I love to move in here

Err... No. I don't love moving. It involves the one thing I hate more than all others: packing. Packing sucks. It means you have to go through all your crap and realize just how much junk there is to clean or throw away. And when that's done you have to take whats left and somehow manage to put it all in boxes. Ugh. What a pain. Even if you get through all that, then you have to tape all those boxes up, and don't ever (and I mean EVER) put the tape down. Cause you'll only lose it. Probably it'll wind up in a box, which you will then tape shut. Yeah, don't even try to wrap your mind around that one, it's like trying to understand an M.C. Escher painting, just know that I speak the truth. In spite of how much I hate moving, somehow I found myself doing just that a few weeks ago. The good news is, shiny new place! And while the unpacking similarly sucks, I now get to organize and find places for things, which I LOVE. You don't even know.

----------------
Now playing: Moby - I Love To Move In Here (Holy Ghost! remix)
via FoxyTunes

Buy this car to drive to work, drive to work to pay for this car

I'd like to see someone do some number crunching, myself, before I wholeheartedly accept this as fact. But still, how interesting. Might be worth a read...

"The best all-around alternative to the automobile for short trips is probably the bicycle. . . . The cyclist obtains the equivalent of 1,000 passenger-miles per gallon--noticeably better than most sub-compacts--and consumes food, not petroleum. If, following Ivan Illich's suggestion, we attribute to the automobile not only the time spent behind the steering wheel, but also all the time spent earning money to purchase, maintain, fuel, and insure a typical car, and compare that aggregate figure to an equivalent number for a bicycle, the bicycle emerges as considerably faster for all urban trips."

from Denis Hayes, Rays of Hope: The Transition to a Post-Petroleum
World (1977)

----------------
Now playing: Metric - Handshakes
posted with FoxyTunes

Outta gas, still burnin (cont'd)

There were none of last pot's crazy wheeled contraptions. There were other unconventional things. That, I expected. But the dinosaur, that was a surprise.

Does anybody like real music, sweet music, soul music?

My name is Marcus... and I like music. Is there an anon. group out there for me, I wonder? I should check that out, maybe get some help.

I don't listen to the radio much in this modern age as finding stuff on the internets is more suitable to my schedule and attention span. Between last.fm and hype machine I really, truly do not need to spend any more of my time discovering new music. (Really. Have I mentioned the addiction?) Sometimes, though, it really comes through. The other day on KDHX I caught the sound Choklate, just a taste, but enough that I wanted to look into it further. After listening to her latest album To Whom It May Concern, I am floored by how amazing this artist is who was nowhere on my radar. For the most part she's got this neo-soul flavor thing going, but mixed in at times is a bit of hip-hop and - slightly surprising - a hint of disco. My favorite track right now is "The Tea", which reminds me of Jamiroquai's style. Makes me want to get up and dance.

And because everything is degrees of separation, I was reminded to take a second listen to one of my longtime notable favorite emcees, Chali 2na (Choklate and Chali did a little something something together). Been diggin' him since back in the J5 days, of course, and also some of his collaborations (Chali + Galactic = fantabulously zawesome, that was easily one of the all-time best shows I've been to). Somehow I hadn't paid a great deal of attention when came out with his solo work Fish Outta Water. I don't know if on his own he quite brings the depth that was standard from J5, but it's definitely worth a few listens. I should slap myself for sitting on this for so long without putting it into heavier rotation.

A little closer to home...
Loyal Family isn't a... label? Production / promo company? I don't even know how to identify them, I know so little about them. I think they may have had something to do with a music festival I went to once upon a time, and maybe with a band(s) that I'm into. Not terribly sure, though. Whatever the case, they sure seem to be getting up to a lot lately. Checking back over the blog I see quite a few quality shows that I would have loved to see, had I not been so busy having my head up my bum. That's the only inexcusable reason I can think that I missed freakin' Digable Planets comin' through town. Gah. How silly of me.

