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Apr. 15th, 2020 10:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. Ah, DUNE - the new adaptation starring Timothy Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Stellan Skarsgard, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Rampling, and Josh Brolin among others.
Denis Villeneuve's Dune makes some important changes to Frank Herbert's book (Which to be honest isn't necessarily a bad thing - he gives the female characters bigger roles, and casts a black woman in a lead male role. Mainly because the Director likes women and is a feminist, and Herbert, wasn't. To be fair to Herbert - he did write Dune way back in 1965, so of course it is a bit dated. The 1960s were not known for gender equality - they tried but not that well.)
How is this Dune updating the source material?
As with any midcentury work of science fiction, Herbert's vision of gender dynamics can seem dated to the twenty-first century eye. Villeneuve has worked to modernize the women of Dune, expanding Lady Jessica's role and even genderbending another character.
Ferguson said of the new and improved Lady Jessica, "She's a mother, she's a concubine, she's a soldier. Denis was very respectful of Frank's work in the book, [but] the quality of the arcs for much of the women have been brought up to a new level. There were some shifts he did, and they are beautifully portrayed now."
As for Dr. Liet Kynes, the leading ecologist on Arrakis, Villeneuve has depicted the character not as a white man, as Kynes is traditionally interpreted, but as a black woman. Sharon Duncan-Brewster, the actress playing the part, spoke powerfully about the change: "What Denis has stated to me was that there was a lack of female characters in his cast, and he had always been very feminist, pro-women, and wanted to write the role for a woman. This human being manages to basically keep the peace amongst many people. Women are very good at that, so why can't Kynes be a woman? Why shouldn't Kynes be a woman?"
When is it supposed to be out?
Dune will hit theaters on December 18, 2020.
And here's the trailer:
(A bit of a back story? I fell in love with Dune in Junior High - I discovered it in the library and devoured it. Didn't like the sequels as well - somewhat disappointing. But the first book was a revelation. And I drug my parents to the David Lynch movie as a teen - knew all about it and formed a crush on Kyle McLachlan, who also adored Dune. I also read the prequel - House Atredies by Herbert's son. And I tried the television series - which was slightly better than Lynch's version - except I found it be exceedingly dull, while Lynch at least had some style. It's apparently a really hard book to adapt well.)
2. Hmmm...this weirdly reassuring..it shouldn't be, but it is... What You Should Know About Food Expiration Dates
"Here’s the first thing you should know: Expiration dates are not expiration dates.
Food product dating, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls it, is completely voluntary for all products (with the exception of baby food, more on that later). Not only that, but it has nothing to do with safety. It acts solely as the manufacturer’s best guess as to when its product will no longer be at peak quality, whatever that means. Food manufacturers also tend to be rather conservative with those dates, knowing that not all of us keep our pantries dark and open our refrigerators as minimally as necessary. (I, for one, would never leave the fridge door open for minutes at a time as I contemplate what to snack on.)"
Let’s start with the things you definitely don’t have to worry about. Vinegars, honey, vanilla or other extracts, sugar, salt, corn syrup and molasses will last virtually forever with little change in quality. Regular steel-cut or rolled oats will last for a year or so before they start to go rancid, but parcooked oats (or instant oats) can last nearly forever. (Same with grits versus instant grits.)
White flour is almost certainly fine to use, no matter its age. Whole-wheat and other whole-grain flours can acquire a metallic or soapy odor within a few months. This whiter-equals-longer rule of thumb is true for nonground grains as well. Refined white rice, for example, will last for years, while brown rice will last only for months.
This is because unrefined grains contain fats, and fats are the first thing to go off when it comes to dry pantry staples. Tree nuts, typically high in fat, will go rancid within a few months in the pantry. (Store them in the freezer to extend that to a few years.)
For things that go stale, it’s the opposite: Shelf-stable supermarket breads made with oils (and preservatives) can stay soft for weeks in the fridge, but the lean, crusty sourdough from the corner bakery will be stale by the next day and probably start to mold before the week is up. (I slice and freeze my fancy bread, taking it out a slice at a time to toast.)
