ruthi

Bunnies, via apiphile:
The 25 Best Pictures From The 2011 European Rabbit Hopping Championships

A recipe for a variant on Cauliflower cheese

I had broccoli in the veg box this past two weeks, and low energy, so I did that. Except I put the broccoli florets in boiling water for five minutes first, then drained it, put in an oven-proof dish, then added butter and cheese and breadcrumbs and cheese. Then about 15 minutes in the oven at about 225 degrees C . I think without blanching the broccoli it might take longer, but I do not know.
Anyway: not making a cheese-sauce and having one less pan to wash, good things.


I play games on my android phone.
I found a game that is both a tower-defense game *and* contains dragons, which are two things I enjoy in games. Also, it is free, I mean ad-based. So I do not mind that once in a while it freezes and crashes itself. It's called 'Lair Defense'.

Depression huffs kittens.

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Currently reading three books:

The Other Daughter

Walking the Fence

Mothstorm

(or more. I can put one down and pick up another. Easily distracte-
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Tomorrow: must mail package that was sent via here for convenience, onward to sister.

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Have two different gins, must get moar fevertree Tonic Water and volounteers for comapare and contrast.

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Have failed in plan to see go see Hugo in cinema. Will attempt again.

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Contestants Wanted for Only Connect, a UK television quiz.

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Puns:

http://www.lukesurl.com/archives/2940


http://www.lukesurl.com/archives/3203

http://string-revolution.com/blog/2011/12/02/all-the-things-colonial-eggacy/

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A few weeks ago - or late last year, depending on how you look at it - friends were visiting London, and I wandered around with them.

One of them is a fan of the m&m's sugar-coated sweets. So they saw the 'm&m's World' on Leicester Square and wanted to go.

It's a big, colourful place. It *looks* exciting. But it's a *shop*. Full of ... m&m's merchandising. There are m&m branded t-shirts and plates and pillows and key-chains and so on, various tat. There are plastic, er, m&m figures in plastic re-creations of London tourist attractions. Also there were pre-packaged m&ms, in plastic boxes of various shapes. It was just before Christmas, so a lot of tree-shapes and red+green colours.

What they did *not* have on sale, though, was what I expected, and what my friend was excited for: the full range of m&m sweets. They had milk chocolate and peanut. And that was all. My friend was looking forward to the ones with rice crispies in them. Or pretzels. Or hey, the american website has almond ones coconut ones and three-chocolate ones and mint ones. Interesting varieties!

The m&m's world has loud music, bright primary (and secondary) colours. And ... even finding the peanut m&m's was not obvious. It's huge. They have a lot of space. It is just full of ...tat. Branded merchandising.

The thing is, I thought it looked bad when I saw it, but I expected maybe some child-enticing rides, or playground-style things. There weren't any.

My friend, who wanted to go was disappointed. Surely, we thought if they have four floors of shop... Surely they'd have the full range of actual m&m's?

Bright lights, Loud music, and far less of the thing they claim to be about than one would expect.

So that is why I tweeted this:

"m&m's world on Leicester Square. It's a shop. Also a sign of the imminent death of humanity. Just because wandering inside = urge to kill."

And retweeted this:
"@echtburge
There are three things I would like to see wiped from the face of London: bigots, poverty and that f*cking M&Ms World in Leicester Square."

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Merry Christmas to those who are celebrating.

We are going to have goose tonight. It was ready earlier and put in a warming cabinet, wrapped up in foil and a blanket, to keep warm. Unfortunately, a plastic cutting board snuck in to the warming cabinet under the goose. It melted and let out smoke.
We turned off the warming cabinet and got the goose out. And the plastic board.

I hope the goose is still good.


I got loot!
( loot )

It is a very warm Christmas, but it's windy. Global warming and more energy in the atmosphere, whee.

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On Thursday I met friend Del in a pub - I handed over an old phone I have to spare, now that I'm using a new Android phone

It was good at the pub, we talked and told each other about things we'd both seen on tumblr.

