No Time For Aardvarks

A baby aardvark is properly referred to as a "cub" but a baby gerbil is a "pup."

How the hell am I supposed to keep track of all this huh?

I give up.

News 6/12/10

(Today in Hair: Snakes.)

President Obama urges lawmakers to approve spending which will avert cutting fees paid to doctors who treat medicare patients.

Flash floods in Arkansas kill at least 17 and leave dozens missing.


Judge Walker sets out a list of questions for Prop 8 closing arguments.

Against all scientific reason the ban on Gay blood will stand for now.

Icelandic parliament unanimously votes for Marriage Equality.

News 6/11/10

(Today in hair: A couple of snoods.)

"2.5 %! Take It Or Leave It!" One-day nurse strike ends in Minnesota as systemic problems remain.

"Beware Rabbit-Boilers, Where Ever You Are!" Feds clarify that codes against domestic violence apply to gay couples too. Cue the outrage from from right-wing jackasses in Three, Two, One...

Candace Chellew-Hodge over at Religion Dispatches opines about overwhelming gay opposition to Arizona's horrible new law against brown people who don't talk good English:

"And yet, it is gays and lesbians who by and large have rejected religion, who are displaying some of the most Christian principles in this matter."

What do you think?

NYT* Editorial about Prop 8 closing arguments comes down decisively in favor of marriage equality.

*(This is the same NYT that refused to use the word "gay" or cover the AIDS crisis until 1987. Up yours A.M. Rosenthal. Oh right, you're dead. Good.)

Update: Larry Gross's full description of A.M. Rosenthal's shittyness can be found here. Hat tip to Dr. Snickerdoodle.

Chicken And Dumplings

These are the chicken and dumplings that Dr. Snickerdoodle and I enjoyed the other night when our friends Linda and Jim Joined us for dinner:

We also had leftover cornbread stuffing, fresh tomato, basil and mozzarella salad and a simple side of celery hearts dressed with extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.

I've been trying to get my dumplings right for years and I think I'm finally getting it.

Sift together in a large bowl:

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Cut into the flour mixture:

1/3 cup COLD butter

Keep cutting the butter into the flour mixture until its texture is like breadcrumbs.  Do not let the butter melt.

Pour in all at once:

1/2 cup heavy cream

Mix together with a spatula until the mass comes together, then work with your hands until you can form a solid ball.  Knead the dough for half a minute to a minute, just to work it slightly.

IMPORTANT:

You now MUST allow the dough to rest for thirty minutes in the fridge.

During this time you can be sure you've got your cooked chicken in hot stock with a nice mirepoix of celery, onions and garlic. Herbs of your choice, a little salt and pepper.  You know what you're doing.  Or do I have to go into detail?

I will if you want me to, but let's just focus on the dumplings right now.

Roll the dough out on a large, floured surface to a thickness of about 1/8th of an inch.

I like to use a pizza cutter to slash the dough into 1" wide strips. Then cut the strips on the diagonal, making 1" long, diamond-shaped noodles.

Drop them into your boiling chicken and stock mixture. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to the lowest temperature.  Simmer for 10 minutes. Test a dumpling at this point to make sure they are properly cooked. They should be tender and light in texture.

Ladle into bowls and serve with cornbread stuffing and roasted chicken livers.

(Doesn't that look yummy?)

If you try this, or any of my recipes, feel free to write and let me know how it turns out.

News 6/10/10

(Lady Bird Johnson circa 1962. That's a hairdo.)

All Bow To The Princess. Princess Sparkle Pony marks the opening salvo in the California hairdo electoral battle. Peteykins quotes Carly Fiorina's first slap at Senator Barbara Boxer's coif: "God, what is that hair?" Fiorina went on to describe her opponent's do as "sooo yesterday."

Do You Have This In A 14D? World's oldest shoe discovered in Armenia.

Cute! Gay best friends voted prom king and queen in Hudson, New York. (Via Joe My God.)

"That's Odd. The Blood Usually Gets Off At The Third Floor." If the ban on gay men donating blood is lifted, the Williams Institute estimates that an additional 219,000 pints of blood per year would be added to the nation's supply. (I haven't donated blood since 1989. Hello? I'm ready to open a vein for you people!)

