The Blaisdell Blog

I recently had to fill out a registration form for a conference.   One of the questions surprised me; it asked how I wanted to be addressed.   I put down the Marchioness of Ormond.   After all, the position is open.   The 7 th (and last) Marquess of Ormond died in 1997 (God rest him) leaving no one to inherit.   Since the Marquess is also the 25 th Earl of Ormond, holder of the longest title in Ireland it seems to me that they would be happy to have the seat occupied.   My husband is Thomas Butler.   It was a Thomas Butler who was named Earl of Ormand by Henry VIII and reappointed by Elizabeth I, so under these sketchy circumstances, I have decided I would be as good a Marchioness as the next person.               There are times when a title does say something more about a person than the accident of their birth.   One of those is titles is that of “Doctor.”   If we talk ba...

Sausage is one of the reasons I could never be a vegetarian.   I am not alone.   The names of sausages reflect the diversity of regions from which they come: Vienna, Frankfurt, Genoa, Bologna—the list goes on.   Include your favorite. Fresh sausage (which must be thoroughly cooked before eating) is made from coarsely ground meat.   But the most often eaten sausages in the United States are cooked sausages, which you may, but do not have to, heat before eating.   These sausages are made of finely ground and “emulsified” meat.   Emulsified, of course, means liquified meat in a slurry of fat and up to 40% water.   This emulsified goop can then be extruded (pushed through a narrow tube out a small hole at the end) into a casing that molds the sausages into their elongated shapes.   The casing itself is traditionally the intestine of an animal—pig, cow, sheep, goat—it doesn’t matter.   Parts is parts.     While all sausages are ...

As Congress contemplates the budget, I offer a not very humble suggestion. I constantly fight my weight.   How about you?   I live an active life, but I am nowhere near my fighting weight (and I’ve got a fight or two left in me) so I work at my diet constantly.   The rules are simple: calories in minus calories burned equal weight gained or lost.   Science and practice both tell me that the key is actually the calories “in” part.   Successful diets (the ones you can stay with for a lifetime) involve changing our eating habits so that we are (1) mindful of how many calories we are taking in and (2) disciplined enough to do something about it.   There is also an element of reality here.   I know that I like a drink in the evening.   If that means sticking to fruit and salad during the day I don’t whine about it.   If I want fettuccini Alfredo, fine, but the rest of my caloric intake that day is going to be mighty skinny.   I am...