Eleven magazine, formerly dedicated to expanding the musical horizons of the Wash U set, is trying to get all big for its britches. They'll now be aiming for a wider St. Louis audience, focused predominately on indie rock, rock, hip-hop, soul and funk. Yes, please, and yes, yes, yes and yes, I will take the works. I figure more exposure of the scene can't hurt, 'specially if they're going to hit pretty much all of my favorite genres without any uninteresting dead weight. Something new to keep an eye on.

----------------
Now playing: The Roots - Good Music
via FoxyTunes

Outta gas, still burnin

I can ride my bike with no handleb... hey wait, that's no bicycle.
I've got an idea. Let's invent some stuff. But not just any stuff, mind you. I'm talking weird stuff. Let's make it so weird that it barely has a purpose, and so cumbersome that it can hardly be considered efficient. But we'll make it real expensive, so people'll feel like they HAVE to buy it. Cause people are suckers! They'll buy anything. As long as it's new, they have to have it. Having stuff, it's their drug, and I'm your pusher man. If I was making this up, it might be funny. If only, if only. But it happens to be one of those strange truths of the world, if not the thought process then at least the end result.

4. With this one, I can kind of see where the design makes some sense. Sure, you'll look like a weirdo, but a weirdo who's making the most of what he has. Now that's what I call a leg (er... arm) up on the competition.




3. If a tricycle and an elliptical bumped uglies and had a bastard love child, this is what it would look like. Congratulations, it's a... beast.








2. Just when you think you can count on the ingenuity of human-kind, someone comes along with something to screw it up. Why would you want to use some of the largest muscle groups in your body, when instead you can just go for some much smaller and weaker? Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to engineered imperfection.


1. And finally this must be my favorite (to hate). If you like running, if you like complications, if you like tools that actually make your job harder and slow you down, then the treadmill bike is here for you.







Here's to hope that the weather is decent when I step outside for biking on the interstate. Figure I might as well check it out since it's right there and all. With some careful planning and placement, I could roll directly out of bed and onto the bike, I'd be practically halfway there already. Decided to go with the more legal method instead of rolling with the FBC's patented brand of crazy. It's fun times, but it was too cold and wet for me. And I didn't know they would have fire on a bike trailer. Couldn't have guessed that one. Live and learn.

----------------
Now playing: DJ Shadow - Mashin' on the Motorway
via FoxyTunes

Whatever people say I am, that's what I'm not

What do you know? You don't know nothin'.

It so happens that I love blowin' up people's perceptions, expectations and assumptions. Today, that means putting away way more food than anyone would guess I possibly could based on the way I look. While the rest of my family was finishing up dinner and thinking about what to have for dessert, I went back and had more dinner for dessert. My aunt was all "whuh... again? Seriously? Where's he going to put all that, I wonder?" And I was like "yes, the wiry guy IS cleaning off two plates of food back-to-back, booyah." Life was fat, happy and thankful. Then I had to go sit down for awhile, and explode. And then I had dessert for reals; the infamous rum cake so drenched in liquor you get tipsy on the fumes alone + some unidentified yet terribly tasty oatmeal thing. Gotta figure out some sweet, sweet talk to get someone to pass those recipes along to me.

Happy Thanksgiving.

----------------
Now playing: Arctic Monkeys - Still Take You Home
via FoxyTunes

Dreams, dreams, I wonder if you have the same dreams too

I've got to be more careful about what I do / think about / eat before I fall asleep. For starters, let's make a rule of no more chili at bedtime. Even if it is super tasty. Probably a good all-around quality of life thing, that one.

Last night I dreamed about an island. There were a bunch of frogs who ate some people. Or... maybe that was a movie I never saw called Frogs. But last night I did have a dream about an island - one of those pretty tropical ones - that involved a primitive level of technology, except we did have a turntable for spinnin' records, a pretty girl that in typical fashion I was afraid to talk to, and, most notably, an ornery shark. I'm afraid of sharks, but only in a water situation. If I saw a shark on the street, I'd be like, "WHAT. Eff you! You effing shark." And there'd probably be some posturing and collar popping involved. Or... maybe that was a joke I heard called Personal Information Waltz. But there was a shark, and I fought it, and I'm pretty sure I won. He was all "I'm on yur island, takin over yur beech and chompin at you with mah teef" (cause sharks talk just like lolcats, I'm pretty sure), but I whacked him with a log until I emerged the victor. I wonder if this whole dream came about because last night while digging through boxes I found a 1991 Escape to Paradise calendar? I've no clue why I have the thing, or where it came from. Note to self: Stop. Having. So much crap. I also found a book about airplanes and two Life magazines from 1986 & '88. Tally ho. Time to get rid of much junk.


