The Map is Not The Territory

WE are to Blame

Don't get me wrong - Palin was a disaster in waiting. And obviously Palin was used by the campaign.

All that Sarah Palin IS guilty of is that she allowed herself to be used.  Clearly, she didn't have the understanding that moving to the Big Leagues was going to be different than running for Mayor or even for Governor of an insulated, small population state.

There are a lot of people out there who get by with flash over substance - sizzle over steak. (Paris Hilton anyone?) Unfortunately, a run for President will examine and magnify and distort every possible flaw a person has and even those they don't have ... and Sarah either didn't consider that or actually believed that she was qualified (I would bet on the latter). She had stars in her eyes. It's sad to see what is now happening, but it is also so very predictable given how our society falls for the cult of "celebrity".

I once had a boss who told me that "perception is reality" as he "reworked" (ie: lied about) the unpopular profit projections to send to head office. Unfortunately, people like him believe that a good lie is better than the hard truth.

So who is ultimately responsible? WE ARE. We are a society that encourages hubris and overreaching. We egg them on to reach the top and then we gather with stones in our hands to knock them down when they get there.

Sarah will be fine ... she believes in her own PR. That's the really frightening thing.

Least we forget ..... Todays headlines:

• Russia slams U.S., threatens missile deployment

• Pakistan: Suicide attacks kill 19

• U.S. probes airstrikes as Afghan fury grows

• Congo cease-fire unraveling as fighting spreads
• Afghanistan: 7 civilians die in airstrike

Ok, now that the election stuff is over comes the first real important decision..

What kind of puppy are they going to get for the girls? 

Any thoughts?

I have a weakness for Dachshunds because, well... wiener dogs are cuter than spit! Plus they are feisty, loyal, fierce and proud little suckers. Good with kids too if you get them young.

I am sorry but this is just too funny .... Christopher Buckley takes a shot at writing a concession speech for John McCain

Priceless

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5046c458-a5c2-11dd-9d26-000077b07658.html

I am 55 yrs old and have seen many elections and have voted "left" and "right" on different occasions... but I've ALWAYS voted. Sometimes I held my nose and did it .. but I did it.

Political Elections  often seem to be more of a game than anything else, like watching the World Wrestling Federation - you know it's fake but you watch anyway. Unfortunately, the choice that is made at the end is one we will all have to live with.

My best advice: dig into the positions as deep as you can stomach, and then try and choose between the candidates based on which one appears to be most believable to you. The records are available - voting records. How many times each has changed direction is an interesting thing to check as well as their reasons for changing. (You gotta know when to hold'em ... and know when to fold'em)

For me, I know there is NO perfect candidate, NO perfect platform so I tend to pick the person my gut says is the most genuine to me -- the person who has stayed true to their expressed ideals (as best as one can in this crazy world). I would rather follow someone with a vision than someone who changes their mind all the time. Give me a goal and a path to that goal. Look back in history at the great leaders and you will see that they were all flawed but each had one thing in common ... a vision and the character to stay true to that vision.

Right now, we are at a point in time when the world is changing and it isn't going to stop or change back because we are afraid or timid. We can't stick our heads in the sand and hope the worlds challenges will just go away. Believe me, the rest of the world is on the move and if you just sit there in the past  that parade is gonna walk right over you.

.... so, if you believe that, you need to vote for the person who you think is truly looking forward, embraces change and is willing to take that baton and lead the F**'ing parade!
pick your poison and VOTE!!

This year was spent with old friends and I decided to do something special for dessert .... something I had seen before once in France but had never attempted... A Bouche de Noel or, in the vernacular, a Yule Log. 

Now, the Bouche de Noel is supposed to resemble a real log and there are a variety of ways to put one together, however they all have a sponge cake of some kind, a filling of some variety to be rolled up in the cake (jelly roll style) and an icing of some kind that can be sculpted into the resemblance of tree bark.  Then of course, you decorate to enhance the forest effect.

