You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Off Topic Chat
>
Watcha Doin' - 2017.1 edition
Mariab wrote: "I think that has changed with the new civil law... "You can change to your husband name now? Or you can choose your kids last name?
A couple months back i made a couple of flavoured gins. One was cranberry and orange and the other was ginger and lime. We've just had a little sample of them and they are very tasty. Possibly could do with slightly more sugar next time i make them. I think i prefer the cranberry one best. I think gin flavours better than vodka. I didn't like the blueberry vodka i made.
How'd you make it Sarah. Was it off a website or anything. I want to try to make some
I just bought a couple bottles of gin then added the stuff to it. Cranberries were in season so i grabbed them. You have to prick the cranberries to allow the gin to soak in and for the colour to seep out. It makes an amazing pink drink. I'm a bit conservative when it comes to sugar as i don't like sweet drinks. But i think more would have been better. Here is the recipe i loosely followed http://m.tesco.com/mt/legacy.realfood... With the ginger one, i just cut up a load of peeled ginger and a little bit of lime zest and added it to it. Here is the recipe i used (although I didn't use the agave syrup - perhaps i should have) https://boozedandinfused.com/2012/02/... My partner thinks the ginger and lime one reminds him of cleaning products. I guess it's the lime/alcohol smell/taste. I still think the sloe gin i made was the best but the cranberry is a definite second.
The limonello I made and "enjoyed" on New Years was really simple too. But what I did for that was soaked the lemon skins in vodka for 4 weeks, and when straining the skins out, add sugar syrup then and bottle. The benefit to that was I could taste the favoured alcohol then and add sugar to taste. I'm not a fan of really sugary drinks either. The recipe I was following was saying 4-6 cups of sugar syrup (1-1.5L!!!). I used 1 cup for 1L of the lemon flavoured vodka. So glad I wasn't following the recipe in blind faith!!
The limoncello sounds good and I like the idea of adding the sugar when you bottle it so you can taste it. I guess I could add some more sugar now. Hmm!
It's been so hot lately. So Gin and Tonics are the order of the day. I went to my local bottlo yesterday and bought the two bottles of gin I could see (as it was 39 today, and 37 tomorrow). And the lady laughed at me and said they were her last two bottles. I said, oh it's so hot, gin must be popular. She replied that she sells out of gin the day the order turns up. Apparently my entire suburb is on the G&T train.Anyway, that aside. I have been making my own tonic water. Lexx's family gave me a huge bundle of the bark that tonic is made out of, red cinchona, for my birthday. I've made two batches, one very much like a witches brew with so many things in there (orange, grapefruit, lime, lemon, lemongrass, cloves, star anise, etc). Didn't taste like tonic at all. But was nice in it's own way. This one was just orange and lime. Much more bitter but more like tonic water.
You don't mix it with tonic, as you can OD on quinine. But with soda water/mineral water instead. I've saved a fortune. Here tonic is about $3-4 a bottle, and soda water is about 80c. Shall keep on dabbling until I find a good mix and then let you all know the recipe!
The tonic water sounds interesting! I only tend to have tonic water with plain gin but we've been drinking the flavoured ones straight!
I'm hosting the next book club meeting and we're discussing Big Little Lies. In it, there is a pink fizzy potent punch that has a big impact on Trivia Night. I'm going to concoct a pink fizzy potent punch for my guests.I found a drink called the Pink Pamp which consists of pink grapefruit liquor, blush wine, and lemonade. I don't know if I'll have any luck finding the pink grapefruit liquor, but I shall try. I may have to substitute a flavoured vodka. I've got frozen pink grapefruit lemonade concentrate to which I'll add gingerale to give the fizzy factor.
I love that idea, Janice!
Take pictures of the pink fizz Janice! And I want to know what shenanigans occur as a result. ;-) Let's hope it doesn't result in something similar to what happens in the book.
They're a wild bunch of women so anything could happen. lol!
Janice wrote: "They're a wild bunch of women so anything could happen. lol!"
Hahaha...sounds like a fun book club!
Anyone else getting audio adverts when they open the goodreads website? I had one about dettol and something else. I HATE websites with audio stuff on it. What's going on? I've had to mute the damn thing. Is it me and I have some strange thing going on with my computer or is this standard now. The ads don't stop. How can anyone read the content of a site with that racket going on?! Ahh!!
Hmm! I closed the browser and reopened and now it's not doing it. I can't seen anything on the feedback forum. Curious!
Adblock extension for Chrome. Best thing ever. And if you like certain sites, and want to make sure they get ad money you can white list them. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/de...
Thanks Rusalka. I've installed it now. :-)
Rusalka wrote: "Adblock extension for Chrome. Best thing ever. And if you like certain sites, and want to make sure they get ad money you can white list them. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/de......"
I use it too, and it work well.
I use the Bluhell add-on in Firefox and it also works well for ad blocking in case anyone uses that browser.