Like the < a href="http://geyserofawesome.com/post/14283998736/a-very-lovecraft-christmas-faced-with-the">Cthulhu Christmas Tree</a>. And other things.


On Friday I went and saw Sherlock with abigailb at the Hackney Picture House.

( spoilers )



Yesterday I shopped and shops were unbusy and oddly calm. 20th december. Odd.

Also I signed for a direct debit for
http://www.careinternational.org.uk/ for a charity fundraiser outside the maul.

Then I went home and googled them and was afraid I'd agreed to donate to http://www.care.org.uk , which I'd have had to cancel, because very not my thing.

But care international looks more like the kind of thing I would like to support.

I found a ten-pound note and I looked around for someone looking for it, and nobody was, so I picked it up and took it.

At the supermarket there was a self-checkout machine, so I had energy for interacting with some humans at other shops. Hello, shop humans! Thank you for being kind and friendly.

Today is the beloved's birthday. So far: success.

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"Of course I had my heart broken as a teen. I was desperately in love with myself. Then I found out that I was completely shallow. I haven’t spoken to myself since."

—M.T. ANDERSON, AUTHOR OF THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING

"The boy I loved didn’t know I existed. Then again, he was obsessed with Camus, so he didn’t know if any of us existed."

—DAVID LEVITHAN, COAUTHOR OF NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST AND WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON

"When my heart was broken and I was fifteen, I listened to Lou Reed's Berlin over and over and walked around a lot in the rain while my friends followed me looking worried and imploring me not to do anything stupid. Well, stupider than walking around in the rain, anyway."

—NEIL GAIMAN, AUTHOR OF THE GRAVEYARD BOOK


Those three are from from: http://whywebrokeupproject.tumblr.com/celebrity-break-up-stories


http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2011/12/14/if-you-cant-notice-a-gorilla-how-the-heck-can-you-testify-as-a-witness/ On Perception and attention and why eye-witnesses often fail to see things.


Uncle Iroh for your tea

Advent Calendar of Science!
rjw76 explains genetics, starting on Science Advent Calendar Day One. You can continue by following with the tag: http://rjw76.livejournal.com/tag/advent_science_2011


Cthulu Tentacles

http://madartlab.com/2011/12/14/fantasy-armor-and-lady-bits/ A look at armour for women and on women.

The True Cost of Handmade A post about hand-made craft items, and how much they cost.

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Friend apiphile asked on tumblr

apiphile:

GUYS CAN YOU REBLOG AND NAME FOR ME:

1. YOUR FAVOURITE TV SHOW PRODUCED IN YOUR HOME COUNTRY AND


2. YOUR FAVOURITE TV SHOW PRODUCED OVERSEAS (WITH THE NAME OF THE COUNTRY WHERE IT IS MADE IF YOU KNOW THAT)

All I have is questions.
(the first question is ... what, tumblr, why can I not make formatting work? Fuckit, back to the old LJ/DW/IJ)

Like Home: Is it where I grew up, or where home is now? Two different countries.
A current television show? An old one I am nostalgic for? A series? A film I saw on television?


Have some bunches of things:

Bunch one: The country that used to be home:

רגע עם דודלי (Rega with Dodly)
Children's television, Including a talking wind-up robot barrel. And a puppet-boy come-to-life and a wise uncle.

קשקשתא (Kishkashta)
The first puppet I loved, a cactus character. Well before I knew of the Muppets.

קרובים קרובים (Krovim Krovim) (Close Relatives)
An ancient - I mean the early eighties - and genius sitcom of its time.

העולם הערב (Ha-Olam Ha-Erev) (The World Tonight)
Satire show, flourished during the 1991 Iraq war

מבצע סבתא
Short film, so very Israeli and funny.

