The weather map in our morning paper shows a distinctive bright orange to show the intense heat that covers probably 2/3rds of our fair country. In short, unless you've booked on an Alaskan cruise, the odds are good you'll have all of the ceiling fans whirring and all the shades pulled down and any a/c units going full tilt boogie.
Ah, you've found a cool-ish spot in your house, but you're tired of reading (is this possible?)
What to do? What to do? Watch some documentaries! You'd be amazed how many of them there are at your library.
Last night we watched "Matisse from MoMA and the Tate Modern" It concerned itself mainly as a look behind the walls of these two noteworthy art museums where there is a mock-up of the interior on each and the curators meet gravely around it to decide which work goes where, using to-scale paintings and sculpture. Think of it as a sort of doll's house for art works.
There are art experts who go over every canvas with a magnifying glass, looking for flaws caused by mishandling or simple old age and repair them. In Matisse works for example, he used push pins or tacks to mount his biggest paintings which left a mark. We are treated to a bunch of good-looking young people, shoving around the big wooden cases of the works, uncrating them (white glove work) and shifting the whole mess from place to place to best show it off.
The big hullaballoo is that this will be the biggest showing evah of so many Matisse works in one place (alternatively the Tate and MoMA).
Tonight we will watch "Skyscrapers" Tidbits from the disc jacket: In New York - not the Empire State Building, but the "Empty State Building." A feud between a pair of medieval families brought us some of the world's first skyscrapers. Gustave Eiffel built bridges before turning his attentions to the sky. Design flaws in the Citicorp Center, NY, could have led to the biggest skyscraper catastrophe in history!
This documentary is clearly designed for educators; there's a bonus "How to build your own skyscraper using only newspaper, a few books and an electric fan." I'd watch it for that alone! Running time is 65 minutes while your brain distracts you by being fascinated at all you didn't know and never dreamed. For free!.
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Summer Foods
Easy bacon and tomato sandwich with optional avocado slices. Chop the tomatoes! Spread on a nice coat of mayo on your bread. Much easier to eat than using thin slices of tomato. I just did this and it worked beautifully. Recommended bacon: already cooked, wrapped in a paper towel and nuked at 20 seconds.
I am a big fan of this quick prepare bacon as am too impatient to stand there flipping it back and forth.
Summer Dinner Salad for Very Hot Days.
Bunch of large macaroni, cooked - you might consider doing a whole package and saving half of the cooked macaroni in plastic bags or containers for the refrigerator. Purpose - only heat up the kitchen once.
1 or 2 cans of all-white tuna, some juice drained off. Flake and add:
cooked macaroni
mayonnaise to suit
1/2 red onion chopped
chopped pimento-stuffed chopped olives - 8 or 10 olives
chopped sliced water chestnuts.
mx it all up and refrigerate until needed.
When you serve it, set out the jar of pickle relish and a spoon on the table for those that like it. (Not this cook)
True Deviled Eggs - use mayo and Colman's English mustard for the stuffing.
Do-It-Yourself Personal Guacamole.
Cut an avocado in half, remove the stone and cut a slim slice on the bottom side to hold the avocado steady on each person's plate while you pass the salsa and everyone mixes their own.. Most Mexican restaurants will happily sell you a pint of theirs.
Hoffy makes bacon-wrapped hot dogs which are quite tasty. If you aren't working with a grill, put a tray of them on a cookie sheet or similar and bake at 400 until the bacon is done.
You don't have to depend on Hoffy - roll your own bacon on a naked hot dog and proceed from there. If you use wooden toothpicks to hold the bacon on each end, be sure to soak them in water before using them. Flaming toothpick is an interesting but scary sight.
I am a big fan of this quick prepare bacon as am too impatient to stand there flipping it back and forth.
Summer Dinner Salad for Very Hot Days.
Bunch of large macaroni, cooked - you might consider doing a whole package and saving half of the cooked macaroni in plastic bags or containers for the refrigerator. Purpose - only heat up the kitchen once.
