More on the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Rachel Maddow elaborates on the ties between a Ugandan bill banning homosexuality and the American evangelists who allegedly influenced its introduction.


The video is about nine minutes long. If you don't have time to watch the whole thing now--bookmark it and be sure to watch it later. It's truly eye-opening.

Uganda be Kidding

Rachel Maddow talks about draconian anti-homosexuality legislation being considered in Uganda and its ties to some American evangelicals.

Baby Greens With Baked Goat Cheese

Busy days around here lately.

I was working at the paying job all day yesterday--hence, no blogging. Similar deal today.

I'm headed out to do the food shopping for tonight's dinner very soon--then, it's off to the homeless shelter to work until six. Home a little later in time for a cocktail and (fettuccine and kale?) dinner. It's destined to be another weak blogging day, I'm afraid.

Before I leave, I do want to post that baked goat cheese salad recipe I was on about Sunday afternoon. It's a dependable way to turn out delicious (and authentic) bistro-style baked goat cheese at home. Baked or fried goat cheese recipes are notoriously finicky--often leading to incinerated globs of cheese and breading stuck to the pan or baking sheet. This recipe really works. Trust me. The key is thoroughly freezing the cheese after coating and before baking the rounds. Give it a try. I suspect it'll become a "standard" at your house. It certainly has at ours.

Click here for the recipe.

Shrimp and Cocktails For Two

Last night was the first time in the last couple of weeks that I didn't feel sick. I actually felt good. The swine flu and its subsequent bacterial pneumonia are finally history. Since I got that antibiotic prescription, I've been improving by the hour. It's kind of amazing. Thank "god" for modern science. I'm not kidding.

The azithromycin I was all on about a few days ago is truly a wonder drug. I feel lucky to have a doctor smart enough to have prescribed it early on. On the other hand, I can't help feeling sorry for all those gullible dumbasses out there in Swinefluland who are as sick as I was--but are allowing themselves to be suckered into buying and relying on homeopathic, naturopathic, and other similar useless "remedies" to fight these serious infections. The willful stupidity regarding health matters by so many in this society never ceases to amaze me. Anyway, enough of that. Lets talk about some real medicine.

Did I mention I was feeling better last night? Ms. Bic was too. Not just better from the flu, but also fully-recovered from a bland, boring, and heavy Thanksgiving dinner. We were both in the mood for something tasty, fun, and light. We started off with martinis and shrimp cocktail and finished up with a salad of mixed baby greens accompanied with baked herbed goat cheese rounds and a bottle of young red wine. It was a good evening.

Regarding the martinis: real martinis are made with gin and dry vermouth. That's it. OK--ice; and a garnish too. But no chocolate, no strawberries, no cutesy-fartsy fruity liqueurs. These may all be part of a tasty cocktail. Just not part of a martini. Gin and vermouth and usually an olive or two. Simple? Yes. Easy to fuck up? You betcha.

Let's talk about the ingredients one at a time. First, the gin. Of the commonly available brands, I prefer Beefeater, with Bombay Sapphire coming in a close second. Beefeater is a little less flowery than Bombay and that's my preference. Try them both. Lately I've heard good things about Plymouth gin too. Haven't tried it yet. In any case, use good gin. It's the heart of the drink. Nothing will ruin a martini faster than using cheap gin.

Dry vermouth: again, two contenders. Martini and Rossi (Italian), and Noilly Prat (French). I slightly prefer M & R. Again, I find it a little less floral, but that's just me. Do not buy cheap vermouth. It will ruin your martini. Period. And don't forget, vermouth is just flavored wine. It has a very limited shelf life. Buy small bottles and keep it refrigerated. Toss it after two or three months. Would you enjoy a glass of "regular" wine from a bottle that was opened a year ago and has been sitting in someone's warm kitchen cupboard ever since? I didn't think so. Vermouth's no different--it's wine too. Enough said.

