culture 'n stuff

[veronica_rich]

Far from being comprised of a homogenous row of white bread loaves *G*, my f-list is filled with a variety of personalities. On a weekly basis, I get from you guys all sorts of topics, including:

Ballet
Belly-dancing
Conservative perspective
Education about Palestine
Education about Israelis
Black PoC giving their two cents (using "black" because hey, Charlize Theron is also an African-American)
Asian and Asian-American PoC giving their two cents
Education about Irish rebels
Squeeing over blockbuster movies
Australian politics
Neoconservative perspective
Radical liberal perspective
Feminism
Torchwood
Anime
Classic literature
Porn, tentacle and otherwise
Independent film recs and analysis
Education about medical conditions I've hardly heard of
Dispatches from depression and mental illness
GLBT concerns
Actual pirate history
Costuming design and sewing
Military life
Legal analysis
The daily life of paramedics
Cooking!
Drawing and other artwork creation
History discussion
Moderate political stances
Cat care
The politics of teaching
The circuitous ins and outs of financing college these days
Marketing and PR
Jack
Diane
Two American kids doing the best that they can

But you see my point. If you have 5 minutes, list some of the issues you've learned something about through LiveJournal thanks to your diverse (and appreciated) f-list. Even if you're just surfing by and not part of my f-list or vice versa. :-)

Comments

[gobsmacked.livejournal.com]

You forgot the Canuckistani perspective!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

You mean USA Lite?

/hides from the wrath ... or at least the Mounties ... then again, maybe I don't want to hide from those Mounties ...

[gobsmacked.livejournal.com]

You mean USA Lite?
Don't you mean USA The Way It Should Be? With liberty and health care for all?

/hides from the wrath
You'll be sorry when we annex Florida and split it with the Cubans.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Lady, you can HAVE Florida and everything in it as far as I'm concerned. (There might be a couple of families I'd have airlifted out. Then again, I believe those two alone could easily overcome any coup your government would like to stage - which is less a commentary about your military and more about the sheer meanness of the two Floridians involved ... one of which we both know. *G*)

[gobsmacked.livejournal.com]

(There might be a couple of families I'd have airlifted out.
It would be a kindness to leave them to enjoy the improvements: free health care, affordable quality post-secondary education and an upgrade in pre-university educational standards, for starters ;-)

two Floridians involved ... one of which we both know. *G*)
We'll introduce to Quebecois sugar pie, and she'll be so buzzed she won't be able to resist.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

I demand a recipe. For proof. (Yeah. Proof.)

Tarte au sucre

[gobsmacked.livejournal.com]

According to a very old French-Canadian lady I knew, the usual recipe is flaky piecrust and piles of brown or maple sugar. That's it. Some people have taken to tarting it up by using cream in the filling and stuff. This recipe seems close to what I remember:
Pie dough
3 large eggs
1 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
You can add 1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped if you want.

Arrange oven rack in middle position and top with heavy baking sheet. Preheat oven to 425°F.
On lightly floured surface using lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough to 13-inch round. Fit into 9-inch pie plate. Trim edge, leaving 1/2-inch overhang, then fold over and crimp decoratively. Chill shell 30 minutes.
In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, maple syrup, butter, vanilla, brown sugar, and salt. Pour mixture into pie shell. (If you are using nuts, add them to the pie shell first and pout the mixture over top).

Transfer pie to baking sheet and bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° F and bake until crust is golden and center is just set, 25 to 30 minutes more.

Transfer pie to rack and cool at least 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Without nuts it looks like this:

[gobsmacked.livejournal.com]

And she can wash it down with some Nanaimo bars:


Some recipes for them here

[xenafox.livejournal.com]

Oh, the last 3 are by far the most important!

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

Life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone.

[a-silver-rose.livejournal.com]

Not sure if this is a good thing or not, but I've seen lots of fandom politics, two terms which really don't belong together.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

To me, education about anything is good - so long as I learn not to get involved with some of those things. *G*

(It's just like office politics ... which also SUCKS.)

[caniad.livejournal.com]

My f-list is pretty small, so I don't think I see quite as much variety as you do.

On the side, am I the only one inundating you with ballet? I might be overdoing it... (Then again, I'm pretty sick of fandom stuff and politics, so it's nice to focus on something that's purely beautiful :)

I enjoyed reading your list, though. It's fascinating to see the range of interests that people have, and it always puts things into perspective for me. My own little world can seem so important until I take a look outside it.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

You're the only ballet I get. Then again, razzle is the only belly-dancing I get. I'd hardly call one of each "inundated," LOL ...

It occurred to me the f-list should know I like everybody and like reading their opinions even if I don't agree. I'm well aware I'm polarizing and opinionated and it doesn't always look like I have much room for disagreement ... but except for a very few things, I actually do. ;-)

Also, I don't know how many people are on your f-list, but I bet you get more variety than you think. Go back through the last few days or week of those posts and see ...

[caniad.livejournal.com]

I got a bit concerned the other day when I read your post about heath care, since I definitely fall under the category of those being judged. But then again, I respect your opinions completely, so it was good for me your take on things. To be honest, I always find it a bit boring to be surrounded by those who agree with me completely. I had a professor once who commented that he preferred being a liberal in a conservative state, because it made things more interesting. I agree with him (except in reverse, of course...)

:)

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

You're in Michigan, right? I don't think it's been liberal for that long. *G*

What I probably should've made clear in my judgment is I'm not judging those people with those opinions as human beings, but I do judge all related opinions to the central issue. I was fairly well pissed off when I made that post, for various personal and political reasons, not the least of which is the ridiculous misinformation campaign which I feel obscures the opportunity to discuss the real drawbacks of reform proposals so far - and maybe FIX them. (I still believe we need that legislation. I just don't know if what's up for vote right now is the best.)

(I have to say on an off topic note, I've been reading your posts about the neighbor kids in your yard with increasing amusement, mostly because I'm the same way - people who think everyone in the world is obligated to bow before their needs because they have children need a wake-up call. I don't mind doing a little more for kids on certain issues and at certain times, but I'm certainly sick of seeing the rights of non-childed people run over when they're inconvenient to observe.)

[caniad.livejournal.com]

Well, at the time he said that it was in Texas, which is still quite conservative these days. (And it was Dallas/Fort Worth, no less, which is pretty much the center of all things conservative in Texas.) He had come from Washington, and that's definitely not too conservative. (I've lived there as well.) In all honesty, though, I'd choose WA over TX. As much as I consider myself a Texas girl, I prefer living amongst much of the progressive thinking in a place like WA when it comes to environmental issues. I think I'm a tree-hugger at heart.

I agree on the neighbor issue. I was prepared to hear her out and show some understanding until she basically made it clear that she was telling me, in no uncertain terms, that she felt she and her kids had a good reason to continue infringing on our property rights. Gee, she could have at least ASKED...

Alas, no. Good manners apparently don't apply for some people who have children and feel entitled to do whatever they think is best. I don't want to group all parents into this category, but my sympathy level goes WAY down for those who behave this way.