uh-uh.  I learned to read faster.  Pretty soon, I could get through a whole child’s book between batches, and then a whole chapter of a chapter book, and then several, and then….”

Her eyes widened.  “Are you saying that baking cookies taught you to read at 20,000 words per minute?”

He shrugged.  “Maybe.”

JJ looked from Reid, to Henry, to Michael, and back to Henry again.

“Hey, Buddy.  After you put those cookies in the oven, why don’t you read your brother a story?”

[Danielg342]

58 minutes ago, JMO said:

This is just a 'quick and dirty', but a few of the recipes could be accompanied by something like this:

“Henry!”

The little blonde looked up at his godfather.

“What?”

From the tone of his voice, and the twinkle in his eye, Reid could tell that Henry knew, very well, ‘what’.

“You can’t lick your finger and stick in in the sugar!  We’re rolling the sugar mint cookies in that.  You’ll get germs all over it.”

JJ laughed as she deposited another spoonful of squash into Michael’s mouth. 

“Spence, I hate to break it to you, but this place is pretty much germ central.”

“Ugh!  Please don’t tell me that!”

He’d been fastidious in making Henry wash his hands before they’d started the baking project, and washed his own equally well. 

She shrugged an apology at him.  “Sorry.  Goes with the territory. Kids, germs.  Two kids….”

“Exponentially more germs.  Well, we’re going to bake them anyway.  I guess that will pretty much kill most of the germs.”

Doing his best to rationalize, mostly for his own benefit.

JJ spooned another helping into Michael as she watched her son and his godfather rolling dough balls through the less-than-pristine sugar.

“You know, I’m surprised you like to bake,” she said.  “Especially cookies.”

Reid squinted his lack of understanding at her. “Why ‘especially cookies’?”

“Because of the every-ten-minute thing.  You like to bury yourself in a project.  I can’t imagine you enjoy interrupting it every ten minutes.”

“Ah,” he said, as he rolled another cookie between his palms, “there, you would be wrong.  Didn’t I ever tell you that my mom used to bake?”

“She did?” 

“When I was little.  Maybe three or four. She wasn’t that sick yet, and she used to cook.  And…well, I didn’t have that many friends who liked the things I liked, so I used to help her.  It was all chemistry, after all.”

JJ chuckled.  “Were you going for a PhD in cooking?”

“Ha.  No.  But…remember, I’d learned to read before I was three, and I couldn’t get enough of it.  But, as you pointed out, baking cookies was a little disruptive…”

“So you gave up on the cookies?”

“Uh-uh.  I learned to read faster.  Pretty soon, I could get through a whole child’s book between batches, and then a whole chapter of a chapter book, and then several, and then….”

Her eyes widened.  “Are you saying that baking cookies taught you to read at 20,000 words per minute?”

He shrugged.  “Maybe.”

JJ looked from Reid, to Henry, to Michael, and back to Henry again.

“Hey, Buddy.  After you put those cookies in the oven, why don’t you read your brother a story?”

CM needs to so make this a scene. Or maybe I'll use it.

[Bookish Jen]

12 hours ago, JMO said:

This is just a 'quick and dirty', but a few of the recipes could be accompanied by something like this:

“Henry!”

The little blonde looked up at his godfather.

“What?”

From the tone of his voice, and the twinkle in his eye, Reid could tell that Henry knew, very well, ‘what’.

“You can’t lick your finger and stick in in the sugar!  We’re rolling the sugar mint cookies in that.  You’ll get germs all over it.”

JJ laughed as she deposited another spoonful of squash into Michael’s mouth. 

“Spence, I hate to break it to you, but this place is pretty much germ central.”

“Ugh!  Please don’t tell me that!”

He’d been fastidious in making Henry wash his hands before they’d started the baking project, and washed his own equally well. 

She shrugged an apology at him.  “Sorry.  Goes with the territory. Kids, germs.  Two kids….”

“Exponentially more germs.  Well, we’re going to bake them anyway.  I guess that will pretty much kill most of the germs.”

Doing his best to rationalize, mostly for his own benefit.

JJ spooned another helping into Michael as she watched her son and his godfather rolling dough balls through the less-than-pristine sugar.

“You know, I’m surprised you like to bake,” she said.  “Especially cookies.”

Reid squinted his lack of understanding at her. “Why ‘especially cookies’?”

