- Comfort and Joy (1984) Bill "Local Hero" Forsythe's ode to the post-break-up funk, ice cream trucks and organized crime. The "Mr. Bunny" van has a super-catchy little song it tinkles out while wheeling around desolate Glasgow 'burbs. Plus Mark Knopfler is involved.
- Cold Lazarus (1996) Dennis "The Singing Detective" Potter's last work was this twisted futuristic story involving the frozen head of the guy from his second-to-last work ("Karaoke"). The head is played by Albert Finney; Ciaran Hinds also stars.
- Artists and Models (1955) Martin & Lewis along with Shirley Maclaine, Eva Gabor & Anita Ekberg. But I've never seen it! I really want to!
- Tilt (1979) Brooke Shields plays the eponymous pinball wizardess. Totally cheesy. And cheesiness is great!
- Born to Dance (1936) If you think Jimmy Stewart's role in "Ziegfeld Girl" was OK, check out this musical, where he actually sings! Yes, I know the singing Jimmy Stewart is one of my personal obsessions that I carry on about. But it's freakin' bizarre and a must-see. Sing for me, Jimmy. (Oh yeah, Una Merkel is in it too, another of my favorite not-so-famous actors. This list also includes Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore, Vera-Ellen and Mildred Natwick.)
DVD me please!
5 movies that should be released on DVD ASAP... with lots of special features of course!
Week by week, baby
Every wonder what goes on in a pregnant lady's belly every week for 9 months? I've found some helpful websites that give this info. The fact that they tend to repeat information is somehow heartening--like there's some sort of plan or logical progression goin' on!
I don't quite understand the "9 months" thing actually. If pregnacy is 40 weeks long, and a month is 4 weeks long, isn't that 10 months? Or do they mean "9 complete months, starting on 10 when you're done"? Or is a month actually a little bit more than 4 weeks--about 30-odd days to be exact? Well whatever. That's why counting by weeks seems more sensible.
Happy Spring, peeps.
Was A Sunny Day
The cats are playing in the sun-kissed cardboard boxes that clutter this room. Yesterday was the first WARM day this year. I am so excited about spring I've started uploading snaps to Flickr. Here's a trillium I discovered last April growing by the side of the road. (Photos in my blog, whoa!):
I'm off for some lunch now. I'm thinking maybe a chicken gyro. Or a kibbee wrap.
I'm off for some lunch now. I'm thinking maybe a chicken gyro. Or a kibbee wrap.
Canada v. Finland
Men's Olympic curling face-off tonight. Man, I wish I had, like, a TV.
In other news, I'm listening to the book-on-tape of "Isaac's Storm," by Erik Larson. It's the story of the nasty hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas in 1900. I had no idea that Galveston used to be such a happening place before it was trashed by a tropical cyclone. (Not that it isn't happening now, of course, cuz how would I know?) Last night's dreams were of heavy and terrifying winds. When I woke up, they were still there... Just checked the weather and found there's a wind advisory for my county until midnight. Coincidence? Fortunately I will be safe with friends eating cheese. Slainte!
In other news, I'm listening to the book-on-tape of "Isaac's Storm," by Erik Larson. It's the story of the nasty hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas in 1900. I had no idea that Galveston used to be such a happening place before it was trashed by a tropical cyclone. (Not that it isn't happening now, of course, cuz how would I know?) Last night's dreams were of heavy and terrifying winds. When I woke up, they were still there... Just checked the weather and found there's a wind advisory for my county until midnight. Coincidence? Fortunately I will be safe with friends eating cheese. Slainte!
My favorite Favreau
I have been having a hard time trying to explain to a loved one the difference between Jeremy Piven and Jon Favreau. I think I would summarize by saying that Jon Favreau is the clever one and Jeremy Piven is the funny one. Some confusion arises because Favreau can also be funny (he did direct Elf, after all). And it's possible that Jeremy Piven is also clever, although I have no evidence yet. Further confusion seems to stem from the fact that both J's have largish heads and have been in movies with Vince Vaughn, and so might appear slightly interchangeable. Recently I found out these dudes have done plenty of TV work, too--Favreau is on some show he invented called "Dinner for Five," and Piven is in "Entourage." (He also appears to be working out, which makes him seem less charmingly dorky.) I have only recently seen the tiniest bit of each of these shows. My biggest impression was that Stacy Peralta should come to MY dinner for five, not one with Seth Macfarlane.
I'm glad I could clear this up.
I'm glad I could clear this up.
Lucky charms
Someone gave me a figurine of a cat with its paw up in the air. I have discovered it is called Maneki Neko. It is a Japanese good luck totem known around the world. I know I have seen them in shops and restaurants before and am glad to know the little creature's name now that one lives in my house. This one seems especially lucky because it is also a type of piggy bank--it has a slot for coins in the back of its neck. Also, unlike some piggy banks, it has a rubber plug at the bottom for retrieving the coins. However it doesn't seem lucky to retrieve and spend used Maneki Neko coins. I guess if the cat gets full I should have a ceremonial dispersal of the coins. Maybe in a fountain somewhere so the luck can carry on?
Looking at the site linked to above reminds me of a New Yorker article about Hayao Miyazaki that mentioned Anpanman, a superhero who is a bean paste bun. Anpanman makes me LAUGH and it feels gooood.
Looking at the site linked to above reminds me of a New Yorker article about Hayao Miyazaki that mentioned Anpanman, a superhero who is a bean paste bun. Anpanman makes me LAUGH and it feels gooood.
Happy Burns Day
Despite all promises and plans made a year ago today, I have still not managed to get my hands on the sheep bits necessary to make my own haggis. Must work on my farmer's market connections this year and get me some "pluck" and "lights," as they say on Scottish haggis postcards. I think one of these really mean "lungs"...
Apart from Scottish repast, I found myself thinking fondly of Burns Days gone by. I think my first was celebrated at Pauper's Pub in Toronto. (Did not hear of the Burns tradition until college, where whisky drinking was something of its own sport.) Last year's was loads of fun, too, since Makin' Candy fell right on the 25th.
In other news, but still kinda Scottish, I was trying to explain the sport of curling this morning. The best I could do was that it's like bowling, except it's slower, on ice, and involves a large rock and people with brooms. There are some rules at curlingbasics.com that do a much better job of explaining. I do need a winter hobby--how's the curling scene in New England, I wonder? For example I note that the World Men's curling championship is coming up in April in Lowell, MA!!!!!
Apart from Scottish repast, I found myself thinking fondly of Burns Days gone by. I think my first was celebrated at Pauper's Pub in Toronto. (Did not hear of the Burns tradition until college, where whisky drinking was something of its own sport.) Last year's was loads of fun, too, since Makin' Candy fell right on the 25th.
In other news, but still kinda Scottish, I was trying to explain the sport of curling this morning. The best I could do was that it's like bowling, except it's slower, on ice, and involves a large rock and people with brooms. There are some rules at curlingbasics.com that do a much better job of explaining. I do need a winter hobby--how's the curling scene in New England, I wonder? For example I note that the World Men's curling championship is coming up in April in Lowell, MA!!!!!
