Modern art and my new coat

I have a new coat. It belonged to my aunt, who is moving out of Roslindale, leaving me the last of the Watson clan to be in the Roslindale/West Roxbury area. A place we have been since about 1909. The 100 year tradition continues.

As a result of Aunt Bet ty moving, many things are donated or given away to make the move easier, as is the usual custom. I was the receiver of all the "funky" things unwanted: chunky necklaces with a Buddha medalion, a fantastic feminine Stetson-ish hat and my new coat, a Piet Mondrian inspired piece of fashion.

This lead me to the question: who is Piet Mondrian? I mean, I've seen those lines and color blocks for ages, but it's time to explore. Here, from the website:

http://www.artinthepicture.com/

A collection of quotes from the artist, and my humble thoughts on the quote.

Every true artist has been inspired more by the beauty of lines and color and the relationships between them than by the concrete subject of the picture.

Of course, immediately, I think in terms of poetry. I substitute "lines and color" for "words and syntax" and "subject of the picture" for "subject in the poem". I think about the LANGUAGE poets. & now-a-days? What does Post-Abstract look like? Two threads, is what I see. One is a backlash. In terms of art, it is art that is Neo-Realism. In poetry, linear narrative work, like our dearest Billy Collins. The other thread is a merging of movements, including Abstract. It may seem in opposition to the movement that after it is experienced, it then gets incorporated into a hybrid of past periods, but I feel as though I'm seeing that in art -- partially abstract but partially clear in "subject" -- that we are able to incorporate that into our creations now.

The position of the artist if humble. He is essentially a channel.

Yes, indeed. I've written about this on my poetics blog (where I'm reposting this entry so sorry if you're reading it there & now confused. If that's where you're reading this, see my day to day blog for the original entry). Art pre-exists in a frequency and artists try to tune into the frequency to channel what they're hearing from it. Sounds hippie maybe, but let's talk about it like this. Chef Jose Andreas, who has a show called "Made in Spain" on PBS and also has an interesting looking restaurant in DC, likes to use the sparist ingredients for some recipes. But he also experiments in that gastrowhatsitcalled type crazy foam shtuff and whatnot. His philosophy on why he is able to execute this type of cooking successfully, and why other chefs tend to fail, is that he "listens" to the essence of the food. He does not try to dominate or master it and change it to something it is not meant to be. He tunes into the essence of the food item and then extracts it and plays with it to see what else it wants to do. The same happens with the painter and the pain, the sounds and the musician, the poet and the words. It's not a matter of mastering and dominating but of listening and channeling.

In art the search for a content which is collectively understandable is false; the content will always be individual.

Because EVERYTHING is subjective; therefore, meaning can never be absolute. (So, instead, make lines and blocks of primary colors...)

The emotion of beauty is always obscured by the appearance of the object. Therefore the object must be eliminated from the picture.

Again, I think of poetry that takes out the narrative angle and instead focus on the juxtaposition (smartpeopleword) of words to prickle the brain in ways that prose does not.

To approach the spiritual in art, one will make as little use as possible of reality, because reality is opposed to the spiritual.

I think, in this case, about the difference between gnosticism and apostolicism. Gnosticism is about going inside oneself to find spirituality. Apostolicism is about going out and "preaching the word of the Lord", if you will. So, if you call reality the outside, than the spiritual can easily be the inside.

Okay, that's the end of my ponderings on Piet Mondrian's quotes. I didn't use all of them from the website, just a few choice ones.

http://www.artinthepicture.com/artists/Piet_Mondrian/Quotes/

Manna from Heaven - Starbuck's Greek Yogurt & Honey Parfait

Sweet heavens! What deliciousness be upon me tonight during my "dinner" at the library? It is this, Starbucks's Greek Yogurt & Honey Parfait. I love Greek yogurt (new recipe featuring Fage coming soon) and I love honey. There's also coconut almond macaroon granola (not low fat, sadly), pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries. V. V. good. It's 3.45. This is medium-pricey; however, it's pretty filling and better than fries and a burger for a meal on the go.

