the secret language of food and a simpering need for approval

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/09/fashion/09STEAK.html
Is the life of a woman really such constant mandatory neurosis even if that neurosis is about not seeming neurotic?

“Everyone wants to be the girl who drinks the beer and eats the steak and looks like Kate Hudson,” Ms. Crosley, 28, said.

Actually, no, everyone isn't. And then there's this:

Of course, there are always those rare women who order what they want and to heck with what a man might think.

Saehee Hwang, 30, a production director at Artnet.com, found herself out with friends at DuMont restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, when she started feeling attracted to a new guy in the group. She said she had wanted to order a burger, but started having second thoughts. “I didn’t want to appear too much of a carnivore,” she said. “It might be off-putting.”

But then she decided she should not change her order to fit a preconceived idea of what a man might want. She ordered the house specialty, a half-pound of beef on a toasted brioche bun with Gruyère cheese. “We started dating afterward,” Ms. Hwang said. “And he told me he liked the fact that I ordered the burger.”

I mean, really, did you know you were buying your freedom with every second of every day you actually choose to do something for yourself? How shocking!

silver polish

When I was a kid you could buy those silver polishing cloths at Woolworths. Of course, we don't have Woolworth's anymore, and people don't use good silver on a regular basis either, clearly.

Where the hell do I buy silver polish? (preferably the cloths, but I'll buy the tub of pink gunk if I have to) these days? Duane Reade doesn't have it.

ETA: I LOVE that you all know exactly what I'm talking about and where to find it.

(no subject)

Why gay marriage, or at least being dilligent with your paperwork, matters:

http://www.bilerico.com/2007/08/when_love_is_not_enough.php

(no subject)

Hrrrr. I'm listening to Current 93 for the first time (I know, I know!). It's astoundingly interesting, although I'm not sure if I actually like it. It's an astoundingly good fit for the universe of my novel though, which is also moderately surprising and odd.

It is raining here. And cold. Rejoice.

Through tsarina and her contact with a seemingly clueful-ish customer service person at LJ, I've emailed this person a long missive about what fandom is, hopefully translating some of the cultural things of our world that LJ hasn't appeared to understand. I have no idea if this will make a difference, but it was at least a more intellectual and less frustrating exercise than most of this ordeal has been.

My ankle is blue and large, but it is supporting my weight.

Patty comes home Tuesday. It is apparently cheaper to fly to Peru on short notice than to SFO. Not really sure what's up with that.

Work is now, finally, giving us sick days.