Day 236 of the Corona Virus Diaries...
Nov. 8th, 2020 09:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. Apparently Rudy Guilani couldn't find a decent event planner and held Trump's campaign press conference at... The Four Seasons Total Landscaping.
I didn't believe it when ann1962 posted it to Facebook and Twitter. In fact the folks on FB and Twitter are rolling on the floor laughing about it.
But, apparently it is true...I kid you not. The 45's Campaign led a press conference in the parking lot of a Landscaping Firm next door to an Adult Porn Store.
I arrived to see a media scrum around a chain link fence that led into the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping. The building itself was one-storey, with a neat lawn and a row of hedges at the front. It was in that part of town that every town has, where businesses which have no right being grouped together nonetheless gather due to one reason or another — usually the cheap rent. Across the street from Four Seasons Total Landscaping was a crematorium. Next door to it was an adult book store with a bright yellow sign that displayed its offerings: DVDs and lotions, novelty gifts, viewing booths. It was called Fantasy Island. In retrospect, it was an omen of what was to come.
The Fantasy Island adult bookstore, next door to the place where the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, held a press conference to allege voter fraud.
The Fantasy Island adult bookstore, next door to the place where the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, held a press conference to allege voter fraud.
(Richard Hall / The Independent)
The media was told to line up outside while the press conference was prepared. Journalists from Japan, Germany and Britain took their place as a crowd of Trump supporters gathered around them.
I approached by a man named Ron, who held a sign that read: “Biden Laptop Matters.” Since we were about to hear from the president’s lawyers about how this election was stolen, I wanted to hear what he thought about the process.
“What they did is they got ‘em fearful with corona, and once they got them in a fearful state, they suppressed them, they funelled all the ballots through mail-in, where they controlled that process, they can manipulate better,” he said.
As we waited outside Four Seasons Total Landscaping, we began to wonder what had led us to this point. Had a Trump campaign booked the wrong Four Seasons and diverted to the landscaping company as a quick fix? Was the owner of the business a witness to this massive voter fraud the president was alleging?
The day after the event, a cryptic Facebook post by the owners of Four Seasons Total Landscaping revealed little about how this all came to be.
“Four Seasons Total Landscaping is a family-owned small business run by life long Philadelphians. We were honoured to be asked to host a press conference at our facility. We thank all of those that have shown support for our business and while we understand the negative comments, it saddens us that we have received such harsh judgement. Our team at Four Seasons would have proudly hosted any presidential candidate’s campaign at our business. We strongly believe in America and in democracy” they said, before adding that they would soon be selling T-shirts on their website.
One journalist remarked that the entire episode was beginning to acquire a Muammar Gaddafi flavour to it. When Nato powers started to bomb Tripoli in support of Libyan rebels and it appeared the leader was on his last legs, he emerged briefly from hiding riding a golf cart and holding an oversized umbrella. It was intended to project perseverance and strength — it had the opposite effect.
Private security guards hired by the president’s lawyers began to call in media outlets by name so they could enter the parking lot. When a media outlet was called, the gathered Trump supporters booed those which they felt had been unfair to the president. “Washington Post”.. “Boooo.” “Fox News”.... “Boooooo!” “CNN” “BOOOOOOOO!”
This was an American pantomime.
In the Four Seasons Total Landscaping parking lot the cameras were assembled, the sound levels checked, the pens were poised and the gates were closed. The world’s press waited for the evidence that would blow this big scam wide open. The sun shone brightly.
2. Been watching the following off and on...
* Helstrum - compelling, but very ..comic bookish? Of course it is based on a Marvel comic book series, so no surprises there. It kind of reminds me a little of Heroes and the darker Marvel series on Netflix. It has that same gritty/vigilante feel to it. I'd describe it as Marvel's take on the television series Evil and Prodigal Son, or what would happen if you combined them. I'm more entertained by it than EVIL, which I'd given up on.
It's not episodic like the other two - because hello, streaming and Marvel.
So each episode builds on the last, no cases of the week.
The plot is simple enough - Damien and Anna Helstrum are the children of a demonic serial killer. At an early age - Anna was taken by their father, while Victoria Helstrum (their mother) was possessed by another demon. The father was eventually tracked down, and Anna was rescued. Anna now uses her abilities to kill serial killers similar to her father - through the cover of an antiquities firm that she runs with her partner Chris Yen. Damien currently works as Professor of Ethics, but moonlights as an exorcist with the mental institution run by an order of nuns.
