"Thank you, Pricerite." written by Tinypliny on estrip.org

02/17/10 07:30 - 29ºF - ID#51031

Thank you, Pricerite.

I know some folks view Pricerite as an evil walmartish-variant grocery but I am writing this journal to thank the store for setting up shop in downtown Buffalo and being there for me heavy rain or yucky snow. The employees at the store beat even Wegmans at being super-nice and courteous.

My fridge was completely empty and depressed-looking half an hour back and now I have extremely fresh, large and juicy tomatoes.

For 89c a pound without the pain of waiting for a bus in the cold, without owning a car and without planning the trip for an hour. This is what a perfect daily grocery-shopping experience should feel like. Thank you!

PS: They have more Latin American produce and stuff than any other major grocery. I do wish they had more Chinese greens though. I guess they must have done some intense market research and decided that west and east Buffalo would be their most prominent clientele.

Permalink: Thank_you_Pricerite_.html
Words: 161
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: simple pliny

02/17/10 04:59 - 29ºF - ID#51028

Update on the Going Bald Experiment

I checked and I am mildly shocked to see that I seem to have raised $475 for cancer research simply by promising to go bald in 2 weeks.

I am experiencing a warm fuzzy feeling despite the treachery of deviant Lake Erie which seems to have unfrozen again.

PS: Apparently, they won't shave my head to the bone and will leave a smattering of hair. I am going to request that they really shave it all off. I have got my department paying for my most expensive hair-cut ever so it better be technically perfect.

Permalink: Update_on_the_Going_Bald_Experiment.html
Words: 94
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: buffalo

02/15/10 07:02 - 27ºF - ID#51021

Erie freezes over: No more snow?

Lake Erie has frozen over.

Hopefully, there will be a lot less (or no more) snow for the rest of the month. *Rubs hands* Hee Hee.

Source:

Permalink: Erie_freezes_over_No_more_snow_.html
Words: 42
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: the odes

02/12/10 04:12 - 23ºF - ID#51002

Search on. and yawn.

The Original.

And the Super-Originals.

Hah, you believed that?

What *really* happened...

Or maybe starting an international mess was not really your cup of tea...

Permalink: Search_on_and_yawn_.html
Words: 39
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: simple pliny

02/12/10 12:51 - 21ºF - ID#51001

Thinking of going bald...

for bucks.

But mainly because I want to see if I can tackle a fraction of pain and the serious blow to vanity that the patients I study are going through everyday.

March 3 is the D-day

I don't know if I can work up enough guts to go through with this and bear being absolutely bald for the rest of the winter.

tinypliny writes at 10:39:08 02/13/10 - Comment #54889: And really? Bad business practices? Hmmm...

Glad the money is going to Roswell then. I know that everything is above board and peer-reviewed.

If you think, why not wigs for cancer patients? Most of them are adults - and I am sure many would appreciate the availability of well-made wigs those initial days of losing hair unexpectedly.

tinypliny writes at 10:29:03 02/13/10 - Comment #54888: @dragonlady7: First of all, YIKES. I would never want any woman to lose her hair. Ever. For any reason.

All my comments about locks of love were merely because the peeps (Matthew and Peter) were considering cutting off their hair and mentioned it in response to my post. And that ArtVoice model - well, she had lovely everything and I couldn't help teasing Peter. :-)

Long hair is a thing of beauty - it has immense cultural significance where I come from. I am not even telling my folks I am doing this because I am sure my parents and brother will have a collective heart attack if they heard. (I have been told that my blog is super-boring for them most of the time, so they don't even bother reading.)

As I said before, this is a personal experiment for me, because research has always been and will be very personal to me. It is not about donating hair - as much as it is about the experience of losing it, empathizing and identifying with women who lose it because of no fault of their own. I want what I work on to have a deeply personal face to it, because my deepest fear is waking up one day, going to work, forgetting why I ever came and not caring. Sometimes, you have to light your own light because so many people have lost their faith and become impersonal. Sometimes idealism is not naÃ¯ve because you have to believe in it to be yourself.

