Fervently reading, bantering and nom noms
I really should have called the foodie portion of my site nom noms now that I think of it because often it is fun things I want to eat or desire to cook but cannot due to time and/or financial constraints or just being plain lazy. So in essence I nom and nash and natter on these food things but don’t necessarily eat.
Anyhoosers, here is a very interesting fact I just learned. The femur (thigh) bone is tougher than concrete and yet, completely hollow. Isn’t that wild? If you are anything like me right at this moment I hope you are smacking full force on your leg to attempt to ascertain just how tough that big ole bone really is. Try not to bruise yourselves dears. Sometimes I forget what an incredible thing my human body is; I am so often full of criticism for myself and my lack that I fail to recognise this absolutely amazing fine tuned machine made of liquids, fleshy squish, self-purifying organs and a galaxy of emotions and thoughts. Let’s all take a moment and just bring awareness into the sheer physicality of our bodies. It’s challenging isn’t it? To sit inside our body and locate the interior space. With all the noise of life going on right now it feels good to take a few breaths to re-introduce your head and your heart selves. I hope that gives a nice, warm boost to your moment.
So on to the good recommendations for the week.
READS
1.) RIP to the man who beat the efficient market hypothesis by Erik Hoel
My husband is one of those mathematical persons of a scientific nature with a zeal for logic and reasoning and things that make my brain go screensaver if I don’t focus really really hard on them. It’s been a good thing for my mind, over the past near decade of relationship, to be in constant engagement with a brain that is different than mine. Even though sometimes (often) it pisses me off. Like many who are wired with less strength in the whole numbers arena I think of people who master these fields as godlike. I enjoyed this random read which took an obituary style approach to sharing some big brained maths thingies that I didn’t quite track although I did read it three times over to see if I could hold the slippery concept in my wet noodle brain arms.
2.) If you are feeling a little down about being a person in a world of persons harming and doing bad things then this sweet little letter is for you. E.B. White’s Beautiful Letter to a Man Who Had Lost Faith in Humanity. I especially like the line, “And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.” This is something of a mantra for me when I find myself in a moment of panic and overwhelm.
BANTS
I just added a new film to my watchlist on Amazon-The Idea of You with Anne Hathaway and some young dude who kind of looks like Pete Davidson. I don’t get the opportunity to watch a lot of TV these days. This film I started three days ago and have watched 45 minutes here and there over the last few days as I have found a spare moment. I had been seeing a lot of memes floating around of this one and listen I love love love romantic comedies. I feel like they are having a kind of resurgent moment? Maybe we should check with Gen Z they will tell us what the hot take cultural zeitgeists are. Anyways it’s quite lovely and also very sexy out of nowhere so heads up if you are playing it on a Bluetooth speaker and have other people living in your home. They may think you are watching dirty shite. “No, I am NOT watching porn!” SLAMS COMPUTER CLOSED
Is it predictable? Yes, do I already know how it’s going to end? Absofruitly. But isn’t that the sweet point of the good ole romcom? Blissful, willful ignorance and wishful thinking :D
Fav line of the film: “That’s Hayes Campbell from August Moon where have you been?” “Being in my thirties, obviously.” Oh how delicious I feel so seen.
Let’s talk about America right now. How are you sweets? Still going to war on the interwebs over culture? Seems like yet another day yet another reckoning with the nonsense of some young, ‘too famous too quickly’ egotistical athlete man boy. One who has too much clout for his own good and not enough common sense to realise what to say and what not to say in a public forum which inevitably will find it’s way onto our embodied online social world. If you don’t know what I am talking about here is the video of this fella who kicks a ball for a living and is overpaid for it-Harrison Butker- who dismissed and demeaned a crowd of women during their college graduation by reducing their futures down to a binary stereotype.
Must be nice to be so essential to society that you have the last word on what fulfills a woman. Is he Mel Gibson in What Women Want? Someone get me this dude on the phone because please I would love for him to divine the path to true happiness for me as a lady! Because I for sure want my lift to start and much like his wife’s I suppose it won’t till I accept my vocation-as a homemaker. Honestly the true anger for me is not only in what he said, I do believe that the choice to work in mothering is a valid and valuable choice, it’s the fact that he thought he had any right to say it. Also that he said the choice to work in a job is less fulfilling. What a privilege it is in this economy to choose to have a parent stay home with a child. How nice his wife can do that on his income. Most of us can’t or, and here’s the kicker (heh heh), we don’t want to. Does the guy deserve to get cancelled? I don’t believe so, he shouldn’t lose his job over this. I have worked with many people who have said similar (or worse) things (restaurant industry culture amiright?) and they continue to be employed. Then again it’s likely something that will be decided by the Court of Public Opinion.
Here is the journalist Maria Shriver’s response which was interesting.
EATS
Ooh do I have a yummy, and cheap, favourite meal that’s been on repeat in our house for you. My zeal for cooking has flattened a little as we have been packing up our belongings and I am wrecked with tiredness come the end of the evening so this is a quick and easy (oh God I’m gonna have to admit to this amn’t I?) air fryer meal for those parents who just can’t. Two notes; I apologise profusely for joining the cult of the air fryer, I held out for so so long but oh man is she handy as all get out and I urge everyone strongly to consider both the time and energy savings these babies will incur for you. Secondement, the first day of making this dish you have to do an eensy bit more work because you have to prep the sauce but then you have a lovely jar of sauce that will last you a good week to pull from so that’s nice.
Ok here is the recipe. Ridiculously Good Air Fryer Tofu. I usually serve this up with some white rice, some chopped green onions that are (often) decaying in my fridge somewhere and I buy a mega pack of frozen edamame from Costco that is super super cheap and cooks in five minutes boiling water on the stove and boom. Delicious. In terms of the ‘spice blend’ I just do a fuck it and dump of whatever random spices I think will go well together. Also this is the Peanut Sauce I make regularly. You don’t even need a full blender I use a mini chopper thing I got for five dollars at goodwill and it does the job. You could also probably mix it by hand, vigorously.
See ye next week, she says with vigour.