the entry where I just quote someone else

Chris Bowers:

I can’t stand the nearly ubiquitous, juvenile machismo in the blogosphere, especially when coupled with mind-numbing refusals to admit that there is sexism in the blogosphere. Among other things, we call people pussies, talk about people getting bitch-slapped, tell people not to get their panties in a wad, demand that people grow balls, order our comrades to sack up, challenge people’s manhood and sexuality, regularly discuss whether certain women are “doable” or not, and we wonder why men outnumber women in the progressive blogosphere two to one? Sexist and homophobic language of the sort that I haven’t heard since I was in the locker room in high school flies around left and right, and we are surprised that more women don’t feel comfortable here? And the excuse that it doesn’t bother all, or even most, women doesn’t fly. The fact is that it does bother quite a few, and helps to build an atmosphere that lets many potential members of our coalition know that they are neither equals nor welcome. And if being polite to our sisters doesn’t jibe without your libertarian ethos, my initial response is to tell you to either deal with it or ram it.

via MyDD.

It ain’t just the blogosphere, Chris. Lately, I’ve been reading a bunch of women/feminist progressive blogs (which I swear I will post about at some point), and it’s been like a breath of fresh air. ETA: I know Chris is a guy, and he’s one of my old reads, not the new batch I’ve been reading.

Kitchen Nightmares

I write not of our house’s cooking space, but of Gordon Ramsay‘s tv show, Kitchen Nightmares. It is awesome. Did I say “awesome”? I meant kick-ass. He goes to four different restaurants that need help and consults with them for a week, really getting into the kitchen and into the business to try to help them. He finds the weaknesses in their operation and in their menu and offers up pragmatic suggestions for how to fix their problems. He’s got a filthy f*#$ing mouth on him, you can see that, yeah? I laugh to myself because that’s how he talks. It’s my new favorite show. In the second season, aptly titled Kitchen Nightmares Revisited, he goes back to the same restaurants after a year to see if things are working out.

In Hell’s Kitchen, you can see that he’s a hard-ass and cares about quality in general, but that’s about it. You see more that he likes to yell at people. You don’t really see the side of him that seems to love seeing chefs blossom and become more than they were, praising them and building them up when they outperform themselves. Man, this is sounding gushy. Also, KN highlights that GR is actually pretty damn hot. Hee. I run away and hide.

eta: I LOVE the bumpers that take you to commercial on Hell’s Kitchen. Those people deserve some sort of award. The bumpers for KNR is pretty good too, but they’ve got nothing on the HK ones.

philos

This week, Seppo and I are flying out to Philly to go to Chau’s wedding. We are staying with Hajeong, whom I haven’t seen in over a year! Yay! I can’t wait. This is our itinerary for Philly:

• Fly in to Philly early Sat morning
• Hang out with Hajeong
• Go to afternoon wedding and evening reception
• Hang out with Chau Sunday morning
• Dinner with Mii Ae Sunday evening
• Lunch with Jung, Mii Ae, Rye-Jin, and maybe Anny on Monday
• Dinner at Morimoto Monday evening with Hajeong
• Hang out with Hajeong some more
• Leave for Atlanta early evening Tuesday

Oh, I forgot: eat lots of cheesesteaks and water ice.

I’m really looking forward to eating at Morimoto. I have been reading some reviews and planning menu strategies, mainly wondering which level of omakase I want.

As for the Atlanta leg of the trip, my mom wants to celebrate my birthday early because my brother and his girlfriend both can take a day off mid-week while we’re there. I am also thinking that I would like to take them out somewhere nice, and maybe cook them something nice — possibly the chicken with 40 cloves or teriyaki chicken. I can’t remember if my mom has any nice pans…

We fly back in the morning of the 3rd which is great because we’ll have that day off, plus the 4th to rest up before going back to work. Oh, I think I also get the 5th off, so I get another day. Yay!