The most interesting characters are actually Louise, the black nun who runs the mental instutition, and the Caretaker, the black man who works with the Blood - an ancient organization that contains the demons by placing their hosts in comas. Also Sister Gabriele - who is a novice nun, who'd formerly worked to end human trafficking, rounds out the cast.
The siblings are also intriguing. Although I keep wanting to smack Damien upside the head. He's attractive, but annoying and somewhat dense. Also a bit too much of a mamma's boy. Anna is tough as nails, and far more interesting.
They both have superpower - most likely demonic in nature. But they aren't.
And there's an interesting mythos regarding the demons - suggesting that evil may well be in the eye of the beholder. Some of the demons aren't necessarily evil - but want to contain their brethern.
I've made it through five episodes. It's not scary, really, more -- comic book scary, than scary. Some things bugged me. But nothing major. And it's nowhere near as gory as I expected - most of the violence is hinted at or happens off-screen. Considering this is Hulu, that surprised me.
* She-Rah and the Princesses of Power
I've made it to S3. It's better than expected, and improves as you go. There's a few weak episodes in there - towards the end of S1 and beginning of S2, but it picks up speed towards the end of S2, and really has some good character centric episodes in there.
It also does an excellent job of developing its characters - both the antagonists and protagonists. I rather like the fact that it continuously challenges the viewers perspective on the villains - showing they aren't necessarily evil, and capable of good. Just have different goals and perceptions.
One character, Entrapta, is autistic, and fascinated by science. She's in an odd way bullied and unappreciated by the heroes, who drag her along with them on a misguided rescue mission - which results in her being left behind for dead. They don't realize their error until she's been behind enemy lines for quite some time. And the villains, instead of imprisoning her, be-friend her, listen to her ideas, tell her she's brilliant, and give her - her own lab and access to their technology.
In another episode, we met Bow's parents - or his fathers. Both historians, who expected Bow to follow in their footsteps, instead Bow wanted adventure and to be a fighter, and work in the rebellion. So he pretended to be a shy bookworm and interested in history to make them happy. It's a brilliant subversion of a classic trope. I was rather impressed by it. Also comical in places.
Another interesting subversion is the relationships, for the most part, are homosexual or lesbian. The heterosexual relationships are under-played or mocked. The focus or love triangle is between Adora/Catra/Scorpio, all women. And the rivalry between Catra and Adora for Shadoweaver - their adoptive mother. It's very female centric.
And it emphasizes empathy - compromise and finding common ground.
I find it rather comforting to watch at the moment. It's kind of a female version of Avatar the Last Airbender. I wish the animation was on the same scale as Avatar, but...it is Dreamworks.
*Great British Baking Show.. - which I'm still kind of watching here and there. I'm not as fond of S8 as other seasons, although I'd agree with someone on FB who stated it's amusing because the contestants are horrible bakers. They are. I think there might be two who have a chance, maybe three if that.
And, for reasons that escape me, the judges once again decided to do an ice-cream cake challenge. Why they insist on doing this, I don't know. You'd think they would have learned their lesson from the last time they did it. (Epic failure.) At least this time around, everyone had their own refrigerator and people weren't sharing refrigerators. So, this round, there was no painful conflicts. Only epic humiliation.
It's ice cream - it's going to melt if you aren't careful. The judges had fun with it though. One woman, Lotte, decided to do an 80s' ice cream cake shaped as a video cassette with the chocolate ice cream as icing or the outside of the cake. Paul Hollywood takes one look at her proposed design, smiles, and states - normally people put something around the ice cream to protect it from melting, you put the ice cream around the cake? It's hot in here. How will you keep it from melting? It's going to be pudding.
Which it was. Which it did.
Former Minister was watching and commenting on it on FB over the weekend. One poster stated, and this amused me:
Poster: Are the British even known for their Baking?
Minister: Couldn't say, but no, I don't think so.
Other poster: No, they really aren't.
Actually no one thinks of the British when they think of cooking or cuisine.
French, yes. British, no. I'm sorry they don't. When I went to Britain, I didn't go for the food in the 1980s. Although it was surprisingly good in places. I rather liked pub food, also the Indian food (which granted isn't British) and the Pastries (which were actually French).
