kettner nights

It looks like there will be an interesting exhibit at Kettner Nights tomorrow: "The Art of Surf," images by Ramón C Purcell at Chrome (2345 Kettner Blvd).

Kettner Nights is an open house of art, shopping and socializing held the first Friday of every other month with complimentary cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Explore Little Italy's emerging Kettner Art & Design District (KADD), an artsy few blocks [Kettner from India Street and Date Street] home to unique shops and gallery spaces.

The Kettner Nights schedule for 2005: March 4, April 22, June 3, July 15, Sept. 9, and Nov. 11

how to commemorate a revolution

From the mouth of my colleague Suzi Sterling this morning:

"It's Bastille Day. Shouldn't we be storming something? ... How about $tarbucks?"

vive la france

It's Bastille Day (le 14 juillet) and that got me thinking about my time in Paris last summer. As I re-read these letters from France, I realized just how different my world is today from only a year ago.

----------------------
Sent: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 03:07:35 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Je suis arrivée à Paris
Bonjour mes amies,
I'm in gay Paree for the next 27 days and loving every minute. Yesterday, I wandered in the Marais and got to know my neighborhood better. I took lots of pictures and sat in the Place des Voges and wrote in my journal, while hundreds of Parisians sunbathed or had a picnic. The pace of life is very different and it's hard to get to bed before 11, because it's daylight here until 10 p.m.

My classmates are great and several of us are planning to see Farenheit 9/11 when it opens here next week. I think seeing that movie in the company of French will be a very memorable experience. : )

Anyhow, I'll be home after July 25, with lots of photos and (hopefully) a much-improved vocabulary.
A bientôt!
---------------------------
Sent: Sunday, July 11, 2004 9:22 AM
Subject: greetings from Paris, part deux
Chèrs amis,
Paris continues to be an amazing experience.

We spent the last three days in the Loire Valley, visiting various châteaux (Blois, Chenonceau, Amboise, and Chambord) and generally living it it up in the French way. Our first stop on the way there was Chartres cathedral, which was neat to see again, and then the Tour de France whizzed through town. I didn't see Lance in the yellow jersey, but felt like a part of something big anyhow. Then, we piled on the bus and went wine tasting and liquer tasting, slept in a château in the middle of nowhere, ate fabulous meals, and took beaucoup de pictures in the idyllic French countryside in fields full of sunflowers and wheat. After experiencing the French countryside, I feel that I finally understand the beauty that moved the Impressionists, because I've seen it with my own eyes.

We also went to Amboise and visited Leonardo daVinci's house at Clos Luce. It was amazing to see this man's genius in action: they had built the machines in his notebooks and scattered them, along with reproductions of his art, in the gardens. And speaking of Leo and his notebooks, they had the Codex of Leicester on loan from Bill Gates at Chambord. Seeing those drawings and his mirror-image handwriting was the highlight of my time in the Loire.

Today, I went for a walk in Paris with my roommate Laura and we visited Monet's paintings in the Marmottan before heading to the Promenade plantée -- a beautiful two-mile walk along a converted rail line that's elevated above the city and planted with so many beautiful flowers. We ambled along, photographing and enjoying the light rain for several hours.

This Tuesday, I'm heading to what is billed as the party of the year -- the fête des pompiers, where the firehouse for each arrondisement has an open house / party / fundraiser. Then, the next morning we'll wake up, pack a picnic basket and head to the Bastille Day parade and subsequent celebrations at the Champs du Mars, complete with fireworks at the Tour d'Eiffel.

My time in Paris is slipping through my fingers and I'm looking forward to taking in even more of its beauty.

See you after the 24th.
--------------------
Sent: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 03:58:12 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: France dispatch #3: The beautiful and the horrible
Chèrs amis,
This is probably my last note, since I'll be flying home in a few days.

I spent the past three days in Normandy and Brittany, because I wanted to visit for the 60th anniversary of D-Day and because I REALLY wanted to see Mont St-Michel. The trip was a transformative experience, but I can't imagine that anyone can come away from Normandy unchanged.