“Because of the every-ten-minute thing.  You like to bury yourself in a project.  I can’t imagine you enjoy interrupting it every ten minutes.”

“Ah,” he said, as he rolled another cookie between his palms, “there, you would be wrong.  Didn’t I ever tell you that my mom used to bake?”

“She did?” 

“When I was little.  Maybe three or four. She wasn’t that sick yet, and she used to cook.  And…well, I didn’t have that many friends who liked the things I liked, so I used to help her.  It was all chemistry, after all.”

JJ chuckled.  “Were you going for a PhD in cooking?”

“Ha.  No.  But…remember, I’d learned to read before I was three, and I couldn’t get enough of it.  But, as you pointed out, baking cookies was a little disruptive…”

“So you gave up on the cookies?”

“Uh-uh.  I learned to read faster.  Pretty soon, I could get through a whole child’s book between batches, and then a whole chapter of a chapter book, and then several, and then….”

Her eyes widened.  “Are you saying that baking cookies taught you to read at 20,000 words per minute?”

He shrugged.  “Maybe.”

JJ looked from Reid, to Henry, to Michael, and back to Henry again.

“Hey, Buddy.  After you put those cookies in the oven, why don’t you read your brother a story?”

I love this so much I want to eat it up! After reading this I thought we could add a section in the book featuring the talented writers among us with stories that are CM/Food related. We could call it "Rossi's Reading Room: Fan Fiction and Fine Dining."

Edited September 28, 2016 by Bookish Jen
correction due to caffeine intake

[Bookish Jen]

Last night I was supposed to have a phone interview for a position at a local company. The HR rep and I worked out a time for her to call me at 7:00pm. She never called me. I gave her fifteen minutes-no call. I have yet to receive a call, VM, text or email on why she never called me. Before the so-called interview I went to the company's website to do some research and prep before the interview. I got nada. I looked at the company's ABOUT US page and it was nothing but a lot of marketing/PR speak with nothing of substance. The only staff member profiled was the CEO, nobody from other management levels or in-house departments like finance, HR, creative, marketing, production, etc. were mentioned or profiled. I couldn't even find media information them.

Something is sketchy about this company. "Job creators?" Yea, right.

[senin]

I wish we were allowed more than one "like" to the same post, because I would have given a few to Daniel. I loved the story and I'd love to see it developed into a full -length story!!

[Bookish Jen]

I thought of an alternative name for our cook book or a possible title for a food/CM related-fan fiction piece:

"You Can Dish It Out, and You Can Make It."

And I just came up with some copy for our fan fiction-related pieces:

"You can't write a piece of fan fiction without using the letters, P, I, E."

[normasm]

2 hours ago, senin said:

I wish we were allowed more than one "like" to the same post, because I would have given a few to Daniel. I loved the story and I'd love to see it developed into a full -length story!!

senin, that was JMO with the story. If you haven't you need to read her FF.

[Bookish Jen]

20 hours ago, JMO said:

This is just a 'quick and dirty', but a few of the recipes could be accompanied by something like this:

“Henry!”

The little blonde looked up at his godfather.

“What?”

From the tone of his voice, and the twinkle in his eye, Reid could tell that Henry knew, very well, ‘what’.

“You can’t lick your finger and stick in in the sugar!  We’re rolling the sugar mint cookies in that.  You’ll get germs all over it.”

JJ laughed as she deposited another spoonful of squash into Michael’s mouth. 

“Spence, I hate to break it to you, but this place is pretty much germ central.”

“Ugh!  Please don’t tell me that!”

He’d been fastidious in making Henry wash his hands before they’d started the baking project, and washed his own equally well. 

She shrugged an apology at him.  “Sorry.  Goes with the territory. Kids, germs.  Two kids….”

“Exponentially more germs.  Well, we’re going to bake them anyway.  I guess that will pretty much kill most of the germs.”

Doing his best to rationalize, mostly for his own benefit.

JJ spooned another helping into Michael as she watched her son and his godfather rolling dough balls through the less-than-pristine sugar.

“You know, I’m surprised you like to bake,” she said.  “Especially cookies.”

Reid squinted his lack of understanding at her. “Why ‘especially cookies’?”

“Because of the every-ten-minute thing.  You like to bury yourself in a project.  I can’t imagine you enjoy interrupting it every ten minutes.”

