Short read...

Banned Word (of many):

 

Let’s say you’re coming out of a concert where you just listened to a full orchestra play Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at An Exhibition”.  You see a friend, and are asked: “how did you like the music?”.  Would you answer with: “Catchy!”?.  I would hope not.  Not an appropriate response for that piece of music.  Or, maybe you see Van Gogh’s original “Starry Night”, and answer a similar inquiry with “Cute!”.  Both works required an immense amount of work, and a flip answer such as above seems to me to display a lack of knowledge and appreciation of the work.

Now consider a plate of food that is set before you in a restaurant.  And into that single dish went hours of preparation, maybe starting with making a stock that is then used in a delicate sauce. The center of the plate might be a carefully monitored piece of (fish/foie gras/etc.) seared to perfection, with perhaps a risotto that is made to order, freshly prepared vegetables, and robed with that sauce.   To use the word (I hate to even type it) “yummy” in relation to that is abhorrent to the bottom feeder.  Complete lack of understanding and respect for what went into that plate for your enjoyment.  Yet how many times do you see it appear in Facebook or similar social conversations (which might lead to a larger discussion).  As I have said before, it might be appropriate for “s’mores” around campfires with adolescents, but let’s try to be a little more mature about food.  People dedicate their lives to creating food for our pleasure.. lay off the “y” word..grow up.

Obits (?!)

Probably not what you were expecting, but MFO has a habit of reading obituaries in various newspapers we get.  I suppose as we gather more years about us, we start to pay more attention to those who have crossed over, and unfortunately there are more we know.   Anyway, she came across one in the Washington Post that we both felt was something that we would like.   I have not started on my own yet, but it is on my mind.  Anyway, it was regarding one Mr. Edward Taylor Jr., who passed at the age of 77.  I won’t quote the whole thing, but it was good reading, I think a fitting tribute to a nice guy, not just a litany of “beloved husband of....; dear uncle of....” and so forth which is more common.  A small sample:  “From a Schwinn bicycle bought as a boy from money earned in a butcher shop, to the massive Cadillacs of Americas least fuel efficient era, to series of convertibles bought and wrecked in his retirement, Mr. Taylor always indulged in a flashy set of wheels.”  There were more, but I especially liked the conclusion: “ET lived his life as he pleased, ...As he would himself have said, with a slightly impish grin – and a decisive clink of Tanqueray on ice... end of story”.  Well played, Sir!!

 

DF......