I'm a Miranda.

Janeane Garofalo talks about her new life as a dog owner.

How do you make strawberry shortcake?
(Please leave answers as comments, because my free account prohibits real polls.)


Choice A: Aaron's Recipe

• Place shortcake/biscuit/pound cake into bowl
• Add freshly sliced strawberries
• Sprinkle sugar over cake and berries
• Add milk until cake is 1/3-covered

Choice B: Rachel's Recipe

• Place shortcake/biscuit/pound cake into bowl
• Add vanilla ice cream
• Add strawberries that have been pre-cut, sprinkled with sugar, and allowed to macerate (become soft and juicy)
• Top with whipped cream

Choice C

• Both choices A and B are wrong. See my comment for the correct recipe.

Fun Fact! Did you know that Cool Whip ("Cool Hwip"?) now comes in an aerosol can?!

Yesterday proved to be very sad when our beloved percolator unexpectedly died. A New York apartment-warming gift from our dear friend Tim (jucundushomo), she served us well these past 18 months and never failed to perk the most delicious coffee. That is, until yesterday, when she decided to perk no more. Below is an except from Tim's recounting of the day he tricked us into the greatest housewarming present of all time:

We rode the M5 bus down, arriving at 34th St. in the early afternoon. Aaron looked up at the skyscraper and gulped - he has a fear of heights - so we went to grab a piece of pizza. Later, while Aaron had his interview (at a sort of "bling bling rich and famous" magazine), Rachel and I went to one of the ubiquitous Starbucks in town to have a coffee. Aside: Due to heavy volume of business, I guess, on one intersection Starbucks appeared on three of four corners! We read the NYTimes together, laughing over the new Evil Dead musical and discussing stem cell research in the new Congress-to-be. Absentmindedly, I asked Rachel what kind of coffeemaker she and Aaron used.

I was surprised to find that they did not have one, especially so because Rachel is an inveterate coffee drinker. I asked her if we might see a New York department store, and so we headed on over to Macy's Herald Square. The workers were putting up the first of the Christmas decorations, and I attempted to discreetly ask for housewares. Just after that, Aaron arrived, and attempted to dissuade me from my course, but I was obstinate. We finally settled on a four-cup percolator, done up very nice in stainless steel. The Macy's man I bought it from looked positively elfin as he joked and bobbed around, looking for a bag; he wrote his name on the slip and encouraged us to call the customer helpline with tales of his "outstanding" service so that he could get Macy's gift certificates.

I am heartbroken, as this little stainless-steel pot had so much sentimental value to me. Beside the fact that she made the best coffee I have ever tasted, she was a present from a very old friend, one of my first great memories of living in the city, and an essential part of each of our NYC (and Pittsburgh) mornings. She has since been replaced (Can she ever really be "replaced," though?) by an $18 Black & Decker coffeepot from Walmart for which I have lukewarm feelings.



R.I.P.
Farberware 2-4 Cup Percolator
November 2, 2006–April 20, 2008

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This happened 0.4 miles from our place yesterday morning. Aaron and Rudy were out for a walk and saw "a huge puff of smoke," and I felt our whole building rumble as I laid in bed. Craziness.

Explosion levels North Side houses
By Jill King Greenwood
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, April 11, 2008
Authorities trying to determine the cause of an explosion that leveled two homes and damaged 24 others in the North Side this morning said they have found no evidence of a natural gas leak prior to the blast.
No injuries were reported in the blast shortly after 10:30 a.m. in a house on Lovitt Way near Retail Way. Pittsburgh Public Safety Chief Michael Huss said officials don't know if the blast originated in an abandoned, vacant home at 847 Lovitt Way or the home next door, at 845 Lovitt Way, which was occupied until a few months ago when the elderly owner moved to a nursing home.

Crews were using heavy equipment to remove debris from the 30-foot high pile that remained after the blast. Firefighters then will search the debris to see if anyone was trapped inside.