בעל בעל לב
Short film, very sweet

החמישייה הקאמרית
Sketch show, acute observations, satire, and also some sheer weird nonsense :D And excellent writing.



Bunch two: The country that is home now:

The Clangers
The Moon! Soup Dragon! Swanee whistle talk! Also, my childhood.

Drop The Dead Donkey
(Not going out after dark in winter meant watching a lot of television in January 1991.)

Queer As Folk UK
Beautiful, funny-with-sad bits, properly bitchy bits, deeply familiar portrayal of clubbing culture, and a Happy Ending. :))) Also, a gay man who loves Doctor Who and soap opera.

The Lakes
I don't remember much about it, except I liked it, and so I call it good.

Doctor Who

Misfits

Black Books

What Darwin Didn't Know



Bunch Three: Neither of these, USA

The Muppet Show

My So-Called Life

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Community (Possibly currently-showing favourite)

The West Wing

The Power-Puff Girls

Samurai Jack

Avatar, The Last Air Bender

I have loved The Simpsons in the past, but the love has waned.

Not A Bunch,

Princess Tutu, from Japan. Crack and Fairy-tales and meta.


... Will that do?

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Tuesday , 6th December -
( food and restaurants )

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So I don't do anything *but* consume.

On Monday I went out and met friends to watch the film 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' at the Curzon Soho. It's an art cinema with a cafe. And they had quotes from the film written on the walls here and there.
And a ( spoiler )

I liked the film in the way that I like some depressing films, in the aesthetic sense and in the enoying thinking thoughts about the people and the story.
( We need to talk about kevin, more spoilers )

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In which SRO tickets and I are ~organised~
I got an email about this on Thursday and applied and now I have tickets.

I have four free tickets to
‘Brendon Burns - Y’Know, Love ‘n’ God ‘n’ Metaphysics ‘n’ Stuff’ for the DVD recording.
One is for me, so the other three are for *you*.

It's this Saturday, that is, tomorrow. In Central London.

Would you like to come with me?


VENUE: The Bloomsbury Theatre, 15 Gordon Street, London WC1H 0AH

TIME: The doors to the venue open to allow people to take their seats and permit access to the bar at 7.30pm. We shall be at the venue to meet you from 6.45pm. No admittance after 7.45pm. We estimate the recording to be finished by 8.45pm.

I would like to meet there a little earlier - because they tend to over-issue tickets. Maybe at sixish?

I am not at all worried about having no friends and no power of being organised.

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Today I have got out of bed.
Got dressed.
I have put on a load of washing (laundry).
I have made myself a cup of tea and a glass of juice (from concentrate).

Also! Early in the morning, I opened the door and took in the delivery of food. We have a romesco cauliflower, aka romanesco cauliflower, aka romanesco broccoli!
There are other food things, like cheese and milk and eggs, and meat, and pears, and ~*mince pies*~
I put the things which require refrigeration in the fridge.

I tidied away the dry dishes from the dish-drainer.

...
This list makes me feel better about myself today.

I'll probably have the energy to wash the dishes in the sink and prepare food, later.

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I have a minor cold. I think my cold will be fine with liquids and rest. So I am forgetting to go to bed at night and sitting thirstily longing for a tea-robot :)

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Happy Nanowrimo!

http://altru.istic.net/nanowrimo/ Aquarion's horrible NAnowrimo widget, which has an ~official~ hashtag: #BastardWidget

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Today I have been fantasy online shopping. There are gins I would like more of, like Zephyr Blu Gin, and Saffron Gin Boudier, and gin I would like to try, like Edgerton - Original Pink Dry Gin, and also some water-coloured gins I would like to try. I filled a virtual basket at one of the online drinks shops, looked at the total, and did not buy anything.

Also there are two different rhubarb liqueurs. I should like to try some rhubarb liqueuer, at some point.

It began by looking up Thunder Toffee Vodka, which apiphile recommended on Sunday as "looking like whisky, tasting of sweeties. Nobody can tell you're not a grownup."

