Cold, cold, colder.

This is what the precipitation map looked like all day yesterday:

lakeeffect

I’m sorry this isn’t the animated version, so you could see the way those cotton-ball areas of snow park themselves over certain coastal stretches and stay and stay and stay. Some of you non-Midwesterners may not be acquainted with what we call “lake effect” snow, but that’s it, right there. It’s why western Michigan driveways and parking lots need three-foot day-glo sticks along their edges to guide the plows, like they have in ski-resort towns. It’s why the east side of Cleveland can get heaps of snow while the west side doesn’t. (Or maybe it’s the other way around. Borden?) It’s why snow in Buffalo and Erie can be nearly apocalyptic. It’s why, coming home from Milwaukee to Indiana, you can be all, like, what a beautiful day for a drive, round the southern end of Lake Michigan and suddenly realize it’s going to be a blizzard clear to South Bend.

Cold air races across rising warmer air from a large body of water and bingo-bango, precipitation. Lake-effect snowfall is a wash for lake levels, as it represents only a temporary relocation of water, and all melts back into the lake in spring. Last year, we had a snowy winter that came from storms moving south-to-north, and that was a good thing for the 21st-century Saudi Arabia of H2O. All ur waters are belong to us.

If you’re interested, western Michigan got 13 inches yesterday. We have the lightest dusting, not even enough to sweep, much less shovel.

Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam circumspice. That’s our state motto. If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you.

Maybe not in January.

So much for fifth-grade civics. How was your day? It’s Friday, traditionally my Exhale Day, although there won’t be much exhaling today — I’m meeting a student later to cut some video, and tonight it’s the middle-school Christmas dance, known hereabouts as “the winter formal,” although it’s not. Girls must wear dresses and boys, ties. But it will require a Getting Ready pre-party, and I gather we’re hosting. So I’d best pull up my socks and get it in gear. Some bloggage? Oh, why not:

I’m not nearly as well-traveled as you might think, and certainly less than I’d like to be. For instance, I’ve only been to Los Angeles once, but the city has stayed with me. The hills and canyons were so strange to a flatlander like me; I found it fascinating how you could be in an unmistakably urban area one minute, take a right turn and two lefts, and be in some cleft in the hills that felt entirely off the map. Ever since, I’ve wanted to live somewhere that strange. And while the Grosse Pointes are hardly L.A., Detroit offers enough strangeness and off-the-map feel for years of exploration.

All of which leads to a couple of Sweet Juniper bonbons, in which Jim and the kids find the country in the city and also the prairie.

All that talk of cutout cookies yesterday prompted Lex to send along instructions for making your own mad gingerbread men.

Tiger Woods nude photos? As one of my FB friends says, he needs to start talking, and the words he needs to say are SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY.

Via Fark, the headline I never got to write: Snowball the overweight hedgehog is running and swimming his way back to health

Costco awaits. Have a good weekend.

Posted at 9:58 am in Current events, Detroit life, Same ol' same ol' |
 

69 responses to “Cold, cold, colder.”

  1. coozledad said on December 11, 2009 at 10:34 am

    I guess the PGA nixed the Defense of Marriage Celebrity Golf Tournament this year. Bummer. Could have been a thang.

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  2. Julie Robinson said on December 11, 2009 at 10:56 am

    St. Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital? Love the British!

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  3. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on December 11, 2009 at 11:06 am

    East side Clevelanders have the big biceps and washboard abs . . . well, under the pierogi rolls. Mucho snow east of the city center.

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  4. Connie said on December 11, 2009 at 11:09 am

    I grew up on that lake effect shoreline, and I remember every winter as beautiful. Lake effect doesn’t necessarily mean constant blizzards. It means fluffy snow fall on a constant basis. I have great memories from my newlywed years, of cross country skiing through Holland’s city streets in a moon lit snowfall.

    When I was a kid the first sign of winter was when the city crews put the 8 foot red poles in next to every fire hydrant in town. In lake effect country, city and county parks offer just as much outdoor opportunity in the winter as in other seasons. Cross country skiing, local sledding hills and places to skate. I grew up ice skating at a conservation club pond, a local pond, and a large pond at the back of the city cemetery that was operated for skating by the city parks department. We would make large family expeditions to meet cousins to skate at Reeds Lake in Grand Rapids.