After consulting 4 cook books and many (MANY) websites - I settled on an amalgamation of several recipes:

Cake:  I chose to do a chocolate Genoise
Filling:  This was the hardest to decide, but I settled on a Hazelnut mousse to firstly, keep the cake a bit lighter and second because I love hazelnuts! (plus I had some Frangelico Liquor in the bar)
Icing:  This was no contest -  a dark chocolate ganache
Embellishments:  Rosemary branches -for branches of course,  meringue mushrooms for tradition, chopped pistachio for ground cover, and praline hazelnuts for more ground cover.

THE RESULTS - in Picture form
      

Mushrooms turned out well - added a dust of cocoa powder for dirt!


Ground Cover and branches added to platter - so far so good.


Adding the Ganache - The Roll sat in the fridge to firm up prior to slicing the ends off to form side branches .... Ganache makes lovely glue!




A fork added the bark effect - and a final sprinkle of icing sugar for snow and Voila!

And YES .... it tasted delicious!!

Happy Baking to all.

I have a confession to make regarding my miniature dachshund, Maximillian ... he's a Bee Sucker!  Yes, I said BEE.

We have this large stuffed soft toy bee that someone gave me as a joke 4 yrs ago (by large I mean larger than the dog). I offered it to Max around the time of his first birthday and he immediately draped himself over the thing and started sucking (nursing?) and pumping gently with his feet. The area he is sucking gets totally wet and gross, but , undeterred, he's always back at it the next evening.

He now does this at least once a day. I assume it is either him reverting to being a pup with his mom or semi-sexual. ... not that I want to know... just as long as the neighbors never find out! 

I confess to still being under-whelmed by the disappointing outcome of the Harry Potter series and have been chatting with those of a similar mind for the past two months. This morning I stumbled across the following sentence that, although it was made in the context of modern music, struck  me as applying directly to the HP phenomenon .

In a mass-media age, celebrity and genius will only find each other by accident.

 Please discuss re: JK Rowling - celebrity does not a genius make

Some have wondered about this Avatar. Many think it's someone that it's not.

For the record: This is Dawn French of the British comedy series "the Vicar of Dibley" fame.

For those who are unfamiliar I present the following short clips. At the end of each episode the Vicar would sit with Alice (not the sharpest knife in the drawer) and tell her a joke ....

My my ... this has been a most interesting week. (huge understatement)

I just returned from the airport, following a final meeting with the Vancouver Police, in order to put Romeo (aka: our Visitor From Denmark .. or VFD for short) on a plane back to the land of proper pastries and lovely cheese and his poor mortified parents. Now, why, you might ask... (or you might not... but assuming you did) would the police want to send a 17 yr old boy back to Denmark when he had only just arrived here a few days ago?

Ahhh ... well that is a rather long and sordid story involving the internet, multiple misunderstandings, immaturity (quite a lot of that and not just by those under the age of majority), a rather hefty number of fibs (ok.. outright lies then), people in Taiwan, young girls that may or may not be 13 or 14 or 15, Shakespeare, intrigue, subterfuge, and one very annoyed wiener dog. 

Now - of course I could put the full tale behind a cut for the curious ..... however that would mean that I'd actually have to write the darned thing out .... which would involve a certain amount of time (largish) on my part . Not that I would particularly mind doing that IF there was overwhelming interest on the part of others in reading such a saga, ..... but let's be honest here: I have no need to put the story down for myself .... heck, I already know the darned story!

So that's that.

I need a martini now.

Let me start by saying, I love coffee - real coffee, the European strength Scandinavian type of brew.  Starbucks House blend beans. I drink coffee for it's effects as a stimulant. It wakes me up, and it is a wonderful  finish to a meal . I'm also probably addicted to caffeine

However, having said all that .... the hot drink of choice for comfort ... is tea.  My mother is British so it is obviously genetic. I mention my mother because she is the primary reason why I am not only a drinker of tea but quite particular about the type of tea and method of preparation, Yes,  I admit it,  I'm turning into a tea snob.

 I just bought a new red teapot,  and follow George Orwell's method (George and I part company on the milk issue though).  Having said all that - I'm really a very nice person - just don't ever offer me a cup of tea unless you are prepared for a critique.

Violent images currently clogging the media with madness and tragedy prompt some sort of response ... but what response is adequate? What could I possibly say that would make any difference to the events unfolding in Virginia?