Mozart 250 years old. Long live old Mozart!
It's Mozart year in Vienna--apparently the whole city is having an open party later this month to celebrate his 250th birthday on January 27th. Crumbs! (Salzburg is up to their own stuff....)
My own resolution is simply to listen to as much Mozart as possible, all year long. I toyed with the idea of being more strict with myself and listening to or playing some Mozart EVERY DAY. But this broke down around January 6th. Still it's not hard to dose up just about daily. For example I have been enjoying my "Music minus one" piano concerto. This is a company that lets you pretend to be a concert pianist as you attempt to play along while an orchestra on CD backs you up. Unfortunately concert pianists are frickin' FAST, and even though there's a CD that's 20% slower for "practice," I still can't keep up with it. But it's still fun to pretend.
My own resolution is simply to listen to as much Mozart as possible, all year long. I toyed with the idea of being more strict with myself and listening to or playing some Mozart EVERY DAY. But this broke down around January 6th. Still it's not hard to dose up just about daily. For example I have been enjoying my "Music minus one" piano concerto. This is a company that lets you pretend to be a concert pianist as you attempt to play along while an orchestra on CD backs you up. Unfortunately concert pianists are frickin' FAST, and even though there's a CD that's 20% slower for "practice," I still can't keep up with it. But it's still fun to pretend.
Recapitulating 2005
On the plus side:
Needs improvement:
Looking forward to 2006. Finally, a holiday with no religious OR political overtones. I don't think. Maybe the extra second they're adding will turn out to be muy controversial though. Here's to it.
- my personal discovery of cocoa nibs, a delicious ingredient that makes your average chocolate bar SUPER FINE
- acupuncture
- my family, including the cats
- the swimming hole
- our Summer Reunion
- Gorillaz!
Needs improvement:
- French skills (current self-rating: 3 out of 10)
- rock-climbing skills (0 out of 10--interest is high though)
- correspondence habits (4 out of 10)
- remembering to post things to this blog (4 out of 10)
- amount of money spent on car repair (but HOW?)
Looking forward to 2006. Finally, a holiday with no religious OR political overtones. I don't think. Maybe the extra second they're adding will turn out to be muy controversial though. Here's to it.
"I'm eatin' chowda!"
The line "I'm eatin' chowda!" is a running joke in our family about the important types of things people tell each other when they're talking on cell phones in public. If I had a cell phone, I would have been able to say it this afternoon as I lunched on an excellent clam chowder I concocted all by myself. I can't really say I invented it, cuz it's pretty much like every other chowder. Basically I just put in chowdery things in the most pleasing order I could think of, and here it is.
Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 T butter
1 jar/bottle of clam juice (8 oz.)
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 large russet potatoes, cut into soup-sized chunks
1 cup corn (frozen is fine)
2 cans of clams, NOT drained (the taller soup-can size, not the small tuna-can size)
2 cups milk
your thickener of choice
salt and pepper
Assembly
Saute bacon and onion together in the butter until browned and bacon-y smelling. Add the clam juice. Drain the juice off the canned clams and add that too--should be about a cup. Put corn, potatoes and celery in. If needed, add a bit of water to cover the potatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
Add the clams and heat through. Then add the milk. Now it's time to thicken. I used about 2T kuzu (a macrobiotic thickener that looks and acts like cornstarch). Cornstarch would also work, and probably a paste of flour and water would be fine too. The point is to just thicken the chowder a bit so it's creamy, not milky. Heat until the thickener has done its job. Season with salt and pepper. That's it!
Note
I'm thinking this could be a decent potato or corn chowder if you just leave out the clammy ingredients. Maybe use stock instead of clam juice, and just add extra potato or corn at the simmer phase.
"Now I'm eatin' crackers..."
Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 T butter
1 jar/bottle of clam juice (8 oz.)
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 large russet potatoes, cut into soup-sized chunks
1 cup corn (frozen is fine)
2 cans of clams, NOT drained (the taller soup-can size, not the small tuna-can size)
2 cups milk
your thickener of choice
salt and pepper
Assembly
Saute bacon and onion together in the butter until browned and bacon-y smelling. Add the clam juice. Drain the juice off the canned clams and add that too--should be about a cup. Put corn, potatoes and celery in. If needed, add a bit of water to cover the potatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
Add the clams and heat through. Then add the milk. Now it's time to thicken. I used about 2T kuzu (a macrobiotic thickener that looks and acts like cornstarch). Cornstarch would also work, and probably a paste of flour and water would be fine too. The point is to just thicken the chowder a bit so it's creamy, not milky. Heat until the thickener has done its job. Season with salt and pepper. That's it!
Note
I'm thinking this could be a decent potato or corn chowder if you just leave out the clammy ingredients. Maybe use stock instead of clam juice, and just add extra potato or corn at the simmer phase.
"Now I'm eatin' crackers..."
It's all gravy: Pork tenderloin with mustard cream sauce
I recently invented this fine sauce. I had a pork recipe that called for a sauce made from port and cherries. But that sounded a little overblown and SWEET, so I came up with a mustard cream sauce instead. Try it on seared pork tenderloin!
Ingredients
1 onion
3 T grainy mustard
1/2 cup heavy cream (or more)
1 T green peppercorns (the kind in a jar)
salt & pepper
Assembly
Ideally you will have a pan in which you have just browned your pork (and then possibly you put the pork in the oven to finish off). Put the pan back on the burner and saute the onions until they've started to soften and brown.
Turn the burner down a bit and add the mustard. Stir. Then pour in the cream. Stir everything around, making sure to scrape up any savory bits stuck to the pan. Add the peppercorns and salt and pepper. Taste. If it's not punchy enough, add more mustard. If there's not enough to go around, add more cream.
This sauce will hold for a good 15 minutes over low heat. The cream will evaporate more & more though, so if your sauce starts to disappear, add a touch more cream, or even some water, and reheat right before you spoon it onto plates.
I'm sure this would be divine on other meats too. Thank you dear pigs.
Ingredients
1 onion
3 T grainy mustard
1/2 cup heavy cream (or more)
1 T green peppercorns (the kind in a jar)
salt & pepper
Assembly
Ideally you will have a pan in which you have just browned your pork (and then possibly you put the pork in the oven to finish off). Put the pan back on the burner and saute the onions until they've started to soften and brown.
Turn the burner down a bit and add the mustard. Stir. Then pour in the cream. Stir everything around, making sure to scrape up any savory bits stuck to the pan. Add the peppercorns and salt and pepper. Taste. If it's not punchy enough, add more mustard. If there's not enough to go around, add more cream.
This sauce will hold for a good 15 minutes over low heat. The cream will evaporate more & more though, so if your sauce starts to disappear, add a touch more cream, or even some water, and reheat right before you spoon it onto plates.
