On Food:
Last night I sampled the brie truffle. Yes, you read that right. The inside of the truffle was dark chocolate with brie invisibly mixed in, and the whole thing covered in black sesame seeds. I didn’t taste the brie until taking a whiff before the second bite. And then, wow.
Hmm. I wouldn’t eat a whole box, but I’m glad I tasted it.
—–
Mamala gave us the Deceptively Delicious cookbook, with recipes and techniques for sneaking veggies into foods your kids like. C has been in a veggie-averse phase of late, though they are both pretty good about veggies. They eat romaine lettuce, baby spinach, and steamed broccoli plain, along with various other vegetables. And although potatoes are allegedly the staple vegetable of the American diet, they don’t like them much.
One of the suggestions is to have a plate of crudite out during dinner preparation so the kids will snack on healthy things. That has been a great suggestion. C walks in and says, “Oh yay! Celery!”
The recipes aren’t meant to replace serving veggies, just to add a little easy nutritional value. So far the result has been mixed. The pink pancakes, made with ricotta cheese for protein, grated apple and beet puree, were a big hit. R and I also liked them a lot and they were very filling. The quesadilla with refried beans and butternut squash puree got a thumbs-down from C, as did the pita pizza with a thin layer of pureed spinach on the bottom, though I’m not sure she would have eaten either of those anyway. The latter needs some tweaking because the pita got soggy. M has eaten everything happily.
——————–
Teh Creepy:
I’ve heard this a lot, and not just from fellow bloggers, that the so-called hero-worship of Barack Obama creeps them out.
Here are my thoughts about that, both earnest and snarky. You know I love a good exuberant rant, but if reading one makes you worry about me, don’t. My blood pressure is fine. Also, these opinions are my own and no one else’s.
1. There is some basis in fact. I can’t deny it. These people are devoted. And Gentle Readers, you have a right to your creeped-outness.
2. I believe that the tears and hysteria are outliers. I honestly don’t know about the alleged fainting spells, except that after waiting for hours in a packed auditorium, it’s been known to happen. The charges that these spell(s?) are staged seem very tin-foil hat to me. The biggest criticism of Obama is that he’s an empty suit. So why would his campaign deliberately stage something to make his rally look like the Beatles at JFK airport circa 1964?
3a. It’s hard to overstate what it must mean for many African-Americans to see a black man with a real authentic shot at the presidency. Hell, I feel that way about Hillary Clinton as a woman. Just seeing her up there battling it out for the presidency gives me a lump in my throat. Admitting that doesn’t lobotomize me, nor does it immunize me from her minuses, of which she has many… not least of which are succumbing to her own hubris of inevitability and running a largely crappy campaign. I have issues with Obama, too, plenty of them, and would be glad to talk about them some other time.
But God, we are so cynical. So this-OR-that in our culture. If a college kid with time and energy to spare feels inspired to drive 2,200 miles to volunteer with the campaign, he must be one Kool-Aid away from Jonestown.
Face it, chickadees, modernism’s over. Embrace paradox.
3b. The Obama-followers-as-mindless-cult meme is a very useful talking point, because it allows his opponents to dismiss his support as empty and insignificant. Rather than acknowledging that, for whatever reason, he is speaking to a whole bunch of people, many of whom have never resonated with any political figure before in their lives, I suppose it’s easier, and politically expedient, to write those people off as deluded.
I do need to say that insulting the intelligence of people who support one’s opponent isn’t exactly a page out of Dale Carnegie.
4. There is an exuberance and, dare I say, joy to the campaign that is refreshing. When I listen to O’s speeches, I hear shared sacrifice, stepping up and doing something: “I can’t do this by myself… no president can,” he said on Tuesday. And good Lord, when he lays out the situation we find ourselves in, I actually start to question the sanity of anyone who would want to be president right now. Not exactly kumbayah and fairy tales.
5. C’mon, people. The creepy cult meme is SO late January. Even Obama’s supporters are starting to realize that it’s silly. Get with the times!
