In the Headlights

My Favorite News

I am preposting this and the news is already a couple of days old.  By the time it gets to you, it will be a week old.  Why am I giving you old news?  Because unlike other news Reuters Oddly Enough News never gets stale.  It has no expiration date.  Like prime beef and fine wine, it only gets better with age.

So without further ado:

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TIJUANA- "A motorcyclist with a helmet-wearing corpse strapped to his back crashed in this mexican city on the U.S. border on Friday, and fled on foot, setting off a police murder hunt."

The police first thought the dead passenger had died in the crash.  Until they noticed the strangulation marks.  And the adhesive tape stuck to his face.  Oh, and the knife wound on his forehead.  The methemphetamine in his pocket--well, that could have been there either way.

The man had been dead at least 6 hours.

The police think the killer was trying to take the body to a more deserted area to dispose of it.

Right through the heart of town.  On a motorcycle.

Guess he didn't have a car with a trunk.  Or a friend with one.

Or a chipper.

Or a duffel bag.

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British editor and translator Susie Denthas a reference book out called "Fanboys and Overdogs".  In which she explains some of the new jargon.   Good thing, too.  I have never heard of any of this stuff.  Maybe it's British.  Or maybe I am waaaay out of the loop. Hard to say.

Some examples:

A rate tart is someone who switches credit cards at will in pursuit of the best interest rates.

And spear phishers try to wangle passwords out of unsuspecting net surfers.

If you lose your job with a multinational corporation which outsources to India, you have been Bangalored.

The oafish dude who cares little for his appearance is machosexual.

And fanboy nerds collect comic books.

Yesterday's top dog (or cat) is todays overdog.

And euphemistically, how about supermarket shelf-stackers known as stock replenishment executives, or mail-room clerks who have become dispatch services facilitators. 

Bet a pay raise doesn't come with those.

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Blogger Shawn Lea has a post introducing some new-to-me jargon that I think should be on this list.  An urban cougar is a woman in her 30's and 40's who is confident and good looking.  See Everything and Nothing for more.

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The British Invention show last Saturday (or, by the time this gets to you, some Saturday in the past), features standard stuff like a dopamine patch to make women horny, and a patch that blocks cravings for chocolate (say it isn't so...)

There is an egg-shaped personal spa called the egg, which offers full body massage, aroma therapy and relaxing music, all at the same time.

My personal favorite:  The hand-held device that precuts toast for dipping into soft-boiled eggs.

Can't wait until I can get that at Williams-Sonoma.

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Art and Remembrance

Last Spring, my friend Monica and I went to the Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore.  The art and ambience were amazing.

Featured there was an exhibit of fabric art called the Tapestries of Survival, by Esther Nisenthal Krinitz. Esther and her sister Mania escaped from their Polish village of Mniszek when Esther was 15.  After three years of Nazi occupation, the inhabitants had been told to report to the local train station. 

For years, the sisters evaded Gestapo by hiding and pretending to be Catholic farm girls.

In 1977, at age 50, Krinitz began creating works of fabric art to tell their story.  There are 36 of these magnificent canvasses.  Some are huge.  All are colorful, evocative and moving. The pictures are accompanied by stitched words beneath. Put together, it tells a remarkable story of survival vividly and poignantly.

The tapestries tell of the girls' happy life in the village, then the occupation under the Nazis, their escape and many close calls.  Finally, they were rescued when the Russians came and massacred the Nazis.  Ultimately, they came to the United States where they married and raised families.

In 2003, Krinitz's daughters, Bernice Steinhardt and Helene McQuade founded Art and Remembrance, a non-profit corporation to serve as a force for peace and justice by bringing to light the works of those who have told the stories of their struggles through art.  To do this, they arrange exhibits of the works, write about them, make films and develop educational materials for children. Their mother, Esther's work was at the Visionary Art Museum through August of 2005.  It is currently on display through January 27, 2006 at the Lisa Watson Children's Museum, Dave and Mary Alper Jewish Community Center, 11155 S.W. 112th Ave., Miami, Florida. (305)271-9000.

These are just a few examples.

