When given the choice between red or white wine, I almost always choose white. Unless I’m having duck. That’s the one exception, and a rare one at that.
Monthly Archives:
October 2012
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October
2012
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October
2012
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October
2012
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October
2012
A Last Glimpse of the Pool
It looks so strange to be open at this time of the season. No stranger than it looked after last year’s snowstorm, which surrounded the blue water with a blanket of white, but odd enough in the Fall light. Tinged with sadness, it’s almost worse than if it were covered. Fall, like the Spring, moves too quickly, shuffling by before we really get to enjoy it. Only the oak trees hold onto their carriage a little longer, the brittle brown leaves hanging tenaciously on almost into winter. Theirs is a noble, if futile, effort.
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October
2012
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October
2012
Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater
There’s a dirty limerick waiting to be made out of every childhood rhyme, but I’m not up for it today. Instead, let’s make a concerted effort to rise above the gutter until the next Hunk of the Day rears his head. (See, I can’t even write up a nice pumpkin post without a ‘rear’ and some ‘head’.) The best I can do is offer this seasonal picture of some pumpkins. It sets the scene better than a Witch’s tit.
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October
2012
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October
2012
Written in the Tea Leaves
The art of reading tea-leaves is one of those mystical things in which a very small part of me sometimes, somewhat believes. I put as much stock in it as I do in the Ouija board or Tarot cards, but if everything happens for a reason, perhaps there’s something to be said in the way the universe designs its spent tea leaves, some story to be told in the arrangement left behind. When a bag of green tea suddenly split open the other day, instead of throwing it out, I finished it (and the few tea leaves that made it into my mouth), turned the cup upside down, and then righted it, looking for the pattern that remained. Here it is. No clue what on earth I’m supposed to see in it. Any tea-leaf diviners out there?
25
October
2012
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October
2012
A Weekend Not-So-Very-Far Away
This weekend we’ll be making our inaugural foray into Sharon Springs, checking out the American Hotel for the very first time. I’ve heard nothing but raves and accolades about this upstate oasis, so I’m quite looking forward to it – and a necessary bit of relaxation before the next few months shift into holiday gear. Owners Garth and Doug rescued the hotel from certain ruin about eleven years ago, and it marked the beginning of a revitalization of the entire area. A number of my friends have stayed here, all highly recommending the experience, and I’m hoping we’ll run into Garth and Doug, as well as whatever ghosts happen to descend upon the town on this pre-Halloween weekend. As much as I’m anticipating the cozy accommodations, it’s the four-course dinner that I’m most excited about. I’m already saving space in my belly for that main event.
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October
2012
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October
2012
Like Shooting Stars
If you think I’m the kind of person who stays up to 2:30 AM to watch a meteor shower then you really don’t know me at all. That said, as I happened to still be up at said time this past Saturday, I’d have been a fool not to step into the dark night and search the skies for shooting stars. The weather, after a rough and rainy start, had mellowed, and the skies had cleared. Stars twinkled across the firmament (yes, stars actually do twinkle) while the backyard was darker than I ever remember it being (I’m not accustomed to being out at that hour, when the neighborhood lights had all been turned off). On a lounge chair not yet put away for the season, I spread out three towels and a pillow, then put on a puffy winter coat, pulling the hood over my head and around my ears. Two blankets were pulled up to my chin, and I waited, and watched.
The sky opens up to you, if you let it. More stars wink in the distance, and the few you thought you could see multiply into a vast collection of pin points usually lost amid our electric lights. Their numbers are immense, and the idea that so many solar systems might exist is astounding. The scope and the relative placement of one single person in such a sprawling universe always made me wonder how far astrologists really were from philosophers. One can’t help but question the larger meaning of things when confronted with such a scale, can they?
I didn’t know where to look for meteors streaking across the sky, or, rather, I didn’t know how to look. Was it better to focus on one single patch of sky, one specific point in the boundless distance, and hope to catch one right there – or better to spread my vision out, scanning swaths of space? Or was it best to look blankly up, a soft, non-focusing gaze that took in all of the sky but nothing individually? I tried all options, settling on something in between. I didn’t expect to see anything – in all the promised nights of the possibility of catching the Northern lights, not once had I ever seen the phenomenon. I stayed there for the still of the night, for the silence. Soon it would be too cold to entertain anything of the sort, no matter how many coats or blankets I piled on, and in this last pocket of possibility, I embraced and honored the earth for letting me stand it this deep into the year.
