Monday, March 12, 2007

Some Thankees, And One For My "Core Audience"

Well. languagehat kindly posted a link to this neglected, junk drawer-of-a-blog in this MeFi comment, and boom, I get more hits in three hours than I usually get in two months. Now that's sway! So now I'm looking around this cluttered trainwreck, and it occurs to me that maybe I should work a little harder in the upkeep department. Having new visitors here feels kind of like having neighbors drop in when there's hair all over the sink and clumps of dog puke drying on the living room carpet... In other words, I oughta be used to it. But I'm gonna work on it anyway, I swear to gawd.

If any stray MeFites wander this way, may I suggest some worthier blogs? There's the 'hat's own imcomparable work, linked above, and a new favorite, Interrobang's A Year In Comics. Then there's Ucceliina's beautifully wriiten and thought provoking A Bird's Nest. And of course, I never stop shilling for Filboid. His latest post on Charles Dana Gibson is an absolute feast. Enjoy!

As for "my core audience", I am of course referring to the unending stream of googlers hoping to find instruction in the manly art of squirrel skinning. This is pretty damn disappointing for you, I'll bet! Yeah, I know, false advertising and bait'n'switch and all that, but the quick studies among you might glean everything they need from my cheery title graphics.* For the rest, I offer this short film, "Squirrel Melts." Bon appetit!


Yeah, I know! Where's the skinning?! There must be a complete version of this show out there somewhere, and if I ever find it I'll post it. I don't actually have a problem with eating squirrel meat and I'd like to learn how to dress game, what with peak oil and the coming end times and all. Yet, when I see that plump, pink, headless little rodent curled up in Hunter Mom's frying pan, I can't help but cringe. It's just so... fetussy. It's like a longpig Lunchable. Shiver. For authentic squirrel cookery I look to Bayou Bill, a man who can proudly state, "I do not look down my nose at any piece of squirrel including heads." Which is a good point, since brains and face meat are the fattiest (and most savory) portions of lean animals like rabbits and Nutkins. Bill's blog is really fascinating, and if you're the outdoorsy type (or the armchair variety, like me) there's a lot of great stuff here, and nicely written to boot. So that's actually TWO for the core audience. I'm a giver!

Wow, four paragraphs... Stick a fork in me, I'm exhausted. Ouch!
Let's see if I can do this again before Easter rolls around.
Good night, googlers!


*(Courtesy of the 1964 edition of "The Joy of Cooking." Aren't they great? There's a section in that edition on storing eggs in something called waterglass. I have no idea what that is, but if I ever start a Prog Rock band, I gotta name.)