December 14, 2008

Intelligent design?

After receiving frequent forwards from a buddy, I finally went and subscribed to the daily quotes at gratefulness.org for myself, and was happily surprised to find that today's quotation is by Mary Catherine Bateson, "Of any stopping place in life, it is good to ask whether it will be a good place from which to go on as well as a good place to remain."

Bateson is the daughter of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, and G.B. was one of the mentors of Stewart Brand, founder and editor of the Whole Earth Catalog, the Last Edition of which turned out to be a life changing document for me. An interesting chain of events. Intelligent design? I don't like the weaponized way in which that phrase is being used in my culture, but...

November 27, 2008

Video: The Auditioner


The Auditioner from Kate on Vimeo.

Siskel & Ebert at the Jugular

Roger Ebert has posted a beautiful essay at his blog, Roger Ebert's Journal. He talks about his physical journey from fat man to cancer man, weaving in the thread of his relationship with Gene Siskel through those same years and changes. There are photos throughout, and two closing videos. Don't miss any of it.

October 17, 2008

A slice of life in the VloggerHood

Subtle? Who knows.

Stuff from all over. Combined artfully. Me like.

Rocketboom, "O RLY? Know Your Meme"

Whole lotta fun goin' on. YMMV, but it was worth three minutes and thirty-two seconds of my time.

Late 1960s Volkswagen Beetle

Nola and I owned a 1967 Volkswagen from 1974 through 1980, and loved it dearly, though the experience was a lot like driving an overgrown riding lawnmower. 
I saw the driver of this one waiting for his lady in the parking lot of Your Dekalb Farmers Market, and couldn't resist. 

October 01, 2008

Roger Zelazny, "The Agnostic's Prayer"

My son posted a status update on his facebook page, saying that he was "praying to the test gods," which reminded me of "The Agnostic's Prayer," written by Roger Zelazny, published in his novel, "Creatures of Light and Darkness," back in 1969.
"Insofar as I may be heard by anything, which may or may not care what I say, I ask, if it matters, that you be forgiven for anything you may have done or failed to do which requires forgiveness. Conversely, if not forgiveness but something else may be required to insure any possible benefit for which you may be eligible after the destruction of your body, I ask that this, whatever it may be, be granted or withheld, as the case may be, in such a manner as to insure your receiving said benefit. I ask this in my capacity as your elected intermediary between yourself and that which may not be yourself, but which may have an interest in the matter of your receiving as much as it is possible for you to receive of this thing, and which may in some way be influenced by this ceremony. Amen."

September 28, 2008

Movie Trailer: "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"



From Wikipedia: "After seeing his ex-sweetheart Tris (Alexis Dziena) with a new guy at his band's gig, high school student Nick O'Leary (Michael Cera), member of The Jerk Offs, is asked by college-bound Norah Silverberg (Kat Dennings) to be her boyfriend for five minutes to prove something to her friend Tris. Little does Norah know, Nick is Tris's ex-boyfriend, who Norah has developed a crush on even before seeing him. This is due to his mix CDs he had made for Tris after she broke up with him. Nick's friends then attempt to set them up, thinking it would help Nick get over Tris."

This looks like way too much fun to miss.

September 26, 2008

Today's Breakfast

Huevos Rancheros, Noto Brand Hickory Smoked Jalapeno Pepper Sauce, and a hot cup of coffee. The hot sauce is home made by my brother Frank, from his own organically grown, home smoked jalapenos.

Aaron Sorkin Conjures a Meeting of Obama and Bartlet

By Maureen Dowd, New York Times, September 20, 2008
"Now that he’s finally fired up on the soup-line economy, Barack Obama knows he can’t fade out again. He was eager to talk privately to a Democratic ex-president who could offer more fatherly wisdom — not to mention a surreptitious smoke — and less fraternal rivalry. I called the “West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin (yes, truly) to get a read-out of the meeting. This is what he wrote"

September 22, 2008

Memory Lane: My 1970 Z/28 Camaro

Back in 1970, I owned a car that looked exactly like this, except for the license plate.

