The other nights I went out for drinks with the Catalan dude and some other people in a different neighborhood - he has a heavy accent, and was telling me about his one French girlfriend was crazy and a "nee-fo-mah-NEE-yahk" - and then I was starting to fade, so I took public transport home.
At one interchange, they were down to one track on the subway, and they were cleaning the tracks with some machinery, and I watched them.
And, one stop before mine, this younger (black) guy flies through the car and goes pounds on the door to the conductor, and the conductor stops the train and makes a call and goes back... It turns out that there was a guy and his girlfriend on the train having an argument, and she left to go get off, and he tried to stop her by yelling, and when that didn't happen, he started "beating on her", and by that time the doors were closed and the train was going on to the next stop.
As soon as the conductor got back there, the guy ran off, and the girl (who looked drunk) was staggering away crying.
"I can't believe that shit," this one younger (black) guy was saying to another younger (black) guy. "So many good guys don't have women, and that asshole treats her like that."
"Yeah," the other younger (black) guy was like. "But he'll get what's coming to him, if he's an asshole like that."
After I got off the train, at the bus-stop, I was talking to the other guy at the stop - this older (black) guy who was an after-hours cleaner at a bank near my apartment. We talked about public transportation, and Haiti.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
I'm really worked up: Helath care and corporate free speech.
I'm really worked up by this Massachusetts senator thing and what it might mean for the fate of health care. I really want to email Nancy Pelosi and my congressman from home not to drop the ball on health care. If health care dies for a generation, insurance companies will keep profitting off of people dying, and people without insurance will continue to be needlessly sick and die when it was preventable.
I don't usually get this worked up about legislation, but now I really am... Perhaps because I'm older, and so many people I know personally back in Michigan have done so much that's right all their lives and are getting fucked over by job layoffs?
I'm also really upset over this recent Supreme Court decision about company spending for elections. I can't believe that conversative justices portray themselves as not being judicial activists, when they're schills (sp.?0 for big corporations), just like the GOP presidents who nominated them all.
It's hard to belive that we're beyond Bush's presidency but still feeling its effects so much. I hope that a few decades from now this too will turn out to be a minor blip, though I don't know how...
A common link between the issues is a class thing pitting corporations against everyday people, but that's not all the reason I'm so upset, I think.
I don't usually get this worked up about legislation, but now I really am... Perhaps because I'm older, and so many people I know personally back in Michigan have done so much that's right all their lives and are getting fucked over by job layoffs?
I'm also really upset over this recent Supreme Court decision about company spending for elections. I can't believe that conversative justices portray themselves as not being judicial activists, when they're schills (sp.?0 for big corporations), just like the GOP presidents who nominated them all.
It's hard to belive that we're beyond Bush's presidency but still feeling its effects so much. I hope that a few decades from now this too will turn out to be a minor blip, though I don't know how...
A common link between the issues is a class thing pitting corporations against everyday people, but that's not all the reason I'm so upset, I think.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Soup: Results.
So, I modified that leek soup recipe. I used all but the very tips of the leeks, and sauteed them in some olive oil, and then I used a big cheap bag of russet potatoes (and a few redskin potatos I had left over) and diced them smaller after peeling, so they would dissolve a lot and thicken the broth after boiling a long time. That worked very well, only the soup is kind of a weird pale brown, when I expected it to be more potato-colored.
I guess we'll see what it tastes like after sitting out on the window sill for a few days... Soups always improve like that.
I wonder if I should have bought better potatoes, but I bought the "8lbs for $1.99" bag to save money.
I guess we'll see what it tastes like after sitting out on the window sill for a few days... Soups always improve like that.
I wonder if I should have bought better potatoes, but I bought the "8lbs for $1.99" bag to save money.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Schismatic nuns, and Haiti.
This weekend when I was at the grocery store, the schismatic nun selling pastries drew my attention to a donation mug on the counter specifically for Haiti. Her order has a mission in the mountains of Haiti and was unaffected by the earthquake, but they're mobilizing relief from there as much as they can, and their order is flying down a priest and a nun who are trained medics.