The people in Normandy disprove every American stereotype about the French. I found them to be warm and friendly, and enjoyed their hospitality. I spoke French pretty exclusively those three days, and feel confident in my ability to communicate my basic needs. My waiter even tried to set me up with the young man at the table next to me. : )

Monday
Caen calls itself a martyred city, since bombs pretty much leveled it in WWII. I visited St. Peter's church in the morning and saw photographs of the church in ruins, before it was re-built in the aftermath of the war. There was an exhibition of children's drawings responding to the question "what does peace mean to you?" The images were startling and I'll share them once I'm home and have put them online.

The Peace Memorial was amazing. It is the best war museum I've ever seen. The most impactful moment was reading the handwritten letters of G.I.'s who never made it home. I ended up missing my train by minutes, but considered it to be serendipity, because I wanted to stay and see the D-Day beaches the next day. That evening, I wandered the city and found myself in a Monoprix (the French equivalent of Target plus a grocery store) before heading to a small restaurant for an inexpensive but excellent meal and some Norman cider.

Tuesday
At 9 a.m., I took a bus to Arromanches, where British engineers built an artificial harbor that supplied Western Europe until Berlin fell. The remains of the huge concrete floaters are still there, and it was ironic to see children storming the beaches and swimming around the concrete. I also watched a film in the 360° cinema that combined archival footage with present-day shots. I got goosebumps when I saw a firefight in a square that morphed into the Monoprix where I'd been the night before. We got back on the bus and saw various sites, including the gun turrets that the Army rangers destroyed after climbing a cliff the Nazis had thought invulnerable. When we arrived at the American Cemetary, I saw miles of crosses and Stars of David. Nearly 9,500 soldiers (including 4 women) are buried there. It was overwhelming and after spending two days in Normandy, I feel that I finally understand the horrible sacrifice made by the Greatest Generation.

Wednesday
I made it to Pontorson and hopped a bus to Mt. St-Michel. As we approached it, I saw the abbey rising from the sea and felt elated by its beauty. Climbing the steep city streets was hard, but made me even more thrilled that I'm doing this when I'm 29, rather than when I'm 65. The abbey was filled with surprises, including a cloister garden that thrilled me. I stopped and ate the famous 3-inch tall Mt. St-Michel omelette and admired the view of the salt flats and sheep grazing before walking far enough out to take some pictures.

It's been a wonderful trip and I sincerely want to come back. Au revoir for now...

a letter from turk

Turk is still at it in France and I'm verte avec envie.

Back to school this morning after a fine trip to Grenoble.
Nice city in a fantastic setting. The Rhone river runs thru town and it is surrounded by granite ridges and peaks. Plenty of hiking/biking trails, rafting, climbing opportunities there. Met a great guy from NZ (Aaron) who loaned me his bike so I could ride with my brother Tim and his wife Janet to the quaint little neighboring town (20KM) of Voreppe. We ate some of the best food I've had on the trip and watched the local guys playing bocce [petanque] in the courtyard.

Sunday Tim and Aaron climbed L'Alpe D'Huez, a famous difficult high climb of the Tour de France as I was leaving to return to Paris. This week is the Bal de Pompiers and Bastille Day, so it should be fun. I go to London on the week-end to see Jean.
Best to all-
Greg

more intercepted instant messaging between bush and blair

From http://www.huffingtonpost.com/theblog/archive/danielle-crittenden/more-intercepted-instant-_4091.html

