whatever's left

stunt cooking for six -- the aftermath. last night 00soul outdid himself. this is all the wine we drank.

the main course was paella, and the appetizers were spanish potatoes and guacamole tacos with meat sauce.

aaaand for dessert:



almond praline cake with ganache filling and mascarpone icing. oh, yeah!

we enjoyed our meal and each other's company, and the party went late. why not? it seems like the thing to do these days, savor the good times. which is trite and obvious (unless it's david chase saying it), but also very true. when the news came through about the allegedly-al-queda-related burning SUV at the glasgow airport, i couldn't help but think of my 2005 trip to scotland -- the same airport where we landed coming from the u.s., and also where i flew out to london. just seeing the images and recognizing the place gave me a jolt of familiarity. it isn't that big, not much bigger than the burbank airport. definitely no LAX. we were there just after the peak of tourist season, and frankly it seemed almost deserted to me when we passed through.

anyway. i'm glad no worse damage was done, but with the other car bombs found in london, it's all very alarming. there is an amateurish element to these specific attempts that would be laughable, except for the more deadly public-transit bombing from almost a year ago. not to mention that a terrorist attack may not succeed the first time, but that doesn't mean they won't try again and do "better" (a la the WTC bombings, '93 vs. '01).

the world has changed. but people still need to get together. i don't think it's wrong to celebrate cooperation and friendship (the dinner party was for our friends who helped 00soul clear brush from the backyard this spring) at a time when those things seem especially precious. not the cooperation and friendship of opportunity and shared interest in wielding power, but the cooperation and friendship of ... friends. cooperating. helping out with their branch lopers and weed whackers and rakes. it's probably not much use against automobiles packed with gasoline and explosives, but what else can we do?