1 or 2 cans of all-white tuna, some juice drained off. Flake and add:
cooked macaroni
mayonnaise to suit
1/2 red onion chopped
chopped pimento-stuffed chopped olives - 8 or 10 olives
chopped sliced water chestnuts.
mx it all up and refrigerate until needed.
When you serve it, set out the jar of pickle relish and a spoon on the table for those that like it. (Not this cook)
True Deviled Eggs - use mayo and Colman's English mustard for the stuffing.
Do-It-Yourself Personal Guacamole.
Cut an avocado in half, remove the stone and cut a slim slice on the bottom side to hold the avocado steady on each person's plate while you pass the salsa and everyone mixes their own.. Most Mexican restaurants will happily sell you a pint of theirs.
Hoffy makes bacon-wrapped hot dogs which are quite tasty. If you aren't working with a grill, put a tray of them on a cookie sheet or similar and bake at 400 until the bacon is done.
You don't have to depend on Hoffy - roll your own bacon on a naked hot dog and proceed from there. If you use wooden toothpicks to hold the bacon on each end, be sure to soak them in water before using them. Flaming toothpick is an interesting but scary sight.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Overcome Your Fear of Heights Right In Your Own Living Room!
Richie has been scouring the Redondo Beach Library for documentaries of various such as sky scrapers (how to build one I assume from the jacket copy) and the paintings of Gauguin.
Last night's bill of fare was called Man On Wire and the jacket is a photo of a lonely-looking male wire walker high above the earth (1,300 ft.) on a wire stretching from the South to the North Twin Tower. Something no one will ever be able to do again due to the disaster that was 911.
I have acrophobia big time and I saw the front of the box photo as described above and I thought, "Oh, God, I don't want to see this!" and wondered how quickly I could hide behind the covers of the book I was reading.
But then! I saw yesterday's announcement of his 70th birthday which prompted me to think, "Well, hellfire and damnation he survived it! There's no gruesome footage of a big splatter on a sidewalk!" Conclusion: it could be watched. So we did. And since much of it was documentary, frankly it was rather boring.
I wondered if there was a fictional documentary which would include dialogue, love affairs, background … all of the things that make life more interesting. There is! it's called "The Walk" and if you don't have time for a movie, Google "The Walk" plot" and enjoy a much fuller history and ongoing adventures.
Now I want to see that one and rather rue "Man On Wire." And clearly the man is gifted and now I want to see the fully-fleshed story. He did make it to age 70; I can sit and watch his antics in a sort of homage to his good fortune. And the hell with flickers of acrophobia!
Last night's bill of fare was called Man On Wire and the jacket is a photo of a lonely-looking male wire walker high above the earth (1,300 ft.) on a wire stretching from the South to the North Twin Tower. Something no one will ever be able to do again due to the disaster that was 911.
I have acrophobia big time and I saw the front of the box photo as described above and I thought, "Oh, God, I don't want to see this!" and wondered how quickly I could hide behind the covers of the book I was reading.
But then! I saw yesterday's announcement of his 70th birthday which prompted me to think, "Well, hellfire and damnation he survived it! There's no gruesome footage of a big splatter on a sidewalk!" Conclusion: it could be watched. So we did. And since much of it was documentary, frankly it was rather boring.
I wondered if there was a fictional documentary which would include dialogue, love affairs, background … all of the things that make life more interesting. There is! it's called "The Walk" and if you don't have time for a movie, Google "The Walk" plot" and enjoy a much fuller history and ongoing adventures.
Now I want to see that one and rather rue "Man On Wire." And clearly the man is gifted and now I want to see the fully-fleshed story. He did make it to age 70; I can sit and watch his antics in a sort of homage to his good fortune. And the hell with flickers of acrophobia!
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
No One Thought He'd Live to be 70!
