BLOOMINGTON, MN—Characterizing the experience as "different," local grandmother Eileen Rutherford, 78, ate Indian food for the first time Saturday.
Although Rutherford was initially reluctant to try the cuisine, she was persuaded by her visiting grandchildren Melissa, Brandon, and Allison, who told the septuagenarian she needed to "expand her horizons."
"I couldn't believe that she had lived through three wars and the Great Depression and never even tasted Indian food once," said Rutherford's eldest grandchild Melissa, 22. "I was like, 'Grandma, you've got to try it. It's so good.'"
Brandon, 19, made further entreaties, convincing a skeptical Rutherford that Indian food "has lots of sauces, sort of like spaghetti sauce" and repeatedly assuring her that she would like the bread. After Rutherford's offer to instead make cold-cut sandwiches for everyone was rebuffed, she relented and accompanied her grandchildren to the nearby Bombay Delights restaurant.
"She only lives two blocks from the place, but she never went in there," Allison, 20, said. "That's just sad."
According to Melissa, upon entering Bombay Delights, Rutherford seemed apprehensive about the restaurant's Hindu-themed décor, sitar music, and Indian people. Rutherford did, however, offer a positive comment on the table's elegantly arranged red linen napkins, saying, "These napkins are very nice."
Rutherford's attempt to order food was mired by several setbacks, including a struggle to locate her reading glasses and an assertion that she did not know what anything on the menu meant. Despite Allison's best efforts to explain that the entrée selections were clearly divided into sections by types of meats, seafood, and vegetables, Rutherford encouraged her grandchildren to "go ahead and order" for her.
Witnesses reported that Rutherford seemed overwhelmed by the unusual aromas upon receiving her first course. She appeared delighted, however, after she cut into the deep-fried pastry shell of a samosa and a recognizable pea rolled out. Rutherford went on to talk about peas for 15 minutes, including an anecdote about how she enjoyed shelling peas from their pods when she was a little girl.
"It's cool that we were able to get Grandma to experience a whole new set of flavors and textures," said Brandon, adding that it was gratifying to see his grandmother sample coconut chutney and dum aloo vindaloo. "Now that she's tasted Indian food, I wouldn't be surprised if she starts coming here all the time."
"And the look of awe on her face when they brought out the fluffy poori bread was so cute," he added. "When we deflated it with a fork, she just smiled."
Rutherford's grandchildren said the highlight of the evening was watching in giddy anticipation as Rutherford took her first bite of the main course, an authentic goat curry dish. According to Brandon, Rutherford raised her eyebrows slightly, silently nodded several times, then took a sip of water. For the remainder of the meal, Rutherford, who had never consumed goat meat before, ate primarily rice and plain naan.
In a statement given after the meal, Rutherford described the entrée as "just a little too flavorful."
"They put an awful lot of spices in there," said Rutherford, adding that she liked the sweetened "little ball things" they had for dessert. "It was very unusual."
Following the completion of the meal, the Bombay Delights waiter asked Rutherford how her food was, to which she responded that it was "nice to spend time with [her] grandchildren."
After leaving the restaurant, Rutherford returned home, made herself comfortable in her favorite chair, covered herself with a blanket, and ate tuna straight from the can
6/14/2008
Battlestar Galactica: The End
So last night was the mid-season finale of the Sci-Fi Channel's space Bar Mitzvah Battlestar Galactica. Yep, no more episodes til January, so I paid special close attention. Actually, no, of course I didn't. I didn't even know it was the mid-season finale until I read it in the news this morning! So this week's roundup is just as whiskey-warbled as ever. This time I know there are spoilers, so keep out if you care about that. If not, jump!
Old Eyepatchy just outed himself to Miami Vice! "I'm one of the four." Kill him!
But Miami Vice thinks Eyepatchy just has a chip in his head. "When I met you you had hair. I never heard of a skin job aging."
But Eyepatchy has a way out! You can live! You can live! Freeeeeedom!
Miami Vice: "There is no fracking earth!" Geez, kinda cheer up already, old man. These space people look up to you!
Yeah, torture Eyepatchy! Torture him to madness!
Hey wait! You're not President Boringface Actorman. You're gonna kill the fleet? You're the bad guy?! Kill him!
Don't you people point your guns at Blonde Tomboy Space Girl! Shoot Chief Fatty Q. Workingstiff in his gut if you wanna, but leave Blonde Tomboy Space Girl alone!
OMG! Cyclons! Cyclons everywhere!
You Secret Cyclons are fucked!
Yes! Blonde Tomboy Space Girl is in her space plane! She'll save everyone! She is God with a pretty nose and nice hair!