Janice wrote: "I'm hosting the next book club meeting and we're discussing Big Little Lies. In it, there is a pink fizzy potent punch that has a big impact on Trivia Night. I'm going to concoct a ..."While at the library today I picked up a book in the sale area,
. Who could resist :) After that I went to the liquor store for a few items. Anyway, there were some pink looking drinks too:Crimson Hotpants (sounds like it would be appropriate for your group ☺ )
Jagermeister and blackberry brandy
Gigantickle
Southern Comfort, raspberry liquor, and fresh orange juice
Woo-woo Shooter
layers of cranberry juice, peach schnapps, and vodka
Oooo - the woo-woo shooter sounds good too.
Last night my daughter asked if we could go see the new movie coming, A Dog's Purpose, and I said sure. Well, this morning I wake up to find footage all over about how they forced a terrified dog to jump into 'rapids' to film a scene. It's horrible and unacceptable. I'm going to tell her today that there is no way I'm going to see this movie. I'm sure most of you have already heard about this but if not here is a link. It's really pretty disturbing. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-dogs-pu...
I've also seen footage of the torture and the trailer side by side. The reality vs what we are shown is quite different and disturbing.
That sounds horrible Tasha. I wouldn't want to see it either. Haven't heard of the movie by the way, but I'm usually months behind when it comes to movies.
I also read that news today, Tasha, and it really is very disturbing. One of my sons had asked to watch the movie when we saw the trailer at the theater last month.To be honest, I am pretty sure these things happen all the time in movies with animals involved. I would like to think they are loving all the time with the animals, but I'm skeptical. All that involves lots of money seems to necessary doesn't care about people, animals, environment, or anything else. Maybe I'm turning more cynical the older I get...
I haven't heard of the film either but there is absolutely no way I will be going to see it. I think more needs to be done to regulate how animals are used and treated in films. Some are obviously treated well but I reckon there are a lot that aren't, as the investigation seems to prove.
Sandra, I'm sure you are right. No doubt. I think this is a great opportunity for the author to perhaps have some influence over the treatment of animals in the movies. I think people can easily ignore this type of treatment when we don't see it in our face (I know for me it's become much easier as my life is so busy) but when it's in your face like this clip, it's really hard to ignore and hard not to reposnd (like boycotting). :)
Yes, this kind of things have to be shown and spread. Totally agree. As you say we already have complicated enough lives to be patrolling everything and everyone. But who happens to know about this things, and have videos, pictures or whatever, has to speak up. My point was that unfortunately this happens to young athletes, children movie stars, and also seamstresses for big brands, or miners, etc. The importance of the human being/animals/environment seems to be inversely proportional to the money involved.
I saw that yesterday and was disappointed because I thought the movie looked good. So sad that they mistreated animals to get the scenes they wanted. I'm considering the book for my yearly challenge, as it's rated highly and some of my 'GR friends loved it. I may still read it, but I'll probably skip the movie. Originally, I thought it would be fun to do both together.
I just talked to my daughter about it and she agrees, she doesn't want to see it now either. We did talk about possibly reading the book instead. I don't want to boycott the author as he didn't directly have anything to do with it but I am watching to see how he reponds to this thing. So far, hs has had this to say on facebook and there is already an outcry:"Everyone:
I was as disturbed as you were by the video I saw earlier today. Though obviously edited and hysterically headlined, the images speak for themselves.
I have asked the studio for an explanation and have been assured they are reviewing every single frame of footage shot that day and interviewing the people who were there. (I wasn't.)
I want all the facts at my disposal before I pronounce judgement or issue an opinion.
I will give you an update as soon as I have one. -- Bruce"
His comments of 'obviously edited' and 'hysterical headlines' aren't boding well, at least for me. I totally understand that he is probably shocked and disappointed at the potential impact on his livelihood but it really can't be swept under the rug either.
Totally with you all on this. Hate animal exploitation and cruelty.I will just say though that media do over hype stuff and create shock headlines for that very reason - to shock. So you do need to take them with a pinch of salt. And heavy editing does happen to get us to see what the video distributor wants us to see. I'm not disputing it happened though. And that it wasn't bad. Just saying that the media likes to whip up a frenzy. I've not heard of the book, author or film. Or this news story for that matter. Lol. Shows how switched on i am. I'd boycott it though.
After watching the video, I understand the author's statement. They did make the dog do something it was clearly uncomfortable with, but the really scary part is towards the end (with a section cut out before that). I did like that people all cut filming and jumped in the water to help the dog when he went under. I understand that the dog didn't want to be in the water to begin with, but it appears that they weren't really trying to hurt the dog. I'm still upset by it, but I can understand the author wanting to know more.
When the article first came out about the dog in A Dog's Purpose, I was very upset. How could that happen? (I did not watch the video). There have been comments though about were there animal advocates there? Which I believe if there are animals in a movie, then they are present? Not sure if that is true or not? Anyways, I was happy to see that the author is looking into this. Being a HUGE fan of his books, I didn't think he would just stand by and do nothing. He wasn't there at the time, so he says. Which if he was, I surely feel that he wouldn't have let anything bad happen or even let something like what people are saying shows in the video happen.
Sarah wrote: "Totally with you all on this. Hate animal exploitation and cruelty.I will just say though that media do over hype stuff and create shock headlines for that very reason - to shock. So you do need ..."
