Here's the CD that sums up the year. I got some flak for seeming too negative (this happened in 2007, too). So here's the inspiration behind the choices.
1. Secondhand News / Fleetwood Mac - If you weren't at SLC Baccanalia in 1999 to see the world's best FM cover band, well this choice probably makes no sense to you. If you were..? 2009 was not only the anniversary of Woodstock, people!
2. The Rising / Bruce Springsteen - The inauguration and the We Are One HBO concert. It was great and if you didn't see it you can only hope HBO does something with the license to all those great performances.
3. Midnight Train to Georgia / Gladys Knight - Sometimes you gotta choose: "if you'd rather live in his world, or live without him, in yours..."
4. Wild Wild Life / Talking Heads - Because I made it up to Seattle and got to renew an old friendship, thus leading to many, many, happy phone conversations.
5. Nobody Right, Nobody Wrong / Michael Franti and Spearhead - The feel good song of the summer might have been their hit, but this song is just fabulous.
6. Perfect Timing / Drive-by Truckers - It is like Dinosaur Jr., Neil Young, and Steve Earle mushed into one sound. Love it and had to put something on this year's playlist. "here I am again...perfect timing..."
7.Casino Queen / Wilco - Simple. Show at The Joint in Vegas. Played this song, just for me.
8. Like a Rolling Stone / Bob Dylan - Simple. Show at The Joint in Vegas. Played this song, like it had never been played before.
9. Different Drum / Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet - Because I randomly found their cover albums and they are like candy.
10. Helpless / Neil Young and The Band - Because of The Last Waltz. What else can I say? Go watch it again.
11. Sheena is a Punk Rocker / Ramones - Everyone needs to be schooled by Joey Ramones every once in a while. In 2009, I needed it.
12. Sentimental Heart / She & Him - I love, love, love She & Him. So, this is year 2 of inclusion on the playlist. Just a good sound.
13. The New Love Song / Joshua James - The new 2009 find for the sensitive boy singer slot. Catchy.
14. Niteclub / Old 97's - Because we are 2567 miles from Manhattan.
15. Take Me Home Country Roads / Jason and the Scorchers - The crazy cover song slot. I have been way into John Denver in the last half of 2009.
16. Kick Drum Heart / Avett Brothers - Added this one because it's happy and upbeat and I love the Avett boys.
17. True Love Will Never Fade / Mark Knopfler - A sweet cinematic song, lovely and a nice message to end the year with.
Monday, December 28, 2009
2009 in Review Playlist
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Happy Holidays!
Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for a very Happy New Year. If you are so inclined, read our online holiday card and let us know what you have been up to!
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Everybody Knows This is Nowhere
Early in the month, I did something completely out of character and had a girl's weekend in Vegas with some old friends from high school. This actually involved things like walking up and down the Strip, eating at celebrity chef restaurants, nickel slots, shopping,and one Michael Jackson dance party (um, yeah I was responsible for that last one.) It was a fabulous time and I just want to note here that I am capable of "being fun", wearing makeup AND a dress simultaneously, and doing "girly stuff". Yeah, I know you doubted me, but that's cool.
Later in the month, we had the in-laws in town and got to spend some quality time catching up. This weekend was full of eating yummy food (complete with Italian accordion players), walking the dog, talk about real estate, love at Love, and a few winning hands of video poker on Fremont Street. It is fun to see the city through the eyes of a tourist and putting together an agenda for the weekend was really fun. I'll definitely be back to Firefly at the Plaza, Twin Creeks at the Silverton, and just for shock value the Hash House (kill the DJ, though!!)
Most recently was the highly tradition-wrought holiday of Thanksgiving. After seventeen heated conversations about methodology and best practices for brining a turkey - we finally got our bird prepped, the fridge packed with groceries and beer, and the iPod queued up with some good cooking music (somehow this became a classic rock-themed meal). My sister and her husband arrived on Thursday and we kept them distracted with learning how to play cribbage as we cooked and baked. I also surprised my sister with a toast to her recent academic accomplishments and I think she was extremely happy to have surpassed a major landmark in her career. I am very proud! Because no family visit is complete without a little sibling rivalry we also ended up playing (what is now a tradition, I suppose) a poker tournament that naturally I ended up losing all my money in (darn lucky river card!). The rest of the weekend involved more football than I ever need in my life, but I did learn about the Florida Gator chomp (?) and some shot called Sex with an Alligator. I'm positive this will come in handy! During an escape from the Mandalay Bay sportsbook, my sister and I snuck away to see the Bodies exhibit which has forever changed me. I mean you are really missing out in life if you cannot immediately conjure a mental image of the complete human skin lying in a glass box. Now, this is burned eternally into my memory. Yeah, totally.
