Abstract Acacias

Bold the establishments you've been to. Underline your favorites. Strikethrough the ones you don't like.

( I've been to about a third of these )

No Andersen's? No IHOP??

I've been to a few more of these than I thought, but I don't feel too much like I've given in to corporate America.

Silence broken by a meme, of course... I'm delighted to note that I've eaten almost all of these.

The blog Very Good Taste has come up with a list of 100 items that every omnivore should try in his or her life.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea [but I've had nettle beer and nettle soup...]
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp [there may have been carp in some gefilte fish I had once]
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper [because I'm not insane]
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar [I'm fine with the cognac, but not the cigar; someone else can have the cigar]
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects [not sure, I'd have to think about it]
43. Phaal [I may have ordered this once; I remember getting something that was listed as hotter than vindaloo]
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu [not sure, I'd have to think about it]
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini [I don't actually like gin, but I do like Hendricks, so I could be persuaded]
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin [is this something other than white clay? I won't eat plain dirt.]
64. Currywurst
65. Durian [never again... never again]
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake [all of the above, I think!]
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette [clearly I should rectify this next time I'm in Texas]
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill [depends on how flattened and how long it's been lying there and what sort of animal it is; I'd be fine with eating this sort of venison, for example]
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa [I've had roses, and I've had harissa, but I haven't had rose harissa...]
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor [I may have... but I don't think so]
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Not cutting (sorry, monanotlisa!), because it's not too long and everyone needs to appreciate the proof of my divinity. ;)

I grew up in LA; both my parents are from California, but my dad's from the north and my mom's from the south. I lived for four years in England, and that certainly informs my idiolect, but for the particular questions asked here I'm definitely able to differentiate between inherited and actively learned.

1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.
A creek, a stream, or a brook. I think a creek's probably the smallest and a stream's probably the biggest, but I'm not 100% positive.

2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.
A shopping cart. I learned to say trolley in England, and I do sometimes from force of habit, but it's actually a shopping cart. Or a grocery cart.

3. A metal container to carry a meal in.
A lunch box? Err...

4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.
A frying pan or skillet.

5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.
Probably a couch. Or sofa. I'd probably say couch, but I'm happy with either. A sofa's probably more overstuffed.

6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.
(Rain-)gutter. Drain. Rainspout. Drainspout. Gutter is definitely my first choice, though.

7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.
People sit on their porches? Must be in some other part of the country. ;)

8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.
Soda. Or soft drink.

9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.
Pancakes. Mmmm.

10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.
Depends where I get it! A sub, grinder, hero, hoagie... ;) I'm conversant with all those terms, but sub is my first choice.

11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach.
Trunks. Swimming trunks. Preferably they're not wearing speedoes. :P But my Australian friend just returned my dad's that he'd left in Australia, and she gave me his "swimmers," which I'd never even heard!

12. Shoes worn for sports.
I wear tennis shoes or sneakers on a daily basis; but cleats are usually for sports. I think it's asking about the former. (Once again, I picked up "trainers" in England.)

13. Putting a room in order.
Tidying or straightening. My parents would tell me to clean my room, but that's a bit more thoroughgoing.

14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.
Firefly!!! We don't have them here. :(

15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.
Sowbug. Not a potato bug, because that's actually a different thing (with stripes!), and not a pillbug or roly-poly because that's silly.

16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.
See-saw. Are there other names, seriously?

17. How do you eat your pizza?
By the slice and with my hands. How's that dialect?

18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?
A garage sale. Or, I suppose, a yard sale, if you must.

19. What's the evening meal?
Dinner. But when I was at camp (in Vermont), it was supper.

20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?
Well, I don't have a basement and never have, but I suppose that's what I'd call it. We've got a crawlspace under the house here and in LA. :)

21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?
Drinking fountain or water fountain.

The crime is absolutely hilarious.

And it is, in fact, correct.

Also in my old e-mail is this birth-tree thing (birth tree as in birthstone, or zodiac sign, or whatever), and it's frighteningly accurate for me (in places, at least), I think more so than I knew back in 2000:

CHESTNUT TREE (the Honesty) - of unusual beauty, does not want to impress, well developed sense of justice, vivacious, interested, a born diplomat, but irritates easily and sensitive in company, often due to a lack of self confidence, acts sometimes superior, feels not understood, loves only once, has difficulties in finding a partner.


What tree did you fall from? Find your birthday and then find your tree...This is really cool and somewhat accurate, also in line with Celtic astrology. (–so says the original meme, just for clarification purposes)

( The trees... )

( ...and what they mean )

I know I should've settled for the first one, but I went on to a second and then a third... and just look at the third! It's got Llanfair!

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Marchioness Darcy the Strange of Bampton Underhoop Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Most Serene Highness Lady Darcy the Unlikely of Yockenthwait Walden Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Very Lady Darcy the Temporary of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I should be asleep.

1. What is your occupation? Graduate student.
2. What color are your socks? I'm not wearing any right now; the ones that I was wearing earlier today were striped blue and grey (kamegoro gave them to me).
3. What are you listening to right now? The buzz of the computer fan.
4. What was the last thing you ate? A baked apple from Philippe, downtown.
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yep.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I don't know, but I probably wouldn't be burnt umber or burnt sienna. I never liked those colors much when I was little, especially whichever is the more reddish one.
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My dad, when he phoned while my mom and I were out.
8. Do you like the person who sent this to/tagged you whose LJ you read it in? Sure! (Also, what kind of an answer would no be??)
9. How old are you today? 26
10. Favorite drink? Err. I suppose tea is the expected answer, but it's not actually my favorite drink, I just drink it lots. When I was little, it was kefir. I'm also very partial to buttermilk and goat's milk and egg nog and all sorts of things. And on the alcoholic side, various beers, various wines (especially zinfandels and pinot noirs), and various mixed drinks.
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? Rowing, as I've actually done some rowing; also, baseball, for televised sports.
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Never!
13. Pets? One very very very old dog who lives with my parents. There were other pets while I was growing up.
14. Favorite food? Lots of stuff.
15. What was the last movie you watched? Full-length movie? Casino Royale, I think.
16. Favorite day of the year? My birthday's fun. I'm also partial to Thanksgiving and Christmas. And I have nostalgia for May Day.
17. What do you do to vent anger? Seethe. Oh wait, that's not venting. Possibly talk very loudly about it to Ian or someone. Depends what I'm angry about.
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? Maybe the various bath toys I had (a little sponge diver, a Happy Apple...). Also, books.
19. What is your favorite: fall or spring? That probably depends on what part of the world I'm in. I think that I like the idea of fall better, with its colored leaves. In practice, I like whichever has nicer weather.
20. Hugs or kisses? Both.
21. What inspires you? Music.
22. What are you afraid of? Scary people at night.
23. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Plain, though I put stuff on them, but I like spicy things in general. (I've neve had a spicy hamburger!)
24. Favorite dog breed? Australian Shepherd. Of course.
25. Number of keys on your key ring? Err, which ring? Lots, in any case. I'm not getting out of bed to count.
26. Number of years at your current job? Four and a half, if you mean grad student. A lot more if you just mean student!
27. Favorite day of the week? Saturday.
28. How many states have you lived in? 1, but I spent three summers in Vermont, and I've lived out of the country.
29. Favorite holidays? See #16.
30. Ever ridden a motorcycle or operated heavy machinery? No.

Sounds about right. ;) Though if I'd gotten one more question right (and there were a couple I was dithering on), it would have dubbed me English. So tigupine can go be happy now, or something.