6. Finally, my creepy meter may be calibrated improperly after seven years of misunderestimating, with us or against us, I have political capital and I’m going to spend it, now watch this drive, 1001 signing statements, we’ll spy on whomever we damn well please, revolving rationales for war, waterboarding isn’t torture, go f*ck yourself or I’ll shoot you in the face, a national debt that under a Democratic president would have Republicans rioting in the streets, mission “accomplished,” and Osama Bin Who? All topped with whipped cream, a cherry and “thank you Mr. President for restoring honor to the White House.”
It just doesn’t get any creepier than that.
21 Responses to “on food and teh creepy”
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Asides
» I have been remiss in posting SBJ’s latest stats: 23 pounds and 27 inches at six months. Yes, I’ve got the big mama biceps.
» Aaaaaand little she-who-is lost another tooth this week!
» SBJ is four months old, 19 pounds 5 ounces, and 26 inches tall. GIGANTOR!
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If you decide to run, you SO have my vote!
beets in pancakes?
And you pulled it off?
I’m still wondering why we didn’t hear this “drink the kool-aid” charge when conservatives were glorifying Ronald Reagan.
And even Karl Rove has said that being a great communicator is one of the (if not the) most important qualities for a president to be effective.
It really grates on me that joy is scoffed at and cynicism is admired these days. I’m so ready to turn that page!
PPB, it’s a great recipe. And c’mon, pink? It was a slam dunk for our girly girls.
Amen, amen. It says something about how powerless Americans have felt as the present Presidency has devolved into chaos, that we are getting emotional about Obama and/or Hillary. We are crying for relief, for honesty, for a willingness to recognize how big a mess we are in.
My wife’s a little creeped out by him. She read someplace that he’s changed his positions in response to campaign donations, and she thinks his promises of “hope” are vague, as well as finding him too charming.
to number 6 I say: A-freakin-MEN!
HELLZ YEAH!!
I am also especially concerned about #3. I know that its become commonplace to decide that the people who disagree are stupid, but the fact that its carrying so much weight concerns me.
After Obama’s speech on Tuesday, when he talked about the differences between hope and optimism, I looked at hubby and said “If only the Church could remember that we are the ones who should be talking this way…”
I wonder if it would seem so creepy if he were a tall, nice-looking white guy instead?
I’m supporting Obama, and although I am aware of his momentum, I had not heard the fainting stories and theories of “staging” before now. I too am offended by people saying that those of us who are willing to give the guy a chance (even as we acknowledge that he may not have the experience of other candidates) are stupid cult-followers. Also, as far as experience goes, is there ANY job that prepares you for that one, really? Maybe we will do a little better with someone who is not so jaded and corrupted by decades of playing the game. Among the Obama supporters I know there are 2 lawyers, a PhD psychologist, a mechanical engineer, an educator of the deaf working on her doctorate, and a PhD in Spanish literature. We are not stupid people. We are hopeful people who choose to believe that the citizens of our country can do better than we are, with the right kind of leadership.
Hillary Clinton may very well have a better handle on the policy issues that the next president will face, but Obama’s gift is that he is a leader who inspires hope, who gives us reason to believe that together we can be a country who looks after the world’s least of them more effectively. It is not just the president, it takes committment from all of us. He potentially could bring forth that committment from people of all stripes.
I read the other blogger’s post about Obama, and the comments that followed. I think comparing him to Hitler is offensively over the top. Churchgeek’s wife’s posting nails it. We need to move past cynicism. I am excited about the election for the first time in my adult life, and will feel that way even if Obama is not the nominee and Clinton is. They have different strengths and weaknesses, but either would be better than the person we have now.
You nail it too, RM. Especially point 6. You go girl!
Whose middle name is Joe instead of Hussein? Eh, who knows, Songbird.
Keith, the only allegation I’m familiar with came from the Clinton campaign and involves a nuclear power company named Exelon. This is what the Washington Post Fact Checker blog had to say about it. Hard to say what’s really going on there, though nobody on the committee has been able to corroborate Clinton’s allegations.
i’m in favor of folks who encourage new folks to get involved in the process. i’m in favor of folks who make the pie bigger and inspire others to join in mutual betterment by way of personal sacrifice for the good of the many.
it’s the first time in awhile that i’ve felt this enthusiastic about a national candidate. i often vote against someone rather than for someone. i loved voting FOR obama in the va primary and hope i have the chance to vote FOR him in the general election. if he’s not the democratic nominee i will vote FOR hillary, but i hope he will be the nominee.
and i think it’s a positive sign that not all blacks are for obama and not all women are for hillary. i’ve never been a one issue person (though there are some issues that are closer to my heart than others). it doesn’t mean i’m not a feminist if i don’t support hillary. it just means i see obama as a very positive force and i see her as more negative.
