Happy Nerd.

my current job leaves me plenty of time to read, which is, well, fabulous! been reading a LOT, and I couldn't be happier. i'm a happy nerd.

Still on the law kick, we've got one serious book, and one not so serious book:
With Liberty and Justice for Some, a A Critique of the Conservative Supreme Court, by David Kairys could more accurately be called "I hate William Renquist", which is okay, since the guy sounds like a total jerk. This short but heavy read offers a few supreme court cases over the last hundred years on the most controversial topics, such as privacy, freedom of speech, separation of church and state, and discrimination. I haven't yet got the education or vocabulary to understand everything Kairys was saying, but I enjoyed what I got out of it, and it's whetted my appetite to learn more about the Supreme Court, and how their decisions affect our futures. and i think, that was the point of the book.

You Can Get Arrested for That, by Richard Smith, is about two very bored Brits who come across one of those "dumb laws across America" books, and decide to break some laws! These two men are a far as it comes from being criminals, except if you include all of their illegal orange peeling in hotel rooms, and fishing while wearing pajamas, and whale hunting in Utah. it's a funny book, but I found myself skimming along quite a bit, waiting for them to break the next law. the book probably would have made a better blog.

and speaking of blogs that became books, check out Passive Agressive Notes: Painfully Polite and Hilariously Hostile Writings, which really is all the images from Kerry Miller's blog. Now if only the chick from Cakewrecks, or the dude from xkcd would make a book, my life would be complete. But the Passive Agressive book is very funny, i'm sure everyone either knows someone who has left a note like that, or is guilty of doing it themselves. and it's all pictures, you'll get through the entire little book in like an hour.

only one fiction book today, that's odd.

Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, which is simply put, about a little orphan boy who is adopted by some ghosts, and they raise him in the graveyard where they live. Not having much experience with living children, the ghosts do the best they can in raising. I vaguely recall this book getting less than stellar reviews from book snobs when it first came out, and i think that critics will no longer accept bedtime stories from Gaiman. and this is a lovely, simple, elegant bedtime story about a little boy. I really like it.

The Road, Un Lun Dun, etc. . .

finished McCarthy's The Road. It is beautiful, desolate, painful, transparent. Get a copy, you won't regret it. I'll get a review that's longer than 3 sentences up soon. i promise.

nearly done with China Mieville's Un Lun Dun. I'd thought it was pronounced "Ooon Loon Doone", but i think it's more like just how it looks: unlundun. Un-London. get it? A very modern, very fun Alice in Wonderland. has a nice environmental twist that might have been accidentental. Very punny as well. I need to find a use in everyday language for the word "Smombie" and "smoggler", not to mentio all the fun toys. again, i shall have a review up, eventually, that is more than a few sentences.

one of the libraries here has a monthly book sale, where they get rid of discards and donations. paperbacks were 3 for a buck, and i found books 3, 4 and 5 in the Wheel of Time series. I haven't found a library in the county that has books #3 or #4, and i just got them for 34 cents a peice. damn. Also picked up Tim Power's Last Call. his Anubis Gates is one of my favorite books, ever, so I hope this one is as good.

I'm still staring at this book with the Eagle on the cover.

we're making turkey burgers tonight. this isn't exactly a "recipe", as i don't really measure anything. but this is the mix i keep coming back to.

1 - 1.25 lbs ground turkey
half an onion, minced , or half a bunch of green onions, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Worcheshire sauce
sea salt
ground pepper to taste
a few ounces mushrooms, minced (optional)
2 tbsp oil

blend everything but the oil in a large bowl. let sit 5-10 minutes, stir up again to get the top bits on the bottom, and the bottom bits up top. let sit another few minutes.

pour the oil in a skillet, and heat over medium/medium-high heat. Using a large spoon, put globs of turkey in, and shape it into a patty. Sure, you could form the patties before hand, but i've found that's just a waste of time. forming the patties right in the skillet is surprisingly easy. when the bottom is cooked through, flip them over. cooking time depends on how hot your skillet is, how big your patties are, and what kind of skillet you are using.

although i think it's obvious, these should be served on warm buns. french fries and veggies on the side is nice too.

