Saturday's like Tuesday. Except you're running errands while I work.

[lagilman]

Yesterday I had discussions with my agent, my editor, and my contractor. All satisfactory. Nice way to end the business-week. Also, I think I answered all pending e-mails?

Today I am entering Stage 7 of the Vineart 1 revisions. Send diet coke, popcorn, and a bottle of rum antacid.



Food news:

-the short ribs braised in red wine and tomato turned out good-but-not-fabulous. Recipe tinkering will continue. The garlic bits, however, were eaten like (alcoholic) candy. Nom nom nom.



Political/anthropological thought:

Looking at photos of the First Family together, I am struck -- when was the last time we had a non-dysfunctional* family in the White House? (ETA: I say this because the Obamas look like every textbook description of 'functional" I've ever seen. And I say that coming from a high-functioning family myself)






*The Bushes were poster children for Not Healthy, ditto the Reagans. The Clintons had obvious issues. The Carters... I remember Amy being a normal awkward teenaged hellion, but Jimmy and Rosalyn came across as repressing things...

Comments

[ferragus.livejournal.com]

-the short ribs braised in red wine and tomato turned out good-but-not-fabulous. Recipe tinkering will continue. The garlic bits, however, were eaten like (alcoholic) candy. Nom nom nom.


Not having your recipe, I shouldn't really be offering suggestions but ...

Molasses?
or if you did that, try honey, specialty honey if you can get it.
If you need more bite, how about some vinegar and/or paprika?

Very curious what you did use :)

[lagilman]

I used a simple brown sugar syrup -- it added a nice touch without overwhelming it the way molasses sometimes does, although if I'd added more tomatoes something stronger would be needed, yeah. I was going for delicate this time around.

I do have a vertjus somewhere that might work with it.... hrmmm.

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

I didn't find J & R carter repressed. It must be my Baptist upbringing. They seemed normal to me.

[miintikwa.livejournal.com]

Eisenhower? Well, I mean, you assume that Kennedy-- despite the philandering-- was a good father, and he had the whole "Camelot" golden-boy thing going on.

[lagilman]

By most standards I suspect that the Kennedys were and are quite dysfunctional as a family....

[miintikwa.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I read a book a while back that said that despite the philandering Jack loved his children, and Jackie was a very good mother who did her best to keep life normal for her children.

But that was why I said Eisenhower first. :) I suspect his was the last good family, though I don't know as much about him as I should. *does some digging* Hrm. Ok, Eisenhower only had one living child when he took office-- a son who ended up marrying Nixon's daughter, Julie. How's that for interesting trivia?

[lagilman]

I didn't say they weren't good people, just that the family as a whole (and for the Kennedys you have to consider the entire clan, really) has not come across as the ideal example of healthy interfamilial love and support. And that's even before you get into possible blame/regret/reactions to Rosemary....

(admittedly, as the child of New Englanders, I probably grew up with a skewed view of the JFK as less Camelot and more 'local politician, warts-and-all.')

[miintikwa.livejournal.com]

That's true. I always think Jack-Jackie-the kids, rather than the whole clan.

Truman is an interesting study. Did you know his daughter only died last year, just a little less than a year ago?

Can you tell I am a total Presidential History junkie? I should stop now...

[lagilman]

Margaret Truman, sometime singer and very successful writer, yeah. *grin*

[miintikwa.livejournal.com]

*giggles* It's amazing how the circles intertwine. I love it. It really IS a small world.