10K Monkeys & a Camera

Inspired Cooking!!

2012-01-31T17:31:00.001-05:00

I'm so giddy with excitement!! Look at what arrived in the mail today!! It's my copy of Bryant Terry's The Inspired Vegan! OK, so why so excited? Over a cookbook? Especially when I'm not a vegan?* Well, first of all, excuse me while I go all Navin R. Johnson on your ass... Woot! Yes, that's me on page 185!! Mentioned by Bryant Terry in the same group of people as Alice Waters!!

Honda. Broderick. Superbowl.

2012-01-30T20:11:00.001-05:00

There's some back and forth on the ad, but I approve. I like the references, and it's clean and polished. Well done.

Man of the Moment

2012-01-29T20:39:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the quietude (for the record: matriarch hospitalized for minor illness, mucho distraction, blah, blah, blah, finally got her sprung, yay!, now to get caught up...), but before the weekend is over I just want to say this: Maurice Sendak is awesome. I caught this one-two punch at the end of the week and wanted to share, but am only now getting around to pulling together the post.

Sign this kid up!

2012-01-27T17:59:00.000-05:00

Friday Food Photo

2012-01-27T15:17:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday, everyone!! This week's food was from a lunch that G-Dog and I shared back in November. What you see here (from top to bottom) is some roasted garlic shrimp and penne with a roasted garlic pesto, artichokes, and red peppers; crab cakes with watercress orange salad and wasabi peas; and a salmon strawberry walnut salad with chardonnay vinaigrette. And with that done, I'm

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T22:34:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

I have gotten great results from this...

2012-01-23T12:49:00.002-05:00

Emmie's words + my photo

2012-01-22T16:16:00.001-05:00

(how tumblr of us!)

South Carolina

2012-01-22T10:49:00.000-05:00

“She isn’t young enough or pretty enough to be the President’s wife.”-Newt Gingrich

street

2012-01-22T10:24:00.000-05:00

Friday Food Photo

2012-01-20T11:42:00.000-05:00

G-Dog and I celebrated the holiday last week by holing up in a cabin in the mountains for the long weekend with some friends. We all brought lots of food, so there was a much cooking going on the whole time, but we did pop out on Saturday for a trip to Mercier's Orchards and through some of the shops in historic Blue Ridge, GA. We found a wonderful spot for lunch there, a fairly new restaurant

Etta

2012-01-20T11:30:00.000-05:00

UPDATE: Remembering Etta (Wiki)

Happy birthday, Janis

2012-01-19T10:29:00.000-05:00

She would have been 69 years old today.

A History of the Gay Movement (so far)

2012-01-18T20:29:00.001-05:00

I read today that video is the future of the internet. I can't muster an argument against that prediction, since I've been finding so many compelling videos lately. Here's a very moving example.

The Day the Internet Went Black

2012-01-18T12:44:00.003-05:00

If you're in the mood to boycott SOPA's supporters, here's the list

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T09:33:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

On Age

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Well, yesterday's videofest continues... The Light of Day by Simon Biswas from FlakPhoto.com on Vimeo.

South Carolina

2012-01-17T20:52:00.000-05:00

I'm going to post one more video today and then I'll stop (for now). There was a lot going on over the weekend and I was out of town (and effectively AFK) for most of it, so today I've been doing some catch up. Unfortunately, I missed the debate last night, but it might be just as well -- from what I've seen today, it was pretty disgusting. You know, I used to be way more rah-rah Democratic

Happy Birthday, Betty!

2012-01-17T16:56:00.002-05:00

Highlights from her birthday party

Brilliant problem solving!

2012-01-17T12:47:00.000-05:00

What do you do when you're trying to maybe run for president, sorta, but it's too late to get your name on the ballot and the ballot has no option for writing in a candidate? Hijack the existing ballot.

Free speech costs money

2012-01-17T10:32:00.003-05:00

Can you place the voice?* The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive * It's this awesome guy.

Friday Food Photo

2012-01-13T12:44:00.001-05:00

Here you see the results from my first attempt at homemade pasta using the machine I got for Christmas (along with some yummy brussels sprouts). The pasta recipe was simple and delicious. Just whole wheat flour and water! More later... I'm off for a weekend in the mountains! Have wonderful holiday, everyone!!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-11T13:53:00.004-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

Tuskeegee

2012-01-10T19:44:00.001-05:00

The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c George Lucas www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogThe Daily Show on Facebook