    I lived in southern Indiana for many years, in a typical southern city with no snow plows. They put blades on a couple of trash trucks if necessary. I remember watching on the news the great Kentucky blizzard of 96, which shut down I65 and I75 for several days. Our small town just off I 65 filled up with trucks unable to travel south. Parking lots everywhere filled up with trucks, including Walmart and Kmart. Restaurants ran out of food due to 1, feeding those truckers, and 2, lack of deliveries due to closed freeways.

    Point being if there is one, is that if there must be snow let it be in lake effect country where everyone knows how to deal with it.

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  5. ROgirl said on December 11, 2009 at 11:11 am

    I couldn’t get over the stupendous boobs on Tiger’s porn star acquaintance.

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  6. Sue said on December 11, 2009 at 11:17 am

    ROgirl: classic tupperware boobs (meaning, implants so huge that there’s not enough skin to “even things out” so it looks like she upended a couple of tupperware bowls on her chest – sure sign of a poor surgeon or a patient not interested in aesthetic advice). What I couldn’t get over was the skin discoloration on her boobs. Either she’s got some ugly freckles or zits.

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  7. coozledad said on December 11, 2009 at 11:21 am

    ROgirl: I find myself asking, what is a boob job these days? Do they fill them with vinegar and baking soda? Those look like they’s about to buss.

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  8. Jeff Borden said on December 11, 2009 at 11:33 am

    First of all, yeah, Nance, the heavy snows in the Cleveland area fall to the east. It is often double, sometimes triple, the depths of the snows to the west.

    Regarding breast implants, I am kind of naive. I discern these are like silicon bags that are implanted, but how do they do it without leaving a scar? Do they last for life or must they be replaced over time? Anyone with a knowledge of cosmetic surgery, please enlighten me.

    I was at a Christmas cocktail party of techies last night and there was one young lady present who must’ve purchased her boobs from the same place as Tiger’s friend. She was maybe 5-foot-4 and slender, but with Jayne Mansfield-sized breasts. Maybe it’s because I’ve always been more of a leg man, but I don’t find wildly overinflated chests particularly erotic. Then again, this young lady in her LBD had a sizable group of young men around her.

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  9. Connie said on December 11, 2009 at 11:45 am

    My long time single brother (newly a grandfather!) tells me that when women are lying down real ones fall sideways and fake ones point straight up.

    Now that sentence has me thinking of the whole lie/lay thing and I still don’t know if I got it right.

    Same brother just passed on to his (30 yr old)son his beloved 1972 Buick Vista Cruiser, only to learn son had no clue how to drive a rear drive vehicle, with an actual choke and carbureter. I told him he needed to do what our Dad did: take his new driver to a snow covered church parking lot and teach him how to spin out and recover. Now with all these front wheel drive cars we can only do doughnuts in reverse.

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  10. coozledad said on December 11, 2009 at 11:46 am

    I always heard that boobs-as-reproductive-signal were an indicator of a butt of corresponding size, but that was probably just Dr. Brownowski halfway through a box of Almaden.
    What those are disturbingly reminiscent of is a balloon artist failing to twist up a poodle and making Snoopy instead. I’d be concerned that any motorboating of those would result in one or both of them suddenly detaching and sputtering away.

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  11. paddyo' said on December 11, 2009 at 11:55 am

    I think Tiggywinkles is the nickname one of his girlfriends gave Tiger’s, uh, putter . . .

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  12. Jen said on December 11, 2009 at 11:58 am

    My aunt and uncle live in Grand Rapids, and my uncle enjoys sending regular emails and photos updating the amount of snow. It’s usually quite a bit. The first winter they had moved there from Fort Wayne, my aunt called my grandmother nearly every day to complain that it was snowing.

    Personally, I loved living in Bloomington for 3 1/2 years in college – there usually was noticeably less snow and it was almost always at least a few degrees warmer than the northeast corner of the state. Thought, it was annoying how everybody flipped out at anything more than a little dusting of snow.

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  13. Jeff Borden said on December 11, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    Jen,

    Anyone who has lived in the south will tell you even a hint of snow will send people flocking to the grocery stores, where it soon becomes impossible to find bread or milk.

