Music Monday-7/7/2014 Joni Mitchell

Aleathia says:

Most of my life I have listened to what the adults played on their stereos and radios.  Their soundtrack formed the times of my life.  When I was younger my mother loved Fleetwood Mac, Bad Company, Traffic, and Peter, Paul, and Mary.  My father loved jazz and blues.  There was my own music too....mostly pop garbage and later hair metal.  The people around me have always influenced me musically.  They have always opened doors to sounds foreign to me.  I know that as a child I heard Joni Mitchell without knowing that it was her, but her voice is unmistakable.

When I was living in Seattle I remember sitting with a group of friends in their living room and Joni Mitchell's Blue was put on the record player.  From start to finish I was captivated.  Their isn't a song that needs fixing, a note out of place.  I know all the words to every song and it is probably the record I turn to the most in times of happiness, sadness, grief, and wonder.  This record has been my dearest friend for a long time.  I have since, in one form or another, collected nearly all of Joni Mitchell's work.  Each album gives me something special.

My favorite song on the album is "A Case of You":

OM-7/6/2014 Jack Perkins Tribute

Aleathia says:

The last few years have been spiritually rough...as rough as anything in my life which was never a bed of roses.  I have lost my mother, my aunt, my cousin, my grandmother, several friends, and several co-workers. I work in the emergency room.  I am used to seeing people die both traumatically and because it is their time. Seeing this often does not make it easier, it makes me harder.  It desensitizes me sometimes, or maybe I have just bricked a wall around me so that it doesn't hurt so bad.  I have watched people die alone which is my utmost fear in life....not death itself, but that there would be no one there in my final moments to say goodbye.  We are not born alone, we should not die alone.

This week we lost a wonderful man at work, Jack Perkins, who was an installation at Corning Hospital.  He made people laugh and always had a smile for everyone with a devilish look in his eye. He gave me the impression of man always up to something, but in a good way.  Jack was part of many of my co-workers families.  They loved him like a brother, a father, an uncle.  My crew at work (not me personally) spent hours working to save his life.  They endured what I am told is one of the most horrific things each of them had ever seen in their lives and they held it together with professionalism and love.  In the end when it is your time, it is your time, but Jack was not alone and I am thankful for that.

Tonight I take my daughter with me to stand next to my second family and the community to say goodbye to Jack Perkins.  Our lives will be a little less bright without him and our hearts a little emptier than before.  Fly high Jack.  We'll miss you.

Quills and Frills-7/5/2014 Aleathia Drehmer, Poetry

Aleathia says:

Catastrophe

Mother cursed me the day

my tiny fingers

slide the spokes

of the umbrella

up the long metal

shaft, the click of its

mechanism holding fort—

tinny and satisfying, 

as the bright blue

water-resistant

parachute came alive.

She looked at me in horror.

What had I done?

Any number of catastrophes

would surely fall from the sky

ruining everything

she had worked for

in life.

The remaining years

of my life were riddled

with hunched shoulders,

a wet neck, and a body

full of fear.

Aleathia Drehmer 

Art Bomb-7/4/2014 Amedeo Modigliani

Aleathia says:

I have always been a lover of art, always amazed at what people could create from their minds or their interpretations of what they see.  The connection the mind has to embellish someone with these abilities is a gift.

Today we are going to look at the significant painters of Montparnasse in Paris.  In the early 1900's artists lived in the heart of the city which made up Bohemia.  Montparnasse was on the left bank of the river and Monmartre (home of Moulin Rouge) on the right bank of the river.  Prior to artists and musicians settling here it was rural farmland, peaceful and quiet.

The artist we will focus on is Amedeo Modigliani.  He arrived in Monmarte in 1906 after having studying art in several places in Italy where he was from.  His artistic encouragement started when he was a small boy. He was often ill with respiratory ailments and his mother gave him art supplies to pass the time which was often sedentary and solitary.  His dream as a young man was to go to Paris and study painting there.  It was the destination of the time.

