April 20, 2011 · 5:45 am

Poem of the Week: The Layers by Stanley Kunitz

Weekly poems come via Alison McGhee– with a great deal of gratitude for her wonderful curation.

I have walked through many lives,
some of them my own,
and I am not who I was,
though some principle of being
abides, from which I struggle not to stray.
When I look behind,
as I am compelled to look
before I can gather strength
to proceed on my journey,
I see the milestones dwindling
toward the horizon
and the slow fires trailing
from the abandoned camp-sites,
over which scavenger angels
wheel on heavy wings.
Oh, I have made myself a tribe
out of my true affections,
and my tribe is scattered!
How shall the heart be reconciled
to its feast of losses?
In a rising wind
the manic dust of my friends,
those who fell along the way,
bitterly stings my face.
yet I turn, I turn,
exulting somewhat,
with my will intact to go
wherever I need to go,
and every stone on the road
precious to me.
In my darkest night,
when the moon was covered
and I roamed through wreckage,
a nimbus-clouded voice
directed me:
“Live in the layers,
not on the litter.”
Though I lack the art
to decipher it,
no doubt the next chapter
in my book of transformations
is already written,
I am not done with my changes.

—
For more information about Stanley Kunitz, please click here.

Blog: alisonmcghee.com/blog

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April 16, 2011 · 4:15 pm

This is not a joke blog but dang it this is funny: 12 of the finest (unintentional) double-entendres aired on British TV & Radio

1. Pat Glenn, weightlifting commentator – “And this is Gregoriava from
Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning and it was amazing!”

2. New Zealand Rugby Commentator – “Andrew Mehrtens loves it when Daryl
Gibson comes inside of him.”

3. Ted Walsh – Horse Racing Commentator – “This is really a lovely
horse. I once rode her mother.”

4. Harry Carpenter at the Oxford-Cambridge boat race 1977 – “Ah, isn’t
that nice. The wife of the Cambridge President is kissing the Cox of the
Oxford crew.”

5. US PGA Commentator – “One of the reasons Arnie (Arnold Palmer) is
playing so well is that, before each tee shot, his wife takes out his
balls and kisses them …..

Oh my god!! What have I just said??”

6. Carenza Lewis about finding food in the Middle Ages on ‘Time Team
Live’ said: “You’d eat beaver if you could get it.”

7. A female news anchor who, the day after it was supposed to have
snowed and didn’t, turned to the weatherman and asked, “So Bob, where’s
that eight inches you promised me last night?” Not only did HE have to
leave the set, but half the crew did too, because they were laughing so
hard!

8. Steve Ryder covering the US Masters: “Ballesteros felt much better
today after a 69 yesterday.”

9. Clair Frisby talking about a jumbo hot dog on Look North said:
“There’s nothing like a big hot sausage inside you on a cold night like
this.”

10 Mike Hallett discussing missed snooker shots on Sky Sports: “Stephen
Hendry jumps on Steve Davis’s misses every chance he gets.”

11. Michael Buerk on watching Phillipa Forrester cuddle up to a male
astronomer for warmth during BBC1’s UK eclipse coverage remarked: “They
seem cold out there, they’re rubbing each other and he’s only come in
his shorts.”

12. Ken Brown commentating on golfer Nick Faldo and his caddie Fanny
Sunneson lining-up shots at the Scottish Open: “Some weeks Nick likes to
use Fanny, other weeks he prefers to do it by himself.”

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April 15, 2011 · 2:41 am

Poem of the Week: Color Theory by Eric Leigh

Thank you to Alison McPhee for the selection of weekly poems.
And thanks to Eric Leigh for writing it.

“I envy your yard,” an old woman once said,
leaning over the fence we shared, pointing out
a cardinal and a jay. “They seldom coexist,”

she told me in the quiet voice of the lonely.
“If you have cardinals, you can get robins.
Just nail a half an orange to the side of a tree.”

And though I was young enough to want everything
I did not have, I never sliced that orange,
never nailed it to a tree. They stay with me still,

the things I did not do, the birds I did not call
with that proud color which refuses rhyme.
I’ve held sorrow closer than I had back then,

joy too. I know now how rare it is to see
those colors come to rest side-by-side—
the red breast, the blue.

—
For more information on Eric Leigh, please click here: http://www.amazon.com/Harms-Way-Poems-Eric-Leigh/dp/1557289301

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April 10, 2011 · 2:13 am

What the Dog Saw: Malcolm Gladwell Book Review

New Yorker columnist Malcolm Gladwell’s collection of articles in What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures is like culture candy. His excavation and exploration of Western cultural icons, science, thoughts, products and ideas makes him something of a contemporary cultural anthropologist. A blurb on the back of his book describes him as a writer who “finds the intersection of science and society to explain how we got to where we are.” Continue reading →

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April 3, 2011 · 4:43 pm

Mango Avocado Salsa

Salsa:
1 ripe mango, peel and cut into small pieces
1 ripe avocado, same as above
1 tomato, and ditto
1/4 red onion thinly diced
1/4 cilantro finely chopped (or slightly less)
3 cloves garlic finely minced
juice of one lime
1 tsp chili pepper
salt n’ peppa to taste
Stir it all up and set aside.