3. While I'm relieved about the election. Actually extremely happy and relieved about the results - is most likely an understatement. (I had a lot to lose if the thing in the white house won again. As did most of us. My entire extended family is happy about it - and expressing that vocally on Facebook.)
I'm not underestimating the evil thing in the white house and his minions. I worry about the thing in the white house. It's still causing fear, division, and suffering.
Although this article in the NY Times analyzing the 45's ability to overturn it - relieved me a great deal - Vote Counts Are Continuing But The Chances of Trump's Fortunes Changing Are Slim
4. Speaking of suffering...
There were 120,000 COVID Cases on Friday, and 130,000 yesterday. And it's getting worse. My aunt, mother's younger sister, stated that in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona...with high numbers of cases and deaths, how many of those deaths might have been voters who'd have voted for Trump. Over 237,000 Americans are dead as of yesterday. Over 9.8 million Americans have contracted the virus, many are still suffering from its effects. Many will be for years to come.
Virus is still breaking US records
5. And the situation, as many of you already know, is far worse in Europe.
Europe's Hospital Crunch Is Even More Dire Surpassing Spring Peak
I think, in order to contain this virus, we all have to change our behavior.
6. I also read in the Times this morning about people who wanted to escape the pain of their quarantine situation in the spring, by fleeing to vacation locals. They could work remotely - so why not? Only it's not as easy as it looks. We've taken international travel for granted - the ability to go from place to place easily, no bigger issue than the annoyance of losing one's luggage or having to check it because the overhead bin is full. Or not getting that window seat. Or last minute cancellations.
Now - you're lucky if they let you into the country. One guy and his girlfriend decided to flee to Amsterdam. Except Amsterdam wouldn't let them in. And they went by way of Mexico. Got stuck in Mexico. Frustrated, they tried to return home to the US, but the girlfriend was British, and her visa expired, so they flew to Britain, and got stuck there - where it was rainy, cold and depressing. And promptly broke up. Now he's trying to use the fact that his family immigrated from Portugal and have citizenship there - to get into Bali.
Here's the Article.
It also goes into detail about tax issues, and people who discovered doing cross-country road trips and camping trips weren't quite as workable as they'd thought.
Also one guy got into trouble on Facebook and on Zoom chats, because he was living it up on the beach in Costa Rica, while his friends were miserable in the States. (Folks? Don't brag about how great you have it. People are on edge. And scared. We, humans, don't tend to deal well with envy - when we're scared and miserable. However - pretty pictures (without you in them) are helpful. If you aren't in them - we can pretend we're there. I don't know why people don't get that on social media - no one wants to see your pretty mug, they want to see the pretty landscape and pretend they are there.) To prove my point? When the guy got back - all the people who were upset on FB, asked for his help on figuring out how they could escape to Costa Rica too.
Honestly, Costa Rica has a lot of cases and is struggling. How hard is it for people to stay put for a year and a half? I get cabin fever, but really?
The couple in the article was unhappy in Mexico because they were alone in an empty resort, going to the beach and gym every day. And it was too repetitive and boring. I thought...uhm okay. That doesn't sound that bad to me. You are with your lover. You have a beach and ocean to yourselves, plus a pool, and a gym. And you can work remotely. Plus you aren't in the US dealing with the nuttiness. What's the problem? But no, apparently they thought England would be a far more interesting choice.
7. We can thank the Navajo and Apache for Arizona's votes going to Biden.
How Indigenous Voters Swung the Election
8. Having difficulties charging my Kindle Fire HD, I think my battery is shot. Ugh.
9. Anyhow..I ended the day with an evening walk at twilight around Greenwood Cemetery.
I didn't believe it when ann1962 posted it to Facebook and Twitter. In fact the folks on FB and Twitter are rolling on the floor laughing about it.
But, apparently it is true...I kid you not. The 45's Campaign led a press conference in the parking lot of a Landscaping Firm next door to an Adult Porn Store.
I arrived to see a media scrum around a chain link fence that led into the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping. The building itself was one-storey, with a neat lawn and a row of hedges at the front. It was in that part of town that every town has, where businesses which have no right being grouped together nonetheless gather due to one reason or another — usually the cheap rent. Across the street from Four Seasons Total Landscaping was a crematorium. Next door to it was an adult book store with a bright yellow sign that displayed its offerings: DVDs and lotions, novelty gifts, viewing booths. It was called Fantasy Island. In retrospect, it was an omen of what was to come.
