Tue - March 27, 2007
Your body wants to go back home
This blog post really belongs under multiple categories, About Me, Food, Travel, and certainly Opinion. I think this is a meme that will gain traction in the near future...
My family tree is not that well researched, but I know enough now to say with some certainty that my bloodlines come from the central and southern parts of the UK. Mom was born in Northern Ireland, of Protestant heritage, and Dad is now discovering that the ancestry is also British until probably the mid 1800's, possibly centralized west of London on the coast. I imagine that my distant ancestors ate lots of root vegetables and spit roasted meats after a hard day's labour, in cool misty evenings...
That's exactly what I did tonight--after a workout I had a meal of parsnips, peas, and grilled lamb. I have to admit to washing it down with wine instead of whisky or ale, but there it is.
The epiphany is...I feel GREAT. I cooled off in the twilight mist tending the grill, and the food left me completely satisfied. I only wish I had lots of family around to spin stories with while tending a nice fire. A song or two would be ace.
I guess the point, or my prediction is...that more people involved in genetics (when informed by nutrition and exercise) will begin prescribing that people should retire back to their genetic climates. Our mobility has changed almost as fast as our diets, and I image some of us are just plain living in the wrong place as far as our bodies are concerned.
Global climate changes and an aging population will make this more topical over the next 30 years. In the meantime, research your ancestry, and make a "home-style" meal when the weather is right.
Posted at 10:43 PM
Mon - March 19, 2007
You ARE your glasses
Funny thing happened in a conversation the
other night. A friend wanted to see how my glasses looked on him, because he may be
shopping for a pair. I mentioned how important glasses are to one's "look".
Once he saw me without my glasses on my face, he said, "Important? Dude, you
ARE your glasses."
That got me thinking--people sometimes said I reminded them of Drew Carey with my old round specs. Who might I get mistaken for now? Check this out.
And now for a peek back in time to see who my old specs made me resemble...
I'd have to say I upgraded nicely (even if I did have to remove Yoko Ono from the new set above). I seem to have brought down the average age at least. But seriously, John Major? WTF?!
Celebrity comparisons at http://www.myheritage.com/
That got me thinking--people sometimes said I reminded them of Drew Carey with my old round specs. Who might I get mistaken for now? Check this out.
And now for a peek back in time to see who my old specs made me resemble...
I'd have to say I upgraded nicely (even if I did have to remove Yoko Ono from the new set above). I seem to have brought down the average age at least. But seriously, John Major? WTF?!
Celebrity comparisons at http://www.myheritage.com/
Posted at 02:22 PM
Fri - March 16, 2007
Get a haircut, and get a real blog.
This one's for my friend Sh6wn
.
Employee fired. For blogging. (Thanks, David Weinberger).
On top of that nonsensical risk, my blogging muse used to visit late at night, well past my current bedtime. I know it sounds like a lame excuse, but a 9-5 and blogging just don't mix for me right now.
Employee fired. For blogging. (Thanks, David Weinberger).
On top of that nonsensical risk, my blogging muse used to visit late at night, well past my current bedtime. I know it sounds like a lame excuse, but a 9-5 and blogging just don't mix for me right now.
Posted at 03:36 PM
Tue - October 17, 2006
The Last Cool Thing I Did With My Hands
P.S. Star Wars Lego is not an addiction. I can stop anytime I really want to.
Posted at 01:53 PM
Wed - August 16, 2006
The White Rock
True
story:
A good friend of ours recently got married and placed a notice on the invite: "the bride and groom request that each guest bring a stone, of any size, to the reception. the stones given will lay the foundation of their first home."
Well, we simply had to respond with a special stone.
(Important background: the bride and groom both have a professional and personal interest in the plight of displaced peoples and cultures. You'll see how this is important shortly.)
It just so happened that Linda and I were driving the coast of Michigan's thumb this Summer, and stopped at a relatively new roadside park at White Rock. The story of White Rock is poignant.
This is the full text of the roadside park historical marker:
The Territory of Michigan and “White Rock”
In the early 1800s, “White Rock”, a point well known to the Indians and early voyagers, played a significant role in defining settlements.
The Act establishing the Territory of Michigan was passed January 11, 1805, and took effect June 30th of the same year. In order to facilitate the settlement of the territory, and in accordance with the policy adopted by the United States, a treaty was made November 17, 1807. Governor William Hull, (Michigan’s first governor) acting for the United States, negotiated certain rights and several small reservations with the Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandotte, and Potawatomi Indian tribes.
