Didn't Drop the Baby

This is Makena, Vanessa and Manu's son. We were all Peace Corps Mali back in the day and now they live in Accra increasing trade.

Your Biscuit's Big Enough for Me

Oh yeah it is.

And you missed this

You all missed this - Justin Townes Earle

And it was free!

Indie Rock Trifecta - now all DC!

Selling my Swell Season tickets to go see Bluegrass night at the Velvet Lounge in DC (Justin Jones is playing - saw him Thursday, he and the band are FANTASTICO. Please go see them!). He does bluegrass/blues/rock, covers Townes, plays harmonica and has a banjo and a horn section (and keyboards sometimes, but not Thursday). Also the band were super nice.

So goodbye Irish-Czech downer rock, hello super fun Bluegrass Night!! What a good deal.

Insecticide Treated Cows

http://www.malariafreefuture.org/blog/?p=386

Indie Rock Trifecta in May!

A Friday through Sunday Baltimore-Washington Indiefest!

Friday May 16th: Devotchka @ 9:30 Club
Saturday May 17th: The Swell Season @ The Meyerhoff
Sunday May 18th: Bishop Allen @ The Black Cat

Good thing I am not going to the RBM Board Meeting!

Weeds n Mulch

I am kinda sore from weeding on Saturday and mulching the front bit. Once the little trees start flowering and stuff I'll take a picture, it'll be nicer.

We had an EXCELLENT time at the Burlesque show on Saturday. Local heroes Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey integrated their classic number, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" into an entire show called "Dial P for Pasties". The thin plot was thickened by superb fake accents (English, French and Texan) and running drivel from Mortimer Marmaduke Esquire, who stole the show. Lucky T. Morrow was fabulous as the curvy detective agency sidekick, and Trixie's trapeze number was seriously impressive. Audience participation was funny but not-too-shocking! The dramatic moment came at the end when the detectives finally found the golden pasties, only for the stickum to fail, forcing Trixie into a manual override.

Hopefully they'll take this show to DC or New York and others will get to see it. I haven't laughed that much in a loooong time.

I also took Kima to obedience class for the first time, and she managed to not eat the other doggies! Woohoo! She laid down and sat and stood and walked and watched really well. It's just unfortunate how afraid she is, but hopefully getting used to being around other dogs will be super helpful for her overall. I already noticed a little improvement on her walk this morning (and it's almost more training of us owners than training the dogs). I was also relieved that what I've been doing when she gets freaked out has been the correct strategy - getting her attention on me, away from the other dog, and having her sit and down to learn to focus on me. Petit a petit.

Too Many Riches

I now know 5 guys named Rich. This is way too many. Hopefully I can get rid of one or two here soon.

Lolcats ‘n’ Funny Pictures - I Can Has Cheezburger?

Lolcats ‘n’ Funny Pictures - I Can Has Cheezburger?

Lolcats ‘n’ Funny Pictures - I Can Has Cheezburger?

Lolcats ‘n’ Funny Pictures - I Can Has Cheezburger?

15 minutes

My only good picture from Mali is up at the American Museum of Natural History!
By the time you read hopefully they will have fixed the caption from "Malaria vaccination" to something closer to reality.


http://sciencebulletins.amnh.org/?sid=h.s.malaria_map.20080310&src=b

Just wait till Jon Stewart gets a hold of this

By Steve Holland

SPRINGFIELD, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Friday he fears that al Qaeda or another extremist group might attempt spectacular attacks in Iraq to try to tilt the U.S. election against him.

McCain, at a town hall meeting in this Philadelphia suburb, was asked if he had concerns that anti-American militants in Iraq might ratchet up their activities in Iraq to try to increase casualties in September or October and tip the November election against him.

Baroooooo

Watching Kima on the skypecam is whack. She just barked at something for a bit while sitting on the couch then launched into a full 90 second Barooooooo, the saddest sound I have heard in a while. She did this the other morning for just a bit as an ambulance passed by, so perhaps that is what was out the window?

Also, something is happening in Ndjamena.

REI dividend

Lightweight tent or car GPS device?

Hologram Lunch

Why is it, when you are starving at 11:30 and eat your lunch, that you (ok, I) am starving again by 12:35? Do lunches consumed before noon literally "not count"?

Also - is watching my sleeping doggie via Skypecam making me more sleepy at work? Or is it getting up at 6:30 and going running with her?

Off to supplement my lunch with another lunch.

Um

Pretty much totally addictive watching Kima on the skype-cam while at work. Now she is looking out the window and whining.

Sleepy Doggie

I finally got Kima's Skype thing to work by setting the computer to never go to sleep. Now I can call and see the couch whenever. Turns out - quelle surprise - that all she does is sleep!

Also, Chris fixed the problem with my Macbook and the internet by installing new firmware updates on our router. Hooray! We had a really nice brunch at Miss Shirley's too with some of the runniest poached eggs ever on a nice corn cake. After that we chilled and watched The Crimson Rivers, a 2000 french thriller/cliché-fest by Matthieu Kassovitz, with Jean Reno (swoon) and Vincent Cassel (swoon swoon). It reminded me of a film I saw in Bamako with Manu one night at the Babemba movie theatre, in which Jean Reno chases mysterious monks on steroids. Turns out (!) that movie was the sequel to this one! Probably would have been clearer had I remembered the title...Les Rivieres Pourpres II.

Highly recommended if you can't get enough of cheesy yet serious evil plotting and ritual murders.

Baby Elephant Soon!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.elephant06mar06,0,4011666.story?page=1

Mini ducks

Thanks Cute Overload.

Roast Chicken

Roasting a chicken is so easy! You just rub it all over with salt and pepper and stuff it with some stuff, and stick it in the oven for a while. Like duh. And this recipe turned out really yummy last night with some rice and salad and a Parallele 45 Cote du Rhone.

