Geek in the Low Lands

At least today. I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday, and I don't feel like I have anything thoughtful to write about today. So I think I'll post some of the 'cookery' stuff I've listed in my description. I still have to figure out if I do want to take the step of photographing things I make and posting recipes of that sort. We'll see. Yesterday, I baked some bread. I made the Milk Bread  from the Joy of Cooking . During the 2nd rising, I accidentally let it over-rise, and only just caught it before some of my dough escaped to the bottom of my oven¹. Luckily, it was saved with some extra kneading and a half hour of rising. Even though I'm reasonably new to bread baking, I'm really enjoying it so far. There is something really nice about it, relaxing even. Otherwise, I don't know, here are the last 5 recipes I thought looked interesting and I'd like to try some day, so I bookmarked. Irish Beef Stew : With St. Patrick's Day coming u...

Or why I love having books on my phone. So the last few nights, I've been naughty. I've been staying up very late, reading books on my phone. I have a Samsung Galaxy SII with Moon+ Reader Pro on it, which gets very dark so I don't disturb my TD too much while he is trying to sleep. It wouldn't be so bad, but I keep reading kind of cheesy horror novels.  During the night from March 10th to March 11th, I read Ten by Gretchen McNeil . It's about a group of ten teens who are invited to a party on an island under false pretenses. Yes, in reality they are lured there to be killed off one by one. The premise isn't all that original, but I thought the writing was entertaining, and it was enough to get my brain a-ticking. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit this, but I had a little trouble falling asleep after I finished the book. The descriptions of the corpses in this novel were very good, and my brain went and ran with it. Never mind that it invoked a bi...

(Or should I be calling this 'Cult Classics'? I don't think everything will be a cult classic that I cover, so I'll stick with this.) Like many films that get deemed a cult classic , Wizards  has a number of issues. Written, directed, and produced by Ralph Bakshi , who is much better known for The Lord of the Rings , and Cool World , Wizards  is a post-apocalyptic science fantasy story (with Nazis) . It's not one of my favorites ever, though I do own a copy on DVD, because this is a trippy movie. This is really an animated movie of the 70s, and to me is a sure sign that one person should not be doing all the things Ralph Bakshi did. Even though the film is only 80 minutes long, I always think it's much longer, which is never a good thing. It could have done with perhaps another guiding hand. It also is not exactly subtle. You can read any number of ideas in to this, though the most obvious one will beat you over the head before too long. The very heavy Naz...

Yes, I have heard news of the supposed 'Giant Mutant Rats' that are 'invading' Iran. Ugh, it hurts to even type that sentence. It is such nonsense. This picture shows me someone holding a large, dead, male rat. The perspective in this shot is giving the illusion that it's larger than it actually is. It is not near 5 kilograms, or 11 pounds as  MSN reports . If it were that heavy, this person could not hold it at arm's length after having stabbed it with a knife. I can believe that they have lots of rats and that is an issue. I do not believe that they are mutated as Ismail Kahram states. This is like every time a picture goes around claiming that it's some new species, or they finally have photographic proof of a chupacabra and it's just a coyote or wild dog with a serious case of mange. I have to facepalm and sigh, that people are still making this stuff up. What really bothers me is less that people are making it up, or believing it. What bothe...

I'll never run a marathon, but I love to marathon. Every Halloween (which isn't really celebrated here, though it is growing, perhaps another post?) I like to try and pick a theme and set up a number of movies. I haven't gone so far as to including a theme for the food, though I suspect that will be the next step to my madness. I'll spread it over a day or so, depending on if my TD is feeling up to it. I'll hold mini-marathons when I feel like a certain genre, and I have the time. I don't just do this with movies, of course. I like to do this with books, as well. Particularly if I'm reading a series. If a new book comes out, I will try to re-read the previous books, though that is not always feasible, and sometimes not even necessary. ( George R. R. Martin , I am looking at your books particularly in the re-reading is not always feasible.) I suppose this also is part of my love of re-reading and re-watching things. I know for some people this is horrib...