From the HuffingtonPost.com 

No links, not even any patties, but anyone who's been paying attention the last couple of days, since the Iranians test-launched (with the help of Photoshop) some missiles, knows the drill. There's been a universal rush to denounce the tests, and an equally universal rush to refer to "iran's nuclear weapons ambitions." That was the quote from a couple of NPR hourly newscasts, and, of course, that's the line from the Bush administration and the McCain campaign.

It's almost as if there wasn't a National Intelligence Estimate -- the consensus view of the nation's 16 intelligence agencies -- issued just last December on the issue of Iran's nuclear program. The NIE said that said the judgment of the agencies was that Iran's nuclear weapons program was stopped four years ago.

It's understandable that the administration and its anointed would-be successor would find it convenient to forget that conclusion. But the fact that no national news media "journalist" questioning any surrogates about this latest dustup can bother to remember that NIE conclusion would be disappointing -- if we hadn't already lived through this charade once before.

Spring break senior year, two months before I graduate from NYU is not exactly a vacation even though I went to London to visit my Dad.  It’s more like preparation for my final senior project, a focused study amalgamating EVERYTHING I’ve learned up ‘til now, split up by small breaks of art, shopping, and of course, food.  Basically, stress oozed out of every pore the entire ten days.  I tried doing yoga; I tried going for runs; I tried a few breathing exercises, and sure, all of that helped, but there’s really only one thing that hit the spot: chain restaurants.

It was the day after Christmas, we’d had too much sugar and a fair share of post-modern stress so, it was probably a bad idea to try to go “sale” shopping. 

We couldn’t even get into the parking lot at Saks, it was 5 of 11 and the 70% discount ended at noon and neither of us had even had a cup of coffee.... (I sometimes think my daughters and I should wear signs around our necks that say “Please feed before attempting to interact with us.”) 

And then sort of Saks was off the table but we were already out and we poked our heads into a shop on Melrose Place which was too expensive and besides the point and Anna said she just wanted to go home.  Neither one of us had really had coffee.

“No, let’s take a walk,” I insisted.  “We’ll find someplace to eat.”

I have never mastered the art of making ice cream.  Hard to believe since every cookbook I read tells me how simple it really is. I bought a snazzy red Cuisinart ice cream maker and I even have an extra drum sitting in my freezer so that I have the illusion that I can always whip up a batch of fresh ice cream at the drop of a hat.  

Here’s my stumbling block: I am a multi-tasker.  I can’t help it. I’m not sure if I was one before I became a single mom, but I’m definitely one now. Producing that perfect, delectable treat must be intended for a more single-minded person than myself. If one cooks the custard even a second too long the result is a curdled egg mixture that is definitely never destined to become a delicious, smooth, cold, creamy, delectable anything.