Maybe you should photograph your hair in all the hot Ukranian braids and post it here. :-)

dragonlady7 writes at 09:33:11 02/13/10 - Comment #54887: I have to weigh in briefly just because, as a woman with very long hair, I am harassed pretty much daily to get my hair cut off. [No one ever bothered me in college, but since I turned about 25 I get two or three comments every time the length of my hair is apparent. I don't even wear it down.]
Simply because I have long hair, people, mostly women, sometimes get quite nasty about my presumptuousness of keeping it to myself. I am a member of an online group-- well, I was-- devoted to the care and maintenance and discussion of long hair, and there were a lot of threads on there about Locks of Love. They have repeatedly been under investigation for poor business practices, and I determined very early on that I would never donate to them.
There are other organizations I would happily do business with, but I strongly encourage you to do research before choosing a particular one to donate to. LoL has, in the past, stated on the record that they simply throw away much of the hair donated to them. (Most of their wigs are for children; adult hair is too coarse to use.)
Some of this may no longer be true. I did all my research about five years ago when people first decided I was too old to deserve my hair. It may be out of date. But I encourage you to explore it now, before you make your donation.

And I applaud your selflessness and resolve. I will not be donating my hair, simply because I receive so much pressure to do so: I will do what moves *me*. I would rather paint houses or dig ditches or contribute in some other way. If I am going to cut my hair off for any reason, I will sell it myself and then use the money how I see fit. No one has the right to demand I give anything up. I don't go down the street yelling at Lexus drivers that they obviously have more money than they need and should donate half of it, or yelling at healthy people that they have TWICE the kidneys they need and should donate one, and yet people feel perfectly free to out-and-out abuse me for the horrible crime of having "too much" hair. No thank you.

I am sorry to rant; I get this all the time, however, and it's only going to get worse as I get older.

tinypliny writes at 06:55:59 02/12/10 - Comment #54885: Take a look at the Locks of Love Guidelines -> :::link::: Looks pretty straightforward. They just need a 10" minimum in a ponytail/braid.

Shorter hair is just sold for money. Layered hair is made into multiple ponytails. I think they only don't accept chemically bleached/damaged hair. I think you are okay - unless you have bleached your hair recently.

metalpeter writes at 06:12:47 02/12/10 - Comment #54876: The one misgiving I have is that I don't know if you like put it all in one pony tail or two (not all my hair is the same length) and no idea where to go, I looked into it once but forgot what I found. Also my hair doesn't seem very strong either. It is an idea though.

tinypliny writes at 06:08:56 02/12/10 - Comment #54873: With the length of my hair being what it is, anything less than going bald would hardly be fair to anyone including me. LOL

You have some fabulous locks! You should join me and donate to locks of love. Imagine how gorgeous women (who have lost their hair) will look with your golden highlights and deep/light chocolate hair! :-)

metalpeter writes at 06:05:15 02/12/10 - Comment #54872: Well I saw some guy on the news and he was a teacher and he didn't go all the way bald and that is true of the other person on the news also. But look into that. In Terms of Locks For Love, I've been thinking about that for some time. I think it would still make my hair kinda long not sure.

tinypliny writes at 05:05:50 02/12/10 - Comment #54869: @(e:carolinian): I am not very good at covering my head generally. I should really take your advice on this one and super-LOL at the NCP dome-showing at Goodbar. Haha Sounds very 80s biker-hair-metally for some reason.

@(e:Jason): Excellent point, but have you personally known a woman who has had a diagnosis of breast cancer in her 20s or 30s?

carolinian writes at 04:33:12 02/12/10 - Comment #54868: I recently took off all my hair as a New Years Resolution. My advice: buy lots of warm hats.

Perhaps we should have a "Nair Club For Peeps" night at Goodbar where all of us bald estrippers show off our domes.

jason writes at 03:38:15 02/12/10 - Comment #54867: IMO, raising money for research is more important than trying to feel a measure of the "blow to vanity". It's crazy and it's wonderful. Good for you. And I can't wait to see (e:Matthew) down to the wood.

tinypliny writes at 03:34:58 02/12/10 - Comment #54866: It's 03/10. And I cannot believe it but my generous little family away from home at Roswell just donated $100 for my little resolve and anti-vanity experiment! :::link:::

heidi writes at 12:59:50 02/12/10 - Comment #54865: ooops... your bday 3/13?

tinypliny writes at 12:16:23 02/12/10 - Comment #54864: I am having palpitations now and my palms have gobe sweaty. I just registered.

Who knew I was THIS vain! I am just finding out!

tinypliny writes at 11:59:18 02/12/10 - Comment #54863: Wow, thanks so much, (e:Matthew). Mine is 10 days before yours.

I think you have a long enough hair to donate to the locks of love! Is your hair at least 10" long?