The 1807 treaty included part of the state lying east of a line running along the west side of what is now Lenawee and Shiawassee counties, and from about the center of the west line of the last county, northeasterly to “White Rock, in Lake Huron.”
As a result of the 1807 treaty signed in Detroit, the Anishinabeg (Indians) ceded territory to the United States. Also, the large white rock, clearly visible directly east of here in the waters of Lake Huron, was formally named “White Rock.” “White Rock” marked the northeast corner of how far north the white man could settle at that time.
As you can see, the treaty was only good for a few years. By 1836, white settlers had rolled over the entire lower peninsula.
To add some cultural context this is the full text of the second plaque at the park:
“White Rock”: The History, Oral Traditions, and Tales
“White Rock” is steeped in history and oral traditions. Henry Schoolcraft, in his Travels of 1820, speaks of the White Rock and its prominence. He says, “White Rock, an enormous detached mass of transition limestone standing in a lake at the distance of half a mile from the shore. This is an object looked upon as a kind of milestone by the voyageurs and is known to all canoe and boat travelers of the region.”
According to Anishinabeg oral tradition, the White Rock was once much larger and sacred to local Indians. Freshly killed game and other choice food was placed on the White Rock so the Great Spirit, Gitchi Manitou, would know the Anishinabeg were thankful for the gifts received from the natural environment.
The White Rock is still considered a very special place by the descendants of the Indians who first observed its unique qualities, and it continues to be one of the places at which offerings are made.
A local tale from around 1860 relates a story that a group of white people decided to have a square dance on the White Rock. Local Indians warned them not to have this dance, as the White Rock was sacred. Still, two sets of square dancers piled onto the White Rock from canoes. One man decided to heed the Indians’ warning, and remained in the water nearby. Suddenly, as they danced, a bolt of lightning struck the White Rock and killed all the dancers, leaving only the nearby man to tell of the terrible tragedy.
The White Rock we see today rises only about four feet above the waterline and is about twelve feet square in length. According to local historians, lightning has struck the White Rock repeatedly, and the U.S. Air Force used the White Rock for target practice around the time of World War II. This, and the natural effects of erosion constantly at work, are cited as the principal reasons for the White Rock’s rather rapid diminished size.
A bronze plaque, stolen long ago, was once originally fixed to a stone boulder that marked this historic spot. Through the work and contributions of the Deckerville Historic Museum and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, this plaque has been replaced and is once again mounted on the original stone boulder still in this park.
In sight of the legendary White Rock, I wandered down to the beach and found a suitably sized stone, resting half above the murky sand, and half below. When I pulled it up, the symbolism was overwhelming.
Here it was, a symbol of white and dark, grounded and exposed, lines and borders.
Over the few days we had the stone at home, all the black silt dried up, blew off and was washed away by rain. The rock, like the lower peninsula in 1836, had become all white.
A good friend of ours recently got married and placed a notice on the invite: "the bride and groom request that each guest bring a stone, of any size, to the reception. the stones given will lay the foundation of their first home."
Well, we simply had to respond with a special stone.
(Important background: the bride and groom both have a professional and personal interest in the plight of displaced peoples and cultures. You'll see how this is important shortly.)
It just so happened that Linda and I were driving the coast of Michigan's thumb this Summer, and stopped at a relatively new roadside park at White Rock. The story of White Rock is poignant.
This is the full text of the roadside park historical marker:
The Territory of Michigan and “White Rock”
In the early 1800s, “White Rock”, a point well known to the Indians and early voyagers, played a significant role in defining settlements.
The Act establishing the Territory of Michigan was passed January 11, 1805, and took effect June 30th of the same year. In order to facilitate the settlement of the territory, and in accordance with the policy adopted by the United States, a treaty was made November 17, 1807. Governor William Hull, (Michigan’s first governor) acting for the United States, negotiated certain rights and several small reservations with the Ottawa, Chippewa, Wyandotte, and Potawatomi Indian tribes.
The 1807 treaty included part of the state lying east of a line running along the west side of what is now Lenawee and Shiawassee counties, and from about the center of the west line of the last county, northeasterly to “White Rock, in Lake Huron.”