Friday Food Photo

2012-01-06T15:29:00.004-05:00

I found some local, handmade truffles in my holiday stocking this year. The pic is from my phone's camera and I think the glowy effect is kinda cool. The top two are eggnog and Jack Daniels flavored and they're gone now -- so delish! I am very much looking forward to the cayenne and dark chocolate, yet to come! Have a great weekend, everyone! Here at Chez 10K, we're hoping the first

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-04T21:26:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

Twenty twelve (or two thousand twelve) efforts

2012-01-01T20:05:00.001-05:00

I'm sensing a lot of resolve in the air so far this year (which, for some reason has prompted a lot of discussion over the pronunciation of the year -- is it twenty twelve or two thousand and twelve?). On blogs and facebook and twitter, a lot of people are going on the record with their goals, which mostly have to do with getting healthier in one way or another. Nobody asked, but I'm going to

Two oh one one

2011-12-31T14:17:00.001-05:00

I checked in with my RSS feed reader today and wow! a lot of people are doing year-in-review posts. I enjoy reading them, but every time I try reflecting back on the year, I instead find myself getting excited about 2012. It's been a wonderful year and I'm looking forward to keeping the momentum going as we move into two oh one two. I did get an unexpected little pat on the back this past week

Friday Food Photo

2011-12-30T11:04:00.002-05:00

After the week we've had, there was so much food to choose from for today's picture. Christmas Eve dinner was a fantastic caramelized tofu & brussels sprouts dish that we were trying for the first time. Christmas dinner started with a vegetarian french onion soup; then featured a Sequatchie Cove Farm rump roast, yorkshire pudding, sweet & sour eggplant with rice, a huge potato kugel, and a

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-28T16:55:00.000-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

The holiday fun continues!

2011-12-26T09:08:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone is having a good Boxing Day, 1st day of Kwanzaa, 7th day of Hanukkah, and beginning of Nebulous Week! We are expecting out of town guests arrive today, so our Christmas isn't over quite yet. But I did want to share this link with a wonderful Christmas story from R. Neal. Have a great Monday, one and all!

Dog Bless Us, Every One

2011-12-25T09:07:00.000-05:00

But most especially, Terry Gilliam. ;-D

Happy Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T09:43:00.003-05:00

Reindeer Cam! When Amerians banned Christmas.

Festivus Friday Food Photo

2011-12-23T16:07:00.000-05:00

This is the incredible turkey and mushroom soup that G-Dog made as a way of using up the last of the bird leftover from Thanksgiving. And don't worry -- we haven't been eating turkey for the past month! The photo dates back to the end of November. I'm just slow in getting it up. ;-D Happy Festivus, everyone! May your travels be safe, your family well, your weekend cozy, your meals

Christmas and Escape

2011-12-22T19:15:00.000-05:00

Big news! We refinanced today. G-Dog and I bought this house five years ago, and got a 30-year mortgage at 7.5% to pay for it. Now it's a 15-year loan at 3.5%. Score. So that means our retirement has been set for a target of January, 2027. (Yeah, I know... in my case, that gives me 15 years to come up with something to retire from. ;-) I also read this article today after a friend posted a

Happy Hanukkah!

2011-12-22T14:15:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-21T21:44:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Chanukah!

2011-12-20T21:42:00.000-05:00

On evolution, love and sex...

2011-12-18T11:43:00.002-05:00

More on Hitch

2011-12-17T22:16:00.000-05:00

I never did get back to my Hitch post, and I also failed to get a Friday Food Photo up.* But now I'm attempting to get caught up a bit, and here's what I've found in the warren that is the post-Hitchens internet... Where Will Hitchens’ Soul Go? Christopher Hitchens quotes: the writer's most memorable bons mots Divine Impulses: Christopher Hitchens on preparing for life, and death (video) The

Christopher Hitchens

2011-12-16T12:41:00.001-05:00

So sorry to read that Christopher Hitchens died yesterday. He was a brilliant writer. I've enjoyed many of his essays, but I think his recent Vanity Fair series on his illness* was a special achievement, lifting the veil on being sick and dying. I trust he had no deathbed conversion. Further updates to this post are likely, once I'm through this busy day and the weekend has arrived... *Here's

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-14T19:47:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

Friday Food Photo

2011-12-09T20:14:00.001-05:00

I just found out recently that delicious pasta is really easy to make at home (no special equipment required!). Here you see some of my improvised butternut ravioli in progress. I strayed so far from the recipe that inspired me that I'm not going to link to it. Instead, here's the basic idea... For the filling One small butternut squash 1 or 3 cloves of garlic 1/4 cup caramelized onions

Lennon

2011-12-08T21:11:00.001-05:00

Can you believe it's been 31 years? John Lennon, 1940Oct9 - 1980Dec8

Friday and Potter

2011-12-08T10:05:00.001-05:00

Harry Morgan, who worked as an actor for more than 50 years, died in his home yesterday at the age of 96. He played a lot of roles in his time, but two of my favorites were Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H, and Bill Gannon on Dragnet. The former was my favorite show for years, and I remember the latter fondly simply because one of my brothers loved it.* Here are Jack Webb and Morgan doing a turn in

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-07T20:00:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

It's rarely a good thing when Tennessee makes the news...

