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Poll #1421803 Fave MJ/QJ single
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

What is your favorite #1 single by Michael Jackson from the Quincy Jones years?

I had to make the poll question that narrow, because when I started looking at the singles discography, I was like, um, okay, I'm not typing in that many poll options, and Bad is a good place to stop. 1988 is the year I went to college, so I sort of left Michael before his tabloid troubles got really bad. Because of that (and very little access to television during that time), I primarily remember his extraordinary peak, and, while I do respect the perspectives of those who feel differently, I'm good with that.

There's a lot I could write, but right now it feels like half the world's web pages are about Michael Jackson; I can't say anything that hasn't already been said. I feel sad about it for a variety of reasons, but I'll keep things simple and leave it at his music, above.

Speaking of that, I went to the basement to try to excavate my cassette of Thriller. I couldn't locate it, but I did find this. For my younger readers, that's a vinyl 45. :)

As for Farrah Fawcett, the primary memory I have of her is as a poster on the wall of a beach house where my family once stayed when I was very young. I suspect the room (and the poster) belonged to the teenaged son of the family that owned the place.

I vacillated several times while deciding what to do yesterday. I knew I was going to attend a food event of some sort, I just wasn't quite sure whether to try to make it to Ann's Snack Bar before Ann's departure, to check out Sweet Grass Dairy at Star Provisions, or to head to the Taste of Sandy Springs, where approximately 30 area restaurants set up in tents to vend highlights from their menus.

The line for Ann's is known to be insane at the best of times, and since this was the last weekend one could be absolutely certain of her presence, I figured we'd be standing in the hot sun for hours. For someone with rosacea, this is not a good thing. At the festival, at least I'd be standing in the hot sun consuming food, rather than merely waiting for food.

Getting to taste numerous small samples of things is one of my favorite ways to dine. Given that, and the fact that Sandy Springs was the closest option, the food festival won out. I slathered myself with sunscreen, experienced great chagrin over being unable to locate my straw hat, donned sunglasses, and bemoaned the fact that parasols are not in style.

What we ate:

Watermelon and Feta Salad with Red Onion from Alon's Bakery and Market This was David's first selection, and it turned out to be one of the three best dishes we had all day. It reminded me of a Martha Stewart watermelon salad that my mom fixed probably about ten or twelve years ago. Tangy, creamy, and refreshing. I've enjoyed shopping at Alon's (it's the only place I've ever seen Hildon water for sale), and need to make a point of getting there for lunch sometime. Their sandwiches look promising.

From Taste of Sandy Springs

( More pictures and commentary behind the cut )

Although the festival offered a nice variety of dining options, there was room for a bit of improvement on the management/administration end. For example, it was frustrating that they only sold tickets in blocks of ten ($10 for ten tickets). If you did three three ticket bites, you might or might not be sated, and you'd have a ticket left over unless you could find a $1 bite that interested you. In contrast, Taste of Roswell would sell you as many or as few tickets as you desired, and I bet they sold more tickets that way. Indeed, I've never seen a food festival that set a limit like that. We worked around it, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention this annoyance. I did send an e-mail to one of the contact addresses suggesting that they change this next year, so I'm not talking about them behind their backs by stating this in my blog.

Perhaps due to the recession, or perhaps because of an increase in environmental consciousness in terms of producing less waste, there wasn't much swag, AKA branded freebies like mugs, pens, and so on. I'll do my best to recycle it. Here's a list of what folks were handing out (all menus were brochure-sized):

( List of freebies )

Overall, we had a lot of fun despite the heat, and special thanks to my beloved husband for being patient and holding the food while I snapped pictures.

Had a terrific dinner with proftlb and mumpish Saturday night at Starfish. Three of us opted for the omakase, while my husband went for the regular menu. I've only done omakase a couple of times, but I can say without a doubt that this was the best I've had thus far. The chef seemed to care deeply about what he was serving, and very kindly gave us an informative overview of each dish. Here are a few pictures. I apologize for the quality -- my cell phone camera doesn't handle dim light well at all. Click the thumbnails for a larger view.

( Pictures and review behind the cut )

I would definitely return to Starfish. In fact, it may be my new favorite sushi place in that price point. Next time, I might try the regular menu options -- David's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory roll (Spicy tuna roll topped with beef tataki, avocado, and special sauce) was a silky umami bomb - the bite I had was excellent.

Everything was outstanding. After writing this up and reliving the experience, I'm ready to return right now!

I need to be downstairs cooking instead of procrastinating on LiveJournal, but I've made decent progress this morning, so I'm allowing myself just a moment or two here. I've already made the cranberry sauce:

( The full menu )

The boy dressing and girl dressing designations? That's a bit of a story. Essentially, the preference for dressing splits right down gender lines in my family. The males like that mushy cornbread goop, while the females prefer my mother's dressing, which is redolent with sage. Hence, boy dressing and girl dressing.

I had an excellent lunch at Sushi Yoko yesterday (thanks to Chloe at Chow Down Atlanta for the recommendation). They're so hardcore that they don't give you a soup spoon with your miso: nab the tofu with your chopsticks and drink up! Everything was fresh and well-prepared. It's a bargain at $7.95 for salad, soup, entree, rice and tea. I haven't doctored the pictures from my cell phone camera below.

• Salad with ginger dressing


• Miso soup


• Sushi and sashimi


• You know it's a good place because Super Lucky Cat is keeping an eye on things!

I'll definitely return. It's a little bit of a drive from my house, but not enough to be a disincentive.

I'm headed to MF Sushibar today, and I'm very much looking forward to it.

CNN called the prediction at a hair after 11 pm EST; I took a picture of the television screen for my niece.



It's real: Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States of America.

I don't have anywhere near what some people have invested in this race, and to be nakedly honest, I'm kind of shaky right now. I know what a moment this is.