Dried beans and lentils will remain safe to eat for years after purchase, but they’ll become tougher and take longer to cook as time goes on. If you aren’t sure how old your dried beans are, avoid using them in recipes that include acidic ingredients like molasses or tomatoes. Acid can drastically increase the length of time it takes beans to soften.
We all make fun of our parents for using spices that expired in the 1980s, but, other than losing potency, there’s nothing criminal in using them (unless you consider flavorless chicken paprikash a crime).
What about canned and jarred goods? As a rule, metal lasts longer than glass, which lasts longer than plastic.
So long as there is no outward sign of spoilage (such as bulging or rust), or visible spoilage when you open it (such as cloudiness, moldiness or rotten smells), your canned fruits, vegetables and meats will remain as delicious and palatable as the day you bought them for years (or in the case of, say, Vienna sausages at least as good as they were to begin with). The little button on the top of jarred goods, which will bulge if there has been significant bacterial action inside the jar, is still the best way to tell if the contents are going to be all right to eat. Depending on storage, that could be a year or a decade. Similarly, cans of soda will keep their fizz for years, glass bottles for up to a year and plastic bottles for a few months. (Most plastics are gas-permeable.)
Oils, even rancidity-prone unrefined oils, stored in sealed cans are nearly indestructible as well (as evidenced by the two-gallon tin of roasted sesame oil that I’ve been working through since 2006). Oils in sealed glass bottles, less so. Oil in open containers can vary greatly in shelf life, but all will last longer if you don’t keep them near or above your stovetop, where heat can get to them.
How do you tell if your oil is good? The same way you would with most foods: Follow your nose. Old oil will start to develop metallic, soapy or in some cases — such as with canola oil — fishy smells. Don’t trust your nose? Put a drop on your fingertip and squeeze it. Rancid oil will feel tacky as opposed to slick.
Also from the oil-and-vinegar aisle: Salad dressings will last for months or over a year in the fridge, especially if they come in bottles with narrow squeeze openings (as opposed to open-mouthed jars).
Mustard lasts forever. Ketchup will start to turn color before the year is out, but will still remain palatable. Contrary to popular belief, mayonnaise — especially when it doesn’t contain ingredients like fresh lemon juice or garlic — has an exceptionally long shelf life. (High concentrations of fat, salt and acid are all enemies of bacteria and mold.)
The international aisle is a den of long-lasting sauces, pickles and condiments. I’ve yet to find the quality inflection point for oyster sauce, pickled chiles, chile sauces (like sambal oelek or Sriracha), fermented bean sauces (like hoisin or Sichuan broad-bean chile paste) or fish sauce. Soy sauce has a reputation for longevity, but I keep mine in the refrigerator to fend off the fishy aromas that can start to develop after a few months in the pantry.
We all know what a rotten egg smells like, right? Why else would it be a benchmark for describing so many other bad smells? But how many times have you actually smelled one: Once? Twice? Never? Probably never, at least according to the impromptu poll I conducted on Twitter. That’s because it takes a long time for eggs to go bad.
How long? The Julian date printed on each carton (that’s the three-digit number ranging from 001 for Jan. 1 to 365 for Dec. 31) represents the date the eggs were packed, which, in most parts of the country, can be up to 30 days after the egg was actually laid. The sell-by stamp can be another 30 days after the pack date.
That’s 60 full days! But odds are good that they’ll still be palatable for several weeks longer than that. You’ll run out of hoarded toilet paper before those eggs go bad.
We’ve all accidentally poured some clumpy spoiled milk into our cereal bowls. It seems as if our milk is perfectly fine, until it’s suddenly not. How does it go bad overnight? The truth is, it doesn’t. From the moment you open a carton of milk, bacteria start to digest lactose (milk sugars), and produce acidic byproducts. Once its pH hits 4.6, that’s when casein (milk protein) clumps.
