If you’ve been following my blog, you probably know I’m a fan of Stephen Fry, so I do like QI. But I have to say, I feel rather guilty about that.

QI has a problem with racial and cultural insensitivity. The targets generally seem to be East Asians and Mexicans. On several occasions Alan Davies has attempted a Mexican accent à la Speedy Gonzales, and they frequently do impressions of East Asian languages that are nothing more than nonsensical syllables. In addition, most of the panelists are white. In fact, Meera Syal² is one of only two non-white panelist that I’m aware of, and both were only on once.

And as long as I’m complaining about the show, it does bug me when they get things wrong, especially about Americans.³ Oh, and Stephen Fry’s French accent is rather painful.

Despite all the things I’ve complained about, I still keep watching QI. Why? Well, because I still sometimes learn things. For example, did you know that the difference⁴ between flotsam and jetsam is that jetsam has been purposely discarded?

For now, I’ll continue to watch QI, though I suspect that sooner or later, I’ll get fed up with its flaws.

1. In one episode, John Hodgman was a fifth panelist. Hodgman won.
2. Meera Syal guest starred in the Doctor Who episodes “The Hungry Earth” and “Cold Blood.”
3. We do say tadpole. A pollywog is considered by some to be the same thing as a tadpole, but other people seem to say they refer to different stages of development. I’d love to know if there are regional differences within the United States in the usage of these two words.
4. I wonder if I can work that into the Shipping Project somehow.

The recipe is essentially the butter chickpeas from stone soup, except I used 1 lb of frozen peas and canned tomato sauce, and I forgot the chili flakes. And of course, I never actually measure anything…. Because I used frozen peas, this dish took a little bit longer to cook than the chickpea version would.

Next time i will probably try using stewed or crushed tomatoes and I’ll add the chili flakes—though if you don’t like spice, I suggest adding the garam masala a little at a time and tasting after each addition. If you wanted something paneer-like, you could either make your own paneer (which seems like too much work to me, but there are plenty of tutorials online), buy some at an Indian grocery, or add some cubed firm tofu.

I served this with trader joe’s frozen naan rather than rice, but it’d probably be quite good over either white or brown rice.

And no, there is no picture. Mine came out a bit less red and a bit more like terra cotta or brown clay pots. Still quite tasty though.

About a week ago, I heard that the USDA had put out a new plant hardiness zone map. It’s been updated to reflect new plant growth patterns. Several areas are now considered warmer than they were before. Philadelphia, as it happens, is now zone 7b, where previously it was considered 6b, if I recall correctly.

The new map does raise some concerns about global warming, but I have to admit , it makes me wonder what I’ll be able to grow. At the very least, this is good news for Mr. Fig’s future.

In related gardening news, I have no idea what I’m going to grow this year. I’m not sure if I’ll plant much of anything new, really. We’ll see.

Moab Is My Washpot by Stephen Fry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Fry Chronicles by Stephen Fry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I recently read volumes 1 and 2 of Stephen Fry’s autobiograpphies. I enjoyed them, but I was already a fan of Stephen Fry. I suspect that being a fan probably will make a big difference in whether you enjoy these books or not. The writing style is wordy, much like Fry’s speaking style, and if you’ve watched interviews of or lectures by him, you may have heard these anecdotes in much the same words. That said, there were a few points, especially in Moab is My Washpot, where I did actually laugh out loud.

Book Sources:
For Moab is My Washpot: Kindle editiion, The Free Library of Philadelphia
For The Fry Chronicles: Kindle editiion, purchased from Amazon.com.

• Complete drafts of three projects (including the next draft of Wolf Season).
• Be less afraid of making writing mistakes—or making mistakes in anything else, for that matter.
• Improve my German. I’d like to be able to have a conversation without too much trouble.
• Continue to read a lot, and perhaps increase the variety of books I read.
• Blog more regularly.
• Enjoy myself more than I did the previous year.
• Do a better job of keeping in touch with friends who I don’t see very often.

As for 2011, I did accomplish a few things, although I felt like I did more in 2010. Still, here are some of the highlights from 2011:

• Read 38 books (2 less than 2010, but it’s 1000 more pages)
• Finished writing and doing a revision of Wolf Season
• Blogged fairly regularly for a good stretch of time
• Watching the new Doctor Who and Sherlock (and introducing some other people to them)

What about you? What are your goals for 2012?