As a result of the 1807 treaty signed in Detroit, the Anishinabeg (Indians) ceded territory to the United States. Also, the large white rock, clearly visible directly east of here in the waters of Lake Huron, was formally named “White Rock.” “White Rock” marked the northeast corner of how far north the white man could settle at that time.
As you can see, the treaty was only good for a few years. By 1836, white settlers had rolled over the entire lower peninsula.
To add some cultural context this is the full text of the second plaque at the park:
“White Rock”: The History, Oral Traditions, and Tales
“White Rock” is steeped in history and oral traditions. Henry Schoolcraft, in his Travels of 1820, speaks of the White Rock and its prominence. He says, “White Rock, an enormous detached mass of transition limestone standing in a lake at the distance of half a mile from the shore. This is an object looked upon as a kind of milestone by the voyageurs and is known to all canoe and boat travelers of the region.”
According to Anishinabeg oral tradition, the White Rock was once much larger and sacred to local Indians. Freshly killed game and other choice food was placed on the White Rock so the Great Spirit, Gitchi Manitou, would know the Anishinabeg were thankful for the gifts received from the natural environment.
The White Rock is still considered a very special place by the descendants of the Indians who first observed its unique qualities, and it continues to be one of the places at which offerings are made.
A local tale from around 1860 relates a story that a group of white people decided to have a square dance on the White Rock. Local Indians warned them not to have this dance, as the White Rock was sacred. Still, two sets of square dancers piled onto the White Rock from canoes. One man decided to heed the Indians’ warning, and remained in the water nearby. Suddenly, as they danced, a bolt of lightning struck the White Rock and killed all the dancers, leaving only the nearby man to tell of the terrible tragedy.
The White Rock we see today rises only about four feet above the waterline and is about twelve feet square in length. According to local historians, lightning has struck the White Rock repeatedly, and the U.S. Air Force used the White Rock for target practice around the time of World War II. This, and the natural effects of erosion constantly at work, are cited as the principal reasons for the White Rock’s rather rapid diminished size.
A bronze plaque, stolen long ago, was once originally fixed to a stone boulder that marked this historic spot. Through the work and contributions of the Deckerville Historic Museum and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, this plaque has been replaced and is once again mounted on the original stone boulder still in this park.
In sight of the legendary White Rock, I wandered down to the beach and found a suitably sized stone, resting half above the murky sand, and half below. When I pulled it up, the symbolism was overwhelming.
Here it was, a symbol of white and dark, grounded and exposed, lines and borders.
Over the few days we had the stone at home, all the black silt dried up, blew off and was washed away by rain. The rock, like the lower peninsula in 1836, had become all white.
Posted at 08:40 PM Read More
Thu - August 3, 2006
Get yer Hawaiian on.
I've always had a problem with mixing fruit and meat in the same dish. You'd think that my British genes meant that I was a total chutney hound. Hell, I don't even like applesauce. I like to keep my savories savory, and my sweets sweet (if there are sweets on my plate at all.)
That being said, I was in the mood to branch out. We had a real pacific-island winner this evening. Hoisin-grilled pork in papaya. The key here is real Hawaiian papayas. You cannot substitute them for Costa Rican, Brazilian, or anything. In fact I never really liked papaya until I had a Hawaiian one.
Recipe for two:
1 RIPE hawaiian papaya (about the size of a typical grocery mango, or elongated softball) Completely yellow skin when ripe.
1 smallish pork tenderloin
5 spice powder
For Stir-fry:
1 stalk celery
1 green onion/scallion
1 skinny carrot (or 3 peeled baby carrots)
Peanut oil for stir-frying
For Baste:
1 clove garlic
2 TBS Hoisin sauce
1 TBS rice wine
1 tsp sweet chili cauce
1 tsp Sriracha
Dust and rub tenderloin with 5-spice powder. Place in refrigerator for 4-14 hours uncovered. Make baste by mixing ingredients.
Grill tenderloin at 450+ until medium, basting last 15 minutes and turning often. Set aside to rest. Slice open papaya lengthwise and scoop out seeds.
Slice Onion/Celery/Carrot and stir fry in peanut oil until just tender.
Dice tenderloin into 1 cm cubes and mix into pan with veggies. Add Hoisin sauce to taste. Spoon pork mixture into papaya halves. top with toasted sesame seeds.
Serve with asian vegetables or rice if desired. Snow peas are a good choice.
Kine grindz refined!