The Fantasy Island adult bookstore, next door to the place where the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, held a press conference to allege voter fraud.
The Fantasy Island adult bookstore, next door to the place where the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, held a press conference to allege voter fraud.
(Richard Hall / The Independent)
The media was told to line up outside while the press conference was prepared. Journalists from Japan, Germany and Britain took their place as a crowd of Trump supporters gathered around them.
I approached by a man named Ron, who held a sign that read: “Biden Laptop Matters.” Since we were about to hear from the president’s lawyers about how this election was stolen, I wanted to hear what he thought about the process.
“What they did is they got ‘em fearful with corona, and once they got them in a fearful state, they suppressed them, they funelled all the ballots through mail-in, where they controlled that process, they can manipulate better,” he said.
As we waited outside Four Seasons Total Landscaping, we began to wonder what had led us to this point. Had a Trump campaign booked the wrong Four Seasons and diverted to the landscaping company as a quick fix? Was the owner of the business a witness to this massive voter fraud the president was alleging?
The day after the event, a cryptic Facebook post by the owners of Four Seasons Total Landscaping revealed little about how this all came to be.
“Four Seasons Total Landscaping is a family-owned small business run by life long Philadelphians. We were honoured to be asked to host a press conference at our facility. We thank all of those that have shown support for our business and while we understand the negative comments, it saddens us that we have received such harsh judgement. Our team at Four Seasons would have proudly hosted any presidential candidate’s campaign at our business. We strongly believe in America and in democracy” they said, before adding that they would soon be selling T-shirts on their website.
One journalist remarked that the entire episode was beginning to acquire a Muammar Gaddafi flavour to it. When Nato powers started to bomb Tripoli in support of Libyan rebels and it appeared the leader was on his last legs, he emerged briefly from hiding riding a golf cart and holding an oversized umbrella. It was intended to project perseverance and strength — it had the opposite effect.
Private security guards hired by the president’s lawyers began to call in media outlets by name so they could enter the parking lot. When a media outlet was called, the gathered Trump supporters booed those which they felt had been unfair to the president. “Washington Post”.. “Boooo.” “Fox News”.... “Boooooo!” “CNN” “BOOOOOOOO!”
This was an American pantomime.
In the Four Seasons Total Landscaping parking lot the cameras were assembled, the sound levels checked, the pens were poised and the gates were closed. The world’s press waited for the evidence that would blow this big scam wide open. The sun shone brightly.
2. Been watching the following off and on...
* Helstrum - compelling, but very ..comic bookish? Of course it is based on a Marvel comic book series, so no surprises there. It kind of reminds me a little of Heroes and the darker Marvel series on Netflix. It has that same gritty/vigilante feel to it. I'd describe it as Marvel's take on the television series Evil and Prodigal Son, or what would happen if you combined them. I'm more entertained by it than EVIL, which I'd given up on.
It's not episodic like the other two - because hello, streaming and Marvel.
So each episode builds on the last, no cases of the week.
The plot is simple enough - Damien and Anna Helstrum are the children of a demonic serial killer. At an early age - Anna was taken by their father, while Victoria Helstrum (their mother) was possessed by another demon. The father was eventually tracked down, and Anna was rescued. Anna now uses her abilities to kill serial killers similar to her father - through the cover of an antiquities firm that she runs with her partner Chris Yen. Damien currently works as Professor of Ethics, but moonlights as an exorcist with the mental institution run by an order of nuns.
The most interesting characters are actually Louise, the black nun who runs the mental instutition, and the Caretaker, the black man who works with the Blood - an ancient organization that contains the demons by placing their hosts in comas. Also Sister Gabriele - who is a novice nun, who'd formerly worked to end human trafficking, rounds out the cast.
The siblings are also intriguing. Although I keep wanting to smack Damien upside the head. He's attractive, but annoying and somewhat dense. Also a bit too much of a mamma's boy. Anna is tough as nails, and far more interesting.
They both have superpower - most likely demonic in nature. But they aren't.
And there's an interesting mythos regarding the demons - suggesting that evil may well be in the eye of the beholder. Some of the demons aren't necessarily evil - but want to contain their brethern.
