~Labor Day, Monday~ I made another one of those killer omelets this morning, adding some sliced ham to it, this time. Yummy! I wish I could make my omelets like this, but I can’t:
Actually, I haven’t even tried doing all that flipping. Maybe I’ll try it next time. My biggest fear is that shit will fly all out of the pan when I’m doing it. At least my stove isn’t all open like the one in that video, and it’s an electric stove, not a gas one. I’m sure I’ll have an update in my blog when/if I do it.
After devising yesterday’s blog entry, I watched Season 1, Episode 4 – “Old Cases” of The Wire.
One of the most interesting things about this show to me so far is the diversity of the language among the people in the projects, the police officers, and the lawyers and judges. Each group with their own vernacular and nomenclature, yet each not so esoteric that by carefully paying attention, one is able to understand what’s being communicated.
In one scene, one of the cops casually alludes to the “Eff Oh Pee” in a sentence, and before the end of the next sentence, I’d thought, “Oh, yeah, the Fraternal Order of Police.”
I’m trying to decide if the closing scene of the Lesbians starting to have sex, but fading to black before it got too terribly graphic, was gratuitous or not.
I got to the gym late in the afternoon, surprised actually that they closed at 7:00 today. I had really expected them to close at 5:00.
Closing in on 200 (10 sets of 20 reps) ab crunches, I thought, “Oh boy. I’m not going to be able to do 300 of these today.” In the end, I forged on and completed the extra 5 sets.
During my 60 minutes on the treadmill, I listened to more great radio. Surprisingly, I liked the first act by one of my favorite writers, David Sedaris, the least of the three acts. The third act was very, very interesting. A teacher tells about the time she instituted this rule in her kindergarten class: “You can’t say ‘You can’t play.'” I particularly appreciated the correct use of single and double quotation marks in the sentence.
If you were a child who was bullied or excluded from groups, you’ll probably find yourself extra moved by these stories.
| The Cruelty of Children Stories about kids being mean to each other. Prologue. Bully Book. A first-grader explains to host Ira Glass how bullies become bullies. His explanation: They read a book on how to be a bully. According to his reasoning, how else could you explain why kids are mean to each other? It couldn’t be that they’re just bad. (2 minutes) Act One. I Like Guys. David Sedaris reads one of his funniest and most affecting stories from his book Naked before a live audience. As an adolescent boy, David feared he might be a homosexual. He explains how his secret plan was to win the lottery and then hire doctors who would purge him of his homosexual impulses. Sometimes kids in his class at school would taunt the boys they thought were sissies, and when they did, he tried to be the loudest and meanest. He figured if he didn’t act that way, they’d all turn on him next. Then he goes away to summer camp and meets a boy named Pete, who seems like an outsider in the same way he is. At first they get close. Then Pete turns on him. (26 minutes) Song: ” None of Your Business,” Salt ‘n Pepa Act Two. The Man in the Well. Original fiction by Ira Sher about a group of children who find a man trapped in a well but decide not to get him any help. First published in the Chicago Review. (17 minutes) Act Three. Human Nature, The View from Kindergarten. Author and kindergarten teacher (and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient) Vivian Paley tells the story of an experiment she conducted in her classroom to make children less cruel to each other. She instituted a rule: “You can’t say ‘You can’t play.'” In other words, if two children are playing, and a third child comes over and wants to join them, they can’t tell him or her to get lost. They can’t reject him or her. This is the cause of unending pain in most classrooms and playgrounds. The experiment was a remarkable and immediate success. (12 minutes) Song: “When You’re Smiling,” Louis Prima |
After the gym and a stop at the grocery store on the way home, I made some stir-fried pork with some onions, red peppers, yellow peppers, onions, mushrooms, and pineapple bits. Good stuff!
I listened to another hour-long episode of This American Life, this one called, “The Friendly Man.” The first M2M kiss. Interesting.
I went to karaoke a little bit earlier tonight. I got there at about 9:25. There were 7 people in the place. I had a $2.00 cocktail and left at 10:00.
I stopped by Cook Out on the way home and got a caramel shake, which I enjoyed the hell out of at home, while I watched Season 1, Episode 5 – “The Pager” of The Wire. It’s getting deep now.