The ice. Yes, the ice. With a drink as simple as a martini, the quality of the ice really matters. Or more precisely--the quality of the water the ice was made from really matters. If your tap water tastes shitty, so will your ice and so will your martinis. No point in buying good gin and vermouth and then ruining the whole thing with ice cubes that taste like frozen little chunks of chlorinated swimming-pool water. If your water is bad, filter it or use bottled water for your ice.

The garnish: usually a green olive or two. I like garlic-stuffed Greek green olives the best. Use whatever you like. Sometimes a thin strip of lemon zest removed with a vegetable peeler is used instead of an olive. Once in a while, a tiny bottled cocktail onion. Then the cocktail is technically called a Gibson rather than a martini. But let's not get picky.

Anyway, to make two double martinis start with 6 oz. of gin in a measuring cup. Add 1 scant teaspoon dry vermouth. The comfortably-full cap of a 375 ml. bottle of Martini and Rossi vermouth is a perfect measuring device. Shake in a metal cocktail shaker with plenty of ice until the shaker is almost too cold to hold. This accomplishes two things: it chills the booze and also dilutes it. Properly diluted gin is key to a great martini. Remember, imported London dry gin is generally about 94 proof. It can stand up to some melted ice. In fact, it's made to stand up to some melted ice. Once it's well-shaken and good and cold, just strain through the top of the cocktail shaker into two martini glasses. Add an olive or two to each. Serve immediately. Drink while still cold.

Last night we enjoyed ours with a few Maine shrimp that I gently simmered with a little Old Bay seasoning, then chilled and served with some homemade cocktail sauce. It was a delicious combination.

Making your own shrimp cocktail sauce couldn't be easier. Just pour out a couple good glugs of ketchup into a little bowl, and add some prepared horseradish to taste. I start with about a ten to one ketchup to horseradish ratio and add horseradish or ketchup until it tastes just right to me. When it tastes just right to you, add a good squeeze of fresh lemon juice. That's it. Just add some shrimp and a couple of dry martinis and you've got yourself a lovely little cocktail party for two.

I'll tell you about the goat cheese salad a little later.

A Thanksgiving Poem

From Her Majesty, The Bloggess:

Thanksgiving comes but once a year,

Thank. Fucking. God.

The True Meaning of Thanksgiving

From Wednesday Addams:

Sarapocalypse

From MSNBC:

Chasing Pirates

This is the first track I've heard from Norah Jones's new CD, The Fall. The album was just released last week and is getting a lot of online attention. I can see why.

Sultry, smooth, arty, and low-key.  Really good stuff--if this one track is any indication.

Here's a video from BBC2's Later...With Jools Holland:

Been Pretty Sick

...For about a week now. At first, it seemed like a little head cold. Then a big head cold. Then the fucking Bubonic Plague. Saw the doctor yesterday. He's almost certain it's H1N1 coupled with a secondary bacterial infection. Way too late for Tamiflu to do any good with the flu virus. He prescribed a 5 day course of azithromycin ("Z-Pack") to lay the smackdown on the bacterial infection. I took the first day's double dose yesterday late afternoon as soon as Ms. Bic (aka Florence Nightingale) brought it home after waiting in line for a long time at the pharmacy. Took the second dose about an hour ago. Feeling better already.

According to the doctor, it's turning out that the only thing consistent among patients presenting with H1N1 is the inconsistency of their symptoms--and the fact that most of them feel like absolute total dogshit (not quite his words).

Image credit: Pesta i Trappen (The Plague on the Stairs) Theodor Kittelsen (1896) via Wikimedia

Brain Wave Controlled Wheelchair

Where will this technology be in a few years? A decade? A generation? It boggles the mind.


From Popular Science:

For those in a wheelchair with limited mobility, Toyota's new brainwave technology is a marvel. The rider of the wheelchair wears a cap that sends signals via a brain-scan electroencephalograph (BSE) to a computer that analyzes the input to steer the chair in real time, as seen here in a video.