Topic: Off-topic replies

[romain]

I think she is the one who is relaying any questions from viewers to Khoan. That is her task here.

I'm sure that's the aim but it clearly doesn't work and, as others have said, is incredibly irritating. They need to adjust how it's done.

That's the difference between a working kitchen and the over-long, stretched-out videos of R Sayce, where he occasionally checks the messages himself.

Sometimes, when I'm sitting quietly in the dark enjoying the peace and quiet I try to imagine a world where you actually contributed something worthwhile instead of just criticizing everyone who actually does. It must be so hard for you. All those incredibly irritating people out there. Teaching. Helping. Giving. Such a burden to bear. However do you survive?

Then something breaks the magic and I realize - I really don't care. And the rest of the world doesn't either...

[George]

Romain - your post is absurd and somewhat troubling.

It's absurd because not everyone who loads youtube videos and publishes recipes is going to be successful and please everyone. Far from it. I praise plenty of things, including Aldi's bhuna sauce, Sayed's video channel and much, much more. But you are blinkered and only comment on negative comments I make, including my opinion about your poor recipe for chicken dhansak. 

It's troubling because you claim to be thinking about me as you sit quietly in the dark. I don't really believe that, but it's still of concern to read such a strange comment.

[livo]

I actually thought it's a very good post George. Imagine it not intentionally directed at you.. There is a lot of merit in this from Romain. Well done.

[Peripatetic Phil]

I am currently reading the second in a small series of books by Lewis Thomas, an American physician, poet, etymologist, essayist, administrator, educator, policy advisor, and researcher; the book is entitled The Medusa and the Snail, his first book being The Lives of a Cell.  In it, he writes about committees, but he could equally well have been writing about fora such as CR0.  He writes :

“The marks of selfness are laid out in our behaviour irreversibly, unequivocally, whether we are assembled in groups or off on a stroll alone. [...] Thus when committees gather, each member is necessarily an actor, uncontrollably acting out the part of himself, reading the lines that identify his identity.

This takes quite a lot of time and energy, and while it is going on there is little chance of anything else getting done.

Many committees have been appointed in one year and go on working well into the next decade, with nothing much happening beyond these extended uninterruptible displays by each member of his special behavioural marks.

If it were not for such compulsive behaviour by the individuals, committees would be a marvellous invention for getting collective thinking done.

But there it is. We are designed, coded, it seems, to place the highest priority on being individuals, and we must do this first, even if it means disability for the group.”

and there is little doubt, to my mind at least, that that is exactly what we do when we contribute to this forum.  How often do we genuinely listen to others, think carefully about what they are saying, and then and only then write something in return, something that builds on what has been already contributed rather than seeking to rebut or refute it ?  Far too infrequently, I suspect.  If we could all learn to seek to build on what others have said, rather than merely seeking to refute it, this forum could be a far better (and far more constructive) place.

Incidentally, I cannot recommend sufficiently highly the books by Lewis Thomas — his insights are remarkable, and along with Richard Buckminster Fuller he was probably one of the finest polymaths of the 20th century.

** Phil.

P.S.  Please use "Quote" rather than "Reply" when/if replying, even if you then delete the entire quoted text, because in that way you will retain the current subject rather than reverting to the default "Off-topic replies".

[romain]

Romain - your post is absurd and somewhat troubling.

It's absurd because not everyone who loads youtube videos and publishes recipes is going to be successful and please everyone. Far from it. I praise plenty of things, including Aldi's bhuna sauce, Sayed's video channel and much, much more. But you are blinkered and only comment on negative comments I make, including my opinion about your poor recipe for chicken dhansak. 

It's troubling because you claim to be thinking about me as you sit quietly in the dark. I don't really believe that, but it's still of concern to read such a strange comment.

Think of it as a nice way of saying what was on my mind. Don't flatter yourself. I don't spend any time thinking about you.