Ingredients
1 lemon [I used a lime]
1 3-inch piece of fresh ginger [I basically doubled this, because Sean cut up a whole thing of ginger]
10 to 12 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
1 3-to-4 pound whole chicken
Salt, preferably Hawaiian [seriously, enough with the salt snobbery]
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Wash lemon and ginger well, dry, and cut into slices.

Remove the giblet pack and neck from the chicken. Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Flip the wings back and tuck under the body.

Season the inside cavity with salt and pepper. Fill the cavity with the lemon, ginger, and garlic. Fold the skin over to close the opening, and then tie the legs together with a piece of kitchen twine. Put the chicken into a shallow baking dish. Coat the skin all over with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.

Roast for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 375°F. Roast for an additional 60-65 minutes, until the juices run clear. Try not to open the oven door too much while the chicken is cooking, particularly during the first 15 minutes. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before you carve it. Strain the pan juices, remove the fat, and serve with the chicken.

Roasting at 450 first was key. Don't forget to run the fan over your stove to prevent a smoky house!

The chicken was moist and tender and the breast basically fell off the bone once I cut the ribs away. The skin was crispy and delicious! Am on a mission now to roast a chicken once a week for the next 8 weeks to get better at cutting it up, but honestly, this way, it practically cuts itself up!

Iron Chef Squash

I had a butternut squash to use so I made two things last night:

Butternut Squash Soup with Sage:
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
4 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled seeded butternut squash
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
1 garlic clove, minced
5 to 6 cups Chicken Stock or 5 to 6 cups purchased organic chicken broth

Breadcrumbs:
2 crustless slices fresh whole
grain wheat bread, torn
4 teaspoons butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
Preparation
For soup:
Melt butter with oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, parsley, and sage; sauté until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add squash and coarse salt; sauté until squash softens and onions are golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add 5 cups stock; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until squash is very soft, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly.

Working in batches, puree soup in blender, allowing some texture to remain. Return soup to pot. Thin with stock, if desired. Season with pepper and more salt, if desired. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and chill. Rewarm before serving.

For breadcrumbs:
Place bread in processor; blend until fine crumbs form but some slightly coarser crumbs remain. Cook butter in large nonstick skillet over medium heat until golden, about 2 minutes. Add breadcrumbs and sage. Cook until crumbs are crisp, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool. DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand uncovered at room temperature.

Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

I put in a little too much liquid but it was still yum-city. Also I neglected the breadcrumbs. Oh well. Didn't matter much because we had this very delicious and vegan (!!) dish:

Lentils with Butternut Squash and Walnuts

1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound)
1 large shallot
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 cup walnuts
1/3 cup lentils
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro sprigs
fresh lime juice to taste (optional)
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°F.

Halve, peel, and seed squash and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Finely chop shallot and in a shallow baking pan toss with squash, oil, curry powder, and salt and pepper to taste until combined well. Bake squash mixture in middle of oven until almost tender, about 15 minutes.

Chop walnuts and sprinkle over squash. Bake squash mixture 10 minutes more, or until walnuts are lightly toasted and squash is tender.

While squash is baking, in a saucepan of boiling water cook lentils until just tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes. Drain lentils in a sieve and transfer to a bowl.

To lentils add squash mixture, cilantro, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste and toss until combined well.

Kima's home

We've had her for five days now and she is a super couch potato snuggle bunny. She also barks and lunges at other dogs. We're trying to see if she's actually aggressive or just not really able to communicate well with them by taking her over to see Zeke, an elder statesman poodle at Edith's house. Lucy has been very helpful with all kinds of book loans and training and crate activity tips.

It's so nice having her in the house. She walks ok on a leash and is still figuring out what toys are for. Obedience class starts in two weeks!

Geneva

Was really good. And now I have a lot of work to do.

Ooh, hungry

It is such a bad idea to read the food blogs before lunch break. Wednesday Chef is killing me with the ragu (and the link to the braised cabbage...are we doppelgangers?) and Everybody Likes Sandwiches, enough with the baked eggs in a bun and ham and cheese spoonbread! I'm dyin' over here.

Kima

Just did the home visit. She was totally comfortable with everything but the basement stairs (no big woop, and probably better for her anyway!). We signed all the stuff and changed her name in the microchip registration to Kima. She comes home next Monday when I'm back from Geneva!

Blik!

I got my pagne hemmed and backed and tacked it up above our Brand! New! Futon!

I taped up some of the Damien Hirst dots in the kitchen.

But then got distracted and Blik'd my own room while waiting for Edith to weigh in on the kitchen design. Taped up the Eames circles...

...scrape the backside with a credit card...

...peel off backing...

...stick it on the wall...mash it around...

...peel back the transfer side...

...et voila!

Lookin' good, finally.

We are also doing birds in the living room.


And here are the kitchen dots!

A Really Really Fantastic Day

We had a nice evening out in DC with PC Gabon peeps from near and far, dancing at Ghana Cafe with no punch-out incidents like last time, although Edith did have her ATM card stolen by a quickfingered Adams Morgan drug addict when she walked away from the machine a little too early. So Ghana Cafe's record is still one of fun with a cost.

But that's not even the good part. We went and met Faith Saturday morning, and she is FANTASTIC. Too skinny, very nudgy and loves people, knows how to pee outside and hang out in a crate and sit, and a big loveydovey. I'm gonna love her and feed her and socialize her, if she accepts our house during the 'home visit' tomorrow morning. Am not foreseeing many problems there as our fence is structurally sound and we don't have any tubs of antifreeze sitting out.

