Labor Day, indeed

This holiday weekend traditionally marks the end of summer and official return to the grind. As the last sanctioned break of any length between now and Thanksgiving, it calls out for activity, not rest. I made up a list of things I hope to get done before returning to work on Tuesday. The list is twenty-four items long (!) and composed of both personal and domestic tasks, chores rooted in the real world and and on the wide world o’ web.

Criminy. I’d better get started.

Happy Labor Day to all. I’ll be around, even as busy as I hope to be.

Palin

Interesting.

No need to join the rush to judgment either way on McCain’s selection - especially before I’ve heard so much as one word out of Palin herself.

I remember an anguished Republican’s response to George H.W. Bush’s choice of running mate in 1984: “It’s Quayle - we lose.” Interestingly, this is what McCain had to say back then (verified here) about the selection of Dan Quayle:

I can’t believe a guy that handsome wouldn’t have some impact.

One thing’s for sure: Obama’s speech has been pushed below the fold.

Kate Klonick and Greg Sargent at TPM provide some info on Palin, including some perceived strengths for the McCain campaign.

She’s the sweetheart of Alaska: Attractive, young (44), a hockey mom, feminine and strong (beautiful and a member of the NRA!). Palin could appeal to a generation of women who respect strength and independence in women, but don’t necessarily identify with the feminist movement. She has also managed to achieve higher office while coming across as someone who puts family before career.

There’s a powerful maternal narrative, too: In April, she elected not to have an abortion when she discovered that her baby had Down’s Syndrome. And for good measure, she also has a son in the army named “Track” who’s set to deploy to Iraq.

The selection of Palin, of course, is also a bid for the disaffected Hillary vote, though it’s unclear how disaffected that vote is now that both Clintons have offered full-throated endorsements of Obama.

Palin is also a sign that there was never much to the speculation that McCain would choose someone with indy cred. She’s a solid conservative who will thrill the right-wing base.

As I said: don’t rush to judgment.

Add interesting: An NY Times Caucus Blog piece on Palin and a now-unfortunate quote from a McCain adviser has apparently been, er, disappeared. Fortunately, lots of people - like John Cole - have less selective memories:

Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska? As reports circulated on television and cable networks on Friday morning that Senator John McCain might have selected Ms. Palin as his running mate, McCain advisers expressed bewilderment. One adviser said that while Mr. McCain thinks highly of Ms. Palin, who is opposed to abortion rights and would be welcomed by Christian conservatives, her less than two years in office would undercut one of the McCain campaign’s central criticisms of Senator Barack Obama — that he is too inexperienced to be commander-in-chief.

“While it’s a dramatic and interesting choice, it would make the argument he’s making difficult to make,” said one McCain adviser.

Last, I think: Had Obama chosen Hillary Clinton instead of Joe Biden - and this is not to criticize the choice of Biden - whom would McCain have selected? Palin, still, or someone else?

Okay, here’s the last (maybe): “Palin Pick Leaves Bruised Feelings.”

Though it was high in shock value, the Palin pick left bruised feelings among the short-list contenders who were not picked — and infuriated some Republican officials who privately said McCain had gone out on a limb, unnecessarily, without laying the groundwork for such an unknown. Two senior Republican officials close to Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty said they had both been rudely strung along and now “feel manipulated.”

“They now know that they were used as decoys, well after McCain had decided not to pick them,” one Republican involved in the process said.

Product launch

You go to the polls with a candidate who made the acceptance speech he did, not the speech you wish he’d made. Watching Obama’s address last night, I felt like the only dry-eyed Democrat in the Republic.

Fortunately for Obama, the Democratic Party, the United States, and the world at large, other reactions vary from mine.

My skepticism remains. Obama has my vote, however, and we’ll see what happens afterwards. As I’ve said before, history can wait.

First to lose accreditation?

CNN just put up one of its BREAKING NEWS banners alerting the public that the school district in Clayton County, Georgia has become the nation’s first (in forty years!) to lose its accreditation.

My question isn’t whether that news warrants the BREAKING treatment, but whether it’s true - not that the Georgia district did or did not lose its accredited status, but whether it is actually the first to lose it.

The Saint Louis public school district was stripped of its accreditation by the Missouri State Board of Education on March 22, 2007. That decision was upheld by the Circuit Court of Cole County on January 23, 2008.

Unless the definition of accreditation is at issue here, which I doubt, that sort of strips away the whole five-alarm BREAKING aspect of the CNN story. Somebody call an editor.

Update: Ah. Someone did call an editor (emphasis mine):

A Georgia county’s school district has become the third district in the nation in 40 years to lose its accreditation.

Better. Though someone at CNN should feel kind of foolish for the earlier banner treatment of the story. If not for the falsely-assumed historic nature of the story, it would probably never have been published at CNN at all.

Egg in bread, eh?

This past weekend, M and I were watching an episode of our beloved Midsomer Murders - “Market for Murder,” specifically - and at one point a character asked her husband if he wanted her to make him an “egg in bread.”

“Eh?” I sat up, intrigued. Brit cuisine! And an appealing homely-sounding dish at that. “Egg in bread.” I had a pretty good idea what it entailed, and soon found verification on the intertubes.

Having found one recipe, I didn’t bother to search for others, but tried it the very next morning. Wheat bread instead of white, and I neglected to cut away the crusts (which I always resist, as it seems extravagantly wasteful to me). Used a glass to cut away the hole in the bread (ate the excised portion). Fried it up using, as the recipe says, “a glug of olive oil and a knob of butter.” I should have followed the recommendation of a commenter on the recipe page and allowed the egg to warm to room temperature before pouring it into the circle, but I was able to get the top of the egg to just set by spooning hot oil/butter from the pan over it.