Robert Reich Is My Economist Crush

So, the other day I was on All Things Considered asking about the stimulus package. But you know what? I forgot to blog about the other time I was on the radio, on On Point, two weeks before that. Why am I such a NPR groupie? I dunno. Just am.

If you open this link for the WBUR OnPoint media player and drag the bar to 16:10 minutes left, you'll hear me talking to Robert Reich

Anyway, here's why I love Bob Reich:

Robert Reich and Conan OBrien as Buddy Cops

Unmentionables on a Website

SWEATY PEOPLE LIKE ME -- look what I saw on the View this morning:

http://www.garmentguard.com/

I put these little pads over the armpit of your shirts and it helps prevent those wicked annoying sweat stains that always seem to come up no matter how sedentary I am or how I used XXXXXXtra Strength Antiperspirant for Super Sweaty B1tches (Lady Mitchum, Secret Platinum, Certain Dri).

Yay!

Exploring the site, I found some other awesome things.

http://www.garmentguard.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=23&HS=1

You put this patch on your underwear and it absorbs the smell of your farts. Seriously.

My favorite, though, is the Skid Out. Guess what that's for?

And the winner is...

..Hugh Jackman, I believe. And this year's producers of the Oscars, overall. those are the winners, big time, for the 2008 Oscars. It was such a fantastic show. Great set, albeit expensive, wonderful structure - I especially loved the spoken tributes by past winners to the nominees, entertaining performances from the host, and very funny, moving or otherwise appropriate script.

I really loved it when Hugh Jackman sang about how he was "Wolverine." That was awesome. I did know that he was good at being both a sexy super hero and a singing farm boy. That is, I watched a made-for-TV production of Oklahoma! starring Hugh Jackman on PBS that was from 1998.

I watch in Rockland and then Weymouth (where I am right now). Ali cia, as is custom, hosted the Oscar Party. This year we had ballots to guess the winners and Oscar Bingo. I got my bingo third. This included a scratch ticket and a little golden statue. Fun!

I'd have to say, this was my favorite Oscar Program of all time, so far. And Anwar was so cute! I've moved from Harry Potter to Anwar (Dev Patel, the main character of Slumdog Millionaire), and the entire male cast of Skins -- to be honest, when it comes to my inappropriate actor crushes. Regardless, I can't seem to get away from the British Lads.

The Swedish Model

I'm trying to be an Informed Citizen when it comes to talking about the bank bailout issue. I'm sick of people issuing blanket statements with no recognition of double standards or nuance.

Robin Young covered this story on the Swedish model of bank bailouts.

Link to story

And I found this in-depth article on the subject from the Cleveland Fed Reserve Bank:

http://www.clevelandfed.org/Research/commentary/2009/0209.cfm?DCS.pr=20090212

These are a little heady for the noneconomist and I'm hoping as this subject of the Swedish model comes up more often, someone will be able to lay it down in less MoneySpeak and more Regular Talk.

This Week in WTF - the 13 year old boy who is or isn't a dad

Well, first there was this:



Now there is this:

Thirteen-year-old Alfie Patten is the victim of a scam, his girlfriend having been told to pretend he was the father of her baby so their families could strike lucrative deals with the media, a family friend has claimed.

Intense media scrutiny in the UK and around the world has focused on the East Sussex teen, who reportedly conceived baby Maisie with girlfriend Chantelle Steadman, who is 15. Alfie was 12 at the time and Chantelle was 14.

Both Alfie and Chantelle's parents are believed to have netted thousands of pounds in media deals, the Daily Mail said.

But a close friend of Chantelle's parents, Clive Sim, said Chantelle was told by her mother to say Alfie was the father so they could cash in on the story.

A number of other older teens have since claimed to be Maisie's father.

From this article: http://www.smh.com.au/world/13yearold-father-alfie-the-victim-of-cash-scam-girlfriends-family-friend-says-20090219-8bq0.html

Hillary Is a Strong Woman

When I first started high school in 1993, names like "Hillary Rodham Clinton" and "Anita Hill" were ubiquitous, if you were paying attention. And, as I've noted here and there, I have been paying attention for as long as I can remember. (Arguing about Dukakis versus Bush the First while walking home from elementary school with Ad am S iple. This, I assure you, will be a story to tell the kids or grandkids, when he becomes Attorney General/President/Something Like That some day.)

