Turtles (pecan, caramel, chocolate)

Hey, they do look like turtles! I wonder if there’s a turtle shell mold somewhere, to get the indentation/pattern, that you build in reverse: chocolate, caramel, pecan. I guess slapdash is part of the charm. I was in a rush, so not in perfect temper, some streaking visible. But, no crappy oil or palm fat in the chocolate (commercially made boxed– ha– turtles), actual couverture.  Though I didn’t like this one. It was way too thick, even at 90°F. Whether hand-dipping or fork-dipping, pain-in-the-ass too viscous. Tried dipping some truffles recently, same problem. Different brand next time, and probably lower cacao percentage. This one was only 63%, I didn’t think it was that big a deal, but I am used to 52%. Also, with the truffles, I made peanut butter ganache, and I think the 63% drowned out some of the peanut butter. The taste was too dark, not enough peanut butter. Waste of money, that. I’m not fond of milk chocolate (even the real stuff) because it’s so sweet, but the peanut butter would be able to shine at least. Maybe just a 50% or so.

They’re naked!

Thank goodness for Puritan values, one of the few instances where they have a positive effect:

Whew. I found myself to be aroused and titillated by all this (reference at 4:26, but you need the background on the character first):

Folk Festival and Jelly-off. Ha. Classic sketch.

“No sir, oh, no sir!”

Song: Here’s Your Future
Artist: The Thermals
Album: The Body, The Blood, The Machine

Man, did I need of a jolt of energy. I’ve hated lazy Sundays ever since I was a kid, when our routine consisted of church, lunch, then napping until 7 or 8. Waste of a day, ugh. I know some people, if not most, like those kinds of days, but I can’t stand them. That unbearable ennui permeates my Sundays ever since. My choice is also ironic considering the lyrics. I remember my scripture study, I don’t see how one can read all that and not get the impression that God is rather petty, petulant, violent, and partly psychopathic. Even back then, seeds of cognitive dissonance were sown upon learning the insane idea that hardship, injustice, “wickedness”, and life in general was a test by God– you know, our FATHER. (“I need you to pay for the sins I create.”) Now that’s some parenting, holding your children emotional/psychological hostage in order to control behavior. (“Fear me again, know I’m your father, remember that no one can breathe underwater”, “God asked Noah if he wanted to die…”) Watch this brief Mr. Show bit and tell me this isn’t the same (the first two scenes, not so much the butthole part), and that it’s just a joke.

So thanks, gang, for this ferocious, blistering song. Even though the song doesn’t kick into high gear until 0:50 (fuckin’ A!), the strumming that starts at 0:06 still excites. The “hey!” at 1:25, the guitar line that starts at 1:31, and, of course, that blazing solo– no hyperbole, these are likely forty of the most exciting seconds of music I’ve ever heard. I love turning this one up to 11.

“Let’s get the hell outta here!”

Ah, stream of consciousness, the source of so much random joy. While searching for a different Mr. Show that popped into my head out of nowhere a couple days ago, I find these instead. Anyone alive during the 90s should remember the source of this series of sketches, Smuckers’ Goober Grape product, the product that put peanut butter and jelly in the same jar. Not the most daring target for social satire, but astute and scathing nonetheless.

The “how are the sandwiches, kids?” mini-scene at the end is one of my favorite in the show’s run, plus special mention to the contrast of the “before” and “after” scores, e.g. the whistling.

Jay Johnston, Jay Johnston, Jay Johnston. SUCH an asset to the show, he’s probably my favorite second-stringer. There’s just something about him as a person and an actor. On the audio commentary for the episode, Jay explains the arm pumps: “Troy, the director, said, when we were shooting this, that it would be in slow-motion, and so I thought it would be funny to pump my arms really fast so that they would move faster when it was slow. And, uh…. ridiculous.” I’m thinking it was a happy accident, that they were indeed going for the standard action movie cliché, so the actor made a logical choice, but then, it looked so goofy that they changed course and went with the scene exactly as filmed. And they got a classic moment out of it.

(For the record, the poster left out a ‘d’, it’s Mustmayostardayonnaise.) “Sometimes I think I spread my life too thin.” What a fantastic song. It reminds me of the Bob Lamonta sketch (to be seen later), in that, despite its sheer absurdity, there’s actually something a little moving, intended or not. Anyone who knows comedy knows it’s all about subtlety and details, and this show had as sharp an eye as any.