After meeting Faith (we will change her name) I drove over to Mt Airy to the bike shop. First thing I hear is "Hey, cool fixie!". Mt Airy is near Frederick and um not so many fixies out there so we are still cool. Larry looks at the bike and says "Can you come back in an hour?" and I'm stupified with happiness. I go to Target and get a few things and come back and THE BIKE IS GOOD AS NEW. The rear was 2 inches out of alignment, the worst he's ever seen, the fork was also messed up, and he replaced my classic seatpost with a new lighter one with a single bolt adjustment, and made a little collar for it. Then all the shop guys had to take a spin on the bike. "One foot no hands," that's the test, he said, riding it nice and straight. Amazing. So I got my baby back and a new one on the way and all is excellent in the world again. Sean and Marin came over for tacos and we watched the original 3:10 to Yuma, which I was not awake for and might watch again this evening with Hope.

I have pics also of the Blik decorating we have done but I think the cable is at work...will post tomorrow before I leave for Geneva!

Bongo to build $73m basilica

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2271175,00.html

15/02/2008 08:33 - (SA)

Libreville - Gabon's President Omar Bongo Ondimba plans to build a huge Roman Catholic basilica worth at least 50 million euros ($73m) overlooking the capital, church and other sources said on Thursday.

"The project isn't completely definitive," Libreville Archbishop Basile Mve Engome said, but the aim was to construct the new church, capable of holding 4 500 people, on the site of the Democracy City complex made for a 1977 summit of the Organisation of African Unity.

Czech firm Helika had won a building tender with its plan for a basilica crowned by a dove of peace and hands joined in prayer that would be 70 metres high.

The project would be financed by the Gabonese state with the help of the Swiss Export Bank, which specialised in funding foreign enterprises, the sources said.

"This is the project that most seduced the president," Engome explained. Between 40 and 45% of the central African country's 1.3 million people were Catholics.

Bongo, who came to power in 1967 and was the continent's longest serving ruler, converted to Islam in 1973.

The Helika plan was in competition with one by architect Pierre Fakhoury, who designed the basilica Ivory Coast's founding president, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, wanted in his home village, Yamoussoukro, today the west African country's capital.

That monument was consecrated by the late pope John Paul II.

One wonders if perhaps fighting malaria, HIV and other diseases, or even paving the frickin road, were not 'seductive' enough propositions.

How does Google know what I'm thinking, all the time?

Today's Word of the Day on my Google homepage:

ennui: a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction arising from lack of interest.

I suppose the other possibility is that dictionary.com chose this word for the special day right after Valentine's Day. :)

Names

NICO/NIKO
MISHA AIDEN LOLA CARVER
LAIKA KIMA STU SASHA
ADA NIKITA TASHA
GAIA FREYA GUS GRETA
LEELA KAYA

Meeting Faith on Saturday!

Going out to Finksburg (a good omen?) to meet Faith on Saturday!

Faith Update

"Faith is a sweetheart, crate-trained, house-trained, up to date on all vaccines and heartworm negative. She is ready to find her forever home!"

Trying to go see her this weekend. If all goes well, she'll be my doggie, and if not, then I go for Sterling!

The climbing crew are already calling me Cruella Deville.

Narrowed

Ok I think I'm narrowed down to Faith or Sterling.

omg. please doggies now please!

Cute Overload

http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/

AAahh the cuteness. I can feel my day getting brighter already!

Fayetteville

Just talked to Harley's ex-mom, who happens to be the euthanasia technician at the shelter where he's staying. Apparently her ex-husband just let all his dogs loose one day and they brought the poor guy in, but Harley used to go looking for kids to play with, and likes to play or lay under your desk, and actually prefers to go potty outside his kennel. Not exactly housetrained, but not averse to it. He hasn't had any obedience training and doesn't know any commands really. And he's located in Fayetteville, WV, which is not exactly Alexandria VA as I had thought. It's about 5 1/2 hours from Baltimore.

It's a long way to go for a slightly complicated doggie, even if he is totally adorable and sounds awesome. And - since Tara can't bear to put him to sleep herself, maybe he'll hang on long enough to find another home...?

Harley

This is Harley, a 3.5 yr old, 40 lb Cattle Dog mix, who is at a rural shelter with limited time. The previous owner says: He is GREAT with children. He will actually go looking for kids to play with. Good with other dogs and with cats.

Harley's got medium energy level, not very noisy, he's fairly outgoing.... sometimes he's a little shy with people he doesn't know at first. He does very well on a leash. Very loveable and LOVES attention.

He was kept outside, so he'll need some housetraining work, but he's smart and eager to please.

He really is a sweetheart. Can you give this boy a home?

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Cattle_Dog: ACDs are very organized animals. If the owner has established a "toy box", or some other type of holding area for the dog's possessions, it is not unlikely for an ACD to return whatever it has taken back to this area. Hence the numerous claims of the ACD "putting away its toys", or "picking up after itself". It is not unusual for an ACD to put away bones or items that have been taken out of the area by other dogs as well. Hence the many claims that the ACD "picks up after others".

Nigel

Who couldn't love a dog named Nigel!?

Nigel is about 6 years of age and is a beautiful petite male with gorgous markings. This little fellow was dumped by his owner at a VA shelter and was literally saved from being put to sleep within an hour. Why anyone would dump such a sweet guy that only wants to be loved is something we will never know.
Nigel is quiet, well behaved, crate- and house-trained, and easy to walk on a lead. He gets along with other dogs and cats. This boy is in super health and longs for a home where he can be a constant companion. Nigel is good with children and he would thrive in a loving environment.

1/30/08

Faith

Hi! I'm Faith. I really am a Dalmatian, even if folks think I'm a "negative" version of one. LOL I'm 4 years old, spayed, heartworm negative, and don't have any health problems, but I'm kind of tiny at just 40 pounds. I'll put on weight with the good food I'm getting now.
My previous family kept me outside all the time until the Animal Control guy took me, so now I have to get used to all the strange sounds in my new foster home. I love being inside where it is dry and warm and I have a nice fluffy bed to sleep on.