I'm sure this would be divine on other meats too. Thank you dear pigs.
Vanities
There’s a magazine called Vanity Fair. Sure, it's famous for puff pieces (c.f. Kimora Lee Simmons profile, Kate Moss profile, frickin’ RONALD REAGAN profile). But I keep subscribing, mostly because I like the tales of Old Hollywood. (Other family members enjoy the cranky political articles.)
I'm not complaining about Vanity Fair. (Fametracker already does an excellent job in the Blue Moons section.) I am here to borrow from it. I’ve noticed there’s a half-page feature in which celebrities-I’ve-never-heard-of tell us what kind of jeans they wear, what kind of coffee they drink, what kind of stereo they have, and so forth. Kind of like a celebrity endorsement, kind of like a “what’s hot” list, kind of like a lame-o yearbook entry. Anyway, here's my own version. Some brand names included!
lipbalm: Weleda Everon
shampoo: Aubrey organics (blue camomile & camomile)
soap: Dr. Bronner's peppermint (bulk, liquid)
water: tap
sheets: hand-me-down flannel
lotion: homemade from Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe
journal: National Brand Backpacker notebook (3 subject with pockets in dividers)
pen: Bic 4-color retractable
last 3 computers: Mac
previous computer: Timex Sinclair 2068
first computer: Timex Sinclair 1000 (These last 2 were more my dad’s than mine, but whatever)
Day Planner: Llewellyn's Witches' Date book (Switching to We'Moon in 2006)
Latest snack obsession: Dr. Kracker Sunflower Cheese or Pumpkin Seed Cheese flatbread
Food for cats: Hill’s c/d (I don’t really approve because it contains BHT, but the vet scared me into it)
Ale: St. Peter’s
Footwear: Earth, when I can afford it
Internet news source: www.boingboing.net
Stereo system: yard sale
Favorite can o’ soup: Progresso Chickarina (contains both MSG and pull-top!)
Pill: Darvocet (I only took 3 in my whole life! And I had a prescription!)
bike: Schwinn
corporate giant’s products I reluctantly can’t live without: Unilever (cuz of the sustainable palm oil. Just kidding! Actually because of the Hellman’s & Ben & Jerry’s)
Fruit: mmmmmmmMinneola
Flashlight: I can’t remember the brand. It’s yellow and takes a D battery.
Hero of the bounding main: Captain James Cook
Cheers, mates.
I'm not complaining about Vanity Fair. (Fametracker already does an excellent job in the Blue Moons section.) I am here to borrow from it. I’ve noticed there’s a half-page feature in which celebrities-I’ve-never-heard-of tell us what kind of jeans they wear, what kind of coffee they drink, what kind of stereo they have, and so forth. Kind of like a celebrity endorsement, kind of like a “what’s hot” list, kind of like a lame-o yearbook entry. Anyway, here's my own version. Some brand names included!
lipbalm: Weleda Everon
shampoo: Aubrey organics (blue camomile & camomile)
soap: Dr. Bronner's peppermint (bulk, liquid)
water: tap
sheets: hand-me-down flannel
lotion: homemade from Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe
journal: National Brand Backpacker notebook (3 subject with pockets in dividers)
pen: Bic 4-color retractable
last 3 computers: Mac
previous computer: Timex Sinclair 2068
first computer: Timex Sinclair 1000 (These last 2 were more my dad’s than mine, but whatever)
Day Planner: Llewellyn's Witches' Date book (Switching to We'Moon in 2006)
Latest snack obsession: Dr. Kracker Sunflower Cheese or Pumpkin Seed Cheese flatbread
Food for cats: Hill’s c/d (I don’t really approve because it contains BHT, but the vet scared me into it)
Ale: St. Peter’s
Footwear: Earth, when I can afford it
Internet news source: www.boingboing.net
Stereo system: yard sale
Favorite can o’ soup: Progresso Chickarina (contains both MSG and pull-top!)
Pill: Darvocet (I only took 3 in my whole life! And I had a prescription!)
bike: Schwinn
corporate giant’s products I reluctantly can’t live without: Unilever (cuz of the sustainable palm oil. Just kidding! Actually because of the Hellman’s & Ben & Jerry’s)
Fruit: mmmmmmmMinneola
Flashlight: I can’t remember the brand. It’s yellow and takes a D battery.
Hero of the bounding main: Captain James Cook
Cheers, mates.
Ramble On
Yet another mild interest has blown into a major obsession lately--I have fallen in love with Led Zeppelin. I've had little flare-ups before of course. This time I was re-infected by the local classic rock station which I've been listening to as I stack wood in the garage. I figured out that frequent doses of Led Zeppelin are exactly the thing to make me feel comfortable, happy and badass. However I am trying to avoid ordering one of the many Zeppelin concert films available from Netflix, because I know myself well enough to be aware that by the time I actually get the movie, I may have veered off toward yet another pet interest. Or maybe not...
Other recent interests:
That's it for today--a headache that can be solved by food is calling me away.
Other recent interests:
- Fertility Awareness charting: This is when a woman records her waking temperature, among various other selected signs, to determine where she is in her cycle. If only someone had taught us this stuff at school I would have such an amazing history of my inner workings... literally!
- My thermos with folding spoon: Perhaps this sounds odd, but I feel that this thermos is solving all of my problems in life. One of my central health concerns is the tendency to buy "bad" lunch foods from the cafeteria at work. When I'm starving at 11:30 am, it seems completely reasonable to slurp up a bowl of cream of mushroom soup and a plate of fries. But it adds up! Cripes! Now that I have a thermos, I can bring my own healthy soups from home that have NO cream and salt n' stuff. It feels like such a simple and elegant way to change my entire lifestyle. No lie.
- Seaweed: This kinda goes with the thermos thing. How do you make soup in the 10 spare minutes you have before work? Boil water. Add seaweed. Add a few chopped vegetables. Add a spoonful of bouillon. Add a generous pour of hempseed oil. Pour into miracle Thermos. Face the day with salty weedy brilliant soup sparkling gently in your work bag. Not only does seaweed contain algins that bind to heavy metals and nasty things and help flush them from the body, but it's full of other good stuff too, like fiber and vitamins. Susun Weed calls it the everyday miracle. Yep.
- Bhutan: This is not a conscious obsession, but mentions of Bhutan keep cropping up and it's getting wierd. First it was Bhutan as seen and described in Michael Palin's Himalaya. Then I saw that GeoEx is leading trips there. Then I was lent a nice movie called "Travellers and Magicians." Then I was listening to a book-on-tape of travel stories and the second one was all about Bhutan. What's up with that? Why is such a small country POPPING up everywhere I look? Will report back if I find out.
That's it for today--a headache that can be solved by food is calling me away.
Google-happy fool
Lately I have noticed that more and more people I know have their photos posted online for some reason or another. Mostly it is professional-type stuff, though one "wired" guy just seems to get posted by other snap-happy friends. Here's a little sample of who I've found lately:
The guy who sat next to me in English class, who I think had a glass eye, so I was never sure if he knew I was there.
