TeddyBear

Bear has lots of thinking to do!

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Brand New Day

Annoying Accents

I love regional accents. My family speaks with a hardcore "New Yawk" one, so it sounds like home to me. But there are some rather unpleasant atonal dialects in this beautiful patchwork nation of ours that are like nails on a chalkboard. Hello!! It's Friday peoples! I'd like to start off this new feature with an old commercial that instantly got under my skin. Many of you might remember the cell phone campaigns from a few years back with a caffeinated cheerleader and the bullshitting real estate agent.

Both irritating and instantly grating, to be sure, but the young cheerleader character had this sort of vague "Valley Girl" that's not really localized to SoCal anymore, to our collective great misfortune.
I remember a particularly bad elevator trip that included two younger co-workers. They ignored me and quite naturally so, since I am not of their tribe. They had this insane dialogue in a dialect that I have never been able to forget. Like, ever: "Omigod, I LUUUVV your dress. It's, like, retro, but in a cool way." "I knnnnnooooowww! And, like, I got it at Banana." (for those outside the tribe, that means Banana Republic, a clothing store). "Ooooh, noooo wayyyy. I totally used to shop there, then I stopped, but now their clothes are like, sooooo much better." "Yah. They must have gotten a new creative...blah blah blah." "Haha! Like, exactly...blah blah blah..."

For those of you who doubt the trauma-inducing aspects of this accent and manner of speaking, I submit to you this question: would you have been able to endure an elevator ride with that swirling around you? And I mean without throwing punches. I had to actually grit my teeth against the rising laughter, dig my nails into my palms, and face the wall. Yeah, it was like that. But I'm better now.

Hmm. Maybe not. Oh well.

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The Lorax Cloud

TeddyBear

Chillaxin', the Teddy Bear lifestyle.

Cooking with Gas

Spring Rice

Spring time freshness, with my version of a light risotto-like dish: brown rice, chopped Italian parsley for a brightness of flavor, and Locatelli Romano, with dashes of salt, pepper, tarragon, curry, and some Louisiana hot sauce. That's how I roll.

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Good morning, New York

Street Art

Andre the Giant has a Posse

Love and Stiches

Klima was Here

Snack Time

Remember those After-School Special commercials about healthy eating? So do I. "I hanker for a hunk of cheese!" Let's revisit, shall we?

As adults, Family Guy gives us the natural conclusion to those inspired ads of yore: crack! Do you remember thinking that the people who made cartoons were on drugs? You were right. When in doubt, just check out any episode of Gumby. Stay tuned for more Springtime retro t.v. posts. They're a comin'! 

At Home

Cigar box for remotes

I found a great idea surfing online: repurposing old cigar boxes as stylish compartments for remotes. After a trip to the smoke shop in my 'hood, I scored a few for free. The owner had no problem donating them to my craft project. Thank you! They were a little musty, so I washed them out and lined them with adhesive shelf paper. 

Clutter-free coffee table

Et volià! Clutter-free for me. I'll use the smaller one for keepsakes, and the bigger one turned out to be large enough to house coffee table items. Gotta keep those Feng Shui principles tight and right.

At Home

Blessings and Back ups

Around the Way

Blooms on Third Street

Around the Way

Fabric for Sale

Around the Way

The Happy Pink Tree

MishMish the Deli Cat

TeddyBear

A Bear's Life

Pangur Bán

Scriptoriums were the elite universities of their day. Clergy often came from wealthy families, because a religious leader serves as a conduit to political power as well. An abbey houses the greatest intellectual, scientific and creative minds of the day. There would be gardens, bakeries, stables, a medical lab, blacksmiths, leatherworkers, each kind of craftsman and artisan, with the most current libraries and sophisticated technologies from every corner of the earth. 

Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau

These were the junctures for great minds to meet, where kindred spirits and brethren from the most advanced, thriving civilizations came to work. Illuminators from all corners of the known world would come there to speak, write and talk in any language that would best convey the massive amounts of information that passed through their hands. So when I come across a piece that shows their softer, more human side, it warms me through. A rich spiritual life is quite the opposite of loneliness. It's a busy productive life with many obligations and duties—quite earthy, in stark contrast to typically held ideas regarding those who live a life with a higher calling. Around the time illuminated manuscripts flourished, abbeys were hot spots indeed. Not only would the clergy and workers be international, but so would the travellers, missionaries, emissaries, diplomats, courtiers, family, and trades people who passed through.

They would pen not only religious works, but those for entertainment. Let's meet the Irish monk stationed at the Benedictine Abbey of Reichenau, in Germany. Far from home, he brings a cat for companionship. At the end of another full day, working on the most serious and scholarly of texts, what would someone like him do for amusement? Sport and play with his feline friend! He wrote a quaint and charming tribute to his cat, a subject still beloved by children today. Books about pets and other animals remain the best selling ones for children. "White Fuller" or Pangur Bán, survives as an example of Irish Literature for all ages. It is a story that continues to inspire, like this animated version from The Secret of Kells.

http://courtbard.tripod.com/id113.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pangur_Bán

Mummies

Today is the start of a new series about human preservation, because 
I friggin' love mummies. At the top of my list undoubtedly sit the Bog People, so in continuation of this months' Celtic theme, let's start with a look at some finds from The Emerald Isle. Amazingly preserved, like people cast in metal, they give homage to the very era from whence they sunk into the bogs' depths. 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/01/0117_060117_irish_bogmen.html

It's not just that the bodies remain intact, but fine details can still be clearly observed, like fingerprints on hands, or intricately woven pieces of fabric, and the jewelry that adorned them for their trip to the afterlife; items precious to archaeologists and scientists.