If you need to do some holiday shopping, I strongly suggest that you check out Traveling Wares, a a series of craft shows held in Philadelphia. Their December schedule is as follows:

Sunday, December 4th, 2-7 PM
Dirty Frank’s
347 S. 13th St. (13th and Pine)

Special Weekday Show
Wednesday, December 7th, 6 – 9 PM
The Trestle Inn, 339 N. 11th St. (11th and Callowhill)

Saturday, December 10th, 11 AM – 4 PM
Cantina Los Caballitos
1651 E. Passyunk Avenue (Passyunk between Morris and Tasker)

I strongly suggest that you check them out. One of the vendors, Heather, makes some really great bags.

• roasted turkey breast for the non-vegetarians
• penne for the vegetarians and as a side
• mashed potatoes
• stuffing (boxed)
• gravy (from a jar because there weren’t enough drippings)
• cranberry sauce (from a can)
• cinnamon citrus carrots
• roasted asparagus
• crescent rolls (refrigerated dough)

The penne dish was made in the slow cooker and was based on this recipe, except I parboiled the pasta first and mixed some ricotta into the red sauce.

The asparagus was excellent, and I think roasting asparagus is the best way to cook it. Just chop asparagus into pieces; toss it with olive oil, salt, and pepper; spread the pieces in a roasting pan, and roast at 325º F for 10-15 minutes.

The carrots were described by one of my guests as “the carrots from heaven,” so I thought I’d share what I did. I modified a slow cooker recipe and used the following ingredients:

a 1 lb bag of baby-cut carrots
3/4 cup of orange juice
1 or 2 T lemon curd
1 T butter
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t allspice
1/4 t salt
freshly ground pepper

Put everything in the slow cooker and cook for 3 to 4 hours on high, stirring occasionally.

Unfortunately, there are no pictures. You’ll just have to take my word for it that everything looked and tasted great.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Eternity Code is the 3rd book in the Artemis Fowl series, and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. In fact, I think I enjoyed this one more than the two previous ones, although that might be because I was already familiar with most of the characters, so it was a bit like finding old friends. It makes me wonder, actually, if someone who hasn’t read the previous books would like it as much.

I also have to say that I really liked seeing Artemis become more human(e). I hope that continues in the later books.

Book Source: Bought ages ago as part of a boxed set of the first three Artemis Fowl books.

Image: Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a>

The autumn chill appears to have settled in. It’s snowing right now. I’m really not ready for snow. Emotionally, I mean. I do have salt and my snow shovel and I just got my winter coat dry cleaned. Still, yesterday was the first day of the season that I needed a scarf, and I only started using lip balm this week. I brought in Mr. Fig last night, which I really hope was not too late.

The good thing about fall, though, is that it’s now time for hot apple cider, fuzzy blankets, hearty food, and lap cats. Bella has begun spending a lot more time on my lap, which works out for both of us, since she’s quite warm.

I’ve also got a new, slightly larger slow cooker, meaning I have a 3qt and a 4qt. I plan to put both to delicious use.

The big news for this week, though is that I’ve received my first review from a test reader. Basically, my draft was an enjoyable read, but there are a lot of things I need to work on. I’ve got a lot of food for thought already, but I’m trying not to think too much about this project right now. I still need to get comments back from my other test readers, and I really do feel like I need a proper break from it.

Honestly, it’s a bit frightening how much work I still have to do on this manuscript. And yet, not doing it doesn’t really enter into the picture. I’m just scared that I won’t be able to make it as good as I’d like.

I also wonder when I should begin my revision, since I’ve already got two active projects: a short fairy tale retelling and an unfinished draft of the Shipping Project* (a not in the least bit epic, probably YA fantasy novel).

Part of me thinks I should finish that, because you’re supposed to finish what you start.** But, I think I need to think about where I want this story to go before I go any further with it. Then again, perhaps I should work on something shorter and go back to the Shipping Project when I can devote a longer stretch of time to it.

What would you do?

*Not the actual title.
**This is what Neil Gaiman says, anyway, and he probably knows a thing or two about that.