Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Erin's Good Things - It Ain't What's Good For Oprah

I notice that celebrities enjoy telling people what they like. It usually amounts to name-dropping $500 wrinkle cream and $45,000 handbags. To counter all this unattainable foolery, I thought I'd share a bunch of stuff I like that's way more affordable.

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1. Rose's Lime Cordial. It's not sweet, not sour - just right. This cordial costs about $3.49 in Toronto. If you cut it with club soda, it lasts a long time. Delish!


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2. Anthony Bourdain: I must admit I've only read one of his books, but I think his show No Reservations is brilliant. I love that after all these years, he still looks like a roadie for the New York Dolls roaming around the back streets of international locales looking for interesting food, people, and stories. Bravo! On this clip, he gets an insanely painful back rub at a spa in Uzbekistan. Look for it just before the 4:00 mark. I laughed so hard watching it.

3. Absurdist British comedy such as Fawlty Towers. My entire family loves this show. John Cleese is a hoot as Basil Fawlty. I love how he's this mess of simmering rage who always gets it wrong.
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4. The smell of fresh bread and also the smell of fabric softener blowing out neighbours' dryer vents. I know, the second one is odd. If Proust said it, it would have been brilliant.
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5. Most people hate black licorice. I've loved it ever since I was a kid. I don't go for the salty Scandinavian licorice, however. That's too hard-core for me.

6. Laughing at people laughing at inappropriate things. Here's a classic example. I just can't get enough.

West Coast Roasting Company Coffee
7. Dark roast coffee: Again, I've been indulging since I was a kid. Being the youngest child in a large family, my parents had given up trying to be "correct" when I came along and basically let me chug back coffee at the dinner table before I was ten. It didn't do me any harm, although I might be a foot or two taller had I been drinking milk instead.

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8. Mexican culture. I love the music, the food, the art. For me, this country has it all. Can't wait to visit one day. I won't be sunning myself by the pool.

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9. Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap: The former Guess Who and BTO axe-man hosts the best radio show ever each Saturday night on the CBC Radio. I think you can listen via the internet. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of music and plays some fantastic tunes. Love it.

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10. Pomegranates: I consider this fruit to be a finger food. There's nothing I like more than settling in to a great movie with a yummy pomegranate to pick at. Mmmm.

Thanks for reading. I'll do another ten things I love later.

7 comments:

  1. I love black licorice! And have been known to eat the salty stuff too! I have a love hate relationship with Bourdain; I find his show fascinating but I would definitely enjoy kicking him repeatedly in the shins! LOL take that you smug a-hole!

    I truly enjoyed reading this post and the one before that. I love that you love different things. Variety is the spice of life!

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  2. #4...not odd at all! The smell of fresh bread is best of course, but the smell of fabric softner from my neighbors vents always puts a smile on my face...glad I'm not the only one!

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  3. #4 not odd at all....I love it too...unless that makes me odd. Hehe...I might just be. :)

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  4. Man, you are the coolest person ever...what a cool list!

    I was fascinated and I'm totally not kidding. And I've wanted to try that lime stuff forever and now I have to! And I feel the same way about Anthony B. - who I used to think was the coolest person in the world, until you made this list. Now hes the second coolest.

    And I totally LOVE fawlty towers - I could watch it 24 hours a day. And Are you being served? For that matter...

    And coffee. Its so funny but the other day I finished a coffee I didnt like and started one I loved and it was wonderful and to myself thought - Lifes to short to drink bad coffee :)

    Man, I loved this post. You rock hard :)

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  5. Thanks so much thrifty friends. I could keep going with all the random stuff I like. You should all do lists on your blogs.
    Rock on!
    Erin

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  6. Dark Coffee, as a friend of mine says, it's "nectar of the gods".

    Thanks for a realistic list of things to try. Maybe we should all make one and challenge each other to test them.

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  7. Love Bourdain..got a few of his books..all thrifted! And yes, scent from the neighbour's dryer is strangely calming. Will have to dry the licorice and the lime cordial. Try looking for seedless pomegranates..lighter waxy skin, and the arils are not as "seedy". Costs abt C1.50- $2, try getting them at the Spadina Chinatown.

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I'm a slightly off-beat Toronto-area teacher who enjoys writing and photography. I come from a family of collectors and now I'm dragging my own family around to yard sales. It's just a bit of fun. Enjoy the scenes.