Riannan Goes to Tampa

Prolific blogger, Shawn Zehnder Lea has a job, in addition to pumping out a stream of fascinating must-read blogstuff in Everything and Nothing.  So it came to pass that she had to go to a conference in Tampa, and, since she knew I lived in Florida, she asked if I lived anywhere near.

Well, yes, and no.  I figure it's about a three hour drive, maybe a little more.  Depends.  Getting through Orlando on I-4 can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours.  But it so happened that I was able to slip my leash for most of the 26th, and the early part of the 27th.  So I decided to make the trek.

And so we decided to have our own mini-blogger convention.  (Wait--that's not right, though at 5'2, Shawn would qualify as a mini-blogger...).

I filled my tank and plugged in my MP3 player and hit the road, early in the afternoon.  The trip was uneventful, unmarred except for my 5 mile detour in the wrong direction.

I got to the hotel, just in time to meet Shawn who was coming from her convention.  We went up to her room (she was kind enough to let me bunk in her spare bed.) Then we wandered off in search of food.

We wound up at Carrabba's Grill for dinner.  We knew it was a chain, and that we could eat their food anywhere, anytime.  But the fact remained that neither of us had ever eaten at Carrabba's, so that's where we went.

In true democratic fashion, we ordered dishes that we both liked, and shared our food.  And a carafe of ruffo wine, which was very good.  The waitress brought the wine and left with the menus before we had ordered, or indeed even decided.  Fortunately, we were not in a hurry.

A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou beside me in the wilderness (no, wait--unintended segue).

We returned to the hotel, and in true zealot fashion, found the computer room and proceeded to check our e-mail, blog surf, and generally goof off, until a couple of people came in and sat in chairs, clearly willing to wait until we had finished our business. We were nice and left.

We went back up to the room and prepared for bed, intending to hit the sack early.  In true pajama party fashion, though, we then proceeded to talk ...and talk.  Next thing, the wake up call came.

Shawn was kind enough to make the small carafe of coffee before I stirred from the sack, even though she did not drink any of it.

And so we packed up, and went downstairs for french toast.  And then back to her convention for Shawn, back to my car for me.

In addition to letting me share her room, Shawn treated to dinner, claiming that I had already spent a small fortune on gas.  And she brought me a book.

She knows that I like historical novels, and brought me The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.  The blurb reads "it is a quest for the truth about Vlad the Impaler, the medieval ruler whose barbarous reign formed the basis of the legend of Dracula."  Oh boy, oh boy.  That is definitely next on my list after I finish my pile of library books.

In return, I promised to send her blogger (the truth hurts) Lisa Schamess's novel Borrowed Light after I have finished reading it.

After all, that's what bliends are for (neologism, courtesy of Lisa Schamess).

Scotland Bound

This evening, we leave for Scotland.  Three friends and I will spend three nights in Edinburgh, and a week at a cottage at Balmoral Castle. We will be staying in a four bedroom cottage called Garbh Allt Shiel, in case you wish to live vicariously. My friend Judy has done this before and has all sorts of interesting things planned.

I will not be taking my computer, so am trying to preblog one post a day for 1 PM.  So nothing will be topical.  "What's new?"  sez you. I will not see comments, so please be charitable.  Nor will I be answering e-mails.

In honor of going to Scotland, I'd like to present the following poem, written in 1786 by Robert Burns:

To A Louse   On Seeing One On A Lady's Bonnet, At Church 

Ha! whaur ye gaun, ye crowlin ferlie?
Your impudence protects you sairly;
I canna say but ye strunt rarely,
Ower gauze and lace;
Tho', faith! I fear ye dine but sparely
On sic a place.

Ye ugly, creepin, blastit wonner,
Detested, shunn'd by saunt an' sinner,
How daur ye set your fit upon her-
Sae fine a lady?
Gae somewhere else and seek your dinner
On some poor body.

Swith! in some beggar's haffet squattle;
There ye may creep, and sprawl, and sprattle,
Wi'ither kindred, jumping cattle,
In shoals and nations;
Whaur horn nor bane ne'er daur unsettle
Your thick plantations.