I remember where I was when we lost Challenger. I remember where I was during 9/11. Those were dark moments in America's history. I hope this will be much better.

Regardless, I'll surely remember where I was tonight.

... and here's an image of my very blurry receipt, or as close as we get to having such a thing here in Georgia:

I'm a Georgia Voter

The line wasn't bad. I queued up at 11:40 am and finished at the stroke of 1:00 pm, so an hour and 20 minutes. I was able to find a parking space in the nearly-full lot, and I had my hot tea with me. Things were orderly: one of the volunteers passed sign-in cards down the line so that people could be ready when they got to the check-in point.

I saw more women than men voting, but that's to be expected in a residential area at that time of day; a fair number had young children in tow. I saw several of our neighbors. No one visibly disobeyed the political clothing rule, although I did see at least four men in solid, bright red shirts, one of whom was wearing a FDNY baseball cap, obviously evoking 9/11. I saw some blue shirts as well, but only one that was so bold that it looked like it was selected for the purpose of advertising the voter's preference. At one point in the line, I could see voting screens, and I did see one woman in a white shirt voting for Obama. I did not mean to look, actually - my eye was drawn there by her two children, who seemed to be having fun playing ring-around-the-mommy. She bent down to curtail them, and that's when I glimpsed her screen by accident.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear a Firefly fan behind me evangelizing the show to a female friend who had accompanied him. "The show has a huge fan base!" he enthused. I piped up: "Yes. Yes it does." He laughed, and told his companion, "See? It's everywhere!" I played my cell phone ringtone (the show's theme) for them, and got a thumbs-up. He was nattering on to her about the huge lines for the panels at Dragon*Con, etc.

Speaking of cell phones, no one said a thing about them. There were no signs posted at the polling place about not using them, no one was directed to turn theirs off, and there was nary a whisper about camera usage. I did not violate Georgia law by photographing my vote, but I think I could have done so without anyone uttering a peep about it.

Just for fun, here's a poll:

Poll #1291426 Did you vote?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Did you vote in the 2008 election?

When did you vote?

Do you plan to watch the election results as they come in?

I've got my popcorn ready for tonight's results.

From left to right, top: Squid, eel, yellowtail, smoked salmon, and tuna
Bottom: salmon and avocado maki

I tried Sushi Zutto for lunch based on the review from Chow Down Atlanta. I'm liking Chloe's blog. Of course, anyone who hates PF Chang's is okay by me.) :)

I was pleased: the place is immaculate, and the nigiri portions were generous. The fish was extremely fresh. Since this was my first time, I went for the $12.50 lunch combo (miso soup, salad, and your choice of six pieces of nigiri plus one maki), rather than the all-you-can-eat (made to order; not a buffet) for around $16 (this is valid at dinner as well). It also made me happy that their lunch hours extend just a bit past most places. I know that Hashiguchi and Sushi Huku shut down right at 2:00 pm; Sushi Zutto is open until 2:30 pm, which is nice for those of us who start our days a bit later.

Minor con: they didn't have any low-sodium soy sauce that I saw, although I probably could have asked for it. I just don't like having to ask for a condiment that's right on the table in most of the sushi restaurants I frequent these days. I'd also like to try more of their rolls: the order checklist for the lunch menu, while reasonably comprehensive, seemed to be missing some of the more interesting maki listed on the printed menu. I'm not sure if they just ran out of room or if they don't prepare those rolls at lunch, so I'll need to investigate further.

The staff was friendly without being intrusive. I like that. Sometimes, I just want to eat my lunch without feeling obligated to socialize, especially if it's my first time visiting an establishment.

I'll definitely return. Sushi Zutto and Sushi Nami are the two best sushi options I've found at the north end of Atlanta thus far. While Nami's menu has more variety, Zutto is closer, and it's always nice to have a choice.

I got busy in the kitchen yesterday.

Salsa in progress

Tortellini Salad

Pork Chops with Black Beans in Mole Sauce

Truth be told, the picture of the pork chops was taken back in July; I've just been slack about transferring the pictures from my camera phone to my computer. I've also made gazpacho recently, but I didn't take a snapshot of that.

I have at least three quarts of salsa (I couldn't let those homegrown tomatoes go to waste). I'll definitely be sharing it with my co-workers!

I'm really proud of this. It's the first thing I've ever crocheted using a pattern.

( Crocheted bag )

That being said, I doubt seriously that I'd make it again. The body of the bag is all chain stitch, which I don't enjoy doing. For me, the worst part of any crochet project is making the starting chain, and this ended up being a project that was almost entirely chain! I didn't realize that when I started.

I used three rolls of Lily Sugar 'n Cream in Potpourri. Here's the pattern. I pretty much ignored their strap directions and did my own thing.

It was an educational project. In addition to making my first pattern, I also learned how to do a slip stitch and how to weave in ends.

I plan to use it as a book bag. Indeed, the "carrot" I used as incentive near the end when I was tired of the project (the handle was a pain because I had to turn every 13 stitches and it kept getting all twisted up) was that I couldn't go to the library to get a book until I completed the bag to use as a carrier. :)

Now I need to figure out what to make next. I have stashed yarn for a scarf, a baby blanket, a throw, and a big blanket. Only the last is without a pattern, which I'm kind of leaning toward after doing something as structured as this, but the big blanket is a huge project. Still, the yarn for it is a lovely shade of blue (Caron's Perfect Match in Cape Cod). I ought to do either the scarf (a gift) or the baby blanket. If I'm smart, I'll make two baby blankets just to have one on hand as a gift for those arrivals that get announced too late for me to make one from scratch in time.

Decisions, decisions. I really do enjoy it, and I truly appreciate my co-worker teaching me ... I just wish I had more time to do it!