I'm not sure of that many ninth grade girls with a subscription to Time Magazine, who read it weekly, alternating between it and issues of Seventeen and Spin. But that was me for you. It was a good thing we had to sell magazines for fundraising, because it lead me on a path to making media a regular part of my day, when I had to purchase my own subscriptions to fill my quota. What also helped was that Mom and Dad read the news everyday and watched it every night.

I'm thinking about this right now as I read articles and hear news stories on Secretary Hillary Clinton's first diplomatic trip abroad to Asia. It's still a little jolting to say Secretary Clinton, though I like the sound of it as much as I like the sound of "former President Bush".

This New York Times article ( http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/21/world/asia/21diplo.html?th&emc=th ) discusses Clinton's unorthodox, yet far more engaging, appraoch to foreign diplomacy. I blogged about her appearance on a variety show in Indonesia called "Awesome." But she also gave speeches to all womens colleges and she'll be going to church in China tomorrow. (Or is it today there already?)

One young woman, a woman who stated that she played baseball, who attended one of Hillary's appearances asked how it was that Hillary became such a strong woman. Hillary said she played a lot of baseball and played with a lot of boys -- which was cute, but you got what she meant.

And how is it that women of my generation got to be so strong, as that Japanese woman put it? By growing up with women like Hillary Clinton to emulate since the time we started high school. That's why I'm always calling her Hillary My Love. Yes, my own mom is of quite strong character, to put it mildly, but I also grew up with a national figure. And for that, I am very grateful and happy. It's also gratifying to see her in a new position of power, even if it isn't President. I think everything worked out just as it should have, in the end. I can't wait to see what else Secretary Clinton has in store.

This Week in WTF - AWESOME!

Here's Hillary My Love, as she traipses through the Asia-Place. The name of this show is "Awesome!" The awesome-est part is around 4:30, when the fun lady asks the fun questions.



I want to add, however, that she is also doing things like meeting with other diplomats and meeting with the peasants working on green jobs, like making women's accesories from recycled materials. Excellent! Dare I say...Awesome!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100885547

On the Radio

Listen to this appropriately titled song by Regina Spektor, while reading this post...

All things Considered, NPR's evening radio news program, asked listeners to email their questions about the stimulus bill. I sent mine in and they liked it. So they called me and asked me to record it and then aired and answered it today on the program. Exciting, no? Maybe only if you're a news junkie like me. Anyway, here's the link.

http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=100885556&m=100885535

Englighten yourself by listening to the whole thing or skip to the good part -- me reading my question over the air, at minute 8:33.

There's 30 seconds of my 15 minutes...

Thanks to Adam Davidson for giving a clear and concise answer. I'm gonna go see if he is on Facebook and friend him if he is! Ha!

Article from NYT 'The Digital Librarian' Series

One of the many blogs on my RSS feed is Jessamyn West's library blog. She's a real swell library lady and she's on Facebook, if you want to be her friend.

Here is a link to an article she alerted her readers to, titled "The Future of Reading" from the New York Time's series called "The Digital Librarian".

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/books/16libr.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

I love this story and want to be exactly like Ms Stephanie Rosalia, when I grow up and get my MLIS someday. Heaven knows, I've done my best to emulate her throughout my years as a paraprofessional in the library world and during my time as a teacher doing lessons on reliable resources & encouraging reading of all kinds. In fact, tonight, I helped a student retrieve an online entry from a literary resource book series, explained to another how to search the catalog from home and helped with AV equipment for two others. All in a day's work.

Unreliable resources, parodied in this website about the non-existent tree octopus, are the reason it is imperitive we have information literacy in education

If you are an educator, a parent, a book lover, a librarian-type, please take a moment to check out this article. Teacher librarians like Ms Rosalia are the future of the "school librarian", and I'm looking forward to that future. (That is, if it doesn't get completely cut from all budgets all over because of the New Great Depression we're living through.)

Here's to Information Literacy and educators like Ms Rosalia who are enlightening students at an early age. Let's hope she gets to keep up the good work and the good work keeps spreading throughout all school systems.