Today, August 13th is high wire walker Phillippe Petit's 70th. Born in 1949 and still going strong.
You may remember him best for the 45 minutes he spent walking and dancing back and forth on a high wire he'd stretched across the Twin Towers on August 7, 1974. His resume prior to that included performing on a wire between the towers of Notre Dame, Paris.
The only fall he had during this insane occupation was 45 ft. resulting in some broken ribs while practicing for a circus appearance.
Somewhere he made the decision to stay on the ground and in short order became an equestrian, learned juggling, fencing, rock climbing' became a bull fighter and developed an interest in construction. He built himself a barn in the Catskills using only 1800 wood-working tools.
Bonne anniversaire, Phillipe Petit!
You may remember him best for the 45 minutes he spent walking and dancing back and forth on a high wire he'd stretched across the Twin Towers on August 7, 1974. His resume prior to that included performing on a wire between the towers of Notre Dame, Paris.
The only fall he had during this insane occupation was 45 ft. resulting in some broken ribs while practicing for a circus appearance.
Somewhere he made the decision to stay on the ground and in short order became an equestrian, learned juggling, fencing, rock climbing' became a bull fighter and developed an interest in construction. He built himself a barn in the Catskills using only 1800 wood-working tools.
Bonne anniversaire, Phillipe Petit!
Monday, August 12, 2019
The Saturday Afternoon Bar, a Weekend Necessity
For those who work a 9 to 5 job five days of the week, a friendly watering hole with tasty food and plenty of sun (umbrellas dot the deck) may I propose the Pitcher House Upper Deck, at 409 N. PCH, Redondo which is a mini mall with such other enticements as a Whole Foods, a Paris Baguette, and various clothing/accessories shops along with a pet food store. Redondo Shores Shopping Center more formally.
The beer selection is quite adequate with (I seem to remember) a 4 page menu. My tipple is Scrimshaw, ($7) and Richie stuck to his Pacifico, also $7 per pint. Since I love them, I ordered their Fried Pickles ($8) as an appetizer. These are fat dill pickle slices, battered and deep fried with little cups on the side of ranch dressing and a salsa-type sauce. Let them cool down a bit or you will burn your mouth even after they have been dipped in cold sauce.
Still feeling a bit peck-ish we ordered the Quesadilla with fresh salsa ($8) and the trio of Sliders ($11). Having eaten most of the pickles - Richie is not a fan - I now have two sliders for lunch today.
You can certainly sit inside; there is plenty of seating, but I really love the patio that runs across the front of the building. Basking in the sun, sipping an ice cold one … scarfing down very good food … makes all of the Saturday chores much more acceptable when you know the Pitcher House Upper Deck awaits you.
During our visit, a bunch of 30-somethings were playing Cornhole, a game in which a bean bag is tossed from one end of the outdoor court to the other, trying to put said bean bag into a hole on the other end of the tilted board.
If that's too much energy to be expended, just enjoy the sun and the people below darting in and out of the various shops. Enjoy! There's plenty of free parking and an elevator swoops you up to the 2nd floor quite handily.
The beer selection is quite adequate with (I seem to remember) a 4 page menu. My tipple is Scrimshaw, ($7) and Richie stuck to his Pacifico, also $7 per pint. Since I love them, I ordered their Fried Pickles ($8) as an appetizer. These are fat dill pickle slices, battered and deep fried with little cups on the side of ranch dressing and a salsa-type sauce. Let them cool down a bit or you will burn your mouth even after they have been dipped in cold sauce.
Still feeling a bit peck-ish we ordered the Quesadilla with fresh salsa ($8) and the trio of Sliders ($11). Having eaten most of the pickles - Richie is not a fan - I now have two sliders for lunch today.
You can certainly sit inside; there is plenty of seating, but I really love the patio that runs across the front of the building. Basking in the sun, sipping an ice cold one … scarfing down very good food … makes all of the Saturday chores much more acceptable when you know the Pitcher House Upper Deck awaits you.
