My "unsuspected depth" story: I have a "serious amateur" band that plays both songs I write and a diversity of covers, and the other members are considerably younger than me. Our electric guitarist/banjo-ist Emma is 29. She loves the '70s pop hits of Steve Miller, and I have always regarded those tunes as lightweight and a bit silly. So I might've scoffed a bit when she first suggested playing "The Joker".
But we did try it, and it was fantastic. That song is so much fun. Afterwards, I reflected on how I take music very seriously, and I tend to separate songs into ones with emotional depth vs. ones that seem to flit above the landscape, lacking weight, emotional complexity, edginess, etc. I always found the former category much more interesting and enjoyable to play. More "authentic", I guess.
I realized that I was missing something that Emma understood: good music for a band is music that is joyful for the band to perform. A song has a heart and a soul, like a living thing. Look for that in music, instead of only appreciating the music that speaks to me directly. I feel like a light went on for me in that moment, and it forever changed the way I think about the music we play and even the songs I write.
Ketchup v. mayo is such a silly debate, IMO, because *obviously* the best fry condiment is the 50/50 split between the two! I say "obviously" but it was not obvious to me until a couple years ago, and now I'm obsessed. Sometimes I try mixing in other condiments - putting in a smidgen of mustard for tang is what I'm doing these days, and I really like the effect.
Apparently you can buy bottled "mayochup" but I think that's silly... although maybe I'm just soubconsciously reminded of the "Mustmayostardayonnaise" bit from Mr. Show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRntutn8udw) which is unfairly biasing me against it!
I love Mr. Show—thank you for this link! And I am laughing, because there is a restaurant here that has this supposedly fancy sauce, and it is just 50/50 ketchup and mayo, just as you say.
Aperi-cenas (with fries!), Jane Austen and now Philadelphia Story -- you have such excellent taste yet always with an interesting twist (mayonnaise?! Matthew Macfadyen!??)... please don't tell me you thought she should end up with Mike (I actually did as a teenager due to my weakness for pretentious geeks at the time) 😂
I love a lot of genre fiction/TV, but at this point that feels pretty mainstream. The one thing I don't admit to much is that I've lately become interested in fashion, which is not something I would ever have imagined or predicted (and still kind of icks me out to say). It's always struck me as a realm of superficiality with a lot of arbitrary rules I find irritating. BUT... then I found Vinted and also stumbled on this really delightful woman who reframes it as a tool for being genuine & thoughtful about your well-being & individualistic self-expression, and maybe it sounds silly, but her spin on it has completely changed how I feel when I get dressed in the morning or leave the house. I only wish I'd been able to feel this way before middle age!
As to your water-spattering dilemma: 1) my husband the <chortle> professional chef gets boiling salty water all over our range almost every time he makes pasta at home, so you're not alone! 2) either dropping one potato slice in then waiting a second for the reaction to settle before dumping the rest should help -- I've heard that a terracotta disk in the bottom of the pot will also do it, but I haven't gotten around to trying that one yet.
I NEVER wanted her to marry Mike! Even when I saw the movie for the first time, at age 17, I was solidly Team Cary Grant!
I think it’s really cool that you like fashion. I think fashion belongs with knitting and sewing and other traditionally feminine creative hobbies that are often denigrated in the mainstream. I have no fashion sense whatsoever, but I greatly admire people who have the knack.
Thanks for the tips—will have to try the terracotta disc!
I find a giant slotted spoon is great for getting things both in and out of boiling water. Especially dumplings.
Apparently one of the signs that the economy is heading for recession, is that more people start buying cheaper ketchup or mayo rather than Heinz. The UK is not doing too well on the Ketchup metric at the moment.
Very interesting about the ketchup measure. I think we more privileged types often have no clue how close to the bone too many people are living, and how careful they have to be. It must be really tough.
As for the slotted spoon, I have never been able to get it to work without splashing, but I am rather klutzy and impatient.
I both love ketchup and loathe food snobs. But I've also learned to try to experience served food "as the chef intended" before slathering over with my own sauces. We switch between ketchup, mustards, and mayos (e.g. aioli) for potatoes. And friend, you've never had "generic ketchup" like that barely pink stuff they sold in Athens. Ugh.
This is a good point—I agree that it’s good to try all kinds of things (not just food) the way they’re offered first, before tarting them up or adapting them to fit what we like best.
My "unsuspected depth" story: I have a "serious amateur" band that plays both songs I write and a diversity of covers, and the other members are considerably younger than me. Our electric guitarist/banjo-ist Emma is 29. She loves the '70s pop hits of Steve Miller, and I have always regarded those tunes as lightweight and a bit silly. So I might've scoffed a bit when she first suggested playing "The Joker".
But we did try it, and it was fantastic. That song is so much fun. Afterwards, I reflected on how I take music very seriously, and I tend to separate songs into ones with emotional depth vs. ones that seem to flit above the landscape, lacking weight, emotional complexity, edginess, etc. I always found the former category much more interesting and enjoyable to play. More "authentic", I guess.
I realized that I was missing something that Emma understood: good music for a band is music that is joyful for the band to perform. A song has a heart and a soul, like a living thing. Look for that in music, instead of only appreciating the music that speaks to me directly. I feel like a light went on for me in that moment, and it forever changed the way I think about the music we play and even the songs I write.
What a wonderful story! It’s the silly songs everyone knows that bring us all together. (And now I have “The Joker” stuck in my head! 😂)
Slip potatoes in the pot: spider.
Aha! I need to get one of those!
Ketchup v. mayo is such a silly debate, IMO, because *obviously* the best fry condiment is the 50/50 split between the two! I say "obviously" but it was not obvious to me until a couple years ago, and now I'm obsessed. Sometimes I try mixing in other condiments - putting in a smidgen of mustard for tang is what I'm doing these days, and I really like the effect.
Apparently you can buy bottled "mayochup" but I think that's silly... although maybe I'm just soubconsciously reminded of the "Mustmayostardayonnaise" bit from Mr. Show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRntutn8udw) which is unfairly biasing me against it!
I love Mr. Show—thank you for this link! And I am laughing, because there is a restaurant here that has this supposedly fancy sauce, and it is just 50/50 ketchup and mayo, just as you say.
Aperi-cenas (with fries!), Jane Austen and now Philadelphia Story -- you have such excellent taste yet always with an interesting twist (mayonnaise?! Matthew Macfadyen!??)... please don't tell me you thought she should end up with Mike (I actually did as a teenager due to my weakness for pretentious geeks at the time) 😂
I love a lot of genre fiction/TV, but at this point that feels pretty mainstream. The one thing I don't admit to much is that I've lately become interested in fashion, which is not something I would ever have imagined or predicted (and still kind of icks me out to say). It's always struck me as a realm of superficiality with a lot of arbitrary rules I find irritating. BUT... then I found Vinted and also stumbled on this really delightful woman who reframes it as a tool for being genuine & thoughtful about your well-being & individualistic self-expression, and maybe it sounds silly, but her spin on it has completely changed how I feel when I get dressed in the morning or leave the house. I only wish I'd been able to feel this way before middle age!
As to your water-spattering dilemma: 1) my husband the <chortle> professional chef gets boiling salty water all over our range almost every time he makes pasta at home, so you're not alone! 2) either dropping one potato slice in then waiting a second for the reaction to settle before dumping the rest should help -- I've heard that a terracotta disk in the bottom of the pot will also do it, but I haven't gotten around to trying that one yet.
I NEVER wanted her to marry Mike! Even when I saw the movie for the first time, at age 17, I was solidly Team Cary Grant!
I think it’s really cool that you like fashion. I think fashion belongs with knitting and sewing and other traditionally feminine creative hobbies that are often denigrated in the mainstream. I have no fashion sense whatsoever, but I greatly admire people who have the knack.
Thanks for the tips—will have to try the terracotta disc!
I find a giant slotted spoon is great for getting things both in and out of boiling water. Especially dumplings.
Apparently one of the signs that the economy is heading for recession, is that more people start buying cheaper ketchup or mayo rather than Heinz. The UK is not doing too well on the Ketchup metric at the moment.
Very interesting about the ketchup measure. I think we more privileged types often have no clue how close to the bone too many people are living, and how careful they have to be. It must be really tough.
As for the slotted spoon, I have never been able to get it to work without splashing, but I am rather klutzy and impatient.
I both love ketchup and loathe food snobs. But I've also learned to try to experience served food "as the chef intended" before slathering over with my own sauces. We switch between ketchup, mustards, and mayos (e.g. aioli) for potatoes. And friend, you've never had "generic ketchup" like that barely pink stuff they sold in Athens. Ugh.
This is a good point—I agree that it’s good to try all kinds of things (not just food) the way they’re offered first, before tarting them up or adapting them to fit what we like best.
https://packagingoftheworld.com/2020/05/barbie-x-heinz-ketchup.html
Omg this is horrifying!
Charming....and typical Casey and Noah reflections....loved it!