My foster mom doesn't know me too well yet, but she took me to the vet today and I was very good. My tail kept wagging and I rode quietly in the car. I've been wormed and gotten my Rabies shot and I'm on heartworm preventative...pretty soon I'll put on some weight and be a beautiful dog on the outside to go along with my wonderful personality.

1/30/08

Sterling

Sterling is about 7 years old and ended up in a VA pound when his owner died. This poor guy must have lived a life full of hardships. When he was pulled from the shelter, he was scared but oh so friendly! His first expression was: "thank you for getting me out of this jail". Sterling has one of the most beautiful, gentle faces. He has a crystal blue eye and the other is brown. He is very underweight from his stay at the pound, but with love, good food, and attention, this guy will fill out and look great. Enough cannot be said about his fabulous temperment - he is now living in a foster home with 9 other Dals and he is the mellow one! He seldom barks except to go out, he is not destructive, and he is crate/house trained. Sterling is a dog that has the potential to be a pet therapy dog because he seems to sense that small children, physically challenged people, etc., need his special gentle touch.
Sterling carries with him a scar. On the back of his rump there is an area where all the fur is gone and just scar tissue remains. After being examined by the vets, the theory is that this wonderful dog was burned very badly. No one knows if this was intentional, but one thing is for sure, Sterling suffered a horrible situation. Yet, no one would know from his kind manner. If there was only one word to describe Sterling it would be that he is an Angel.
1/30/08

Mm Pea Soup

I will try to recreate this recipe that I made over the weekend:

Get a big cast iron or ceramic pot. Put 7-8 strips of bacon in and turn on to medium. Fry the bacon until crisp. Try not to burn it!

Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Drain off the fat, reserving 1/4 cup in the pot. Add half an onion and some diced carrot (2 carrots) and sauté until soft.

Add 1 lb split peas. I fried them a little in the bacon fat before adding 2 1/2 quarts (that's 10 cups!) of liquid. I used half chicken stock and half water. Add a tsp of salt and a bay leaf. Add a ham hock if you have one lying around, which I didn't.

Simmer for ~2 hours. Blend some of it, and/or add some cream or half & half if you want. Serve with pepper and some of the crumbled bacon you fried earlier. Good with bread too!

Totally yum, especially when it's 15 degrees and gale force winds outside.

Cleaning up my computer

http://cache.valleywag.com/assets/resources/screenclean.swf

Damn you petfinder

"Do you like my picture?"




Pamela Patti - (Female)
Breed: Coonhound Mix

Age: 5 Years
History:

Description: I'm Pamela Patti. I was named for 2 special ladies, so you know that I'm doubly special. I am not at all pushy or aggressive. If you just want to sit with me and pet me, that is quite enough. I'm not too excited about doing all that running around that so many puppies like. I'm just a nice young lady. I could probably be fully house-trained in short order. I still do puppy things, like drag my blankets all over. There are no cats that I've seen, but I am not the chasing kind of girl, I don't think. I live with Rosemary (her picture is here too), and we have fun together. It is quiet here, and so I don't know about cars and traffic, but I'm willing to learn. Almost every day I get a cooked soup bone that keeps me busy for a while. If I lived with you, would you have soup bones there? Do you like my picture? I could be some kind of coon hound, or maybe some beagle, but no matter what, I am just soooooo cute! Will you come visit?

Breathe new life or spend time searching?

Circle A cycles repairs and repaints bikes; they also handbuild some really great custom frames. I sent them a bad picture of the bike and some details and they estimate around $100 for the repair and $300 for a complete repaint (one color only).

There seem to be no available good Peugeots on Ebay or any of the craigslists right now and I imagine the Mt. Airy Bike Shop will tell me their PX-10's will run me around $600-$750. So I can wait and see how long it takes to find another cheap Peugeot frame with geometry I like (could be never) or send the frame up to Providence for some work and a new lease on life.

Of course the best part would be picking the new color scheme....check out Circle A's Gallery for some ideas. I welcome suggestions in the comments section!

Democratic Debates

This debate is really weirding me out. Both Hillary and Obama are mostly attacking the Republicans, which is presenting them like allies. Now, don't get me wrong, I like that they are being (more or less) nice to each other, but we have to decide between them...don't we?

Last week's New Yorker article on the two of them by George Packer is pretty insightful, I think. It gets the tone of each campaign right on. Obama speaks and you float away on hope, inspired. Hillary is uber-practical, defensive, and full of pertinent facts.

Ooh Wolf just tried to call Hillary naive! He's been doing this all night, saying 'isn't that a swipe at you, Senator?'. Can we not make some real news out of this debate and its content rather than instigating fights?

Bye

Bike's dead. Bent too much to be worth trying to fix. Where do I find another PR-10 my size for 60 bucks?

The bike is not OK

Rear triangle is bent to the (bike's) left. Shit.

Bike!

Rode my (geared) bike to work today! First time since the accident.

Julia's Stew for when times are bad

Cold War Spy Beef Daube

Marinate 3 hrs (or 6 in fridge):
3 lbs lean stew beef
1.5 cups red or white wine
2 tbl olive oil
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp thyme/sage
1 crumbled bay leaf
2 cloves mashed garlic
2 cups thinly sliced onion
2 cups thinly sliced carrots

simmer 1/2 lb bacon cut into 1" x 1/4" x 2" strips in water, 10 minutes, drain and dry

mix:
6 oz sliced mushrooms
large can chopped tomatoes (drained or not)

preheat oven 325

drain meat in strainer, get plate of flour

layer in casserole:
2 bacon strips (why 2? they are so small. who knows)
veggies
floured beef pieces
more bacon
repeat

pour in wine from marinade and add stock to cover. simmer 3-4 hours in lower 3rd of oven, skim fat.