Now haud you there, ye're out o' sight,
Below the fatt'rels, snug and tight;
Na, faith ye yet! ye'll no be right,
Till ye've got on it-
The verra topmost, tow'rin height
O' Miss' bonnet.

My sooth! right bauld ye set your nose out,
As plump an' grey as ony groset:
O for some rank, mercurial rozet,
Or fell, red smeddum,
I'd gie you sic a hearty dose o't,
Wad dress your droddum.

I wad na been surpris'd to spy
You on an auld wife's flainen toy;
Or aiblins some bit dubbie boy,
On's wyliecoat;
But Miss' fine Lunardi! fye!
How daur ye do't?

O Jeany, dinna toss your head,
An' set your beauties a' abread!
Ye little ken what cursed speed
The blastie's makin:
Thae winks an' finger-ends, I dread,
Are notice takin.

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n devotion!

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The last stanza is, of course famous.  If only I could understand it.

If you would like to have some of these words translated, they'll help you for free, here.

Rolladen (Beef Rolls)

Rolladen are German beef rolls.  I have often seen them with pickle strips in the middle, but to my mind, this is not a pungent dish. I love pickles, but not in this.  If you want a pungent dish, I will give you my recipe for sauerbraten down the road a bit. 

Start with top round steak.  Have a good butcher slice it to 3/16 to 1/4 inch thick.  Figure on 1 to 1 1/2 slice per person.  When they taste it, your guests will probably eat on the high side.  If not, they freeze beautifully.

Assembly:

Clean off a counter.

Lay out the round steak.  Trim off any fat and gristle.  If it is too thick, cross-hatch cut it with a sharp knife.  Do not cut all the way through the meat.  Then flatten it.  You can use the bottom of a pan or a rolling pin after covering the meat with plastic wrap.

Then, salt and pepper the meat.

Put one slice of bacon (1 1/2  if a really big piece of round steak).  Position it so that it will be distributed when you roll up the meat.  i.e., don't run it parallel to the long axis of the steak.

Slice some onion very thin.  Put about one layer of onion to cover most of each slice of meat.  This is not a whole lot of onion.

Chop some parsley.  Sprinkle liberally over each slice of meat.

Starting at the thin end, roll each piece of steak into a log.

Cut string into 2-foot lengths.  (My mother uses thread, which is hard to find after cooking.  My husband always insisted on string.  Me, I am a peacemaker, and can go either way on trivia like this.)  It is easier if you cut the string (one per meat roll) before getting your hands covered with meat.

Wrap each meat roll with the string, following the natural direction of the meat, and overlapping the leading edge with the next round, and tucking the far end under another piece of string.

Heat some grease in a Dutch oven.  This can be bacon fat, Crisco, or oil.  I tend to use canola oil, myself. When good and hot, brown each meat roll in the fat.  Turn so all sides are browned.  Remove to a platter.

Add two good tbsp. flour to the oil.  If you need to add more oil, do so.  Then add some tomato paste.  I like a couple of heaping TBSP (like half a small can).  I like tomato-ey sauce.  My mom adds a scant TBSP.  There you go.  Something for everyone. Brown the flour.  When turning color, add two cups water, and stir or whisk until the flour, tomato paste and brownings are incorporated.

Return the meat rolls to the sauce and cover with a lid.

Clean the counter really well.

Now.  You can simmer on stovetop over low heat, which we have done for decades, until meat is tender--1 1/2 to 2 hours.  Or , you can stick in the oven at 350 degrees for a couple of hours until tender. 

Serve with noodles or riced potatoes, salad and vegetable.

To die for, in my book.

Grocery list:

Round steak
Bacon
Onions
Parsley
Flour
Tomato Paste
Noodles or potatoes

Side dishes.

Tears of the Giraffe

This is the second in the series by Alexander McCall Smith about the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency.  These are sweet, easy-to-digest novels, wherein the main characters struggle to do The Right Thing.  The good get rewarded, the bad get caught and usually get a punishment fitting their crime.

In this novel, Precious Ramotswe solves some more crimes, and her  secretary, Mma Makutsi shows she has some detective skills as well.  And there is some personal development for some of the main characters.  Say no more...I can say no more...

