QUARANTINE BLOG # 548

September 29, 2021

I admit it.  I do not understand high fashion.  The Paris shows.  The catwalks.  The fashion items that look like they were produced by someone suffering a Cordrazine hallucination.

For you non-Trekkers, I need to explain “Cordrazine.”  According to the Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual, the drug Cordrazine was invented on Earth in 1987 as an autonomous nervous system stimulant.  It was originally used in cryogenics laboratories to stimulate the production of epinephrine and norepinephrine in the brain to restore nerve transmissions during the defrosting process.  As witnessed in Star Trek (The Original Series) “City on the Edge of Forever” excessive amounts of this drug produce temporary delirium with violent behavior, as the recipient enters into frenzies of extreme paranoia. 

Dr. Leonard H. McCoy, son of David, in a cordrazine frenzy caused by an accidental overdose

Hence, my feeling that runway fashions are produced by someone suffering as did Dr. McCoy.  I guess I’m a Neanderthal, but some of that stuff is just plain weird.  For instance (click on the picture to enlarge it):

I scrolled through dozens Harper’s Bazaar “Paris Fashion Week Spring 2021’s Best Looks” and not one of the models was smiling.  Best looks?  I guess if I was wearing that stuff, I wouldn’t be smiling either.

Anyway, what led me down this path was a New York Times article, “When Old Spoons Make Really Great Necklaces.”

Designer Marine Serre wearing her creation

During my 17 years in the jewelry business, I sold many different styles of necklaces, and while the spoons are different, that necklace is not too outlandish.  But then there were the spoon earrings and the fork necklace, and that’s what inspired this piece.

I remember flying Delta’s business class to Russia after the horror of 9/11 and the vital tightening of airport security.  Our meal was served – curiously – with a plastic knife and a metal fork (I never understood the idea that it was okay to give a potential fanatic a sharp metal fork, and deny him of a blunt knife, but that’s the way it was).  And looking at that fork necklace, I wondered what TSA would think.

And now on to other things.

👉  Good stuff from Family Circus:

👉  A website called healthygem.com has a feature called “Unwholesome And Unhealthy: The Worst Junk Foods.”  I don’t know how many items it features – I got hungry after looking through a few and went to get a snack.  But here are a few that I saw.  Full disclosure: I haven’t tried any of these, but there’s a couple that may be worth the risk.

Wendy’s Pretzel Bacon Pub Triple Cheeseburger.  The burgers are topped with warm beer cheese sauce, Applewood smoked bacon, smoky honey mustard, crispy fried onions, pickles, a slice of Muenster cheese, and piled into a soft pretzel bun.  According to Fast Food Nutrition, this burger comes to a total of 1,520 calories, 106 grams of fat, 1,910 milligrams of sodium, and 53 grams of carbs.  Open wide.

McDonald’s Big Breakfast With Hotcakes.  The BBWH meal has a whopping 1,340 calories. The meal includes a couple of hotcakes, a biscuit, a sausage patty, scrambled eggs, hash browns, syrup, and butter.  It has 44 grams of fat, 2,090 milligrams of sodium, and 155 grams of carbs.  This giant platter of breakfast foods has a lot more than the daily recommended amounts of fats, carbs, and sodium, so it should either be avoided or shared among others.

The Subway Chicken And Bacon Ranch Melt.  While this fast food chain is often thought of as one of the healthier options, one of the worst menu items to order is the CBRM.  The foot-long sub with Italian herbs and cheese bread has 1,150 calories, 57 grams of fat, 2,580 milligrams of sodium, and 87 grams of carbs.  The sandwich ingredients that really take it over the edge are the bacon, cheese, ranch dressing, and the bread roll.

If you are still hungry, I’ll do some more Friday.

👉  Pearls Before Swine gives a look inside social media:

👉  Today’s close “The God of Details,” is by Katie Westenberg.

“You must make it according to all that I show you – the pattern of the tabernacle as well as the pattern of all its furnishings” (Exodus 25:9).

When God relayed his vision for the tabernacle He was specific and incredibly detailed. The loops on the curtains, the clasps on the loops, the color of thread, lengths and widths – it’s all in there.

In Exodus, right amidst those precise instructions and patterns, we meet the God of details.  The God who takes Israel’s hand and says “Here, this is exactly how I want you to do it.  This thread, that many loops, these bronze clasps.”

In the last half of Exodus we meet the God who cares about the details.  We meet the God who knows and sees, who gently leads those who want to meet Him and know Him and aren’t always sure what that should look like lived out.  He takes their willing hands and guides them in the growing.

That God, I AM, never changes.  He is still the God of details, taking his people by the hand today.  What a gift.

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