“Ah,” he said, as he rolled another cookie between his palms, “there, you would be wrong.  Didn’t I ever tell you that my mom used to bake?”

“She did?” 

“When I was little.  Maybe three or four. She wasn’t that sick yet, and she used to cook.  And…well, I didn’t have that many friends who liked the things I liked, so I used to help her.  It was all chemistry, after all.”

JJ chuckled.  “Were you going for a PhD in cooking?”

“Ha.  No.  But…remember, I’d learned to read before I was three, and I couldn’t get enough of it.  But, as you pointed out, baking cookies was a little disruptive…”

“So you gave up on the cookies?”

“Uh-uh.  I learned to read faster.  Pretty soon, I could get through a whole child’s book between batches, and then a whole chapter of a chapter book, and then several, and then….”

Her eyes widened.  “Are you saying that baking cookies taught you to read at 20,000 words per minute?”

He shrugged.  “Maybe.”

JJ looked from Reid, to Henry, to Michael, and back to Henry again.

“Hey, Buddy.  After you put those cookies in the oven, why don’t you read your brother a story?”

Seriously, this is some tasty stuff. Do you have links to your fan fiction? I need to read it.

[senin]

Thanks for telling me, normasm!! I read Daniel's quote and thought it was the original post.

I haven't read any of JMO's fanfiction... yet but I do have her in my to-read list. But little things as work, family and life in general get in the way and Idon't have enough time for everything!!

Edited September 28, 2016 by senin

[normasm]

She is aMUSEment345 on both FF.net and AOOO

[JMO]

9 hours ago, Bookish Jen said:

I love this so much I want to eat it up! After reading this I thought we could add a section in the book featuring the talented writers among us with stories that are CM/Food related. We could call it "Rossi's Reading Room: Fan Fiction and Fine Dining."

Or things could be integrated---some recipes get a photo, some a piece of CM trivia, some a vignette.  Photos would be most challenging because of copyrights.  Unless someone wants to take one for the team and travel to LA to take their own? ReidFan?

Glad you all enjoyed it.  Just an example.  Would need one for Reid's Apricot Chicken and Henry's Chocolate Chip Pancakes.

[Droogie]

I need the apricot chicken one again. I somehow can't find the recipe. 

[JMO]

4 minutes ago, Droogie said:

I need the apricot chicken one again. I somehow can't find the recipe. 

It's a slow-cooker recipe.  

Whatever amount of boneless chicken breast you like.  I cut it into smaller pieces for more consistent cooking.

Covered by equal parts (however much you need) of:

Catalina salad dressing (or the old 'Red Russian' dressing),

Any kind of yellow fruit jam/preserve/marmalade----apricot, peach, orange (although, of course, Reid will know the difference),

Half an envelope of dry onion soup mix (or just chopped onion, if that's all you have).  

Put it going, go to work, and come home to dinner.

It's a sweet/sour thing, like the meatballs with chili sauce and grape jelly (same concept).

[Droogie]

Yum yum yum!  Thank you! And I would never defile Reid's apricot chicken with a different kind of preserves!  :-)

Edited September 28, 2016 by Droogie

[ReidFan]

did I miss something? Reid actually mention apricot chicken at one point?

[Droogie]

42 minutes ago, ReidFan said:

did I miss something? Reid actually mention apricot chicken at one point?

Lol -- no.  It's one of his favorites in some of JMO's stories.

[zannej]

I've been playing nurse to my sick pets. My eldest dog has cancer- very aggressive form that manifests in tumors on her legs. I'm hindering it with medicine, but I don't know if it will metastasize.

And one of my cats was just diagnosed with Leukemia this morning. The vet said it's not a death sentence, it just requires weekly visits for shots and monthly flea treatment (both oral and spot on back of head). All of the flea stuff we've ever tried in the past has barely lasted a week if that. Fleas thrive in the humid climate-- although the weather is drying up so that might help. But, I've been having to give the dog meds every 8 hours and make sure the cat is staying hydrated. ugh.

[Bookish Jen]

6 minutes ago, zannej said:

I've been playing nurse to my sick pets. My eldest dog has cancer- very aggressive form that manifests in tumors on her legs. I'm hindering it with medicine, but I don't know if it will metastasize.