I like the lackadaisicality of this recipe. You can also add 1/4 cup gin OR brandy OR vermouth to the marinate. Serve with mashed potato or some kind of potato and some green vegetable. Whatever you want!

Shows - Beach House Papercuts

Thursday February 28th
BEACH HOUSE (cd release show)
PAPERCUTS
DIAPENSIA
The G-SPOT
2980 FALLS ROAD
Doors open at 8pm/ Show at 9pm- ALL AGES
buy ticket

Beach House is from here and they get a lot of blog press. I find them kinda eh, but the Papercuts have one or two good songs on a pretty decent album. I tried to go to this same show last year and at first thought I was seeing a leftover ad for 2007, but no I think it's for real, since the 28th is really a Thursday.

Terrible Band Name

But on first blush, an truly excellent dreamy alt-country band from the Cities. Plenty of steel guitar to get you through those cold winter nights.

www.myspace.com/romantica/

New Music

Have stumbled across some fun new music recently.

Bishop Allen

Broadcast 2000

Nina Nastasia - at the Black Cat Jan 31st.

Daniel Johnston is at the Ottobar February 24th too. And at the Black Cat the 23rd.

Removable Wall Art

Edith and I have this big wall in the living room that is hard plaster and a section of which is occupied by our bikes and a coat rack. It is so white and bare and not hip! But you can't hang anything up without possibly ruining the wall! WHAT TO DO?

The answer came to me in an email. I have some cool tshirts from Threadless, and they also do some of their designs as bliks. "What is blik?" you might ask.

They use fancy flash things to prevent me from really adding the photo here but click here for an idea. We are putting some birds in the living room and some Damien Hirst spots in the kitchen. I am doing some Eames circles in my bedroom cuz that's waaaay cheaper than getting a chair. And I don't have room.

Precipitous

For a moment just now it was sunny, with a bit of snow filtering down. Now we have a direct wind from the north and the clouds have turned the sky white. Good thing I have already dropped off the dry cleaning, restocked the fridge with orange juice, and purchased a cappucino from the surly staff at Donna's. I can now stay in the rest of the afternoon in my slippers, battling GIS software and heating up the last of the braised red cabbage - it is SO GOOD.

Dad says he has made something called Unctuous Potential. It sounds a little on the icky side but am sure it is delicious. After all, anything that must be served with mashed potatoes cannot be too bad.

Ah yes. The snow has come to a halt. I guess last week it was 70 and the daffodils that Edith planted started pushing up. Will be interesting to see if they put themselves on hold until the next warm spell or if they will keep reaching out into the freezing air with reckless abandon.

Boston Market Pot Pie

It was ok, not great. It had green beans and corn and was quite a big pot pie, I could not finish it. Better than Marie C but the crust, while sort of flaky, was not as good as Stouffers. Also it burned on the bottom. Incidentally, when googling for an image of this pot pie, I found an outdated link to something called 'barfblog.foodsafety.ksu.edu'. Yikes!

Pot-Pie-Off

For many years I have been happily consuming Stouffer's chicken pot pies. For New Years Eve dinner Vic and Jason and Laura and I got some Marie Callender's pot pies which were pretty terrible. Now is born the great Pot-Pie-Off of 2008, pitting Pepperidge Farm against Boston Market. I will keep you posted.

Red Cabbage with Chestnuts

When it's cold and you've been gorging on holiday food for two months this is what you need. I didn't have any porcini but it didn't matter and saved me an hour!

Measure Ingredient
2 ounce Dried porcini mushrooms; soaked
3 tablespoon Extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium Onion; minced
2½ pounds Red cabbage 1-medium; cored and shredded
1½ cup Dry red wine
1½ cup Vegetable broth
2 tablespoon Red wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon Freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds Chestnuts; parboiled - I used one 7.5 oz jar of chestnuts from Giant, also HUGE TIME SAVER. Definitely worth the $10.50.

1. CHESTNUTS: Parboil for ten minutes, and remove the outer and inner skins. Soak the MUSHROOMS in warm water for 1 hour. Reserving the liquid, drain, rinse, squeeze "dry" and mince the mushrooms. Filter the liquid and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. In a heavy 3-quart oven dish that has a tightly fitting cover, heat the oil and saute the mushrooms and onion for 5 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently until the onions are soft and buttery. Stir in the cabbage and Cook for 10 minutes. Add the wine, broth, vinegar, nutmeg, salt, and a generous grinding of peper. Cover and place in the oven for 2 hours. Make sure that the liquids are not cooking too fast; if so, add more broth.

4. Gently stir in the chestnuts and cook, covered, for another hour or until the cabbage is tender and most of the liquid absorbed. Adjust seasoning and serve.

SERVES 6

New Art

In Bamako I got a painting from Bama Toure, cousin to Malik, and with grandparent Xmas money I got a stained glass window hanging from Steve on Chestnut Street in Hampden that I'd been eyeing for a while.

Christmas Eve food

We made super yummy Creamy Shrimp Grits with Prosciutto along with some fried oysters and smoked salmon for Christmas Eve dinner.

I heart Canadians

Canadians, they love me! This reinforces my sense that I am actually a good person. I have a very worthwhile hangover today after the 'wheels-up' party last night where I somehow managed to impress a key Red Cross person with my extensive political-malaria knowledge. After a week of low-grade wtf-am-I-doing-here this was very nice. The Canadian photographers and writers are also totally groovy. I think we will have a little love-in this evening before everyone leaves. I fly out 3am tuesday morning and will miss this crew - they are super duper.

I should point out that none of the girls in this picture are really Canadian, but they are all AWESOME.