...and something found amongst the leftovers was another scarily weird dream I had...
Individuals with super powers. Most of the cast of The View. Joy Behar belching, loudly.
I don't even wanna know what it means.
I can't remember at this point what all the super power stuff was about, but I do recall that Joy Behar's belching disturbed me greatly.

----------------
Now playing: Lily Allen - Littlest Things
via FoxyTunes

Do lawyers have lawyers? Do landlords have landlords?

Twenty-first century things that are NOT VERBS: facebook, friend, google. And if you try to tell me that they are, I'll fight you.

Things that are tasty: [Last week] country-fried chicken with a hint of cayenne pepper, brown rice, steam vegetables, fried potatoes. [Now] pork loin and vegetable stir-fry (marinated with apples & applesauce*, hoisin, teriyaki and honey). [Later, maybe] Chocolate chip & coconut cookies. (Though I would like to say for the record that chocolate chips are possibly the work of Satan. It's the only explanation for chocolate that doesn't melt when you put it in an oven. And yet it does when it gets on your hands. Does that seem right to you?) Nom om om...

*Adapted my banana bread recipe to make a vegan loaf for a friend last week. Applesauce works as a substitute for eggs, see. I don't think I've ever eaten applesauce in my life, which is probably why I wandered the store like a little lost child trying to find it. Since most of it's left, figure I gotta find something to do with it.



----------------
Now playing: Metric - The List
via FoxyTunes

Fully loaded we got snacks and supplies

This weekend I took a few friends camping trying to get my outdoorsy fix in before the fall temps came on (and didn't quite make it... brrr). Somehow it worked out that I did all the planning / prep / cooking for out meals. Fine by me, though I would have worried a little and made an effort to be more prepared had I known I'd have such responsibility. It all more or less worked out in the end, so no big. Personally I didn't think I did anything all that special, but it's been said that what I made was "extravagant camping food." For breakfast, there was banana walnut pancakes, which I swear is easy like falling out of bed: pancake mix, walnuts, bananas. Look at that! You're done. Just don't forget the spatula like I did. You might have to make do with an ice scraper scavenged from the car. How traumatizing. Dinner was a bit more involved. I have a long standing tradition of eating Zatarain's over the course of a trip when I go camping and that was something I wanted to continue, but this time I elected to try my hand at making something from scratch. I settled on a recipe for chicken and sausage beer jambalaya that I found online that I then played with a bit (enough that I felt the need to re-write it when I got home). I got a decent amount of compliments, so I guess I did pretty good. Near as I can remember this is the way it went down:

Chicken and Sausage Beer Jambalaya

~1 lb chicken breasts, diced
~1 lb smoked sausage, sliced
~1/2 bell pepper, chopped
~5 stalks celery, chopped
~1 large white onion, chopped
~2 cloves garlic, minced
~1/4 cup vegetable oil
~2 cups white rice
~2 1/2 cups water
~1 1/2 cups (12oz) beer
~1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary
~1 teaspoon thyme
~a handful of chopped parsley
~salt to taste
~lots of cayenne pepper
~flour to coat chicken

Start off by cutting up the chicken into appropriately-sized pieces. Place the flour in a plastic storage container (season the flour with salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, cajun spice, etc). Add the chicken to coat. Vary the amount of cayenne pepper to suit your tastes. This is the sole source of heat you are going to add and it will cook into the rest of the dish some, but be careful as it will carry further than you might think. Heat the oil in the bottom of a large skillet. Fry the chicken in the oil until golden brown. Set aside. Now place the onions, celery, garlic and bellpepper into a large pot along with a bit of oil and saute them until the onions are transparent, scraping the bottom of the pot often. Add the rosemary, thyme and parsley and cook for a minute or so. Place the sausage slices, chicken, and a little water into the pot and mix well with the vegetables. Add the rice, beer and water to the pot and stir until it comes to a boil. Taste it at this point and adjust the salt if necessary. Turn heat low, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes (until the rice is tender). Stir the mixture frequently, always scraping the bottom to keep things from burning (break the chicken up a bit with the spatula as it cooks. It should break up naturally as the dish cooks, but this just helps things a little).

