Think you need a pizza stone to make some great homemade pizza? Megan from DIY home weblog Not Martha suggests trying your trusty cast-iron skillet before shelling out for a uni-tasking pizza stone.

Last night we made pizza and since I really, really wanted to make sure the dough cooked all the way through (this time) I decided to cook it in our large cast iron skillet that I had heated in the oven and slid the pizza into to cook, around 450 degrees.

A commenter on the site had also tried the pizza-in-skillet experiment for Chicago-style pizza with impressive results. We love a well seasoned cast-iron skillet for all kinds of kitchen duties, and it's great to see one more use for the versatile kitchen equipment.

cast iron skillet to cook pizza [not martha]

Almost as soon as I get done kicking myself for not thinking of this, I'm gonna try it. (Tonight it's a new borscht recipe from the New York Times. Just made about 60 mushroom-filled dumplings. Anxious to see whether they stay sealed when we cook them)

“I like virtuosity, although not for the sake of virtuosity but because it’s dangerous,” was Mr. Boulez’s description of “Répons” when we sat down to talk for a few hours after the rehearsal. By danger he meant that music, to be worth anything — which is to say to be new — can’t stick to safe ground but must entail some risk and effort.

“If you want to have a more interesting life, you will make some effort,” is how he put it. “It’s about the organization of one’s life. I am still shocked that so many people are not more creative, by which I mean more demanding of themselves.

“The main question we need to ask ourselves is: Do I try to be necessary to the evolution of language? Do I try to be original? And being original means using the tools necessary to be original, not just having the desire to be original.”

From a long profile of Pierre Boulez in the New York Times today. I saw/heard Boulez conduct Stravinsky in Cleveland something like 30 years ago. He impressed me then, and continues to impress me today.

Through literature, she learned how stories are built and told, and translated that to listening to, and better understanding, patients. She could let them tell their own stories without interruptions and see how people described their symptoms as part of the larger story of their life.

Dr. Charon was not the first to connect literature and medicine, but she has become the leading advocate of the emerging discipline known as narrative medicine, which aims to treat the whole person, not just the illness. The British Medical Journal and other professional publications have run articles on the approach, and medical schools have added writing seminars and reading groups.

Compelling reading. Will follow if I can and learn more

It's the day for storytelling. This is not educational in the same sense as the event reported earlier, but there's likely to be some good storytelling here. Click through for the schedule.

1.  I will construct all my speeches to focus on one main point, removing all information that doesn’t support that central point.

2.  I will streamline, condense, and eliminate most of the data from my presentations, replacing numbers with stories and anecdotes to illustrate my idea. 

3.  I will cut down on the number of slides I use in my presentations, averaging about 1 slide for every 3 minutes of talk – or fewer. 

4.  I will eliminate the agenda slide from any talk less than 100 minutes long.

5.  I will never, ever use clip art again in my slides.  Instead, I will use high-quality photographs and images to illuminate my talk. 

6.  I will deliver my presentations with energy and enthusiasm, but I will keep my feet under control and not wander randomly around the stage. 

7.  I will adhere strictly to my allotted time and end before it has run out. 

I know, we should have resolutions done by now, but this list could get appended to a Toastmaster's promise.