And one of my cats was just diagnosed with Leukemia this morning. The vet said it's not a death sentence, it just requires weekly visits for shots and monthly flea treatment (both oral and spot on back of head). All of the flea stuff we've ever tried in the past has barely lasted a week if that. Fleas thrive in the humid climate-- although the weather is drying up so that might help. But, I've been having to give the dog meds every 8 hours and make sure the cat is staying hydrated. ugh.

Oh, I am so sorry to know that your beloved furbabies are ill. I am sending you hugs and positive vibes. 

[ReidFan]

:-( aw sorry to hear about ill furbabies. *hugs, love and prayers for them all*

[zannej]

15 minutes ago, Bookish Jen said:

Oh, I am so sorry to know that your beloved furbabies are ill. I am sending you hugs and positive vibes. 

Thanks. I've had 5 pets get cancer in the last 9 years. At least there have been some advancements in treatment, but it still sucks. The good news is, the dog with cancer is loving that the weather has turned cooler, the meds are helping, and she was actually out running around in the yard today. The past few weeks she's been lying down and not feeling well. I have to give her meds every 8 hours. Then I have the dog with hypothyroid that I have to give meds to twice a day. I'm not having to give the cat anything, but will have to keep an eye on him and bring him in to the vet. My brother is watching him right now.

[senin]

I'm sorry to hear about your furry friends not being well !! Sending positive vibes (borrowed the expression from Booky)... and  my admiration for you for caring so much for them.

[Mysteyman]

I LOVE the title of this thread!

[smoker]

1 hour ago, zannej said:

I've been playing nurse to my sick pets. My eldest dog has cancer- very aggressive form that manifests in tumors on her legs. I'm hindering it with medicine, but I don't know if it will metastasize.

And one of my cats was just diagnosed with Leukemia this morning. The vet said it's not a death sentence, it just requires weekly visits for shots and monthly flea treatment (both oral and spot on back of head). All of the flea stuff we've ever tried in the past has barely lasted a week if that. Fleas thrive in the humid climate-- although the weather is drying up so that might help. But, I've been having to give the dog meds every 8 hours and make sure the cat is staying hydrated. ugh.

I am so sorry zannej, I hope they get better soon, my best wishes.

Edited September 29, 2016 by smoker

[Bookish Jen]

21 hours ago, Droogie said:

Lol -- no.  It's one of his favorites in some of JMO's stories.

Thank you

[Bookish Jen]

Last night I saw this amazing documentary called City of Gold. I'm going to write a review and we can add it to our cook book. I've also found many of my writings on food/pop culture related work and have already saved them. And later this week I'm going to try a new recipe for cinnamon sugar cookies. If they are hit I'll share the recipe here!

BTW: Here is a link to the City of Gold website. Seriously, see this movie if you get a chance. It is really good!

http://www.cityofgolddoc.com/

[Bookish Jen]

While at the film fest last night, I noticed this particular movie theater is showing Night of the Living Death: The Puppet Show for Halloween. It's playing on the 27th of this month. Does this show sound like Matthew would want to see or what?

And I've gotten some great comments about my "You Gotta Be Dirty" book review. The publisher and the author love it, and the author shared a link to my review via his social media.

Zannej, how are your fur babies?

[Bookish Jen]

On 9/28/2016 at 6:34 PM, JMO said:

It's a slow-cooker recipe.  

Whatever amount of boneless chicken breast you like.  I cut it into smaller pieces for more consistent cooking.

Covered by equal parts (however much you need) of:

Catalina salad dressing (or the old 'Red Russian' dressing),

Any kind of yellow fruit jam/preserve/marmalade----apricot, peach, orange (although, of course, Reid will know the difference),

Half an envelope of dry onion soup mix (or just chopped onion, if that's all you have).  

Put it going, go to work, and come home to dinner.

It's a sweet/sour thing, like the meatballs with chili sauce and grape jelly (same concept).

Bought some apricot preserves over the week-end and going to make this shortly.

[Mom x 3]

I made this over the weekend with orange marmalade.  It was AMAZING!

 

Ooh, I probably should add that I doubled the onion soup mix and also added chopped onion and bell pepper, as well as halved the amount of marmalade, as I don't like it so sweet.  

Edited October 3, 2016 by HospiceDoc
Because I got ahead of myself.

[JMO]

The most amazing thing is that you come home, and it smells like someone made dinner for you.  And then you think, 'oh, yeah---it was me!'  Love my slow cooker.  