    I was in Charlotte, N.C. years ago when a fluke storm dropped a foot of heavy snow. (Just a few miles south, it was simply heavy rain.) In fairness, a city like Charlotte is simply not equipped to deal with that kind of weather, but my Lord, everything shut down. Groceries, retailers, fast-food joints. . .the only businesses operating were the 7-11 stores. We went without mail delivery for three days. As the owner of a 1980 Honda Accord with manual transmission, I spent an inordinate amount of time ferrying native Southerners through the white stuff and on into work. I also “borrowed” a couple of cafeteria trays from work, and introduced some of my Dixie friends to the art of traying down a hill.

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  14. paddyo' said on December 11, 2009 at 12:24 pm

    Jeff B., that scramble-for-supplies is a staple of life in our nation’s capital, too, oddly enough. Yeah, it’s sorta in the South, too, but it never failed to amaze me during my six years there in the ’80s how a forecast of coming snow, regardless of how much or little, sent folks scrambling — many, many, many of whom came there from somewhere else, a good number of them from . . . places where it SNOWS.

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  15. Deborah said on December 11, 2009 at 1:15 pm

    What a coincidence Jeff, I’m headed to Charlotte, NC this weekend to visit my mother-in-law who is 90 and having hip replacement surgery. She’s super active and with-it for a 90 year old. I certainly hope they don’t get a load of wet snow while we’re there. I checked the weather and it’s supposed to be nice, in the 40s, better than here in Chicago.

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  16. Joe Kobiela said on December 11, 2009 at 1:37 pm

    I flew thru this all week. Tuesday night into Wednesday was the worst, The rest not to bad. Alot of snow in Grand Rapids last night, and man was it cold and windy in Cleavland. I go into lake front airport right next to the stadium and the r&r hall of fame, it had to miserable watching that game last night.
    Pilot Joe

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  17. adrianne said on December 11, 2009 at 2:11 pm

    My favorite weather description during 12 years of living in Syracuse NY (metropolitan snow capital of the United States – yes, we regularly got more snow in a season than wimpy Buffalo) involved “roving bands of lake-effect snow.” The image of snow bullies roaming the Tug Hill Plateau waiting to flatten people is tough to get out of my mind!

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  18. Sue said on December 11, 2009 at 4:55 pm

    I am not one to trash municipal employees, but seriously folks, can you spot the glaring bit of ridiculosity in this paragraph?:
    “The treasurer’s office has laid off two part-time customer service representatives and Mayor Tom Barrett and the Common Council have chopped funding for temporary help, Special Deputy City Treasurer Jim Klajbor said. That means the office is heading into its busy season with a total of 50 regular and temporary employees, down 14% from 58 at the same time a year ago, Klajbor said.”

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  19. brian stouder said on December 11, 2009 at 5:53 pm

    Sue – I’ll bite; what’s the glaring ridiculosity in that paragraph?

    Possibly they screwed up (so to speak) the word “laid”?

    They referred to public servants who deal with the taxpayers as “customer service representatives”?

    The percent is closer to 15% than 14%?

    Adrianne – Hah! and, I bet those roving bands of snow bullies came out of Canada, damnit to hell!

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  20. Sue said on December 11, 2009 at 6:17 pm

    I just thought it was odd that they were getting rid of people at the frontlines while still needing a “Special Deputy City Treasurer”.

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  21. Holly said on December 11, 2009 at 6:39 pm

    I just had to laugh. I work in a nursing home. The residents age is between 85 and 95. Can you picture what these women who got boob jobs are going to look like if they make it that age. Most of these ladies in the home don’t wear a bra.

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  22. brian stouder said on December 11, 2009 at 7:44 pm

    Well, I’m a rack-man from way back, or more precisely, a curve man. These comicbook boobie ladies don’t do much for me; like a long straight road with one dead-man’s curve on it, rather than an enjoyable drive down a curvey parkway.

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  23. Sue said on December 11, 2009 at 8:05 pm

    brian stouder wins for most interesting mental image.
    And along with thinking about what 95-year-old boob jobs will look like – imagine today’s tattoos in 70 years.

