Food 24 Jul 2010 04:40 pm
Predictably Vicious New Atheist Chai
So. Out there in the atheist blogosphere is this loopy scandal of sockpuppets and lies and misogynistic fixation and secret identities and provocative accusations and the kind of ugly pseudo-journalism that Bob Novak would have produced if he’d been a concern troll. (Oh, Chris Mooney. I remember when you weren’t so obviously full of crap. Those were good days.) At this point I’d need a wiki to keep all of it straight, but Zachary Voch does as good a job at untangling it as anybody.
So there’s a lot of anger flying around out there, especially between New Atheists and the Nice Police. One commenter on Butterflies and Wheels really– well, we all have days when we get an idea and run it into the ground, eh? He’s been advised to brew some chai and take a breather. It’s pretty good advice. I can think of some times when I wish I’d gotten and taken some advice like that.
As usual, as soon as food is mentioned, my attention is thoroughly diverted. One good thing I’ll say for all that mess is that it’s gotten me to revisit my old chai recipe, which I hadn’t thought to make in years. I do like it quite strong, so I think I’ll start calling it:
Predictably Vicious New Atheist Chai
(Hat tip to the spittle-flecked ravings of Jeremy Stangroom for inspiring the title. All ingredients are subject to rational argument. Though if you want to leave out the water, I’ll look at you funny.)1 cinnamon stick, broken
4 cardamom pods, smushed
4 whole cloves
2 peppercorns
a 3/4″ chunk of ginger, sliced and the cut surfaces scored
2 cups water
milk and sugar to taste
black tea (optional)Bring the spices to a simmer in the water, then let sit to infuse, covered, for a good eight to ten minutes. For a caffeinated variant, bring the mixture back up to a simmer after about five minutes, add some unperfumed black tea, then immediately turn off the heat again and let it sit for three minutes. Strain and serve with plenty of milk.
on 25 Jul 2010 at 10:51 am 1.Ophelia Benson said …
Sounds great…though ginger and milk seem slightly incompatible. But once it’s all mixed and brewed, I’m sure that’s a different story.
Maybe there’s a New Atheism joke in there somewhere. The ginger of New Atheism tempered by the addition of water and tea and…no, never mind.
on 25 Jul 2010 at 12:43 pm 2.Cam Sculpin said …
I bet there’s a compatibilism joke!
Ginger can be very nice with milk or cream. I’ve had some excellent ginger ice cream. It’s all about playing off the unctuousness of the dairy against the bite of the spices.
on 25 Jul 2010 at 4:03 pm 3.clamboy said …
E. had me explain this kerfuffle to her today, as she has no interest in keeping up with the sordid didos up to which the Accomodationists get with the Brand Spanking New Atheists. As my sympathies are not with Mooney on this and many other issues, I had a good workout keeping my explanation neutral. I applauded Mooney when “The Republican War on Put-Near Everything” came out, but “Unscientifically ‘Murican” leaves much to be desired, and this whole sockpuppetry episode has made his sobriquet of “journalist” a joke. Additionally, I listened to an episode of “Point of Inquiry” recently, wherein he and Bob Price had a “debate” concerning conservatism vs. liberalism. Utter waste of time, and completely put the lie to POI’s being “dedicated to rational thinking.”
on 27 Jul 2010 at 8:42 am 4.Cam Sculpin said …
“Much to be desired” is right. I read Unscientific America, including the infamous Chapter 8, and I was willing to be persuaded. I wasn’t about to leap to embrace all of its conclusions, but I wasn’t wedded to rejecting them, either. I was looking for M&K to make some kind of argument, and if it was a good argument, then I’d incorporate it into my own thinking. But as I recall, it just sorta went assert-assert-outrage!-assert. It was empty. As a reader, I felt that my good sense had been insulted.