And the original inspiration.

----------------
Now playing: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Road Trippin'
via FoxyTunes

Put on your red shoes and dance the blues

Every time my absent-minded professor of a roommate forgets or misplaces something, I wonder to myself if he'd lose his head if it weren't attached. And then I think about those puppets from the Labyrinth with the detachable body parts (Ed: our crack research team turns up the information that they're known as the Fire Gang). The moral of the story: as he forgets things on a nearly daily basis, I spend an awful lot of time thinking about crazy puppets. And David Bowie. Is that weird? I submit that it is le awesome.



----------------
Now playing: David Bowie - Let's Dance
via FoxyTunes

You think my life's a dream, I'm dreaming my life away

Where is the line that distinguishes between a dream and a nightmare? I suppose it's a relative thing depending on the individual. Many of mine I find to be rather strange and sometimes also a little frightening, but what's perhaps the most odd is the things that do and do not scare me. The other week I was starting off on a zombie craze - sparked by a discussion about what would happen if it was zombies versus vampires, then fueled by hearing about Zombie Squad going out to see Zombieland this Thursday - and I had a dream that the zombiepocalypse had come. One might think an army of the undead wanting to eat my brains would cause at least a little tossing and turning, but I slept like a baby. Didn't even work up a sweat, and I survived, for those keeping score at home. But then last night I had a dream I'd grown a neckbeard. It was this big, horrendous looking scraggly thing, and I had this sudden realization that it was there... living underneath my face, maybe trying to control my brain... definitely cause people to look at me, judge me, laugh at me. Now, I'm not one to get so hung up on what others think of my style, but beards are something I take very seriously. In a way I feel it defines something of what a man is all about. Furthermore, I'm terribly attached to mine; other than one minor shaving mishap that resulted in partially taking it off in order to even things out, I haven't seen my entire face since before puberty. It is thus that I've attained my untouchable status as the only surviving member of the beard clique. (Once you shave, you're out. Forever. Might as well be dead.) I woke up before things were resolved, but I do remember there was a frantic search for anything that would rid me of the monstrosity. Think I'll make sure I'm well stocked on shaving gel and razors, and keep a close eye on things for a while.

----------------
Now playing: Cut Copy - A Dream
via FoxyTunes

Bicycle races are coming your way

A-whoops. Don't know for sure that I can do either of these, or if I want to, but here's the haps on cycling things coming up this weekend.

First up, on Saturday we have the World Naked Bike Ride. I'm torn between making a reference here to "Naked in the Rain" or "Naked Pictures (of Your Mother)". Oh, can't decide... can't decide! I love how easily my life has a soundtrack for everything. For the low, low cost of no dollars you'll get the chance to ride and make friends with all of the crazily dressed and non-dressed cyclists of St. Louis. The pre-ride party kicks off at Black Bear Bakery @ 7p; the ride itself @ 9p.


Following that, on Sunday there is the Urban Assault Ride to benefit Trailnet and Bicycle Works. Registration is still open for this scavenger hunt & obstacle course shin-dig for those folks willing to plunk down $65. For those not, I'm sure it's a spectacle worth seeing. I envision something like kooky Japanese gameshows come to life right before my eyes, and I would like to say that I am a full supporter of bike jousting in the case of it involving someone other than me. The fun starts in Forest Park near the tennis courts @ 9a, with assorted checkpoints scattered throughout the city.

Like I say I'm not sure that I can do either of these, my plans for the weekend are pretty up in the air, but if anyone goes there's a possibility I may show up and bump into you. In other developments, there are a couple more cycling things in the pipeline, which I will get to later.

