It’s beginning to smell a lot like Christmas.
| With the temperatures here hitting 80 degrees a couple of days in a row, it sure doesn’t feel much like Christmas. But with my mother entering full-on baking mode, it sure smells good around here. This morning she made some Galettes, which I believe are the Best Cookies in the World. I mean with the primary ingredients being sugar, butter, and eggs, how can you go wrong?
Besides the galettes, she’s making Russian Tea Cakes, homemade Reese’s Cups, and something German that I can’t spell (but I can surely eat). |
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They probably don’t want to know what I’ve named my stuffed animal…
Score one for religious tolerance! The Sudanese president pardoned Gillian Gibbons, a British school teacher who was imprisoned for allowing her students to name a teddy bear “Mohammed”. I don’t know what the big deal was, she only drew 15 days, and she was pardoned after only serving 9. Apparently there were some protesters calling for her to be executed.
I’m not going to pick on Islam in particular. Most religions tend to breed extremism in one form or another. Whether it’s people killing doctors at abortion clinics or flying airplanes into buildings, it’s amazing what people will do when they’re convinced that they are Right. Not just right, but Right. Thankfully, I’m never sure that I’m Right, so my mistakes are somewhat more limited in scope (like choosing the wrong drapes, for example). So I guess I’d better get rid of my toy octopus named Jésus, huh?
The Ronnie North experiment….
As most of you know, I don’t drink alcohol. No, I haven’t converted to Islam (yet, at least), but I haven’t had a drink since April 21st, 1993 at approximately 1:30 AM. How I remember it that exactly is another, much longer story. The point is that although I no longer drink, I like to stay informed about alcohol and the drinking culture in general. That’s why, when I was in Las Vegas last week (see this post) at the Global Gaming Expo show I acted as a personal drinking advisor to my good friend Ronnie. There was a section of the show dedicated to various libations, a veritable cornucopia of booze, which I helped Ronnie navigate with my savvy selections of liquors and wines. Below, you can see the progression of Ronnie’s drinking, in time-lapse format.
My apologies, constant reader.
It has been a loooong time since my last post, but I feel that I have excellent reasons, and since it’s my blog, that’s good enough for me! Last week, I was in wonderful, wooley, Las Vegas, and it took me a few days to recuperate from that trip. For your enjoyment, here are some photos from my odyssey:
One of the many reasons I dislike Texas. Note the dead animal head.
I have arrived...
I guess the casino food & beverage guys don't have a ton of imagination.
See the comment for JustACafe.jpg.
This is the hotel we were staying in. I think it's just awesome that this is a relatively low-end hotel on the strip.
I can't see Trader Vic's without thinking of the lyrics to Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London.
Giving directions in Vegas must be a lot of fun for the locals. "Turn right at the Arc de Triomphe...
"Turn left at the Eiffel Tower...
"If you pass the giant Harley, you've gone too far." Awesome.
Vegas, baby, Vegas!
So I haven’t been to Sin City in more than a decade (and my oldest child is 12, cooincidence? I think not!), but next week I’m going out there with some friends to a gaming show. I’m pretty stoked! I haven’t had anything resembling an actual vacation for myself in a loooong time. If you don’t hear from me by next Saturday, assume I’ve ditched everything, changed my name to Vince, and become a blackjack dealer.
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