leftover night (or "smorgasbord")

i think i should do this more often so that it won't be as big as this, but...
i'm going to clear out my blog ideas bookmarks.
MOST OF THEM... right now... get ready:

first off, a clear picture of jupiter:

ahh, how nice. and now, teh links:

brain reacts to a hand transplant
weird light sculpture photos here and here
beautiful post it note cascade video
russia newspaper predicts u.s. apocalypse
urb's top ten rap debate songs.
article has funniest. title. ever.
steal back your vote comic.
sheriff refuses to evict people.
martial law imposed if bailout not passed.
8 hacks to make firefox much faster.
the green-collar economy book.
sensors powered by trees.
1 in 4 mammals face extinction.
nytimes ownership gossip.
top ten reasons to become a "new radical".
yet more crow intelligence here and here.
florida gop voter fraud again.
site claims bloggers can make a difference
dems look at policies that wrecked economy.
very interesting color i.q. test... it's hard!
victoria reynolds weird, meaty artwork
cutup collective's baltic work.
rabbi's against the existence of israel video
7 people with real mutant superpowers
do you know about the overton window?
bill o'reilly defends obama... wow.
oops, missed this call to action.
sort of obsolete palin articles here and here.
scholarly article on hedonism.
amazing spraypaint art technique.
drawing every person in new york city.
funny little nature boats, pooh sticks!
trash formed into awesome shadow art.
portable cardboard table... nice design.
guerilla marketing reverse grafitti.
3d, light and geek grafitti.
tile patterns of the alhambra analysis.
awesome layered glass painting of xia xiaowan.
illusions with record covers.
book reccomendations from 17 leading scientists.
boost your memory with the palace technique.
rare brain disease effects creativity, also "bolero"
top ten strange phenomena of the mind.
i don't know if i believe this, but...
the anatomy of sarcasm.
trains that don't stop moving?
teese cheese and ice scream.
i have no idea why i have this link.
vectors for free.
how to trick your printer into using it's ink.
how to get free airport wi-fi.
10 creative ways to deal with junk mail.(make paper!)
how to persuade customer service reps to help you.
25 ways to simplify your life with kids.
article on sharing parenting duties... we do this.
beautiful oak photograph.
9 ways to start a fire without matches.
thousands of starlings do weird things together.
the almiqui... bizarre!
plants prefer their relatives.
urban homesteading article.
marijuana experiment movie and law attempt.
study on inequality and the effects of physical pain
organizing without organizations.
sensible units.
blind 5-year old piano prodigy.
the bodhisattva vows.
geek out about colors
orange jews.
writing excersise prompt.
pirate bay breaks 12 bazillion users.
the unapologetic mexican.
independent bookstore book finder.
call the future.org
online radio guide.
interesting online graphics programs.
everything someone found funny for one year.
dear-god.net, an interesting community blog.
good online arabic-english dictionary.
world's largest flashcard exchange.
make and save images of stacked cubes... album cover anyone?

and if you only ever watch one video on this site, watch this one:



i can't take it anymore... time to stop. anything good?
UPDATE: from the comments, patrice adds some links...

monkey's using robot arms or "what my brother does in Pgh
Off-beat bride. I'm not really an endorser of weddings, but the photos on the cite are always fun to look at. Basically my form of reality TV/Lifetime TV
tiny
twistori
Just Seeds Updates
quick and good
Geek Fun
Surveying the Interstices of Art and Medicine, Death and Culture.
cute
yum
the the other half does
favs
great investment, great guys who designed it, good cause that they put $ to
endless amusement
he was a trainwreck
OH goodness
a friend's new website
next project

Read more...

i've got too much today for more than one post

so i'm just going to jam it into a rambler...

checked my list of music blogs today for the first time in a while... tons of fire there.

i found a mix by the long lost (to me) d.j. ripley. it's sure to be fire, but i haven't heard it yet. she blew my mind in 2003 in brooklyn. i've never spun the same way since. via mashit.

UPDATE: this mix is good, but it's much more 4/4 than her earlier jungle/rocksteady/noise/hip hop thing... all half-tempo blends and whatnot. still good, but definitely more hipster and house than what i'm familiar with.

FURTHER UPDATE: from the comments, d.j. ripley says "the whole theme of this one is me being dragged kicking & screaming into 4x4.. that's what the whole long spiel is about. How i don't want to, but it just happened. But never fear! the genresmashing is still there. check my blog, or this mix for more of that "

anyway, holy shit it's an awesome bomb from cauto. on the tremendous dutty artz (rupture and shadetek's label). this track starts to hint at the future melding of dubstep, techno and breakbeat jungle. the reggae aspect is my least favorite. i dig the fact that the bassline keeps changing... it's not just loops. i wasn't going to post this track, but now that palmsout.com did it, i'm gonna. buy the vinyl if you do that sort of thing.

(mp3) cauto - "bona vida" from "dutty artz remix zero ep"

i'm trying to figure out what this fast style of latin electronic music is, and i can't but i did locate kuduro, which is really cool (but different...)

also, listening to benji b fill in for the great mary anne hobbs show on bbc, i was turned on to the dorian concept, which i liked his track "the fucking formula", and the awesome jay electronica, and m.c. from the future. read that link for a really comprehensive look, or take the quick route and just watch a video (featuring a bit of alex grey... which isn't too surprising as he is signed by erykah badu and she digs grey as i've reported)... warning, graphic images in the video (of j.f.k.'s assasination, etc...)



on the video tip, don't miss this woman rocking her rights on saudi t.v., this display of schlieren photography, a taste trip with the miracle fruit, or a little electric piano jam by the very odd ronald jenkees (hello youtubes!).

oh, and i'm still ass deep in political musings, just haven't been posting much about it, because it's getting a bit old. i did hear something about obama having a white problem, but this photo seems to disagree, yeah?


love to yinz all!

