Toxic Plastics

This is a good PDf on toxicity in common plastics but I think I'm throwing almost everything away, even if it's one of the "safe" #1, 2, 4, 5. What's "safe" now might not be for much longer. Read a well-balanced article from Mother Jones here.

It's all vintage anchor hocking storage and glass baby bottles for me from now on! I'm also tossing the plastic cutting boards.

You should throw away all your #3,6, and 7 today.

I wonder is there's any link with your phantom migraines and plastic?

Life Update

a. Baby is teething. Today (and yesterday) that meant ravenous and spitting up a lot.
b. My sobriquet is "The Millington Kid."
c. I am prepping a fantastic post for Thanksgiving for uofusa.blogspot.com.
d. Prepare yourself to be amazed.
e. Relatedly, most Google hits to the site come from the question, which many people seem to want an answer to: "How long can mayo be unrefrigerated?"
f. Before Thanksgiving, I will answer it.

that is all.

Buttering the tops of muffins

FYI: a good way to apply a crunchy cinnamon-sugary coating to the top of a muffin is AFTER it comes out of the oven, brush the top with melted sugar and dunk in cinnamon sugar. It's the best if they'll be eaten that day. But overnight, it softens the tops.

I did this with my meta-muffin recipe, subbing in 2 chopped apples for blueberries, adding a cup of walnuts, and 2 T of ginger to the batter. So Good.

More Singing Sisters: Rosetta and Vivian Duncan

Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen's knockout 1954 duet--which Ms. Kid discusses below-- seems to have come near the end of an era. It's an era we ought to pay more attention to: The Age of the Sister Act.

Throughout the early 20th century, sisters—-whether real blood relations or friends who figured feigning kin would be good for business--sang, danced, fenced, wrestled, and contorted themselves across the American stage. Joe Laurie gives one explanation for their ubiquity in his 1953 history of Vaudeville: "Audiences would rather see a mediocre sister act than a good brother act (they were better to look at)."

I know good looks don't hurt, but I've got a hunch that there's a lot more to say about the particular appeals of these girl groups. Take the Weston Sisters, who apparently sang in German before boxing with one another. Or take Rosetta and Vivian Duncan, whose 1923 musical burlesque of Uncle Tom's Cabin, Topsy and Eva, became a nationwide smash.

The Duncan Sisters had been singing in variety shows for years, but when Rosetta donned black face to play Topsy, the girls hit the big time. Topsy had been a relatively minor character in Stowe's novel, but Rosetta and Vivian--following an established minstrel tradition-- put the mischievious young girl front and center, where she dances circles around simpering, angelic, little Eva. The Duncans made Topsy and Eva seem like both twins and polar opposites. In the final scene of the 1927 silent film version, the two girls even climb into bed together! Is this a sign of racial reconciliation? Of Topsy's subservience to Evangeline's conquering Christian love? Or a sly wink to audiences who know that the actresses are really white, and related?

I don't want to go too far into analysis here, but the University of Virginia has some interesting essays alongside some amazing film clips from Topsy and Eva here, and you can read more about the various productions here.)

Such Devoted Sisters

I was thinking of "sister" themed things this morning and started searching for an old favorite. Now, I know the Irving Berlin song "Sisters" best represents our relationship, but did you remember the drag scene in the middle? I didn't, and I expect we've seen White Christmas at least a dozen times. Note how Bing Crosby is much less comfortable as a sissy than Danny Kaye, who was, actually, gay.

An author at Gay Men Rule breaks it down here (also pasted below). I added in links to clips, so do click! They are great.