Posted at 09:53 PM
Fri - July 28, 2006
The larger war: Faith VS. Reason
I caught Bill Moyer's PBS mini-series for the
first time tonight, Faith & Reason. It's SO refreshing to see
and hear smart people on TV
again.
It's a timely, brilliant interview show that doesn't aim to dumb-down the topic in any way. Moyers is great at probing and attempting to keep his guests grounded without injecting himself into the discussion. It's a flammable topic and I'm certain that a majority of Americans could only bear 1-2 minutes of it without being stirred to hatred or being bored to the point of touching the "channel up" button.
For the rest of us, it is a reaffirmation that there are truly intelligent people on this earth that think the way we do. Please take a moment to see the show, or click here for archived interview excerpts.
The most ironic thing may be how much like an evangelical his resemblance is.
It's a timely, brilliant interview show that doesn't aim to dumb-down the topic in any way. Moyers is great at probing and attempting to keep his guests grounded without injecting himself into the discussion. It's a flammable topic and I'm certain that a majority of Americans could only bear 1-2 minutes of it without being stirred to hatred or being bored to the point of touching the "channel up" button.
For the rest of us, it is a reaffirmation that there are truly intelligent people on this earth that think the way we do. Please take a moment to see the show, or click here for archived interview excerpts.
The most ironic thing may be how much like an evangelical his resemblance is.
Posted at 11:23 PM
Tue - July 25, 2006
Words as good as a Beurre Blanc...
As you can probably tell, I'm a food blogger wanna-be. I just have a few too many interests to keep focus. And the new 9-5 keeps my blog time to a minimum.
But here's what I aspire to. Some wonderful prose from Guest Author Katie Pizzuto, writing on BasicJuice, one of my favorite Food/Wine blogs. An excerpt:
"There are people I know who could care less if they ate the same thing for dinner most nights of the week...food is sustenance to them, not pleasure. And I also know people that can’t stand having to come home each night and prepare dinner for their family after a hard day’s work...cooking is a chore to them, not a reprieve. I fall into neither one of those categories, and I’ve come to believe that this is one of the few true dichotomies that exist in life—food is either a sensual (of the senses) pleasure to you or it isn’t...there simply isn’t any gray area. If you find that when you plan a vacation your standard MO includes researching the best local eateries, you know which side of the fence you sit on.
[edit]
For those of us that relish preparing food, the kitchen is a place of transformation [edit]—not only in the actual process of cooking, but in the act of feeding others, because when you cook with your soul, people can taste it."
Read the whole post and check out BasicJuice here.
(Sorry for the duplicate post via update--I'm trying to test better RSS feeds.)
Posted at 11:06 PM Read More
Sun - July 9, 2006
Special Sauce
So? You like-a de sauze? Good.
It's easy. Especially good on Hot Dogs. Ready?
Equal Parts:
-----------
Yellow Mustard
Ketchup
Minced Vidalia Onion
Dill Pickle Relish
Mayonnaise
I TBSP each per two dogs or burgers.
When you serve the dogs, it might feel like a lot of sauce, but do not trust your feelings. Dogs and burgers want sauce like they had it in the 50s. Juice 'em up.
If you mess this up, I want to hear about it. This is like, Summer Cooking 101.
Posted at 02:14 AM
Sat - July 8, 2006
Food Poem #2
Sometimes other writer's words say everything
you need to say...
Poe on Dulse
IT was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea:
But we loved with a love that was more than love—
I and my ANNABEL LEE;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful ANNABEL LEE ;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me—
Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my ANNABEL LEE.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we—
Of many far wiser than we—
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful ANNABEL LEE:
For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful ANNABEL LEE;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful ANNABEL LEE;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
Poe on Dulse
IT was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of ANNABEL LEE;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea:
But we loved with a love that was more than love—
I and my ANNABEL LEE;
With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful ANNABEL LEE ;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in heaven,
Went envying her and me—
Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my ANNABEL LEE.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we—
Of many far wiser than we—
And neither the angels in heaven above,
Nor the demons down under the sea,
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful ANNABEL LEE:
For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful ANNABEL LEE;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful ANNABEL LEE;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea,
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
Posted at 01:19 AM
Thu - July 6, 2006
Blogging. Not Blogging.
I'm beginning to have a love/hate relationship
with blogging. The first reason to doubt the process is that I am usually
inspired/free to post well past my bedtime. The second is that the blogging
process is so very insular. It feeds on
itself.