Read more...

report back - sandor katz lecture

he was great. a wealth of knowledge surrounding fermented foods... some of the points he made that i found interesting were...

1. almost all gourmet foods are fermented... cheese, olives, bread, alcohol, chocolate, coffee, etc...

2. fermentation arised as an art because it is the path of least resistance... food ferments!

3. fermentation was a necessity because 38 degree boxes are a new luxury... need to preserve.

4. the double meaning of the word culture is appropriate, fermentation has local flavor.

5. wild fermentation captures local bacteria. just like eating local honey helps local allergies.

6. our bodies are 90% other organisms, we need to maintain their balance to maintain ours.

7. our "disinfecting" culture actually makes us less safe by making resistant bacterias unnecessarily.

8. fermented foods make food more digestable and increase the available vitamins including B12 (earlier...)

he gave a very simple fermented vegetable recipe (which we've done... great!) which i will give here:

chop whatever vegetables you want (raw, although cooked do work). i'd recommend cabbage, carrot, pepper, garlic, crimini mushroom, green beans, romanesco (for looks), and some salt. he said that salt does prohibit certain (potentially beneficial) bacteria from forming, but that lactobacillus (a very necessary bacteria) actually likes salt. his ratio for salt is roughly 2.5% by weight... or just salt to taste. mix those veggies together, squeeze them to slightly break the cell walls down a bit, put in an open jar or crock, and press them down. if their own juices don't cover the veggies, add a bit of water. make sure there is cloth cover on it and just let it sit. it can sit for a long time, just keep pressing the veggies under the liquid. the water protects it from mold growth. if mold does form, skim it off. if you let it sit, the mycelium will penetrate the pickle and make the texture softer (that's desirable in some cultures). we let ours sit out for about a week before we put the top on and tossed it in the fridge, although much slower, longer ferments (especially in cooler climes) can go on and makes the flavor more complex. anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks to 3 months, to even 3 years can work, with some variation. this is hardly exhaustive, but feel free to ask any questions.

enjoy... foods with live cultures help us live!

Read more...

pittsburghers - fermented foods visionary visits!

the one and only sandor ellix katz.

live at the east end food co-op sunday march 30, 6-8pm

this guys fermentation recipes have kept his AIDS at bay, and he is a one-of-a-kind fermentation feteshist. we have his book, wild fermentation - a d.i.y. guide to cultural manipulation, which is awesome, and sports the finest double-entendre in a sub-title ever (on the old version.)

we made the mead from it... yum. we made the kim-chee from it... yum. we tried the sourdough... yum. you get the idea.

can't wait to hear his anecdotes. call ahead for reservations. $5-$20 suggested sliding scale, but no one turned away for lack of bread!

Read more...

the phenominable snowball!

THE PHENOMINABLE SNOWBALL

this is not just some truffle, it is a multi-layered extravagance of confection... and it just happens to be vegan! mmm.

fresh grated coconut flesh from 1 coconut
1 cup smooth unsalted cashew butter
1 cup dried tart cherries
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup unrefined sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon grade b maple syrup
1 tablespoon grand marnier
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon anise extract
water

wherever possible, use organic ingredients, it tastes that much better. also, get fair trade chocolate and sugar if you can find it. child labor is a drag you don't want to mix with luxury.

1. mix the maple syrup, grand marnier, vanilla extract and anise extract. pour it over the cherries in a small bowl. if necessary, add a little water until the mixture almost covers the cherries, stir occasionally and let soak for as long as you can bear it. overnight is best.

2. to prepare the coconut, i used james patterson's excellent method from "what's a cook to do?": hammer a screwdriver into two of the soft round spots that appear near one end of the coconut and pour out the liquid (he says discard it, i say drink it... heavenly!). bake the coconut on a sheet pan in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. wrap the coconut in a towel and crack it in half with a hammer. use a screwdriver to pry the flesh out of each end. if the thin brown membrane adheres to the flesh, peel it off with a vegetable peeler. grate. the fresh stuff is so much more succulent and complex, don't get the dried. if you're going to make these, make them perfect!

3. melt the sugar in a small saucepan over medium low heat (no teflon... it's public record now that dupont lied about it's harmful effects. i know of a former dupont employee who says to NEVER feed food to kids cooked on teflon. yikes!).

4. when the sugar is melted, stir in the cashew butter and cocoa powder, and turn off the heat.

5. if there is still a lot of liquid left on the cherries, strain some out, but keep it.

6. stir in the cherries, adding the liquid as necessary to assimilate them. i used about 1 tablespoon. more might be fine, but too much could make the balls fall apart.

7. when the mixture is cool enough to touch, stir in the chocolate chips.

8. form the mixture into balls and roll in the coconut shreds. cool or eat warm... both are great.



by the way, i want to extend a warm welcome to everybody who came via tastespotting (a most excellent image blog of creative foods). please check out the rest of this blog. it's not just food, (in fact this is my first food post!) but i'll be sure to do more. my wife laura and i are big vegan and vegetarian foodies, and have produced a small cookbook. we were in a dialogue with ak press to create a vegan "joy of cooking", but while they are interested, they can't really advance us enough to cover the research costs, so we are trying to figure out other options.

Read more...