scoff

Went to a "scoff" on Friday up north, a sort of Newfoundland party/festive occasion/excuse to eat a lot. Lots of fun, ate way too much. Sent out Inklings - this issue covers the Tasini vs. New York Times case (re: electronic rights), how to accumulate published clippings, freelance writing advice. When the Diana news came, I was at the cottage without access to radio or tv; we found out during a phonecall with Jeff's sister. I confess now that I've always been a closet fan of the Royal Family, or at least an interested observer...I still have a scrapbook full of clippings about the courtship between Charles and Diana and the wedding (stop gagging, MarkO). And like many others, I was saddened/shocked by news of her death. Everyone's trying to blame everyone else at this point, but nothing can change the fact that a princess is dead. True, Diana wasn't exactly a fairy tale princess. But princesses are a rare thing, and Diana was closer to the fairy tale image than most, at least for me. In spite of this, however, even I find all the media coverage of this incident a little over the top. I tried watching one of the "Diana hour-long specials" last night and found myself vaguely resentful of how a genuine tragedy could be turned into such melodrama. Although I did watch through to the end which is, of course, the reason these sorts of shows (and avid tabloid coverage) are around...the audience for it exists.
Site of the day: My Menus...interesting/useful site even for a non-cook like yours truly. I had a sudden urge to cook salmon steaks tonight but was bored with the recipes I had in my hardcopy sources...so of course I turned to the web. This particular site is especially useful because you can customize it to your own needs, specifying number of servings, what units of measurements you'd like. Results include the full recipe, nutritional summary, and even a shopping list.