Day 127: 1/16/12 - "Imagine"

"You, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one"

-"Imagine" by John Lennon

Celebrating MLK Day: I've never marched for a cause.  I've never had to go to the back of a bus...plain...train...or any other type of mass transit unless I wanted to.  I've never had to drink from a particular water fountain or been denied the right to sit at a lunch counter because of the color of my skin.  And I've never had to fight for the right to have the same level of education as other children.  I am able to learn and go where I want to.  I am able to live my life in a way that others could only imagine a few years ago.  I am able to do all of these things because of countless numbers of people who marched...sat-in...and died for the right to do so, only one of which was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Thank you Dr. King, and all of the others who have given me the opportunities that you did not have.  I may not march or stand in vigil, but I do know what you did for me.

Granola Bars!  I decided to try my hand at granola bars again, and this time I relied on the Food Network recipe from Alton Brown.  I think they turned out much better this time - likely because I didn't burn them!  But also because I didn't try to put any chocolate into them (I think that really didn't go over well).  I went with the exact recipe except for the fruit - I only had dried cranberries and raisins, so I put only about 4 oz. into the mix.  I still think they turned out well and even though they crumbled when I cut them, they make very good granola.

Aussie Open: The Australian Open started yesterday, and so far no major surprises, though I'm seeing some very good games, especially on the men's side.  But I would like to dedicate this particular entry paragraph to a growing problem in tennis...grunting.  I am not a big fan of Maria Sharapova (for reasons I won't go into here), but one of the things that truly bothers me is how loud she is when she plays. She's not the worst, though I'm sure there are others who would disagree.  I think Serena Williams is also one of the culprits.  But the final straw has been the large number of men turning into loud grunters as they play.  The reason I'm even thinking about this is because I just watched a point between Ryan Harrison and Andy Murray and though both men were hitting the ball hard, running back and forth, and exerting themselves heavily, there was not one grunt to be heard.  How refreshing!  Even when you hear noise, you hear their breathing and the occasional "mini-grunt."  But nothing so loud that you would worry glass might break (or maybe just your ear drum).  Can we get a rule against the grunting?