8 Ways to Sunday

“Good evening, and welcome to another edition of The Half-Assed Gourmet, with your host Adam Messinger…”

A while back I picked up some Newman’s Own Light Honey Mustard dressing on a whim. I decided I didn’t like it much on salad, but it might taste okay on chicken or pork. Tonight I had a chance to put that to the test with some baked pork chops, and I’m pretty happy with the results.

To do this yourself, just lay out your chops in a pan per usual and douse them with enough dressing to get them covered. Roll them over a time or two to get both sides coated, add a bit of water to the pan, and bake. I cooked mine for about 50 minutes at 350° F; your mileage may vary depending on many chops you’re cooking, how thick they’re cut, etc.

The end result was satisfyingly tasty, but a little sweet for my taste. I may try adding some more spice to it next time. Mixing the dressing with some white wine for a marinade might be worth a shot, too.

Ultra-conservative, FOX News-owning media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. is buying Intermix Media Inc., the parent company of MySpace. Already, alarmed conservatives who consider MySpace “a virtual candy store for pedophiles” are making preemptive calls for Murdoch to “clean it up.”

While I’ll concede that there may be more that can be done to police the site’s age restrictions, I don’t relish the thought of News Corp. putting its foot down on a thriving online community. While not a MySpace user myself, I’d hate to see neo-con censorship applied to a community that thrives on free speech and association.

Updates

This just in, from the Los Angeles Times:

The young hipsters who congregate on MySpace.com are known for posting revealing information about themselves. So when Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. announced this week that it had agreed buy the popular social networking website’s parent company for $580 million, pranksters rushed to set up phony profiles of the 74-year-old media tycoon.

In keeping with the site’s subversive tone, listed among his general interests are “World domination,” “Games, specifically Monopoly” and “Making Ted Turner squirm,” referring to his rivalry with the CNN founder.

Under musical preferences, one says, “Yes, money is music to my ears.”

“I encourage my television and radio stations to become Republican soapboxes,” another profile says, adding, “There are important benefits to fascism.”

The site is one of the most popular among teens, and spoofs are common. There are hundreds for President Bush, and such celebrities as Britney Spears are parodied.

News Corp is doing an admirable job of staying cool, at least on the surface:

News Corp. President Peter Chernin vowed to protect the uncensored site.

“If we try to impose our own sensibilities on MySpace, it would be a dopey thing to do,” he said.

News Corp. spokeswoman Teri Everett said the company was aware of the Murdoch profiles.

“But asking for their removal is something we wouldn’t consider,” she said.

Late Wednesday, more than 300 MySpace users were signed up as Murdoch friends, including “Gangsta,” “Bejeezus,” “Lady Love” and “Dr. Teeth.”

Most asked for money. A few wanted movie parts.