Thanks. I’ll read that when the codeine wears off.
That sneaky veggie cookbook looks great for one of my boys. Problem is, the other only eats Cheerios, hot dogs, and yogurt. I don’t think I could hide a zucchini in there.
Okay, since you could have seen it anyway, there’s no reason for me NOT to cop to being one of the *mildly* creeped-out ones.
So, even though it makes me feel a little silly, I will only add this: Obama does not creep me out. Some of the more devoted followers *whom I personally know and have watched* are what do it.
Must be the way some people feel about the church, cheese: Don’t have a problem with Jesus, it’s his followers that make me crazy.
And yes, I am tempting fate by using a Jesus analogy.
I’d like to second cheese’s remark and point out that the concern I expressed in my post was about the response of Obama’s supporters and not about Obama personally or as a candidate.
If there’s one thing our country does right, it’s giving us the right President for the times we’re dealing with. Washington was the right president to preside over a young country. Lincoln was the right president for the Civil War. FDR was exactly what we needed during the Great Depression and WWII. Kennedy kicked off the 60’s in a way that no other politician would have been capable. Reagan was the right president for the 80’s. Clinton was the right president for the 90s. And after 8 years of hard times as a country, with a president who has historically low approval ratings and a failed promise of “uniting” us, we have a nominee who has the potential to be exactly what we need for right now.
And I think that’s what people are responding to. I think that’s the “mania” that’s going on. As RM said, it’s been an incredibly surreal 8 years. It’s been rough. Wars. Wiretappings. Torture. Back room energy deals. Scapegoating LGBT people. The list goes on and on. And Barack seems to be the antithesis of this.
I think that’s the mania that’s going on. It’s like when you’re in a pool and you realize that you’ve gone too far without a breath. And the closer to the top of the water you get, the more desperate you become. And I think as a country, we’re hungry for that breath. We’re desperate to feel good about our politics again. We’re desperate to have an orator in the White House. We’re desperate to be asked to sacrifice. We’re desperate to have that “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” feeling of civic pride again.
I’m not saying that Obama is the second coming. I’m not saying that he is going to be the greatest president we’ve ever had. All I’m saying is that he’s the right president for right now.
This post, Matthew’s earlier today, and an actual ten-minute conversation with my wife while returning the toys I stole from the Pediatrics unit tonight are responsible for my latest.
“Face it, chickadees, modernism’s over. Embrace paradox.”
It was worth the read just for that line! And…
“after seven years of misunderestimating, with us or against us, I have political capital and I’m going to spend it, now watch this drive, 1001 signing statements, we’ll spy on whomever we damn well please, revolving rationales for war, waterboarding isn’t torture, go f*ck yourself or I’ll shoot you in the face, a national debt that under a Democratic president would have Republicans rioting in the streets, mission “accomplished,” and Osama Bin Who?”
That about sums it up. You nailed it. It makes visible and condensed the cause of my bitter frustration. Thanks for this rant.
Thank you for bringing some sanctified sense to the subject. It amazes me that anyone would think that an enthusiastic following should reflect on a candidate negatively. I agree, we are cynical after 7 years of the politics of personal destruction by the White House against any who dared disagree with them. I wonder if those who are “creeped out” now felt the same when Bush was whipping up hysteria against those who opposed attacking Iraq? I for one was very offended that my love of country was impuned by a demagogue just because I disagreed. Thank you for your courage in showing that being a person of faith does not have to equate with being a republican.
I pray that our next president will be either Hillary or Obama. I’m sick of having jock like mentality embarrass the nation and would welcome some gentility and discourse. This is God’s way and the only way we will find the security we crave.
BTW, there is a special nod to you over at my place.
Purely for grins.