kickass43: hey
sxybritguy10: hey
kickass43: u up
sxybritguy10: cant sleep
kickass43: dont have that problem
sxybritguy10: noticed
kickass43: man I can fall sleep on a bicycle :)
sxybritguy10: lol. wish that was the only accident at g8
sxybritguy10: bloody cursed summit
kickass43: u brits r tuff folks
kickass43: u take bombs well
kickass43: ur arresting the badasses
kickass43: got plenty more room at gitmo if u need it
sxybritguy43: thnx. ur da man
kickass43: aside from that mrs Lincoln wat u think of g8
sxybritguy10: better than live 8
kickass43: that ttlly suckd
kickass43: all it needed was kimmy jong il up on stage in his platform boots with elton john
sxybritguy10: lol
kickass43: singing I’m so ronery. u kno team america.
sxybritguy10: rofl. I luv that movie
kickass43: don’t know y we promised so much freakin $$$ for Africa
sxybritguy10: key word: promised
kickass43: bunch of thieves
kickass43:u remember live aid?
kickass43: all those bucks raised and ethiopia’s still in the toilet
sxybritguy10: sux
kickass43: got a better idea for do-good rockers
sxybritguy10: wot
kickass43: u know angeline jolie adopted an ethiopian orphan?
sxybritguy10: yeah
kickass43: so y doesn’t she adopt the whole freakin country?
sxybritguy10: u mean like buy it? :O
kickass43: she could afford it
kickass43: hell she could afford uganda too if she marries brad pitt
sxybritguy10: srsly
kickass43: srsly
kickass43: new celebs could start small
kickass43: lindsay lohan takes chad
sxybritguy10: geldof takes ivory coast
kickass43: think of all the beachfront property
kickass43: celebs love beachfront property
kickass43:put streisand in charge and the whole continent will be one big ecopark
kickass43: xcept for HER beachfront property
sxybritguy10: maybe paris hilton could put up some decent hotels
kickass43: make a golf course out of kenya
kickass43: now thats a goal for the next g8
kickass43: not stupid ‘debt forgiveness’
kickass43: no one forgives my debts. still owe daddy big time
sxybritguy10: our salaries suck
kickass43: we’ll clean up out of office
sxybritguy10: like Clinton
kickass43: wish we were like those euros
kickass43: we’d clean up IN office
sxybritguy10: like the French
kickass43: or my friend sylvio
sxybritguy10: u guys rlly hung at g8
kickass43: he was ttlly bored. like me.
kickass43: we played 21 on our blackberries
kickass43: man those germans can talk
kickass43: like u brits can drink. u r all drunken sods
sxybritguy10: needed it
kickass43: so did I dude
kickass43: odouls doesn’t do it for a summit
kickass43: could use a stiff one now
sxybritguy10: u r in trouble man
kickass43: rove stuff sux
kickass43: can’t play the game with no quarterback
sxybrityguy10: bad rap
sxybritguy10: at least u still got condi
kickass43: she’s so hot
sxybritguy10: way hot
kickass43: remember her in germany
kickass43: the domantrix boots
sxybritguy10: smokin
kickass43: she rocks way more than colin
sxybritguy10: kinda missed colin this yr
kickass43: no way
sxybritguy10: way
kickass43: y
sxybritguy10: mostly at cocktails
sxybritguy10: those yiddish jokes. lol.
kickass43: didn’t miss him. not with all those euro suck-ups
kickass43: like hello? I’m the president here? y r u wasting time with him?
sxybritguy10: ur right. condi more laffs
kickass43: better looking 2
sxybritguy10: for sure
kickass43: not like madeleine
sxybritguy10: barf
kickass43: u remember her
sxybritguy10: man I lived her
sxybritguy10: terry gilliam in drag
sxybritguy10: like going to the prom with yr mother
kickass43: my mother?? :O
sxybritguy10: no: one’s mother
sxybritguy10: tho yr mom would be pretty ruff too
kickass43: dude yr giving me flashbacks
sxybritguy10: sry!
sxybritguy10: missed bill too
kickass43: ????
sxybritguy10: clinton. give him this. he knew how 2 par-tay
sxybritguy10: no offense. I kno he’s yr ex
kickass43: he’s best buds with my dad now
sxybritguy10: u must be freakin
kickass43: ttlly. rlly weird
kickass43: theyre fishing in kennebunkport 2gether. like hes jeb.
sxybritguy10: sux
kickass43: no more joint missions for them man
sxybritguy10: gotta catch some zs now
kickass43: me 2. its way past 9
sxybritguy10: middle of nite here
kickass43: k
sxybritguy10: k
kickass43: one last thing
sxybritguy10: wot
kickass43: rove
kickass43: thinking of making him special envoy to international terrorism or something
sxybritguy10: y
kickass43: get him out of dc for a bit
sxybritguy10: how bout court of st. jim?
sxybritguy10: we cd use him
sxybritguy10: I cd use him
kickass43: ur not running again?
kickass43: thought u promised 2 step aside for that dude brown :(
sxybritguy10: key word: promised
kickass43: ur such a badass!
sxybritguy10: takes 1 2 kno 1
kickass43: if rove is smart he’ll go private
kickass43: speaking of cleaning up out of government
sxybritguy10: sigh
KICKASS43 HAS LOGGED OFF
SXYBRITGUY10 HAS LOGGED OFF

Via Matt

happy birthday, susan g.

I'm still home sick, but wanted to send a shoutout to Ms. Thing - Susan G. She's the best workout pal, confidant, and fashionista evah!