----------------
Now playing: Queen - Bicycle Race
via FoxyTunes

Please keep quiet and don't spoil the ending

I just watched The Search for Spock, and the question in my mind is: what's the big deal? This is what the trekkies are gettin all worked up about? I mean, sure, we get to watch Leonard Nimoy kicking out the jams. Sure, there's the whole William Shatner versus Christopher Lloyd (spoiler alert!) battle to the death. I for one am all about the celebrity versus celebrity battles in films, my personal favorite being the time when Bruce Lee KILLS Chuck Norris. And I did dig seeing that time-traveling, taxi-driving, toon-murdering bastardo get what's coming to him. (And ol' Billy gave him what for, too. If you haven't seen it yet and I ruined it for you... too bad. It's twenty-five years old. Get with it.) But on the whole I felt it a waste. An angry planet as a plot device? Please.

----------------
Now playing: The Aquabats - Stuck in a Movie
via FoxyTunes

...hands in the air like it's good to be alive

In other cycling developments, an assortment of things I've seen lately that I think are worth sharing:

#1
ARTCRANK...
Saturday, August 29 @ someplace or another (trying to figure out exactly where and when)
...is a showcase of bicycle-inspired original, affordable poster artwork. It's a bike art party open to all, with free admission. And posters are priced to let everybody go home with at least one original work of art. ARTCRANK has held packed shows for the past three years in Minneapolis, and the first-ever show in Denver this year was a huge success. Now, it's coming to St. Louis.
ARTCRANK St. Louis will be a one-night event featuring original poster artwork created by St. Louis area artists and designers. The event is scheduled just before the start of the Tour of Missouri, so excitement about cycling and bikes will be at a peak. All we need is a group of talented and motivated artists to create bicycle-themed poster art.

#2
What: “Spoked!” - A Juried Art Exhibition
When: Opening Reception (public invited): Friday, September 4, 2009 - 7 to 10 pm
Encore Viewing Party (public invited): Saturday, September 5, 2009 - 7 to 10 pm
Tour of Missouri Race & Special Events (public invited): Monday, September 7, 2009 - 12 to 6 pm
Exhibition: Through Friday, October 2, 2009
Where: Soulard Art Market & Contemporary Gallery
2028 S. 12th Street, Saint Louis, MO 63104
(Corner of 12th and Russell, across from McGurk’s Pub)

www.SoulardArtMarket.com

Admission is free. Refreshments will be provided, featuring Schlafly beer.

Working in conjunction with the Tour of Missouri, which is a world-class cycling event, we are proud to announce our exhibition “Spoked”. We sought out bicycle themed artworks from some of the area’s most talented and respected artists for inclusion in our show. Our gallery is on the race route and we have special hours and events planned that are sure to draw a crowd. The eyes of the world will be looking our way and we’re gearing up for the liveliest show this town has seen. Get stoked about Spoked!

#3 Sometimes people are so effing awesome that I never get tired of watching in amazement. Moving house via pedal power.

#4 Safety first


----------------
Now playing: Flobots - Handlebars
via FoxyTunes

No Handlebars

Official deets for the Big Lebowski Ride

Step 1 - Meet @ Pat's (6400 Oakland) at 6:30 for pre-ride food and beverages. An alternate meeting spot will be Turtle Park for anyone more inclined to hang out outside.
Step 1.1 - Be there with bells on. Come dressed as your favorite Big Lebowski character or in your best bowling wear, cause there's a prize for best costume.
Step 2 - Roll out at 7:30. Ride to the Old Post Office Plaza, with sights including the Meeting of the Waters fountain and the City Garden. On my own, I do like to do a pretty healthy pace. And I'll be honest, for me "healthy" usually is "as fast as I can, and what's all this nonsense about 'pacing yourself' actually mean, anyway?" If you cannot ride at said pace, I would suggest doing it peloton style. If you cannot ride at said pace even while drafting (and it does make a huge difference), or are too worried about crashing to ride that close, I would point out the more beer I find myself drinking, the slower I will be. All that said, I'm not planning to go nuts and I'll make sure that we don't drop anyone. Don't be scurred.
Step 3 (and this is the part I figure we'll play by ear the night of)
Option 1 (13ish miles) - Return from whence we came. Also known as the "no fun option". But hey, that's just me.
Option 2 (13ish miles) - Head over to Washington Avenue for bowling @ Flamingo. Word on the street is they have $2 White Russians and bowling games.
Option 3 - Option 3 is dead. Le sigh. And I was really looking forward to the dancing like no one is watching, too. The floor is now open to awesome suggestions for an alternate. My first thought is Atomic Cowboy, where my boy DJ Uptown spins hip-hop and there's no cover.