I've made it through five episodes. It's not scary, really, more -- comic book scary, than scary. Some things bugged me. But nothing major. And it's nowhere near as gory as I expected - most of the violence is hinted at or happens off-screen. Considering this is Hulu, that surprised me.
* She-Rah and the Princesses of Power
I've made it to S3. It's better than expected, and improves as you go. There's a few weak episodes in there - towards the end of S1 and beginning of S2, but it picks up speed towards the end of S2, and really has some good character centric episodes in there.
It also does an excellent job of developing its characters - both the antagonists and protagonists. I rather like the fact that it continuously challenges the viewers perspective on the villains - showing they aren't necessarily evil, and capable of good. Just have different goals and perceptions.
One character, Entrapta, is autistic, and fascinated by science. She's in an odd way bullied and unappreciated by the heroes, who drag her along with them on a misguided rescue mission - which results in her being left behind for dead. They don't realize their error until she's been behind enemy lines for quite some time. And the villains, instead of imprisoning her, be-friend her, listen to her ideas, tell her she's brilliant, and give her - her own lab and access to their technology.
In another episode, we met Bow's parents - or his fathers. Both historians, who expected Bow to follow in their footsteps, instead Bow wanted adventure and to be a fighter, and work in the rebellion. So he pretended to be a shy bookworm and interested in history to make them happy. It's a brilliant subversion of a classic trope. I was rather impressed by it. Also comical in places.
Another interesting subversion is the relationships, for the most part, are homosexual or lesbian. The heterosexual relationships are under-played or mocked. The focus or love triangle is between Adora/Catra/Scorpio, all women. And the rivalry between Catra and Adora for Shadoweaver - their adoptive mother. It's very female centric.
And it emphasizes empathy - compromise and finding common ground.
I find it rather comforting to watch at the moment. It's kind of a female version of Avatar the Last Airbender. I wish the animation was on the same scale as Avatar, but...it is Dreamworks.
*Great British Baking Show.. - which I'm still kind of watching here and there. I'm not as fond of S8 as other seasons, although I'd agree with someone on FB who stated it's amusing because the contestants are horrible bakers. They are. I think there might be two who have a chance, maybe three if that.
And, for reasons that escape me, the judges once again decided to do an ice-cream cake challenge. Why they insist on doing this, I don't know. You'd think they would have learned their lesson from the last time they did it. (Epic failure.) At least this time around, everyone had their own refrigerator and people weren't sharing refrigerators. So, this round, there was no painful conflicts. Only epic humiliation.
It's ice cream - it's going to melt if you aren't careful. The judges had fun with it though. One woman, Lotte, decided to do an 80s' ice cream cake shaped as a video cassette with the chocolate ice cream as icing or the outside of the cake. Paul Hollywood takes one look at her proposed design, smiles, and states - normally people put something around the ice cream to protect it from melting, you put the ice cream around the cake? It's hot in here. How will you keep it from melting? It's going to be pudding.
Which it was. Which it did.
Former Minister was watching and commenting on it on FB over the weekend. One poster stated, and this amused me:
Poster: Are the British even known for their Baking?
Minister: Couldn't say, but no, I don't think so.
Other poster: No, they really aren't.
Actually no one thinks of the British when they think of cooking or cuisine.
French, yes. British, no. I'm sorry they don't. When I went to Britain, I didn't go for the food in the 1980s. Although it was surprisingly good in places. I rather liked pub food, also the Indian food (which granted isn't British) and the Pastries (which were actually French).
3. While I'm relieved about the election. Actually extremely happy and relieved about the results - is most likely an understatement. (I had a lot to lose if the thing in the white house won again. As did most of us. My entire extended family is happy about it - and expressing that vocally on Facebook.)
I'm not underestimating the evil thing in the white house and his minions. I worry about the thing in the white house. It's still causing fear, division, and suffering.
Although this article in the NY Times analyzing the 45's ability to overturn it - relieved me a great deal - Vote Counts Are Continuing But The Chances of Trump's Fortunes Changing Are Slim
4. Speaking of suffering...
There were 120,000 COVID Cases on Friday, and 130,000 yesterday. And it's getting worse. My aunt, mother's younger sister, stated that in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona...with high numbers of cases and deaths, how many of those deaths might have been voters who'd have voted for Trump. Over 237,000 Americans are dead as of yesterday. Over 9.8 million Americans have contracted the virus, many are still suffering from its effects. Many will be for years to come.
