I can’t believe I’m saying this, but go watch this “Diddy blog”. P. Diddy calls out McCain for referring “to a grown man as ‘that one.’ A man that has worked hard, a man that has done the impossible, a man that has fought for every ounce of respect that he should deserve… Whether you agree with somebody or not, you’re trying to be the President of the United States, and you refer to another man as ‘that one’? … That’s not right, man.”

Spring!
I know I was blathering about it yesterday, but it really has been lovely this week. (It helps that I’m on vacation.) On Monday the Snook and I took the GoGet car out to Lidcombe to go to Bunnings and Spotlight. We’d settled on a compromise in the garden: I can have a small veggie patch in the corner, but I have to weed and water it myself. We came back with enough plants and soil to get started. And here it is! We picked the spot that gets some good sunlight for part of the day, but it’s still partially protected by the tree and the roof. (See all those rocks on the ledge? Those came out of the dirt!) I bought a combination pack of seedlings that included four tomato plants, two capsicum, eggplant, beans, snow peas, and chillis. (I’ve also planted two pumpkin seedlings in their own patch elsewhere.) So far they seem to be doing great! Today I’m going to put down some wet newspapers as mulch. Yep, here in Chippendale we’re all about sustainability! (I’m sad we’re going to miss that Festival this weekend.)

Oh! And here’s the other thing that really made me feel like the Farmer’s Wife this week: Risotto Primavera. It’s from the September issue of Delicious magazine. While the Snook manfully heaved dirt and sifted rocks in my garden, I sat barefoot on the patio shelling fresh peas and broad beans into a bowl. The peas were so beautiful nestled in their pods, and the broad beans revealed a brilliant green under their thick outer skins. The recipe also calls for onion, garlic, white wine, parmesan, and asparagus tips. It turned out so delicious. I garnished it with chopped mint and extra cheese. It’s easy to eat well this time of year.

Rock the Vote
The NYT calls out the Republicans for running the dirtiest Presidential campaign in memory. Experts declare Obama won the 2nd debate. Both Joe Biden and Jimmy Carter send me emails (via Democrats Abroad) reminding me to send in my absentee ballot. And lo and behold, Indiana may be a swing state!

I rushed to the Post Office yesterday and spent TWELVE DAMN DOLLARS to send this thing via Express Post. It probably would’ve gotten to Indiana in time with normal Air Mail, but I wanted to make sure that this Hoosier gets to play her part in history. Thanks for the reminders, Joe and Jimmy!

Interestingly, the Aussie clerk at the post office was astounded that I couldn’t just go vote at the US Consulate on Election Day. “Why don’t you do that? That’s what we do!” I had no answer. It really would be a lot simpler than this craziness (which changes for every single state).

Why in the world is the Democratic symbol there a ROOSTER?

This article by Terry Pratchett is pretty sad. I finally read Good Omens while I was in L.A. and I enjoyed it way more than any of the Discworld books. I hope he continues to draw attention to dementia research and gets it some more funding.

The sounds of spring: The handy-man at our old apartment complex has just fired up the lawnmower. I can’t remember the last time I heard a lawnmower. I love this time of year.

They’ve started tearing down the old Kent Brewery a few blocks away, and every night I try to peek over the hoarding on my way home to catch a glipse. It looks so eerie and fantastic, like someone demolishing Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. The only tall bit still standing is the large chimney. Check out this awesome photo…

David Dale ponders how to get Aussies to eat kangaroo. I’ll admit that ‘roo isn’t my favorite meat. It’s not because I have any sort of a “Skippy” complex, but just because it’s so dark and gamey. It all depends on the preparation, really. (Now I sound like one of those idiotic commentators on Iron Chef: “You’ve done a great job of covering up the smell!”) The Snook got us a couple small ‘roo roasts the other night, and they’d been marinated with loads of garlic. Sliced on sandwiches with barbecue sauce? YUMMO.

The Other Andrew took some beautiful photos of our knitting tea party over at Miss Fee’s yesterday. That last one of the person in the striped shirt knitting the yellow sweater is me.

Thirteen years ago
Happy birthday, Eileen! I was remembering back to Eileen’s birthday freshman year, when it suddenly hit me: That’s when she set our dorm room on fire! I pulled out my box of photos and started digging, and at last I found it…

I’d been at an audition for a play that night, and when I got back to PW (our dorm) I immediately noticed a funky smell in the air. “That’s from your roommate,” some girl in the common room said. “She set your room on fire.” “Yeah, right,” I joked. “No, seriously. She did.” I took off running. This photo is pretty much what I found. She’d been burning some (contraband) candles that a friend had sent her as a gift, when Erin Fair burst in and threw a handful of birthday cake at her. Eileen had, of course, given chase… knocking over the candle onto a pile of her own laundry. Little did I expect I’d be embarrassing her with the story thirteen years later on the Internet!

I found two more fun photos of us if you want to see.

Here’s Eileen, Liz, and me hanging out in our room. I’m pretty sure this was taken on the day of our first Notre Dame home football game, given that we’re all sunburnt and Eileen and I are both wearing “The Shirt.” (I can’t find confirmation on the Internet, but I’m pretty sure we lost that game.)

This one’s pretty weird. Yes, we’re all holding cigarettes and standing with a giant underpants-wearing rat. Eileen and Kel had come to visit a bunch of us in the London Program during Spring Break 1998. I ditched class and took the two of them on a tour of the city. We were walking around Leicester Square when we were approached by a woman with a clipboard. She worked for one of the evening talk shows (sort of a David Letterman type thing) and she invited us to be in a skit. The concept was that an interviewer would go up to seemingly random smokers and ask them about a new law that had been passed. “Do you know all the dangers of smoking?” he asked. “Of course!” we scoffed. “I don’t think you do,” he said. “I don’t think you know ALL the dangers of smoking.” And then a giant rat in a no-smoking T-shirt, white underpants, and a Union Jack cape came out and started beating us with a rubber cricket bat.

I really, really wish I had that one on tape.