Thanks for being a good friend, for calling me every day when I was at my worst, and laughter later.

i've been grounded

It turns out that the lingering crappy feeling I've had since Thursday has developed into two middle ear infections. So it's antibiotics and rest for me for the next two days.

Argh.

pulpcore at the hash house a go go

My friend Dave is premiering "Pulpcore," a series of his paintings, at the Hash House A Go Go on July 24 from 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Hope to see you there...

consider me infected

Despite this morning's fun, I can't get this out of my head:

And all the pop stars stare at the length of our hair.
Whoah. (Kylie's got a crush on us.)

I told Harry that my criterion for a good pop song is that it's infectious.

And all the pop stars stare at the length of our hair.
Whoah. (Kylie's got a crush on us.)

The irony: The aforementioned Kylie has a song called "Can't Get You Out of My Head."

guns, germs, and steel

Guns, Germs, and Steel: A National Geographic Presentation looks very interesting.
Tuesday, July 12, 9 p.m. CHANNEL 15 (KPBS/Channel 15)

Based on Jared Diamond's Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name, Guns, Germs and Steel traces humanity's journey over the last 13,000 years – from the dawn of farming at the end of the last Ice Age to the realities of life in the twenty-first century.

Inspired by a question put to him on the island of Papua New Guinea more than thirty years ago, Diamond embarks on a world-wide quest to understand the roots of global inequality.

• Why were Europeans the ones to conquer so much of our planet?
• Why didn't the Chinese, or the Inca, become masters of the globe instead?
• Why did cities first evolve in the Middle East?
• Why did farming never emerge in Australia?
• And why are the tropics now the capital of global poverty?

As he peeled back the layers of history to uncover fundamental, environmental factors shaping the destiny of humanity, Diamond found both his theories and his own endurance tested.

The three one-hour programs were filmed across four continents on High Definition digital video, and combinied ambitious dramatic reconstruction with moving documentary footage and computer animation. They also include contributions from Diamond himself and a wealth of international historians, archeologists and scientists.

bloodletting

I woke up this morning feeling parched. And by parched, I don't mean slightly dehydrated — my lips hurt, my eyes hurt, and the air felt bone dry. It turns out that I had desiccated in the night — so much so that after firing up iTunes and rocking out to "Kylie's Got A Crush On Us," taking my cold/ flu herbs, and downing a bunch of water, I got a nosebleed.

I should preface the rest of this by saying that I don't remember ever having had a nosebleed. True to form, my first time was no ordinary experience. It went on for about half an hour, despite my best efforts to pinch my nostrils and lean forward. I actually got worried when my mouth filled with blood for the third time in the shower.

Thankfully, it has stopped and I'm back to the slow drip, drip, drip of my cold-related congestion. There's really nothing like the sight of one's own blood, surging crimson and awful, to jolt you rudely and completely awake on a Monday morning.

sunday dinner #1

Tonight, I held the first dinner party in my new house. Nolan, Aaron and Laura, Diana and Ophira, and Harry and I ate to repletion.

Menu
Appetizer
Sun-dried tomato and garlic goat cheese spread
with crackers and crudites

Main course
Organic baby lettuce with sugar plum tomatoes,
mixed bell peppers, carrots, and mediterranean feta
Chicken breasts with 40 cloves of garlic
Spinach lasagna with ajvar sauce
Bread with butter and roasted garlic

Dessert
Chocolate Kahlua cake

cass' chocolate kahlua cake

1 box chocolate cake mix with pudding
2 eggs
1/2 cup Kahlua
1/4 cup vegetable oil
16 oz sour cream or yogurt (I've used lowfat sour cream. I've also used nonfat vanilla yogurt. Either is fine.)
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

1. Grease and flour bundt pan (I use the cake mix to keep from having a white, dusty-looking cake).
2. Sift cake mix into bowl, add remaining ingredients in the order listed.
3. Using a hand-held mixer, blend for 30-45 seconds or until mix is moistened. Using mixer on medium speed, mix for another 90 seconds, or until all ingredients are well combined.
4. Cook for 40-55 minutes (check every five minutes for doneness).
5. Cool in pan for at least one hour.
6. Invert onto serving plate and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

the boobs are back

In 2002, John Ashcroft spent $8,000 of taxpayer money to drape the naked breast of a statue in the Great Hall of the Justice Department. He never clarified if the sight of a bare-breasted woman was offensive or if her bare breast in the background made him look even more like the boob he was.