Oh believe me, I do know how the media works in the US...lol!! I am 100% guarded when watching any form of media and it's attempts to shock, sway and brainwash, but this was just unacceptable. Even with the cut from one scene to the next, this dog clearly did not want to go in the water. Period. That is where this whole thing should have stopped, right there. They either should have found a stunt dog that was trained for water scenes or decided to find another way to shoot that scene. The technology is out there. If they did this to a human being, especially a child, someone would have to answer to it. I say they have to answer for this dog as well. done rant ;)
Crap! I was so looking forward to seeing the movie. Maybe I'll just re-read the book.
Thanks Rusalka for mentioning The Back Yard Lemon Tree blog. Last night I used one of the recipes on there - Spanakopita and it was delicious. I served it with a salad and Greek potatoes. It was a success with my partner too. :-) We have leftovers for tonight too which is good as we're off to the pub this evening so i don't have to spend ages cooking beforehand now.
Apparently the director of the film wasn't on set at the time either because the scene was filmed during 2nd unit production. He has spoken about how horrified he is by the footage but don't they review all footage during post production? Wouldn't he have seen it then? Also, there are some accusations going around that PETA had known about the footage for ages. If that's the case, why not speak up about it sooner? The whole situation feels very muddled at the moment so I guess we will have to wait and see what comes out of the investigation which the author has asked for.
I'm not sure PETA can step in like RSPCA could here for example. I might be wrong. I thought they were more of an investigatory and campaigning body. The thing with this kind of organisation (generally not animal related) is that they require evidence and they spend time investigating and researching in order to put together an case/campaign. If they put together a false appeal and it came to light, it would harm their reputation and render all previous and future work they do useless. So they have to be careful. It reminds me of when I lived in Mansfield and I had just bought a house. After a few weeks of living there I discovered that the house opposite was a crack den. People would sit outside and take the drugs they'd just bought and would often show up there with stolen goods to pay for them. Not good. I rang the police about it and they said that they knew about it. Had done for at least a year. I was frustrated obviously about that. Why didn't they do something then? But it is better they know they are there, bring evidence against them, build a case, then pounce when it will stick rather than raid them and they potentially move somewhere else and go undetected.
I know this is a different situation but their hands may have been tied. I guess we'll find out eventually what the deal is with everything.
Sarah wrote: "Thanks Rusalka for mentioning The Back Yard Lemon Tree blog. Last night I used one of the recipes on there - Spanakopita and it was delicious. I served it with a salad and Greek potatoes. It was a ..."I don't think that was me, but as I love Spanakopita, I am now checking that out!
I agree with Sarah. My understanding is PETA is a lobby group. Doesn't actually have any legal rights unlike RSPCAs or Humane Societies (? That what they are called in the USA?).
Oh. Someone mentioned it when you talked about the Salad recipes. Thanks to that someone ;-)I've never made it before. It was pretty easy and very tasty so I would definitely give it a go. This was the Greek Potatoes recipe I used - http://www.food.com/recipe/greek-pota... if you fancy doing those to go with it. I didn't realise they took so long. Note to self - read recipe instructions before you're about to start cooking because you're hungry! They were so worth the wait though. My partner doesn't usually like potato wedges but he loved these.
I hate that. I read the end cooking time, but without fail in the middle somewhere it says "Cook for 6 hours", and I'm like you tricked me and it's 6pm!!!!
I've been making things before and I've chopped everything up and even started cooking some of it and found that I'm supposed to marinate or soak something for hours first. Doh! In those instances, I've given it a token half hour if it's lucky. lol. Annoying. Those Greek Potatoes take 40 minutes each side. It's quite an unusual way to cook potatoes. Not done that before.
A loy of PETA are nut cases anyway. I never trust anything that comes solely from them. If a trustworthy group steps in and backs them that's different. I've just seen PETA try to destroy the agriculture business too many times trying to portray the 1% of scum as the entire body of farmers
As far as I can tell it wasn't PETA that filmed/released the footage. I think they are responding to the released videos and asking people to boycott. I think the video was released from TMZ.
But I agree, Travis, PETA is not an organization I support. I support animal rights but not the way they do things.
Tasha wrote: "But I agree, Travis, PETA is not an organization I support. I support animal rights but not the way they do things."This ^^. Exactly.
Tasha wrote: "But I agree, Travis, PETA is not an organization I support. I support animal rights but not the way they do things."Same here.
Sarah wrote: "I'm not sure PETA can step in like RSPCA could here for example. I might be wrong. I thought they were more of an investigatory and campaigning body. The thing with this kind of organisation (gener..."PETA's reputation in Canada was forever marred when they ran an ad comparing the horrific beheading of a passenger on a bus to the treatment of animals. It was crude and disrespectful to the victim's family and to the other passengers who witnessed the incident.
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
Books mentioned in this topic
Proof: The Science of Booze (other topics)The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles (other topics)
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles (other topics)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (other topics)
The Little Prince (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Michael J. Sullivan (other topics)Joe Hill (other topics)
Kazuo Ishiguro (other topics)
Kazuo Ishiguro (other topics)
Kazuo Ishiguro (other topics)
More...
I think that has changed with the new civil law...