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  24. Holly said on December 11, 2009 at 8:29 pm

    I’m sure some 70 year old tattoos will be really funny. I’m glad I will not be around to see my daughter’s.

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  25. moe99 said on December 11, 2009 at 8:29 pm

    How do tattoos look on the old folks, Holly?

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  26. Holly said on December 11, 2009 at 8:39 pm

    Moe99– The no bra look is bad enough. Thankfully,I never have had the chance to see any tattoos.

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  27. brian stouder said on December 11, 2009 at 10:04 pm

    My best laugh of the evening was provided by Rachel Maddow, when she did a little feature story about the former Mayor of Providence, Buddy Cianci.

    Mayor Cianci’s wife is named Nancy Anne – and if you say her name three times out loud, you might laugh, also.

    Ready?

    Nancy Ann Cianci, Nancy Ann Cianci, Nancy Ann Cianci.

    Gotta love Rachel!

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  28. Dexter said on December 11, 2009 at 11:35 pm

    I have many snow-related tales since I have lived at the edge of the Lake Michigan lake-effect area most of my life. I used to drive a minimum of 80 miles a day and many days I would routinely top 130 miles . I have had a lot of vehicles that I drove through all sorts of snow and ice conditions, and I felt most comfortable and “in control” in a big rear-wheel car. I never had an all-wheel vehicle like so many have now, so I would probably like those. Some large sedans were awful , though, and the worst was the Chrysler Cordoba, which would helicopter-spin into the nearest ditch as soon as the road froze a little or had a slight covering of snow. Now those big cars are only available to fleets. I checked the Ford site last night…no Crown Vics are sold to the public any more.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Once the late great Hilliard Gates had a game in Lexington, KY when he telecast IU basketball. It was snowing and the cabbie was too scared to drive in the snow, so Hilliard, whose travel day had been hit with delays already, ordered the cabbie out and into the back seat and Hilliard drove the cab to Rupp Arena. Hilliard told the story during a lull in the action of the game. Oh, Hilliard broadcast one game that I played in in high school.
    My brother heard it at home. Hilliard referred to me as “(Dexter), a HUSKY LAD.” I never lived it down. Husky is OK for a football player, but it’s code for FAT ASS if you play roundball.

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  29. Holly said on December 12, 2009 at 12:09 am

    I drive a ford 250 heavy duty. I can never call in and say I can not get to work.

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  30. moe99 said on December 12, 2009 at 2:10 am

    Sue, is it an apples to oranges comparison? I can’t tell how many permanent vs. how many temp helpers there are.

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  31. Connie said on December 12, 2009 at 7:07 am

    Lake Michigan lake effect is also responsible for the fruit belt that lines the west shore of Michigan. The big lake moderates the spring freezes as well, so fruit blossoms aren’t damaged. So there are positive things about lake effect, and if that’s what it takes for me to eat Michigan cherries and peaches next summer, I say go for it!

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  32. Jill said on December 12, 2009 at 8:21 am

    One odd thing about the lake effect snows is that they don’t drop until they’re past the lake by 1/8 or 1/4 mile. Right at the lake shore doesn’t get nearly as much as the roads just east of the lake.

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  33. Sue said on December 12, 2009 at 10:08 am

    No, Moe, actually Milwaukee is a fairly well-run city but has had to make the furlough/firing decisions like everyone else. Budgets are cut everywhere and temp workers are not being brought in to help with tax billings and payments, at the same time that workers who deal directly with the public have been cut. My point is that whenever you see one of these “brace yourselves, people, service will be affected”, the spokesperson is often from some odd level of management, like a “special” deputy city treasurer or an assistant public relations director. Really? Things are so bad that you need to send a managerial assistant-to-an-assistant to tell us you’ve cut so many lower-level positions that we’re going to notice it? I just find the cluelessness annoying – if you’re operating that way then at least make sure the head of the department talks to the reporter, not some underling with a title that is easily made fun of.