"Girl with Blue Eyes" by Modigliani

Modigliani dove into the scene and was considered the "prince" of the artists he worked along side.  He was charming and a ladies man.  There was little money to be made in this time for artists and Modigliani was often poor.  He had developed a drinking habit that caused him to sell paintings and drawings in bars just to pay for his drinks.  He worked exclusively with faces and figures and did not care for the embellishment of costume or setting.  He did no landscapes or still life.

"Bride and Groom" by Modigliani

What we can notice about Modigliani's work is that most of the faces he painted were long with pensive expression on their faces, we can see the beginning of Cubism start to enter his work though he would not take it as far as his fellow painters.  What is most haunting is that most of his subjects eyes appear blank as if he has removed the window to their souls; as if by painting them he captured something from them they might not be willing to give.

"The Servent Girl" by Modigliani

The colors Modigliani used feel muted and somber.  There is nothing flashy about his palette, only colors of a man saddened by life.  However, there are a number of paintings in his collection where the figures to have distinct eyes and if you spend enough time looking at his work, the ones with eyes can frighten you.

"Lunia Czechowska" by Modigliani

In 1914 Modigliani met two people that changed his life and his career, Beatrice Hastings from England and Leopold Zborowski from Poland.  He was intimately involved with Beatrice and she encouraged his painting over his drinking and Zborowski was his champion for selling art.  After 3 years together the relationship with Beatrice fell short as it was noted that she was often "cold" towards Modigliani.  He later married Jeanne Hebuterne in 1917.  Modigiliani would die 3 years later at the age of 35 from tubucular meningitis.

The other artists of Montparnasse and Monmarte:

"A Finger on Her Cheek" by Kees Van Dongen

"Nude against a Red Background" by Pablo Picasso

"The Dance" by Andre Derain

"Kiki of Montparnasse" by Moise Kisling

Foodies-7/3/2014 Marinades

Aleathia says:

It is that time of the week again where we go on a food adventure.  New this week at the library is a cookbook called Marinades by Lucy Vaserfirer.  It literally is an entire book of marinades from all over the world for all different kinds of proteins.  I am sure you could use many of them on veggies as well.  The world is your oyster, as they say.

The book is sectioned off very nicely by types of marinades and then later in the book by geographic location.   The recipes are very easy to follow and many contain ingredients you would have lying around the house.  The marinades are either mixed or blended.  There are a few that require some extra steps, but most are simple.

In the recipe I will note either "mix and marinate" or "blend and marinate".  The marination time for proteins is 2 hours to overnight.  For fish and seafood it is up to 45 minutes.  Each recipe will be noted with a serving size and this would be equal to the number of servings of protein you are going to marinate.  Let's get going.

Rosemary Maple (fish, pork, chicken)  2 servings

2 T soy sauce

2 T maple syrup

1 T EVOO

1 garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary

fresh pepper

Mix and marinate

Spicy Cajun (chicken, beef, shrimp)  2 servings

1/4 cp canola oil

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp white pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne 

salt

Mix and marinate

Fennel Citrus (chicken, pork, fish)  2-4 servings

3 T EVOO

3 T orange juice

1 T lemon juice

1/4 cp diced fennel

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 T sugar

Salt and pepper

Blend and marinate

Tandoori (chicken, beef, lamb, shrimp)  2-4 servings

1/3 cp plain yogurt

1 T lemon juice

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground

1/8 tsp cardamom

salt and pepper

Mix and marinate

Mango Cilantro (chicken, pork, beef)  5-8 servings

1 T canola oil

1 T fresh lime juice

1/4 cp lightly packed cilantro

1/2 large mango, diced

1 garlic clove, sliced

salt and pepper

Blend and marinate

Lit Bits-7/2/2014 Saga, graphic novel

Aleathia says:

We go to the library at least once a week and often times I have to go over to the Young Adult section to find my kid when it is time to go.  They have a decent array of manga there and a handful of graphic novels. The cover of one of them has caught my eye over the last year, but I never checked it out.  Maybe because it was in the YA section or because I would then have to admit I loved a graphic novel or two in my day. I thought the art was pretty stunning on this one.