Virus is still breaking US records
5. And the situation, as many of you already know, is far worse in Europe.
Europe's Hospital Crunch Is Even More Dire Surpassing Spring Peak
I think, in order to contain this virus, we all have to change our behavior.
6. I also read in the Times this morning about people who wanted to escape the pain of their quarantine situation in the spring, by fleeing to vacation locals. They could work remotely - so why not? Only it's not as easy as it looks. We've taken international travel for granted - the ability to go from place to place easily, no bigger issue than the annoyance of losing one's luggage or having to check it because the overhead bin is full. Or not getting that window seat. Or last minute cancellations.
Now - you're lucky if they let you into the country. One guy and his girlfriend decided to flee to Amsterdam. Except Amsterdam wouldn't let them in. And they went by way of Mexico. Got stuck in Mexico. Frustrated, they tried to return home to the US, but the girlfriend was British, and her visa expired, so they flew to Britain, and got stuck there - where it was rainy, cold and depressing. And promptly broke up. Now he's trying to use the fact that his family immigrated from Portugal and have citizenship there - to get into Bali.
Here's the Article.
It also goes into detail about tax issues, and people who discovered doing cross-country road trips and camping trips weren't quite as workable as they'd thought.
Also one guy got into trouble on Facebook and on Zoom chats, because he was living it up on the beach in Costa Rica, while his friends were miserable in the States. (Folks? Don't brag about how great you have it. People are on edge. And scared. We, humans, don't tend to deal well with envy - when we're scared and miserable. However - pretty pictures (without you in them) are helpful. If you aren't in them - we can pretend we're there. I don't know why people don't get that on social media - no one wants to see your pretty mug, they want to see the pretty landscape and pretend they are there.) To prove my point? When the guy got back - all the people who were upset on FB, asked for his help on figuring out how they could escape to Costa Rica too.
Honestly, Costa Rica has a lot of cases and is struggling. How hard is it for people to stay put for a year and a half? I get cabin fever, but really?
The couple in the article was unhappy in Mexico because they were alone in an empty resort, going to the beach and gym every day. And it was too repetitive and boring. I thought...uhm okay. That doesn't sound that bad to me. You are with your lover. You have a beach and ocean to yourselves, plus a pool, and a gym. And you can work remotely. Plus you aren't in the US dealing with the nuttiness. What's the problem? But no, apparently they thought England would be a far more interesting choice.
7. We can thank the Navajo and Apache for Arizona's votes going to Biden.
How Indigenous Voters Swung the Election
8. Having difficulties charging my Kindle Fire HD, I think my battery is shot. Ugh.
9. Anyhow..I ended the day with an evening walk at twilight around Greenwood Cemetery.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-09 05:13 am (UTC)This tee-shirt captures the glorious absurdity of the moment. Also, proceeds go to voting orgs that will be working to help in the Georgia runoffs.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-09 01:19 pm (UTC)It is like a Saturday Night Live Political Skit. I honestly thought it was one or something out of the Onion when it first popped up.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-09 08:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-09 01:18 pm (UTC)Ann1962 was stating that it looked like a set from The Sons of Anarchy. LoL!
no subject
Date: 2020-11-09 09:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-09 12:31 pm (UTC)At least things like the English variant of Madeira cake are kind of like pound cake in the US, there are some cases where I can kind of substitute. I'm not sure I see so much of the spicier cakes here, like ginger, I'll have to look more carefully.
Breads, I don't miss so much, so long as I can find ones that don't make a big fuss of having had honey added or whatever, I'm generally happy shopping for bread in the US. (Here I have to watch out for people sweetening cream too!) Though, in Scotland I had some great scones and maybe should try to figure how to make them (things called scones in the US typically turn out, to my thinking, not to be), they're fairly simple.
The show doesn't seem to much promote much traditional local baking, many of the challenges take us out into Europe or beyond, though, often with a twist, some of the contestants show us their regional dishes. I do recall that in past episodes we've had at least had mention of Bakewell tarts and their like (another that I enjoy).
no subject
Date: 2020-11-09 01:15 pm (UTC)Most everything can be found here - but it depends on where you live, I suspect. I mean it probably won't be found in Tennessee, but you could find it in New York, and various other spots. New York City though - has everything, so may not be a good example.