Want longer-lasting milk? Look for “ultrahigh temperature,” or “UHT,” on the label. Milk in these cartons has been pasteurized at high temperatures (275 degrees Fahrenheit: hot enough to destroy not only viruses and bacteria, but bacterial spores as well), then aseptically pumped and sealed into cartons. Most organic milk brands undergo UHT. (Bonus: In the blind taste tests I’ve conducted, most people preferred the sweeter flavor of UHT milk.)
And as for baby food — the only food with federally mandated use-by dating — that expiration date represents the latest date that the manufacturer can guarantee that the food contains not less of each nutrient than what is printed on the label, or, in the case of formula, that it can still pass through an ordinary rubber nipple.
If it comes down to it, rest assured that you’ll still be able to eat the baby food and gain some nutritional benefit long after the zombie apocalypse.
In short, ignore the expiration dates.
3. How to Bake a Cake without flour, eggs, oil, milk or sugar
No Flour of Any Kind
In one of her more daring moves, Anna Jones makes a lemon cake with cannellini beans, ground almonds and four eggs. It is a stone-cold winner – fudgy, rich and sweet. For something more decadent, try the classic flourless chocolate cake. The recipe I have used for years is as follows: melt 200g butter with 100g dark chocolate over a bain-marie, then mix four egg yolks with 100g sugar, and fold that into the chocolate mix. In another bowl, beat the egg whites into stiff peaks, gradually adding a further 100g sugar, then fold into the chocolate mix and bake in a buttered tin at 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas mark 4 for 45 minutes or until set in the middle. Serve with whipped cream, Greek yoghurt or creme fraiche – if you have any – and a dusting of icing sugar.
I kind of knew that already - since I'm gluten intolerant and have had cakes with no flour.
4. Why So Many Babies Are Getting Their Tongues Clipped
Uhm...OW! Seriously OW!
"In recent years, surging numbers of infants have gotten minor surgeries for “tongue tie,” to help with breastfeeding or prevent potential health issues. But research suggests many of those procedures could be unnecessary."
You think?
5. Confessions of the Only Woman On a Rock Star Tour Bus
You will be the only lady on board.”
My friend Gene stresses this point when he offers me my first roadie job. And I’m so thrilled by the idea of going on tour that I’m undaunted by the warning I detect in his voice. After having spent a year seeking meaningful employment in my recently adopted hometown of San Francisco, Gene’s job offer holds real promise.
The band is a known commodity from my New York punk rock days, the testosterone-fueled mosh pits of my youth. That scene doesn’t scare me. I’ve been the only lady plenty of times, as a bass player and lead singer in a handful of bands, and doing administrative work for music festivals. But I’ve never been the only lady in a traveling entourage, living cheek to cheek with a pack of guys in the cramped living quarters of a tour bus for two straight months.
“Just think of it as an extended family outing with a bunch of cousins you’ve never met,” says Gene, whose real name, like the others in this piece has been withheld to protect his privacy. That’s his way of advising me to steer clear of road romances. I don’t think he needs to. Internally, I’m already rehearsing my reassurances to my boyfriend that he has nothing to worry about. I tell myself I have nothing to worry about. At 25, I’ve worked hundreds of shows. I’ve mastered the dodge of the unwanted pass, and I’ve also had many casual flings. At the moment, I’m enjoying the predictable ease of a settled, stable home life — I’m not looking forward to a road romance. I’m looking forward to testing my skill set on a new playing field. And I’m hot on the idea of flexing my feminist muscles in what’s considered a distinctly male role.
Gene is a top-tier tour manager and soundman, and as his assistant, I’ll be well trained for future road work if I want it. I already own the uniform: black jeans, Doc Martens, and loose black T-shirts that downplay my curves. I’ll avoid looking sexy or cute. I will carry my own weight. I will not flirt. I’m determined to be the incidental female.
The tour bus is decked out in mirrors and dark velour, a glitzy ’80s disco on wheels, with a front and back lounge, kitchenette and micro bathroom, all expertly engineered to accommodate a traveling party of 12. We sleep in triple-decker bunks split by a shoulder-width strip of hallway. On day one, I feel like the sole frontierswoman in a band of outlaws.
