Archive for March, 2009

Am I Really Writing About American Idol?

After today’s frightening and exhausting panic attack, my roommate, John, gave me one of his precious valiums from his stash, and I took it and then a two hour nap.  I’d never taken one before, but I’m not really sure it did anything, being somewhat significantly past it’s half-life.  Nevertheless, I woke and felt as if I didn’t need to vomit anymore, and the pressure off my chest was relieved.

Inspired by some of the people on twitter on the East Coast live-blogging American Idol, I decided that an evening of completely mindless and low-key entertainment was in order, so I sat in the TV room and watched the Top 9 duke it out.  Well, OK, I missed the first two singers, Anoop and Megan, but I watched them on the AI website, and I live-tweeted the broadcast, which was fun!

Here are my thoughts:

  • Anoop: Beautiful voice, lovely eyebrows, nice stage presence.
  • Megan:  She reminds me of Sarah McLachlan, with that breathy sing-song style.
  • Danny Gokey: as I tweeted, my iPhone kept wanted to rename him Hokey.  Tonight he just wasn’t on.
  • Allison:  Too distracted by trying to play the guitar at the same time as sing.
  • Scott: on the piano, sitting down, makes it difficult to sing and support one’s voice without a lot of practice.  He kept singing flat, which bothered me to no end.
  • Matt: why, oh, why couldn’t someone put a ball gag in his mouth?
  • Lil: Don’t make an alto sing a song for a soprano.  Also, she sings flat, too.  Isn’t pitch control important to anyone else but me?
  • Adam: Very Steven Tyler-esque, but considering he was re-arranging Wild Cherry’s “Play The Funky Music” it was completely appropriate.  A definite winner.
  • Kris: Another fantastic performance by a talented singer.

OK, so with that in mind, who do I think will be going home?  Well, having not watched any of the season up until this point makes it difficult, but I’ll say in order of likelihood: Scott, Matt, Lil, Allison, Danny, Megan, Anoop, Kris, and Adam.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • Ma.gnolia
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • blogmarks
  • email
  • Identi.ca
  • MySpace
  • Tumblr
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks

Panic Sets In

The day started out well enough: coffee and email and a little bit of WoW, then I caught the 21-Hayes down to the Ferry Building to meet my friend, Will, his friend, J.P., and the farmer’s market.  But when I got off the bus, something didn’t seem right.  None of the food in the booths looked appetizing at all, and all the people wandering around were crowding me in.  I met up with Will and J.P. and we went inside the building to find lunch, but even in there, all the noise and distraction was closing in on me.

While we were standing at the Peet’s Coffee, my friend, Art, approached me with his friend, Paul.  The five of us all greeted and made small talk for a moment before the two of them wandered off.  I stood there as the entire world collapsed to this one little spot about 30 feet in front of me, crushing me.  I couldn’t breathe and a sense that I was about to vomit came upon me.

“I have to go home now; I’ll see you guys later,” I was able to blurt out and booked out of the Ferry Building as fast as I could and got to the nearest bus stop for the 21-Hayes, and leaned up against the support column of the canopy, not understanding what was happening to me.

Once I got on the bus, I started to feel more calm, and I stopped at Flipper’s and got something to eat and tried to figure out what was going on.

Now I’m sitting here at home, feeling exhausted.  This has never happened to me before.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • Ma.gnolia
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • blogmarks
  • email
  • Identi.ca
  • MySpace
  • Tumblr
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks

Earthquake…

Did you feel it?

4.4 near Morgan Hill.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • Ma.gnolia
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • blogmarks
  • email
  • Identi.ca
  • MySpace
  • Tumblr
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks

Railroad Barons and Silver Kings – Stairway Walk 3

The weather was perfect for Stairway Walk – Railroad Barons and Stairway King!  Sunny with just a slight breeze, kept things warm but not too sweaty!  My intrepid walkers showed up at the appointed time and we waited a little while for any stragglers.

As we made our way around Nob Hill,  we explored tiny alleys and the streets, rising and falling with the contours of the hill.  Plenty of interesting architecture, and around every corner, views that take the breath away.

Only two building survived the 1906 Earthquake and subsequent fire: the Flood Mansion, and the Fairmont Hotel.  Flood and Fair were two of the Comstock Lode Silver Kings, although the hotel was built by Fair’s daughters as a legacy to him.  The funny thing about the hotel is that they had sold the hotel just a few months before, but the fire insurance wasn’t set to expire until midnight of the day of the earthquake, so the hotel was still covered!

Another interesting tidbit is the Crocker Spite Fence – Charles Crocker was the biggest of the Big Four who built the transcontinental railroad, and he had to have the highest spot on Nob Hill.  It just had to be the entire block, so he started buying the lots of the people who owned on that block.  All sold to him except for a german undertaker named Nicholas Jung, who didn’t see any reason why he should sell, even at the very attractive price Crocker offered.  Crocker kept raising his price until finally his temper snapped, and he threatened to “bury you alive” – which he did by building a forty-foot high fence around the three sides of Jung’s property, completely enclosing the house in shadow.