2011-12-03T19:03:00.001-05:00

Beautiful Boy

2011-12-02T17:40:00.001-05:00

Friday Food Photo

2011-12-02T16:50:00.001-05:00

Mmmmm... thanksgiving leftovers!! It took us a whole week, but we finally got through everything that I didn't give away or freeze. I put the last of it (some of those red onions) on a pizza that I made for dinner last night. And poof! Thanksgiving is over and here we are in December! The silly season has arrived! Have a great weekend, everyone!

World AIDS Day

2011-12-01T19:28:00.001-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-30T16:06:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

The Beauty of a Second

2011-11-28T23:00:00.001-05:00

Why Occupy?

2011-11-27T10:56:00.001-05:00

The image above has been making the rounds on facebook and twitter this weekend, and it doesn't pair well with this Guardian story from Naomi Wolf (who also recently wrote about getting arrested at an occupy protest): The shocking truth about the crackdown on Occupy. So, when you connect the dots, properly understood, what happened this week is the first battle in a civil war; a civil war

This Is My New Favorite Xmas Story

2011-11-26T10:45:00.000-05:00

The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas (hat tip to Emmie!)

Plaid Friday Links

2011-11-25T11:06:00.001-05:00

Plaid Friday Shop on Thanksgiving? No thanks Customers hit by pepper spray at Wal-Mart Occupyxmas! Buy Nothing Day Slow Money Gold, Frankincense, and Pepperspray UPDATE: Violence at Wal-Mart

Friday Food Photo

2011-11-25T10:06:00.001-05:00

For the record, here was our menu. We actually pulled it off! river ridge farms turkey autumn vegetable patties farro, caramelized onion, and wild mushroom stuffing gravy homemade cranberry sauce sweet potato fries camembert mashed potatoes roasted red onions with pomegranate, orange, and parsley gremolata green beans with toasted walnuts and dried-cherry vinaigrette roasted brussels

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2011-11-24T09:58:00.001-05:00

It's been a busy day (actually, two days) of cooking, eating and enjoying the family, but over the course of the day, I've collected a few links for Thanksgiving reading. Thanksgiving Thrift: The Holiday as a Model for Sustainable Cooking The Roots of the Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving Enduring Thanksgiving I hope you've had a great day -- either enjoying the holiday or, if you're not in the

DB Cooper

2011-11-23T22:48:00.001-05:00

Forty years ago tomorrow DB Cooper disappeared. This article says the skyjacker's identity is still a secret, but I thought that issue was solved a while ago:

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-23T21:53:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

11/22

2011-11-22T21:22:00.001-05:00

Forty-eight years ago today, John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas. This year, the bookish amongst us can add several new related tomes to our xmas lists: one from Caroline, another from Chris Matthews, and a very intriguing fiction/history treatment from Stephen King. Does it seem like it's been that long?

Thank goodness it's a short week...

2011-11-21T23:36:00.001-05:00

Liam Neeson is a funny guy. Funny, right?

2011-11-20T19:50:00.001-05:00

Who'd a thunk it?!? ;-) (In other news, the planets must be aligned in the house of comedy this weekend!)

More from my favorite late night comedy team...

2011-11-19T21:31:00.001-05:00

Remember these guys? Guess who showed up on Colbert recently? The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogVideo Archive The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Exclusive - Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer & Chris Thile - "Quarter Chicken Dark"

Yay and Yippee!!

2011-11-19T21:00:00.001-05:00

Sarah Vowell is now an official correspondent on the Daily Show! The more Sarah in my life, the better, so this is very good news (even if she did use her bully pulpit to bash the happiest day of the year)!! The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c Happy Evacuation Day www.thedailyshow.com Daily Show Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogThe Daily Show on Facebook

Bag it?

