Jason R. Fruit stay-at-home father and computer programmer

Life

NPR's Abortion Terminology

NPR provides a lot of insightful reporting and a lot of fascinating information, and I listen to it frequently. Since 2010, however, they have mandated a phrase that is the most malignant, weasel-tongued slur in popular use today.

I refer, of course, to the expression, "abortion-rights opponent". To quote the staff memo in which the decision was communicated:

This updated policy is aimed at ensuring the words we speak and write are as clear, consistent and neutral as possible. This . . .

De-Googling Myself

I have been de-Googling myself. I don't mean that I'm reducing my prominence in Google searches; I don't see any point to that. Most of what I put in public places is good enough that I'm not embarrassed about it, with the exception of a few posts on Maestronet when I was in college. When I say de-Googling, I mean that I am reducing my dependence on Google services so that Google has decreased access to information about my less public activity.

Why I am Leaving Google

This is largely prompted . . .

Chicken Paprikash

I assembled and modified this recipe for Chicken Paprikash, and it's delicious. I recommend it.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 3 Tbsp. Hungarian paprika
• 1/8 Tsp. black pepper or whole pepper corns
• 2 Tsp. salt
• 3 chicken leg quarters, skinned
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 pt. low-fat Greek yoghurt
• 1 Tbsp. flour

Procedure

Brown onions in oil. Add paprika, pepper, salt. Add chicken and brown 5 minutes per side. Add water, cover and let simmer slowly until it is done . . .

Of Flattops and Free Markets

If you have listened to an acoustic guitar outside of classical music recently, you almost certainly heard a steel-string guitar. They are used in almost every form of popular music, and there are genres which would be inconceivable without their punchy, percussive power.

More than any other single person, Christian Friedrich Martin was responsible for the success of the steel-string guitar, and his firm is still the preeminent manufacturer of quality examples. One of his major innovations was . . .

BAM!

The local Borders bookstore closed recently, as did all remaining ones across the country, and like many of the others, its building was purchased by Books-A-Million, or as they seem to be branding themselves, "BAM!". I'm a great fan of the bookstore-with-a-coffee-shop business model, and though there's a Barnes and Noble across town, it's about a 20 minute drive, usually through heavy traffic, so I was very glad to see that the old Borders would be replaced by something similar.

After a . . .

My Stuffed Pumpkin Recipe

I made this today, to the approbation of all. Enjoy.

Stuffed Pumpkin

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

• 1 large pie pumpkin
• 1 summer squash
• 1 large apple
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/3 purple onion
• 1 carrot
• 2 chicken breasts
• 3/4 c. grape jam
• 1 tbsp. lime juice
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. chili sauce

Cook chicken breasts in a pan on the stove. Remove pumpkin stem, cut a lid, and remove guts. Place pumpkin in a 9x9 pan. Add 1/2" water. Cut chicken, fruits, and vegetables into 1/2" . . .

NPR, the NYPD, Dirty Dancing, and Weddings

Via National Public Radio I found this story about NYPD officers dancing inappropriately while policing the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn. Apparently, the

string-bikini-clad dancers bend over in front of the laughing officers as the crowd cheers, the video shows.

The women then back up into the officers' crotches and rub their buttocks up against them as the cops grind in return, gleefully waving their arms in the air.

NPR's initial source for the story in the Awl . . .

Rules for Social Calls, 1874

I have been using a few minutes of my spare time recently reading The Gentleman's Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness by Cecil B. Hartley, available free from Google. Though its details are quaint and out-of-date --- it was written in 1874, after all --- its principles are well thought-out and strikingly applicable to today. Apparently, what constitutes a gentleman has not changed in its essence, though the years have swept away the frock coat, cuff-pins, and lavender gloves.

Along . . .

Rattlesnake Weed

I was reading The Foxfire Book, and I saw some curious advice for handling a rattlesnake bite. If you get bitten by a snake, the story goes, you should taunt the snake into a biting frenzy so that it bites itself. When it does this, the snake will run to a weed it knows of and eat it. Pick some of the weed and eat it yourself, and it will neutralize the poison.

Remember www.jasonfruit.com, your source for lifesaving rattlesnake information.