I did see you talking about store bought sauce. Didn't read it too closely I must admit. I don't spend any time thinking about store bought sauces either...

[George]

I actually thought it's a very good post George. Imagine it not intentionally directed at you.. There is a lot of merit in this from Romain. Well done.

Please explain because I simply can't see that he's not referring to me personally. First, he quotes my post. Next, he's critical about me, unless I am very mistaken.

[livo]

I don't see the post as absurd at all.  It is an insightful thought well worth consideration.  While it may be directed to you George, I have taken it in as well.

[George]

I don't see the post as absurd at all.  It is an insightful thought well worth consideration.  While it may be directed to you George, I have taken it in as well.

I was going to help you improve the flavour of the lamb bhuna recipe, after I found notes of something significant I did to the recipe, which may explain why mine came out so well. But I won't bother now, after your comments on this thread. The only reason that Romain has lanched a campaign of hatred against me is that I dared to say his recipe for chicken dhansak is awful - not in the same league as 95% of BIRs. Personal attacks like Romain's are almost certainly against the rules of this forum but, of course, nothing is done about it.

[romain]

I don't see the post as absurd at all.  It is an insightful thought well worth consideration.  While it may be directed to you George, I have taken it in as well.

I was going to help you improve the flavour of the lamb bhuna recipe, after I found notes of something significant I did to the recipe, which may explain why mine came out so well. But I won't bother now, after your comments on this thread. The only reason that Romain has lanched a campaign of hatred against me is that I dared to say his recipe for chicken dhansak is awful - not in the same league as 95% of BIRs. Personal attacks like Romain's are almost certainly against the rules of this forum but, of course, nothing is done about it.

George, while your comments around my recipes may have brought you to my attention initially, they certainly aren't the reason for my observations here.

Let's recap quickly. In 5 posts you have 1) found someone's role in a video on youtube incredibly irritating, repeating yourself on the matter, disparaged Richard's videos twice, attacked my incredibly poor dhansak without ever once explaining why, and once again claimed mastery of a recipe but refuse to share (I think we all know what that's about).

As Livo has suggested, perhaps a little introspection with the goal of self-awareness is in order?

[George]

Let's recap quickly. In 5 posts you have 1) found someone's role in a video on youtube incredibly irritating, repeating yourself on the matter, disparaged Richard's videos twice, attacked my incredibly poor dhansak without ever once explaining why, and once again claimed mastery of a recipe but refuse to share (I think we all know what that's about).

Here are my responses:
1. Yes, I found someone's role in a video on youtube incredibly irritating. I wasn't the only one or even the first to comment on it, so why are you picking on me? Moreover, let's pretend that live cooking stream was being overseen by you, like as a film director. Would you have thought the set-up worked? I doubt it, given the high presentation quality apparent on your web site.
2. Richard's youtube channel. Good luck to him if he's found a way of making some money. I simply find the live streams too stretched out - that's all. It doesn't take almost an hour to cook a BIR type curry.
3. Your dhansak. I'm sorry I found it lacked the typical flavour of most BIR dhansaks. I tried your recipe because I was interested in the use of tamarind, rather than lemon, for example. I thought the tamarind might be part of the flavour you get from BIR dhansaks. But it wasn't. My conclusion is that most BIRs use lemon or lime and either of those taste better than tamarind.
4. Refusing to share the recipe I used for a lamb bhoona. I did share it by giving the name of the book. Then, within the last 24 hours I found a note on a change I'd made to the recipe. I was going to share the change with Livo. What do you think that's all about, as you put it?

I still hope to try your recipe for saag aloo. Please confirm that's up there with your most credible recipes. Perhaps several of us could try that recipe and report back to the forum within the 'group tests' section. Phil and I tasted a very good saag aloo in August at an Indian restaurant in Newquay. If your recipe comes out as good as that, or anywhere near, then it would completely transform my opinion of your ability to publish worthwhile recipes.