Got to be birds flying higher

Originally posted by calzephyr77 at Your Friday Funny!

I always thought that if I had had a little more colourful stuff growing up in the 80s (not everything was rainbows ;-)) I wouldn’t be so attracted to colourful stuff today. Maybe if Lisa Frank had come to Canada or I had just gotten that toy Tupperware baking set I wanted, I wouldn’t have had such a jonesing for the Zoku. The first time I saw it was at Williams Sonoma, and like everything at Williams Sonoma, it was ridiculously priced. It also looked suspiciously like something that wouldn’t work or I would lose interest in. When I saw it bundled at the Stampede - unit, extra sticks, accessory kit and storage case - I couldn’t resist. Unfortunately they only had the white and orange units - one pop, two pop and three pop units in a rainbow of colours are available.

It’s true that there are other ice pop makers out there, but most of them require waiting or running the mold under warm water to release them. I had one of these, but, needless to say, it sucked and I only used it once. With the non stick Zoku, you just put in a stick, fill ‘er up and wait 11 or so minutes. Then you use a knob to pull the pop out. Ta-da!

There’s something oddly scientific about making popsicles with the Zoku. The accessory kit comes with a couple of molds, a stick (so you don’t freeze your fingers to the metal), an angled stand, dropper and three measuring cups. The measuring cups have a little spout to keep the mess down and are marked for 1, 2 and 3 pops. It’s the accessory kit that lets you create all the fun pops. For example, to make filled pops, let the liquid freeze for a few minutes to create a shell, then suck out the remaining liquid and fill with another flavor. Use the stand to create striped pops, and the stick to position fruit on the sides. Fun!!

As well as being crazy creative, you can control the flavours and amount of sugar in the pops. Each one only requires 80 ml of liquid, so a small bottle of juice or cup of Greek yogurt will go a long way. Never have a lime popsicle again! There’s no shortage of recipes or pretty pretty Pinterest pictures for inspiration. Really, it’s the simplest form of gratification out there - just pour and wait and presto! I have to admit that the popsicles really got me through a hot summer. My favourite one so far has been a Nutella recipe.

There are certain disadvantages to the Zoku, mainly that the number it can make at once is limited. If you have more kids than popsicle wells, there might be some tears. This is where the storage case comes in handy, as it holds six at a time. Sugary liquid is a must, otherwise the pops might get stuck in the mold. This has happened twice so far and all it required to get them out was to wait for them to thaw a little. Really, the hardest thing about the Zoku so far is that it requires24 hours to freeze before it can be used!

So, a few years ago, the unimaginable happened and it made national headlines - Calgary voted in a Muslim mayor! Shocking, because despite Alberta being home to Canada's first mosque, and an amazingly diverse population, it's easy to be characterized as a bunch of rednecks with a big mall, a big rodeo and a big oily hole in the ground. A lifetime of living under this stereotype has its effects, so I think I'm justified in feeling a little smug these days. As if we were living in some strange, parallel universe, around the same time a few years ago, Toronto voted in the oafish Rob Ford. He has constantly been in news for bad behaviour, the latest of which alleges that he was caught on video smoking crack cocaine.

But, you don't have to take my word for it, here's our mayor, doing what he does best - simply being awesome!

Watch on YouTube

Given the case of the stupids I have today, I'm surprised I wrote this up last night on my art blog. He may be an outlaw, but Dom Toretto knows how to get results out of a team! :-D




Copyright 2013 Universal Pictures

I spotted this on a blog called Budgies Are Awesome. Everything is better with a budgie!

Oh my goodness, this site is a trove of tropes or characterizations and plot devices found in all forms of media. Apparently a trope is different from a cliche, and it's fun to see that these things actually have names!

I got the first season from the library and I'm so happy!

I love how accessible Jeremy Clarkson and co make cars to the non-car nuts out there like me.

"MCI Commercial with Leonard Nimoy, TOS Cast and Jonathan Frakes" (Watch on YouTube)

After lunch on Friday I went to the SportMart downtown and picked out a beginner inline skate, the K2 Athena. It was on sale and the amount saved paid for the padding. Although the wrist and elbow pads fit me, I didn't bother to try on the kneepads. When I got home I discovered that I did not have medium sized knees! It's not like it mattered anyway - with the dump of snow we had on Sunday, it's too cold to hit the pavement. Hurry up spring!