Long show days unravel into ragged all-night drives. Members of the crew commandeer the back lounge for porn parties that end in giddy circle jerks, audible from my tiny bed. I fumble for my earplugs, trying to escape into a book. Tucked inside my flimsy blanket cocoon, I’m bothered more by the feeling of exclusion than their raunchy giggling. I envy their easy bond: the kind of camaraderie that eludes the only lady on board. Times like these solidify my sense of otherness. I know that around me, the guys act differently — speak differently, behave differently, try to tone down the locker-room banter. I wish they wouldn’t bother.
6. Will We Ever Know the Difference Between a Wolf and a Dog
While it indeed is true that, on some levels, the dog and the wolf, as well as the coyote, are one and the same animal, it is also clear that identity (ontologically speaking) isn’t sorted out on a genetic level alone. We can ponder here, by analogy, the similarities, or the differences, between some close human ancestors and our own species, Homo sapiens, which remains the only one of those several ancestral hominins. According to contemporary biological evidence, humans and Neanderthals interbred to such a degree that most of us carry fragments of Neanderthal in our bodies. The genetic distance between these two species is very small. Yet, most evolutionary anthropologists observe clear differences between the two species when skeletal remains are unearthed in palaeoanthropological sites reaching from Europe to Eurasia. Some researchers even argue that the reason why humans prevailed through the Ice Age is because we had developed this close relationship with proto-dogs while the Neanderthals did not.
Denis Villeneuve's Dune makes some important changes to Frank Herbert's book (Which to be honest isn't necessarily a bad thing - he gives the female characters bigger roles, and casts a black woman in a lead male role. Mainly because the Director likes women and is a feminist, and Herbert, wasn't. To be fair to Herbert - he did write Dune way back in 1965, so of course it is a bit dated. The 1960s were not known for gender equality - they tried but not that well.)
How is this Dune updating the source material?
As with any midcentury work of science fiction, Herbert's vision of gender dynamics can seem dated to the twenty-first century eye. Villeneuve has worked to modernize the women of Dune, expanding Lady Jessica's role and even genderbending another character.
Ferguson said of the new and improved Lady Jessica, "She's a mother, she's a concubine, she's a soldier. Denis was very respectful of Frank's work in the book, [but] the quality of the arcs for much of the women have been brought up to a new level. There were some shifts he did, and they are beautifully portrayed now."
As for Dr. Liet Kynes, the leading ecologist on Arrakis, Villeneuve has depicted the character not as a white man, as Kynes is traditionally interpreted, but as a black woman. Sharon Duncan-Brewster, the actress playing the part, spoke powerfully about the change: "What Denis has stated to me was that there was a lack of female characters in his cast, and he had always been very feminist, pro-women, and wanted to write the role for a woman. This human being manages to basically keep the peace amongst many people. Women are very good at that, so why can't Kynes be a woman? Why shouldn't Kynes be a woman?"
When is it supposed to be out?
Dune will hit theaters on December 18, 2020.
And here's the trailer:
(A bit of a back story? I fell in love with Dune in Junior High - I discovered it in the library and devoured it. Didn't like the sequels as well - somewhat disappointing. But the first book was a revelation. And I drug my parents to the David Lynch movie as a teen - knew all about it and formed a crush on Kyle McLachlan, who also adored Dune. I also read the prequel - House Atredies by Herbert's son. And I tried the television series - which was slightly better than Lynch's version - except I found it be exceedingly dull, while Lynch at least had some style. It's apparently a really hard book to adapt well.)
2. Hmmm...this weirdly reassuring..it shouldn't be, but it is... What You Should Know About Food Expiration Dates
"Here’s the first thing you should know: Expiration dates are not expiration dates.
Food product dating, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls it, is completely voluntary for all products (with the exception of baby food, more on that later). Not only that, but it has nothing to do with safety. It acts solely as the manufacturer’s best guess as to when its product will no longer be at peak quality, whatever that means. Food manufacturers also tend to be rather conservative with those dates, knowing that not all of us keep our pantries dark and open our refrigerators as minimally as necessary. (I, for one, would never leave the fridge door open for minutes at a time as I contemplate what to snack on.)"