Then, in the upper right corner of where I was looking, partly obscured by the long reaching arms of an Eastern white pine, I saw the unmistakably bright streak of a meteor shooting across the sky. Unaccompanied by sound (the sound effects of movies and television are just that – effects), it was over too quickly. I adjusted my glasses, making sure it wasn’t some glint or bit of optical trickery, but I could not repeat the flash I had seen, and I knew then that it had been real.
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October
2012
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October
2012
From Red Sauce to Red Bark
Behold the autumnal glory of the red bark maple. Its current sunny yellow disposition is almost matched by its Spring show, in which the earliest leaves are a bright chartreuse, but I think this has the slightest edge, especially in the low angle of the Fall sunlight. If you look closely, you’ll notice that even the stems of the leaves are red – not only the bark – a whimsical detail that escaped me until this year. Even at this late stage, there are still surprises to be found in the garden – and beautiful ones at that.
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October
2012
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October
2012
Red Roses, Red Dinner
Andy’s birthday was marked with this beautiful bouquet of red roses from our friends JoAnn, Wally, Carolyn, Laurie, Ali, & Kim ~ and a dinner cooked by yours truly.
The simple pepperoni Italian sauce was a variation on a basic tomato sauce recipe taught to me by an Italian friend almost fifteen years ago. It’s something I used to cook whenever I felt down, and was the first dish I ever made for Andy. Here it is, in rough form:
Pepperoni Sauce with Rigatoni
Splash of olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, chopped finely
1 pepperoni stick, casing removed and chopped into bite size half-moon pieces
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
3/4 cup water
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 small bottle capers, drained
In large pot, heat oil and saute the garlic briefly. Add pepperoni and cook for about five minutes, until deep red in color. Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, seasoning, and brown sugar. Stir in capers. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for an hour or two until desired thickness. Serve with rigatoni or other pasta.
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October
2012
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October
2012
Doing It Dogwood-Style
This colorful panoply of leaves is the seasonably ceremonial garb of the Chinese dogwood tree. While this particular specimen in our front yard has yet to flower with any real exuberance, it makes up for such a drawback with this autumn display of foliage. Sometimes the trade-off is worth it.
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October
2012
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October
2012
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October
2012
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October
2012
A Rainy Day with the Twins
Staring out at the pouring rain from the living room of my parents house, I pause in the playful revelry with my niece and nephew. They join me at the window, watching as the drops plop into the puddles. On this house-bound day (no Radio Flyer ride around the block), there is comfort inside the house, on the carpeted floor and blanket-strewn couch, in the warmth of a tuna casserole for lunch.
They’re growing up quickly – already talking and saying things that are both wise and silly, touching and funny – and I want to still time, to reverse the falling rain or at least slow the descent of the season. I only see them about once a month, and I realize it’s not enough.
When I first met my Uncle Roberto, I was already about ten years old. He had been in the Philippines and Israel for all my life, but from that first snowy day in December I was instantly enamored. We only got to see him once or twice a year, and for that reason our time together was all the more special. In its rarity was a treat, in his absence was a longing. I’m hoping to strike some sort of balance, to be as beloved, if more present.
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October
2012
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October
2012
The Falling of the Leaves
Once the leaves start their fiery finale, the branches won’t be able to hold onto them for long. Like a match that comes close to scorching the fingers that hold it, soon they too will drop to the ground, their momentary magnificence extinguished in the fall. The lofty glory of illumination is soon trodden by damp decay, by the rains and the frost and the worms of the earth. It is just a matter of time ~ it is always a matter of time.
And so the season shifts, bringing down the leaves that once hung so brightly in the sun. For an even briefer instant, they carpet the ground in color, blanketing the backyard in soft yellows and creamy golds. Soon enough they will turn brown, shriveling up into nothing, like the feet of the Wicked Witch of the East do beneath Dorothy’s house once her ruby slippers are removed.
