In lieu of a thousand words

I found these amazing pictures online today on Google Earth, and I thought I'd share them with you. The link is not behaving for me at this moment, but if you would like to see more of this artist's incredible work, it is available at: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/30014276

A free ride

Today I come before you, citizens of the world, but especially of Fort Collins, with a plea: save our bike library! Let me explain - for the past few years - I'm not sure how many, because I've been away for quite a few of them, and when I last lived here, the place in question was an ice cream shop - for the past few years, Fort Collins, Colorado, has been blessed with something particularly awesome, and completely unique, as far as I'm aware - a bicycle lending library. If you stop by our bike library, you are allowed, no matter your age, income, or place of residence, to check out a bicycle in Old Town, Fort Collins, and ride it all over town for as long as five days, for, get this, absolutely nothing. No cost. No catch. That's it. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Unfortunately, the grant that makes this possible is coming to an end, as all good things do, in all too little time. The city is now asking interested parties to submit a survey, so that they will have some idea how widely the library is used and appreciated. They are asking scary questions like, "Should a fee structure be put into place, how should fees be calculated - hourly, weekly, etc.?" In short, I am afraid that they are about to ruin everything that is good about it. Please don't let this happen! I think the bike library is invaluable. It is good for the environment. It is good for tourism. It gives a not inconsequential bit of very needed help to the city's homeless population. And, not to be overlooked, it is fun! I hate to see it go!

I realize most of you probably don't live in Fort Collins, but if you do, or plan to visit, or just enjoy filling out surveys, please let the city know how important this program is!

Cool book alert

I picked up this book at the library this week, and it is so cool that I have to tell you all about it. It is basically an ambitious attempt to pair every possible flavor in the world with every other flavor in the world. It is written by a Brit, and many of the suggestions make that obvious, as well as a kind of innate sense of taste (not tastefulness, but regional preference that seems English) - for example, milk chocolate and mint, one of my own favorite combinations, is scorned like the devil, but a few tasty dark chocolate and mint combos are substituted instead. Puddings also outnumber cakes, and main courses tend to favor the traditional two categories of English cooking - meat-and-veg-of-questionable-health-content (e.g. fish and chips; things that would be found in breakfast fry-ups) and curry (or things that make you think of curry).

That being said, I like curry and puddings, and there really are a lot of creative suggestions in the book. While it is true that the things I just mentioned feature prominently, they are by no means everything that is included - that's just the starting point of reference. And almost as much fun as the author's suggestions is the opportunity to come up with your own as you page through the book, and are reminded of all the possible combinations through recipes, restaurant dish suggestions, or quintessential grocery items (I was gratified to see that she did mention the Reese's cup when she got to chocolate and peanut, as I have it on good authority from a close English friend that chocolate and peanut butter are not a typical British combination - chocolate and peanuts, perhaps - but this friend, at least, claims to find chocolate and peanut butter disgusting, not the source of lots of creamy, pleasantly contrasting, goodness I know it to be.).

Anyway, if you have the opportunity to peruse this book, you should. It's very creative, and highly entertaining. Makes you think about cooking more as a craft. That's the secret of cooking as an art, I think - we should do whatever encourages us to play with our food more often.

On that note - two more random items that I've seen lately and I would love to have. Yay, toys! Kitchen toys, that is:



Ok, this one may be all packaging. Look! You can make your own Harry Potter food! But what you really need to make your own Harry Potter food is this:


You, too, can make your own chocolate frogs. Did I mention that at Amazon, it's only $2.45? I did now!

And if you are not in a buying frame of mind, at least check out this flavor wheel, courtesy of The Taste Thesaurus: