I asked for, and received, The Gospel According to the Simpsons for Christmas after hearing an interview with the author, Mark Pinsky, on a local NPR affiliate. The Simpsons have been the most faithfully religious family on television for almost twenty years, but the irreverent reputation with which they were labeled very early (mostly by religionists) has kept that fact widely unknown.

Pinsky’s book is a step-by-step deconstruction of the show’s portrayal of religion, and demonstrates how, besides being largely positive, the way the Simpsons live and struggle with their beliefs is more real than most contemporary accounts. Chapters 1 (God) and 2 (Prayer) are especially good. But this book has some glaring, even damning flaws.

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If April showers bring May flowers, then we might as well throw the Tournament of Roses Parade next month. We just got hammered by a thundershower (see radar) and had to bring the maintenance guy over as our basement started taking on water.

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When I was in grad school, I worked for a federally-funded research center that, unfortunately, was located in the international studies department. This was unfortunate because the secretary of that department was one of the least personable people I have ever had the displeasure of working with. I thought the issue was her, but now I’m afraid it may be institutional.

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We took my parents on a quick trip to Canada (photos in the gallery) and decided to stop in Buffalo on the way home to taste the appropriately-named “Buffalo Wings.” (Yeah, I had never associated buffalo wings with the city of Buffalo, but there is also something called a “Rochester Wing,” which is sweeter.)

Anyway, on the advice of Dan, the husband of another professor and a Buffalo native, we stopped at Duff’s on Sheridan Drive and Millersport Highway. Duff’s doesn’t claim to be the birthplace of Buffalo wings (that would be the less-family-friendly Anchor Bar), but theirs are supposed to be very good.

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I claim to be apolitical even though I know it’s not literally true. I have political beliefs and orientations, but they are more grounded, complex, and nuanced than either side of the ruling party. Because of this, I have found myself at odds with just about everybody over something, and most people’s blind adherence to one party (rather than one or many ideologies) makes my positions seem untenable to them. Therefore, I usually keep this blog free from all things political, but today I heard something that rang so true, the fact that it came from one side of an aisle or another is irrelevant.

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I got my chocolate bar at the end of last week, so it has really lasted me this week as well. I don’t mind, I’ve eaten it slowly and it is definitely worth the indulgence, and its own post. The bar in question: Camille Bloch Mousse Chocolat Noir. Oh, it’s good. For those of you who don’t speak French, noir means dark. This dark chocolate bar is from Switzerland and has a creamy, satisfying mousse filling. It is not bitter, just mmmm, mmmm good.

Overall Satisfaction: Excellent

This site will never (do you hear me? NEVER!) have advertising on it. So, why is there a banner at the top? To encourage every concerned person that visits this blog to support American Levi Leipheimer. His team was unfairly removed from this year’s Tour de France despite the fact that they have a ProTour license, and, therefore, are supposed to have an automatic bid.

He and his team will still be riding in the Grio (Italy) and Veulta (Spain), so whatever rationale the Tour de France has for excluding him doesn’t seem to be universally acceptable.

I came across a script I wrote a few months back that I never shared. See, I hate games that are based entirely on randomness. For example, while the classic Chutes & Ladders game is meant to teach kids that their choices and actions have consequences, what it really teaches them is that life is random. No matter how morally upright the player may be (think about the Rod and Todd Flanders), the extent to which their cardboard game character is moral depends entirely on the spinner (chance). Is this really what we want to teach our children?

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I know it’s been awhile since I’ve written one of my chocolate reviews, sorry about that. These will be short and sweet (mostly because I can’t remember the exact details of taste and texture).

Week 8

After all the gourmet chocolate, this week I was in the mood for my favorite candy bar – the Symphony Milk Chocolate with Almonds and Toffee. Although not as satisfying as a smooth dark luxurious chocolate, this chocolate provides a quick pick me up and always brings a smile.

Overall Satisfaction: Good

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