From the Dustbin (May 26, 2025)
AI-generated shenanigans, Nazi scientists, and pound cake for Memorial Day
Skimmed
I can’t even.
“Readers Annoyed When Fantasy Novel Accidentally Leaves AI Prompt in Published Version, Showing Request to Copy Another Writer's Style” from Futurism.com
If you don’t already know how I feel about AI, you can read this post on my Instagram. It’s pretty comprehensive (and still relevant, even though the official NaNoWriMo organization has shut down).
Read
I’ve talked about Operation Paperclip ad nauseum on social media, so I figured I should put it in my Substack. The subtitle, The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to America, is pretty shocking, but the actual history of this program will make you sick to your stomach. The one thing that comforted me was that the vast majority of Americans were adamantly against it at the time and believed these scientists and engineers should have remained in prison.
If you get down to it, the entire program was created to keep these scientists from working for the Russians, aka the first hidden skirmishes of the Cold War. Fun times.
Listened
On the subject of Operation Paperclip, this song is about one of those scientists.
“When the rockets are up who cares where they come down. That’s not my department…”
Watched
Hubby and I were rewatching season 1 of Andor and just started season 2 last night. If you aren’t watching this show, you’re missing out. Incredible writing, compelling heroes, and fantastic villains. I’ve also been oohing and ahhing over the set design because the sets are definitely background characters throughout the story.
Quoted
“I wondered if the motto for our era should be: I tried to live, but I got distracted.”
- Johann Hari, Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention—and How to Think Deeply Again
Bonus
I’m spending my Memorial Day baking, specifically pound cake. My grandfather was a WWII and Korea veteran who retired from the Air Force, and I associate his memory with root beer floats, egg-and-cheese sandwiches, and pound cake. Actually, the pound cake is probably because of my grandmother who bought them frequently from the commissary (she’s also associated with red plum jam, chocolate-covered cordial cherries, and figs. Not together). You don’t see pound cakes often anymore, so I bake my own, and the master recipe from The Best Recipe Cookbook from Cooks Illustrated magazine is the very best I’ve found. It’s delicious (and worth the eggs).
NOTE: This recipe is all about the method, not just the ingredients. They use a method for emulsifying that is similar to how mayonnaise is made, and it makes ALL the difference. I’ve put the specific method in bold in the recipe so you know what you absolutely cannot skip.
Master Recipe for Classic Pound Cake from The Best Recipe Cookbook
serves 8-10
1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs, plus 3 large yolks, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I measure vanilla with my heart. Don’t tell me what to do, Cookbook!)
1 1/2 tsps water
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups plain cake flour (yes, it matters. GET CAKE FLOUR.)
Adjust oven rack to center position and heat to 325 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 x 3 1/2 inch loaf pan (7 1/2 cup capacity) with vegetable shortening or spray. Line bottom and sides of pan with parchment paper.
Beat butter in bowl of electric mixer set at medium-high speed until smooth and shiny, about 15 seconds. With machine still on, take about 30 seconds to sprinkle in sugar. Beat mixture until light, fluffy, and almost white, 4 to 5 minutes, stopping mixer once or twice to scrape down sides of the bowl.
Mix eggs, yolks, vanilla, and water in a 2-cup glass measure with a pour spout. With mixer set at medium-high speed, add egg mixture to butter/sugar mixture in a very slow, thin stream. Finally, beat in salt.
Remove bowl from mixer stand. Turn 1/2 cup of flour into sieve or shaker; sprinkle it over batter. Fold gently with rubber spatula, scraping up from bottom of the bowl, until flour is incorporated. Repeat twice more, adding flour in 1/2-cup increments.
Scrape batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with a spatula or wooden spoon. Bake until cake needle or tester inserted into crack running along top comes out clean, 70 to 90 minutes. Let cake rest in pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto wire rack. Place second wire rack on cake bottom, then turn cake top side up. Cool to room temperature.