Back from Segou

Campaign is going pretty well though some places have already run out of nets. The clinics were asked to send in population estimates before getting trained on how to do population estimates, and in many areas where we've visited there are a lot of migrant workers, who are not counted in the census. The first two or three places we visited did have nets but the 'advanced' and 'mobile' sites, served by health agents on motos and in 4x4s, were out as of yesterday. Both teams were taking down names and in a followup campaign after Tabaski (starting Saturday), the redistribution is supposed to take effect and people will gets nets sent over from other districts that had overestimated the need. Fortunately women and kids are still showing up for the vaccines, deworming and Vitamin A, and in places where nets are out things are much more calm. Crowd control was a not a major part of the health agent training and so of course there's a lot of crowding. In some places police were called in to help out. There's not always shade for everyone in line and so tempers can flare easily.

Today Ruth Riley from the WNBA and Diego Gutierrez and Dwayne DeRosario gave bball and soccer clinics, and then demonstrated how to use a mosquito net before handing out (not quite enough) nets to all the kids. Somewhat hokey but they will have nice images for fundraising, bully for them.

Off to take the Admiral shopping now...my commission at Ahmed's is getting huge!

Off to Segou

The campaign starts today, if the CScoms don't strike, and I'm off to Segou to translate for the Red Cross (Bambara/French, yeah right!) until tomorrow night.

Our team is doing a very good job but it's event logistics and not necessarily the fun/technical stuff. It's an important role but I'm a little grumpy and not knowing how exactly to be strategic about this whole trip.

I'm changing my flight to leave here late Monday night or Tuesday morning so that I can take care of some stuff at the office before Xmas....feeling a little découragé.

Mecaniciens

The airplane mechanics I met last time are back! We will see if they are more interesting than last time.

Had a nice meeting at lunch today where I pretty much defected to PSI for next week to take care of the Malaria No More visitors.


Ok must get money from the ATM. Which is in the hotel! I am still ecstatic over this.

Blast from the Past

--- wrote:
> Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2002 01:22:30 -0700 (PDT)
> From:
> Subject: oh my god i think i am going to throw up
> To: pcv1pcv@ga.peacecorps.gov,
>
> Michelle - for JTD - more commentary may follow
> later
> from me and allison
>
> Received: October 11 2002 at the Mouila Case
> 13 packages for Jennifer including:
>
> 2 twelve packs of double stuf oreo cookie packs
> 14 packets of beef jerky products
> 2 boxes wildberry poptarts
> splenda lo-cal sweetener
> 6 boxes velveeta shells and cheese
> 2 boxes nature valley granola bars
> 3 multipacks cheese and peanutbutter crackers
> 5 sweet roasted vanilla mixed nuts
> 4 red rice and beans
> 8 soup mixes
> starbrite peppermints
> 3 funpacks tic tacs
> 3 boxes nutrigrain cereal bars (slightly crushed)
> 5 bags creme savers
> starburst
> gumballs
> 2 packs pudding
> honey bear
> 4 general mills coffee (swiss mocha, french
> vanilla....'jean-luc!')
> 2 mulling spice mix
> oompas
> 2 trail mix
> 3 taco seasoning
> one bottle Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce
> dinty moore beef stew
> tasters choice coffee
> 3 italian cappucino mix
> 10 chicken breast in water (canned)
> 3 sardines in Louisiana hot sauce
> 1 turkey SPAM
> macadamia nuts
> bag of red beans
> bag of chick peas
> bag of bean soup
> 14 starkist flavor fresh pouch (tuna)
> 3 chicken of the sea pink salmon pouch
> brown sugar and smores pop tarts
> box of 30 lb ziploc bags
> bugs and phrases stickers
> listerene breath strips (2 packs)
> danish wedding cookies
> wylers drink mix
> stovetop stuffing
> 4 cans pringles
> malt o meal
> dirty cup measure
> gravy mix
> peanuts> Tough Son of a Gun sponge
> crab boil in a bag
> werthers
> dumdums
> bob's sweet stripes
> stridex pads
> CD (mix)
> 5 packs bubbleyum
> sweet tarts
> bandaids
> fundips (razapple magic flavor)
> 2 40 oz Jif extra crunchy
> seeds
> 2 packs playtex living gloves
> taffy suckers
> 6 shock tarts
> 6 runts
> 11 taffy
> bag of assorted tacobell chinese popeyes condiments
> 4 gobstoppers
> 4 nerds (grape and strawberry)
> 2 antiitch gel and powder
> toothpaste
> Bounce dryer sheets
> 4pack starkist tuna in a pouch
> creole seasoning
> 5 starkist lunch to go
> 2 footpowder
> carnation instant nonfat dry milk, 3 qts
> biore self heating mask
> 6 tuna helper fettucini alfredo
> 4 crystal light
> pizza goldfish
> red zinger tea
> fruit by the foot
> cortizone 10
> 4 teas
> Dobie scrubber
> swiss miss cocoa
> 2 cans goat milk with vitamin D
> bag of bath products
> 7 pack towels
> 5 lbs Planters salted in shell peanuts
> 2 Mixups candy (200 pieces)
> 2 total balance natural meal replacement drink mix
> 5 pairs heavy latex gloves
> 2 welch's concord grape jelly, 2lbs
> 12 pack big league chew
> 6 assorted loofahs> 24 pushpops
> Amino Fuel
> first aid bit and sting kit
> 25 pack Mead folders with pockets
> strawberry splash bubble gum
> 2 tea tree soap
> magic BBQ seasoning
> magic BBQ seasoning salt
> cajun seasoning
> sheet
> dry erase board
> 2 mini tape recorders
> gumdrops
> tea
> assorted drink mix
> 2 plastic tablecloths
> color club water colors
> scarf
> bandana
> neutrogene acne wash
> 4 beach balls, inflatable
> balloons 50 count
> baking soda deoderant
> 2 big bottles advil
> energy booster supplement
> 3 boxes crayons
> 4 composition books
> incense
> shelf paper (flowered)
> 24 AA batteries
> another whole box full of candy for lambarene host
> family:
> 2 bags cotton candy
> 2 boxes gobstoppers
> 2 nerds
> nerf football
> 2 bubble tape
> 6 wrapped gifts
> 4 ring pops
> 2 flip n dip
> 5 popping candy
> one big wrapped gift, for parents
>
> Thirteen packages total, costing 751.90 in postage,
> not including the Fed Ex box (Extremely Urgent:
> recipient please hand deliver to addressee) which
> didn't have a postage amount on it.
>
> Jennifer said: Oh my god I think I'm gonna throw up.
> Oh my god oh my god oh my god (repeated). She also
> was
> disappointed that her khakis (the only thing she had
> really asked for) were not sent. Also, 'good thing
> I have students!'
>
> mom dad, people stateside - this is not a good
> representation of things to send me, except for the
> oreos. just looking at all that stuff made me freak
> out. we wanted to cover it with a sheet or
> something.
> what a wierd night.
>
> ciao, ragazzi,
> h

Upgraded!

I just in the nick of time got my Flying Blue GOLD UPGRADE!!!

Now I no longer have to suffer on one-person airport waiting room seats during long layovers. I can access the lounge, baby!

Not sure if this is a random upgrade, or they're actually checking my flights, or if it's some latent bonus from the strike, but hey I'll take it!

The Wire Previews!

http://bigscreenlittlescreen.net/2007/11/29/the-wire-hbo-drops-premiere-date-16-early-on-demand-5-promos/

New Lease on Life

I think that because of the lucky outcome of my collision, I am supposed to have a new perspective on things. I've not yet figured out what that is, though. I think I still feel pretty much physically invincible (Unbreakable!), like most young people.

Maybe I'll just stick with that, for now.

Hit by Car

Friday morning I was rounding one of the last corners into work, where I have a stop sign and turn left into a small alley usually devoid of cars. Instead a car was speeding through, fast enough so that he wasn't there in the reflection in the large window opposite me that I use to check traffic, but then there he was when I went through the intersection. I thought I would make it somehow and he hit my left leg, knocking the bike sideways. I tore out of my toeclips and fell on my front teeth and the front of my helmet, rolling to the far curb.

My leg hurt a lot but at this point I still thought he'd hit my rear wheel. I could move my toes and didn't think it was broken. The guy, a detective, called an ambulance. His cop buddies came over from the police station a block away with some gauze. A big fire truck came with some medics. The ambulance arrived. My friend Chris from work was walking by when the accident happened and stayed till they took me away. My leg kept hurting and in the ambulance Sean and Dennis gave me some morphine and splinted both my ankles, there was a small scrape on my right one too that I hadn't noticed. My lip was cut and bleeding but my teeth were still there.

At UMD Shock Trauma they cut my jeans off (but saved my new patagonia green fleece!) and checked my spine and pupils. I had been shivering from shock but the morphine helped with that, and by the time they were xraying (chest, left leg, ankle, foot) it had worn off and I was shaking again. They gave me another two mg and it felt bitter through my body, but then I was warm.

A doctor came and stitched up my lip and a crazy volunteer came and talked to me while I waited for the xrays to come back. The guy in the next bed had had a stroke or a fall after a stroke but was really chatty. A cop was brought in who'd been in a collision and had some pain in his back but seemed like he would be ok.

Xrays were negative. Two (different) sergeants came by and took a statement and told me the bike was at the police station. At first I heard the guy who hit me was FBI but then someone said something about a 'task force' and all I could think was I got hit by the guys they based the Wire on. They sent me home with crutches which I haven't used at all and an Rx for oxycodone which I took two of and then felt like throwing up, though it might have been from hitting my head. All in all I have a bruised and maybe sprained left lower leg, scrapes and two stitches on my lip, badass bruise on my knee (from hitting the top tube on my bike as he hit me), and a small scrape and a bruise on my right ankle and hip. I expected a lot of whiplash soreness the next morning but really, it's been fine. I kind of look like a turtle or a giraffe, though, with my lip all poofy on top.

Everyone's been so great; Bonnie got me from the ER, Tarik brought chocolate, and Nick and a few others have called or stopped by. Edith and I went and got the bike on Saturday and it seems fine - which is sort of surprising and sort of not, considering he hit my leg and not the bike. I have some pics I'll post after I hook up the camera.

My helmet saved my head and my nose. Please wear your helmets.

Pyervi blin

There's a Russian saying I hold dear, because it's true: "The first pancake is always a flop."

But the 3rd pancake, he is smart and nice and good looking!

Office Olympics

Youssou N'Dour

Youssou is one of the malaria spokespeople for Roll Back Malaria. Lisa his manager in the states (sort of) got us tickets for the Kennedy Center show last night. We had nice drinks and food at Dish beforehand, where I mistakenly ordered my salmon medium (OOPS!) but it was still pretty good. As always UNF and BASF picked up most of the bill.


Jumana and I went right up front and danced. Fun. I saw Jamaica from PSI (ex PC-Guinea) in the other aisle. Every other white person was an RPCV. This pic of Jumana is not nearly as scary in large format as it was on my camera, when she looked straight out of "Lost Boys".

Comp and the weekend

The climbing comp yesterday was fun except for the part where I was trying this rad move involving a low pocket undercling with my left ring and middle fingers, pushing down with my feet so I could get up to a nice flat sloper with my right, and something popped in my left wrist. It was pretty much curtains after that. Not too much pain, but a sense of weakness in the wrist, and pain all up the forearm to the ring finger. I climbed a few more things but couldn't finish any of them, though I did enjoy the slab route. Sean did really really well, sending a bunch of 11's, and ended up fourth overall, only missing the finals by - well, ok, a lot, but only because VJ, Ben, and the kid from Loyala are crazy good and can onsight 5.12. That means climb it the first time without falling or having any prior tips on how to do it.

