Plowed under.

Even though winter is a couple of months from loosening its grip some of us need a few moments where we can shed our burden...


...and just recline in the gathering blue of late afternoon.

Tube of Ydiot.

Scissors.


Rock breaks scissors.



Paper covers rock.


California forest fire burns paper down.


A golden flow from the heavens above not only extinguishes the California forest fires, but revitalizes the region, stirring new beauty from the charred remains of what was once only desert and tinder, and now is home to some of the most wondrous creatures to so far walk the blue orb we call Planet Earth.

As on ABC's blockbuster True Beauty.

Co-created by the golden brain powers of Ashton Kutcher and Tyra Banks.

...and we just can't find the sound...

For your enjoyment a recipe I've made twice. First for the usual reason of happening to have these particular ingredients already in the house, and the second time to see if the first time was an accident.

*Pork Stew/Soup

1 tray of stewing pork
1 large white onion
1 container of **chicken broth
1 can of chopped tomatoes w/ garlic
1/2 bag of shredded carrot
1 cup of dried split peas
1/4 cup flour
salt
savory
basil
hot sauce
canola oil


Take the pork cubes and cut them in half or thirds. Chop the onion into smallish chunks. In a medium sized sauce pan heat up the oil over medium/high and add the onion, stirring until it's a little translucent. Add the pork and mix together. Mix in the can of tomatoes. Add hot sauce of your choice to taste. Mix in the savory, basil and salt also to taste. When the pork is nice and white (you don't want to overcook or sear it) add the broth (**I used chicken, but I'm sure beef or vegetable would be fine too). Take the split peas and wash them under cold water in a colander and drain, then toss them in too. Finally the shredded carrot goes in (I had bought shredded carrot to use in salads and found I preferred it in soup recipes because it cooks more quickly and still retains a little crunch of texture). Bring the mess to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. I add the flour, mixing quickly so it doesn't clump, to give the whole thing a more "stew-like" countenance. You can also coat the pork with it at the beginning if you prefer, or omit it completely if you prefer a more "soup-like" experience. Simmer for a couple of hours and there y'are.

The reason I like it is the balance of textures and flavours. The hot sauce seems to be the key to give it zing, and the split peas make it kinda old timey. I have some in tupperware just beggin' to be nuked right now.

Zing.

As the twilight gathered.

Things I saw between 3-5 pm while sorta doing Xmas/misc errands:

(1) A woman in stretch pants picking up a book from Amazon at the post office.

(2) A dude with an Exploited hoodie, a KMFDM toque and a cheap mountain bike helping his buddy onto the 13S bus going uptown. The buddy held up the bus' departure while rummaging in his parka pockets for his Tim Horton's cup of change. Mainly it was the two half-full bottles of Life Brand mouthwash obscuring his search.

(3) A cashier at the Dollar Store with too much chat for a line that long.

(4) Down the scoop neck of woman's blouse at the Zeller's check out... and her to buy list that included "Socks, Smokes."

(5) Two Dairy Queen cheeseburgers.

(6) Firetrucks outside the 'mature (foreign) students' residence on Montgomery.

(7) Many crows and seagulls.

Xmas moments part 1

I was wondering if you had a specific artist.

Sure.

I'm not sure of the pronounciation, but I think it's SAWN-Dray Lurch.

Yeah, Sondre Lerche. We've had his stuff in before... but nothing at the moment. I don't think he's had anything new out on a while.

Oh? I heard him on the Ghomeshi show this morning and so...

He may have something just out, or coming out. We could order it for you. It would take about a week or so.

Oh no, I have a package going out later today.

Ah.

Well there's a few more things on this list. How about... the ABBA Greatest Hits??

Uh, no... not right at the moment.

Do you carry DVDs?

Yes, we do.

Would you have the movie Dirty Dancing?

I'm getting the sense you may need Wal-Mart on that one.

Things to do in December if your shopping is on the backburner.

When I get a little punchy and bored I like to type random words into Google to see what turns up. There is no rhyme or reason, just free association and a training in absurdist structuralism guides my tender typing digits.

Here are a few recent first listing results:

Badger Cam.

Two Pack Shack Cure.

Monarchist Bingo.

In the green room.

The lack of light is getting to me a little I think.

Or it could be my winter-driven vitamin-free diet. Or both.

