Sic Semper Tyrannis 2008

Who IS Charlotte Allen?

"I'm not the only woman who's dumbfounded (as it were) by our sex, or rather, as we prefer to put it, by other members of our sex besides us. It's a frequent topic of lunch, phone and water-cooler conversations; even some feminists can't believe that there's this thing called "The Oprah Winfrey Show" or that Celine Dion actually sells CDs. A female friend of mine plans to write a horror novel titled "Office of Women," in which nothing ever gets done and everyone spends the day talking about Botox.

We exaggerate, of course. And obviously men do dumb things, too, although my husband has perfectly good explanations for why he eats standing up at the stove (when I'm not around) or pulls down all the blinds so the house looks like a cave (also when I'm not around): It has to do with the aggressive male nature and an instinctive fear of danger from other aggressive men. When men do dumb things, though, they tend to be catastrophically dumb, such as blowing the paycheck on booze or much, much worse (think "postal"). Women's foolishness is usually harmless. But it can be so . . . embarrassing."  Charlotte Allen in the Washington Post

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"an instinctive fear of danger from other aggressive men"  Say What?   So, the hubby cowers in the house with the blinds shut in fear of the big boys?  I don't know what to make of that.

I have no idea who the author is.  I looked up the "Manhattan Institute" and on first inspection it looks Jacobinish.

A lot of the women whom I associate with are unlike the ones described here by Allen.  That may just be a case of voluntary association of the "like."  I think it is true that men are better (in general) at things like spatial relations and the eye-hand coordination that goes with it.  But, so what?  Men vary in this as well.

The rest of the observations contained in this article are so un PC that even I who write novels with decidedly un PC tone am surprised.

OK.  Consider this to be a ball tossed in the air.  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/29/AR2008022902992.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

How to Carve A Turkey

"“I don’t cut like a chef, I cut like a butcher,” said Ray Venezia, the meat director for the four Fairway markets, a third-generation butcher and one of the biggest turkey purveyors in New York City.

Instead of slicing the meat from the roast at the table, Mr. Venezia’s carving protocol calls for the biggest pieces, the breasts and the thighs, to be removed whole, then boned and sliced on a cutting board. “Trying to carve from the carcass is like trying to cut it off a beach ball: it’s all curved surfaces and it moves around under the knife,” he said. “Give me a flat cutting board any time.”

Roger Bassett, the owner of the Original Turkey in Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, uses the same method for the 30 turkeys carved and served at his store every day. “Cutting a turkey the traditional way, where you leave the meat on the bird and cut down, you can’t cut across the grain,” he said. “The pieces you end up with are all stringy because the fibers are long instead of short.”

Mr. Venezia demonstrated the method to me twice last week; I then tested it on two roast chickens, and met with howling success.

It is important to start with a turkey that has rested for at least 20 minutes; 40 is even better, so that the meat has firmed enough to cut cleanly. Mr. Venezia does not use a carving fork. (“Why pierce the meat more than you have to and let the juices run out?”) Instead, he holds the bird in place with one hand and uses the other for cutting. "  NY Times

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Do I carve the bird this way?  No, but it sounds like a good idea.   We wish you all a great celebration of this festive day first celebrated at Jamestown, Virginia.  pl

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/dining/21carv.html?em&ex=1195880400&en=e64ed63368f4ff24&ei=5087%0A

Open Thread #3 (maybe)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/28/AR2007092801554.html

This is an interesting article on sheikhly attitudes but I can't think of anything I would want to say about it that I have not said already.

I have something else to do.

So, go ahead and ventilate over whatever you have been brooding on.  pl