Neighbors said they'd seen vagrants and squatters coming and going from the vacant house and using it as a drug hideout, but Huss said officials have no indication that is true. He said authorities will investigate all possible causes for the blast -- including a meth lab explosion.

"We're searching for anyone in there because we have to be sure," Huss said. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said authorities are trying to figure out what triggered the blast. Responders included more than 100 firefighters, police, paramedics and workers from Duquesne Light, Equitable Gas, the state Public Utilities Commission, the American Red Cross and the city's Bureau of Building Inspection and Public Works Department.

A third house, at 849 Lovitt Way, was heavily damaged and leaning to one side. The two women who live there were not home at the time of the blast and city building inspectors will determine if that house is structurally sound. Huss said he didn't know whether the occupants will be able to return to retrieve belongings or if the house will have to be knocked down for safety reasons.

No evacuations were ordered, but onlookers were being kept away from some buildings as damaged windows continued to fall to the street. Pieces of brick, vinyl siding, wood and roofing shingles were sent flying through the air after the blast, many of them in flames. Windows were blown out of homes blocks away and Huss said 24 homes were damaged.

Today Rudy turned 5 years old.
(But this was only his first birthday with us!)
To celebrate, we tortured him.

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Sweater day to honor Mister Rogers
By Adrian McCoy
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
No one knows what the weather will be like on March 20, but the people behind "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" are declaring it sweater-wearing weather.

March 20 would have been the late children's TV host's 80th birthday, and Family Communications Inc. is urging everyone -- not just in Pittsburgh, but all over the world -- to wear a favorite sweater that day in honor of Fred Rogers' legacy. Family Communications is the production company behind the long-running "Mister Rogers" public TV series.

David Newell, who plays Mr. McFeely on the show, stars in a YouTube video created to spread the word about the March 20 sweater day.

The sweater event will cap off the "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Days celebration March 15-20, in which area cultural institutions will offer family events and free or reduced admission prices and family activities. "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Days is also part of Pittsburgh's 250 anniversary celebration.


Ganked from pittsburgh.

Ever since receiving The Cable Guy as a Christmas present, I often find myself thinking about how much I love Jim Carrey movies. Usually something sparks these thoughts—such as The Number 23 being on On Demand last month or Carrey's appearance on Oprah this week to promote Horton Hears a Who! (puke)—and then for the next few days (weeks?) I mentally try to rank all the Carrey movies I've ever seen*. Since I haven't posted in several weeks, I thought this would be a good topic to start back up with. Behold my list:

My Top 14 Jim Carrey Movies

1. The Cable Guy (1996)
2. Dumb & Dumber (1994)
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
4. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)
5. Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
6. The Truman Show (1998)
7. Liar Liar (1997)
8. Batman Forever (1995)
9. Man on the Moon (1999)
10. The Mask (1994)
11. Fun with Dick and Jane (2005)
12. Me, Myself & Irene (2000)
13. Bruce Almighty (2003)
14. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Bonus Short Film

Pecan Pie (2003)
Written & Directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
Runtime: 2 minutes

*Unfortunately there are still several films that I haven't seen—The Number 23 (2007), Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), The Majestic (2001), and anything prior to 1994—but I hope to remedy this in due time.

Rudy Gooddog
4 years old
Adopted: January 19, 2008

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85% Mike Gravel
81% John Edwards
80% Chris Dodd
80% Barack Obama
78% Hillary Clinton
76% Joe Biden
75% Dennis Kucinich
73% Bill Richardson
41% Rudy Giuliani
33% John McCain
31% Tom Tancredo
29% Mike Huckabee
28% Ron Paul
26% Mitt Romney
18% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

To be honest, I've not really been following the presidential race, especially since we've moved and I've realized that Pittsburgh stations do not seem to cover the race as much as New York television did (or maybe we just watch less CNN and MSNBC here). However, I do find it funny that I match up with Mike Gravel the most, as he has long been my favorite candidate.