This Week in WTF - How do you say "AA" in Japanese?

Oh boy. The finance minister of Japan said he was this messed up at the G-8 summit because he'd taken too much cold medicine.

Cold medicine my bum bum. How do you say "AA" in Japanese?

Thinking about Buddha Statues and Nukes

My favorite news media person, Rachel Maddow, covered a story on the region of Swat, Pakistan being taken over by the Taliban recently.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#29247369

Yeah, that Taliban have now, essentially, in-so-many-words, expanded and govern a section of Pakistan, nevermind their still-threatening presence in Afghanistan. More information from the Washington Post here.

And what was the reaction of the Obama administration's Secretary of State, Hilary My Love? Well, she said it was a problem but the whole region was a problem.

33,000 additional troops were brought to Afghanistan recently, but that's Afghanistan. The strategy will take a turn with the new administration, apparently. Exactly what has not yet been laid out for the public, mostly because domestic issues are overshadowing.

All of this made me remember the Buddha statues, for some reason. Six months before the attacks of September 11, 2001, the Taliban destroyed two gigantic, ancient Buddha statues in the Bamiyan Province of Afghanistan. While there was an international outcry for this action, there wasn't any substantial action-against, and despite furied calls from other Islamic leaders, from international governemtns, both allies and foes alike, to leave the archaelogical gems alone, Mullah Mohammed Omar, the then leader of the Taliban and thus leader of Afghanistan, followed through with his threats and had the statues destroyed - dynamited, to be more exact. These Buddhas were 175 and 120 feet high and dated from the 3rd to 5th century.

Why did these statues enter my head today? Well, in addition to the Swat region issue, I was just thinking about people's apathy or ignorance and how it leads to much worse situations.

A parallel experience in domestic issues is last year, when people began losing their homes because of the housing crisis and everyone uneffected said, "Meh, doesn't have an effect on me..." and now we're all screwed...

Like that Reverend Niemoller quote about the Nazis going after Catholics and Social Democrats and Jews and him never saying anything & when they went after him, there was no one left to speak up.

We've got to pay better attention. We've got to fix the leak before it becomes so damaging is makes the whole dam crumble. So, I think that the shiria law coming into power in Swat is a major RED FLAG about Taliban resurgence and we, as in America, better nip that in the bud ASAP before the dynamited 175 foot Buddha statues turn into practice for the skyscrapers, metaphorically speaking. That is, before the Taliban insert themselves into the power in Pakistan as well as Afghanistan because, as Rachel Maddow pointed out today on her show during the segment linked above, the Pakistan government in is possession of muclear weapons.

"Voldemort" Is King - that is, Cassell's been traded to Sacramento

Voldemort Is King - Cassell traded to Sacramento

Yeah, "Voldemort" AKA Sam Cassell, Voldemort's doppelganger but in reverse coloring, was traded to the Sacramento Kings during this NBA All-Star break. The man is about 70 years old and doesn't have much playing power left in him, but I have a soft spot for this eyebrowless wonder.

He's got team spirit and delusions of grandeur AKA already considered himself a coach and mentor before he was asked to be one.

This article makes him sound evem more Voldemort-like, or something magical amd mystical. Like a unicorn. But you get the point. It also talks about his time at MCI in Pittsfield, ME. I know a thing or two about living in that town, I tell yah. (Side note: I didn't know he lived with a Cianchette family, but that's an interesting addition to the story. The Cianchette's own a construction business in Pittsfield & one of them, though not Cassell's host father, was the Republican opponent to Gov Baldacci in the 2002 gubernatorial election.) When he talked about the movie theater playing the one movie all month long...My goodness, was I nostalgic.

So, yeah, he's a sentimental favorite and by no means a practical one. Like Varitek.

Well, here's hoping our lucky little team doesn't see its demise now that that kicked Voldy to the curb to make him King.

Ha ha ha ha ha

If I were single in Miami

If I were single in Miami tonight, I declared I would

"seize singledom for all its lascivious possibilities"

That is, as Kara put it, find someone who was

"all body, no brain."