Since I considered my driving skills to be exceptional, I did not always drive this amazing vehicle in what you'd call a responsible fashion.

One afternoon my brother Frank and I drove to a brand new section of road, freshly paved, flat as a pancake and straight as an arrow for a mile or two, way out in the middle of nowhere west of then-developed suburban Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We turned off the radio, rolled up the windows, tightened down our seatbelts (no shoulder harnesses in those days, kids) and I put my foot down. Up through the gears we screamed, until the telephone poles were flicking by at an amazing rate, and I noticed that we were in fourth gear and the engine was wailing away, 500 rpm past its redline.

Some years later, sitting with coffee after a family Christmas-season dinner at my parents' place, with the car safely gone to other parts, I was remembering the car fondly. My mother asked me how fast I had gone in it. I told her, "You really don't want to know." She insisted. I reiterated. She insisted again. So, I told her, "One hundred and forty-five miles an hour."

"I wish you hadn't told me." she said.

My Favorite Atlanta Area Bakery

Having grown up in a household managed by my mother, who was, among other things, a German-American Baker-Woman Superhero, baked goods have a special place in my universe.

With that in mind, I thought I'd turn on all you Twitter-less souls to my Favorite Atlanta Area Bakery, Southern Sweets, across from the Dekalb Farmers Market, off Laredo Drive, in Decatur. It is a family business. Mom bakes, her twenty-something red-haired son fronts the retail operation, and Dad is the artist who has produced the delightful paintings that fill the walls.

Go. Buy. Eat. Enjoy. Then write to me and tell me all about it.

September 19, 2008

Laurel's Kitchen - Oatmeal Pancake Recipe

This is one of our all time breakfast favorites, from Laurel's Kitchen, our favorite cookbook back in the hippie days. The two things we always added was hot real butter and real maple syrup!

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup rolled oats

1 tablespoon oil
2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Process

Combine the milk and rolled oats in a bowl and let stand at least five minutes.

Add the oil and beaten eggs, mixing well. Stir in the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

Bake on a hot, lightly oiled griddle, using 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Turn them when the top is bubbly and the edges are slightly dry.

Makes 10 to 12 pancakes.

P.S. We also got used to having to make a double batch of this great recipe. Enjoy.

July 20, 2008

Added a new plant to the aquarium

I found a couple of bunches of Rotala wallichii at The Fish Store, up in Sandy Springs, last Wednesday. I didn't know what it was, but it looked healthy, and had that reddish tinge that I've been thinking would add a bit of spice to the aquascape. I took one of the bunches home for a mere $4.59. We'll see how the red color holds up under my lighting.

P.S. Here's a note from the future, from October 17, 2008, to be precise. The Rotala didn't hold up. I'm guessing that it needed more light than it was getting in my little tank, but maybe it was needing more nutrients, as well. There are a few small bits left, but most of it gradually turned to a dark brow mush.

July 18, 2008

Koi Pond T-Shirt



My wife, Nola, is out of town this week, so it was my turn to go check the mail. There was a key in the box to one of the big boxes. In the big box was one box and one Tyvek bag. In the bag was this beautiful shirt.

The shirt is by a Marie McVey, a lady I met on the Aquarium Photography Forum. Marie keeps goldfish and koi, photographs them, and manipulates the images to get the watercolor effect you see here.

Her work is displayed, and available for sale at extremely reasonable prices, here.

April 28, 2008

New fishes!

After work today, I headed out Roswell Road, about a mile past the Perimeter, to a tropical fish store. I was hunting a specific fertilizer for the plants in my aquarium and I did find that, but as long as I was there, I browsed the shop, and turned up a bunch of these guys:

They are known in the trade as Corydoras julii, though they are almost certainly actually Corydoras trilineatus. Hmph. Anyhow, they are delightful little guys, now about an inch long, and I picked up three of them. They have this charming habit of swimming around in schools, with their noses in the gravel, looking for some left-overs for lunch. Very cool.

February 29, 2008

Crayon Physics Deluxe

The most amazing game / simulation.