Through testing of their stomach contents, we learn about their diet, from their clothing we can determine their social status, through carbon dating, the time period, and from forensic study, the circumstances surrounding their deaths. The bog is a veritable time capsule, rife with fascinating details about The Iron Age. 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/01/0117_060117_bog_photo.html

This fellow has a rather distinctive crop of hair. Scientists determined that his hair gel was imported from the south of France or Spain. Travel between the islands and the continental mainland were extremely frequent, giving rise to a distinctive Norman culture. For a more in-depth synopsis of the Celts and Gauls, please read more about it here: http://www.netplaces.com/irish-history/celts-and-the-age-of-kings/gaelic-and-indo-european-languages.htm.

Tollund Man

My favorite specimen is Tollund Man, bearing the same face he wore in life. He is the perfect time traveller, an intact and flawless encapsulation from the past. Remarkable, isn't he? Peat bogs have unique chemical compositions which act as natural preservatives. More on that here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bog_body.

Shoes from the Iron Age

Gruesome? Maybe for some, but not to me. This window to the past gives us a glimpse of their culture, perhaps shedding some light about our evolution and progress, as a species. The Iron Age was a time of brutal tribal conflicts, savage wars, bloody murders, and ritual sacrifice during dire economic times.....well, I'll leave it up to you to decide how far we've come. One thing is certain, it's a big world out there.  
Let's explore it together!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bog_bodies

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bog/iron-nf.html

http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/bog/clothing1.html

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/09/bog-bodies/clark-photography

Cooking with Gas

Springtime Salad

What better way to celebrate spring than with the freshness of a green salad? Made even better for those who train by adding eggs, for that much needed protein boost. 

This composition courtesy of: Boston Bibb lettuce, Italian parsley, organic tomatoes, oil and vinegar, salt and pepper, topped with two fried eggs. Go get 'em!

Springtime!

The Japanese Garden

Yesterday was beautifully sunny and warm, here in the hood. What better way to usher in the first day of Spring, than with a visit to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden? It was a picture perfect day. http://www.bbg.org/

Magnolias at the garden

Here comes the sun

Fragrant Paper Bush (edgeworthia chrysantha)

Daffodil Hill

The first Cherry tree blossoms

In the spotlight

Town and country

For my mama :) Enjoy the weather.

Around the Way

Signs of Spring, Prospect Park

Prospect Park West

New buds

A bit o' green

Brooklyn townhouses

City tree ornament

Cooking with Gas

Romano-crusted tilapia

Busy with other activities, I've been a bit lax with the foodie posts. Rest assured, I'm still cooking. So, let's get to it. I wanted to celebrate this past Lenten abstention traditionally, with a real Fish Friday.

I'm not a big seafood eater because I prefer fresh shellfish, like any other Acadian. I researched some recipes online to get a feel for the direction of the fry, and it's pretty simple. Like most Italian cooking, the ingredients just have to be fresh. I bought tilapia and Italian parsley, mixing Locatelli romano and seasoned bread crumbs together for the coating. Et voilà!

Ham and egg sandwich with Boston Bibb lettuce and fresh Italian parsley

Like the past few weekends, I woke up Saturday morning with carnivore tastes. I decided to frazzle the last of the Applegate Farms ham, and since it was already around lunchtime, make a nice eggy sandwich with Bread Alone's Peasant Bread. Killer eats, friends. Check it out.

Spaghetti with chicken and parsley meatballs in tomato sauce.

On a roll, I kept the nostalgia theme going. For many Italian-Americans, the early meal on Sunday is a big pasta dinner. After remembering my late grandfather with the St. Pat's parade, I'm sure he'd love my food made in honor of his lovely wife, my sweet Italian-American Grandma. By now, many of you may be wondering just how many ethnicities there are in my huge extended family, and the answer is...a lot! But that's an article for another day. Nothing reminded me more of childhood Sundays' past than crashing out drowsily on the couch with a very full belly. Happy St. Joseph's Day!

Brooklyn St. Patrick's Day Parade

Because we live in a city as old as New York, our towns and villages pre-date strip malls, bedroom communities, and suburbs. We have a network of distinct and unique neighborhoods within each borough, built before the advent of easy travel. Horse-driven buggies rode over cobble-stoned streets, and the first underground railway system had velvet-roped seats. I know this, because my grandfather described the old train cabs to me in vivid detail. 

He also told me childhood memories about Old Breuckelen. When he was little, there were still some farms with chicken, sheep, and horses that roamed around the more rural areas. He had the Gaelic gift of gab and a naturally charming manner, with a silver tongue made for storytelling. I thought of him yesterday. He, a Brooklyn-born boy from the turn-of-the-century, would have loved our small town parade as much as I did.

http://brooklynstpatricksparade.com/ 

St. Patrick's Day

It just wouldn't be this celebrated feast day without hoisting a pint of the delicious dark stuff. And so I did. If you can find tall, black cans of Guinness in your local bodega, get those. There's special technology built into every can, a bumper mechanism in the bottom, that causes it to foam to a large head upon opening the tab, just like an actual pour. You can hear it rattling around, when you shake an empty can. 

But, oh, those interesting layers as it settles in your glass! Just beautiful, an art form in itself. It's like watching sedimentary layers of silt, or waves recede over sand on a beach, or inks swirling in water. I don't know quite how to put it into words, I just know I've never seen anything like it. The color and taste are unparalleled. It's also a surprisingly light calorie beer, despite its seemingly heavy appearance; only 198 calories a pint. That's from the special brewing process. 

Get in on the fun!

http://www.guinness.com/en-us/home.html