WTF-Beta

@AndyD A feast! Everything looks mouth watering!

@AdagioM I will give these a try. They sound appetizing!

@RealPlayer ditto. I keep looking for cookie options but the CNN website doesn't seem to present any.

@ShiroKuro said in Notes from the piano bar: Another casualty of the ever decreasing shared culture?:

I didn't think the author was trying to make a point about musical quality, but just to say that, whereas with older songs, everyone could sing along, now, you can't expect that there is a set of songs that most everyone knows.

Yes. I couldn't quite tell where exactly the author was coming down, especially with this:

I’ve led a spectrum of humanity in singing the iconic “na-na-na-na” outro from “Hey Jude”: young and old, men and women, every race and ethnicity. Hopefully our culture will once again create songs so universally beloved. And if that happens, hopefully you can make an effort to listen. So that the next time I’m headlining at the piano bar, we can all sing it together.

His point is nebulous. I would argue that Hey Jude might not have been so universally beloved as universally known ( and perhaps often as an earworm!). And what to make of, "...hopefully you can make an effort to listen."? I suspect a lot of older people today don't even know a lot, if not most, current pop artists' music. When I was a child hearing Hey Jude on the radio, my parents generation were also hearing it, so they were exposed--like it or not--to the latest trends. And maybe it was time and place, but some not very nice things were said of 'hippie' music.

I think that opinion piece is a bit mixed up and not well thought out, or well written. More like the author wants to make a point but hasn't really got anything to bolster his view. The correlations made are very weak:

Of the hundreds of audience members to request it at my performances, young women comprise at least 90 percent. While we obviously don’t know the political affiliations or motivations of the people requesting it, young women represent one of the country’s only demographic groups that voted majority Democratic in the 2024 presidential election.

He asks, "Are we still producing anthemic songs that everyone can know and sing anymore?" I would say most definitely yes. But the medium has changed. We no longer tune in to radio stations where everyone who is tuned in hears the same song (that they did not choose) multiple times a week (or even day). In this age of streaming, people hone in and tune in to exactly what they want to hear. It's a completely different scenario than the 60s or 70s. Or even the age of MTV.

There's a hint of "my generation had better taste, better values" in the essay. That's always off-putting to me. Styles have changed; singing styles especially. But the music being written today is still very much along the lines of music that's been written for a century.

eta. What he's describing is a symptom of the internet age, not a symptom of inferior song writing. imo.

@Piano-Dad Congratulaltions to all!

The 1st one: Looks very comfortable for its location. A few things I'm not keen on: The railing of the grand staircase. It makes me expect to see retail shops along the mezzanine, i.e. looks mall-like. And the kitchen is too professional for my tastes. But wouldn't it be nice to be able to live in such a location at certain times of the year!

I've started preparing my Brussels Sprouts in this manner, and I absolutely love them.

Throw a handful of halved Brussels Sprouts in a small saucepan with a half inch of water (add more as/if needed), cover and steam/boil until slightly tender. Remove the lid and let the water evaporate. Throw in a good knob of butter, a handful of roasted chestnuts, plenty of fresh ground pepper, salt, and a few teaspoons (or more) of maple syrup. Let cook but keep a good eye on it so that it doesn't burn. Yum!

@Steve-Miller I bought a set of sterling many years ago and I love how it looks and how it feels in the hand. Unfortunately, I discovered, after purchase, that I don't like the shape of the forks. The tines don't all extend straight on, the two outside tines lean inwards and it makes the tip narrow which makes it sometimes difficult to pick up food! It's the Chippendale pattern from Towle. I much prefer using some silverplate I have, but it doesn't feel as good. Maybe I should sell the Towle and get something else.

AdagioM, have you seen this?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/26/knitting-craft-activists-against-trump

@Steve-Miller The food looks scrumptious! I love herring in cream sauce. I used to have a set of Johnson Bros. "Friendly Village", gave it away. I miss it sometimes, but how many sets does a person need?

@ShiroKuro I made a lasagna brunch for some friends a few weeks ago. Trick is to make the sauce the night before, then it's just a matter of assembly on the day, before popping it in the oven.

@AndyD Lovely music, AndyD. Thanks for that!

@AdagioM said in Who's cooking / baking for the holidays?:

Really 14.5 pounds of boozy cake?

Yeah, out of curiosity I weighed it. It's full of fruit, armagnac, sherry, and marsala.

It sounds like you are having quite a feast!

A lovely feel-good story for this Christmas.

I took the Christmas cake that I made in October out of its tin today. 14.5 lbs of boozy goodness. I broadened the scope of the picture so wtg can see my ceramic tree.

Yesterday I made a Cherry-Walnut cake that someone on the overnight thread I visit posted last week. I haven't had this cake since I was a child.

A few days ago I made fondant centers for chocolates. I'd better dip them today. Wintergreen, Maple (I know, sickly color, but they'll look better in chocolate), and orange.

This year I made my Tourtière pie filling in October and froze it. Got to remember to take it out of the freezer today.... in fact I'm going to do that now!

The living room tree (It can change from white lights to colored ones)

My decor is very similar to last year's, with a few displays moved to new locations.

The Santas

The dining room tree

The village (putting it in a bookshelf has been one of my better ideas)

@wtg More beautiful trees! Love the wreath with the candle. I remember those little angel candles, I think my Aunt down the road had some. I have a ceramic tree very similar to yours, but mine has a blue star!

@ShiroKuro Your trees are so pretty, SK.