tiffany's blog

QotD: For Everything, There Is A Season

nobody@vox.com(tiffany) — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 23:09:33 -0400

What are your top five favorite cooking seasonings?
Submitted by skip.town.

1. Ground chipotle pepper. It's what makes my chili the Greatest Chili On Earth.
2. Cilantro. Cilantro and cucumber = yum.
3. Salt. Duh!
4. Sugar. Sure it makes things sweet, but it also tones down tart foods -- like tomato sauce
5. Nutmeg. It gives a special flavor to my French toast, and when i mix it with lime, cinnamon, salt and garlic, it makes an unexpected marinade for steak.

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QotD: I Was The Sous Chef

nobody@vox.com(tiffany) — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 15:15:06 -0500

Who taught you how to cook?
Submitted by Donna.

I learned by watching my dad. I would sit in the kitchen and watch him cook. I also watched a lot of "The Frugal Gourmet" since we didn't have cable growing up. That taught me most of the basics. I learned a little bit more in Home Economics class (like how to make French toast). And my uncle taught me how to make a quick-and-dirty Hollandaise sauce. But most of what I know came from watching my father work the stove.

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QotD: Think Global, Buy Local

nobody@vox.com(tiffany) — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 00:37:51 -0500

Do you buy products made locally? Is there anything made in your area that you love?

I do, but not that often. My nearby farmer's market is more like a ginormous grocery store than a standard farmer's market. I know they sell Georgia-grown corn and collard greens.

I am quite the fan, though, of Sweetwater beer. Made in Atlanta. Their ESB is quite nuanced with a very smooth finish. I also fell in love with a house-made pilsner at the Park Tavern.

I'm going to stretch the "local" definition a little bit. I'm including the entire state of Georgia. "Local" to me usually means within an hour's drive, or wherever I can still get an Atlanta radio signal. But these things are too good not to mention, IMO.

I'm a fan of Three Sisters Walasiyi White and Dahlonega Gold. Tiger Mountain has a red that's really good too, although I can't remember the name.

I must also give a shout out to the manna from heaven that is Sweetgrass Dairy Green Hill cheese. Most of their cheeses are good, but Green Hill is divine. It's a soft cow's cheese that has the texture of brie, and a flavor that's somewhere between brie and cheedar.

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What to do with a bonus?

nobody@vox.com(tiffany) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 09:55:44 -0500

I got a bonus. A meager $300 bonus (that's the post-tax amount). But that's $300 more than I would otherwise have, so I'm not complaining (much).

That said, now I'm in a small conundrum: what to do with this 'found money'?

My self-imposed options are:

Make an extra payment on a credit card.

Pros:

I will be that much closer to being out of debt.
I'll save on paying that interest.

Cons:

I won't be that much closer. A month sooner, tops.
The interest saved wouldn't be much more than I'd earn by sticking it my online savings account.
That's no fun.

Upgrade to Flash Professional 8.

Pro:

I'll be able to go far deeper with ActionScript. That would make me a more valuable web developer, and probably a higher-paid one.
Flash is fun.

Cons:

It's not like I don't have Flash 8 Professional at the office.
Flash 9 is due out sometime this year.

Save it.

Pros:

I'd have more money in case of an emergency or if Tariq decides to act up (Tariq is my trifling a** car.)
I'd earn some interest.

Cons:

The lack of a fun factor.
It could go to other things.

Buy a ticket to New York for sometime in mid-to-late February.

Pro:

I'd get to see and say goodbye to my childhood home one last time before my parents sell it and move out of state.
Big fun factor.

Cons:

This isn't the most responsible thing to do.

Part of me thinks I should do something relatively sensible. And part of me thinks that money I otherwise wouldn't have to spend, isn't really needed for anything, and isn't accounted for in my budget is free money for me to blow in whatever bad idea of a way I so choose.

So um, help me decide what I should do.

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Vox Hunt: That's The Ticket

nobody@vox.com(tiffany) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 20:25:05 -0500

Photo: Show us a ticket.

BET hip-hop Awards tickets

Yeah, they're from a while back, but this is the only photo of tickets I've got laying around :-).

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QotD: Rubbing Elbows

nobody@vox.com(tiffany) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 20:15:30 -0500

Have you ever met any celebrities? Any interesting stories?
Submitted by Tasha.

Yes. I've met a few celebs. Most notably Busta Rhymes around the time of his first solo album. It was after a Howard University homecoming party at the Ritz DJed by Kid Capri. Someone -- either cops or club security -- opened a container of pepper spray shortly thereafter.

I also flirted with another hot-rapper-of-the-moment that night. For the life of me, I can't remember his name, the duo's name, or the one hit they had. I just remember that he (or maybe his partner in the group, but I think it was him) had been a teacher before becoming a rapper, he had blondish-brown locks and green eyes and I thought he was gorgeous.

I also met Juwan Howard at the Ritz when he was playing for the Bullets (and yeah, they were the Bullets, not the Wizards at the time) way back when. And I met Grant Hill's parents at US Air Arena after a Pistons-Bullets game.