So it's rest for me and the wrist and perhaps a trip to urgent care on Wednesday before mom comes into town just to make sure it doesn't need to be immobilized or something. I tweaked it again opening the car door (an undercling, technically) and it aches. I guess going to Mali for three weeks and not climbing through the holidays will be the best thing for it, but it bums me out.

A sort of frustrating continuation to some other things, including boots getting stolen (or misdelivered) off our porch, the treadmill not having its startup key, and not being able to install Windows on my mac this weekend so that I can use our new trial mapping software. Nothing major really. And offset by lots of good hanging out time all weekend and my free Prana jeans I won in the comp raffle. They are size L, but fit pretty good, and hopefully I can shrink them a bit in the wash.

That familiar sense of panic

I am going back to Mali Dec 5-20th for the integrated measles/malaria/polio/Vitamin A campaign so that I can babysit journalists, translate, and do logistics. I'm excited but now I only have two weeks to do this database thing which makes me want to shoot myself. Plus Office Olympics (November 27th) and the Friends of Gabon Mayumba ITN distribution. Yiiiiikes.

Panic Free Weekend

I made a potful of Hazan's ragu this friday. Here's the recipe so that I don't have to keep calling up my mom every time I want to make it!

Melt
8 tbl yellow onion
8 tbl diced carrot
in 12 tbl olive oil and a stick of butter

crumble in
3 lbs chuck just until loses its red color, and 4 tsp kosher salt.

add a bottle of white wine, cook until evaporated.
Then add 2 cups milk (whole is better, duh) and cook until evaporated. All this over medium-high heat.

Oops I forgot the 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Oh well.

Add 3 large cans (~8 cups) San Marzano tomatoes. Chop 'em up in the can first.

Cook uncovered for 5 hours or as long as possible. Sauce should not be too liquidy at the end. Stir occasionally to avoid burning.

Sean's Dream

I went climbing with Sean yesterday and got some beers after. Here's the dream he had last night:

I had an interesting dream last night. The four of us were out driving
in the country somewhere, past lots of corn fields and we passed this
makeshift dirt dragstrip. Someone was racing two white limousines on
the dragstrip, so when we passed it a second time we stopped to take a
look. This older guy owned the place and he liked all things fast.
Hannah seemed to know him. We went inside his house where bryan found a
rolling desk chair, a propane tank, and a stack of cash. He got this
grreat idea that he could sit in the desk chair with the propane tank,
open it up and light it, and shoot down the dragstrip. He liked this
idea so much, he was going to race one of the limos and bet his new
found wad of cash. So we looked around for a helmet he could wear. We
found a stash of about 20 dusty old peugeot bikes. I got excited,
thinking i could buy one off the guy, but Hannah assured me that he
loved them all an would never sell them. So we found bryan a bike
helmet, an old style leather one, and he headed out to race. Everyone
was waiting for him, including a guy riding around on a red track bike.
Unfortunately, i woke up before the race went down, but bryan was so
sure he was going to win, it was hardly worth watching anyway.

We made it out

Sorry for not posting, not like any of you actually read this to make sure I'm still alive :)

I'm in Philly, in a hotel room next to the bank of elevators, listening to sessions I cannot concentrate on, signing myself up for website design for 80 hours a week for the next two months, and hoping the fog in my head will not lead to malaria. Jet lag is getting better and we appear to be moving forward with the project but I'm just so tired, and Gates is taking over the malaria world without putting any more money into it. Kevin describes it as 'the predator', running through the leaves and bushes around us, but we can't see it.

Okie dokie

On our flip chart in a conference room where no one is discussing work and everyone is checking their email, we have:

Dakar Flight

8:30 leave hotel
9am formalities/weigh-in
11:00am departure

It's not much, but it's a lot. Now if we can just get the Ghanaians, our director, and the Camerounaise to Ouaga by road we will have taken care of everybody.

I think I've missed my calling as a logistics expert.

Low blood sugar

Eating always makes you feel better.

We have everyone's tickets changed and distributed - I am not sure if our first flight is 9:30am Saturday or 16:40 Saturday, or how long it will take to fly to Dakar with this little plane, but we will figure it out tomorrow. We had a nice chat before dinner with Charles the airplane mechanic who reassured us that Soviet planes last a long time, so hopefully we will be ok. Then off to the National Museum, which has a FANTASTIC sculpture outside of a minibus filled with people and piled high with metal trunks, plastic mama bags, goats, and lanterns and salidagas. The passengers are made of paper maché and it's covered in stickers like "BinLadens" and presidential campaign photos. The ouijala was excellent as always (Museum has the best Malian food of any restaurant) and it was very nice to see my old friends Maiga and Tandina from the other CCP projects, who I met when I was working here for PSI. It was a little CCP family dinner with our director who got stuck with a pretty large bogolan. Fortunately she's not on our flight so I don't have to worry about the weight!

It's ten to 9:00 and I'm going to sleep. Hopefully Charles will tell me how great the Appaloosa Halloween party was tomorrow.

Charter Flight

We have chartered a 16 seat plane to Dakar on Saturday. If everyone's luggage is under 25 kilos we won't crash.

I'm getting pretty close to not being able to function anymore. At this point it's almost not worth going to Philly since I"ll be broken there anyway and unable to really participate, though I guess we'll see if I can find some strength somewhere.

Two if by land, one if by charter plane

Options:

Charter a small plane to take the 6 of us to Dakar saturday morning; see if we can get on one of the many flights out of Dakar home.

Drive 12 hours to Ouaga where Air France says they can maybe put us on the one AF flight from Ouaga to Paris. We'd have to get visas today.

Stay until the 12th of November because the backup from the strike and the airport closing mean a lot of people need to get out. I love Bamako, but not that much.