June 2010
30 posts
On a list of things to do before I'm thirty
1. Consider the slightly alarming fact that I don’t have very much time left to do them.
2. Shrug.
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On trying an English thing
I was topping up my Oyster card on my way to work at the nearest corner shop, and there was that awkward pause between me and the man at Londis while we waited for the super-slow credit card machine to dial.
OK. I thought. This is an awkard pause, but it is when an English person would roll out some weather bant. I hate talking about the weather, but I think it is important to assimilate with...
On the eve of the fourth anniversary of my 25th...
‘It sometimes happens that a woman is handsomer at twenty-nine than she was ten years before.’ - Jane Austen
FTW!
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Six Giant Lemons and A Dozen Eggs Meringue Pie
I was going to write a complex, detailed recipe for the pie that I made on Saturday, inspired by the purchase of six giant lemons and a dozen eggs at Ridley Road Market for THREE OF YOUR ENGLISH POUNDS. But then I realised that it was complex, detailed, and (in fact) boring.
So instead, I suggest that you just Google up ‘lemon meringue pie’ and remember this very special baking tip:
...
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“The Overton Window: A Thriller,” a first novel by radio talk-show host and...”
– Book Review: ‘The Overton Window’ by Glenn Beck - latimes.com
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“the novelist is more like a pregnant woman who delivers her own child unaided. a...”
– david mitchell refutes a comparison between writers and midwives, the paris review summer 2010. (via paperbackgirl)
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On the Kingsland Road, on a sunny Saturday
Socialist Man Old Enough To Be My Father: Will you give us some money so to support the Young Socialists' Summer Fete?
Jean: I'm not sure. What do you believe in?
SMOETBMF: We're against the government! They're gangsters and crooks.
Jean: Well, I don't like the government either. I'm a member of the Labour Party.
SMOETBMF: THEN YOU'RE A GANGSTER TOO.
Jean: Sorry.
SMOETBMF: But, ah, you could change!
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“Conversation Dinners
Forget what your parents told you about not talking to...”
– Conversation Dinners
Oh, said Judo, as we approach the Towpath Cafe last night. I hope none of our friends come past and see us.
It’s like when you’re in school and your dad makes you do something really embarrassing, I said. Like go to the town dump or picket outside a factory, and...
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On the queue outside the Apple Store
As I walked past the teeming hordes on my way to my office, I wondered: how must it feel when you’ve queued for hours (perhaps overnight) to be one of the first people to own an iPhone 4, but still nobody calls you?
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT ME » Blog Archive » Let Me... →
Let Me Tell You About Me is back on the 5th. Confirmed so far: brilliant writer Jarred McGinnis and Blogelstein celebrity Sebastian Meyer. Be there!
“My husband and I were married for 5 years and had a beautiful 4-yr old boy...”
– Male wedding band - never worn | ExboyfriendJewelry.com
ExboyfriendJewelry.com is fascinating: heartbreak is not a selling point, but perhaps the point of this site is not so much to make an effective sales pitch as it is for the users to feel that they are not alone - a community of people brought...
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On doing work while watching the World Cup
Jean: YAY!
Judo: What? What happened? Who are you cheering for?
Jean: Me. I finished my article.
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Video: 'The fight in Iraq will remain long after... →
BFF Sebastian’s first film for the Guardian is AMAZING. He’s come a long way from the day I commissioned him to shoot Ann Widdecombe.
On being American
Excuse me, I said to the smiling barman on Sunday afternoon. Are you still serving lunch?
Are you AMERICAN? he said, with a look of serious disdain, as if I had personally been responsible for Robert Green’s fumble.
I have a BRITISH PASSPORT, I said, and immediately hated myself for feeling compelled to say it.
How quickly things change.
A Simple Flying Phobia by Jean Hannah Edelstein -... →
tinsely:
My dear friend, http://heylaney.tumblr.com/, sent me this article. It’s amazing. If you are a rational person, you might think this girl is nuts. If you are anything like Laney and me, you will completely relate and think this girl knows the secret to life.
I promise, we are not nuts! Or else, you know, we are, but it seems to me to be good company.
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“Alex Preston gave us was a complex, funny, and touching tale about striking a...”
– LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT ME
Sometimes I feel a little bashful to say how great LMTYAM is, but then I remember that the greatness has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the amazing stories that people have to tell.
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This Week at Ridley Road Market I Bought Too Much...
a recipe by JHE
Five bunches A POUND. So I made spinach pesto (photo to come later).
1. Take TWO BUNCHES OF FRESH ENGLISH SPINACH. Wash thoroughly (beware of grit) and then chop the leaves into a bowl with kitchen scissors (if you don’t have a food processor) or the bowl of a food processor if you have one (I’m jealous of you).
2. Add a generous handful of FRESH FLAT-LEAF PARSLEY...
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