August 30, 2005

A particularly vivid paragraph from a Times-Picayune article at NOLA.com:

About 5 p.m., almost as if on cue, the battery power of all the house alarms in the neighborhood seemed to reach a critical level, and they all went off, making it sound as if the area was under an air-raid warning. Two men surviving on generator power in the Lake Terrace neighborhood near the Lake Pontchartrain levee still had a dry house, but they were watching the rising water in the yard nervously. They were planning to head out to retrieve a vast stash of beer, champagne and hard liquor they found washed onto the levee. As night fell, the sirens of house alarms finally fell silent, and the air filled with a different, deafening and unfamiliar sound: the extraordinary din of thousands of croaking frogs.

August 29, 2005

Hey New Orleans: take care of yourself. You're a delicate, volatile, strange place, and although I'm sure I won't go back, I hope you'll always be there.

August 27, 2005

i am an aztec


aztec
Originally uploaded by stockholm cindy.
I scanned a bunch of '60s Road & Track ads (and covers, and whatnot) some time in the not-too-distant past and I've finally created a set for them on Flickr. I love these and I hope you do too.

August 20, 2005

Astoria's American Museum of the Moving Image has some Billy Wilder flicks on tap for September and October, including Ace In the Hole, which has so far managed to elude me every time it's played locally. Funny, I was JUST talking about this movie with someone.

Saturday, October 29
2:00 p.m.
ACE IN THE HOLE (A.K.A. THE BIG CARNIVAL)
Introduced By Wilder biographer Ed Sikov
1951, 111 mins. With Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling. In this acidic portrayal of a media circus, Douglas plays a reporter who turns the attempted rescue of a mine cave-in victim into a national frenzy.

The Airplane Book

Thank you for choosing Ward-O-Matic Airlines. We'd like to start off your trip through the garish 70's with a couple of our crew members. Notice that hairstyles were anything-goes in 1972, not to mention paint-jobs on aircraft.

Art Seiden is the illustrator for this very amusing children's book from 1972. The colors are worth the trip alone. That is, if you can stomach it. Be afraid, be very afraid.

August 18, 2005

i'm up at 5 a.m. and i was wondering about the etymology of "scandinavia" and unsurprisingly there was a wiki:


Etymology


The etymology for the names Scandinavia and Scania is considered to be the same.


The name is most probably derived from the Germanic *Skathin- meaning "danger" (cf. English scathing and unscathed) and *awjo meaning "island". It may have referred to the dangerous banks around Skanör (skan- is the same as in Scandinavia, and -ör means "sandbanks") and Falsterbo in Scania in southernmost Scandinavia.



Alternatively, the first element is sometimes attributed to the Scandinavian giantess Skadi from Norse mythology.


The original form would have been *Skaðinawjo, which gave rise to different forms in Germanic languages and by non-Germanic scribes. In Beowulf we meet the forms Scedenigge and Scedeland. Ptolemy uses the form Scandia, and Scatinavia appears in Roman texts, e.g. Pliny the Elder, whereas Pomponius Mela used the deviant form Codanovia. The form Scadinavia, the original home of the Langobards, appears in Paulus Diaconus' Historia Langobardorum[1], but in other versions of Historia Langobardorum appear the forms Scadan, Scandanan, Scadanan and Scatenauge[2]. In Jordanes' history of the Goths (AD 551) we meet the form Scandza their original home, separated by sea from the land of Europe (chapter 1, 4)[3].



The name of the Scandinavian mountain range, Skanderna in Swedish, is artificially derived from Skandinavien in the 19th century, in analogy with Alperna for the Alps. The commonly used names are Kölen "the Keel" or fjällen "the fells, the mountains".

Now, I'm no Sandra Lee or anything, but I know how to pull off a SEMI-HOMEMADE recipe. Like tonight, when I conscripted a pedestrian store-bought barbecue sauce and sent it off to boot camp in southeast Asia. A little raw garlic (about three cloves, chopped coarsely), a tablespoon of chili sauce, a PROFUSE amount of rice wine vinegar, a tablespoon of granulated sugar (I like the sugar made from evaporated cane juice, but I'm weird), a quarter teaspoon of ground red pepper, half a teaspoon of cinnamon to bring the sweetness back around. Fabulous; the kind of sauce you abandon the rest of the meal for so you can eat it on its own.

