Twelve Years and a family of conspiracy theorists

Today is the 12th anniversary of Princess Diana's death in Paris. While of course I am fascinated by both death and celebrity, this date is particularly evocative for me. My nan was a Diana fanatic, collecting the books, the photos, the collector edition plates and mugs, the whole lot. Many a discussion at my grandparents house in the last 12 years has centered around conspiracy theories involving Lady Di's demise (or, if you ask my father, "staged demise")

Its generally agreed upon that she perished due to unlucky circumstances involving paparazzi, and a drunken chauffeur, so how can I, born of this Diana-loving clan, rationalize my love for celebrity gossip? I tell myself its all part of their job, its inevitable that being famous is now more than ever about constant media presence. If I can go on facebook and find out which of my friends just took a dump, got dumped or dumped a load of money at the bar, doesnt it follow that I would want to know the same about my favourite celebs? Still the intellectual in me still hopes its just a phase.

P.S. Last I heard, Lady Di was on a remote island somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Its a nice thought.

Carl Sagan and Many Dimensions

Here's your brain yoga for the day, courtesy of my childhood hero, the late Carl Sagan:

Journey Through Flatland

Am I a Brazen Careerist?

For the last 2 years I have been following the fantastically well-written blog Brazen Careerist. Author Penelope Trunk and her two partners have finally launched their social network website, also called Brazen Careerist. This site is specifically aimed at Gen Y networking, so of course I have signed up for an account. The next few weeks will determine if I continue to use it or not, based on a few criteria:
1) do the groups match my current needs?
2) will I be networking with people who are actually useful to me and my goals?
3) will the fact that I live in Canada hinder this networking? (I have joined the "Canada" group, but so far, there are only about 40 of us, and some are Americans who are just fans of Canada - how quaint)
Like everyone else, I feel that my time is of utmost importance, so if after a month or so, if I'm not getting what I want out of it, I'll give up. I mean, isn't that my right, as part of the Sesame Street generation?

Chicken Pudding and other musings

This article in The Atlantic fascinated me. It describes in detail the supposed "comeback" of savoury desserts, especially those with meat included somehow. The best part about web 2.0 is that this article is not just a write up on the history of blancmange, but a full-blown, passionate discussion (see the comments)
Food is one of the most personal topics of discussion. In some circles, for sure I would rather talk politics than have a chat with some of my foodier-than-thou mates.
I would like to think that I am open to new food experiences, but I can't see myself having a beef brulee anytime soon...

My new favourite website

I wish I had something to contribute, but alas, I have very few good hair days. But if I did, I know where to commemorate and immortalize them: MustShareHair

Awesomeness doused with cool sauce.

Death of the Day

Today is the fifth anniversary of Julia Child's demise. In memory of the matriarch of all things cooking channel, please, studiously ignore Rachael Ray and her ilk, at least for today. Maybe even pull out Mastering the Art of French Cooking for tonight's dinner inspiration. My personal favourite is potage parmentier. Its like a hug in a soup pot.
Here's a review of Julie and Julia. I'm hoping to see it eventually, as I really enjoyed the book.

So Cute it's sad.

Found this website this morning, Funky Lunch. It features a gallery of quirky sandwich designs, mostly cute, some pretty intricate, none delicious looking. Its weird to look at what is ostensibly a food website and not get hungry...

Via Laughing Squid