During our visit, a bunch of 30-somethings were playing Cornhole, a game in which a bean bag is tossed from one end of the outdoor court to the other, trying to put said bean bag into a hole on the other end of the tilted board.
If that's too much energy to be expended, just enjoy the sun and the people below darting in and out of the various shops. Enjoy! There's plenty of free parking and an elevator swoops you up to the 2nd floor quite handily.
Sunday, August 11, 2019
In Serial Killer History
The rules to be included in the Serial Killer Roster: You must kill a minimum of four people, in the same area/location.
Currently ranked #1: Las Vegas shooter, 2017, killed 58 and injured 851.
The first one that I ever heard of was in 1966 when a nut case went up into the Tower at the University of Texas and shot 16 and himself. A later death - in 2001 - was added to the score. It was the deadliest mass shooting since 1949.
Camden, NJ, the shooter - Howard Barton Unruh, killed 13 by walking down River Road, going into such as the supermarket and shooting customers as well as hapless drivers who didn't move out of his way when he asked. This resulted in 13 dead, three injured.
Unruh, born in 1921, died in 2009, age 88, having spent 60 years in a mental hospital for the criminally insane.
Female serial killers seen (so far) to be few and far between. One Jennifer San Marco in January 2006 killed six and then committed suicide. She had believed there was some kind of conspiracy against her.
If you're half of a couple (a man and a woman) are you counted as a serial killer too? Tashfeen Farook and her husband were this duo at the San Bernardino school shooting in 2015.
And in a goodwill gesture in the event serial killers are helped along in their their murderous careers, as believe, Wal-Mart management has decided to stop all ads for savage video games and either turn off or hide the games available to try before purchase. Of course, they'll still sell as many as you can waddle out of the store with, but they won't run any ads for them. I wonder if management can spell "hypocrasy"?
Currently ranked #1: Las Vegas shooter, 2017, killed 58 and injured 851.
The first one that I ever heard of was in 1966 when a nut case went up into the Tower at the University of Texas and shot 16 and himself. A later death - in 2001 - was added to the score. It was the deadliest mass shooting since 1949.
Camden, NJ, the shooter - Howard Barton Unruh, killed 13 by walking down River Road, going into such as the supermarket and shooting customers as well as hapless drivers who didn't move out of his way when he asked. This resulted in 13 dead, three injured.
Unruh, born in 1921, died in 2009, age 88, having spent 60 years in a mental hospital for the criminally insane.
Female serial killers seen (so far) to be few and far between. One Jennifer San Marco in January 2006 killed six and then committed suicide. She had believed there was some kind of conspiracy against her.
If you're half of a couple (a man and a woman) are you counted as a serial killer too? Tashfeen Farook and her husband were this duo at the San Bernardino school shooting in 2015.
And in a goodwill gesture in the event serial killers are helped along in their their murderous careers, as believe, Wal-Mart management has decided to stop all ads for savage video games and either turn off or hide the games available to try before purchase. Of course, they'll still sell as many as you can waddle out of the store with, but they won't run any ads for them. I wonder if management can spell "hypocrasy"?
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Celebrating The TransPac Race at the Los Angeles Yacht Club
What the hell is the TransPac? you ask? It is a major sailing event wherein the boats leave from a specific buoy at Point Fermin, San Pedro, and race full out across the Pacific" to Diamond Head, Hawaii, a distance of 2,225 nautical miles or 2,560 regular miles. This takes awhile. In 2017 the winning time was: 4 days, (!) 6 hours, 32 minutes and 30 seconds.
You will remember that there are no Mickey D's out in the Pacific. The crew has to pack very carefully. Military mess kits are popular as well as frozen foods and cans and cans of such as (am assuming here) Dinty Moor Beef Stew, tuna and as much frozen food as can be stored. Drinking water is distilled on each boat. That's a lot of food you might think for four or five days. Not so. That was the wining boat. There's only one winner per boat class. Some poor bastards take up to 10 or 15 full days. And win in their class!
