docoflove1974

For my part, I thought the book was a great thriller; it got my attention immediately and kept it all the way through, which seems to be rare anymore. Of course, I came to the book with the notion that it was/is a fictional historical thriller. Once people start reading too much into any piece of literature, then it loses its value. Also, at the time that I read it (in 2003), I was trying to find Medieval texts to look at for my dissertation, it opened my eyes to the Gnostic gospels and the like; for this, Dan Brown should be commended. It brought back into light texts which are so valuable on so many levels, not solely theological ones. As one who was raised Catholic, you don't ever hear about the alternative stories which didn't make it into the modernly-known Bible. It makes one question the stories you're told, and want to delve more into the history of the Church, and that is not an insignificant thing. Anything which pushes people to learn more about and question their culture, their religion, or their ancestors is a good thing. As for the bru-ha-ha that the Roman Catholic clergy emitted...meh, whatever. I don't know anyone who blindly followed the Church's statements to the letter...although plenty exist even in my parish, let alone in other parts of the country and of the world. Then again, I'm of the firm opinion that sheep will blindly follow their shepherd...even if it's into a ditch.

Meh...what Uncle Sam don't know...aw hell, I'll just add it to the pile.

Oh no!! There is no room for that here. Damn...oh, a girl can deam...

Ooooh that reminds me...I have to put the rub on the ribs today. I do like spareribs, but I'm partial to loin ribs--same part of the porcine, but with more meat. I put a rub on them (brown sugar, salt, cayenne pepper, cumin, thyme, and a couple of other things which I can't remember right now) and let them sit for 24 hours, then braise them in a concotion of wine, honey, onion, garlic and more pepper. Once slow-roasted (low and slow, baby), they come apart like pulled pork! Matt always goes for the veal...it's not my favorite. My grandmother killed veal for me; she'd 'create' this horrid veal stew, and I swear to God every time I was home sick (which was usually only once a year) she'd have that crap on the stove. It smelled evil, and the mouth-feel of the veal was, um, butt-nasty. As a result, I've had veal dishes in the recent past which were good, but it's still a mental thing. And, no, no Pertimaxi were consumed...ginger cordial/beer is hard to come by 'round these parts! Sapphire and tonic, a glass of Mt. Edna (2003) Pinot Noir, and 2 of Zin (don't know what it was...and it was ok, but I'm not a Zin fan) was plenty to get me, um, buzzing.

Sausalito--or 'The Land of the Little Willows' as the Spaniards called it--lies just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. For the past 54 years they have an arts and crafts festival that rivals any other, with middle-to-very-high end pottery, jewelry, paintings, photography, and the like (yes, and the prices to match). This year, my parents and I went to it, just to see what we could see. Gesu Maria...wow...I mean, some really great stuff, that took our breath away. There was this jade and fresh-water pearl pendant and earring set that was gorgeous...just simply gorgeous. Sand-blasted vases that were in beautiful designs. Abstract-ish paintings with 3-d presentations that stood out from EVERYTHING. We were in love with many pieces, yet came home without any tokens--it's amazing the prices that they were charging. But, it was an outstanding day...and lead to us eating at Caesar's. Every family has their 'traditions', and for our family it's no different. Back in the day, as the kids say, my maternal grandfather ran the bar at Bimbo's, a San Francisco institution since Prohibition. In 1954, the Bimbo's owners wanted to move to another location (on Kearny, if I recall), and so they did...and in 1956, Caesar's restaurant opened. And we've been going ever since. My grandfather moved to the Villa d'Este (on Ocean, for those who know SF), but we continued to go ever since. It's the place where we go on very special occasions--well, let me rephrase, because I swear my brother Matt's up there once every couple of weeks. The main bartender now, Tony, had an uncle who used to tend bar for my great uncle (my grandfather's brother); Uncle Ning ran the Philosopher's Club in West Portal for 42 years. Small bleeping world. My parents, my brother Matt and I sat at the bar for like an hour, bs'ing with Tony and such, reminiscing about Ning/Angelo (in the family we called him 'Ning', which meant 'baby' in our Genovese dialect, but everyone else knew him as 'Angelo' or 'Ang'). I miss that man terribly...and I think we all did in that bar tonight. Caesar's is typical Northern Italian food--most of SF Italian food is either Genovese/Northern based or Tuscan based, since that was the population of North Beach until the 1930s--with a specialty in seafood. Their 7-course meal is too much food for us normally, but we still ordered the antipasto to go with our a la carte meal (which is still pasta, entree, and coffee). Madonna, Madonna, Madonna...I forgot how damn good it was. It's typical for what I would call 'Genovese' antipasto, but maybe it's just what I grew up with: marinated peppers, marinated butter beans, some mortadella or salame, ceci and kidney beans, antipasto misto (which is a few veggies in a tomato 'marinade'), celery hearts, olives. We hadn't had this in YEARS...like, June of 2000...and we gobbled it up. I swear, nothing reminds me of home, nothing is comfort food, like antipasto. It was followed by a small plate of rigatoni rigate with a bit of bolognese, just enough to satisfy. My parents had the combo seafood platter--filet of sole, prawns, and bay scallops--while I had the grilled orange roughy; Matt couldn't stray from his 'usual', veal parmiggiano. Oh, and we downed a bottle of zin (not my favorite, but Matt brought it, so who am I got argue?), on top of the glass of wine we had together at the wine bar on Chestnut (California Wine Merchants in Cow Hollow, for those who know SF), and the very strong drink we had at Caesar's bar. I dare say, I feel very warm right now...both from the alcomahol and the great day. And I do mean great day. This is what family is about: sharing experiences together, enjoying a most wonderful meal together, and bullsh*tting each other for the entire night.