* if I have fresh basil and mint, I chop those up and add them as well.

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April 3, 2011 · 1:03 am

John Cleese is STILL really funny.”Alerts to Threats in 2011 EUROPE”

There seems to be some argument whether this is John Cleese or not John Cleese. Whoever wrote it, it’s funny.

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent events in Libya and have therefore raised their security level from “Miffed” to “Peeved.” Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to “Irritated” or even “A Bit Cross.” The English have not been “A Bit Cross” since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from “Tiresome” to “A Bloody Nuisance.” The last time the British issued a “Bloody Nuisance” warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots have raised their threat level from “Pissed Off” to “Let’s get the Bastards.” They don’t have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from “Run” to “Hide.” The only two higher levels in France are “Collaborate” and “Surrender.” The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France ‘s white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country’s military capability.

Italy has increased the alert level from “Shout Loudly and Excitedly” to “Elaborate Military Posturing.” Two more levels remain: “Ineffective Combat Operations” and “Change Sides.”

The Germans have increased their alert state from “Disdainful Arrogance” to “Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs.” They also have two higher levels: “Invade a Neighbor” and “Lose.”

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from “No worries” to “She’ll be alright, Mate.” Two more escalation levels remain: “Crikey! I think we’ll need to cancel the barbie this weekend!” and “The barbie is canceled.” So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.

— John Cleese – British writer, actor and tall person

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March 31, 2011 · 2:59 am

Poem of the Week: Go to the Limits of Your Longing: Rainer Maria Rilke

– Rainer Maria Rilke

God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.

These are the words we dimly hear:

You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.

Flare up like a flame
and make big shadows I can move in.

Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.

Don’t let yourself lose me.

Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.

Give me your hand.

Weekly poems come via Alison McGhee– with a great deal of gratitude for her wonderful curation.

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March 30, 2011 · 2:51 am

Katrina Onstad: What’s Our Mania For Meat? Globe and Mail

I don’t often read Katrina Onstad but I liked this article or those of you interested in the ‘eat meat or don’t eat meat’ debate she dives right in there.

I’m not sure how it happened, but I now live in the Meat Unpacking District.

At the north end of my Toronto street are two sister restaurants, the Black Hoof and the recently-closed-but-soon-to-reopen Hoof Café. True to their names, the former is renowned for its “off-cut-centric” menu and pig-head tacos; the latter’s claim to fame was its “love letters,” envelopes of beef tongue and pork-belly pastrami. Walk east and there’s a porchetta sandwich shop. Further south is the home of the grass-fed gourmet burger, which isn’t far from the organic butcher shop. All this hacking and cleaving is greeted with long queues, critical accolades and rapturous testimony on Chowhound. Continue reading →

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March 27, 2011 · 11:36 pm

Gardening 001: What on earth are these?? Tulips, no garlic, no tulips

There is a great deal of wonder in gardening. The wonder of discovery, the wonder of seeing things grow, the wonder of connecting to the earth. You stick bulbs and/or seeds in dirt and the next thing you know they’re peeking their heads out, marching along in the big spring parade. But what I didn’t know was what an adventure gardening is. For example, planting things and having no recollection of what you planted. The leafy green things pictured above are supposed to be tulips. Clearly they’re not. So what are they? Garlic, onion, some other form of tulip?? Thoughts anyone?

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March 26, 2011 · 4:29 pm

Easy Vegetarian Chili (gluten-free – dairy-free)

My year of relaxation allowed me the luxury of discovering all kinds of exotic and delicious dishes. However, my new life of work, coming home, having dinner and going to bed, (more or less!) means I need easy, fast recipes that fit my gluten-free, meatless, mostly cheeseless diet. Chili, of course, fits the bill, perfectly.

Here goes:

5 cloves of garlic chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 yellow pepper (also finely chopped)
2 celery stalks, cut into pieces
3 carrots, cut into small pieces
2 tbsp oil
1 can San Remo crushed tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder

Saute garlic and onions until translucent (3 -5 minutes on medium high heat). Add spices and saute 2 minutes, add veggies and saute 3 minutes. Drain and rinse beans, and add to mixture. Add tomatoes. If the chili is too thick add a 1/2 cup to 1 cup of water. Simmer of medium low for 30 minutes.

Dave and I eat this with wraps but you can also serve it with rice and a yummy quinoa salad on the side. Finely chopped green onion, sour cream and shredded cheddar are yummy toppings.

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