(PS- After years of being unsure or feeling too guilty to admit as much, I can now say without reluctance that I DISLIKE "SMOKY" FLAVORS. Lapsang Souchong tea, smoked mozzarella, "smoky" Kansas City style barbecue sauce. This is not to say that I hate all smoked foods; smoked meats when done right are a wonderful, wonderful thing. Liquid smoke and other weird flavor enhancers probably have a lot to do with my dislike, but I'm no expert on that stuff so I can't say for sure. Maybe I'm just eating the wrong products.)

August 15, 2005

sex and the suburbs


mccall's
Originally uploaded by stockholm cindy.
Up at Flickr: scans of some early '70s sewing patterns. I picked these up at a thrift store in rural Missouri on my way out west earlier this summer. And via Tucson, a few Time-Life books from their mid-'70s "The Art of Sewing" series.

August 13, 2005

quiche


quiche
Originally uploaded by stockholm cindy.
just made and thoroughly enjoyed: bacon & roasted corn quiche. the shell is from scratch and the corn is fresh off the cob.

ok, so the slightly milky bit at the back (actually half & half, butter, eggs, and a mixture of crumbled provolone and lorraine swiss cheese) needed to set for a few minutes longer, but just a few minutes (which it did). i had somewhat of a "burning milkfat" crisis at the beginning, so i sorta rushed to turn the oven off and let the residual heat do the rest of the cooking.

photo of the day: dustin hoffman surveying the damage from the explosion at 18 west 11th street (west village, nyc), the townhouse that was serving as a bomb factory for the radical sds splinter-group the weathermen. dustin lived a few houses down. march 7, 1970.



p.s.- the irony of my "weather underground" sidebar mini-banner is not lost on me.

August 11, 2005

your chokin' heart


dinner
Originally uploaded by stockholm cindy.
tomatoes, tomato couscous, artichoke hearts, tofu. a recipe, you say?

hm, well, i'll tell you how i made mine; if you're using fresh ingredients for yours i can't convert the proportions and cooking times off the top of my head. i used canned tomatoes because they were already in the pantry (i know that fresh tomatoes in season can make a great dish outfuckingstanding, but i'm pretty impressed with some of the canned tomatoes that are out there). i bought jarred artichoke hearts because... ok, confession time: i'm intimidated by fresh artichokes, i've never cooked one, and they're a little expensive to just experiment with willy-nilly. if you have any advice, bring it on. i'm not too madly in love with the brine that jarred 'chokes come packed in. however, if you're a master chef like MWAH you can write a good hack for any problem, and that's the name of my game.


tomato couscous - 1 1/2 cups (uncooked)
canned tomato (stewed whole san marzano tomatoes, unseasoned) - about 4 cups
artichoke hearts (in oil) - small jar, about 8 oz.
firm tofu - about 12 oz.
dried bay leaves (two)
kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, ground red pepper, dried parsley (to taste)

pour the jar of artichokes (brine included) into a ziploc bag. dice the tofu and add it to the bag. seal it up and let the mixture marinate in the refrigerator for approx. 2 hours.

add a tiny bit of canola oil to a large skillet pan (i would have used olive oil but it was smelling kinda rancid and you DON'T wanna use bad oil, trust me on this). just enough to coat the bottom. heat on a low-ish flame.

take the marinade out of the fridge, pour at least 9/10 of the liquid into the sink. no matter how much you pour off, the tofu and artichokes will still retain plenty of liquid.

transfer to the pan, spread it out so everything cooks evenly. let this go for a while, adjusting seasonings along the way. you don't wanna get too neurotic about flavor yet, because we're not done adding ingredients.

give the tofu/chokes about 15-20 minutes on their own, then introduce the tomatoes. put the tomatoes in whole, and mash them gently with a fork. stir so the juice has a chance to coat the other ingredients. continue to simmer uncovered; let the majority of the excess water from the tomatoes evaporate. you can add the dried bay leaves to a remote corner of the pan while you're adding the tomatoes -- just be sure that you don't stir them in, cuz they won't soften and it'll be gross.

while there's still liquid in the pan, slowly fold in the couscous, making sure each pour gets enough heat and water. when all the couscous is in the pan, turn the heat off. leave the couscous alone so it can fluff up and absorb any leftover liquid.

do a final seasoning-adjusting, take out the bay leaves, give the pan about 15 minutes so it can cool and so the flavors have time to mingle.

i served it topped with some fava beans (sadly, no chianti was involved). i thought they tasted sorta funky, so i dunno if i'd use 'em again.

