Georg and I both got home late (me from Stoneline, him from the WXDU meeting). He brought home brisket (for me) and ribs (for him) from the Cue Shack. Good god that brisket is good. Better than beef has a right to taste. My mouth tastes like smoke now. Kevin, if you're reading this, that's where we should have gone that afternoon we spent driving all over creation.
There's a moth on my screen. I would shoo it off, but it's walking diagonally. Vaguely up, but more to the right. It's kind of interesting to watch. OK, it ran out of screen and flew away.
I've been seeing an ad lately for a new show about a New Yorker (actually he could be from any urban area, I'm just assuming New York) who moves somewhere in small-town Midwest to live near his new wife's family. Classic fish out of water story. Plus lots of jokes at the expense of yokels from the heartland. Must have seemed like a no-brainer.
Anyway, in this particular ad I've been seeing, the wife's sister tells him in a somewhat condescending tone that she's finishing up her dissertation, "which is a systematic examination of something or another." (She didn't actually say "something or another," I just can't remember what she actually said because it's boring.) The NY guy replies that he just finished his first novel, "which is a systematic cashing of royalty checks." And that joke is systematic evidence that none of the writers on this show have ever been first time novelists. I mean really! If he just finished his first novel, then he's months away from his first royalty statement, and chances are it won't include a check because he'll still be paying off the advance. In fact, chances are good that he won't ever get a royalty check. What, am I thinking too hard about this? You try watching that ad every ten minutes for two hours. Got to think about something.
I was thinking about Julia Child some more as I drove to Stoneline. And I don't think that if she and Paul had stayed in China after the war, it would have diverted her career into Chinese cookery. For one thing, it was the late 40s, and she was the wife of a career diplomat. One of the reasons she wanted to learn fine cooking was so they could entertain for his job, which could locate them anywhere in the world. Fine Chinese cooking might be be a good choice for that now, but not fifty-some odd years ago. At that time fine cuisine meant French cuisine. Something as off the wall (for the early 60s) as authentic Chinese would never have sold so well as Mastering or been given a TV show. Heck, authentic Chinese is still pretty off the wall for most of America, used to beef with broccoli and sweet and sour pork.
I started reading the Julie/Julia Project. Fascinating stuff. When I first heard of it, I definitely had a "why didn't I think of that" feeling. But then I remembered that Mastering has a whole chapter on eggs, plus lots of recipes featuring organ meats, which aren't my favorite thing. And I am not eating brains; I don't care how good they are. Not to mention, classical French cuisine is somewhat in conflict with the idea of not eating refined carbohydrates. So I think it's all for the best that I didn't think of that.
I started out reading the Julie/Julia Project from the end and working backwards, but decided I'd enjoy it more if I started at the beginning and followed her progress. By the end she has a very colorful way of writing. Lot of descriptions of screaming fits, full of tears and obscenities, when a dish didn't come together. You'd think she'd be more used to the process by the end, less likely to be thrown by obstacles. But I haven't read the middle yet, so I don't know if she got more frazzled as time went on, or just started writing about it more freely.
On a totally unrelated note, I just found out that someone I know through work has been diagnosed with type II diabetes. It sounds like, at best, a collossal pain in the butt, and at worst a very serious illness. I was in a bit of a dilemma. Because I wanted to tell her that one of the unexpected side effects of low carb, for me, was a complete relief of all blood sugar symptoms. I didn't even know there was anything wrong with me before. I thought everyone felt cranky and headachy before meals, and tired afterwards. But 3-4 days after I gave up sugar and starches, it completely went away & hasn't come back after almost a year. I've talked to people online who say they've been able to reduce or eliminate diabetes medication because of low carb's effect on their blood sugar.
It sounds like it might could help this woman a lot. But I couldn't think of a way to bring it up without sounding like I was suggesting she lose weight. Which would be extremely rude and hurtful, none of my damned business, and not at all what I was wanting to say. If she were a personal friend I could find a way to gently approach the topic from an illness management point of view, but since I don't know her that well I said nothing. I feel bad about it though, about withholding possibly helpful information which she might not be aware of. But I didn't want to offend or hurt. Sometimes the agony and anxiety surrounding the issue of weight is so frustrating. Or is that infuriating. Maybe "infrusterating."
I know there's something I'm forgetting to write, that I was thinking about earlier in the day. I should keep a little notebook or something.
5 Comments
"You try watching that ad every ten minutes for two hours. Got to think about something."
Sarah, you need a tivo :)
I've been thinking that ever since I saw yours and Shayne's! But we spend too much money on TV already.
It's amazing what you come up with with a Google search. My wife and I are going to the Cue Shack tonight for the first time with some friends so I entered the name hoping for an on-line menu or something. I got directed to this diary (and something in Los Angeles). You're a good writer. Kept my attention long enough to read this Sept. 3 entry past the Cue Shack reference. Duke student, I suspect.
I'm not terribly voyeuristic but I figure, Hey, if you put it out there, I may read it. Your comments on the low-carb diet nudges me another fraction in that direction, though not as radical as the Atkins thing. And I know that you didn't make your comments knowing that I'm overweight (maybe 20 pounds), so don't feel too paranoid!
Thanks for the comments on the "Shack." I'm going to order the brisket.
Hi Lee, thanks for stopping in to my diary! I was once a Duke student, but graduated in 1990. Do I sound like a Dukie?
Atkins isn't that extreme once you get past the first few weeks. At this point I eat bread, oatmeal, granola, rice ... just in moderation. But if you're looking for something else ("Atkins" does almost seem to be a dirty word, in the media at least), I have a friend who does Protein Power and is really happy with it. It's a bit less restrictive so you might check that out. Good luck, and hope you enjoy your brisket tonight!
"Do I sound like a Dukie?" No, it's just that I occasionally read personal info that someone has included on their webpage and yours is particularly well-written and intelligent. I have a lot of respect for Duke (though my kids graduated from Carolina and State) and put 2+2 together since you're in Durham (and the WXDU connection).
It's a slow Friday around here. It's around lunch time (just finished my sandwich). I decided to ruminate on the Internet a little and returned to your site. I read some snippits from the rest of your diary, so I feel like I know you a little better than my first post. Being from another generation and not cursed with artistic brilliance I find it refreshing to get a glimpse inside the mind of someone like yourself. I generally hang with a more conservative group -- never really had a dialog with anyone with green hair and tatoos (my Uncle Bill had tatoos from WW2 but he was bald). Not a criticism (tatoos/hair), just an observation.
BTW, I'm leaning towards the "Sugar Busters" version of a low-carb diet. It has more appeal to me because sugar is also a "dirty word" and I'm still a little skeptical of a diet that is high in fat (though the SB diet has a lot of fat also). I don't know. Maybe I should look at the Protien Power diet. I've spent most of my life listening to the nutrition experts expound on the "eat a well-balanced diet, just less of it" that maybe I've been brainwashed. I had to laugh at some of your earlier entries where you comment "there I go thinking about food again." Thanks for the reinforcement that most of us who try to keep our weight within reasonable limits tend to obsess on food.
Well, I actually do have some work to do that I want to finish before the weekend, so I'll sign off. Just thought I'd let you know that you've provided an enjoyable respite to my otherwise mundane day (until the brisket tonight)!