One of the best things about these novels is the Botswanan backdrop.  The dirt is red and dry, the desert turns green after a single rainstorm.  Nature and the weather are untamed and larger than life.  You feel the heat and the humidity.  You can hear and smell Gabarone, and almost taste Mma Ramotswe's meat and pumpkin stew.

In my family, we refer to such books as "candy".  It won't make you cry.  It won't tax your brain.  It will entertain, charm and amuse you while you read it.  And once you are finished reading it, it's gone.

Oh.  And the giraffe...he doesn't really have that much to cry about.

Latinum Pars Sex

The Classics Pages site features some intriguing Latin games and lists.  Under "Classical Cliches for All", proprietor Andrew Wilson makes some thematic lists.  They are not really cliches, but phrases that fall under certain headings, including:

Gods and Goddesses

Homer and the Trojan War

Ancient Philosophy

Ancient History

Mythology

I thought we could start by looking at his list of Gods and Goddesses. Here's his list.  The definitions and comments are mine.

1)  Mercurial disposition- Darn, I should have started with something simple.  I looked at a couple of sites (Wikipedia and Dictionary.com), and got stuff like "relating to the planet (or the god) Mercury."  And variations on eloquent, swift, shrewd.  Mercury has the winged sandals, and his swiftness made him messanger of the gods .  So all those apply.

However, to me, mercurial means unpredictable, volatile, changeable.  I found that at AskOxford, which had, as its first definition, "subject to sudden changes of mood".  This may reflect traits of the element mercury, or quicksilver, (named, of course, for the god) the liquid metal we used to play with as kids.  Skids around unpredictably, and very hard to get a grip on.

2)  Saturnine character-Saturn was the son of Uranus, whom he overthrew, and father of Jupiter (Zeus in Greek)who overthrew him.  Saturnine refers to both looks and mood.  It means swarthy of skin, dark, brooding and gloomy.  Someone you don't want to hang with if you are depressed.

Interestingly, the Roman Saturnalia was named for him, was a period of wild, unrestrained merrymaking, lasting during some historical periods, up to a week. 

3)  Titanic strength-Titans were giant divine beings of Greek and Roman mythology.  Uranus, the father of Saturn was a Titan, as was Saturn's wife, Rhea.  They were immense and very strong, hence the term "titanic strength". 

4)  Hermetic seal-Went to Wikipedia for this one. Hermes was the messanger god."Hermes Trismegistus purportedly authored several books containing secrets of alchemy and mystic philosophy, the Hermetica.  In the 17th century, authors started using the adjective "hermetic" to refer to things that were sealed or secret."

5)  Jovial countenance-named for Jove (Jupiter), king of the gods. It means merry, joyous or mirthful.  According to Dictionary.com, the word is a relic of the belief in planetary influence, the planet Jupiter being regarded as the source of happiness.

6)  Martial music-  Mars was the god of war.  Martial music is military music.

7)  Venereal disease-  Venus, the goddess of love...means disease of Venus...disease of love.

8)  Dionysian license- Dionysus was the god of wine, the equivalent of the Greek Bacchus (who gave us the bacchanal).  He not only gives us intoxication, and mysterious rites and orgies, but is a patron god of the theater and agriculture.  I don't know the phrase "dionysian license", but I think it is the license to give up all control to the god of wine.  Sounds like fun, if everyone else is doing it too.  And I guess they were.

9)  Apollonian control-Apollo was the god of light and sun, prophecy, poetry and healing.  Twin of Diana, goddess of the hunt.  I don't know this phrase either (damn that public school education).  Best guess is that it is complete control.

10)Olympian detachment-Olympus is the home of the Greek gods.  Olympian detachment means being above the affairs of mere mortals.  Of course they descended fairly frequently...

11)Junoesque proportions-Juno was queen of the gods, wife of Jupiter. She was of stately, imposing and statuesque proportions.

12)Bacchanalian orgies-Wine and mania fueled revels, full of satyrs and fauns, music, wine and sex.  Bacchus is the Greek counterpart to Dionysus.

