I have to drink the bath water too?

Iggy:

I agree with you wholeheartedly. I have also noticed this blatant disregard for accepted mores. I thought we had all agreed that blotting out was simply not acceptable. It seems to be slowly creeping into being a non-embarrassing act. I, for one, have always held such people in the lowest esteem. I do, however, occasionally hold my pizza slice folded, angled downwards, so that some of the grease will trickle out. For some reason I don't have a problem with this, though I can't really justify it other than to say that at least I'm not wiping off my food with a paper towel.

What about deep-fried foods though? Many recipes have you drain your fried little things on a bed of paper towels when they come out of the pan. Is it ok because the blotting is done by the chef's hands, not the diner's? Does this need to be reconciled with our newly-articulated disdain for the pizza wipers? Or should we begin advocating eating french fries in the oil they're cooked in, like a soup? Chew on that for a while.

Meanwhile:

Aleph. SFJ has some kind instructions for dealing with people like me in the coming days (or, hopefully, weeks).
Bet. John Darnielle has some convenient substitutes for that Joy Division reference you were about to add to your review of the new Interpol album.
Gimmel. Eppy should be Snoop Dogg's new lyricist.