miasma tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1 2008-08-06T07:27:16Z whatever happens, happens Movable Type 3.33 how to make phool gobi ki bhaji tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.58 2008-08-05T18:00:00Z 2008-08-06T07:27:16Z Phool Gobi ki Bhaji = Cauliflower with Tomato and Onion Cut up cauliflower flowerets into bite size pieces and soak in water for half an hour.... phool gobi ki bhaji Cut up cauliflower flowerets into bite size pieces and soak in water for half an hour.]]> Chop up a med-small yellow onion and about 1-2 square inches of peeled ginger (cut the ginger in 1/4 inch slices across the fibers rather than lengthwise.) Put these in a blender with 7 tbsp water and set aside. phool gobi ki bhaji Cut 2-3 small/medium tomatoes in half, cut out the skin around the stem. phool gobi ki bhaji Boil the tomatoes in water that comes up just to their edges. This is par boiling and results in the skin of the tomatoes sliding off. phool gobi ki bhaji See, it's already begun to peel. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon, discard skins, and chop into half-inch bits. Try to keep the juice. Set aside. phool gobi ki bhaji Grind up 1 tsp cumin and 1 tsp coriander then add 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/8-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1 & 3/4 tsp salt. Set aside. phool gobi ki bhaji Peel 6-8 cloves of garlic and chop finely. phool gobi ki bhaji Sauté the garlic in 5 tbsp of vegetable oil til it starts to "catch", i.e. turn a little bit brown. phool gobi ki bhaji Strain cauliflower, then sauté with garlic for about 2 minutes, then remove to bowl with slotted spoon. phool gobi ki bhaji Purée onion and ginger. phool gobi ki bhaji Pour purée into same pan and cook for about a minute. phool gobi ki bhaji Add the tomato and spices to the purée. Stir and fry this mixture on medium heat til it turns a medium brown color. phool gobi ki bhaji Like this :) phool gobi ki bhaji Add the cauliflower back in, along with about 1 tbsp lemon juice. Stir it around so the paste covers the cauliflower, turn down the heat, put a lid on it, and wait about 10-15 minutes. This should give you ample time to put on a pot of basmati rice and mix up a little raita: raita is basically plain yogurt that is mixed with herbs like parsley or cilantro and/or light vegetables like carrot or cucumber. Sprinkle with paprika for a little zing and color. phool gobi ki bhaji My favorite way to eat this dish is with the cauliflower and gravy ladled over the rice and topped with raita and garam masala. I'm saying. It is freaking delicious!!! Thanks Madhur Jaffrey! (Her recipe calls for a bit of hot green chilli - but I find the dish sufficiently spicy without the extra hotness. Ymmv.)]]> honey bees! on 14th Street tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.56 2008-08-03T02:15:04Z 2008-08-03T02:29:44Z I was walking up 14th Street from Valencia to Guerrero today, when I noticed a crowd of people, then police cars, then a person in a weird white suit... and finally, the reason for all the commotion - THOUSANDS OF... Apparently the fellow shown here in the blue shirt, came out to his car and there was a massive cloud of bees swarming around it. The police were called, then a bee keeper. The keeper brought a queen and a box and began to corral the bees which she planned to take back to her honey-making hive. She explained to the growing crowd that the bees had probably broken away from an overcrowded hive, were looking for a new home, and decided this guy's car looked good. honey bees on 14th Street honey bees on 14th Street + freddie honey bees on 14th Street + wiper ]]> my first pluot tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.57 2008-08-01T02:34:40Z 2008-08-03T02:37:32Z I finally had a pluot (3/4 plum + 1/4 apricot). It was distinctly plum-like, pretty tasty.... inside my first pluot ]]> what I learned this week: July 20-26 tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.54 2008-07-27T02:26:07Z 2008-07-29T16:02:03Z For some reason, you can buy every Nine Inch Nails album EVER on iTunes, except Pretty Hate Machine. I hate you! (I think it has something to do with it being an import.) Now I have to buy chunks of... For some reason, you can buy every Nine Inch Nails album EVER on iTunes, except Pretty Hate Machine. I hate you! (I think it has something to do with it being an import.) Now I have to buy chunks of plastic to get "Head Like A Hole", wah; I bought it used off Amazon. ★★ Did it ever occur to you that the baby on the cover of Nirvana's Nevermind is an actual person? Me either. He's 17 now and his name is Spencer Eldon. He was interviewed last week on NPR's All Things Considered. He thinks Rock Band on Xbox sucks because it keeps his friends from going out and forming real bands (which is debatable since my friend Brian got started on drums that way.) Geffen sent him a platinum album and a teddy bear for his first birthday (though his family only received a $200 flat for his appearance on the album cover.) And, he's trying to graduate high school early because he's "so over" it. "Same people, same teachers ... going to your locker, worrying about stupid girls ... I wanna get something going, I wanna travel," he says. ★★ Either is used with a negative verb; Neither is used with an affirmative verb. "I haven't been to France. I haven't either / Neither have I." ("I have been to France. I have too / So have I.") "I can't see the screen. I can't either / Neither can I." ★★ There are four main types of brackets: - round brackets or parentheses: ( ) - square brackets or box brackets: [ ] - curly brackets or braces: { } - angle brackets or chevrons: < > The angle bracket was the earliest type to appear in English. Desiderius Erasmus coined the term lunula to refer to the rounded parentheses (), recalling the round shape of the moon. ★★ The interrobang (‽) "American Martin K. Speckter invented the interrobang in 1962. As the head of an advertising agency, Speckter believed that advertisements would look better if copywriters conveyed surprised rhetorical questions using a single mark. He proposed the concept of a single punctuation mark in an article in the magazine TYPEtalks. Speckter solicited possible names for the new character from readers. Contenders included rhet, exclarotive, and exclamaquest, but he settled on interrobang." The paragraph sign's (¶) proper name is pilcrow, but can also be called an alinea (Latin: a linea, "off the line"). ★★ YouTube has a video interview with Charles Eames (thanks Drawn!) In this video, he discusses his design principles, and then they debut the Eames Lounge Chair! Goose bumps! His wife Ray comes out near the end of the interview. As the TV interviewer is talking to the camera and signing off, Charles and Ray just look at each other, beaming, nothing else exists to them. It's pretty sweet. ★★ There aren't very many hybrid fruits. You'd think there'd be a truckload, what with people's determination to monkey with nature. I learned of the pluot (of which there are some 13+ varieties). It's a plum and apricot hybrid, 3/4 plum and 1/4 apricot (thanks KellySuzanne!) A pluot is a tradename for a fruit developed in the late 20th century by Floyd Zaiger. Conversely, the aprium is an apricot and plum hybrid, but 3/4 apricot and 1/4 plum. A nectacotum (also known as a nectacotum pluot) is a hybrid fruit, combining an apricot, plum, and nectarine. It was developed by the Ito Packing Company in California. ★★ Since 1992, badminton is an Olympic sport with five events: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles, in which each pair is a man and a woman. ★★ My new favorite drink is a Gin Fizz. A Gin Fizz contains gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water, served in a highball glass with two ice cubes. The drink is similar to a Tom Collins, the difference being that a Tom Collins historically used "Old Tom Gin" (a sweetened version of, and precursor to, London Dry Gin). A Sloe Gin Fizz contains sloe gin (a blackthorn plum flavored spirit), lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. It is commonly mistaken that this drink is spelled "Slow" Gin Fizz. A Gin Fizz is the best known cocktail in the Fizz family, but there exist other (some might opine revolting) varieties: - Silver Fizz—addition of egg white - Golden Fizz—addition of egg yolk - Royal Fizz—addition of whole egg - Diamond Fizz—sparkling wine instead of carbonated water - Green Fizz—addition of a dash of green crème de menthe ★★ Goose Step: Der Stechschritt (literally: piercing step), commonly known in English speaking countries as "the Goose-Step", is a special form of military step, which is usually demonstrated in solemn military parades and passes in review of closed units. The marching troops swing their legs from a vertical leg to a nearly horizontally-extending one, bringing it down with a loud simultaneous stepping noise and continuing the cycle in unison. It emerged from Prussian drilling regulation during the early 19th Century. Goose-stepping is commonly associated today with the German armed forces of the Reichswehr and of the Wehrmacht. After the end of the Second World War a reduced form of the goose-step (boot point in knee height) was still used by the East German National People's Army under the name drilling step to avoid references to old Prussian or Wehrmacht military tradition. ★★ DVDs I watched this past week: National Treasure: Book of Secrets: cheesy but good, and I am deeply in love with Riley; Definitely, Maybe: pretty sweet if a little corny and predictable. Ryan Reynolds does a nice job traversing the highs and lows of modern love; The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: Sorry, but it bored me to the point of cleaning my kitchen, though from what I saw, Casey Affleck was great; Evan Almighty: Even though Lauren Graham seems to always just play herself in everything I've ever seen her in, I don't care because she is so funny and cute and I dunno, she's awesome. I loave her. LOAVE. Kinda formulaic and predictable, but I love me some Steve Carell too, so it was worth the hour and a half.]]