Source: Staples eReader Department

My score was 982.

Bouncy Stonehenge, ladies and gentlemen. (BBC News video)

It made me smile. :)

I'd never heard of Lana Del Ray until about 20 minutes ago, but I instantly liked these two songs:

She's sure workin' the Brigitte Bardot look. If the rest of the album is this good, it's an impressive debut.

Something about the "Born to Die" video/song reminds me of what might happen if you combined the languid, sensual dreaminess of David Lynch, the gunshot pop of a Bond girl, and just a twist of Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. The vocals and visuals fully deliver a grimy, scratched-up memory of an American dream: there's a devil-may-care desire to get lost; a seductive live-fast-and-die-young nihilism accompanied by melancholy.

EDIT, 02/29/2012: I'm taking it as a message from fate that less than 12 hours after I discovered her, Born to Die is one of 29 albums on sale for $2.99 as a Leap Year Day special at both Google Music and Amazon. I just nabbed it, and I'm listening to it now. More info on the sale here.

EDIT, 03/02/2012: This album has been in heavy rotation since I got it. I'm pretty pleased. It's definitely worth more than I paid for it, so that counts as a win.

Full credit to my husband for finding this. I don't know if it wants a treat, if it's scared of the camera, or what, but this kitten has an opinion about something. :)

Safe in their alabaster chambers,
Untouched by morning and untouched by noon,
Sleep the meek members of the resurrection,
Rafter of satin, and roof of stone.

Light laughs the breeze in her castle of sunshine;
Babbles the bee in a stolid ear;
Pipe the sweet birds in ignorant cadence,
Ah, what sagacity perished here!

Grand go the years in the crescent above them;
Worlds scoop their arcs, and firmaments row,
Diadems drop and Doges surrender,
Soundless as dots on a disk of snow.

- Emily Dickinson

(There's no underlying reason that I'm posting this: I've just always liked the poem, especially since I heard it adapted as a song during my freshman year in college.)

I finished watching the The Dresden Files on Hulu last night. It was fairly entertaining, although the main character's pronounced accent (as compared to most other characters on the show) didn't make much sense. At first, I thought perhaps he'd adopted it to fit into the neighborhood where he lives and works now, but no: in the flashback with his uncle, he still broadcasts what I believe is supposed to be a blue collar Chicago accent. We're to believe he was exposed primarily to his uncle and Bob, and neither of them fit that accent profile. His father's accent wasn't pronounced, and even if it had been, Harry was taken away too early for much of it to last. I know of what I speak: I have an English cousin who moved to the States at about the age that Harry went to live with his uncle.

Despite that flaw, which could be specific to the television show, I was mostly entertained. I thought Valerie Cruz's performance as Murphy was kind of flat, but based on the difference in her portrayal of the character in the pilot episode as opposed to the rest of the series, I think that might've been the director's decision rather than the actor's.

I'm interested in reading the books at some point -- just about everyone I know says they're better.

As we did last year, my husband and I attended Taste of Atlanta with proftlb and mumpish (special thanks to him for serving as a hand model in one of the pictures). ;)

My first bite of the day was an Orange Dream Star from Sublime Doughnuts. I really liked the texture, and I appreciated the fact that it wasn't sweet enough to make one's teeth ache, but I'd probably choose a different flavor next time. The top tasted a bit like orange juice, and the vanilla filling was pleasantly light, but I don't think it quite achieved the Creamsicle effect to which they seemed to aspire.

( Orange Dream Star Doughnut from Sublime Doughnuts )

I never get to go to Bhojanic. :( Why must half of the best restaurants in Atlanta be out in Decatur? Anyway, I took the opportunity to snarf up one of their tasty samosas:

( Vegetable Samosa with Mint from Bhojanic )

These escargots from L'Thai were perhaps the biggest surprise of the day. I'd never had snails prepared this way, and it worked! The bright Asian flavor profile was a huge success with the soft, melt-in-your-mouth escargots tucked in a crunchy pastry shell. Outstanding.