The guy who taught me to love Steely Dan, Billie Holiday and Simone Martini.
The guy who was our high school hockey goalie, who once sent me a dozen red roses. He's still tending goal somewhere and lists as his interests: "redheads."
The guy whose room was next to ours during freshman year and who had a giant poster of Woody Allen over his bed, who he fondly referred to as "the Woodman."
Also I've found a couple of my best friends, who I won't attempt to characterize here, and scattered other acquaintances. They are all guys, for some reason. Maybe it's because my women friends keep getting married and changing their names? Anyway, finding people's pictures seems more challenging than finding their names and it is fun to see them again. I'm not a wierd stalker or trying to "out" anybody as an acquaintance of mine. It's more like I just get curious and Google-happy. It's my little lab experiment: "What if the world had a bulletin board where anybody could put anything. How much would people post about person X???" Or just "Whatever happened to ZZZ?" And so I Google away.
WAIT! Newsflash. I found a lady friend at last. You know who you are writer-girl!
The guy who sat next to me in English class, who I think had a glass eye, so I was never sure if he knew I was there.
The guy who taught me to love Steely Dan, Billie Holiday and Simone Martini.
The guy who was our high school hockey goalie, who once sent me a dozen red roses. He's still tending goal somewhere and lists as his interests: "redheads."
The guy whose room was next to ours during freshman year and who had a giant poster of Woody Allen over his bed, who he fondly referred to as "the Woodman."
Also I've found a couple of my best friends, who I won't attempt to characterize here, and scattered other acquaintances. They are all guys, for some reason. Maybe it's because my women friends keep getting married and changing their names? Anyway, finding people's pictures seems more challenging than finding their names and it is fun to see them again. I'm not a wierd stalker or trying to "out" anybody as an acquaintance of mine. It's more like I just get curious and Google-happy. It's my little lab experiment: "What if the world had a bulletin board where anybody could put anything. How much would people post about person X???" Or just "Whatever happened to ZZZ?" And so I Google away.
WAIT! Newsflash. I found a lady friend at last. You know who you are writer-girl!
Getting high
Latest obsession: Mt. Everest. I think this is my 3rd period of intense interest in Mt. Everest and mountain climbing. It seems to crop up every ten years or so. Here are some notes on what I've been up to:
A quick list of books, with spontaneous annotations:
Books still to find:
Movies & tapes:
Other interesting people from the 1996 debacle:
Websites which may or may not have more info about Mt. Everest:
What I've learned from all this:
Lack of oxygen, vicious winds and bone-chilling cold do terrible things to the human body. These tend to exist on large mountains. I plan to avoid them if possible. Although it would be cool to see Everest in person... just from the bottom. I see that the Geographic Expeditions is going to Everest from 3 different directions next year. The Nepali trek is only about $3000. Hmmmm.
A quick list of books, with spontaneous annotations:
- Everest: The West Ridge, by Thomas Hornbein (story of the 1963 expedition where Willi Unsoeld lost his toes--um, and also they were successful in an historic assault on a new part of the mountain)
- Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer (first person account of the awful events of 1996, trying to tease out the mysteries and facts of what went wrong to who when)
- High Exposure: An Enduring Passion for Everest and Unforgiving Places, by David Breashears (written by the guy who filmed the IMAX movie of Everest, describes his various climbing & filming adventures)
- Nanda Devi: The Tragic Expedition, by John Roskelley (sad story of how Willi Unsoeld's daughter dies on mountain after which she was named)
- Addicted to Danger: A Memoir About Affirming Life in the Face of Death, by Jim Wickwire and Dorothy Bullitt (terrible things happen wherever Wickwire goes, but he stubbornly keeps climbing)
- The Mammoth Book of Eyewitness Everest, edited by Jon E. Lewis (gives a lot of useful background; snippets of accounts from many years' worth of Everest expeditions... from 1913 to present)
Books still to find:
- Reinhold Messner's book about his solo ascent of Everest
- Dr. on Everest, by Kenneth Kamler (also about what happened in 1996)
Movies & tapes:
- Everest IMAX movie (filmed by Breashears and others in 1996, it's still spectacular even on a small TV)
- Michael Palin: Himalaya (one can't go wrong accompanying the adorable Palin on his many and sometimes bizarre adventures)
- The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mt. Everest, by Conrad Anker and David Roberts (I've been listening to the audio version of the book about the 1999 expedition that found George Mallory's body on the North face of Everest)
Other interesting people from the 1996 debacle:
- Beck Weathers--the fellow "Left for Dead" in 1996, who wrote a book with that title
- Araceli Segarra--first Spanish woman on Everest, she's apparently also a foxy model
- Ed Viesturs--mountain man climbing guy
Websites which may or may not have more info about Mt. Everest:
What I've learned from all this:
Lack of oxygen, vicious winds and bone-chilling cold do terrible things to the human body. These tend to exist on large mountains. I plan to avoid them if possible. Although it would be cool to see Everest in person... just from the bottom. I see that the Geographic Expeditions is going to Everest from 3 different directions next year. The Nepali trek is only about $3000. Hmmmm.
I haven't seen the sun in seven days
Because it's been rainy and grey. But I sat in a cubicle for 4 of those days anyway. While I await the return of unshorn Apollo, here's another list of 5 things. Songs, that is.
- 1952 Vincent Black Lightning: The Mammals. Fell in love with this immediately. I like the idea of using hair-color as an epithet--maybe I could be "Dark Gold Kitty"? Plus there's love, gunshots, and the lure of the open road... practically trad.
- A Fine Romance: as sung by Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers. In "Swing Time" (1936), F&G sing this to each other while wandering in a snowy park, then she drives away. One recording I have has audible film foley. So Fred sings "You never give the orchids I sent a glance. [car door slams] No, you like cactus plants. This is a fine romance [very noisy sound of flivver starting up]." (music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Dorothy Fields)
- The Play of Daniel, a 12th-13th century liturgical drama. Sometimes I just hum monophonically to myself. Doesn't make me Madonna. Never will.
- A song I heard on the radio that came back to me in a dream except I can't remember the words, just the tune of the chorus. It's possible the last words of the chorus are "...when you sing the blues." It's also possible the singer rhymes "remember" with "december." Typing these clues into Google does nothing for me though. Not knowing what the heck the song is just makes it all the more catchy. La la la...the blues... la la!
- Float On: Modest Mouse. After Hurricane Katrina I went through a period of singing "Red Hot Mama" every time I heard about Louisiana, in a possibly misguided attempt to send good vibes down that-a-way. But after New Hampshire was flooded I've adopted Float On as my new don't worry flood anthem. All right.
Elementary!
