interview

An interview with Kate Greenstreet. Thanks to Kate for all her hard work with this and all her other interviews.

"You told me again you preferred handsome men
but for me you would make an exception."

Reading

Come give us a listen.

awe yeah!

& so begins vacation.

dukes of hazzard and sungolds

tomatoes

garlic

Thursday morning I head to Block Island with a group of friends for what is the beginning of my vacation and a bachelor party. We will be chartering a boat and renting an apartment for the evening. There will be no strippers on the boat, but perhaps some stripers. I'm not much of a fisherman, nor a water lover for that matter. I prefer to have my hands in the soil up to my elbows if given my druthers.

My vacation is sorely needed. I'm finding I'm unable to keep up with my myriad of projects. I have managed to "put up" a bunch of stuff that last couple of evenings. Making pesto, dehydrating tomatoes, etc.

I am drinking a Geary's Pale Ale this evening which makes me nostalgic. When I was working as a brewer in Boston Geary's was one of my first favorite beers. An excellent session beer. Just the sight of the portly bottle makes me nostalgic in the same way Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain makes me nostalgic, or the way Russ Meyers movies make me nostalgic, as Joe Massey's recent post has reminded me. I can't get a direct link, but go here. The first Russ Meyers's movie I saw was Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and I was immediately hooked, for more reasons other than the obvious visual draw. I've always been more compelled by artists whose artistic accomplishment and stature might not be sanctioned as the height of their craft. Instead I gravitate towards artists who express a singular vision, even if this vision is considered "uneven" by others. Meyers is a master editor and a nut. I've seen nearly every one of his movies. Some are much better than others, but all are worth the time invested watching them. It is this singularity and uniqueness that intrigues me. I often prefer an iconoclast to an accomplished artist. I think here of Samuel Fuller, whose movies have always been more useful to me than, say Ingmar Bergamn. You should read his A Third Face if you haven't. It is necessary to develop your own pantheon based on what is useful for you. This is why I say I'll take Phil Ochs over Bob Dylan any day. I can recognize Dylan's talent, but it doesn't compel me in the same way Ochs does and that is not just an extension of some mythologized sense of Ochs' tragic life. It is his odd song writing, his unique voice, and his banter between songs.

"Rock n’ Roll is supposed to be fun – even in spite of Sting!"

Required reading.

No blackberries for the blackberry-cilantro sauce, so I made a mango curry instead. Should I still make the walnut sauce too?

Classic and Asian Eggplant