My Patriotic Potatoes

We have a 4th of July cookout later, and I have just started my food prep:



I'm making roasted fingerling potatoes, and as you can see they are red, white, and purple. I'm going to pretend the purple ones are blue, and force all the guests at the cookout to pretend that they are blue as well. If I were really cynical, I'd say that forcing other people to believe what you believe is kind of what America is really all about given the passage of things like Proposition 8 in California or the Defense of Marriage Act, but I'm going to ignore my somewhat cynical nature for the day and embrace patriotism instead. After all, as much as America is about the tyranny of the majority, it's also about the protection of the minority and their freedoms, like my freedom to write something critical about America on my blog and then go make potatoes.

Enjoy my red, white, and (almost) blue potatoes, friends. I swear they're just a side dish, not a metaphor.

And also, thanks for the day off tomorrow, America. I have about two weeks worth of photos and adventures to sort through.

Independence Through Conformity

Like millions of other Americans, yesterday I celebrated our independence from colonial rule by gathering en masse to watch fireworks and eat overpriced food. Winging a plan, I met Bryan downtown for early dinner, and then we met up with Jess at the World's Fair Park.



A good time was had by all, and, of course, there were explosions:







Yay for America!