Let me start by saying  that I have owned a gun in the past- a shotgun that my grandfather gave me when I was 15.  I am also in favor of gun control. No ... not just in favor  .... IN FREAKING FAVOR OF!

Now the pro gun argument that is given over and over again has the following two points (in no particular order):
1) It's our constitutional right to bear arms  and, 
2) We only have our guns for hunting or for our personal protection.

To issue number 1 - this is perfectly true, we do have this right. I would point out though that having the right to something doesn't make exercising it ... erm.. right.   We have the collective right to declare war on other nations but that doesn't necessarily mean we should do so at the drop of a hat without some mighty compelling reasons.  Keep in mind;  when the "right to bear arms" clause in the constitution was created when "arms" meant single-shot, muzzle loaded cumbersome devices - slow to load and difficult to conceal. I doubt the founding fathers could have envisioned semi-automatic hand guns let alone such devices in the hands of the general population.

To issue number 2 - well, in the case of handguns and automatic weapons, these justifications just don't stand up under scrutiny.

A hunter doesn't need a handgun or an automatic weapon for hunting. A real hunter uses shotguns and/or a rifle. You don't go after a deer with an UZI. You just don't.

As for the protection angle .... well that one makes very little sense if you just think about it. Guns are NOT and never were designed for protection... armor was designed for protection, security systems were designed for protection, FLIPPING DEAD BOLT LOCKS were designed for protection!!  Guns were designed to propel a bullet at a target with the purpose of KILLING  IT. Their purpose is killing. Even if we stretch our minds to accept that possession of a gun might act as a deterrent therefore providing protection in that way, the only way that would work is if the person we are trying to deter KNOWS we have said deterrent gun. This means that, if we accept this argument we need to walk around with our guns in holsters on our hips like in the old west or with automatic weapons slung over our shoulders. Even then it isn't really about protection but about power.

I owned a shotgun and went duck hunting twice a year with it, but I at least knew what it was ... it was a weapon.. it was for killing. Anyone who owns a gun and doesn't have the self awareness to admit that simple truth has a BIG problem.

So - I offer this song by Cheryl Wheeler  - her words are much better than mine. you can hear the song here: http://www.leighm.net/?p=33

If It Were Up to Me
Words and Lyrics by: Cheryl Wheeler 

• Maybe it's the movies, maybe it's the books
• Maybe it's the bullets, maybe it's the real crooks
• Maybe it's the drugs, maybe it's the parents
• Maybe it's the colors everybody's wearin
• Maybe it's the President, maybe it's the last one
• Maybe it's the one before that, what he done
• Maybe it's the high schools, maybe it's the teachers
• Maybe it's the tattooed children in the bleachers
• Maybe it's the Bible, maybe it's the lack
• Maybe it's the music, maybe it's the crack
• Maybe it's the hairdos, maybe it's the TV
• Maybe it's the cigarettes, maybe it's the family
• Maybe it's the fast food, maybe it's the news
• Maybe it's divorce, maybe it's abuse
• Maybe it's the lawyers, maybe it's the prisons
• Maybe it's the Senators, maybe it's the system
• Maybe it's the fathers, maybe it's the sons
• Maybe it's the sisters, maybe it's the moms
• Maybe it's the radio, maybe it's road rage
• Maybe El Nino, or UV rays
• Maybe it's the army, maybe it's the liquor
• Maybe it's the papers, maybe the militia
• Maybe it's the athletes, maybe it's the ads
• Maybe it's the sports fans, maybe it's a fad
• Maybe it's the magazines, maybe it's the internet
• Maybe it's the lottery, maybe it's the immigrants
• Maybe it's taxes, big business
• Maybe it's the KKK and the skinheads
• Maybe it's the communists, maybe it's the Catholics
• Maybe it's the hippies, maybe it's the addicts
• Maybe it's the art, maybe it's the sex
• Maybe it's the homeless, maybe it's the banks
• Maybe it's the clearcut, maybe it's the ozone
• Maybe it's the chemicals, maybe it's the car phones
• Maybe it's the fertilizer, maybe it's the nose rings
• Maybe it's the end, but I know one thing.
• If it were up to me, I'd take away the guns.
  