I have recently had the pleasure of becoming reacquainted with an old friend of mine, Mr. Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes was so important to me at one time that I named my dog after him. (I also attempted to take up home chemistry and microscope work.) What I loved most was Holmes' tantalizingly simple technique of observation and deduction. I admired how he pieced the facts together in a way nobody else had considered to arrive at his (usually) correct conclusions. Being an only child with little reason to develop conversational skills, I used this advice to try to figure out what people were up to without actually needing to question them.
We've been reading the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes out loud at home and finding his detectiving addictive. One sees the world differently after a good dose of Holmes. For example, recently I returned home after a day of work and turned on the bathroom tap, which sputtered before running clear. I knew from this that I needed to reset all of our clocks to the right time. And I was right! (This is because a sputtering tap means the pump was off sometime during the day because of a power loss, so the electric clocks would be off.) On another day I deduced what the back of a truck looked like by how quickly it reversed into the loading bay at work. (Trucks with doors that swing open usually sit idling while the driver gets out and opens the doors before backing into the bay. When I heard a truck start to reverse without idling first, I realized it must have a roll-up door. I checked and righty-ho again! Hip hip!) Let's just say it's a warm feeling when these small exercises come along to brighten one's day...
We've been reading the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes out loud at home and finding his detectiving addictive. One sees the world differently after a good dose of Holmes. For example, recently I returned home after a day of work and turned on the bathroom tap, which sputtered before running clear. I knew from this that I needed to reset all of our clocks to the right time. And I was right! (This is because a sputtering tap means the pump was off sometime during the day because of a power loss, so the electric clocks would be off.) On another day I deduced what the back of a truck looked like by how quickly it reversed into the loading bay at work. (Trucks with doors that swing open usually sit idling while the driver gets out and opens the doors before backing into the bay. When I heard a truck start to reverse without idling first, I realized it must have a roll-up door. I checked and righty-ho again! Hip hip!) Let's just say it's a warm feeling when these small exercises come along to brighten one's day...
As Fall falls
It's the last day of summer and I can feel the difference. The goldenrod lies exhausted in the meadow, top-heavy plumes worked over by bees and dipping back toward the sod. Lettuce is 2-feet tall and stringy, the only cutlery it will see is when I fork it into the soil to rot for next year. The wind comes in big spooky gusts that rock the house and send the first fallen leaves skittering across the road like the dry, discarded jackets of last spring's cicadas. The night-time has grown more insistent, slowly silencing the grasshoppers and treefrogs as it leaks and leaks more into each passing day. And the apples are here. The grandmother tree by the barn drops hers any old time into the muddy track, among the overgrown weeds, or behind the detached snow-plow. It's still summer, today. But the change is here, and the exhalation that started midsummer's day is getting stronger now, blowing straight through the open windows in our living room, taking with it all the too-hot days of July and August, and bringing the inward-looking pumpkin-times ahead.
What it all comes down to is: time to start up Netflix again.
What it all comes down to is: time to start up Netflix again.
In the meantime
I've been trying to decaffeinate myself and it's been painful. I think I've made some progress, however, since after only 2 weeks of searing headaches and brain-deadness I am starting to have some energy again. And it must come from... myself! I am still drinking some hi-test tea now and then, and so perhaps extending my agony, but I think the worst is over. Not drinking coffee is by no means a permanent vow. I was just getting annoyed by the hold it seemed to have over me. I hate being bent into submission by mere chemicals. A big reason why I no longer smoke--anger at addiction.
I was in Woodstock Vermont recently and find it a charming town. It has a fairy-tale quality and is very tidy, which I think means that a lot of rich people live near the town center (the houses are charming and enormous, a big clue). But despite my innate uneasiness being in the land of the haves, I couldn't help liking some selected stores around the main intersection--a nice used bookstore, 2 good stores with new books, Bentley's restaurant (which has the twilit atmosphere of a classy hotel lobby of yesteryear), Gillingham's general store (where they sell Fluke ukuleles, guns, Quimper china, potato chips, fine wines, greeting cards, escargots, crackers, you name it), and a sweet below-street kitchen store that had silicon pastry brushes I regrettably forgot to purchase. To counter these ritzy establishments, we were also relieved to find a natural foods store called the Woodstock Farmer's Market a little way up the road. OK, it was somewhat swanky too, but they make really good sandwiches.
The highlight of the trip was an afternoon at the Billings Farm & Museum. It's a working dairy farm but mainly a panoply of farm-oriented attractions & talks that go on throughout the day. We attended demonstrations about sheep & Jersey cows, saw some gorgeously bored Percheron horses, and visited the many interesting buildings & outbuildings on the property, plus the heirloom vegetable garden. And everything seemed so frickin' clean--not like some farms I've seen!
Next up, Garlic festival! I must lay in my annual supply of dip mixes. Dip is one of the only methods I've found to disguise vegetables so I think they're edible... Because salad is what food eats.
I was in Woodstock Vermont recently and find it a charming town. It has a fairy-tale quality and is very tidy, which I think means that a lot of rich people live near the town center (the houses are charming and enormous, a big clue). But despite my innate uneasiness being in the land of the haves, I couldn't help liking some selected stores around the main intersection--a nice used bookstore, 2 good stores with new books, Bentley's restaurant (which has the twilit atmosphere of a classy hotel lobby of yesteryear), Gillingham's general store (where they sell Fluke ukuleles, guns, Quimper china, potato chips, fine wines, greeting cards, escargots, crackers, you name it), and a sweet below-street kitchen store that had silicon pastry brushes I regrettably forgot to purchase. To counter these ritzy establishments, we were also relieved to find a natural foods store called the Woodstock Farmer's Market a little way up the road. OK, it was somewhat swanky too, but they make really good sandwiches.
The highlight of the trip was an afternoon at the Billings Farm & Museum. It's a working dairy farm but mainly a panoply of farm-oriented attractions & talks that go on throughout the day. We attended demonstrations about sheep & Jersey cows, saw some gorgeously bored Percheron horses, and visited the many interesting buildings & outbuildings on the property, plus the heirloom vegetable garden. And everything seemed so frickin' clean--not like some farms I've seen!
Next up, Garlic festival! I must lay in my annual supply of dip mixes. Dip is one of the only methods I've found to disguise vegetables so I think they're edible... Because salad is what food eats.
If I love France so much
why don't I just GO there? I was recently sent this link http://www.escapeartist.com/embassy30/france.htm to titillate me further. But travel to France seems almost as difficult as travel to my other obsession, the 18th century. My stumbling blocks are 1. I don't feel like I really know enough French, 2. I don't have enough money to last for long in a foreign country, 3. What would we do with the cats? 4. What would we do with an apartment-ful of stuff? I'm sure there are perfectly reasonable answers to all these, but it's a bit overwhelming. Meantime, I keep making lists and working Google to search for substitutes. I found a good page of 18th century movies here: http://www.costumes.org/HISTORY/100pages/18THMOVI.HTM. It includes some of my favorites, a few of which are:
Amadeus
Barry Lyndon
Dangerous Liaisons
Farinelli
Ridicule
Tom Jones
Valmont
Also I stumbled upon a syllabus from Prof. Nicole Vaget, who taught a course at Mt. Holyoke in Spring 1999 called Love and Seduction Rococo Style. Jeez, what am I DOING by not at least sneaking into her courses??