Let’s start with the things you definitely don’t have to worry about. Vinegars, honey, vanilla or other extracts, sugar, salt, corn syrup and molasses will last virtually forever with little change in quality. Regular steel-cut or rolled oats will last for a year or so before they start to go rancid, but parcooked oats (or instant oats) can last nearly forever. (Same with grits versus instant grits.)
White flour is almost certainly fine to use, no matter its age. Whole-wheat and other whole-grain flours can acquire a metallic or soapy odor within a few months. This whiter-equals-longer rule of thumb is true for nonground grains as well. Refined white rice, for example, will last for years, while brown rice will last only for months.
This is because unrefined grains contain fats, and fats are the first thing to go off when it comes to dry pantry staples. Tree nuts, typically high in fat, will go rancid within a few months in the pantry. (Store them in the freezer to extend that to a few years.)
For things that go stale, it’s the opposite: Shelf-stable supermarket breads made with oils (and preservatives) can stay soft for weeks in the fridge, but the lean, crusty sourdough from the corner bakery will be stale by the next day and probably start to mold before the week is up. (I slice and freeze my fancy bread, taking it out a slice at a time to toast.)
Dried beans and lentils will remain safe to eat for years after purchase, but they’ll become tougher and take longer to cook as time goes on. If you aren’t sure how old your dried beans are, avoid using them in recipes that include acidic ingredients like molasses or tomatoes. Acid can drastically increase the length of time it takes beans to soften.
We all make fun of our parents for using spices that expired in the 1980s, but, other than losing potency, there’s nothing criminal in using them (unless you consider flavorless chicken paprikash a crime).
What about canned and jarred goods? As a rule, metal lasts longer than glass, which lasts longer than plastic.
So long as there is no outward sign of spoilage (such as bulging or rust), or visible spoilage when you open it (such as cloudiness, moldiness or rotten smells), your canned fruits, vegetables and meats will remain as delicious and palatable as the day you bought them for years (or in the case of, say, Vienna sausages at least as good as they were to begin with). The little button on the top of jarred goods, which will bulge if there has been significant bacterial action inside the jar, is still the best way to tell if the contents are going to be all right to eat. Depending on storage, that could be a year or a decade. Similarly, cans of soda will keep their fizz for years, glass bottles for up to a year and plastic bottles for a few months. (Most plastics are gas-permeable.)
Oils, even rancidity-prone unrefined oils, stored in sealed cans are nearly indestructible as well (as evidenced by the two-gallon tin of roasted sesame oil that I’ve been working through since 2006). Oils in sealed glass bottles, less so. Oil in open containers can vary greatly in shelf life, but all will last longer if you don’t keep them near or above your stovetop, where heat can get to them.
How do you tell if your oil is good? The same way you would with most foods: Follow your nose. Old oil will start to develop metallic, soapy or in some cases — such as with canola oil — fishy smells. Don’t trust your nose? Put a drop on your fingertip and squeeze it. Rancid oil will feel tacky as opposed to slick.
Also from the oil-and-vinegar aisle: Salad dressings will last for months or over a year in the fridge, especially if they come in bottles with narrow squeeze openings (as opposed to open-mouthed jars).
Mustard lasts forever. Ketchup will start to turn color before the year is out, but will still remain palatable. Contrary to popular belief, mayonnaise — especially when it doesn’t contain ingredients like fresh lemon juice or garlic — has an exceptionally long shelf life. (High concentrations of fat, salt and acid are all enemies of bacteria and mold.)
The international aisle is a den of long-lasting sauces, pickles and condiments. I’ve yet to find the quality inflection point for oyster sauce, pickled chiles, chile sauces (like sambal oelek or Sriracha), fermented bean sauces (like hoisin or Sichuan broad-bean chile paste) or fish sauce. Soy sauce has a reputation for longevity, but I keep mine in the refrigerator to fend off the fishy aromas that can start to develop after a few months in the pantry.
