Jon Carroll thinks we should make our cats be more patriotic. He makes his point in a very amusing fashion, so I guess I can forgive him. Plus he claims it is better for our cats to at least appear patriotic since they look so darn suspicious all the time. But he knows as well as all of us that cats have loyalties only to themselves and, very seldom, their humans (sometimes the can opener too, but not often). Even if it were possible to train our cats to stand at attention while we recited the Pledge of Allegiance or shed little kitty tears while yowling accompaniment to Celine’s rendition of “God Bless America”, well, it just wouldn’t be the same. We’d be losing that which makes a cat … a cat. And isn’t that what liberty and freedom is all about?

Yay for pop-up books! There’s an exhibition of pop-up books, also known as movable books, at the Brooklyn Public Library (various branches) going on now through the end of the year. It was curated by The Movable Book Society and there’s a companion book with a Maurice Sendak cover. Lothar Meggendorfer was an important innovator in the history of this art some call “paper engineering”. Here’s another online exhibit about pop-ups. And the Popuplady has special bonus info on her site: how to deodorize a book using kitty litter. Very handy for us used book shoppers.

Ten years after the devastating fire in the Oaklands hills, a SF Chronicle writer returns to assess the myriad of architectural styles that have sprung up. “The hills now are a smorgasbord — an open textbook for architects.” Although there is an abundance of that stucco “neo-Mediterranean” luxury look, there are some interesting structures sitting in the hills. “A cross between a giant sax and a beached ocean liner”, “A house wrapped in corrugated steel and shaped like an egg”, and something that looks like a spaceship. Considering their previous losses, I suppose the owners deserve the reward of making a solid personal statement.

A new book, Action This Day (it was only on Amazon UK), includes chapters written by former Bletchley Park codebreakers. It makes the claim that a woman figured out the key wiring of the Enigma box long before others cracked the code. Her theory was dismissed as too simple. We may never know if she would have been taken more seriously if she was male. Royalties from the book will be donated to the Bletchey Park Trust.

I (well, we actually) did end up making crystallized ginger using the long four day method. It had a couple of nice side products. The sliced lemon added on day 2 also becomes crystallized and very yummy as its own treat. The syrup is wonderful for adding to sparkling water. And of course we have the ginger too. We didn’t use young ginger, so it is too fibrous, but this weekend I minced some of it up to make ginger-lime squares and they turned out well. I used a 9″ springform pan instead of a 8″ square, which was handy because it was easy to get them out (but they weren’t all “squares”). And instead of pecans in the crust, I used some macadamia nuts I had leftover from another recipe. Yummy.

I found this jpeg of a 1955 “Good Wife’s Guide” on Larkfarm a little while ago but was going to write a parody of it before I mentioned it. Now I think perhaps a parody just wouldn’t be right. It’s already a parody by itself. At any rate, it made me laugh incredibly hard. My favorite bit was “Let him talk first — remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.” Now look, I’m laughing again. Hee hee hee. Yes, I should be appalled and horrified, but I am just too overwhelmed with disbelief, so it’s all amusing to me instead. There are some items that would be very nice to do for my husband. I wonder if I would have the energy to do them if I was running after two kids all day instead of developing software.

Our server has new innards and should be feeling much better and serving much faster from now on. We hope. Cross fingers.

A Buffy observation (spoilers for the season premiere, but probably won’t spoil second episode): Joss Whedon had said in many interviews that when they brought Buffy back from the dead, it wouldn’t be easy; they would really have to earn it. So I was taken aback when they merely raised her from the dead. Yes, there were difficulties and some up-front cost, but it wasn’t the Big Deal I was expecting and I was left feeling emotionally unfulfilled. Was Joss losing the touch? Well, after the second episode of the season, I am beginning to see that “earning it” has nothing to do with the price to get her back physically from the dead. It has everything to do with getting Buffy back emotionally. And perhaps her friends too. That concentration on the people is what has always made the show what it is. There’s more to come and I can still trust Joss. “Numfar, do the dance of joy!“

Sort of a follow-up to the snow carving: Giant Pumpkin Carving. It goes impressively beyond the jack o’ lantern triangular cutouts. (via Yahoo’s Daily Picks)

Looking for that perfect cliché? Try Cliché Finder and ClichéSite.com. There are phrases in there that must be obscure or regional because I haven’t heard them enough to think of them as cliché. (via Follow Me Here)