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Showing posts from July, 2008

vivaldi

I'm not usually much for classical music. But I will say that, the other day, working on the coffee table project, I felt more like an artisan while I was listening to whatever it was that was playing on NPR. Or maybe it was just one of those nights, when things were just falling into place, and I actually really did know what I was doing. Guess I'll find out next time, when I actually start piecing things together with some sort of permanency.

July 14

Eight years ago on this night I remember driving from Newcastle to Custer, watching flames from a forest fire curl high up into the dark sky along the limestone rim just north of the state line. It was spectacular and beautiful and terrible. In retrospect, I'm tempted to find some symbolic meaning in that orange glow. Maybe the stupidity of youth, burning so eagerly and thoughtlessly. Or the blaze of passionate affection, creating its own energy from the solid and unmoving forests. Obviously it wasn't the flame of eternal unity, at least not in the shallow sense of two hearts being joined together forever. I guess I prefer to see it as part of the phoenix cycle, the great fire of new life emerging. It's been slow coming around to the rebirth part of things, seems like, ashes and embers, finally breaking down into fragments to sustain the seeds of fresh growth.

Rick's Diner. Side dish

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Q. Hey Rick: do bacon and sweet potatoes go together? -- anonymous A. Thanks for the question. In fact, bacon and sweet potatoes make a pretty good combo. Here's how I like 'em: Slice up a sweet potato into quarter-inch chunks. Cut up four strips of bacon into one-inch chunks. Slice up some red onion--about a third to a quarter of a medium unyun. Turn the stove-top to medium-high heat. Place the bacon in a single layer on the bottom of a nine-inch skillet. Grind some pepper over it. Then strew the red onion over top. Now layer the sweet tater over top all that. Season with basil and some Chachere's cajun spice. Then, to help things cook evenly, you might pour half a beer over everything and throw a lid on it. Cook fifteen minutes or so, remove the lid, and let the bacon crisp up a bit. Then mix it all up, put it in a bowl, and serve alongside the main event. Modern American fare!

wiped out

I'm watching that new show on ABC, the one that's like the ridiculous japanese obstacle course shows where the commentators provide, well, commentary about the crazy nosedives people take. Also today, I heard the marvelous Fat Boys/Beach Boys collaborative piece "Wipeout." It's the first time in a long time since I've heard this masterful synthesis of sound. Also today I decided not to go meet my soccer teammates (at our first game) since everyone I know says I need to get my ankle checked out. I took it on a mountain-bike ride with me at Curt Gowdy on Sunday, and it definitely stretched some things out. No reason to go introduce myself to my team if the dudes at Gem City tell me I need to have surgery or avoid sharp right turns for the next six months or whatever.