Just sayin'. Because that's where Maddie's mom is tonight and the rest of the week. :)

Recipe: Mushroom & Italian Parsley Sauce

Mushroom Parsley Sauce (a vegetarian alternative to bolognese sauce)

1 tbs evoo
2 tsp butter
1/4 c. water or broth
20 button mushrooms, finely chopped
1 fresh bunch of Italian Parsley, finely chopped
1 med shallot bulb, chopped
4 garlic cloves, slices
1 can of plain tomato sauce (10 oz)
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 c. romano and parmesan shredded cheese blend (optional)
1 tsp sugar
salt & pepper


Heat oil and butter in large saute pan over med high heat. Add shallots. Cook about a minute, then add sugar. Stir until just just brown, like tan. Add garlic slices, stir around. Add chopped mushroom, stir well. Add water/broth, stir, spread out evenly in pan, and let heat up until mushrooms start to wilt, about 3 minutes. Add tomato, stir. Heat to high. Just as it bubbles, add wine. Stir often as alcohol cooks off, about 2 minutes. Turn to med, add parsley. Stir well. Heat 3 minutes, then turn to low, cover and simmer about 15 minutes until parsley gets wilted and dark. Sprinkle cheese, stir, and serve.

If you like parsley (unlike Carrie Bradshaw), it's good. By the way, this sauce is so inexpensive to make. Mushrooms: 1.89; Parsley: 1.79; Shallots: .99; sauce: .79 - and the cheese, butter, olive oil, garlic, well, those should just be staples in your house.

This is the vegetarian alternative to bolognese sauce because it has the fat, the heartiness, the thick constency, a bit of sweetness and the savory flavor.

FYI - The details of the Stimulus Package

I'm taking the time to read through my Times this morning, which I haven't done in a while.

I'm happy that I made that choice, as they had very fun coverage of Fashion Week, which I blogged about earlier this morning.

I would also like to provide you with a link to this piece by David Herszenhorn, which offers comprehensive coverage of the Stimulus Bill that President Obama will be signing into law sometime soon.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/us/politics/14stimintro.ready.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th

Here's hoping/praying/wishing that it work. Otherwise we are faqt.

Repost: I Hate Valentine's Day Poem

Time for the annual "I Hate Valentine's Day" poem post. Without further ado:




Triolet for Sucky Valentine's Day (a sucky poem for a sucky holiday)

(Triolet is a form of poetry that goes A1/B2/A/A1/A/B/A1/B2)

Mostly, Valentine's Day is just sucky
Hardly a soul disagrees
If you enjoy it, you're truly lucky
Because mostly Valentine's Day is just sucky
I'd sleep off this whole day with ease
My God, is Valentine's Day just sucky
Hardly a soul disagrees

Fashion Week Observations - Feb 2009

Observations on Februrary 2009 Fashion Week, so far:

~Black, black, white, beige, taupe, brown, gold, silver, gray.

~Add a dash of one jewel tone or another - tourmaline, yellow topaz (orange), citrine, rose quartz, sapphire, jade, light amythest, aquamarine, bright pink ruby, etc. (see photo)

~Skip the prints, mostly.

~Silk and leather. Poor worms. Poor cows.

~1992, 3, & 4 - think Pretty Woman, 90210 (OLD one not the ridiculous new one, bien sur), Sleepless in Seattle - WITHOUT the boxy shoulder pads, thank goodness.

~Very long hemlines or very very short ones.

~The leggings are still lounging around the runways. (Ha!)

~And now there are more black models because we have a black president. According to this.

~I think Jason Wu's collection is the one that represents what I've seen from all the shows (covered in the NYT thus far).

That's what we have to look forward to next fall. It's a recession or depression, folks. We ain't got no room for prints. We've gotta get practical and have mostly neutral tones that we can mix and match easily (& manufacture at less cost because it's costs less than prints and colors?!)

If you ask me - and absolutely no one is, of course - when I'm feeling blue, the LAST thing I want to do is where a poopy bland color like effing taupe. I want frills, lace, prints, red, glitz. A self-fulfilling fashion prophecy of brighter days; a way to psych myself up and out of the funk. Alas, that shall not be the message from this year's runways, though. Everyone, it seems, is settling into the economic funk and reflecting it in their funk-less minimalist fashion. Bummer.

