Not To Get All Political, But...

I think I'm going to boycott Amazon. I kind of already have been. Especially when it comes to books. Since the Macmillan thing went down, I've only bought a dual-flush system which I could not find in any local store (A true, funny story: Me trying to explain to Lowe's and Home Depot employees that I was looking for the toilet attachment that lets you use less water to flush a #1 and more water to flush a #2.), a DVD that I couldn't find in any local store, and one used book that wasn't really through Amazon but through an independent seller so possibly doesn't even count.

Here's why I'm not buying books from Amazon:
Macmillan, a book publisher, asked for an e-Book price increase because Amazon was selling them for so little that the publishers were losing money. And if anyone is going to get rich in America, I pick the authors and their publishers, editors, agents, etc. But Amazon didn't want to raise the price of their e-Books so they just dropped all Macmillan books from their website immediately, which is pretty douche-y.

You can read more about the Macmillan mess here, because it's much more complex than what I just said. And I had kind of forgotten about how much I was inching toward the Amazon Hate Train until I read this recently. (Thanks Caitlin!) There are many of us on the Train.

Also, Amazon just isn't good for bookstores and I love love love bookstores. You know how Audrey feels about Tiffany's in Breakfast at Tiffany's? That's how I feel about bookstores (and Tiffany's too).

Holly: I don't want to own anything until I find a place where me and things go together. I'm not sure where that is but I know what it is like. It's like Tiffany's. 

Paul: Tiffany's? You mean the jewelry store. 

Holly: That's right. I'm just CRAZY about Tiffany's!   

So now you know why I'm not shopping at Amazon much in the future, in case you want to jump on the Hate Train too. If you sign up for Borders e-mails you get great coupons about once a week, so it hasn't been a hard transition. Also, I'm still offended by this, which popped up during my last Amazon purchase. For reals.

Barbecue Snobbery

I'm a bit of a barbecue snob. I grew up in Owensboro, KY which holds few distinctions but we do have THE BEST BARBECUE ever, hence our official title as "Barbecue Capital of the World." (Admittedly, I haven't been to Memphis yet to test that, but I doubt they can compare.)

I didn't realize I was a barbecue snob until about 2 weeks into my first year at Centre. Danville was having a festival and I went and purchased a "BBQ" sandwich, but they failed to realize that MEAT WITH SAUCE IS NOT BARBECUE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know the details of the process of barbecue, but I assure you: true barbecue takes HOURS of magic. Just slopping some barbecue sauce to meat does not make it barbecue any more than putting ketchup on a hamburger makes it a ketchup burger. You can learn more about the truth I just laid down for you in the video below:



Of course the main barbecue place in Louisville is of the Danville food stand variety. The food is good, but I hesitate to give it the honor of "barbecue." But that is where the family and I went this weekend, and once again, it makes me long for some Moonlite (Owensboro's version of the St. X/Trinity debate is where you best like your barbecue from: Moonlite or Old Hickory. I'm the only one in my family who votes for Moonlite, although I must confess that my opinion might be clouded by Moonlite's fabulous banana pudding.)

Fortunately, my parents brought be some of the real deal from home: burgoo and barbecued chicken. (Note: The burgoo (well the chicken too probably) is from the church I grew up in, Blessed Mother. In Owensboro, all the Catholic churches make barbecue and compete at the Bar-B-Q Festival. My church wins a lot and we make the best burgoo in town, probably the world. (Since Owensboro has the best barbecue in the world, this is just the natural conclusion.) I got to help stir the burgoo once.)



Sometimes I share my burgoo. Many people don't know about the wonders of burgoo and I try to remedy that where I can. However, this batch might be just for me. (Lee can have some.)



P.S. I've also been to a restaurant in Lexington that was supposed to have the best barbecue in town, but it was pretty lame.

Lee on the Somali Pirate Situation

Those pirates would get a lot more sympathy if they had parrots and peg legs.

And eye patches.

Good News/Bad News

Good Death penalty repealed in New Mexico! I've always somehow suspected that killing people is not a good way to deal with people who kill people. It's also cheaper to just lock them up for the rest of their lives.

Bad It was really sad to watch Liam Neeson mourn his wife in Love Actually. Even sadder, is knowing that now he's doing it in real life.

Good UK is getting closer to having someone for real be point guard next year.

Bad All of the Billy-hating. Yes it's been a crappy season, but I still heart a coach who has no life outside the court and who cries when Ramon Harris goes down in a nasty-scary fall. If Mitch Barnhart reads this (about as likely as UofL losing to Morehead tonight, but not as awesome), please let Billy have one more year to work his magic!

Good A co-worker brought me some of her chives today. My herb garden has officially started!!

Bad I love spring and summer much more than fall and winter except for one thing: bugs. I have already been reminded of this by the creepy bug carcass at the bottom of the steps to my apartment. Boo.

Good Back to basketball, after all it is March: The President and a computer agree that UofL will not win the tournament. Although I'm about equally opposed to UNC winning the tournament too. Go Pitt!!!

And for extra basketball good because clearly I've got the March Madness...

Katie's Top Headlines 2/17/09

Cheaters never win! A cautionary tale for anyone considering taking on multiple mistresses, especially during a global recession.

I try to keep an open mind about art. I feel that people have a right to make whatever movie or book they want to. However, I have some reservations about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and, as I just learned, Predators vs. Jane Austen. I would like to note that just because you, Mr. Furnish, might not enjoy Jane Austen, does not mean that she is "done-to-death." There still seem to be plenty of consumers who love and appreciate her work.

When Rainn Wilson isn't acting as my beloved Dwight Shrute, he writes some excellent commentary on religious persecution in Iran.

Apparently surgeons are now tweeting. I'm surprised I haven't already seen this on Grey's Anatomy. Anyways, I think it's a brilliant idea. They say they're doing it to give patients a better idea of what's involved in the surgery, some scientific blah-blah-blah, but as a paranoid loved-one, I like the idea that Twitter could help me receive more frequent updates if someone I loved was being operated on. Twitter births might be fun too.

Taxing Dr. Pepper

I found this article particularly obnoxious and ridiculous. If you're not interested in reading the article yourself, it's a commentary by Governor Paterson of New York on why New York needs to tax sugared drinks to lower childhood obesity. His support of this tax is rooted in how the increased cigarette tax has decreased smoking.

I'm not a fan of childhood obesity but this is just lame.

Childhood obesity is sometimes caused by crappy genetics. I also believe that childhood obesity, like most childhood problems, starts at home and the diet and lifestyle choices that are directly and/or indirectly taught there.

All of this made me think though about how I support cigarette taxes and now that Gov. Paterson has drawn the comparison, maybe I shouldn't. My general motive for anti-cigarette laws is generally selfish. I think it's disgusting and I don't want to be around it. I do believe that people have a right to smoke if they want to, but allowing people to smoke in public buildings can damage my health which is something I don't want. I do believe this is a slightly different situation than other people's 10-year-olds getting jacked up on Mountain Dew.


On a completely different topic... I knew it! And I might even take part in the survey!