Here at The Ordinary, we get a lot of spam comments. Several a day. I confess I feel almost sorry for the spammers, because we’re such a small concern, here in our little Ordinary world. I want to tell them that they’re wasting their time, and that their heartfelt words won’t reach all that many people. But I must also confess that I like some of the spam comments that I get. They’re charming. And to continue the theme of found-poetry-of-the-modern-technological-world that we started yesterday, I’ll share some with you here. They’re generally very generous comments, very complimentary, enthusiastically positive. And this is nice to read when you’re feeling discouraged, as I have been, even if you doubt the absolute sincerity of the commenter. And they’re often strangely but appealingly constructed, with an unexpected rhythm, and a brand new use for words you’ve heard a million times, which is where the poetry comes in. You want to read it twice, you want to share it. It’s not honest enough to be enduring, or soulful enough to be genuinely touching, but many of these comments transcend their original purpose to become something more beautiful than a means to sell diet pills. And here we go…

Wow, this post is pleasant,
my younger sister is
analyzing these things,
thus I am going to tell her.

Buy to to rapidly dispose of surplus goods,
they set prices,
an irresistible work.
Benjamin Blaire was a rounded and studious businessperson.
Why not go to the Boracay beach and experience
something more out of this ordinary?
Halloween ghosts and goblins are
on the brink of embark on our neighborhoods.

Don’t blindly!
We must
believe
ourself.

You will see treasure in your journey
as well as a better gear to use,
once you have enough components and item
you’ll be able to build your own items
plus enchanted it with a lot
more powerful attribute.
Although Trade might have been a triumph,
1970 had more to offer.

You’ve done a formidable process
and our entire neighborhood will
probably
be grateful to you.

Thanks a lot
for sharing
this with all of us
you really know
what you’re speaking
approximately!

I to find it very bothersome
to inform the reality
on the other hand
I will definitely
come
again
again.

Well, I could go on forever, but I won’t. Instead I’ll tell you about these cookies. David came home from the flea market this morning with a new beautiful blue plate, and he said, “Good for cookies!” So I made cookies. We had some cherries that needed eating, and I always like cherries with pistachios and almonds, and I always like everything with chocolate, so there you have it! I added a little cardamom, because I thought it would go well with everything, and it did. I made quite a small batch…a half batch…because I’m still baking in my toaster oven. So double all of these ingredients if you’re going to make a real batch of cookies! If you cook them till they’re golden on top, they’ll be quite crispy on the outside, but if you stop when they’re just slightly browned on the bottom, they’ll be more soft and chewy. The choice is yours!

Here’s STEP RIGHT UP by Tom Waits.

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ground cardamom
1/2 cup toasted pistachio kernels
1/2 cup toasted almonds
1/2 cup fresh cherries, pitted and chopped
2/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 and lightly grease a cookie sheet.

In a food processor whiz the butter till it’s all chopped up. Add the sugar, and process again so you have a crumbly consistency. Add the egg and process briefly again. Add the flour, salt, pistachios and almonds, and process to combine. You want the nuts to be broken down but not completely crushed. Add the cherries, and process until they’re broken down and mixed into the batter, which will turn a nice shade of pink. Add the chocolate chips and process briefly again so that some of the chips are ground up and some are still nearly whole. You want a batter with flecks of nuts and cherries, but not too chunky.

Drop by teaspoonfuls on the sheet. Bake for about ten minutes, until the bottom is just lightly browned. For a crispier cookie, bake slightly longer till the top is golden as well.

Remove from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack.