Read any good books lately?

[BevReview Steve]

I just finished "Work in Progress" the bio of Michael Eisner, of Disney lore. Very good read.

[judy]

Maryeo, I worked in an hotel not too far from the rollright stones when I first left college. On midsummers eve a few of us went there just before midnight as weird things are meant to happen. We were scared witless and left very quickly. The power of the mind or the stones, I don't know!

Judy, I think it was the stones, really and truly. The day that we went there it was cold and extremely windy . . . as soon as we stepped inside the ring, there was no wind at all . . . stepped outside the ring and the wind was back. The fellow that took us there said that it was the only site he knew of like that which closed after sunset, presumably to let the locals do their thing. I don't know if that's true or not, but as you walked the circle inside the stones, there was a well-worn path . . . muy creepy!

I don't know how many of you spotted page 42 of the December Bon Appetit, but there they are - bigger than life!

Available at a Target, Walmart or other store in your vicinity, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! While they specifically mention the availability of sardine and grass, no mention is made of earwax or vomit.

[shroomgirl]

UGGGGGGHHHHHHH>>>>>>so any of the caramels?

[shroomgirl]

UGGGGGGHHHHHHH>>>>>>so any of the caramels?
And does this mean we can bypass getting sick and just eat a jelly bean? OMG
MY stomach is flip flopping as I type

No mention of caramels, Shroomgirl - but perhaps we could set some of the less, um, appetizing flavors aside and start telling naughty children that the Easter Bunny has gone into cahoots with Santa. Good children get nice candy, not-so-good ones get the not-so-nice flavors and so on down the line until we come to kids that act as if they're possessed. There are all kinds of possibilities . . .

Maryeo....I liked "Sarum" too and "Russka". I have "London" but could never get into it.

I'm rereading "A Year in Provence."

Hi, prairiegirl - I haven't read Russka yet; I probably should, I'm going through a period where I seem to have a lot of Russian people in my life right now! Was it focused on a specific part of Russia? I actually wound up liking "London" a bit more than "Sarum," but I can't remember why now. Welcome to cheftalk, by the way . . . is it cool or what?

[Nicko]

Judy and Mareyo,

I was very disappointed to hear that you can no longer stand in the center of the stones at Stonehenge. Much like the acropolis in Athens, Greece visitors used to be able to walk in and about the acropolis. Now it is sectioned off . My father also told me that when he was in the navy years ago you could actually touch Michelangelo's Pieta in the Vatican. Now after someone attacked it with an axe many years ago, it is behind bullet proof glass.

Have either of you read Irving Stone's classic "The Agony and the Ecstasy". It is a great book about the life of Michelangelo. Little slow in the first 100 or so pages, but really gets going.

By the way, Welcome prairiegyrl glad to have you.

------------------
Thanks,

Nicko
ChefTalk Cafe Administrator
nicko@cheftalk.com
www.cheftalk.com "A food lover's link to professional chefs!"

Nicko, I read it years ago as a teenager, but I think I'm going to read it again since you reminded me of it. It should be interesting to put it into a more adult mind-frame. It was a wonderful book!

It is sad that so many wonderful things in the world are now off-bounds. I can't imagine seeing the Pieta without wanting to run my hands over the stone or walking through Stonehenge and wanting to do the same thing. We're tactile creatures, and when we see something that strikes us viscerally we almost have to experience it with all of our senses. Unfortunately, when we do, we take a little part of it away.

Enough gloom and doom! A friend of mine is going to Rome at the end of the month and I want to punch her in the head because I'm so jealous that she's going to get to see the restored Sistine chapel!!!!! Talk about magnificent!

Yes, prairiegirl, I am so excited, I could almost plotz. If I survive, I'll provide a full report.

Yes MaryeO...CT is cool!

Russka concentrates on an area around the Black Sea but really covers a lot of the country. I found it to be my favorite so far.

Oh, and btw, I look forward to hearing how your Thanksgiving goes...*grin*