[Bookish Jen]

9 minutes ago, JMO said:

The most amazing thing is that you come home, and it smells like someone made dinner for you.  And then you think, 'oh, yeah---it was me!'  Love my slow cooker.  

My slow cooker is very well-loved, going to make a pot roast in it, too, shortly.

And thanks for the tips HospiceDoc.

[secnarf]

So, a few nights ago, these two guys - a couple - were going home from dinner in Toronto, and they were attacked. Sounds like a mixture of racism and homophobia. One of the guys was knocked out and started seizing from his head injury and blood loss. The other guy called 911. The attackers stuck around and were interviewed by police along with the guy who called 911. The short version of the story is that the attackers claimed that they were the ones who were attacked and that the couple had sexually assaulted them, and the police believed them. The next day, another cop came to interview the guy who was in the hospital. I guess he went because it was his job, but he actually advised them against making a statement because they're being investigated as the suspects, not the victims. He also discouraged pursuing anything further and didn't think a complaint would get anywhere because the injuries "weren't that bad".

Anyways, at this point it's all over facebook and they've been given a number of legal options, people have contacted a number of media outlets as well as politicians from all levels of government, so time will tell how this all plays out. I'm just really bummed out about it - not just because of the attack, although that's depressing enough, but because of the police response. I have never really felt unsafe in Toronto going out with my girlfriends, and my favourite part of Toronto Pride is seeing the police get so involved and have so much fun with everyone. This is a pretty stark reminder that that isn't the reality.

It's just a pretty depressing end to Thanksgiving dinner. Sorry for the rant!

[normasm]

That's awful! I hope they have some options, I hope there's some video somewhere. Sounds ridiculous and criminal.

[zannej]

It's unfortunate to see that sometimes they take steps backwards when it comes to fair treatment of people. I hope that couple gets justice. Sounds like the sort of thing that would happen around here. For some reason, it made me think of a movie I watched recently that was done in 2004. It's called Straight-Jacket and, while it is primarily a comedy, it does address some of the issues with homophobia. It also showed how oppressive the McCarthy era was. There was a 30 minute blurb talking about the making of the movie and how hard it was to get made because it was hard to find actors who were willing to play the gay characters. They ended up with hiring a straight guy for the lead. Now the same actor plays Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash on The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.

Booky, my dog is doing better-- the medicine is working to keep the tumors small. She's been playing with the other dogs and has a lot more energy. She looks forward to the treats that I hide her medicine in. The cat, unfortunately, is having problems. He got a stuffy nose and lost his appetite. I practically had to force food into him yesterday. He barely ate anything and mostly drank, but then he threw up almost everything he drank. He was refusing to even drink after that. But, I got him some Pedialyte and baby food and mixed them together and he lapped it up. I just hope he won't throw it up. He won't use the litterbox so I have puppy pads on the recliner for him. His urine is getting darker because he's drinking less. I've got some lysine stuff for cats coming in the mail that I'll give him to hopefully clear up the stuffy nose and drippy eyes (it is caused by a form of feline Herpes that affects respiration and eyes). He climbed on me and purred for a little bit today, but it's clear he's not feeling well at all.

[Bookish Jen]

What a horrible story, Secnarf, really chilling.

And thanks for the update on your furbaby, Zannej.

Edited October 10, 2016 by Bookish Jen

[zannej]

Kitty is still refusing to eat but is drinking water. I'm going to have to force-feed him it seems. :-(

I discovered new lumps on the inside of my dog's leg. I couldn't see them at first, but I could definitely feel them. But they aren't swelling up the way the other tumor had.

Meanwhile, my cat Predicate decided to try to cheer me up by presenting me with a bird he caught. He stayed in my room last night and this morning he left briefly and then came back with a bird. Jumped on my bed, climbed on me, and dropped her on me (female cardinal). She was still alive. I patted him and thanked him and then wrapped her in a cardigan to take her outside. I set her on something up high and she flew away. I hope she'll be ok.

