Halloween Discussion Forums, Costumes, Horror!

When I was at Mary Baldwin, I had dinner once with Lois Lowry, who wrote The Giver. I was one of two profs who'd been tapped potentially to teach children's lit, so both of us had dinner with her when she came to speak. Ultimately the other woman taught the children's lit course. But it was a fun ev...

McDonald's fries have always been primo. I actually prefer baked or mashed potatoes, but I won't turn down a good French fry.

I've had salt potatoes before! They were in some recipe book we acquired. I'd thought they'd be too salty, but they weren't.

I also love Yukon golds, and red potatoes, too. Shoot, give me a potato and I'll eat it.

I think war is recurrent and inevitable because human nature is flawed. The Peaceable Kingdom envisioned in the Bible happens only after humanity has been redeemed and Christ has come again. Before that, I honestly think healthy capitalism is the best we can do. But I do envision a healthy capitalis...

I think the copyright covers the entire story. I don't think you have to take one out on each character.

But there's also the "poor man's copyright." You seal your work in an envelope and mail it to yourself. Never open it. The date stamp on the sealed envelope proves when you wrote it.

Yeah, it's funny that I love sour cream on regular white potatoes, but never on sweet potatoes. Do white sweet potatoes taste like the orange ones? It's funny that people would have developed or promoted a white one, since all the nutritionists are belaboring the importance of phytochemicals in the ...

Oh, orange ones. I'm not sure I've ever even seen a white one.

In this country i know we use "sweet potato" and "yam" interchangeably, but I think true yams come from Africa and are a little different.

Oh, I intend to make use of my summer. I want to plant some things, clean up and decorate my patio, and make a couple of trips. Not big ones this year. I have a family reunion to attend in NE KY, and I hope to make it up to Chicago to see my son's new place. I'd actually like to get there for their ...

Orwell was so smart, and so prescient.

I think Marxism is still at the root of our troubles. My generation thought we'd won the Cold War, and we let our guard down. But the Marxists never stop, because, in spite of their claiming to be atheists, their political philosophy is their religion.

I just looked at a recipe for sweet potato soup. It looked so good. Onions and bell peppers, chicken broth, sweet potatoes, chickpeas.

That sounds like really good, pragmatic advice.

Lol. Yep, i walked right into that one. But there really hasn't been a war like that during my lifetime. In my parents' generation, everybody was involved in the war effort somehow. Not only did every man of military age serve, but there were so many civilian sacrifices, too. Things like food ration...

I know, right? And I really don't want to wish my life away. But I was going through a stack of books and magazines yesterday, and I ran across one with great autumnal recipes. I suddenly had a craving for pumpkin oatmeal.

Oh, interesting. Several of my uncles served in the Pacific theater. Both my mother's brothers, one of my father's, and possibly my aunt's husband, who was in the Marines. But I don't know the details about any of them. Another uncle by marriage served in the Coastal Artillery off shore in North Afr...

WW2: my father fought in WW2, as did every man of that generation in my family. All my uncles, 4 blood kin, and 3 by marriage. Also my FIL. My father saw especially hard service in Europe. He was in both the Battle of the Bulge and the Bridge at Remagen. He was a Combat Engineer, which means he was ...