Qwerty
1/10 '22
I suppose that some percentage of this weirdness is genetic:

I suppose that some percentage of this weirdness is genetic:
The classic fork-dressed peanut butter cookie recipe is 1C pb + 1/2C sugar + 1 egg. I wanted to improve it, and also make it easier to prep. At least in that one makes less mess. Have you ever tried to measure 1C of pb? But that's dumb when you could just weigh out 250g. So there's that reason gone. Anyway. We like these. They taste like food.
Preheat oven to 325F & grease two cookie trays/half sheet pans.
Prep get
Put all of that in a food processor and whiz it up until it's gone past powder and is starting to clump up again. At this point I turn it out into a mixing bowl, then add
Use a scraper or disher to mix thoroughly. It will get extremely sticky.
Use a spoon or a disher to portion balls of dough onto the trays, leaving some room for expansion. Use a fork to smash them flat. You'll probably need to grease the fork or it'll stick.
Bake at 325F for 11-15 minutes or until they smell done / are lightly browned. Remove with a spatula (which will probably also need to be greased). Let them cool on a rack for 10 minutes to firm up.
Edited to add: if you want them to stay soft-ish, put them in a covered container after they cool down. If you like them crisp, let them stay out for a while. At least this works in the winter when the humidity is low.
Except for this and maybe one other post (?), my OPW entries are now locked to mutual followers who also post here from time to time. Sorry lurkers. I know you mean well, but I'm weary of the take-and-never-give aspect of our "relationship."
Also ditched my dopamine--I mean Twitter--account. No amount of curating the feed can make up for the level of poison. I've loved some of the connections I've made there but few (some, but not many) are local, which isn't a healthy balance, especially in the 'Rona Times.
I am a cavegnome! And I went to my reward with 4077970 points, having never successfully cast a spell. I would have maxed out my attributes though, if a titan hadn't disintegrated my +5 helm of brilliance. 13 intelligence is pretty good for a cavegnome, right?
Okay, I just need to squee for a minute.
Yup. Me. Squee.
Not familiar with Richard Whitters' work? Allow me to illucidate:
And on top of all that? I've been following his Twitter account for some time now and he just seems like a genuinely nice guy.
So now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go draw until my brain leaks out of my fingertips.
My ability to do math may be slightly inpaired by the late hour, but here is direct evidence of the Not That Long Ago Effect: "Thirty years ago, after the USSR came to an end..." "1971? That can't be right. I must have forgotten to borrow a one. 1981's not right either. But that means... 1991 was thirty years ago!"
Stephen Sondheim, who was still actively working on new projects at age 91, is dead.
(I know he died a few days ago, he's still dead now)
"Are you working on something new?"
"No."
"That isn't like you, George."
Edited to add: the intersection between Sondheim and Seurat is a musical called Sunday in The Park with George.
Today is George Seurat's 162nd birthday, and Google has doodled him.If you google "Color and Light Sunday" you get the good version. At least I do. If your algorithm doesn't deliver Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters, here you go ...
Rabbit and I were talking about versions of musicals and how she can appreciate > 1 version of a show whereas I have traditionally listened to the one version I liked and found all others unacceptable. That has changed for me over the years in many cases. Here are some examples:
Sweeney Todd - Len Cariou (Original Soundtrack) and George Hearn (original filmed stage version) are both great Sweeneys. Ken Jennings (OST) and NPH (revival) are both great Tobys. Also, I enjoyed the casts of Sweeney in two local productions I saw. So I am expanding my horizons. Johnny Depp's attempt at Sweeney - still unacceptable.
Gypsy - my favorite Mama Rose is Bernadette Peters, but I also like classic Ethel Merman and the two local Mama Roses I saw.
Jesus Christ Superstar - Murray Head (Concept Album) is still my favorite Judas (I know, I know ...) but I like Carl Anderson (Original Movie Cast)'s performance. Ted Neely (OMC) as Jesus can go sing country somewhere else, Ian "Deep Purple" Gillan (CA) is my Jesus! Though I have seen local performances with good Judases and Jesuseseses ... I don't know where to stop, it's like banana ...
There are more, but is already TL:DR ...
So, ok, long list of progress with the open-mindedness, yeah?
But let's get back to my complete LACK of progress, the hill on which I am sure I shall die.
The Mandy version is always the best version, with one and only one known exception.
No, the exception is NOT Evita. Mandy singing "High Flying, Adored" is the reason I am obsessed with musicals. Eight year old me understood what it was like to hear the voice of an angel coming from my friend's parents' record player ...
The exception is the 1990 studio cast version of Man of La Mancha. It's fine but not great. Mandy's performance is excellent and he is a strong contender for my "favorite Sancho Panza", but Placido Domingo just doesn't deliver Quixote as well as Brian Stokes Mitchell. You can survive with an okay Sancho or a so-so Aldonza, but a Quixote who doesn't knock it out of the park deflates Man of La Mancha like it was poked by the lance of the Knight of Mirrors.
Right, where was I? Happy Birthday Georges Seurat!
The Mandy version of Sunday in The Park With George is the best version, but it's not exclusively because of Mandy. Bernadette Peters also makes it great - she glows like a Seurat painting and each of them individually and the two of them together make this musical, which, admittedly, has some serious flaws in its plot/construction ... iconic.
"There are only two worthwhile things to leave behind when we depart this world of ours: Children and Art." - James Lapine, book, Sunday in the Park with George
I included the clip above. Just listen ...
We'll miss you, Mr. Sondheim. So much.
---------------------------------------------------------
Recommended listening if you want to hear some Sondheim ...
Sweeney Todd, OBC
https://open.spotify.com/album/2q6InM859RCsSQOjHWNHk2?si=2kmz22NVSvmg1C712-us9Q
Assassins, Original Off-Broadway Cast
https://open.spotify.com/album/2YhmmaSqQpHrx1XmVW3TpV?si=cb_OtaouQVq47UbLubvplw
Gypsy, 2003 Revival
https://open.spotify.com/album/6Zy5TONz6w6hQBhpOv5YDZ?si=hoCnri3ETHaG_lgRzEN1CA
Follies, New York Philharmonic Concert Cast
https://open.spotify.com/album/2xiTOqSv8RxJHS6XjSCaAp?si=-w7R5dWJQh6vW_40IGgJIQ
A Collector's Sondheim, 1986 (SO much Sondheim ...)
https://open.spotify.com/album/2sVZDCIkPbGfbapjyohWHD?si=EONbr7NhQQKUGw3aW9O3Ew
Into The Woods OBC
https://open.spotify.com/album/728ZIip1mzws5PJrxbQo4T?si=fNNQUvfcR1SubPKwHtL8mg
Mandy Sings Sondheim
https://open.spotify.com/album/1CP1MF3d1MDtnqOdwhBcoH?si=2rzHRRr8TQ-77Td59IjnkQ
Bernadette sings (mostly) Sondheim
https://open.spotify.com/album/6QoV6cOzm0RmGnJA02Gd2g?si=3L5ZT62oTJecNqZ4MaXQ5Q
It feels like aging is discovering which things that you used to do for fun are no longer enjoyable.
Somewhere, right now, Zuckerberg is screaming at an oil portrait in his attic. "YOU PROMISED TO TAKE THE HEAT FOR ME, FOREVER!!!1!!!"
Oh, that's interesting: Facebook encourages hate speech for profit, says whistleblower