Amadeus
Barry Lyndon
Dangerous Liaisons
Farinelli
Ridicule
Tom Jones
Valmont
Also I stumbled upon a syllabus from Prof. Nicole Vaget, who taught a course at Mt. Holyoke in Spring 1999 called Love and Seduction Rococo Style. Jeez, what am I DOING by not at least sneaking into her courses??
The Getaway Box
I've been having random childhood memories pop into my mind for the last year or so. Maybe it's because I'm slowly trying to detox, and old lost stuff is starting to bubble up.
A recent memory: For several years, probably between the ages of 11 and 14, I used to keep a shoebox full of emergency supplies stashed in my closet in case I suddenly needed to run away. Among other things, it contained the following:
Just like everyone else, I was a strange child. I was obviously planning to live in the woods (rather than going to the city and living in a box, seeking a job as a ho) much like the main character in Jean Craighead George's My Side of the Mountain. Obviously a book that influenced me plenty. To this day I am prepared to live in a hollow tree and eat squirrels and nettles... as long as I had a really really good reason. Maybe as a form of political protest.
A recent memory: For several years, probably between the ages of 11 and 14, I used to keep a shoebox full of emergency supplies stashed in my closet in case I suddenly needed to run away. Among other things, it contained the following:
- a can of sardines
- a can of condensed milk
- a film canister containing wrapped bouillon cubes
- a field guide of edible wild plants (for after I'd finished the sardines, milk & bouillon)
- a jack-knife
- a piece of gum
- a quantity of string
- safety pins (to use as fishing hooks at the end of the string)
- waterproof matches in a plastic bag
- a candle stub and small Dickensian candle holder
- a set of 4 plastic cards with basic survival instructions printed on them, such as what to do if bitten by a brown recluse spider or struck with hypothermia
- a mirror (for signalling to planes, as described on survival cards)
- a "stove" made in Girl Scouts--a tuna can in which you coil a strip of cardboard, then cover the cardboard with wax
Just like everyone else, I was a strange child. I was obviously planning to live in the woods (rather than going to the city and living in a box, seeking a job as a ho) much like the main character in Jean Craighead George's My Side of the Mountain. Obviously a book that influenced me plenty. To this day I am prepared to live in a hollow tree and eat squirrels and nettles... as long as I had a really really good reason. Maybe as a form of political protest.
Playground songs
This morning I was cracking myself up by singing the Billboard Song that I learned as a kid--jumping rope may have been involved. (I confess I cheated a little by looking up the lyrics online recently, though every version seems slightly different.) Here's the version I remember:
This put me in mind of a song my mother sang, "Sweet Violets." The first verse goes like this:
I love this technique of the trick rhyme, or not rhyming the way you think it will. Which reminds me of the immortal "Miss Susie" clapping rhymes. There are some versions of my favorite, "Miss Susie had a Steamboat," at this link: http://www.gameskidsplay.net/jump_rope_ryhmes/jump_miss_susie.htm.
I like pretending I'm 8 sometimes... pretty often actually.
As I was walking down the street one dark and rainy day
I came upon a billboard, and much to my dismay
The sign was torn and tattered from the storm the night before.
The wind and rain had done its job and this is what I saw:
"Smoke Coca Cola cigarettes, drink Wrigley's spearmint beer,
Kennel Ration dogfood makes your wife's complexion clear.
Simonize your baby with a Hershey candy bar
and Texaco's the beauty cream that's used by all the stars.
"Take your next vacation in a brand new frigidaire,
Learn to play piano in your grandma's underwear.
Doctors say that babies should smoke until they're three,
and people over 65 should bathe in Lipton tea."
This put me in mind of a song my mother sang, "Sweet Violets." The first verse goes like this:
Sweet Violets
Sweeter than the roses
Covered all over from head to toe
Covered all over with sweet violets
There once was a farmer who took a young miss
In back of the barn where he gave her a
Lecture on horses and chickens and eggs
And told her that she had such beautiful
Manners that suited a girl of her charms
A girl that he wanted to take in his
Washing and ironing and then if she did
They could get married and raise lots of
Sweet violets
Sweeter than the roses
Covered all over from head to toe
Covered all over with sweet violets.
I love this technique of the trick rhyme, or not rhyming the way you think it will. Which reminds me of the immortal "Miss Susie" clapping rhymes. There are some versions of my favorite, "Miss Susie had a Steamboat," at this link: http://www.gameskidsplay.net/jump_rope_ryhmes/jump_miss_susie.htm.
I like pretending I'm 8 sometimes... pretty often actually.
Born to Run
I've been running for fitness since 8th grade, with a few gaps here and there (undergrad, marriage). Running makes me feel great--afterwards. But the tough part is making myself get up and running so that I can reach that satisfied "afterwards" zone. I just started running again after a hiatus of about 15 months and I'm remembering a lot of tips and tricks I've used over the years to KEEP MOVING. Here's what I do:
1. Getting started. I don't let myself talk me out of it. I am a huge "self-talker" and excuse-maker, so I have to handle myself like a reluctant toddler if I want any results. I trick myself into going out the door by saying, "OK, just get dressed and put your shoes on and we'll see what happens." After that, I promise "I'll just run for a while and if I get tired I can always stop." Soon enough I've finished my run without stopping (probably because my balkiness to start becomes stubborn-ness to finish).
2. Hills. If you run on a machine hills are no problem because you can just program them however you're inclined. (Ha!) But where I live there are real hills and they're not always where I want them. So to psych myself out:
3. Keeping on. Maybe these are wierd hippie ideas, but on a dull stretch or when dealing with extreme temperatures I find a little visualization or mental distraction can help me avoid thinking about what I'm doing. For example, sometimes it's fun to pretend to be a running animal, like a goat or something, instead of a person. If the sun is really blazing I'll think about it entering my crown chakra and pouring down my body until it comes out my feet, leaving golden puddles in each of my footsteps. And my tried and true distracter is to count dwarves--by the time I remember the names of all the dwarves in The Hobbit, I'm usually pretty close to being done with my run.
To close, I do often enjoy running while I'm doing it, as well as afterwards. But since I'm inclined to be a bit lazy I need to keep my tricks about me as I may need to apply them at any time...
1. Getting started. I don't let myself talk me out of it. I am a huge "self-talker" and excuse-maker, so I have to handle myself like a reluctant toddler if I want any results. I trick myself into going out the door by saying, "OK, just get dressed and put your shoes on and we'll see what happens." After that, I promise "I'll just run for a while and if I get tired I can always stop." Soon enough I've finished my run without stopping (probably because my balkiness to start becomes stubborn-ness to finish).
