Understanding Philosophy with Arnold

Two facts about me:

1. I taught a class called 'Understanding Philosophy through Science Fiction' last summer.

2. I just watched 'Last Action Hero'; it was amazing.

I'm thinking next year I'll teach this class again, but only use Arnold Schwarzenegger's fine films. There's not space here to discuss all of Arnold's art, but every movie I've seen yet has some serious philosophical content. Check it:

Great, more Gravy!

It's been a bit but I'm back; I've got three or four new meals stored up, but I only seem to get to half of my hopes, so I'll plan for a fresh pair of posts. Here's the first: following breakfast gravy, I've got some for dinner. And following a summary of a Dick book, I have a summary of a Dick book:

Soggy Biscuits and Nut Gravy

Hello, old friends, here is a new post! I've been gone a bit, but of course I couldn't stop cooking.

First, a reading update: I've delved deeply into Dick and, I hope, come out with an improved understanding of the interrelationships between possible worlds, psychedelic hallucinogens, time travel, lost love, and the I Ching. I'd advise a shot at The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch if you've spacetime to spare. If not, here's a quick and unrelated webcomic about familial fractures and the moon.

Now, today's recipe: biscuits and gravy, vegan style, avec almonds! (thanks to Steve and Melissa for help with this one).

Frice Cream

Or: I scream, you scream, we all scream for fried soy!

Oilistas,

I think that I’ve finally found the holy grail of artery-clogging animal-free perfection: fried soy cream. Yes, my friends, you can fry soy cream (actually, you can fry any ice cream substitute. Or any ice cream substitute substitute, for example, ice cream). Why do this, you wonder? Because it’s there. Because you can. Because it’s time to prove that there’s no dish so filled with sugar and fat that adding more fat and sugar won’t make it better. And it’s time to show those health-based vegetarians how wrong they are. Vegans, I say, can be just as fat and gross as meaties. And here’s how:

Linkpost!

Hey guys,

It's been an intense summer, full of fried food and future-filled fiction. I've taught my first class on the intersection of philosophy and science fiction, and I'm ready to add a few new posts about things I've been eating. I don't have time here to put up anything original, but here're some links I've checked out:

I've got a new fryer that lets me control oil temperature! You want to choose the right oil for your fry temperature, though--oils with low smoke points can't handle the heat, and will make your food smell and taste terrible if you cook them at a high temperature. Here's some info on oil smoke points.

I've also tried someone else's recipe for french fries--it's amazing! The combo of blanching, freezing, frying, and re-frying delicately balances the texture of the fry against its flavor. Check it!

Next, I'm pumped about the coming fusion of a top-notch neo-scifi writer and one of the best science fiction directors: As She Climbed Across the Table is going to be a movie, and I'm sure it'll be totally nuts.

Finally, here's some eye/full body candy.

Eggs Beanaddict

Bonjour Blog Beneficiaries,

How do you folks feel about beans? Avocados? Eggs? Whoa! Eggs?

Sorry, vegans, this one has eggs. But it’s the summer! If you live in the New Brunswick/Highland Parky area, you can buy your eggs from Suydam Farms at the weekly Friday Highland Park Farmer’s Market! I’ve visited that place! It’s full of happy chickens milling aimlessly about and, presumably, pushing eggs through their highly natural healthy unhurried eggshoots. Local and humane, I exclaim!

Refried Refried Beans

Dearest Cyberwebbers,

Here's a thing prefaced by an update on my second-rate readings!

I just finished The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov, wherein extraterrestrial germaphobes resist the advances of a genial gumshoe and his robot sidekick. It's half as good as a dark noir thriller a la Chandler or an Agathan murder mystery, with an underdeveloped sideline of dystopian robophobia. It has neither robohuman harmony nor technofear enough to keep a real sci-fan engaged, and the writing style is notably without embellishments. A decidedly lower-tier Isaac effort, well behind I Robot (which is way better than the movie) and the Foundation trilogy.

Afterward, I started The Fortress of Solitude, a hunk of mainstream fiction by one of my favorite sci-fi authors, Jonathan Lethem (check out Gun, With Occasional Music). Lethem's words soak through your retinas and encapsulate your brain in the fabric of the novel. It's way better.

\\\Abrupt subject change\\\

How was your Cinco de Mayo, bro? Here's a tasty thing for your burritos: