Not a Blog

[coalescent]

Today my big accomplishment was that I made ginger cake with chocolate and cinnamon sauce. Now, I'm not saying that's not a respectable thing to do (and it was certainly tasty), but clearly if that's what I'm writing about here then at some point I'm going to have to relinquish any claim on calling this thing a 'blog'.

Maybe putting in a random link will help: Oxford has a Future of Humanity Institute!

Maybe mentioning that I finished Her Smoke Rose Up Forever will count for something. I've even written some words about it, too, although I'm going to hold off posting them until immortalradical's had a chance to read it. We all know how much he loves arguing with me.

Maybe I can get away with mentioning that tomorrow's goal is to get at least a draft of the Living Next-Door to the God of Love review I'm doing for Foundation. Maybe I can get a spinoff post out of it.

Obligatory pimpage of Strange Horizons: Among other things, this week Geneva Melzack and Iain Emsley bring you two good reviews of Air by Geoff Ryman.

... no, it's no good. None of those things are actually substitutes for content, are they?

Comments

[veggiesu.livejournal.com]

clearly if that's what I'm writing about here then at some point I'm going to have to relinquish any claim on calling this thing a 'blog'.

Why?

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

I'm a pedant. Blogs should have content. Journals are about cake-making. ;-)

Finer points

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, but to be a journal you'd have to start writing about cats. As long as your writing remains cat-free, I believe that this may technically remain a blog.

[despotliz.livejournal.com]

I'm happy with a journal about cake-making. Mmm.

[tizzle-b.livejournal.com]

Interests and poetry. Oh my.

[veggiesu.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.

[tizzle-b.livejournal.com]

Yeah, he's wrong.

And mean! He keeps deleting the tags I put on his entry :D

[tizzle-b.livejournal.com]

You don't have to have content everyday, Neil.

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

Oh, absolutely. But at the moment it feels like I'm down to about once a month ...

[chance88088.livejournal.com]

Yes. It's true.

Feed our blog habit or there will be consequences.

[tizzle-b.livejournal.com]

But would you be happy with a Sidney journal instead? It's basically the same but more of him.

[tizzle-b.livejournal.com]

I like you took care in replying to my 2nd, non-deleted, comment without mentioning the first.

And more than once a month?! Ha!

[ajr.livejournal.com]

That's still more content than I provide. Go you!

[chance88088.livejournal.com]

At least the comment bombing makes this almost like a real blog entry.

[tizzle-b.livejournal.com]

I'd say it's more journal than blog.

[despotliz.livejournal.com]

hee!

and dammit, there is a length limit on tags.

Tags for Nile

[tizzle-b.livejournal.com]

All these apply to this entry but the stupid length = badness;

alert alert comment bombing in progress
niall plots webcam hilarity
sidney pens his journal thoughts
why kneel shouldn't go to bed early and leave us here

ADD MORE BELOW:

Ceci n’est pas une journal

[brisingamen.livejournal.com]

Journal, blog, blog, journal. Whatever.

Cake-making is content, but only if you include the recipe! Particularly the sauce recipe.

But if you do feel you're slipping over the edge and into, quelle horreur, journalling, I feel sure I can lend you an experienced journal-cat for that extra touch of verisimilitude. Though I notice many fine academic bloggers indulging in Friday Cat Blogging, so go figure.

Re: Ceci n’est pas une journal

[coalescent.livejournal.com]

CHOCOLATE CINNAMON SAUCE

[Note: this is from a US cookbook, therefore some conversion of measures may be needed.]

4oz good quality dark chocolate
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp water
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup cream

1. In a small saucepan over very low heat, combine the chocolate, butter, water and sugar. Cook, stirring often, until the chocolate is melted and the liquid bubbles gently.

2. Add the cinnamon and stir, then add the cream and stir. Simmer until the cream is heated thoroughly, about 3 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Variation 1: replace the water with strong coffee.

Varitation 2: replace the cinnamon with 1 tsp vanilla extract.

[I used a bit more chocolate and a bit less cream than specified, because I wanted a strong sauce. It seemed to work well.]

[brisingamen.livejournal.com]

Mmm, thank you. It looks delicious. (I cook bilingually anyway, and have a full set of proper US cup measures, just to make sure!)

[ninebelow.livejournal.com]

My big achievement for the weekend was making my first non-recipe cake. It was carrot and chocolate orange cake and it was a bit of a disaster. It was accurately - and devestatingly - described as being "vegan wholemeal cake." Whilst the texture was perfect, the taste left something to be desired. Because I forgot to put any bloody sugar in it! Despite writing down the recipe first and everything. It would seem I'm not ready to off-piste yet. (Still manage to clear out all my odds and sods from the cupboard which was my aim.)

Hmm, that's not really much of an achievement, is it?

[snowking.livejournal.com]

*applauds Tom's addition of content to Neill's blog*

[tizzle-b.livejournal.com]

It's a pleasure

[tinimaus.livejournal.com]

I'm so ashamed...

*runs off and tags all her stuff as 'no content'*

[hawleygriffen.livejournal.com]

What is 'content' anyway?