Just stuffed myself silly with fresh pitas and hummous. For those that like pitas, but have never bothered to make it themselves, I really recommend it — and there's nothing to it.
- Pour a cup of lukewarm water into a bowl and add some yeast.
- When it's bubbling add a bunch of sugar and salt and whisk then knead in flour.
- Let that rise for a couple hours.
- Make small balls of dough and roll them out to about the thickness of a tortilla (yes, very thin!).
- Fry first one side then the other in an almost-smoking pan with a little olive oil.
While you're waiting for the dough to rise is a real good time to make the hummous of course (which is just lemon/lime, garlic, tahini, chick peas, and spices to taste all blended up).
We had a chance this morning to take a closer look at the property; we discovered that not only are there the three main houses and the large dining hall, but that there are also a half-dozen “micro-cabins” (more like permanent tents) that were kind of kooky. Anyway, we may well see if we can strike a deal this week.
Just had another talk with the world's stupidest reporter. Seriously, I don't know where People magazine finds these dopes. This is a condensed version of a waste of fifteen minutes:
People: Let me read back a line from your FAQ for you… “My tongue was split in 1997 by Dr. Lawrence Busino in Albany, NY using an argon laser.” I called Dr. Busino and he says that he's never done a tongue splitting on anyone and doesn't have any idea who you are.
Me: Well, he did mine, I published photos of it in 1997 which you can still see on the site, and I have photos and videos of numerous other people that he did as well. But if he doesn't want his name associated with it, maybe you should just leave him out of the story.
People: He says you're lying and I don't see how we can leave that out of the story.
Me: I can send you photos of him doing mine if you want proof or you can go look at it on the site, or video of him doing other folks as well.
People: Well, we have no idea what he looks like, so that wouldn't be considered proof by the editors of People magazine. If he says you're lying, we have to include that.
Me: If People magazine publishes unqualified statements that imply that I am lying about tongue splitting when I am providing you with proof that I am not, you can bet that I will follow this up legally.
People: It wouldn't be People magazine saying it, we'd just be printing the story; it's not as if we're actually saying the things we print are true. We're not investigative journalists and you can't expect us to confirm our facts!
Me: Look, if you engage in irresponsible journalism you will have to answer for it. I'm not going to tolerate People magazine implying that I'm a liar when I'm offering to give you documentation that I'm not. Either keep Busino's name out of the story as he clearly wants you to do, or include that he's lying about not doing the procedure. I don't care which, but I'm not going to tolerate being slandered in the national media.
Seriously, that is not made up.
So I'm on the phone with Newsweek who called me unexpectedly at about 9:10 PM, at which point I've already been drinking and helping orchestrate a twenty-five person pissing party (I have to admit I'm very curious as to whether that was fun or if it went horribly wrong)…
Anyway, they kept bugging me to put them in touch with tongue splitting people in Illinois, which I told them I wasn't willing to do.
Newsweek: Can you put us in touch with anyone in Chicago that has a tongue splitting that was done in Illinois?
Shannon: I really wouldn't feel comfortable with that as I'm worried it could get their practitioner in legal trouble.
NW: But they can't retroactively charge them…
Shannon: Look, they've made it clear that they're willing to lie and corrupt the governmental process in order to harass people on this subject. Not only that, but over the past month I have seen several friends arrested on fraudulent charges because of their body modification activities, and I am simply not comfortable putting people I care about at risk to sell advertising.
NW: Don't you think you should let them make that decision?
Shannon: Do you see me stopping you from talking to them? Feel free!
NW: But you're not giving us any contacts! We don't know how to get in touch with those people.
Shannon: And that's my problem… how?
I'm not kidding about those arrests by the way. They're not related to tongue splitting, but they are related to heavy body mods. “Top tier providers” have been hit recently with (as far as I know) fake childporn charges in order to get the ammunitiion required to seize their computers, contact lists, and so on.
I know the media is clamoring for people to talk to right now, and I'm not saying don't do it, but PLEASE PROTECT YOUR PRACTITIONER! Even if these new anti-freedom laws don't get passed, it's still a grey area. They've shown that they don't give a damn about fundamental rights or even basic honesty, so don't assume you're safe when this bill is (hopefully) defeated.
On an alternate note, I can not in good conscience recommend the following drink, which tastes somewhere between liquid candy and cough syrup. It is one ounce Goldschlager, and a half ounce each of Creme de Menthe, Southern Comfort, and Bolivian Coffee Liqueur…
I won't be around much today; I've already talked to almost a dozen reporters this morning, and I'm muddling my way through Windows API programming that I've never done before which just makes me angry. Oh, and a friend that owns a customizing shop just offered to install this body kit on the Porsche for free… Think I should go for it?
PS. Recommended reading: Dollar or Dinar
Just got sent these pictures (which I have no reason to believe are fake). The one on the left is of course a dude with six fingers (it's less rare than you'd think), and the one on the right shows a (healed) bullet hole piercing on both the roof of the mouth and the chin.
I'm not actually going to order a set unless they post photos so I know they don't look like total crap, but these are pretty funny in my opinion: http://www.chickenhawkcards.com/
PS. The interview below went well I think. I liked the host's libertarian attitude about the whole thing; basically, “If you want to split your tongue, I think that's kind of freaky and I'd never do it, but ultimately it's your problem, not mine, and it's wrong to legally try and stop you. It's a waste of tax payer money and none of the government's business.”
For those interested, I'll be on the Jason Jarvis show talking about tongue splitting at about 1:07 EST (ie. in just under two hours). You can visit his webpage (www.jasonjarvisshow.com) and listen live, although it's syndicated all over the US as well.
