Heavy

Here are a few Ayn Rand quotes to ponder on your Tuesday: “The uncontested absurdities of today are the accepted slogans of tomorrow. They come to be accepted by degrees, by dint of constant pressure on one side and constant retreat on the other–until one day when they are suddenly declared to be the country’s official ideology.” (Keep in mind she died in 1982.)

And this one came up watching V for Vendetta Sunday night with my roommate:
“The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.”

And there’s always this:
“When you have established that one alternative is good and the other is evil, there is no justification for the choice of a mixture. There is no justification ever for choosing any part of what you know to be evil.”

And there’s this, because sometimes you just need to see a picture of a fawn smaller than a horse’s head after contemplating your system of values on a Tuesday morning (from Cute Overload):


A Kitten and Some M.F.K. Fisher

There’s a cute kitten picture for Monday.

Here’s all the M.F.K. Fisher I promised last week:

Talking about polenta:
“…its fundamental simplicity survives, to comfort our souls as well as our bellies, the way a good solid fugue does, or a warm morning in spring.”

Talking about a recipe for roast beef with prunes:
“This roast, served on a generous platter and carved at the table into thick slices, with ample sauce and a bowl of buttered noodle and a crisp bowl of salad greens, with good bread and wine, and cheese to follow, makes a delicious dinner to come upon, It is pungent and hearty, and the world seems more real.”

And, rather than try to cook scrambled eggs in cream too quickly:
“I would rather have my scrambled eggs turn into hard, fanged snakes and writhe away.”

Who wouldn’t, really?

It’s Kind of All Unrelated Information Lately

But here’s some more:

1. It’s the equinox tomorrow, as noted yesterday, and that means Halloween is coming soon, and we all know Halloween means one thing: CANDY CORN. 20 million pounds of it. (Really–I read that’s how much the U.S. produces every year.)

2. I never knew Laura Ingalls Wilder didn’t start writing novels until she was 63, and that her daughter Rose was ghost writer. I also never knew Rose was one of the most famous writers of her day and won the O. Henry Award.

3. It’s snowing at the alpaca ranch.

Updates

I finished both my M.F.K. Fisher books (How to Cook a Wolf, 1942, and An Alpahbet for Gourmets, 1949). Some fallout: Lots of good passages I need to write down and probably double my usual amount of cooking in the last two weeks. Also a new awareness of different types of hungers–not just those for food. I highly recommend Ms. Fisher.

My big brother wouldn’t like me mentioning his birthday today on here, so I won’t.

Here’s a completely un-retouched photo from Blue Moon Ranch (use the link, as the image is bigger that way). Rowdy is the one posing.

Why Is This Kitty So….

…well, something? Because it’s MONDAY, of course! And because tomorrow is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Are we all ready for the piratitude? (I just made that word up. Not bad for a Monday.)

A note to friends who have Photoshop: I think this kitty would look mighty nice with an eyepatch and a pirate hat.

Friday

1. I know I promised more M.F.K. Fisher this week, but I was too sleepy to pull my favorites.

2. International Talk Like a Pirate Day is coming up on the 19th. That’s TUESDAY. Get ready here.

3. Some etymology: I’ve never liked the word “maroon,” probably because I don’t really care for the color it describes. (I don’t mind it when it refers to piratcally stranding someone on an island. Or when used in Warner Bros. cartoons: “What a maroon!”) But I looked up its origins and it’s directly from the French word for chestnut, marron. And I like chestnuts.