Anyhow, new Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez just reversed at least one of John Ashcroft’s goofier acts:

With barely a word about it, workers at the Justice Department Friday removed the blue drapes that have famously covered two scantily clad statues for the past 3 1/2 years. Spirit of Justice, with her one breast exposed and her arms raised, and the bare-chested male Majesty of Law basked in the late afternoon light of Justice’s ceremonial Great Hall.The drapes, installed in 2002 at a cost of $8,000, allowed then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to speak in the Great Hall without fear of a breast showing up behind him in television or newspaper pictures. They also provoked jokes about and criticism of the deeply religious Ashcroft.The 12-foot, 6-inch aluminum statues were installed shortly after the building opened in the 1930s.

Via DDTB

a tour de france primer

For the non-cyling effete like me: Basic facts to know about the annual cycling classic.

quotable

"I try to do the right thing with money. Save a dollar here and there, clip some coupons. Buy ten gold chains instead of 20. Four summer homes instead of eight."
-L L Cool J, 1968 - , American hip-hop artist

london bombing

I had a conversation about terrorism with Glen (an Englishman) and Noah (a Jewish South African) at a fourth of July gathering. Glen made the point that the rest of the world has a very different take on terrorism than we do in America. The gist of it: the English are used to bombings after having lived with the IRA's bombing campaigns for thirty-plus years.

Initially, I thought he was right. But in light of today's events and the eyewitness accounts, I would argue that one can ever really be blasé about terrorism in one's hometown. The panic and base animal instincts of those closest to the blasts just don't support his stance.

Update: Halfway through the day, I'm noticing an interesting trend toward "citizen journalism" -- MSNBC is asking those on-site to submit their stories. And the BBC is running "on the spot photos" taken by ordinary people.

8 days and counting

I'm very much looking forward to seeing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And for the record, Johnny Depp's Wonka face is wonderfully disturbing.

i'm an effing mathlete

I've held it in for a few weeks. Now it's time for the world to know: I'm an effing mathlete.

My fellow statslete Allison and I attend what Professor Assad refers to as 'an intellectual gathering' Tuesday and Thursday nights, to bone up on our stats skills while prepping for our MBA program. It's an Elementary Statistics class, but we still think we're the poo.

It turns out that Diana is doing the same thing in San Francisco. Small effing world.

joyeux anniversaire a mon amie

Diana turned 31 today. Last year, I bought her a falafel on the Rue de Rosiers in Paris to celebrate her birthday. This year, she's blogging and so am I. What a difference a year makes.

Happy birthday, Diana. Come visit me in Paris for your 40th and I promise to take you to one of the 50 best restaurants in the world.

quotable

“I have too much respect for the idea of God to make it responsible for such an absurd world.”
- Georges Duhamel, 1884-1966, French novelist and playwright

just say no to cilantro

Most of my friends know that I detest avocado, mushrooms (except certain varieties of fresh chanterelles), and eggplant. Some have even gotten me to re-think my stance on beer and anchovies (not). Generally, I'm not a picky eater. I will try most anything once, but prefer to only eat things that I really enjoy ... which really doesn't present any problems, as there is a veritable cornucopia of foods that I love.

Nonetheless, this New York Times article on chef's personal food dislikes succinctly sums up how I feel about cilantro (I loathe it because it tastes like soap to me; I'll admit that I'm a cilantro-hater) and why I don't particularly enjoy green peppers.

I'm the Boss, and I Say No Lentils
By OLIVER SCHWANER-ALBRIGHT
ZAK PELACCIO can't stand sweet potatoes. "I find them a little too rich, a little too cloying, a little too overwhelming," Mr. Pelaccio said. "I don't like to eat them."

It isn't unusual for somebody to hold a deep dislike for a particular food, but Mr. Pelaccio is the chef of 5 Ninth, an inventive restaurant that plays fast and free with its ingredients. Veal breast is braised, topped with botarga, and served with green tomatoes, shishito pepper and ground ivy. But no innocent sweet potatoes?

"I just have no desire to cook with them, ever," Mr. Pelaccio said. "And sweet potato fries are the most disgusting things."

