Blog for Choice

Oblivious me, without fail, forgets this date every year until I stumble upon a reminder that today is the anniversary that Roe v. Wade was decided. And every year I think "I am so lucky to have a choice in what happens to my life".

I was reminded by this nifty little campaign by NARAL Pro-Choice America:



The campaign asks bloggers to answer the question: What does Trust Women mean to you?

It's hard for me to answer a question that's so simple. So painfully, obviously simple. To me it means trusting women, not a government, not a religion, not an outside force, to make decisions about what they think is best for themselves. To not treat women like fragile porcelain dolls that, those poor dears, need to be told what to do, lest they wrinkle their pretty little foreheads thinking too hard.

Abortion ain't pretty; it's only ever talked about in hushed tones and, increasingly to a terrifying level, through spitting venom. Most people who've had one, I'd guess, wouldn't publicly admit it. And why would they? It's their choice and their lives. Nobody needs to be involved except the people of their choosing. Again, no government, no religion, no outside force. Nor is it something to be ashamed of.

If I ever have daughters in the future (sons, too - children I choose to have) I don't want them growing up in a world without abortion. Access to abortion is a civil and human right.

Being Martha Stewart

Lots of bloggers write about their culinary adventures for all the world to see. I like reading about said adventures so, in an effort to mask just how lacking in personality I am, I'll jump on the bandwagon.

After an attempt at pumpkin cheesecake on Christmas Day (damn you Norway and your lack of pre-made graham cracker crusts) I had some leftover pumpkin in a can, purchased safely in July before the pumpkin shortage crisis of 2009.

I went to my favorite recipe website, Recipezaar.com, to see what was in the 'ol cookbook. Yes, I am awesome enough to have an account there which stores saved recipes in a "cookbook". That makes me a foodie, right?

In the time I've had an account with The Zaar (as we foodies call it) I've collected quite a few recipes over the years. 184 to be exact. A quick search for "pumpkin" reveals this tasty sounding delight: Pumpkin Chocolate Loaf. I like pumpkin. I like chocolate. I like loaves. And had all the ingredients in the house, which is vital on a Sunday when the grocery stores are all closed. I would've murdered for such a luxury as a grocery store employee in high school, but that's a story (rant?) for another day. Back to the food.

My blogging-about-cooking idea came a wee bit late, as most people take pictures during the entire step-by-step process. Well, my dough was all mixed up before the light bulb went off in my head so all I have is a before and after shot of my culinary creation:

Before baking:



After baking:



Was it good? Yes. Was it great? No. But I think I know why. One nifty tool on the Zaar is the ability to change the size of the recipe. The original recipe made 3 loaves and, pumpkin shortage crisis notwithstanding, I didn't have enough to make 3 whole loaves. So I adjusted the recipe to make only 1 loaf. Because of that I don't think there was enough of the "pumpkin spices" (cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg) in the reduced size recipe to make the bread taste super super pumpkin pie-y, which I was expecting.

The Zaar also lets you view the nutrition facts of all their recipes. This information I usually ignore. Useful tool, though, if you care about silly, vapid things like fitting through doorways and premature death.

All in all the Pumpkin Chocolate Loaf is a tasty carbonanza that stinks up your house real nice and pretty. I will make it again one cold winters night, and add more spices, but I've got to get my hands on more canned pumpkin first!

United Airlines FAIL

Attention United Airlines:

As you may or may not know, there are 365 days in a typical, non-leap year. 2010 is one of those years.

So why, according to you, does March end (31) on a Wednesday and April begin (1) on a Friday? What happened to Thursday, United? What happened to Thursday?!

Proof:



(Click to enlarge)

Bad attempt at an early April Fools joke, perhaps?

Regardless, you are in a world of hurt when people book flights for the completely wrong day/date, which is going happen for 3/4 of the entire year. And every single year after this one.

And you wonder why your industry is in the crapper.