Welcome To Electiondome 2012!

Aunty Entity: "You know the law. Two men enter, one man leaves."

Morning Glorys Keep On Keepin' On

Cast Iron Butter Ball Bread

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cast Iron Butter Ball Bread

 

7     cups unbleached flour

3     cups water

4     T melted unsalted butter

1.5  T salt

2     T sugar

1.5  T yeast

Whisk and dissolve salt, sugar and yeast in the water in the bowl of an electric mixer.

Add the flour, mixing constantly.

Add the melted butter along the way.

Grease a 3 quart cast iron dutch oven with Crisco.

Pour in the dough and let rise, covered with a towel.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 to 45 minutes.

Slices best after it cools to room temperature.

A New Companion of My Retreat, All Grown Up Now

BudBud

Up Yours, Denmark, With This!

And just for that, I intend to eat more of it, not less:

Denmark has introduced what’s believed to be the world’s first fat food tax, applying a surcharge to foods with more than 2.3 percent saturated fats, in an effort to combat obesity and heart disease.

Danes hoarded food before the tax went into effect Saturday, emptying grocery store shelves. Some butter lovers may even resort to stocking up during trips abroad.

The new tax of 16 kroner ($2.90) per kilogram (2.2 pounds) of saturated fat in a product will be levied on foods like butter, milk, cheese, pizza, oils and meat.

The Arable

Lo, how the arable
with barley grain

Stands thick, o'ershadow'd;
these, as modern use

Ordains, infus'd, an auburne
drink compose, Wholesome,
of deathless fame.

-- Philips

You!

'Be Happy in Your Work'

Colonel Saito, The Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957

Because I used to love her . . .

. . .  but it's all over now:

(1964, here)

'What We've Got Here Is A Failure To Communicate'

Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Brian Jones: Prolific Little Devil and Founder of the 27 Club

At his best in 1964 . . .

. . . and the founder of the 27 Club, despite what they say.

Brian Jones: It's Off The Hook, October 1964

Great licks at 3:57, showing why he was the leader.

Still missing you . . .

See it here.

Update: that link is busted. Try this one at about 1:15.

God Bless All The Green Berets, Living . . . and Dead

Ballad Of The Green Berets

As Written and Performed by SSgt Barry Sadler

Fighting soldiers from the sky

Fearless men who jump and die

Men who mean just what they say

The brave men of the Green Beret

Silver wings upon their chest

These are men, America's best

One hundred men we'll test today

But only three win the Green Beret

Trained to live, off nature's land

Trained in combat, hand to hand

Men who fight by night and day

Courage deep, from the Green Beret

Silver wings upon their chest

These are men, America's best

One hundred men we'll test today

But only three win the Green Beret

Back at home a young wife waits

Her Green Beret has met his fate

He has died for those oppressed

Leaving her this last request

Put silver wings on my son's chest

Make him one of America's best

He'll be a man they'll test one day

Have him win the Green Beret

(source)

You Can't Handle The Truth

Judge Randolph: Consider yourself in Contempt!

Kaffee: Colonel Jessep, did you order the Code Red?

Judge Randolph: You don't have to answer that question!

Col. Jessep: I'll answer the question!

Col. Jessep: You want answers?

Kaffee: I think I'm entitled.

Col. Jessep: You want answers?

Kaffee: I want the truth!

Col. Jessep: You can't handle the truth!

Col. Jessep: Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.

Kaffee: Did you order the Code Red?

Col. Jessep: I did the job I...

Kaffee: Did you order the Code Red?

Col. Jessep:You're Goddamn right I did!

A Few Good Men (1992)

The Patron Saint of Mediocrities Everywhere

Mozart: [about the royal composer's position he did not get] Whom did they choose?

Salieri: Herr Zummer.

Mozart: Herr Zummer? But the man's a fool, he's a total mediocrity!

Salieri: No, no, he has yet to achieve mediocrity. ...

Your... merciful God. He destroyed His own beloved [Mozart], rather than let a mediocrity share in the smallest part of His glory.

I will speak for you, Father. I speak for all mediocrities in the world. I am their champion. I am their patron saint.

Mediocrities everywhere... I absolve you... I absolve you... I absolve you... I absolve you... I absolve you all.

Amadeus (1984)

See-gar Memories: Dannemann Cigars

Too Many Notes

Emperor Joseph II:

My dear young man, don't take it too hard.

Your work is ingenious. It's quality work.

And there are simply too many notes, that's all.

Just cut a few and it will be perfect.

Mozart:

Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?

Amadeus (1984)

Eat More Sardines, Herring and Anchovies

They're perhaps even healthier for you and in plentiful supply. At less than $2 a tin for nice sardines packed in water, you can easily lunch on them three times a week for less than $6. The salmon and the tuna will thank you in the long run by bouncing back, and so will the oceans:

The study by Villy Christensen of the University of British Columbia's Fisheries Centre confirmed some previous indications that populations of predator fish at the top of the food chain, such as cod, tuna and groupers, have suffered huge declines, shrinking by around two-thirds in the past 100 years. More than half that decline occurred in the past 40 years.

Christensen found that the total stock of "forage fish", such as sardines, anchovy and capelin, has more than doubled over the past century. These are fish that are normally eaten by the top predators. "You remove the predator, you get more prey fish," said Christensen. "That has not been demonstrated before because people don't measure the number, they don't go out and count them."

For the rest of this fascinating story at The UK Guardian, go here.

Eat Your Salmon! Fears Over Radioactive Contamination of Food Stoked by Internet Alarmists

Lots of irresponsible and loose talk about food tainted with radioactivity continues on the internet, which is where it belongs, I guess.

These zealots frequently complain that the news media and the government are conspiring to cover up the health dangers posed by the Fukushima accident.

So I was surprised to note this one at 'fair and balanced' Fox News here, from June 30th:

According to the U.S.-based group of medical doctors Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), no amount of man-made radiation in water and food is safe. “There is no safe level of radionuclide exposure, whether from food, water or other sources, period,” said Jeff Patterson, DO, immediate past president of PSR, in late March. “Exposure to radionuclides, such as iodine 131 and cesium 137, increases the incidence of cancer. For this reason, every effort must be taken to minimize the radionuclide content in food and water.”

Imagine that. 'Conservative' Fox News matter-of-factly giving a platform to a long-time anti-nuclear weapons group supported by the political left.

Hard numbers rarely enter into any of these presentations, just alarmism and extremism. Government and professional statements, such as here, here and here, rarely get the attention they deserve.

Or try this one on for size, from NHK World, here, on June 24th:

"Masanao Nakano, a senior engineer at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, says that in one year, the radiation concentration level will become so low that eating fish from even the most contaminated areas would pose little danger to health."

I remain convinced that there is no evidence whatsoever to stop eating wild Alaskan sockeye salmon, fresh or canned.

Japan Bans Green Tea Exports Due to Radioactive Cesium Contamination

You will find the full story here:

A swathe of Japan's tea making regions including parts of Tochigi, Chiba and Kanagawa prefecture as well as the whole of Ibaraki were included within the ban, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. ...

The authorities discovered around 570 becquerels of caesium per kilogram in leaves grown in the city of Minamiashigara – compared to the legal limit of 500 – and started a recall of tea products.