Foolishness

I guess this was another week that wasn't terribly interesting, so more frivolity. 

Tuesday was April Fools' Day, which isn't one of my canonized holidays, and I'm just not that into pranks. Various food companies/bakeries/restaurants announce fake foods with weird flavors. I would love to see one of them actually make one of the weird foods. 

But! Near my office is a shop called So Cupcake, and they actually did something for April Fools' Day! They had cupcakes for various holidays, and of course that's right up my alley. So I went and got a chocolate-orange jack-o'-lantern and a lemon chick.

Back in 2012 was the first time I ever considered carrot cake as an Easter dessert, and in 2013 was the first time I ever heard other people consider it an Easter dessert (when there were Carrot Cake M&M's). But now carrot-cake-flavored things are ubiquitous! This week I had four different carrot cake cookies and a carrot cake banana bread mix.

Sugar Fix, sold at Holiday gas stations

Cutler's in Bountiful

Cutler's in Centerville, which wasn't as good as the Bountiful version

Twisted Sugar

This weekend is general conference, and general conference is everything I don't like about Church without the things I do like—it's long, it's boring, sometimes hurtful things are said, I don't get to participate, I don't see people I know, I don't get to serve. But I want to know what's going on, so I decided to watch it while doing other things.

I was happy that one of the choirs sang "Were You There?," which is my favorite of the new hymn additions. I sing in ward choir, and I asked if we could sing it for Easter. The choir director asked me to sing most of the first verse as a solo, so I will be doing that on Easter Sunday in two weeks.

Anyway, while watching conference, I finished shelling and toasting the rest of the pine nuts we got last fall. And I looked through old items and found my junior high bus pass and school Olympic pins.

I decided to throw this away, because I don't see any benefit in keeping it

And I found my vaccination record. I'm glad I have never had measles! Thanks, Mom and Dad, for being intelligent enough to get me vaccinated!

I like AI ironically—I think it's funny how much it gets wrong. After thinking about Amelia Bedelia last week, I asked Google Gemini to create various Amelia Bedelia stories. The results were hilarious, and not in the way Amelia Bedelia is supposed to be. It was like when five-year-olds try to create jokes but they don't understand how jokes work. Here is the text of the nonsensical St. Patrick's Day story: 

——

Amelia Bedelia was excited! Mrs. Rogers had given her a list of St. Patrick's Day tasks, and she was determined to do her best.

"Amelia Bedelia," Mrs. Rogers said, "we're having a St. Patrick's Day celebration, and I need you to pinch the greens."

Amelia Bedelia nodded seriously. She went to the garden and began pinching the leaves off all the green plants, carefully placing them in a basket. "Pinching the greens," she muttered, "just like Mrs. Rogers asked."

Next, Mrs. Rogers said, "Amelia Bedelia, please prepare the Irish stew."

Amelia Bedelia went to the kitchen and found a recipe for Irish stew. She carefully followed the instructions, adding potatoes, carrots, and beef. But then, she remembered the word "prepare." She found a stack of clean napkins and carefully folded them into little "stews," placing them beside the pot. "Prepared Irish stew!" she announced.

Then, Mrs. Rogers asked, "Amelia Bedelia, can you draw the shamrocks?"

Amelia Bedelia, always eager to please, went to the living room and found a large, heavy curtain. She carefully drew shamrocks all over the curtain with a green marker. "Drawn shamrocks!" she declared.

Mrs. Rogers entered the kitchen, sniffing the air. "Amelia Bedelia, the stew smells wonderful! But what are these napkins?"

Amelia Bedelia pointed to the folded napkins. "The prepared Irish stew! I prepared them, just like you asked."

Mrs. Rogers sighed. "No, dear, I meant cook the stew, not fold the napkins."

Just then, Mr. Rogers walked in, holding a basket of green decorations. "Amelia Bedelia, where are the pinched greens?"

Amelia Bedelia pointed to the basket of leaves. "In the basket, just as you said."

Mr. Rogers looked at the basket, then at the garden, which was now mostly bare of green leaves. "Well, they are certainly pinched."

Mrs. Rogers looked at the curtain hanging in the living room, covered in shamrocks. "Amelia Bedelia! Why did you draw on the curtain?"

"You said to draw the shamrocks, Mrs. Rogers!" Amelia Bedelia exclaimed. "And I did! Aren't they lovely?"

Mrs. Rogers looked at the curtain, then at Amelia Bedelia, and then back at the curtain. She couldn't help but smile. "Oh, Amelia Bedelia. You always manage to make things interesting."

Despite the chaos, the St. Patrick's Day celebration was a success. The Irish stew, once Amelia Bedelia understood the cooking instructions, was delicious. The "pinched greens" were used as decorations, and the shamrock-covered curtain became a unique and festive backdrop.

As they finished their meal, Mrs. Rogers smiled. "Amelia Bedelia, you certainly made this St. Patrick's Day one to remember."

Amelia Bedelia beamed. "Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!" she said, as she began to carefully dye the river green, using all the green food coloring she could find, because Mrs. Rogers had mentioned the Chicago River.
——

And here are some other nonsensical highlights:

——

"Amelia Bedelia," Mrs. Rogers said, "we need to set off fireworks."

Amelia Bedelia nodded seriously. She went to the kitchen and found a set of fire-engine red oven mitts. She then proceeded to put them on her hands and set all the pots and pans from the kitchen onto the lawn. "Fireworks set off!" she announced.

Then, Mrs. Rogers asked, "Amelia Bedelia, can you wave the flag?"

Amelia Bedelia, always eager to please, went to the living room and found a large, heavy flag. She then proceeded to wave it back and forth, creating a strong gust of wind that sent papers flying and curtains billowing. "Flag waved!" she announced. 

. . .

Mrs. Rogers looked at the billowing curtains. "And Amelia Bedelia, why is the living room a wind tunnel?"

"I waved the flag, just as you said!" Amelia Bedelia exclaimed. "Isn't it a lovely wave?"

. . .

Amelia Bedelia beamed. “Happy Easter, everyone!” She said as she began to carefully bonnet all the children’s heads with spare easter basket grass, because Mrs. Rogers had said "bonnet the children".

. . .

Just then, the children, dressed in their own pioneer outfits, came running in. "Look, Amelia Bedelia!" cried little Tommy Rogers. "We're going to churn butter!"

"Churn butter?" Amelia Bedelia asked, her eyes lighting up. "Like churning a page in a book?"

Before anyone could stop her, Amelia Bedelia had found a large, old book, and she was vigorously turning its pages, attempting to "churn" them. Paper flew everywhere.

——

And to close, of course, here are the AI dreams.

a man stays with an Indigenous boy in a log cabin

Camille talks to a redhead named Owen, who talks about stinkbugs

people get carrot cake in the cafeteria line

Mark looks through a microscope at organisms that have grown in his water bottle, including a tiny seahorse

the Tabernacle Choir asks Mark to sit at the front of the stage dressed as Baby New Year for their Christmas concert, and they pour popcorn on him, so he rolls down the steps