Let me add to this list of happiness...I really am very happy with my winnings! I'm pretty busy this month of September, so I won't be able to start reading, let alone reviewing, until next month. But it will happen! Yay for me!

And some of us could use some male 'exhibitions', too!

How so? I still see it.

Or, like me, enjoy your normally 'long' weekend!

This is so true, but not all have the excuse of abuse. The rest are just scum. A true leader does more than what he asks of another. Quite true...but it seems that few know that difference, and even fewer act upon it!

To split the pill...or the pill-patient?

Seize her? I didn't even know her!

Don Tomato is part of Cosa Nostra?

But with caution... .edu sites are also sources of student projects, which may or may not be factual. I tell my students to look to see if it's associated with a faculty member, which tends to lend creedence to the info on the site.

I'll third it...it'll be interesting to see what gets posted!

For a little while, I liked this guy who was from Newcastle...and so I watched the team, too. Sheeeeeesh...I'm already an SF Giants fan, as well as a Boston Red Sox aficionada...I don't need another *ahem* team like that.

Yeah, actually, I have. Evidently the doses at Costco are 'too harsh' for the feline stomach (yet she eats gophers...I don't get it), and so the dose in the feline version is 'just right'. This is according to our vet, who is really good about giving us alternatives which cost more--e.g. when she got a cut that was infected, because she decided that she wanted to be friends with a raccoon (dumbass cat), the vet said to put Neosporin on it.

That was sneaky

This is what was giving me pause. (Bear with me...I just got back from a swim, so I have chlorine on the brain...) Let me see if I understand this: This 'academic' forum would be a way that person X could start a thread on a given topic. It could be a question that they wish to discuss, or a topic where they wish to expound a bit on an idea and then have others add to it as they can. In this way, the person who starts the thread has creative and logistical control on the thread--can moderate it--and can, perhaps, shape how the thread is going. Because everyone is citing sources and whatnot, this can be eventually 'married' to the articles, so that if person Y wishes to know more about, say, the Roman army during the time of the Republic, all they have to do is go into the 'academic' forum and look up the topic; if the topic does not yet exist, person Y can create such a thread, and have others contribute to it so as to answer the initial query. Sounds like an academic conference round-table! Do I have the concept right?

Ok, I used to watch footie more often in the past--I had digital cable, which had a Euro Football channel (I could keep tabs on Serie A easier). I'm so lost as to who's doing what anymore...where would you guys recommend catching up on the footie world? Is there a site that you all recommend?

The more I think about it...I agree with you, Signore Dalby. I use discussion forums with my students all the time to get them to practice Spanish, and in many ways this forum is an extension of the same concept. Some people can become even more aware that they're not the (language) majority, and will clam up instead of engaging in the conversation. Perhaps the best route is to have tolerance of people's language, regardless of the grammatical state, and bear with it. And to have a sense of humor whenever possbile! (And has anyone else noticed that sarcasm, puns, and other lingual displays of humor are the last to master in a given language?!?! ARGH!)

From time to time, I must recall certain factoids about life which are necessary to get through the day...or in order to keep my momentary sanity. --There are more fools and ignorami in the world than you realize, and they are both scary. A fool is aware of his eejit-ness, and tries to cover it up; an ignoramus is blissfully unaware of his quality, and usually possesses a modicum of common sense. --Follow-up #1: common sense ain't exactly all that common...and it's too bad it can't be made a mandatory part of the education of our youth. --Many people really love to heap on the abuse to their underlings--the same abuse that they received when they were someone's underling. It isn't fair, but it's life...so f'ing deal with it. --Follow-up #2: Dealing with it is usually a mix of exercise, talking to 'outsiders', and a Pertimaxus or 4. --Pets, particularly dogs and cats, are so understanding and loving, and they really are part of what helps us to deal with the crap in our lives. --Follow-up #3: Vet bills really need to be regulated. Seriously. 'Gloucosamine' for cats is 5x the price of what I buy at Costco.

Here comes my rant There are ZERO online translators which are worth even a fart. None seem to be able to translate phrases with any reliability; at best, they can be used to look up a single word, but you really must know the grammar of the languages you're dealing with in order to know what it is that you're getting, and to be able to judge its validity. (Every semester I make this speech to my students, and every year they don't believe me...until I return their papers full of 'blood'.)

The frickin Forty Niners...who will suck yet again this year, perhaps more than last year. Vernon Davis is nice, but until we have an o-line who can keep Alex Smith on his feet and not on his arse, well, that does us no good. With any luck, in a few years we will be back to our dominating ways...I don't wanna end up like PP

#2 is not a bad idea...although PP's mention of the 'location' information is a good start. But for example: AD is in France (I believe?), but I don't think his native language is French As for #3...I've never been a 'good' girl...at my worst, I'm a 'damn good' girl