Sunday, September 17, 2006
Random Acts
In keeping with the new theme of rejecting modern life in 2006 America, I will not only be laughing at the ludicrousness of It All, but I will be supplementing the usual daily requirement of random acts of kindness with a new type of act I hope will catch on: Random acts of chaos.
If I can’t do at least one thing each day that leaves someone scratching his or her head, I’m not trying hard enough.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
A psychotic break?
It is with all due gravity that I must announce that the man formally known as ‘mouse appears to have suffered some sort of psychotic break. He awoke Saturday morning after eight hours of comfortable sleep. Sometime during the night his ability to take life in modern American society in the year 2006 completely disappeared.
Last seen he was walking about chuckling gently at folks being walked by their designer dogs. He almost fell down laughing at the sight of two people earnestly negotiating over who would next be owned by an ugly, surly, stinking mechanical contraption made by the Bavarian Motor Works. Strangely the man who was receiving his freedom also received a stack of little green bills, which had he any sense at all, he would have thrown away, but which he instead petted with affection.
Continuing his walk he observed several people who had allowed small appliances to attach themselves to their ears. Apparently affected by advertising images, insecurity or lack of creativity, these people talked constantly. Rarely listening. Never being alone with their thoughts.
And on an on he wandered, lost in a crazy, alien, mixed-up landscape.
While we suspect that by Monday morning, when the crush of the workaday world may well re-exert its proper somnabulatory effect, it is possible that ‘mouse may be a lost cause. Worse yet, he may be developing into a dangerous revolutionary.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Test Picture
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Lilikoi Pie (aka Passion Fruit Pie) (aka The ‘Net Never Forgets)
Courtesy of the Wayback Machine, I have reached into prehistory (Pre-’mouse-history anyway) and rescued this from Goliard’s “Destruct” button:
Piiiiiieee!!! Lilikoi Pie aka Passion Fruit Pie
By ‘Mouse, guest-bloggining before it’s too late!
The recipe I promised long ago:
Lilikoi Pie (in Hawaii) or Passion Fruit Pie (anywhere else)
* 1-1/2 envelopes Knox gelatin (1 Tbsp)
* 1/4 Cup Water.
Soak gelatin in water
* 3 to 4 Tbsp sugar (I prefer 3 because I use a sweet syrup, below)
* 4 eggs, separated
Beat together egg yolks and sugar, then cook in the top of a double boiler until it thickens—stir constantly. Then remove from heat and stir in gelatin/water mix until it is fully dissolved. Put aside to cool.
* 1/2 cup frozen passion fruit juice (thawed) or 1/2 cup passion fruit syrup
Allegedly some stores sell frozen passion fruit juice tho I’ve never seen it. I use a concentrated Asian syrup from the local Chinese groceries, sold in the drinks section. Comes in a bottle with square sides. Torani, the company that makes all the syrups you see at the esspresso joint also makes one which I haven’t tried.
Add passion fruit juice and mix thoroughly until the ingredients are combined. Set in frige to chill/thicken a little.
Beat egg whites to soft peaks and then slowly add 6 Tbsp sugar while beating to stiff peaks. Fold egg whites into passion fruit mixture and pour into baked pie shell. Chill until firm. Serve topped with whipped cream (or Cool Whip if you’re Goliard).
Note to G: If you can’t find the syrup or juice let me know and I’ll find a way to send you a bottle. Despite how good it is, I believe it’s still legal to ship it across state lines.
Monday, August 21, 2006
On Creativity (and a brief “Thank You")
Okay, first, the truth. I can’t stand coming here and seeing that same picture and entry at the top of the blog, so I’ve got to post something. Anything.
Some combination of Jo’s amazing ability to blog through thick and thin, while she writes a novel and paints and deals with her family, and Keith’s overlong hiatus from regular blog-length storytelling and Zellar’s unbelievable ability to put out new creative writing every few days (as well as all the others I read who I didn’t name not because I don’t think about you too, but because this sentence has to end at some point) has gotten me thinking about creativity and writing and art and life.
And, as always, it has me feeling jealous.
I write like I live. Straightforward. Without layers. I can write you a damn good persuasive argument. Sometimes I manage to tell a funny story. But that’s about it. When it comes to creativity, I’m a consumer, not a contributor.
No. This isn’t a not-so-veiled cry for y’all to tell me how great I am. I know I’m not great. I don’t even begin to aspire to write anything of value.
I guess what I’m really saying is, I’m really honored and humbled to hang out with y’all (and by “y’all” I mean everyone on the list of “scriner’s sites” over on Scrine). I wish you all all the best as you use that incredible gift you all have. I hope you will keep me around as foil… or fool, or just plain ol’ ‘mouse.
Thanks.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
making love in the shower
I must say right up front, this post is not going to live up to its title. At least not in the prurient sense. Sorry.
Several years ago when I was feeling rather low and in need of affirmation I growled at my rather non-expressive wife, “How come you never say, ‘I love you?’”
She responded that it’s the way she was raised. Never once has either of her parents expressed their love for each other or for any of their kids in words. As a result, she just doesn’t think in terms of expressing herself that way. Period.
She explained, however, that her mother before her, and now she, expresses her love constantly by running the household and, most importantly, through her cooking.
Because of this, my house is a living version of Eat Drink Man Woman with my wife in the starring role. Actually, it’s even better since not only does she cook Chinese, but also Mexican and Italian and American and more. (As I speak chicken breasts are pan-braising in olive oil and garlic. Later they will be sliced and will join sun dried tomatoes and shrimp and fresh bell peppers in a light fettucini dish which is one of our favorite pastas. The fact that it was 102 degrees today hasn’t kept her out of the kitchen.)
In spite of the nearly 20-year drought of verbal affirmation of love, I live in a house full of love.
Which leads to the shower. Building this shower the right way – by hand, step-by-step, from the layer after layer of the pan, sloping the drainage just right, cutting the marble and choosing a challenging design for the floor which greatly increased the amount of work, grinding off sharp edges, polishing exposed cuts, and today spending the entire day wearing myself down to an exhausted puddle as I grouted everything – it occurred to me that I’ve finally completely adopted my wife’s way of expressing love. This is a shower built for us. Built as an expression of love.
Tonight at dinner she’ll say, “Thanks for all your hard work, the shower’s coming along nicely and looking great.” I’ll say, Thanks for making dinner, it’s wonderful, as usual.”
And we both know that means, “I love you.”