So, now it's officially holiday season. I'm very happy to have had such fun in November and I sincerely thank everyone for coming and spending some time with us in Vegas. But, I have to say a mellow Christmas doesn't sound half bad. So there's the update, just in case you were "wondering what it's like down here". Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. Cheers!
Monday, November 02, 2009
Mysterious, intellectually challenging, and sweet
When is talking about literature not an evasion of the real question at hand?
I mean come on! Any book incorporating:
dogs
Doppler effect
Patagonia (Argentina)
cultish meteorologists
and a heartbreaking love story
Yeah. I loved it.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
I'll Be Your Baby, Tonight
Yes, Las Vegas is probably one of the worst places in the country to follow live music. The clubs are big and corporate. The fans are more concerned with pyrotechnics and celebrity sightings than what type of guitar the musician is playing. There is more security than Fort Knox. Beer is outrageously expensive and of course you can't smoke.
But, one thing Vegas does well, is throw money around and The Joint at the Hard Rock is nothing if not state-of-the-art. It's probably a treat for musicians to play at (though the huge plasma screen TVs are a downer for some), and the sound is an audiophile's dream come true.
So Bob came to town and we went to see him. We braved the high ticket prices, the pitfalls of parking, the crappy tap beer, and the iPhone maniacs trying to sneak videos all night long while big scary security guards shined flashlights in their faces. (Really adds to the mood, thanks guys!)
No stranger to Dylan concerts, loyal fans know that no Dylan show is the same as the last Dylan show you saw. Sometimes he's bluesy, sometimes he's kinda country, and other times he's just surly and never even shows his face to the audience. It's okay. He's a legend. He's allowed to do whatever the hell he wants.
But this concert was different. Dylan always reinvents his work in his live shows, rarely faithfully reproducing th hits the way some fans yearn for him to do. In fact, he seems to take some pleasure in remaking these songs from our subconscious into new and unfamiliar pieces that become less touchstone and more a nagging sense of deja vu. But Dylan outdid himself. He was back and he was, well, he was hot. I don't purely mean sexually alluring, although I am sure some in the audience were pleased to see him make some moves for a change. I mean that from the first note, the whole place was electrified and Dylan himself radiated, yeah, it looked like he was totally enjoying himself. Not only, did the band (including Charlie Sexton) rock, but Dylan rocked, the audience rocked, we all rocked. Together, like in the shared artistic experience that only live performance can provoke. It was Dylan covering Dylan and making the old new and the new new-er and remaking us as an audience in the process.
Of particular note, were the songs; Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat, Don't Think Twice It's Alright, Ballad of a Thin Man, Highway 61 Revisited, All Along the Watchtower, and a version of Like a Rolling Stone that was genius. (Yeah, the version you are thinking of is genius, but this reinterpretation was simply amazing. The song lost none of it's intellectual profundity, but gained teeth - and an unforgettable beat.)
The Las Vegas paper may have called Dylan's voice a "croak" and his fans the "middle-aged office crowd", but I prefer to go gentle on the ignorant journalists of this city (one mis-referenced the seminal Dylan album as Blonde AND Blonde). For us, as the brave, clever, lucky few that got to see Dylan this weekend, we saw an artist - at 68, no less - play one of the best shows of his career.
Shhhhh...it's a secret....Rock is not dead.
It just blew my mind.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Vacation in Sedona
My week off started with a bang at the Wilco show at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The show was actually really enjoyable, although Wilco is certainly a long way from the last Uncle Tupelo show in Hoboken, NJ back in the early 1990's. They played "Box Full of Letters", "California Stars", and (of course), "Casino Queen"--which was awesome!! Very fun, though I must complain about the absurd parking situation at the Hard Rock. It literally took almost an hour to exit the garage after the concert and the combination of rowdy drunk people and a traffic jam in a confined place is just bound to be a bad scene.
The next day, we hit the road to Sedona for our vacation. We had previewed the rental and it was simply fabulous. The best part was the pool, patio, and gorgeous view of the red rocks, We spent a LOT of time out here. I spent a LOT of time contemplating a rock that was supposed to look like Snoopy.
