Pottermore...more money for Rowling

Surprise surprise! Today's announcement from JK Rowling, that the new website Pottermore is going to be a mecca for all things Harry Potter in the digital universe can't come as a surprise for many people. Since April, there has been speculation that Rowling has been considering entering the ebook market, so the Pottermore revelation wasn't a big surprise to a lot of us. Nor is it a big surprise that the website is so overwhelmed at the moment that they can't even accept email addresses to be notified when registration is ready to begin. I can only imagine how overwhelmed the website will be when people actually want to download books.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is that it won't be open for business until October. Hopefully by then, Pottermore will be able to handle the capacity it will clearly need to handle the number of readers who have been asking for YEARS to download her books. Instead, Rowling will release them all on one day to millions of readers, who will swamp a system incapable today of handling the input of email addresses.

Another possibility is that the books will be priced so high, that readers who are already getting tired of the price-gauging going on in the publishing industry, will simply choose to say, "no thank you." As an ereader since the early day of the Kindle, as much as I would love to have the Harry Potter books on my Kindle, I'm not willing to pay hardcover prices for them- particularly since if I bought them on my Amazon account, I'd be able to share it among the 4 other Kindlers who share my account.

I'm very curious to see what Rowling's license agreements will be on her books as well as her prices. But the fact that she won't allow Amazon, Barnes & Noble or other major retailers to carry the digital rights to her books does not fill me with the warm fuzzy feeling I think the rest of the Potterverse is feeling today. While I fully recognize Rowling's right to control what happens with the material she created, I think that there also comes a point where her control begins to look a lot like greed.

Announcing...

Because I'm making an effort to write here more often, & because I often want to write about food, but end up not writing because I want this to focus more about pop-culture, books, comics, tv, etc.. than food (unless maybe it's a food-related tv show...) I started a second food-only blog where I can post my adventures in cooking, eating, etc. So, I present to you, Once Upon a Picky Eater.

Proceed at your own risk...

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN

It's been a while since I've read a book that has reached out and grabbed me from the first chapter & not let go until the end AND YET, didn't leave me feeling let down in the end. Wow am I glad I stumbled onto Ransom Riggs' wonderful work of fiction MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN. Riggs has done a great job of blending fantasy with authentic photos for just the right mix of possibility & plausibility as you read this fantastic tale.

Following Jacob along as he gets to know the children of Miss Peregrine's school, and through them his grandfather and himself, is a journey worth taking.

I read this book on a Kindle & while the pictures were easily viewed there were a few letters that were difficult to read without either very bright light and/or a magnifying glass. I did finally cave in & pull the book up on my computer in order to read one of them (though I hate to waste the license). So, keep that in mind if you're a Kindle reader- might be worth perusing the pictures in a regular book when you get the chance. Overall though, as always, the Kindle experience didn't diminish my enjoyment one bit.

I can't recommend this book highly enough- so far, it's the best thing I've read in 2011!

Best quote I've read all year:

Much has been said about the whole Palin/Paul Revere dust-up. I'll keep my opinions to myself. However, the best comments I've read about it, were in an opinion piece on CNN.com today by author, Kenneth Davis. Aside from a great history lesson about what actually happened during Paul Revere's ride, I wish everyone would read AND REMEMBER the end of his article:

"...history is compelling, fascinating & instructive -- if we tell the real story.

But it is also dangerous when people 'cherry pick' pieces of the story to suit their purposes, when the foot is cut to fit the shoe. A sanitized but incomplete, or worse, wildly inaccurate, version of history can be cited to support just about any political stand. Like scripture, the words and deeds of the Founders, mixed with bits and pieces of American mythology, are trumpeted to support positions on every issue from individual rights, states' rights, gun rights, or gun control, to taxes, immigration, public prayer and, most dangerously, taking the nation to war.

When American history is gutted, innocently, ignorantly, or deliberately, the outcome can be deadly. If we are told that there is no separation of church and state in the First Amendment, that the Founders worked tirelessly to end slavery or that the Revolution was all about taxes on tea, we are hearing half-truths or outright fabrications. Our extraordinary history deserves better. The truth shall set you free." -Kenneth Davis

Well said, Mr. Davis, well said. I wish those words were written in big, bold letters on the desks of every politician or future politician. Or maybe embroidered into their underwear.

iTunes Shuffle 2.0

So remember back in July 2010 when I said I was organizing my iTunes & was going to get through one letter in the music library per day. Yeah- I'm on "G" now...

So much for grand ambitions!!!

Spicy!

So, I love my spices. As I've already said on here a few times, I love to eat, love to cook... none of that would be possible without my spices. Now like any good cook, I prefer to use fresh herbs & spices whenever possible. I even grow some of my own in an Aerogarden throughout the year and, hopefully now that we are back in our own house this year, out in the yard.

After the move however, my trusty old (& I have to emphasize the OLD here) spice jars didn't look like they could withstand another minute. They had been through nearly 18 years of marriage- even when I couldn't cook, I loved spices- 3 or 4 moves, and many, many delicious meals. But the lids were cracked, some bottles were missing; it was time to put them out to pasture- or at least the recycling bin. I began my quest to figure out the perfect spice organizing system. I wanted something both close at hand & yet out of the way, organized but not obsessive (I might have failed on that one), with containers that were easy to access, would hold enough spices that I wouldn't have to go to the store too frequently, but not so big that the spices would go bad quickly. WHEW, that's a lot to ask of a spice system. Some time back, I had picked up a single RSVP Endurance spice tin to use for quick access to salt while I cooked. As I looked & looked for the perfect spice container it occurred to me that I already had it- I just needed MORE of them.

I finally found an online source for the tins & ordered about 50. I made my own labels using Word for the spices I wanted & used the top drawer next to my oven. There were a few spices I decided to leave in shaker bottles- Cinnamon Sugar, because the kids use it on toast so often; Cayenne, because in my house it is also a frequently shaken product; & Crushed Red Pepper- how else would my husband dress his pizza? Everything else went into the tins, alphabetized (obsessively). I also decided to stack the same spices (whole cloves, ground cloves for example) & similar ones (garlic salt, garlic powder) to save space. A few special salts, I just didn't bother to change out of their jars- laziness, pretty jars... you decide.

One other tip when it comes to spices. If you're still buying your spices at the grocery store STOP!!! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!! If you have a health food store nearby, go & see if they sell bulk spices. Typically you can buy the exact amount you need & it's pennies compared to buying a huge jar at the grocery store. This is particularly great if you need 2 teaspoons of a spice you'll never use again & the grocery store bottle is $7.00. I bet that will cost you $.40 at the health food store.



These are some recent spices I got at the health food store- tarragon, whole coriander & turmeric. If I'd gotten those three bottles at the grocery store, it would have cost me at least $14.00- those three bags, which filled up my spice jars & not my pantry shelf with extra spices going bad, cost me less than $2.00. Not too shabby, eh?

My husband was hesitant about the spice reorganization, but after working with it for a few days, even he is a convert. He loves the tins & has commented a few times while cooking that it really is so much easier not messing with those tiny jars everything used to be in.

Happy cooks make happy food & when things are easier, it's so much more fun to get cooking great meals!