attn GERN

Meyers-Briggs results made relevant.

I know how you like these things...


Apparently I'm a Conspiracy Theorist.

Beneath the calm, collected exterior of the INFJ lies the horrible reality of someone who has seen The Truth.

The wife is an Idealist

The INFP is a dreamy, imaginitive, idealist, capable of finding the good in anything or anyone, even something as foul as Newark, New Jersey. INFPs are sometimes dangerous to the well-being of society as a whole, as they are prone to adopting subversive and destructive ideologies like "The world should be fair," "People should treat one another well," and "You know, 'Friends' is a really, really stupid television show."

Spot on!

What an odd pairing we are.

dice

I don't usually hork stuff from Boing Boing, since whatever they post is assured to penetrate 99% of the Earth's population, but I couldn't resist this Shaggy-looking mofo rocking the dice cups.



I said gawt DAM!

In an effort to bring loyal Baxblog readers more, I offer budding dice stackers this helpful turorial:

cooking

top ten food books y'all should own.
Happy coincidence, a copy of Physiology of Taste translated and annotated by MFK Fisher just came in.

The list is a bit piebald- the real action is in the comments.
One more thing to love about the internet- so-so content being vastly improved by an active readership.

he said, casting a jaundiced eye on non-commenting readers...

trip part one

We took off around noon and drove straight to the Getty.

Eight bucks well spent!
Who says hereditary oil oligarchs contribute nothing to society.

We spent several pleasant hours perusing exhibits & sitting on the patio.

I finally met James Ensor (Belgium's famous painter).

I liked this Géricault study for the central figure on The Raft of the Medusa, and spotted the original of a painting familiar as the cover of a Signet Classics book. As a sucker for symbolists, I ate this one up with a spoon.

Oddly, the wife bonded with this Degas portrait of a neurasthenic relative.
Such a mystery!

Megan was mad for these flesh tones.

I don't remember any displays of enthusiasm from Simon- he must hate art.

There were two exhibits of photography, a goddamn vast Weston retrospective and selected shots by Luc Delahaye that were amazing. The life sized print of Taliban Soldier was especially striking, but all of them were exceptional.

I made it through about 1/4 of the Weston exhibit before Museum Fatigue set in and I needed to sit down & space out for a while. I love his work and there were many (many, many) spectacular photos, but the sheer volume of them was blinding.

What's that Stalin quote?
One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic?

Well, one masterpiece is a masterpiece, a room full of masterpieces is a headache.

My favorite picture in the Weston exhibition wasn't by Weston.
They had a small room for the work of some friends and contemporaries and I was floored by a Minor White print (frustratingly, not the one featured on this page).

I'm coming around to the museumgoing philosophy of deciding what you want to see ahead of time and ignoring the rest, or just giving it a quick once over. Even a small exhibit flirts with sensory overload- a big retrospective like this one is guaranteed to knock over any but least sensitive viewer.

Up next: the show.

comments

attention pat and dave:

however y'all are commenting is posting via the Blogger comment system, which I don't use (too much spam).

I get an email notification, but the comments themselves are being exiled to some electronic netherworld.

mime news

Marcel Marceau.....dead at 84.

geek alert

good interview with Alan Moore, mostly about the genesis of Watchmen.

In a previous life I was excited about the idea of a movie helmed by Terry Gilliam, back before Hollywood drained the life out of him.

I'm less enthralled by Watchmen- a Zack Snyder film.

Snyder tells the superficial story well, but the specialness of Watchmen is it's multiple layers.

A fellow who remakes Dawn of the Dead while remaining ignorant of its roots as a parable of consumerism amok shouldn't be allowed within arm's length of Watchmen.

behold

the Iron Hymen!

WTF Book of the Week

Living with HorsePower!

subtitle:

Personally Empowering Life Lessons Learned from the Horse.

show

Pitchfork delivers pics of the show from much better seats than the ones we were in.

Bastards.

Tunes

Back from LA, trip report & photos soon to follow.

Right now I've got a sweet link for music lovers.

As little regard as I have for hip hop/rap, I love the primordial funk it mines and I see a lot of LP's on that site I need to track down.

Also, the dude from LCD Soundsystem looks exactly like my pal James.
EXACTLY!

new costume for Simon

Stephen Hawking has been dethroned by a brilliant new idea that doesn't require a wheel chair rental:

Young Bob Dylan!



The resemblance is uncanny, and Simon already has the harmonica brace.
Tease the hair, add a pair of dark shades and he's good to go!

The only question now is which of the local crazy homeless people do I dress as this year?

Hmm, decisions decisions...

meme

I don't really get these things, but I've been tagged which I guess means I have to do it or a gypsy will curse me with lumbago for running her over while getting a hummer.

