:: Ray's Periodic Rantings ::

:: Saturday, February 26, 2005 ::

Trump in the city of big shoulders. Ick.

Over the past few weeks, I have watched crews demolish the Sun Times building, which I can see from my office window. It was a somewhat squat thing, not very handsome, and I don't think many people will miss it. It was located on prime land right on the Chicago River, though, which was its ultimate downfall. What will replace it has me worried.

For starters, who would want to live in a building with Donald Trump's name on it, in great big letters? What is it about a guy with bad hair and a bunch of alimony judgements, who talks big bucks but constantly flirts with bankruptcy, that appeals to potential renters or buyers? I have nothing but disdain, but if all goes as the Trump would have it, I will soon watch the Trump International Hotel and Tower rise to 100 stories, blocking my view of the IBM building. There goes the neighborhood.

Yesterday and today saw local newspapers report that the T is contemplating adding a spire to his phallus, er, building that would make it taller than the Sears Tower. Techically this would make T's monument to himself the tallest in the country (do you think that what they say about cars and men applies to their buildings, too?), unless you count the antennae on the Sears. And if you count the highest occupied floor, T wouldn't come close. Go ahead and build your spire, T. You can show off your skyscraper size Trojans, but I will keep calling Sears the tallest building in the United States.
:: Ray 1:40 AM [+] ::
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Embarrassing admission

Reading a person's blog can be a way to get to know that person, but here is a word of caution (as in, "here, take my advice, I'm not using it!"): remember that what you are reading is what that person has chosen to write. Even if it is the truth, it may not be the whole truth. For example, before I met Mary, whom I am now engaged to, I did a lot of dating while looking for the right person. But if you look back through my blog, you wouldn't know it because it wasn't what I wanted this blog to be about. This post is about a more embarrassing example, though.

Thursday night, right before I wrote about macaroni and cheese, I had a kitchen mishap. I had been craving more of the good stuff all week, so I tried making another batch. The Alton Brown recipe that I like is baked, and this time it came out of the oven unsatisfactorily browned on top. To compensate, I fired up the broiler, but the dish back in the oven, and walked away to watch a bit more of whatever lame movie was on TV. Oops. A few minutes later the smoke detector went off, and I rushed back to the kitchen to find flames coming out of the oven from my now-blackened macaroni and cheese.

I've been around kitchens long enough that I didn't panic, and the situation was quickly resolved. The house smelled smoky for a day, and the mac and cheese was even edible underneath the charred crust. The only thing injured was my pride. I debated writing about it at the time, but I just didn't feel like it. I guess the lesson here is that if you really want to know what is going on in someone's life, ask them.

Unrelated note to those making mac and cheese from scratch: if your recipe calls for ground dried mustard seed, do not substitute wet mustard. It will give the roux a curdled texture.
:: Ray 2:20 PM [+] ::
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Comfort food

Last weekend I made macaroni and cheese for the first time. Actually it was rotini and cheese, because I did it at a spur of the moment, and tricolor rotini is all there was on hand. At any rate, it is the first time I have ever done it from scratch. All I can think after trying it is this: where does Kraft get off pretending that that crap they sell in the blue box is anything even remotely like macaroni and cheese?

Mary and I were visiting our friends James and Ingrid in Indianapolis. It was late, and we were hungry. I had been thinking about trying a mac and cheese from scratch for a while, and when I mentioned it, everyone liked the idea. I looked at a few recipes, including one from Alton Brown on Good Eats. I like Alton's show, but I have had less than stellar success" with some of his recipes in the past. His sounded the best, though, except for his addition of chopped onions...no thanks. A quick check of the pantry revealed everything we needed, so I went ahead. The result was quit yummy. In retrospect, how could a roux of butter and flour with milk, egg, cheddar cheese and pasta not be good?

I'll be making it again. It's not exactly health food, but it is comfort food of the highest order. I recommend the rotini, too. Its nooks and crannies hold the cheese sauce very well, and it is easier to fork than elbo macaroni.
:: Ray 1:07 AM [+] ::
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Spongebob in church

Dr. James Dobson, with his Focus on the Family morality squad, seems to bash every lifestyle that varies even slightly from the '50s nuclear family. I am not a fan. Last week he condemned SpongeBob Squarepants for being gay (rimshot). Get real, Dr. Dobson. Apart from the fact that he is a cartoon character devoid of sexuality, he is a sponge. But what if an asexual cartoon sponge wants to convert to Christianity? It appears that Dr. Dobson would turn him away, but a rescuer has stepped forward. It seems that SpongeBob has a home at the United Church of Christ. (via Salon)

"Absolutely, the UCC extends an unequivocal welcome to SpongeBob," the Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president, said, only partly in jest. "Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we.""

Kudos to the UCC for their inclusivity and for having sense of humor. Don't miss the photo diary of SpongeBob's visit to the UCC's national offices.
:: Ray 5:56 PM [+] ::
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