Almost everybody has his or her sweet potato, a food that is harmless to the rest of the world but that is, to this individual, too revolting to stomach. Your basic eater can spend a lifetime dodging that ingredient, bypassing those dishes that will make him at best unhappy, at worst queasy. But a chef can turn his personal dislike into restaurant policy.

"Whenever I tell somebody I hate lentils, they're shocked," said Bobby Flay, whose menu at Bar Americain, incidentally, is peppered with sweet potato, including some in the clam chowder. "There are a lot of lentil fans out there."

An early draft of Bar Americain's menu had a beet and goat cheese salad with lentils, but Mr. Flay rejected it before the restaurant opened. "When I go on vacation, they run specials on lentils," he said.

Celery is a building block of French cooking, but it has no place at Chanterelle. "I don't use it in my stocks," said the chef, David Waltuck, whose loathing has become lore. "I don't use it in my mirepoix. It has no flavor. It's one-dimensional. It's an exercise in chewing. It's pointless."

There are arguments for banning an ingredient based on concerns about quality or morality. Some choose not to use out-of-season strawberries because they're flavorless, or Chilean sea bass (also known as Patagonian toothfish) because of overfishing.

The argument for banning carrots bigger than your thumb, however, is a little more arbitrary. "I will serve baby carrots," said Alexandra Guarnaschelli, the chef of Butter. "But once it gets over two inches long I break into a cold sweat."

Miss Guarnaschelli was the sous-chef at Guy Savoy's La Butte Chaillot in Paris, where julienne carrots had a permanent place on the menu. "Now I have a panic attack when I see shredded carrot in a salad," she said.

Other ingredients are almost universally snubbed by chefs. Green bell peppers, that staple of chili and the catered crudité, are possibly the most-loathed ingredient.

"They're headache-y," said Anita Lo, chef at Annisa. "For some reason I've never gotten past the flavor."

Brian Bistrong of the Harrison doesn't like the way green pepper lingers. "If you eat one, you're going to taste it the rest of the meal," Mr. Bistrong said. "I got rid of them when I finally had some authority. Now that I'm the boss, I can not have them."

Dan Barber, who won't let green peppers into the kitchens of either Blue Hill Restaurant in Manhattan or Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, N.Y., called the problems with the vegetable "multitiered."

"First, I don't like the flavor," he said. "And I've learned more about them. They're an immature pepper. You're eating a vegetable before it's supposed to be picked."

Tasha Garcia, one of the chefs of Little Giant, recoils when she tastes anything that reminds her of it. "We had a staff tasting and with this one cabernet franc it was like, oh, green peppers," Miss Garcia said. She added that she was overwhelmed by the association. "I hated the wine, hated it, hated it," she said. "Now I'm not a big cabernet franc fan."

Like many anxieties, many food revulsions seem to have been incubated in childhood. Mr. Waltuck remembers one too many celery stalks with cream cheese and paprika when he was young; Mr. Barber has "taste memories from hoagies."

Floyd Cardoz of Tabla has refused to eat bananas since he was 10. When he was named executive chef a little over three years ago, banana desserts were banned from his kitchen.

"Growing up in India, the only fruit we'd have year-round is bananas," he said. "Banana fritters, bananas in cream, bananas, bananas, bananas."

Mark Ladner of Lupa shares a distaste for bananas but for a different reason. "It might be from all that banana Bubblicious I ate in the '70's," he said.

Chika Tillman, one of three owners of the dessert bar ChikaLicious, finds oats repulsive, but she could not keep them out of her restaurant.

"Dry, it's like bird food," she said. "And cooked, it's like somebody chewed it and took it from their mouth."

Yet homemade granola was voted in over Ms. Tillman's objections. She tried her best, and dressed it up with yogurt sorbet and cantaloupe brûlée, but the oats were too much. It was on the menu for one day.

Those who hate certain herbs and other aromatics make chemical associations. Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune thinks verbena "tastes like lemon Pledge."

That is exactly the phrase Michael Romano of Union Square Cafe used to describe lemon thyme. "I love lemon," Mr. Romano said. "I love thyme. I love them both together. I even like lemon Pledge on my furniture." But he stops dead if lemon thyme sneaks into a dish.

Shea Gallante of Cru says cilantro tastes like soap, and Wylie Dufresne of WD-50 says the same thing of dill. "Not that I've eaten a lot of soap in my life," Mr. Dufresne said. "I'm not phobic. I just think it's dreadful."