At least there's always re-runs of "Sex and the City" when the imagination of Pat Field knew no budgetary bounds. =sigh=

Recipe: Puttanesca Sauce

"I like your puttan...esca sauce," said Rene-the-roommate. Making a dirty joke to the dirty origins of this tasty sauce. She came home just as it was coming off the stove.

Here's the recipe:

1/2 tbs butter
2 tbs olive oil
1 heaping tsp minced garlic
10 grape tomatoes, halved
2 tbs chopped Spanish olives
2 tbs chopped marinated roasted red peppers
1/4 feta cheese
1/2 can of chopped tomatoes -or- 1 cup of jarred marinara sauce
1/4 c. red wine
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (if you are a wussy, you can use less)
1/2 tsp dried onion
salt and pepper
AND
half a box of that good for you pasta

Start your pasta water first then...

Heat the butter and evoo to med high. Add tomatoes, olives, red pepper and garlic. Sautee a few minutes, until the skin start to come off the tomatoes.

Right about now your pasta water's probably at the rolling boil so add the pasta to it...

Next, add the canned chopped tomatoes/ jarred tomato sauce, the cheese and all the spices. Stir well, until well mixed. Turn heat up a little more, add the wine and stir well. Let it cook off for about a minute, then turn down to low, cover and simmer as pasta cooks. Stir occasionally.

Once pasta is cooked, drain and add to saute pan. Stir and mix well. Cover again and let sit for one minute so the flavor hang out with each other and get to know each other well. Remove and serve.

The Four Things Forward - another survey!!!! It's a slow Friday.

Four things about me that you may or may not have known, in no particular order.

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. English teacher
2. Old Navy - clothes folder, fitting room attendant, drone
3. Librarian but actually officially "library assistant"
4. Camp Counselor

Four places that I have lived:
1. Weymouth, MA
2. West Roxbury, MA
3. Lewiston Effin Maine!!!!
4. Kennebunk, ME

Four places that I have been:
1. Bermuda
2. Quebec
3. Dublin
4. Chicago

People who e-mail me regularly:
1. Kara
2. Rene, even though she lives with me
3. Susan
4. Alicia

Four of my favorite foods:
1. sushi
2. fancy cheese
3. lentils
4. chocolate

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Paris
2. San Fran
3. the woods
4. Key West

Four people I think will respond:
1. Kara
2. Rene
3. Sandy
4. Julie S.

Four things that I am looking forward to this year (2009):
1. Finding a job
2. Makine money
3. Not being on unemployment
4. Whatever the Obama Administration has in store for us

Four TV shows that I watch:
1. Psych
2. The Daily Show
3. The Colbert Report
4. The Rachel Maddow Show

Four things I have always wanted to do:
1. Go to Europe
2. Start a small press
3. Have a camp [as in cabin in Maine] on a lake/pond
4. Have a surprise party

Middle of a Million Books - A Resolution to Myself

I'm in the middle of a million books right now. I've got to cut the crap and buckle down and finish these suckers. Honestly. Here's the list:

• Little Birds, Anais Nin - short stories about hanky panky en francais
• Digressions on Some Poems by Frank O'Hara, Joe LaSueur - memoir about the New York School poet and his friends and morethanfriends and stuff like that
• Robin Hood, Howard Pyle - the old myth, in detail
• Lunch Poems, Frank O'Hara - a collection of poems
• Short Stories, Edith Wharton - a collection of short stories. This is my first foray into non-Jane Austen/J. K. Rowling fiction since before grad school. Ha!
• Reading Like a Writer, Francine Prose - a craft book which I've read lots of but skipped around a bit
• The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, trans with commentary by Jean Yves Le Loup - the "apocryphal" text focusing the gnostic side of Christian faith
• The Diary of Anais Nin 1934-39, Anais Nin - the title says it all. This one I started before grad school but have only been able to dabble with
• Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller - two side of the same coin to the Nin diary, actually. Only he tells the story from his macho man perspective and fictionalizes everyone.