( Escargots from L'Thai )

This extreme close-up might lead you to believe that this taco from Iberian Pig was of normal size. In fact, it was a 2.5 bite mini-taco, but those bites were fantastic. Perfectly tender, rich, smoky pork encased in a crisp shell ... sooo good. I couldn't share it with my spouse because of the cilantro, and I've really tried hard to feel bad about that. :)

( Pork Cheek Taco from The Iberian Pig )

If the taco above looks larger than life, this fried oyster Po-Boy from Serpas True Food is one of those deceptive "objects in mirror are closer than they appear" photographs. This was probably the largest "bite" I had all day, and it was a bit of a challenge to eat. Nevertheless, the oyster was perfectly tender, the Creole tartar sauce was pleasantly creamy, and the pickle was appropriately tangy. Quite harmonious. I've been meaning to get to Serpas for ages, but it's rather a hike from the north end of Atlanta.

( Fried Oyster Po-Boy with Creole Tartar Sauce from Serpas True Food )

Another place that's been on my list for ages is the Shed at Glenwood. They were one of several restaurants that was only participating in ToA on Saturday (staffing the restaurant was probably a factor), and I'm so glad I didn't miss them.The picture doesn't do it justice, but this was definitely the best bite of the day. If only I'd had a glass of Sauternes to accompany it. :)

( Foie Gras Torchon with Pear Jam from the Shed at Glenwood )

We'd saved our food tickets so we could finish with ice cream, so Morelli's booth was our last stop of the day. The Salted Caramel was good, but the Maple Bacon Brittle was a disappointment: it just tasted like maple ice cream. I found one tiny piece of brittle in the entire scoop, and when I say tiny, I literally mean about the size of a large pinhead. Maybe I was just unlucky, but it seemed kind of like false advertising.

( Salted Caramel and Maple Bacon Brittle Ice Cream from Morelli's )

I didn't get a photo, but I also tried Sweet Auburn Bread Company's famous Sweet Potato Cheesecake Fit for a President but I have to confess that it wasn't all that. It was good, but not great. I did like the fact that it wasn't very sweet, and that you could really taste the sweet potato.

My family has always teased me about my penchant for unusual drinks. "It's a Katharine drink," they'll say, wrinkling their noses dismissively. Well, CasCal was giving away free samples of their fermented soda at Taste of Atlanta, and I actually quite liked the Fresh Tropical flavor. Their representative liked my comment so much that she wrote it down, and had me repeat it slowly to make sure she got it right. (I said that I thought CasCal was a perfect complement to the upscale-but-fun food served an event like Taste of Atlanta.)

My favorite moment of the day occurred on our way to Morelli's. Kaleidoscope Bistro and Pub was serving fresh Pork Rinds accented with Togavashi, but they were in the same area of the festival as Serpas, Shed at Glenwood, and Sweet Auburn, so I was hesitant about spending more tickets before exploring the last street's worth of booths. They looked really awesome, though, and I was wavering about going back.

As luck would have it, two women walking ahead of me had a plate of said pork rinds, and I asked for their counsel to help me make my decision.

"Pardon me for interrupting," I said, "but I was thinking about going and getting a plate of those. Are they good?"

"Oh my God, yes," said one. "You have to try them."

Her friend chimed in, "They are in no way like the bagged kind."

"Here, why don't you take this one?"

"Oh, no!" I exclaimed, slightly embarrassed. I didn't mean to give the impression that I was trying to ninja their food! "I couldn't possibly -- that's so nice of you, truly, but I can go get my own," I continued, smiling apologetically.

"No, please do! We're 'bout to leave -- we're full!"

And these kind, generous ladies gave me their last pork rind.

And it was fantastic. And I am so going to Kaleidoscope now.

But really, the reason it's my favorite moment of the day is because, in the midst of all the discord that happens every day in America, where so often we focus on what divides us more than what unites us, food brings us together. Food is non-partisan: it has no political affiliation ... and I love that about it. I love the convivial spirit, the joy of sharing an experience at an event like this.

I'm looking forward to next year already.

I am late! I am so very late, and I apologize for that!

A belated happy birthday to the awesome goodjoan!

Michael Hart was a true pioneer of the early web. It's difficult to overstate the importance of Project Gutenberg, not only for expanding access to books, but for helping to shape current reader expectations and perceptions related to digital publishing.

I love the Ayn Rand story included here:

Michael Hart, Project Gutenberg's e-book loving founder, passes away

I've been a bit lukewarm on True Blood this season, but this episode pulled a lot of things together for me. Warning: there are big spoilers beyond this point, both for the books and the television series.

( Spoilers behind the cut )

Yeah, I'm mostly back with True Blood now. It's my guilty viewing pleasure, but so be it. There are worse vices to have. ;)