2. Hills. If you run on a machine hills are no problem because you can just program them however you're inclined. (Ha!) But where I live there are real hills and they're not always where I want them. So to psych myself out:
- I concentrate on my ankles. If I work on just flexing my ankles and pushing off smoothly from the toes over and over again at the back end of my stride (that is, when I'm picking up the back foot to put it in front), I find I can ignore what's going on at the front of my stride. So by doing just ankle work I can keep myself running without noticing (much).
- I run with my arms. This is similar to the ankle thing. When I used to run track I noticed that if I worked on pumping my arms at a steady speed, my legs would pump along at the same rate. If you want to speed up, just pump your arms faster. Miraculous.
- I shorten my stride. I picked this up reading about hiking the AT. When going up a steep slope I just take smaller steps. It may end up taking a bit more work to get to the top, but it may also even out because taking regular-length strides up hill is REALLY exhausting. It preserves strength to just kick little hobbit steps into the hill.
- I shorten my goals. This is a variant of my "getting started" trick, which is that I promise myself I'll just get to the next tree or rock or mailbox or whatever. When I get there, I pick another thing and head for that. On steeper hills I pick things that are really close together--like only 3 yards apart--so I keep accomplishing things during the long haul up the hill.
- On the other side, stretch out again. Some runner's mag clued me in to this one--when going DOWN hill, it doesn't take much more energy to take a long step than a short one. And because of the slope, you actually gain ground as you sort of let yourself fall down the hill. It's like the invisible bridge in Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade--put your foot out really far in front of you and then just let gravity carry it down, and you with it.
3. Keeping on. Maybe these are wierd hippie ideas, but on a dull stretch or when dealing with extreme temperatures I find a little visualization or mental distraction can help me avoid thinking about what I'm doing. For example, sometimes it's fun to pretend to be a running animal, like a goat or something, instead of a person. If the sun is really blazing I'll think about it entering my crown chakra and pouring down my body until it comes out my feet, leaving golden puddles in each of my footsteps. And my tried and true distracter is to count dwarves--by the time I remember the names of all the dwarves in The Hobbit, I'm usually pretty close to being done with my run.
To close, I do often enjoy running while I'm doing it, as well as afterwards. But since I'm inclined to be a bit lazy I need to keep my tricks about me as I may need to apply them at any time...
In Heavy Rotation
Now that I am temporarily without a radio show I must resort to my old format of the Top 5 list to enumerate and consider this week's musical addictions. In no special order, these are:
That's it for now. I must just remind myself that my obsessions only last for about 2 weeks, so I've got a big change of scene comin' up.
- Love without Anger: Devo.
My recent interest in Devo was sparked when a reliable source lent us the "The Complete Truth About De-Evolution" DVD. I always knew I should love Devo more, and somehow getting visuals to go with the music really did the trick. - Hollaback Girl: Gwen Stefani.
I can't help it. I'm sorry. It's the cheerleader stomp that hooks me--it sounds JUST like high school basketball games. Bananas! - Hots on for Nowhere: Led Zeppelin.
It's so seventies. It's so summer. It's so Zeppelin. It's so Tony Alva. It's on every day at my house. - Me Gustas Tu: Manu Chao.
I first heard this on the radio and fell in love, I still remember exactly which street I was driving as I thought "did they just say marijuana on the radio? Did they just say it again?" I like the Chao because he recycles stuff, from beats to voicemails. It's efficient, and it sounds good. - Cemetry Gates: The Smiths.
I know they're supposed to be "gloomy," but the Smiths always put me in a super mood because of that perfect pop sound. Morr Marr!
That's it for now. I must just remind myself that my obsessions only last for about 2 weeks, so I've got a big change of scene comin' up.
Findhorn and other healing
Sometimes I have the fantasy of moving to Findhorn, Scotland, and learning to speak to cabbage devas and travel interdimensionally. I visited there in 1996 and took a tour of the community--they had neat houses constructed from large wooden whisky casks (Declan McCullagh photo here). Also an amazing "living machine" that processes raw sewage into drinking water through a series of tanks and filters filled with various types of plants and fish and things. I stayed at a B&B in the town of Findhorn and the lady there told me that she had come for a brief program and never wanted to leave, so bought a house there. I ran into a few other people who had similar stories, which I found slightly cult-like and odd, but still charming.
Then a couple years ago I read a wonderful book by Marko Pogacnik called "Nature Spirits and Elemental Beings - Working with the Intelligence in Nature," published by Findhorn Press. Learning that there are different fire, earth, air & water spirits all around us made perfect sense to me. It seems like there's a lot of interesting shamanic and healing stuff going on in Europe--for example also in Germany (see innenwege.de--though I really have no idea what it says) and Portugal (see www.tamera.org). Heck, even Barbara Brennan has an Austrian branch of her healing school.
Then a couple years ago I read a wonderful book by Marko Pogacnik called "Nature Spirits and Elemental Beings - Working with the Intelligence in Nature," published by Findhorn Press. Learning that there are different fire, earth, air & water spirits all around us made perfect sense to me. It seems like there's a lot of interesting shamanic and healing stuff going on in Europe--for example also in Germany (see innenwege.de--though I really have no idea what it says) and Portugal (see www.tamera.org). Heck, even Barbara Brennan has an Austrian branch of her healing school.
How to smoke a pipe
Just discovered this article on my hard-drive--written when I was trying to come up with a classy reason to keep smoking. Don't worry, I've pretty much stopped smoking, for no reason at all.
How to Smoke a Pipe
If you are a tobacco smoker looking for a change, or if you are a non-smoker who would like to affect tobacco addiction, pipe-smoking may be for you. It's easy, pleasant, and nicotine-oriented. Yum!
You Will Need Five Things:
1. pipe tool ($1.00)
2. pipe ($7.00)
3. tobacco (c. $5.00/oz)
4. wooden matches ($.25 box)
5. filters (pipe screens, pipe filters, and/or the fabled pipe cleaners)
If you're using one, adjust the pipe-screen in the bottom of your pipe bowl by using your pipe tool to mold it into a cup-shape to hold the tobacco. Next, scoop up some tobacco with the bowl of your pipe. Mash it down with the flat part of your pipe tool, then scoop a second time. The ideally filled pipe should be about a quarter-inch from the top of the pipe, and tamped down with the pipe-tool so it's firmly in place, but still springy.
The test of proper tamping is lighting. Light a wooden match and hold it above the bowl of your pipe, then inhale. You are not supposed to inhale the smoke into your lungs, but instead puff it, hobbit-like, into your mouth and then blow it out. Suck and puff out a few times until the bowl is lit, then discard the match. If the bowl goes out, repeat this process. The correctly lit pipe will stay lit as you smoke it, which takes about ten minutes. NOTE: if you are accustomed to smoking cigarettes, pipe-smoking will take at least twice as long to complete, and is about twice as satisfying. Resist the urge to inhale, although it probably won't kill you (right away) if you do. While you are sucking on your pipe, contemplatively, think of all the pipe-smoking greats such as Gandalf, Sherlock Holmes, Jean-Paul Sartre. Meditate. Suck. Exhale. Enjoy.