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  34. moe99 said on December 12, 2009 at 11:18 am

    Can I just say that I think the governor of Washington does not know how to send a nice Thanksgiving letter out to state employees? You would think that it would be good to focus on family and helping others. Well that’s there, but in the letter is this:

    Sent to all staff on behalf of Governor Chris Gregoire
    Dear Fellow State Employee:
    What was a good idea nearly 400 years ago is still a good idea this week. Let’s stop and give thanks for all we have – friends, family, food, health.
    It’s been a hard year for many of our friends, neighbors and co-workers. In this economic crisis, thousands of Washingtonians have seen their pay cut, are struggling to keep their health insurance, or have lost their job.
    People are turning to our state programs for assistance, many of them for the first time. You can be proud that you are there to help.
    Of course, the increasing demand for state services comes at a cost. And, even as some positive economic signs have emerged, consumer spending is low and unemployment is high. After our latest caseload and revenue forecasts, the state budget gap is now $2.6 billion to be cut from a total available budget of $9.3 billion.
    To put that in some context, the budget for the entire Department of Corrections is $1.6 billion. Our budget gap is larger than our community college system. It’s bigger than the budgets of our four regional universities and our two research universities, combined.
    We cannot leave our communities without the public safety provided by the people at the Department of Corrections. We cannot hope to compete economically if we have no access to colleges and universities to educate the next generation. We cannot devastate the safety net of last resort for our most vulnerable.
    We clearly have difficult choices ahead of us as we balance our budget. It is the most severe economic crisis in 80 years. For today, though, I simply want to thank you for the outstanding work you do. Amid historic challenges, you continue to work hard and represent our state well.
    I know this Great Recession has taken a toll on the people you serve, your families and your programs. The public needs you more now than ever. I know that the pressures you feel are also greater than ever. Thank you for your continued dedication as we move though this difficult period.
    For more information about the budget situation, visit my website at http://governor.wa.gov/priorities/budget/default.asp. You will find a video and PowerPoint presentation with a more detailed description of the challenges we face.
    After our last budget update, state employees submitted 100 cost-cutting ideas. We need that kind of innovative spirit. Remember, if you have another idea, don’t reply to this email. You will not receive a response. Go to my website to get your idea to the right place: http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/default.asp...

    Now if that don’t warm the cockles of all the hearts of state government employees everywhere, I don’t know what does.

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  35. mark said on December 12, 2009 at 11:40 am

    It’s got to be tough to work heartfelt season’s greetings and “check out this link to my power point presentation” into the same letter.

    Go back to working for the federal government. There’s no pain over there. http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20091211/1afedpay11_st.art.htm?loc=interstitialskip

    How bad would the economy have to be for the federal government to institute a pay freeze? “Worst crisis since the great depression” obviously isn’t enough to stop the good times from rolling.

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  36. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on December 12, 2009 at 11:44 am

    Committees should not write letters. That letter was written by a committee.

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  37. brian stouder said on December 12, 2009 at 1:23 pm

    Well, let the record show that we just returned from Scotts/Krogers, and I have all the ingredients* for Moe’s chess pie, and the pie crust is thawing now.

    So – the Good Lord willin’ and the river don’t rise – we’ll have a report for you shortly. Earlier this morning, Pam and the girls and I went to a bakery-supply store, where they were conducting a ginger-bread house decoration class – which was lots of fun. (I’ll put a photo or two onto the ol’ Facebook page)

    *I called Pam on the cell to ask if corn muffin mix and corn meal are the same. The word “No!” is till ringing in my ears. So now, I’ll need more recipes with corn meal in them.

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  38. brian stouder said on December 12, 2009 at 2:24 pm

    Well, here’s one of those things that was both surprising, and not –

    http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004053049

    an excerpt

    NEW YORK As word spread, rapidly, on Thursday about the sudden shuttering of Editor & Publisher, after 125 years, both in print and online, by its parent Nielsen Co., major publications and Web news outlets covered the news with prominent reports.

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  39. nancy said on December 12, 2009 at 3:10 pm

    We’re having our 48 HFP wrap party tonight, and I too am making pies — apple and key lime, to be specific. Our director is a pie man. He is going to love mine. With five hours before party time and an extra crust in the house, I’m thinking I might go for one more. Chocolate cream? Can I get a hell-yeah?

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  40. mark said on December 12, 2009 at 3:13 pm

    Hell yeah. And key lime to mark is as donuts are to homer.