This trip was also my first opportunity to meet my new niece, Abigail. It was wonderful to see her, play with her, listen to her laugh, and get to know her a little. better. I had a great time catching up with my older niece, and her brother and we collaborated on several pranks that kept all the adults on their toes through the week!
There were two trips that we took during the middle of the week. On Wednesday, we explored the Grand Canyon, which certainly deserves far more time that we had in one day. We managed to get a bit confused by the bus system, but eventually found the Rim Trail and took a nice walk along the edge of the Canyon. I can't wait to go back and see more.
The second trip was an expedition in the tradition of Long's Peak and Half Dome: we climbed Arizona's highest peak, Mt. Humphrey's. It was a partly cloudy day, but we were on the trail by eight and at the summit at 11:15. The climb was hard; mainly due to the altitude (12,633 ft.) but the trail was good and well-marked. The views from the summit were spectacular, with some spots of snow on the slopes. We made it down the mountain and back to the hot tub for a cold one by 4:00 pm.
We enjoyed lots of great home-cooked food at the house: Aaron's BBQ (Wisconsin for sloppy joes), the healthy tortellini and spinach that Aaron and I are addicted to; Erin's orzo salad, and lots of forzen mini Snicker bars! One night we went into town to the Javelina Cantina for some tasty local fare and we had Pizza Heaven takeout two nights. Try it for excellent pizza when you are in Sedona!
On the way out of town to Phoenix, we stopped in Jerome to shop, sightsee, and eat at Haunted Hamburger. It was a nice way to wrap up the trip and say our goodbyes. We can't wait to see everyone again soon. Thanks for making this a wonderful, memorable trip!
UNLV Launches New Digital Collection: Southern Nevada, The Boomtown Years: 1900-1925
The University Libraries are pleased to announce the launch of a new digital collection:
Southern Nevada: The Boomtown Years 1900-1925
http://digital.library.unlv.edu/boomtown
The LSTA-grant funded, Southern Nevada: The Boomtown Years 1900-1925 digital collection brings together a wide range of original source materials found in the rich collections of UNLV Libraries Special Collections, as well as items from the Nevada State Museum and the Clark County Heritage Museum.
The project contains over 1500 digitized items; including photographs, correspondence, newspapers, maps, and ephemera from several mining and railroad manuscript collections documenting both large historical events, and the more private and social lives of individuals and their communities during the mining boom in Southern Nevada.
Notably, this collection also promotes the use of primary source materials by K-16 educators by providing a wide variety of standards-based teaching activities for elementary and high schoolers.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Blame it on Thunder Road
It's been a long time since I have checked in. I skipped writing about our Christmas trip to Denver and basically February flew by uneventfully. I should mention that there was a great trip to Mojave National Preserve where we got to see the Camper Van Zinda. March came quickly and, well, here I am on my way to another hellishly hot Vegas summer. So did I miss anything while I was obsessively listening to Thunder Road? Let me know. Here's an update about my recent trip to Seattle, and I promise to try to do a bit better at keeping up with things.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Happy Inauguration Day!
How exciting to welcome in a new era! I'll be raising a glass as we try to look forward, with hope, to the future. The festivities and events have begun in Washington, D.C. and over the next few days I hope we can all enjoy the excitement of this historic event.
Just had to add that the HBO "We Are One" concert was absolutely amazing and awesome. And yes, Pete Seeger is totally my hero. And Garth Brooks ain't all bad, either! With a feel-good concert like this I can see why some are calling it Obama-stock!
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Happy Holidays from Vegas!
It's that time of year again and we are sending out a greeting from the desert! We have posted our annual holiday letter so if you want to know what the highlights of the year were you can check it out. Happy Holidays to our friends and family!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Missing XM Radio X-Country Channel 12
So this month XM Radio merged with Sirius to form some hybrid mutation mega-satellite radio channel with new programs, added news content and Howard Stern. It took me a while to download the channel guides and decipher which channels changed names and numbers, and figure out where my personal favorites were repositioned.
What a shock it was to turn on my radio and see "Outlaw County" replacing my much-loved XM Channel 12, "X (Cross) Country. I quickly searched the dial to see where they relocated X-County, but lo and behold, it was gone. I looked up the guide for the new channel and saw that several of the same artists that I like were listed on the page (Steve Earle, Johnny Cash, David Allan Coe, etc.) and I thought I would give it a chance.
