indig0's New Writeups

Toilet (thing)

2004-10-30T23:31:15Z

As you will see from Webster 1913's entry, the toilet is not the thing you excrete into. It is, in correct English, the act of 'freshening up'. It used to be that for a lady or gentleman to 'make one's toilet' would mean to wash one's hands, shave, have a haircut - basically to perform (or to have performed) any acts of grooming and personal hygiene. This would not include going to the lavatory.

Various public spaces and so on used to have separate rooms for (making one's) 'Toilet' and (going to the) 'Lavatory' (or water closet). You would use one, then the other. These two rooms became combined into one, particularly when the designers of passenger trains wanted to save space, and the word less overtly descriptive of the primary act was used for the sign on the door. The word toilet has now become the accepted (or rather, tolerated) noun meaning lavatory; indeed, the word lavatory itself means literally 'the place for washing',…

sophisticated (idea)

2004-10-26T23:47:27Z

Now this is strange. Webster 1913 says that if something is sophisticated, it is 'not genuine' or 'adulterated'. Yet when we talk of 'sophistication' nowadays, we think of complexity, refinement and achievement. The word's root is from the Greek for 'wise', sophos, which then gave rise to 'sophist', a wise man, skilled in elaborate arguments - this word also refers to a specific group of ancient 'natural philosophers' that Plato believed simply argued for the sake of it. Hence, sophistry becomes the phenomenon whereby someone sufficiently articulate can construct a convincing argument for something that may in fact be completely false. A dictionary definition of sophistry is 'a plausible but fallacious argument'. So from 'wise man', we have 'deliberately false argument' (from dictionary.com).

The verb 'to sophisticate' came to English via Latin (sophisticare) and meant 'to adulterate' and was applied to traders who would add cheap substances to their goods to…

Banana goo (thing)

2004-10-26T20:54:50Z

Here is how to make Banana Goo. It's really good - it turns into a kind of meta-banana paste. It is not an exact science, but you will know when you have got it right. The heat does things to the banana's taste - it becomes more sweet, but not sickly. The texture is also changed (as you could imagine). And it actually smells of bananas.

Take two skinned bananas, preferably just ripe - not green at all, and not too brown.
Mash them.
Put them in a (microwaveable) bowl and add 2-3 tablespoons of water. At this point, a teaspoon of soft brown sugar and/or chocolate shavings can also be added.
Put a (microwaveable) plate over the bowl to retain the moisture and microwave for about 2 minutes, depending on the strength of your oven.
Remove from microwave and stir. If the goo seems too dry, add a little water.
Microwave again for 30sec-1min. Serve.

This is a great accompaniment to yoghurt, fruit and ice cream - I prefer vanilla with this.

Banana cake (thing)

2004-10-26T00:07:18Z

Here's another one, this time courtesy of Gary Rhodes - adapted from his book, New British Classics. This cake is very gooey and very moreish. It's also very easy to make.

This is a great way of using up over-ripe bananas that you'd rather not eat straight. Certainly, I do not reccomend trying this with green (or even youthfully yellow) bananas - you may be disappointed, and will be forever unenlightened as to the delight and addiction that this cake demands. Here goes.

Ingredients:

225g self-raising flour
100g softened butter
50g dark soft brown sugar
4 tablespoons golden syrup
4 eggs
4 bananas, mashed. But not too finely. Fingers will do.

Basically, mix it all together - cracking the eggs in a different bowl, then stirring it all in until it's quite (but not completely) smooth. There should still be some pea-sized chunks of banana in there.

Spoon it all…

Chamonix (place)

2004-10-20T18:27:30Z

I've lived for about two months a year in Chamonix (more specifically, Les Houches) for about eight years. I usually go for 3-4 weeks in winter/spring, 3 in summer and 1 in autumn. I have hiked all over the valley and a fair bit in the surrounding country, and I've skied just about everywhere. At the moment, I'll focus on just these two activities, but I may include more (especially on nightlife) when I have done a little more research.

The valley has had a somewhat isolated existence since it was first settled - nobody really knows when that was - and played a prominent role in the English Romantic movement: Byron and the Shelleys were frequent visitors, and Frankenstein was inspired by a visit to the Mer de Glace. Since the construction of the Mont Blanc Tunnel and the Autoroute Blanche, the valley has become much more industrialised and accessible: both a blessing and a curse. Its stunning landscape - to me the most…

Tootsies (place)

2004-10-20T15:55:16Z

Tootsies is the name of an excellent chain of flame-grill burger restaurants. Burgers are sold with chips and a small salad included, and prices range from £6 to £10. Extra ingredients can be included on request (and at a cost). The burger menu has a wide range of choices, including vegetarian and chicken as well as beef burgers and fillings from the traditional (salad, cheese, tomato) to the more exotic (jalapeno, avocado, ham & pineapple). There are other options besides burgers: 8oz steak, sausages, salads (chicken caesar, mozzarella and tomato...).

To drink, you can choose from soft drinks, milkshakes, wine, beer and the usual assortment of teas and coffees.

The puddings change regularly, but at the moment I'd go for the banoffee pie or the banana split. There used to be a brilliant dark and deadly sticky toffee pudding cake which has since been taken off the menu due to the fact that nobody could fit through the door when they then tried to leave.…