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  41. brian stouder said on December 12, 2009 at 3:15 pm

    HELL YEAH!!

    and

    HUZZAH!! HUZZAH!! – I made two of Moe’s chess pies (since you get two crusts, when you buy frozen at Kroger) – and they are currently cooling. (I’m thinking gramma is going to inherit one)

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  42. Holly said on December 12, 2009 at 4:35 pm

    What is chess pie?

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  43. moe99 said on December 12, 2009 at 4:40 pm

    Holly, a southern confection. Recipe is on yesterday’s thread.

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  44. nancy said on December 12, 2009 at 4:42 pm

    And the photo is on Facebook!

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  45. Sue said on December 12, 2009 at 5:38 pm

    No pies for me, it’s a gingerbread man day. Unfortunately, I used a little too much flour and they baked up kind of crusty, looking like they had some kind of gingerbread skin disease. Time for a batch of royal icing.

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  46. Julie Robinson said on December 12, 2009 at 6:13 pm

    We put the pork loin and apple dish in the crockpot and right now I’m thinking a slice of chess pie would have made a great topper for the meal. Darn. Our annual cookie walk/sweet shop is tomorrow; maybe someone will bring one in. It’s our church ladies’ major fundraiser and this year I am contributing nothing but an aria from Handel’s Messiah and a St. Stephen banner for after Christmas.

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  47. beb said on December 12, 2009 at 7:05 pm

    According to the Sat. evening national news the world is coming to an end because Tiger Woods is withdrawing from golfing for an unstated period. It lead the evening news with two reports on how it will effect Golfing and – uh – media promotions. Oh, the horror, the horror.

    Nothing said about Mrs Woods who must feel like a well worn floor mat by this time. Just concern over TV ratings and product endorsements. Money is everything.

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  48. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on December 12, 2009 at 7:13 pm

    “Oh, sweet mystery of life at last I’ve found youuuuuu . . .”

    Why had no one told me before of the joys of roasted Brussels sprouts? Olive oil, salt, pepper, 400 deg. for 40 minutes, and . . . oh, my (as Annie would say).

    The darkened outer leaves were left crispy and consumable — i ate most of them entire, just popped them like popcorn shrimp or sheep’s eyeballs at a shiek’s Eid feast.

    For all you Brussels sprout skeptics out there, i have met the cruciferous vegetable that brings joy and contentment, and it is now us.

    Thank you, all!

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  49. Holly said on December 12, 2009 at 7:51 pm

    Jeff, Do you start out with fresh or frozen?

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  50. Holly said on December 12, 2009 at 8:07 pm

    Sue, When I come for Christmas, do I have to eat one of your cookies?

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  51. Sue said on December 12, 2009 at 8:38 pm

    Have some eggnog first, then you won’t notice they’re a little corrugated.

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  52. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on December 12, 2009 at 11:37 pm

    I used fresh, but i might experiment with frozen if they aren’t available next time. Which may be tomorrow. Oh, my. That’s tasty.

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  53. Ricardo said on December 13, 2009 at 12:01 am

    I saw a request from a soldier in Afghanistan for reading material and other media, DVD, CD that has a viewpoint other than that of Fox News. It seems Fox is on TV all the time over there along with books that support Fox.

    I found material from my library and went over to The Bookman, used books, and picked up some Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, Al Franken, and others’ books to send. I’m also asking friends for material to add to the box.

    If you would like to help out these soldiers too, send to:

    J. ATHILL, CPT
    TF 1-15 IN, HHC, S1
    FOB ECHO (US ARMY)
    APO AE 09332-9998

    I am certain they will all appreciate it. Hope my Malcolm X bio gets there.

    Oh, at Trader Joe’s today they had fresh brussels sprouts still on the stem. Never saw them like that before.

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  54. basset said on December 13, 2009 at 10:48 am

    Ricardo, are you in Nashville… or another city with a Bookman and a Trader Joe’s?

    Our Civitan club did a book drive a couple years ago – a helicopter pilot home on leave from Afghanistan was our lunch speaker, when we asked him what we could do to help he said paperbacks to ward off boredom would really help. After talking with some used-book dealers and asking around a bit we ended up with about fifteen thousand – delivered them to Fort Campbell, where they were stacked by the exit doors at the airfield for departing soldiers to pick up as they wanted. We actually got more than they could use – the rest went to the VA hospital and a couple of prisons.