In 1986, I interviewed Mark Lynn Baker, Balky's cousin on "Perfect Strangers" for Kidsday, Newsday's Sunday supplement for kids. If memory serves correctly, we wanted to interview LL Cool J and Run DMC, but we got Mark Lynn Baker ... before he was even famous. I also remember having a byline on like four or five articles in that issue, including the interview.

I've also had quite a few celebrity spottings: Flavor Flav and Dinco D (at separate times) passing through my neighborhood. I saw Toni Kukoc when he was with the Hawks (he was crossing 14th Street and I probably came close to running over his toes. Dikembe Mutumbo walked right past me at the Velvet Room once upon a time (when it was in Midtown). Baby (of Cash Money) was driving a hummer through Midtown hanging his big ugly head out of the window... I think that was during NBA All-Star Weekend. And I have had the honor of spotting The Round Mound of Rebound (that'd be Charles Barkley) twice -- once at a Jezebel magazine party at the Velvet Room when it was in Midtown and again a few months ago at Pricci in Buckhead.

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QotD: In-Flight Entertainment

nobody@vox.com(tiffany) — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 09:46:14 -0500

How do you pass the time during a flight? What do you bring in your carry-on?

I bring a book or two (or three) depending on how long the flight is. If it's a cross-country flight, I'll pack three books. I read pretty fast, so I'll bring a book to read while traveling to a location, one to read from a location, and sometimes a third to read in case I finish both books, or one of them sucks royal ass.

I also take a pillow, eye mask and earplugs. Sleep is a great way to survive a flight, especially across timezones.
I used to bring an iPod, but without noise cancelling headphones, it's a pointless exercise. You'll blow your eardrums out trying to drown out the plane's engine noise.

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QotD: Can't Type It Rihgt

nobody@vox.com(tiffany) — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 18:48:09 -0500

What word(s) do you always make a typo in?

I'm good for typing "form" as "from." I also have an issue with typing HTML entities: for example, rather than type ’ (a single closing quote mark), I usually type &#*217;.

'The' is another one, which often comes out as teh.

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Quotes I <3 from "The (White) Rapper Show"

nobody@vox.com(tiffany) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 22:44:04 -0500

What's pimpulatin?
What's really hood son? Suburbia
She's Bonk-airs.
Half man - half liquor
I'm the King of the Burbs
You got to have skills for me to hate you.
Whatchu wanna DO SON!!!!
This chain was worth putting him in his place.

Okay, this first episode was filled with moments of hilarity, and it's not even 10 minutes into the show. I think VH-1 has a new hit on its hands.

And yeah, even though she used the n-word, I'm kind of liking Persia. You can tell she's from Far Rock the way it comes out of her mouth. Not necessarily appropriate for national television, but in her particular context, it didn't sound offensive -- at least not to me.

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I hath been sucked in ...

nobody@vox.com(tiffany) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 21:31:13 -0500

... to the vortex that is "I Love New York." Watching this is a complete and total waste of brain cells -- even worse than "Flavor of Love," and yet I am intrigued.

And now the commentary ...

What's up with Tumbleweed's (T-Weed's) hair? Shoot, the name fits that raggedy ass mop on his head.
How much do you want to bet that Bonez (the dude quoting Bible verses) has a Love Swing, handcuffs, and a cat-o-nine tails in his bedroom?
I'm questioning Cupid's sanity and sexuality. What grown ass, self-respecting, sane and/or heterosexual grown-ass man owns a yorkie? And offers to treat a woman like he treated his yorkie? That boy is either not straight (in which case, the yorkie is perfectly acceptable) or crazy (the more likely scenario).
Real needs to keep it real and admit that his lying behind is too trying to get a record deal.
And his brother Chance is the kind of clown I saw clear through at 16 ... I know her dumb ass ain't going to fall for him.
Mr. Boston has to be the winner of the Whitest White Dude in America pageant ... for five years running, man.
Why can't New York do anything without her mama?
What's up with the uber-gay sidekick? I mean he's 11th-level flaming gay stereotype. Not even the fun, bitchy gay stereotype that we all know and love, but the annoying gay stereotype that can only be played by straight boys who are pretending to be gay for kicks.
Memo to T-Bone: women are looking at your eyes to avoid looking at the rest of your face.
Onix was named Onix because he looks a little too much like Fredro Starr of Onyx fame (And did you know that Onyx released five albums?)
Memo to T-Money: Dude unless you won the Masters or work for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, a green sports jacket is not a good look.
Memo to 12 Pack: don't admit that you tweeze. And don't say things like "I could sleep with Shamo tonight if I wanted to." That's really not helping your "I'm not gay" case.
Memo to New York's mama: Rico isn't gay. He's Latin. It's a less gross form of macho and can therefore seem gay-ish to American women.
"Male servant" ... Um, Pootie, is that anything like a male hooker?
ROFL: Wood, Hottie and Pumpkin must have the same agent. How do three former "Elimidate" contestants wind up on various VH-1 shows?

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