2011-11-18T21:40:00.001-05:00

I had to do some shopping today, and at every store I visited, I told them to skip the bag. If it was little, I shoved it in my purse. If it was big, I just carried it to the car. If I needed it, I could have grabbed a canvas bag out of the car, but I didn't buy much at any single store. It felt good to get home without any more of those ubiquitous little scourges. Bag It: is your life too

Friday Food Photo

2011-11-18T20:12:00.001-05:00

So much food, so little time!! It's been a very busy week here at Chez 10K, partly because I've been so inspired to cook lately! I've tried out a few new dishes, and the one that's gone over the best is this stuffed focaccia. I made my standard pizza crust, cooked up some onion, garlic and bok choy (from out of the back yard garden!), and added some feta, raisins, pine nuts, lemon juice,

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-16T21:04:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

Another Milestone

2011-11-14T19:42:00.001-05:00

Five years ago was our first night in this house. It's been an adventure -- which started out rather chaotically -- but we've gradually become very comfortable and dug in here. To honor the occasion, I offer a few songs: Fly Like an Eagle by Steve Miller Band on Grooveshark Five Years by

While we're on the subject of film...

2011-11-12T20:48:00.001-05:00

This is my way of bookmarking this, which is an hour and a half long. I've been looking forward to seeing it, but haven't had the chance yet...

Has anyone seen this yet?

2011-11-12T19:30:00.001-05:00

It looks pretty cool...

Friday Food Photo

2011-11-11T13:49:00.001-05:00

G-Dog and I have been doing a lot more cooking as the weather has been turning colder lately. I'm not sure if the two are connected or not, but certainly one new inspiration we have is our recently-constructed backyard garden. Between that and our local market, we have a lot of yummy ingredients on hand to put in our potions and provender these days. Here are two of my favorite new recipes. I

Maximum Elevenness!

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000-05:00

It's 11/11/11! Here's your Nigel Tufnel Day roundup! Turn it up to eleven and make a wish, folks! NPR: For Nigel Tufnel Day, A Serious Consideration Of The Music Of Spinal Tap The Tumblr Facebook -- plus, the parties! Billboard: 11 Loud Moments in Music Guardian: 11 Spinal Tap Quotes Washington Post: Top 11 Nigel Tufnel Quotes LA Weekly: 11 Ways to Celebrate Buy the shirt!

Happy Veterans Day tomorrow...

2011-11-10T22:18:00.001-05:00

This iconic image might be my favorite of all the wartime photos that are out there -- triumph of the human spirit well depicted. Joe Rosenthal done good.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-09T11:10:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Guy Fawkes Day

2011-11-05T12:52:00.001-04:00

(image from newgrounds) It looks like nice weather for a bonfire tonight, but first I should make sure I have my history straight...

Friday Food Photo

2011-11-04T21:33:00.003-04:00

It's NOT the Christmas season yet. Dammit. It's not! We still have my favorite holiday of the year coming up, so back off, xmas mongers!! But, even I, Thanksgiving monger extraordinaire, have to concede that this next photo will bring a certain song to mind. I can't help it, but I'm also not going to give into it. There are certain things that only belong after we've stuffed ourselves with

Interesting Morning...

2011-11-03T22:41:00.002-04:00

When Emmie tried to leave her condo for work this morning, she discovered a problem with her car. She called me and I came over to join in the adventure. I'm pretty sure this hole was not a naturally occurring event. That tire was slashed (...and I almost crashed but the Lord had mercy...). But what's done is done, and the tire (badly!) needed to be replaced anyway (you would not believe how

Wordy Wednesday

2011-11-02T23:41:00.001-04:00

I don't have a photo ready and the day is almost over, so here's a bit of babble... It's been a busy week so far, and this evening I was occupied with making soup and then roasting the chestnuts I picked up at today's farmers market (thanks to UTC's biology department). Yum! So, instead of a picture, I'm going to remind you of what an awesome month this is. November, 2011... Yesterday, it

My sister is a babe. ;)

2011-10-31T20:27:00.002-04:00

I've got a whole big bunch of awesome vintage photos to share. There's a backlog for two reasons (beyond the fact that I did a big clump of scanning lately): first, my sister was an adorable baby; and second, my parents were really good photographers. So here's a set of photos of my big sister (plus, the last one can count as my big brother's debut). ♥ I picked all of these because they are

Halloween Cartoons ;)

2011-10-31T19:06:00.000-04:00

Autumn Greens

2011-10-30T14:35:00.002-04:00

Autumn Scenes

2011-10-29T10:32:00.000-04:00

In a swirl of wind and bluster, yesterday's rain managed to knock the first few leaves out of the trees. I imagine now that the cold has arrived, the rest will follow in a flurry of fall color. You can see the beginnings of it here, in the view from an upstairs window at home during the rain: Also, you'll be relieved to know that despite the newly-arrived winter's hardships, Nonnie is

Friday Food Photo

2011-10-28T10:22:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday, everyone! It's a cold, rainy, gray, blustery day here in Chattanooga, but the weekend is almost here, so I'll take it! I gather from facebook that further north, the rain was (in the words of my sister) a bit whiter and fluffier than what we're getting here. It's not even Halloween yet and the first snow flurries are already flying? Yikes! I wonder what that portends for the

Doesn't it make common sense?!?