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Also, I have been listening to music:
Palestrina, via el_staplador
www.ancientfm.com -medieaval and rennaisance music -via supermouse
SMILE by the Beach Boys streaming , via sorrowlessfield

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Also, someone on twitter mentioned 'Gay horses in love', and a bbc link. And it is a real thing! http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016vdwc

Warhorses of Letters

Comedy by Marie Phillips and Robert Hudson. Napoleon and Wellington's horses exchange love letters against the backdrop of the Napoleonic wars. Starring Stephen Fry and Daniel Rigby

In conclusion: people make amazing things.

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Celebrated Del's birthday on Sunday.

Pub lunch, with witty and funny and perverted and only-very-slightly disturbing Del and friends.

out of context quotes:
"She climbed the Everest ...with her FACE"
"have them washed and brought to my tent" (Much more disturbing in context)
"Worst striptease ever"
"It's not a question of consent, it's a question of volume" (you don't want to knowI don't want to tell you)
"Butlins for Perverts"


Also, "I'm a candy apple".

After that, off to Canal Cafe Theatre, for to meet Rose. Also there was Test Tube Theatre, with Dec Munro,

Celia Pacquola, who I'd seen perform before, but didn't recognise her name or her face, just slowly realised as a couple of jokes struck me as familiar - hey! I have heard them before! - She is funny.

And the entire audience singing 'Happy Birthday ©' to Del because no birthday is complete without a little ritual humiliation, wait, I mean singing 'Happy Birthday' is an old tradition.

And there was Ben Target and he was funny and weird. Also I think he was being a cartoon-character with the inside of his clothes functioning as hammer-space.

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LJ security breach reported: http://eruthros.dreamwidth.org/329681.html

multiple people have reported that when they try to edit their own entries/profile/inbox, they are taken to another random user's edit entries/profile/inbox page, and can see all of that user's flocked and private entries. Basically, the system seems to think that they're logged in as another user.

Via tumblr:
Thirteen Observations made by Lemony Snicket while watching Occupy Wall Street from a Discreet Distance
1. If you work hard, and become successful, it does not necessarily mean you are successful because you worked hard, just as if you are tall with long hair it doesn’t mean you would be a midget if you were bald.
...
4. People who say money doesn’t matter are like people who say cake doesn’t matter—it’s probably because they’ve already had a few slices.
...
7. Someone feeling wronged is like someone feeling thirsty. Don’t tell them they aren’t. Sit with them and have a drink.

and so on.

via Aquarion:
The Cookie Monster Explains Occupy Wall Street

Yes, there always going to be rich and poor. But we used to live in country where rich owned factory and make 30 times what factory worker make. Now we live in country where rich make money by lying about value of derivative bonds and make 3000 times what factory worker would make if factories hadn't all moved to China.( Read more... )
That what the soul-searching about. When Liberals run country for 30 years following New Deal, American economy double in size, and wages double along with it. That fair. When Conservatives run country for 30 years following Reagan, American economy double again, and wages stay flat. What happen to our share of money? All of it go to richest 1%. That not "there always going to be rich people". That unfair system. That why we upset. That what Occupy Sesame Street about.

text via: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/10/guy_called_cookie_monster_offe.php

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Back in London. Home, sweet home, and such. ( Read more... )

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In Israel, at parent's house.

Presents given: a bottle of perfume, chocolate, elderflower liquer.

Presents yet to give: tea, bunny toys for the niblings, chocolate oranges for friends.

The journey:
Flew from LHR to MAD, to TLV. airports. The flight from London was delayed and we knew because the sign kept saying 'gate will open at 18:05' even 15 minutes after that.
Late flights on the way to a connection are always
relaxing.

But! Iberia and tha Madrid airport were organised - they told people who had a connection to catch to stay on the airplane, and organised a bus from the airplane landing at Terminal 4 to the next flights, at Terminal 4S. It meant we didn't have to run around worrying about catching the flight! We made it to the departure gate in plenty of time. I was pleased and impressed.