Things to bring:
~Lights, head & tail
~Lock
~Sumthin comfy yet portable to sit on
~Snacks & drinks, if that's your thing (but no glass bottles)
~Helmet (this is a recommendation, but I'm nobody's daddy)
~Camera ('specially if you know where its charger is)
~Lots o' water (weather dot com says it's balls hot)

If there's anything I've forgotten, I'll come back and post it here.

----------------
Now playing: Flobots - Handlebars (DJ Shadow remix)
via FoxyTunes

Mental notes

Dear Self,

Please do not lock yourself outside at 12:30 in the morning with no one home to let you in. Especially not if you're decked out in cycling clothes for a midnight ride because, while aerodynamics and moisture wicking are great qualities, you will look like a bit of a weirdo if anyone sees you standing out there like a little lost puppy. In any case, we are not a fan of breaking into our own apartment.

Sincerely yours,

Marcus

Birds... crashing into my window?

Not that I needed yet another way for the the interweb to take up more of my time with new music, but alas, I have found one. It's not my fault! There is but one person who is entirely (in my mind) to blame for pushing this on me. (Er... maybe it was more of a nudge, really.) .: shakes fist :.

Introducing: Marcus @ last.fm

Also, wtf is with birds banging into my window?
Do not like. Is creepy. Life does not need to resemble Alfred Hitchcock, thanks.

Personal Information Waltz

"Whenever something good happens to me, I wait two weeks before I tell anybody, because I like to use the word 'fortnight'"
-Demetri Martin

Jokes are funny and sometimes can be used as an excuse, but if you want the truth I was just too lazy to write this post right away. I wanted to, but time gets away from you... And then it was too late to write about it so many days after the fact (is it weird that I'm embarrassed at the thought of tardy postings?), and I wasn't sure what to do, but then I remembered this joke. "Aha!" I thought to myself, "I don't have to admit to laziness! I can claim that I was just waiting." Demetri Martin saves the day. It's kind of like having a time machine.

Two weeks ago I went to check out a show at the Firebird. Indie rock and ice cream? Yeah, I'll take some of that. There were four bands on the bill, two I'd never heard of, one I knew in name and online listening only, and lastly one I'd seen a while back and remembered enjoying. In no particular order...

~Opening the show we're The Dive Poets. I have a friend who is married to one of these guys and she'd invited me to one of their previous shows, but upon first listen it didn't sound like my cup of tea. It came across as a little more country, and while I will listen to it in small doses it's not exactly something that gets me excited. Boy was I wrong. They were surprisingly upbeat and danceable and far less country than I thought. Wouldn't know how to describe their style as all I have are two week old memories (they don't have an album out for me to buy... jerks), but it was good. Still kicking myself for skipping the last one. Most def gonna have to check them out again.
~The Tight White Pants Band. Oops, I mean Via Dove. Can't say I enjoyed them much. They were fairly decent musicians... I think. I was a little distracted, cause their pants were so tight, and so white. Hard to focus on anything else. I found myself wondering if they knew they were at an indie rock show. Or if they knew what indie rock actually is. I might have liked them say ten or so years ago, but now something this heavy and angry just makes me feel old. And that's all I've got to say about that.
~Elsinore was the band I've seen before, and they did not disappoint. I didn't know if I should be more entertained by their music, or the witty comebacks the lead singer had for every random thing yelled at the stage by someone in the audience.
~Finally, the band of the evening has to be Lost in the Trees. I wish I could put them in my pocket and carry them around with me. Unfortunately that would never, ever work, cause this was the biggest damn indie band I've ever seen. A guy on the drums? No surprise there. A guy with a guitar? Typical. But that's where any resemblance to your usual group stopped, and what started was almost like high school band just kept on going. There were xylophones, and horns, and a string section. There were instruments I didn't even recognize and had to look up when I got home. There were so many of them that they have to travel in a school bus. I didn't know where to look or what to listen to. I'd be watching the lead singer, when suddenly the brass would hit like a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick to the stomach. (I'm being overly dramatic, but seriously, you could feel it.) I'd notice the cellos and violins were still there, and then they'd just go nuts, bows were flying over the strings like mad. And just who writes music like that these days, anyway? It's nothing so simple as a melody and a bass line with some lyrics sprinkled on top. With this many things going on the music has to be arranged; as it turns out, the lead singer just so happens to be a composer. Apparently he decided an unusual indie band was the way to go. Needless to say I was impressed. I'd go see them again, if only they weren't from North Carolina... le sigh. Bought their album and have been listening to it the last couple weeks; it's good, and it's growing on me, but it just can't do them justice.