We all know what a rotten egg smells like, right? Why else would it be a benchmark for describing so many other bad smells? But how many times have you actually smelled one: Once? Twice? Never? Probably never, at least according to the impromptu poll I conducted on Twitter. That’s because it takes a long time for eggs to go bad.
How long? The Julian date printed on each carton (that’s the three-digit number ranging from 001 for Jan. 1 to 365 for Dec. 31) represents the date the eggs were packed, which, in most parts of the country, can be up to 30 days after the egg was actually laid. The sell-by stamp can be another 30 days after the pack date.
That’s 60 full days! But odds are good that they’ll still be palatable for several weeks longer than that. You’ll run out of hoarded toilet paper before those eggs go bad.
We’ve all accidentally poured some clumpy spoiled milk into our cereal bowls. It seems as if our milk is perfectly fine, until it’s suddenly not. How does it go bad overnight? The truth is, it doesn’t. From the moment you open a carton of milk, bacteria start to digest lactose (milk sugars), and produce acidic byproducts. Once its pH hits 4.6, that’s when casein (milk protein) clumps.
Want longer-lasting milk? Look for “ultrahigh temperature,” or “UHT,” on the label. Milk in these cartons has been pasteurized at high temperatures (275 degrees Fahrenheit: hot enough to destroy not only viruses and bacteria, but bacterial spores as well), then aseptically pumped and sealed into cartons. Most organic milk brands undergo UHT. (Bonus: In the blind taste tests I’ve conducted, most people preferred the sweeter flavor of UHT milk.)
And as for baby food — the only food with federally mandated use-by dating — that expiration date represents the latest date that the manufacturer can guarantee that the food contains not less of each nutrient than what is printed on the label, or, in the case of formula, that it can still pass through an ordinary rubber nipple.
If it comes down to it, rest assured that you’ll still be able to eat the baby food and gain some nutritional benefit long after the zombie apocalypse.
In short, ignore the expiration dates.
3. How to Bake a Cake without flour, eggs, oil, milk or sugar
No Flour of Any Kind
In one of her more daring moves, Anna Jones makes a lemon cake with cannellini beans, ground almonds and four eggs. It is a stone-cold winner – fudgy, rich and sweet. For something more decadent, try the classic flourless chocolate cake. The recipe I have used for years is as follows: melt 200g butter with 100g dark chocolate over a bain-marie, then mix four egg yolks with 100g sugar, and fold that into the chocolate mix. In another bowl, beat the egg whites into stiff peaks, gradually adding a further 100g sugar, then fold into the chocolate mix and bake in a buttered tin at 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas mark 4 for 45 minutes or until set in the middle. Serve with whipped cream, Greek yoghurt or creme fraiche – if you have any – and a dusting of icing sugar.
I kind of knew that already - since I'm gluten intolerant and have had cakes with no flour.
4. Why So Many Babies Are Getting Their Tongues Clipped
Uhm...OW! Seriously OW!
"In recent years, surging numbers of infants have gotten minor surgeries for “tongue tie,” to help with breastfeeding or prevent potential health issues. But research suggests many of those procedures could be unnecessary."
You think?
5. Confessions of the Only Woman On a Rock Star Tour Bus
You will be the only lady on board.”
My friend Gene stresses this point when he offers me my first roadie job. And I’m so thrilled by the idea of going on tour that I’m undaunted by the warning I detect in his voice. After having spent a year seeking meaningful employment in my recently adopted hometown of San Francisco, Gene’s job offer holds real promise.
The band is a known commodity from my New York punk rock days, the testosterone-fueled mosh pits of my youth. That scene doesn’t scare me. I’ve been the only lady plenty of times, as a bass player and lead singer in a handful of bands, and doing administrative work for music festivals. But I’ve never been the only lady in a traveling entourage, living cheek to cheek with a pack of guys in the cramped living quarters of a tour bus for two straight months.