This past weekend I spent several days in the truck driving around California and had a chance to really listen to the music. This is a different channel altogether. First of all I noticed that there are radio "hosts" that actually make comments and talk a lot more than any of the folks on X-Country (Do I really need to listen to Shooter Jennings pontificate on the new kanye West and Guns and Roses albums? And then do I really need to listen to the new Guns and Roses track? No!).
Secondly, the music is different. One morning, on the way to work I heard one favorite (The Gourds version of "Gin and Juice") but the rest of the day I didn't hear much. I ended up listening to Bluegrass Junction instead. On the long weekend, my husband and I listened to the channel almost exclusively and as much as I like and respect Outlaw Country artists, this is not the same as alternative country. Gone are the songs by Uncle Tupelo and the whole No Depression movement. Gone is the wry, political music of Todd Snider and Jack Ingram. Gone is are the crossover artists that defy any classification like the Be Good Tanyas and Chip Taylor. Instead there seems to be a focus on playing "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother", in one weekend I heard it three times; not that it is a bad song...
I will greatly miss the shows that I grew to love. Especially "Rogue Calls" the call-in request show. I seriously could listen 24/7 to nothing but the request show because X-Country listeners had good taste! There is a reason why I subscribe to XM- and it is because people need a place to learn about new music. iTunes is not, and will never do this for me. I fill up my iPod with music I read about, or hear on X-County, through No Depression magazine, and through friends. Losing my beloved channel 12 is a sad, sad thing.
But, other folks have noticed and are upset, too.
Go to this web site to sign a petition to Bring Back XM Channel 12.
And this great blog post sums up what I've been thinking perfectly.
Come on XM/Sirius, don't alienate your users! Aren't there enough numbers on the dial for you to add in one more? Alternative country deserves it. Bring back X-Country and do it now!
Friday, October 31, 2008
National Novel Writing Month starts soon!
The month-long challenge for would-be novelists begins again! November 1 marks the start of the 2008 National Novel Writing Month. The goal? To write 50,000 words in a month. Amateurs and authors are encouraged to, "write like the wind and edit later" with the main idea being to output the word count and hope that an idea emerges. So get your typing fingers ready and sign-up! Sounds like a fun experiment!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
October blizzard in Great Basin!
We may live in the Sun Belt, but we are still tough enough to winter camp. Check out the 10 inches of snow over night in October in Great Basin National Park!!! Fun!
Yellowstone Trip 2008 Part III
So I have done a pretty horrible job of recording the Yellowstone trip, I didn't keep any notes because I was navigating and driving a lot, but I did want to finish the summary and I happen to have some time on my hands while I am in an airport waiting to fly back to Vegas.
So, a couple things I wanted to record, some notes on the fishing and some notes on the drive home. I personally fished on two rivers while we were up there, the Madison and the Lamar. If I were to recommend one, I would go with the Lamar, because the drive out to the valley is amazing (which is important if the fish are laughing at your casting and don't bite -- this happened a lot to me!!) Our fishing friend who accompanied us also had lots of luck on the Yellowstone River when he backpacked in for an overnight. I think if I went back I would try to plan a lesson at the beginning of the trip. I am a true believer in getting some decent technique at the beginning and since it has been a while since I had been fly-fishing, I think it would have helped. Even our experienced friend, struggled somewhat until he got into it and had some time to practice.
On the last day at Yellowstone, we headed out towards Ennis to drive through some more pretty country and to make a stop at the Jackson Hot Springs Lodge where we stopped last summer. We had one wrong turn and ended up driving extra miles (like a couple 100 extra miles really matter??) We turned on the road out of Dillon and a huge thunderstorm hit. It was amazing with the clouds looming and lightning and thunder. There were weird pockets of sunshine in between and then spots of hail. A typically dramatic summer storm out west. We arrived at the Jackson Hot Springs Lodge and got a cabin for the night. A few things had changed since we had stayed there last year during the Backpacker project. The former owner sold the lodge and it was not longer being run by Inga and her staff. There was a new bartender/manager and a new chef (not that I got to EAT last time--grumble, grumble!). We spent some time at the fabulous bar, found out about a fishing hole that we had permission to access off one of the ranches, and found out the cowboy poet we met last year had passed away. It was great to spend some time there and check out some of the places we hiked. The weirdest thing was that the whole time we were there last year we NEVER saw the mountains because of the fires and smoke haze. I was SHOCKED at the view and would have never known just how pretty the valley truly was. We took a soak, met some nice folks, listened to the locals talk about the "wolf problem" and observed the Lodge's signature "Shot-ski" where they served shots on a ski outfitted with glued on shot glasses. Three people drink on cue and it is very amusing!