Jung responded by erecting a coffin on the roof of his house aimed at Crocker’s house, but eventually he moved his entire house to a different lot he owned elsewhere on the hill.  Crocker still didn’t remove the fence, because he didn’t want Jung to be able to sell the lot.  The 1906 quake solved the problem for both, as it destroyed Crocker’s mansion and the spite fence.

The battle of the egos went on to both men’s graves.  It wasn’t until much later that the Jung estate finally sold to the Crocker estate, who donated the land to the episcopal church.  The site of Grace Cathedral is the location of Crocker’s mansion, and the cloister on Sacramento street is where Jung’s house stood.

Anyway, once the walk was over, one of the walkers gave me a ride back to Hayes Valley, where I had eggs florentine at Flipper’s.  Then home and a sweet, lovely nap.  What a great day!

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • Ma.gnolia
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • blogmarks
  • email
  • Identi.ca
  • MySpace
  • Tumblr
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks

Dead Shark

I always find weird things on the sidewalk when I’m walking home.  This poor shark won’t be eating again anytime soon.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • Ma.gnolia
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • blogmarks
  • email
  • Identi.ca
  • MySpace
  • Tumblr
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks

One Skillet Dijon-Balsamic Potatoes with Shrimp

Take three large potatoes, two onions, and cut them up small.  take half a stick or butter and a generous amount of olive oil and heat them up in a big pan, melt the butter, then add the onions.

OK, the onions are soft (and well salted), and in the meantime, I’ve blasted the potatoes in the microwave for 6 minutes to pre-cook them.  I add them into the onions and start them in their own browning process (and more salt here, too – potatoes need lots of salt).  Sometime a few minutes into this I add in a half a bag of frozen cut up tri-color bell peppers, and a half a bag of frozen peas and let them melt, which will also have the effect of deglazing the pan.

Now it’s time to make the sauce: a good tablespoon of dijon mustard, same amount of balsamic vinegar, about a the same amount of unfiltered wildflower honey, and a big tablespoon of natural peanut butter, whisked together.

I added in about a half a pound of frozen pre-cooked shrimp (can you tell that I like Trader Joe’s yet?) and while they are thawing and coming up to heat, I add the sauce, too, and fold it all together.  A half a cup of water to thin it out just a touch, and poof!

It’s really quick and delicious brunch.  I’d add in some well-beaten eggs to this before the shrimp and sauce if my housemates wouldn’t object, but they’re not really big egg fans.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • Ma.gnolia
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • blogmarks
  • email
  • Identi.ca
  • MySpace
  • Tumblr
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks

Gustatorial Alchemy – Turning Sour to Sweet

This article on CNN:

But after chewing the fruit and rubbing the pulp against the tongue, the berry, known by a promising name — “miracle fruit” or Synsepalum dulcificum — releases a sweetening potency that alters the taste buds.

For about 15 to 30 minutes, everything sour is sweet.

Lemons lose their zing and taste like candy. Oranges become sickeningly sweet. Hot sauce that usually burns the tongue tastes like honey barbecue sauce that scorches as it trickles down the throat.

Through word of mouth, these miracle fruits have inspired “taste tripping” parties, where foodies and curious eaters pay $10 to $35 to try the berries, which are native to West Africa.

The fascinating this is how a cancer researcher is building a small study of this fruit to see if the sweetening properties of the fruit help chemotherapy patients regain their appetites.

My friend, Will, who found this article for me, thought that this fruit would be an interesting low-calorie sugar alternative.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • Ma.gnolia
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • blogmarks
  • email
  • Identi.ca
  • MySpace
  • Tumblr
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks

A Life Filled With Mundane Joy

I went with Will, Bruin, and Jason to IKEA yesterday in a ziptruck.  Will and Bruin just moved out of their million-dollar-view apartment into something nearby but smaller, with a quarter-million-dollar-view, and they wanted to get an armoire and other storage stuff. So the four of us piled into the cab of the Tacoma King Cab and made the trek across the bay to Emeryville, and that huge blue and yellow box filled with lingonberry goodness.

I was looking to see if I could find the futon mattress there that I had seen on their website, but alas, I could not.  It was probably the brain-draining effect of wandering through so. much. stuff.  I did pick up a six-pack of everyday glasses and a smalled potted plant, though.  And Will and Bruin got their cabinet and stuff, so it wasn’t a total waste of time.

On the way back, we dropped Jason off first, then I shlepped the guys up to their new place on Corbett, where they unloaded the boxes, then I returned the truck to Oak and Steiner, and finally walked home.