Blog Recommendation: Letters With Character

Letters With Character is a super fun site where real people write letters to literary characters. Some are short, funny and irreverent while others are serious, thoughtful and earnest.

One reader wrote in asking Ishmael to shut up about all that whale crap and get back to the narrative.

Or perhaps you will identify with the guy who thought Robert Heinlein's "Stranger in a strange land" wasn't the greatest book ever written?

Maybe you have some things to get off your chest about Haruki Murakami's "Wind-up bird Chronicle"?


If you have a burning desire to commune with people who don't exist, drop a line to:

LettersWithCharacter@gmail.com

Or just head over to the site and browse through all sorts entertaining correspondence.


Full disclosure:

I'm thrilled they printed my letter to a very famous sex-worker.

Morning News 6/09/10

(I feel bad for the squirrel with a broken arm, but... Damn! that's cute. Snagged from teh intertubes, somewhere. Let me know if you're the owner of this picture, no copyright infringement intended.)

Just A Smidge Of Election Coverage.

Yes, it was primary day yesterday all over the US of A, so here's a little recap:



In CA, it's Whitman against Brown for Governor and Fiorina against Boxer for Senate.

Also in CA Orly (birth certificate) Taitz lost her bid to run for Secretary of State.

In Nevada it will be Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat) v. Sharron Angle (Loony Wah Wah Tea Party Republican).

...and in Iowa Chuck Hurley (head of the Iowa Family Council) lost his bid for the house to Ako Abdul Samad. Hurley wanted to make this election all about destroying marriage equality. He hitched his wagon to a star... NOT!

JoeMyGod offers continuing, whimsical and right-on coverage, so give him a look-see.


Today in biblical certainty (via a response to Dr. Laura Schlessinger). I offer you the irrefutable, unambiguous word of God:

Leviticus 11:6-8  "God Hates Football."

Look it up if you're confused.

(Hat tip to Chuck.)

Ur Man-In-A-T-Shirt

Dan Savage has been a demi-god at least since way back when his advice column began with "Hey Faggot" instead of "Dear Abby."

Now we can address our sex-advice letters to "Dear Man in a T-shirt."

If Wikipedia needs a picture of someone whose jeans don't fit, I'd be happy to volunteer.

(Via SLOG and Wikipedia. Photo of Dan Savage in a T-shirt is entirely the property of Dan Savage.)

PS  I wouldn't mind seeing Dan out of his T-shirt would you?

Morning News 6/08/10

(An ass.)

He Said "Ass"! (Via JoeMyGod) The President explained on CNN that he traveled to Florida long before the talking heads were paying attention to the spill, to determine "whose ass to kick." Gay Florida Governor Charlie Christ validates Obama's feelings.

Primaries In Several States Today. Republicans vying for California Governorship face a tough dynamic. Appeal to the GOP base in the primary by championing Arizona's anti-immigrant law; but then what to do about all those latino voters they need in the general election? Gosh darn it, bigotry is expensive. I'm talkin' to you, Mr. Poizner.

India Enraged. 24 years (wtf) after Bhopal an Indian court issues slap on the wrist to 8 Union Carbide Execs. Incandescent fury on the sub-continent.

Tension In Anglican Communion. Archbishop of Canterbury displeased with ordination of Mary Glasspool.

Cornbread Dressing (&Turkey & Mashed Potatoes)

Dr. Snickerdoodle and I enjoyed comfort food last night. We shared a turkey dinner with mashed potatoes and veggies, but the center of the meal was old-fashioned cornbread dressing.

It all starts with leftover buttermilk cornbread and some basic ingredients.


2 chopped shallots
3 chopped celery ribs
4 eggs
1 cup of heavy cream
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
about 1 tablespoon of herbs (thyme, sage, rosemary, oregano)
salt and pepper to taste

Once your shallots and celery are chopped, mix them in a large bowl with the cream, stock, eggs, herbs, salt and pepper. Then crumble your leftover cornbread. I baked a full batch in a 9-inch skillet. We ate two slices of that batch and I used the rest of it in this dressing. Add crumbled cornbread to the bowl and mix thoroughly until everything is very moist. Carefully scrape it all into a buttered baking dish.

Bake in a preheated, 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. To help brown the top, turn on the broiler and watch dressing carefully for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.

Here it is. Hot and bubbly right out of the oven. You can just see our roasted turkey thighs and drumsticks, above.

