Coffee and Chocolate

"Coffe, chocolate, men - some things are better rich."

Coffee is the both the blessed relief and bane of my existence. I love it, the different flavors of hazelnut, vanilla creamer, amaretto, sugar and nothing else, sometimes cinnamon and nutmeg. It's a great pick-me-up and I know quite a few college students swear by it to stay awake after an all-nighter. But there are days when caffeine fuels my anxiety, makes me a shrew and turns all good-will into something out of a creature feature film. Those are the days I turn to chocolate.

The Mayans believed it was a gift from the gods, that it was an aphrodisiac, that it had mystical powers. Early Europeans believed in it as a luxury item, something that people still believe in today. America, for all of its desire to customize its society, sometimes relies on the simplest of chocolates: a Hershey's bar.

Personally, I love Ferro Rocher, Belgian chocolates, Godiva-covered cookies, anything that's rich and so mouth-wateringly smooth. Sometimes, fresh fruit provides that extra tang, acid from strawberries tasting like cheap wine, but with chocolate that dark, who cares? Orange hints inside of milk chocolate, sweet and mellowed out. Mint leaves dipped in white chocolate, smooth, strong and sensible.

Ah, but I could never enjoy a mocha. The epic combination of coffee and chocolate has failed me many times before. If I want caffeine, I sacrifice the sweetness of hot chocolate. If I crave the foamy sugar, I must relinquish all claims to staying awake. Still, I think it'd be awfully mean of me to deny that there is something precious about a hint of coffee inside of chocolate.

Image courtesy of pinterest.com

Steampunk Convention

I love the idea of steampunk: classic Victorian gentry and traditions, but with modern day science and techniques. Anyone can be part of it, can create things from it, can change how they look at their world.

I went to a steampunk convention and I realized something: a person made each piece of their costume, creating a different dimension to this world, and that person was the most unique one in their own dimension.

While there are those who would argue that steampunk is simply wishful thinking and a romanticization of the past, I feel that they miss the point.  The point is that we create this realm of fantasy, because we can, and because we wish to expand on the glorious things that we previously took for granted.

"To some, ‘steampunk’ is a catchall term, a concept in search of a visual identity. To me, it’s essentially the intersection of technology and romance. – Jake von Slatt

Shudder

There is something

S (upernatural)
A (ttractive)
T (empting)
I (nsistent)
S (tupefying)
F (ascinating)
Y (earnful)
I (nviting)
N (onsensical)
G (ratifying and overwhelming)
about gliding
one
finger down to
watch
the ripples spread,
like series of waves that CRASH
over you,
make you feel
like
drowning.
Twist your head slightly,
O-o-open
your mouth,
only to let your skin
vibrate
as skin rubs
against
skin.
He whispers
to you
"Let go."
And you can only let
the waves
rise up
and
capsize both of you,
dragging you down
in some siren-song,
curled up in a desperate embrace.
It is
S (udden)
U (nbelievable)
B (reathtaking)
L (iberating)
I (ntense)
M (agical)
E (verything he can give you for right now).

"The Kiss" by Gustav Klimt

Shades of Gray

I'm listening to Laura Shay's "First to Fall" and it's soothing. There's a faint pitter-patter-pit-pat of rain against my window and the wind has gone from howling in frustration, to simmering in undulating disappointment.

The world, as I see it, is not simply black and white. Neither is it in gray or color. It's marbled, textured, a blend of everything we see. A single ripple on the surface of the lake results in the same reaction in the world. Ridges and lines swirl and twist, invisible hands with fingerprints that leave marks we instinctively feel in this world.

This is what it means when something is a shade of gray. It is not always disappointment. It is not always nonsense. It is not always an answer.

Image courtesy of acidcow.com

Beautiful

I saw this piece of graffiti while I was in Montreal and I loved it. To some extent, I agree. To another, I say: If you like it, that's all that matters.

4th of July

So, the 4th is coming up. The idea of INDEPENDENCE has changed from the Founding Fathers. Now, it's no longer the Red Coats, it's the Privacy Acts that have people worried. There's no more Paul Revere on a horse, it's all about information getting out online.

Still, it's good to remember your history. The patients at the VA hospital need a little thank you from someone other than family who visit them all the time. The homeless veteran could do with a meal instead of a pitying look. There are men and women who gave up so much to defend not a nation per-say, but a belief.

Beliefs are exactly like ideas: they live on far longer than any one man or woman. And this belief is the belief of FREEDOM.

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July. May it be filled with fireworks, punch, laughter, kids and all those things that remind you why it's good to be alive.

Image courtesy of the Madison Online Archive

June 5th

June 5th, 2011. Sunday. It's 6:26 according to my clock, but I've learned it's a devious little jerk who changes when it suits itself.

In history, Adam Smith, economist, was born this day, as was Pete Wentz, of Fall Out Boy. Harriet Beecher Stowe began the weekly serial publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin, while Ronald Reagan died.

For me, today is the day when I mastered roasted tomatoes with butter and brie. :)

The original recipe can be found here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/07/roasted-ricotta-roma-tomatoes/

What I did differently: I used 1 and 1/4 cup brie and 1/4 butter, removed the garlic and herbs, and instead used an Italian spice mix that I got from my friendly co-op!

I made my own bread crumbs, and with the addition of some more Italian spice in them, they are glorious!

Here's a picture of the final 7. One seems to have mysteriously vanished...