Also: a kind lady who had recently been in Madrid airport and heard the beloved mention we were going to Israel showed us where our gate was - that took out the panicked feeling of 'I don't know where I am and where I am supposed to be and I am short on time!' out of the process.

There was a meal on the flight from Madrid to Israel. There was no meat in the meal, and there was a little note with a pink line-drawing of a pig with a red line through it, and text in red in several languages: 'This meal does not contain pork'. http://www.flickr.com/photos/9959187@N07/6230088905/

At landing we hit shift-change at passport control -- always a pleasure, getting to the front of the queue only to have to wait as old shift leaves, the new shift comes in, and gets settled in and is able to get working.

The luggage carousel sign neglected to tell of our flight. I went and asked at information, and they told me a number: 5. I looked at my phone, thought: aha! It's nearly five, that's when the luggage will come out. But no, they had meant luggage carousel 5, and actually my phone was still on British time and the local time was after 6.

כששאלתי במודיעין על המזוודות, פרחה מזכרוני המלה 'מטען' , אז אמרתי 'כבוּדה'

But they knew what I meant. It was odd, that I remembered the higher-register word, and not the more everyday one.

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A Youtube link to the song 'Curious Guy' by The Legendary Pink Dots

Curious Guy

Smash me into little pieces, put me in a cup,
add sugar, stir me, warm me up, and drink me.
I want to get inside you.I want to light your heart.
I want to lick your secret valleys, slide through alleys,
(dance from stone to stone?).
I want to hear you moan in ecstasy.You're shy, you shouldn't be.
I just want to get to know you better, to know you better, know you better.
I'm a curious guy.(x3)I spy.
There's blood in my eyes.
I'm a furious guy.(x2)I die.
(I'm great in cans; I'm great on toast........)

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Watched Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in the cinema today.
It started slow, v. atmospheric. Now want to read some reviews to figure out what I think.
Mostly now I can think about the palette. Very controlled, browns and oranges and a wash of beige-ness, seventies and despair.

The cinema was the Holloway Odeon, pretty building.

Pub after. Shared the answer with the woman whose yarn got mysteriously tangled, and she agreed: 'spite' is often the reason. It took hours to untangle that yarn.

Free Beer today: Sitting with friend landlord, somebody returned three bottles of Duchesse de Bourgogne beer - it is a lovely sweet-sour beer, and they were not expecting that kind of flavour at all, and thought it had turned. landlord accepted the return, (in favour of happy customers)
So I helped drink it :)

Steve also said I should drink rum, so when it was his round I asked him to choose me some. So I drank 8-year-old Angostura rum. It smelled sweet, but it wasn't so much sweet in the mouth, and it was very warm on the throat. I described it as 'friendly' and Steve agreed.

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Today I have booked flights to and from Israel, to visit family and friends.

Will be in Israel 9th October to 14th October.

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Cooking programs lie.
They lie by starting with a clean kitchen. Every time I go to the kitchen, or almost every time, there are dishes to be cleaned, there's a used dish in the sink.

They lie by having the mis-en-place ready. The recipe says '50 grammes of butter' and there it is, somebody has measured out 50 grammes into a little plate, ready to be used. The recipe says 'one onion, chopped fine' and there it is, finely-chopped onion, ready to use. The vegetables have been washed, the liquids have been poured out, the nutmeg is not hiding behind the stock cubes and needs to be carefully extracted without knocking the stock-cubes to the floor.

All the pans are clean and ready.

And then, then it really is quick and pretty easy.

When I go into the kitchen, it's not like that. So cooking isn't that quick and easy, and I tend to fall back on things I am very used to cooking, and things that cook in one pot, because that requires less effort of thought, and will leave less washing up.

I have just made a spinach quiche, with nutmeg.

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