by Andrew Thomas

“It just sort of introduces the idea that you’re in for something pretty idiotic.” – Larry David

I love food. I love eating it. I love making it. I love talking about it. I love hearing people talk about it. I even love watching people make it on competition based television shows. Unfortunately, those shows by nature must leave out one of my favorite elements of food: the smell. When you enter a restaurant owned by a knowledgeable chef, you’ll notice the immediate presence of a powerful, distinct and pleasing aroma. It heightens the anticipation. It lets you know the type of food is on the way. It focuses your senses on the tastes and textures to come.

A good theme song is the television equivalent to a tantalizing aroma before a delicious meal. It whets your appetite for the rest of the show. The tone of the song will let you know if the show will be light, dark, comedic, dramatic, intense, intelligent, unconventional, or any number of things. When you hear the twanging guitars and mournful fiddle of Deadwood’s Opening Sequence, you know you’re not in for a buddy cop comedy. When you hear The Barenaked Ladies prattle off a Brief History of The Universe, you know you’re not watching a show about a rape lawyer.

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At the end of last week I got so obsessed with writing this story, I completely ran out of time to post my other gardening mix last week.

My 12-year-old self is so tempted right now

Who didn’t think the dandelion was the best flower ever when they were little?  They were the best for making flower chains and headbands.  You could use them as crayons.  If you held one under your chin the amount that it glowed on your skin predicted how rich you would be.  And it was insanely fun to blow the all the seeds away into the wind.

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