Update: one of my other dogs (I have 5) who has hypothyroid condition managed to get into the kitchen and when I was shooing her out, she collapsed. She stopped walking, started shaking, and then slowly sunk to the floor and flopped her nose onto the floor. I tried to administer her medicine and she flopped on her side, kicked her back leg, peed all over and then just lay there like she was dying. Freaked me out. She was unresponsive and I really thought we were about to lose her. I asked my brother to grab some Pedialyte and a syringe. The moment it hit her tongue she lifted her head. She still wouldn't take food and I had to force-feed her some Pedialyte for several minutes. I jammed her medicine down her throat and probably 10 minutes later she was wagging her tail and willing to eat again. She got up and walked back in to the front room to go lay on the dog bed. Freaked me out for a few minutes and I'm going to have to check on her throughout the night.

Here is a 30min show about the making of Straight-Jacket. It also has Veronica Cartwright (who I really like).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekCTjBtLhWk

Interesting that they used to film everything in one shot and just moved the camera-- and that it took 12 hours to get a 9 minute scene filmed. I wonder if anything has changed much since then in terms of finding actors who are willing to do those roles. I know they said that back then, the gay actors didn't want to come out and the straight ones didn't want to be typecast as gay.

Edited October 11, 2016 by zannej

[Bookish Jen]

I made these cinnamon sugar cookies yesterday and they are amazing! I'm definitely adding them to my cooking making repertoire:

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Directions

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream butter with 1/4 cup white sugar and brown sugar. Mix in egg and vanilla. Add the sifted dry ingredients, and mix until well blended. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Roll into logs 2 inches in diameter, wrap, and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours. These logs can be frozen for up to 6 weeks.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon on a flat plate or a piece of wax paper. Unwrap dough logs, and roll in the cinnamon mixture. Cut into 1/4 inch slices, and place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks. Baked cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Note: You don't have to roll the dough into logs if you don't want. I just rolled the individual cookies into balls, rolled them in the cinnamon/sugar mix and then when placed on the cookie sheet, lightly pressed each cookie down with my thumb.

[senin]

The smell of the cinnamon has "hopped the pond" and got to my house!!!

[Bookish Jen]

Just now, senin said:

The smell of the cinnamon has "hopped the pond" and got to my house!!!

And isn't it heavenly?

[senin]

It is , indeed!!

[secnarf]

I am totally going to try these!!!
Like most baked goods I make, I will add in a decent amount of amaretto :)

[Bookish Jen]

Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole are in a Broadway musical (got its start in Chicago) about Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden. In the words of Liz Lemon, "I want to go to there!" 

http://jezebel.com/elizabeth-arden-and-helena-rubinstein-face-off-in-a-sta-1787768597

La LuPone? La Ebersole? I am totally enchanted! And those costumes. Swoon. Thud.

Edited October 14, 2016 by Bookish Jen

[secnarf]

On 2016-10-10 at 0:14 AM, zannej said:

It's unfortunate to see that sometimes they take steps backwards when it comes to fair treatment of people. I hope that couple gets justice. Sounds like the sort of thing that would happen around here. For some reason, it made me think of a movie I watched recently that was done in 2004. It's called Straight-Jacket and, while it is primarily a comedy, it does address some of the issues with homophobia. It also showed how oppressive the McCarthy era was. There was a 30 minute blurb talking about the making of the movie and how hard it was to get made because it was hard to find actors who were willing to play the gay characters. They ended up with hiring a straight guy for the lead. Now the same actor plays Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash on The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow.

Booky, my dog is doing better-- the medicine is working to keep the tumors small. She's been playing with the other dogs and has a lot more energy. She looks forward to the treats that I hide her medicine in. The cat, unfortunately, is having problems. He got a stuffy nose and lost his appetite. I practically had to force food into him yesterday. He barely ate anything and mostly drank, but then he threw up almost everything he drank. He was refusing to even drink after that. But, I got him some Pedialyte and baby food and mixed them together and he lapped it up. I just hope he won't throw it up. He won't use the litterbox so I have puppy pads on the recliner for him. His urine is getting darker because he's drinking less. I've got some lysine stuff for cats coming in the mail that I'll give him to hopefully clear up the stuffy nose and drippy eyes (it is caused by a form of feline Herpes that affects respiration and eyes). He climbed on me and purred for a little bit today, but it's clear he's not feeling well at all.

That movie is now on my to-watch list! Thanks :)

Sad but not surprising that they had such a hard time finding actors to play gay characters.

I hope your pets are better! I use lysine for my cat as well for feline herpes. I hope it works for your cat!