Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Let Me Have My Words and Eat Them Too
I love words.
So when Clothilde at Chocolate & Zucchini added an Edible Idiom feature to her website I almost fell out of my chair in glee.
What is an edible idiom? It is Clothilde's series on French idiomatic expressions that relate to food.
This series is such a treat for me. The culinary-inspired phrases she serves up feed my French-starved soul. And the black & white photographs aren't bad either.
Want to play but ne parlent pas français?
Take this English food idiom quiz.
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Mots d'Heures: Gousses, Rames
Clothilde's Edible Idioms reminded me of a delightfully diverting 1967 French tome entitled Mots d'Heures: Gousses, Rames by Louis d'Antin van Rooten.
At first glance, Mots d'Heures: Gousses, Rames is a collection of poems. But these funny little verses are not what they seem. Intended to be read aloud, they are a cleverly transcribed collection of nursery rhymes.
The best way to experience the richness of this silly collection is to uncork a bottle of wine (preferably red) and read it in your best French accent. Several times, until you get it. Try this one:
| Chacun Gille Houer ne taupe de hile Tôt-fait, j'appelle au boiteur Chaque fêle dans un broc, est-ce crosne? Un Gille qu'aime tant berline à fêtard. |
It's the Mother Goose rhyme Jack & Jill.
For two more excerpts, click here.
On February 2, 2005, Andrew Hearst wrote about this book on his cultural surveillance blog, Panopticist . I swear his experience was identical to mine, except that I was
Like Mr. Hearst, the book was out of print when I first learned of it. So I photocopied my friend's book. All 40 pages. Over the years I have hung on to those woefully tattered and faded, binder-clipped pages. Flipping through them once again, the rhymes have not lost their appeal.
Un petit d'un petit
S'etonne au Halles
Un petit d'un petit
Ah! Degres te fallent....
Oh, ha, ha, ha! Such silly fun.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Give My Slump a Jump
See more of his work at Ruff Media
For the past few weeks I've been trying to kick-start my creative mojo with zero success. We've all heard of writer's block. Is there such a thing as scrap lag? A knitting slump? A cooking crisis? A sewing skid? Blogger's block?
This funk has flatlined my motivation. Case in point, I should have Little Sprout's Halloween costume finished, but I haven't even assembled the materials yet. My sister swooped in with a big save by mailing the cutest little ghost costume that she had made for her kids when they were Little Sprout's age. Thank you, sis!
(Too bad she doesn't read blogs. Not even this one, though it is the best place to see adorable toddler photos. But you all know that.)
Is the recession cooling my creative mojo? Lack of vitamin D? Whatever it is, I want to fire up a defibrillator, slap on the paddles, and jolt myself with about 50,000 joules. A high-voltage zap!
Tell me, what do you do to get your groove back?
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Silly Hot Dog Humor
Dean over at Varmint Bites has such a rich sense of humor. (Maybe it is a Southern thing?) When I saw these two video clips about Wienerschnitzel I nearly woke up my sleeping family with noisy chuckles.
Dean deserves all the credit for finding these, so go on over and send him some comment love. Tell him Is'Dihara sent ya!
VarmintBites: Slightly Inappropriate Food Video of the Day
Monday, October 6, 2008
Captain Hammer in Da House!
THIS is what happens when you leave "the boys" home alone for an hour.
Big Daddy dressed Little Sprout up as "Captain Hammer" while I ran out to the grocery store. When I got home I was greeted by a black-booted superhero in a t-shirt with a hammer on it.
True to character, my Lil' Hammer 1 wore his bravado on his sleeve. He giggled and danced around until it was time to put on his pajamas. A bit like this Captain Hammer Caramelldansen animation I found on YouTube:
Okay, I admit that was a bit jarring to watch. Would you rather have had me use the tired and dated "Hammer Time" reference?
Here is Lil' Hammer showing off his superpowers (and his boots!) in a skillful display of imminent danger saving.
Not so much the saving from a boring Monday.
Unless you're a chick of course.
At least he wasn't wearing salad! (See my first post for a photo of Little Sprout with lettuce on his head.)
1 Lil'Hammer — not to be confused with Lillehammer, Norway. (Lillehammer was the home of the 1994 Winter Olympics.)
∴ Seeking New Evil ∴ Are You Bad Enough?
The Evil League of Evil is now accepting applications!
Have you been practicing your maniacal laughs?
Back in August I told you that this day would come. (See Are You Bad Enough?) Now Bad Horse is prepared to reward you for your patience and loyalty. That is, if you're bad enough.
Dust off your evil alter egos and pull your application video together. Details on the EVE website.
The deadline to submit your application video is October 10th.
Taste of West Virginia Fall Giveaway
Today Ellie Lash posted about her foodie friend Tonia who is having a Fall Gift Basket Giveaway on her blog. If you go over and leave her a comment you’ll be entered to win a gift basket from vendors such as Happiness Spreads, Blue Smoke Salsa, Holl's Chocolates, Evan Scent Candles & more!
Click HERE to go there!
Plus she is a beagle owner, so you know I love her already.
Tonia has some great recipes and she writes nostalgically about food from time to time. Her S'mores Cupcakes recipe completely won me over. Go see for yourself and tell her IsDihara sent you!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
The Harry Potter Husband Test
In the mood for a quiz? Having read all the Harry Potter books, it was a no-brainer that I would take this test. I'll even admit that I have a bit of a thing for Ron Weasley. It's the red hair.
My result for The Harry Potter Husband Test...
Mrs. Weasley Twin
Your perfect HP man is Fred and/or George Weasley.
Laughter is important to you. You want a guy who's never boring, who can always put a smile on your face, and who can pull the best of pranks and never get caught. Or possibly two such guys. Because let's face it, they're pretty much a two-fer. You get one, you get both. Even if one of them's only a friend, he'll still be around so much you'll feel like you're married to him, too. Sure, they may not seem like the most mature guys in the world, in a traditional sense, but just ask them about their business plan. When they drive you nuts by relentlessly testing their latest inventions on you, you can console youself with that huge stack of cash and dragon-leather jacket. Besides, you know you're powerless against those stereo smiles.
Take The Harry Potter Husband Test at HelloQuizzy and let me know your results!
Heh, heh. This quiz is a bit like picking up a Magic 8 Ball.†
You pick it up, you ask it a question. Simple and diverting.
† The Public 8 Ball is also fun to play when it is online. If it was offline when you clicked on the link, try the Mystical Smoking Head of 'Bob' instead.
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