David S. Atkinson's Blog, page 233
May 23, 2014
[INSERT WITTY TITLE HERE]
[INSERT WITTY POST HERE]
May 22, 2014
May 21, 2014
The Terror Of Waiting In The Car
I recently experienced the terror of waiting in the car. What was going to happen? Exactly how bad could it be? I didn’t know what was going on, and I couldn’t do anything about the situation in any event.
You see, I was waiting in the car while my wife picked up her dress from getting it altered (yes, we’re married already…we got married quick in Vegas and then are holding the big ceremony later). There had been a bit of a problem.
In fact, I’d been waiting in the car at the same spot the day before, no idea a problem could have occurred. All that was being done was some bustling and such. The alterations place had been given three weeks to do this simple operation. They’d even called my wife to make sure she remembered her appointment to pick it up.
However, the dress hadn’t been done. They’d misplaced the dress for three weeks and only found it when my wife came in. They didn’t seem to think this was a problem, considering that the wedding hadn’t happened yet…even though we only had one more day (and no real time even then) to pick it up. They still seem to think we should pay full price for the alteration despite their screw ups. At best, they tried to offer 20% off…even though we had to spend over an hour driving back the next day after wasting over an hour that day to come and pick up what they hadn’t bothered to do (and should have known when they called us).
If this sounds muddled at all, I got this all second hand at a very high rate of speed when my wife got back to the car the day before. I wasn’t allowed in the store because I wasn’t supposed to see the dress. Regardless, my wife was PISSED!
So there I was sitting in the car again. Not knowing: did they actually do the bustling this time? I was horrified to think what might happen if they hadn’t. What would they do to try to make this good? Would they assuage my wife’s anger? I knew I couldn’t.
I sat in the car both looking to see what my wife looked like coming back and listening for possible police sirens. Anything could happen.
Luckily, I saw my wife come back with the dress. She looked pleased. The bustling had in fact been done and they gave her a credit for the entire amount attributable to the bustling since they’d screwed it up. All was well…but it came so close to not being.
That wait in the car was highly tense.
May 20, 2014
“The Garden Of Good And Evil Pancakes” Reading Questions
In order to help people have more fun with The Garden Of Good And Evil Pancakes, I thought I’d write up some reading questions. Thought this would be helpful for any reading groups looking at the book, or for anyone on their own who wanted to go a little further by themselves.
Regardless, I hope people have fun with these:
The Garden Of Good And Evil Pancakes Reading Questions
1. Are the characters really trapped in a Village Inn? Is this even a yes or no question, or is it more muddled than that?
2. Have you ever tried the multigrain pancakes at Village Inn? If so, what did you think?
3. What do Cassandra, Thomas, and Kate each really want? Do they really know?
4. Does Cassandra have a habit of talking about something other than what she’s talking about? Is this steady, or are there conditions that cause this to vary?
5. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen happen in a Village Inn or similar restaurant?
6. Who should take care of Daedalus and why?
7. How do Cassandra, Kate, and Thomas really feel about each other? What makes you take this particular position?
8. What are the similarities and differences you see between the side characters Cassandra at least partially imagines (Sherri the waitress, Alphonse the dishwasher, the manager, Redhead and Mr. IT)?
9. Would you want to be trapped in a Village Inn like the characters might or might not be? Why?
10. After reading, which would you say are the “good pancakes” and which are the “evil” ones?
11. What is your favorite Village Inn type restaurant and why?
12. Which character do you most sympathize with? Do you find that character to be the most interesting?
13. What’s your favorite restaurant breakfast and why?
14. How much of Cassandra’s world do you think she defines in terms of herself?
15. What is your position on maple/pancake/sugar-free/flavored syrups? How strongly do you feel about that?
16. Are popover pancakes real pancakes or not? How about potato pancakes?
17. Is Cassandra a good or a bad person? How about Thomas and Kate?
18. Which of the stories that Cassandra tells is your favorite and why?
May 19, 2014
“Bones Buried in the Dirt” Live On The Eckleburg Book Club!
Bones Buried in the Dirt is now a part of the illustrious Eckleburg Book Club over at the The Doctor T. J. Eckleburg Review’s web site! Check it out!
Excerpts! Discussion questions! Other such gems!
You could stop by and discuss the book, or just stop by at least and see what other people are saying. Looks like it’ll be fun.
May 18, 2014
A Personal Connection To A Meme
I saw a meme the other day where someone had turned the wave in a Japanese painting into cookie monster:
I got a kick out of this, but not just because the pic itself was funny. I laughed because I had a wall hanging of this exact painting above my stairs:
That might not be a big deal to anyone else, but I got a kick out of it. I guess I’m just easily amused.
May 17, 2014
The Problem With A Recognizable Name
A recognizable name can be a good thing. However, it can also have some drawbacks. Case in point: the el Camino Community Tavern in Denver.
The wife and I have eaten at this place a few times now, and it’s really good. It’s not too pretentious or expensive, despite where it’s located, and the food is good. I really dig their cheesesteak burrito (imagine a combination of a Philly cheesesteak and a burrito, and imagine that it actually tastes much better than you might fear it would).
However, this is what I think of when I think of the words “el Camino”:
That’s right, a piece of junk. Maybe it’s because the only el Caminos I ever see are junkers. Maybe it’s just because I never liked the concept of the car to begin with. I don’t know, some people adore the things…but not me.
I just don’t dig the car, and I think of the car every time I think of the name of the restaurant. The name might be easily recognizable to me at this point…but that isn’t necessarily carrying good associations along with that (but remember that the restaurant is actually pretty good if you’re ever thinking about going).
May 16, 2014
“The Garden Of Good And Evil Pancakes” Is Now Available At Legeng Comics & Coffee In Omaha!!!!
I’ve gotten word that The Garden Of Good And Evil Pancakes is now available at Legend Comics & Coffee in Omaha (5207 Leavenworth St., Omaha, NE 68106)!!!!
You should stop by and check them out, like them on Facebook, and maybe drop in sometime and pick up a copy of The Garden Of Good And Evil Pancakes. That’d be a nice way to thank them.
May 15, 2014
This Is Just Cool So Let’s Watch This Today Instead Of Having A Post
A friend of mine shared this video the other day and it’s so cool that I think we should just look at this today instead of having an actual post:
May 14, 2014
Dessert Reminds Me Of The Bomb Making Scene In “The Manhattan Project”
I was over at Sugar Mill in Denver the other day, watching the chef assemble the Noahsphere I was about to eat, and I noted to myself how much the preparation reminded me of the bomb making scene in The Manhattan Project (that 80s movie with John Lithgow where a genius kid finds out the government has a plutonium refinery in his town and builds a nuclear bomb as a protest).
Check out a trailer clip to remember the movie.
I’m serious. Just look at the thing:
As I watched, the chef took a hollow chocolate sphere. Not thin, the thing was obviously molded in two relatively thick halves and then melted together. He heated up a metal cone and used it to melt a hole in the sphere. Into the hole he shoved chocolcate cake bits and marshmallow. Then pastry cream was injected. He turned the sphere over on the plate and poured fresh hot caramel over it, melting some of the top of the sphere. More pastry cream was squirted around the sphere on the plate.
It was delicious. That being said, it was one of the more complicated and impressively presented desserts I’ve ever gotten to watch getting made. It was well worth the price, though even more so since I sat at the bar and got to watch the assembly.