During the baking I drained a pint of chicken livers, sprinkled them with garlic salt and roasted them on a cookie sheet for 25 minutes. They came out of the oven crispy on the edges and creamy in the center. NEVER OVERCOOK LIVER. Overcooked liver is foul and bitter. Properly cooked liver is creamy and delicate and mild in flavor.

Traditional southern cornbread often has chopped chicken liver baked into it. I prefer to have greater control over how long I cook my liver, so I bake it separately. Then I mince it and garnish the dressing when I plate the turkey dinner.

And here it is again. Roast turkey, herb and garlic mashed potatoes, cornbread dressing with roasted chicken livers and a side of steamed veggies:

A perfect farewell to our cool, overcast weather.

Bon Apetit!

Morning News 6/07/10: Special Aaron Hobbs Birthday Edition!

(Image of Pulp Mill courtesy International Paper. Happy birthday Aaron.)

Marriage equality begins in Portugal where being gay was illegal until 1982.

NOM spending $200K to help elect Andy (incompetent, bigot-schmuck) Pugno to CA state assembly. (Via JMG)

They're not just moms. They're SuperMoms! Study reveals children of lesbian parents do better than their peers on some measures of adjustment.

Today is the birthday of writer and smart-guy Aaron Hobbs, slayer of goldfish, loser of passports, scourge of the despot, friend of the Flaming Chef.

Pop that pill. Snap on that rubber! On this day in 1965 the US Supreme Court ruled that married couples have a right to use birth control.

Morning News 6/06/10

(Poster for MGM's 1946 technicolor, musical extravaganza "The Harvey Girls." Today's cure for drippy, cold skies. And perhaps Mummy needs a drink...)

Friend Request? Facebook helps mom locate her two kidnapped kids, 15 years later.

Oy Gevalt! A bunch of high school students in trouble for playing a game called "Beat The Jew."

Knock Me Over With A Feather. 3/4 of Iowa Republican primary voters want the opportunity to undo marriage equality at the ballot box. Republicans? Opposed to gay marriage? What are the chances of that?

God Save The Queens, As Long As They Take Their Business Elsewhere. London pub under fire for refusing service to Labour Party LGBT society. BBC quotes society member James Asser: "What century are we living in here?"

Raining, cool and overcast in Portland, OR today. Plan to stay cozy, snuggle with the cats and watch "The Harvey Girls."

Theater Review: Inviting Desire 2010

 (photo of Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell by Elsa Dorfman.)

Dr. Snickerdoodle and I attended the final performance last night of the sensational, girlie-sexy "Inviting Desire 2010." The ensemble cast of electric, fearless women plunged us through the firm, soft pink walls of their sexuality, exploring themes of "pleasure, permission & possibility."

It left me breathless.

Brainchild of producer/director/sexy beast Eleanor O'brien, the show is a collaborative effort where the actors contributed their own monologues and used results from a massive survey of women and their desires. More than a performance piece, the evening is designed as an invocation and incitement to sexual revolution.

It worked for me on every level. I found it riveting, invigorating, hilarious, gorgeous, and heart-breaking.

Among the vignettes of the evening (too numerous, varied and delightful for a full recap) a small sampling of the pulsing humanity:

• A woman of a certain age who, along with her husband, discovers the joys of the strap-on.
• A fag-hag who reveals a list of 10 good reasons why she and her fag need to get it on.
• A woman who just wants to kiss her wife in public without having to look over her shoulder.
• A lady bicyclist who loves a parade.
• A woman who grows weary of her gentle lover - until she speaks rather forcefully on the matter.
• A novelist who finds love in the arms of her daughter's nanny.
• A very young girl who fantasizes about her uncle, but doesn't masturbate - "because that would be totally gross."
• Even Yoda made an appearance, "Judge me by my size, do you?" ...to help save princess Labia from a fate worse than death.

Alisha Berry, Eleanor O'Brien, Tori Paddelford, Diana Shultz, Ithica Tell, Beth Thompson and Allison Tigard were more than a cast. They were a glorious congress of sex Goddesses who, along with the rest of their writers and crew created a magical, sexy night I adored start to finish.

And I don't even like pussy.

Vive la révolution!

(Confidential to Eleanor: Thanks for going to prom with such a homo.)