13)Panic button-Pan was the Greek god of fields and woods, shepherds and flocks, with goat's legs, horns and ears. Per Dictionary.com:[from French, panique -terrified, from Greek panicos - of Pan, (a source of terror, as in flocks or herds...].

14)Parnassian figure.  Parnassus is a mountain in Greece where the Muses lived. Parnassian is actually of or relating to poetry. A Parnassian figure would be one larger than life (I surmise).

The American Visionary Arts Museum

Last Spring, I attended a convention in Baltimore.  While threre, I had the good fortune to have enough free time to go to a wonderful place called the American Visionary Art Museum.

Actually, my friend Monica and I played hooky from the meeting to go.  But otherwise we were pretty much model citizens.  (well, except...never mind).

We spent the afternoon combing several floors in two buildings. By their definition, visionary art..."refers to art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels formost in the creative act itself."  The difference between art and folk art is that folk art usually follows a tradition.  "Visionary artists don't listen to anyone else's traditions.  They invent their own."

In addition to the main museum, which holds six galleries with separate themes, there is an adjacent Sculpture Barn, which has a 45-foot ceiling and houses the very big pieces.

The Sculpture Plaza between the two is the home of the 55-foot tall, windpowered sculpture, "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" by mechanic, farmer and visionary artist Vollis Simpson.

The AVAM has 4000 works of art in its permanent collection, of which eighty are on display at any given time, on the first of three floors in the main building.  In addition, there are also large, thematic exhibitions.  Thus an art lover could go frequently without ever seeing the same thing twice.

The art in this museum is weird and wonderful, the like of which I had never seen before.  Much of it appeared to me disjointed and bizarre, perhaps psychotic, while affecting me greatly with its beauty and poignancy, its depth of feeling.  It was a tremendously moving afternoon. 

The gift shop features many unique gifts you will not find elsewhere.  Many are handcrafted.  All are reasonably priced.  A great place to pick up a few presents to salt away.

On the top floor is the Joy America Cafe, which features what I have been told is delicious New World Cuisine.  Unfortunately, the one day we could have eaten there, the restaurant was reserved for a private function. 

This museum is on my very short  list for next time I am in Baltimore.  And this time I plan to try out the restaurant, too.

It's Curtains for You

Last month, I wrote about my friend Connie and I hanging my new curtains.  I left the story unfinished, as was the hanging of the curtains.  We eventually finished it, but it has taken me until now to take pictures of the final job, and get them on the computer.

   

Before.

First, we had to take everything down.  Then we cut the ends off the rod using the miter saw.  We screwed the two parts of the rod together, then drilled holes on the ends with the cordless drill, and put on the finials.

Mid project.

Finally, we put the tiebacks into the walls.  One is a bit crooked, but so far no one but me has noticed.

We earned that glass of wine.

After.

   

Koi on the throne.

 

Through the glass, darkly.

One of the porch doors my husband built of cedar and wrought iron.

Enough. I think I'll go chill on the porch.

The Society for Creative Anachronism

Stryder and his wife just got back from Alaska, and after doing a post about that, he wrote about their next adventure:  going to the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

I love the idea of that, but the couple of renaissance type festivals that I have attended in my life were remarkable for their hokiness, in the "noticeably contrived and artificial" sense. I knew that the Society for Creative Anachronism also tries to recreate the Middle Ages, and thought I would check them out. 

The group was formed in 1966 in Berkeley, California (tells you a lot, right there) by a group of science fiction and fantasy fans.  The web site says they selectively recreate Midieval culture.  Thus, there is indoor plumbing and refrigeration for food, and nary a plague flea to be found.  The SCA defines its period as the High Middle Ages--before 1600.

In its 18 "kingdoms" scattered all over the globe, each with its own king and queen, a princess and prince (for succession), there are over 30,000 paying members (and many more hangers-on).  It is based on a hierarchical and reciprocal order.  The nobles owe fealty to their lord, and perform services for him, while the lord owes the nobles and peasants protection and justice.

Under the aegis of the SCA, members study medieval costuming, dance, martial arts, cooking, metalwork, literature and stained glass, to name a few things.

So if you are interested, check out their site, and learn to make chain mail, eat with a knife, and joust, among many other valuable skills.