The next morning we stopped at Big Hole National Monument and headed back to Idaho Falls to our favorite Motel 6. That night, in search of food, we stumbled upon a Russian restaurant in the phone book. When we saw the name, we knew we had to check it out...and that is how we ended up at Ida-Russkie!! The woman who waited on us was so incredibly nice - even though we made her cook us every single Russian dish on the menu (actually they weren't on the menu, as this was a fast food place in a strip mall, but we has called ahead and knew she offered Russian food.) We ate and she cooked and we laughed and really enjoyed ourselves at this little gem of a place. Thanks for the hospitality, it wasa a great way to end the trip!
The next day was sad, we dropped our friend at the aiport in SLC, drove the long drive back to Vegas and unpacked the millions of boxes of gear. It was a fun trip and I'm so happy we got to do it with our grood friend from the trail.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
The Magazine of Alt-Country (Whatever That Is)...Reborn
After the sad demise of No Depression, an independent publication that I love and respect, due to rising costs of publishing a paper-based, subscription-only periodical; I thought I might have to start listening to Top 40 or start researching what Celine Dion replacement was on their way to a three-year contract on the tawdry Vegas Strip...but no! Not only did No Depression transfer existing subscriptions to a surprisingly interesting mag called Paste, but they also vowed not to let down their loyal followers and to launch a new, sleek, yet satisfying online publication.
And they have delivered on the promise with the new, beautifully designed No Depression web site. Looks great and will save me from major withdrawal from good writing and new music. Check it out!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
There are tons of resources out there that say it better than I can, but here are 10 Reasons to Eat Local and the “Locovore Pledge”, which I like because it allows for options:
If not LOCALLY PRODUCED, then Organic.
If not ORGANIC, then Family farm.
If not FAMILY FARM, then Local business.
If not a LOCAL BUSINESS, then Fair Trade.
If all else fails, at least don’t eat at McDonald’s!
Local can also be defined differently based on regions, so here in the desert 250 miles from home is “local” compared to say 100 in the Bay Area or 20 miles in parts of the American South. The Eat Local Movement is also closely aligned with the Slow Food Movement, which seeks to encourage and nurture diverse food cultures (think Tuscany, the Mediterranean, and parts of Vermont).
I have a tendency to get a little obsessed with things, and I’ve moved on to reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Coming Home to Eat. But, I like food, I like cooking, and I like the simple pleasures of spending time with people over a meal (as opposed to going out and spending lots of money) so this stuff hits home with me. Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Adventures in Food: Where Have You Been?
I saw this list on a librarian blog and since I love food and consider myself moderately adventurous, I thought it would be fun to see how many of these things I've eaten. I still consider myself not vegetarian, or carnivore but another more appropriate term that we used on our long-distance hikes. Most dirty, starving hikers (and probably most college students) are proud to self-identify as Oppotunivores. If it was free we'd eat it. The original blog post about the list seems to come from this site: Very Good Taste.
The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison: Can't say I really love or hate it...
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros: Probably the best dish on the face of the earth. I like it with flour tortillas, New Mexico green chile, and eggs over easy.
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue: Oh yeah. I can't get enough cheese. Cheese + wine + Swiss kissing games = even more fun.
8. Carp:
9. Borscht: Yum. Beets rock.
10. Baba ghanoush: Eggplant rocks, too. Especially homemade on the grill with lots of garlic.
11. Calamari: Bar food of choice
12. Pho: Too bad our local UNLV place closed down. I miss it.
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi: Indian food is probably my favorite ethnic cuisine.
15. Hot dog from a street cart: I don't know if bratwurst or polish sausage counts, but I don't eat hot dogs. Period.
16. Epoisses: had to look this one up.
17. Black truffle: I think I had this in an olive oil, so I can't say it's really a regular thing
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes: Plum wine is good
19. Steamed pork buns: Thanks to dim sum
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes: I even grew my own Amish Paste
22. Fresh wild berries: Blueberries, blackberries, huckleberries, etc. Along the PCT up north.
23. Foie gras:
24. Rice and beans: For about 4 years I lived on this dish
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters: I love oysters, especially oyster po-boys in Louisiana
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda: had to look this one up
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl: Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut: Essential for the Milwaukee side of the family
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O: I am assuming this is the classic Jello shot? I like lime.