I am registering by the end of today. Not sure whether to join "Trump's troops" or start a group of our own.

Anyone else in? :)

matthew writes at 10:52:55 02/12/10 - Comment #54862: I'll do it if you do it Tiny. My birthday is 3.18 and I've been thinking about chopping it for the exact same reasons.

tinypliny writes at 10:35:06 02/12/10 - Comment #54861: Thanks, Heidi!! :) (It's actually not for another month - but hey I will accept all good wishes any time!)

(e:Drew), maybe for a bloke, but quite honestly, I am finding out how nervous its making me!! I think its good to go through all these feelings, it makes me think I have been taking the patients too lightly. Its almost like a real-time psychological lesson.

drew writes at 10:11:32 02/12/10 - Comment #54860: Shaving your head is fun.

heidi writes at 10:06:50 02/12/10 - Comment #54859: Happy birthday, (e:tinypliny)!!! (Tomorrow, right?)

tinypliny writes at 01:20:24 02/12/10 - Comment #54857: That's incredibly sweet of you say. :-)

It's not really an attention-getting maneuver though. I am not even going to ask anyone to donate (though people may feel free to pitch in if they really want to). I am just viewing this as a fresh start to a new decade in my life. A sort of renewal of what I set out to do. It sounds kind of sad that I need a visual cue to start afresh but it just might shake me out of the rut I seem to have settled in.

Besides, my hair grows like the amazon - you have no idea. ;-)

enknot writes at 01:10:00 02/12/10 - Comment #54856: I really don't know how else to say this, but um please don't. I really really reeeeeealy like your hair. Aaaaand whos gonna pay attention to lil ole pliny when the CEO has no beard.

Permalink: Thinking_of_going_bald_.html
Words: 72
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: art

02/04/10 10:17 - 25ºF - ID#50970

Especially for Jacob - Emma 2009

(e:Jacob), this IS the best period Emma-Knightley dance I have ever seen.

I will admit, Emma is probably one of my least favourite works by Austen, but this 2009 adaptation does as much justice to the novel as the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice. In fact, it makes it so picturesque that I am almost ready to overlook the fact that I am always uncomfortable with Emma's character in the real book.

Romola Garai is SO not the Emma that Austen wrote about. She has absolutely no pretension, is much too earnest and can't pull off the insularity that is the trademark of Austen's Emma! For a change, I loved the fact that they miscast so far from the truth that I actually liked this Emma.

Oh, the soundtrack is GORGEOUS and I have been listening to it non-stop for days on end!! It has a bunch of lively innovative waltzes

::DOWNLOAD SOUND::

and some heart-breaking cello and flute pieces

::DOWNLOAD SOUND::

and really everything in-between.

(e:Jacob), you MUST see this (especially if you don't like the real Emma too much. heheh)

Permalink: Especially_for_Jacob_Emma_2009.html
Words: 188
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: art

01/15/10 10:18 - 33ºF - ID#50826

What Paul *really* means...

Hee Hee...

Permalink: What_Paul_really_means_.html
Words: 4
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: simple pliny

01/13/10 08:50 - 23ºF - ID#50814

Mental note. Really mental.

It was not about badges.
It is never about badges.
It will never be about badges.

Permalink: Mental_note_Really_mental_.html
Words: 18
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: eating out

01/10/10 09:37 - 26ºF - ID#50792

Did you know? (Coconut Oil)

That Coconut oil is 92% saturated fat - around 30% more than butter. It has 6% monounsaturated fat and just 2% polyunsaturated fat. In the US, it is consumed in large amounts in nondairy coffee creamers on a regular basis by most of the population.

Anyone who thought that they were cutting out the risk of fattening substances by using non-dairy coffee creamers and didn't know this fact are in for a shock.

Coconut oil can be heated to 177 degree C (that is 77 degree C more than the boiling point of water) before it starts to smoke - this is very convenient for mass scale cooking industry use. You would be hard-pressed to find commercial mass-produced baked goods or confectionary here that doesn't have coconut oil used as a shortening agent.