The nuns are usually very quiet, but she couldn't stop talking about the disaster and the death, and how some Haitian nuns were so worried about their family there but just found out that they were okay.
The nun also pointed out that they're taking supplies down, and they were accepting donations of canned goods. I told her that they should post this by the store entrance, and she drew my attention to some printed signs by the checkout that said you could donate (though unfortunately the signs weren't eye-catching, so I don't think many people noticed them).
The nuns are usually very quiet, but she couldn't stop talking about the disaster and the death, and how some Haitian nuns were so worried about their family there but just found out that they were okay.
The nun also pointed out that they're taking supplies down, and they were accepting donations of canned goods. I told her that they should post this by the store entrance, and she drew my attention to some printed signs by the checkout that said you could donate (though unfortunately the signs weren't eye-catching, so I don't think many people noticed them).
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
European unpleasntness.
The other day I was talking with an Italian engineer around my age who was incredibly affable and pleasant, and then the conversation turned to Muslims, and he started telling me how their civilization is opposed to democracy and they'll never be able to integrate.
When I brought up the experience of a Muslim friend from Britain, he said that his visit to London showed him how British integration works, with different peoples living in different neighborhoods.
When I brought up the experience of American Muslims who I know, he said that the Muslims who immigrate to the U.S. are much more educated than elsewhere, even more educated than the average American, so that's not comparable.
When I suggested that education is the key to integration, he said that I shouldn't talk, being from the U.S., and that Muslims just don't want to learn.
Then, when I suggested affirmative action for those Muslims who do make it through certain levels of education, he told me that at all the international professional engineering conferences he's ever attended, he never met an American black engineer until moving to the U.S., it was only whites or Asians, so that there was something wrong with that process, or that culture, or something.
It was very nasty, and was very much in contrast to his general affability during the rest of the conversation.
On the other hand, an (American) friend of mine recently returned from her first trip to London - she went for the christening of her god-daughter; her one friend married a British woman and is living and working in London now - and she said she felt that in London there were many more interracial couples than you'd see in New York...
I'll have to check with my British friend about his impression of that.
When I brought up the experience of a Muslim friend from Britain, he said that his visit to London showed him how British integration works, with different peoples living in different neighborhoods.
When I brought up the experience of American Muslims who I know, he said that the Muslims who immigrate to the U.S. are much more educated than elsewhere, even more educated than the average American, so that's not comparable.
When I suggested that education is the key to integration, he said that I shouldn't talk, being from the U.S., and that Muslims just don't want to learn.
Then, when I suggested affirmative action for those Muslims who do make it through certain levels of education, he told me that at all the international professional engineering conferences he's ever attended, he never met an American black engineer until moving to the U.S., it was only whites or Asians, so that there was something wrong with that process, or that culture, or something.
It was very nasty, and was very much in contrast to his general affability during the rest of the conversation.
On the other hand, an (American) friend of mine recently returned from her first trip to London - she went for the christening of her god-daughter; her one friend married a British woman and is living and working in London now - and she said she felt that in London there were many more interracial couples than you'd see in New York...
I'll have to check with my British friend about his impression of that.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Soup II.
The other day my one friend from Michigan made a big pot of vegetarian chili, so she called me up, and I brought her a tupperware bowl full of potato soup to swap with her... Her chili was great, and that made me happy.
A few weeks ago, my one British friend traded me some vegetable curry (really, really good! - I wonder if some authentic Indians from Britian taught him that) for some sour red cabbage soup I had made (which he and his sister both really enjoyed).
I really like this food-trade thing! It's so much easier to make a big batch of one thing and trade with someone else to get variety than to make two different dishes in smaller batches.
Though, I think I buy very cheap ingredients, so I feel slightly guilty about trading my (cheap) food for their (expensive) food.
A few weeks ago, my one British friend traded me some vegetable curry (really, really good! - I wonder if some authentic Indians from Britian taught him that) for some sour red cabbage soup I had made (which he and his sister both really enjoyed).
I really like this food-trade thing! It's so much easier to make a big batch of one thing and trade with someone else to get variety than to make two different dishes in smaller batches.