Listen, me. I don't care if the bulk of my television watching consists of the news & PBS. It's time to turn off the tele and finish these books. You have until the end of the week to finish Lunch Poems, since you're almost done with that. Same goes for it's companion, the very overdue to the BPL, Digressions. After that, Robin Hood, for fun. Then switch it up and over to Magdalene. Next is another Edith Wharton story, or two if you prefer. Then over to Reading Like a Writer (Francine would probably approve of this). Do the Anais Nin short smut stories at your leisure, like when the bf has a busy week, or has to go up to Maine for the firefighting jobby thing and yer lonesome. Ha! Then go back to the Diary and Tropic, reading both at the same time for a total mind warp, like you were before. This should take until the end of April.

You are allowed to watch "Psych", that show with that guy from high school, The Daily Show and Colbert Report and Great Expectations, when the miniseries come on Masterpiece and THAT IS IT. Otherwise, it's TV time. It's time to reward yourself from all that poetry reading and get some other genres back into your diet. Do this for yourself. You'll feel good about it.

Now stop blogging and go read.

Of Course, This Was the Best Part of My Day

Toy Breeds at Westminster

Oh my. We are watching the Toy Breed part of the Dog Show. So far, I love the Pomeranian and I think Maddie woulda kicked that orange minpin's bum bum. Good Lord, they are cute, those toys.

Least fav: toy poodle.

2nd fav: King Charles Spaniel

Oh, and the Silky Terrier likes Gummi Bears! Cute!

And look, that man has two left feet. Just kidding.

Meh, Pom came in 4th. Others weren't memorable for me so who cares who came in whatever else.

THE END

Look What I Did

It's a permanent fixture at the bottom of the blog, too. You can do it, too. Go to:

http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/

Org-Gan-Na-Zize-Ing

I'm trying to clean up the blog a little and make it a little more organized.

The thing is, I write about everything on here. It's become a bit like a journal for me and it's hard for me to find things sometimes.

So, I'm trying to separate it into 8 general characters. I'm also trying to make it easier for you, dear reader, to find these things, too. Why? I don't know. In case you're like: "Hmm, I wonder what MySpace of Facebook Survey Bridge has fille dout already." or "What's that story I remember reading on Bridge's blog about some current event thingy?" And you can go to the category listings on the left here, click on them and look through.

The labels, pasted far down below, are way more specific, in case you have a very specific thing in mind. The catergories are at the top of the labels and the subcategories are separated in to Dewey Decimal subcategoriess at the top of "Labels" section. Why? Because I started categorizing everything into DDS from the beginning but it got to be too many. Hence the makeover.

Once I'm done, I'll make a post with the categories and descriptions and they will also be on the left. You can still look through postings chronologically by scrolling through the "Blog Archive", also on the left hand side, and separated out by weeks.

Puttanesca Sauce - a story

Okie dokie, here we go. Friday night I went to the North End with two swarthy Italian men, my bf & his dad. Ha ha! I ordered the Spaghetti with Puttanesca Sauce. This prompted a story from John's dad about the origins of puttanseca.

Puttan in Italian is the word for prostitute. The story I heard on Friday was that there was a brothel in Italy that would serve the prostitutes for free because their presence at the place was good for business. In return for boosting the amount of restaurant customers, the prostitutes received a free meal. In order to keep costs down, though, the recipe contained all cheap ingredients: olives, anchovy paste, capers. Still filling, but no meat.

I went to old unreliable Wikipedia's pasta puttanesca entry and they have a whole bunch of variations on the story or the origins of puttanesca sauce. Including the fact that the salty, pungent ingredients were reminscent of the scent of Ladies of the Night, ifyanowhattameen, which is sorta icky.

We're going to make some next time we cook, because no matter its origins, it's tasty. I'll post the final recipe when I've made it, but I'm thinkging:

1/2 c. grape tomatoes, halved
1 can of crushed tomatores
1-2 tbs anchovy paste or minced filets
1 lbs various pitted olives from the olive bar - green, kalamata, black, etc
1 tbs evoo
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbs capers
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Fresh Italian parsley
Basil

And now I have my grocery list!