Or something....like I said, I don't really get these things.
They are to the LJ set as chain letters were to previous generations.

1. List seven habits/quirks/facts about yourself.
2. Tag seven people to do the same.
3. Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag "whoever wants to do it."

I'm going to violate rule 3 because I'm too lazy to do any of this "tagging".
If you're interested for some reason, post a reply in the comments....but I doubt anyone who reads this blog has any secrets from me.

Well, except maybe DT.
He's a mystery wrapped in the belly of The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.

habits/quirks/facts about myself:

1: I compulsively update a blog that is read by maybe ten people.
2: I own a 1st edition of Farewell, My Lovely in a complete original dust jacket that I bought for a buck at a thrift store a few years back.
3: I'm going to see LCD Soundsystem and Arcade Fire at the Hollywood Bowl this Thursday.
4: I'm a hardcore boxing fan who regularly downloads European fights to satiate my unholy lust for the Sweet Science.
5: I just bought a pink linen shirt off the sale rack at Banana Republic.
6: I'm old enough to remember when Banana Republic was still a supplier of faux-safari wear, not Gap for the Well Qualified Buyer.
7: I know the truth behind all of Hudson's meme answers.

Mmmmm hmmmm.

tasting

A lovely evening was had.
Hussein even appeared from the mists bearing wine & victuals, a vision wreathed in Parisian scent and a certain sign that the evening was blessed.

Timmy made a delicious variant Nicoise salad with beets, corn and a splendidly multifarious dressing.

Aside:
Good dressing is so simple to make, I wonder at the existence of bottled dressing. Even more mystifying is dried packaged dressing mix....which is all the work of making it yourself, with the added bonus of using cheap, stale ingredients that taste like chemicals.

We had a marvelous cheese platter, recreating our mountain experience.
Burl picked up a gnarly Stilton & a wedge of caramelized onion cheddar (on which Hussein commented- "I like it! I'll admit, I tried it first just to get it out of the way, looking like it does...but it's really quite tasty!"). We brought a round of Cowgirl Creamery Red Hawk and a fantastic imported salami, both of which were incredible.

The wine was a mixed bag, but serviceable.

After our meal the Fiend demanded that we watch The Odd Couple, her latest obsession ("let's see the Koo Koo Pigeon Sisters!").

A fine evening, one we'll doubtless reprise soon enough.

cheese n' wine

having a tasting with the broinlaw, sisinlaw and fiend tonight.

a report will follow.

overheard

an old gal browsing the sale cart:

I made bread....and even the cats wouldn't eat it!

a conundrum

Is a site really "undiscovered" if it appears in an article from PC Magazine?

glasses glasses

I'm picking up a couple of pairs from these cats, a $20 pair and a few $8 pairs for sporting about in.

Results to follow!

Devra was extremely happy with two out of the three pairs she scored, and at these prices I'll take a similar success rate.

In a world where you can drop $200 at Sears during a half off all frames "sale", I'm intrigued by the concept of a true discount provider.

intimations of mortality

While entertaining Devra last night with dinner and a screening of the lush, impenetrable Peter Greenaway masterpiece Prospero's Books (long out of print and never available on dvd- where's the justice?) it was noted that the year of Devra's birth (in Israel, no less) was the year the wife spent in Italy.

It's strange enough to consider a world without my niece, who's only 4 years old.
How much odder to live half a life in a universe without Devra.

With the passage of time thus imprinted, I urge anyone in the area to stop by the store today, where I am at perhaps the height of my late life appeal, bedecked in a new rose linen shirt, hipsterati jeans & euro-sandals.

Polyester cardigans, tan slacks & orthopedic boots are just around the corner, so get and eyeful of this while it lasts!

/edit
visitors so far:
Burl and Fiend
Fiend was more interested in dusting the shelves than my sartorial splendor, but Burl noted my stylish shirt without prompting.

Full Metal Santa

R. Lee Ermy vs Santa's Workshop
NSFW

Gin Update

Tanqueray No. 10 is on hold for now.

It runs $29.95, and I have a hard time picturing any gin being twice as good as Sapphire.

I'll put a bug in Santa's ear and cross my fingers.

attn SIMON

Stephen Hawking in Legos.
visual reference for your Halloween costume.

stolen from ivan

why I love the internet pt 453

I worship at the fetid gore-streaked alter of the mad genius who produced this hallucinatory marriage of Lemmy and Mel Gibson.

music: Go! Team

these cats rip it up live.
which you wouldn't really expect, given how sample-centric their records are...just goes to show.

