I decided to switch over to making popcorn on the stove, but after reading the instructions, maybe I'll switch back to microwave popcorn:

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil and one kernel of popcorn in large, heavy covered pan. After kernel pops, pour in 1/3 cup popcorn (or enough to cover bottom of pan, no more than one kernel deep); recover. ( Read more... )

Mark & I went to the Newseum (a museum of journalism) on Monday. One of the exhibits was talking about how news has changed with the advent of the internet, blogging, cell phone cameras, etc ( Read more... )

As part of the Ashland Independent Film Festival, today I saw Food, Inc. (also here).

I was already aware of most of what the film talked about -- I've read Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore's Dilemma (and both of those guys were in the film ( Read more... )

Today, we saw Prom Night in Mississippi (also promnightinmississippi.com). This documentary tells about a small town high school in Mississippi that has held separate black and white proms. Morgan Freeman (who was born in that area) offered to pay for the prom if the prom were integrated ( Read more... )

The Ashland Independent Film Festival is going on right now. Tonight, Mark & I saw a pair of documentaries: Ask Not (about Don't Ask, Don't Tell) and The War of 33 about the Israeli bombing of Lebanon in 2006 ( Read more... )

I got an envelope in the mail recently trying to get me to sign up for some magazine. As part of their bid to get people to sign up, they have a contest for winning a free KitchenAid stand mixer -- all determined by whether or not you have the appropriate sticker to put on your entry form. The sticker on my envelope says "FREE STAND MIXER". Sounds ( Read more... )

A while back, someone recommended that I read a Scienterrific American article on photo-tampering (see this, and this, and this. I finally did, and it kind of blew me away - not the article itself (which was good), but the realization that people -- including me -- treat photographs as trustworthy ( Read more... )

wooddragon sent me the book "Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely. (I think it was a comment on my square dancing ( Read more... )

Mark & I watched a PBS special (fairly Oregon specific, so not sure how widespread it was shown) about invasive species like star thistle, and some mussel that is spreading around and causing all kinds of damage, and various other similar things ( Read more... )

They have a campaign linking Bush & McCain, and now they've gone too far -- they are using the theme song from The Patty Duke Show as part of some recent ad stuff ( Read more... )