If you don't like Worcheshire sauce there is something wrong with you. but, in the case that you are weird, and you want to use something else, try any kind of bbq sauce or marinade. be careful of those with a high sugar content, as the sugar can burn in the skillet, taking away an amazing amout of tastiness with it.

attempting to focus. . . .

so, instead of giving one sentence on a zillion books i'm nose deep in, i'm going to try to focus on only one or two (ok, maybe three) that i'm intimately involved in. I'm going to attempt to focus.

food for thought? no pun intended.

i recently blew through Stephen Lawhead's Silver Hand, the 2nd book in his Song of Albion trilogy. Can i still love Lawhead, and not love ever page of this book? The beginning and the end were brutal, exquisitve, unremorseful and painfully human. the middle. . . not so much. Tegid's conveinent "inner sight" started to get gimmicky for me. Tegid's a great character, and i'm happy we fleshed him out more, but a)he started to get on my nerves after a while, and b) i haven't got past the Llew/ Simon thing, and want to get back to that, like right now. there is a great interview with Lawhead at the end, where he's asked how he feels about writing about good vs evil, and he says it's fine, but he's not writing about good vs evil, he's writing about the nature of sovereignty. nice. i just got the 3rd book, The Endless Knot from the library, and hopefully that gets back to Llew & Simon. i'll let you know.

also on the book pile is China Mieville's King Rat. I think this was his first break out novel? or maybe his first young adult novel? it is definately YA, and offers a dirtier, grittier look at the classic "young man finds out he is of royal blood, and has to win his kingdom back from the usurpers" plot line. for a YA book, this sure has lots of swear words! i must be really old fashioned. if i get a book from the young adult or kids section at the library, i'm shocked (just shocked i tell you!!) everytime i run into shit or fuck. and i trust the library, so i must just be old fashioned. King Rat is a lot of fun, especially since i've read newer Mieville stuff, i'm seeing where it all got started. You read any Mieville? what do you think of him?

over at Havenland, we're getting started on our March/April book club book: The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell. so head over there and join the fray, cuz i don't want to type all that stuff twice.



did i do an OK job focusing on just a coupla books? cuz i got way more from the library. more than any normal person should ever read in 3 weeks, not to mention a handful of manga.

mmmm..... pie. somewhere on this page, i gave a recipe for apple pie filling, but i didn't tell you how to make the pie crust. if you don't want to know how much fatty butter goes into a divine pie crust, quit reading right now. if you're just looking for an excuse to screw your diet, read on dear reader, read on.

this makes two pie crusts, or a top and bottom for a covered pie. you'll need:

a really big bowl
plastic wrap
a spatula
a pastry knife. a pastry knife is one of the best $8 investments you can make. seriously. it's 8 bucks. go buy one.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 sticks very cold butter. keep it in the fridge until you're ready to use it. it really does make a difference, as i learned the hard way, last night.
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
some ice water. yes, put water in a bowl, and put some ice cubes in there to keep the water super cold.

the trick to an awesome pie crust is to have your butter super cold, and your water super cold, but neither one should be frozen, or have any ice crystals. i don't know the science behind why this works, but trust me, it works. i'm sure Alton Brown has done a show on it.

mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. cut the butter into pieces, and blend it into the flour with the pastry knife. keep cutting the fat with the pastry knife till all the big peices are gone, takes 5-10 minutes. some of your dough should be the size of a small pebble, but most of it should be the consistency of corn meal. dribble about 1/3cup ice water on top of the dough, and cut the water in using the sharp side of the spatula, till the dough forms small balls. if this doesn't happen, add maybe a tbsp more ice water. keep blending it, and the small balls should be able to stick when you press them together. the dough should still look pretty rough, and it shouldn't be overly greasy.

divide it into two parts, press them into a disc, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

now you got to roll it out. have a cup or so of flour ready at the table. keep your surface floured well, or the dough will stick, and that's just a disaster. as you roll it out, set your pie plate on top, so you know when it's big enough. you don't want to roll it to thin. once you get it rolled out, form it into the pie tin, and put that in the fridge for a few hours. roll out the second disk, this is the top of your pie. once you get that rolled out, it can sit on a cookie sheet in the fridge.

after the crusts have "rested" for a few hours, fill the bottom with whatever you're filling it with, lay the top on (cut vents!!!! cut vents!!!), seal it with cold water, pinch, and trim, and you're ready for the oven! oven temp and time depends on what's in the pie, and if it's pre cooked or not. good luck!