2011-10-27T22:32:00.001-04:00

Daye-um!!!

2011-10-27T20:29:00.000-04:00

I was working on a post for the evening, and then I ran across this. And now I'm speechless. (Before you hit play, make sure you hook up some speakers -- you'll be thankful for the bass in playback.) UPDATE: more on the grouping here, here and here.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T12:53:00.001-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

The Occupy Project

2011-10-25T19:14:00.000-04:00

Hey, kids. There's a thought. After you're done Occupying Wall Street, you don't have to just walk away. You can stay engaged and stop supporting the corporations that perpetuate this cruel, messy economy. Of course, that's is easier said than done, and in some cases, the best we can do is work our way up and down a spectrum that runs from pure evil to pure good. It's simple enough to stop

Ob Poo-free Post

2011-10-23T17:02:00.000-04:00

It seems as though just about everyone with a venue on the internet who goes poo-free eventually does a post about it. So here goes mine... I had two primary motivations for giving up shampoo. I really don't have anything against shampoo in theory. But in practice, I've run up upon a couple of things. First of all, I'm trying to reduce the amount of plastic I just toss out every week. Why?

Changes in RSSLand...

2011-10-22T12:31:00.000-04:00

If you're reading this in Google Reader, it's time to buckle up... In the next week, we’ll be making some highly requested changes to Google Reader. First, we’re going to introduce a brand new design (like many of Google’s other products) that we hope you love. Second, we’re going to bring Reader and Google+ closer together, so you can share the best of your feeds with just the right circles.

Friday Food Photo

2011-10-21T14:00:00.002-04:00

I know it may not look like much (and it was hastily thrown together), but this is a significant salad. It's the first one I've ever made that was entirely composed of food we grew out in the back yard. It was a simple salad: various lettuces, a bit of bok choy, some radish greens, parsley, radishes, jalepeños and tomatoes. Fresh, delish, and hopefully only the first of many dishes of

Spring 1959

2011-10-20T21:44:00.000-04:00

Here are a few more images from my most recent set. This first one fascinates me in a number of ways. First off, it's just a really cool photo, a classic portrait of the era -- the suits, the ties, the hats, the watch, the store... they're all so hip! The setting amazes me, because the father I know not only would never shop, he also would never wait while someone else shops. I can safely

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-19T09:51:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

Early 1959

2011-10-18T09:33:00.000-04:00

The first roll or three of film from 1959 somehow ended up with a reddish haze over it/them. All the photos have the same tint, and I've done my best to process that out of them, but some of the dominating color remains. Despite their defects, these first two photos are some of my favorites of the year, and in some ways, they are like bookends. First is my mother, just as she was becoming a

Occupy Your Pantry!

2011-10-17T11:05:00.001-04:00

This is just the beginning of a post that I suspect I'll be adding to through the week. The Occupation is a fascinating phenomenon, and its lack of a clear, central points or goal is, I think, one of its best virtues. It exists, like a white screen, ready for our every projection. And now that the media is finally taking the movement seriously, a lot is being said, and much projection is being

Music and wishes

2011-10-16T22:16:00.000-04:00

Wow. The weather lately has been perfect. Warm, sunny days, and cool, crisp nights. I am exhausted. I have, in the past 36 hours, run two miles, worked on all sorts of stuff in the yard, ridden my bike to Chattanooga's Pride, and taken the dog for perambulation around the neighborhood. If I could have squeezed in more, I would have! I love autumn!! Two things: First, I don't know if there has

Back!!!

2011-10-15T22:36:00.001-04:00

I can post again!!! But my brain is mush, so instead of some cogent prose, here's some beautiful music...

SNAFU

2011-10-14T22:28:00.001-04:00

Blogger is still FUBAR. FML. Maybe there will be a post tomorrow...

Can't Post!

2011-10-13T22:43:00.001-04:00

Blogger's web interface seems to be FUBAR this evening, so no post for today (I'm typing this on my phone and would rather stab my self in the face with a fork than try to type up something of any consequence on this thing!).

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T12:57:00.004-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

Be gay today!

2011-10-11T11:04:00.000-04:00

Today is Coming Out Day. I hope that whoever you are, you are among people who love you for who you are. If you're not sure, today might be a good opportunity to stick your toe in the water. I know we, as a society, have a long way to go when it comes to embracing everyone without condition, but great strides have been made and we're still moving. Be who you are. If the people who