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat:
42. Whole insects: Not really intentionally though, so it probably doesn't count
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more: I think there was a night in NYC...but unfortunately I don't remember it.
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel: I could eat unagi all day and night
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin: Ditto for uni
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal: I wouldn't eat it now, but I have had it at least once.
56. Spaetzle: I love homemade spaetzle with goulash
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine:I had a modified version referred to as Disco Fries, but it contains the same thing.
60. Carob chips: We had a hippie neighbor that scarred me for life with carob.
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian: NOT YET, But I can't wait to try it
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe: Now that was one bad night of imbibing
74. Gjetost, or brunost: A Swedish favorite
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong: I'm not super fond of smoky teas, but I've had it.
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum: Awesome. Love it.
82. Eggs Benedict: Second to huevos rancheros as my favorite brunch item. Good with avocado.
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant. NOT YET....
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers: ISo squash blossoms count?
89. Horse: Aw, no way!
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam Not bad if you grill it!
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster I went to a wedding in Cancun where the resort had an all lobster menu. Too over-the-top for me, but I do like lobster.
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
What is missing from this list? In my opinion
Pierogies, Chicken Feet, Sauerbraten, Bone Marrow, Tofu, Zubrowka, Buffalo Steak, Pasties, and Menudo.
I’m sure there are others, but that’s what jumps off the top of my head.
So there you have it. Now here’s the rules:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Yellowstone Trip 2008 Part II
The third day of the trip we GOT TO YELLOWSTONE, which is something that you really can't imagine, unless you go and experience it yourself. First of all, there is a ton to see and at any moment you can spot bears, moose, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, bison, elk, deer, antelope, bald eagles, or wolves right from the comfort of your car. It is surreal and amazing.
In addition to the geysers, mudpots, waterfalls, boiling hot springs, and towering peaks there are about a million of your fellow Americans to observe if the wildlife get too boring. The drive into the park allowed us to take in a couple scenic stops including a view of Yellowstone Lake and several waterfalls. We arrived at our campground (Madison), learned all the rules about bear country, and then set up camp complete with our hammock. Throughout the trip the excitement had been building to GET to Yellowstone and yet we promptly LEFT Yellowstone to go to town and buy some supplies (bourbon). We also took our first trip to a local fly shop.
Like a Crested Butte ski shop, Moab bike shop, Oahu surf shop or any other snotty, tourist-exploiting outfitter the staff at this fly shop had attitude and the tourists tended to put up with it; maybe because they are stunned by natural beauty and seek an authentic experience (of which sarcastic outdoor staff have become an integral part). I bought an handful of flies and some flotant, but was generally underwhelmed by the Madison River fly shop. Don't go there unless you are single and want to hook up with an attractive young fly guide and don't mind spending lots of money in the process. Later in the week we re-located all of our fly purchases to Jacklin's Fly Shop which was a million times better. To get it out of the way here is a rundown of the various places we ate in West Yellowstone:
- The Gusher (Pizza)- excellent pizza and a nice local vibe
- Beartooth Barbeque (BBQ)- good sandwiches as long as you can handle meat
- Old Time Cafe (Diner) Polish waitress, try the chicken fried steak, family-run
- tried to go to the microbrewery but it closes absurdly early
We went early in the morning of our fourth day and as the sun was rising over the steaming Firehole River we pulled into the vast, empty parking lot literally right before the impressive eruption. Killer timing as the sun came up. After a walk through the geyser basin (Old Faithful is but one of many geysers) we hit the breakfast buffet in the lodge. Notably, it comes with the "good coffee" (organic fair trade and most importantly- strong). You won't be so lucky elsewhere. The food is typical, with nicer than average service and top notch atmosphere. You get the feeling that if you could tune out all the families and tourists that Teddy Roosevelt might be around the corner smoking cigars and telling stories.
In the next installment I promise to get to the important stuff...the fishing.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
An Exercise in Futility?
In my never-ending quest to find hope in the city of Las Vegas I have recently tried to humor the good folks putting on the Las Vegas Farmers Market. No, it has not been lost on me that we live in the Mojave desert and nothing grows here. But, hey, I am trying. These are nice folks that drive from California and presumably the produce is fresh and farm-raised.
But tonight I lost a round. After we went and picked out some fruit and a nice loaf of bread there was a huge commotion. My friends, the people of Las Vegas have once again shown their character. Someone, right in front of everyone, in broad daylight, robbed the cashbox at the Farmer's Market and ran to a getaway car. You just can't make this stuff up.
