Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Three Beautiful Things 11/27/12: To Write, Shaq and Rachael Ray, 17 June 1994

1.  Really, if a writer can develop enough detail so that the reader knows what is on the writer's mind, structures grammatically sound sentences into coherent paragraphs that fit together to create a unified essay, moves purposefully between the abstract and the concrete, and does these three things fearlessly, without anxiety about grades and other silly external pressures, that writer has a foundation to work from that will work in every writing situation.  It's simple, but difficult.  That's what I hope my students in WR 115 learned this quarter.  Structure.  Development.  Abstract. Concrete.  Let it rip. ("It also helps to have something to say and to know the subject," added Dr. Obvious.)

2.  The George Foreman grill works best for me when I throw a pound of ground beef in a bowl, season it with Montreal Steak seasoning and garlic powder, add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and a sane amount of Frank's hot sauce, and break an egg in it, stir it up, make two half pound patties, throw them on the grill and give them about four minutes.  Man.  It's tender and tasty.  It's comfort food.  Tonight, I cooked these patties and served a mushroom/onion mix sauteed on the side.  I learned the basics of this way to prepare ground beef when Shaquille O'Neal was a guest one afternoon on the Rachael Ray show.  Shaq pwned Rachael Ray.  

3.  June 17, 1994.  The World Cup opened in Chicago.  Arnold Palmer played his last round of golf at a U. S. Open.  The Rangers were confetti bombed in their Stanley Cup victory parade.  The Knicks and the Rockets played game 5 of the NBA finals, tied at 2-2.  And, with a gun to his head, O. J. Simpson went on a tour of Los Angeles with Al Cowings at the wheel in a white Ford Bronco.  All of these events and more are stitched together in an unnarrated documentary in ESPN's 30 for 30 series.  Its title?  June 17, 1994.  It was a sobering, moving, and exciting movie for me.

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