After about ten minutes you will know you are done because the pipe will stop providing smoke. Do not take this personally; instead, begin the cleaning process. With the scoop part of your pipe tool, scoop out the ashes and any unused tobacco from your pipe bowl (I scoop them into the sink). Remove the pipe-screen and filter (inside the stem) if you are using them. Poke a pipe-cleaner into both ends of the pipe, then put it back together for next time. For those who truly enjoy pipe-smoking there are a variety of pipes and tools that you can buy.
How to Smoke a Pipe
If you are a tobacco smoker looking for a change, or if you are a non-smoker who would like to affect tobacco addiction, pipe-smoking may be for you. It's easy, pleasant, and nicotine-oriented. Yum!
You Will Need Five Things:
1. pipe tool ($1.00)
2. pipe ($7.00)
3. tobacco (c. $5.00/oz)
4. wooden matches ($.25 box)
5. filters (pipe screens, pipe filters, and/or the fabled pipe cleaners)
If you're using one, adjust the pipe-screen in the bottom of your pipe bowl by using your pipe tool to mold it into a cup-shape to hold the tobacco. Next, scoop up some tobacco with the bowl of your pipe. Mash it down with the flat part of your pipe tool, then scoop a second time. The ideally filled pipe should be about a quarter-inch from the top of the pipe, and tamped down with the pipe-tool so it's firmly in place, but still springy.
The test of proper tamping is lighting. Light a wooden match and hold it above the bowl of your pipe, then inhale. You are not supposed to inhale the smoke into your lungs, but instead puff it, hobbit-like, into your mouth and then blow it out. Suck and puff out a few times until the bowl is lit, then discard the match. If the bowl goes out, repeat this process. The correctly lit pipe will stay lit as you smoke it, which takes about ten minutes. NOTE: if you are accustomed to smoking cigarettes, pipe-smoking will take at least twice as long to complete, and is about twice as satisfying. Resist the urge to inhale, although it probably won't kill you (right away) if you do. While you are sucking on your pipe, contemplatively, think of all the pipe-smoking greats such as Gandalf, Sherlock Holmes, Jean-Paul Sartre. Meditate. Suck. Exhale. Enjoy.
After about ten minutes you will know you are done because the pipe will stop providing smoke. Do not take this personally; instead, begin the cleaning process. With the scoop part of your pipe tool, scoop out the ashes and any unused tobacco from your pipe bowl (I scoop them into the sink). Remove the pipe-screen and filter (inside the stem) if you are using them. Poke a pipe-cleaner into both ends of the pipe, then put it back together for next time. For those who truly enjoy pipe-smoking there are a variety of pipes and tools that you can buy.
cruelty, manipulation, meaninglessness
Saw a great infomercial the other evening--for Bernard & Vivian Jaffe, the existential detectives in "I ♥ Huckabees." Check out their website at www.jaffeandjaffe.com. Also I noticed the musician guy has a website at www.jonbrion.com, which does not have many features yet...
Summer solstice celebration, Makin' Candy setlist 6/21/05
A celebration of all things summer--the apex of the year, the solstice, the day that's light longest. Unfortunately dark took over within hours after this show, when the FCC raided and muzzled our little community radio station in the early hours of 6/22/05. Check out postings, interviews and opinions at ibrattleboro.com for more. But for now, summer tunes!!!! (Also a small tribute set to the full moon, also to-nite.)
- Cruel Summer: Bananarama
- Summerfling: kd lang
- Just Because I Liked You in the Summertime: Benett
- Summer Breeze: Seals & Crofts
- Voila l'Eté: Les Negresses Vertes
- Girl: Beck
- Children of Summer: Color Filter
- Long Hot Summer Night: Jimi Hendrix
- Too Hot to Stop: Bar-Kays
- Summer Nights: Travolta & Newton-John (Grease s/t)
- Suddenly Last Summer: The Motels
- Summer '68: Pink Floyd
- The Boys of Summer: Don Henley
- Summer of 69: Bryan Adams
- Fun, Fun, Fun: Beach Boys
- Clouds of Summer: Color Filter remixed by Varsity KM
- Moonglow: Benny Goodman
- Moonlight Serenade: Glenn Miller
- Old Devil Moon: Frank Sinatra
- Something Wonderful Happens in Summer: Frank Sinatra
- Green Leaves of Summer: Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
- Summer, concerto in G minor, op. 2: Vivaldi (the 4 Seasons)
6/21/1791, the flight to Varennes
I remembered this story during a very pleasant country-side bike-ride yesterday evening. 214 years ago, Louis XVI and his misguided Queen Marie Antoinette decided that the longest day of the year would be a good time to try to escape unnoticed from Paris and travel 200 miles by coach toward the French border. Unfortunately, they were recognized along the way and captured in the town of Varennes. The ill-conceived "Flight to Varennes" pretty much sealed the fate of the king & his family (they were guillotined in 1793 after being incarcerated and "tried" following their capture). I get much of my recollection of this tale from an excellent book called The Fatal Friendship: Marie Antoinette, Count Fersen and the Flight to Varennes, by Stanley Loomis, published by Doubleday in 1972. Also a few things online refreshed my memory:
And I want to finally find a copy of a movie made in 1982 called "La Nuit de Varennes," in which Marcello Mastroianni plays Casanova in a coach also heading toward Varennes. C'mon Netflix!
- from "The History Guide," an extract from Louis XVI's "Declaration of the King Addressed to All the French About His Flight from Paris"
- Also from "The History Guide," the "flight" described in context of the revolution
- excerpt from 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
And I want to finally find a copy of a movie made in 1982 called "La Nuit de Varennes," in which Marcello Mastroianni plays Casanova in a coach also heading toward Varennes. C'mon Netflix!
Makin' Candy setlist, 6/14/05
Another dose of aural sugar:
- hommage: Les Frères Checkolades
- Grounded (Crooked Rain Version): Pavement
- Cool It Now: New Edition
- Midnight at the Underground: Baskervilles
- Way Too Good: Figurine
- Mad Dog 20/20: Teenage Fanclub
- Disenchanted: Communards
- Charade: Oranj Symphonette
- My Bag: Lloyd Cole
- Totgeredet: Mondfahre
- Let's Go All the Way: Sly Fox
- Noise is a Social Skill (v.0.8): Sweet Trip
- Me Gustas Tu: Manu Chao
- Como Campana: Superaquello
- Rockit: Herbie Hancock
- Rasputin: Boney M
- Face to Face: Daft Punk
- Know Your Rights: The Clash
- Fame: David Bowie
- Let's Go: Los Lobos
- You Just Haven't Earned it Yet, Baby: The Smiths
- Working in a Coal Mine: Devo
- Maneater: Cathode
- Pretty as You Feel: Jefferson Airplane
- Travelin' Light: Shirley Horn
- Nhimutimu (Zimbabwean mbira music)
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