> no cars on Market Street? yes, please. tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.53 2008-07-23T09:56:41Z 2008-07-30T01:20:32Z I'm thinking about SF supervisor Chris Daly's proposal to curtail automobile traffic on Market Street east of Van Ness/Hwy 101. At first, I envisioned a long, tree-lined avenue of only bicycles and pedestrians, frolicking gaily in the sun... Back in... proposal to curtail automobile traffic on Market Street east of Van Ness/Hwy 101. At first, I envisioned a long, tree-lined avenue of only bicycles and pedestrians, frolicking gaily in the sun... Back in reality, I think they could leave almost all the streets that cross Market open to crossing, just cut off turning onto Market itself. Driving up or down Market Street, currently, is frustrating, slow, and often ridiculously circuitous. I ride my bike up and down Market every day, to and from work, and I pass cars just *coasting* on my bike. It fills me with glee. The cars will race ahead to the next light, then sit there and wait as I pass them again. It's a little game I play in my head that goes something like, "Let's see if I can beat these poor saps who are farting out carbon monoxide in addition to pouring a good chunk of their income into fuel, insurance, car payments, repairs, and parking tickets." Also in my head, I hear that "dun-da-dun-da-dunna" music that plays when the Wicked Witch rides off with Toto. It's fun to be me sometimes. Back to my Big Idea: people were complaining in the comments on the above referenced article that cutting off automobile traffic from using this street as a through-way would be bad for the businesses on Market Street. But! There is nowhere to park on Market, you already have to go to a side street or a garage. Nobody drives to a business on Market. If cars are not allowed to clog Market, public transit would run smoother, and it would be more welcoming to pedestrians and cyclists. And all of these people? They are on foot. They are physically on the street. Without a giant machine to navigate and stow somewhere, they are much more likely to visit businesses on the street since they can just walk in. People in cars? They have to go park and then walk there anyway! The tough thing is, Chris Daly rankles people. I think his heart is usually in the right place, but his approach is often so inappropriately simplistic and his stance so stubborn, that it makes it impossible to get behind him. He's like a teenager who thinks he knows everything but can't see the unyielding complications, imbalances, and unfairness in life. I think he looks at a problem and thinks of how things should be, then runs with the first short route from problem to no problem that he thinks of, nevermind the problems his solution might cause. It's not helpful.]]> Dark Knight! Hired! ZipCar! Nudie jeans! Electro house! tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.52 2008-07-19T21:15:19Z 2008-07-29T18:30:48Z i saw The Dark Knight yesterday with a couple dozen pals, after fries and a margarita at 4th Street Bar & Grill. i'm glad i saw it in a sold out theater on opening night. unless you're super rich and... The Dark Knight yesterday with a couple dozen pals, after fries and a margarita at 4th Street Bar & Grill. i'm glad i saw it in a sold out theater on opening night. unless you're super rich and have your own in-house cinema plus several hundred rowdy friends to call on for movie-night pandemonium, watching a movie like this at home just isn't the same. the energy of the audience is a plus. of course, it was bittersweet enjoying Heath Ledger's Joker performance. he's gross and sexy all at once. quite a feat. such a loss. in other news, i just got hired full-time at the freelance job i've been working at for the past three months. psyched! ahhh, no more worrying about figuring out my taxes (self-employment: not my bag baby) and WOOHOO, benefits! like, really good benefits. the full hot order. vision AND dental. i don't even know what to do with that. i can get a check up, and get the scratched lenses in my glasses replaced. it's outrageous! i can go to the doctor and see what the hell is up with my hurty hip. there are other things too, like i can get up on contributing to my 401k again. nice. oh, AND... i like my job, i like the people there, i like what we do. awesome flies again. i finally signed up for ZipCar, so i'm thinking about going out to Bodie and Mono Lake soon for a weekend. might take Laurel with me. my new Nudie Jeans and i are in love. they are super comfortable and make me dance. instructions: don't wash for six months. if they start to smell, put outside in damp weather, preferably overnight - or put in freezer. at six months, turn inside out, wash btw 40-60 celsius and hang to dry. ok. the dancing might also be because of these three albums i just bought: Justice - Cross, MSTRKRFT - The Looks, and MGMT - Oracular Spectacular. i want to thank Miss Awesome, Hayley Elisabeth Kaufman, for opening my ears to the joy and the sexy. i'm going to miss that girl (she's off to rule NYC.) last year, i saw Justice's D.A.N.C.E. video on YouTube and blogged about it but failed to further investigate their incredible, mouth-watering hotness. yesterday, Hayley played Justice's remix of MGMT's "Electric Feel" and my love of electro house was born.]]