In which we "make pasta..."

Upon being recently gifted with an All-Amazing-Superfabulously-Hawt-KitchenAid Mixer, my first thought was somehow that I could totally make pasta. Can't be that hard, I thought, it's just dough... I can make dough... and homemade pasta would be so... homey! interesting! so very... from scratch. Because I'm cool and good at making things from scratch. Perhaps I could even come off as looking talented.

Naturally, I'm not THAT good and for some reason, despite the fact that I bake my own bread on a regular basis and cook all the time, I don't own a rolling pin and am more prone to using large cans of the dog's green beans or whatever is in my cabinet when I'm trying to roll something out. So I tried to find the Kitchenaid Pasta attachment.

I googled and found little plates that you can attach to your meat grinder, which came complete with reviews like "caused kitchenaid motor to smoke like crazy" and the ilk and then, found reviews for the Kitchenaid Pasta Maker... which cost nearly as much as the mixer. Bah! I'm not spending hundreds of dollars on a pasta maker, sez I.

So dad and I impulsively went E-Bay shopping and the first thing that popped up was the Atlas Regina, circa the early 90s and made of plastic. We totally missed the all the other pasta makers on ebay, because the Atlas Regina promised to make SHAPES! SHAPES! None of the other pasta makers made SHAPES!

Drawn by the promises of homemade fusili, we ponied up for the Atlas Regina:



In all of it's completely weird-ass glory.

and then Brother Ari came over for an evening of pasta making.

First the All-Amazing-Superfabulous-Hawt KitchenAid mixer churned up Dough Batch One...



and Brother Ari kneaded the dough...



We have dough...



We have no idea what dough is supposed to look like... but it weighs a TON!



OMG! LITTLE BITTY PASTAS!!!



It's called an "extruder."



See them extrude?



Like... um, fuck, worms. Flour dusted worms. Unfortunately, they were too dense to really DO much with... Ari and I ate a few of them and they were reasonably pasta-like, just... very very dense. And very very sticky. Which is why we floured them.




WORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMMMMSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

We will try again through a proper pasta roller. Meanwhile, does anyone want a Atlas Regina?

Deep thoughts, by Coleridge.

My friend's cat is on Twitter. Surely Sarah's dog, Matlock, must be soon to follow.

Locally Grown Mexican Mangos

In which our local grocery store attempts to capitalize on the expanding "local food" movement, in support of small farmers and communities nearby.



Except freakin MANGOS don't grow in Virginia.

Come on, safeway, WTF? Product of Mexico? Mexico isn't local to Virginia either.



I also spotted some local plums (product of California).

palinized... or just patriotic?

Old Town, Alexandria, is a wonderful place. It's also deeply historic and thus deeply patriotic.

Sometimes it goes a little bit too far.

Like when this is in a shop window.

Today's news and world reports...

Obama has murdered a fly.

There is plenty of news to go around, but Obama swatting a fly has made nearly every major news network.

PETA has finally responded.

"He isn't the Buddha, he's a human being and human beings have a long way to go before they think before they act."

On another note, does anyone know why G. Gordon Liddy is hawking gold as an investment strategy?

And the name of the day is "Dwill."

Because who really needs party teeth?

So, you know, just like everybody else, I'm trying to stay afloat in this harsh economic climate... thought I'd cut back on the bling in my life. What better way than to do this?!

Seriously, CNN!?!?!?

AGAIN?

This is your breaking headline news story of the day:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/03/12/craigslist.economy/index.html?iref=newssearch

A guy that makes $70K a year, drove expensive cars, wore fancy clothes, took his eleven year old to VEGAS for her birthday every year (staying in the most expensive hotels), and has to move back in with his MAMA after four months of not being employed? This is not a "hard knocks" tale, this is a story about someone living like an idiot.

More from our neighbors to the north...

http://www.vancouversun.com/Life/Yarn+bombers+take+Vancouver+streets/1342756/story.html

I'm sure I'm going to get some major hate mail from artistes for this one... but YARN BOMBING?!?!?!?!? These so-called "activists" are "bombing" the inner city with doorknob koozies. "Guerrilla knitters!?!?” In surreptitious UNIFORM (one admits to knitting herself a pink balaclava guerilla suit)?

"Knitting tags is almost all i do now," said one person on "www.yarnbombing.com."

Seriously, the rest of us only wish we had so much free time.

The world will burst forth with warm fuzzy yarns of every breed and color, every heart will soften as it connects looping love across the planet stitch by stitch till there is no separation in our smiles.

Maybe I'm just from DC, and we're too damn practical. But I did go to art school, and I can say damn well that anyone who rambles about "looping love across the planet" really, really needs to step out more. I daresay there are a lot of folks and animals out there that could benefit from some warm knitted clothing, you know, instead of a lightpost that's been "tagged." Once upon a time, activism had a pratical purpose beyond "looping love."

see more pwn and owned pictures

News of the Day

Go Raccoon!!!

http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20090124/UPDATES01/90124008/1002/NEWS01


Definitely... not at all creepy.

BEST. AD. EVER.

http://brandstrategy.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/goodbye-bush-says-veet-in-cheeky-ad/

Ohhh. CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/01/16/mom.son.dead.pet/index.html


REALLY?


Names of the Week: Turqwaz. Gi'Norria.

The Nation Prepares...

Craigslist Today

Prank you very much.

As a devotee of bagels and cream cheese for breakfast, I can wholeheartedly sympathize with the Sacramento Kings for this prank they pulled on their rookie, Jason Thompson. Dude, maybe you should remember the bagels next time. For now, enjoy some fresh popcorn.

... of the day...

CNN Headlines at this present time:



"Legendary band has 'unfinished music'"

"Harrison Ford's chest hair waxed, ripped off" (WITH VIDEO!)

"What will apple debut at Macworld swan song?"

"Obama reviewed cobbler on TV in '01"

"Artist tests Facebook 'nipple rule'"



This is the news.



Name of the day: Le-a.

Pronounciation: Le-DASH-A.

That dash ain't silent.