Yearly Archives: 2000

Last of the Weird Food

A final installment to my apparent series of weird food sites: Ray's List of Weird and Disgusting Foods. Warning: This list, as opposed to the earlier two, is a list of pretty gross foods, rather than the still-edible-but-from-another-era. It is a paean with recipes to buttress Ray's theory that every culture on Earth has one food item or delicacy that is invented solely to mark who's a part of the culture and who's not (a theory I heartily agree with, by the way). And it's refreshing to see that the U.S. has not been left off the list—our contributions include Spam and American Cheese, among others. [via Geegaw]

A Touch of Melancholy

Ah, what a wonderful holiday it's been! The weather's been reasonably good, the early Christmas was a hoot, and I've spent almost 4 days away from the computer. I say almost because I just can't seem to resist checking e-mail, and then there was the 3 hours I spent at the local coffee establishment, typing away on the laptop with a trusty latte by my side. And I did set up my Mom's new Mac tonight. But other than that, completely computer-free since Saturday! My wrists are genuinely thrilled.

And so am I. It was a wonderful Christmas, with all the family in attendance, good food, and lots of laughter and joy. It was a bit odd to wake up on Christmas Day and have it already be over, however—interesting for it to be a kind of ordinary day, but a bit melancholy ultimately, with the house so quiet and everything cleaned up. I kept wishing everyone could come back, even if it was just to sit around and talk; those moments seem few and far between sometimes. Still, I have had a very relaxing time of it, got my room a bit cleaner, and am feeling ready to go back to work tomorrow. Which is good, since it promises to be a very hectic day. A good night to go to bed early, so from me, a fond adieu for now.

Finding Meaning

From Walt Whitman [via following Eden], a manifesto of sorts. I am always searching for the meaning, and I find it in little bursts most of the time—an unexpected phone call, a bird outside the window, a meal with friends. My good memories in this life are made up mostly of small pleasures like these, and I treasure each one like a jewel, holding it up to the light to see each facet.

Thanks to Amber for reminding me.

Librarians Fight Back

Librarians are getting tough! As an antidote to the librarian horror stories I offered a while back, I present now for your reading pleasure the Librarian Avengers. Pick the Flash option if you have the plugin. Be sure to click on the "Look it up" girl for important info on why you should worship your local information professional. Also includes Stupid Research Tricks and a Rant Wall, among other features.