Awww! Look how happy she is! She knows something...
I'm gonna put exclamation points here! here! and here!
Oh Jesusface. You're the good guy?!
Kill President Boringface Actorman! Kill him dead!
Oh shut up Xena. They'd forgive you for what you did on the colonies if you'd stop killing them. So stop killing them!
Blonde Tomboy Space Girl did it! She saved everyone! Yaaaaaay!
Amnesty for the Secret Cyclons! Yaaaaay!
Boringface and Lady MacDeath and Miami Vice are all best buds now. Yaaaaaay!
Earth! Earth! Earth! Earth! Earth! Yaaaaaaay!
Um, uh? What the fuck is up with earth? It's all...
You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you! Damn you all to hell!
6/13/2008
Final Firefox 3 State of the Add-ons Report
The clock's ticking down till Tuesday June 17th, when the final version of Firefox 3 will be ready to download—and there's big progress on the add-ons compatibility front. Mozilla product manager Alex Polvi reports big news this week: Greasemonkey and Del.icio.us Bookmarks are both officially Firefox 3-compatible, and hot on their heels is Tab Mix Plus, and Firebug, which have compatible versions slated to hit the official Add-ons site this weekend. If you're planning to help Mozilla set a Guinness World Record when you download Firefox 3 on Tuesday, you can also throw or attend a Firefox party while you're at it
Can you die of boredom?
Boredom is like an emotional oxymoron. Your mind itches for something to do, but your body doesn't respond.
This universal human experience ranks at the bottom of our list of desirable emotions, and while boredom springs from a various sources, people report almost uniform sensations of lazy restlessness [source: Martin et al]. But what happens when that flat-lined feeling doesn't go away? Can you -- as the saying beloved to angst-ridden teenagers goes -- really die of boredom?
Maria Teijeiro/Getty Images
Even a cheerful bonsai tree isn't enough to pull this bored girl out of her humdrum stupor.
Run-of-the-mill boredom alone won't kill you. But, in a roundabout way, it can pose problems for adolescents. Today's teenagers in particular may be susceptible to boredom from a combination of overstimulation and lack of coping skills when action dies down [source: drugs and alcohol.
Some adults, however, don't grow out of typical teenage boredom. Certain personalities that gravitate toward high-risk lifestyles also experience chronic boredom. While the relationship between the two isn't completely understood by science, it can spiral into danger. In fact, boredom-prone people are more likely to engage in activities including alcohol abuse, drug addiction, compulsive gambling and eating disorders [source: Gosline].
This type of endless ennui also happens more to men and people with brain injuries and certain psychotic disorders. For drug addicts, fighting boredom can predict their success in kicking their habit as well.
In cases like these, boredom simultaneously serves as a symptom and a stimulant for adverse behavior. People may not have the coping mechanisms and ability to put circumstances in perspective to overcome boredom, leading to continuous dissatisfaction [source: Todman].
What exactly is this elusive phenomenon of boredom, and why is it so unpleasant? We'll stoop down and take a closer look at this lowest of the lows on the next page.
This universal human experience ranks at the bottom of our list of desirable emotions, and while boredom springs from a various sources, people report almost uniform sensations of lazy restlessness [source: Martin et al]. But what happens when that flat-lined feeling doesn't go away? Can you -- as the saying beloved to angst-ridden teenagers goes -- really die of boredom?
Maria Teijeiro/Getty Images
Even a cheerful bonsai tree isn't enough to pull this bored girl out of her humdrum stupor.
Run-of-the-mill boredom alone won't kill you. But, in a roundabout way, it can pose problems for adolescents. Today's teenagers in particular may be susceptible to boredom from a combination of overstimulation and lack of coping skills when action dies down [source: drugs and alcohol.
Some adults, however, don't grow out of typical teenage boredom. Certain personalities that gravitate toward high-risk lifestyles also experience chronic boredom. While the relationship between the two isn't completely understood by science, it can spiral into danger. In fact, boredom-prone people are more likely to engage in activities including alcohol abuse, drug addiction, compulsive gambling and eating disorders [source: Gosline].
This type of endless ennui also happens more to men and people with brain injuries and certain psychotic disorders. For drug addicts, fighting boredom can predict their success in kicking their habit as well.
In cases like these, boredom simultaneously serves as a symptom and a stimulant for adverse behavior. People may not have the coping mechanisms and ability to put circumstances in perspective to overcome boredom, leading to continuous dissatisfaction [source: Todman].
What exactly is this elusive phenomenon of boredom, and why is it so unpleasant? We'll stoop down and take a closer look at this lowest of the lows on the next page.
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