Sunday, June 07, 2009
The Decemberists-- "The Hazards Of Love" Premier At SXSW...
The Weekend Concert.
The Decemberists' premiered their new "concept" album, The Hazards of Love, live at the South by South West Music Festival. This is brand, spankin' new, and oh boy, is it hot. They're going to give Leonard Cohen a run for Album Of The Year.
(This post is pinned for the weekend.)
via NPR Music
NPR.org, June 4, 2009 - It was a bold move: Introduce the world to your ambitious concept record by performing it in its entirety to a national audience, a week before the CD release. On March 20, The Decemberists did just that, performing The Hazards of Love from start to finish in front of a restless, mildly inebriated, industry-intensive crowd at the SXSW music festival and conference in Austin, Texas. About 10 minutes into the slow build that characterizes the record, I stood in the crowd and worried that it might have been a really bad move.
I love The Hazards of Love, which I'd heard about 10 times by the time I was in the crowd at Stubb's in Austin. Not many in the crowd knew the music that was coming, with all the powerful guitars and guest vocals and toweringly epic rock songs. So that slow build had the crowd fidgeting — until, that is, the band unleashed songs like "A Bower Scene," not to mention the incredible performance by My Brightest Diamond's Shara Worden in "The Wanting Comes in Waves" and the six drummers who propel "The Rake's Song."
These six videos were all shot at that premiere performance of The Hazards of Love — all are beautifully shot and wonderfully recorded. So put on some headphones and enjoy six magnificent moments from the show. It's a lovely snapshot of history, not to mention a perfect companion to what many will call the best CD of 2009.
Six nice video segments. You can hear the entire performance, beautifully recorded and uninterrupted, at the link. The Decemberists never fail to impress me, after all these years.
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Labels: Hot-Ass Music
Pickling Peppers, Today...
OK, the Hungarian Hot Yellow Wax, and the Sweet Banana Peppers are demanding that I pick and pickle them today. There are so many on the young plants that the plants are starting to tip over. I still can't believe I have so many so soon. I am hoping for four quarts, but, I'll take what I get.
Last year, following the recipe from the USDA/AgExtension, I made the mistake of processing my first batch of Peppers. They came out horribly mushy. Mom was kind enough to send along her (somewhat unconventional, but tried, true, delicious and safe) recipe:
Step One:
Get your processing pot out, fill with water, and bring to boil for sterilizing jars. Put your jars in, and get 'em boiling. Get a small pot of water on to boil to sterilize lids. Then turn to making the brine, and start cleaning and chopping the Peppers and Garlic.
Brine:
2 quarts water.
1 quart 5% acidity vinegar (check the label).
1 mounded teaspoon of Pickling Spices.
Bring to boil, Let simmer at least 15 minutes.
In The Hot Jar:
Peppers (wash, cut stem off, cut in half-- keep seeds in for hotter, de-seed for milder)
1 Garlic clove per jar (more or less to taste), chopped thin.
Pack in Garlic, Peppers, add 1 level Tablespoon of Kosher Salt.
Add 1 Tablespoon Sugar (plus a pinch).
To Can:
Have Peppers and Garlic cleaned, cut, and ready to go.
Have Salt and Sugar standing by.
Sterilize jars and lids by boiling for at least 15-minutes in water.
Pull and use only one hot Jar at a time.
Pack Peppers, Garlic, Sugar and Salt into jar.
Have Brine back to a boil, and ladle into into jar to cover Peppers, and within 1/2" of rim.
Clean the jar rim.
Top jar with Sterilized Lid. Screw Ring on TIGHTLY.
Set aside.
Wait to hear the "ping" of the jars sealing. If jar doesn't seal, refrigerate immediately, and eat within three weeks.
Shake jars often after sealing to ensure Salt and Sugar are fully dissolved into solution. Allow to set at least four weeks in a cool, dark place for best flavor.
There is no immersion processing required. Make sure the jars are hot and sterilized to begin with, and remain hot during the time you're handling them. These Peppers come out SO crispy and fresh-tasting, it's like opening a Quart of Summer in the dead of Winter.
UPDATE: I got three quarts, and one pint out of this batch. Astounding.
Aren't they pretty? Mowed the yard, too.Looks pretty nice, save for the eyesore bed, and the unfinished bed.
Now, it is time to harvest that beautiful Savoy Cabbage out back, a few Onions and some Parsley, and start making some Stuffed Cabbages!
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Labels: Canning, Pickled Peppers
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Naturally 7-- "Wall Of Sound"...
Dig these guys! Super fun! Performing on the Tavis Smiley Show. The TSS's audio system is notoriously flat for straight interviewing. I like this particular recording because of its "bare-bones" production.
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Friday, June 05, 2009
They Write Letters...
A letter by Dirk D. DeDurkheim.
Dear Democratic leadership,
Lately I have read about all the initiatives to incorporate Republicans into efforts to move social and political agendas. Whether you are a Senator, a member of the House, part of the executive branch, or elsewhere within the machinations of government, I have a simple request for you. It is a request that I hope that you take to heart and follow to the best of your ability.