I took today off from the store, mainly to get laundry done... something I neglected to do over the weekend when I had time. It felt a little decadent to take a sunny Wednesday afternoon off and wander around the hood a little.


In the morning I started the process of weeding through the storage stacks where I've relegated my Surgery Radio promos. Trying to figure out which ones should get databased and which ones should be repurposed in some manner. They date from late 2005 to now... not sure of the count... but it was fun sitting the "computer room" and listening, drinking too strong coffee.

The Xmas phone calls have been coming in with predictable frequency and disorientation for the last little while. People looking for country CDs or Xmas CDs or country Xmas CDs. Everyone loves "music" at Xmas.

I've been enjoying a blog I came across that makes available all sorts of crazy indie and foreign films. So far I've snatched an Arthur Russell documentary, a super-bad, super-fun Italian horror movie called Nude for Satan, a Claire Denis film Trouble Every Day and a Polish film (or collection of short films) called Blood of a Poet. Takes the sting out of Roger's Jumbo Buster of Blocks.

Ok, I have a twelve year old named after leafy greens tapping his toes to a GarageBand masterpiece who needs tossing out. Zip-bam!

Or... Yanni?

It must be nearly Xmas. I had my first phone call wondering if we sold any John Tesh CDs today.

Community Planning.

I think this may have been the problem with the old house.

Cat Hode.

As the cold weather hits I've been entering my standard hibernation strategems: eat more salt and fat... rent/watch more movies and television.

My friendly little iPod Touch has taught me that downloading and watching the first 10 episodes of Season 4 Battlestar Galactica is a snap. If you hold it up close to your face it's still like big screen tv.

Other catch-ups have included renting and watching season 2 of Dexter, then charging the iPod with the first few episoded of season 3.

Borrowed and watched the entire run of the British comedy Spaced. It stars and is made by many of the folks behind Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Essentially it's a slacker comedy/drama that's obsessed with comics, sci-fi and whip-pans.

Finally, when I was bringing back Dexter to Jumbo I thought I'd give a few of the horror titles a spin. There are so many little umbrella imprints like Dimension Extreme and Ghost House that have been pushing stuff out... and though I'm in front of a computer most nights I never think to research any of these titles. So each rental is a semi-informed crap shoot.

The first one, which I watched last night, is called End of the Line, made by Montrealer Maurice Devereaux. It concerns the subway, the apocalypse and a religious cult that comes on like Jehovah Witnesses gone all Warriors after a pager blow-up.

The acting and effects were pretty decent for a low budget effort, though the run and hide plotline wasn't particularly suspenseful.

The opening of the movie had an effective little boo scene that nonetheless made me realize that I'm a little too versed in filmic language. The main female character is "attacked" in the subway but it's revealed to be a dream sequence as she quickly finds herself submerged in bubbly red liquid; but then we're jumped over to a scene of her in the shower. What's missing is the (apparently) obligatory moment of her sitting up in her bed, clutching her blanket to her bosom. I was surprised how much the exclusion actually impacted on the flow of the narrative.

Next up I have a new Dario Argento to watch. I'll let you know.

Things to do in November when you're not dead.

AW TUM.

Sometimes we are all speaking the same language... but we aren't really communicating.



Sometimes I wonder if we know how peculiar we truly are when our lives are accidentally observed by others.

For instance... I cannot imagine ever getting into a line at Sobeys with approximately two dozen large cans of apple juice, a dozen cans of tomato juice, another dozen cans of assorted fruit juices... then produce a bunch of rain checks for a "2 for 1" promotion, only after the cashier has rung everything through... necessitating a supervisor to come and reverse the purchases then re-enter everything under the promotion rate. Then realize that the total is still more than I'm willing to spend and so... yep, supervisor again, reverse the purchases, new total... etc., then demand everything be double bagged.



It would be more understandable and less sad if not for the fact that almost exactly the same thing happened the very next time I was in line at Sobeys. This time with about two dozen boxes of some granola type cereal... this time the yuppie lady only questioned the final total and the goth cashier said, "Check the receipt for yourself then." It's all too easy to love a glum blunt girl under these conditions.

All was rescued when the stew I made without a recipe looked like real stew.

Stewing Pork
4 potatoes
1 sweet potato
1 turnip
1/2 bag of shredded carrot
1/2 container of beef broth
water
savory
white pepper
salt
basil.

