| Not A Creature Was Stirring, Not Even A Mouse. Because I Ate It. |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|07:08 pm] |
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And, with the house cleared and shit wrapped and an unwise number of wine bottles emptied, I’m out. See you on the other side of little Winterval. Have a good break. Try not to stab anybody important.
(Automatically crossposted from warrenellis.com. Feel free to comment here or at my internet church at Whitechapel. If anything in this post looks weird, it's because LJ is run on steampipes and rubber bands -- please click through to the main site.) |
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| Merry Christmas |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|06:01 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  happy | ] |
Here's hoping all my friends and readers have a merry Christmas.
And you other people too. |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|05:32 pm] |
So last night I brined some smelt in cider vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, dill, allspice, ice and Bluecoat gin (thank you Alton Brown). Thirty minutes in the brine, then onto a baking sheet covered in paper towels and into the fridge overnight to dry.
In an hour and a half or so, I'm going to spritz them with some lemon juice and cover coat them in flour, some cayenne and some garlic powder, and then throw 'em into a hot pan. When the smelt are done, I'll use the same pan to saute some broccoli rabe with some sliced garlic and some hot pepper (and just a touch of sugar to cut the heat).
Right now I'm brining a pound of shrimp and shortly I'm going to dry them, toss them in olive oil and Old bay and broil them, then back in the fridge they go until they're cool and ready for an old-fashioned shrimp cocktail.
Finally, I've got a couple of catfish filets that I'll coat in cajun spices and fry up.
I'm cheating and using store-bought cocktail sauce this time around, but I'm still doing my own tartar sauce.
Right. Five minutes and the shrimp are done brining. Time to start heating up the broiler. |
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| Merry Merry and Mary |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|12:24 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  celegrations! | ] |
I hope everyone here has a wonderful Christmas, exactly as you like it, traditional or not!
And Happy Birthday on the day to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) french_teacher. I am even more glad than usual to celebrate your birthday this year, considering what you've been through. |
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| Things I did tonight: |
[Dec. 24th, 2009|12:12 am] |
Watched Avatar.
Discovered that curried pear and squash soup is twice as good the next day.
Brined my smelt.*
*not a euphemism |
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| About My Power |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|06:44 pm] |
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Musician/writer Christine Hart felt it necessary to preserve this Twitter exchange from earlier in the year:
I have just been informed via the power of Twitter that I’m on io9’s 2009 Science Fiction Power List, alongside, um, Lady Gaga. Actually, it’s kind of an interesting list — and an interesting, if peculiar, concept. Doubtless, by the time you read it, the comments section will have filled with snark. But the article itself is worth a read (not least because it includes Lady Gaga. I think even Bill Gibson was talking about that last video).
I’ve just been informed that Bleeding Cool will be broadcasting all through Xmas Day.
Me? I will doubtless still be ruminating on the fact that five minutes ago I was selecting children’s books for my daughter, and that apparently with the passage of no time whatsoever I am now wrapping a MOCK THE WEEK: UNCUT DVD for her. Not sure how she went from Maurice Sendak to Frankie Boyle yelling "cunt" overnight, but suddenly she’s 14 and arguing with me over rap/rock, guitarists and what the best track on the Florence & The Machine album was. It’s brilliant, frankly.
(Automatically crossposted from warrenellis.com. Feel free to comment here or at my internet church at Whitechapel. If anything in this post looks weird, it's because LJ is run on steampipes and rubber bands -- please click through to the main site.) |
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| The Magic of Comic Books |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|06:19 pm] |
Every time there is a lot of snow on the ground (like right now, for instance), I am reminded of the Sunday in 1991 when I went into Quincy Center to get my weeks worth of comic books. There had been a horrible storm, and so I had had to wait an extra few days. Sunday was the first day the bus route was open again, in fact.
I waited for the bus, rode into the city, and trudged to the store. I emptied my pull box (A new X-Men! a new Justice League! A new The 'Nam!), paid with my paper route money, and bolted on back to the bus stop. It was cold out, but I had the warmth of joy that new comics always brought.
As I was reading the GIANT SIZED 275th issue of The Uncanny X-Men, it began to snow again. (Did Forge really join the team?! Matching uniforms?!?!?!)
I was working through my short stack of comics for the third or fourth time when I realized that the bus should have come by now. I had put my comics away and pulled out the battered paperback of Wildcards 2: Aces High by George R.R. Martin et all. I remember it was that book specifically, because later I dropped it in a snow bank and the wetness caused the front cover to fall off.
I'm digressing.
The buses had stopped running. It was snowing out. We had gotten 2 feet of snow just two days before. My Dad was at work, and regardless, this was pre cell phone days. A taxi was out of the question, as every last cent I earned went to comics and books and, well, you've all seen me.... chocolate bars.
So I walked home. In the snow. According to Mapquest, it was 4.38 miles. (In my memory, it was a thousand miles) I later did force marches in the Marine Corps of more than 20 miles that seemed like picnics in comparison. I slipped and went into a snow bank a few times. I had many a car fling road slime at me. By the time I got home, I couldn't feel my feet. My hands burned. My eyes could not water any more.
I changed out of those clothes, got under my blankets, and read my comics again. And you might think I'm crazy, but right then I would have made that trip again. I know I would have. I used to crive an hour every week to get my new releases when I was a dumb jarhead.
Those comics... they were friends. They filled something in me that was missing. Something books have filled in recent years.
Over the past few months I've gotten back into reading comic books. (The story of how I stopped reading them ten years ago is a semi-tragic one, and a helluva long story.) And I've rediscovered a lot of the joy I've been missing out on. I missed Green Lantern. Except, I remember him being old and wise, and now he seems like a young hot head. When the fuck did that happen? There are crime comics again. And westerns! and even love stories. It's not just super heroes, although the Justice League is still a must read. The X-Men? I can't figure out what the hell is going on there, but I'm sure I'll get it eventually.
Believe it or not, there's even some damn fine science fiction and fantasy to be found in comics these days.
They're too expensive. Too short. Stories take too many months to develop. But I'll be damned if I haven't been bitten by the comic book bug again. I'm just glad I own a car these days.
Happy Holidays. |
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| Charlie Stross: "Overtime" |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|01:04 pm] |
Over at tor.com, we find "Overtime" by Charlie Stross, a story about working late at The Laundry. This is one of the most entertaining short stories I've read this year, and it's out just in time for the close of eligibility for the 2010 Hugo Awards. |
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| dream a little dream of ... |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|12:37 pm] |
Another AU Felix & Mildmay dream last night, this one claiming to be an animated series which might aptly be summed up as: "He's a gay wizard with a dark past; he's a cat burglar with a price on his head. Together, they fight crime!" |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|12:10 pm] |
Whatever it is you celebrate, have celebrated, or will celebrate at this time of year, I hope it is, has been, or will be very happy.
And I wish you and all the world the very best for 2010. |
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| New TAFF Delegates! |
[Dec. 23rd, 2009|08:41 am] |
Anne KG Murphy & Brian Gray won the 2010 TAFF Delegacy with 49 votes. Frank Wu ended up with 30 votes, there were 13 No Preferences and 3 Hold over Funds.
You can find a full breakdown at TAFF.org.uk.
Congrats to Anne & Brian, and also to Frank for runnign a great race and raising more than 2 large for the FUnd during the race!
Chris |
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