Popular blogs are those that get linked to by other blogs. Often very little original thought is added. The tools on the web make this easy to do--case in point: I'm working on a plain vanilla Bloglines professional blog targeted to my co-workers and clients here: http://www.bloglines.com/blog/IanMalbon
Hmm. I'd love to have the time to filter 150+ posts per day and provide critical commentary, but I'm getting paid to do something else.
The upside is that, when a blog posts something truly interesting, it gets the viral spin from other top blogs, and it bubbles up, usually first to The Daily Show, then NPR, then newspapers that have no real writers, then CNN.
I can only hope to be noticed by these beacons of journalism someday.
Popular blogs are those that get linked to by other blogs. Often very little original thought is added. The tools on the web make this easy to do--case in point: I'm working on a plain vanilla Bloglines professional blog targeted to my co-workers and clients here: http://www.bloglines.com/blog/IanMalbon
Hmm. I'd love to have the time to filter 150+ posts per day and provide critical commentary, but I'm getting paid to do something else.
The upside is that, when a blog posts something truly interesting, it gets the viral spin from other top blogs, and it bubbles up, usually first to The Daily Show, then NPR, then newspapers that have no real writers, then CNN.
I can only hope to be noticed by these beacons of journalism someday.
Posted at 01:11 AM
Thu - June 22, 2006
We are all phantoms.
A very interesting physics demonstration was found here. You remember how we always learned that the human body was 50 - 60% water. Well, on a deeper atomic level, we are composed of practically nothing at all.
I love the thought now just as I loved it when I took "Physics for Poets" in college. But I really dig the conclusion on the demonstration page, "We are all phantoms."
Posted at 11:45 PM
Fri - June 16, 2006
Sun - June 11, 2006
Zimbabwean food
I still remember the traditional meal that our friend Pam made for us when we visited her in Zimbabwe 12 years ago. It was sadza, a thick white cornmeal dumpling that we used to scoop up, or pinch bits of meat or greens cooked in a peanut sauce.
The other night, reminded by yet another sad story in the news, Linda asked if I could cook a Zimbabwe-style meal. Unfortunately, the fond nostalgia I feel for the place must be tempered by the fact that dishes like this are becoming less common, as Zimbabweans are confronting a failing economy. I can only hope that change comes soon, before too many more lives there are lost.
At any rate, this is what I came up with:
African Chicken Peanut Stew
2 large handfuls baby spinach
8 oz. minced raw chicken (1 bonless skinless thigh, plus breast tenders)
Peanut oil
1 can collard greens (if seasoned, drain and rinse)
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1-2 TBSP to taste of curry paste or powder (Patak's)
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp grated ginger
1 medium tomato, seeded peeland and diced
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter, thinned with 1/2 cup hot water
1/3 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
salt and pepper
Steam baby spinach until just softened, drain
Season minced chicken with salt and pepper
stir fry chicken in peanut oil until cooked through, move to bowl, set aside.
stir fry onion and bell pepper until softened
Add curry paste, turmeric, ginger, collard greens, tomato, and peanut butter/water
Stir and heat through 5-10 minutes
Add chicken and steamed baby spinach, stir heat through
Stir in peanuts
Taste and adjust seasoning in necessary. An optional few drops of hot sauce or smoke flavoring can be added
Serve over
fried slices of white polenta or
thick white grits
Dusva! (Enjoy!)
Posted at 11:32 PM
Mon - May 29, 2006
Tilting at windmills
This is weird. I recently found out that the Who's classic "We Won't Get Fooled Again" was voted by the UK Independent as the "Number 1 conservative song". This is arguably a response by some "folk" against terror attacks. I'm sure the line "And I get on my knees and pray..." helps these conservatives feel even better about the song.
Back in 2003 I put this song on a mixtape called "Bush Vs. Saddam". It was a cynical collection of tracks meant as a commentary on the futility of a misguided policy. More importantly, I chose that particular Who song as a rallying cry against a second term for Bush. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss..."
Weird that this song could be embraced by polar opposites. That's where the songwriter comes in. Pete Townshend's response is a nice study in greys (that's "grays" for US liberals, and "nonsense" for US conservatives).
Posted at 02:10 AM
Calendar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
Categories
Archives
XML/RSS Feed
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Published On: Mar 27, 2007 10:44 PM
Published On: Mar 27, 2007 10:44 PM