I'm very fond of opera.

Now, on March 24th I attended the live broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera's Barber of Seville at our local cineplex. Suffice it to say, it was a most thoroughly enjoyable 3.5 hrs. The performances were fresh and exciting.  It would be well worth catching this when it shows up on PBS in May.!

So, I have been humming some of the catchier bits from this particular opera ever since.... which prompted a close friend who will remain nameless to quip " isn't that from Bugs Bunny?"  Oh dear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTydGEYdVbE

“What is objectionable, what is dangerous about extremists is not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant. The evil is not what they say about their cause, but what they say about their opponents.”    Robert F Kennedy

Ain't that the truth!

It's looking like 2007 is going to be the "make-or break" year, caught in the gravity well of an entrepreneurial Black Hole.... Everything I've ever done (on the work front) is now rapidly gaining momentum as it coalesces into one large idea/opportunity (The Project) and hurtles towards what awaits .... From what I can see there are three equally possible outcomes:

1.  The Project will falter and fail - leaving me a bit poorer and probably headed straight towards retirement (ie-golf course) where I will never again concern myself with the print industry or technology.

2.  The Project will half-way succeed - generating reasonable enough money to judge it a success as a company, but ultimately leading to  the dissatisfaction of knowing I  failed to fully realize the vision behind The Project....  because of this I will slowly lose interest and, although a bit richer, drift towards retirement (ie- golf course).

3. The Project will explode into a  most wonderful, powerful, enriching, leap forward in the annal's of the evolution of print. Cool huh!!!  The face of the print industry will be shaken (not stirred) and I will bask in the glow of having created something meaningful and fulfilling.... because of this I will have the motivation to never retire and the staff to spend a fair amount of time on the golf course!!!

So - in summary - all roads lead to the golf course! How cool is that!

Now that we have our puppy Max, I've been interested in training him and doing some fun things .. so I was looking at activities like flyball and agility training.... when suddenly I came upon THIS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlyN0L4IMck&search=Canine%20Freestyle%20Dog%20Dance%20dachshund%20doxie%20adorable


Doggy dancing!!!   I'm not sure I have the patience to teach this to a dachshund but gee it sure looks like fun !!!

Ok here's the deal ...  when I got Max (my puppy) it was a long process. First locating a good breeder, then waiting for the litter to be born, then visitation while waiting for him to get old enough to leave his mom. During all of this I got to like the breeder very much and was picking her brains about the breed. She has been showing(primarily) and occasionally breeding dogs  for over 30 yrs so she must know a thing or three right?

Well, apparently she switched her dogs diet 5 yrs ago to the BARF diet  which stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. So my little guy was eating raw food!  Of course I had owned a dog and cat in the past and , like most people, was told that high quality kibble was the best thing to feed ... you know.. science diet and the stuff the vets sell. Never give your dogs bones!  All that crap.

So I was a bit nervous about raw food but I'm also extremely curious and decided to do as much research as I could. I mean, if so many professionals who show dogs use this diet what's up with that? The short story is that after weeks of research I ended up completely convinced BARF is absolutely the way to go ... so Max is a BARF dog and I'm very comfortable with the whole thing. As a matter of fact I'm more than comfortable.

So now, here I am one day producing home prepared raw diet meals for my dog and feeding kibble to my cat  when I think ... gee, if raw is so good for dogs who are omnivores, I wonder why I'm feeding kibble to the cat who is a pure carnivore! OK... more research. Short story .... I just started on the raw food for the cat a week ago.(the diet is slightly different from the dogs with more muscle meat)  She loves it. Her energy level has increased noticeably. Her fur has gotten quite lush and she sheds much less. All this in a freakin' week!!  Her litter box is very clean because the stools are much smaller and less often (there is very little material in this diet that isn't processed and used by the body apparently), plus there is NO ODOR. Not even odor from the urine. Plus I see that she is starting to firm up and is a bit leaner, (she was getting to be a fat, lazy cat over the past year). Amazing.

Have you ever wondered what a scotsman wears under his kilt?

Here's a little ditty then:

http://www.daveamason.com/april/mp3/Scotts%2Emp3