Monday, February 14, 2011
The Dirty Dozen
TALCUM powder. That white, nice smelling stuff we've been putting on baby bums for the longest time... yeah, that stuff is made predominately of Talc, which is, carcinogenic. Damnit.
I dare you to see what else they've ruined for you: The Dirty Dozen
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Stuff you should read - Comics
One of the first series I started reading was Transmetropolitan. It was written by Warren Ellis, and drawn by Darick Robertson, and is worth trying, even if you`re not really excited about being seen holding a comic book.
If you want something that`s a little lighter and hip with the kids (because it was just made into a movie with Michael Cera), you might want to try Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. It`s about a kid in Toronto who meets a girl, falls in love with the girl and finds out that if he wants to date her, he has to defeat her 7 evil ex`s. There are other complications but I won`t ruin it for you.
I also really liked Chew. It`s actually written by a friend of James`, John Layman and drawn by Rob Guillory. The premise is a little odd, but it works - the series follows Tony Chu, an FDA agent on his adventures in a reality where eating chicken is illegal. Tony receives psychic impressions from anything he eats, which makes for some interesting plot lines.
Of course, there are a ton more, which I will dazzle you with, one post at a time. Whether or not you read my suggestions, I recommend looking into the world of comic books. I had the impression that they were all about superheroes and the X-Men; all aimed at 13 year-old boys, but the variety is pretty impressive... at the end of the day, a lot of the comic books I`ve read are just as content-heavy and mature as a book.
Chocolate Peanut butter cups
Just a note: the recipe calls to use a double boiler for this, but if you`re not equipped, you can just take a metal or glass bowl and place it over a small pot of water. When the water boils, the steam will heat the bowl and slowly melt the chocolate. You don`t want to use a microwave if you can avoid it, because the chocolate will not melt properly... sometimes, if you heat something improperly, you mess with it`s molecular structure and it won`t set properly.
And so, without further ado - Small Measure`s Peanut butter cups
Bacon Links
Found a couple of good bacon sites, and NotMartha's Bacon Cups get first mention as they are the coolest thing since sliced... bacon.
And here's something awesome: Canned Bacon. Oh yes, it might kill you, but damnit, so can crossing the street.
I have found a mecca for bacon lovers: Iheartbacon is all about the stuff you love.
And last, but not least, Baconarian has some interesting and questionable ideas, but still gets thumbs up for effort - alot of recipes and links.
This week in links
YES! spotlights the visionary ideas and practical actions for building a just, sustainable, and compassionate world.
The Monthly UnEconomist by Jeffrey Morris contains information and analyses of market and non-market economic and environmental impacts. Unfortunately, a lot of these sites are US-centric. I could use any suggestions to Canada-centric ones or ones that focus on the world in general.
This is a cool little blog about Baking Soda. Ah yes, the many uses of baking soda are interesting and sometimes obvious but if you want to start minimising your impact on the environment, here's a good start. The site also contains lots of other interesting tips as well as how to make your home a little healthier. Especially after all that bacon, I figure I can do with a little more healthy.
List of Common Misconceptions is pretty interesting. Is you read this, you can be that person at the party that says "Um, actually..." a lot.
Hangover cure? You tell me.
Rant
2. There is no need to get shitty. You live in a country without war, with clean running water and a public transit system that functions fairly well. Yes, that man is leaning on you. Live with it.
3. Get out of the way. How hard is that? It’s not your stop? Well, great. Good for you, MOVE so that I can get off. Got a text? Lovely. You're welcome to reply in that corner over there. Don’t just stand in the middle of the way and hope you become transparent.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Health and clean underwear
Eventually, I'd like to replace all my cosmetics and toiletries with the all or mostly natural products and most of our food products with the organic or less processed versions.
Here are a couple of articles I've picked up that you might find interesting:
Super Foods Explained
10 Simple Skincare Rules
Sugar's effect on your health
Monday, February 7, 2011
Cooking
I think I started with the basics - pasta, salads, simple meat dishes. I found that I might not be Jamie Oliver, but I'm pretty good. So my cooking evolved until I started to get better at knowing what went together without having to use a recipe.
Now I enjoy more complicated dishes, full meals and... baking. If cooking is an art, baking is an exact science. I'd ruined so many things so many times in the past that I never tried my hand as an adult... but since I'd developed a new confidence through cooking, I added baking to my list of skills.
I pushed the envelope last August with a layered chocolate and peanut butter cake with fondant icing. It was challenging but it makes you feel so accomplished when the image of what's in your head comes out successfully.
James' dad is an amazing cook and baker and for Christmas a couple of years back, bought me a lifetime membership to Rouxbe, possibly one of the best online cooking sites I have ever used. They have an amazing collection of instructional and factual videos as well as recipes that have been tried and tested in their professional test kitchens. They also actually respond to member comments and questions so if you don't understand something or seem to have problems, you can get someone who knows what they're doing to help out.
Knitting
My wonderful grandmother showed me how and had me knitting "Hats for the Homeless," a church group thing. No, I am not at all religious, that's her thing. Once I'd mastered the basic pearl/knit stitches, I made a scarf or two, tried some odds and ends: baby blanket, wrist warmers. Wool is expensive and like everything else, the styles go through phases so I tend to doddle a little when picking the next thing. I also go through my own phases where I power through a bunch of stuff and then don’t pick up a needle for weeks.
In the project bag I have a hat trial (knitting in the round, the ones I made for my Oma were sown together), a sock, and a throw that I’d started for an old friend. We “broke up” in what I feel is the lamest way possible and so I lost interest for a while. There are a billion things in my Ravelry queue which I’d like to eventually get to.
I think to start, I'm going to try to focus on finishing this throw. I'll keep you posted on the progress, but there are so many things I want to do that I have a feeling it might take a while.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Pooter
First Post
To blog... Why did I start this thing? I think it’s a mix between everyone else doing it and a need to put all my odds and ends in a single place. There are other ways of doing this, but, you know... I’m down with the new generation. Now, I am no writer. Nor do I aspire to be. I feel I need to state that now in case you had any preconceptions.
So I guess I thought I would join the bloggers... the CRAFTER bloggers. My only problem is, that most crafters are the kind with all the tools and years of experience and they make cool things and sell them online. So that's not me either. I like crafting and wouldn't mind sharing in order to attract other ideas... so... I’m not a crafter per se. How about "Occasional Crafter & Cook with comments on life and those boring personal thoughts on the BS around her?" OOOHHH KAY. That feels so done, but everyone's different I guess and I'm not writing this to win some award anyway, right?