This graphic novel is called Saga and is created by Brian K. Vaughan with Fiona Staples providing the art.  It has some fantasy components and these characters look pretty tough and interesting.  Since the rest of the family was checking out manga I decided to go for it.

The story is self described as Star Wars meets Game of Thrones meets Romeo & Juliet.  I am not very familiar with Game of Thrones, but I can see the space influence and before reading about this graphic novel I definitely pegged the Romeo and Juliet.  I told Michael that it was funny that even in the comics all roads lead back to Shakespeare.

What I didn't expect from this award winning GN was the content.  This is by no means a comic that belongs in the young adult section.  It opens with a graphic birth and then to illicit sexual content.  It uses some pretty heavy language and later in the book there is even prostitution and hits of child sex trade.  It doesn't show anything, but you know exactly what they are referring to.

I was pretty shocked through the entire book and a bit disgusted that the library filed this in a kid's section. I'm definitely going to show them the sections that have graphic sex and child sex slaves.  They might have to refile it in an adult section.

Having said all of that....I really want to read the next one.  Once over the shock I do enjoy the social commentary on mixed race relationships, the love story, and the struggle to survive in a world ravaged by war.  It is a love against all odds sort of story.  I would say take the chance and read it....just don't let the under 16 set read it.

Let's Go Somewhere-7/1/2014 Homer, Alaska

Aleathia says:

Years ago when I first moved to Seattle I got a job at a place called The Urban Bakery and Cafe.  I was hired to work the lunch counter as I had no skills making baked goods nor could I make a latte to save my soul.  On my first day behind the counter I was greeted by an amazing woman named Mikela.

She hugged me. What?  I came from small town Northeast America. We didn't hug. We sneered at people behind their backs and tried not to make eye contact.  I sort of thought she was weird, but as time when on she would become one of the most influential people of my life. She brought me out of my shell and her pure joy for living rubbed off on me. She introduced me to the world of food beyond my tiny menu, she introduced me to new music and people. She encouraged creativity. She changed my life and helped me learn to love myself.

In 1999 or 2000, life was changing and she was ready to leave Seattle. She thought of going to London, but changed her mind and went to Alaska instead. Ha. Just like her to do something crazy and off the wall like that.  She has been there ever since.

What does all of this have to do with travel? Well, I have always wanted to go to Alaska. The Kenai Peninsula looks pretty damn awesome. She lives at the very end of the peninsula near a town called Homer. I can tell you from all the pictures she posts that this is a happening community full of crazy creative people and food lovers. These folks aren't afraid to have fun.

If you are a skier and female, you should consider finding out when the Annual Ski for Women is and get your best costume together and party with these great ladies. If you like regular type skiing they have that too, but doesn't this look fun?  I don't even ski and I'd consider it. There is also hiking, kayaking, and boat rides to see wildlife.  You can go on a guided tour through the forest or learn about the coastal wildlife at the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies.

It seems like the lodge there is outrageous in price....$1,800 for three nights, so you would be best served to rough it and camp. Get the full Alaskan trip.  If your back truly can't handle sleeping on the ground there are some decently priced simple cabins from a place called Dandy Cabins and you can rent one for around $750 a week.

It seems Homer has a cultural landmark called the Salty Dawg Saloon.  It was an old trapper's hut where tourists can hoist beers with the locals.

But most importantly you have to stop by and see Mikela and Gabe at The Bagel Shop!!!

Mikela has always been passionate about food and we spent much of our friendship over the stove or investigating foods of the world, so it didn't surprise me when she and Gabe decided to open this bagel shop. They started out selling bagels in the farmer's market and would sell out in 2 hours. As time went on they made the idea for a shop a reality. If you are in Homer you HAVE TO GO THERE!  If you do, tell her Aleathia says Hi.

And eat one of these for me! (It's called "The Frenchie")