RIP - The expression "That's how I roll"

02/07/09, 11:17 PM

Boston, MA - In a late night weather report, the Channel 7 meterologist, a middle-aged white man who we believe to be Pete Bouchard - though this has not been confirmed, effectively killed the "slang" expression, "That's how I roll" by using it in his weather forecast on the 7 News Weather segment this past Saturday night.

"That's how I roll" was born in the late 90s and featured prominently in the world of hip hop. It trickled down into white suburban teenage language, then further along until it died tonight when the geeky weatherman used it to talk about the 41 degree balmy weather we will experience this weekend.

"That's how I roll" was cousin to "Let's roll", which saw it's demise after being overplayed for its valiant use during the attacks of September 11, 2001.

In other news, "Change we can believe in" is just about to die and clinging for dear life, and "LOL", sadly, commited suicide, because it far too dorky.

Sad News - Ginsburg Undergoing Surgery for Cancer

My very favorite Supreme Court Justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has pancreatic cancer. She is undergoing surgery.

She the only woman serving on the Supreme Court right now. She was the second woman ever appointed to the Court.

In the 60s and 70s she was known for her work in women's rights. More recently, she was a prominent dissenting opinion the Ledbetter vs Goodyear case. The case went in favor of Goodyear (against Fair Pay, essentially). As a result, the legislature overturned the decision and President Obama recently signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, righting the wrong Ginsburg so passionately wrote about.

Currently, the Supreme Court often split 5-4 in favor of more conservative decisions. If Ginsburg were to step down because of her illness, there would not necessarily be a shift in that majority/minority.

Full covereage on NPR at

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100290115

Valentine's Day Crap

I couldn't fall asleep last night and on the late night TV, the commercials were mostly geared towards men, mostly regarding Valentine's Day.

I just want to say that I really don't want anything for Valentine's Day but if got this

pajamagram

or this

stylized teddy bear

I would effin' punch the gift giver crotch, you'd end up with women parts instead.

WHO THE HECK LIKES THIS CHEESY CRAP????????!!!!!!!!

Just thought I'd share.

Recipe: Tastefully Simple Spinach and Herb Vinaigrette

Recipe: Tastefully Simple Spinach and Herb Vinaigrette

1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tbs tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbs evoo
1 tbs water
1 heaping tsp Spinach and Herb seasoning from Tastefully Simple
sprinkle garlic powder
salt & pepper

Whisk together for tasty dressing.

Recipe: Mushroom & Spinach Scallops with Pasta

Recipe: Mushroom & Spinach Scallops with Pasta

1/2 box cooked pasta
1 pound scallops
1/2 c. mushrooms, chopped
1 c. spinach, chopped
1 small onion chopped
1/2 c. water
2-6 garlic gloves (to taste)
1/2 half lemon

extra lemon slices for garnish
1/4 c. parmesan cheese

extra cheese for garnish
1 tsp basil
1 tbs butter
1 tbs evoo
1/2 cup bread crumbs

salt & pepper

Cook pasta while preparing meal. Drain and set aside.

In large frying pan, heat evoo and butter over med high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until clear. Add basil, mushrooms and spinach and stir a little. Add a few tbs water and stir some more. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, in small sauce pan, parboil the scallops. Remove from heat. Scoop out scallops from water and add to bread crumbs, to coat the scallops. Add scallops to frying pan. Add lemon juice, parmesan and a little more water. Cook all ingredients together until it starts to smell good and cook well together, if you know what I mean. Add pasta, toss, let sit over low heat covered for 2 minutes, stir again, season again and serve.

It's good. BTW, this recipe was created by me & Johnny togeth'. We are good at cookin'.

The Trouble with Laundry

At Christmastime, I brought a load of laundry to do at my mom's because we don't have a washer and dryer here. But something happened and I didn't get a chance to do it. So it's been sitting there for over a month. Be tty, because she's a goodmum, did it for me.

"Thanks," I said, "because I only had one pair of underwear left."

"Well," said Elizabeth, "good luck with those pink things. They'll friggen choke yah."

Because I had a few pairs of lacy thongs and Mom washed them for me.

Ew. Weird.

Honestly, I think this would only happen to me.