“Just think of it as an extended family outing with a bunch of cousins you’ve never met,” says Gene, whose real name, like the others in this piece has been withheld to protect his privacy. That’s his way of advising me to steer clear of road romances. I don’t think he needs to. Internally, I’m already rehearsing my reassurances to my boyfriend that he has nothing to worry about. I tell myself I have nothing to worry about. At 25, I’ve worked hundreds of shows. I’ve mastered the dodge of the unwanted pass, and I’ve also had many casual flings. At the moment, I’m enjoying the predictable ease of a settled, stable home life — I’m not looking forward to a road romance. I’m looking forward to testing my skill set on a new playing field. And I’m hot on the idea of flexing my feminist muscles in what’s considered a distinctly male role.
Gene is a top-tier tour manager and soundman, and as his assistant, I’ll be well trained for future road work if I want it. I already own the uniform: black jeans, Doc Martens, and loose black T-shirts that downplay my curves. I’ll avoid looking sexy or cute. I will carry my own weight. I will not flirt. I’m determined to be the incidental female.
The tour bus is decked out in mirrors and dark velour, a glitzy ’80s disco on wheels, with a front and back lounge, kitchenette and micro bathroom, all expertly engineered to accommodate a traveling party of 12. We sleep in triple-decker bunks split by a shoulder-width strip of hallway. On day one, I feel like the sole frontierswoman in a band of outlaws.
Long show days unravel into ragged all-night drives. Members of the crew commandeer the back lounge for porn parties that end in giddy circle jerks, audible from my tiny bed. I fumble for my earplugs, trying to escape into a book. Tucked inside my flimsy blanket cocoon, I’m bothered more by the feeling of exclusion than their raunchy giggling. I envy their easy bond: the kind of camaraderie that eludes the only lady on board. Times like these solidify my sense of otherness. I know that around me, the guys act differently — speak differently, behave differently, try to tone down the locker-room banter. I wish they wouldn’t bother.
6. Will We Ever Know the Difference Between a Wolf and a Dog
While it indeed is true that, on some levels, the dog and the wolf, as well as the coyote, are one and the same animal, it is also clear that identity (ontologically speaking) isn’t sorted out on a genetic level alone. We can ponder here, by analogy, the similarities, or the differences, between some close human ancestors and our own species, Homo sapiens, which remains the only one of those several ancestral hominins. According to contemporary biological evidence, humans and Neanderthals interbred to such a degree that most of us carry fragments of Neanderthal in our bodies. The genetic distance between these two species is very small. Yet, most evolutionary anthropologists observe clear differences between the two species when skeletal remains are unearthed in palaeoanthropological sites reaching from Europe to Eurasia. Some researchers even argue that the reason why humans prevailed through the Ice Age is because we had developed this close relationship with proto-dogs while the Neanderthals did not.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-16 12:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-16 02:32 pm (UTC)I can smell spoiled food really fast - so I use my nose. LOL!
no subject
Date: 2020-04-16 12:52 pm (UTC)That is because the pressure to breastfeed is so overwhelming that desperate mothers will try anything if someone promises that it will help with breastfeeding. They will order illegal drugs from the internet and go to court for it if they believe it helps with breastfeeding. They will even let the baby starve, if someone says it will help with breastfeeding. (That has been said by lactation consultants, that even one bottle will ruin breastfeeding, and babies have died because of it.)
Failing to breastfeed is not an option nowadays.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-16 02:12 pm (UTC)I remember my sister-in-law went through hell with that - because she had thrush. She couldn't afford a lactation consultant - thank god. They finally found another option. I know a lot of people who adopted babies they couldn't breast feed and were perfectly fine.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-16 02:14 pm (UTC)I'm glad this article on food dates has been going around. I don't entirely agree with it, but it's a decent starting point. Yellow mustard will go bad. Separation is not a problem, but when it starts turning brown it needs to go. Ketchup will last longer than a year, but as the article says when it starts turning dark it's no good. Home canned food should be eaten up by the the time it would be harvested the next year. The last thing you want to happen is to start canning a new crop of whatever when you've got some from the year before. Rotating your stock old stock and putting new stock in the back is a good way to lose date labels and get into serious trouble. Certainly if your home canned food starts to lose its original as canned color, pitch it no matter how recently it was canned. Things in unopened metal cans from the store are almost always good for a couple years. Most people use up real butter quickly. I don't and can tell you it will last well for months in the fridge if not set out on the table every day, like many people do who use it a lot.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-16 03:56 pm (UTC)Stock? Again depends. If opened? Not long. If unopened - a long time. If canned longer than if in box, depending.