Gin Review: Citadelle

I took a bottle of Citadelle gin with me to the cabin, eschewing the de riguer 750 milliliters of the Queen's Tears I generally sport on my trips to the tamed wilderness.

I was fortunate enough to have about 1/4 of a bottle of Bombay sitting in the liquor cabinet for comparative purposes, so this is about as objective as can be.

I led off with a Citadelle gin & tonic, my benchmark drink.
It was very pleasant, with a mild, floral taste & a quick finish. The juniper flavor was much less pronounced than with most gins of my experience.

When measured against the Sapphire and tonic I chased it with Citadelle came up decidedly short. The Bombay was brighter, with a deeper, more complex flavor and a longer finish.

This impression held up across a round of Gin gimlets and another of French 75's.

While Citadelle is pleasant enough, there's no reason to tip it over the superior (and cheaper, by two bucks) Bombay Sapphire, which remains the gin to beat.

Next up, I'm looking at Tanqueray No. Ten.

As usual, a full report will follow.

before I forget

the quote of the trip came courtesy Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen.

To live is to war with trolls.

This truth exerts a profound gravity as you traverse the miserable vistas of Porterville, Wasco & Lost Hills en route home.

The full quote, courtesy of my pal the internet & the Ibsen Society of America,

To live is - to war with trolls
In the holds of the heart and mind;
To write is - to hold
Judgment Day over the self.

Behold the Turkish Butt Plug

Forced to improvise our own drink recipes at the Cabin by a marked lack of internet, the Turkish Butt Plug was born.

combine two shots of chilled espresso with a healthy measure of vodka, a slug of Kahlua & cream to taste. Pour over ice.

In a perfect world, substitute Turkish coffee for the espresso.
And I suppose milk or half and half would do in a pinch.

It was darn tasty, and kept me conscious for an entire viewing of Krakatoa, East of Java, a film so terrible only the inebriated or insane survive its awful embrace.

back

reports to follow.

for the nonce, content yourself with a stack of additions to Flickr.

real last pre vacation post!

this time I mean it!

headline from the local fishwrap spied on my walk home:

Most Local Bridges OK

My confidence is soaring!

one for the road

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Overlooked Books

clicky clicky.

There are vast numbers of books in the world, and I'm sure a large portion of absolutely unknown titles are fantastic. Here, some notable authors advocate for personal favorites.

Michael Chabon's choice looked interesting enough for me to track down:

The Long Ships (1941-45)

Frans Gunnar Bengtsson

I personally guarantee that, however infinitesimally, the world would be a happier place if this wonderful novel, in its excellent English translation by Michael Meyer, were restored to print. A tale of Viking adventure set in the 10th century, what makes The Long Ships such a delicious book is not its thrilling escapes, battles and rescues, nor its lifelike, morally ambiguous heroes and villains, but the droll, astringent, sly tone taken by the narrator toward the characters, particularly with regard to their relations to God, gold and sex. It's a world classic of the literature of adventure, on a par with The Three Musketeers and The Odyssey, its avowed models.

The only one off the first page I've even seen is Amanda and the Million Mile High Dancer by Carol De Chellis Hill. Few things on earth sound less appealing than overtly feminist SF, so I passed.

I'll add a recommendation from the wife to this list- Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schultz.

I found a copy of his complete fiction at a thrift store once. This is my recommended edition, decorated as it is with his spectacularly atmospheric illustrations.

Tales from the Bookstore

Ripped from yesterday's headlines.

click image for readable text

impending vacation

We're heading off to the cabin tomorrow, to a pristine internet free landscape of trees, rocks, streams & the occasional feral beast.

Posting will by necessity be non-existant, but fear not dear reader.
Soon enough flickr will be full to bursting with portraits of the wild and reports of positively decadent feasting will fill these hallowed pages.

Fun Sale of the Day

Our Ancestors Came From Outer Space by Maurice Chatelain.


Space Ancestors, artist's rendition

A New Gin

I'm going to audition this French offering on my upcoming vacation.

A review will be forthcoming.

Sweet

Who just sold Pre-Columbian Shell Engravings from the Craig Mound at Spiro, Oklahoma by James Allison Brown & Philip Phillips?

MMMHMMM, that's right!

A nice boost leading up to next week's vacation at The Cabin.

ok it's official

we live in the end times.

18 Lawyer Attack

clicky clicky.

I lament the passing of the heroic age when problems like this were solved by swearing revenge and kicking asses until either honor was restored or they ran out of ninjas to pummel.

Potential GOAT

Best blues album title of all time?


You be the judge!

Tales from the Bookstore

they're addictive like potato chips!


click image for readable type

attn BURL

DIY Letterpress.

Build your own and use it to print stuff!

also, thanks for the Chicken Parmesan....it was darn tasty!