> recycling and a food diary tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.51 2008-07-18T06:41:03Z 2008-07-23T10:45:12Z My latest genius idea: I wash and re-use bread bags and tortilla bags to store food such as bread (like the kind you buy in a paper bag which will turn to stone if it's not stored properly within a... This week: Indian Bowl! basmati rice, with paneer in sauce (recycled packaging), sauteed mushrooms in garlic, tomato, marinated tofu cubes, tomato (all heated) then topped with cool yogurt and garam masala. Snack time: slices of walnut bread toasted in the toaster oven with pats of goat cheese added in the last 30-45 seconds, which softens the cheese just enough to spread. Nibbles: fresh, organic blueberries from the Farmer's Market.]]> what I learned this week: July 13-19 tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.50 2008-07-17T21:35:51Z 2008-07-28T17:52:09Z nauseous and nauseated: "Choosing among the various adjectives derived from nauseate is becoming a problem among English speakers. The cause of the urge is either nauseous or nauseating. The experience of nausea leaves you nauseated—not nauseous. A dill pickle with chocolate sauce and whipped cream is nauseous because it nauseates us. We, on the other hand, feel nauseated at the thought of consuming such an 'indelicacy'." --from www.alphadictionary.com Nancy Reagan (as well as several other politically and socially prominent people) is a direct descendant of Pocahontas. Also, Pocahontas was just 23 when she died. --from Wikipedia It is not advisable to drink a large cup of coffee in addition to taking a tablet of Midol. Midol contains caffeine, which aids in its effectiveness, but the extrapolation theory that more caffeine would further the pain relieving properties does not hold as I now feel shaky, anxious, tense, weary and unable to consistently improve my shallow breathing. --from my personal experience There's a NEW laundromat going in across the street from my apartment. --from my neighbor "Darkness on the edge of town" is not just a lyric in a Dead Moon song ("Walkin' On My Grave"), it's also the title of an album by Bruce Springsteen. It should be noted that Springsteen came first. --from Google Who Syd Mead is: the "industrial designer best known for his vehicle designs in science-fiction films such as Blade Runner, Aliens, and Tron." He also worked on Star Trek: The Motion Picture, 2010, Short Circuit, Timecop, Strange Days, and Mission: Impossible III among several other projects and achievements. --from Wikipedia The term "cruft", after looking up "foo" on Wikipedia. Subsequently I noticed its usage, for the first time, in the documentation for Drupal i.e. "Drupal's generated markup is clean, standards-compliant xhtml. No old school tables. No cruft. No kidding." See also: kipple, kludge, and "metasyntactic variable" I am now being charged a monthly fee for my checking account. --from my bank French Fries are hot. "A new front-runner in the battle for the perfect French fry has emerged: the very thin, very crisp ones served at the new Chez Papa Resto, presented in a cone, are not to be missed. But our old favorites remain—how to resist a huge bowl of fries at Universal Café, tossed with handfuls of herbs? They remain the undisputed champions. And, if you want the complete Bastille Day experience, some very fine fries can be ordered at Café Claude, where you can also sample soupe àl'oignon and a fine pan bagnat (the French take on a tuna sandwich)." --from 7x7sf.com In an informal sample of 14 magazines' websites, only one was wider than 1000 pixels (Traditional Home at 1024), six came in at exactly 1000, and STEP Inside Design's website is unbelievably atrocious (go ahead, resize your browser, I dare you.) --from the Internet I couldn't make it through five minutes of Inland Empire, let alone three hours. Jules et Jim is a truly weird film, good ol' Truffaut. The Spiderwick Chronicles features an AWESOME spooky, old house, looks cool, scared me a couple times, has terrible acting. Charlie Bartlett has really good acting, an un-cliché storyline, and Robert Downey Jr. is aging VERY well. Mrow. --from Netflix]]> brand new tattoo! tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.49 2008-06-29T01:00:14Z 2008-06-29T01:12:34Z .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } brand new tattoo! | photo by ertiepie. by Nick Colella - guest artist at Black Heart Tattoo here in SF (visiting from... .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