It is however, one of the best skin moisturisers on the planet.

heidi writes at 09:18:50 01/13/10 - Comment #54394: She made dinner last night??? *jealous*

terry writes at 02:18:47 01/13/10 - Comment #54382: Thank you so much for dinner last night. It was wonderful, and I look forward to finishing it tonight. We should setup a might where you can come cook for us again! I make a great soux chef. : p

oh and you pans can be picked up anytime. I'm home around 5 tonight.

metalpeter writes at 07:19:55 01/12/10 - Comment #54371: I don't use any creamer really. But the flavored ones can be a way to make Hot Chocolate interesting sometimes. I eat a lot of shit that is really bad for me but I would never trust Non Dairy Creamer. One has to ask them selves Creamer uses milk so how can it not be Dairy. One doesn't even have to think that the name says it alone. And if you are using something that has no Dairy base what are the using instead? Have the Dairy it is better for you then what ever it is replaced with. I saw this is true of Fat Free stuff that is just as thick as the stuff with fat. I also say this is true of things that are Sugar Free and have some Chemical that has no Calories but who knows what it does to you.

tinypliny writes at 02:17:15 01/11/10 - Comment #54350: "I really do like it so I hope that you approve!"

You can't expect any mercy from my disapproving beady eyes. hahaha

I am not sure that the metabolism and health-effects of coconut oil as a fat source are entirely documented.

In some clinical trials, medium chain fatty acids have been observed to have unfavourable effects on the lipid profiles of study subjects (young men): :::link:::
In other clinical trials on younger women presenting with abdominal obesity, coconut oil supplementation was associated with some favourable lipid profiles :::link::: However, in this second trial, the patients exercised for 50 minutes a day and also decreased their energy and carbohydrate intake - so I am not sure it would be correct to entirely attribute any of the favourable changes to the intake of coconut oil alone.

I think the bottomline is that moderate intake of any saturated fat - be it butter or coconut oil or lard is fine, if you are exercising and not eating more than what you need to function on a barebones level. If the total calories that you eat exceed the amount that your body can burn (either via exercise or due to a high genetically determined basal metabolic rate), you will store some of the excess energy as fat.

libertad writes at 01:46:15 01/11/10 - Comment #54348: I don't do non-dairy creamer and wouldn't think that it was good for you but isn't coconut oil one of the healthiest oils out there?

It has medium chain fatty acids including caprylic and lauric acids. From what I have seen even though it is very high in saturated fats you can take more of it than saturated fats from other sources because your body breaks it down quicker?

I love coconut oil as a skin moisturizer, it is so cleansing and antibacterial as well. People tend to think of oils as dirty but this one definitely makes me feel super clean and I like putting it in my hair too. I even eat it sometimes too right out of the jar a small spoon full. I really do like it so I hope that you approve!

zobar writes at 09:14:14 01/11/10 - Comment #54344: Non-dairy creamer and whipped topping freak my shit right out, even though some of the flavored ones are pretty tasty. Non-dairy eclairs, on the other hand, don't bother me at all.

- Z

Permalink: Did_you_know_Coconut_Oil_.html
Words: 139
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: eating in

01/08/10 10:48 - 15ºF - ID#50774

What's more addictive than potato chips?

If you answered popcorn (or nothing), you would be wrong. Utterly, absolutely, WRONG.

It's Kale Chips! The recipe is so ridiculously simple that even I could have made it 4 years back, but didn't.

To make up for that lamentable lapse, I just made and devoured a kilo of kale chips in addition to the kale salad I had earlier. If you see a greenish looking person scuttling about tomorrow, its probably a safe bet to assume that they are not from Ireland.

If you don't put on your coats and boots, rush to the nearest kale selling-store (or your fridge, if you are already a kale-eating monster), make these chips RIGHT NOW, you will have a sad potato-chip-filled or popcorn-filled Friday evening, suckers.

Assuming you now have that kale in hand, wash it, strip the leaves from the stalks, tear the leaves into BIG chip sized pieces, dry it, spin it down, toss in some olive oil, juice from a quarter lemon and a liberal sprinkle of salt. Dry the leaves at around 90 Degree C (yeah, yeah, F it ->

) for 20 minutes or till the leaves are a dessicated dark earthy green.

DO NOT burn them. Do not raise the temperature. The idea is to dry them, not roast them. They taste THAT much better when dried (than roasted). Watch carefully around the 20-30 minute mark. Just drag a chair in front of your oven door and keep staring at the kale. They will transform into junk food craving gold.

I can't quite explain how they taste, they are bizarrely awesome and extremely addictive. If I keep going at this rate, I might just beat out Pizza Hut in Kale consumption.

Permalink: What_s_more_addictive_than_potato_chips_.html
Words: 292
Location: Buffalo, NY