EAT IT.

Skold.

I've got a new roommate.


A mouse. He's not told me his name. I call him either "hey!" or "little motherfucker!"



We play games like "run between my feet and into the closet" first thing in the morning, and "whack the garbage bag with a broom until he pops out and runs behind the stove" when I get home.

How's your autumn going?

huh?

The weekend in pictures.

Something for Everyone II

Queens County Fair starts today

C4

By DOUG WATLING
For The Daily Gleaner

The Gagetown area's premier agricultural fair opens its doors today at 10 a.m. at the Queens County Fairgrounds.

Lots to see at the fair: Gemstone cutter and silversmith Tony Campbell from Prince Edward Island arranges a mookite pendant in his booth at the Queens County Fair. Campbell has been coming to the fair for seven years.

creative showcase: Queens County Fair volunteer Nancy Blanchard-MacDonald examines some of the latest entries in the fair's photography competition. Each year, the fair receives hundreds of entries in a number of artistic categories.

As usual, the fair will be offering a cornucopia of livestock, horse shows, farm animals, live music, a bustling midway, horticulture, arts and crafts competitions, and downhome grub.

"There's something for everybody," said fair vice-president Bob McNally. "We're not straying from our format. The Queens County Fair is still an old-fashioned, country-style fair."

But that doesn't mean the fair's small army of volunteers is staying with the tried and true.

"We're sticking to our country roots, but blending the old with the new," said entertainment chairwoman Connie Denby. "We're branching out and trying to mix things up a little bit."

Part of that new blood is Moncton's Neon Highway, which will be bringing its brand of "untamed country" to the fair's outdoor stage Saturday afternoon.

Something for Everyone I

Four days of entertainment offer something for everyone
D1
By Yvon Gauvin
Times-Transcript

RIVERSIDE-ALBERT - Horse pulls, woodsmen's competitions, a truck rodeo, light horse obstacle races, a queen pageant, a children's variety show and an acrobatic act by former Moscow Circus performers are just part of what's in store at this year's Albert County Exhibition, which runs from Sept. 11-14.

Other than that, the only other thing that's needed is some warm weather to make it perfect, according to organizers.

Something for Everyone

In doing A&E reports for Voiceprint the most personally shudder inducing sentence I've had to read... over and over and over and over is:

Something for Everyone.

In fact most events that say they offer something for everyone usually only offer somethings for a few people at best.

I haven't come across many festivals offering anything I'd particularly walk more than seven minutes to see... and then only to get them to knock off the noise.

I'm starting a feature on these... reprinted from their original Newspaper appearences.

Hermitage

One of the side effects of working jobs that run through your "private" life like kudzu is a difficulty disentangling the parts of you that aren't work related. It also makes it oddly difficult to plan a vacation... partly because concentrated time off is hard to come by... partly because you forget what it is people "do" on vacations.

What do I do?

I tend to prefer being away from cities... but I'm not an outdoorsman. I like roughing it in cottages that are warm and dry and have a way to play music and keep your beer cold, but have no television or computers and you can cook your food outside and stay up until you get sleepy... take a nap in the afternoon... write until the sun comes up... drink orange juice while your feet are being tickled by the tide.

That sort of thing.

I thought about doing something like that. But the other plan... you could call it plan B... was to stay here in Fredericton and hole up in my apartment. Not just hole up, though. But renew the surroundings... make it liveable... make it a little more like that cottage scenario all year around. Not that I'm pitching out my movies or blogging anytime soon... but I wanted rooms where the focal point wasn't the outside world.

I'm getting more and more tired of the outside world, truth be told.

Anyhow this is a brief recap of the weeks move:

From Chaos





To Managed Chaos




I haven't had much of a chance to give these new rooms a spin... the two job schedule started anew this Monday. But I will... and I'll show you what I come up with.

Take that outside world.

"Wooooah. What's that? A T-Shirt?

"Honestly... I like the way Andre 3000 dresses. I think he's right funky."

I have a young man in the store trying to impress a girl who's obviously slept outdoors a few nights by showing off how much he knows about Trent Reznor and... apparently... hip hop.

You know how some people are really deformed, get plastic surgery and still look... wrong?

The same is true with some folks' deformed perception of what is genius and what is luck and smokescreens. You could work and work and work on them... and they'd still come out... wrong.