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  55. LAMary said on December 13, 2009 at 1:57 pm

    I got the brussels sprouts on the stem for our Thanksgiving dinner. They are especially nice because they seem to stay fresh tasting longer, and if you just break them off the stem, you don’t have to trim them. When I was a kid we always got them that way because we had a farmer neighbor. Maybe that’s why I never disliked brussels sprouts as a child. My kids have always liked them.

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  56. Dexter said on December 13, 2009 at 6:05 pm

    I confess also to being partial to brussel sprouts, but I never in my wildest dreams imagined I would run into a cyber colony of like-tasting comrades.
    I don’t think I ever knew anyone who would even taste one before…now I find a nest of brussel sprouts devotees. I. B. Dam.

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  57. Dexter said on December 13, 2009 at 6:06 pm

    Now I suppose you are going to tell me you like artichokes?

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  58. LAMary said on December 13, 2009 at 6:52 pm

    Looooove artichokes. With garlic butter.

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  59. Dexter said on December 13, 2009 at 6:55 pm

    I have been in Gilroy many times. Garlic capital of the world.
    http://gilroygarlicfestival.com/?p=405

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  60. coozledad said on December 13, 2009 at 7:01 pm

    Artichoke hearts and oyster mushrooms make a very nice white pizza. Especially topped with Pecorino Romano. You can also add shredded chicken (I use the soy variety).

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  61. basset said on December 13, 2009 at 9:34 pm

    On a completely different topic… Rolling Stone has released its list of the “100 best songs of the decade” and I don’t recognize a damn one of them.

    http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31248926/100_best_songs_of_the_decade/27

    Then again, I remember when Rolling Stone was a quarterfold…

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  62. Jeff (the mild-mannered one) said on December 13, 2009 at 9:48 pm

    Johnny Cash made it at number 15. That makes me happy.

    As for Lady Gaga, is she a kind of modern day David Bowie?

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  63. brian stouder said on December 13, 2009 at 9:59 pm

    basset – that link was funny; the list is the list is the list; but the comments contain the “the juice”.

    Those folks could have been talking about politics in Burkina Faso, for all I know

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  64. basset said on December 13, 2009 at 10:27 pm

    I recognize a few of the artists but none of the songs. Didn’t go to the comments, I felt ignorant enough already

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  65. Catherine said on December 13, 2009 at 11:27 pm

    That list must suck, if I know most of the songs.

    I will say, if you haven’t heard the Glee cover of Kanye’s “Gold Digger” (#39 on the list), you haven’t lived: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgZ7e-FDeac

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  66. Dexter said on December 14, 2009 at 12:56 am

    I recognized 28 titles but could only sing a few words of 15 of the songs. Some of them were all over the tv and radio, like Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab”. I like Bruce Springsteen and U2 so I knew those, but I just don’t listen to Jay-Z and Beyonce and a lot of the artists I had not heard of. But, gee…ya had to have heard the Dixie Chicks “Not Ready to Make Nice” if you watched or listened even a little bit. That song was Natalie’s “stick it up your ass” comment to everyone who criticized her for dissing WBush43 over in England, as I recall. I love her music.
    Beyonce is great. She just nailed her Etta James character in the film “Cadillac Records”. What a talent she has.
    Here is a good tune from LCD Soundsystems; they made the list.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmm14g4cAFc

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  67. basset said on December 14, 2009 at 8:37 am

    >>ya had to have heard the Dixie Chicks “Not Ready to Make Nice”

    no, and I live in Nashville… probably have seen one of them at the mall or something and didn’t recognize her.

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  68. Andrew J. said on December 16, 2009 at 3:49 pm

    You talk about imagine what a boob job will look on a 90-year-old. Well, imagine what a non-boob job will look like on a 90-year-old. People love to criticize boob jobs; guess you haven’t seen a saggy, wrinkled, “Snoopy’s nose” breast, have you? Not too pleasant the joys of going natural, at least for some.

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  69. Ricardo said on December 20, 2009 at 2:01 pm

    Basset, Orange County. Sorry for the late response. This person complained that they only had winger books and tv in the Afghan bases. Maybe they thought they would be there so they didn’t pick them up at home.

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