I used to something similar when I was a kid. When faced with choosing between two things I would do the "eeny-meeny-miney-mo" song and of course I'd always make sure the song ended with the one I really, truly wanted. Worked every time (well, almost ever time).
On a slightly unrelated note, I'd love to see a Star Trek script written collaboratively by:
Gene Wolfe
Terry Pratchett
Zombie Philip K. Dick (a man can dream)
and directed by Terry Gilliam
It would be a mess, but it would be a glorious mess.
I bought these! They are seriously cool. Chet is a talented artist with a great sense of humor. I can't wait for my son to be old enough to enjoy these!
"All novels are fantasies. Some are more honest about it."
-Gene Wolfe
/thread
I agree that vampires can be sympathetic, and not even necessarily pure evil and still be interesting. I'm thinking of Cassidy, the alcoholic Irish vampire in Preacher. He definitely had his savage moments, and he was never effeminate or "sparkly", and yet he still managed to keep some humanity (I think that was the point of his character). Very interesting vamp.
Another great vampire TV series is the extremely short-lived Ultraviolet. It's only six episodes long, but it's great because it depicts modern vampires living modern lives and still being really, really evil.
Seriously, if you haven't seen Ultraviolet, go rent it, buy it, torrent, whatever. It's really great. Has a lot of well known actors, including a guy who I think is now a vamp on True Blood.
My wife's family has mashed potatoes almost every Sunday, and my mother-in-law has it down to a science.
Here's what she does:
1. Peel and cut potatoes. (She always gets whatever is cheapest, and often flies to Idaho to get them...because she can fly Delta for free so this is more practical than it sounds).
2. Cook in pressure cooker for like 20-30 minutes (can't remember exact time, but it takes less time than boiling)
3. Put them in the Bosch (OMG best kitchen electric EVAR) mixer with the mixing attachment, add one can of condensed milk, butter and salt to taste. Whip it.
4. Serve
When we go over for dinner, she lets me play with different flavors, and sometimes my sister-in-law makes rosemary and garlic mashed potatoes which absolutely rock (but her brothers hate them).
Also, my father-in-law is German so we always leave some of the cooked taters unmashed for his favorite way to eat them: Saltz Kartoffel (I find that waxy potatoes are much better for this dish, but don't make a huge difference for mashed)
*The Bosch is awesome, but don't whip them too long or they will be more like pureed potatoes, which suck, in my opinion.
