The New Sincerity

I love pie.

I made the most amazing blueberry pie yesterday (not as pretty as the one in the picture here). Of course, pie is almost always tasty, but it's extra nice when you make it yourself, and especially when you're using fresh blueberries.

Check out the recipe I used from the Joy of Baking website. Some really good tips include letting the pie rest for several hours after it comes out of the over (as difficult as that is) - most of those juices bubbling out the top *will* actually set.

In other pie-related news, Season 2 of Pushing Daisies is only two months away, which makes me happy. If you're not familiar with Ned the Pie-maker, Olive Snook and company, you should check out Pushing Daisies.

Labels: blueberries, food, pie, pushing daisies

Irony is over. Like, sooo over.

Irony has become so ingrained in our culture that to honestly like something, to really really love something, is a rare thing.

Blank irony--you know, that thing where you're not actually making fun of anything concrete (see, that would be SATIRE)--is the default mode of the times.

Gen X-into-Gen Y churned out generations apparently incapable of expressing, enjoying, apparently anything sincerely. At its worst, it's nihilism that is more about repeating some very old and tired ideas about sexism, racism, homophobia, ableism etc than it is about being bold and "anti-PC." You're not breaking boundaries, you're putting them back up half the time.

Here's an idea - like things because you like them. Amazing. And don't pretend like irony is a get-out-of-jail free card for you to be as offensive as you want about people with less privileges than you.

To help make things easier for you, here is a list of "ironic" things that are unreservedly, objectively, rubbish:

* Chuck Norris.

Shut up already. It's not funny. And he's a conservative nutter who seriously--not bloody ironically--thinks gays should be castrated.

* mockumentary style TV shows and films.

Yes it was funny at some point but having a two-seconds too long sideways look at the end of each scene isn't particularly intelligent. This is the home of contemporary blank irony.

* Sarah Silverman.

Ironic racism is so hilarious. Except not.

* Hipster Run-off

You're not big and you're not clever.

* American Apparel

Shitty clothes for hipster wankers, with creepy paedo-ish ads and apparently dubious work practices.

This list will be added to on whim or at the request of readers.

Now, onto liking things.