brand new tattoo! | photo by ertiepie.

by Nick Colella - guest artist at Black Heart Tattoo here in SF (visiting from Chicago Tattoo). The pink dot is where I have a little sorta-round scar from getting a mole removed last year. Since it healed and there was already a spot there, I decided to decorate it. I made up the design myself. It's based on a little pinky ring I used to have, which I was madly in love with, but somehow managed to lose over the years.

]]> brass wax seals tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.48 2008-06-27T08:11:49Z 2008-06-27T08:11:49Z .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } brass wax seals | photo by ertiepie. I finally got the E in the mail today! (Yep, those are my initials.)... .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

brass wax seals | photo by ertiepie.

I finally got the E in the mail today! (Yep, those are my initials.)

]]> ComboYellow tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.47 2008-06-23T17:14:42Z 2008-06-23T17:14:43Z .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

ComboYellow | photo by </solve>.

sweet solve: rip

]]> cinnamon roll tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.46 2008-06-01T00:10:47Z 2008-06-01T00:13:15Z .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } at 2223 restaurant on Market Street. this is the "Warm cinnamon roll w/roasted pecans." the sugar glaze was still liquid-y. their brunch... .flickr-yourcomment { } .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

at 2223 restaurant on Market Street. this is the "Warm cinnamon roll w/roasted pecans." the sugar glaze was still liquid-y. their brunch is yums. | photo by ertiepie.

]]> toy boat toy boat toy boat toy boat... go ahead, say it. tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.45 2008-06-01T00:08:26Z 2008-06-29T01:09:23Z .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } we had a work party at the Phoenix Hotel last week. | photo by ertiepie.... .flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }

we had a work party at the Phoenix Hotel last week. | photo by ertiepie.
]]> misheard lyrics tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.44 2008-05-31T22:56:11Z 2008-05-31T23:21:09Z it's kind of an older song, mid-late 90s i guess, but i was just listening to "Half Closing Time" by Portishead, as i was putting away some groceries, and it's such a pretty song that i wanted to sing along... it's kind of an older song, mid-late 90s i guess, but i was just listening to "Half Closing Time" by Portishead, as i was putting away some groceries, and it's such a pretty song that i wanted to sing along but i was pretty sure that the lyrics weren't "through the times of lasting love, from paris stopped to things tried and test there" so i looked them up online. well, i got the first verse right, after that, i got only one word right, "dreams." Half Time Closing by Portishead In the days, the golden days, When everybody knew what they wanted It aint here today Through the times of lasting love, When parents talked of things tried and tested, They dont feel the same. Dreams and belief have gone, Time, life itself goes on. From beyond the shrinking skies, Where money talks and leaves us hypnotized, It dont pave the way. Underneath the fading sun, The silent sum of a businessman, Has left us choking. Dreams and belief have gone, Time, life itself goes on. In the days, the golden days, When everybody knew what they wanted, It aint here today Dreams and belief have gone, Time, life itself goes on. Who wrote this? tag:www.miasma.com,2008://1.43 2008-05-27T20:15:33Z 2008-05-27T20:16:07Z "Here's to you and here's to me. Friends may we always be. But, if by chance we disagree, Up yours! Here's to me!"... "Here's to you and here's to me. Friends may we always be. But, if by chance we disagree, Up yours! Here's to me!"