No, it ain’t health food. Yes, it was delicious. Lots of rich yolk to be sopped up and just enough texture to the bread. By the time I finished, I wished that I had made more.

I tried to raise the recipe’s health quotient this morning, but with mixed results. I replaced the glug of olive oil with a shot of Pam, and applied the barest smear of butter directly on the bread in the style of a grilled cheese sandwich. Because of the lack of hot spoonable oil or butter in the pan, I had to flip the bread/egg complex in order to get the top set, and it cooked a little longer than I would have liked. Worse than that, however, was the marked flavor deficit in the “healthier” version. The lack of oil and (more) butter was keenly felt, or rather, tasted.

Some dishes are best left unreconstructed. Next time out, it’s the traditional egg in bread approach for me…but I’m keeping the whole wheat bread, which I think stands up better to the egg than white bread might. No promises about the crust.

What’s the deal with this?

PC Magazine: Jerry Seinfeld is going to save Vista? Jerry Seinfeld? Really?

Obama-Biden: Er, feel it

In the wee hours this morning, I thought I felt a great disturbance in the Force…but I just rolled over and went back to sleep. I awoke to muted reports of the new Democratic veep nominee: Joe Biden. Disappointed, change agents? Well, if you had a revolution every day, it wouldn’t be special, would it? More after a word from our sponsor.

Briefly:

Detectable levels of disappointment in the blogosphere from those who didn’t get the news first on their secret Obama decoder rings, as promised by the campaign.

Trace amounts of irritation with the choice of Biden based on his support of the MBNA-lobbied bankruptcy bill, a sore point among progressives.

General acknowledgment of the virtues of Biden’s foreign policy strengths and general tough-guyness.

Personal take: the message sent by relative-DC-outsider Obama’s selection of the insidery (and, uh, more qualified to be president) Biden could be interpreted as “change, but verify?”

More message interpretation:* Making the announcement in this manner - in the middle of the fucking night, basically - could well be a way of saying that the role of veep is just that unimportant, at least so far as the campaign is concerned. The campaign is about the brand, and that brand is Obama.

*Nix that: Obama, Inc.’s hand was forced by leaks to CNN. The campaign was thus obliged to make the announcement when it did.

Finally: Does the choice of Biden signal a rejection of the traditional weak role of the vice-president (assuming a Democratic victory)? I have a lot of trouble seeing a personality like Biden voluntarily accepting a “foreign dignitary funeral visitor” position. I have to assume that Obama and Biden have had conversations about a strong role - not Cheney-strong, perhaps, but certainly a center of power - within the administration.

What to do with collard greens?

I took a flier on collard greens when setting up this year’s veggies in the raised beds out back. I hadn’t had that vegetable since I was about half my present height and living back in South Carolina. My mother would be so proud of me! Just a couple of plants, thanks; just one is sizable enough. Good thing, too. Those two plants exploded into leafy collard abundance. I admired the produce for a long while before realizing that I really had no idea what to do with them. I had vague recollections of turnip chunks and ham hocks, but recalled no details. Alas, I never paid attention while my mother cooked. Just like a knot-headed boy. I could have called home for help - “Mom…how do you cook collard greens?” - but decided that would be just a bit too feeble.

When in doubt, as I have said before, turn to trusted sources: in this case, the recipe database at the website for the magazine Eating Well. Love the magazine, love the site. Some stumbling around produced an intriguing recipe for something called “Spicy Potato and Kale Soup.” Collards could easily substitute for the kale, and I’ve been looking for an excuse to use chorizo. The easy recipe guided me in turning these ingredients…

…into this surprisingly delicious and hearty soup:

At the risk of boasting, let me reiterate: This is delicious. Even with the potatoes, it’s not too heavy for warm weather. Great flavor, just enough spice. You will go back for seconds.

The recipe is below, or you can fetch it from the Eating Well site. If using collards, please remember that they cook more slowly than kale, so you will need to give the greens a little more time in the pot. Ten Twenty minutes for sure - I used heat closer to “medium” than “simmer” - then check.

Spicy Potato & Kale Soup
Makes 2 servings, 1 1/2 cups each

Ingredients

¼ cup halved and sliced chorizo sausage (see Note)
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
⅓ cup water
1 small russet potato, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
4 cups kale, ribs removed, thinly sliced
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste

Instructions

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add chorizo and cook, stirring, until browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer the chorizo to a paper towel-lined plate; wipe out the pot.
2. Heat oil in the pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add broth, water, potato and garlic; increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potato is tender, 6 to 9 minutes. Lightly mash the potato with a wooden spoon. Add kale, a handful at a time, waiting until it has wilted before adding more. Adjust heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the reserved chorizo and season with pepper.

Purple Stallions on a break

The big sports post of the day here at Waveflux - much more interesting to my handful of regular readers than my bitterness toward running back Steven Jackson - is that for the first time in six years, my fighting Purple Stallions will not take the fantasy field. Say it ain’t so! Afraid it is, kid.

I had pretty much decided to take a break from playing fantasy football towards the end of last season, and actually would have skipped last year altogether had I not been invited into OW’s league. This time around, though, I’m definitely on the sidelines; I’m too busy and just don’t have the psychic overhead needed to handle the emotional storms that come with the game. I will be handling the two teams that belong to my brother since he can’t see the computer screen what with the blindness and all, but that consists of taking instructions, basically, with some minimal input as he requests it. Not the same as running your own imaginary franchise.

So I’ll just be watching football as a fan this season, mostly. Good thing, too; I could use the rest.

Time to set the trophies on the shelf, eh? I won’t be adding to them any time soon.

Turn that frown upside down

Coudal: Cheerful tips for surviving the New Depression!

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