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October
2012
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October
2012
The Madonna Timeline: Song #78~ ‘Dance 2Night’ – Spring/Summer 2008
{Note: The Madonna Timeline is an ongoing feature, where I put the iPod on shuffle, and write a little anecdote on whatever was going on in my life when that Madonna song was released and/or came to prominence in my mind.}
You don’t have to be beautiful
To be understood
You don’t have to be rich and famous
To be good
You just gotta give more more more
Than you ever have before
And you gotta move fast fast fast
If you want this good thing to last…
A somewhat lack-luster cut from 2008’s ‘Hard Candy album’, ‘Dance 2night’ featured Justin Timberlake, and wouldn’t have sounded out of place on one of his albums. On a Madonna album though, she makes it her own, and it’s got enough spice and a vaguely-70’s retro groove to use for a backing track when setting up for a night out. Being a duet, however, it dilutes the Madonna-centric focus to which we’re all accustomed. I have yet to be impressed by one of her collaborative efforts.
That’s really all there is to say about it, so I’ll include a shot of Mr. Timberlake popping a squat and posing with his posterior to make up for what’s otherwise lacking.
On second-spin, this is a decent-enough track from the percolating jam that was ‘Hard Candy’ – and the chorus is fine, fine, super-fine. It’s rather perfect for preparing for an evening on the town, when you don’t want to cut too loose, but you still need some inspiration.
Song #78: ‘Dance 2night’ – Spring/Summer 2008
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October
2012
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October
2012
Sexual Evolution
This weekend marked the 20th anniversary of Madonna’s ‘Erotica‘ album and ‘Sex‘ book, and the October of 1992 is one I remember quite well. Being that I’ve already done a number of ‘Erotica‘ album timeline tracks (‘Erotica‘, ‘Fever‘, ‘Bad Girl‘, ‘Thief of Hearts‘, ‘Words‘ and ‘Rain‘), I won’t belabor this much more, but I will revisit two of the best magazine articles and photo shoots of Madonna’s career – the ones she did for ‘Vanity Fair’ and ‘Vogue’ in 1992 – where her collaborator of the moment, Steven Meisel, captured her in some stunning poses, and interviewers Maureen Orth and David Handelman got some choice sound-bites.
In these behind-the-scenes photos of Madonna and Mr. Meisel, we get to see the playful spirit that the otherwise-dark project inspired. A lot of the humor got lost in the shuffle of that season that launched her greatest backlash. I didn’t mind. If there’s one lesson learned in the aftermath and fall-out of ‘Sex’ and ‘Erotica’, it was that Madonna could take a licking and keep on ticking.
“I felt really free. It’s the most unpermissible thing. You’re not supposed to be out in public without your clothes on, and yet there wasn’t anything sexual about it – I couldn’t stop giggling, the looks on these people’s faces when they would drive by. I just had the best time.” ~ Madonna
“I think I’ve been terribly misunderstood because sex is the subject matter I so often deal with – people automatically dismiss a lot of what I do as something not important, not viable or something to be respected.” ~ Madonna
“I’m sorry, this is not a democracy.” ~ Madonna
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October
2012
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October
2012
Shoes or Lose
Nothing puts a kick into my step like a new pair of shoes. These beauties were half off at the Cole Haan outlet, and since the back featured a splash of chartreuse, I had to have them. The orange is stellar too, and the combination makes this the ideal shoe for the Fall season. While I paid more than I usually would for footwear, there are two things that should never be short-changed: shoes and bags. I used to think you could make do if the deal was good enough, but I’d always end up getting three or four pairs to make up for one good pair, and in the end it was a wash because the quality and comfort did not last. Invest in something good, take decent care of it, and it will be worth the original cost.
Cole Haan has never disappointed in the few pairs of shoes that I own, nor in the leather satchel I bought a few years ago. The good things always last, and classic style never fades. For such a silly and trifling thing, fashion has the power to shift moods and modify outlooks ~ and sometimes a new pair of shoes can change the world ~ at least my world.