And Laurent Tourondel keeps saffron away from his restaurants. "It reminds me of the dentist," he said flatly.

Inevitably, people encounter undesirable food. If Mr. Cardoz sees a banana coming his way, he politely lies and says he's allergic. If he's not sure about a dish, he asks his companion to taste it first. "Because if it's in there," Mr. Cardoz said, "I'll throw up." Mr. Dufresne heads dill off at the pass: he won't touch gravlax or potato salad.

It's more complicated if the chef is a guest at somebody's house. "People don't like to cook for me because they think I'm going to be supercritical," Mr. Romano said. "I like it when people cook for me, and I wouldn't embarrass anybody and say, 'I'm not going to eat this.' "

Speaking of those who might cook for him without knowing of his distaste for green peppers, Mr. Bistrong said: "They usually have enough of a complex cooking for a chef. I'd be polite and eat them. And taste them for the rest of the night."

Also speaking of green peppers, Miss Garcia said: "Manners would win out. I'd push it around my plate and get some down."

Mr. Ladner has eaten bananas because friends have served them to him as a gag. "I can eat them," he said. "And I have. I can take it."

But don't even try to tempt Mr. Tourondel with saffron. "I don't eat it," he said.

As for sweet potatoes, Mr. Pelaccio is a dutiful son. When his mother roasts them with maple syrup for Thanksgiving, he eats every bite.

"Then I have to take a nap," he said.

le tour de greg

Here's the latest from my friend Greg and his adventures in France:

Took TGV to St Nazaire last weekend to watch start of Tour de France. No ride available to drive me, so I rented a 40 lb clunker from a beach rentals place at 3 p.m., and pedaled in running clothes 55KM to Fremontaine with a 16oz bottle of water. Arrived at start ramp 6:15 - Lance left at 6:48.

Got lots of great shots, afterward got water and food from a nice lady watching from her window. Took me til 11pm to get back; I didn't think the bike would make it. I didn't dare stand up on the pedals for fear the chain or pedals would break.

This Friday; TGV again to Grenoble to meet my brother, cycle in the alps, hopefully on better equipment.

i heart the french

Chirac's latest remarks may not be very diplomatic, but they are hilarious: Chirac mocks Britain for mad cow, bad food.

French President Jacques Chirac cracked jokes to Russian and German leaders about bad British food and mad cow disease, a Paris daily said on Monday, in comments that could further strain Anglo-French relations.

“The only thing they (the English) have ever done for European agriculture is mad cow,” Chirac quipped, according to the paper, prompting laughter from Schroeder and Putin.

When asked about Chirac’s reported comments, French government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope told reporters, “I have nothing particular to say.”

Relations between France and Britain were already at a low point, with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chirac blaming each other for the failure of June talks on the European Union’s long-term budget talks.

Chirac took the opportunity of a receptive audience to snipe at British food. “You can’t trust people who cook as badly as that,” he joked, the paper said.

“After Finland, it’s the country with the worst food.”

napoleon a appris anglais

Ego (coupled with avarice) as motivation: Napoleon, arguably the most uber-Frenchman of all time, tried to learn English while in exile.

Napoleon Bonaparte was keen to learn English while in exile, documents shown in Britain for the first time reveal.

The deposed French emperor apparently wanted to learn the language of his foes so he could read what the London papers were writing about him.

"In France people are amazed to find that he was learning English. But he didn't do it for pleasure. He wondered how much money he could have saved in translation if he could have learnt English."

Via BBC

quotable

"I try not to live with regrets. I prefer to live my life in anticipation."
-Me, this morning to Harry

the postsecret project

The PostSecret Project is fascinating. Find out more at The Keeper of 2,000 Secrets or listen (online) to an NPR All Things Considered interview.



My secret: Susan told me about this months ago and I only got around to posting it after inverted_man mentioned it, too.

tour de lance

My feelings about sports generally range from disdain to disgust, but I'm hoping that Lance does well this time 'round.

quotable

"If people behaved in the way nations do they would all be put in straitjackets."
Tennessee Williams (born Thomas Lanier Williams), 1911-1983, American dramatist

refdesk.com

Yet another place to get good information online: http://www.refdesk.com/
Via Denisse