More at the link.
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Labels: Dittoes
Murray Caught Another Mouse...
Lordy, Murray is one funny cat. I was sitting out on the deck, enjoying a tasty beverage, when I watched him as he chased the mouse through the Corn stalks... Well, I watched the stalks rustling, anyway... I then watch him, as he wrestled his quarry all the way across the Savannah to the comfort and security of his lair (my house). It was a long and fierce battle the entire way, but. Col. Murray T. kat made it home, I greeted him, and thanked him, and rewarded him with a great big pile of Catnip on top of his mouse. Two great tastes that taste great together.
He's still out there on the deck, tossing around his greens and mouse.
He's so proud. I figure he's nearly due for acceptance into the Loyal Order Of Mousers Fraternity. One more should do it.
Descendant from Jagulars.To Top Of Main Page
Labels: Murray The Kat, My Life... With Cats
Tassles And Slugs... Independence Days...
Good news, bad news, and a solution... and more.
We got a good, steady rain over the past two days, so I trucked out to the corn field. The corn is now eye-level, for the most part, and look! Tassles! Thirty days to Corn Time!:
The tassels produce the pollen that fertilizes the ears. I don't have ears just yet, though...
Out in the gardens on my day off, and ran some strings to support the Asparagus ferns, as they grow. They were getting sloppy, as they are still a bit top-heavy, and rain keeps knocking them over. I was pulling some mystery grass out of the bed, and when I started weeding the Romaine Lettuce growing under the ferns, I noticed a very serious slug problem:
Slimy Bastards.So, I broke out the scissors, and started snipping slugs. I used the hose to wash them away. I then broke out the secret weapon-- BEER:
Slugs LOVE beer. Place a 1/4-full bottle of beer on its side, with the opening at ground level.Slugs crawl in, get drunk, drown:
Just a few moments later.Never, ever sprinkle salt into your garden to kill slugs. It destroys the soil.
"Salting the earth" was an old warfare strategy to starve the enemy.
"Salting the earth" was an old warfare strategy to starve the enemy.
Looks like the run of 90-plus degree days killed-off the Garden Giant mushrooms, dangit. I don't see a single one out there, today, and the temps have broken into the proper range. There is always Autumn.
The Pole Beans and Carrots are popping up in the new beds, as is the new planting of Cucumbers. I set up the frames for them today, and will get the strings run this evening or tomorrow. The Zucchini, Yellow Crookneck, and Acorn Squashes are doing great, and the Radishes and Nasturtiums that I planted around them are all up. Keeping an eye out for Squash Stinkbugs. I finally got the irrigation system all finished off, and screwed into place.
Tomorrow, I'll plant the new Blueberry bushes.
Preserving Something: I snipped back the Cilantro, and have the dehydrator filled with it. House smells great! Once dry, it's a matter of scratching off the leaves into a paper bag, and transferring them to a jar.
I also got the Feverfew into a tincture of 80-Proof vodka. Chop up the trimmings into bits that will fit in a jar. Add vodka. Shake. Place in cool, dark place for 40 days. I also tinctured a big jar of St. John's Wort blossoms, today. My two SJW plants are doing wonderfully well. I noticed that I need to pull a tree sapling out of my front bed soon.
Eat Your Food:
Under the Floating Row Cover Big Top, I have a beautiful Savoy Cabbage ready to pick. This weekend, I'll make Stuffed Cabbages, and do a photo thing while I do.Next week, It looks like I'll have enough Kohlrabi to make some excellent soup.
The famous "Ripley Tomatoes" are pouring out. I bought a sack of them this morning, and I think I'll go out and snip a few of those Hungarian Hot Yellow Wax peppers, and a few onions, and make some salsa with the Cilantro I have still fresh. OR, perhaps I'll cook it all up with the fresh shrimp I picked up at the Shrimp Man stand on my way home last night.
My neighbor, Tommy, just came by, and dropped some Yellow Squashes on me from his garden. OK... It's Shrimp with Tomatoes, Cilantro, Parsley, Hungarian Peppers, Onion, and Yellow Squash over Fettuccine with Asiago Cheese, tonight. mmmmmmmmmmm.
Time to cook!
Dinner!To Top Of Main Page
Labels: Gardening, Independence Days, Organic Eating, Organic Pest Control
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Good Stuff...
The June/July Edition of Mother Earth News-- the "Best Berries" edition, is chock full of great information, and the website has excellent new stuff daily. Seriously, put the June/July edition in your garden library, and check the site often.To Top Of Main Page
Labels: Gardening, Organic Gardening, Sustainable Living
Monday, June 01, 2009
Some Pics...
I'm still trying to learn this camera, but I looked out the window, and the light was right, so Murray and I trucked outdoors for some pictures. I still have one more bed to do this year, and I have one final bed (my first) in total remission. It was completely, and irrevocably invaded by Bermuda Grass, and so, I've covered it with heavy landscape cloth, and it is piled with all my bits and pieces, and bags, and tubing, and everything. It's a total shipwreck, so, you will notice how I ever so cleverly cropped those two beds out of the pictures. They are in the back left of the picture, below. Two 4'x16' beds that need to be dealt with soon. When finished, I'll have four beds all set up for full and complete crop rotations; crops for all seasons, and hyper-efficient irrigation for each bed. Click each pick for bigger, if not better images.
