Two cooking adventures last night. First, I made some sourdough pitas. They looked just right up through baking, puffing up in the oven and the whole bit. But when they were done, they were very, very crispy. I thought they’d soften up by letting them cool wrapped in a warm damp towel, but they stayed very, very crispy. They’ve got a nice taste to them, but they’re more fragile than a taco shell. The second adventure was much more successful. I made some spinach & chicken stuffed manicotti, but instead of chicken I used eggplant. I had no idea at all if this would work (I made up the recipe as I went), but I knew for it to work at all, I’d need thin firm strips of eggplant. I did this by peeling one and slicing it 1/3 inch think. I salted the slices and stacked them in a colander, alternating layers of slices with paper towels. I placed a weight on top (my ceramic crockof sourdough starter) and pressed them for about 6 hours. I took these slices, brushed them with olive oil, and roasted them under the broiler for about 5 minutes to a side, until they were just starting to brown. I then julienned the slices, using a non-serrated knife. The result was a supremely tasteful dish. I used mozzarella and ricotta that I made myself as well. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to lunch! If you want the recipe, send me an email.

I guess they didn’t like what they saw. Earlier today, webloggers were pointing to stories on David Letterman’s suprise announcement that he was to have a angiogram, an announcement he made while interviewing Regis for a show to be aired tonight. Now, he’s recovering from an emergency quintuple bypass. Get well soon, David Letterman! Back in the day (1992 or so), I was an active participant in the usenet group alt.shenanigans. Back then it was an outlet for culture jammers and the like, and one thing we did was mail many coconuts to Letterman. It turns out than you can afix stamps to the outside of a coconut, write an address on it, and just drop it in a mailbox. I have no idea how many were sent that week (I sent three), but Letterman inserted into one of his top ten lists that next week “What’s with all the coconuts?” Perhaps now would be a good time to send him a get well coconut or two. On a complete side note, while reading the alt.shenanigans FAQ, circa 1996, I see that Jorn Barger of Robot Wisdom is listed in the credits. Any other shenanigan folks in the weblog community?

Tommasi Pinot Grigio Le Rosse: I don’t yet know a whole lot about wines, but I like Pinot Grigio, and this in particular was very good. And only $10 a bottle!

CNN also has posted the video of a story on two art galleries in New York displaying artistic nude photos of women over 90. While it seems many attendees have been repelled by the photos, I found them to be well worth seeing. The story compares the wrinkled skin to wrinkles in the earth’s crust and other forms from nature. The video is presented in Quicktime, RealVideo, and Windows Media formats.

CNN has posted a full story on the fatal crash of Charlotte Hornets player Bobby Phills. It seems he and fellow player David Wesley were out racing their Porsches on a public road in traffic when the accident occured. They were travelling at least 30 miles per hour over the posted speed limit. Phills sent passengers in two other vehicles to the hospital. The article quotes team officials as saying "[Bobby was a] role model that everyone respected and admired. He was someone that you would want your children to be like." and “He had extreme high character. A family man. If there’s a person you would want to your children to be, a role model, it’s Bobby Phills.” I’m sorry, but I don’t want my children to risk the lives of strangers in the pursuit of some selfish thrill. And a family man wouldn’t thoughtlessly make his children grow up without a father. Cars are not toys, not even shiny new Porsches. They can hurt and kill.

The ban on gays in the military has been lifted in the UK.

Want to listen to music from great Athens bands? Visit the RockAthens jukebox, courtesy of our local commercial newspaper.

The AIA’s Center for Livable Communities describes just what makes a “safe, attractive, economically viable, and environmentally sustainable community.” It’s encouraging to live in a town with many people who think like this. Maybe someday we’ll be in power and will be able to do more than just lobby for change. Found via More Like This.

More evidence that I’m some sort of pinko commie anti-comsumerism guy: Here is the latest Tom the Dancing Bug, where ruben bolling makes a sharp attack on Sport Utility Vehicles. “The Cantelope: By whimsically classifying this vehicle as amelon , our only restriction is on pesticide use.”

Walmart Update : As mentioned last week, Walmart has been trying to open a second supercenter here in Athens. They want to close a current regular Walmart (and thus kill a shopping center that’s barely hanging on) and build a brand new shopping center anchored by the supercenter just down the road on land now zoned for residential use. The planning committee was to meet last week on the issue and vote on what to recommend to the full commission. Less than 24 hours before the meeting, Walmart withdrew the proposal. They say that they suspected it was going to be voted down, so they’d like to have more time to address the committee’s concerns. Had it been voted upon and rejected, they couldn’t resubmit the proposal for a full year. The meeting was held in one of the city’s largest auditoriums to hold the many people expected to attend (most all of the anti-Walmart). I hope that the Walmart people have to reimburse the government for the cost of renting the hall for no reason, but I’m sure they can’t be held responsible. I’ve been asked if I’m anti-Walmart. No, not really. I shop there from time to time when I need a laundry basket or a cheap bookcase or something like that. But I am against this specific proposal. I’m fairly sure Athens doesn’t need another Walmart supercenter, but if they want to open one anyway, they’ve got a shopping center already that they could put it in.