Camels and "Stuff"

Was looking for this (left), but found this (right).

OMG. So I was thinking about camels just now, and how odd they look, and how cool it is that natural selection was able to  jerry-rig the mammalian body to adapt to life in the desert. Anyway I decided to do a search on Google for "camels" when I stumbled across this website, and almost died (not literally of course) laughing. Not that it's completely funny...camel toes have been a serious problem for a lot of women...LOL. Up until now the only solution was to actually wear clothes that fit properly or aren't five sizes too small,  but not anymore! Now you can have your "utra-skinny/ way too tight spandex" cake and eat it too! Check it out for yourself by clicking the caption of the photo above....But enough funny business...back to my search on actual camel toes...

Definition: Palimpsest

Palimpsest: A manuscript page from a scroll or book from which the text has been scarped off and which can be used again.

I think this is the original word for the idea of a "tabla rasa" or blank slate.

Definition: Synecdoches

Synecdoches: A figure or troupe by which a part of a thing is used for the whole, the whole for a part, the genus for a species, the species for a genus, or the name of a material for the thing made, or similar.

...I still don't get it.

Rainy Days and Mondays

I can't believe it! It's raining outside! That rarely happens this late in the spring here, but weather doesn't care about things like that.
It's not pouring or anything, in fact it's barely sprinkling, but it's enough to scent the air with a sweet dampness, and make long for Christmas time.
You might not believe me, but the air sometimes smells like maple syrup when it rains like this. It's only ever happened here in California, and usually only once or twice a year. I guess it must just be pine sap and something else mixing together, but I haven't been able to discover it's source yet. It is more of a late spring/early summer phenomenon, and so maybe it has something to do with cooling of hot trees or the soaking of pine needles and flowers on the dry earth ? It's...delicious, and such a lovely way for the air to smell. It's fresh and cozy all at the same time.
It's also cooler than it has been, and so I am gently held captive by nostalgic thoughts of baking cookies, wrapping presents and the holidays.
If I could explain how this morning feels it's like having the window cracked in the kitchen while eating fluffy pancakes on a rainy Christmas morning....sigh...so happy.

Striking a Balance

I was in line at the grocery store yesterday when I was struck by the contents of my cart. I think it kind of sums up my personality, and my view on life pretty accurately;)

My shopping cart

As a follow up to a post I made a couple years ago about trying to use re-usable grocery bags, I am happy to report that I have fully adapted and have quite a collection of bags that I keep in my car for all my shopping needs!

Satisfaction Guaranteed

I was meaning to write about this last week, but I never got around to it. Last weekend I cleaned my refrigerator. I try to do it once a month, and if you know me this makes a lot of sense. I have a very particular....sensitivity to cleanliness when it comes to food. I can tolerate a certain amount of...disorder when it comes to most things, but when it's about something that I will eat, I suddenly become quite paranoid. (I think it was one of the hardest things for me to deal with when I went to China. The markets and most of the restaurants I went to fell woefully short of my standard, and so I felt mildly ill pretty much the whole time I was there. (But then I ate at a noodle stand where the cook actually had to shoo away a rat while making my lunch...LOL.) )
But getting back to my refrigerator. I pull everything out, inspect labels, toss questionable items, wash all the shelves and drawers and take inventory of what I have and what I need to use. And I always feel pretty wonderful after it's all done and clean, and I come up with some of my more original recipes because I try to use whatever is left in the frig. I find it really rewarding for being such a mundane task, and almost look forward to doing it each month!

Moneyball

We got Moneyball on Netflix and watched it last night. While I don't particularly care for baseball, I thought it was a really great movie, and totally recommend it. It took a unique point of view of sports that I found both entertaining and interesting. Basically, during the early 1990's the Oakland A's found themselves in a situation where they were competing with teams who had two or three times as much money (and thus were able to afford "better" players). In order to stay competitive, they had to find a way to win without exceeding their minimal budget, and without "premiere" players. Using math and statistics they were able to produce a 20 game winning streak (that had never been accomplished in baseball) despite the fact that it went against the standard ideas about how to set up a winning team .
It was one of  the best "story problem" (borrowing from high school math terminology) example I've ever seen worked out. And the first one I've ever seen used as the premise for a movie.
It was a wonderful example of the power and utility of math, and why having even a fundamental grasp on it is so helpful in understanding the world we find ourselves in. And both Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill were really good in it.
Anyway, I just wanted to mention it in case you were riding the fence on watching it!