"Of course, the elephant in any room in which this movie is viewed is its homosexual over and under tones. Danny Kaye is oh so gay in his worshipful “buddy” relationship with Bing Crosby, in his obvious enjoyment of their drag version of “Sisters” and in his recoiling from the advances of Vera-Ellen. One never questions the fact that the General is a sexy unmarried widower who wants to re-enlist. It just seems natural that a man like him should live with other soldiers now that he’s done his civic marital duty. The housekeeper at the inn is a frighteningly mannish thing. Rosemary Clooney’s performance as a man-hater is entirely convincing. There is Vera-Ellen, a weird species unto herself (famous for having the smallest waist in Hollywood) whose mimicry of female sexuality in “Mandy, There’s Minister Handy” still makes my skin crawl a safe distance from the TV screen. Finally, those songs by Irving Berlin. “Gee, how I wish I was back in the army” includes the line “The army was the place to find romance” quickly reeling itself in to mention women in slacks. The “Choreography” number mentions “Queens with routines”. “Sisters” speaks for itself."

Check out the transgender movie guide for more old drag.
And I hope you clicked on the links for the clips. There's another youtube one with some horrible little girls on pointe. A final one to sum it up: Heat Wave

The Double Colon:: What gives?

Well, clearly the choice to use a double colon was not only aesthetic (the doubleness of sisterhood) but also a nod to the glorious, and now defunk, analogy section of the SAT, which I loved so much.

And speaking of my predilection for standardized testing, today's front page story on the NYTimes was an interesting story: "Research Finds Firstborns Gain the Higher I.Q." The article states that "The eldest children in families tend to develop higher I.Q.’s than their siblings, researchers are reporting today, in a large study that could settle more than a half-century of scientific debate about the relationship between I.Q. and birth order."

Perhaps this accounts for the confusion?

Advanced Grammatical Creativity : : Elise
as
Concrete Grammatical Understanding : : ?

One must consider, of course, that if our vitas were posted, some might expect this pairing to be the exception which proves the newly founded rule. The article goes on to state that "Researchers have long had evidence that firstborns tended to be more dutiful and cautious than their siblings, and some previous studies found significant I.Q. differences." Interestingly, my grammar and spelling has not tended to be more dutiful or cautious than my sister's. Though my personal behavior, has, perhaps. This is a complicated issue.

punctuation tricks

You may notice that the current title of this blog is "portmanteau:: works in progress."

That's right: two colons.

So what's the story? An attempt to out A.R. Ammons A. R. Ammons, having a sign of dependent connection lead not to more language, but to a twin sisterly sign of mirrored dependence? Or is it just that sometimes non-metaphorical sisters make typing errors? I'm not sure which answer is best, but I'm going to wait for Elise to weigh in and save me from further Englishdom.(And yes, for all you close readers keeping track at home, "dom" does sound an awful lot like "dumb.")

Candied Ginger

I made this ages ago, after buying entirely too much fresh ginger for a Sichuan feast & wanting a little something to spruce up ye olde baked goodes. The preserves are even stronger than the Dundee brand...

"Barbeque" Shrimp

In the first of the synchronistic suppers, we've each made a version of Louisiana-style Barbecue Shrimp. My recipe, courtesy of Megan, courtesy of the World Wide Web via The Internet, courtesy of a girl who's mom worked on a shrimp boat, was intensely spiced, even more so after I tinkered with it. I served mine of toasted corn-bread muffins. If I were to make it again, I'd tweak it to dial down the flavors, so the recipe would be something like this:

6 T butter
2 T Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T Old-Bay
1/8 t. cayenne
1/3 c. lemon juice (the juice of one large lemon)
black pepper to taste
1.5 lbs shrimp, shells on. Maybe even 2 lbs.


Melt all ingredients, sans shrimp, together in a pot.
Add shrimp and toss to coat.
Spread shrimp on baking sheet and broil in oven 2.5 minutes each side.
Serve over unsalted yellow grits.

We really aren't weak when it comes to flavors, and Old Bay is an aphrodisiac to Preston, but the original recipe was so intense it tasted like a pretty intense Indian dish rather than Southern seafood.

Student Desk with Mid-Evil Theme

Speaking of collaborations, someone can help a young knight receive swimming lessons merely by buying his "Student Desk with Mid-Evil Theme." As the Craigslist ad explains, "The front of the desk has been fitted and painted to hold swords or other items on the hooks... $25.00 goes towards swim lessons." A perfect synthesis of text and image? I think so.