Today, I’m about to go in to my office and work on a couple of clients.  It’s the simple things like this that make me happy to be alive.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • Ma.gnolia
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • blogmarks
  • email
  • Identi.ca
  • MySpace
  • Tumblr
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks

Exquisite Corpse, V76.2

Thanks for everyone who played this round of Everybody’s Favorite Online Collaborative Poetry Game™ – Exquisite Corpse: bearginnerPaulo (bearginner) and fatfairiesfatfairies


Get up and dance, and move with Springtime’s love
Lie down and love, and dance with Springtime’s move
Roll over and smile, and flirt with Springtime’s mate

Current Mood: (chipper) chipper
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • Ma.gnolia
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • blogmarks
  • email
  • Identi.ca
  • MySpace
  • Tumblr
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks

Playing Catch-up

Wednesday evening I simmered these tasty and slightly spicy falafel I bought at Costco recently in a tomato sauce I made with caramelized onion and bell peppers, a few dashes of Tapatío, a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon, salt and pepper, and just a tiny shake of ground celery seed.  I topped it with some incredible greek-style yogurt I picked up at Trader Joe’s.  It was so sweet and spicy and full of chickpea goodness that I ate the leftovers for breakfast this morning.

I have to continue to remember that I was a pescatarian for a few years about ten years ago and both know how and enjoy cooking vegetarian meals for myself.

Earlier in the afternoon, Jason called me at around 14:15 and was tired of being cooped up in the house.  The immediate thought that came into my head was quite moist and tawdry, but knowing that I am trying to cultivate the relationship between us, I suggested that it would be a real shame to let that fine Spring afternoon go to waste, and that we were going to the zoo.  He was agreeable to this and I told him I’d meet him at Castro station in around 20 minutes.  Once I got to Van Ness I texted him telling him to start walking up to Castro station and be ready.  When I arrived at Castro, he was just at the Sprint store approaching.  good boy, I thought, and greeted him affectionately.

img_0366We went back down into the station and waited for the L to take us to the Zoo.  Part of why I wanted to go to the zoo was to see the modifications to the lion and tiger cages after that guy got eaten.  Well, attacked anyway, but I like to imagine that the guy got eaten.  \arch It’s important to educate the ignorant to keep such misbehavior from happening.  Tall order, I know.  /arch

img_0370The barrier the zoo erected is lovely, consisting of a concrete wall about the height of those temporary concrete highway barriers that are like extruded pylons.  Above that, two materials.  To the center of the viewing area, a wall of thick Plexiglas-like material above which an aluminum slat pergola stood.  And to either side of that, this netting with a wide knot space made of what might have been steel cable or some other rope material.   The are a good eight or ten feet tall, and the only way someone would “accidentally” get mauled by a tiger would be if they surmounted the heights.  Or maybe if they were the payload of a trebuchet.  But I digress.

img_0377We wandered around the zoo, taking in what exhibits we could before the 17:00 closing time.  Somewhere just past the “dead” kangaroo, probably nearer the cafe, the witching hour struck, and we made our retreat, walking back out to Sloat and toward the ocean.

The beach was reasonably crowded, and the surf looked inviting, so we weren’t surprised to see surfers out among the swells.  One in particular, arriving not long after we did, was of particular interest.  He kept cruising us, and had this not been designed to be an afternoon of enjoying each other’s company in a non-sexual way, who knows what mischief we might have gotten up to?

Back on the L in toward town, we blissed out and sat next to each other.  Jason’s hand occasionally brushing the back of my neck, and we sat in a companionable silence, punctuated by note of a particular house or other point of interest out the windows.

Once -ler again at Castro station, we disembarked the train and headed back above ground, walking down to Bear-bears, where we said our goodbyes.  I walked back up to Market and 17th, stopping for a plain coconut macaroon at Hot Cookie, which I ate while waiting the 12 minutes for the F-Market driver to take his break and get underway.

When I got home, I made that supper I described above, played WoW for a little while, then went to bed around 23:00.

Today, I had a client  who is starting is not a regular client, and we did some deep work in his abdomen including his the accessible part of his diaphragm.  From there I had a tuna salad sandwich and piece of pie and coffee, then came home and checked messages.

Tonight was the first of three Convention Prep nights with Harlan Kerr brushing people up on their Plus and Advanced dancing.  The turnout was spirited and we all had a good time, but we really want more peeps to show up next week.

After dancing, Steve and I went over to his place and we looked at the Embroidery Just For You catalog, watched The Lorax, and I played tug-of-war with Simon, Steve’s puggle pup.

Sometime around 01:15 I said good and walked up to Van Ness and Sacramento and caught the 49 bus to Market Street, and walked home where I now sit unclothed typing this.

Current Mood: (happy) happy
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • Ma.gnolia
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • blogmarks
  • email
  • Identi.ca
  • MySpace
  • Tumblr
  • Yahoo! Buzz
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Bookmarks