Still and all, Clarence MacFarlane who proposed this race in 1906 must be pleased at how well it has lasted barring a few wars. Stateside, racers are hosted at the Los Angeles Yacht Club.
And that fact brings us to the unlikely treat five of us had last night. Jan, a fellow Thurs. Writer has just joined the LAYC and she invited us to join her at the regular Friday night dinner which coincidentally was celebrating several local race winners and losers in their class. Several of them addressed us in the dining room after dinner.
Speaking of dinner - here is the bill of fare :
Fresh mango salsa (very good) with fried WonTon chips - very good use of them
Fried rice (very sticky, probably meant to be that way)
Hawaiian-style macaroni and cheese. This was a big cauldron of bubbling hot mac and cheese with bright pink bits of what I assumed was Spam, a major comestible in Hawaii. I passed
But went back for seconds of cole slaw with a big bowl of oil and vinegar dressing beside it so hat you could dress your own portion. This is a nice idea and the dressing was very good.
Kalua pork chunks, apparently the taker pulled it themselves back at their table.
Pineapple and Shrimp Skewers which were a bitch to get off of the skewer - the usual method of upending the skewer and, using the tines of your fork, slide the meat down onto the plate. Chunks of pineapple weren't on the skewers but the shrimp must have been marinated in pineapple juice or crushed pineapple.
Huli Huli Cauliflower bites which appeared to have been grilled as their tops were somewhat charred.
Dessert was individual dishes of sherbet and a couple of kinds of cookies - sugar and chocolate chip.
The food was good, certainly plentiful and I wasn't the only one at our table to go back for seconds. Even though we had not spent the afternoon out on the invigorating ocean yanking sails around.
You will remember that there are no Mickey D's out in the Pacific. The crew has to pack very carefully. Military mess kits are popular as well as frozen foods and cans and cans of such as (am assuming here) Dinty Moor Beef Stew, tuna and as much frozen food as can be stored. Drinking water is distilled on each boat. That's a lot of food you might think for four or five days. Not so. That was the wining boat. There's only one winner per boat class. Some poor bastards take up to 10 or 15 full days. And win in their class!
Still and all, Clarence MacFarlane who proposed this race in 1906 must be pleased at how well it has lasted barring a few wars. Stateside, racers are hosted at the Los Angeles Yacht Club.
And that fact brings us to the unlikely treat five of us had last night. Jan, a fellow Thurs. Writer has just joined the LAYC and she invited us to join her at the regular Friday night dinner which coincidentally was celebrating several local race winners and losers in their class. Several of them addressed us in the dining room after dinner.
Speaking of dinner - here is the bill of fare :
Fresh mango salsa (very good) with fried WonTon chips - very good use of them
Fried rice (very sticky, probably meant to be that way)
Hawaiian-style macaroni and cheese. This was a big cauldron of bubbling hot mac and cheese with bright pink bits of what I assumed was Spam, a major comestible in Hawaii. I passed
But went back for seconds of cole slaw with a big bowl of oil and vinegar dressing beside it so hat you could dress your own portion. This is a nice idea and the dressing was very good.
Kalua pork chunks, apparently the taker pulled it themselves back at their table.
Pineapple and Shrimp Skewers which were a bitch to get off of the skewer - the usual method of upending the skewer and, using the tines of your fork, slide the meat down onto the plate. Chunks of pineapple weren't on the skewers but the shrimp must have been marinated in pineapple juice or crushed pineapple.
Huli Huli Cauliflower bites which appeared to have been grilled as their tops were somewhat charred.
Dessert was individual dishes of sherbet and a couple of kinds of cookies - sugar and chocolate chip.
The food was good, certainly plentiful and I wasn't the only one at our table to go back for seconds. Even though we had not spent the afternoon out on the invigorating ocean yanking sails around.
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