ivman's blague

Every country has its delicacies. French cuisine, regarded by many as the best in the world, is probably best known for its pastries. In the image below most readers will recognize croissants on the left. The pastry on the right is called a religieuse, which means nun.

A religieuse is a made up of two glazed cream puffs, a smaller one atop a larger one. The most common fillings are chocolate pudding or coffee pudding. Some religieuses are good while others are just incredible!

British cuisine is not as highly regarded as French cuisine (is that the kindest understatement of the year?), but it still has its delicacies. In the picture below the dish on the left is steak and kidney pie, and on the right is fish and chips.

Japan is best known for its sushi.
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Do you have any pet peeves? I'm not normally a peevish person — in fact, I'm generally quite jolly. But my jolliness and my personal sanctification are put to their greatest tests when I am behind the wheel. I'm not the perfect driver, mind you, but other drivers sometimes do some of the dumbest and most dangerous things! And unfortunately it's often in my presence, driving me crazy.

Recently I ran across the following cartoon.

When I saw it, I thought about how often I have wondered the same thing — why do people swing left to turn right, thereby making their turn even sharper? I decided to sit down and write my pet peeves about other drivers. I'll post only a dozen today.

My pet peeves about other drivers:

1. Not paying attention — texting, applying make-up, shaving, etc.

2. Running red lights — not just "orange" lights, but very red lights! Are people thinking?!

3. Tailgating — young females seem to be the worst about this
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How connected are you? If you are reading this you probably either have e-mail or can go online. Do you remember the days before the Internet, e-mail, and cell phones? Do you feel closer to people now, or do you long for the closeness you enjoyed back then? For millennia people sat around and talked to each other. Now kids sitting in the same room text each other. Or they're all on laptops, doing their own thing, telling the others about something cool they've found, but not being heard because everyone else is so engrossed with being "connected."

As much as people talk about being connected, it often seems as if they actually seek ways to evade each other in public. The avoidance might be unintentional, but the phenomenon is worldwide. The Japanese actually have a term for teenagers who withdraw completely from social contact with others — hikikomori. I routinely see pairs of students walking along or sitting beside each other, both of them texting someone else instead of enjoying being with the one nearby.

Though I can't recommend the source of the following as a regular diet, the cartoon does show clearly the unintentional aspect I just mentioned.

In his quest to be "connected," the poor guy in that cartoon wasn't connecting with the one near him, and probably as a result, she totally disconnected from him.
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Cats seem to be one of those creatures that people either love or hate. Becka and I enjoy our cats very much. Their being in the house causes extra work for us, but name a house pet that doesn't cause extra work. Our cats have had to endure some turmoil this past week as our white vinyl kitchen floor was replaced with porcelain tile. You can read about it and see pictures on Becka's blog. The cats seem to have come through it all unscathed and happy to be back out from under the bed.

I looked through my files to see what I have on the subject of cats. Today's instant vacation is a few things I've never posted.

Ten definitions of a cat:

1. a lap warmer with a built-in buzzer
2. a four-footed allergen
3. a small, four-legged, fur-bearing extortionist
4. a gracefully designed, organic alarm clock
5. a wildlife control expert impersonator
6. a treat-seeking missile
7. a small, furry, lap fungus
8. one who sleeps in old, empty boxes
9. an un-programmable animal
10. a hair relocation expert
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Do you like what they call "reality TV"? Although I have not watched more than a minute or two of Survivor (as I scramble for the remote control to change channels), from the ads I know there have been several different series, each with its own difficult setting and conditions. A couple of years ago I posted an idea for a new Survivor series.

A reader who teaches elementary school sent me an e-mail with an idea for yet another new series. Recently when Mark and Katie were at our house, I asked them to read it over and to change anything they deemed necessary to make it more real to life since they are both elementary school teachers. Here's the proposed plan for another series of Survivor:

Have you heard about what they are planning for the next season of Survivor? Three businessmen and women, three state senators, and three state representatives will be dropped into an elementary school classroom for one school year. Each "teacher" will be provided with a copy of the school district's curriculum and a class of 25-30 students.

Each class will have a minimum of five learning-disabled children, three with A.D.H.D., one gifted child, and two who speak limited English. Three students will be labeled with severe behavior problems.
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