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July 2008 Archives

Be My Escape
July 30, 2008 | permalink

I saw a funny thing the other day. And when I say funny, I mean I stopped dead in the street laughing like an idiot when I saw it, totally helpless, no doubt to the great disinterest of my fellow pedestrians.

You see, on 3rd Ave, near 17th Street, there is a two story building. There is a business on each floor. The one on the ground floor is called Still. The one above is Sal Anthony's School of Movement. Get it? Still? Movement? Funny, no? (If you doubt me, here is the Google Maps Street View to prove it...)

Of course, as comical as I find that juxtaposition, it leads me to questions. How many people walk by there every day oblivious to the joke? How many times have I walked past without noticing? Are either of the parties involved aware of how funny this is? Did one of them do it on purpose? If so, I want to buy them a beer.

How much more comedy is out there, Gentle Readers, going unappreciated?

Posted in Around New York & Random & The World is a Funny Place
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Hellbound Train
July 24, 2008 | permalink

I was in the great city of Chicago all last week (as was A Lover and a Fighter, though our paths did not manage to cross, sadly) attending a rigging seminar taught by none other than Harry Donovan. Which doesn't mean much to most of you, I am sure, but trust me- as far as my industry goes, he is pretty much the bee's knees. It was pretty damn awesome.

I have been doing what I would describe as medium-ish level rigging (at best) for many years, and a lot of my knowledge is that imperfect kind you get by doing things without having too much in the way of actual theory or fact to back it up. That is, 'I know that works, I have seen it done and done it myself many times, and since this is sort of like that, it ought to work to. Probably. Let's try it and see!' Which is fun and exciting and all, but not necessarily the best way to hang a bunch of stuff over people's heads. Now I have a bunch of math and theory that I can apply. Which I like.

I even got a little time to see Chicago. I saw my dear and long-moved friend the Gemological Goddess, which was quite lovely- it had been well over a year. I ate at a couple of pretty good places, went to Navy Pier and Millennium Park. It was quite a good visit.

Posted in Out of Town & Working
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Honey-Wine
July 7, 2008 | permalink

Earlier in the year, I made a couple of small test batches of mead. Mead, if you are not familiar with it, is honey-wine, very old and very simple; in its base form, it consists of only honey, water, and yeast. I made a gallon of mead with clover honey, and another with orange blossom honey. They were delicious.

Both came out light and (unsurprisingly) a little sweet, but also crisp. There was a champagne-like quality about them, which was made more prevalent by the fact that both batches were slightly carbonated. Which was not certainly not a problem, but also not my intention; I bottled them both just a touch too soon, with the yeast still active. Oh, and did I mention that it's really strong? Stronger than wine, certainly. I neglected to take any measurements, so I can't know for sure exactly what proof it ended up, but it's strong enough to warm you as it goes down, and two glasses is enough to make me pretty tipsy. If I had to guess, I would put it at 18 or 20 percent.

This past week, having successfully done my trial runs, I started a big batch- 4 gallons. Which, for your reference, ought to yield me about 18 wine bottles worth of mead. I am quite excited.

I made it with buckwheat honey. I don't know if you have ever had it; it is very sweet, dark, and full of flavor. Imagine an equal mix of clover honey and dark molasses and you have it about right. It ought to end up giving me a very dark, rich, and seriously strong mead. Sort of the stout of meads, I would think.

I know what you are thinking, Gentle Readers. You are wondering how you can get your hands on some of this elixir. The truth is, at it's base, mead is really simple, and you probably have nearly everything you need in your house to make a gallon of mead right now. The batches I have made, including this last big batch, all follow the same basic recipe- combine 3 parts water to 1 part honey, add yeast, and let it sit and ferment for 6 weeks or so. It is a little more complicated in practice- everything needs to be sterile and handled right, so you don't end up growing a giant mold colony- but only a little, and certainly doable in your kitchen.

If anyone is interested, I will post detailed directions for making a batch yourself. And I will certainly let you know how this batch turns out. I should be able to taste it somewhere near the end of August....

Posted in Food and Drink & The Home Front
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