And your mother reminds me of my Grandmother - who lived through the War years and the Great Depression, I think she was born prior to the Spanish Flu Epidemic. She died several years back. But she hated throwing things out. And stored things. I think it was a by-product of the Great Depression. The same thing may happen as a result of what we are going through now.
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Date: 2020-04-16 03:38 pm (UTC)I'm tempted to try the cake made with cannellini beans, but the measurements are in ounces or grams, and my little kitchen scale has died. Alas!
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Date: 2020-04-16 03:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-16 04:07 pm (UTC)Semi-solidified honey is one of the ingredients in that cake, which makes me laugh a lot... and then wonder. Is regular honey that hasn't crystalized okay to use? Is this just a way to use up the crystalized honey without having to gently re-heat it? What's going on with this ingredient?!
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Date: 2020-04-16 05:35 pm (UTC)It's my difficulty with a lot of recipes - they are always asking for ingredients that I can't find, making me have to find substitutions. Or ingredients I'd never buy. Much easier to make it up as I go with what I do have - and guess. LOL!
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Date: 2020-04-17 05:31 pm (UTC)1. the honey doesn't have to be semi-solidified, but thick honey is much better than runny. (Also, there are creamed honeys sold in some stores, so that's another option.)
2. The 3.5 ounces is equal to a scant half-cup.
So... I made the cake. I didn't make the frosting--I've never bought tofu in my life, so that's not an ingredient in my home. I had to swap vanilla extract for vanilla beans because I don't have those either. Verdict: the cake wasn't bad: the texture is rather cake-like and very moist. This morning the hint of cannellini bean taste that I could detect yesterday in a few bites has calmed down.
Suggestion: I would make a thin glaze of some kind with a strong flavor of its own. Spread it and leave it to soak in overnight.
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Date: 2020-04-17 05:35 pm (UTC)I don't have any tofu either, and have never bought it. (Tofu doesn't tend to agree with me. I can only handle the amount of soy that is in soy sauce and in very incremental doses. Such as with sushi or to season stir-fry.)
Hmm, on the glaze. Wonder if possible without powdered sugar? Possibly carmelized sugar glass seasoned with lemon?
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Date: 2020-04-17 06:16 pm (UTC)A chocolate glaze would be good. Actually, adding in cocoa powder to the cake itself seems feasible to me. I think I'll try that if I make this again soon.
FYI, I did have to tent some aluminum foil over the cake about 2/3 of the way into the baking process. It takes a long time for the middle to set while baking.
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Date: 2020-04-16 04:02 pm (UTC)Timothee Chalamet as Paul? Jason Mamoa as Duncan Idaho? Yes and yes!
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Date: 2020-04-16 05:37 pm (UTC)But the casting is perfect. Zendaya (Spiderman) as Chani? Perfect. Oscar Issacs as Duke Leto? Perfect. All of the casting is perfect.
Something to look forward to.
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Date: 2020-04-16 07:40 pm (UTC)+1 here to cjl's comment on this film-- definitely a strong recc from me on it, an excellent piece of work! Saw it in the theater, have watched it again on DVD.
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Date: 2020-04-16 07:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-04-16 07:10 pm (UTC)Are you sure about the eggs thing? Have I gotten it right that there are no stamps on the eggs themselves? Only on the packaging? 60 days seems like a lot of time for me.
Ok, I just checked my eggs and there is only a stamp of the stable on there, not a date. I always thought they were stamped with the date. So I really don't know when they were laid.
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Date: 2020-04-16 07:33 pm (UTC)Also the hard-boiled eggs in the packages last a while too - if not opened.
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Date: 2020-04-16 07:35 pm (UTC)