This week has flown right by, and I’ve got some interesting things that I’ve been looking into and reading. I’ve been reading a lot more books this year because I’m part of a book club at work. Whenever I start reading more, I start getting back into writing more. It’s probably why I’ve been able to get back into blogging again.
- ALS Ice Challenge
I would be remiss if I didn’t write about this, since I was challenged to do it this week, and I did. I will be donating to the ALS organization also as part of the challenge.
When I first starting seeing videos of people dousing themselves with buckets of ice water, all to raise awareness for ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), I was not sure if I understood it. The few people I had seen were doing the challenge as a way of getting out of donating, which is not the true challenge. The official rules of the challenge requires the person to donate $10 if you do the ice bucket, as opposed to $100 otherwise.
My husband was the first person to be challenged in our house, and so he did the challenge (but with very little ice). He actually did a second one too, with more ice. I, on the other hand, just recently was challenged by my sister. I had about 24 hours to think about how I wanted to approach this, because when it comes to doing things that everyone else is doing, I like to put my own spin on it so I stand out a little. In this case, I didn’t want my video to be just another girl pouring water over her head.
I took some time to go to the ALS website in order to read more about this disease, as I really didn’t have any information on it. I have known a few people personally who have been affected by this disease, although I was never close to them when they were really sick. After reading about it I started to get some ideas about how I might want to use the information about the disease in a more creative way. Instead of just pouring water on myself, I would also educate people on just what ALS was about.
In my video, which you can see here, instead of talking I’ve written out on paper my thoughts about ALS and how those who suffer from it often lose their ability to communicate. This is something that really got me thinking, because as a writer my main focus is on communicating with others. And if that ability was ever taken away from me I don’t think I’d enjoy life as much. And that is why I accepted the challenge. No one should be without a voice.
At the same time, though, I wonder why so much money needs to be spent for medical research. It would be so beneficial for humanity to allow researchers to do whatever they needed to do, and not charge them for it. Why does everything have to cost so much money? Money should never be a factor for finding cures for diseases, but in most cases, it is the deciding factor. And that’s not right. If I ran the world, there would be projects set up for free research for all the biggest diseases, and the smartest people would be sought after to conduct the research. All the equipment and medicine would be given free of charge. There would not be a rent on the building and the utilities would be taken care of. The main focus would be on finding cures, rather than funds.
But alas, we do not live in a world where things make sense. Don’t get me started on the government and the fact that they really should cut all their salaries so they’re equal to an average family’s wages.
- Benedict Cumberbatch
And finally, here is the Benedict picture of the week. This is how he looks in the television program “Sherlock.” I hear he was also challenged to do the Ice Bucket Challenge recently by actor Tom Hiddleston, but I am still waiting to see if he’ll do it. He’s actually already very active in raising money and awareness for the disease over in England, where they call it MND (Motor Neuron Disease). So maybe he’ll just donate more money and forego the ice. Either way works for me, though I hear his is planning to do it once he has some free time. He’s a very busy man.
- Haruki Murakami
A few weeks ago I was reading an article about Haruki Murakami, a Japanese author who I had never heard of. Not sure why I’d never heard of him, but after reading the article I was sure that he would be among my favorites if I read his work. I was correct. I just finished reading his book “What I talk about when I talk about running.” It was a memoir he wrote about how he runs and also focuses on his writing too, because at some point they do overlap. He has a very simple and enjoyable writing style. It’s not overly wordy, and it flows nicely. He also knows how to put words together to make the most beautiful sentences.
He just published a new novel, “Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage.” I plan on reading this one soon, after I finish a few others I’m working on. I read an excerpt of it here that makes me think I’m going to love it.
- Tomato Tart
A few years ago I signed up on the Pioneer Woman’s website to receive emails of her recipes. Whenever I get one I almost instantly end up making the recipe, and it’s usually something that I’ve been thinking about making. Yesterday was no exception. Our neighbor had given us a bag of sweet orange cherry tomatoes, and we had a few from our own garden milling about the kitchen. And I had no idea what I was going to do with them. I also was tasked with creating something for dinner, and I wasn’t sure what.
So when I got the Tomato Tart recipe in my inbox it was exactly what I was looking for. The pictures alone made me want to make it. It was actually pretty easy to pull together, and had very minimal cooking involved. The hardest part was making the pie crust, which I opted to make from scratch rather than buying ready made from the store. My mom has a foolproof pie crust recipe I always use, and it’s only failed me once (partly due to the temperature outside rather than the recipe itself). Even then, pie crust is not hard to make. Just tedious. But I love using my hands to knead and press dough. So it was actually more of a relaxing dinner prep.
Everyone in the house loved this and we paired it with some fresh corn on the cob. The tart is actually very filling. In the future I might also try adding either bacon or crumbled sausage, to make it more meat-friendly for my husband. Cause he likes meat for dinner. I highly recommend the recipe, especially if you have no idea what to do with all the cherry tomatoes you may have.