Lost in the Trees @ last.fm
The Dive Poets @ myspace
Elsinore @ last.fm

Zoooom!

I love the feeling you get from being out biking, checking to see how fast you're going, checking to see what the limit is, and realizing that yup, you are speeding.
Life rocks.

Adventures in Cooking

This one time, I had a revelation. I'd known for years that I like to eat. I've long since gotten over that childhood thing where I worried about what I was eating and would be terribly picky about it. Mostly I think of this as a good thing, though it has led to some... interesting situations. Like when I ate some casserole thing that had yet to be baked. And then went back to have another serving. Little embarrassing, that one. Still haven't quite lived it down. Anywho, what occurred to me is the relationship that eating has with cooking: if I learn to cook, that will increase the number of tasty things I get to eat! Don't know why it took me so long to think of that one. There are a couple things I cook fairly often, my specialty being a stir-fry so mean that it will beat you up and call you names. Last night I found myself in the mood to try something new. I think that was helped by recently having had some raspberries forced on me. I dig fruit, but I don't believe I've ever had them before. I only agreed because I promised myself I'd come up with something cool to do with them. Standing in my kitchen I decided that pork chops would be the way to go for this little experiment, so I proceed to look around for some interesting recipes. Now, here's the thing about me - while I feel that I am perfectly capable as an adult at following instructions, I find that I oftentimes don't. I notice I'll do this thing where I'll find two recipes that look promising, and then I will follow neither of them. Instead I'll do a mashup, flipping back and forth between them as I go, and also will just make up some parts based on how I feel. In the past it's turned out surprisingly well considering my lack of cooking experience, which weirds me out a lil bit to be perfectly honest. Don't entirely understand how my luck can continue to be so good. Clearly I don't know what I'm doing, and sometimes I don't even bother to measure the ingredients. Yet it all came together last night turning out to be a success of delicious proportions. Enough yapping, guess I'd better make a note of what I did before I forget.

Ingredients:
about 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
about 1/2 teaspoon dried sage, crushed
about 1/4 teaspoon salt
about 1/4 teaspoon pepper
(I was surprised to actually find all these things in my house, as I don't buy herbs.)
2 boneless pork rib chops
a little bit of butter
about 2 tablespoons of olive oil
about 1/4 cup apple cherry juice
some unsweetened raspberries
somewhere between 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
about 1 tablespoon flour (the recipe called for cornstarch, I think to get the sauce to thicken, but it's not something I keep on hand)

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine crushed thyme, sage, salt, and pepper. Rub evenly over pork chops. Melt butter and olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Cook pork chops for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, turning once.

Mash raspberries with the back of a spoon. In a second skillet, combine raspberries, juice and butter. Bring to a boil over low heat, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until sauce is reduced to desired consistency. Spoon sauce over pork chops.

I served it with brown rice and steamed broccoli. And then having way more raspberry sauce than I needed, I saved the rest to put on top of the coconut walnut brownies I made for dessert. Nom om om om. Now to figure out what I can do for next time with the raspberries I didn't use. Maybe a marinated chicken stir-fry...