The view from my back steps. Letting the Clover run rampant to fill-in behind the dead Burmuda Grass. That is the catnip bed on the left. I'll post a pic of where the cats have made a fort in the middle of it in the next day or so.
A Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird about three feet from me.
Looks like harvest time for the Feverfew! That's Bee Balm looming proudly behind the top-heavy Feverfew-- the Humming Birds are loving the Bee Balm's flowers. Tincture time for Feverfew-- and drying, as well. The St. John's Wort is blooming out front, too!
Silver Thyme (x2) in foreground, German Thyme in back, Basil on the right and back, and behind that is Oregano. Far left is Onion. 2'x8' bed. I really need to build this up, too.
The Pepper/Tomato/Bean bed with the Giant Garden mushroom growing underneath! I got three more Bluberries for 1/2-off clearance price ($4.00!! each)
My Pet Mushrooms. Looks like the heat killed off a bunch more, today. In my "control" pic, here, we see two of the littlest primordia died off, and a major bloout for one of the bigger ones, but you can see a new "pebble" sprouting reddish, down center-right.
I honestly cannot believe how many Hungarian Peppers I have-- so soon! Three weeks to Pickling Time!
Some Endive sprouting under the Hungarian Peppers, and under the soaker hose. It'll spread out low.
Tomatoes, already! Romas on the left and a Big Boy on the right. The Big Boy is about the size of a racquet ball, the Romas are heirloom stock. They're going to be huge, and plentiful.
The far view. This is the bed that I am just buttoning up. I need to get more sand, and I need to strap down the water tubing. Where the bricks undulate downward used to be an erosion washout half-way up my calf. Simply having the beds here has stopped the erosion, and everything is filling in.In the mid-ground left, you see the potatoes in pots, and the Asparagus limping over. I need to tie up a supprt grid for them. Under the Asparagus, Swiss Chard, Beets, Romaine Lettuce, and Radishes are thriving in the shade of the ferns, while the Strawberries are beginning to put out babies. The Letuce and Radishes will be gone just in time for the babies to be transplanted. Next year, that bed will only house Strawberries and Asparagus, with a couple of strong companions in a few squares. The Broccoli and Cabbages are under the Big Top behind the berries and Asparagus.
Murray chills nearby.
The giant Kossack Kohlrabi. Kohlrabi is a member of the Cole (Mustard) Family, along with Cabbage, Broccoli, Kale, Turnips, and Cauliflower. They are all Brassicas, and one needs to plant a couple of crops between re-plantings to avoid Club Root. Since harvesting the Broccoli last Spring, I've had Onions, and Sage, and flowers, and carrots, and a fallow period, and then I added six-inches of fresh soil, compost, manure and a beneficial fungus-- I think I am safe. The Kohlrabi, once you peel it, is crispy like a water chestnut, but has the sweet flavor of a cabbage heart, only better. I'll eat them raw right there in the garden (My cousins and I were always in trouble for munching Grandpa's Kohlrabi's), but I like making them into a soup, with a Manhattan Chowder-based broth (minus the clams). Works great with Broccoli and Cauliflower too, but the Kohlrabi soup is the very best. I'll post the recipe as soon as the 'rabi's are ready.
Ah, yes-- the Corn field... This pic doesn't quite show the size properly. The Silver Queen, on the far left, is sort of lagging behind. I've been pushing nutritious side dressings on it as the rains have fallen, I hope it hurries on, and grows up, now. It looks like it will be Peaches and Cream in time for July 4th, and the Kandy Korn and Silver Queen staggering in behind. I'm sort of relieved to have it all coming up staggered like this. I was fearing dealing with all this corn coming in at once!
The Neighbor Kid (5'-11"), showing the height. I'm 5'-7", and it's up to my chest in most places.
The Legendary Corn Tiger of West Tennessee. A rare photo.
Another rare photo of The Legendary Corn Tiger of West Tennessee.
The equally rare West Tennessee Corn Lion (here, we see the female) in her native habitat.
The West Tennessee Corn Lion will sometimes make excursions into the Savannah to hunt prey; and also to the house for tasty noms, groomin's and a cushy bed.
Next.
So, there you go! The tour of the gardens so far... Lots done, more to do. Everything there will feed me until next year, this time. The "next" bed is going to get some Eggplant, more Green Beans, a few more Tomatoes champing at the bit to get out of the pots and into real dirt, more Vining Squashes, and I'll devote the rest to more Food Bank Staples and greens.
It's exactly 11:00pm CDT, and it's still 80-degrees outside. Looks like Summer is ready to set in proper.
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Labels: Gardening, My Life... With Cats, Organic Gardening, Square Foot Gardening, Suburban Farming
