End of Tax Season & Ice Cream!

Wooo Hooo! Tax season is finally over! Yeah, yeah I know it actually ended three weeks ago, but I have spent the last three weeks trying to get caught up on the cleaning, the laundry, sleep, just about everything. The end of tax season also marks the beginning of spring and warm weather. This has led to many a batch of homemade ice cream. It is going to be a long and fattening summer, I can tell. If you don't have a nifty Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker and a copy of The Joy of Ice Cream , give yourself a little end of tax season gift and get them! You won't regret it!

Mainstream Punk

This NY Times article about the mainstreaming of Punk is pretty interesting. Of course what keeps bringing me back to it is the picture of the guy walking down the sidewalk, smoking a cigarette. It's way too reminiscent of pictures of Bob Dylan in his younger years. I doubt that is the image the young man was going for.

Dirty Hippie Concert

The 2004 Bonnaroo Music Festival is looking very tempting this year and it's within a reasonable driving distance. Camping out for three days with thousands of strangers doesn't appeal to me, but the artist line-up might just be worth it.

Yet Another "Best Of" List

The Village Voice released its 30th Annual Pazz & Jopp Critics Poll . Check it out to see if your favorite single or album from 2003 made the list.

Orange Sapphire Controversy

I had no idea that there was such a thing as an orange sapphire , much less that there was a great controversy surrounding them.

Mmmmm Chocolate...

This week is Chocolate Obsession Week on the Food Network . I hope that everyone has their Tivo's primed and ready! I know that I do!

Suprisingly Refreshing

Between the fact that (to me) Diet Coke with Lemon tastes like Diet Coke with a little bit of lemon scented paint thinner mixed in and the fact that I'm typically not a lime fan, I was not holding out high hopes for the new Diet Coke with Lime. But, on the recommendation of a friend, I decided to give it a try. I have to say it is quite good, and I'll be buying it again soon. If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it.

No live music for me...

I've been feeling extremely whiney lately about the total lack of good live music that comes to my town. This is probably due to the fact that The Mountain Goats will be playing two shows within a 200 mile drive of me, but both in the middle of week, in the middle of tax season, making it absolutely impossible for me to finegal a way to get there. At least it looks like we might finally have a decent record store in town. I'll just keep dreaming that the live music will follow.

Mommy's Little Helper

Whey Better Than Other Sugar Substitutes

So jumping on the low-carb bandwagon, I have been trying to cut sugar out of my diet. Early last fall I discovered a great sugar substitute called Whey Low made by VivaLac. This sweetner is made of a combination of sucrose, fructose, and lactose, but the company claims that it will not cause a rise in blood sugar levels like just straight sucrose will. I have tried their product out and have found it to be the best sugar replacement on the market, but I was skeptical about whether it really wouldn't cause a blood sugar spike. According to information in this thread at lowcarbeating.com, VivaLac's claims in regards to the effective carb count of Whey Low is sound.

The three [sucrose, fructose, and lactose], in a sense, block each other out, allowing none through the small intestine. The result? All the taste and cooking properties of sucrose, with a flat line in blood sugar levels, in addition to low calories. ... In fact, when carbs happen to be ingested with it, it also effects the absorbtions of carbs as well.

This is very good news for me, and I will definitely be reordering when my supply runs out.