Scones - you can find British Scones in various locales in the US. But you are correct for the most part they aren't quite the same. Similar to French Croissant. But there are places who get it right.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-09 02:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-09 02:15 pm (UTC)But yes, there are rural/backwoods communities that seem to live back in time. Appalachia - has pockets of this, as do the Mountains of Missouri. But they are more Scottish than English. And I'd say the dialect is closer to Scottish.
In NY - you can get traditional British food from ex-Pat Brits serving it. The US has a lot of people from other countries who basically act as if they've never left their country and brought everything they could with them. I mean I live next to Little Pakistan/Bangaldash, and it feels like I'm in Pakistan and Bangaldash when I wander into their neighborhoods.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-10 11:03 pm (UTC)Yes, fish and chips in the US, I've tried so many times and almost always been disappointed. An imperfect (slightly undercooked fish) but outstandingly best attempt I had in Brooklyn, I think there was an ex-pat involved.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-11 02:36 am (UTC)And in Manhattan - if you go behind the Empire State Building - there's a street devoted to Korean Cuisine - it's little Korea - nothing but Korean supermarkets, food stores, etc. In Chinatown or past Soho...you can get real Chinese food - better than China or so they tell me. I went for my birthday once to a five tiered Chinese Restaurant, where they did Dim Sum, and brought course after course on traditional trolleys. In another portion - we had Hong Kong food. Another South China food. I worked in a dot-com finance department once, where half the finance guys were Chinese. So we'd take off and get lunch for about an hour or two in some Chinese restaurant somewhere in Chinatown. They worked until midnight, came in around 8 and took two hour lunches. We also walked to little Korea and did lunch. And once, went to an all you can get sushi bar - that was amazing. Everyone in it was Japanese, except for five of us - it was huge. And buffet style. Best sushi.
There's also an amazing fish and chips place in Manhattan - but you have to look for it, it's in a hole in the wall. They serve the fish and chips in a newspaper and with salt and vinegar, it's exactly like what I had in London, exactly. But it was run by Brits.
That's why I love NYC - it's heaven for a foodie, culture junkie, or frustrated culture anthropology major. You can walk two blocks and feel like you are in a different country.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-11 01:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-11 11:22 pm (UTC)Here's a list - I'm not sure which one it was though. If any.
https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/new-york/new-york-city/articles/the-top-8-fish-and-chips-spots-in-nyc/
I stumbled upon it after having a job interview - so it had to have either been in 1996 or 2003, pre-gluten intolerance/celiac diagnosis. My guess is the late 1990s when I first moved to NYC.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-11 11:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-09 01:56 pm (UTC)In my collection of books on bread cookery I find that the US ones tend to include extraordinary amounts of sweetening in the recipes!
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Date: 2020-11-09 02:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-10 11:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-11 03:54 am (UTC)I've heard that it is actually easier to be gluten-intolerant in Australia, France,Italy, Ireland, and England than the US, and most Asian countries. Which is interesting. But I don't know if its easier to avoid sugar.
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Date: 2020-11-10 11:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-11 03:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-09 04:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-11-09 07:00 pm (UTC)Apparently yet another cousin has come down with it. This one is in Pennsylvania, and is not related by blood (she's the wife of one of my cousins) and the mother of a four year old. She's in her thirties. That's four cousins so far that I know about that have contracted it. One in Illinois, one in Texas, one in Oregon (who high-tailed it to Montana due to the fires), and one in PA. Also an Aunt and Uncle in Texas.
I've had to date about twenty or so people from my church who came down with it. And even more from crazy work place.
I was sick with something weird in November of 2019 - that lasted until March of 2020. So were all of my co-workers. I honestly thought I had bronchitis or pneumonia - I was constantly coughing. Then it went away. But my heart rate was higher afterwards, and I found myself out of breath for a bit. I don't want to get anything like that again. I was miserable. I couldn't laugh or talk or run or walk quickly or go up stairs quickly without wheezing and coughing. It was so bad - I asked for an Chest X-ray.
But...it went away in March. About a week before we went under lockdown. Very ironic timing, if you think about it.
no subject
Date: 2020-11-09 08:38 pm (UTC)