Noonan on Palin

I rarely agree with what Peggy Noonan has to say, but she really is quite eloquent when it comes to Sarah Palin.

"In television interviews she was out of her depth in a shallow pool. She was limited in her ability to explain and defend her positions, and sometimes in knowing them. She couldn't say what she read because she didn't read anything. She was utterly unconcerned by all this and seemed in fact rather proud of it: It was evidence of her authenticity. She experienced criticism as both partisan and cruel because she could see no truth in any of it. She wasn't thoughtful enough to know she wasn't thoughtful enough. Her presentation up to the end has been scattered, illogical, manipulative and self-referential to the point of self-reverence. "I'm not wired that way," "I'm not a quitter," "I'm standing up for our values." I'm, I'm, I'm.

In another age it might not have been terrible, but here and now it was actually rather horrifying."

I think she literally is talking about her disco stick!

First, let's start out with the fact that I am completely in love with Lady GaGa. I thought that I was too old to get all starry eyed over a pop diva, but I guess at age 32 I still can fall in love (like I did with Madonna, Kylie, Cher, et al).

Over the past few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about the Lady Gaga's song "Love Game", specifically, what is this disco stick that she sings of? The easy answer would be a penis, right? But why would Lady GaGa lower herself to such a simple metaphor for the male genetalia. Besides, I'd like to think of her as one big lezzzzzzzz. Oh you know you want to see her eat out Katie Perry's snatch just as much as the next person. But that still doesn't answer the question as to what this disco stick really is.

The good people over at BuzzFeed were wondering the same thing, and came to the same conclusion. What does she use this disco stick for? Is this how she harnesses her power? Is it magical? Does she use it to make muffins with? I think I'm going to make my own disco stick and see what kind of trouble I can get into with it.

I <3 Umami

I can always rely on my father to fill my inbox with about 4 - 5 emails a day. They are 99% forwards or webclippings of articles that he feels I would appreciate. The topics cover the whole spectrum, from MLB Baseball to cooking to family genealogy.

The other day, he sent me an article titled, "Is MSG Making a Comeback? After Years of Demonization, MSG Remains Ubiquitous as a Flavor Enhancer". It's a fun little read for those of you who grew up with a little shaker of "Ajinomoto" in your kitchen. (My parents were against having it in the house, even though we probably consumed enough of on a regular basis.)

I'm a fan of MSG and I'm not afraid to admit it. I won't eat at a Chinese restaurant near my house that has a huge sign out front that says, "Absolutely No MSG". Please. The reason why I eat Chinese food is for the MSG!