Though, I think I buy very cheap ingredients, so I feel slightly guilty about trading my (cheap) food for their (expensive) food.
Soup I.
I am trying out a modified version of this potato-leek soup a friend sent me (modified since I don't have a blender, and buying a hand-blender doesn't really make sense for me since I've never needed one for like 6-7 years, so why buy one for just this recipe?):
Soupe Poireaux Pommes de Terre
- 1 kg (2.2 pounds) leeks, preferably organic, the thinner the better
- 450 g (1 pound) potatoes (Monalisa, Bintje, Yukon gold), smooth and firm, about 4 medium
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Crème fraîche, for serving (optional)
Serves 4.
Trim the leeks, keeping about 6 cm (2 1/2 inches) of the green part. If your leeks are on the thick side, remove and discard the often fibrous outer layer. Carve a deep slit all along the length of the leeks, driving your knife almost to the other side, but not quite, to expose all the layers. Run each leek in turn under a stream of cold water, green part down, to wash away the sand and grit. Squeeze off the excess water.
Separate the white from the green parts. Discard the toughest green leaves, and set aside the most tender. Slice the leek whites thinly. Peel and dice the potatoes. Put the sliced leeks and diced potatoes in a saucepan and add 1 liter (4 cups) cold water. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat.
Season with salt, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Purée the soup using a blender, stick blender (my choice), or food mill. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and return over low heat.
Cut the reserved leek greens in superfine strips with a sharp chef's knife. When the soup returns to a simmer, add the leek strips, stir, and remove from the heat. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot, with a spoonful of crème fraîche and a few resolute turns of the pepper mill.
I hope it turns out well. I'm going to dice the potatos fine and cut the leeks thin. I will also spit in the soup, to express my contempt for the French people, from whom the recipe and so much of the world's misery came.
Soupe Poireaux Pommes de Terre
- 1 kg (2.2 pounds) leeks, preferably organic, the thinner the better
- 450 g (1 pound) potatoes (Monalisa, Bintje, Yukon gold), smooth and firm, about 4 medium
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Crème fraîche, for serving (optional)
Serves 4.
Trim the leeks, keeping about 6 cm (2 1/2 inches) of the green part. If your leeks are on the thick side, remove and discard the often fibrous outer layer. Carve a deep slit all along the length of the leeks, driving your knife almost to the other side, but not quite, to expose all the layers. Run each leek in turn under a stream of cold water, green part down, to wash away the sand and grit. Squeeze off the excess water.
Separate the white from the green parts. Discard the toughest green leaves, and set aside the most tender. Slice the leek whites thinly. Peel and dice the potatoes. Put the sliced leeks and diced potatoes in a saucepan and add 1 liter (4 cups) cold water. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat.
Season with salt, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Purée the soup using a blender, stick blender (my choice), or food mill. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and return over low heat.
Cut the reserved leek greens in superfine strips with a sharp chef's knife. When the soup returns to a simmer, add the leek strips, stir, and remove from the heat. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot, with a spoonful of crème fraîche and a few resolute turns of the pepper mill.
I hope it turns out well. I'm going to dice the potatos fine and cut the leeks thin. I will also spit in the soup, to express my contempt for the French people, from whom the recipe and so much of the world's misery came.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Lost my magazine.
The other evening I really wanted to do some puzzles from my most recent issue of GAMES magazine, but I discovered I didn't have it.
It took me a while to figure out where it went, but I think I left it in a scanner at school after scanning a puzzle to send out to my prof and my fellow TAs for the class I'm TAing.
But, it made me sad, because I haven't felt like doing a puzzle like that in ages, and after I couldn't find the magazine, I went back to reading an Objectivist bio of someone who was molested in really fucked-up ways by her therapist, and I just didn't find that as fulfilling.
It took me a while to figure out where it went, but I think I left it in a scanner at school after scanning a puzzle to send out to my prof and my fellow TAs for the class I'm TAing.
But, it made me sad, because I haven't felt like doing a puzzle like that in ages, and after I couldn't find the magazine, I went back to reading an Objectivist bio of someone who was molested in really fucked-up ways by her therapist, and I just didn't find that as fulfilling.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
