A few days ago, the journal "Science" published a report claiming to make an objective list of the United States by happiness. Actually, what the report did was claim that objective criteria of happiness would match up with people's subjective self-reporting of happiness. The actual news paper might have gone into more detail than this, but once a Top Ten list of happy states was released, the national press had a field day with it. I myself was less impressed with it, and by doing…

I'm a member of the Episcopal Church in the USA (TEC), so I'm of the Christian brand called Anglican. I guess it's even official, since TEC is the only church in the United States that is also a constituent member of the Anglican Communion (AC). The AC is a rather loose group of churches and peoples who share a common liturgy, usually pretend to be fond of each other, and consider the Archbishop of Canterbury as their titular leader and spokesperson. Of course, there are many people who call…

I remember the first time I saw DEAR LEADER. My father took…

This is a way of roasting spuds that I've not seen elsewhere. They come out almost like thick cut crisps (or chips if you are in the US). They are quick to cook, and combine easily with roast meats like lamb chops, chicken pieces, or whatever. You can easily put them together, and arrange that everything will be ready at the same time. Finally, the way of coating them in butter and oil means that you don't have to fiddle around with basting, and they get a lovely crispy-fluffy texture. Salt crystals…