August 10, 2005

Another interminable hot summer humpday. Here is some TUNEAGE to gitcha through it.

the fall - "totally wired" (superlative live version from the elephant fayre festival in cornwall, 07-29-84)
akira s et as garotas que erraram - "sobre as pernas" (from the sexual life of the savages, soul jazz's mostly very-good omnibus of são paulo, brazil's post-punk scene) (postscript: a quick look at my itunes folder reminds me that this track appeared on the similar não wave compilation too)

August 07, 2005

Alert the media! Alton Brown has been updating his blog (and it's about time, sheesh). He assures viewers that even though Scripps Howard has forced the Food Network into going high-def, "Good Eats is still held together by dental floss, duct tape, peanut butter and brine."

Plus, digitaldistractions finally has torrents for the (formerly) missing season 9 episodes. My all-consuming crush can continue unabated now.

August 05, 2005

the perpetucal


the perpetucal
Originally uploaded by stockholm cindy.
Matthew Perpetua should have one of these.

August 04, 2005

yet another blog-meme-hoonjadoonja...

Last Road Trip - Princeton Junction, NJ to Phoenix, AZ in three days

Last Bad Advice - most of the advice i get is bad advice (i never take it)

Last Movie I Saw in a Theater - can't remember. i've hardly seen anything in a theater this year. if i saw anything, it was music-related and/or a revival of some sort.

Last TV Show Watched - a good eats rerun

Last TV Show I Enjoyed Watching - same

Last Book I Tried to Read - a pdf of julian cope's krautrocksampler

Last Thing I Left Home Without - my checkbook. i took it out of my purse earlier; there's little to no reason for it to stay in there.

Last Take Out Meal - cheese danish and coffee, yesterday morning.

Last Celebration - the night before i left tucson

Last Item Loaned Out and Haven’t Gotten Back - can't remember. usually if i loan something out i fully expect that i'll never see it again

Last New Word of a Foreign Language Learned - esphyr slobodkina

Last T-Shirt Acquired - twee-preppy; pink and white stripes, a little too tight. not really a "t-shirt" per se.

Last Package Received - a parcel post box that i sent out from tucson -- clothing and sundries

Last Web Site Visited - http://www.pbase.com/csw62/image/38272501

Last Injury - bad back from lifting heavy boxes yesterday

Last Run In with the Law - not the law, but somebody gave me a hard time last week for wanting to take a picture of their garbage

Last Place I’d Want to Live - right now, at this juncture in my life, anywhere that isn't new york

Last Physical Fight - high school

Last Magazine Read - the nation, the one with deep throat on the cover

Last Thing I Broke - my mind

Last Thing I Fixed - my camera

Last Thing That Made Me Laugh - dan perry's post about pills 'n' duct tape

Last Thought - i want to marry the version of "baby honey" on the "million tears" 12"




9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
A corporate lesson, December 4, 2004
Reviewer: Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
A very simple case study of an entrepreneur who hoped to make the Fortune 500 by vending colored headgear.

Although carefully balancing his inventory, he was still caught napping by unscrupulous bandits, and had to resort to trickery to get his investment returned.

This elementary lesson teaches the young student several things:

1. You can't sell caps at 50 cents without drawing attention to yourself.

2. Don't ever fall asleep on the job.

3. Don't monkey around in your business dealings.

4. Losing your temper can be a good thing, once it gets the desired results.

5. Returned goods can still be sold for full price if properly displayed.

A useful learning tool for the budding CEO in your family.

Amanda Richards, December 4, 2004

Edited to expand: Children can have additional fun with this book counting the hats and identifying the colors. They can also count the monkeys, and have fun acting the role of the peddlar trying to get back the caps. My son liked to pretend he was a monkey!

Was this review helpful to you? YesNo (Report this)

August 03, 2005

beef goulash


beef goulash
Originally uploaded by stockholm cindy.
tonight's dinner. i made this! thanks to mom for bringing me back all that paprika from her trip to budapest.

i'll post a recipe, but i didn't really work with one -- just winged it.

August 02, 2005

Are you a mod or are you a Borneo airport?


Phone booth
Originally uploaded by Hello Treacle.
Sandakan airport, Borneo. My favorite favorite favorite photo by anyone anywhere right now.