Welcome to the Zombiepocalypse

I woke up this morning, and it was the end of the world. Well, hold on, let me back up...

I woke up this morning, and it was just like any regular day: Wake up. Out of bed. Clothes on. Food in mouth. Go. Out the door on my aluminum steed. And then this is where the end of the world came in. Hardly any traffic on the streets, be it pedestrian, cyclist or automobile. Eerie. Then there were all the looted houses, blood splattered streets, and of course the undead corpses shuffling around. Tends to be a bit of a giveaway, they do. Actually that was in my imagination, cause I'd been up half the night reading zombie comics. That ish gets into your brain and does all kinds of thing to your perceptions. If you haven't read it, I suggest you go get some of The Walking Dead and put it in your eye holes. Anyway, apparently July 3rd is now a holiday. Cause it's the Friday before, I'm assuming? I had no idea.

Dodgin' storms like a ninja

There are some days I just want to say "hey, now, come on Mother Nature. What the hell?" Today after checking the forecast and seeing nothing but clear skies, then waiting for the rain to stop that I could plainly see falling as I looked out the window, I finally get a move on and hop on the bike to run an errand. With the sun shining it seems other than the one sketchy part this is shaping up to be a beautiful day. Unfortunately for me, I must have forgotten that I live in St. Louis. Reaching my destination, I see ominously dark but still far off clouds towards the west. "Maybe... that's from what rolled through earlier?" is what I think to myself ever so briefly before putting it out of my mind as I head inside. I do a little shopping, and a little people watching, with no worry about the weather until I'm checking out. Employees are going on about how it's supposed to storm so more today, as I'm only half listening. That can't be right, can it? Surely we're done for the day. The first bits of foreboding begin to crack their way through the brave, optimistic (or naive) face that I'm wearing, hoping that I'm not going to get a soaking. I step outside, and those clouds are now looming overhead, all dark and dangerous, lightning sparkling through them as they prepare to ever so slowly rip open and dump their contents on an unsuspecting cyclist. Aw nuts. Nuts. Nuts. What a dirty trick. Trying to pack things up and get rolling quickly is the best way to make them take forever, it would seem. Finally I'm ready to roll as the first raindrops start to fall and the wind picks up. Oh goodness, the wind picks up something fierce. Pieces of asphalt are blowing off the roof of the building, landing in front of me, before I even make it out of the parking lot, and was that a hunk of the sky falling too? This wind is no joke; I wouldn't say it's impossible. Nevermind that now, I've only got time to cut through these raindrops like a knife, as I am wholly unprepared to deal with the alternative. But then more doubt creeps in. The wind is strong enough to try and whip me and the bike around, and the rain is coming, and maybe it would be a better idea to wait this one out? There's a bit of shelter right there that might help with the whole not being wet and / or dying thing. Oh well, you only live twice, so I ride on. Wind continues to blow fiercely. Cardboard boxes come flying down the street, making me feel as if I'm suddenly in an urban western; they plaster themselves to fences like they mean business. I hope one doesn't plaster itself to me, cause that's really not the kind of business I'm interested in. Better sprint this one and hope everything holds together until I make it home. Luckily the wind is going my way, pushing me faster, ever faster, until I swear at one point I'm accelerating without even pedaling. But still, it's scary. This wind is something else and I'm just a little guy, and things and trees are flying and falling everywhere, and look that is a hunk of sky over there, what is this world coming to??

Good thing I'm such a rockstar I can outride storm fronts. Aw yeah. Take that, Mother Nature. Home, safe and sound and dry, even.

...and we're back!

If I blog it, will they come? To blog or not to blog, that is the question.

To go along with my theme of the moment - which is 'Trying New Things' - I've decided to pick up the keyboard and try my hand at this again. Perhaps it will enable me to become a bit more expressive. Or maybe I will come to realize just how much HTML I have forgotten (current feeling: A LOT). Maybe it will work out that this will be a great way to keep track of adventures & keep things interesting, or maybe no one will ever read it and I'll get distracted by other things.

Who knows!

As per usual, the plan is to not have a plan. I'm just a passenger on this ball we call planet Earth. It's time to ride the wave and see where it takes me, baby.