:: Ray's Periodic Rantings ::

:: Tuesday, August 23, 2005 ::

Our friends from Seattle

Need a caffeine boost, but don't feel like a foofy Starbucks drink? Or to paraphrase Bill Maher's New Rules: "If your coffee has cream, chocolate, and crushed ice in it, it's a milkshake." Anyway, sometimes I just want a speedy little afternoon boost, not fancy, big, or expensive. The answer is can be found at Starbucks or any other coffee place: a single shot of espresso. Here in Chicago, the folks from Seattle sell it for $1.60, including tax, and the baristas usually serve it ahead of the more elaborate preparations that other customers have ordered. It comes in one of their absurdly large cups, a lonely little puddle at the bottom, but who cares? I stir in a packet of sugar or two, take a quick three sips, and I am ready to go, reinvigorated. For some reason, espresso doesn't make me as jittery as brewed coffee. Plus, the trip gives me a few minutes to check out tourist babes on Michigan Ave. Life can be good.
:: Ray 4:00 PM [+] ::
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Mabel and Myrna...together at last

Yesterday I hooked Myrna the Tahoe up to Mabel the Airstream for the first time ever. I thought they made such a handsome couple that I had to take a quick snapshot. I'm sure you will agree.


:: Ray 10:40 PM [+] ::
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Duma

Saturday night, Mary and I saw Duma. It is likely that we were 2 of only a few thousand who will ever see this film in a theater. Warner, its distributor, doesn't think that the film has commercial potential enough to warrant a national release. Ebert liked it, however, so they gave it a one week test release in a few theaters in Chicago. They didn't promote it, though. If you didn't read a review this past week, you didn't know it existed. The night Mary and I went, there were only a couple of dozen people in the room, and only two of these were anything close to being kids.

The sad thing is that Duma is a really beautiful movie about a kid in South Africa raising a cheetah cub and then coming of age while returning it to the wild. Ebert's review is dead on. Mary and I enjoyed it immensely and agreed that it is exactly the kind of film we want to take our future children to see. And all you would have to do to market it is print these words, or have that guy that narrates the movie previews say them: "From the director of The Black Stallion and Fly Away Home..."
:: Ray 10:40 PM [+] ::
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Burlesque update

There is a lot of new burlesque to see in Chicago over the next several weeks. Check out The Guide.
:: Ray 10:38 PM [+] ::
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August

It's amazing how easy it is to fall out of the habit of doing this. I think about things that would be interesting posts, but don't sit at the keyboard and plunk them out. It's not that I am being lazy, though. After the honeymoon, Mary and I launched right into prepare-for-Burning Man mode. Among our various projects is preparing Mabel, the 1964 Airstream Globetrotter, for the trip. I am installing a new pump, kludging the screwy electrical system, and removing a previous owner's unfortunate carpentry, while Mary is cleaning and making the place homey. It's a handful. Then there are the other projects, such as repairing the Burnstream Court sign that was damaged in the crash and designing a shade structure to help keep the Airstream cool in the hot sun (the older models seem to not be as well insulated as the newer ones). Yup, there is a lot to do before we head West.

On the culinary front, I am still reeling from the failure of this year's gooseberry crop here in Des Plaines. The bush in my yard, which has produced steadily since I have lived here, almost died, and produce almost no fruit. I does have some children growing up around it, which we have been watering since it became apparent that they needed it.

Two days ago I baked banana bread from scratch for the first time. I went out of my way to find cake flour, which the recipe called for, and was underwhelmed at the result. To be fair, I may have overbaked it, so I will try again. There may have been no gooseberry tarts this year, but yesterday I baked blueberry tarts with some local blueberries which were going for $.10/pint! Store-bought pie crust cut into 6" rounds and pinched in to purses, filled with a mix of blueberries and a bit of sugar and lemon juice. Crust brushed with butter, sprinkled with sugar, baked at 400 for about 10 minutes, then another 10 or so at 350. Yum, and easy as pie! (groan)
:: Ray 12:43 AM [+] ::
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